Euro Crisis May Go Global Says IMF

Now here is a surprise...if Europe's financial crisis continues to deepen, it may affect the whole world.

Really??

The European debt crisis may have a very negative knock-on effect on the global economy.

In a pertinent report released on Friday a team of IMF experts warns that even though non-European states have not yet felt the pinch, any further economic upheavals in Europe could send the European GDP 5 percent down which, in view of sluggish growth, could undermine production.

The authors see the creation of a banking union, gradual spending cuts and a string of financial stimulants as the effective means of dealing with the hard-hitting crisis.

Here;  http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_08_03/European-crisis-may-go-global-IMF/

Did you catch that little phrase about the creation of banking union to deal with the crisis?

The foreshadowing of the day when the entire world will be linked by a one-world financial system are coming quick now.

Bible readers know that this is the system  that will ultimately require a mark on your body to be part of the system....and the Antichrist will rule it.

If people take that mark...they will forever be stricken from the Lamb's book of life.

Not good.

Do you continue to look up?

Urban Death

Once upon a time Detroit, MI was one of the shining cities of America.  Today it has turned into a dumping ground for dead bodies and trash.

DETROIT (AP) — From the street, the two decomposing bodies were nearly invisible, concealed in an overgrown lot alongside worn-out car tires and a moldy sofa. The teenagers had been shot, stripped to their underwear and left on a deserted block.

They were just the latest victims of foul play whose remains went undiscovered for days after being hidden deep inside Detroit's vast urban wilderness — a crumbling wasteland rarely visited by outsiders and infrequently patrolled by police.

Abandoned and neglected parts of the city are quickly becoming dumping grounds for the dead — at least a dozen bodies in 12 months' time. And authorities acknowledge there's little they can do.

"You can shoot a person, dump a body and it may just go unsolved" because of the time it may take for the corpse to be found, officer John Garner said.

It's a pattern made possible by more than four decades of urban decay and suburban flight. White residents started moving to burgeoning suburbs in the 1950s, then stepped up their exodus after a deadly 1967 race riot. Detroit's black middle class followed over the next two decades, leaving block after block of empty homes.

Over time, tens of thousands of houses deteriorated. Some collapsed, others were demolished. Empty lots gave way to block-long fields.

Detroit has more than 30,000 vacant houses, and the deficit-strangled city has no resources of its own to level them. Mayor Dave Bing is promoting a plan to tear down as many as possible using federal money. The state is also contributing to the effort.

"I couldn't move if I wanted to," she said. "They don't want to give you any money for your house."
On Tuesday, a patrol car slowly rolled by. Officers are more visible after the teens' bodies were found, Dunn added.

A larger police presence is needed across the city, but Detroit can't afford to hire more. The city recently cut police pay by 10 percent.

When he joined the department 13 years ago, Garner patrolled a 3.6-square-mile area in the tough 3rd Precinct, bumping into another officer every 20 minutes. Now he covers 22 square miles and crosses paths with other officers "maybe once every two hours."

"If we know this, the criminals know this," Garner said.

Here;  http://www.charter.net/news/read.php?rip_id=%3CDA0DCL301%40news.ap.org%3E&ps=1011&page=1

Wow!...that sure sounds like some foreshadowing of what is coming for an American city near you!....HOPEFULLY not until after the rapture.

Just imagine what will happen after the rapture when millions of Americans vanish...leaving their houses empty.  The real estate market will collapse.  The love of most will grow cold, causing them to turn on their neighbors and be willing to kill them for any reason they see fit.  The police won't be around...why should they risk their lives to break up a fight or go into a dangerous place when they probably won't be paid by the bankrupt city who employs them?

Lawlessness, perversion, hunger, heat, blackouts, fear, wild animals and Satanic attacks as the demons are released from the abyss to torment men.  Terrifying!! 

If you don't know Christ and haven't asked Him to save you....today is the day of salvation.  Don't put it off.  We don't the day or hour of his return but we can certainly see the evidence that He is close.

"When you see these things begin to happen, then lift up your heads for your redemption is close."  Jesus

Hat tip to Guy B.

P.S.  Do you think the implosion of Detroit has anything to do with the massive invasion of Islam into that city?  Islam has proven itself to be a blight to everywhere it goes...so it makes one wonder if that was the final straw the broke the camel's back.

Electronic Gltich Shakes Market Confidence

If you are standing in the New York Stock Exchange and are responsible for buying and selling $millions of dollars worth of stock for your clients....your confidence and the confidence of your clients may have been even further shaken yesterday.

It's that dang electricity again!

Everyone knew that yesterday would be a busy, even frenetic, day for financial markets around the world. The Federal Reserve was scheduled to issue its latest verdict on interest rate policies, with economists holding their collective breath in hopes of a third round of quantitative easing. There was a cluster of fresh economic data due out. And today is the much-anticipated meeting of the European Central Bank.
Still, while lots of traders were anticipating volatility, nobody expected anything like the kind of gyrations seen in as many as 148 different stocks, with blue-chip names like Verizon (VZ) and Dole Food (DOLE) among those hit with massive trading volumes. Dramatic gaps emerged between “bid” and “ask” prices, while some stocks briefly plunged 10 percent or more.

Knight did say that none of its clients had been affected by the software problems, but the glitches again shook investor confidence in the market
Just imagine, for a second, that the algo in question had gone temporarily insane not in the U.S. stock market, but in the European sovereign debt market. Assume, just for a nanosecond, that yields on Spanish or Italian debt had soared to 10 percent, 12 percent or 15 percent. Imagine how global investors would have reacted to that; how they would have responded by assuming that something fundamental had changed and that the entire European economy was about to collapse.

The potential for trouble is almost unimaginable – “almost” because some traders already fear what might happen in just such an eventuality. Simply because a hiccup in trading appears technical and short-lived, doesn’t mean it’s something that couldn’t have serious consequences for our financial markets – and it’s certainly not something regulators and policymakers can confine to the back burner for much longer.

Read more at http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2012/08/02/Algos-Gone-Wild-Stock-Trading-Glitches-Strike-Again.aspx#O64o6ByYaxo36SjE.99

Yes....let's just imagine....all of these $trillions of 0's which represent stock accounts, gold accounts, commodity accounts, debt accounts of Spain, Italy and others, all starts to go haywire.  Wrong information, hiccups, stalls and sputters start plaguing the trading desks all over the world.  Might be a computer virus, human error or lack of reliable electricity....no matter the cause, those mythical zeroes can't handle too much more loss of confidence....because the whole system is built on confidence and if that collapses, what will all those $0's stand on??

Have we really reached that point where the whole thing could unravel because of a 'glitch'?

What about all those mythical zeroes sitting in all our 401(k) plans, pensions, IRA's and Bank accounts?  That's where all of our work is stored...that's where all of our hope for the future is stored?

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Don't Buy Stocks And Don't Buy Bonds

In the modern financial world, if someone was down on stocks they would choose to invest in bonds...and if someone was down on bonds they would choose to invest in stocks. (stocks are certificates of ownership in a company and bonds are IOU's issued by a company for debt incurred)

But today we may be living in an anomaly.  What if stocks and bonds both look bad?  What if there truly is no safe haven and much of what we have known is about to be destroyed?

PIMCO is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the world.  Their founder just came out and said that stocks will be a bad place to be and so will bonds.  So what's a guy supposed to do?? 

Plan on working forever....because retiring to Phoenix for 30 years to play golf and read novels by the pool looks like it may soon become a thing of the past.

Watch this 3 minute video here;  http://live.wsj.com/video/pimco-gross-death-of-equities-is-imminent/D1524907-6F28-41CA-9F82-97B602C3F5EC.html?mod=wsj_blog_tboleft#!D1524907-6F28-41CA-9F82-97B602C3F5EC

Also pay attention to the word "Ponzi scheme" that comes up early on in the video. 

Wouldn't it be something if all the trillions of $0's floating all over the world denominated in numerous currencies were really just smoke?...a mist that blows away in the wind?

Boy-o-boy....that would sure rattle people....what would happen if their god of Mammon simply disappeared??  I wonder if some of them may turn their eyes to the One True God and His Son, Jesus Christ?

One final question....if you KNEW that the collapse of America and the incredible hardship that all of that would entail for ALL OF US....but that out of the hardship that millions of Americans would turn to Jesus Christ for their salvation....would we pray for that to happen??  Or would we rather that things stay just the way that they are....even though we know that most Americans are lost without Christ...because they have been so blinded by Mammon?

Would we sacrifice our wealth and comfort for the eternal salvation of others?

Iran Should be Worried About Next 12 Weeks

An ex-Israeli spy master says Iran should be worried by Israel's talk of using military options to block Iran's nuclear ambitions.  The next 12 weeks will be 'very critical'.

JERUSALEM -- A former Israeli spymaster says if he were an Iranian, he would be "very worried" by Israel's talk about possibly attacking Iran's nuclear facilities.

Ephraim Halevy says the next 12 weeks will be "very critical" to Israel's decision on whether to strike. Halevy told Israel Radio on Thursday that if the Iranians "continue to play their games" in nuclear talks with world powers, they're underestimating Israel's resolve.

He says the Iranians' "math is off if they think they have open-ended immunity" in these talks.

Iran contends its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy. Israel considers Iran a threat to its survival and says Tehran's nuclear program is a cover for bomb-making.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week that Israel hasn't decided whether to strike Iran.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/former-spymaster-says-iran-should-be-worried-by-israeli-threats-1.901210#ixzz22OxXjoeV

So what happens here in America in about 12 weeks?  A really big election!!!  Israel has to make a decision....do they hit Iran and start a war before the election knowing that Obama will HAVE TO COME TO ISRAEL'S AID if he wants to be re-elected??....OR....do they risk that Obama is re-elected in November and then takes off his mask, revealing that he really doesn't much care for Israel?

The whole world hangs in the balance on this one decision being made in Israel within the next 12 weeks.

Surely, Jerusalem IS a cup of trembling.

Please be in prayer for their leaders.  Their decisions will affect us all.

Another Day, Another CA City Bankrupt

This is a pretty big one...San Bernardino.

(Reuters) - San Bernardino filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday citing more than $1 billion of debts and making it the third California city to seek protection from creditors.

The city of about 210,000 residents 65 miles east of Los Angeles declared a fiscal crisis last month after a report said local government had tapped out its reserves and projected spending would top revenue by $45 million in the fiscal year that began on July 1.

The filing, made in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Central California District, states that the city has "more than $1 billion" in liabilities, and estimated that it has between 10,001 and 25,000 creditors.

Stockton, which like San Bernardino has suffered from the housing crash that was particularly acute in southern California, filed for bankruptcy in June, becoming the largest U.S. city to do so.

Other cities in California are also in deep fiscal trouble and more could file for bankruptcy.

Cities have had the option of filing for bankruptcy since a law was passed during the Great Depression, but it is a relatively rare occurrence. Only about 640 such filings have been made since 1937.

Here;  http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/02/us-usa-bankrupty-san-bernardino-idUSBRE87105220120802

Remember Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1980's?....they started in CA and the rage spread all over the country. 

Remember bell-bottom slacks in the 1970's....that fad started in CA and spread all over the country.

 Remember when spending money you didn't have to buy stuff you didn't need was your ticket to the 'American dream'?...that idea took seed in CA and spread all over the country.

I sure wonder if cities filing for bankruptcy is the next trend that has started in CA and if it will spread all over the country?

As the article says, investors and financial markets are going to closely watch these bankruptcy cases in CA.  If a city is allowed to walk away from its obligations...what does that really mean?  Could the state of CA be the next entity to file?

Massive Power Failures Affect Millions in India

We have written much over the years about how America's Achilles heal is electricity.  Without electricity, the USA would turn into a hellish nightmare of a place in about one week.  No food, no water, to TV, no computer, no X Box, no cell phone, no refrigerator.....NO FUN!!!

We continue to get foreshadowing events that electricity may go down.  Remember all the talk about solar storms and how a big one could knock out our electricity?  Remember how Washington D.C. went without electricity for almost a week for a few million customers just last month?  Remember how a new NBC Series called REVOLUTION is airing commercials during the Olympics and the show takes place in a time when America loses electricity for years?

Now let's look at the headlines coming out of India today.

Power Failures Hit Half of India

NEW DELHI — About 600 million people lost power in India on Tuesday when the country’s northern and eastern electricity grids failed, crippling the country for a second consecutive day.

The outage stopped hundreds of trains in their tracks, darkened traffic lights, shuttered the Delhi Metro and left nearly everyone — the police, water utilities, private businesses and citizens — without electricity. About half of India’s population of 1.2 billion people was without power. India’s unofficial power grid, a huge number of backup diesel generators and other private power sources, kept hospitals electrified and major airports running.

Manoranjan Kumar, an economic adviser with the Ministry of Power, said in a telephone interview that the grids had failed and that the ministry was working to figure out the source of the problem. The northern and eastern grids cover 11 states and the capital city of Delhi, stretching from India’s northern tip in Kashmir to Rajasthan to West Bengal’s capital of Kolkata.
       

The failure happened without warning just after 1 p.m., electric company officials said.

Institutions without a private backup system were shuttered. All trains stopped in the Delhi Metro, which carries nearly 2 million passengers a day. Trains were pulled to the closest stations using battery back up, and then evacuated, a spokeswoman for the Delhi Metro said, and the stations have been locked. “We had never anticipated such a thing,” the spokeswoman said.

“While on the one hand it is a pity that over 26,000 megawatts of power stations are idle due to the nonavailability of coal, on the other one grid failure has brought the system collapsed,” said the group’s secretary general D.S. Rawat, noting that “the entire power situation at present is headed for disaster.”

Here;  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/asia/power-outages-hit-600-million-in-india.html

Did you catch those statements?  Failure happened without warning.....we never anticipated such a thing.....the situation is headed for disaster.....

Remember friends, the folks from India (Indians) are used to living in squalor.  Have of them live in small boxes and have very little material wealth...so they aren't as prone to rise up and stage a revolution when the electricity goes out.  They simply butcher another chicken from the backyard, put it in a pot over the fire and wait for the power to go back on.  Or they simply go down to the river and wash their clothes and wait for the power to go back on.

But just imagine what would happen in America?  It is actually unimaginable.

I pray that all these things are foreshadowing of what is to come during The Tribulation and that we followers of Christ have already been withdrawn.....because I kind of like my electricity...and I don't relish the thought of washing my clothes in the Crow River during the winter.

In addition to that....HOW THE HECK WOULD I BLOG EVERY DAY WITHOUT ELECTRICITY??

Lord Jesus, please save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.  Amen.

World is Sliding Backwards

When it comes to religious freedom around the world, even Hilary says the world is sliding backwards.

With religious freedom in a state of decline in many parts of the world, the United States will pay particular attention to countries in political transition, like Egypt and other participants in the Arab awakening, to see that they do not follow a worrisome trend.

That was the message from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the day the State Department released its annual report on religious freedom around the world.

“We are going to judge by actions, not words,” Secretary Clinton declared in a Washington speech Monday, speaking of Egypt and whether or not the new Islamist leadership of the key Arab country would follow through on commitments to represent and respect the rights of all of Egypt’s religious minorities.

“The US is prepared to work with the leaders the Egyptian people choose,” she said, but American support “will depend on [those leaders’] commitment to universal rights.” She spoke vaguely of “consequences” if governments like Egypt’s fail to protect their citizens’ rights, but she offered no specifics.

Here;  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2012/0730/Religious-freedom-report-World-is-sliding-backwards-Clinton-says

So Hilary and the White House are going to pay special attention to the countries who participated in the Arab awakening??....like if they start chasing out Christians and/or killing them as the Arabs awaken and decide they want Sharia law...then we are going to threaten to borrow less money from China to give to them??

Awesome!  That ought to go well!

Century of Drought?

So what will the 7 billion people on planet earth eat if the rain doesn't come?  Of course the answer is; "not much". 

During the drought that started at the turn of the century, forests withered, river basins were depleted, crop productivity dropped and carbon sequestration — the natural capturing of carbon in the atmosphere — was cut in half across the western United States, Canada and Mexico. "That's a huge drop," researcher Beverly Law, of Oregon State University, said in a statement. "And if global carbon emissions don't come down, the future will be even worse."

The last two periods to match those severe conditions were in the Middle Ages, from 977 to 981 and 1146 to 1151, Law and her fellow researchers found using tree ring data. But by the end of this century, 2000 to 2004 may be remembered as a relatively wet period if conditions worsen as the new study suggests. The researchers forecast that a 21st century "megadrought" may be ahead and that 80 of the 95 years from 2006 to 2100 may have precipitation levels as low as, or lower than, the drought from 2000 to 2004.

Here; http://www.livescience.com/21948-century-of-drought.html

Holy megadrought!!  80-95 years with only a little rain to grow the crops, fill the rivers and streams and replenish the aquifers??...I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that would be catastrophic.

Of course WE KNOW that 7 billion people won't just sit still in their homes and starve.  They will go looking for food. 

Sadly the poor people all across Africa, Asia, Central and South America, simply won't have any choice but to sit in their squalor and wait.  It's not like they have money and cars to pack into and start driving across Africa looking for greener pastures.

Imagine the millions of people living in Arizona, Nevada, and other desert climates here in America?  What will their homes be worth if there isn't enough water to flush their toilets or fill their backyard swimming pools?  Pretty much $0.

Of course science has no idea if it's going to rain next year.  This is just one among thousands of interesting headlines that MAY BE foreshadowing of events the Bible says are coming.  If God chooses to send the rain or hold the rain...that is His domain.

"When the Lamb (Jesus) opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!"  I looked and there before me was a pale horse!  Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wold beasts of the earth."  Revelation 6:7-8

The Bible is clear that during this seal judgment that 1/4 of the earth's population (1.7 billion?) will die by war, famine, plague and wild animals.  Maybe that day is much closer than we know?