Watchman Newsletter

Kassam rocket fired from Gaza Strip hits Ashkelon region

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 31, 2009)

Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip fired a Kassam rocket at Israel on Saturday morning, the third since both Israel and Hamas declared cease-fires on January 18. The rocket landed in an open area near a kibbutz in the Ashkelon area. There were no reports of casualties or damage in the attack.

Prior to the rocket landing, 'Color Red' sirens sounded in the area, prompting residents to seek shelter.

On Thursday, a rocket was fired at the Sha'ar Hanegev region, and on Wednesday another landed in the Eshkol region. Both rockets landed in open areas, causing no casualties or damage.

Time for a new world order: PM

The Sydney Morning Herald (Link) (January 31, 2009)

Kevin Rudd has denounced the unfettered capitalism of the past three decades and called for a new era of "social capitalism" in which government intervention and regulation feature heavily. In an essay to be published next week, the Prime Minister is scathing of the neo-liberals who began refashioning the market system in the 1970s, and ultimately brought about the global financial crisis.

"The time has come, off the back of the current crisis, to proclaim that the great neo-liberal experiment of the past 30 years has failed, that the emperor has no clothes," he writes of those who placed their faith in the corrective powers of the market. "Neo-liberalism and the free-market fundamentalism it has produced has been revealed as little more than personal greed dressed up as an economic philosophy. And, ironically, it now falls to social democracy to prevent liberal capitalism from cannibalising itself."

Mr Rudd writes in The Monthly that just as Franklin Roosevelt rebuilt US capitalism after the Great Depression, modern-day "social democrats" such as himself and the US President, Barack Obama, must do the same again. But he argues that "minor tweakings of long-established orthodoxies will not do" and advocates a new system that reaches beyond the 70-year-old interventionist principles of John Maynard Keynes.

"A system of open markets, unambiguously regulated by an activist state, and one in which the state intervenes to reduce the greater inequalities that competitive markets will inevitably generate," he writes. He urges "a new contract for the future that eschews the extremism of both the left and right".

Pressure on UK to find shelter in the Euro

The Independent (Link) - Sean O'Grady (January 30, 2009)

The President of the European Commission has hinted again that the pound should now join the eurozone. Jose Manuel Barroso said that "even the biggest states can't face these challenges alone", and that he would seek "more coordinated EU action" to deal with the financial crisis.

He voiced his belief that more majority voting would help EU decision-making. Despite sterling's slide and the well-known problems in the UK's banking system, Mr Barroso seemed as keen as ever to hint at his enthusiasm to see the pound in the European single currency.

In December Mr Barroso embarrassed Gordon Brown when he claimed: "Some British politicians have already told me, 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off'."

Yesterday he did not take up the opportunity to repeat earlier remarks that the UK was "closer than ever" to joining the euro and that the "people who matter" in British politics were contemplating giving up the pound; but the hints were plain.

The European Commission also wants to acquire "oversight" over national financial regulators, such as the UK's Financial Services Authority. Mr Barroso said that "national supervision systems did not work – that is obvious".

Turkish PM defends Gaza outburst

AFP (Link) (January 30, 2009)

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stood firm Friday on his outburst at a heated debate with Israel's president, as the Jewish state sought to calm tempers saying bilateral ties would recover.

Erdogan received a hero's welcome on his return to Istanbul and the Palestinian Hamas movement hailed his "courageous stand" after storming out of the debate on the Gaza war at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

"We will never allow anyone to show disrespect to the prime minister of Turkey," Erdogan told a cheering crowd as he returned home following his clash with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

He slammed the hundreds of civilian deaths in Hamas-ruled Gaza during Israel's recent 22-day offensive, but said his anger was directed not at the Jewish people, rather "the practices of the Israeli government. "The death of civilians cannot be seen as a simple work accident," Erdogan said.

New Religion for a New World

Lighthouse Trails Blog (Link) - Kjos Minsitries - Lorin Smith (January 30, 2009) - Originally posted in 2002

LTRP Note: Kjos Ministries has reposted the following article, written seven years ago by Lorin Smith from the UK, because of its relevancy, which is more apparent today than when it was first issued. As pointed out in the article, in a new world order, fundamentalism (adhering strictly to doctrine) will be a threat. This is also what Rick Warren said, when he stated in 2006 that fundamentalism will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century. . . . Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other.'" 1 Less than a year earlier, he defined what he means by "fundamentalism" when he spoke at the Pew Forum on Religion and said:

"Today there really aren't that many Fundamentalists left; I don't know if you know that or not, but they are such a minority; there aren't that many Fundamentalists left in America ... Now the word 'fundamentalist' actually comes from a document in the 1920s called the Five Fundamentals of the Faith. And it is a very legalistic, narrow view of Christianity." Quote by Rick Warren, May 2005

---

Two developments have become obvious to observers of the rapidly changing geo-political landscape. We have entered a time of accelerated global transformation, and religion will play a major role in how this new world order will be configured. In short, a new world calls for the creation of a new world religion.

In the construction of this new world order, Christianity will face ideological challenges to the central tenets of its faith unlike anything it has experienced in the previous the previous two millennia. In this new world, all religions must be recognized and acknowledged as legitimate pathways to God. Religious exclusivity, absolutism and dogmatism will be viewed as potential threats to world peace and survival.

Obama: Trilateral Commission Endgame

The August Review (Link) - Patrick Wood (January 30, 2009)

[Ed. note: For clarity, members of the Trilateral Commission appear in bold type.]

As previously noted in Pawns of the Global Elite, Barack Obama was groomed for the presidency by key members of the Trilateral Commission. Most notably, it was Zbigniew Brzezinski, co-founder of the Trilateral Commission with David Rockefeller in 1973, who was Obama's principal foreign policy advisor. The pre-election attention is reminiscent of Brzezinski's tutoring of Jimmy Carter prior to Carter's landslide election in 1976.

For anyone who doubts the Commission's continuing influence on Obama, consider that he has already appointed no less than eleven members of the Commission to top-level and key positions in his Administration. According to official Trilateral Commission membership lists, there are only 87 members from the United States (the other 337 members are from other regions). Thus, in less than two weeks since his inauguration, Obama's appointments encompass more than 12% of Commission's entire U.S. membership.

Is this a mere coincidence or is it a continuation of dominance over the Executive Branch since 1976? (For important background, read The Trilateral Commission: Usurping Sovereignty.)

• Secretary of Treasury, Tim Geithner

• Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice

• National Security Advisor, Gen. James L. Jones

• Deputy National Security Advisor, Thomas Donilon

• Chairman, Economic Recovery Committee, Paul Volker

• Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis C. Blair

• Assistant Secretary of State, Asia & Pacific, Kurt M. Campbell

• Deputy Secretary of State, James Steinberg

• State Department, Special Envoy, Richard Haass

• State Department, Special Envoy, Dennis Ross

• State Department, Special Envoy, Richard Holbrooke

U.S. Eyes Two-Part Bailout for Banks

Wall Street Journal (Link) - Damian Paletta, Jonathan Weisman and Deborah Solomon (January 30, 2009)

The nation's top economic officials are discussing a new way to stabilize the financial system by buying a portion of banks' bad assets and offering guarantees against future losses on some of the remainder, in an effort to help banks while trying to mitigate the cost to taxpayers.

This approach, which merges two competing ideas, was discussed this week at a meeting that included Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair, according to people briefed on the meeting. The emerging plan comes as the administration seeks to jolt the economy with an $819 billion stimulus plan and a series of additional moves designed to stem foreclosures, overhaul financial regulation and get credit flowing again.

Amid that flurry of activity, President Barack Obama stepped up his rhetorical attacks Thursday on the same banks his officials are planning to aid. Summoning reporters after a closed meeting with Mr. Geithner, Mr. Obama blasted earlier news that Wall Street had paid out $18.4 billion in bonuses, calling it "the height of irresponsibility" and "shameful." "There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses," he said. "Now is not that time."

The tough talk suggested a firmer stand from the administration in its oversight of banks. But it also had a political purpose: eliciting support for an expensive and unpopular bailout program that will likely require more cash from Congress.

Alaskans brace for Redoubt Volcano eruption

My Way News (Link) - AP - Dan Joling (January 30, 2009)

Hardware stores and auto parts shops scored a post-holiday run of business this week as Anchorage-area residents stocked up on protective eyewear and masks ahead of a possible eruption of Mount Redoubt.

Monitoring earthquakes underneath the 10,200-foot Redoubt Volcano about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, scientists from the Alaska Volcano Observatory warned that an eruption was imminent, sending experienced Alaskans shopping for protection against a dusty shower of volcanic ash that could descend on south-central Alaska.

"Every time this happens we do get a run on dust masks and goggles," said Phil Robinson, manager of an Alaska Industrial Hardware store in Anchorage. "That's the two main things for eye and respiratory protection."

Customer Ron Cowan picked up gear at the store Thursday before heading off to an auto parts store for a spare air filter. "I'm older now and I'm being a little more proactive than I was the last time," Cowan said. When another Alaska volcano, Mount Spurr, blew in 1992, he waited too long. "The shelves were cleared, so I thought I wouldn't wait until the last minute," Cowan said.

Unlike earthquakes, volcanoes often give off warning signs that usually give people time to prepare. The observatory, a joint program between the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute and the state Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, was formed in response to the 1986 eruption of Mount Augustine.

Iceland could be EU member by 2011

EU Observer (Link) - Honor Mahony (January 30, 2009)

The small North Atlantic state of Iceland could become a member of the EU within the next two years if it takes the step of formally applying for membership of the 27-nation bloc. EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has indicated that the EU would look favourably upon a membership application and would be prepared to make it an EU member within record time, probably at the same time as Croatia in 2011.

"The EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could join the EU in parallel," said Mr Rehn, according to UK daily the Guardian. "On Iceland, I hope I will be busier. It is one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategic and economic positions would be an asset to the EU," he continued.

The encouraging words from the EU come as Iceland grapples with financial meltdown caused by the global economic crisis. The government last week became the first to fall due to the global economic situation after weeks of demonstrations in Reykjavik as people's savings and pensions eroded. The country has also had a bailout by the International Monetary Fund.

Elections are expected to be held in May. Until then, the country is expected to be led by a caretaker centre-left government of Social Democrats, the senior coalition partner, and the more eurosceptic Left-Greens.

Netanyahu: I'm not bound by Olmert pledges, won't evacuate settlements

Haaretz (Link) - Mazal Mualem (January 30, 2009)

Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he would not be bound by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's commitments to evacuate West Bank settlements and withdraw from the territories.

"I will not keep Olmert's commitments to withdraw and I won't evacuate settlements. Those understandings are invalid and unimportant," Netanyahu said.
 
Together with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Olmert arrived at these understandings in final status talks with the Palestinians, which included settlement evacuation, dividing Jerusalem and returning to 1967 borders.

After Netanyahu and senior Likud officials blasted Olmert and Livni's "promises" and accused Livni of agreeing to divide Jeruslem, she was forced to disassociate herself from the understandings.

"I will advance only an agreement that represents our interests. Maintaining maximum settlers and places that we hold dear such as Jerusalem - not a single refugee will enter," Livni said. "This morning's headline does not represent me or what I stand for," she told students at the Tel Aviv Academic College.

"Livni simply gave up Jerusalem," Netanyahu said.

FM denies involvement in 'concessions'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 29, 2009)

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni suffered a blow from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday when Yediot Aharonot revealed concessions that he and Livni allegedly made to the Palestinians. According to the report, Olmert told US envoy George Mitchell that he and Livni agreed to divide Jerusalem, maintain only settlement blocs in the West Bank and uproot 60,000 Jews from their homes.

The revelations of the concessions less than two weeks before the February 10 election reportedly upset Livni, who told confidants that she believed Olmert, her predecessor as Kadima leader, was purposely harming her.

In a speech to Tel Aviv-Jaffa College students, Livni denied that Olmert was speaking for her when he talked to Mitchell. "The headline does not represent me or what I am advancing," she said. "I will only advance an agreement that represents our interests of maintaining a maximum of [West Bank Jewish] residents, keeping places that are important to us especially in Jerusalem, and not allowing the return of a single refugee."

"Everyone knows that Olmert doesn't represent anyone but himself," a source close to Livni added.

Olmert's associates denied any intention of harming Livni and said they were not behind the leak to the newspaper. "Any attempt to accuse the prime minister of purposely harming [Livni's campaign] is baseless and wicked," a source close to Olmert said. "The prime minister met with Kadima leaders on Sunday and said that he was ready to help with anything they wanted. I don't know of any request received from them since then."

A Supranational Approach to Rescuing the Global Economy

Atlantic Community (Link) - Eimear O'Casey (January 29, 2009)

Atlantic Community members are in agreement that addressing the global economic crisis is intrinsically linked to engaging with the new world order. All nations and relevant parties beyond the Bretton Woods transatlantic partners must be part of the solution.

At the inception of the 2009 World Economic Forum at Davos, the Atlantic Community puts forward its recommendations for one of the conference's core challenges: how to stabilize the global economy.

Keynote Speech at the EPP-ED conference on EU-US cooperation after the elections

Council Of the European Union (Link) (January 29, 2009)

Javier SOLANA, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), delivered the keynote speech today at the EPP-ED Group's seminar on EU-US cooperation following the US presidential election. Mr Solana, who had just returned from the Middle East, focused on the efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and the wider Middle East peace process as one of the key issues for which close cooperation with the new US administration was vital. He also pointed to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Africa, non-proliferation and disarmament, climate change and the global economic crisis as crucial areas for cooperation in the coming year.

Mr SOLANA said 2009 would be a very important year both from the point of view of the global economic crisis - he hoped we would begin to see some light at the end of the tunnel - and in terms of finding solutions to some of the international problems that had been with us for years.

The EU was a major player in the international arena and the EU's relationship with its key ally, the US, was fundamental. The new administration was already very active and this was very important for the key issues on which we had to move forward quickly.

Economic-stimulus bills allot millions for STD prevention

The Washington Times (Link) - Stephen Dinan (January 29, 2009)

The two sides of Capitol Hill appear to be engaging in a bidding war to see who can put more money toward the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases in its version of the economic stimulus bill. The House included $335 million in its package. But the Senate, not to be outdone, provided $400 million in STD spending in its bill.

When the Drudge Report noted the House funds Wednesday morning, it set off a round of criticism from Republicans who said the money made no sense in a $819 billion bill designed to get the economy back on track.

Corrected: "Senate big spenders will never be overbid in wasting tax dollars. But how in the world does STD research create jobs? Wait. ... Don't answer that. I don't want to know," said Wesley Denton, an aide to Sen. Jim DeMint, South Carolina Republican.

Solana softens policy towards Hamas

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 28, 2009)

In a sign that the international community's position on Hamas is weakening, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana would not say unequivocally Wednesday during an interview with The Jerusalem Post that the EU should stick with the three preconditions it set for talking with the Islamist group. Solana's comments came as US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell arrived in Israel on what Israeli officials described as a "stock-taking" mission.

One of the major issues on the agenda was consolidating the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Ever since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, the international community has largely isolated it, saying it must recognize Israel, forswear violence, and accept previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

Since Operation Cast Lead, however, there are an increasing number of voices in Europe saying this policy is anachronistic, and that a way must be found to deal directly with Hamas.

Asked his opinion, Solana said, "We want to move in a political dynamic, that political dynamic is impossible to have outside two basic parameters." Solana said those two parameters were a two-state solution and the Arab League peace initiative.

Postmaster General: Mail days may need to be cut

Breitbart (Link) - Randolph E. Schmid - AP (January 28, 2009)

Massive deficits could force the post office to cut out one day of mail delivery, the postmaster general told Congress on Wednesday, in asking lawmakers to lift the requirement that the agency deliver mail six days a week. If the change happens, that doesn't necessarily mean an end to Saturday mail delivery. Previous post office studies have looked at the possibility of skipping some other day when mail flow is light, such as Tuesday.

Faced with dwindling mail volume and rising costs, the post office was $2.8 billion in the red last year. "If current trends continue, we could experience a net loss of $6 billion or more this fiscal year," Potter said in testimony for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee.

Total mail volume was 202 billion items last year, over 9 billion less than the year before, the largest single volume drop in history. And, despite annual rate increases, Potter said 2009 could be the first year since 1946 that the actual amount of money collected by the post office declines. "It is possible that the cost of six-day delivery may simply prove to be unaffordable," Potter said. "I reluctantly request that Congress remove the annual appropriation bill rider, first added in 1983, that requires the Postal Service to deliver mail six days each week."

Economic meltdown excuse for 'new world'

WorldNet Daily (Link) - Jerome R. Corsi (January 28, 2009)

A call to utilize the current global economic crisis as a panic in which governments worldwide can move to nationalize banks is emerging from the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The forum's founder, Klaus Schwab, told CNN yesterday the current global economic slowdown is a "transformational crisis" that should be utilized to shape a "new world."

"Above all else this is a crisis of confidence," Schwab said. "To restore confidence you have to establish signposts that the world after the crisis will be different. We have to create a new world and that is what Davos 2009 will be all about – serving society."

Speaking from the Davos conference yesterday, Nouriel Roubini, New York University professor at the Stern School of Business, told CNBC the global banking system is "effectively insolvent."

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury

Health Day (Link) (January 26, 2009)

Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.

"Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply," the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy's Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.

Charge: Ahmadinejad Rants to Hide His Jewish Roots

Israel National News (Link) - Hillel Fendel (January 28, 2009)

The son of a leading Iranian authority accuses the Iranian President of changing his Jewish name. Several Iranian media sources are quoting Mahdi Khazali – the son of a leading supporter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – as having written in a blog that the president has Jewish roots. So reports the Hebrew-language Omedia website and Radio Free Europe.

Khazali, son of Ayatollah Abu Al-Kassam Khazali, says that Ahmadinejad changed his Jewish name on his ID card in order to hide his roots. Khazali the son says that the president hides his Jewish roots by attacking Israel and the Jews, and by expressing strong Muslim religious beliefs.

A record of the name change still appears on the president’s ID card, however, says Khazali. His old name was Saburjian, and he hails from the Aradan region of Iran. The accusations appear in an article Khazali wrote entitled, “The Jews in Iran.” He says the time has come to “reveal the truth” about the Jews’ role in Iran.

Ahmadinejad's relatives once told the British paper "The Guardian" that the family had changed its name for "a mixture of religious and economic reasons." Ahmadinejad will be running for re-election five months from now.

Netanyahu: Obama Will Try to Internationalize Jerusalem Sites

Israel National News (Link) - Hana Levi Julian (January 28, 2009)

Likud party chairman and Knesset Opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu warned at the Jerusalem Conference Wednesday that the Obama administration and leftist Israeli politicians will try to internationalize holy sites in Jerusalem -- and he vowed to fight the move.

Netanyahu told the audience, “Some politicians are trying to blur the importance of the Temple Mount to the Jewish People by referring to it as the ‘Holy Basin.’ We, as Jews, know who built the Temple Mount.”

The term “Holy Basin” refers to the area of the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, Mount Zion and a variety of Christian holy sites which the administration of former U.S. President Bill Clinton recommended be administered under a “special regime.”

This raises the issue of who would administer the Temple Mount, since at present the Wakf Islamic Authority controls the site, albeit under Israeli sovereignty. Moreover, the Arab neighborhoods surrounding the Temple Mount, home to tens of thousands of Israeli Arab residents, are also a part of greater Jerusalem, and thereby fall into the same discussion.

Post-Gaza realism

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Emmanuel Navon (January 27, 2009)

As US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell arrives here for his first mission, a couple of weeks before Israel's general election, two questions arise. One is whether the new American administration is correct in assuming that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be brought to an end just by "trying harder" with what has consistently failed in the past fifteen years. The second question is whether electing an Israeli government which does not share that assumption might not spell trouble for the future of Israel's "special relationship" with the United States. The answer to both questions is no.

Israel has not been ignoring the need to find what pundits call a "political solution." Without getting into the blame game, the fact is that negotiations have been conducted, unsuccessfully, for the past 15 years.

If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be solved in the short term, it has to be managed. But how? The rationale of the disengagement strategy was that, since the conflict seems unsolvable and since the status quo is untenable, Israel might as well get the Palestinians off its back. If only. We left Gaza, but Gaza did not leave us.

'Israel warned Syria during Gaza op: If Hizbullah attacks we'll attack you'

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (January 27, 2009)

During Operation Cast Lead, Israel warned Syria that it would bomb sites and facilities in Damascus if Hizbullah fires rockets on Israeli towns and communities in the North, Egyptian paper Al Ahram reported Tuesday. The report said Israel conveyed the warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad through a European interlocutor. Israel warned Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah against entering a confrontation with the Jewish State and even demanded he make an official statement on the matter, according to Al Ahram.

Shas to endorse Netanyahu as PM

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Matthew Wagner & Gill Hoffman (January 27, 2009)

In a political gamble, Shas chairman Eli Yishai announced Monday that Shas would endorse Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu, not Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, as the nation's next prime minister. "We will recommend to President [Shimon] Peres that Netanyahu be the one to put together the next government," said Yishai during a press conference in Tel Aviv to unveil Shas's new TV campaign.

"I see a broad coalition, a national unity government, with [Ehud] Barak as defense minister and with a strong social activist leaning and Jewish values thanks to Shas. Shas will be the mezuza of the government.

"A strong Shas means a Likud that is more sensitive to social issues, a strong Shas means a Likud that is embodied with Jewish values and tradition, a strong Shas will protect the weak socioeconomic groups in Israeli society.

"Bibi has reached the conclusion after the Sharon-Shinui-Labor coalition that it dealt too harsh of a blow to the weak strata in Israeli society. Shas will prevent Likud from hurting them again."

Shas spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch denied that Shas and Likud had reached an agreement ahead of elections. Asked whether Shas would be willing to sit in a government headed by Livni, Yishai insisted that Netanyahu, not Livni, would be the one who would form the next coalition.

Egypt to Hamas: Accept Olmert's Offer Before Elections

Israel National News (Link) - Hana Levi Julian (January 26, 2009)

The Hamas terrorist organization that rules Gaza has been warned by Egypt to accept a ceasefire proposal from Israel's current government before the sands of time run out on Israel Elections day, February 10.

According to a report published Monday in the Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Egyptian officials have warned Hamas it is likely that the Likud, headed by MK Binyamin Netanyahu, will lead the next government.

Sources quoted in the report said such a government would be unlikely to offer concessions as far-reaching as those currently on the table, which Egypt considers Hamas's "last opportunity for a good deal."

But Hamas on Sunday flatly rejected an Israeli proposal for a 10-year ceasefire that includes an agreement to completely open the crossings into the region in exchange for the freedom of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Netanyahu woos national religious sector

YNet News (Link) - Kobi Nahshoni (January 26, 2009)

The Likud is wooing the religious Zionist sector: Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Member Effie Eitam, who heads the Religious Zionist party Achi, signed an internal memorandum solidifying the relationship between the two parties; and stating that the Likud now sees Achi as a full-fledged political partner.

In a joint press conference held Monday afternoon, Eitam called the pact "an ancient dream and a historic moment." Netanyahu, meanwhile, pledged to include the funds needed to support of the sector's school system in the State Budget.

"The religious Zionist public is part of every major way of life in Israel and it is time it was part of the ruling party," said Netanyahu. "This is no longer a limited sector, but one which is present in many avenues.

"We have all seen the major role religious soldiers played in the latest campaign in Gaza. They used to say a Likudnik was someone who was carrying a kippa in his pocket, but here we have Likudniks wearing it on their head. We should be proud of them."

The new pact, he added, "is not a coincidental one. The gaps between the Likud and Religious Zionism are disappearing."

U.S. economy predicted to collapse under socialism

One News Now (Link) - Pete Chagnon (January 26, 2009)

A U.K. official says his predictions of economic collapse are coming to pass. The Telegraph is reporting that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Christopher Monckton, the Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, agrees. He says the Labor Party's continual borrowing for social programs is to blame.
 
"Every Labor government there has ever been from 1926 to the present day has always ended in exactly the same way because they essentially try to run a communist financial system," he contends, "and it doesn't work any better here than it worked in the Soviet Union."
 
He adds that hope does not trump experience. "We have politicians who simply haven't had enough experience in the real world before going into politics to know how things run, to know how many beans make five," Monckton notes.

White House plan puts bull's-eye on talk shows

WorldNet Daily (Link) - Bob Unruh (January 26, 2009)

The White House is promising new reviews of the "obligations" to the government by broadcasters who "occupy the nation's spectrum" just as the president has targeted conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh for a public attack, raising concerns over the possible restoration of the "Fairness Doctrine," a policy that failed as unneeded and unconstitutional two decades ago.

Paul Ibrahim of NorthStarWriters.com cited Obama's warning to congressional Republicans that "you can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done" in suggesting the president has become the "driving force" because a new "systematic" plan to "intimidate and demonize Obama's opponents."

That such a campaign was launched only days after Obama's inauguration is "tremendously perturbing," he wrote. "Welcome to the politics of hope 'n' change. Obama's startling attempt to hang Limbaugh's scalp on the wall is a warning that the new ruler does not want unity - he demands it," Ibrahim wrote.

On Obama's agenda, according to his White House website, is the goal to "encourage diversity in media ownership." Obama elaborates on the site that his aim is to "encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum."

The plan apparently aligns with longstanding Democratic suggestions to resurrect the "Fairness Doctrine." The policy was abandoned in 1987 under President Reagan when there were 75 radio talk shows in the U.S. Reagan opposed the policy because it required broadcast TV and radio programs to air "opposing views" on political issues, which had the practical effect of virtually eliminating opinion programs. Since abandonment of the Fairness Doctrine, the number of radio talk shows has risen to more than 3,000.

Obama's team turn to EU bank for inspiration

The Independent (Link) (January 25, 2009)

President Barack Obama's administration is looking to establish a $60bn (£43.5bn) infrastructure bank based on the European Investment Bank (EIB), which is bailing out small UK businesses hit by the financial crisis.

The President's transition team has met at least one City figure close to the EIB to discuss how to set up a bank dedicated to rebuilding America's creaking transportation infrastructure. It is estimated that the backlog of road repairs is close to $5 trillion.

A spokesman for the Federal Highway Administration said on Friday: "There are no plans currently in place, as the US Secretary of Transportation was only sworn in yesterday. [But] I can tell you that state infrastructure banks are being considered."

These banks would have lent states cash for roads projects, but instead the new transport team, led by former congressman Ray LaHood, have been impressed by the EIB model. Rather than just act as a middleman directing money from central government, the EIB can raise funds from the capital markets through a mix of commercial paper and bonds. In 2007, the EIB borrowed €55bn.

Brown sees 'new world order' after crisis

AFP (Link) (January 25, 2009)

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday the financial crisis must not be an excuse to retreat into protectionism and instead be viewed as the "difficult birth-pangs of a new global order".

In a speech, he will urge countries to avoid "muddling through as pessimists" and "make the necessary adjustment to a better future and setting the new rules for this new global order", according to his office.

Official data confirmed Friday that Britain is in recession. Days earlier, the government unveiled a new package of measures to help the flow of credit in the economy, but Brown has argued global action is needed for a quick recovery.

He will warn Monday that the crisis has given the world a choice: "We could allow this crisis to start a retreat from globalisation. "As some want, we could close our markets -- for capital, financial services, trade and for labour -- and therefore reduce the risks of globalisation. "But that would reduce global growth, deny us the benefits of global trade and confine millions to global poverty.

"Or we could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order -- and our task now as nothing less than making the transition through a new internationalism to the benefits of an expanding global society."

Report: Gaza war reverses drop in anti-Semitism

YNet News (Link) - Yael Branovsky (January 25, 2009)

The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has prompted a sharp increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide, after 2008 saw a drop in anti-Jewish sentiments globally. Western Europe, and mostly France, constituted the focal point for anti-Semitic events; while in the United States anti-Semitism has grown in light of the global financial crisis.

The statistics were revealed in a report published Sunday by the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism, a body sponsored by the Jewish Agency, the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs. The report's authors estimated that as the outcome of the Gaza operation becomes clearer and with the financial crisis widening, another wave of anti-Semitism should be expected in the coming year.

According to the report, some 250 anti-Semitic incidents have been recoded globally in last January, compared to 80 in the same period last year. The attacks were mostly lead by Muslims, mainly in France, Germany, Belgium, Scandinavia and the United States.