KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
By Maayana Miskin-First Publish: 6/28/2013, 4:44 PM-Israelnationalnews
Minister of Economics and Religious Affairs Naftali Bennett, head of
the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) party has been the center of controversy
in recent weeks, with some praising his success in passing new policies
while others criticize him over planned cuts to the yeshiva budget and
his party’s seeming inaction in the face of a construction freeze in Judea and Samaria.Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Bennett spoke of his feelings regarding the government’s first 100 days in power.“We’ve passed the reform to the cement industry that people tried to push forward for 50 years, but they were afraid to break the monopoly. We’ve opened the skies, we’ve opened religious services… This is a good government overall,” he declared.“It’s true that there is less building [in Judea and Samaria (Shomron)]. There is construction in Efrat, in Ariel and in other regions, but on the other hand there are no new building tenders.“We will not put up with this situation for long. We are working on it…. Some work is done quietly. Overall, I’m very happy with our achievements in a short time,” he said.Bennett brought the focus back to the economy. “What bothers me each
day is that there are people here living off of 6,600 shekels a month
and less. It’s unacceptable, it’s anti-Zionist. How can it be that you
have a normal couple, with both working, and they’re suffocating?” he asked.“An after-school activity and a computer for a child is not a luxury,” he added.Returning to the subject of Judea and Samaria, he said, “When I was
the director-general of the Yesha Council I only had Judea and Samaria
to worry about. I don’t have that privilege anymore. We can’t think only
about that.”“On the other hand,” he added, “we’re the ones who must think about it, because nobody else will.”Regarding cuts to the yeshiva budget, Bennett said that the budget
cuts would not be nearly as drastic as was initially thought. “The cuts
will be like those elsewhere, two to three percent of the budget, no
more,” he said.
By Maayana Miskin-First Publish: 6/28/2013, 12:47 PM-Israelnationalnews
A Hollywood blockbuster depicting a worldwide zombie apocalypse has become yet more fuel for the fire in the
debate on Israel. According to many PA supporters, the film’s depiction
of Israel as one of the few countries on earth not immediately
overwhelmed by zombies indicates a clear pro-Israel bias.The movie stars actor Brad Pitt as a United Nations employee, Gerry Lane, who joins in the fight against a major zombie pandemic that has killed most of the world’s population.Pro-PA viewers were particularly upset by a scene showing zombie
hordes being slowed by a massive wall around Israel. They pointed out
that the scene appears to justify the Judea and Samaria security
barrier."In World War Z, Israel's apartheid wall apparently helps keep out a massive horde of zombies... not cool," one upset Twitter user said.Other viewers, however, interpreted the depiction of the barrier as
ironic commentary. Israel’s real Judea and Samaria separation barrier
was built to prevent Palestinian Authority resident suicide bombers from
reaching Israeli cities, but in the film both Israeli Jews and PA
Muslims take shelter behind the wall.They pointed out that the film does not necessarily portray the anti-zombie barrier as helpful to Israel's defense.It should be noted that Israel’s current security barrier is in most places a fence rather than a wall, and is not always effective in keeping out illegal entrants. The portions that are made of a concrete wall are significantly shorter and weaker than the barrier depicted in the movie, and would probably not prove a significant obstacle to World War Z’s superfast zombies.
By Elad Benari-First Publish: 6/28/2013, 5:45 AM-Israelnationalnews
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
By | Associated Press – 2 hours 28 minutes ago JUNE 28,13
PHOENIX (AP) -- Tigers at the Phoenix Zoo are getting frozen fish snacks. Temporary cooling stations are popping up to welcome the homeless and elderly. And airlines are monitoring the soaring temperatures to make sure it's safe to fly as the western U.S. falls into the grips of a dangerous heat wave. A strong high-pressure system settling over the region Friday and through the weekend will bring extreme temperatures even to the typically blazing Southwest. Notoriously hot Death Valley in California is forecast to reach 129 degrees, not far off the world-record high of 134 logged there exactly one century ago.
The National Weather Service is calling for 118 in Phoenix, and 117 in Las Vegas on Sunday — a mark reached only twice in Sin City. Temperatures are expected to soar even as far north as Reno, Nev., across Utah and into parts of Wyoming and Idaho, where forecasters are calling for triple-digit heat in the Boise area through the weekend. Cities in Washington state better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s early next week, while northern Utah — marketed as having "the greatest snow on Earth" — is expected to hit triple digits. In Albuquerque, N.M., the mercury hit 105 on Thursday afternoon, the hottest it has been in the state's most populous city in 19 years. "This is the hottest time of the year but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top. We'll be at or above record levels in the Phoenix area and throughout a lot of the southwestern United States," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark O'Malley. "It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire West." Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center based in Idaho, said crews are especially worried about wildfires igniting in the Four Corners region where the borders of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona intersect. Some of the strongest parts of the high pressure system are expected to be parked over the area through the weekend, where forecasters are calling for lightning but little to no precipitation, Smith said.The hottest cities are taking precautions to protect vulnerable residents. Police are pleading with drivers not to leave children or pets in vehicles, and temporary cooling stations are being put up to shelter homeless people and the elderly on fixed incomes who hesitate to use air conditioning.Officials said extra personnel have been added to the U.S. Border Patrol's Search, Trauma, and Rescue unit as people illegally crossing the border from Mexico into Arizona could succumb to exhaustion and dehydration. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the desert's brutal heat.Even airlines are watching the mercury for any signs that temperatures could deter operations. In June 1990, when Phoenix hit 122 degrees, several airlines, including America West, which later merged with US Airways, were forced to cease flights for several hours because the planes didn't have the data needed to know how they would fly in temperatures above 120 degrees. US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said the airline's fleet of Boeings can now fly up to 126 degrees, and up to 127 degrees for the Airbus fleet.
But the company's smaller express planes flying out of the Phoenix area may be delayed if the temperature tops 118 because as the air heats up, it becomes less dense and changes liftoff conditions. "The hotter is it, your performance is degraded," Lehmacher said. "We're monitoring this very closely to see what the temperatures do."Officials at Salt River Project, the Phoenix area's largest electricity provider, also are closely monitoring usage in order to redirect energy in case of a potential overload.Company spokeswoman Scott Harelson said he doesn't expect usage to get anywhere near SRP's record 6,663 megawatts consumed in August 2011."While it's hot, people tend to leave town and some businesses aren't open, so that has a tendency to mitigate demand and is why we typically don't set records on weekends," Harelson said.
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)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Children walk across the U.S.-Mexico border
with crystal methamphetamine strapped to their backs or concealed
between notebook pages. Motorists disguise liquid meth in tequila
bottles, windshield washer containers and gas tanks.The smuggling
of the drug at land border crossings has jumped in recent years but
especially at San Diego's San Ysidro port of entry, which accounted for
more than 40 percent of seizures in fiscal year 2012. That's more than
three times the second-highest — five miles east — and more than five
times the third-highest, in Nogales, Ariz.The spike reflects a
shift in production to Mexico after a U.S. crackdown on domestic labs
and the Sinaloa cartel's new hold on the prized Tijuana-San Diego
smuggling corridor.A turf war that gripped Tijuana a few years
ago with beheadings and daytime shootouts ended with the cartel coming
out on top. The drugs, meanwhile, continue flowing through San Ysidro,
the Western hemisphere's busiest land border crossing with an average of
40,000 cars and 25,000 pedestrians entering daily."This is the
gem for traffickers," said Gary Hill, assistant special agent in charge
of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego. "It's the
greatest place for these guys to cross because there are so many
opportunities."
Customs and Border Protection officers seized 5,566 pounds of methamphetamine at San Ysidro in the 2012 fiscal year, more than double two years earlier, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit. On the entire border, inspectors seized 13,195 pounds, also more than double.From October 2012 through March, seizures totaled 2,169 pounds at San Ysidro and 1,730 pounds at Otay Mesa, giving San Diego 61 percent of the 6,364 pounds seized at Mexican border crossings. Much of the rest was found in Laredo, Texas; Nogales; and Calexico, Calif.San Ysidro — unlike other busy border crossings — blends into a sprawl of 18 million people that includes Los Angeles, one of the nation's top distribution hubs. By contrast, El Paso is more than 600 miles from Dallas on a lonely highway with Border Patrol checkpoints.Rush-hour comes weekday mornings, with thousands of motorists clogging Tijuana streets to approach 24 U.S.-bound inspection lanes on their way to school or work. Vendors weave between cars, hawking cappuccinos, burritos, newspapers and trinkets.A $732 million expansion that has created even longer delays may offer an extra incentive for smugglers who bet that inspectors will move people quickly to avoid criticism for hampering commerce and travel, said Joe Garcia, assistant special agent in charge of ICE investigations in San Diego.Children are caught with methamphetamine strapped to their bodies several times a week — an "alarming increase," according to Garcia. They are typically paid $50 to $200 for each trip, carrying 3 pounds on average.Drivers, who collect up to $2,000 per trip, conceal methamphetamine in bumpers, batteries, radiators and almost any other crevice imaginable. Packaging is smothered with mustard, baby powder and laundry detergent to fool drug-sniffing dogs.Crystals are increasingly dissolved in water, especially during the last year, making the drug more difficult to detect in giant X-ray scanners that inspectors order some motorists to drive through. The water is later boiled and often mixed with acetone, a combustible fluid used in paints that yields clear shards of methamphetamine favored by users. The drug often remains in liquid form until reaching its final distribution hub.The government has expanded X-ray inspections of cars at the border in recent years, but increased production in Mexico and the Sinaloa cartel's presence are driving the seizures, Garcia said. "This is a new corridor for them," he said.The U.S. government shut large methamphetamine labs during the last decade as it introduced sharp limits on chemicals used to make the drug, causing production to shift to Mexico.The U.S. State Department said in March that the Mexican government seized 958 labs under former President Felipe Calderon from 2006 to 2012, compared with 145 under the previous administration. Mexico seized 267 labs last year, up from 227 in 2011.As production moved to central Mexico, the Sinaloa cartel found opportunity in Tijuana in 2008 when it backed a breakaway faction of the Arellano Felix clan, named for a family that controlled the border smuggling route for two decades. Sinaloa, led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, had long dominated nearby in eastern California and Arizona.Tijuana registered 844 murders in 2008 in a turf war that horrified residents with castrated bodies hanging from bridges. After the Sinaloa cartel prevailed, the Mexican border city of more than 2 million people returned to relative calm, with 332 murders last year and almost no public displays of brutality.Alfonzo "Achilles" Arzate and his younger brother Rene, known as "The Frog," have emerged as top Sinaloa operatives in Tijuana — the former known as the brains and the latter as the brawn. The elder Arzate has been mentioned on wire intercepts for drug deals as far as Chicago, Hill said.He appears to have gained favor with the Sinaloa cartel brass after another cartel operative raided one of his warehouses in October 2010, leading to a shootout and the government seizing 134 tons of marijuana.
Methamphetamine has also turned into a scourge throughout Tijuana, becoming the most common drug offense for dealers and consumers in the last five years, said Miguel Angel Guerrero, coordinator of the Baja California state attorney general's organized crime unit."It has increased a lot in the city because it's cheaper than cocaine, even cheaper than marijuana," he said.Disputes among street dealers lead to spurts of violence in Tijuana, said Guerrero, including April's murder tally of 56 bodies. But the killings pale in numbers and brutality compared to the dark days of 2008 and 2009. While president, Calderon hailed Tijuana as a success story in his war on cartels."The Sinaloa cartel, their presence here has been strong enough to the point that no one is pushing back," said the DEA's Hill. "They just simply want to focus on making money and moving the dope across."
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
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 evening tide 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)
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican official has been arrested by
Italian police for allegedly trying to illegally bring 20 million euros
($26 million) in cash into the country from Switzerland with a private
jet.
Prosecutor Nello Rossi says Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is accused of corruption and slander stemming from the plot and was being held at a Rome prison.He was allegedly asked by friends to bring back the money that had been given to financier Giovanni Carenzio in Switzerland. Scarano is supposed to have asked Giovanni Zito, a military official, to bring the money back by jet, avoiding customs.Scarano was allegedly due to pay Zito a commission of 600,000 euros for the work. He paid only an initial installment of 400,000 euros before being arrested.
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shuttled
between Israelis and Palestinians Friday in his latest diplomatic
mission to coax the two sides back to the negotiating table and revive
the Mideast peace process.Kerry returned to Jerusalem for second
visit in less than 24 hours after a 2½-hour meeting with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan, Kerry's base of operations
during his stop in the Middle East.That followed a lengthy dinner
meeting Thursday night in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. The goal is to restart talks on finding a two-state
solution to the conflict.
Kerry, who's on a two-week swing through the Middle East and Asia, met with Abbas in a diplomatic area of the Jordanian capital."It's good to be back and I look forward to our conversation. We have a lot to talk about, obviously, as you know," Kerry told Abbas.As reporters and photographers were ushered out of the meeting, Kerry turned to Abbas and said: "We had a good long meeting." It was an apparent reference to his meeting with Netanyahu the night before. "We're going back."The State Department said Kerry and Abbas had a "very constructive discussion" focused on advancing the peace process, and that Iran and Syria also came up.After the first Netanyahu session, the department said the two had a "productive, in-depth and wide-ranging conversation" and that Kerry reiterated his commitment to working with all parties to achieve a two-state solution.State Department officials say Kerry will continue to try to find common ground between the two sides that would lead to a resumption of negotiations. On this trip, Kerry is trying to pin down precisely what conditions Abbas and Netanyahu have for resuming talks and perhaps discuss confidence-building measures.
Bennett Defends his Record: This is a Good Government
Naftali Bennett stands up to critics on Judea and Samaria building, Torah studies. ‘We’ve done what nobody else could do.’
Naftali Bennett-Israel news photo: Flash 90
Outrage over ‘Pro-Israel’ Zombie Apocalypse Film
Many critics of Israel are disappointed by ‘World War Z’ as it shows the IDF fighting off zombie hordes.
Security barrier near Jerusalem-Shimon Cohen
Amnesty International Calls for Campaign Against Gaza Executions
Amnesty calls on the public to mail Gaza’s Hamas rulers and protest the hanging of two local men.
Hamas terrorists in Gaza-Flash 90
Amnesty International
on Thursday called on the public to mail Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers
in order to protest the hanging of two local men and to appeal against
other executions, AFP reported.Hamas hanged the two men accused of collaborating with Israel on Saturday.Last Thursday, a military court in Gaza sentenced a Palestinian Authority Arab man found guilty of the same charge to death.It was the fifth such sentence handed down by the coastal enclave's authorities since the beginning of the year.The London-based rights organization called on
people to "write immediately in Arabic or your own language condemning
the executions... as applications of the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman
and degrading punishment," in a statement published Thursday and quoted
by AFP.It asked people to urge Gaza security and justice
officials "to ensure that death sentences against... any others
sentenced to death are commuted or overturned."In March, Hamas said it had a list of collaborators but offered a one-month amnesty for informers to give themselves up in return for leniency.The terror group announced in April that it had begun arresting suspected collaborators with Israel following the amnesty period and indicated that the campaign had been “a success.” Approximately two weeks after the amnesty campaign was announced, Hamas sentenced a man to death by strangulation after he was convicted of providing information to “hostile elements” in Israel.The Hamas government executed three men in April 2012 after they were accused of "collaborating" with Israel.
Under Palestinian Authority law, collaboration with
Israel, murder and drug trafficking are all punishable by death. All
execution orders must be approved by the PA chairman before they can be
carried out, but Hamas no longer recognizes the legitimacy of Mahmoud
Abbas, whose four-year term ended in 2009.
06/28/2013 VATICAN INSIDER
Vatican prelate arrested as part of IOR inquiry
The IOR headquarters
Nunzio Serrano, who served in the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, has been arrested after he apparently helped friends bring 20 million Euros into Italy. Vatican spokesman Lombardi says the Vatican is prepared to cooperate with the judiciary
ANDREA TORNIELLI vatican city
Less than forty eight hours after it was
announced that Francis had ordered the setting up of a commission to
inquire into the activities of the IOR, the Vatican bank has come under
the media spotlight again, following the arrest of Italian monsignor
Nunzio Scarano, who had been working for APSA (the Administration of the
Patrimony of the Apostolic See). Two others were arrested as well:
Italian policeman Giovanni Maria Zito, who was dismissed from the
Italian secret services three months ago and broker Giovanni Carenzio.
They are accused of corruption, slander and fraud. The arrest was made
as part of the inquiry that is being carried out by the Public
Prosecutor’s Office in Rome, into the activities of the IOR. Public
Prosecutors Nello Rossi and Stefano Fava have been leading the three
year investigation into the violation of anti-money laundering
regulations by the IOR’s director general Paolo Cipriani and deputy
director Massimo Tulli.Mgr. Scarano, a former banker who became a priest
27 years ago, apparently agreed to pay 400 thousand Euros to have 20
million Euros in cash brought into Italy on a private jet. According to
Scarano’s lawyer, the money was in fact transported on a
State-authorised flight and the prelate only acted as a go-between. The
money belonged to one of his friend’s families. But the monsignor was
also placed under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of his
home city, Salerno, last 13 June, on charges of money-laundering. The
investigation is being led by Public Prosecutor Elena Guarino and
looking into the illegal transaction of money via cheques worth 10
thousand Euros each. Although accounting records show these as donations
to help settle debts accumulated by a property in Salerno, it is
suspected the transactions were part of a money laundering operation. In
2009, Mgr. Scarano withdrew 560 thousand Euros in cash from his IOR
bank account, claiming it went towards paying off a mortgage.Although this latest inquiry is into transferrals
to and from the prelate’s Vatican bank account, it is not yet clear what
role, if any, the IOR played in Rome’s inquiry into the 20 million
Euros brought into Italy by plane. After the news broke about the
inquiry being carried out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Salerno,
Mgr. Scarano was suspended from his Vatican position. The director of
the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi said: “As is known,
Mgr. Scarano was suspended from APSA over a month ago.” The Holy See has
not yet received any request for information from the Italian
authorities in charge of the case but offers its full cooperation,” the
spokesman added.As prosecutors try to work out who is responsible
for what, what is clear is that the intrigues, fulfilment of personal
interests and the possibility of using the IOR illegally, are not just a
thing of the past but have continued into the present. So
Pope Francis’ drastic decision is understandable, as is the IOR’s
failure to reassure him - with statements to the press - about the good
work it is doing.
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Weekend heat wave to bake western US
Weekend heat wave to bake western US as temps in southwestern cities approach 120
By | Associated Press – 2 hours 28 minutes ago JUNE 28,13PHOENIX (AP) -- Tigers at the Phoenix Zoo are getting frozen fish snacks. Temporary cooling stations are popping up to welcome the homeless and elderly. And airlines are monitoring the soaring temperatures to make sure it's safe to fly as the western U.S. falls into the grips of a dangerous heat wave. A strong high-pressure system settling over the region Friday and through the weekend will bring extreme temperatures even to the typically blazing Southwest. Notoriously hot Death Valley in California is forecast to reach 129 degrees, not far off the world-record high of 134 logged there exactly one century ago.
The National Weather Service is calling for 118 in Phoenix, and 117 in Las Vegas on Sunday — a mark reached only twice in Sin City. Temperatures are expected to soar even as far north as Reno, Nev., across Utah and into parts of Wyoming and Idaho, where forecasters are calling for triple-digit heat in the Boise area through the weekend. Cities in Washington state better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s early next week, while northern Utah — marketed as having "the greatest snow on Earth" — is expected to hit triple digits. In Albuquerque, N.M., the mercury hit 105 on Thursday afternoon, the hottest it has been in the state's most populous city in 19 years. "This is the hottest time of the year but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top. We'll be at or above record levels in the Phoenix area and throughout a lot of the southwestern United States," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark O'Malley. "It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire West." Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center based in Idaho, said crews are especially worried about wildfires igniting in the Four Corners region where the borders of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona intersect. Some of the strongest parts of the high pressure system are expected to be parked over the area through the weekend, where forecasters are calling for lightning but little to no precipitation, Smith said.The hottest cities are taking precautions to protect vulnerable residents. Police are pleading with drivers not to leave children or pets in vehicles, and temporary cooling stations are being put up to shelter homeless people and the elderly on fixed incomes who hesitate to use air conditioning.Officials said extra personnel have been added to the U.S. Border Patrol's Search, Trauma, and Rescue unit as people illegally crossing the border from Mexico into Arizona could succumb to exhaustion and dehydration. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the desert's brutal heat.Even airlines are watching the mercury for any signs that temperatures could deter operations. In June 1990, when Phoenix hit 122 degrees, several airlines, including America West, which later merged with US Airways, were forced to cease flights for several hours because the planes didn't have the data needed to know how they would fly in temperatures above 120 degrees. US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said the airline's fleet of Boeings can now fly up to 126 degrees, and up to 127 degrees for the Airbus fleet.
But the company's smaller express planes flying out of the Phoenix area may be delayed if the temperature tops 118 because as the air heats up, it becomes less dense and changes liftoff conditions. "The hotter is it, your performance is degraded," Lehmacher said. "We're monitoring this very closely to see what the temperatures do."Officials at Salt River Project, the Phoenix area's largest electricity provider, also are closely monitoring usage in order to redirect energy in case of a potential overload.Company spokeswoman Scott Harelson said he doesn't expect usage to get anywhere near SRP's record 6,663 megawatts consumed in August 2011."While it's hot, people tend to leave town and some businesses aren't open, so that has a tendency to mitigate demand and is why we typically don't set records on weekends," Harelson said.
Meanwhile, over at the Phoenix Zoo, animals from elephants to warthogs will be doused with hoses and sprayed with sprinklers and misters throughout the weekend. The tigers will get frozen fish snacks while the lions can lounge on
concrete slabs cooled by internal water-filled pipes, said zoo
spokeswoman Linda Hardwick."And they'll all have plenty of shade," she said. "The keepers will
all just be very active looking for any behavior changes, anything that
would tip them off that an animal is just getting too hot."In Las Vegas,
two Elvis impersonators and a performer costumed as the iconic "Welcome
to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign said they still planned to keep up their
routine of working the tourist corridor in the broad daylight and
turning in for the evenings, heat notwithstanding. "We'd much rather fight with the sun than fight with the drunk people," Elvis impersonator Cristian Morales said. ___Associated Press writers Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Julie Jacobson and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Michelle Price in Salt Lake City, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque contributed to this report.
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)
Meth floods US border crossing
Customs and Border Protection officers seized 5,566 pounds of methamphetamine at San Ysidro in the 2012 fiscal year, more than double two years earlier, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit. On the entire border, inspectors seized 13,195 pounds, also more than double.From October 2012 through March, seizures totaled 2,169 pounds at San Ysidro and 1,730 pounds at Otay Mesa, giving San Diego 61 percent of the 6,364 pounds seized at Mexican border crossings. Much of the rest was found in Laredo, Texas; Nogales; and Calexico, Calif.San Ysidro — unlike other busy border crossings — blends into a sprawl of 18 million people that includes Los Angeles, one of the nation's top distribution hubs. By contrast, El Paso is more than 600 miles from Dallas on a lonely highway with Border Patrol checkpoints.Rush-hour comes weekday mornings, with thousands of motorists clogging Tijuana streets to approach 24 U.S.-bound inspection lanes on their way to school or work. Vendors weave between cars, hawking cappuccinos, burritos, newspapers and trinkets.A $732 million expansion that has created even longer delays may offer an extra incentive for smugglers who bet that inspectors will move people quickly to avoid criticism for hampering commerce and travel, said Joe Garcia, assistant special agent in charge of ICE investigations in San Diego.Children are caught with methamphetamine strapped to their bodies several times a week — an "alarming increase," according to Garcia. They are typically paid $50 to $200 for each trip, carrying 3 pounds on average.Drivers, who collect up to $2,000 per trip, conceal methamphetamine in bumpers, batteries, radiators and almost any other crevice imaginable. Packaging is smothered with mustard, baby powder and laundry detergent to fool drug-sniffing dogs.Crystals are increasingly dissolved in water, especially during the last year, making the drug more difficult to detect in giant X-ray scanners that inspectors order some motorists to drive through. The water is later boiled and often mixed with acetone, a combustible fluid used in paints that yields clear shards of methamphetamine favored by users. The drug often remains in liquid form until reaching its final distribution hub.The government has expanded X-ray inspections of cars at the border in recent years, but increased production in Mexico and the Sinaloa cartel's presence are driving the seizures, Garcia said. "This is a new corridor for them," he said.The U.S. government shut large methamphetamine labs during the last decade as it introduced sharp limits on chemicals used to make the drug, causing production to shift to Mexico.The U.S. State Department said in March that the Mexican government seized 958 labs under former President Felipe Calderon from 2006 to 2012, compared with 145 under the previous administration. Mexico seized 267 labs last year, up from 227 in 2011.As production moved to central Mexico, the Sinaloa cartel found opportunity in Tijuana in 2008 when it backed a breakaway faction of the Arellano Felix clan, named for a family that controlled the border smuggling route for two decades. Sinaloa, led by Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, had long dominated nearby in eastern California and Arizona.Tijuana registered 844 murders in 2008 in a turf war that horrified residents with castrated bodies hanging from bridges. After the Sinaloa cartel prevailed, the Mexican border city of more than 2 million people returned to relative calm, with 332 murders last year and almost no public displays of brutality.Alfonzo "Achilles" Arzate and his younger brother Rene, known as "The Frog," have emerged as top Sinaloa operatives in Tijuana — the former known as the brains and the latter as the brawn. The elder Arzate has been mentioned on wire intercepts for drug deals as far as Chicago, Hill said.He appears to have gained favor with the Sinaloa cartel brass after another cartel operative raided one of his warehouses in October 2010, leading to a shootout and the government seizing 134 tons of marijuana.
Methamphetamine has also turned into a scourge throughout Tijuana, becoming the most common drug offense for dealers and consumers in the last five years, said Miguel Angel Guerrero, coordinator of the Baja California state attorney general's organized crime unit."It has increased a lot in the city because it's cheaper than cocaine, even cheaper than marijuana," he said.Disputes among street dealers lead to spurts of violence in Tijuana, said Guerrero, including April's murder tally of 56 bodies. But the killings pale in numbers and brutality compared to the dark days of 2008 and 2009. While president, Calderon hailed Tijuana as a success story in his war on cartels."The Sinaloa cartel, their presence here has been strong enough to the point that no one is pushing back," said the DEA's Hill. "They just simply want to focus on making money and moving the dope across."
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
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 evening tide 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)
Iranian official signals no scaling back in nuclear activity
By Alissa de Carbonnel JUNE 28,13
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Iran will press ahead with its uranium enrichment program, its nuclear energy chief said on Friday, signaling no change of course despite the victory of a relative moderate in the June 14 presidential election.Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the Islamic Republic's Atomic Energy Organization, said production of nuclear fuel would "continue in line with our declared goals. The enrichment linked to fuel production will also not change."Speaking through an interpreter to reporters at a nuclear energy conference in St Petersburg, Russia, he said work at Iran's underground Fordow plant - which the West wants Iran to close - would also continue. Iran refines uranium at Fordow that is a relatively close technical step away from weapons-grade.Iran says it is enriching uranium to fuel a planned network of nuclear energy power plants, and also for medical purposes.But enriched uranium can also provide the fissile material for nuclear bombs if processed further, which the West fears may be Tehran's ultimate goal.
Abbasi-Davani said Iran's so far only nuclear power plant - which has suffered repeated delays - had been "brought back online" three days ago and was working at 1,000 megawatt capacity. A U.N. nuclear agency report said in May that the Russian-built Bushehr plant was shut down, giving no reason."Thankfully in the last days, no concrete defects with the plant have been reported to me," Abbasi-Davani said.Hopes for a resolution to the nuclear dispute were boosted this month with the election as president of Hassan Rouhani, who has promised a more conciliatory approach to foreign relations than confrontational predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rouhani will take office in early August.
NO FORDOW CLOSURE
As chief nuclear negotiator under a reformist president between 2003 and 2005, Rouhani struck a deal with European Union powers under which Iran temporarily suspended uranium enrichment activities. The work restarted after Ahmadinejad was first elected and has been sharply expanded.Iran's theocratic supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday the nuclear stand-off could easily be resolved if the West were to stop being so stubborn.The hardline Khamenei wields ultimate control over Iranian nuclear policy, although the president exerts some influence.While accusing the West of being more interested in regime change than ending the dispute, Khamenei did express a desire to resolve an issue which has led to ever tighter and more damaging sanctions on Iran's oil sector and the wider economy.But analysts say it remains highly uncertain whether Iran may now be more prepared to meet the demands of world powers that it immediately halt its most sensitive enrichment, to a fissile concentration of 20 percent, and stop work at Fordow.Asked whether there would be any change in Iranian policy after Rouhani's election and whether it could suspend 20 percent enrichment, Abbasi-Davani said Iran's nuclear program was aimed at producing electricity and for medical purposes."In line with these two goals of course the production of energy will not stop," he said.Fordow is under the monitoring of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, he said. "So in line with our declared plans ... we will of course continue our work at this center."Iran will soon hand over to the Vienna-based IAEA a list with plans for new nuclear reactor sites, he said, speaking in front of a model of the Bushehr reactor at the Islamic state's stand at the nuclear industry fair in St Petersburg.
(Writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Mark Heinrich)
CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of backers of Egypt's Islamist
president rallied Friday in Cairo in a show of support ahead of planned
opposition protests this weekend demanding his removal, as passengers
swamped the capital's international airport to leave, fearing widespread
violence.The opposition plans to bring out massive crowds on
Sunday in protests nationwide, vowing to force President Mohammed Morsi
to step down. Across the city from the pro-Morsi rally Friday, thousands
massed in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, shouting for the president to
"leave, leave,"For the past several days, Morsi's opponents and
members of his Muslim Brotherhood have been battling it out in the
streets of several cities in the Nile Delta in violence that has left at
least five dead. The latest died Friday from injuries suffered in
fighting the day before, security officials said.Many fear the
clashes are a prelude to more widespread and bloodier battles on Sunday.
In a sign of the charged atmosphere, a senior cleric, Sheik Hassan
al-Shafie, from Al-Azhar, the country's most eminent Muslim religious
institution, warned of the possibility of "civil war" after the street
clashes in the Delta.The Cairo International Airport was flooded
with departures, in an exodus airport officials called unprecedented.
They said all flights departing Friday to Europe, the United States and
the Gulf were fully booked with no vacant seats.Many
of those leaving were families of Egyptian officials and businessmen
and those of foreign and Arab League diplomats — as well as many
Egyptian Christians, the officials said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the press.Both sides have vowed to remain peaceful, and each side has blamed the other for the violence so far.Tamarod,
the activist group whose anti-Morsi petition campaign evolved into
Sunday's planned protest, said in a statement it was opposed "to any
attack against anybody, whatever the disagreement with this person was,"
and accused the Brotherhood of sparking violence to scare people from
participating Sunday.Tamarod says it has collected nearly 20 million signatures in the country of 90 million demanding Morsi step down.The
Brotherhood says the five killed in the Delta clashes were its members.
Some people "think they can topple a democratically elected President
by killing his support groups," Gehad el-Haddad, a Brotherhood
spokesman, wrote on his Twitter account.The
pro-Morsi rally was held in front of the Rabia el-Adawiya Mosque in
Cairo, not far from the presidential palace, which is one of the sites
where the opposition plans its protests Friday.
In his Friday prayer sermon, the cleric of Rabia el-Adawiya warned that if Morsi is ousted "there will be no president for the country" and Egypt will descend into "opposition hell."Thousands of Morsi backers filled the street outside, chanting religious slogans. "It is for God, not for position or power," they shouted. "Raise your voice strong, Egyptian: Islamic Shariah." Many wore green headbands with the slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood.Security officials say three people have died in the past three days in Nile Delta city of Mansoura, along with two others in the nearby province of Sharqiya.In Sharqiya on Thursday, an Islamist march encountered an anti-Morsi march, leading to scuffles that evolved into full-fledged battles, the officials said. The two sides hurled stones at each other and fired gunshots, and at least 70 were injured. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.In the Delta city of Tanta on Friday, four unidentified men believed to be Morsi supporters tried to attack a mosque preacher during his sermon, in which he called on worshippers to stand with Al-Azhar's calls to avoid bloodshed.
Hundreds of protesters in the nearby city of Bassioun hurled stones at the local headquarters of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. They tore down the party's sign and crushed it, security officials said.
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Iran will press ahead with its uranium enrichment program, its nuclear energy chief said on Friday, signaling no change of course despite the victory of a relative moderate in the June 14 presidential election.Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the Islamic Republic's Atomic Energy Organization, said production of nuclear fuel would "continue in line with our declared goals. The enrichment linked to fuel production will also not change."Speaking through an interpreter to reporters at a nuclear energy conference in St Petersburg, Russia, he said work at Iran's underground Fordow plant - which the West wants Iran to close - would also continue. Iran refines uranium at Fordow that is a relatively close technical step away from weapons-grade.Iran says it is enriching uranium to fuel a planned network of nuclear energy power plants, and also for medical purposes.But enriched uranium can also provide the fissile material for nuclear bombs if processed further, which the West fears may be Tehran's ultimate goal.
Abbasi-Davani said Iran's so far only nuclear power plant - which has suffered repeated delays - had been "brought back online" three days ago and was working at 1,000 megawatt capacity. A U.N. nuclear agency report said in May that the Russian-built Bushehr plant was shut down, giving no reason."Thankfully in the last days, no concrete defects with the plant have been reported to me," Abbasi-Davani said.Hopes for a resolution to the nuclear dispute were boosted this month with the election as president of Hassan Rouhani, who has promised a more conciliatory approach to foreign relations than confrontational predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Rouhani will take office in early August.
NO FORDOW CLOSURE
As chief nuclear negotiator under a reformist president between 2003 and 2005, Rouhani struck a deal with European Union powers under which Iran temporarily suspended uranium enrichment activities. The work restarted after Ahmadinejad was first elected and has been sharply expanded.Iran's theocratic supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday the nuclear stand-off could easily be resolved if the West were to stop being so stubborn.The hardline Khamenei wields ultimate control over Iranian nuclear policy, although the president exerts some influence.While accusing the West of being more interested in regime change than ending the dispute, Khamenei did express a desire to resolve an issue which has led to ever tighter and more damaging sanctions on Iran's oil sector and the wider economy.But analysts say it remains highly uncertain whether Iran may now be more prepared to meet the demands of world powers that it immediately halt its most sensitive enrichment, to a fissile concentration of 20 percent, and stop work at Fordow.Asked whether there would be any change in Iranian policy after Rouhani's election and whether it could suspend 20 percent enrichment, Abbasi-Davani said Iran's nuclear program was aimed at producing electricity and for medical purposes."In line with these two goals of course the production of energy will not stop," he said.Fordow is under the monitoring of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, he said. "So in line with our declared plans ... we will of course continue our work at this center."Iran will soon hand over to the Vienna-based IAEA a list with plans for new nuclear reactor sites, he said, speaking in front of a model of the Bushehr reactor at the Islamic state's stand at the nuclear industry fair in St Petersburg.
(Writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Islamists rally to support Egypt's president
In his Friday prayer sermon, the cleric of Rabia el-Adawiya warned that if Morsi is ousted "there will be no president for the country" and Egypt will descend into "opposition hell."Thousands of Morsi backers filled the street outside, chanting religious slogans. "It is for God, not for position or power," they shouted. "Raise your voice strong, Egyptian: Islamic Shariah." Many wore green headbands with the slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood.Security officials say three people have died in the past three days in Nile Delta city of Mansoura, along with two others in the nearby province of Sharqiya.In Sharqiya on Thursday, an Islamist march encountered an anti-Morsi march, leading to scuffles that evolved into full-fledged battles, the officials said. The two sides hurled stones at each other and fired gunshots, and at least 70 were injured. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.In the Delta city of Tanta on Friday, four unidentified men believed to be Morsi supporters tried to attack a mosque preacher during his sermon, in which he called on worshippers to stand with Al-Azhar's calls to avoid bloodshed.
Hundreds of protesters in the nearby city of Bassioun hurled stones at the local headquarters of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. They tore down the party's sign and crushed it, security officials said.
Vatican official arrested in corruption plot
Prosecutor Nello Rossi says Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is accused of corruption and slander stemming from the plot and was being held at a Rome prison.He was allegedly asked by friends to bring back the money that had been given to financier Giovanni Carenzio in Switzerland. Scarano is supposed to have asked Giovanni Zito, a military official, to bring the money back by jet, avoiding customs.Scarano was allegedly due to pay Zito a commission of 600,000 euros for the work. He paid only an initial installment of 400,000 euros before being arrested.
Kerry's shuttle diplomacy lands him in Jerusalem
Kerry, who's on a two-week swing through the Middle East and Asia, met with Abbas in a diplomatic area of the Jordanian capital."It's good to be back and I look forward to our conversation. We have a lot to talk about, obviously, as you know," Kerry told Abbas.As reporters and photographers were ushered out of the meeting, Kerry turned to Abbas and said: "We had a good long meeting." It was an apparent reference to his meeting with Netanyahu the night before. "We're going back."The State Department said Kerry and Abbas had a "very constructive discussion" focused on advancing the peace process, and that Iran and Syria also came up.After the first Netanyahu session, the department said the two had a "productive, in-depth and wide-ranging conversation" and that Kerry reiterated his commitment to working with all parties to achieve a two-state solution.State Department officials say Kerry will continue to try to find common ground between the two sides that would lead to a resumption of negotiations. On this trip, Kerry is trying to pin down precisely what conditions Abbas and Netanyahu have for resuming talks and perhaps discuss confidence-building measures.
Deal on longterm EU budget after last-minute talks
27.06.13 @ 12:17
BRUSSELS - EU negotiators Thursday
reached a last-minute political agreement on the 2014-2020 budget,
sparing the EU the embarrassing prospect of hosting a jobs-focused
summit without being able to commit money to fighting unemployment.Following torturous negotiations over recent weeks, officials
announced a breakthrough just hours before leaders come to Brussels for
their June summit."This is a good deal for Europe," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.Martin Schulz, European Parliament President, said it was an
"acceptable outcome" although he added that he will have to "fight" to
gain the absolute majority of MEPs needed to pass the budget.The main sticking points concerned how the money would be spent as
the actual sum - €908 billion in payments agreed in February by member
states - was not up for negotiation.MEPs, who lamented the size of the overall sum, were keen to make
sure all the money is used, with around €55bn from the current longterm
budget unspent or used elsewhere."The goal of the European parliament was how to make sure that the €908 billion foreseen are really available," said Schulz.
"With the mechanism we just agreed, the European Parliament is sure that the €908 billion will be available and spent. And we need it."MEPs also managed to secure a "binding" revision clause, something Schulz termed "one of the biggest (steps of) progress we made."They also secured a promise from the commission to look into making the budget cycle a five-year one, in line with the mandate of the EU institutions.For his part, Barroso noted that the deal includes "frontloading of expenditure on critical issues like youth employment, research, Erasmus (the student exchange programme) and SMEs."The agreement will allow leaders at their summit to say that €6 billion should immediately be spent on tackling youth unemployment, the major social issue facing governments across the bloc.The deal must be passed unanimously by member states and an absolute majority of MEPs."I am confident that we can bring all the member states with us on this," said Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland, heading the negotiations for governments.Schulz said he would recommend to political group leaders that the budget is put to plenary next week. "I must fight for a majority," he said.Part of the deal rests on member states agreeing to cover the holes in the budget for 2013, something they have pledged to do by 9 July at the latest."This is mutual trust," said Schulz, who noted that if governments reneged on this part of the bargain, and parliament had voted to accept the 2014-2020 budget framework then work on the 72 pieces of legislation needed to get the budget up and running would immediately be "suspended."
"With the mechanism we just agreed, the European Parliament is sure that the €908 billion will be available and spent. And we need it."MEPs also managed to secure a "binding" revision clause, something Schulz termed "one of the biggest (steps of) progress we made."They also secured a promise from the commission to look into making the budget cycle a five-year one, in line with the mandate of the EU institutions.For his part, Barroso noted that the deal includes "frontloading of expenditure on critical issues like youth employment, research, Erasmus (the student exchange programme) and SMEs."The agreement will allow leaders at their summit to say that €6 billion should immediately be spent on tackling youth unemployment, the major social issue facing governments across the bloc.The deal must be passed unanimously by member states and an absolute majority of MEPs."I am confident that we can bring all the member states with us on this," said Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland, heading the negotiations for governments.Schulz said he would recommend to political group leaders that the budget is put to plenary next week. "I must fight for a majority," he said.Part of the deal rests on member states agreeing to cover the holes in the budget for 2013, something they have pledged to do by 9 July at the latest."This is mutual trust," said Schulz, who noted that if governments reneged on this part of the bargain, and parliament had voted to accept the 2014-2020 budget framework then work on the 72 pieces of legislation needed to get the budget up and running would immediately be "suspended."
EIB in spotlight as leaders eye increased business lending
Today @ 07:37 JUNE 28,13
The communique expected to be endorsed at the end of the summit urges
the EIB to "implement its plan to increase its lending activity in the
EU by 50% over 2013-2015."It also called for greater cooperation between national development banks and the EIB to increase opportunities for co-lending.Meanwhile, a joint paper presented at the summit by the European
Commission and the EIB, suggested that merging EU structural funds
together with EIB money could re-launch an EU securitisation market and
leverage up to €100 billion. Representatives from the EU's executive arm
and the EIB are expected to report back at the October summit.EU officials are keen to use the EIB to ease the credit crunch faced
by small businesses. Loans to businesses have contracted every month for
the past year, with lending conditions particularly tight in the
countries worst affected by the eurozone debt crisis and economic
stagnation.Member states agreed to provide an additional €10 billion of equity
for the EIB in June 2012 as part of a so-called Growth and Jobs pact,
with leaders claiming that this could be leveraged to facilitate €60
billion in extra lending.The Luxembourg-based bank's lending operation in the EU totalled
€44.7 billion in 2012, with the bank pledging to increase lending to €62
billion in 2013 followed by €60 billion in 2014 and 2015.However, there remain doubts that the extra funds will lead to higher lending.EIB boss Werner Hoyer, a former minister in Angela Merkel's German
government, is reluctant to risk lending that could jeopardise the banks
triple-AAA credit rating.Prior to the summit talks, a European Council official voiced
frustration at the bank's apparent reluctance to lend. "We feel they
haven't used the money boost enough, so we're looking at new ways to
increase risk sharing," he said.For his part, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told deputies in his
national parliament on Wednesday (26 June) that retaining the EIB's
credit rating was a priority for his government, warning that otherwise
the bank would pay higher interest rates on the capital markets.A German official said that concerns about the EIB's triple-AAA
rating "are of course important," adding that reports on the activity of
the Luxembourg-based bank indicated that "they use the money exactly as
they are supposed to."
Carsten Brzeski, a senior economist for ING, described the 50 percent target as "highly ambitious."
"The biggest problem for this to fly is the credit rating of the EIB….up to now the EIB has been pretty reluctant to put on more risk," he told this website.He also indicated that pooling structural funds and EIB money would be a better way to channel financial resources."Instead of increasing the lending capacity, moving towards more securitisation would probably work better. It would also bring the ECB on board," he said.
Carsten Brzeski, a senior economist for ING, described the 50 percent target as "highly ambitious."
"The biggest problem for this to fly is the credit rating of the EIB….up to now the EIB has been pretty reluctant to put on more risk," he told this website.He also indicated that pooling structural funds and EIB money would be a better way to channel financial resources."Instead of increasing the lending capacity, moving towards more securitisation would probably work better. It would also bring the ECB on board," he said.
