GERMANY SEES NEED FOR SEPARATE EUROZONE PARLIAMENT

JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.

AS OF YESTERDAY JAN 29,14.THERES 17 BODIES RECOVERED FROM THE QUEBEC SENIORS HOME.AND THE RECOVERY CONTINUES.WITH 15 MORE TO GO.

Israel court hears appeal against security barrier

5 hours ago-JAN 29,14-yahoonews

Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel's top court was considering two Palestinian appeals on Wednesday against the planned route of its West Bank security barrier, which villagers say will cut them off from their land.During the morning, the Supreme Court heard a case lodged by residents of Beit Jala, southwest of Jerusalem, where the barrier threatens to separate them from their olive groves and divide the local Christian community.
Later in the day, the court began hearing an appeal lodged by the residents of the nearby village of Battir, who say the barrier will destroy an ancient irrigation system that they rely on to grow crops.Both cases were adjourned after the hearings, with no date set for a final ruling.Residents of Beit Jala say that if the defence ministry insists on building through the middle of the Cremisan Valley, it would split the Roman Catholic Salesian order by leaving the monastery on the Israeli side and the convent in Palestinian territory.The order runs the Cremisan valley's famous vineyards, which provide wine to churches throughout the Holy Land.
Father Ibrahim al-Shomali, parish priest of Beit Jala's Catholic church, said "we have little hope, but with diplomatic pressure and a strong local church presence we might be able to influence the court's decision."
The petition on behalf of Battir, which is seeking recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was presented by Friends of the Earth Middle East and supported by Israel's own Nature and Parks Authority.
The barrier, whose construction began in 2002 at the height of the second Palestinian uprising, stretches some 440 kilometres (273 miles) -- most of it inside the occupied West Bank.The defence ministry insists that the barrier -- a tangle of barbed wire and, in places, an eight metre-high (25-foot) concrete wall -- is essential for Israeli security.Only 15 percent is built along the Green Line -- the 1949 armistice line which is recognised by the international community as the border of Israel -- UN figures show, with most of it slicing through the West Bank.

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(TAKE OVER 3 WORLD REGIONS)

Putin calls for trade zone for EU and customs union

Today @ 09:30-JAN 29,14

By EUOBSERVER

Moscow wants to establish a free-trade zone between the EU and the Russian-led economic union, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. "We have suggested that the EU leadership study the possibility of a free-trade zone between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union,” Putin told reporters following the EU-Russia summit.

Schaeuble sees need for separate eurozone parliament

Today @ 09:29-JAN 29,14

By Lisbeth Kirk

BRUSSELS - German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has laid out ideas on how the single currency area should evolve, including having a eurozone parliament."Some of the changes will reflect the new realities of the eurozone. For example, I can imagine there will be a eurozone parliament," he told members of the centre-right EPP party, Europe's largest political party, in Brussels on Monday (27 January).He indicated that euro countries too often end up sidelining the EU institutions when it comes to decision-making, something that particularly riles the European Parliament.Member states have been increasing turning to intergovernmental decisions – outside EU treaties – as they introduce legislation to tackle the roots of the EU’s economic crisis.The nascent banking union as well as the European Stability Mechanism – the Eurozone bailout fund – are underpinned by intergovernmental treaties."We discussed the European bank resolution fund just last week, which will be financed with contributions from banks. But it cannot be introduced on the basis of the treaties in their current form,” said Schaeuble."We know treaty change is difficult - but the end of the discussion cannot be, that we do nothing.""It would be relatively easy to achieve this by creating a eurozone parliament consisting of members of parliament from eurozone countries. This shows we can take certain steps even before getting treaty changes.""But we need to be very careful to leave the door wide, wide open to member states which have not yet introduced the euro."Schaeuble's plans - aired just four months ahead of EU elections – are likely to be controversial.They raise questions about how the existing EU parliament would function alongside a new euro-focused institution. They are also likely to heighten concerns, particularly in non-euro Britain, that the eurozone is the political heart of the EU.Swedish finance minister Anders Borg, who was also attending the discussion, expressed scepticism about the idea and questioned whether a new institution would improve citizens’ trust in the EU.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed:(CONFISCATED) their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.

EU envisages minimalist Russia talks on Ukraine trade pact

Today @ 20:11-JAN 29,14-EUOBSERVER

By Andrew Rettman

BRUSSELS - Low-level EU officials will hold two or three small meetings with Russian counterparts in a bid to convince the Kremlin that the bloc’s free trade pacts with former Soviet countries will not harm its economy.EU ambassadors fleshed out the details of the new “consultations” at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday (30 January) after the bloc’s presidents, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, came up with the scheme at a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.The format is to see around five delegates from each side meet twice in Brussels and, possibly, once in Moscow, with the first event expected in February.The EU is to field “desk officers” from the European Commission’s trade department, one of the lowest grades in the EU hierarchy.The aim is to demonstrate that Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, can sign a free trade agreement with the EU without negatively impacting their existing trade arrangements - such as export tariffs or phytosanitary standards - with Russia.“It’s being done because the Russians, at the summit, raised some concerns that the EU leaders were not able to answer in detail on how it’s all compatible and that there is no problem,” an EU official told this website.The technical concerns are central to Putin’s justification of threats to impose a trade ban on Ukraine if it signs the EU pact.Amid prospects of a new opposition-led government in Kiev, he repeated the threat on Tuesday. “We would most likely fail to pursue the current preferential [trade] regime for Ukraine if it signed the [EU] association agreement,” he told press in the EU capital.But there is plenty of scepticism on his official line.A Ukrainian diplomatic source told EUobserver that in the run-up to President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision not to sign the treaty last November, Russian officials bombarded railway stock and car producers in eastern Ukraine with messages that they would be forced into bankruptcy if he went ahead.Voters in the region are his main hope for re-election in 2015.“What politician could ignore the threat of hundreds of thousands of people being made unemployed overnight in his home constituency?” the Ukrainian diplomat noted.The EU official added: “I am sure that the Kremlin has plenty of people who can read [the texts of the draft EU treaties] and who have already studied them in every detail. So it’s hard to see what these new consultations will add.”With Ukraine, in the words of its former prime minister, Leonid Kravchuk, on Wednesday, “on the brink of civil war,” the prospect of reviving the EU pact is slim for now.But in the meantime, the EU is hoping to clinch treaty signatures with Georgia and Moldova by the end of August.The two pro-EU governments initialed the texts in November.The accelerated procedure is designed to limit the time for potential Russian manoeuvres, for example, by the pro-Russian Communist Party in Moldova in elections in November.The process takes a long time because each treaty - thousands of pages, or, up to 5kg worth of documents - must be translated into all 24 of the EU’s “official” languages before the signing ceremony can take place.The EU official said there are enough lawyer-linguists to do major languages, such as English, French and German, quickly.
But he added that scant resources for “some of the small languages,” mean it “can take a long time,” raising the risk that not translating the papers into Maltese or Irish on time could have a major impact on Georgia and Moldova’s EU future.

Barnier launches EU bid to ban risky bank trades

Today @ 20:18-JAN 29,14-EUOBSERVER

By Benjamin Fox

BRUSSELS - The EU's biggest banks could be banned from speculative trading, under legislation proposed on Wednesday (29 January) by the European Commission.EU financial services commissioner Michel Barnier told reporters that so-called proprietary trading, where banks bet exclusively with their own money rather than customers, would be outlawed.The practice is often highly profitable for institutions but lawmakers say it serves neither clients or the health of the European economy.Although proprietary trading now only accounts for a small amount of banking activity, it was used to create the market in sub-prime mortgage loans which led to the financial crisis in 2008-9 and, consequently, publicly funded bank bailouts totalling around 13 percent of the EU's GDP.The rule, which is similar to the so-called 'Volcker rule' which now applies in the US, would apply to around 30 of the bloc's 8,000 banks which together cover around 65 percent of the total banking assets in the EU.It would also cover banks which have total assets exceeding €30 billion, and that have total trading activities exceeding either €70 billion or 10 percent of their total assets. Twenty-three EU-based banks are in the world's top 50 largest institutions according to Global Finance magazine.The rules were "the last component in a raft of new regulation," said Barnier, referring to a flow of legislation which has seen more than thirty EU bills aimed at financial markets adopted since 2009.
"We still have concern about some of Europe's largest banks," said Barnier, adding that the proposals were aimed at institutions he described as "too big to fail, too costly to save and too complex to resolve."However, the draft law steers away from requiring the separation of the standard deposit-based services and the riskier investment arms of banks as recommended in an advisory report for the commission published in 2012.
Instead, national supervisors would be given the power to transfer high-risk trading activities such as derivatives and mortgage securitisation by banks into separate subsidiary firms."Our proposal does not rule out the model of the universal bank," noted Barnier.The commission hopes the ban on proprietary trading could come into force in 2017 followed by the separation rules in 2018.However, the plans face opposition on a range of fronts, including from governments, and the banking sector, as well as a race against time.
Both France and Germany have warned that the proposals are weaker than reforms they have made at national level. "I consider the ideas he has proposed irresponsible and contrary to the interests of the European economy" said Christian Noyer, governor of the French central bank.For its part, the UK, which is opposed to a ban on proprietary trading, offered a more conciliatory response.Barnier's plans had "much in common with the banking reforms the UK has pioneered and have been designed to allow the UK to go ahead with full implementation of its reforms," a UK government spokesperson commented.Meanwhile, the timing of the proposal, just two months before the EU institutions close ahead of May's European elections, has also caused grumbling among MEPs.No deal is likely before 2015 and the commission proposal itself could yet be unpicked by Barnier's successor who will take office in the new EU executive in the autumn.
“It would be better to keep it for the new parliament,” said Sharon Bowles, who chairs the Parliament's economic affairs committee.For his part, Green finance spokesperson Philippe Lamberts said that the EU executive's plan was "some way short" of expectations."Despite recognising the problems with banks combining essential day-to-day banking activities and risky investment activities, the proposals will fail to ensure a true separation of these activities," he said, adding that the rules were "seriously undermined by a very restrictive definition of proprietary trading."

01/28/2014 VATICAN INSIDER

Francis conquers the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine

The cover of the February issue of Rolling Stone magazine (US edition)

The US edition of the music magazine has published a long article on Pope Francis’ “gentle revolution”

vatican insider staff Rome The Holy Father’s becoming a real pop(e) star. First he made it to the front cover of Time as Person of the Year and now he’s on the cover of the US edition of music magazine Rolling Stone. The heading that accompanies the Pope’s photo is the title of Bob Dylan’s third album “The times they are a-changin’”. Inside is  a long article on Pope Francis’ “gentle revolution”.The top-selling US magazine dedicated to music and youth culture has given Pope Francis real pop star cred in its February issue. The article’s author, Mark Binelli, emphasises how in less than a year, Francis has been able to re-launch the Church’s message across the world. Ever since his election as the 266^th Vicar of Christ on 13 March, attendance at papal events and audiences have more than triples, reaching a record of 6,6 million people.With his humble ways, his empathy, and above all the care he has shown for the poor, the “economically disenfranchised” and the destitute, the Pope “has come to feel perfectly suited to our times,” Rolling Stone magazine writes.

01/28/2014 VATICANINSIDER

Pope Francis’ ecumenism

Francis with Bartholomew I

The Bishop of Rome’s messages and gestures to promote Christian unity

Andrea Tornielli vatican city Almost a year after Francis’ election and with the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at an end, it is now possible to give a first overview of the Pope’s initiatives to promote ecumenism. “For me ecumenism is a priority” Francis told Vatican Insider and Italian newspaper La Stampa in last December’s interview.

Some of the choices he made even at the very start of his pontificate had a very positive impact of ecumenism.

Bishop of Rome
Francis has given a special emphasis to his role as Bishop of Rome ever since he made his first appearance on the central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after his election and wanted his Cardinal Vicar by his side; the morning after his election he went to pay tribute to the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major (where he returned on a number of other occasions) and entrust the City of Rome to her; he has given great importance to his ties with his local diocese, the poor and his parishes, with visits to parishes on the outskirts of the city on various Sunday afternoons – a new practice introduced by Francis. These visits allow him to devote more time to meeting people who want to approach him. This is not such a new thing: The Pope is Pope because he is Bishop of the Church of Rome who “presides in charity over all the other Churches” as Ignatius of Antioch wrote. The fact that Francis has made this a priority and the willingness to convert the papacy – expressed in the Evangelii Gaudium and proven in his everyday ministry – are aspects that have been greatly welcomed by the Orthodox world.

St. Martha’s House
Francis’ decision not to live in the papal apartment but to remain in suite 201 in St. Martha’s House, has had a practical consequence for ecumenical relations too. Delegations of Churches and religious communities visiting Rome stay in the very same residence as him so the Pope is able to welcome these figures at the doorstep of his home, away from the public spotlight and share moments of friendship and conviviality with them under the same roof. One of these occasions was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I’s visit to attend the mass for the inauguration of Francis’ pontificate.At the time, the Patriarch said: “When we met there, the fact we were both living in the Domus Sanctae Marthae meant we had the chance to have a few brotherly chats and sit down to table together. As you know, the Pope took the suite I usually stay in when I come to the Vatican. At one point he said to me: “I stole your room...” to which I replied: “You’re welcome to have it!”.”“Over the course of these first nine months, I have received visits from many Orthodox brothers: Bartholomew, Hilarion, the theologian Zizioulas, the Copt Tawadros. The latter is a mystic, he would enter the chapel, remove his shoes and go and pray. I felt like their brother. They have the apostolic succession; I received them as brother bishops. It is painful that we are not yet able to celebrate the Eucharist together, but there is friendship. I believe that the way forward is this: friendship, common work and prayer for unity. We blessed each other; one brother blesses the other, one brother is called Peter and the other Andrew, Mark, Thomas…”.

The Synod and the G8
One of the first decisions the new Pope took was to set up a group of eight cardinal advisors who were entrusted with carrying the plans for the reform of the Roman Curia forward and help in the government of the universal Church. Francis’ intention was to reform the way the Synod works in order to ensure more collegial and far-reaching consultations across the Church. Bartholomew said: “We are very glad he has given such focus to his role as “Bishop of Rome”. And we are also glad about his decision to nominate eight cardinals as advisors: this is similar to the synod system in our Church.”

Together towards Jerusalem
At the end of his homily at the Vesper celebration in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Francis said: “Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end,” he said. “Rather unity comes about in journeying. If we do not walk together, if we do not pray for one another, if we do not collaborate in the many ways that we can in this world for the people of God,” the Pope said, “then unity will not come about.” Unity will not be the result of human effort, “but rather of the Holy Spirit, who sees our good will.” One leg of this journey will be completed next May when Francis will take up Bartholomew I’s invitation and visit the Holy Land for a brief pilgrimage of prayer. He will thus commemorate Paul VI’s historical meeting and embrace with the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras fifty years ago. Paul VI was the first successor of Peter to set foot again on the land where Jesus once lived.

Ecumenism of blood
Finally, there is another kind of ecumenism Francis has spoken of. The ecumenism of blood. “In some countries they kill Christians for wearing a cross or having a Bible and before they kill them they do not ask them whether they are Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic or Orthodox. Their blood is mixed. To those who kill we are Christians. We are united in blood, even though we have not yet managed to take necessary steps towards unity between us and perhaps the time has not yet come. Unity is a gift that we need to ask for. I knew a parish priest in Hamburg who was dealing with the beatification cause of a Catholic priest guillotined by the Nazis for teaching children the catechism.  After him, in the list of condemned individuals, was a Lutheran pastor who was killed for the same reason. Their blood was mixed. The parish priest told me he had gone to the bishop and said to him: “I will continue to deal with the cause, but both of their causes, not just the Catholic priest’s.” This is what ecumenism of blood is. It still exists today; you just need to read the newspapers. Those who kill Christians don’t ask for your identity card to see which Church you were baptised in. We need to take these facts into consideration.”

CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)

REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(4 WINDS OF THE WORLD-WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(COULD ALSO MEAN THE 4 CORNERS OF THE EARTH OR WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

NKorea warns of tensions over US-SKorea war games

By ERIC TALMADGE 6 hours ago-JAN 29,14-yahoonews

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's propaganda machine is churning out near-daily denunciations of the United States and South Korea for a series of soon-to-start military maneuvers, warning nuclear war could be imminent and saying it will take dramatic action of its own if further provoked.

Sound familiar?

North Korea's increasingly shrill opposition to the annual joint drills named Foal Eagle looks very similar to the kind of harsh language that preceded the start of the same exercises last year and led to a steep rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula. That round of escalation culminated in threats of a nuclear strike on Washington and the flattening of Seoul before the maneuvers ended and both sides went back to their corners.It appears the first stages of this year's battle have already begun — though some experts say they don't think it will be as high-pitched as last year's.In the latest of North Korea's increasingly frequent salvos against the exercises, it said through its state-run media that the United States is building up its military forces in Asia so it can invade the country — formally called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK — and take control of the whole region."It is the strategic goal of the U.S. to invade the DPRK, bring its neighboring countries under its control with it as a stepping-stone and, furthermore, dominate the whole Asia-Pacific region," the ruling party's Rodong Sinmun said in an analysis on Monday. "The U.S. is working hard to kick off large-scale joint military drills this year, too, for the purpose of mounting a pre-emptive nuclear attack upon the DPRK."The invectives against the exercises began earlier this month, when North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission proposed the rivals halt military actions and "mutual vilification" to build better relations. The North, however, strongly hinted it would maintain its nuclear weapons program while urging South Korea to cancel the drills with the United States, set to begin in late February.North Korea's ambassador to key ally China offered a somewhat less caustic line at a rare news conference on Wednesday. Ji Jae Ryong told international media that North Korea wants to reduce tensions to allow steps toward reconciliation and eventual unification between North and South."First, we propose taking preparatory measures in response to the warm call for creating an atmosphere for improving North-South ties. In this regard, we officially propose the South Korean authorities take critical measures of halting acts of provoking and slandering the other side from Jan. 30," Ji said.But Ji reiterated that North Korea had no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons program.Seoul-based analyst Daniel Pinkston, of the International Crisis Group, said that although some experts saw the proposal as an overture or part of a "charm offensive" by North Korea, it was intended more as a means of setting the stage for more heated actions ahead — since the North has no reason to expect that Washington and Seoul would seriously consider nixing Foal Eagle."It feeds into the propaganda cycle again," he said. "It's a way of showing the domestic audience that, 'we made a serious overture. We tried to bend over backwards. But they showed their true colors.' I don't see any cooperative measures or charm offensive at all."Seoul and Washington have essentially ignored North Korea's proposal.Seoul instead demanded that North Korea take "practical" action for nuclear disarmament if it truly wants peace on the peninsula. But Seoul has proposed working-level talks on Wednesday to discuss allowing Koreans separated by the 1950-53 Korean War to reunite. North Korea didn't immediately respond to Seoul's proposals.The fighting between North and South Korea ended six decades ago with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically in a state of war. North Korea remains highly sensitive to all military activity in the South, and sees Seoul as a puppet state because nearly 30,000 U.S. troops are based on its soil.This year's drills, in which troops will train on land, sea and in the air, are expected to last until about April.Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korea studies at Korea University in South Korea, said he doesn't expect as much tension as last year."North Korea is maintaining its nuclear weapons program but hasn't launched any fresh provocation, so this year's drills would be more like the routine ones they conducted in previous years," he said.___Associated Press writer Kim Hyung-jin contributed to this report.

FAMINE

EZEKIEL 5:16
16  When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

17 California communities running out of water

7 hours ago-JAN 29,14-yahoonews

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Seventeen rural communities in drought-stricken California are in danger of running out of water within four months, according to a list compiled by state officials.Wells are running dry or reservoirs are nearly empty in some communities. Others have long-running problems that predate the drought.The communities range from the area covered by the tiny Lompico County Water District in Santa Cruz County to the cities of Healdsburg and Cloverdale in Sonoma County, the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/LmgFL2 ) reported Tuesday.Most of the districts, which serve from 39 to 11,000 residents, have too few customers to collect enough revenue to pay for backup water supplies or repair failing equipment, the newspaper reported.A storm expected to drop light and moderate rains on Northern California on Wednesday and Thursday won't help much.The list of vulnerable communities was compiled by the state health department based on a survey last week of the more than 3,000 water agencies in California.
"As the drought goes on, there will be more that probably show up on the list," said Dave Mazzera, acting drinking-water division chief for the state Department of Public Health.He said state officials are discussing solutions such as trucking in water and providing funding to drill more wells or connect rural water systems to other water systems.Lompico County Water District, in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Felton, has just 500 customers and needs nearly $3 million in upgrades to its water system."We have been unable to take water out of the creek since August and well production is down, and we didn't have that much water to begin with," said Lois Henry, a Lompico water board member.Henry said the district may soon have to truck in water.In Cloverdale, where 9,000 get water from four wells, low flows in the Russian River have prompted the City Council to implement mandatory 25 percent rationing and ban lawn watering. The city raised water rates 50 percent to put in two new wells, which should be completed by July."Hopefully we'll be able to get through the summer and the development of this project will pay off." City Manager Paul Caylor said.
Residents of urban areas for the most part have not felt the effects of the drought so far.Other areas on the state list include small water districts in Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, Kern, Amador, Mendocino, Nevada and Placer counties.___Information from: San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)

A look at the wild weather in the Deep South

By The Associated Press -JAN 29,14-yahoonews

SNOWFALL-There were 2.6 inches of snow recorded in Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service. Macon, Ga., saw 2.1 inches of snowfall, while Columbus, Ga., reported 1.2 inches.
ICE, ICE BABY-Just north of Atlanta, a woman and her husband had to deliver their baby girl alongside Interstate 285 with help from a police officer who arrived just in time. The family was taken to a hospital, but the parents and infant were fine.
GRIDLOCK-Thousands of drivers were stranded for hours on gridlocked highways in the Atlanta and Birmingham areas, forced to either sleep in their cars or hike several miles to their destinations. Elsewhere, others gave up on the icy roadways and warmed up inside stores and restaurants offering shelter. Some even slept on the floor of stores like CVS pharmacies.
SLIPPERY HIGHWAYS-In Georgia, state troopers responded to more than 1,200 wrecks. More than 130 people were hurt, while at least five were killed across Georgia and Alabama.
ICEBREAKERS-On Wednesday, there were 70 snowplows clearing roads in metro Atlanta. A day earlier, many crews couldn't even get out because of the massive gridlock that crippled the region.

(NOT) SAVED BY THE BELL-In metro Atlanta schools, more than 10,000 students were stranded in classrooms through the night Tuesday. Teachers played games, raided the school cafeteria and even held dance parties to keep the children entertained. Eleven school buses were stuck on Atlanta-area roads, forcing 239 children to spend the night on board. In Alabama, some 11,000 children were stranded at schools Tuesday night, most in the Birmingham area. Some of the 1,600 children still at the schools would have to spend a second night.

WORLD'S BUSIEST AIRPORT-Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, logged nearly 1,000 cancellations as of Wednesday afternoon.

MUSLIM NATIONS (SLAUGHTERED BY NUKES FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL)

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: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
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 39:1-8,11-21
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 ATOMIC 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 ATOMIC 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)(EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY)
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 OR ARAK 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 KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

AMOS 1:5
5  I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.

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)

JEREMIAH 47:1-7
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN/ARABS) before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2  Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,(NORTHERN TSUNAMI POSSIBLY) and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3  At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses,(ISRAELS ARMY) at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;(ISRAEL POSSIBLY NUKES GAZA)
4  Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN FAKE ARABS) and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5  Baldness is come upon Gaza;(NUKED POSSIBLY) Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6  O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7  How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? (MEDITTERANEAN SEA) there hath he appointed it.

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.

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south ( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS-MUSLIMS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them,(BEFORE THE NUKE GOES OFF) and behind them a desolate wilderness;(AFTER THE ATOMIC BOMB GOES OFF) yea, and nothing shall escape them.(EVERYTHING NUKED)
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate,(SIBERIAN DESERT) with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

JEREMIAH 8:7
7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times;(MIGRATION TIME) and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming;(IN MIGRATION SEASON) but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.(WW3 MIGRATING BIRDS EAT ISRAELS ENEMIES FLESH AND BLOOD)

Exclusive: Syria has shipped out less than 5 pct of chemical weapons

By Anthony Deutsch 39 minutes ago-JAN 29,14-yahoonews

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Syria has given up less than 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss next week's deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The deliveries, in two shipments this month to the northern Syrian port of Latakia, totalled 4.1 percent of the roughly 1,300 tonnes of toxic agents reported by Damascus to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"It's not enough and there is no sign of more," one source briefed on the situation said.The internationally backed operation, overseen by a joint OPCW-United Nations mission, is now 6-8 weeks behind schedule. Damascus needs to show it is still serious about relinquishing its chemical weapons, the sources told Reuters.
The issue is to be discussed at a meeting of the OPCW's executive council on Thursday in The Hague, a senior U.S. State Department official told Reuters.The meeting will focus on the lack of progress and confirm that no more than 5 percent of the chemical weapons material has been removed from Syria, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Failure to eliminate its chemical weapons could expose Syria to sanctions, although these would have to be supported in the U.N. Security Council by Russia and China, which have so far refused to back such measures against President Bashar al-Assad.The deal under which Syria undertook to eliminate its chemical arsenal stopped the United States and its allies from launching bombing raids to punish Assad for a chemical attack last August and made clear the limits to international action against him.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested in a report to the Security Council this week that shipments had been unnecessarily delayed and urged the Syrian government to speed up the process.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a phone call on Wednesday to "press the (Syrian) regime to move forward with the necessary steps on the chemical weapons process," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing.
MESSAGE TO SYRIA
A senior Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the U.N. Security Council will be briefed on the issue by mission head Sigrid Kaag next week."All the indications are, and the secretary-general's report makes clear, that actually the regime has been sort of stalling on the implementation of the agreement," the diplomat said."It will be important what Sigrid Kaag says about whether she thinks these delays are deliberately politically motivated and why or whether there's any truth in the weather, the security and those more technical aspects," he said.Another senior Western diplomat said the Syrian government is "teasing us" by dragging its heels but doing enough to avoid being declared in non-compliance with its obligation to destroy its chemical weapons program.The second diplomat added that Russia would never permit the U.N. Security Council to declare Assad's government in non-compliance with its duty to eliminate its poison gas program."The Russians will never accept it," the second diplomat said, adding that Western powers were also reluctant to do anything that could be seen as undermining the Geneva peace talks between Assad's government and the opposition."Our impression is that they (Assad's government) are managing this issue in parallel with the Geneva discussion," he said. "Everything is blocked so they are blocking on the chemical weapons to remind us" of their power on this issue.Syria, where civil war has killed well over 100,000 people and forced millions to flee, has blamed delays on security obstacles. It said the mission could not be safely carried out unless it received armored vehicles and communications equipment.

A source briefed on the situation said: "Yes, it's true there is a war, but have you ever heard of a civil war without security issues? They have all the necessary means they need for transportation. Now they need to start shipping the chemicals out."Under a deal agreed by Russia and the United States after the August 21 sarin gas attack, Syria vowed to give up its entire stockpile by mid-2014. The rocket attacks in the outskirts of Damascus killed hundreds, including women and children.Eradicating Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, including sarin, mustard gas and VX, requires massive foreign funding and logistical support.The bulk of the most toxic substances are to be destroyed on the Cape Ray, a U.S. cargo ship now en route to the Mediterranean that will be loaded with the chemicals at an Italian port. The remainder will go to several commercial waste processing facilities, including in Britain and Germany.(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Editing by Giles Elgood and Eric Walsh)