I NEVER EVEN HEARD JOHN HAGEE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL WITH HEART SURGERY, PRAY HE WILL BE HEALED PEOPLE, THANKS.
Pastor John Hagee recovering after heart surgery OCT 2,08
SAN ANTONIO - Pastor John Hagee, the internationally known radio/TV evangelist, was recovering after undergoing open heart surgery. A spokesman for Hagee's Cornerstone Church, Juda Engelmayer, said the successful procedure was done Thursday at a San Antonio hospital. Engelmayer also told the San Antonio Express-News that the 68-year-old minister is expected to be away from the pulpit for about a month.His 30-year-old son, associate pastor Matt Hagee, will take over church operations until the elder minister returns.Engelmayer said a routine checkup revealed a need for the heart surgery and Hagee came through great. The name of the hospital was not disclosed.Hagee founded the nondenominational, evangelical Cornerstone Church. According to its Web site, has more than 19,000 active members. Hagee also founded Christians United for Israel.On the Net:http://www.jhm.org
PALIN - BIDEN DEBATE
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/02/debate.transcript/?iref=mpstoryview
I THINK SARAH PALIN IS FANTASTIC TONIGHT IN THE DEBATE. BIDEN IS TALKING FROM BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH AS BAD AS JOHN KERRY DID.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
DOWN TOWN DOWNER
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU OCT 02,2008
09:30 AM -15.47
10:00 AM -180.40
10:30 AM -211.47
11:00 AM -225.28
11:30 AM -255.19
12:00 PM -228.27
12:30 PM -252.80
01:00 PM -270.64
01:30 PM -283.87
02:00 PM -268.65
02:30 PM -317.00
03:00 PM -292.79
03:30 PM -333.81
04:00 PM -348.62 10482.45
S&P 500 1114.24 -46.82
NAS 1976.72 -92.68
GOLD 840.7 -46.6
OIL 93.83 -4.70
Details of what the EU is proposing
ReutersPublished: October 2, 2008
With a U.S.-style rescue package unlikely for the Continent, European leaders have offered a number of other proposals to cope with the effect of the financial crisis on the European Union. The following are among the ideas the EU is considering:
Strengthen bank capital
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Wednesday proposed tougher capital requirements for banks so they could better withstand rocky markets, particularly to back up riskier operations like turning some forms of debt into securities.
Overhaul credit-rating agencies
The commission, which has blamed the agencies for failing to identify the pitfalls in securitized debt that rapidly lost its value, is expected to propose mandatory oversight of the sector.
Improve oversight
The commission has already proposed a system for overseeing cross-border insurers. It is set to be adopted into law by year-end. The proposal Wednesday for tougher bank capital requirements will also include a similar oversight plan for banks.
Ease accounting rules
EU leaders will look at whether they should ease the mark-to-market accounting rule that requires banks to price their assets frequently at current market values, a rule that some critics blame for requiring unnecessarily huge write-downs. The United States is considering a similar change even as many professionals defend the standards as the only way to require financial institutions to acknowledge losses.
EU-wide supervision
Some officials are calling for more radical changes to what is still essentially a national system of banking supervision. French officials have called for a European policeman to supervise banks and insurers. Many leaders have been impressed with how the European Central Bank intervened early in the credit crunch and would like to see it have a major role in some form of new pan-EU mechanism to oversee the financial sector. Past attempts to centralize supervision have floundered because some countries, notably Britain, do not want to give up regulatory sovereignty.
Curbs on short-selling
With many EU countries already putting in place various curbs on short-selling, or bets that shares will decline, there are calls to keep them in place for longer.
Rein in compensation
Various leaders, including President Nicholas Sarkozy of France and Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister and finance minister of Luxembourg, have called for limits on big bonuses received by bankers. The European Commission issued guidelines in 2004 recommending that executives publish their salaries or explain why they would not do so. It also recommended that shareholders have a say in executive pay. Only the Netherlands has applied the guidelines.
France and Germany at odds over EU Paulson Plan
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:51 CET
France believes EU-level measures may have to be cobbled together to aid banks in smaller member states, while denying rumours of a €300 billion package. But Germany has indicated it would not support any European big-bang deal.French finance minister Christine Lagarde has told a German paper that a safety net would be needed to support smaller countries in Europe threatened with banking failures.What happens if a smaller EU state is hit by a looming bank collapse? Maybe this country does not have the means to save the bank, she told the Handelsblatt in an interview published on Thursday (2 October). Therefore the question of a European safety net solution comes up.The safety package may be presented by French President Nicholas Sarkozy at a 4 October meeting between himself, the prime ministers of Germany, Italy and the UK, as well as Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.Rumours of the sums that should be attached to such a package have swirled around Europe, but Ms Lagarde has denied a widely reported figure of €300 billion.Speaking at a Paris event on Wednesday evening, the French finance minister denied that France was planning the major cash injection.There is no such thing. There is nothing of the sort, she told reporters, according to the Reuters news agency.Elsewhere, reports have appeared suggesting the Netherlands is the source of the €300 billion proposal. The country quickly denied this was the case.But any suggestion of a European version of US treasury secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion bail-out plan for Wall Street is being stiffly resisted by Berlin.The idea of applying one solution, one big bang ... is not practicable and would create new, enormous problems, German finance ministry spokesperson Torsten Albig told reporters yesterday in Berlin.Germany does not think much of such a plan, he said, according to AFP.In an interview with German daily Bild, Chancellor Angela Merkel said she opposed writing blank cheques for banks.
Level-playing field
France's Ms Lagarde did however say that there needed to be a level playing field for accounting rules across Europe when speaking to the BBC on Thursday. And she repeated France's call for stricter regulation of the financial sector.Clearly there needs to be better discipline, more measure and more reason, the minister said. Sanctions need to be taken so that implementation of the rules is achieved.The words echo her comments in the Handelsblatt interview, in which she said she thinks it's more needed than ever to regulate hedge funds, but admitted there is a lot of resistance to such a move. In the same interview, she said she also wants an early warning mechanism, so that when a bank gets in trouble, the ECB is warned right away and a crisis unit is set up immediately.
Poland less at risk
In separate news, the head of the Polish national bank, Sawomir Skrzypek, stressed that as bad as things are in the western financial sector, his country was in a much safer position.Poland will be among those states which will feel the effects of the global market events much more gently, he told Gazeta Wyborcza.Our banking regulations are in many ways more strict than in other countries, he said.
ECB liquidity injections not working
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:27 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The billions of euros the European Central Bank has been injecting into money markets since the start of the crisis in an attempt to get banks to start loaning money to each other and other businesses is not working.
Instead, banks are redepositing some of the monies back with the ECB itself - over €100 billion overnight as of Tuesday (30 September - the latest available figures) - as they are worried that the central bank is the last safe place left to stash their cash.As of last Tuesday (23 September), banks had parked €1.4 billion with the ECB's deposit facility. By Thursday, the figure had climbed to €4.2 billion and jumping to €28 billion the next day. On Monday, banks were now depositing €44 billion with the ECB and as of yesterday, the latest figures available, the cash placed with the bank for safekeeping had more than doubled to €102.8 billion.An official with the ECB told the EUobserver that never before had this happened. It's very strange that banks are doing this.If you didn't have the economic turmoil in the back of your mind, you would think this is an uneconomic decision, the official said, explaining that banks are borrowing from the ECB at a rate of 4.8 percent but when they deposit the same money back in Frankfurt, they are only earning 3.8 percent.So they're losing money, the official said. The deposit facility is not meant for parking your money. It's meant as a last resort when a bank can't do anything else with its money. It shows that there's no trust, no confidence out there, the official continued. They're thinking if they're going to lose money, at least parked at the ECB is the safest way to lose it.Joking blackly, the official said: At least the ECB is making some money on these transactions.
House girds for 2nd try on financial rescue By CHARLES BABINGTON and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers OCT 2,08
WASHINGTON - House members are getting another chance to vote on a financial bailout bill that has infuriated millions of voters after the Senate added tax cuts and other sweeteners and passed it handily. Senators advanced the much-criticized measure in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday, sending it to the other side of the Capitol for a showdown vote expected Friday. The move was calculated to win over enough dissenting House members to get the bill through and reverse Monday's stunning defeat in the House. Party leaders there planned to press rank-and-file members Thursday for the dozen converts they believe they need.President Bush will continue lobbying, too, with the argument that businesses are having a tough time financing operations and payroll and need help. A day ahead of the House vote, Bush called business leaders to the White House on Thursday to make his case for the $700-billion package.The president will note how important it is to pass the financial rescue legislation to help to free up credit in our economy, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. These business owners know the consequences if the situation gets worse, so the crisis is urgent for these businesses.On another front, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urged people to remain calm.
I think overall the banking system remains very sound so that's why I think it's so important for everybody to keep their head, commission Chairman Sheila Bair said on C-SPAN. What I don't want is to see otherwise healthy institutions start to get into trouble just because of liquidity pressure ... Wall Street should be taking their cue from Main Street right now. Main Street deposits are staying there.But the drumbeat of bad news rattled on, nevertheless. A government report said that orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years as the credit strains smashed manufacturers with hurricane-like force.Stocks declined on Wall Street early Thursday after the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seven-year high. The Dow Jones industrials fell by about 135 points, their fourth straight triple-digit move.The bailout package was never in danger in the Senate. Senators instead played catalysts for the House, adding tax provisions popular with the left and right in a bid that House leaders hope — but cannot guarantee — will persuade enough of the House rank-and-file to switch from nay to aye on a highly contentious bill a month before Election Day.They were especially targeting the 133 House Republicans who voted against the package.Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., said Thursday he will vote for the bill, as he did Monday, despite some misgivings.I will tell you, the American people are angy and frustrated, he said on ABC's Good Morning America, saying he's been hearing messages like the woman who said she was concerned about getting access to a student loan for her daughter.Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat, said on the same program that she plans to vote no.
I will not support this legislation because it's the wrong medicine, she said. Kaptur argued that the problem should be solved by the market itself, not through governmental intervention.After the Senate vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, We've sent a clear message to Americans all over that we will not let this economy fail. This is not a piece of legislation for lower Manhattan. This is legislation for all America.The rescue package would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.To some degree, at least, House GOP opposition appeared to be easing as the Senate added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.House Republicans also welcomed a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market. There were worries, though, that the tax breaks might cause some conservative-leaning Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it because the revised version would swell the federal deficit. I'm concerned about that, said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic leader. The Senate-backed package extends several tax breaks popular with businesses. It would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans. And it would provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana. Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs almost everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the bailout measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster. But critics on the right and left assailed the rescue plan, which has been panned by their constituents as a giveaway for Wall Street with little obvious benefit for ordinary Americans. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a leading conservative, said the step was leading us into the pit of socialism.But proponents argued that the financial sector's woes already were being felt by ordinary people in the form of unaffordable credit and underperforming retirement savings. Still, they said voters were unlikely to reward those who vote for the measure.
There will be no balloons or bunting or parades when the rescue becomes law, said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman. Tax cuts new and old are favorites for most House Republicans. Help for rural schools was aimed mainly at lawmakers in the West, while disaster aid was a top priority for lawmakers from across the Midwest and South. Another addition, to extend the deductibility of state and local taxes for people in states without income taxes, helps Florida and Texas, among others. Increasing the deposit insurance cap was a bid to reassure individuals and small businesses that their money would be safe in the event their banks collapsed. It was particularly geared toward small banks that fear customers will pull their money and park it in larger institutions seen as less likely to fold. The Senate vote lacked the drama of Monday's House vote, but it had its celebrity moments. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, came off the campaign trail to vote for the package, thrilling tourists who glimpsed them in the Capitol's corridors and drawing hordes of reporters and photographers.AP White House Correspondent Terence Hunt contributed to this story.
Stocks decline on unemployment, factory reports By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer OCT 2,08
NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled and credit markets remained tight Thursday after plunging factor orders and a seven-year high in jobless claims stoked fear that the government's financial rescue plan might not be enough to ward off a recession. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 300 points, their fourth straight triple-digit move. Stocks fell at the opening, then gathered downward momentum after the government reported that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week and that demand at the nation's factories has fallen by the largest amount in nearly two years.The market is interpreting the Commerce Department report on factories as a sign that tight credit conditions are hitting manufacturers.The readings came as Wall Street tried to determine what might come of the government's rescue package, which is supported by President Bush and leaders of both parties. A House vote could come as soon as Friday. A version of the bill that the Senate passed in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class. It also raised the limit on federal deposit insurance to $250,000 from $100,000.Supporters are hoping the sweetened bill will be more palatable to some of the 133 House Republicans who rejected the measure in a vote Monday that took Wall Street, and many on Capitol Hill, by surprise.Those in favor of the plan to let the government buy billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt and other now-toxic assets say it will help unclog the world's ailing credit markets. Banks are fearful of making loans, even to each other, because of worries they won't be repaid. That, in turn, is weighing on the economy, making borrowing more difficult and expensive for businesses and consumers alike.
Following the economic reports, the credit markets showed some increased strain. The yield on the 3-month T-bill, the safest type of investment, fell to 0.78 percent from 0.79 percent late Wednesday. The historically low yields indicate investors are willing to accept the smallest of returns to safeguard their money.The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.67 percent from 3.74 percent late Wednesday.The Dow fell 302.42, or 2.79 percent, to 10,528.65. The blue chips plunged nearly 778 points Monday, logged a partial rebound Tuesday and finished moderately lower Wednesday.Broader stock indicators also fell Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 36.67, or 3.16 percent, to 1,124.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 66.77, or 3.23 percent, to 2,002.63.The Labor Department's report that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 497,000 unnerved investors worried about not only about strains in the financial market but also the effect on the broader economy.
Analysts had been expecting unemployment claims would fall to 475,000; instead, the level of jobless claims is the highest seen since the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The well-being of the labor market is a key concern for investors as rising unemployment could further dent consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.While the figures reflect about 45,000 claims from Texas and Louisiana following the landfall last month of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the increase nonetheless unnerved investors worried that the economy is suffering while Washington tries to shore up the financial system with the bailout.Beyond employment, orders for manufactured goods fell by 4 percent in August from July. Economists had expected a 2.5 percent decline. It is the biggest drop since a 4.8 percent decline in October 2006.The dollar was higher against other major currencies, particularly the euro, even after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged. Higher interest rates in Europe generally make the euro more attractive to investors than the dollar.Light, sweet crude fell $3.70 to $94.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Shares of General Electric Co., one of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials, fell $2.41, or 9.8 percent, to $22.09 after the conglomerate said it was pricing an offering of 547.8 million shares at $22.25 apiece. The offering price is 9 percent below where the stock ended Wednesday. The company said it would sell the shares Wednesday as it announced that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. would buy $3 billion worth of GE preferred shares. GE, which draws nearly half its profits from its finance business, is reducing how much money it draws from the commercial paper market — the now largely frozen well where many companies turn to raise money for day-to-day expenses. Wall Street found some room for optimism, however, after Swiss bank UBS said Thursday it expects to turn a a small profit in the third quarter after a string of losses. The forecast from the company, which has taken billions of dollars in mortgage-related write-downs, stirred hopes that some banks' troubles could be on the mend. UBS rose 24 cents to $19.19. Declining issues led advancers by a 3 to 1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 378.4 million shares. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.88 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.12 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 2.40 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 1.77 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Magnitude-4.1 quake shakes San Bernardino County OCT 2,08
YUCAIPA, Calif. - A small-to-moderate earthquake has shaken San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, but there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The magnitude-4.1 temblor struck at 2:41 a.m. Thursday. It was centered 6 miles northeast of Yucaipa and occurred at a depth of about 6 miles, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey.San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller says there has been no word of injuries or damage.Yucaipa is a city of about 50,000 people about 70 miles east of Los Angeles.There have been at least eight quakes of magnitude-4.0 or bigger in California this year. Quakes of this size can sometimes produce local damage like broken windows near the epicenter.
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.
29 Algerians die, dozens hurt in flash floods By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer OCT 2,08
ALGIERS, Algeria - Torrential rains in the Algerian Sahara created flash floods that killed 29 people and injured dozens more in a historic oasis region, officials in the North African nation said Thursday. Hundreds of people had to be rescued by helicopter and up to 600 houses were destroyed in the rains Tuesday and Wednesday around the medieval town of Ghardaia, the official APS news agency said. Security services and the military were helping in the rescue operations.Following these floods, we can sadly declare that 29 people have died, Ali Belkhir, the country's head of public health, told national radio.An Interior Ministry statement later confirmed the death toll of 29 and said another person was still missing. While Belkhir said 84 people had been injured, the Interior Ministry lowered that number to 48, including three people in serious condition in the hospital.Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni had initially reported 13 dead after flying over the zone. Radio reports said there could be more damage in outlying oasis towns.Phone lines to the area were disrupted Thursday, and local officials could not be reached for comment.
Ghardaia, 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Algiers, is the seat of the Mozabite people, who practice a form of dissident Islam unique to their region. It lies on the edges of the Sahara Desert in a long and narrow valley known as the M'zab, which is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.The storms this week caused a local wadi _or seasonal river that remains dry for most of the year — to rise at some points by 8 meters (26 feet) within hours, APS said.In neighboring Morocco, the MAP news agency reported that two people drowned and several were missing in similar floods near the southern city of Marrakech.
Tropical Storm Marie moving westward in Pacific Thu Oct 2, 5:02 AM ET
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Marie is moving westward in the Pacific on a path that's taking it farther away from Mexico's coast. Marie's maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph and the National Hurricane Center in Miami says some strengthening is possible Thursday.The storm is centered about 735 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California early Thursday. Marie is moving west near 12mph.
Vietnam's death toll from storm rises to 8 Thu Oct 2, 3:15 AM ET
HANOI, Vietnam - The bodies of two children and three fishermen were recovered in central Vietnam, raising the death toll from Tropical Storm Mekkhala to eight with eight others still missing and feared dead, disaster officials said Thursday. The bodies of the 5-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy were found Wednesday after they were washed away from their house in Ha Tinh province, disaster official Nguyen Khoa Thanh said. Rescuers also recovered the bodies of three fishermen in Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces, where four others remained missing after the storm sank their boats, provincial officials said.Four people remained unaccounted for in Thanh Hoa province, disaster official Do Minh Chinh said.Mekkhala slammed into Vietnam's central coast Tuesday morning before moving to Laos later the same day.The storm, packing winds of 55 mph, destroyed or blew the roofs off of hundreds of houses and sank dozens of boats. It also triggered heavy rains across the region.Mekkhala hit as northern Vietnam was still recovering from Typhoon Hagupit, which struck last Thursday. Floods triggered by the typhoon killed 41 people and caused an estimated $65 million in damage.Another tropical storm, Higos, was churning across Vietnamese maritime territory toward China's Hainan island on Thursday and threatening hundreds of fishermen stuck at sea, said disaster official Nguyen Ngoc Dien of Quang Binh province.We are not allowing people to go fishing at the moment, Dien said.Higos was not expected to hit the Vietnamese mainland directly.Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged the Foreign Ministry to contact countries in the region to allow Vietnamese fishermen in the storm's path to take shelter, the national committee on floods and storms control said.Vietnam is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.
October hurricane-watch should be active: forecasters Wed Oct 1, 1:40 PM ET
MIAMI (AFP) - October should be more active than usual in the Atlantic hurricane belt, with three named storms expected to form -- including two hurricanes, one of them major -- forecasters said Wednesday. Colorado State University forecasters said the tropical storm formation rate for the month was likely to be almost twice the October average.In September, twelve tropical storms formed, six of them gaining hurricane strength and three of those rising to at least category-three, strong enough to be considered a major hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson scale measures hurricanes on a 1-5 rising scale.We expect the month of October to be quite active. We continue to observe low sea level pressures and warm sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic, said Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the forecast.A combination of these two factors typically leads to an active October. In addition, we continue to observe neutral ENSO conditions in the tropical Pacific, so we do not expect that ENSO conditions will be detrimental to this year's October activity, he added.We predict that October will be quite active based on climate signals through September, added William Gray, who has been forecasting hurricanes at the same university for a quarter century.The (north) Atlantic hurricane season stretches for six months, from June 1 to November 30. September and October are considered the peak of the season.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Bahrain activists slam FM call for grouping of Arabs and Israel OCT 2,08
MANAMA (AFP) - Lawmakers and opposition activists in Bahrain on Thursday slammed the foreign minister of the Gulf state, a staunch US ally, after he called for a regional grouping of Arabs and historic foe Israel. The minister should revoke his remarks... If he doesn't, he will have to answer members of parliament, Jalal Fayruz, an MP for the opposition Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), the main Shiite political formation, told AFP.Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa proposed the creation of the regional bloc, which would also include Iran and Turkey, in an interview published on Wednesday.Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organisation, he was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.Aren't we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not (come together) on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There's no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years.Bahrain hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and has a free trade agreement with Washington.Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa met Israeli officials during World Economic Forum summits in 2000 and 2003, while Sheikh Khaled met Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni at the United Nations last year.
But political groupings in Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a Shiite majority, oppose any normalisation of ties with Israel.Sheikh Khaled's proposal serves US plans to integrate Israel in the region, said Muslim Brotherhood MP Nasser al-Fadhala.Ibrahim al-Sharif, secretary general of the National Democratic Action Association (NDAA), an opposition alliance of leftists and pan-Arab nationalists, said parliament must hold the minister accountable.The minister must make clear if his remarks represent official policy or are a personal view, he told AFP.Hasan Madan of the leftist Democratic Progressive Forum Association said: With Israel occupying Arab lands and no prospect (of a breakthrough) in its negotiations with the Palestinians, bringing Israel into an organisation with the Arabs will encourage further aggression and occupation.Political associations act as de facto parties in Bahrain, where political parties remain banned.
Mideast peace meet planned for November Thu Oct 2, 4:55 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East Quartet will meet in November to review progress in US-backed peace talks launched nearly a year ago, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday. Citing a senior official in Jerusalem, the paper reported that the meeting would be held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on November 27, the one-year anniversary of the US conference that relaunched the negotiations.The two sides formally revived the peace process after a seven-year hiatus under the auspices of the Quartet, which groups the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.The negotiations have made little visible progress since then however, despite Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's joint pledge to try to reach a full agreement by the end of 2008.An Israeli official confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity that such a meeting was in the works.During this meeting, the date and place of which have not yet been established, Israelis and Palestinians will for the first time present a summary of their agreements and differences, the official said.At last month's UN General Assembly, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the Quartet had expressed interest in such a conference but had not yet agreed on a firm date.The two sides remain deeply divided on the core issues of the decades-old conflict, including the future status of Jerusalem, the fate of some 4.6 million Palestinian refugees, and continuing Israeli settlement activity.
The talks were dealt a further blow last month when Olmert resigned amid a series of corruption allegations, plunging the Jewish state into what could be months of political turmoil and uncertainty.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been heading the negotiations, is now struggling to cobble together a new governing coalition in a bid to avoid early general elections which could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.
Israeli commander says settler violence rising Thu Oct 2, 3:08 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli military commander in charge of the occupied West Bank said settler violence against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers was on the rise in what he called a grave phenomenon.There has been a rise in Jewish violence in Judea and Samaria, Major General Gadi Shamni said in an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper published on Thursday, using the biblical name for the West Bank.In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds. That's a very significant change... It's a very grave phenomenon, he said.In recent weeks settlers have stepped up attacks against both the Israeli soldiers who are charged with protecting them and against Palestinians.
In perhaps the most graphic incident, a mob of Jewish settlers rampaged through a West Bank village in September after an intruder stabbed and wounded a young boy and set a mobile home on fire in a nearby settlement.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sharply criticised the incident, in which several Palestinians were shot and wounded, vowing that Israel would not tolerate pogroms in the occupied territories.Many in Israel were similarly shocked when prominent historian Zeev Sternhell, a staunch critic of the settlement movement, was wounded a week ago in a pipe bomb attack officials blamed on right-wing extremists.Referring to the attacks in the West Bank, Shamni insisted that the territory is today a relatively secure area and that the feeling of the Jewish population overall is excellent.The majority of people here act normally. We're talking about a hard core of a few hundred activists among some 300,000 Jews who live beyond the Green Line, he said, referring to the frontier between Israel and the West Bank.But what this bunch does is causing tremendous damage, both to the image of the IDF (Israeli army) and to the state of Israel, he said. This is harming our ability to carry out security missions in the territories.
The presence of more than 270,000 Jewish settlers in communities scattered across the West Bank is one of the main obstacles confronting the US-backed Middle East peace process formally relaunched in November.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
EU PEACEKEEPERS TO LEAVE BOSNIA
http://euobserver.com/9/26848
EU TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO SOMALIA AGAINST PIRATES
http://euobserver.com/9/26850
NATO and EU to pool helicopters and air carriers
VALENTINA POP Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:35 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Both the EU and NATO seek to pool their defence capabilities drawn from the same European countries, after having experienced similar shortfalls in helicopters and air carriers in their missions in Chad and Afghanistan.The idea has been championed by the French EU presidency, which hopes to see several concrete initiatives adopted in November by EU defence ministers.At an informal EU defence minister meeting in Deauville on Wednesday (1 October), France obtained the backing of several member states for initiatives such as setting up a trust fund to upgrade Europe's helicopter fleet to make up for shortfalls in helicopters and transport aircraft needed for quick and effective EU deployments abroad. The final decision will be taken at a formal defence ministers' summit in Brussels on 10 November.The shortfall in helicopters was already highlighted on Monday, when General Patrick Nash, the operational commander of the EU mission in Chad told a press conference in Brussels that four helicopters might be soon borrowed from Russia, with talks being at a very advanced stage.Yet the problem is not unique to the EU mission, as NATO and the United Nations experience similar challenges.General James Mattis, in charge of NATO's capability development and transformation, recently met his EU counterpart, the chief executive of the European Defence Agency, Alexander Weis, in order to find areas of common interest, such as helicopter and airlift capabilities.
In regards to airlift, helicopters, medical transports – whether it is an EU mission to Darfur or a NATO mission somewhere else, we just need those capabilities, General Mattis told journalists at a briefing on Wednesday during NATO Industry Day, which took place in Brussels. He also stressed that when the EU and NATO draw on troops, they do it from the same population of forces, which means that the two entities need to look for solutions that resonate with each other, not contradict each other.
We're not a the point right now where the EU and NATO are working that closely, although they're starting, General Mattis said.
The French connection
Yet France might play a pivotal role in this regard, with President Nicolas Sarkozy setting the improvement of EU defence capabilities as a precondition for his country to rejoin NATO's military structure, which is expected to take place at NATO's 60th anniversary summit in April next year. French defence minister Herve Morin proved his commitment to pool EU military capabilities even when asked if the current global financial crisis will have an impact on the member states in terms of defence spending.There are two ways you can face an economic crisis, when you have reduction in state revenue, Mr Morin said on Wednesday after the ministers meeting in Deauville. One is to say, let's forget everything and say there is nothing we can do in the future. The other reaction is to say, we may have less available, so let's pool our resources. That's a more intelligent response, surely. Let's share we've got, if we are going to have less," he urged.
Boeing for NATO, Airbus for EU
While the French defence minister was unveiling in Dauville a plan to lend Airbus A400M transport planes between EU countries or to create a multinational fleet at their disposal, in Brussels 10 NATO countries plus Sweden and Finland signed a deal to jointly buy and operate three Boeing C-17 carriers. This NATO initiative, called Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) will support operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, as well as other national missions, including EU and UN missions, Peter Flory, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment said in a press release.The 10 NATO members involved in SAC are Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States, while the planes are to be placed at the Hungarian air base Papa early next year.
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 have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
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.
Russia to deploy new nuclear missile By Michael Stott OCT 2,08
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hopes to deploy a new nuclear missile next year designed to penetrate anti-missile defenses and will build eight submarines to carry it, defense officials said on Thursday. The latest statements underline Moscow's determination to upgrade its nuclear strike forces on land, sea and air. They are regarded by Russian commanders as the cornerstone of the country's defenses.Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin, head of armaments for the Russian armed forces, told the Defense Ministry newspaper Red Star that Russia's recent war with Georgia compels us to rethink the current state of the armed forces and how they should develop further.
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have both pledged to extend Russia's recent military build-up with extra funds to buy new, high-tech arms. On Wednesday, Putin announced an extra $3.1 billion of spending next year, partly to replace equipment lost in the Georgia war.Despite the billions of dollars spent on them since Putin came to power as president in 2000, Russia's 1 million-strong armed forces remain poorly equipped, badly paid and reliant on a large proportion of unwilling conscripts.The deputy commander in chief of the Russian navy, Admiral Alexander Tatarinov, said on Thursday that by 2015 Moscow would build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to carry a new, nuclear-capable strategic missile.The navy has gone over to building ships and nuclear submarines by the batch, Tatarinov told Interfax news agency.A new state armaments program includes a plan to build a batch of eight nuclear submarines that would be armed with new Bulava strategic missiles.
SPENDING
Defense analysts based in Moscow say much of the extra spending has not reached the front line because of corruption or mismanagement and many weapons programs are running late.One of these is the Bulava, a submarine-launched long-range nuclear missile which Putin says will be capable of penetrating any missile defenses -- a reference to Washington's plans for a new global system to shoot down hostile rockets.The Bulava, a modified version of the land-based Topol-M, has had a checkered history with several test launch failures and is running at least two years late.The navy pronounced the latest Bulava exercise on September 18 a success, saying the missile flew from the White Sea across Russia to the Far East.Popovkin, who is also deputy defense minister, said he hoped the armed forces would accept the Bulava for service next year. Upgrading Russia's strategic nuclear forces remained a priority because they were the cornerstone of its defenses, he said.As long as we are a nuclear power, no hotheads will venture to attack our country, Popovkin said in the interview. ... We have already this year started fitting out strategic nuclear forces with the Topol-M missile, he added.Russia also plans to modernize its nuclear-capable Tupolev TU-160 supersonic strategic bombers and to fully commission the first nuclear-powered submarine to carry the Bulava missile, he added.The submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, was launched in February, six years after its original scheduled date, though it still lacks the missiles it was designed to carry.
Official: Georgian village set ablaze by militia OCT 2,08
TBILISI, Georgia - A Georgian official said South Ossetia militia raided a village in the Russian-controlled buffer zone and set buildings on fire Thursday. No injuries were reported. Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the attack occurred in Kere, in the buffer zone Russia established around the breakaway South Ossetia region following the brief war between Russia and Georgia.The raid could not be independently confirmed, but an AP Television News crew saw ambulances and fire trucks heading toward the village.European Union monitors, however, reached the preliminary conclusion that the fire was not conflict-related, said mission spokesman Juri Laas. The monitors began patrolling the buffer zone Wednesday.Adding to the confusion, the AP crew, at a Russian checkpoint just outside the buffer zone, also saw people driving away from Kere who yelled out their car windows that South Ossetia militia were approaching the village.Kere is home to 300 families, but it is not clear how many remained there after the August war.Numerous Georgian villages have been burned or raided since Russian troops invaded South Ossetia and took control of surrounding Georgian territory.
Medvedev, Merkel meet in Russia amid Georgia tensions Thu Oct 2, 3:51 AM ET
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev here Thursday as the major trading partners moved to overcome strains exacerbated by the recent war in Georgia. The leaders, accompanied by senior ministers, were also to discuss global financial turmoil and Iran's controversial nuclear programme, a senior German government official said.Germany is widely considered Russia's closest ally in Western Europe, but ties frayed when Russian troops rolled into Georgia in August after Tbilisi tried to reclaim control of the Moscow-backed rebel province South Ossetia.Merkel, who is scheduled to arrive in Russia's former imperial capital at 0845 GMT, has been sharply critical of Russia's actions in the Caucasus republic.But she has stood out in the European Union by pressing for the lines of communication with Moscow to remain open.
Thursday's talks were expected to touch on Wednesday's deployment of an EU mission charged with ensuring security as Russian forces pull back from buffer zones around South Ossetia and fellow rebel enclave Abkhazia by October 10.Since the August war, tensions over Georgia have spilled over into other areas of German-Russian cooperation.An EU summit due this month to debate the resumption of negotiations with Russia on a new partnership and cooperation pact was also on the agenda, the senior German official said.Russia last week pulled out of a meeting at the UN General Assembly of foreign ministers from Germany and four other world powers working to resolve a crisis over Iran's disputed nuclear programme.German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier scrambled to bring Moscow back to the table and the group -- which also includes Britain, China, France and the United States -- finally agreed on a new UN Security Council resolution confirming sanctions against Tehran.
Trade, however, is seen as the foundation of German-Russian relations.
Russia announced plans in 2005 for a Baltic pipeline that would become one of the main arteries carrying gas to Germany and other western European states, bypassing formerly Communist-ruled eastern bloc countries that became EU members in 2004.Some 4,600 German firms have subsidiaries in Russia and every fourth machine imported by Russia is made in Germany.German exports to Russia jumped 23 percent in the first half of this year to 15.8 billion euros (22.3 billion dollars), according to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. Russian exports to Germany in the same period totalled 16.7 billion euros.An industry delegation was to travel with Merkel, including the German energy agency president, the chief executives of chemicals behemoth BASF and engineering giant Siemens, and the head of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, which represents German exporters.Medvedev and Merkel were due to meet at 1045 GMT to be followed by a joint press conference.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE OCT 2,08
The past two newsletters dealt with the price one pays as he follows the Lord Jesus Christ. Revival goes hand-in-hand with discipleship because heart preparation is necessary if one is to walk in the Savior’s steps.The greatest verse in the Bible on the subject of revival is found 2 Chronicles 7:14. This truth, delivered to Israel centuries ago, is preeminently applicable for believers in the twentieth century. The text states, If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.The first thing a believer can do to bring the blessing of God back upon his experience is to seek humility. Pride fills the arena of Christendom today. Christian services, including evangelistic crusades, are filled with performers seeking praise. Carnal performers seek the exaltation of self. Christ isthe only one worthy of praise. Temperamental artists, charging exorbitant sums, want glory. These prima donnas must have worshippers or they will not perform. God deliver us from egotistical, haughty performers, and give us more old-fashioned, Holy Spirit filled soloists who want Christ to be uplifted. How embarrassed this crowd will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ when motives are investigated.
First Corinthians 4:5 states, Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels [or motives-Greek] of the hearts.When God tests motives in that day, many will have nothing but an incinerated pile of ashes to throw at Christ's feet in place of crowns (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).Let's see what God has to say about pride. In Proverbs 16:18 He states, Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Sir, lady-high and mighty-a destructive fall is predicted for your life and ministry. Fall on your knees and repent of this hindering sin in your life. Oh, how we need to be like Jesus who said in Matthew 11:29, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.We need the humility of John the Baptist who cried out in John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. He must be exalted and I abased. When one genuinely practices this truth, God will exalt the sincere soul. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10). God says that the way up is down to self.Glory seekers will never have the blessing and power of God upon them because God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6). Let's ask God to forgive us for the sin of thinking that we are latter day gifts to the Church. Instead, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). The glory is coming at the Judgment Seat when rewards are distributed to the faithful. Do what you can for Christ and the souls of men now, and crowns to lay at Christ's feet will be yours at that great Coronation Day.Child of God, be faithful-even when no one seems to care-For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). Remember, Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Matthew 23:12).
Prayer
Prayer is a necessity if one is to experience true revival in his heart. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).Modern Christians know little about this most effectual ministry. Jesus did. He said in Luke 18:1, Men ought always to pray and not to faint. Christ rose up early in the morning to pray (see Mark 1:35). He continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). Multitudes will rise up early to fish, ski, and golf, while others will sit up until the small hours of the morning watching vampires, witches, and bloodsuckers on Shock Theatre. How different these Christians are from Christ, after whom Christianity is named. These so-called followers need a heaven-shaking revival of body and soul.Paul, who said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ, practiced what he preached. He said, Continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12); Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18); Continue in prayer (Colossians 4:2); and Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
In other periods of American history, entire cities and counties were deluged with revival as thousands per week-up to one million total-were converted. The secret was prayer. Finney describes the times of agonizing prayer that transpired in his day in his book Revival Lectures. He states: Men prayed until their clothing was soaked through with perspiration. Some bled like Christ did in Luke 22:44. Two prayed themselves to death before the age of 40. To many it appeared as foolishness, but cities were turned upside down for Christ.Would to God that we had prayer warriors like this in every major city where the Jack Van Impe Crusades are conducted. Oh, to see a revival where sin is put out of business; where movie houses, brothels, massage parlors, and pornography dens are barricaded because the power of God, through prayer, has padlocked Satan's establishments. Christian, pray without ceasing!
Confession
Prayer, however, is meaningless without confession because God's holiness demands it. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalm 66:18). Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:1, 2). This is why 1 John 1:9 states, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and, just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Bitterness
Bitterness is the greatest sin of the hour. There is nothing in the realm of sin that is damaging the Church of Jesus Christ and destroying one's spiritual life more than bitterness. This spirit of animosity surely is not of God. If one is controlled by hatred, he certainly should question his profession of faith. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love (1 John 4:7,8).
A Spirit-filled Christian is known by the love he has for others. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22, 23).You may say, I have experienced the second work of grace. Do you have love for other believers who may not agree with your interpretation? You may say, I have spoken the heavenly language, yea the vocabulary of angels. But are you filled with love? First Corinthians 13:1 declares, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The Holy Spirit says that heavenly languages, when boasted about without the evidence of love, become nothing but manifestations of the flesh.The real evidence of the Spirit is found in verses 4-8: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not [is not jealous]; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up [hey, look at my gifts], doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked [made mad], thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.
This is the love the crucified Savior manifested at Calvary. After they battered nails into His hands and feet, jammed a crown of thorns into the flesh of His head, ripped His beard from the facial area, scourged His back and chest into mutilated shreds of flesh, then-after all their brutality was unleashed upon Him-He lovingly cried, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).Some carnal mind is already excusing self for the bitterness he holds by saying, This was Christ, and He was God. Because of His Deity He could love in the midst of hate. Our humanity limits us in loving the unlovely. Let me immediately answer you with the example of Stephen in Acts 7:51-60.This mere mortal man, filled with the Holy Spirit, manifested the same loving kindness that his Savior did upon Calvary's tree. The Scriptures picture Stephen preaching a strong, sin-denouncing sermon. The enraged crowd can't take the truth and so verse 57 says, Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Now please get verse 60: And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Think of it ...as they stoned him to death crushed his head with rocks-he asked his Lord not to hold them accountable for what they had done. Verse 55 tells us why his heart was so filled with love-he was filled with the Holy Spirit. There is the evidence.A man can talk about every experience in the book and still be a trouble-making church-wrecker, but when the Spirit is truly in control, he won't have to prove it. Instead, the love that flows from his heart to the saved and lost will indicate that the blessed Spirit of God is at the helm of his life. When the world sees this love in the Christian, a genuine moving of God will take place.
FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE
Looking Through the Window
Have you ever heard the old gospel song that says, This world is not my home, I'm just 'a passin' through ... ? Lately that's how I've been feeling - like a stranger in a strange land. I'm completely out of step with a world filled with child abuse, wife abuse, animal abuse ... with a world filled with hatred, violence, war, and famine. I can't adjust my mind and heart to a place where many people accept no responsibility for their actions and feel no remorse for the bad things they do to others.Nor am I able emotionally to cope with the throngs of homeless people on the streets of major metropolitan areas. It's one thing to watch the news and hear statistics about the down-and-out people living in alleys and under bridges - something else altogether to meet these unfortunate ones face to face and look into their eyes. While in Toronto, my heart was abruptly opened to the real tragedy of homeless people.One night Jack and I went to dinner in a downtown area and decided to walk back to our hotel several blocks away. Our route took us past Eaton Center - an enclosed mall which is open late, with people milling around inside until all hours. We started across a busy intersection near a major department store, amazed at the throngs of people out and about so late at night. Jack and I have always felt very safe in this wonderful Canadian city.
Before we made it across the intersection, a beautiful young girl we'd passed on the corner came running after us. She came up behind me and fell into step. Hello there, she said. Where are you going? Well, my husband and I have been to dinner and we're on our way back to our hotel, I said, noticing that she seemed to be one of the homeless crowd. Her face was smudged, and her clothing wrinkled and soiled. But I went ahead and asked, Are you going home? Oh, no, she responded, I am home! And she pointed to the streets.We walked the final step or two across the street and stepped up on the sidewalk - beside the department store, its window ablaze with a display of television sets and video equipment. The girl touched my arm and peered up into my face and Jack's. I told my friends who you were, she said. It was obvious she seemed to recognize us.Sometimes at night when I can't sleep, she continued, motioning toward the display of TV sets, I look through the window and watch you!
As soon as she said it, she was gone, running, back to her friends on the street. Then a rush of people gathered behind and carried Jack and me on down the block. I looked back but I never caught sight of her again.But I will never forget the touch of her hand and her simple words that seemed to bring the whole burden of her desperate situation crashing down upon my heart. I look through the window and watch you, she said.How I wished I could have held her hand and brought her along with me, to tell her she could have a better life. I have no idea what she had run away from or where she was trying to go. I do know that life on the streets so often ends in tragedy. If only I could have a little more time to talk with her, I would tell her about God's love, about the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.I feel almost compelled to go back to Toronto soon and spend some time in the area where I first saw her. I can only hope the Lord will allow me to find her and spend some time witnessing to her. Somehow, my heart is so impacted by her words that I just can't let go until I've at least tried to find her again.For days now the Lord has been impressing upon my mind the fact that there are countless other people floundering in life who are looking through the window of our lives, seeking for answers and hope. Oh, you may not be on TV like Jack Van Impe and I, but your life, your light, is on view to someone trying to find a better way.What would people see if they looked through the window at you? Are you living a life like Christ, filled with love, joy, peace, and purity?
Is the glass of that window dingy and soil-streaked, or is it bright and clear, clean and sparkling? When someone who has lost their way looks through your window, can they see Jesus in you? Or is what you claim blurred by who you are and how you act? Since I met that homeless girl who said she looked through the window and watched me, I've been checking up on myself. The Lord has given me three checkpoints:
1. Living the life.
The great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, cried out, I'm going to live the life I sing about in my song! The life we live for God must be the same on Tuesday as on Sunday. We must treat our family and neighbors, the people at work and in the marketplace, the same way we treat the people at church when everybody is watching. I promise you that the way you act when you think nobody is looking is exactly what someone will see when they look through your window!
2. Offering a pure and simple testimony.
The most effective testimony is simply to uplift Jesus - He will do the rest. We do not have to know scores of scripture verses, or be able to explain the complexities of doctrine. All that is necessary is to say, This is what Jesus has done for me. As one great Christian described it, Our witness is really just one beggar telling another where to find bread" - the Bread of life!
3. Being consistent.
A nursery rhyme describes a little girl who, when she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. Have you ever known a person who, on one day, was helpful and kind ... and on the next was cranky as can be? What does this kind of erratic behavior say about the depth and validity of our Christian experience? Our Lord is described as Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And we are to be like Him!Being on television these last several years has been a real challenge and amazement to me. One thing I've learned is that the TV camera sees through our facades and reveals us as we really are to the view of the people. On screen you simply can't hide who you are. I believe this is why people say so often, I know you. I've seen you on TV! I can never forget that the Lord has His divine TV camera on us all the time. He looks past our outer front and sees inside us to our very heart and soul. Lord, help me to live for You consistently.Although I know our programs are seen throughout the United States and Canada, and in numerous places overseas, it still boggles my mind to consider the numbers of people and the kinds of individuals in different walks of life who are being reached and touched by the program.
I could never have imagined a homeless street girl going up to a department store window late at night to watch Jack and me on TV through the glass. I hope and pray that something she saw and heard will stay with her ... and that God and His wonderful grace will reach her.On that day when we stand before the Lord, this young woman will discover that she need not stand outside on the sidewalk wistfully watching through a glass. For as her eyes catch a glimpse of Jesus and she reaches out to take His hand, He will throw open that window and make it a door - a grand entrance through which she can walk freely into His presence.
Waiting to go home
Never in my life have I felt more of a longing for the coming of the Lord than in recent days. Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace. I long to see Him and feel His arms wrapped around me. I can't wait to hear His voice saying, Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant! Oh, how I pray that my life will allow this salutation to be so.The Apostle Paul wrote, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). How wonderful that will be.God is so good to me even here in this life. His presence never leaves me, and I take joy in intimately communing with the Holy Spirit inside my heart. But more and more I feel a strange longing to be in heaven. And I sense that time is running out. Our Lord Jesus is coming soon.First Corinthians 13:12 says, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.But until then, I will keep on keeping on. I will try to use all my time, all my talents, all my opportunities to shine out the story of Jesus to help all who may be looking through the window of my life. With God's help, I will keep on living the life of love, joy, peace, and purity. I will keep on giving my pure and simple testimony about what the Lord has done for me. And I will endeavor to be consistent in my living for Jesus, daily keeping the window glass, looking into my life, clean and unsmudged.You can do it, too, God will help you. Join me in making a new commitment to Christ's commission and calling. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mathew 5:16).
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU OCT 02,2008
09:30 AM -15.47
10:00 AM -180.40
10:30 AM -211.47
11:00 AM -225.28
11:30 AM -255.19
12:00 PM -228.27
12:30 PM -252.80
01:00 PM -270.64
01:30 PM -283.87
02:00 PM -268.65
02:30 PM -317.00
03:00 PM -292.79
03:30 PM -333.81
04:00 PM -348.62 10482.45
S&P 500 1114.24 -46.82
NAS 1976.72 -92.68
GOLD 840.7 -46.6
OIL 93.83 -4.70
Details of what the EU is proposing
ReutersPublished: October 2, 2008
With a U.S.-style rescue package unlikely for the Continent, European leaders have offered a number of other proposals to cope with the effect of the financial crisis on the European Union. The following are among the ideas the EU is considering:
Strengthen bank capital
The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Wednesday proposed tougher capital requirements for banks so they could better withstand rocky markets, particularly to back up riskier operations like turning some forms of debt into securities.
Overhaul credit-rating agencies
The commission, which has blamed the agencies for failing to identify the pitfalls in securitized debt that rapidly lost its value, is expected to propose mandatory oversight of the sector.
Improve oversight
The commission has already proposed a system for overseeing cross-border insurers. It is set to be adopted into law by year-end. The proposal Wednesday for tougher bank capital requirements will also include a similar oversight plan for banks.
Ease accounting rules
EU leaders will look at whether they should ease the mark-to-market accounting rule that requires banks to price their assets frequently at current market values, a rule that some critics blame for requiring unnecessarily huge write-downs. The United States is considering a similar change even as many professionals defend the standards as the only way to require financial institutions to acknowledge losses.
EU-wide supervision
Some officials are calling for more radical changes to what is still essentially a national system of banking supervision. French officials have called for a European policeman to supervise banks and insurers. Many leaders have been impressed with how the European Central Bank intervened early in the credit crunch and would like to see it have a major role in some form of new pan-EU mechanism to oversee the financial sector. Past attempts to centralize supervision have floundered because some countries, notably Britain, do not want to give up regulatory sovereignty.
Curbs on short-selling
With many EU countries already putting in place various curbs on short-selling, or bets that shares will decline, there are calls to keep them in place for longer.
Rein in compensation
Various leaders, including President Nicholas Sarkozy of France and Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister and finance minister of Luxembourg, have called for limits on big bonuses received by bankers. The European Commission issued guidelines in 2004 recommending that executives publish their salaries or explain why they would not do so. It also recommended that shareholders have a say in executive pay. Only the Netherlands has applied the guidelines.
France and Germany at odds over EU Paulson Plan
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:51 CET
France believes EU-level measures may have to be cobbled together to aid banks in smaller member states, while denying rumours of a €300 billion package. But Germany has indicated it would not support any European big-bang deal.French finance minister Christine Lagarde has told a German paper that a safety net would be needed to support smaller countries in Europe threatened with banking failures.What happens if a smaller EU state is hit by a looming bank collapse? Maybe this country does not have the means to save the bank, she told the Handelsblatt in an interview published on Thursday (2 October). Therefore the question of a European safety net solution comes up.The safety package may be presented by French President Nicholas Sarkozy at a 4 October meeting between himself, the prime ministers of Germany, Italy and the UK, as well as Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet.Rumours of the sums that should be attached to such a package have swirled around Europe, but Ms Lagarde has denied a widely reported figure of €300 billion.Speaking at a Paris event on Wednesday evening, the French finance minister denied that France was planning the major cash injection.There is no such thing. There is nothing of the sort, she told reporters, according to the Reuters news agency.Elsewhere, reports have appeared suggesting the Netherlands is the source of the €300 billion proposal. The country quickly denied this was the case.But any suggestion of a European version of US treasury secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion bail-out plan for Wall Street is being stiffly resisted by Berlin.The idea of applying one solution, one big bang ... is not practicable and would create new, enormous problems, German finance ministry spokesperson Torsten Albig told reporters yesterday in Berlin.Germany does not think much of such a plan, he said, according to AFP.In an interview with German daily Bild, Chancellor Angela Merkel said she opposed writing blank cheques for banks.
Level-playing field
France's Ms Lagarde did however say that there needed to be a level playing field for accounting rules across Europe when speaking to the BBC on Thursday. And she repeated France's call for stricter regulation of the financial sector.Clearly there needs to be better discipline, more measure and more reason, the minister said. Sanctions need to be taken so that implementation of the rules is achieved.The words echo her comments in the Handelsblatt interview, in which she said she thinks it's more needed than ever to regulate hedge funds, but admitted there is a lot of resistance to such a move. In the same interview, she said she also wants an early warning mechanism, so that when a bank gets in trouble, the ECB is warned right away and a crisis unit is set up immediately.
Poland less at risk
In separate news, the head of the Polish national bank, Sawomir Skrzypek, stressed that as bad as things are in the western financial sector, his country was in a much safer position.Poland will be among those states which will feel the effects of the global market events much more gently, he told Gazeta Wyborcza.Our banking regulations are in many ways more strict than in other countries, he said.
ECB liquidity injections not working
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:27 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The billions of euros the European Central Bank has been injecting into money markets since the start of the crisis in an attempt to get banks to start loaning money to each other and other businesses is not working.
Instead, banks are redepositing some of the monies back with the ECB itself - over €100 billion overnight as of Tuesday (30 September - the latest available figures) - as they are worried that the central bank is the last safe place left to stash their cash.As of last Tuesday (23 September), banks had parked €1.4 billion with the ECB's deposit facility. By Thursday, the figure had climbed to €4.2 billion and jumping to €28 billion the next day. On Monday, banks were now depositing €44 billion with the ECB and as of yesterday, the latest figures available, the cash placed with the bank for safekeeping had more than doubled to €102.8 billion.An official with the ECB told the EUobserver that never before had this happened. It's very strange that banks are doing this.If you didn't have the economic turmoil in the back of your mind, you would think this is an uneconomic decision, the official said, explaining that banks are borrowing from the ECB at a rate of 4.8 percent but when they deposit the same money back in Frankfurt, they are only earning 3.8 percent.So they're losing money, the official said. The deposit facility is not meant for parking your money. It's meant as a last resort when a bank can't do anything else with its money. It shows that there's no trust, no confidence out there, the official continued. They're thinking if they're going to lose money, at least parked at the ECB is the safest way to lose it.Joking blackly, the official said: At least the ECB is making some money on these transactions.
House girds for 2nd try on financial rescue By CHARLES BABINGTON and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers OCT 2,08
WASHINGTON - House members are getting another chance to vote on a financial bailout bill that has infuriated millions of voters after the Senate added tax cuts and other sweeteners and passed it handily. Senators advanced the much-criticized measure in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday, sending it to the other side of the Capitol for a showdown vote expected Friday. The move was calculated to win over enough dissenting House members to get the bill through and reverse Monday's stunning defeat in the House. Party leaders there planned to press rank-and-file members Thursday for the dozen converts they believe they need.President Bush will continue lobbying, too, with the argument that businesses are having a tough time financing operations and payroll and need help. A day ahead of the House vote, Bush called business leaders to the White House on Thursday to make his case for the $700-billion package.The president will note how important it is to pass the financial rescue legislation to help to free up credit in our economy, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. These business owners know the consequences if the situation gets worse, so the crisis is urgent for these businesses.On another front, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, urged people to remain calm.
I think overall the banking system remains very sound so that's why I think it's so important for everybody to keep their head, commission Chairman Sheila Bair said on C-SPAN. What I don't want is to see otherwise healthy institutions start to get into trouble just because of liquidity pressure ... Wall Street should be taking their cue from Main Street right now. Main Street deposits are staying there.But the drumbeat of bad news rattled on, nevertheless. A government report said that orders to U.S. factories plunged by the largest amount in nearly two years as the credit strains smashed manufacturers with hurricane-like force.Stocks declined on Wall Street early Thursday after the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seven-year high. The Dow Jones industrials fell by about 135 points, their fourth straight triple-digit move.The bailout package was never in danger in the Senate. Senators instead played catalysts for the House, adding tax provisions popular with the left and right in a bid that House leaders hope — but cannot guarantee — will persuade enough of the House rank-and-file to switch from nay to aye on a highly contentious bill a month before Election Day.They were especially targeting the 133 House Republicans who voted against the package.Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif., said Thursday he will vote for the bill, as he did Monday, despite some misgivings.I will tell you, the American people are angy and frustrated, he said on ABC's Good Morning America, saying he's been hearing messages like the woman who said she was concerned about getting access to a student loan for her daughter.Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat, said on the same program that she plans to vote no.
I will not support this legislation because it's the wrong medicine, she said. Kaptur argued that the problem should be solved by the market itself, not through governmental intervention.After the Senate vote, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said, We've sent a clear message to Americans all over that we will not let this economy fail. This is not a piece of legislation for lower Manhattan. This is legislation for all America.The rescue package would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.To some degree, at least, House GOP opposition appeared to be easing as the Senate added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.House Republicans also welcomed a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market. There were worries, though, that the tax breaks might cause some conservative-leaning Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it because the revised version would swell the federal deficit. I'm concerned about that, said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the Democratic leader. The Senate-backed package extends several tax breaks popular with businesses. It would keep the alternative minimum tax from hitting 20 million middle-income Americans. And it would provide $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana. Leaders in both parties, as well as private economic chiefs almost everywhere, said Congress must quickly approve some version of the bailout measure to start loans flowing and stave off a potential national economic disaster. But critics on the right and left assailed the rescue plan, which has been panned by their constituents as a giveaway for Wall Street with little obvious benefit for ordinary Americans. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a leading conservative, said the step was leading us into the pit of socialism.But proponents argued that the financial sector's woes already were being felt by ordinary people in the form of unaffordable credit and underperforming retirement savings. Still, they said voters were unlikely to reward those who vote for the measure.
There will be no balloons or bunting or parades when the rescue becomes law, said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman. Tax cuts new and old are favorites for most House Republicans. Help for rural schools was aimed mainly at lawmakers in the West, while disaster aid was a top priority for lawmakers from across the Midwest and South. Another addition, to extend the deductibility of state and local taxes for people in states without income taxes, helps Florida and Texas, among others. Increasing the deposit insurance cap was a bid to reassure individuals and small businesses that their money would be safe in the event their banks collapsed. It was particularly geared toward small banks that fear customers will pull their money and park it in larger institutions seen as less likely to fold. The Senate vote lacked the drama of Monday's House vote, but it had its celebrity moments. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, came off the campaign trail to vote for the package, thrilling tourists who glimpsed them in the Capitol's corridors and drawing hordes of reporters and photographers.AP White House Correspondent Terence Hunt contributed to this story.
Stocks decline on unemployment, factory reports By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer OCT 2,08
NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled and credit markets remained tight Thursday after plunging factor orders and a seven-year high in jobless claims stoked fear that the government's financial rescue plan might not be enough to ward off a recession. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 300 points, their fourth straight triple-digit move. Stocks fell at the opening, then gathered downward momentum after the government reported that the number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week and that demand at the nation's factories has fallen by the largest amount in nearly two years.The market is interpreting the Commerce Department report on factories as a sign that tight credit conditions are hitting manufacturers.The readings came as Wall Street tried to determine what might come of the government's rescue package, which is supported by President Bush and leaders of both parties. A House vote could come as soon as Friday. A version of the bill that the Senate passed in a 74-25 vote late Wednesday added $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class. It also raised the limit on federal deposit insurance to $250,000 from $100,000.Supporters are hoping the sweetened bill will be more palatable to some of the 133 House Republicans who rejected the measure in a vote Monday that took Wall Street, and many on Capitol Hill, by surprise.Those in favor of the plan to let the government buy billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt and other now-toxic assets say it will help unclog the world's ailing credit markets. Banks are fearful of making loans, even to each other, because of worries they won't be repaid. That, in turn, is weighing on the economy, making borrowing more difficult and expensive for businesses and consumers alike.
Following the economic reports, the credit markets showed some increased strain. The yield on the 3-month T-bill, the safest type of investment, fell to 0.78 percent from 0.79 percent late Wednesday. The historically low yields indicate investors are willing to accept the smallest of returns to safeguard their money.The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.67 percent from 3.74 percent late Wednesday.The Dow fell 302.42, or 2.79 percent, to 10,528.65. The blue chips plunged nearly 778 points Monday, logged a partial rebound Tuesday and finished moderately lower Wednesday.Broader stock indicators also fell Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 36.67, or 3.16 percent, to 1,124.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 66.77, or 3.23 percent, to 2,002.63.The Labor Department's report that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 497,000 unnerved investors worried about not only about strains in the financial market but also the effect on the broader economy.
Analysts had been expecting unemployment claims would fall to 475,000; instead, the level of jobless claims is the highest seen since the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.The well-being of the labor market is a key concern for investors as rising unemployment could further dent consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.While the figures reflect about 45,000 claims from Texas and Louisiana following the landfall last month of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the increase nonetheless unnerved investors worried that the economy is suffering while Washington tries to shore up the financial system with the bailout.Beyond employment, orders for manufactured goods fell by 4 percent in August from July. Economists had expected a 2.5 percent decline. It is the biggest drop since a 4.8 percent decline in October 2006.The dollar was higher against other major currencies, particularly the euro, even after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged. Higher interest rates in Europe generally make the euro more attractive to investors than the dollar.Light, sweet crude fell $3.70 to $94.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Shares of General Electric Co., one of the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials, fell $2.41, or 9.8 percent, to $22.09 after the conglomerate said it was pricing an offering of 547.8 million shares at $22.25 apiece. The offering price is 9 percent below where the stock ended Wednesday. The company said it would sell the shares Wednesday as it announced that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. would buy $3 billion worth of GE preferred shares. GE, which draws nearly half its profits from its finance business, is reducing how much money it draws from the commercial paper market — the now largely frozen well where many companies turn to raise money for day-to-day expenses. Wall Street found some room for optimism, however, after Swiss bank UBS said Thursday it expects to turn a a small profit in the third quarter after a string of losses. The forecast from the company, which has taken billions of dollars in mortgage-related write-downs, stirred hopes that some banks' troubles could be on the mend. UBS rose 24 cents to $19.19. Declining issues led advancers by a 3 to 1 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 378.4 million shares. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.88 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.12 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 2.40 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 1.77 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Magnitude-4.1 quake shakes San Bernardino County OCT 2,08
YUCAIPA, Calif. - A small-to-moderate earthquake has shaken San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, but there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The magnitude-4.1 temblor struck at 2:41 a.m. Thursday. It was centered 6 miles northeast of Yucaipa and occurred at a depth of about 6 miles, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey.San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller says there has been no word of injuries or damage.Yucaipa is a city of about 50,000 people about 70 miles east of Los Angeles.There have been at least eight quakes of magnitude-4.0 or bigger in California this year. Quakes of this size can sometimes produce local damage like broken windows near the epicenter.
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.
29 Algerians die, dozens hurt in flash floods By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer OCT 2,08
ALGIERS, Algeria - Torrential rains in the Algerian Sahara created flash floods that killed 29 people and injured dozens more in a historic oasis region, officials in the North African nation said Thursday. Hundreds of people had to be rescued by helicopter and up to 600 houses were destroyed in the rains Tuesday and Wednesday around the medieval town of Ghardaia, the official APS news agency said. Security services and the military were helping in the rescue operations.Following these floods, we can sadly declare that 29 people have died, Ali Belkhir, the country's head of public health, told national radio.An Interior Ministry statement later confirmed the death toll of 29 and said another person was still missing. While Belkhir said 84 people had been injured, the Interior Ministry lowered that number to 48, including three people in serious condition in the hospital.Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni had initially reported 13 dead after flying over the zone. Radio reports said there could be more damage in outlying oasis towns.Phone lines to the area were disrupted Thursday, and local officials could not be reached for comment.
Ghardaia, 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of Algiers, is the seat of the Mozabite people, who practice a form of dissident Islam unique to their region. It lies on the edges of the Sahara Desert in a long and narrow valley known as the M'zab, which is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.The storms this week caused a local wadi _or seasonal river that remains dry for most of the year — to rise at some points by 8 meters (26 feet) within hours, APS said.In neighboring Morocco, the MAP news agency reported that two people drowned and several were missing in similar floods near the southern city of Marrakech.
Tropical Storm Marie moving westward in Pacific Thu Oct 2, 5:02 AM ET
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Marie is moving westward in the Pacific on a path that's taking it farther away from Mexico's coast. Marie's maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph and the National Hurricane Center in Miami says some strengthening is possible Thursday.The storm is centered about 735 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California early Thursday. Marie is moving west near 12mph.
Vietnam's death toll from storm rises to 8 Thu Oct 2, 3:15 AM ET
HANOI, Vietnam - The bodies of two children and three fishermen were recovered in central Vietnam, raising the death toll from Tropical Storm Mekkhala to eight with eight others still missing and feared dead, disaster officials said Thursday. The bodies of the 5-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy were found Wednesday after they were washed away from their house in Ha Tinh province, disaster official Nguyen Khoa Thanh said. Rescuers also recovered the bodies of three fishermen in Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces, where four others remained missing after the storm sank their boats, provincial officials said.Four people remained unaccounted for in Thanh Hoa province, disaster official Do Minh Chinh said.Mekkhala slammed into Vietnam's central coast Tuesday morning before moving to Laos later the same day.The storm, packing winds of 55 mph, destroyed or blew the roofs off of hundreds of houses and sank dozens of boats. It also triggered heavy rains across the region.Mekkhala hit as northern Vietnam was still recovering from Typhoon Hagupit, which struck last Thursday. Floods triggered by the typhoon killed 41 people and caused an estimated $65 million in damage.Another tropical storm, Higos, was churning across Vietnamese maritime territory toward China's Hainan island on Thursday and threatening hundreds of fishermen stuck at sea, said disaster official Nguyen Ngoc Dien of Quang Binh province.We are not allowing people to go fishing at the moment, Dien said.Higos was not expected to hit the Vietnamese mainland directly.Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai urged the Foreign Ministry to contact countries in the region to allow Vietnamese fishermen in the storm's path to take shelter, the national committee on floods and storms control said.Vietnam is prone to floods and storms that kill hundreds of people each year.
October hurricane-watch should be active: forecasters Wed Oct 1, 1:40 PM ET
MIAMI (AFP) - October should be more active than usual in the Atlantic hurricane belt, with three named storms expected to form -- including two hurricanes, one of them major -- forecasters said Wednesday. Colorado State University forecasters said the tropical storm formation rate for the month was likely to be almost twice the October average.In September, twelve tropical storms formed, six of them gaining hurricane strength and three of those rising to at least category-three, strong enough to be considered a major hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson scale measures hurricanes on a 1-5 rising scale.We expect the month of October to be quite active. We continue to observe low sea level pressures and warm sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic, said Phil Klotzbach, lead author of the forecast.A combination of these two factors typically leads to an active October. In addition, we continue to observe neutral ENSO conditions in the tropical Pacific, so we do not expect that ENSO conditions will be detrimental to this year's October activity, he added.We predict that October will be quite active based on climate signals through September, added William Gray, who has been forecasting hurricanes at the same university for a quarter century.The (north) Atlantic hurricane season stretches for six months, from June 1 to November 30. September and October are considered the peak of the season.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Bahrain activists slam FM call for grouping of Arabs and Israel OCT 2,08
MANAMA (AFP) - Lawmakers and opposition activists in Bahrain on Thursday slammed the foreign minister of the Gulf state, a staunch US ally, after he called for a regional grouping of Arabs and historic foe Israel. The minister should revoke his remarks... If he doesn't, he will have to answer members of parliament, Jalal Fayruz, an MP for the opposition Islamic National Accord Association (INAA), the main Shiite political formation, told AFP.Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa proposed the creation of the regional bloc, which would also include Iran and Turkey, in an interview published on Wednesday.Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organisation, he was quoted as saying by the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.Aren't we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not (come together) on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There's no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years.Bahrain hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet and has a free trade agreement with Washington.Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa met Israeli officials during World Economic Forum summits in 2000 and 2003, while Sheikh Khaled met Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni at the United Nations last year.
But political groupings in Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a Shiite majority, oppose any normalisation of ties with Israel.Sheikh Khaled's proposal serves US plans to integrate Israel in the region, said Muslim Brotherhood MP Nasser al-Fadhala.Ibrahim al-Sharif, secretary general of the National Democratic Action Association (NDAA), an opposition alliance of leftists and pan-Arab nationalists, said parliament must hold the minister accountable.The minister must make clear if his remarks represent official policy or are a personal view, he told AFP.Hasan Madan of the leftist Democratic Progressive Forum Association said: With Israel occupying Arab lands and no prospect (of a breakthrough) in its negotiations with the Palestinians, bringing Israel into an organisation with the Arabs will encourage further aggression and occupation.Political associations act as de facto parties in Bahrain, where political parties remain banned.
Mideast peace meet planned for November Thu Oct 2, 4:55 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel, the Palestinians and the Middle East Quartet will meet in November to review progress in US-backed peace talks launched nearly a year ago, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday. Citing a senior official in Jerusalem, the paper reported that the meeting would be held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on November 27, the one-year anniversary of the US conference that relaunched the negotiations.The two sides formally revived the peace process after a seven-year hiatus under the auspices of the Quartet, which groups the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.The negotiations have made little visible progress since then however, despite Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's joint pledge to try to reach a full agreement by the end of 2008.An Israeli official confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity that such a meeting was in the works.During this meeting, the date and place of which have not yet been established, Israelis and Palestinians will for the first time present a summary of their agreements and differences, the official said.At last month's UN General Assembly, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the Quartet had expressed interest in such a conference but had not yet agreed on a firm date.The two sides remain deeply divided on the core issues of the decades-old conflict, including the future status of Jerusalem, the fate of some 4.6 million Palestinian refugees, and continuing Israeli settlement activity.
The talks were dealt a further blow last month when Olmert resigned amid a series of corruption allegations, plunging the Jewish state into what could be months of political turmoil and uncertainty.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been heading the negotiations, is now struggling to cobble together a new governing coalition in a bid to avoid early general elections which could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.
Israeli commander says settler violence rising Thu Oct 2, 3:08 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - The Israeli military commander in charge of the occupied West Bank said settler violence against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers was on the rise in what he called a grave phenomenon.There has been a rise in Jewish violence in Judea and Samaria, Major General Gadi Shamni said in an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper published on Thursday, using the biblical name for the West Bank.In the past, only a few dozen individuals took part in such activity, but today that number has grown into the hundreds. That's a very significant change... It's a very grave phenomenon, he said.In recent weeks settlers have stepped up attacks against both the Israeli soldiers who are charged with protecting them and against Palestinians.
In perhaps the most graphic incident, a mob of Jewish settlers rampaged through a West Bank village in September after an intruder stabbed and wounded a young boy and set a mobile home on fire in a nearby settlement.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sharply criticised the incident, in which several Palestinians were shot and wounded, vowing that Israel would not tolerate pogroms in the occupied territories.Many in Israel were similarly shocked when prominent historian Zeev Sternhell, a staunch critic of the settlement movement, was wounded a week ago in a pipe bomb attack officials blamed on right-wing extremists.Referring to the attacks in the West Bank, Shamni insisted that the territory is today a relatively secure area and that the feeling of the Jewish population overall is excellent.The majority of people here act normally. We're talking about a hard core of a few hundred activists among some 300,000 Jews who live beyond the Green Line, he said, referring to the frontier between Israel and the West Bank.But what this bunch does is causing tremendous damage, both to the image of the IDF (Israeli army) and to the state of Israel, he said. This is harming our ability to carry out security missions in the territories.
The presence of more than 270,000 Jewish settlers in communities scattered across the West Bank is one of the main obstacles confronting the US-backed Middle East peace process formally relaunched in November.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
EU PEACEKEEPERS TO LEAVE BOSNIA
http://euobserver.com/9/26848
EU TO DEPLOY TROOPS TO SOMALIA AGAINST PIRATES
http://euobserver.com/9/26850
NATO and EU to pool helicopters and air carriers
VALENTINA POP Today OCT 2,08 @ 09:35 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Both the EU and NATO seek to pool their defence capabilities drawn from the same European countries, after having experienced similar shortfalls in helicopters and air carriers in their missions in Chad and Afghanistan.The idea has been championed by the French EU presidency, which hopes to see several concrete initiatives adopted in November by EU defence ministers.At an informal EU defence minister meeting in Deauville on Wednesday (1 October), France obtained the backing of several member states for initiatives such as setting up a trust fund to upgrade Europe's helicopter fleet to make up for shortfalls in helicopters and transport aircraft needed for quick and effective EU deployments abroad. The final decision will be taken at a formal defence ministers' summit in Brussels on 10 November.The shortfall in helicopters was already highlighted on Monday, when General Patrick Nash, the operational commander of the EU mission in Chad told a press conference in Brussels that four helicopters might be soon borrowed from Russia, with talks being at a very advanced stage.Yet the problem is not unique to the EU mission, as NATO and the United Nations experience similar challenges.General James Mattis, in charge of NATO's capability development and transformation, recently met his EU counterpart, the chief executive of the European Defence Agency, Alexander Weis, in order to find areas of common interest, such as helicopter and airlift capabilities.
In regards to airlift, helicopters, medical transports – whether it is an EU mission to Darfur or a NATO mission somewhere else, we just need those capabilities, General Mattis told journalists at a briefing on Wednesday during NATO Industry Day, which took place in Brussels. He also stressed that when the EU and NATO draw on troops, they do it from the same population of forces, which means that the two entities need to look for solutions that resonate with each other, not contradict each other.
We're not a the point right now where the EU and NATO are working that closely, although they're starting, General Mattis said.
The French connection
Yet France might play a pivotal role in this regard, with President Nicolas Sarkozy setting the improvement of EU defence capabilities as a precondition for his country to rejoin NATO's military structure, which is expected to take place at NATO's 60th anniversary summit in April next year. French defence minister Herve Morin proved his commitment to pool EU military capabilities even when asked if the current global financial crisis will have an impact on the member states in terms of defence spending.There are two ways you can face an economic crisis, when you have reduction in state revenue, Mr Morin said on Wednesday after the ministers meeting in Deauville. One is to say, let's forget everything and say there is nothing we can do in the future. The other reaction is to say, we may have less available, so let's pool our resources. That's a more intelligent response, surely. Let's share we've got, if we are going to have less," he urged.
Boeing for NATO, Airbus for EU
While the French defence minister was unveiling in Dauville a plan to lend Airbus A400M transport planes between EU countries or to create a multinational fleet at their disposal, in Brussels 10 NATO countries plus Sweden and Finland signed a deal to jointly buy and operate three Boeing C-17 carriers. This NATO initiative, called Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) will support operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, as well as other national missions, including EU and UN missions, Peter Flory, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment said in a press release.The 10 NATO members involved in SAC are Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States, while the planes are to be placed at the Hungarian air base Papa early next year.
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 have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
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.
Russia to deploy new nuclear missile By Michael Stott OCT 2,08
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia hopes to deploy a new nuclear missile next year designed to penetrate anti-missile defenses and will build eight submarines to carry it, defense officials said on Thursday. The latest statements underline Moscow's determination to upgrade its nuclear strike forces on land, sea and air. They are regarded by Russian commanders as the cornerstone of the country's defenses.Colonel-General Vladimir Popovkin, head of armaments for the Russian armed forces, told the Defense Ministry newspaper Red Star that Russia's recent war with Georgia compels us to rethink the current state of the armed forces and how they should develop further.
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have both pledged to extend Russia's recent military build-up with extra funds to buy new, high-tech arms. On Wednesday, Putin announced an extra $3.1 billion of spending next year, partly to replace equipment lost in the Georgia war.Despite the billions of dollars spent on them since Putin came to power as president in 2000, Russia's 1 million-strong armed forces remain poorly equipped, badly paid and reliant on a large proportion of unwilling conscripts.The deputy commander in chief of the Russian navy, Admiral Alexander Tatarinov, said on Thursday that by 2015 Moscow would build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines to carry a new, nuclear-capable strategic missile.The navy has gone over to building ships and nuclear submarines by the batch, Tatarinov told Interfax news agency.A new state armaments program includes a plan to build a batch of eight nuclear submarines that would be armed with new Bulava strategic missiles.
SPENDING
Defense analysts based in Moscow say much of the extra spending has not reached the front line because of corruption or mismanagement and many weapons programs are running late.One of these is the Bulava, a submarine-launched long-range nuclear missile which Putin says will be capable of penetrating any missile defenses -- a reference to Washington's plans for a new global system to shoot down hostile rockets.The Bulava, a modified version of the land-based Topol-M, has had a checkered history with several test launch failures and is running at least two years late.The navy pronounced the latest Bulava exercise on September 18 a success, saying the missile flew from the White Sea across Russia to the Far East.Popovkin, who is also deputy defense minister, said he hoped the armed forces would accept the Bulava for service next year. Upgrading Russia's strategic nuclear forces remained a priority because they were the cornerstone of its defenses, he said.As long as we are a nuclear power, no hotheads will venture to attack our country, Popovkin said in the interview. ... We have already this year started fitting out strategic nuclear forces with the Topol-M missile, he added.Russia also plans to modernize its nuclear-capable Tupolev TU-160 supersonic strategic bombers and to fully commission the first nuclear-powered submarine to carry the Bulava missile, he added.The submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, was launched in February, six years after its original scheduled date, though it still lacks the missiles it was designed to carry.
Official: Georgian village set ablaze by militia OCT 2,08
TBILISI, Georgia - A Georgian official said South Ossetia militia raided a village in the Russian-controlled buffer zone and set buildings on fire Thursday. No injuries were reported. Interior Ministry spokesman Shota Utiashvili said the attack occurred in Kere, in the buffer zone Russia established around the breakaway South Ossetia region following the brief war between Russia and Georgia.The raid could not be independently confirmed, but an AP Television News crew saw ambulances and fire trucks heading toward the village.European Union monitors, however, reached the preliminary conclusion that the fire was not conflict-related, said mission spokesman Juri Laas. The monitors began patrolling the buffer zone Wednesday.Adding to the confusion, the AP crew, at a Russian checkpoint just outside the buffer zone, also saw people driving away from Kere who yelled out their car windows that South Ossetia militia were approaching the village.Kere is home to 300 families, but it is not clear how many remained there after the August war.Numerous Georgian villages have been burned or raided since Russian troops invaded South Ossetia and took control of surrounding Georgian territory.
Medvedev, Merkel meet in Russia amid Georgia tensions Thu Oct 2, 3:51 AM ET
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel was to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev here Thursday as the major trading partners moved to overcome strains exacerbated by the recent war in Georgia. The leaders, accompanied by senior ministers, were also to discuss global financial turmoil and Iran's controversial nuclear programme, a senior German government official said.Germany is widely considered Russia's closest ally in Western Europe, but ties frayed when Russian troops rolled into Georgia in August after Tbilisi tried to reclaim control of the Moscow-backed rebel province South Ossetia.Merkel, who is scheduled to arrive in Russia's former imperial capital at 0845 GMT, has been sharply critical of Russia's actions in the Caucasus republic.But she has stood out in the European Union by pressing for the lines of communication with Moscow to remain open.
Thursday's talks were expected to touch on Wednesday's deployment of an EU mission charged with ensuring security as Russian forces pull back from buffer zones around South Ossetia and fellow rebel enclave Abkhazia by October 10.Since the August war, tensions over Georgia have spilled over into other areas of German-Russian cooperation.An EU summit due this month to debate the resumption of negotiations with Russia on a new partnership and cooperation pact was also on the agenda, the senior German official said.Russia last week pulled out of a meeting at the UN General Assembly of foreign ministers from Germany and four other world powers working to resolve a crisis over Iran's disputed nuclear programme.German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier scrambled to bring Moscow back to the table and the group -- which also includes Britain, China, France and the United States -- finally agreed on a new UN Security Council resolution confirming sanctions against Tehran.
Trade, however, is seen as the foundation of German-Russian relations.
Russia announced plans in 2005 for a Baltic pipeline that would become one of the main arteries carrying gas to Germany and other western European states, bypassing formerly Communist-ruled eastern bloc countries that became EU members in 2004.Some 4,600 German firms have subsidiaries in Russia and every fourth machine imported by Russia is made in Germany.German exports to Russia jumped 23 percent in the first half of this year to 15.8 billion euros (22.3 billion dollars), according to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations. Russian exports to Germany in the same period totalled 16.7 billion euros.An industry delegation was to travel with Merkel, including the German energy agency president, the chief executives of chemicals behemoth BASF and engineering giant Siemens, and the head of the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, which represents German exporters.Medvedev and Merkel were due to meet at 1045 GMT to be followed by a joint press conference.
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE OCT 2,08
The past two newsletters dealt with the price one pays as he follows the Lord Jesus Christ. Revival goes hand-in-hand with discipleship because heart preparation is necessary if one is to walk in the Savior’s steps.The greatest verse in the Bible on the subject of revival is found 2 Chronicles 7:14. This truth, delivered to Israel centuries ago, is preeminently applicable for believers in the twentieth century. The text states, If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.The first thing a believer can do to bring the blessing of God back upon his experience is to seek humility. Pride fills the arena of Christendom today. Christian services, including evangelistic crusades, are filled with performers seeking praise. Carnal performers seek the exaltation of self. Christ isthe only one worthy of praise. Temperamental artists, charging exorbitant sums, want glory. These prima donnas must have worshippers or they will not perform. God deliver us from egotistical, haughty performers, and give us more old-fashioned, Holy Spirit filled soloists who want Christ to be uplifted. How embarrassed this crowd will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ when motives are investigated.
First Corinthians 4:5 states, Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels [or motives-Greek] of the hearts.When God tests motives in that day, many will have nothing but an incinerated pile of ashes to throw at Christ's feet in place of crowns (see 1 Corinthians 3:11-15).Let's see what God has to say about pride. In Proverbs 16:18 He states, Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Sir, lady-high and mighty-a destructive fall is predicted for your life and ministry. Fall on your knees and repent of this hindering sin in your life. Oh, how we need to be like Jesus who said in Matthew 11:29, Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.We need the humility of John the Baptist who cried out in John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. He must be exalted and I abased. When one genuinely practices this truth, God will exalt the sincere soul. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10). God says that the way up is down to self.Glory seekers will never have the blessing and power of God upon them because God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6). Let's ask God to forgive us for the sin of thinking that we are latter day gifts to the Church. Instead, Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). The glory is coming at the Judgment Seat when rewards are distributed to the faithful. Do what you can for Christ and the souls of men now, and crowns to lay at Christ's feet will be yours at that great Coronation Day.Child of God, be faithful-even when no one seems to care-For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). Remember, Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (Matthew 23:12).
Prayer
Prayer is a necessity if one is to experience true revival in his heart. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).Modern Christians know little about this most effectual ministry. Jesus did. He said in Luke 18:1, Men ought always to pray and not to faint. Christ rose up early in the morning to pray (see Mark 1:35). He continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). Multitudes will rise up early to fish, ski, and golf, while others will sit up until the small hours of the morning watching vampires, witches, and bloodsuckers on Shock Theatre. How different these Christians are from Christ, after whom Christianity is named. These so-called followers need a heaven-shaking revival of body and soul.Paul, who said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ, practiced what he preached. He said, Continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12); Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18); Continue in prayer (Colossians 4:2); and Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
In other periods of American history, entire cities and counties were deluged with revival as thousands per week-up to one million total-were converted. The secret was prayer. Finney describes the times of agonizing prayer that transpired in his day in his book Revival Lectures. He states: Men prayed until their clothing was soaked through with perspiration. Some bled like Christ did in Luke 22:44. Two prayed themselves to death before the age of 40. To many it appeared as foolishness, but cities were turned upside down for Christ.Would to God that we had prayer warriors like this in every major city where the Jack Van Impe Crusades are conducted. Oh, to see a revival where sin is put out of business; where movie houses, brothels, massage parlors, and pornography dens are barricaded because the power of God, through prayer, has padlocked Satan's establishments. Christian, pray without ceasing!
Confession
Prayer, however, is meaningless without confession because God's holiness demands it. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalm 66:18). Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:1, 2). This is why 1 John 1:9 states, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and, just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Bitterness
Bitterness is the greatest sin of the hour. There is nothing in the realm of sin that is damaging the Church of Jesus Christ and destroying one's spiritual life more than bitterness. This spirit of animosity surely is not of God. If one is controlled by hatred, he certainly should question his profession of faith. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love (1 John 4:7,8).
A Spirit-filled Christian is known by the love he has for others. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Galatians 5:22, 23).You may say, I have experienced the second work of grace. Do you have love for other believers who may not agree with your interpretation? You may say, I have spoken the heavenly language, yea the vocabulary of angels. But are you filled with love? First Corinthians 13:1 declares, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The Holy Spirit says that heavenly languages, when boasted about without the evidence of love, become nothing but manifestations of the flesh.The real evidence of the Spirit is found in verses 4-8: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not [is not jealous]; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up [hey, look at my gifts], doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked [made mad], thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.
This is the love the crucified Savior manifested at Calvary. After they battered nails into His hands and feet, jammed a crown of thorns into the flesh of His head, ripped His beard from the facial area, scourged His back and chest into mutilated shreds of flesh, then-after all their brutality was unleashed upon Him-He lovingly cried, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).Some carnal mind is already excusing self for the bitterness he holds by saying, This was Christ, and He was God. Because of His Deity He could love in the midst of hate. Our humanity limits us in loving the unlovely. Let me immediately answer you with the example of Stephen in Acts 7:51-60.This mere mortal man, filled with the Holy Spirit, manifested the same loving kindness that his Savior did upon Calvary's tree. The Scriptures picture Stephen preaching a strong, sin-denouncing sermon. The enraged crowd can't take the truth and so verse 57 says, Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Now please get verse 60: And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Think of it ...as they stoned him to death crushed his head with rocks-he asked his Lord not to hold them accountable for what they had done. Verse 55 tells us why his heart was so filled with love-he was filled with the Holy Spirit. There is the evidence.A man can talk about every experience in the book and still be a trouble-making church-wrecker, but when the Spirit is truly in control, he won't have to prove it. Instead, the love that flows from his heart to the saved and lost will indicate that the blessed Spirit of God is at the helm of his life. When the world sees this love in the Christian, a genuine moving of God will take place.
FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE
Looking Through the Window
Have you ever heard the old gospel song that says, This world is not my home, I'm just 'a passin' through ... ? Lately that's how I've been feeling - like a stranger in a strange land. I'm completely out of step with a world filled with child abuse, wife abuse, animal abuse ... with a world filled with hatred, violence, war, and famine. I can't adjust my mind and heart to a place where many people accept no responsibility for their actions and feel no remorse for the bad things they do to others.Nor am I able emotionally to cope with the throngs of homeless people on the streets of major metropolitan areas. It's one thing to watch the news and hear statistics about the down-and-out people living in alleys and under bridges - something else altogether to meet these unfortunate ones face to face and look into their eyes. While in Toronto, my heart was abruptly opened to the real tragedy of homeless people.One night Jack and I went to dinner in a downtown area and decided to walk back to our hotel several blocks away. Our route took us past Eaton Center - an enclosed mall which is open late, with people milling around inside until all hours. We started across a busy intersection near a major department store, amazed at the throngs of people out and about so late at night. Jack and I have always felt very safe in this wonderful Canadian city.
Before we made it across the intersection, a beautiful young girl we'd passed on the corner came running after us. She came up behind me and fell into step. Hello there, she said. Where are you going? Well, my husband and I have been to dinner and we're on our way back to our hotel, I said, noticing that she seemed to be one of the homeless crowd. Her face was smudged, and her clothing wrinkled and soiled. But I went ahead and asked, Are you going home? Oh, no, she responded, I am home! And she pointed to the streets.We walked the final step or two across the street and stepped up on the sidewalk - beside the department store, its window ablaze with a display of television sets and video equipment. The girl touched my arm and peered up into my face and Jack's. I told my friends who you were, she said. It was obvious she seemed to recognize us.Sometimes at night when I can't sleep, she continued, motioning toward the display of TV sets, I look through the window and watch you!
As soon as she said it, she was gone, running, back to her friends on the street. Then a rush of people gathered behind and carried Jack and me on down the block. I looked back but I never caught sight of her again.But I will never forget the touch of her hand and her simple words that seemed to bring the whole burden of her desperate situation crashing down upon my heart. I look through the window and watch you, she said.How I wished I could have held her hand and brought her along with me, to tell her she could have a better life. I have no idea what she had run away from or where she was trying to go. I do know that life on the streets so often ends in tragedy. If only I could have a little more time to talk with her, I would tell her about God's love, about the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.I feel almost compelled to go back to Toronto soon and spend some time in the area where I first saw her. I can only hope the Lord will allow me to find her and spend some time witnessing to her. Somehow, my heart is so impacted by her words that I just can't let go until I've at least tried to find her again.For days now the Lord has been impressing upon my mind the fact that there are countless other people floundering in life who are looking through the window of our lives, seeking for answers and hope. Oh, you may not be on TV like Jack Van Impe and I, but your life, your light, is on view to someone trying to find a better way.What would people see if they looked through the window at you? Are you living a life like Christ, filled with love, joy, peace, and purity?
Is the glass of that window dingy and soil-streaked, or is it bright and clear, clean and sparkling? When someone who has lost their way looks through your window, can they see Jesus in you? Or is what you claim blurred by who you are and how you act? Since I met that homeless girl who said she looked through the window and watched me, I've been checking up on myself. The Lord has given me three checkpoints:
1. Living the life.
The great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, cried out, I'm going to live the life I sing about in my song! The life we live for God must be the same on Tuesday as on Sunday. We must treat our family and neighbors, the people at work and in the marketplace, the same way we treat the people at church when everybody is watching. I promise you that the way you act when you think nobody is looking is exactly what someone will see when they look through your window!
2. Offering a pure and simple testimony.
The most effective testimony is simply to uplift Jesus - He will do the rest. We do not have to know scores of scripture verses, or be able to explain the complexities of doctrine. All that is necessary is to say, This is what Jesus has done for me. As one great Christian described it, Our witness is really just one beggar telling another where to find bread" - the Bread of life!
3. Being consistent.
A nursery rhyme describes a little girl who, when she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. Have you ever known a person who, on one day, was helpful and kind ... and on the next was cranky as can be? What does this kind of erratic behavior say about the depth and validity of our Christian experience? Our Lord is described as Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And we are to be like Him!Being on television these last several years has been a real challenge and amazement to me. One thing I've learned is that the TV camera sees through our facades and reveals us as we really are to the view of the people. On screen you simply can't hide who you are. I believe this is why people say so often, I know you. I've seen you on TV! I can never forget that the Lord has His divine TV camera on us all the time. He looks past our outer front and sees inside us to our very heart and soul. Lord, help me to live for You consistently.Although I know our programs are seen throughout the United States and Canada, and in numerous places overseas, it still boggles my mind to consider the numbers of people and the kinds of individuals in different walks of life who are being reached and touched by the program.
I could never have imagined a homeless street girl going up to a department store window late at night to watch Jack and me on TV through the glass. I hope and pray that something she saw and heard will stay with her ... and that God and His wonderful grace will reach her.On that day when we stand before the Lord, this young woman will discover that she need not stand outside on the sidewalk wistfully watching through a glass. For as her eyes catch a glimpse of Jesus and she reaches out to take His hand, He will throw open that window and make it a door - a grand entrance through which she can walk freely into His presence.
Waiting to go home
Never in my life have I felt more of a longing for the coming of the Lord than in recent days. Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace. I long to see Him and feel His arms wrapped around me. I can't wait to hear His voice saying, Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant! Oh, how I pray that my life will allow this salutation to be so.The Apostle Paul wrote, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). How wonderful that will be.God is so good to me even here in this life. His presence never leaves me, and I take joy in intimately communing with the Holy Spirit inside my heart. But more and more I feel a strange longing to be in heaven. And I sense that time is running out. Our Lord Jesus is coming soon.First Corinthians 13:12 says, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.But until then, I will keep on keeping on. I will try to use all my time, all my talents, all my opportunities to shine out the story of Jesus to help all who may be looking through the window of my life. With God's help, I will keep on living the life of love, joy, peace, and purity. I will keep on giving my pure and simple testimony about what the Lord has done for me. And I will endeavor to be consistent in my living for Jesus, daily keeping the window glass, looking into my life, clean and unsmudged.You can do it, too, God will help you. Join me in making a new commitment to Christ's commission and calling. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mathew 5:16).
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
SENATE PASSES BAILOUT 74 - 25
THE UNITED STATES SENATE PASSED THE BAILOUT BILL BY A COUNT OF 74 VOTES FOR 25 VOTES AGAINST. ONE DRAW BACK THOUGH THE BILL WENT FROM 106 PAGES TO 451 PAGES, INTERESTING. ONE GOOD THING IS THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN HAVE $250,000 PROTECTED IN THE BANKS INSTEAD OF ONLY $100,000. IT GOES BACK TO THE HOUSE TO TRY AND PASS IT THERE. THE PRESSURE WILL BE ON BOTH SIDES TO PASS IT THIS TIME. THE HOUSE VOTE WILL BE FRIDAY.
Bailout passes Senate, House foes soften By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writers OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened. Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.The measure didn't cause the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties' presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, made rare appearances to cast aye votes.The rescue package lets the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a deep recession.
Even as the Senate voted, House leaders were hunting for the 12 votes they would need to turn around Monday's 228-205 defeat. They were especially targeting the 133 Republicans who voted no.Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.
They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.There were worries, though, that the tax breaks would cause some conservative-leaning Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it because it would swell the federal deficit.
Bailout passes Senate, House foes soften By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press Writers OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened. Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.The measure didn't cause the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties' presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, made rare appearances to cast aye votes.The rescue package lets the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a deep recession.
Even as the Senate voted, House leaders were hunting for the 12 votes they would need to turn around Monday's 228-205 defeat. They were especially targeting the 133 Republicans who voted no.Their opposition appeared to be easing after the Senate added $110 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, plus a provision to raise, from $100,000 to $250,000, the cap on federal deposit insurance.
They were also cheering a decision Tuesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission to ease rules that force companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.There were worries, though, that the tax breaks would cause some conservative-leaning Democrats who voted for the rescue Monday to abandon it because it would swell the federal deficit.
STOCKS DOWN TODAY
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Bahrain FM calls for regional grouping of Arabs, Israel Wed Oct 1, 6:54 AM ET
DUBAI (AFP) - The foreign minister of staunch US ally Bahrain has called for the creation of a regional grouping of Arab states with historic foe Israel, as well as Iran and Turkey, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organisation, Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa was quoted in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat as saying.Aren't we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not (come together) on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There's no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years.Al-Hayat, which interviewed the Bahraini chief diplomat in New York, said he had proposed the establishment of a regional bloc in a speech to the UN General Assembly.The tiny Gulf kingdom is a major ally of the United States and has a free trade agreement with Washington. It also hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.Bahrain's crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, met Israeli officials during World Economic Forum summits in 2000 and 2003, while Sheikh Khaled met Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni at the UN last year.But political groupings in Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a Shiite majority, resist any attempt at normalisation of ties with Israel.Only two Arab countries -- Egypt and Jordan -- have full fledged peace treaties with Israel. Bahrain's Gulf neighbour Qatar, another close US ally, is one of a handful of Arab countries to maintain political contacts with the Jewish state.
Forging ties with Israel without a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is generally unpopular among ordinary Arabs.Why don't we sit together even if we disagree, even if we don't recognise each other? Let's be in a single organisation in order to overcome the difficult stage through which the Middle East is passing -- a stage that remains hostage to the past, Sheikh Khaled told Al-Hayat, referring to the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict.Told that his proposal might be perceived by some as a dream since it was hard to see hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sitting alongside Israel, Sheikh Khaled, whose country occasionally has problems with Iran, said: If this is perceived as a dream, well, many dreams have become reality.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED OCT 01,2008
09:30 AM -49.14
10:00 AM -95.66
10:30 AM -158.34
11:00 AM -182.79
11:30 AM -138.98
12:00 PM -115.25
12:30 PM -75.98
01:00 PM -10.99
01:30 PM -56.63
02:00 PM -54.72
02:30 PM -37.67
03:00 PM -41.41
03:30 PM -43.80
04:00 PM -19.59 10831.07
S&P 500 1161.06 -5.30
NAS 2069.40 -22.48
GOLD 875.5 -5.30
OIL 98.63 -2.01
IT WAS REPORTED THAT FRANCE WAS PUTTING UP A 300 BILLION BAILOUT PLAN FOR EUROPE LIKE THE USA, BUT IT IS UNCONFIRMED YET.
AND ALSO WARREN BUFFETT CHAIRMAN OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY LAST WEEK BOUGHT INTO GOLDMAN SACHS FOR 5 BILLION AND TODAY BOUGHT INTO GENERAL ELECTRIC FOR 3 BILLION.
IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME TO SEE A NEW WORLD SYSTEM OF THE ECONOMY LEAD BY THE WORLD BANK AND LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. I FIGURE THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL SET UP A SYSTEM OF THE 6 CONTINENTAL WORLD ECONOMIC REGIONS PLUS THE VATICAN FOR CHURCHES.
SINCE THE BIBLE DOES SAY THE WEALTH OF THE SINNERS IS BUILT UP FOR THE CHRISTIANS. SO I BELIEVE THE VATICAN WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS NEW GROUPING.
7 WORLD ECONOMIC HEADQUARTERS.
LEADER WORLD BANK AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (WORLD CONTROLLER)
NORTH AMERICA LEADER - USA FEDERAL RESERVE.
SOUTH AMERICA LEADER - BRAZIL
AFRICA LEADER - INDIA
ASIA LEADER - CHINA
MIDEAST LEADER - ISRAEL
EUROPE RELIGIOUS LEADER - VATICAN
THESE WOULD BE THE 7 LEADERS OF THE GROUP FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THERE COULD BE A WORLD STOCK MARKET WERE ALL NATIONS COULD DO BUSINESS. THESE 7 HEADS WOULD SEPARATELY HAVE THEIR REGIONS OF THE CONTINENT TO CONROL AND RUSSIA WOULD BE UNDER THE EUROPEAN UNION STOCK MARKET. THE USA WOULD CONTROL ALL OF NORTH AMERICA PLUS AUSTRALIA AND ICELAND. ONCE AGAIN JUST MY THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE EU COULD CONTROL THE WORLD ECONOMY LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WILL HAPPEN IN THE LAST DAYS.
10 WORLD REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS
THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.
HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)
01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA
Congress leaders optimistic on revived bailout By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - The Senate moved toward passage Wednesday of a $700 billion financial industry bailout as opposition to the package among House Republican conservatives appeared to be softening, thanks partly to a provision increasing insurance for people's deposits. Congressional leaders from both parties said they were hopeful that a new version of the rescue plan could be cleared late this week after its stunning defeat that sparked a historic sell-off on Monday. House Democratic leaders tentatively planned a Friday vote.One House Republican who joined two-thirds of GOP lawmakers Monday in voting no indicated he's reconsidering. Others were also pondering a switch, according to congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they haven't publicly committed to changing their votes.Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, a leading conservative, told a Phoenix radio station Wednesday that he'd be inclined to vote for the bill if it raised the cap on federal deposit insurance and changed a rule that forces companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.The revised package to be voted on in the Senate, which adds $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, temporarily increases the deposit insurance cap from the current $100,000 to $250,000. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it was easing the accounting rules in some cases.In a statement Wednesday, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the minority leader, called both a victory for House Republicans.
Congressional leaders said the changes should improve the package's chances — a message they hoped wouldn't get lost on a convulsive Wall Street.Some also saw heightened odds for the measure based on a flood of e-mails, calls and letters from constituents chiding Congress for inaction on the financial crisis. The feedback indicated greater public acceptance of the measure — if not a collective embrace — by voters about five weeks before the elections.House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said calls and e-mails to congressional offices that were running about 90 percent against the measure earlier now are coming in about a 50-50 pace.Even a 50-50 proposition might have been attractive on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrials at times lost more than 200 points in their third triple-digit move this week. Credit markets remained extremely tight and stocks also fell on a report that an index of manufacturing activity fell significantly in September.President Bush planned to call lawmakers ahead of the crucial vote,Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, planned to fly to Washington for the Senate vote, as did Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, adding to the political intrigue, and the White House continued to lobby hard, both publicly and privately.At the daily briefing Wednesday, spokesman Tony Fratto took the unusual step of citing the New York Times, as well as papers across the country, that carried stories on the tightening credit squeeze on small businesses, municipal projects and jobs. It is affecting real Americans out there, he said.
The legislation essentially would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believe, that would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.Officials in both parties predicted the measure would pass the Senate by a wide margin.Behind the scenes, the president was conferring with Treasury chief Henry Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to get an update and to plot strategy. The presidential spokesman told reporters that Bush's calls so far have all been very positive. We feel that there's a sense of momentum.Fratto called the increased deposit insurance an important improvement to the bill, and also welcomed the added tax breaks, calling them helpful despite the White House's initial desire for a clean bill.Scrambling to revive a package that met with bitter derision among constituents who viewed it as a giveaway to Wall Street, the Senate added a number of sweeteners designed to please rural lawmakers, including disaster aid for hurricane-battered states and money for rural schools. The package was hitching a ride on a popular measure to require health plans for 51 or more employees to give equal treatment to mental health or addiction if they cover such illnesses. Hoyer said, however, he was concerned that the tax additions could complicate the chances of final congressional passage when the legislation comes back to the House floor for a vote. There are worries that fiscally conservative House Democrats known as Blue Dogs will be repulsed by the tax breaks, and could vote no because they have believe cuts should be bankrolled with spending cuts or other tax increases. The tax plan passed the Senate last week on a 93-2 vote. It included AMT relief, $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, and some $78 billion in renewable energy incentives and extensions of expiring tax breaks. All told, it would cost about $112 billion over five years. In a compromise worked out with Republicans, the bill does not pay for the AMT and disaster provisions, but does have revenue offsets for part of the energy and extension measures. Associated Press reporters Terence Hunt and Jennifer Loven contributed to this story.
World leaders look to US for salvation as economies near abyss
Sep 30 08:18 AM US/Eastern
Stocks Fall Around The Globe
World leaders called on the US government to take action to stave off global financial collapse Tuesday after Congress rejected a 700 billion dollar bailout in a move which stunned global markets. Another European bank, Dexia, had to be rescued and shares went through another roller coaster ride after the House of Representatives voted 228-205 against the rescue on Monday. European leaders led the calls for action by President George W. Bush who called close advisors into emergency talks after the defeat and was to make a statement on Tuesday. The US must take its responsibilities in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of their own companies and for the sake of the world, European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for another vote on the plan this week to restore market confidence. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had sent a message to the White House to underline the importance that we attach to taking decisive action. New Japanese premier Taro Aso said: We should not let the world financial system collapse.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he and other US allies would press Washington to take action. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned US lawmakers they had to act fast after his plan was dramatically rejected Monday. Markets around the world are under stress, said Paulson, architect of the proposal to buy up the mountains of bad mortgage-related debt behind a wave of home foreclosures and spectacular bank failures. We need to get something done, he added. This is much too important to simply let fail.Central banks again poured money into markets an attempt to revive the global banking system but stocks rallied slightly in Europe after an initial slump following the lead set by Wall Street and Asian markets.
London shares dropped initially, but later showed a slight gain of 0.22 percent, Paris was up 0.21 percent but Frankfurt was down 0.75 percent after a 4.1-percent fall in Tokyo, and losses in Asia except in Hong Kong which gained 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 777.68 points or 6.98 percent on Monday, in a record points fall amid panic after the House vote. Hiroichi Nishi, equities chief at Nikko Cordial Securities in Tokyo, said: The market is exploring where the bottom is now.French-Belgian bank Dexia was rescued by the French, Belgian and Luxembourg governments which put in 6.4 billion euros (9.2 billion dollars). Governments also had to step in to save Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis and Britain's Bradford & Bingley this week. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a pre-dawn meeting of key advisors and after talks with top bankers promised measures before the end of the week. A senior official in his office said. Banks are in trouble in Germany, Belgium and Great Britain. We feel a bit surrounded.France and Ireland reassured people with deposits in banks that their money was safe, echoing similar statements across Europe. The euro fell again, to 1.4376 dollars in London from 1.4432 in New York because credit worries are deepening over the European financial system, said Saburo Matsumoto at Sumitomo Trust Bank. The euro may fall further, he said. We fear the credit worries may spread into emerging economies.A vacuum of fear is causing a desperate shortage of funds in the interbank system, despite infusions from central banks, and is a critical factor in pressures that have brought down many top names in US and European banking. Some analysts now suggest there could be concerted central bank action to cut interest rates because likely economic slowdown, even recession, arising from the crisis would sharply cut inflationary pressures. Central banks emergency cuts: if not now, when? asked Citi analysts in London. But some other analysts doubted that there would be a pan-European initiative. Around the world officials and commentators used the language of disaster and despair to describe the possible impact of further delay in US action on the world economy and especially the interbank lending system.
In London, a leading global financial centre along with New York, The Guardian newspaper said: This has become a crisis of confidence in the banking system as a whole, which is unprecedented in modern times.The Times wrote: The collapse of the plan threatens all of Main Street, in America and further afield.Central banks again pumped out huge sums to keep global banking liquid with the European Central Bank renewing one-day loans of 30 billion dollars (20.8 billion euros). It also allocated 190 billion euros under a regular arrangement which once again revealed great tension on short-term bank interest rates. The Japanese central bank injected 3.0 trillion yen (28.8 billion dollars). Former World bank chief economist and Nobel economics prizewinner Joseph Stiglitz, forecasting that the crisis would ensure that Democrat candidate Barack Obama would win the presidential election. We will have other dramatic failures of financial institutions. The American economy is headed into a long recession.
Brussels calls for EU-wide response to financial crisis
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 1,08 @ 17:43 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Days ahead of a meeting of the European members of the G8 for talks on the current financial turmoil, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged European governments to increase their co-operation and to counter the crisis and called for international oversight of financial markets.The challenge Europe is currently facing is not only to inject liquidity into the markets, Mr Barroso told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday (1 October). We also need to inject credibility into the markets – in terms of European and of global governance of the financial system, he said.And in order to restore confidence in the markets, a joint European action is particularly important, the commission president added.Specifically, the president called for a further strengthening of the supervision structures at the European level.Mr Barroso also wants to see a reform of the current accounting rules and reforms to ensure the consistency of deposit guarantee schemes across Europe. Echoing calls from many quarters complaining that those responsible for the crisis have profited from their errors, he also called for an increasing in the transparency of executive pay.
The European financial system can cope
Despite the challenges however, he said: Our system can cope, the European financial system has the ability to respond, Mr Barroso said, echoing a statement made earlier today by Jean-Claude Juncker, the chair of the group of EU countries using the euro.
The Europeans can have confidence in their banking system, Mr Juncker told French radio Europe 1 on Wednesday morning, adding that he did not believe any government would let a big European bank go bankrupt.Luxembourg's premier also called for a stronger pan-European response and for the EU to take the leadership in countering the financial crisis.The statements of both Mr Barroso and Mr Juncker come just days before they are to meet the European leaders of the G8 group of leading industrial nations – France, Germany, Italy and the UK – together with the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, later this week and on Saturday (4 October) as well.Besides conducting talks on the financial crisis and on possible solutions, the leaders are to use the meeting to prepare for a global international summit, which the French EU presidency is hoping to hold before the end of the year.
The topic is also expected to figure high on the agenda of the EU summit of heads of state and governments from 15-16 October in Brussels.
Stricter rules for European banks unveiled in wake of crisis
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 1,08 @ 17:43 CET
The European Commission presented plans for tougher bank capital rules on Wednesday (1 October), in order to reduce risk exposure as a way to make the financial system stronger in the wake of the ongoing banking crisis.Under the proposed measures, banks would be restricted in lending beyond a certain limit to one party, and colleges of supervisors' would be put in place for those banking groups that operate in several EU states.Additionally, sellers of hazardous loans would have to maintain some of the risk by holding on to at least five percent of an investment when they sell loans repackaged as securities.These new rules will fundamentally strengthen the regulatory framework for EU banks and the financial system, EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy said when presenting the plans.
Mixed reactions
MEPs have given mixed reactions to the new rules, however, with the Liberal grouping in the European Parliament welcoming a timely commission proposal, while the conservatives have warned against excessive regulation.The commission is right to propose Europe-wide measures to address the genuine concerns of Europe's citizens with respect to their savings and mortgages. This week's proposals address two of the key planks of the current crisis as individual national authorities struggle to contain the fall-out, stated Graham Watson, leader of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament.For his part, John Purvis, the UK Conservative vice-chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, said: The EU should be taking action to ensure [the] systemic failures are never allowed to happen again, but excessive and intrusive regulation will only damage the smooth working of the financial system.Five percent retention is being billed as a panacea, but it could also make securities less attractive, potentially pushing up the cost of credit further still, he added.The proposals unveiled by Mr McCreevy – which must yet be approved by EU member states – come ahead of related legislation on credit rating agencies, which the commissioner hopes to present no later than next month.
US must take responsibility for global crisis, Brussels says
LEIGH PHILLIPS 30.09.2008 @ 22:17 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has expressed impatience with Washington over the defeat of a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, calling on the US to take responsibility for the crisis. Meanwhile, fears are growing that the money central banks are pumping into markets are not putting out the financial fire.
Calling the Monday vote by the US House of Representatives a disappointment, commission spokesperson Johannes Laitenberger in unusually strong language said on Tuesday (30 September) that the turmoil we are facing has originated in the United States. It has become a global problem.The US has a special responsibility in this situation [and] the commission expects the decision will go through soon. The US must take its responsibility [and] must show statesmanship for the sake of their own country and for the sake of the world.The commission expects the decision to go through soon despite the bill's initial failure, he added, contrasting Europe's response to the events. The last few hours have once again shown that European authorities are assuming their responsibilities. Europe is engaging and calling for international cooperation, Mr Laitenberger said, highlighting a call by the French EU presidency for an international conference on the crisis in autumn.With the crisis still unfolding, the Irish government on Tuesday decided to guarantee all deposits held in the country's banks along with all money borrowed by the banks for two years. Dublin made the €400 billion move following a massive decline in the shares of Irish banks Allied Irish, Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society and the Educational Building Society. In mainland Europe, the Belgian and French governments gave €6.4 billion of tax payers' money to rescue Belgo-French bank Dexia, the world's biggest lender to local governments.The European Commission ... is supporting [government action to rescue] Dexia and the decision of Irish government to guarantee deposits with Irish banks, the commission's Mr Laitenberger explained. This shows that public authorities in Europe can live up to the task of preserving financial stability and protecting savings where different EU countries are concerned.
Liquidity loans hoarded
The EU official also praised national central banks in Europe and the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) for providing liquidity to struggling money markets, saying the ECB has done a superb job.Brussels' praise came despite concerns that some private banks were taking ECB money and re-depositing it with the ECB for safe-keeping, instead of lending it to other banks to get markets moving again.Banks have as of Monday parked €44 billion with the ECB deposit facility ECB spokesperson William Lelieveldt told EUobserver, citing the most up to date figures available. This figure was €1.4 billion one week ago on 23 September, climbing to €4.2 billion on 25 September and hitting €28 billion by 26 September.It is true that this is a relatively high amount, said Mr Lelieveldt. But this must be compared to the much larger sums provided to these banks by the ECB.Some economists say government action may be required to get banks to lend to each other once again. Banks are hoarding their money as there is no expectation that loaning money will be profitable and not loss-making, UK economist Barry Gills of Newcastle University said. Central banks have been injecting massive amounts of liquidity for months but the insolvency problem within banks is actually spreading.All this liquid is not putting out the fire, he said.We need a much higher level of co-ordinated action than at member state or even EU level. We need a global regulator. It's the logical outflow of the globalisation of finance - the globalisation of financial regulation, he added.The expert predicted that economies in eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and the Baltic states, will find it harder than old Europe to weather the storm, saying the International Monetary Fund may have to be called in to deliver stabilisation loans.
Casino capitalism
The Socialist group in the European Parliament meanwhile is demanding the urgent and profound reform of the worldwide financial system.This crisis confirms the excesses of casino capitalism, Socialist group leader Martin Schultz said, denouncing a savage capitalism that no longer invests in enterprise and the creation of jobs, but contents itself to let loose to make money with more money.The Green group questioned the European Commission's position on government bailouts of ailing banks. The commission seems to have suspended its normal operating procedure of responding to mergers and state aid and this may be okay given the scale of the emergency, but in the longer term what we need is a joined-up politics, British Green MEP Caroline Lucas told EUobserver. The solution to the financial crisis is the solution to the ecological crisis.Echoing US President Theodore Roosevelt's reaction to the Great Depression in the 1930s - his New Deal - Ms Lucas called for a stricter regulatory regime and concomitant investment in environmental protection providing jobs to prevent social fall-out from the crisis. We need a green New Deal - the re-regulation of the financial system and massive investment in green infrastructure, renewable energies, new technologies and so on that will deliver quality jobs to Europeans - the hiring of a carbon army, if you will - to ensure we don't have millions thrown into unemployment.
Hoyer, Blunt hopeful of progress on rescue bill By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - Two House leaders said Wednesday headway is being made toward getting the $700 billion financial industry rescue bill through Congress, thanks partly to a provision increasing insurance for people's deposits. President Bush planned to call lawmakers asking for their support ahead of a crucial Senate vote Wednesday night.
I think the Senate thinks it has the votes and I think it probably will pass, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri agreed that prospects for passage have improved, and he said he was particularly heartened by indications the legislation has become more appealing to constituents back home.The plan for Wednesday night's vote was set after leaders there agreed to add tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and increase deposit insurance in an attempt to revive the legislation rejected by the House. The White House tried to build support by warning of the conseqences of failure.This morning we're seeing increased evidence of the credit squeeze on small businesses and municipalities all across the country, so it's critically important that we approve legislation this week and limit further damage to our economy, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, planned to fly to Washington for the Senate vote, as did Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.The surprise move by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared likely to win a big vote in the Senate that would put pressure on the House to go along and send the measure to the White House.Hoyer, though, said on NBC's Today show he was concerned that the tax issues could complicate the chances of final congressional passage when the legislation comes back to the House floor for a vote.There's no doubt the tax package is very controversial, he said, adding that there's no doubt in my mind that the Senate added this because they thought that's the only way they could get it passed. He said he wasn't pleased the tax provisions were attached to the bill.There are concerns that moderate House Democrats known as Blue Dogs will be repulsed by the tax breaks, and could vote no because they have been saying they don't want to see the deficit run up even further.
Stocks headed for a lower open Wednesday, indicating more of this week's gyrations as investors prepare for next big vote in Washington.Blunt said one of the reasons he is more optimistic is that lawmakers are hearing less vocal opposition from their districts. He said that calls and e-mails to congressional offices that were running about 90 percent against the measure earlier now are at about 50-50.It should be before the House as quickly as it can, Blunt said on NBC. But we should not set any artificial time limit here. He said that is one of the factors that doomed the bill, which was defeated 228-205 Monday, sending Wall Street into a nosedive with the biggest sell-off since the post-9-11 trading period.Both Blunt and Hoyer said they thought the atmosphere on the Hill was more conducive to passage now, saying they believe an emerging consensus on raising the federal deposit insurance to $250,000 has helped significantly and that a House vote could come later this week.Blunt also said he believes there's a better chance of getting the legislation enacted in the wake of a move to ease Security and Exchange Commission accounting rules in a way that would give businesses more leeway in how they value their assets.Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., emerged from a meeting Tuesday to tell told reporters, I'm told a number of people who voted no yesterday are having serious second thoughts about it.
Adding a set of popular business tax breaks and legislation to prevent more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the bite of the alternative minimum tax promised to win House GOP votes for the plan even as it angered moderate Blue Dog Democrats concerned about the tax cuts adding to the deficit.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement that suggested she does not like the move but did not reveal her plans. The Senate will vote tomorrow night and the Congress will work its will, Pelosi said Tuesday. The expected support of both Obama and McCain, however, makes it difficult for Pelosi to ship the measure back to the Senate with a different set of vote-getting add-ons.The Senate legislation also will contain an increase in the government's $100,000 cap on insured bank deposits, part of a move by lawmakers, Bush and the two presidential candidates to try to reassure markets that the plan will pass this week. The House vote was a stinging setback to leaders of both parties. The administration's proposal, still the heart of the legislation under consideration, would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believe, that would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy. The tax plan passed the Senate last week on a 93-2 vote. It included AMT relief, $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, and some $78 billion in renewable energy incentives and extensions of expiring tax breaks. All told, it would cost about $112 billion over five years. In a compromise worked out with Republicans, the bill does not pay for the AMT and disaster provisions, but does have revenue offsets for part of the energy and extension measures.
FAITH UNDER FIRE Pastors rally for chaplains' reinstatement,Demand jobs for those forced to resign for praying in Jesus name September 30, 2008 8:39 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily
Dozens of prominent Christian leaders in Virginia have written Gov. Timothy Kaine requesting a change in the state policy that bans in Jesus name from state police chaplains' prayers and seeking reinstatement for the six chaplains who had to resign over the issue.This could impact the national election, since Virginia is such a close race, said former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, who was dismissed from the military over the same issue but later won a battle in Congress creating a freedom for other chaplains to pray as their conscience dictates.These 86 pastors pledged to mobilize their people to vote accordingly, so the courage of these six police chaplains who were forced to resign because they prayed in Jesus name' could turn America's head on November 4th, Klingenschmitt said.The pastors now are awaiting a response from the governor.Their letter states, By defending religious discrimination, you endorse anti-Christian persecution, and prohibit free speech, literally censoring the word Jesus as illegal speech by chaplains. Is this your intention? It has been your action.WND reported earlier when the issue was raised and Kaine endorsed the plan.
According to Bishop Council Nedd, chief of the group called In God We Trust USA, the ban was issued by state police Col. W. Steven Flaherty to chaplains just weeks ago. The dispute became public through the work of Charles W. Carrico Sr., a member of Virginia's House of Delegates who is a former trooper.In God We Trust will assist Delegate Carrico and oppose this policy with every means at our disposal, said Nedd. Our supporters in Virginia are absolutely furious that the Commonwealth's government would rather its state troopers go without chaplains than risk someone being offended by a Christian chaplain invoking the name of Jesus Christ.The group's report said there had been no complaints about any of the prayers by chaplains; it was simply a ban adopted to prevent any possible future lawsuits.The action, however, violates their First Amendment rights and prevents the chaplains from serving effectively, said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith. These men had little choice but to resign.Flaherty reported he was acting on an appeals court ruling dealing with prayers at the Fredericksburg City council, and his rule allowed only nondenominational prayers at public events.He said those who object could opt out.This is not a forced situation, a spokeswoman for the state law enforcement agency said. We wouldn't put them in that position.But Klingenschmitt, whose battle with the military over his use of the phrase remains in court where he's seeking reinstatement, said he cannot believe we live in a society where government officials literally dictate the content of a chaplain's prayers and dare to punish or exclude chaplains who pray in Jesus name.State officials said they were worried about future lawsuits because of an appeals court opinion written by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who said discriminating against anyone who prays in Jesus name among officials rotating responsibilities to open city meetings is fair and reasonable. Her reasoning left Klingenschmitt wondering how that conclusion had been reached.That dispute focused on Rev. Hashmel Turner, a resident of Fredericksburg, Va., and a member of the town council, who was a part of a rotation of council members who prayed at the council meetings. He ended his prayers in Jesus name.That phrase, however, offended a listener, who prompted the involvement of several activist groups that threatened a lawsuit if the elected Christian council member continued to be allowed to pray in Jesus name.The city then adopted a non-sectarian prayer requirement, imposing a ban on any reference to Jesus.O'Connor wrote: The restriction that prayers be nonsectarian in nature is designed to make the prayers accessible to people who come from a variety of backgrounds, not to exclude or disparage a particular faith.Klingenschmitt noted, Ironically, she admitted Turner was excluded from participating solely because of the Christian content of his prayer. The Fredericksburg government violated everybody's rights by establishing a nonsectarian religion, and requiring all prayers conform, or face punishment of exclusion.The pastors' letter notes that the opinion actually didn't universalize any ban on Jesus-prayers, rather it gave the government three options.
The options included a nonsectarian prayer policy, a rotating prayer policy or appointing chaplains to pray as their own faith dictates, the letter said.
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 have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
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.
Russia rehabilitates last tsar by David Vujanovic OCT 1,08
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday formally rehabilitated the country's last tsar, Nicholas II, declaring that he and his family were unlawfully killed by Soviet authorities. The ruling negates the Romanov's culpability in crimes the Bolsheviks used to justify the 1917 revolution and the slaying of the tsar and his royal family the following year.The presidium declared as groundless the repression of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and rehabilitated them, said Supreme Court spokesman Pavel Odintsov.The decision overturns a ruling by the same court in November 2007 that the killings did not qualify as political repression, but premeditated murder.It was welcomed by the Russian Orthodox Church and descendants of Nicholas II including Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who spearheaded the campaign to rehabilitate the imperial Romanov family.The grand duchess expressed her joy and satisfaction after the decision, her spokesman Alexander Zakatov told AFP, adding the decision proves the rule of law in Russia.Another branch of the Romanov's descendants also praised the ruling.The fact that the Russian state took responsibility for that murder is a step towards repentance ... and the rehabilitation of all innocent (Bolshevik) victims, said their spokesman Ivan Artsishevsky.
Other Romanovs have been rehabilitated as victims of Soviet political repression, but a similar measure was refused in February for the last tsar and his immediate family, whose remains are buried in Saint Petersburg.A spokesman for the Orthodox Church said the decision can only be welcomed, in a statement reported by Interfax news agency.It strengthens the rule of law, restores historical continuity and 1,000 years of state tradition, the spokesman Georgy Ryabykh was quoted as saying.Tsar Nicholas II, his German-born wife Alexandra and their five children were shot by Bolshevik police in the cellars of a house in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where they were being held prisoner, on July 17, 1918, eight months after the Russian revolution.The fate of the tsar and his family has been a political football in Russia since their remains were found in a forest near Yekaterinburg in the closing years of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.They were canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church as martyrs in 2000 despite abundant evidence that bloody Nicholas, as the Bolsheviks branded him, had been a leading contributor to the misfortunes that befell the country.In late 2002, the duchess appealed to a Kremlin commission under President Vladimir Putin to rehabilitate and declare null and void the crimes of Romanovs.Putin's successor, Dmitry Medvedev, who became Russia's youngest leader since Nicholas II when inaugurated as president in May at the age of 42, is reported to be something of an admirer of the late tsar.The Russian authorities have played along with moves to rehabilitate the Romanovs perhaps, observers believe, because the memory of their execution serves to tarnish the reputation of the Communist party, still the leading opposition group in Russian politics.The anniversary of the tsar's execution has become the occasion for religious processions throughout Russia. This year on July 17, hundreds of monarchists turned out in Moscow to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the slaying of Nicholas II and his family.
EU cease-fire monitors begin patrols in Georgia By MATT SIEGEL, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
KARALETI, Georgia - European Union monitors began patrolling Georgian territory Wednesday and Russian troops allowed some of them into a buffer zone around the breakaway region of South Ossetia despite earlier warnings from Moscow they would be blocked. Russian peacekeepers had said Tuesday that none of the 300 observers would be immediately permitted to be in the buffer zone, raising concerns that Moscow was stalling on withdrawing its troops from Georgia as it promised to do after its war with Georgia in August.But EU monitors were quickly allowed to pass through Russian checkpoints Wednesday near two Georgian villages on the perimeter of Moscow's so-called security zone.The situation is very calm, said Ivan Kukushkin, a smiling Russian officer in charge of the checkpoint near Kvenatkotsa.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman confirmed the deployment of the monitors was going smoothly and that they have been able to go wherever they planned to go.Russia and Georgia agreed to the EU observer mission as part of an updated cease-fire plan following the war, which ended with Russian and separatist forces in control of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russians also dug in on other territory in Georgia.Terrified residents in the village of Karaleti, which was devastated by weeks of looting by South Ossetian militia, said EU monitors had come too late. Vitaly Shavishishvili, 24, and his relatives are now living in a cowshed after looters burned down their two-story house and stole two of their vehicles.
We only count on ourselves, Shavishishvili said.Zaira Mamagulashvili, 62, said that the looters burned more than 30 houses in the village and looted the local store and then blew it up with hand grenades.No one is in control. We are afraid of everyone, said Misha Sukhitashvili, another Karaleti resident. A Russian soldier is the kind of guy who after he has a drink is capable of anything.As part of the French-brokered cease-fire deal, Moscow agreed to withdraw its forces completely from areas outside of South Ossetia and Abkhazia within 10 days of the EU monitors' deployment —including from a roughly 4-mile buffer zone they have created southward from South Ossetia.The Russians gave us plans for dismantling their (check)points but didn't say when, EU mission director Hansjoerg Haber told reporters.At the Russian checkpoint near the Georgian village of Kvenatkotsa, an armored personnel carrier was parked up the hill near camouflaged tents and there was no sign of any preparations for a Russian troop pullback.Russia still plans to keep around 7,600 troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and has refused to allow EU monitors inside the regions themselves.Show the flag, be friendly, show confidence, Haber told monitors in Basaleti, about 12 miles north of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
The EU observers will be based in four semi-permanent locations, including the central city of Gori near South Ossetia and the Black Sea port of Poti, key targets of Russian forces.Solana, who visited Georgia on Tuesday, expressed optimism that Moscow would pull its troops back in the promised time frame.The war began Aug. 7 when Georgian troops launched an offensive to regain control of South Ossetia. Russia sent troops, which quickly routed the Georgian military and pushed deep into Georgia. Russia's continued occupation of Georgian territory and its subsequent recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has drawn strong condemnation from the West, which urged Moscow to respect Georgia's sovereignty.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev insisted Wednesday that the military action was necessary to repel the Georgian aggression and protect Russian citizens and peacekeepers in the region. We have done a right thing, Medvedev said in the Kremlin after giving medals to soldiers who fought in the war. We have shown that Russia can protect its citizens, that all other nations must reckon with it.Associated Press writers Mansur Mirovalev and Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili in Bazaleti and Odisi, Georgia, contributed to this report.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Bahrain FM calls for regional grouping of Arabs, Israel Wed Oct 1, 6:54 AM ET
DUBAI (AFP) - The foreign minister of staunch US ally Bahrain has called for the creation of a regional grouping of Arab states with historic foe Israel, as well as Iran and Turkey, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. Israel, Iran, Turkey and Arab states should sit together in one organisation, Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa was quoted in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat as saying.Aren't we all members of a global organisation called the United Nations? Why not (come together) on a regional basis? This is the only way to solve our problems. There's no other way to solve them, now or in 200 years.Al-Hayat, which interviewed the Bahraini chief diplomat in New York, said he had proposed the establishment of a regional bloc in a speech to the UN General Assembly.The tiny Gulf kingdom is a major ally of the United States and has a free trade agreement with Washington. It also hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.Bahrain's crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, met Israeli officials during World Economic Forum summits in 2000 and 2003, while Sheikh Khaled met Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni at the UN last year.But political groupings in Bahrain, which is ruled by a Sunni dynasty and has a Shiite majority, resist any attempt at normalisation of ties with Israel.Only two Arab countries -- Egypt and Jordan -- have full fledged peace treaties with Israel. Bahrain's Gulf neighbour Qatar, another close US ally, is one of a handful of Arab countries to maintain political contacts with the Jewish state.
Forging ties with Israel without a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is generally unpopular among ordinary Arabs.Why don't we sit together even if we disagree, even if we don't recognise each other? Let's be in a single organisation in order to overcome the difficult stage through which the Middle East is passing -- a stage that remains hostage to the past, Sheikh Khaled told Al-Hayat, referring to the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict.Told that his proposal might be perceived by some as a dream since it was hard to see hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sitting alongside Israel, Sheikh Khaled, whose country occasionally has problems with Iran, said: If this is perceived as a dream, well, many dreams have become reality.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED OCT 01,2008
09:30 AM -49.14
10:00 AM -95.66
10:30 AM -158.34
11:00 AM -182.79
11:30 AM -138.98
12:00 PM -115.25
12:30 PM -75.98
01:00 PM -10.99
01:30 PM -56.63
02:00 PM -54.72
02:30 PM -37.67
03:00 PM -41.41
03:30 PM -43.80
04:00 PM -19.59 10831.07
S&P 500 1161.06 -5.30
NAS 2069.40 -22.48
GOLD 875.5 -5.30
OIL 98.63 -2.01
IT WAS REPORTED THAT FRANCE WAS PUTTING UP A 300 BILLION BAILOUT PLAN FOR EUROPE LIKE THE USA, BUT IT IS UNCONFIRMED YET.
AND ALSO WARREN BUFFETT CHAIRMAN OF BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY LAST WEEK BOUGHT INTO GOLDMAN SACHS FOR 5 BILLION AND TODAY BOUGHT INTO GENERAL ELECTRIC FOR 3 BILLION.
IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME TO SEE A NEW WORLD SYSTEM OF THE ECONOMY LEAD BY THE WORLD BANK AND LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. I FIGURE THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL SET UP A SYSTEM OF THE 6 CONTINENTAL WORLD ECONOMIC REGIONS PLUS THE VATICAN FOR CHURCHES.
SINCE THE BIBLE DOES SAY THE WEALTH OF THE SINNERS IS BUILT UP FOR THE CHRISTIANS. SO I BELIEVE THE VATICAN WILL BE INVOLVED IN THIS NEW GROUPING.
7 WORLD ECONOMIC HEADQUARTERS.
LEADER WORLD BANK AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (WORLD CONTROLLER)
NORTH AMERICA LEADER - USA FEDERAL RESERVE.
SOUTH AMERICA LEADER - BRAZIL
AFRICA LEADER - INDIA
ASIA LEADER - CHINA
MIDEAST LEADER - ISRAEL
EUROPE RELIGIOUS LEADER - VATICAN
THESE WOULD BE THE 7 LEADERS OF THE GROUP FROM AROUND THE WORLD. THERE COULD BE A WORLD STOCK MARKET WERE ALL NATIONS COULD DO BUSINESS. THESE 7 HEADS WOULD SEPARATELY HAVE THEIR REGIONS OF THE CONTINENT TO CONROL AND RUSSIA WOULD BE UNDER THE EUROPEAN UNION STOCK MARKET. THE USA WOULD CONTROL ALL OF NORTH AMERICA PLUS AUSTRALIA AND ICELAND. ONCE AGAIN JUST MY THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE EU COULD CONTROL THE WORLD ECONOMY LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WILL HAPPEN IN THE LAST DAYS.
10 WORLD REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS
THE CLUB OF ROME FOUNDER AURELIO PECCEI WANTS THE WORLD IN 10 REGIONAL TRADING BLOCKS.
HERES WHAT THE WORLD WOULD LOOK LIKE (SINCE THERE WILL BE WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE FUTURE)
01 CANADA, U.S.A, MEXICO
02 EUROPEAN UNION,WESTERN EUROPE
03 JAPAN
04 AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND, S AFRICA, ISRAEL AND PACIFIC ISLANDS
05 EASTERN EUROPE
06 SOUTHERN, CENTRAL AND LATIN AMERICAS
07 NORTH AFRICA, AND MIDEAST (MOSLEMS)
08 CENTRAL AFRICA
09 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
10 CENTRAL ASIA
Congress leaders optimistic on revived bailout By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - The Senate moved toward passage Wednesday of a $700 billion financial industry bailout as opposition to the package among House Republican conservatives appeared to be softening, thanks partly to a provision increasing insurance for people's deposits. Congressional leaders from both parties said they were hopeful that a new version of the rescue plan could be cleared late this week after its stunning defeat that sparked a historic sell-off on Monday. House Democratic leaders tentatively planned a Friday vote.One House Republican who joined two-thirds of GOP lawmakers Monday in voting no indicated he's reconsidering. Others were also pondering a switch, according to congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they haven't publicly committed to changing their votes.Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona, a leading conservative, told a Phoenix radio station Wednesday that he'd be inclined to vote for the bill if it raised the cap on federal deposit insurance and changed a rule that forces companies to devalue assets on their balance sheets to reflect the price they can get on the market.The revised package to be voted on in the Senate, which adds $100 billion in tax breaks for businesses and the middle class, temporarily increases the deposit insurance cap from the current $100,000 to $250,000. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it was easing the accounting rules in some cases.In a statement Wednesday, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the minority leader, called both a victory for House Republicans.
Congressional leaders said the changes should improve the package's chances — a message they hoped wouldn't get lost on a convulsive Wall Street.Some also saw heightened odds for the measure based on a flood of e-mails, calls and letters from constituents chiding Congress for inaction on the financial crisis. The feedback indicated greater public acceptance of the measure — if not a collective embrace — by voters about five weeks before the elections.House Republican Whip Roy Blunt said calls and e-mails to congressional offices that were running about 90 percent against the measure earlier now are coming in about a 50-50 pace.Even a 50-50 proposition might have been attractive on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrials at times lost more than 200 points in their third triple-digit move this week. Credit markets remained extremely tight and stocks also fell on a report that an index of manufacturing activity fell significantly in September.President Bush planned to call lawmakers ahead of the crucial vote,Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, planned to fly to Washington for the Senate vote, as did Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, adding to the political intrigue, and the White House continued to lobby hard, both publicly and privately.At the daily briefing Wednesday, spokesman Tony Fratto took the unusual step of citing the New York Times, as well as papers across the country, that carried stories on the tightening credit squeeze on small businesses, municipal projects and jobs. It is affecting real Americans out there, he said.
The legislation essentially would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believe, that would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.Officials in both parties predicted the measure would pass the Senate by a wide margin.Behind the scenes, the president was conferring with Treasury chief Henry Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke to get an update and to plot strategy. The presidential spokesman told reporters that Bush's calls so far have all been very positive. We feel that there's a sense of momentum.Fratto called the increased deposit insurance an important improvement to the bill, and also welcomed the added tax breaks, calling them helpful despite the White House's initial desire for a clean bill.Scrambling to revive a package that met with bitter derision among constituents who viewed it as a giveaway to Wall Street, the Senate added a number of sweeteners designed to please rural lawmakers, including disaster aid for hurricane-battered states and money for rural schools. The package was hitching a ride on a popular measure to require health plans for 51 or more employees to give equal treatment to mental health or addiction if they cover such illnesses. Hoyer said, however, he was concerned that the tax additions could complicate the chances of final congressional passage when the legislation comes back to the House floor for a vote. There are worries that fiscally conservative House Democrats known as Blue Dogs will be repulsed by the tax breaks, and could vote no because they have believe cuts should be bankrolled with spending cuts or other tax increases. The tax plan passed the Senate last week on a 93-2 vote. It included AMT relief, $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, and some $78 billion in renewable energy incentives and extensions of expiring tax breaks. All told, it would cost about $112 billion over five years. In a compromise worked out with Republicans, the bill does not pay for the AMT and disaster provisions, but does have revenue offsets for part of the energy and extension measures. Associated Press reporters Terence Hunt and Jennifer Loven contributed to this story.
World leaders look to US for salvation as economies near abyss
Sep 30 08:18 AM US/Eastern
Stocks Fall Around The Globe
World leaders called on the US government to take action to stave off global financial collapse Tuesday after Congress rejected a 700 billion dollar bailout in a move which stunned global markets. Another European bank, Dexia, had to be rescued and shares went through another roller coaster ride after the House of Representatives voted 228-205 against the rescue on Monday. European leaders led the calls for action by President George W. Bush who called close advisors into emergency talks after the defeat and was to make a statement on Tuesday. The US must take its responsibilities in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of their own companies and for the sake of the world, European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for another vote on the plan this week to restore market confidence. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he had sent a message to the White House to underline the importance that we attach to taking decisive action. New Japanese premier Taro Aso said: We should not let the world financial system collapse.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said that he and other US allies would press Washington to take action. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned US lawmakers they had to act fast after his plan was dramatically rejected Monday. Markets around the world are under stress, said Paulson, architect of the proposal to buy up the mountains of bad mortgage-related debt behind a wave of home foreclosures and spectacular bank failures. We need to get something done, he added. This is much too important to simply let fail.Central banks again poured money into markets an attempt to revive the global banking system but stocks rallied slightly in Europe after an initial slump following the lead set by Wall Street and Asian markets.
London shares dropped initially, but later showed a slight gain of 0.22 percent, Paris was up 0.21 percent but Frankfurt was down 0.75 percent after a 4.1-percent fall in Tokyo, and losses in Asia except in Hong Kong which gained 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 777.68 points or 6.98 percent on Monday, in a record points fall amid panic after the House vote. Hiroichi Nishi, equities chief at Nikko Cordial Securities in Tokyo, said: The market is exploring where the bottom is now.French-Belgian bank Dexia was rescued by the French, Belgian and Luxembourg governments which put in 6.4 billion euros (9.2 billion dollars). Governments also had to step in to save Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis and Britain's Bradford & Bingley this week. French President Nicolas Sarkozy called a pre-dawn meeting of key advisors and after talks with top bankers promised measures before the end of the week. A senior official in his office said. Banks are in trouble in Germany, Belgium and Great Britain. We feel a bit surrounded.France and Ireland reassured people with deposits in banks that their money was safe, echoing similar statements across Europe. The euro fell again, to 1.4376 dollars in London from 1.4432 in New York because credit worries are deepening over the European financial system, said Saburo Matsumoto at Sumitomo Trust Bank. The euro may fall further, he said. We fear the credit worries may spread into emerging economies.A vacuum of fear is causing a desperate shortage of funds in the interbank system, despite infusions from central banks, and is a critical factor in pressures that have brought down many top names in US and European banking. Some analysts now suggest there could be concerted central bank action to cut interest rates because likely economic slowdown, even recession, arising from the crisis would sharply cut inflationary pressures. Central banks emergency cuts: if not now, when? asked Citi analysts in London. But some other analysts doubted that there would be a pan-European initiative. Around the world officials and commentators used the language of disaster and despair to describe the possible impact of further delay in US action on the world economy and especially the interbank lending system.
In London, a leading global financial centre along with New York, The Guardian newspaper said: This has become a crisis of confidence in the banking system as a whole, which is unprecedented in modern times.The Times wrote: The collapse of the plan threatens all of Main Street, in America and further afield.Central banks again pumped out huge sums to keep global banking liquid with the European Central Bank renewing one-day loans of 30 billion dollars (20.8 billion euros). It also allocated 190 billion euros under a regular arrangement which once again revealed great tension on short-term bank interest rates. The Japanese central bank injected 3.0 trillion yen (28.8 billion dollars). Former World bank chief economist and Nobel economics prizewinner Joseph Stiglitz, forecasting that the crisis would ensure that Democrat candidate Barack Obama would win the presidential election. We will have other dramatic failures of financial institutions. The American economy is headed into a long recession.
Brussels calls for EU-wide response to financial crisis
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 1,08 @ 17:43 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Days ahead of a meeting of the European members of the G8 for talks on the current financial turmoil, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso urged European governments to increase their co-operation and to counter the crisis and called for international oversight of financial markets.The challenge Europe is currently facing is not only to inject liquidity into the markets, Mr Barroso told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday (1 October). We also need to inject credibility into the markets – in terms of European and of global governance of the financial system, he said.And in order to restore confidence in the markets, a joint European action is particularly important, the commission president added.Specifically, the president called for a further strengthening of the supervision structures at the European level.Mr Barroso also wants to see a reform of the current accounting rules and reforms to ensure the consistency of deposit guarantee schemes across Europe. Echoing calls from many quarters complaining that those responsible for the crisis have profited from their errors, he also called for an increasing in the transparency of executive pay.
The European financial system can cope
Despite the challenges however, he said: Our system can cope, the European financial system has the ability to respond, Mr Barroso said, echoing a statement made earlier today by Jean-Claude Juncker, the chair of the group of EU countries using the euro.
The Europeans can have confidence in their banking system, Mr Juncker told French radio Europe 1 on Wednesday morning, adding that he did not believe any government would let a big European bank go bankrupt.Luxembourg's premier also called for a stronger pan-European response and for the EU to take the leadership in countering the financial crisis.The statements of both Mr Barroso and Mr Juncker come just days before they are to meet the European leaders of the G8 group of leading industrial nations – France, Germany, Italy and the UK – together with the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, later this week and on Saturday (4 October) as well.Besides conducting talks on the financial crisis and on possible solutions, the leaders are to use the meeting to prepare for a global international summit, which the French EU presidency is hoping to hold before the end of the year.
The topic is also expected to figure high on the agenda of the EU summit of heads of state and governments from 15-16 October in Brussels.
Stricter rules for European banks unveiled in wake of crisis
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 1,08 @ 17:43 CET
The European Commission presented plans for tougher bank capital rules on Wednesday (1 October), in order to reduce risk exposure as a way to make the financial system stronger in the wake of the ongoing banking crisis.Under the proposed measures, banks would be restricted in lending beyond a certain limit to one party, and colleges of supervisors' would be put in place for those banking groups that operate in several EU states.Additionally, sellers of hazardous loans would have to maintain some of the risk by holding on to at least five percent of an investment when they sell loans repackaged as securities.These new rules will fundamentally strengthen the regulatory framework for EU banks and the financial system, EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy said when presenting the plans.
Mixed reactions
MEPs have given mixed reactions to the new rules, however, with the Liberal grouping in the European Parliament welcoming a timely commission proposal, while the conservatives have warned against excessive regulation.The commission is right to propose Europe-wide measures to address the genuine concerns of Europe's citizens with respect to their savings and mortgages. This week's proposals address two of the key planks of the current crisis as individual national authorities struggle to contain the fall-out, stated Graham Watson, leader of the Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament.For his part, John Purvis, the UK Conservative vice-chair of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, said: The EU should be taking action to ensure [the] systemic failures are never allowed to happen again, but excessive and intrusive regulation will only damage the smooth working of the financial system.Five percent retention is being billed as a panacea, but it could also make securities less attractive, potentially pushing up the cost of credit further still, he added.The proposals unveiled by Mr McCreevy – which must yet be approved by EU member states – come ahead of related legislation on credit rating agencies, which the commissioner hopes to present no later than next month.
US must take responsibility for global crisis, Brussels says
LEIGH PHILLIPS 30.09.2008 @ 22:17 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has expressed impatience with Washington over the defeat of a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street, calling on the US to take responsibility for the crisis. Meanwhile, fears are growing that the money central banks are pumping into markets are not putting out the financial fire.
Calling the Monday vote by the US House of Representatives a disappointment, commission spokesperson Johannes Laitenberger in unusually strong language said on Tuesday (30 September) that the turmoil we are facing has originated in the United States. It has become a global problem.The US has a special responsibility in this situation [and] the commission expects the decision will go through soon. The US must take its responsibility [and] must show statesmanship for the sake of their own country and for the sake of the world.The commission expects the decision to go through soon despite the bill's initial failure, he added, contrasting Europe's response to the events. The last few hours have once again shown that European authorities are assuming their responsibilities. Europe is engaging and calling for international cooperation, Mr Laitenberger said, highlighting a call by the French EU presidency for an international conference on the crisis in autumn.With the crisis still unfolding, the Irish government on Tuesday decided to guarantee all deposits held in the country's banks along with all money borrowed by the banks for two years. Dublin made the €400 billion move following a massive decline in the shares of Irish banks Allied Irish, Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society and the Educational Building Society. In mainland Europe, the Belgian and French governments gave €6.4 billion of tax payers' money to rescue Belgo-French bank Dexia, the world's biggest lender to local governments.The European Commission ... is supporting [government action to rescue] Dexia and the decision of Irish government to guarantee deposits with Irish banks, the commission's Mr Laitenberger explained. This shows that public authorities in Europe can live up to the task of preserving financial stability and protecting savings where different EU countries are concerned.
Liquidity loans hoarded
The EU official also praised national central banks in Europe and the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) for providing liquidity to struggling money markets, saying the ECB has done a superb job.Brussels' praise came despite concerns that some private banks were taking ECB money and re-depositing it with the ECB for safe-keeping, instead of lending it to other banks to get markets moving again.Banks have as of Monday parked €44 billion with the ECB deposit facility ECB spokesperson William Lelieveldt told EUobserver, citing the most up to date figures available. This figure was €1.4 billion one week ago on 23 September, climbing to €4.2 billion on 25 September and hitting €28 billion by 26 September.It is true that this is a relatively high amount, said Mr Lelieveldt. But this must be compared to the much larger sums provided to these banks by the ECB.Some economists say government action may be required to get banks to lend to each other once again. Banks are hoarding their money as there is no expectation that loaning money will be profitable and not loss-making, UK economist Barry Gills of Newcastle University said. Central banks have been injecting massive amounts of liquidity for months but the insolvency problem within banks is actually spreading.All this liquid is not putting out the fire, he said.We need a much higher level of co-ordinated action than at member state or even EU level. We need a global regulator. It's the logical outflow of the globalisation of finance - the globalisation of financial regulation, he added.The expert predicted that economies in eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and the Baltic states, will find it harder than old Europe to weather the storm, saying the International Monetary Fund may have to be called in to deliver stabilisation loans.
Casino capitalism
The Socialist group in the European Parliament meanwhile is demanding the urgent and profound reform of the worldwide financial system.This crisis confirms the excesses of casino capitalism, Socialist group leader Martin Schultz said, denouncing a savage capitalism that no longer invests in enterprise and the creation of jobs, but contents itself to let loose to make money with more money.The Green group questioned the European Commission's position on government bailouts of ailing banks. The commission seems to have suspended its normal operating procedure of responding to mergers and state aid and this may be okay given the scale of the emergency, but in the longer term what we need is a joined-up politics, British Green MEP Caroline Lucas told EUobserver. The solution to the financial crisis is the solution to the ecological crisis.Echoing US President Theodore Roosevelt's reaction to the Great Depression in the 1930s - his New Deal - Ms Lucas called for a stricter regulatory regime and concomitant investment in environmental protection providing jobs to prevent social fall-out from the crisis. We need a green New Deal - the re-regulation of the financial system and massive investment in green infrastructure, renewable energies, new technologies and so on that will deliver quality jobs to Europeans - the hiring of a carbon army, if you will - to ensure we don't have millions thrown into unemployment.
Hoyer, Blunt hopeful of progress on rescue bill By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
WASHINGTON - Two House leaders said Wednesday headway is being made toward getting the $700 billion financial industry rescue bill through Congress, thanks partly to a provision increasing insurance for people's deposits. President Bush planned to call lawmakers asking for their support ahead of a crucial Senate vote Wednesday night.
I think the Senate thinks it has the votes and I think it probably will pass, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. House Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri agreed that prospects for passage have improved, and he said he was particularly heartened by indications the legislation has become more appealing to constituents back home.The plan for Wednesday night's vote was set after leaders there agreed to add tax breaks for businesses and the middle class and increase deposit insurance in an attempt to revive the legislation rejected by the House. The White House tried to build support by warning of the conseqences of failure.This morning we're seeing increased evidence of the credit squeeze on small businesses and municipalities all across the country, so it's critically important that we approve legislation this week and limit further damage to our economy, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his GOP rival, John McCain, planned to fly to Washington for the Senate vote, as did Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.The surprise move by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appeared likely to win a big vote in the Senate that would put pressure on the House to go along and send the measure to the White House.Hoyer, though, said on NBC's Today show he was concerned that the tax issues could complicate the chances of final congressional passage when the legislation comes back to the House floor for a vote.There's no doubt the tax package is very controversial, he said, adding that there's no doubt in my mind that the Senate added this because they thought that's the only way they could get it passed. He said he wasn't pleased the tax provisions were attached to the bill.There are concerns that moderate House Democrats known as Blue Dogs will be repulsed by the tax breaks, and could vote no because they have been saying they don't want to see the deficit run up even further.
Stocks headed for a lower open Wednesday, indicating more of this week's gyrations as investors prepare for next big vote in Washington.Blunt said one of the reasons he is more optimistic is that lawmakers are hearing less vocal opposition from their districts. He said that calls and e-mails to congressional offices that were running about 90 percent against the measure earlier now are at about 50-50.It should be before the House as quickly as it can, Blunt said on NBC. But we should not set any artificial time limit here. He said that is one of the factors that doomed the bill, which was defeated 228-205 Monday, sending Wall Street into a nosedive with the biggest sell-off since the post-9-11 trading period.Both Blunt and Hoyer said they thought the atmosphere on the Hill was more conducive to passage now, saying they believe an emerging consensus on raising the federal deposit insurance to $250,000 has helped significantly and that a House vote could come later this week.Blunt also said he believes there's a better chance of getting the legislation enacted in the wake of a move to ease Security and Exchange Commission accounting rules in a way that would give businesses more leeway in how they value their assets.Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., emerged from a meeting Tuesday to tell told reporters, I'm told a number of people who voted no yesterday are having serious second thoughts about it.
Adding a set of popular business tax breaks and legislation to prevent more than 20 million middle-class taxpayers from feeling the bite of the alternative minimum tax promised to win House GOP votes for the plan even as it angered moderate Blue Dog Democrats concerned about the tax cuts adding to the deficit.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement that suggested she does not like the move but did not reveal her plans. The Senate will vote tomorrow night and the Congress will work its will, Pelosi said Tuesday. The expected support of both Obama and McCain, however, makes it difficult for Pelosi to ship the measure back to the Senate with a different set of vote-getting add-ons.The Senate legislation also will contain an increase in the government's $100,000 cap on insured bank deposits, part of a move by lawmakers, Bush and the two presidential candidates to try to reassure markets that the plan will pass this week. The House vote was a stinging setback to leaders of both parties. The administration's proposal, still the heart of the legislation under consideration, would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believe, that would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy. The tax plan passed the Senate last week on a 93-2 vote. It included AMT relief, $8 billion in tax relief for those hit by natural disasters in the Midwest, Texas and Louisiana, and some $78 billion in renewable energy incentives and extensions of expiring tax breaks. All told, it would cost about $112 billion over five years. In a compromise worked out with Republicans, the bill does not pay for the AMT and disaster provisions, but does have revenue offsets for part of the energy and extension measures.
FAITH UNDER FIRE Pastors rally for chaplains' reinstatement,Demand jobs for those forced to resign for praying in Jesus name September 30, 2008 8:39 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily
Dozens of prominent Christian leaders in Virginia have written Gov. Timothy Kaine requesting a change in the state policy that bans in Jesus name from state police chaplains' prayers and seeking reinstatement for the six chaplains who had to resign over the issue.This could impact the national election, since Virginia is such a close race, said former Navy Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt, who was dismissed from the military over the same issue but later won a battle in Congress creating a freedom for other chaplains to pray as their conscience dictates.These 86 pastors pledged to mobilize their people to vote accordingly, so the courage of these six police chaplains who were forced to resign because they prayed in Jesus name' could turn America's head on November 4th, Klingenschmitt said.The pastors now are awaiting a response from the governor.Their letter states, By defending religious discrimination, you endorse anti-Christian persecution, and prohibit free speech, literally censoring the word Jesus as illegal speech by chaplains. Is this your intention? It has been your action.WND reported earlier when the issue was raised and Kaine endorsed the plan.
According to Bishop Council Nedd, chief of the group called In God We Trust USA, the ban was issued by state police Col. W. Steven Flaherty to chaplains just weeks ago. The dispute became public through the work of Charles W. Carrico Sr., a member of Virginia's House of Delegates who is a former trooper.In God We Trust will assist Delegate Carrico and oppose this policy with every means at our disposal, said Nedd. Our supporters in Virginia are absolutely furious that the Commonwealth's government would rather its state troopers go without chaplains than risk someone being offended by a Christian chaplain invoking the name of Jesus Christ.The group's report said there had been no complaints about any of the prayers by chaplains; it was simply a ban adopted to prevent any possible future lawsuits.The action, however, violates their First Amendment rights and prevents the chaplains from serving effectively, said House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith. These men had little choice but to resign.Flaherty reported he was acting on an appeals court ruling dealing with prayers at the Fredericksburg City council, and his rule allowed only nondenominational prayers at public events.He said those who object could opt out.This is not a forced situation, a spokeswoman for the state law enforcement agency said. We wouldn't put them in that position.But Klingenschmitt, whose battle with the military over his use of the phrase remains in court where he's seeking reinstatement, said he cannot believe we live in a society where government officials literally dictate the content of a chaplain's prayers and dare to punish or exclude chaplains who pray in Jesus name.State officials said they were worried about future lawsuits because of an appeals court opinion written by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who said discriminating against anyone who prays in Jesus name among officials rotating responsibilities to open city meetings is fair and reasonable. Her reasoning left Klingenschmitt wondering how that conclusion had been reached.That dispute focused on Rev. Hashmel Turner, a resident of Fredericksburg, Va., and a member of the town council, who was a part of a rotation of council members who prayed at the council meetings. He ended his prayers in Jesus name.That phrase, however, offended a listener, who prompted the involvement of several activist groups that threatened a lawsuit if the elected Christian council member continued to be allowed to pray in Jesus name.The city then adopted a non-sectarian prayer requirement, imposing a ban on any reference to Jesus.O'Connor wrote: The restriction that prayers be nonsectarian in nature is designed to make the prayers accessible to people who come from a variety of backgrounds, not to exclude or disparage a particular faith.Klingenschmitt noted, Ironically, she admitted Turner was excluded from participating solely because of the Christian content of his prayer. The Fredericksburg government violated everybody's rights by establishing a nonsectarian religion, and requiring all prayers conform, or face punishment of exclusion.The pastors' letter notes that the opinion actually didn't universalize any ban on Jesus-prayers, rather it gave the government three options.
The options included a nonsectarian prayer policy, a rotating prayer policy or appointing chaplains to pray as their own faith dictates, the letter said.
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 have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
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.
Russia rehabilitates last tsar by David Vujanovic OCT 1,08
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's Supreme Court on Wednesday formally rehabilitated the country's last tsar, Nicholas II, declaring that he and his family were unlawfully killed by Soviet authorities. The ruling negates the Romanov's culpability in crimes the Bolsheviks used to justify the 1917 revolution and the slaying of the tsar and his royal family the following year.The presidium declared as groundless the repression of Tsar Nicholas II and his family and rehabilitated them, said Supreme Court spokesman Pavel Odintsov.The decision overturns a ruling by the same court in November 2007 that the killings did not qualify as political repression, but premeditated murder.It was welcomed by the Russian Orthodox Church and descendants of Nicholas II including Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who spearheaded the campaign to rehabilitate the imperial Romanov family.The grand duchess expressed her joy and satisfaction after the decision, her spokesman Alexander Zakatov told AFP, adding the decision proves the rule of law in Russia.Another branch of the Romanov's descendants also praised the ruling.The fact that the Russian state took responsibility for that murder is a step towards repentance ... and the rehabilitation of all innocent (Bolshevik) victims, said their spokesman Ivan Artsishevsky.
Other Romanovs have been rehabilitated as victims of Soviet political repression, but a similar measure was refused in February for the last tsar and his immediate family, whose remains are buried in Saint Petersburg.A spokesman for the Orthodox Church said the decision can only be welcomed, in a statement reported by Interfax news agency.It strengthens the rule of law, restores historical continuity and 1,000 years of state tradition, the spokesman Georgy Ryabykh was quoted as saying.Tsar Nicholas II, his German-born wife Alexandra and their five children were shot by Bolshevik police in the cellars of a house in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where they were being held prisoner, on July 17, 1918, eight months after the Russian revolution.The fate of the tsar and his family has been a political football in Russia since their remains were found in a forest near Yekaterinburg in the closing years of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.They were canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church as martyrs in 2000 despite abundant evidence that bloody Nicholas, as the Bolsheviks branded him, had been a leading contributor to the misfortunes that befell the country.In late 2002, the duchess appealed to a Kremlin commission under President Vladimir Putin to rehabilitate and declare null and void the crimes of Romanovs.Putin's successor, Dmitry Medvedev, who became Russia's youngest leader since Nicholas II when inaugurated as president in May at the age of 42, is reported to be something of an admirer of the late tsar.The Russian authorities have played along with moves to rehabilitate the Romanovs perhaps, observers believe, because the memory of their execution serves to tarnish the reputation of the Communist party, still the leading opposition group in Russian politics.The anniversary of the tsar's execution has become the occasion for religious processions throughout Russia. This year on July 17, hundreds of monarchists turned out in Moscow to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the slaying of Nicholas II and his family.
EU cease-fire monitors begin patrols in Georgia By MATT SIEGEL, Associated Press Writer OCT 1,08
KARALETI, Georgia - European Union monitors began patrolling Georgian territory Wednesday and Russian troops allowed some of them into a buffer zone around the breakaway region of South Ossetia despite earlier warnings from Moscow they would be blocked. Russian peacekeepers had said Tuesday that none of the 300 observers would be immediately permitted to be in the buffer zone, raising concerns that Moscow was stalling on withdrawing its troops from Georgia as it promised to do after its war with Georgia in August.But EU monitors were quickly allowed to pass through Russian checkpoints Wednesday near two Georgian villages on the perimeter of Moscow's so-called security zone.The situation is very calm, said Ivan Kukushkin, a smiling Russian officer in charge of the checkpoint near Kvenatkotsa.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana's spokeswoman confirmed the deployment of the monitors was going smoothly and that they have been able to go wherever they planned to go.Russia and Georgia agreed to the EU observer mission as part of an updated cease-fire plan following the war, which ended with Russian and separatist forces in control of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russians also dug in on other territory in Georgia.Terrified residents in the village of Karaleti, which was devastated by weeks of looting by South Ossetian militia, said EU monitors had come too late. Vitaly Shavishishvili, 24, and his relatives are now living in a cowshed after looters burned down their two-story house and stole two of their vehicles.
We only count on ourselves, Shavishishvili said.Zaira Mamagulashvili, 62, said that the looters burned more than 30 houses in the village and looted the local store and then blew it up with hand grenades.No one is in control. We are afraid of everyone, said Misha Sukhitashvili, another Karaleti resident. A Russian soldier is the kind of guy who after he has a drink is capable of anything.As part of the French-brokered cease-fire deal, Moscow agreed to withdraw its forces completely from areas outside of South Ossetia and Abkhazia within 10 days of the EU monitors' deployment —including from a roughly 4-mile buffer zone they have created southward from South Ossetia.The Russians gave us plans for dismantling their (check)points but didn't say when, EU mission director Hansjoerg Haber told reporters.At the Russian checkpoint near the Georgian village of Kvenatkotsa, an armored personnel carrier was parked up the hill near camouflaged tents and there was no sign of any preparations for a Russian troop pullback.Russia still plans to keep around 7,600 troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and has refused to allow EU monitors inside the regions themselves.Show the flag, be friendly, show confidence, Haber told monitors in Basaleti, about 12 miles north of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
The EU observers will be based in four semi-permanent locations, including the central city of Gori near South Ossetia and the Black Sea port of Poti, key targets of Russian forces.Solana, who visited Georgia on Tuesday, expressed optimism that Moscow would pull its troops back in the promised time frame.The war began Aug. 7 when Georgian troops launched an offensive to regain control of South Ossetia. Russia sent troops, which quickly routed the Georgian military and pushed deep into Georgia. Russia's continued occupation of Georgian territory and its subsequent recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has drawn strong condemnation from the West, which urged Moscow to respect Georgia's sovereignty.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev insisted Wednesday that the military action was necessary to repel the Georgian aggression and protect Russian citizens and peacekeepers in the region. We have done a right thing, Medvedev said in the Kremlin after giving medals to soldiers who fought in the war. We have shown that Russia can protect its citizens, that all other nations must reckon with it.Associated Press writers Mansur Mirovalev and Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili in Bazaleti and Odisi, Georgia, contributed to this report.
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