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Last Wednesday's $453 million fine (290 pounds) against Barclay's Bank appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. The market rigging has been going on for a long time virtually everywhere that the big international banks operate.
20 more banks were rigging interest rates: British bankers now facing criminal inquiry over scandal that was kept secret for years....
As well as RBS and HSBC, others under scrutiny include Lloyds, JPMorgan Chase, Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi.
A number of employees have already been fired, suspended or put on gardening leave at various banks including state-backed RBS, which has sacked and suspended ‘several’ staff, though the bank declined to comment.
Former Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott said that once any criminal probe was underway, a public inquiry – like the one being conducted by Lord Leveson into media ethics – would have to be held.
‘Clearly, the worms that are now crawling out from under the stones at the banking industry are even worse than any of us thought,’ he added....
The Financial Services Authority this week found Barclays guilty of misconduct ‘extended over number of years’. The US Department of Justice said simply that the bank was guilty of ‘illegal conduct’ on its attempts to manipulate the Libor rate. The culture of Barclays allowed traders to manipulate Libor in a bid to make sure they scooped millions in bonuses, and to pretend the bank was in a healthier state than it was.
This scandal reveals another big crack in the foundations of Babylon's walls. Babylon can only function when they remain a secret--that is, a "mystery." When the darkness is exposed by the light, they fall, because the sins of Mystery Babylon are no longer hidden.
Too many people know now that the markets have been rigged for decades, and that explains why it is hard to make any money in the stock markets--unless you are one of the market riggers. The only "outsiders" silly enough to compete the rigged markets are the big hedge funds, the IRA managers, and the people who control your retirement funds. These funds were created largely to be fleeced by market riggers.
In other news. . . .
Yitzhak Shamir is dead at the age of 96. He is the Zionist hero who was the #2 terrorist in the 1940's. He came in second after Menachem Begin, head of the Irgun gang. Read Begin's book, The Revolt: Story of the Irgun, or Shamir's book, Summing Up. Being Jewish, they are now treated as "freedom fighters," rather than terrorists. Other races need not apply.
It is doubtful if more than a handful of evangelicals have even heard of their books, let alone have read them. If interested, you might also read Ariel Sharon's book, Warrior. I have read it. He tells us on page 250 that it was his willingness to murder Arabs that caused him to rise fast in the ranks of the military. The story how he massacred the village of Kibbya while the people slept is recounted proudly on page 88-90 of his book, saying,
"Kibbiya was to be a lesson. I was to inflict as many casualties as I could.... I was also to blow up every major building in the town. A political decision had been made at the highest level."
That seems to have made him a hero. One man's hero is another man's terrorist. It all depends on which side of the table you are sitting. Our national character is revealed by the men we honor as heroes. See page 160-163 of my book, The Struggle for the Birthright. It is in Chapter 13.
Fires and Storms lately. . . .
This is shaping up to be a long hot summer. Colorado is having the worst fires ever. Colorado Springs is exchanging beauty for ashes. Seventeen counted dead so far after storms beat up the East Coast, and Washington DC is still in the dark. Duluth, MN is all washed up after 25 inches of rain in 6 weeks. Mother Nature dumped on northern Florida and Georgia. The heat wave continues.
People laugh when someone suggests that weather patterns might have spiritual causes. That is so "unscientific." They don't believe Deut. 28:12, which tells us that seasonal rain is a blessing for obedience. Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple, "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against Thee..." (2 Chron. 6:26). Elijah prophesied a drought and literally stopped the rain for 3-1/2 years as a judgment of God for Israel's revolt against the rightful King, Jesus Christ.
I have observed connections between weather patterns and spiritual warfare for decades. As believers, we do have authority over creation, including the weather. The problem is that we cannot use that authority to nullify the judgments of God, so we have to be sensitive to the voice of God in all matters.
I recall the winter of 1984-85, while we were living in Arkansas. The people there don't know how to drive in snow and ice, and when blizzards arrive, the roads get crazy dangerous. The ice is not the problem. Drivers are the problem. After the first blizzard, our group got together and prayed to create a 10-mile protected corridor along Hwy 25 east of Batesville, AR, since many of us used that road to get to work.
That winter was unusual. We saw two more blizzards hit the area. Just north and south of our protected area, they got hammered with 8-10 inches of snow, while Highway 25 barely got a dusting. That was our first major experience, showing us that we had authority over the weather, even as we see in reading the stories of Jesus.
However, as time has passed, we have had less and less authorization to use that authority, because the lawlessness in the country and in the Church has brought this to us. Even so, all obedient believers have the right to ask for personal divine protection. All others have the right to repent. Still others are intercessors and are called to experience a portion of the judgment upon the unbelievers. To understand this better, see my book, Principles of Intercession.
The Lord showed us by personal experience that we had authority over tornados and hurricanes as well. When we were led to rebuke one tornado in March 1984, it made a 90-degree turn immediately and went around our town (Batesville). Later, after moving to Memphis, an astonished weather man was surprised when a tornado storm system literally split and each part went around the city, rejoining on the other side. It was not long before all the neighbor kids would run to our house for shelter whenever tornados were being reported.
This is no different in principle from Jesus' authority when He calmed the storm in the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:39).
In large part, God used the weather to teach me (and our fellowship) how to hear God's voice and to exercise faith when we came to know His will. Those were the early days of my training (1982-1989) for the present work of ministry.