Thursday, December 04, 2008

Retailers see sales drop in dreary November


Thursday, December 4, 2008


NEW YORK - Retailers - with Wal-Mart the notable exception - limped through a miserable November that even a surge of shopping after Thanksgiving couldn't save, marking the weakest month since at least 1969 and deepening fears that the critical holiday period could be the most dismal in decades.

As merchants announced their November sales figures Thursday, the deep malaise cut across all sectors as shoppers worried about layoffs and shrinking retirement funds focus on necessities. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., though, posted sales gains that surpassed Wall Street estimates and has seen more customers and higher average transactions as it benefits from what could be a deep and prolonged recession.

However, Costco Wholesale Corp., usually a strong performer, reported a bigger-than expected sales decline. And most mall-based chains and department stores such as teen stalwart Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Kohl's Corp. and Macy's Inc. fared much worse, reporting percentage declines of over 10 percent.

"It's an awful beginning to the holiday season," said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at International Council of Shopping Centers. "This is going to be a difficult holiday season for most retailers. There are going to be more bankruptcies." He predicted that the retrenchment in spending will linger for at least another six months.

According to the Goldman Sachs-International Council of Shopping Centers index of 37 stores, sales dropped 2.7 percent for November, making it the worst month since at least 1969 when the index began. November's results were even more miserable than the 1 percent drop that Niemira anticipated. He noted that excluding Wal-Mart, the index declined a dramatic 7.7 percent, indicating a widening gap between the world's largest retailer and the rest of the merchants.

The tally is based on same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, which are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.

Based on November's performance, Niemira is slashing his holiday sales forecast for the combined November and December periods to be down as much as 1 percent. The only holiday period that was almost as weak was 2002, which posted a meager 0.5 percent same-store sales gain.

Sales data from the Thanksgiving weekend showed a buying binge on Black Friday - so named because it historically was the day that a surge of shoppers pushed stores into profitability - but shoppers retreated the rest of the weekend.

And even at the stores on Friday, they focused on bargains and on small-ticket purchases as they slash their holiday budgets, meaning only modest sales gains for the weekend.

Now concerns are growing that shoppers won't return to malls until the final days before Christmas, making the typical lull between Thanksgiving weekend and the final days before Dec. 25 even more pronounced as shoppers wait for the best deals.

Many stores blamed their weak November figures in part to a quirk in the calendar - a late Thanksgiving means that the month's reporting period does not include a whole week of post-holiday shopping compared with a year ago. Niemira estimated that factor depressed November figures - and will benefit December - by 1.5 percentage points to 2.0 percentage points.

But clearly, the deteriorating economy is wreaking havoc on consumers, who since mid-September have basically snapped their wallets shut. A big concern is layoffs, which are only expected to increase in months ahead.

A report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed that new claims for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week, but the number of people continuing to claim benefits reached a 26-year high.

Worries about the economy have helped Wal-Mart, which reported a 3.4 percent gain in same-store sales, surpassing the 2.1 percent increase that analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected. The results excluded sales from fuel. Including fuel, sales increased 3 percent.

Wal-Mart added that business is starting to benefit from falling gas prices, noting that shopping trips increased and "customers had more discretionary income to spend." It expects that same-store sales growth for December will be at the high end of its range of 1 to 3 percent.

Rival Target Corp., which has been stumbling as its merchandises focuses more on nonessentials like trendy clothes and housewares, posted a 10.4 percent decline. That's worse than the 8.9 percent decline estimated by Wall Street estimates.

Costco reported a 5 percent decline in same-store sales, larger than the 2.4 percent drop analysts expected. Excluding the effect of lower gas prices and currency fluctuations, the wholesale club operator would have posted a 3 percent sales gain.

Among department store operators, Macy's Inc. reported a 13.3 percent drop in same-store sales for November, while Kohl's posted a 17.5 percent decline. J.C. Penney's same-store sales dropped 11.9 percent. Upscale Nordstrom Inc. posted a 15.9 decline.

Gap Inc. reported a 10 percent same-store sales drop, but company officials said that discounts were more aggressive than last year, a move that would affect merchandise margins. Still, the strategy allowed the company to "successfully clear through inventory in the month." The company reaffirmed its full-year profit outlook.

Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, which has resisted deep discounting, saw a 28 percent same-store sales drop.


First Dominican mayor of a U.S. city takes office


Local - 4 December 2008, 1:33 PM


PASSAIC, New Jersey. - Proud of his roots and humble beginnings in Passaic when he arrived with his family to the U.S., Alex Blanco yesterday took the oath as the first Dominican mayor of a city of the United States.

Blanco, 36, and podiatrist, remembers his arrival in Passaic at the age of 12, accompanied by his mother and her sister. “I arrived from La Vega, Dominican Republic. The variety of cultures that I found here in Passaic caused me a great impact, which I had not seen only in television.”

Initially, Blanco said he aims to establish a platform to begin implementing it in May, when he’ll run again for a complete term.

SOURCE: elnacional.com.do


Controversial priest also opposes measure to ban guns



Local - 4 December 2008, 9:09 AM


Santiago. - The controversial priest Rogelio Cruz yesterday joined those who oppose the Interior and Police Ministry’s measure aimed at banning civilians from carrying guns during the holidays, and urged disregard for the official measure.

He said it should be done only if Franklin Almeyda agrees to dispense with his bulky escort. “Only thus does the request have validity.”

He said he supports TV producer and humorist Freddy Beras Goico, and that he’ll collaborate in any type of initiative against the disarmament.

The prelate spoke together with representatives of popular organizations to demand to the police to desist from what they say is persecution against them, and asked the Government to look for crime’s causes in the nation’s economic, social and moral crises.



Source: http://www2.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2008/12/4/30301/Controversial-priest-also-opposes-measure-to-ban-guns

.

AT&T to cut 12,000 jobs, 4 percent of staff

Thursday, December 4, 2008

NEW YORK - AT&T Inc. joined the recession's parade of layoffs Thursday by announcing plans to cut 12,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its work force.

The Dallas-based telecommunications company - the nation's largest - said the job cuts will take place in December and throughout 2009. The company also plans to reduce capital spending next year.

Spokesman Walt Sharp said the layoffs will be "across the company and across the country," but would not specify what departments and cities would be most affected. These layoffs come on top of 4,600 jobs the company said in April it would eliminate.

The new cuts come as AT&T finds itself pulled by two currents at once. Not only is the recession leading businesses and consumers to curtail spending, but a long-term trend in the telecom industry is also at play: AT&T, which provides local phone coverage in California, Texas and 20 other states, has been seeing many customers defect from landline phones to wireless services. In the last quarter, AT&T basic voice lines in service dropped 11 percent.

Reflecting that shift, the company noted Thursday that even as it slashes some jobs, it would still be hiring in 2009 in parts of the business that offer cell phone service and broadband Internet access. AT&T, whose shares are down about 30 percent this year - while the Dow Jones industrial average is off 35 percent - remains profitable, and benefits from being the sole U.S. wireless carrier for Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone.

AT&T plans to take a charge of about $600 million in the fourth quarter to pay for severance costs. The company noted that many of its non-management employees have guaranteed jobs because of union contracts. All affected workers will receive severance "in accordance with management policies or union agreements," the company said.

Its shares were down 2.5 percent in pre-market trading, at $28.35.


Source: http://home.peoplepc.com/psp/newsstory.asp?cat=TopStories&id=20081204/493763d0_3ca6_1552620081204775336716

"The Day of the Lord"

2 Peter 3


1This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

2That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

3Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

4And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

5For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

6Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

7But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

11Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

14Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

15And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

17Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Recession Began Last December, Economists Say

Officials Vow to Act Amid Signs of Long Recession


Doug Mills/The New York Times
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. spoke at the Fortune 500 Forum in Washington on Monday.




Published: December 1, 2008


WASHINGTON — The United States economy officially sank into a recession last December, which means that the downturn is already longer than the average for all recessions since World War II, according to the committee of economists responsible for dating the nation’s business cycles.


In declaring that the economy has been in a downturn for almost 12 months, the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed what many Americans had already been feeling in their bones.

But private forecasters warned that this downturn was likely to set a new postwar record for length and likely to be more painful than any recession since 1980 and 1981.

“We will rewrite the record book on length for this recession,” said Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics in Lexington, Mass. “It’s still arguable whether it will set a new record on depth. I hope not, but we don’t know.”

As if adding a grim punctuation mark to what could become the worst holiday shopping season in decades, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged nearly 680 points, or 7.7 percent, to 8,149.09.

Part of the drop may have reflected profit-taking after last week’s surge in stock prices, but it also came in response to new data showing that manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest point in 26 years.

Both the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, and the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., vowed to use all the tools at their disposal to restore a measure of normalcy to the economy.

Mr. Bernanke, speaking to business leaders in Austin, Tex., said it was “certainly feasible” to reduce the Fed’s benchmark overnight lending rate below its current target of 1 percent, signaling that the central bank would lower the rate at its next policy meeting in two weeks.

And in an unusually explicit follow-up, Mr. Bernanke said the central bank was also prepared to use the “second arrow in our quiver” if policy makers have already reduced that rate, called the federal funds rate, to nearly zero.

Among the options, he said, the Fed can start aggressively buying up longer-term Treasury securities. That would have the effect of driving down longer-term interest rates. The Fed is already doing something of that sort, by buying up commercial debt from private companies as well as mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Investors reacted to Mr. Bernanke’s remarks by pouring money into longer-term Treasury bonds, which briefly pushed already-low yields on 10-year and 30-year Treasuries to new record lows. Investors appeared to be reacting mainly to the clear signal from Mr. Bernanke that the Fed was preparing to pump money into the economy by buying up longer-term bonds.

The yield on 30-year Treasuries declined 0.23 percentage points, to 3.21 percent, and briefly touched a record low of 3.18 percent. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell 0.19 percentage points, to 2.73 percent.

In normal times, those kinds of yields would automatically mean lower interest rates on mortgages, automobile loans and other forms of consumer debt. But the credit markets have been stalled by continued fears among financial institutions about who can be trusted for even short-term transactions, so the effects on home loans and other purposes could remain modest.

Mr. Paulson, in a speech in Washington on Monday, vowed to look at new ways to use the $700 billion bailout fund that Congress approved in October.

In Congress, Democratic leaders are drawing up a huge new fiscal stimulus plan that could total more than $500 billion. Democrats said they planned to have the measure ready as soon as Congress convened with a strengthened Democratic majority in January. Meanwhile, Democrats could take up legislation next week that would provide financial assistance to the automobile industry.

President Bush, increasingly the odd man out in the last weeks of his term, said his administration would do whatever was necessary to safeguard the system.

“I’m sorry it’s happening, of course,” Mr. Bush said in an interview with ABC’s “World News” on Monday. “Obviously, I don’t like the idea of Americans losing their jobs or being worried about their 401(k)s. On the other hand, the American people got to know that we will safeguard the system.”

But many analysts said they saw no signs yet that the economy was nearing a bottom. American consumers, who for decades have been the country’s tireless source of growth when all else failed, have cut back on their spending more sharply than at any time since the early 1980s.

Consumer spending plunged in the third quarter of this year, and the evidence so far suggests they may pull back even more in the fourth quarter. Consumers account for about 71 percent of American economic activity, and their most recent retreat is occurring even though gasoline prices have dropped by almost half in the last month and left people with more money in their pockets.

In officially declaring that the current recession began in December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research paid little heed to the fact that the nation’s gross domestic product actually expanded slightly in the first and second quarters of 2008.

In explaining its decision, the bureau noted that a wide variety of other indicators, including payroll employment and personal income, peaked in December 2007. Payroll employment has dropped every month since then. Personal income declined and then zigzagged until June, and has declined steadily since then.

The gross domestic product often fluctuates widely from quarter to quarter, but it also received a somewhat artificial boost from the tax rebate checks that the government mailed out last spring and early summer as a temporary stimulus.

Ed McKelvey, an economist at Goldman Sachs, said the bureau’s starting point of last December for the recession was close to Goldman’s own estimates.

The announcement means that the downturn is already one year old. That is longer than the average length of 10.5 months for recessions since World War II. The current record for the longest recession over the last half-century is 16 months, which was reached in both the downturns of 1973-74 and 1980-81.

Mr. Sinai of Decision Economics said it was hard to imagine that this downturn would have hit bottom within the next four months, which would make it all but certain to set a new record.

Mr. Paulson, who teamed up with the Fed last week to begin a new $200 billion program to buy up consumer debt and small-business loans, said he had committed all but about $20 billion of the first $350 billion Congress authorized for the bailout fund.

“We are actively engaged in developing additional programs to strengthen our financial system so that lending flows to our economy,” Mr. Paulson said in his speech. “We are continuing to examine potential foreclosure mitigation ideas that may be an appropriate” use of the funds.

Democratic lawmakers have sharply criticized Mr. Paulson for refusing to use any of the money yet for reducing foreclosures. Sheila C. Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, warned last month that as many as 4.5 million people were likely to lose their homes through foreclosure. Ms. Bair proposed a plan that she said could prevent about one-third of those foreclosures.

Conservatives form rival group to Episcopal Church


Wednesday, December 3, 2008



NEW YORK - Theological conservatives upset by liberal views of U.S. Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans formed a rival North American province Wednesday, in a long-developing rift over the Bible that erupted when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.

The announcement represents a new challenge to the already splintering, 77-million-member world Anglican fellowship and the authority of its spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

The new North American Anglican province includes four breakaway Episcopal dioceses, many individual parishes in the U.S. and Canada, and splinter groups that left the Anglican family years, or in one case, more than a century ago.

Its status within the Anglican Communion is unclear. It is unprecedented for a new Anglican national province to be created where two such national churches already exist. But traditionalists say the new group represents the true historic tradition of Anglican Christianity and is vital to counter what they consider policies that violate Scripture.

Bishop Robert Duncan, who leads the breakaway Diocese of Pittsburgh, is the proposed new leader of the new North American province, which says it has 100,000 members. In a phone interview from Wheaton, Ill., where leaders of the new group met, Duncan called Wednesday's announcement an "exciting and remarkable moment" for traditionalists.

Williams has been striving for years to find a compromise that would keep liberal and conservative Anglicans together, but unlike a pope, he lacks the power to force a resolution.

The Anglican Communion links 38 self-governing provinces that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S., while the Anglican Church in Canada represents the communion in that country.

Anglicans have been debating for decades over what members of their fellowship should believe. Tensions erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who lives with his longtime male partner.

Around the same time, some Canadian Anglican leaders began authorizing blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions, saying biblical teachings on social justice required them to do so. The actions pushed the Anglican family to the brink of schism.

A London spokesman for the Anglican Communion did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Pollesel, general security of the Anglican Church of Canada, said the new province leaders "really have no standing with the Anglican Communion at this point."

The Rev. Charles Robertson, adviser to the head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, underscored that the U.S. and Canadian churches are "the recognized presence of the Anglican Communion in North America." He said the U.S. church welcomes people with different views.

The immediate impact of Wednesday's announcement on the 2.1 million-member Episcopal Church, and the Anglican Church of Canada, with has about 640,000 people on its rolls, was unclear.

There are conservatives in both countries who will not join the new province and instead have vowed to stay within their national denominations despite theological differences.

The new province will not be fully formed for months, or perhaps longer, as it goes through the process of approving a new constitution and leadership. They also must resolve their own theological differences, over ordaining women and other issues.

In the four breakaway Episcopal dioceses, legal challenges over property will likely take resources away from building the new province. The four dioceses are Fort Worth, Texas; Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif. National Episcopal leaders are helping local parishioners reorganize those dioceses.

The new conservative province already has the support of several national Anglican leaders, including the archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya and the Southern Cone, based in Argentina. Duncan and other leaders are soliciting more support from the overseas archbishops. However, it's unclear whether acceptance by individual archbishops will lead to full recognition by the Anglican Communion.

----

On the Net:

Anglican province for North America: http://www.united-anglicans.org/



Chances of WMD attack in big city greater: report


Reuters – A Seattle police officer helps a person injured after a mock nuclear 'dirty bomb' explosion in a 2003 …


Tue Dec 2, 1:04 am ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chances of a terror attack on a major city somewhere in the world using weapons of mass destruction are better than even, according to a task force mandated by the U.S. Congress, The Washington Post reported in its Tuesday edition.

A draft study by the panel warns of growing threats from rogue states, nuclear smuggling rings and the spread of atomic information in the developing world, the newspaper reported.

The panel, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, singled out Pakistan as a grave concern because of its network of terror groups, history of instability and nuclear capabilities, according to the report.

"In our judgment, America's margin of safety is shrinking, not growing," the newspaper quoted from the draft report.

The panel said it is more likely that a terror attack, which could also include biological weapons, will take place by the end of 2013, according to the report.

Former Sen. Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, chaired the commission with former Rep. James Talent, a Missouri Republican, as the vice chairman.

The commission recommended the overhaul of international nonproliferation treaties, including more robust inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the report said.

The panel also urged President-elect Barack Obama to take a tough line with Iran and North Korea.

(Reporting by John Poirier)



Back To Enoch Ministries in San Diego, CA.


Back To Enoch Ministries


Pastor Dave Westbrook


DAVE SPEAKING IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEKEND! – DECEMBER 6, 2008

*********************************************************
Laura and I will be speaking this Sabbath, December 6, 2008
at the South Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Diego,
California. Here’s the address:

San Diego South Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church
2161 Avenida Del Mexico
San Diego, CA. 92154

Speaking times:

11:00 A.M.
2:00 - 4:00 P.M.
7:00 P.M.

For more information, contact: Marybel Vega – 619-423-2243


Judgment on Israel


Amos 2


1Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

2But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

3And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

4Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

6Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

7That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

8And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

13Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

15Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

16And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

General James L. Jones

Updated: 02-Dec-2008


General James L. Jones


General James L. Jones attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and was commissioned into the Marine Corps in January 1967, served in Vietnam as a platoon and company commander and was promoted to First Lieutenant.

Upon returning to the U.S. he served as a company commander until July 1973 and attended the Amphibious Warfare School. From November 1974 he served as a company commander in Okinawa. From January 1976 he served at Headquarters Marine Corps and later as the Marine Corps liaison officer to the U.S. Senate.

In June 1985 he graduated from the National War College, and commanded the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st Marine Division, until July 1987 and then as Senior Aide to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, was promoted to Colonel and became the Military Secretary to the Commandant. Later, assigned as the Commanding Officer, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, he served in Northern Iraq and Turkey on Operation Provide Comfort.

Brigadier General Jones was assigned as Deputy Director, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany in July 1992, and later reassigned as Chief of Staff, Joint Task Force Provide Promise, for operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia. He retuned to the U.S. as a Major General in July 1994, and was assigned as Commanding General, 2nd Marine Division, Marine Forces Atlantic. General Jones next served as Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division, then as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, Policies and Operations at Headquarters Marine Corps.

As Lieutenant General, he was assigned as the Military Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and as General became the 32nd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps in July 1999. In January 2003, General Jones became Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).

General Jones has a Bachelor of Science degree, and an Honorary Doctorate from Georgetown University. His personal decorations include: the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit with four gold stars, Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V", and the Combat Action Ribbon.





P.S. Bolds and Highlights added for emphasis......Arsenio.

The New Obama Administration: A Lot of “More of the Same”


Monday, December 1, 2008

The New Obama Administration: A Lot of “More of the Same”

by Rodrigue Tremblay



"Obviously he [Rahm Emanuel] will influence the president to be pro-Israel, why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

Binyamin Emanuel (father of President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel)



"I don't want to just end the [Iraq] war, ...I want to end the mindset that got us into war."

Candidate Sen. Barack Obama (January 31, 2008)



“What Washington is really telling you is that you should keep doing the same old things over and over and over again and somehow expect a different outcome. And that's the definition of madness, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something different.”

Candidate Sen. Barack Obama (December 27, 2007, to a crowd in Carroll, Iowa)



“Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil!” [“The more things change, the more they remain the same!”]

Old French dictum



Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama ran a successful campaign on an anti-Iraq war, anti-Washington establishment and pro-change platform. With the assistance of a rapidly deteriorating economic situation, he prevailed in obtaining a clear governing mandate. Most Americans have no other choice than to want him to succeed in delivering on his promises. But the issuance of vague political promises and the hard reality of governing while relying on an efficient decision-making process, are two different things.



President-elect Obama has so far concentrated on not repeating former president Jimmy Carter's mistakes in his difficult relations with Congress, and he has surrounded himself with people who are directly connected with the Democratic congressional majority. However, in so doing, he has given the impression that he has enthusiastically joined the Washington political establishment that he so vehemently decried only a short while ago. The real question is whether he has brought Washington insiders into his own political tent, or whether he has simply joined the same corrupt Washington establishment that he himself decried. Only the future will tell for sure.



It is indeed understandable that a young and relatively inexperienced President-elect Barack Obama would feel obliged to surround himself with people who know how to steer Congress, who have close ties to Wall Street and the media, or who have assisted him closely during his political ascension. After all, the efficiency of a new president depends very much on having Congress, especially members of his own party, solidly on his side, if he wants to accomplish anything important.



That is probably why he chose an old run-of-the-mill senator in the person of Sen. Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate in the first place. It was undoubtedly also the main factor in his selection of Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff. These two political workhorses will facilitate the necessary collaboration between the White House and Congress.



I would therefore not place too big an emphasis on the personae of these two well-connected individuals, i.e. their close association with the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee AIPAC considering their strategic role with Congress.



Also, the need to move quickly in forming a new administration, unless this has been planned otherwise long in advance, makes it a necessity to call on people who have experience and competence in government affairs. And, for a new democratic administration, the reservoir of experienced public servants can be found in the 1992-2000 Clinton administration. This may explain why President-elect Obama's transition team is so heavily staffed with individuals who served in the former Clinton administration. Similarly, such people can be expected to recommend former acquaintances as candidates for important government positions.



Similarly, after the closely fought election, there is a practical need to reward the important constituencies that were the backbone of the winning coalition with hard work and money. Some high-profile nominations can be expected to fall in that category. This is to be expected.



For instance, the symbolic gesture of naming the first black Attorney general, the former No. 2 Justice Department official in the Clinton administration, Eric Holder, is a case in point. The expected nomination of Washington insider Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State falls in the same category, i.e. the need to unite the Democratic Party behind the new administration. Ditto for the nomination of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce secretary, a former U.N. ambassador and Energy secretary under President Bill Clinton.



The enlarged Obama economic team is technically competent and is designed to inspire confidence and to create a feeling of active involvement, with a hands-on approach. This is important to understand the nomination of a high profile financier as Treasury Secretary, in the person of New York Federal Reserve Bank CEO Timothy Geithner. As a question of routine, the Treasury Secretary-to-be should be asked whether he was in favor of letting the investment bank Lehman Brothers fail in mid-September, and why Citigroup, the second largest Wall Street megabank, is still paying dividends to its shareholders after it has been saved from bankruptcy with hundreds of billions of dollars of public money? Indeed, let's keep in mind that Timothy Geithner, as president of the New York Fed, was directly involved in many recent generous bailouts to Wall Street banks and insurance companies, including Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and American International Group. — He is not new at the job and he surely does not represent a break with the past.



Geithner was under secretary for international affairs during the Clinton administration under former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin (later a director of Citigroup in 1999 and its chairman in 2007) and under Lawrence Summers, who succeeded Rubin as Treasury chief. (Summers is to lead the National Economic Council in the Obama administration.)



The arrival of legendary inflation-fighter Paul Volcker among Obama's economic advisers, however, is an indication that the new administration intends to be a problem-solving administration. This would seem to be required in order to repair the structural damage done to the U.S. economy over the last eight years. Nevertheless, a question lingers on: Will the ongoing mammoth bailout of Wall Street banks, with insufficient pro quo pro returns and protections for U.S. taxpayers, continue unabated under the Obama administration? If yes, these huge financial bailouts may turn out to be the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in the history of the world.



Economically, however, it can be said that the coming Obama administration finds itself in a somewhat enviable position. Indeed, if there were to be an economic depression in the coming years, such a depression would still be called the “George W. Bush depression”, just as the last one was known as the “Herbert Hoover depression”. The current economic and financial ordeals are justly part of the Bush administration's dismal legacy.



However, the same benefit of the doubt can hardly be extended when it comes to rewarding Sen. Joe Lieberman for siding against his own party, and for supporting the Republican Presidential Ticket (that he nearly joined) in 2008, and for filling other important cabinet posts. Let us remember that, in 2006, Sen. Lieberman was openly rejected by Democratic voters in a Connecticut primary, but ran as an independent candidate against the official Democratic anti-Iraq war candidate, Ned Lamont, in his own state of Connecticut. Could any other American politician, other than this fanatically pro-Iraq war and pro-AIPAC senator, have received the same generous accolade after being rejected by Democratic voters and after switching party lines twice, in both 2006 and 2008 elections?



Why then was Sen. Joe Lieberman allowed to keep his chairmanship of the all-important Senate Homeland Security Committee, with the implicit backing of President-elect Barack Obama, despite his high profile support for GOP presidential nominee John McCain during the 2008 presidential campaign? (N.B.: For the record, Sen. Barack Obama initially supported Lieberman over Lamont in 2006.) It is fair to say that if Sen. John McCain had won on November 4, Joe Lieberman would have gotten a high cabinet position in the new McCain Republican administration. Now that Lieberman is back in his powerful position in the Democratic-run Congress, it is also fair to say that this politician cannot lose, whatever he does. For him, at least, the Democrats and the Republicans are just two wings of a single large Establishment Party, in Washington D.C., between which some politicians are free to move at will.



What's going on over there? Does the desire to have a filibuster-proof threshold of sixty Democratic senators—and the good old-buddy system—explain and justify everything? Obviously, people are entitled at least to an explanation, lest rumors start to circulate that President Obama is de facto the stooge of powerful special money interests. The worst thing that could happen to a politician is to give the impression that he or she is in the pockets of rich special interests. This could be devastating to his credibility, not only domestically but also internationally.



Indeed, after the above revealing incident and after paying his political debts to supporting constituencies, things got even worse with some other nominations to the Obama cabinet, such as the choice of the crucial Defense secretary. Indeed, president-elect Obama—his promise of ending the Iraq war and changing the mindset in Washington that led to it, and the echo of his slogan "Change You Can Believe In" still ringing in our ears—is said to have decided to leave the Pentagon in the hands of Robert Gates, a Bush appointee who does not believe in ending the Iraq war, who believes in the unlawful concept of preventive war and who says that America has the right to "act violently and alone" in the world! Many may see in this nomination a kind of betrayal of his campaign rhetoric and an overt attempt on Obama's part to please the industrial-military complex.



If the President-elect had wanted to bring Republicans into his administration, while marking a break with the recent past, he could have called on Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), a decorated war veteran, to act as Secretary of Defense. —He did not. Alternatively, President-elect Obama could have asked Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), a former Secretary of the Navy and a critic of Bush's Iraq war, to run the Pentagon. He did not, preferring a member of Bush's team, and this reveals more than anything else Obama's fundamental priority, i.e. to make himself acceptable to the Washington establishment.



This comes in tandem with the expected nomination of pro-war “stay the course” retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser, even though the general initially resisted Bush's rush to war with Iraq. The message here could be that, “as far as U.S. foreign policy is concerned, with Obama, it's business as usual.” Is this so? When a politician aims at pleasing everybody, he usually ends up pleasing nobody.



So far, even though he ran on an anti-Iraq war platform, President-elect Obama has not filled any important government position with individuals who are known to have opposed the war. Therefore, the question must be asked: Was he really sincere when he pretended to be opposed to Bush's war, or was he simply playing politics?



In any case, too many decisions of the Lieberman-Gates-Jones variety, and people will start to think that a few faces may change in Washington D.C., but things really stay the same, no matter the grandiose promises of “change”. Indeed, people are not far from having the impression that President-elect Obama has quickly “gone native”, even before taking office, and that he has been embraced by the more or less corrupt Washington and Wall Street establishments. —He seems to want to fit in. If true, President Obama will make speeches, give press conferences and reign, but he won't govern.



Indeed, was the November 4 U.S. presidential election anything more than a narrow choice between a third term Bush administration and a third term Clinton administration, ...or a mixture of the two?


Source: http://www.thenewamericanempire.com/blog.html

William Greider: Paulson's swindle revealed


Submitted by cpowell on Sun, 2008-11-02 23:47. Section: Daily Dispatches
By William Greider
The Nation
Wednesday, October 29, 2008




The swindle of American taxpayers is proceeding more or less in broad daylight, as the unwitting voters are preoccupied with the national election. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson agreed to invest $125 billion in the nine largest banks, including $10 billion for Goldman Sachs, his old firm. But, if you look more closely at Paulson's transaction, the taxpayers were taken for a ride -- a very expensive ride. They paid $125 billion for bank stock that a private investor could purchase for $62.5 billion. That means half of the public's money was a straight-out gift to Wall Street, for which taxpayers got nothing in return.

These are dynamite facts that demand immediate action to halt the bailout deal and correct its giveaway terms. Stop payment on the Treasury checks before the bankers can cash them. Open an immediate Congressional investigation into how Paulson and his staff determined such a sweetheart deal for leading players in the financial sector and for their own former employer. Paulson's bailout staff is heavily populated with Goldman Sachs veterans and individuals from other Wall Street firms. Yet we do not know whether these financiers have fully divested their own Wall Street holdings. Were they perhaps enriching themselves as they engineered this generous distribution of public wealth to embattled private banks and their shareholders?

Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers, raised these explosive questions in a stinging letter sent to Paulson this week. The union did what any private investor would do. Its finance experts vetted the terms of the bailout investment and calculated the real value of what Treasury bought with the public's money. In the case of Goldman Sachs, the analysis could conveniently rely on a comparable sale twenty days earlier. Billionaire Warren Buffett invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs and bought the same types of securities -- preferred stock and warrants to purchase common stock in the future. Only Buffett's preferred shares pay a 10 percent dividend, while the public gets only 5 percent. Dollar for dollar, Buffett "received at least seven and perhaps up to 14 times more warrants than Treasury did and his warrants have more favorable terms," Gerard pointed out.

"I am sure that someone at Treasury saw the terms of Buffett's investment," the union president wrote. "In fact, my suspicion is that you studied it pretty closely and knew exactly what you were doing. The 50-50 deal -- 50 percent invested and 50 percent as a gift -- is quite consistent with the Republican version of spread-the-wealth-around philosophy."

The Steelworkers' close analysis was done by Ron W. Bloom, director of the union's corporate research and a Wall Street veteran himself who worked at Larzard Freres, the investment house. Bloom applied standard valuation techniques to establish the market price Buffett paid per share compared to Treasury's price. "The analysis is based on the assumption that Warren Buffett is an intelligent third party investor who paid no more for his investment than he had to," Bloom's report explained. "It also assumes that Gold Sachs' job is to protect its existing shareholders so that it extracted from Mr. Buffett the most that it could. ... Further, it is assumed that Henry Paulson is likewise an intelligent man and that if he paid any more than Mr. Buffett -- if he paid $1 for something for which Mr. Buffett would have paid 50 cents -- that the difference is a gift from the taxpayers of the United States to the shareholders of Goldman Sachs."

The implications are staggering. Leo Gerard told Paulson: "If the result of our analysis is applied to the deals that you made at the other eight institutions -- which on average most would view as being less well positioned than Goldman and therefore requiring an even greater rate of return -- you paid a$125 billion for securities for which a disinterested party would have paid $62.5 billion. That means you gifted the other $62.5 billion to the shareholders of these nine institutions."

If the same rule of thumb is applied to Paulson's grand $700 billion bailout fund, Gerard said this will constitute a gift of $350 billion from the American taxpayers "to reward the institutions that have driven our nation and it now appears the whole world into its most serious economic crisis in 75 years."

Is anyone angry? Will anyone look into these very serious accusations? Congress is off campaigning. The financiers at Treasury probably assume any public outrage will be lost in the election returns. I hope they are mistaken.

-----

William Greider is national affairs correspondent for The Nation and author of the national bestsellers "One World, Ready or Not," "Secrets of the Temple," "Who Will Tell The People?," and "The Soul of Capitalism."


***

"Get into The Spirit" -- Euphoria

The Irony of It All


Terror attacks in Mumbay.

What are we to do in Bomb-Bay?

Americans, Brits, and Jews > The Proverbial Israelites

Last week it was Mumbay,

on the other side of the Arabian Sea.

The previous week it was hostage ships,

Attacked by Pirates off Somalia's Coasts,

By Pirates for Ran-Som.


Black Friday Madness

open @ Midnight, 4 and 5 AM,

Discounts up to 60%,

Line up for your lap-top.

Melamine Week-End (Formula is OK)

Food Banks flooded by people seeking food,

Crowd's up, Doubled from previous years.

Yesterday, Ciber-Monday,

Sign-on, and paypal.


Bail-Out Frenzy

Citicorp to lay-off 53,000 employees,

Citygroup (Multi-National Corporation) needs $25 Billion to survive!


Macy's Thanksgiving Parade {Marching Around The Issues}

Buzz Lightyear, Smurf w Frijian Cap,

How many people does it take to hold down these hot air idols?

HUNGER CREEPING IN; SOUP LINES GROW.


And it's business as usual>>>>Shop, it's patriotic!

Arsenio.

Thai airports to reopen after government falls


AFP – Tourists scramble to escape Thailand


By AMBIKA AHUJA, Associated Press Writer Ambika Ahuja, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 16 mins ago


BANGKOK, Thailand – Thailand's prime minister was ousted Tuesday after weeks of protests closed the capital's airports, stranding 300,000 travelers. Protesters promised to lift their siege, and international flights were expected to resume Friday.

The government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat was doomed when the nation's Constitutional Court dissolved Thailand's top three ruling parties for electoral fraud in the 2007 vote that brought them to power. Somchai was banned from politics for five years.

Somchai did not formally resign, as the protesters had demanded for months, but accepted the ruling.

"It is not a problem. I was not working for myself. Now I will be a full-time citizen," he told reporters in Chiang Mai, the northern city where his paralyzed administration has been forced to govern since Wednesday.

Protest leaders said the airport seizures would end Wednesday.

With the waning of the political crisis, the official in charge of Thailand's airports said Suvarnabhumi international airport will resume operations on Friday.


Perfect Storm, Part 2


December 01, 2008

The global economic crisis has taken some astonishing turns in the last couple of months. I believe that you need to know more about what the Bible says about it, and how you should understand this situation. But I especially want to emphasize some amazing prophetic highlights that describe the very people whose names are now essentially household names. I will share with you a statement from the pen of inspiration that amazingly describes in detail what Henry Paulson, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, President Bush and Central bankers and political leaders the world around struggle with every minute of every day.

To begin I want to share with you a statement from God’s messenger to the last generation that tells us about Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, President Bush and other political and economic leaders. To solve the present financial crisis, they try this, and then they try that, but no matter what they do, no matter how much money they throw at the banks and mortgage companies, no matter how many banks they take over… they are clueless. They don’t know what to do. The whole world has been looking to them for a solution, yet with all the unconstitutional authority they have taken to themselves, they can’t begin to comfort the afflicted economy. Some things they do may cause a temporary respite, but the fundamentals haven’t changed.

Here is the statement that describes the global economic difficulties very aptly. It is from the 9th volume of Testimonies for the Church, pages 13 and 14. “There are not many, even among educators and statesmen, who comprehend the causes that underlie the present state of society…”

Now here is the part about Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, President Bush and others. “Those who hold the reins of government are not able to solve the problem of moral corruption, poverty, pauperism, and increasing crime.” Is that true today? No matter how much these leaders talk in platitudes about fixing our schools, beefing up social programs for the poor, and dealing with crime, they cannot change the degrading slide into the moral abyss.

Then the author makes this pointed statement. “They (meaning government leaders) are struggling in vain to place business operations on a more secure basis.”

Doesn’t that sound like what has been happening to Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, President Bush, Kevin Rudd of Australia, Gordon Brown of Great Britain, Nicolas Sarkozy of France and other global central bankers and political leaders during the last few months? The months of September and October gave us the largest corporate failure in world history. Events of that week in October, right after Congress passed the $700 billion bailout of the economy seemed to upend the U.S. Treasury’s bailout plans to stabilize the financial system, just as the Spirit of Prophecy predicted. As it was, Paulsen and Bernanke had essentially taken control of the entire U.S. financial system when Congress granted them virtually unlimited authority to buy out bad assets from banks. In the words of the Christian Science Monitor, the $700 billion bailout legislation “would transform Paulson’s office into that of temporary overseer of America’s entire financial system.”

Christian Science Monitor

NY Times

But that wasn’t even enough to stem the bloodletting on global markets. In fact, the $700 billion bailout voted by the U.S. Congress was changed by a few men at the U.S. Treasury without Congressional approval. USA Today reported on October 13, 2008 that “President Bush on Tuesday announced details of a dramatic change in the $700 billion plan to rescue ailing financial firms, with the government quickly using up to $250 billion to buy stock in banks.” This is a partial nationalization of U.S. Banks without Congressional oversight or approval. President Bush, Henry Paulson and others simply made a unilateral decision to socialize the U.S. economy by buying bank stock with money that Congress approved for something else.

USA Today also reported on what happened: “Executives of the country’s biggest banks were summoned to a remarkable meeting at the Treasury Department to hear the plan Monday. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson basically told the bank CEOs that they had to accept the government stock purchases for the good of the U.S. economy.” This is the first time in American history that the United States has publically and effectively socialized at least part its financial system. How far it will go remains to be seen.

USA Today

Other countries invest in banks BBC


This unprecedented move is unconstitutional and reminds us of the statement in the Spirit of Prophecy that “our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution…” That’s found in the 5th volume of the Testimonies for the Church, page 451. This is a major change in U.S. policy. And the government takeover of the U.S. economy is happening at breakneck speed.

I’ll continue reading from the 9th Volume of the Testimonies for the Church, pages 13 & 14. “The Scriptures describe the condition of the world just before Christ’s second coming. Of the men who by robbery and extortion are amassing great riches, it is written: ‘Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days…’ James 5:3.” The state of the economy tells us that we are living at the very end of time, just before Jesus comes, doesn’t it?

I’ll read on: “But who reads the warnings given by the fast-fulfilling signs of the times? What impression is made upon worldlings? What change is seen in their attitude? No more than was seen in the attitude of the inhabitants of the Noachian world.” What is the Noachian world? That’s the time of Noah.

Jesus gave us a prophecy about what it would be like in the last days in Luke 17:26-27. Listen to the characteristics of our own times spoken by Jesus Himself; “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

Does that sound like something going on today? People are eating and drinking gluttonously. They have serious weight problems because they cannot stop eating and drinking. They gorge themselves, constantly stuffing food in their mouths. This reflects their attitude about the times in which they live. They don’t seem to care that their bodies are the temple of the living God, and they are to glorify God in their bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. They fritter their time away in entertainment while the crisis is unfolding around them. They bury themselves in movies, music and sports. They busy themselves with business enterprises that keep them so occupied that they don’t have time to know the voice of God. They are headed for the lake of fire and they don’t begin to comprehend it.

They marry and give in marriage as if there is going to be no change. Jesus was not saying that marriage was wrong, but that they were not paying attention to the signs of the times and learning to live like Christ. They were blind to His loving counsel to buy of Him characters like gold tried in the fire and eyesalve so that they can see the telling signs of His imminent return

(See Revelation 3:18).

But that is not the only description that Jesus gave us of the last days. The very next verses in Luke 17 give us another description… Listen carefully. This is verses 28-29. “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.”

Notice what was added to what Jesus prophesied. He added the words “they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded…” This verse is incredible! Notice that Jesus predicted the stock market. All the stock markets do is buy and sell. He predicted the housing bubble; people buying and selling homes and real estate. That is what they were doing in Sodom before the great destruction. Perhaps Sodom had the tools to speculate in their own financial markets similar in principle to what we have today. Perhaps Sodom and Gomorrah had developed a real estate bubble too. After all, if everyone wanted to live inside the city for protection, there is limited space to build. So they probably had high-priced real estate just like we have in our cities today. They may have had protection from earthly assault, but they were destroyed by a heavenly assault.

Think about the economy of Sodom for a minute. It was built on wealth and pleasure. They were eating and drinking, they were entertaining themselves and they were funding it by buying and selling real estate at increasingly inflated prices. Morally, they were corrupted to the worst degree. They had abandoned traditional marriage as the bedrock of society. They probably had a huge prostitution industry. They were obviously inebriated by a wide-spread alcohol industry and were steeped in entertainment, fashion and lust.

This is exactly the description of what happens in cities today. We are told that it will be the same now in principle as it was then. The cities are full of immorality. They are concentrated and there is limited space to build. So the real estate values go sky high. People make fortunes and then spend it on themselves in entertainment, luxury and selfish gratification. Today people want to live in the city, but they don’t realize that there is a destruction coming upon the big cities. God tells us that they will be ruined.

Jesus prophesied that the cities at the end of time would be a target for destruction. Listen to this statement from the book Maranatha, page 25, “O that God’s people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry!… Strictly will the cities of the nations be dealt with, and yet they will not be visited in the extreme of God’s indignation, because some souls will yet break away from the delusions of the enemy, and will repent and be converted, while the mass will be treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.”

All of this fits the scenario of our times. The building industry was cranking out homes hand over fist. And people were buying them with reckless abandon, driving their prices up unrealistically. The stock market was going up and up to dizzying heights. All the buying and selling was preparing to suck out the lifeblood of the economy. And many people did make money, for a while. Now that has all tumbled down and crashed around them in fire and brimstone so to speak. People are shocked at how fast things have turned negative. Life was going so well, but all of a sudden everything seems as if it has been turned upside down. People are fearful now. But they have no idea that Jesus, in His holy word, warned them of this time. He said there would be distress of nations and perplexity. They vainly think things will eventually get better and if they can ride out the perfect economic storm, they can indeed be able to carry on where they left off.

I’ll read on from the 9th Volume of the Testimonies for the Church. This is amazing; “Absorbed in worldly business and pleasure, the antediluvians “knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away.” Matthew 24:39.” Is that what is happening now? “They had heaven-sent warnings,” said God’s messenger, “but they refused to listen. And today the world, utterly regardless of the warning voice of God, is hurrying on to eternal ruin.”

You see my friends, people are living with the same mocking and ridiculing attitude toward God and toward His truth as did the people who mocked and ridiculed Noah and Lot. They think that every day will be like the one before, and if not, they will just ride out the storm, just like people in the days of Noah and Lot. They knew the truth. They understood the warnings, but they thought that God was too loving, and that it was impossible that God would destroy them. Are there people today who think that God is so loving that he would not destroy those who refuse to follow His express will? Of course there are. Are there people today who think that the prophecies of the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are not relevant any more, and that God would not do those things that are predicted there? Of course there are. I am one that believes that every detail of the predictions in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy will indeed come to pass. We have been documenting this month after month in our Keep the Faith sermons and Prophetic Intelligence Briefings.

In the current Economic crisis Henry Paulsen and Ben Bernanke have been doing everything they can to solve the crisis. They have been pulling every string, manipulating every interest rate, bailing out banks, insurance companies and coordinating mergers with investment companies, they even pressured Congress successfully to give them virtually unlimited authority over the entire financial system, including the purchase of stock in banks and other financial institutions. Their efforts had a little effect. Then the week of October 6 hit like a wrecking ball in a china shop. Day after day, the markets around the world were hammered and badly damaged.

But there were other things that happened that fateful week in October. On Thursday, October 9, 2008, central banks around the world, including the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the central banks of China, Canada, Sweden and Switzerland took an unprecedented, coordinated step and cut key interest rates in an effort to restart the collapsing global economy. They day before, Australia’s central bank cut its interest rate, and the day after Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, lowered theirs.

Coordinated Interest Rate Cut

Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea


But this didn’t help matters at all. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a whopping hit of more than 600 points anyway, the largest percentage drop since 1987, more than 20 years ago. Other stock markets around the world suffered much the same fate. And for many days, the stock market plunged into a seemingly bottomless pit. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that losses could be expected in the range of 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars from the U.S. stock market alone just on that day. But it is not just interest rate cuts that governments and bankers are using to attempt a rescue of their economies. Central banks are loaning billions upon untold billions to banks and other huge businesses hand over fist. Businesses are going bankrupt. People are losing their jobs by the hundreds of thousands just as God said they would.

IMF

On the same day as the coordinated global interest rate cuts, Iceland’s banks suddenly collapsed and the whole nation teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. In a matter of hours, the government seized the three largest banks in the country. They only opened for business for Icelandic customers while freezing the assets of other customers in Britain and Europe. Their collapse “affected 420,000 British and Dutch customers, and frozen assets held by universities, hospitals, councils and even London’s police force,” said the Canada National Post. Instead of turning to the West for help, the Icelandic government went after a loan from Russia, of all places, to shore up its economy, which has significant global political significance.

Iceland

Never in living memory has there been so much at stake. Everywhere you turn it seems, central banks are doling out billions to shore up their economies. The subprime mortgage crisis has morphed into a full-blown economic collapse, and it is effecting many nations around the world. From Europe to the United States; from Canada to Asia and Australia, the economic news has been terrifying to those who have invested in the stock markets, but it has also struck fear in the hearts and minds of regular families who stand to lose not only their investments and retirement assets, but also their jobs and their homes.

The gigantic government bailouts may have buffered some of the pain for a while. But with falling home prices driving people out of their homes, strangled consumers falling behind on their credit card payments, and credit markets almost completely choked off, the Wall Street panic is destroying Main Street businesses, and Main Street’s continued decline just makes more trouble on Wall Street in return. Cheap credit, which has been at the core of the economic boom of the last two decades is gone!

The government is even bailing out big corporations that have taken advantage of the citizens while paying their executives huge bonuses and golden parachutes. In some cases they are taking them over. For instance, the Federal Reserve is buying 80 percent of the huge AIG insurance corporation. And the U.S. government announced the takeover of giant mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the largest corporate seizure of all time. These companies hold $5.2 trillion in mortgages or about half of all U.S. mortgages. So many foreign governments, including China, Japan, Russia and some Middle Eastern nations had loaned more than a trillion dollars to Fannie and Freddie that the U.S. government took them over for fear that these governments would stop lending to the U.S. government.

The Washington Times quoted Brad Setser, a geo-economics fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations as saying “I suspect this is the first case where foreign central banks exercised their leverage as creditors to push the U.S. government to make a policy decision that protected their interests.”

The Washington Times

The Washington Times


What Setser was saying is that because foreign governments now buy enough U.S. government debt as well as mortgage instruments that they now influence U.S. government decisions. The New York Times observed that “The level and stability of American interest rates and of the dollar are now dependent on the willingness of foreign central banks and other overseas investors to continue lending to the United States.”

New York Times

Foreign governments like China and Russia can now use U.S. debt as leverage; a new kind of weapon to influence U.S. policy. The U.S. government is borrowing against the future to stave off a present collapse. The scripture says “The borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7.

This crisis is changing the course of history! Rarely is there a defining event or series of events like what we are seeing right now. Rarely are there so many forces converging to create the perfect economic storm. Not since September 11, 2001 when terrorists hijacked planes and flew them into the nerve center of New York’s financial district have we seen such a defining moment, such a momentous change. This is the first time we have ever seen anything like this in the internet age.

If you did not receive the first sermon of this Perfect Storm series, you should ask for Perfect Storm, Part 1. That will give you the background as to why we are in this present crisis.

The probable consequences to all this bailing out are serious. There is likely to be much more unemployment with intense hardship for millions. Already, I’ve seen people living out of their cars in parking lots. There will be devastating losses for investors of most types. And finally, perhaps even a deep depression with deflation.

But there are other more serious consequences that perhaps are more subtle. In July of 1944, near the end of World War II, a meeting was held at Bretton Woods, NH in which 730 delegates from nations around the world hammered out an open markets system, an exchange rate system between currencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an international bank that eventually morphed into what is known today as the World Bank. At the end of World War two, and up until 1959, when the agreements signed at Bretton Woods went into effect, the nations of the world each had their own isolated and protectionistic economies and it was very difficult to do international commerce and trade. Monetizing international trade by inventing an exchange rate system created an “open market system” so that nations could trade more easily one with another. But it also created a global system that could be manipulated for the benefit of those who were in control of it, particularly the United States and those that control it’s financial institutions and economy.

The Bretton Woods conference was a defining moment in global economy. It changed everything. It was the end of what was known as “economic nationalism” and inaugurated the rise of a global system of controlled economies. This system has increasingly globalized and integrated itself over the last 50 years to the point today where the whole world is interconnected financially. If one part goes bad if affects many others.

During the current economic crisis there have been international calls for a more globalized control mechanism to manage the economy. The world is still economically dominated by the United States, but this is going to change. It was the United States that got the world in the mess it is currently in to a large extent. America’s global financial hegemony is about to diminish. There are those that think that the control should no longer be rooted in the U.S. And now there are even calls for reshaping the global financial controls established at Bretton Woods.

For example, on Oct 15, 2008 Bloomberg.com quoted European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet who said recently at a speech in New York, “Perhaps what we need is to go back to the first Bretton Woods, to go back to discipline… It’s absolutely clear that financial markets need discipline: macroeconomic discipline, monetary discipline, market discipline,” he said. What he is saying is that the financial markets need more control.

Gordon Brown, prime minister of Great Britain “suggested the most sweeping rethink of global financial architecture since U.S. and European officials met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944,” said Bloomberg. “Brown said national regulators must coordinate their work.” “Trichet,” said Bloomberg.com, “suggested that slowing growth in the 15-nation euro region may curb inflation, paving the way for more [interest] rate cuts.”

What they are talking about, is manipulating and controlling the global economy by creating yet another supranational organization that would eventually expand its powers over all the major economies of the world.

Bloomberg

Bloomberg.com, on October 6, 2008 reported the words of Torsten Slok, an economist at Deutsche Bank AG in New York; “Until now” he said, “the solutions have appeared to be uncoordinated, so perhaps it’s time for a more coordinated approach globally. It’s not just the U.S. and Europe, it’s banks in every part of the world.”

What he is suggesting is more globalized controls of the world economy.

Bloomberg.com also reported the words of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who “called for ‘a real and complete reform of the international financial system.’ He said ‘all actors’’ must be supervised, including credit-rating firms and hedge funds… ‘We want a new world to come out of this’ Sarkozy said.

Bloomberg

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling in calling for a global regime for managing the world’s finances said on September 22, 2008 that “…one government alone cannot deal with the consequences of globalization.” Prime minister Gordon Brown said the next day that “global standards and supervision” are now urgently needed, “because the flows of capital are global, then supervision can no longer just be national but has to be global.” And when Brown and Darling arrived in the United States to promote this concept the Guardian said that they are calling for “a stronger international regulatory system, based around and early-warning system run by the IMF” and that they want to “create an international consensus for a tougher global system of regulation.”

Guardian

Bloomberg

Coordinated Economic control

Darling

Notice that the Europeans and British are the ones talking this way. These men are asking that world finances be controlled by an international body based at the IMF that would control virtually everything about the economy. They want a more European flavor to world economic policies and controls. The reality is that the United States is still the foundation of the economic system and would remain so, but the Europeans want to influence it much more than before, perhaps even use it to their own advantage.

Stratfor on Bretton Woods

I want you to think about the implications of this. European leaders and financiers are angling to restore financial leadership to Europe once again. Remember that the key leaders of the European Union, like Angela Merkel of Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy of France are working to resurrect the Holy Roman Empire and place the pope once again as the spiritual and temporal leader of Europe. The fact is, Europe needs to be a strong financial powerhouse to achieve it. European leaders no doubt see their opportunity. The financial implosion is their chance to mount a coup d‘état of the global financial system. No doubt the Pope, whom Revelation connects with the merchants or economic leaders of the world, also sees a marvelous opportunity to bring enormous economic power back to Europe.

First, there is coming a national Sunday law and then a universal one in response to national and global emergencies that will threaten to undo the stability of the world’s finances and political system. This will include “no buy, no sell laws” against anyone that does not go along with these Sunday laws. They too will first be national and then universal. If there is going to be a universal Sunday law with relevant and enforceable “no buy, no sell” penalties there has to be a universal way to control the flow of money around the world. This is what is being created right now in response to the economic crisis. Already the United States has taken the authority to freeze the assets of the terrorists in the war on terror. That means that anyone or any organization that is identified as terrorist related cannot do business with or in the United States legally. They cannot buy nor sell. Now, because of the economic crisis, the mechanisms may well be put in place in the near future to do the same thing on a global basis.

This new global financial system will place the control of huge economies into the hands of even fewer people than it is now, who can be manipulated or controlled by Rome or others on behalf of Rome to restrict the liberties of God’s people. The stakes are getting larger my friends, as we near the great crisis for God’s people. Some think that it is impossible for Sunday laws to emerge with strict “no-buy, no sell laws” or other penalties. But governments are diligently, though perhaps unwittingly, preparing to do just that. They think they are solving a global economic crisis, while in effect they are preparing to be used by Satan to persecute God’s people, fulfilling the very prophecies of Revelation 13 that so many think are improbable. Governments around the world have to have the mechanisms in place to choke off the ability of God’s people to use money and the monetary system if they are going to implement the strictest Sunday laws.

Just a few days after the statements of Brown and Darling, on Oct 10, 2008 another set of meetings occurred that began the process of changing everything again, and which will further centralize the global economy… The Group of Seven (G7) met in Washington DC, according to Stratfor.com, to discuss the economic crisis. The G7 includes the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Japan – the seven largest economies in the world.

Then the same group met privately with the Russian Finance Minister for supper. They know that Russia is the wild card, and a potential spoiler. Russia is one of three countries that have huge reserves in cash – along with China and Saudi Arabia – and can make contrary moves that can make matters a whole lot worse in the West. Russia has been flexing its muscle lately and obviously it was felt that Russian cooperation in the global economic rescue is vital. But Russia will lay down its own terms of cooperation, which yet remain to be seen.

Then on the 11th, the G7 sent IMF officials in a flurry of meetings with the G20, the 20 largest economies in the world to discuss the plan and get their cooperation. Their plan in part, as details have emerged so far at the time I’m recording this, involves governments giving banks cash in exchange for part ownership, which amounts to a partial nationalization of banks in the U.S. and other parts of the world. This will change the banking industry dramatically and will give the nationalized banks significant advantages over private banks. Direct investment in banks like this will allow governments to influence decision making at major banks, which means that it can force or pressure them to lend to each other. This is a serious step. For the first time in history, U.S. banks will have the government holding their stock. This is one of the first steps of socialization of the economic system in the United States.

Stratfor

My friends, there is no earthly place to hide. There is no cozy place where people can place their money and be secure. And there seems to be no end to this crisis. By the time you receive this message, we could well be in the midst of a serious global depression. If not, then we can thank the God of heaven.

My friends, I am so thankful for Jesus Christ who is coming back again soon. He died for you because he loves you and wants you to live with Him forever. Your future is in His hands if you are a follower of Jesus. If you are a true follower of Jesus, then you have followed Him by faith into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary and have had your sins blotted out so that you can receive the latter rain. You know what that means don’t you? That means that you have turned from every sin, and have, by Christ living in you, put away all your sins so that you don’t do them anymore and so that Jesus can blot them out. If you haven’t done that, there is no more important time than right now to come to Jesus, not just for forgiveness, but for cleansing and especially power to overcome them. If He lives in you, you cannot sin, because where Jesus is, there can be no sin. I want that experience, don’t you? Don’t let anything get past Bible scrutiny in your life. Also take out the Spirit of Prophecy and read it carefully so that you know what to do and how to survive the fast coming crisis.

The only ones who will be secure in these tough economic times are those that have followed God’s counsel. Some have scoffed at the counsel in the Spirit of Prophecy that we should live in the country so we can grow our own vegetables. Some have scoffed at the idea that we should shun debt like the plague. They have gone ahead and charged up their credit cards, maxed out their home equity, and generally lived recklessly. Now they are in great danger of having no place to live, or having no money to buy food. If the nations recover from this crisis, it will be the angels that have held back the winds of strife. But it is a warning to all of us, that our loyalties must be clear, and our faith strong as we lean on Christ to empower and sustain us.

There is a scripture text that I want to share with you. It is found in Luke 21:25 & 26. “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; the sea and the waves roaring; 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.

Doesn’t that describe how people are feeling right now? Notice too that the nations are full of perplexities and distress. It’s not just individuals. Yet this is only the beginning. We are not yet to the climax of fear and terror. The economy is causing a lot of pain, but it is mild compared to the time of trouble such as never was predicted by Daniel the prophet in God’s word.

And you think that we have a war in Iraq. Wait until you see what is coming. There are preparations for war taking place right now. War always follows depression. It is a way for governments to get their nations back on an economic footing. There is also preparation for something far more serious for you as a follower of Jesus. These things are only the beginning of sorrows, said Jesus in Matt 24. The climax of sorrows is when the worldly churches and worldly Christian people turn on God’s true remnant and attempt to destroy them because they are a living testimony against their wickedness. If you aren’t a living testimony to the power of Christ in your life, you will never be persecuted. So there you have it. To avoid persecution, all you need to do is be worldly. Read those novels, watch those movies, play those sports, listen to that rock music and its derivatives, and by all means eat, eat, eat; indulge yourself, live for the moment, take all you can get. You’ll never have any persecution that way. And you’ll never have another life to look forward to either.

Listen to this statement from the pen of God’s messenger to the last generation church. It is found in the book Great Controversy, page 509… After a long list of disasters which will no doubt cause further economic trouble, Ellen White wrote; “And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils.” So this is where all this distress is going. “The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors.” You see, those to whom money is their God hate to have reproof and they must create some sort of scapegoat to take the attention off of their corruption. Martin Weiss, a market analyst and adviser recently wrote of the economic collapse, “Greed has been replaced by fear; euphoria, by panic; trust, by suspicion.” That is quite a description. What drives the markets is greed. The fact is that greed eventually turns on it host and generates fear. This is the danger of greed… It always leads, at some time or another, to unresolved panic. Imagine what greedy people will face when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of glory! That will cause a panic like no other. But it will be too late.

My friend, if you struggle with greed and covetousness, this is the time to deal with it, because there is coming a time when Jesus will leave the sanctuary in heaven and will no longer plead for guilty man. Some people don’t believe that He is in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary and they just keep on going with their double lives, claiming to be followers of Christ, but going in the opposite direction. Many have ridiculed the idea that Jesus will not save those that do not live by all of His law. They say that Jesus just loves everyone, and if you intellectually accept Him, then you will be saved. Many of God’s remnant people think that so long as you are in the church and you are claiming the forgiveness of Jesus, then you will enter the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem. My friends, please don’t believe it. Jesus did die on the cross to forgive your sins and mine. But there is much more to salvation. Jesus has defined what it actually means to love Him and follow Him. The Apostle John gives us Jesus own words in John 14:15. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” What are His commandments? That is His law. For He said in Matthew 22:37-40, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

So you see, the law is the basis of God’s kingdom. Those who will be there will have kept His law. They will not have covetousness. Nor will they have greed or any other evil thought or deed.

Do you know how to cure greed? Here is how… Help someone else. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor and come follow Him. He had a problem with greed. Jesus addressed that problem squarely. And he gave the solution… Find someone that is less fortunate and be a blessing to them and help them.

Here is another way to overcome greed. Jesus gave us the principle of tithing so that we can show that we understand that all our possessions are from Him and belong to Him. Tithing is meant to confront greed. Greedy people don’t return their tithe to the Lord with a cheerful heart. Also, God requires offerings. This even gets closer to home than tithing. We show by our generosity to God’s cause, how much we love Him, and how much we hate greed. Sometimes we tithe because we know that unless we do we will be “unfaithful” and we don’t want that against us. But in our offerings, do we return as much as we can, or do we return as little as we can? Most of God’s people return just as little as they think they can, and justify themselves that this is all they can do. But the record books of heaven show that greed has kept back what God could have used in His cause. The cure for the disease of covetousness is active compassion for the poor and returning faithful tithes and offerings. My friends, if we really love Jesus, we will love His work, particularly when and where present truth is preached or taught.

I’ll continue reading from Great Controversy about the reaction of the people to the terrible calamities that are coming upon the world. “It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity.”

Keep in mind that those who declare this will have a long history to support them. They will say that Sunday has always been the Christian tradition and that it is now God’s will for His people. They will also have the media on their side, and the courts, the Congresses and the Parliaments of the world. They will have economic incentives to press for a Sunday law because they think that the economy will right itself if the nations repent and turn to God. That means to most, that the nations of the world should enact Sunday laws.

Those that attempt to defend the truth may also end up in the media spotlight, but it will be in the most negative way. Don’t expect fairness in reporting. The bias will all be in favor of persecution, and the most barbarous of punishments will be meted out on God’s people.

Notice my friends that the people clamor for a Sunday law because they want to be restored to God’s favor and temporal prosperity. They agitate against those that hold the true Sabbath in their hearts and obey the Lord of the Sabbath. They are accused of being like Elijah, a troubler of Israel.

Let us now consider what to do during an economic crisis. Those few who are now still living who went through the depression as children will perhaps be able to tell you how they survived. The Great Depression affected their core values like faith, self-reliance, their attitude toward money, and material possessions. Here is some of the advice that they might give you.

Because money was so scarce, something as simple as a toaster was purchased with much thought and care. Manufacturers understood this and provided sturdy models that would last a lifetime if treated well. You can still find these toasters at garage sales. Plug them in and they work, unlike their distant cousins twice removed, purchased three years ago at WalMart. You may treat them well, but they are not designed to reward your loyalty, for we live in the era of disposables and planned obsolesence. Our landfills and storage sheds attest to this addiction to the newest cheap gadget. The lesson here is to purchase the best quality you can afford, saving for it, if necessary and then carefully maintaining it. Zippier models may appear, but if old faithful still works or can be repaired, be content with what you have.

Here’s another piece of advice. Saving money was very much a part of that generation’s thinking. The thinking was that a certain percentage of every dollar should go into savings. You never knew when there would be a rainy day, for you—or someone you loved. Until you’ve paid the last penny for an item bought on credit, you don’t own it. So—pay cash. And save until you have the money to buy it. And the things you can’t afford learn to do without, improvise, or buy a used model and fix it up. Avoid borrowing, even by carrying over a balance on a credit card.

Thirdly, there was no sense of entitlement—that someone owed you something. The idea of depending on someone else to help you out landed people in bread or soup lines. Instead, you figured things out for yourself, helped your neighbors to do the same, and kept a healthy distance between yourself and government promises, handouts, and interventions. I even heard a story about an ancestor of one of my friends who tore up his government farm subsidy check and threw it away. He wasn’t about to demean himself by a government handout. Bartering goods and services between neighbors and communities was a common form of economic exchange. The more practical skills you possessed, especially with the land and your ability to produce your own food, the more likely it was that you would survive unemployment, bank closures, and financial collapse. That also meant living in the country, which is one key piece of God’s survival counsel for today.

Fourthly, despite your self-reliance, savings, and frugality, God was the ultimate One who blessed your crops, helped you stretch a tight budget, and worked out the little miracles to keep the rubber tires functioning long after their intended life. You tithed, were generous to those in need, and kept a positive, grateful attitude about life. When things went wrong, you had a Heavenly Father who took over and extended your “barley loaves and fishes.”

If you’ve haven’t cultivated these qualities and abilities, start now. Consider yourself blessed above many if you have. From all the economic gloom and doom I’ve been hearing lately, it’s going to take these qualities to weather the perfect economic storm bearing down on our world.

My friends, God is speaking through this economic storm to warn us of what we must do to be ready for Jesus to come. Please don’t turn from His wise counsel. Let yourself be controlled by the Master. Your life is soon to be thrown into chaos. If you want to have peace in the midst of it all, you must have Jesus controlling your life.


Source: http://www.ktfministry.org/sermons/328/perfect-storm-part-2