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.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
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.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
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.
Two million EU signatures back 'Stop TTIP' initiative-By EUOBSERVER-JUNE 8,15
Today, 09:34-Stop TTIP, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) against the EU-US trade deal has reached 2 million signatures in 14 EU countries, its organizers said. An ECI needs only 1 million in seven countries to be oblige the EU commission to examine a legislative reaction.
EU delegation in Iran barred from speaking to press-By EUOBSERVER-JUNE 8,15
Today, 09:21-An EU delegation lead by Germany's Elmar Brok was Sunday not allowed to meet foreign press in Tehran. Brok cancelled a planned interview with state-owned TV in return but said the "unhappy incident did not spoil the visit". Irans FM Zarif accepted to visit the European Parliament in near future.
Turkish voters snub Erdogan By Andrew Rettman-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:18-The AKP party lost its majority in Turkey’s elections on Sunday (7 June), putting the brakes on president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to consolidate power.With 99 percent of votes counted, the AKP won 41 percent, leaving it 18 seats short of single-party rule - the first time in 13 years.The CHP, a secularist, social-democrat faction, came second with 25 percent, followed by the nationalist MHP on 16 points.The Kurdish minority party, the HDP, also entered parliament with 13 percent.It did so despite being formed just three years ago and despite being associated with the Kurdish separatist movement, the PKK.The Turkish constitution gives the parties 45 days to form a government.
For his part, the AKP prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said: “The elections once again showed that the AKP is the backbone of Turkey”."No one should try to build a victory from an election they lost”.Devlet Bahceli, the MHP leader, indicated he doesn’t want to link up with Davutoglu."The first possibility [for a coalition] … should be between AKP and HDP. The second model can consist of AKP, CHP, and HDP," he said."If all these scenarios fail, then early elections must be held”.The CHP and HDP have also said they won’t join AKP, with political uncertainty prompting the lira to lose value against the dollar on Monday morning.Meanwhile, Erdogan, who campaigned for the AKP despite the fact the Turkish president is supposed to stay neutral, has kept silent.The result puts in doubt his plan to transfer power from parliament to the presidential palace by amending the constitution.It also shows voter discomfort with his increasingly authoritarian and Islamist politics.“Voters said a clear no to the presidential system”, Murat Karayalcin, the CHP chairman said.Selahattin Demirtas, the HDP leader, noted: “As of this hour, the debate about the presidency, the debate about dictatorship, is over. Turkey narrowly averted a disaster”.Demirtas has positioned his party to attract young Turkish liberals and fielded gay and women candidates.He said the election is a victory “for those who want a pluralist and civil new constitution".His deputy, Sirri Sureyya Onder, said: “This was a victory of democracy over political corruption ... of peace over war”.
Erdogan down but not out By Joost Lagendijk-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
Istanbul, Today, 09:21-The pollsters were right.Most of Turkey’s polling companies predicted a defeat for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and a resounding victory for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) of Selahattin Demirtas.Still, the AKP came out as the biggest party by far with 41% of the votes (down from 50% in 2011) while the HDP indeed managed to jump over the 10% threshold with 13%.The AKP, in power since the end of 2002, was punished for making a shift to a Turkish style presidential system - without real checks and balances - the centrepiece of its election campaign.It is what Erdogan desperately wants but most Turks, including parts of the AKP electorate, prefer to stick to their parliamentary system.They simply do not want Turkey to become a one-man show.Other factors that added to the AKP loss were the sluggish economy, and rising worries about Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies.The HDP was rewarded for its decision to challenge the highest electoral threshold in Europe and for opening up beyond its traditional core of nationalist Kurdish voters to a wider electorate of Turkish leftists and liberals.Besides, the charismatic Demirtas was also able to convince many conservative Kurds who used to vote for the AKP but have become unhappy with Erdogan dragging his feet on a solution for the Kurdish problem, to switch to his party.
Erdogan’s loss
Most observers agree that the AKP’s defeat is in fact Erdogan’s loss. The problem is that the president was elected last year for a 5-year term and has no intention of stepping down.Speculation on what should happen now depends largely on Erdogan. Although according to the constitution he should act as a non-partisan president, the election campaign showed that he has no appetite for sticking to that rule.He is still the dominant player inside the AKP and his decisions will be crucial. Will he blame the loss of 4 million voters on PM Davutoglu and replace him with a new figurehead? Does Erdogan want the AKP to form a minority government that has to make a deal on each important dossier with one of the opposition parties?
Or is he willing to facilitate a coalition government, most likely with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)? Or, as many fear, will he block every constructive effort by the parties in parliament to form a government - they have 45 days to do so - and call for new elections after that period? He might want to try his luck and that of his party one more time because he does not want to be a lame duck president who might end up one day, once out of office, before a Turkish court accused of corruption and abuse of power.
What should the EU do?
Amid all that uncertainty, what should the EU do? Should it welcome the election result as an expression of the vitality of Turkey’s democracy – which it certainly is – and re-energise the accession process by opening up some new chapters that focus on democracy and rule of law? That would be the most sympathetic reaction. And it would welcomed by Turkish democrats.It is unfortunately likely that Brussels will want to wait and see what happens next.In fact, the outcome of Sunday’s vote could be a coalition administration of AKP and MHP, the most eurosceptic and anti-Kurdish party in the Turkish parliament. This could lead to the blocking of any further EU-required reforms and could derail the already shaky Kurdish settlement process.Turkey’s voters have shown they do not want Turkey to become a state ruled by one man, slowly shifting away from Europe. Brussels’ reward for that courageous decision, however, will most probably have to wait until the dust has settled.Joost Lagendijk is a former member of the European Parliament who lives in Turkey and is now a columnist for Turkish dailies Zaman and Today’s Zaman.
Juncker rebukes Tsipras on parliament speech By Honor Mahony-JUNE 7,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 7. Jun, 13:36-European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker Sunday (7 June) publicly rebuked Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, accusing him of not presenting the whole truth during a key parliamentary address on Friday and of foot-dragging on a promised reform plan.Speaking in Bavaria ahead of a G7 meeting, Juncker hit back at Tsipras' speech before MPs in Athens saying that a proposal presented in Brussels last Wednesday by Greece's creditors was a take-or-it-leave-it deal to release €7.2bn in bailout money.He accused the Greek side of not being "capable" of negotiating the text "although I would have welcomed this" and admitted that he refused to speak to Tsipras on Saturday morning.Juncker said Tsipras had promised to present an "alternative proposal by Thursday evening, then he promised to present it by Friday, he wanted to speak by phone to me on Saturday but I didn't have this alternative proposal yet".Any such proposal has to be studied before a "formal position" can be taken, said Juncker, adding he hoped all sides would be able to discuss an Athens draft compromise by Wednesday, when EU leaders will be in Brussels for a Latin America Summit.Tsipras on Friday outright rejected the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank’s list of proposed reforms Greece needed to secure the bailout money.He told MPs the proposal “presented by Jean-Claude Juncker" was a “bad negotiation trick” and that he hoped it would be “withdrawn”.It was the latest in a long line of setbacks and false starts in negotiations between Athens and its creditors since the Greece’s left-wing government was elected to power in January on the back of promise to end austerity.The politics around the discussions have become more acute however as Greece is running out of cash to pay every-day bills and its current bailout expires at the end of this month.
Disappointed
Reacting specifically to the speech, Juncker said he was a “little bit disappointed” by it.“He was presenting the offer by the three institutions as a take-it-or-leave-it offer. That was not the message given to him. He was presenting the proposals of the three institutions as being mine and being mine exclusively. He knows full well that this is not the case. And he knows perfectly well that I was ready to discuss on the main points of disagreement.”He also said that Tsipras "did not tell parliament" that they had discussed the issue of pensions - a red line for the Greeks.Juncker said he did not have a “personal problem” with Tsipras and that he is his “friend”, but “friendship, in order to maintain it, has to observe some minimum rules”.His words have particular resonance as the commission president is considered the most sympathetic of the negotiators towards the Greek situation, being the first to speak of a humanitarian crisis in the country and to stress the social aspects of any deal.Juncker said he was against a Greek exit of the euro whose consequences are "unforeseeable" but that this statement should not be interpreted as meaning that he can "pull a rabbit out of a hat" or that a solution can be found without "further efforts".EU Council president Donald Tusk, for his part, said the negotiations were about politics and morals."It is not true that debtors are always moral and creditors always immoral," said the Polish politician.
Resign if you back Brexit, Cameron warns party By Benjamin Fox-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:01-David Cameron has warned eurosceptic ministers that they will have to resign if they want to campaign for Britain to leave the EU.Speaking at the G7 summit in Bavaria on Sunday (7 June), the UK prime minister insisted that his government would not be “neutral” and planned to “get a deal that’s in Britain’s interest and then recommend Britain stays in it”.“I’ve been very clear. If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation, to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome,” he said.A number of Conservative ministers are hostile to EU membership and many within the party hoped that Cameron would allow a free vote, repeating the tactic used by Labour premier Harold Wilson at the UK’s last referendum on the then EEC (European Economic Community) in 1975 of temporarily freeing ministers from the principle of ‘collective responsibility’.Cameron’s warning to his party came hours after the campaign group, Conservatives for Britain, announced its launch with an open letter in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday (7 June).The group set out a series of highly ambitious demands for Cameron to achieve in negotiations to revise the UK’s terms of membership. More than 60 Conservative MPs have signed up to the groups whose co-founders are Steve Baker and David Campbell-Bannerman, a Conservative MEP who defected from the anti-EU party Ukip.
Although the letter states that “David Cameron has been spectacularly successful in Europe”, and praises his promise to renegotiate the UK’s membership status, it gives a clear hint that it will still call for Britain to leave the 28 country bloc.Its policy shopping list includes three items that are highly unlikely or impossible without a complete re-opening of the EU treaties - “domestic control over social and employment law…migration controls for member states and the right for Britain to veto EU laws.”“We are ever more accustomed to a globe without borders and boundaries,” said Baker, “why should British firms and families accept European barriers to global trade?”“Unless senior EU officials awake to the possibility that one of the EU's largest members is serious about a fundamental change in our relationship, our recommendation to British voters seems likely to be exit,” he concluded.
Obama
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama called on the UK to remain part of the bloc, telling reporters at the G7 that “its influence is positive not just for Europe, but also for the world."“One of the great values of having the United Kingdom in the European Union is its leadership and strength on a whole host of global challenges,” he added.The UK parliament will hold its first debate on the government’s referendum bill on Tuesday, and the campaign on the plebiscite, which could take place as early as May 2016, is already gathering pace.In an interview on Saturday (6 June), Ukip leader Nigel Farage called for a cross-party ‘No’ campaign, and warned that supporters of a ‘Brexit’ would have to “get cracking” immediately to avoid being caught unprepared if the referendum is held before the 2017 deadline promised by Cameron.Although a handful of Labour MPs will support a British exit from the EU, almost all of its political support will come from the Conservatives and Ukip.Andy Burnham, the front-runner in the Labour party leadership campaign, has said that Labour should run its own ‘Yes’ campaign, in a bid to avoid what it believes was a tactical mistake by campaigning alongside the Conservatives ahead of the Scottish independence referendum last year.
06/ 6/2015-vatican insider-Francis: The world’s powerful talk about peace and then sell weapons under the counter-Francis speaks to journalists on board the return flight from Sarajevo-On the return flight from Sarajevo to Rome, Francis announced the imminent decision on the Medjugorje apparitions. On the subject of negative television programmes he said consumerism is a “cancer” of society-ANDREA TORNIELLI
on the flight from Sarajevo to Rome-We are living in a “third world war fought piecemeal”, there is an “atmosphere of war” in the world and some “seek to create and foment it” through culture and civilization clashes and by speculating on the sale of arms, because “some of the world’s powerful talk about peace and then go and sell weapons under the counter.” But peace is possible, it is “God’s plan”. From Sarajevo, a city that has become a symbol of fratricidal war in Europe, Pope Francis said he sees signs of hope. The wounds created by the last conflict fought in the 1990’s still run deep. Francis looked at all the children of different ethnicities and religions waving at him in the streets and addressing Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political authorities he said: “Children are the hope we should be betting on”.Speaking to journalists on board the return flight from Sarajevo to Rome, Francis explained that the fact that he has chosen to embark on European visits starting with smaller countries such as Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, “that have suffered a great deal”, “is a sign”. Just as the words he pronounced before the country’s political authorities were a sign: he said Bosnia-Herzegovina “an integral part of Europe”. Below is a transcription of the questions and answers from the Pope’s conversation with journalists on the return flight.You spoke about the powerful in the world who are involved in arms trafficking and about those who foment an atmosphere of war. Could you elaborate on this? “There is always hypocrisy and this is why I said that simply talking about peace is not enough, you have to make peace. Those who simply talk about peace but do not make peace, contradict themselves. Those who talk about peace but foster war, through the sale of arms for example, are hypocrites.”There is a big interest surrounding the phenomenon of the Medjugorje apparitions. What can you tells us about this? “When Benedict XVI was Pope, he set up a commission on Medjugorje that was headed by Cardinal Ruini and composed of other cardinals and theologians. They prepared a study and Ruini delivered it to me after a few years of work. They did a good job. Cardinal Müller (Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ed.) told me that he was going to hold a dicastery meeting on this; I think it was held on the last Wednesday of the month. We are about to take some decisions and these will then be communicated. For now, bishops are just being given some indications.”You spoke to young people about the need to exercise prudence when watching TV and using computers, you talked about “filth” and “bad fantasies”. What did you mean by this exactly? “There are two different elements here: method and content. Regarding the method or way of doing things, there is one that is bad for the soul and that is being too attached to the computer. This is bad for the soul and it robs you of your freedom, you become a slave of the computer. It’s interesting, so many mothers and fathers say to me: when we’re at table our children are on their phones and it’s like they are on another planet. Virtual language is a form of progress for humanity but when it drives us away from our family, from social life, from sport and from art and we are glued to it, it becomes a mental illness. Secondly, the content. Yes, there is a lot of filth that ranges from pornography to semi-pornographic content, to programmes that are empty, devoid of values; relativism and consumerism foment all this. Ad we know that consumerism is a cancer of society, relativism is a cancer of society and I will talk about this in my next encyclical. There are some very concerned parents who do not allow their children to have a computer in their rooms but in a common space in their home. These are little things that help.”One final question was to do with a potential papal visit to France, and existing “problems” were mentioned (an implicit reference to the lack of Vatican approval for Laurent Stefanini’s appointment as ambassador to the Holy See. The international press has been talking about Stefanini’s homosexuality for weeks.). “Little problems are not problems,” the Pope said. And he said he will visit France because “he promised it to bishops”.
06/ 8/2015-vatican insider-The “little martyrs” and the Pope who lets himself “be hurt” by reality-Pope Francis in Sarajevo Cathedral-As was the case in Albania, the crucial moment of the Pope’s visit to Sarajevo was when he listened tot he stories of those who suffered without showing hatred. Francis reaction is a lesson to us all-andrea tornielli
vatican city-The most intense moment of Pope Francis’ flash visit to Sarajevo, which lasted just eleven hours, was the meeting with priests and men and women religious in the cathedral of the Bosnian capital in the afternoon of Saturday 6 June. Here, Bergoglio listened to three testimonies. The people who spoke were: Fr. Zvonomir Matijevic, Franciscan friar Jozo Puskaric and Sister Ljubica Sekerija, a priest, a friar and a nun. Three simple stories about the suffering each of them underwent during the fratricidal war, which took place in the 1990’s. In two of the cases, the persecutors were Serbian militia, fellow-Christians therefore. A significant appeal to people not to simplify things, seeing everything through the lens of a clash between Christianity and Islam. In the case of Sister Ljubica, the persecutors were Muslim militants (although the nun was keen to point out that the guerrillas came from outside, they were not Bosnians).The voices of the three testimonies often trembled with emotion and they sometimes stumbled over their words. An example of this was after Fra Jozo described life in the concentration camp. He said to the Pope: “I confess to you I once wanted to die in order to put an end to my agony. They threatened to skin me alive, rip my nails out and put salt on my wounds… Once I found it so difficult to bear that I begged the guard to kill me.” He concluded by saying: “I am especially grateful to the Lord because I never felt hatred toward my persecutors. I forgave them…” Another example was when Fr. Zvonomir explained how he survived partly thanks to the help of a Muslim woman called Fatima, who brought him food in secret. Or when Sister Ljubica spoke about the time one of her persecutors brought her a pear instead of hitting her.The same was seen in Tirana during the Pope’s meeting with other martyr priests and nuns. The words of these religious did not contain a hint of vengeance, spite or hatred. Only love and forgiveness. And the ability to discern seeds of good even in persecutors. Or that Muslim woman who fed a Christian priest being persecuted by other Christians.Francis was deeply moved as he listened in silence. He gave long embraces to the three consecrated individuals and bent down to kiss the hands of the priest and friar. He then rolled up the sheets of paper containing his prepared speech and handed it over to Cardinal Vinko Puljic, without reading one single line. Not because there was anything wrong with the contents, but because Francis let himself he “hurt” by reality, by the tear-filled living testimonies of those witnesses of the faith who suffered persecution. He opened himself up to questioning, he let himself be thrown by their simple and genuine words which represented the heart of Christian martyrdom, Christians who follow the “first martyr” Jesus and climb their Calvary without ever hating. Francis simply saw his prepared text as inadequate in light of what had just been said. And he decided, just as simply, to respond by letting his answer flow from his “wounded” heart.He spoke of the need to always remember the faith of one’s “ancestors”, of those who came before us, of those who suffered, in order to see all the problems, all the big and little disputes, all the personal grudges and self-referential issues that besiege the Church, in relative terms. This is healthy Christian relativism. In the face of the suffering and simple and genuine faith of these testimonies, a lot of the daily concerns of many in the Church appear completely trivial in comparison, “worldly” in fact, as Francis said.The Pope added: “I want to tell you that this was a history of cruelty, that in today’s world war we see so much cruelty! Always do the opposite of cruelty. Have an attitude of tenderness, fraternity, forgiveness and carry the cross of Jesus Christ. Be little testimonies of Jesus’ Cross. This is how the Church, the holy Mother Church wants you to be: little, little martyrs before these martyrs, little witnesses of Jesus’ Cross.” It is a call not to respond with revenge and not to show muscle, but to follow in the footsteps of the “first martyr”. It is an invitation not to use the persecution of Christians for ideological means, not to fall into “persecutionism”, but to adopt the same sentiments as Christ.The Pope’s decision to let himself be “hurt” and called into question by reality, is an indication of something that goes beyond the specific example of the persecuted and martyrs. It is a nudge to everyone, especially those bishops and priests who continue to stress their concerns about people not following them, or placing everything within their set way of seeing things –fitting everything, every provocation and every shocking reality into own mind-set – when they could follow Francis’ example of testimony and his way of being close to people, letting themselves be “hurt” and questioning themselves. By sticking to their set way of seeing things, they try to ensure that everything will go on as before. Possibly expecting that the “anomaly” represented by a word or example given by the Pope, or any other provocation that comes from reality, will pass without leaving a trace. So that everything may go back to the way it was before, inside the shell of little certainties, behind the reassuring screen of set phrases on pastoral care, evangelisation, values and the world.In doing so they forget that Jesus too let himself be moved to his core, he let himself be “hurt” by reality, he let miracles come out of him. He was able to say: “woman, do not weep”, he was able to embrace, forgive and effuse mercy. He wept. Because He was a God with a heart made of flesh. A God who did not respond to human tragedies by coldly listing the perfect doctrines of the doctors of the law, with repetitive formulas or the cold geometry of pastoral frameworks, which continue to turn the Gospel into paper rather than flesh.
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.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
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.
Two million EU signatures back 'Stop TTIP' initiative-By EUOBSERVER-JUNE 8,15
Today, 09:34-Stop TTIP, a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) against the EU-US trade deal has reached 2 million signatures in 14 EU countries, its organizers said. An ECI needs only 1 million in seven countries to be oblige the EU commission to examine a legislative reaction.
EU delegation in Iran barred from speaking to press-By EUOBSERVER-JUNE 8,15
Today, 09:21-An EU delegation lead by Germany's Elmar Brok was Sunday not allowed to meet foreign press in Tehran. Brok cancelled a planned interview with state-owned TV in return but said the "unhappy incident did not spoil the visit". Irans FM Zarif accepted to visit the European Parliament in near future.
Turkish voters snub Erdogan By Andrew Rettman-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:18-The AKP party lost its majority in Turkey’s elections on Sunday (7 June), putting the brakes on president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to consolidate power.With 99 percent of votes counted, the AKP won 41 percent, leaving it 18 seats short of single-party rule - the first time in 13 years.The CHP, a secularist, social-democrat faction, came second with 25 percent, followed by the nationalist MHP on 16 points.The Kurdish minority party, the HDP, also entered parliament with 13 percent.It did so despite being formed just three years ago and despite being associated with the Kurdish separatist movement, the PKK.The Turkish constitution gives the parties 45 days to form a government.
For his part, the AKP prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said: “The elections once again showed that the AKP is the backbone of Turkey”."No one should try to build a victory from an election they lost”.Devlet Bahceli, the MHP leader, indicated he doesn’t want to link up with Davutoglu."The first possibility [for a coalition] … should be between AKP and HDP. The second model can consist of AKP, CHP, and HDP," he said."If all these scenarios fail, then early elections must be held”.The CHP and HDP have also said they won’t join AKP, with political uncertainty prompting the lira to lose value against the dollar on Monday morning.Meanwhile, Erdogan, who campaigned for the AKP despite the fact the Turkish president is supposed to stay neutral, has kept silent.The result puts in doubt his plan to transfer power from parliament to the presidential palace by amending the constitution.It also shows voter discomfort with his increasingly authoritarian and Islamist politics.“Voters said a clear no to the presidential system”, Murat Karayalcin, the CHP chairman said.Selahattin Demirtas, the HDP leader, noted: “As of this hour, the debate about the presidency, the debate about dictatorship, is over. Turkey narrowly averted a disaster”.Demirtas has positioned his party to attract young Turkish liberals and fielded gay and women candidates.He said the election is a victory “for those who want a pluralist and civil new constitution".His deputy, Sirri Sureyya Onder, said: “This was a victory of democracy over political corruption ... of peace over war”.
Erdogan down but not out By Joost Lagendijk-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
Istanbul, Today, 09:21-The pollsters were right.Most of Turkey’s polling companies predicted a defeat for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and a resounding victory for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) of Selahattin Demirtas.Still, the AKP came out as the biggest party by far with 41% of the votes (down from 50% in 2011) while the HDP indeed managed to jump over the 10% threshold with 13%.The AKP, in power since the end of 2002, was punished for making a shift to a Turkish style presidential system - without real checks and balances - the centrepiece of its election campaign.It is what Erdogan desperately wants but most Turks, including parts of the AKP electorate, prefer to stick to their parliamentary system.They simply do not want Turkey to become a one-man show.Other factors that added to the AKP loss were the sluggish economy, and rising worries about Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies.The HDP was rewarded for its decision to challenge the highest electoral threshold in Europe and for opening up beyond its traditional core of nationalist Kurdish voters to a wider electorate of Turkish leftists and liberals.Besides, the charismatic Demirtas was also able to convince many conservative Kurds who used to vote for the AKP but have become unhappy with Erdogan dragging his feet on a solution for the Kurdish problem, to switch to his party.
Erdogan’s loss
Most observers agree that the AKP’s defeat is in fact Erdogan’s loss. The problem is that the president was elected last year for a 5-year term and has no intention of stepping down.Speculation on what should happen now depends largely on Erdogan. Although according to the constitution he should act as a non-partisan president, the election campaign showed that he has no appetite for sticking to that rule.He is still the dominant player inside the AKP and his decisions will be crucial. Will he blame the loss of 4 million voters on PM Davutoglu and replace him with a new figurehead? Does Erdogan want the AKP to form a minority government that has to make a deal on each important dossier with one of the opposition parties?
Or is he willing to facilitate a coalition government, most likely with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)? Or, as many fear, will he block every constructive effort by the parties in parliament to form a government - they have 45 days to do so - and call for new elections after that period? He might want to try his luck and that of his party one more time because he does not want to be a lame duck president who might end up one day, once out of office, before a Turkish court accused of corruption and abuse of power.
What should the EU do?
Amid all that uncertainty, what should the EU do? Should it welcome the election result as an expression of the vitality of Turkey’s democracy – which it certainly is – and re-energise the accession process by opening up some new chapters that focus on democracy and rule of law? That would be the most sympathetic reaction. And it would welcomed by Turkish democrats.It is unfortunately likely that Brussels will want to wait and see what happens next.In fact, the outcome of Sunday’s vote could be a coalition administration of AKP and MHP, the most eurosceptic and anti-Kurdish party in the Turkish parliament. This could lead to the blocking of any further EU-required reforms and could derail the already shaky Kurdish settlement process.Turkey’s voters have shown they do not want Turkey to become a state ruled by one man, slowly shifting away from Europe. Brussels’ reward for that courageous decision, however, will most probably have to wait until the dust has settled.Joost Lagendijk is a former member of the European Parliament who lives in Turkey and is now a columnist for Turkish dailies Zaman and Today’s Zaman.
Juncker rebukes Tsipras on parliament speech By Honor Mahony-JUNE 7,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 7. Jun, 13:36-European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker Sunday (7 June) publicly rebuked Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, accusing him of not presenting the whole truth during a key parliamentary address on Friday and of foot-dragging on a promised reform plan.Speaking in Bavaria ahead of a G7 meeting, Juncker hit back at Tsipras' speech before MPs in Athens saying that a proposal presented in Brussels last Wednesday by Greece's creditors was a take-or-it-leave-it deal to release €7.2bn in bailout money.He accused the Greek side of not being "capable" of negotiating the text "although I would have welcomed this" and admitted that he refused to speak to Tsipras on Saturday morning.Juncker said Tsipras had promised to present an "alternative proposal by Thursday evening, then he promised to present it by Friday, he wanted to speak by phone to me on Saturday but I didn't have this alternative proposal yet".Any such proposal has to be studied before a "formal position" can be taken, said Juncker, adding he hoped all sides would be able to discuss an Athens draft compromise by Wednesday, when EU leaders will be in Brussels for a Latin America Summit.Tsipras on Friday outright rejected the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank’s list of proposed reforms Greece needed to secure the bailout money.He told MPs the proposal “presented by Jean-Claude Juncker" was a “bad negotiation trick” and that he hoped it would be “withdrawn”.It was the latest in a long line of setbacks and false starts in negotiations between Athens and its creditors since the Greece’s left-wing government was elected to power in January on the back of promise to end austerity.The politics around the discussions have become more acute however as Greece is running out of cash to pay every-day bills and its current bailout expires at the end of this month.
Disappointed
Reacting specifically to the speech, Juncker said he was a “little bit disappointed” by it.“He was presenting the offer by the three institutions as a take-it-or-leave-it offer. That was not the message given to him. He was presenting the proposals of the three institutions as being mine and being mine exclusively. He knows full well that this is not the case. And he knows perfectly well that I was ready to discuss on the main points of disagreement.”He also said that Tsipras "did not tell parliament" that they had discussed the issue of pensions - a red line for the Greeks.Juncker said he did not have a “personal problem” with Tsipras and that he is his “friend”, but “friendship, in order to maintain it, has to observe some minimum rules”.His words have particular resonance as the commission president is considered the most sympathetic of the negotiators towards the Greek situation, being the first to speak of a humanitarian crisis in the country and to stress the social aspects of any deal.Juncker said he was against a Greek exit of the euro whose consequences are "unforeseeable" but that this statement should not be interpreted as meaning that he can "pull a rabbit out of a hat" or that a solution can be found without "further efforts".EU Council president Donald Tusk, for his part, said the negotiations were about politics and morals."It is not true that debtors are always moral and creditors always immoral," said the Polish politician.
Resign if you back Brexit, Cameron warns party By Benjamin Fox-JUNE 8,15-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:01-David Cameron has warned eurosceptic ministers that they will have to resign if they want to campaign for Britain to leave the EU.Speaking at the G7 summit in Bavaria on Sunday (7 June), the UK prime minister insisted that his government would not be “neutral” and planned to “get a deal that’s in Britain’s interest and then recommend Britain stays in it”.“I’ve been very clear. If you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation, to have a referendum and that will lead to a successful outcome,” he said.A number of Conservative ministers are hostile to EU membership and many within the party hoped that Cameron would allow a free vote, repeating the tactic used by Labour premier Harold Wilson at the UK’s last referendum on the then EEC (European Economic Community) in 1975 of temporarily freeing ministers from the principle of ‘collective responsibility’.Cameron’s warning to his party came hours after the campaign group, Conservatives for Britain, announced its launch with an open letter in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday (7 June).The group set out a series of highly ambitious demands for Cameron to achieve in negotiations to revise the UK’s terms of membership. More than 60 Conservative MPs have signed up to the groups whose co-founders are Steve Baker and David Campbell-Bannerman, a Conservative MEP who defected from the anti-EU party Ukip.
Although the letter states that “David Cameron has been spectacularly successful in Europe”, and praises his promise to renegotiate the UK’s membership status, it gives a clear hint that it will still call for Britain to leave the 28 country bloc.Its policy shopping list includes three items that are highly unlikely or impossible without a complete re-opening of the EU treaties - “domestic control over social and employment law…migration controls for member states and the right for Britain to veto EU laws.”“We are ever more accustomed to a globe without borders and boundaries,” said Baker, “why should British firms and families accept European barriers to global trade?”“Unless senior EU officials awake to the possibility that one of the EU's largest members is serious about a fundamental change in our relationship, our recommendation to British voters seems likely to be exit,” he concluded.
Obama
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama called on the UK to remain part of the bloc, telling reporters at the G7 that “its influence is positive not just for Europe, but also for the world."“One of the great values of having the United Kingdom in the European Union is its leadership and strength on a whole host of global challenges,” he added.The UK parliament will hold its first debate on the government’s referendum bill on Tuesday, and the campaign on the plebiscite, which could take place as early as May 2016, is already gathering pace.In an interview on Saturday (6 June), Ukip leader Nigel Farage called for a cross-party ‘No’ campaign, and warned that supporters of a ‘Brexit’ would have to “get cracking” immediately to avoid being caught unprepared if the referendum is held before the 2017 deadline promised by Cameron.Although a handful of Labour MPs will support a British exit from the EU, almost all of its political support will come from the Conservatives and Ukip.Andy Burnham, the front-runner in the Labour party leadership campaign, has said that Labour should run its own ‘Yes’ campaign, in a bid to avoid what it believes was a tactical mistake by campaigning alongside the Conservatives ahead of the Scottish independence referendum last year.
06/ 6/2015-vatican insider-Francis: The world’s powerful talk about peace and then sell weapons under the counter-Francis speaks to journalists on board the return flight from Sarajevo-On the return flight from Sarajevo to Rome, Francis announced the imminent decision on the Medjugorje apparitions. On the subject of negative television programmes he said consumerism is a “cancer” of society-ANDREA TORNIELLI
on the flight from Sarajevo to Rome-We are living in a “third world war fought piecemeal”, there is an “atmosphere of war” in the world and some “seek to create and foment it” through culture and civilization clashes and by speculating on the sale of arms, because “some of the world’s powerful talk about peace and then go and sell weapons under the counter.” But peace is possible, it is “God’s plan”. From Sarajevo, a city that has become a symbol of fratricidal war in Europe, Pope Francis said he sees signs of hope. The wounds created by the last conflict fought in the 1990’s still run deep. Francis looked at all the children of different ethnicities and religions waving at him in the streets and addressing Bosnia-Herzegovina’s political authorities he said: “Children are the hope we should be betting on”.Speaking to journalists on board the return flight from Sarajevo to Rome, Francis explained that the fact that he has chosen to embark on European visits starting with smaller countries such as Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, “that have suffered a great deal”, “is a sign”. Just as the words he pronounced before the country’s political authorities were a sign: he said Bosnia-Herzegovina “an integral part of Europe”. Below is a transcription of the questions and answers from the Pope’s conversation with journalists on the return flight.You spoke about the powerful in the world who are involved in arms trafficking and about those who foment an atmosphere of war. Could you elaborate on this? “There is always hypocrisy and this is why I said that simply talking about peace is not enough, you have to make peace. Those who simply talk about peace but do not make peace, contradict themselves. Those who talk about peace but foster war, through the sale of arms for example, are hypocrites.”There is a big interest surrounding the phenomenon of the Medjugorje apparitions. What can you tells us about this? “When Benedict XVI was Pope, he set up a commission on Medjugorje that was headed by Cardinal Ruini and composed of other cardinals and theologians. They prepared a study and Ruini delivered it to me after a few years of work. They did a good job. Cardinal Müller (Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ed.) told me that he was going to hold a dicastery meeting on this; I think it was held on the last Wednesday of the month. We are about to take some decisions and these will then be communicated. For now, bishops are just being given some indications.”You spoke to young people about the need to exercise prudence when watching TV and using computers, you talked about “filth” and “bad fantasies”. What did you mean by this exactly? “There are two different elements here: method and content. Regarding the method or way of doing things, there is one that is bad for the soul and that is being too attached to the computer. This is bad for the soul and it robs you of your freedom, you become a slave of the computer. It’s interesting, so many mothers and fathers say to me: when we’re at table our children are on their phones and it’s like they are on another planet. Virtual language is a form of progress for humanity but when it drives us away from our family, from social life, from sport and from art and we are glued to it, it becomes a mental illness. Secondly, the content. Yes, there is a lot of filth that ranges from pornography to semi-pornographic content, to programmes that are empty, devoid of values; relativism and consumerism foment all this. Ad we know that consumerism is a cancer of society, relativism is a cancer of society and I will talk about this in my next encyclical. There are some very concerned parents who do not allow their children to have a computer in their rooms but in a common space in their home. These are little things that help.”One final question was to do with a potential papal visit to France, and existing “problems” were mentioned (an implicit reference to the lack of Vatican approval for Laurent Stefanini’s appointment as ambassador to the Holy See. The international press has been talking about Stefanini’s homosexuality for weeks.). “Little problems are not problems,” the Pope said. And he said he will visit France because “he promised it to bishops”.
06/ 8/2015-vatican insider-The “little martyrs” and the Pope who lets himself “be hurt” by reality-Pope Francis in Sarajevo Cathedral-As was the case in Albania, the crucial moment of the Pope’s visit to Sarajevo was when he listened tot he stories of those who suffered without showing hatred. Francis reaction is a lesson to us all-andrea tornielli
vatican city-The most intense moment of Pope Francis’ flash visit to Sarajevo, which lasted just eleven hours, was the meeting with priests and men and women religious in the cathedral of the Bosnian capital in the afternoon of Saturday 6 June. Here, Bergoglio listened to three testimonies. The people who spoke were: Fr. Zvonomir Matijevic, Franciscan friar Jozo Puskaric and Sister Ljubica Sekerija, a priest, a friar and a nun. Three simple stories about the suffering each of them underwent during the fratricidal war, which took place in the 1990’s. In two of the cases, the persecutors were Serbian militia, fellow-Christians therefore. A significant appeal to people not to simplify things, seeing everything through the lens of a clash between Christianity and Islam. In the case of Sister Ljubica, the persecutors were Muslim militants (although the nun was keen to point out that the guerrillas came from outside, they were not Bosnians).The voices of the three testimonies often trembled with emotion and they sometimes stumbled over their words. An example of this was after Fra Jozo described life in the concentration camp. He said to the Pope: “I confess to you I once wanted to die in order to put an end to my agony. They threatened to skin me alive, rip my nails out and put salt on my wounds… Once I found it so difficult to bear that I begged the guard to kill me.” He concluded by saying: “I am especially grateful to the Lord because I never felt hatred toward my persecutors. I forgave them…” Another example was when Fr. Zvonomir explained how he survived partly thanks to the help of a Muslim woman called Fatima, who brought him food in secret. Or when Sister Ljubica spoke about the time one of her persecutors brought her a pear instead of hitting her.The same was seen in Tirana during the Pope’s meeting with other martyr priests and nuns. The words of these religious did not contain a hint of vengeance, spite or hatred. Only love and forgiveness. And the ability to discern seeds of good even in persecutors. Or that Muslim woman who fed a Christian priest being persecuted by other Christians.Francis was deeply moved as he listened in silence. He gave long embraces to the three consecrated individuals and bent down to kiss the hands of the priest and friar. He then rolled up the sheets of paper containing his prepared speech and handed it over to Cardinal Vinko Puljic, without reading one single line. Not because there was anything wrong with the contents, but because Francis let himself he “hurt” by reality, by the tear-filled living testimonies of those witnesses of the faith who suffered persecution. He opened himself up to questioning, he let himself be thrown by their simple and genuine words which represented the heart of Christian martyrdom, Christians who follow the “first martyr” Jesus and climb their Calvary without ever hating. Francis simply saw his prepared text as inadequate in light of what had just been said. And he decided, just as simply, to respond by letting his answer flow from his “wounded” heart.He spoke of the need to always remember the faith of one’s “ancestors”, of those who came before us, of those who suffered, in order to see all the problems, all the big and little disputes, all the personal grudges and self-referential issues that besiege the Church, in relative terms. This is healthy Christian relativism. In the face of the suffering and simple and genuine faith of these testimonies, a lot of the daily concerns of many in the Church appear completely trivial in comparison, “worldly” in fact, as Francis said.The Pope added: “I want to tell you that this was a history of cruelty, that in today’s world war we see so much cruelty! Always do the opposite of cruelty. Have an attitude of tenderness, fraternity, forgiveness and carry the cross of Jesus Christ. Be little testimonies of Jesus’ Cross. This is how the Church, the holy Mother Church wants you to be: little, little martyrs before these martyrs, little witnesses of Jesus’ Cross.” It is a call not to respond with revenge and not to show muscle, but to follow in the footsteps of the “first martyr”. It is an invitation not to use the persecution of Christians for ideological means, not to fall into “persecutionism”, but to adopt the same sentiments as Christ.The Pope’s decision to let himself be “hurt” and called into question by reality, is an indication of something that goes beyond the specific example of the persecuted and martyrs. It is a nudge to everyone, especially those bishops and priests who continue to stress their concerns about people not following them, or placing everything within their set way of seeing things –fitting everything, every provocation and every shocking reality into own mind-set – when they could follow Francis’ example of testimony and his way of being close to people, letting themselves be “hurt” and questioning themselves. By sticking to their set way of seeing things, they try to ensure that everything will go on as before. Possibly expecting that the “anomaly” represented by a word or example given by the Pope, or any other provocation that comes from reality, will pass without leaving a trace. So that everything may go back to the way it was before, inside the shell of little certainties, behind the reassuring screen of set phrases on pastoral care, evangelisation, values and the world.In doing so they forget that Jesus too let himself be moved to his core, he let himself be “hurt” by reality, he let miracles come out of him. He was able to say: “woman, do not weep”, he was able to embrace, forgive and effuse mercy. He wept. Because He was a God with a heart made of flesh. A God who did not respond to human tragedies by coldly listing the perfect doctrines of the doctors of the law, with repetitive formulas or the cold geometry of pastoral frameworks, which continue to turn the Gospel into paper rather than flesh.
