KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
HOMOSEXUALS.(SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS)
LEVITICUS 20:13
13 If a man also lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
LEVITICUS 18:22
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as with womankind: it is abomination.
2 TIMOTHY 3:3
3 Without natural affection,(HOMOSEXUALS) trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,(HARDENED SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERRS) nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
PSALMS 14:1
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
ROMANS 1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:(HOMOSEXUALITY,AND ALL SEX SINS)
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:(LESBIENS)
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,(SODOMITES) and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.(AIDS ETC)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
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 FRI FEBRUARY 15,2013
09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +24.43
10:30 AM +7.43
11:00 AM +22.06
11:30 AM -6.68
12:00 PM -0.94
12:30 PM -24.42
01:00 PM -1.35
01:30 PM -0.46
02:00 PM +7.87
02:30 PM -58.62
03:00 PM -48.05
03:30 PM -25.16
04:00 PM +8.37 13,981.76
S&P 500 1519.79 -1.59
NASDAQ 3192.03 -6.63
GOLD 1,605.10 -30.10
OIL 95.89 -1.42
TSE 300 12,686.63 -35.16
CDNX 1185.65 -10.91
S&P/TSX/60 727.65 -2.82
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +6 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -6 points at low today.
Dow +25 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,615.70.OIL opens at $95.82 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +25 points at low today so far.
Dow -61 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +25 points at low today.
Dow -61 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
HOMOSEXUALS.(SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS)
LEVITICUS 20:13
13 If a man also lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
LEVITICUS 18:22
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as with womankind: it is abomination.
2 TIMOTHY 3:3
3 Without natural affection,(HOMOSEXUALS) trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,(HARDENED SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERRS) nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
PSALMS 14:1
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
ROMANS 1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:(HOMOSEXUALITY,AND ALL SEX SINS)
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:(LESBIENS)
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,(SODOMITES) and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.(AIDS ETC)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
In Valentine vote, Illinois Senate approves gay marriage
By Joanne von Alroth | Reuters – 14 hrs ago FEB 14,13
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois state Senate
approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on Thursday in a
Valentine's Day vote spearheaded by Democrats, as gay couples around the
country used the romantic day to dramatize their quest for the right to
marry.The Illinois Senate, which is heavily Democratic, voted 34-21 largely along party lines to advance the measure to the House in President Barack Obama's home state. The fate of the bill in the state's lower chamber remains uncertain.Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has promised to sign any bill legalizing gay marriage,
which would make Illinois the 10th state to legalize same-sex nuptials,
in addition to the District of Columbia. It would also become the first
Midwestern state to approve same-sex marriage through legislation.
Iowa's Supreme Court legalized such marriages there in 2009."Full equality for all people is right for Illinois,"
Quinn said in a statement urging the House to approve the measure.Obama has encouraged the drive to legalize gay
marriage, authorizing a White House statement recently saying that if he
were still in the Illinois legislature, he would vote for it.
The Illinois drive to legalize gay marriage coincided with a national campaign by a coalition of gay rights groups to highlight the issue on Valentine's Day.As part of what they call "Freedom to Marry Week," same-sex couples will request marriage licenses in 18 places around the country, including a number of states where same sex-marriage is not legal."These laws are unjust and immoral, and we are confronting those laws head-on across the country," said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL, a gay rights group.
Democrats accounted for all but one of the votes supporting legalization of gay marriage in the Illinois Senate. Three Democrats voted against the bill and two voted "present."Republican Senator Jason Barickman brought audible gasps on the Senate floor and galleries when he said changes sponsors made earlier Thursday to guarantee religious liberty had persuaded him to support the bill.Barickman acknowledged afterward that his vote could cause a backlash in his largely conservative district, but he had no regrets. "I feel like I did the right thing," he said.Democratic Senator Bill Haine voted against the proposal and along with Democratic Representative Daniel Beiser has proposed amending the Illinois constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman."We are changing an institution that is revered or held sacred ... by thousands of people," Haine said.Although the Illinois House, like the state's Senate, is controlled by Democrats, the fate of the legislation in the lower chamber remains a question mark. It is unclear when representatives might take up the proposal.Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross said he was not sure whether the measure would gain Republican support. There also was concern that some black Democratic legislators from Chicago could oppose the measure because of pressure from African-American Christian pastors.Some black ministers have joined Illinois Catholic bishops in expressing strong opposition to legalization.The state's financial crisis is expected to dominate the legislature this year and some business groups have said lawmakers should focus solely on the state's fiscal mess.Three states approved same-sex marriage by referendum in the November election: Maryland, Maine and Washington. Rhode Island, the only state in New England that has not yet legalized same-sex marriage, moved a step closer last month with approval by its state House of Representatives, although it was expected to face an uphill battle in the state Senate.(Writing by Greg McCune; editing by Matthew Lewis, Cynthia Johnston, Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)
The Illinois drive to legalize gay marriage coincided with a national campaign by a coalition of gay rights groups to highlight the issue on Valentine's Day.As part of what they call "Freedom to Marry Week," same-sex couples will request marriage licenses in 18 places around the country, including a number of states where same sex-marriage is not legal."These laws are unjust and immoral, and we are confronting those laws head-on across the country," said Heather Cronk, managing director of GetEQUAL, a gay rights group.
Democrats accounted for all but one of the votes supporting legalization of gay marriage in the Illinois Senate. Three Democrats voted against the bill and two voted "present."Republican Senator Jason Barickman brought audible gasps on the Senate floor and galleries when he said changes sponsors made earlier Thursday to guarantee religious liberty had persuaded him to support the bill.Barickman acknowledged afterward that his vote could cause a backlash in his largely conservative district, but he had no regrets. "I feel like I did the right thing," he said.Democratic Senator Bill Haine voted against the proposal and along with Democratic Representative Daniel Beiser has proposed amending the Illinois constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman."We are changing an institution that is revered or held sacred ... by thousands of people," Haine said.Although the Illinois House, like the state's Senate, is controlled by Democrats, the fate of the legislation in the lower chamber remains a question mark. It is unclear when representatives might take up the proposal.Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross said he was not sure whether the measure would gain Republican support. There also was concern that some black Democratic legislators from Chicago could oppose the measure because of pressure from African-American Christian pastors.Some black ministers have joined Illinois Catholic bishops in expressing strong opposition to legalization.The state's financial crisis is expected to dominate the legislature this year and some business groups have said lawmakers should focus solely on the state's fiscal mess.Three states approved same-sex marriage by referendum in the November election: Maryland, Maine and Washington. Rhode Island, the only state in New England that has not yet legalized same-sex marriage, moved a step closer last month with approval by its state House of Representatives, although it was expected to face an uphill battle in the state Senate.(Writing by Greg McCune; editing by Matthew Lewis, Cynthia Johnston, Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)
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 FRI FEBRUARY 15,2013
09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +24.43
10:30 AM +7.43
11:00 AM +22.06
11:30 AM -6.68
12:00 PM -0.94
12:30 PM -24.42
01:00 PM -1.35
01:30 PM -0.46
02:00 PM +7.87
02:30 PM -58.62
03:00 PM -48.05
03:30 PM -25.16
04:00 PM +8.37 13,981.76
S&P 500 1519.79 -1.59
NASDAQ 3192.03 -6.63
GOLD 1,605.10 -30.10
OIL 95.89 -1.42
TSE 300 12,686.63 -35.16
CDNX 1185.65 -10.91
S&P/TSX/60 727.65 -2.82
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +6 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -6 points at low today.
Dow +25 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,615.70.OIL opens at $95.82 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +25 points at low today so far.
Dow -61 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +25 points at low today.
Dow -61 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
Exclusive: Turkey to Iran gold trade wiped out by new U.S. sanction
By Asli Kandemir | Reuters – 57 mins ago FEB 15,13
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Tighter U.S. sanctions are killing off Turkey's gold-for-gas trade with Iran and have stopped state-owned lender Halkbank from processing other nations' energy payments to the OPEC oil producer, bankers said on Friday.U.S. officials have sought to prevent Turkish gold exports, which indirectly pay Iran for its natural gas, from providing a financial lifeline to Tehran, largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions over its nuclear program.Turkey, Iran's biggest natural gas customer, has been
paying Iran for its imports with Turkish lira, because sanctions prevent
it from paying in dollars or euros.Iranians then use those lira, held in Halkbank
accounts, to buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth
millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for
foreign currency or shipped to Iran.Halkbank had also been processing a portion of India's payments for Iranian oil.A provision of U.S. sanctions, made law last summer and
implemented from February 6, effectively tightens control on sales of
precious metals to Iran and prevents Halkbank from processing oil
payments by other countries back to Tehran, bankers said."Halkbank can only accept payments for Turkish oil and
gas purchases and Iran is only allowed to buy food, medicine and
industrial products with that money," one senior Turkish banker told
Reuters."The gas for gold trade
is very difficult after the second round of sanctions. Iranians cannot
just withdraw the cash and buy whatever they want. They have to prove
what they are buying ... so gold exports will definitely fall," he said.Trade in Turkish gold
bars to Iran via Dubai was already drying up as banks and dealers
declined to buy the bullion to avoid sanctions risks associated with the
trade.Reuters first reported the boom in Turkish gold sales to Iran via Dubai last year.Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Cağlayan signaled a
decline in the trade last week when he said that, while Turkey would not
be swayed by U.S. pressure to halt gold exports to Iran, Tehran's
demand for the metal was expected to fall."You could say that the United States has achieved its
aim," said a western diplomat. "If Turkey is going to continue energy
imports from Iran, there is no other way to go than trading
sanction-free goods."
NEW ROUTES?
Washington says Tehran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons and has been trying to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
Turkish ministers had acknowledged the "gold-for-gas" trade but said it was carried out entirely by the private sector and was not subject to U.S. sanctions.Turkey like China, India and Japan is heavily dependent on imported energy and, while it has cut back on oil from Iran, has made clear it cannot simply stop buying Iranian oil and gas."With so many restrictions, Iran's cash may accumulate in Halkbank accounts... they may have difficulty getting some of that money out of Turkey," another senior Turkish banker said.That could mean Tehran will look elsewhere for allies willing to try to get round the U.S. sanctions, although it may struggle to continue to receive gold as a payment method."The gold trade may switch to countries that support Iran politically but Russian banks, for example, would be very cautious because they are very much in the global banking system," the second banker said."China may be another option. But I can say that the gold trade is over for Turkey."Turkey, which is not a major gold producer, was a net gold, jewelry and precious metals importer in 2011 but swung to being a net exporter last year. Analysts said Iranian demand had prompted both the high imports two years ago - which were largely sold on to Iran - and the surge in exports last year.Gold exports to Iran rose to $6.5 billion in 2012, more than ten times the level of 2011, while exports to the United Arab Emirates - much of it for onward shipment to Iran or conversion to hard currency - rose to $4.6 billion from $280 million.Overall Turkish bullion exports fell to 10.5 tonnes in December from 15.2 tonnes in November.(editing by Nick Tattersall and Richard Mably)
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)
NEW ROUTES?
Washington says Tehran is enriching uranium to levels that could be used in nuclear weapons and has been trying to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes.
Turkish ministers had acknowledged the "gold-for-gas" trade but said it was carried out entirely by the private sector and was not subject to U.S. sanctions.Turkey like China, India and Japan is heavily dependent on imported energy and, while it has cut back on oil from Iran, has made clear it cannot simply stop buying Iranian oil and gas."With so many restrictions, Iran's cash may accumulate in Halkbank accounts... they may have difficulty getting some of that money out of Turkey," another senior Turkish banker said.That could mean Tehran will look elsewhere for allies willing to try to get round the U.S. sanctions, although it may struggle to continue to receive gold as a payment method."The gold trade may switch to countries that support Iran politically but Russian banks, for example, would be very cautious because they are very much in the global banking system," the second banker said."China may be another option. But I can say that the gold trade is over for Turkey."Turkey, which is not a major gold producer, was a net gold, jewelry and precious metals importer in 2011 but swung to being a net exporter last year. Analysts said Iranian demand had prompted both the high imports two years ago - which were largely sold on to Iran - and the surge in exports last year.Gold exports to Iran rose to $6.5 billion in 2012, more than ten times the level of 2011, while exports to the United Arab Emirates - much of it for onward shipment to Iran or conversion to hard currency - rose to $4.6 billion from $280 million.Overall Turkish bullion exports fell to 10.5 tonnes in December from 15.2 tonnes in November.(editing by Nick Tattersall and Richard Mably)
Pope approves German lawyer to head embattled bank
– 1 hr 37 mins ago FEB 15,13
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has signed off on one of the last major appointments of his papacy, approving a German lawyer to head the Vatican's embattled bank.Ernst Von Freyberg has solid financial
and Catholic credentials as a member of the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta, an ancient chivalrous order drawn from European nobility.The appointment ends a nine-month search after the Institute of Religious Works ousted its previous president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, for incompetence. The ouster came just as the Vatican was submitting its finances to a review by a Council of Europe committee in a bid to join the list of financially transparent countries.The Vatican said Von Freyberg had been appointed by the bank's commission of cardinals and that the pope had "expressed his full consent."
Euro crisis 'not solved,' German bank supervisor says
Today @ 09:30 FEB 15,13 By Valentina Pop
BONN - Cheap loans from the European
Central Bank (ECB) might have calmed the euro crisis, but the
fundamental problems are still there: governments have too much debt and
no strategy to get out of it, Raimund Roeseler, executive director for
banking supervision in Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority
(BaFin), has said."The sovereign debt crisis is certainly not solved. The ECB pumped
more money into the system, but that doesn't make states automatically
more solvent," Roeseler told EUobserver in an interview in his office in
Bonn, the former German capital.The €1-trillion-worth of cheap loans handed out by the ECB last year
created "a lot of liquidity" on the banking market, but banks still
prefer to park their money overnight in the ECB rather than lend it to
each other due to lingering mistrust, he noted."The problem is not so much with the banks, but with the states.
There are still concerns about the solvency of states and what will
happen if a state gets in trouble," Roeseler said."The banks' situation is correlated: German banks having bought
German bonds are in a more fortunate situation than banks from some
other states. Solving the sovereign problem is the number one priority.
But my concern is that all this liquidity might relieve the pressure on
governments to do so," he added.One potential risk of the extra liquidity could be a new financial bubble, he warned:"An even greater risk is that there is still no exit strategy, about how to extract all this extra liquidity," he said."The ECB's cheap loans programme was a medicine that helped the
patient to recover. But it also creates addiction. We need a therapy
that cures the addiction without killing the patient," he added.
EU bank supervisor is 'second-best' option
Established in 2002, BaFin employs more than 2,000 people and deals not just with banking supervision, but also with insurance companies and financial services.It is currently giving "technical input" to "relevant working groups" on the new eurozone banking supervisor to be hosted by the ECB.Roeseler said it would have been better if the supervisor had been given powers over other financial sectors."It is certainly a second best solution to have a banking-only supervision at eurozone level, without including insurance and securities the way BaFin does," he said.He gave the example that if an insurance supervisor had given solo advice to insurance firms to reduce their bank exposure during the 2008 banking crisis, the banking sector would have been hit even worse."It's an important lesson: What we do in the banking supervisory authority has consequences on the other supervisory sectors and the other way around," he noted.BaFin's powers in Germany go as far as ordering a bank to fire a top manager, something the upcoming eurozone supervisor should also be able to do, Roeseler noted.He said the EU supervisor will above all need competent staff who are "able to understand the banks' business models."He added that even if regulators' salaries are not are not as high as those in the banks they supervise, many former investment bankers want to switch to "the good side."He noted that even the good guys need internal controls, however.He recalled an incident from the young days of BaFin when the head of the IT office was convicted of embezzling €4 million through fake invoices."We learned a lot from the fraud case, which happened in BaFin's very early days. We have a lot more internal controls now. But this can happen in any company, when someone has his mind set on defrauding," Roeseler said.Libor should be scrapped
Meanwhile, BaFin is currently probing Deutsche Bank for its alleged involvement in the so-called Libor affair, where a handful of traders from global banks rigged the British interbank lending rate used as a benchmark for at least $360 trillion worth of financial products."Banks have completely underestimated the incredible greed of the people involved, there were too few control mechanisms. In retrospect, it is not very surprising such interest rate manipulations took place," Roeseler said."I think the Libor system cannot survive in this formula, based on voluntarily reported interest rates which are not being negotiated. Maybe it should be scrapped, not reformed. If I was one of the 12 bankers having to volunteer in reporting how bad the real situation is, I might not have an incentive to do so," he added.Euribor, the key interest rate for eurozone banks, is based on a similar system to Libor.But as there are over 40 banks involved, "so it was more difficult to rig the rate," Roeseler said.Instead of Libor/Euribor, the German supervisor would prefer a different model, based on bonds with various maturities. But that is also a matter for politicians to decide.Double taxation row as Brussels unveils transactions levy
14.02.13 @ 19:20 By Benjamin Fox
BRUSSELS - The European Commission was
under fire Thursday (14 February) over claims that its planned tax on
financial transactions (FTT) would lead to double taxation.Unveiling the plans for an FTT backed by 11 EU countries, Taxation
Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said that it was a "fair, technically sound
and legally robust tax."The proposal puts a 0.1 percent levy on bonds and shares and 0.01
percent on derivative products. Measures have also been put in place to
prevent traders from circumventing the system by operating from outside
the EU-11.The use of an "issuance" principle as well as "residence" criteria
means that traders operating outside the FTT-11 would also be liable to
pay the tax."As long as you want to buy and sell European products you must pay
the tax," said an EU official. This raises the thorny issue of double
taxation.The new rules will mean that if a UK trader buys or sells with a
German institution, they will be hit with both the UK's domestic stamp
duty and as well as the FTT.Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation for the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants, accused the Commission of "deliberately seeking
to taint transactions and products so that non-FTT states may be
impacted by the tax."How it can be acceptable that some products and transactions will be subject to double or multiple taxation," he asked.Under the new regime, traders and institutions to be exempted would
also be required to prove that there was no financial link to a product
in the FTT-zone. All reimbursements would be on an ex-post basis.
Traders would also be expected to pay the levy at the point of
transaction.The levy will not apply to the European Central Bank, the ESM
bail-out fund, or any other EU institutions, while day-to-day bank
transactions and financial instruments relating to public debt or
re-financing are also unaffected.Meanwhile, countries outside the FTT-zone will still be required to
collect the tax revenues - arising because traders on their territory
did business with an FTT country - through EU legislation on
administrative cooperation on tax matters.Pressure for a tax on financial transactions based on the idea of
Nobel prize winning economist, James Tobin, grew following the financial
crisis amid public anger at multi-billion euro bailouts of financial
institutions.The commission says the FTT will reap between €30 to €35 billion per
year for the 11 countries. What will happen with the revenue is less
clear.At last week's budget summit EU leaders agreed to consider whether to
include the FTT as an "own resource" to the EU budget. But nothing has
yet been agreed.An EU official indicated that the disbursement of the cash would be decided by member states.The commission expressed confidence that the tax will not lead to
traders moving away from European financial markets, with a paper
accompanying the draft directive insisting that the EU-11 market was
"too big to be ignored".The EU executive also estimates that the legislation could lead to a
15 per cent decline in the trade of shares and bonds and a 75 per cent
reduction in the volume of derivative trading - widely regarded as the
most susceptible to risky trading.The legislation had already provoked criticism from the US Chamber of
Commerce, who warned in an open letter released on Thursday to the
Commission that the proposal amounted to "the unilateral imposition of a
global financial transaction tax".Commissioner Semeta played down any talk of a transatlantic rift,
noting that he would be "more than happy to discuss" any concerns.Meanwhile, Britain, with the most important financial centre in the
EU, congratulated itself on being outside the FTT zone. A government
spokesperson said the tax will "hit growth for the countries taking
part."An original proposal in 2011 for the FTT to include all 27 member
states failed to gather enough support forcing willing countries to push
ahead alone.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUGS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUGS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
UN warns risk of hepatitis E in S. Sudan grows
– 3 hrs ago FEB 15,13
GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says an outbreak of hepatitis E has killed 111 refugees in camps in South Sudan since July, and has become endemic in the region.U.N. refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards
says the influx of people to the camps from neighboring Sudan is
believed to be one of the factors in the rapid spread of the contagious,
life-threatening inflammatory viral disease of the liver.Edwards said Friday that the camps have been hit by 6,017 cases of
hepatitis E, which is spread through contaminated food and water.He says the largest number of cases and suspected cases is in the
Yusuf Batil camp in Upper Nile state, which houses 37,229 refugees
fleeing fighting between rebels and the Sudanese government.
Asda finds horse DNA in bolognese sauce, pulls products
Reuters – 16 hrs ago FEB 13,13
LONDON (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc's British supermarket arm, Asda, said on Thursday it had discovered horse DNA in its beef bolognese sauce and was withdrawing that product and three others from its stores."We have a preliminary test result that suggests the
presence of horse DNA in our 500g Beef Bolognese sauce. As you'd expect,
we have withdrawn this product from our shelves," Asda spokeswoman Jo
Newbould said. Asda has about 550 shops across the UK."We are taking a belt-and-braces approach so in
addition, as a precaution, we're also withdrawing three other beef-based
products produced by the same supplier," she said.The three other products
are beef broth soup, meat feast pasta sauce and chilli con carne soup.
Asda said it does not have positive test results for horse DNA in those
products. It said the products were made at the Irish food group
Greencore's plant in Bristol.Last month, Asda withdrew four burger products after
they were found to contain trace levels of horse DNA. The burgers were
supplied by Silvercrest, which had also sold Tesco and other grocers beef burgers containing horse meat.Separately on Thursday, Irish supplier Rangeland Foods
said it was withdrawing its frozen burger products after discovering
that some contained 5 percent to 30 percent horse meat. Rangeland
supplies frozen burgers to restaurants, pubs, caterers and fast food
chain Supermac's.The discovery of horsemeat in products supposed to
contain beef has rocked the food industry in Europe and Britain and
triggered investigations into Irish and Romanian suppliers that sell
products to major supermarkets.Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) said on Thursday
that six horses slaughtered in the UK that tested positive for the drug
phenylbutazone were exported to France and may have entered the human
food chain.The drug known as bute is a common anti-inflammatory
painkiller for sporting horses, but it is banned for animals intended
for eventual human consumption because of concerns that it poses a
health risk to humans.(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Some travelers kissed the ground when they walked off, others disembarked wearing the ship's white bath robes, part souvenir and part protection against a chilly night.With only one working elevator, it took several hours to get the more than 4,200 people off the ship, Carnival said. Passengers were greeted dockside with warm food, blankets and cell phones to call family and friends.About 100 buses waited to carry passengers on a seven-hour bus ride to Galveston, Texas, while others buses departed for shorter rides to New Orleans, as well as hotels in Mobile, before eventually flying home.The end of the saga, documented live on U.S. cable news stations, was another public relations disaster for cruise giant Carnival Corp. Last year, its Costa Concordia luxury liner grounded off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.Carnival officials said the Triumph, which entered service in 1999, would be towed to a Mobile repair facility for damage assessment.The 893-foot (272-metre) vessel was returning to Galveston from Cozumel, Mexico on the third day of a four-day cruise when an engine-room fire knocked out power and plumbing across most of the ship on Sunday.Passengers described a gut-wrenching stench on parts of the ship and complained to relatives and media by cellphone that toilets and drainpipes overflowed, soaking many cabins and interior passages in raw sewage."The stench was awful," said Robin Chandler, a 50-year-old from Dallas who spent her birthday on the ship. "A lot of people were crying and freaking out."Jacob Combs, an Austin, Texas-based sales executive with a healthcare and hospice company, praised the ship's crew."Just imagine the filth," said Combs, 30. "People were doing crazy things and going to the bathroom in sinks and showers. It was inhuman. The stewards would go in and clean it all up. They were constantly cleaning," he said.
APOLOGY
Facing criticism over the company's response, Carnival Cruise Lines Chief Executive Gerry Cahill boarded the ship to personally apologize to passengers."I know the conditions on board were very poor," he told reporters, sounding shaken in a brief media appearance before he boarded the ship. "I know it was difficult. I want to apologize for subjecting our guests to that," he said."We pride ourselves with providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this particular case," Cahill added.Operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of Carnival Corp, the ship left Galveston a week ago carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew. It was supposed to return on Monday.Some passengers said conditions deteriorated rapidly on the Triumph earlier in the week, saying people were getting sick and passengers had been told to use plastic "biohazard" bags as makeshift toilets."It wasn't a vacation anymore it was like survival mode. Eat what you can. Snack when you can. It was awful," said passenger Tammy Garcia.
Smoke from the engine fire was so thick that passengers on the lower decks in the rear of the ship had to be permanently evacuated and slept the rest of the voyage on the decks under sheets, passengers said.
COMPENSATION OFFER
Some passengers said they tried to pass the time playing cards and organizing Bible study groups and scavenger hunts for the children on board the ship.Cahill has issued several apologies and Carnival, the world's largest cruise company, said passengers will be reimbursed in full plus transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage, plus a payment of $500 a person to help compensate them.Chandler, the passenger, scoffed at the compensation offer. "There are lost wages, I've got a baby sitter at home and I had to take off work," she said.Some passengers said conditions improved on Thursday after a generator was delivered to the ship, providing power for a grill to cook hot food. Passengers said toilets began flushing again on Thursday and the ship served steaks and lobster - a relief after a steady diet of cold sandwiches of cucumber and cheese.Carnival Corp Chairman and CEO Micky Arison was criticized in January last year for failing to travel to Italy and take personal charge of the Costa Concordia crisis. The tragedy unleashed numerous lawsuits against his company.He has not publicly commented on the Triumph incident."I think they really are trying to do the right thing, but I don't think they have been able to communicate it effectively," said Marcia Horowitz, an executive who handles crisis management at Rubenstein Associates, a New York-based PR firm.Carnival Corp shares closed down 11 cents at $37.35 in trading on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.The Triumph is a Bahamian-flagged vessel and the Bahamas Maritime Authority will be the primary agency investigating the cause of its engine room fire.Earlier this month, Carnival repaired an electrical problem on one of the Triumph's alternators. The company said there was no evidence of any connection between the repair and the fire.
For all the passengers' grievances, they will likely find it difficult to sue the cruise operator for any damages, legal analysts said. Over the years, the cruise industry has put in place a legal structure that shields operators from big-money lawsuits.(Additional reporting by David Adams, Writing by Tom Brown and Kevin Gray; Editing by David Adams and Jon Boyle)
Weary passengers disembark crippled Carnival ship in Alabama
By Kaija Wilkinson | Reuters – 4 hrs ago FEB 15,13
MOBILE, Alabama
(Reuters) - Thousands of relieved passengers poured ashore from a
stinking cruise ship on Friday after five days adrift in the Gulf of
Mexico with overflowing toilets and stench filled cabins.
Exhausted passengers lined the ship's decks, waving
towels and flashlights, cheering and singing "Sweet Home Alabama" as
tug-boats pulled the stricken Carnival Triumph into the port of Mobile,
Alabama.Some travelers kissed the ground when they walked off, others disembarked wearing the ship's white bath robes, part souvenir and part protection against a chilly night.With only one working elevator, it took several hours to get the more than 4,200 people off the ship, Carnival said. Passengers were greeted dockside with warm food, blankets and cell phones to call family and friends.About 100 buses waited to carry passengers on a seven-hour bus ride to Galveston, Texas, while others buses departed for shorter rides to New Orleans, as well as hotels in Mobile, before eventually flying home.The end of the saga, documented live on U.S. cable news stations, was another public relations disaster for cruise giant Carnival Corp. Last year, its Costa Concordia luxury liner grounded off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.Carnival officials said the Triumph, which entered service in 1999, would be towed to a Mobile repair facility for damage assessment.The 893-foot (272-metre) vessel was returning to Galveston from Cozumel, Mexico on the third day of a four-day cruise when an engine-room fire knocked out power and plumbing across most of the ship on Sunday.Passengers described a gut-wrenching stench on parts of the ship and complained to relatives and media by cellphone that toilets and drainpipes overflowed, soaking many cabins and interior passages in raw sewage."The stench was awful," said Robin Chandler, a 50-year-old from Dallas who spent her birthday on the ship. "A lot of people were crying and freaking out."Jacob Combs, an Austin, Texas-based sales executive with a healthcare and hospice company, praised the ship's crew."Just imagine the filth," said Combs, 30. "People were doing crazy things and going to the bathroom in sinks and showers. It was inhuman. The stewards would go in and clean it all up. They were constantly cleaning," he said.
APOLOGY
Facing criticism over the company's response, Carnival Cruise Lines Chief Executive Gerry Cahill boarded the ship to personally apologize to passengers."I know the conditions on board were very poor," he told reporters, sounding shaken in a brief media appearance before he boarded the ship. "I know it was difficult. I want to apologize for subjecting our guests to that," he said."We pride ourselves with providing our guests with a great vacation experience and clearly we failed in this particular case," Cahill added.Operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, the flagship brand of Carnival Corp, the ship left Galveston a week ago carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew. It was supposed to return on Monday.Some passengers said conditions deteriorated rapidly on the Triumph earlier in the week, saying people were getting sick and passengers had been told to use plastic "biohazard" bags as makeshift toilets."It wasn't a vacation anymore it was like survival mode. Eat what you can. Snack when you can. It was awful," said passenger Tammy Garcia.
Smoke from the engine fire was so thick that passengers on the lower decks in the rear of the ship had to be permanently evacuated and slept the rest of the voyage on the decks under sheets, passengers said.
COMPENSATION OFFER
Some passengers said they tried to pass the time playing cards and organizing Bible study groups and scavenger hunts for the children on board the ship.Cahill has issued several apologies and Carnival, the world's largest cruise company, said passengers will be reimbursed in full plus transportation expenses, a future cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage, plus a payment of $500 a person to help compensate them.Chandler, the passenger, scoffed at the compensation offer. "There are lost wages, I've got a baby sitter at home and I had to take off work," she said.Some passengers said conditions improved on Thursday after a generator was delivered to the ship, providing power for a grill to cook hot food. Passengers said toilets began flushing again on Thursday and the ship served steaks and lobster - a relief after a steady diet of cold sandwiches of cucumber and cheese.Carnival Corp Chairman and CEO Micky Arison was criticized in January last year for failing to travel to Italy and take personal charge of the Costa Concordia crisis. The tragedy unleashed numerous lawsuits against his company.He has not publicly commented on the Triumph incident."I think they really are trying to do the right thing, but I don't think they have been able to communicate it effectively," said Marcia Horowitz, an executive who handles crisis management at Rubenstein Associates, a New York-based PR firm.Carnival Corp shares closed down 11 cents at $37.35 in trading on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.The Triumph is a Bahamian-flagged vessel and the Bahamas Maritime Authority will be the primary agency investigating the cause of its engine room fire.Earlier this month, Carnival repaired an electrical problem on one of the Triumph's alternators. The company said there was no evidence of any connection between the repair and the fire.
For all the passengers' grievances, they will likely find it difficult to sue the cruise operator for any damages, legal analysts said. Over the years, the cruise industry has put in place a legal structure that shields operators from big-money lawsuits.(Additional reporting by David Adams, Writing by Tom Brown and Kevin Gray; Editing by David Adams and Jon Boyle)
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)
Around 40,000 flee heavy fighting in east Syria: U.N.
Reuters – 3 hrs ago FEB 15,13
GENEVA (Reuters) - An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting between government troops and rebels, the United Nations food agency said.Rebels seized
al-Shaddadeh in Syria's oil-producing east on Thursday after the clashes
which killed 30 of their fighters and 100 Syrian government troops, a violence monitoring group told Reuters."A WFP
(World Food Programme) team visited the area and estimated that around
40,000 people have fled al-Shaddadeh to al-Hasakah city (the regional
capital)," the U.N. agency told journalists in Geneva on Friday.Northeastern Syria
was hit by four years of drought before the revolt against President
Bashar al-Assad started nearly two years ago, resulting in high rates of
malnutrition among children, WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.
"The fighting and displacement only aggravates the
misery of these people," she said, adding the agency had sent extra
rations to the area this week.Taking Shaddadeh brings the rebels closer to the provincial capital Hasakah, 45 km (30 miles) to the north in the surrounding Hasakah province.The fresh
displacement adds to an estimated 2.5 million people already uprooted
within Syria, many living in squalid conditions in schools and other
public buildings converted into shelters, according to the United Nations.(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Egypt seizes 2 tons of explosives headed to Sinai
By | Associated Press – 3 mins 4 secs ago FEB 15,13
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian security officials say they have seized two tons of explosives headed to the Sinai Peninsula.They say the explosives were seized Friday in the main Suez Canal transport tunnel Sinai to the rest of Egypt. The truck driver is being questioned.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.Lawlessness has been rife in Sinai since the ouster of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.In the past two years, Egypt's Interior Ministry has confiscated
hundreds of weapons smuggled from Libya. Officials say some of these
weapons are then moved into Gaza.Sinai's Islamist militants also have benefited from the deterioration
of security in the area and have begun to launch bolder attacks against
the police and military.
Palestinian rally for hunger striker turns violent
By | Associated Press – 38 mins ago FEB 15,13
JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Friday at a rally held in support of a prisoner observing an intermittent hunger strike to protest his incarceration.The Israeli military said about 200 Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers who responded with tear gas during the rally outside Ofer prison in the West Bank.The protesters called for the release of Samer Issawi, who has been on an on-again, off-again hunger strike for several months.Issawi, 35, was initially released in 2011 in a lopsided prisoner-exchange deal. One Israeli soldier was freed from captivity in Gaza in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were convicted of being involved in suicide bombings and other deadly attacks.Some prisoners, like Issawi, were released on condition of travel
limits. Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said he was
arrested after he violated the terms of his release.She said he was arrested for "terror activity" and sentenced to 26 years, but released in the 2011 prisoner swap after serving only six years.Issawi is under medical supervision and eats periodically, she said.The Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, Issa Qaraqe, said Issawi began his fast in August and has been observing it intermittently.
Qaraqe said Issawi had lost 35 kilograms (about 77 pounds), has kidney pain and has lost feeling in parts of the right side of his body.Issawi's sister, Shirin, said he has been on hunger strike for 206 days. She said he has only been drinking water since January. She said the prison takes her brother to an Israeli hospital for treatment.The prisoner issue is very emotional for Palestinians after decades of conflict with Israel. Palestinians generally view them as heroes, regardless of the reason for their imprisonment — even when their crimes have involved killing civilians.Palestinian prisoners have been using hunger strikes as a pressure tactic more often recently. Last year hundreds of Palestinian prisoners won multiple concessions from Israel after going on hunger strikes — some that lasted weeks.
KNOWLEGE AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
Qaraqe said Issawi had lost 35 kilograms (about 77 pounds), has kidney pain and has lost feeling in parts of the right side of his body.Issawi's sister, Shirin, said he has been on hunger strike for 206 days. She said he has only been drinking water since January. She said the prison takes her brother to an Israeli hospital for treatment.The prisoner issue is very emotional for Palestinians after decades of conflict with Israel. Palestinians generally view them as heroes, regardless of the reason for their imprisonment — even when their crimes have involved killing civilians.Palestinian prisoners have been using hunger strikes as a pressure tactic more often recently. Last year hundreds of Palestinian prisoners won multiple concessions from Israel after going on hunger strikes — some that lasted weeks.
KNOWLEGE AND WORLD TRAVEL (IMMIGRATION) INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION FROM FLEEING WARS) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
Chaotic influx of refugees to Lebanon stirs fears
By | Associated Press – 20 hrs ago FEB 15,13
BEIRUT (AP) — For many Lebanese, the massive, chaotic influx of Syrians
fleeing their country's civil war is evoking painful memories and real
fear. They say the refugees pose far too much of a burden on this
fragile nation still recovering from its own civil war — nearly a
quarter-century ago.According to the United Nations refugee agency, more than 265,000 Syrians are now in Lebanon,
a tiny country of 4.5 million with a dilapidated infrastructure which
routinely suffers widespread shortages of electricity and water. There
are more Syrian refugees in Lebanon than in any other country.Unlike in Jordan and Turkey, where authorities quickly established
border camps, the refugees here are scattered across the length of the
country, straining services in health, education and housing and pushing
up rent prices. That's causing friction with Lebanese, some of whom
resent the Syrians' presence and blame them for everything from rising
crime to traffic jams.
The issue is particularly sensitive because of Lebanon's long and complicated history with the tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled here with Israel's creation in 1948. Now numbering about 450,000, the overwhelmingly majority of Palestinians in Lebanon live in 12 refugee camps across the country.Following the 1967 Mideast war, some militant Palestinian groups began using Lebanese territory to launch attacks against not only Israel, but occasionally against the Lebanese army — actions that eventually helped ignite the country's 1975-1990 civil war.Nowadays, gunmen fighting the Syrian regime cross relatively freely across Lebanon's porous borders in some areas, with Lebanese authorities largely unable to control the flow or keep tabs on the whereabouts of rebels and other Syrians pouring into the country.Authorities say about 2,000 Syrian newcomers arrive every day, with the numbers expected to rise sharply if rebels enter the Syrian capital of Damascus, a 2½-hour drive from Beirut.A controversial new video circulating on social media sites and blogs urges the government to put a lid on the numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing to Lebanon "before it's too late.""Act before we become guests in our own country," warns the video, which has been viewed more than 15,000 times on YouTube.The video shows a white Lebanese map splashed with red stains marking areas where Palestinian refugees settled and multiplied since their arrival in 1948. "Will history repeat itself?" it asks.Complicating the refugee issue, Lebanon is also sharply divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, exacerbating sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunnis that have already spilled over into deadly street fighting. Assad and much of his inner circle belong to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the overwhelming majority of rebels fighting to topple him are Sunnis.Lebanon's population is divided between 18 sects, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druze, and every community is sensitive to anything that could tip the balance of power.Last month, a Christian minister in the Lebanese Cabinet suggested the huge influx of Syrian refugees, who like the Palestinians are mostly Sunni, was beginning to affect the country's traditions, culture and demographic makeup. He argued that the borders with Syria should be closed."Lebanon is not a garbage dump for the world's problems," Energy and Water minister Jibran Bassil said, suggesting the government should deport refugees back to their own country."You invite people to your home, you have an empty bed that sleeps one or two. Three others sleep on the floor, four on the roof, five in the garden. And then what? The house cannot take any more," he added.Critics were quick to jump on Bassil for those remarks, but his words resonated with many who resent the Syrian presence."We have suffered enough because of the Syrians," said Jamal, a shipping executive, referring to Syria's long dominance of the country's politics. He declined to give his full name because the issue is still sensitive in Lebanon, despite Syria's troop withdrawal from the country seven years ago.Syrian troops controlled Lebanon for three decades. They were forced to withdraw under international pressure following a Lebanese uprising triggered by the 2005 truck bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese blamed Syria for Hariri's death.Wael Abu Faour, minister for refugee affairs, said lack of Lebanese consensus over the refugee issue has led to some shortcomings in dealing with the arrivals.The Lebanese government, dominated by Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group backed by the Syrian regime, initially balked at establishing camps for the refugees. It was eager to avoid fostering an image of a humanitarian crisis from the Syrian civil war — not to mention a repeat of the Palestinian experience.Across the country and particularly in the impoverished northern city of Tripoli and eastern Bekaa region, many of the Syrians are staying in unfinished houses, construction sites, schools and sometimes even parking lots.Arsal, an impoverished Sunni town of 40,000, has had more than a 30 percent population increase because of refugees.Many Lebanese have accepted Syrian families into their homes. In Palestinian refugee camps, residents have built a camp within a refugee camp for their compatriots escaping the violence across the border.Reading rooms, offices, hallways and even bathrooms have been partitioned with makeshift walls, boards and even blankets as families try to carve out space to cook, eat and sleep.
A report by Doctors Without Borders issued last week said Syrians who seek safety in Lebanon do not receive anywhere near adequate levels of humanitarian assistance and are living in extremely precarious conditions.More than 50 percent of people surveyed by the organization are housed in substandard structures in inadequate collective shelters, farms, garages, unfinished buildings and old schools.
Mohammed Ghazaleh, 22, rejects the notion that Lebanese are xenophobic."That is not a racist approach, that is just simple mathematical sense," said the Lebanese mechanical engineer student studying in Austria. "Lebanon doesn't have enough drains for rain water. Lebanon doesn't have enough electricity for its own citizens. How can it possibly take half a million Syrians?"Fed up with the Lebanese complaints that the refugees were to blame for the country's ills, including inflation, street harassment and rising crime, a group of activists from the Beirut-based Anti-Racism Movement created a video urging the Lebanese to take responsibility for their own shortcomings."This morning on my way here, I was harassed by a man on the street. He had a Lebanese accent, he was not from Homs nor from Aleppo," says a woman activist on camera, referring to two cities in Syria. "Stop whining about the refugees, nobody's asking you to do anything for them," says another."The problem is not the refugees, the problem is us," the video concludes.
The issue is particularly sensitive because of Lebanon's long and complicated history with the tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled here with Israel's creation in 1948. Now numbering about 450,000, the overwhelmingly majority of Palestinians in Lebanon live in 12 refugee camps across the country.Following the 1967 Mideast war, some militant Palestinian groups began using Lebanese territory to launch attacks against not only Israel, but occasionally against the Lebanese army — actions that eventually helped ignite the country's 1975-1990 civil war.Nowadays, gunmen fighting the Syrian regime cross relatively freely across Lebanon's porous borders in some areas, with Lebanese authorities largely unable to control the flow or keep tabs on the whereabouts of rebels and other Syrians pouring into the country.Authorities say about 2,000 Syrian newcomers arrive every day, with the numbers expected to rise sharply if rebels enter the Syrian capital of Damascus, a 2½-hour drive from Beirut.A controversial new video circulating on social media sites and blogs urges the government to put a lid on the numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing to Lebanon "before it's too late.""Act before we become guests in our own country," warns the video, which has been viewed more than 15,000 times on YouTube.The video shows a white Lebanese map splashed with red stains marking areas where Palestinian refugees settled and multiplied since their arrival in 1948. "Will history repeat itself?" it asks.Complicating the refugee issue, Lebanon is also sharply divided between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, exacerbating sectarian tensions between Shiites and Sunnis that have already spilled over into deadly street fighting. Assad and much of his inner circle belong to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the overwhelming majority of rebels fighting to topple him are Sunnis.Lebanon's population is divided between 18 sects, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians and Druze, and every community is sensitive to anything that could tip the balance of power.Last month, a Christian minister in the Lebanese Cabinet suggested the huge influx of Syrian refugees, who like the Palestinians are mostly Sunni, was beginning to affect the country's traditions, culture and demographic makeup. He argued that the borders with Syria should be closed."Lebanon is not a garbage dump for the world's problems," Energy and Water minister Jibran Bassil said, suggesting the government should deport refugees back to their own country."You invite people to your home, you have an empty bed that sleeps one or two. Three others sleep on the floor, four on the roof, five in the garden. And then what? The house cannot take any more," he added.Critics were quick to jump on Bassil for those remarks, but his words resonated with many who resent the Syrian presence."We have suffered enough because of the Syrians," said Jamal, a shipping executive, referring to Syria's long dominance of the country's politics. He declined to give his full name because the issue is still sensitive in Lebanon, despite Syria's troop withdrawal from the country seven years ago.Syrian troops controlled Lebanon for three decades. They were forced to withdraw under international pressure following a Lebanese uprising triggered by the 2005 truck bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese blamed Syria for Hariri's death.Wael Abu Faour, minister for refugee affairs, said lack of Lebanese consensus over the refugee issue has led to some shortcomings in dealing with the arrivals.The Lebanese government, dominated by Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group backed by the Syrian regime, initially balked at establishing camps for the refugees. It was eager to avoid fostering an image of a humanitarian crisis from the Syrian civil war — not to mention a repeat of the Palestinian experience.Across the country and particularly in the impoverished northern city of Tripoli and eastern Bekaa region, many of the Syrians are staying in unfinished houses, construction sites, schools and sometimes even parking lots.Arsal, an impoverished Sunni town of 40,000, has had more than a 30 percent population increase because of refugees.Many Lebanese have accepted Syrian families into their homes. In Palestinian refugee camps, residents have built a camp within a refugee camp for their compatriots escaping the violence across the border.Reading rooms, offices, hallways and even bathrooms have been partitioned with makeshift walls, boards and even blankets as families try to carve out space to cook, eat and sleep.
A report by Doctors Without Borders issued last week said Syrians who seek safety in Lebanon do not receive anywhere near adequate levels of humanitarian assistance and are living in extremely precarious conditions.More than 50 percent of people surveyed by the organization are housed in substandard structures in inadequate collective shelters, farms, garages, unfinished buildings and old schools.
Mohammed Ghazaleh, 22, rejects the notion that Lebanese are xenophobic."That is not a racist approach, that is just simple mathematical sense," said the Lebanese mechanical engineer student studying in Austria. "Lebanon doesn't have enough drains for rain water. Lebanon doesn't have enough electricity for its own citizens. How can it possibly take half a million Syrians?"Fed up with the Lebanese complaints that the refugees were to blame for the country's ills, including inflation, street harassment and rising crime, a group of activists from the Beirut-based Anti-Racism Movement created a video urging the Lebanese to take responsibility for their own shortcomings."This morning on my way here, I was harassed by a man on the street. He had a Lebanese accent, he was not from Homs nor from Aleppo," says a woman activist on camera, referring to two cities in Syria. "Stop whining about the refugees, nobody's asking you to do anything for them," says another."The problem is not the refugees, the problem is us," the video concludes.
Afghan women march against violence
By | Associated Press – Thu, Feb 14, 2013
KABUL, Afghanistan
(AP) — Dozens of Afghan activists and supporters marked Valentine's Day
by marching in Kabul on Thursday to denounce violence against women
amid reports that domestic abuse is on the rise.Afghan women have made great strides in education and official
circles since the days under Taliban rule, when they had to wear
all-encompassing burqas and were not allowed to go to school or leave
their homes without a male relative as an escort. But they still face
widespread domestic violence, forced marriages and other problems."Violence against women has to be eliminated or at least reduced in
Afghanistan," rights activist Humaira Rasouli said after walking from
the landmark Darul Aman Palace just outside Kabul to an area in the city
near parliament. "Unfortunately ... the violence against women rate is
increasing day to day."Organizers said some 200 people, men and women, participated in the
march, which was planned by several Afghan rights groups as part of a
global domestic violence awareness campaign called One Billion Rising.Past protests supporting women's rights have been attacked by
hecklers and men throwing stones, and riot police with helmets and
shields stood guard on Thursday.Underscoring the security concerns, protesters had badges and the
public was not invited to join. But the march remained peaceful and many
women welcomed the support of men along the way."It was very successful because usually protests don't get so many people," said Manizha Wafeq, one of the organizers.In August 2009, Afghanistan enacted an Elimination of Violence
Against Women law that criminalized child marriage, selling and buying
women to settle disputes, assault and other acts of violence against
women.But a U.N. report issued late last year found that Afghan women still
face frequent abuse despite an increase in the prosecution of abusers.
Violence against women also remains largely under-reported because of
cultural taboos, social norms and religious beliefs in the conservative
Muslim society.Examples cited in the report included a woman strangled by her
husband because she gave birth to girls instead of boys and a
15-year-old girl who filed a complaint about repeated beatings by her
husband and father-in-law only to be told by prosecutors to withdraw it
or risk imprisonment herself.In July, some 50 women and men also took to the streets of Kabul to
protest the public killing of an Afghan woman accused of adultery. A
video of her gruesome, execution-style killing showed the woman being
shot multiple times in Parwan province, north of the Afghan capital, as
people stood nearby, smiling and cheering.The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights commission also recorded
more than 4,000 cases of violence against women from March 21 to Oct. 21
last year, but most were not reported to police.
"Women don't have a bright future and the government isn't doing enough to protect them," said Faryaa Hashimi, a 20-year-old student at the march. "We are calling on the international community and Afghan government to protect the women."__Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed to this report.
___Follow Kim Gamel at http://twitter.com/kimgamel
"Women don't have a bright future and the government isn't doing enough to protect them," said Faryaa Hashimi, a 20-year-old student at the march. "We are calling on the international community and Afghan government to protect the women."__Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed to this report.
___Follow Kim Gamel at http://twitter.com/kimgamel
Exclusive: North Korea tells China of preparations for fresh nuclear test
By Benjamin Kang Lim | Reuters – 1 hr 40 mins ago FEB15,13
BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea has told its key ally,
China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests
this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks
with Pyongyang, said a source with direct knowledge of the message.Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another
rocket launch, said the source who has direct access to the top levels
of government in both Beijing and Pyongyang.The isolated regime conducted its third nuclear test on
Tuesday, drawing global condemnation and a stern warning from the United
States that it was a threat and a provocation."It's all ready. A fourth and fifth nuclear test and a rocket
launch could be conducted soon, possibly this year," the source said,
adding that the fourth nuclear test would be much larger than the third
at an equivalent of 10 kilotons of TNT.
The tests will be undertaken, the source said, unless Washington holds talks with North Korea and abandons its policy of what Pyongyang sees as attempts at regime change.North Korea also reiterated its long-standing desire for the United States to sign a final peace agreement with it and establish diplomatic relations, he said. The North remains technically at war with both the United States and South Korea after the Korean war ended in 1953 with a truce.Initial estimates of this week's test from South Korea's military put its yield at the equivalent of 6-7 kilotons, although a final assessment of yield and what material was used in the explosion may be weeks away.North Korea's latest test, its third since 2006, prompted warnings from Washington and others that more sanctions would be imposed on the isolated state. The U.N. Security Council has only just tightened sanctions on Pyongyang after it launched a long-range rocket in December.The North is banned under U.N. sanctions from developing missile or nuclear technology after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.
North Korea worked to ready its nuclear test site, about 100 km (60 miles) from its border with China, throughout last year, according to commercially available satellite imagery. The images show that it may have already prepared for at least one more test, beyond Tuesday's subterranean explosion."Based on satellite imagery that showed there were the same activities in two tunnels, they have one tunnel left after the latest test," said Kune Y. Suh, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University in South Korea.
Analysis of satellite imagery released on Friday by specialist North Korea website 38North showed activity at a rocket site that appeared to indicate it was being prepared for an upcoming launch (http://38north.org/2013/02/tonghae021413/).
NORTH 'NOT AFRAID' OF SANCTIONS
President Barack Obama pledged after this week's nuclear test "to lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats" and diplomats at the U.N. Security Council have already started discussing potential new sanctions.The North has said the test this week was a reaction to what it said was "U.S. hostility" following its December rocket launch. Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at developing technology for an intercontinental ballistic missile."(North) Korea is not afraid of (further) sanctions," the source said. "It is confident agricultural and economic reforms will boost grain harvests this year, reducing its food reliance on China."North Korea's isolated and small economy has few links with the outside world apart from China, its major trading partner and sole influential diplomatic ally.China signed up for sanctions after the 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests and for a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in January to condemn the latest rocket launch. However, Beijing has stopped short of abandoning all support for Pyongyang.Sanctions have so far not discouraged North Korea from pursuing its nuclear ambitions, analysts said."It is like watching the same movie over and over again," said Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul."The idea that stronger sanctions make North Korea stop developing nuclear programs isn't effective in my view."The source with ties to Beijing and Pyongyang said China would again support U.N. sanctions. He declined to comment on what level of sanctions Beijing would be willing to endorse."When China supported U.N. sanctions ... (North) Korea angrily called China a puppet of the United States," he said. "There will be new sanctions which will be harsh. China is likely to agree to it," he said, without elaborating.He said however that Beijing would not cut food and fuel supplies to North Korea, a measure that it reportedly took after a previous nuclear test.He said North Korea's actions were a distraction for China's leadership, which was concerned the escalations could inflame public opinion in China and hasten military build-ups in the region.The source said that he saw little room for compromise under North Korea's youthful new leader, Kim Jong-un. The third Kim to rule North Korea is just 30 years old and took over from his father in December 2011.He appears to have followed his father, Kim Jong-il, in the "military first" strategy that has pushed North Korea ever closer to a workable nuclear missile at the expense of economic development."He is much tougher than his father," the source said.(Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Mark Bendeich)
The tests will be undertaken, the source said, unless Washington holds talks with North Korea and abandons its policy of what Pyongyang sees as attempts at regime change.North Korea also reiterated its long-standing desire for the United States to sign a final peace agreement with it and establish diplomatic relations, he said. The North remains technically at war with both the United States and South Korea after the Korean war ended in 1953 with a truce.Initial estimates of this week's test from South Korea's military put its yield at the equivalent of 6-7 kilotons, although a final assessment of yield and what material was used in the explosion may be weeks away.North Korea's latest test, its third since 2006, prompted warnings from Washington and others that more sanctions would be imposed on the isolated state. The U.N. Security Council has only just tightened sanctions on Pyongyang after it launched a long-range rocket in December.The North is banned under U.N. sanctions from developing missile or nuclear technology after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests.
North Korea worked to ready its nuclear test site, about 100 km (60 miles) from its border with China, throughout last year, according to commercially available satellite imagery. The images show that it may have already prepared for at least one more test, beyond Tuesday's subterranean explosion."Based on satellite imagery that showed there were the same activities in two tunnels, they have one tunnel left after the latest test," said Kune Y. Suh, a nuclear engineering professor at Seoul National University in South Korea.
Analysis of satellite imagery released on Friday by specialist North Korea website 38North showed activity at a rocket site that appeared to indicate it was being prepared for an upcoming launch (http://38north.org/2013/02/tonghae021413/).
NORTH 'NOT AFRAID' OF SANCTIONS
President Barack Obama pledged after this week's nuclear test "to lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats" and diplomats at the U.N. Security Council have already started discussing potential new sanctions.The North has said the test this week was a reaction to what it said was "U.S. hostility" following its December rocket launch. Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at developing technology for an intercontinental ballistic missile."(North) Korea is not afraid of (further) sanctions," the source said. "It is confident agricultural and economic reforms will boost grain harvests this year, reducing its food reliance on China."North Korea's isolated and small economy has few links with the outside world apart from China, its major trading partner and sole influential diplomatic ally.China signed up for sanctions after the 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests and for a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in January to condemn the latest rocket launch. However, Beijing has stopped short of abandoning all support for Pyongyang.Sanctions have so far not discouraged North Korea from pursuing its nuclear ambitions, analysts said."It is like watching the same movie over and over again," said Lee Woo-young, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul."The idea that stronger sanctions make North Korea stop developing nuclear programs isn't effective in my view."The source with ties to Beijing and Pyongyang said China would again support U.N. sanctions. He declined to comment on what level of sanctions Beijing would be willing to endorse."When China supported U.N. sanctions ... (North) Korea angrily called China a puppet of the United States," he said. "There will be new sanctions which will be harsh. China is likely to agree to it," he said, without elaborating.He said however that Beijing would not cut food and fuel supplies to North Korea, a measure that it reportedly took after a previous nuclear test.He said North Korea's actions were a distraction for China's leadership, which was concerned the escalations could inflame public opinion in China and hasten military build-ups in the region.The source said that he saw little room for compromise under North Korea's youthful new leader, Kim Jong-un. The third Kim to rule North Korea is just 30 years old and took over from his father in December 2011.He appears to have followed his father, Kim Jong-il, in the "military first" strategy that has pushed North Korea ever closer to a workable nuclear missile at the expense of economic development."He is much tougher than his father," the source said.(Writing by David Chance; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Mark Bendeich)
