Teach All Nations

Teach All Nations. The gospel commission as recorded in Matthew was given not only to the disciples of Christ who were then living, but to all who should afterward receive him. Upon every one who accepts him as personal Saviour is placed the burden of proclaiming the gospel message. Will the church today refuse to recognize its obligation to do the work so plainly outlined in the words; “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Were it not for the promise of Christ’s presence, we might well draw back. But he says, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

This work is not to be confined to a few. The proclamation of the gospel is not to be limited to one city or one state. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

God is in earnest with his people. He calls upon them to overcome the spirit of covetousness. We must be careful not to tie up the Lord’s means by establishing institutions larger than is consistent with the plan of God. It is his purpose that facilities should be provided for the advancement of his work in all parts of the world. Large sums of money are not to be invested in one or two places. The erection of many buildings in one place reveals a selfish outlay of means. Thus the money brought into the treasury by the liberality of God’s people is absorbed in one place by those having charge of the work in that place. When men are freed from selfishness, they will not make such earnest efforts to grasp all that they possibly can for the place in which they are most interested. They will be willing to sacrifice their ambitions in order that other places may receive a share of the means available for the advancement of God’s work.

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Spalding and Magan Collection, p.342-343
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Strong Minds and Weak Stomachs.

From B. 44, 1903 (P)

It is well for Brother and Sister A and Brother and Sister B to have strong minds. Each is to maintain his individuality. Each is to preserve an individuality that will not be submerged in the individuality of another. No human being is to be the shadow of another human being. But God's servants are to labor together in a unity that blends mind with mind. Do you think that this unity can exist among the workers in the sanitarium unless you all take a judicious, sanctified position? "The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one." Are you willing to make sacrifices to answer this prayer? Or will you, because there is a difference of opinion regarding certain articles of food that one or the other thinks should not or should not be set on the table, or regarding the hours for meals, will you say that you can not work together? Is this Bible sanctification?. . .

My brother, a firm will is a good thing when it is sanctified. But I know, from the light God has given me, that you and your wife need to yoke up with Christ, and to learn that in some respects your ideas and plans and methods would be improved if modified. The Sanitarium has been established that all classes may be reached with the truth. I ask you and Brother and Sister B to do all in your power to bring into the sanitariums the unity for which Christ prayed. Reveal His love. Let the truth rule in the heart, and you will be one with Christ in God.You say that you are dyspeptics. Is it not possible that your plan of eating may not be the best? I am instructed to say that you need to change in some things, else you will injure your digestive powers. I do not say what you shall or shall not eat. But if, while eating the things you choose, you have dyspepsia, I think you ought to make a decided change. . . .

If I were a dyspeptic, I should make changes in my diet until I knew for a certainty that I was eating the food that my stomach could best care for. A craving for certain things may need to be brought into subjection. Self is rebellious, and must be strictly disciplined. Be regular in your habits of eating, and be sure not to overburden the stomach by eating too many kinds of food at one time. Stop eating before you feel entirely satisfied. The stomach is the most abused organ of the whole body. It is often wearied by the effort to take care of food that should not be eaten at the same time. A disturbance is created by the kinds of food brought together. Soon there is an all-gone feeling, and many think that this is hunger. But it is not. The trouble is that the stomach has too much to do. Let it be given less to do, and it will recover its healthy tone. The simpler the food eaten, and the fewer the kinds, the easier is the stomach's work.The same rule of eating can not be made for all. I make it a rule never to eat custards; forwhen I eat them, they always make a disturbance in my stomach. But there are those in my family who suffer no inconvenience from eating custards, and because I can not eat them, I do not say that they ought not to eat them. We must each experiment and know for ourselves what is best for us to eat. We may have to abstain from many things that others can eat without inconvenience. . . .

Half-hearted Christians are worse than infidels; for their deceptive words and non-committal position may lead many astray. The infidel shows his colors. The luke-warm Christian deceives both parties. He is neither a good worldling nor a good Christian. Satan uses him to do a work that no one else can do.



Spalding Magan Collection, E. G. White, pp. 259,260.

New evangelization top concern for Canadian bishops

CCCB president Archbishop Richard Smith, who spent more than two weeks in Rome in November, accompanied by CCCB vice-president Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher with Pope Benedict XVI.- Servizio Fotografico, L’Osservatore Romano

Written by Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News


OTTAWA - The importance of the new evangelization and the deep sense of communion between the Church in Canada and the Holy See are two themes that emerged from a recent visit to Rome by a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“It is fair to say concern for the new evangelization pervades everything,” said CCCB president Archbishop Richard Smith, who spent more than two weeks in Rome in November, accompanied by CCCB vice-president Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher and CCCB General Secretary Msgr. Patrick Powers.


The highlight was the visit with the Holy Father, he said.

“We really felt ourselves blessed, because of the obvious demands on his time,” said Smith, archbishop of Edmonton.

The Canadian delegation presented the Pope with a specially bound edition of the new English translation of the Roman Missal, a CCCB publication about the new St. Joseph Seminary in Edmonton and a Salt + Light TV documentary about the seminary.

Smith said they found in the Pope “an immediate warm welcome and an incredibly attentive listener.”

“With everything going on in his life, you still feel like you’re the only person in the world when you are speaking with him,” Smith said, noting he had experienced this in previous meetings with Pope Benedict as well.

The Holy Father really seemed to appreciate the new Missal and “took his time leafing through it with obvious interest,” Smith said.

“It was a great blessing and privilege to be able to participate in what was an historic moment for Canada,” he said.

The events surrounding the new Missal fell into the new evangelization theme.

“Because the liturgy is the heart of our life, really in its essence, it is evangelization par excellence, the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist is really at the heart of the new evangelization,” Smith said.

The delegation also met with Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, the prefect of the new Council for the Promoting New Evangelization, a dicastery set up a little over a year ago.

“That gave us a chance to see what they’re doing and to say just that, yes, this requires the urgency, it requires a specific council,” Smith said.

When meeting with the Pontifical Council for the Family the CCCB delegation presented parts of the new national plan for life and family, “to let them know where we’re going to be moving in the country.”

This Canadian initiative was “framed within the new evangelization, to help our people embrace a new gift of life, and the call to be speaking out in celebration of it and in defence of it,” he said.

Powers arranged 34 meetings with various dicasteries or groups, including meetings with Cardinal William Levada at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Marc Ouellet at the Congregation for Bishops. It was “to bring the various dicasteries up to date on what’s happening in Canada, and also to hear from them their initiatives and their visions, finding ways to collaborate with one another and support one another,” said Smith.

Though the discussions remain confidential and specific to the congregation or group, Smith said the doors were “open wide” and Canadian concerns were listened to attentively.

“Not every episcopal conference does this, I understand,” he said, noting that the United States conference does visits like this as do a few others.

These annual visits by the CCCB have been taking place for a number of years now.

“This particular year was the first visit for the new team,” Smith said, noting he had been twice before as vice president.

The bishops did not have much time to relax and spend time apart visiting friends or taking in the sights.

“Every day we would need to debrief from the meetings of the day and to prepare ourselves for the next meeting,” he said.

Source

World economy on the brink: Spain and Italy key

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/21/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)


Prime ministers of both countries must act quickly and decisively to save the world economy.

To a very large degree, the fate of the world's economy is now in the hands of the Spanish and Italian governments. This realization comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) has stepped in to buy debt from both countries in an effort to bring down interest rates.

Only swift and decisive action can save the euro zone.


BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (Catholic Online) - Last week, Italy hit a financial barrier as its interest rates continue to climb. The European Central Bank came to the rescue, and purchased a portion of that country's debt effectively bringing down interest rates. On Thursday, the ECB did the same thing for Spain.

It is becoming clear to investors and economists however, that the intervention of the ECB will not be enough to save the European economy over the long haul. Instead, significant reforms will be necessary in both countries.

Among the reforms being called for by investors are, allowing the ECB to buy trillions of dollars in troubled sovereign debt, which will reduce the borrowing costs for both countries, and for those countries to adopt significant economic reforms.

The ECB purchase of sovereign debt strongly suggests that investors are shying away from both Spanish and Italian debt as an option. With investors shying away, neither country is able to borrow money at reasonable rates which they can realistically repay. Because most countries operate over budget, they are dependent on reasonable borrowing costs to fund day-to-day operations.

The European Central Bank's decision to purchase some of the sovereign debt in those countries is a strong indicator that they are teetering on the brink.

The news for Spain is particularly bleak. With 21 percent unemployment, the country's economy is forecast to shrink for at least the first six months of 2012. However, it's believed that Spain will elect a conservative prime minister on Sunday which will oust the Socialist government. A conservative can bring hope to a country where labor unions wield broad influence. Because the Spanish conservative party is reasonably distanced from the labor unions, it will become easier for the Spanish government to adopt critical economic reforms that can help the economy grow.
The new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti who just replaced Silvio Berlusconi, is also expected to implement sweeping economic reforms. It is an expectation -- doing less could mean ruin for that country.

And the time is right for change, as both leaders are new and will likely enjoy their greatest degree of support at the start of their administrations. This is a key time to act, particularly since some reforms will be unpopular. If either leader waits too long, economic vagaries and declining popularity could shut the window of opportunity rather quickly.

If those windows close, both economies could fail and they will find themselves beyond the reach of help. If that happens, it will send shockwaves around the world and could spark recession even in healthy economies. Given this, investors and people the world over are looking to Spain and Italy to resolve their economic problems, before time runs out.

Source

Central Banks Take Coordinated Action

By JON HILSENRATH, WILLIAM LAUNDER and JEFFREY SPARSHOTT

WASHINGTON — The world's major central banks launched a joint action to provide cheap, emergency U.S. dollar loans to banks in Europe and elsewhere, a sign of growing alarm among policy makers about stresses in Europe and in the global financial system.

The Fed, ECB and other central banks took coordinated action to support the global financial system as Europe's rolling debt crisis continues to trouble markets. Vincent Cignarell

The coordinated action doesn't directly address Europe's government-debt and budget woes. Instead, it is aimed at alleviating the impact of those troubles on global markets. Moreover, it raises the prospect of other steps by central bankers to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

"The purpose of these actions is to ease strains in financial markets and thereby mitigate the effects of such strains on the supply of credit to households and businesses and so help foster economic activity," said a statement issued by the six central banks—the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

Global equity markets rose sharply Wednesday in response to the show of action by central banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 322 points, or 2.8%, to 11877 in morning trading, and the Standard & Poor's 500 jumped 32 points, or 2.7%, to 1227. The Nasdaq Composite gained 69 points, or 2.8%, to 2584. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.9%, while the German DAX surged 4.3% and France's CAC-40 increased 3.6%. Gold and oil prices rose and the dollar weakened.

WSJ's Charles Forelle reports several of the world's central banks joined forces to make it easier for European banks to access U.S. dollars. AP Photo.
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The promise of cheaper funding from central banks sparked sharp rises in European bank shares and a tightening in credit spreads. Bank shares had been down Wednesday before the announcement, and the cost of insuring European bank bonds against default had soared in recent days. Early in the European afternoon, shares in Barclays PLC, Deutsche Bank AG and Société Générale SA were all up around 6.5%. The Stoxx 600 European banking index was up 4.2%.

U.S. dollar swap lines, as they are known, were launched during the 2008 crisis as the U.S. mortgage crisis spread around the globe. Under the program, the Fed makes dollars available to other central banks, which in turn make the dollars available to banks under their jurisdiction.

The central banks' action on Wednesday effectively made these loans cheaper, lowering their cost by half a percentage point.

Central banks from developed nations took coordinated action to shore up the global financial system. Dow Jones's Geoffrey Smith argues that this kind of joint action only takes places when there are serious problems.

Chinese authorities, in a move that appeared to be separate and uncoordinated, also sought to ease lending conditions by reducing the amount of reserves that Chinese banks need to hold with their central bank.

Global investors have become worried about the health of European banks because of their exposure to European government debt. Because of those worries, euro-zone banks are also facing increasingly strained access to dollars. European banks need the U.S. currency to fund loans they have extended to U.S. companies and consumers, to finance U.S. dollar-denominated securities they hold and to pay their own dollar-denominated loans, such as those on money-market funds.

Some central bankers sought to use the move to put additional pressure on Europeans for more aggressive action in their own right.

"The European debt problem can't be solved by liquidity provisions alone," Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said at a hastily arranged news conference. "The step is meant to buy time for European countries to proceed with their fiscal and economic reform."

European Union finance ministers agreed to boost the European Financial Stability Facility but not by as much as expected. Terry Roth and Katie Martin discuss whether this will reassure markets or if more is needed to prevent pressure on the euro?

Berenberg economist Christian Schulz said the move was largely a symbolic gesture aimed at restoring calm.

"With today's action, central banks signal that they are aware of the issue and prepared to act. As always in market panics with central bank action, the signal is more important than the actual size of the action," Mr. Schulz said.

Global central banks have taken coordinated action before. In March, they intervened jointly in currency markets to tamp down the rise in the yen following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In October 2008, leading central banks cut interest rates simultaneously to alleviate the shock to the financial system after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Over three years of crisis fighting, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and the world's other leading central bankers have developed much closer ties. In addition to instituting measures to stem the crisis, they have worked closely together in rewriting financial regulatory rules in the wake of the crisis. The new head of the ECB, Mario Draghi, has been part of this inner circle of central bankers for some time as head of the Financial Stability Board.

It is unclear whether the latest steps marked a prelude to bolder joint action by global central banks to ease financial strains and rev up economic growth.

After resisting calls to save the euro zone, the ECB may be changing its tune, and move towards more decisive action, Simon Nixon reports on Markets Hub.

Several Fed officials have made clear they are open to launching a new round of bond buying, known as quantitative easing, to bring down long-term U.S. interest rates. But they have reservations about whether such a program would be effective.

For now, Wednesday's action looks like a limited move to address a discrete problem. Dollar funding costs for European financial firms have shot up in recent weeks, a signal that Europe's woes could be spreading globally. The new program could alleviate those costs.

The rest of the world hasn't been taking the Fed up on its offer of dollar loans recently. As of Nov. 23, non-U.S. central banks had tapped the Fed for $2.4 billion of U.S. dollar loans. During the financial crisis in 2008, they tapped the Fed for $580 billion.

Under the program, the Fed makes dollars available to the ECB, which in turn lends the money to European banks. Still, market observers say foreign banks are often reluctant to use the facility because it can create the impression among their peers that they are financially strained.

"That facility was a pressure release and how far that release was tapped was closely watched to indicate how much pressure there was in the rest of the market," said Chris Clark, strategist at interbank broker ICAP. "Now that valve has been loosened somewhat we're going to see more people turning up, which is not an indication of more pressure but just that actually it makes more sense for more people to go there. We were already expecting see a fairly increased use of the facility and now we can expect even more."

The Fed faces a risk of political blowback at home for the move. Republicans in particular have attacked the Fed for making dollars available to foreign banks. Fed officials say they don't face much risk with this facility because the dollars are going to other central banks, and not directly to European banks.

The Fed sought to stress that U.S. banks aren't facing funding problems. But it also said that it was prepared to provide liquidity if needed "to support financial stability."

During the financial crisis, the Fed designed many short-term programs to support commercial-paper markets, money-market funds, investment banks and other corners of the financial system when panic led to shortages of short-term dollar funding in the U.S.

Some of the Fed's powers were restrained by the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul. For instance, it can't bail out individual banks. But it still has leeway to provide short-term credit broadly to markets if needed.

"At present, there is no need to offer liquidity in nondomestic currencies other than the U.S. dollar, but the central banks judge it prudent to make the necessary arrangements so that liquidity support operations could be put into place quickly should the need arise," the Fed said.

Write to Jon Hilsenrath at jon.hilsenrath@wsj.com, William Launder at william.launder@dowjones.com and Jeffrey Sparshott at jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com




Source

Report: Federal Reserve lent banks nearly $8 trillion during 2007-2009 crises

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
11/30/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)


Loan allowed banks to keep paying executives millions of dollars

Throughout the 2007 - 2009 financial crises, major American banks assured the public that everything was fine - while at the same time approaching the Federal Reserve to borrow $7.77 trillion. That mount was many more times higher than the TARP bailout. The loan allowed the banks to continue to pay out exorbitant fees - and many fear yet another crisis is on the way.

The Fed contends that the biggest financial institutions in the country were too big to fail. That phrase has become a bone of contention among lawmakers. They argue that a 'too big to fail' bank is one that's too big to exist.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A report in Bloomberg Markets says that the magnitude of the government's assistance to struggling banks allowed them to grow even bigger and continue paying executives billions in compensation.

A win in court against a group representing the banks and a FOIA request filed by Bloomberg revealed the extent of the central bank's largesse - as well as the $13 billion in profits banks earned from those bailouts.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, also known as "the big six," accounted for $4.8 billion of that total, nearly a quarter of their net income during that time.

Saved by the bailout, bankers lobbied against government regulations, a job made easier by the Fed, which never disclosed the details of the rescue to lawmakers even as Congress doled out more money and debated new rules aimed at preventing the next collapse.

The narrative of the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 emerges from 29,000 pages of Fed documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and central bank records of more than 21,000 transactions. While Fed officials say that almost all of the loans were repaid and there have been no losses, details suggest taxpayers paid a price beyond dollars as the secret funding helped preserve a broken status quo and enabled the biggest banks to grow even bigger.

Until recently, those trillions were a deeply-buried secret. The highest-ranking Fed officials didn't know about the enormity of the handouts. Then-president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Gary H. Stern "wasn't aware of the magnitude." Unnamed sources say that even top aides to Treasury Department head Henry Paulson were denied information.

The "big six" received a total $160 billion in TARP funds. As much as $460 billion was lent from the Fed, raising the question as to how and why this nearly $8 trillion in loans, guarantees and limits remained under wraps for so long.

According to the reserve, the massive scale of banks' borrowing had to be kept secret to avoid spooking investors. They feared that if the magnitude of the borrowed funds would create a panic, or bank runs that would have had even more devastating consequences on the already battered economy.

The Fed contends that the biggest financial institutions in the country were too big to fail. That phrase has become a bone of contention among lawmakers. They argue that a "too big to fail" bank is one that's too big to exist.

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown sponsored a bill last year that would cap a bank's non-deposit liabilities at 2 percent of gross domestic product, and crack down on workarounds banks currently use to bypass a 1994 law that prohibits any one bank from holding more than 10 percent of all deposits in the country.

Source

Blogosphere under attack as election looms

11/30/2011 10:56
RUSSIA


by Nina Achmatova

The blogging platform LiveJournal has suffered yet another hacker attack less than a week from elections. This is the main platform in Russia for the free circulation of ideas and dissident voices.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Russian blogosphere is once again under attack with one week to the parliamentary elections, while the Internet continues to be the only true space for voices of dissent. According to Ria Novosti, the blogging platform LiveJournal (LJ), which publishes some of the most influential and followed Russian blogs, suffered another heavy attack (DDoS acronym for denial of service) last November 28th after those already registered in April and July this year. SUP Mtdia, the agency that runs the service, confirmed the incident which blocked access to the site for several hours.

Rustam Adagamov, one of the most famous Zh Zh bloggers (as Russian Live Journal is known, taken from its Cyrillic initials) sees the attack as an attempt to muzzle the Internet less than a week before elections for the Duma, the Lower House of Parliament.

During the April attacks, the UAS requested the authorities to prosecute the hackers responsible. Even President Dmitri Medvedev, who loves social networks, demanded justice. But nothing has happened since then.

ZhZh publishes six of the seven of the most influential blogs in Russia. And the most embarrassing for the Kremlin. According to rankings compiled by Globalvoiceonline.org, the most popular is Alexei Navalny, renamed the Russian Julian Assange for having revealed, with documented proof, numerous cases of corruption in public administration. It is he who coined Putin’s United Russia as the "party of thieves and swindlers", once favored in the polls, but now seeing a sharp decline in support after years above the 60% threshold.

Twitter to YouTube, Vkontakte (the Russian Facebook) RuNet, the network that writes in Cyrillic, are all now full of parody and satire against the Putin-Medvedev tandem. Forbidden on TV and newspapers, popular discontent has found an outlet on the web which is reflected in a hemorrhage of consensus never before experienced by United Russia. The ruling party could lose two-thirds majority of seats in the Duma at the December 4 elections in favor of the communists and nationalists. According to sociologists a new public perception has converged on the web and in the future it will increasingly impact on national policy. The Federal Agency for the media believes that 24% of Russians now access information exclusively through the internet. "Almost a quarter of citizens is a very significant number for a country like Russia," said the director of the Agency, Mikhail Seslavinsky.

And the figure is expected to grow according to a study by Comscore, Russia is the first country in Europe for number of Internet users (50.8 million). A fact that Putin, who termed online content "pornography", will have to take into account.

Source

Relic to promote motherhood in Russia

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Nov 12, 2011

A sacred relic, believed by some Orthodox Christians to be the belt of the Virgin Mary, is drawing thousands of Russian pilgrims in search of a cure for a myriad of ailments including infertility. But the treasure -- a 2,000 year old cincture woven from camel fur - is also having political resonance.Russian leaders have called the country's shrinking population a matter of national security and now the influential Orthodox church has joined the fight.It wants to take the relic to pregnancy centres to discourage women from having abortions and save mother Russia by promoting motherhood.Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from Samara.

Armageddon Eve

Iran

Egypt

Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EjAQEj3UaE&feature=player_embedded

Cecil Rhodes and The Round Table Group

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iRHbBiHuuA&feature=player_embedded

Britain draws up emergency plans for collapse of Euro after warnings Italy needs £500bn bailout

Rescue package to give Mario Monti 12 to 18 months' breathing room to implement spending cuts

By James Chapman

Last updated at 8:44 AM on 28th November 2011

Britain is drawing up emergency plans for the collapse of the ‘creaking’ Eurozone amid warnings debt-stricken Italy will need a £500 billion bailout involving billions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money.

Chancellor George Osborne said the Treasury had ‘stepped up’ contingency planning and aimed to be ready for ‘whatever the Eurozone throws at us’.

It emerged yesterday that the International Monetary Fund, in which Britain is a major shareholder, could be forced to offer Italy a €600 billion (£514bn) rescue package to give its unelected new prime minister Mario Monti 12 to 18 months’ breathing room to implement big tax rises and spending cuts.


Chancellor George Osborne, left, has ‘stepped up’ contingency planning while unelected Italian prime minister Mario Monti, right, could be given breathing room to implement big tax rises and spending cuts

And in another move, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy were revealed to be plotting a new pact on economic union without consulting Britain or other countries outside of the EU.

They are determined not to give Britain the chance of insisting on powers being handed back from Brussels by negotiating a major new EU treaty.

Germany's original plan was to try to secure agreement among all 27 EU countries for a limited change to the Lisbon Treaty by the end of 2012, making it possible to impose much tighter budget controls over the 17-member Eurozone.

Countries will be forced to submit their budgets for EU approval before they go to national parliaments, will have to sign up to strict new rules on the size of debts and deficits and will be sued for any breach in the European Court of Justice.

Plot: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, right, are plotting a new pact on economic union without consulting Britain or other countries outside of the EU

The Franco-German plan will effectively mean an end to national sovereignty over budgets for countries remaining in the euro.

Source said it had become clear to Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy in recent weeks that it appears impossible to get all 27 EU countries on board for the plan.

It could take years to secure the necessary changes, while a rapid loss of market faith in Italy, Spain and even France suggests urgent measures are required within weeks.

EU sources said French and German civil servants have been exploring other ways of achieving the goal, either via an agreement among just the Eurozone countries.

Alternatively, they could strike a separate agreement outside the EU treaty that could involve a core of around just eight to ten Eurozone countries, officials say.

The move will infuriate British Eurosceptics, who have been urging David Cameron to insist on a repatriation of powers for the UK from Brussels in exchange for agreeing to let the Eurozone countries move towards fiscal and political union.

In a sign of the deepening turmoil in the Eurozone, IMF officials were quoted by the Italian newspaper La Stampa as saying a bailout would be needed to give the country a window of 12 to 18 months to implement urgent budget cuts and growth-boosting reforms.

The IMF would guarantee rates of 4.0 per cent or 5.0 perc ent on the loan -- far better than the borrowing costs on commercial debt markets, where the rate on two-year and five-year Italian government bonds has risen above 7.0 per cent.

The size of the loan would make it difficult for the IMF to use its current resources so different options are being explored, including possible joint action with the European Central Bank in which the IMF would act as guarantor. As a major shareholder in the IMF, billions of pounds of British cash would be put on the line under any deal, though it is not clear how much.

Italy’s vast £1.6 trillion national debt and its low growth rate have caused deepening alarm on the international markets in recent weeks, and even a Brussels-inspired ‘coup’ which saw Silvio Berlusconi removed and a government without a single elected politician in it installed failed to stop the rot.

Mr Osborne confirmed yesterday that Britain is preparing for a break-up of the Eurozone that would have cataclysmic effects for the British economy.

‘Well, of course countries like Germany and France have now openly asked the question whether countries like Greece can stay in the Euro. It is a very, very difficult and dangerous situation,’ the Chancellor said.

‘It is having a hugely chilling effect on the British economy at the moment. We have contingency plans for all situations. We have obviously stepped up that contingency planning in recent months. You would expect us to do that as the British government. But that doesn’t mean we are predicting any particular outcome.

‘We’re just ready for whatever the world, whatever the Eurozone throws at us. Adisorderly collapse of the Eurozone would have a massive impact on the UK. I mean, for example, one in seven pounds we export goes to Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece - just those countries.
‘So in other words, it’s a very important part of our economic strategy that we get the Eurozone moving as well.’

Source

Arab World Uprisings: A Country-by-Country Look

UPDATED November 28, 2011

Region in Revolt
Arab World Uprisings: A Country-by-Country Look

The convulsions of the Arab Spring find new life as a new wave of protests rock Egypt, and Yemen’s leader agrees — in writing — to step down after 33 years of rule.

Read more

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Iranian Students Storm British Embassy in Tehran

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times

Tuesday, November 29, 2011
-- 8:23 AM EST-----

Iranian Students Storm British Embassy in Tehran, Associated Press Reports

In the latest sign of deteriorating relations with the West, around 20 Iranian protesters entered the British Embassy compound in Tehran chanting “death to England,” tearing down a British flag and ransacking offices, news reports said.

The episode came a day after Iran enacted legislation on Monday to downgrade relations with Britain in retaliation for intensified sanctions imposed by Western nations last week to punish the Iranians for their suspect nuclear development program. Britain promised to respond “robustly.”

The British Foreign Office in London said it was “aware of the reports” from Tehran about its embassy on Tuesday, but declined to comment further.

Read More:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/world/middleeast/tehran-protesters-storm-british-embassy.html?emc=na

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CIA Project Pandora Radio Remote Brain Manipulation

Uploaded by SilverMoonAva on May 3, 2011

Many thanks to 911InvestigationVids for this vid and great info!

HDTV will be the method. Dr Ross Adey's research at the Brain Research Institute of the University of California, was funded by the CIA. In their Pandora project a catalogue of different brain signals for specific actions, emotions and pathological states of mind were recorded. It was found that when microwaves were used to fire these signals at victims' brains, they experienced the moods, behaviour, and the pathological states, carried by the signals. This meant that by mimicking natural brain frequencies, the human brain could be controlled remotely by use of extremely low frequency broadcast carried by pulse modulated microwave beams (ELF pulse modulated microwave remote mind control technology). MICROWAVE MIND CONTROL by Tim Rifat

The TETRA system pulses at 17.6 Hz broadcast at 400 MHz which is essentially the Pandora Project funded by the CIA in the late '60s and early '70s. Dr Ross Adey, the chief researcher on the Pandora Project has released a video to leading UK researchers which proves that not only does the TETRA system cause ELF zombification by massive release of calcium ions in the cerebral cortex and the nervous system, but the activated calcium ions also cause massive hormonal disturbances which lead to frenzied imbalances, emotional and physical states...... Use of the TETRA system by the police will lead to psychotronicaly controlled officers who may be totally controlled in any situation and are very useful for states of economic or social chaos where extreme and violent behaviour is needed without any conscious or moral compunction - so-called police robots. [2001] The TETRA System: Mass UK Mind Control Technology and the Zombification Of Britain's Police is Now A Reality by Tim Rifat

In quoting this research I refer to documents listed under Reference 15. So sophisticated is this research, and I refer to Operation Pandora Joint CIA/MI6 Operation since the 1960s, Operation Woodpecker USSR 1976, Operation HAARP still running in USA; they are able to define specific pulse frequencies to cause specific brain malfunctions or illnesses. For instance: 4.5: Illness Caused, 6.6: Depression/Suicide, 11: Manic behaviour/Anger, 25:Blindness if aimed at the head/Heart attack if aimed at the chest. Other consequences of frequencies used but not listed here are hysteria, trauma, lust, murder and cancer, and may all be induced. Confidential Report on TETRA for the Police of England and Wales by B Trower

STRATEGIC ELECTRONIC WEAPONRY
It was inevitable that military/intelligence interests would develop electronic RMCT weapons systems. These weapons fall into a number of classes, the simplest being the use of microwaves at low amplitudes, e.g., 10,000 microwatts per square centimetre, to cause local hot-spots in the victim's body areas that have poor circulation, such as the eyes and gall bladder. The microwaves heat up the tissue, which does not have the blood circulation to carry away the excess heat. The victim feels nothing, but sustains acute and chronic illness in these areas. Intelligence organisations in the West use this technology to disable permanently the 'subversive elements' they cannot scare off.

When ELF-modulated microwaves are used, they are keyed to distinctive patterns of brainwaves called preparation sets, which exist for every mechanical gesture the body makes. There are also specific excitation potentials which exist for specific emotional states. Intelligence operatives can induce remote conditioning by creating information-processing effects which can cause excitatory reactions, subliminal stress, behavioural arousal, enhanced suggestibility by inhibition of higher functions, and patterned behaviours. It is alleged that this technology is used by the CIA and MI5 to modify the behaviour of 'high-profile subversives'.

The more advanced electronic RMCT utilises ELF-modulated masers for long-range, penetrative, invasive EM mind-control. Together with Doppler-shifted interrogative RMCT masers, a victim's brain-states can be analysed at a distance-and the 'subversive' can be modified at a distance. Developments on this technique, and the use of low-frequency EM radiation to see through walls, have allowed intelligence agencies in the US to make useful inroads on the path to synthetic telepathy.

Much of this research has been funded by the CIA which began this work on electronic mind-control with its Pandora project. This research was used to build devices like RHIC-EDOM (Radio Hypnotic Intracerebral Control - Electronic Dissolution of Memory), which is allegedly used for forced induction of hypnotic trance in the abduction of and experimentation upon civilians by US Government agencies.

There is unrest in Arab world's includes Egypt, Syria, Morocco, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia

By Gobby Wang Taiwan News, Staff Writer 2011-11-28 09:22 AM

Associated Press ()

According to AP, it reported, Arab world's unrests in Egypt, Syria = Syria, Morocco,Libya = Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia. Below is each notion’s issue.

EGYPT

On the eve of landmark elections, Egypt's military ruler warns of "extremely grave" consequences if the turbulent nation does not pull through its current crisis — an attempt to rally the public behind his council of generals in the face of pressure from protesters to step down immediately. Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi urges voters to turn out for the start of parliamentary elections Monday despite nine days of protests and clashes that some have dubbed a "second revolution."

SYRIA

In an unprecedented move against a fellow Arab nation, the Arab League approves economic sanctions on Syria = Syria to pressure Damascus to end its deadly suppression of an 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar Assad. But even as world leaders abandon Assad, the regime refuses to ease a military assault on dissent that already has killed more than 3,500 people. Damascus slams the sanctions as a betrayal of Arab solidarity and insists a foreign conspiracy is behind the revolt.

MOROCCO

Morocco's Interior Ministry says an Islamist party has won the most seats in parliamentary elections and is set to lead the country's next government. Announcing final results, the ministry said the Justice and Development Party had taken 107 seats in the 395-seat legislature following the nationwide vote two days earlier. The PJD — known by its French initials — is the latest Islamist party to win an election brought about by the Arab Spring. The right-of-center Istiqlal, a potential ally for the PJD, placed second with 60 seats.

LIBYA

Hundreds of people push their way to the door of the Libya = Libyan prime minister's office, demanding representation in government for the Amazigh, one of the country's largest ethnic minorities. The Amazigh, whose culture was suppressed during the decades of Moammar Gadhafi's rule, say they're angry that they are not part of a new transitional government, despite their large size and contribution to toppling Gadhafi. The tensions reflect simmering tribal tensions — one of many challenges facing the interim government as it tries build democratic institutions from scratch.

YEMEN

Yemen's vice president issues a decree assigning a veteran independent politician to form a national unity government. This is part of the power transfer deal signed by Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh last week. Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's decree follows the part of the accord that requires the new government to include equal number of ministers from the opposition and Saleh's party. The choice for premier, Mohammed Basindwa, an independent, held several positions in Saleh's government, including foreign and information minister.

BAHRAIN

Bahrain's state media says the country's king has ordered the creation of a special commission to study recommendations from an independent investigation into political unrest. The decision by King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa follows the release last week of a 500-page report that detailed abuses such as torture and excessive force in a crackdown on protests by Bahrain's majority Shiites for greater rights.

TUNISIA

Tunisian airlines suspends flights to Libya = Libya's capital Tripoli after armed men swarm the runway and stop a plane from taking off. Flights are suspended until "an improvement in the security conditions," says Soulafa Mokaddem, a spokeswoman for Tunisair. On Saturday afternoon, a TunisAir flight leaving from Tripoli's military airport of Maitiga carrying 47 wounded Libya = Libyans to be treated in Tunisia was stopped by 300 armed men.

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Algeria surrounded by Islamism in the east and terrorism in the south

ennahar 28 November, 2011 01:59:00

The Maghreb and the Sahel regions have become France’s zones of influence after the fall in a series of regimes in North Africa and south of the grand Sahara, as what happened in Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and in terms of security in Mauritania, Chad, Niger and Mali.

• The Maghreb and the Sahel regions have become France’s zones of influence after the fall in a series of regimes in North Africa and south of the grand Sahara, as what happened in Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and in terms of security in Mauritania, Chad, Niger and Mali.
• These Sahelian countries have become French provinces that receive orders from Paris and accept its military intervention on their land under the guise of the fight against terrorism in the region.
• The latest events experienced by the Maghreb and the Sahel countries throughout the year, show how France has managed to establish its influence on a number of former colonies like Chad, Mali and Niger, and the exploitation by France of what is called the "Arab spring" to install political systems that obey her in Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, although the latter is since the sixties as French protectorate, when King Hassan II had proclaimed himself Governor General of French policies in his own kingdom.
• A plain reading of the new political map, after the latest developments in these areas, confirms the revival of France. As a result, Algeria remains the only country outside the circle, surrounded from the east and the west by pro-France Islamist governments and from the southeast by a country ruled by armed gangs after the fall of Gaddafi and from the extreme south by weak regimes that can not disobey orders from the Elysee.
• Observers see in this new situation the return of the traditional war of interests between France and the United States, mainly regarding countries like Algeria for their strategic position and its oil. Algeria will not be immune against the French attempts to extend its influence in the Arab Maghreb region.

• Ennahar / Yacine Abdelbaki

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Algerian prelate speaks of ministry in a Muslim state

Photo (Courtesy) http://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-Algerian-Church-has-the-same-right-to-spread-its-message-(as-Muslims-do)-17654.html

November 28, 2011

Algeria’s leading prelate discusses at length the challenges of ministering in an overwhelmingly Muslim state where conversion is punished by fine or imprisonment. Only 4,000 of the nation’s 34.8 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics.

“The Church is alive, it is present and doing its best for the well-being of its faithful and the country,” said Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers. “Our first mission is to be there, to live our faith, and to be faithful to our religion and to respect the other faiths despite our differences. The Church believes--and I believe--that religious freedom is a human right.”

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A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah

9And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

12Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

13For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

14Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

15What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

16The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

17For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

Jeremiah 11:9-17.

Putin Warns West on Interference

EUROPE NEWS
NOVEMBER 28, 2011

By ALAN CULLISON

MOSCOW—Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched his official
presidential campaign on Sunday, accusing foreign powers of trying to influence
Russia's elections and promising to press ahead with plans to boost defense
spending to safeguard the country's dignity.




Reuters
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, left, with President
Dmitry Medvedev at the United Russia party congress in Moscow on
Sunday.


Mr. Putin's appearance in a soccer stadium here before 10,000 flag-waving
supporters was a clear signal that he planned no changes to the top-down
political system that he has shaped since assuming the presidency in 2000,
despite some weakening of his own popularity in public-opinion polls.
It was his first appearance before a large public arena since he was booed a
week ago at a martial-arts competition.

He lashed out at domestic opponents—many of whom have been excluded from the
coming parliamentary and presidential elections—accusing them of playing a role
in the Soviet collapse in 1991 and looting the country during the ensuing
chaos.

He praised Russia's neighbors Kazakhstan and Belarus for helping with his
plan to reintegrate former Soviet states into a "Eurasian Union" whose members
would enjoy exclusive trade ties.

Mr. Putin, 59 years old, is expected to switch places with his longtime
protégé, President Dmitri Medvedev, after March presidential elections in what
critics and Kremlin officials alike have called a "castling"—referring to a
chess move—of the two leaders. Elections for the State Duma on Dec. 4 will be a
closely watched precursor to that contest; the Kremlin-controlled party, United
Russia, is expected to win a majority of seats.

Kremlin officials say there are few differences between Messrs. Putin and
Medvedev, and that their switch in roles will bring scant change. But analysts
say the official return of Mr. Putin to the Kremlin may present difficulties for
the West, amid his insistence that the U.S. and European Union are trying to
undermine him.

Mr. Putin's speech Sunday before the pro-Kremlin United Russia party was
riddled with parallels to a speech he delivered a few months before Russia's
last presidential elections four years ago, where in the same stadium he
promised a revival in Russia's government and denounced his critics as
foreign-financed "jackals."

After accepting the party's formal nomination for president on Sunday, he
told the cheering audience that "some foreign countries are gathering those they
are paying money to—so-called grant recipients—to instruct them and assign work
in order to influence the election campaign themselves."

He called the alleged funding a "wasted effort, as we say money thrown at the
wind, firstly because Judas is not the most respected biblical character in our
country."

In a clear jab at the financial troubles in the EU and the U.S., he advised
governments that "it would be better to pay off their debt with this money and
stop pursuing inefficient and costly economic policies."

Mr. Putin, who was initially installed in the Kremlin after the resignation
of Boris Yeltsin 12 years ago, said he believed that only his government had the
experience to take Russia into a better, more prosperous future. His critics, he
said, had already discredited themselves with their own efforts to run the
country and "ran it to complete collapse—I mean the collapse of the Soviet
Union—while others went on to degrade the government and organize the
unprecedented looting of the 1990s" in Russia.

"They destroyed industry, agriculture and the social sphere," he said, and
"thrust the knife of civil war into Russia's very heart," referring to the two
wars the Kremlin fought against Chechen separatists.

Because he stepped down from the presidency for the past three years, Mr.
Putin now is eligible for two more six-year terms in office, and so could become
the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin.

Mr. Medvedev, who introduced Mr. Putin at the party meeting Sunday, said
"there is no more successful, experienced or popular politician in Russia" and
that in nominating him for president "we have officially determined our
political future not just for the short term but for the long term."

Another high-level member of Mr. Putin's circle, Finance Minister Alexei
Kudrin, resigned from the government in September after the so-called castling
of leaders was announced. People close to Mr. Kudrin said he was disappointed
that he wasn't offered the prime minister's job; Mr. Kudrin also said he was
against a planned boost in military spending after elections.

Mr. Putin said on Sunday that he did plan such a boost and that "in the next
five to ten years, we have to bring a new level and our armed forces to a new
level."

"Of course it will be expensive," said Mr. Putin. "But we must do this if we
want to protect the dignity of the country."


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The Students Arrested in Egypt Back in America

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Egyptian court orders release of Georgetown student, 2 others

November 24, 2011 - 08:46 am

(AP, WJLA) - Egyptian officials say a court has ordered the release of three American students arrested this week during the unrest in Cairo.

Derrik Sweeney, right, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student. (Photo: Egypt's Ministry of Interior)

An Egyptian official said Thursday the three who attend the American University in Cairo were arrested on the roof of a university building near Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square. They were accused of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters.

The three, arrested Sunday, are Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student, Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student, and Gregory Porter, a 19-year-old Drexel University student.

"It was confirmed, officially," Joy Sweeney, Derrik's mother, said. "The attorney general is not going to appeal."

In a series of tweets, Derrik's sister, Nicole, says that her brother and the other two students finally were fed and were allowed accept visitors from the American University in Cairo.

"Our entire Georgetown community is deeply grateful to all those whose prompt attention and work led to their release," Georgetown President John J. DeGioia said in a statement.

On Thursday morning, Joy Sweeney, Derrik's mother, told the Associated Press that the counsel general confirmed early Thursday morning that her son would be released.

In a statement, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that they appreciated the "expeditious consideration of this case by the Egyptian authorities."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

SHORT URL: http://wj.la/tXR3um

Posted at 10:26 AM ET, 11/22/2011

Derrik Sweeney third American student arrested in Cairo

By Elizabeth Flock and Melissa Bell

Derrik Sweeney, a Georgetown University student, has been identified as the third American student from the American University in Cairo who was arrested and paraded on state television Tuesday.

Derrik Sweeney, as shown on state TV. (Image via YouTube)The other two students areGregory Porter and Luke Gates, according to Morgan Roth, a spokeswoman for the university. They are accused of setting off molotov cocktails and clashing with police in Tahrir Square, where anti-government protesters are gathering in response to calls for a “million-man march.”

Sweeney’s father told the Post his son was “caught up in the hype” of Egypt protests. “I suspect that being with a bunch of Egyptian students he probably got caught up in something. Who knows?”

Sweeney was an intern for Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) from February to May 2011. The congressman's spokesman, Paul Sloca, said Sweeney answered phones and attended meetings, did “intern stuff.” “He was a good intern,” Sloca said.

Georgetown University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr says university officials are in contact with the American University in Cairo, the U.S. State Department and embassy officials.

According to his Facebook profile, Sweeney studies psychology at Georgetown.

On Twitter, Sweeney was identified as being from Los Angeles and majoring in Arabic. A Twitter user Reem Morsy posted this photo of Derrik Sweeney in Cairo a month ago:

By Elizabeth Flock and Melissa Bell | 10:26 AM ET, 11/22/2011

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Posted at 10:27 AM ET, 11/22/2011

Luke Gates, American student arrested in Cairo, wrote on Twitter of wanting to die in Egypt

By Elizabeth Flock and Melissa Bell

Luke Gates, of the three American students from the American University in Cairo who was arrested and paraded on state television Tuesday, wrote often on his Twitter account of his experiences in Tahrir Square and of wanting to die in the country. Gates is a student at Indiana University on the semester abroad program in Cairo.

(Image via Twitter) Two days ago, Gates wrote on Twitter that he threw rocks in the square, and Monday he wrote that a part of his ear was missing after being in the square with rubber bullets.

“I just don’t want to feel anymore,” he wrote Saturday, just before heading to the square.

Along with Drexel University student Gregory Porter and Georgetown University student Derrik Sweeney, Gates is accused of setting off molotov cocktails and clashing with police in the square. American University in Cairo President Lisa Anderson said the university is working closely with the U.S. embassy to get the young men released.

Gates updated his current city of residence to Cairo on Aug. 31, according to his Facebook profile.

Read the tweets below:

By Elizabeth Flock and Melissa Bell | 10:27 AM ET, 11/22/2011

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US student arrested in Tahrir Square not being held in prison, sister says

Derrik Sweeney one of three American students accused of throwing molotov cocktails at Egyptian security forces

• Karen McVeigh and Peter Beaumont
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 November 2011 14.19 EST
• Article history

Derrik Sweeney (right), shown with Greg Porter (left) and Luke Gates (centre), was not being detained in prison, according to his sister Nicole. Photograph: Egyptian state TV/AP

The sister of one of three US students arrested in Cairo and shown on state television said he was being held in an Egyptian courthouse, which she hoped was a good sign.

Nicole Sweeney told the Guardian that her parents knew very little, but had been told that 19-year-old Derrik Sweeney, who was arrested on Monday, was not being detained in prison.

Derrik, a Georgetown University student, is one of three US students who have been accused of throwing petrol bombs at security forces in Tahrir Square.

In an email, his sister said: "The response from the State Department has largely been one of 'We'll let you know when we know more', but the only contact has been that initiated by my parents."

"They do know that he's being detained at a courthouse, rather than a prison, which we assume is a good thing."

His family voiced their concern for their son's safe return. In a statement issued to the Georgetown Voice, they thanked the "Georgetown University community" for their help, and said: "Seeing the outpouring of love and concern from his friends at a school he cherishes has been valuable moral support for us. We are hopeful that Derrik will very soon be able to thank you himself."

They added: ""At present, we know very little about the situation, though we are in contact with the State Department."

Derrik's father, Kevin, from Jefferson City, Missouri, said his son was a "huge believer in American freedom". He said he had hoped his son's youth would stand him in good stead.

"I'm hoping the fact that he's 19 years old will be a mitigating factor, and hopefully they put him on a plane home," Kevin Sweeney said.

"I suspect what happened is … their government probably isn't absolutely free," he told the Washington Post. "I suspect it's a military government … and I suspect that being with a bunch of Egyptian students, he probably got caught up in something. Who knows?"

"I suppose thoughts of the American revolution were things that probably crossed his mind. He's a huge follower of US constitutional history and the Revolutionary war."

Asked about the molotov cocktail accusation, he said: "I have no idea."

Derrick, who is studying Arabic in the hope it would help a career in law and the military, worked on Barack Obama's election campaign in 2008, but switched allegiances and interned this year with Republican congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer in Washington.

Luetkemeyer's spokesman, Paul Sloca, said he had also been in contact with the State Department and was trying to find out more.

"Our primary concern is that he is safe and being treated fairly," Sloca said.

Sloco said Sweeney came highly recommended and was "very outgoing: a good intern."

The US embassy in Cairo is investigating the detention of Sweeney and two other students at the American University of Cairo: Luke Gates, 21, of Bloomington, Indiana, and Greg Porter, 19, of Glenside, Pennyslyvania.

The three were arrested during clashes outside the interior ministry on Monday, authorities said.

Adel Saeed, a spokesman for the Egyptian general prosecutor's office, told CNN: "The three boys were throwing molotov cocktails, and had no passports on them when they were picked up. They have been questioned by the police and will be further investigated by the Cairo prosecutor."

Egyptian state television showed footage of them standing against a wall, with pictures of their driving licences and ID cards spread out next to what it said were petrol bombs.

Further footage, allegedly taken in Tahrir Square, showed demonstrators – at least one of whom was wearing a mask – with caucasian features, including a young man with blond hair.

A spokesman for the State Department said that no-one from the US embassy had yet met with the students. He said: "Our embassy has been in contact with the Egyptian authorities throughout the day. We have requested consular access and we expect to have it tomorrow."

When asked if they had been charged he replied: "To my knowledge they have only been detained."

A Twitter account that appears to be from Gates – @lhgates – speaks of his experiences in Cairo and of "wanting to die" in Egypt.

On Monday, Gates wrote: "I think I am missing part of my ear" and, a day earlier, told of injuries to his knee and elbow. He wrote: "Back to Tahrir tonight as police set fires to everything, no doubt they will blame it on protesters."

Three days ago he wrote of "feeling reckless" and "honestly, hopefully I die here". Another read: "I just don't want to feel anymore" and one which said: "saw them hanging from the bridge, realise death is the only thing that's immortal."

On what appears to be his Facebook account, Gates changed the current city of residence to Cairo on 31 August this year.

A spokesman for the University of Indiana, where Luke Gates was double majoring in political science and near eastern languages and cultures, said that they had been in contact with his parents. The spokesman, Ryan Piurek, said: "The American University of Cairo and the US embassy are reaching out to him to provide him with any legal assistance he needs."

At Drexel University, where Porter is a student, a spokesman said: "Drexel administrators are in contact with Porter's parents and are working with authorities at the American University in Cairo and the US embassy to have Porter released and returned home safely."

Egypt's generals have claimed foreign intervention is behind some of the violence in Cairo. Foreign media has experienced difficulties attempting to work in Egypt.

Since the Egyptian revolution began at the start of the year, thousands of foreign activists have flocked to Cairo in solidarity with the aims of the Arab spring.

Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements, including in the UK, have issued statements of solidarity with Tahrir Square protesters. At a general assembly, Occupy Wall Street voted to send 20 election observers to Egypt at a cost of $29,000 (£18,000).

The arrest of the three students was announced as Egyptians began flowing to Tahrir Square for a fourth day of protests, despite a crackdown by police in which at least 29 people have been killed.

Activists hope to increase the number of protesters in the square, which was the centre of the revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak in mid-February.

The violence continued, with security forces – backed by military troops – firing volleys of teargas and rubber bullets to block protesters, who responded by hurling stones and firebombs. The two sides have been engaged in intense clashes since the unrest began on Saturday.

State TV reported that three people were killed in the Suez canal city of Ismailia, east of Cairo, overnight.

Hundreds of protesters arrived early on Tuesday to join several thousand who have been camping on Tahrir Square. The crowds hoisted a giant Egyptian flag and chanted slogans demanding that the generals immediately step down in favour of a civilian presidential council.

One man held a sign reading "Ministry of Thuggery" with photos of Mubarak, Hussein Tantawi, the senior military ruler, the prime minister, Essam Sharaf and others.

A few hundred young men nearby chanted "Say it, don't fear, the council must go" and "The people want to execute the field marshal."

On Monday, the civilian cabinet of Sharaf submitted its resignation to the military council, a move that had been widely expected given the government's perceived inefficiency and its almost complete subordination to the generals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KedKHVc2PeU&feature=player_embedded

22 November 2011 Last updated at 18:54 ET

Three US students arrested in Cairo protests

Protesters in Cairo Tahrir Square are worried the military may try to cling to power in Egypt

Three US students have been arrested, accused of throwing petrol bombs at security forces during protests in the Egyptian capital's Tahrir Square.

The trio, studying at the American University in Cairo, have been named as Derrik Sweeney and Gregory Porter, both 19 years old, and Luke Gates, 21.

They were questioned earlier on Tuesday, university spokeswoman Morgan Roth told the BBC.

US embassy officials in Cairo told the BBC they are involved with the case.

The students, whose photos have been shown on Egyptian national TV, have been in Egypt on a study-abroad programme.

Dozens of people have died during four days of protests in Cairo, as demonstrators demand the military yield power to a democratically elected leadership.

An official from the Egyptian interior ministry told the Associated Press that when arrested the students had been on the roof of a university building overlooking Tahrir Square, throwing firebombs at police.

According to Ms Roth, the American University in Cairo spokeswoman, the three have been held by Egyptian authorities since the arrest.

A university counsellor, as well as two US embassy officials were present at the trio's questioning, Ms Roth said.

Joy Sweeney, Mr Sweeney's mother, described her son as an idealist who has been caught up in the protests.

She and Mr Gates father, Bill Gates have been contact with the US embassy, but have little information on their sons.

"I don't think anybody really knows what to expect," Mr Gates said.

'Change-the-world'
Joy Sweeney said her son had found himself in the middle of dramatic events.

"He got caught up in the whole college-change-the-world mentality, and he believes in democracy strongly," she told the Associated Press news agency.

Mrs Sweeney said, however, that her son is not a violent person, and that he often serves as the family peacemaker.

"I don't believe that he would intentionally throw a bomb at anyone," she said. "I don't believe that."

A student at Georgetown University in Washington DC, Mr Sweeney had interned earlier in 2011 with Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Missouri.

Mr Sweeney told his mother he attended previous protests in Cairo but stopped after people were killed in one demonstration.

Mr Sweeney is from Jefferson City, Missouri; Mr Gates, of Bloomington, Indiana, studies at Indiana University; and Mr Porter, from Glenside, Pennsylvania, attends Drexel University.

Mr Porter graduated from high school in 2010. A spokesman for the school said he was a "really good kid" who came seventh in a national debate competition in 2009.

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