EU-IMF AGREE 20 BILLION LOAN

Netanyahu pledges to pursue peace with Palestinians By Jeffrey Heller – Wed Mar 25, 5:51 pm ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday his government would negotiate peace with the Palestinians, but made no mention of their U.S.-backed quest for statehood.In a speech a day after enlisting the center-left Labor Party into a broad-based administration that could help him avoid friction with Washington over peacemaking, Netanyahu focused on his plans to shore up the Palestinian economy.If we have a strong Palestinian economy, that's a strong foundation for peace, Netanyahu said in a speech to a business forum, pledging to remove some bureaucratic handicaps stunting growth.He told legislators from his right-wing Likud party, in separate remarks, that he planned to present his new government for parliamentary approval next week, a Netanyahu spokeswoman said.The vote, she said, would likely be held on Monday or Tuesday. Under a mandate from Israel's president, Netanyahu has until April 3 to form a government.On Wednesday evening Likud signed a coalition deal with the small, religious Jewish Home party, bringing the size of Netanyahu's coalition up to 69 out of the 120 members of parliament.That margin could decline, however, if any of 13 center-left Labor party lawmakers who opposed the partnership with Likud withhold their support of the government. The partnership was signed on Tuesday.There appeared to be little chance the ruling centrist Kadima party would agree at the last minute to join up. Kadima won 28 seats to Likud's 27 in the February 10 election that resulted in a strong rightist bloc in parliament.The Palestinian Authority and the United States have long urged Israel to ease restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli military maintains a network of checkpoints.

I think that the Palestinians should understand that they have in our government a partner for peace, for security and for rapid economic development of the Palestinian economy,he said.This means that I will negotiate with the Palestinian Authority for peace, Netanyahu added, describing an economic track as a complement to political talks in an apparent bid to ease any international concerns he might not seek a peace deal.Asked about Netanyahu's comments, Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the incoming Israeli government must be committed in an explicit manner, without ambiguity, to the two-state solution.

TWO-STATE SOLUTION

Netanyahu has shied away from declaring support for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, alongside Israel, an objective U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed on Tuesday at a news conference in Washington.

But under the coalition deal with Labor, led by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Likud agreed to respect all of Israel's international agreements -- a formula that includes accords envisaging Palestinian statehood.Indirect acceptance of that goal and formation of a broad government that includes Labor, the moving force behind interim peace deals with the Palestinians in the 1990s, might keep Netanyahu off a possible collision course with Obama.Netanyahu is widely expected to finalize his government in the next few days and ask parliament to ratify it next week.On Monday, Netanyahu sealed an agreement with the Orthodox Jewish Shas party, a perennial member of coalitions of right and left down the years. He had already signed up the Yisrael Beitenu party led by ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman. But while enlisting those partners, Netanyahu made clear he preferred a broad-based coalition. A sharp turn to the right within Israel's government could raise international concern already heightened by Netanyahu's promise to appoint Lieberman as foreign minister.

Israel's New Government Won't Make Obama's Middle East Task Easier
By TONY KARON Tony Karon – Wed Mar 25, 7:20 pm ET

Unsustainable.That was President Barack Obama's blunt assessment on Tuesday night of the current state of affairs between Israel and the Palestinians. Acknowledging the obstacles in his path given the political changes on both sides, the President pledged to follow a philosophy of persistence in pursuit of a two-state solution, citing Northern Ireland's once unthinkable rapprochement as his inspiration. It may, however, take more than persistent cajoling to bridge a gulf that is widening rather than narrowing.Israel's leaders on Tuesday night concluded a political deal that will put the hawkish Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in power, with the centrist Labor Party of Ehud Barak and the far-right Yisrael Beitenu Party of Avigdor Lieberman as his main partners. Barak narrowly won his party's endorsement to join a government whose leader is not committed to a two-state solution, and whose Foreign Minister–designate, Lieberman, expresses harshly anti-Arab views. The Labor leader insisted that the presence of his party would put a brake on the more belligerent instincts of some of the government's coalition partners. But even if that proves to be true, there is still a recipe for paralysis on the question of peace with the Palestinians. Barak may be able to talk Netanyahu out of certain actions in respect to expanding the settlements that are most likely to antagonize Washington, but Netanyahu is unlikely to be persuaded to move in any meaningful way to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank. So, Netanyahu's comment that a unity government will bring stability to Israel may mean that it will simply stabilize the deadlock. (See pictures of Israel's Gaza offensive.)

While anxious observers in Washington and elsewhere have decried Netanyahu's victory as a setback for the prospect of a two-state solution, it's worth remembering that progress on that front had been scant even under the outgoing centrist Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, who is now the leader of the Kadima opposition. And the Bush Administration, rather than press for the implementation of a peace deal, had confined itself to staging talks between Olmert's government and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in search of what was termed a shelf agreement - a detailed draft of a two-state peace plan that could serve as a kind of eyes-on-the-prize political horizon to be implemented at a more favorable moment. But even that proved elusive, as Olmert's government, certainly more centrist than the incoming one, could not agree with the moderate Abbas leadership on where to draw the borders between Israel and a Palestinian state, the fate of Jerusalem and that of Palestinian refugees, and other key questions. It's not only on the Israeli side that positions have hardened since then. Abbas' popularity has declined steadily to the point where few believe he could win a Palestinian election that must be held sometime within next year. Abbas is involved in talks to create a unity government with Hamas, which remains the ruling party in his legislature (it is unable to meet because of the number of lawmakers in Israeli detention). Abbas' influence is declining even within his own Fatah movement, many of whose members believe he achieved nothing for the Palestinians in his decade of patient negotiations under Washington's tutelage. His aides say he won't negotiate with Netanyahu unless the Likud leader embraces a two-state solution.

While Netanyahu will put on his friendliest face for Washington's benefit - I will negotiate with the PA for peace, he told an Israeli business conference on Wednesday -his idea of peace has largely focused on building up the Palestinian economy and institutions of self-government in the various enclaves of the West Bank that are controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu has stressed his belief that Israel's security needs are incompatible with sovereign independence for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. And he has made clear that he will not deal with a government that includes Hamas, and expects Washington to do the same. Indeed, his goal remains toppling the Hamas government in Gaza. But Abbas is seeking a unity agreement with that same group, which is likely to eclipse the Palestinian President at the polls the next time Palestinians are allowed to vote - that is, if Abbas remains Fatah's candidate. He could even lose a primary challenge to a more Hamas-friendly leader like the imprisoned Marwan Barghouti. Prospects for advancing by consensus to a two-state solution on the basis of the current political alignments are hard to see. Indeed, Netanyahu, in dealing with Washington, will emphasize reversing Iran's nuclear development, rather than making peace with the Palestinians, as his top concern. And in that position he has the unanimous backing of most of Israel's political spectrum.The problem is that the Palestinians are likely to make sure they're higher on Israel's - and Washington's - agenda. As things stand, there is no cease-fire agreement in Gaza, where Palestinians are chafing under an ongoing economic siege that prevents reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have failed to agree on a prisoner exchange to secure the release of captured Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit. There are growing signs that the population of the Fatah-controlled West Bank may be beginning to stir in renewed rebellion against Israel's security wall, checkpoints and expanding settlements. And Israel's moves to consolidate its grip on East Jerusalem, its planned settlement activity in the West Bank and this week's unrest in the Israeli-Arab town of Umm al-Fahm all suggest the region remains a tinder box. By this summer, the challenge facing Washington may be less about a long-term peace than on putting out the fires of an immediate upsurge in violence on any or all of those fronts. The status quo is, indeed, unsustainable, but you wouldn't want to bet against it getting worse.

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.

Ice-jammed floodwaters, blizzard swamp N. Dakota
by Lee Morris Lee Morris – MAR 25,09

FARGO, North Dakota9 (AFP) – A heavy blizzard dumped wet snow on volunteers as they rushed to build dikes against rising flood waters in North Dakota, as officials used explosives to try break up ice jams on swelling rivers.President Barack Obama issued a federal disaster declaration for 34 counties and two Indian reservations as the entire state remained under a major flood warning.The storm's blustering winds knocked out power to towns across the largely rural prairie state and made many roads impassable as it dumped snow and freezing rain, officials said.Several bridges and roads were already closed due to flooding as an unusually heavy snowpack began to melt on top of saturated land that has not yet fully thawed.The state has turned into a fishing pond and can't absorb any more snow or rain, said Patrick Slattery of the National Weather Service.More snow was forecast to fall on the Red River valley in the coming days and rain could worsen flood conditions by the weekend, the weather service predicted.Low-lying homes across the state were evacuated as rivers and creeks spilled over their banks, although damage was largely restricted to water in basements. No injuries were reported in a situation report issued at 7:30 pm (0130 GMT Thursday).About 20 people from homes south of Fargo were evacuated with airboats that sluiced through ice-covered floodwaters after sandbag dikes began to leak.

Frankly I do expect more (evacuations) over the next 24 hours, said Dave Rogness, the Cass County emergency manager.A farmer stranded on his tractor and several families whose rural homes were surrounded by floodwaters were also rescued across the state. Officials also evacuated 146 inmates from a jail in the state capital of Bismark, where the Missouri river was rising quickly as a result of a massive ice jam that stretched all the way to the border with South Dakota.The governor called in military specialists to try break up the ice jam with explosives after fragments of ice as big as four feet (1.2 meters) thick and other debris got stuck on a sandbar.Blackhawk helicopters were to be used to dump sand and salt down river of the ice jam to help get the water flowing again and reduce flood pressure on the city. Officials warned they may not know if the operation was successful until Thursday.Heavy snowfall prompted thousands of volunteers in Fargo to reinforce temporary dikes and levees after the projected crest of the mighty Red River was raised to a record 41 feet (12.5meters) by Saturday.It kind of scares you a little bit when they do that, Stephen Garrity said of the rising projections as he scrambled to add sandbags to dikes around his home.The river, which is normally only about 98 feet (30 meters) wide, was rising about an inch (2.5 centimeters) an hour, yawning to swallow trees along its banks -- it appeared to be some 2,952 feet (900 meters) wide.

A sandbag dike stretched for miles along the edge of the floodwaters.

Snowplows cleared streets for trucks delivering sandbags to neighborhoods along the river, where volunteers from as far away as Iowa and Montana mingled with high school and college students whose classes were cancelled.Hundreds of volunteers passed along sandbag after sandbag, some standing on pieces of wood to protect against the deep mud under the trampled snow. All the national media stories are,Oh, they need help. So here we are, said Rick Spohnholtz of Newark, Illinois, who arrived with his 13-year-old son Ricky on Wednesday morning.

EUS BROWN CALLS FOR GLOBAL RULE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyTRCZABaDI

Two-Faced Geithner Assures CFR Puppet Masters He’s Open To Global Currency
Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Thursday, March 26, 2009

In a near complete reversal of his comments on Tuesday, when he told a Congressional hearing that there were no plans to move towards a global currency to supplant the dollar, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sought to please the elitist CFR by assuring them that he was open to the notion of a new global currency system.

Geithner’s two-faced reversal is another shining example of how much contempt Obama administration front men have for the American people - assuring them one day that the dollar will remain while the next pandering to their globalist puppet masters the CFR as the move towards a global monetary union accelerates.As we reported yesterday, Obama, Geithner and Bernanke on Tuesday publicly defended the dollar and denounced proposals by China and Russia to supplant the greenback with a new global currency, and yet the very policies of the Obama administration, the Treasury and the Federal Reserve are creating the perfect storm for the dollar’s death and its replacement with a new international reserve currency.Would you categorically renounce the United States moving away from the dollar and going to a global currency as suggested by China? a lawmaker asked Treasury Secretary Geithner on Tuesday.Geithner immediately responded, I would.However, just a day later, Geithner told the CFR in a speech that he was open to the Chinese proposal to replace the dollar with a new international reserve system.In response, The dollar fell 1.3 per cent against the euro as headlines saying Geithner open to SDR currency flashed across traders’ screens, reports the Financial Times.

I haven’t read the governor’s proposal. He’s a very thoughtful, very careful distinguished central banker. I generally find him sensible on every issue, said Geithner, before adding, We’re actually quite open to that suggestion – you should see it as rather evolutionary rather building on the current architecture rather than moving us to global monetary union.However, any move away from the dollar and towards an international reserve system, including the use of special drawing rights – a synthetic multinational currency maintained by the IMF, cannot be defined as anything other than a move towards a global monetary union.The continued use of the dollar as a reserve currency, he added, depends..on how effective we are in the United States…at getting our fiscal system back to the point where people judge it as sustainable over time.By that standard then, the dollar is a dead duck.The moderator of the CFR forum later gave Geithner a chance to reverse his comments, nervously sensing that he’d let the cat out of the bag.Geithner’s comments to the CFR are noteworthy because the CFR itself has constantly lobbied for the end of the dollar and its replacement with a new global currency as part of a wider agenda to establish global governance.

In May 2007, Benn Steil, the director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations wrote an article for the CFR’s influential Foreign Affairs magazine entitled The End of National Currency, in which he wrote that, the world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.Steil wrote that countries should abandon monetary nationalism and produce a new multinational currency over a comparably large and economically diversified area.In the article, he argues that unneeded currencies should first be replaced by the dollar or the euro, but that even these currencies were just a temporary solution for an ultimate goal of a world monetary union. World Net Daily featured Steil’s comments in a piece entitled Goodbye U.S. dollar, hello global currency.Paul Volcker, former Fed Chairman, has also called for a world monetary union, famously stating, A global economy requires a global currency.

Volcker’s replacement Alan Greenspan has also badmouthed the dollar’s position as the world reserve currency, arguing that it should be replaced by the euro and also encouraging Arab countries to abandon their dollar pegs, which would be disastrous for the greenback.Groups like the Single Global Currency Union have also received support from NGO’s and other influential policymakers in the pursuit of creating a global currency as part of a wider agenda to implement global governance.In addition, White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee refused to rule out the introduction of a global currency in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer earlier this week.Treasury Secretary Geithner has played a leading role in the wholesale looting of the greenback, announcing this week that the printing presses will be cranked to the tune of at least another $1 trillion to buy more toxic assets from the sagging balance sheets of failing institutions - again, all at the expense of the taxpayer who will pay for it with rampant tax hikes and runaway inflation on fuel and food later down the road.Geithner’s double-dealings are nothing less than traitorous. While publicly downplaying the demise of the dollar and the birth of a global currency, his every action is greasing the skids for that very scenario to unfold. In the meantime, he’s careful to assure the anti-American fifth column Council on Foreign Relations, who have vehemently lobbied for a global currency, that the agenda for a world monetary union, a key cog in the pursuit of world government, is right on track.

EU presidency: US stimulus is the road to hell By AOIFE WHITE, AP Business Writer – Wed Mar 25, 3:38 pm ET

BRUSSELS – The head of the European Union slammed President Barack Obama's plan to spend nearly $2 trillion to push the U.S. economy out of recession as the road to hell that EU governments must avoid.The blunt comments by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to the European Parliament on Wednesday highlighted simmering European differences with Washington ahead of a key summit next week on fixing the world economy.It was the strongest pushback yet from a European leader as the 27-nation bloc bristles from U.S. criticism that it is not spending enough to stimulate demand.

Shocked by the outburst, other European politicians went into damage control mode, with some reproaching the Czech leader for his language and others reaffirming their good diplomatic ties with the United States. The leaders of EU's major nations — France, Britain and Germany, among others — largely ignored Topolanek and his remarks.

Obama pays his first official visit to Europe next week, aiming to thrash out reforms to the global financial system with the Group of 20 nations and call on NATO allies to commit more troops to the U.S. war in Afghanistan.Europeans leaders hope the new U.S. administration will agree with them on tightening oversight over the global financial system — which they see as crucial to fixing the global economy.Instead, the United States is focusing its efforts on economic stimulus and plans to spend heavily to try and lift itself out of recession with a $787 billion plan of tax rebates, health and welfare benefits, as well as extra energy and infrastructure spending.To encourage banks to lend again, the U.S. government will also pump $1 trillion into the financial system by buying up treasury bonds and mortgage securities in an effort to clear some of the toxic assets — devalued and untradeable assets — from banks' balance sheets.Obama insisted Tuesday that his massive budget proposal will put the ailing U.S. economy back on its feet. This budget is inseparable from this recovery, he said, because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity.

But Topolanek took aim at Washington's deficit spending.

All of these steps, these combinations and permanency is the road to hell, Topolanek said. We need to read the history books and the lessons of history and the biggest success of the (EU) is the refusal to go this way.Americans will need liquidity to finance all their measures and they will balance this with the sale of their bonds but this will undermine the liquidity of the global financial market, Topolanek said.

Topolanek spoke the day after he was ousted by his own parliament. The Czech Republic currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency but its leadership is in question, with Topolanek hanging on to a caretaker government at home after losing a no confidence Tuesday.In Washington, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said he did not expect the Czech poltical turmoil to affect Obama's upcoming trip to Prague because the president was traveling to attend an EU event.Analyst Nicolas Veron, a research fellow at the Bruegel think tank, said Topolanek's view is not widely shared by EU leaders.I don't think the damage can be as large as the very strong wording of this would lead one to think, he said. Many people have doubts about the U.S. plan but what he said is much stronger.Veron said European leaders worry that the U.S. plan may not work or could cost taxpayers heavily — but he did not doubt the U.S.fiscal robustness or that it still had extra room to maneuver to stoke economic growth.Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist group in the European parliament, immediately chided Topolanek, saying his comments were not the level on which the EU ought to be operating with the United States.You have not understood what the task of the EU presidency is, he told the Czech premier. EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also said it was not helpful ... to try to suggest that Americans and Europeans are coming with very different approaches to the crisis.On the contrary, what we are seeing is increased convergence, he told the parliament. But Europe's resistance to the U.S. call for new stimulus measures is starting to weaken despite Germany's fierce opposition to any new spending program this year.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday he is prepared to support the economy with a new spending package. EU officials say they can't rule anything out — even an EU-wide stimulus that could help nations like Ireland and Spain, which can't afford any extra stimulus. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also supported U.S. calls to ramp up fiscal stimulus — government spending and tax cuts — although the Bank of England has warned that Britain's swelling public deficit may make it unable to afford new spending. Associated Press writers Raf Casert in Strasbourg, France, Jane Wardell in London and Desmond Butler in Washington contributed to this report.

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU MAR 26,2009

09:30 AM +5.02
10:00 AM +41.92
10:30 AM +10.52
11:00 AM +47.15
11:30 AM +41.58
12:00 PM +68.40
12:30 PM +103.39
01:00 PM +102.35
01:30 PM +152.77
02:00 PM +142.89
02:30 PM +108.88
03:00 PM +72.16
03:30 PM +132.14
04:00 PM +174.75 7924.56

S&P 500 832.86 +18.98

NASDAQ 1587.00 +58.05

GOLD 934.30 -1.50

OIL 54.00 +1.23

TSE 300 8995.50 +198.06

CDNX 974.02 +24.98

S&P/TSX/60 546.60 +13.12

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -11.70%
S&P -9.89%
Nasdaq -3.05%
TSX Advances 819,declines 721,unchanged 284,Volume 2,950,808,710.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 428,Declines 327,Unchanged 324,Volume 253,747,460.

Dow +75 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +0.04 points at low today.
Dow +109 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $941.00.OIL opens at $54.24 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +0.04 points at low today so far.
Dow +109 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 2,611,declines 944,unchanged 96,New Highs 12,New Lows 83.
Volume 3,273,118,315.
NASDAQ Advances 1,875,declines 688,unchanged 136,New highs 14,New Lows 16.
Volume 952,819,276.
TSX Advances 831,declines 480,unchanged 261,Volume 1,320,456,689.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 313,Declines 223,Unchanged 266,Volume 129,129,262.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +0.04 points at low today.
Dow +179 points at high today.
Dow +2.25% today Volume 397,262,102.
Nasdaq +3.80% today Volume 2,147,483,648.
S&P 500 +2.23% today Volume N/A

Stocks funds JAN 09 3.4T,DEC 08 3.7T,DEC 07 6.5T.
Money Markets (taxable)funds JAN 09 3.4T,DEC 08 3.3T,DEC 07 2.6T.
Money markets (tax-free)Funds JAN 09 486B,DEC 08 491B,DEC 07 465B.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq on pace for 3rd consecutive weekly gain.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq touch fresgh 6 week highs.
Stocks extend gains after successful 7-yr note auction.
Major Indexes rise for 9th time in 13 sessions.
Nasdaq erases all losses for 2009.
Stocks rally into close.

RECORD LOWS DOW
-Sept 30,1996 5,882.17
-Oct 30,1996 5,993.23
-Nov 6,1996 6,177.71
-Dec 16,1996 6,268.35
-Apr 15,1997 6,587.16
-Apr 21,1997 6,660.21
-Apr 28,1997 6,783.02
-May 1,1997 6,976.48
-May 7,1997 7,085.65

RECORD LOWS S&P 500
-Sept 5,1996 649.44
-Sept 6,1996 655.68
-Sept 11,1996 667.28
-Sept 12,1996 671.13
-Oct 1,1996 689.08
-Oct 28,1996 697.26
-Nov 4,1996 706.73
-Nov 5,1996 714.14
-Dec 17,1996 726.04

EUS GORDON BROWN CALLS FOR GLOBAL RULE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyTRCZABaDI

EU rejects proposal for new reserve currency
ANDREW WILLIS 25.03.2009 @ 09:20 CET

The EU's economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia rejected a Chinese proposal for a new reserve currency on Tuesday (24 March), saying he felt the dollar would remain the world's reserve currency for the foreseeable future. Mr Almunia said he didn't envisage: major structural changes in the role the dollar plays today as a major reserve currency,following Monday's call by China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, to create a new reserve currency that is disconnected from individual currencies.Everybody agrees also that the [main] present world reserve currency, the dollar, is there and will continue to be there for a long period of time,said Mr Almunia after a meeting of commissioners in Strasbourg reports the Associated Press.

China's call for a new reserve currency reflects fears that its huge stockpile of dollar denominated US treasury notes, amounting to roughly half of its $2 trillion (€1.49trn) in foreign reserves, is in danger of being devalued. Last week the US Federal Reserve announced the surprise decision to expand its balance sheet and buy up to $300 billion (€223bn) worth of longer-term US treasury securities. Mr Zhou made the appeal for a reserve currency that is able to remain stable in the long run in an essay published on the People's Bank of China's website and included an English translation to ensure an international readership. In the essay, Mr Zhou proposes that an accounting unit used by the International Monetary Fund known as special drawing rights (SDRs) and which is currently based on a basket of four currencies - the US dollar, the yen, sterling and the euro - should become the new reserve currency.The proposal suggests expanding this basket of currencies to include all those from the world's major economies and a system whereby governments could store their reserve SDRs with the IMF. In time SDRs would replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency says Mr Zhou. The British economist John Maynard Keynes, whose theory of counter cyclical spending to lift economies out of recession is currently in vogue, proposed a similar scheme in the 1940s.The move highlights China's increased willingness to voice its economic opinions on the world stage and comes just ahead of a G20 meeting of the leaders of industrialised and developing nations on 2 April in London where reforming the IMF is firmly on the agenda. Russia has also mooted the idea of a new reserve currency based on SDRs and has suggested the upcoming G20 meeting is the place to get the ball rolling. On Tuesday Mr Almunia said that everybody agrees over the need to reform the IMF and give developing nations such as China a greater say in how it is run.

EU, IMF agree €20bn rescue loan for Romania
ANDREW WILLIS 25.03.2009 @ 17:45 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed the basis for a €20 billion rescue loan for Romania on Wednesday (25 March) as the government struggles with falling tax receipts and rising unemployment payments. The move brings to three the number of EU countries that have turned to IMF and EU aid as a result of the economic crisis, with Latvia and Hungary already securing financial support. Under this latest deal, the IMF will contribute €13 billion to the loan while the EU will contribute €5 billion. A further €1 billion will come from the World Bank, with the remaining €1 billion coming from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other multilateral lenders. The EU contribution will come from its balance of payments facility that EU leaders agreed to double last Friday from €25 to €50 billion. However the commission needs to prepare the necessary paperwork before it can raise the extra €25 billion by issuing bonds to investors, leaving the fund with €10 billion for the moment once Romania's loan, alongside those of Latvia and Hungary, are subtracted. I am pleased that it was possible to come to an agreement rapidly on a significant financial assistance package, said economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia on the Romanian deal, indicating that the loan was conditional on the government implementing a major programme of economic adjustment.

Mr Almunia was referring to an economy policy programme that the Romanian authorities must implement in order to receive the financial support necessary to recapitalise banks and withstand short-term liquidity pressures. A major component of the plan will see the Romanian government limit its budget deficit in 2009 to 5.1 per cent of GDP, eventually bring it below three per cent by 2011. The exact details of the loan conditionality will be spelt out in a memorandum of understanding that is still in negotiation between the lenders and the Romanian authorities.

Cut in public sector spending

Cuts in public sector spending appear inevitable however if the Romanian government is to meet the agreed targets, raising the spectre of social unrest. One of the conditions is likely to be the signing of an integrated salary law, Sorin Ionita of the Romanian Academic Society think-tank told EUobserver. Mr Ionita says the government is likely to target public sector bonuses rather than forced layoffs in big state enterprises, many of which have already been privatised in recent years.

However, last week, the Romanian transport ministry announced its intention to lay off 12,000 of the railway's 76,000 staff. The need for unpopular austerity measures is likely to further weaken the current centre-left coalition, which was elected last November and which has already suffered a string of setbacks, with two interior ministers resigning this year. People are slightly less hysterical towards the IMF [than in South America], but it is still not popular, said Mr Ionita, adding that the government would likely draw public attention to the EU side of the loan. Two EU governments have already fallen as a result of the financial crisis and economic downturn.The Belgium government was the first to go last December after former Prime Minister Yves Leterme offered his resignation over allegations his officials tried to stop judges blocking the proposed sale of Belgian assets in the multinational bank Fortis.In February of this year the Latvian government followed suit and on Monday the Hungarian prime minister offered to stand down if a replacement can be found, a move that would bring the total to three.

Geithner Remarks on IMF Roil Foreign-Exchange Market (Update2)
By Rebecca Christie

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sent the dollar tumbling with comments about China’s ideas for overhauling the global monetary system, only to drive it back up by affirming that it should remain the world’s reserve currency.

Geithner was asked at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York about People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan’s call for a new international reserve currency. He said while he had not read Zhou’s proposal, he understood it as a plan designed to increase the use of the IMF’s special drawing rights. And we’re actually quite open to that.The dollar slid as much as 1.3 percent against the euro within 10 minutes of news accounts of Geithner’s remarks. It recouped much of the loss about 15 minutes later, when Geithner then predicted no change in the U.S. currency’s role. The dollar was down 0.9 percent at $1.3591 per euro as of 3:39 p.m. in New York.

Today’s episode highlights investors’ sensitivity to any weakening role for the dollar as power shifts toward a wider group of developed and emerging nations, said James McCormick, Citigroup Inc.’s global head of foreign-exchange and local- markets strategy. It was important that China’s proposal came in the run-up to a Group of 20 summit next week, he added.

Share of Reserves

The G-20 is gaining relative power versus the G-7 and we will feel that and see that for some time to come, London- based McCormick said. One key focus for markets will be any change in sentiment toward the dollar, which makes up about two- thirds of world central banks’ foreign-exchange reserves, he said. Geithner will attend the summit of the G-20, which groups the largest developing and emerging countries, April 2 in London along with President Barack Obama. The smaller Group of Seven had since the 1970s been the main forum for leaders of nations with the biggest economies.

After the dollar slumped in the aftermath of Geithner’s first remarks, Roger Altman, who worked with Geithner as deputy Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, asked him whether he wanted to clarify his comments. I’d like to ask one final question, in effect on behalf of the market, said Altman, founder of Evercore Partners Inc. Let me ask the question this way. Do you see any change over the foreseeable future in the basic role of the dollar as the world’s key reserve currency?

Strong Dollar

Geithner responded: I think the dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve currency. In an interview with CNBC broadcast after the event, the Treasury chief said that a strong dollar is in America’s interest.In his earlier answer, Geithner said increased use of SDRs should be rather evolutionary, building on the current architecture, rather than moving us to global monetary union. SDRs are a unit of account at the IMF used for member countries’ reserves with the fund. Geithner’s remarks don’t indicate Geithner favors moving to a system with the SDR as a reserve currency, strategist Lee Hardman at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. wrote in a note. That was the big concern amongst the confusion, London- based Hardman said. A move to an SDR-linked system away from the dollar would naturally lead to a reduction in the dollar’s share of global reserves.

Confidence in U.S.

Geithner, a former Treasury undersecretary for international affairs and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which carries out U.S. interventions in currency markets, also said that we will do what’s necessary to make sure we’re sustaining confidence in our financial markets.Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke both told lawmakers yesterday that they expected the dollar to remain the most important global currency. Obama said at a news conference late yesterday that the dollar is extraordinarily strong” because investors are confident in the ability of the U.S. to lead a worldwide recovery, and also rejected calls for a new global currency. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, and Premier Wen Jiabao earlier this month expressed concern about the value of its investment. Central bank governor Zhou this week advocated a super-sovereign reserve currency that’s disconnected from any individual nation. Zhou said, in an essay posted on the PBOC’s Web site, that the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights offer light in the tunnel for the reform of the international monetary system. He said the SDR has yet to be put into full play due to limitations on its allocation and the scope of its uses.McCormick at Citigroup said it was a concern that Geithner said he hadn’t read Zhou’s comments.If I’m running the Treasury I would want to have been briefed on that.Geithner has been the only confirmed senior official at the Treasury since he took office in January. The White House yesterday nominated former Clinton official Lael Brainard as Treasury undersecretary for international affairs after at least one other candidate for the job removed herself from contention. To contact the reporter on this story: Rebecca Christie in Washington at Rchristie4@bloomberg.net

Sources: Extensive regulatory overhaul planned By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer – MAR 26,09

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is proposing an extensive overhaul of financial regulations to increase oversight of such exotic instruments as credit default swaps that have been blamed for contributing to the worst financial crisis to hit the country in seven decades.Officials said Wednesday that the administration will seek to regulate the market for credit default swaps and other types of derivatives and require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was scheduled to outline the administration's proposals in testimony Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee. Administration officials provided details of the plan ahead of the testimony only on condition of anonymity.The program the administration was presenting to Congress will also include a recommendation for creation of a systemic risk regulator, possibly at the Federal Reserve, to monitor risks to the entire system.The plan also includes a measure that Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed before the committee on Tuesday to give the administration expanded powers to take over major nonbank financial institutions such as insurance companies and hedge funds that were teetering on the brink of collapse.The administration, pushing Congress to act quickly on its reform agenda, sent Congress a 61-page bill dealing with the expanded powers to seize control of nonbank institutions late Wednesday and the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, has indicated it could move on the measure as early as next week.However, it was unclear how fast the rest of the financial reform agenda might move through Congress. Geithner was providing only a broad outline of the other proposals, with many thorny details remaining to be worked out.

Administration officials promised that the remaining issues would be hammered out in consultation with Congress with the goal of getting legislation approved as quickly as possible.The administration is proposing that hedge funds and other private pools of capital, including private equity funds and venture capital funds, be required to register with the SEC if their assets exceeded a certain size. The threshold amount has yet to be determined, officials said.The proposal on credit default swaps and other derivatives would require the markets on which they are traded to be regulated for the first time and for the buying and selling of these instruments to be conducted in a way that will foster greater oversight.Credit default swaps, which trade in a $60 trillion global market without government oversight, are contracts to insure against the default of financial instruments like bonds and corporate debt. They played a prominent role in the credit crisis that brought the downfall of investment banking giant Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. last fall and pushed insurance giant American International Group Inc. to the brink of collapse, forcing the government to provide more than $180 billion in support.Hedge funds, vast pools of capital holding an estimated $1.5 trillion in assets, operate mostly outside of government supervision. As the market crisis deepened last fall, hedge fund selling was widely cited as one of the reasons for increased volatility that pounded stocks and bonds. Hedge funds also suffered huge losses last year, notably from investments in securities tied to subprime mortgages.The outline of the regulatory reform was being unveiled a week before President Barack Obama was scheduled to meet for discussions among the Group of 20 major industrialized and developing countries in London to assess what needs to be done to deal with the global financial crisis.

The administration is pushing other nations to follow the U.S. lead in putting together sizable economic stimulus programs to jump-start global growth. However, many in Europe are resisting those calls and arguing that the United States needs to do more to toughen financial regulations because they believe the current troubles can be traced to lax regulation in the United States in such key areas as hedge funds and credit default swaps.The Bush administration resisted calls for tighter regulations in these areas but the Obama administration has signaled its willingness to do more and is hoping that the flaws in current regulations that were exposed by the financial crisis will spur Congress to act.AP Business Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Czech government defeat raises major Lisbon concerns
ELITSA VUCHEVA 25.03.2009 @ 17:32 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The presidents of both the European Commission and the European Parliament on Wednesday (25 March) urged the Czech Republic to proceed with the ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty despite the fall of the Czech government the day before, while Czech deputy premier Alexandr Vondra admitted the ratification would now become more difficult.I would like to urge all political leaders not to use this political crisis in a way to make the Lisbon Treaty hostage to domestic problems. That would not be fair to the other countries of Europe, Mr Barroso said at a press conference in Strasbourg.His comments came just a few hours after the centre-right Czech government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek lost a no-confidence motion by a single vote on Wednesday night.The most likely scenario however is that the current government will remain in place until the end of the Czech EU presidency in June.I really hope these political domestic developments are not used as a way to put into question the treaty, which was negotiated and signed by this enlarged Europe, by all the 27 member states,Mr Barroso stressed.Governments change, that is normal in democracy. Sometimes it happens that one government signs a treaty and another one ratifies [it] ... But it is important to say that there is a responsibility of the state as such, he added.The Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany and Poland comprise the four countries that have yet to complete the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. In February, the lower house of the Czech parliament gave the green light to the document, but it must still pass the Senate and has then to be signed by the country's eurosceptic president, Vaclav Klaus, for ratification to be completed.

A lot more difficult

The defeat of the centre-right Civic Democrats (ODS) of Mr Topolanek, the majority party in the Czech Senate, has raised fears that the upper house might reject the Lisbon Treaty.The February vote in the lower house passed precisely thanks to the votes of a minority of ODS deputies.Of course the current developments do complicate the situation ... It is not going to be easy, Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra (ODS) said at the joint press conference with Mr Barroso and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering.Obviously, it will be a lot more difficult now to convince people to vote in favour, he added.For his part, Mr Poettering highlighted what he saw as Prague's special responsibility in the ratification process.From the European Parliament's perspective, it would be a tragedy for Europe if the Lisbon Treaty were to fall in one country, in a country that belonged previously to the Warsaw Pact, he said, referring to the organisation of Communist states in central and eastern Europe that existed from 1955 to 1991.I cannot imagine that the Czech people, these 10 million people ... are going at the end of the day to stand against the 490 other million citizens of the European Union ... We have a historic responsibility to see this through, he added.

No lame-duck EU presidency

Speaking in the parliament's plenary earlier this morning, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said that the fall of his government should not be considered a reflection on Prague's performance at the EU helm. Don't be concerned: The situation will have no impact on the [Czech EU] presidency,he told MEPs.Mr Vondra subsequently echoed this statement.Let's not call this a lame-duck presidency. We are now in day one of a new situation, and we hope that in the second half [of our presidency] our balance will be as successful as today, he said, stressing that his country would remain EU president until July, regardless of the political crisis at home.The European commission president also backed the Czech stewards of the union.A political crisis is normal for democracy,Mr Barroso said, insisting he had full confidence that the Czech presidency will be a successful one.

Road to Hell or road to somewhere else?

On Wednesday, Mr Topolanek also re-iterated criticism he had made earlier regarding the US economic recovery plans, saying that pumping ever-larger sums into the economy was the wrong approach and that US President Barack Obama's massive stimulus package and banking bail-out would eventually undermine the liquidity of the global financial market.All of these steps, these combinations and [their] permanency is the road to hell, he told MEPs.Later on, Mr Vondra insisted that the prime minister's comments – made just a week ahead of a G20 summit in London – had not been translated correctly from the Czech.I was there and listened to the speech in Czech and he never mentioned the word hell,Mr Vondra said.

Czech government falls, putting EU presidency at risk
VALENTINA POP 24.03.2009 @ 20:13 CET

EUOBSERVER/BRUSSELS – The Czech parliament on Tuesday (24 March) by a razor-thin majority voted down the government led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who currently holds the EU presidency.The vote of non-confidence gathered the necessary 101 votes out of 200 to topple the administration, with four votes from the governing party going with the opposition.The government will have to resign, but the constitution does not provide a deadline by which new elections need to take place, with EU officials expecting some sort of deal with the opposition so that the current cabinet can stay on until the end of the Czech EU presidency, on 30 June.The centre-right ODS party led by Mr Topolanek along with the opposition Social Democrats are expected to meet President Vaclav Klaus in the coming days to negotiate a solution.

According to the Czech constitution, the president is obliged to accept the resignation of the government and consider two possible solutions: early elections or a new government under political consensus of the parliamentary majority.The current government, formed by the ODS, the Christian-Democrats and the Greens only retained 96 of the 200 deputies in the lower chamber, depending on the good will of independent MPs. Two former ODS members, Vlastimil Tlusty and Jan Schwippel, as well as two other MPs recently expelled from the Green party, Vera Jakubkova and Olga Zubova, voted with the opposition, AFP reports.In its motivation for the non-confidence vote, Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek said the Czech government was a disgrace for the EU because it has no clear position on the union and is unable to ratify the Lisbon treaty in the Czech Republic.Mr Paroubek said the Topolanek government is sticking to its EU presidency as the only possibility to justify its existence and is closing its eyes to the impact of the global economic crisis. Commenting on the vote, Mr Topolanek admitted the collapse of his government could undermine the EU presidency.

I believe it can complicate our negotiating power ...partners in Europe have grown used to us negotiating hard. In this sense it can happen that our position will be weakened,he told reporters after the vote.He re-iterated that he would be in favour of early elections this summer if no new government is formed.The EU commission on Tuesday said it maintained full trust that the Czech law would allow the country to continue conducting its EU presidency as effectively as it has done until now.It is for the Czech Republic's democratic process under the constitution to resolve the domestic political issues. The commission is confident that this is done in a way which ensures the full functioning of the Council presidency,a commission statement reads.This is not the first time that a country in charge of the rotating EU presidency has a change of government during its mandate. In 1996, Italy faced a similar situation when a centre-left coalition headed by Romano Prodi won parliamentary elections, ousting the centre-right government led by Lamerto Dini.In 1993, Denmark also faced a change of government while it was chairing the EU, with the government led by Poul Schluter falling and Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen coming to power.

Clinton: NKorea plan to fire missile provocative By MATTHEW LEE and PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writers MAR 25,09

MEXICO CITY – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday warned North Korea that firing a missile for any purpose would be a provocative act that would have consequences.North Korea is loading a rocket on a launch pad in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite between April 4 and 8, U.S. counterproliferation and intelligence officials said. North Korea announced its intention to launch the satellite in February, but regional powers worry the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska.Clinton told reporters during a visit to Mexico City that the U.S. believes the North Korean plan to fire a missile for any purpose would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution barring the country from ballistic activity. She linked a missile launch to the future of talks between the U.S., North Korea and four other nations aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program.We have made it very clear that the North Koreans pursue this pathway at a cost and with consequences to the six-party talks, which we would like to see revived, Clinton said.We intend to raise this violation of the Security Council resolution, if it goes forward, in the U.N., she said.This provocative action in violation of the U.N. mandate will not go unnoticed and there will be consequences.National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said earlier this month that all indications suggest North Korea will in fact launch a satellite. However, North Korea faked a satellite launch in 1998 to cloak a missile development test.In 2006, North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 that blew up less than a minute into flight.Both the satellite launch rocket and long-range missile use similar technology, and arms control experts fear even a satellite launch would be a test toward eventually launching a long-range missile.

South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have urged North Korea to refrain from launching a satellite or missile, calling it a violation of the Security Council resolution. North Korea insists it has the right to develop its space program and on Tuesday warned the U.S., Japan and its allies not to interfere with the launch.In Seoul, the Defense Ministry and the National Intelligence Service said Thursday that they cannot confirm whether the North has loaded the rocket on the launch pad.South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Wi Sung-lac, said Wednesday after returning from talks with his Beijing counterparts that a launch would trigger a response.If North Korea launches rocket, certain countermeasures are unavoidable, he said. He refused to elaborate, saying the measures, including any sanctions, would be discussed among U.N. Security Council member nations.It probably won't be clear if the latest launch is a satellite or a missile test until footage can be analyzed after the event; the trajectory of a missile is markedly different from that of a satellite.Analysts have been watching for signs of a satellite or missile on the launch pad in Musudan-ni, the northeast coastal launch site. Satellite imagery from March 16 showed progress toward mounting a rocket, with a crane hovering over the launch pad, said Christian LeMiere, an editor at Jane's Intelligence Review in London.LeMiere said that once the rocket is mounted, scientists would need at least a week to fuel and carry out tests before any launch. Images from earlier this month did not indicate the rocket or missile had been mounted, he said.Associated Press writer Pamela Hess reported from Washington. Jean H. Lee in Seoul also contributed to this report.

OBAMA CIVILIAN ARMY NOT VOLUNTEER

GOD WANTS ISRAELIS IN ISRAEL GO OBEY GODS COMMANDMENT ISRAELIS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8XBhXLu-zQ&feature=player_embedded

RABBI ON TEMPLE MOUNT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw91yrKuQec&feature=player_embedded

VIDEOS TO THIS STORY BREZINZSKI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5yVZi66PPo&feature=player_embedded
Samantha Power against ISRAEL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oFkmcZt4OQ&feature=player_embedded

Adar 27, 5769, 3/23/2009 Gog Gathering Steam? by Tamar Yonah

It's not so much a stretch of the imagination anymore to envision living in the time of the great battle of Gog and Magog. The battle of Gog and Magog is talked about in the book of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 and alludes to the nations of the world joining together to come against Jerusalem (Israel). I will admit here and now, that I was of the opinion that George Bush pushing his Road Map, and his desire to divide Jerusalem and Israel, fit the bill of being Gog. I won't venture now to toy with who might fill that role. It can be Russia as many Rabbis say, or can be from Edom/Rome/the West, as others suspect. Time will tell us who Gog is. However, the biblical description of the story of Gog states that he and his troops are lured down through the north of Israel to rampage our towns and take us over, but his plans are foiled and his forces are all killed by fiery hail storms and other supernatural means to show the world who REALLY reigns! In fact, the number of Gog's forces that will be killed, will be so many, that it will take over 7 months for the Jews in Israel to bury all the bodies. Gog too will die in Israel. Fast track to today, where the children of Israel have been brought back to the Land of Israel from the 4 corners of the earth. The stage is set, and the nations of the world converge on Jerusalem. (Ezekiel chapters 38-39).Everyone wants Jerusalem, it is the spiritual capital of the world.The nations of the world all blame Israel for the lack of world peace.They may advance in this coming battle in the guise of 'bringing, - excuse me, forcing their man-made peace on us.

The Bible says that these nations of the world will come against Israel and the Jewish people. But who are the nations of the world? And how many are we talking about? We look to the book of Genesis where this is mentioned, and find out that the nations of the world were made during the building of the Tower of Babel (Genesis, chapter 11).Mankind, EXACTLY like today, wanted to build a tower to reach the heavens, and there, de-throne G-d, and take His place. We, Mankind, wanted to become the Masters of our own destiny! We would make the laws and we would re-define what was moral, what was good and what was bad.The only difference today is, that instead of us building a tower like days of yore, we are instead building a One World Government. A New World Order. And this New Order today tries to de-throne G-d, and re-interpret what is moral. Today, in this new age, sodomy isn't an abomination, it is just an 'alternative life-style'.Today, promiscuity isn't evil, it's just sexual experimentation.Today, a woman dancing naked isn't called a stripper, instead she is called an exotic dancer.Today, tolerating evil and appeasing it, isn't weakness or cruelty, but it is dubbed strength and tolerance. Man has re-named evil and garbed it in cosmetic terms to make them acceptable, even hip.We have clothed evil in make-up and political correctness and slapped it with a government approved label.The European Union is one of the major blocks or stepping stones to a One World government/Tower of Babel. In fact, take a look at this picture of the Tower of Babel. Take a good look. It is used as a poster to promote the EU! Now, below, is a picture of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. It is the Tower of Babel.

Just as in the Bible we read that G-d would not let Man continue with building their tower, and instead mixed up the speech of the people into 70 different languages giving rise to 70 diverse cultures/nations around the globe, we shall see G-d plunder Gog and his New World Order (NWO) as well.In the end of days, the nations of the world will come against Israel under Gog. Remember, all the nations of the world are 70. Know also that the Gematria or numerical value of the Hebrew letters of the words Gog and Magog = 70. Know also that 70 nations of the world met to support and fund, the establishment of a Palestinian State in the belly of Israel.A few months ago, just before the U.S. presidential elections,Dr Zbigniew Brzezinski gave a speech at Chatham House declaring what needed to be done immediately in the diplomatic and geo-political world after America elects a new president.Israel must be pushed to establish a Palestinian State inside it's own country and divide it's capital Jerusalem and give it away. He said this pressure on Israel must be enforced soon, as the window of opportunity for peace was closing, alluding to Jewish settlement which is making more and more demographic facts on the ground. Dr Brzezinski spoke at the Chatham House (thanks to David who sent me this from Germany) which is said to be another name for RIIA (the Royal Institute of International Affairs, a world-leading institute for the debate and analysis of international issues, which was established with the help of Cecil Rhodes in the late 1800's. It's American branch is the Council on Foreign Relations which was established in 1921. The Royal Institute of International affairs is akin to being the sister or mother organization of the CFR, the think tank that brought you the North American Union.

Below I am supplying a part of the speech that Dr Brzezinski, a top Obama advisor, gave at the Chatham House. In it below, at about 5min and 20 seconds in, he describes the nations of the world, all agreeing, to participate in the push to wrest Jerusalem from Israel. He states emphatically that all the nations of the world (6min 26 sec.) will back up this effort. At 8:22 in this video clip below, Brzezinski talks about the demand to divide up Jerusalem. He ends his talk with a joke, saying that if the West's plan of how to make peace is wrong, we'll be no worse off than we are now. It's not funny, because maybe HE won't be worse off, but Israel will have had it's limbs amputated, been downsized, broken up and carved out, and Israel could not survive having a PLO terror state inside of our borders, having the Arabs in rocket target fire distance of our major international airport, and being a country that at one point is only 9 miles wide and can be cut in half at the Mediterranean Sea.Add to this, the by-now famous video of Barak Hussein Obama's advisor and staff member Samantha Power, who alludes to an invasion of Israel by the USA and Western forces to enforce their idea of peace. And to put more gasoline on this fire, see this article which describes a new foreign policy for the USA regarding abandoning Israel. In another story, Israel's chief of Staff left the USA trip he was on early, because he was dissed there with no one of his level or who had any policy influence on Obama's staff could find the time to meet with him. He came to discuss Israeli intelligence on Iran's nuclear reactor and to discuss ways to stop Iran from possibly triggering a third world war.Instead, the U.S. president had other things to do like go and be a guest on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.I am not sure where his other upper staff was, maybe they were busy being contestants on Deal, or No Deal.But no one had time to meet with our chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi to set a plan of action on how to deal with Iran and it's nuclear threat, not just against Israel, but against America as well.Let's not forget that Iran is in bed with Hugo Chavez and has opened a base in Venezuela and Nicaragua, too close to comfort for Americans. Instead, the American administration is unfortunately gravitating towards wooing the Arabs, and are wanting to see a Palestinian State established.The nations are grumbling.The nations are getting antsy and impatient, the West, and the Arabs. History is speeding up. A possible planned invasion of troops by different nations of the world can converge on Israel, either from the East, or the West. Are we seeing the signs that this war shall soon materialize?

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.

North Dakota braces for record floods by Kim Winnegge Kim Winnegge – Tue Mar 24, 7:02 pm ET

FARGO, North Dakota (AFP) – Hundreds of volunteers built temporary dikes out of sandbags and clay amid a light drizzle of rain Tuesday as the flat prairie state of North Dakota braced for record spring flooding.Army trucks filled with sandbags drove down a normally quiet residential street lining the Red River in Fargo where fresh volunteers poured out of buses to join a line of people tossing bags onto an ever-increasing dike.People are starting to realize how serious this situation is, said Kyle Lunke, a student at North Dakota State University.Everybody counts in these times. We'd like to think they'd be there for us.The entire state was under a major flood warning as an unusually heavy snowpack began to melt on top of saturated land that has not yet fully thawed.Floodwaters have already shut down a number of roads and bridges across North Dakota, where the governor has called in the national guard to help with flood protection and rescue efforts.Several people caught in the rising waters were evacuated by air after roads became impassable and dozens more were forced to abandon their homes.A heavy blizzard expected to dump six to nine inches of snow was forecast to move eastward across the state on Tuesday, further complicating flood preparations.The neighboring state of Minnesota was also under threat as the mighty Red River, which borders the two midwestern states, began to overtop its banks as it flowed slowly northwards to Canada.The extreme flatness of the Red River Valley means the floods will go wide, move slowly and take days or even weeks to recede, said Pat Slattery of the National Weather Service.You will have an extremely wide river, said Slattery, who said a stretch of waterway that now measures 100 yards wide might turn into a mile to a mile-and-a-half.It's very hard to get this stuff to run off,he added.Your soil up there is totally saturated.

It usually takes about two weeks for a flood crest to flow the 393 miles (633 kilometers) from the southern end of North Dakota to the Canadian border because of the flatness of the land.Any rain or snowfall in the coming weeks will raise flood levels even further, warned Slattery.The region was the site of devastating flooding in 1997, which caused more than two billion dollars in damage and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes after about 2,200 square miles (3,540 square kilometers) of land were swamped.Since then, flood protections have been reinforced and officials say they are determined not to lose another home or business to the river.I don't think any homes are doomed to be lost,said Karena Lunday, the city of Fargo's communication manager.Volunteers have poured into the city of 100,000 people to help with sandbagging efforts, and had filled a million by Tuesday morning. A million more will be needed to protect the city from a flood forecast to crest at a near-record 40 feet on Friday, Lunday said.Several miles of dikes need to be built and reinforced to protect against the river that runs through the east side of town.

Everyone is so determined to get the job done, Lundy told AFP. With so many volunteers stepping up to help I think we'll make it.Jennifer Paulsrud fell asleep to the sound of trucks dropping off sandbags outside her Fargo home, which survived the 1997 flood thanks to a barrier built in the backyard. That plywood barrier has been elevated this time around with the help of sandbags dropped off by volunteers. I woke up in the morning and there were sandbags everywhere, said Paulsrud as she handed out sandwiches and pizza to volunteers.It's a deja vu kind of thing ... I didn't think it would happen again.Paulsrud has faith that the heavy flood wall will protect her green one-story home and says she has never considered leaving the lovely tree-lined street on the river's edge. This will always be our home,she said.

FOR LINKS TO STORY SENATE RUBBER STAMPS ENSLAVEMENT BILL
http://www.infowars.com/senate-rubber-stamps-national-enslavement-bill/

Senate Rubber Stamps National Enslavement Bill
Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Senate last night rubber stamped a nightmare domestic draft bill that legislates mandatory national service and creates an army of at least 7 million civilian enforcers working at the the behest of the government, while also containing language that threatens to ban free speech and the right to protest.Last week, we reported on the House passage of the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, known as the GIVE Act, which was carried with a 321-105 margin vote.A passage contained in section 6104 of the original House version entitled Duties, in subsection B6, states that a commission will be set up to investigate, Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed.This language has been dropped from the version passed by the Senate.However, Section 120 of the bill discusses the Youth Engagement Zone Program and states that service learning will be a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.This part remains in the version passed by the Senate.Roles which will be staffed by members of the programs, labeled Required National Service Corps, include criminal
justice,environmental stewardship,and public safety.

Aside from the programs aimed at college students and young people, others will be specifically targeted towards, Retired and other former law enforcement, fire, rescue, and emergency personnel, and other individuals with backgrounds in disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery.The bill was rubber stamped by the Senate last night in a 74 to 14 vote, a move that creates An army dispersed to help with education, health services and the environment, (which) would vastly enlarge the notion of community organizing, and allow, as Senator Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, said tonight, for about 7 million people to be engaged in such work,reports the New York Times.References to the program as the creation of a civilian army have dominated mainstream news coverage of the legislation.7 million members of this civilian army equates to about one member for every 50 Americans, a similar figure to the number of East Germans who collaborated with the Stasi and informed on their own citizens during the cold war.The GIVE Act is just one of many pieces of legislation that vastly expand service organizations in line with Obama’s agenda to create a national civilian security force.In January we also reported on the introduction by the Department of Defense of a civilian expeditionary workforce that will see American civilians trained and equipped to deploy overseas in support of worldwide military missions. The DoD report states, Management retains the authority to direct and assign civilian employees, either voluntarily, involuntarily, or on an unexpected basis to accomplish the DoD mission.Though the civilian expeditionary workforce program is restricted to DoD employees, similar programs have already been established for public sector workers.One such program has seen hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and utility workers recently trained and dispatched as Terrorism Liaison Officers in Colorado, Arizona and California to watch for suspicious activity which is later fed into a secret government database.Similar initiatives have been introduced in other western countries, including recently in the UK with the announcement that MI5 is currently training up to 60,000 UK citizens as part a civilian network of terrorist spotters, according to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and home secretary, Jacqui Smith.In addition, Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, publicly stated his intention to help create universal civil defense training in 2006.

In an interview with Ben Smith of the New York Daily News, Emanuel outlined the agenda for military-style training, essentially a domestic draft, aimed at preparing Americans for a chemical or biological terrorist attack.Asked by Smith about the universal service plan and whether people would have to live in military barracks, Emanuel laughed before responding, We’re going to have universal civil defense training, somewhere between the ages of 18 to 25 you will do three months of training….but there can be nothing wrong with all Americans having a joint similar experience of what we call civil defense training or civil service in service of the country, in preparation, which will give people a sense of what it means to be an American.It will be a common experience and we will be prepared, God forbid, God forbid that there is a chemical hit, another terrorist act or natural disaster becoming more frequent - there’ll be a body of citizens who are ready and capable and trained - that’s all you have to think about,said Emanuel before smugly declaring, We’re all here for you OK? It’s a circle of love.Asked if the training would be military style, with people wearing uniforms, Emanuel stated,If you’re worried about are you going to have to do 50 jumping jacks the answer is yes,adding that the service could be done through state national guard.Shockingly, the GIVE legislation also contains language that could completely demolish the 1st amendment.The 12th amendment to the act states, Amendment to prohibit organizations from attempting to influence legislation; organize or engage in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and assist, promote, or deter union organizing.As Gary Wood writes, Those in support of this legislation will argue this amendment is limited in scope and is not meant to interfere with the rights of citizens to protest, petition, boycott, or strike in resistance to government proposed laws. However, the people associated through service under the GIVE Act are considered volunteers, still free citizens, yet it will be unlawful for them to take part in any protests against any legislation. This is as close to a sedition act, a violation of 1st Amendment rights, as has been proposed in recent history. A basic right as a part of our natural, inalienable rights, is to resist government. Our founders not only knew it was a right but it was a responsibility. This legislation begins to break that down significantly.Fears about Obama’s plans to create involuntary servitude and domestic spy squads were first stoked in July 2008, when Obama told a rally in Colorado Springs,We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded.Despite denials that Obama plans to institute a mandatory program of national service, his original change.gov website stated that Americans would be required to complete 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. The text was only later changed to state that Americans would be encouraged to undertake such programs.

Numerous other national service bills have been introduced which target everyone from schoolchildren to the elderly. They include the Service For All Ages Initiative, the Summer of Service Act, the Semester of Service Act, the Encore Service Act and the ACTION Act.Regarding the GIVE Act, The bill’s opponents — and there are only a few in Congress — say it could cram ideology down the throats of young volunteers, many of whom could be forced into service since the bill creates a Congressional Commission on Civic Service,reports Fox.We contribute our time and money under no government coercion on a scale the rest of the world doesn’t emulate and probably can’t imagine, said Luke Sheahan, contributing editor for the Family Security Foundation. The idea that government should order its people to perform acts of charity is contrary to the idea of charity and it removes the responsibility for charity from the people to the government, destroying private initiative.Lee Cary of the conservative American Thinker warns that Obama’s agenda is to, tap into the already active volunteerism of millions of Americans and recruit them to become cogs in a gigantic government machine grinding out his social re-engineering agenda.The passage of such shocking legislation with barely a whimper from political activist groups goes to show how well the corporate media has performed in camouflaging the legislation with flowery characterizations of helpful volunteerism, when in reality the bill creates the pretext for mandatory national service and the creation of a multi-million man domestic civil defense unit who will be tasked with spying on their fellow Americans under the justification of protecting the country from terrorism.

OBAMA CALLS FOR CIVILIAN ARMY FORCE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt2yGzHfy7s&feature=player_embedded

H.R.1388 BILLS TO READ
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1388
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HZ49:

GIVE Mandatory Service Act Strips First Amendment of Volunteers
Kurt Nimmo Infowars March 24, 2009

On March 18, Rep. George Miller, a Democrat from California, tacked an amendment on H.R. 1388, entitled Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, or GIVE (to government), Obama’s plan to require mandatory service for all able young people. Miller’s amendment will prohibit organizations from attempting to influence legislation; organize or engage in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and assist, promote, or deter union organizing,according to GovTrack.us, a site that tracks Congress.Obama’s call for a Civilian Security Force during a campaign speech in Colorado Springs, Colorado.In other words, Obama’s volunteer corps act, passed by the House with a 321-105 margin and requiring the government to develop a plan for indentured servitude, would deny millions of people their right to oppose and organize against government legistation under the First Amendment. This is as close to a sedition act, a violation of 1st Amendment rights, as has been proposed in recent history. A basic right as a part of our natural, inalienable rights, is to resist government. Our founders not only knew it was a right but it was a responsibility. This legislation begins to break that down significantly,writes Gary Wood for the Examiner.GIVE (up your rights) will conscript millions of young people, put them in uniforms and send them packing to 4-year public service academies where they will be indoctrinated and trained to become public sector leaders.

GIVE was passed by the House on March 18 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 321 to 105.At this moment of economic crisis, when so many people are in need of help and so much needs to be done, this could not be more urgent,said Obama.It is up to every one of us to do his or her small part to make the world a better place.Under section 6104 of the bill, entitled Duties,in subsection B6, the legislation states that a commission will be set up to investigate, Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed, and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the Nation and overcome civic challenges by bringing together people from diverse economic, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.Section 120 of the bill addresses the Youth Engagement Zone Program and states that service learning will be a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.H.R. 1388 not only reauthorizes programs under the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, but also includes new programs and studies and is expected to be funded with an allocation of $6 billion over the next five years, explains Bob Unruh for WND.Many, however, are raising concerns that the program, which is intended to include 250,000 volunteers,is the beginning of what President Obama called his National Civilian Security Force in a a speech last year in which he urged creating an organization as big and well-funded as the U.S. military. He has declined since then to elaborate, Unruh adds.It appears Miller’s amendment is designed to strip members of this emerging National Civilian Security Force of their constitutional rights under the First Amendment.

The First Amendment reads as follows: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.According to GovTrack.us, the addition of the Miller amendment to GIVE was agreed to by voice vote.On March 23, a similar bill was passed by the Senate on a 74 to 14 vote. From President Kennedy’s days to the creation of Americorps by then President Bill Clinton, the notion of public service has become a rallying cry. Tonight’s vote, propelled by President Obama’s urging of an expansion, would mean a growth in such work from 75,000 community service jobs to 250,000,reported the New York Times.
RESEACH LINKS AT BOTTOM OF STORY
http://www.infowars.com/give-mandatory-service-act-strips-first-amendment-of-volunteers/

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED MAR 25,2009

09:30 AM +9.25
10:00 AM +156.51
10:30 AM +144.40
11:00 AM +156.51
11:30 AM +166.46
12:00 PM +154.92
12:30 PM +149.82
01:00 PM +132.06
01:30 PM +64.67
02:00 PM +39.19
02:30 PM -27.80
03:00 PM -84.30
03:30 PM -30.90
04:00 PM +89.84 7749.81

S&P 500 813.88 +7.63

NASDAQ 1528.95 +12.43

GOLD 933.50 +9.70

OIL 52.80 -1.18

TSE 300 8797.44 -51.95

CDNX 949.04 +24.75

S&P/TSX/60 533.48 -4.21

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -12.72
S&P -10.73%
Nasdaq -3.20%
TSX Advances 703,declines 819,unchanged 264,Volume 2,587,939,465.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 372,Declines 394,Unchanged 368,Volume 192,233,662.

Dow +71 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -3 points at low today.
Dow +179 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $923.00.OIL opens at $52.34 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -3 points at low today so far.
Dow +204 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 2,618,declines 1,064,unchanged 103,New Highs 16,New Lows 82.
Volume 474,686,508.
NASDAQ Advances 1,818,declines 829,unchanged 145,New highs 13,New Lows 21.
Volume 1,345,680,431.
TSX Advances 884,declines 529,unchanged 261,Volume 1,671,489,440.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 360,Declines 250,Unchanged 310,Volume 161,671,266.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -109 points at low today.
Dow +204 points at high today.
Dow +1.17%today Volume 454,092,176.
Nasdaq +0.82% today Volume 2,147,483,648.
S&P 500 +0.95% today Volume N/A

RECORD LOWS DOW
-Sept 30,1996 5,882.17
-Oct 30,1996 5,993.23
-Nov 6,1996 6,177.71
-Dec 16,1996 6,268.35
-Apr 15,1997 6,587.16
-Apr 21,1997 6,660.21
-Apr 28,1997 6,783.02
-May 1,1997 6,976.48
-May 7,1997 7,085.65

RECORD LOWS S&P 500
-Sept 5,1996 649.44
-Sept 6,1996 655.68
-Sept 11,1996 667.28
-Sept 12,1996 671.13
-Oct 1,1996 689.08
-Oct 28,1996 697.26
-Nov 4,1996 706.73
-Nov 5,1996 714.14
-Dec 17,1996 726.04

China weighs paper gold against dollar as reserve currency MAR 24,09

The world outgrew the gold standard decades ago. But a paper gold standard might be one way out of the global financial crisis. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China’s central bank, has proposed shifting the world from its dependence on the US dollar to a new reserve currency managed by the International Monetary Fund. The idea is good – if only China meant it. By John Foley, breakingviews.com Last Updated: 2:56PM GMT 24 Mar 2009

The greenback has been the world’s dominant reserve currency – equivalent to a financial lingua franca – since the end of the Second World War. Countries hold it in spades to back their own currency. The IMF reckons that two-thirds of the $7 trillion of foreign currency holdings worldwide are in US dollars. The euro, the second most-held currency, makes up just a quarter. Were international trade switched instead to an IMF-managed currency – Zhou suggests a little-used device called a special drawing right or SDR – Uncle Sam would have a real headache. America’s borrowing and trading costs would spike. After all, the US saves by rarely needing to convert its own money – a perk known as seigniorage.

Will Uncle Sam let the dollar collapse?
Dollar crunch puts gold centre stageBut in the long term, the US would benefit. Being the currency of choice has made it unnaturally cheap for the US to borrow and fund its consumers’ profligate habits. Besides, as Zhou points out in a scholarly flourish, there’s the Triffin Paradox to consider. This says that so long as the US agrees to feed the world with dollars, it can’t successfully control its own currency. Having a central currency – let’s call it the Zhou-Triffin Doubloon (ZTD) – managed by a supra-national organisation would make it more difficult for any one country to get into too much debt to another. If the supply of ZTD in issue were controlled properly – say by expanding it in line with global GDP – it would serve as a steady store of value, with little risk of devaluation. Moreover, a credible ZTD would have many of the advantages of the now-defunct gold standard. It would be strictly limited in supply and ready acceptability everywhere. Indeed, it would be even better than the yellow metal, which is after all too cumbersome for a modern economy and too scarce to serve as a measure for international trade. In sum, the ZTD would add much needed ballast to international finance. And China would not be alone in promoting this single currency. Russian authorities have been thinking along similar lines.

So why not get cracking? There are many obstacles: most notably getting the IMF up to the task. Nor is China in any position to move quickly. A truly global reserve currency would have to be based on a basket of world currencies, which would include the renminbi. China would have to make its tightly controlled currency freely convertible – which it shows no desire to do. Indeed, China probably has other things in mind than financial stability, such as augmenting its global financial sway. Right now, the Middle Kingdom has only a 3pc vote in the IMF, no more than Belgium, because votes are linked to each country’s contribution to the fund. Were China able to claim credit for its prodigious foreign reserves, it could replace the US at the top of the table. At best, China’s proposal is self-serving. At worst, it could be merely another manifestation of growing hostility towards the US – to be filed alongside recent protectionism, naval skirmishes and Chinese criticism of US spending habits. That political undercurrent is a shame. Paper gold looks like one of the best ideas to come out of the financial crisis.

Sharia Banking Conquers Europe
From the desk of Thomas Landen on Tue, 2009-03-24 12:53

All over Europe Islamic banks are establishing branches, Western banks are offering Sharia-compliant financial services, and European governments are trying to outcompete each other in welcoming them. Proponents of banking along the lines of Sharia (Islamic law) claim that the Islamic banking system is more ethical than the West’s capitalist system. This is not true. Unfortunately, however, in our age of crashing financial markets, many Westerners – not just the traditional anti-capitalist European left – seem very eager to buy that argument.Early this month, even the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano voiced its approval of Sharia banking. The ethical principles on which Islamic finance is based may bring banks closer to their clients and to the true spirit which should mark every financial service,the paper said in a downright stupid and unethical article published on March, 4.The article, entitled Islamic finance proposals and ideas for the West in crisis [pdf] suggests that the basic rules of Islamic finance could relieve suffering markets and particularly international financial systems. It says that in the current atmosphere of crisis banks should take Muslims as an example and that the Islamic finance system may pave the way for the establishment of new rules in the Western world.Islamic or Sharia banks differ from regular banks in two major ways. As commanded in the Koran, the charging of interest is prohibited in all monetary transactions. The other defining feature of Islamic banks is that they are supervised by a board of Islamic scholars and clerics whose job it is to ensure that the banks’ activities comply with Sharia law.

Its proponents argue that Islamic banking is ethically superior to the capitalist principles of the materialistic West because, as Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor of Osservatore Romano says, Sharia banks take the human dimension of the economy into account.The two dirty secrets of Islamic banking, however, are that, like all banks, Sharia banks do charge interest – they just give it another name – and that the clerics supervising the banks have ties to extremist, even terrorist, groups which work towards the Islamization of Europe and world dominance.Helena Christofi, an expert on Sharia banking, explains that Islamic banks extend a type of Islamic credit, called murabaha, that shifts risk to the borrower in a manner similar to interest.An Islamic bank granting murabaha credit to a customer for an automobile, for example, would purchase the automobile for the customer for $15,000 and the customer would owe the bank $20,000 in a year’s time. Similarly, under the diminishing musharaka credit, the Islamic version of a mortgage, the bank and the customer purchase the property together. The customer must make monthly payments to the bank and pay a monthly rental fee, both based on the portion of the purchase price the bank still owns. Ironically, the interest this amounts to ranges between one and two percent higher than the interest on a conventional mortgage. Although the resale price of the vehicle and the rent paid on the house are akin to simple interest charges, the banks’ sharia boards legitimate the charges by renaming them commissions or profits.The Sharia boards supervising the Islamic banks and Sharia-compliant financial services offered by regular European banks are composed of members of the European Council for Fatwa and Research. This Council is headed by Sheik Yousef Al-Qaradawi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and instigator and financier of terrorism in Europe and the Middle East. Both Al-Qaradawi and the Council have expressed their hope that Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror.

With ever larger Muslim populations there is a growing internal demand for an ethical alternative to conventional banking for Muslims. A 2006 poll by Lloyds Trustee Savings Bank in Britain found that over 75% of British Muslims want Sharia-compliant banking products, while in 2005 Mufti Abdul Barkatullah, Sharia adviser to Lloyds TSB and an imam at a North London mosque reported that 20% of inquiries into Islamic products at Lloyds TSB came from non-Muslims who have bought the argument that conventional capitalist banking is somehow unethical.Alun Williams, marketing director of the Islamic Bank of Britain, established in 2004 and one of the first Sharia banks in Europe, told The Guardian (April 2, 2005):Our biggest appeal outside the Muslim community will be to those who feel disenfranchised by, and bitter about, mainstream banks. […] Non-Muslims are fascinated by us, the more so because we intend offering […] an ethical dimension.That was four years ago. Meanwhile, Islamic banking has boomed all over Europe and interest from non-Muslims has grown in the wake of the financial crisis, which some, such as the Vatican paper, claim is due to the free-market model having grown too much and badly in the past two decades.Sharia principles, however, not only prohibit the collection and payment of interest and investing in companies involved in gambling, alcohol, tobacco, pornography and the production of pork, but also forbid women from opening bank accounts without their husband’s approval. How ethical the latter is for the non-Muslims fascinated by Sharia banking is unclear. However, Western banks offering Sharia-compliant services to non-Muslims do not seem to insist on barring women. According to Christofi,The justification for replacing capitalism with the Islamic model is based on an intentional corruption of Sharia law, but the banks’ clerics don’t seem to mind undermining their theological philosophy, since the ethical image their misrepresentation has created for Islamic banking has managed to spread Islamic ideology to non-Muslims in Britain. According to Al-Qaradawi, Islam’s ideological infiltration into the West will be the vehicle through which it will establish an Islamic government over the entire globe.Although Al-Qaradawi and other members of the European Council for Fatwa and Research are connected to Islamist circles, the British government continues to promote the UK as a hub for Islamic banking. Western governments welcome Sharia-compliant banking because of the huge sums this attracts from Muslim immigrants, ethically-driven non-Muslims, and investors from Muslim countries.

In December 2008, the French Senate looked at ways to eliminate legal hurdles for Islamic financial services and products in France. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde announced France’s intention to make Paris the capital of Islamic finance and said several Islamic banks would open branches in the French capital in 2009. French sources estimate this area of the financial market is worth from 500 to 600 billion dollars and could grow by an average 11 percent a year.In July 2007, Wouter Bos, the Dutch Finance Minister (and leader of the Dutch Labour Party), said the Dutch government actively encourages Islamic banking, despite the risk that this acts as a Trojan horse in the Western banking system for groups linked to terrorists.In the first place because Islamic banking meets a demand from the Muslims living in the Netherlands. In the second place because we see an opportunity here for the Dutch financial sector. A third reason is that banning Islamic banking from the perspective of fighting terrorism will have a counter-productive effect. Denial of an actual need can lead to money-flows running via alternative channels out of the sight of the government.Switzerland, too, wants its share of Sharia banking. Years ago, Swiss banks already opened branches in the Middle East, offering worldwide Sharia-compliant financial products to wealthy Arabs.In October 2006, the Swiss authorities granted a banking license to the first Switzerland-based bank that operates according to Sharia principles. Others have followed. There are simply not enough financial products being created in the West for Muslim clients, says John Sandwick, managing director of Swiss asset management firm Encore Management. If no effort is made whatsoever, I am afraid the world will pass Switzerland by in the race to control the rich prize: which today is worth hundreds of billions, but in the future will be trillions of dollars of Islamic wealth. Michael Fouad Chahine of Credit Suisse says The development of Islamic banking has so far been limited to countries with a higher percentage of Muslims. But this is changing as more international regulators accept the importance of Sharia. It is now also accepted as socially responsible banking.

How socially responsible and ethical is it to try to grab a share of the billions of dollars amassed by rich Arabs, while turning a blind eye to the fact that a substantial part of the money is used to promote terrorism and the establishment of an Islamic government over the entire globe? In one of his sermons, Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi, one of the supervisors of the Sharia-compliant financial services offered in Britain, speaks of the conquest of Rome. In view of the recent article of the Osservatore Romano, Al-Qaradhawi’s words sound rather ominous:The city of Hirqil [Constantinople] was conquered by the young 23-year-old Ottoman Muhammad bin Morad, known in history as Muhammad the Conqueror, in 1453. The other city, Romiyya [Rome], remains, and we hope and believe [that it too will be conquered]. This means that Islam will return to Europe as a conqueror and victor, after being expelled from it twice […]. In one of my previous programs, I said that I think that this conquest [of Rome] would not be by the sword or armies, but by preaching and ideology. Europe will see that it suffers from materialistic culture, and will seek an alternative, it will seek a way out, it will seek a lifeboat. It will find no lifesaver but the message of Islam.Will the Vatican Bank be the next to go Sharia?

CA-CANADA Summary Energy shares lead TSX to lower close MAR 24,09

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto's main stock index finished more than 100 points lower on Tuesday as a slide in oil prices shook out some of the big gains the market recorded in the previous session, when it closed at a six-week high. A day after the energy group helped power a rally of more than 5 percent, a drop in oil prices helped drag the TSX lower as upcoming data is expected to show an increase in crude stockpiles.

Canada finance minister to attend G20 summit

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will join Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a summit of G20 major and emerging economies next week in London, a spokesman for the minister said on Tuesday. Chisholm Pothier, spokesman for Flaherty, confirmed to Reuters that the finance minister would attend the meeting, which will discuss how to resolve the global financial crisis.

Petro-Canada, Suncor seek repeal of ownership limit

OTTAWA/CALGARY (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc and Petro-Canada will ask the Canadian government to repeal a law that protected Petro-Canada from any unwanted takeovers but left its stock depressed, according to documents filed with regulators. Suncor agreed on Monday to buy Petro-Canada in an all-share deal, initially valued at $18.4 billion ($15 billion), to create Canada's largest oil company and the dominant player in the country's vast oil sands.

Scotiabank CEO sees signs of financial stability

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - There are indications the global financial system has begun to stabilize, which is needed for the rest of the economy to recover, Bank of Nova Scotia's chief executive said on Tuesday. My sense is that the financial system, and this includes globally, is beginning to stabilize. So economies will stabilize, I expect, near the end of the year,Richard Waugh told a business gathering in Vancouver.

Liberals gain support: poll

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Liberals have edged past the Conservatives in popularity, five months after suffering a sharp electoral defeat, according to a poll released on Saturday. A Nanos Research survey put the Liberals at 36 percent, up 3 percentage points from the previous poll last month and 10 points from the October election. After the party's poor electoral performance, it replaced leader Stephane Dion with Michael Ignatieff.

Fox News host targeted by Canadian military

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - A Fox News talk show host on Monday apologized for ridiculing the Canadian military after a protest from the country's defense minister. Greg Gutfeld, host of Fox News' Red Eye show, had joked last week that the Canadian military may want to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants.

Gillett ponders sale of share in Canadiens

OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. businessman George Gillett is considering the sale of his sporting assets including Premier League club Liverpool and the Montreal Canadiens, a senior executive at the NHL team said on Monday. The Gillett family has retained the services of financial advisors in order to assess various strategic alternatives to optimize the value of its corporate assets,communications vice-president Donald Beauchamp told Reuters.

Activists say Canada's seal hunt target excessive

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadians armed with rifles and clubs ventured on to ice floes off the Atlantic coast on Monday to start the annual harp seal hunt, an event that opponents say is totally unjustified. Ottawa announced on Friday night that hunters will be allowed to kill 280,000 young harp seals out of a herd of 5.5 million, slightly more than the 275,000 limit set last year.

Gunmen kill Darfur aid worker

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Armed men have shot dead a Sudanese worker for a Canadian aid group in Darfur in the latest of a string of attacks on international organizations in Sudan's violent west, his employer said on Tuesday. The country director of Fellowship for African Relief said it appeared the attackers were trying to steal a satellite phone when the Sudanese site manager was killed at his house in the remote village of Kongo Haraza late on Monday night.

Canada finance minister says oil merger important

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Tuesday Suncor Energy's proposed takeover of Petro-Canada is an important deal for Canada and for the oil patch. Flaherty, speaking to CTV television, said it was a good thing that regulators were reviewing the deal to ensure fair competition in the oil industry, but added that, We believe in investment as well in this country. We want to grow this economy.

Japanese exports suffer record plunge by Daniel Rook MAR 24,09 11:56PM

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan announced Wednesday a record fall in exports, keeping its economy on course for the worst recession since World War II as the global downturn pummels demand for cars and high-tech goods.Exports roughly halved in February compared with a year earlier, making it likely the world's second-largest economy will log another sharp contraction in the current quarter.Japan's heavy dependence on foreign markets means its economy has been one of the worst affected by the global economic downturn, and analysts see little prospect of a quick turnaround.Japanese exports are unlikely to recover (soon), and it is difficult to foresee a rapid recovery unless the global financial crisis eases,said Commerzbank analyst Ryohei Muramatsu.He warned that Japan's economy looks unlikely to improve until demand from the United States and China picks up.As the US is expected to be the first one out of the crisis, other economies will recover six months later, including Japan, Muramatsu said.Japanese exports plunged 49.4 percent last month from a year earlier, surpassing January's slump of 45.7 percent, the finance ministry reported.Shipments to the United States and Europe more than halved while demand from the once-booming Chinese economy dropped almost 40 percent.Japan's trade surplus plunged 91.2 percent in February from a year earlier to 82.35 billion yen (840 million dollars), although that was better than a record deficit logged in January, the government said.The Japanese economy logged its worst performance in almost 35 years in the last quarter of 2008, contracting at an annualised pace of 12.1 percent.

The economy is likely to shrink at a slightly faster pace in the current quarter and it will remain weak for some time to come, said Hiroshi Shiraishi, an economist at BNP Paribas.The rate of contraction should ease fairly sharply from the second quarter onwards but the economy will remain weak for some time to come, he said.The economy is also bracing for another bout of deflation. The government may report on Friday the first year-on-year decline in core consumer prices since September 2007, analysts said.But Japan is not yet slipping into another deflationary spiral, central bank governor Masaaki Shirakawa said in parliament.The economy is facing a further downturn and prices will likely soon start falling. But right now, the country is not going through a vicious cycle where economic contraction and price falls reinforce each other, he said.The corporate sector was a key driver of Japan's economic recovery following the 1990s recession, as companies enjoyed strong profits and invested heavily to expand their production facilities.Now corporate giants such as Toyota and Sony are slashing thousands of jobs as they fall deep into the red.

Japanese growth was exclusively dependent on exports,said Professor Noriko Hama at Doshisha Business School in Kyoto.It was natural that Japan would be hit a lot more severely than other countries.Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story.

Obama writes global editorial Jon Ward (Contact)Tuesday, March 24, 2009

As calls for the dollar to be replaced by a global currency grew louder, President Barack Obama on Tuesday published an editorial in 31 newspapers around the world, from Riyadh to Hong Kong to New Delhi to Chicago, attempting to stake out a strong leadership position at next month's global economic summit in London. The United States is ready to lead, and we call upon our partners to join us with a sense of urgency and common purpose,Mr. Obama wrote. Our leadership is grounded in a simple premise: We will act boldly to lift the American economy out of crisis and reform our regulatory structure, and these actions will be strengthened by complementary action abroad.The U.S. has come under intense criticism from around the world for causing the global crises, and there has even been scattered talk of an attempt to remove the dollar as the world's reserve currency, which would be a body blow to the U.S. That talk grew louder on Monday as China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, called for the dollar to be phased out and replaced by a currency issued by the International Monetary Fund. Russia staked out a similar position earlier this month.

Mr. Obama did not mention the dollar but acknowledged that America bears our share of responsibility for the mess that we all face.But I also know that we need not choose between a chaotic and unforgiving capitalism and an oppressive government-run economy,he wrote.That is a false choice that will not serve our people or any people.

Mr. Obama called for other nations to continue stimulus spending that is robust and sustained until demand is restored,but he did not call directly on other nations to do more than they already have.Europeans have rejected the idea that the Group of 20 summit should be the occasion for a new round of concerted stimulus projects, which the Obama administration earlier this month had been advocating. The president, however, went into some detail on the issue that is of priority to Europe: comprehensive reforms of our regulatory and supervisory framework.All of our financial institutions -- on Wall Street and around the globe -- need strong oversight and common sense rules of the road,he wrote. All markets should have standards for stability and a mechanism for disclosure. A strong framework of capital requirements should protect against future crises. We must crack down on offshore tax havens and money laundering.The president's editorial did not run in mainland China, whose government holds nearly $2 trillion in U.S. treasuries. It was distributed by Tribune Media Services and appeared in several Gulf States newspapers, as well as the Arabic-language Asharq Al Awsat, in Pakistan, Japan, throughout Europe, including France's Le Monde and the International Herald Tribune, and in select South American countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It was published in three U.S. cities: Baltimore, Chicago and Los Angeles.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN Terror attack rated highly likely Intel agencies warn of danger during G20 meetings March 23, 2009 11:21 pm Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily

LONDON – Britain's MI5 and MI6 intelligence services have issued a joint warning that the threat of a terrorist attack on or during the G20 summit in London next week is now at the top end of severe, the third of four high-risk levels, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. The only higher rating that intelligence services use is critical,indicating an attack is expected imminently.The warning comes on the eve of the publication of the government's new counter-terrorism strategy. The document includes advice on how to protect buildings from attack.

Security sources say the possibility of an attack by terrorists would most likely involve using automatic weapons for a Mumbai style attack on London's major hotels and shops like Harrods.Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.

Terrorists used grenades and assault rifles in the Mumbai attack last November, which killed 173 people. Two deluxe hotels were the focus of the attack.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Report: Iran has assembled network of lobbyists that has penetrated administration

WASHINGTON — The number of significant pro-Iran lobbyists has grown and key players have gained access to the new administration of President Barak Obama, a report said.
The Center for Security Policy said veteran Iranian lobbyists, several of them former government officials, have been granted access to the Obama administration. A complex network of individuals and organizations with ties to the clerical regime in Teheran is pressing forward in seeming synchrony to influence the new U.S. administration's policy towards the Islamic republic of Iran,the report, titled Rise of the Iran Lobby,said. Spearheaded by a de facto partnership between the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other organizations serving as mouthpieces for the mullahs' party line, the network includes well-known American diplomats, congressional representatives, figures from academia and the think tank world.The report, authored by Clare Lopez, said the lobbyists have been funneling money to key members of Congress as well as penetrating the Obama administration. The lobbyists were said to be supported by the highest level of the Iranian leadership.Of special concern is the growing penetration of the Obama administration by a number of individuals with such associations, the report said. Specifically, the de facto alliance between CAIR, one of the Muslim Brotherhood affiliates named by the U.S. Department of Justice as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 and 2008 Holy Land Foundation trials, and groups such as NIAC and its predecessor, the American-Iranian Council, which long have functioned openly as apologists for the Iranian regime, must arouse deep concern that U.S. national security policy is being successfully targeted by Jihadist entities hostile to American interests.

The report said the establishment of the Iranian lobby took about a decade as it has sought to recruit prominent American academics to support the Teheran regime. Today, the report said, key figures in such U.S. think tanks as the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Institute for Science and International Security and the Woodrow Wilson Center have become supporters of a diplomatic approach toward a nuclear Iran.Obama began talks with the Iranian lobby during his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The report, based on open sources, said Obama met a leading pro-Iranian lobbyist, Hassam Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America, in May 2008. Since then, Obama has been appointing or preparing to name such leading pro-Iranian speakers such as Richard Haas, Vali Nasr, Dennis Ross to senior positions in the administration. Ross has been selected to be Obama's special envoy to Iran.That so many respected Middle East and foreign policy experts seem to have bought into the Iranian regime's agenda is testament to the extraordinarily effective information operation that has been waged against U.S. national security interests by the Iran Lobby's network over the last several years, the report said.Charles Freeman, appointed chairman of the National Intelligence Council, was identified as a key member of the Iranian lobby. Others cited by the report were U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Susan Rice, a predecessor, Thomas Pickering, [Ret.] Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering, former National Security Council official Gary Sick, former Rep. Robert Ney and Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat.

Ney, convicted of accepting bribes in 2006, was directed by his then-aide Trita Parsi, who later became a key pro-Iranian lobbyist and president of the National Iranian-American Council. The report identified Parsi, a Swedish-Iranian, as a leading organizer in winning support for a U.S. rapproachment with Iran from prominent Americans, many of whom with access to Obama.Under the leadership of Mr. Obama's prospective National Intelligence Council chairman, Chas Freeman, the Middle East Policy Council has closely aligned with Trita Parsi's NIAC in urging the U.S. to adopt an agenda of dialogue and rapprochement with Teheran,the report which was written before Freeman withdrew from the post said. It is inconceivable that a man as publicly and closely aligned with the views of Iran and its agents of influence in America will be able to exercise truly independent judgment about what the mullahs are up to, let alone offer objective intelligence analysis about how best to contend with them.U.S. oil majors have also backed a new American policy that supports the Teheran regime. The report cited the American-Iranian Council, founded more than a decade ago with support from Aramco, Chevron Texaco, and Conoco Phillips.At present, a major objective of the Iran lobby is to weaken U.S. support for Israel,the report said. The lobby advocates permitting the Iranian nuclear weapons program to push forward with no serious consequences, while urging an evenhanded policy that would ban all nuclear weapons from the Middle East region. An impressive array of prominent think tanks and Middle East experts has been lining up to echo this party line.If the Obama administration does not hear a persuasive alternative position, cogently presented, and soon, Iran's carefully-crafted clandestine intelligence operation to exercise effective control over America's Iran policy could succeed — to the profound detriment of U.S. national interests and those of our friends and allies in the Middle East region and around the world.

Monday, March 23, 2009
American Jewish Withdrawal Advocates Indicate No-Holds-Barred Attack On Israel
Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

No question about it, the American Jewish withdrawal advocacy group, J Street, declared war on the incoming Netanyahu administration in particular and the Jewish State in general with a poll that they released.[The group is a withdrawal advocacy group rather than a peace group because there is no discernable connection between the policies that they advocate - withdrawal - and true peace.]

For the complete poll:
www.jstreet.org/files/images/J_Street_Survey_March_2009_Final_Results.doc

Take a look at the ideas they use the format of poll questions to introduce:Would you support or oppose the United States playing an active role in helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict if it meant the United States publicly stating its disagreements with Israel? Would you support or oppose the United States playing an active role in helping the parties to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict if it meant the United States exerting pressure on Israel to make the compromises necessary
to achieve peace? Middle East peace is a core American interest, and the United States should use assertive diplomacy to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.It does not bother me when American Jews disagree publicly with Israeli government policy.

The United States should propose a detailed plan to resolve the Arab-Israeliconflict and assertively use our influence to lead the parties to implementthis American plan.
Jewish organizations that lobby Congress to support every Israeli government
policy are not helping Israel's security Using incentives such as economic aid, military assistance, and support in international institutions, the United States has the leverage to impose a peace agreement on the Israelis and Palestinians.I am concerned that other Americans will end up resenting American Jews because of America's perceived favoritism toward Israel under all circumstances.With Hamas launching rockets into southern Israel that killed many Israeli civilians and Israel launching air and ground strikes that killed many Palestinian civilians, neither side has a monopoly on who is right and who is wrong.With hundreds of Palestinian civilian deaths and a humanitarian crisis resulting from a month of no electricity and clean water throughout Gaza, Israel's response to Hamas' attacks was disproportionate
Israeli military actions that target terrorists, but kill Palestinian civilians create more terrorism instead of preventing terrorism.

Israel has the right to defend itself, but it must also take into account humanitarian considerations and avoid collective punishment of the entire Palestinian population by closing the borders and causing major civilian hardship Below is a list of actions the United States could take to try convincing the Palestinians and Israelis to accept this peace agreement today. For each action, please mark whether you approve or disapprove that action.- Publicly state which party is responsible for blocking the agreement from being reached - Reduce economic aid for any party that blocks the agreement from being reached - Reduce military aid for Israel if it blocks the agreement from being reached - Reduce American support for Israel in international institutions if it blocks the agreement from being reached And here is the question seriously distorting what Lieberman said: As you may know, Israel had an election earlier this month. The party receiving the third largest number of seats is led by Avigdor Lieberman who has previously called for the execution of Arab members of Israel's parliament who met with Hamas and whose main campaign message called for Arab citizens of Israel to sign a loyalty oath to the Jewish state in order to prevent their citizenship from being revoked. Do you support or oppose these positions?]

Third of American Jews: Lieberman weakens our bond with Israel Poll held among American Jews reveals that Yisrael Beiteinu chairman is not held in high esteem within community, some 60% of whom oppose views he expressed during elections. Some 75% support decreased financial aid to Israel should Jewish state be party to put skids under signing agreement with Palestinians.

Yitzhak Benhorrin YNET Published: 03.23.09, 19:42 / Israel News www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3691102,00.html

Washington- According to a poll conducted by liberal American lobby group J
Street, 32% of American Jews say that the appointment of Yisrael Beiteinu
Chairman Avigdor Lieberman as a cabinet minister will weaken their ties with Israel.
The poll's results, released on Monday, examined the position of American Jews regarding President Barack Obama's policies on the Middle East, the election results in Israel, the possibility for a right-wing coalition in Israel, and Lieberman's political positions.Jim Gerstein, who conducted the study on behalf of J Street, found it worrisome that the appointment of one person could cause such a high
percentage of people to distance themselves from Israel. He noted that amongst young people below the age of 30, that statistic rises to 40% because of the anti-democratic nature of Lieberman's statements.

Gerstein said statistics clearly showed that Lieberman is not very popular
amongst American Jews.The poll showed that 60% of respondents knew who Lieberman is, and 69% of them are opposed to the positions he took during the elections campaign.
Despite the fact that many said that Lieberman's appointment as a cabinet minister would put a damper on their connection with Israel, 58% said that it would not change their relationship with the country. Ten percent said that it would actually strengthen their connection with the Jewish state.In general, it seems as though the American Jewish community is not overly enthused by the concept of a hawkish right-wing Israeli government. The poll showed, however, that in a confrontation between Israel and the Obama administration, most American Jews would side with Obama. Gerstein noted that such support is exceptional, noting that the Jews of America support the American policy on the Middle East.

Decrease aid if Israel holds up peace
Some 76% of poll respondents believe that Obama supports Israel.Seventy-three percent said that he shares their values, and 72% support his management of the Israeli-Arab conflict. In accordance, 58% of respondents support American involvement in the peace process, even if it means America's public disagreement with Israel.Some 57% of those polled are for applying the necessary pressure on Israel to make compromises necessary for peace. A similar figure was published for those opposed to the settlements in the West Bank.The J Street poll showed that 77% of respondents believe that the United States should declare which side is holding up the peace process, and 75% believe that financial aid to Israel should be decreased should the Jewish state be the party responsible for putting the skids under the peace process. Some 49% even support decreasing military aid in such a case.

In regards to security, 75% of respondents supported Operation Cast Lead, 41% of whom believe the military operation improved Israel's security and 41% believe the opposite to be true.And why do the respondents support Israel? Thirty-five percent answered Because I'm Jewish and Israel is the Jewish state, 31% because Israel and
the United States are allies in the Middle East, and this serves the US's security interests, 19% because Israel is a democracy and this is in line with my values, and 6% because I have friends and family in Israel. Of those participating in the poll, only 3% responded that they do not support Israel.