Monday, January 30, 2006

2006: A Look Ahead (a Must Read)

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2006: A Look Ahead

This will not be a 'forecast'. I am no prophet and have no special insight into how events will transpire in the coming year. Nevertheless, there are many issues that bear watching and herein I list some events that one should keep a close eye on.


The Middle East/Iran/Economics

Iran's nuclear program will continue to plague the world community. Iran's key Cleric Rasfanjani has stated clearly that Iran has a 'right' to peruse nuclear technologies, despite what the rest of the world may think. While most of the world will disagree, others in the Arab world would tend to agree that not only western oriented nations should have the bomb. 'If the Western Occidentals can have them, why can't we' will be the refrain in many capitals in the Arab and Islamic1 world. While Iran can hardly be called a responsible member of the international community it is a sovereign nation and many would argue has the right to defend itself with the same weapons that the west defends itself. This argument is powerful and while rarely articulated in public is done so privately in many circles. Should Iran have a bomb?

Will it be as destabilizing as everyone seems to fear? My answer is that Iran probably should not have the bomb but if it did acquire it, it would not be nearly as destabilizing as many claim or fear. The only nation that would have anything to fear is Israel and barring a reliable delivery system, such a bomb is not a problem in the world of nuclear brinkmanship. What must also be kept firmly in ones mind is this as well, if Iran were to use such a weapon anywhere, it more than likely would cease to exist as a modern state as nuclear retaliation would almost certainly ensue at a level and intensity that would destroy its infrastructure and significantly reduce its population. It does not seem likely that Iran would ever use a nuclear weapon. When India and Pakistan were seeking these weapons, doomsayers predicted that they would eventually use them and destroy each other. Since each has demonstrated that they posses these weapons, not only has the worst NOT happened but the relations between the two have warmed somewhat.
One need also to look at North Korea, the home of a world leader who is truly insane who has the bomb. There have been no mushroom clouds. Once a nation acquires the a nuclear weapon, its use is prohibited by the certainty of that nations utter and complete destruction. Thus, all of the loud and angry protests made in western capitals are not as important as those who are making them would like us to believe. The real threat is a non-state player getting their hands on a such a weapon.

However, this author has never quite believed that this is the reason for Washington’s sudden interest in Iran is really in its nuclear program. Lacking a reliable delivery system2 such a weapon could really only be used as a terror weapon against shipping in the Persian Gulf. The only regional power that Iran would use it on is Israel and as mentioned before, Iran would probably cease to exist before any missile could be launched. So why is Washington going on diplomatic overdrive on this issue? The possible reasons are many

To detract from is dismal failure in Iraq
To keep up pressure on the Islamic regime in the hopes they can speed its internal implosion
To pressure it not to send fighters into Iraq when US troop numbers are reduced
To stop it from opening its new oil borse which will use Euro’s as a currency
To attempt to put a more 'positive' spin on US foreign policy to the world.
Each, I believe is a reason for America’s Iranian obsession. However, I think by far the most important is the new oil market. I do not think it is a coincidence that Washington’s protestations grow louder and louder as the opening date of March 20th 2006 moves closer. How much of a threat is this new oil market? Well, today all oil bought and sold around the world are done so on one of two exchanges, The London Exchange (International Petroleum Exchange or IPE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Both of these are owned by US companies. Because of this fact, all oil sales world wide must be conducted in dollars. If China wants to buy Oil from Venezuela, they must exchange their currency from their native one to dollars. This has created a somewhat ‘artificial’ demand for American dollars. This is the cornerstone to what is commonly referred to as Petrodollar politics. America has been able to gain a great deal of economic strength from this simple fact.

While cries of looming disaster over this new market have been heard far and wide about the collapse of the dollar because of this, the reality will be far more complex. Iran's state is on the verge of an internal implosion. Mass disaffection of its youth is a serious and growing problem. Tehran has seen widespread demonstrations of its youth. These have led to mass round ups of students. One of the main problems the Iranian ‘Revolution’ is facing is unemployment. This is a most serious problem for Iran as its youth make up 65% of its population. The tragedy in Iran is that it was youth who helped drive out the Shah and usher in the current regime. With unemployment high and disaffection with the regime also running high, the situation can turn unstable very quickly. While the clerical regime remains in power and is unable to solve the burgeoning crisis with its youth an internal crisis remains likely. In Iran, anything can happen. The environment is very repressive, young people can't even listen to music such as Eric Clapton or Kenny G without the risk of imprisonment.

So in light of this internal trouble, why would Iran seek to build a bomb? It seems unwise to invest so much time and money and international pressure when its own domestic house is in such serious need of cleaning. But threaten to build it, it has and there must be some kind of stratagem that is yet to be fully revealed. But one extremely well placed observer has noted to me personally that the real problems in Iran are the growing possibility to fracture along generational lines. The youth are very numerous, discontented and not above mass protests to be heard.

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The new President is cognizant that the nation may be on the verge of another revolution and may be baiting the US in the very hopes that the US will strike it with bombings. This will immediately and certainly unify the nation, as he knows. Bringing in some kind of unity seems to be one of the most important tasks of this new President will undertake. He has used all kinds of anti-semitic statements and threats against Israel to garner support internally. He does not appear unwilling to risk a few bombs to bring it about. The key here is to understand that Iran itself is in a domestic crisis and the crisis is not about building nuclear weapons, it is about Iran imploding. A real question here is if Iran implodes will she look east to Russia and China, or west towards Washington and Brussels? Clearly her interests are in in the East which makes the situation doubly troublesome for Washington and Britain. The history of Iran and the exploitation of it by both the US and the UK has been written about at length.
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/oil_nationalization/oil_nationalization.php
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/coup53/coup53p1.php
http://www.businessweek.com/1997/22/b352950.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/home/iran/index.html

It has not escaped my attention that new alliances are being formed and they seemed deliberately constructed to offset and counterbalance US hegemony. Mr. Noam Chomsky wrote on this in a recent article in CounterPunch. Chomsky goes on to show that certain nations are moving in on oil rich nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. If Russia and China are willing to give Tehran diplomatic cover and even quiet military support in the coming months the balance of power globally may shift. China has a strong motivation for wanting closer ties with Iran. It needs oil and its needs grow with each passing year. Russia has its own designs most notably to get the US out of the strategic Middle East and out of its back yard. Russia and China are already in a semi-formal alliance known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
SCO now has some permanent mechanisms in place and is now moving forward with regional cooperation. These events are not unrelated and are not transitory. They are long term reactions to the foreign policy of Bush and the Neo-Conservatives. India and China long historic rivals are now talking about energy rather than fighting over it. This is a dramatic shift and it is being driven by the odious nature of US foreign policy. Regional powers have a common need and that need is energy and as oil becomes more expensive and scarce, wresting away some of the overconsumption done by the US will be high on the agenda. One of the ways to do that is to price oil in a non-dollar currency. Time will tell who the winners and losers will be in this new game but today, except where America is involved, cooperation rather than confrontation seems to be the norm.

But other reasons may be motivating the US to act now against Iran. Iran's oil is key to a very serious global energy problem. Iran is a linchpin that the US neo-conservatives are trying to undermine by removing Arab from control of this critical resource in order to transfer it to Western Oil companies. This is what we have seen in Iraq and what I expect they would like to do in Iran.

More Energy Maneuvering

Yet this brings is to an interesting event that transpired on January 1st 2006. The Russians cut the Ukraine off from its natural Gas supplies. Ukraine received a generous subsidy from Russia in the form of only having to pay 25% of market rates for its supplies. Ukraine was in the habit of paying for at least part of its gas in the form of 'services' rather than cash to Russia. It allowed Russia to transit gas through its territory in exchange for reduced prices. Russia's Gazprom wanted money instead.

Lets face it, what we heard in the western press was a frontal assault on the very market mechanisms that are so often touted by the west. Does Exxon or BP charge anyone 25% of market prices for their energy? No. Nor are they likely to. Europe charged Russia with being 'unreliable'. Why? They wanted to charge market rates. While the situation is muddled in politics and a long running spat between the two, the reality is that Ukraine must learn to accept market mechanism and one of those mechanisms is to pay market prices for commodities. What Russia demanded was neither unreasonable nor unanticipated. Europe does not want its own supplies disrupted as was likely during the dispute and thus they came down hard on Putin. Russia and Ukraine may be able to patch up this dispute, but the fall of the Ukrainain Government does not bode well.

From Kyiv's point of view the actual crisis is perceived as a retaliatory measure by the Kremlin against an ex-Soviet republic who considered Ukraine a "friend," that decided to back away from its sphere of influence. Russian authorities do not cease to declare that since Ukraine has been recognized by the EU, which it wishes to integrate as a market economy, it is time that it acts as such by paying for its gas at competitive prices. - Le Monde

Economy.

The backdrop of the Iran crisis is most disconcerting. The US is not in a healthy fiscal position that has been acknowledged by many inside and outside Washington as being unsustainable. This has led the Chinese to signal that they will be moving some of its foreign currency reserves out of Dollars into other currencies.

Currently, China is holding $769 billion, the vast majority of its
foreign exchange reserves. This is a humongous sum by any measurement
and represents approximately 30% of China's gross domestic product.
Regrettably, the Bush administration's wasteful spending makes the
dollar look like a bad long term investment, so China will either have
to change its strategy or face a huge loss on its reserves. It's a
thorny predicament and one that China needs to handle delicately. If
they move too aggressively it could trigger a sell-off and send the
dollar plummeting.

It is unlikely that China will act recklessly, but even the mere
suggestion of change has put the markets on edge. - Mike Whitney

Frightening and ominous are the words that come to mind as we have depended on the lending of others to keep our current lifestyle. This move by China is a very serious move against the dollar and that lifestyle, borrowed from abroad. This is a very serious threat to the dollar but not one which will destroy it overnight. This is because China is unlikely to start dumping dollars irresponsibly because that would only make their own foreign exchange position weaker. But no matter how responsibly the Chinese do it there is likely to be some disruptions. They have far too many dollars to sell for it to be done in an orderly fashion. The real question is who is going to buy them when they sell?



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This exit from the dollar could be disorderly. While pundits in the US consistently refuse to acknowledge this, the Bank for International Settlements is not as optimistic. “The exchange rate of the U.S. dollar is bound to decrease eventually and could potentially do so in a way that destabilizes the global economy, William White, Head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements, told Market News International3. This is not what you will hear economists in the US say. You see the Neo-conservatives has a stranglehold on the organs of information in the US. They plant stories that are blatantly false, stage events (like the crying incident of Judge Alito's wife), and tell out right lies to the people. Millions of dollars are paid to Washington PR firms to do just that. Those in the government tote the party line or get removed, it is just that simple. So many of our news organizations are run my heavy GOP contributors (Time Warner run by Richard Parsons). Ruppert Murdoch who owns Fox News, which streams a consistent plethora of GOP disinformation. News organizations all over, even those who are not GOP backers are very careful, because of the political climate. Let one of them run a real story on our war on terror and a thousand stories by paid for hacks, PR firms and pundits will fill up the airwaves in condemnation. This is how truth is becoming obsolete in 21st century America. It is how they are stacking the deck and telling people things are just fine economically but anyone who opens their eyes can see a different story. I mean.. just look at GM and Ford.

Now we understand why M3 is not going to be published. It is a part of a broader 'information warfare' (propaganda) assault on investors and the American people. Savvy foreign investors are NOT fooled, Foolish domestic ones are. Look at what they are having to print right now! It is amazing! Yet there are still the professional liars to call anyone who points these extremely troubling anomalies as 'conspiracy theorists'! It would be quite hilarious if it weren't so sad. I recently read an article on CNN Money telling folks that things were just dandy, that 'chicken littles' are wrong and that if anyone listens to them, they will miss 'opportunities'. No where do they discuss in the fiscal crisis in Washington (no budget, Treasury debt issues with few takers). Just the same old Pollyanna poppycock that brought you Enron.

There are far too many very disconcerting events on the horizon that will serve to seriously challenge the greenbacks continued place as the primary global currency. Overall these events could really spell the end to the dollars pre-eminence. Is it a coincidence that March is when the oil market in Iran is set to open and March is when the Fed ceases publishing M3, a statistic that they have been publishing since the Fed's inception in 1913? Is it a coincidence that Israel says it will be ready to attack Iran in March? Let me make this clear to all who read this. The Fed explanation of discontinuing compiling and publishing this information is a brown fog emanating from its backside. Frankly it stinks like it too. The US is:

Over 8 Trillion in debt.

Runs massive current account deficits
Is in the midst of a massive de-industrialization (is making less and less tangible, marketable goods)
Has an entrenched criminal element operating in many of its most powerful financial institutions.
Has many corporations and in or on the verge of bankruptcy.

Has a major US city to clean up and does not have the money to do it.
Has consumers that are highly indebted.

Is fighting a war that has already cost on 200 billion dollars that it can't win but refuses to end.
Each of these problems are solvable. They are not difficult to solve provided American political leadership want to solve them. The money that puts America's Presidents and Congressmen in office do not want these problems solved. They are frankly, more often than not, the root cause of the problem to begin with. Make no mistake about it, 'religion' of globalization has its 'religious fundamentalists' as well. The dogma of this secular belief system is that the America must be brought to her economic knees. It must use treaties to undermine US competitiveness abroad, it must destroy America's labor movements and bury its consumers in debt, make health care unaffordable to a large portion of its citizens and reduce the majority of its workforce to what can only be called modern 'serfdom' not unlike those of the third world; Americans are destined to become broke and powerless because of this religious dogma. Listen to me dear readers, US Senators are in favor of shipping your job to India and China. Y-o-u are on the slave auction block and the bidding has already started!

You can see the money in the US treasury is not there for many purposes. Look at the Oklahoma fires. The State waited for over a week to get the Department Of Homeland Security to respond to requests for help. Katrina victims are still in a pickle as the money promised is slow in coming. Where are they going to get the money to continue to fight the war? Where are they getting the money to do it now? Why is the IRS holding up tax rebates? Troops in Iraq still complain about supply problems, lack of body armor and soft skinned Humvee's4 are the stories that have hit the news, but other far more serious problems exist5. None is this speaks of a healthy economy. Money for reconstruction in Iraq is running out as well and the US can't spend any more to rebuild the nation we destroyed. All of this is transpiring while National Guardsman must sue to Government to get paid for their travel expenses. The DOD obviously does not have the money to pay the troops for incidentals. None of these things individually are very significant but taken as a whole, a very troubling picture emerges as to the government's fiscal health. The US has to flood the markets with treasuries to fund itself While government statisticians will come up with 'tall tales' of robust economic growth (in order to keep their jobs) and healthy economic prognostications (in hopes of promotion), the reality of US economic strength is clearly demonstrated in the destruction of New Orleans and our inability to rebuild it..
Death Dollars And Dinars
2006 has already brought in some very interesting changes as I write this we are just barely two weeks into the year and we have seen
Death Of Emir Dubai
Death Of Emir Of Kuwait

Removal of Sharon due to a stroke

These leaders each were pivotal for various reasons. Kuwait because of its oil reserves and closeness to the US. This may change as the years pass because the Kuwaiti's are not happy about our war on Terror. They, like the rest of the world are quite angry with what we are doing to other Arabs. The Emir of Dubai was important but you will not hear of the reason why by too many. The emir was a key proponent of the gold Dinar.

Of course the (brain) death of Sharon is very important for Israel. So far the year is turning out be be very eventful for the middle east. The removal of these three leaders can have a serious medium term impact of events.

As an interesting aside, it has come to my attention that recent news stories about the Saudi's seeking $624 Investment from the UK is significant, but not for the reasons stated in English publications. My sources are saying that this 'investment' is really a two way street and that what the Saudi's really want to do is use their 'investment' in the UK to sock away large quantities of money (not in dollars) to put away when (not if) they are removed from power. I relay this to you not because what I was told is a certainty, but to give you a heads up as to what to look for. I have been watching carefully to see which rich Arab nationals and Royal families move their wealth out of dollars. Don't look for Central Banks to do it (yet), look for individual people to protect themselves first6. Some newspapers in Arabic do occasionally talk about transfers of relatively small amounts over long periods of time by these individuals in order to avoid a panic. Granted, some of these reports must be taken with a grain of salt, others seem more credible. One thing you be certain of, you won't hear about in on CNN, Marketwatch or Bloomberg. Their Job seems increasingly to be to keep you in Wall Streets financial scams.
One thing you all need to keep in mind; the Saudi regime is not stable. It literally could fall at any moment. Insiders tell me that one day we could all wake up to a very, very different world. One in which;

The new Saudi regime will not sell us oil, except in Euros and only after demand from the developing world has been met.

The new Saudi regime begins exchanging their dollar reserves into Euro's
The new Saudi's regime kicks the US military out of Saudi Arabia
The Saudis threaten to blow up all of their oil infrastructure if we try to invade.
If these things happen you will see a crisis like no other and friends and readers, such a crisis is almost certainly going to happen in the not too distant future.
America... And Other Lost Causes.

The American President is now taking on all of the airs of a dictator. President Bush does not believe the Supreme Court has any authority over him. He does not believe he has to obey the law and arrogantly spies on Americans. The people do not protest. The American people in their contemptible lethargy and ignorance do nothing, while this man reduces entire nations to rubble runs our deficits into the stratosphere, kidnaps imprisons and tortures people with reckless abandon. I listen to folks talk in the shopping malls and restaurants. They talk about the Redskins and going to the movies. The nation is in the midst of a serious corruption probe and the people by and large couldn't care less. Abramoff and his antics are a revelation of what is really going on on Capitol Hill. It has been a feeding frenzy of tax money going to all kinds criminal activity. Bribes and payoffs in order to get their hands on money in the US Treasury. There is no excuse for what has been going on.

This is one massive scandal that may include some of those issues no one likes to talk about like prostitution rings for Congressmen, Senators and Cabinet Officials and child prostitution rings that that exists for the same people. Sadly since the Justice Department is handling it, it seems unlikely that anyone of real power will go to jail. If some of these crimes could be investigated and prosecuted at the State level, then there may be some progress. Let us keep in mind that Tom Delay is being prosecuted in a State court under State charges, its a miracle that when things get out of the hands of the US justice Department and its corruption, things move along rather quickly. The US Justice Department has no desire to prosecute GOP corruption7, since its own way of operating is more akin to a criminal organization that a law enforcement one.

But America's woes are being seen around the world and people in foreign capitols are taking notice. One site I visit regularly has many articles from foreign capitols on it. It is called Watching America. There you can find out (in English) just what much of the world is thinking. From Katrina and the woes of the poor there, to America's spy scandal, torture flights, burgeoning deficits and fiscal irresponsibly, the world is not silent. The resounding theme I find is that President Bush in not qualified to lead the world; destroy it yes, lead it no. Thus we must ask ourselves how this very mediocre man, with very limited mental and conceptual capabilities could rise to such power. The answer is one that is so very obvious. But that answer is a clear affront to the delusion that most Americans have of their beloved nation.



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Blood and Money.


Bush comes from one of the aristocratic families that has run America for almost a century. Yes, America has an aristocracy, it is never called that, usually such terms as 'establishment' and 'elite' are used to describe the small click of blood related rulers of America. Those of you who want to find out more on this will find many books on the subject, one work is called the Anglo-American Establishment by Carrol Quigley. This is a scholarly work. Another well written but far more conspiratorial book is called Bloodlines of the Illuminati by Fritz Springmeyer8. This book is well researched but significant gaps are present which are clearly noted even by the author. Nevertheless it well worth the read. There always has been an aristocracy in America and today our President is the hideous result of their hold on power, intermarriage and dark religious beliefs. George Bush as I have said over and over again is not America's problem, it is the aristocracy (elite, establishment) that put him in power and refuses to remove him. Let me make this clear, despite the rhetoric we hear from about the theatrical 'dismay' many feel on the hill about the President and his unconstitutional actions, the reality is that the powers that put them in office want things just as they are.

They know the serious economic catastrophe that is heading our way and want a dictatorship to deal with it. The specter of dictatorship and economic depression is not new to the American establishment who had a very important had to play in the rise of Hitler. This is no wild eyed conspiracy theory the facts exist in documentary evidence that many here in the US were directly responsible for the rise of Adolph Hitler.
Today the entire Anglo America establishment is facing the most serious threat to its existence. That is of a global shift away from its economic bedrock, the US dollar. The most important moral of this establishment is that is must, no, matter what the cost, be on the winning side and maintain its power and preeminence. Have you ever wondered why laws are so readily broken lately in both the US and the UK? Why so many of the more humane and law abiding principles that used to be admired around the world have been jettisoned?

The Anglo-American Establishment is running scared. They are deathly afraid that the empire is facing a permanent decline. Oil's decline in abundance, the rise of Islam, genuine anger at its policies in the third and developing world are all converging against it. The threat as they see it is two fold. Islamic/African/Latin control over critical resources and second, a growing violent reaction to its own often violent actions around the world. There is also the rise of China and the resurrection of Neo-Soviet Bear. The reciprocal violent actions that respond to the violence of the US-UK Establishment have been called 'terrorism'. The word terrorist is a much abused term which more often than not means the poor man not laying down to be impoverished, beaten, kidnapped, tortured and slaughtered.

In the UK Mr. Blair now can spy on Ministers Of Parliament (the rough equivalent of the American House Of Representatives). These are not the actions a man interested in preserving a free society, they are the actions of a Man who is bent on a power grab for key financial/oil and industrial leaders for both the US and the UK. The same is happening in the US. The recent spy revelations, as will be revealed as the months pass has little to do with terrorism. It has everything to do with spying on Democratic Party leaders, business leaders and key media personnel. This is about controlling all of the mechanisms of state and making a handsome profit. This is the case. The entirety of this scandal has not been revealed yet, it will be one day in the not too distant future. The US and UK are trying to maintain their empire and make no mistake the two are joined both by blood and money. This is the real backdrop of the war on terror and the energy grab now underway and ensuring more reasonable elements within their own nations do not get a handle on political power ever again. Yes, in essence I am talking about a form of government that is a far cry from the democratic republic we are used to. I am talking about fascism showing its face in both the US and UK in a very real way. The cry of the people within these two nations is saying 'keep us safe, I don't care who you must spy on, torture, terrorize, kill, rape, steal from; I don't care who's' child you molest, or how many houses, churches, mosques, old folks homes, children's hospitals you must blow up to do it, just keep us safe'. Because the people have so little historical perspective they do not know that every time a government starts by terrorizing others, it always without exception turns and starts terrorizing its own.

Thus we can see with a clear eyes what is coming.

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On the Spiritual Front

There are many things happening in the world and it seems that Islam is at the center of much of it. Whether it be terrorism, oil, war or even the dollar, Islam is a key part of the spiritual and temporal wars happening today. Islam is bad news. Even though I am a Christian, I would say that if I were an atheist. Wherever it rears its intolerant head, poverty, repression, despotism seem to increase. While many Arab nations have enormous oil wealth, the problems even in the richest of them, such as Saudi Arabia, has not led to a benevolent rule but to repression in the extreme. A friend of mine travels extensively in the Middle East and he has met many very important people there. He tells me consistently this one phrase that I will repeat to you, “The problem in the Arab World can be summed up in one word, Islam”.
In Europe Islam is moving quietly into mainstream life. This is causing many problems and in France, one of the most tolerant of EU nations to have serious social disruptions in many of its cites as recent events demonstrated. Islam is very much on the move and it is this threat that many in the west wish to repress with war. From the regions of Babylon and Persia is rising a bitter and often righteous anger at America.

This war on terror is creating and strengthening these elements who posses this hatred. Our war is clearly having the opposite effect than was intended as we are creating terrorists galore with our indiscriminate bombings. Sadly far too may 'Christian' observers fall into 'knee jerk' explanations as to what we are doing on the ground in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places that are not in the news (Somalia, Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia). Automatic support for our indiscriminate violence in the mistaken and misguided belief that somehow it will 'help Israel' is a terrible deception that has covered the eyes of too many 'Christians'. They do not care about the thousands of people killed and tortured by US forces. Many of these victims are Christians. This is a sickness that is part and parcel of the religious right and those who think they are supporting the secular state of Israel with the murderous thoughts and intents of their hearts. They have mistakenly come to the conclusion that all Arabs and all Muslims are terrorists. They are not. But our war is turning more and more of them into terrorists. If you do not believe me, click over to this link and play a little game. The game is truly amazing in its simplicity but its insight into the war is impeccable. See how many terrorists you make with you own little 'war on terror'. There is no way to win this war. Those who talk of attacks on nations like Iran or Syria are not speaking for God. Christ's Kingdom is NOT OF THIS EARTH. But the kingdom these religious impostors is of this earth and of this world and they are serving the prince of this world. We (genuine Christians) are sojourners and travelers here. God has made a Heavenly Kingdom for those who love him (by doing his commandments).That is not to say that that there is enormous spiritual significance to Islam's (especially Iran's) satanically inspired hatred of Israel and its desire to destroy it. But as Christians we must not fall into the 'war and killing' trap. It is far too easy to do and far too many Christians do it. Israel is dear to God yes, but the Church has been given commandments and our love for Israel must never cloud or propel us to support evil men who use their silvery tongues to deceive us into unwise, deceitful or violent action.

Brothers and sisters, deceit is everywhere it is especially in the religious right and its TV pastors, preachers and evangelists. They are leading the sheep into the arms of its unholy consort, the GOP and support of its policies. For now the global beast system is content to harass and target the Imams and Mullah's of Islam. They are now the target of the Anglo American establishment. Soon it will be priests and pastors. I realize that I am simply telling you what many of you already know and most of you will never believe... that is until big brother kicks in your door and takes you someplace never to be seen or heard from again.

Purpose Driven Apostasy.

Rick Warren who has started the 'Purpose Driven' movement in the Church calls Christian Fundamentalists the 'Greatest Enemy' Of The 21st Century. This is the man who is heading movement that is taking the 'Church' by storm. Pastors are throwing out their Bibles and using Warren's book to run their congregations. It is truly amazing! Apostasy is the word for today's 'Purpose Driven' Church.

Persecution

Around the world there is enormous persecution against Christians. In Burma persecution many not be directed at Christians particularly but they feel the brunt of it just the same. The program of repression is mostly against ethnic minorities, but among these minorities are sometimes large groups of Christians. The horrors of persecution are often felt in Islamic governments. Especially those who have a great deal of oil and are friendly to the US. The most repressive to Christ and his followers is probably Saudi Arabia. While persecution does exist in other nations, it is not a state sponsored 'past time' to imprison, torture and kill Christ's followers as it is in Saudi Arabia, one of America's closest allies.

China as well is a hardened persecutor of Christ's followers and has good (if not necessarily warm) relations with America. Pastors, Priests and home Church leaders are often rounded up and imprisoned. They are often tortured as well, sometimes they are persecuted for simply having 'forbidden literature' such as prayer books, witnessing and Church materials. China is a serious enemy of Christ and his cross.

Persecution of Christians is also increasing in the West. In America, Judges are ruling that schools cannot teach creation (aka intelligent design). They must teach Godless creation. That is, there is no order or system or even importance to the world and the universe, people or animals. All are just 'cosmic accidents' waiting to be slaughtered by a new evolutionary 'master race'. The Laws of physics that order the universe, anyone with a functioning mind can see, are not to ascribed to intelligence. This is obviously a new satanic system of American education. The Courts are more and more becoming an instrument of Satan to remove God from all walks of life and then install man as god. Soon, as the scriptures say, men will blaspheme God for bringing plagues upon them as their sins demand judgment from he who shall judge the living and the dead.

I recommend that you visit some of the sites that assist the persecuted to find out just how bad things are in some places Christian Freedom International, Voice Of the Martyrs, Barnabas Fund and Christian Monitor all deal with these issues.
Many of you get upset with me because I bring many of these things to light. I am unapologetic of my criticism of what is happening to America and the Church inside her borders. Please understand this too, I do not hate our leaders, temporal or inside the Church, but if I do not speak out about what is happening I become a cloak that covers evil, rather than a light that exposes it.

Latin America

Chavez is on the move. His revolution is gaining many supporters. Chile has a new Socialist leader. While Chile's new leader is unlikely to ally itself with Chavez and his 'revolution'. Chile has accepted neo-liberal views of 'free trade'. Yet Ecuador is moving against US hegemonic interests it wants to ensure that the natural gas deposits there go to benefit the people, not big US oil conglomerates. The entire move in Latin America is to the left, though perhaps not as far left as Chavez wants to take it. This is causing many problems in Washington, which wants to further 'liberalize' trade under its neo-liberal principles. This is going to a key area to watch in the year ahead. Will Latin America be satisfied with existing trade arrangements with the US and maintain and even strengthen Mercosur to the exclusion of agreements more favorable to the US?All of this remains to be seen but the influence of Chavez is likely to put a damper on US efforts. Latin America is an often neglected topic in news sites in the US even in alternative sites. Those who want to keep their eyes open to what is happening should keep an eye on Latin America as well. Much is happening there.


http://www.rferl.org/images/photo/terror.jpg


Conclusion

Lucius: Art thou not sorry for these heinous deeds?Aaron: Ay, that I had not done a thousand more.Even now I curse the day--and yet, I think,Few come within the compass of my curse,--Wherein I did not some notorious ill,As kill a man, or else devise his death,Ravish a maid, or plot the way to do it,Accuse some innocent and forswear myself,Set deadly enmity between two friends,Make poor men's cattle break their necks;Set fire on barns and hay-stacks in the night,And bid the owners quench them with their tears.Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful thingsAs willingly as one would kill a fly,And nothing grieves me heartily indeedBut that I cannot do ten thousand more.

-From Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus


If there were any part of Shakespeare that I thought described the morality of the GOP and our sitting President this is it. It is as reprobate as the devil's apprentice and as remorseless as Hitler's henchmen. They do not seem to care whom they kill, torture, maim, kidnap or rob.
This too describes the American people who put them in office... twice. You know, I often listen to the radio in the car when I am running errands and I was listening to a show a couple of days ago that I really like, it is the Gary Null show. He mostly deals in health care issues but lately as America is clearly moving into a crisis, he has dealt with some more progressive issues. Make no mistake, the show is excellent. But one thing he said kind of startled me. He said that the American people were 'good people'. Well, I understand where he is coming from on one level, but one must wonder how 'good' the people are when 90% of them supported men like Clinton (who also killed lots of innocent people) and Bush. I cannot agree that the American people are good. Naïve yes, good no. Goodness requires courage and I see none of that in modern Americans. Rather, I see a 'go with the flow' kind of moral degeneracy a 'crowd based cowardice' that now makes up the black hole of America's soul. Americans are going with the flow, right down the river Styx9.

This is one reason why I know that America days as a Constitutional Republic are over. When the President decides he is above the law, you are no longer a republic. Rather, you have either a monarchy or dictatorship. The difference between the two is academic. Sadly as these things are apparent, there is little outcry. Will America ever recover from its disease? I will give you the short answer. No, and frankly I cannot say that this is altogether a bad thing. I say this not as in an unpatriotic spirit but one that does not want to see the nation I live in ever bludgeon poor people with such reckless abandon ever again. In short, I hate lies and evil more than I love America and as this nation turns towards greater and greater evil I cannot help but desire to see that it troubles the world no longer. Call me what you want, 'unpatriotic' 'bad', 'wrong' even 'traitor', but I just cannot wish the monstrosity that America has become continue to have the kind of global power she has now. The America I once loved simply does not exist anymore.

God knows I do not want to see anyone harmed or mistreated inside or outside our nation but America under Bush as gone too far. My prayer is that her days be shortened and that she never trouble the world again as she is doing now with her wars, unwarranted international aggression, kidnappings, torture camps, global eavesdropping and financial criminals that run Wall Street. I have served this nation in time of war I do not need any 'pantywaist patriot' who never did anything for their nation except wave a flag when it was 'politically correct' to do so telling me what it means to be patriotic. These overweight, emotionally handicapped and ignorant cowards by and large don't not even know that the words 'separation of Church and State' are not in the Constitution, they (as polls have shown) can not even point to Iraq on a map, they can't tell you the basics of American history. But they can wave a flag like a trained monkey and call it patriotism. A trained monkey still looks, talks and smells every bit like a monkey. How many trained monkeys do you know? I know about 260 million of them. The number of real humans that act, think and speak like humans in America is a dwindling minority. The vast majority of Americans are living proof that Darwin was wrong.

American policy towards the rest of the world will dominate news in 2006, baring a serious natural disaster. Whether she is able to fund her deficits or have to print money to pay its bills is not going to be an academic issue in 2006. How the government pays for natural disasters, new wars and other unforeseen problems will also be important. Remember this, it is only continuing resolutions that keep us going now as there is no real budget. Don't let the pundits on the mainstream news try to dance around it. There is no budget and we are broke. The only real thing we can do since we are flooding the market with debt (that people are shying away from), is print money and that is why the Government will no longer publish M3 and with monetary quacks like Bernanke heading the Fed, I can only say...
God help us all!!
In Christ Jesus, with no apologies for my faith or my views,

Mark S. Watson

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1This is a most important distinction as Iranians are not Arabs, they are Persians, though they do have an Islamic state.
2I realize that Iran has missiles that are attributed long range. However having the two (nukes and missiles) often automatically causes many to surmise that they can actually deliver a nuke with a missile the reality is not always as clear (number of actual nuclear weapon she posses a reliable triggering system a reliable missile that does not have a tendency go astray are all factors that must be considered). In other words having a missile and a nuke are not always indicative of a system that is actually capable of delivering a nuke to a target of ones choice with any reliability. The Key to making Iran's arsenal a potent first strike weapon will be its ability to launch without warning and with sufficient retaliatory capability to deter a response to its first strike. Information on Iran's missile arsenal can be found here.
3As quoted from the Credit Bubble Bulletin
4Troops who buy their own amour can lose their death benefit
5One of the most pressing is the 'overuse' of critical equipment. From aircraft, helicopters to tanks and supply vehicles. These pieces of equipment only last so long in a hostile environment in battle conditions. You can only get so many hours out of an aircraft engine before it needs to be replaced. This is the less newsworthy but more important story of our supply problems in Iraq.
6Recently an altercation took place between Omar Sharif and a parking lot attendant. Most US papers did not report exactly what the spat was about. Sharif tried to pay the attendant in Euro's rather than dollars and the attendant got indignant. Sharif told him that it was 'real money' and a spat ensued.
7Some will argue on this. We will have to see who actually GOES TO JAIL when all is said and done.
8Fritz soon after writing the book was railroaded into Prison.
9A mythical river in Hell often referred to as the river of blood. The word comes from the greek stugein which means hate. Thus it could also be called the river of hate.


2 comments:

sevenpointman said...

Howard Roberts



A Seven-point plan for an Exit Strategy in Iraq




1) A timetable for the complete withdrawal of American and British forces must be announced.
I envision the following procedure, but suitable fine-tuning can be applied by all the people involved.

A) A ceasefire should be offered by the Occupying side to representatives of both the Sunni insurgency and the Shiite community. These representatives would be guaranteed safe passage, to any meetings. The individual insurgency groups would designate who would attend.
At this meeting a written document declaring a one-month ceasefire, witnessed by a United Nations authority, will be fashioned and eventually signed. This document will be released in full, to all Iraqi newspapers, the foreign press, and the Internet.
B) US and British command will make public its withdrawal, within sixth-months of 80 % of their troops.

C) Every month, a team of United Nations observers will verify the effectiveness of the ceasefire.
All incidences on both sides will be reported.

D) Combined representative armed forces of both the Occupying nations and the insurgency organizations that agreed to the cease fire will protect the Iraqi people from actions by terrorist cells.

E) Combined representative armed forces from both the Occupying nations and the insurgency organizations will begin creating a new military and police force. Those who served, without extenuating circumstances, in the previous Iraqi military or police, will be given the first option to serve.

F) After the second month of the ceasefire, and thereafter, in increments of 10-20% ,a total of 80% will be withdrawn, to enclaves in Qatar and Bahrain. The governments of these countries will work out a temporary land-lease housing arrangement for these troops. During the time the troops will be in these countries they will not stand down, and can be re-activated in the theater, if both the chain of the command still in Iraq, the newly formed Iraqi military, the leaders of the insurgency, and two international ombudsman (one from the Arab League, one from the United Nations), as a majority, deem it necessary.


G) One-half of those troops in enclaves will leave three-months after they arrive, for the United States or other locations, not including Iraq.

H) The other half of the troops in enclaves will leave after six-months.

I) The remaining 20 % of the Occupying troops will, during this six month interval, be used as peace-keepers, and will work with all the designated organizations, to aid in reconstruction and nation-building.


J) After four months they will be moved to enclaves in the above mentioned countries.
They will remain, still active, for two month, until their return to the States, Britain and the other involved nations.









2) At the beginning of this period the United States will file a letter with the Secretary General of the Security Council of the United Nations, making null and void all written and proscribed orders by the CPA, under R. Paul Bremer. This will be announced and duly noted.



3) At the beginning of this period all contracts signed by foreign countries will be considered in abeyance until a system of fair bidding, by both Iraqi and foreign countries, will be implemented ,by an interim Productivity and Investment Board, chosen from pertinent sectors of the Iraqi economy.
Local representatives of the 18 provinces of Iraq will put this board together, in local elections.


4) At the beginning of this period, the United Nations will declare that Iraq is a sovereign state again, and will be forming a Union of 18 autonomous regions. Each region will, with the help of international experts, and local bureaucrats, do a census as a first step toward the creation of a municipal government for all 18 provinces. After the census, a voting roll will be completed. Any group that gets a list of 15% of the names on this census will be able to nominate a slate of representatives. When all the parties have chosen their slates, a period of one-month will be allowed for campaigning.
Then in a popular election the group with the most votes will represent that province.
When the voters choose a slate, they will also be asked to choose five individual members of any of the slates.
The individuals who have the five highest vote counts will represent a National government.
This whole process, in every province, will be watched by international observers as well as the local bureaucrats.

During this process of local elections, a central governing board, made up of United Nations, election governing experts, insurgency organizations, US and British peacekeepers, and Arab league representatives, will assume the temporary duties of administering Baghdad, and the central duties of governing.

When the ninety representatives are elected they will assume the legislative duties of Iraq for two years.

Within three months the parties that have at least 15% of the representatives will nominate candidates for President and Prime Minister.

A national wide election for these offices will be held within three months from their nomination.

The President and the Vice President and the Prime Minister will choose their cabinet, after the election.


5) All debts accrued by Iraq will be rescheduled to begin payment, on the principal after one year, and on the interest after two years. If Iraq is able to handle another loan during this period she should be given a grace period of two years, from the taking of the loan, to comply with any structural adjustments.



6) The United States and the United Kingdom shall pay Iraq reparations for its invasion in the total of 120 billion dollars over a period of twenty years for damages to its infrastructure. This money can be defrayed as investment, if the return does not exceed 6.5 %.


7) During the beginning period Saddam Hussein and any other prisoners who are deemed by a Council of Iraqi Judges, elected by the National representative body, as having committed crimes will be put up for trial.
The trial of Saddam Hussein will be before seven judges, chosen from this Council of Judges.
One judge, one jury, again chosen by this Council, will try all other prisoners.
All defendants will have the right to present any evidence they want, and to choose freely their own lawyers.

Timothy said...

Interesting information.