KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
– 1 hr 0 mins ago MAY 16,13
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
By Marice Richter | Reuters – 7 mins ago MAY 16,13
TORNADO SEASON
The tornado season in the United States typically starts in the Gulf Coast states in the late winter, and then moves north with the warming weather, peaking around May and trailing off by July.Several deadly tornadoes have struck in recent years.In March 2012, at least 39 people were killed in a chain of tornadoes from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. The following month, at least six people were killed by a twister in an Oklahoma town during a weekend outbreak of dozens of twisters across the Great Plains.In May 2011, a massive tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and damaging or destroying 7,500 homes.On Thursday, the Hood County Sheriff Deeds said a "very big percentage" of the homes in Rancho Brazos were devastated. About 90 people were cleared from the area on buses to a school and then to relocation centers.In Granbury, Pastor Dean Porter of Lake Granbury Christian Temple told Dallas/Fort Worth ABC affiliate WFAA that looking out the front porch of his church at the parking lot he began to see "what looked to be a circular formation" and he ran back inside."This particular night is not like anything that I've ever seen," Porter told the station.Properties were damaged but no one was injured in nearby Parker County, bordering Hood County, Parker County Judge Mark Riley said.(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Paul Thomasch in New York; Writing by Scott Malone)
By Andrew Biraj | Reuters – 58 mins ago MAY 16,13
"It has now crossed over coastal areas and is a land depression over Bangladesh and adjoining areas of India and will gradually weaken further," Mohammad Shah Alam, the director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Reuters.Earlier, winds of up to 100 kph (60 mph) lashed the coast, whipping up big waves as the United Nations warned that 4.1 million people could be threatened.A Bangladeshi army official at an control center set up to help with relief work said six people had been killed.
Some media said the death toll was nine, with some of them killed by falling trees.About 50 people were injured, according to media reports.Bangladesh, where storms have in the past killed many thousands of people, has more than 1,400 cyclone-proof buildings and many people moved into them as Mahasen approached.
TIMBER AND PALM
But across its southeastern border in Myanmar, tens of thousands of people on the coast sheltered in camps and huts made of timber and palm fronds.In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed up to 140,000 people in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, south of the main city, Yangon.Myanmar's government had planned to move 38,000 internally displaced people by Tuesday from camps in Rakhine State in the west, most of the Rohingya Muslims who lost their homes in 2012 during violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingyas.Many had refused to relocate, afraid of the authorities' intentions, but they changed their minds after strong wind and rain on Wednesday night.At a camp near the state capital of Sittwe, a Reuters reporter saw Rohingya loading belongings into trucks provided by humanitarian groups, the U.N. refugee agency and the government.Barbara Manzi, a U.N. humanitarian official in Myanmar, said women and children were moving to shelters in a nearby village, while the men would stay at the camp.Myanmar is a mainly Buddhist country but about 5 percent of its 60 million people are Muslims, including the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship and considered by many Buddhists to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.They face a growing anti-Muslim campaign led by radical Buddhist monks. A Reuters Special Report found apartheid-like policies were segregating Muslims from Buddhists in Rakhine State.The storm killed at least seven people and displaced 3,881 in Sri Lanka this week as it tracked across the Bay of Bengal towards Bangladesh.
Meteorologists said mudslides could still be a danger as heavy rain spreads farther north and east on Thursday night and Friday into easternmost India and northern Myanmar.(Additional reporting by Jared Ferrie in SITTWE, Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul in DHAKA, Nazimuddin Shyamol in CHITAGONG; Writing by Robert Birsel)
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.
By Matthew Coutts | Daily Brew – 18 hours ago MAY 15,13
As
the investigation into the death of Ontario's Timothy Bosma proceeds,
we continue to see a more complete vision of Dellen Millard, the only
suspect to be named in Bosma’s abduction and death.We know he is the heir of a family-owned aviation company, that he
owns plots of land in the Waterloo area and that it is believed that he and another man test drove Bosma’s truck on the night he disappeared.Less is known is Bosma himself, the local family man who police say
was the target of an abduction that would launch a week-long search
across southern Ontario and end tragically when his remains were found,
burned beyond recognition, near Waterloo.But the small snippets of information the public has learned about
Timothy Bosma have painted a loving family man and churchgoer who worked
hard as a private contractor to provide for his wife and young
daughter.
Tim Bosma went missing while taking two men out on a road-test of his truck.They
paint a proud and respected citizen of Ancaster, Ont., near Hamilton,
who was so appreciated by his community that a grassroots search began
the moment he disappeared from his family home.What we know about Timothy Bosma helps us understand the hole his
death will leave in the hearts of many, from those that loved him to
those that are just now growing to know him.“Our faith in God is keeping us strong and has been getting us
through the last few days. We ask the community for continued support
and prayers,” his wife, Sharlene, said in a tearful plea for his safe return shortly after his disappearance.
“Tim is blonde and blue-eyed. When he gives a big smile, which he does frequently, he has dimples in his cheeks. He has a dimple in his chin, the same one our daughter has. He loves to tell jokes and if you ask his nieces and nephews, they’ll tell you what a huge pest uncle Timmy is.”Hamilton police confirmed on Tuesday that Bosma had been targeted. But we already knew that. We knew that police allege he was specifically contacted, through a phone number he had left in an online advertisement.Another man looking to sell a similar truck told police he believed he was similarly targeted the day before Bosma disappeared. The Hamilton Spectator reports that a suspect in his death already owned a Dodge Ram – an earlier model of the truck at the heart of Bosma’s disappearance.Perhaps it is more accurate to suggest police believe Bosma’s truck had been targeted, perhaps it is not. The investigation continues and one man in custody has been charged with first-degree murder.Dellen Millar plans to plead not guilty to the charge, his lawyer told reporters on Wednesday. He added that the full story has not come out. Police continue to search for at least two more suspects.Nothing in the 32-year-old father’s history has led police to believe he was connected to anything illegal. Bosma has no criminal record, and Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire said he has had no previous run-ins with authorities.He was a churchgoing man, whose family lived a short drive from Ancaster Christian Reformed Church, where he and Sharlene were married in 2010. The Toronto Star reports the congregation of 450 people played a large role in the search.The family frequently attended services at the church and it was the site of several prayer vigils during the search for Bosma. A little-used Facebook page includes a message offering support for the search efforts.According to CBC News, Bosma had attended Ancaster High School and, not wanting to stray too far from his family, chose to stay in the community when he began his own construction company.The things we know about Bosma help us understand, if only a little, the loss his death has brought to his community. Friends and neighbours have tried to make the public understand the extent to which the man was loved.It is hard to fathom the loss.Harder still to fathom how we would cope with such a loss in our own lives.(Photos courtesy CBC)
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/05/15/tim_bosma_murder_man_was_targeted_police_say.html
GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 TIMOTHY 1:9
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Lookout – Wed, May 15, 2013
Lawyers for Ariel Castro say he'll plead not guilty to charges of
kidnapping and raping three women while holding them captive for a
decade in his west Cleveland home."The initial portrayal by the media has been one of a 'monster' and
that's not the impression that I got when I talked to him for three
hours," Craig Weintraub, one of Castro's lawyers, told Cleveland's WKYC-TV late Tuesday.The 52-year-old is being held on an $8 million bond in Cuyahoga County Jail and is under a suicide watch."He doesn't have a television, doesn't have radio, doesn't have
magazines, no access to newspapers," Jaye Schlachet, another Castro
lawyer, said. "He's completely isolated from society."Castro is suspected of kidnapping Michelle Knight in 2002, Amanda
Berry in 2003 and Gina DeJesus in 2004, and then holding them captive in
his west Cleveland home. DNA tests confirm he fathered a daughter with
Berry in 2006."I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the
well-being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly,"
Schlachet said. "And if people find that to be a disconnect from what
he's alleged to have done, then the people will just have to deal with
it. We just know how he feels about his little girl."Castro's attorneys say that how he came into contact with the women
will be revealed "as the case progresses." And they say they may seek a
change of venue to get a fair trial."I know the media wants to jump to conclusions, and all the people in
the community want to say terrible things about the person who's
accused," Schlachet added. "We are not even at the beginning of the
process. If this was a marathon race, we're not even at the starting
line yet."
JOB 24:1-25 (WHAT NEW WORLD ORDER CONTROL FREAKS DO TO US)
1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
By | Associated Press – 32 mins ago MAY 16,13
The controversy partly is rooted in the patchwork oversight by federal agencies over the rapidly evolving realm of national political spending. In recent years, interest groups across the political spectrum have taken advantage of the tax code to set up tax-exempt organizations able to shield their donors' identities while scooping up millions of dollars in donations to pay for massive election-year media campaigns and voter information efforts.The IRS typically treats these nonprofit operations as "social welfare" groups, allowing them to raise unlimited amounts of donations and keep their donors' identities secret, as long as they show that they do not primarily engage in political activities.The 2012 national elections were dominated by free-spending political operations that blended the use of nonprofit advocacy groups with a separate new breed of "super" political action committees, or super PACs, spawned by a series of court cases, including the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.Good government groups and several Democratic senators, notably Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have pressed the IRS recently to look more skeptically at the nonprofits' internal operations, claiming some groups were far more politically active than they let on. But lawyers for tea party groups say many low-budget grass-roots conservative organizations ended up being swept up in IRS audits instead of the larger nonprofits.The most well-funded nonprofit tea party group targeted by the IRS appears to be the Tea Party Patriots, a Georgia-based organization that grew dramatically between 2009 and 2011. The group raised $706,000 in 2009, but revenues surged to $12.2 million in 2010 and $20.2 million in 2011, according to tax filings.The sources of the group's sudden largess are unknown because donors' identities remain secret under IRS rules.Alan Dye, an attorney for the Tea Party Patriots, said the IRS has been "very vague" about the rules governing social welfare organizations. "You shouldn't have to guess about the rules," said Dye, who represents six groups that fielded invasive questions from IRS agents.While some of his clients were asked and subsequently refused to reveal donors, he said groups have been most affected by the lengthy delays in IRS' processing. Standard tax-exempt applications generally take about a year to process, he said. The Tea Party Patriots has already been waiting 30 months for its approval.The Ohio Liberty Coalition first applied in June 2010 and had its tax-exempt status approved exactly one month and one day after Obama won re-election in 2012. While waiting, Zawistowski said, his and his wife's personal finances were audited."The question is, how do we stop this from happening again?" he said. "How do you stop the IRS from being used as a weapon against the American people? I don't know how you make a rule to do that."___Peoples reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Henry C. Jackson in Washington contributed to this report.
THESE RAINBOW SODOMITE GROUPERS TARGETTED.WHAT ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS-WERE TARGETTED FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS WHO POLLUTE GODS PROMISES WITH A RAINBOW.GOD PROMISES THE RAINBOW IS WHEN GOD WILL NEVER EVER TOTALLY DESTROY THE EARTH WITH WATER EVER AGAIN.NOT TO SAY THERE WON'T BE FLOODING IN THE WORLD.JUST THAT GOD WILL NEVER FLOOD THE WHOLE EARTH AND KILL EVERY ONE BY WATER AGAIN.THIS NEXT TIME WILL BE BY FIRE (NUKES OVIOUSLY).BUT NOT ALL-BUT ONLY HALF ON EARTH DIE FROM THE NUKE WARS.BUT THE SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS HAVE THE GALL TO USE THE RAINBOW IN THERE FLAG AND TO TRY TO POLLUTE GODS PROMISE TO US.SEE HOW SATAN PERVERTS TRUTH TO LIES.ITS A DISGRACE SODOMITES POLLUTE GODS RAINBOW PROMISE TO THE WHOLE EARTH.
Israel police ban Jews from Jerusalem holy site
– 1 hr 0 mins ago MAY 16,13
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police have temporarily barred Israeli Jews and tourists from entering the most hotly contested Jerusalem holy site after Palestinian demonstrations.Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the ban, announced Thursday, is a precaution.On Wednesday, violence erupted as the Palestinians held an annual day of mourning and protests over the displacement of Palestinians following Israel's creation in 1948. Police say Jewish worshippers inside the Old City were attacked during the unrest.Jews and Muslims revere hilltop the site, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque
was built above the ruins of the biblical Jewish Temples. The competing
claims are a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Rosenfeld said the site remains open for Muslims and will reopen for
others after security assessments. Palestinians see visits by Jews as a
provocation, and disturbances often erupt.
By David Lev-First Publish: 5/16/2013, 11:35 AM-Israelnationalnews
Police barred Jews from entering the Temple Mount on Thursday, after
Muslim groups threatened violence in the wake of a plan to bring Jewish
children to visit the site.
The plan, organized by groups encouraging Jewish visits to the Mount,
was meant to be an educational program that would demonstrate rituals
associated with the Temple, such as the bringing of bikurim ("First Fruits", the gift to the Temple brought on Shavuot).Over the past few days, chatter on Islamic web sites indicated that
the groups would be met by rioters. Instead of seeking to defuse the
situation or defend the groups of visiting children, police chose to
capitulate to the threats, and announced that they were closing the
Mount to all non-Moslems out of “concern for public safety.”The decision came only a little while before the tour was set to begin, at 8:30, and after dozens of children and their families – many coming from far distances – had already gathered at the Kotel.Groups sponsoring the visit strongly criticized the police for their
decision. In a statement, the groups said that the police decision was
“unfair, and gives a prize to violent attackers who threaten the victims
– simple, peaceful families whose only desire was to visit the Temple
[site] with their children and observe the special rituals of the
Shavuot holiday. We look forward to the day that Israel will have more
worthy security organizations, and to the day that police will
understand their role, and stop avoiding it,” the statement said.
Over Shavuot itself, the groups reported, hundreds of Jews were able to visit the Mount – but they were a small percentage of the thousands who sought to get in. Police severely limited Jewish access to the Mount, with visitors being allowed to enter only in small groups beginning on Tuesday, the day before Shavuot. In several instances, dozens of Muslims sat and blocked the entrance of the Mughrabi Gate, used by non-Muslims to ascend the Mount. Those Jews who did manage to run the Arab gauntlet – with little, if any, police assistance – were followed and harassed by Muslims, and verbally assaulted the entire time they were on the Mount.Police intervened only after a riot broke out – with their response to close the gates of the Mount to Jews altogether, evacuating the Jews who had managed to enter via a side exit.
By David Lev-First Publish: 5/16/2013, 3:17 PM-Israelnationalnews
Some 42,000 Israeli families are unable to make their monthly mortgage payments,
and are three or more months behind in their payments, a report
Thursday said. The report, in Yediot Achronot, was based on data issued
by the Bank of Israel.Even more, the report said that some 11,000 of those families are
considered as regularly behind in their payments, and are at least 18
months behind in their payments. Altogether, some 5% of all Israeli
mortgage holders are unable to pay their mortgages on time, the report
said.At that level, Israelis' mortgage payment
lateness ranks as the highest among all European economies. In Spain
and Belgium, 4% of families are chronically late with their payments,
while those numbers are a far smaller 1.7% in France, 0.9% in Britain,
and 0.8% in the Netherlands.Between 1,000 and 2,000 families are evicted from their homes each
year for non-payment of mortgages. Banks cannot inform mortgage holders
that they are in arrears until at least three, and in some case six,
months of non-payment. The process to evict is a lengthy one, with at
least three appeals built in.According to banks, many of the apartments and homes that are subject to foreclosure are in undesirable or peripheral areas, and in many cases the cost of seizing the property could outweigh the payments the bank
would have gotten. In most cases, a spokesperson for the banks said,
banks prefer to negotiate a new deal with mortgage holders.
– 1 hr 34 mins ago MAY 16,13
Police Bar Jews from Temple Mount As Muslims Threaten More Riots
Police
barred Jews from entering the Temple Mount after Muslim groups
threatened violence over a planned visit by Jewish children.
Visitors to Temple Mount-Yeshivat Ohr V'Yeshua
Over Shavuot itself, the groups reported, hundreds of Jews were able to visit the Mount – but they were a small percentage of the thousands who sought to get in. Police severely limited Jewish access to the Mount, with visitors being allowed to enter only in small groups beginning on Tuesday, the day before Shavuot. In several instances, dozens of Muslims sat and blocked the entrance of the Mughrabi Gate, used by non-Muslims to ascend the Mount. Those Jews who did manage to run the Arab gauntlet – with little, if any, police assistance – were followed and harassed by Muslims, and verbally assaulted the entire time they were on the Mount.Police intervened only after a riot broke out – with their response to close the gates of the Mount to Jews altogether, evacuating the Jews who had managed to enter via a side exit.
Report: 42,000 Families Can't Make Their Mortgages
Some 42,000 Israeli families are unable to make their monthly mortgage payments, a report said.
homes near Jerusalem-Flash 90
Iranian cleric: Women can't be president in Iran
– 1 hr 34 mins ago MAY 16,13
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A member of Iran's constitutional watchdog says women cannot be presidential candidates, effectively killing the longshot bids by about 30 women seeking to run in the June 14 election.
Even before Thursday's comments by Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, chances for a woman candidate in Iran's presidential election were considered nearly impossible.Iran's constitution uses a word denoting only a male president.The semiofficial Mehr news agency quotes Yazdi as saying the "law
does not approve" of a woman in Iran's highest elected office and that
this is "not allowed."Women, however, have been elected lawmakers and serve in the parliament.The Guardian Council, where Yazdi is a member, vets all candidates. A total of 686 people have registered to replace President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The final list will be announced next Tuesday.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
Tornadoes spin through Texas towns after dark, killing six
By Marice Richter | Reuters – 7 mins ago MAY 16,13
By Marice Richter
DALLAS (Reuters) - At least six people were killed and
100 injured when tornadoes ripped through north-central Texas after dark
and authorities said the death toll could rise as rescuers search
through the rubble of destroyed homes.At least three twisters were confirmed to have struck on Wednesday night, the deadliest tornadoes to hit the United States so far this year, destroying homes and uprooting trees.The worst damage was reported in Granbury, a town of 8,000 people about 35 miles southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth.Granbury Mayor Pro Tem Nin Hulett
told ABC News on Thursday that the top priority "is to try to get the
people that are out there in the community under a shelter somewhere"
and to account for the missing.Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said 14 people remained unaccounted for, as rescue workers searched houses."I've had information that people were found in homes,
they were hard hit, those homes. I've been told (they) were collapsed,
destroyed as they were probably hit by flying debris," Deeds told CNN.Hulett said authorities did expect to find people trapped in their homes.All six of the people confirmed killed were found in
Rancho Brazos, a neighborhood of around 110 mostly single family homes
on the fringe of Granbury that bore the brunt of the winds, Deeds said."Power lines were down, homes were heavily damaged to
destroyed and the roads were blocked with debris," Deeds said.Bulldozers were clearing roads so people could be moved out of their houses.Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar Mobile
Healthcare, an agency that provides ambulance service to the region,
said about 100 people were injured in the Granbury twister.There was no immediate estimate for the extent of
property damage, but Sheriff's Lieutenant Kathy Jividen said a number of
homes were destroyed and trees downed.TORNADO SEASON
The tornado season in the United States typically starts in the Gulf Coast states in the late winter, and then moves north with the warming weather, peaking around May and trailing off by July.Several deadly tornadoes have struck in recent years.In March 2012, at least 39 people were killed in a chain of tornadoes from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. The following month, at least six people were killed by a twister in an Oklahoma town during a weekend outbreak of dozens of twisters across the Great Plains.In May 2011, a massive tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and damaging or destroying 7,500 homes.On Thursday, the Hood County Sheriff Deeds said a "very big percentage" of the homes in Rancho Brazos were devastated. About 90 people were cleared from the area on buses to a school and then to relocation centers.In Granbury, Pastor Dean Porter of Lake Granbury Christian Temple told Dallas/Fort Worth ABC affiliate WFAA that looking out the front porch of his church at the parking lot he began to see "what looked to be a circular formation" and he ran back inside."This particular night is not like anything that I've ever seen," Porter told the station.Properties were damaged but no one was injured in nearby Parker County, bordering Hood County, Parker County Judge Mark Riley said.(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Paul Thomasch in New York; Writing by Scott Malone)
Cyclone Mahasen buffets Bangladesh coast, six dead
By Andrew Biraj | Reuters – 58 mins ago MAY 16,13
By Andrew Biraj
CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Cyclone Mahasen
buffeted Bangladesh's low-lying coast on Thursday, killing six people
after forcing many thousands into emergency shelters, but authorities
downgraded warnings later in the day as the storm lost strength.A storm surge did cause some flooding along the coast
at high tide and thousands of rickety huts were destroyed by torrential
rain and wind, but the devastation was not as bad as had been feared.Neighboring Myanmar,
where there were fears for the safety of many thousands of internally
displaced people living in camps, also appeared to have been largely
spared.
The storm was moving northeast, into northeastern India, as it lost strength, meteorological officials said."It has now crossed over coastal areas and is a land depression over Bangladesh and adjoining areas of India and will gradually weaken further," Mohammad Shah Alam, the director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Reuters.Earlier, winds of up to 100 kph (60 mph) lashed the coast, whipping up big waves as the United Nations warned that 4.1 million people could be threatened.A Bangladeshi army official at an control center set up to help with relief work said six people had been killed.
Some media said the death toll was nine, with some of them killed by falling trees.About 50 people were injured, according to media reports.Bangladesh, where storms have in the past killed many thousands of people, has more than 1,400 cyclone-proof buildings and many people moved into them as Mahasen approached.
TIMBER AND PALM
But across its southeastern border in Myanmar, tens of thousands of people on the coast sheltered in camps and huts made of timber and palm fronds.In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed up to 140,000 people in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, south of the main city, Yangon.Myanmar's government had planned to move 38,000 internally displaced people by Tuesday from camps in Rakhine State in the west, most of the Rohingya Muslims who lost their homes in 2012 during violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingyas.Many had refused to relocate, afraid of the authorities' intentions, but they changed their minds after strong wind and rain on Wednesday night.At a camp near the state capital of Sittwe, a Reuters reporter saw Rohingya loading belongings into trucks provided by humanitarian groups, the U.N. refugee agency and the government.Barbara Manzi, a U.N. humanitarian official in Myanmar, said women and children were moving to shelters in a nearby village, while the men would stay at the camp.Myanmar is a mainly Buddhist country but about 5 percent of its 60 million people are Muslims, including the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship and considered by many Buddhists to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.They face a growing anti-Muslim campaign led by radical Buddhist monks. A Reuters Special Report found apartheid-like policies were segregating Muslims from Buddhists in Rakhine State.The storm killed at least seven people and displaced 3,881 in Sri Lanka this week as it tracked across the Bay of Bengal towards Bangladesh.
Meteorologists said mudslides could still be a danger as heavy rain spreads farther north and east on Thursday night and Friday into easternmost India and northern Myanmar.(Additional reporting by Jared Ferrie in SITTWE, Serajul Quadir and Ruma Paul in DHAKA, Nazimuddin Shyamol in CHITAGONG; Writing by Robert Birsel)
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.
Green Valley Fire claims 55 buildings, 25% contained
Posted: May 15, 2013 11:24 PM EDT Updated: May 15, 2013 11:34 PM EDTDetails of Timothy Bosma paints picture of beloved family man, churchgoer
Tim Bosma went missing while taking two men out on a road-test of his truck.They
paint a proud and respected citizen of Ancaster, Ont., near Hamilton,
who was so appreciated by his community that a grassroots search began
the moment he disappeared from his family home.What we know about Timothy Bosma helps us understand the hole his
death will leave in the hearts of many, from those that loved him to
those that are just now growing to know him.“Our faith in God is keeping us strong and has been getting us
through the last few days. We ask the community for continued support
and prayers,” his wife, Sharlene, said in a tearful plea for his safe return shortly after his disappearance.“Tim is blonde and blue-eyed. When he gives a big smile, which he does frequently, he has dimples in his cheeks. He has a dimple in his chin, the same one our daughter has. He loves to tell jokes and if you ask his nieces and nephews, they’ll tell you what a huge pest uncle Timmy is.”Hamilton police confirmed on Tuesday that Bosma had been targeted. But we already knew that. We knew that police allege he was specifically contacted, through a phone number he had left in an online advertisement.Another man looking to sell a similar truck told police he believed he was similarly targeted the day before Bosma disappeared. The Hamilton Spectator reports that a suspect in his death already owned a Dodge Ram – an earlier model of the truck at the heart of Bosma’s disappearance.Perhaps it is more accurate to suggest police believe Bosma’s truck had been targeted, perhaps it is not. The investigation continues and one man in custody has been charged with first-degree murder.Dellen Millar plans to plead not guilty to the charge, his lawyer told reporters on Wednesday. He added that the full story has not come out. Police continue to search for at least two more suspects.Nothing in the 32-year-old father’s history has led police to believe he was connected to anything illegal. Bosma has no criminal record, and Hamilton Police Chief Glenn De Caire said he has had no previous run-ins with authorities.He was a churchgoing man, whose family lived a short drive from Ancaster Christian Reformed Church, where he and Sharlene were married in 2010. The Toronto Star reports the congregation of 450 people played a large role in the search.The family frequently attended services at the church and it was the site of several prayer vigils during the search for Bosma. A little-used Facebook page includes a message offering support for the search efforts.According to CBC News, Bosma had attended Ancaster High School and, not wanting to stray too far from his family, chose to stay in the community when he began his own construction company.The things we know about Bosma help us understand, if only a little, the loss his death has brought to his community. Friends and neighbours have tried to make the public understand the extent to which the man was loved.It is hard to fathom the loss.Harder still to fathom how we would cope with such a loss in our own lives.(Photos courtesy CBC)
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/05/15/tim_bosma_murder_man_was_targeted_police_say.html
GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 TIMOTHY 1:9
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;
Castro’s new legal team says he’ll plead not guilty
JOB 24:1-25 (WHAT NEW WORLD ORDER CONTROL FREAKS DO TO US)
1 Why, seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days?
2 Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
6 They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.
7 They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
10 They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;
11 Which make oil within their walls, and tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them.
13 They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
18 He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
20 The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.
21 He evil entreateth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow.
22 He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.
23 Though it be given him to be in safety, whereon he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.
25 And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?
Tea party groups call IRS process 'nightmare'
By | Associated Press – 32 mins ago MAY 16,13
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anger over President Barack Obama's policies drove businessman Tom Zawistowski to file paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service nearly three years ago to create the Ohio Liberty Coalition.His nonprofit organization
largely attracted conservatives who were new to politics but concerned
about the growth of government, fiscal issues and perceived threats to
Americans' constitutional protections. It eventually swelled to more
than 20,000 members, becoming one of the region's largest groups
affiliated with the national tea party movement that emerged in the early months of Obama's first term.
Over the next few years, the Ohio Liberty Coalition would raise
thousands of dollars to bus activists to rallies, run phone banks, rent a
tent at a local fair, and knock on roughly 40,000 doors across Ohio to
challenge the president and his fellow Democrats in the 2012 elections.All the while, the organization was locked in a battle with the
nation's tax enforcement agency over whether it should be granted
tax-exempt status."They expected me to turn over the names of our members to the IRS. You'd have to kill me to get me to do that," said Zawistowski, who was among the first tea party leaders to formally protest the agency's actions last year. "I wouldn't accept tyranny."It often takes a year for "social welfare organizations" to get
tax-exempt status, which requires them to prove they're not primarily
devoted to politics. But the IRS acknowledged last week that it
inappropriately applied heightened scrutiny to conservative groups even
though it's supposed to regulate the nation's tax laws without political
interference. The revelation drew criticism from Republicans and
Democrats, sparked a Justice Department investigation and prompted Obama
to call the allegations "outrageous" if true.The episode has pumped new energy into the tea party movement after a
disappointing 2012 election season and created a bipartisan political
headache for Obama at a critical time as he looks to get as much of his
agenda passed as possible before all the focus shifts to next year's
midterm congressional elections.Zawistowski's experience is not uncommon among tea party and conservative groups.As it did with other conservative groups, the IRS largely ignored
Zawistowski's application for a year and a half and then refused to
approve his nonprofit status unless he revealed the identity of the
group's members, times and location of group activities and printouts of
its website and Facebook pages, according to IRS correspondence
reviewed by The Associated Press.The IRS also requested "detailed contents of the speeches or forums,
names of the speakers or panels and their credentials" for all future
and past public events, according to one of the IRS letters."The intent of this was to hurt the ability of tea party groups
to function in an election year. They were successful to a degree,"
said Zawistowski, a 57-year-old businessman who had virtually no
political experience before joining the tea party movement. "It took an
enormous amount of time and energy for me to handle this."The IRS has refused to discuss individual cases, but it has
apologized for "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political
groups during the 2012 election to see whether they were violating their
tax-exempt status. The agency blamed low-level employees in a
Cincinnati office for targeting applications with words such as "tea
party" and "patriot." In January 2012, the criteria for additional
screening were updated to include references to the Constitution or the
Bill of Rights.In some cases, the IRS acknowledged, agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors.There is no definitive listing of the hundreds of tea party groups
that sprung up across the nation in the past four years, but an AP
analysis of 93 organizations that describe themselves as "tea party" or
"patriot" groups found that many, like Zawistowski's, appear to have
operated on small budgets.Just two dozen of those organizations raised more than $20,000 in a single year, according to tax returns submitted by tea party groups between 2009 and 2011.The Richmond Tea Party, based in Richmond, Va., began its application
for tax-exempt status in December 2009 but didn't receive the status
until July 2012, after more than two years had passed.The group's executive director, Laurence Nordvig, called the experience "like your worst audit nightmare.""I liken it to the movie 'Groundhog Day.' It's Groundhog Day every
day," he said, referring to the 1993 Bill Murray movie in which a man
relives the same day over and over. "Dealing with this was like dealing
with tax day every day for two and a half years. It was like a cloud
that hung over the organization."The controversy partly is rooted in the patchwork oversight by federal agencies over the rapidly evolving realm of national political spending. In recent years, interest groups across the political spectrum have taken advantage of the tax code to set up tax-exempt organizations able to shield their donors' identities while scooping up millions of dollars in donations to pay for massive election-year media campaigns and voter information efforts.The IRS typically treats these nonprofit operations as "social welfare" groups, allowing them to raise unlimited amounts of donations and keep their donors' identities secret, as long as they show that they do not primarily engage in political activities.The 2012 national elections were dominated by free-spending political operations that blended the use of nonprofit advocacy groups with a separate new breed of "super" political action committees, or super PACs, spawned by a series of court cases, including the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.Good government groups and several Democratic senators, notably Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have pressed the IRS recently to look more skeptically at the nonprofits' internal operations, claiming some groups were far more politically active than they let on. But lawyers for tea party groups say many low-budget grass-roots conservative organizations ended up being swept up in IRS audits instead of the larger nonprofits.The most well-funded nonprofit tea party group targeted by the IRS appears to be the Tea Party Patriots, a Georgia-based organization that grew dramatically between 2009 and 2011. The group raised $706,000 in 2009, but revenues surged to $12.2 million in 2010 and $20.2 million in 2011, according to tax filings.The sources of the group's sudden largess are unknown because donors' identities remain secret under IRS rules.Alan Dye, an attorney for the Tea Party Patriots, said the IRS has been "very vague" about the rules governing social welfare organizations. "You shouldn't have to guess about the rules," said Dye, who represents six groups that fielded invasive questions from IRS agents.While some of his clients were asked and subsequently refused to reveal donors, he said groups have been most affected by the lengthy delays in IRS' processing. Standard tax-exempt applications generally take about a year to process, he said. The Tea Party Patriots has already been waiting 30 months for its approval.The Ohio Liberty Coalition first applied in June 2010 and had its tax-exempt status approved exactly one month and one day after Obama won re-election in 2012. While waiting, Zawistowski said, his and his wife's personal finances were audited."The question is, how do we stop this from happening again?" he said. "How do you stop the IRS from being used as a weapon against the American people? I don't know how you make a rule to do that."___Peoples reported from Boston. Associated Press writer Henry C. Jackson in Washington contributed to this report.
THESE RAINBOW SODOMITE GROUPERS TARGETTED.WHAT ABOUT THE CHRISTIANS-WERE TARGETTED FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS WHO POLLUTE GODS PROMISES WITH A RAINBOW.GOD PROMISES THE RAINBOW IS WHEN GOD WILL NEVER EVER TOTALLY DESTROY THE EARTH WITH WATER EVER AGAIN.NOT TO SAY THERE WON'T BE FLOODING IN THE WORLD.JUST THAT GOD WILL NEVER FLOOD THE WHOLE EARTH AND KILL EVERY ONE BY WATER AGAIN.THIS NEXT TIME WILL BE BY FIRE (NUKES OVIOUSLY).BUT NOT ALL-BUT ONLY HALF ON EARTH DIE FROM THE NUKE WARS.BUT THE SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS HAVE THE GALL TO USE THE RAINBOW IN THERE FLAG AND TO TRY TO POLLUTE GODS PROMISE TO US.SEE HOW SATAN PERVERTS TRUTH TO LIES.ITS A DISGRACE SODOMITES POLLUTE GODS RAINBOW PROMISE TO THE WHOLE EARTH.
Targeted action requires a clear plan … LGBTI issues are no different
Today @ 16:37 MAY 16,13
By Evelyne Paradis and Silvan Agius
BRUSSELS - If you are a lesbian, gay,
bisexual, trans or intersex person (LGBTI) today in the European Union,
there is a 60 percent chance that you have experienced homophobia at
school because of your identity.There’s also a 25 percent chance that you have experienced violence,
and if so, it is very likely that you did not report it to any public
authority.These are just two of the figures already released from the largest
survey ever conducted on discrimination and violence faced by LGBTI
people, to be published by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency on Friday
(17 May).Through its work with LGBTI organisations across Europe, ILGA-Europe knows that this is only part of the picture.But we expect the FRA survey to shed some light on the extent to
which discrimination, stigmatisation and violence are part of the daily
reality of many LGBTI people still today.Given that this is truly a pan-European phenomenon, the question is: what is the EU doing to address these issues? Yes, the EU has introduced legal protection against sexual
orientation discrimination in the workplace … but that was 13 years ago.More recently, asylum laws and protection for victims of crime also
cover grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, while EU rights
commissioner Viviane Reding did repeatedly say that "homophobia has no
place in Europe."But is this enough? Can a slow, piecemeal approach eventually lead to full equality? Our response is simple: No, it cannot.Often, the European Commission is way too cautious in its responses
and does the bare minimum, presumably not to rock the boat too much.The commission has so far been very weak in its response to rising intolerance within some EU member states.Real social change requires proactivity, leadership and guided
action. Laws are essential to anchor rights and protection. But we all
know that they are not enough.A case in point comes from the Netherlands, a country where marriage
equality and equal adoption entitlements have been a reality for more
than 10 years. In spite of this, surveys show that many couples still
fear holding hands in public.
The EU can be a leading force for change, and not just by adopting laws, but also through political leadership and by making clear commitments to take positive measures to promote equality in practice.Indeed, recognising the need to address discrimination against LGBTI people through measures that go beyond the law, the governments of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom and some regions in Germany and Spain have adopted their own LGBTI equality action plans.Outside the EU, Albania, Croatia and Norway have also adopted similar action plans, while other European countries are expected to follow suit.For its part, the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is promoting the adoption of national equality action plans as one of the main drivers for greater LGBTI equality in society.The experience of those European countries that have adopted such equality action plans has been very positive.Equality action plans complement legislation oriented towards the tackling of discrimination in society, by empowering the LGBTI community and by raising awareness in society.They also lead to greater partnership between governmental institutions and LGBTI civil society and thus ensure that the needs of the community can be addressed better. Last year, the European Parliament published its own study on the need for an EU-level LGBTI "Roadmap" and the areas that it should address.It also went on to adopt multiple resolutions calling for the adoption of the Roadmap.Similarly, a growing number of member states are exerting pressure on the EU commission to adopt an LGBTI map and start a process towards the adoption of the much needed measures to guarantee equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people in the European Union.In view of the above, the fact that Reding continues to dismiss the idea of proposing a roadmap - as recently reported in EUobserver - is incomprehensible and unjustifiable.By saying that "it's much more important to have actions that count rather than coming up with a roadmap," she is denigrating the important role played by European Union strategies, including those regarding gender equality, the inclusion of people with disabilities and the integration of Roma communities.She is also sending the signal that achieving equality for some groups in society deserves stronger measures and clearer commitments than for others.With Reding, equality ministers from across the European Union, activists and equality experts gathering in the Hague on Thursday and Friday for a major conference coinciding with the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, ILGA-Europe hopes that she will pay attention to the data that will be presented to her, especially the outcomes of the Fundamental Rights Agency's LGBTI survey.We sincerely hope that she will hear their plight and seize the moment to show real leadership by finally announcing that the commission plans to adopt a strategy for LGBTI equality.Evelyne Paradis and Silvan Agius are activists in ILGA-Europe, a Brussels-based NGO
The EU can be a leading force for change, and not just by adopting laws, but also through political leadership and by making clear commitments to take positive measures to promote equality in practice.Indeed, recognising the need to address discrimination against LGBTI people through measures that go beyond the law, the governments of Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom and some regions in Germany and Spain have adopted their own LGBTI equality action plans.Outside the EU, Albania, Croatia and Norway have also adopted similar action plans, while other European countries are expected to follow suit.For its part, the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is promoting the adoption of national equality action plans as one of the main drivers for greater LGBTI equality in society.The experience of those European countries that have adopted such equality action plans has been very positive.Equality action plans complement legislation oriented towards the tackling of discrimination in society, by empowering the LGBTI community and by raising awareness in society.They also lead to greater partnership between governmental institutions and LGBTI civil society and thus ensure that the needs of the community can be addressed better. Last year, the European Parliament published its own study on the need for an EU-level LGBTI "Roadmap" and the areas that it should address.It also went on to adopt multiple resolutions calling for the adoption of the Roadmap.Similarly, a growing number of member states are exerting pressure on the EU commission to adopt an LGBTI map and start a process towards the adoption of the much needed measures to guarantee equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people in the European Union.In view of the above, the fact that Reding continues to dismiss the idea of proposing a roadmap - as recently reported in EUobserver - is incomprehensible and unjustifiable.By saying that "it's much more important to have actions that count rather than coming up with a roadmap," she is denigrating the important role played by European Union strategies, including those regarding gender equality, the inclusion of people with disabilities and the integration of Roma communities.She is also sending the signal that achieving equality for some groups in society deserves stronger measures and clearer commitments than for others.With Reding, equality ministers from across the European Union, activists and equality experts gathering in the Hague on Thursday and Friday for a major conference coinciding with the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, ILGA-Europe hopes that she will pay attention to the data that will be presented to her, especially the outcomes of the Fundamental Rights Agency's LGBTI survey.We sincerely hope that she will hear their plight and seize the moment to show real leadership by finally announcing that the commission plans to adopt a strategy for LGBTI equality.Evelyne Paradis and Silvan Agius are activists in ILGA-Europe, a Brussels-based NGO
