CANADA WANTS MEXICAN AS IMF HEAD

Leaders back Mario Draghi as next ECB president
ANDREW WILLIS 24.06.2011 @ 15:01 CET
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV3SdnGJLs0&feature=player_embedded

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Italian central banker Mario Draghi has won the backing of EU leaders to become the next president of the European Central Bank (ECB) from the 1 November.EU leaders made the decision at a European Summit in Brussels on Friday (24 June) at a time of unprecedented turmoil for the 17-member eurozone.Mario Draghi is head of Italy's central bank and the Financial Stability Board (Photo: European Parliament )We are all confident that Mr Draghi will exercise strong and independent leadership of the ECB, continuing the tradition started by the banks first two presidents,European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told journalists after the meeting.This is essential in normal times and indispensable in difficult times, he added.A potential hurdle to Draghi's smooth takeover from current ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet was removed earlier in the day, amid French concerns of a loss of influence on the bank's executive board.With Trichet stepping down, France will be without a member on the six-person panel, while Italy will have two in the form of Draghi and Lorenzo Bini Smaghi.An implied French threat to block Draghi's takeover was averted however when Smaghi signaled he would step down before the end of his full term expired.I spoke to Mr Smaghi this morning by phone and he did tell me personally that he would not see his mandate as a member of the governing board through to its end,said Van Rompuy.It's up to Mr Smaghi to decide what timetable he may have.French President Nicolas Sarkozy told journalists in Brussels on Friday that Smaghi intended to step down before the end of the year, after the two men also spoke by telephone.

Principally tasked with setting interest rates for the 17-member eurozone, the ECB has seen its role increase significantly during the financial and economic crises, including a controversial bond-buying exercise opposed at the time by former Bundesbank chief Axel Weber.Widely tipped to take over from Trichet, Weber surprised the administration of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in February when he signaled his plans to leave the Bundesbank and disinterest in the ECB's top job.The announcement opened the door for Draghi, with MEPs also throwing their support behind the Italian earlier this month.

Van Rompuy's egg goes down badly at EU summit
ANDREW RETTMAN 24.06.2011 @ 18:10 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU Council head Herman Van Rompuy scored an own goal at the EU summit by putting forward plans for an expensive new headquarters at an inopportune moment.Van Rompuy handed round a glossy brochure to EU leaders for the €240 million building during a dinner in Brussels on Thursday (23 June) devoted to a discussion on the threat of Greek bankruptcy and on new austerity cuts.The brochure itself for the new EU summit venue and Van Rompuy office complex is said to have cost €100,000 to print.[UK leader] Cameron and [German Chancellor] Merkel just looked at each other as if to say What is this guy thinking? one EU diplomat said. It's true that the building was planned a few years ago and everything, but you have to ask if it was a good idea to draw attention to it just now.David Cameron did not hold back at the post-summit press briefing.When you see a document being circulated with a great glossy brochure about some great new building for the European Council to sit in, it is immensely frustrating, he said.You do wonder whether these institutions actually get what every country and what every member of the public is having to go through as we cut budgets.With Europa, which is to look like a giant glass egg when it is finished in 2013, already standing half-built next to the existing summit venue in the EU quarter, Cameron conceded that it is too late to pull the project.He noted that the old venue does a perfectly good job of housing the European Council however, and urged Van Rompuy to please try and do this with economy and efficiency.

A Van Rompuy spokesman told EUobserver that reporters should not refer to the egg as his building: It was approved by the member states and the council secretariat before he began his job.The UK is one of eight northern European countries pressing for cuts to spending on EU officials in the next seven year budget in a move which could see five percent or more of Brussels civil servants lose their jobs.Van Rompuy has in the past attracted unwelcome attention on use of EU funds by using his official motorcade to drive himself and nine family members from Brussels to a Paris airport and back on a Caribbean holiday.

EU agrees to reform internal border rules
VALENTINA POP 24.06.2011 @ 15:24 CET
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/123075.pdf

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders on Friday (24 June) agreed to establish a "safeguard mechanism" allowing the re-introduction of internal borders in exceptional circumstances, potentially curbing one of the most integrative aspects of EU membership.Without undermining this basic principle [of free movement of persons], we felt the need to improve the Schengen rules, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said at a press conference at the end of the summit.The mechanism would allow as a very last resort, (...) the exceptional reintroduction of internal border controls in a truly critical situation where a member state is no longer able to comply with its obligations under the Schengen rules as concerns the prevention of illegal immigration of third country nationals, with negative effects on other member states, the final statement said.The commission is supposed to work out the details of the arrangement by autumn.The debate was prompted by a row between Rome and Paris earlier this year over Tunisian migrants who had made their way to Europe following the democratic uprisings in north Africa.According to diplomats present during the negotiations on the final text early Friday morning, the new member states insisted on including the term third country national - Brussels jargon for non-EU citizens, so as not to leave any doubt about their own citizens, particularly Roma.Last year, France got into a month-long row with Romania and Bulgaria over Roma repatriations - which then led to the two countries' accession to the border-free Schengen area being delayed.

Corruption

In addition to the Roma issue, corruption-wary countries led by the Netherlands insisted that the two countries be kept out of the Schengen area as long as they do not fight graft and organised crime in a more muscular way.Dutch diplomats asked for the Schengen criteria to be extended so as to cover corruption, by saying that problems will always arise at the borders if there is corruption in a country.Despite agreeing with this idea in principle, Romania and Bulgaria said they feared this would become an unfair and additional criterion in September or October, when home affairs ministers are set to decide an entry date for the two countries.In the final text, a stronger evaluation of Schengen criteria is foreseen for all countries in the border-free area, but corruption is not mentioned.The future Schengen evaluation system will provide for the strengthening, adaptation and extension of the criteria (...) and should involve experts from the member states, the Commission and competent agencies, the conclusions read.According to a diplomat from a new member state, the whole debate of linking migration with border controls and Schengen enlargement is simply wrong and a big mess.The source was also sceptical that the compromise focussing on non-EU citizens really works. If the mechanism would be put in place and internal borders set up, how would you know if a car driving with 40km an hour has EU or non-EU citizen in it? An agreement on an EU asylum system is still far from reach, despite calls from home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and a passionate plea from Malta to have more of the thousands of refugees from Libya taken over by other member states.

Leaders also rejected a temporary exemption from the so-called Dublin regulation which obliges member states to send back asylum seekers to the first EU country of entry, as proposed by the commission.Instead, they urge to push forward rapidly with work on so-called smart borders keeping track of all entries and exits of non-EU citizens to prevent visa overstay and allowing registered travellers to go through airport security by simply swiping their passports.The decision to envisage re-introduction of internal borders in case of migratory pressure comes despite calls from human rights groups and commissioner Malmstrom herself to avoid going down that road.Solidarity, tolerance, and mutual respect between countries and people - I am saddened and concerned to see that these values risk losing respect and support around Europe, she said in a press statement ahead of the summit, warning of the risk of far-right parties rising and getting their agenda imposed in several countries.In my areas of responsibility – asylum, migration, integration, and border cooperation – I can see that xenophobia is on the rise. Developments this spring illustrate the situation quite clearly,she said.

U.S. warns against new Gaza flotilla plans
– Fri Jun 24, 5:18 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States warned activists on Friday against plans to send a new aid flotilla to challenge Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying it would be irresponsible and dangerous.Groups that seek to break Israel's maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there were better ways of getting help into Gaza.We don't think it's useful or productive or helpful to the people of Gaza, Clinton told reporters after a meeting with the visiting South Korean foreign minister.We believe that a far better approach is to support the work that is being done through the United Nations ... to ensure that the people of Gaza get access to materials and humanitarian assistance in a safe and timely way.Israel said on Wednesday it had warned the United Nations that a new aid flotilla -- which activists say could depart from European ports in coming days -- could result in dangerous consequences.Israel has made clear it will prevent any new flotilla from reaching Gaza. A year ago, nine Turkish activists, including one with dual U.S.-Turkish nationality, were killed in an Israeli raid on a similar convoy.

The Israeli military came under fierce criticism for the May 2010 raid, which led to a severe deterioration of its ties with Turkey.The United States, Israel's most important ally, has backed Israel's blockade of Gaza, which the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group seized from forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.Palestinians say the Israeli sea blockade is illegal and is helping strangle Gaza's underdeveloped economy.Nuland said the United States remained concerned about conditions in Gaza, but that the situation there had improved significantly over the past year with a broader range of goods and materials available.But she said that recent weapons seizures and periodic rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza against Israeli civilians illustrated the ongoing necessity for Israel to screen Gaza-bound cargo.We underscore that delivering or attempting or conspiring to deliver material support or other resources to or for the benefit of a designated foreign terrorist organization, such as Hamas, could violate U.S. civil and criminal statutes and could lead to fines and incarceration, Nuland said.Clinton said the people of Gaza were the victims of the decisions that have been made over the past years by Hamas,and that the United States hoped to see changes in the way the region is administered.The contrast between the rising standard of living and economic opportunity and educational and health services in the West Bank, compared to Gaza, I think tell a very compelling story,she said.(Editing by Jackie Frank and Peter Cooney)

U.S. sanctions on Iran companies raise questions: Russia – Fri Jun 24, 12:47 pm ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The sanctions imposed by the United States on a major Iranian port operator and the country's national airline may affect Russian companies and raise serious questions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.Such actions, based on an extra-territorial use of U.S. law, potentially create a situation when Russian business structures cooperating with these companies could be affected, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.It did not specify which Russian entities could be affected.Washington's latest actions prohibit U.S. entities from any transactions with Tidewater Middle East Co., which operates seven port facilities in Iran, and Iran Air, which serves 35 international and 25 domestic destinations with a fleet of about 40 aircraft.The sanctions target two major segments of Iran's transport infrastructure that the U.S. Treasury said were being used to aid the country's efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.The statement added that the move strengthens suspicions that the U.S. sanctions policy is pursuing goals other than enforcing the regime of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.Our position is well known: the unilateral use of U.S. sanctions against Russian individuals and companies goes against the spirit of the relationship between our two countries. Such a policy is categorically unacceptable for us and needs to be reviewed.(Writing by Gleb Bryanski; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Canada, Australia back Carstens to lead IMF
– JUNE 24,11

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada and Australia are backing Mexico's Augustin Carstens to head the International Monetary Fund, they said in a joint statement on Friday in an apparent bid to end Europe's traditional lock on the position.Carstens, currently central bank governor in Mexico, is competing for the job with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.Augustin Carstens' previous experience in the IMF, combined with his background as finance minister of Mexico and his current position as governor of the Mexican central bank, equip him very well to understand and address, on a collaborative and inclusive basis with IMF member countries, the challenges faced by the global economy,said a statement by Canada and Australia, released by Ottawa.Accordingly, after due consideration of the candidates and the IMF selection criteria, we have decided to support him for the position of IMF managing director.The two governments said both Carstens and Lagarde were highly credible candidates.(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Rob Wilson)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-h-YIj4jRw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=player_embedded
Documents Reveal Canadian Cops Used Agents Provocateurs to Disrupt 2010 G20 Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com June 24, 2011

Following the police state spectacular at the G20 last June, the cops were accused of infiltrating so-called black-bloc anarchists, who engaged in all sorts of pointless mayhem, including trashing a Starbucks and burning police cars (see video below). The corporate media had a field day covering these circus sideshow distractions while ignoring the larger issue of the globalists meeting behind closed doors and plotting to sell the national sovereignty of millions down the river.It was necessary for the state to arrange this sort of meaningless property destruction in order to offer a public rationalization for spending nearly a billion dollars on police state crowd control equipment (including L-RAD sound cannons) for the globalist summit. The Canadian state also granted the cops special police state powers by expanding the jurisdiction of the existing Public Works Act to apply to high-security areas of the summit site.It is now an indisputable fact the cops engaged in massive infiltration. According to newly released G8/G20 summit documents, the RCMP dispatched poseurs and agents provocateurs to infiltrate the ranks of anti-war, anti-globalization and anarchist groups.In 2007, Canadian cops were caught red-handed posing as anarchists during a North American Union summit in Montebello, Quebec.Protesters are accusing police of using undercover agents to provoke violent confrontations at the North American leaders’ summit,the Toronto Star reported.Such accusations have been made before after similar demonstrations but this time the alleged agents provocateurs have been caught on camera.Photographs released showed the supposed anarchists wearing the same boots as the police arresting them. Protest organizers on Wednesday played the video for the media at a news conference in Ottawa. One of the organizers, union leader Dave Coles, explained that one reason protesters knew the men’s true identities was because they were wearing the same boots as other police officers,CBC News reported on August 23, 2007.

Reports filed by the Joint Intelligence Group formed by the RCMP-led ISU (Integrated Security Unit) reveal that various police services contributed at least 12 undercover officers to take part in covert surveillance of potential criminal extremists in a bid to detect… and disrupt any threats, according to CBC News.In other words, the RCMP was assigned the task of discrediting the larger anti-war and anti-globalization movement and making the public believe they are bomb-wielding anarchist criminals.There’s a lot of stuff that isn’t in there, that’s been redacted, or isn’t spelled out. But it says these undercover operations were going on, that there were 12 officers,investigative journalist Tim Groves, who requested and obtained the reports through an access to information request, told the CBC. The problem is that, looking at these documents, police expected criminal extremism everywhere.The same mindset and illegal police state activity operates in the United States. Since the FBI’s use of CLOINTELPRO tactics to neutralize political opposition to the state in the 1960s and early 70s, such practices have been uniformly codified and are now widespread and routine in the so-called war on terrorism.According to the CBC, RCMP records indicate:
- The RCMP set up a Joint Intelligence Group in January 2009, which in turn assigned a dozen officers to a covert PIIT (Primary Intelligence Investigative Team) expressly for monitoring and infiltrating suspected extremist networks.
- The joint-forces PITT had a mandate to use undercover officers and informants from within the ranks of protest networks, not just to monitor potential criminal activity by organizers, but also to deter, prevent, investigate and/or disrupt threats to the summit.
- The investigative team created and shared files on a long list of individuals, color coding them according to perceived risk level as red (suspect), orange (person of interest) and yellow (associate).

Following the June summit in Toronto, a number of so-called black-bloc anarchists were outed as police agents provocateurs. Such reports were covered by the alternative media and generally ignored by the corporate media that had characterized the demonstrations as lawless behavior by a handful of crazed extremists.It is hopeful that in the days, weeks and months to come government and police will be forced to admit (under similar circumstances as in Montebello, Quebec in 2007) that much of the vandalism and fire-setting was undertaken by those encouraged, directly or indirectly, by agents provocateurs,Canadian activist Ghada Chehade wrote following the summit.Unfortunately, it took more than a few weeks for the truth to come out. It took exactly a year.

Texas Lawmakers AWOL For Vote On TSA Groping Bill
Paul Joseph Watson Infowars Friday, June 24, 2011

5:21PM CST UPDATE: It’s now apparent that the primary culprit behind the fact that lawmakers failed to show up for the vote was none other than Republican Speaker of the House Joe Straus, who labeled the bill nothing more than an ill-advised publicity stunt,despite the fact that it merely sought to reinforce language already present in the 4th amendment. The Texas Tribune reports that Straus approached the bill’s primary sponsor Rep. David Simpson earlier this week and insisted that language pertaining to private parts be removed from the legislation altogether, which would have completely gutted the bill.As Simpson has emphasized, this bill is far from symbolic, it’s specific in its remit to expand the federal definition of official oppression to prohibit federal employees from improperly touching a person’ s private areas.Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who to his credit doesn’t appear to be acting as a roadblock for the bill this time around, released a statement this afternoon saying that the Senate would try to pass the bill out of committee on Monday.Despite a massive lobbying effort on behalf of public pressure groups that forced Governor Rick Perry to reverse his position and resurrect a bill that would ban TSA groping in Texas and place it on the special session of the Texas state legislature, lawmakers set to give the bill a hearing today bizarrely went AWOL, and the session was adjourned.

TSA-The author of the bill that would restrict the ability of federal airport security agents from patting down the intimate body parts of travelers said Friday that he doubts the measure will pass during the current special session,reports KXAN.
This is not going to happen, state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, said after the Texas House adjourned without acting on any legislation.Infowars reporters at the Capitol confirmed that the lawmakers had gone AWOL and were told there would be no further activity today. Under House rules, at least 100 members need to show up for any business to be conducted.I am disappointed that the House did not vote out the TSA bill today. It’s been delayed until Monday which puts us up against deadlines to get it out of the Senate before session ends next Wednesday,Senator Dan Patrick, the bill’s primary sponsor in the Senate, wrote on his Facebook page.However, the bill is not even on the calendar for Monday’s House session, suggesting it probably won’t be heard at all.The fact that lawmakers have gone AWOL for a vote that was made possible by a huge outpouring of public pressure is only going to ensure a bigger backlash in the long run. It’s also possible that threats were made by the federal government in a repeat of the dirty tricks that were pulled to shoot down the first incarnation of the bill after it passed the House unanimously, when the Department of Justice threatened to impose a de facto no fly zone over Texas by shutting down airports. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was later identified as being instrumental in using the DoJ letter to intimidate Senators into mothballing the bill.Despite the fact that Governor Rick Perry added the bill to the special session earlier this week and the majority of Senators indicated they would pass the legislation, this strange turn of events has placed the bill in jeopardy.

(David) Simpson said Wednesday that he has enough votes in both chambers to move the bill, but suggested that, in his view, Perry appears lukewarm to the issue, reports KXAN.I thought it would be a good campaign issue for him, not to go up against President Obama but because the TSA needs some big changes, Simpson said.In a statement released earlier this week, the TSA promised to take legal action if the bill was passed.A video stream that was linked from the Texas Senate website disappeared at around 2pm CST. The video, which showed an almost empty chamber, was later replaced with a text entry which stated,No program at this time.The current special session ends Wednesday, so unless a massive onslaught of public pressure is applied to Texas representatives over the next several days, the anti-groping bill will be dead in the water.

EARTHQUAKES

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:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) 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.

Tsunami alert canceled after major Alaskan quake
– Fri Jun 24, 12:22 pm ET

DUTCH HARBOR, Alaska (AFP) – A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook Alaska's Aleutian Islands late Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning that sent people heading for high ground before the alert was canceled.Hundreds of people fled the coast on foot, drove or rode in the back of pickup trucks after the earthquake struck 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of the seafood port of Dutch Harbor, home to some 4,400 people.The temblor struck at 7:09 pm local time (0309 GMT Friday), triggering a tsunami warning from the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC).Sirens rang out, officials ordered people to move to at least 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level, and fishing boats could be seen steaming out of the harbor as a precaution in case waves struck the coast line.Those feeling the Earth shake, seeing unusual wave action or the water level rising or receding may have only a few minutes before the tsunami arrival and should move immediately,warned the WCATWC.

Homes and small buildings are not designed to withstand tsunami impacts. Do not stay in these structures,officials warned.But about an hour later it was all over.We've confirmed that no wave has been generated,acting public safety director Matt Betzen said at 8:21 pm (0421 GMT).We're giving the all-clear.The US Geological Survey originally reported the quake as a huge 7.4-magnitude, but downgraded it in subsequent hours to 7.3 and eventually 7.2.There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries along the remote island chain. Fire engines and police cars drove up and down the hillsides telling residents it was safe to return to their homes.USGS said the earthquake was at a depth of 39 miles (62 kilometers), and struck more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west of the major Alaskan city of Anchorage. A pair of moderate aftershocks shook the Aleutian Islands early Friday.

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.

THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.

Four Tornadoes Hit Kentucky Hit During Storm System
ContributorNetwork Vanessa Evans – Fri Jun 24, 1:46 pm ET

The National Weather Service has now confirmed that at least four different tornadoes touched down in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday evening, with a fifth striking in Indiana. No injuries were reported.One of the tornadoes struck iconic Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is held each year. Concern for the stabled horses led many to brave the weather and make sure the animals were safe. Several barns on the property sustained damage, which led to some of the horses being set free to wander the Downs, but they were eventually rounded up and no injuries to the animals were reported.The number of tornadoes and the ensuing damage has been compared to activity normally seen in the Gulf area. Media outlets and residents were also quick to compare Wednesday's storms with the much larger tornado that hit the area in 1974.Here are some numbers related to the Louisville tornadoes.

EF2: The strongest of Wednesday night's tornadoes is believed to only have been a medium-strength funnel according to guidelines. The wind speed of this twister is believed to have been approximately 115 miles per hour. The path of this tornado was measured at about 1 mile in length.
EF0: The tornado that hit Churchill Downs was reportedly fairly weak according to guidelines, although the National Weather Service believes it may have picked up a little strength to become an EF1 as it left the area and moved towards Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
EF1: The strength of the other two tornadoes that touched down in Kentucky on Wednesday night. The wind speed of this tornado is thought to have reached between 95-100 miles an hour.100: The number of stable workers that are in residence at Churchill Downs at any one time.1,300: The number of horses that were stabled at Churchill Downs when the tornado struck.136: The number of years Churchill Downs has been in business. Wednesday's tornado was the first to ever strike the property.
1974: The year of Louisville's largest tornado to date. An EF4 that caused massive property damage, including the destruction of 900 homes. It also downed power lines all over the city, as well as causing the deaths of 2 people and the injuries of 207 more.25: The number of crew members that Louisville Gas and Electric has assigned to deal with all the downed power lines.7,600: The number of people without power in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville, after Wednesday's storms.Vanessa Evans is a musician and former freelance writer based in Michigan with a lifelong interest in politics and community issues.

China, Taiwan warn of strengthening tropical storm
– Fri Jun 24, 10:36 am ET

BEIJING – China alerted Shanghai and four coastal provinces Friday evening that a tropical storm is expected to intensify and become the season's first typhoon to strike China.Storage depots were opened to prepare to distribute emergency supplies as China already struggles with disastrous seasonal flooding that has put scores of reservoirs near their limits.The Civil Affairs Ministry ordered Shanghai, along with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Shandong provinces to monitor Tropical Storm Meari and to issue timely warnings to the public.Taiwan also cautioned its residents that torrential rain could hit the eastern and southern parts of the island Saturday.
Meari's rains since Thursday triggered flooding in the Philippines, leaving 10 fishermen lost at sea. Another person was swept away by a strong river current in an eastern province.A wide swath of metropolitan Manila and the northern Philippines was flooded, Administrator Benito Ramos of the Office of Civil Defense said. Nearly 50,000 residents fled to evacuation centers.As of Friday evening, Meari was centered 260 miles (420 kilometers) southeast of Taipei and was expected to move north or northwest at about 15 miles (25 kilometers) per hour toward the East China Sea.

Bulls ready to charge into a wall of worry
By Rodrigo Campos – JUNE 24,2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A bounce could be the cards for stocks next week as bulls defend a key technical level and managers buy the quarter's winners to prop up their books.But gains coming from healthcare, staples or other defensive sectors that have outperformed the market in the last several months would only support the notion that the U.S. stock market needs to complete its correction phase and panic selling must occur before a more sustained comeback develops.We want to see more fear,said Ari Wald, equity strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.But be careful what you wish for.The sources of the recent decline, including Greece's slow march toward a default on its debt, weak U.S. economic data and the creeping deadline to lift the U.S. debt ceiling, are far from being resolved.

HOLDING THE 200-DAY SHOWS THE WAY

Despite a drop that dragged the S&P 500 as much as 8.2 percent below its three-year high hit in early May, the index held above its 200-day moving average -- a major line in the sand as the bulls and bears battle for control of the market.The slide had been telegraphed for weeks and the market's by-the-book performance -- pulling back to a widely followed level -- seems too well choreographed for some analysts.The fact that we went to the 200-day ... seems just a little too perfect, said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.He said the timing of the move was supportive, as the market creates a technical base before resuming its upward move on the back of strong earnings.You might get an attempt at a shakeout move,Pado said.But sometimes the majority is right.Even if they are right, they don't seem too convinced. So far this quarter -- on track to be the first in the red for the S&P 500 in the last year -- daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq has averaged 7.22 billion shares.That is down from the 7.94 billion shares traded daily during the first quarter, when the S&P 500 gained 5.4 percent. Commitment to the market has waned. The frantic selling, the flushing down of day traders seems absent so far in this corrective phase.

Despite holding above that level, the market has not cleared the danger zone of dipping under its 200-day average. The curve has a steep slope, as the S&P 500 took roughly two years to notch a 100 percent advance from its March 2009 lows.The 200-day moving average now stands at 1,263.47, less than 0.4 percent below the S&P 500's close on Friday.Every time you test a resistance or support level, you make it weaker,said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist of the ConvergEx Group in New York. It's almost like a piece of metal. Every time you hit it, it grows more fragile and that's why people are really worried the third or fourth time.After three straight days of declines, the S&P 500 fell 0.24 percent for the week and finished at 1,268.45 -- its seventh decline in the last eight weeks.The Dow industrials (.DJI) lost 0.58 percent for the week, closing on Friday at 11,934.58, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) rose 1.39 percent for the week to end at 2,652.89.

The next two weeks, before quarterly earnings season starts in earnest, could be marked by wild swings like the ones seen recently. On Thursday, after a market-friendly headline out of Greece, the S&P 500 posted its strongest comeback in almost a year, on days when the benchmark has fallen more than 1 percent.From its session low on Thursday, the S&P 500 climbed more than 20 points into the close. The Dow's swing covered 233.79 points from its intraday low to session high on Thursday.But buying interest waned on Friday. Aside from doubts about the passage in Athens' Parliament of higher taxes and service cuts, weak Italian banks also are scaring investors.The Federal Reserve on Wednesday gave a bleak outlook on the economy, lowering its forecasts for GDP growth for both 2011 and 2012. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke found it hard to explain the sources of a so-called economic soft patch that seems to have become pervasive.

SUMMER STORM OF DATA

Besides the weekly jobless claims numbers, housing and manufacturing data will attract the most attention next week.The S&P Case-Shiller April home prices index on Tuesday and the National Association of Realtors pending home sales for May on Wednesday could confirm the housing market's double dip.Factory activity grew in May at its slowest pace since September 2009, according to the Institute for Supply Management, and Friday's ISM number for June is expected to drop to 51.9, indicating an even slower rate of growth.New applications for unemployment insurance on Thursday are expected to land above 400,000 for a 12th straight week, according to economists polled by Reuters.Personal income and consumption, out Monday, are expected to tick higher in May. Consumer confidence, out Tuesday from the Conference Board, is forecast at a June reading of 60.5, just a touch lower than May's 60.8, a Reuters poll showed. Despite a recent string of weak data in May, a sharp drop in crude oil prices is expected to buoy consumer confidence.(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Wall Street sinks on Europe's debt misery
By Edward Krudy – Fri Jun 24, 4:35 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street dropped for a third day on Friday on worries about the Italian banking sector and Greece's debt crisis, but the S&P 500 managed to hold its 200-day moving average in a sign buyers still see value.The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 fell for their seventh week in the last eight. The benchmark S&P 500 is down 7 percent from its 2011 closing high at the end of April.Investors are fearful that Greece's government may fail to pass an austerity plan next week, which could force a default on its debt repayments. The government faces an electorate vehemently opposed to the austerity measures.They (politicians) may not believe that financial markets are as sensitive to their decisions as they actually are, and there is a worry that somewhere along the line, some political vote goes against the market,said Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist of the ConvergEx Group in New York.The S&P 500 remained within striking distance of its 200-day moving average -- a line that has been tested twice in recent trading and has so far acted as a springboard for stocks. The level was at 1,263.47.Every time you test a resistance or support level, you make it weaker,Colas said.It's almost like a piece of metal. Every time you hit it, it grows more fragile and that's why people are really worried the third or fourth time.Problems in the euro zone appeared to intensify as shares of Italian banks UniCredit SpA (CRDI.MI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) fell sharply on concerns about their capital positions. Trading in their shares was briefly suspended.

The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) or VIX, Wall Street's barometer of investor anxiety, rose 9.4 percent to 21.10. Some analysts say fear needs to rise further before the market reaches a bottom.The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dropped 115.42 points, or 0.96 percent, to 11,934.58 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) fell 15.05 points, or 1.17 percent, to 1,268.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) lost 33.86 points, or 1.26 percent, to 2,652.89.For the week, the Dow fell 0.58 percent and the S&P 500 shed 0.24 percent, while the Nasdaq gained 1.39 percent.Bank stocks fell on concerns about the economic outlook. The KBW Banks Index (.BKX) lost 1 percent and the S&P Financial Sector Index (.GSPF) shed 0.7 percent. The sector has been the worst-performing this year, falling around 8 percent.On Thursday, the market welcomed Greece's agreement to a five-year austerity plan.The euro declined against the dollar for a third straight session on worries Greece's parliament might not pass austerity measures needed for the country to secure more bailout funds.In the latest economic data, new orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured products, known as durable goods, increased 1.9 percent in May after dropping 2.7 percent in April as bookings for transportation equipment rebounded strongly.Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) fell 4.1 percent percent to $31.14 (.NDX) a day after the world's No. 3 software maker posted disappointing results, especially in hardware sales. Oracle's results sparked concerns about a bigger slowdown in technology spending.Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) tumbled 14.5 percent to $7.21 after the memory chipmaker recorded results below expectations late Thursday.About 9.26 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq -- well above the daily average so far this year of around 7.57 billion. Analysts said Friday's volume was much higher than average due in part to the rebalancing of the Russell 2000 Index (.TOY).Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 19 to 11. On the Nasdaq, about three stocks fell for every two that rose.(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Brent falls as euro zone woes, dollar pressure
By Robert Gibbons – Fri Jun 24, 4:13 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brent crude prices fell 2 percent on Friday as Europe's debt problems and a dollar index rebound extended oil's decline a day after consuming nations announced they were tapping strategic reserves.Dropping 7 percent for the week, Brent's premium to U.S. crude fell below $14 a barrel intraday, from above $19 on Wednesday, the day before the International Energy Agency made a surprise announcement to release oil from strategic reserves. The premium has contracted from its record $23.34 reached on June 15.U.S. crude ended slightly higher on Friday, after seesawing and briefly dipping below $90 a barrel, finding support above Thursday's low trade.The euro fell versus the dollar as investors worried that Greece's parliament may not pass austerity measures needed for the country to secure more bailout funds.The strengthening of the dollar index is helping pressure oil and we're seeing an unwinding of the Brent-WTI spread because of the release of the strategic reserves,said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.The Brent-WTI spread coming in indicates that the release was justified,he added.ICE Brent crude for August fell $2.14 to settle at $105.12 a barrel, after swinging between $103.62 and $108.70 after the previous session's nearly 6 percent slide. It was a second straight weekly loss for the contract.Brent trading volumes were heavy, eclipsing U.S. crude for a second straight day, after hitting a record over 1.2 million lots on Thursday.The consuming nations' reserves release sent Brent into contango, with front-month Brent ending at a 19-cent discount to the September contract, after closing Thursday at a 21-cent premium to the second month.U.S. August crude edged up 14 cents to settle at $91.16 a barrel, but front-month crude posted a third straight weekly loss, down 2 percent.

Money managers slashed their net-long U.S. crude futures and options positions in both New York and London in the week to June 21, the Commodity Futures Trading Commision said on Friday.The relative strength index for both Brent and U.S. crude approached the 30-point mark, a signal that a contract has been oversold, following the sell off IEA announcement, although WTI edged up slightly up after the late day price rally.U.S. gasoline futures settled lower, losing 2.1 percent, with heating oil, the distillate benchmark, ending 1.1 percent lower.U.S. refined products prices had been reacting to pricier Brent crude futures in recent months.

IEA RESERVE RELEASE IMPACT

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced on Thursday a release of 60 million barrels of government-held stocks over the next 30 days.Leading commodities banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs cut their oil price forecasts following the IEA announcement, but Bank of America Merrill Lynch kept its forecast for the second half unchanged at $102 a barrel.Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude oil exporter, has yet to make any comment on the release.The IEA move came after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last month could not reach agreement on a boost to production targets. But Saudi Arabia had pledged to increase output to meet demand.Saudi Arabia will be crucial -- will it stick to its promise to increase its output to 10 million barrels a day or not? said Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.If they don't, then the IEA decision will have backfired. Maybe they will scale back production in July after this stock release.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Friday that the IEA's decision was sensible policy.It will provide some modest help and relief to the U.S. economy, Geithner told reporters after meeting local business leaders in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was a prudent use of existing reserves.Better-than-expected U.S. durable goods data provided support to U.S. crude futures in the early going on Friday.New orders for U.S. manufactured goods in May increased 1.9 percent after dropping 2.7 percent in April, the Commerce Department said.But concerns about euro zone debt problems continued to weigh on markets. U.S. stocks headed for three days of losses as worries about the Italian banking sector added to the uncertainty over the passage of a Greek austerity plan. (.N)(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Claire Milhench and Ikuko Kurahone in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and David Gregorio)

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.

Sarkozy defends Libya mission as House keeps funding
By Emmanuel Jarry and Nick Carey – JUNE 24,11

BRUSSELS/TRIPOLI (Reuters) – France rejected on Friday U.S. criticism of Europe's performance in the NATO operation against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi while the U.S. administration survived Congressional anger in a funding vote.Gaddafi has managed to stay in power despite months of NATO air operations to weaken his rule and help rebels based mainly in eastern Libya who have tried to advance on the west.
Reports of civilian deaths have exacerbated the public divisions between Western governments, as they ponder the future of a military commitment with no clear end in sight.Libyan television said on Friday that five civilians were killed in NATO attacks on targets in Brega. It gave no further details.NATO earlier said it had taken out Gaddafi troops who had quietly occupied abandoned buildings in Brega over an unspecified period of time to create a command and control hub to direct attacks against civilians in Ajdabiyah and Benghazi.However, there was no immediate comment on the Libyan report of the deaths.Several explosions shook the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday night, a Reuters correspondent said. Jets could be heard overhead as Libyan tracer fire arced across the dark sky.Libyan television said the NATO-led military alliance also hit targets in the town of Zlitan, east of Tripoli.War-fatigued lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives took a symbolic swipe at President Barack Obama's military intervention in Libya but in a second vote rejected an effort to bar U.S. forces from continuing to carry out air strikes.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed the vote. We are gratified that the House has decisively rejected efforts to limit funding for the Libyan mission,she told reporters.

MUSCLE

French President Nicolas Sarkozy assailed outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates for remarks this month criticizing EU nations for lacking military muscle.It was particularly inappropriate for Mr. Gates to say that, and what is more, completely false, given what is going in Libya, Sarkozy told reporters at an EU summit in Brussels.There are certainly other moments in history when he could have said that, but not when Europeans have courageously taken the Libyan issue in hand, and when France and Britain, with their allies, for the most part, are doing the work.While the United States has stepped back from a leading role in the strike mission NATO took over on March 31, it has continued to provide essential assets, including reconnaissance planes, air-to-air refueling planes and armed drones.In a June 10 valedictory speech, Gates said the Libyan campaign had exposed limitations, with an air operations center designed to handle more than 300 sorties a day struggling to launch about 150.I think his retirement may have led him to not examine the situation in Libya very closely because, whatever people want to say, I don't have the impression that the Americans are doing the bulk of the work in Libya,Sarkozy said.Gates is due to retire at the end of the month.Discord among the Europeans over the NATO operation spilled into the public arena earlier this week when Italy called for a suspension of hostilities to allow humanitarian access and Britain, France and others loudly rejected the idea.The Republican-led House, upset over Obama's failure to seek Congressional approval of U.S. military action in Libya, voted 123-295, largely along party lines, to reject the resolution endorsing U.S. involvement in the NATO-led mission.But then it handed Obama a largely symbolic victory by rejecting 180-238 a Republican measure to bar the U.S. military from carrying out air strikes against Gaddafi's forces. Eighty-nine Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill.Western governments are also concerned about the financial cost of the NATO operation and even its impact on world oil supplies with Libyan exports cut off.The loss of Libyan oil output since February represented a greater disruption to global oil supply than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, an International Energy Agency official told Reuters Insider TV. [ID:nL6E7HO1BI]-IEA Deputy head Richard Jones said the market was facing a possible shortfall of 1.8 million barrels per day for the remainder of June and 1.7 million for the next quarter.

LIBYAN OASIS FOR GADDAFI?

Analysts say part of the NATO strategy now appears to be directed at paving the way for a successful local uprising against Gaddafi in the capital Tripoli, where opponents run the gauntlet of tight security to stage flash protests.In a defiant state television audio broadcast this week, Gaddafi said he would fight to the end, but a rebel spokesman was quoted on Friday as saying indirect negotiations were being pursued that could allow him to stay in Libya.We have no objection to him retreating to a Libyan oasis under international control,France's Le Figaro quoted Mahmoud Shammam, spokesman of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), as saying.NTC Vice-Chairman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga confirmed to Reuters the existence of indirect talks, saying:The NTC is not contacting Gaddafi's regime. It's the other way around.If the NTC believes that there is a political solution that involves the Gaddafi regime stepping down, and that includes the entire regime, to stop the bloodshed of innocent people that are being killed every day in Libya, then it may look at this political solution.In the latest of a string of defections, 19 police and army officers were among a group of Libyan refugees who arrived in Tunisia by boat on Thursday, Tunisian news agency TAP reported.Gaddafi allies have denounced such defections.Anyone who defects or refuses to take up arms is an apostate ... and this applies to all Libyans,preacher Mohamed al-Matri said in a live broadcast of the Friday sermon from Cordoba mosque in the town of Sirte.

In Benghazi, dozens of rebel supporters freed by Gaddafi arrived on a ship from Western Libya in an exchange that could mark the beginning of broader talks between the adversaries.These are mainly civilians ... Among them there are 51 people who were detained in Tripoli but were released by the government there so we brought them back,said Dibeh Fakhr, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Benghazi.A rebel spokesman said the rebel authority had earlier released five Gaddafi prisoners as part of the transfer.European leaders meeting in Brussels agreed that only an uprising in Tripoli could end the war.(Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington, Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Joseph Nasr in Berlin, Souhail Karam in Rabat, Maria Golovnina in Benghazi; writing by Andrew Hammond and Mark John; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Syrian forces kill 15 protesters, activists say
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis – JUNE 24,11

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian security forces shot dead at least 15 people on Friday after tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad, witnesses and activists said.Tell the world Bashar is without legitimacy,shouted several thousand protesters in the Damascus suburb of Irbin, the chants audible in a phone call to a witness at the protest.The Local Coordination Committees, a main activists' group, said it had the names of 14 civilians killed in the merchant city of Homs, the impoverished town of Kiswa south of Damascus and in the residential district of Barzeh in the capital.Another protester was shot dead in the town of Qusair, a rights group said.Syrian state television blamed the killings in Barzeh on armed men who authorities say are behind the violence in the three-month uprising, and said members of security forces were wounded. Syria has expelled most foreign journalists making it hard to verify witness accounts or official statements.The state news agency Sana said tens of thousands rallied in Damascus governorate in support of the comprehensive reform process led by Assad. It also reported a pro-Assad event in the eastern governorate of Deir al-Zor. The agency carried pictures of crowds carrying Syrian flags and pictures of Assad.In Barzeh, a resident who gave his name only as Hussam, told Reuters by telephone: The security police first used teargas then they started shooting from rooftops when shouting against Assad continued. Three youths were killed and I saw two bodies shot in the head and the chest.In the central cities of Homs and Hama, protesters shouted the people want the downfall of the regime,while in Deraa, cradle of the uprising, people waved banners rejecting Assad's promise in a speech this week to launch a national dialogue.

Deraa protesters chanted slogans urging people in Damascus, which has seen fewer demonstrations than rural protest centres, to follow their lead.People of Damascus, here in Deraa we toppled the regime,they chanted.Protests also erupted in western coastal cities and eastern provinces near Iraq. Syrian troops swept to the northern border with Turkey on Thursday, prompting another 1,500 refugees to flee across the frontier into camps which Turkish officials say now host more than 11,000 refugees.
Syrian television said on Friday army units were completing their deployment in border villages. It said there had been no casualties during the operation and that soldiers were greeted with traditional welcomes of flowers and rice by residents.
Assad's repression of the protests, in which Syrian rights groups say more than 1,300 civilians have been killed, has triggered Western condemnation and a gradual escalation of U.S. and European Union economic sanctions against Syrian leaders.
Syrian authorities blame Islamist militants and armed gangs for killing more than 200 police and security personnel.On Friday the European Union announced extended sanctions against Syria, including against three commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused of helping Damascus curb dissent. Syria denies Iran has played any role in tackling the unrest.Four Syrian officials were also targeted, bringing to 34 the number of individuals and entities on the list which already includes Assad and his top officials.Despite strong rhetoric among against Assad from Western leaders, there has been no suggestion they plan to go beyond economic sanctions to tougher action such as the military intervention launched against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

WASHINGTON WORRIED

The United States, which has also imposed targeted sanctions on Syrian officials, said a reported Syrian army move to surround and target the town of Khirbat al-Joz just 500 metres (yards) from the Turkish border was a worrying development.Unless the Syrian forces immediately end their attacks and their provocations that are not only now affecting their own citizens but (raising) the potential of border clashes, then we're going to see an escalation of conflict in the area,U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.The crackdown has caused a crisis in Assad's once-warm relations with Turkey, which has become strongly critical.Clinton said she had discussed the situation with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and President Barack Obama had discussed it with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.Davutoglu, who said Erdogan would speak to Assad on Friday, talked to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem on Thursday and Ankara summoned the Syrian ambassador.In an apparent easing of Ankara's criticism, Davutoglu said Assad's speech contained positive elements in it as signals of reform, but said it was important that action followed.At the border, only a few Syrian troops were visible on Friday, some occupying a building on a hill overlooking the border, directly across from the Turkish village of Guvecci.Three Syrian soldiers were manning a sand-bagged machinegun post on top of a house in the Syrian border village of Khirbat al-Joz. Camps on the Syrian side of the border fence appeared deserted and no more refugees were crossing.The United States has steadily sharpened its rhetoric toward Assad, saying he is losing credibility and must either implement promised reforms or get out of the way.Protests have grown in northern areas following military assaults on towns and villages in the Jisr al-Shughour region of Idlib province, west of Aleppo, that sent more than 10,000 people fleeing across the 840-km (520-mile) border with Turkey.

Syrian television said hundreds of people were heading back to Jisr al-Shughour. A refugee who said he was at Yayladagi camp said on Thursday a delegation of notables from the city told people it was safe to go back, but that refugees told them there would be no return until the fall of the (Assad) regime.Syria, a mostly Sunni nation of 20 million with Kurdish, Alawite and Christian minorities, is vulnerable to sectarian tensions. Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and his opponents say he increasingly relies on loyalist Alawite troops and irregulars known as shabbiha.(Additional reporting by Omer Berberoglu and Umit Bektas in Guvecci, Turkey, Simon Cameron-Moore and Ibon Villelabeitia in Ankara, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

Pakistan army rejects report on bin Laden's cellphone
– Fri Jun 24, 12:42 pm ET

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Pakistan army condemned Friday a report in the New York Times that a cellphone found in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden contained contacts to a militant group with ties to Pakistan's intelligence agency.The newspaper, citing senior U.S. officials briefed on the findings, reported Thursday that the discovery indicated that bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside Pakistan.The cell phone belonged to bin Laden's courier, who was killed along with the al Qaeda leader in the May 2 raid by U.S. special forces on bin Laden's compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, the Times said.Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said in a statement sent by text message that the military rejects the insinuations made in the NYT story.It is part of a well orchestrated smear campaign against our security organizations,he said.The army has been angered by media reports that elements in the Pakistani security establishment may have helped bin Laden hide in Pakistan.

Pakistan, its security forces have suffered the most at the hands of al Qaeda and have delivered the most against al Qaeda; our actions on the ground speak louder than the words of the Times,Abbas said.In tracing calls on the cell phone, U.S. analysts determined that Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen commanders had called Pakistani intelligence officials, the Times reported, citing the senior American officials.The officials added the contacts were not necessarily about bin Laden and his protection and that there was no smoking gun showing that Pakistan's spy agency had protected bin Laden.(Reporting by Kamran Haider, writing by Myra MacDonald; editing by Elizabeth Piper)