KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;(ISRAEL) I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil,(OIL IS IN SPOIL) and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8,11-18
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye (MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL) shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.(RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS)
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I (GOD-JESUS) will set my glory among the heathen,(WORLD NATIONS) and all the heathen (WORLD NATIONS) shall see my judgment that I have executed,(AGAINST ISRAELS ENEMIES) and my (GODS) hand that I have laid upon them.(ISRAELS HATER ENEMIES)
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
EZEKIEL 35:3-6,11-15
3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir,(ARABS) I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred,(AGAINST ISRAEL) and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.(ARAB,MUSLIMS)
15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir,(ARABS) and all Idumea,(ARAB,MUSLIMS) even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
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)
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
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)
By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry-JULY 9,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim rulers issued a faster than expected timetable for elections to try to drag the country out of crisis, a day after 51 people were killed when troops fired on a crowd supporting ousted President Mohamed Mursi.The streets of Cairo were quiet on Tuesday but Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement called for more protests later in the day, raising the risk of further violence.Under pressure to restore democracy quickly, Adli Mansour, the judge named head of state by the army when it brought down Mursi last week, decreed overnight that a parliamentary vote would be held in about six months. That would be followed by a presidential election.In an important positive signal for the transitional authorities, the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party said it would accept ex-finance minister Samir Radwan as prime minister, potentially paving the way for an interim cabinet.The stakes were raised dramatically by the bloodshed on Monday, the worst since Mursi was toppled by the military. The army opened fire outside Cairo's Republican Guard barracks where the deposed leader is believed to be held.The bloodshed has also raised alarm among key donors such as the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979.Officials said troops fired in response to an attack by armed assailants. The protesters disputed that account, insisting they were conducting peaceful dawn prayers."They shot us with teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets - everything. Then they used live bullets," said Abdelaziz Abdel Shakua, a bearded 30-year-old who was wounded in his right leg.
EGYPT SHOCKED AND TIRED
The bloodshed shocked Egyptians, already tired of the turbulence that began 2-1/2 years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising. However, many Egyptians seemed to accept the official account that the troops had come under attack and had fired back."Of course I condemn this: Egyptian versus Egyptian. But the people attacked the army, not the other way around," said Abdullah Abdel Rayal, 58, shopping in a street market in downtown Cairo on Tuesday morning.Winning the support of Nour for a new prime minister would be an important step to show that violence has not derailed the transition. Nour is the main Islamist group apart from Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, and the authorities aim to show their transitional arrangement is acceptable to Islamists.Radwan emerged as favorite to lead a government after Nour rejected Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. diplomat and secularist politician.A high level delegation from the United Arab Emirates was due to arrive in Egypt, signaling vital regional support for the military-led transitional rulers and potentially bringing a lifeline of billions of dollars in desperately-needed aid.
TURMOIL HITS TOURISM, INVESTMENT
With turmoil driving away foreign investors and tourists, Egypt is running dangerously short of cash to provide the subsidized bread and fuel that its 84 million people rely on.Egyptian newspapers, mainly controlled by the state or by Mursi's opponents, described Monday's violence as the result of terrorism by Mursi's supporters.Millions of people took to the streets on June 30 to demand Mursi's resignation, fearing he was orchestrating a creeping Islamist takeover of the state.To the Brotherhood, his removal amounted to the reversal of democracy a year after he became Egypt's first freely elected leader. Islamists fear a return to the suppression they endured for decades under autocratic rulers like Mubarak.Protesters said Monday's shooting started as they performed morning prayers outside the barracks. Military spokesman Ahmed Ali said that at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) armed men attacked troops in the area in the northeast of the city. Emergency services said in addition to the dead 435 people were wounded.At a hospital near Cairo's Rabaa Adawiya mosque, where many of the wounded and dead were taken, rooms were crammed full, sheets were stained with blood.On Friday, clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi supporters had swept across Egyptian cities, killing 35 people.Mansour decreed that Egypt will hold new parliamentary elections once amendments to its suspended constitution are approved in a referendum.
OLIVE BRANCH
In what appeared to be an olive branch to Islamists, the decree included controversial language put into the constitution last year that defined the principles of Islamic sharia law.Whether that will be enough to lure back Nour, which had supported the military-led transition but pulled out of the talks after Monday's attack, remains to be seen.Egypt's main share index rose after Nour said it would accept Radwan as prime minister.
Nour spokesman Nader Bakkar said Radwan met its conditions: "We asked for a technocrat economist ... a neutral guy."Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Egypt's constitution at George Washington University in Washington, said that while the overnight decree laid out a clear sequence for transition, it repeated some mistakes made two years ago, after Mubarak."It was drawn up by an anonymous committee; it was issued by executive fiat; the timetable is rushed; the provisions for consultation are vague; and it promises inclusiveness but gives no clear procedural guidelines for it," he told Reuters.Although Tuesday was comparatively quiet, there were minor incidents reported by late morning. Gunmen fired on a church in Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal overnight. Two people were wounded, medical sources said.
The Brotherhood movement has refused to have anything to do with the process, and thousands of supporters have camped out in northeast Cairo for the last five days and vowed not to budge until Mursi returns as president - a seemingly vain hope.
WELCOME WINDFALL?
The arrival of a senior UAE delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, could signal a welcome windfall.The UAE - long skeptical of the Brotherhood - had pledged billions in aid to Egypt after the fall of Mubarak but held the money back during Mursi's year in power. Saudi Arabia could also send much-needed cash and fuel.The West has had a harder time formulating a public response, after years of pushing Arab leaders towards democracy while at the same time nervous about the Brotherhood's rise. Demonstrators on both sides in Egypt have chanted anti-American slogans, accusing Washington of backing their enemies.
Washington has refrained from calling the military intervention a "coup" - a label that under U.S. law would require it to halt aid. It called on Egypt's army to exercise "maximum restraint" but has said it is not about to halt funding for Egypt, including the $1.3 billion it gives the military.The army has insisted that the overthrow was not a coup and that it was enforcing the "will of the people" after millions took to the streets on June 30 to call for Mursi's resignation.(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Maggie Fick, Alexander Dziadosz, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Peter Graff, Patrick Werr, Shadia Nasralla and Tom Finn in Cairo, Roberta Rampton, Lesley Wroughton and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Peter Graff, editing by Peter Millership)
Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni was
due in Moscow on Tuesday for talks over Russia's plans to supply S-300
anti-aircraft missiles to the regime of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, IDF Radio said.
During the visit, Livni, who also serves as Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, was to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to convince Moscow not to go through with the promised delivery.
Livni's spokeswoman confirmed she was to meet with Lavrov in Moscow but denied it was in connection with the S-300 system, AFP said.The S-300 batteries are advanced ground-to-air weapons that can take out aircraft or guided missiles. The weapon could theoretically shoot down Israeli jets in the region or complicate any Western efforts to impose a no-fly zone over war-torn Syria, or to stage any intervention to take out chemical weapons.Israel has also expressed fears that such weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement or of Iran, both of whom are closely allied with Assad's regime.The report came as Israeli commentators suggested an initial delivery of the surface-to-air system was likely to take place "in the next few weeks".Israel is strongly opposed to Moscow supplying Damascus with such a system and warned it could take military action if it went ahead, AFP noted."The deliveries have not taken place, and I hope they do not. But if, by misfortune, they arrive in Syria, we will know what to do," Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned in May in a thinly-veiled allusion to a strike.Writing in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot, commentator Alex Fishman said Israel was "tensely awaiting" the delivery of a first batch of the S-300 missiles which were likely to arrive in Syria "in the next few weeks" accompanied by a delegation of Russian experts who would train the Syrians in how to use the system."Israel is now bracing for a last diplomatic effort, together with the Americans, in an attempt either to postpone or cancel the deal," he said, noting that the Russian deal was financial rather than political in nature.In early June, Yaalon said Russia would not be able to deliver the anti-aircraft system to Damascus before 2014.
By Gil Ronen-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 3:27 PM-Israelnationalnews
The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is
“the equivalent of 40 North Koreas,” Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval
Steintz said Tuesday at the annual Cyber Conference at the Institute for National Security Studies.
Steinitz repeated Israel's long held position, that Iran's nuclear weapons bid is “the most critical and meaningful” subject “for the safety of Israel and the entire world.”He warned that Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, is “a wolf in sheeps clothing” and explained that for this reason, there is no time for diplomacy and additional rounds of talks..”"The Iranian threat is the equivalent of 40 North Koreas, it is a threat that will change the world order,” he added. "This is the challenge of our generation, as far as global diplomacy is concerned. There is time only for one thing, which must be made crystal clear.“The Iranians,” he said, “must be made to face a very clear dilemma: 'Do you want to save Iran's economy? Give up nuclear weapons and spare yourself a military risk as well. If you do not give up on the nukes, you will finish off the Iranian economy.'”His comments came as human rights activists slammed Rouhani's government for a wave of executions - more than 60 in less than a month in office. Claims that the new regime is any more "moderate" than the previous one, they claim, ring hollow against such actions.
By Laila Bassam and Mariam Karouny-JULY 9,13
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A massive car bomb ripped through a Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, wounding 53 people on Tuesday.None of those hurt were seriously wounded, Health Minister Hassan Khalil told Reuters, and there were no fatalities.Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah in support of Assad's forces fighting a two-year revolt led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority.There was no immediate indication of who was behind the blast, the worst such attack in years, which came as forces loyal to Assad are making gains on the battlefield and as Sunnis and Shi'ites clash in Lebanon.But residents in the Shi'ite district blamed Sunni militant supporters of the insurgency against Assad, while politicians also suspected a sectarian motive."This is the work of agents trying to create strife in Lebanon," Hezbollah parliamentary deputy Ali Meqdad said at the site of the explosion.Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the attack was "a criminal act aimed at destabilizing the country and creating Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian strife". President Michel Suleiman said it reopened the "black pages" of Lebanon's civil war.
Syria's conflagration has spread to Lebanon, where there have been outbreaks of fighting reflecting the renewed sectarian tension now spreading through the Middle East.Lebanon's Sunni Muslims mostly support the rebels in Syria, while Shi'ites have largely supported Assad, who is part of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.Sunni militant groups have threatened to attack Hezbollah following its military intervention in Syria. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Tuesday's blast but it has made clear it intends to keep fighting alongside Assad's forces in Syria.A Reuters reporter saw a large fire raging at the site of the blast near a shopping mall in Bir al-Abed, an area that is also home to Hezbollah officials and their offices. It was unclear if any of the group's leaders had been in the area.
DENSE SMOKE
A pillar of dense black smoke billowed above surrounding high-rise apartment blocks. Ambulances and fire engines sped through the streets to rescue casualties.Dozens of cars were ablaze in the parking lot where the car rigged with explosives was left. Reuters and other media outlets were prevented from reaching the area, where Hezbollah gunmen allowed only the group's Al Manar TV to operate.Images from the scene showed a crater covered by a blue tarpaulin and surrounded by wrecked cars. Hezbollah men with red caps and yellow arm-bands set up a security cordon around the blast scene along with Lebanese soldiers.Hezbollah gunmen were seen arresting two men near the scene.Angry young men carrying pictures of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah began shouting "God and Nasrallah".Soldiers fired in the air to dispel crowds trying to attack interior minister Charbel, who has in the past declined to crack down on hardline Sunni groups in Lebanon.Zeinab, a 45-year-old woman whose apartment opposite the blast site had its windows blown out, broke down in tears."I went to fetch breakfast for my son and then heard the explosion. I want to know he is OK. I want to talk to him."Shopping areas would likely have been full on Tuesday, the day before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins. Most of the casualties were apparently women and children out shopping.The attack is the second strike in Shi'ite southern Beirut this year. Two rockets struck the area in May.No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast but shocked and angry residents were quick to blame Sunni militants.Hajje Alia, a 35-year-old woman clad in a black robe, said: "We have been expecting explosions in this holy month of Ramadan from the Takfiris (Sunni militants) who are trying to stop us from carrying out our holy war duties alongside our Syrian brothers, but nothing will stop us, not even 1,000 explosions."The last car bomb to hit Beirut targeted a senior intelligence official in October. Wissam al-Hassan was part of the country's leading Sunni opposition party, which has supported the uprising in Syria.
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has promised that his group will continue fighting for Assad after it spearheaded the recapture of the strategic town of Qusair last month.Abu Ali, who lives near the blast scene, blamed what he called Sunni terrorists for the attack."They want to terrorize us. The scumbags. These terrorists want us to abandon (the leader of Hezbollah) but we swear we will love him more, for all our lives. All we own, and our children we pledge to him."(Writing by Erika Solomon and Giles Elgood; Editing by Alison Williams)
NGO Monitor released on Monday a report detailing the goals, tactics,
and opaque financing of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S.-based
advocacy organization dedicated to driving "a wedge" within the Jewish
community to create the impression that the Jewish community is
polarized over Israel.The group implements tactic in an effort to dilute support for Israel
in the Jewish community, toward the goal of reducing or eliminating the
United States government’s economic, military, and political support
for Israel, says report.
"Since American Jews are important supporters of Israel, JVP's attempt to divide the Jewish community is aimed at undermining U.S. support for Israel," warned Yitzhak Santis, Chief Programs Officer of NGO Monitor and the report's author.JVP implements a strategy of political warfare against the state of Israel, which was adopted at the 2001 Durban NGO Forum, and promotes divestment campaigns on U.S. campuses and in mainline churches by deploying the language of demonization and delegitimization, the report states."JVP's tactics," said Santis, "include boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), a sustained campaign of demonization against Israel, and support for a Palestinian claim to a 'right of return.'"
The NGO Monitor report indicates that JVP views itself as the "Jewish wing" of the “Palestinian solidarity movement”.JVP consistently partners with anti-Israel groups in the U.S. and abroad, including Electronic Intifada, American Muslims for Palestine, Adalah-NY, Code Pink, Sabeel, International Solidarity Movement, and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (of which JVP is an official member).
JVP members also participated in the 2011 Gaza flotilla, which sought to breach Israel’s borders and posed a threat to the safety and security of the Jewish state.According to the report, JVP’s funding sources are not transparent and its website carries no information on its donors. Limited financial information on JVP is only available through public IRS documents and databases, which report a total budget of $876, 529 for 2011.
JVP has received funding from an Arab-American foundation that also supports Electronic Intifada, the Firedoll Foundation, and the Wallace Global Fund, which all contribute to numerous anti-Israel groups.
"JVP's funding sources are far from transparent, and its website carries no information on its donors," Santis emphasized, "Yet, we discovered that a number of foundations that contribute to JVP also contribute to other groups active in the BDS delegitimization campaign. Most of JVP's funding sources remain hidden, leaving the question, who is funding this group?"
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;(ISRAEL) I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil,(OIL IS IN SPOIL) and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8,11-18
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye (MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL) shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.(RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS)
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I (GOD-JESUS) will set my glory among the heathen,(WORLD NATIONS) and all the heathen (WORLD NATIONS) shall see my judgment that I have executed,(AGAINST ISRAELS ENEMIES) and my (GODS) hand that I have laid upon them.(ISRAELS HATER ENEMIES)
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
EZEKIEL 35:3-6,11-15
3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir,(ARABS) I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred,(AGAINST ISRAEL) and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.(ARAB,MUSLIMS)
15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir,(ARABS) and all Idumea,(ARAB,MUSLIMS) even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
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)
EGYPT
ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.
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)
Egypt seeks end to crisis with quick elections
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim rulers issued a faster than expected timetable for elections to try to drag the country out of crisis, a day after 51 people were killed when troops fired on a crowd supporting ousted President Mohamed Mursi.The streets of Cairo were quiet on Tuesday but Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement called for more protests later in the day, raising the risk of further violence.Under pressure to restore democracy quickly, Adli Mansour, the judge named head of state by the army when it brought down Mursi last week, decreed overnight that a parliamentary vote would be held in about six months. That would be followed by a presidential election.In an important positive signal for the transitional authorities, the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party said it would accept ex-finance minister Samir Radwan as prime minister, potentially paving the way for an interim cabinet.The stakes were raised dramatically by the bloodshed on Monday, the worst since Mursi was toppled by the military. The army opened fire outside Cairo's Republican Guard barracks where the deposed leader is believed to be held.The bloodshed has also raised alarm among key donors such as the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979.Officials said troops fired in response to an attack by armed assailants. The protesters disputed that account, insisting they were conducting peaceful dawn prayers."They shot us with teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets - everything. Then they used live bullets," said Abdelaziz Abdel Shakua, a bearded 30-year-old who was wounded in his right leg.
EGYPT SHOCKED AND TIRED
The bloodshed shocked Egyptians, already tired of the turbulence that began 2-1/2 years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising. However, many Egyptians seemed to accept the official account that the troops had come under attack and had fired back."Of course I condemn this: Egyptian versus Egyptian. But the people attacked the army, not the other way around," said Abdullah Abdel Rayal, 58, shopping in a street market in downtown Cairo on Tuesday morning.Winning the support of Nour for a new prime minister would be an important step to show that violence has not derailed the transition. Nour is the main Islamist group apart from Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, and the authorities aim to show their transitional arrangement is acceptable to Islamists.Radwan emerged as favorite to lead a government after Nour rejected Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. diplomat and secularist politician.A high level delegation from the United Arab Emirates was due to arrive in Egypt, signaling vital regional support for the military-led transitional rulers and potentially bringing a lifeline of billions of dollars in desperately-needed aid.
TURMOIL HITS TOURISM, INVESTMENT
With turmoil driving away foreign investors and tourists, Egypt is running dangerously short of cash to provide the subsidized bread and fuel that its 84 million people rely on.Egyptian newspapers, mainly controlled by the state or by Mursi's opponents, described Monday's violence as the result of terrorism by Mursi's supporters.Millions of people took to the streets on June 30 to demand Mursi's resignation, fearing he was orchestrating a creeping Islamist takeover of the state.To the Brotherhood, his removal amounted to the reversal of democracy a year after he became Egypt's first freely elected leader. Islamists fear a return to the suppression they endured for decades under autocratic rulers like Mubarak.Protesters said Monday's shooting started as they performed morning prayers outside the barracks. Military spokesman Ahmed Ali said that at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) armed men attacked troops in the area in the northeast of the city. Emergency services said in addition to the dead 435 people were wounded.At a hospital near Cairo's Rabaa Adawiya mosque, where many of the wounded and dead were taken, rooms were crammed full, sheets were stained with blood.On Friday, clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi supporters had swept across Egyptian cities, killing 35 people.Mansour decreed that Egypt will hold new parliamentary elections once amendments to its suspended constitution are approved in a referendum.
OLIVE BRANCH
In what appeared to be an olive branch to Islamists, the decree included controversial language put into the constitution last year that defined the principles of Islamic sharia law.Whether that will be enough to lure back Nour, which had supported the military-led transition but pulled out of the talks after Monday's attack, remains to be seen.Egypt's main share index rose after Nour said it would accept Radwan as prime minister.
Nour spokesman Nader Bakkar said Radwan met its conditions: "We asked for a technocrat economist ... a neutral guy."Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Egypt's constitution at George Washington University in Washington, said that while the overnight decree laid out a clear sequence for transition, it repeated some mistakes made two years ago, after Mubarak."It was drawn up by an anonymous committee; it was issued by executive fiat; the timetable is rushed; the provisions for consultation are vague; and it promises inclusiveness but gives no clear procedural guidelines for it," he told Reuters.Although Tuesday was comparatively quiet, there were minor incidents reported by late morning. Gunmen fired on a church in Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal overnight. Two people were wounded, medical sources said.
The Brotherhood movement has refused to have anything to do with the process, and thousands of supporters have camped out in northeast Cairo for the last five days and vowed not to budge until Mursi returns as president - a seemingly vain hope.
WELCOME WINDFALL?
The arrival of a senior UAE delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, could signal a welcome windfall.The UAE - long skeptical of the Brotherhood - had pledged billions in aid to Egypt after the fall of Mubarak but held the money back during Mursi's year in power. Saudi Arabia could also send much-needed cash and fuel.The West has had a harder time formulating a public response, after years of pushing Arab leaders towards democracy while at the same time nervous about the Brotherhood's rise. Demonstrators on both sides in Egypt have chanted anti-American slogans, accusing Washington of backing their enemies.
Washington has refrained from calling the military intervention a "coup" - a label that under U.S. law would require it to halt aid. It called on Egypt's army to exercise "maximum restraint" but has said it is not about to halt funding for Egypt, including the $1.3 billion it gives the military.The army has insisted that the overthrow was not a coup and that it was enforcing the "will of the people" after millions took to the streets on June 30 to call for Mursi's resignation.(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Maggie Fick, Alexander Dziadosz, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Peter Graff, Patrick Werr, Shadia Nasralla and Tom Finn in Cairo, Roberta Rampton, Lesley Wroughton and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Peter Graff, editing by Peter Millership)
Livni in Moscow 'to Discuss S-300 Threat'
Israeli
Justice Minister to meet Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in a bid to
convince Moscow not to go through with the delivery.By Arutz Sheva-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 2:28 PM-Israelnationalnews
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni-Flash 90
During the visit, Livni, who also serves as Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, was to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to convince Moscow not to go through with the promised delivery.
Livni's spokeswoman confirmed she was to meet with Lavrov in Moscow but denied it was in connection with the S-300 system, AFP said.The S-300 batteries are advanced ground-to-air weapons that can take out aircraft or guided missiles. The weapon could theoretically shoot down Israeli jets in the region or complicate any Western efforts to impose a no-fly zone over war-torn Syria, or to stage any intervention to take out chemical weapons.Israel has also expressed fears that such weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement or of Iran, both of whom are closely allied with Assad's regime.The report came as Israeli commentators suggested an initial delivery of the surface-to-air system was likely to take place "in the next few weeks".Israel is strongly opposed to Moscow supplying Damascus with such a system and warned it could take military action if it went ahead, AFP noted."The deliveries have not taken place, and I hope they do not. But if, by misfortune, they arrive in Syria, we will know what to do," Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned in May in a thinly-veiled allusion to a strike.Writing in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot, commentator Alex Fishman said Israel was "tensely awaiting" the delivery of a first batch of the S-300 missiles which were likely to arrive in Syria "in the next few weeks" accompanied by a delegation of Russian experts who would train the Syrians in how to use the system."Israel is now bracing for a last diplomatic effort, together with the Americans, in an attempt either to postpone or cancel the deal," he said, noting that the Russian deal was financial rather than political in nature.In early June, Yaalon said Russia would not be able to deliver the anti-aircraft system to Damascus before 2014.
Nuclear Iran is 'Like 40 North Koreas' – Steinitz
No time for diplomacy, says Strategic Affairs minister. Rouhani is “a wolf in sheep's clothing.”
Minister Yuval Steinitz-Flash 90
Steinitz repeated Israel's long held position, that Iran's nuclear weapons bid is “the most critical and meaningful” subject “for the safety of Israel and the entire world.”He warned that Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, is “a wolf in sheeps clothing” and explained that for this reason, there is no time for diplomacy and additional rounds of talks..”"The Iranian threat is the equivalent of 40 North Koreas, it is a threat that will change the world order,” he added. "This is the challenge of our generation, as far as global diplomacy is concerned. There is time only for one thing, which must be made crystal clear.“The Iranians,” he said, “must be made to face a very clear dilemma: 'Do you want to save Iran's economy? Give up nuclear weapons and spare yourself a military risk as well. If you do not give up on the nukes, you will finish off the Iranian economy.'”His comments came as human rights activists slammed Rouhani's government for a wave of executions - more than 60 in less than a month in office. Claims that the new regime is any more "moderate" than the previous one, they claim, ring hollow against such actions.
Over 50 hurt as car bomb hits Hezbollah Beirut stronghold
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A massive car bomb ripped through a Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, wounding 53 people on Tuesday.None of those hurt were seriously wounded, Health Minister Hassan Khalil told Reuters, and there were no fatalities.Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah in support of Assad's forces fighting a two-year revolt led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority.There was no immediate indication of who was behind the blast, the worst such attack in years, which came as forces loyal to Assad are making gains on the battlefield and as Sunnis and Shi'ites clash in Lebanon.But residents in the Shi'ite district blamed Sunni militant supporters of the insurgency against Assad, while politicians also suspected a sectarian motive."This is the work of agents trying to create strife in Lebanon," Hezbollah parliamentary deputy Ali Meqdad said at the site of the explosion.Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the attack was "a criminal act aimed at destabilizing the country and creating Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian strife". President Michel Suleiman said it reopened the "black pages" of Lebanon's civil war.
Syria's conflagration has spread to Lebanon, where there have been outbreaks of fighting reflecting the renewed sectarian tension now spreading through the Middle East.Lebanon's Sunni Muslims mostly support the rebels in Syria, while Shi'ites have largely supported Assad, who is part of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.Sunni militant groups have threatened to attack Hezbollah following its military intervention in Syria. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Tuesday's blast but it has made clear it intends to keep fighting alongside Assad's forces in Syria.A Reuters reporter saw a large fire raging at the site of the blast near a shopping mall in Bir al-Abed, an area that is also home to Hezbollah officials and their offices. It was unclear if any of the group's leaders had been in the area.
DENSE SMOKE
A pillar of dense black smoke billowed above surrounding high-rise apartment blocks. Ambulances and fire engines sped through the streets to rescue casualties.Dozens of cars were ablaze in the parking lot where the car rigged with explosives was left. Reuters and other media outlets were prevented from reaching the area, where Hezbollah gunmen allowed only the group's Al Manar TV to operate.Images from the scene showed a crater covered by a blue tarpaulin and surrounded by wrecked cars. Hezbollah men with red caps and yellow arm-bands set up a security cordon around the blast scene along with Lebanese soldiers.Hezbollah gunmen were seen arresting two men near the scene.Angry young men carrying pictures of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah began shouting "God and Nasrallah".Soldiers fired in the air to dispel crowds trying to attack interior minister Charbel, who has in the past declined to crack down on hardline Sunni groups in Lebanon.Zeinab, a 45-year-old woman whose apartment opposite the blast site had its windows blown out, broke down in tears."I went to fetch breakfast for my son and then heard the explosion. I want to know he is OK. I want to talk to him."Shopping areas would likely have been full on Tuesday, the day before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins. Most of the casualties were apparently women and children out shopping.The attack is the second strike in Shi'ite southern Beirut this year. Two rockets struck the area in May.No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast but shocked and angry residents were quick to blame Sunni militants.Hajje Alia, a 35-year-old woman clad in a black robe, said: "We have been expecting explosions in this holy month of Ramadan from the Takfiris (Sunni militants) who are trying to stop us from carrying out our holy war duties alongside our Syrian brothers, but nothing will stop us, not even 1,000 explosions."The last car bomb to hit Beirut targeted a senior intelligence official in October. Wissam al-Hassan was part of the country's leading Sunni opposition party, which has supported the uprising in Syria.
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has promised that his group will continue fighting for Assad after it spearheaded the recapture of the strategic town of Qusair last month.Abu Ali, who lives near the blast scene, blamed what he called Sunni terrorists for the attack."They want to terrorize us. The scumbags. These terrorists want us to abandon (the leader of Hezbollah) but we swear we will love him more, for all our lives. All we own, and our children we pledge to him."(Writing by Erika Solomon and Giles Elgood; Editing by Alison Williams)
Jewish Voice for Peace Drives 'Wedge' Through Jewish Community
“Jewish wing” of Palestinian solidarity movement creates “wedge” within American Jewish community over support for Israel.By Rina Tzvi-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 4:40 PM-Israelnationalnews
anti-Israel boycotters-Flash 90
"Since American Jews are important supporters of Israel, JVP's attempt to divide the Jewish community is aimed at undermining U.S. support for Israel," warned Yitzhak Santis, Chief Programs Officer of NGO Monitor and the report's author.JVP implements a strategy of political warfare against the state of Israel, which was adopted at the 2001 Durban NGO Forum, and promotes divestment campaigns on U.S. campuses and in mainline churches by deploying the language of demonization and delegitimization, the report states."JVP's tactics," said Santis, "include boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), a sustained campaign of demonization against Israel, and support for a Palestinian claim to a 'right of return.'"
The NGO Monitor report indicates that JVP views itself as the "Jewish wing" of the “Palestinian solidarity movement”.JVP consistently partners with anti-Israel groups in the U.S. and abroad, including Electronic Intifada, American Muslims for Palestine, Adalah-NY, Code Pink, Sabeel, International Solidarity Movement, and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (of which JVP is an official member).
JVP members also participated in the 2011 Gaza flotilla, which sought to breach Israel’s borders and posed a threat to the safety and security of the Jewish state.According to the report, JVP’s funding sources are not transparent and its website carries no information on its donors. Limited financial information on JVP is only available through public IRS documents and databases, which report a total budget of $876, 529 for 2011.
JVP has received funding from an Arab-American foundation that also supports Electronic Intifada, the Firedoll Foundation, and the Wallace Global Fund, which all contribute to numerous anti-Israel groups.
"JVP's funding sources are far from transparent, and its website carries no information on its donors," Santis emphasized, "Yet, we discovered that a number of foundations that contribute to JVP also contribute to other groups active in the BDS delegitimization campaign. Most of JVP's funding sources remain hidden, leaving the question, who is funding this group?"
EU officials feel little love for Brussels, survey says
Today @ 09:27 JULY 9,13
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - Expats who work for EU
institutions in Brussels have few Belgian friends, think the city is
"dirty" and plan to go home when their job ends.Municipal authorities in the EU capital published the findings on Monday (8 July) after polling 8,000 people out of the 100,000 or so who live in the "Brussels bubble."
They noted the typical expat has been in Brussels for less than 10 years, works for the European Commission, comes from Germany or France, is part of a couple and lives in the city centre or in the districts of Ixelles, Etterbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or Schaerbeek.Just six percent said they will stay in Brussels when their contract ends.Almost 40 percent said they have three or fewer Belgians in their circle of friends, while 12 percent have none at all.Around half prefer to send their children to international schools instead of Belgian ones.Compounding the isolation, few expats watch Belgian TV or vote in Belgian regional elections, with the majority saying they do not take part in the votes due to naked "disinterest."The biggest complaint - by almost 80 percent of people - is that Brussels is "too dirty."Another 78 percent said the city should do more to combat road congestion, while half said the city feels "unsafe" to live in, following a string of muggings in the EU district in 2009 and 2010.On the plus side, almost 75 percent said they "like" living in Brussels. Many said property is quite cheap, that healthcare is good and that Brussels has plenty of parks. Many also voiced fondness for its arts and restaurant scene.But almost one in four said Belgian telecom companies and shop staff get on their nerves.Opinion was split on whether Brussels is the best place in Europe to host the EU institutions.But 74 percent said the city should make more of an effort to beautify the EU district, while 73 percent agreed with the statement "the international community lives in a separate world with few contacts with other Brussels residents."
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.
They noted the typical expat has been in Brussels for less than 10 years, works for the European Commission, comes from Germany or France, is part of a couple and lives in the city centre or in the districts of Ixelles, Etterbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or Schaerbeek.Just six percent said they will stay in Brussels when their contract ends.Almost 40 percent said they have three or fewer Belgians in their circle of friends, while 12 percent have none at all.Around half prefer to send their children to international schools instead of Belgian ones.Compounding the isolation, few expats watch Belgian TV or vote in Belgian regional elections, with the majority saying they do not take part in the votes due to naked "disinterest."The biggest complaint - by almost 80 percent of people - is that Brussels is "too dirty."Another 78 percent said the city should do more to combat road congestion, while half said the city feels "unsafe" to live in, following a string of muggings in the EU district in 2009 and 2010.On the plus side, almost 75 percent said they "like" living in Brussels. Many said property is quite cheap, that healthcare is good and that Brussels has plenty of parks. Many also voiced fondness for its arts and restaurant scene.But almost one in four said Belgian telecom companies and shop staff get on their nerves.Opinion was split on whether Brussels is the best place in Europe to host the EU institutions.But 74 percent said the city should make more of an effort to beautify the EU district, while 73 percent agreed with the statement "the international community lives in a separate world with few contacts with other Brussels residents."
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.
After deadly Quebec explosion, questions about the viability of oil transport by rail get louder
Saturday’s runaway oil-filled train cut a swath through downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec near the border with the state of Maine. The horrific derailment is raising new questions about the safety of transporting oil by rail, especially in a province where opposition to pipelines is widespread.
Photograph by: John Kenney , The Gazette
After a
catastrophic oil train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Que. where 13 are
confirmed dead and 50 missing, a critical question has emerged.Isn’t it safer to transport oil by pipelines? The
question is of particular importance to people in British Columbia,
where two major proposed oil pipelines have met stiff resistance from
environmentalists, First Nations and some communities.Both
pipelines — the $6.5-billion Enbridge line through northern B.C. and
Kinder Morgan’s $5.4-billion twinning project to the Lower Mainland —
are meant to deliver crude from the Alberta oilsands to new markets in
Asia.If the pipelines are not approved, there is little doubt oil
shipments by rail to B.C.’s ports will increase. Alberta oil producers
are intent on diversifying from their dependence on the U.S. market.
Alberta oilsands producer Nexen has already investigated that
possibility using CN through the Port of Prince Rupert in northern B.C.And
companies are already bidding on the right to transport their oil on
Kinder Morgan’s existing Trans Mountain line because Alberta producers
are now shipping oil via the Burnaby terminal to Asian markets.The
combined capacity of the two proposed oil pipelines of more than 1.1
million barrels a day would take more than 1,500 rail cars a day to
transport.No longer able to get all the conventional oil it needs
for its small refinery in Burnaby, Chevron began transporting small
amounts of oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan by CN rail to Langley, then
trucking it to the refinery. In May, Chevron increased the amount of
oil brought in by rail, and the 7,500 barrels of oil now brought in by
train and truck account for about 14 per cent of the refinery’s maximum
operating capacity.“Our position is that pipelines represent, we
think, the safest most efficient method (of transportation). However, in
response to business needs, we’ve had to introduce these others,”
Chevron Burnaby refinery spokesman Ray Lord said Monday.But Lord also said rail is safe and that there have been no incidents since they started using trains more than a year ago.Historically, it doesn’t appear using rail to transport oil to the former Ioca refinery in Port Moody was a safety issue either.Rail
was used to transport oil to the refinery for decades until the Trans
Mountain pipeline was built in the 1950s without any derailments or
spills, said Al Sholund, a Port Moody historian and former employee at
the Ioca refinery.There have been major derailments in Western
Canada, including on Aug. 3, 2005 when 800,000 litres of bunker oil and
wood preservative spilled into Wabamun Lake west of Edmonton. Just days
later, a derailment near Squamish spilled 40,000 litres of caustic soda
into the Cheakamus River.There were 49 fatalities from railway incidents in 2012 in Canada, five in B.C., according to the Transportation Safety Board.
However, all but a handful were from crossing or trespassing incidents.University of B.C. professor David Farrell said there is no question that statistically, it’s safer to transport oil by pipeline than it is by rail.
He said a U.S. study of incidents between 2005-2009 shows road transportation had the highest accident rate, followed by rail and pipelines. Citing the study by the think-tank Manhattan Institute, which supports building pipelines, Farrell noted that the number of incidents on rail were four times as great as on pipelines.
The study found road had 19.95 incidents per billion ton-miles, followed by rail with 2.08 per billion ton-miles, natural gas transmission at 0.89 and oil pipelines at 0.58.“There is nothing that really moves on (pipelines) other than the stuff in the pipeline. In the case of rail, you have steel wheels, and steel rails, and these are moving, so when you get an incident there’s going to be more damage and the risk of ignition by sparks,” said Farrell, a transportation and logistics expert in UBC’s Sauder School of Business.However, a Burnaby citizen’s group opposed to Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline says it makes little difference whether its pipelines or trains transporting oil.“It’s like choosing between different poisons,” said Alan Dutton, a member of the Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion.CP Railway declined to comment after the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, Que.In an email, CN spokesman Mark Hallman said Tuesday the tragic Quebec accident is a sober reminder of the vital importance of rail safety.“However, this tragedy notwithstanding, movement of hazardous material by rail not only can be, but is being handled safely in the vast majority of instances,” said Hallman.According to the Association of American Railroads, of which CN is a member, 99.9977 per cent of hazardous material carloads moved by railroad are accident free.
Pipelines in British Columbia have also had spill incidents, including two recent small spills on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.Major past incidents include a 2007 rupture that leaked 1,400 barrels of oil in Burnaby after an excavator punctured the Trans Mountain line.Both Kinder Morgan and Enbridge also declined an interview on Tuesday, saying their companies’ thoughts were with the community of Lac-Mégantic and those grieving loved ones.Kinder Morgan noted its safety record of oil spills is well below the industry average.Enbridge has also touted the industry’s safety record, noting on its Northern Gateway website that pipelines “are the safest, most economical, and most environmentally sensitive method of transporting petroleum on the planet.”The Canadian Petroleum Association has noted that from 2002 and 2009, the average annual volume released from pipelines was just two litres for every million litres transported. That works out to 99.9998 per cent of the product transported safely.
ghoekstra@vancouversun.com
However, all but a handful were from crossing or trespassing incidents.University of B.C. professor David Farrell said there is no question that statistically, it’s safer to transport oil by pipeline than it is by rail.
He said a U.S. study of incidents between 2005-2009 shows road transportation had the highest accident rate, followed by rail and pipelines. Citing the study by the think-tank Manhattan Institute, which supports building pipelines, Farrell noted that the number of incidents on rail were four times as great as on pipelines.
The study found road had 19.95 incidents per billion ton-miles, followed by rail with 2.08 per billion ton-miles, natural gas transmission at 0.89 and oil pipelines at 0.58.“There is nothing that really moves on (pipelines) other than the stuff in the pipeline. In the case of rail, you have steel wheels, and steel rails, and these are moving, so when you get an incident there’s going to be more damage and the risk of ignition by sparks,” said Farrell, a transportation and logistics expert in UBC’s Sauder School of Business.However, a Burnaby citizen’s group opposed to Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline says it makes little difference whether its pipelines or trains transporting oil.“It’s like choosing between different poisons,” said Alan Dutton, a member of the Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion.CP Railway declined to comment after the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, Que.In an email, CN spokesman Mark Hallman said Tuesday the tragic Quebec accident is a sober reminder of the vital importance of rail safety.“However, this tragedy notwithstanding, movement of hazardous material by rail not only can be, but is being handled safely in the vast majority of instances,” said Hallman.According to the Association of American Railroads, of which CN is a member, 99.9977 per cent of hazardous material carloads moved by railroad are accident free.
Pipelines in British Columbia have also had spill incidents, including two recent small spills on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.Major past incidents include a 2007 rupture that leaked 1,400 barrels of oil in Burnaby after an excavator punctured the Trans Mountain line.Both Kinder Morgan and Enbridge also declined an interview on Tuesday, saying their companies’ thoughts were with the community of Lac-Mégantic and those grieving loved ones.Kinder Morgan noted its safety record of oil spills is well below the industry average.Enbridge has also touted the industry’s safety record, noting on its Northern Gateway website that pipelines “are the safest, most economical, and most environmentally sensitive method of transporting petroleum on the planet.”The Canadian Petroleum Association has noted that from 2002 and 2009, the average annual volume released from pipelines was just two litres for every million litres transported. That works out to 99.9998 per cent of the product transported safely.
ghoekstra@vancouversun.com
Original source article: After deadly Quebec explosion, questions about the viability of oil transport by rail get louder
