<a href=icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk>This has already happened . . . in Iraq in 2000 Mar 23 2003 By Sunday Sun

The US has gone to war to stop it going bust, according to a startling theory about the conflict in Iraq.

Economist William Clark sees the true battle for world domination as being between the American dollar and the euro.

At present, the dollar is the currency used for the buying and selling of the vast oil reserves in the world.

This ensures massive demand for the currency.

A long-standing agreement between most oil-producing nations ensures that much of this cash also has to be spent on US products or invested in its stock market.

The mind-boggling amount of money this involves maintains the US's position as the richest nation in the world.

If the dollar's status as the oil currency was removed, the American economy would go into a tailspin last seen in 1930s Germany where wheelbarrows full of cash were needed to buy a loaf of bread.

For the fuse to be lit, it needed one of the major oil-producing nations to switch to trading in the euro.

This has already happened . . . in Iraq in 2000.

Now more nations are seriously considering their position as a result.

The two other nations George W Bush named, along with Iraq, as belonging to an axis of evil are at the centre of the potential US crisis.

Iran, also a major oil producer, is one of the countries considering whether to switch to the euro.

And North Korea, while not an oil producer, previously used the dollar to trade in as its own currency is worthless on the world market.

It recently switched to euros.

Meanwhile Venezuela, the world's fourth-largest oil producer and the victim of a recent attempted coup backed by the American CIA, is also interested in changing.

Mr Clark said: "The Europeans created the euro to compete with the dollar as an alternative international reserve currency.

"Obviously the EU would like oil priced in euros as well.

"The euro is a significant new factor and appears to be a primary threat to US economic hegemony."

He quoted a former US government official as claiming: "The real reason the Bush administration wants a puppet government in Iraq is so it will revert back to the dollar standard and stay that way.

"Saddam sealed his fate when he decided to switch to the euro in late 2000, and later converted his $10 billion reserve fund at the UN to euros.

"At that point, another manufactured Gulf War became inevitable under Bush II."

The current agreement was drawn up in 1971 between America and OPEC, which represents most oil-producing nations.

It means that every country wanting to buy oil needs to keep substantial reserves of US dollars in their national banks.

This US stranglehold over the world economy is known as "dollar hegemony".

It maintains a stable currency rate in America and provides banks with the confidence to allow America to run up £4 trillion in debts.

However, if the euro took over as the world's oil and reserve currency, this confidence could soon disappear.

The US economy would shrink by up to 40 per cent, or even collapse altogether . . . and the EU would become the globe's top economic power.

Worryingly for the US, Russia and China - both oil producers outside of OPEC and so not bound by the agreement - have already converted some of their cash reserves to euros.

Therefore, according to Mr Clark, Iraq is the whipping boy to show the rest of the world, especially OPEC countries, what will happen if they too back the euro and not the dollar.

In his essay, The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War With Iraq, Mr Clark said: "If OPEC switches to the euro, the oil-consuming nations would have to flush dollars out of their reserve funds and replace these with euros.

"The dollar would crash anywhere from 20pc to 40pc in value and the consequences would be massive inflation.

"You'd have foreign funds streaming out of US stock markets and dollar-denominated assets and the current account deficit would become unserviceable.

"The ultimate result would be the US and EU switching roles in the global economy."

This theory could also explain France, China, Russia and Germany's determination to avoid war. After all, the EU has made no secret that it wants the euro to become the world's reserve currency.

In May 2004 the EU expands from 15 to 25 countries giving it a total population of 450m, compared with the US population of around 250m.

So the EU will have a greater capacity to consume oil.

And its annual wealth - measured as its Gross Domestic Product - will be £6.13 trillion a year, coming close to the US's £6.45 trillion . . . with dollar hegemony.

If the swap from dollar to euro occurred, it would allow China to emerge as a world power in its own right and Russia's strength would also be enhanced.

But what of Britain? What does it get out of supporting the US dollar hegemony?

Although a member of the EU, Britain hasn't yet joined the euro club.

It would be disastrous for Britain if the euro became the world's reserve currency of choice before the UK decides to enter the currency.

The euro would steadily gain value and the UK would be left facing entry at unfavourable exchange rates.

Since losing its empire, Britain has cast itself as honest broker between Europe and the US.

If the US lost its super-power status Britain's "special relationship" would count for less and less in world affairs . . . and its influence could only decline further.

www.alertnet.org 19 Mar 2003 21:36

CARACAS, Venezuela, March 19 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Venezuelan Catholics are flocking to a small chapel in Caracas where they say a Virgin Mary statue has been weeping tears of blood as a peaceful message against a looming U.S.-led war with Iraq.

Worshipers have lined up to catch a glimpse of the small Mary Mystic Rose statue at Belen College in eastern Caracas. Tracks of red stains mark the cheeks of the blue-eyed statue, which resides in an ornate wood-and-glass case inside the school's chapel.

Workers at the school run by nuns said the statue had bled from its eyes since Monday morning and again more heavily Wednesday in what they saw as a message of peace.

"They started oozing blood all at once. It was really an amazing sight," said Sister Maritza, who is a member of the Servants of Jesus religious order at the college. "We cannot guess at the plans of God, but obviously it is a call to avoid a war."

She said the statue had arrived in Venezuela from Germany about three years ago and had been carried in processions throughout the predominantly Catholic South American nation.

www.crikey.com.au

The Crikey Crew

......................unfair to everybody".

Hugo Kelly hugo@melbpc.org.au Crikey's eccentric media, politics, business and sports commentator haphazardly applies his sublime writing skills to all sorts of things. Hugo was first elected Venezualan President in a 1998 landslide victory, ousting the regime of Carlos Andres Perez, Hugo Kelly's path to power has followed a traditional South American route: from military strongman to populist political dictator. This admirer of Fidel Castro's Cuba and avowed anti-globalist was pushed from office on 12 April - as a result of his attempts to take control of the world's fourth-biggest oil industry. But just two days later, after his supporters - mainly Venezuela's poor - took the streets, he was back in the presidential palace. Now, his country his in the grip of a dramatic general strike with oil production paralysed and Hugo might soon might himself out of job and writing for Crikey again.

Dan McNutt dan@crikey.com.au Dan McNutt is Crikey's Sydney (Sin City) correspondent. Dan is like Stephen Mayne in many ways ........................

www.canada.com David Parker For The Calgary Herald Sunday, March 16, 2003 CREDIT: Greg Fulmes , Calgary Herald   Twin sisters Laura Newcombe, left, and Noreen Spier share a job at O & Y Enterprises. Their employer understands the value of quality of life and benefits by knowing sick days and holidays are easily covered.

You may be forgiven for asking who's who at O & Y Enterprises these days. With the blessing of management, property managers Noreen Spier and Laura Newcombe are job-sharing -- which can create some confusion, seeing as they are identical twins.

Spier has been at O & Y since 1998 and her sister was on maternity leave from a similar position with Brookfield when they got the idea of helping each other out. They split the working week into three days and two days at the office and flip days the following week.

What a great solution; balance careers while having the satisfaction of knowing their children are being cared for by an aunt. Their employer understands the value of quality of life and benefits by knowing that sick days and holidays are always covered. I guess they must wear big names tags when visiting clients. 

Paul Drager has been a very active member of this city's international business community, over and above his work as chairman of Macleod Dixon's international trade-law department. It is most noticeable in his involvement with the University of Calgary, where he is a director of the Gorbachov Trust Fund, chair of the International Business Advisory Board and a board member of the International Business Advisory Group.

For his service to the community, he has received numerous awards. Last year, he received the Hal Godwin Award for Excellence in International Business, and the previous year, he was the recipient of the President's International Achievement Award from the University of Calgary. Last week, he received another, being recognized with the Law Society of Alberta/Canadian Bar Association Distinguished Service Award.

It was under Drager's direction that Macleod Dixon received the first formal accreditation by the Russian government for any Canadian law firm to establish a branch in Moscow. It has developed into one of the premier western law firms in Russia and has expanded to Kazakhstan, where it has offices in Almaty, the capital, and in Atyrau, on the Caspian Sea. He was also instrumental in Macleod Dixon's expansion into Caracas, Venezuela, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Prior to joining the Calgary law firm, Drager served as a Canadian diplomat on commercial and legal matters at embassies in Moscow and The Hague, positions that have given him considerable experience in bilateral and multilateral international trade-law issues and negotiations, including international claims and commodity agreements.

Whenever I bump into Richard White, executive director of the Calgary Downtown Association, I'm guaranteed to receive enthusiastic good news about his bailiwick. The success of Downtown Dining Week has him grinning more than usual, as due to the great response from Calgarians, the event, which has offered special menus and pricing at some very fine restaurants, has been extended until March 22.

David Parker appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. He can be reached at 830-4622 or e-mail info@davidparker.ca

www.heraldtribune.com By ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press Writer

If you think Americans went crazy over their flag after Sept. 11, you should come to Venezuela. Venezuelans don't just decorate their homes with flags. They're wearing them on T-shirts, shorts, skirts, back-packs, fanny-packs - even bikinis. It's a fashion craze spun from the turmoil surrounding President Hugo Chavez's four-year rule, in which pro-and anti-Chavez Venezuelans are fighting to prove which side is most patriotic. Almost every clothing store in town seems to carry items featuring the yellow-blue-and-red banner, with an arch of seven white stars in the middle. On every street in Caracas, at least one person wears some form of the flag. Now, Venezuela's haute couture is embracing the trend. On Wednesday - National Flag Day - 20 local designers displayed flag-inspired gowns at an evening competition at the Melia Hotel in Caracas. The fashion elite sipped wine while gazing at mannequins sporting gowns ranging from regal to outrageous. There was a simple strapless A-line with layers of yellow, blue and red chiffon. There was also a mini dress made from linked copper and bronze stars. Underneath, was a royal blue bikini. A yellow cape swept down the back, decorated with yellow, blue and red parrots. The winning dress was to be worn by Venezuela's contestant at the 2003 Miss Universe pageant. "It used to be cheesy to wear the flag," said designer Octavio Vasquez. "Now it's matter of pride to wear the flag, hold the flag, be the flag." It all started when Chavez bucked a law banning national symbols at political events. During his frequent rallies, Chavez uses them all: the flag, the national anthem and images of 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar. The result was a flag war. Vowing to "take back" the emblem, Venezuela's opposition turned its own marches into seas of red, blue and yellow. Opponents unfurled the banner outside their car windows, homes and office buildings. But the power behind the fashion is Venezuela's army of street vendors. Eager to profit from the protests, hawkers got creative, selling everything from flag knapsacks to tricolor beaded jewelry. For some, it's all a bit much. Sitting on a park bench, Jesus Flores, 80, eyes a vendor. "Wearing the flag as a bikini isn't patriotic," he grumbles. "The flag is a symbol. We should respect it." Last modified: March 13. 2003 9:10A