Ten Crowns/Horns/Kings

Philologos
Bible Prophecy Research
Title: Ten Crowns/Horns/Kings
Submitted by: research-bpr@philologos.org
Date: May 30, 1998
URL: http://philologos.org/bpr/files/t005.htm

Ten Crowns/Horns/Kings

In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. - Genesis 15:18-21

[See beginning of 70 Weeks of Daniel for explanation of signs employed to help better understand these definitions.]

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Kenites 7017
Qeyniy or Qiyniy (1 Chron 2:55); patronymic [of the father's name] from 7014; a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin:--Kenite.

[And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.--1 Chronicles 2:55]

7014 Qayin; the same as 7013 (with a play upon the affinity to 7069); Kajin, the name of the first child, also of a place in Palestine, and of an Oriental tribe:--Cain, Kenite (-s).

7013 qayin; from 6969 in the original sense of fixity; a lance (as striking fast):--spear.

6969 quwn; a primitive root; to strike a musical note, i.e. chant or wail (at a funeral):--lament, mourning woman.

Kenizzites 7074
Qenizziy; patronymically from 7073, a Kenizzite or descendant of Kenaz:--Kenezite, Kenizzites.

7073 Qenaz; probably from an unused root meaning to hunt; hunter; Kenaz , the name of an Edomite and of two Israelites:--Kenaz.

Kadmonites 6935
Qadmoniy; the same as 6931; ancient, i.e. aboriginal; Kadmonite (collectively), the name of a tribe in Palestine:--Kadmonites.

6931 qadmowniy; or qadmoniy; from 6930; (of time) anterior or (of place) oriental:--ancient, they that went before, east, (thing of) old.

6930 qadmown; from 6923; eastern:--east.

6923 qadam; a primitive root; to project (one self), i.e. precede; hence to anticipate, hasten, meet (usually for help):--come (go, [flee]) before, + disappoint, meet, prevent.

Hittites 2850
Chittiy; patronymically from 2845; a Chittite, or descendant of Cheth:--Hittite, Hittites.

2845 Cheth; from 2865; terror; Cheth, an aboriginal Canaanite:--Heth.

2865 chathath; a primitive root; properly to prostrate; hence to break down, either (literally) by violence, or (figuratively) by confusion and fear:--abolish, affright, be (make) afraid, amaze, beat down, discourage, (cause to) dismay, go down, scare, terrify.

Perizzites 6522
Perizziy; for 6521; inhabitant of the open country; a Perizzite, one of the Canaanitish tribes:--Perizzite.

6521 peraziy; or perowziy; from 6519; a rustic:--village.

6519 perazah; from the same as 6518; an open country:--(unwalled) town (without walls), unwalled village.

6518 paraz; from an unused root meaning to separate, i.e. decide; a chieftain:--village.

Rephaims 7497
rapha'; or raphah; from 7495 in the sense of invigorating; a giant:--giant, Rapha, Rephaim (-s). See also 1051.

7495 rapha'; or raphah; a primitive root; properly to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure:--cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, x thoroughly, make whole. See 7503.

7503 raphah; a primitive root; to slacken (in many applications, literally or figuratively):--abate, cease, consume, draw [toward evening], fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (go, down), (be) slack, stay, be still, be slothful, (be) weak (-en). See 7495.

1051 Beyth Rapha'; from 1004 and 7497; house of (the) giant; Beth-Rapha, an Israelite:--Beth-rapha.

Amorites 567
'Emoriy; probably a patronymic from an unused name derived from 559 in the sense of publicity, i.e. prominence: thus a mountaineer; an Emorite, one of the Canaanitish tribes:--Amorite.

559 'amar; a primitive root; to say (used with great latitude):--answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, + (at the, give) command (-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, x desire, determine, x expressly, x indeed, x intend, name, x plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), x still x suppose, talk, tell, term, x that is, x think, use [speech], utter, x verily, x yet.

Canaanites 3669
Kena'aniy; patrial from 3667; a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan; by implication a pedlar (the Canaanites standing for their neighbors the Ishmaelites, who conducted mercantile caravans):--Canaanite, merchant, trafficker.

3667 Kena'an; from 3665; humiliated; Kenaan, a son of Ham; also the country inhabited by him:--Canaan, merchant, traffick.

3665 kana'; a primitive root; properly to bend the knee; hence to humiliate, vanquish:--bring down (low), into subjection, under, humble (self), subdue.

Girgashites 1622
Girgashiy; patrial from an unused name [of uncertain derivation]; a Girgashite, one of the native tribes of Canaan:--Girgashite, Girgasite.

Jebusites 2983
Yebuwciy; patrial from 2982; a Jebusite or inhabitant of Jebus:--Jebusite (-s).

2982 Yebuwc; from 947; trodden, i.e. threshing-place; Jebus, the aboriginal name of Jerusalem:--Jebus.

947 buwc; a primitive root; to trample (literally or figuratively):--loath, tread (down, under [foot]), be polluted.

"The Club [of Rome] had its beginnings in April of 1968, when leaders from ten different countries gathered in Rome...The organization claims to have the solutions for world peace and prosperity...The Club of Rome has been charged with the task of overseeing the regionalizaton and unification of the entire world...

"The Club's findings and recommendations are published from time to time in special, highly confidential reports, which are sent to the power-elite to be implemented. On 17 September 1973 the Club released one such report, entitled Regionalized and Adaptive Model of the Global World System... The document reveals that the Club has divided the world into ten political/ economic regions, which it refers to as 'kingdoms.'"

(En Route to Global Occupation, Gary Kah)

North America (NAFTA)
Western Europe
Japan
Australia, South Africa
Eastern Europe, including Russia
Latin America
North Africa and Middle East
Tropical Africa
South and Southeast Asia
China

(Mankind At the Turning Point, Eduard Pestel)

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.--Revelation 13:1-3

____________________

One [way to consolidate international economy policies] would be to bring within the purview of the IMF [International Monetary Fund] membership as a whole issues of interest that are currently discussed within narrower forums, such as the Group of Five (France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which began meeting in 1973 to discuss issues of common interest), the Group of Seven (composed of the Group of Five plus Canada and Italy), and the Group of Ten (consisting of the Group of Seven plus Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden). The procedures need not preclude these forums, but linking them to the IMF would strengthen the legitimacy of the surveillance process and of the institution itself. Another important advantage is that procedures involving the full membership strengthen the rule of law and promote observance of the code of conduct. This is because surveillance exercised within limited groups of large countries represents only an extension of the principle of hegemony of a single country passed on to the group. Broadening participation to the whole membership places the rule of law in the role of the hegemon, thus strengthening the legitimacy and the stability of the established order.

(IMF Pamphlet Series - No. 46 The Unique Nature of the Responsibility, http://www.imf.org)

____________________

Desktop References Glossary:
http://www.tradeport.org/cgi-bin/banner.pl/ts/refs/gloss/index.html

Group of Five - Similar to the Group of Seven (G-7), with the exception of Canada and Italy.

Group of Seven - This term refers to seven major economic powers (Canada. France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States) whose finance ministers seek to promote balanced economic growth and stability among exchange rates.

Group of Seventy-Seven - A grouping of developing countries which received its name in connection with 77 countries issuing a joint statement in Geneva, Switzerland in 1964. The G-77's primary focus is serving as a caucus for articulating members' collective interests primarily in areas of promoting economic cooperation among developing countries and in negotiations on economic matters with developing countries. G-77 membership has increased since 1964 to over 125 countries.

Group of Ten - Under the International Monetary Fund's General Agreements to Borrow (GAB), established in 1962, 10 of the wealthiest industrial members of the IMF "stand ready to lend their currencies to the IMF up to specified amounts when supplementary resources are needed." The finance ministers of these countries comprise the Group of 10 (also called the Paris Club). Members include: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Though numbering 11 with the addition of Switzerland in 1984, the numerical name persists.

Group of Twenty-four - A grouping of finance ministers from 24 developing country members of the International Monetary Fund. The Group, representing eight countries from each of the African, Asian, and Latin American country groupings in the Group of 77, was formed in January 1972 to counterbalance the influence of the Group of 10.

____________________

UN Watch

The rusty colored building which houses the Bank for International Settlements-BIS in Basle, Switzerland looks like any other round office building. A small sign affixed to the wall by the steps leading to its front glass doors tells you it is private property. Other than that you would never think twice about this building as there is nothing specific which marks it as being the most important bank and building in the world.

When the BIS holds its two-hour annual meeting, those who control the world's monetary system, the central bank ministers-- unlike the presidents and prime ministers who attend United Nations conferences--do not have motorcades or limousines which they ride in, but walk to the BIS from the local hotels where they stay.

The Problem

In the book, Confidence Game by Steve Solomon (Simon & Schuster, NY: 1995), he provides a favorable history of the world's central banks and justifies over and over again the need for their existence. The culprit responsible for the current problems with currency imbalances is globalization which Solomon describes as:

The uncontrolled, high-speed gyrations of stateless money unhinged from economic fundamentals or national economic policies [which] has transformed the international monetary system from a smooth....mechanism that anchors a harmonious world political and economic order into a fully floating, private non system driven by the roller-coaster shifts in focus....of the....global financial investors. All models of democratic capitalism....are in distress because of the new phenomenon of uncontrolled stateless money. No country can solve the challenge singly. Nor can any country cut itself off to escape its effects. The fates of all democratic capitalist nations are dependent upon how well we can collectively civilize stateless money within a new international compact of world monetary rules, norms, and policy (page 509) (emphasis added).

Solomon says the solution envisioned by many experts is, "the eventual, long-term evolution to a single world monetary policy based on a single or a few freely interchangeable world reserve currencies, managed by a SUPRANATIONAL CENTRAL BANK" (emphasis added). He laments, "But how to get there from here" (ibid. 509).

Highlighting the path to a single world monetary policy is the need to solve the effects of the globalization process which was created by the same people who wish to solve it. The Bank for International Settlements designed the present borderless flow of monies between countries when it pushed for the deregulation of monetary laws of the major North American, European, and Asian countries. By tearing down national financial borders, they created the ability for $1.2 trillion daily to flow around the world (uncontrolled stateless money) looking for the highest interest or fastest currency play. In the process of solving the problem, the BIS will then extend its tentacles down to the local level (which are not controlled or supervised by this supranational organization) for a complete takeover of the world's banking system through the Basle Core Principles--without even one bullet being fired---a fait accompli. By the time the average citizen has figured this out-- much less those who are elected to Congress--it will be too late.

Introduction

History records for us a number of instances when the world was ruled by large empires. The Tower of Babel was an attempt at political unification, no mention is made of economic union. The empires of Babylon, Assyria, Greece, and Rome were world empires both politically and economically. Napoleon in the last century sought to unite Europe with one monetary and political system. Until this century, there had not been an attempt to integrate all the countries of the world economically. This changed with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. As a result of that legislation, the finances and the economic future of the United States was shifted from the authority of the Congress and the U.S. Treasury to a private corporation called the Federal Reserve. America was the last major country to change over to a central bank system which would help facilitate the quest for a new world economic order.

Sixty-seven years later, the above economic integration was greatly enhanced by the deregulation of the financial and banking industry in 1980 (which led to $1.2 trillion moving around the world daily.) In addition the 1987 stock market crash and the failures of the Herstatt Bank, Franklin Bank, (Italian) Banco Ambrosiano, Barings Bank, etc. have provided the "need" to fix the problem. As a result of these failures, whether planned or real, the Bank for International Settlements has determined that the strength of the international economic system lies with the supervision of not only the world's banks but with insurance companies and brokerage firms as well since they are all interrelated. Whoever supervises the banks has final say as to who runs the world, for they will determine everything financial in a country.

A New World Economic Order

A new world economic order has been evolving since 1930. First came the control of a country's finances through central banking, then the establishment of the BIS, then the creation of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations, the Group of Seven (or Eight), and the World Trade Organization.

Central Banks

During a visit to the museum of the Bank of England in London recently, they had the history of the Bank on display, part of which follows:

The proposal for a 'Bank of England' emerged from a mass of....projects circulating at the beginning of the 1690's. William Patterson, a Scotsman, is generally held to be its originator. A colorful figure, much traveled, he was a key and regular promoter of financial projects. [He] proposed raising 1.2 million British pounds to be lent to the government at 8% on the condition that the subscribers were incorporated as a joint stock company [private corporation] with the title, 'Bank of England.' The particular novelty is that there was no fixed time period for the loan and that interest would be paid in perpetuity. In effect this meant the creation of a permanent national debt. (emphasis added) Patterson was backed by a powerful group of City merchants and also by Charles Montagu, one of the Commissioners of the Treasury, who persuaded the government to introduce a Bill embodying the scheme. The Act was passed in April, 1694."

Controlling the world's monetary system

If you could control the monetary system of the world, how would you do it? Very simply, you first start with your own country or a country which would be easy to persuade. Then if you went systematically around the world to other countries doing the same thing, it would not be long before the control of the world's monetary system would be in the hands of a few men whose wealth and power would grow with the size and number of countries they control and the size of the country's debt, which would now run in perpetuity, providing an unending stream of income for generations to the lenders and bondage to the debtor!

Has this happened yet? Unfortunately yes. The first country to allow a private corporation to run their monetary system was Sweden. Their central bank, the Sveriges Riksbank was founded in 1668. Central banking originated in Sweden. Other countries allowing a private corporation to control their monetary system include: Bank of France in 1803, Reichsbank (Bundesbank- Germany) in 1870, the Bank of Japan in 1882, and the Bank of Italy in 1893. Let us not forget that it was Andrew Jackson who refused to renew the charter for the first central bank in America in 1832.

The Federal Reserve - America's Central Bank

After much maneuvering, distortion and lies, the United States monetary system was given over to the Federal Reserve, a private corporation, on December 23, 1913 when a small group of powerful senators stayed behind to vote on the Federal Reserve Act while the rest of the Senate went home unsuspectingly for the Christmas holiday. Today, there is not one country in the world that does not have a "central bank" or private corporation managing their monetary system. The Federal Reserve is said to be owned by the Rothschild Bank of England, Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris, Lehman Brothers Bank of News York, Chase Manhattan Bank of New York, Goldman, Sachs Bank of New York, Kuhn, Leob Bank of New York and others. It should be noted that one of the reasons why the people of America cannot forgive themselves the interest on the federal debt is because they do not owe it to themselves, they owe it to a private corporation, the Federal Reserve.

The Bank for International Settlements - The Central Bank's Bank

The shift in world power from independent nation-states to one controlled politically and economically from the international level has been gradual. In 1920 at the Paris Peace Conference there was a movement to have all the countries of the world voluntarily join the League of Nations. Our Senate at the time would not ratify this idea. However in 1945, the Senate ratified the United Nations Charter. It was then that American sovereignty started to disintegrate as we became part of a new form of political power which would gradually integrate us with the other countries of the world into a new world order.

That same year at the International Financial Conference in Brussels, which was under the umbrella of the League of Nations, finance ministry officials, central banker and private bankers from nearly 40 countries called for every country to have a central bank. In looking to bail out war torn Europe, it was the Financial Committee of the League of Nations, guided by Britain's Montagu Norman, which helped Europe get back on its feet by using Norman's model of central banking and the men of his choice. Interestingly, it was Montagu Norman who led the call throughout the 20's for central bank autonomy, i.e. freedom from political pressure. It would not be until the 1990's that his dream would be achieved. (Marjorie Deane and Robert Pringle, The Central Banks, Penguin Books USA: 1994, 56-61)

It was the Young Plan, sponsored by America and named after the originator who then became the chairman of General Motors, which set up the Bank for International Settlements in 1930. The formation of the BIS basically "internationalized" central banks as it provided a location for the central bank ministers to operate from. Some say that the BIS was to be an offspring of the League of Nations. Located in Basle, Switzerland, "the BIS was told it should be a bank which above all was to promote cooperation among central banks." (Ibid, 67)

The seven central banks which formed the BIS were: the Bank of England, the Bank of France, the Bank of Belgium, the German Bundesbank, the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Switzerland and the Bank of Japan. At its inception the BIS, according to the 1997 Annual Report, was given the legal structure of a limited company with issued share capital. It is an international organization governed by international law with privileges and immunities necessary for its performance of functions. This legal personality of the BIS and privileges/immunities was confirmed in the Headquarters Agreement concluded with the BIS and the Swiss Federal Council on February 10, 1987. (emphasis mine)

The World Bank and IMF

The additional infrastructure added in July, 1944 was the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which came into being at the Bretton Woods Monetary Conference in New Hampshire. These institutions were the vision of both socialist John Maynard Keynes from Britain and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Harry Dexter White (who was later convicted as a Soviet spy). Although these institutions would initially provide the funds to rebuild war- worn Europe, they have evolved into very powerful organizations in the last fifty-some years with greater and greater power. Currently there are plans to provide the IMF with additional powers to make it "a world central bank." The World Bank, which besides lending money for development projects, establishes stock exchanges in third world countries, brings stock to market on the international markets and is the largest syndicator of international bonds in the world. The Bank also work very closely with Prince Charles and to establish and facilitate the radical environmental mandates of the United Nations in all parts of the world.

The Group of Seven

In 1975 the Group of Five was formed. The Group of Five came into being after the world's currency markets were forced to close twice in 1973. Today it is known as the Group of Seven (Eight) and is comprised of the top industrialized countries of the world: the United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, and Great Britain. Russia became a full partner in June, 1998. The Group of Seven (less Russia) is considered a "global board of directors." As a result of their economic power, they basically set the agenda which the rest of the countries in the United Nations follow.

As a result of the above, the countries of the world have become nothing but pawns in the hands of powerful central bankers who rule and control the presidents and prime ministers of the world. For example, it should be noted that Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia wanted to maintain some economic sovereignty by keeping control of their major banks and industries. This was not in line with the World Trade Organization Financial Services Agreement which called for financial integration of banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms. Almost over night the currencies of these countries were devalued and their economies rendered insolvent. Did this happen by "chance" or was it planned?

Dr. Carrol Quigley, Bill Clinton's mentor at Georgetown University, said this about the Bank for International Settlements in his book Tragedy and Hope,

....[T]he powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalistic fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations. The BIS as a private institution was owned by the seven chief central banks and was operated by the heads of these, who together formed its governing board. The BIS is generally regarded as the apex of the structure of financial capitalism whose remote origins go back to the creation of the Bank of England in 1694 and the Bank of France in 1803" (Tragedy and Hope, 324-325) (emphasis added).

The BIS Expands

In 1994, the Federal Reserve System was welcomed to occupy the two seats on the Board of Directors to which the central bank of the United States had been entitled since 1930. Alan Greenspan became an ex-officio member of the Board and appointed William J. McDonough, President of the New York Federal Reserve, to serve as a member of the BIS Board for a period of three years.

In September, 1996, the Board of Directors, compromised of the Group of Ten, admitted nine new members from the central banks of: Brazil, China, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudia Arabia and Singapore. In 1997, four additional central banks were invited to buy into the BIS: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia. Today a total of 120 central banks and international financial institutions use the BIS as a bank with 45 central banks having the rights of representation and voting at the General Meetings. In essence, they are a "United Nations of central banks."

In addition, the BIS opened up a Representative Office for Asia and the Pacific in Hong Kong in 1998. It's purpose is to strengthen further relations and information sharing among the region's central banks and monetary authorities.

The BIS is engaged in many activities, all of which, they say, are to "foster international monetary cooperation." First, the BIS is a forum for international monetary cooperation. Since 1971, the Group of Ten Central Bank Governors meet on a monthly basis at the BIS to determine the direction of international monetary policies. The Bank has a Committee of Experts on Gold and Foreign Exchange which monitor ongoing financial developments as they relate to central bank polices and operations. In 1974, the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision was set up. They maintain cooperation with other regional central bank organizations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, the South African Development Community, and the Central Banks of South East Asia, New Zealand and Australia, to name a few. The BIS offers technical assistance for the central banks of eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and some Asian countries. They also participate with the World Bank, its various regional banks, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in a training institution called the Joint Vienna Institute which was set up in 1992. They also organize meetings of central bank economics and other experts on a variety of matters. On a quarterly basis, they publish, "International Banking and Financial Market Developments."

In addition, the BIS performs functions as Trustee, Fiscal Agent or Depositary with regard to a number of international loan agreements. They also perform the functions for the European Payments Union, and function as a collateral agent.

The BIS has expanded their auspices as a result of the globalization process, the rise of the derivatives market, and what appears to be the standardization of monetary policy on a worldwide basis to coordinate both interest rates and growth in GDP. As a result of the globalization process, i.e. the tearing down of financial and investment laws and regulations between countries, $1.2T flows around the world on a daily basis looking for the highest return or fastest play to net the greatest profits. Banks, financial firms, private speculators and corporations play this game of "global roulette." This has increased the role which the BIS plays in the global markets as it has become concerned with "banking supervision" which is what the rest of this report will concentrate on. Whoever supervises the banks has ultimate control and say in the affairs of the country and the bank.

Background to The Basle Committee on Banking Supervision

The BIS established the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision in 1975. It consists of senior representatives of bank supervisory authorities from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the U.S. As a result of the Herstatt Bank collapse in 1974, the BIS approved the Basle Concordat. For some reason the contents of this document were kept secret until March, 1981. The Concordat layed out responsibilities for international banks, a new first for the world. With this Concordat, a supranational bank (the BIS) was issuing orders for the rest of the national banks of the world. The BIS realized that the Concordat would work only if all central bankers were capable and willing to execute it and therefore it would have to be endorsed and implemented by all. In July, 1982, Italy's Banco Ambrosiano collapsed leaving eighty-eight international banks with debts of $600 million. In response, the Basle supervisors drew up an amended second Concordate in 1983 which emphasized the spirit of shared responsibility and the adequacy of each other's supervision - that of the parent and host country (Solomon, Confidence Games, 119).

Within six months of the 1987 Stock Market Crash, the Basle Capital Accord was endorsed by 90 national bank supervisors and implemented by the US, UK, and Japan. In 1988, the Basle Committee issued the Basle Capital Accord which set out minimum capital standards for each bank to have. In other words for an international bank to keep its doors open, it would have to have a minimum amount set aside to require the capital standard. In 1992, with the endorsement of the Group of Ten central bank governors they agreed to apply the minimum standards in the supervision of international banking groups.

In April, 1990 the Committee reviewed the supplement to the Concordat which provided guidance for ongoing contract and collaboration among supervisory authorities and spelled out the extent of information sharing among the supervisory authorities. While some of this oversight may be needed, if America is a sovereign nation, then these guidelines should come from our Congress and not a transitional body.

The Tripartite

As a result of the breakdown in the European Rate Mechanism in 1992, the Group of Seven became increasingly concerned with not only the movement of $1.2T around the world on a daily basis but also with the stability of the currency markets. In 1993, the Basle Committee created the "Tripartite" which is comprised of bank, securities and insurance regulators which are the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Organization of Security commissions-IOSCO and the newly created International Association of Insurance Supervisors-IAIS respectively. Both the Basle Committee and the IAIS are located at the BIS while IOSCO is in Montreal. IOSCO considers itself "the United Nations of Securities Regulators (stock exchanges)." Arthur Levitt our Securities and Exchange Commissioner has stated, "There has never been a greater need for us to work together. We (ISOCO) regulate one of the most innovative industries on the face of the earth, whose main commodity-- capital--has little regard for national borders. We must expand our cooperation to cover regulatory issues beyond enforcement." (IOSCO meeting, 1996)

In September, 1996, the Basle Committee decided to build on its earlier work by preparing two separate publications: a comprehensive set of Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision and a Compendium which brings together the existing Basle Committee recommendations, guidelines, and standards (1997 BIS Annual Report, 171-172).

The Core Principles sets out 25 basic Principles that must be in place for a supervisory system to be effective. They cover: (1) preconditions for effective banking supervision, (2) the licensing and structure of institutions; (3) prudential regulations and requirements; (4) methods of ongoing banking supervision; (5) information requirements; (6) the formal powers of supervisors; and (7) cross-border banking.

In looking to understand more clearly the real effect of these "rules of the road," I attended the June, 1998 Annual Meeting of the Bank for International Settlements. There I interviewed Andrew Crockett, Managing Director of the BIS and Charles Lakewood, Deputy Managing Director and Chairman of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision.

Mr. Crockett responded to my questions on the Basle Core Principles by saying,

What is needed to make sure that the cooperative mechanisms amongst supervisors and regulators are constantly maintained at the most effective level. We have supervisory regulatory responsibilities that are first of all divided on national grounds--inevitable when you have individual nation-states, in many countries it is also divided according to the historical concentration of different financial activities--insurance regulators, commercial bank regulators, investment bank regulators, and so on. What we are now recognizing in a global financial market is that the boundaries between nation-states and the boundaries between different categories between institutions are becoming blurred so that banks are acquiring insurance companies and vise versa. The banks are going cross-border and acquiring other banks in cross border deals, some times as partners, some times as subsidiaries, some times as complete absorption into the same institution. This creates the multiplicity of organizational forms that need to be regulated and supervised. What we are calling for I think, and I believe the IMF and others are doing the same thing, is that there should be a clear division of--allocation of responsibilities so that first of all institutions which are increasingly working in the fields of other institutions--banks taking on insurance companies-- are subject to the same set of regulations so that nothing falls between the gaps--and also so that there is a clear appreciation on the part of supervisors what their responsibilities are to the stability of the international financial system (emphasis added).

The Asian crisis among other experiences has shown that weaknesses in financial systems can have enormously damaging consequences. What we want to make sure is that international best practice is adopted among all the countries that are likely to be vulnerable and all countries so that we can have comprehensive supervisory structure. Up to now that has not been fully comprehensive. With the development of the Core Principles of the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision and the extension of similar principles to other kinds of activities and other kinds of financial institutions to other supervisors that should become more and more possible (emphasis added).

When I asked, "Who do they report to?" Crockett responded:

Well this is a good question a question to which there is no answer. It is not a formal grouping with a mandated or an international treaty. The Basle on Banking supervision reports to the Governors of the Group of Ten countries. That's our understanding, not a formalized arrangement. It is basically a forum whereby national experts can come together to set standards and so too is the IAIS, those are not organizations that report to any higher body such as the IMF or BIS or Min. of finance but are associations of equal supervisors from their national authorities. (emphasis added)

In an in-depth follow-up interview with Charles Lakewood, he described the process of supervision this way:

For about 15 or 20 years, bank supervision was a kind of low level technical matter where the central banks through the Basle Committee did the technical work. It is only with the Capital Accord that it became more high profile. There weren't any competitors to the Basle Committee for some years. In the last two to three years there have been a number of competitors coming up. We have seen the IMF/World Bank get into supervision in a much bigger way. They have recruited a lot of high powered people. Individually those people are strong but they don't have a mechanism for decision making. What the IMF can or will do or the World Bank can or will do in their constituencies is the real crux of the matter. What we are trying to do is make sure that the advice of the World Bank or IMF is consistent with the best practice and the lessons we have learned from dozen and dozen of events.

He stated that the members of the Basle Committee are solo meetings of the Group of Ten alone with the exception of an observer from the European Union. Furthermore he stated with regard to the role of the World Bank and the IMF that they are "playing an increasingly important role." The Basle Committee has created two new groups to monitor the implementation of the principles. One is quite small with the IMF/World Bank in that group with eighteen countries and the EU.

The whole truth about the Basle Core Principles is to be found in the matter of compliance. If these are only "guidelines or recommendations," as they have said, then why would they look to eventually punish and penalize a country which does not adhere to these principles? In response to a question on the kind of penalty for non-implementation, Lakewood said this, "Compliance is going to be difficult. If compliance is going to be difficult, then penalties and punishments are even more difficult. At this point in time we are just trying to get the thing started and encourage countries to look at these and try and improve the structure they are working with. Further down the road, we will have to make that decision as to what to do when people are plainly non-complying."

When I was in London for the Group of Eight Finance Ministers meeting, I asked Secretary Robert Rubin if the adaptation of the Core Principles would have to go through Congress and he replied no. When a lady friend of mine told Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth what Rubin had said, my friend told me that her eyes got as big as saucers and she exclaimed, "He can't do that. He's by-passing Congress!"

Conclusion - "HOW TO GET THERE FROM HERE"

As a result of the globalization process and the monetary uncertainty which has been created by a floating system of exchange, there would have to be some type of global overseer. However, the more power this overseer is given, the more power they have over nations and kings. In addition, there is no provision to abide by the U.S. Constitution or that of any other country's because a new set of rules has been set up which the nation-states have ceded their rights to. The Bank for International Settlements, as a result of what they are, have extreme power. Now they are looking to extend that power from the global to the local as they apply the Basle Core Principles to local banks worldwide. The following are several additional proposals for continued global monetary reform as found in Confidence Games:

1. Putting a uniform transaction tax of .5% on all spot foreign exchange transactions, including deliveries on futures contracts and options. This is called the "Tobin Tax" and has been supported by the United Nations as early as 1995 when at the United Nations Social Summit in Copenhagen, the United Nations tried to raise awareness for it by making it part of most of their press briefings and workshops. At the Group of Eight leaders meeting in Birmingham, a group protesting against the Group of Eight sponsored a workshop on "Alternative Economics." I interviewed one of their leaders who was touting the Tobin Tax. When I asked what they would use the estimated $1.5T in revenues for, he told me it would be used for environmental purposes and perhaps be put in a mutual fund to be managed by the United Nations. When I asked England's Prime Minister Tony Blair to comment on the Tobin Tax, he replied that it wasn't on the agenda.

2. Create a buffer mechanism so that nations could regain more flexibility to pursue divergent monetary policies. This too would raise as much as $13T a year in revenue which could be turned over to the BIS to pursue interventions to stabilize currencies or carry out a "lender of last resort" position.

3. Create a type of "FDIC insurance" on foreign exchange transactions. When a country buys a foreign currency, have them put a small percentage in a noninterest bearing account with its central bank.

---------------------

Is it a coincidence that written on the walls of the Rathaus, the Townhall, in Basle which dates back to 1601 are these words:

FREEDOM IS GREATER

THAN SILVER AND GOLD!

(UN Watch, The Women's International Media Group, Inc., Joan M. Veon)

___________________

WHO ARE THE GROUP OF SEVEN?

"The interdependence of our destinies makes it necessary for us to approach common economic problems with a sense of common purpose and to work toward mutually consistent economic strategies through better cooperation..." (emphasis added)

Group of Seven 1976 Joint Declaration from San Juan, Puerto Rico

"Over the past fourteen years, the world economy and economic policy have undergone profound changes. In particular, the information technology revolution and the globalization of markets have increased economic interdependence, making it essential that governments consider fully the international dimensions of their deliberations." (emphasis added)

Group of Seven 1988 Economic Declaration, Toronto

"We agree that the protection and enhancement of the environment is essential. The report of the World Commission on Environment and Development has stressed that environmental considerations must be integrated into all areas of economic policymaking if the globe is to continue to support humankind. We endorse the concept of sustainable development. Threats to the environment recognize no boundaries....The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a milestone. ...Further action is needed. Global climate change, air, sea and fresh water pollution, acid rain, hazardous substances, deforestation and endangered species require priority attention." (emphasis added) Group of Seven 1988 Economic Declaration, Toronto, Canada

"We the Participants in the Lyon Summit....discussed how we could build a better international system to secure security and stability...In an increasingly inter-dependent and inter-active world with rapid globalization in progress, we renewed our determination to work together amongst us and in partnership with leaders of other countries..." (emphasis added)

Group of Seven 1996 Joint Declaration from Lyon, France

For most people, the phrase "Group of Seven" has no meaning because of the lack of understanding as to the part they play in international affairs. However, since 1975, the leaders of the most industrialized worlds have met throughout the years to discuss global problems and how the world should approach the 21st century. While the conventional thinking of most Americans is that each country is responsible for their own fate--economic, social, political and environmental- - according to the Group of Seven, the "interdependence of our destinies makes it necessary...to work toward mutually consistent economies strategies through better cooperation..."

Who are the Group of Seven? How long have they met? What have they done? Exactly who appointed them to build a "better international system"? What authority do they have---or have they taken?

Background

The Group of Seven first met in 1973, two years after President Nixon severed the last attachment the dollar had to the gold standard when he suspended the rights of foreign countries to convert their paper-dollars to gold in August, 1971. The world monetary system since that time has been based on a faith in paper currencies which float against each other, according to good or bad economic and political news. Between 1971 and 1973, the world monetary leaders tried to keep the world's system glued together by agreeing on the parameters that the dollar float against the yen and Deutsche mark. By February, 1973 that accord, known as the "Smithsonian Agreement," fell apart when the dollar dropped below those parameters. (Although The New York Times states the reason for the drop in the dollar is due to multinational companies, banks, Middle East oil countries and private investors selling dollars, they did not establish any controls to curb "speculative trading.") By 1973, the world monetary markets were closed on two occasions, Valentine Weekend in February and the beginning of March for three weeks while Central bank governors met at the Bank for International Settlements to determine the new value of the dollar. At the time, Arthur Burns, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board said there was a "collapse of confidence" and told congress that "the task of overhauling the international monetary system must be done in a matter of months rather than years." (NYT 3/2/73)

Due to the monetary instability caused by taking the world's monetary system off of the gold standard in August, 1971 and the fact that various groups of people, called "speculative investors" could now buy and sell large amounts of any countries' currency on a whim to make a profit, President Nixon in May, 1973, called together U.S., French, British and German finance ministers to meet informally in the White House library while he, French President Georges Pompidou, Prime Minister Edward Heath and German Chancellor Willy Brandt met in the Oval office. As reported in the June 23-29, 1995 edition of The European, who quoted a German participant, "We agreed there was a need for someone to be in control again on an international scale. We hardly knew each other prior to the meeting. But mutual appreciation and sympathy developed as we talked, laying the ground for successful cooperation." Hence the idea of a group of world leaders meeting to "monitor" the world's currencies markets was born.

The first official meeting of the then-Group of Five, met in Rambouillet, France in 1975. The participants of that first meeting were the United States, France, Germany and England who invited as well, Japan and Italy. In 1976 Canada was invited, thus making it the "Group of Seven." In 1978, the President of the European Community was invited to join. Then in 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev was invited to participate in the economic side of the G-7. Gorbachev called his unofficial presence the "Group of Seven plus one." Russia has participated since then and for the last several years participates, we are told, only on the political level as they are considered a key political power by the other G-7 countries, however, their ministers meet when the G7 ministers meet.

The European in June, 1995, described the power and position of the Group of Seven as being the top industrialized countries of the world. The article stated that they dominate "the global financial and banking system and their currencies have reserve status in the rest of the world." In addition, they work with a number of international bodies including the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Europe, "hold close to 40% of the votes at the IMF and the World Bank and from a "diplomatic point of view, are all permanent members of the United Nations' Security Council."

In comparing the depth, breadth and width of the activities covered by the G-7, their first communiqu�, which is considered their final statement of the meeting and actions they will take, was one and a half pages long. In Lyon, the final communiqu�, called "Chairman's Statement," issued by French President Jacques Chirac, was 22 pages in addition to a six page statement by the "P8 - Senior Experts Group" listing 40 recommendations on how to combat transnational organized crime, and a seven page statements by the G7 Finance Ministers on "International Monetary Stability." From overseeing the stability of the monetary system, the G7 plus one are now are concerned with both the macro as well as the micro-economic problems, as well as the environment, crimes/terrorism and the political.

It appears that the Group of Seven operates in "cycles." According to Professor John Kirton from the University of Toronto, the first was from 1975 to 1981 and consisted of annual meetings with the leaders, accompanied by their ministers of foreign affairs and finance. From 1982 to 1988, they added regular stand- alone meetings of ministers of trade in 1982 and foreign affairs in 1984 and finance in 1986 as well as an inter- sessional special Summit in 1985. In the third cycle, from 1989 to 1995, saw the birth in 1991 of the "annual G7 post-Summit meeting with the USSR and then Russia, the emergence of environment ministers in 1992 and a flurry of ad hoc ministerial meetings from 1993 onward, dealing with assistance to Russia and Ukraine to the micro economic issues of jobs and the information highway."

On the ministerial level, for example, the finance minister of the United States, as well as our trade and Secretary of State appear to function not only in his/her appointed duties for the United States but also in a "global framework" for the Group of Seven . They then meet throughout the year with their counter-parts from the other G7 countries. Over the years, these various ministers, have also met with the directors of the United Nations agencies, the IMF/World Bank, the OECD, and the Central Bank Governors. Due to the escalating importance and power of the G7, some have called them a "global board of directors" to the United Nations while others have termed them a "global economic commission." Professor Kirton likens them to "the global equivalent of the concert of Europe" (between 1818 and 1914, it is felt that these European powers helped keep peace in Europe).

He also writes that "in 1977, when Carter became President, he appointed a trusted advisor, with cabinet rank to work on summit preparations on a full-time, year-round basis. Since that time all countries have employed specially designated personal representatives or 'Sherpas' who normally serve on a continuing basis for several years. These Sherpas meet formally on at least four occasions throughout the year preceding the summit, as well as at the opening of, and throughout the summit itself. They are supported by an elaborately layered network of 'sous-Sherpas' (either from foreign or finance) and 'sous-sous- Sherpas.'"

Facts about the G7

One of the most amazing things for the writer is that while she has read a fair amount of UN Programmes of Action in the last several years, it was her impression that all of the "recommendations" made came from the United Nations, however, in reading the Group of Seven documents, it appears that these recommendations originate from the Group of Seven who direct the United Nations, (that's us) where they need to go and what they need to do in order to come into compliance with the wishes of this global body.

The writer asked by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Cretien and European Commission President Jacques Santer "Who does the Group of Seven report to? The United Nations? Or does the United Nations report to the G7?" Both of these men basically said that no one reports to anyone, that the G7 come out of the UN and that they both have the same global concerns. The better question should have been, "Who does the G7 report to?"

Most interestingly

According to Professor Kirton, It was due to an agreement between the G7 leaders that they all make a combined effort to be at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development to show their full support. Interestingly enough, no mention of the enviorment is made bewteen their first meeting in 1975 and 1988.

While many people thought the environmental agenda was a "passing phase", it is not. All of the programs of the UN, the World Bank, and IMF now incorporate the environment as part of their goals and operating procedures. Whenever the World Bank now makes a loan, the terms have been "enviromentalized" meaning every country in order to get the monies must now do certain things environmentally in order to qualify. In addition, whenever the UN holds a conference, they appoint a follow- up committee to monitor the progress of each country's progress as they comply with the terms of the conference.

It appears, without going into all of the last 22 meetings which the G7 have held that they have been bringing the economies of the world into "harmonization." This is being accomplished through a number of steps and laws, both national and international and between numerous supra-national organizations like the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the International Organization for Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the International Insurance Association, and others.

In the last five years, in addition to economics, they have discussed a number of topics such as, aid to Russia, the changing role of NATO and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe--CSCE, farm subsidies, jobs/unemployment, trade and the environment.

(Who are the Group of Seven? - The Women's International Media Group, Inc., Joan M. Veon)

____________________

Sherpa

The Sherpa are an ethnic group in northeastern Nepal. They inhabit several high valleys, at altitudes between about 2,400 and 4,000 m (8,000 and 13,000 ft), in a region called Solu-Khumbu, on the southern slopes of the central Mount Everest ridge. In the 16th and 17th centuries they migrated to their present home from Khams, an eastern province of TIBET. Their name is derived from sherwa (spelled sharpa in Tibetan), "eastern one." They are closely linked to Tibetan culture, speaking a Tibetan dialect and practicing TIBETAN BUDDHISM of the unreformed rNying-ma-pa sect.

Group of Seven (international affairs)

The Group of Seven (G-7)--Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States--is an association of the world's seven leading industrialized nations. Founded in 1973, it deals with mutually important issues of aid, trade, long-term economic growth, and security. Heads of state of the seven meet annually, other representatives occasionally. The so-called Quad group, of the United States, European Union, Canada, and Japan, held its first meeting in 1993

Little Dipper

A group of seven faint stars, the Little Dipper is part of a larger group, the constellation Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. The group contains POLARIS, the North Star, which lies very close to the celestial north pole. A second-magnitude star, Polaris is at the end of the dipper's handle (the bear's tail) and appears nearly stationary in the sky as all other stars revolve around it. The second brightest star in the group, Kochab, was closer to the pole about 2,000 years ago; hence its name is derived from the Arabic word meaning polestar.

(1995 Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia)