WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
AT LEAST 78 DEAD AND 350 INJURED IN THIS DECCAN MUSLIM MUJAHEDEEN TERRORIST ATTACK SO FAR.UPDATES TO COME. NOV 26,08 7:10PM REPORTS SAY 10 TO 16 DIFFERENT PLACES HAVE BEEN HIT,I ASK THE QUESTION,COULD THIS BE A DRY RUN FOR AN ATTACK ON AMERICA? I READ A WHILE BACK AL-QUIDA WANTED TO HIT 10 DIFFERENT AMERICAN CITIES ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I FIND THIS VERY INTERESTING THAT AT LEAST 10 SPOTS WERE BOMBED AND ALL WESTERN VISITORS AND NEAR ISRAELI,JEWISH FAMILIES HOUSES.
24 or more possible terrorists granading and shooting.
12 Terrorists killed.
3 Terrorists still in at least 2 hotels.Police trying to get them out.
8 Hostages freed at the Jewish center.
Several others still held.
An Israeli rescue team from Jerusalem is coming to India to rescue Israelis and Jewish Famalies held.
125 Dead,327 wounded as of 3PM on Nov 27,2008 29 hours after terrorism started.
THIS WILL BE AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION FROM INDIA,USA,BRITAIN,ISRAEL AND INTERPOL (EU).
This was set up months in advance as boardrooms were set up by the Terrorists in the 2 Hotels,They had control centers setup in both Hotels,this could be an inside job.
Forces assault besieged Jewish center in Mumbai By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer NOV 27,08 11:12PM UPDATE
MUMBAI, India – Security forces assaulted a Jewish center in Mumbai where Muslim militants were believed holed up with possible hostages Friday, with black-clad commandos dropping from a Indian helicopter as sharpshooters opened fire on the five-story building.The attack came as Indian commandoes scoured two luxury hotels room-by-room for survivors and holed-up militants, more than a day after a chain of attacks across India's financial center by suspected Muslim militants left at least 119 people dead.The well-coordinated strikes by small bands of gunmen starting Wednesday night left the city shell-shocked, but the sporadic gunfire and explosions at the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels dwindled overnight, indicating the siege might be winding down.At the headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch, a commando assault began shortly after dawn following a tense night in which six trucks of soldiers had been brought in to surround the building.Snipers stationed in buildings opposite the center began the attack, with sustained fire on the building as at least nine commandos lowered themselves by rope onto the roof from a circling Indian air force helicopter.Security forces searched the rooms at the hotels — two of the top gathering spots for the Mumbai elite — but there were no gunbattles or blasts. Commandos had spent much of Thursday bringing out hostages, trapped guests and corpses from the hotels in small groups while firefighters battled flames that erupted. The fires were out by Friday.State officials said 119 people had died and 288 were injured in the attacks.
The gunmen were well-prepared, even carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during the fight. Their main targets appeared to be Americans, Britons and Jews, though most of the dead seemed to be Indians and foreign tourists caught in the random gunfire.The gunmen — some of whom strode casually through their targets in khakis and T-shirts — clearly came ready for a siege.They have AK-47s and grenades. They have bags full of grenades and have come fully prepared, said Maj. Gen. R.K. Hooda.Ratan Tata, who runs the company that owns the elegant Taj Mahal, said they appeared to have scouted their targets in advance.They seem to know their way around the back office, the kitchen. There has been a considerable amount of detailed planning, he told a news conference.The Maharashtra state home ministry said dozens of hostages had been freed from the Oberoi and dozens more were still trapped inside. More than 400 people were brought out of the Taj Mahal on Thursday.
Authorities said they had killed three gunmen at the Taj.
It remained unclear just how many people had been taken hostage, how many were hiding inside the hotels and how many dead still lay uncounted.A U.S. investigative team was heading to Mumbai, a State Department official said Thursday evening, speaking on condition of anonymity because the U.S. and Indian governments were still working out final details. The official declined to identify which agency or agencies the team members came from.There were conflicting reports about hostages at the Jewish center. A diplomat closely monitoring the site said people were still being held there, though an Indian state official said earlier eight hostages had been released. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.On Thursday morning, a woman, child and an Indian cook were led out of the building by police, said one witness. The child was identified as Moshe Holtzberg, 2, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, the main representative at Chabad house. The child was unharmed, but his clothes were soaked in blood. India has been shaken repeatedly by terror attacks blamed on Muslim militants in recent years, but most of them were coordinated bombings striking random crowded places: markets, street corners, parks. These attacks were more sophisticated — and more brazen. They began at about 9:20 p.m. with the shooters spraying gunfire across the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, one of the world's busiest terminals. For the next two hours, there was an attack roughly every 15 minutes — the Jewish center, a tourist restaurant, one hotel, then another, and two attacks on hospitals. There were 10 targets in all. Indian media showed pictures of rubber dinghies found by the city's shoreline, apparently used by the gunmen to reach the area. Both of the luxury hotels targeted overlook the Arabian Sea, which surrounds the peninsula of Mumbai. At the Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station, a soaring 19th century architectural monument, gunmen fired bullets through the crowded terminal, leaving the floor spattered with blood and corpses. They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground, said Nasim Inam, a witness. Analysts around the world were debating whether the gunmen could have been tied to — or inspired by — al-Qaida. It's clear that it is al-Qaida style, but probably not carried out by the group's militants, said Rohan Gunaratna, of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore and author of Inside Al-Qaida.Gunaratna said the attacks were a watershed for India, because for the first time, the terrorists deliberately attacked international targets, he said, noting that symbolic high-profile targets had been chosen, apparently to magnify the effects of the violence. Indian media reports said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility in e-mails to several media outlets. The Deccan is a region in southern India that was traditionally ruled by Muslim kings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed "external forces" for the violence — a phrase sometimes used to refer to Pakistani militants, whom Indian authorities often blame attacks on. Survivors of the hotel attacks said the gunmen had specifically targeted Britons and Americans.
Alex Chamberlain, a British citizen dining at the Oberoi, told reporters that a gunman ushered 30 to 40 people from the restaurant into a stairway and ordered everyone to put up their hands. The gunmen stopped once and asked, Where are you from? Any British or American? Show your ID. My friend said, Tell them you're Italian. And there I was with my hands up basically thinking I was in a lot of trouble.Chamberlain said he managed to slip away as the patrons were forced to walk upstairs. One victim was British-Cypriot Andreas Dionysiou Liveras, 73, the owner of a luxury yacht business, said the Cypriot foreign ministry and his brother, Theophanis Liveras. Andreas Dionysiou Liveras, who was attending a conference, had spoken to the British Broadcasting Corp. from a locked room inside the Taj Hotel before he was killed. As we sat at the table we heard the machine gun fire outside in the corridor. We hid under the table and then they switched all the lights off. ... All we know is the bombs are next door and the hotel is shaking every time a bomb goes off, he said. Among the dead were at least four Australians and a Japanese, said the state home ministry. An Italian, a Briton and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries. At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said Roy. Among those foreigners still held captive in all three buildings were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, a Singaporean and Israelis. The United States, Pakistan and other countries condemned the attacks. The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people. Mumbai is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. Relations between Hindus, who make up more than 80 percent of India's 1 billion population, and Muslims, who make up about 14 percent, have sporadically erupted into bouts of sectarian violence since British-ruled India was split into independent India and Pakistan in 1947. Associated Press writers Anita Chang, Erika Kinetz and Jenny Barchfield contributed to this report.
Indian troops raid hotels to free hostages By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer NOV 27,08
MUMBAI, India – Black-clad Indian commandoes raided two luxury hotels to try to free hostages Thursday, and explosions and gunshots shook India's financial capital a day after attacks by suspected Muslim militants killed at least 119 people.About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Huda told New Delhi Television.Authorities said 119 people died and 288 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city Wednesday night.Officials said eight militants were also killed.Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said.While hostages trickled out of the hotels throughout the day, witnesses said many bodies remained inside and the two-day siege showed few signs of ending quickly. Several bodies were carried out of the five-star Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel.The attackers had specifically targeted Britons and Americans inside the hotels, witnesses said.Dozens of people were also apparently still hiding in their hotel rooms, terrified by occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions, as well as fires burning in parts of both hotels, and waiting for authorities to get them to safety.After dusk Thursday, police brought hostages out of the Oberoi, one of the city's best-known five-star hotels.
One man, a who identified himself as a Pole but did not give his name, told reporters he had seen many bodies inside, but refused to give more details, saying he had promised police not to discuss details of the rescue operation.The Maharashtra state home ministry said 84 people had been freed from the Oberoi — 60 of them hostages — and dozens more were still trapped inside.Police said they were going slowly to protect the captives.A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India's image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity.Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favorite watering hole of the city's elite.
Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the hotel Thursday afternoon, and commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area. Into the night, brief exchanges of gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from the building.The attackers, dressed in black shirts and jeans, stormed into the hotel about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire indiscriminately.Dalbir Bains, who runs a lingerie shop in Mumbai, was about to eat a steak by the hotel pool when she heard gunfire. She ran upstairs, taking refuge in the Sea Lounge restaurant with about 50 other people. They huddled beneath tables in the dark, trying to remain silent as explosions went off. We were trying not to draw attention to ourselves, she said. The group managed to escape before dawn. The gunmen also seized the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch. Around 10:30 a.m., a woman, a child and an Indian cook were seen being led out of the building by police, said one witness. Chabad spokesman Moni Ender in Israel said there were eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife. Among those foreigners still held captive in all three buildings were Americans, British, Italians, Swedes, Canadians, Yemenis, New Zealanders, Spaniards, Turks, French, Israelis and a Singaporean. At least three top Indian police officers — including the chief of the anti-terror squad — were among those killed, said Roy. The United States and Pakistan were among the countries that condemned the attacks. In Washington, President George W. Bush offered Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh support and assistance as he works to restore order in the populous and growing Southwest Asian nation, according to White House press secretary Dana Perino. The motive for the onslaught was not immediately clear, but Mumbai has frequently been targeted in terrorist attacks blamed on Islamic extremists, including a series of bombings in July 2006 that killed 187 people. An Indian media report said a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attacks in e-mails to several media outlets. There was no way to verify that claim. Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist with the Swedish National Defense College, said there are very strong suspicions that the coordinated Mumbai attacks have a link to al-Qaida. He said the fact that Britons and Americans were singled out is one indicator, along with the coordinated style of the attacks.
India's prime minister blamed external forces.The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of panic, by choosing high profile targets and indiscriminately killing foreigners, Singh said in address to the nation. Indian navy spokesman Capt. Manohar Nambiar said navy officers had boarded a cargo vessel that had recently come to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan. Hours later, he said nothing suspicious had been found on board and the ship had been released. Mumbai, on the western coast of India overlooking the Arabian Sea, is home to splendid Victorian architecture built during the British Raj and is one of the most populated cities in the world with some 18 million crammed into shantytowns, high rises and crumbling mansions. Among the other places attacked was the 19th century Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station — a beautiful example of Victorian Gothic architecture — where gunmen sprayed bullets into the crowded terminal, leaving the floor splattered with blood. They just fired randomly at people and then ran away. In seconds, people fell to the ground, said Nasim Inam, a witness. Other gunmen attacked Leopold's restaurant, a landmark popular with foreigners, and the police headquarters in southern Mumbai, the area where most of the attacks took place. Gunmen also attacked Cama and Albless Hospital and G.T. Hospital. Associated Press writers Ramola Talwar Badam, Erika Kinetz and Jenny Barchfield in Mumbai, Raphael G. Satter in London and Cristian Salazar in New York contributed to this report.
Mumbai bomb blasts suspects killed November 27, 2008 - 5:18AM
Officials say four suspects in Mumbai terror attacks have been killed by police and nine arrested.Nearly 80 people have been killed in a series of attacks apparently targeting foreigners in the Indian city of Mumbai, as heavily armed Islamist militants hit two luxury hotels.A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the assaults on Wednesday on the landmark Taj Mahal and Trident hotels in the south of the city and a number of shooting and bombing incidents elsewhere, the Press Trust of India said.Maharashtra state chief secretary Johnny Joseph said 78 people had been killed. Estimates of the number of injured ranged from 200 to 350.Maharashtra state police chief AN Roy told the NDTV channel that unknown terrorists had opened fire in at least seven to eight places across the city.
The focus of the co-ordinated assaults was the two upscale hotels, with gunmen taking foreign guests hostage and exchanging fire with anti-terrorist commando units.
Commandos stormed the Taj early on Thursday, apparently leading to the release of guests inside, with television footage showing people being shepherded out of the building.Shortly afterwards, the upper floors of the landmark hotel became engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke billowed out from its distinctive red dome. It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze or whether the gunmen were still inside.One of those killed during the operation was Mumbai's Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Hemant Karkare.Police said two gunmen were shot dead.Mumbai General Railway Police Commissioner AK Sharma said several men armed with AK-47 rifles had stormed into the passenger hall of Mumbai's main Chhatrapati Shivaji railway and opened fire and thrown grenades.At least 10 people were killed in the attack shortly after 10.30pm (0400 AEDT).Elsewhere, firing was also reported at Cama Hospital in south Mumbai, and three people were reported killed in what police called a bomb blast in a taxi in the southeast of the city.Earlier one British guest at the Taj told local Indian television that he had been among a dozen people herded together by two heavily armed men and taken up to the hotel's upper floors.They were very young, like boys really, wearing jeans and T-shirts, the guest said.They said they wanted anyone with British and American passports and then they took us up the stairs. I think they wanted to take us to the roof, he said, adding that he and another hostage managed to escape on the 18th floor.The Taj, opposite the British colonial era Gateway of India, is one of the world's leading hotels and is regularly used by visiting dignitaries and rich guests.The head of the Madrid government and a British member of the European Parliament were inside when the gunmen stormed the building but escaped unhurt.
All I saw was one man on foot carrying a machine gun-type of weapon - which I then saw him firing from and I saw people hitting the floor, people right next to me, MEP Sajjad Karim was quoted as saying by the BBC website.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the attacks, which Interior Minister Shivraj Patil described as a big conspiracy.The US State Department voiced shock at the horrific events in Mumbai, while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called the attacks outrageous.
France, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said it condemned the attacks in the strongest possible terms.India has witnessed a wave of co-ordinated attacks in recent months.A little-known Islamic group, the Islamic Security Force-Indian Mujahedeen, claimed responsibility for serial blasts last month in India's northeast state of Assam that claimed nearly 80 lives.A total of 12 explosions shook the insurgency-hit state, six of them ripping through crowded areas in the main city of Guwahati.Six weeks earlier, the capital New Delhi had been hit by a series of bombs in crowded markets that left more than 20 dead. Those blasts were claimed by a group calling itself the Indian Mujahedeen.2008 AFP
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
WEDNESDAYS CHALLENGE
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.
Eight dead, thousands affected by flooding in Panama NOV 25,08
PANAMA CITY (AFP) – At least eight people were killed, six are missing and more than 14,000 affected by heavy rains drenching Panama since Saturday, national disaster relief officials have said.Ruben Arosemena, Panama's second vice president, said Tuesday that two men and a woman were killed Tuesday in flooding in the town of Chanquinola, on the border with Costa Rica, due to overflowing rivers.There are also six people missing -- a girl and five adults, in the same region, Arosemena told reporters.One person drowned in the area on Monday, while four others were killed Saturday, three in a landslide, officials said.Officials report bridges down and highways split by flooding, as well as millions of dollars worth of crops -- rice, yucca, yams and bananas -- destroyed in different parts of the country.
84 killed, 54,000 evacuated in Brazil flooding by Claire de Oliveira – Tue Nov 25, 6:47 pm ET
SAO PAULO (AFP) – Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain pounding southern Brazil for nearly two months have killed at least 84 people and forced more than 54,000 to flee, regional Civil Defense officials said Tuesday.More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the heavy rains, and eight cities in the state of Santa Catarina remained cut off by water and blocked roads, officials say. The region has been under a state of emergency since Saturday.The region faces the worst weather tragedy in history, Santa Catarina Governor Luiz Henrique da Silveira told reporters on Monday, adding that authorities did not know exactly how many people were missing.
Civil Defense officials also said the death toll could rise considerably as casualty reports come in from rural areas.With the latest figures released Tuesday the death toll climbed from 67 to 84, and the number of evacuees from 52,000 to more than 54,000.Nearly 80 percent of the region is under water, said Robert Guimaraes with the Civil Defense office, adding that levels were dropping.Most people were killed by landslides, said the head of Santa Catarina Civil Defense operations, Marcio Alves. Most deaths happen when the rain stops and people go out believing that all is well, he said.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered six military helicopters and 350 soldiers to the area to help in relief operations.
Civil Defense officials warned of possible new landslides, and forecast rain through Wednesday.More than 160,000 people were without electricity and fresh water supplies were cut to several towns.Torrential rain hitting the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina actually intensified in recent days, officials said, with a month's amount of precipitation dumped in just five hours on Sunday.The torrential downpour was sudden, said Blumenau resident James Locatelli, 60, contacted via telephone. Nobody had time to prepare.Flood victims looted supermarkets and pharmacies in the port city of Itajai, said Samuel Martins with the local firefighters. The Itajari valley was one of the most heavily affected part of the state.The most heavily affected towns are Ilhota (population 22,000, 18 dead) and the tourist town of Blumenau (population 297,000, 20 dead) where many German immigrants settled. It is home to an annual Oktoberfest that draws up to one million people.The level of the Itajai-Acu river that runs through Ilhota swelled 11.5 meters (38 feet) above normal, officials said.Boats were the only means of transport in many areas, and witnesses spoke of the bodies of dozens of drowned cows littering the road near Blumenau.Heavy flooding swept away all bridges around Blumenau, said Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinbing. It will take a year and a half or perhaps two to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, Kleinbing said.Heavy rain also damaged one of the lines of the Brazil-Bolivia natural gas line, leaving most of Santa Catarina and the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul without gas. We heard people crying for help. We also heard explosions. With the ground saturated, several gas pipelines exploded, one Santa Catarina resident forced to leave her home, Beatriz Heusi, 30, told AFP by telephone. Other southern Brazilian states, principally Rio Grande do Sul and Espirito Santo were affected to a lesser extent by flooding and mudslides.
Storm puts fire-scarred Southern Calif. on edge By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer NOV 25,08
LOS ANGELES – Southern Californians living near areas scarred by recent wildfires sandbagged around their homes and in some places were told to leave them Tuesday as a storm approaching from the Pacific brought a threat of floods and mudslides.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to prepare to aid local organizations in case of disaster.The state stands ready to help local governments protect lives and property, he said.A low-pressure area about 700 miles off the coast was heading northeast and could bring an inch of rain through Thanksgiving and up to 4 inches in the mountains, said Stan Wasowski, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Diego.Flash flood watches were posted through Wednesday evening for areas where grass and brush that normally anchors the soil, helping to prevent mudslides, burned away. Some places could get a half-inch of rain in an hour, the Weather Service said.
Rain began to fall Tuesday night northwest of Los Angeles in Santa Barbara County, where an evacuation order affecting at least 600 homes was issued for burned areas at risk of mudslides and floods, said county spokesman William Boyer.A wildfire this month destroyed more than 200 homes in the county and left the area vulnerable to disaster, he said.The fire wiped out all vegetation, and the soil is very unstable, said Boyer, noting that the evacuation order would remain in effect until at least Wednesday. We're talking about some very steep slopes up there.A series of wildfires stoked by Santa Ana winds damaged or destroyed about 1,000 homes this month in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Bernardino counties. Those burn areas equaled a total of about 65 square miles.In addition, October wildfires burned dozens more homes and scorched a total of more than 35 square miles. Other areas remain scarred from additional fires in recent months and years.In Orange County, voluntary evacuations were in effect for three burned areas of Yorba Linda, a city of about 65,000 residents southeast of Los Angeles. More than 135 members of the California Conservation Corps were sent to canyons in Yorba Linda to place sandbags and clean out culverts and spillways to handle runoff.Crews placed lines portable concrete barriers below the denuded hillsides of Chino Hills State Park, 90 percent of which burned, to redirect potential storm flows away from homes.
A call also went out for volunteers to fill sandbags in Sierra Madre, a hideaway Los Angeles suburb at the foot of a fire-stripped section of the steep San Gabriel Mountains.City Hall was literally flying a yellow flag — the second-highest level in its mud-flow forecast system — to alert affected citizens to be prepared to leave their homes.After our April and May fires, we knew the next step would be mud, and we started preparing right away, said city spokeswoman Elisa Weaver. We wanted to be able to warn people to be ready.Without the fire-related risks, rain might be appreciated in parched Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles had recorded only 0.27 inches of precipitation since the July 1 start of the rain year — 1.35 inches below normal for this time of year.Associated Press writer Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.
Czech court green-lights EU Lisbon Treaty
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 16:59 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Czech constitutional court has unanimously ruled that the disputed parts of the Lisbon Treaty are in line with the Czech Constitution but, the judges have admitted they did not analyse the treaty as a whole, sparking speculation that the issue could be raised again by its critics in the country.In his closely watched verdict announced on Wednesday (26 November), Vojen Guttler, the presiding judge rapporteur, argued that the new reform treaty does not change the fundamental direction of the EU, nor does it harm the sovereignty of the member states.He added that a new provision in the treaty that clears out the terms for countries that wish to leave the union is the indisputable confirmation of their sovereignty, while a transfer of powers to the EU level can only happen if it is approved by member states.The statement contradicts the arguments put forward by President Vaclav Klaus on Tuesday (25 November) in his address to the judges during a public hearing. Reactinb to the verdict, President Klaus commented that the court's approach was inexpert, subjective and political.I regret to state that the Constitutional Court has not given appropriate response to my legal arguments. I expect a group of deputies or senators will raise these and more other arguments again, he said in a statement.
The court itself pointed out that it was only reacting to the concrete questions received from senators earlier this year. Rapporteur Guttler said that if the judges had reviewed the treaty as a whole, they would not respect the right of other politicians or institutions to raise other issues.But the chair of the Czech Senate, Premysl Sobotka, of the ruling centre-right Civic Democrat Party (ODS) said that it is unlikely that senators would address the constitutional court again, CTZ agency reported.At this moment, nothing is blocking the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in both parliamentary chambers in the Czech Republic, Mr Sobotka added. The ODS party is divided on the issue however, with some deputies following the line of President Klaus, who argues that the ratification should only continue if the treaty is approved in Ireland.
Reactions in Brussels
Meanwhile, some EU personalities in Brussels rushed to comment on the keenly awaited verdict of the Czech court.Today's decision of the Court brings to an end the treaty ratification standstill in the Czech Republic, said European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pottering and reminded Prague of its key role as the country chairing EU's rotating presidency country in the first half of 2009.In this regard in the European Parliament we trust that the new EU Presidency will seriously contribute to push forward the ratification process, he noted, adding that ideally this process should be finalised by the June elections of the EU assembly.The decision of the Czech supreme court is very welcome, although hardly a surprise, commented Andrew Duff, a British Liberal MEP in the constitutional committee. He said that the interventions by both senators and President Klaus were erratic. Neither the Senate nor the President showed a sure grasp of the realities of the legal constitutional order of the EU, or of the fact that when the Czech Republic signed up to become a member state of the Union it was subscribing not only to the acquis communautaire [rules] of the past but also to all future obligations.On the other hand, Nigel Farrage, the leader of the UK's eurosceptics in the EU legislature said that the verdict came as no real surprise.The pressure from the European Commission and the Czech government's desperate need to fall in line with Brussels as it prepares to take over the Presidency made it a foregone conclusion, he said in a statement.The European Commission said it does not want to comment on various stages of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in member states but its spokesperson added: We are confident that the Czech parliament will honour the commitment which the country made when the treaty was signed.
Irish parliament to debate second Lisbon referendum
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 09:27 CET
An Irish parliamentary committee is to debate a report arguing that a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon treaty is legally possible. The draft report, first seen by the Irish Times, has been discussed in a private session by the Subcommittee on Ireland's Future in the EU and is due to be presented to the joint Committee on European Affairs on Thursday (27 November). It argues that a second poll on the EU's new reform treaty - following the debacle in June when the Irish voters rejected the document by a clear majority - would be preferable, suggesting a vote on the same text but accompanied by clarifying declarations on controversial issues.One concrete issue of the kind likely to be considered is a protection of the country's neutrality. Parliamentarians argued that a new procedure should be set up to boost national decision-making powers regarding military-related matters.Also, they would like to see in an attached declaration assurance that all member states keep their commissioner - if other European partners agree with the move.Under the Lisbon treaty, EU member states would take turns at having a representative in the commission, meaning that once every 15 years, each country would be without a commissioner for a period of five years, as the number of commissioners is scheduled to be reduced from 27 to 18 as of 2014.Earlier this month, Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin hinted that his government is in talks with other governments and EU officials on the issue of the composition of the bloc's executive.But some insiders doubt this modification could be achieved, as it is one of the major elements of Lisbon's institutional reform and was introduced parallel to similar changes for other institutions, notably the European Parliament.
Under the Lisbon treaty, the new EU legislature will have 750 members instead of the current 785.However, if the new parliament is elected according to the currently applied Nice Treaty in June, its size will be reduced to 732. In such a case, the new commission - due to be appointed later this year - should also have fewer than 27members. Julian Priestley, the parliament's former secretary general, believes that Ireland itself should face some consequences if there is no second referendum by mid-2009.Speaking on Tuesday (25 November) at a debate on the next EU elections organised by the European Policy Center, he argued it would be a mistake to get some kind of a fix around the clear provision of the Nice treaty.Mr Priestley rejected the possibility of having 26 commissioners and to not count the president of the commission as part of the team, stressing that the EU should respect the provisions of whatever treaty is in force.If Ireland is the only country that hasn't ratified the Lisbon treaty and at least superficially prefers the Nice treaty, it should face the consequences of Nice and lose the commissioner, he concluded.
Waiting for the verdict on Lisbon
Meanwhile, Prague is expecting a verdict from the Czech constitutional court on whether the EU reform plan is in line with the Czech constitution after a heated exchange between the country's president and government officials in the courtroom on Tuesday (25 November).The Czech Republic is the only country that has not yet voted on the Lisbon treaty. Despite this fact, the republic is preparing to take over the helm of the EU from France in January, when it assumes the six-month rotating EU presidency, and must then lead talks with Ireland on how to solve the institutional problem.But top politicians in Prague are divided on the issue. While deputy prime minister Alexander Vondra praised the document and its improvements to the bloc's functioning, President Vaclav Klaus strongly criticised it at a public hearing.He argued that the democratically elected institutions in the Czech Republic would be weakened and that key conditions for the country's EU membership - as stated when the citizens voted on entry in 2003 - would change due to the new treaty.
In a radio interview on Monday (24 November) President Klaus also indicated he might sign the treaty - if adopted by parliament - only after it is ratified in Ireland, echoing the stance of Poland's President Lech Kaczynski.Meanwhile, Ireland's minister for European affairs, Dick Roche, told the Czech CTK news agency that a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty is inevitable, adding that he hopes the whole process would not take more than a year.
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 26,2008
09:30 AM -50.92
10:00 AM -79.65
10:30 AM -32.90
11:00 AM +3.26
11:30 AM +46.11
12:00 PM +37.35
12:30 PM +43.80
01:00 PM +64.74
01:30 PM +79.08
02:00 PM +42.21
02:30 PM +90.08
03:00 PM +176.14
03:30 PM +201.86
04:00 PM +247.14 8726.61
S&P 500 887.68 +30.29
NASDAQ 1532.10 +67.37
GOLD 811.1 -7.4
OIL 54.65 +3.88
TSE 300 8643.52 +200.66
CDNX 731.39 +11.43
S&P/TSX/60 524.86 +12.07
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
Dow -164 Points at 4 minutes into trading today.
Dow -167 at low so far this morning.
Dow +40 at high so far this morning so far.
Dow down -9.07% month to date.
Down down -36.08% year to date.
S&P down -11.50% month to date.
S&P down -41.61 year to date.
Nasdaq down -14.89 month to date.
Nasdaq down -44.77 year to date.
Stocks fall for 1st time in 4 sessions.
Chicago purchasing managers Index at 33.8 for NOV down from 37.8 in OCT.
UOFM consumer sentiment index at 55.3 for NOV down from 57.6 in OCT.
New Home Sales -5.3% (OCT)Vs +0.7% (SEPT).
BCE buyout in doubt.
BCE -40% at open today.
Deere -8%:CEO cites highly uncertain 2009 outlook.
Tiffany -10%.N American Comp.store sales decline 16%.
PHIL MANDUCA (ECB GROUP INVESTMENT STRATEGY)
-Gold $1,000 in 2009,Gold $2,000 in 2010.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -168 points at low today.
Dow +114 points at high today.
Dow has not had a 4 day winning streak since April 2008.
S&P has not had a 4 day winning streak since May 2008.
MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACK:at least 25 dead from 7 to 10 different bombings and a major Hotel were westerners stay is on fire.
2:30PM UPDATE:25 dead at least 90 injured in Tajmahal Hotel,Oberoi Hotel,Victoria Rail Station amoung places attacked with grenades,shootings in 7 or more Mumbai places.
3PM UPDATE:EU members might be in some of the bombed Hotels due to an EU-INDIA Summit of the confirmed 5 places bombed and possibly 80 dead so far.
4:30PM UPDATE:Witness Gunmen looked for british and u.s passport holders.
Gunman lobbying Grenades from Hotels.
Dekka Mujadin claiming TERRORIST ATTACKS.
Gunfire heard from a hotel in the Northern side of town also.
Hostages taken at the TAJ,OBEROI hotels:reports.
Police have killed 2 terrorists.
5 policemen killed in attacks.
Reports ISRAELI AND JEWISH FAMALIES IN THE AREA COULD HAVE BEEN THE MAIN TARGETS AS WELL AS WESTERN COUNTRY VISITERS.
Threats of TERRORISM today also to NEW YORK for thanksgiving.
Total dead so far 80,hundreds more injured.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow at low today -168 points.
Dow at high +247 points.
Dow up 2.9% today.
Dow up 15.6% over last 4 sessions.
Dow at 8700 points today.
S&P up 3.5% today.
S&P up 18% over last 4 sessions.
Nasdaq up 4.6% today.
Nasdaq up above 1500 points today.
SINCE LAST WEEKS LOWS.
GM +183%
Citi +135%
J P Morgan +54%
Alcoa +42%
Home Depot +34%
MARKETS AT CLOSE
-Traders talk of Assets,allocation(Out of Cash,into stocks).
-First 4-day gains since April 2008.
-Techs lead stocks higher.
Eastern Europe growth to halve, bank says
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 09:29 CET
Overall growth in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Central Asia will halve next year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), helping build market economies in the region, has said. According to the EBRD figures published on Tuesday (25 November), economic growth of 7.5 percent in 2007 is set to fall to 6.3. percent this year and further drop to 3 percent in 2009. Economies of Central Europe and the Baltics will see a decline from 4.3 percent this year to 2.2 percent in 2009, while south-eastern Europe will experience even sharper fall from 6.5 percent to 3.1 percent in the same period of time. Conditions in Latvia are most severe, with the country set to ask the International Monetary Fund and the EU for a bailout of as much as €3 billion ($3.85 billion) to shore up its economy. Latvia will be able to ask a bit more, €2 billion, or €2.5 billion to €3 billion, Latvian finance minister Atis Slakteris was cited as saying by the Bloomberg on Tuesday.
After experiencing high growth of 10.3 percent in 2007, the Latvian economy growth is set to fall to only 0.4 percent this year and to shrink 0.9 percent in 2009.The EBRD says that the entire region of 29 countries, where it invests, is now bracing itself for higher unemployment and lower consumption growth. An additional risk of even slower growth lies with external funding possibly falling away. In particular, some countries continue to run excessive current account deficits combined with high foreign currency debt and are therefore prone to significant output reductions if capital inflows fall off rapidly, it stated in a press release.The EBRD's chief economist Erik Berglof has suggested to co-ordinate stabilisation efforts as well as to keep focus on key long-term growth challenges that face individual countries and the region.Stabilisation measures will need to be coordinated with other countries - both in western Europe and in other transition countries - taking account of the inter-linking ownership structures in the region's financial system, Mr Berglof stated. He also pointed to the need of having a good physical infrastructure and business climate as well as of investing into education and appropriate skills among workforce. Such investment can reap clear rewards in terms of innovation and growth. Building human capabilities will be a major determinant of the rate of subsequent growth and its sustainability,the EBRD's economist concluded.
AMERO SWITCH WHEN THE DOLLAR CRASHES.
http://www.dc-coin.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=141
HAL TURNER INTRODUCES NEW AMERO COIN - VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge2J2lNusJs&eurl=http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&q=jerome+corsi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&r&feature=player_embedded
October 1, 2008
U.S. Ships 800 Billion AMEROS to China; prepares to De-Monetize U.S. Dollar
The US Secretary of the Treasury has informed the China Development Bank that the US has shipped $800 Billion of a new currency called the Amero, which is to be based upon the merging of the economies of The United States, Mexico and Canada into what is termed as The North American Union.The current American debt obligation to China, currently based on the US Dollar, is now estimated to be the staggering sum of $2.5 Trillion, and which this new Amero will be exchanged for $400 Billion of this debt as the current American currency is set to be devalued by 50 percent before the end of the year. Virtually unknown to the American people is that their current leader of the US Department of Treasury, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., has been tasked by President Bush to lead the efforts to join the economies of the US, Canada and Mexico and is also the head of the North American Development Bank, the bi-national financial institution established by the United States and Mexico to further the merging of their economies, and the leader of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), the organization created by the governments of the United States and Mexico to further the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
This is important to note as the final provisions of the NAFTA Agreement were implemented on January 1, 2008, leaving only the final merging of the economies of the US, Mexico and Canada into a North American Union to be accomplished, of which we can read:President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union, effectively erasing our borders with both Mexico and Canada. This was the hidden agenda behind the Bush administration's true open borders policy.Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA politically, setting the stage for a North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada.President Bush intends to abrogate U.S. sovereignty to the North American Union, a new economic and political entity which the President is quietly forming, much as the European Union has formed.It is also interesting to note that American economists have been warning about the replacing of the US Dollar with the Amero, due to pressure from China, for nearly two years, and as we can read in this December, 2006 report titled Analysts: Dollar collapse would result in amero, and which says:As WND reported earlier this week, in an unusual move, the Bush administration is sending virtually the entire economic A-team to visit China for a strategic economic dialogue in Beijing Thursday and Friday. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are leading the delegation, along with five other cabinet-level officials, including Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Also in the delegation will be Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. But Chapman doubts the trip will help the Fed to engineer a slow dollar slide. The Chinese are going to do what the Chinese want to do, not what we want them to do, he said. I believe the Chinese are going to send Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke home packing, with little or nothing to show for the trip.How severe will the coming dollar collapse be?
People in the U.S. are going to be hit hard, Chapman warned. In the severe recession we are entering now, Bush will argue that we have to form a North American Union to compete with the Euro.Creating the amero, Chapman explained, will be presented to the American public as the administration's solution for dollar recovery. In the process of creating the amero, the Bush administration just abandons the dollar.The prophetic warnings of these American economists are, indeed, coming to pass as during the month of September alone, 10 years worth of gains on US stock markets have been wiped out in their entirety and bank runs are now occurring in the United States for the first time since the days of the Great Depression leading to the failure of 13 banks, some of their largest, and the imminent failure of 117 more forecasted by the US government. US Treasury Secretary Paulson, however, continues leading the charge attempting to force upon the American people the final peg to their own demise by completely bankrupting the United States leaving no other choice but to completely discard the almost totally worthless US Dollar and its replacement with the Amero. It goes without saying that the American people will greatly resist the replacement of their Dollar, but this cannot be said when tens of millions of them are without jobs and their life savings have become worthless leaving them with no other choice but accept what their own leaders have planned for them all along.
For myself, I think that the day such an announcement of the Amero replacing the Dollar is made, is the day I may be left with no choice but to start killing the people involved in destroying my nation.Posted by HalTurnerShow.com at 10/01/2008 06:25:00 AM
Poland looks to climate present from Sarkozy
LEIGH PHILLIPS 25.11.2008 @ 17:22 CET
Eastern European foreign ministers in Warsaw on Monday (24 November) honed their climate package game plan ahead of the upcoming European summit.Led by Poland, many of the newer member states are opposed to many aspects of the EU's climate and energy reforms, currently under negotiation between the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU capitals.The regular winter summit of European leaders, this year taking place on 11 and 12 December, is to wrap up the deal. The 10 ministers at the Warsaw meeting - from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania - plus Sweden - ended the pow-wow saying they were hoping for new proposals from the French EU presidency that would moderate the package's goals.Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that when French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Gdansk on 6 December - Saint Nicholas' Day - he will, like his red-robed namesake, come bearing gifts.I hope he will bring us a present in the form of good proposals, proposals that will take into consideration our specific situation, the Polish minister said, Polish press agency PAP reports.Poland's main concern is the proposed full auctioning of CO2 emissions permits for industry in 2013, arguing that this will result in a sharp increase in energy prices, hitting both poor households and economic growth.Warsaw rejected a presidency proposal last week that would see half the emission permits given away for free until 2016 for those countries that depend on coal for 60 percent or more of their electricity. Over 90 percent of Poland's electricity generation comes from coal.
The Poles felt the three-year exemption did not go far enough.Mr Sikorski threatened once again that if the package is not watered down in favour of the east, his country will veto any agreement.The package must be adopted unanimously, he said, adding: We confirm that we will not hesitate to veto bad proposals, which means we want to negotiate good proposals.Sweden attended the meeting to discuss a joint Polish-Swedish proposal for strengthening EU links with post-Soviet states and did not participate in the climate discussions.
Eastern NGOs disagree with their governments
Even as eastern leaders opposed elements of the climate package, civil society groups and green NGOs from the same countries are telling their governments to stop stalling and back the deal.On Monday, 42 different groups, including WWF Hungary, Friends of the Earth Latvia, the Soros Foundation and local organisations without international ties such as Polska Zielona Siec in Poland and Za Zemyata in Bulgaria called on their governments to support the EU's climate and energy bundle.The EU has a historic responsibility to play a leading role in the fight against climate change globally, the groups stated in an open letter to their leaders. Central and eastern European countries must decide if they want to belong to the group of leaders or those lagging behind.They called on the countries to reach a sustainable compromise and adopt the European Climate and Energy Package, including 100 percent auctioning of emissions permits, and to do so before a key international meeting on climate change action, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Poznan taking place the first two weeks of December.Postponing further action will bring about much more damage and cost to our societies and economies than acting today, the groups said.
Massive new programs aimed at loosening credit By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer NOV 25,08
AP – President George W. Bush, accompanied by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, makes a statement on the economy … WASHINGTON – Rolling out powerful new weapons against the financial meltdown, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve pledged $800 billion Tuesday to blast through blockades on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other borrowing. Total bailout commitments, loans and pledges of backing neared a staggering $7 trillion.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has been criticized for constantly revising the original $700 billion rescue program, said the administration was considering even more changes in its final two months in office.Reports on the nation's economic health weren't getting any better. The Commerce Department said the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, declined at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter, even worse than the initial 0.3 percent estimated a month ago as consumer spending fell by the largest amount in 28 years.In Chicago, meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama named his budget director and said they both will focus on the nation's soaring budget deficit — but only after economic revival is under way. Paulson stressed that Obama's transition team was being kept informed of the government's moves.Investors digested it all and sent the Dow Jones industrials 36 points higher, a modest gain but still the first time the average had risen three straight days in more than two months.Millions of Americans rely on the kinds of loans that were targeted in one of the new programs announced Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve will purchase $200 billion in securities backed by different types of debt including credit card loans, auto loans, student loans and loans to small businesses. That market essentially froze in October. These types of loans as a result have become harder to obtain and have carried higher interest ratesThe Fed also announced that it would spend $500 billion to purchase mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and another $100 billion to directly purchase mortgages held by Fannie, Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks.This would greatly expand an initial modest effort announced back in September in which Treasury spent $26 billion to purchase mortgage-backed securities. The current credit crisis was triggered by soaring losses on securities backed by subprime loans.The announcement of the new programs had an immediate positive impact on credit markets Tuesday, sending demand up and rates lower. Analysts predicted the program could send mortgage rates down by as much as one-half to a full percentage point in coming months, helping to spur demand in the beleaguered housing market, which is suffering its worst downturn in decades.The programs to buy mortgage-related assets and securities backed by consumer debt have the same aim: to boost demand for those assets. In doing so, the government hopes to lower the costs being charged for consumer loans. That would make loans on everything from mortgages to cars more available.This is one of the key actions we've been advocating, said Charles McMillan, president of the National Association of Realtors, referring to the purchase program for mortgage-backed assets.
The latest federal moves raised U.S. commitments to contain the financial crisis to nearly $7 trillion — though no one thinks the government will actually spend anything like that figure, which would be almost half the nation's total gross domestic product. The figures include loans that are expected to be repaid, loan authorities to back mortgages, purchases of stock in banks, guarantees to support loans among banks and pledges backing other transactions.In the case of the Federal Reserve, the amount covers huge loans that financial institutions will have to pay back. In the case of the Treasury rescue effort, the government will at some point sell the stock it owns back to the banks, presumably when the banking system is doing better and the stock will be worth more.As for Tuesday's actions, the mortgage-backed securities the Fed will buy will be investment-grade assets — not the toxic mortgage-related assets that the administration initially had said the $700 billion financial rescue program would buy.By focusing on investment-grade securities, the Fed will be able to help provide a functioning secondary market. It will pay the prices for these securities that are being set by the market. Had the Fed needed to buy bad assets, it would have had to develop a mechanism to properly price assets that weren't being traded.The use of Fed resources also gets around another problem Treasury faced: a limited amount of money in the program. The $800 billion being committed to buy mortgage-related assets and other assets backed by consumer loans will come from the Federal Reserve's vast resources. It will not count against the $700 billion rescue program.The Treasury Department also announced Tuesday that the rescue program had spent another $2.91 billion in direct purchases of stock from 23 regional banks around the country. These institutions ranged from HF Financial Corp. in Sioux Falls, S.D., to Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc. in Davenport, Fla. The government has now injected $161.5 billion in 53 institutions. The goal is to spend $250 billion of the $700 billion bailout fund to buy bank stock as a way of encouraging banks to resume more normal lending to bolster the shaky economy. A boost to the overall economy is considered vital at a time when nearly every day has brought further evidence that the country is sliding into a severe downturn.
Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said he thought the economy would shrink by an even more drastic 4 percent annual rate in the current quarter and keep falling through the middle of 2009. We are in the early stages of one of the worst recessions in the postwar period, even factoring in a massive stimulus program, Behravesh. Obama is putting together a stimulus program with the goal of creating 2.5 million jobs over the next two years. It's an effort that many economists think will need to total between $500 billion and $700 billion to bring the benefits needed to help shore up the economy. Obama pledged Tuesday to make deficit reduction a goal of his administration — but only after recovery from the financial crisis is well under way. We are going to have to jump start the economy, he said. At a news conference, Obama claimed a mandate to move the country in a new direction, and promised to consult with Republicans as he goes about it. The effort to restart the frozen market for securities that back consumer debt will get an assist from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund, which Congress passed on Oct. 3. Paulson told reporters that the fund will supply $20 billion as protection for the Fed against losses in its purchases of securities for the program. He also signaled that the program could be expanded to include asset-backed paper that covers commercial mortgage loans. Those loans are used to finance shopping malls and office buildings. Paulson defended the administration against charges that it has made haphazard changes in the financial rescue program, sending confusing signals to markets. Initially, the effort was sold to Congress as a way to buy toxic mortgage-related assets off the books of financial institutions. The idea was to give them the capital needed to resume more normal lending. When the financial crisis worsened and Paulson decided it would take too long to get the toxic purchase program operating, he switched to making direct purchases of bank stock with the rescue funds. Paulson announced that the first $350 billion installment of the rescue fund probably would not be used to buy any toxic assets. It is naive for any of us to think that when you are dealing with a situation of this magnitude that a bill could be passed or a single action taken to make all the issues go away, Paulson told reporters at a briefing. Paulson declined to say whether the Bush administration would seek authority from Congress to tap a portion of the second half of the $700 billion fund before leaving office. That decision had not yet been made, he said.
METEORS HIT THE EARTH
REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!
Space experts offer anti-asteroid plan By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press Writer – Tue Nov 25, 4:37 pm ET
VIENNA, Austria – It is disaster planning on a galactic scale: Space experts want to come up with a contingency plan on what to do in case a killer asteroid collides with Earth.The experts, including former American astronaut Rusty Schweickart, told U.N. officials Tuesday that the international community needs a plan to counter so-called Near Earth Objects in advance of the potential catastrophe. Deflecting asteroids — or at least evacuating people in areas where they might strike — could save millions of lives.This is a natural disaster, which is larger, potentially, than any other natural disaster we know of, Schweickart said. However, it is preventable ... that's a very important thing to keep in mind. But it is our responsibility to take action to do that.Asteroids are small planetary bodies that revolve around the sun, according to the NASA Web site, which states that many scientists believe an asteroid collided with Earth about 65 million years ago, helping cause environmental changes that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Schweickart, a former Apollo 9 crew member, spoke at a news conference after briefing U.N. officials on a recent report called Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response. The report was compiled by the International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation that is made up of members of the Association of Space Explorers, among others.The report, among other things, calls for an international decision-making program within the framework of the United Nations to decide on actions to counter asteroids. It also urges the creation of an information, analysis and warning system that would operate telescopes worldwide to detect and track possibly harmful objects.Schweickart acknowledged that devastating collisions happen very infrequently but warned the risk could not be ignored. Next year alone, six asteroids have a very small probability of hitting the Earth, he said.He added that over the coming years, researchers will increasingly be able to predict possible collisions, enabling early warnings and deflection operations.While rare, Near Earth Objects have caused considerable damage in the not-too-distant past. One known as the Tunguska object slammed into remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a nuclear bomb explosion. It wiped out 60 million trees over a 2,150-square-kilometer (830-square-mile) area. Had it hit a populated area, the loss of life would have been staggering.For Walther Lichem, an Austrian member of the panel who was also at the news conference, investing in preventive measures is key to making sure such incidents don't happen again with more devastating effects.The damage potential is so incredible that we have to take the responsibility, he said.
On the Net:Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response:http://www.space-explorers.org/committees/NEO/docs/ATACGR.pdf NASA on asteroids: http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/asteroid_worldbook.html
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.
German MPs call for Iran group amnesty
PHILIPPA RUNNER 25.11.2008 @ 09:24 CET
A group of 150 cross-party parliamentarians in Germany has signed a petition calling for Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahedin Organistaion of Iran (PMOI), to be taken off the EU's terrorist register in line with European court rulings.We demand that the German government with the co-operation of the French EU presidency removes this unjust label. The removal will serve the rule of law, show respect for the elected representatives of the people of Europe and address an urgent imperative for international peace, the petition said. The text was handed to the leader of PMOI's political wing, the National Resistance Council of Iran (NRCI), Miriam Rajavi, at a ceremony in Berlin on Monday (24 November).If the international community doesn't want to see an aggressive and nuclear-armed Iran and wants to avoid war, the sole solution is a democratic change by the people of Iran, Ms Rajavi said.The German petition was put together by the Committee of German Solidarity for a Free Iran and joins similar lists organised by the PMOI's powerful lobby in the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and the European Parliament.It also comes amid a fresh PMOI legal appeal in European Courts against a July decision by EU member states to keep the group on its terrorist register.European courts have twice in the past overturned EU decisions to put PMOI on the blacklist, while a landmark UK court ruling earlier this year annulled the original British evidence that first landed PMOI on the register in 2002.
Spokespeople for the organisation say the EU is keen to hold back PMOI as a bargaining chip in ongoing talks with the Iranian government over the country's nuclear enrichment programme. But a committee of EU member state intelligence agencies - the so-called CP 931 working group - claims that the organisation remains a threat to European security.The Iranian group - which was responsible for bombings and attacks against the Islamic leadership of Iran in the 1980s and 1990s - renounced violence in 2001 and gave up arms in 2003.
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.
Eight dead, thousands affected by flooding in Panama NOV 25,08
PANAMA CITY (AFP) – At least eight people were killed, six are missing and more than 14,000 affected by heavy rains drenching Panama since Saturday, national disaster relief officials have said.Ruben Arosemena, Panama's second vice president, said Tuesday that two men and a woman were killed Tuesday in flooding in the town of Chanquinola, on the border with Costa Rica, due to overflowing rivers.There are also six people missing -- a girl and five adults, in the same region, Arosemena told reporters.One person drowned in the area on Monday, while four others were killed Saturday, three in a landslide, officials said.Officials report bridges down and highways split by flooding, as well as millions of dollars worth of crops -- rice, yucca, yams and bananas -- destroyed in different parts of the country.
84 killed, 54,000 evacuated in Brazil flooding by Claire de Oliveira – Tue Nov 25, 6:47 pm ET
SAO PAULO (AFP) – Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain pounding southern Brazil for nearly two months have killed at least 84 people and forced more than 54,000 to flee, regional Civil Defense officials said Tuesday.More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the heavy rains, and eight cities in the state of Santa Catarina remained cut off by water and blocked roads, officials say. The region has been under a state of emergency since Saturday.The region faces the worst weather tragedy in history, Santa Catarina Governor Luiz Henrique da Silveira told reporters on Monday, adding that authorities did not know exactly how many people were missing.
Civil Defense officials also said the death toll could rise considerably as casualty reports come in from rural areas.With the latest figures released Tuesday the death toll climbed from 67 to 84, and the number of evacuees from 52,000 to more than 54,000.Nearly 80 percent of the region is under water, said Robert Guimaraes with the Civil Defense office, adding that levels were dropping.Most people were killed by landslides, said the head of Santa Catarina Civil Defense operations, Marcio Alves. Most deaths happen when the rain stops and people go out believing that all is well, he said.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered six military helicopters and 350 soldiers to the area to help in relief operations.
Civil Defense officials warned of possible new landslides, and forecast rain through Wednesday.More than 160,000 people were without electricity and fresh water supplies were cut to several towns.Torrential rain hitting the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina actually intensified in recent days, officials said, with a month's amount of precipitation dumped in just five hours on Sunday.The torrential downpour was sudden, said Blumenau resident James Locatelli, 60, contacted via telephone. Nobody had time to prepare.Flood victims looted supermarkets and pharmacies in the port city of Itajai, said Samuel Martins with the local firefighters. The Itajari valley was one of the most heavily affected part of the state.The most heavily affected towns are Ilhota (population 22,000, 18 dead) and the tourist town of Blumenau (population 297,000, 20 dead) where many German immigrants settled. It is home to an annual Oktoberfest that draws up to one million people.The level of the Itajai-Acu river that runs through Ilhota swelled 11.5 meters (38 feet) above normal, officials said.Boats were the only means of transport in many areas, and witnesses spoke of the bodies of dozens of drowned cows littering the road near Blumenau.Heavy flooding swept away all bridges around Blumenau, said Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinbing. It will take a year and a half or perhaps two to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure, Kleinbing said.Heavy rain also damaged one of the lines of the Brazil-Bolivia natural gas line, leaving most of Santa Catarina and the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul without gas. We heard people crying for help. We also heard explosions. With the ground saturated, several gas pipelines exploded, one Santa Catarina resident forced to leave her home, Beatriz Heusi, 30, told AFP by telephone. Other southern Brazilian states, principally Rio Grande do Sul and Espirito Santo were affected to a lesser extent by flooding and mudslides.
Storm puts fire-scarred Southern Calif. on edge By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer NOV 25,08
LOS ANGELES – Southern Californians living near areas scarred by recent wildfires sandbagged around their homes and in some places were told to leave them Tuesday as a storm approaching from the Pacific brought a threat of floods and mudslides.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered state agencies to prepare to aid local organizations in case of disaster.The state stands ready to help local governments protect lives and property, he said.A low-pressure area about 700 miles off the coast was heading northeast and could bring an inch of rain through Thanksgiving and up to 4 inches in the mountains, said Stan Wasowski, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Diego.Flash flood watches were posted through Wednesday evening for areas where grass and brush that normally anchors the soil, helping to prevent mudslides, burned away. Some places could get a half-inch of rain in an hour, the Weather Service said.
Rain began to fall Tuesday night northwest of Los Angeles in Santa Barbara County, where an evacuation order affecting at least 600 homes was issued for burned areas at risk of mudslides and floods, said county spokesman William Boyer.A wildfire this month destroyed more than 200 homes in the county and left the area vulnerable to disaster, he said.The fire wiped out all vegetation, and the soil is very unstable, said Boyer, noting that the evacuation order would remain in effect until at least Wednesday. We're talking about some very steep slopes up there.A series of wildfires stoked by Santa Ana winds damaged or destroyed about 1,000 homes this month in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara and San Bernardino counties. Those burn areas equaled a total of about 65 square miles.In addition, October wildfires burned dozens more homes and scorched a total of more than 35 square miles. Other areas remain scarred from additional fires in recent months and years.In Orange County, voluntary evacuations were in effect for three burned areas of Yorba Linda, a city of about 65,000 residents southeast of Los Angeles. More than 135 members of the California Conservation Corps were sent to canyons in Yorba Linda to place sandbags and clean out culverts and spillways to handle runoff.Crews placed lines portable concrete barriers below the denuded hillsides of Chino Hills State Park, 90 percent of which burned, to redirect potential storm flows away from homes.
A call also went out for volunteers to fill sandbags in Sierra Madre, a hideaway Los Angeles suburb at the foot of a fire-stripped section of the steep San Gabriel Mountains.City Hall was literally flying a yellow flag — the second-highest level in its mud-flow forecast system — to alert affected citizens to be prepared to leave their homes.After our April and May fires, we knew the next step would be mud, and we started preparing right away, said city spokeswoman Elisa Weaver. We wanted to be able to warn people to be ready.Without the fire-related risks, rain might be appreciated in parched Southern California. Downtown Los Angeles had recorded only 0.27 inches of precipitation since the July 1 start of the rain year — 1.35 inches below normal for this time of year.Associated Press writer Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.
Czech court green-lights EU Lisbon Treaty
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 16:59 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Czech constitutional court has unanimously ruled that the disputed parts of the Lisbon Treaty are in line with the Czech Constitution but, the judges have admitted they did not analyse the treaty as a whole, sparking speculation that the issue could be raised again by its critics in the country.In his closely watched verdict announced on Wednesday (26 November), Vojen Guttler, the presiding judge rapporteur, argued that the new reform treaty does not change the fundamental direction of the EU, nor does it harm the sovereignty of the member states.He added that a new provision in the treaty that clears out the terms for countries that wish to leave the union is the indisputable confirmation of their sovereignty, while a transfer of powers to the EU level can only happen if it is approved by member states.The statement contradicts the arguments put forward by President Vaclav Klaus on Tuesday (25 November) in his address to the judges during a public hearing. Reactinb to the verdict, President Klaus commented that the court's approach was inexpert, subjective and political.I regret to state that the Constitutional Court has not given appropriate response to my legal arguments. I expect a group of deputies or senators will raise these and more other arguments again, he said in a statement.
The court itself pointed out that it was only reacting to the concrete questions received from senators earlier this year. Rapporteur Guttler said that if the judges had reviewed the treaty as a whole, they would not respect the right of other politicians or institutions to raise other issues.But the chair of the Czech Senate, Premysl Sobotka, of the ruling centre-right Civic Democrat Party (ODS) said that it is unlikely that senators would address the constitutional court again, CTZ agency reported.At this moment, nothing is blocking the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in both parliamentary chambers in the Czech Republic, Mr Sobotka added. The ODS party is divided on the issue however, with some deputies following the line of President Klaus, who argues that the ratification should only continue if the treaty is approved in Ireland.
Reactions in Brussels
Meanwhile, some EU personalities in Brussels rushed to comment on the keenly awaited verdict of the Czech court.Today's decision of the Court brings to an end the treaty ratification standstill in the Czech Republic, said European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pottering and reminded Prague of its key role as the country chairing EU's rotating presidency country in the first half of 2009.In this regard in the European Parliament we trust that the new EU Presidency will seriously contribute to push forward the ratification process, he noted, adding that ideally this process should be finalised by the June elections of the EU assembly.The decision of the Czech supreme court is very welcome, although hardly a surprise, commented Andrew Duff, a British Liberal MEP in the constitutional committee. He said that the interventions by both senators and President Klaus were erratic. Neither the Senate nor the President showed a sure grasp of the realities of the legal constitutional order of the EU, or of the fact that when the Czech Republic signed up to become a member state of the Union it was subscribing not only to the acquis communautaire [rules] of the past but also to all future obligations.On the other hand, Nigel Farrage, the leader of the UK's eurosceptics in the EU legislature said that the verdict came as no real surprise.The pressure from the European Commission and the Czech government's desperate need to fall in line with Brussels as it prepares to take over the Presidency made it a foregone conclusion, he said in a statement.The European Commission said it does not want to comment on various stages of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in member states but its spokesperson added: We are confident that the Czech parliament will honour the commitment which the country made when the treaty was signed.
Irish parliament to debate second Lisbon referendum
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 09:27 CET
An Irish parliamentary committee is to debate a report arguing that a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon treaty is legally possible. The draft report, first seen by the Irish Times, has been discussed in a private session by the Subcommittee on Ireland's Future in the EU and is due to be presented to the joint Committee on European Affairs on Thursday (27 November). It argues that a second poll on the EU's new reform treaty - following the debacle in June when the Irish voters rejected the document by a clear majority - would be preferable, suggesting a vote on the same text but accompanied by clarifying declarations on controversial issues.One concrete issue of the kind likely to be considered is a protection of the country's neutrality. Parliamentarians argued that a new procedure should be set up to boost national decision-making powers regarding military-related matters.Also, they would like to see in an attached declaration assurance that all member states keep their commissioner - if other European partners agree with the move.Under the Lisbon treaty, EU member states would take turns at having a representative in the commission, meaning that once every 15 years, each country would be without a commissioner for a period of five years, as the number of commissioners is scheduled to be reduced from 27 to 18 as of 2014.Earlier this month, Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin hinted that his government is in talks with other governments and EU officials on the issue of the composition of the bloc's executive.But some insiders doubt this modification could be achieved, as it is one of the major elements of Lisbon's institutional reform and was introduced parallel to similar changes for other institutions, notably the European Parliament.
Under the Lisbon treaty, the new EU legislature will have 750 members instead of the current 785.However, if the new parliament is elected according to the currently applied Nice Treaty in June, its size will be reduced to 732. In such a case, the new commission - due to be appointed later this year - should also have fewer than 27members. Julian Priestley, the parliament's former secretary general, believes that Ireland itself should face some consequences if there is no second referendum by mid-2009.Speaking on Tuesday (25 November) at a debate on the next EU elections organised by the European Policy Center, he argued it would be a mistake to get some kind of a fix around the clear provision of the Nice treaty.Mr Priestley rejected the possibility of having 26 commissioners and to not count the president of the commission as part of the team, stressing that the EU should respect the provisions of whatever treaty is in force.If Ireland is the only country that hasn't ratified the Lisbon treaty and at least superficially prefers the Nice treaty, it should face the consequences of Nice and lose the commissioner, he concluded.
Waiting for the verdict on Lisbon
Meanwhile, Prague is expecting a verdict from the Czech constitutional court on whether the EU reform plan is in line with the Czech constitution after a heated exchange between the country's president and government officials in the courtroom on Tuesday (25 November).The Czech Republic is the only country that has not yet voted on the Lisbon treaty. Despite this fact, the republic is preparing to take over the helm of the EU from France in January, when it assumes the six-month rotating EU presidency, and must then lead talks with Ireland on how to solve the institutional problem.But top politicians in Prague are divided on the issue. While deputy prime minister Alexander Vondra praised the document and its improvements to the bloc's functioning, President Vaclav Klaus strongly criticised it at a public hearing.He argued that the democratically elected institutions in the Czech Republic would be weakened and that key conditions for the country's EU membership - as stated when the citizens voted on entry in 2003 - would change due to the new treaty.
In a radio interview on Monday (24 November) President Klaus also indicated he might sign the treaty - if adopted by parliament - only after it is ratified in Ireland, echoing the stance of Poland's President Lech Kaczynski.Meanwhile, Ireland's minister for European affairs, Dick Roche, told the Czech CTK news agency that a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty is inevitable, adding that he hopes the whole process would not take more than a year.
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
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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 WED NOV 26,2008
09:30 AM -50.92
10:00 AM -79.65
10:30 AM -32.90
11:00 AM +3.26
11:30 AM +46.11
12:00 PM +37.35
12:30 PM +43.80
01:00 PM +64.74
01:30 PM +79.08
02:00 PM +42.21
02:30 PM +90.08
03:00 PM +176.14
03:30 PM +201.86
04:00 PM +247.14 8726.61
S&P 500 887.68 +30.29
NASDAQ 1532.10 +67.37
GOLD 811.1 -7.4
OIL 54.65 +3.88
TSE 300 8643.52 +200.66
CDNX 731.39 +11.43
S&P/TSX/60 524.86 +12.07
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
Dow -164 Points at 4 minutes into trading today.
Dow -167 at low so far this morning.
Dow +40 at high so far this morning so far.
Dow down -9.07% month to date.
Down down -36.08% year to date.
S&P down -11.50% month to date.
S&P down -41.61 year to date.
Nasdaq down -14.89 month to date.
Nasdaq down -44.77 year to date.
Stocks fall for 1st time in 4 sessions.
Chicago purchasing managers Index at 33.8 for NOV down from 37.8 in OCT.
UOFM consumer sentiment index at 55.3 for NOV down from 57.6 in OCT.
New Home Sales -5.3% (OCT)Vs +0.7% (SEPT).
BCE buyout in doubt.
BCE -40% at open today.
Deere -8%:CEO cites highly uncertain 2009 outlook.
Tiffany -10%.N American Comp.store sales decline 16%.
PHIL MANDUCA (ECB GROUP INVESTMENT STRATEGY)
-Gold $1,000 in 2009,Gold $2,000 in 2010.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -168 points at low today.
Dow +114 points at high today.
Dow has not had a 4 day winning streak since April 2008.
S&P has not had a 4 day winning streak since May 2008.
MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACK:at least 25 dead from 7 to 10 different bombings and a major Hotel were westerners stay is on fire.
2:30PM UPDATE:25 dead at least 90 injured in Tajmahal Hotel,Oberoi Hotel,Victoria Rail Station amoung places attacked with grenades,shootings in 7 or more Mumbai places.
3PM UPDATE:EU members might be in some of the bombed Hotels due to an EU-INDIA Summit of the confirmed 5 places bombed and possibly 80 dead so far.
4:30PM UPDATE:Witness Gunmen looked for british and u.s passport holders.
Gunman lobbying Grenades from Hotels.
Dekka Mujadin claiming TERRORIST ATTACKS.
Gunfire heard from a hotel in the Northern side of town also.
Hostages taken at the TAJ,OBEROI hotels:reports.
Police have killed 2 terrorists.
5 policemen killed in attacks.
Reports ISRAELI AND JEWISH FAMALIES IN THE AREA COULD HAVE BEEN THE MAIN TARGETS AS WELL AS WESTERN COUNTRY VISITERS.
Threats of TERRORISM today also to NEW YORK for thanksgiving.
Total dead so far 80,hundreds more injured.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow at low today -168 points.
Dow at high +247 points.
Dow up 2.9% today.
Dow up 15.6% over last 4 sessions.
Dow at 8700 points today.
S&P up 3.5% today.
S&P up 18% over last 4 sessions.
Nasdaq up 4.6% today.
Nasdaq up above 1500 points today.
SINCE LAST WEEKS LOWS.
GM +183%
Citi +135%
J P Morgan +54%
Alcoa +42%
Home Depot +34%
MARKETS AT CLOSE
-Traders talk of Assets,allocation(Out of Cash,into stocks).
-First 4-day gains since April 2008.
-Techs lead stocks higher.
Eastern Europe growth to halve, bank says
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 26,08 @ 09:29 CET
Overall growth in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Central Asia will halve next year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), helping build market economies in the region, has said. According to the EBRD figures published on Tuesday (25 November), economic growth of 7.5 percent in 2007 is set to fall to 6.3. percent this year and further drop to 3 percent in 2009. Economies of Central Europe and the Baltics will see a decline from 4.3 percent this year to 2.2 percent in 2009, while south-eastern Europe will experience even sharper fall from 6.5 percent to 3.1 percent in the same period of time. Conditions in Latvia are most severe, with the country set to ask the International Monetary Fund and the EU for a bailout of as much as €3 billion ($3.85 billion) to shore up its economy. Latvia will be able to ask a bit more, €2 billion, or €2.5 billion to €3 billion, Latvian finance minister Atis Slakteris was cited as saying by the Bloomberg on Tuesday.
After experiencing high growth of 10.3 percent in 2007, the Latvian economy growth is set to fall to only 0.4 percent this year and to shrink 0.9 percent in 2009.The EBRD says that the entire region of 29 countries, where it invests, is now bracing itself for higher unemployment and lower consumption growth. An additional risk of even slower growth lies with external funding possibly falling away. In particular, some countries continue to run excessive current account deficits combined with high foreign currency debt and are therefore prone to significant output reductions if capital inflows fall off rapidly, it stated in a press release.The EBRD's chief economist Erik Berglof has suggested to co-ordinate stabilisation efforts as well as to keep focus on key long-term growth challenges that face individual countries and the region.Stabilisation measures will need to be coordinated with other countries - both in western Europe and in other transition countries - taking account of the inter-linking ownership structures in the region's financial system, Mr Berglof stated. He also pointed to the need of having a good physical infrastructure and business climate as well as of investing into education and appropriate skills among workforce. Such investment can reap clear rewards in terms of innovation and growth. Building human capabilities will be a major determinant of the rate of subsequent growth and its sustainability,the EBRD's economist concluded.
AMERO SWITCH WHEN THE DOLLAR CRASHES.
http://www.dc-coin.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=141
HAL TURNER INTRODUCES NEW AMERO COIN - VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge2J2lNusJs&eurl=http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&q=jerome+corsi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&r&feature=player_embedded
October 1, 2008
U.S. Ships 800 Billion AMEROS to China; prepares to De-Monetize U.S. Dollar
The US Secretary of the Treasury has informed the China Development Bank that the US has shipped $800 Billion of a new currency called the Amero, which is to be based upon the merging of the economies of The United States, Mexico and Canada into what is termed as The North American Union.The current American debt obligation to China, currently based on the US Dollar, is now estimated to be the staggering sum of $2.5 Trillion, and which this new Amero will be exchanged for $400 Billion of this debt as the current American currency is set to be devalued by 50 percent before the end of the year. Virtually unknown to the American people is that their current leader of the US Department of Treasury, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., has been tasked by President Bush to lead the efforts to join the economies of the US, Canada and Mexico and is also the head of the North American Development Bank, the bi-national financial institution established by the United States and Mexico to further the merging of their economies, and the leader of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), the organization created by the governments of the United States and Mexico to further the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
This is important to note as the final provisions of the NAFTA Agreement were implemented on January 1, 2008, leaving only the final merging of the economies of the US, Mexico and Canada into a North American Union to be accomplished, of which we can read:President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union, effectively erasing our borders with both Mexico and Canada. This was the hidden agenda behind the Bush administration's true open borders policy.Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA politically, setting the stage for a North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada.President Bush intends to abrogate U.S. sovereignty to the North American Union, a new economic and political entity which the President is quietly forming, much as the European Union has formed.It is also interesting to note that American economists have been warning about the replacing of the US Dollar with the Amero, due to pressure from China, for nearly two years, and as we can read in this December, 2006 report titled Analysts: Dollar collapse would result in amero, and which says:As WND reported earlier this week, in an unusual move, the Bush administration is sending virtually the entire economic A-team to visit China for a strategic economic dialogue in Beijing Thursday and Friday. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are leading the delegation, along with five other cabinet-level officials, including Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez. Also in the delegation will be Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. But Chapman doubts the trip will help the Fed to engineer a slow dollar slide. The Chinese are going to do what the Chinese want to do, not what we want them to do, he said. I believe the Chinese are going to send Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke home packing, with little or nothing to show for the trip.How severe will the coming dollar collapse be?
People in the U.S. are going to be hit hard, Chapman warned. In the severe recession we are entering now, Bush will argue that we have to form a North American Union to compete with the Euro.Creating the amero, Chapman explained, will be presented to the American public as the administration's solution for dollar recovery. In the process of creating the amero, the Bush administration just abandons the dollar.The prophetic warnings of these American economists are, indeed, coming to pass as during the month of September alone, 10 years worth of gains on US stock markets have been wiped out in their entirety and bank runs are now occurring in the United States for the first time since the days of the Great Depression leading to the failure of 13 banks, some of their largest, and the imminent failure of 117 more forecasted by the US government. US Treasury Secretary Paulson, however, continues leading the charge attempting to force upon the American people the final peg to their own demise by completely bankrupting the United States leaving no other choice but to completely discard the almost totally worthless US Dollar and its replacement with the Amero. It goes without saying that the American people will greatly resist the replacement of their Dollar, but this cannot be said when tens of millions of them are without jobs and their life savings have become worthless leaving them with no other choice but accept what their own leaders have planned for them all along.
For myself, I think that the day such an announcement of the Amero replacing the Dollar is made, is the day I may be left with no choice but to start killing the people involved in destroying my nation.Posted by HalTurnerShow.com at 10/01/2008 06:25:00 AM
Poland looks to climate present from Sarkozy
LEIGH PHILLIPS 25.11.2008 @ 17:22 CET
Eastern European foreign ministers in Warsaw on Monday (24 November) honed their climate package game plan ahead of the upcoming European summit.Led by Poland, many of the newer member states are opposed to many aspects of the EU's climate and energy reforms, currently under negotiation between the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU capitals.The regular winter summit of European leaders, this year taking place on 11 and 12 December, is to wrap up the deal. The 10 ministers at the Warsaw meeting - from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania - plus Sweden - ended the pow-wow saying they were hoping for new proposals from the French EU presidency that would moderate the package's goals.Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that when French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Gdansk on 6 December - Saint Nicholas' Day - he will, like his red-robed namesake, come bearing gifts.I hope he will bring us a present in the form of good proposals, proposals that will take into consideration our specific situation, the Polish minister said, Polish press agency PAP reports.Poland's main concern is the proposed full auctioning of CO2 emissions permits for industry in 2013, arguing that this will result in a sharp increase in energy prices, hitting both poor households and economic growth.Warsaw rejected a presidency proposal last week that would see half the emission permits given away for free until 2016 for those countries that depend on coal for 60 percent or more of their electricity. Over 90 percent of Poland's electricity generation comes from coal.
The Poles felt the three-year exemption did not go far enough.Mr Sikorski threatened once again that if the package is not watered down in favour of the east, his country will veto any agreement.The package must be adopted unanimously, he said, adding: We confirm that we will not hesitate to veto bad proposals, which means we want to negotiate good proposals.Sweden attended the meeting to discuss a joint Polish-Swedish proposal for strengthening EU links with post-Soviet states and did not participate in the climate discussions.
Eastern NGOs disagree with their governments
Even as eastern leaders opposed elements of the climate package, civil society groups and green NGOs from the same countries are telling their governments to stop stalling and back the deal.On Monday, 42 different groups, including WWF Hungary, Friends of the Earth Latvia, the Soros Foundation and local organisations without international ties such as Polska Zielona Siec in Poland and Za Zemyata in Bulgaria called on their governments to support the EU's climate and energy bundle.The EU has a historic responsibility to play a leading role in the fight against climate change globally, the groups stated in an open letter to their leaders. Central and eastern European countries must decide if they want to belong to the group of leaders or those lagging behind.They called on the countries to reach a sustainable compromise and adopt the European Climate and Energy Package, including 100 percent auctioning of emissions permits, and to do so before a key international meeting on climate change action, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Poznan taking place the first two weeks of December.Postponing further action will bring about much more damage and cost to our societies and economies than acting today, the groups said.
Massive new programs aimed at loosening credit By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer NOV 25,08
AP – President George W. Bush, accompanied by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, makes a statement on the economy … WASHINGTON – Rolling out powerful new weapons against the financial meltdown, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve pledged $800 billion Tuesday to blast through blockades on credit cards, auto loans, mortgages and other borrowing. Total bailout commitments, loans and pledges of backing neared a staggering $7 trillion.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who has been criticized for constantly revising the original $700 billion rescue program, said the administration was considering even more changes in its final two months in office.Reports on the nation's economic health weren't getting any better. The Commerce Department said the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, declined at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter, even worse than the initial 0.3 percent estimated a month ago as consumer spending fell by the largest amount in 28 years.In Chicago, meanwhile, President-elect Barack Obama named his budget director and said they both will focus on the nation's soaring budget deficit — but only after economic revival is under way. Paulson stressed that Obama's transition team was being kept informed of the government's moves.Investors digested it all and sent the Dow Jones industrials 36 points higher, a modest gain but still the first time the average had risen three straight days in more than two months.Millions of Americans rely on the kinds of loans that were targeted in one of the new programs announced Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve will purchase $200 billion in securities backed by different types of debt including credit card loans, auto loans, student loans and loans to small businesses. That market essentially froze in October. These types of loans as a result have become harder to obtain and have carried higher interest ratesThe Fed also announced that it would spend $500 billion to purchase mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and another $100 billion to directly purchase mortgages held by Fannie, Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks.This would greatly expand an initial modest effort announced back in September in which Treasury spent $26 billion to purchase mortgage-backed securities. The current credit crisis was triggered by soaring losses on securities backed by subprime loans.The announcement of the new programs had an immediate positive impact on credit markets Tuesday, sending demand up and rates lower. Analysts predicted the program could send mortgage rates down by as much as one-half to a full percentage point in coming months, helping to spur demand in the beleaguered housing market, which is suffering its worst downturn in decades.The programs to buy mortgage-related assets and securities backed by consumer debt have the same aim: to boost demand for those assets. In doing so, the government hopes to lower the costs being charged for consumer loans. That would make loans on everything from mortgages to cars more available.This is one of the key actions we've been advocating, said Charles McMillan, president of the National Association of Realtors, referring to the purchase program for mortgage-backed assets.
The latest federal moves raised U.S. commitments to contain the financial crisis to nearly $7 trillion — though no one thinks the government will actually spend anything like that figure, which would be almost half the nation's total gross domestic product. The figures include loans that are expected to be repaid, loan authorities to back mortgages, purchases of stock in banks, guarantees to support loans among banks and pledges backing other transactions.In the case of the Federal Reserve, the amount covers huge loans that financial institutions will have to pay back. In the case of the Treasury rescue effort, the government will at some point sell the stock it owns back to the banks, presumably when the banking system is doing better and the stock will be worth more.As for Tuesday's actions, the mortgage-backed securities the Fed will buy will be investment-grade assets — not the toxic mortgage-related assets that the administration initially had said the $700 billion financial rescue program would buy.By focusing on investment-grade securities, the Fed will be able to help provide a functioning secondary market. It will pay the prices for these securities that are being set by the market. Had the Fed needed to buy bad assets, it would have had to develop a mechanism to properly price assets that weren't being traded.The use of Fed resources also gets around another problem Treasury faced: a limited amount of money in the program. The $800 billion being committed to buy mortgage-related assets and other assets backed by consumer loans will come from the Federal Reserve's vast resources. It will not count against the $700 billion rescue program.The Treasury Department also announced Tuesday that the rescue program had spent another $2.91 billion in direct purchases of stock from 23 regional banks around the country. These institutions ranged from HF Financial Corp. in Sioux Falls, S.D., to Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc. in Davenport, Fla. The government has now injected $161.5 billion in 53 institutions. The goal is to spend $250 billion of the $700 billion bailout fund to buy bank stock as a way of encouraging banks to resume more normal lending to bolster the shaky economy. A boost to the overall economy is considered vital at a time when nearly every day has brought further evidence that the country is sliding into a severe downturn.
Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said he thought the economy would shrink by an even more drastic 4 percent annual rate in the current quarter and keep falling through the middle of 2009. We are in the early stages of one of the worst recessions in the postwar period, even factoring in a massive stimulus program, Behravesh. Obama is putting together a stimulus program with the goal of creating 2.5 million jobs over the next two years. It's an effort that many economists think will need to total between $500 billion and $700 billion to bring the benefits needed to help shore up the economy. Obama pledged Tuesday to make deficit reduction a goal of his administration — but only after recovery from the financial crisis is well under way. We are going to have to jump start the economy, he said. At a news conference, Obama claimed a mandate to move the country in a new direction, and promised to consult with Republicans as he goes about it. The effort to restart the frozen market for securities that back consumer debt will get an assist from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund, which Congress passed on Oct. 3. Paulson told reporters that the fund will supply $20 billion as protection for the Fed against losses in its purchases of securities for the program. He also signaled that the program could be expanded to include asset-backed paper that covers commercial mortgage loans. Those loans are used to finance shopping malls and office buildings. Paulson defended the administration against charges that it has made haphazard changes in the financial rescue program, sending confusing signals to markets. Initially, the effort was sold to Congress as a way to buy toxic mortgage-related assets off the books of financial institutions. The idea was to give them the capital needed to resume more normal lending. When the financial crisis worsened and Paulson decided it would take too long to get the toxic purchase program operating, he switched to making direct purchases of bank stock with the rescue funds. Paulson announced that the first $350 billion installment of the rescue fund probably would not be used to buy any toxic assets. It is naive for any of us to think that when you are dealing with a situation of this magnitude that a bill could be passed or a single action taken to make all the issues go away, Paulson told reporters at a briefing. Paulson declined to say whether the Bush administration would seek authority from Congress to tap a portion of the second half of the $700 billion fund before leaving office. That decision had not yet been made, he said.
METEORS HIT THE EARTH
REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!
Space experts offer anti-asteroid plan By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press Writer – Tue Nov 25, 4:37 pm ET
VIENNA, Austria – It is disaster planning on a galactic scale: Space experts want to come up with a contingency plan on what to do in case a killer asteroid collides with Earth.The experts, including former American astronaut Rusty Schweickart, told U.N. officials Tuesday that the international community needs a plan to counter so-called Near Earth Objects in advance of the potential catastrophe. Deflecting asteroids — or at least evacuating people in areas where they might strike — could save millions of lives.This is a natural disaster, which is larger, potentially, than any other natural disaster we know of, Schweickart said. However, it is preventable ... that's a very important thing to keep in mind. But it is our responsibility to take action to do that.Asteroids are small planetary bodies that revolve around the sun, according to the NASA Web site, which states that many scientists believe an asteroid collided with Earth about 65 million years ago, helping cause environmental changes that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Schweickart, a former Apollo 9 crew member, spoke at a news conference after briefing U.N. officials on a recent report called Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response. The report was compiled by the International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation that is made up of members of the Association of Space Explorers, among others.The report, among other things, calls for an international decision-making program within the framework of the United Nations to decide on actions to counter asteroids. It also urges the creation of an information, analysis and warning system that would operate telescopes worldwide to detect and track possibly harmful objects.Schweickart acknowledged that devastating collisions happen very infrequently but warned the risk could not be ignored. Next year alone, six asteroids have a very small probability of hitting the Earth, he said.He added that over the coming years, researchers will increasingly be able to predict possible collisions, enabling early warnings and deflection operations.While rare, Near Earth Objects have caused considerable damage in the not-too-distant past. One known as the Tunguska object slammed into remote central Siberia in 1908, unleashing energy equivalent to a nuclear bomb explosion. It wiped out 60 million trees over a 2,150-square-kilometer (830-square-mile) area. Had it hit a populated area, the loss of life would have been staggering.For Walther Lichem, an Austrian member of the panel who was also at the news conference, investing in preventive measures is key to making sure such incidents don't happen again with more devastating effects.The damage potential is so incredible that we have to take the responsibility, he said.
On the Net:Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response:http://www.space-explorers.org/committees/NEO/docs/ATACGR.pdf NASA on asteroids: http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/asteroid_worldbook.html
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.
German MPs call for Iran group amnesty
PHILIPPA RUNNER 25.11.2008 @ 09:24 CET
A group of 150 cross-party parliamentarians in Germany has signed a petition calling for Iranian opposition group, the People's Mujahedin Organistaion of Iran (PMOI), to be taken off the EU's terrorist register in line with European court rulings.We demand that the German government with the co-operation of the French EU presidency removes this unjust label. The removal will serve the rule of law, show respect for the elected representatives of the people of Europe and address an urgent imperative for international peace, the petition said. The text was handed to the leader of PMOI's political wing, the National Resistance Council of Iran (NRCI), Miriam Rajavi, at a ceremony in Berlin on Monday (24 November).If the international community doesn't want to see an aggressive and nuclear-armed Iran and wants to avoid war, the sole solution is a democratic change by the people of Iran, Ms Rajavi said.The German petition was put together by the Committee of German Solidarity for a Free Iran and joins similar lists organised by the PMOI's powerful lobby in the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and the European Parliament.It also comes amid a fresh PMOI legal appeal in European Courts against a July decision by EU member states to keep the group on its terrorist register.European courts have twice in the past overturned EU decisions to put PMOI on the blacklist, while a landmark UK court ruling earlier this year annulled the original British evidence that first landed PMOI on the register in 2002.
Spokespeople for the organisation say the EU is keen to hold back PMOI as a bargaining chip in ongoing talks with the Iranian government over the country's nuclear enrichment programme. But a committee of EU member state intelligence agencies - the so-called CP 931 working group - claims that the organisation remains a threat to European security.The Iranian group - which was responsible for bombings and attacks against the Islamic leadership of Iran in the 1980s and 1990s - renounced violence in 2001 and gave up arms in 2003.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
2 UP DAYS - WHATS UP TODAY
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Siberian quake triggers false US seismic reports Mon Nov 24, 3:22 pm ET
PASADENA, Calif. – A powerful undersea earthquake off Russia's eastern coast on Monday caused automated monitoring systems to falsely indicate small temblors in Idaho and California, scientists reported.The real quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck the Sea of Okhotsk 195 miles west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered at a depth of about 300 miles.That jolt caused computerized seismic stations in the western United States to send out false quake reports including a magnitude-4.8 quake in southeastern Idaho, a magnitude-3.8 in central California and a magnitude-3.4 at the Southern California mountain resort town of Big Bear.The initial automated reports were accompanied by a standard caution saying they had not yet been reviewed by seismologists.The false reports were deleted after seismologists reviewed the computer records, said geophysicist Julie Martinez of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said no Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.A distant earthquake that is both large and deep can sometimes confuse faraway seismic stations, said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. A scientist is always on call to verify a computer-generated report, she said.We know it's a problem, Hutton said.On the Net:USGS quakes: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/Pacific Tsunami Warning: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/ptwc/
Powerful quake strikes Russia's far east Mon Nov 24, 5:19 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck early Monday an area in the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia's far east, according to the US Geological Survey.
The USGS said the epicenter of the temblor -- which occurred at 8:02 pm (0902 GMT)was located 314 kilometers (195 miles) west of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
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.
Brazil floods kill at least 59, uproot thousands By Stuart Grudgings Stuart Grudgings – Mon Nov 24, 6:26 pm ET
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Rescue workers rushed to help stricken residents in southern Brazil on Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes.The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded by the floods after days of torrential rain.Santa Catarina is facing its worst weather tragedy, state Gov. Luis Henrique Silveira told reporters.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called Silveira and told him the federal government stood ready to provide medicine and other supplies, the state said on its Web site.The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.5 million people, leaving about 150,000 people without electricity and eight towns out of the 60 affected completely cut off by flood waters and landslides.The death toll was likely to rise as several people were missing, state officials said.The floods also shut down a branch of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Bolivia to Brazil, cutting off supplies to Santa Catarina and neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, the company that operates the line said.Brazilian newspapers showed photographs of streets submerged by the waist-high flood waters in the state, which is one of Brazil's wealthiest and known for its large number of descendants of German and Italian immigrants.
Transport in the state was paralyzed as roads were cut off by the flooding and landslides. Television footage showed hillsides breaking away and sliding into rivers of mud. A lane of one main road collapsed after its earth foundations crumbled.Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said at least one town was rationing water because of purification problems.Thirteen people died after being buried by landslides in the town of Blumenau, where officials declared a state of emergency late on Sunday and warned that more mudslides were possible. Eight died in Gaspar town and six more died in the town of Jaragua do Sul.The big challenge on Monday will be supplying the shelters with medicines and food, Blumenau Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinubing said, according to the Civil Defense Agency's Web site.The first deaths were reported on Saturday after two days of heavy downpours and weeks of steady rain. Forecasters said the rain was expected to ease in the coming days.The South American country is in spring season when rains in the southern part of the country are at their heaviest, ending months of usually dry winter weather.(Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Peter Murphy; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Snowstorm Disrupts Travel in Finland, Sweden, Russia (Update3)
By Juho Erkheikki and Niklas Magnusson
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Residents in Sweden, Finland and Russia were left stranded and without power for a second day as the year’s first winter storm pummeled northern Europe. Flights were delayed in Helsinki and Stockholm as northern winds forced airports to shut runways. Snow blanketed the region and the wind blew what had accumulated since the storm hit yesterday. Thousands were without power. The storm buried the region with up to 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of snow, catching locals unprepared after last winter, the mildest on record. The bare ground then forced Helsinki and Stockholm residents to cancel outdoor activities such as skiing and sledding. This comes as a real surprise, said Tomas Lindberg, 36, as he dug out his car in Helsinki and tried to get to work. I had to fetch my snow shovel from the attic.Flights at Helsinki-Vantaa airport may return to normal in the afternoon after most were delayed this morning and yesterday, and almost 30 were canceled, Annika Kola, spokeswoman at airport operator Finavia, said. All three runways were now open, she said. Two were closed yesterday. At Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, only one of the three runways was open, resulting in delays of as much as two hours, Karin Magnusson, spokeswoman for airport operator LFV, said. Snow is normally not a problem for us but snow in combination with strong side winds makes it difficult, Magnusson said. We aim to open the second runway as soon as the wind turns.
More Snow to Come
The storm left 2,000 Russian towns and villages with 250,000 residents without electricity, Interfax news service reported. In Moscow, seven people were injured last night, including a 26- year-old woman currently in critical condition, who was hit by a tree, state television Vesti-24 reported. In St. Petersburg, a driver was killed after a tree fell on his car. Relief was not yet in sight for the region’s residents. An additional 20 centimeters was expected today along parts of Finland’s south coast, after 30 centimeters had already fallen, causing traffic disruptions, the country’s Meteorological Institute said. More than 10 centimeters of snow was on the ground in parts of Sweden with more on the way, Swedish weather forecaster SMHI said. Long-haul and commuter trains in the Helsinki region were delayed by up to one hour, Finnish broadcaster YLE said. Some Helsinki tram lines were rerouted. About 2,000 homes were still without power this morning in the country, down from as many as 25,000 homes yesterday, YLE said.
Power Outages
More than 3,900 people in Stockholm and northern Sweden were without power, Vattenfall AB, the Nordic region’s largest utility, said on its Web site. Some of Fortum Oyj’s and E.ON AG’s Swedish customers were also without electricity. Bus services were canceled in the Roslagen region north of Stockholm and drivers were advised not to use their cars, after some drivers got stuck on snowy roads, Svenska Dagbladet reported. Hurricane-strength gusts were reported north of the Swedish capital. Residents who did not need to hurry off to the office this morning were enjoying the return of wintry weather following last year’s unseasonable warm temperatures. This is actually quite fun, said Mika Jaeaeskelaeinen, 38, as he uncovered his car this morning in Helsinki. Thankfully, I’m working from home this morning, so I can wear boots. I only have meetings with clients in the afternoon.To contact the reporters on this story: Juho Erkheikki in Helsinki at jerkheikki@bloomberg.net; Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net
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 TUE NOV 25,2008
09:30 AM +59.89
10:00 AM +71.28
10:30 AM +116.20
11:00 AM -4.38
11:30 AM +8.12
12:00 PM +16.56
12:30 PM -51.85
01:00 PM -120.03
01:30 PM -50.26
02:00 PM -57.76
02:30 PM -108.25
03:00 PM +7.64
03:30 PM +5.89
04:00 PM +36.08 +8479.47
S&P 500 857.39 +5.58
NASDAQ 1464.73 -7.29
GOLD 821.0 +1.51
OIL 50.84 -3.66
TSE 300 8442.86 +1.99
CDNX 719.96 -2.83
S&P/TSX/60 512.79 +0.87
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
Dow +107 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +142 at high today so far.
Dow at +55 at low today so far.
Q3 GDP revised to -0.5% from -0.3%
Dow has not had a 3 day upside since AUG 26-28,2008.
S&P has not had a 3 day upside since SEP 10-12,2008.
Paulson:Twice in a century situation.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow at low today -154 points.
Dow at high +164 points.
IS THE WORST OVER?
BULLS SAY:
-Buying Mortgages/ABS a new tact.
-Obama Stimulus,Tax cuts coming.
BEARS SAY:
-Will lul traders into complacency.
-Test of lows will come again.
-Dollar crushed as FED prints money.
ISSUES:
-Whats the price to buy distressed Assets?
-Weres the money coming from?
FEDS NEW PROGRAMS
TALP - Term Asset-backed Securities loan facility.
-Loans up to $200 BILLION to holders of securitized student,Auto and Credit Card loans.
-Also covers loans guarenteed by Small Business administation.
-Treasury to provide $20 BILLION of credit protection to FED.
-Fed will buy $500 BILLION in GSE MBS through direct purchases via Asset Managers.
-Fed to purchase $100 BILLION of GSE direct obligations through auctions.
European Commission to call on member states to launch coordinated Economic Stimulus,Further details tomorrow.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +164 points at high today.
Dow -154 points at low today.
Dow up 0.4% today.
Dow gains 12.3% last 3 days.
S&P up 0.7% today.
S&P up 14% last 3 days.
Nasdaq down -0.5% today.
Nasdaq up 11.3% last 3 days.
CISCO WILL CLOSE U.S AND CANADIAN OFFICES FROM DEC 29-JAN 2,2009
Oil erases almost all of yesterdays gains.
Stocks gain,then lose,then gain at end today.
FDIC Q3 2008 BANK EARNINGS
-Q3 earnings:$1.78 BILLION -94%.
-Security sales:$7.6 BILLION loss.
-Q3 bankfailures: 9 (INCLUDING WAMU).
-Problem Bank list:171 (ASSETS $115.6 BILLION)
MARKETS AT CLOSE:
-1st 3 day win streak since september.
-Commodities,Financials lead.
-Techs lag.
TREASURY MBS PROGRAM:
-Helps builders.
-Brings down Mortgage rates.
-30-year Mortgage rates:5.5% today,down from 6.0%.
BLAST FROM THE PAST (US GOV INVOLMENT IN BANKING)
THE 2ND BANK OF THE US (WSJ)
-Chartered in 1816 to halt inflation and a currency crisis.
-Attacked by President Andrew Jackson.
-Disbanded by 1841.
-Created in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton.
-To consolidate the country's war debts and standardize its currency.
READY TO RALLY (STOCKTON'S PREDICTIONS)
-Expect a Santa clause rally next month.
-Small caps will start to out perform in MID-DEC.
WSJ:FDA found a few infant formula samples with trace levels of melamine in them.
PREDICTIONS
JEROME CORSI - VIDEOS
http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&q=jerome+corsi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
JEROME CORSI
-If stock market hits 6000 POINTS,$5 TRILLION dollars will be lost.
-Obama Supported Odinga in Kenya to promote Sharia Islamic Law.
-5 regional currencies possibly,then elites force world currency on us.
-Major Terrorism in Mideast,Samolia to play major role.
-Obama to implement Patriot act 2 change act 1.
CELANTE PREDICTS REVOLUTION
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20081113133837501
TREND RESEARCH http://www.trendsresearch.com/gerald.html
GERALD CELANTE
-February break down in Banking,Banking Holidays.
-Gold in $2000 Range,Deflation increasing.
-Gold confiscated by Government,Gold to skyrocket to $6,000 possibly.
-Martial law imposed to control Riots,violence.
Stock markets relatively flat on mixed bag of news, U.S. government aid
By David Friend, The Canadian Press NOV 25,08
TORONTO - A mixture of both positive and negative news left North American markets relatively flat at close as investors faced the latest U.S. government aid plan. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index lost 10.42 points in preliminary results to 8,430.45 and the Canadian dollar rose 0.63 of a cent to close at 81.63 cents US. The December crude oil contract fell seven per cent to US$50.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wall Street, investors reacted to an announcement that the Federal Reserve will purchase up to US$100 billion in direct mortgage obligations and another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities. But, a flood of U.S. economic data that appeared to confirm worsening conditions kept investors from gaining too much optimism. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.47 points to 8,479.86. The Nasdaq composite was down 7.29 points at 1,464.73 and the S&P 500 moved up 5.59 to 857.40.
Canada's economy entering deep recession: OECD
Tue Nov 25, 5:45 AM
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada has more room to slash interest rates, the OECD said in a report on Tuesday, forecasting Canada's economy will shrink for three straight quarters as the global crisis bites into domestic spending.The economy is now in a recession, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which predicted gross domestic product would shrink 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and 0.3 percent in the second quarter, before returning to growth.The economy will contract 0.5 percent in 2009, it estimated.Excess capacity and lower commodity prices are alleviating inflation pressures, allowing the Bank of Canada to boost its expansionary stance, it said.The central bank has cut its key overnight lending rate by 225 basis points since December 2007 and has suggested it will ease rates again on December 9.Domestic demand, until recently the motor of growth in Canada as exports sagged due to the global slowdown, slowed to 2.8 percent growth in the first half of this year. That is almost half the rate of the past few years.Indicators point to further weakening in the last half of 2008 as a recession takes hold, it said.As a result, there will be a net loss of jobs in 2009 and the unemployment rate will rise to 7 percent, the highest since February 2005. The OECD sees the jobless rate peaking at 7.5 percent in 2010.
The federal and provincial governments combined will likely post a deficit in 2009 and 2010, it said, but it called the shortfall a largely cyclical outcome that is not alarming and leaves room to absorb eventualities, but underlines the need to keep a lid on discretionary expenditure increases.The OECD predicts a deficit in the current account, amounting to 1.7 percent of GDP in 2009 and 1.4 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Rob Wilson)
Brussels puts final touches on EU recovery toolbox A close up of a euro banknote - the 10-point plan is designed to steer Europe out of its economic downturn (Photo: wikipedia)RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 25,08 @ 11:40 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - To jolt the economy back into shape, the European Commission is hammering out a recovery plan consisting of 10 initiatives, including tax cuts, swifter EU funding for infrastructure and incentives to boost green technologies in the construction and automobile sectors. EU governments will also get a green light to break tight budgetary discipline during next two years due to the extraordinary circumstances. The package is a work in progress and likely to see last-minute modifications before it is unveiled by the commission chief, Jose Manuel Barroso, on Wednesday (26 November). Among other outstanding issues, the EU's executive is yet to put a price tag on individual measures as well as the entire tool box, although Mr Barroso hinted last week that it would certainly not be below 1 percent of the EU's gross domestic product.The rough calculation would amount to €130 billion.
Speaking in Paris on Monday (24 November), the commission president added that the plan would mobilise all tools available - fiscal, structural and regulatory - both at European and national level.No member state can escape the crisis by implementing only national measures. Our economies are way too interdependent, he said, advocating co-ordination amongst EU governments.
Budgetary impulse
Apart from further reductions in interest rates, the commission is keen to swiftly boost demand and stabilise the economy through a co-ordinated budgetary stimulus package, which should be timely, targeted and temporary.In practice, it is floating a number of ideas - for example, extra public spending on low income households, lower taxes on labour linked to low-wage earners so that they become a more attractive labour force, or reduced value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services. Additionally, Brussels is set to make better use of its Globalisation Adjustment Fund and European Social Fund, two financial tools designed to give a helping hand in re-training and putting people back to work. Another set of measures centers around businesses so that they have better access to financing and face a lower administrative burden. The European Investment Bank is set to provide SMEs with €30 billion in loans over the next four years - a move that Brussels believes could help encourage additional investment from private sources.
Tax cuts
To alleviate pressure on national budgets, Brussels is set to step up investments in infrastructure by speeding up payments from cohesion funds.We are thinking of ways to frontload the funding available to member states, to bring it forward, EU regional development commissioner Danuta Hubner told the Financial Times on Sunday (23 November). Such a move would not only cushion the blow to the construction sector - which is slowing down sharply in most member states - but would also boost growth in general, the commission argues. Given the ongoing debate among EU governments, the big controversy centres around proposals in the taxation area.
Apart from the commission call to reduce value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services, Brussels is not shying away from proposing reduced VAT rates for green products and services. According to one EU diplomat, such moves would have significant implications on budgets, but only a minimum stimulative effect.The commission is also throwing its weight behind fiscal incentives, grants or subsidies aimed at supporting innovation in the construction and automobile industries toward green technologies.
Budgetary discipline
The commission draft recovery plan says that in implementing the above measures, member states may be obliged to break the 3 percent reference value in 2009 and 2010 because of the extraordinary circumstances.However, the paper continues that such excessive deficits will have to be corrected in time frames consistent with the recovery of the economy.According to a Reuters source, the commission chief is currently engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the various capitals to try and reach a consensus before Wednesday on the burden-sharing linked to the package.It is not just the big states whom he has to satisfy. The smaller and eastern states for example say they cannot afford to pay one percent of GDP. So it will not be as simple as just saying one percent of GDP, the source said, the new agency reports.
TSX powers higher on oils, financials Mon Nov 24, 6:08 PM
By Ka Yan Ng
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index gained 3.5 percent on Monday, with resource issues supported by rising oil prices and the U.S. government's rescue plan for banking giant Citigroup lifting market sentiment, particularly in the financial group.The energy sector forged ahead 7.1 percent, supported by the oil price gain. Crude rose more than 8 percent as investors considered the prospect of a further OPEC supply cut and as stock markets rallied on the Citigroup news.The news filtering through the system that Citi has received some aid is a great relief to the entire banking community, said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel. There was certainly severe fear of the effects of what would happen if Citi were to go down.Canadian Natural Resources gained 8.2 percent to C$45, while Petro-Canada rose 10 percent to C$24.75.But advances in the materials sector evaporated by the session's end as profit-taking ensued after gold prices hit a five-week high. The group was one of the main sources of early strength but ended modestly lower, down 0.54 percent.Goldcorp trimmed gains, ending up 1.6 percent to C$31.52. But shares of NovaGold plunged nearly 70 percent to 72 Canadian cents after it said it was facing a cash crunch and had suspended operations at its only producing mine.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 285.48 points, or 3.5 percent, at 8,440.87. Five sectors advanced, including the heavily weighted energy and financial groups. Information technology and utilities were among the decliners.The Toronto gains build on Friday's broad 5 percent rise, but some analysts were skeptical that the index could hang on to its gains given recent market patterns.I don't have the confidence that any uptick in the market is sustainable until the financial problems are cured, meaning that the banks are stabilized in the U.S., said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.I feel that a lot of the longer-term money, for lack of a better word, is still on the sidelines.
FINANCIALS SEESAW
The Citigroup news helped ease overall investor concern that the global financial system would be in peril if the big U.S. bank collapsed, and reversed initial pressure on Toronto's banking sector brought on by an earnings warning from Royal Bank of Canada.I think people are now taking it in stride, said Sprung.In a way the market is becoming more immune to warnings in recognition that it takes times for bad loans to work their way through the system, he added.The financial group advanced 4.68 percent, as Royal Bank, the third Canadian bank to provide a warning in the past week, gained 6.91 percent to C$39.Other bank stocks followed suit. Bank of Montreal, which finished up 5.3 percent at C$34.12, is the first bank to report results on Tuesday.In the United States, Wall Street marked its best two-day run since the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash, as the Citigroup news sparked a massive relief rally.The Dow Jones industrial average raced up 396.97 points, or 4.93percent, to 8,443.39. The Nasdaq composite index leaped 87.67 points, or 6.33 percent, to 1,472.02.(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Rob Wilson)
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Will U.S. push Israel to concede biblical heartland? Palestinians seek sanctions preventing Jewish construction in historic, holy cities November 23, 2008 6:32 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily
West Bank, including cities of Nablus, Jericho, Hebron and Bethel
JAFFA, Israel – The Palestinian Authority has asked the U.S. to impose sanctions on Israel if the Jewish state continues building any new housing structures in the strategic and historic West Bank, a top PA source told WND. The source, who works from PA President Mahmoud Abbas' office, said the threat of sanctions would be part a series of Israeli-Palestinian understandings to be guaranteed by the U.S. that both sides are trying to reach before January. The understandings, the source said, would result in an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the vast majority of the West Bank, an area rich in biblical history and significance. Last week, informed Israeli and Palestinian sources told WND that despite media reports painting a dismal picture of negotiation prospects, Israel and the PA are still quietly working to conclude a major agreement before President Bush leaves office at the end of the year. Aside from a major West Bank withdrawal, the agreement would also grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem but would postpone talks on the future status of the capital city until new Israeli and U.S. governments are installed next year. A top source said the PA requested that as part of the understandings, the U.S. would threaten sanctions for any new Jewish construction in the West Bank. Israel recaptured the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. The territory, in which about 200,000 Jews live, is tied to Judaism throughout the Torah and is often referred to as the biblical heartland of Israel. The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at the West Bank city of Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He was later buried with the rest of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, except for Rachel, in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs. The West Bank's Hebron was site of the first Jewish capital.
The nearby West Bank town of Beit El – anciently called Bethel, meaning house of God – is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In that dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory. Earlier, God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham at Beit El. In Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested just north of Beit El in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt. The understandings both sides are trying to reach before January are part of an original plan initiated at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, which sought to create a Palestinian state, at least on paper, by January. The summit launched talks aimed at concluding a final status agreement on all core issues: borders, the status of Jerusalem and the future of so-called Palestinian refugees. But a final agreement has been hampered by several recent events here, most notably Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to resign amid corruption charges, leading to general elections scheduled for February that will see a new prime minister elected. The candidate for office from Olmert's Kadima party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is said to oppose reaching a deal on Jerusalem or refugees ahead of elections, fearing it will harm her prospects among center-right voters. Livni is Olmert's chief negotiator with the Palestinians. In spite of the upcoming elections and the Israeli government's subsequent political instability, teams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been quietly meeting regularly the past few weeks in hope of concluding a series of understandings on key issues. Informed sources said any understandings reached will be backed up by Bush in an official letter. It is unclear how much weight such a letter will carry under a new U.S. administration. According to the sources, neither side expects to conclude any deal on the status of Jerusalem or Palestinian refugees before January, putting aside those issues for future talks. Instead, negotiations are focused on reaching an agreement emphasizing borders, particularly a pledged Israeli evacuation of the vast majority of the strategic West Bank, which borders central Israeli population centers. A Palestinian source told WND the U.S. is said to favor Israel withdrawing from nearly the entire West Bank. The source said the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem has been closely monitoring Israeli activities in the territory, which the source said has led to the Jewish state clamping down on what are termed illegal outposts, or Jewish structures built in the West Bank without government permission. Israel has recently announced a series of small West Bank evacuations, including the threatened forced removal of Jews who legally purchased a house in the ancient city of Hebron. Also being heavily negotiated is an agreement that would allow the PA to officially open institutions in Jerusalem. WND previously reported the PA already has been quietly operating in Jerusalem, apparently with tacit approval from the Israeli government. But the expected agreement to be concluded before January would give the PA official operational status in the city, likely leading to the opening of scores of Palestinian institutions there. According to Israeli law, the PA cannot officially hold court in Jerusalem. The PA previously maintained a de facto headquarters in Jerusalem, called Orient House, but the building was closed down by Israel in 2001 following a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem. Israel said it had information indicating the House was used to plan and fund terrorism. Thousands of documents and copies of bank certificates and checks captured by Israel from Orient House – including many documents obtained by WND – showed the offices were used to finance terrorism, including direct payments to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.
In parallel with an understanding on the West Bank and Jerusalem institutions, the PA is pushing for a massive prisoner release to be pledged before January. A senior Palestinian negotiator told WND the PA requested that all Palestinian prisoners – meaning even convicted terrorists responsible for murdering Israelis as well as members of the rival Hamas terror group – be freed as part of the deal. While the negotiator conceded such a massive release is unlikely, he said the PA's hope is that Israel will grant a large release, possibly including the freedom of convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is a founder of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, the most active Palestinian terror organization. He has boasted of planning the intifada, or Palestinian terror war, launched in September 2000, after then-PA President Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state and instead attempted to liberate Palestine by force. Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his direct role in murdering Israelis. Other understandings that Israel and the PA are attempting to reach before January surround water and natural resources. While it wasn't clear whether any understanding would actually be reached, the timing apparently favors all involved leaders. With Bush set to depart office in January, sealing a deal between Israel and the Palestinians would bode well for his legacy, which some analysts say is hampered by what is described as an unpopular war in Iraq, an economic meltdown and a growing crisis with Russia. Olmert is Israel's most unpopular prime minister. Tainted by corruption charges and a heavily mismanaged war in Lebanon in 2006, Olmert would also like to depart office with a deal in hand. There is also some concern in Jerusalem that President-elect Barack Obama may push Israel into further concessions during future negotiations, so some argue a deal on key issues while Bush is in office may be in Israel's interests. Further, PA President Mahmoud Abbas' term in office expires Jan. 10. His future leadership is sure to be contested by Hamas and by some in Fatah's young guard who want him to be replaced by Barghouti. Abbas' ability to tout an agreement in which Israel is compelled to retreat from the West Bank and release Palestinian prisoners could help his fading street popularity.
Abbas is also said to be greatly concerned by the prospects of February's Israeli elections resulting in opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu coming to power. Netanyahu has announced repeatedly, including as recently as last week, he would suspend negotiations with the PA.
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.
Polish President Blames Russia For Georgia Shooting NOV 24,08
WARSAW (AFP)--Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Monday blamed Russia for firing on a convoy carrying him and his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili, despite Moscow's denials.There is reason to believe that the Russians did the shooting, Kaczynski told reporters after returning from his visit to Georgia.I knew in advance that there was a Russian post there, one which shouldn't have been there under the terms of August's ceasefire between Moscow and Tbilisi, Kaczynski said.I wanted to check on site, and three or four Kalashnikov volleys were fired off - though I'm not saying they were fired in my direction, he said.The Russians, of course, are talking about a set-up by the Georgians, he added.Moscow and Tbilisi have traded accusations over the incident near the convoy carrying Saakashvili and his staunch ally Kaczynski Sunday, as Georgia marked the fifth anniversary of its pro-Western Rose Revolution.Georgia accused Russian troops near the breakaway region of South Ossetia of opening fire as the convoy carrying the two leaders drove by - a claim Russia denied. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=XArlKZdU3IpnWbzCSPbKCA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires.
Russian warships approach Venezuela under US gaze by Sophie Nicholson – Mon Nov 24, 7:39 pm ET
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Russian warships approached Venezuela Monday for upcoming joint maneuvers -- Moscow's first military presence in the region since the Cold War -- as Washington closely monitored the situation.Venezuelan defense officials said the ships, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and destroyer Admiral Chabankenko, would arrive on Tuesday.The joint exercises were to coincide with a two-day visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela, the strongest US critic in the region.Medvedev was due to arrive Wednesday and meet fiercely anti-liberal President Hugo Chavez on Thursday, before heading to communist Cuba.Analysts see Medvedev as bringing a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, in the wake of Russian outrage at US plans to install a strategic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and support for the brief Georgia war in August.
The maneuvers will start on Wednesday in port and take place at sea on December 1, Venezuelan Operations Command chief General Jesus Gonzalez told journalists.It's a natural exercise that we've carried out with various countries, and many others carry out, the general added.A Russian naval spokesman said in Moscow that the exercises would include operation planning, helping ships in distress and supplying ships on the move.If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power,McCormack added.The US has expressed concern, however, about Russian arms supplies to the oil-rich OPEC country.The two countries have signed 4.4 billion dollars in bilateral arms deals signed since 2005, including radars, 24 Sukhoi-30 planes, 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikovs.
Medvedev was expected to expand arms deals during his visit, as well as economic and energy ties, including plans for a joint civilian nuclear reactor.Russia is a friend which held out a hand to us, Gonzalez told AFP in a recent interview.We want to be very strong, but in a highly dissuasive direction. So that any country in the world thinks not once but 10 times before coming here.In September, two Tu-160 Russian strategic bombers carried out training for several days in Venezuela.The Russian warships were due to sail into La Guaira, near Caracas, and Puerto Cabello in northern Carabobo state.The fleet includes five aircraft and several small ships, and Venezuela will provide eight aircraft and 11 ships, Gonzalez said Monday, adding that 1,150 Russian forces and 600 Venezuelans would take part in the exercises.
Nations frequently exercise with each other. Russia is free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday.But also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Siberian quake triggers false US seismic reports Mon Nov 24, 3:22 pm ET
PASADENA, Calif. – A powerful undersea earthquake off Russia's eastern coast on Monday caused automated monitoring systems to falsely indicate small temblors in Idaho and California, scientists reported.The real quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck the Sea of Okhotsk 195 miles west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered at a depth of about 300 miles.That jolt caused computerized seismic stations in the western United States to send out false quake reports including a magnitude-4.8 quake in southeastern Idaho, a magnitude-3.8 in central California and a magnitude-3.4 at the Southern California mountain resort town of Big Bear.The initial automated reports were accompanied by a standard caution saying they had not yet been reviewed by seismologists.The false reports were deleted after seismologists reviewed the computer records, said geophysicist Julie Martinez of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said no Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.A distant earthquake that is both large and deep can sometimes confuse faraway seismic stations, said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. A scientist is always on call to verify a computer-generated report, she said.We know it's a problem, Hutton said.On the Net:USGS quakes: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/Pacific Tsunami Warning: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/ptwc/
Powerful quake strikes Russia's far east Mon Nov 24, 5:19 am ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck early Monday an area in the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia's far east, according to the US Geological Survey.
The USGS said the epicenter of the temblor -- which occurred at 8:02 pm (0902 GMT)was located 314 kilometers (195 miles) west of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
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.
Brazil floods kill at least 59, uproot thousands By Stuart Grudgings Stuart Grudgings – Mon Nov 24, 6:26 pm ET
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Rescue workers rushed to help stricken residents in southern Brazil on Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes.The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded by the floods after days of torrential rain.Santa Catarina is facing its worst weather tragedy, state Gov. Luis Henrique Silveira told reporters.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called Silveira and told him the federal government stood ready to provide medicine and other supplies, the state said on its Web site.The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.5 million people, leaving about 150,000 people without electricity and eight towns out of the 60 affected completely cut off by flood waters and landslides.The death toll was likely to rise as several people were missing, state officials said.The floods also shut down a branch of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Bolivia to Brazil, cutting off supplies to Santa Catarina and neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, the company that operates the line said.Brazilian newspapers showed photographs of streets submerged by the waist-high flood waters in the state, which is one of Brazil's wealthiest and known for its large number of descendants of German and Italian immigrants.
Transport in the state was paralyzed as roads were cut off by the flooding and landslides. Television footage showed hillsides breaking away and sliding into rivers of mud. A lane of one main road collapsed after its earth foundations crumbled.Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said at least one town was rationing water because of purification problems.Thirteen people died after being buried by landslides in the town of Blumenau, where officials declared a state of emergency late on Sunday and warned that more mudslides were possible. Eight died in Gaspar town and six more died in the town of Jaragua do Sul.The big challenge on Monday will be supplying the shelters with medicines and food, Blumenau Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinubing said, according to the Civil Defense Agency's Web site.The first deaths were reported on Saturday after two days of heavy downpours and weeks of steady rain. Forecasters said the rain was expected to ease in the coming days.The South American country is in spring season when rains in the southern part of the country are at their heaviest, ending months of usually dry winter weather.(Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Peter Murphy; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Snowstorm Disrupts Travel in Finland, Sweden, Russia (Update3)
By Juho Erkheikki and Niklas Magnusson
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Residents in Sweden, Finland and Russia were left stranded and without power for a second day as the year’s first winter storm pummeled northern Europe. Flights were delayed in Helsinki and Stockholm as northern winds forced airports to shut runways. Snow blanketed the region and the wind blew what had accumulated since the storm hit yesterday. Thousands were without power. The storm buried the region with up to 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of snow, catching locals unprepared after last winter, the mildest on record. The bare ground then forced Helsinki and Stockholm residents to cancel outdoor activities such as skiing and sledding. This comes as a real surprise, said Tomas Lindberg, 36, as he dug out his car in Helsinki and tried to get to work. I had to fetch my snow shovel from the attic.Flights at Helsinki-Vantaa airport may return to normal in the afternoon after most were delayed this morning and yesterday, and almost 30 were canceled, Annika Kola, spokeswoman at airport operator Finavia, said. All three runways were now open, she said. Two were closed yesterday. At Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, only one of the three runways was open, resulting in delays of as much as two hours, Karin Magnusson, spokeswoman for airport operator LFV, said. Snow is normally not a problem for us but snow in combination with strong side winds makes it difficult, Magnusson said. We aim to open the second runway as soon as the wind turns.
More Snow to Come
The storm left 2,000 Russian towns and villages with 250,000 residents without electricity, Interfax news service reported. In Moscow, seven people were injured last night, including a 26- year-old woman currently in critical condition, who was hit by a tree, state television Vesti-24 reported. In St. Petersburg, a driver was killed after a tree fell on his car. Relief was not yet in sight for the region’s residents. An additional 20 centimeters was expected today along parts of Finland’s south coast, after 30 centimeters had already fallen, causing traffic disruptions, the country’s Meteorological Institute said. More than 10 centimeters of snow was on the ground in parts of Sweden with more on the way, Swedish weather forecaster SMHI said. Long-haul and commuter trains in the Helsinki region were delayed by up to one hour, Finnish broadcaster YLE said. Some Helsinki tram lines were rerouted. About 2,000 homes were still without power this morning in the country, down from as many as 25,000 homes yesterday, YLE said.
Power Outages
More than 3,900 people in Stockholm and northern Sweden were without power, Vattenfall AB, the Nordic region’s largest utility, said on its Web site. Some of Fortum Oyj’s and E.ON AG’s Swedish customers were also without electricity. Bus services were canceled in the Roslagen region north of Stockholm and drivers were advised not to use their cars, after some drivers got stuck on snowy roads, Svenska Dagbladet reported. Hurricane-strength gusts were reported north of the Swedish capital. Residents who did not need to hurry off to the office this morning were enjoying the return of wintry weather following last year’s unseasonable warm temperatures. This is actually quite fun, said Mika Jaeaeskelaeinen, 38, as he uncovered his car this morning in Helsinki. Thankfully, I’m working from home this morning, so I can wear boots. I only have meetings with clients in the afternoon.To contact the reporters on this story: Juho Erkheikki in Helsinki at jerkheikki@bloomberg.net; Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net
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 TUE NOV 25,2008
09:30 AM +59.89
10:00 AM +71.28
10:30 AM +116.20
11:00 AM -4.38
11:30 AM +8.12
12:00 PM +16.56
12:30 PM -51.85
01:00 PM -120.03
01:30 PM -50.26
02:00 PM -57.76
02:30 PM -108.25
03:00 PM +7.64
03:30 PM +5.89
04:00 PM +36.08 +8479.47
S&P 500 857.39 +5.58
NASDAQ 1464.73 -7.29
GOLD 821.0 +1.51
OIL 50.84 -3.66
TSE 300 8442.86 +1.99
CDNX 719.96 -2.83
S&P/TSX/60 512.79 +0.87
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
Dow +107 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +142 at high today so far.
Dow at +55 at low today so far.
Q3 GDP revised to -0.5% from -0.3%
Dow has not had a 3 day upside since AUG 26-28,2008.
S&P has not had a 3 day upside since SEP 10-12,2008.
Paulson:Twice in a century situation.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow at low today -154 points.
Dow at high +164 points.
IS THE WORST OVER?
BULLS SAY:
-Buying Mortgages/ABS a new tact.
-Obama Stimulus,Tax cuts coming.
BEARS SAY:
-Will lul traders into complacency.
-Test of lows will come again.
-Dollar crushed as FED prints money.
ISSUES:
-Whats the price to buy distressed Assets?
-Weres the money coming from?
FEDS NEW PROGRAMS
TALP - Term Asset-backed Securities loan facility.
-Loans up to $200 BILLION to holders of securitized student,Auto and Credit Card loans.
-Also covers loans guarenteed by Small Business administation.
-Treasury to provide $20 BILLION of credit protection to FED.
-Fed will buy $500 BILLION in GSE MBS through direct purchases via Asset Managers.
-Fed to purchase $100 BILLION of GSE direct obligations through auctions.
European Commission to call on member states to launch coordinated Economic Stimulus,Further details tomorrow.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +164 points at high today.
Dow -154 points at low today.
Dow up 0.4% today.
Dow gains 12.3% last 3 days.
S&P up 0.7% today.
S&P up 14% last 3 days.
Nasdaq down -0.5% today.
Nasdaq up 11.3% last 3 days.
CISCO WILL CLOSE U.S AND CANADIAN OFFICES FROM DEC 29-JAN 2,2009
Oil erases almost all of yesterdays gains.
Stocks gain,then lose,then gain at end today.
FDIC Q3 2008 BANK EARNINGS
-Q3 earnings:$1.78 BILLION -94%.
-Security sales:$7.6 BILLION loss.
-Q3 bankfailures: 9 (INCLUDING WAMU).
-Problem Bank list:171 (ASSETS $115.6 BILLION)
MARKETS AT CLOSE:
-1st 3 day win streak since september.
-Commodities,Financials lead.
-Techs lag.
TREASURY MBS PROGRAM:
-Helps builders.
-Brings down Mortgage rates.
-30-year Mortgage rates:5.5% today,down from 6.0%.
BLAST FROM THE PAST (US GOV INVOLMENT IN BANKING)
THE 2ND BANK OF THE US (WSJ)
-Chartered in 1816 to halt inflation and a currency crisis.
-Attacked by President Andrew Jackson.
-Disbanded by 1841.
-Created in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton.
-To consolidate the country's war debts and standardize its currency.
READY TO RALLY (STOCKTON'S PREDICTIONS)
-Expect a Santa clause rally next month.
-Small caps will start to out perform in MID-DEC.
WSJ:FDA found a few infant formula samples with trace levels of melamine in them.
PREDICTIONS
JEROME CORSI - VIDEOS
http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&q=jerome+corsi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
JEROME CORSI
-If stock market hits 6000 POINTS,$5 TRILLION dollars will be lost.
-Obama Supported Odinga in Kenya to promote Sharia Islamic Law.
-5 regional currencies possibly,then elites force world currency on us.
-Major Terrorism in Mideast,Samolia to play major role.
-Obama to implement Patriot act 2 change act 1.
CELANTE PREDICTS REVOLUTION
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20081113133837501
TREND RESEARCH http://www.trendsresearch.com/gerald.html
GERALD CELANTE
-February break down in Banking,Banking Holidays.
-Gold in $2000 Range,Deflation increasing.
-Gold confiscated by Government,Gold to skyrocket to $6,000 possibly.
-Martial law imposed to control Riots,violence.
Stock markets relatively flat on mixed bag of news, U.S. government aid
By David Friend, The Canadian Press NOV 25,08
TORONTO - A mixture of both positive and negative news left North American markets relatively flat at close as investors faced the latest U.S. government aid plan. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index lost 10.42 points in preliminary results to 8,430.45 and the Canadian dollar rose 0.63 of a cent to close at 81.63 cents US. The December crude oil contract fell seven per cent to US$50.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wall Street, investors reacted to an announcement that the Federal Reserve will purchase up to US$100 billion in direct mortgage obligations and another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities. But, a flood of U.S. economic data that appeared to confirm worsening conditions kept investors from gaining too much optimism. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.47 points to 8,479.86. The Nasdaq composite was down 7.29 points at 1,464.73 and the S&P 500 moved up 5.59 to 857.40.
Canada's economy entering deep recession: OECD
Tue Nov 25, 5:45 AM
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada has more room to slash interest rates, the OECD said in a report on Tuesday, forecasting Canada's economy will shrink for three straight quarters as the global crisis bites into domestic spending.The economy is now in a recession, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which predicted gross domestic product would shrink 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and 0.3 percent in the second quarter, before returning to growth.The economy will contract 0.5 percent in 2009, it estimated.Excess capacity and lower commodity prices are alleviating inflation pressures, allowing the Bank of Canada to boost its expansionary stance, it said.The central bank has cut its key overnight lending rate by 225 basis points since December 2007 and has suggested it will ease rates again on December 9.Domestic demand, until recently the motor of growth in Canada as exports sagged due to the global slowdown, slowed to 2.8 percent growth in the first half of this year. That is almost half the rate of the past few years.Indicators point to further weakening in the last half of 2008 as a recession takes hold, it said.As a result, there will be a net loss of jobs in 2009 and the unemployment rate will rise to 7 percent, the highest since February 2005. The OECD sees the jobless rate peaking at 7.5 percent in 2010.
The federal and provincial governments combined will likely post a deficit in 2009 and 2010, it said, but it called the shortfall a largely cyclical outcome that is not alarming and leaves room to absorb eventualities, but underlines the need to keep a lid on discretionary expenditure increases.The OECD predicts a deficit in the current account, amounting to 1.7 percent of GDP in 2009 and 1.4 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Rob Wilson)
Brussels puts final touches on EU recovery toolbox A close up of a euro banknote - the 10-point plan is designed to steer Europe out of its economic downturn (Photo: wikipedia)RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 25,08 @ 11:40 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - To jolt the economy back into shape, the European Commission is hammering out a recovery plan consisting of 10 initiatives, including tax cuts, swifter EU funding for infrastructure and incentives to boost green technologies in the construction and automobile sectors. EU governments will also get a green light to break tight budgetary discipline during next two years due to the extraordinary circumstances. The package is a work in progress and likely to see last-minute modifications before it is unveiled by the commission chief, Jose Manuel Barroso, on Wednesday (26 November). Among other outstanding issues, the EU's executive is yet to put a price tag on individual measures as well as the entire tool box, although Mr Barroso hinted last week that it would certainly not be below 1 percent of the EU's gross domestic product.The rough calculation would amount to €130 billion.
Speaking in Paris on Monday (24 November), the commission president added that the plan would mobilise all tools available - fiscal, structural and regulatory - both at European and national level.No member state can escape the crisis by implementing only national measures. Our economies are way too interdependent, he said, advocating co-ordination amongst EU governments.
Budgetary impulse
Apart from further reductions in interest rates, the commission is keen to swiftly boost demand and stabilise the economy through a co-ordinated budgetary stimulus package, which should be timely, targeted and temporary.In practice, it is floating a number of ideas - for example, extra public spending on low income households, lower taxes on labour linked to low-wage earners so that they become a more attractive labour force, or reduced value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services. Additionally, Brussels is set to make better use of its Globalisation Adjustment Fund and European Social Fund, two financial tools designed to give a helping hand in re-training and putting people back to work. Another set of measures centers around businesses so that they have better access to financing and face a lower administrative burden. The European Investment Bank is set to provide SMEs with €30 billion in loans over the next four years - a move that Brussels believes could help encourage additional investment from private sources.
Tax cuts
To alleviate pressure on national budgets, Brussels is set to step up investments in infrastructure by speeding up payments from cohesion funds.We are thinking of ways to frontload the funding available to member states, to bring it forward, EU regional development commissioner Danuta Hubner told the Financial Times on Sunday (23 November). Such a move would not only cushion the blow to the construction sector - which is slowing down sharply in most member states - but would also boost growth in general, the commission argues. Given the ongoing debate among EU governments, the big controversy centres around proposals in the taxation area.
Apart from the commission call to reduce value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services, Brussels is not shying away from proposing reduced VAT rates for green products and services. According to one EU diplomat, such moves would have significant implications on budgets, but only a minimum stimulative effect.The commission is also throwing its weight behind fiscal incentives, grants or subsidies aimed at supporting innovation in the construction and automobile industries toward green technologies.
Budgetary discipline
The commission draft recovery plan says that in implementing the above measures, member states may be obliged to break the 3 percent reference value in 2009 and 2010 because of the extraordinary circumstances.However, the paper continues that such excessive deficits will have to be corrected in time frames consistent with the recovery of the economy.According to a Reuters source, the commission chief is currently engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the various capitals to try and reach a consensus before Wednesday on the burden-sharing linked to the package.It is not just the big states whom he has to satisfy. The smaller and eastern states for example say they cannot afford to pay one percent of GDP. So it will not be as simple as just saying one percent of GDP, the source said, the new agency reports.
TSX powers higher on oils, financials Mon Nov 24, 6:08 PM
By Ka Yan Ng
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index gained 3.5 percent on Monday, with resource issues supported by rising oil prices and the U.S. government's rescue plan for banking giant Citigroup lifting market sentiment, particularly in the financial group.The energy sector forged ahead 7.1 percent, supported by the oil price gain. Crude rose more than 8 percent as investors considered the prospect of a further OPEC supply cut and as stock markets rallied on the Citigroup news.The news filtering through the system that Citi has received some aid is a great relief to the entire banking community, said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel. There was certainly severe fear of the effects of what would happen if Citi were to go down.Canadian Natural Resources gained 8.2 percent to C$45, while Petro-Canada rose 10 percent to C$24.75.But advances in the materials sector evaporated by the session's end as profit-taking ensued after gold prices hit a five-week high. The group was one of the main sources of early strength but ended modestly lower, down 0.54 percent.Goldcorp trimmed gains, ending up 1.6 percent to C$31.52. But shares of NovaGold plunged nearly 70 percent to 72 Canadian cents after it said it was facing a cash crunch and had suspended operations at its only producing mine.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 285.48 points, or 3.5 percent, at 8,440.87. Five sectors advanced, including the heavily weighted energy and financial groups. Information technology and utilities were among the decliners.The Toronto gains build on Friday's broad 5 percent rise, but some analysts were skeptical that the index could hang on to its gains given recent market patterns.I don't have the confidence that any uptick in the market is sustainable until the financial problems are cured, meaning that the banks are stabilized in the U.S., said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.I feel that a lot of the longer-term money, for lack of a better word, is still on the sidelines.
FINANCIALS SEESAW
The Citigroup news helped ease overall investor concern that the global financial system would be in peril if the big U.S. bank collapsed, and reversed initial pressure on Toronto's banking sector brought on by an earnings warning from Royal Bank of Canada.I think people are now taking it in stride, said Sprung.In a way the market is becoming more immune to warnings in recognition that it takes times for bad loans to work their way through the system, he added.The financial group advanced 4.68 percent, as Royal Bank, the third Canadian bank to provide a warning in the past week, gained 6.91 percent to C$39.Other bank stocks followed suit. Bank of Montreal, which finished up 5.3 percent at C$34.12, is the first bank to report results on Tuesday.In the United States, Wall Street marked its best two-day run since the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash, as the Citigroup news sparked a massive relief rally.The Dow Jones industrial average raced up 396.97 points, or 4.93percent, to 8,443.39. The Nasdaq composite index leaped 87.67 points, or 6.33 percent, to 1,472.02.(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Rob Wilson)
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Will U.S. push Israel to concede biblical heartland? Palestinians seek sanctions preventing Jewish construction in historic, holy cities November 23, 2008 6:32 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily
West Bank, including cities of Nablus, Jericho, Hebron and Bethel
JAFFA, Israel – The Palestinian Authority has asked the U.S. to impose sanctions on Israel if the Jewish state continues building any new housing structures in the strategic and historic West Bank, a top PA source told WND. The source, who works from PA President Mahmoud Abbas' office, said the threat of sanctions would be part a series of Israeli-Palestinian understandings to be guaranteed by the U.S. that both sides are trying to reach before January. The understandings, the source said, would result in an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the vast majority of the West Bank, an area rich in biblical history and significance. Last week, informed Israeli and Palestinian sources told WND that despite media reports painting a dismal picture of negotiation prospects, Israel and the PA are still quietly working to conclude a major agreement before President Bush leaves office at the end of the year. Aside from a major West Bank withdrawal, the agreement would also grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem but would postpone talks on the future status of the capital city until new Israeli and U.S. governments are installed next year. A top source said the PA requested that as part of the understandings, the U.S. would threaten sanctions for any new Jewish construction in the West Bank. Israel recaptured the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. The territory, in which about 200,000 Jews live, is tied to Judaism throughout the Torah and is often referred to as the biblical heartland of Israel. The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at the West Bank city of Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He was later buried with the rest of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, except for Rachel, in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs. The West Bank's Hebron was site of the first Jewish capital.
The nearby West Bank town of Beit El – anciently called Bethel, meaning house of God – is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In that dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory. Earlier, God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham at Beit El. In Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested just north of Beit El in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt. The understandings both sides are trying to reach before January are part of an original plan initiated at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, which sought to create a Palestinian state, at least on paper, by January. The summit launched talks aimed at concluding a final status agreement on all core issues: borders, the status of Jerusalem and the future of so-called Palestinian refugees. But a final agreement has been hampered by several recent events here, most notably Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to resign amid corruption charges, leading to general elections scheduled for February that will see a new prime minister elected. The candidate for office from Olmert's Kadima party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is said to oppose reaching a deal on Jerusalem or refugees ahead of elections, fearing it will harm her prospects among center-right voters. Livni is Olmert's chief negotiator with the Palestinians. In spite of the upcoming elections and the Israeli government's subsequent political instability, teams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been quietly meeting regularly the past few weeks in hope of concluding a series of understandings on key issues. Informed sources said any understandings reached will be backed up by Bush in an official letter. It is unclear how much weight such a letter will carry under a new U.S. administration. According to the sources, neither side expects to conclude any deal on the status of Jerusalem or Palestinian refugees before January, putting aside those issues for future talks. Instead, negotiations are focused on reaching an agreement emphasizing borders, particularly a pledged Israeli evacuation of the vast majority of the strategic West Bank, which borders central Israeli population centers. A Palestinian source told WND the U.S. is said to favor Israel withdrawing from nearly the entire West Bank. The source said the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem has been closely monitoring Israeli activities in the territory, which the source said has led to the Jewish state clamping down on what are termed illegal outposts, or Jewish structures built in the West Bank without government permission. Israel has recently announced a series of small West Bank evacuations, including the threatened forced removal of Jews who legally purchased a house in the ancient city of Hebron. Also being heavily negotiated is an agreement that would allow the PA to officially open institutions in Jerusalem. WND previously reported the PA already has been quietly operating in Jerusalem, apparently with tacit approval from the Israeli government. But the expected agreement to be concluded before January would give the PA official operational status in the city, likely leading to the opening of scores of Palestinian institutions there. According to Israeli law, the PA cannot officially hold court in Jerusalem. The PA previously maintained a de facto headquarters in Jerusalem, called Orient House, but the building was closed down by Israel in 2001 following a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem. Israel said it had information indicating the House was used to plan and fund terrorism. Thousands of documents and copies of bank certificates and checks captured by Israel from Orient House – including many documents obtained by WND – showed the offices were used to finance terrorism, including direct payments to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.
In parallel with an understanding on the West Bank and Jerusalem institutions, the PA is pushing for a massive prisoner release to be pledged before January. A senior Palestinian negotiator told WND the PA requested that all Palestinian prisoners – meaning even convicted terrorists responsible for murdering Israelis as well as members of the rival Hamas terror group – be freed as part of the deal. While the negotiator conceded such a massive release is unlikely, he said the PA's hope is that Israel will grant a large release, possibly including the freedom of convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is a founder of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, the most active Palestinian terror organization. He has boasted of planning the intifada, or Palestinian terror war, launched in September 2000, after then-PA President Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state and instead attempted to liberate Palestine by force. Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his direct role in murdering Israelis. Other understandings that Israel and the PA are attempting to reach before January surround water and natural resources. While it wasn't clear whether any understanding would actually be reached, the timing apparently favors all involved leaders. With Bush set to depart office in January, sealing a deal between Israel and the Palestinians would bode well for his legacy, which some analysts say is hampered by what is described as an unpopular war in Iraq, an economic meltdown and a growing crisis with Russia. Olmert is Israel's most unpopular prime minister. Tainted by corruption charges and a heavily mismanaged war in Lebanon in 2006, Olmert would also like to depart office with a deal in hand. There is also some concern in Jerusalem that President-elect Barack Obama may push Israel into further concessions during future negotiations, so some argue a deal on key issues while Bush is in office may be in Israel's interests. Further, PA President Mahmoud Abbas' term in office expires Jan. 10. His future leadership is sure to be contested by Hamas and by some in Fatah's young guard who want him to be replaced by Barghouti. Abbas' ability to tout an agreement in which Israel is compelled to retreat from the West Bank and release Palestinian prisoners could help his fading street popularity.
Abbas is also said to be greatly concerned by the prospects of February's Israeli elections resulting in opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu coming to power. Netanyahu has announced repeatedly, including as recently as last week, he would suspend negotiations with the PA.
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.
Polish President Blames Russia For Georgia Shooting NOV 24,08
WARSAW (AFP)--Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Monday blamed Russia for firing on a convoy carrying him and his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili, despite Moscow's denials.There is reason to believe that the Russians did the shooting, Kaczynski told reporters after returning from his visit to Georgia.I knew in advance that there was a Russian post there, one which shouldn't have been there under the terms of August's ceasefire between Moscow and Tbilisi, Kaczynski said.I wanted to check on site, and three or four Kalashnikov volleys were fired off - though I'm not saying they were fired in my direction, he said.The Russians, of course, are talking about a set-up by the Georgians, he added.Moscow and Tbilisi have traded accusations over the incident near the convoy carrying Saakashvili and his staunch ally Kaczynski Sunday, as Georgia marked the fifth anniversary of its pro-Western Rose Revolution.Georgia accused Russian troops near the breakaway region of South Ossetia of opening fire as the convoy carrying the two leaders drove by - a claim Russia denied. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=XArlKZdU3IpnWbzCSPbKCA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires.
Russian warships approach Venezuela under US gaze by Sophie Nicholson – Mon Nov 24, 7:39 pm ET
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Russian warships approached Venezuela Monday for upcoming joint maneuvers -- Moscow's first military presence in the region since the Cold War -- as Washington closely monitored the situation.Venezuelan defense officials said the ships, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and destroyer Admiral Chabankenko, would arrive on Tuesday.The joint exercises were to coincide with a two-day visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela, the strongest US critic in the region.Medvedev was due to arrive Wednesday and meet fiercely anti-liberal President Hugo Chavez on Thursday, before heading to communist Cuba.Analysts see Medvedev as bringing a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, in the wake of Russian outrage at US plans to install a strategic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and support for the brief Georgia war in August.
The maneuvers will start on Wednesday in port and take place at sea on December 1, Venezuelan Operations Command chief General Jesus Gonzalez told journalists.It's a natural exercise that we've carried out with various countries, and many others carry out, the general added.A Russian naval spokesman said in Moscow that the exercises would include operation planning, helping ships in distress and supplying ships on the move.If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power,McCormack added.The US has expressed concern, however, about Russian arms supplies to the oil-rich OPEC country.The two countries have signed 4.4 billion dollars in bilateral arms deals signed since 2005, including radars, 24 Sukhoi-30 planes, 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikovs.
Medvedev was expected to expand arms deals during his visit, as well as economic and energy ties, including plans for a joint civilian nuclear reactor.Russia is a friend which held out a hand to us, Gonzalez told AFP in a recent interview.We want to be very strong, but in a highly dissuasive direction. So that any country in the world thinks not once but 10 times before coming here.In September, two Tu-160 Russian strategic bombers carried out training for several days in Venezuela.The Russian warships were due to sail into La Guaira, near Caracas, and Puerto Cabello in northern Carabobo state.The fleet includes five aircraft and several small ships, and Venezuela will provide eight aircraft and 11 ships, Gonzalez said Monday, adding that 1,150 Russian forces and 600 Venezuelans would take part in the exercises.
Nations frequently exercise with each other. Russia is free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday.But also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.
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