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Friday, October 12, 2012

Angel of YHVH - Chuck Missler

Parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’ could legally replace mom and dad in France

I want to throw up.....J'ai envie de vomir .....


PARIS — If France’s new Socialist government has its way, mothers and fathers will cease to exist — in legal papers, that is.

Legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage and give homosexual couples the right to adopt children also would replace the terms “mother” and “father” with “parent 1” and “parent 2” in all legal documents, including birth certificates.

The proposal has outraged France’s religious establishment and triggered a wave of criticism from many who say such changes to French law should be put to a public vote.

“A referendum must be held to allow a real debate,” Dominique Rey, Roman Catholic bishop of the southern region of Frejus-Toulon, said in an interview with online news outlet Nouvelles de France.

“A majority of the population agrees with the traditional view of marriage,” he said, warning against opening a “Pandora’s box” and “questioning the natural order of things.”

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said the legislation, which is expected to be introduced in Parliament this month, is needed to “secularize the bond of marriage” and allow same-sex couples to adopt children under the same conditions as heterosexual couples.

The bill also would allow one partner in a same-sex marriage to adopt the child of his or her spouse.

Under current law, a person in a homosexual relationship or an unmarried heterosexual relationship can adopt a child only as a single parent and only the adoptive parent has legal rights over the child.

Government officials say the French already have expressed themselves on the issue by electing Francois Hollande as president in May. The measure was part of his campaign platform.

“Have we ever hid our determination to authorize marriage for all as well as to adopt?” government spokeswoman Najat Valaud-Belkacem said. “No, on the contrary, we had [openly] put it forward.”

Referring to Bishop Rey’s call for a nationwide vote on the issue, Ms. Valaud-Belkacem said, “In a certain manner, a referendum already took place four months ago, during the presidential campaign.”

In a poll released Thursday by the French Institute of Public Opinion, 61 percent of respondents said they favored same-sex marriage, but only 48 percent said they backed adoption by homosexual couples.

The Catholic Church is defiant on the issue. After a meeting with Interior Minister Manuel Valls, France’s senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, warned that “same-sex marriages would pave the way for polygamy and incest.

“It would amount to a breakdown in society,” the cardinal said. “The consequences could be countless. Afterwards, they will want to create couples with three or four members.

Reacting to the church official’s remarks, Bertrand Delanoe, the Socialist mayor of Paris and one of France’s few openly gay politicians, told French radio Europe1 that Cardinal Barbarin clearly “flipped his lid.”


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/11/parent-1-and-parent-2-could-legally-replace-mom-an/#ixzz295stN53D

Acceleration Radio with L.A. Marzulli

6.7 QUAKE SHAKES EASTERN INDONESIA



A strong earthquake has jolted eastern Indonesia, causing panic but no major damage.

The US Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 6.7 and was centred 108 kilometres north of Dobo in Maluku province. It was at a depth of 24km.

The quake was followed by two aftershocks, both measuring magnitude 4.9.

Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency put the preliminary magnitude at seven and said there was no tsunami.

A district government office in Dobo, the closest village to the epicentre, suffered some damage but the extent was unclear, said agency official Subagyo, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

Dobo resident Victor Siahaya said the strong earthquake shook everything in his house. He and his family ran outside.

"It was so strong ... many people were screaming while running in panic," he said. "But I don't see any damage in my neighbourhood."Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific ring of fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines.


AU News

The Largest Economy In The World Is Imploding Right In Front Of Our Eyes




A devastating economic depression is rapidly spreading across the largest economy in the world.  Unemployment is skyrocketing, money is being pulled out of the banks at an astounding rate, bad debts are everywhere and economic activity is slowing down month after month.  So who am I talking about?  Not the United States - the economy that I am talking about has a GDP that is more than two trillion dollars larger.  It is not China either - the economy that I am talking about is more than twice the size of China.  You have probably guessed it by now - the largest economy in the world is the EU economy.  Things in Europe continue to get even worse.  Greece and Spain are already experiencing full-blown economic depressions that continue to deepen, and Italy and France are headed down the exact same path that Greece and Spain have gone.  Headlines about violent protests and economic despair dominate European newspapers day after day after day.  European leaders hold summit meeting after summit meeting, but all of the "solutions" that get announced never seem to fix anything.  In fact, the largest economy on the planet continues to implode right in front of our eyes, and the economic shockwave from this implosion is going to be felt to the four corners of the earth.
On Friday, newspapers all over Europe declared that Greece is about to run out of money (again).
The Greek government says that without more aid they will completely run out of cash by the end of November.
Of course the rest of Europe is going to continue to pour money into Greece because they know that if they don't the financial markets will panic.
But they are also demanding that Greece make even more painful budget cuts.  Previous rounds of budget cuts have been extremely damaging to the Greek economy.
The Greek economy contracted by 4.9 percent during 2010 and by 7.1 percentduring 2011.
Overall, the Greek economy has contracted by about 20 percent since 2008.
This is what happens when you live way above your means for too long and a day of reckoning comes.
The adjustment can be immensely painful.
Greece continues to implement wave after wave of austerity measures, and these austerity measures have pushed the country into a very deep depression, but Greecestill is not even close to a balanced budget.
Greece is still spending more money than it is bringing in, and Greek politicians are warning what even more budget cuts could mean for their society.
For example, what Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had to say the other daywas absolutely chilling....
"Greek democracy stands before what is perhaps its greatest challenge," Samaras told the German business daily Handelsblatt in an interview published hours before the announcement in Berlin that Angela Merkel will fly to Athens next week for the first time since the outbreak of the crisis.
Resorting to highly unusual language for a man who weighs his words carefully, the 61-year-old politician evoked the rise of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party to highlight the threat that Greece faces, explaining that society "is threatened by growing unemployment, as happened to Germany at the end of the Weimar Republic".
"Citizens know that this government is Greece's last chance," said Samaras, who has repeatedly appealed for international lenders at the EU and IMF to relax the onerous conditions of the bailout accords propping up the Greek economy.


But don't look down on Greece.  They are just ahead of the curve.  Eventually the U.S. and the rest of Europe will go down the exact same path.
Just look at Spain.  When Greece first started imploding, Spain insisted that the same thing would never happen to them.
But it did.
By itself, Spain is the 12th largest economy in the world, and right now it is a complete and total mess with no hope of recovery in sight.
The national government is broke, the regional governments are broke, the banking system is insolvent and Spain is in the midst of the worst housing crash that it has ever seen.
On top of everything else, the unemployment rate in Spain is now over 25 percentand the unemployment rate for those under the age of 25 is now well above 50 percent.
An astounding 9.86 percent of all loans that Spanish banks are holding are considered to be bad loans which will probably never be collected.  Before it is all said and done, probably ever major Spanish bank will need to be bailed out at least once.
Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 17 months in a row, and the number of corporate bankruptcies in Spain is rising at a stunning rate.
Five different Spanish regions have formally requested bailouts from the national government, and the national government is drowning in an ocean of red ink.
Meanwhile, panic has set in and there has been a run on the banks in Spain.  The following is from a recent Bloomberg article....
Banco Santander SA (SAN), Spain’s largest bank, lost 6.3 percent of its domestic deposits in July, according to data published by the nation’s banking association. Savings at Banco Popular Espanol SA, the sixth-biggest, fell 9.5 percent the same month.
Eurobank Ergasias SA, Greece’s second-largest lender, lost 22 percent of its customer deposits in the 12 months ended March 31, according to the latest data available from the firm. Alpha Bank SA (ALPHA), the country’s third-biggest, lost 26 percent of client savings during that period.

Overall, the equivalent of 7 percent of GDP was withdrawn from the Spanish banking system in the month of July alone.
Thousands of Spaniards have become so desperate that they have resorted to digging around in supermarket trash bins for food.  In response, locks are being put on supermarket trash bins in some areas.
But Greece and Spain are not alone in seeing their economies implode.
As I wrote about recently, the number of unemployed workers in Italy has risen bymore than 37 percent over the past year.
The French economy is starting to implode as well.  Just check out this article.
The unemployment rate in France is now above 10 percent, and it has risen for 16 months in a row.
It is just a matter of time before things in Italy and France get as bad as they already are in Greece and Spain.
The chief economist at the IMF is now saying that it will take until at least 2018 for the global economy to recover, but unfortunately I believe that he is being overly optimistic.
As I have said so many times before, the next wave of the global economic crisis is rapidly approaching.  Depression is already sweeping much of southern Europe, and it is only a matter of time before it sweeps across northern Europe and North America as well.
Neither Obama or Romney is going to be able to stop what is coming.  The global economy is getting weaker with each passing day.  The central banks of the world can print money until the cows come home, but that isn't going to fix our fundamental problems.
The largest economy in the world is imploding right in front of our eyes and nobody seems to know what to do about it.
If you believe that Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or Ben Bernanke can somehow magically shield us from the economic shockwave that is coming then you are being delusional.
Just because what is going on in Europe is a "slow-motion train wreck" does not mean that it will be any less devastating.
Yes, we can see what is coming and we can understand why it is happening, but that doesn't mean that we will be able to avoid the consequences.

The Economic Collapse

Dragon Flood Ten Steps to Communism


Joseph Herrin (10-09-2012)



Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

In the previous post I mentioned that the governmental order which the Illuminati is working to establish on a global scale is Communism. The evidence for this will now be set forth. The Illuminati was founded on May 1, 1776 by Adam Weishaupt. Here is the first clue connecting the Illuminati with Communism. The leaders of the Communist Party chose May 1, 1905 as the date to begin their revolution in Russia. The founding date of May 1st is celebrated by communists around the world.

Adam Weishaupt was a Jesuit priest. He was employed as a professor of canon law at Ingolstadt University in Bavaria. Much could be written about the Satanic origins and works of the Jesuits, but I will leave it to the interested reader to search out this subject themselves. There is no lack of material available on the Jesuits.

On July 21, 1773 Pope Clement XIV “forever annulled and extinguished the Jesuit Order.” This was just three years prior to Weishaupt’s founding of the Illuminati, and there is good reason to believe that this act by the Roman Pontiff led Weishaupt to repudiate all religion, and contributed to his humanistic beliefs. Weishaupt wrote:

Man is not bad except as he is made bad by arbitrary morality. He is bad because religion, the state, and bad examples pervert him. When at last reason becomes the religion of men, then will the problem be solved.

This doctrine of Adam Weishaupt is antithetical to the truths of the Bible.

Romans 3:10-18
As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way.

The words of Adam Weishaupt are the words of the great deceiver. We find in Weishaupt’s words that “man is not bad” a restatement of the motto of Freemasonry which is “Making good men better.” Since the Illuminati and Freemasonry are creations of the same author, it is not unexpected to find that their doctrines agree with one another.



Motto of Freemasonry

Weishaupt, like many others who have been embraced Satan’s lies, believed that “reason” was the key to mankind’s perfecting. Satan, of course, presents himself as the bringer of that wisdom which will benefit all mankind. It is profoundly symbolic that the Rockefellers have placed a statue of Prometheus bringing the forbidden fire to mankind in the center of Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan.



Prometheus - Rockefeller Plaza

Satan has for millennia been portraying himself in various guises as the one who sought to benefit mankind by bringing man forbidden knowledge from the heavens, only to be cruelly punished by the gods. Prometheus is a caricature of Satan, designed with cunning to persuade men that Satan/Lucifer is the good god, and Yahweh is the evil God. Did not Satan promise the woman in the garden that she could become “as God” by eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of theknowledge of good and evil? Satan continues to work along these same lines, enticing men to rebellion against Yahweh by offering them secret knowledge that will make them as gods.

Weishaupt set forth the goals of the Illuminati, which are actually the goals of Satan. Quite naturally, these goals include the establishment of a one world government. This government will be ruled by members of the Illuminati, these being Satan’s chief disciples. Every member of the Illuminati is therefore considered a ruler, and they are working toward world conquest.

In 1777, Adam Weishaupt was initiated into Freemasonry, becoming a member of the Lodge Theodore of Good Counsel, in Munich, Germany. His purpose was to infiltrate Freemasonry, which was already an organization created by Lucifer, and to use it as an arm of the Illuminati.

It was not long before the Illuminati was actively working to overthrow the government of Bavaria. Their plot was exposed in 1783. John Robison in his bookProofs of a Conspiracy, writes that “four professors of the Marianen Academy... were summoned before the Court of Enquiry and questioned on... the Illuminati.” When it was discovered that the Illuminati were working to overthrow the government of Bavaria, their membership scattered across Europe.

The Bavarian government sought to counter the expansion of the growth of the Illuminati by warning other European governments, sharing with them the goals of the Illuminati which included a one world government. Nesta Webster in her bookWorld Revolution writes of the reaction of the other European governments.

The extravagance of the scheme therein propounded rendered it unbelievable, and the rulers of Europe, refusing to take the Illuminati seriously, put it aside as a chimera (a foolish fancy).”

Ralph Epperson in The Unseen Hand writes the following:

A Frenchman named Danton said this in French, and loosely translated, what he said means: “Audacity, audacity, always audacity!”

When reading of the bold plans of the Illuminati, and the incredulity with which their plans are met in the majority of the population, the word “Audacity” seems fitting. It also brings to mind the title of a book being sold as an autobiography of Barack Obama, the current President of the United States.



The AUDACITY of HOPE

For those who are interested, I highly recommend the video titled Dreams From My REAL Father, which is an expose of the background of Barack Obama. The video sets forth compelling evidence of Obama being the son of a Communist party member in America, and reveals the Communist ideology he has embraced. His actions since becoming President have very clearly demonstrated that he is moving America toward a Socialist state, and away from Capitalism.

The video Dreams From My REAL Father can be viewed through Amazon’s video service, and if you are an Amazon Prime member the video is free at this time.

www.amazon.com/Dreams-From-Real-Father-Deception/dp/B009C1FOUE/

Nesta Wesbter has summarized the goals of the Illuminati as follows:

1. Abolition of monarchy and all ordered government.
2. Abolition of private property.
3. Abolition of inheritance.
4. Abolition of patriotism (nationalism).
5. Abolition of the family (i.e. of marriage and all morality, and the institution of communal education of children).
6. Abolition of all religion.

A remarkable parallel is seen in the ten planks set forth in the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848. It should be noted that neither Marx not Engels originated these doctrines on their own. Around 1846 both men joined The Communist League while in Paris. This League is traceable back to the League of the Just which was formed by German refugees in Paris. One can follow the trail from the Illuminati in Bavaria to the Communist League in Paris.

At the Second Congress of the Communist League, Marx and Engels were selected to write the party platform. They subsequently wrote the Communist Manifesto in which they set forth the following ten measures to be followed in all countries to be brought under the rule of Communism.

1. “Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.”
2. “A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.”
3. “Abolition of all right of inheritance.”
4. “Confiscation of the property of all emigrants or rebels. (If you left the Communist nation you had to forfeit all property.)”
5. “Centralization of credit in the hands of the State by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.”
6. “Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.”
7. “Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.”
8. “Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.”
9. “Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries.”
10. “Free education for all children in public schools.”

That these are in harmony with those of the Illuminati is apparent. The evidence supports very strongly that Communism is a creation of the Illuminati. The German presence in both movements is established. The timing of events supports the conclusion, for the Illuminati was formed seventy years prior to the formation of the Communist League. The date of May 1st that both groups celebrate is another common link. But most convincing is the harmony of their goals and doctrines.

If one has eyes to see, they will recognize that the goals of Communism have been progressively implemented in the United States, as well as other Western nations. Norman Thomas, the U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate in the years 1940, 1944 and 1948, stated “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism,’ they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.”

The year 1913 stands out as an extremely important year in the Illuminati plan to bring America under their firm control. In that year Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act establishing a central bank for the nation, granting this bank a monopoly in the printing of currency, and delivering the nation into the hands of foreign money powers whose goals are antagonistic to the prosperity and happiness of her citizens. The same year Congress passed, and the President approved, the graduated income tax.

The number thirteen stands out as a number of great significance to Satan, as has been testified in a previous chapter of this teaching series. E.W. Bullinger, in the book Number in Scripture, provides the following information about the Biblical significance of this number.

As to the significance of thirteen, all are aware that it has come down to us as a number of ill-omen. Many superstitions cluster around it, and various explanations are current concerning them.

Unfortunately, those who go backwards to find a reason seldom go back far enough. The popular explanations do not, so far as we are aware, go further back than the Apostles. But we must go back to the first occurrence of the number thirteen in order to discover the key to its significance. It occurs first in Gen 14:4, where we read "Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and the thirteenth year they REBELLED."

Hence every occurrence of the number thirteen, and likewise of every multiple of it, stamps that with which it stands in connection with rebellion, apostasy, defection, corruption, disintegration, revolution, or some kindred idea.
[Source: http://philologos.org/__eb-nis/eight.htm#205]

The number thirteen is a significant number for Satan. His most profound acts are stamped with this number. America declared her independence from England in the same year that the Illuminati was founded. America had thirteen colonies who joined in rebellion against the King of England. It was in 1913 that two un-Constitutional acts were undertaken by people in America’s government who betrayed the people in order to perform the will of a secret elite who were working for world domination.

It strikes me as significant that the One World Trade Tower is scheduled to be opened for occupancy in 2013, and will reach its full height of 1776 feet. One must question whether the height of the building is actually a reference to the year America declared her independence, or whether it is in actuality a reference to the year of the Illuminati’s founding. After all, one of the overarching goals of the Illuminati is to establish a one world government, and the building has been named One World Trade Center.




One World Trade Center

One hundred years after the founding of the Federal Reserve System in America, I believe we will see the full fruit of this act come to maturity. Barack Obama campaigned on a promise of “Change,” and change is truly coming. We will soon see the end of America as a sovereign nation as all the nations of the world are brought under a single world currency and a unified world government. The money of America is stamped with the words E Pluribus Eunum. Out of many, one. Out of many nations will come forth a one world government.




E Pluribus Unum

Look closely at the details of the Federal Reserve Note above. Under the eagle in Roman numerals is the number 1776. Below this we find the Latin words Novus Ordo Seclorum, a New Order of the Ages. It has been the goal of those powers behind the Federal Reserve System to bring forth a New World Order, and their plans are now very far advanced. This New World Order will be run by the Illuminati, and Lucifer will be their god. This is revealed in the following image found on Federal Reserve Notes.





Note again the number 1776 at the base of the pyramid. This stands for the year the Illuminati was founded. The words Annuit Coeptis are translated “He favors our undertakings.” This is a reference to Lucifer, the eye atop the pyramid, having given his blessing to this work. It is a work of rebellion against Yahweh, which is again revealed in that there are thirteen courses of stones forming the base of the pyramid below the all-seeing-eye.

People of God, I am convinced that Satan has chosen the year 2013 for the unveiling of his final world government. The architects of the One World Trade Center have employed a geometrical shape in its construction that is quite unusual among the buildings of the world, but which is highly symbolic. The shape of the tower is called an “antiprism.”




Square Antiprism

The main building block of the One World Trade Center being built at the site of the old World Trade Center destroyed on September 11, 2001 has the shape of a square antiprism.
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_antiprism]

As the tower itself rises from this cubic base, its square edges are chamfered back, transforming the square into eight tall isosceles triangles in elevation, or an elongated square antiprism... The spire will be an intense beam of light that will be lit at night and will likely be visible over a thousand feet (305 m) into the air above the tower.
[Source:http://www.tallestbuildingintheworld.com/building_id_109_Freedom+Tower+-+One+World+Trade+Center.php]

The antenna consists of two major components: a 408 -foot mast and a communications platform ring. The mast is a hybrid structure, consisting of a steel tower supporting the antenna and a special protective enclosure, called a radome, that is transparent to radio waves. The steel tower has eight sections stacked vertically and decreasing in width, while the radome enclosure is formed of a modular, fiberglass composite sandwich panel system arranged as octagonalantiprism modules.
[Source: http://www.som.com/content.cfm/one_world_trade_center]

Why the abundance of antiprisms in its construction? It is because of what is symbolized by the concept of an antiprism. A prism is used to divide light into separate colored rays. A single ray of light enters a prism and it exits it divided into the colors of the rainbow.



Prism

The prism serves as a parable of that work God accomplished at the tower of Babel. Look at the image above. The triangle is a pyramid shape. It is the prism. Light enters and is scattered. So too did God come down to the Tower of Babel and scatter mankind into various divisions by tongue, and tribe, and nation. Satan ever seeks to undo the work of God. He would create an antiprism where that which is scattered will be gathered together back into one.




Antiprism

To deliberately reverse that work God has done is an act of great rebellion. Is it any wonder that the year 2013 has been selected by Satan for the opening of this very symbolic building? Yet, we will see far more accomplished in 2013 than a building coming to completion. Satan seeks to establish his visible rule over all the earth. 2013 will be a year of great change as the nations are cast into a final conflict whose goal will be the end of national sovereignty, and the formation of a single global government. Satan will exalt his horn above all the earth. This too is signified in the design of the building.




Tower Atop One World Trade Center

Satan would take the very words of Scripture and cast them back to God as a boast of what he will do.

Psalms 92:10-11
But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.

The enemies of Satan are all those who stand against the plans he has for world domination. Any who are patriots and resist global government are his enemy. Any who own private property and wish to keep it are his enemy. Those who are pro-family are the adversaries of Satan. Those who do not wish to surrender their freedom to be dictated to by the disciples of Satan are his enemies. Those especially who are disciples of Jesus Christ/Yahshua the Messiah, are his enemies.

The disciples of Satan are even now busy working to set the stage for the great “Change” that is to come. The glory of a one world government where Lucifer reigns over all is being sold to the masses as a good thing. Out of many, one!




Note the symbolism on this book cover offered by Random House Publishers. In front of President Obama is a campaign sign with the word “CHANGE.” What is the change being promised? It is revealed in the name of the book. Out of many nations will come one single nation. Note that the American flag behind him is angled down as if falling. It should be noted too that Obama has his right hand raised, but he is left handed. The left hand is symbolic of that which is sinister, and in this painting his left hand is hidden. This speaks of those hidden works that are being accomplished to bring down America as a nation and to establish a one world government.

People of God, do such things sound AUDACIOUS? Satan is exceedingly proud. He is audacious enough to oppose even the God who created him and gave him life. Yet in the end, every knee will bow before Christ, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 

Joseph Herrin

US Nears Fiscal Disaster: ‘Washington Doing Nothing’




The U.S. is heading towards fiscal disaster and no one in Washington is doing anything about it, the authors of the Simpson-Bowles reform plan and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein told CNBC Thursday.

"People are never going to understand how critical this particular time in history is," said Erskine Bowles, the North Carolina businessman and co-chairman of President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. "We have $7.7 trillion worth of economic events that are going to hit America in the gut in December, and in Washington they're doing nothing about it."

Bowles' co-chair on the commission was former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson, who said political culture in Washington is preventing any action to address what is known as the "fiscal cliff."

"They're both in this," Simpson said of the warring Democratic and Republican parties. "They worship the god of re-election."

Wall Street titan Blankfein said resolving the conflict would go a long way toward rejuvenating confidence in the financial markets.

"I think the (presidential) candidates know how serious it is," he said. "I think they're trying to avoid it in part because it is so consequential and serious, and the ideas that would be put forward are unattractive to some people."

If the political differences were settled and a solution to the fiscal cliff devised — even one that is far afield from the Simpson-Bowles recommendations — it would mean a lot to markets and businesses such as Goldman, he added.

"I'd be a buyer of this market. Goldman Sachs would," Blankfein said. "We're not only advisers to companies, we're a company ourselves. We would assume that our business would grow."

As things stand, though, Simpson said investors are putting too much faith in Congress and the White House to work out a deal, making the stock market a risky proposition.

"The guys who are working and putting to the side are going to make it, and the guys who are just whistling around the market — and I'm not here to dampen that — but holy smoke," he said. "They really believe honestly that no Congress could be this stupid, and by God, they can."

The trio spoke jointly as the moment of truth for the so-called fiscal cliff approaches.

The term comes from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who used it to describe the peril of what will happen should the automatic tax increases and massive spending cuts be allowed to take effect on Jan. 1.

Economists peg the damage as high as $720 billion and 4.6 percent of gross domestic product.
There are several components involved.

At stake are payroll tax cuts, a fix on the alternative minimum tax, and unemployment benefits among them.

Across-the board tax cuts enacted during President George W. Bush's term represent, at $180 billion, the biggest slice of the pie. They are targeted because Democrats consider the cuts skewed towards the rich.

Bowles identified four problem areas in the U.S.: Health-care spending that's twice that of any other country; defense spending higher than the next 17 nations combined; a tax code that is "inefficient, ineffective, and globally anticompetitive"; and a Social Security program that has a $900 billion hole to fill over the next decade.

All three expressed worry over whether other countries would continue to lend to the U.S. considering its current $16 trillion debt and $1.1 trillion budget deficit.

"We're at a tipping point," Simpson said. "The tipping point is when the people who loan us money say 'you're addicted' ... and so we're going to loan you more money, but we want more money for our money. Interest rates will kick up and inflation. The guy who gets hurt worst is the little guy."
Bowles pointed out that revenue does nothing more than pay for Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. All other expenses are paid for with borrowing "and half of it was borrowed from foreign countries," he said.

Simpson bemoaned the political divide: Democrats who portray the Republican Medicare reform plan as "throwing old ladies off cliffs," and Republicans who "didn't come to limit government, they came to stop it."

He added: "If you want to know about a stimulus, whether you're listening to (economist Paul) Krugman or whoever, we do a pretty good stimulus. It's called the deficit — one trillion, 100 billion bucks. What the hell do you think that is?"

CNBC

‘Holy Jihad’ is the only way to deal with Israel, says Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood chief



Egypt’s foremost Muslim Brotherhood official called on the Arab world Thursday to replace negotiations with Israel with “holy Jihad,” claiming that if Jews are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount they will destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and supplant it with the third temple.

Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared in a public message published by Egyptian daily Al-Ahram that “the Zionists only understand force,” and that Arabs cannot hope to achieve justice from the Jews “through the corridors of the United Nations or through negotiations.”

“The time has come for the Islamic nation to unite around one man for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine,” Badie said. “The Jews have dominated the land, spread corruption on earth, spilled the blood of believers and in their actions profaned holy places, including their own.”Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, but he resigned all official positions in the movement upon taking office. He has said that his government would uphold the Camp David peace accords with Israel, and recently named a new ambassador to Israel.

“Zionists only understand the language of force and will not relent without duress,” Badie continued. “This will only happen through holy Jihad, high sacrifices and all forms of resistance. The day they realize we will march this path and raise the banner of Jihad for the sake of God, is the day they will relent and stop their tyranny.”

Badie, 69, has headed the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt since 2010, and before that served on its governing council for more than a decade. Trained in veterinary medicine and an academic by profession, he served time in jail for political activity as a young man but was pardoned by president Anwar Sadat.

The Times of Israel

Spain worst case scenario



Spain is in trouble. And a fresh downgrade from S&P Wednesday reminded everyone as much.

The macroeconomic outlook continues to deteriorate as unemployment rises. Angry citizens are protesting austerity in the streets.

At the same time, Spain has just unveiled its 2013 austerity budget, but the overly-optimistic macroeconomic assumptions underlying the plan foreshadow missed deficit targets in the coming quarters, which will likely force a new round of austerity measures, further worsening the economic contraction.

Meanwhile, the Spanish region of Catalonia is threatening to secede.

Technically, the “worst-case scenario” for Spain would be something along the lines of a 100% decline in GDP and 100% unemployment. No one is calling for that.

Presented here are all of the things that could go wrong, though. The recent work ofCiti economists and strategists is heavily cited because they seem to be consistently more bearish on the Spanish situation than other shops.
Spain’s general economic conditions are deteriorating – GDP is contracting and Spain’s debt-to-GDP ratio (annual figures) is consequently rising. Following is the worst case:


Bloomberg, Business Insider

Spain’s economy experiences a deep recession in 2013


Bloomberg, Business Insider

Spain’s official outlook for GDP growth is optimistic – the government sees a mild -0.5 percent contraction in 2013. And the worst case scenario presented by Oliver Wyman for the Spanish bank stress tests assumes a -2.1 percent contraction.

This contrasts with much more pessimistic outlooks from economists at Citi, who see Spanish economic output contracting -3.2 percent next year.

The government misses its budget deficit targets and enacts even more austerity


(Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

Spain’s budget deficit targets are based on their optimistic economic growth assumptions. However, most economists don’t actually believe those assumptions will prove correct.

As a result, many warn that Spain will miss its deficit targets and have to enact yet more austerity measures that will continue the positive feedback loop wherein spending cuts deepen Spain’s economic malaise.

The Spanish government is targeting a budget deficit amounting to 4.5 percent of GDP in 2013.

Citi economists, on the other hand, think Spain will miss that target by at least 20 percent and project a deficit totalling 5.5 percent of GDP in 2013.

Spain loses sovereignty while negotiating over bailouts and reforms

flickr / Convergència Democrà tica de Catalunya

European leaders heralded Spain’s 2013 budget as an important step for Spain in resolving its crisis – ignoring the optimistic macroeconomic growth assumptions when endorsing Spain’s deficit targets.

However, as Spain seems likely to miss its deficit targets, Spain will likely have to implement a new round of austerity in an attempt to bring the budget back in line with expectations.

Citi strategist Hans Lorenzen warns, “Even if [the EU is] satisfied with the targets per se, against the prospect of slippage next year we expect core countries will want more control over implementation than Rajoy’s government is comfortable with, making for difficult negotiations ahead.”

Unemployment rises past 26%


Bloomberg, Business Insider

Meanwhile, as Spain contracts, unemployment will likely continue to rise. However, it’s already at unprecedented levels, as the chart going all the way back to 1983 shows.

Current levels of unemployment (under-25 rate = 52.9 percent; overall = 25.1 percent) have been more than enough to spur massive social protests in Spain.

As more and more Spaniards lose their jobs and become disenfranchised with the economic environment fostered by the Spanish government, the prospects for civil unrest will continue to become more serious.

Citi economist Ebrahim Rahbari sees 26.2 percent unemployment next year. That’s more than a 1 percentage point increase from this year.

Protests gain momentum


(Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

It’s all down to growth on the one hand and politics on the other in the euro area.

Nowhere do those two concepts intersect more clearly than in the protests that have rocked Spain recently.

As the economy contracts and unemployment figures continue to make fresh highs, the Spanish government will find itself pressured on both sides by an angry electorate disenchanted with austerity policies and demanding creditors who want to make sure strings come attached with the aid they provide.

And we’ve seen how chaotic constant protests can be over the past few years.

The Spanish region of Catalonia secedes from Spain

flickr / convergenciaiunio


Catalonia may be Spain’s most highly-indebted region, but it also accounts for the largest share of economic output, at around 20 percent of GDP.

And a nationalist party that wants to hold a referendum on secession in a region where 95 percent of the population dislikes the rest of Spain is only six seats away from a parliamentary majority in the November 25 elections.

Needless to say, losing Catalonia would be devastating not only for the government’s fiscal position but also as a growth shock that would make the economic outlook even worse. And it would only serve to heap on the nationalist tensions at a time when Spain is facing intense political pressure both domestically and abroad.

Citi strategist Hans Lorenzen says the conflict “raises the political stakes further at a time where fragile market sentiment would benefit greatly from at least a semblance of internal cohesion and resolve.”

House prices continue to plummet, further destroying the banking system’s capital base


Bloomberg, Business Insider

It’s no secret at this point that the Spanish banking system is in terrible shape.

Last week’s stress tests on the system revealed a capital shortfall of 60 billion euros in an adverse macroeconomic scenario characterized by a -2.1 percent contraction in Spanish GDP in 2013.

However, Citi chief economist Willem Buiter thinks that the nonperforming loans (toxic assets) on Spanish bank balance sheets are the number one thing that could force Spain to eventually default, writing, “The first [risk] is that the banks’ need for externally provided capital exceeds the €100bn available from the ESM by a significant margin. We believe this is quite likely, both through legacy hidden losses on residential mortgages and because of new losses on commercial, corporate and household loans as the Spanish economy continues to be mired in recession.

Government bond yields soar


Bloomberg, Business Insider

The ECB is thought to have removed tail risk from euro area government bond markets by unveiling its new OMT bond-buying program, with theoretically unlimited intervention potential for countries who qualify.

Citi strategist Jamie Searle compares the OMT to the ECB’s last bond market intervention, the SMP, which was unsuccessful:

…the basic principle of a secondary market bond buying programme is the same. The SMP initially triggered a sharp move lower in periphery yields, similar to the recent rally, but failed to have a lasting impact.

Investors may be willing to buy the front-end in anticipation of ECB buying, but are they willing to hold those positions? There is a danger that investors may be more inclined to sell to the ECB rather than buy with the ECB.

If that proved to be the case, the situation could quickly spiral out of control.

Banks get hooked up to permanent ECB life support

Flickr/Zdenko Zivkovic

One of the guidelines of the ECB’s new OMT bond market intervention plan dictates that the ECB will cut off any intervention if the country on the program failed to meet the fiscal reform conditions laid out in the agreement.

Citi economist Guillaume Menuet wrote that if the ECB were to pull the plug on an OMT program, “It would probably amount to a complete breakdown in the trust between creditor countries and the recipient of financial assistance and could prove a double-edged sword if it leads ultimately to the departure of one member state from the euro area.”

At that point, insolvent Spanish banks would probably need to tap Emergency Liquidity Assistance facilities, rendering their fate the same as that of the Greek banking system.

Financial Post