IMF warns on funding levels if crisis worsens

EU and IMF inspectors are due to return to Athens this week

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned it may not have enough money to bail out larger eurozone countries if the debt crisis were to spread.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the global lender can meet its current obligations but this could change if the crisis worsens.
Meanwhile the Greek finance minister says Greece will do "whatever it takes" to reduce its deficit.
Evangelos Venizelos was speaking after a meeting with Ms Lagarde.                               
Publicly, world leaders have said there is "no plan" for a Greek default.
But reports suggest leaders are working on a plan to allow Greece to default on its debts and remain in the euro.
It is believed that policymakers feel they need to concentrate on recapitalising banks and boosting the funds of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
BBC business reporter Joe Lynam says that the plan to increase the EFSF's financial firepower could see the money available to bail out EU banks and member states rise from 440bn euros ($596bn; £385bn) to about 2 trillion euros.
He added that the plan could also enable the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy more Italian and Spanish bonds to prevent those two countries needing a full bailout.
Meanwhile, Antonio Borges, the head of the IMF's European department, has urged the ECB to play a bigger role in fighting the crisis.
"It is very important that we see a combination of the ECB and the EFSF," said Mr Borges.
"The ECB is the only agent that can really scare the markets."
'Back to the 1960s' In a speech to a banking industry group in Washington, Greek finance minister Evangelos Venizelos said Greece was ready to take "the necessary initiatives at any political cost" to reduce its debt.
He also pledged Greece would stay within the euro, but denied that the Greek crisis was enough on its own to cause a "domino effect" elsewhere in the eurozone.
Earlier, Greece's minister for international economic relations, Constantine Papadopoulos, said leaving the euro would be "catastrophic" for Greece.

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The Sabbath In Prophecy

Almost the whole Christian world reverences Sunday, did God know that this attempt to change His holy Sabbath would occur?

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. " Daniel 7:25

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:28-30

Yes, long ago God predicted that, from within the church itself, misguided men would arise who would attempt to change His holy law.


Who is responsible for all of the confusion regarding the Sabbath?

In the Bible's prophetic book of Daniel, God lists many identifying characteristics of the little horn who would 'think to change' God's law. The Bible's identifying points clearly implicate the Roman Catholic church as this organization. Infact, you can even find the answer to this question by looking at the many statements made by the church and its leadership.

“The Catholic Church designated Sunday as the day for corporate worship and gets full credit – or blame – for the change.” This Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization, p.8, June 1997

"The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day." The Catholic Encyclopedia,

'Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.' C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895.

* View a larger list of statements by Catholics, Protestants, and Historians.


Is it important to keep the true Sabbath?

The 3 Angels Messages, God's Final Warning Messages to the EarthYes it is. In God's final warning messages to the world we find a call to worship the Creator. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven... Saying with a loud voice Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:6-7

The call to worship in Revelation 14:7 brings us back to the Sabbath Commandment which God set aside specifically for holy purposes: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-11

Throughout the scriptures we can see an emphasis on the recognition of the Creator. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11

"For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens." Psalms 96:4-5

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." Psalms 121:2

By keeping the Sabbath holy, as He commanded us, we show our love for Him and give recognition of His authority in our life. "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:1


Does it matter how we worship God?

Yes. In John chapter 4 the woman at the well asked Jesus the same question. Jesus responded: "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

God issues a strong warning in Revelation 14:7 clarifiying that we should "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." This strong warning is needed because the devil has deceived almost the entire world into accepting his substitute and thus multitudes worship or obey him rather than the Creator. "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" Revelation 13:3-4


Can we know for sure who this beast is and is it really all that important?

Yes, we can, and must know who this beast is.

"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Revelation 14:9-10 The Bible clearly says that those who worship the beast will be lost.

In the light of this most serious and solemn warning from God we must not listen to anyone who tells us that we can't understand who the beast is or that it really doesn't matter. (See 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

By letting the Bible interpret itself, comparing scripture with scripture, we can know exactly who the beast is. (James 1:5, Isaiah 28:10-13) If you haven't done so already we suggest you review the points describing the little horn found in Daniel 7 and then let the Bible identify the first beast of Revelation 13.


The Battle is Over Worship!

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Romans 6:16

GM Rice with Human Genes set for Approval - Mar.2007

Lab-created rice contains human saliva and breast milk proteins.Summary:

The first GM food crop containing human genes is set to be approved for commercial production.
The laboratory-created rice produces some of the human proteins found in breast milk and saliva.
Its U.S. developers say they could be used to treat children with diarrhoea, a major killer in the Third World.
The rice is a major step in so-called Frankenstein Foods, the first mingling of human-origin genes and those from plants. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has already signalled it plans to allow commercial cultivation.
The rice's producers, California-based Ventria Bioscience, have been given preliminary approval to grow it on more than 3,000 acres in Kansas. The company plans to harvest the proteins and use them in drinks, desserts, yoghurts and muesli bars.
The news provoked horror among GM critics and consumer groups on both sides of the Atlantic.
GeneWatch UK, which monitors new GM foods, described it as "very disturbing". Researcher Becky Price warned: "There are huge, huge health risks and people should rightly be concerned about this."
Friends of the Earth campaigner Clare Oxborrow said: "Using food crops and fields as glorified drug factories is a very worrying development.
"If these pharmaceutical crops end up on consumers' plates, the consequences for our health could be devastating.
"The biotech industry has already failed to prevent experimental GM rice contaminating the food chain.
"The Government must urge the U.S. to ban the production of drugs in food crops. It must also introduce tough measures to prevent illegal GM crops contaminating our food and ensure that biotech companies are liable for any damage their products cause."
In the U.S., the Union of Concerned Scientists, a policy advocacy group, warned: "It is unwise to produce drugs in plants outdoors.
"There would be little control over the doses people might get exposed to, and some might be allergic to the proteins."
The American Consumers Union and the Washington-based Centre for Food Safety also oppose Ventria's plans.
As well as the contamination fears there are serious ethical concerns about such a fundamental interference with the building blocks of life.
Yet there is no legal means for Britain and Europe to ban such products on ethical grounds.
Imports would have to be accepted once they had gone through a scientific safety assessment. The development is what may people feared when, ten years ago, food scientists showed what was possible by inserting copies of fish genes from the flounder into tomatoes, to help them withstand frost.
Ventria has produced three varieties of the rice, each with a different human-origin gene that makes the plants produce one of three human proteins.
Two—lactoferrin and lysozyme—are bacteria-fighting compounds found in breast milk and saliva. The genes, cultivated and copied in a laboratory to produce a synthetic version, are carried into embryonic rice plants inside bacteria.
Until now, plants with human-origin genes have been restricted to small test plots.
Ventria originally planned to grow the rice in southern Missouri but the brewer Anheuser-Busch, a huge buyer of rice, threatened to boycott the state amid concern over contamination and consumer reaction.
Now the USDA, saying the rice poses "virtually no risk". has given preliminary approval for it to be grown in Kansas, which has no commercial rice farms.
Ventria will also use dedicated equipment, storage and processing facilities supposed to prevent seeds from mixing with other crops.
The company says food products using the rice proteins could help save many of the two million children a year who die from diarrhoea and the resulting dehydration and complications. A recent study in Peru, sponsored by Ventria, showed that children with severe diarrhoea recovered a day and a half faster if the salty fluids they were prescribed included the proteins.
The rice could also be a huge money-spinner in the Western world, with parents being told it will help their children get over unpleasant stomach bugs more quickly.
Ventria chief executive Scott Deeter said last night: "We have a product here that can help children get better faster."
He said any concerns about safety and contamination were "based on perception, not reality" given all the precautions the company was taking.
Mr. Deeter said production in plants was far cheaper than other methods, which should help make the therapy affordable in the developing world.
He said: "Plants are phenomenal factories. Our raw materials are the sun, soil and water."
This article can be found at the Mail Online.