RUSSIA TO HAVE MISSLES IN POLAND

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.

Tropical depression off east coast of Nicaragua NOV 5,08

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A tropical depression off Honduras' Caribbean coast could become a tropical storm tonight or tomorrow.The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the depression's maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph.The hurricane center expects the depression to track slowly northwest and then north across the Caribbean through Friday.The depression is expected to bring 1 to 2 inches of rain over eastern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua with isolated totals of 6 inches possible. Honduras and Nicaragua have issued tropical storm watches.At 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, the depression's center was about 110 miles southeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border.Heavy rains and flooding have killed more than 30 people in recent weeks and left 16 people missing.

Rain stops in Vietnam but flood toll rises to 92 Wed Nov 5, 7:06 am ET

HANOI, Vietnam – Pumps ran nonstop in the Vietnamese capital Wednesday to clear water following the city's worst rainfall in 35 years, in storms that sparked flooding across large sections of the country and left 92 people dead.Life in metropolitan Hanoi was slowly returning to normal after a halt in the rains, with floodwaters receding and residents cleaning up their homes.Another seven bodies were found in northern Vietnam, including two more in the capital, bringing the death toll in Hanoi to 22 and the overall toll to 92, authorities said.Forecasters said rain over the weekend was the heaviest Hanoi has experienced in 35 years. At the height of the flooding, more than 100 Hanoi neighborhoods were under at least a foot of water, but by Wednesday only five neighborhoods were still submerged, said Nguyen Anh Tu of the city's drainage company.Our main pump station is running 24 hours a day, pumping 4 million cubic meters (141 million cubic feet) of excess water a day, he said. We hope the water will recede completely from metropolitan Hanoi in the next two days.Forecasters said people living in Hanoi can expect scattered showers in the coming days.Hanoi residents meanwhile continued to clear out the mud, debris and garbage that was washed into their homes by the floods.Nguyen Van Hai, 34, and his family of three moved back to their home Wednesday after spending five days with his in-laws. He had taken the day off the clean his house.Our first floor is covered with 10 centimeters (4 inches) of mud, he said. It's so smelly.More than 37,000 evacuees in two rural districts of Hanoi cannot yet return to their homes, disaster officials said.Le Thi Kim Thuy, a disaster official in Hanoi's My Duc District, said more than 12,000 people there abandoned homes when the rain started last Thursday.

Their homes are still up to three feet (one meter) under water, Thuy said. They is a shortage of everything from food to water.In the neighboring district of Chuong My, the homes of more than 25,000 villagers remained submerged, disaster official Nguyen Dung Trung said.Trung said the flood water level had dropped only a few inches over the past two days and that four villages remained surrounded by water and were accessible only by boat.

Nov 5, 2008 21:53 Peres, Livni to represent Israel at UN interfaith forum
By GREER FAY CASHMAN JPOST

President Shimon Peres will fly to New York with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni next week to represent Israel at a United Nations interfaith conference on Dialogue of Civilizations. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.Photo: Ariel Jerozolimksi .Pictures of the week At the November 11-13 conference, Peres and Livni will be rubbing shoulders and shaking hands with royalty, presidents, prime ministers, and spiritual and lay leaders from most, if not all, of the UN's 192 member states, several of which have no diplomatic relations with Israel. Among the dignitaries who have confirmed their attendance are Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, outgoing US President George W. Bush, Spanish King Juan Carlos, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Jordan's King Abdullah. The participants will meet to discuss Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as other religions practiced around the globe. The conference, initiated by the Saudi king, is an outgrowth of the Madrid Interfaith Conference held in July. Peres and Livni will probably be joined by Israeli spiritual leaders of the country's three prominent monotheistic faiths. Peres intends to consult with them this week. He told reporters that while he did not anticipate any miracles, the fact that Israel would be sitting and dialoguing with leading figures from all parts of the region was a significant breakthrough, and could be the beginning of a new reality because Israel would like to enter into peace agreements with each of the countries in the region. There is no need for us to be in conflict with any other country, and we will make peace with anyone who wants to make peace with us, he said. The president will have only a brief respite when he returns home before he flies to London for a state visit. Also Wednesday, Peres hosted a ceremony at Beit Hanassi for the installation of the new Chief Rabbinate Council.

Updated Nov 6, 2008 16:33 Peace pact unlikely by year's end By ASSOCIATED PRESS TEL AVIV JPOST

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday all but conceded that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by a year-end deadline is no longer possible. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks about President-elect Barack Obama during a news briefing at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday.Pictures of the week However, upon arriving in Tel Aviv, she also said that it was important to maintain momentum and support for the negotiations so that new governments in both Israel and the United States had a firm foundation to continue to the talks next year. Rice is making her eighth trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories since the sides set the target for reaching an agreement at last November's summit at Annapolis, Md. She said political uncertainty in Israel is the main complication to the goal, adding that the situation is a constraint on the ability of any government to conclude a deal.

RELATED
Rice may submit paper for Middle East peace
I've learned never to predict in this business, she said, but it is clear we're in a different situation now because Israel is going to elections.It is our expectation that the Annapolis process has laid groundwork which should make possible the establishment of a Palestinian state when the political circumstances permit, Rice added. I think that whatever happens by the end of the year, you've got a firm foundation for quickly moving this forward to conclusion.Although Rice refused to absolutely rule out the chance of an agreement by year's end, her remarks reflect the first time that a Bush administration official has publicly not held out hope that the deadline could be met. Israeli and Palestinian officials have long said they believe the year-end deadline is unrealistic.We'll see where they are at the end of the year, said Rice, vowing to work on this with the parties until the day that we leave.With her time in office rapidly waning, Rice is hoping to shore up the fragile Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and leave a viable process for the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

She will also visit Egypt and Jordan to shore up Arab support for the talks. At some point before Obama moves into the White House on Jan. 20, Rice said she would like to see the sides memorialize the progress they have made but not stretch to conclude a partial deal. It will be important to wrap up all of that work one way or another, she said. Rice will see Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, along with the chief negotiators from both sides, on Thursday and Friday before visiting Jenin, the West Bank town where Palestinians retook security control early this year, on Saturday. She then heads to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt where top officials from the international diplomatic quartet on the Middle East will be briefed on the status of the talks on Sunday. Any results officially reported to the quartet - the European Union, Russia, the United States and the United Nations - from Palestinian-Israeli talks so far could become a basis for future negotiations, even after the Israeli election. The quartet envoys will get from Israeli and Palestinian negotiators a progress report that could prevent backpedaling during the Israeli and US leadership changes. The idea is to listen and to record and to know where we are heading, EU envoy Marc Otte said after meeting with the chief Palestinian negotiator in Jerusalem on Thursday.

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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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU NOV 06,2008

09:30 AM -36.72
10:00 AM -84.91
10:30 AM -146.95
11:00 AM -195.38
11:30 AM -272.71
12:00 PM -258.94
12:30 PM -360.17
01:00 PM -347.42
01:30 PM -377.05
02:00 PM -347.58
02:30 PM -409.55
03:00 PM -357.56
03:30 PM -440.69
04:00 PM -443.48 8695.79

S&P 500 904.88 -47.89

NASDAQ 1608.70 -72.94

GOLD 732.1 -10.3

OIL 60.68 -4.62

TSE 300 -331.79 9,555.41

CDNX -31.29 920.13

S&P/TSX/60 -20.85 576.21

MORNING STATS AS OF 10:45 AM

European Central Bank cuts rate by 0.5% today.
England cut Bank rate by 1.5% today.
Dow down -211 points at low today so far.
Most Dow components lower today so far.
Merrill says volatility to continue to Quarter one of 2009.

NYSE STATS
-Advances 728, Declines 2,132, Unchanged 73
-New highs 1, New Lows 47.
NASDAQ STATS
-Advances 763, Declines 1,532, Unchanged 170

AFTERNOON STATS

Big 3 CEOS meeting with the Democrates.
Auto Industry seeking $25 BILLION bridge financing.
GM has lost more than $50 BILLION in the last 3 years.
GM expected to report accelerated cash burn rate for Quarter 3.
Dow down -467 points at low so far today.
Oil touches 18 month low since MAR 2007.
Stocks lower after economic data,weak OCT retail Sales.
Commercial Papers outstanding grew $550 BILLION last week to $1.6 TRILLION.

HOW TO FIND A BOTTOM
-Retesting lows on improving internals.
-Example:850 on S&P,with a fewer number of 52 week lows.
BEAR ARGUMENT:next down leg is Auto loans,Credit cards.
BULL ARGUMENT:Widely telegraphed.
-Argues for retest sooner than Later.
Rahm Emanuel accepts White House Chief of staff position.
Fidelity lays off close to 1300 and more in early 2009.

DODDS BANKING AGENDA
Dodd stays on as Chairman of Banking Committee.
1-Identify,consider Obama Economic team.
2-Oversee Economic Stabilization act.
3-Create 21st century Economic structure.
4-Srengthen Mortgage protection.
5-Create transit Bill.

DAY END STATS
Wallstreets worst 2 day drop in 21 years.
ALL 10 SECTORS DOWN TODAY.
ALL 24 INDUSTRIAL GROUPS DOWN TODAY.
475 of 500 S&P members down today.
ALL 30 Dow Industrials down today.
Dow drops below 8700 points today.
Dows drops 4.9% today.
Dow falls 9.7% in the last 2 days.
Dow falls 929 points the last 2 days.
Dows biggest 2 day point drp ever.
S&P down 5% today.
S&P near 900 points today.
S$P down 10% the last 2 days.
S&P down 101 points last 2 days.
S&P biggest 2 day drop since OCTOBER 1987.
NASDAQ down over 4.3% today.
NASDAQ down 9.6% last 2 days.

Obama and EU to reinvent global politics, pundit says
VALENTINA POP Today NOV 6,08 @ 09:55 CET

The Obama administration will play a big role in reinventing the international system, especially on the financial side, in strong partnership with the EU, US foreign policy expert David J. Rothkopf said on Wednesday.A former trade offical in the Clinton administration and a consultant on foreign affairs and emerging markets, Mr Rothkopf was talking from Washington during a video-conference organized by the Brussels branch of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an international think-tank associated with the US State Department.President Obama will play a bigger role in re-inventing the international system than any other president before in past decades, Mr Rothkopf argued, with a number of organisations and treaties badly needing an update or to be replaced altogether – ranging from the stalled Doha round of trade talks known to the non-proliferation treaty, as well as outdated bodies such as the G7 or the International Monetary Fund that don't include the emerging economies such as China.US-EU relations will clearly improve, with a second trip to Europe probably taking place in the first months of his mandate, Mr Rothkopf said.The tendency of the Democratic Party to be more comfortable with multi-lateralism and listening to its European partners will also contribute to improving relations, he said.But there was also a necessity for this partnership to improve, Mr Rothkopf argued.We can't do things alone, we need partnerships and burden sharing. I would expect a debate within NATO about a broader role and sense of burden sharing, he said, mentioning Afghanistan as an example where European help is needed.Problems within Europe are going to have an impact on this as much as US obligations are, to the extent that the EU is divided on some of the big issues of the time and on the nature of the common foreign policy and common defence policy, Mr Rothkopf added.

New global financial regulator and IMF reform

Mr Rothkopf emphasised the need for a global financial regulator – something the G20 meeting in Washington on 15 November is still unlikely to agree upon, with the outgoing Bush administration opposing this idea and the Obama team yet not in charge. But G20 leaders would probably agree to meet again in the first months of 2009, when both the creation of such a body, as well as the reform of the IMF could take a more concrete shape. He spoke of a regulatory renaissance and of of fusion capitalism, by which he means seeing European and Asian visions of capitalism and how markets are to be regulated take greater prominance on the international stage, and not just the so-called Washington Consensus. Yet on the down side, Mr Rothkopf warned against blazing new trails on protectionism that would isolate economies and only aggravate problems. In terms of what a global financial regulator would look like, Mr Rothkopf mentioned the EU as an example of creating super-national structures, while also noting the problem of enforcement. Getting everybody in a room and agreeing on principles is easy – this is what we are probably going to get on 15 November – but next year we'll see whether we'll get institutions that have the ability to enforce new global standards on the international financial markets. That's going to be the challenge, he said. Any financial agreement would also foresee a leadership role for the US, in coalition with the EU and other countries, Mr Rothkopf projected.

Stocks plunge anew as recession worries resurface By SARA LEPRO and TIM PARADIS, AP Buisness Writer NOV 5,08

BAC 21.75 -2.78
C 12.63 -2.05
GS 87.43 -7.57
LEH 0.00 0.00
MRK 28.72 -2.41

Reuters – A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange November 5, 2008. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) NEW YORK – A case of postelection nerves sent Wall Street plunging Wednesday as investors, looking past Barack Obama's presidential victory, returned to their fears of a deep and protracted recession. Volatility swept over the market again, with the Dow Jones industrials falling nearly 500 points and all the major indexes tumbling more than 5 percent.The market was widely expected to give back some gains after a runup that lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 index more than 18 percent and that gave the Dow its best weekly advance in 34 years; moreover, many analysts had warned that Wall Street faced more turbulence after two months of devastating losses.But investors lost their recent confidence about the economy and began dumping stocks again.The market has really gotten ahead of itself, and falsely priced in that this recession wasn't going to be as prolonged as thought, said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at Voyageur Asset Management, a subsidiary of RBC Dain Rauscher. Regardless of who won the White House, these problems are not going away.We're in a really bad recession, period, he said. People are locking in profits and realizing we're not out of the woods.Beyond broad economic concerns, worries about the financial sector intensified after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. began to notify about 3,200 employees globally that they have been lost their jobs as part of a broader plan to slash 10 percent of the investment bank's work force, a person familiar with the situation said. The cuts were first reported last month. Goldman fell 8 percent, while other financial names also fell; Citigroup Inc. dropped 14 percent.

Commodities stocks also fell after steelmaker ArcelorMittal said it would slash production because of weakening demand. Its stock plunged 21.5 percent.Although the market expected Obama to win the election, as the session wore on investors were clearly worrying about the weakness of the economy and pondered what the Obama administration might do. Analysts said the market is already anxious about who Obama selects as the next Treasury Secretary, as well as who he picks for other Cabinet positions.The celebration is over. Today we saw a bit of reality, said Al Goldman, chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis. President-elect Obama is coming into a situation with limited experience, having to handle an economy in serious trouble, a couple of wars and terrorism. It's an extremely tough job.

Analysts said investors were also uneasy in advance of the Labor Department's October employment report, to be issued Friday. Economists, on average, expect a 200,000 drop in payrolls, according to Thomson/IFR.Late-day selling by hedge funds helped deepen the market's losses during the last hour. More selling by the funds is expected to weigh on the market ahead of a Nov. 15 cutoff for shareholders to notify fund managers of their intent to cash out investments before year-end.The Dow fell 486.01, or 5.05 percent, to 9,139.27. The blue chips had risen more than 300 on Tuesday, and last week rose 11.3 percent, their biggest weekly gain since 1974.The S&P 500 index fell 52.98, or 5.27 percent, to 952.77. Through the six sessions that ended Tuesday, the index, the one most closely watched by market professionals, rose 18.3 percent.The Nasdaq composite index fell 98.48, or 5.53 percent, to 1,681.64, while the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 31.33, or 5.74 percent, to 514.64.Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a light 5.29 billion shares compared with 5.45 billion shares traded Tuesday.We're seeing people come into the market at the last minute and the low volume exaggerates moves to the downside and the upside. That really scares the heck out people, Goldman said.Wednesday's trading showed that the market is living up to expectations of continued volatility as it tries to recover from the devastating losses of the last two months.Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management, said the uncertainty over the direction the government's financial bailout plan will take under the next administration likely weighed on financial stocks Wednesday.

Analysts agree that Obama's most immediate priority will be dealing with the nation's financial crisis and deciding how to further implement the $700 billion rescue package passed by Congress last month. Goldman said trading could remain turbulent as investors begin assessing the shape and direction of Obama's forthcoming economic policies. The market has to go through a period of figuring out if they are going to gain confidence in Obama and the Congress or lose it, he said.

Obama's victory means that industries such as oil and gas producers, utilities and pharmaceuticals may face greater regulation and even taxes, while labor unions and automakers are expected to benefit. In addition, banks, insurance companies, hedge funds and the rest of the financial sector will almost certainly face attempts at a regulatory overhaul by the Democratic Congress next year. Among financials, Goldman Sachs fell $7.57, or 8 percent, to $87.43. Citigroup fell $2.05, or 14 percent, to $12.63, while Bank of America Corp. dropped $2.78, or 11.3 percent, to $21.75. Other sectors that are being closely watched in light of the election results are pharmaceuticals and alternative energy, analysts said. Merck & Co. fell $2.41, or 7.7 percent, to $28.72. Pfizer Inc., meanwhile, dipped $1.09, or 6 percent, to $17. SunTech Power Holdings Co. was among the alternative energy stocks that declined, falling $6.82, or 21.5 percent, to $24.88. In addition to monitoring the direction the next administration will take, investors continue to heed the state of the credit markets. The paralysis in the credit markets that began after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in mid-September has been alleviated somewhat by a series of government interventions, but they still show some signs of strain. Banks continued to ratchet down the rates they charge one another for borrowing on Wednesday, but the key interbank lending rate — the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor — remains well above the Federal Reserve's target interest rate of 1 percent. Libor for three-month dollar loans fell to 2.51 percent from 2.71 percent Tuesday. And the bid for Treasury bills remains high. The three-month bill, considered one of the safest assets around, fell to 0.42 percent from 0.48 percent late Tuesday. A low yield indicates high demand. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 3.73 percent. The dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies, while gold prices fell. Light, sweet crude dropped $5.23 to settle at $65.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei index rose 4.46 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 3.17 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.34 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 2.11 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.98 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Nov 5, 2008 23:42 Record no. of Jews elected to Congress ALLISON HOFFMAN, JPost correspondent in NY

Democrats strengthened their majorities in both houses of Congress in Tuesday's US elections, picking up five more seats in the Senate and adding at least 18 more seats in the House of Representatives. US Rep.-elect Jared Polis, left, raises the hand of his partner Marlon Reis during a Democratic victory party in Denver.
Photo: AP Pictures of the week The next session of Congress will include 45 Jewish lawmakers, a new record, after Democrats Alan Grayson of Florida and John Adler of New Jersey took two House seats from the Republican column. Jared Polis, also a Democrat, was widely expected to win his Colorado House seat to match the previous record, set in the 2006 elections. The House will have 32 Jewish members. Only the class of 1990 had more Jewish members - 34 - but there were fewer Jewish senators at the time. The next Senate will have 13 Jewish members, the same as the previous session, despite a toss-up race in Minnesota, where both Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and his Democratic challenger, comedian Al Franken, are Jewish. Democrats said they were disappointed not to have an even larger record after losing several close races - including in Alaska, where polls showed state legislator Ethan Berkowitz mounting a strong challenge for a Republican seat in vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's home state - but said they were satisfied with the outcome.

It's a lot to ask - we had an incredible night with Obama, we had the other pickups in the House and Senate and we should be very grateful, said Ira Forman, executive direction of the National Jewish Democratic Council. The reinforced Democratic majorities in both chambers assure President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand in enacting his agenda of change. The public's expectations were high that Democrats in Congress will help Obama follow through on campaign promises to end the long-running war in Iraq and fix the financial ills that many blame on Bush and his party.

Democrats increased their count in the 100-seat upper house to at least 56. They currently have a 51-49 majority, including two independents who vote in their caucus.
Three Senate races with Republican incumbents remained undecided, among them the contentious reelection bid by 84-year-old Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Senate Republican, who was convicted last month of lying on Senate forms to hide favors he received from a contractor. Races in Georgia, Oregon and Minnesota were too close to call. The Associated Press called the Senate race in Minnesota prematurely. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken, the former Saturday Night Live comedian, in the final vote count, but Coleman's 571-vote margin falls within the state's mandatory recount law. Despite the strong showing, Democrats appeared to be falling short of their goal of taking 60 Senate seats. A 60-40 majority would make it nearly impossible for the opposition to use procedural maneuvers to block Democratic proposals from coming to a vote. In the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, the Democrats expanded their majority by dominating the Northeast and ousting Republicans in every region. The Democrats added at least 18 seats to the 30 they took from Republicans in 2006. Fewer than 10 races remained undecided. Republicans were on track for their smallest numbers since 1994, the year the so-called Republican Revolution retook the House for the first time in 40 years.

The Democratic edge in the current Congress is 235-199 with one vacancy in a formerly Democratic seat. Two Louisiana seats, one Democratic and one Republican, won't be decided until December because hurricanes postponed their primaries until Tuesday. The American people have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was the first time in more than 75 years that Democrats were on track for big House gains in back-to-back elections. This will be a wave upon a wave, Pelosi said. House Republicans were licking their wounds and hoping to increase their numbers in the 2010 election. We sort of got through this, we think, a little bit better than some people might have expected, said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the head of the Republican House campaign committee. Our worst days are behind us, he added. The Democratic victories in the Senate included an upset in North Carolina by Democratic state legislator Kay Hagan, who unseated Sen. Elizabeth Dole, one of the biggest names in the Republican Party and wife of Bob Dole, the party's 1996 presidential nominee. Elizabeth Dole, a former Cabinet secretary in two Republican administrations, had been criticized for spending little time in recent years in her home state. In Virginia, former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner breezed to victory over another former governor, Republican Jim Gilmore, in the race to replace retiring five-term Republican Sen. John W. Warner. The two Warners are not related. In the West, two Udalls were elected to the Senate. In Colorado, Mark Udall, son of the late Arizona Rep. Morris Mo Udall, took the seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Wayne Allard. His cousin, Tom Udall, whose father Stewart Udall was Interior Secretary in the Kennedy administration, took the New Mexico Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pete Domenici. In New Hampshire, Republican Sen. John Sununu lost to Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in a rematch that saw Shaheen referring to Sununu as Bush's evil twin. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, attributed the party's gains to Obama's coattails. It's been a really good night, Reid told The Associated Press. Obama ran a terrific campaign, he inspired millions of people, he said. According to other preliminary counts, 12 Democrats retained their seats and 14 Republicans were reelected or won seats vacated by retiring Republicans. Among the Republican survivors was Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who outpolled millionaire businessman Bruce Lunsford to retain his seat. McConnell, the Senate minority leader, is a master strategist and could be a thorn in the side of the Democrats.

Winston Churchill once said the most exhilarating feeling in life is to be shot at and missed, McConnell said. After the last few months I think he really meant to say there is nothing more exhausting. This election has been both, he added.In Minnesota, voters cast nearly 2.9 million ballots, prompting a recount that could take weeks to complete. There is reason to believe that the recount could change the vote tallies significantly, Franken said in a statement. US Rep.-elect Jared Polis, left, raises the hand of his partner Marlon Reis during a Democratic victory party in Denver.AP Pictures of the week The Democratic winners included Obama's running mate Joe Biden of Delaware who was elected to his seventh senate term on Tuesday but must give up his seat now that he will become vice president. The state's governor will likely appoint a fellow Democrat to fill Biden's seat until 2010 when a new election will be held. A total of 35 seats were in contention in the Senate. In the House, all 435 seats were up for election. The defeat of 22-year veteran Rep. Chris Shays in Connecticut gave Democrats every House seat from the northeastern New England states. Democratic businessman Jim Himes won despite Republican Shays' recent highly publicized criticism of McCain's presidential campaign. The Democrat also won an open seat in the New York City borough of Staten Island, giving them control of all of the city's congressional delegation in Washington for the first time in 35 years. The incumbent Republican Rep. Vito Fossella was forced to resign amid drunk driving charges and revelations that he fathered a child from an extramarital affair.Elsewhere in the Northeast, Republican Reps. John R. Kuhl of New York and Phil English of Pennsylvania were defeated. In the South, Democrats took seats in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia. In Florida, two Republican incumbents were defeated by Democrats, including Rep. Tom Feeney, who was under fire for ties to a disgraced lobbyist. In the Midwest, Democrats captured one seat in Illinois and two seats each in Michigan and Ohio. Rep. Steve Chabot, a 14-year veteran, lost in a district that includes portions of Cincinnati, which has the largest black population of any congressional district in the nation held by a Republican. Obama's candidacy was a major factor in the race, where state Sen. Steven Driehaus won election. Democrats also made inroads in the West, where they captured two New Mexico seats, one seat each in Colorado and Nevada, and one left open in Arizona by retiring Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, who is awaiting trial on corruption charges.

Among the handful of losing Democratic incumbents was Rep. Tim Mahoney in Florida, who recently admitted to having extramarital affairs. He was defeated by Republican attorney Tom Rooney. But Rep. John P. Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat who angered his constituents by describing them as racist, easily won reelection. AP contributed to this report.

Europe's new love affair promises an entente cordiale
Paola Totaro, London November 6, 2008

AMID delight across Europe that the United States has voted for a decisive break with the much-reviled Bush Administration, European leaders have warmly embraced US president-elect Barack Obama.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed his energising politics and his progressive values and his vision for the future.

Australians send message to Obama
People in Sydney send their first wishes to the new US President-elect Barak Obama.
French President Nicholas Sarkozy wrote to Senator Obama offering him my warmest congratulations and, through me, those of all French people.The intense battle for the United States presidency has riveted Europe, an interest fired initially by profound resentment of George Bush.For the European political class, President Bush's failures were an unforgivable triad: he divided the EU over Iraq, he squibbed it on climate change and his administration participated in human rights violations through the promotion of rendition and the continuing use of the Guantanamo Bay detention centre.He is the worst president of the US in living memory, the German Socialist leader, Martin Schultz, told Mr Sarkozy at the European Parliament last month.Mr Schultz may well be dismissed for his florid rhetoric, but a perusal of major opinion polls showed that much of Europe shares his view. A Pew Research Centre survey found that close to eight out of 10 voters from the major nations of Western Europe - Germany, France, Britain and Italy - disapprove of Mr Bush's handling of international policy.Europe's desire for change manifested first in its warm embrace of Hillary Clinton. But once Senator Obama entered the scene, the continent succumbed to a passionate, overwhelming love affair: if Europe had the vote, the White House would have been his in a landslide.

According to Tomas Valasek, director of foreign policy and defence at the London-based Centre for European Reform, Senator Obama is seen to represent the cleanest break with America's least popular policies.Senator Obama's seduction of Europe was best exhibited in July during his whirlwind visit to Britain and speech to the 200,000-person rally in Berlin's Tiergarten. His rhetoric contained fulsome promises that he would seek counsel from Europe, forge a common path with his allies and avoid bullying other countries to ratify changes we hatch in isolation.He told the rally that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world and that Americans needed to start listening to Europe again. The longest and loudest cheers came when he pledged to lead the globe in its battle against climate change.But those were the words of an election campaign and it would be naive to imagine that, as president, Senator Obama will not also insist on a series of foreign policy decisions Europe might not like.He wants, for example, to rebuild a stronger NATO and rally European support for Afghanistan. But what this will really mean is more troops from his allies.Denis MacShane, Labour MP and former British minister of state for Europe, is optimistic Senator Obama's election will give Europe powerful opportunities to make its values and voice better heard in Washington.But he warned: Europe must find a way to speak with one voice. If not, America will decide again that there is no one to answer the telephone in Europe when they want to find a partner to speak to.

EU animal testing bill worries scientists
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today NOV 6,08 @ 09:20 CET

The European Commission has proposed stricter controls on the use of animals in medical testing, including a symbolic ban on experiments on great apes, worrying the scientific community.The draft directive - in the making for eight years - would outlaw testing on chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangoutans, unless experiments were needed to counter a new epidemic of life-threatening illness.Use of other primates - such macaques and marmosets - and all animals likely to experience pain would be restricted, with measures including ethical evaluations of all new projects by a competent authority and rules on appropriate cage size and living environments.

About 12 million animals are used in experiments each year in the EU, the vast majority of which are rats and mice, with monkeys making up just 0.1 percent, Reuters reports. Great apes, however, are no longer used.Half of all tests are for new drugs, a third for biological research and a small minority for cosmetics products. The EU's new REACH chemicals safety laws may increase the number of tests on substances used in everyday products.Experiments on primates tend to focus on neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis, as well as complex pathologies such as HIV, malaria and cancer.It is absolutely important to steer away from testing on animals, environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said, hitting a political note that backs the anti-testing side.Scientific research must focus on finding alternative methods to animal testing, but where alternatives are not available, the situation of animals still used in experiments must be improved.Animal rights campaigners such as the Dr Hadwin Trust for Human Research gave the proposal a guarded welcome, but plan to lobby MEPs to extend the directive to cover sentient invertebrates and animal foetuses, and to ban any test that causes severe or prolonged pain.This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Europe to lead the world in ending animal experiments and replacing them with the most technologically advanced non-animal techniques science can offer, the group's Emily McIvor said.Some scientists worry the new legislation will drive animal testing out of Europe to overseas centres, where animals will receive worse treatment than at present, however.The scientific community is also concerned that MEPs will further tighten up the directive to score political points.

We are dismayed that some members of the European Parliament are burying their heads in the sands of anti-vivisection propaganda, refusing to even meet researchers or visit animal facilities, Simon Festing, director of the Research Defence Society, told the Telegraph.I do despair of the constant battles that we have to fight just to continue to do good science and to save lives. These waves of anti-science we keep experiencing are disquieting, Oxford University neuroscientist Tipu Aziz said in the Guardian.

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.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

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

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

EURASIA INSIGHT RUSSIA: NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK OF A RETURN OF PRESIDENT PUTIN? 11/05/08

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has not been in office for half a year, and already he is trying to tinker with term limits. Kremlin watchers say Medvedev’s expressed desire to extend the presidential term in Russia from four to six years is meant mostly to benefit his political patron, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.Medvedev sent up a trial balloon on November 5 during an address to the Federation Council. Not only did the incumbent suggest lengthening the term, but he also called for a significant expansion of presidential authority. In addition, Medvedev proposed extending the terms of deputies in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. In a country where there are already virtually no checks or balances on executive authority, the likelihood that Russia’s constitution will be rewritten in accordance with Medvedev’s wishes seems high.The changes already appear to be on a fast-track toward approval. A presidential aide, Larisa Brycheva, insisted that the proposals would not need to be approved by a nationwide referendum, or any other process that required the consent of the general population, or the Russian Federation’s constituent entities, the official state news agency RIA Novosti reported.Meanwhile, the head of the country’s Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, told RIA Novosti that his agency was ready to organize a referendum, if necessary.

Medvedev’s proposed changes would not cover incumbents at the present time, including himself. This prompted political analysts in Moscow and abroad to speculate that the measures are tailored to facilitate an extended return by Putin to the presidency in three-plus years.Perhaps not coincidently, the same day Medvedev aired his proposals, results of a public opinion survey were released, conducted by the Russia Public Opinion Research Center, in which an overwhelming majority of respondents described the Putin era as the best epoch in Russian history. The poll was conducted in late May, but the release of the results came only on November 5. According to the poll, which surveyed attitudes about various Russian leaders over the past century, 80 percent of Russians believe Russia was moving in the right direction under Putin. The next most popular leader was Leonid Brezhnev with a 41 percent favorability rating. Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin registered 33 percent. Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin, who together presided over Russia’s rocky transition from Communism to a market economy, garnered 17 percent support each. November 5, 2008 © Eurasianet http://www.eurasianet.org

Russia to deploy short-range missiles near Poland By STEVE GUTTERMAN and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writers NOV 5,08

MOSCOW – Russia will deploy short-range missiles near Poland to counter U.S. military plans in Eastern Europe, President Dmitry Medvedev warned Wednesday, setting a combative tone that clashed with global goodwill over Barack Obama's election.In his first state of the nation speech, Medvedev blamed Washington for the war in Georgia and the world financial crisis and suggested it was up to Washington to mend badly damaged ties.Medvedev also proposed increasing the Russian presidential term to six years from four — a change that could deepen Western concern over democracy in Russia and play into the hands of his mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has not ruled out a return to the Kremlin.Extending the presidential term could mean a possible 12 more years in the top office for the popular Putin.Echoing Putin, who made criticism of Washington and the West a hallmark of his two-term, eight-year presidency, Medvedev used the speech in an ornate Kremlin reception hall to cast Russia as a nation threatened by encroaching American military might.From what we have seen in recent years — the creation of a missile defense system, the encirclement of Russia with military bases, the relentless expansion of NATO — we have gotten the clear impression that they are testing our strength, Medvedev said.He signaled Moscow would not give in to Western calls to pull troops from Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, or rescind its recognition of their independence following the August war.

We will not retreat in the Caucasus, he said, winning one of many rounds of applause during the televised 85-minute address.Talking tough, he fleshed out long-promised military measures in response to U.S. plans for missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, former Soviet satellites now in NATO. The Kremlin claims the system is meant to weaken Russia, not defend against Iran, as Washington insists.

Medvedev said Iskander missiles would be deployed to Russia's western enclave of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, to neutralize, if necessary, a missile defense system.The Iskander has a range of about 280 kilometers (175 miles), which would allow it to reach targets in Poland but not in the Czech Republic — but officials have said its range could be increased. Medvedev did not say whether the missiles would be fitted with nuclear warheads.Russia will also deploy electronic jamming equipment, Medvedev said.After the speech, the Kremlin announced Medvedev had congratulated Obama for winning the U.S. presidency, saying in a telegram he was counting on a constructive dialogue with you on the basis of trust and taking each other's interests into account.In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack emphasized that the planned missile defenses were not aimed at Russia.The steps that the Russian government announced today are disappointing, McCormack said. But, again, this is not directed at them. Hopefully one day they'll realize that.

Medvedev appeared to be trying to improve Russia's bargaining position in potential talks with the Obama administration on missile defense. His wording suggested Russia would reverse the decision if the U.S. scraps its missile defense plans.Moscow isn't interested in confrontation, and if Obama makes some conciliatory gestures it will respond correspondingly, said Alexander Pikayev, an analyst at Moscow's Institute for World Economy and International Relations.But independent military analyst Alexander Golts said Medvedev's confrontational tone could further harm relations with the United States, which plunged to a post-Cold War low over the war in Georgia. Russia itself is cutting off the route toward better ties, he said.

Regional leaders criticized Medvedev's missile warning. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was certainly the wrong signal at the wrong time and urged the U.S. and Russia to see change in the White House as an opportunity for a new beginning.Medvedev suggested the U.S. must make the first move to break the chill. The Kremlin hopes the incoming administration will make a choice in favor of full-fledged relations with Russia, he said. In addition to calling for a six-year presidential term, he said parliament's term should be extended to five years instead of four and its power over the executive branch increased. Both changes could strengthen the hand of Putin, who can run for president again in 2012 and now heads the dominant United Russia party.

Brussels seeks Russia talks amid missile threat
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 6,08 @ 09:27 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has put pressure on EU capitals to approve next week the resumption of talks on a new EU-Russia partnership treaty, put on ice due to Russia's military presence in Georgia. These negotiations should continue, first because this would allow the EU to pursue its own interests with Russia, and secondly because this is the best way to engage with Russia on the basis of a unified position, the commission stated on Wednesday (5 November). Brussels says that the next negotiating sessions should be agreed as soon as Monday (10 November), when 27 EU foreign ministers gather for their regular monthly meeting.

The move cannot be seen as a gift to Russia, external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said, AFP reports. This does not mean business as usual because we cannot accept the status quo in Georgia.Talks on an EU-Russia strategic deal were postponed on 1 September until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia's territory to positions held before the short war over South Ossetia in August.Some post-Communist countries such as Lithuania and Poland - strong allies of Georgia in the conflict - claim that Moscow has not lived up to its committment. Russian troops have withdrawn from the zones adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, with a Kremlin source quoted by Interfax on Wednesday saying Moscow would welcome more EU monitors in Georgia.

But the Russian army continues to operate in the Akhalgori district and the upper Kodori valley - zones inside the breakaway regions, but previously controlled by Georgian authorities. Russia is also building up troops inside the rebel-held zones and has refused to let OSCE monitors back into South Ossetia. Earlier this week, Lithuanian and Polish presidents - Valdas Adamkus and Lech Kaczynski - issued a joint statement, expressing deep concern over the lack of will on the Russian side.

Russian threat

Meanwhile, Moscow has renewed its threat to deploy Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad -the Russian enclave between Lithuania and Poland - in response to US plans to place components of a missile shield in central Europe. What we've had to deal with in the last few years - the construction of a global missile defence system, the encirclement of Russia by military blocs, unrestrained NATO enlargement ...The impression is we are being tested to the limit, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Russian TV.The Czech Republic has described the threat as unfortunate, while Poland said it was a new political step.But the timing of Mr Medvedev's address suggests another message, coming just hours after US president-elect Barack Obama gave his victory speech and taking the European Commission by surprise after its recommendation.The Russian move could be seen as an attempt to gain greater respect from the incoming US administration as well as to revive the EU's internal rift over the controversial project.

November 5, 2008 - 7:15 PM Iran warns U.S. military after U.S. election
By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran warned U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday that it would respond to any violation of Iranian airspace, a message analysts said seemed directed at the new U.S. president-elect more than neighbouring American troops.The Iranian army statement, reported by state radio, came after a cross-border raid last month by U.S. forces into Syria, a move that was condemned by Damascus and Tehran.

But an Iranian politician said the timing suggested it was directed at Barack Obama, who won Tuesday's U.S. vote, more than the U.S. military, and might reflect concern by hardliners in Iran who thrived on confrontation with Washington.Obama has said he would toughen sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks to resolve rows, which include a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Recently it has been seen that American army helicopters were flying a small distance from Iraq's border with Iran and, because of the closeness to the border, the danger of them violating Iran's border is possible, state radio reported.Iran's armed forces will respond to any violation, radio said, citing a statement from Iran's army headquarters.Washington, which has not had diplomatic ties with Tehran since 1980, has accused Iran of funding, equipping and training militants in Iraq. Iran denies this and says security problems are due to the presence of U.S. troops who should quit Iraq.This is a clear message to the American president-elect because radicals are not very happy that Obama has been elected, said the Iranian politician.

LOGGERHEADS

He said Iran could have chosen to pass such a message through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which handles U.S. interests in the absence of a U.S. mission. That route had been used in the past.The two countries are also at loggerheads over Iran's disputed nuclear work. Washington says Tehran is seeking an atomic bomb. Tehran says it wants the technology to make electricity so that it can export more of its oil and gas.Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said he hoped Obama would make fundamental changes in the approach of the United States towards global issues and end aggression towards other countries, state broadcaster IRIB reported.Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, according to IRNA news agency: The election of Barack Obama ... is a clear sign of the American people's wish and desire for fundamental changes in America's domestic and foreign policies.Obama, like Bush, has not ruled out military action although he has criticised the outgoing administration for not pushing for more diplomacy and engagement with Iran.Change of political figures is not important by itself. What is more important is a change of American policy, Ali Aghamohammadi, a close aide to Iran's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Reuters.Iran has warned it would respond to any attack on its territory by targeting U.S. interests and America's ally Israel, as well as closing the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway at the mouth of the Gulf and vital route for world oil supplies.Some Iranians were enthusiastic about the U.S. vote.I hope that our relations with (America) will improve as Obama has talked of direct negotiations with the Iran, said Mona Saremi, a 22-year-old student.But some analysts were cautious, saying Obama had to show he was offering more than a change in style from Bush. It is for the Americans to show that something has changed, not the Iranians, Tehran University professor Mohammad Marandi said.(Additional reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Fredrik Dahl; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Louise Ireland)

ELECTION 2008 Hamas praises Obama win as historic victory for world Terrorists drafting letter of congrats to be sent directly to president-elect November 05, 2008 12:16 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – The Hamas terrorist group believes the election of Sen. Barack Obama is an historic victory for the world and an opportunity to change U.S. foreign policy toward engagement with America's foes, Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' chief political adviser in the Gaza Strip, told WND in an exclusive interview today.Yousef, speaking by cell phone from Gaza, said Hamas is drafting a letter of congratulation to be sent tomorrow directly to Obama. He said the current draft of the letter praises the president-elect as another John F. Kennedy, or great Roosevelt.We want to be one of the first to congratulate him, Yousef said.This is an historic day, a turning point. I think this is the very first time in history that one country's election concerned everyone everywhere all over [the] world, said Yousef. Everybody is looking forward to Obama's change, for a change in the U.S. policy, particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian equation, which is the mother of all conflicts.Yousef told WND he believes an Obama administration will be more willing to engage in dialogue with Hamas.He said Obama's job will be to restore America's dignity in the world and put an end to the wars in the region.Yousef took the occasion to blast the policies of President Bush, commenting he hopes that after January the Bush administration will not be heard from again.We are sick of wars and conflict, the Hamas official said.

Yousef seemed aware his comments and Hamas' expected letter to Obama may generate some negative publicity for Obama, but he said he feels it important to reach out and to express our thoughts and engage.I praised him six months ago, some people tried to use that against him. But I knew he would win. Like everyone else, we expected this important victory, he said.Yousef was referring to an interview he gave to WND and WABC Radio in April in which he praised Obama and then found his comments had fueled a firestorm of accusations in the presidential campaign.In April, Yousef stated he hoped Obama would become president and compared the Illinois senator to President John F. Kennedy.We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the election, Yousef told WND at the time.I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse. ... I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance, Yousef said.Sen. John McCain repeatedly used Yousef's remarks to criticize Obama's foreign policy.Obama has condemned Hamas as a terrorist group that should be isolated until it recognizes Israel. He claimed McCain was using the Hamas comments as a smear.Hamas is responsible for scores of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, shootings and cross-border raids. Its official charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of Israel. Just today, Hamas members took responsibility for launching dozens of rockets from Gaza aimed at Jewish civilian population centers.

Hamas fires over 35 rockets towards Israel By Nidal al-Mughrabi Nidal Al-mughrabi – Wed Nov 5, 2:32 am ET

News GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip fired more than 35 rockets toward Israel Wednesday, the army and the Islamist group said, hours after the Israeli army killed six militants in the coastal territory.An Israeli police spokesman said the rockets landed in southern Israel, causing no damage or injuries.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attacks, the first such announcement by the Islamist group since an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel went into effect on June 19.Palestinian officials said they had been informed by Israel that all commercial border crossings with the Gaza Strip would remain closed Wednesday in response to the rocket attacks.Israeli airstrikes killed five militants and Israeli soldiers shot dead a gunman during an incursion into the Gaza Strip Tuesday.The army said it launched the airstrikes after militants attacked soldiers who entered the Gaza Strip to destroy a tunnel that Hamas had planned to use to kidnap Israeli soldiers.The latest violence could jeopardize Egyptian efforts to extend the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and further complicate Cairo's efforts to secure the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas two years ago.Hamas has said it would release soldier Gilad Shalit in return for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel for their involvement in violent attacks against Israeli civilians during a Palestinian uprising.Israel has agreed in principle to a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas but Israeli officials have had reservations about the idea of releasing prisoners with blood on their hands.Also at stake are efforts by the Arab world to reconcile the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions during a summit in Cairo next week.Relations between the two rivals soured two years ago when Hamas won a parliamentary election. A year later, Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas who holds sway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas opposes Abbas's peace talks with Israel that Washington launched a summit in Annapolis, Maryland, last year with the hope of shepherding the two sides toward a deal before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region Thursday in a bid to salvage the peace process that has so far shown little signs of a breakthrough.President elect Barack Obama has said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would be a top priority for his administration.(Writing by Joseph Nasr, Editing by Jon Boyle)

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

China: The Gathering Threat By Constantine C. Menges Ph.D. NOV 5,08

In a book that is certain to be as controversial as it is meticulously researched, a former special assistant to the president for National Security Affairs and senior official of the Central Intelligence Agency shows that the U.S. could be headed toward a nuclear face-off with communist China within four years. And it definitively reveals how China is steadily pursuing a stealthy, systematic strategy to attain geopolitical and economic dominance first in Asia and Eurasia, then possibly globally, within the next twenty. Using recently declassified documents, statements by Russian and Chinese leaders largely overlooked in the Western media, and groundbreaking analysis and investigative work, Menges explains China's plan thoroughly, exposing:

China's methods of economic control.

China's secret alliance with Russia and other anti-America nations, including North Korea.

China's growing military and nuclear power-over 90 ICBMs, many of them aimed at U.S. cities.

How China and Russia have been responsible for weaponizing terrorists bent on harming the U.S.

Damage caused by China's trade tactics (since 1990, we've lost 8 million jobs thanks to China trade surpluses).
Did you know China…

Can launch nuclear weapons that in thirty minutes could kill one hundred million Americans

Has used espionage to steal the designs of nearly all U.S. nuclear warheads and many other military secrets

Controls more than $200 Billion of U.S. National Debt

Sells more than 40 percent of its exports in the U.S., which provides much of the money used to build up its economy and its advanced weapons systems aimed mostly at the U.S.

Remains, along with Russia, the leading supplier of weapons of mass destruction to North Korea, Iran, Syria, Libya, and Cuba .For these dire reasons and more, Menges…explains why we need to go on the political offensive against Beijing’s communist rulers and bring democracy to China, writes Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz in the foreword to China: The Gathering Threat. Finished in the months preceding Dr. Constantine C. Menges’s untimely death – this vital and timely book will open your eyes to China’s lethal agenda, offering realistic and urgent suggestions for combating the gathering threat.NOTE: Purchasing China: The Gathering Threat (book) from WND's online store also qualifies you to receive three FREE issues of WND's acclaimed monthly print magazine, Whistleblower. Watch for the FREE offer during checkout.

OBAMA WINS AMERICA LOSES GUARENTEED

Spain: Osama bin Laden's son seeks asylum 27-year-old landed at Madrid airport using a passport from Saudi Arabia Claude Stemmelin / AFP - Getty Images file
Omar bin Laden, the fourth son of Osama bin laden, during a dinner at his horse ranch, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 11, 2008.Nov. 5: Residents in Madrid, Spain, drive carefully as their neighborhood chicken crosses the road. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.updated 7:52 a.m. ET, Tues., Nov. 4, 2008

MADRID, Spain - A son of Osama bin Laden was in Spain and was seeking asylum, Spain's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.Omar Osama bin Laden requested asylum immediately after arriving at Madrid airport Monday on a flight from Cairo, Egypt, that had been going on to Casablanca, Morocco, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity in line with ministry rules.The official said Omar Osama bin Laden was traveling on a passport from Saudi Arabia. The official said he could not say on what grounds bin Laden was requesting asylum.The 27-year-old remained at the airport while the ministry was considering his petition. The ministry has 72 hours to make a decision, and the petitioner has a right of appeal.

Nov 4, 2008 0:17 | Updated Nov 4, 2008 12:34 Analysis: A Middle East message to the new American leader By BRENDA GAZZAR JPOST

Dear Mr. President, congratulations! Not only have you inherited a global economic crisis unmatched since the Great Depression but you have also inherited an increasingly tumultuous and more radicalized Middle East. Experts use words like unilateral and preemptive to describe America's foreign policy in the region in the last eight years. Some simply describe US President George W. Bush's approach as our way or the highway. Whether or not you choose a more multilateral foreign policy style, you will certainly have to contend with some pressing issues that have arisen or become exacerbated over the past eight years. Thorny issues like the war in Iraq, where more than 4,000 Americans have been killed with no clear end or resolution in sight. Issues such as Iran, which appears intent on pursuing a nuclear weapons program against the wishes of the majority of the world. And you will have to contend with them at a time that America's global and regional reputation has taken a blow as an honest, neutral and even-handed player in the Middle East. Indeed, many in the region today see the US as a country that only pursues its own interests at the expense of others.

Here are just a few of your challenges:


Iran: This is considered your top foreign policy issue. Your challenge is to figure out how to convince Iran in the next year or two that it shouldn't go forward with developing a nuclear weapon. Sanctions have not worked due to a lack of cooperation by nations like China and Russia. Bush has been very explicit about using force as an option in dealing with Iran. However, some argue that Bush has limited America's options by leading with the threat of military action rather than by using all available tools, such as negotiations or incentives. Ultimately, however, tough decisions would have to be made in case these tools fail.

Iraq: Your challenge in Iraq is to diminish the American presence while keeping the country and the region stable. You know that any sort of withdrawal will neither be quick or easy. Some experts, Some experts, such as Stephen Grand of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, argue that the key would
be to take a regional approach. In addition to finding a viable political settlement among the various factions inside Iraq, bringing other nations into the fold - countries affected by the conflict such as Syria, Iran and Turkey - is necessary for any long-term solution, he said. I think that's really what has been missing in the Bush approach; a truly regional perspective.

Israeli/Palestinian crisis: It appears that neither side can resolve the conflict on its own and some kind of international intervention - particularly American intervention - is needed to help bring peace to the region. But American mediation efforts have failed thus far and some say foreign policy here should be reassessed. The Arab peace initiative could well be part of any future peace deal. However, any peace broker must contend with new and rapidly changing realities here: including upcoming Israeli elections and the protracted Fatah-Hamas divide in the West Bank and Gaza.

Syria: Syria is looking to end years of difficult international isolation while maintaining regime stability. It is counting on a new US administration that will support its peace talks with Israel. But Syria also seems reluctant to sever its ties with Iran and militants in Lebanon and the PA. Your challenge will be to help Syria - perhaps through a mixture of sticks and carrots - to end its unsavory ties with extremists and to disassociate itself from radical Shi'ite elements in Lebanon and in Iran.

Egypt: President Hosni Mubarak turned 80 earlier this year, raising questions about his succession and whether or not there could be a political vacuum in this country of some 80 million. Egypt is one of America's strongest and most stable allies in the Middle East, but questions remain about what role, if any, Islamist groups would play in its next government.

ELECTION 2008 Will Supreme Court have say in presidency? Schedule includes campaign response to questions on Obama birthplace November 04, 2008 6:51 pm Eastern
2008 WorldNetDaily

U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter has rejected an emergency appeal for the court to halt the tabulation of the 2008 presidential election results until Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama documents his eligibility to run for the office, according to an attorney who brought the action that challenges the Illinois senator's standing in the race.However, the issue isn't going away, at least for now, since Souter set a schedule for a response from Obama to the challenge from attorney Philip J. Berg.As WND reported, Berg brought his claims to the Supreme Court after a federal judge dismissed his lawsuit alleging Obama is ineligible to be president because he possibly was born in Kenya.The judge concluded Berg lacks standing to bring the action.

Philip J. Berg

The 34-page memorandum that accompanied the court order from Judge R. Barclay Surrick said ordinary citizens can't sue to ensure that a presidential candidate actually meets the constitutional requirements of the office.Instead, Surrick said Congress could determine that citizens, voters, or party members should police the Constitution's eligibility requirements for the Presidency, but that it would take new laws to grant individual citizens that ability.Until that time, Surrick says, voters do not have standing to bring the sort of challenge that Plaintiff attempts to bring.In a statement today, Berg said he was told by a clerk for Souter that his application for an injunction to stay the election was denied. But he also said the defendants are required to respond to the Writ of Certiorari by Dec. 1.Get the book that started it all – Jerome Corsi's The Obama Nation, personally autographed for only $4.95 – an amazing $23 discount! The questions over Obama's eligibility first got traction among Internet bloggers and later were heightened when several campaigns were launched to determine whether a certificate of live birth posted on the Internet by the Obama campaign was valid.The issue gained more attention when Berg told radio talk show host Michael Savage he had an admission from Obama's grandmather that she was at his birth – in Kenya.

This is a question of who has standing to stand up for our Constitution, Berg told Jeff Schreiber of America's Right blog. If I don't have standing, if you don't have standing, if your neighbor doesn't have standing to ask whether or not the likely next president of the United States – the most powerful man in the entire world – is eligible to be in that office in the first place, then who does? WND senior investigative reporter Jerome Corsi traveled both to Kenya and Hawaii to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth.But his discoveries only raised more questions.The biggest question is why Obama, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists, simply hasn't ordered it made available to settle the rumors.The governor's office in Hawaii said he had a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin. Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii.

Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born.But a video posted on YouTube features Obama's Kenyan grandmother Sarah claiming to have witnessed Obama's birth in Kenya.As WND reported, Berg filed suit in U.S. District Court in August, alleging Obama is not a natural-born citizen and is thus ineligible to serve as president of the United States. Berg demanded that Obama provide documentation to the court to verify that the candidate was born in Hawaii, as Obama contends, and not in Kenya, as Berg believes.

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED NOV 05,2008

09:30 AM -53.04
10:00 AM -184.07
10:30 AM -101.15
11:00 AM -133.09
11:30 AM -150.06
12:00 PM -187.65
12:30 PM -253.44
01:00 PM -286.65
01:30 PM -290.56
02:00 PM -309.47
02:30 PM -328.71
03:00 PM -301.87
03:30 PM -390.11
04:00 PM -486.01 9139.27

S&P 500 952.77 -52.98

NASDAQ 1681.64 -98.48

GOLD 740.6 -16.70

OIL 65.30 -5.23

TSE 300 -229.38 9,887.20

CDNX -23.85 951.42

S&P/TSX/60 -13.57 597.06

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -27.44%
Dow Transports -10.9%
Dow Utilities -26.7%
Nasdaq -32.88%
S&P 500 -31.5%
Russell 2000 -28.73%
NY Composite -34.86%
Amex Composite -36.60%

Dow at low today was -202
Futures down after S&P rallies 19% over last 8 sessions.
Germany passes $64 BILLION Economic Stimulus Package.
Italy working on a plan,expect U.S to follow.
Solar stocks lower as ALT. energy measures fail in California.
Libor falls again,but Mortgage rates remain high.

END CLOSINGS

Biggest drop in 2 weeks.
Stocks close at days lows.
Dow fell over 5% today
Dow fell below 9200 points today.
All 30 Dow stocks lower today.
S&P below 1000 points today.
NASDAQ falls 5% today.

Memo to Traders:Global Economy in bad shape.
Conclusion:Tough to move Markets forward.
Fairly uniform selloff:Most stocks -3%-7%.
Initial decline lead by commodity Stocks.
Late-Day selloff led by Financials.

OBAMAS DECISIONS:WHAT WILL HE DO?
-tax increases-The right thing?
-Trade-revive Doha round?
-Expand health care-Casualty of deficit?

Europe awaits new deal from President Obama
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today @ 09:26 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Europe has welcomed the victory of the democratic candidate in the US presidential elections, with the French leader Nicolas Sarkozy praising the choice of change and optimism by the American voters, while Brussels urged for a new deal in a new world under the leadership of Barack Obama.This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the United States of America, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement released early Wednesday (5 November), minutes before Senator Obama appeared to meet his supporters in his hometown of Chicago after his victory was confirmed.Mr Barroso assured the US President-elect of his support when both Brussels and Washington will face together the many challenges ahead of us.We need a new deal for a new world. I sincerely hope that with the leadership of President Obama, the United States of America will join forces with Europe to drive this new deal, he added, using the same term as the Democratic predecessor of Obama in the White House, Franklin D. Roosevelt.Back in 1930s, President Roosevelt presented his New Deal initiative as a way to boost jobs and public investment to revive the economy battered by the Great Depression, a global economic crisis often referred to in comparisons to the current financial turbulence.Mr Obama is due to attend the first global summit organised by the outgoing US president George W. Bush under the initiative of Europe, in Washington on 15 November which could see an opening of a series of high-profile debates about the reform of the international financial system.

Optimistic choice

But despite the grim economic circumstances across the globe, for supporters of Barack Obama, the first Afro-American to take up the top US job, the election night was full of joy and positive emotions.French President Nicolas Sarkozy whose country is currently chairing the EU congratulated him for the brilliant victory, noting By choosing you, the American nation has chosen change, openness and optimism.It would give an excellent message to the people of the EU if Barack Obama were to make a speech in the European Parliament during his first visit to Europe, the parliament's president, Hans Gert Poettering, said in his statement of congratulation.This way he could address the almost 500 million citizens of the European Union, he added.The triumph of Barack Obama, 47, in the historic elections - followed with great interest worldwide - became evident after he had captured the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and later also Florida, Virginia and Colorado - all of which voted Republican in 2004. In some states, like Indiana and and North Carolina, the votes seemed very tightly distributed between the two candidates but at 07.00 Brussels time the polls stood at 51.3 percent for the Democratic Senator from Illinois, against 47.4 percent for Arizona Senator Mr McCain, the BBC reported.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer, Mr Obama said to the crowds in Grand Park, Chicago.Senator McCain congratulated his rival, saying I deeply admire and commend Mr Obama and called on his supporters to rally behind their new leader.

Polish president gets prickly mandate for EU summit
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today NOV 5,08 @ 09:27 CET

The Polish government will let Polish President Lech Kaczynski go alone to Friday's (7 November) EU summit, to avoid another fiasco over chairs at the top table. But it will give him a hard to digest pro-euro and pro-Lisbon treaty mandate.Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Tuesday his decision to stay home, saying he did not want a repeat of the October summit, when a rogue Mr Kaczynski chartered his own plane and gatecrashed the EU meeting, causing protocol havoc and making Poland a figure of fun in European media.The government's negotiating mandate - which Mr Kaczynski is obliged to follow under the Polish constitution - will force the president to put forward Poland's plan to join the euro in 2012 and call on all EU states to ratify the Lisbon treaty, placing him in an awkward position.The eurosceptic Mr Kaczynski last week said quick euro entry will cause inflation and has himself refused to sign off on Lisbon in support of the Irish No vote in June.Mr Tusk said the mandate was not drafted out of spite, but because Polish euro entry and broader EU integration will help keep Poland safe amid the financial crisis.

I can imagine a situation [in which the president ignores the mandate], but I wouldn't accept it, he warned, PAP reports. We can't apply any extraordinary disciplinary measures, because we don't have them. We can just count on [his] elementary sense of responsibility.Mr Kaczynski's aides called the proposals absurd, saying they do not fit in with Friday's summit agenda.What does the Lisbon treaty have to do with the financial crisis? It's a paradox. Every reasonable person knows this. I'm curious, who'll even want to talk about the treaty, when Europe is facing such serious tasks, in the context of the crisis, presidential minister Michal Kaminski said on Polish TV, calling Mr Tusk's position point scoring and a strange game.Presidential advisor Piotr Kownacki told Rzeczpospolita that if French President Nicolas Sarkozy asks Mr Kaczynski why he won't sign Lisbon, the Polish head can answer it's not us blocking the treaty, it's Ireland.The Polish president is also embroiled in another scrap over government policy, after on Monday signing a declaration together with Lithuanian President Valdus Adamkus calling on the EU not to restart negotiations on a new EU-Russia agreement. Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he learned of the move from his Lithuanian colleague at a meeting in the French city of Marseille. But the president's men say they consulted with the Polish embassy in Lithuania first.The head of the Lithuanian foreign office put the declaration on the table, Mr Sikorski said. It's not good for our negotiating position [in the EU] that the existence of this document and its contents were a surprise for me.

MEPs back penalties for hiring irregular migrants
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 5,08 @ 09:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament civil liberties committee has backed the idea of introducing sanctions, administrative as well as criminal, against employers who hire undocumented immigrants from outside Europe. Italian Socialist Claudio Fava, in charge of the dossier in the parliament, described the vote as a step forward. Illegal immigrants help meet the needs of some unscrupulous employers who are willing to take advantage of workers prepared to undertake what are mostly low-skilled and low paid jobs, he said. Brussels estimates there are four to eight million immigrants working without proper documentation in the EU, with the number swelling by up to half a million each year. According to the approved piece of law, employers hiring irregular immigrants will have to, among other things, pay costs for the migrant's return, outstanding wages, taxes and social contributions.Criminal penalties could be triggered in circumstances such as extreme exploitation and human trafficking, while those exploited severely could be granted a temporary residency permit in order to participate in a trial trying to win what an employer owns to them. The directive does not exclude regularisation of clandestine workers, Mr Fava said. But the issue of criminal measures is very divisive among EU member states.

In July - when the draft legislation was debated by EU interior ministers - some countries, including Germany, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden, argued there were other ways to fight irregular employment.The European Commission proposal on sanctions against employers who hire undocumented non-EU immigrants dates back to May 2007. It is part of the union's efforts to curb such forms of migration, while boosting legally sanctioned ways of labourers entering its territory.

Bush promises smooth transition to Obama NOV 5,08

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President George W. Bush on Wednesday publicly congratulated Barack Obama on his historic victory and vowed complete cooperation as the first black US president moves into the White House.Last night, I had a warm conversation with president-elect Barack Obama. I congratulated him and Senator (Joe) Biden on their impressive victory, Bush said in his first public remarks on the election.I told the president-elect he can count on complete cooperation from my administration as he makes the transition to the White House, said the outgoing president, whose second four-year term ends January 20.Bush also said he and First Lady Laura Bush had invited Obama and wife Michelle Obama to come to the presidential mansion, and Laura and I are looking forward to welcoming them as soon as possible.Bush, whose vast unpopularity weighed down fellow Republican and chosen successor John McCain's campaign, said he had also spoken to the defeated Arizona senator.I congratulated him on a determined campaign that he and Governor Palin ran, he said, referring to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who would have been the first woman vice president.

The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation. And I know he'll continue to make tremendous contributions to our country, said Bush.He also left little doubt about the president-elect's say in charting the nation's course over the next 76 days, saying he would keep Obama fully informed on important decisions.But there's important work to do in the months ahead, and I will continue to conduct the people's business as long as this office remains in my trust, said Bush.Eight years after campaigning on a pledge to be a uniter not a divider, Bush was to leave a politically polarized country in which nine out of ten citizens worry the nation is on the wrong course but disagree what to do.No matter how they cast their ballots, all Americans can be proud of the history that was made yesterday, said the president, who underlined the historic nature of the choice made at the polls a day earlier.Many of our citizens thought they would never live to see that day. This moment is especially uplifting for a generation of Americans who witnessed the struggle for civil rights with their own eyes -- and four decades later see dream fulfilled, he said.A long campaign has now ended, and we move forward as one nation. We're embarking on a period of change in Washington, yet there are some things that will not change, he said.The United States government will stay vigilant in meeting its most important responsibility -- protecting the American people. And the world can be certain this commitment will remain steadfast under our next Commander-in-Chief, Bush said in his three-minute statement.And when the time comes on January the 20th, Laura and I will return home to Texas with treasured memories of our time here -- and with profound gratitude for the honor of serving this amazing country.

All-night parties cheer Obama in EU capital Over 2,000 people gathered at the Renaissance hotel in Brussels to watch the US election results (Photo: EUobserver)LEIGH PHILLIPS AND VALENTINA POP Today NOV 5,08 @ 09:57 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU officials, expats working for the European headquarters of multinational firms, Erasmus students and locals from every quarter of the Belgian capital partied on Tuesday night (4 November) in anticipation of a victory for Barack Obama in the US presidential vote.Over 2,000 US expats and other international workers crammed into the Brussels Renaissance hotel down the road from the European Parliament for a party organised by the American Chamber of Commerce Belgium and the local chapters of Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad. The crowd celebrated as results came in on the huge screens through the night, despite the time zone difference. The organisers set up a debate between representatives of the Republicans and Democrats. But the audience was clearly in favour of senator Barack Obama, who won 93 percent of the votes cast at a straw poll at the event, with only seven percent favouring his Republican rival, John McCain.To Matt Graves, a 37-year-old French-speaking Texan who has lived in Belgium for 14 years, the election of senator Obama was a dream come true. Proudly wearing his cowboy hat with the inscription Texans for Obama, Mr Graves told EUobserver that his home state is not all red, despite the Texas end result coming out in favour of senator McCain.These are historical elections, it's absolutely amazing, he said, convinced that the new president will greatly improve relations with the European Union.Belgian nationals were also present at the celebrations, such as Eric and Micheline Mathay, a couple who had also joined the election party for French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.

Mr Obama is the American Sarkozy, the 52-year-old accountant told this website, noting that Europeans have very high expectations from the newly elected US president in terms of a better dialogue on international affairs. But Mr Obama's popularity was likely to drop after the honeymoon ends, Mr Mathay argued, just as with the French president.

More responsibilities for the EU

An Obama presidency would mean not only more dialogue and involvement with the Europeans on the world stage, but also more responsibilities for the EU countries, argued Jamie Shea, the head of NATO's policy planning unit during the debate ahead of the first results.The cost of multilateralism, for the EU countries, would soon be felt when President Obama picks up the phone to Germany and France and tell them to commit more troops for the war in Afghanistan, he said. In terms of the consequences of the first truly global financial crisis, Mr Shea said that multi-lateralism would also mean that rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and China would soon feel entitled to more voting rights in the International Monetary Fund than, for example, Luxembourg or Belgium, if their contribution is required to stabilise the markets. This would also pose a challenge for the EU, especially in the context of a US president having to face pressure from a Democratic congress to keep his campaign promises in terms of social programmes and thus increase spending - in turn inflating the country's $33 trillion debt, Mr Shea argued.To Michael R. Kulbickas, chair of Republicans Abroad Belgium, an Obama presidency would mean lower military spending. There is a danger that a reduced defence budget means fewer security guarantees for EU countries, especially eastern European ones, he told EUobserver. In terms of dealing with Russia, Mr Obama would prefer appeasement at the expense of countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, the Republican argued.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town

Across the city from the European quarter, outside the cafe at the Maison du Peuple [the people's house] - bedecked in red-white-and-blue bunting and red-white-and-blue Obama posters - a raucous crowd was trying to get into an election party hosted by the Party of European Socialists.If there was a single McCain supporter amongst the gathered hipsters and immigrants in the student-heavy and working-class neighbourhood of St Gilles, he made himself well-disguised. The square stretching out from the cafe, built as a house of working class self-education for Belgian trade unionists in the last century, was more packed than could ever be likely for any domestic election. Zach Ellis, a young backpacker from New York happened across the event having not long got off the train in Brussels, and was dumbstruck that so many Belgians were paying attention to the election. It's awesome - the energy, the sympathy of the people in the street. They want somebody who's committed to ending our wars overseas - wars I don't want to fight in.His new European friend, Martti Kaartinen, a stagaire with the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, said he found out about the party via the internet, adding that the campuses of the francophone Universite Libre de Bruxelles and the Dutch-speaking Vrije Universiteit Brussel were covered in Obama posters.All of Europe is behind Obama. He's going to bring back some of the good things we think of about America, he said, while also preparing to be disappointed. People here see him as a kind of European, but he's an American really, and a politician. Democrats have started wars as well.Julio Diankenda, who moved to Belgium from the Congo when he was three, said he thought of Obama as a great symbol of hope for immigrants both in the US and in Europe. He tells people in Africa they can come from immigrant backgrounds and even be president. That's important for people to recognise here in Europe too.

European socialists roll out red carpet

Midway through the evening, it was time for the politicians to arrive, slicing their way through the crowds. Elio di Rupo, the president of the Walloon Socialists, was quick to say that Barack Obama was the choice of Belgium and of Europe.Obama is the sole candidate that is in accord with Europe. On the financial crisis, climate change - all the essential elements, his is a progressive programme, a humane discourse that is in accord with the grand ensemble of Europe.He admitted that there were differences between a European Socialist view of the world and that of a free-market American Democrat, however. We can't demand that he agree 100 percent with Europe. The reality is different in the United States.His colleague, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, the president of the European Socialists, agreed that despite ideological differences, Mr Obama was the preferred candidate of the left in the European Parliament.The United States is not the same type of welfare state as we have here in Europe, but what is clear is that the overall vision is the same as Socialists, as Europeans, he said.[He believes] that the people come first and shouldn't pay for the mistakes of the better off whether in Wall Street or Frankfurt, that markets cannot do it all any longer on their own.

Obama sweeps to victory as first black president By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent – NOV 5,08

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. Change has come, he told a jubilant hometown Chicago crowd estimated at nearly a quarter-million people.The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Iowa and more. He captured Virginia, too, the first candidate of his party in 44 years to do so.On a night for Democrats to savor, they not only elected Obama the nation's 44th president but padded their majorities in the House and Senate, and in January will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994.A survey of voters leaving polling places showed the economy was by far the top Election Day issue. Six in 10 voters said so, and none of the other top issues — energy, Iraq, terrorism and health care — was picked by more than one in 10.Obama's election capped a meteoric rise — from mere state senator to president-elect in four years.Spontaneous celebrations erupted from Atlanta to New York and Philadelphia as word of Obama's victory spread. A big crowd filled Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House.

In his first speech as victor, to an enormous throng at Grant Park in Chicago, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead. The greatest of a lifetime, he said, two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.He added, There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly, McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.President Bush added his congratulations from the White House, where his tenure runs out on Jan. 20. May God bless whoever wins tonight, he had told dinner guests earlier.Obama, in his speech, invoked the words of Lincoln and seemed to echo John F. Kennedy.So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder, he said.He and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009. McCain remains in the Senate.Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, returns to Alaska as governor after a tumultuous debut on the national stage.He will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.The popular vote was close — 51.3 percent to 47.5 percent with 73 percent of all U.S. precincts tallied — but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.Shortly after midnight in the East, The Associated Press count showed Obama with 338 electoral votes, well over the 270 needed for victory. McCain had 141 after winning states that comprised the normal Republican base, including Texas and most of the South. Interviews with voters suggested that almost six in 10 women were backing Obama nationwide, while men leaned his way by a narrow margin. Just over half of whites supported McCain, giving him a slim advantage in a group that Bush carried overwhelmingly in 2004. The results of the AP survey were based on a preliminary partial sample of nearly 10,000 voters in Election Day polls and in telephone interviews over the past week for early voters. Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months. In Washington, the Democratic leaders of Congress celebrated.

It is not a mandate for a party or ideology but a mandate for change, said Senate Majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Said Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California: Tonight the American people have called for a new direction. They have called for change in America.Democrats also acclaimed Senate successes by former Gov. Mark Warner in Virginia, Rep. Tom Udall in New Mexico and Rep. Mark Udall in Colorado. All won seats left open by Republican retirements. In New Hampshire, former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen defeated Republican Sen. John Sununu in a rematch of their 2002 race, and Sen. Elizabeth Dole fell to Democrat Kay Hagan in North Carolina. Biden won a new term in Delaware, a seat he will resign before he is sworn in as vice president.

The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, survived a scare in Kentucky, and in Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss hoped to avoid a December runoff. The Democrats piled up gains in the House, as well. They defeated seven Republican incumbents, including 22-year veteran Chris Shays in Connecticut, and picked up nine more seats where GOP lawmakers had retired. At least three Democrats lost their seats, including Florida Rep. Tim Mahoney, turned out of office after admitting to two extramarital affairs while serving his first term in Florida. In Louisiana, Democratic Rep. Don Cazayoux lost the seat he had won in a special election six months ago. The resurgent Democrats also elected a governor in one of the nation's traditional bellwether states when Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon won his race.

An estimated 187 million voters were registered, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, 40 million or so had already voted as Election Day dawned. Obama sought election as one of the youngest presidents, and one of the least experienced in national political affairs. That wasn't what set the Illinois senator apart, though — neither from his rivals nor from the other men who had served as president since the nation's founding more than two centuries ago. A black man, he confronted a previously unbreakable barrier as he campaigned on twin themes of change and hope in uncertain times. McCain, a prisoner of war during Vietnam, a generation older than his rival at 72, was making his second try for the White House, following his defeat in the battle for the GOP nomination in 2000. A conservative, he stressed his maverick's streak. And although a Republican, he did what he could to separate himself from an unpopular president. For the most part, the two presidential candidates and their running mates, Biden and Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, spent weeks campaigning in states that went for Bush four years ago. McCain and Obama each won contested nominations — the Democrat outdistancing former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton — and promptly set out to claim the mantle of change. Obama won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. McCain had Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. He also won at least 3 of Nebraska's five electoral votes, with the other two in doubt. (This version CORRECTS years since Democrat won Virginia to 44, not 40)

Nov 5, 2008 18:29 Israeli leaders congratulate Obama on presidential victory
By JPOST.COM STAFF

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his victory, saying that Israelis were impressed by his commitment to the peace and security of Israel during his recent visit. Barack Obama makes history becoming first African-American President-elect In a statement released Wednesday, Livni also thanked Sen. John McCain for his long-standing friendship with Israel, and congratulated him on an honorable campaign. Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu sent Obama a telegram congratulating him on his election. You and the American people have brought about a historic change, Netanyahu wrote. You've reminded the world of what the US symbolizes - the hope and promise of a better future. I am convinced that we will work together for peace, security and prosperity in our region and a better future for us all, he added. President Shimon Peres called the result an end to racism, going on to say that there is no longer any way that any white man can claim superiority, nor any black person feel discrimination.

Peres reiterated what he had said to Obama when he was in Israel; that the best thing he could do for Israel was to be a great president of the United States of America. A president, continued, should be on the side of peace.The president also sent Obama a short personal letter, which read, The world needs a great leader. It is in your making. It is in our prayers. God bless you.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also congratulated Obama on his historic and impressive victory.America proved once again that it is indeed the greatest democracy, which sets an example to all the democracies in the world, Olmert said in a statement. Obama proved to the entire world his skills and his leadership.Olmert added that Israel and the US have a special relationship based on shared values and interests. Israel and America have a joint will to continue and strengthen that relationship and advance peace and stability in the Middle East. I have no doubt that this special relationship between the two countries will continue and strengthen during the Obama administration.Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.

Transcript: Obama's acceptance speech Wed Nov 5, 3:25 am ET

AP – President-elect Barack Obama hugs his daughter, Malia, after his acceptance speech at his election night … Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama-as prepared for delivery Election Night Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 Chicago, Illinois

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference. It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America. It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there. There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too. And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope. For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow. This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can. At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can. When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can. When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can. A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can. America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made? This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Google pulls out of Yahoo advertising partnership By JOELLE TESSLER and MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writers NOV 5,08

WASHINGTON – Google Inc. has scrapped its Internet advertising partnership with struggling rival Yahoo Inc., abandoning attempts to overcome the objections of antitrust regulators and customers who believed the alliance would give Google too much power over online commerce.The retreat announced Wednesday represented another setback for Yahoo, which had been counting on the Google deal to boost its annual revenue by $800 million and placate shareholders still incensed by management's decision to reject a $47.5 billion takeover bid from Microsoft Corp. six months ago.

To Yahoo's dismay, Google backed off to avoid a challenge from the U.S. Justice Department, which said it would sue to block the Yahoo deal to preserve competition in the Internet's rapidly growing advertising market.The arrangement likely would have denied consumers the benefits of competition — lower prices, better service and greater innovation, said Thomas Barnett, an assistant attorney general who oversees the Justice Department's antitrust division.Without Google's help, Yahoo now may feel more pressure to renew talks with Microsoft and ultimately sell itself for much less than the $33 per share that Microsoft offered in May. Yahoo shares traded Wednesday morning at just $13.87, gaining 4 percent in a move reflecting investor hopes that Microsoft might renew its pursuit.Surrendering the chance to sell ads on Yahoo's popular Web site won't be a significant financial blow for Google, which already runs the Internet's largest and most prosperous advertising network.But the capitulation marks a rare comedown for Google, which had been insisting for more than four months that the Internet would be a better place to do business if it were allowed to work with Yahoo.

We're of course disappointed that this deal won't be moving ahead, David Drummond, Google's chief legal officer, wrote on a company blog. But we're not going to let the prospect of a lengthy legal battle distract us from our core mission. That would be like trying to drive down the road of innovation with the parking brake on.Yahoo said it wanted to fight the Justice Department in court, though it played down the impact Google's retreat would have on its turnaround efforts.This deal was incremental to Yahoo's product roadmap and does not change Yahoo's commitment to innovation and growth in search, the company said in a statement. The fundamental building blocks of a stronger Yahoo ... were put in place independent of the agreement.Google's management took a strategic risk by agreeing to the Yahoo partnership in June, knowing the move would increase the government's scrutiny of Google's market power. Even though it is now walking away empty-handed, Google figures to remain in regulators' sights as it tries to expand.For the first time, Google has run into real opposition to its marketplace goals, said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a consumer advocacy group. Google is aware that its aggressive moves in the online advertising business are potentially contributing to damaging its brand. The perception of Google has changed.

The collapse of the Google-Yahoo alliance shapes up as a potential coup for Microsoft.Although it has publicly said it's no longer interested in buying Yahoo, Microsoft spent a lot of time and money trying to keep Google and Yahoo from coming together.The world's largest software maker provided evidence that helped persuade regulators the partnership would diminish competition. Microsoft also helped orchestrate the campaign that prompted major advertisers to lodge formal complaints against the proposed partnership.The Justice Department signaled it was considering a legal challenge to the deal in September when it hired veteran antitrust lawyer Sanford Litvack to review the case.The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Google and Yahoo had proposed restrictions on the deal — capping the amount of search ads Yahoo could outsource to Google — in a late bid to win favor.Now that Google is out of the picture, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang will have to come up with another way to accelerate his company's revenue growth and boost a stock price that has lost more than half its value since he became chief executive in June 2007.

If nothing else, Yang appears to have a bigger incentive to join forces with another tarnished Internet star, AOL. Yahoo has been discussing a possible acquisition with AOL's corporate parent, Time Warner Inc., for months. Google also owns a 5 percent stake in AOL. But many Yahoo shareholders, including new board member Carl Icahn, have indicated they think the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company should try to lure Microsoft back to the negotiating table. Most industry analysts still believe Microsoft will make another run at Yahoo, particularly now that the company can be bought at a fraction of the May offer. Instead of buying Yahoo in its entirety, Microsoft might want just Yahoo's search engine, which ranks a distant second in usage behind Google's. Microsoft attempted to buy Yahoo's search engine shortly before the Google partnership was reached. Under the terms of the proposed partnership, Yahoo would have drawn on Google's superior technology for some of the ads shown alongside the search results on its Web site. Yahoo would have pocketed most of the revenue generated from Google's ads. The concept didn't pan out because Google and Yahoo combined control more than 80 percent of the U.S. search advertising market. Microsoft and the Association of National Advertisers, among others, argued the arrangement would enable Google to gradually increase advertising prices and exert more control over the flow of e-commerce. Bob Liodice, head of the advertisers group, said Wednesday that with the agreement dead, the search advertising marketplace will evolve unencumbered with increasing transparency and greater productivity. The marketplace will win.Google and Yahoo said the advertisers' complaints were misguided because search ad rates are set through an auction-style system. What's more, the partnership was supposed to be non-exclusive, leaving an opening for Microsoft and others to vie to sell ads on Yahoo's Web site.

But helping out Yahoo — to keep it out of Microsoft's hands and to perhaps began to make less sense for Google as it became apparent how much the proposal was alienating the government and advertisers. Michael Liedtke reported from San Francisco.

California voters ban gay marriage ,Bans also pass in Fla., Ariz.; anti-abortion initiatives rejected in Colo., S.D.Opponents of Proposition 8, which would amend California's state constitution to ban gay marriage, urged San Francisco voters to reject the measure on Tuesday. NOV 5,08

California voters have passed a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, AP reported Wednesday. NBC News has yet to confirm the passage of this amendment, which would overturn a court ruling that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago. The passage of Proposition 8 represents a crushing political defeat for gay-rights activists, who had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough to help them defeat the measure. It also represents a personal loss for the thousands of couples from California and others states who got married in the brief window when they could. Legal experts said courts will have to resolve whether their unions still are valid. California joins Arizona and Florida, where voters also approved amendments banning gay marriage. Gay-rights forces also suffered a loss in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Supporters made clear that gays and lesbians were their main target. Meantime, Colorado and South Dakota rejected anti-abortion initiatives.

Marijuana decriminalized
In Washington state, voters decided to join Oregon as the only states offering terminally ill people the option of physician-assisted suicide. Michigan approved medical marijuana, and Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Those results were among the more than 150 measures voted on in 36 states. Some of the nation's most divisive social issues — gay marriage, abortion and affirmative action — went before voters. In California, the night had started out optimistically for many who believed that a large Democratic-voter turnout would help defeat the state's proposed ban on same-sex marriage. Similar bans had prevailed in 27 states before Tuesday's elections, but none were in California's situation — with about 18,000 gay couples married since a state Supreme Court ruling in May. Some in San Francisco vowed to continue fighting for the right to marry if the proposition passed. My view of America is different today, said Diallo Grant, a gay man with mixed-race parents. The culture wars will continue.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom preached patience to the same-sex couples who were unable to enjoy Barack Obama's victory while their personal lives hung in the balance. Newsom called the wait excruciating.You decided to live your life out loud, to fall in love, and to say I do, and now you have to wait for this verdict, he said. California voters rejected a proposition to require doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion on a minor. Similar to laws in 35 states, the initiative also would have required a two-day waiting period before minors could get abortions.Colorado voters rejected a personhood amendment to define human life as beginning at fertilization. Had it been approved, the amendment could have provided the foundation for a ban on abortion in the state.The National Right to Life Committee, Colorado’s Catholic bishops and some other anti-abortion groups declined to endorse the proposal, fearing it would run aground in legal challenges and even lead to judicial reaffirmation of abortion rights. Abortion-rights activists contended it would potentially have led to banning certain types of birth control.

South Dakota voters, two years after rejecting a nearly total ban on abortion, rejected another sweeping but less restrictive ballot measure to outlaw abortions except in cases of rape, incest and pregnancies that threaten a woman's health. Some voters said they wanted those exceptions when they rejected the tougher 2006 measure by 56 percent to 44 percent.Opponents said the new measure would have jeopardized the patient-doctor relationship because physicians could be criminally charged for exceeding its bounds. They also argued that its exceptions were too narrowly defined and that it would force some women to carry an unhealthy fetus.Source: NBC News, Associated Press, msnbc.com and National Conference of State Legislatures • On same-sex marriage and affirmative action, Obama and Republican John McCain rarely made proactive comments during their presidential campaigns. Abortion also had seemed like an uncomfortable topic for them at times, although Obama made clear he supports abortion rights and McCain said he would like to ban most abortions. But in a half-dozen states, those three issues were front and center. California's opposing sides together raised about $70 million, much of it from out of state, to wage their campaigns.

Big dam
The rival camps view the California vote in epic terms, with the outcome having enormous influence on prospects for same-sex marriage rights in other states.If we lose California, if they defeat the marriage amendment, I'm afraid that the culture war is over and Christians have lost, said Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association. California is a big dam, holding back the flood — and if you take down the dam in California, it's going to flood 49 other states.Gay rights also was an issue in Arkansas, where voters approved a measure banning unmarried couples living together from being adoptive or foster parents. The measure's sponsors painted it as a battle against a gay agenda.Opponents argued it would make it harder for the state to find the foster parents it needs to take care of children. In South Dakota, voters defeated an initiative to ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother. A tougher law without the rape and incest exceptions was defeated in 2006. Colorado voters defeated a personhood amendment that would have defined human life as beginning at fertilization. The ballot did not explicitly mention abortion, but activists on both sides in the campaign viewed it as a blunt challenge to abortion rights. Abortion-rights activists contended that, if approved, it would have potentially led to the banning of certain types of birth control.

Affirmative action
Nebraska voters approved a ban on race- and gender-based affirmative action, similar to measures previously approved in California, Michigan and Washington. A similar vote in Colorado had yet to be decided. The man spearheading the movement, California activist-businessman Ward Connerly, said the candidacies of Obama, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin prove blacks and women no longer need affirmative action.Anyone who raises $150 million in one month is being judged pretty much on the basis of their political abilities and not on the basis of race, Connerly said of Obama during a recent debate in Nebraska.The marijuana reform movement won two prized victories, with Massachusetts voters decriminalizing possession of small amounts of the drug and Michigan joining 12 other states in allowing use of pot for medical purposes. Henceforth, people caught in Massachusetts with an ounce or less of pot will no longer face criminal penalties. Instead, they'll forfeit the marijuana and pay a $100 civil fine. Barnstable District Attorney Michael O'Keefe, who led opposition to the measure, called it bad public policy.The Michigan measure will allow severely ill patients to register with the state and legally buy, grow and use small amounts of marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, appetite loss and other symptoms.

Prostitution
Among scores of local ballot questions, one of the most provocative was in San Francisco, where a measure to decriminalize prostitution was defeated. Proponents said the proposition would have freed up millions of dollars spent annually by police arresting prostitutes.Opponents — including the mayor and police department — said it would have emboldened pimps and hampered the fight against sex trafficking.

Other state issues

Gambling-related measures were voted on to allow Ohio's first casino (rejected), establish a state lottery in Arkansas (approved), and allow up to 15,000 slot machines in Maryland (approved).Election-reform proposals were voted on to create nonpartisan open primaries in Oregon (rejected) and eliminate legislative term limits in South Dakota (rejected).Measures inspired partly by unease over immigration would designate English as the official language of government proceedings in Missouri (approved), and limit teaching of students in languages other than English to no more than two years in Oregon (defeated).Another Oregon initiative would tie any merit pay for teachers to classroom performance (defeated).
A proposal in Missouri would require the state to produce 15 percent of its electricity from clean energy by 2021 (approved). A California initiative would require all utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010, and 50 percent by 2025 (rejected).Another California measure would authorize the sale of $9.95 billion in bonds to help pay for a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco. It would be the most ambitious state rail project ever.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.

Medvedev: Russia to deploy missiles near Poland By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer

MOSCOW – Russia will deploy missiles near NATO member Poland in response to U.S. missile defense plans, President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday in his first state of the nation speech.Medvedev also singled out the United States for criticism, casting Russia's war with Georgia in August and the global financial turmoil as consequences of aggressive, selfish U.S. policies.He said he hoped the next U.S. administration would act to improve relations. In a separate telegram, he congratulated Barack Obama on his election victory and said he was hoping for constructive dialogue with the incoming U.S. president.Medvedev also proposed increasing the Russian presidential term to six years from the current four, a major constitutional change that would further increase the power of the head of state and could deepen Western concern over democracy in Russia.The president said the Iskander missiles will be deployed to Russia's Kaliningrad region, which lies between Poland and the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, but did not say how many would be used. Equipment to electronically hamper the operation of prospective U.S. missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic will be deployed, he said.He did not say whether the short-range Iskander missiles would be fitted with nuclear warheads and it was not clear exactly when the missiles would be deployed.Mechanisms must be created to block mistaken, egoistical and sometimes simply dangerous decisions of certain members of the international community, he said shortly after starting the 85-minute speech, making it clear he was referring to the United States.The president said Georgia sparked the August war on its territory with what he called barbaric aggression against Russian-backed South Ossetia. The conflict was, among other things, the result of the arrogant course of the American administration, which did not tolerate criticism and preferred unilateral decisions.Medvedev also painted Russia as a country threatened by growing Western military might.From what we have seen in recent years, the creation of a missile defense system, the encirclement of Russia with military bases, the relentless expansion of NATO, we have gotten the clear impression that they are testing our strength, Medvedev said.

He announced deployment of the short-range missiles as a military response to U.S. plans to deploy missile-defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic — former Soviet satellites that are now NATO members.Speaking just hours after Obama was declared the victor in the U.S. presidential election, Medvedev said he hoped the incoming administration will take steps to improve badly damaged U.S. ties with Russia. He suggested it is up to the U.S. — not the Kremlin — to seek to improve relations.I stress that we have no problem with the American people, no inborn anti-Americanism. And we hope that our partners, the U.S. administration, will make a choice in favor of full-fledged relations with Russia, Medvedev said.Tension in Russian-American relations has been driven to a post-Cold War high by Moscow's war with U.S. ally Georgia.On the financial crisis, Medvedev said overconfidence in American dominance after the collapse of the Soviet Union led the U.S. authorities to major mistakes in the economic sphere. The administration ignored warnings and harmed itself and others by blowing up a money bubble to stimulate its own growth, he said.Medvedev said the president's tenure should be lengthened to six years to enable the government to more effectively implement reforms. He said the term of the parliament also should be extended by a year to five years, and that parliament's power must be increased by requiring the Cabinet to report to lawmakers regularly.

The proposals were Medvedev's first major initiative to amend the constitution since he was elected in March to succeed his longtime mentor Vladimir Putin.Putin, who is now prime minister and has not ruled out a return to the Kremlin in the future, has favored increasing the presidential term. Associated Press Writers Vladimir Isachenkov and Lynn Berry contributed to this report.

Iraq confident Obama won't withdraw troops too quickly By Missy Ryan Missy Ryan – NOV 5,08

AFP BAGHDAD (Reuters) – The Iraqi government is confident that president-elect Barack Obama will not jeopardize Iraq's improving security by hastily withdrawing U.S. troops, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Wednesday.Obama has reassured us that he would not take any drastic or dramatic decisions, Zebari told BBC television.He will consult with the Iraqi government and the U.S. military in the field, but believes strongly that a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq will put more responsibility on the shoulders of the Iraqi government.Obama opposed the U.S. war in Iraq from the beginning, and his promise to pull combat troops out of the country by mid-2010 was a cornerstone of his campaign.The administration of President George W. Bush had long resisted deadlines for withdrawal, but is now working on a security pact that would set 2011 as an end date for the U.S. troop presence, a concession that moved U.S. policy closer to Obama's proposals.We are negotiating right now with the U.S. for a timeline of 2011 for U.S. forces to withdraw from the country ... Our position has become much closer to what Senator Obama during his election campaign called for, Zebari said.Washington and Baghdad are still negotiating how firm the deadline will be. The plan also envisions halting U.S. patrols of Iraqi streets by mid-2009.Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq, but U.S. generals and Iraqi leaders say Iraqi forces are not yet ready to assume full control and a hasty pullout could jeopardize gains.In another interview Zebari said he believed Obama would take conditions on the ground into account before any withdrawal.When there is a reality check, I think any U.S. president has to look very hard at the facts on the ground, he told Al-Jazeera television. The gains that we have attained and won with hard struggle and a great deal of sacrifice need to be sustained.