Friday, January 13, 2012

In the news:

The push for a single world-wide currency continues in the face of the financial crisis:

A Universal Currency Could End The Financial Crisis

Step back from the current crisis to consider the long view, and currency unions -- or even a single global currency -- have a fair share of appeal.

A universal medium of exchange could eliminate currency risk and jack up trade. It would mean speculators couldn't short an individual country's currency. Exporters wouldn't have to fret over the gap between a price on a contract and the value of the payment. A single currency could halt spastic swings in prices and end conversion fees, leaving more of the pie for little stuff such as R&D and employee health insurance. Oh -- and it could put an end to international disputes over currency manipulation. Hello? China?

The fact is, the modern economy and monetary system are too precarious for us not to examine every possible way to protect against future shocks. It's a bit like geoengineering: radical and outrageous at first blush but, given humanity's current predicament, not as outrageous as dismissing it.

Perhaps the seed for that universal currency has already been planted. The International Monetary Fund uses something called Special Drawing Rights, a crossbreed of four of the world's key currencies, to make certain kinds of settlements between IMF members. Could SDR someday morph into the One Coin to Rule Them All?


Syria: NATO 'Planning Direct Military Intervention', Russia Claims

Nato is planning "direct military intervention" in Syria, a top Russian official has claimed, suggesting the alliance may set up a no-fly zone and dispatch Turkish troops to the troubled country.

The head of Russia's security council said he had seen intelligence indicating plans for a military incursion were well advanced.

"We are getting information that Nato members and some Persian Gulf States, operating according to the Libya scenario, intend to move from indirect intervention in Syrian affairs to direct military intervention," Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Kremlin security body said in an interview published in Russia's Kommersant newspaper on Thursday.

"Syria has not become an object of interest for a new coalition of the willing in itself," he said. "The plan is to punish Damascus not so much for repressing the opposition as for its unwillingness to sever its friendly relations with Tehran."


U.S. Boosts Its Military Presence In Persian Gulf

Reporting from Washington— The Pentagon quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, including a small contingent already there. The new deployments include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit, a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

This week, the American aircraft carrier Carl Vinson joined the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis in the Arabian Sea, giving commanders major naval and air assets in case Iran carries out its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point in the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world's oil shipments passes.

Navy officials say Iran might be able to temporarily block tanker traffic through the strait using antiship missiles and other weapons, but U.S. commanders say they can reopen the waterway quickly if necessary.


Also see:

The Looming War With Iran

4 comments:

WVBORN56 said...

"The Looming War with Iran" article was an interesting read from the JPost. I also enjoyed the comment section to get a feel for the thinking of the secular world.

There are very few comments from believers. We should probably make a more concerted effort to post in these publications as well. Maybe it would be akin to casting our pearls before the swine but I'm thinking it could be a good witnessing opportunity for what is coming from God's perpespective. Many may remember our witness after the fact.

All of this war talk fits in with Jesus perdiction of end time events but it is hard to see which way it will break to fulfill Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39 front this side. This has been building since August of last year and we are still not there. God as apparentl suspened us in limbo waiting in His mercy for more souls to come to Him in repentance and receive the free gift of eternal life.

Making the case for unity please consider Paul's words to the Ephesians 4: 1-3.

"As a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Wow, live a life worthy of the calling...what a great challenge to all of us considering what Jesus has purchased for each of us who have been washed in his precisous blood! Amen?

Dave DU said...

Guys, look at the prophetic implications in these verses. I can see promises for protection, the punishment of the wicked, our attitude in the face of societal moral callapse and finally God rewarding the righteous with looking into His wonderful face.

Psm 11:1-7
1. I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly to the mountains for safety!
2. The wicked are stringing their bows and setting their arrows in the bow strings. They shoot from the shadows at those who do right.
3.The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?"
4. But the Lord is in His Holy temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everything closely, examining everyone on earth.
5. The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates everyone who loves violence.
6. He rains down blazing coals on the wicked, punishing them with burning sulphur and scorching winds.
7. For the Lord is righteous, and He loves justice. Those who do what is right will see His face.

Dave

Scott said...

Dave,
Very interesting find. I'm going to go back and look at that again, thanks

thriftomama ally said...

Great chapter and verse to learn by heart. Thanks DUU!