Watchman Newsletter

Sarkozy to press for 'Tobin Tax'

BBC News (Link) (September 19, 2009)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will urge fellow G20 leaders to introduce a special tax to reduce risky behaviour by banks, the BBC has learned.

Mr Sarkozy wants a levy known as a Tobin Tax to be applied to every financial transaction.

The move is aimed at cutting excessively speculative trades and encouraging long-term decision-making.

But senior EU officials told the BBC that the chances of getting a global agreement were "less than minimal".

The proposal does not yet have the formal backing of the EU or Germany - France's largest trading partner - and according to the BBC's business reporter Joe Lynam, it is widely expected to face resistance from Britain and the US, home to the world's largest financial centres.

The issue of bankers' pay, especially bonuses, will be on the agenda at the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the US, next weekend.

There will be no suggestion of capping individual bonuses, our correspondent says, but it is likely that overall bonuses as a proportion of a company's earnings could be restricted.

There may also be a possibility of payment deferral and the option of clawing payments back should decisions by bankers prove to have been excessively risky or erroneous.

'Gaza report unfair, lenient with Hamas'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - AP (September 19, 2009)

The Obama administration sharply criticized a UN report Friday alleging that Israel committed multiple war crimes in Operation Cast Lead this year. The State Department statement ended nearly a week of muted reactions to findings already rejected by Israel.

The US State Department said the conclusions of a UN commission headed by South African Justice Richard Goldstone were unfair to Israel and did not fully deal with the role in the conflict of the Palestinian group Hamas. It said the United States objected to a recommendation that Israeli actions be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Although the report addresses all sides of the conflict, its overwhelming focus is on the actions of Israel," spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

"While the report makes overly sweeping conclusions of fact and law with respect to Israel, its conclusions regarding Hamas's deplorable conduct and its failure to comply with international humanitarian law during the conflict are more general and tentative," he said.

The UN report, released Tuesday, faulted Israel for civilian deaths in Gaza, saying it used disproportionate force in the offensive. About 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the three-week conflict. Israel charged that Hamas was to blame, saying its fighters placed rocket launchers and forces in crowded neighborhoods.

The report also called Hamas's firing of rockets at Israeli civilians a war crime.

"Quiet" Sun can also hit Earth with wild winds

Reuters (Link) (September 18, 2009)

The Sun can lash the Earth with powerful winds that can disrupt communications, aviation and power lines even when it is in the quiet phase of its 11-year solar cycle, U.S. scientists say.

Observers have traditionally used the number of sunspots on the surface of the Sun to measure its activity. The number of sunspots reaches a peak at what is called the solar maximum, then declines to reach a minimum during a cycle.

At the peak, intense solar flares and geomagnetic storms eject vast amounts of energy into space, crashing into the Earth's protective magnetic fields, knocking out satellites, disrupting communications and causing colorful aurorae.

But scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the United States and the University of Michigan found that the Earth was bombarded with intense solar winds last year despite an unusually quiet phase for the Sun.

"The Sun continues to surprise us," said Sarah Gibson of the center's High Altitude Observatory and lead author of the study. "The solar wind can hit Earth like a fire hose even when there are virtually no sunspots."

Nasrallah: Eradicate cancerous Israel

YNet News (Link) - Roee Nahmias (September 18, 2009)

Hezbollah chief addresses followers in special speech marking end of Ramadan, 'al-Qods day,' slams moderate Arab nations seeking normalization with Israel. 'No one has any right to give away one inch of Palestinian land,' he says.

Hezbollah Chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah criticized moderate Arab nations which support normalization with Israel Friday, saying that Israel was "a cancer… a metastasis which must be eradicated."

In a speech given in honor of the last day of Ramadan and "al-Qods day," Nasrallah stressed that "normalization with Israel is forbidden according to the sage ones (of Shiite tradition). Palestine, from river to sea, in the property of the Palestinian nation.

"The Zionists have no right to the land and no one – Arab, Palestinian, Muslim or Christian – has any right to give away one inch of Palestinian land. The Israeli entity is aggressive, cancerous and illegal. No one is allowed to recognize its existence or pursue normalization with it."

The Hezbollah leader pointed out that his support of Palestinian groups correlates with his criticism of the moderate Arab forces, especially Egypt, calling on all to "support the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance – lift the siege they are under. You don’t have to supply them with arms, but let them smuggle them.

"If you don’t want to aid the Palestinian, Iran will," he continued, "But don’t give Israel information on the Palestinian tunnels, or on their leaders' whereabouts. Either support the Palestinian people, or let it be."

As for the chances of another war, Nasrallah aid that "if Israel will try to attack Lebanon in the future we will have to turn the threat into an opportunity…if we can run them to the ground and destroy them, if we can eliminate the Israeli army, what kind of future will Israel have in the region?"

Dutch premier now likely candidate for presidency of European Council

Irish Times (Link) - Jamie Smyth (September 18, 2009)

DUTCH PRIME minister Jan Peter Balkenende has emerged as a possible candidate for the post of European Council president, which will be created if the Lisbon Treaty enters into force.

Two Dutch newspapers De Telegraaf and Het Financieele Dagblad cited three sources in Mr Balkenende’s Christian Democrat party yesterday, who claim to know “for sure” that he is a leading contender for the job.

Speculation is beginning to mount about the likely identity of the new council president following the re-election of José Manuel Barroso for another five-year term as European Commission president this week. Britain’s Gordon Brown said formal talks on filling the position were not on the agenda of the summit and could only take place after the Irish vote. But several names have been linked to the €280,000 a year job including Tony Blair, former Finnish prime minister Paavo Lipponen, the current French premier Francois Fillon and former Spanish prime minister Felipe Gonzalez.

Mr Blair is likely to face opposition to his candidature because of his central role in supporting the war in Iraq. Mr Lipponen could also face opposition from former eastern block countries such as Poland because he works for Gazprom on the proposed Nord Stream gas pipeline. Luxembourg premier Jean Claude Junker, whose name has previously been linked to the job, also seems to have dropped out of the running in recent months.

The post of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs is also due to be filled next month following the retirement of incumbent Javier Solana. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier could become a candidate for this job if his party loses the upcoming German elections to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. Other potential candidates include Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt, Austria’s Ursula Plassnik, and the Finnish commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn.

A final decision on both jobs will be taken at the European Council on October 30th.

Cap-and-Trade's Cost to Americans: $1,761 per Household

Newsmax (Link) - Dan Weil (September 17, 2009)

The Obama administration has concluded privately that a cap-and-trade law would cost every American household $1,761 a year — or a national total of nearly $200 billion a year, the equivalent of hiking personal income taxes by about 15 percent.

The previously unreleased Treasury Department analysis, which CBS News reported this week, says the new law would require new taxes between $100 billion to $200 billion a year. That’s how Treasury analysts arrived at the $1,761 per household figure.

“Given the administration's proposal to auction all emission allowances, a cap-and-trade program could generate federal receipts on the order of $100 to $200 billion annually,” according to the document, which was written by Judson Jaffe, who joined the Treasury Department's Office of Environment and Energy in January.

Because personal income tax revenues bring in around $1.37 trillion a year, a $200 billion additional tax would be the equivalent of a 15 percent increase a year. A $100 billion additional tax would represent a 7 percent or 8 percent increase a year.

That finding has been echoed by other internal Obama administration documents on the subject.

Six Volcanoes Erupt in Russia

New Tang Dynasty Television (Link) (September 17, 2009) Video of text at link

Six volcanoes are currently erupting in Russia's remote Kamchatka region. Volcanologist Yaroslav Muraviyev says so much activity was last recorded 55 years ago. He says the number of eruptions is increasing all over the world.

[Yaroslav Muraviyev, Deputy Director of Science, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka Institute]:
"We have seen two, three, up to five volcanoes erupting simultaneously, but we have six volcanoes erupting this year and it is not just happening here, this is a global trend."

Despite the obvious dangers, there is mixed reaction among local people.

AP NewsBreak: Nuke agency says Iran can make bomb

Breitbart (Link) - AP (September 17, 2009)

Experts at the world's top atomic watchdog are in agreement that Tehran has the ability to make a nuclear bomb and is on the way to developing a missile system able to carry an atomic warhead, according to a secret report seen by The Associated Press.

The document drafted by senior officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency is the clearest indication yet that the agency's leaders share Washington's views on Iran's weapon-making capabilities.

It appears to be the so-called "secret annex" on Iran's nuclear program that Washington says is being withheld by the IAEA's chief.

The document says Iran has "sufficient information" to build a bomb. It says Iran is likely to "overcome problems" on developing a delivery system.

"Europe in the World"

Council of the European Union (Link) - Javier Solana at Harvard University (September 17, 2009) [Emphasis below mine]

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be back at Harvard.

The last time, we discussed whether the US and Europe, Mars and Venus, could be reconciled. The answer today is even more obvious than it was then. But we have new issues to grapple with and a new geo-political landscape. Again the question is what the US and Europe can and should do together.

Before we get to that, let me assess the changed context. Ours is a world in flux. One where everything is speeding up: politically, economically and technologically. The net result is growing complexity. There is no single narrative or template to guide us. Chaos and hypermodernity live side by side. Integration and disintegration co-exist. No wonder many of our citizens feel confused, even lost.

Against this background, we need to be flexible and principled at the same time. For our core values have not changed. Nor has our determination to preserve them at home and support them abroad.

What is really changing the world is globalisation. It is leading to deeper interdependence and, probably, to multi-polarity.

Globalisation is good. And anyway pretty much unstoppable. It spreads prosperity and makes us richer culturally. It brings people together across continents. Of course, it has a dark side too. It makes us more vulnerable to shocks and has brought new problems in its wake. It needs a human face.

Globalisation is our child, the child of our ideas. But we can no longer run the world as we used to. We have to adjust. It means new powers are rising while older ones are playing new roles. The financial crisis has shrunk the timeline. The need to reposition ourselves is not a challenge for the medium-term. It is an issue for today.

Israel's Preemptive Strike: Against What Country?

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - Jim Simmons (September 17, 2009)

Will Israel strike Iran or Syria? Many people are talking about Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, but maybe we should reconsider Israel’s position. First of all, let’s consider a prophecy made against Syria [Damascus]. Consider Isaiah’s prophecy.

“... Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city, and it will become a fallen ruin ... The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim ...” Isaiah 17:1-3 (in part).

What About Syria?

Syria is known as a training ground for terrorists. It is believed to be the base of operations for a number of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Hezbollah. Syria is directly linked to Iran and Russia.

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) were never found in Iraq, but not because they did not exist. They were smuggled out of Iraq and into Syria. Satellite pictures showed them being transported to Syria. They were smuggled out by fifty-six commercial planes with the seats removed. The claim by Iraq (at that time) was that they were “planes of relief to Syria for a tragedy,” but in actuality, they were Weapons of Mass Destruction [see The Last Generation: Prophecy, Current World Events, and the End Times for more detailed information, including the sources of this information and their credibility].

Considering Syria’s strong ties to Russia and Iran, one would think that Syria would be one of the Russian allies [listed in Ezekiel 38] included in the coming Russian/Islamic Confederation invasion of Israel, but it isn’t listed. The most likely reason for this lies in its prophesied destruction according to Isaiah 17. Since Syria is not listed, we can place the sequential timing of the destruction of Damascus prior to the Russian invasion.

Netanyahu: PA Will Take Over Part of Israel

Israel National News (Link) - Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (September 16, 2009)

“The Land of Israel is divided. The question is how it will be divided in the future,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Hebrew-language daily Israel HaYom (Israel Today) in an interview published Wednesday. He emphasized the security aspect concerning the future borders of Israel and of a “Palestinian entity,” a phrase he used before conceding in the face of pressure from U.S. President Barack Obama that he would acknowledge a Palestinian Authority state under certain conditions.

“There are those who envisioned from the beginning that the borders would be along the 1967 lines [prior to the Six-Day War], which are not defensible," he said in the interview. "Israel today needs borders where it can always defend itself.”

Unspecified borders

In his statements he did not specify what he sees as the borders of an Arab entity or state, and he did not comment on the future of outlying Jewish communities. The consensus in the government coalition and among most Israelis, according to polls, is that large centers of Jewish populations must remain under Israeli sovereignty.

Turkey stands at Iran's side

Asia Times (Link) - Saban Kardas (September 16, 2009)

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu paid an official visit to Iran on September 12-13, during which he met Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani and the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Following his meeting with Mottaki, Davutoglu and his counterpart stressed the importance they attach to bilateral relations, as well as regional cooperation. Davutoglu noted that the two countries shared deep-rooted historical ties and their neighborly relations are based on the principle of refraining from interfering in each other's affairs. He outlined many areas where they explored boosting bilateral relations, ranging from economic cooperation to security. Referring to this multi-dimensional partnership, Mottaki described Turkish-Iranian relations as "strategic".

The foreign ministers emphasized that given the centrality of the threat of terrorism facing both countries, they will continue their collaboration in combating this phenomenon, referring to their joint efforts against the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan.

Davutoglu also highlighted the flourishing economic activity between the two countries, noting that the bilateral trade volume has reached US$11 billion annually, despite the global economic crisis. In addition to discussing cooperation in various areas, the two main items on Davutoglu's agenda were the nuclear issue and energy cooperation.

Crisis makes Europe the richest region in the world, study says

EU Observer (Link) - Valentina Pop (September 16, 2009)

Europe has emerged as the richest region in the world, pushing North America, where wealth has declined by more than 20 percent due to the economic crisis, off the top spot, a study has shown.

The world's richest also feel the recession biting, especially in North America, where the financial crisis first unfolded a year ago, reveals a survey on global wealth carried out by the Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm.

North America's wealth, measured in assets under management, plummeted by 21.8 percent, the steepest decline in the world. A lesser fall was registered in Europe, where assets shrunk by 5.8 percent compared to last year, down to €22.2 trillion – a quarter of the globe's total wealth.

The number of millionaire households worldwide fell from 11 million to about 9 million - a drop of 17.8 percent. The decline was steepest in North America and Europe, at 22 percent in both regions, although the United States continues to have the most millionaire households - nearly 4 million.

'We may have to attack Iran by Dec.'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (September 16, 2009)

Israel will be compelled to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if Western powers do not impose serious sanctions against Teheran by the end of 2009, former deputy defense minister Ephraim Sneh said on Wednesday.

"We cannot live under the shadow of an Iran with nuclear weapons," he was quoted as telling Reuters in an interview on a visit to the UK. "By the end of the year, if there is no agreement on crippling sanctions aimed at this regime, we will have no choice."

Sneh reportedly stressed that a military strike would be "the very, very last resort. But ironically it is our best friends and allies who are pushing us into a corner where we would have no option but to do it."

"I wonder if they will [put a tougher sanctions regime in place] quickly enough. If not, we are compelled to take action."

World to America: We Want Our Gold Back

The Trumpet (Link) - Robert Morley (September 15, 2009)

The world is preparing to abandon the U.S. dollar and the UK pound. Pronouncements from Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and Germany have made clear that the Anglo-Saxon financial system’s doom is only a matter of time.

A huge announcement out of Hong Kong rattled the financial world on September 3. Although big media relegated the story to the back pages, it should have been front and center! What’s the news? China is demanding its gold back.

“Hong Kong is pulling all its physical gold holdings from depositories in London,” reported MarketWatch (emphasis mine throughout).

The announcement, coming in the midst of the global economic crisis, is sending a clear signal: Britain is in far worse economic shape than generally realized, and China thinks it needs to get its gold out while it can—before something happens to it. Gold closed at a new record high of $1,006 per ounce on Friday.

Governments have a notorious history of confiscating precious metal reserves during times of crisis—even in America. In 1933, in order to stabilize the monetary system, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order confiscating all privately owned gold in the United States. Later, in 1968, President Johnson issued a proclamation that all Federal Reserve Silver Certificates were merely fiat legal tender and could not be redeemed in silver. Then in 1971, the U.S. government closed the gold window completely and declared that foreign nations would no longer be allowed to exchange U.S. dollars for the gold that was supposedly backing them.

But China’s decision to demand its gold back is more than just a vote of no-confidence against the pound. It is a direct challenge to the whole global Anglo-Saxon-dominated financial system.

Syrian-Turkish relations.. mutual respect and continuous development in all fields, report

Syrian Arab News Agency (Link) - Fadi Allafi .Mazen Eyon (September 15, 2009)

Development in the Syrian-Turkish relations in the political, economic and social fields comes as a response to both countries' desire to expand and boost prospects of bilateral cooperation in the interest of the two countries as well as working together to find solutions to the Middle East problems and achieve just and comprehensive peace in the region.

The increasing political ties between the two countries opened future horizons before all joint work, particularly in fields of economy and investment. Mutual visits between officials in both countries have contributed to boosting the standing cooperation.

The state visit of President Bashar al-Assad to Turkey in January 2004 was a historic turning point in bilateral relations.

The President's successive visits to Turkey as well as the visits of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyeb Erdogan and other officials to Syria have opened the way wide to establish distinguished ties and achieve a remarkable move in all fields.

President al-Assad has stressed that Syrian-Turkish relations are based on truth and joint interests and challenges, while President Gul considered them as an example to be followed by other countries.

Obama Is Pushing Israel Toward War

The Wall Street Journal (Link) - Bret Stephens (September 15, 2009)

Events are fast pushing Israel toward a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, probably by next spring. That strike could well fail. Or it could succeed at the price of oil at $300 a barrel, a Middle East war, and American servicemen caught in between. So why is the Obama administration doing everything it can to speed the war process along?

At July's G-8 summit in Italy, Iran was given a September deadline to start negotiations over its nuclear programs. Last week, Iran gave its answer: No.

Instead, what Tehran offered was a five-page document that was the diplomatic equivalent of a giant kiss-off. It begins by lamenting the "ungodly ways of thinking prevailing in global relations" and proceeds to offer comprehensive talks on a variety of subjects: democracy, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, "respect for the rights of nations," and other areas where Iran is a paragon. Conspicuously absent from the document is any mention of Iran's nuclear program, now at the so-called breakout point, which both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his boss Ali Khamenei insist is not up for discussion.

What's an American president to do in the face of this nonstarter of a document? What else, but pretend it isn't a nonstarter. Talks begin Oct. 1.

All this only helps persuade Israel's skittish leadership that when President Obama calls a nuclear-armed Iran "unacceptable," he means it approximately in the same way a parent does when fecklessly reprimanding his misbehaving teenager. That impression is strengthened by Mr. Obama's decision to drop Iran from the agenda when he chairs a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 24; by Defense Secretary Robert Gates publicly opposing military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities; and by Russia's announcement that it will not support any further sanctions on Iran.

No we can't? UK think tank says US power is fading

Yahoo! News (Link) - AP - Raphael G. Satter (September 15, 2009)

A weakened United States could start retreating from the world stage without help from its allies abroad, an international strategic affairs think tank said Tuesday.

The respected London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said President Barack Obama will increasingly have to turn to others for help dealing with the world's problems — in part because he has no alternative.

"Domestically Obama may have campaigned on the theme 'yes we can'; internationally he may increasingly have to argue 'no we can't'," the institute said in its annual review of world affairs.

The report said the U.S. struggles against insurgent groups in Iraq and Afghanistan had exposed the limits of the country's military muscle, while the near-collapse of the world financial markets sapped the economic base on which that muscle relied.

The report also claimed that the U.S. had lost traction in its efforts to contain Iran's nuclear program and bring peace to the Middle East.

"Clearly the U.S. share of 'global power,' however measured, is in decline," the report said.

Filmmaker to Beck: I'll Go to Jail Over ACORN

Newsmax (Link) (September 15, 2009) Update September 23, 2009

The activist filmmaker whose undercover ACORN exposes have pushed the Senate to block the organization's funding says he's willing to go to jail if that's the price to pay for his dramatic revelations.

"I'm not concerned," journalist James O'Keefe said on Tuesday evening's Glenn Beck program on Fox News. "I think it's not in their interest to come after me. And I'm willing to serve prison time for what I've found."

O'Keefe and colleague Hannah Giles shot a series of videos of ACORN employees advising them how to break the law to establish prostitution rings using 13-year-old girls from San Salvador.

When the videos came to the attention of Maryland State Attorney Patricia Jessamy, a Democrat, she focused not on the allegations against ACORN, but rather on whether the young filmmakers had violated Maryland laws against taping people without their consent.

That crime carries a penalty of up to five years in the state penitentiary.

O'Keefe told Beck on Tuesday he realizes the matter is "extremely serious" because "these people are breaking laws."

The surreptitious videotapes depict wrongdoing in ACORN offices in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York City.

Media Downplayed 912 D.C. Crowd Size

Newsmax (Link) - David A. Patten (September 14, 2009)

Leaders of Saturday's 912 Project rally in the Nation's Capital are dismissing estimates that the crowd numbered only "tens of thousands" as "intentional misrepresentations."

Crowd estimates of the event varied widely. ABC News reported that the crowd numbered 60,000 to 70,000. The Associated Press reported it was in the "tens of thousands," a figure echoed Monday morning on MSNBC. Both of these estimates are ridiculously low, according to rally organizers.

The highest attendance estimate came from the London Daily Mail. It reported "as many as" 1 million people attended. The Daily Mail reported that the crowd "shocked the White House." But if so, that was not reflected by the administration's official statements.

In fact, the administration's remarks before the event appeared to echo statements made prior to the July 4 Tea Party protests, suggesting the event wasn't even a blip on President Obama's radar.

"I don't know who the group is," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday, when asked for his reaction to the demonstration.

EU countries practice 'secret' diplomacy, Hamas says

EU Observer (Link) - Andrew Rettman (September 14, 2009)

High-ranking officials from European countries hold talks with Hamas on a weekly basis despite an EU ban on diplomatic contact, a spokesman for the group has told EUobserver.

"We meet a lot of them from France, from Spain, from Germany, from Italy, from England, from Luxembourg. When they listen to us and we spend a couple of hours with them, they understand what is the real image of Hamas," the group's spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, told this website in a telephone interview on Saturday (12 September).

"None of them are ministers in their governments ... some of them are ambassadors. Some are assistants to ambassadors," he said. "Some of them are very close to the president of their country, or to the foreign minister."

Any high-level European visits would go against the spirit of a 2006 EU decision to halt talks with the militant organisation. The EU in 2003 also listed Hamas as a terrorist entity, putting a legal block on financial assistance.

"I can't give any names," Mr Hamad said. "Most of them want to keep it a secret. They want to continue contact but they don't want to be pestered by the Israeli authorities when they come."

Powerful 6.4 Quake Rattles Venezuela

BBC News (Link) (September 13, 2009)

A strong earthquake has struck off the coast of Venezuela, knocking out power in the capital and sending people rushing into the streets.

The 6.4-magnitude quake's epicentre was 65 miles (110km) west of Caracas, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km).

Buildings were damaged and at least seven people were injured in the north-western Falcon state, the worst hit.

The closest town to the epicentre was the oil port of Puerto Cabello, on the country's northern coast.

No damage has been reported to any of the country's oil installations.

Tremors were also felt in nearby Carabobo and Aragua states.

Reuters reported that power was out in one area of the capital and media reports suggested that other regions were also without electricity.

The country's minister for light industry said that efforts were being made to repair any damage to telephone networks or gas and electricity supplies that may have failed after the earthquake.

Netanyahu warns Lebanon that Israel won't hold back when attacked

Sun Sentinel (Link) - AP (September 13, 2009)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon on Sunday that Israel "will not hold back" when attacked and holds the Lebanese government responsible for any assault on his country.

Netanyahu delivered the warning after two rockets fired from Lebanon struck northern Israel on Friday. Israel responded immediately with artillery fire, and the exchange ratcheted up persisting tensions between the two countries.

"We view this very gravely," Netanyahu told his Cabinet. "We will not hold back when Israeli territory comes under fire, and will not reconcile ourselves to missile fire or any other form of terror directed at Israeli citizens."

It was not immediately known who fired the rockets Friday. But radical Palestinian factions in Lebanon have been blamed in four firings at Israel this year.

Shiite cleric in Lebanon: Normalization with Israel forbidden

YNet News (Link) - AFP (September 13, 2009)

Lebanese Shiite cleric Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlalah issued a fatwa forbidding the normalization of ties with Israel. "Islamic law forbids any normalization of ties with the Zionist enemy," he ruled.

Forget normalization - Saudi Arabia steps up boycott of Israel

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Michael Freund (September 13, 2009)

Despite efforts by Washington in recent years to bring about a normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab world, Saudi Arabia has been steadily intensifying its enforcement of the Arab League boycott of Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

A review of US Commerce Department data conducted by the Post found that the number of boycott-related and restrictive trade-practice requests received by American companies from Saudi Arabia has increased in each of the past two years, rising from 42 in 2006 to 65 in 2007 to 74 in 2008, signifying a jump of more than 76 percent.

The bulk of these requests were related to the companies' or products' relationship to Israel. Typically, Saudi officials ask foreign suppliers to affirm that any goods exported to the desert kingdom are not manufactured in Israel and do not contain any Israeli-made components.

US law bars American companies from complying with such demands, and requires them to report any boycott-related requests to the federal government.

The Commerce Department figures reflect only those requests that have been officially reported to the US government. Figures for 2009 were not yet available.

Obama 'clones' Bush in Killing Sovereignty

WorldNet Daily (Link) - Jerome R. Corsi (September 13, 2009)

President Obama is continuing President George W. Bush's effort to advance North American integration with a public-relations makeover calculated to place the program under the radar of public opinion and to deflect concerns about border security and national sovereignty.

The Obama administration has "rebranded" and "refocused" the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP, to advance the Bush administration's agenda of North American integration under the rubric of the "North American Leaders Summit," a less controversial banner, according to confidential sources in the U.S. Department of Commerce and State Department who agreed to speak with WND only if their comments were kept off the record.

As WND reported in August, the White House offered few details to the press in advance of the most recent North American Leaders Summit held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Moreover, the Guadalajara summit was reduced to a one-day meeting, whereas all previous SPP trilateral summits had been two-day events.

Sources confirmed to WND that the SPP is now being directed from within the White House, as reflected by a new blog posted on the White House website entitled "The North American Leaders Summit." The site is intended to replace SPP.gov as the official website documenting trilateral government activities going forward under the rebranded name.

The SPP website maintained by the Department of Commerce now has a disclaimer that reads: "This website is an archive for SPP documents and will not be updated."

Irish Support for Lisbon Treaty 62%, Business Post Poll Shows

Bloomberg (Link) - Dara Doyle (September 13, 2009)

Irish support for the Lisbon Treaty rose to 62 percent from 59 percent, a poll commissioned by the Sunday Business Post signaled. Opposition fell to 23 percent from 25 percent, the Dublin-based newspaper said, citing a survey of 1,005 people between Sept. 7 and Sept. 9. The poll had a margin of error of 3 percent. The earlier poll took place in May. Ireland votes on the treaty for a second time on Oct. 2.