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)
ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.(DAMASCUS FRYED TO A PULP)
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
AMOS 1:5
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.(I belive ISIS-DAMASCUS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL)
Nikki HaleyVerified account @nikkihaley 14h14 hours ago-JUNE 27,17-Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people.
U.S. says it appears Syria planning another chemical weapons attack-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday it appears the Syrian government is preparing for another chemical weapons attack and it warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he and his military would "pay a heavy price" if it conducts such an attack.The White House statement said preparations by Syria were similar to those undertaken before an April 4 chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians and prompted President Donald Trump to order a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base.Trump ordered the strike on the Shayrat airfield in Syria in April in reaction to what Washington said was a poison gas attack by Assad's government that killed at least 70 people in rebel-held territory. Syria denied it carried out the attack.The strike put Washington in confrontation with Russia, which has advisers in Syria aiding its close ally Assad.U.S. officials at the time called the intervention a "one-off" intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks and not an expansion of the U.S. role in the Syrian war.(Reporting by Eric Beech; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait)
White House says Assad may be preparing chemical attack-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2017
WASHINGTON — The White House says it has found "potential" evidence that Syria is preparing for another chemical weapons attack.Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued an ominous statement Monday evening that says the U.S. "has identified potential preparations" for another chemical attack by the Assad government that it says "would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children."He says the activities are similar to those made before an April chemical attack. The Trump administration launched missile strikes in retaliation for that attack, which it blamed on Assad.Spicer warns that "if Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price."The White House has provided no immediate evidence to back up its claims.The Associated Press.
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Focus-China's 16+1 foray into Central and Eastern Europe By Eric Maurice-euobserver
Prague, 26. Jun, 13:27-Half a decade after it was launched, the network of cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries has brought uneven economical and political fruits so far.The so-called 16+1 was established in 2012 as Beijing's initiative to cover various issues such as investment, trade, but also culture or education.The group includes 11 EU countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia; and five non-EU countries from the Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.It fits into China's global strategy to engage new partners in political and economic ties in different formats.Despite having a permanent secretariat, the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries - the initiative's official name - is more a series of bilateral relationships with no overall coherence, as experts pointed out in discussions at the Prague European Summit conference earlier this month."It's not really a multilateral format," Petr Kratochvil, the director of Prague's Institute of International Relations, told EUobserver."It's more a group of countries that China took to have bilateral ties with. It's mainly Poland and Hungary in terms of investment, and Romania and Serbia for building projects."China's interest in the 16+1 countries is different from one country to another.In the Czech Republic, Kratochvil noted, the Chinese have mainly invested in real estate, a football club - Slavia Prague, which just won the Czech championship - or the media."It's not really the kind of investment the country wants, because it doesn't produce anything," he said.In Budapest, meanwhile, the government announced last week that Hungary and China would soon start to cooperate in the healthcare industry – from making medical equipment to developing biotechnologies.Kratochvil noted that the amount of Chinese investments in the region had remained limited and was concentrated on a few high profile infrastructure projects, such as the Budapest-Belgrade high-speed railway that Chinese companies plan to build.The focus on infrastructure shows that China considers Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) a full part of the One Belt-One Road initiative – an investment and infrastructure plan, spanning from China to the Middle-East and Africa through to Central Asia."Southern and Eastern Europe are a testing ground for the Belt and Road," Anastas Vangeli, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, told EUobserver.He said that 16+1 was more an "experiment" than a "Chinese plan", and that Beijing tries "to see whether this type of diplomacy can help them boost economic relations.""To put it very simply, the whole idea is to find ways to boost the economy outside China, to generate demand for Chinese goods," Vangeli said, adding: "And these are not cheap goods: high speed railways, satellites systems or nuclear technology."Agatha Kratz, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, a London-based think-tank, told EUobserver that: "The first idea was to treat CEE as Asia and Africa.""That was a big shock, they explained that loans for projects that China would build were not going to happen."For Kratz, the success of the 16+1 initiative is to be found on the political side than in the economic side.She pointed out that annual summits between the 17 leaders, usually in Europe, constitute a "formal channel of communication".-A pragmatic question-After five years, the 16+1 format "has shown its limits, but it will continue," Kratz added.For China, the forum is "high-level enough and it helps to understand how best to promote what it can do in Europe".For CEE countries, the summits are "one more bilateral forum, one more way to have meetings with China and explain what they [CEE countries] need from it."For countries that are either part of the EU or willing to join it in the future, the Chinese partnership is "a pragmatic question", Kratochvil insisted.Although some leaders, such as Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban or Czech president Milos Zeman, are supportive of certain Chinese positions – for instance Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea – the region is not going to become a Chinese "ally"."The idea of a strategic shift is nonsense," Kratochvil said.
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Myanmar, Thailand incinerate illicit drugs worth $800 million-[Reuters]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
BANGKOK/YANGON (Reuters) - Officials in Myanmar and Thailand burned illegal narcotics worth more than $800 million on Monday to mark the UN day against drug abuse and trafficking.The move came even as authorities struggle to stem the flood of illicit drugs in the region, with Thailand's justice minister last year saying the country's war on drugs was failing.In Thailand's Ayutthaya province, more than 9 tonnes of drugs with a street value of over 20 billion baht ($590 million) went up in smoke including methamphetamines, known locally as "yaba" or "crazy drug", according to police."Currently, we are able to take down a lot of networks, including ... transnational networks bringing drugs into Thailand ... to be shipped to Malaysia and other countries," Sirinya Sitthichai, Secretary-General of the Office of Narcotics Control Board, told reporters in Ayutthaya.In neighboring Myanmar, the police said they destroyed confiscated drugs worth around $217 million.Myanmar remains one of the world's largest producers of illicit drugs, including opium, heroin and methamphetamines. Those narcotics are often smuggled into China.Last year, law makers in Myanmar voiced disappointment over the country's lackluster efforts to tackle the drug problem.The market for methamphetamines has been growing in Southeast Asia, the United Nations has said. It estimates that Southeast Asia's trade in heroin and methamphetamine was worth $31 billion in 2013.(Reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa in AYUTTHAYA and Aye Win Myint in YANGON; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Pot insider says dispensaries are 'dreaming' if they think they'll be part of legalization framework-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Omar Khan sat down with Matt Galloway on Metro Morning to discuss big questions that have yet to be answered in the federal government's push to develop a legal framework for recreational marijuana sales by July 2018.Khan is former chief of staff to the Ontario health minister and he now works with the marijuana industry as vice president, public affairs of Hill + Knowlton strategies.Questions and answers have been condensed.Matt Galloway: How prepared is this country for legal weed? Omar Khan: I think right now you have a patchwork of readiness. You have provinces like Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick who are fairly well advanced in terms of their thinking. And you have others, like Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who quite frankly are a little bit further behind.MG: What are the big questions that still have to be answered? OK: I think one of the points that's getting less attention is where will one be able to use marijuana. For example, you can walk down a public sidewalk and smoke a cigarette, but you can't walk down the sidewalk and drink a beer. I think that's a conversation that needs to happen.MG: Do you think that people will be allowed to smoke marijuana in parks, if they can't have an open bottle of alcohol there now? OK: There's a lot of evidence that suggests that harm associated with marijuana use is less than that associated with regular alcohol use. So I think it's something that the province of Ontario especially is going to be looking at as they move forward with their strategy.MG: What about the sale issue? OK: Since the government has set a fairly aggressive timeline for legalization — some have said, July 2018 — I think it's going to be very difficult for the government to have an up-and-running, bricks-and-mortar retail operation by this time next year essentially. I think the government is looking at three options: one would be a wholly government-run crown corporation a la LCBO; I think another option would be a heavily regulated system that gives out private licences for retailing; and then, the third option would be what we call a hybrid. Some private licences combined with a government-run system, similar to how beer and wine is distributed in Ontario.MG: Which way do you think they are leaning?OK: I know the Ontario government started looking at this seriously, right after the election of the Trudeau government. I know the attorney general, Yassir Naqvi, is working away feverishly to put together some options for cabinet to consider. I also know the premier is very big on consultation, so I suspect that before any plan is rolled out, there will be a robust public consultation.MG: Can you have robust public consultation and still set up that regulatory body in time? OK: I know they've been working at this hard for a year or so. The timeline's going to be a challenge no doubt. That's why I suspect that if there are going to be public consultations, as I presume there will be, they'll be rolling them out fairly shortly.MG: Is the timeline too tight? OK: It is what it is. Having worked in government, I know that sometimes you have to set a deadline to get everybody working away at achieving a goal. At the end of the day, what's important is that we are going to have legalized adult use of recreational cannabis in this country. And, industry, government, all involved stakeholders need to start working very fast to get this done right.MG: You work with the industry now. What do they want to know? OK: Like members of the public, they are waiting for more information about what the retail distribution model will look like. But I think industry is very interested in sharing some of their expertise when it comes to distribution. There are a lot of players who have a lot of experience dealing with controlled substances. So for example, pharmacies, care centres. I want to give kudos to Mayor Tory who spoke out vigorously against the illegal dispensaries that are out there right now. The one question everyone needs to ask is, where are these people getting their supply? We have 50 licensed producers or marijuana in this country right now.MG: So where are they getting their supply? OK: I don't want to open myself up to defamation. But they're not getting them from the licensed producers because none of them would risk their licence by providing supply illegally.MG: The assumption from many of the illegal dispensaries is that they're going to be part of the new regime.OK: I think they are dreaming in technicolour. There is no way the province of Ontario or any other province is going to give a retail distribution licence to any entity that's involved in criminal activity.MG: Do you really think we'll meet this deadline? OK: The good thing [Finance Minister] Morneau has put out there is that if there's a province that isn't ready with an up-and-running distribution system next year, there will be a fallback, and I suspect that will be online sales.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Spain sends reinforcements as fire spreads near wildlife reserve-Agence France-Presse-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Madrid (AFP) - Firefighters were battling Monday to contain a blaze threatening a renowned national park in southern Spain which has already led to the evacuation of some 2,000 people.Authorities were sending additional firefighters to tackle the flames at the Donana Natural Park in southwestern Spain near Huelva, a fire service spokesman told AFP."The flames are not under control, they are spreading," he added, though no injuries have been reported.The blaze comes a week after wildfires killed over 60 people in neighbouring Portugal.Strong winds and scorching heat were complicating efforts to fight the blaze, which broke out Saturday near the town of Moguer, officials said.The fire has not yet hit the neighbouring Donana National Park, which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1994 and is well known for the extensive biodiversity of its dunes, wetlands and woods."The flames have not reached the national park," the official in charge of the environment with the regional government of Andalusia, Jose Fiscal Lopez, told Spanish public television."A special effort was made during the night on the front which threatened the park the most," he added.The national park is one of Spain's most important wildlife sanctuaries and a popular tourist attraction.It is home to a variety of animals, including endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx, a large cat found only in Spain and Portugal.Officials temporarily evacuated a lynx breeding centre on Sunday as a precaution.A female Iberian lynx died at the Acebuche captive breeding centre on Saturday "due to stress" during its capture for evacuation, the centre said in a statement.The other lynxes are "safe and sound", said the mayor of Moguer, Gustavo Cuellar. "Each lynx held in captivity is receiving detailed care."Over 200 firefighters backed by 15 vehicles and seven planes were battling the blaze on Monday morning, emergency services said.The cause remained unknown but Fiscal Lopez said officials were "certain" human activity played a role."It remains to be seen if this was with (criminal) intent or due to negligence," he added.The fire prompted the closure of several roads and the evacuation of some 2,000 people, including guests at camp sites and several hotels.There were no immediate details on how much land had been burned so far.
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.
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
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.
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Opinion-New initiative could trump the Visegrad Group By Wojciech Przybylski-euobserver
Warsaw, 26. Jun, 17:09-"New Europe" was a term coined by the administration of former US president George W. Bush.When the USA decided to invade Iraq, this term was used to differentiate between – and celebrate – the solidarity of new Nato members compared to the reluctance of the old allies.Since then, the intricacies of European politics – from smaller initiatives to larger regional alliances and even to the inner-workings of the EU itself – have grown considerably.Many wishing to weaken Europe’s position and potential on the global stage try to exploit this division of old vs new, and it is something all leaders on the continent should be wary of.With that still in mind, on 6 July US president Donald Trump will arrive in Warsaw and take part in an assembly of one of these regional alliances, the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) – a meeting of the EU leaders representing Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).The three seas is a reference to the countries situated between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas.The initiative is seen as a major diplomatic triumph of the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, who is also the leader of the TSI and desperate for a win.However, the TSI is just one of many political groupings in the CEE region with a primary focus on influencing EU policy. Other such groupings of more or less importance are the Visegrad Group (V4), Slavkov triangle, Danube Region, Weimar Triangle and Nordic-Baltic cooperation.While their main focus is on fostering cooperation within the EU, such formations are becoming increasingly interesting for external powers such as China (in the so-called 16+1 format) and now the US.Trump’s visit will definitely put a spotlight on the TSI and help this format to continue.TSI members – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – pledged in their founding declaration a year ago to foster regional projects in the areas of energy, transportation, digital communication and economic sectors in CEE.However, according to analysts who are advancing the concept, like Bartosz Wisniewski, the head of research office at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), the region still has a long way to go when it comes to its economic development.The TSI is meant to complement connectivity between the East and West of Europe, with greater connectivity along the north-south axis, thanks in no small part to the EU's financial contribution.-Not quite quid pro quo-The US has already increased on their military presence in the region, even more so than had been originally promised by the administration of former US president Barack Obama.The LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal in Swinoujscie, Poland – a strategically important facility allowing for more energy independence in the region – has only recently celebrated the arrival of its first transportation from the US and awaits its next shipment from Qatar, and other countries.Justifiably suspicious of their eastern neighbour, Poland will most likely take the opportunity to sup-port the recent sanctions that were proposed by the US Senate last week on contractors for the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) project, as well as other significant Russian businesses.In comparison, both Trump and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban have sought to lift the sanctions on Russia, a sentiment that is also shared today by Austria, a member of the TSI, whose companies are contractors for the NS2.However, according to PISM these differences are fine, as they are neither an attempt to undermine European integration, nor a block to ward off Russia.To the Czechs and Slovaks, the TSI, especially now, might be a little more problematic.While they agree with the goal of north-south connectivity, they are cautious – if not suspicious – of the political dimension.V4 is the most important format to Slovakia, whereas the country treats the TSI more like a one time event.For Slovaks, there is no political content in this grouping. And, beyond that, there is no security component and no political dimension for the country.Czech officials have also expressed reservations towards Poland, a country that, along with Hungary, emphasises the East-West divide. The radicalisation of some V4 members also does not help.Poles automatically reject all ideas from the Western members, a Czech diplomat recently told Gazeta Wyborcza.A member of the Czech ministry of foreign affairs, who was quoted in the same article, went even further, claiming that the idea of a Three Seas Initiative is unacceptable because of its 20th century neo-imperial origin.Such criticism is dismissed by PISM analysts, who underline that despite any apparent differences, Slovakia and Czech Republic will send their representation.Despite many reservations, the obvious champion of the initiative has become the Croatian president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Allegedly, her personal involvement was of key importance to the US delegation.The TSI clearly goes along with her plans for her LNG terminal in Croatia that will improve gas sup-ply diversification – independent of Russia – and increase energy cooperation in the region.-Needing a pat on the back-It might be too simplistic, but there is the chance that Trump is using the occasion as a slight against German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron.Is this a not-too-subtle comment about how Trump sees future European cooperation? The question needing to be answered by EU leaders will be whether they think Trump is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face.That worries some, who do not believe that the Polish ministry of foreign affairs can handle a diplomatically sensitive visit.Warsaw, already isolated in the EU, may want to be even more confrontational after Trump's visit. This will also not help to reconcile with Brussels, Berlin or Paris.Furthermore, it will not help to build regional solidarity, since the northern and southern neighbours of Poland will not feel like taking part in fist-fights that would complicate relations with their Western partners.No matter how well-intentioned these leaders are in developing ties between their nations, they will all struggling with domestic and regional issues, as well as questionable popular support.It all makes the meeting feel more like the international conference of future political pariahs.Wojciech Przybylski is the editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight, and chairman of the Res Publica Foundation in Warsaw. His new book ‘Understanding Central Europe’, co-edited with Marcin Moskalewicz, will be published by Routledge in the second half of 2017.
UK visitors set to pay into EU budget after Brexit By Nikolaj Nielsen-june 27,17-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 22:25-British nationals may end up paying into the EU general budget after the UK leaves the European Union.An EU proposal to tighten border security controls for all visa-free travellers sometime in 2020 will be generating cash by demanding fees from holidaymakers. The fees will pay for annual running costs.But an European Commission official on Monday (26 June) said any surplus revenue would also then go to the EU budget and reduce member state contributions.Proposed last November, the Commission's European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), will screen all visa-free travellers before they enter the passport-free Schengen zone of 26 European states."Any accumulated surplus generated by the Etias revenues would in any case revert back to the EU general budget and hence reduce member state contributions," the Commission official told MEPs.A five-year application under the scheme is €5. The fee is small but the UK's total sum in the pot is not insignificant.Brits made 35 million holiday trips to the EU last year alone with around a third going to Spain, followed by France and Greece. Another 5.5 million were business trips.A spokesperson from the UK-based Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) told EUobserver that the UK holiday figures to the EU have increased substantially in the past few years.He noted that 2016 was "an all time record".Abta wants the British government to negotiate an exemption for UK nationals in Etias, noting that "it is in everyone's interest to keep these flows going."The UK government, meanwhile, says it is determined to get the best possible deal for the country.A UK government spokesperson said Etias was just "one of many areas that may need to be addressed as we leave the EU and agree a new partnership."It is also likely to stir up resentment among people who campaigned to leave the EU, given that British nationals may still be footing, albeit indirectly, the EU budget after Brexit.Commission estimates suggest Etias will cost over €200 million to launch and around €85 million to maintain annually. Discussions between the EU institutions have yet to start but the plan is to reach an agreement before the end this year.German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht said the EU would be better off making it easier for people to travel than imposing a new system that not only creates more red tape but also blanket collects personal data."Making it easier for people from countries, which are also democracies, to travel to the European Union and back is a positive thing and we need not to make that more difficult but easier," he said on Monday.EU nationals, for their part, took 10 million holiday trips and some 7 million business trips to the UK in 2016.
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)
Before tragedy strikes': Liberals launch centre to prevent homegrown terrorism-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
The federal government has launched a new centre tasked with preventing the radicalization of Canadian young people.A special adviser will be named in the coming months to oversee the local outreach and research projects funded through the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence.The centre will have dedicated staff, but will be located within the existing Public Safety Canada space.Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Canada must become a world leader in understanding and dealing with radicalization that leads to violence, in order to retain its national character as an open, diverse society that is also safe and secure."The new Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence will help us do as much as humanly possible to prevent radicalization to violence before tragedy strikes," Goodale said in a statement. "It will support and empower local leaders to develop initiatives that are suited to their community."Last year's budget set aside $35 million over five years and $10 million each year after to combat radicalization and violence in Canada.Ontario Liberal MP Arif Virani, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of heritage (multiculturalism), said the new centre will drive better research, understanding and engagement, with a special focus on youth vulnerable to radicalization. Building up trust relationships and opening lines of communication are critical to combating radicalism at the ground level, he said.-No boundaries to extremist views-The centre will not focus on Islamist extremism alone, but will cover a wide spectrum, because while some attacks are perpetrated by Islamist extremists, others target Muslims, Virani said."When we look at what's happening across the country, radicalization is not endemic to any one group, institution, race or religion," he said. "It doesn't have particular boundaries that are tied to a religion or an ideology. That's very important to keep in mind because that's a situation we need be upfront about in terms of where the threats are coming from and not focusing on any one particular community."In January, six people were killed and 19 others injured in an attack by a gunman at a Quebec CIty mosque.-Domestic acts of terror-Last August, Aaron Driver died in an altercation with police in Strathroy, Ont. RCMP believe he was preparing to carry out a suicide bombing in a public place.That incident came less than two years after Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he stood on guard at the National War Memorial, an act the RCMP called terrorism, before making his way to Parliament Hill.Jeremy Littlewood, a terrorism expert at Ottawa's Carleton University, said Canada's domestic terrorism problem is smaller than some of our closest allies, but that doesn't mean there is no danger.Littlewood said it's too early to tell if Canada's approach will work to combat domestic terrorism, but he said it is wise not to target only one group of extremists."Making it one type of terrorism specific, for example, al-Qaeda or ISIS-inspired terrorism, is a recipe for creating fear, suspicion and perpetuating the notion of suspect communities within a population," he said.Littlewood said success will depend partly on sustained funding, and an openness about what is working and what is not.The government is accepting proposals for the Community Resilience Fund as of July 6, 2017, which has $1.4 million available to fund projects in 2018-19. For subsequent years, there will be $7 million for continuing and new projects.Ten projects have already received funding for counter-radicalization work.
Crowd flows, camera coverage being studied to bolster Parliament Hill security-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
OTTAWA — Security officials say they're ready for the throngs set to descend on Parliament Hill for Canada's 150th birthday celebration Saturday.But that doesn't mean federal researchers are done thinking about how to better protect the country's seat of democracy in the months and years ahead.Advisers are gathering data on everything from crowd flows to video-camera placement to ensure both security and openness in the parliamentary precinct.Parliament Hill security is a "tough nut to crack" because of the fine balance between guarding the most important democratic institutions while keeping the grounds open to people, said Rami Youssef of the federal Centre for Security Science, a wing of Defence Research and Development Canada.After a gunman stormed the Hill in October 2014, dying in a hail of bullets in the Hall of Honour, the centre completed two studies. One looked at the physical security of Parliament's Centre Block, while the other delved into procedures for handling visitors and employees in the parliamentary precinct.The most tangible result of the armed assault was creation of the unified Parliamentary Protective Service, drawing together forces from the RCMP, House of Commons and Senate.The centre's researchers need more information before making the next set of recommendations to decision-makers, Youssef said in an interview."The reality is there's a lot of data to be collected, and a lot of data to be studied and analyzed," he said. "We have to go little by little, because they cannot make any drastic changes just overnight."Researchers are interested in the varied nature of the crowds that turn up on Parliament Hill, as well as the ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic at different times of day.Plans were revealed four years ago to boost video-camera coverage of the Hill substantially to guard against possible attacks by detecting abandoned packages, suspicious activity and disturbances.Researchers are studying different types of cameras, their placement and the percentage of visual coverage on the Hill, Youssef said.Work has been focused to date on trying to prevent attacks in the parliamentary precinct but, time permitting, the centre might explore other types of threats and hazards, such as an earthquake or other natural disaster, he added.Many parts of the Hill are undergoing extensive renovations. That could be a welcome opportunity to embed security changes into revamped buildings, Youssef said.The new Parliamentary Protective Service is working with the centre researchers on projects throughout the precinct, but disclosing details of the efforts "would expose operational tactics and measures" that could affect safety, said Melissa Rusk, a spokeswoman for the protective service.Federal officials are also reviewing the mandate of the Government Operations Centre, the focal point for monitoring major national events and emergencies. In addition, they are seeking a new home for the Ottawa-based centre.During the 2014 shooting, the centre lacked computer technicians, food was limited and senior emergency officials weren't in the building, according to internal documents released two years ago. — Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter-Jim Bronskill , The Canadian Press.
3,000 N.L. Muslims gather for Eid celebrations at Jack Byrne Arena-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Muslims in the St. John's area joined with others around the world in celebrating Eid Sunday — the festival that marks the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan.The celebration at Jack Byrne Arena Sunday morning began with prayers and then a meet and greet with tea, coffee, and snacks."After prayer, we had refreshments, and after refreshments they put out some bouncy castles for kids to play on," Reem Abu-Hendi said.The local celebration is huge — about 3,000 Muslims packed the Jack Byrne Arena early Sunday morning."The community at first, was not that large so like the mosque used to accommodate us but now it's really big like 3,000 people in one place, it's amazing," she said."Just to see all the Muslims in one place, it's a great feeling." Abu-Hendi said.Ramadan is a sacred time for Muslims, who believe that it was when the Qur'an — the holy book — was revealed through the prophet Muhammad."It's 30 days but this year it happened to be 29 because of the moon," Ayamen Shaawen said.The month, which started this year May 26, includes dawn-to-dusk fasting, and ends with a religious holiday called Eid."We fast from 3 a.m. until 9 p.m. so it's 18 hours a day," Abu-Hendi said.The fasting can be challenging, but that's what makes it worthwhile, she said."Your body just gets adjusted to it, and I would say it's thirst more than hunger, so you can usually go about your daily activities but around 6 p.m.-7 p.m., I'm done," she said.Without food all day, you'd think there might be a lot of cranky people walking around who are "hangry," but Abu-Hendi says it's all about willpower."Ramadan teaches you patience and self-control. If we lose to anger we could break our fast," she said."It's more of a self-discipline thing," Shaawen said.Volunteers who set up the event get up at the crack of dawn to prepare the arena for the 3,000 attendees."It's a big challenge for those who volunteer to organize it. Before we had a smaller community and our mosque was able to accommodate the size of our community but not anymore," said organizer Ayse Sule."It's a team effort," said Moein Shahwan, vice-resident of the Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador."It brings lots of richness to our community and we are proud of it," Sule said.
Relatives of serial killer's victims speak of pain, guilt and anger-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — One after another, family and friends of a serial killer's victims described overwhelming guilt, anger and profound sadness when they learned their loved ones had been murdered by an Ontario nurse who was supposed to care for them.And many spoke about their loss of faith in the province's long-term care system, where Elizabeth Wettlaufer was allowed to cast her "shadow of death" over vulnerable seniors for nearly a decade.Wettlaufer was sentenced Monday in a Woodstock, Ont., court to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years after she pleaded guilty last month to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault.The 50-year-old nurse used insulin trying — and in most cases succeeding — to kill vulnerable victims in her care at three Ontario long-term care facilities and a private home. Her crimes began in 2007 and didn't stop until she confessed to the killings at a psychiatric hospital in Toronto last fall.Sandy Millard, whose 87-year-old mother, Gladys Jean Millard, was murdered by Wettlaufer in 2011 at Caressant Care in Woodstock, told court about the depression she has fallen into."Finding out she was killed by a huge injection of medication she did not need broke my heart," she said.Her daughter, and Millard's granddaughter, Shannon Emmerton, spoke through tears."I don't know if I will ever truly recover," she said.Patricia Matheson glared at Wettlaufer as she read a statement by her husband, whose mother, Helen Matheson, was killed by the nurse in 2011."I lost my mother for the second time. No funeral this time, just shock, followed by the question why," Jon Matheson wrote. "I placed my mother in a facility I researched never once considering she would be a victim of such a despicable act. I ask why, because she didn't eat all the blueberry pie and ice cream?"The question of why Wettlaufer killed or hurt 14 people loomed large in court. In a lengthy video statement she gave to police last fall, she said she felt a "red surging" well up in her chest that was relieved after she completed a kill. She believed she was an instrument of God at times, but also killed because some residents were too much work, too burdensome.Many others, wracked by guilt, spoke of what-ifs."I simply feel guilty for not being able to protect my father as he had protected me," wrote David Silcox, whose father, James Silcox, was murdered in 2007.Justice Bruce Thomas acknowledged that guilt was the common theme of the 28 victim impact statements filed in court a few weeks ago."It is a complete betrayal of trust when a caregiver does not prolong life, but terminates it," he said. "But you cannot blame yourselves."Thomas described Wettlaufer's "free run" on her nine-year killing spree, with no oversight or even an inkling she had committed such calculated murders."Without her confessions, I am convinced these offences would never have been brought to justice," he said, calling Wettlaufer a "shadow of death that passed over them (the victims) on the night shift where she supervised."Debora Rivers said her grandmother, Mary Zarawinski, hated the nursing home when she first went there. There are a lot of old people here, she told her niece, even though Zarawinski was one of the oldest residents in the facility."She made it nice for everybody there," Rivers said outside court.She also noted that Wettlaufer had described Zarawinski as "'fun and feisty' — and she was.""The woman lived to be 96 years old for God's sake," Rivers said. "We have no way of knowing how long her life might have been," she said. "We were pretty sure she was going to make it to 100 and so was she."For her part, Wettlaufer apologized, crouching in the prisoner's box without looking at anyone."I am truly sorry for the people I injured or murdered," she said in a soft voice."Sorry is much too small a word. I hope that the families can find some peace and healing."Beverly Bertram, who is Wettlaufer's sole living victim, wrote about the physical pain she was in after the nurse injected her with insulin with the intent to kill her."It is really hard to describe, but I knew I was dying," she wrote in her statement. "I was doubled over in pain in my stomach...Just such pain. My whole body hurt...I thought I was screaming, but I was just moaning I guess."Bertram wrote that she has become a recluse since the incident, afraid of everyone, including her own shadow, and has lost all relationships with her family."I truly think sometimes I'd be better off if she did her deed."Shortly after Wettlaufer's sentencing hearing, the province announced it would hold a public inquiry into the murders to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again.Liam Casey , The Canadian Press.
Demand for Canada 150 flags, brings seamstress out of retirement-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Canada Day is just under a week away and thanks to the demand for flags leading up to the big celebration, one New Brunswick woman has had to put her retirement on hold.Theresa King's basement is full of bright materials and the tools to turn them into something special. Since March, most of King's projects have been paused while she helps her former employer.- Cyclists pedal into New Brunswick for Canada 150 journey - Fredericton's Canada 150 funding largely focused on 'Indigenous reconciliation' "I thought I was going to be retired," King said with a laugh from her seat in front of a sewing machine.After 28 years working for The Flag Store in Thornton, Ont., she moved to Tower Hill, near St. Andrews. King was only given two years before her old boss came calling."The demand for Canadian flags for the 150 has been so dramatic that they have been out of flags forever," King said.So she agreed to help, thinking at first it would only be for a couple of weeks. Her estimate turned out to be off. Way off.Getting into the flag business-"By the time I'm finished, it will be about 2,500, three-foot-by-six-foot Canadian flags that I will have finished."Working from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., King can put together about 250 flags a week, which despite their complexity, she will tell you is fast.In order to save on the shipping costs, King drove her first shipment of 1,400 flags to Ontario in May.There has been some time for King to enjoy some side projects, like altering a graduation dress, but she said she's happy to help her former colleagues.In her years working for The Flag Store, she said March always meant the beginning of the busy season. But Canada 150 she said, has created demand the store isn't normally accustomed to."Those girls are pretty tired too," King said. "They're just swamped and there just isn't enough time in the day."It isn't just King who is hard at work in the workshop, she enlisted her husband, Doug, to help out too.He'll be the first to tell you that he never planned on getting into the flag business. But after stencilling off bright red maple leafs from cloth, Doug King said the work keeps him out of trouble.While her time is occupied by piecing together red and white material, King will have a little variety in her life this week.-100 and counting-A text from her boss saw rolls of green, gold, and black arrive at her door with a request from the Jamaican consulate."I have 100 to make" she said, "So I can ship them on Wednesday."After being so busy, you would think King planned on taking Canada Day off to enjoy seeing some flags fly. Instead, she said she's only going to take a break to go to the market before getting back to work.With a goal of getting another 1,000 Canadian flags finished by September, she said her next delivery will be her vacation."That'll be my holiday" King said, "A few days off to drive to Ontario and deliver all the flags."
Canadians will soon have a law on how to dispose of mercury-filled light bulbs-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Canadians will soon have guidance from the federal government on how to dispose of mercury-containing light bulbs in an environmentally responsible way.Bill C-238, a new act that sets out rules for a national light bulb disposal strategy, received royal assent on Thursday.The National Strategy for Safe and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Lamps Containing Mercury Act commits the government to identify ways to dispose of mercury-containing light bulbs safely and establish guidelines for facilities that dispose of them, and then promote the program to Canadians.The bill also requires the environment minister to table the national strategy in Parliament within two years of the act receiving royal assent. -No regulations-Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher, who introduced the private member's bill, said there were no federal regulations outlining how to dispose of light bulbs."You can take your mercury-bearing light bulb, and you can throw it in your garbage bag and put it to the curb," he said.One regular, 13-watt residential compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) — the curly looking ones that are slowly replacing the traditional, round incandescent bulbs — contains on average 3.5 milligrams of mercury. Energy Star-certified CFLs contain 2.5 milligrams or less. Fluorescent tubes contain up to 12 milligrams.Fisher said about 1,150 kilograms of mercury end up in Canadian landfills each year, and can contaminate the environment.Mercury is also listed as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act."So this is an incredibly big issue," he said.Compact fluorescents on the rise-A 2014 federal ban on most residential incandescent bulbs means more Canadians are using compact fluorescent bulbs. A 2014 report from Statistics Canada noted that in 2011, three-quarters of households across the country used at least one CFL bulb.About half the households that used CFLs reported throwing them in the garbage, and Haligonians were the most likely to toss them, with 84 per cent doing so, the report said.-'Piecemeal' approach-Recycling facilities in some municipalities and provinces break CFL bulbs down and recycle about 98 per cent of the components, including the mercury. Some retailers also collect used bulbs to send to recyclers.But Fisher described that as a "piecemeal" approach.He encourages Canadians to recycle their bulbs or simply hold on to them until the new law is developed."If the worst thing you have to do is put them in a cardboard box and leave them in your garage until the strategy comes forward, please do so, because what we'd like to see is no mercury-bearing light bulbs going into our landfills across Canada," said Fisher.
Nine dead after Colombia tourist boat sinks in reservoir-[Reuters]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Nine people died and 28 are missing after a multi-decked tourist boat carrying about 170 passengers sank in Colombia's Penol-Guatape reservoir on Sunday during the long holiday weekend, a government official said.Officials did not disclose the cause of the accident and provided few details.Videos posted on social media showed motorboats coming to the aid of passengers on the upper decks as the boat rocked from side to side. Ninety-nine people were rescued, Margarita Moncada, the head of disaster relief for Antioquia province, told journalists."At the moment we have nine people found dead. Another 99 people were rescued immediately and 40 more got out on their own," she said.Survivors on local television reports said they heard a loud noise before the boat began to sink and that not all of them had life jackets. Rescue operations were ongoing.Rescue workers and the air force were helping passengers at the scene, President Juan Manuel Santos said in a Twitter post.The large reservoir, about an hour from the central city of Medellin, is a popular tourist destination.(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Richard Chang)
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.(DAMASCUS FRYED TO A PULP)
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD KILLED IN OVERNIGHT RAID) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
AMOS 1:5
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.(I belive ISIS-DAMASCUS GET NUKED BY ISRAEL)
Nikki HaleyVerified account @nikkihaley 14h14 hours ago-JUNE 27,17-Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people.
U.S. says it appears Syria planning another chemical weapons attack-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday it appears the Syrian government is preparing for another chemical weapons attack and it warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad he and his military would "pay a heavy price" if it conducts such an attack.The White House statement said preparations by Syria were similar to those undertaken before an April 4 chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians and prompted President Donald Trump to order a cruise missile strike on a Syrian air base.Trump ordered the strike on the Shayrat airfield in Syria in April in reaction to what Washington said was a poison gas attack by Assad's government that killed at least 70 people in rebel-held territory. Syria denied it carried out the attack.The strike put Washington in confrontation with Russia, which has advisers in Syria aiding its close ally Assad.U.S. officials at the time called the intervention a "one-off" intended to deter future chemical weapons attacks and not an expansion of the U.S. role in the Syrian war.(Reporting by Eric Beech; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Sandra Maler and Paul Tait)
White House says Assad may be preparing chemical attack-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-June 26, 2017
WASHINGTON — The White House says it has found "potential" evidence that Syria is preparing for another chemical weapons attack.Press Secretary Sean Spicer issued an ominous statement Monday evening that says the U.S. "has identified potential preparations" for another chemical attack by the Assad government that it says "would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children."He says the activities are similar to those made before an April chemical attack. The Trump administration launched missile strikes in retaliation for that attack, which it blamed on Assad.Spicer warns that "if Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price."The White House has provided no immediate evidence to back up its claims.The Associated Press.
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Focus-China's 16+1 foray into Central and Eastern Europe By Eric Maurice-euobserver
Prague, 26. Jun, 13:27-Half a decade after it was launched, the network of cooperation between China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries has brought uneven economical and political fruits so far.The so-called 16+1 was established in 2012 as Beijing's initiative to cover various issues such as investment, trade, but also culture or education.The group includes 11 EU countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia; and five non-EU countries from the Balkans: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.It fits into China's global strategy to engage new partners in political and economic ties in different formats.Despite having a permanent secretariat, the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries - the initiative's official name - is more a series of bilateral relationships with no overall coherence, as experts pointed out in discussions at the Prague European Summit conference earlier this month."It's not really a multilateral format," Petr Kratochvil, the director of Prague's Institute of International Relations, told EUobserver."It's more a group of countries that China took to have bilateral ties with. It's mainly Poland and Hungary in terms of investment, and Romania and Serbia for building projects."China's interest in the 16+1 countries is different from one country to another.In the Czech Republic, Kratochvil noted, the Chinese have mainly invested in real estate, a football club - Slavia Prague, which just won the Czech championship - or the media."It's not really the kind of investment the country wants, because it doesn't produce anything," he said.In Budapest, meanwhile, the government announced last week that Hungary and China would soon start to cooperate in the healthcare industry – from making medical equipment to developing biotechnologies.Kratochvil noted that the amount of Chinese investments in the region had remained limited and was concentrated on a few high profile infrastructure projects, such as the Budapest-Belgrade high-speed railway that Chinese companies plan to build.The focus on infrastructure shows that China considers Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) a full part of the One Belt-One Road initiative – an investment and infrastructure plan, spanning from China to the Middle-East and Africa through to Central Asia."Southern and Eastern Europe are a testing ground for the Belt and Road," Anastas Vangeli, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, told EUobserver.He said that 16+1 was more an "experiment" than a "Chinese plan", and that Beijing tries "to see whether this type of diplomacy can help them boost economic relations.""To put it very simply, the whole idea is to find ways to boost the economy outside China, to generate demand for Chinese goods," Vangeli said, adding: "And these are not cheap goods: high speed railways, satellites systems or nuclear technology."Agatha Kratz, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, a London-based think-tank, told EUobserver that: "The first idea was to treat CEE as Asia and Africa.""That was a big shock, they explained that loans for projects that China would build were not going to happen."For Kratz, the success of the 16+1 initiative is to be found on the political side than in the economic side.She pointed out that annual summits between the 17 leaders, usually in Europe, constitute a "formal channel of communication".-A pragmatic question-After five years, the 16+1 format "has shown its limits, but it will continue," Kratz added.For China, the forum is "high-level enough and it helps to understand how best to promote what it can do in Europe".For CEE countries, the summits are "one more bilateral forum, one more way to have meetings with China and explain what they [CEE countries] need from it."For countries that are either part of the EU or willing to join it in the future, the Chinese partnership is "a pragmatic question", Kratochvil insisted.Although some leaders, such as Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban or Czech president Milos Zeman, are supportive of certain Chinese positions – for instance Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea – the region is not going to become a Chinese "ally"."The idea of a strategic shift is nonsense," Kratochvil said.
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Myanmar, Thailand incinerate illicit drugs worth $800 million-[Reuters]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
BANGKOK/YANGON (Reuters) - Officials in Myanmar and Thailand burned illegal narcotics worth more than $800 million on Monday to mark the UN day against drug abuse and trafficking.The move came even as authorities struggle to stem the flood of illicit drugs in the region, with Thailand's justice minister last year saying the country's war on drugs was failing.In Thailand's Ayutthaya province, more than 9 tonnes of drugs with a street value of over 20 billion baht ($590 million) went up in smoke including methamphetamines, known locally as "yaba" or "crazy drug", according to police."Currently, we are able to take down a lot of networks, including ... transnational networks bringing drugs into Thailand ... to be shipped to Malaysia and other countries," Sirinya Sitthichai, Secretary-General of the Office of Narcotics Control Board, told reporters in Ayutthaya.In neighboring Myanmar, the police said they destroyed confiscated drugs worth around $217 million.Myanmar remains one of the world's largest producers of illicit drugs, including opium, heroin and methamphetamines. Those narcotics are often smuggled into China.Last year, law makers in Myanmar voiced disappointment over the country's lackluster efforts to tackle the drug problem.The market for methamphetamines has been growing in Southeast Asia, the United Nations has said. It estimates that Southeast Asia's trade in heroin and methamphetamine was worth $31 billion in 2013.(Reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa in AYUTTHAYA and Aye Win Myint in YANGON; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Joseph Radford)
Pot insider says dispensaries are 'dreaming' if they think they'll be part of legalization framework-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Omar Khan sat down with Matt Galloway on Metro Morning to discuss big questions that have yet to be answered in the federal government's push to develop a legal framework for recreational marijuana sales by July 2018.Khan is former chief of staff to the Ontario health minister and he now works with the marijuana industry as vice president, public affairs of Hill + Knowlton strategies.Questions and answers have been condensed.Matt Galloway: How prepared is this country for legal weed? Omar Khan: I think right now you have a patchwork of readiness. You have provinces like Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick who are fairly well advanced in terms of their thinking. And you have others, like Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who quite frankly are a little bit further behind.MG: What are the big questions that still have to be answered? OK: I think one of the points that's getting less attention is where will one be able to use marijuana. For example, you can walk down a public sidewalk and smoke a cigarette, but you can't walk down the sidewalk and drink a beer. I think that's a conversation that needs to happen.MG: Do you think that people will be allowed to smoke marijuana in parks, if they can't have an open bottle of alcohol there now? OK: There's a lot of evidence that suggests that harm associated with marijuana use is less than that associated with regular alcohol use. So I think it's something that the province of Ontario especially is going to be looking at as they move forward with their strategy.MG: What about the sale issue? OK: Since the government has set a fairly aggressive timeline for legalization — some have said, July 2018 — I think it's going to be very difficult for the government to have an up-and-running, bricks-and-mortar retail operation by this time next year essentially. I think the government is looking at three options: one would be a wholly government-run crown corporation a la LCBO; I think another option would be a heavily regulated system that gives out private licences for retailing; and then, the third option would be what we call a hybrid. Some private licences combined with a government-run system, similar to how beer and wine is distributed in Ontario.MG: Which way do you think they are leaning?OK: I know the Ontario government started looking at this seriously, right after the election of the Trudeau government. I know the attorney general, Yassir Naqvi, is working away feverishly to put together some options for cabinet to consider. I also know the premier is very big on consultation, so I suspect that before any plan is rolled out, there will be a robust public consultation.MG: Can you have robust public consultation and still set up that regulatory body in time? OK: I know they've been working at this hard for a year or so. The timeline's going to be a challenge no doubt. That's why I suspect that if there are going to be public consultations, as I presume there will be, they'll be rolling them out fairly shortly.MG: Is the timeline too tight? OK: It is what it is. Having worked in government, I know that sometimes you have to set a deadline to get everybody working away at achieving a goal. At the end of the day, what's important is that we are going to have legalized adult use of recreational cannabis in this country. And, industry, government, all involved stakeholders need to start working very fast to get this done right.MG: You work with the industry now. What do they want to know? OK: Like members of the public, they are waiting for more information about what the retail distribution model will look like. But I think industry is very interested in sharing some of their expertise when it comes to distribution. There are a lot of players who have a lot of experience dealing with controlled substances. So for example, pharmacies, care centres. I want to give kudos to Mayor Tory who spoke out vigorously against the illegal dispensaries that are out there right now. The one question everyone needs to ask is, where are these people getting their supply? We have 50 licensed producers or marijuana in this country right now.MG: So where are they getting their supply? OK: I don't want to open myself up to defamation. But they're not getting them from the licensed producers because none of them would risk their licence by providing supply illegally.MG: The assumption from many of the illegal dispensaries is that they're going to be part of the new regime.OK: I think they are dreaming in technicolour. There is no way the province of Ontario or any other province is going to give a retail distribution licence to any entity that's involved in criminal activity.MG: Do you really think we'll meet this deadline? OK: The good thing [Finance Minister] Morneau has put out there is that if there's a province that isn't ready with an up-and-running distribution system next year, there will be a fallback, and I suspect that will be online sales.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Spain sends reinforcements as fire spreads near wildlife reserve-Agence France-Presse-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Madrid (AFP) - Firefighters were battling Monday to contain a blaze threatening a renowned national park in southern Spain which has already led to the evacuation of some 2,000 people.Authorities were sending additional firefighters to tackle the flames at the Donana Natural Park in southwestern Spain near Huelva, a fire service spokesman told AFP."The flames are not under control, they are spreading," he added, though no injuries have been reported.The blaze comes a week after wildfires killed over 60 people in neighbouring Portugal.Strong winds and scorching heat were complicating efforts to fight the blaze, which broke out Saturday near the town of Moguer, officials said.The fire has not yet hit the neighbouring Donana National Park, which has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1994 and is well known for the extensive biodiversity of its dunes, wetlands and woods."The flames have not reached the national park," the official in charge of the environment with the regional government of Andalusia, Jose Fiscal Lopez, told Spanish public television."A special effort was made during the night on the front which threatened the park the most," he added.The national park is one of Spain's most important wildlife sanctuaries and a popular tourist attraction.It is home to a variety of animals, including endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx, a large cat found only in Spain and Portugal.Officials temporarily evacuated a lynx breeding centre on Sunday as a precaution.A female Iberian lynx died at the Acebuche captive breeding centre on Saturday "due to stress" during its capture for evacuation, the centre said in a statement.The other lynxes are "safe and sound", said the mayor of Moguer, Gustavo Cuellar. "Each lynx held in captivity is receiving detailed care."Over 200 firefighters backed by 15 vehicles and seven planes were battling the blaze on Monday morning, emergency services said.The cause remained unknown but Fiscal Lopez said officials were "certain" human activity played a role."It remains to be seen if this was with (criminal) intent or due to negligence," he added.The fire prompted the closure of several roads and the evacuation of some 2,000 people, including guests at camp sites and several hotels.There were no immediate details on how much land had been burned so far.
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.
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
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.
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
Opinion-New initiative could trump the Visegrad Group By Wojciech Przybylski-euobserver
Warsaw, 26. Jun, 17:09-"New Europe" was a term coined by the administration of former US president George W. Bush.When the USA decided to invade Iraq, this term was used to differentiate between – and celebrate – the solidarity of new Nato members compared to the reluctance of the old allies.Since then, the intricacies of European politics – from smaller initiatives to larger regional alliances and even to the inner-workings of the EU itself – have grown considerably.Many wishing to weaken Europe’s position and potential on the global stage try to exploit this division of old vs new, and it is something all leaders on the continent should be wary of.With that still in mind, on 6 July US president Donald Trump will arrive in Warsaw and take part in an assembly of one of these regional alliances, the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) – a meeting of the EU leaders representing Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).The three seas is a reference to the countries situated between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas.The initiative is seen as a major diplomatic triumph of the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, who is also the leader of the TSI and desperate for a win.However, the TSI is just one of many political groupings in the CEE region with a primary focus on influencing EU policy. Other such groupings of more or less importance are the Visegrad Group (V4), Slavkov triangle, Danube Region, Weimar Triangle and Nordic-Baltic cooperation.While their main focus is on fostering cooperation within the EU, such formations are becoming increasingly interesting for external powers such as China (in the so-called 16+1 format) and now the US.Trump’s visit will definitely put a spotlight on the TSI and help this format to continue.TSI members – Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – pledged in their founding declaration a year ago to foster regional projects in the areas of energy, transportation, digital communication and economic sectors in CEE.However, according to analysts who are advancing the concept, like Bartosz Wisniewski, the head of research office at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), the region still has a long way to go when it comes to its economic development.The TSI is meant to complement connectivity between the East and West of Europe, with greater connectivity along the north-south axis, thanks in no small part to the EU's financial contribution.-Not quite quid pro quo-The US has already increased on their military presence in the region, even more so than had been originally promised by the administration of former US president Barack Obama.The LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal in Swinoujscie, Poland – a strategically important facility allowing for more energy independence in the region – has only recently celebrated the arrival of its first transportation from the US and awaits its next shipment from Qatar, and other countries.Justifiably suspicious of their eastern neighbour, Poland will most likely take the opportunity to sup-port the recent sanctions that were proposed by the US Senate last week on contractors for the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) project, as well as other significant Russian businesses.In comparison, both Trump and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban have sought to lift the sanctions on Russia, a sentiment that is also shared today by Austria, a member of the TSI, whose companies are contractors for the NS2.However, according to PISM these differences are fine, as they are neither an attempt to undermine European integration, nor a block to ward off Russia.To the Czechs and Slovaks, the TSI, especially now, might be a little more problematic.While they agree with the goal of north-south connectivity, they are cautious – if not suspicious – of the political dimension.V4 is the most important format to Slovakia, whereas the country treats the TSI more like a one time event.For Slovaks, there is no political content in this grouping. And, beyond that, there is no security component and no political dimension for the country.Czech officials have also expressed reservations towards Poland, a country that, along with Hungary, emphasises the East-West divide. The radicalisation of some V4 members also does not help.Poles automatically reject all ideas from the Western members, a Czech diplomat recently told Gazeta Wyborcza.A member of the Czech ministry of foreign affairs, who was quoted in the same article, went even further, claiming that the idea of a Three Seas Initiative is unacceptable because of its 20th century neo-imperial origin.Such criticism is dismissed by PISM analysts, who underline that despite any apparent differences, Slovakia and Czech Republic will send their representation.Despite many reservations, the obvious champion of the initiative has become the Croatian president, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. Allegedly, her personal involvement was of key importance to the US delegation.The TSI clearly goes along with her plans for her LNG terminal in Croatia that will improve gas sup-ply diversification – independent of Russia – and increase energy cooperation in the region.-Needing a pat on the back-It might be too simplistic, but there is the chance that Trump is using the occasion as a slight against German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron.Is this a not-too-subtle comment about how Trump sees future European cooperation? The question needing to be answered by EU leaders will be whether they think Trump is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face.That worries some, who do not believe that the Polish ministry of foreign affairs can handle a diplomatically sensitive visit.Warsaw, already isolated in the EU, may want to be even more confrontational after Trump's visit. This will also not help to reconcile with Brussels, Berlin or Paris.Furthermore, it will not help to build regional solidarity, since the northern and southern neighbours of Poland will not feel like taking part in fist-fights that would complicate relations with their Western partners.No matter how well-intentioned these leaders are in developing ties between their nations, they will all struggling with domestic and regional issues, as well as questionable popular support.It all makes the meeting feel more like the international conference of future political pariahs.Wojciech Przybylski is the editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight, and chairman of the Res Publica Foundation in Warsaw. His new book ‘Understanding Central Europe’, co-edited with Marcin Moskalewicz, will be published by Routledge in the second half of 2017.
UK visitors set to pay into EU budget after Brexit By Nikolaj Nielsen-june 27,17-euobserver
BRUSSELS, Today, 22:25-British nationals may end up paying into the EU general budget after the UK leaves the European Union.An EU proposal to tighten border security controls for all visa-free travellers sometime in 2020 will be generating cash by demanding fees from holidaymakers. The fees will pay for annual running costs.But an European Commission official on Monday (26 June) said any surplus revenue would also then go to the EU budget and reduce member state contributions.Proposed last November, the Commission's European Travel Information and Authorisation System (Etias), will screen all visa-free travellers before they enter the passport-free Schengen zone of 26 European states."Any accumulated surplus generated by the Etias revenues would in any case revert back to the EU general budget and hence reduce member state contributions," the Commission official told MEPs.A five-year application under the scheme is €5. The fee is small but the UK's total sum in the pot is not insignificant.Brits made 35 million holiday trips to the EU last year alone with around a third going to Spain, followed by France and Greece. Another 5.5 million were business trips.A spokesperson from the UK-based Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) told EUobserver that the UK holiday figures to the EU have increased substantially in the past few years.He noted that 2016 was "an all time record".Abta wants the British government to negotiate an exemption for UK nationals in Etias, noting that "it is in everyone's interest to keep these flows going."The UK government, meanwhile, says it is determined to get the best possible deal for the country.A UK government spokesperson said Etias was just "one of many areas that may need to be addressed as we leave the EU and agree a new partnership."It is also likely to stir up resentment among people who campaigned to leave the EU, given that British nationals may still be footing, albeit indirectly, the EU budget after Brexit.Commission estimates suggest Etias will cost over €200 million to launch and around €85 million to maintain annually. Discussions between the EU institutions have yet to start but the plan is to reach an agreement before the end this year.German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht said the EU would be better off making it easier for people to travel than imposing a new system that not only creates more red tape but also blanket collects personal data."Making it easier for people from countries, which are also democracies, to travel to the European Union and back is a positive thing and we need not to make that more difficult but easier," he said on Monday.EU nationals, for their part, took 10 million holiday trips and some 7 million business trips to the UK in 2016.
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)
Before tragedy strikes': Liberals launch centre to prevent homegrown terrorism-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
The federal government has launched a new centre tasked with preventing the radicalization of Canadian young people.A special adviser will be named in the coming months to oversee the local outreach and research projects funded through the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence.The centre will have dedicated staff, but will be located within the existing Public Safety Canada space.Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Canada must become a world leader in understanding and dealing with radicalization that leads to violence, in order to retain its national character as an open, diverse society that is also safe and secure."The new Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence will help us do as much as humanly possible to prevent radicalization to violence before tragedy strikes," Goodale said in a statement. "It will support and empower local leaders to develop initiatives that are suited to their community."Last year's budget set aside $35 million over five years and $10 million each year after to combat radicalization and violence in Canada.Ontario Liberal MP Arif Virani, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of heritage (multiculturalism), said the new centre will drive better research, understanding and engagement, with a special focus on youth vulnerable to radicalization. Building up trust relationships and opening lines of communication are critical to combating radicalism at the ground level, he said.-No boundaries to extremist views-The centre will not focus on Islamist extremism alone, but will cover a wide spectrum, because while some attacks are perpetrated by Islamist extremists, others target Muslims, Virani said."When we look at what's happening across the country, radicalization is not endemic to any one group, institution, race or religion," he said. "It doesn't have particular boundaries that are tied to a religion or an ideology. That's very important to keep in mind because that's a situation we need be upfront about in terms of where the threats are coming from and not focusing on any one particular community."In January, six people were killed and 19 others injured in an attack by a gunman at a Quebec CIty mosque.-Domestic acts of terror-Last August, Aaron Driver died in an altercation with police in Strathroy, Ont. RCMP believe he was preparing to carry out a suicide bombing in a public place.That incident came less than two years after Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot and killed Cpl. Nathan Cirillo while he stood on guard at the National War Memorial, an act the RCMP called terrorism, before making his way to Parliament Hill.Jeremy Littlewood, a terrorism expert at Ottawa's Carleton University, said Canada's domestic terrorism problem is smaller than some of our closest allies, but that doesn't mean there is no danger.Littlewood said it's too early to tell if Canada's approach will work to combat domestic terrorism, but he said it is wise not to target only one group of extremists."Making it one type of terrorism specific, for example, al-Qaeda or ISIS-inspired terrorism, is a recipe for creating fear, suspicion and perpetuating the notion of suspect communities within a population," he said.Littlewood said success will depend partly on sustained funding, and an openness about what is working and what is not.The government is accepting proposals for the Community Resilience Fund as of July 6, 2017, which has $1.4 million available to fund projects in 2018-19. For subsequent years, there will be $7 million for continuing and new projects.Ten projects have already received funding for counter-radicalization work.
Crowd flows, camera coverage being studied to bolster Parliament Hill security-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
OTTAWA — Security officials say they're ready for the throngs set to descend on Parliament Hill for Canada's 150th birthday celebration Saturday.But that doesn't mean federal researchers are done thinking about how to better protect the country's seat of democracy in the months and years ahead.Advisers are gathering data on everything from crowd flows to video-camera placement to ensure both security and openness in the parliamentary precinct.Parliament Hill security is a "tough nut to crack" because of the fine balance between guarding the most important democratic institutions while keeping the grounds open to people, said Rami Youssef of the federal Centre for Security Science, a wing of Defence Research and Development Canada.After a gunman stormed the Hill in October 2014, dying in a hail of bullets in the Hall of Honour, the centre completed two studies. One looked at the physical security of Parliament's Centre Block, while the other delved into procedures for handling visitors and employees in the parliamentary precinct.The most tangible result of the armed assault was creation of the unified Parliamentary Protective Service, drawing together forces from the RCMP, House of Commons and Senate.The centre's researchers need more information before making the next set of recommendations to decision-makers, Youssef said in an interview."The reality is there's a lot of data to be collected, and a lot of data to be studied and analyzed," he said. "We have to go little by little, because they cannot make any drastic changes just overnight."Researchers are interested in the varied nature of the crowds that turn up on Parliament Hill, as well as the ebb and flow of pedestrian traffic at different times of day.Plans were revealed four years ago to boost video-camera coverage of the Hill substantially to guard against possible attacks by detecting abandoned packages, suspicious activity and disturbances.Researchers are studying different types of cameras, their placement and the percentage of visual coverage on the Hill, Youssef said.Work has been focused to date on trying to prevent attacks in the parliamentary precinct but, time permitting, the centre might explore other types of threats and hazards, such as an earthquake or other natural disaster, he added.Many parts of the Hill are undergoing extensive renovations. That could be a welcome opportunity to embed security changes into revamped buildings, Youssef said.The new Parliamentary Protective Service is working with the centre researchers on projects throughout the precinct, but disclosing details of the efforts "would expose operational tactics and measures" that could affect safety, said Melissa Rusk, a spokeswoman for the protective service.Federal officials are also reviewing the mandate of the Government Operations Centre, the focal point for monitoring major national events and emergencies. In addition, they are seeking a new home for the Ottawa-based centre.During the 2014 shooting, the centre lacked computer technicians, food was limited and senior emergency officials weren't in the building, according to internal documents released two years ago. — Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter-Jim Bronskill , The Canadian Press.
3,000 N.L. Muslims gather for Eid celebrations at Jack Byrne Arena-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Muslims in the St. John's area joined with others around the world in celebrating Eid Sunday — the festival that marks the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan.The celebration at Jack Byrne Arena Sunday morning began with prayers and then a meet and greet with tea, coffee, and snacks."After prayer, we had refreshments, and after refreshments they put out some bouncy castles for kids to play on," Reem Abu-Hendi said.The local celebration is huge — about 3,000 Muslims packed the Jack Byrne Arena early Sunday morning."The community at first, was not that large so like the mosque used to accommodate us but now it's really big like 3,000 people in one place, it's amazing," she said."Just to see all the Muslims in one place, it's a great feeling." Abu-Hendi said.Ramadan is a sacred time for Muslims, who believe that it was when the Qur'an — the holy book — was revealed through the prophet Muhammad."It's 30 days but this year it happened to be 29 because of the moon," Ayamen Shaawen said.The month, which started this year May 26, includes dawn-to-dusk fasting, and ends with a religious holiday called Eid."We fast from 3 a.m. until 9 p.m. so it's 18 hours a day," Abu-Hendi said.The fasting can be challenging, but that's what makes it worthwhile, she said."Your body just gets adjusted to it, and I would say it's thirst more than hunger, so you can usually go about your daily activities but around 6 p.m.-7 p.m., I'm done," she said.Without food all day, you'd think there might be a lot of cranky people walking around who are "hangry," but Abu-Hendi says it's all about willpower."Ramadan teaches you patience and self-control. If we lose to anger we could break our fast," she said."It's more of a self-discipline thing," Shaawen said.Volunteers who set up the event get up at the crack of dawn to prepare the arena for the 3,000 attendees."It's a big challenge for those who volunteer to organize it. Before we had a smaller community and our mosque was able to accommodate the size of our community but not anymore," said organizer Ayse Sule."It's a team effort," said Moein Shahwan, vice-resident of the Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador."It brings lots of richness to our community and we are proud of it," Sule said.
Relatives of serial killer's victims speak of pain, guilt and anger-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
WOODSTOCK, Ont. — One after another, family and friends of a serial killer's victims described overwhelming guilt, anger and profound sadness when they learned their loved ones had been murdered by an Ontario nurse who was supposed to care for them.And many spoke about their loss of faith in the province's long-term care system, where Elizabeth Wettlaufer was allowed to cast her "shadow of death" over vulnerable seniors for nearly a decade.Wettlaufer was sentenced Monday in a Woodstock, Ont., court to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years after she pleaded guilty last month to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault.The 50-year-old nurse used insulin trying — and in most cases succeeding — to kill vulnerable victims in her care at three Ontario long-term care facilities and a private home. Her crimes began in 2007 and didn't stop until she confessed to the killings at a psychiatric hospital in Toronto last fall.Sandy Millard, whose 87-year-old mother, Gladys Jean Millard, was murdered by Wettlaufer in 2011 at Caressant Care in Woodstock, told court about the depression she has fallen into."Finding out she was killed by a huge injection of medication she did not need broke my heart," she said.Her daughter, and Millard's granddaughter, Shannon Emmerton, spoke through tears."I don't know if I will ever truly recover," she said.Patricia Matheson glared at Wettlaufer as she read a statement by her husband, whose mother, Helen Matheson, was killed by the nurse in 2011."I lost my mother for the second time. No funeral this time, just shock, followed by the question why," Jon Matheson wrote. "I placed my mother in a facility I researched never once considering she would be a victim of such a despicable act. I ask why, because she didn't eat all the blueberry pie and ice cream?"The question of why Wettlaufer killed or hurt 14 people loomed large in court. In a lengthy video statement she gave to police last fall, she said she felt a "red surging" well up in her chest that was relieved after she completed a kill. She believed she was an instrument of God at times, but also killed because some residents were too much work, too burdensome.Many others, wracked by guilt, spoke of what-ifs."I simply feel guilty for not being able to protect my father as he had protected me," wrote David Silcox, whose father, James Silcox, was murdered in 2007.Justice Bruce Thomas acknowledged that guilt was the common theme of the 28 victim impact statements filed in court a few weeks ago."It is a complete betrayal of trust when a caregiver does not prolong life, but terminates it," he said. "But you cannot blame yourselves."Thomas described Wettlaufer's "free run" on her nine-year killing spree, with no oversight or even an inkling she had committed such calculated murders."Without her confessions, I am convinced these offences would never have been brought to justice," he said, calling Wettlaufer a "shadow of death that passed over them (the victims) on the night shift where she supervised."Debora Rivers said her grandmother, Mary Zarawinski, hated the nursing home when she first went there. There are a lot of old people here, she told her niece, even though Zarawinski was one of the oldest residents in the facility."She made it nice for everybody there," Rivers said outside court.She also noted that Wettlaufer had described Zarawinski as "'fun and feisty' — and she was.""The woman lived to be 96 years old for God's sake," Rivers said. "We have no way of knowing how long her life might have been," she said. "We were pretty sure she was going to make it to 100 and so was she."For her part, Wettlaufer apologized, crouching in the prisoner's box without looking at anyone."I am truly sorry for the people I injured or murdered," she said in a soft voice."Sorry is much too small a word. I hope that the families can find some peace and healing."Beverly Bertram, who is Wettlaufer's sole living victim, wrote about the physical pain she was in after the nurse injected her with insulin with the intent to kill her."It is really hard to describe, but I knew I was dying," she wrote in her statement. "I was doubled over in pain in my stomach...Just such pain. My whole body hurt...I thought I was screaming, but I was just moaning I guess."Bertram wrote that she has become a recluse since the incident, afraid of everyone, including her own shadow, and has lost all relationships with her family."I truly think sometimes I'd be better off if she did her deed."Shortly after Wettlaufer's sentencing hearing, the province announced it would hold a public inquiry into the murders to ensure a similar tragedy does not happen again.Liam Casey , The Canadian Press.
Demand for Canada 150 flags, brings seamstress out of retirement-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Canada Day is just under a week away and thanks to the demand for flags leading up to the big celebration, one New Brunswick woman has had to put her retirement on hold.Theresa King's basement is full of bright materials and the tools to turn them into something special. Since March, most of King's projects have been paused while she helps her former employer.- Cyclists pedal into New Brunswick for Canada 150 journey - Fredericton's Canada 150 funding largely focused on 'Indigenous reconciliation' "I thought I was going to be retired," King said with a laugh from her seat in front of a sewing machine.After 28 years working for The Flag Store in Thornton, Ont., she moved to Tower Hill, near St. Andrews. King was only given two years before her old boss came calling."The demand for Canadian flags for the 150 has been so dramatic that they have been out of flags forever," King said.So she agreed to help, thinking at first it would only be for a couple of weeks. Her estimate turned out to be off. Way off.Getting into the flag business-"By the time I'm finished, it will be about 2,500, three-foot-by-six-foot Canadian flags that I will have finished."Working from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., King can put together about 250 flags a week, which despite their complexity, she will tell you is fast.In order to save on the shipping costs, King drove her first shipment of 1,400 flags to Ontario in May.There has been some time for King to enjoy some side projects, like altering a graduation dress, but she said she's happy to help her former colleagues.In her years working for The Flag Store, she said March always meant the beginning of the busy season. But Canada 150 she said, has created demand the store isn't normally accustomed to."Those girls are pretty tired too," King said. "They're just swamped and there just isn't enough time in the day."It isn't just King who is hard at work in the workshop, she enlisted her husband, Doug, to help out too.He'll be the first to tell you that he never planned on getting into the flag business. But after stencilling off bright red maple leafs from cloth, Doug King said the work keeps him out of trouble.While her time is occupied by piecing together red and white material, King will have a little variety in her life this week.-100 and counting-A text from her boss saw rolls of green, gold, and black arrive at her door with a request from the Jamaican consulate."I have 100 to make" she said, "So I can ship them on Wednesday."After being so busy, you would think King planned on taking Canada Day off to enjoy seeing some flags fly. Instead, she said she's only going to take a break to go to the market before getting back to work.With a goal of getting another 1,000 Canadian flags finished by September, she said her next delivery will be her vacation."That'll be my holiday" King said, "A few days off to drive to Ontario and deliver all the flags."
Canadians will soon have a law on how to dispose of mercury-filled light bulbs-[CBC]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
Canadians will soon have guidance from the federal government on how to dispose of mercury-containing light bulbs in an environmentally responsible way.Bill C-238, a new act that sets out rules for a national light bulb disposal strategy, received royal assent on Thursday.The National Strategy for Safe and Environmentally Sound Disposal of Lamps Containing Mercury Act commits the government to identify ways to dispose of mercury-containing light bulbs safely and establish guidelines for facilities that dispose of them, and then promote the program to Canadians.The bill also requires the environment minister to table the national strategy in Parliament within two years of the act receiving royal assent. -No regulations-Dartmouth-Cole Harbour MP Darren Fisher, who introduced the private member's bill, said there were no federal regulations outlining how to dispose of light bulbs."You can take your mercury-bearing light bulb, and you can throw it in your garbage bag and put it to the curb," he said.One regular, 13-watt residential compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) — the curly looking ones that are slowly replacing the traditional, round incandescent bulbs — contains on average 3.5 milligrams of mercury. Energy Star-certified CFLs contain 2.5 milligrams or less. Fluorescent tubes contain up to 12 milligrams.Fisher said about 1,150 kilograms of mercury end up in Canadian landfills each year, and can contaminate the environment.Mercury is also listed as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act."So this is an incredibly big issue," he said.Compact fluorescents on the rise-A 2014 federal ban on most residential incandescent bulbs means more Canadians are using compact fluorescent bulbs. A 2014 report from Statistics Canada noted that in 2011, three-quarters of households across the country used at least one CFL bulb.About half the households that used CFLs reported throwing them in the garbage, and Haligonians were the most likely to toss them, with 84 per cent doing so, the report said.-'Piecemeal' approach-Recycling facilities in some municipalities and provinces break CFL bulbs down and recycle about 98 per cent of the components, including the mercury. Some retailers also collect used bulbs to send to recyclers.But Fisher described that as a "piecemeal" approach.He encourages Canadians to recycle their bulbs or simply hold on to them until the new law is developed."If the worst thing you have to do is put them in a cardboard box and leave them in your garage until the strategy comes forward, please do so, because what we'd like to see is no mercury-bearing light bulbs going into our landfills across Canada," said Fisher.
Nine dead after Colombia tourist boat sinks in reservoir-[Reuters]-yahoonews-June 26, 2017
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Nine people died and 28 are missing after a multi-decked tourist boat carrying about 170 passengers sank in Colombia's Penol-Guatape reservoir on Sunday during the long holiday weekend, a government official said.Officials did not disclose the cause of the accident and provided few details.Videos posted on social media showed motorboats coming to the aid of passengers on the upper decks as the boat rocked from side to side. Ninety-nine people were rescued, Margarita Moncada, the head of disaster relief for Antioquia province, told journalists."At the moment we have nine people found dead. Another 99 people were rescued immediately and 40 more got out on their own," she said.Survivors on local television reports said they heard a loud noise before the boat began to sink and that not all of them had life jackets. Rescue operations were ongoing.Rescue workers and the air force were helping passengers at the scene, President Juan Manuel Santos said in a Twitter post.The large reservoir, about an hour from the central city of Medellin, is a popular tourist destination.(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Richard Chang)
