BOOGY MAN FALSE FLAG BIN LADIN DEAD

OLIVE TREE MINISTRIES LATES SHOWS
http://olivetreeradio.com/OTM2011_04_30A.mp3
http://olivetreeradio.com/OTM2011_04_30B.mp3

BIN LADEN CIA AGENT - BOOGYMAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UGXVic15ho&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OW4A-yd9BI&feature=player_embedded
BIN LADEN KILLED FOR THE 9TH TIME
http://www.infowars.com/osama-bin-laden-pronounced-dead%e2%80%a6-for-the-ninth-time/
JONES TODAY ON BOOGY BOY BIN LADEN
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110502_Mon_Alex.mp3

THE FALSE FLAG BOOGY MAN BIN LADIN IS OFFICIALLY DEAD.NO MORE WINEING-DINING IN THE PENTEGON AND WHITEHOUSE FOR THIS CIA AGENT.

THERES QUESTIONS ALREADY WHY DID OBAMA SAY BIN LADEN WAS NOT A MUSLIM LEADER BECAUSE HE KILLED OTHER MUSLIMS.WHY NO PICTURES OF THE SO CALLED MURDERED BIN LADEN AS HE WAS QUICKLY BURIED AT SEA(A TYPICAL MUSLIM BURIAL)(BUT BIN LADEN WAS NOT A MUSLIM LEADER SOETORO AKA FRAUD MUSLIM OBAMA CLAIMS.THERES MORE QUESTIONS THEN ANSWERS ALREADY.OBAMA NEEDED THIS FALSE FLAG TO SAVE HIS ADMINISTRATION FROM CERTAIN COLLAPSE.I STILL THINK THIS IS ALL HAPPENING.THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND NOW THE MYSTEROUS BOOGYMAN BIN LADEN DEATH AND QUICK BURIAL AT SEA IS A DISTRACTION OF BERNANKES SPEECH AND THE DEMISE OF THE DOLLAR IN THE BACKROUND BY OBAMA-SOROS AND NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES.

OBAMA MIGHT BE TRYING TO SAVE HIS SKIN FOR RE-ELECTION.BUT I JUST READ HAMAS IS AGAINST THIS BIN LADEN MURDER.WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY HAMAS WILL DO TO AMERICA NOW.OBAMA YOU GOT TERRIBLE TERROR ATTACKS AHEAD OF YOU FOR THINKING OF YOURSELF TO BE RE-ELECTED IN 2012.AND KILLING A CIA MUSLIM HAMAS FAVOURED AGENT.LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS OBAMA PRIDE COMES BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION.YOU DONE IT THIS TIME OBAMA.WATCH OUT FOR HAMAS-IRAN-SYRIA AND RUSSIA AND CHINA TO TEAM UP NOW AGAINST YOU.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH(BECAUSE OF SIN AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

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.

HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel:(AMERICA IN THIS CASE) for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, 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.

Hamas leader condemns US killing of bin Laden
MAY 2,11

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The leader of the Palestinian militant Hamas government in Gaza has condemned the United States for killing al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says the operation is the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs.Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza on Monday that although Hamas had its differences with al-Qaida, his group condemns the assassination of a Muslim and Arabic warrior and prays that bin Laden's soul rests in peace.Hamas has repeatedly said it has no ties to al-Qaida and that its violent struggle is directed solely against Israel, and not the West at large.

Source: Al-Qaida head bin Laden dead
By JULIE PACE, Associated Press - MAY 2,11

WASHINGTON – Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States, is dead, and the U.S. is in possession of his body, a person familiar with the situation said late Sunday.President Barack Obama was expected to address the nation on the developments Sunday night.It was unclear where how bin Laden was killed and how the U.S. captured his body. Officials have long believed bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world, was hiding a mountainous region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.The person spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to speak ahead of the president.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-N3dJvhgPg&feature=player_embedded
Red Alert: Government Had Osama bin Laden Frozen for Years
Kurt Nimmo and Alex Jones Infowars.com May 1, 2011

CNN and the corporate media report this evening that purported CIA asset Osama bin Laden has been killed by the U.S. military in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-N3dJvhgPg&feature=player_embedded
In an address to the nation, Obama said he ordered the strike that allegedly killed Osama. The remainder of his speech followed the standard war on terror propaganda script.A small team of Americans killed bin Laden in a firefight at a compound in Pakistan, the president said in a dramatic late-night statement at the White House, the Associated Press reported following Obama’s address.Obama said the military took custody of his remains. It remains to be seen if the government will attempt to provide evidence that the remains are indeed those of Osama bin Laden. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done,said former president Bush. In 2006, Bush admitted that capturing Osama was not a top priority.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o&feature=player_embedded

In February, 2004, Iranian state radio claimed Osama bin Laden had been captured in Pakistan’s border region with Afghanistan a long time ago. Pentagon and Pakistani officials denied the report. Osama bin Laden has been arrested a long time ago, but Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election, the radio report said. Osama bin Laden died of kidney failure soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks. In 2002, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said bin Laden had kidney disease, and that he had required a dialysis machine when he lived in Afghanistan. That same year, the FBI’s top counterterrorism official, Dale Watson, said, I personally think he is probably not with us anymore.A Taliban leader told the Pakistan Observer on December 21, 2002, that Bin Laden was suffering from a serious lung complication and died in mid-December, in the vicinity of the Tora Bora mountains. The source claimed that bin Laden was laid to rest honorably in his last abode and his grave was made as per his Wahabi belief, according to Fox News.Alex Jones was told live on the radio in 2002 by high-level Council on Foreign Relations members that Osama Bin Laden had died of kidney failure in early 2002.I have it from high level [sources] from inside the Bush administration…that bin Laden died of natural causes and that his family has given the body to the CIA, that they’re gonna roll him out right before the election, that he’s on ice right now. They will claim they killed him right before the election,Alex said at the time.Jones gave a caution that the intelligence could be disinformation but claimed that his base in Austin was extremely close to the Bush administration and similar information received in the past had been credible,Paul Joseph Watson wrote in August of 2002.During the 2004 election, CNN reported that Democratic insiders had been told that George W. Bush was going to use the Bin Laden body as an ace-in-the-hole if he thought he was in danger of losing the 2004 election. This confirmed the evidence that Jones had been given by the CFR and others.In 2003, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Fox News Channel analyst Morton Kondracke she suspected Bush knew the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and was waiting for the most politically expedient moment to announce his capture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0GEX61tgbI&feature=player_embedded

Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack at the end of 2007, stated that Osama bin Laden had been killed by Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a man convicted of kidnapping and killing journalist Daniel Pearl.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnychOXj9Tg&feature=player_embedded

Obama’s announcement follows the release of a highly suspicious birth certificate last week. Both events represent psychological operations that possibly portend more significant events in the days ahead as the U.S. dollar continues to lose its reserve status, the economy fails to recover as promised, and wars expand in Libya, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.Obama’s propaganda stunt arrives as the Democrats kick off their leader’s presidential reelection bid against a number of Republicans contenders who have been highly critical of not only his perceived handling of the economy, but also his management of the manufactured war on terror.

Text of President Obama's statement to U.S. people
– Mon May 2, 2:51 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the mastermind of the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people has been killed in Pakistan by U.S.-led forces.

Following is the text of Obama's statement to America:

Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who's responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women and children.It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory. Hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky.The Twin Towers collapsing to the ground. Black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon. The wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table.Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child's embrace.Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11th, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other and our love of community and country.On that day, no matter where we came from, what god we prayed to or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. We were also united in our resolve, to protect our nation and to -- to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice.We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda, an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda, to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.
Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we've made great strides in that effort. We've disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense.In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.Yet, Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda. Even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle and defeat his network.Then last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain. And it took many months to run this thread to ground.I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan.

And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abad Abad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body. For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda's leader and symbol and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies.The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation's effort to defeat al Qaeda.And his death does not mark the end of our effort. There's no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must and we will remain vigilant at home and abroad.As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. I've made clear just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11 that our war is not against Islam. Bin laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries including our own.

So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity. Over the years, I've repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we've done. But it's important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.Tonight I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war.These efforts weigh on me every time I, as commander in chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one or look into the eyes of a service member who's been gravely wounded.So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are.And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda's terror, justice has been done.

Tonight we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who've worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work nor know their names, but tonight they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.
Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.The cause of securing our country is not complete, but tonight we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history. Whether it's the pursuit of prosperity for our people or the struggle for equality for all our citizens, our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.(World Desk Americas)

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON MAY 02,2011

09:30 AM +2.52
10:00 AM +38.60
10:30 AM +58.05
11:00 AM +52.52
11:30 AM +44.20
12:00 PM +30.76
12:30 PM -6.70
01:00 PM -2.16
01:30 PM +22.71
02:00 PM +9.99
02:30 PM +17.18
03:00 PM -1.78
03:30 PM -3.48
04:00 PM -3.18 12,807.36

S&P 500 1361.22 -2.39

NASDAQ 2864.08 -9.46

GOLD 1,556.20 -0.20

OIL 113.36 -0.57

TSE 300 13,934.50 -10.30

CDNX 2207.49 -44.15

S&P/TSX/60 798.50 +0.60

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +58 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -2 points at low today.
Dow +66 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,555.70.OIL opens at $113.40 today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH TODAY $1,573.50

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -26 points at low today so far.
Dow +66 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -26 points at low today.
Dow +66 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,573.50 (NOT AT CLOSE)

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Peres: Iran is a Danger to the Entire World
by Elad Benari MAY 02,11

President Shimon Peres, who spoke on Sunday evening at the memorial opening ceremony of Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) at Yad Vashem, addressed the Iranian threat.Iran’s fanatic leadership is a danger to the entire world, said Peres.It is not only a threat to Israel. It is a threat to any household, anywhere. It is a real risk to the fate of humanity. The nations of the world have declared that they will not accept Iran’s acquiring of nuclear weapons. They now stand the test of their commitment.Peres stressed that even after the Holocaust there is a regime whose leaders are still Holocaust deniers. It should arouse horror in anyone, and shock anyone with a conscience.Peres also spoke of the time period of the Holocaust and said that “We were alone, without our own state. The Allied bombers who passed over Auschwitz-Birkenau did not drop a single bomb on the mass murder facilities. The Holocaust determined that there is no substitute for us other than a home of our own.

Today we have established our own house, continued the President.Today we have a great army that the world has learned to respect. We have a democratic government that knows how to defend itself properly and knows to seek peace as necessary. This is our answer to the enemy. Any enemy.This evening we are not alone. In our hearts live six million of our people. We remember their eyes. We are their voices.Before our tearful eyes we see the Jews in Majdanek who were taken out of the cabins early in the morning and, while the loudspeaker played dance music, they were shot in pits.
Humming in our ears is the dreadful rattle of trains and transports to Treblinka, which contained our mothers, our fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.We remember Babi Yar, Ponar, Bogdanovka, Jasenovac, Rumbula, and hundreds of other killing pits.
Regarding the State of Israel, Peres said that “all citizens of Israel, regardless of religion and race know that Israel is, was and is committed to be, the most anti-racist country in the world. Israel is an historical memorial to Holocaust victims. It is a ground to achieve their dreams, the dreams of a half million children murdered before they tasted life. Children who were born here, free and standing upright, are fulfilling the dreams of the mothers who were murdered with their children in their arms.Israel will wake up tomorrow to a new day. Buses will travel. Men and women will go to work. Our soldiers will stand in their positions. Children will go to school. The memory will be preserved. The building and defense will intensify, along with our wonderful ability to hope.Peres concluded with the words in the book of 1 Samuel 15:29: Netzakh Yisrael Lo Yeshaker (The Eternity of Israel will not lie), and man will win.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

IDF Recognizes 17,000 Holocaust Survivors
by Elad Benari MAY 2,11
OTHER HOLOCAUST VIDEOS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143822
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143821
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143820

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz was one of many IDF commanders and soldiers who took part on Sunday in a special project entitled Flower to the Survivor.As part of the project, Gantz, along with the Chairman of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel, Elazar Stern, visited the home of Judge David Frankel, where he met Motti Yehuda Bok. Both men are Holocaust survivors, and during the meeting Gantz gave them a certificate and a flower, in recognition of their contribution to the establishment of Israel. The meeting, which took part on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah), was also attended by Tanya Eliav, widow of long-time politician and educator Aryeh Lova Eliav, who passed away last year and had served as captain of the ship on which Gantz’s parents came to Israel.Being able to take with you the memory of the Holocaust and decide to hold a personal life, a family life, the life of a country and the life of a nation is impressive and appreciated,Gantz told the two survivors during the meeting.As part of the Flower to the Survivor project, commanders and soldiers from all the different divisions in the IDF will meet in the coming month with 17,000 Holocaust survivors in their homes or in nursing homes. During the visits, the soldiers will be exposed to the personal testimony of the survivors and give them on behalf of the IDF and the State of Israel a flower and a certificate as a token of the bond between the IDF and Holocaust survivors.

The IDF’s Bamachane newspaper reported that the project is taking place for the fourth consecutive year and that three years ago, 9,000 survivors participated. According to the report, 10,000 officers and soldiers, including about 32 senior officers with the rank of Brigadier-General or higher, will participate in the project this year.If we do not acknowledge the older generation, the younger generations will not forgive us,said Stern of the project.This year we had a record number of survivors participating. This is proof of our society’s readiness to contribute. Today, more than ever, we must ensure that the survivors live the rest of their lives with the respect that they deserve, being the country’s founders and heroes.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

First African Muslim Convoy to Gaza
by Maayana Miskin MAY 1,11

Two Muslim groups in South Africa are planning the first African convoy to Gaza, in coordination with Hamas and the IHH. One of the organizations, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), is banned in the United States and Israel due to its financial support for terrorism.The convoy plans to travel in June, and pass through many African states, among them Sudan. Israeli security officials have expressed concern that the stop in Sudan could give the Hamas network there a chance to ship weapons to Hamas in Gaza, or to send terrorists with advanced training.Organizers appear to be hoping that the convoy's origin in South Africa, the former apartheid state, will help to stick the apartheid state label on Israel. In addition, they hope to raise support for Hamas among Africans, by stopping at various points along the way and spreading their message.The convoy has been timed to coincide with a planned flotilla to Gaza, which organizers hope will set sail from Europe in late June, and head for Gaza with the aim of breaking through the IDF's naval blockade on Hamas.

The African convoy will send its cargo by sea, but will rejoin the cargo in Egypt and bring the goods into Gaza by land.The second main organization behind the convoy is the South African branch of the Al Quds International Institute, an international Muslim group that strives to promote Jerusalem as a Muslim and Arab city. The Al Quds Institute and MJC have support from several other Muslim groups, among them charitable organizations, universities and schools.The South Africa convoy is also unusual as a convoy to Gaza from a country that suffers a much worse standard of living in many ways. Gaza residents enjoy a much lower mortality rate than their South African counterparts, and overall life expectancy is more than 24 years higher. While Gaza residents are more likely to live below the poverty line, due largely to their much higher natural growth rate, they also receive much more international aid, particularly from the United Nations.Similarly, many of the states through which the convoy will travel in its attempts to raise support, among them Malawi, Zambia, and Sudan, suffer a much higher mortality rate and significantly lower average income than Gaza.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Palestinian diplomats await EU backing for unity government
ANDREW RETTMAN 29.04.2011 @ 09:30 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Palestinian diplomats have said the EU is likely to back a new deal between rival political factions Fatah and Hamas despite Israel's opposition. Speaking to EUobserver on Thursday (28 April) following the surprise announcement of a new Hamas-Fatah national unity government, Xavier Abu Eid, an adviser to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), said the reconciliation pact fits in with stated EU policy.The new Palestinian government will respect all previous PLO agreements, including the Road-map commitment to an end to violence and the Arab Peace Initiative, and it will move toward establishing a Palestinian state on 1967 borders,he said.How could the EU come out against a government that has the same policies as the EU itself on this region? I don't think that is an option.He indicated the new agreement will trump Hamas' old charter, which supports armed resistance against Israel.Hamas as a movement might have a document calling for armed struggle, but as part of a unity government, it will have to respect the law and it will have to respect the Roadmap, he explained.Israel is saying we have to choose between peace and Hamas. But Hamas is part of Palestinian society, it's part of our people. They must respect the choice of the Palestinian people and see Hamas as part of the solution, not part of the problem.Husam Zomlot, a deputy commissioner in Fatah's international relations commission, told this website that he already has positive signals from the EU side. The signals we are getting is that Europe has learned over the past five years that you should not put obstacles in the path of national reconciliation,he said.

Europe today is not the Europe of 2006 [when it cut off all official contacts with Hamas]. There is a much more co-ordinated position between France, Germany and the UK. Europe is no longer just following the US and Israeli line. It is more active and more aggressive in terms of pursuing its own policy for the region.The national unity agreement was announced in Cairo on Wednesday and is to be formally signed in the post-revolutionary Egyptian capital next week.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a preliminary statement on Thursday noted that the EU has consistently called for peace and reconciliation ... leading to an end to the division between the [Fatah-controlled] West Bank and [Hamas-controlled] Gaza.It added:We will study the detail of this agreement and discuss with colleagues in the EU and in the region.
An EU diplomat told this website: Officially we support national reconciliation. But it's not going to be easy - the Israelis have made their opinion very clear and I don't think there will be much flexibility on the American side.He added there is talk in Brussels about taking Hamas off the EU terrorist register: A number of EU countries that deliver humanitarian aid to [Hamas-controlled] Gaza already have contacts with them, even if it's not at the official level. But you don't take such a decision lightly.The US has declined to support or reject the unity plan for now.

But Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, have denounced it. Noting that the US labels Hamas as a terrorist entity, Netanyahu told visiting US congressmen in Israel on Thursday that Hamas is the same type of group as Islamist extremists Al-Qaeda.Israel would not recognise any government in the world that included members from Al-Qaeda,he said. Lieberman added: This agreement crosses a red line ... it has always been known that no talks can be held with groups calling for Israel's destruction.The national unity deal is also troubling for Israel because it increases the likelihood the PLO will in September apply to join the UN as a fully fledged member on the basis of borders established after the 1967 Six-Day War - a move leaving swathes of Israeli settlements on the Palestinian side.EU and Palestinian diplomatic sources said that eight-or-so EU countries already support the September initiative due to the years-long impasse in bilateral Israeli-Palestinian talks on a final settlement.The EU countries are said to include Greece, Ireland, France, Spain and Sweden. Norway, outside the EU, is also on board, with the UK getting close to this point.For her part, Roni Keidar - who helps to run a pro-peace NGO in Sderot, a small Israeli town frequently hit by rockets out of Gaza - voiced openness toward the Palestinian pact.There will be no way for any kind of real solution unless we talk to Hamas as well,she said.The last time there was an escalation in fighting and we had all these rockets, I was frantic. I knew my grandchild was outside and my husband was out in the fields and I was beside myself. I was in a terrible state. We can't go on like this for ever.She warned: Not many here in Sderot think like me. Most people say the only way is to use violence against them.

Libyans burn UK, Italy missions after NATO strike By KARIN LAUB and BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press - MAY 1,11

TRIPOLI, Libya – Angry mobs attacked Western embassies and a U.N. office in Tripoli Sunday after NATO bombed Moammar Gadhafi's family compound in an attack officials said killed the leader's second youngest son and three grandchildren, ages six months to two years.Russia said the Western alliance exceeded its U.N. mandate of protecting Libyan civilians with the strike.The vandalized embassies were empty and nobody was reported injured, but the attacks heightened tensions between the Libyan regime and Western powers, prompting the United Nations to pull its international staff out of the capital.The bombing did not slow the attacks by Gadhafi's forces on rebel strongholds in the western part of Libya that has remained largely under the control of the regime. The rebel port of Misrata, which has been besieged by Gadhafi's troops for two months, came under heavy shelling Sunday and at least 12 people were killed, a medic said.Gadhafi has repeatedly called for a cease-fire, most recently on Saturday, but has not halted his assault on Misrata, a city of 300,000 where hundreds have been killed since the rebellion against Libya's ruler erupted in mid-February.The rebels, who control most of eastern Libya, have been unable to gain an advantage on the battlefield despite weeks of NATO airstrikes. Alliance officials and allied leaders emphatically denied they were hunting Gadhafi to break the stalemate between the better trained government forces and the lightly armed rebels.

Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, who commands NATO's operation in Libya, said that we do not target individuals. However, the leaders of the U.S., Britain and France have said Gadhafi must go, prompting warnings by U.N. Security Council members Russia, China and Brazil against NATO attempts to change the regime.In some of its strongest language, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday accused NATO of a disproportionate use of force and cast doubt on NATO's assertion that it is not targeting Gadhafi or members of his family. Russia called for an immediate cease-fire.NATO warplanes have shifted their focus in the past two weeks from support for rebels on the front lines to attacking the regime's communications centers. Saturday's strike reduced most of the Gadhafi family compound, which takes up an entire block in the residential Garghour neighborhood, to rubble.Officials said it killed 29-year-old Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, who had survived a 1986 U.S. airstrike on his father's Bab al-Aziziya residential compound. Also killed were 2-year-old Carthage, the daughter of Gadhafi's son Hannibal; six-month-old Mastura, daughter of Gadhafi's daughter Aisha; and 15-month-old Seif Mohammed, son of Gadhafi's son Mohammed.Dr. Gerard Le Clouerec, a French orthopedic surgeon who runs a private clinic in Tripoli, inspected the bodies of an adult and two infants at Tripoli's Green Hospital on Sunday.He told reporters that the adult's face was intact and that in relation to a photo we have seen most probably was the son of Gadhafi.He said the adult had a thin mustache and a full beard.The two children had been badly disfigured, the doctor said.The complex targeted Saturday, hidden from view by blast walls and tall trees, contained three one-story buildings and a large yard with lawns, geranium flower beds, a woodshed, a swing and a table soccer game. A dead deer and a twisted bathtub lay on the debris-strewn grass.

A kitchen clock, knocked from the wall, had stopped a 8:08 and 45 seconds, the time of the explosion. Cooking pots with food, including stuffed peppers, noodles and a stew, had been left on the stove, covered with aluminum foil. Thick gray dust covered crates of onions and lemons in the pantry.In one of the living rooms, a pile of video games, including FIFA 10, were scattered on a sofa. In what looked like a children's bedroom, half an apple and a glass container of Nutella chocolate spread stood on a night stand.Foreign ambassadors, many from Africa, were given a tour by government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who told them that Africans must stick together against attempts at foreign meddling.After news of the air strike spread in Tripoli, angry mobs trashed the embassies of Britain and Italy, a U.S. consular department and a U.N. office, said Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim. The British Foreign Office said only burned shells remained of the British embassy buildings, including the ambassador's residence. The buildings had been ransacked, vandalized and completely destroyed,a spokeswoman said.Britain, which has taken a leading role in supporting the rebels, responded by ordering the expulsion of the Libyan ambassador, saying he must leave by Monday.The Italian embassy in Tripoli was also burned, the Italian Foreign Ministry said, accusing the Gadhafi regime of failing to take measures to protect foreign missions. Italy withdrew its diplomats weeks ago and promised the attack on the embassy will not weaken its determination to continue with its partners in that mission. Kaim said a U.S. consular department was also attacked.A Libyan anti-Gadhafi activist who toured Tripoli said he saw scorch marks outside the building's windows and a green Libyan flag draped over the roof on one side. The windows in the guard shack at the entrance were smashed, said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The U.S. evacuated its diplomatic staff at the start of the Libyan crisis, leaving Turkey to represent American interests in the country. In Washington, the State Department said it was aware of the reports of damage.If true, we condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms,the statement said, adding that by failing to protect the diplomatic missions, the regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations.Vandals also entered empty U.N. offices in Tripoli and some vehicles were taken, according to Stephanie Bunker, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Bunker said 12 foreign staffers left for neighboring Tunisia because of the unrest. Bunker told AP Sunday night that the foreign minister personally apologized to the U.N. and promised to compensate any losses and to expedite the U.N.'s return.Kaim said the attacks were regrettable but that police had been outnumbered by angry crowds of hundreds of people. He said Libya would pay compensation for the damage.Rebels celebrated the news of the airstrike that killed Gadhafi's son, although some questioned the veracity of the claim, saying the regime could be trying to discredit the international military campaign.Libyan state TV broadcast footage apparently shot in a morgue showing what appeared to be two bodies, covered by green Libyan flags, lying on metal gurneys. A flower wreath leaned near a wall. Two smaller shapes were covered by white sheets on separate gurneys.Gadhafi and his wife, Safiya, were in the family compound at the time of the attack but escaped unharmed, said Ibrahim, the government spokesman.Seif al-Arab was the second-youngest of Gadhafi's seven sons and brother of the better known Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who had been touted as a reformist before the uprising began. He also has a biological daughter, Aisha.

The younger Gadhafi had spent much of his time studying and partying in the southern German city of Munich in recent years and was not involved in Libyan power structures as were many of his siblings. Even photos of him are scarce. On Sunday, Ibrahim distributed a headshot showing him with a full black beard and wearing a black shirt.Gadhafi, who has been in power for more than four decades, has fought fiercely to put down an uprising against his regime that began with protests inspired by a wave of Mideast unrest and escalated into an armed rebellion.Misrata, Libya's third-largest city 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of Tripoli, has emerged as a key battleground as Gadhafi seeks to consolidate his hold in the west.
On Sunday, the Libyan government unleashed two volleys of rockets on Misrata's port, the rebel-held city's only lifeline. Heavy shelling also occurred elsewhere in the city throughout the day, killing 12 people and raising the two-day death toll to 23.
A first round of rockets hit the port early in the morning, while a Maltese aid ship that arrived the night before was unloading its cargo, said Ahmed al-Misrati, a truck driver who was in the port at the time.Al-Misrati said the rockets hit the port area and the water near the boat, which pulled out to sea before it could finish unloading the aid.A second, larger salvo of dozens of rockets struck the port area in the afternoon, causing fires that sent a huge plume of black smoke over the horizon.One rocket hit a makeshift checkpoint outside the port, killing two people, medics said. Associated Press Television News footage showed smoke from a line of rocket strikes along the port road and a man screaming and holding his injured hand while fleeing from the checkpoint. Two bodies lay in the rubble.Strikes also hit inside the port, destroying part of its main road and setting fire to shipping containers on the dock full of aid, said Ahmed al-Jamal, 27, who was slightly injured when the port restaurant was hit.Fighting between rebel fighters and government forces continued in the southwestern neighborhood of al-Gheran.Some 20 rebel fighters who said they were waiting for NATO airstrikes to advance collected in a house there, eating cookies, giving milk to local cats and leaning their rifles on the wall before lining up for Muslim prayers.One fighter flipped through photos of his children on his cell phone when a rocket-propelled grenade hit near the house's open door, causing a boom that shook the walls. Shrapnel shattered the windshield and headlights of a parked ambulance, killing two fighters and injuring four others.Hubbard reported from Misrata, Libya. Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Juergen Baetz in Berlin, Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, Lynn Berry in Moscow and Bouazza ben Bouazza in Tunis, Tunisia, contributed to this report.

Brussels opens anti-trust probes into top investment banks
LEIGH PHILLIPS 29.04.2011 @ 17:52 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission on Friday (30 April) opened two antitrust probes into the world's major investment banks, 16 institutions that dominate the credit default swap market.In the first case, Brussels is to investigate 16 financial institutions including Deutsche Bank, Credit Agricole, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup suspected of collusion and monopolistic behaviour.The second case concerns worries that preferential tariffs granted by ICE Clear Europe, the leading international clearing house for CDS, to nine of the same banks allows ICE to dominate the market.CDS play a useful role for financial markets and for the economy, said EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia in announcing the investigations. Recent developments have shown, however, that the trading of this asset class suffers a number of inefficiencies that cannot be solved through regulation alone.Credit default swaps are essentially insurance a lender takes out to protect against a borrower defaulting on a loan. The market came under attack from critics and regulators in the wake of the global economic crisis for the alleged role the enormous CDS market played in exacerbating the downturn. Between 2000 and 2008, the market for credit default swaps skyrocketed from $900 billion to more than $30 trillion, according to the Bank of International Settlements - roughly half the world's annual GDP.The first probe will examine whether the 16 investment banks and Markit, the leading provider of financial information in the CDS market, have colluded or may hold and abuse their position in order to dominate information on the product.

Brussels believes that the 16 banks that act as dealers in the CDS market restrict information on pricing and indices and other daily data only to Markit. The EU executive says this could be the result of collusion or an abuse of their collective dominance and closes off access to essential raw data to other information service companies.In the second probe, the commission is to inquire into whether clauses that offer preferential fees and profit sharing in contracts negotiated by ICE and nine of these banks in effect lock them into using ICE at the expense of competing firms.The effects of these agreements could be that other clearing houses have difficulties successfully entering the market and that other CDS players have no real choice where to clear their transactions, the commission said in a statement.The list of the 16 institutions involved - most of the world's major players in the CDS market - include some of both the EU and US's biggest names in investment banking: JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Crédit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, Wells Fargo Bank-Wachovia, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale.Nine of the banks involved in the first investigation are also the focus of the second probe: Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, Crédit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and UBS.

EU competition spokeswoman Amelia Torres told reporters that the commission first became aware of the issues during the economic crisis.I hope our investigation will contribute to a better functioning of financial markets and, therefore, to a more sustainable recovery, added Almunia.There is no deadline for the twin investigation, but should firms be found guilty of abuses, they can be fined up to 10 percent of revenues.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; 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, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Top officials survey storm-ravaged South
By Peggy Gargis - MAY 1,11

PRATT CITY, Alabama (Reuters) – Federal officials vowed urgent support on Sunday for a region devastated by the deadliest U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina, even as they acknowledged recovery would not be quick or easy.President Barack Obama's administration is trying to show an effective response to the storms and twisters that killed about 350 people last week in seven southern states, reduced neighborhoods to rubble and caused damage expected to run into billions of dollars.

Obama visited Alabama on Friday and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, toured damage on Sunday.I don't think words can fairly express the level of devastation here. I am not articulate enough, Napolitano said after seeing how killer storm winds had torn through Pratt City, Alabama.Later in Smithville, Mississippi, Napolitano said the visit had offered an acute sense of urgency about the need to help communities come to grips and recover from the disaster.This is not going to be a quick comeback or an immediate one but it will be, in my view, a complete one when all is said and done, she said.Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, was sharply criticized for the federal response after Hurricane Katrina raked the Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans in 2005.The Republican governors of Alabama and Mississippi both spoke highly of Washington's response to the latest disaster.When you see local, state and federal people cooperating like this, it really makes a difference,Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said on CBS's Face the Nation program.But the administration's performance over the storm has not won universal praise. Texas Governor Rick Perry criticized the White House for not responding to a request for disaster aid for his state, where wildfires have scorched nearly 2 million acres.

You have to ask, Why are you taking care of Alabama and other states?' I know our letter didn't get lost in the mail,Perry, a Republican and frequent government critic, said last week.Alabama was the worst-hit state in last week's storms, with 250 people killed. Elsewhere, 101 people died in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia and Louisiana.About 1,700 people were injured in Alabama alone and others were missing after tornadoes crushed homes, flipped cars upside down and tore children from their parents' arms.To help people get back on their feet, the Department of Agriculture will make homes in rural areas available for rent, said Vilsack.The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it would make loans of up to $200,000 available to homeowners and up to $2 million for small businesses. It would also make $80 million available in block grants to states.Katrina devastated New Orleans, killed more than 1,800 people and left thousands of people stranded for days on rooftops, in the open or in chaotic public buildings.FBI officers, FEMA officials, state troopers, police, sheriffs, firefighters, and officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service worked with many local volunteers to clear roads and debris on Saturday.My friend and her boy died right over there. This is what I can do for her from my heart, said Carlos Carabez, who was sawing a fallen tree into pieces so it could be hauled away. Bentley declared Sunday a day of prayer in Alabama, a relatively poor and politically conservative state in a region where evangelical churches play a powerful social role.Several churches were torn down by the storms, including Bethel Baptist church, an African American church in Pratt City outside Birmingham with a congregation of 5,000. On Sunday, the church held services at a local convention center.This service is our response to tragedy. It shows that we are not victims. We are victors. We are visible victors,pastor T.L. Lewis said in an interview.The death toll from last week, which is still expected to rise, was the second-highest recorded from tornadoes in U.S. history. In 1925, 747 people were killed after twisters hit the midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.Unlocking federal assistance, Obama on Friday signed major disaster declarations for Mississippi and Georgia, adding to the one already signed for Alabama.(Additional reporting by Tami Chappell in Birmingham, Verna Gates in Phil Campbell; writing by Matthew Bigg; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Waters still rising around evacuated Illinois town
By Miriam Moynihan – Sun May 1, 7:13 pm ET

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – Missouri's attorney general asked the Supreme Court on Sunday to intervene and block a proposed federal plan to protect the southern Illinois town of Cairo by blowing up a levee on the Mississippi River.State Attorney General Chris Koster asked the nation's highest court for a temporary injunction to prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from intentionally breaching the Birds Point levee, a move that would flood 130,000 acres of farmland and destroy the homes of an estimated 200 people in Missouri.By blowing up the levee, the Corps hopes to increase the Mississippi River's ability to accommodate the rising waters of the Ohio River, relieving Cairo and other towns.Cairo, a historic town of 2,800 people located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi, was largely empty after a mandatory evacuation as the Ohio, swollen by overnight rains, continued to rise to dangerously high record levels.Both rivers have been rising as a result of days of rain and the melt and runoff of heavy winter snowstorms.

Heavy rains fell again on Sunday and were expected to continue through Tuesday morning, when National Weather Service forecasts that the Ohio, the largest tributary of the Mississippi River, could crest at 60.5 feet at Cairo, a full foot above the 1937 record.Cairo's mayor, Judson Childs, ordered the mandatory evacuation as of midnight Saturday after meeting with the Corps, the top flood-fighting agency.
There is no count yet on the number of people evacuated, but it's just about a ghost town, Childs told Reuters.But he said some residents were opting to stay behind.
There are some people who will stay, like me, who are going to go down with the ship, so to speak, he said.The Corps has dispatched barges to the Birds Point levee, carrying a slurry mix that could be used to blow up the levee.Right now, there's no news or decision on what the Corps will do regarding the levee, Childs said. Everything can change minute to minute and hour to hour.A federal appeals court said on Saturday the Corps had the right to breach the levee, as permitted by a 1928 law.

The Corps said it would detonate explosives in the levee if the river at Cairo reached 61 feet and was rising. But it could potentially blow up the levee even if the river does not reach 61 feet if there is too much stress on the system.The state of Missouri originally sued to stop the Corps plan, arguing that it would do extensive damage.Illinois and Kentucky took the other side, saying towns in their states could be flooded if the levee were not blown up.A lower court ruled against Missouri on Friday, and the state petitioned to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied Missouri the legal relief it sought on Saturday.(Additional reporting by Eric Johnson and Christine Stebbins; Writing by James B. Kelleher; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Diane Craft)

Day of prayer as US south mourns tornado victims
by Juan Castro Olivera - MAY 1,11

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (AFP) – Grieving storm survivors turned to prayer and the good grace of volunteers Sunday across the US south as shattered communities looked to rebuild from the second-worst tornado disaster on record.Churches from Mississippi to Virginia flung open their doors for prayers, some in the very houses of worship destroyed by powerful tornadoes that claimed nearly 350 lives on Wednesday.This is the Bible Belt. Church goes on regardless, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt told AFP.In hardest-hit Alabama, where Governor Robert Bentley declared a state-wide day of prayer, the faithful gathered under open skies, in parking lots and church sites on the first Sunday since the historic disaster wiped several of their churches off the map.In the town of Phil Campbell, congregants erected a makeshift wooden cross and sang hymns on the concrete slab where the Church of God once stood, before some of the most powerful tornadoes on record left it and thousands of homes and businesses in splinters.Today, we will pray for the people affected by this tragedy and for you that have lost your church. And we ask you: don't give up, Pastor Keith Pugh told his congregants. The faithful sang and prayed while holding hands, then embraced each other after the service.

They had gathered in a neighboring town after the tornadoes completely leveled their Open Door Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa.In the devastated town of Smithville, Mississippi -- population 900 -- the Church of Christ has been converted into a food, clothing and medicine distribution center, and the congregation gathered outside for a short open-air service.We're just going to remember the dead and buried by taking the Lord's supper, and give of our means. People come together when the need arises,said church elder Danny Stephenson, 62.Of our six churches, four of them is gone, he said.There ain't nothing left. Just wiped clean, like you took a bulldozer to it all.Sixteen of 18 Smithville businesses were demolished by the killer twisters.Like other communities across the battered region, neighbors helped neighbors, and volunteers conducted search and rescue, cooked meals for victims, and helped haul debris.The whole town has come together," Stephenson said. And I've talked to one family, they're going to rebuild right where they're at.President Barack Obama on Sunday declared a major disaster in Tennessee, to allow for federal aid to the state following disaster declarations for Alabama and parts of Georgia and Mississippi.He dispatched cabinet members to tour the destruction in Birmingham, Alabama, where they spoke with survivors and assured expanded federal aid to help communities recover and rebuild.Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano pledged the federal government would continue to support the stricken states, helping them come to grips and recover from this really terrible swath of tornadoes that swept through the south.That makes the sense of urgency for us even more acute when we see the type of damage we are seeing here today and the spirit of the people,she told reporters in Smithville.Parts of the south were bracing for another beating after tornado watches were issued again, this time in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, though forecasters warned any new storms were unlikely to be as devastating.The American Red Cross has opened 16 shelters across Alabama, taking in about 900 of the newly homeless, the organization announced.

Obama reiterated his pledge to help the region recover.The scope of the devastation was almost unimaginable, particularly in Tuscaloosa, where Mayor Walter Maddox said 5,731 building have been destroyed or badly damaged and more than 400 people remained unaccounted for, although he acknowledged several of those were likely staying with relatives.Alabama was worst hit, with 250 people killed and 2,219 injured.Mississippi has confirmed 35 deaths, and its emergency management agency touched on the scope of the disaster in reporting 993 homes destroyed and another 2,527 damaged in the state.There were also 34 deaths in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, eight in Arkansas and five in Virginia.The overall death toll of 347 is exceeded only by a tornado outbreak in March 1925 that left 747 people dead.Fire and rescue teams were going door to door, some with cadaver dogs, in the poor Tuscaloosa neighborhood of Alberta City, where blocks of low-income housing were left in ruins and residents were seen painstakingly combing through the rubble.