If you are interested in getting your financial house in order as our economy gets more and more fragile,1 I thought it wise to share with you some of the reasons why you might wish to act before it’s too late. Our program to take lenders to task for their predatory lending practices is the most grounded, realistic plan available. Now might be a better time to proceed rather than later. Recent developments in the world money market have shown the fragility of the US economy with several related issues converging to portend some very, VERY serious problems in the very near future. Perhaps you noticed some of these news items develop over the last month, but most people didn’t and many of those who did might not have connected the dots.
Because of trade deficits, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published a report indicating the dollar's 20% devaluation against major currencies had so far failed to provide "much of a stimulus" to the US economy. 2
Other nations have large investments in the United States economy because of its apparent stability and reliability. Record deficits and weak performance of the US economy has set alarms. Islamic nations have over $1 Trillion invested in the US economy and following 9-11 they began to unload their American holdings and invested in the Islamic economy. Still, 85% of that investment remains in the US economy. Either economic or political criteria could lead Muslims to maintain or withdraw their support of the US dollar. 3
Our support for the massacres in Gaza or in Iraq is driving Islamic nations to seek punitive actions against Israel and perhaps against the United States. The consequences of the recent US foreign policy are about to be felt. In early September, hundreds of Russian children were held hostage in their school in Beslan, a city in a Russian province of North Ossetia. The murder of 170 school children, a total of 300 Russians, deeply angered Russian president, Vladimir Putin. After a series of terrorist attacks, including the twin aircraft crash, the blast near Rizhskaya metro station and others over the past two years seemingly synchronized with his struggle to retain control Russian of Russian natural resources through a Zionist conglomerate, Yukos, this seemed to be the last straw. Several bits of evidence have made it clear that he knew that the actual control of the terrorists was another foreign nation. He knew that the murder of 170 schoolchildren in North Ossetia was a link in the same chain and that “the same power that wants to destabilize the situation in the North Caucasus region” is behind them. 4
The unique basketball hoop bombs inside the secured gymnasium confirmed that Beslan was a black psyop atrocity perpetrated by the west. Despite all western reporters being contained 100 yards behind the Russian Special Forces perimeter outside the isolated compound, and despite the terrorists inside immediately confiscating all cellphones from the teachers and children, the BBC magically described these specific unique booby traps live-to-air before Special Forces had even penetrated the inner cordon at Beslan. Western media reporters could not possibly have known about these extremely unusual booby traps, unless they themselves were an integral part of the black psychological operation. 5
So Russian nationalist, President Putin, is aware that he is in a life or death struggle with powerful enemies centered in the financial district of New York City and that his only alternative other than war is an economic war in which he would opt to accept only the Euro as the currency for selling petroleum from the largest oil reserves in the world. Even since the middle of the twentieth century, the US Dollar has been the reserve currency of world trade. Many trillions of dollars have been issued for this purpose. Should the dollar no longer be the standard in world trade, there would be a lot of dollars around but nobody would be interested in using them. THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes:
The group that massacred 170 children and 130 adults in Beslan led by CIA operative Shamil Basayev, took their orders from abroad ... there is no question this is an extension of Anglo-American foreign policy to dismember Russia as we predicted 12 years ago. 6
This would lead to a sharp devaluation of the US Dollar and US and world depression, which is on the way regardless.
If the economy quivers just a little bit, the even more fragile housing bubble could quickly become unstable and appreciated property values could plummet catastrophically. Even though you might feel quite secure and see no problem in meeting your obligations, a monetary and economic cataclysm such as we face in the coming weeks or months, could be a personal disaster for you and your family. In the past three years many homeowners were offered lower interest rates than have been seen in decades and they opted to reduce their equity position in exchange for cash for consumer spending.. That was the primary source of liquidity that kept the stock market from deteriorating further. That loss of equity can come back to haunt them if the value of their home drops below the outstanding balance on the mortgage or deed of trust.
Friday, April 20, 2007
A NEW WORLD ORDER?
Since the Persian Gulf War, the term "New World Order" has become well known. However, there has never really been an explanation as to what the term meant, only that it represented a new spirit of cooperation among the nations of the world in order to further the cause of peace. And peace is good, so therefore the New World Order is good and should be accepted. Not so fast. Like the old saying, you can't tell a book by its cover, there is more here than meets the eye.
The term "New World Order" was actually first used many years ago. Adolf Hitler said: "National Socialism will use its own revolution for the establishing of a new world order." The Associated Press reported that on July 26, 1968, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller said in a speech to the International Platform Association at the Sheraton Park Hotel in New York, that "as President he would work toward international creation of a New World Order."
When you talk about tracing the origin of an organization that is controlling the destiny of the world, it's obvious that you have to start at a period which would allow a movement of this magnitude time to ferment. Changes like the ones which have and are occurring do not take place overnight. We are dealing with a group which must have been growing for a long period of time, in order to obtain the power and influence necessary to achieve the global control now being exercised. When you think of it, in that context, there is such a group.
The leader of this group was a man named, Dr. Adam Weishaupt, who was born on February 6, 1748, the son of a Jewish rabbi. When his father died in 1753, he was converted to Catholicism by Baron Johann Adam Ickstatt, who turned the early training of the boy over to the Jesuits. Ickstatt, in 1742, had been appointed by the Jesuits to be the curator of the University in order to reorganize it. He retired in 1765, but still controlled its policies.
Although Weishaupt later became a priest, he developed a distinct hatred for the Jesuits, and became an atheist. Given access to the private library of Ickstatt, his Godfather, the young man became interested in the works of the French philosophers, and studied law, economics, politics, and history. One such philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778), a revolutionary who held liberal religious views, had written in a letter to King Frederick II ("the Great", a Mason):
"Lastly, when the whole body of the Church should be sufficiently weakened and infidelity strong enough, the final blow (is) to be dealt by the sword of open, relentless persecution. A reign of terror (is) to be spread over the whole earth, and...continue while a Christian should be found obstinate enough to adhere to Christianity."
It is believed that Weishaupt got his ideas concerning the destruction of the Church from Voltaire's writings. He studied in France, where he met Robespierre (who later led the French Revolution), and became friends with a few people in the French Royal Court. It is believed, that through these contacts, he was introduced to Satanism.
He graduated from the Bavarian University in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1768. He served four years as a tutor until he was promoted to Assistant Instructor. In 1770, he was chosen by Mayer Amschel Rothschild to develop an organization that Rothschild could use. In 1772, Weishaupt was made Professor of Civil Law. In 1773, he was made Professor of Canon Law, a post which had been held by the Jesuits for 90 years. They had founded most of the Universities, and kept strict control of them in order to eliminate Protestant influence.
In 1773, Weishaupt got married, against the wishes of Ickstatt, who denounced him. Two years later, at the age of 27, he was made Dean of the Faculty of Law. The Jesuits, worried about his quick progression and his liberal thinking, tried to thwart his influence by secretly plotting against him . Not wanting to become a martyr for his free-thinking ideas, he began focusing on establishing his organization. To confuse his detractors, he based the organizational structure on the one used by the Jesuits, however, his intention was to have a secret coalition of liberalism.
He studied the anti-Christian doctrines of the Manicheans, whose teachings revolved around astrology, medicine, and magic. He had been indoctrinated into Egyptian occult practices by an unknown merchant named Kolmer, from Jutland (in the area around the border of Denmark and West Germany), who had been traveling around Europe since 1771. He studied the power of the Eleusinian mysteries and the influence exerted by the secret cult of the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras was a sixth century, B.C., philosopher who taught that men and women should combine their belongings - which became the basic philosophy behind Communism. Weishaupt also studied the teachings of the Essenes, and acquired copies of the 'Kabala', 'The Major Key of Solomon' and 'The Lesser Key of Solomon', which revealed how to conjure up demons and perform occult rituals.
He studied the various Masonic writings after meeting a Protestant Freemason from Hannover. At first he thought about creating a superior Masonic-like organization, that would be made up of men possessing superior abilities in all fields, but concluded that Masonry was too open.
Weishaupt was instructed by the Rothschilds (who were also said to be Satanists), to leave the Catholic Church, and unite all the different occult groups. He created the coven called the 'Golden Dawn' which, till this day, is allegedly the Rothschilds' private coven.
Weishaupt spent five years working out a plan through which all of his ideas could be reduced to a single system which would be used to fight the oppression of religion, thereby loosening social ties. He wanted to replace Christianity with a religion of reason. An initial idea was to form an organization comprised of "Schools of Wisdom", whose goal was to "make of the human race, one good and happy family." They were to strive for the perfection of morals, so he thought about naming the group the 'Perfectibilists', but it lacked the air of mystery and intrigue that he sought.
In 1774, he published a fictitious article called Sidonii Apollinarus Fragment, which he said, was to prepare the people for the doctrine of reason. Weishaupt wrote: "Princes and nations will disappear without violence from the earth. The human race will then become one family, and the world will be the dwelling of rational men." He wrote of their aims: "To make the perfecting of reasoning powers interesting to mankind, to spread the knowledge of sentiments, both humane and social, to check wicked inclinations, to stand up for suffering and oppressed virtue...to facilitate the acquirement of knowledge and science."
On May 1, 1776, under the direction of the newly formed House of Rothschild (and Wessely, Moses, Mendelssohn; and the Bankers, Itzig, Friedlander, and Meyer), who instigated the American Revolution to weaken Great Britain, Weishaupt founded the Ancient Illuminated Seers of Bavaria, which became known as the Order of the Illuminati. Weishaupt said that the name was derived from Luciferian teachings, and means, 'Holders of the Light.' In Latin, it means, 'the enlightened ones.' In layman's terms, it means 'to illuminate', or 'to give light.' It refers to someone who is enlightened, spiritually and intellectually. Satan, when he was an angel, was known as Lucifer, the 'Bearer of Light', and being that the group's name evolved from this, we can see the underlying nature of its goals. In addition, May 1st was a great day for all communist nations, where it was known as May Day; and it is also known as a special day to witches.
There are some earlier groups, with similar names, such as a group known as the "Illuminated Ones" which was founded by Joachim of Floris in the 11th century, who taught a primitive, supposedly Christian doctrine of "poverty and equality." The Rosheniah, or "Illuminated Ones," was a group in Afghanistan during the 16th century, who sought the 'illumination' from the Supreme Being, who wanted a class of perfect men and women. After reaching the fourth degree, "Enlightened One," the initiate would receive mystical powers, and when the eighth and final degree was reached, they were told they had achieved perfection. An Afghan scholar said that their purpose was to influence people of importance to establish harmony in the world, and were devoted to fight the tyranny of the Moguls, who were the rulers of India. The group survived until the 1700's, and gave birth to a couple offshoots, the Alumbrados of Spain, and the Illuminated Guerinets in France in 1654.
The Alumbrados (Spanish for "enlightened" or "illuminated"), was made up of reformed Franciscans and the Jesuits. They claimed that once perfection had been achieved, they would experience a vision of God, and would enter into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. Once they had received the "light," they would possess superior human intelligence. Their unusual claims resulted in the Inquisition issuing Edicts against them in 1568, 1574, and 1623. Ignatius de Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was put in jail for being a member. This condemnation forced them to flee to France.
The "Illuminati" was a name used by a German sect that existed in the 15th century. They practiced the occult, and professed to possess the 'light' received from Satan. The name was also used by another group in 1760 at Avignon, which was influenced by the writings of philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, which led to the Illuminated Theosophists in 1766 at Paris, then later in London.
There is no evidence to suggest that Weishaupt's Order of the Illuminati is a continuation of any of these groups, however, whether their teachings and philosophy had an influence on him, is another question.
Starting with only five members (Weishaupt, and his inner circle- his friend Kollmer, Francis Dashwood of the Satanic Hellfire Club, Alphonse Donatien DeSade from whose name we get the word "sadism," and Meyer Amschel Rothschild), the Illuminati wasn't fully operational until 1778.
Weishaupt wrote: "The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment, let it never appear, in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. None is fitter than the three lower degrees of Freemasonry; the public is accustomed to it, expects little from it, and therefore takes little notice of it." He also wrote: "For the Order wishes to be secret, and to work in silence, for thus it is better secured from the oppression of the ruling powers, and because this secrecy gives a greater zest to the whole."
The Order was made up of three degrees: Novice, Minerval, and Illuminated Minerval; and organized in a manner similar to Freemasonry and the Jesuits. Even though he admired the structure of the Jesuit hierarchy, he wrote that no ex-Jesuits were to be admitted, except by special permission. He wrote that they "must be avoided as the plague." Their rites and ceremonies were similar to that of the Masons. Their aim, he said, was to have a one-world government, to allow the elite to govern the world, thus preventing future wars. One of their early programs, was to distribute anti-religious material to criticize clerical leaders, who they saw as obstacles to social progress, and to oppose the "enemies of the human race and of society."
Weishaupt wrote: "How can the weak obtain protection? Only by union, but this is rare. Nothing can bring this about but hidden societies. Hidden schools of wisdom are the means which we will one day free men from their bonds..."
All members were required to adopt classical names. Weishaupt was called "Spartacus" (who had been the leader of the slave insurrection in ancient Rome). His right-hand man, Xavier von Zwack, a lawyer to Prince von Salm, was known as "Cato"; Nicolai, the bookseller, was "Lucian"; Professor Westenreider was "Pythagoras"; Canon Hertel was "Marius"; Marquis di Constanza was "Diomedes"; Massenhausen was "Ajar"; Baron von Schroeckenstein was "Mohomed"; and Baron von Mengenhofen was "Sylla."
Their headquarters was in Munich, Germany, and known as the Grand Lodge of the Illuminati (or Lodge of the Grand Orient), code-named "Athens." Among their other four lodges: Ingolstadt was known as "Ephesus," Heidelberg as "Utica," Bavaria as "Achaia," and Frankfurt was known as "Thebes."
The calendar was reconstructed, and the months known by names reminiscent of the Hebrew language: January was known as "Dimeh," and February as "Benmeh," etc. They dated their letters according to the Persian Era, named after the king who began to rule in Persia in 632 B.C., Jezdegerd. Their new year began on March 21st, which some sources say is New Years Day for witches.
In 1777, Weishaupt joined the Eclectic Masonic lodge "Theodore of Good Counsel" in Munich, and towards the end of 1778, he came up with the idea of merging the Illuminati and the Masons. Zwack became a Mason on November 27, 1778, and working with a brother Mason, Abbe' Marotti, he divulged the secret of the Order. By the middle of 1779, the Munich Masonic lodge was under the complete influence of the Illuminati.
During the first four years, about sixty active members had been recruited by a committee known as the "Insinuators," and close to 1,000 had become indirectly affiliated with the Order. Soon, three more lodges were established.
Few knew the supreme direction of the Order. Only those within the inner circle, known as the "Areopagite" (meaning "Tribunal"), were aware of their true purpose. To all others, Weishaupt said that he wanted a one-world government to prevent all future wars.
The book World Revolution (by Nesta Webster) stated: "The art of Illuminism lay in enlisting dupes as well as adepts, and by encouraging the dreams of honest visionaries or the schemes of fanatics, by flattering the vanity of ambitious egotists, by working on unbalanced brains, or by playing on such passions as greed and power, to make men of totally divergent aims serve the secret purpose of the sect."
Foolish people, with money to burn, were especially welcomed. Weishaupt wrote: "These good people swell our numbers and fill our money box; set yourselves to work; these gentlemen must be made to nibble at the bait...But let us beware of telling them our secrets, this sort of people must always be made to believe that the grade they have reached is the last." Weishaupt explained: "One must speak sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, so that our real purpose should remain impenetrable to our inferiors." And what was that purpose? It was "nothing less than to win power and riches, to undermine secular or religious government, and to obtain the mastery of the world."
Initiates were told that the Order represented the highest ideals of the Church, that Christ was the first advocator of Illuminism, and his secret mission was to restore to men the original liberty and equality they had lost in the Garden of Eden. Weishaupt said that Christ exhorted his disciples to despise riches in order to prepare the world for the community of goods that would do away with property ownership.
Weishaupt wrote to Zwack: "The most admirable thing of all is that great Protestant and reformed theologians (Lutherans and Calvinists) who belong to our Order really believe they see in it the true and genuine mind of the Christian religion." However, when one of Weishaupt's followers would reach the higher degrees, their secret was revealed: "Behold our secret...in order to destroy all Christianity, all religion, we have pretended to have the sole true religion...to deliver one day the human race from all religion."
Women were also enlisted. He wrote: "There is no way of influencing men so powerful, as by means of women. These should therefore be our chief study; we should insinuate ourselves into their good opinion, give them hints of emancipation from the tyranny of public opinion, and of standing up for themselves..." He also wrote: "This sex has a large part of the world in their hands." Female members were divided into two groups: one group of society women, to give the organization an air of respectability; and the other group "who would help to satisfy those brothers who have a penchant for pleasure." The Illuminati also used monetary and sex bribery to gain control of men in high places, then blackmailed them with the threat of financial ruin, public exposure, and fear of death.
Internal fighting soon developed because of Weishaupt's thirst for power. Besides that, because only nominal dues were collected, the Order suffered financially.
In 1780, a new member, Baron Franz Friedrich Knigge (1752-1796), was recruited, and given the pseudonym of "Philo." Knigge was born on October 16, 1752. He studied law at Gottingen, served in the courts of Hesse-Cassel and Weimar, and was a well-known writer of romance, poetry and philosophy. He joined the Masonic lodge of Strict Observance, which was dedicated to the elimination of the occult sciences, which were widely practiced. Unable to do that, they were forced to accept it. Knigge achieved the rank of Brother Commander, and had the title of Knight of the Swan. He assisted in the establishment of a new Masonic lodge at Hanau. Because of his developing exposure and interest in the occult, magic and alchemy, he joined the Rosicrucians, a secret organization that dated back to the fourteenth century, and reportedly was an occult group who participated in human sacrifice rituals.
He later renounced alchemy, and devoted his studies to the development of a form of Masonry that would allow man to regain the perfection they once had before the fall of Adam and Eve. His idea was to reform Masonry, and he was going to make these proposals at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad. However, the Marquis of Constanza (known as "one of the most notorious of the Illuminati") informed him that the Illuminati had already done that. In order to lure him, Weishaupt portrayed the Order as representing the greatest advancement in science, and dedicated to philosophical advancement. Since this fell in line with Knigge's thinking, he was drawn into the Order.
Knigge was definitely a catch, because he had a talent for organization, and soon became the head of the Westphalia Circle. He was instrumental in pushing for a merger between the Masons and the Illuminati. Weishaupt wrote of him: "Philo is the master from whom to take lessons; give me six men of his stamp and with them I will change the face of the Universe...Philo does more than we all expected, and he is the man who alone will carry it all through."
Knigge was firmly supported by members of the Areopagite, who felt that Weishaupt's supreme authority should be delegated to others, and they agreed with Knigge's proposed modifications for the organization. They were adopted on July 9, 1781. Knigge was able to recruit the most effective propagandists, and from 1780 on, the growth of the Order was very rapid because its expansion was facilitated through its affiliation with the Masonic lodges.
Their goal was now to achieve their aims by splitting mankind into opposing ideologies to fight among themselves, thus weakening national governments and organized religion.
An understanding was finally reached between the Masons and the Illuminati, and on December 20, 1781, a combined Order was proposed, which would add to the Illuminati organization, the first three degrees of Masonry. It wasn't until the Congress of Wilhelmsbad from July 16th to August 29th, 1781 (which was attended by Masons, Martinistes, and representatives from other secret organizations from Europe, America and Asia), that the alliance was official. Those at the meeting were put under oath not to reveal anything. Comte de Virieu, a Mason from the Martiniste lodge at Lyons, upon his return home, when questioned about the Congress, said: "I will not confide them to you. I can only tell you that all this is very much more serious than you think. The conspiracy which is being woven is so well thought out, that it will be, so to speak, impossible for the Monarchy and the Church to escape it." He later denounced the Illuminati, and became a devout Catholic.
Because of a movement begun by Dohm's book Upon the Civil Amelioration of the Condition of the Jews in 1781, and a book by Mirabeau in London, a resolution was passed at the Congress to allow Jews into the Lodges, It was obvious that it was done for financial reasons, because the Illuminati moved their headquarters to Frankfurt, Germany, a stronghold of Jewish finance. As the Order spread throughout Germany, money was contributed from such leading Jewish families as the Oppenheimers, Wertheimers, Schusters, Speyers, Sterns , and of course, the Rothschilds. Gerald B. Winrod wrote in his book Adam Weishaupt: A Human Devil that "of the thirty-nine chief sub-leaders of Weishaupt, seventeen were Jews." Arguments that the Illuminati was solely of Jewish origin, are completely unfounded.
After the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, the Illuminati functioned under the following organizational structure:
The term "New World Order" was actually first used many years ago. Adolf Hitler said: "National Socialism will use its own revolution for the establishing of a new world order." The Associated Press reported that on July 26, 1968, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller said in a speech to the International Platform Association at the Sheraton Park Hotel in New York, that "as President he would work toward international creation of a New World Order."
When you talk about tracing the origin of an organization that is controlling the destiny of the world, it's obvious that you have to start at a period which would allow a movement of this magnitude time to ferment. Changes like the ones which have and are occurring do not take place overnight. We are dealing with a group which must have been growing for a long period of time, in order to obtain the power and influence necessary to achieve the global control now being exercised. When you think of it, in that context, there is such a group.
The leader of this group was a man named, Dr. Adam Weishaupt, who was born on February 6, 1748, the son of a Jewish rabbi. When his father died in 1753, he was converted to Catholicism by Baron Johann Adam Ickstatt, who turned the early training of the boy over to the Jesuits. Ickstatt, in 1742, had been appointed by the Jesuits to be the curator of the University in order to reorganize it. He retired in 1765, but still controlled its policies.
Although Weishaupt later became a priest, he developed a distinct hatred for the Jesuits, and became an atheist. Given access to the private library of Ickstatt, his Godfather, the young man became interested in the works of the French philosophers, and studied law, economics, politics, and history. One such philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778), a revolutionary who held liberal religious views, had written in a letter to King Frederick II ("the Great", a Mason):
"Lastly, when the whole body of the Church should be sufficiently weakened and infidelity strong enough, the final blow (is) to be dealt by the sword of open, relentless persecution. A reign of terror (is) to be spread over the whole earth, and...continue while a Christian should be found obstinate enough to adhere to Christianity."
It is believed that Weishaupt got his ideas concerning the destruction of the Church from Voltaire's writings. He studied in France, where he met Robespierre (who later led the French Revolution), and became friends with a few people in the French Royal Court. It is believed, that through these contacts, he was introduced to Satanism.
He graduated from the Bavarian University in Ingolstadt, Germany in 1768. He served four years as a tutor until he was promoted to Assistant Instructor. In 1770, he was chosen by Mayer Amschel Rothschild to develop an organization that Rothschild could use. In 1772, Weishaupt was made Professor of Civil Law. In 1773, he was made Professor of Canon Law, a post which had been held by the Jesuits for 90 years. They had founded most of the Universities, and kept strict control of them in order to eliminate Protestant influence.
In 1773, Weishaupt got married, against the wishes of Ickstatt, who denounced him. Two years later, at the age of 27, he was made Dean of the Faculty of Law. The Jesuits, worried about his quick progression and his liberal thinking, tried to thwart his influence by secretly plotting against him . Not wanting to become a martyr for his free-thinking ideas, he began focusing on establishing his organization. To confuse his detractors, he based the organizational structure on the one used by the Jesuits, however, his intention was to have a secret coalition of liberalism.
He studied the anti-Christian doctrines of the Manicheans, whose teachings revolved around astrology, medicine, and magic. He had been indoctrinated into Egyptian occult practices by an unknown merchant named Kolmer, from Jutland (in the area around the border of Denmark and West Germany), who had been traveling around Europe since 1771. He studied the power of the Eleusinian mysteries and the influence exerted by the secret cult of the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras was a sixth century, B.C., philosopher who taught that men and women should combine their belongings - which became the basic philosophy behind Communism. Weishaupt also studied the teachings of the Essenes, and acquired copies of the 'Kabala', 'The Major Key of Solomon' and 'The Lesser Key of Solomon', which revealed how to conjure up demons and perform occult rituals.
He studied the various Masonic writings after meeting a Protestant Freemason from Hannover. At first he thought about creating a superior Masonic-like organization, that would be made up of men possessing superior abilities in all fields, but concluded that Masonry was too open.
Weishaupt was instructed by the Rothschilds (who were also said to be Satanists), to leave the Catholic Church, and unite all the different occult groups. He created the coven called the 'Golden Dawn' which, till this day, is allegedly the Rothschilds' private coven.
Weishaupt spent five years working out a plan through which all of his ideas could be reduced to a single system which would be used to fight the oppression of religion, thereby loosening social ties. He wanted to replace Christianity with a religion of reason. An initial idea was to form an organization comprised of "Schools of Wisdom", whose goal was to "make of the human race, one good and happy family." They were to strive for the perfection of morals, so he thought about naming the group the 'Perfectibilists', but it lacked the air of mystery and intrigue that he sought.
In 1774, he published a fictitious article called Sidonii Apollinarus Fragment, which he said, was to prepare the people for the doctrine of reason. Weishaupt wrote: "Princes and nations will disappear without violence from the earth. The human race will then become one family, and the world will be the dwelling of rational men." He wrote of their aims: "To make the perfecting of reasoning powers interesting to mankind, to spread the knowledge of sentiments, both humane and social, to check wicked inclinations, to stand up for suffering and oppressed virtue...to facilitate the acquirement of knowledge and science."
On May 1, 1776, under the direction of the newly formed House of Rothschild (and Wessely, Moses, Mendelssohn; and the Bankers, Itzig, Friedlander, and Meyer), who instigated the American Revolution to weaken Great Britain, Weishaupt founded the Ancient Illuminated Seers of Bavaria, which became known as the Order of the Illuminati. Weishaupt said that the name was derived from Luciferian teachings, and means, 'Holders of the Light.' In Latin, it means, 'the enlightened ones.' In layman's terms, it means 'to illuminate', or 'to give light.' It refers to someone who is enlightened, spiritually and intellectually. Satan, when he was an angel, was known as Lucifer, the 'Bearer of Light', and being that the group's name evolved from this, we can see the underlying nature of its goals. In addition, May 1st was a great day for all communist nations, where it was known as May Day; and it is also known as a special day to witches.
There are some earlier groups, with similar names, such as a group known as the "Illuminated Ones" which was founded by Joachim of Floris in the 11th century, who taught a primitive, supposedly Christian doctrine of "poverty and equality." The Rosheniah, or "Illuminated Ones," was a group in Afghanistan during the 16th century, who sought the 'illumination' from the Supreme Being, who wanted a class of perfect men and women. After reaching the fourth degree, "Enlightened One," the initiate would receive mystical powers, and when the eighth and final degree was reached, they were told they had achieved perfection. An Afghan scholar said that their purpose was to influence people of importance to establish harmony in the world, and were devoted to fight the tyranny of the Moguls, who were the rulers of India. The group survived until the 1700's, and gave birth to a couple offshoots, the Alumbrados of Spain, and the Illuminated Guerinets in France in 1654.
The Alumbrados (Spanish for "enlightened" or "illuminated"), was made up of reformed Franciscans and the Jesuits. They claimed that once perfection had been achieved, they would experience a vision of God, and would enter into direct communication with the Holy Spirit. Once they had received the "light," they would possess superior human intelligence. Their unusual claims resulted in the Inquisition issuing Edicts against them in 1568, 1574, and 1623. Ignatius de Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was put in jail for being a member. This condemnation forced them to flee to France.
The "Illuminati" was a name used by a German sect that existed in the 15th century. They practiced the occult, and professed to possess the 'light' received from Satan. The name was also used by another group in 1760 at Avignon, which was influenced by the writings of philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, which led to the Illuminated Theosophists in 1766 at Paris, then later in London.
There is no evidence to suggest that Weishaupt's Order of the Illuminati is a continuation of any of these groups, however, whether their teachings and philosophy had an influence on him, is another question.
Starting with only five members (Weishaupt, and his inner circle- his friend Kollmer, Francis Dashwood of the Satanic Hellfire Club, Alphonse Donatien DeSade from whose name we get the word "sadism," and Meyer Amschel Rothschild), the Illuminati wasn't fully operational until 1778.
Weishaupt wrote: "The great strength of our Order lies in its concealment, let it never appear, in any place in its own name, but always covered by another name, and another occupation. None is fitter than the three lower degrees of Freemasonry; the public is accustomed to it, expects little from it, and therefore takes little notice of it." He also wrote: "For the Order wishes to be secret, and to work in silence, for thus it is better secured from the oppression of the ruling powers, and because this secrecy gives a greater zest to the whole."
The Order was made up of three degrees: Novice, Minerval, and Illuminated Minerval; and organized in a manner similar to Freemasonry and the Jesuits. Even though he admired the structure of the Jesuit hierarchy, he wrote that no ex-Jesuits were to be admitted, except by special permission. He wrote that they "must be avoided as the plague." Their rites and ceremonies were similar to that of the Masons. Their aim, he said, was to have a one-world government, to allow the elite to govern the world, thus preventing future wars. One of their early programs, was to distribute anti-religious material to criticize clerical leaders, who they saw as obstacles to social progress, and to oppose the "enemies of the human race and of society."
Weishaupt wrote: "How can the weak obtain protection? Only by union, but this is rare. Nothing can bring this about but hidden societies. Hidden schools of wisdom are the means which we will one day free men from their bonds..."
All members were required to adopt classical names. Weishaupt was called "Spartacus" (who had been the leader of the slave insurrection in ancient Rome). His right-hand man, Xavier von Zwack, a lawyer to Prince von Salm, was known as "Cato"; Nicolai, the bookseller, was "Lucian"; Professor Westenreider was "Pythagoras"; Canon Hertel was "Marius"; Marquis di Constanza was "Diomedes"; Massenhausen was "Ajar"; Baron von Schroeckenstein was "Mohomed"; and Baron von Mengenhofen was "Sylla."
Their headquarters was in Munich, Germany, and known as the Grand Lodge of the Illuminati (or Lodge of the Grand Orient), code-named "Athens." Among their other four lodges: Ingolstadt was known as "Ephesus," Heidelberg as "Utica," Bavaria as "Achaia," and Frankfurt was known as "Thebes."
The calendar was reconstructed, and the months known by names reminiscent of the Hebrew language: January was known as "Dimeh," and February as "Benmeh," etc. They dated their letters according to the Persian Era, named after the king who began to rule in Persia in 632 B.C., Jezdegerd. Their new year began on March 21st, which some sources say is New Years Day for witches.
In 1777, Weishaupt joined the Eclectic Masonic lodge "Theodore of Good Counsel" in Munich, and towards the end of 1778, he came up with the idea of merging the Illuminati and the Masons. Zwack became a Mason on November 27, 1778, and working with a brother Mason, Abbe' Marotti, he divulged the secret of the Order. By the middle of 1779, the Munich Masonic lodge was under the complete influence of the Illuminati.
During the first four years, about sixty active members had been recruited by a committee known as the "Insinuators," and close to 1,000 had become indirectly affiliated with the Order. Soon, three more lodges were established.
Few knew the supreme direction of the Order. Only those within the inner circle, known as the "Areopagite" (meaning "Tribunal"), were aware of their true purpose. To all others, Weishaupt said that he wanted a one-world government to prevent all future wars.
The book World Revolution (by Nesta Webster) stated: "The art of Illuminism lay in enlisting dupes as well as adepts, and by encouraging the dreams of honest visionaries or the schemes of fanatics, by flattering the vanity of ambitious egotists, by working on unbalanced brains, or by playing on such passions as greed and power, to make men of totally divergent aims serve the secret purpose of the sect."
Foolish people, with money to burn, were especially welcomed. Weishaupt wrote: "These good people swell our numbers and fill our money box; set yourselves to work; these gentlemen must be made to nibble at the bait...But let us beware of telling them our secrets, this sort of people must always be made to believe that the grade they have reached is the last." Weishaupt explained: "One must speak sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, so that our real purpose should remain impenetrable to our inferiors." And what was that purpose? It was "nothing less than to win power and riches, to undermine secular or religious government, and to obtain the mastery of the world."
Initiates were told that the Order represented the highest ideals of the Church, that Christ was the first advocator of Illuminism, and his secret mission was to restore to men the original liberty and equality they had lost in the Garden of Eden. Weishaupt said that Christ exhorted his disciples to despise riches in order to prepare the world for the community of goods that would do away with property ownership.
Weishaupt wrote to Zwack: "The most admirable thing of all is that great Protestant and reformed theologians (Lutherans and Calvinists) who belong to our Order really believe they see in it the true and genuine mind of the Christian religion." However, when one of Weishaupt's followers would reach the higher degrees, their secret was revealed: "Behold our secret...in order to destroy all Christianity, all religion, we have pretended to have the sole true religion...to deliver one day the human race from all religion."
Women were also enlisted. He wrote: "There is no way of influencing men so powerful, as by means of women. These should therefore be our chief study; we should insinuate ourselves into their good opinion, give them hints of emancipation from the tyranny of public opinion, and of standing up for themselves..." He also wrote: "This sex has a large part of the world in their hands." Female members were divided into two groups: one group of society women, to give the organization an air of respectability; and the other group "who would help to satisfy those brothers who have a penchant for pleasure." The Illuminati also used monetary and sex bribery to gain control of men in high places, then blackmailed them with the threat of financial ruin, public exposure, and fear of death.
Internal fighting soon developed because of Weishaupt's thirst for power. Besides that, because only nominal dues were collected, the Order suffered financially.
In 1780, a new member, Baron Franz Friedrich Knigge (1752-1796), was recruited, and given the pseudonym of "Philo." Knigge was born on October 16, 1752. He studied law at Gottingen, served in the courts of Hesse-Cassel and Weimar, and was a well-known writer of romance, poetry and philosophy. He joined the Masonic lodge of Strict Observance, which was dedicated to the elimination of the occult sciences, which were widely practiced. Unable to do that, they were forced to accept it. Knigge achieved the rank of Brother Commander, and had the title of Knight of the Swan. He assisted in the establishment of a new Masonic lodge at Hanau. Because of his developing exposure and interest in the occult, magic and alchemy, he joined the Rosicrucians, a secret organization that dated back to the fourteenth century, and reportedly was an occult group who participated in human sacrifice rituals.
He later renounced alchemy, and devoted his studies to the development of a form of Masonry that would allow man to regain the perfection they once had before the fall of Adam and Eve. His idea was to reform Masonry, and he was going to make these proposals at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad. However, the Marquis of Constanza (known as "one of the most notorious of the Illuminati") informed him that the Illuminati had already done that. In order to lure him, Weishaupt portrayed the Order as representing the greatest advancement in science, and dedicated to philosophical advancement. Since this fell in line with Knigge's thinking, he was drawn into the Order.
Knigge was definitely a catch, because he had a talent for organization, and soon became the head of the Westphalia Circle. He was instrumental in pushing for a merger between the Masons and the Illuminati. Weishaupt wrote of him: "Philo is the master from whom to take lessons; give me six men of his stamp and with them I will change the face of the Universe...Philo does more than we all expected, and he is the man who alone will carry it all through."
Knigge was firmly supported by members of the Areopagite, who felt that Weishaupt's supreme authority should be delegated to others, and they agreed with Knigge's proposed modifications for the organization. They were adopted on July 9, 1781. Knigge was able to recruit the most effective propagandists, and from 1780 on, the growth of the Order was very rapid because its expansion was facilitated through its affiliation with the Masonic lodges.
Their goal was now to achieve their aims by splitting mankind into opposing ideologies to fight among themselves, thus weakening national governments and organized religion.
An understanding was finally reached between the Masons and the Illuminati, and on December 20, 1781, a combined Order was proposed, which would add to the Illuminati organization, the first three degrees of Masonry. It wasn't until the Congress of Wilhelmsbad from July 16th to August 29th, 1781 (which was attended by Masons, Martinistes, and representatives from other secret organizations from Europe, America and Asia), that the alliance was official. Those at the meeting were put under oath not to reveal anything. Comte de Virieu, a Mason from the Martiniste lodge at Lyons, upon his return home, when questioned about the Congress, said: "I will not confide them to you. I can only tell you that all this is very much more serious than you think. The conspiracy which is being woven is so well thought out, that it will be, so to speak, impossible for the Monarchy and the Church to escape it." He later denounced the Illuminati, and became a devout Catholic.
Because of a movement begun by Dohm's book Upon the Civil Amelioration of the Condition of the Jews in 1781, and a book by Mirabeau in London, a resolution was passed at the Congress to allow Jews into the Lodges, It was obvious that it was done for financial reasons, because the Illuminati moved their headquarters to Frankfurt, Germany, a stronghold of Jewish finance. As the Order spread throughout Germany, money was contributed from such leading Jewish families as the Oppenheimers, Wertheimers, Schusters, Speyers, Sterns , and of course, the Rothschilds. Gerald B. Winrod wrote in his book Adam Weishaupt: A Human Devil that "of the thirty-nine chief sub-leaders of Weishaupt, seventeen were Jews." Arguments that the Illuminati was solely of Jewish origin, are completely unfounded.
After the Congress of Wilhelmsbad, the Illuminati functioned under the following organizational structure:
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
BOON OR GLOOM
Globalization: Boon or Gloom?
by Hans F. Sennholz
Globalization has numerous political and economic implications. Its design and structure, its gradual increase in foreign trade and relations, are basic to all civilized orders. New features that made their appearance in recent decades are the explosive expansion of world trade and the appearance of new trade partners. According to International Fund estimates, international trade of goods and services in 1990 amounted to some $5 trillion a year. Since then it has more than doubled, soaring to some $14.5 trillion last year.
It is rather remarkable that world trade is expanding faster than economic production. During the 1990s, trade was estimated to have grown some 6.5 percent annually, more than double the growth rate of economic production which barely reached a three percent rate. This intensification of international trade primarily resulted from the economic integration of "developing countries," especially China, which was joined also by India, other Asian countries, and the large countries in Latin America. Their global trade has risen significantly, which has made them important driving motors of the world economy. Per capita income in China has doubled in less than ten years, which took the old industrial countries, like Great Britain, France, and Germany, half a century. But a vast army of unemployed workers acts to keep Chinese wages down. Some hundred million are squatting in coastal towns looking for work, and countless millions are working in rural areas, many in low-paying farm work. Yet, according to official data, Chinese per capita income in 2006 was $1,740, U.S. income was $36,800.
Rapid expansion of the developing countries invariably generates a rising demand for resources and energy. Emerging countries now consume some 50 percent of global energy production, which may keep energy prices rather high in coming years. Emerging manufacturers have also learned to build highly technical products that compete effectively in world markets. Some 50 percent of all computers are built in China.
In the old industrial countries, manufacturers are under severe pressure to compete by developing ever new products and methods of production and taking them to international markets. They also are tempted to move some of their production abroad. American corporations moved some of their operations to China and other developing countries in Asia and South America; European companies prefer to move their production to former Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. German corporations, which had avoided practically any relationship with Eastern Europe, now are investing heavily in those countries. The primary incentive of such investments obviously is the reduction in costs, which not only may endanger some employment at home but also increase corporate profits. As profits tend to rise, they may even create new employment opportunities at home.
Globalization may not affect all domestic industries, but it acts on some enterprises, industries, and locations that may suffer growing pressure of foreign competition; their rates of unemployment may rise. In our age of labor legislation and labor unions, all political parties usually call for protection by law and decree. They advocate various forms of protection, old and new, such as protective tariffs and administrative trade restrictions, limitations of labor mobility, minimum wage legislation, subsidies to threatened companies, special protection of important national industries, or even establishment of regional "free trade zones" with protective outside walls. But such policies merely may delay the loss of employment; they do not improve the ability to compete internationally. Protectionist policies boosting the costs of production may keep inefficient producers alive temporarily by postponing unavoidable readjustment.
Globalization exerts an ever greater pressure on labor markets, requiring continuous adjustments. The global market now offers large quantities of low-cost labor which in many countries causes rising differences in personal incomes and, in case of labor immobility or inflexible wages, rising unemployment. The rates usually are double-digit in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other old industrial countries, but these countries invariably enjoy large black markets where illegal wage rates give illegal employment to countless eager workers. A few countries, such as Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands, managed to render their labor markets less rigid and restrictive, which cut their rates of unemployment in half.
Unskilled labor, the costs of which tend to exceed its productivity, is condemned to chronic unemployment. In many countries it amounts to a large percentage of labor, subsisting either on unemployment benefits granted by government or on black market activity and earnings, or on both. Plans and programs that would lower employment costs frequently are viewed as grave threats to wage rates, working conditions, and jobs; political parties and labor unions usually distrust the unhampered market order.
Globalization has increased the pressures on poorly qualified workers; but it is not the primary cause of their unfavorable employment condition. The greatest employment risk for unskilled workers always is the low level of their productivity. Technological progress requires ever greater labor education and qualifications; workers who fail to learn and adjust may find it ever more difficult to find employment.
Globalization is lowering migration barriers in many parts of the world. In Europe, the European Union has opened the gates to millions of workers from formerly communist countries where labor productivity was rather low. Their migration usually improves working conditions in the countries they leave and strains them where they appear. It creates adjustment costs that affect several classes of people rather unevenly. Workers who lose their jobs obviously are the victims; its immediate beneficiaries are consumers, who enjoy larger offers of goods and services at lower prices. Globalization actually keeps rates of inflation much lower than they otherwise would be.
Globalization can work for all. Surely, it is no easy task; it requires continuous changes in economic structure and adjustment processes. Labor markets need freedom and flexibility in order to create ever new employment opportunities that offset unavoidable job losses. Workers must have the opportunity and incentive to acquire knowledge and ability needed in a globalized economy. General education and vocational knowledge are becoming ever more important as are entrepreneurship, research, and development. But above all, the economic future of many businesses in a globalized economy greatly depends on the margin of political and social freedom they enjoy.
by Hans F. Sennholz
Globalization has numerous political and economic implications. Its design and structure, its gradual increase in foreign trade and relations, are basic to all civilized orders. New features that made their appearance in recent decades are the explosive expansion of world trade and the appearance of new trade partners. According to International Fund estimates, international trade of goods and services in 1990 amounted to some $5 trillion a year. Since then it has more than doubled, soaring to some $14.5 trillion last year.
It is rather remarkable that world trade is expanding faster than economic production. During the 1990s, trade was estimated to have grown some 6.5 percent annually, more than double the growth rate of economic production which barely reached a three percent rate. This intensification of international trade primarily resulted from the economic integration of "developing countries," especially China, which was joined also by India, other Asian countries, and the large countries in Latin America. Their global trade has risen significantly, which has made them important driving motors of the world economy. Per capita income in China has doubled in less than ten years, which took the old industrial countries, like Great Britain, France, and Germany, half a century. But a vast army of unemployed workers acts to keep Chinese wages down. Some hundred million are squatting in coastal towns looking for work, and countless millions are working in rural areas, many in low-paying farm work. Yet, according to official data, Chinese per capita income in 2006 was $1,740, U.S. income was $36,800.
Rapid expansion of the developing countries invariably generates a rising demand for resources and energy. Emerging countries now consume some 50 percent of global energy production, which may keep energy prices rather high in coming years. Emerging manufacturers have also learned to build highly technical products that compete effectively in world markets. Some 50 percent of all computers are built in China.
In the old industrial countries, manufacturers are under severe pressure to compete by developing ever new products and methods of production and taking them to international markets. They also are tempted to move some of their production abroad. American corporations moved some of their operations to China and other developing countries in Asia and South America; European companies prefer to move their production to former Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. German corporations, which had avoided practically any relationship with Eastern Europe, now are investing heavily in those countries. The primary incentive of such investments obviously is the reduction in costs, which not only may endanger some employment at home but also increase corporate profits. As profits tend to rise, they may even create new employment opportunities at home.
Globalization may not affect all domestic industries, but it acts on some enterprises, industries, and locations that may suffer growing pressure of foreign competition; their rates of unemployment may rise. In our age of labor legislation and labor unions, all political parties usually call for protection by law and decree. They advocate various forms of protection, old and new, such as protective tariffs and administrative trade restrictions, limitations of labor mobility, minimum wage legislation, subsidies to threatened companies, special protection of important national industries, or even establishment of regional "free trade zones" with protective outside walls. But such policies merely may delay the loss of employment; they do not improve the ability to compete internationally. Protectionist policies boosting the costs of production may keep inefficient producers alive temporarily by postponing unavoidable readjustment.
Globalization exerts an ever greater pressure on labor markets, requiring continuous adjustments. The global market now offers large quantities of low-cost labor which in many countries causes rising differences in personal incomes and, in case of labor immobility or inflexible wages, rising unemployment. The rates usually are double-digit in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and other old industrial countries, but these countries invariably enjoy large black markets where illegal wage rates give illegal employment to countless eager workers. A few countries, such as Great Britain, Denmark, Ireland, and the Netherlands, managed to render their labor markets less rigid and restrictive, which cut their rates of unemployment in half.
Unskilled labor, the costs of which tend to exceed its productivity, is condemned to chronic unemployment. In many countries it amounts to a large percentage of labor, subsisting either on unemployment benefits granted by government or on black market activity and earnings, or on both. Plans and programs that would lower employment costs frequently are viewed as grave threats to wage rates, working conditions, and jobs; political parties and labor unions usually distrust the unhampered market order.
Globalization has increased the pressures on poorly qualified workers; but it is not the primary cause of their unfavorable employment condition. The greatest employment risk for unskilled workers always is the low level of their productivity. Technological progress requires ever greater labor education and qualifications; workers who fail to learn and adjust may find it ever more difficult to find employment.
Globalization is lowering migration barriers in many parts of the world. In Europe, the European Union has opened the gates to millions of workers from formerly communist countries where labor productivity was rather low. Their migration usually improves working conditions in the countries they leave and strains them where they appear. It creates adjustment costs that affect several classes of people rather unevenly. Workers who lose their jobs obviously are the victims; its immediate beneficiaries are consumers, who enjoy larger offers of goods and services at lower prices. Globalization actually keeps rates of inflation much lower than they otherwise would be.
Globalization can work for all. Surely, it is no easy task; it requires continuous changes in economic structure and adjustment processes. Labor markets need freedom and flexibility in order to create ever new employment opportunities that offset unavoidable job losses. Workers must have the opportunity and incentive to acquire knowledge and ability needed in a globalized economy. General education and vocational knowledge are becoming ever more important as are entrepreneurship, research, and development. But above all, the economic future of many businesses in a globalized economy greatly depends on the margin of political and social freedom they enjoy.
Monday, April 9, 2007
EMPLOYMENT REPORT
March Employment Report
First Trust Advisors
Date: 4/9/2007
THIS DATA WAS RELEASED ON GOOD FRIDAY. THE MARKETS WERE CLOSED, AND THE NATION WAS BEGINNING ITS CELEBRATION OF EASTER.
Non-farm payrolls increased 180,000 in March and revisions to January and February boosted the total by an additional 32,000. Combined, payrolls in March were 212,000 higher than reported a month ago. The consensus expected gain was 130,000.
Construction payrolls gained 56,000, almost reversing last month's weather-related drop. Residential construction jobs expanded by 10,000, the first increase in 10 months. Retail jobs grew by 36,000, the largest increase in 20 months. Manufacturing jobs fell by 16,000, the ninth straight decline.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, the 4.0% increase in average hourly earnings in March is stronger than the 3.8% average annual gains from 1995-1999.
Implications: The job market remains robust. The unemployment rate has only been lower than March's 4.4% during 28 months of the past 36 years - and all were in the so-called "bubble"of the late 1990s. Payroll employment has increased an average of 152,000 in the past three months and upward revisions continue. Meanwhile, we disagree with the interpretation in some quarters that the employment report suggests diminished wage pressure. As reported, average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in March after rising 0.4% last month. However, average hourly earnings increased 0.3508% in February and 0.3496% in March, so the decelerating trend in wages was due to rounding. The same goes for the supposed slowdown in year-to-year earnings growth, where the change went from February's 4.063% (reported as 4.1%) to 4.048% (reported as 4.0%). One note of caution, however, is that civilian employment (from the household survey) has averaged gains of just 109,000 in the past three months, the slowest increase for any calendar quarter since 2004. This slowdown in job growth, as seen in the better of the two employment survey's, suggests some deceleration in economic activity due to a housing correction. However, the odds of a recession remain extremely low and inflationary pressures continue to build. Fed rate hikes are still on the table for later this year.
First Trust Advisors
Date: 4/9/2007
THIS DATA WAS RELEASED ON GOOD FRIDAY. THE MARKETS WERE CLOSED, AND THE NATION WAS BEGINNING ITS CELEBRATION OF EASTER.
Non-farm payrolls increased 180,000 in March and revisions to January and February boosted the total by an additional 32,000. Combined, payrolls in March were 212,000 higher than reported a month ago. The consensus expected gain was 130,000.
Construction payrolls gained 56,000, almost reversing last month's weather-related drop. Residential construction jobs expanded by 10,000, the first increase in 10 months. Retail jobs grew by 36,000, the largest increase in 20 months. Manufacturing jobs fell by 16,000, the ninth straight decline.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3%. On a year-over-year basis, the 4.0% increase in average hourly earnings in March is stronger than the 3.8% average annual gains from 1995-1999.
Implications: The job market remains robust. The unemployment rate has only been lower than March's 4.4% during 28 months of the past 36 years - and all were in the so-called "bubble"of the late 1990s. Payroll employment has increased an average of 152,000 in the past three months and upward revisions continue. Meanwhile, we disagree with the interpretation in some quarters that the employment report suggests diminished wage pressure. As reported, average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in March after rising 0.4% last month. However, average hourly earnings increased 0.3508% in February and 0.3496% in March, so the decelerating trend in wages was due to rounding. The same goes for the supposed slowdown in year-to-year earnings growth, where the change went from February's 4.063% (reported as 4.1%) to 4.048% (reported as 4.0%). One note of caution, however, is that civilian employment (from the household survey) has averaged gains of just 109,000 in the past three months, the slowest increase for any calendar quarter since 2004. This slowdown in job growth, as seen in the better of the two employment survey's, suggests some deceleration in economic activity due to a housing correction. However, the odds of a recession remain extremely low and inflationary pressures continue to build. Fed rate hikes are still on the table for later this year.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
GIULIANI MIGHT WIN
With Giuliani in it to win it, don't be surprised if he does
By DAVID YEPSEN
After months of delay, Rudy Giuliani has finally placed a bet on the Iowa caucuses.
The former New York mayor said Tuesday he'll compete in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, and he actually stands a fair chance of winning them, despite the chatter he's too liberal on social issues for the party's religious conservatives.
Giuliani made his first campaign trip to Iowa on behalf of himself Tuesday. He told a crowd of several hundred at Valley High School in West Des Moines, "I am running for president of the United States, and I am running in Iowa, and we're going to win Iowa."
A new poll of likely Republican caucus-goers released Wednesday indicates that is a doable proposition. The survey taken March 30 to April 1 by Strategic Vision, an Atlanta public-relations firm that has done work for Republicans in the past, shows Giuliani leading the pack of GOP presidential candidates in the state, despite his relatively late start here.
The poll of 600 likely GOP caucus-goers has him leading with 25 percent of the vote and John McCain in second with 20 percent.
For months now, conventional wisdom has said Giuliani would fade as Republicans learn of his liberal positions or divorces. That hasn't happened, and it raises the possibility that many social conservatives are looking at other things or character traits as they choose a candidate to back in 2008.
The nation is at war. We are selecting the first new president after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and those two facts change the issues that are foremost in voters' minds. Also, after their losses in 2006, Republicans are growing worried about holding onto the White House in 2008, which may make them a bit more pragmatic.
(Even in past campaigns, Republican activists have never selected the most conservative candidates in a race as their caucus choice, just as Democrats have never chosen the most liberal ones from their field.)
And perhaps social conservatives are dividing their support among the other candidates courting them, which could enable Giuliani to rally more moderate GOPers and win.
A form of that has happened before. In 1980, George H.W. Bush won the Iowa GOP caucuses when conservatives split among several others.
Ted Sporer, the Polk County Republican chairman, who is neutral in the 2008 presidential race, said it's too early to predict winners but "right now, Giuliani and (John) McCain are the strongest in Iowa."
He said while there are small groups of vocal social conservatives who criticize Giuliani, "I think the level at which social conservatives control the Republican Party is really exaggerated. As a party leader, I can tell you I don't see that to the extent people believe that it's true.
"Giuliani will compete here and will do very well. He will be one of the high finishers in Iowa, barring something unforseen."
Diane Crookham-Johnson, a GOP leader from Oskaloosa who had been helping George Pataki before he faded, is now neutral in the presidential race, but said, "Giuliani has struck a chord with people in Iowa. There are issues beyond social issues that people are concerned about, and they see some of those in him. They see his approach to crime in New York and taxes. I hear people say he really is a Republican on those issues."
She said Republicans are growing concerned about keeping the White House in 2008. "Just recently I'm hearing people say, 'We need somebody who can beat Hillary.'"
But, she said, "He's got to spend a lot more time in Iowa and a lot of time with people one on one, because in the end, it's still about turning out to our neighbors' houses" on caucus night.
Giuliani told the crowd at Valley High School he intends to do just that.
"I want to assure you we will be back in Iowa," he said. "I'm going to run in Iowa the way I ran in New York City. I know you think New York City and Iowa are very different," but running for mayor of New York City and running in an Iowa caucus campaign are "very similar."
"You run every day," he said. "I walked the streets, did 93 town-hall meetings. I had people come up to me and tell me, 'Mayor, you're doing a great job. Or, Mayor, you stink...'
"I'm used to that. I like that. I love doing it, and I love people. We're going to win the caucus and suprise everybody."
He may win. But it should no longer be a surprise.
By DAVID YEPSEN
After months of delay, Rudy Giuliani has finally placed a bet on the Iowa caucuses.
The former New York mayor said Tuesday he'll compete in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, and he actually stands a fair chance of winning them, despite the chatter he's too liberal on social issues for the party's religious conservatives.
Giuliani made his first campaign trip to Iowa on behalf of himself Tuesday. He told a crowd of several hundred at Valley High School in West Des Moines, "I am running for president of the United States, and I am running in Iowa, and we're going to win Iowa."
A new poll of likely Republican caucus-goers released Wednesday indicates that is a doable proposition. The survey taken March 30 to April 1 by Strategic Vision, an Atlanta public-relations firm that has done work for Republicans in the past, shows Giuliani leading the pack of GOP presidential candidates in the state, despite his relatively late start here.
The poll of 600 likely GOP caucus-goers has him leading with 25 percent of the vote and John McCain in second with 20 percent.
For months now, conventional wisdom has said Giuliani would fade as Republicans learn of his liberal positions or divorces. That hasn't happened, and it raises the possibility that many social conservatives are looking at other things or character traits as they choose a candidate to back in 2008.
The nation is at war. We are selecting the first new president after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and those two facts change the issues that are foremost in voters' minds. Also, after their losses in 2006, Republicans are growing worried about holding onto the White House in 2008, which may make them a bit more pragmatic.
(Even in past campaigns, Republican activists have never selected the most conservative candidates in a race as their caucus choice, just as Democrats have never chosen the most liberal ones from their field.)
And perhaps social conservatives are dividing their support among the other candidates courting them, which could enable Giuliani to rally more moderate GOPers and win.
A form of that has happened before. In 1980, George H.W. Bush won the Iowa GOP caucuses when conservatives split among several others.
Ted Sporer, the Polk County Republican chairman, who is neutral in the 2008 presidential race, said it's too early to predict winners but "right now, Giuliani and (John) McCain are the strongest in Iowa."
He said while there are small groups of vocal social conservatives who criticize Giuliani, "I think the level at which social conservatives control the Republican Party is really exaggerated. As a party leader, I can tell you I don't see that to the extent people believe that it's true.
"Giuliani will compete here and will do very well. He will be one of the high finishers in Iowa, barring something unforseen."
Diane Crookham-Johnson, a GOP leader from Oskaloosa who had been helping George Pataki before he faded, is now neutral in the presidential race, but said, "Giuliani has struck a chord with people in Iowa. There are issues beyond social issues that people are concerned about, and they see some of those in him. They see his approach to crime in New York and taxes. I hear people say he really is a Republican on those issues."
She said Republicans are growing concerned about keeping the White House in 2008. "Just recently I'm hearing people say, 'We need somebody who can beat Hillary.'"
But, she said, "He's got to spend a lot more time in Iowa and a lot of time with people one on one, because in the end, it's still about turning out to our neighbors' houses" on caucus night.
Giuliani told the crowd at Valley High School he intends to do just that.
"I want to assure you we will be back in Iowa," he said. "I'm going to run in Iowa the way I ran in New York City. I know you think New York City and Iowa are very different," but running for mayor of New York City and running in an Iowa caucus campaign are "very similar."
"You run every day," he said. "I walked the streets, did 93 town-hall meetings. I had people come up to me and tell me, 'Mayor, you're doing a great job. Or, Mayor, you stink...'
"I'm used to that. I like that. I love doing it, and I love people. We're going to win the caucus and suprise everybody."
He may win. But it should no longer be a surprise.
THE VOICE OF LARRY KUDLOW
Good Friday Blockbuster
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a blockbuster jobs report this Good Friday morning: 180,000 new jobs in March, 32,000 upward job revisions for the prior two months, and a 4.4% unemployment rate.
This stronger than expected report puts the lie to those perma-bear pessimists who keep predicting recession from the sub-prime mortgage problem and the housing slowdown (both a function of tighter Fed money over the past two years).
But the free-market US economy, with its low tax-rates, is more durable and flexible and bigger that just housing and mortgage finance. In the March job report, big job gains came from business construction, retail trade and a variety of services.
Unemployment for those with a bachelors degree or higher was only 2.2%. For traditional families with both spouses present, joblessness was 2.5%.
The rate of economic growth ebbs and flows over long expansion periods such as this one (which is now in its sixth year). Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but in the absence of major policy blunders (big tax hikes, bad inflation, major trade barriers, nasty regulations) the economic pie keeps expanding.
Stocks have been predicting continued growth for quite some time. Since last summer, the major indexes are up about 20%. Year-to-date they are up roughly 3% so far. Since the Bush tax cuts they're up roughly 100%.
Isn't it interesting that markets are better economic predictors than perma-bears?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delivered a blockbuster jobs report this Good Friday morning: 180,000 new jobs in March, 32,000 upward job revisions for the prior two months, and a 4.4% unemployment rate.
This stronger than expected report puts the lie to those perma-bear pessimists who keep predicting recession from the sub-prime mortgage problem and the housing slowdown (both a function of tighter Fed money over the past two years).
But the free-market US economy, with its low tax-rates, is more durable and flexible and bigger that just housing and mortgage finance. In the March job report, big job gains came from business construction, retail trade and a variety of services.
Unemployment for those with a bachelors degree or higher was only 2.2%. For traditional families with both spouses present, joblessness was 2.5%.
The rate of economic growth ebbs and flows over long expansion periods such as this one (which is now in its sixth year). Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but in the absence of major policy blunders (big tax hikes, bad inflation, major trade barriers, nasty regulations) the economic pie keeps expanding.
Stocks have been predicting continued growth for quite some time. Since last summer, the major indexes are up about 20%. Year-to-date they are up roughly 3% so far. Since the Bush tax cuts they're up roughly 100%.
Isn't it interesting that markets are better economic predictors than perma-bears?
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