KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
ALEX JONES BLASTS FOREIGNER PIER MORGAN ON CNN LAST NIGHT
Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com January 8, 2013
By Annie Lubin First Publish: 1/8/2013, 2:59 PM-Israelnationalnews
The Knesset's Ethics Committee has reprimanded MK Michael Ben Ari of
Otzma LeYisrael for alleged statements of incitement made at a November
rally during Operation Pillar of Defense.
The statements in question were made when Ben Ari and his supporters countered an Israeli anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv, coming out in support of the IDF and Israel's right to defend itself. Many people took offense to some of Ben Ari's statements, namely his calling left-wing demonstrators "traitors," his participation in chants telling leftists "to go to Gaza," and for alleged calls for bloodshed in Gaza, telling the crowd, "Why is it only 200 strikes and 15 killed? We want 15 strikes and 2000 killed!"After the rally, videos of Ben Ari's statements circulated on the internet and the Ethics Committee received various complaints from Israeli citizens regarding Ben Ari's statements, mainly for claims of incitement to violence. Ben Ari responded to the complaints brought against him by saying, "I do not take back what I said. Whoever demonstrates against IDF soldiers during a time of war is a traitor. At a time when our soldiers are risking their lives, whoever participates in a a traitorous act against the nation of Israel is clearly someone who identifies with the aggression of the enemy and should go to Gaza."Usually the Ethics Committee does not exercise its powers in these kinds of cases, citing the principle of freedom of expression, especially in regard to Knesset members. However, the Committee said that freedom of expression has its limitations, even for Knesset members, and that in the case of Ben Ari the line between acceptable, passionate statements and incitement was crossed.
According to the committee, cries of "leftists go to gaza" are improper in political speech and are not in accordance with the way members of the Knesset should behave or represent themselves and are a misuse of political power.
ZECHARIAH 14:4
4 And his (JESUS) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
ARABS DESTROY A DOZEN GRAVES ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (WERE JESUS RETURNS TO EARTH FROM IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163972#.UOwsdKwwneE
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them;(ATOMIC BOMB) 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.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
HINTS OF SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS OPENED EYES OF THE WORLD
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/world/middleeast/chemical-weapons-showdown-with-syria-led-to-rare-accord.html?ref=world&_r=1&
By Gil Ronen First Publish: 1/6/2013, 9:12 PM-Israelnationalnews
Amnon Lord, a leading political commentator at Makor Rishon and Maariv
newspapers, opined Sunday that if President Barack Obama succeeds in
appointing Chuck Hagel Secretary of Defense, Israel will have to face
Iran on its own.And yet, said Lord, "if AIPAC goes into turbo front wheel
drive in order to prevent the appointment, this would be a mistake.
Hagel is bad news, not because of his attitude toward Israel but mostly
because of his strong isolationist tendency and his being a defeatist
dove on the matter of Iran."
The will to appoint Hagel exposes Obama's true world view, Lord explained. "The problem is, first and foremost, the United States', not Israel's." In 45 or 50 years, he added, the United States has gone from believing the entire free world needs to be protected in order for the U.S. to be safe, to a point in which the United States seems to think there is nothing that requires its intervention beyond, perhaps, Venezuela and Nicaragua."A guy like Chuck Hagel apparently intends to defend the shores of Florida and deploy Arrow and Iron Dome systems in Washington," he wrote sarcastically."If Hagel's appointment turns into reality, Israel is apparently on its own in the Iranian matter," Lord stated. "The defense establishment's long honeymoon with its American counterpart may also be over. And yet, the diplomatic warfare and economic sanctions are under the purview of the Secretary of State, and John Kerry will want to prove himself as an activist. So politically, it's not over yet."Lord said that Hagel's appointment will undergo "a Turkish bath" of heat in Congress and that Hagel himself may opt out of the appointment at a certain point.
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(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUgVL9PdxM&list=UU4SH8rh0OjYV3zwqnIfqNbA&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPX59y4KxE&feature=related
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE JANUARY 08,2013
09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM -45.34
10:30 AM -54.52
11:00 AM -62.25
11:30 AM -75.90
12:00 PM -66.36
12:30 PM -70.70
01:00 PM -75.37
01:30 PM -75.86
02:00 PM -73.25
02:30 PM -67.34
03:00 PM -77.07
03:30 PM -52.52
04:00 PM -55.44 13,328.85
S&P 500 1457.15 -4.74
NASDAQ 3091.81 -7.01
GOLD 1,659.70 +13.70
OIL 93.18 -0.01
TSE 300 12,504.81 +5.26
CDNX 1225.38 +1.49
S&P/TSX/60 76.24 +0.51
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -27 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -64 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,656.70.OIL opens at $93.64 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -76 points at low today so far.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -76 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
ALEX JONES BLASTS FOREIGNER PIER MORGAN ON CNN LAST NIGHT
Alex Jones: I Made CNN Producer Cry
Fiery confrontation with Piers Morgan sent staffers into tailspinPaul Joseph Watson Infowars.com January 8, 2013
Radio host Alex Jones says his CNN confrontation with
host Piers Morgan last night was so volatile that one of the producers
of the show burst into tears during the commercial break.According to Jones, the fact that the showdown became so
out of control and off-script overwhelmed CNN staffers and sent them
into a tailspin, including Piers Morgan Tonight producer Rachel Burstein, who began to shed tears.Jones was supposed to appear in a third segment on the
show to debate lawyer Alan Dershowitz, but CNN managers and Morgan
himself were so outraged at his refusal to play ball that they changed
the format of the whole program on a whim.Jones said he also confronted Dershowitz on his support for creating warrants that would allow police and security services to torture suspects, adding that Dershowitz was not interested in debating Jones.Before he even arrived at CNN center in New York, Jones
described how he and cameraman Rob Dew were being followed around by
undercover police.Watch a video of Jones’ account of what happened after
the cameras stopped rolling below, as well as the debate with Morgan
itself.
JONES EXPLAINS WHAT HAPPENED AT CNN
JONES CONFRONTING FOREIGNER PIERS MORGAN
Ben Ari Not Sorry for Telling Leftists to Go to Gaza
Reprimanded
by Knesset's Ethics Committee, Ben Ari responds: "Whoever demonstrates
against the IDF during a time of war is a traitor."
MK Michael Ben Ari-Flash 90
The statements in question were made when Ben Ari and his supporters countered an Israeli anti-war demonstration in Tel Aviv, coming out in support of the IDF and Israel's right to defend itself. Many people took offense to some of Ben Ari's statements, namely his calling left-wing demonstrators "traitors," his participation in chants telling leftists "to go to Gaza," and for alleged calls for bloodshed in Gaza, telling the crowd, "Why is it only 200 strikes and 15 killed? We want 15 strikes and 2000 killed!"After the rally, videos of Ben Ari's statements circulated on the internet and the Ethics Committee received various complaints from Israeli citizens regarding Ben Ari's statements, mainly for claims of incitement to violence. Ben Ari responded to the complaints brought against him by saying, "I do not take back what I said. Whoever demonstrates against IDF soldiers during a time of war is a traitor. At a time when our soldiers are risking their lives, whoever participates in a a traitorous act against the nation of Israel is clearly someone who identifies with the aggression of the enemy and should go to Gaza."Usually the Ethics Committee does not exercise its powers in these kinds of cases, citing the principle of freedom of expression, especially in regard to Knesset members. However, the Committee said that freedom of expression has its limitations, even for Knesset members, and that in the case of Ben Ari the line between acceptable, passionate statements and incitement was crossed.
According to the committee, cries of "leftists go to gaza" are improper in political speech and are not in accordance with the way members of the Knesset should behave or represent themselves and are a misuse of political power.
ZECHARIAH 14:4
4 And his (JESUS) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
ARABS DESTROY A DOZEN GRAVES ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (WERE JESUS RETURNS TO EARTH FROM IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163972#.UOwsdKwwneE
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them;(ATOMIC BOMB) 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.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
HINTS OF SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS OPENED EYES OF THE WORLD
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/world/middleeast/chemical-weapons-showdown-with-syria-led-to-rare-accord.html?ref=world&_r=1&
Top Pundit: Hagel Means Israel Faces Iran Alone
Maariv / Makor Rishon's Amnon Lord explains that Hagel is bad news, not just for Israel.
Chuck Hagel-Official photo, U.S. Senate
The will to appoint Hagel exposes Obama's true world view, Lord explained. "The problem is, first and foremost, the United States', not Israel's." In 45 or 50 years, he added, the United States has gone from believing the entire free world needs to be protected in order for the U.S. to be safe, to a point in which the United States seems to think there is nothing that requires its intervention beyond, perhaps, Venezuela and Nicaragua."A guy like Chuck Hagel apparently intends to defend the shores of Florida and deploy Arrow and Iron Dome systems in Washington," he wrote sarcastically."If Hagel's appointment turns into reality, Israel is apparently on its own in the Iranian matter," Lord stated. "The defense establishment's long honeymoon with its American counterpart may also be over. And yet, the diplomatic warfare and economic sanctions are under the purview of the Secretary of State, and John Kerry will want to prove himself as an activist. So politically, it's not over yet."Lord said that Hagel's appointment will undergo "a Turkish bath" of heat in Congress and that Hagel himself may opt out of the appointment at a certain point.
Netanyahu tells Ariel students settlement will remain in Israel, construction to continue
Prime minister, in first stump speech in West Bank, says real danger is Syria and Iran, not Israeli building
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu visited the West Bank settlement of Ariel Tuesday, telling
students that the city would always remain in Israeli hands and that
building in “Israel’s lands” would continue.The visit to Ariel University was the prime
minister’s first foray into the West Bank since kicking off his
re-election campaign late last year, and his first to the university
since it received a controversial upgrade.
Though less than a half-hour drive from Tel
Aviv, the large settlement juts deep into the West Bank and
international officials have condemned both the building in the area and
the school’s promotion to a full university. Israeli officials,
however, have insisted that the city will remain part of Israel in any
future deal with the Palestinians.Netanyahu told students that the world should
think carefully when condemning Israel for building in East Jerusalem
and the West Bank with the same language used to condemn murderous
regimes elsewhere.“History will judge harshly those who equate
democratic Israel, which is establishing a university, and dictatorial
regimes that slaughter their people and hold atomic weapons,” Netanyahu
said. “We remain faithful to our homeland. We will continue to defend
our citizens, develop our country and build in our land. With God’s
help, we will build and we will succeed.”A day earlier Netanyahu, delivered a similar
message, telling Birthright participants that Israeli construction in
East Jerusalem was small potatoes compared to the goings on in Damascus
and Tehran.“The great challenges that we face, the great
danger to the world is not from Jews building in our ancestral capital
in Jerusalem,” he said, speaking in English to young adults aboard the
free Israel trip. “It’s from nuclear weapons in Iran… it’s chemical
weapons in Syria falling into the wrong hands. That’s the danger we have
to focus on.”Israel recently came under harsh blowback,
including from the US, after pushing forward with plans to build in East
Jerusalem and West Bank settlements. The move was seen as a response to
the Palestinians’ successful bid to gain nonmember state status from
the United Nations.In 2012, Israel made the then-Ariel University
Center into a full-fledged university, drawing international and local
criticism. British minister Alistair Burt castigated the move and the
building, hinting that they amounted to war crimes.These are further profoundly provocative
actions that run contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention,” Burt stated.
“By taking these steps, despite the international community repeatedly
raising our profound concerns, the Israeli government is damaging
Israel’s international reputation.”Violations of the 1949 Geneva Convention are considered war crimes under international law. Israel is a party to the convention and therefore bound by its obligations.Raphael Ahren contributed to this report.
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(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYUgVL9PdxM&list=UU4SH8rh0OjYV3zwqnIfqNbA&index=1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfPX59y4KxE&feature=related
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE JANUARY 08,2013
09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM -45.34
10:30 AM -54.52
11:00 AM -62.25
11:30 AM -75.90
12:00 PM -66.36
12:30 PM -70.70
01:00 PM -75.37
01:30 PM -75.86
02:00 PM -73.25
02:30 PM -67.34
03:00 PM -77.07
03:30 PM -52.52
04:00 PM -55.44 13,328.85
S&P 500 1457.15 -4.74
NASDAQ 3091.81 -7.01
GOLD 1,659.70 +13.70
OIL 93.18 -0.01
TSE 300 12,504.81 +5.26
CDNX 1225.38 +1.49
S&P/TSX/60 76.24 +0.51
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -27 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -64 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,656.70.OIL opens at $93.64 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -76 points at low today so far.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -76 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
Why we won’t mint a platinum coin
Let’s be clear about this: no one’s going to mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin. Nor is anybody going to mint a million million-dollar platinum coins. But it would probably be stupid for anybody in the government to say that they’re not going to do it.The trillion-dollar coin is the fiscal equivalent of the Flying Spaghetti Monster: a logical reductio ad absurdum
designed to emphasize the silliness of an opposing position. For
instance, if you don’t believe that churches should be tax-exempt, then
you just claim that your entire family are Pastafarian priests, and that
therefore all your investment income should be tax-exempt. Or rather
you claim that you could claim that, but doing so would
obviously be absurd; the logical implication is that failing to tax the
investment income of, say, the Catholic church is equally absurd.In this case, the absurdity to be pointed out is the debt ceiling.
Everybody who’s ever been in charge of any country’s finances knows that
the concept of a debt ceiling is profoundly stupid, self-defeating, and
generally idiotic. And we discovered in 2011 that it can do very real
harm. Back then, I hated the idea of the platinum coin:
There’s a reason why the proponents of the platinum-coin approach are generally economists, or at least economically-minded. The idea makes gloriously elegant economic sense, and attempts to shoot it down on economic grounds generally fail miserably. You can try a legal tack instead, but that doesn’t work much better: the coin is as logically robust as it is Constitutionally stupid.No one in the executive branch has any real desire to mint a trillion-dollar coin — you can be sure of that. But the coin-minting advocates are OK with that: they just want to use the threat of the coin to persuade Congress that it should just go ahead and allow Treasury to pay for all the spending that Congress has, after all, already mandated. As a result, while no one intends to actually mint a coin, any statement to that effect would constitute unilateral disarmament in the war between the executive and the legislature.But there are two problems with this approach. The first is that it’s a version of Hank Paulson’s famous dictum that “if you have a bazooka in your pocket and people know it, you probably won’t have to use it”. That wasn’t true for Paulson, and in general it’s not true of bazookas. In politics as in the markets, if you have a bazooka in your pocket, you’re likely to be backed into a position where you’re forced to use it, sooner rather than later.The second problem is that what we’re talking about here has a kind of Cold War mutually-assured-destruction mentality: “don’t you dare try to force a debt default, because if you do, I’ll come out and render you entirely irrelevant with my platinum coin”. The nihilistic logic of the Cold War was brutal and scary at the time; but at least it was played by people who respected each others’ intellectual prowess. In this case, we’re basically talking about Barack Obama trying to bluff the House Republicans. And as any poker player knows, when you’re up against a very stupid opponent, you should never try to bluff.The solution to the fiscal cliff crisis was to let the House Republicans overstretch, self-destruct, and render themselves powerless: that’s how to best deal with such people. There’s exactly zero chance that the House Republicans, faced with the Coin Threat, will suddenly turn logical and decide that they’re not going to play political games around the debt ceiling after all. Rather, the Coin Threat is a political game, played by the other side: it’s the executive branch bringing itself down to the House Republicans’ level.If you believe that the country is best run by grown-ups, you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because it simply isn’t a grown-up strategy. If you believe that the House Republicans behave in crazy and illogical ways, then you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because the threat of minting the coin doesn’t work against someone who’s crazy and illogical. And if you believe that the best way to approach the debt ceiling is to try and abolish it altogether, then you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because the entire strategy is based on the idea of keeping the ceiling where it is, and then trying to circumvent it.
So while #mintthecoin is an amusing intellectual exercise, no serious executive-branch politician should or will embrace it. Not unless he wanted to torpedo the international credibility of the United States just for the sake of some short-term political one-upmanship.
Tools like the 14th Amendment or even crazier loopholes like coin seignorage would be signs of the utter failure of the US political system and civil society. And that alone could mean the loss of America’s status as a safe haven and a reserve currency. The present value of such a loss? Much bigger than $2 trillion.This is the real problem with the main argument for minting a coin, which is that “yes, it’s a stupid gimmick, but so is the debt ceiling, and the debt ceiling is a lot more harmful than a coin would be”. That’s true, but it’s important to recognize just how damaging the platinum-coin move would be, all the same. It would effectively mark the demise of the three-branch system of government, by allowing the executive branch to simply steamroller the rights and privileges of the legislative branch. Yes, the legislature is behaving like a bunch of utter morons if they think that driving the US government into default is a good idea. But it’s their right to behave like a bunch of utter morons. If the executive branch failed to respect that right, it would effectively be defying the exact same authority by which the president himself governs. The result would be a governance crisis which would make the last debt-ceiling fiasco look positively benign in comparison.
There’s a reason why the proponents of the platinum-coin approach are generally economists, or at least economically-minded. The idea makes gloriously elegant economic sense, and attempts to shoot it down on economic grounds generally fail miserably. You can try a legal tack instead, but that doesn’t work much better: the coin is as logically robust as it is Constitutionally stupid.No one in the executive branch has any real desire to mint a trillion-dollar coin — you can be sure of that. But the coin-minting advocates are OK with that: they just want to use the threat of the coin to persuade Congress that it should just go ahead and allow Treasury to pay for all the spending that Congress has, after all, already mandated. As a result, while no one intends to actually mint a coin, any statement to that effect would constitute unilateral disarmament in the war between the executive and the legislature.But there are two problems with this approach. The first is that it’s a version of Hank Paulson’s famous dictum that “if you have a bazooka in your pocket and people know it, you probably won’t have to use it”. That wasn’t true for Paulson, and in general it’s not true of bazookas. In politics as in the markets, if you have a bazooka in your pocket, you’re likely to be backed into a position where you’re forced to use it, sooner rather than later.The second problem is that what we’re talking about here has a kind of Cold War mutually-assured-destruction mentality: “don’t you dare try to force a debt default, because if you do, I’ll come out and render you entirely irrelevant with my platinum coin”. The nihilistic logic of the Cold War was brutal and scary at the time; but at least it was played by people who respected each others’ intellectual prowess. In this case, we’re basically talking about Barack Obama trying to bluff the House Republicans. And as any poker player knows, when you’re up against a very stupid opponent, you should never try to bluff.The solution to the fiscal cliff crisis was to let the House Republicans overstretch, self-destruct, and render themselves powerless: that’s how to best deal with such people. There’s exactly zero chance that the House Republicans, faced with the Coin Threat, will suddenly turn logical and decide that they’re not going to play political games around the debt ceiling after all. Rather, the Coin Threat is a political game, played by the other side: it’s the executive branch bringing itself down to the House Republicans’ level.If you believe that the country is best run by grown-ups, you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because it simply isn’t a grown-up strategy. If you believe that the House Republicans behave in crazy and illogical ways, then you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because the threat of minting the coin doesn’t work against someone who’s crazy and illogical. And if you believe that the best way to approach the debt ceiling is to try and abolish it altogether, then you can’t believe in #mintthecoin, because the entire strategy is based on the idea of keeping the ceiling where it is, and then trying to circumvent it.
So while #mintthecoin is an amusing intellectual exercise, no serious executive-branch politician should or will embrace it. Not unless he wanted to torpedo the international credibility of the United States just for the sake of some short-term political one-upmanship.
Criminals steal €1.5 billion from EU credit cards
Today @ 09:25 JAN 8,13 By Nikolaj Nielsen
BRUSSELS - EU citizens are losing some
€1.5 billion every year as criminals siphon off their money through the
fraudulent use of debit and credit cards.A new report released on Monday (7 December) by the EU police agency
Europol found that the thefts most often occur in the United States.“The majority of illegal face-to-face card transactions affecting the
European Union take place overseas, mainly in the United States,” noted
the Hague-based agency.Embedded security features on EU cards such as chips and pin technology are easily bypassed in the United States.Criminals exploit the weaknesses in America because some US-based
cash machines are not fully compliant to a global security standard
based on chip technology, known as EMV.“Due to this phenomenon, and the lack of specific agreements on
reimbursement of losses caused by less protected terminals, the majority
of the loss burden caused by this fraud is on the EU card issuers,”
said Europol.The lax security feature on cash machines is not unique to the United States.
The agency found organised gangs also steal the money using the same techniques in the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Russia, Brazil and Mexico.The risks involved are minimal since authorities are legally ill-equipped to deal with the cross-border nature of the crime. Those implicated in the EU are often given light sentences or bail since the bulk of the crime is committed outside its jurisdiction.Other gangs overseas employ corrupt police officers and can afford the best legal services to derail criminal investigations.“The ultimate solution to this problem would be to implement the EMV standard on a global level, including making United States’ merchants compliant,” noted the agency.But costs to implement the standard on a global scale are exceptionally high and some banks still favour profits over what they deem as acceptable levels of fraud.“Banking institutions are profit-making businesses, so reducing the illegal income of criminals is not always a priority for them when introducing new banking products or services,” said the agency.
Meanwhile, EU citizens are also victims of online credit card transaction fraud.Online security features meant to bloc criminals from stealing personal details, credit card numbers and other sensitive information has since turned into a massively lucrative underground market.Breaches and theft of such data is rarely reported by the industry in order to protect their reputation.“In most of these cases the quantity of compromised card details is substantial, reaching hundreds of thousands or millions, enabling criminals to sell the bulk data on the internet,” said Europol.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Six years ago, he refused to sign a letter pressing the European Union to declare the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group a terrorist organization.Hagel's call in a bipartisan letter in 2009 for a 'pragmatic' approach toward Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, has also drawn criticism. The letter called for engaging Hamas to moderate its behavior, though it said direct U.S. engagement "may not now be practical." Critics, pointing to the letter, have accused Hagel of supporting dialogue with Hamas.The 66-year-old Hagel, who faces a tough confirmation battle in the Senate, also has criticized discussion of a potential military strike by either the U.S. or Israel against Iran, and has backed efforts to bring Tehran to the table for future peace talks in Afghanistan.While Hagel's positions on these issues are shared by many in Israel itself, including Netanyahu's own critics, they run counter to those of the Israeli prime minister and could antagonize him if, as polls forecast, he wins a new term in Israel's Jan. 22 elections.Netanyahu has identified the Iranian nuclear program as his top priority. Convinced that the Islamic Republic is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, a view shared in many capitals around the world, Netanyahu says Tehran must be stopped. Iran says its program is only for peaceful purposes.While voicing hope that international diplomatic pressure will halt the Iranian program, Netanyahu has said that the use of force must be seriously considered as well. Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, unilaterally if necessary, if he concludes that diplomacy has failed.Israel also considers Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist groups, although it has held indirect cease-fire talks with both organizations. Israel refuses any direct talks with Hamas, which recently battled Israel during eight days of fighting in November, unless the group renounces violence and explicitly recognizes Israel's right to exist.Ahead of Hagel's appointment, White House officials tried to play down such differences, saying his positions on Israel and Iran have been misrepresented and that he will be "completely in line with the president." They said that in the Senate, he voted in favor of billions of dollars of military assistance to Israel and supported multilateral sanctions on Tehran.Despite such promises, the Hagel appointment is likely to fuel the common perception in Israel that Obama does not share the warmth toward Israel held by his predecessors.In part, that impression stems from the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. The two leaders took office just months apart in early 2009, and from the beginning, have appeared to be at odds both on the personal level and on key policy issues.The men have sparred over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the Iranian nuclear program. Last year, Obama rebuffed Netanyahu's calls to set "red lines" that would trigger an attack on Iran. The perception here that Netanyahu favored Mitt Romney in the U.S. presidential election — an allegation denied by Netanyahu — has further strained ties.The U.S. is Israel's closest and most important ally, and the relationship is critical for Israel. Further cracks in the ties could make for a stormy second term for Netanyahu.The one area where relations have remained strong is in security ties. The Israeli and American defense establishments cooperate closely in monitoring the Iranians, military training and weapons development. Israel's new "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system, which performed well during the recent fighting in Gaza, was developed with American financial aid.Speaking at an event for mostly North American Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu thanked the U.S. for its support.While he did not mention Hagel directly in his speech, Netanyahu he did warn of dangers ahead — including Iran's nuclear program — and said "it is time for many who don't see these dangers to wake up to them."Eytan Gilboa, a specialist on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, said he thinks if Hagel "will be a total disaster for Israel."
He said Obama's choice for CIA director, John Brennan, is considered good for Israel and could be a "stabilizing factor" on U.S. policy toward Israel. But overall, he said Obama's foreign policy team creates a "potential recipe for many problems with Israel.""Obama is sending a message to Israel that rough times are ahead and if it doesn't accommodate U.S interests, there will be tense relations," he said.But Dov Weisglass, who served as a top adviser to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a decade ago and was involved in sensitive dealings with the Americans, said concerns about Hagel are overblown."Ties between countries are not decided by this person or that. The ties between Israel and the U.S. are so important and complex that I don't see any reason why they should change,' Weisglass said, predicting that in his new role, Hagel would, generally speaking, revise his outlook on things.What's more, "ultimately, he is not the only decision-maker," he said.___Associated Press writer Daniel Estrin contributed to this report.
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,(AT THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY) that the way of the kings(CHINA,NORTH-SOUTH KOREA, of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(4 WINDS OF THE WORLD-WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(COULD ALSO MEAN THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH OR WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
China's State Oceanic Administration confirmed four Chinese marine surveillance ships were patrolling waters near the islands.But China routinely maintains such ships are in Chinese waters and a Chinese official accused Japan of intrusion."Japan has continued to ignore our warnings that their vessels and aircraft have infringed our sovereignty," the Communist Party chief of China's marine surveillance corps, Sun Shuxian, said in an interview posted on the Oceanic Administration's website."This behavior may result in the further escalation of the situation at sea and has prompted China to pay great attention and vigilance," Sun was quoted as saying.Sino-Japanese ties chilled after the Japanese government bought the disputed islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner last September.
The agency found organised gangs also steal the money using the same techniques in the Dominican Republic, Columbia, Russia, Brazil and Mexico.The risks involved are minimal since authorities are legally ill-equipped to deal with the cross-border nature of the crime. Those implicated in the EU are often given light sentences or bail since the bulk of the crime is committed outside its jurisdiction.Other gangs overseas employ corrupt police officers and can afford the best legal services to derail criminal investigations.“The ultimate solution to this problem would be to implement the EMV standard on a global level, including making United States’ merchants compliant,” noted the agency.But costs to implement the standard on a global scale are exceptionally high and some banks still favour profits over what they deem as acceptable levels of fraud.“Banking institutions are profit-making businesses, so reducing the illegal income of criminals is not always a priority for them when introducing new banking products or services,” said the agency.
Meanwhile, EU citizens are also victims of online credit card transaction fraud.Online security features meant to bloc criminals from stealing personal details, credit card numbers and other sensitive information has since turned into a massively lucrative underground market.Breaches and theft of such data is rarely reported by the industry in order to protect their reputation.“In most of these cases the quantity of compromised card details is substantial, reaching hundreds of thousands or millions, enabling criminals to sell the bulk data on the internet,” said Europol.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I (GOD) will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee,(ISRAELIS) and curse (DESTROY) him that curseth thee:(DESTROY THEM) and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Hagel nomination unnerves some in Israel
By | Associated Press – JAN 6,13
JERUSALEM (AP) — President Barack Obama's
nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next U.S. secretary of defense is
causing jitters in Israel, where some circles view the former Nebraska
senator as unsympathetic or even hostile.Hagel's positions on Israel's two most pressing foreign policy issues
— Iran's nuclear program and relations with the Palestinians — appear
to be at odds with the Israeli government, and critics here fear the
appointment could increase pressure on the Jewish state to make unwanted
concessions. The appointment could also signal further strains in what
is already a cool relationship between President Barack Obama and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to win
re-election later this month.
"Because of his statements in the past, and his stance toward Israel,
we are worried," Reuven Rivlin, the speaker of the Israeli parliament
and a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, told The Associated Press. But,
he added, the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Israel is
strong and "one person doesn't determine policy."Netanyahu's office refused to comment on the appointment, as did
officials in the Israeli foreign and defense ministries. But Rivlin's
comments reflected what has been a common sentiment among analysts and
commentators here in recent days. In their evening news broadcasts,
Israel's three main TV stations on Monday all portrayed Hagel as cool
toward Israel.Known as a maverick in the Senate, Hagel has raised eyebrows in
Israel with a series of comments and actions over the years that some
here have deemed insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state.Hagel once said "the Jewish lobby (in the United States) intimidates a
lot of people here" and does some "dumb things" that aren't "smart for
Israel." He also said that "I'm not an Israeli senator. I'm a United
States senator.""I support Israel, but my first interest is I take an oath of office
to the Constitution of the United States, not to a president, not to a
party, not to Israel," he said.Six years ago, he refused to sign a letter pressing the European Union to declare the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group a terrorist organization.Hagel's call in a bipartisan letter in 2009 for a 'pragmatic' approach toward Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, has also drawn criticism. The letter called for engaging Hamas to moderate its behavior, though it said direct U.S. engagement "may not now be practical." Critics, pointing to the letter, have accused Hagel of supporting dialogue with Hamas.The 66-year-old Hagel, who faces a tough confirmation battle in the Senate, also has criticized discussion of a potential military strike by either the U.S. or Israel against Iran, and has backed efforts to bring Tehran to the table for future peace talks in Afghanistan.While Hagel's positions on these issues are shared by many in Israel itself, including Netanyahu's own critics, they run counter to those of the Israeli prime minister and could antagonize him if, as polls forecast, he wins a new term in Israel's Jan. 22 elections.Netanyahu has identified the Iranian nuclear program as his top priority. Convinced that the Islamic Republic is trying to develop a nuclear bomb, a view shared in many capitals around the world, Netanyahu says Tehran must be stopped. Iran says its program is only for peaceful purposes.While voicing hope that international diplomatic pressure will halt the Iranian program, Netanyahu has said that the use of force must be seriously considered as well. Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, unilaterally if necessary, if he concludes that diplomacy has failed.Israel also considers Hamas and Hezbollah to be terrorist groups, although it has held indirect cease-fire talks with both organizations. Israel refuses any direct talks with Hamas, which recently battled Israel during eight days of fighting in November, unless the group renounces violence and explicitly recognizes Israel's right to exist.Ahead of Hagel's appointment, White House officials tried to play down such differences, saying his positions on Israel and Iran have been misrepresented and that he will be "completely in line with the president." They said that in the Senate, he voted in favor of billions of dollars of military assistance to Israel and supported multilateral sanctions on Tehran.Despite such promises, the Hagel appointment is likely to fuel the common perception in Israel that Obama does not share the warmth toward Israel held by his predecessors.In part, that impression stems from the relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. The two leaders took office just months apart in early 2009, and from the beginning, have appeared to be at odds both on the personal level and on key policy issues.The men have sparred over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state and the Iranian nuclear program. Last year, Obama rebuffed Netanyahu's calls to set "red lines" that would trigger an attack on Iran. The perception here that Netanyahu favored Mitt Romney in the U.S. presidential election — an allegation denied by Netanyahu — has further strained ties.The U.S. is Israel's closest and most important ally, and the relationship is critical for Israel. Further cracks in the ties could make for a stormy second term for Netanyahu.The one area where relations have remained strong is in security ties. The Israeli and American defense establishments cooperate closely in monitoring the Iranians, military training and weapons development. Israel's new "Iron Dome" rocket-defense system, which performed well during the recent fighting in Gaza, was developed with American financial aid.Speaking at an event for mostly North American Jews in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu thanked the U.S. for its support.While he did not mention Hagel directly in his speech, Netanyahu he did warn of dangers ahead — including Iran's nuclear program — and said "it is time for many who don't see these dangers to wake up to them."Eytan Gilboa, a specialist on U.S.-Israel relations at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, said he thinks if Hagel "will be a total disaster for Israel."
He said Obama's choice for CIA director, John Brennan, is considered good for Israel and could be a "stabilizing factor" on U.S. policy toward Israel. But overall, he said Obama's foreign policy team creates a "potential recipe for many problems with Israel.""Obama is sending a message to Israel that rough times are ahead and if it doesn't accommodate U.S interests, there will be tense relations," he said.But Dov Weisglass, who served as a top adviser to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a decade ago and was involved in sensitive dealings with the Americans, said concerns about Hagel are overblown."Ties between countries are not decided by this person or that. The ties between Israel and the U.S. are so important and complex that I don't see any reason why they should change,' Weisglass said, predicting that in his new role, Hagel would, generally speaking, revise his outlook on things.What's more, "ultimately, he is not the only decision-maker," he said.___Associated Press writer Daniel Estrin contributed to this report.
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up,(AT THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY) that the way of the kings(CHINA,NORTH-SOUTH KOREA, of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(4 WINDS OF THE WORLD-WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(COULD ALSO MEAN THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH OR WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Japan PM orders stronger surveillance near disputed isles
Reuters – 2 hrs 56 mins ago JAN 8,13
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered his defense minister on Tuesday to strengthen surveillance around islands at the heart of a territorial feud with China, Kyodo news agency reported.Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned the Chinese ambassador earlier in the day to protest against an "incursion" by four Chinese maritime surveillance ships near the islands, officials said.
"I want you to respond firmly," Kyodo quoted Abe as telling Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera.The ships entered the area around noon on Monday and left in the early hours of Tuesday, the officials said.
China's State Oceanic Administration confirmed four Chinese marine surveillance ships were patrolling waters near the islands.But China routinely maintains such ships are in Chinese waters and a Chinese official accused Japan of intrusion."Japan has continued to ignore our warnings that their vessels and aircraft have infringed our sovereignty," the Communist Party chief of China's marine surveillance corps, Sun Shuxian, said in an interview posted on the Oceanic Administration's website."This behavior may result in the further escalation of the situation at sea and has prompted China to pay great attention and vigilance," Sun was quoted as saying.Sino-Japanese ties chilled after the Japanese government bought the disputed islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner last September.
Japan's Defence Ministry has scrambled F-15 fighter
jets several times in recent weeks to intercept Chinese marine
surveillance planes approaching the islands.The hawkish Abe, whose conservative Liberal Democratic
Party (LDP) returned to power in a landslide election victory last
month, has vowed a tough stance in the territorial feud.(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Hitoshi Ishida and Linda Sieg; Editing by Nick Macfie)
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfires rage across Australia amid searing heat
By | Associated Press – 2 hrs 0 mins ago JAN 8,13
COOMA, Australia (AP) — Firefighters battled scores of wildfires raging across southeastern Australia on Tuesday as authorities evacuated national parks and warned that blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic" conditions in some areas.No deaths have been reported, although officials in Tasmania
were still trying to find around 100 residents who have been missing
since last week when a fire tore through the small town of Dunalley,
east of the state capital of Hobart, destroying around 90 homes. On
Tuesday, police said no bodies were found during preliminary checks of
the ruined houses."You don't get conditions worse than this," New South Wales Rural Fire Service
Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said. "We are at the catastrophic level
and clearly in those areas leaving early is your safest option."Catastrophic threat level is the most severe rating.Wildfires have razed 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of forests and farmland across southern Tasmania since Friday. In New South Wales,
the country's most populous state, the fires had burned through more
than 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land. All state forests and
national parks were closed as a precaution and total fire bans were in
place with temperatures surpassing 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some areas.In Victoria state, fire officials
said two people were treated for minor burns and four people for smoke
inhalation. Up to 20 properties in the town of Chepstowe west of
Melbourne had reportedly been hit by a fire, though officials said it
was too early to know the extent of the damage, a Victoria Country Fire
Authority spokeswoman said.More than 130 fires were blazing
across New South Wales, though only a few dozen houses were under threat
as night fell. One home was destroyed in the village of Jugiong,
northwest of the capital of Canberra, fire officials said.A fire was threatening about 30 homes near the small town of Cooma,
south of Canberra. Cooma-Monaro shire Mayor Dean Lynch told Australia's
Sky News some residents had evacuated to the nearby town of Nimmitabel.Strong winds were hampering efforts to bring the fires under control.
Wind gusts of more than 100 kilometers an hour (62 miles per hour) were
recorded in some parts of the state, though a cool front moving across
the region late Tuesday was bringing relief from the searing
temperatures and raising hopes that New South Wales might avoid major
damage."If we get through today without loss of life and loss of property
we'll have had a remarkable escape from what could have been," New South
Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell told the Seven Network.Many residents in the town of Tarcutta, about 200 kilometers (120
miles) west of Canberra, had taken shelter at the local community
center. Eva Toth, owner of the Tarcutta Halfway Motor Inn, opted instead
to hunker down inside the office next to her motel. She was preparing
for a sleepless night and was ready to jump in her car if word came that
the flames were drawing close."The wind is just unbelievable. It just suddenly comes like a whirly,
twirly tornado," she said by telephone. "To live this is really
frightening. When you walk into my place, you can smell the smoke even
in my house."One volunteer firefighter suffered severe burns to his hands and face
while fighting a grass fire near Gundaroo village, about 220 kilometers
(138 miles) southwest of Sydney, on Monday. He was flown to a hospital
in Sydney for treatment.
Fitzsimmons, the fire commissioner, said the firefighter's condition
had improved on Tuesday and he should be released from the hospital in
the next few days.Wildfires are common during the
Australian summer. In February 2009, hundreds of fires across Victoria
state killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.___Associated Press writer Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.
ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
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)
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
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)
Fighting flares in Palestinian camp in Damascus
– 1 hr 29 mins ago JAN 8,13
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Representatives of Palestinian factions in Syria are calling for an immediate cease-fire after fighting flared at a refugee camp in Damascus.Activists say five people were killed in the Yarmouk camp Tuesday, including four who died when a shell struck their street and a fifth shot by a sniper.
The fighting pits gunmen loyal to President Bashar Assad against rebels, who now control much of the camp.
The camp was the scene of heavy
clashes in the past, but the battles subsided last month after rebels
battled the loyalists to a stalemate. Palestinians fight on both sides.It was not clear what triggered this flare-up.
A statement issued by
representatives of 14 Damascus-based Palestinian factions called for an
immediate ceasefire and urged gunmen to withdraw from the camp.
U.S. gives unstable Lebanon 200 armored vehicles
Reuters – JAN 8,13
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States has given 200 armored vehicles to Lebanon, the Lebanese army
said on Monday, bolstering forces that have been struggling to deal
with sectarian violence inflamed by the war across the border in Syria.The M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) arrived by
ship to Beirut on Sunday, the army said in a statement. A Lebanese
security source said the army now had 1,200 APCs.
A U.S. diplomat said the shipment of vehicles would
support the Lebanese armed forces' "capabilities and their mobility and
ability to respond to crises. It is also to protect borders and internal
stability".The diplomat, who preferred not to be named, said the
vehicles were used but were all in "very good working order and will be
refurbished here in Lebanon".The United States has provided more than $140 million
in equipment and assistance to the Lebanese armed forces in the past six
months, including six Huey 2 helicopters, a 42-metre coastal security
craft, more than 1,000 guns - including grenade launchers -- and 38
million rounds of ammunition.Lebanon, still rebuilding after its 15-year civil war,
has seen clashes between gunmen loyal to opposing sides in neighboring
Syria's conflict, mostly in the northern port town of Tripoli, but also
in the capital Beirut and the southern coastal city of Sidon.Syrian forces have occasionally breached the Lebanese border to battle with rebels who are fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and take refuge in Lebanese border towns. Syrian mortar bombs have also targeted Lebanese villages.Few expect a fight
between Lebanon and its much larger neighbor Syria, a country whose
troops were garrisoned in Lebanon until 2005 and still has influence
over the security services.But Lebanon's army
is ill-equipped to deal with powerful internal militant groups,
including the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla and political movement Hezbollah,
which the United States counts as a terrorist organization.(Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)
State of Palestine name change shows limitations
By | Associated Press – JAN 7,13
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — With U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state in his pocket, President Mahmoud Abbas wants official documents to carry a new emblem: "State of Palestine."But scrapping the old "Palestinian Authority" logo is as far as Abbas is willing to go in provoking Israel. He is not rushing to change passports and ID cards Palestinians need to pass through Israeli crossings.The very modesty of Abbas' move to change official stationery
underscores his limited options so long as Israel remains in charge of
territories the world says should one day make up that state."At the end of the day, the Palestinian Authority won't cause trouble
for its people," Nour Odeh, a spokeswoman for Abbas' self-rule
government, said of the need for caution.Abbas won overwhelming U.N. General Assembly recognition for a state
of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in late November,
a rare diplomatic victory over a sidelined Israel. The U.N. nod was
important to the Palestinians because it affirmed the borders of their
future state in lands Israel captured in 1967.Recognition, however, has not
transformed the day-to-day lives of Palestinians, and some argue that it
made things worse. In apparent retaliation for the U.N. bid, Israel in
December withheld its monthly $100 million transfer of tax rebates it
collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, further deepening the Abbas government's financial crisis.Since the U.N. recognition, Abbas has maneuvered between avoiding
confrontation with Israel and finding small ways to change the situation
on the ground.
Last week, his government press office urged journalists to refer to a state of Palestine, instead of the Palestinian Authority, the autonomy government set up two decades ago as part of interim peace deals with Israel.Palestinian diplomatic missions around the world have been told to use the new names, including those in countries that did not vote "yes" at the General Assembly, said Omar Awadallah, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official.Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev dismissed the name change as pointless but declined comment on whether Israel would retaliate in any way. "Instead of looking for gimmicks, Palestinians should negotiate with Israel to bring about the end of the conflict," he said. "That will lead to a situation of two states for two peoples."Israel objected to Abbas' U.N. bid, accusing him of trying to bypass negotiations with Israel on the terms of statehood. Such talks have been frozen for more than four years because Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagree on their parameters. Netanyahu says he is willing to cede land to a Palestinian state but will not withdraw to the 1967 lines or give up any part of east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' desired capital.Abbas has said negotiations remain his preferred choice, and that U.N. recognition was meant to improve his leverage with a far more powerful Israel once talks resume.Since the U.N. vote, Abbas has shied away from measures that could close the door to talks by upsetting Israel or the U.S., which also objected to his U.N. bid.Abbas has not taken practical steps toward seeking membership for Palestine in U.N. agencies, something made possible by the November vote, and his security forces continue to coordinate with Israeli troops in tracking Islamic militants in the West Bank.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland expressed U.S. opposition to using the term "State of Palestine.""You can't create a state by rhetoric and with labels and names," she told reporters. "You can only create a state, in this context, through bilateral negotiations." Nuland called Abbas' decision "provocative, without changing the condition for the Palestinian people."She said the U.S. peace envoy for the Mideast, David Hale, was headed to the region and would meet the Palestinian leader on Tuesday.
Some countries, such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, have adopted the new name. Others, like Norway, Sweden and Spain, stick to the Palestinian Authority term even though they supported U.N. recognition.Analysts said Abbas holds out hope that President Barack Obama will get more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his second term and — freed from the restraints of seeking re-election — take a tougher stance toward Israel."He still hopes to resume peace talks in line with U.S. efforts," Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri said of Abbas."Therefore, he is making these slight changes because people expect him to make changes after the U.N. recognition."Still, the gap between the symbolic U.N. nod and the reality on the ground remains wide.The Palestinian Authority administers some 38 percent of the West Bank, but Israel maintains overall control over the territory. Abbas has no say in east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967, or in Gaza, seized by his political rival, the Islamic militant group Hamas, in 2007.The documents and stationery with the new emblem will be ready within two months, said Hassan Alawi, a deputy interior minister in the Palestinian Authority.Israeli officials declined comment Monday on whether Israel would refuse to deal with documents bearing the "State of Palestine" logo. However, Alawi said his office was informed by Israeli officials after Abbas' decree that "they will not deal with any new form of passport or ID."
Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said the new emblem will be used in correspondence with countries that have recognized a state of Palestine.He suggested that there would be no change in passports or other documents Palestinians need for movement through Israeli crossings."As far as the Israelis are concerned, we are not going to overload the wagon of our people by putting state of Palestine on passports," he said. "They (Israelis) will not allow them to travel."Palestinians must pass through Israeli-run crossings to leave the West Bank and also carry an ID card at all times or risk arrest if stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint inside the territory.The name change has even less meaning for Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel withdrew from the coastal strip in 2005 but continues to control access by air, sea and land, with the exception of one Gaza border crossing with Egypt."For me, it's just ink on paper," said Sharif Hamda, a 44-year-old pharmacist in Gaza City. "I wished they would save the money they will spend on this and use it for helping needy families."
Last week, his government press office urged journalists to refer to a state of Palestine, instead of the Palestinian Authority, the autonomy government set up two decades ago as part of interim peace deals with Israel.Palestinian diplomatic missions around the world have been told to use the new names, including those in countries that did not vote "yes" at the General Assembly, said Omar Awadallah, a Palestinian Foreign Ministry official.Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev dismissed the name change as pointless but declined comment on whether Israel would retaliate in any way. "Instead of looking for gimmicks, Palestinians should negotiate with Israel to bring about the end of the conflict," he said. "That will lead to a situation of two states for two peoples."Israel objected to Abbas' U.N. bid, accusing him of trying to bypass negotiations with Israel on the terms of statehood. Such talks have been frozen for more than four years because Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagree on their parameters. Netanyahu says he is willing to cede land to a Palestinian state but will not withdraw to the 1967 lines or give up any part of east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' desired capital.Abbas has said negotiations remain his preferred choice, and that U.N. recognition was meant to improve his leverage with a far more powerful Israel once talks resume.Since the U.N. vote, Abbas has shied away from measures that could close the door to talks by upsetting Israel or the U.S., which also objected to his U.N. bid.Abbas has not taken practical steps toward seeking membership for Palestine in U.N. agencies, something made possible by the November vote, and his security forces continue to coordinate with Israeli troops in tracking Islamic militants in the West Bank.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland expressed U.S. opposition to using the term "State of Palestine.""You can't create a state by rhetoric and with labels and names," she told reporters. "You can only create a state, in this context, through bilateral negotiations." Nuland called Abbas' decision "provocative, without changing the condition for the Palestinian people."She said the U.S. peace envoy for the Mideast, David Hale, was headed to the region and would meet the Palestinian leader on Tuesday.
Some countries, such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, have adopted the new name. Others, like Norway, Sweden and Spain, stick to the Palestinian Authority term even though they supported U.N. recognition.Analysts said Abbas holds out hope that President Barack Obama will get more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his second term and — freed from the restraints of seeking re-election — take a tougher stance toward Israel."He still hopes to resume peace talks in line with U.S. efforts," Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri said of Abbas."Therefore, he is making these slight changes because people expect him to make changes after the U.N. recognition."Still, the gap between the symbolic U.N. nod and the reality on the ground remains wide.The Palestinian Authority administers some 38 percent of the West Bank, but Israel maintains overall control over the territory. Abbas has no say in east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967, or in Gaza, seized by his political rival, the Islamic militant group Hamas, in 2007.The documents and stationery with the new emblem will be ready within two months, said Hassan Alawi, a deputy interior minister in the Palestinian Authority.Israeli officials declined comment Monday on whether Israel would refuse to deal with documents bearing the "State of Palestine" logo. However, Alawi said his office was informed by Israeli officials after Abbas' decree that "they will not deal with any new form of passport or ID."
Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said the new emblem will be used in correspondence with countries that have recognized a state of Palestine.He suggested that there would be no change in passports or other documents Palestinians need for movement through Israeli crossings."As far as the Israelis are concerned, we are not going to overload the wagon of our people by putting state of Palestine on passports," he said. "They (Israelis) will not allow them to travel."Palestinians must pass through Israeli-run crossings to leave the West Bank and also carry an ID card at all times or risk arrest if stopped at an Israeli military checkpoint inside the territory.The name change has even less meaning for Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel withdrew from the coastal strip in 2005 but continues to control access by air, sea and land, with the exception of one Gaza border crossing with Egypt."For me, it's just ink on paper," said Sharif Hamda, a 44-year-old pharmacist in Gaza City. "I wished they would save the money they will spend on this and use it for helping needy families."
___Laub reported from Jericho, West
Bank. Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip
and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed reporting.
Syrians brush off Assad speech as fighting rages
By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon | Reuters – 41 mins ago JAN 8,13
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fighting raged across Syria on Monday with clashes reported just a few miles from where President Bashar al-Assad had unveiled a "peace plan" that Syrians on both sides said would do nothing to end the country's 21-month-old uprising.Hours after Assad addressed cheering loyalists at the Damascus Opera House
on Sunday in his first public speech in months, fighting erupted near
the road to the city's international airport, the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said.The opposition-linked group said artillery hit the
district of Aqraba, 3 miles from the Opera House. Fighting continued all
night and into Monday around the capital, as well as in the northern
provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, it said.In central Syria, the towns of Taybet Imam
and Halfaya were bombarded with aerial strikes and artillery, said Abu
Faisal, an activist speaking over the internet from Taybet Imam."Every four to five minutes, we hear the burst from a
rocket. We cannot get any wounded out because we are essentially under
siege by the shelling," he said, adding that many civilians had fled.
Taybet Imam sits on an entrance to Syria's main north-south highway,
close to the central city of Hama.The government restricts access by international media and the accounts could not be verified.Damascus residents said Assad's speech, which offered
no concessions to his foes, was met with celebratory gunfire in
pro-Assad neighborhoods.But even there, some saw no sign peace was closer: a
loyalist resident of southern Damascus reached by internet said the
speech was eloquent but empty.
"It sounded more like gloating than making promises," said the woman, who gave only her first name, Aliaa. "I agree with the ideas but words are really just words until he takes some action. He needs to do something. But even so, everything he suggests now, it is too late, the rebels aren't going to stop."
"NO ONE CARES"
In the once-affluent district of Mezzeh, scene of several bomb attacks, an Assad critic said people had more pressing concerns than a TV speech. "Here, no one cares about this speech. They care about food and electricity."Another said few people had watched the speech and that Assad's crackdown would not stop: "Military operations will continue in full swing, and he is staying."France, the United States, Britain and Turkey all said Assad's speech, his first to an audience since June last year, showed he had lost touch with reality after unrest that the United Nations says has killed 60,000 people.U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had harsh words for Assad when she was asked whether the United States regarded him as a rational actor and whether he was "evil.""I don't think anybody who is guilty of the kinds of crimes against your own people that he's guilty of could be considered rational," Nuland told reporters in Washington. "I personally consider what he's done evil."Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Assad on Monday of "directing state terrorism"."Bashar al-Assad's speech is further evidence of just how far he has cut himself off from reality in order to justify his repression of the Syrian people," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said.The plan described by the Syrian leader as a new peace initiative proposed an army ceasefire only after rebels halt their operations and summoned Syrians to mobilize for a war to defend the state against "a puppet made by the West".The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was disappointed that Assad's speech rejected the idea of a transitional government to pave the way to new elections - a central plank of a peace plan promoted by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
"NATIONAL PROGRAMME"
"It sounded more like gloating than making promises," said the woman, who gave only her first name, Aliaa. "I agree with the ideas but words are really just words until he takes some action. He needs to do something. But even so, everything he suggests now, it is too late, the rebels aren't going to stop."
"NO ONE CARES"
In the once-affluent district of Mezzeh, scene of several bomb attacks, an Assad critic said people had more pressing concerns than a TV speech. "Here, no one cares about this speech. They care about food and electricity."Another said few people had watched the speech and that Assad's crackdown would not stop: "Military operations will continue in full swing, and he is staying."France, the United States, Britain and Turkey all said Assad's speech, his first to an audience since June last year, showed he had lost touch with reality after unrest that the United Nations says has killed 60,000 people.U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had harsh words for Assad when she was asked whether the United States regarded him as a rational actor and whether he was "evil.""I don't think anybody who is guilty of the kinds of crimes against your own people that he's guilty of could be considered rational," Nuland told reporters in Washington. "I personally consider what he's done evil."Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Assad on Monday of "directing state terrorism"."Bashar al-Assad's speech is further evidence of just how far he has cut himself off from reality in order to justify his repression of the Syrian people," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said.The plan described by the Syrian leader as a new peace initiative proposed an army ceasefire only after rebels halt their operations and summoned Syrians to mobilize for a war to defend the state against "a puppet made by the West".The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was disappointed that Assad's speech rejected the idea of a transitional government to pave the way to new elections - a central plank of a peace plan promoted by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi.
"NATIONAL PROGRAMME"
Syria's Prime Minister Wael al-Halki called on Monday
for a special cabinet meeting to implement the "national program
announced by President Bashar al-Assad yesterday to solve the crisis in
Syria", the state news agency SANA said.George Sabra, vice president of the opposition National
Coalition, said the putative peace plan "did not even deserve to be
called an initiative"."We should see it rather as a declaration that he will
continue his war against the Syrian people," he told Reuters.Assad's ally Iran defended the speech as offering a
"comprehensive political process". "This plan rejects violence and
terrorism and any foreign interference," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali
Akbar Salehi said.There was no immediate response from Moscow, which has
acted as Assad's main protector on the diplomatic stage. Russian state
offices were quiet for the Orthodox Christmas holiday.Syrian state television played up the speech, showing
footage of convoys of cars driving through main streets in Damascus.
People waving the Syrian flag leaned out of car windows and some braved
the cold and rain to walk alongside."It was a victorious speech that respects the martyred
Syrian soldiers," said one man on state TV, adding that his brother had
been killed fighting the opposition.After six months of advances, rebels now control wide
areas of northern and eastern Syria, most of its border crossings with
Turkey and a crescent of Damascus suburbs.Assad's government is still firmly entrenched in the
capital and controls most of the densely populated southwest, the
Mediterranean coast, the main north-south highway and military bases
countrywide. Its helicopters and jets are able to strike rebel-held
areas with impunity.U.S. military cargo planes carrying equipment and
personnel arrived at the Incirlik air base in Turkey on Monday, part of a
deployment of NATO Patriot anti-missiles to bolster security along
Turkey's 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria. Dutch Patriot missile
batteries bound for Turkey left an army base in the Netherlands.(Additional
reporting by Ayat Basma in Beirut, Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Vicky
Buffery in Paris and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; writing by Peter
Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Giles Elgood)
