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)
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
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)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, 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 RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
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 shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
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 will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
EZEKIEL 38:1-7
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 (GOD) 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.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
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.
Seoul: THAAD can defend against North Korean missiles-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A contentious U.S. anti-missile system in southeastern South Korea is now operating and can now defend against North Korean missiles, a South Korean official said Tuesday.The Terminal High Altitude Defence system set up at a converted golf course in Seongju has "early capability" to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threat, Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said. He didn't say when Washington and Seoul expected THAAD to be operating fully.The deployment has triggered anger from Seongju residents who fear North Korea may target their town and who worry about rumoured health hazards linked to THAAD's powerful radar.People also debate whether the security benefits of THAAD would outweigh drawbacks if relations worsen with China, which sees the system as a threat, and they have been angered by President Donald Trump's statement that he would make South Korea pay $1 billion for the system.The United States and South Korea say THAAD is crucial to counter North Korea's weapons advances. The North conducted two nuclear tests last year alone, which experts say would have improved its knowledge for making nuclear warheads small enough to fit on missiles, and has been speeding up its development of new missiles, including solid-fuel rockets that can be fired from mobile launchers on land and from submarines.President Donald Trump says he isn't ruling out military action against North Korea but has also expressed openness to a future meeting with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the third-generation dictator amid the nuclear tensions."If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News. In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday, Trump said Kim was obviously a "pretty smart cookie" as he took power in his 20s and held it despite "a lot of people" trying to take it away.The THAAD battery had originally been scheduled to enter operation by the end of the year. When completed, it will consist of six truck-mounted launchers that can fire up to 48 interceptors toward incoming missiles detected by the system's x-band radar.Critics question whether the United States and Seoul's caretaker government are rushing to set up THAAD before an election May 9 that will bring a change in the government in Seoul, which became necessary after Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from the presidency in a corruption scandal.Front-runner Moon Jae-in, a liberal who calls for engagement with North Korea, has said he would reconsider THAAD if he becomes president.North Korea conducted another missile test on Saturday, its third launch in April alone, which reportedly failed soon after launch, and its Foreign Ministry said Monday the country will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program "at the maximum pace."A statement circulated by North Korea's U.N. Mission says the government is ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.Kim Tong-Hyung, The Associated Press.
North Korea says U.S. bomber flights push peninsula to brink of nuclear war-[Reuters]-By Ju-min Park and Ben Blanchard-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic U.S. bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions and pressure from the United States.The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the right circumstances, and as his CIA director landed in South Korea for talks.South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North.North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Trump and "other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike" on the North."The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.The U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defense system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the system, whose powerful radar it fears could reach inside Chinese territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang again denounced THAAD on Tuesday."We will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our interests," Geng said, without elaborating.Asked about Trump's suggestion he could meet Kim, Geng said China had noted U.S. comments that it wanted to use peaceful means to resolve the issue. Trump has been recently been full of praise of Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to rein in its neighbor."China has always believed that using peaceful means via dialogue and consultation to resolve the peninsula's nuclear issue is the only realistic, feasible means to achieve denuclearisation of the peninsula and maintain peace and stability there, and is the only correct choice," Geng told a daily news briefing.It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the North's founding leader, Kim Il Sung, or on April 25 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People's Army.The North has conducted such tests or missile launches to mark significant events in the past.Instead, North Korea conducted an annual military parade, featuring a display of missiles on April 15 and then a large, live-fire artillery drill 10 days later.-"VIGILANCE, READINESS"-Acting South Korean president Hwang Kyo-ahn called for stronger vigilance because of continuing provocation by North Korea and for countries such as China to increase pressure on the North.Soon after Hwang spoke, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Seoul said the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, was in South Korea for meetings with the embassy and U.S. Forces in Korea.Trump drew criticism in Washington on Monday when he said he would be "honored" to meet North Korea's young leader."If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News.Trump did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen."Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.(Additional reporting by James Pearson in SEOUL and Ayesha Rascoe in WASHINGTON; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)
China welcomes ASEAN summit declaration on South China Sea-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Tuesday welcomed a softer stand taken by Southeast Asian countries on the disputed South China Sea at a weekend summit, saying it showed efforts to ease tension were working.The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dropped references to "land reclamation and militarization" from its chairman's statement this year at the end of its summit in the Philippine capital, Manila.The reference had been included last year and was even in an earlier, unpublished version of the statement, seen by Reuters on Saturday.Two ASEAN diplomats said that this year, China had pressed ASEAN chair the Philippines to keep China's contentious activities in the strategic waterway off ASEAN's official agenda.China is not a member of the 10-member bloc and did not attend the summit but it is extremely sensitive about the content of its statements.It has often been accused of trying to influence the drafting of statements to muzzle what it sees as challenges to its sweeping sovereignty claim.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not directly answer a question on whether China had exerted pressure over the statement."Since last year, with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries including the Philippines, temperatures in the South China Sea situation have gone down and things have eased up. I think this accords with the interests of countries in the region," Geng told a daily news briefing."The relevant situation at this ASEAN summit again fully shows the positive changes in the South China Sea situation and that the joint wish of countries in this region is to seek stability, promote cooperation and seek development, and this should be respected and supported by all sides."China has reacted angrily to individual members of the regional bloc expressing their concern about its rapid reclamation of reefs in the Spratlys islands and its installation of missile systems on them.Philippine foreign ministry official Zaldy Patron, who is in-charge of ASEAN affairs, said nobody at the summit had pushed strongly on the South China Sea issue, or mentioned anything about land reclamation and militarization."But on the other hand, the leaders highlighted improving relations between ASEAN and China," Patron said in Manila.The softer statement comes as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte seeks to bury the hatchet with China after years of wrangling over its maritime assertiveness and over-lapping claims.After lobbying from Duterte, China agreed to let Philippine boats back to the rich fishing ground of the disputed Scarborough Shoal following a four-year blockade.China claims most of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims that overlap with China's.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Manny Mogato in Manila; Editing by Robert Birsel)
DANIEL 7:23-24
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.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
REVELATION 17:9-13
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-7 YEARS.THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Le Pen tones down anti-EU stance to woo voters By Eric Maurice-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said over the weekend that leaving the euro is no longer a "prerequisite" for her policies, in an attempt to reach out to voters on both the left and right.In the latest version of her programme ahead of Sunday's (7 May) run-off of the presidential election, she said that she still wanted to create a French national currency and a "European common currency", but that "the calendar will be adapted to priorities and immediate challenges".The programme was updated after Le Pen signed a "government agreement" with Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a sovereignist candidate who obtained 4.70 percent in the first round on 23 April.Le Pen said that Dupont-Aignan would be her prime minister if she was elected on Sunday.In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday, she said France would have "a national currency as all the other countries, and together we will have a common currency," which she said would be "only for the big companies that do international trade"."Voila, it is as simple as that," she said, adding that the euro was a "millstone".In March, Le Pen said that 70 percent of her programme depended on leaving the euro. But on Monday, the number two of her National Front party, Florian Philippot, said that "we can do a lot without leaving the euro".Another FN leader, Louis Aliot, who is also Le Pen's partner, said that "the purpose is the revision of the [European] treaties. The goal is to reorientate the EU".As fellow party members struggled to explain the FN's new euro policy, Le Pen avoided the topic when she spoke to some 25,000 people near Paris on Monday.While leaving the euro and organising a referendum on France's EU membership were, until now, the core of her programme and speeches, she only said that there would be an "arm wrestle with Brussels to take back our sovereignty".In effect, she wants to renegotiate France's membership, but also the architecture of the EU.However, whereas she said until recently that she would negotiate for six months before holding a referendum, her niece and MP, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, said on Saturday that talks could start only in 2018 and take "months or years".-Dangerous project-On Saturday, the outgoing socialist president, Francois Hollande, accused Le Pen and her new ally Dupont-Aignan of "hiding" a "dangerous project"."Everything [Le Pen] proposes puts France out of the eurozone and the EU," he pointed out in Brussels after an EU summit.He warned that "there would be no negotiations" and that France's EU exit would be "acknowledged" because France "would no longer respect" its commitments.He said that Le Pen and Dupont-Aignan were "concealing" their true intention "because they know that the French don't want that their country to leave the EU and deprive itself from the euro".In a poll published in March by Le Figaro newspaper and the Robert Schuman Foundation, a think-tank on EU affairs, only 28 percent of people wanted France to leave the euro.The toning down of Le Pen's anti-EU stance is part of a strategy to re-orientate her campaign towards the economy and social issues, in order to woo voters from the left and also from the right.It follows a decision last week to stand down from the National Front leadership and remove any reference to the party on her campaign poster and leaflets. She said she was now the "people's candidate", not her party's candidate.-Morbid continuity-On Monday the far-right leader, who is still 20 points behind in the latest opinion polls, attacked her opponent, centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, whom she said represents the "morbid continuity" of the current political system and policies."The adversary of the French people is still the world of finance and this time it has a name, it has a face, it was a party, it is a candidate, its name is Emmanuel Macron," she said, in a clear reference to left-wing voters' concerns.In 2012, Hollande said in his winning campaign that finance was his "enemy". The statement was later used against him by critics who said he betrayed his promises and followed liberal policies - with Macron as his economic adviser and the then economy minister.Le Pen insisted that security was "what matters most". She promised to reduce migration flows, establish nationality preferences for jobs, and economic protectionism.For right-wing voters, Le Pen said that she was "the candidate of those who get up early" - one of the slogans of Nicolas Sarkozy's winning campaign in 2007. She was also caught repeating word-for-word parts of a speech by conservative candidate Francois Fillon from last month.Le Pen's project "leads to one thing: economic war, misery and war," Macron said in a meeting in Paris on Monday."It's a one way ticket," he told some 10,000 supporters.Macron is the favourite for Sunday's second round as an anti-Le Pen candidate, but is still failing to gather strong support for his own programme. He said that he was the candidate of "the optimists". And using an expression usually used by the FN against its opponents, he said that Le Pen's party was "the anti-France party"."The battle will be violent," he said about the coming days of the campaign. "Now at stake is the political, intellectual and moral legacy of the French Republic."
Brussels gossip? May belittles report on Juncker clash By Eszter Zalan-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-A devastating account of British prime minister Theresa May’s meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker last week has shed light on the gap between the UK and the EU ahead of the soon-to-begin Brexit negotiations.May tried to belittle the report, published in the German FAZ newspaper on Monday (1 May), as “Brussels gossip”, but did not deny the accuracy of the account.She also tried to use the image of a growing rift with Brussels to bolster her election campaign ahead of the 8 June snap vote.FAZ said, citing anonymous EU officials, that the May-Juncker dinner, at her London residence on 26 April, exposed a poorly-briefed and ill-prepared May.“I leave Downing Street ten times more sceptical than I was before,” Juncker said after the meeting according to FAZ.-No money, no trade deal-During the talks May said she would not agree to pay an exit bill when leaving the EU because there was nothing in the EU treaties on that type of settlement, FAZ said.But Juncker reportedly told May if the UK did not respect its financial obligations, it would not be possible to agree a future trade deal.The two also disagreed on the sequencing of the talks, with May insisting on negotiating the divorce settlement and the future trade deal in parallel.But Juncker told her that Britain cannot cancel its membership of the EU as if the bloc was a "golf club".The clash came out into the open at the weekend when the EU-27 agreed at a summit in Brussels on Saturday that the method and principle of settling the UK financial bill must be agreed before moving on to talks on future relations.But May again told the BBC on Sunday that she would not agree on the divorce fee unless a new trade deal was put in place at the same time.-Citizens by June-She also said the EU and UK could agree on the work and residence rights of each other’s citizens by the end of June.Juncker warned that that might be too ambitious, pointing to the complexities of mutual health care access as an example."I have the impression sometimes that our British friends do underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face”, he said after the summit."The single and not simple question of citizens rights is in fact a cortege of 25 different questions which have to be solved. This will take time,” he said.-Cherry-picking-EU officials also told FAZ that May thought she could opt-in to EU policies that she liked after the UK leaves.During the dinner, May cited an example in 2014 when Britain opted out of EU police and criminal justice measures, then opted back in to 35 of them.The EU has warned May several times that cherry-picking will not be possible.May reportedly also said she wanted the Brexit negotiations to be held in secret in monthly, four-day blocs.Juncker told her this was not possible because member states and the European Parliament need to be informed at each stage of the process.According to FAZ, May urged Juncker to make Brexit a success.Juncker told her he wanted good relations, but that Britain would have fewer EU perks when it left the single market and customs union.“This cannot be a success,” he said.-Breakdown?-After the meeting, Juncker put the chances of a breakdown in the negotiations at over 50 percent.According to the report, he was so alarmed that he called German chancellor Angela Merkel the next morning to say that May was "living in another galaxy" and "deluding herself”.Merkel later that day said in a speech that some in the UK government had “illusions” about the nature of the talks.Asked on Saturday at the EU summit about the FAZ scoop, Juncker said: “The meeting we had was a very constructive meeting, in a friendly atmosphere, privately everything went well, but in fact we have a problem. Because the British want to leave the EU, and it is not feasible that this can be done just like that.""It was excellent, [and] I’m not talking about the food,” he joked.Following the FAZ report, Michael Roth, Germany’s state minister for Europe tweeted: "The British government must abandon myth that all British will be better off post-Brexit."
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) 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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
Yukon, Alaska, northern B.C. rocked by quake, then another-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
The Yukon government is taking stock of the damage from a couple of earthquakes that shook the territory early Monday morning. At least two buildings — a school and a Whitehorse office building — will remain closed Tuesday.A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Yukon and Alaska at about 5:30 a.m. local time Monday, causing power outages, damaging buildings and shaking people awake.Then another larger quake, magnitude 6.3, hit less than two hours later, about 7:20 a.m. PT. There were also a series of aftershocks.The first quake hit in British Columbia's far northwest, near the B.C.-Yukon border, about 85 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, while the second hit about 80 kilometres west of Skagway.Whitehorse residents told CBC News that they were falling out of their beds and dishes were coming down from shelves.The earthquakes were also felt in northern British Columbia."Incredible shaking felt in Whitehorse around 5:30 a.m. this morning," resident Jenni Beauregard said in an email to CBC, after the first quake.She said the tremors lasted about 30 seconds."Oh gee, I was laying in bed and I felt the double-wide place that I live in start to shake a bit, and I was wondering what was going on," Sheldon Miller told CBC News.Thinking it was just strong winds, Miller headed to the window."There was no wind, but then it started shaking pretty violently. Nothing fell, but things did rumble and vibrate," he said.-"It was kind of scary."-'You might want to get under your desk'-The second quake came while B.C. seismologist Taimi Mulder was doing a live phone interview with CBC Radio host Sandi Coleman in Whitehorse."You might want to get under your desk if it's still shaking," Mulder told Coleman.Mulder said people could be feeling aftershocks throughout the day."You live in an earthquake prone part of the world."Mulder said the 6.2 shake was felt throughout Yukon, though the centre was in northern B.C., not Alaska as earlier reported."I think you need to be prepared for potentially more seismicity on this fault. This could likely have been the biggest one that you might feel for now. It's possible you might get a bigger one."Several aftershocks and smaller earthquakes were registered throughout the morning.'It took a good shaking' Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said on Twitter Monday morning that the government was closely monitoring the situation in Whitehorse and emergency response was "on standby to help as required."Yukon government officials were also taking stock of any damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges, but by Monday afternoon had reported no major problems yet.The Whitehorse airport appeared unaffected and flights were coming and going as scheduled, said Aisha Montgomery, with the Yukon government's protective services division.At least one downtown building appeared to suffer damage — the Lynn building was evacuated and closed for the day. The territorial government, which rents the building, said it will remain closed until an engineer's report is reviewed.Paula Nugent, who works there, noticed long cracks on the outside of the building. She also saw damage inside before she had to leave."The stairwell has been compromised with huge cracks, there's plaster falling off the walls," she said. "It looks pretty scary in there."I work on the fourth floor, and there are cabinet doors open, there's plants fallen over, there's pictures on the floor — yeah, it took a good shaking," she said.The Yukon government is inspecting all schools, and two were closed for the day — Elijah Smith Elementary School in Whitehorse and the Ross River School. Both suffered some structural damage, according to Holly Fraser with the territory's Education Department.Elijah Smith will reopen on Tuesday, officials said, but the library will be closed because of broken windows. Ross River School will remain closed until a technical inspection can be done later this week.St. Elias School in Haines Junction is showing some "superficial cracks," but it will remain open, the government said.Whitehorse Elementary School was also closed for inspection Monday morning, but was reopened within hours.-Power outages-The earthquakes also left thousands of people without power early Monday morning. ATCO Electric said 8,000 customers in Yukon were affected, most in the Whitehorse area, but also in the communities of Carcross and Teslin.Those customers had power back within an hour of the first quake, but about 3,000 of them saw their power knocked out again after the second quake. That outage was also less than an hour for most customers.Yukon Energy, meanwhile, checked its Whitehorse dam, substations and LNG plant for any damage on Monday morning, but has not reported any problems.Yukon Energy CEO Andrew Hall said the company's new LNG plant is designed to withstand an earthquake.
Police say explosions in downtown Toronto caused by hydro vault fire-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
TORONTO — A series of blasts in Toronto's financial district that shut down the area Monday and sent commuters scrambling was caused by an overheated hydro vault fire, said officials.The first explosion was heard shortly after 5 p.m. and heavy black smoke was seen billowing from a set of grates outside a Royal Bank office building near King St. and Yonge St.The chaotic scene continued with sounds of underground blasts as officers herded crowds away from the scene."Did you hear those sounds? Those are explosions," an officer was heard yelling to bystanders.No one was injured, Toronto Fire Services said.Police cruisers blocked off streets in the area and officers were seen wearing surgical masks as smoke hung in the air.The incident shut down a nearby subway station and caused several streetcars to take detours. The Toronto Transit Commission said late Monday that subway service and some bus routes through the area had resumed but streetcars on King St. were still being diverted.A section of King St. remained closed early Friday and it was unclear whether it would open in time for the morning rush hour.The Royal Bank office building and parts of an underground shopping concourse were evacuated due to heavy smoke, fire officials said.Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Kevin Shaw said firefighters were able to contain the blaze within an hour. He added that once hydro workers were able to cut the power to the vault, firefighters would be able to go in and douse any remaining hot spots."It's energized electrical equipment that's in the vault, it overheats, starts melting down ... so that's where you're hearing the crackle and the popping," Shaw told reporters Monday night. "There (were) visible flames out of there probably a half hour ago, but we feel that it's definitely under control now."Shaw said the fire's cause would likely be determined once hydro crews could get access to the vault."It could be dampness, water or an aging hydro vault, or all of the above," Shaw said. "It all leads up to one of these fires."He said he has seen worse hydro vault fires downtown, but added that crews had to take precautions because it happened during rush hour.Toronto Hydro workers were still unable to get to the vault by 9 p.m. Monday, spokeswoman Tori Gass told reporters. The utility said its crews would continue working through the night.Gass said she could not provide any information about what caused the explosions because it was still to dangerous for crews to go in to inspect."It's going to be quite messy down there, quite toxic," Gass said. "I would say we're not going to have answers quickly, unfortunately."She said Toronto Hydro routinely checks vaults around the city to make sure they are safe, but she could not say when this vault was last inspected.The Canadian Press.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Turkey to hold 'Brexit-like' vote, Erdogan says By Andrew Rettman-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:21-Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated his threat to hold a referendum on breaking off EU accession talks.He issued the threat amid a series of anti-EU jibes while visiting India and Pakistan in a show of his ambition to make Turkey a leading power in the Islamic world.“After some time, Turkey will choose the next path of a Brexit-like referendum,” he told WION, an Indian TV station, in an interview broadcast on Sunday (1 May), referring to Britain's vote, last year, to exit the EU.Asked when the EU referendum would take place, he said: “We have not decided yet. We will discuss it in parliament, and if need be, turn to the people”.He added: “The EU was never sincere or honest. Turkey is working [on EU accession] in vain. It's been lingering for 54 years. We fully fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, our economy is doing much better than some EU members, we are a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but we are made to wait patiently.”The Copenhagen criteria are a set of rules for would-be EU states that include respect for democracy and human rights.The EU has criticised Erdogan over irregularities in a referendum in April that granted him absolutist powers.It has also criticised him for mass arrests of independent journalists, opposition MPs, and other government critics following a failed coup.Erdogan dismissed the criticism as being political, adding: "It’s all propaganda.”He also accused “the West” of being “aggressive toward Muslims”, for instance, by banning Islamic headscarves and by failing to protect mosques from arson attacks.Speaking later on Sunday at the Jamia Millia Islamia university, he said: “Please, please, please do not follow the Western media when you look at Turkey. This is propaganda against Turkey.”He added that the EU had only paid out €750 million of a €3 billion aid pledge in return for Turkey stopping Syrian refugees from going to Greece.He said at a business conference with Indian leader Narendra Modi also on Sunday that “xenophobia is a major problem in Europe”.Erdogan’s trip was his first foreign visit after the constitutional referendum in Turkey on 16 April.He urged India and Pakistan to make peace over Kashmir, a disputed territory, and called on the UN Security Council to expand its EU and US-dominated list of veto powers.He also pledged to help India and Pakistan fight terrorism and signed three memorandums on expanding Turkey-India cultural and economic ties.-Bad cop, good cop-Erdogan’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, took a friendlier approach to the EU on Friday, however.TV cameras showed him hugging several EU foreign ministers at an informal meeting in Malta, the current holder of the EU presidency.He said that Austria, which wants to break off EU-Turkey accession talks, had a “wrong policy” but he said there had been a “positive atmosphere” at the talks.Austria’s foreign minister, Sebastian Kurz, restated Vienna’s position in strident terms on Friday.He said Turkey had crossed so many of the Copenhagen “red lines” that its path “cannot be membership”.“I would like to see a clear, courageous EU stand. ‘Yes’ to contact with Turkey. ‘No’ to accession,” Kurz said.German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel contradicted his Austrian counterpart, saying the German government was "strictly against cancelling the talks"."In Nato, we did not even exclude Turkey even during the times of military dictatorship,” he said.He added, in a swipe at Kurz, that some politicians were trying to “win applause at home” by attacking Turkey at EU meetings.French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also said Turkey was too important to the EU to break off ties."How can we ignore Turkey? We have to fight terrorism, we want Turkey to respect the migration deal with have," he said.“Nobody wants a break-up with Turkey."EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini echoed Gabriel and Ayrault, but said EU-Turkey accession talks were effectively on hold.-Tusk-Erdogan meeting-Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels on Saturday, German chancellor Angela Merkel said EU Council chief Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker wanted to meet Erdogan in the margins of a Nato summit on 25 May.Erdogan already threatened a popular vote on EU accession on two occasions prior to the 16 April referendum.He also said he would consider reinstating the death penalty - another EU "red line".He accused Merkel and other EU leaders of behaving like Nazis when they blocked Turkish ministers from attending pre-referendum rallies with Turkish expats in Europe.“They said a century ago that we were the ‘sick man’. Now they are the ‘sick man’. Europe is collapsing,” he said at a rally in Izmir, in western Turkey, on 9 April.
Black Lives Matter Toronto wants police officers out of GTA schools-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
Black Lives Matter Toronto wants to eliminate the School Resource Officer Program, which stations uniformed officers in Toronto-area schools, as part of six changes targeting anti-black racism in the education system.Officers have been stationed at schools since 2008, which was funded by a federal grant.The Toronto group is demanding six specific changes to the primary and secondary education systems in the Greater Toronto Area, including implementing anti-black racism training at all levels of Toronto-area school boards and creating an advisory board of black parents.Black Lives Matter Toronto staged a walkout Monday to lay out its demands.It's in response to a report last week from a York University professor — that used TDSB data — to determine a large number of black students are being streamed into applied instead of academic programs and they are suspended at much higher rates.About 20 Toronto teachers also took part, Black Lives Matter Toronto said.Supply teacher Hawa Sabriye didn't accept work Monday to join the protest and lead one of the workshops, which are being offered to educators, parents and students to identify and combat anti-black racism. The workshops were held at York Woods Library in Toronto's Jane and Finch neighbourhood."I think going into so many different schools across the city, I've noticed many different educators and administrators that have anti-black assumptions for students," said Sabriye. "This is creating barriers for many black children across the TDSB (Toronto District School Board), but also the Peel District School Board and the York Region District School Board and it's really impacting, not only their educational futures, but also their family life."Sabriye said she joined the protest because she has a younger brother and cousins in the school system."There's an alarming number of black youth that aren't making it out of high school and I think the TDSB and other school boards have to acknowledge this and realize it's a real issue," she said.'Their intelligence is not being valued'-Pascale Diverlus, a Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder, said the day of action will offer workshops aimed at ending racism in the classroom."It's about providing programming for educators and for parents, to be able to learn how to recognize anti-black racism within the school system and how to dismantle it," she said."Their intelligence is not being valued, so this day is about calling attention to those things. But also showing it can be done in a way that actually supports black students; in a way that they can thrive and they can actually go to school and learn, which is what they are there to do."
Not just 'bad hombres': U.S. immigration arrests up one-third from 2016-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
Arrests of undocumented immigrants increased by nearly one-third in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2016, according to the agency tasked with enforcing U.S. immigration laws.As May Day marchers in the U.S. on Monday protested deportation measures taken under the administration of President Donald Trump, statistics requested by CBC News from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed arrests within the country and at the border rose to 35,147 in the first quarter of 2017, up from 26,471 the previous year. That amounts to a 33 per cent increase.Trump's stated deportation plan was to take aim at "bad hombres," or convicted serious felons living in America illegally. Judging by ICE's statistics, authorities also rounded up thousands of unauthorized immigrants with otherwise clean records.Nearly one-quarter of those arrested, or 8,557 people, had no criminal record in the first three months of 2017. That number more than doubled the 3,718 non-criminal arrests made by ICE over the same period in Barack Obama's last full year as president in 2016.— Source: Immigration and Customs Enforcement-"These's a lot of rhetoric about 'I want to deport criminals,' but it's not what's actually been happening," says Prerna Lal, the Berkeley-based founder of DreamActivist, an online advocacy network led by undocumented youth."These are not dangerous felons. It's important to call [Trump] out on the fact his rhetoric doesn't match the reality," says Lal, herself a former undocumented immigrant who is now a lawful permanent U.S. resident. "For the people being arrested and put in [removal] proceedings, their only 'crime' is that they're here unlawfully."A $1-trillion congressional spending deal brokered late Sunday to avoid a government shutdown denies the president funding for his oft-promised southern border wall. It also omits Trump's threat to pull federal grants from sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants.-$1.5 billion for border security-But the agreement allocates $1.5 billion towards border security. It's unclear how the money would be spent and whether it would go towards projects such as expanding detention facilities, hiring more deportation agents or reinforcing the border.Trump-era deportation figures might seem counterintuitive.Fewer deportations have been processed under his watch than during his predecessor's tenure. CNN reported last week that ICE removed 54,564 people between Trump's Inauguration Day and April 24, down from 62,062 individuals deported within the same period last year under Obama.But immigration experts believe that arrest figures — rather than removal stats — give a better picture of an administration's immigration enforcement efforts. That's because deportation cases can take several years to wind through backlogged courts. Border apprehensions often result in removal within days.ICE's deportation stats wouldn't account for the long lag times, whereas arrests are "clearly the initial enforcement activity," says Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs with Washington's Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit and nonpartisan think tank.Critics of Obama blasted him as "deporter in chief" owing to the spike in deportations to around 400,000 a year during the beginning of his term. Deportations fell after his executive action to relieve the pace of removals in November 2014, when his administration issued a memorandum prioritizing deportations for serious criminals and new arrivals.-Expanded deportation powers-The biggest change under Trump is a broadening of how ICE agents are free to interpret who should be deported. The expanded powers came courtesy of new immigration enforcement policies the president introduced in January executive orders.In practical terms, unauthorized immigrants settled in the U.S. as law-abiding residents, including some with citizen spouses, are now as vulnerable to removal proceedings as serious criminals. For example, the Washington Post reported last week that about half of the 675 immigrants arrested in the days after Trump's inauguration either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offences, with drunk driving being the most common offence.Capps expects removals from inside the U.S. to soon start outpacing the number of removals at the border, "basically flipping the pattern that we had in the Obama administration."The 2014 Obama-era executive actions to relieve deportations "had an enormous impact" as removals eased off to closer to 300,000 a year, said Lynn Marcus, co-director of the University of Arizona's Immigration Law Clinic. Many people without their papers were simply logged into databases and had their cases either terminated or "administratively closed" while more pressing cases became the focus."Although President Trump had said his focus would be on 'bad hombres,' he's clogging the system with working people who are integrated into communities in the U.S."-Back to Bush-To Lal, the former undocumented immigrant, the Trump policy change effectively winds the clock back to the end of the George W. Bush years and the beginning of Obama's term. Total deportations topped 1.17 million in 2008 and 974,000 in 2009, before eventually being more than halved to around 451,000 in 2016, according to the Migration Policy Institute.Trump might soon inherit the "deporter in chief" label from Obama now that "anybody and everybody" in the U.S. without documentation is at equal risk of removal, Lal says."People used to criticize Obama, too. Now we're back to square one."
13-year-old boy charged with vandalizing Regina synagogue-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with mischief and break and enter after the Beth Jacob Synagogue was vandalized this weekend in Regina.Both the synagogue and Regina Police Service say the damage is not believed to be motived by anti-Semitism."As much as we regret that this has happened and we're quite upset about the damage that was done, we can say that this does not appear to be a hate crime of any kind," said Rabbi Jeremy Parnes.The Regina Police Service also does not believe this was in any way a hate crime.Police say they responded to the facility on Sunday after someone reported that there was damage done to the inside of the building. Furniture and other items in the school section were broken when police arrived at the scene.Given the size of the building several police units responded but once there, police determined that the break-in had occurred on Saturday.The 13-year-old has been charged with break and enter and mischief over $5,000. The youth's name will not be published in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act.Parnes said nothing has been stolen from the synagogue and no significant items were damaged within that part of the building."There was no desecration of our sanctuaries or any kind of hate slogans painted or made in the building," he said.-Montessori school cancels classes-The damages caused have resulted in classes at the Montessori school, which is located in the synagogue, to be cancelled Monday.According to a letter sent home to parents, "the damage to the classrooms is mostly messy (e.g. paint splatter) but is substantial enough that it will require a disaster recovery service to clean the building and classrooms."Jeff Vall, chair of the board for Montessori Regina, said while clean-up is taking place they are looking for new locations to potentially hold classes."I've heard of parents offering up spaces at their home if they have availability," said Vall.Parents were informed of the break-in on Sunday."Parents probably are currently scrambling to find alternative arrangements for today [Monday] and staff at Montessori are looking for an alternative location," said Vall.-Local institutions quick to offer spaces-Jennifer Rathwell's two children attend the McTavish Street Montessori location. Rathwell said her boys are at home today but accommodations have been made for later in the week."I'm hearing also that a fire extinguisher was discharged over everything," said Rathwell.She and other parents heard about the break in, and subsequently cancelled classes, on Sunday. Montessori has programs for pre-kindergarten children to grade six students.Approximately 100 families have been affected by the school closure.On Tuesday, the school has been invited to the Field House to have a literal field day, according to Rathwell. She said offers have also been made from Luther High School and the University of Regina."So they have a place to be as early as tomorrow," said Rathwell.
German official sees promise in expanding Russia-backed Syrian peace talks-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
BERLIN (Reuters) - Expanding the number of countries involved in Russian-backed peace talks for Syria could offer a chance to jumpstart negotiations on a political solution, Germany's top official for Russia policy said in an interview published on Tuesday.Gernot Erler suggested that German Chancellor Angela Merkel could raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in Sochi, Russia later on Tuesday."We have to acknowledge that all previous peace efforts have failed," Erler told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, noting that neither the U.N. initiative led by diplomat Staffan de Mistura nor the Russia-brokered ceasefire had led to tangible results."As a result we have to think of something new. I think the German side should ask Putin if he can imagine including more countries in the negotiations. That could offer an opportunity to at least organize a negotiating process," he said.He said it was clear that a solution to ending the war in Syria was now unthinkable without the participation of Russia, whose military intervention has shifted the course of the six-year-old war in favor of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told news agencies on Saturday that Moscow was ready to cooperate with the United States on settling the Syrian crisis.Interfax also quoted Lavrov's deputy, Mikhail Bogdanov, as saying the armed Syrian opposition would participate in the next round of Russian-backed peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on May 3-4, which will also involve Iran and Turkey.Erler rejected a suggestion by Jordan's King Abdullah that the West should accept Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and stop criticizing Moscow to encourage Putin to drop his support for Assad."I consider that a dubious idea. It would mix up two issues that have nothing to do with each other," Erler said.He said U.S. President Donald Trump initially appeared to favor such a "deal" but had since realized that foreign policy crises could not be handled like real estate transactions.Russia has vetoed eight resolutions on Syria to shield Assad's government from action, most recently blocking condemnation of a chemical weapons attack last month that killed dozens of people, including many children. China has backed Russia and vetoed six resolutions.Erler said Merkel would also press Moscow to uphold its written commitments under the Minsk peace process aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine.He said Merkel would assure Putin that sanctions against Moscow could be lifted quickly if Moscow demonstrated its resolve to implement the Minsk agreement."But Moscow has known that for some time, so the ability to add pressure is very limited," he said.(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Rights group accuses Syria of several likely nerve agent attacks-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Syrian government forces of likely dropping bombs containing nerve agents at least three times elsewhere in the country before an April 4 attack that killed dozens of people and sparked a retaliatory U.S. strike.The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. The Syrian U.N. mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations by Human Rights Watch, which cited interviews with witnesses and medical personnel.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons, a global watchdog, has said sarin or a similar banned toxin was used in the April 4 strike.Human Rights Watch said that before the April 4 attack on Khan Sheikhoun, government warplanes also appeared to have dropped nerve agents on eastern Hama on Dec. 11 and 12, 2016, and northern Hama, near Khan Sheikhoun, on March 30, 2017."All four of these attacks were in areas where opposition or ISIS forces were launching an offensive that threatened government military air bases," Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth told a news conference at the United Nations."The decision to ratchet up to this level seems to have been related to that unfavorable battlefield situation," he said.The report said an opposition-affiliated activist and local residents provided the names of 64 people they say died from exposure to chemicals in the December attacks, which were in an area controlled by Islamic State militants.It said no one died in the March 30 attack but dozens of people were injured, according to residents and medical workers."The pattern shows that the Syrian government retained sarin or some similar nerve agent after its August 2013 eastern Ghouta attack despite having agreed to hand over all chemical weapons to U.N. inspectors," Roth said.Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington.Roth said Human Rights Watch found that the remnants of a bomb at the site of the April 4 attack "appear consistent with the characteristics with a Soviet-made air-dropped chemical bomb specifically designed to deliver sarin." The report said the remnants of the bomb appears similar to a KhAB-250.Human Rights Watch called on the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Syria and refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court (ICC).Russia and China blocked a Western bid for a referral to the ICC in 2014 and this February blocked a bid to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks.(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists': Court sharpens edges of Russia's religious space-[Christian Science Monitor]-Fred Weir-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
It's a quiet Tuesday evening at Moscow's largest Kingdom Hall, a gathering point for Jehovah's Witnesses, and it's a hive of activity. In one room a few dozen people are engaged in Bible-reading; in another they are singing hymns.There is no outward sign of awareness that Russia's Supreme Court has just banned the Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist" group on a par with terrorist organizations like ISIS and Al Qaeda – nor that carrying out these very activities may soon be grounds for criminal charges and prison.It's a legal decision that looks portentous on many levels. It is the first major post-Soviet instance in which Russia has moved to outlaw an entire religion, deploying "extremism" laws against a group that poses no threat whatsoever of violence, racism, or hate speech.Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia? Some see the hand of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church behind the decision. Others suggest it's part of a more general wave of "majoritarian" social conservatism that's enforcing a gradual homogenization on the entire society. Civil rights experts worry the move could presage a wider crackdown on "non-traditional" religious faiths, generally viewed as alien to Russia, that took root around the country in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse a generation ago.But even among Russian Orthodox themselves, there is concern that the absolute ban of an entire sect goes too far. The faith has existed in Russia for more than a century, and is practically the only such group to have survived the long Soviet winter by developing underground networks that successfully defied the secret police of Stalin and Brezhnev eras."Banning [the Jehovah's Witnesses] from the legal space, excluding it from social life completely is an idea that didn't work even in Stalin's times," says Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a former spokesman for the Orthodox Church. "We should be wiser in this case."-THE 'YAROVAYA LAW'-The Supreme Court ban, which is one short appeal away from being handed to police to enforce, will mandate seizure of all the group's property and open its 175,000 Russian members to criminal charges if they persist in publicly expressing their beliefs and carrying out their active missionary work.The court verdict has been several years in the making, highlighting the way Russian authorities in the age of Vladimir Putin move slowly and methodically through the courts, rather than employing Soviet-style repression, to obtain the results they want.In the more than two decades since Russia passed a law limiting the legal rights of faiths that are not one of the country's four "traditional" religions – Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism – the Jehovah's Witnesses have faced dozens of local bans, seen their literature prohibited as "extremist," and several of their activists jailed.But the new ruling comes under a new law signed by Mr. Putin last July. Known as the "Yarovaya Law" after its main author Irina Yarovaya of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the law authorized sweeping new powers for security services to crack down on all kinds of extremist activity.One little-noticed section of the law mandates much tougher restrictions on the activities of small religious denominations, particularly their ability to proselytize. The Jehovah's Witnesses, who see missionary work as a basic command from God, were on a collision course with the Russian state even before the latest court decision."I am instructed to go out and tell people what I have read in the Bible, and I will do that regardless of what decisions the government takes," says Yury Terteryan, a sports journalist and Jehovah's Witness. "How can you stop people from sharing good news?"Some analysts see this verdict as part of a full-blown comeback for Soviet-style forced conformity. "The totalitarian features of the present regime are becoming more evident," says Yevgeny Ikhlov, an expert with the public Movement for Human Rights in Moscow. "It is a feature of such regimes that they try to impose a single ideology. The Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted by totalitarian regimes from Hitler's to Stalin's, and it looks like they'll have to go underground again."Others suggest that, as with laws limiting public LGBT expression, the crackdown is not likely to affect most Russians and, indeed, few are likely to even notice it. The vast majority of Russians self-identify as Orthodox Christians, even if only a small percentage actively practice the faith.Ultimately, it's not clear exactly why the Russian state has targeted the Jehovah's Witnesses for punishment which, if fully carried out, could increase Russia's burgeoning prison population by 175,000."The supreme court case dealt mainly with technical issues, like their promulgation of 'extremist' literature and violation of previously-mandated restrictions," says Maria Kravchenko, an expert with the Sova Center in Moscow, which tracks extremist movements in Russia. Ms. Kravchenko's specialty is "abuse of the extremism laws," and she says her work load has been piling up lately."Perhaps it's because of their pacifism, that they reject military service, and encourage believers to leave their families. There are a lot of institutions in Russia that have reasons to be angered by them. I think the interests of the Orthodox Church is only one aspect of this, it's part of something much larger," she says.-THROWN TO THE LIONS?-Most "non-traditional" faiths have experienced difficulties trying to establish themselves in post-Soviet Russia. Even the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which has about 800,000 members in Russia, has found itself under pressure, often from zealous local Orthodox communities. But recent rapprochement between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church has probably eliminated any threat that Catholics might be targeted under the Yarovaya law.The Church of Scientology – which is controversial everywhere – was shut down by the Supreme Court last year, for "non-compliance" with laws regulating religious organizations. The Orthodox Church hailed that decision, publicly denouncing Scientology as an "affront to human freedom."Many other groups have experienced chronic problems, including Hindus, whose holy book the Bhagavad Gita was nearly banned as "extremist" by a local court five years ago. Baptists and other smaller evangelical Christian groups, who often do not register with authorities, report constant harassment from police and local Orthodox communities.Most of those who, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, make proselytizing a core activity, worry that they will be targeted more systematically, and treated as criminals, under the new Yarovaya law.For the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves, persecution is all too familiar. Indeed, they fondly liken themselves to early Christians being hunted down by the Romans. Which is not to say that they welcome it."I don't wish to be thrown to the lions," says Yevgeny Kandaurov, an elder of the congregation in Moscow. "That's not what I choose. But I will stick to my faith whatever happens."-'WE SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT THIS'-Even among Orthodox officials it's not easy to find supporters of the draconian verdict against the Jehovah's Witnesses."I agree that aggressive missionary activity should be prohibited [as per the Yarovaya law] for all religious groups," says Father Chaplin, the former Orthodox Church spokesman. "The state has the right to say that their ideology is anti-patriotic and doesn't reflect the feelings of most Russians... In the bodies of power, and for common people as well, there are questions about whether this organization serves the country's interests, or those of international forces looking to weaken Russia."Article 29 of Russia's Constitution prohibits any declaration of the superiority of religion. That's been cited against the Jehovah's Witnesses for proclaiming that theirs is the only true faith."I think we should be more careful about this," says Chaplin. "Every religion thinks it's the only true one. I am Orthodox, and I certainly believe that about my faith. If the state forbids us from saying that, it will put itself at odds with the majority of its citizens."Andrei Kuraev, a professor at the Orthodox Church's Spiritual Academy in Moscow, warns that all freedom of conscience is under attack."Sure, the Jehovah's Witnesses are far from blameless. They are a totalitarian sect who control their adherents and spread bad information about other faiths," he says. "But sometimes our Orthodox preachers do the very same things. I have personally taken part in debates with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and I believe that's how things should be handled. We should have equal conditions. The state should stay out of it and not under any circumstances try to play the role of arbiter."
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
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)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, 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 RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
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 shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
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 will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
EZEKIEL 38:1-7
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 (GOD) 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.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
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.
Seoul: THAAD can defend against North Korean missiles-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A contentious U.S. anti-missile system in southeastern South Korea is now operating and can now defend against North Korean missiles, a South Korean official said Tuesday.The Terminal High Altitude Defence system set up at a converted golf course in Seongju has "early capability" to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threat, Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said. He didn't say when Washington and Seoul expected THAAD to be operating fully.The deployment has triggered anger from Seongju residents who fear North Korea may target their town and who worry about rumoured health hazards linked to THAAD's powerful radar.People also debate whether the security benefits of THAAD would outweigh drawbacks if relations worsen with China, which sees the system as a threat, and they have been angered by President Donald Trump's statement that he would make South Korea pay $1 billion for the system.The United States and South Korea say THAAD is crucial to counter North Korea's weapons advances. The North conducted two nuclear tests last year alone, which experts say would have improved its knowledge for making nuclear warheads small enough to fit on missiles, and has been speeding up its development of new missiles, including solid-fuel rockets that can be fired from mobile launchers on land and from submarines.President Donald Trump says he isn't ruling out military action against North Korea but has also expressed openness to a future meeting with North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, offering unusual praise for the third-generation dictator amid the nuclear tensions."If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honoured to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News. In an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" that aired Sunday, Trump said Kim was obviously a "pretty smart cookie" as he took power in his 20s and held it despite "a lot of people" trying to take it away.The THAAD battery had originally been scheduled to enter operation by the end of the year. When completed, it will consist of six truck-mounted launchers that can fire up to 48 interceptors toward incoming missiles detected by the system's x-band radar.Critics question whether the United States and Seoul's caretaker government are rushing to set up THAAD before an election May 9 that will bring a change in the government in Seoul, which became necessary after Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from the presidency in a corruption scandal.Front-runner Moon Jae-in, a liberal who calls for engagement with North Korea, has said he would reconsider THAAD if he becomes president.North Korea conducted another missile test on Saturday, its third launch in April alone, which reportedly failed soon after launch, and its Foreign Ministry said Monday the country will speed up measures to bolster its nuclear program "at the maximum pace."A statement circulated by North Korea's U.N. Mission says the government is ready to respond to any option taken by the United States.Kim Tong-Hyung, The Associated Press.
North Korea says U.S. bomber flights push peninsula to brink of nuclear war-[Reuters]-By Ju-min Park and Ben Blanchard-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war after a pair of strategic U.S. bombers flew training drills with the South Korean and Japanese air forces in another show of strength.The two supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers were deployed amid rising tensions over North Korea's pursuit of its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions and pressure from the United States.The flight of the two bombers on Monday came as U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be "honored" to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the right circumstances, and as his CIA director landed in South Korea for talks.South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing in Seoul that Monday's joint drill was conducted to deter provocations by the North.North Korea said the bombers conducted "a nuclear bomb dropping drill against major objects" in its territory at a time when Trump and "other U.S. warmongers are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike" on the North."The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," the North's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been high for weeks, driven by concerns that the North might conduct its sixth nuclear test in defiance of pressure from the United States and Pyongyang's sole major ally, China.The U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile defense system has reached initial operational capacity in South Korea, U.S. officials told Reuters, although they cautioned that it would not be fully operational for some months.China has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the system, whose powerful radar it fears could reach inside Chinese territory. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang again denounced THAAD on Tuesday."We will resolutely take necessary measures to defend our interests," Geng said, without elaborating.Asked about Trump's suggestion he could meet Kim, Geng said China had noted U.S. comments that it wanted to use peaceful means to resolve the issue. Trump has been recently been full of praise of Chinese President Xi Jinping's efforts to rein in its neighbor."China has always believed that using peaceful means via dialogue and consultation to resolve the peninsula's nuclear issue is the only realistic, feasible means to achieve denuclearisation of the peninsula and maintain peace and stability there, and is the only correct choice," Geng told a daily news briefing.It was widely feared North Korea could conduct its sixth nuclear test on or around April 15 to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the North's founding leader, Kim Il Sung, or on April 25 to coincide with the 85th anniversary of the foundation of its Korean People's Army.The North has conducted such tests or missile launches to mark significant events in the past.Instead, North Korea conducted an annual military parade, featuring a display of missiles on April 15 and then a large, live-fire artillery drill 10 days later.-"VIGILANCE, READINESS"-Acting South Korean president Hwang Kyo-ahn called for stronger vigilance because of continuing provocation by North Korea and for countries such as China to increase pressure on the North.Soon after Hwang spoke, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Seoul said the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Mike Pompeo, was in South Korea for meetings with the embassy and U.S. Forces in Korea.Trump drew criticism in Washington on Monday when he said he would be "honored" to meet North Korea's young leader."If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it," Trump told Bloomberg News.Trump did not say what conditions would be needed for such a meeting to occur or when it could happen."Clearly conditions are not there right now," White House spokesman Sean Spicer said.Trump warned in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that a "major, major conflict" with North Korea was possible, while China said last week the situation on the Korean peninsula could escalate or slip out of control.In a show of force, the United States has already sent an aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Carl Vinson, to waters off the Korean peninsula to conduct drills with South Korea and Japan.North Korea test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have failed within minutes, its fourth successive failed launch since March. It has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile-related activities at an unprecedented pace since the beginning of last year.The North is technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, Japan and South Korea.(Additional reporting by James Pearson in SEOUL and Ayesha Rascoe in WASHINGTON; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)
China welcomes ASEAN summit declaration on South China Sea-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Tuesday welcomed a softer stand taken by Southeast Asian countries on the disputed South China Sea at a weekend summit, saying it showed efforts to ease tension were working.The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) dropped references to "land reclamation and militarization" from its chairman's statement this year at the end of its summit in the Philippine capital, Manila.The reference had been included last year and was even in an earlier, unpublished version of the statement, seen by Reuters on Saturday.Two ASEAN diplomats said that this year, China had pressed ASEAN chair the Philippines to keep China's contentious activities in the strategic waterway off ASEAN's official agenda.China is not a member of the 10-member bloc and did not attend the summit but it is extremely sensitive about the content of its statements.It has often been accused of trying to influence the drafting of statements to muzzle what it sees as challenges to its sweeping sovereignty claim.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not directly answer a question on whether China had exerted pressure over the statement."Since last year, with the joint efforts of China and ASEAN countries including the Philippines, temperatures in the South China Sea situation have gone down and things have eased up. I think this accords with the interests of countries in the region," Geng told a daily news briefing."The relevant situation at this ASEAN summit again fully shows the positive changes in the South China Sea situation and that the joint wish of countries in this region is to seek stability, promote cooperation and seek development, and this should be respected and supported by all sides."China has reacted angrily to individual members of the regional bloc expressing their concern about its rapid reclamation of reefs in the Spratlys islands and its installation of missile systems on them.Philippine foreign ministry official Zaldy Patron, who is in-charge of ASEAN affairs, said nobody at the summit had pushed strongly on the South China Sea issue, or mentioned anything about land reclamation and militarization."But on the other hand, the leaders highlighted improving relations between ASEAN and China," Patron said in Manila.The softer statement comes as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte seeks to bury the hatchet with China after years of wrangling over its maritime assertiveness and over-lapping claims.After lobbying from Duterte, China agreed to let Philippine boats back to the rich fishing ground of the disputed Scarborough Shoal following a four-year blockade.China claims most of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims that overlap with China's.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Manny Mogato in Manila; Editing by Robert Birsel)
DANIEL 7:23-24
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.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
REVELATION 17:9-13
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-7 YEARS.THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Le Pen tones down anti-EU stance to woo voters By Eric Maurice-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said over the weekend that leaving the euro is no longer a "prerequisite" for her policies, in an attempt to reach out to voters on both the left and right.In the latest version of her programme ahead of Sunday's (7 May) run-off of the presidential election, she said that she still wanted to create a French national currency and a "European common currency", but that "the calendar will be adapted to priorities and immediate challenges".The programme was updated after Le Pen signed a "government agreement" with Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, a sovereignist candidate who obtained 4.70 percent in the first round on 23 April.Le Pen said that Dupont-Aignan would be her prime minister if she was elected on Sunday.In an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday, she said France would have "a national currency as all the other countries, and together we will have a common currency," which she said would be "only for the big companies that do international trade"."Voila, it is as simple as that," she said, adding that the euro was a "millstone".In March, Le Pen said that 70 percent of her programme depended on leaving the euro. But on Monday, the number two of her National Front party, Florian Philippot, said that "we can do a lot without leaving the euro".Another FN leader, Louis Aliot, who is also Le Pen's partner, said that "the purpose is the revision of the [European] treaties. The goal is to reorientate the EU".As fellow party members struggled to explain the FN's new euro policy, Le Pen avoided the topic when she spoke to some 25,000 people near Paris on Monday.While leaving the euro and organising a referendum on France's EU membership were, until now, the core of her programme and speeches, she only said that there would be an "arm wrestle with Brussels to take back our sovereignty".In effect, she wants to renegotiate France's membership, but also the architecture of the EU.However, whereas she said until recently that she would negotiate for six months before holding a referendum, her niece and MP, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, said on Saturday that talks could start only in 2018 and take "months or years".-Dangerous project-On Saturday, the outgoing socialist president, Francois Hollande, accused Le Pen and her new ally Dupont-Aignan of "hiding" a "dangerous project"."Everything [Le Pen] proposes puts France out of the eurozone and the EU," he pointed out in Brussels after an EU summit.He warned that "there would be no negotiations" and that France's EU exit would be "acknowledged" because France "would no longer respect" its commitments.He said that Le Pen and Dupont-Aignan were "concealing" their true intention "because they know that the French don't want that their country to leave the EU and deprive itself from the euro".In a poll published in March by Le Figaro newspaper and the Robert Schuman Foundation, a think-tank on EU affairs, only 28 percent of people wanted France to leave the euro.The toning down of Le Pen's anti-EU stance is part of a strategy to re-orientate her campaign towards the economy and social issues, in order to woo voters from the left and also from the right.It follows a decision last week to stand down from the National Front leadership and remove any reference to the party on her campaign poster and leaflets. She said she was now the "people's candidate", not her party's candidate.-Morbid continuity-On Monday the far-right leader, who is still 20 points behind in the latest opinion polls, attacked her opponent, centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron, whom she said represents the "morbid continuity" of the current political system and policies."The adversary of the French people is still the world of finance and this time it has a name, it has a face, it was a party, it is a candidate, its name is Emmanuel Macron," she said, in a clear reference to left-wing voters' concerns.In 2012, Hollande said in his winning campaign that finance was his "enemy". The statement was later used against him by critics who said he betrayed his promises and followed liberal policies - with Macron as his economic adviser and the then economy minister.Le Pen insisted that security was "what matters most". She promised to reduce migration flows, establish nationality preferences for jobs, and economic protectionism.For right-wing voters, Le Pen said that she was "the candidate of those who get up early" - one of the slogans of Nicolas Sarkozy's winning campaign in 2007. She was also caught repeating word-for-word parts of a speech by conservative candidate Francois Fillon from last month.Le Pen's project "leads to one thing: economic war, misery and war," Macron said in a meeting in Paris on Monday."It's a one way ticket," he told some 10,000 supporters.Macron is the favourite for Sunday's second round as an anti-Le Pen candidate, but is still failing to gather strong support for his own programme. He said that he was the candidate of "the optimists". And using an expression usually used by the FN against its opponents, he said that Le Pen's party was "the anti-France party"."The battle will be violent," he said about the coming days of the campaign. "Now at stake is the political, intellectual and moral legacy of the French Republic."
Brussels gossip? May belittles report on Juncker clash By Eszter Zalan-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-A devastating account of British prime minister Theresa May’s meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker last week has shed light on the gap between the UK and the EU ahead of the soon-to-begin Brexit negotiations.May tried to belittle the report, published in the German FAZ newspaper on Monday (1 May), as “Brussels gossip”, but did not deny the accuracy of the account.She also tried to use the image of a growing rift with Brussels to bolster her election campaign ahead of the 8 June snap vote.FAZ said, citing anonymous EU officials, that the May-Juncker dinner, at her London residence on 26 April, exposed a poorly-briefed and ill-prepared May.“I leave Downing Street ten times more sceptical than I was before,” Juncker said after the meeting according to FAZ.-No money, no trade deal-During the talks May said she would not agree to pay an exit bill when leaving the EU because there was nothing in the EU treaties on that type of settlement, FAZ said.But Juncker reportedly told May if the UK did not respect its financial obligations, it would not be possible to agree a future trade deal.The two also disagreed on the sequencing of the talks, with May insisting on negotiating the divorce settlement and the future trade deal in parallel.But Juncker told her that Britain cannot cancel its membership of the EU as if the bloc was a "golf club".The clash came out into the open at the weekend when the EU-27 agreed at a summit in Brussels on Saturday that the method and principle of settling the UK financial bill must be agreed before moving on to talks on future relations.But May again told the BBC on Sunday that she would not agree on the divorce fee unless a new trade deal was put in place at the same time.-Citizens by June-She also said the EU and UK could agree on the work and residence rights of each other’s citizens by the end of June.Juncker warned that that might be too ambitious, pointing to the complexities of mutual health care access as an example."I have the impression sometimes that our British friends do underestimate the technical difficulties we have to face”, he said after the summit."The single and not simple question of citizens rights is in fact a cortege of 25 different questions which have to be solved. This will take time,” he said.-Cherry-picking-EU officials also told FAZ that May thought she could opt-in to EU policies that she liked after the UK leaves.During the dinner, May cited an example in 2014 when Britain opted out of EU police and criminal justice measures, then opted back in to 35 of them.The EU has warned May several times that cherry-picking will not be possible.May reportedly also said she wanted the Brexit negotiations to be held in secret in monthly, four-day blocs.Juncker told her this was not possible because member states and the European Parliament need to be informed at each stage of the process.According to FAZ, May urged Juncker to make Brexit a success.Juncker told her he wanted good relations, but that Britain would have fewer EU perks when it left the single market and customs union.“This cannot be a success,” he said.-Breakdown?-After the meeting, Juncker put the chances of a breakdown in the negotiations at over 50 percent.According to the report, he was so alarmed that he called German chancellor Angela Merkel the next morning to say that May was "living in another galaxy" and "deluding herself”.Merkel later that day said in a speech that some in the UK government had “illusions” about the nature of the talks.Asked on Saturday at the EU summit about the FAZ scoop, Juncker said: “The meeting we had was a very constructive meeting, in a friendly atmosphere, privately everything went well, but in fact we have a problem. Because the British want to leave the EU, and it is not feasible that this can be done just like that.""It was excellent, [and] I’m not talking about the food,” he joked.Following the FAZ report, Michael Roth, Germany’s state minister for Europe tweeted: "The British government must abandon myth that all British will be better off post-Brexit."
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) 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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
Yukon, Alaska, northern B.C. rocked by quake, then another-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
The Yukon government is taking stock of the damage from a couple of earthquakes that shook the territory early Monday morning. At least two buildings — a school and a Whitehorse office building — will remain closed Tuesday.A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Yukon and Alaska at about 5:30 a.m. local time Monday, causing power outages, damaging buildings and shaking people awake.Then another larger quake, magnitude 6.3, hit less than two hours later, about 7:20 a.m. PT. There were also a series of aftershocks.The first quake hit in British Columbia's far northwest, near the B.C.-Yukon border, about 85 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, while the second hit about 80 kilometres west of Skagway.Whitehorse residents told CBC News that they were falling out of their beds and dishes were coming down from shelves.The earthquakes were also felt in northern British Columbia."Incredible shaking felt in Whitehorse around 5:30 a.m. this morning," resident Jenni Beauregard said in an email to CBC, after the first quake.She said the tremors lasted about 30 seconds."Oh gee, I was laying in bed and I felt the double-wide place that I live in start to shake a bit, and I was wondering what was going on," Sheldon Miller told CBC News.Thinking it was just strong winds, Miller headed to the window."There was no wind, but then it started shaking pretty violently. Nothing fell, but things did rumble and vibrate," he said.-"It was kind of scary."-'You might want to get under your desk'-The second quake came while B.C. seismologist Taimi Mulder was doing a live phone interview with CBC Radio host Sandi Coleman in Whitehorse."You might want to get under your desk if it's still shaking," Mulder told Coleman.Mulder said people could be feeling aftershocks throughout the day."You live in an earthquake prone part of the world."Mulder said the 6.2 shake was felt throughout Yukon, though the centre was in northern B.C., not Alaska as earlier reported."I think you need to be prepared for potentially more seismicity on this fault. This could likely have been the biggest one that you might feel for now. It's possible you might get a bigger one."Several aftershocks and smaller earthquakes were registered throughout the morning.'It took a good shaking' Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said on Twitter Monday morning that the government was closely monitoring the situation in Whitehorse and emergency response was "on standby to help as required."Yukon government officials were also taking stock of any damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges, but by Monday afternoon had reported no major problems yet.The Whitehorse airport appeared unaffected and flights were coming and going as scheduled, said Aisha Montgomery, with the Yukon government's protective services division.At least one downtown building appeared to suffer damage — the Lynn building was evacuated and closed for the day. The territorial government, which rents the building, said it will remain closed until an engineer's report is reviewed.Paula Nugent, who works there, noticed long cracks on the outside of the building. She also saw damage inside before she had to leave."The stairwell has been compromised with huge cracks, there's plaster falling off the walls," she said. "It looks pretty scary in there."I work on the fourth floor, and there are cabinet doors open, there's plants fallen over, there's pictures on the floor — yeah, it took a good shaking," she said.The Yukon government is inspecting all schools, and two were closed for the day — Elijah Smith Elementary School in Whitehorse and the Ross River School. Both suffered some structural damage, according to Holly Fraser with the territory's Education Department.Elijah Smith will reopen on Tuesday, officials said, but the library will be closed because of broken windows. Ross River School will remain closed until a technical inspection can be done later this week.St. Elias School in Haines Junction is showing some "superficial cracks," but it will remain open, the government said.Whitehorse Elementary School was also closed for inspection Monday morning, but was reopened within hours.-Power outages-The earthquakes also left thousands of people without power early Monday morning. ATCO Electric said 8,000 customers in Yukon were affected, most in the Whitehorse area, but also in the communities of Carcross and Teslin.Those customers had power back within an hour of the first quake, but about 3,000 of them saw their power knocked out again after the second quake. That outage was also less than an hour for most customers.Yukon Energy, meanwhile, checked its Whitehorse dam, substations and LNG plant for any damage on Monday morning, but has not reported any problems.Yukon Energy CEO Andrew Hall said the company's new LNG plant is designed to withstand an earthquake.
Police say explosions in downtown Toronto caused by hydro vault fire-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
TORONTO — A series of blasts in Toronto's financial district that shut down the area Monday and sent commuters scrambling was caused by an overheated hydro vault fire, said officials.The first explosion was heard shortly after 5 p.m. and heavy black smoke was seen billowing from a set of grates outside a Royal Bank office building near King St. and Yonge St.The chaotic scene continued with sounds of underground blasts as officers herded crowds away from the scene."Did you hear those sounds? Those are explosions," an officer was heard yelling to bystanders.No one was injured, Toronto Fire Services said.Police cruisers blocked off streets in the area and officers were seen wearing surgical masks as smoke hung in the air.The incident shut down a nearby subway station and caused several streetcars to take detours. The Toronto Transit Commission said late Monday that subway service and some bus routes through the area had resumed but streetcars on King St. were still being diverted.A section of King St. remained closed early Friday and it was unclear whether it would open in time for the morning rush hour.The Royal Bank office building and parts of an underground shopping concourse were evacuated due to heavy smoke, fire officials said.Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Kevin Shaw said firefighters were able to contain the blaze within an hour. He added that once hydro workers were able to cut the power to the vault, firefighters would be able to go in and douse any remaining hot spots."It's energized electrical equipment that's in the vault, it overheats, starts melting down ... so that's where you're hearing the crackle and the popping," Shaw told reporters Monday night. "There (were) visible flames out of there probably a half hour ago, but we feel that it's definitely under control now."Shaw said the fire's cause would likely be determined once hydro crews could get access to the vault."It could be dampness, water or an aging hydro vault, or all of the above," Shaw said. "It all leads up to one of these fires."He said he has seen worse hydro vault fires downtown, but added that crews had to take precautions because it happened during rush hour.Toronto Hydro workers were still unable to get to the vault by 9 p.m. Monday, spokeswoman Tori Gass told reporters. The utility said its crews would continue working through the night.Gass said she could not provide any information about what caused the explosions because it was still to dangerous for crews to go in to inspect."It's going to be quite messy down there, quite toxic," Gass said. "I would say we're not going to have answers quickly, unfortunately."She said Toronto Hydro routinely checks vaults around the city to make sure they are safe, but she could not say when this vault was last inspected.The Canadian Press.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Turkey to hold 'Brexit-like' vote, Erdogan says By Andrew Rettman-MAY 2,17-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:21-Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated his threat to hold a referendum on breaking off EU accession talks.He issued the threat amid a series of anti-EU jibes while visiting India and Pakistan in a show of his ambition to make Turkey a leading power in the Islamic world.“After some time, Turkey will choose the next path of a Brexit-like referendum,” he told WION, an Indian TV station, in an interview broadcast on Sunday (1 May), referring to Britain's vote, last year, to exit the EU.Asked when the EU referendum would take place, he said: “We have not decided yet. We will discuss it in parliament, and if need be, turn to the people”.He added: “The EU was never sincere or honest. Turkey is working [on EU accession] in vain. It's been lingering for 54 years. We fully fulfilled the Copenhagen criteria, our economy is doing much better than some EU members, we are a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, but we are made to wait patiently.”The Copenhagen criteria are a set of rules for would-be EU states that include respect for democracy and human rights.The EU has criticised Erdogan over irregularities in a referendum in April that granted him absolutist powers.It has also criticised him for mass arrests of independent journalists, opposition MPs, and other government critics following a failed coup.Erdogan dismissed the criticism as being political, adding: "It’s all propaganda.”He also accused “the West” of being “aggressive toward Muslims”, for instance, by banning Islamic headscarves and by failing to protect mosques from arson attacks.Speaking later on Sunday at the Jamia Millia Islamia university, he said: “Please, please, please do not follow the Western media when you look at Turkey. This is propaganda against Turkey.”He added that the EU had only paid out €750 million of a €3 billion aid pledge in return for Turkey stopping Syrian refugees from going to Greece.He said at a business conference with Indian leader Narendra Modi also on Sunday that “xenophobia is a major problem in Europe”.Erdogan’s trip was his first foreign visit after the constitutional referendum in Turkey on 16 April.He urged India and Pakistan to make peace over Kashmir, a disputed territory, and called on the UN Security Council to expand its EU and US-dominated list of veto powers.He also pledged to help India and Pakistan fight terrorism and signed three memorandums on expanding Turkey-India cultural and economic ties.-Bad cop, good cop-Erdogan’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, took a friendlier approach to the EU on Friday, however.TV cameras showed him hugging several EU foreign ministers at an informal meeting in Malta, the current holder of the EU presidency.He said that Austria, which wants to break off EU-Turkey accession talks, had a “wrong policy” but he said there had been a “positive atmosphere” at the talks.Austria’s foreign minister, Sebastian Kurz, restated Vienna’s position in strident terms on Friday.He said Turkey had crossed so many of the Copenhagen “red lines” that its path “cannot be membership”.“I would like to see a clear, courageous EU stand. ‘Yes’ to contact with Turkey. ‘No’ to accession,” Kurz said.German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel contradicted his Austrian counterpart, saying the German government was "strictly against cancelling the talks"."In Nato, we did not even exclude Turkey even during the times of military dictatorship,” he said.He added, in a swipe at Kurz, that some politicians were trying to “win applause at home” by attacking Turkey at EU meetings.French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also said Turkey was too important to the EU to break off ties."How can we ignore Turkey? We have to fight terrorism, we want Turkey to respect the migration deal with have," he said.“Nobody wants a break-up with Turkey."EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini echoed Gabriel and Ayrault, but said EU-Turkey accession talks were effectively on hold.-Tusk-Erdogan meeting-Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels on Saturday, German chancellor Angela Merkel said EU Council chief Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker wanted to meet Erdogan in the margins of a Nato summit on 25 May.Erdogan already threatened a popular vote on EU accession on two occasions prior to the 16 April referendum.He also said he would consider reinstating the death penalty - another EU "red line".He accused Merkel and other EU leaders of behaving like Nazis when they blocked Turkish ministers from attending pre-referendum rallies with Turkish expats in Europe.“They said a century ago that we were the ‘sick man’. Now they are the ‘sick man’. Europe is collapsing,” he said at a rally in Izmir, in western Turkey, on 9 April.
Black Lives Matter Toronto wants police officers out of GTA schools-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
Black Lives Matter Toronto wants to eliminate the School Resource Officer Program, which stations uniformed officers in Toronto-area schools, as part of six changes targeting anti-black racism in the education system.Officers have been stationed at schools since 2008, which was funded by a federal grant.The Toronto group is demanding six specific changes to the primary and secondary education systems in the Greater Toronto Area, including implementing anti-black racism training at all levels of Toronto-area school boards and creating an advisory board of black parents.Black Lives Matter Toronto staged a walkout Monday to lay out its demands.It's in response to a report last week from a York University professor — that used TDSB data — to determine a large number of black students are being streamed into applied instead of academic programs and they are suspended at much higher rates.About 20 Toronto teachers also took part, Black Lives Matter Toronto said.Supply teacher Hawa Sabriye didn't accept work Monday to join the protest and lead one of the workshops, which are being offered to educators, parents and students to identify and combat anti-black racism. The workshops were held at York Woods Library in Toronto's Jane and Finch neighbourhood."I think going into so many different schools across the city, I've noticed many different educators and administrators that have anti-black assumptions for students," said Sabriye. "This is creating barriers for many black children across the TDSB (Toronto District School Board), but also the Peel District School Board and the York Region District School Board and it's really impacting, not only their educational futures, but also their family life."Sabriye said she joined the protest because she has a younger brother and cousins in the school system."There's an alarming number of black youth that aren't making it out of high school and I think the TDSB and other school boards have to acknowledge this and realize it's a real issue," she said.'Their intelligence is not being valued'-Pascale Diverlus, a Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder, said the day of action will offer workshops aimed at ending racism in the classroom."It's about providing programming for educators and for parents, to be able to learn how to recognize anti-black racism within the school system and how to dismantle it," she said."Their intelligence is not being valued, so this day is about calling attention to those things. But also showing it can be done in a way that actually supports black students; in a way that they can thrive and they can actually go to school and learn, which is what they are there to do."
Not just 'bad hombres': U.S. immigration arrests up one-third from 2016-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
Arrests of undocumented immigrants increased by nearly one-third in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2016, according to the agency tasked with enforcing U.S. immigration laws.As May Day marchers in the U.S. on Monday protested deportation measures taken under the administration of President Donald Trump, statistics requested by CBC News from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement showed arrests within the country and at the border rose to 35,147 in the first quarter of 2017, up from 26,471 the previous year. That amounts to a 33 per cent increase.Trump's stated deportation plan was to take aim at "bad hombres," or convicted serious felons living in America illegally. Judging by ICE's statistics, authorities also rounded up thousands of unauthorized immigrants with otherwise clean records.Nearly one-quarter of those arrested, or 8,557 people, had no criminal record in the first three months of 2017. That number more than doubled the 3,718 non-criminal arrests made by ICE over the same period in Barack Obama's last full year as president in 2016.— Source: Immigration and Customs Enforcement-"These's a lot of rhetoric about 'I want to deport criminals,' but it's not what's actually been happening," says Prerna Lal, the Berkeley-based founder of DreamActivist, an online advocacy network led by undocumented youth."These are not dangerous felons. It's important to call [Trump] out on the fact his rhetoric doesn't match the reality," says Lal, herself a former undocumented immigrant who is now a lawful permanent U.S. resident. "For the people being arrested and put in [removal] proceedings, their only 'crime' is that they're here unlawfully."A $1-trillion congressional spending deal brokered late Sunday to avoid a government shutdown denies the president funding for his oft-promised southern border wall. It also omits Trump's threat to pull federal grants from sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants.-$1.5 billion for border security-But the agreement allocates $1.5 billion towards border security. It's unclear how the money would be spent and whether it would go towards projects such as expanding detention facilities, hiring more deportation agents or reinforcing the border.Trump-era deportation figures might seem counterintuitive.Fewer deportations have been processed under his watch than during his predecessor's tenure. CNN reported last week that ICE removed 54,564 people between Trump's Inauguration Day and April 24, down from 62,062 individuals deported within the same period last year under Obama.But immigration experts believe that arrest figures — rather than removal stats — give a better picture of an administration's immigration enforcement efforts. That's because deportation cases can take several years to wind through backlogged courts. Border apprehensions often result in removal within days.ICE's deportation stats wouldn't account for the long lag times, whereas arrests are "clearly the initial enforcement activity," says Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs with Washington's Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit and nonpartisan think tank.Critics of Obama blasted him as "deporter in chief" owing to the spike in deportations to around 400,000 a year during the beginning of his term. Deportations fell after his executive action to relieve the pace of removals in November 2014, when his administration issued a memorandum prioritizing deportations for serious criminals and new arrivals.-Expanded deportation powers-The biggest change under Trump is a broadening of how ICE agents are free to interpret who should be deported. The expanded powers came courtesy of new immigration enforcement policies the president introduced in January executive orders.In practical terms, unauthorized immigrants settled in the U.S. as law-abiding residents, including some with citizen spouses, are now as vulnerable to removal proceedings as serious criminals. For example, the Washington Post reported last week that about half of the 675 immigrants arrested in the days after Trump's inauguration either had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offences, with drunk driving being the most common offence.Capps expects removals from inside the U.S. to soon start outpacing the number of removals at the border, "basically flipping the pattern that we had in the Obama administration."The 2014 Obama-era executive actions to relieve deportations "had an enormous impact" as removals eased off to closer to 300,000 a year, said Lynn Marcus, co-director of the University of Arizona's Immigration Law Clinic. Many people without their papers were simply logged into databases and had their cases either terminated or "administratively closed" while more pressing cases became the focus."Although President Trump had said his focus would be on 'bad hombres,' he's clogging the system with working people who are integrated into communities in the U.S."-Back to Bush-To Lal, the former undocumented immigrant, the Trump policy change effectively winds the clock back to the end of the George W. Bush years and the beginning of Obama's term. Total deportations topped 1.17 million in 2008 and 974,000 in 2009, before eventually being more than halved to around 451,000 in 2016, according to the Migration Policy Institute.Trump might soon inherit the "deporter in chief" label from Obama now that "anybody and everybody" in the U.S. without documentation is at equal risk of removal, Lal says."People used to criticize Obama, too. Now we're back to square one."
13-year-old boy charged with vandalizing Regina synagogue-[CBC]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with mischief and break and enter after the Beth Jacob Synagogue was vandalized this weekend in Regina.Both the synagogue and Regina Police Service say the damage is not believed to be motived by anti-Semitism."As much as we regret that this has happened and we're quite upset about the damage that was done, we can say that this does not appear to be a hate crime of any kind," said Rabbi Jeremy Parnes.The Regina Police Service also does not believe this was in any way a hate crime.Police say they responded to the facility on Sunday after someone reported that there was damage done to the inside of the building. Furniture and other items in the school section were broken when police arrived at the scene.Given the size of the building several police units responded but once there, police determined that the break-in had occurred on Saturday.The 13-year-old has been charged with break and enter and mischief over $5,000. The youth's name will not be published in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act.Parnes said nothing has been stolen from the synagogue and no significant items were damaged within that part of the building."There was no desecration of our sanctuaries or any kind of hate slogans painted or made in the building," he said.-Montessori school cancels classes-The damages caused have resulted in classes at the Montessori school, which is located in the synagogue, to be cancelled Monday.According to a letter sent home to parents, "the damage to the classrooms is mostly messy (e.g. paint splatter) but is substantial enough that it will require a disaster recovery service to clean the building and classrooms."Jeff Vall, chair of the board for Montessori Regina, said while clean-up is taking place they are looking for new locations to potentially hold classes."I've heard of parents offering up spaces at their home if they have availability," said Vall.Parents were informed of the break-in on Sunday."Parents probably are currently scrambling to find alternative arrangements for today [Monday] and staff at Montessori are looking for an alternative location," said Vall.-Local institutions quick to offer spaces-Jennifer Rathwell's two children attend the McTavish Street Montessori location. Rathwell said her boys are at home today but accommodations have been made for later in the week."I'm hearing also that a fire extinguisher was discharged over everything," said Rathwell.She and other parents heard about the break in, and subsequently cancelled classes, on Sunday. Montessori has programs for pre-kindergarten children to grade six students.Approximately 100 families have been affected by the school closure.On Tuesday, the school has been invited to the Field House to have a literal field day, according to Rathwell. She said offers have also been made from Luther High School and the University of Regina."So they have a place to be as early as tomorrow," said Rathwell.
German official sees promise in expanding Russia-backed Syrian peace talks-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 2, 2017
BERLIN (Reuters) - Expanding the number of countries involved in Russian-backed peace talks for Syria could offer a chance to jumpstart negotiations on a political solution, Germany's top official for Russia policy said in an interview published on Tuesday.Gernot Erler suggested that German Chancellor Angela Merkel could raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet in Sochi, Russia later on Tuesday."We have to acknowledge that all previous peace efforts have failed," Erler told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, noting that neither the U.N. initiative led by diplomat Staffan de Mistura nor the Russia-brokered ceasefire had led to tangible results."As a result we have to think of something new. I think the German side should ask Putin if he can imagine including more countries in the negotiations. That could offer an opportunity to at least organize a negotiating process," he said.He said it was clear that a solution to ending the war in Syria was now unthinkable without the participation of Russia, whose military intervention has shifted the course of the six-year-old war in favor of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told news agencies on Saturday that Moscow was ready to cooperate with the United States on settling the Syrian crisis.Interfax also quoted Lavrov's deputy, Mikhail Bogdanov, as saying the armed Syrian opposition would participate in the next round of Russian-backed peace talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on May 3-4, which will also involve Iran and Turkey.Erler rejected a suggestion by Jordan's King Abdullah that the West should accept Russia's 2014 annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and stop criticizing Moscow to encourage Putin to drop his support for Assad."I consider that a dubious idea. It would mix up two issues that have nothing to do with each other," Erler said.He said U.S. President Donald Trump initially appeared to favor such a "deal" but had since realized that foreign policy crises could not be handled like real estate transactions.Russia has vetoed eight resolutions on Syria to shield Assad's government from action, most recently blocking condemnation of a chemical weapons attack last month that killed dozens of people, including many children. China has backed Russia and vetoed six resolutions.Erler said Merkel would also press Moscow to uphold its written commitments under the Minsk peace process aimed at ending the violence in eastern Ukraine.He said Merkel would assure Putin that sanctions against Moscow could be lifted quickly if Moscow demonstrated its resolve to implement the Minsk agreement."But Moscow has known that for some time, so the ability to add pressure is very limited," he said.(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Rights group accuses Syria of several likely nerve agent attacks-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Monday accused Syrian government forces of likely dropping bombs containing nerve agents at least three times elsewhere in the country before an April 4 attack that killed dozens of people and sparked a retaliatory U.S. strike.The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. The Syrian U.N. mission was not immediately available to comment on the allegations by Human Rights Watch, which cited interviews with witnesses and medical personnel.The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons, a global watchdog, has said sarin or a similar banned toxin was used in the April 4 strike.Human Rights Watch said that before the April 4 attack on Khan Sheikhoun, government warplanes also appeared to have dropped nerve agents on eastern Hama on Dec. 11 and 12, 2016, and northern Hama, near Khan Sheikhoun, on March 30, 2017."All four of these attacks were in areas where opposition or ISIS forces were launching an offensive that threatened government military air bases," Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth told a news conference at the United Nations."The decision to ratchet up to this level seems to have been related to that unfavorable battlefield situation," he said.The report said an opposition-affiliated activist and local residents provided the names of 64 people they say died from exposure to chemicals in the December attacks, which were in an area controlled by Islamic State militants.It said no one died in the March 30 attack but dozens of people were injured, according to residents and medical workers."The pattern shows that the Syrian government retained sarin or some similar nerve agent after its August 2013 eastern Ghouta attack despite having agreed to hand over all chemical weapons to U.N. inspectors," Roth said.Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Moscow and Washington.Roth said Human Rights Watch found that the remnants of a bomb at the site of the April 4 attack "appear consistent with the characteristics with a Soviet-made air-dropped chemical bomb specifically designed to deliver sarin." The report said the remnants of the bomb appears similar to a KhAB-250.Human Rights Watch called on the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Syria and refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court (ICC).Russia and China blocked a Western bid for a referral to the ICC in 2014 and this February blocked a bid to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks.(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Jehovah's Witnesses as 'extremists': Court sharpens edges of Russia's religious space-[Christian Science Monitor]-Fred Weir-YAHOONEWS-May 1, 2017
It's a quiet Tuesday evening at Moscow's largest Kingdom Hall, a gathering point for Jehovah's Witnesses, and it's a hive of activity. In one room a few dozen people are engaged in Bible-reading; in another they are singing hymns.There is no outward sign of awareness that Russia's Supreme Court has just banned the Jehovah's Witnesses as an "extremist" group on a par with terrorist organizations like ISIS and Al Qaeda – nor that carrying out these very activities may soon be grounds for criminal charges and prison.It's a legal decision that looks portentous on many levels. It is the first major post-Soviet instance in which Russia has moved to outlaw an entire religion, deploying "extremism" laws against a group that poses no threat whatsoever of violence, racism, or hate speech.Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia? Some see the hand of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church behind the decision. Others suggest it's part of a more general wave of "majoritarian" social conservatism that's enforcing a gradual homogenization on the entire society. Civil rights experts worry the move could presage a wider crackdown on "non-traditional" religious faiths, generally viewed as alien to Russia, that took root around the country in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse a generation ago.But even among Russian Orthodox themselves, there is concern that the absolute ban of an entire sect goes too far. The faith has existed in Russia for more than a century, and is practically the only such group to have survived the long Soviet winter by developing underground networks that successfully defied the secret police of Stalin and Brezhnev eras."Banning [the Jehovah's Witnesses] from the legal space, excluding it from social life completely is an idea that didn't work even in Stalin's times," says Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a former spokesman for the Orthodox Church. "We should be wiser in this case."-THE 'YAROVAYA LAW'-The Supreme Court ban, which is one short appeal away from being handed to police to enforce, will mandate seizure of all the group's property and open its 175,000 Russian members to criminal charges if they persist in publicly expressing their beliefs and carrying out their active missionary work.The court verdict has been several years in the making, highlighting the way Russian authorities in the age of Vladimir Putin move slowly and methodically through the courts, rather than employing Soviet-style repression, to obtain the results they want.In the more than two decades since Russia passed a law limiting the legal rights of faiths that are not one of the country's four "traditional" religions – Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism – the Jehovah's Witnesses have faced dozens of local bans, seen their literature prohibited as "extremist," and several of their activists jailed.But the new ruling comes under a new law signed by Mr. Putin last July. Known as the "Yarovaya Law" after its main author Irina Yarovaya of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the law authorized sweeping new powers for security services to crack down on all kinds of extremist activity.One little-noticed section of the law mandates much tougher restrictions on the activities of small religious denominations, particularly their ability to proselytize. The Jehovah's Witnesses, who see missionary work as a basic command from God, were on a collision course with the Russian state even before the latest court decision."I am instructed to go out and tell people what I have read in the Bible, and I will do that regardless of what decisions the government takes," says Yury Terteryan, a sports journalist and Jehovah's Witness. "How can you stop people from sharing good news?"Some analysts see this verdict as part of a full-blown comeback for Soviet-style forced conformity. "The totalitarian features of the present regime are becoming more evident," says Yevgeny Ikhlov, an expert with the public Movement for Human Rights in Moscow. "It is a feature of such regimes that they try to impose a single ideology. The Jehovah's Witnesses have been persecuted by totalitarian regimes from Hitler's to Stalin's, and it looks like they'll have to go underground again."Others suggest that, as with laws limiting public LGBT expression, the crackdown is not likely to affect most Russians and, indeed, few are likely to even notice it. The vast majority of Russians self-identify as Orthodox Christians, even if only a small percentage actively practice the faith.Ultimately, it's not clear exactly why the Russian state has targeted the Jehovah's Witnesses for punishment which, if fully carried out, could increase Russia's burgeoning prison population by 175,000."The supreme court case dealt mainly with technical issues, like their promulgation of 'extremist' literature and violation of previously-mandated restrictions," says Maria Kravchenko, an expert with the Sova Center in Moscow, which tracks extremist movements in Russia. Ms. Kravchenko's specialty is "abuse of the extremism laws," and she says her work load has been piling up lately."Perhaps it's because of their pacifism, that they reject military service, and encourage believers to leave their families. There are a lot of institutions in Russia that have reasons to be angered by them. I think the interests of the Orthodox Church is only one aspect of this, it's part of something much larger," she says.-THROWN TO THE LIONS?-Most "non-traditional" faiths have experienced difficulties trying to establish themselves in post-Soviet Russia. Even the powerful Roman Catholic Church, which has about 800,000 members in Russia, has found itself under pressure, often from zealous local Orthodox communities. But recent rapprochement between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church has probably eliminated any threat that Catholics might be targeted under the Yarovaya law.The Church of Scientology – which is controversial everywhere – was shut down by the Supreme Court last year, for "non-compliance" with laws regulating religious organizations. The Orthodox Church hailed that decision, publicly denouncing Scientology as an "affront to human freedom."Many other groups have experienced chronic problems, including Hindus, whose holy book the Bhagavad Gita was nearly banned as "extremist" by a local court five years ago. Baptists and other smaller evangelical Christian groups, who often do not register with authorities, report constant harassment from police and local Orthodox communities.Most of those who, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, make proselytizing a core activity, worry that they will be targeted more systematically, and treated as criminals, under the new Yarovaya law.For the Jehovah's Witnesses themselves, persecution is all too familiar. Indeed, they fondly liken themselves to early Christians being hunted down by the Romans. Which is not to say that they welcome it."I don't wish to be thrown to the lions," says Yevgeny Kandaurov, an elder of the congregation in Moscow. "That's not what I choose. But I will stick to my faith whatever happens."-'WE SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL ABOUT THIS'-Even among Orthodox officials it's not easy to find supporters of the draconian verdict against the Jehovah's Witnesses."I agree that aggressive missionary activity should be prohibited [as per the Yarovaya law] for all religious groups," says Father Chaplin, the former Orthodox Church spokesman. "The state has the right to say that their ideology is anti-patriotic and doesn't reflect the feelings of most Russians... In the bodies of power, and for common people as well, there are questions about whether this organization serves the country's interests, or those of international forces looking to weaken Russia."Article 29 of Russia's Constitution prohibits any declaration of the superiority of religion. That's been cited against the Jehovah's Witnesses for proclaiming that theirs is the only true faith."I think we should be more careful about this," says Chaplin. "Every religion thinks it's the only true one. I am Orthodox, and I certainly believe that about my faith. If the state forbids us from saying that, it will put itself at odds with the majority of its citizens."Andrei Kuraev, a professor at the Orthodox Church's Spiritual Academy in Moscow, warns that all freedom of conscience is under attack."Sure, the Jehovah's Witnesses are far from blameless. They are a totalitarian sect who control their adherents and spread bad information about other faiths," he says. "But sometimes our Orthodox preachers do the very same things. I have personally taken part in debates with the Jehovah's Witnesses, and I believe that's how things should be handled. We should have equal conditions. The state should stay out of it and not under any circumstances try to play the role of arbiter."
