Thursday, March 26, 2009

The First Angel's Message and The 144,000


2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

3And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

4These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

5And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

6And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Revelation 14: 2-7.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Emergency Broadcast - New World Order Ahead!

by Wes Penre, Illuminati News, March 14, 2009

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHvTy_fVdJ8&eurl=http://www.davidicke.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=30&Itemid=48&feature=player_embedded

New World Order Ahead!

Incredibly enough, there are millions upon millions of people out there who have never heard of the New World Order [definition], although it is mentioned in the mainstream media all the time, or if they have heard of it, they never thought twice about what it means.

Others, who are lazy by nature, not as intelligent or just brainwashed, say it is just all a stupid Conspiracy Theory and people who engage themselves with such stuff are either mentally ill to some degree, lonely, bored or even totally nuts. There is no such thing as a New World Order, One World Government, Global Currency and a Power Elite many people call "The Illuminati" [definition]. Bush, Clinton, Obama and the rest of the Elite are just doing their best to save us from an accidental financial meltdown that no one could predict.

Of course, there were some unethical bankers who played around with our money and stole our pensions, but they were just a few criminals unrelated to each other. They just wanted to earn some extra millions on our behalf and that's the whole story. They should go to jail and then everything will be fine. The Government will see to that eventually. The Government will also soon help us up on our feet again and everything will go back to normal.

No matter how incredible the above paragraph sounds, this is what the majority of the population believes! If you are one of them you may say: "Sure, that's the way it is and Wes Penre is nuts if he thinks otherwise".

Yes, I do think otherwise, and I'll tell you why...or maybe I won't. Pictures almost always say more than words, so why don't we take a look at what our heroes, the Bush's, the Clintons, the Obama's, the Gordon Brown's of this world are saying we should do so they can take us out of this out-of-proportion-global-crisis. I am sure they soon have it all figured out so we can go back to a normal life, having job security, secure borders with reasonable immigration laws; the dollar will go back up again to being the leading currency, and the Government will see to our welfare.

Or...? Oh no, what are they saying here? Obama talking about a New World Order? Brown? Clinton? Bush? What is this??? One World Government? One World Currency? World Central Bank? Are they kidding???



">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHvTy_fVdJ8&feature=player_embedded



Source: http://www.illuminati-news.com/new-world-order-ahead.html
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Focus on tourism


Thursday, March 26 2009

TRAVEL WEEKLY: Although the top issues at the fifth Summit of the Americas will be the current economic crisis and access to increased credit and lending, Caribbean tourism leaders are hoping that issues facing tourism in the region will be on the table.

Trinidad will be the first Caribbean country to host the summit, which will bring together government officials from the 34 countries that make up the Organisation of American States to discuss broad issues of cooperation, energy, security, environmental sustainability and balanced partnerships. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad in Port-of-Spain from April 17 to 19.

The summit will offer the first opportunity for US President Barack Obama “to listen to his colleagues from the Americas, promote his doctrine of partnership and cooperation, and engage in dialogue with the hemisphere leaders,” according to Jeffrey Davidow, the White House Summit advisor.

Russell George, general manager of the 428-room Hyatt Regency Trinidad, which opened in December 2007, said the property was sold out, as were all of the capital's major hotels, inns and guesthouses. The Hyatt's 16,000- square-foot grand ballroom and the smaller 10,000- square-foot ballroom will be used for summit sessions and receptions.

The government may lease two cruise ships to house government delegations and media attending the conference. Streets in parts of the capital city will be closed to vehicular traffic and businesses near the Hyatt will be shuttered; air access also will be curtailed while the leaders come and go. Trees bordering Piarco Airport outside of Port-of-Spain were deemed security risks and were cut down.

Obama will lead a 1,000-member delegation.

Summit security arrangements are in full swing. Police and soldiers from several nations will provide security for Obama and other leaders. Hundreds of troops from Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Suriname and other nations will bolster Trinidad’s security forces.

Source: http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,97333.html

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Largest troop contingent arrives at Piarco


March 24,2009

A contingent of soldiers and policemen from Jamaica arrived at the Piarco International Airport around 5:30 p.m. on Monday march 23rd,2009.

The contingent, which comprises 130 soldiers and 30 police officers, will join their CARICOM counterparts from Belize, Barbados, Suriname and Guyana to assist the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force in their security preparations for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which takes place in Port of Spain from the 17th -19th April 2009.

On Saturday at around 7:15pm troops from Guyana and Suriname arrived in Trinidad and Tobago.

Gold Commander for the Summit of the Americas, Assistant Police Commissioner Steve Waldron expressed his satisfaction with security preparations thus far and thanked the officers and their "Governments for supporting the security arrangements for the Summit". He also reminded them of the significant role they play in the success of the Summit.

Additional CARICOM troops are expected from the Bahamas, and St Kitts/Nevis on Tuesday 24,2009, while troops from Barbados will arrive on April 4, 2009.
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Clinton: U.S. Helped Cause Mexico's Drug War


Wednesday, March 25, 2009 1:51 PM


MEXICO CITY — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that America's "insatiable" demand for illegal drugs and inability to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico are fueling an alarming spike in violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

The United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with the violence, Clinton said. The administration will work with Mexican authorities to improve security on both sides of the border, she said.


"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."


"I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility," she told reporters accompanying her to Mexico City a day after the Obama administration said it would send more money, technology and manpower to secure the United States' Southwestern frontier and help Mexico battle the cartels.


Obama himself said Tuesday that he wanted the U.S. to do more to prevent guns and cash from illicit drug sales from flowing across the border into Mexico.


"That's part of what's financing their operations. That's part of what's arming them. That's what makes them so dangerous," he told a news conference. "And this is something that we take very seriously and we're going to continue to work on diligently in the months to come."


Clinton's remarks, delivered ahead of her arrival in Mexico City, appeared more forceful in recognizing the U.S. share of the blame. Mexican officials have complained in the past, particularly under the Bush administration, that Washington never acknowledged the extent that the U.S. demand for drugs and weapons smuggling played in fueling the violence.


"These criminals are outgunning the law enforcement officials," she said, referring to guns and military-style equipment like night vision goggles and body armor that the cartels are smuggling into Mexico from the United States.


"Clearly, what we have been doing has not worked and it is unfair for our incapacity ... to be creating a situation where people are holding the Mexican government and people responsible," Clinton said. "That's not right."


She said she would repeat her acknowledgment as loudly and as often as needed during her two-day visit to Mexico City and Monterrey during which she will brief Mexican officials on the administration's plans for the border and counter-narcotics aid to Mexico.


The administration announced Tuesday that it would increase the number of immigration and customs agents, drug agents and antigun-trafficking agents operating along the border. It also will send more U.S. officials to work inside Mexico.


In addition, it will allow federal funds to be used to pay for local law enforcement involved in Southwestern border operations and, at the same time, U.S. prosecutors will boost efforts to go after those smuggling guns and drug profits from the U.S. into Mexico.


The measures fall short of calls from some Southwestern states that troops be deployed to prevent further spillover of the violence, which has surged since Mexican President Felipe Calderon stepped up his government's battle against the cartels.


"If the steps that we've taken do not get the job done, then we will do more," Obama said.


In her discussions, Clinton plans to stress Obama's commitment and encourage Calderon and his top aides to boost efforts to combat rampant corruption by promoting police and judicial reform, according to senior U.S. officials.


U.S. help for such projects began under a three-year, $1.4-billion-dollar Bush administration-era program known as the Merida Initiative through which Congress already has approved $700 million to support Mexico's efforts to fight the cartels.


Clinton's visit is among several high-level meetings on the matter. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are to meet with Mexican officials in early April before Obama is expected in Mexico ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Source:
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/clinton_mexico_blame_drug/2009/03/25/195980.html
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Why Probation Lingers


The 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. 2 Peter 3:9.

I was shown our danger, as a people, of becoming assimilated to the world rather than to the image of Christ. We are now upon the very borders of the eternal world, but it is the purpose of the adversary of souls to lead us to put far off the close of time. Satan will in every conceivable manner assail those who profess to be the commandment-keeping people of God and to be waiting for the second appearing of our Saviour in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will lead as many as possible to put off the evil day and become in spirit like the world, imitating its customs. I felt alarmed as I saw that the spirit of the world was controlling the hearts and minds of many who make a high profession of the truth. . . .

In consideration of the shortness of time we as a people should watch and pray, and in no case allow ourselves to be diverted from the solemn work of preparation for the great event before us. Because the time is apparently extended, many have become careless and indifferent in regard to their words and actions. They do not realize their danger and do not see and understand the mercy of our God in lengthening their probation, that they may have time to form characters for the future, immortal life. Every moment is of the highest value. Time is granted them, not to be employed in studying their own ease and becoming dwellers on the earth, but to be used in the work of overcoming every defect in their own characters and in helping others, by example and personal effort, to see the beauty of holiness. God has a people upon the earth who in faith and holy hope are tracing down the roll of fast-fulfilling prophecy and are seeking to purify their souls by obeying the truth, that they may not be found without the wedding garment when Christ shall appear. . . .

The signs foretold in prophecy are fast fulfilling around us. This should arouse every true follower of Christ to zealous action.

Maranatha, E. G. White, p. 92.
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

THE ECUMENICAL PLAN


THE ECUMENICAL PLAN

FOR UNITY


As outlined by Jesuits
Do we have any documented Jesuit strategy for uniting the Protestant Churches under Catholic leadership.

The Jesuit Karl Rahner, top Jesuit scholar of the twentieth century, with Heinrich Fries, Roman Catholic professor of Ecumenical Theology, lay out the strategy for achieving the unity of the churches under Rome's direction, in their book, "Unity of the Churches: An Actual Possibility," published in 1983.

Their book "is a product of seasoned scholars, building on the earlier work of the Second Vatican council, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches"

Thesis I --Build a Community of Faith
"The fundamental truths of Christianity, as they are expressed in Holy Scripture, in the Apostles' Creed, and in that of Nicaea and Constantinople are binding on all partner churches of the one Church to be. . .The one Church to be is a possibility only if it is a community of faith. . .the individual receives his faith by way of the community of faith and of the believers; and . . .the individual comes to faith by joining this antecedent community. . .The community therefore assumes primacy over the individual in the realm of Christian faith because the recipient and carrier of the original message was from the very beginning a ‘people' of believers and not an isolated individual." p.13

Note: This shows the push to focus only on Christ, for the unity can only be achieved if it is a community of faith and not one that worries about doctrines or believe systems. The theme throughout the plan is on the community of faith. In this the church takes precedence over the individual — theology can only be done in and by the community, not by the individuals.

I wonder how Noah, and Jeremiah would have fared in this system? Or Elijah as he stood alone on Mount Carmel for God?

Thesis I rests on the Creeds which express, in Fries words, "the fundamental truths of Christian faith. Furthermore, the Creed draws attention to the fact that faith is not a private matter. . .the public community of faith itself . . .has its support and basis of existence in the Creed." p. 16

Note: The apostle showed that religion does not consist in rites and ceremonies, creeds and theories. If it did, the sinful people could be saved just by following the creed. Paul taught that religion is a practical, saving energy, a principle wholly from God, a personal experience of God's renewing power upon the individual person. A writing of God's law upon each individual heart. Yet here we see this plan telling us people must be educated to following a believe system that is part of the whole community of believers! Private ideas about faith are not good? -- Of course, as we read on, they push diversity with tongue in check declaring faith is not of private interpretation.

Thesis II Individual Dogma

"Beyond that (accepting the creed), a realistic principle of faith should apply: Nothing may be rejected decisively and confessionally in one partner church which is binding dogma in another partner church. P. 25

Note: This means that no church structure is vocal about rejecting decisively as wrong any dogma or doctrine presents in another church
(except of course the three angels message because it goes directly against the creed)

Rahner continues to explain that the information explosion has caused such an overload of ideas that no one can possibility form his own conclusions. "As an individual, one becomes ever more impotent; one has to depend more and more on the knowledge of others, which one can no longer assimilate or check oneself. . .except among the few in the Roman Congregation of the Faith (Inquisition) who must watch over and judge the orthodoxy of other theologians' doctrines." p.28-29

Note: The individual's brain becomes impotent and therefore must put his trust in the church . . .
"for the church itself is the guarantor, through its formal teaching authority, of the truth of the individual doctrines it presents.? P. 32

Rahner calls for the Protestant churches to merely "reserve judgment" (don't judge) and make room for the not-yet agreed upon but nevertheless acknowledged as agreed up."

Confusing talk but what it says is to agree to agree on what you don't really agree on.

Rahner then declares: "Actually the only requirement is that these other churches not reject out of hand an explicit doctrine of the Catholic church as being irreconcilable with the fundamental substance of their Christianity. The development of ECCLESIASTICAL CONSCIOUSNESS in all the churches has progressed to such an extent that this is possible." P. 39

Note: The Jesuit's primary concern is with the development of ecclesiastical consciousness — that means changing the thinking of the church leaders.

Thesis III

"In this one Church of Jesus, composed of the uniting churches, there are regional partner churches which can, to large extent, maintain their existing structures." p. 43

Note: The churches will not be turned into Catholic Churches, they will maintain outward independence but still be assimilated into one church.

The book describes the unity churches already enjoy as they cooperate in many areas and how this will continue in greater measure.

Churches are to maintain their existing structures, but they should all form a sisterhood of pluralism. "Rome must not ask for their dissolution in order to achieve unity,.. . .there must be fraternal exchanges and intensive cooperation among the theologians of these churches.

Herein is the greatest danger — the structure of the churches remain — but the inside is totally changed to fit the mold.

Again that is exactly what we see happening--
Change the church -- change it's doctrines.
--so the church will fit into the scheme of the great deceptive religious movement. Yet people will believe that just because they are a part of the system they are saved --
when in actuality the system will have departed far from the truth.

But now comes the crunch:
What about those things they agreed to agree on even though they did not agree?
"The solution to these problems will nevertheless require that all sides give up a certain number of old familiar customs, so as to make possible not just coexistence with tolerance and much indifference but a true unity."

Note: The idea is to decide first in favor of unity then, they will have to give up certain number of old familiar customs.

Now comes Rahner's stunning foundation statement:

"With respect to ecclesiastical leadership the average congregation in the Protestant churches in fact usually practices the kind of obedience to their church leaders that is customary in the roman Catholic church. Therefore one should not overestimate the danger of a rebellion at the grass roots against their ecclesiastical leaders' decisions regarding unification. On the basis of their theological expertise and their religious conscience, the representatives of this ecclesiastical leadership can decide in favor of church unity, and can also work with sufficient zeal among the church members to gain their understanding for this decision" p. 54

The plan is to focus on the leaders--get them in partnership with the plan (how do they do this? Infiltration?) — if the leaders are changed they will then lead their churches into change that will render them acceptable to the unification.

So now -- having convinced the people that the "community of faith" is the most important aspect of salvation -- all they need to do is get enough leaders changed and the people will follow like sheep to the slaughter.

Finally Thesis IV

"All partner churches acknowledge the meaning and right of the Petrine service of the Roman pope to be the concrete guarantor of the unity of the church in truth and love" p. 59

Ellen White prophesied all this years ago.
GC.444
" The wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But there has been for years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed--however important they might be from a Bible standpoint--must necessarily be waived.

When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.

And what do we see just ahead? Another general council! A world's convention! Evangelical alliance, and universal creed!" When this shall be gained, then, in the effort to secure complete uniformity, it will be only a step to the resort to force."

Now the question : Are we being lead into this plan?

Source: http://dedication.www3.50megs.com/jplan.html
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The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional


The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional
By CHARLES CHINIQUY


A former priest warns of the dangers of the confessional


"Charles Chiniquy (1809-1899) a Canadian Prysbyterian convert from Roman Catholicism, born at Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada of Roman Catholic parents, and studied at the college of Nicolet, Canada, professor of belles-lettres there after graduation until 1833. in 1833 ordained a Roman Catholic priest, and until 1846 was vicar and curate in the province of Quebec where he established the first temperance society, winning the title "Apostle of Temperence of Canada." In 1851 established an extensive Roman Catholic colony at Kankakee, Illinois. In 1858 left the church of Rome and joined the Canadian Presbyterian Church taking his congregation at Kankakee with him. Lectured in England and in Australia (1878-1882). Published a number of books and tracts on temperance and anti-Romanism, some of which became very popular and were translated into several languages." (From "The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary of the Church," page 90, Elgin S. Moyer, 1982, ©Moody Press, Chicago, IL)

Also available for online reading: "Fifty Years in the Chuch of Rome" by Chiniquy

If you wish to find out how to order a copy of this book, please click here...

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

CHAPTER I. The Struggle before the Surrender of Womanly Self-respect in the Confessional.

CHAPTER II Auricular Confession a deep Pit of Perdition for the Priest.

CHAPTER III. The Confessional is the Modern Sodom.

CHAPTER IV. How the Vow of Celibacy of the Priests is made easy by Auricular Confession.

CHAPTER V. The highly-educated and refined Woman in the Confessional What becomes of her after unconditional surrender Her irreparable Ruin.

CHAPTER VI. Auricular Confession destroys all the Sacred Ties of Marriage and Human Society.

CHAPTER VII. Should Auricular Confession be tolerated among Civilized Nations?

CHAPTER VIII. Does Auricular Confession bring Peace to the Soul?

CHAPTER IX. The Dogma of Auricular Confession a Sacrilegious Imposture.

CHAPTER X. God compels the Church of Rome to confess the Abominationsof Auricular Confession.

CHAPTER XI. Auricular Confession in Australia, America, and France.

CHAPTER XII. A Chapter for the Consideration of Legislators, Husbands, and Fathers Some of the matters on which the Priest of Rome must question his Penitents.


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Ron Paul: Federal Reserve is to blame for Financial Crisis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw3PfUUDmyM&feature=player_embeddedhttp://

King warns against more spending

Page last updated at 22:13 GMT, Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, has cautioned against further significant government spending to stimulate the economy.


Mervyn King: "It would be sensible to be cautious"



Given the high levels of UK debt as a result of recent stimulus packages, Mr King questioned the wisdom of increasing debt by spending more.

He did, however, say that there was room for further "targeted and selected measures" in some areas of the economy.

The government said there was no rift with Mr King over stimulus action.

Mr King was answering questions from MPs at a Treasury committee.

His comments came as official figures showed a surprise rise in consumer price inflation.

This increased to 3.2% in February, from 3% in January, led by the rising cost of imported goods.

'Higher deficits'

Mr King said increasing levels of debt in the face of the economic downturn was the right course of action.

"I think it's right to accept that when the economy turns down and the automatic stabilisers kick in, so the increased benefit expenditures and lower tax revenues are bound to lead to higher fiscal deficits," he said.

He is effectively saying that the government would be mad to consider another large stimulus package

"So we are going to have to accept, for the next two to three years, very large fiscal deficits."

But the current high level of debt means the government needs to be careful about further spending, Mr King argued.

"Given how big those deficits are, I think it would be sensible to be cautious about going further in using discretionary measures to expand the size of those deficits," he said.

"I think the fiscal position in the UK is not one where we could say, 'well, why don't we just engage in another significant round of fiscal expansion'."

'Marked signal'

The BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders said the governor's comments came at an awkward time for Gordon Brown.

This is because the prime minister is currently touring the world ahead of next week's G20 summit, calling on governments to back US and UK plans for possible further stimulus action.

She said Mr King was sending "a very marked signal to Gordon Brown".

The Prime Minister's spokesman said the government had "been clear that we will do whatever it takes to see us through the global downturn and a crucial part of that is to ensure that we co-ordinate action globally".

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said Mr King's comments were a vindication of Conservative Party policies.

"The governor is sending a very clear warning that this country cannot borrow its way out of debt," he said.

"We are already heavily indebted and plans for a second stimulus package, which Gordon Brown has been talking up, should not go ahead."

'No rift'

Despite Mr King's warnings, there is no indication that the Treasury has plans for further significant spending in a stimulus package in the next budget.

Chief Treasury Secretary Yvette Cooper said there was no rift between the government and the Bank of England over economic policy.

"What [Mr King] said is we need to take a sensible approach, which we always do," she said.

"Further measures will take place, for example to help people get employment subsidies and training subsidies to help them get back to work.

"This has been supported not just by the Bank of England but by the CBI."

Mr Brown's official spokesman said that the bank "has supported the current action of fiscal stimulus".

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7961900.stm
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Countering a changing terror threat

The strategy looks more at dealing with unconventional attacks



Page last updated at 13:36 GMT, Tuesday, 24 March 2009

By Gordon Corera
BBC Security Correspondent


The strategy looks more at dealing with unconventional attacks

The UK's strategy for countering international terrorism is a reworking rather than a fundamental overhaul of the existing framework known as Contest.

The document does though contain a far more detailed analysis of where the threat has come from, why it has changed and where it may go in the future.

Officials say it is unprecedented to place this much analysis in the public domain.

The strategy argues that al-Qaeda as an organisation is likely to fragment and may not survive in its current form.

However its ideology and the factors that sustain terrorism will persist -leading the threat to mutate, with a greater role for self-starting groups.

New technology

Additionally, there are fears that terrorist organisations may have access to new technology and so become capable of conducting more lethal operations.

Terrorist groups have long sought to use unconventional weapons - biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological - but it is now feared that greater availability of technology coupled with problems like theft and smuggling means they are more likely to be able to get their hands on what they have been seeking.

As a result, the focus on dealing with unconventional attacks has been upgraded from the previous strategy (coming closer to the US pre-occupation with this particular danger).

More is also written about the enablers for terrorism. Much has been said about radicalisation and why individuals turn to violence, but the authors of the report have sought not to lose sight of the bigger issue of what makes terrorist groups as a whole thrive - such as conflicts, failing states and ideological trends.

Pakistan connection

The international context also receives more attention than in the past, with sections on Pakistan and Afghanistan and on the relationship between counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency.

This is a clear recognition that since the majority of UK terrorist plotting has some connection to Pakistan, improving co-operation and communication with both the government in Islamabad and the population in Pakistan will be vital to combating terrorism within the UK.

The 2012 Olympics also now looms large in the mind of counter-terrorist officials with an awareness that counter-terrorism is going to have to be integrated in a vast security operation not just in London, but other parts of the country which will be involved in staging aspects of the games.

There had been speculation that the government might take a more aggressive line in the new strategy but that does not appear to be the case

Dirty bomb threat 'increased'

Making sure that delivery of the strategy filters down to the local level by working with the right people is one recurring theme.

The strategy covers four main areas of work known as 'the Four Ps' - Pursue, Prevent, Protect and Prepare.

The most sensitive part of the strategy relates to Prevent - which aims to deal with radicalisation. There has been considerable debate and often argument both inside and outside government over which groups should be engaged with and funded as part of this work.

Some argue that groups whose views are often distasteful to the majority of the population need to be dealt with since they have the capacity to reach individuals vulnerable to radicalisation. Others say that doing so legitimises and supports them and risks undermining community cohesion.

There had been speculation that the government might take a more aggressive line in the new strategy, but that does not appear to be the case and the agenda largely seems to have been tweaked with some new projects and a greater focus on the internet.

There is talk of doing more to challenge non-violent, extremist ideology and promoting shared values like democracy, tolerance and human rights. Exactly how this will work in practice though, remains unclear.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7961299.stm

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DISAPPEARANCE OF THE VENEZUELA MISSION PLANE


Cessna 172 (Facsimile)

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE VENEZUELA MISSION PLANE

Nearly eight years ago, at the request of 30 village captains and ADRA/Venezuela, my wife Becky and I began praying for a pilot that could replace us in Guyana so we could move to Venezuela to open up the medical aviation work there. When Gary and Wendy Roberts were lead of God to take up the work in Guyana, we made the move across. God provided a beautiful small Cessna 172 and I also carried responsibilities as Associate Director of Communication and ADRA for the Union. We called the program AMA (Aviación Médico Adventista - Adventist Medical Aviation), which means “Love” in Spanish.

With the expanding worldwide work, it became rapidly clear that I would be unable to carry the daily load that a medical aviation program required. That is when I ran into Bob Norton in Collegedale airport. I hadn’t seen him for years and discovered that he was finishing his aviation training and had just married a Venezuelan nurse. Suddenly I began to see what God was doing. He had already started putting together a perfect solution for the need in Venezuela.

Bob and Neiba accepted the position with somewhat trembling knees as they had not considered leaving everything in order to work as volunteers. Many of their friends counseled against such a move. However, they felt God’s calling and made their choice. It was to leave everything behind and trust God with the future. That choice was to affect the lives of thousands of native Amerindians living in the beautiful but isolated jungles of Southeast Venezuela. Though the Cessna 172 had an upgraded engine put in, Bob fell in love with the Cessna 182. Two such aircraft were purchased.

As some of my previous emails have mentioned, there have been many challenges which threatened to close the program. But in every case, God protected and multiplied the impact of that small airplane piloted by a man who loved to save lives and share God’s love. At home, Neiba carried heavy loads of helping with communication and coordinating all the small details and finances. Their loving service earned the respect and love of the Amerindians throughout the entire Southeast region of Venezuela, known as the state of Bolivar.

On Monday, February 16, a rainy overcast day, Bob loaded the airplane with his wife Neiba and ex-school principal, Gladys. He left the city of Santa Elena de Uairen and headed North for scheduled maintenance on the plane and to take care of business. As frequently happens, after takeoff he was advised by HF radio of some patients to be transported from the village of Karum. After landing he took off headed for Bethel, a second village further North. In between the two villages is a mountain range. Going around to the East was flatter, while the river wound around to the West, but was bordered by some gorges.

The plane never arrived. Some villagers state hearing the plane in the distance but then hearing nothing more. Intensive searches have involved the government and especially the Governor’s helicopter. Several groups of Amerindians have been scouring the jungles on foot throughout that area.

The governor’s office has been very kind to provide for the costs of the helicopter, while the government has helped with fuel for aircraft willing to participate in the search. However, the food and supplies for the ground teams has not been met so Gospel Ministries International has sent funds to cover this and will continue doing so.

There is also a group of persons who are raising funds to have extremely high resolution satellite photos taken of the entire region so that they can scan them for any sign of wreckage. To assist with this project, contact Bob Edwards at bob.edwards@ge.com

The efforts from all parties show the level of love and appreciation that has existed for Bob, Neiba and Gladys.

Trying to comprehend what has happened is difficult as it has not been resolved yet. There are still questions, such as why weren’t there any Emergency Locator Transmissions from the radio which is carried by every plane? Did the plane actually go down in the jungles, or might it have gone down in the river? Did it have an engine failure or was bad visibility a factor while flying around the mountains? Some still hold out hope as there have planes that have gone down in the past and indigenous tribes have rescued and cared for them for long periods of time before releasing them.

At present, from all human evidences, there is nothing that would provide any hope of finding them alive. However, we do know one thing. God is in the process of advancing His work, not moving it backward. This painful experience will someday prove to be just the event needed to move God’s work forward throughout Venezuela. It will honor God and His people by drawing attention of the world to His work and will prove an impulse to everyone to serve God will all our heart, mind and soul.

I am in almost daily contact with those directing the search parties, which have included up to 160 indigenous volunteers. Having just finished several days in Venezuela assisting in the development of a single, organized task team, I am thankful for this Godly team which is determined to find the plane at all cost. Everyone is also thankful for the many offers of overseas friends to join the search down in Venezuela. Search administrators are asking that, due to the current political climate, the assistance be in the form of support for local searchers. Funds coming in to GMI for the Bob Norton account will be used in coordination with Bob’s mother and sister, to support continuing the search work, to support present AMA staff and to complete repair of the second Cessna 182.

I want to thank everyone who has financially supported the search efforts and ask everyone to please continue praying for the search parties, for the finding of the plane and especially for the families and loved ones who wait anxiously for any news, that God will strengthen and protect them. We do know that God is using these events to focus the world on His work and message. It will advance His work in Venezuela.

A short report published by the Adventist Review regarding the plane may be read on http://gospelministry.org/blog/?p=552


Source: http://gospelministry.org/

Cakes to the queen of Heaven, drink offerings unto other gods


17Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

19Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?

Jeremiah 7:17-19 (King James Version)
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Monday, March 23, 2009

President Obama, Why Did You Pay Blackwater $70 Million in February?



Obama may keep the company on the government payroll months after its Iraq contract expires. Not bad for a firm supposedly going down in flames.
For those already outraged at the AIG bonus scandal, here is a fact that should add more fuel to the fire: The Obama administration has paid the mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater nearly $70 million to operate in Iraq and, according to The Washington Times, may keep the company on the payroll months past the official expiration of its Iraq contract in May. I reviewed Blackwater's recent transactions with the Obama State Department and discovered a $45 million payment to Blackwater on February 4, 2009 for "protective services-Iraq." It is described as a "funding action only." Here is the interesting part: The estimated "Ultimate Completion Date" is 5/07/2011.

The Washington Times (as described below) reported on a $22 million payment to Blackwater on February 2. Combined with the $45 million payment I discovered, that's nearly $67 million in 72 hours. Not bad for a company supposedly going down in flames.

With the U.S. economy in shambles and millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet and keep their homes, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton need to explain to U.S. taxpayers how they justify these mega-payments to a scandal-plagued mercenary company. (At the very least, someone should ask Robert Gibbs about it).

It has been widely reported that the Bush administration's preferred mercenary company, which recently renamed itself Xe, will soon be leaving Iraq. That news came early this year after the State Department, under immense public pressure, announced it would not renew the company's lucrative deal to act as the private paramilitary force for senior U.S. occupation officials. The Iraqi government has said it wants the company to leave Iraq and says it has revoked the company's operating license. The Obama administration continues to use Blackwater in Afghanistan and the company has extensive domestic training contracts with the military and law enforcement agencies inside the borders of the U.S.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that some of Blackwater's armed operatives may simply be rehired by two other US mercenary firms that are expected to take over Blackwater's work in Iraq under the Obama administration: Triple Canopy and DynCorp. Now, The Washington Times reports that the State Department has signed contracts with Blackwater that appear to extend the company's presence in Iraq at least until September 2009.

According to the paper:

"On Feb. 2, a department spokesman was asked whether officials planned to renew one of Blackwater's contracts past May. The spokesman, Robert Wood, said the department had told Blackwater 'we did not plan to renew the company's existing task force orders for protective security details in Iraq.'

"But records available through a federal procurement database show that on that same day, the State Department approved a $22.2 million contract modification for Blackwater 'security personnel' in Iraq, with a job completion date of Sept. 3, 2009."

"Why would you continue to use Blackwater when the Iraqi government has banned the highly controversial company and there are other choices?" said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

State Department spokesman Noel Clay told The Washington Times the contract modification involves aviation services. "The place of performance is Iraq, but it is totally different than the Baghdad one that expires in May," he said. Sloan called the State Department's explanation of the Feb. 2 deal a "parsing of words" and said "they should just be straight with us." Xe spokeswoman Anne Tyrell declined to comment on the status of the company's work in Iraq or the Feb. 2 contract modification. She said the company was aware that the State Department had indicated that it did not plan to renew its contracts in Iraq but that Xe officials had not received specific information about leaving the country. "We're following their direction," she said.

Blackwater recently renamed itself Xe and its owner Erik Prince "resigned" as CEO, though he remains its sole owner and chairman.

UPDATE: Could Arlen Specter's Logic on AIG Bonuses Be Applied to Blackwater?

Several people have written me asking what the Obama administration should do with Blackwater, following reports that the State Department paid the company some $70 million over a 72 hour period in February.

Many people take the position that Obama is dealing with remnants of the Bush administration's disastrous policies and that it will take time to unravel. Fair enough. But, with the U.S. economy in shambles, is it really a priority to make good on payments to a company like Blackwater?

I have long written that the Obama Iraq policy will necessitate using mercenary forces. This is true for a number of reasons, not the least of which is Obama's refusal to scrap that monstrous U.S. fortress they are calling an embassy. If it's not going to be Blackwater guarding Obama's occupation officials, it will be Triple Canopy and DynCorp (who will in turn hire a bunch of the "fired" Blackwater guys anyway). The point here is this: I disagree that the reality is simply that Obama needs time to phase out Blackwater and his hands are tied when it comes to paying them on existing contracts. I believe Obama needs them to sustain his bad Iraq policy, which will continue the occupation, albeit with a softer face. If Obama wanted to, he could outright fire Blackwater. Henry Waxman and others have called for that. He certainly would have the support of the American people, particularly given how much money Blackwater has milked from the U.S. treasury.

All of this brings me to Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, former chair of the Judiciary Committee. Yesterday, he was interviewed on MSNBC by Andrea Mitchell about the AIG bonuses. Read what he says about the AIG contracts not having to be honored and then apply the logic to Obama's Blackwater situation:

Mitchell: What say you when it comes to these bonuses? Should they be taxed back? Should the AIG executives who approved the bonuses have to commit hari-kari? With whom do you side?

Specter: Andrea, they're not enforceable under the law. They are against public policy. It is obviously against public policy to pay bonuses to people who caused the problem. If you have, for example, a contract for the sale of heroin, that's not enforceable. You take those cases to court, they won't be enforced. It's just that plain. It's set out very simply in the restatement of the law on contracts

(.....)

Mitchell: Well, you know, there's been a lot ventilating on all sides, but you're a former district attorney, a former prosecutor, experienced lawyer and we tend to trust your judgment on this, former Judiciary Chairman. So let me hear you out on when you say they're not enforceable, the top economic adviser and the Treasury Secretary said that these were contracts that if the government broke the contracts, there would be greater expense in going to court and suing to get the money back.

What would the next steps be in a practical way to get the money back and break the contracts?

Specter: The top economic adviser and the Secretary of the Treasury are wrong again. It happens too often to be excusable. I'd like to argue this as a legal matter. If you have a contract, which is against public policy, it is not enforceable. I gave you an extreme example. If you have a contract for the delivery of heroin, the use of heroin, the delivery of heroin is against the law, you can't enforce it.

Let those individuals who claim that they're entitled to bonuses go to court and the government will defend the case and will say these are against public policy. How can you pay a bonus to this individual in this company, which raised the problem and caused this $180 billion bailout and now they want bonuses on top? It is simply unenforceable.

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Drugging America: A Trojan Horse


Stich, Rodney.

Drugging America: A Trojan Horse.

Diablo Western Press

(P.O. Box 5, Alamo CA 94507, Tel: 800-247-7389), 1999.

519 pages.

A former FAA inspector turned whistleblower, Rodney Stich publishes name-intensive tomes that detail instances of corruption within the U.S. federal government. His shotgun-like prose blasts away at the CIA, DIA, DEA, FBI, INS, Customs, Secret Service, prosecutors, and judges who go along. In this book he adds international drug traffickers and corrupt Mexican officials to his list. Many of his sources are former adventurers, opportunists, CIA spooks, gunrunning pilots, agents, informers, assorted hucksters, and con artists. Some once saw themselves as commie-kicking patriots, but now they feel more like victims. Others ran afoul of someone higher up, and are now behind bars. Rodney Stich is their court of last resort -- he is willing to listen, and willing to spend time and effort confirming their stories and petitioning officials on their behalf.


Stich sees the U.S. as massively corrupt, and the war on drugs as the most corrupt and wasteful enterprise of all. In addition to his own sources, he is also beginning to dig out anti-establishment research from the 1960s and 1970s. (Unlike most of his cowboy sources, Stich now feels that the U.S. had no business in Vietnam to begin with.) Our "Entertainment Tonight" monoculture has no room for Rodney Stich's energetic moral outrage; he'll always have to publish his own books.


That's why he's welcome in NameBase.

ISBN 0-932438-10-5
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P.S. Author's web site: http://www.druggingamerica.com/
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GPS Tracking Device - The Next Best Thing To An Implanted GPS Tracker


GPS Tracking Device - The Next Best Thing To An Implanted GPS Tracker

18.03.2009 11:16

'Nano Sized' GPS Tracking Device - The Next Best Thing To An Implanted GPS Tracker


Soccer moms want GPS Implant. Lighting GPS launches Tiny covert Military Grade GPS Tracker any Mom can use.

(Vocus/PRWEB ) March 18, 2009 -- Demand for tiny GPS Trackers has spread from police and military investigators to soccer moms wanting to keep an eye on family members. Lightning GPS , the primary supplier of covert GPS Tracking to military and law enforcement is moving aggressively to meet this demand.


Spark Nano
Lightning GPS announced today that it would release the tiny "Spark Nano" GPS Tracker to the general public. Venturing into the consumer sector is a radical move for Lightning GPS, a company well known as the main provider of covert GPS Tracking to Police Departments, the Military, and DHS.

Sometimes tiny just isn't small enough.

Everyday we field desperate calls from parents who are begging us for implantable GPS Trackers that they can use to track their family membersThere is a very real demand for this technology that is just not yet available to the public.We asked customers what they wanted and the message was clearConsumers want all the features and accuracy of a professional GPS Tracker without the cost or complex software associated with most military grade GPS Trackers. Our team successfully developed a system that combines all of the professional grade GPS Tracking features in the smallest possible, easy-to-use package. "Everyday we field desperate calls from parents who are begging us for implantable GPS Trackers that they can use to track their family members," says Jason Lazarus, VP of Research and Development for Lightning GPS. "There is a very real demand for this technology that is just not yet available to the public."

With its "nano" size and friendly look & feel, the Spark Nano GPS Tracker has a strong appeal with everyone from parents to Professional Investigators who desire stealth tracking. About the size of a 9-Volt battery, this rugged, waterproof tracker can go anywhere and track anyone.

"We asked customers what they wanted and the message was clear," says Lazarus. He explained, "Consumers want all the features and accuracy of a professional GPS Tracker without the cost or complex software associated with most military grade GPS Trackers. Our team successfully developed a system that combines all of the professional grade GPS Tracking features in the smallest possible, easy-to-use package."

The new web-based tracking system designed for the Spark Nano is so easy-to-use, that Lightning GPS launched a Free Live Demo that requires no training at all to get started.

This is the first "consumer friendly" military grade GPS Tracking system available to the public. Its versatile design and user friendly interface makes it perfect for tracking employees, vehicles, or family members. There is even a Panic Button to make this tiny GPS Tracker a personal safety beacon that alerts people when the wearer feels they are in danger, pointing out exactly where they can be found. The same powerful features professional investigators expect such as e-mail/text alerts, and even geofence to get alerts when entering or exiting geographic areas are built in.

Spark Nano Features:


  • Smallest GPS Tracking Device Available to the public

  • Panic Button For Sending Emergency Alerts

  • Waterproof and Extremely Durable

  • 5 Days of Continuous Tracking w/ Internal Rechargeable Battery

  • Automatic E-mail / Cell Phone Alerts

  • "Safety Zone" Technology Can Alert You Upon Entry Or Exit Of A Defined Area

Track From Your Cell Phone or The Web

Availability: The Spark Nano is shipping as of today. Consumers and small businesses can contact BrickHouse Security (BrickHouse Security ) the exclusive retail distributor in North America. Corporate and government clients can contact Lightning GPS Directly for Server Licensing and large volume orders. Volume discounts are available as well as the ability for government and corporate customers to buy the server for use behind their firewall.

About Lightning GPS:
Lightning GPS is the largest provider of GPS Tracking technology to law enforcement, military, and business. Whether it is family, consumer, business, or law enforcement tracking, Lightning GPS has a GPS Tracking solution for every security need no matter how large or small.
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Source: http://www.newsguide.us/technology/electronics/Nano-Sized-GPS-Tracking-Device-The-Next-Best-Thing-To-An-Implanted-GPS-Tracker/

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Dusting Off The UN Law Of The Sea Treaty



The United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) is another one of those international agreements that the U.S. has yet to ratify. President Reagan rejected the treaty, but a revised version was signed by President Clinton in 1994. As a result of intense opposition, LOST was never brought before the Senate for a full vote. Several failed attempts were also later made by the Bush administration to galvanize support for the treaty. The Democrats are now laying the groundwork to finally ratify LOST. Proponents view ratifying the treaty as an opportunity for the U.S. to further promote global security and stability. Critics maintain that under LOST, the U.S. would be forced to surrender more sovereignty to the UN.
LOST is the legal framework by which all activities on, over, and under the world’s oceans are to be governed. It would place 70% of the earth’s surface under UN control. In a past article entitled 'LOST at Sea,' Congressman Ron Paul writes, “Under the Law of the Sea Treaty, an International Seabed Authority would control the minerals and other resources of the oceans’ seabed. After taking its own cut, this UN body would transfer whatever is left to select third-world governments and non-governmental organizations.” Many argue that if the U.S. does not ratify LOST, they might lose out on the mad dash for Arctic resources. Critics contend that under the treaty, the U.S. would be forced to obtain UN permission before conducting ocean development, which would make any new activities that much more difficult and costly.

The International Seabed Authority would have the power to set production control for ocean mining, drilling and fishing. They would also regulate ocean exploration, issue permits, charge fees and settle disputes within its own court system. Under LOST, an international tribunal has been established made up of a panel of 21 UN judges who have the power to enforce treaty provisions and rulings. Ratifying LOST would further place U.S. interests at the mercy of international courts whose decisions could override domestic laws.

In the same article on LOST, Ron Paul also states that, “The Law of the Sea Treaty also would give the UN power to tax American citizens and businesses, which has been a long-time dream of the anti-sovereignty globalists.” LOST is closely integrated with other treaties, such as the Convention on Climate Change and it could be used as a backdoor for global taxation. Ratifying LOST could facilitate the ability of environmental organizations to sue the U.S., using international courts. Under the guise of protecting the environment, the UN is gaining more control over individuals and nation-states alike.

A recent incident in the South China Sea between a U.S. military intelligence ship and several Chinese vessels, has prompted accusations from both sides. The Americans insist that the Chinese were harassing the U.S. ship and were in violation of international law. In turn, China condemned U.S. actions as being illegal and in violation of LOST, as well other laws and regulations. China has ratified LOST and it appears as if their interpretation of the treaty is being used as a means to try and ban all foreign military ships from operating inside its 200 mile exclusive economic zone. The U.S. ratifying LOST would not prevent any such future incidents, but rather could serve to limit its military intelligence operations. LOST could severely compromise America’s ability to move freely on the high seas.

The United Nations cannot be trusted in protecting American interests. Under LOST, the U.S. would only have one vote, unlike the UN Security Council where it enjoys veto power. UN bureaucracy has proven to be a breeding ground for corruption. It would be unwise to hand over any control of the oceans, oil, gas and minerals to the UN. The last thing the U.S. needs to do is surrender more sovereignty.

Will The SPP Rise Again?


Will The SPP Rise Again?

By Dana Gabriel http://www.borderfirereport.net/dana-gabriel/will-the-spp-rise-again.php


By all accounts, the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) appears to be dead, despite no official announcement by the governments of Canada, the U.S. or Mexico. There have been numerous calls to replace the SPP. Although the means of achieving deeper continental integration may vary, the objectives remain the same. The global elite have not abandoned their vision for a North American Union and are now counting on their new puppet, President Barack Obama, to carry on with this agenda.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, was told in late February of this year that the controversial SPP was likely dead. CEO and president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), Thomas d’Aquino, testified and answered questions before the committee. He admitted that the it was probably only a matter of time before the SPP was replaced. D’Aquino stated, “Why it will be replaced is because the energy, environment, trade, financial regulation, and agriculture, all these things that we do in the form of millions of cross-border transactions everyday are going to have to be co-ordinated." In addition, he emphasized the importance of Canada-U.S. bilateralism, but cautioned against cutting Mexico out of the equation. The Carleton University’s Canada-U.S. Project was released to the public in the new year and called for wholesale changes to the SPP.

The CCCE is made-up of 150 of Canada’s top executives who comment on public policy. It is a virtual whose who of Canadian corporate sector elites. Since its inception, the CCCE has had intimate ties to both the Liberal and Conservative parties, with many of their proposals being implemented into policy. The CCCE was a driving force behind the Canada-U.S. FTA and later NAFTA. Some of their recommendations also became part of the SPP. Their president, d’Aquino, has participated in and co-chaired many reports and policy paper initiatives pushing for deeper North American integration. So, when he says that the SPP will probably be replaced, he is not just blowing smoke.

The SPP is the brainchild of business and political elites and has essentially carried on where NAFTA left off. This is a corporate driven agenda spearheaded by working groups and unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats who are laying the foundation for a North American Union. Many in the business community have been disappointed with the SPP’s progress, feeling that their recommendations are not being implemented fast enough. The SPP might have outlived its usefulness under its current name, but it is doubtful that multinational business elites are about to abandon it entirely, unless there is something to replace it.

Ahead of the North American Leader’s Summit in New Orleans in April of 2008, it was apparent that the SPP was in trouble. Think tanks such as the Fraser Institute, were calling for expanding and speeding up continental integration, but at the same time were recommending changing the SPP’s name, in an effort to save and revitalize the process. The Hudson Institute also acknowledged that it may be necessary to redesign and relaunch the SPP. Robert A. Pastor, who is considered by many to be the architect of a proposed North American Community, later admitted that under Bush, North American integration had stalled. He stated that the new president would probably discard the SPP. This agenda has at least publicly been placed on the back burner, especially given the current economic climate, but the SPP will rise again in one form or another.

Obama has all but waffled on his promise to renegotiate NAFTA and minus a few slight cosmetic changes that might be made, the flawed trade deal will remain intact. It is possible that economic, political, as well as social instability could be used as an opportunity to further advance the creation of a North American Union. The crisis in Mexico could be used to setup a North American security perimeter. Plans for deeper continental integration are still alive and whatever direction they may take, you can be sure that big business will be intimately involved.

Dana Gabriel writes about trade, globalization, sovereignty, and other issues.

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U.S. law-making is riddled with slapdash, incompetence and gamesmanship


U.S. law-making is riddled with slapdash, incompetence and gamesmanship
By Terence Corcoran


Helicopter Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve is dropping trillions of fresh paper dollars on the world economy, the President of the United States is cracking jokes on late night comedy shows, his energy minister is threatening a trade war over carbon emissions, his treasury secretary is dithering over a banking reform program amid rising concerns over his competence and a monumentally dysfunctional U.S. Congress is launching another public jihad against corporations and bankers.

As an aghast world — from China to Chicago and Chihuahua — watches, the circus-like U.S. political system seems to be declining into near chaos. Through it all, stock and financial markets are paralyzed. The more the policy regime does, the worse the outlook gets. The multi-ringed spectacle raises a disturbing question in many minds: Is this the end of America?

Probably not, if only because there are good reasons for optimism. The U.S. economy has pulled out of self-destructive political spirals in the past, spurred on by its business class and corporate leaders, the profit-making and market-creating people who rose above the political turmoil to once again lift the world out of financial crisis. It’s happened many times before, except for once, when it took 20 years to rise out of the Great Depression.

Past success, however, is no guarantee of future recovery, especially now when there are daily disasters and new indicators of political breakdown. All developments are not disasters in themselves. The AIG bonus firestorm is a diversion from real issues , but it puts the ghastly political classes who make U.S. law on display for what they are: ageing self-serving demagogues who have spent decades warping the U.S. political system for their own ends. We see the system up close, law-making that is riddled with slapdash, incompetence and gamesmanship.

One test of whether we are witnessing the end of America is how many more times Americans put up with congressional show trials of individual business people and their employees, slandering and vilifying them for their actions and motives. And for how long will they tolerate a President who berates business and corporations as dens of crime and malfeasance? If the majority of Americans come to accept the caricatures of business as true, then America is closer to the end of its life as a global leader, as a champion of markets and individualism.

But America is at risk in other ways, especially in the technical business of setting and executing policy. The presidency of Barack Obama has set out on a course that has no precedent in U.S. history. Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose New Deal transformed the U.S. economy during the Great Depression, pushed America off on a sharply different political and ideological course. The Obama administration is different in many ways, not least in its supreme self-confidence in its methods and objectives.

Reform of health care, environmental policy, education, energy, banking, regulation — every nook and cranny of the U.S. economy has been put on alert for major change. Expansion of government spending, plunging the U.S. into unprecedented deficits, is without parallel. In economic policy, through regulation and control of energy output, financial services and monetary expansion, the U.S. government has embarked on a fundamental reshaping of America. It is designed, in short, to bring on the end of America.

The spillover effect of all this on the rest of the world promises to be dramatically disruptive. The greatest global risk is in monetary and currency policy. Below is a chart that graphically demonstrates the sharp deviation in monetary policy from past norms. Under the chairmanship of Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve is in the midst of a giant economic experiment, flooding the world with U.S. dollars, hoping that flood will stimulate economic activity.

The total monetary base, already at astronomical levels, is now expected to take another big hit with the new Fed policy of buying up U.S. longer-term treasury bills in a bid to drive down long-term interest rates.

Mr. Bernanke is sometimes known as “Helicopter Ben” because he once in an academic paper referred to the use of “helicopters” full of money to rescue an economy from deflation. In comments Wednesday to explain the Fed’s new policy of buying $300-billion in U.S. treasury bills, Mr. Bernanke noted that the Fed is now more worried about inflation being too low than about it getting too high in the future.

For the rest of the world, however, the worry is that America is at risk of becoming the fountainhead of a new inflationary outburst. The U.S. dollar is now in decline, gold is moving sharply higher, and new global currency turmoil is on the horizon.

It may not happen. A paper just published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, source of the chart above, says that the Fed will have to be prepared to absorb all the excess money it has poured into the U.S. economy. It will be a technical and political challenge unlike any central bank has ever undertaken. The future of America is at stake.
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“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.."


“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

(James 1:12)

Obama Plan Seeks Private Investors for Risky Assets

By BRIAN KNOWLTON
Published: March 23, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration formally presented the latest step in its financial rescue package on Monday, an attempt to draw private investors into partnership with a new federal entity that could eventually buy up to $1 trillion in troubled assets that are weighing down the nation’s banks and clogging up the credit markets.

At least partly in anticipation of the program, which has been widely publicized, Asian and European markets were sharply higher. Index futures on Wall Street were also significantly higher.

Initially, a new Public-Private Investment Program will provide financing for $500 billion in purchasing power to buy those troubled or toxic assets — which the government refers to more diplomatically as legacy assets — with the potential of expanding later to as much as $1 trillion, according to a fact sheet issued by the Treasury Department.

At the core of the financing package will be $75 billion to $100 billion in capital from the existing financial bailout known as TARP, the Troubled Assets Relief Program, along with the share provided by private investors, which the government hopes will come to 5 percent or more. By leveraging this program through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, huge amounts of bad loans can be acquired.

The private investors would be subsidized, but could stand to lose their investments, while the taxpayers could share in prospective profits as the assets are eventually sold, the Treasury said. The administration said that it expected participation from pension funds to insurance companies and other long-term investors.

The department defined three basic principles underlying the program. First, by combining government financing, involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve, with private sector investment, “substantial purchasing power will be created, making the most of taxpayer resources,” the fact sheet said.

Second, private investors will share both in the risk and potential profits, the Treasury Department said, “with the private sector investors standing to lose their entire investment in a downside scenario and the taxpayer sharing in profitable returns.”

The third principle is the use of competitive auctions to help set appropriate prices for the assets. “To reduce the likelihood that the government will overpay for these assets, private sector investors competing with one another will establish the price of the loans and securities purchased,” the department said.

By emphasizing that private investors will share in the risk, the Treasury Department seemed to be seeking to reassure ordinary taxpayers that they will not be bear the entire downside burden of yet another $1 trillion program.

At the same time, administration officials strove over the weekend to reassure potential investors that they will not be subjected to the sort of pressures, criticism and public outrage that followed reports of the million-dollar bonuses to executives of the American International Group.

The Treasury Department defended its approach as a compromise that would avoid the dangers both of too gradualist an approach and of one in which taxpayers bear the entire risk.

“Simply hoping for banks to work legacy assets off over time risks prolonging a financial crisis, as in the case of the Japanese experience,” the department said. “But if the government acts alone in directly purchasing legacy assets, taxpayers will take on all the risk of such purchases — along with the additional risk that taxpayers will overpay if government employees are setting the price for those assets.”

The plan relies on private investors to team with the government to relieve banks of assets tied to loans and mortgage-linked securities of unknown value. There have been virtually no buyers of these assets because of their uncertain risk.

But some executives at private equity firms and hedge funds, who were briefed on the plan Sunday afternoon, are anxious about the recent uproar over millions of dollars in bonus payments made to executives of the American International Group.

Some of them have told administration officials that they would participate only if the government guaranteed that it would not set compensation limits on the firms, according to people briefed on the conversations. The executives also expressed worries about whether disclosure and governance rules could be added retroactively to the program by Congress, these people said.

Administration officials took to the airwaves Sunday to reassure investors that the public would distinguish between companies like A.I.G., which are taking government bailout money, and private investment groups that, under this latest plan, would be helping the government take troubled assets off the books of some of the country’s biggest banks.

“What we’re talking about now are private firms that are kind of doing us a favor, right, coming into this market to help us buy these toxic assets off banks’ balance sheets,” Christina D. Romer, the White House’s chief economist, said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I think they understand that the president realizes they’re in a different category,” she said, adding, “They are firms that are being the good guys here.”

Eric Dash and Rachel L. Swarns reported from Washington, and Andrew Ross Sorkin from New York.
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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sweden Says No to Saving Saab, a National Icon

Adam Ihse/Agence France-Presse
Demonstrators in Trollhattan, Sweden, protested on Feb. 26 against the threat of job cuts at the Saab factory there. The loss of 750 jobs was announced two weeks later.

By SARAH LYALL
Published: March 22, 2009

TROLLHATTAN, SwedenSaab Automobile may be just another crisis-ridden car company in an industry full of them. But just as the fortunes of Flint, Mich., are permanently entangled with General Motors, so it is impossible to find anyone in this city in southwest Sweden who is not somehow connected to Saab.

Which makes it all the more wrenching that the Swedish government has responded to Saab’s desperate financial situation by saying, essentially, tough luck. Or, as the enterprise minister, Maud Olofsson, put it recently, “The Swedish state is not prepared to own car factories.”

Such a view might seem jarring, coming as it does from a country with a reputation for a paternalistic view of workers and companies. The “Swedish model” for dealing with a banking crisis — nationalizing the banks, recapitalizing them and selling them — has been much debated lately in the United States, with free-market defenders warning of a slippery slope of Nordic socialism.

But Sweden has a right-leaning government, elected in 2006 after a long period of Social Democratic rule, that prefers market forces to state intervention and ownership. That fact has made the workers of Trollhattan wish the old socialist model were more in evidence.

“I don’t think the government knows the situation in this town, how many people depend on Saab,” said Therese Doeij, 25, a clerk at a photo shop who has several friends who work at the company. “To them it’s just a factory. They don’t see the people behind it.”

Governments all over the world are confronting the disintegration of the global automobile market in different ways, with loans, bailouts and takeovers.

But Sweden’s approach has been particularly hard-nosed, and particularly unequivocal.

Why is the government apparently dead set against helping Saab, an iconic brand that stands as a global symbol of Sweden, with Ikea, Volvo and Abba?

That is what Paul Akerlund, the local chairman of the automobile workers’ union, wonders.

“I’m a little surprised,” he said. “They say the market should help itself, but the market has collapsed around the whole world. It’s an extraordinary situation.”

He added, with a note of accusation in his voice, “In Germany, France and England, the government is going in to help the car manufacturers.”

Swedish officials have condemned what they see as protectionism by other European countries that have pledged to prop up their own failing car industries. They have also been scathing about General Motors, Saab’s owner, and the last thing they want is to seem to be bailing out a despised foreign company.

Struggling for its own survival, G.M. has said it will completely pull out of Saab by the end of 2009, a course that Ms. Olofsson, the enterprise minister, described as tantamount to declaring “that they wash their hands of Saab and drop it into the laps of the Swedish taxpayers.”

She said: “We are very disappointed in G.M., but we are not prepared to risk taxpayers’ money. This is not a game of Monopoly.”

Saab lost about $343 million last year. It is now going through a Swedish process known as reorganization, a step short of bankruptcy, as it tries to persuade its creditors to prop it up while it looks for a buyer. Joe Oliver, a spokesman, said in an interview that “around six serious investors,” from Sweden and abroad, had expressed interest.

Time is running out.

But the prospect of failure is too awful for Trollhattan’s mayor, Gert-Inge Andersson, to even contemplate. In a city of about 54,000 people, Saab employs 4,000.

“I’m being optimistic, because I can’t envision a time when Saab doesn’t exist,” Mr. Andersson said in an interview in City Hall.

His son worked at Saab for a decade; his daughter’s boyfriend works there now. “Saab is our identity,” he said. “We have lived with it for many years, and it’s very important to all of us.”

Saab was always known for its innovative engineering. But analysts say that in recent years, with General Motors’s emphasis on volume rather than individuality, it has lost its edge.

“Under G.M.’s ownership, they denuded the intellectual content behind the brand,” said Peter Wells, who teaches at Cardiff Business School in Wales and specializes in the automotive industry. “Its products are not exciting enough, and Saab doesn’t have a strong brand identity anymore.”

The numbers speak all too loudly. Saab sold just 93,295 vehicles worldwide last year, 21,383 of them in the United States. As global demand plummets, the expectations for this year are even more dire. The company announced this month that it planned to lay off 750 workers in Trollhattan.

This is not a rich city. Besides Saab, the largest employer is the municipal government. The houses run mostly to modest wooden two-story structures and low-rise brick apartment buildings. But about 40 percent of the people here drive Saabs, Mayor Andersson said. On a cold evening last month, 3,000 people held a torchlight ceremony to show their support for the company.

Leave the tourist office and you come immediately to the Saab Museum. A shining, sparkling valentine to a company and an industry, it features treasures like the groundbreaking turbo engine unveiled at the 1977 Frankfurt automobile show, and the prototype of the very first Saab car, from 1947 — Ur-Saab, its license plate says proudly. All the cars here, even the rarest and most precious, are still driven from time to time by enthusiasts.

Some 50,000 tourists visit each year, said Ola Bolander, who works at the museum. Saab sponsors a festival for its fans every other year; 20,000 came to the last one, in 2007. “Saab has always been a bit different, a bit more interesting,” Mr. Bolander said. “It’s gone its own way, and it’s in the heart of the Swedish people.”

Sweden has nine million people. Labor leaders say Saab’s collapse would disproportionately affect southwest Sweden, an industrial belt that is also home to Volvo. But it would reverberate through the rest of the economy, which depends heavily on industrial exports, jeopardizing perhaps tens of thousands of jobs.

Sweden is famous for its generous unemployment provisions, which include retraining for laid-off workers. But unemployment is quickly rising. Tomas Eneroth, a member of Parliament and the spokesman for industry and trade for the opposition Social Democrats, said the government’s tough line was foolish.

“The fact that they are so passive,” he said, “is every day now making it worse and jeopardizing the possibility of having Saab still in Sweden.”

Around the corner from City Hall, Johann Riden, a sales clerk in an electronics store, said about half his customers worked either at Saab or at companies that do business with Saab.

“I have friends there, my colleagues have family there, and my friends have family there,” said Mr. Riden, 32. “If you look around, you see Saab everywhere.”
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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/world/europe/23saab.html?_r=1&ref=world
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David Ferrie


Mugshot of David Ferrie. It should be noted that Ferrie was never convicted of any serious crime.


David William Ferrie (March 28, 1918 - February 22, 1967) was a pilot who was alleged by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison to have been involved in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Ferrie was born in Cleveland, Ohio. A Roman Catholic, Ferrie attended John Carroll University, St. Mary Seminary, where he studied for the priesthood, and Baldwin-Wallace College. He next spent three years at the St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena, Ohio. He suffered from alopecia areata, a skin condition which causes the loss of body hair in clumps.


Picture of Ferrie standing outside St. Charles Seminary.

In 1944 Ferrie left St. Charles after suffering a nervous breakdown. He obtained a pilot's license and began teaching aeronautics at Cleveland's Benedictine High School. He was fired from the school for several infractions, including taking boys to a house of prostitution and flipping a car over in the driveway of the school. He then became an insurance inspector, and in 1951 he moved to New Orleans where he worked as a pilot for Eastern Air Lines until losing his job in August, 1961 after being arrested on morals charges.

Ferrie was involved with the Civil Air Patrol in several ways: He started as a "senior" with the Fifth Cleveland Squadron at Hopkins Airport in 1947. The Squadron Commander tried unsuccessfully to bounce him in 1949. When he moved to New Orleans, he "transferred" to the New Orleans Cadet Squadron at Lakefront Airport, first as instructor and later as Commander. After a Ferrie-trained cadet pilot perished in a December 1954 crash, Ferrie's annual re-appointment was declined. He was asked to be a guest lecturer at the smaller squadron at Moisant Airport, and he did so, lecturing from June to September 1955. On July 27, 1955, 15-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald joined this squadron. In March 1958, a former cadet-turned-commander invited Ferrie back to the New Orleans Cadet Squadron. He served unofficially for a time and was reinstated as Executive Officer in September 1959. Ferrie quit the squadron in a huff in June 1960 after a disagreement during a bivouac. In September 1960, he started his own unofficial squadron, called the Metairie Falcon Cadet Squadron. An offshoot of this group was the Internal Mobile Security Unit, a group formed for the fight against Castro's Cuba. Over the years, he used both his official and unofficial squadrons to develop improper relations with post-pubescent (age 14-18) boys (called ephebophilia), and his August 1961 arrests caused the Falcons to fold.

According to friends and family, Ferrie had a mixed bag of political views. As a young man he was described as antinomian, having no adherence to established moral codes. While he actively avoided the draft in 1941, his younger brother went on to become something of a war hero. Perhaps owing to this, Ferrie became stridently anti-Communist by 1950. When Fidel Castro opposed Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, Ferrie initially approved of him, but he became convinced Castro was a Communist by the summer of 1959. In November 1960, he became associated with the New Orleans office of the Frente Revolucionario Democratico, a CIA-backed organization. This association changed after his morals arrests. In the early 1960s he was an associate of Guy Banister, a former FBI agent, New Orleans police official, political activist and private investigator.

In 1962 Ferrie began working for the lawyer G. Wray Gill and his client, Mafiosi Carlos Marcello. This involved attempts to block Marcello's deportation to Guatemala.

On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Guy Banister and Jack Martin went drinking together. On their return to Banister's office the two men got involved in a dispute about a missing file. Banister became so angry that he drew his Magnum revolver and hit Martin with it several times. Martin was so badly injured that he had to be detained in the local Charity Hospital.

Over the next few days Martin told reporters and authorities that Ferrie had been involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. According to Martin, Ferrie had known Lee Harvey Oswald from their days in the New Orleans Civil Air Patrol, had given him lessons on how to use a rifle with a telescopic sight, had flown Oswald to Texas and had threatened JFK and outlined plans to kill him. He also said that Oswald had Ferrie's library card in his possession when arrested, but later added that this was a misunderstanding of something he had seen in the news.

On November 25, Martin was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He told them that he thought Ferrie had hypnotized Oswald into assassinating Kennedy. The FBI considered Martin's evidence unreliable. Nevertheless, they interviewed Ferrie twice and interviewed about 20 other people in connection with the allegations. They were unable to develop a substantial case against Ferrie.

This information reached Jim Garrison, the district attorney of New Orleans who, by 1966, was very interested in the New Orleans aspects of the assassination. In December 1966 he interviewed Martin about these accusations. Martin claimed that during the summer of 1963 Ferrie and Guy Banister were involved in something very sinister with a group of Cuban exiles.

Jim Garrison now became convinced that a group of right-wing activists, including Ferrie, Guy Banister, Carlos Bringuier and Clay Shaw, were involved in a conspiracy with the CIA to kill John F. Kennedy. Garrison claimed this was in retaliation for his attempts to obtain a peace settlement in both Cuba and Vietnam.

On February 22, 1967 Ferrie was found dead in his apartment. Two typed letters were found: The first, found in a pile of papers, was a screed about the justice system, beginning with "To leave this life is, for me, a sweet prospect." The second note was found in an envelope taped under a table, marked "To be opened in the event of my death", along with a will and a list of people to be contacted. It was to a close friend whom he named executor of his estate, and began "When you read this I will be quite dead, so no answer will be possible." New Orleans Metro Crime Commission director, Aaron Kohn believed that Ferrie was murdered. The New Orleans coroner officially reported that the cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage.

Ferrie was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci in the Oliver Stone film JFK (1991), and by Tobin Bell in the motion picture Ruby.
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