Australia: Islamic exhortations to violence defended

Authorities investigate sermons supporting jihad, martyrdom Alert Focus: The Fruit of Islam / A Horde of Judgment / Deception / Antichrist / Mystery Babylon Habakkuk 1:2-3 How long, O LORD, will I call for help,And You will not hear?I cry out to You, "Violence!"Yet You do not save.Why do You make me see iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?Yes, destruction and violence are before me;Strife exists and contention arises. 1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. WORLDNETDAILY - January 24, 2007 -- The Australian government, whose leaders have invited Muslims who believe religious law should trump the nation's secular constitution to leave, now has launched an investigation into recordings of messages urging Muslims to kill enemies of Islam. According to a report in the daily newspaper The Australian, members of the Federal Police force have begun looking into the DVD recordings by Sheik Feiz Mohamed. They collected a copy of the recordings recently from a 4,000-member Muslim youth center founded by Mohamed. Officers who arrived at the Global Islamic Youth Center at Liverpool, in Sydney's western suburbs, declined to comment, but Muslims are defending even the references to violence and martyrdom in the messages. Australian leaders, as WND has reported, have taken a much harder stance than leaders in other free nations against those would suggest that Islamic law, or Sharia, should be observed. Prime Minister John Howard has said he believes activities of those in Australia's mosques should be monitored, citing a need for the government to know if members of the Islamic community supported or taught violence. "We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism, whether any comfort or harbour is given to terrorism within that community," Howard told Australian radio earlier. Education Minister Brendan Nelson said those members of the Islamic faith who do not support Australian values are welcome to leave. Treasurer Peter Costello, who is seen as heir apparent to Howard, also has made similar suggestions about those who do not accept Australia's Constitution and the laws created by its parliament. "If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said. He continued: "I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that that is false. If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country which practices it, perhaps, then, that's a better option." Mohamed, who was described as a "firebrand" in one report, has defended the messages on the DVD, which call children to jihad, urge Muslims to kill enemies of Islam and praise martyrs. The messages include a statement that inmates at Guantanamo Bay, where those suspected of being involved in Islamic terrorism are detained, are "better" than Muslims in Australia, who would not forsake their lifestyles for martyrdom. "The brothers in Cuba are better than us," the newspaper quoted him saying. "They are being examined through the best examination (a reference to God's judgment)." Mohamed, who now lives in Lebanon after leaving Australia in 2005, said his followers should seek the honorable death of a believer. "They fight in the cause, they kill others – the enemies who fight Islam and they themselves are killed as martyrs," he said. He gives the example of a mujaheddin who fought in Bosnia in the 1990s who spoke of nothing but jihad and was killed on the battlefield. "What a beautiful person to be associated with. Would you not like to be an associate of this person?" The messages were recorded several years ago, officials said, and tell Muslims how they should live their lives. "This is our intention that we want to have children and offer them as soldiers defending Islam, loving Islam," Mohamed said. A former student of Muhamed, Zeky Mallah, described the sermon as "normal with any Islamic scholar." Muhamed denied to the Australian that his jihad references meant violence. But the newspaper reported the DVD is "littered" with references to violence and a call to arms. In a previous controversy over Muslim interactions with Australian law, WND reported that an imam justified the rape of unveiled women, after a 16-year-old girl was viciously assaulted. "The problem all began with who?" Sheik Taj el-Dene Elhilaly said earlier in a Sydney mosque, referring to the women victims – whom he said were "weapons used by Satan." The sheik said: "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat? "The uncovered meat is the problem. If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred," he said. Australia, which has supported the worldwide war on terror, also has had other controversies over Islam within its borders. WND has reported that two Christian Australian pastors were handed convictions – and later saw those convictions overturned – of "vilifying" Muslims when they quoted from the Quran during a seminar on jihad. "There's a need to keep these vilification laws in sharp focus to reveal the problems this law is creating," said one, Pastor Danny Nalliah, from Catch the Fire Ministries. On the U.S. Jihad Watch website, where Robert Spencer monitors such activity worldwide, several readers commented on the latest developments. "Same old story. Anything a non-Muslim says, regardless of the context, is automatically viewed as Islamophobic. Everything a Muslim says is always taken out of context by non-Muslims. Who really has the phobia here?" asked a poster identified as "Dumb Ox." Said, "tblab:" "Why use the word firebrand as a adjective to describe this dreg? … How about 'Bloodthirsty cleric Sheik Feiz Mohamed.'" http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53922 Previous WorldNetDaily stories: Pastors' convictions for quoting Quran overturned Imam justifies rape of unveiled women Australia keeps terror suspect in check Missile 'embedded in U.S. cruise ship' Next for terrorists: Seaborne attacks Terror threat swells at sea Al-Qaida plans high-sea terror New al-Qaida threat: 15-ship mystery navy Australia's top mufti calls for holy war FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Kingdom and Dominion - What the Bible Teaches

Note: An excellent article by Tony Pearce that so much reminded me of my own testimony that I wanted to post it for all of you. Tony's ministry is called Light for the Last Days. Alert Focus: The Falling Away / Deception / Mystery Babylon / Antichrist 1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,... When I first became a Christian in 1970 my interest in world events caused me to study the subject of Bible prophecy. From this study I came to a conclusion which was both optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. The bad news was that the present world system is on a highway to destruction. The good news was that Jesus is coming back again. From my reading of the news and the Bible I understood that the present world system would end with the rule of Antichrist and a time of great tribulation on the earth; the final conflict would centre on Israel as the nations challenge the Jewish peoples right to settle in their Biblical homeland; this war would bring mankind to the brink of destruction, only to be prevented by the return of the Messiah Jesus, who would then judge the world and begin his 1000 year reign from Jerusalem in which there would be peace and the knowledge of the Lord worldwide (Isaiah 2, 11, Zechariah 14, Revelation 20). After arriving at this view from my own reading of the Bible I discovered it was known as the pre-millennial view of scripture (i.e. Jesus returns before - pre - the establishment of his millennial - 1000 year - rule). As it made sense to me of the Bible and the state of the world I thought it was generally agreed by Bible believing Christians. I realised this was not the case when I became involved with a fellowship connected with the Restoration movement. Here was a new viewpoint, rejecting the eschatology of disaster (i.e. that the end of this age would come with a disaster), and seeing the church go out in a blaze of glory, having demonstrated the power of Jesus Christ over Satan in a great end time revival which would sweep the earth in preparation for the Lords return. This is the post-millennial view (i.e. that Jesus returns after - post - the millennial kingdom has been established by the triumph of the church). In September 1983 one of the leaders of the Restoration movement, Bryn Jones, recorded a vision he had of this great revival taking place with the following results: Ordinary Christians would be equipped with supernatural powers, laying hands on the sick with extraordinary miracles taking place in public places. Poverty would be abolished among them as multitudes turn to the Lord and have their material needs met through his provision. The powers of darkness would be overthrown - governments and religious systems based on principles opposed to the Bible would be shaken as the Church emerges in power and glory. All nations would reach out to God as the Church is established as the mountain of the Lords house, the highest of nations. Heads of governments in despair at their own failure to solve the problems of humanity will turn to the revived church asking them to teach us the ways of God. Following this great revival the Lord will return for his glorious church and wind up history. The fellowship we were involved with looked at a commitment course for members to follow containing this teaching. One paragraph read: It is Gods purpose that His glory should cover the earth, that this world which has been so scarred by sin and Satan should once more show forth the beauty of God. The way He will do this is through His Church ... The rule of God as King is exercised through his people and it means that we must take spiritual authority over the forces of darkness now to bring to pass the will of God in the world. We are described in Revelation 5.10 as a Kingdom of priests to our God who reign on the earth. God wants us to reign now! ... All this means we have a glorious world-wide vision for the Lords people, an exciting revolutionary programme of world dominion for our God.o Laying a Foundation by John Houghton and Richard Haydon-Knowell. I could not accept that in this present age the Church is going to be involved in any kind of world dominion and questioned this whole theology. I soon found myself out of favour and considered to be in rebellion against authority and before long our family left the fellowship and began a period in which we found ourselves increasingly out of step with things being said by influential leaders of the church. We also discovered that our view of the end times was under attack from almost all wings of the church. The attack on the pre-millennial view came with a great deal of hostile material about Israel. Christians who believe the restoration of Israel is a fulfilment of prophecy were accused of accepting Israeli supremacy and terrorism as part of the fulfilment of Gods promises. (Restoration magazine May / June 1991). One entire edition of this magazine was devoted to attacking Israel politically and spiritually. It contained some of the most biased material I have read anywhere on the subject and I wrote a reply to it which is available on request. As I worked on this subject I realised that the rejection of Israel as a fulfilment of prophecy is needed by those putting forward this view because they wish to apply the prophecies which speak of the physical restoration of Israel in the last days (e.g. Isaiah 2.1-4, Ezekiel 36-37, Jeremiah 30-1, Zechariah 12-14) to the spiritual restoration of the church. According to this view the Church is now to be the inheritor and ruler of the world, not the Lord Jesus reigning through Israel during the Millennium. According to this view Jesus cannot return before the Church attains full maturity and dominion over all, and those who deny this are holding up the victory and return of Christ. Many calls to prepare for the great revival of the end times have gone out: We believe its Gods will that the righteous should reign on this earth, and were seeing people preparing themselves to be lawyers, doctors, generals, admirals, presidents, and congressmen. The righteous will rule and the people will rejoice.o John Giminez, New Wine Magazine January 1986. A new order is emerging in purity and power - the kingdom of God. The people of God, united in love and submission to Jesus Christ, will fill the earth as they take the kingdom and as all nations are brought beneath the feet of King Jesus.o David Mansell in Restoration January 1991. In order to bring this about prophecies are given of imminent revival, calls to unity across denominational barriers, regardless of doctrine, and marches take place in our cities claiming them for Jesus. As one who has become rather an outsider to all this activity I have to ask, Where is the revival? The government, control of mass media, education, law and order seem to be increasingly in the hands of forces which are anti-christian. Communism may have fallen in the Soviet Union but it is being replaced by chaos and new forms of wickedness, many of which are imported from the West, not by governments looking to the Lord for direction. Most of the people in our society mock at or totally ignore our marches, prophecies and campaigns. Many Restoration leaders have had to admit that prophecies they gave of imminent triumph have proved false, although they rarely abandon the wrong doctrine they are teaching or cease to be considered leaders after giving false prophecies. Nothing that has happened over the past 23 years that I have been a Christian has caused me to question the basic pre-millennial view of prophecy: that world conditions will get worse before Jesus returns, that there will be lawlessness, wars and a great increase in human wickedness, together with a falling away from the truths of the Bible affecting most of professing Christendom. There will be great opportunities for evangelism and the Gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth, but the aim of this is to save people from the wrath to come when God will judge this present evil world and separate those who have eternal life through repentance and faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord from those who go to eternal hell because they have rejected Gods offer of salvation. Israel will remain the centre of world attention until Jesus returns, Gods timepiece showing us that the Day of the Lord is drawing near. In preparation for this we must repent and believe the Good News that Jesus the Messiah has come once to save us from our sins and that soon he will return in power and glory to judge all mankind according to our response to the Gospel. http://www.wps6.co.uk/~dev_lfld/view_page.asp?page_id=173§ion_id=1&menu_id=226

A World Gone Mad

Australian cleric refers to Jewish people as "pigs" and says children should be taught a love of martyrdom, while Canada goes hysterical for "Little Mosque on the Prairie" Alert Focus: The Fruit of Islam / A Horde of Judgment / Deception / Antichrist / Antisemitism Deuteronomy 28:37 "You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the LORD drives you. Habakkuk 1:2-3 How long, O LORD, will I call for help,And You will not hear?I cry out to You, "Violence!"Yet You do not save.Why do You make me see iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?Yes, destruction and violence are before me;Strife exists and contention arises. 1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Federal police investigate Sheikh's DVD ABC [Australia] - January 18, 2007 -- The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are making inquiries about a DVD in which a Sydney cleric refers to Jewish people as "pigs" and says children should be taught a love of martyrdom. A spokeswoman for the AFP says police are aware of the video showing the head of the Global Islam Youth Centre, Sheikh Feiz Mohammed. Acting federal Attorney-General Kevin Andrews says the comments are reprehensible and offensive. "We are particularly concerned about literature that can find its way into the hands of young people and children in this country," he said. "It is not something which is acceptable and it's something which obviously the authorities are looking at as part of their investigation." New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma has also condemned the Sheikh's comments. Mr Iemma says he has already spoken to the Federal Government about having the DVDs banned. "This is just more disgusting commentary from a Sheikh who has no understanding of the values that we live by," he said. "I've called on the Commonwealth Attorney-General to take whatever necessary steps are available to try and have this DVD withdrawn." Source: ABC http://www.optusnet.com.au/news/story/abc/20070118/19/domestic/1829553.inp 'Little Mosque' draws whopping two million viewers for premiere episode CANADIAN PRESS January 10, 2007 -- TORONTO -- More than two million Canadians tuned in this week to "Little Mosque on the Prairie," the new CBC comedy about a Muslim community in a rural town that has been the subject of worldwide attention. The figure - 2.1 million - is a huge one for a Canadian television show. "Corner Gas," CTV's big sitcom hit and one of the country's highest-rated shows, routinely pulls in just over a million a week. Kirstine Layfield, director of network programming for the public broadcaster, says it appears "Little Mosque" won its time slot, even besting a brand-new episode of the red-hot medical drama "House." She says the CBC is "ecstatic and thrilled" by the numbers. Layfield says of the hundreds of people who phoned the CBC on Tuesday night to weigh in on the show, the vast majority of them were positive. "Little Mosque" has been getting international buzz for weeks, with everyone from the BBC to CNN running items on the comedy by Muslim film-maker Zarqa Nawaz. Nawaz says the attention is due to the fact that "Little Mosque" is considered one of the first North American sitcoms to portray Muslims in a humourous light in a post 9-11 world. http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/cp_e011035A.xml.html Music video: 'Martyrs' get paradise with maidens Palestinian TV encourages suicide attack of Jewish 'monkeys and pigs' WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - September 20, 2006 -- JERUSALEM -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' state-run television the past few weeks has broadcast a music video in which viewers are encouraged to "martyr" themselves in exchange for eternal paradise and beautiful "maidens." The Israeli-based monitor Palestinian Media Watch reports the video, airing on television controlled by Abbas' Fatah party, depicts a Palestinian woman who is shot in the back by Israeli soldiers. The woman then is transported to "paradise" where she joins white-robed "maidens" dancing in water while waiting to marry a male Palestinian who "martyrs" himself. In the next scene, according to PMW, a grieving Palestinian man is shot in the back by Israeli troops while visiting the grave of the woman killed at the start of the video. The man immediately is brought to "heaven" where he is rewarded with several white-robed "maidens," including the original woman he was mourning. "This recurring image of the martyr being rewarded by receiving the Maidens [is] part of the multifaceted Palestinian Authority campaign glorifying and encouraging terror, and promoting suicide terror as idyllic," states a PMW report. PMW cites other recent instances in which Palestinian television encouraged suicide terrorism for the reward of paradise ripe with beautiful women. In one recent video, a Palestinian about to blow himself up among Jewish civilians is depicted reciting a prayer hoping for "paradise." "Angels of mercy, escort our souls to Heaven after we fulfill this duty of crushing the descendents of monkeys and pigs. Dear father and mother, blessings of honor and respect to you, while you escort me to the Maidens of Paradise as a Martyr," states the soon-to-be suicide bomber. In a sermon broadcast on PA television, Ismail al-Radouan, a prominent Palestinian sheik, declares, "When the Shahid meets his maker, all his sins are forgiven from the first gush of blood. He is exempted from the torments of the grave; he sees his place in paradise, he is shielded from the great shock, and marries 72 Dark Eyed (Virgins)." In an interview recently broadcast on Palestinian television, the mother of a real life suicide bomber explains how she had hoped her son would "martyr" himself. "He (my son) would always dream of Shahada, it was his first and last goal in life. I told him, 'Dear, we all want to be shahids.' He said, 'In this entire world, I can't think of anyone to marry. I want to marry the Dark Eyed [Virgins or Maidens of Paradise].' I said if these are his thoughts, I wish him Shahada (martyrdom)." http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52056 Chartering in Unchartered Waters HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE - by Cal Thomas – December 14, 2006 -- Loyalty oaths in America have their roots in the Civil War era, but in the ‘50s, they were an ugly product of the “Red Scare.” Some people, including university professors, were asked to sign them as testimony to their not being a communist, or a communist sympathizer. Now comes a proposal for a different type of loyalty oath, which may help answer the question: how do we tell the difference between a peaceful Muslim and a non-peaceful Muslim who wants to kill us? Granting that the majority of Muslims are not terrorists, is there a method by which we can do a better job of exposing those who are? This week, the “Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding” is being presented to the European Parliament. According to Gerard Batten, a member of the European Parliament from London, who contributed the foreword, and the charter’s author, Sam Solomon, a Sharia law expert, the charter will “enable Muslims from all strands of belief to make it plain that they reject those extremist interpretations of their religious texts that promote or excuse violence and bring Islam into conflict with the modern world.” The Charter calls upon Muslims to: Respect non-Muslim religions and issue a fatwa (an Islamic religious decree) prohibiting the use of force, violence or threats to their followers. Respect all civilizations, cultures and traditions and promote understanding of the precedence of national laws over Sharia law. Respect Western freedoms, especially of belief and expression and prohibit violent reaction against people who make use of these freedoms. Prohibit the issuing of any fatwa that would result in violence or threat against individuals or institutions. Request Islamic institutions to revise and issue new interpretations of Qur’anic verses calling for Jihad and violence against non-Muslims. Solomon says, “We call on organizations representing the Islamic faith … to endorse and sign this Charter as an example to all European Muslims.” By doing so, they will make it clear that “Islam is a religion of peace … and that acts of terrorism committed in its name are the acts of misguided individuals who have misunderstood and misinterpreted its teaching.” In the charter’s foreword, Gerard Batten (MEP) writes, “The Western European view of religion, achieved after centuries of bloodshed, conflict and division, is that religion is a matter of private belief and conscience. Islamic fundamentalists do not share this view. … They believe in Islamic theocracy. … Such views are simply incompatible with Western liberal democracy. … The vast majority of Muslims that non-Muslims meet in everyday life are decent, respectable, law-abiding and hardworking. Western governments and societies have to offer them their support while standing firm against the extremists.” The charter is “a great step forward in this process.” It certainly is, but what if someone signs it and doesn’t mean it? Some Muslims claim the Koran allows them to lie to “infidels.” What happens then? What would Solomon suggest be done to those who refuse to sign the charter, as many refused to sign earlier loyalty oaths? How does one encourage compliance? Sam Solomon answers that question via e-mail: “This charter is like a passport application. If someone lies, he will be prosecuted. Once agreed upon, it would give power to the authorities to bring them to justice. Though we know they can lie, this time it would not be an individual, it would be their leaders, and would be like putting their noses in the dust, and accepting it for what it is worth, that the real cause of terrorism is the interpretation of Qur’anic verses by certain factions of their religion. One way or another, they have never been challenged like this ever before.” As the European Parliament is often much slower than the American Congress, the charter begins first as a discussion document. Sponsors hope it will create interest and discussion among the European public, as well as in the European Parliament. They are hoping one of the MEPs, possibly Gerard Batten, will put forward a proposal to introduce this charter as a bill. Batten and Solomon see this as a “no lose” proposition. If the bill passes with an enforcement mechanism, Muslim leaders who sign would be held accountable under the law for any violation. If they don’t sign, the law and public opinion may have something to say about their refusal. Does anyone have a better strategy for sorting out the violent Muslims from the peaceful ones among us? And be sure, they are among us, as we experienced on 9/11. http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18465 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Spiritual salaries go performance-based at Chesapeake church

Alert Focus: The Falling Away Ezekiel 8:15 He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? Yet you will see still greater abominations than these." THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT - By Steven G. Vegh - January 11, 2007 -- CHESAPEAKE -- Like millions of workers in corporate America, staff members of Deep Creek Baptist Church have a financial stake in how well they contribute to their employer’s success. “If you did a good job or more than what’s expected, you get some sort of award – it’s an incentive award,” said the Rev. Ernie Myers, Deep Creek’s senior pastor. In the church world, performance-driven bonuses are rare. Yet in this season of budgeting salaries, a small number of churches are tying at least part of their employees’ compensation to some quantifiable measure of performance. The 16 administrative and clergy employees of Deep Creek – a growing Southern Baptist congregation that draws more than 1,000 to Sunday services – are eligible for annual bonuses that range as high as 5 percent of their base salary. “Not everybody gets 5 percent, but most people get something. It’s a way to reward good performance and for the church to show appreciation to the staff,” Myers said. “If you did an average job, you’d probably get a little bit.” Some clergy and church professionals question whether such pay-for-performance benchmarks can be applied to spiritual ministries. “You’re motivating people not around finances or even on performance, but on their sense of interacting with God and sensing God’s presence, and that is hard to measure,” said Joseph Umidi, who teaches Christian leadership at Regent University’s divinity school in Virginia Beach. At Bethany Baptist Church in Portsmouth, the Rev. Gene Primm discounted tying productivity measures to church ministry. “I can’t stand here today and say we’re going to have 50 baptisms next year,” he said. “We’re in the Lord’s business, but we don’t create decisions of faith.” But Rex Frieze, a church management consultant in Orlando, Fla., said churches such as Deep Creek are moving in the right direction. He argued for linking part of church paychecks to achieving “defined objectives.” “If it’s a music ministry, it might be numbers growth in the choir or performances. If it’s in the evangelism area, it could be the establishment of small groups” for Bible study, he said. At Deep Creek, Myers said, the church gives salary increases, or “step” increases, every four years, guided by published salary surveys that show pay ranges at churches of comparable size and location. Deep Creek also gives a cost-of-living wage adjustment every three years. He declined to say how much the church’s employees are paid. Myers said that in evaluating employee performance, he uses both subjective and objective criteria. “Is your ministry progressing, is it reaching people and growing?” he said. “We want to get more numbers, but we also want people to grow as Christians – we want maturity to grow. ” Myers said some ministry activity, such as youth group participation, is more suited to measurement than other areas. He also weighs whether anything outside an employee’s control affects fulfillment of objective goals. Myers gives each staff member a letter grade based on the performance evaluation. “A through F – nobody has ever gotten an F,” he said. A church committee uses the grades to decide how big each employee’s incentive award will be. Frieze, the church management consultant, said that even the best performance-based pay system can’t measure vital pastoral qualities like love and compassion. “You can’t quantify everything,” he said, but wherever benchmarks are provided, “it gives you that incentive to work hard.” http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=117385&ran=126114 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

U.S., Mexico, Canada 'harmonizing' policies

North American deep cooperation on many fronts already under way, reveals new official publication

Alert Focus - The Iron and the Clay / The Mystery of Lawlessness Daniel 7:4 "The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it. Daniel 7:7 "After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. WORLDNETDAILY - January 15, 2007 -- WASHINGTON -- The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, which some have criticized as a framework for moving toward regional government between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, has laid out plans for increased regulatory cooperation between the three nations in new, full-color, trilingual publications obtained by WND. Copies of the "2005 Report to Leaders" and the "2006 Report to Leaders" were sent to WND by several congressional offices that are beginning to take a serious interest in SPP working group activities and decision-making. The copyright page of the 2005 report indicates that the report was co-published by the governments of the United States and Mexico, as well as copyrighted in Canada. The 2005 and 2006 reports continue to discuss numerous memoranda of understanding and other agreements that the trilateral working groups are formulating on their own, without direct congressional oversight or any reference to being published in the Federal Register. Yet, the vast majority of the agreements reached under SPP have never been published. The reports discuss the SPP's trilateral modification of administrative rules and regulation under the rubric of "integrating" and "harmonizing" into a "North American" structure what previously were administrative rules and regulations of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. For instance, under a heading that includes the U.N. "sustainability" language, the energy working group announces in the 2005 report that their goal is, "Creating a sustainable energy economy for North America." Justifying the working group's activity as producing "appropriate coordination" between regulators, the report concludes: "All agree that the regulatory efforts of the National Energy Board (NEB), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Comisión Reguladora de Energía (CRE) will benefit from increased communication and cooperation concerning the timing and other procedural aspects of related matters that may be pending between the three agencies." The report then calls for the announcement of a trilateral regulators' group that will meet three times a year (every four months) to discuss "issues affecting cross-border energy projects." The 2006 report notes that this "key milestone" was completed. Some critics of the SPP see it leading toward a breakdown of national sovereignty and representative government, fearing it will lead inexorably toward a European Union-style regionalization for North America. "Now that we see books being published by SPP, how can anyone deny that the Bush administration is involved in a process of North American deep integration?" asks Jerome R. Corsi, author and WND columnist who is writing a book on the movement. "SPP is creating North American regulations that replace and supersede U.S. regulations in a wide range of policy areas. Just the three-language format of the full color production is enough to let readers know that the Bush administration considers our appropriate regulatory scope to be North American in nature. We no longer have a U.S. energy policy, for instance, we have a North American energy policy." Corsi, known as one of the chief critics of plans for a North American Union, said: "Since 2001 and the formation of the Prosperity Partnership with Mexico, trilateral working group activity in North America has been gaining momentum. After the declaration of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America in Waco, Texas, on March 23, 2005, we have a full-fledged shadow bureaucracy that is setting up the regulatory structure for what could easily evolve into a full regional government." The North American Energy Working Group has now set up a webpage on the U.S. Department of Energy website. A January 2006 report entitled "North America – The Energy Picture II" documents that the NAEWG first met June 27-28, 2001, in Washington. Since then, there have been eight more NAEWG full working group meetings "convened in various locations of the three countries, with many more meetings of the various expert groups convened under the NAEWG agenda." According to "North America – The Energy Picture II," NAEWG activities can be traced back to the Hemispheric Energy Ministers Meeting in Mexico, on March 8, 2001, when the heads of Natural Resources Canada, the Mexican Secretariat of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy "formally committed to work together to facilitate a stronger North American energy sector." "Despite the advanced stage of SPP working group activity," Corsi said, "few U.S. congressmen or senators have any idea that SPP working groups are producing a North American regulatory structure. I still find myself going into the offices of congressmen and senators on Capitol Hill and having to work with staff to show them SPP websites they never have seen before, even though some of their bosses sit on committees that are supposed to be responsible for oversight of the SPP activities I am showing them for the first time." "SPP is one of the best kept secrets in Washington," Corsi told WND, "even though SPP has a website, there are SPP websites embedded in the websites of many government agencies, and now SPP is publishing full-color books in three languages. Yet, nobody in Washington has bothered to hold a single SPP hearing. Meanwhile, we are being led into regional government by bureaucrats whose mission is to create North American policies, not to worry about the sovereignty of the United States." The SPP website contains somewhat different versions of the 2005 prosperity agenda and security agenda, as well as the 2006 prosperity agenda and the security agenda. "This is no conspiracy," Corsi continued. "Conspiracies are conducted in secret. Now, SPP even publishes books documenting the North American deep integration agenda the SPP working groups are advancing day-by-day." The 2006 published Report to Leaders documents the following working group activity in the Prosperity Agenda: -Manufactured Goods and Sectoral and Regional Competitiveness -Movement of Goods -E-Commerce and ICT -Financial Services -Transportation -Energy -Environment -Food and Agriculture -Health The 2006 Report to Leaders identifies the following Security Agenda initiatives, key milestones, and status of completion in the following areas: 1. Secure North America from External Threats -Traveler Security -Cargo Security -Bioprotection 2. Prevent and Respond to Threats within North America -Aviation Security -Maritime Security -Law Enforcement Cooperation -Intelligence Cooperation -Protection, Prevention and Response 3. Further Streamline the Secure Movement of Low-Risk Traffic Across Our Shared Borders -Border Facilitation -Science and Technology Cooperation SPP is organized within the Department of Commerce. Those who want to receive copies of the printed 2005 and 2006 reports, may contact Geri Word, the administrator within the Department of Commerce who appears most responsible for organizing SPP activity. Geri C. Word U.S. Department of Commerce Office of NAFTA and Inter-American Affairs Tel: (202) 482-1545Fax: (202) 482-5865 Email: geri_word@ita.doc.gov http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53764 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Adultery could mean life, court finds

That's what the law says in sex-drug case Cox appealed Ecclesiastes 9:12 Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them. THE DETROIT FREE PRESS - By Brian Dickerson - January 15, 2007 -- In a ruling sure to make philandering spouses squirm, Michigan's second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. "We cannot help but question whether the Legislature actually intended the result we reach here today," Judge William Murphy wrote in November for a unanimous Court of Appeals panel, "but we are curtailed by the language of the statute from reaching any other conclusion." "Technically," he added, "any time a person engages in sexual penetration in an adulterous relationship, he or she is guilty of CSC I," the most serious sexual assault charge in Michigan's criminal code. No one expects prosecutors to declare open season on cheating spouses. The ruling is especially awkward for Attorney General Mike Cox, whose office triggered it by successfully appealing a lower court's decision to drop CSC charges against a Charlevoix defendant. In November 2005, Cox confessed to an adulterous relationship. Murphy's opinion received little notice when it was handed down. But it has since elicited reactions ranging from disbelief to mischievous giggling in Michigan's gossipy legal community. The ruling grows out of a case in which a Charlevoix man accused of trading Oxycontin pills for the sexual favors of a cocktail waitress was charged under an obscure provision of Michigan's criminal law. The provision decrees that a person is guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct whenever "sexual penetration occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony." Charlevoix Circuit Judge Richard Pajtas sentenced Lloyd Waltonen to up to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts of delivering a controlled substance. But Pajtas threw out the sexual assault charge against Waltonen, citing the cocktail waitress' testimony that she had willingly consented to the sex-for-drugs arrangement. Charlevoix prosecuting attorney John Jarema said he decided to appeal after police discovered evidence that Waltonen may have struck drugs-for-sex deals with several other women. Cox's office, which handled the appeal on the prosecutor's behalf, insisted that the waitress' consent was irrelevant. All that mattered, the attorney general argued in a brief demanding that the charge be reinstated, was that the pair had sex "under circumstances involving the commission of another felony" -- the delivery of the Oxycontin pills. The Attorney General's Office got a whole lot more than it bargained for. The Court of Appeals agreed that the prosecutor in Waltonen's case needed only to prove that the Oxycontin delivery and the consensual sex were related. But Murphy and his colleagues went further, ruling that a first-degree CSC charge could be justified when consensual sex occurred in conjunction with any felony, not just a drug sale. The judges said they recognized their ruling could have sweeping consequences, "considering the voluminous number of felonious acts that can be found in the penal code." Among the many crimes Michigan still recognizes as felonies, they noted pointedly, is adultery -- although the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan notes that no one has been convicted of that offense since 1971. Some judges and lawyers suggested that the Court of Appeals' reference to prosecuting adulterers was a sly slap at Cox, noting that it was his office that pressed for the expansive definition of criminal sexual conduct the appellate judges so reluctantly embraced in their Nov. 7 ruling. Murphy didn't return my calls Friday. But Chief Court of Appeals Judge William Whitbeck, who signed the opinion along with Murphy and Judge Michael Smolenski, said that Cox's confessed adultery never came up during their discussions of the case. "I never thought of it, and I'm confident that it was not something Judge Murphy or Judge Smolenski had in mind," Whitbeck told me Friday. But he chuckled uncomfortably when I asked if the hypothetical described in Murphy's opinion couldn't be cited as justification for bringing first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges against the attorney general. "Well, yeah," he said. Cox's spokesman, Rusty Hills, bristled at the suggestion that Cox or anyone else in his circumstances could face prosecution. "To even ask about this borders on the nutty," Hills told me in a phone interview Saturday. "Nobody connects the attorney general with this -- N-O-B-O-D-Y -- and anybody who thinks otherwise is hallucinogenic." Hills said Sunday that Cox did not want to comment. The Court of Appeals opinion could also be interpreted as a tweak to the state Supreme Court, which has decreed that judges must enforce statutory language adopted by the Legislature literally, whatever the consequences. In many other states, judges may reject a literal interpretation of the law if they believe it would lead to an absurd result. But Michigan's Supreme Court majority has held that it is for the Legislature, not the courts, to decide when the absurdity threshold has been breached. Whitbeck noted that Murphy's opinion questions whether state lawmakers really meant to authorize the prosecution of adulterers for consensual relationships. "We encourage the Legislature to take a second look at the statutory language if they are troubled by our ruling," he wrote. Hills declined to say whether the Attorney General's Office would press for legislative amendments to make it clear that only violent felonies involving an unwilling victim could trigger a first-degree CSC charge. "This is so bizarre that it doesn't even merit a response," he said. Meanwhile, Waltonen has asked the state Supreme Court for leave to appeal the Court of Appeals ruling. He still hasn't been tried on the criminal sexual conduct charge. His attorney said a CSC conviction could add dozens of years to Waltonen's current prison sentence. Justices will decide later this year whether to review the Court of Appeals' decision to reinstate the CSC charge. The appeals court decision is available at http://courtofappeals.mijud.net/resources/opinions.htm. Search for Docket No. 270229. http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070115/COL04/701150333 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

The Euro, Black Gold and a call for “Death to US imperialism!”

Alert Focus: Mammon / The Third Seal / The Gates of Hades Revelation 6:5-6 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come." I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine." Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus *said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, `YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.' " Matthew 6:19-20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;... Matthew 16:16-18 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Euro displaces dollar in bond markets THE FINACIAL TIMES of LONDON - By David Oakley and Gillian Tett in London - January 14 2007 -- The euro has displaced the US dollar as the world’s pre-eminent currency in international bond markets, having outstripped the dollar-denominated market for the second year in a row. The data consolidate news last month that the value of euro notes in circulation had overtaken the dollar for the first time. Outstanding debt issued in the euro was worth the equivalent of $4,836bn at the end of 2006 compared with $3,892bn for the dollar, according to International Capital Market Association data. Outstanding euro-denominated debt accounts for 45 per cent of the global market, compared with 37 per cent for the dollar. New issuance last year accounted for 49 per cent of the global total. That represents a startling turnabout from the pattern seen in recent decades, when the US bond market dwarfed its European rival: as recently as 2002, outstanding euro-denominated issuance represented just 27 per cent of the global pie, compared with 51 per cent for the dollar. The rising role of the euro comes amid growing issuance by debt-laden European governments. However, the main factor is a rise in euro-denominated issuance by companies and financial institutions. One factor driving this is that European companies are moving away from their traditional reliance on bank loans – and embracing the capital markets to a greater degree. Another is that the creation of the single currency in 1999 has permitted development of a deeper and more liquid market, consolidated by a growing eurozone. This has made it more attractive for issuers around the world to raise funds in the euro market. And, more recently, the trend among some Asian and Middle Eastern countries to diversify their assets away from the dollar has further boosted this trend. René Karsenti, executive president of ICMA, said: “It is the stable interest rates in Europe that have helped and the fact that [the euro] has strengthened and shown resilience.” Since the start of 2003, the European Central Bank’s main interest rate has fluctuated only 1.5 percentage points, ranging from a low of 2 per cent in the middle of that year to 3.5 per cent, its rate today. In comparison, the Fed funds rate, the main US interest rate, has fluctuated 4.25 percentage points, ranging from 1 per cent in the middle of 2003 to 5.25 per cent, its level today. The euro has also risen to trade around $1.30 against the dollar, from around parity three years ago. Sterling issuance has grown in the past three years, reinforcing its attraction as a niche currency among some investors. The yen, in comparison, has fallen out of favour. Overall, international capital markets have doubled in size in terms of bond issuance during the past six years. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/572b41a6-a414-11db-bec4-0000779e2340.html Iran, Venezuela agree to thwart ‘US domination’ ASSOCIATED PRESS - January 14, 2007 -- Iran, Venezuela agree to thwart ‘US domination’ Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said they were ready to spend billions of dollars (euros) financing projects in other countries to help thwart US domination. The anti-US Presidents whose efforts to extend their influence have alarmed Washington met Saturday in Venezuela’s capital, the first stop on Ahmadinejad’s tour of Latin America that will also see him visit newly elected leftist leaders in Nicaragua and Ecuador. The oil-rich nations had previously announced plans for a joint USD 2 billion fund to finance investments in Venezuela and Iran, but Chavez and Ahmadinejad said Saturday that the money would also be used for projects in friendly third countries. “It will permit us to underpin investments ... Above all in those countries whose governments are making efforts to liberate themselves from the (US) imperialist yoke,” said Chavez. “This fund, my brother,” Chavez said referring to Ahmadinejad, “Will become a mechanism for liberation.” “Death to US imperialism!” he said. Ahmadinejad called it a “very important” decision that would help promote “Joint cooperation in third countries,” especially in Latin American and African countries. It was not clear if the leaders were referring to investment in infrastructure, social and energy projects - areas that the two countries have focused on until now - or other types of financing. Before his meeting with Ahmadinejad, Chavez said in his state of the nation address that he had personally expressed hope to Thomas Shannon, head of the US State Department’s Western Hemisphere affairs bureau, for better relations between their two countries. Chavez said he spoke with Shannon on the sidelines of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s inauguration earlier this week, saying, “We shook hands and I told him: ‘I hope that everything improves.”’ Chavez - a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro whom Washington sees as a destabilizing influence - has pledged billions of dollars (euros) of help to the region in foreign aid, bond buyouts and preferentially financed oil deals. 'Champion of struggle against imperialism' Iran, meanwhile, is allegedly bankrolling militant groups in the Middle East like Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, as well as insurgents in Iraq, in a bid to extend its influence. Ahmadinejad’s visit Saturday - his second to Venezuela in less than four months - comes as he seeks to break international isolation over his country’s nuclear program and possibly line up new allies in Latin America. After Venezuela, Ahmadinejad will visit newly elected leftist governments in Nicaragua and Ecuador that are also seeking to reduce Washington’s influence in the region. Bolivian President Evo Morales, another critic of US policy, said he plans to meet with Ahmadinejad while both are in Ecuador Monday. Chavez and Ahmadinejad have been increasingly united by their deep-seated antagonism to Washington. Chavez has become a leading defender of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, accusing the United States of using the issue as a pretext to attack a regime it opposes and promising to stand with Iran.... The increasingly close relationship has alarmed some, and critics of Chavez accuse him of pursuing an alliance that does not serve Venezuela’s interests and jeopardizes its ties with the United States, the country’s top oil buyer. Venezuela is among the top five suppliers of crude to the US market. Both countries are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chavez said Saturday that they had agreed to back an oil production cut in the cartel in order to stem a recent fall in crude prices. ... [More] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3351871,00.html Future of Iraq: The spoils of war THE INDEPENDENT - By Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb - January 7, 2007 -- Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days. The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972. The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said. Oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers, is state controlled. Opponents say Iraq, where oil accounts for 95 per cent of the economy, is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty. Proposing the parliamentary motion for war in 2003, Tony Blair denied the "false claim" that "we want to seize" Iraq's oil revenues. He said the money should be put into a trust fund, run by the UN, for the Iraqis, but the idea came to nothing. The same year Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, said: "It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil." Supporters say the provision allowing oil companies to take up to 75 per cent of the profits will last until they have recouped initial drilling costs. After that, they would collect about 20 per cent of all profits, according to industry sources in Iraq. But that is twice the industry average for such deals. …[More] http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2132569.ece All EU States Now Receiving Russian Oil RADIO FREE EUROPE – Source: Reuters - January 11, 2007 -- European Union Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has confirmed that all EU states affected by the stoppage of oil supplies because of a dispute between Russia and Belarus were now receiving oil. "At this stage I can confirm that all the oil supplies are renewed, all [EU] member states that have been affected are receiving oil," Piebalgs said. "We also, in the Oil Supply Group, get information from representatives of Russia and Belarus that the issues related to the disruption will be solved at least in the next couple of days." The oil stoppage had renewed EU concerns about its energy security and Piebalgs today called on both Russia and Belarus to be "really reliable." Russia restarted the oil flow along the Druzhba pipeline across Belarus after Belarus scrapped an oil-transit duty it imposed last week and agreed to return oil Russia said it had taken illegally. Belarus had imposed the transit duty after Russia doubled prices of natural-gas supplies and imposed duties on its oil exports to Belarus. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/01/2bc1ba88-c9f7-492b-91eb-3e27d429f90e.html Price of oil hits 19-month low ASSOCIATED PRESS - January 10, 2007 -- NEW YORK -- Oil prices tumbled to settle at a 19-month low Wednesday after the government reported rising inventories of gasoline, heating oil and diesel fuel. … [More] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/ The Oil Market's Weather Obsession The drop in oil prices has been attributed to the unseasonably warm temperatures. But that isn't the whole story BUSINESS WEEK - by Moira Herbst - January 10, 2007 -- Oil prices, after soaring last year, are falling fast in 2007…. What's causing the steep decline? One of the most commonly cited reasons is the balmy weather. Spring-like temperatures in the northeastern U.S. and Europe are supposed to be playing a key part in oil prices' drop to an 18-month low. But there's a puzzling question at the heart of this argument: Why would the weather have that much of an effect? Warm weather does weaken demand for energy to heat homes and businesses. But only a tiny fraction of the oil consumed each day is ultimately used for heating. In the U.S., the figure is only about 7%. Some experts believe that trading oil based on the temperature outside is nothing more than mercury misdirection. Weather Doubts "People have attributed to the weather a much greater impact than it actually has," says Jeff Rubin, chief economist for CIBC World Markets (CM)…. In markets as in many other things, however, perception is reality. The price of oil is determined at any given time by a multitude of factors, from the political situation in Venezuela, to the economic growth in China, to weather in the U.S. If the expectations for one of those factors changes, traders push prices up or down based on their changed perceptions, often by a degree well beyond the fundamentals. "Oil prices are determined at the margin, so fluctuations in the margin drive fluctuations in prices," says Craig Pirrong, professor of finance and energy markets at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business. "Every little movement in demand can have a major impact on price, and that's what we're seeing with the weather now." Price Adjustments Pirrong says that with an unexpected change, markets usually respond by adjusting quantity or adjusting price. In the energy market, adjusting supply is difficult in the short run, so all the burden of the shock falls on the price. "As winter approaches, everyone in the industry knows the demand for heating oil will go up," says Doug MacIntyre, senior oil analyst for the Energy Information Administration of the Energy Dept. "If demand isn't there as you thought, prices go down." The price declines have taken their toll on major oil companies. The stocks of Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), and BP (BP) have all taken a hit this year. Rubin, of CIBC World Markets, points out that the futures markets may be exaggerating the price movements for oil. Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell oil or other products in the future, at a price agreed on today. A small price decline now can lead traders to expect greater decreases in the months ahead, dragging down futures contract prices. "Sometimes perception becomes reality—especially in the futures market," says Rubin. "If people think warm weather will have a huge impact on reducing oil demand, they'll start selling oil, leading to the appearance that it does" (see BusinessWeek.com, 1/8/07, "Oil: Next Stop, $45?"). "Excessive Speculation" CIBC's report on energy markets and the weather says that "a fixation on the weather is masking some key positives for oil that could see prices set new records in coming quarters." The report says that near double-digit demand for oil from countries such as China, and "rampant energy nationalism" tightening production in countries like Russia and Venezuela, will likely buoy oil prices in the future. Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. (OPY), offers a sharper-toned rebuttal to oil market bears. "You can't reason with the market," he says. He argues that oil price volatility occurs in part because of "excessive speculation" by hedge funds and major financial institutions. He doesn't expect that to change, but he doesn't think it's rational either. "The volatility will continue; that's how traders make money," says Gheit. "The rationale [for a stable price] may be simple, but what takes place is a different story." … [More]http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jan2007/db20070110_553618.htm?campaign_id=rss_topEmailedStories Honduras temporarily grabs Exxon, Chevron terminals REUTERS - January 14, 2007 -- TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Honduras will take temporary control of foreign-owned oil storage terminals as part of a government import program meant to drive down fuel prices, President Manuel Zelaya said late on Saturday. Zelaya ordered the move after failing to reach a deal with big oil companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron, as well as local company DIPPSA, to rent the terminals. "It is not a nationalization, it's a temporary use of the storage tanks through a lease and payment of a reasonable price," he said. Honduras produces no crude of its own and no longer has a refinery. Its fuel market, like that of most Central American countries, is dominated by Shell, Exxon Mobil and Chevron. The government program takes control of imports away from the small group of oil companies that operate service stations in the Central American nation. Those companies have opposed the new system, saying it is anti-competitive. A congressional commission set up to study the new system has said it could save Honduras -- one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere -- about $66 million a year. ... [More] http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2007-01-14T185857Z_01_N14421766_RTRUKOC_0_US-HONDURAS-TERMINALS.xml&src=rss&rpc=23 Bush backs Alaskan oil drilling BBC NEWS - January 10, 2007 -- US President George W Bush has lifted a ban on oil and gas drilling in an Alaskan Bay known for its wildlife. Before any drilling, there will be scope for studies and public comment said the Interior Department, which stressed the need for energy security. Home to endangered whales, the Bristol Bay is thought to contain some 200 million barrels of oil. The news comes as a trans-Alaska pipeline was shut down after some 500 gallons of crude oil were spilled. The spill came from a section above ground in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska, due to a faulty weld, and it remains unknown how long the shutdown will last. …[More] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6246903.stm Book Recommendation Forget everything you think you know about oil If you believe that oil is a fossil fuel, be prepared to have your thoughts turned upside down. If you believe that the U.S. has no choice but to rely on foreign oil until we ultimately run out of the precious resource, prepare to be challenged by new views that "have the opportunity to help give birth to a new generation of oil politics and economics." WND Books' newest release, "Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil," by Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith, explores and debunks some of the popular myths surrounding the international and domestic politics of oil production and consumption to provide Americans with beneficial information while being held in a virtual stranglehold at the gas-pumps. In "Black Gold Stranglehold," Corsi and Smith expose the fraudulent science and irresponsible politics that have been sold to American people in order to enslave them. By debunking several myths, Corsi and Smith provide an outline for progress that would help to establish America as energy-independent. Be prepared to be challenged by: -The myth of fossil fuels: Corsi and Smith argue that the deep abiotic theory of oil is a more reliable theory than the fossil fuel theory. It rejects the contention that oil was formed from the remains of plant and animal life that died millions of years ago. Instead, they believe in Thomas Gold's argument that oil is abiotic: "a primordial material that the earth forms and exudes on a continual basis" and is "pushed upward toward the earth's surface by the intense pressures of the earth's core and the influence of the centrifugal force that the earth exerted upon the specific gravity of oil as a fluid substance." … [More] http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46888 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Global assets poised for a ``Severe Correction''

Alert Focus: Mammon / The Third Seal James 5:3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Global Markets Face `Severe Correction,' Faber Says BLOOMBERG - By Ian C. Sayson and Pimm Fox - January 8, 2007 -- Marc Faber, who predicted the U.S. stock market crash in 1987, said global assets are poised for a ``severe correction'' and it's time to sell. ``In the next few months, we could get a severe correction in all asset markets,'' Faber said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York. ``In a selling panic you should buy, but in the buying mania that we have now the wisest course of action is to liquidate.'' Faber, founder and managing director of Hong Kong-based Marc Faber Ltd., advised investors to buy gold in 2001, which has since more than doubled. His company manages about $300 million in assets. The bullish outlook of traders in everything from bonds, equities and commodities to real estate and art suggests valuations are peaking, Faber said. Last year, the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index of developed stock markets jumped 18 percent, while a survey of Wall Street's biggest bond- trading firms predicted U.S. Treasuries will post the best gains in five years during 2007. ``I am not a great buyer of assets now,'' Faber said. ``We may be in a situation where consumer-price inflation comes back and will have a negative impact on the valuation of assets.'' Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, does have some favorites. Singapore and Vietnam are his top picks in Asia because stocks in Singapore aren't ``terribly expensive compared with interest rates'' in the city-state, while Vietnam's equities have ``incredible potential in the long run.'' … http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afYGFBA.L8PQ&refer=home Stocks: The Chinese Correction? S&P says charts for a fund that tracks a key Chinese index look "downright scary", and it could be due for a major pullback STANDARD & POOR'S EQUITY RESEARCH - by Mark Arbeter - January 8, 2007 -- While our technical focus tends to be on the U.S. stock market -- with some analysis of the the UK's FTSE and Germany's DAX indexes -- investor fund flows have been heavily weighted towards overseas stock markets. Investment dollars tend to migrate to better returning assets, and, in this case, much more risky assets, in our view. It seems like any stock from China is a no-lose investment. The view of some speculators appears to be "just keep throwing money at the Chinese momentum, and you're on our way to quick riches." It kind of reminds you of the dot.com days. Our warning: Don't be the last one out the door. The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund (FXI), an exchange-traded fund (ETF), is designed to mimic the index it is named after. The FTSE/Xinhua is designed to represent the performance of the largest companies in the China equity market that are available to international investors. The index is made up of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies, and as of Jan. 3, financials were the largest sector representing almost 43% of the fund. Telecommunications is about 19% of the fund, followed by 16% for oil & gas, 11% industrials, and 9% for basic materials. The ETF first started trading in March, 2005. We have two major concerns about the FXI, and similar overseas investments. Number one, the chart has gone asymptotic and trading volume has exploded. The second is less scientific and more of an educated guess. And that is, we doubt investors really know anything about the companies in the fund, other than that they are based in China. The saving grace may be that these are large companies with a track record and not a '90's Internet company with zero revenues and no track record. The chart of the FXI is downright scary, in our view, and due for a major correction. The ETF bottomed out at 66 on June 13, 2006, and as of the close on January 3, 2007, has soared a remarkable 76% in less than 7 months. More incredibly, the FXI has spiked over 26% since November 28, and 13.5% since December 21. Can you say "mass speculation"? Since the last major low in June, 2006, the slope of the advance has changed four different times, getting steeper every time. Trading volume has exploded in the first trading days of 2007, running almost three times that of average daily volume. This is very typical of a speculative blowoff, and many times, they end badly. Daily momentum is extremely overbought, and has traced out negative divergences. As of January 3, the ETF was an incredible 39% above its 200-day exponential moving average. The cycle of market emotions has gone from optimism to euphoria very quickly. Unfortunately, it is likely to reverse to fear then panic, in our opinion. How this all plays out for the U.S. market is difficult to say, but it is not healthy and screams of an intermediate-term top, in our view. … [More] http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/jan2007/pi20070108_578184.htm?campaign_id=rss_topEmailedStories US-China trade deficit at all-time high FINANCIALTIMES of LONDON - By Richard McGregor in Beijing and Eoin Callan in Washington - January 11, 2007 -- China’s trade surplus reached $177.5bn (£118.7bn) last year, 74 per cent higher than in 2005, a rise that will intensify pressure on Beijing further to open its markets and accelerate the revaluation of its currency. The growth in the surplus reported by China’s customs agency – up from $102bn in 2005 and $32bn in 2004 – has been driven by continued strength in exports, up 27 per cent year on year, and relatively weaker imports growth of 20 per cent. The bilateral deficit with the US is even higher according to Washington’s measure, reaching an all-time high of $214bn in the 11 months to November. The gap between Beijing’s and Washington’s measure of the value of their bilateral trade is explained in large part by the US classification of value-added exports from Hong Kong as Chinese. The renminbi, China’s currency, has risen by about 6 per cent since it was formally decoupled from its US dollar peg in June 2005, and it is expected to continue its gradual rise this year. However, with China’s labour costs remaining low and productivity in many industries rising, few economists expect the stronger renminbi to have any substantial impact on the trade surplus. The widening trade gap with China will increase the pressure on Hank Paulson, US Treasury secretary, to persuade Beijing to allow its currency to appreciate. There is mounting impatience in Washington, where members of the newly elected Congress are proposing legislative action. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate finance committee, is expected to introduce legislation to lower the burden of proof for China to be accused of “currency manipulation” by the US Treasury. In the House of Representatives, Sander Levin, head of the trade subcommittee, will introduce a controversial bill to prompt the use of anti-subsidy laws against non-market economies such as China. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c14d05c4-a0b3-11db-acff-0000779e2340.html Venezuelan currency dives as Chávez plots nationalization THE TIMES of LONDON - By Nick Hasell and Elizabeth Judge - January 10, 2007 -- Venezuela’s stock market tumbled almost 19 per cent and its currency lost a third of its value in unofficial trading as investors took fright at President Chávez’s plans to nationalise utilities as part of his “Socialist revolution”. The benchmark IBC index of the Caracas stock exchange plunged 11,574 to 50,439, dragged down by the shares of the power and telephone companies of which the Government intends to seize control. American depositary receipts of CANTV, the telecoms carrier that is the only Venezuelan company traded on the New York Stock Exchange, fell by as much as 43 per cent. In Caracas, the company closed down 30.3 per cent and shares were suspended until Friday…. The knock-on effects were felt in Mexico, where the IPC index dropped 2.3 per cent on selling of telecoms stocks owned by Carlos Slim. The Mexican billionaire is in the process of buying the 28.5 per cent stake in CANTV owned by Verizon Communications, the American telecoms operator. The stake is one of three Latin American assets Verizon was preparing to sell to Mr Slim for an expected $3.7 billion (£1.9 billion). The White House swiftly attacked Mr Chávez’s nationalisation pledge and insisted that any American companies affected must be compensated. … http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0%2C%2C5-2539704%2C00.html#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=Business Mugabe poised to take over goldmines LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH - Peta Thornycroft in Johannesburg - January 11, 2007 -- ABOUT 20,000 miners have been arrested in police raids across Zimbabwe. Their detention, in one of the largest police actions in the country's recent history, has left thousands of families without any support at a time of rampant inflation and a desperate shortage of maize meal, the staple food. President Robert Mugabe's Government said it has detained more than 19,000 "illegal" miners in recent weeks, giving rise to speculation that Mr Mugabe intends to nationalise the mining sector six years after he precipitated the collapse of the economy by seizing 90 per cent of white-owned farms. Last year, he said he would take at least 51 per cent of all mines without offering compensation. Many of those arrested are legally registered with the Ministry of Mines, but the Government has claimed it is detaining illegal gold panners who are selling ore on the black market. … http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/mugabe-poised-to-take-over-goldmines/2007/01/10/1168105052143.html Euro begins 2007 in record mood AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - January 2, 2007 -- The euro struck a near three-week high against the dollar and all-time peaks against the yen and Swiss franc in European trade. The Tokyo and Singapore markets remained closed for New Year celebrations Tuesday, while US trading was put on hold to allow Americans to mark the recent passing of former president Gerald Ford. The euro hit as high as 1.3288 dollars in early European exchanges on Tuesday, the highest point since December 13, 2006…. Analysts believe the principal driver of the foreign exchange market last year had been differences in interest rates across economic zones. Interest rates in the US have been held steady since last August at 5.25 percent, giving momentum to the European currency in recent months, while recent data in Japan has dampened expectations of another rate hike there. The euro is meanwhile now being used by 13 countries after Slovenia became on Monday the first former communist state to join the European Union's common currency. Slovenia's adoption of the euro comes five years after euro bills and coins were introduced, almost three years after Slovenia acceded to the EU, and 15 years after Slovenia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. The euro replaces the tolar, a currency introduced in 1991 as a symbol of the tiny country's independence and an instrument aimed at cutting Belgrade's monetary control over the Slovenian economy. … http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/02/070102120240.tvog769g.html Planned Destruction of the Middle Class Study finds home prices are beyond reach of many workers REUTERS - By Andrew Stern, Reuters - January 10, 2007 -- CHICAGO -- U.S. home prices may have dipped over the past year, but many American workers still struggle to afford a median-priced home in major cities, a new study said Wednesday. "American workers are really not gaining ground and they're so far behind in the first place," said Barbara Lipman, research director for the non-profit Center for Housing Policy, which conducted the study. While the median home price in the 202 largest metropolitan areas declined 2% in third quarter 2006 to $248,000 from a year ago, mortgage rates rose enough over the year that homes actually became less affordable as pay did not keep pace. "The real story is what happened to salaries," Lipman said. "Lower-paid occupations — such as in retail, or home health workers — their salaries went up only about 3%." …http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-01-10-housingaffordability_x.htm?csp=34 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. 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