Thursday

The Daily WAR (11-13)

Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
 
 
 
    St. Augustine contributed to the development of modern politics with a definition of "true secularism" that clearly marks out the separation between Church and state, says Benedict XVI.
    This was the 4th address he dedicated to the bishop of Hippo, whose text "De Civitate Dei" (The City of God) he said has contributed to "the development of modern political thought in the West and in Christian historical theology."
    Written between 413 and 426, the Pope explained that the text came about after the sacking of Rome by the Goths in 410, after which many pagans expressed doubt regarding the greatness of the Christian God who seemed incapable of defending the city.
 
 
    A law professor from the London School of Economics was the keynote speaker for the event. A specialists on human rights, he said that the Catholic Church shares a great deal in common with human-rights activists. Each group, he said, "is skeptical of the power of the market to deliver a just and fair society."
 
 
 
    It was High Noon in the Berlin Chancellery yesterday as the leader of Liechtenstein faced down an irritated German Chancellor, but in the end guns stayed in holsters and an uneasy calm returned to the badlands of Central Europe.
    The cause of the row is Berlin's decision to allow its Secret Service to pay a thief more than $6 million for data on wealthy and allegedly tax-dodging Germans. The headline in the Berlin daily Taz said it all: "Liechtenstein attacks Germany!"
    The dwarf state has a history of standing up to the Germans. It refused to sign a peace treaty with Prussia after the Austro-Prussian war and technically stayed in a state of war with the Germans well into the 1930s. During WW2 it remained neutral and matters have calmed down since.
    (And: Liechtenstein became a sovereign state in 1806 following the Holy Roman Empire's dissolution.)
    Liechtensteiners are, however, still highly sensitive about Germany dictating terms to the mountain principality.
    (And: "Money is not flowing into tax oases because they are so attractive, rather because the fiscal-political landscape in Germany is so utterly horrible," said Peter Ramsauer of the conservative Christian Social Union, who called for a simplified system with lower rates.)
 
Der Spiegel
German state-owned banks on verge of collapse
    The German government has had to bail out state-owned banks with taxpayers' money after their managements recklessly gambled away billions on subprime investments. But if a state-owned bank were to go under, the consequences could be disastrous for the whole economy.
    Until now, the government has always been there to pick up the tab in the end. Fully aware of this safety net, the executives at state-owned banks gambled with their employers' assets as if there was no tomorrow.
    And the bets kept increasing in recent years, getting more and more public-sector banks into financial hot water. Now the banks find themselves lacking the assets they need to weather the turmoil of an international financial crisis.
    The situation for Germany's public banks has become so dramatic that it threatens to topple what has been one of the key pillars of the country's banking system. The state-owned banks are supposed to bail each other out when necessary, but the problem is that many are in trouble themselves and hardly in a position to help their peers. And things could get even worse.
    The failure of a major state-owned bank like WestLB would also inevitably affect corporate customers, even forcing some into bankruptcy.
    It is a nightmare scenario that the government financial supervisory authority now believes is increasingly likely. Germany's public-sector banks speculated far more heavily than private banks in American subprime mortgage securities. Now these banks' beleaguered executives are calling on the government to bail them out from a disaster of their own making.
    It is a paradoxical situation, because the government, responding to pressure from Brussels, was required to withdraw its guarantee of protection for state-owned banks as of July 2005. The consequences of the change were devastating for the public-sector banks, which suddenly found their business model pulled out from under their feet.
    Lacking a functioning business model, they turned to what was essentially gambling -- and lost. The hard-hit German banks are now trying desperately to save their skins.
    [WAR: Germany was pressured by the EU to alter the business model of the Landesbanks, which was the plan by the international private banks -- to either get access to the banks (via mergers), or to eliminate them and get rid of their competition.
    This goes to the heart of the EU, and also why Germany must, and WILL, leave the EU -- or bring about its demise. Germany is NOT going to let banks fail, and their economy fall, because of some rules and regulations dictated by Brussels.
    Germany was forced by Britain and France to give up the deutsche mark and accept the euro. Germany has tried to make lemonade out of a lemon, but it's not working. So very soon now, the euro will be ditched (or allowed to collapse) and the mark will be back! And what if Iran then chooses to sell oil in marks?!]
 
 
 
Sorry for the length,
but this is very important to understand...
Constitution for dictatorship in a global fascist system?
    The world financial system has already collapsed and what we will experience from now into the future are only the effects of it, which are gradually coming to the surface. We are dealing with a hyperinflationary process, as in Weimar Germany in 1923.
    Economists are now warning, as for example New York economist Nouriel Roubini, who wrote that he believes that the core meltdown of the system is here, and that the Federal Reserve can do nothing to stop it.
    The financial crash will completely change the agenda of all institutions, including the European governments, even if that is not yet clear to them at this moment.
    I would like to discuss a great danger, which has been hardly been taken up by the press at all: the new European Treaty, or the Treaty of Lisbon. And indeed, this text has up to now not been printed in German—what an absurdity!—and it is completely unreadable and completely unclear.
    If it were indeed rammed through, it would have catastrophic consequences for Europe. Already the Maastricht Treaty and the Amsterdam Treaty and the Stability Pact have practically created a corset for the European states, which—as can be seen with the euro—means not only that the national governments no longer have sovereignty over their own currencies, that there is no "lender of last resort" in Europe—which is not so problematic, if everything is running normally, but also that if a real banking crisis occurs, as we have now, then the Bundesbank and the BaFin are ostensibly the "lenders of last resort," but they have no sovereignty over the euro.
    "The Republic of Austria, with its Federal Constitution, is turned into a subdivision of the legal body of the EU. The coordination of both constitutions is replaced definitively by subjugation, submission, and hence by the dissolution of the republic into a European Union."
    The same applies of course to Germany, which basically gave up its own statehood long ago through these treaties. And even former President Herzog wrote in Welt am Sontag a year ago, that if this document is implemented, Germany would no longer be a parliamentary democracy, and he therefore favored rejecting the treaty.
    Thus, what is involved here is a complete paradigm shift in constitutional law—from the European nations as a federation, to the EU itself as the Federal State—and a total change of the Basic Law. The EU Treaty would mean that the Basic Law and the Bavarian Constitution would be annulled.
    Already the Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties have basically prohibited the issuance of state credit. That would really mean, that we would surrender any possibility of defending the General Welfare and our national economies.
    If we take this route, the Lisbon Treaty, then Germany is not to be saved, and we go into a Dark Age; then the Morgenthau Plan will be implemented belatedly, and social chaos is the absolutely certain reality, which will then occur. That means, that what is really at stake is the very existence of Germany.
 
    Deputies in the European Parliament have voted strongly in favour of the EU's latest treaty. Adopted on Wednesday by 525 votes in favour, 115 against and 29 abstentions, the 3-hour long debate preceding it ranged from those strongly in favour of the treaty to those accusing member states of bypassing EU citizens by not having a referendum.
 
    An alternative to the European Commission's plan to liberalise the EU's energy sector put forward by eight member states is running into difficulty, with Brussels questioning both the content and legal aspects of the initiative.
    The asset break-up [of the EC's plan] is seen as essential to boosting competition and cutting prices in the energy sector. From day one, however, a number of countries - led by France and Germany - has opposed the idea, saying it would infringe constitutional property rights, but not necessarily ensure more competition in the sector
 
    Spanish security forces have been placed on maximum alert to guard against terrorist attacks in the run-up to March 9 general elections, the Interior Ministry said today. Spain also faces the threat of violence from the armed Basque separatist group ETA, which has reverted to violence after ending a unilateral cease-fire in June of last year.
 
    Pope Benedict XVI today told Serbia's new Vatican ambassador that "prudence and moderation" were required over the "crisis" in Kosovo. "I ask all parties involved to act with prudence and moderation, and to find a solution that favours reciprocal respect and reconciliation."
 
    Serbia's foreign minister has spoken to the European Parliament about the disappointment Serbs feel about the EU member states that have recognized independent Kosovo, claiming he is "ashamed" as a European.
    "I am ashamed, because if recognizing this act of ethnically-motivated secession from a democratic, European state is not wrong, then nothing is wrong." He argued that Serbs "will not go quietly. We shall strive for what is just and rightfully ours."
 
    Up to 1,000 men, some suspected of being members of the Serbian Ministry of Interior police, crossed into northern Kosovo yesterday amid rising fears that minority Serbs living in the new state's north would attempt effectively to partition Kosovo along the Ibar River.
    After 2 days of rapidly rising tensions between Serbs and Albanians following Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday, eyewitnesses counted close to 200 cars and buses crossing from southern Serbia full of men.
    Elsewhere in the Serb-dominated north, witnesses also spoke of police stations once occupied by the joint Serb-Albanian Kosovo police service now displaying the Serb flag. The fears that Serbia is intending to put its police force into the north follow rumours being circulated among Kosovo police service officers in Mitrovica that Serb members are planning to resign en masse in the coming days.
 
    Serbians were to protest en masse against Kosovo's declaration of independence in Belgrade today, a day after NATO-led peacekeepers blamed Serb leaders for unrest in the fledgling state.
    Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to gather in front of the old Yugoslav parliament building in central Belgrade for the "Kosovo is Serbia" rally.
 
 
 
Look in the mirror!...
    The recent earthquake that was felt across Israel was the result of the "homosexual activity practiced in the country", Knesset Member Shlomo Benizri said Wednesday. "The Gemara mentions a number of causes of earthquakes, one of which is homosexuality, which the Knesset legitimizes."
 
    Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the Olmert government is taking measures to divide Jerusalem, and urged the key Shas party to bolt the coalition and topple the government in order "to save Jerusalem."
 
    The assassination of Mugniyah in Syria was only the first in a string of assassinations that Israel is planning to carry out. "After Mugniyah there will be a 2nd stage and a 3rd stage, which will target Hezbollah and Hamas and perhaps even Iran."
 
    Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday that he could not rule out the possibility that Israel will face a military conflict sometime in the near future. "The achievement demanded of the IDF is swift victory in any type of conflict. I can't promise that we will not face such a test in the immediate future."
 
    Prime Minister Olmert's government has been holding high-level talks with Syria regarding renewing negotiations over an Israeli retreat from the strategic Golan Heights, WND has learned.
    Top diplomatic sources in Jerusalem confirmed the Defense Minister has been passing official messages on a regular basis to Syrian President Assad regarding Israel's willingness to negotiate over the Golan.
 
    Old European fables of Muslims spreading Islam by the sword are reinvented to convey the impression that Muslims are extremely dangerous, highly irresponsible and pay scant regard to human life.
    However, a close study of Islamic rule in the past contradicts the popular western myth that Muslims are bloodthirsty people anxious to wipe out the rest of mankind in the name of Islam.
    The same however, cannot be said about the West. The West armed with its secular doctrine and materialistic world-view proceeded to exploit, plunder and colonize vast populations in order to control resources and maximize wealth.
 
To hell with democracy!...
    The US and Britain are pressing Pervez Musharraf's victorious opponents to drop their demands that he resign as president and that the country's independent judiciary be restored before forming a government.
    In a strategy some Western diplomats admit could badly backfire, the Bush administration has made clear it wishes to continue to support Musharraf even after Monday's election in which the Pakistani public delivered a resounding rejection of his policies.
 
    President Bush's foray into Africa revealed both US intentions to militarize the continent and the limits of American coercive power in the current global environment. Bush scaled down his visit to 5 "safe" countries where his millions of dollars in "aid" would be warmly received, while avoiding nations where US policies are unpopular.
    But a full-blown, proxy offensive is underway in the Horn of Africa. And OIL lies at the heart of the US thrust in Africa, the source of "more petroleum to the USA than the Middle East."
 
    The UN secretary general told the Security Council on Wednesday that the situation in the Sudanese region of West Darfur was deteriorating and that more peacekeepers were urgently needed.
 
 
 
    Iran urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to condemn Israel's recent warning that it had not ruled out using military force against the country's nuclear program.
 
    Israel's UN envoy has envisioned the IAEA's impending report on Iran's nuclear program as another major disappointment. "Our expectations and those of many of my colleagues at the UN are not high. He (ElBaradei) systematically tries to sympathize with the Iranians to minimize things. Our experiences with his previous reports have not been positive, and I do not expect any change."
 
        The Iranian president said Iran's determination to continue its disputed nuclear program had brought major powers "to their knees". In another defiant speech ahead of an IAEA report on Iran due on Friday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would ignore calls by major powers to halt sensitive nuclear work that has led to two rounds of U.N. sanctions.
    "The Iranian nation will not allow any power to trample even on its smallest (national) right. The Iranian nation's will to continue nuclear work has won over the will of big powers ... (and) brought them to their knees."
 
    Iran's Oil Minister has announced that Tehran will soon close a deal with Russia's Gazprom to form a joint company for implementing energy projects. "We have reached an agreement with Gazprom to form a joint company with the participation of a 3rd country."
    Tehran-Moscow cooperation for construction of an oil and gas supply pipeline as well as joint oil/gas cooperation in the Caspian Sea were among other issues discussed in the meeting.
(And: Russian energy ties send US a message)
 
    Iraq should have cured President Bush of any further itch for starting a war. And yet there comes a rumble for an attack on Iran. Is such an attack possible? It is Bush's last year in office. There is no time for a land war, but an air war is possible.
    A struggle is under way in Washington, D.C. Those opposed to an attack include Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates and the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff. Those wanting an attack, he says, are the deputy national-security adviser for global democracy strategy, Elliott Abrams; Vice President Dick Cheney, "and the hard-line Israel lobby."
 
 
 
 
    President Bush and his director of National Intelligence are telling the American people that an unaccountable executive branch is necessary for their protection. With the Protect America Act, Bush and his brownshirts are trying to establish the independence of the executive branch from statutory law and the Constitution.
 
Obama in Texas
    Barack Obama appealed to 2 disparate and, in fact, conflicting constituencies. First, he sought to tap into and channel the mood of social discontent and frustration among voters opposed to the growth of social inequality, war and the irresponsiveness of the two big business parties. At the same time, he gave several signals to corporate America that he was committed to defending its interests in the US and throughout the globe.
    Obama has received the backing of leading sections of the corporate and political establishment because he is seen as a useful tool to establish a more popular base of support for the geopolitical interests of the American ruling class.
 
    What's so super about superdelegates anyway? Do they contribute to an active democracy in America? If the battle for a party is a battle for ideas, superdelegates should serve no role in a democratic nomination process. For a nominee to be anointed by the power and money of superdelegates is nothing more than rigging an election.
 
    California, which once lured Americans from near and far, is now driving out millions of the most productive residents – including high percentages of the most affluent.
 
    A missile launched from a Navy cruiser soared 130 miles above the Pacific and smashed a dying and potentially deadly US spy satellite. Several defense officials said it apparently achieved the main aim of destroying an onboard tank of toxic fuel. "Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days."
 
    A handwritten note scribbled in the margin of the first draft of the controversial Iraq weapons dossier referring to Israel's nuclear arsenal now threatens to cause a damaging dispute between Britain and its Middle Eastern ally.
    It emerged last night that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office successfully fought to keep the note secret because it drew attention to Israel's alleged nuclear weapons programme.
    Jotted down by an unknown official at the office, it was written against the claim that "no other country has flouted the United Nations' authority so brazenly in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction."
 
 
 
 
    The price of oil touched an all-time peak of $101.32 a barrel, lifted by fears of supply disruptions according to traders. Oil's surge meanwhile helped gold to a record high of $948.59 an ounce.
 
    The US Federal Reserve Board, for all its power, faces tough new limits on its ability to keep the economy out of a recession. Even though the Fed cut short-term interest rates twice in January, home mortgage rates have edged up steadily in the past few weeks and credit for businesses is as tight as it was when financial markets seized up last August.
    On Wednesday, the central bank, found itself facing signs of a problem the US has not seen in decades: stagflation, the mix of slumping economic growth, sharp spikes in prices for oil and food and a rising pace of overall inflation.
    The combination of rising prices and stalling growth, aggravated by the deepening downturn in housing and credit markets, has put the Federal Reserve Board in a box of its own making.
 
 
 
 
    The 101-year-old academy teaches strict adherence to the 10 Commandments, including the 4th, which is "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." It defines the Sabbath as the traditional Jewish day from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The result? No games on Friday night or Saturday.
    [WAR: Too bad that they're following Jewish traditions and observing the JEWISH Sabbath -- as opposed to YAHWEH's Sabbath DAY, which is clearly defined in the Scriptures -- otherwise, they could play games on Friday NIGHT.
    "And ELOHIM said, 'Let there be LIGHT,' and there was LIGHT. He saw that the LIGHT was good, and he SEPARATED the LIGHT from the darkness. And HE CALLED THE LIGHT 'DAY,' and the darkness he called 'night.'" (Gen 1:3-5)
    So LIGHT and dark were separated -- it's even mentioned 2  more times (14,18) so that we'll get the point! And what ELOHIM has separated, let no man combine: "Woe to those who ... put darkness for light and light for darkness" (Isa 5:20).
    And it's quite "plain as DAY" that LIGHT=DAY and DAY=LIGHT. What is so hard about that? Now go and obey the commandment and rest every 7th LIGHT!]
 
    During the 1st century, Christians did not believe that the official calendar of Rome, or the local calendars that honored the deities of various cities, marked real time.
    John's gospel presents Jesus' death at the time the paschal lambs were slain, just before the Passover (John 19:14,31). The Synoptic Gospels, however, portray the Last Supper as a Seder, the Passover meal when this same lamb was eaten (Matthew 26:17–19; Mark 14:12–16; Luke 22:7–13). Both portrayals cannot be right, and there is good reason to believe both are wrong.
    The identification of the Last Supper with the Passover Seder is implausible. No mention is made of the Passover lamb in the account of the Last Supper, nor of the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread or the Exodus from Egypt, all of which are formally prescribed in Exodus 12 as understood in ancient Judaism.
    More important, the Temple authorities are presented as deciding not to have Jesus arrested during Passover, but only before or after the feast itself, in order to avoid a riot (Matthew 26:3–5; Mark 14:1–2).
    [WAR: If "the 1st century Christians did not believe that the official calendar of Rome marked real time," then how much more should we believe the same thing today when it comes to the current "official calendar of Rome," the Gregorian calendar.
    Why use 2 different calendars -- one for the "holy days", and the other for the rest of your life? Why be bi-polar, and on the fence, when it comes to time? Why even use the Gregorian calendar? Oh, is it so that you can continue to function in society and have the ability to "buy and sell"?]
 
 
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