Revived Roman Empire News - the E.U.

[Soldier4Christ]

UK Bishop Sparks Row With Comments on Islam, Multiculturalism

The only Asian-born bishop in the Church of England is under fire for saying Islamic radicals have turned parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims.

Muslim representatives called for the resignation of Michael Nazir-Ali, the bishop of Rochester in southeast England, saying his comments published in a weekend newspaper were stirring hatred against Muslims.

Some politicians also weighed in, voicing doubt about the veracity of Nazir-Ali's claims.

Writing in the London Sunday Telegraph, the bishop was critical not just of Islamic extremists but also of those pushing secularist and multicultural agendas, with disregard for "the distinctively Christian character of the nation's laws, values, customs and culture."

It was becoming increasingly difficult, he said, for Christianity to survive as Britain's traditional religion.

Nazir-Ali was born in Karachi, Pakistan, the son of a Muslim who had converted to Catholicism. He later joined the Anglican Church and was appointed a bishop in the Church of England in 1994. Although he chairs the Anglican Church's inter-faith dialogue group, he has angered Muslims before, for example by saying in a 2006 interview that many Muslims have a "dual psychology," seeking both "victimhood and domination."

He is also a conservative with strong views on the issues of homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage that are threatening to split the worldwide Anglican Communion. He said last October he would not attend the Communion's once-a-decade Lambeth Conference this year because of the presence of liberal American bishops who elected the openly homosexual Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

His latest comments come shortly before the Church of England Newspaperpublishes the results of its first opinion poll of members of the church's general synod, or governing body. The newspaper says that more than half the respondents feel that the British government is unsuccessful in upholding the place of Christianity in the U.K. today.

Nazir-Ali decried the changes seen in Britain over the last half-century, attributing them in part to "the arrival of large numbers of people of other faiths to these shores" and Britain's attempt to accommodate them "on the basis of a novel philosophy of 'multiculturalism.'"

"This required that people should be facilitated in living as separate communities, continuing to communicate in their own languages and having minimum need for building healthy relationships with the majority," he wrote.

Meanwhile, an ideology of Islamic extremism was alienating the young from the country in which they were living and turning some communities into "no-go" areas where those of non-Muslim faiths faced hostility.

He cited efforts to promote Islamic law (shari'a), including shari'a-compliant banking systems, as well as the use by mosques of amplifiers and loudspeakers to increase the volume of the Islamic call to prayer over surrounding areas.

That move, Nazir-Ali said, "raises all sorts of questions about noise levels and whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker."

Although several fellow bishops cautiously supported Nazir-Ali's comments, Muslim groups reacted strongly.

"It is clear from this latest racist and prejudice[d] article that he is determined to create unnecessary division and hatred towards Muslims," said Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, the country's leading Muslim youth organization. Nazir-Ali should resign for promoting hatred towards Muslims, he said.

Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the comments were of the type expected from the ultra-right British National Party, "not a responsible figure in the Church of England.""

Another MCB representative, Ibrahim Mogra, said Nazir-Ali "should accept that Britain is a multicultural society in which we are free to follow our religion at the same time as being extremely proud to be British."

"We wouldn't allow 'no-go' areas to happen," said Mogra, who is an imam in the city of Leicester, where Muslims account for 11 percent of the population, compared to the 3.1 percent national average according to 2001 census figures.

Senior Conservative lawmaker William Hague said in televised comments he did not think the claims of "no-go areas" was factually-correct, while Nick Clegg, leader of the third-largest party, the Liberal Democrats, said the comments were "extraordinarily inflammatory."

Simon Barrow, co-director of the liberal Christian think-tank Ekklesia, said the bishop had "echoed the fear many people feel about the changing demography and make-up of Britain, and while I disagree with his overall analysis it is better to get the issues out in the open than to mumble in the dark."

[Soldier4Christ]

 Muslims call for 'no-go' CoE bishop to resign

Religious groups have demanded the resignation of the Bishop of Rochester after he claimed that Islamic radicals had turned parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that fundamentalism had made some communities hostile to Christians and those from other faiths.

But Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "Mr Nazir-Ali is promoting hatred towards Muslims and should resign."

Ajmal Masroor, of the Islamic Society of Great Britain, said: "It's a distortion of reality. Our communities are far more integrated than they were 10 years ago.

"If the Church of England had an iota of fairness they would take serious action."

But senior figures from the Church of England have backed the Bishop of Rochester's remarks about faith and said Christians in predominantly Muslim areas could feel isolated and nervous about how to express their belief.

The Bishop of Burnley, the Rt Rev John Goddard, said his colleague had raised serious questions about the role of faith, race and culture in British society.

The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade, said it was becoming difficult for Christians to share their faith in areas where there was a high proportion of other faiths.

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "I don't think that view is factually correct. I'm not sure where these no-go areas are, I don't recognise that description."

But Bishop Goddard said that Christians, who are outnumbered in many parts of Blackburn, were frightened that their ideas could be misinterpreted by other faiths and seen as a form of oppression.

"It is not fear that there is going to be retaliation but it is a fear that you get it badly wrong and cause hurt to others of integrity of other faith you did not intend," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"When you engage in proclaiming the Christian faith in an area dominated by another religion, I and others tread very carefully so that the message is heard and not seen as some sort of oppression."

Bishop Goddard said Christians in northern towns such as Blackburn and Burnley, where 95 per cent of the Asian population is Muslim, could find life difficult.

"I think they sometimes feel as though they are strangers," he said. "It is a question of how people of different beliefs work together. Of course, the vast majority of Muslims are peace loving."

Endorsing Bishop Nazir-Ali's comments, he said: "Bishop Michael has raised these issues as a start of a debate which has serious connotations.

"The seriousness is how do you enable people of different cultures, races and faiths to live together as one nation, that seems to be at the back of what he is saying."

Bishop Goddard said the increased wearing of the hijab in parts of Britain was a cultural rather than religious phenomenon.

He added: "So many tensions are driven by culture rather than faith. My hope is that we can work effectively across the boundaries of other people then faith can be used as a means to understand each other."

[Shammu]

Sarkozy seen as backing Blair for top EU job
09.01.2008 - 09:28 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair will attend a conference of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party UMP on Saturday (12 January), in what is said to be his first intervention for a party other than his own.

The move is fuelling speculation that Mr Blair, who belongs to the UK's center-left Labour party, is in the running for EU president – a new high-profile job that can be held for up to five years starting in 2009.


The two men will debate Europe and Mr Blair may get clear backing from Mr Sarkozy in exchange of his participation at the conference, according to media reports.

The UMP meeting marks the launch of its pre-electoral campaign before the municipal elections in France on 9 and 16 March – but there is set to be much speculation around Mr Blair's attendance.

The president of the socialist group in the French national assembly, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has accused Mr Sarkozy of preparing the ground for Mr Blair's candidacy for the EU top job with Saturday's event.

"I see something emerging from the UMP's side and from the president of the republic (…), which is preparing Tony Blair's candidacy for EU president", Mr Ayrault was reported as saying by French news agency AFP on Tuesday (8 January).

"This candidacy is not acceptable, because it is not acceptable that the first EU president is a man who supported and participated in the war in Iraq", he added.

Other politicians who have already expressed interest in what is to set to be one of the EU's top jobs include Luxembourg's prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern.

Two more positions are also up for grabs next year – president of the European Commission and EU foreign minister.

Haggling over the nominations for the post is set to start in earnest in the second half of this year when France takes over the EU presidency.

Sarkozy seen as backing Blair for top EU job

[Def]

Sarkozy seen as backing Blair for top EU job
09.01.2008 - 09:28 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair will attend a conference of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right party UMP on Saturday (12 January), in what is said to be his first intervention for a party other than his own.

The move is fuelling speculation that Mr Blair, who belongs to the UK's center-left Labour party, is in the running for EU president – a new high-profile job that can be held for up to five years starting in 2009.


The two men will debate Europe and Mr Blair may get clear backing from Mr Sarkozy in exchange of his participation at the conference, according to media reports.

The UMP meeting marks the launch of its pre-electoral campaign before the municipal elections in France on 9 and 16 March – but there is set to be much speculation around Mr Blair's attendance.

The president of the socialist group in the French national assembly, Jean-Marc Ayrault, has accused Mr Sarkozy of preparing the ground for Mr Blair's candidacy for the EU top job with Saturday's event.

"I see something emerging from the UMP's side and from the president of the republic (…), which is preparing Tony Blair's candidacy for EU president", Mr Ayrault was reported as saying by French news agency AFP on Tuesday (8 January).

"This candidacy is not acceptable, because it is not acceptable that the first EU president is a man who supported and participated in the war in Iraq", he added.

Other politicians who have already expressed interest in what is to set to be one of the EU's top jobs include Luxembourg's prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern.

Two more positions are also up for grabs next year – president of the European Commission and EU foreign minister.

Haggling over the nominations for the post is set to start in earnest in the second half of this year when France takes over the EU presidency.

Sarkozy seen as backing Blair for top EU job

it smell   "666"

[nChrist]

it smell   "666"

Hello Sister Def,

This was also my first thought. Who Knows? - It's an increasingly wild and evil world that is changing dramatically by the day. It appears that all that's left is a few more pieces of the puzzle to fall into place. This is all like a giant picture already in the development solution, and many parts of the picture can already be seen.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Revelation 13:11-18 NASB
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who *had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

[Shammu]

Joint US-EU-NATO security body mulled
Yaakov Katz
THE JERUSALEM POST
Jan. 17, 2008

While rejecting the idea of Israel or other countries in conflict joining NATO, five former Western defense chiefs called Wednesday for the alliance and the European Union to create a joint security "directorate" to address global terrorism and the challenges posed by Iran and China.

In a report presented in Brussels, former military commanders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands laid out a new strategy for NATO designed to create stronger ties between the US and its European allies. The authors of the report included Gen. (ret.) Dr. Klaus Naumann, former German chief of staff, and Gen. (ret.) John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"There is a great mismatch between the interconnected list of dangers and the international and national capabilities to respond to them - capabilities that are weakened by their disunity," the authors wrote in the report, titled "Towards a Grand Strategy for an Uncertain World."

"No institution and no nation is capable of responding to these dangers and risks on its own; and just a cursory glance at our international organizations leads us to ask whether we have a proper basis for coordinated action. Unfortunately, it would appear that we do not," the report concluded.

The report's authors recommend the establishment of a US, EU, NATO "steering directorate" to coordinate operations when common interests are in danger.

"The point of such a directorate would be to better liaise for the common good, to coordinate who takes the lead on which issue, and to ensure that the three entities support each other," the report reads.

The proposal comes ahead of a NATO summit set for April during which leaders of the 32 member states are expected to discuss the alliance's post-Cold War future.

While Israeli defense officials were not familiar with the report they were not surprised by its recommendation that the Western alliance undergo a major restructuring.

"For years now, NATO has been looking for a new purpose," said one Israeli official. "With the Cold War over, they are looking to preserve their strength, and a new directorate uniting the US, NATO and the EU could do that."

While the report does not specifically mention the issue of Israeli membership in NATO - for years debated within the IDF and the Defense Ministry - it does recommend not accepting as a member any country that is engaged in conflict or territorial disputes. Outgoing Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman has over the past year pushed for Israel to ask for full membership in the military alliance.

"NATO should state that it will not extend membership invitations to countries in which the standards of NATO members - such as democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance - are not fully adhered to. It should also be agreed that the alliance will not accept any country as a member which has unresolved territorial claims or which is involved in ongoing armed conflicts," the report reads.

The report's authors also referred to the Second Lebanon War, citing it as an example of non-state actors involved in asymmetric warfare and saying that Hizbullah engaged in "war crimes" by positioning its fighters and launching rockets from within civilian population centers.

Joint US-EU-NATO security body mulled

[Shammu]

Italy seeks way out of crisis after Prodi quits
Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:19pm EST

By Silvia Aloisi and Phil Stewart

ROME (Reuters) - President Giorgio Napolitano started crisis talks on Friday meant to rescue Italy from political limbo after Prime Minister Romano Prodi's resignation raised the specter of snap elections.

Italy's 61st government since World War Two collapsed late on Thursday after Prodi lost a confidence vote in the Senate, just 20 months after taking office.

Napolitano, who will consult a long list of political leaders and former presidents until Tuesday, met among others Senate President Franco Marini -- tipped as a possible candidate to lead an interim government.

Such a government would need cross-party backing and would be charged with making the electoral system less unstable.

It is Napolitano's only option if he wants to avoid calling Italians back to the polls immediately.

But opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, a former prime minister and Italy's richest man, is pressing for snap elections that opinion polls suggest would return him to power.

"There is no reason to waste any more time, we must go to the polls as quickly as possible," Berlusconi, 71, said on Friday at a packed rally in Naples, where a garbage crisis has embarrassed the local centre-left council.

"This is the start of our election campaign for freedom," he said, to shouts of "Silvio! Silvio!" from the crowd.

Berlusconi also denied reports that he would be prepared to back an interim government if it was led by his closest aide, Gianni Letta. "I have never heard of this option," he said.

The centre left, shattered by Prodi's resignation, does not want elections now. But Prodi, who remains caretaker prime minister, said he would not lead an interim government.

"I don't think I am the right person for the job," he told reporters. "I'll just be a grandfather."

LONG IMPASSE

A long political impasse would likely delay sorely needed economic reforms, just when a global slowdown looms. In worried markets, the spread between Italian government bonds and German bunds widened to levels unseen in more than six years.

Analysts said the demise of Prodi's government should not hurt growth prospects because he had been too busy surviving politically to carry out deep reforms, but it could threaten a recent improvement in public finances.

Italians are jaded by the instability of their governments, along with endless political bickering that reached new extremes at Thursday's vote. One senator spat at and insulted another, who fainted and was carried out of the chamber on a stretcher.

Napolitano, an 82-year-old former communist, is known to oppose holding snap polls under the same messy electoral system that saddled Prodi with a razor-thin Senate majority.

But small parties on both sides of the divide fear reforming the voting rules would reduce their weight in future coalitions.

The crisis did not seem to hurt shares, which have been more affected in recent days by global trends. The Milan bourse closed down slightly, in line with other European markets.

Shares in state-owned Alitalia, which is in the final throes of being sold to Air France-KLM, plunged on opening but recovered during the day. A source close to the French airline said the turmoil would not affect the timing of its bid, due in the coming weeks.

Italy seeks way out of crisis after Prodi quits

[Shammu]

Blair sets out EU vision amid talk of top European job
14.01.2008 - 09:07 CET | By Honor Mahony
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair appeared to launch a bid to become president of the European Union in a speech on Saturday (12 January) in Paris by setting out his vision for the 27-nation bloc.

Addressing members of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right UMP party, Mr Blair, of the UK's centre-left Labour Party, said that member states could achieve more if they worked together.


"Europe is not a question of left or right, but a question of the future or the past, of strength or weakness," said Mr Blair, who works as a Middle East envoy since leaving Downing Street in June last year.

"Terrorism, security, immigration, organised crime, energy, the environment, science, biotechnology and higher education. In all these areas, and others, we are much stronger and able to deliver what our citizens expect from us as individual nations if we are part of a strong and united Europe," he said, according to Reuters.

Mr Blair attended the UMP conference at the invitation of Mr Sarkozy, who first mentioned him and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as possible candidates for president of the European Council, representing member states at EU leader level, in October.

Negotiations on who should hold the new two-and-a-half-year post are expected to begin in the second half of this year, when France takes over the helm of the EU.

The European president post - expected to be a very high-profile job - is part of the new EU treaty, which still has to be ratified by the majority of member states.

At the Saturday meeting, Mr Sarkozy did not say outright that he thought Mr Blair should be appointed to the post, but praised him as one of "Europe's greats."

"When we appoint this president of the European Union, I want us to set the bar high and not aim for the lowest common denominator," said the French president.

But while Mr Blair appears to have the French government in his corner, he remains a highly controversial figure for others.

The leader of the opposition French socialists, Francois Hollande, said Mr Blair's support for the US-led invasion of Iraq makes him unsuitable for the post.

"[Blair] has evident qualities and had successes in his country but the position he took on the invasion of Iraq means he cannot be the next president of Europe," Mr Hollande told France's Radio J over the weekend.

Similarly, he is remembered in Brussels for having failed to deliver on Europe. He was greeted with open arms when he came to power in 1997, seen as a fresh face and pro-Europe after years of Conservative and generally more eurosceptic government.

But his years in office became mired in the Iraq affair, which proved highly divisive in Europe, and he did not move forward on major EU questions such as the country's membership of the euro, while keeping the country at arm's length from Europe on questions of foreign policy and justice and home affairs.

Blair sets out EU vision amid talk of top European job

[Shammu]

Rightist EU politicians plan new party
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 26, 2008

Far-right politicians from four EU nations have announced plans to form a pan-European "patriotic" party, the BBC reported on Saturday.

The leader of far-right parties from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and France said their aim was to defend Europe against "Islamisation" and immigrants.

At a news conference in Vienna, they said they planned to launch the party by November 15.

In Vienna, the heads of Austria's Freedom Party, Belgium's Vlaams Belang, Bulgaria's Ataka and the French National Front said the new party would be a counter-balance to other political forces in Europe, the BBC reported.

"We say: Patriots of all the countries of Europe, unite! Because only together will we solve our problems," Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache said.

"Irresponsible mass immigration to Europe from outside Europe due to irresponsible politicians... is the problem," he said.

Asked about the likelihood of the new party's success, French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen said: "It's not necessary to hope in order to try."

The far-right leaders require the support from seven EU parties to launch the group, but Strache said that the goal was to have "more than 10 parties as members and ideally one party from each EU country".

The new party has no name yet, but Strache said European Patriotic Party or European Freedom Party were working titles.

Austria's governing Social Democrats condemned the plan saying the proposed political party was absurd and contradictory, the BBC reported.

Rightist EU politicians plan new party
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone seen "V" for Vendetta?  Because this is how that started, a far right party formed in Europe that was against islam, Christians and Jews. Just seems oddly familiar..............

[Shammu]

Brussels to tighten EU external borders
06.02.2008 - 08:00 CET | By Renata Goldirova
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission is working on a new set of measures aimed at strengthening the EU's external borders in order to monitor migrants and track down criminals.

Next Wednesday (13 February), EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini is expected to table a border control package, consisting of three proposals.


The package suggests setting up an entry/exit register of non-European visitors to the EU, and a European Border Surveillance System designed to detect those who enter the bloc between border crossing points.

In addition, Brussels is set to push for better use of the EU's border control agency, Frontex, particularly via "intensified" joint operations between member states at sea borders.

"It is now time to look ahead and develop the next generation of border management tools", Mr Frattini's paper says, while suggesting the package should become part of a priority list of the current Slovenian EU presidency.

All proposed measures could then enter into force between 2012 and 2015.

Travellers to face tighter checks
The cornerstone of Brussels' plans is the proposal to establish an electronic entry/exit register, which would enable the 27-nation bloc to keep better track of who is entering and leaving its territory.

In practice, the system would record the dates of entry and exit of each non-EU national admitted to the Schengen passport-free area.

The commission says it wants to have a better overview of travellers from beyond the EU who do not need a visa to enter the EU bloc. It also argues that thousands of foreigners currently overstay their visa, but the union has no tools for identifying them.

Apart from the entry/exit system, Brussels is also set to encourage member states to introduce "automated border-crossing checks", a procedure that employs new biometric technology such as eye scanners.

It will also open up a discussion on the possibility of setting up a system that requires non-EU travellers to obtain an electronic authorisation to travel before they leave for Europe - something that is already in place in Australia.

"The objective is to enhance security as well as to facilitate legitimate travelling," a commission official told EUobserver, underlining that crossing the external border must remain simple and quick for bona fide travellers.

Constant surveillance
Another of the commission proposals envisages the EU bloc eventually having a common European surveillance system for all land and maritime borders. This would be called EUROSUR.

The idea was first floated back in 2006 in relation to the EU's southern sea borders, which have been under the biggest immigration pressure.

"EUROSUR will ensure that unauthorised border crossing will not go undetected", the commission draft paper says, referring to advanced technology, including satellites, which would put Europe's borders "under constant surveillance".

The system should connect all EU member states and provide them with the information needed to intercept people trying to enter Europe who are bypassing regular border checks.

Brussels to tighten EU external borders

[Shammu]

EU wants border surveillance, exit checks

Published: Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:00 PM

BRUSSELS, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The European Union will next week weigh a package of tough new measures for its external frontiers, mirroring some of the changes at U.S. borders.

A draft proposal reported Wednesday by EU Observer outlines three sets of measures the EU commission will weigh at its meeting next week -- the first time formal proposals have been made.

The online newsletter reported they are: an entry-exit record system for all non-EU visitors; a European Border Surveillance System -- a virtual fence -- to detect those who enter between border crossing points; and a bigger role for Frontex, the EU's border control agency, with more joint operations between member states at sea.

If the measures are taken up with energy right away, EU Observer quoted officials as saying, they could be in place by 2012-15.

The most remarkable of the proposals envisages a common surveillance system for the external land and sea frontiers of the 27-nation bloc, dubbed EUROSUR.

"EUROSUR will ensure that unauthorized border crossing will not go undetected", the commission draft paper says, referring to advanced technology, including satellites, which would put Europe's borders "under constant surveillance."

The entry-exit system, rather like US-VISIT, the biometric entry system used at U.S. borders, would record the dates of entry and exit of each non-EU national admitted to the Schengen passport-free area.

"The commission says it wants to have a better overview of travelers from beyond the EU who do not need a visa to enter the EU bloc," reports the EU Observer. "It also argues that thousands of foreigners currently overstay their visa, but the union has no tools for identifying them."

EU wants border surveillance, exit checks

[Shammu]

Unfortunately, I can see this getting passed and being in operation very soon. The sad part, it's needed due to who is infiltrating by open borders and sea. Lots of hidden people are willing to strap on things they shouldn't, to destroy and kill innocents.

[Shammu]

"Euros Accepted" signs pop up in New York City
Wed Feb 6, 2008 4:09pm EST

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

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

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

"We didn't realize we would take so much in and there were that many people traveling or having euros to bring in. But some days, you'd be surprised at how many euros you get," Chu said.

"Now we have to get familiar with other currencies and the (British) pound and the Canadian dollars we take," he said.

While shops in many U.S. towns on the Canadian border have long accepted Canadian currency and some stores on the Texas-Mexico border take pesos, the acceptance of foreign money in Manhattan was unheard of until recently.

Not far from Chu's downtown wine emporium, Billy Leroy of Billy's Antiques & Props said the vast numbers of Europeans shopping in the neighborhood got him thinking, "My God, I should take euros in at the store."

Leroy doesn't even bother to exchange them.

"I'm happy if I take in 200 euros, because what I do is keep them," he said. "So when I go back to Paris, I don't have to go through the nightmare of going to an exchange place."

"Euros Accepted" signs pop up in New York City

[Shammu]

One world currency, that sounds familiar..........

I believe this is going to become very common within the next couple of years on both the East and West coasts.

[Shammu]

Europe watchdog scraps plan to monitor Russia vote
Thu Feb 7, 2008 3:15pm EST

By Christian Lowe and Conor Sweeney

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Europe's main election watchdog cancelled plans on Thursday to monitor Russia's presidential election, citing unacceptable restrictions imposed by Moscow.

Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of outgoing president Vladimir Putin, is overwhelming favorite to win the March 2 contest, which opponents of the Kremlin say is slanted in his favor.

"We made every effort in good faith to deploy our mission," said ODIHR director Christian Strohal in a statement. "The Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation."

A verdict from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is regarded by Western states as the best yardstick of whether a vote is fair, and the group's withdrawal is likely to damage further Russia's democratic credentials.

The pullout follows weeks of argument. Russia said the monitors could arrive only 11 days before the vote but the watchdog, described by Russian officials as a tool of Western states, said they needed longer.

Russia said the ODIHR decision was unacceptable.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) parliamentary assembly also said it would not monitor the vote. The assembly monitors elections jointly with the ODIHR, but usually plays a junior role.

"Unless there is a miracle and the foreign minister comes and says take as many (observers) as you want into Russia, the mission is off," Strohal told Reuters.

"We are a small group that stands around politely and looks at the (election) process. If the big Russian Federation is afraid of that, well, I can't believe that," he said in Vienna.

The only official Western observer group that has not pulled out is a team from the Council of Europe, which does not usually take the lead in monitoring major elections.

In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry said ODIHR had displayed "contempt for basic ethical norms ... which, it seems, indicates that ODIHR from the start was not even trying to agree on mutually acceptable conditions for monitoring".

Last year the ODIHR pulled out of monitoring Russia's parliamentary election over similar issues, though the OSCE's parliamentary assembly did send a team. Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory.

ASSERTIVE RUSSIA

The European Union said it attached great importance to credible international election observation and that it regretted the ODIHR would not be going to Russia.

"Once again I urge the Russian authorities to make sure that these elections will be conducted in accordance with Russia's commitments as a member of the OSCE," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

In Washington, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said:

"We think Russia and all countries should feel open enough to allow observers into their country to keep an eye on elections."

Russia is showing increasing assertiveness in its dealings with the West and has said it will no longer tolerate Western governments lecturing it about democracy.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking before the ODIHR announced its pullout, said the watchdog had been trying to dictate terms to Russia. "A country that respects itself accepts no ultimatums," he told a news briefing.

Masha Lipman, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, a think tank, said the OSCE pullout would "add to the sense that something is deeply wrong with Russian democracy".

"Of course this is a blow to Russia's image, but this is one more message to the Russian constituency that Russia stands up to the West."

Opinion polls indicate Medvedev enjoys over 70 percent support. The 42-year-old first deputy prime minister emerged as front-runner after receiving Putin's endorsement.

Putin is constitutionally barred from serving a third consecutive term. Most analysts predict that he will be the power behind the throne under a Medvedev presidency.

Opposition parties have called the election a farce, pointing to blanket coverage of Medvedev's campaign on state-controlled television and the lack of strong rivals.

The SPS, a small opposition party, said on Thursday the election process was "obviously unconstitutional and false".

The SPS is a small party but has influence over Russia's marginalized intelligentsia. It has already said it will not field a presidential candidate.

Europe watchdog scraps plan to monitor Russia vote