ALT LEFT MIXED BAG OF EVERYTHING LIBERALS CRY BABIES-THERAPY NEEDERS ARE BACKING ISLAMOPHOBIA BILL TO KILL CHRISTIANS FREE SPEECH.

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)

Liberal government backing controversial motion on condemning Islamophobia-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

OTTAWA — Canadians will never be able to tackle hatred and discrimination against Muslims without naming the problem for what it is, says Liberal MP Iqra Khalid."Words have impact," the Mississauga MP said Wednesday in the House of Commons as she opened the debate over her non-binding motion to condemn Islamophobia and all other forms of racism and religious discrimination."When we as a government stand together and condemn intolerance manifested through racism and religious discrimination, we can begin to tackle the issue."The Liberals have endorsed Khalid's motion, which calls on the government to "recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear" and condemn Islamophobia, as well as all other kinds of "systemic racism and religious discrimination."If the motion, known as M-103, is passed, the Commons heritage committee would also be asked to study the issue and develop a strategy to tackle it.Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said passing the non-binding motion would send a strong message about discrimination against the Muslim community, particularly in light of the recent deadly attack on a mosque in Quebec City."We overwhelmingly reject the politics of racism and exclusion," Joly said outside the Commons, where she was surrounded by Liberal MPs and cabinet ministers to demonstrate that no one in the Liberal caucus would likely oppose it.A number of Conservative MPs — including leadership hopefuls — have called for the motion to be more inclusive, warning it risks stifling freedom of expression by preventing criticism of elements of Islam or Muslim culture, such as the face-covering veil known as the niqab.Conservative MP David Anderson called it problematic that the motion does not define Islamophobia."Some apply the term only to serious acts of hostility, while others apply it to every critique and every act against Islam," Anderson said during the debate.The Conservatives want the reference to Islamophobia dropped, but Khalid told the Commons that it's important to describe mounting levels of racism and hate crimes against Muslims for what it is."I will not do so anymore than I would speak to the Holocaust and not mention that the overwhelming majority of victims were six million followers of the Jewish faith and that anti-Semitism was the root cause of the Holocaust," she said."We cannot address a problem if we fail to call it by its true name."Last year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced criticism for not having specifically referenced Jewish victims in his statement marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.Trudeau did not repeat the same omission this year, but U.S. President Donald Trump did and his administration stood by the choice of words.Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch, meanwhile, tweeted a link to a petition against M-103 featuring the image of young white female — tape over her mouth emblazoned with the name of the motion — over a blurred background image of police officers, guns drawn, responding to the Parliament Hill shooting in October 2014.Leitch's office did not respond to a request for comment.Khalid said the motion would not touch on freedom of expression, but would in fact bolster it by hearing from racial and religious minorities who feel their freedom of expression is currently curtailed."To recognize where we currently have a blind spot, where we 'other' certain Canadian voices can only result in an enrichment of our multicultural, secular national conversation," she said.Khalid, a Muslim, said her own experience with Islamophobia over the past few weeks has convinced her to press ahead."Over the past few weeks, I along with some of my colleagues, have been the recipients of hateful comments," she said. "This strengthens my resolve to continue to combat this issue."NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said he thinks the motion is important, but also wants to see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberals specifically criticize U.S. President Donald Trump for the anti-Muslim nature of some of his rhetoric and policy proposals.— Follow @smithjoanna on Twitter-Joanna Smith, The Canadian Press.

Southern Poverty Law Center says U.S. hate groups increased in 2016-[Reuters]-By Jon Herskovitz-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a report released on Wednesday that hate groups in the United States proliferated in 2016 as Donald Trump's bid for the U.S. presidency energized the radical right."Trump’s run for office electrified the radical right, which saw in him a champion of the idea that America is fundamentally a white man’s country," the Southern Poverty Law Center said.The nonprofit civil rights organization said in its annual census of hate groups that anti-Muslim groups nearly tripled to 101 in 2016 from 34 in 2015. It said hate groups in the United States numbered 917 last year compared with 892 in 2015.The White House did not respond to a request for comment.At a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, President Trump was asked to comment on an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and to respond to those in the U.S. Jewish community, Israel and elsewhere "who believe and feel that your administration is playing with xenophobia and maybe racist tones.""We are going to do everything within our power to stop long simmering racism and every other thing that's going on," Trump said. "There's a lot of bad things that have been taking place over a long period of time."As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends; a daughter who happens to be here right now; a son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four or eight years ... And you're going to see a lot of love."-NUMBER OF HATE GROUPS HIGH-The report, contained in the Spring 2017 issue of the organization's Intelligence Report, said the number of hate groups in the United States in 2016 was high by historic standards.Researchers for the Alabama-based organization said the number of crimes against Muslims had risen with the number of hate groups. They cited as an example the burning of a Texas mosque after the Trump administration issued an executive order suspending travel to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries.“2016 was an unprecedented year for hate,” said Mark Potok, senior fellow and editor of the Intelligence Report.“The country saw a resurgence of white nationalism that imperils the racial progress we’ve made, along with the rise of a president whose policies reflect the values of white nationalists," Potok said.The report said the level of organized hatred in the United States was likely understated by the number of groups since "a growing number of extremists operate mainly online and are not formally affiliated with hate groups."In the past, some groups have criticized the organization's findings. Conservative online website Breitbart News, formerly run by current Trump strategist Steve Bannon, has accused the Southern Poverty Law Center of "manufacturing hate for fun and profit.""The radical right in the United States has more of a chance, an opportunity, to directly affect real life national policy at this moment than at any time in at least half a century," Potok told a teleconference after the report was released.(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Colleen Jenkins)

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

El Nino could return in second half of 2017 - WMO-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

GENEVA (Reuters) - El Nino weather conditions could return to heat up the planet later this year, although neutral conditions are slightly more likely, the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a statement on Thursday.Climate models surveyed by the WMO suggested a 50 percent chance of neutral conditions continuing in the second half of 2017, with a 35-40 percent chance of El Nino developing, and only a slight chance of La Nina, which tends to have a cooling effect.(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Harsh Mongolian winter risks livelihoods of herder families-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

BEIJING (AP) — Exceptionally cold weather in Mongolia is putting the livelihoods of more than 150,000 nomadic herders and family members at risk, just one year after another extreme winter killed more than 1 million animals, the Red Cross said Thursday, as it launched an emergency appeal.Particularly vulnerable are families still suffering from the impact of last year's "dzud" (pronounced 'ZUHD), an extreme weather phenomenon unique to the country that is characterized by a summer drought and then a prolonged winter of heavy snow and temperatures of minus 40 to minus 50 Celsius (minus 40 to minus 59 Fahrenheit).More than 40,000 cows and other livestock have already died this time, a figure that is expected to jump in the freezing months ahead and into spring when animals are still weak.A dzud typically happens once every 12 years, but has struck for the second consecutive year this winter. The dzud last year killed more than 1 million livestock, which are the only source of food, transport and outside income for almost half of Mongolia's population of 3 million.Aid groups say the situation is compounded by last year's harsh winter and a deep recession amid a market bust for the vast landlocked nation's mineral exports.Many herder families will lose their livestock and livelihoods "and will have no choice but to migrate to the slum areas on the outskirts of (the capital, Ulaanbaatar) and other urban centers where they will face great social and economic hardship," said Gwendolyn Pang, head of the Beijing office of the International Federation of Red Cross.The Red Cross said that 70 percent of the country is covered by snow and 157,000 people belonging to herder households in 17 of Mongolia's 21 provinces are at risk.The agency appealed for $650,000 to help 2,740 most at-risk families.

California officials rush to drain lake as new storms begin-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

OROVILLE, Calif. — Officials raced to drain more water from a lake behind battered Oroville Dam as new storms began rolling into Northern California on Wednesday and tested the quick repairs made to damaged spillways that raised flood fears.The three storms were expected to stretch into next week. Forecasters said the first two storms could drop a total of 5 inches of rain in higher elevation.However, the third storm, starting as early as Monday, could be more powerful."There a potential for several inches," National Weather Service forecaster Tom Dang said. "It will be very wet."Nonetheless, California Department of Water Resources chief Bill Croyle said water was draining at about four times the rate that it was flowing in and the repairs should hold at the nation's tallest dam.About 100,000 cubic feet of water was flowing from the reservoir each second, enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.Croyle said work crews had made "great progress" cementing thousands of tons of rocks into holes in the spillways."We shouldn't see a bump in the reservoir" from the upcoming storms, he said.The reservoir has dropped 20 feet since it reached capacity Sunday. Croyle said officials hope it falls 50 feet by this Sunday.Still, officials warned residents who have returned to their homes that the area downstream of the dam remained under an evacuation warning and they should be prepared to leave if the risk increases.Some 200,000 people were allowed to return home Tuesday after being ordered to evacuate Sunday.Sandra Waters, 42, of Oroville initially fled her home with little more than the clothes she was wearing. Now, she's preparing for the possibility of another evacuation by gathering food, clothing and sentimental items like photographs."You are always cautious when you live under a big dam, but we've always been pretty confident that it was safe and that it wasn't going to fail," she said.Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said some homes in the evacuation zone had been burglarized and deputies had made arrests.He also called on private drone operators to refrain from flying their devices over the dam. Private drones can interfere with the repair work, which includes helicopters, he said.The 770-foot-tall dam is located in Oroville, a small Gold Rush-era town along the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada foothills.The region is largely rural, with its politics dominated by rice growers, orchard operators and other agricultural interests. It's dogged by the high unemployment rates endemic to farming communities.Dump trucks and helicopters dropped thousands of tons of rocks and sandbags to shore up the spillways over the weekend and avoid what could be a catastrophic failure and flood.The swollen lake reached its capacity over the weekend and spilled down an unpaved emergency spillway for nearly 40 hours, leaving it badly eroded. The problem occurred six days after engineers discovered a growing hole in the dam's main concrete spillway.Croyle said teams were working on plans for permanent repairs to the dam's main spillway that could cost as much as $200 million.As state officials puzzle through how to repair it, federal regulators have ordered California to figure out what went wrong.In recent years, construction crews patched cracks — including in the area where water burrowed a huge pit last week. If the past repairs were not done properly, water could infiltrate and eventually tear through the concrete.Inspectors with the state agency that operates and checks the dam went into the half-mile-long spillway in 2014 and 2015 and did not find any concerns, officials said.Late Tuesday, President Donald Trump ordered federal authorities to help California recover from severe January storms — a disaster declaration that also assists state and local officials with the dam crisis.Elsewhere in the state, officials say a reservoir in Santa Clara County is on the verge of spilling over for the first time since 2006. But unlike Oroville Dam, the Anderson Reservoir is not at risk of failure or causing major flooding, San Jose television station KNTV reported.___Elias reported from San Francisco.Jonathan J. Cooper And Paul Elias, The Associated Press.

For California community in dam's shadow, troubles go back decades-[Reuters]-By Robin Respaut-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

(Reuters) - For nearly 50 years, the Oroville Dam has provided a water lifeline to residents across the state of California. But for the community in its shadow, the dam has been a source of contention and legal battles.Weeks of winter storms triggered the near collapse of two of the dam's spillways this past week and temporary evacuation of nearly 190,000 residents.The crisis also brought to the surface lingering and looming problems faced by the local community.Butte County and green groups have fought the relicensing of the Oroville Dam for more than a decade. They argue federal regulators and the courts should require the state to better fortify the emergency spillway, to reimburse the county for dam-related costs, and to more carefully examine the effects of climate change on the dam.Oroville’s reservoir plays a vital role in capturing water from California’s rainy, mountainous north and distributing it to agricultural lands, industrial tracts, and homes from the Bay Area to Southern California. But the community downstream says the benefits were not returned to Butte County.In 2005, Butte County filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which licenses the dam, to intervene in the state’s application to grant a new 50-year license.“For many years the costs to provide services to the project have outweighed the tourism benefits,” the county argued at the time. The dam's recreation facilities had become "a magnet for crime, vandalism, trash dumping" that the county regularly had to police and cleanup.The nation's tallest dam created a job boom for the region during its construction in the 1960s. But once the project was completed, unemployment spiked and new homes were abandoned.In the decades since, Butte County argued it lost $267 million in potential taxes on the now-submerged land under reservoir. The county estimated it spends $4.8 million annually on expenses related to the dam. The state's Department of Water Resources, which operates the dam, calculated the county's losses were less, but still reached over $500,000 annually, according to a 2007 environmental study.Conservation groups Friends of the River and the Sierra Club also raised issues, requesting that the dam's relicensing be contingent on stronger fortification of the emergency spillway -- which nearly failed this week.“We were told repeatedly that the spillways and the dam were all just fine,” said Friends of the River’s Executive Director Eric Wesselman. “The events unfolding at Oroville should be a wake-up call that there are thousands of unsafe dams and levees in the country."FERC consultants dismissed concerns about the emergency spillway in a 2006 memo. But on Monday, the federal agency requested an independent "forensic analysis to determine both the cause of the spillway failure and whether it could occur again.”FERC spokeswoman Celeste Miller would not say how the damaged spillways impacted the state's application to relicense the dam.In 2008, Butte County also sued the state’s Department of Water Resources, accusing it of avoiding a rigorous assessment of the effects of climate change on the dam.The lawsuit came three years after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned that climate change threatened to “greatly reduce the Sierra snowpack, one of the state’s primary sources of water.”The state needs to consider the wild swings in climate conditions, not just the effects of drought, when re-evaluating the safety of dams, said Butte County Counsel Bruce Alpert."I don’t know what's coming in the future, but they haven’t studied it," Alpert said.The state says it completed a climate analysis over a decade ago. In 2012, a judge ruled against Butte County, writing that "current climate change science does not allow for project-specific forecasting," and the state's environmental study "should not be based on speculation."The county appealed. The case is now before California 3rd District Court of Appeals.(This story corrects governor's name in paragraph 15 to Arnold Schwarzenegger from Jerry Brown, corrects spelling error in paragraph 16 and paragraph 17.)(Reporting by Robin Respaut in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

China says spread of bird flu slowing, vows to stiffen controls-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

BEIJING (Reuters) - The rate at which human cases of bird flu are being reported in China is declining, health authorities said on Thursday, vowing to stiffen controls on markets and transport of live poultry to battle the spread of the virus.Eight new human infections of the H7N9 avian flu were reported between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, indicating the rate of new cases had clearly declined compared with the week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, when 69 new cases, including 8 deaths, were reported, the National Health and Family Planning Commision said on its website.To fight the spread, the commission is advising authorities to take stronger measures to monitor the virus, suspend or permanently close live poultry markets and tighten curbs on transport of the animals, it said.(Reporting by Christian Shepherd; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

New Zealand crews halt advance of wildfire on city homes-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Firefighters in New Zealand's second-largest city were able to halt a wildfire's advance on suburban homes Thursday after it burned down 11 houses in the hill suburbs and forced hundreds of people to evacuate.John Mackie, the civil defence controller for Christchurch, said about 130 firefighters on the ground assisted by more than a dozen helicopters had stopped the fire from encroaching further into the city.He said the plan was to let it burn itself out, and that a forecast of rain over the weekend would help. He said the fire was spread over about 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) in Christchurch's Port Hills.The cause of the fire remained unknown and was being investigated, he said.A helicopter pilot who was a decorated soldier died in a crash while fighting the blaze earlier this week.Christchurch City and adjacent Selwyn District declared a state of emergency Wednesday. Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton said changing winds had made the fire unpredictable.He said the region had been unusually dry for three years and the grass in the hills had turned brown over the Southern Hemisphere summer.Police ordered the evacuation of about 400 homes while many others nearby were choosing to leave. Broughton said displaced residents were staying at evacuation centres or with relatives."They need to look after one another, and make sure they have a place to go," he said.Phil Claude told Radio New Zealand he and his family ran down a grass track to escape the fire, which destroyed their home."I could see that the smoke and the flames were being blown right up toward our house," he said. "And I just yelled 'Get out. Get out!'"A new mountain bike park, the Christchurch Adventure Park, was threatened by the fire.New Zealand's military was providing water tankers and engineering equipment as well as firefighters and other personnel.The helicopter pilot who died while fighting the fire, Cpl. David Steven Askin, won one of the country's top awards for bravery for his actions in Afghanistan.Askin was a member of the elite Special Air Service and his identity was kept secret when he won the Gallantry Star medal in 2014. He was cited for efforts that included helping save guests during the 2011 siege of the luxury Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul that left at least 20 people dead.Nick Perry, The Associated Press.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

FAMINE

EZEKIEL 5:16
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

DEUTORONOMY 28:24
24  The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

Four famines mean 20 million may starve in the next six months-[Reuters]-By Tom Miles-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 20 million people - greater than the population of Romania or Florida - risk dying from starvation within six months in four separate famines, U.N. World Food Programme chief economist Arif Husain says.Wars in Yemen, northeastern Nigeria and South Sudan have devastated households and driven up prices, while a drought in east Africa has ruined the agricultural economy."In my not quite 15 years with the World Food Programme, this is the first time that we are literally talking about famine in four different parts of the world at the same time," he told Reuters in an interview."It’s almost overwhelming to comprehend that in the 21st century people are still experiencing famines of such magnitude. We’re talking about 20 million people, and all this within the next six months, or now. Yemen is now, Nigeria is now, South Sudan is now," he said."Somalia, when I look at the indicators in terms of extremely high food prices, falling livestock prices and agricultural wages, it’s going to come pretty fast."The global humanitarian system is already struggling with a historic surge in migration, huge operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and serious situations in Ukraine, Burundi, Libya and Zimbabwe."Then you have places like DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), CAR (Central African Republic), Burundi, Mali, Niger, where people are chronically food insecure but ... there’s just not enough resources to go around.”Humanitarian aid is at record high levels but demand is growing even faster, creating a huge gap. "In northeast Nigeria we’re feeding more than 1 million people and just a few months ago we didn’t even have an office there," Husain said.There is a glimmer of hope that Somalia's drought will not be as severe as feared, but in the capital Mogadishu food prices have already risen by a quarter since January and forecasts for the rainy season from March to May are not optimistic.-TOO LATE-In 2011, Somalia suffered a famine that killed 260,000 people. The famine was declared in July, but most people had already died by May."When we declare famine, it means many lives have already been lost," Husain said. "If we wait to find that out for sure, people are already dead."Moreover, the 2011 famine followed a good agricultural season. This year's drought follows two bad seasons that have already sapped people's resources.In Yemen and South Sudan, economic collapse means people simply cannot afford the food that is available. Prices in South Sudan have risen two to four times in a year, and traders from Uganda and Kenya consider the local currency valueless.Yemenis, whose family wealth may be stored in gold or silver or weapons, are being forced to sell off those assets."I was in Yemen just a couple of weeks ago. There is food in the markets. But people have not been paid, especially the urban population, which is about a third of the total population," Husain said."Once they’ve lost their economic assets, it’s almost impossible for them to recover, and that just perpetuates long-term poverty.”Yemen is officially still classed as an "emergency", but famine could be declared within about three months, Husain said.In Nigeria's Borno state, where millions of people have fled Boko Haram militants, there is simply no commerce, no markets and no movement, leaving people dependent on emergency aid."They survive outside in camps, 50 degree Centigrade temperatures, living in huts with metal sheets on top, with one water point, with communal kitchens, with one meal per day," Husain said."And there’s no end in sight.”(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

POISONED WATERS

HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,(EARTH) because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2  By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3  Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2  I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3  I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.

EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6  I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7  And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8  All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9  I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

Scorpion' robot mission inside Fukushima reactor aborted-[AFP]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

Tokyo (AFP) - A "scorpion" robot sent into a Japanese nuclear reactor to learn about the damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown had its mission aborted after the probe ran into trouble, Tokyo Electric Power company said Thursday.TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, sent the remote-controlled device into the No. 2 reactor where radiation levels have recently hit record highs.The "scorpion" robot, so-called because it can lift up its camera-mounted tail to achieve better viewing angles, is also designed to crawl over rubble inside the damaged facility.But it could not reach its target destination beneath a pressure vessel through which nuclear fuel is believed to have melted because the robot had difficulty moving, a company spokeswoman said."It's not immediately clear if that's because of radiation or obstacles," she said, adding that TEPCO is checking what data the robot was able to obtain, including images.A massive undersea earthquake on March 11, 2011 sent a huge tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the plant in the worst such accident since Chernobyl in 1986.The Japanese government said in December that it expects the total costs -- including compensation, decommissioning and decontamination -- to reach 21.5 trillion yen ($189 billion) in a process likely to take decades as high radiation levels slow operations.The robot, 60 centimetres (24 inches) long, is made by Toshiba and equipped with two cameras and sensors to gauge radiation levels and temperatures."Scorpion's mission is to take images of the situation and collect data inside the containment vessel," TEPCO spokesman Shinichi Nakakuki said earlier."Challenges include enduring high levels of radiation and moving on the rough surface," he said.Radiation levels inside the reactor were estimated last week at 650 sieverts per hour at one spot, which can effectively shut down robots in hours.But the probe -- designed to withstand up to 1,000 sieverts of radiation in total -- would not sustain severe damage because it was unlikely to remain for too long at a single point, Nakakuki said.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

Trudeau says Canada, EU must lead world economy-[Reuters]-By Philip Blenkinsop-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that the whole world benefited from a strong European Union and that the bloc and his country needed to lead the international economy in challenging times.Trudeau told the European Parliament that the Union was an unprecedented model for peaceful cooperation in a speech that marked his distance from both the United States under new President Donald Trump, who has questioned the value and future of the bloc, and from Britain, which has voted to leave it.An effective European voice on the global stage was not just preferable, but essential, Trudeau said."You are a vital player in addressing the challenges that we collectively face as an international community," he told EU lawmakers a day after they backed an EU-Canada free trade deal. "Indeed the whole world benefits from a strong EU."Trudeau, who will also visit Germany, said that Canada and the European Union shared a belief in democracy, transparency and the rule of law, in human rights, inclusion and diversity."We know that, in these times, we must choose to lead the international economy, not simply be subject to its whims," he said, according to a text made available in advance of his speech, adding both parties had shown they valued trade and a belief that it could bring prosperity to their citizens.With the passage of their trade deal, Canada and the European Union offer a counter to Trump, who has withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and wants to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement.For Canada the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is important to reduce its reliance on the neighbouring United States as an export market.For the EU, it is a first trade pact with a G7 country and a success to hail after months of protests at a time when the bloc's credibility has taken a beating from Britain's vote last June to leave.Trudeau's speech, in English and French, got a warm welcome from lawmakers in Strasbourg as he signalled Canada's distance from both its big neighbour to the south under Trump and from London, where Brexit supporters argue that ties to Britain's old empire can help expand trade once out of the European Union.Both Canada and the EU, said Trudeau, needed to ensure that their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), set to enter force in months, worked for people."If we are successful, CETA will become the blueprint for all ambitious, future trade deals. If we are not, this could very well be the last. So make no mistake, this is an important moment for us."Trudeau said many people were worried that the current system only benefited society's luckiest few and that this was a valid concern.Trade, he said, must be inclusive, so that everyone benefited."And this agreement ... delivers just that."(Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alastair Macdonald)

MEPs back limited EU carbon trade reform By Aleksandra Eriksson-FEB 16,17-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:14-MEPs have backed limited reforms of the EU's carbon trading scheme, but stopped short of cancelling a number of benefits available to heavy polluting industries.The European Parliament's plenary rejected a plan on Wednesday (15 February) to scrap free carbon credits to the cement industry, a heavy polluter responsible for 5 percent of global CO2 emissions.Negotiators of the agreement in the parliament's environment committee had seen the abolishment of the industry's benefits as a key part of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) overhaul.ETS is the EU's flagship climate tool, but the scheme has been plagued by an over-abundance of credits, which have driven the cost of polluting down.The cement industry alone was estimated to have made €5 billion by selling excess allowances, according to a report by Dutch consultancy CE Delft.MEPs also rejected the reduction of the emission cap by 2.4 percent annually, and backed the lower 2.2 percent reduction as proposed by the European Commission.The centre-right EPP group opposed the plan to curb industry benefits.British Conservative Ian Duncan, rapporteur for the reform, said the vote was "a major step forward" towards meeting the EU's climate change targets, as laid down in last year's Paris agreement on climate change.“We have sent a strong signal to the council that we are serious about the fight to stop global warming," he said in a press release, referring to the European Council, where member states meet.Ivo Belet, in charge of the dossier on behalf of the EPP group, called the reform "balanced"."This reform includes the necessary incentives to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while at the same time it sufficiently protects those industrial sectors that are exposed to international competition," he said in a statement.MEPs voted to scrap 800 million permits and also doubled the capacity of the market stability reserve (MSR) - a kind of bank where surplus allowances are stored temporarily - from 12 to 24 percent of the total amount.But MEPs from other groups said those measures were insufficient.The liberal group said in a statement they "reluctantly" backed the reform, which didn't do enough to "bring all industrial sectors on a realistic pathway towards a zero carbon economy, consistent with the Paris agreement"."If these measures don't do the job, we must stand ready for further reforms in the mid-term review," said Swedish liberal Fredrick Federley, who was in charge of negotiations in the parliament's industry committee.The socialist group called the vote a "setback in the fight against climate change" and accused centre-right MEPs from the EPP group of "crushing" an ambitious reform of the ETS system.The Green group and Italy's Five Star Movement, which is part of the eurosceptic EFDD group, voted against the reform.In a next step, EU environment ministers are expected to reach a position on ETS reform later this month. Parliament and council will then enter into negotiations and agree on the final shape of the legislation.The price of ETS carbon credits hovered around €5 on Wednesday.

Trump charts new Mideast course; maybe no separate Palestine-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

WASHINGTON — Charting a striking new course for the Middle East, President Donald Trump on Wednesday withheld clear support for an independent Palestine and declared he could endorse a one-nation solution to the long and deep dispute between Palestinians and Israel.The American president, signalling a new era of comity between the U.S. and Israel after rocky relations under President Barack Obama, said he was more interested in an agreement that leads to peace than in any particular path to get there. Standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump broke not only with recent U.S. presidents but also distanced the United States from the prevailing position of much of the world.While Trump urged Netanyahu to "hold off" on Jewish settlement construction in territory the Palestinians claim for their future state, he offered unwavering support for Israel, a pledge he appeared to substantiate with his vague comments about the shape of any agreement.While it once appeared that a two-state solution was the "easier of the two" options for the Palestinians and Israel, Trump said he'd be open to alternatives. "I'm looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like," he told reporters. "I can live with either one."The United States has formally backed the two-state solution as official policy since 2002, when President George W. Bush said in the White House Rose Garden that his vision was "two states, living side by side in peace and security."In practice, the U.S. already had embraced the policy informally. President Bill Clinton, who oversaw the Oslo Accords in the 1990s that were envisioned as a stepping stone to Palestinian statehood, said before leaving office that resolution to the conflict required a viable Palestinian state.Separately on Wednesday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas called on Netanyahu to end settlement building and expressed "willingness to resume a credible peace process " Also on Wednesday, CIA chief Mike Pompeo secretly held talks in the West Bank with Abbas, the first high-level meeting between the Palestinian leader and a Trump administration official, senior Palestinian officials said. The White House wouldn't comment on the meeting-All serious peace negotiations in recent decades have assumed the emergence of an independent Palestine. The alternatives appear to offer dimmer prospects for peace, given Palestinian demands for statehood. Dozens of countries, including the U.S., reaffirmed their support for a two-state accord at an international conference in Paris last month, before Trump's inauguration.In Cairo on Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "There is no Plan B to the situation between Palestinians and Israelis but a two-state solution. ... Everything must be done to preserve that possibility."At one point Wednesday, Trump noted the need for compromise in achieving any Mideast peace. Netanyahu interjected: "Both sides."On terrorism and other matters, there appeared little daylight between the leaders.Echoing language used by Trump over a need to combat "radical Islamic extremism," Netanyahu said that for peace to be sustainable, two "prerequisites" must be met: "Recognition of the Jewish state and Israel's security needs west of the Jordan" River.While a two-state solution would involve Israel ceding occupied territory that is strategically and religiously significant, many in the country believe a single binational state would be even more difficult to maintain. It would mean granting millions of Palestinians citizenship and voting rights, threatening Israel's Jewish majority and its Jewish character.Trump's campaign platform made no mention of a Palestinian state, and his inner circle included allies of the West Bank settler movement. A delegation of settlement leaders was invited to Trump's inauguration.But after weeks of dancing around the issue of expanded Israeli settlement construction, Trump asked Netanyahu to "hold back on settlements for a bit."In recent weeks, Netanyahu has approved construction of more than 6,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast War. He also allowed Parliament to pass a law retroactively legalizing some 4,000 settlement homes built on private Palestinian land.Still, Netanyahu indicated he was open to some sort of arrangement."We'll work something out but I'd like to see a deal be made. I think a deal will be made," he said.And Naftali Bennet, the head of Israel's pro-settler Jewish Home Party, hailed the new atmosphere between Trump and Netanyahu, saying: "The Palestinian flag was today lowered from the mast and replaced with the Israeli flag."American presidents have long struck a delicate balance in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stressing the close U.S. friendship with Israel but also sometimes calling out Israel for actions seen as undermining peace efforts, such as expanding settlements.Trump and Netanyahu also were to discuss Iran and the president's campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On Wednesday, Trump said that he'd like to see the embassy move and said his administration is studying the issue closely. Palestinians and Arab governments have warned that such a move could be deeply destabilizing.After repeatedly clashing with Obama, including over a U.N. Security Council resolution in December condemning Israeli settlements, Netanyahu has seemed relieved by Trump's arrival. He even recounted his personal relationships with members of Trump's family, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, whom Trump has previously described as the man who could mediate a Middle East peace deal."Can I reveal, Jared, how long we've known you?" Netanyahu said with a chuckle. "I've known the president and his family and his team for a long time and there is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish state than President Donald Trump."___Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in Washington, Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Karin Laub in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.-Vivian Salama, The Associated Press.

US urges Europe to spend more on Nato By Andrew Rettman-FEB 16,17-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:17-The US has threatened to reduce its commitment to Nato if Europeans did not spend more on their militaries. It also criticised Russia, amid confusion on Trump's foreign policy.US defence chief Jim Mattis issued the warning after a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels on Wednesday (15 February).“I owe it to you to give you clarity on the political reality in the United States … America will meet its responsibilities, but if your nations do not want to see America moderate its commitment to this alliance, each of your capitals needs to show support for our common defence,” he told press.“No longer can the American taxpayer carry a disproportionate share of the defence of western values,” he added.Nato allies agreed in 2014, the year that Russia invaded Ukraine, to spend at least 2 percent of their GDPs on security, but three years later just five out of the 28 members have reached that level.US president Donald Trump had earlier said he might not defend Nato allies who did not spend more.He has flip-flopped on Nato, both calling it “obsolete” and saying that it was “very important.”He has also praised Russia, while his senior aides, according to leaks by US intelligence, cultivated contacts with Russian diplomats and intelligence officers.Mattis tried to put the “obsolete” jibe to rest with staunch praise of the alliance.“The alliance remains a fundamental bedrock for the United States and the trans-Atlantic community, bonded as we are together,” he said alongside Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday.“As president Trump has stated, he has strong support for Nato,” Mattis said.The White House has also talked tough on Russia in reaction to the intelligence leaks.Trump’s spokesman said this week that Russia must give back Crimea to Ukraine, while Trump tweeted that if the former US administration had been more “tough” on Russia it might not have invaded Ukraine in the first place.Mattis ploughed the same furrow at the Nato meeting.He said the Trump-Russia leaks had had “no impact” on his message.He said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant that “our hopes for some kind of partnership with Russia were finally shown to be unavailing.”“We must … defend ourselves if Russia chooses to act contrary to international law,” he said.“We are not willing … to surrender the values of this alliance nor let Russia, through its actions, speak louder than anyone in this room.”When asked by media what Mattis meant by “moderating” US involvement in Nato, Stoltenberg said the US envoy had voiced an “extraordinarily strong commitment to Nato” in Wednesday’s talks.He noted that the US was increasing the number of its troops in Europe as part of a Nato force designed to deter Russian aggression.He urged European states to increase spending, but added: “We’ve a long way to go”.He also raised the alarm on Russia’s cyber threat, saying that “several” Nato states had reported “a steep increase” in cyber attacks and that Nato’s IT systems had seen a 60 percent hike in Russian assaults last year.Stoltenberg announced that Nato would open a new command centre in Naples, Italy, to coordinate information on the security situation in Libya and in the Middle East, but he ruled out any “combat role” for Nato in Syria.-Middle East bombshell-US vice-president Mike Pence, secretary of state Rex Tillerson, and Mattis will go to the Munich Security Conference in Germany this weekend to shed more light on Trump’s foreign policy.Trump himself on Wednesday indicated a potential U-turn on a decades-old US and EU position on the Middle East peace process.Western powers and the UN had said that Israel and Palestine should have states of their own with Jerusalem as a shared capital.Trump said alongside Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington: “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like."He also said he would “love” to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which Israel has claimed for itself.The former US administration and EU diplomats have said that a one-state solution meant either that the Palestinian population would one day form a majority in Israel, or that Israel would become an apartheid state that denied Palestinian rights in order to maintain its Jewish identity.

WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)

EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)

ISAIAH 14:12-14
12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13  For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14  I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)

Phoenix city council rejects bid to become 'sanctuary city'-[Reuters]-By David Schwartz-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

PHOENIX (Reuters) - The Phoenix City Council on Wednesday rejected a bid to declare the large southwestern U.S. municipality a "sanctuary city" despite vocal cries to protect undocumented immigrants.By a 7-2 vote, council members turned down a citizen's petition requesting the nation's sixth largest city declare itself a sanctuary city and limit their assistance to federal immigration authorities.The council's decision comes just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed the U.S. government to withhold money from cities that have adopted sanctuary policies toward undocumented immigrants.Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who presides over the council, said the legislation would violate a state law signed in 2010 by then-Arizona Governor Jan Brewer that allows police to question people they stop about their immigration status.Before the vote, Stanton said the parts of the 2010 law that "govern and mandate a certain level of interaction and cooperation with federal immigration authorities [...] were upheld unanimously," by the U.S. Supreme Court.The nine-member council did decide to seek legal advice at a later date to determine whether the city could challenge the state law, however.San Francisco, a prominent sanctuary city, filed a lawsuit last month challenging Trump's executive order, calling it unconstitutional.Other jurisdictions that describe themselves as sanctuary cities or offer some protection to undocumented immigrants include Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington.The Phoenix council vote was met with chants with cries of "Shame on you" by activists who remained in the council chambers after the raucous meeting."What we care (about) is that our families remain together and the only way to do that is to move quickly and to not collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement," said Carlos Garcia, director of immigrant advocacy group Puente Arizona.Supporters highlighted the recent case of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos to buttress their position.The Arizona mother of two American teenage children who had been living in the United States for more than 20 years was deported last week to Mexico, in what critics claimed was an early example of Trump's promised crackdown on undocumented immigrants.(Reporting by David Schwartz in Phoenix; Editing by Curtis Skinner and Sandra Maler)

Protests call for U.S. immigrants to stay home from work, school-[Reuters]-By Joseph Ax and Liza Feria-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Activists are calling on immigrants to protest President Donald Trump's tough stance on immigration by staying home from work or school on Thursday, not shopping and not eating out, in an effort to highlight the vital role they play in U.S. society."A Day Without Immigrants," which has been largely driven by word of mouth on social media, arose in response to Trump's vows to crack down on illegal immigration and his executive order, since suspended by a federal judge, to temporarily block entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.The action follows a series of federal raids last week in which more than 680 people illegally in the country were arrested, raising alarm among immigrant rights' groups."Mr. President, without us and without our contribution this country is paralysed," read a poster promoting the protest that was widely shared online.It is not clear how many people plan to participate in the walkout. With few plans for large-scale rallies, it may be hard to estimate how many ultimately do. But one group that expects to be affected, and is in some cases embracing the cause, is restaurant owners.Celebrity chef Jose Andres, locked in a legal battle with Trump after backing out of a deal to open a restaurant at the businessman-turned-politician's new hotel in Washington, said he was supporting the strikers on his staff."People that never missed one day of work are telling you they don't want to work on Thursday," the Spanish-born Andres said in an interview at his restaurant Oyamel, which will be closed on Thursday. "They want to say: 'Here we are,' by not showing up. The least I could do was to say: 'OK, we stand by you.'"Dozens of restaurants, which rely heavily on immigrant workers, and other businesses in cities such as Philadelphia, New York, Houston and Raleigh, North Carolina, have vowed to shut their doors on Thursday in solidarity with no-show workers.In New York, the owners of the Blue Ribbon restaurant chain said they would close several eateries despite the economic impact."It's really a show of support for our staff, and as a team and a family as a whole," said co-owner Eric Bromberg.More than a dozen restaurants in Washington were planning to close on Thursday, according to social media."You have millions of Latinos, millions of immigrants, that somehow feel under attack," Andres said. "They feel like they're being pushed aside. They want to be part of the American dream."(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)

After Mosul, jihadist threat to Iraq will grow: Kurdish intelligence official-[Reuters]-By Michael Georgy-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - If Islamic State is driven from its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, it will switch tactics to wage an insurgency from mountains and deserts, a top Kurdish intelligence official has told Reuters.Lahur Talabany, a senior figure in Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism efforts, also expressed concerns that another group similar to the Sunni Muslim Islamic State could emerge to menace Iraq again if political leaders fail to secure reconciliation between sects."Mosul will get taken ... I think it is the asymmetric warfare that we need to be worried about," he said."Our jobs will become much more difficult. The army will take a rest a little, but it will be the job of security forces that will become more difficult."Talabany said there were signs that Islamic State planned to shelter in the Hamrin mountains in the northeast, which could serve as a base for attacks on several provinces.He cited about five attacks on security forces in Diyala province in the last month."It is a very tough terrain. It is very difficult for the Iraqi military to control," said Talabany. "It’s a good hideout place and a place they could have access from province to province without getting detected."The army, backed by Kurdish forces and Shi'ite militias operating in nearby towns and villages, has driven Islamic State from eastern Mosul after more than three months of battles.-FIGHTING ON AFTER MOSUL-Talabany said there would be more months of street-to-street and house-to-house fighting before the western side was taken, in effect putting an end to the group's self-proclaimed caliphate.But he was cautious about the number of militants killed so far. There were en estimated 6,000 in Mosul at the start of the offensive and there is no evidence that anywhere close to that number have been killed, he said."We know some of these guys escaped. They are trying to send people out for the next phase, post-Mosul, to go into hiding and sleeper cells," said Talabany."You have to try and find them when they go underground, you have to try and flush out these sleeper cells. There will be unrest in this region for the next few years, definitely."Talabany also said Iraq could not afford to underestimate Islamic State's charismatic leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."He is very wise. He is not using any kind of communications. He is in the desert area, coming and going between Syria and Iraq, we believe," he said."Their plans are to start up some sort of asymmetric warfare -- against the region and globally. Also, we will see lone-wolf attacks pop up here and there in the region."-A NEW 'ISLAMIC STATE'?-In 2014, a few hundred Islamic State fighters seized control of Mosul in a few hours, partly because many fellow Sunnis welcomed them, complaining of abuses by the Shi'ite-dominated army and government in Baghdad.Talabany urged political leaders to avoid making the same mistake again."... maybe not Daesh (Islamic State), but another group will pop up under a different name, a different scale. We have to be really careful," he said. "These next few years will be very difficult for us, politically."So far, Iraq's sectarian violence has mostly pitted the majority Shi'ites against the Arab Sunnis, who dominated under Saddam Hussein.But the Kurds have had their own tensions with Baghdad, mostly over oil resources and Kurdish dreams of independence, and Talabany suggested Iraq's internal hostilities could become far more complex unless dialogue was promoted on all sides."There is another threat out there that a lot of people are not seeing. We could clash with the (Shi'ite) militia in the future if there is no dialogue with Baghdad," he said.In November, Shi'ite militias were transformed into a military corps that reports directly to the prime minister, who is a Shi’ite. This has caused concerns among Sunnis, including the Kurds, that they will be used to strengthen Shi’ite political domination."The militias are on our borders ... If there is disengagement from Baghdad and no dialogue, I believe they are much more difficult to control. They are not like the regular Iraqi army. I am worried that we could clash."(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

US chief of staff to visit Turkey for talks on Raqqa-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's defense minister says the U.S. chief of staff, Gen. Joe Dunford, will arrive in Turkey on Friday for talks on a possible joint operation to recapture the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.Fikri Isik told reporters in Brussels that Dunford's visit to Ankara would help Washington assess whether Turkey and the United States could act jointly.Turkey strongly objects to Syrian Kurdish fighters' participation in any operation to liberate Raqqa. It is pressing the U.S. to stop supporting Syrian Kurdish groups that Ankara considers to be "terrorists" because of their links to outlawed Kurdish rebels in Turkey.Isik said the impression he had from meetings with U.S. officials was that the new U.S. administration does not intend to use Syrian Kurdish forces to retake Raqqa.

WWII bomb transported across Germany, found at waste site-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Police say an unexploded World War II bomb was inadvertently transported across Germany before being discovered at a waste disposal facility, where it was defused.Police in the eastern state of Saxony said late Wednesday that the bomb — some 1 meter (3.3 feet) long and 40 centimeters (16 inches) in diameter — was brought to the facility in Deutzen in a delivery of soil from Cologne. That's a journey of some 480 kilometers (300 miles).Some 600 people in a radius of 1,000 meters (yards) around the bomb were evacuated, and the bomb was quickly defused.More than 70 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs are still commonly found in Germany.

Malaysia arrests 2nd suspect in North Korean's death-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-February 15, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian police have arrested two women in the death of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korea's leader who was reportedly poisoned this week by a pair of female assassins as he waited for a flight in Malaysia, police said Thursday.The women were picked up separately Wednesday and early Thursday and were identified using CCTV footage from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where Kim Jong Nam suddenly fell ill Monday morning before he died on the way to the hospital.The woman arrested Thursday was holding an Indonesian passport that identified her as 25-year-old Siti Aishah, a Malaysian police statement said.The other suspect held Vietnamese travel documents bearing the name Doan Thi Huong, 28. Still photos of the CCTV video, confirmed as authentic by police, showed her in a skirt and long-sleeved white T-shirt with "LOL" emblazoned across the front.There was no immediate way to determine if the IDs were genuine or if the women were believed to be the alleged assassins.Investigators are trying to shed light on a death that set off set off waves of speculation over whether North Korea dispatched a hit squad to kill a man known for his drinking, gambling and complicated family life.Medical workers completed an autopsy late Wednesday, but it was not immediately clear if or when Malaysia would release the findings publicly.North Korea had objected to the autopsy but Malaysia went ahead with the procedure anyway as the North did not submit a formal protest, said Abdul Samah Mat, a senior Malaysian police official.Kim Jong Nam, who was 45 or 46, was estranged from his younger brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and had been living abroad for years. He reportedly fell out of favour when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport in 2001, saying he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.According to two senior Malaysian government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case involves sensitive diplomacy, the elder Kim told medical workers before he died that he had been attacked with a chemical spray at the airport. Multiple South Korean media reports, citing unidentified sources, said two women believed to be North Korean agents killed him with some kind of poison before fleeing in a taxi.Since taking power in late 2011, Kim Jong Un has executed or purged a number of high-level government officials in what the South Korean government has described as a "reign of terror."South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said Wednesday that North Korea had been trying for five years to kill Kim Jong Nam. The NIS did not definitively say that North Korea was behind the killing, just that it was presumed to be a North Korean operation, according to lawmakers who briefed reporters about the closed-door meeting with the spy officials.The NIS also cited a "genuine" attempt by North Korea to kill Kim Jong Nam in 2012, the lawmakers said. The NIS told them that Kim Jong Nam sent a letter to Kim Jong Un in April 2012, after the assassination attempt, begging for the lives of himself and his family.The letter said: "I hope you cancel the order for the punishment of me and my family. We have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and we know that the only way to escape is committing suicide."Although Kim Jong Nam had been originally tipped by some outsiders as a possible successor to his late dictator father, Kim Jong Il, others thought that was unlikely because he lived outside the country, including recently in Macau.He also frequented casinos, five-star hotels and travelled around Asia, with little say in North Korean affairs.But his attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland reportedly soured North Korea's leadership on his potential as a successor. Kim Jong Nam had said he had no political ambitions, although he was publicly critical of the North Korean regime and his half brother's legitimacy in the past. In 2010, he was quoted in Japanese media as saying he opposed dynastic succession in North Korea.Among Kim Jong Un's executions and purges, the most spectacular was the 2013 execution of his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the country's second-most powerful man, for what the North alleged was treason.___Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and Tim Sullivan in New Delhi contributed to this report.Eileen Ng, The Associated Press.

North Koreans, in eye of storm, fete leader's birthday-[Associated Press]-ERIC TALMADGE-YAHOONEWS-February 16, 2017

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Unaware of reports his eldest son — and current leader Kim Jong Un's half brother — was killed just days ago in what appears to have been a carefully planned assassination, North Koreans marked the birthday of late leader Kim Jong Il on Thursday as they do every year, with dancing, special treats for children and reverential bows and bouquets of flowers before bronze statues.There has been no mention of half brother Kim Jong Nam's killing at the Kuala Lumpur airport in the North's official media.In fact, Kim Jong Nam, who is believed to have lived most of the past decade in a kind of exile away from the North, may as well have never existed as far as most North Koreans are concerned. Few have access to outside media sources and reports here are generally limited to the ruling line of Kims.Other members of the family tree — especially problematic ones like Kim Jong Nam, who once suggested the North should do away with its hereditary succession — are rarely if ever mentioned.On the surface, at least, normalcy was the word of the day.North Korea's state media said Kim Jong Un paid his customary respects overnight at a palatial mausoleum in Pyongyang. He also reportedly attended a large meeting on Wednesday.North Koreans across the country, meanwhile, observed as normal the "Day of the Shining Star," Kim Jong Il's birthday and the second-most important holiday of the year. National founder and "eternal president" Kim Il Sung's birthday in April — the "Day of the Sun" — is the most important.In central Pyongyang, from early morning thousands of people climbed Mansu Hill to lay flowers and bow below giant statues of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung. North Koreans are expected to make a show of respect to their leaders on all major holidays and anniversaries and authorities are ensuring that Kim Jong Il's birthday is being celebrated in traditional fashion.One aspect of that is the annual flower show featuring thousands of blossoms named Kimjongilia after the past leader. The Kimjongilia flower is a kind of begonia, originally bred by a Japanese botanist, according to North Korean authorities.Apart from the rituals, it is also a public holiday. People can expect presents of cooking oil or other food and drink from their employers, and they get time off to spend with their families.On Thursday, Pyongyang residents also took part in large public dances, filed through displays of ice sculptures.The finale of the day was to be a fireworks show.