HELLO GLOBAL CURRENCY

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-The Nation's Weather. 3-Flooded Uruguay town has looters, but no drinking water. 4-Atlantic's first named storm forms early. 5-Storm dissipates off Florida but rain welcomed. 6-Olmert war testimony released. 7-Pope stresses opposition to abortion. 8-Bush OKs integration with European Union. 9-More religious Zionist rabbis allowing followers to enter Temple Mount. 10-Crowd Packs Amphitheater For Man Claiming He's Jesus Christ Reincarnated. 11-Prague seeks get-out clause for EU laws in new treaty. 12-Goodbye U.S. dollar, hello global currency.

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.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = Thu May 10 12:08 PM EDT

APR 10,07
MAP 2.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.4 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.6 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.0 OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
MAP 4.4 TONGA
MAP 4.3 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII

APR 9,07
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 KEPULAUAN TANIMBAR REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.6 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.9 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.5 WESTERN SAUDI ARABIA
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.9 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.0 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 TRUJILLO, VENEZUELA
MAP 5.2 MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA

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.

The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Thu May 10, 7:09 AM ET

The first named storm of 2007 swirled off the Southeast coast early Thursday, while rain showers pelted the Northeast and southern Plains. Subtropical Storm Andrea was expected to produce scattered showers and thunderstorms over the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

High surf was likely along the coast.A low pressure system was moving through the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Mississippi Valley and was predicted to reach the Northeast and Appalachians by day's end.Another storm system was moving through Texas toward Louisiana, sparking showers and scattered thunderstorms in Texas and along the Gulf Coast.Scattered showers also were possible from the Northwest through the Intermountain West and into western Montana.The Southwest was to be quite warm Thursday as temperatures rise well into the 90s and 100s for much of the region. Portions of the Southeast will rise into the 80s and 90s, while the Northeast will see temperatures in the 70s. The Plains will rise into the 70s and 80s, while the Northwest will see temperatures in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 22 degrees at Leadville, Colo., to a high of 110 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.

Flooded Uruguay town has looters, but no drinking water Wed May 9, 11:20 PM ET

DURAZNO, Uruguay (AFP) - Heavy rains have not only flooded the town of Durazno, north of the Uruguayan capital, driving residents from their homes, but has muddied the drinking water as well.

Today is a good day for Durazno, said governor Carmelo Vidalin. The waters of the Yi river have not gotten higher.That is as much as anyone could hope in this town of 30,000, of which 6,000 have left, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Montevideo.The river crested and the water level has fallen 2.5 centimeters (one inch) an hour, according to emergency workers.Residents got drinking water from tanker trucks, while treatment plants are under water.

That meant suspending primary and secondary school classes.Health Minister Jorge Basso warned against outbreaks of diarrhea while ordering the vaccination of children 2-5 against hepatitis and everyone against the flu.The Yi river has not crested this high since 1959, said residents, some of whom lost everything from clothing to furniture and vehicles and are sleeping in shelters.Others fear looters, who are traveling in boats, will make off with their things.

Atlantic's first named storm forms early By JESSICA GRESKO, Associated Press Writer Wed May 9, 2:20 PM ET

MIAMI - The first named storm of the year formed Wednesday off the southeastern U.S. coast, more than three weeks before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters said. Subtropical Storm Andrea had top sustained winds around 45 mph Wednesday afternoon and didn't appear to be much of a threat, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Still, a tropical storm watch was issued for parts of Georgia and Florida, meaning tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours.

We're not looking at this system strengthening significantly, said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the center.The storm's wind, however, has been blowing smoke from wildfires across Georgia and Florida.It didn't appear the wind would hinder firefighting efforts, said Jim Harrell, a spokesman for Florida's Division of Forestry. But those battling the blazes won't get much immediate help from rain forecasters said no significant downpours were expected over land through at least Thursday morning. The storm's lightning could also spark more fires, meteorologists said.

At 2 p.m. EDT, Andrea was centered about 100 miles southeast of Savannah, Ga., and about 135 miles northeast of Daytona Beach. The storm was moving west at about 3 mph.Wind-driven waves have been causing coastal erosion in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and the ocean has lapped at beachfront homes and condominiums.Coast Guard officials in South Carolina said they had rescued one of two kayakers who had been missing since Tuesday when they were seen leaving Seabrook Island, S.C. Jeremy Scott, 28, of Atlanta, was found about five miles east of Fripp Island.

Authorities were continuing to search for Stephen Lee, 27, of Atlanta.Subtropical systems are hybrid weather formations that are usually weaker than hurricanes and tropical storms. They are kind of a half-breed, sharing characteristics of tropical systems, which get their power from warm ocean water at their centers, and more typical bad weather that forms when warm and cold fronts collide, Pasch said.

Forecasters said Andrea has the warm center characteristic of tropical storms but its core is not particularly well defined. In addition, its winds are farther out from the center than they would be in a tropical storm.Typically, about one subtropical storm forms each year, but they often turn into tropical storms. That doesn't appear to be the case with Andrea, senior hurricane specialist Jack Beven said. It only has a small area of warmer water to draw energy from and is facing dry wind.

He said it wasn't unusual for the storm to form in May, outside the hurricane season that starts June 1 and end Nov. 30. Eighteen tropical storms and four hurricanes have been recorded in that month since 1851; the earliest hurricane had made landfall on the U.S. was Alma in northwest Florida on June 9, 1966.

What we call the hurricane season is a totally manmade creation. Nature doesn't always pay attention to that, Beven said.Private and university forecasters have predicted that the 2007 season will be especially active, producing up to 17 tropical storms and hurricanes and a well above average possibility of at least one striking the U.S. The federal government plans to release its predictions May 22.The Atlantic basin has been in a busy period for hurricanes since 1995. Some federal forecasters believe this is part of a natural cycle. But the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N.-sponsored group, says global warming caused by humans has led to an increase in stronger hurricanes.

Storm dissipates off Florida but rain welcomed MAY 10,07

MIAMI (Reuters) - Subtropical Storm Andrea dissipated off the U.S. Atlantic Coast on Thursday and promised only scant rainfall in Florida, where brush fires burned throughout the parched state.

Andrea's winds had helped fan the 225 wild fires burning in Florida, where the winter dry season was the third-driest on record. Much of the state was under water-use restrictions and blanketed with smoky haze from the fires.Andrea was a subtropical storm, lacking the warm core and thunderstorms characteristic of a tropical storm. All warnings were dropped and the system was downgraded to a depression on Thursday when its sustained winds weakened to 35 mph (55 kph). Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said Andrea still could bring an inch of rain to coastal areas as the remnants drifted off the northeast Florida coast.That would hardly be enough to douse the fires that burned in 52 of Florida's 67 counties.Andrea formed three weeks before the official start of the Atlantic
-Caribbean hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

Olmert war testimony released By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 10, 7:42 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told an investigative panel that the Israeli military seriously let itself down in last summer's war in Lebanon, according to censored minutes of his testimony released on Thursday. But Olmert tried to deflect the commission's suggestions that he acted rashly and on the basis of sketchy information.The 89 pages of testimony were released 10 days after the commission issued a damning appraisal of his handling of the initial stage of the war.

The especially harsh censure of Olmert has prompted renewed calls for his resignation and cast a cloud over his political future.Although he has survived the initial uproar over the report, it is not clear whether he can keep his coalition together under his leadership. A final report on the 34-day war is due out in the summer.The war started July 12 when Hezbollah guerrillas carried out a July 12 cross-border raid in which three soldiers were killed and two were captured.The Israeli public backed Olmert throughout the war, but the support broke down after he failed to achieve his two declared aims — recovering the two soldiers and crushing Hezbollah, which in the course of the war bombarded Israel with nearly 4,000 rockets.The minutes of Olmert's appearance before the war probe panel — censored by the military on security grounds — are studded with panel members' suggestions that Olmert took decisions without doing enough to explore alternatives or seek information beyond what the military told him.

Asked whether he displayed any skepticism about what the military told him, Olmert didn't reply directly with any examples of how he might have disputed that information. Instead, he told the commission's five members that in his position, he had to apply another perspective that they (military commanders) don't have and can't have.

At the end of his testimony, Olmert acknowledged making mistakes of his own, saying, for example, that he might have met more often with senior Cabinet ministers to consult with them on diplomacy.Olmert told the panel he was convinced Hezbollah would send rockets thudding into Israel's northern communities — as it did — and that he had two options: do nothing or do something from the very first minute. I don't think there was any option but to act from the very first, he told the commission.When weighing his options, Olmert said, In my mind's eye, I saw the new Lebanese morass closing in on us like the old one did — a reference to Israel's
1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon to eject Palestinian militants. That led to an 18-year military occupation of a strip of southern Lebanon.

While effusively praising the fighting forces as exceptional, Olmert he said the military command seriously let itself down during the war.Something in the concept of how they operated the forces, something in the concept of their control over the forces, something wasn't what we expected, unfortunately, and that no doubt led to the gap between our abilities and what we achieved in practice.Asked to address the breakdown of security on the border with Lebanon in July, Olmert acknowledged that senior security officials told him about a lack of military exercises in the area. But he said he didn't really pay much attention because the defense establishment always comes to budget deliberations saying it doesn't have enough money.Olmert's office, commenting on the testimony, defended his wartime actions as the necessary conclusion from a process of planning and consultation that Olmert has carried out since taking over as prime minister in January 2006, following Ariel Sharon's incapacitating stroke.

Addressing commentators' criticisms that Olmert was trying to shift the blame to the army, the statement said, the prime minister didn't fob off responsibility onto anyone or accuse anyone. ... At the same time, Olmert doesn't conceal there were failures; the military says that, too.Israel Radio analyst Hanan Crystal said that after last week's devastating report, the new testimony would cause little additional damage to Olmert.If we thought that the interim report created a magnitude 8 or 9 earthquake this testimony is not going to cause further upheaval, Crystal said. It won't be this that brings about Olmert's resignation.The censored testimonies of Defense Minister Amir Peretz and wartime military chief Lt. Gen. Halutz were also published on Thursday. Peretz told the panel Israel expected the war to last 10 to 14 days. At a meeting with Halutz and other defense chiefs, The prominent opinion was that ... we could not pursue a policy of restraint given the situation in which we found ourselves. In his heavily censored testimony, Halutz told the committee that the army's greatest failure was its inability to bring the war to a swifter conclusion, the Haaretz newspaper reported. Without a doubt, I recognize that at the end of the day that was the most blatant non-achievement or failure, he said. Halutz resigned in January following widespread criticism of his performance during the war. Peretz is expected to leave his post after this month's primary vote in his Labor Party. Opinion polls forecast Peretz will not win re-election as party chief.

Pope stresses opposition to abortion By ALAN CLENDENNING, Associated Press Writer MAY 10,07

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church's opposition to abortion in his first speech in Brazil but avoided further suggestion that politicians who support abortion rights should be considered excommunicated. Benedict is on his first papal trip to Latin America, where women's rights groups have been pushing to expand access to abortion. With few exceptions, the procedure is illegal in Brazil and most other countries in the region, home to more than half the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.

The pope, who will inaugurate an important regional bishops' conference during his trip, was met at Sao Paulo airport Wednesday by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Speaking in Portuguese, Benedict said he's certain that the bishops will reinforce the promotion of respect for life from the moment of conception until natural death as an integral requirement of human nature.Benedict's comments came just hours after one of the president's Cabinet members said a macho culture in Brazil has prevented a legitimate debate about legalizing abortion in Latin America's largest nation.

If men got pregnant, I'm sure this question would have been resolved a long time ago, said Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao, who is pushing for a referendum on the issue.Like most Brazilians, Silva says he's opposed to abortion. But in an interview aired on Catholic radio stations earlier in the week, he said abortion was an issue for his government because of the many illegal — and often fatal — abortions performed in clandestine clinics in Brazil.Silva's spokesman said the president did not intend to bring up abortion during a second scheduled meeting with Benedict.On Thursday morning, thousands of Brazilians streamed down barricaded streets toward the Pacaembu soccer stadium, where the pope was scheduled to preside over a ceremony for young people.About 41,000 people were invited, but officials expected at least 100,000 more to gather outside. Not all agreed with the church.

Until the church broadens its scope of action to include the dispossessed, the poor and the hungry and youth, the evangelical sects are going to continue gaining ground in Brazil, said Charles Marinho de Souza, 27-year-old union activist and member of a Catholic youth group.

Even before Benedict got off his plane, he stoked a debate among Catholics who have been arguing whether politicians who approve abortion legislation as well as doctors and nurses who take part in the procedure subject themselves to automatic excommunication under church doctrine.During the flight from Rome, Benedict gave his first full-fledged news conference since becoming pontiff in 2005. When a reporter pressed Benedict on whether he agreed that Catholic politicians who recently legalized abortion in Mexico City should rightfully be considered excommunicated, the response was Yes.Church law says anyone who procures a completed abortion is automatically excommunicated. But considering political support for abortion as equivalent to procurement would set new Vatican policy.

Benedict's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, later said the pope was not setting a new policy and did not intend to formally excommunicate anyone — a rare process under church law separate from the doctrine of self-excommunication.

But Lombardi added that politicians who vote in favor of abortion should not receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. Legislative action in favor of abortion is incompatible with participation in the Eucharist. ... Politicians exclude themselves from Communion, he said.As many as 20,000 faithful waited in cold rain for a glimpse of Benedict in South America's largest city, then chanted Bento, Bento and waved flags of different South American nations as he greeted them in Portuguese and Spanish blessed them in Latin.As well as abortion, Benedict is expected to address other challenges to Roman Catholicism during his trip, including the church's declining influence in Brazil, the rise of evangelism and a deep divide between rich and poor.

The Vatican also has promised that Benedict will deliver a tough message on poverty and crime during his five-day visit to the world's most populous Roman Catholic country. Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, visited Mexico and addressed Latin American bishops just three months after assuming the papacy. Benedict has waited two years for his first trip to the region, but he denied being Eurocentric or less concerned about poverty in the developing world than his predecessors.

I love Latin America. I have traveled there a lot, he told reporters, adding that he is happy the time had come for the trip after focusing on more urgent problems in the Middle East and Africa. Benedict, who visited Brazil as then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 1990, will celebrate several open-air Masses, including a canonization ceremony for Brazil's first native-born saint, and visit a church-run drug and
alcohol rehabilitation center. The tour ends on Sunday, when he will open the conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops in the shrine city of Aparecida. Associated Press Writer Victor Simpson contributed to this report from Sao Paulo.

Bush OKs integration with European Union
Congress never asked about new obligation
May 8, 2007 - By Jerome R. Corsi - WorldNetDaily.com

President Bush

President Bush signed an agreement creating a permanent body that commits the U.S. to deeper transatlantic economic integration, without ratification by the Senate as a treaty or passage by Congress as a law. The Transatlantic Economic Integration between the U.S. and the European Union was signed April 30 at the White House by Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the current president of the European Council – and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

The document acknowledges the transatlantic economy remains at the forefront of globalization, arguing that the U.S. and the European Union seek to strengthen transatlantic economic integration. The agreement established a new Transatlantic Economic Council to be chaired on the U.S. side by a cabinet-level officer in the White House and on the EU side by a member of the European Commission.

The current U.S. head of the new Transatlantic Economic Council is Allan Hubbard, assistant to the president for Economic Policy and director of the National Economic Council. The current EU head of the council is Günther Verheugen, vice-President of the European Commission in charge of enterprise and industry. The Transatlantic Economic Council was tasked with creating regulatory convergence between the U.S. and the EU on some 40 different public policy areas, including intellectual property rights, developing security standards for international trade, getting U.S. GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practices) recognized in Europe, developing innovation and technology in health industries, implementing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technologies, developing a science-based plan on bio-based products and establishing a regular dialogue to address obstacles to investment. At a joint press conference, Bush thanked the other two leaders for signing the trans-Atlantic economic integration plan, commenting that, It is a recognition that the closer that the United States and the EU become, the better off our people will be.Barroso said the Transatlantic Economic Council is meant to be a permanent body, with senior people on both sides of the Atlantic.

As WND has reported, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez repeatedly has pushed for North American integration, much as the April 30 agreement proposes closer U.S.-EU integration. Mexico's ambassador to the U.N., Enrique Berruga, has called for a North American Union to be created in the next eight years.

But the Bush administration's push for North American integration is facing increasing opposition within Congress. WND reported Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., has introduced House Concurrent Resolution 40, which opposes the administration's Security and Prosperity Partnership, blocks a NAFTA Superhighway System and expresses opposition to the U.S. entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada. WND also has reported a movement led by Phyllis Schlafly of Eagle Forum has led to an increasing number of state legislatures proposing resolutions opposing a North American Union.

More religious Zionist rabbis allowing followers to enter Temple Mount
By Nadav Shragai MAY 10,07

An increasing number of religious Zionist rabbis are allowing their followers to enter the Temple Mount, contrary to the religious consensus on the matter. This weekend, the rabbis Haim Druckman and Avraham Zukerman, of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and Tzafania Drori, chief rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, are set to join this growing group with an ad in the Orthodox media.

The rabbis, who are major figures in the religious Zionist movement, will call on Jews wishing to enter the Temple Mount in purity, to ascend at this time to the to the places permitted for Jews to enter.The three rabbis are known for their principle support for letting Jews on to the Temple Mount. But they had not yet expressed their stand formally, because of the religious sensitivity of the issue. Now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's unification, with many right-wing movements placing the Temple Mount on their agenda, the rabbis have decided to call publicly on Jews to go to the Mount.

In publishing the ad, they will be joining dozens of other rabbis of the religious Zionist stream, among them rabbis in West Bank settlements, who in recent years have allowed Jews to go to the Temple Mount within the bounds of Jewish law. Currently, rabbinic consensus in the religious Zionist and the ultra-Orthodox world prohibits Jews from entering the Temple Mount. This is because the exact location of the Holy of Holies is not known, and therefore Jews who have not properly purified themselves may accidentally walk there or through other prohibited places. Rabbis who allow their supporters to ascend to the Temple Mount set stipulations for entry, including the mandating of ritual immersion beforehand, the wearing of cloth shoes, the keeping to areas permitted to Jews under Jewish custom, and the studying of relevant religious regulations. There are two Islamic shrines on the Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Over the years, successive Israeli governments, backed by the High Court of Justice, have allowed Jews to visit the Temple Mount, but have prohibited them from praying there.

The policy was set 40 years ago by then-defense minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan argued that the national and territorial dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict should be separated from the religious dimension, and for this reason Jewish prayer and ritual should be prohibited on the Mount. At the same time, it was decided that ultimate responsibility for security on and around the Temple Mount would be in the hands of Israel, while religious and administrative autonomy at the Temple Mount would be under the Waqf (the Muslim religious authorities), a situation that prevails to this day.

THIS DECIEVERS AT IT AGAIN. THIS GUYS OUT TO LUNCH BUT THERE IS ONE PERSON I BELIEVE THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR WILL BE LIKE. ITS CHRIS ANGEL.

CHRIS IS THE BEST DECIEVER THAT I SEE SO FAR THAT THE FUTURE DICTATOR WILL BE LIKE, HE CAN EVEN GRAVATATE PEOPLE OFF THEIR FEET, THIS IS HOW THE EU DICTATOR WILL BE DECIEVING PEOPLE THROUGHT FALSE MIRACLES AND DECEPTION. AS CHRIS IS FROM THE OCCULT SO THE FUTURE DICTATOR COMES FROM THE OCCULT.

Crowd Packs Amphitheater For Man Claiming He's Jesus Christ Reincarnated
Christians Protest Event In Orlando May 9, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. A controversial religious figure who claims he is Jesus Christ incarnate with a following of millions with 666 tattoos on their bodies, filled an amphitheater in Orlando this weekend, and promised joy, peace and prosperity.Orlando police officers stood guard around the Lake Eola amphitheater as Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, 61, arrived in the city Saturday. Miranda, who has been banned from three countries, told Local 6 News cameras and a cheering crowd that he was Jesus Christ reincarnated.His followers believe that Miranda's life and his teachings replace those of Jesus of Nazareth, Local 6's Jamie Guirola said.They believe that Jesus is going to come from the sky, Juan Sanchez said. But, that is not the way he is going to come.He is here? Guirola said.He is here. Sanchez said.Miranda said millions of people worldwide have tattooed their bodies with 666 in recognition that the second-coming of Christ has taken place, according to the report.

I have it proudly on my hand, a believer told Local 6's Jamie Guirola. It is easier when they shake my hand. It is easier for them to ask. I am very proud to show it is a sign of love.A group of Christians protested the event, calling the following a cult. Police also removed two people from the amphitheater.We are just questioning their faith and their 666 tattoos, a protestor told Local 6. We just want to learn more so we can relate more between being a Christian and believing in this and who the true Jesus is.Miranda said he is known as God in at least 30 countries.Local 6 reported that he was born in Puerto Rico and admits to being a recovering heroin addict. He also spent times in prison on drug and petty theft charges.Miranda is the founder of the Miami-based Growing in Grace Ministry. by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com.

Prague seeks get-out clause for EU laws in new treaty
09.05.2007 - 17:36 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EUOBSERVER/BRU-The Czech Republic wants a new EU treaty to include a clause
allowing groups of EU states to opt out of Brussels legislation, in a plan set to re-ignite the debate on a two-speed Europe.Prague's negotiator on the disputed EU constitution Jan Zahradil told EUobserver the new-look version of the treaty should introduce a measure that would allow a group of states to withdraw from particular European policies.The treaty clause, recently proposed by Prague in confidential talks with the German EU presidency, would enable a minority group of member states not to sign up to EU laws agreed by a majority in the council, member states' decision making body.Mr Zahradil said he would table the collective opt-out idea at a 15 May gathering of member state sherpas - government appointees for talks on the EU constitution - in Berlin.Prague believes the mechanism is necessary in light of the voting system proposed in the EU constitution, giving more power to big member states.

[The constitution] strongly increases the voting weights of some big states - particularly Germany (...)- this creates the possibility that smaller states are more frequently outvoted in controversial issues, such as social schemes, environmental issues or a very fashionable issue of today - consumer protection, said Mr Zahradil.Prague's latest proposals reflect the views of the government led by the centre-right ODS party which opposes far-reaching EU integration and dislikes Brussels legislation hampering the free market.Mr Zahradil is himself an ODS politician and member of the European Parliament, in addition to his job as Czech sherpa.

Two-speed Europe

The Czech proposal is likely to fuel the debate on a two-speed Europe which has re-emerged in the context of the renegotiations on the EU constitution, rejected in French and Dutch referendums in 2005.

The idea of some member states moving faster than others is usually promoted by proponents of EU integration who are irritated by sceptics blocking progress. The EU's current Nice Treaty already contains the possibility for enhanced cooperation allowing a group of at least eight states to go ahead on their own. By contrast, opt out rights are reserved for some individual member states and are carefully negotiated, with Denmark, for example, enjoying an opt-out from the eurozone.The Czech proposal for a group opt-out would allow a more structured two-way flexibility, Mr Zahradil said, with Czech officials currently working out the details of the proposal.

Controversial

But the idea, characterised by Mr Zahradil as probably controversial, is unlikely to get an easy reception with the German presidency unhappy at the prospect of reopening the institutional core of the EU constitution.And Poland, which shares the Czech concern about Germany getting too much voting power in the EU constitution, reacted lukewarmly to the Czech idea.Marek Cichocki, the Polish sherpa, said he had not seen the Czech plan, but signalled that Warsaw would prefer to stick to its more fundamental opposition to the voting weights in the constitution.We are above all interested in a general solution to this problem, rather than solutions to particular circumstances, he said.Warsaw is promoting its own alternative voting model which would give Poland more power, particularly relative to Berlin.Mr Cichocki added that the Czech plan also runs the risk of dividing Europe into different groups in different areas.That is something we would like to avoid.

Goodbye U.S. dollar, hello global currency
CFR chief: Monetary nationalism, sovereignty should be abandoned
May 9, 2007- By Jerome R. Corsi - WorldNetDaily.com

Benn Steil

The director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations has launched a scathing attack on sovereignty and national currencies. Benn Steil, writing in the current issue of CFR's influential Foreign Affairs magazine, says the world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.In the article, The End of National Currency, Steil clearly asserts the dollar and the euro are temporary currencies, perhaps necessary today. He argues economic development outside the process of globalization is no longer possible.

His inevitable conclusion is countries should abandon monetary nationalism.Steil tempers his embrace of one world currency, writing, Governments should replace national currencies with the dollar or the euro or, in the case of Asia, collaborate to produce a new multinational currency over a comparably large and economically diversified area.He concludes: It is the market that made the dollar into global
money – and what the market giveth, the market can taketh away. If the tailors balk and the dollar falls, the market may privatize money on its own.

The tailors Steil has in mind are the world's central bankers. He advises that the U.S. needs to perpetuate the sound money policies of former Federal Reserve chairmen Paul Volker and Alan Greenspan and return to long-term fiscal discipline. In our current era of large and growing trade imbalances and over $35 trillion in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) accounted federal deficits, these targets appear unlikely. Steil concludes the foreign tailors, with their massive and growing holdings of dollar debt no longer feel wealthy and secure in the economic environment of a resultant falling dollar. The inevitable conclusion is that the dollar, too, may be on the way out. Steil's essay is antagonistic to the ideas of sovereignty and national currencies.

He writes, The right course is not to return to a mythical past of monetary sovereignty, with governments controlling local interest and exchange rates in blissful ignorance of the rest of the world. Governments must let go of the fatal notion that nationhood requires them to make and control the money used in their territory.Steil has ultimate confidence that economic globalism is irreversible, with national currencies doomed to the dustbin of history. In order to globalize safely, he advises, countries should abandon monetary nationalism and abolish unwanted currencies, the source of much of today's instability.Steil believes continued economic growth demands a global flow of capital unimpeded by the barriers inherent to monetary nationalism. He asserts barriers created by monetary nationalism, such as national exchange rates or national monetary policy regimes, inevitably impede capital flow and cause currency crises as a consequence. Steil fundamentally argues, Monetary nationalism is simply incompatible with globalism. Since Steil believes that only globalism offers the unrestrained flow of capital needed for worldwide economic development, he contends even re-establishing a gold standard would be counter-productive when the only real solution is to abandon the idea that nations have any reason to create currencies at all.

Throughout his analysis, Steil cautions that dependence upon the dollar or the euro as global currencies is not fundamental to his argument. He stresses that the dollar's privileged status as today's global money is not heaven-bestowed. The dollar is ultimately just another money supported only by faith that others will willingly accept it in the future in return for the same sort of valuable things it
bought in the past.In other words, if the institutions of the U.S. government fail to validate that faith, the dollar, too, merits being abandoned. Reckless U.S. fiscal policy is undermining the dollar's position even as the currency's role as a global money is expanding, he notes. Steil imagines the ultimate solution is to privatize a global currency through a gold-based international monetary system.

A new gold-based international monetary system surely sounds far-fetched, he concludes. But so, in 1900 did a monetary system without gold. Modern technology makes a revival of gold money, through private gold banks, possible even without government support.

WND previously reported Steve Previs, a vice president at Jeffries International Ltd., in London, told CNBC Nov. 27, 2006, the amero is the proposed new currency for the North American Community which is being developed right now between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.A video clip of the CNBC interview with Jeffries is now available for viewing at YouTube.com. WND also has reported a continued slide in the value of the dollar on world currency markets could set up conditions in which the adoption of the amero as a North American currency gains momentum. The amero was first proposed as a North American unitary currency by Canadian economist Herbert G. Grubel of the Fraser Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia. In a publication entitled The Case for the Amero, Grubel argued that a North American monetary union would eliminate the costs of currency trading and risk, furthering the development of a North American common market along the model of the European Common Market. Robert Pastor, director of the Center for North American Studies at American University, supported Grubel's arguments for the amero. In his 2001 book entitled Toward a North American Community, Pastor supported Grubel's suggestion that the creation of the amero would be accompanied by the creation of a Central Bank of North America, similar to the European Central Bank. Grubel's argument on the amero has also been published as a book in Spanish, entitled El Amero: Una Moneda Comun para Améica del Norte, published by CIDAC (Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo), the Center for Research for Development in Mexico.