The decline of the dollar – The EU and Arab League – And Canadians watching British-Arabia!

Just three things of interest, very important things…

• Decline of the dollar – “Euros Accepted” signs pop up in New York City

In the latest example that the U.S. dollar just ain’t what it used to be, some shops in New York City have begun accepting euros and other foreign currency as payment for merchandise.

“We had decided that money is money and we’ll take it and just do the exchange whenever we can with our bank,” Robert Chu, owner of East Village Wines, told Reuters television.

The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn and looking to take advantage of hugely favorable exchange rates.

• EU and the Arab League to seek closer cooperation

The EU High Representative for the Common Foreign And Security Policy, Javier Solana yesterday expressed his conviction that the Maltese initiative to hold the first ever European Union-Arab League conference will be kept up.

Speaking to The Times on his arrival at the conference venue at the Westin Dragonara in St Julians, Mr Solana said he was pleased to be here for this important meeting.

“After having met with the Arab League on many occasions in different formats, now is the first time we meet at a specific meeting between the Arab League and the 27 EU member states.

“We like the idea very much and now we have to see how we can cooperate in this format.”

Asked what he expected to come out of the meeting, Mr Solana said there were no specific issues that had to be dealt with. What was more important was to strengthen cooperation between the EU and the Arab League.

• Canadians come to realize England’s Islamic crisis is ours as well

The United Kingdom, from common language and shared heritage, offers us our best window into what is happening in Europe. This is especially so when we try to come to grips — if we have the courage to do so — with the historically sudden irruption, and rapid spread, of Islam across Europe.

There are parallel developments in all the nations on the Continent: high immigration rates from Islamic countries, comparatively high birth rates among that immigrant population, and the radicalization of their young in Wahabi mosques financed by the oil wealth of Arabia. But for many English-speaking Canadians, it is the British experience that brings the phenomenon home.

The demographic issue is at the centre of much controversy. There can be little dispute over the statistical facts, which are quite dramatic, and as exhilarating from an Islamist point of view, as they are ominous for those who fear the loss of everything associated with western civilization. For, owing to the prior triumph of the leftist “multicultural” ideology, which holds that one “culture” is as good as another, and therefore it is wrong to preserve our own way of life, there is considerable opposition to discussing these facts.

We have seen this in Canada, where journalists Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant have been hauled before “human rights tribunals” — kangaroo courts in which defendants are stripped of all the traditional protections of court law, and where judgments may be passed against them by people with no legal qualifications on the basis of whim and hearsay.

Mr. Steyn, in particular, stands accused of having openly discussed demographic questions. Mr. Levant stands accused of having published materials the mainstream media had been cowed into suppressing by the fear of Islamist violence.

In both cases, the journalists are being prosecuted by Muslims who advocate the imposition of Shariah law, but are using an apparatus that was designed by the Left for the persecution of those expressing right-wing views.

The British system works differently, and the media in Britain remain more robust than the media in Canada, and willing to report things that would be studiously ignored in a Canadian newsroom. On the other hand, by sheer force of numbers, and the intimidation value of several Islamist atrocities on London’s streets, the “fear factor” in Britain is much higher, and the Labour government has proved much more responsive to Islamist demands.

The chief, and most consistent Islamist demand, is for the imposition of Shariah law, at least for Muslims, but ideally by the whole state. In fact, many Shariah courts are already operating informally in Britain, dealing mostly with routine civil questions of marriage, divorce, inheritance, and financial disputes, but sometimes with crime. For instance, a Shariah court in the London district of Woolwich was allowed recently — apparently with the co-operation of police — to pass judgment on unnamed Somali youths in a knifing incident. (The assailants were released in return for an apology to their victim.)

In various other ways, Shariah is being recognized, semi-formally. For instance, although bigamy remains nominally a crime in Britain, the Labour government has approved new social provisions by which extra welfare payments, council housing privileges, and tax benefits may be claimed by polygamous households, and the cash benefits to which the extra wives are now entitled may be paid directly into the account of their husband.

Related:

• SAUDI PUBLICATIONS ON HATE IDEOLOGY INVADE AMERICAN MOSQUES by Freedom House the Center for Religious Freedom (Pdf file)

I have a link that is a critique of Wahhabism from an Islamic point of view.  Interesting to note is that during Ottoman Rule the British backed Wahhabism according to the article provided…

[...]their false love of religion traces back to a dajjal who went by the name of Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab, who was a man sponsered, educated, paid, and helped by the British to eradicate the Uthmani (a.k.a. Ottoman) empire, as well as the rest of the Muslim ‘Ummah from within.

I may add more links, but this will do for now!

Filed under: British-Arabia, Globalism, Islam, Javier Solana, Middle East, New World Order, News, Philosophy & Religion, Political, Prophecy, Religion, Resources, Theology , Arab League, British-Arabia, Christian, Christianity, Global Religion, Islam, Main Stream Media, philosophy, Political, Political Correctness, The EU, The Euro, Theology

Solana to meet with Peres

Recieved this in an email today… I just thought I would put it up for those who like to follow the Solana trail.

I wonder what will come of it?

What interests me is this is the first time Solana will meet an Israeli President. And the other thing to remember is that Solana was not that keen on Blair being the representative for the Quartet.  Oh to be a fly on the wall!

EU foreign policy chief to visit Israel today
Blair, Arab envoys to arrive next week in wake of Bush speech

European Union foreign policy czar Javier Solana will visit Israel today to hold talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah. Solana’s visit will be the first act in a period of high-profile diplomatic activity in the area that will see a meeting of the Quartet in Lisbon tomorrow, and quick visits by new Quartet envoy Tony Blair and the Egyptian and Jordanian Foreign Ministers next week.

The sudden surge of activity is meant to take advantage of growing mutual cooperation between Israel and the new Hamas-free Palestinian Authority of Fatah party leader Mahmoud Abbas. This activity will also ride a wave of momentum created by United States President George W. Bush’s speech on Monday night, according to Israeli diplomatic officials.

In addition to meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Solana will also meet with Israel’s new president Shimon Peres. Past presidents have not been included in Solana’s itinerary, and the change is perhaps an indication of the role Peres is set to play in diplomatic developments.

On the Palestinian side, Solana will meet with President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat.

Blair is scheduled to arrive next Monday for a two-day visit. He has taken on logistical staff from 10 Downing Street, and is also expected to have on his team representatives from each of the Quartet members – the US, EU, Russia, and United Nations.

In his speech on Monday, Bush invited moderate Arab leaders to a Mideast summit that will take place next fall. The timing and location of the summit are as yet unknown.

Filed under: Globalism, Israel, Javier Solana, Middle East, News, Political, Resources

Solana – The EU – The Middle East

Yesterday I posted about Solana and Blair, two key players in the Middle East peace process. I have just been keeping an eye on this, and have found Solana to be very active of late. Here are a few things that I have been alerted to.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Monday that an “international presence” would be needed to help ensure peace in the Palestinian territories.

When an “international force was (first) mentioned, I said we will consider an initiative coming from the UN,” Solana told a conference at the European Parliament.

However, since then, plans for some sort of international force had not materialized because each time there were “complaints” from different players in the regions.

“You go to Gaza, you have complaints by Egypt, if you go some other place, you have other complaints,” he said.

“I think at the end of the day, it will be necessary to have some international presence on the ground,” he added.

While Solana said he could “not be more precise” about what form such a “presence” should take, he noted that there was already a European-led police mission in the region and that the UN force in Lebanon was made up largely of soldiers from EU nations.

Hmmm, and international presence may sound good, but I am reminded of the verse in Zech12:2-3 where all nations will be surrounding themselves against Jerusalem which has been made into a heavy stone, a burdensome stone. Any nation that tries to lift it, or deal with it, will hurt themselves. Jerusalem is to become the cup of struggle. Right now, Jerusalem hasn’t really been contended with as yet. But scripture tells us that it will be at some point.

And right now we know that an international presence will represent nations of the world. The quartet represents four major sections of the world, that being Russia, European Union, United States and the United Nations, with the UN representing all the nations of the world. Every nation is being represented here, and we have to watch carefully, especially when they start to speak of that burdensome stone, the cup of struggle, Jerusalem.

Solana stopped short of blaming Tehran outright for the military takeover in Gaza, he chose his words carefully when he said the following:

BRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) – The European Union foreign policy chief suggested on Monday that Iran could be linked to the Hamas military takeover of Gaza, recent attacks on the Lebanese army, and on European peacekeepers in Lebanon.

Javier Solana, who has led efforts to bring Iran back to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme, stopped short of blaming Tehran outright, but said the incidents could not be treated separately.

The reason for this is to keep Iran at the negotiating table concerning their nuclear enrichment program (although I see other reasons as every nation has to enter into a false sense of peace with Israel at some point, scripture is clear about that):

Asked about a new plan recently presented by Western media and European officials on Iran’s nuclear case, he said, “It has been discussed in previous talks between Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and the EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.”

[...]“The issue has been discussed in previous talks between Larijani and Solana. It will be discussed in future talks, if necessary.” The official conveyed “The plan has not been presented just by Britain, rather certain other countries have also raised it.

And this:

TEHRAN – Cristina Gallach, the spokesperson of Javier Solana, EU high representative for the foreign and security common policy, said in a short interview with the Mehr News Agency on Wednesday that EU is “determined to solve Iran’s nuclear issue through negotiation.” Following is the text of the interview:

“Mr. Solana’s talks with Mr. Larijani in Lisbon were indeed very constructive.

This is a positive step to help rebuild confidence between Iran and the international community. But of course it is only a step, not yet the solution to the problem. Mr. Solana hopes that cooperation between Iran and the Agency will contribute to a positive climate and allow to continue the contacts. In this regard, Mr. Solana and Mr. Larijani envisage the possibility of meeting again in some 3 weeks. We remain determined to solve Iran’s nuclear issue through negotiation and that is what we are working for: to create the conditions that will allow us to embark on formal negotiations.

Filed under: Globalism, Israel, Javier Solana, Middle East, New World Order, News, Political, Resources

Blair stepping on Javier Solana’s toes – Ouch!

I received an alert a few days ago in my in box which I flagged to check out later. As it turns out it may be worth posting about as Carla sent me an email today from PZ – Newsletter that had the same news article that I had put on the back burner.

Anyway, the article in question is called ‘Blair not to mediated in Middle East, Solana says.‘

Madrid – Middle East quartet envoy Tony Blair will not be charged with mediating in the Middle East conflict, but with channelling aid towards the construction of a Palestinian state, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was Friday quoted as saying. Former British Premier Blair, whose appointment has been met with skepticism in parts of the region, will not conduct a peace process, the Spanish daily El Pais quoted Solana as saying in Lisbon.

PZ says about this article:

These last several weeks we have observed a rise in global activity in light of Bible Prophecy.

With the appointment of Tony Blair as Mid East Envoy for the Quartet, all of a sudden Javier Solana is making noise to the effects of “How Dare Tony Blair Steps on My Toes.” As you know, both of these men are on the various “Watch Lists” out there for ever popular game of pinning the tail on the antichrist.

But here is something that struck me, already these guys are butting heads and Blair just started, why not combine both offices and make it into one office? That way one man can be a central clearing house and it would make things a whole lot easier.

Now this is pure speculation on my part, but doesn’t it make sense to you too? Merge the positions, give it to one guy. The US in “passing the torch” to Blair, has basically succumb to the EU / UN any ways in regards to dealing with the Middle East.

So why not?

Dan 9:27 (KJV) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Ray

I guess we will see what happens. I am not going to make any predictions, but I am certainly keeping a very keen eye on this situation.

Filed under: Globalism, History, Islam, Israel, Javier Solana, Middle East, New World Order, News, Political, Resources