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)
OCT 21,17-4PM-THIS LATEST SCAM IS A
MUSLIM THAT PHONES FROM LONDON ONT DOING SOME WESTARIO HYDRO SURVEY. I
TOLD THE SCAMMER-I WANNA TALK WITH A CANADIAN NOT A MUSLIM.THEN I WILL
ANSWER QUESTIONS.THE MUSLIM HUNG UP ON ME.THEN PHONED ME BACK.AND WOULD
NOT ANSWER WHEN I SAID SPEAK TO ME MR MUSLIM-3 TIMES. HE THEN HUNG UP ON ME A SECOND TIME WITHOUT
SAYING A WORD TO ME
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.
Spain PM approves taking back powers from Catalonia after independence referendum-[Sky News]-yahoonews-October 21, 2017
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Barcelona after Spain's central government announced it is set to take some powers away from Catalonia's administration.Barcelona police said 450,000 people had joined a protest in the regional capital, many of them chanting the words "freedom" and "independence" and waving Catalonia's yellow, red and blue separatist flag.Large crowds have gathered outside Barcelona's Paseo de Gracia boulevard where Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is due to give his reaction to Madrid's decision.In an unprecedented move aimed at thwarting secession attempts, Spain's Prime Minister says he has approved implementing the previously unused Article 155 of the country's constitution to assume control of the region.Mariano Rajoy said he wants the senate to give him permission to dissolve the regional government in Barcelona and call early elections.He announced the measures to take over the regional cabinet's functions after a crisis meeting of his own cabinet in the wake of the 1 October independence referendum deemed illegal by Madrid.Under his plans, the powers of Catalan officials would be transferred to the Spanish government - but he stressed he did not want to use them to rule Catalonia directly.About 90% of Catalans who voted in the referendum backed breaking away from Spain, but only 40% of eligible voters cast a ballot, with many pro-union supporters declining to vote.The PM's move, aimed at blocking the independence movement, has sparked anger among separatists.Mr Puigdemont, who has refused to abandon his threat to declare a breakaway state following the controversial vote, is set to join a protest and then give his response.Carme Forcade, the speaker of the Catalan parliament said the move by Madrid was a "coup and an "attack on democracy".She went on: "Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen."This is why we want to send to the citizens of this country a message of firmness and hope. We commit today, after the most serious attack against the Catalan institutions since they were restored, to the defence of the sovereignty of the parliament of Catalonia."On the streets of Barcelona, people banged pots and pans and drivers beeped their horns.Catalonia's administration currently runs its own policing, education and healthcare.Mr Rajoy said he was concerned about the financial impact if Catalonia broke away, and claimed the latest figures on the economy were "worrying".A number of companies have already announced plans to move some or all of their operations out of the northeast region.Article 155 allows central authorities to intervene when one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law.Autonomy is a hugely sensitive issue in Catalonia, which saw its powers taken away under Spain's military dictatorship.Home to 7.5 million people, the region fiercely defends its own language and culture.:: What invoking Article 155 means for Catalonia-Meanwhile, King Felipe has said Catalonia "is and will remain an essential part of 21st century Spain".In an unusually emotional speech at a prize-giving ceremony, he said the Spanish government would resolve the fight over Catalonia's bid for independence through "legitimate democratic institutions".
Madrid to impose direct rule in Catalonia to quash independence bid-[Reuters]-By Julien Toyer and Sam Edwards-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The Spanish government will impose direct rule on Catalonia, it said on Saturday, in an unprecedented move that brought thousands of people who voted for independence onto to the streets against what they called a "coup".Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who made a symbolic declaration of independence on Oct. 10 after a referendum that Madrid declared illegal, joined a peaceful demonstration in Barcelona and was due to speak at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would fire Puigdemont and the rest of the regional government, hoping to end Spain's worst political crisis in four decades that prompted Madrid to reduce growth forecasts for the euro zone's fourth-largest economy and raised fears of prolonged unrest.It is the first time since Spain's return to democracy in the late 1970s that the central government has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region.Rajoy acted with backing from the main opposition party in Madrid and King Felipe, who said on Friday that "Catalonia is and will remain an essential part" of Spain."We will ask the Senate, with the aim of protecting the general interest of the nation, to authorize the government ... to dismiss the Catalan president and his government," Rajoy told a news conference.Spain's upper house of parliament is scheduled to vote on the plan next Friday, giving Madrid full control of Catalonia's finances, police and public media and curbing the powers of the regional parliament.But the speaker of the Catalan parliament said she would not accept the measures, accusing Rajoy of a "coup" and an "attack against democracy"."Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen," Carme Forcadell said in a televised speech."We commit today, after the most serious attack against the Catalan institutions since they were restored, to the defense of the sovereignty of the parliament of Catalonia."The time needed to effectively enforce direct rule could give the independence movement room to maneuver.The Catalan parliament is expected to decide on Monday whether to hold a session to formally proclaim the republic of Catalonia.Catalan media have said Puigdemont could also dissolve the regional parliament and call elections by next Friday. Under Catalan law, those elections would take place within two months.-"LET'S PROCLAIM THE REPUBLIC"-Puigdemont and his cabinet marched in Barcelona on Saturday wearing yellow ribbons in support of two senior independence campaigners who have been jailed on charges of sedition."Freedom! Freedom!" protesters chanted as they waived independence flags and signs reading "Defending our land is not a crime" and "Let's proclaim the republic.""(Rajoy) triggering this article will not resolve anything," said 38-year-old builder Abel Fernandez, attending the demonstration with a pro-independence flag tied around his neck."They won't be able to keep quiet the half of Catalonia that is in favor of independence and those who favor the right to decide."Pro-independence parties said Rajoy's move showed the Spanish state was no longer democratic."The Spanish government has carried out a coup against a democratic and legal majority," Marta Rovira, a lawmaker from Catalan government party Esquerra Republica de Catalunya, tweeted.Anti-capitalist party CUP, which backs the pro-independence minority government in the regional assembly said: "Taken over but never defeated. Popular unity for the Republic now. Not a single step back."Catalan authorities said about 90 percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. 1 voted for independence. But only 43 percent of the electorate participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home.-TERRITORIAL UNITY-The independence push has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain and divided Catalonia itself. It has also and prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters out of the region. Rajoy on Saturday urged them to stay.His center-right People's Party (PP) government received unequivocal backing from the opposition Socialist Party."Differences with the PP on our territorial unity? None!" said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez.Rajoy said he did not intend to use the special powers for more than six months."Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality," he said.Madrid has insisted that Puigdemont - who has threatened to press ahead with independence unless Madrid agreed to a dialogue - has broken the law several times in pushing for independence."The rulers of Catalonia have respected neither the law on which our democracy is based nor the general interest," the government said in a memorandum to the Senate. "This situation is unsustainable."Pro-independence groups have mustered more than 1 million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid's refusal to negotiate a solution.Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down the independence referendum were condemned by human rights groups, and secessionists accused Madrid of taking "political prisoners".Hacking group Anonymous on Saturday joined a campaign called "Free Catalonia" and took down the website of Spain's constitutional court.Spain's national security department had said on Friday it was expecting such an attack to take place, though nobody was available on Saturday to confirm it.(Additional reporting by Isla Binnie, Carlos Ruano and Tomas Cobos in Madrid; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Robin Pomeroy)
The Latest: Catalan leader urges strong response to Spain-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
BARCELONA, Spain — The Latest on Catalonia's effort to break away from Spain and the Spanish government's response (all times local):9:40 p.m.Catalonia's separatist leader wants the regional parliament to debate and vote on how to respond to what he called the Spanish government's "attempt to wipe out" Catalonia's autonomy.In a televised address late Saturday, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called plans by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to replace him and his Cabinet an "attempt to humiliate" Catalonia and an "attack on democracy."Puigdemont's comments were a veiled threat to push ahead with an independence declaration for the prosperous region in northeastern Spain. They came after he joined a large protest in Barcelona on Saturday where many were aghast at the plans announced earlier in the day by Rajoy.Puigdemont called Rajoy's move the "the worst attack" on Catalan people and institutions since Gen. Francisco Franco's abolishment of Catalonia's regional government in 1939.___8 p.m.The speaker of the Catalan parliament says Spain's central authorities have made an effective "coup d'etat" in what she called an "authoritarian" attempt to take control of the northeastern region.Legislator Carme Forcadell says in Barcelona that Spanish Prime Minister "Mariano Rajoy has announced a de facto coup d'etat with the goal of ousting a democratically elected government."Forcadell said the move is "an authoritarian blow within a member of the European Union."Rajoy's conservative government is likely to obtain the national Senate's backing next week for extraordinary powers that will allow him to dissolve the Catalan parliament and call an early election. The measures include the sacking of Catalonia's separatist leaders.Rajoy said the regional parliament will have its powers limited, but will remain in place until new lawmakers are elected in less than six months.___6:50 p.m.Representatives of Catalan civil society groups are calling for the release of two prominent pro-independence activists held in a Madrid jail while awaiting possible sedition charges.Speaking to hundreds of thousands of protesters who marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday, Omnium Cultural spokesman Marcel Mauri said a plan by central Spanish authorities to take control of the regional powers "has destroyed democracy."Mauri also made a call in English for international support: "Help Catalonia, save Spain, save Europe." Protesters shouted "Freedom, freedom."Assemblea Nacional Catalana vice-president Agusti Alcoberro calls the Spanish government's move a "repressive escalation" aimed at "wiping out Catalonia as a political nation."___6:30 p.m.Catalan regional authorities are joining hundreds of thousands protesting in Barcelona in a massive show of support for independence. They are also calling for the release of two prominent activists who have been jailed while awaiting possible sedition charges.The march was initially called by Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural to press for their leaders' release — but it has become a collective rejection of the Spanish government's move to take over Catalonia's regional powers.The Spanish government wants to sack Catalonia's separatist leaders and call a new election using previously untapped constitutional powers to take control of the prosperous region.A banner reading "Freedom for Jordi Sanchez! Freedom for Jordi Cuixart!" opened the march. Regional leader Carles Puigdemont is to deliver a televised address later Saturday.5:55 p.m.The vice-president of the Spanish Senate says a session next Friday will vote on measures proposed by Spain's government to take control of the northeastern Catalonia region.Conservative senator Pedro Blanco told reporters the governing body of the top legislative chamber is setting up a special commission of 27 senators to make the first assessment of the measures on Tuesday.Regional Catalan President Carles Puigdemont can make an appeal of the measures by appearing before the commission before Thursday at noon or by sending an envoy.The special commission is then expected to approve a final proposal that will be taken to the plenary session on Friday for final approval. The ruling Popular Party has an absolute majority in the chamber and is expected to receive wide support from opposition senators for measures to keep Spain unified.___5:15 p.m.FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu says the famed soccer club is backing the leaders of Catalonia in response to the Spanish government's decision to take over the regional government.Bartomeu said Saturday that "the fact that people have been imprisoned for their political ideas is unacceptable in the 21st century. No one can question Barcelona's commitment to Catalan society and its democratic institutions."To block the Catalan independence push, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy wants the Senate to give him direct power to dissolve the regional Catalan government and call an early election.Bartomeu says Barcelona sides with those who defend the Catalan people's right to vote in a referendum for independence. He also said the club aims to remain in the Spanish league.He says "we demand respect for Barcelona and the plurality of its members. We can't allow ourselves to become a tool manipulated for political interests."Barcelona leads the Spanish LaLiga and hosts Malaga later tonight.___3:00 p.m.Catalonia's vice-president was one of the first regional cabinet members to react to the announcement that Spanish authorities are seeking to dissolve the cabinet and take control of the prosperous territory.Oriol Junqueras promised to meet supporters at a protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Barcelona to take a stand "against totalitarianism"He tweeted: "Today more than ever, let's defend democracy and civil and political rights."Marta Rovira, the general secretary of the Junqueras' separatist ERC party, said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's actions are a "coup d'etat" designed to crush Catalonia's self-rule and aspirations of breaking away from Spain.Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau has opposed a declaration of independence in Catalonia based on an the Oct. 1 referendum that Spain's constitutional Court had suspended.Colau nonetheless criticized the central government on Saturday and called its moves "a serious attack" on Catalonia's regional autonomy.___2:20 p.m.Officials in Catalonia says regional leader Carles Puigdemont plans to join an afternoon protest before delivering a speech in response to the Spanish government's decision to take over the regional cabinet's functions.In the streets of Barcelona, banging pots and pans and honking cars greeted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's announcement Saturday that the central government wants to replace the regional cabinet to block its bid to break away from Spain.At the national level, Pablo Echenique, a secretary in the far-left Podemos party, vowed to work to oust Rajoy and his conservative Popular Party.Pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party president Albert Rivera says he supports the announced measures to heal divisions created by the Catalan independence movement and to provide the security companies need to remain in Catalonia.___1:50 p.m.Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he wants the Senate to give him direct power to dissolve the regional Catalan government and to call an early election as soon as possible.Rajoy said after meeting with his Cabinet on Saturday that the central government needs to take the unprecedented step of assuming control of Catalonia to "restore order" in the face of a secession effort backed by the regional government.He is proposing that the powers of Catalan officials be taken over by central government ministers.Rajoy's government is activating a previously untapped constitutional article to take control of Catalonia.The move is aimed at blocking the independence movement that has gained pace since a disputed Oct. 1 referendum on separating Catalonia from Spain.___11:50 a.m.A spokeswoman for Spain's constitutional Court says the court's website has been affected by a cyberattack of unknown origin.The attack on Saturday came as social media accounts linked to the Anonymous hacktivist group had launched a campaign to "free Catalonia."The spokeswoman says it only affected the court's website and no internal information was compromised. She requested anonymity in line with internal rules.Spain's National Security Department said late on Friday that an undisclosed number of government websites had been hit in recent weeks with slogans supporting independence for the country's Catalonia region.In a YouTube video posted by an account linked to Anonymous, the group announced actions that would be rolled out on Saturday as part of an "Operation Free Catalonia."___10.30 a.m.A Cabinet meeting is underway in Madrid to outline government measures for taking control of the Catalonia region to stop regional authorities from breaking away from Spain.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is chairing the meeting at the Moncloa palace on Saturday.The measures could include stripping some or all of the top Catalan officials of their authority and laying out a roadmap to an early regional election for as early as January.Rajoy said Friday that the goal of revoking Catalan self-governance is "the return to legality and the recovery of institutional normalcy."Members of the ruling separatist coalition in Catalonia have rejected the idea of fresh regional elections as a way out to the crisis.Instead, they are threatening to make an explicit declaration of independence if central authorities go ahead with the intervention in the region's autonomous powers.___10:10 a.m.The Spanish government is activating a previously untapped constitutional article to take control of the Catalonia region in a bid to stop a rebellion from separatist politicians.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Cabinet is meeting Saturday to outline the scope and timing of the measures the government plans to take under Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.The article allows central authorities to intervene when one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law.Rajoy could force the removal of Catalan officials and call early regional elections for as soon as January.Opposition parties have agreed to support him in revoking Catalonia's autonomy. The specific measures need approval from the country's Senate.Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has threatened to call a vote in the regional parliament for an explicit declaration of independence from Spain.The Associated Press.
Turkey funding cuts signal EU mood shift By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 20. Oct, 17:45-A mood shift among EU leaders and heads of state against Turkey appears to have surfaced following intense talks at a summit in Brussels on future relations amid demands to reduce accession funding.European Council president Donald Tusk told reporters on Friday (20 October) that Turkey's relations to the European Union had dominated the late evening debates amid a growing chorus of complaints against Ankara."We want to keep the door open to Ankara but the current reality in Turkey is making this difficult," he said.Summit conclusions under the 'external relations' heading had dedicated only one line to Turkey, noting simply that "the European Council held a debate on relations with Turkey."But the single phrase fails to underscore the importance of the issue.One EU diplomat said the discussions took three hours, largely sidelining other agenda points on the Iran nuclear deal and North Korea sanctions.A second EU official said the Commission would put forward its proposal on cutting Turkish aid in the "next coming weeks".Another warned that Turkey's candidacy for membership may slip depending on the outcome of annual European Commission Turkey report due out early next year.Few, aside from the European Parliament, appear willing to completely cut off Turkey over broader fears it may feed into Ankara's nationalist rhetoric and undermine cooperation over preventing foreign fighters returning to Europe.-The money and the purge-Turkey has been earmarked some €4.45 billion up until 2020.The EU money is geared towards helping country on its track towards EU member state.But accession talks nose dived following Ankara's crackdown in the wake of a failed military coup early last year and the consolidation of power by Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.A purge has seen tens of thousands arrested, detained, or sacked from their jobs for having links to the banned Fethullah Gulen movement, which Ankara has pegged as a terrorist group and has blamed for instigating the coup."It [funding cuts] is meant to pass a message to the Turks that when you have different parts of the administration that are heavy-handed with journalists, with judges, they cannot get EU money towards the accession," noted another EU official.Taner Kilic, Amnesty International's Turkey director and chair, was arrested along with 10 other human rights defenders in June for their alleged links to the movement.Earlier this week, an Istanbul court had accepted the indictment against all eleven, possibly paving the way towards 15-year jail sentences.European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the plan may include redirecting some of the Turkey funds elsewhere."What I've been told is that the European Parliament is talking about putting a rather large amount of this accession [cash] into the budgetary reserve," he said.More than a third of Turkey's €4.45 billion goes to areas like democracy and governance, empowerment of civil society, rule of law, and fundamental rights.Juncker described them as "noble causes", suggesting that other funding sectors like transport or energy may take a hit.Out of the total, only €368.3 million has so far been contracted. Payments stand at €258.4 million at the end of August 2017.Turkey's embassy to the European Union has yet to comment of the funding cut threats as of writing.But Turkey's ambassador to Belgium, Mehmet Hakan Olcay, told this website in July that his country deserved even more money than the billions offered by the European Union."Our membership process goes on since 1954, so I think we must have deserved even more funding," he said.More recently, Turkey is pressing ahead in its demands to update a customs union agreement with European Union. But member state leaders, including Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, oppose expanding the customs union.It means the European Commission has yet to be given a mandate to enter negotiations with Turkey. Almost half of Turkey's exports are sent to the EU.
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)
Governments shouldn't tell women what to wear and what not to wear: Trudeau-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-October 20, 2017
ALMA, Que. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again waded into the debate on Quebec's Bill 62 on Friday, saying governments should not be telling women what to wear and what not to wear."I will always stand up for Canadians' rights,' he said in Alma, Que. "I will always stand up for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is what Canadians expect of me."As I've said a number of times as well, I don't think it should be the government's business to tell a woman what she should or shouldn't be wearing."Bill 62, which was adopted in the Quebec legislature Wednesday, bans people from providing or receiving public services in the province with their faces covered and is widely seen as an attack on Muslim women.It also prohibits people from taking public transit if their face is covered."We know there is going to be many weeks and many months of discussions on this, on what the implications are," Trudeau said as he campaigned ahead of a federal byelection Monday."And as a federal government, we are going to take our responsibilities seriously and look carefully at what the implications are."Asked if that means challenging the law in court, Trudeau replied, "this means looking carefully at the implications of this law and how we continue to stand up for Canadians' rights."A day earlier, Trudeau asserted it is not up to the federal government to challenge its constitutionality.On Friday morning, a group Montrealers lined up by a downtown bus station wearing surgical masks, Halloween disguises and face-covering bandanas in a protest against the law.Organizer Kathryn Jezer-Morton said the goal was to show solidarity with women who wouldn't be able to ride buses or use other services in light of the law."To not allow women who wear a niqab to access public services is so harmful, and a violation of their human rights," she told The Canadian Press in a phone interview."To think that you're doing them any kind of favour in the name of feminism, for one thing, is preposterous."She added that most passersby supported the protesters, although others suggested the law could be good for women.Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has defended the law by saying it is necessary for reasons related to communication, identification and security.On Friday, he reiterated his belief it will withstand any legal challenge."In society, people communicate with each other, identify themselves with their face uncovered," Couillard told reporters in Mirabel, Que., where he was meeting with Bombardier Inc. employees."What surprises me is that people seem surprised this is happening."Couillard noted the Liberals under Jean Charest tabled a similar bill in 2009 but that it did not become law, and that he himself promised in the 2014 election campaign to bring in such legislation."We're doing exactly what we said we would do," he said.On Friday, the Canadian Human Rights Commission said it was "concerned" by Bill 62."It is extremely worrisome to me that any government would use the law to target and marginalize a group rather than protect those who already suffer at the hands of discrimination," chief commissioner Marie-Claude Landry said in a statement."Laws should be adopted to end discrimination — not promote it."Landry pointed out that, while Bill 62 applies to Quebec's public services, "city buses crossing provincial borders make this (the law) a federal matter."On Thursday, the law was also unanimously condemned in the Ontario legislature, with Premier Kathleen Wynne calling religious freedom "part of our identity.""Forcing people to show their faces when they ride the bus, banning women from wearing a niqab when they pick up a book from the library will only divide us," she said.— With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal-Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press.
Unforgiving wildfires affect vineyard workers and owners-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
SONOMA, Calif. — When the wildfires ignited, vineyard workers stopped picking grapes and fled for their lives. Some vineyard owners decided to stay and fight back, spending days digging firebreaks and sleeping among their vines for safety.As the danger drew closer, grape pickers spread word of the threat and helped neighbours pack their homes. The owner of an elite golf resort abandoned his home to try to save his golf course.The deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history imperiled both the low-wage workers who harvest the nation's most valuable wine grapes and the wealthy entrepreneurs who employ them. Vintners were suddenly plunged into the same desperate struggle as their labourers , with everyone fighting to preserve the things most precious to them — families, belongings and businesses.On the public beach campgrounds where hundreds of evacuees escaped the flames, the affluent slept alongside migrant workers and combed through donated supplies."We had people in Mercedes and Lexuses showing up" with soot on their faces after losing everything, said Patty Ginochio, a volunteer who helped feed, house and clothe evacuees. Even some of the well-off "had nothing but the clothes on their back. It's humbling."If anything, the fires seemed to target the affluent, blackening leafy suburban developments and hilltop estates more than the flatlands where many farm workers and middle-class families live.Winery owners with multiple houses will take vastly different roads to recovery than the grape pickers who lost the only rental home they could hope to afford. But for a short time, fire was the great leveler in a region where the wealthiest 1 per cent of people makes 20 times more than the rest.Everybody thinks the winery owners are "rich guys and rich families, and they're above everything," said Adam Mariani, a fourth-generation farmer whose family runs the Scribe Winery in Sonoma. "But the truth is people are completely bootstrapping here" and worried about the effect of the fires on their livelihood.The harvest was winding down on Oct. 8 as Gonzalo Jauregui worked an overnight grape-picking shift intended to protect workers and the fruit from the heat of the day. Around 10 p.m., a gale blew into the vineyard outside of Sonoma with a strength that the 45-year-old had never seen before."We saw the power lines bouncing against each other and trees losing their branches and sparks flying," Jauregui recalled. The grape harvesters ran to their cars.Dozens of other blazes were erupting at the same time across wine country, and Jauregui "could see the fire coming down the mountain."At the Scribe Winery, the winds disrupted a dinner among the vines, upending table settings. Diners who had hoped to linger over their meals were driven inside. Kelly Mariani, one of the family members there, recalled the ominous rattle of rattlesnakes in dry grass as the wind rose.By midnight, flames had burned a neighbour's home and were creeping down an oak ridge toward the winery buildings and family homes."There were hurricane winds. The house was rattling. The dog was barking," said Adam Mariani, whose family has worked for a decade to rebuild the winery, which was eradicated during Prohibition and turned into a turkey farm.As fires came over ridge after ridge above the wine valleys, Manuel Contreras lingered for days at a Sonoma apartment complex housing mostly migrant workers like him. He helped neighbours pack belongings and find transportation and shelters."I want to be the last person out," he said.While he spoke, firefighters and sheriff's deputies went house to house and business to business to warn people that the flames were expected to arrive within hours. But, Contreras said, authorities never came to tell the Spanish-speaking workers."We were waiting for them to come to tell us" it was finally time to go, he said. The grape workers finally joined the evacuation when they saw streams of cars racing out of town.At Napa's championship Silverado golf resort, former PGA master Johnny Miller climbed to the roof of the white-pillared country club with a garden hose to save the clubhouse himself. He taped other hoses to the rails of balconies to spray water down on embers.In one of the mansions near the course was Tim Wall, whose businesses include Rug Doctor carpet-cleaning and the golf resort. He made sure his family and animals were safe and left his home to its fate. Then he fought to save the golf course."I hadn't thought of it that way," Wall said of his decision to choose the course over his home. "If the house burned down, it wouldn't be near the impact, economically or otherwise, to myself or other people." The home survived.In Sonoma County, Jauregui and his co-workers and neighbours sped home through smoke. They woke their families, then pounded on doors of their apartment building to wake others.Adam Mariani, with help from a changing cast of relatives, friends, neighbours and passing crews of firefighters, used shovels and tractors to gouge firebreaks in the dirt.Mariana and his brother figured their homes were lost, but they fought to save the winery's restored hacienda, a landmark from the days of California's first wine makers in the 1850s. When Adam needed to rest, he drove his car to the middle of the vineyards, where the live rows would resist fire.The firebreaks, along with helicopter water drops from a reservoir maintained by the Gundlach-Bundschu winery and the vineyards themselves, helped crews finally turn the corner on the wildfires a week after the blazes began. In all, more than 100,000 acres burned in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties, and more than 100,000 people evacuated.Even as the flames eased, winery employees and owners alike faced economic fears. Many had gone more than a week without work, and months of rebuilding lay ahead. Shelters, soup kitchens and donation centres opened. Near Jauregui's home, 2,500 returned evacuees lined up last Wednesday for free lunches.That day, he knocked on the doors of a bakery and other businesses to ask for work.Scribe employees returned Wednesday, many for the first time. The green and gold landscape was etched with dark char lines. Blackened trees surrounded the winery on three sides. But the old hacienda, the homes and the winery buildings still stood.Winery workers came back with red eyes. Adam Mariani enfolded them in his arms."It's all here," he said.Ellen Knickmeyer And Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press.
Trump: Raqqa fall 'critical breakthrough', end of Islamic State in sight-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the defeat of Islamic State fighters in their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa as "a critical breakthrough" in a worldwide campaign against the militants.On Friday, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formally announced Raqqa's liberation from Islamic State after four months of battles and said the city would be part of a decentralized federal Syria."Together, our forces have liberated the entire city from ISIS control," Trump said in a statement."The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa represents a critical breakthrough in our worldwide campaign to defeat ISIS and its wicked ideology. With the liberation of ISIS’s capital and the vast majority of its territory, the end of the ISIS caliphate is in sight."Trump said the U.S. campaign against Islamic State, which was launched by his predecessor Barack Obama, would soon enter a new phase, in which the United States would "support local security forces, de-escalate violence across Syria, and advance the conditions for lasting peace, so that the terrorists cannot return to threaten our collective security again.""Together, with our allies and partners, we will support diplomatic negotiations that end the violence, allow refugees to return safely home, and yield a political transition that honors the will of the Syrian people," he said.Trump's statement made no mention of the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He also did not spell out how the United States would support local security forces.A White House spokesman said U.S. policy towards Assad "remains the same." U.S. officials have said Assad has no future governing Syria and U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said last month a stable Syria was not possible while he remained in place.The fight against Islamic State has taken place amid a wider, multi-sided civil war between Assad's government, which is backed by Iran and Russia, and an array of rebel groups supported by other powers, including the United States.Experts believe the defeat of ISIS at Raqqa may only be the start of a wider struggle by the United States to contain any insurgency launched by the militant group and to stabilize the region, as Washington grapples with defining a comprehensive strategy in Syria.On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France's military would continue its fight against Islamic State in Syria, but that the fall of the militant group's bastion in Raqqa needed to lead to an inclusive political system to restore stability.(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Jeff Mason; Editing by Chris Reese)
54 Egyptian police killed in ambush, say officials-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
CAIRO — At least 54 policemen, including 20 officers and 34 conscripts, were killed when a raid on a militant hideout southwest of Cairo was ambushed, officials said Saturday. The ensuing firefight was one of the deadliest for Egyptian security forces in recent years.Two police officials told The Associated Press that the exchange of fire began late Friday in the al-Wahat al-Bahriya area in Giza province, about 135 kilometres (84 miles) southwest of Cairo.They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.The firefight began when security forces acting on intelligence moved against a militants' hideout in the area. Backed by armoured personnel carriers and led by senior counterterrorism officers, the police contingent drew fire and rocket-propelled grenades, according to the officials.The officials said what happened next is not clear, but added that the force likely ran out of ammunition and that the militants captured several policemen and later killed them.The officials said the police force appeared to have fallen into a carefully planned ambush set up by the militants. The death toll could increase, they added.Those killed included two police brigadier-generals, a colonel and 10 lieutenant colonels.Egypt's Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police, announced a much lower death toll, saying in a statement read over state television that 16 were killed in the shootout. It added that 15 militants were killed or injured, later releasing photos of some of them.The last time Egypt's security forces suffered such a heavy loss of life was in July 2015 when militants from the extremist Islamic State group carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks, including suicide bombings, against army and police positions in the Sinai peninsula, killing at least 50. However, the army said only 17 soldiers and over 100 militants were killed.An official statement issued Saturday said Friday's incident would be investigated, suggesting that the heavy death toll may have been partially caused by incompetence, intelligence failures or lack of co-ordination . The officials said prosecutors will look into whether the police's counterterrorism agents failed to inform the military of the operation or include them.Two audio recordings purportedly by policemen who took part in the operation circulated online late Friday. One policeman, apparently using a two-way radio, was heard in the nearly two-minute recording pleading for help from a higher-ranking officer."We are the only ones injured, sir," the policeman said. "We were 10 but three were killed. After their injury, they bled to death, sir.""They took all the weapons and ammunition," he added, "We are now at the foot of a mountain."The second recording was purportedly by a policeman warning others. "I can't identify any direction. Only planes can see us. Take care every one," he was heard saying, adding that militants were pursuing them.The authenticity of the recordings could not be immediately verified.The heavy loss of life will likely lead to the restructuring and streamlining of the country's counterterrorism effort, the officials said, with better co-ordination between the police, military and security agencies high on the list of objectives.It's also likely to be cited by government critics as a vindication of their long-held argument that suppressing freedoms, jailing opponents and cracking down on civil society does not, as the pro-government media insists, help in the war against terror.No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. A local affiliate of the extremist group is spearheading an insurgency whose epicenter is in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.The United States condemned the attack in a statement issued by State Department, offering "profound condolences to the families of the deceased and the government and people of Egypt... at this difficult time."The incident comes a few days after militants staged a brazen daylight attack in the heart of el-Arish, the largest city in the Sinai Peninsula, attacking a church and a nearby bank and reportedly making away with some $1 million. Seven were killed in the Monday attack.Attacks by militants have significantly increased since the 2013 ouster by the military of an Islamist president, who was freely elected but whose one-year rule proved divisive. Attacks have also spread outside Sinai and into the country's mainland and areas close to the porous Libyan border to the west.The country has been under a state of emergency since April, following a spate of suicide bombings targeting minority Christians that have killed more than a 100 since December. The attacks were claimed by IS.Egypt blamed the attacks on the Christians on militant cells trained and armed in neighbouring Libya, where mostly Islamist militias, including extremist groups like IS, control territory or maintain a foothold in the vast, oil-rich nation. In response, Egypt has stepped up security along its desert border with Libya, where it supports an eastern-based army general fighting militant groups.In July 2014, gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a border guard post in Egypt's western desert in a brazen assault that killed 21 troops deployed close to the Libyan border.Associated Press writer Thomas Strong in Washington D.C. contributed to this report.Menna Zaki, The Associated Press.
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.
Spain PM approves taking back powers from Catalonia after independence referendum-[Sky News]-yahoonews-October 21, 2017
Hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Barcelona after Spain's central government announced it is set to take some powers away from Catalonia's administration.Barcelona police said 450,000 people had joined a protest in the regional capital, many of them chanting the words "freedom" and "independence" and waving Catalonia's yellow, red and blue separatist flag.Large crowds have gathered outside Barcelona's Paseo de Gracia boulevard where Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont is due to give his reaction to Madrid's decision.In an unprecedented move aimed at thwarting secession attempts, Spain's Prime Minister says he has approved implementing the previously unused Article 155 of the country's constitution to assume control of the region.Mariano Rajoy said he wants the senate to give him permission to dissolve the regional government in Barcelona and call early elections.He announced the measures to take over the regional cabinet's functions after a crisis meeting of his own cabinet in the wake of the 1 October independence referendum deemed illegal by Madrid.Under his plans, the powers of Catalan officials would be transferred to the Spanish government - but he stressed he did not want to use them to rule Catalonia directly.About 90% of Catalans who voted in the referendum backed breaking away from Spain, but only 40% of eligible voters cast a ballot, with many pro-union supporters declining to vote.The PM's move, aimed at blocking the independence movement, has sparked anger among separatists.Mr Puigdemont, who has refused to abandon his threat to declare a breakaway state following the controversial vote, is set to join a protest and then give his response.Carme Forcade, the speaker of the Catalan parliament said the move by Madrid was a "coup and an "attack on democracy".She went on: "Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen."This is why we want to send to the citizens of this country a message of firmness and hope. We commit today, after the most serious attack against the Catalan institutions since they were restored, to the defence of the sovereignty of the parliament of Catalonia."On the streets of Barcelona, people banged pots and pans and drivers beeped their horns.Catalonia's administration currently runs its own policing, education and healthcare.Mr Rajoy said he was concerned about the financial impact if Catalonia broke away, and claimed the latest figures on the economy were "worrying".A number of companies have already announced plans to move some or all of their operations out of the northeast region.Article 155 allows central authorities to intervene when one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law.Autonomy is a hugely sensitive issue in Catalonia, which saw its powers taken away under Spain's military dictatorship.Home to 7.5 million people, the region fiercely defends its own language and culture.:: What invoking Article 155 means for Catalonia-Meanwhile, King Felipe has said Catalonia "is and will remain an essential part of 21st century Spain".In an unusually emotional speech at a prize-giving ceremony, he said the Spanish government would resolve the fight over Catalonia's bid for independence through "legitimate democratic institutions".
Madrid to impose direct rule in Catalonia to quash independence bid-[Reuters]-By Julien Toyer and Sam Edwards-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The Spanish government will impose direct rule on Catalonia, it said on Saturday, in an unprecedented move that brought thousands of people who voted for independence onto to the streets against what they called a "coup".Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who made a symbolic declaration of independence on Oct. 10 after a referendum that Madrid declared illegal, joined a peaceful demonstration in Barcelona and was due to speak at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT).Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would fire Puigdemont and the rest of the regional government, hoping to end Spain's worst political crisis in four decades that prompted Madrid to reduce growth forecasts for the euro zone's fourth-largest economy and raised fears of prolonged unrest.It is the first time since Spain's return to democracy in the late 1970s that the central government has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region.Rajoy acted with backing from the main opposition party in Madrid and King Felipe, who said on Friday that "Catalonia is and will remain an essential part" of Spain."We will ask the Senate, with the aim of protecting the general interest of the nation, to authorize the government ... to dismiss the Catalan president and his government," Rajoy told a news conference.Spain's upper house of parliament is scheduled to vote on the plan next Friday, giving Madrid full control of Catalonia's finances, police and public media and curbing the powers of the regional parliament.But the speaker of the Catalan parliament said she would not accept the measures, accusing Rajoy of a "coup" and an "attack against democracy"."Prime Minister Rajoy wants the parliament of Catalonia to stop being a democratic parliament, and we will not allow this to happen," Carme Forcadell said in a televised speech."We commit today, after the most serious attack against the Catalan institutions since they were restored, to the defense of the sovereignty of the parliament of Catalonia."The time needed to effectively enforce direct rule could give the independence movement room to maneuver.The Catalan parliament is expected to decide on Monday whether to hold a session to formally proclaim the republic of Catalonia.Catalan media have said Puigdemont could also dissolve the regional parliament and call elections by next Friday. Under Catalan law, those elections would take place within two months.-"LET'S PROCLAIM THE REPUBLIC"-Puigdemont and his cabinet marched in Barcelona on Saturday wearing yellow ribbons in support of two senior independence campaigners who have been jailed on charges of sedition."Freedom! Freedom!" protesters chanted as they waived independence flags and signs reading "Defending our land is not a crime" and "Let's proclaim the republic.""(Rajoy) triggering this article will not resolve anything," said 38-year-old builder Abel Fernandez, attending the demonstration with a pro-independence flag tied around his neck."They won't be able to keep quiet the half of Catalonia that is in favor of independence and those who favor the right to decide."Pro-independence parties said Rajoy's move showed the Spanish state was no longer democratic."The Spanish government has carried out a coup against a democratic and legal majority," Marta Rovira, a lawmaker from Catalan government party Esquerra Republica de Catalunya, tweeted.Anti-capitalist party CUP, which backs the pro-independence minority government in the regional assembly said: "Taken over but never defeated. Popular unity for the Republic now. Not a single step back."Catalan authorities said about 90 percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. 1 voted for independence. But only 43 percent of the electorate participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home.-TERRITORIAL UNITY-The independence push has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain and divided Catalonia itself. It has also and prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters out of the region. Rajoy on Saturday urged them to stay.His center-right People's Party (PP) government received unequivocal backing from the opposition Socialist Party."Differences with the PP on our territorial unity? None!" said Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez.Rajoy said he did not intend to use the special powers for more than six months."Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality," he said.Madrid has insisted that Puigdemont - who has threatened to press ahead with independence unless Madrid agreed to a dialogue - has broken the law several times in pushing for independence."The rulers of Catalonia have respected neither the law on which our democracy is based nor the general interest," the government said in a memorandum to the Senate. "This situation is unsustainable."Pro-independence groups have mustered more than 1 million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid's refusal to negotiate a solution.Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down the independence referendum were condemned by human rights groups, and secessionists accused Madrid of taking "political prisoners".Hacking group Anonymous on Saturday joined a campaign called "Free Catalonia" and took down the website of Spain's constitutional court.Spain's national security department had said on Friday it was expecting such an attack to take place, though nobody was available on Saturday to confirm it.(Additional reporting by Isla Binnie, Carlos Ruano and Tomas Cobos in Madrid; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Robin Pomeroy)
The Latest: Catalan leader urges strong response to Spain-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
BARCELONA, Spain — The Latest on Catalonia's effort to break away from Spain and the Spanish government's response (all times local):9:40 p.m.Catalonia's separatist leader wants the regional parliament to debate and vote on how to respond to what he called the Spanish government's "attempt to wipe out" Catalonia's autonomy.In a televised address late Saturday, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont called plans by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to replace him and his Cabinet an "attempt to humiliate" Catalonia and an "attack on democracy."Puigdemont's comments were a veiled threat to push ahead with an independence declaration for the prosperous region in northeastern Spain. They came after he joined a large protest in Barcelona on Saturday where many were aghast at the plans announced earlier in the day by Rajoy.Puigdemont called Rajoy's move the "the worst attack" on Catalan people and institutions since Gen. Francisco Franco's abolishment of Catalonia's regional government in 1939.___8 p.m.The speaker of the Catalan parliament says Spain's central authorities have made an effective "coup d'etat" in what she called an "authoritarian" attempt to take control of the northeastern region.Legislator Carme Forcadell says in Barcelona that Spanish Prime Minister "Mariano Rajoy has announced a de facto coup d'etat with the goal of ousting a democratically elected government."Forcadell said the move is "an authoritarian blow within a member of the European Union."Rajoy's conservative government is likely to obtain the national Senate's backing next week for extraordinary powers that will allow him to dissolve the Catalan parliament and call an early election. The measures include the sacking of Catalonia's separatist leaders.Rajoy said the regional parliament will have its powers limited, but will remain in place until new lawmakers are elected in less than six months.___6:50 p.m.Representatives of Catalan civil society groups are calling for the release of two prominent pro-independence activists held in a Madrid jail while awaiting possible sedition charges.Speaking to hundreds of thousands of protesters who marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday, Omnium Cultural spokesman Marcel Mauri said a plan by central Spanish authorities to take control of the regional powers "has destroyed democracy."Mauri also made a call in English for international support: "Help Catalonia, save Spain, save Europe." Protesters shouted "Freedom, freedom."Assemblea Nacional Catalana vice-president Agusti Alcoberro calls the Spanish government's move a "repressive escalation" aimed at "wiping out Catalonia as a political nation."___6:30 p.m.Catalan regional authorities are joining hundreds of thousands protesting in Barcelona in a massive show of support for independence. They are also calling for the release of two prominent activists who have been jailed while awaiting possible sedition charges.The march was initially called by Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural to press for their leaders' release — but it has become a collective rejection of the Spanish government's move to take over Catalonia's regional powers.The Spanish government wants to sack Catalonia's separatist leaders and call a new election using previously untapped constitutional powers to take control of the prosperous region.A banner reading "Freedom for Jordi Sanchez! Freedom for Jordi Cuixart!" opened the march. Regional leader Carles Puigdemont is to deliver a televised address later Saturday.5:55 p.m.The vice-president of the Spanish Senate says a session next Friday will vote on measures proposed by Spain's government to take control of the northeastern Catalonia region.Conservative senator Pedro Blanco told reporters the governing body of the top legislative chamber is setting up a special commission of 27 senators to make the first assessment of the measures on Tuesday.Regional Catalan President Carles Puigdemont can make an appeal of the measures by appearing before the commission before Thursday at noon or by sending an envoy.The special commission is then expected to approve a final proposal that will be taken to the plenary session on Friday for final approval. The ruling Popular Party has an absolute majority in the chamber and is expected to receive wide support from opposition senators for measures to keep Spain unified.___5:15 p.m.FC Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu says the famed soccer club is backing the leaders of Catalonia in response to the Spanish government's decision to take over the regional government.Bartomeu said Saturday that "the fact that people have been imprisoned for their political ideas is unacceptable in the 21st century. No one can question Barcelona's commitment to Catalan society and its democratic institutions."To block the Catalan independence push, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy wants the Senate to give him direct power to dissolve the regional Catalan government and call an early election.Bartomeu says Barcelona sides with those who defend the Catalan people's right to vote in a referendum for independence. He also said the club aims to remain in the Spanish league.He says "we demand respect for Barcelona and the plurality of its members. We can't allow ourselves to become a tool manipulated for political interests."Barcelona leads the Spanish LaLiga and hosts Malaga later tonight.___3:00 p.m.Catalonia's vice-president was one of the first regional cabinet members to react to the announcement that Spanish authorities are seeking to dissolve the cabinet and take control of the prosperous territory.Oriol Junqueras promised to meet supporters at a protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Barcelona to take a stand "against totalitarianism"He tweeted: "Today more than ever, let's defend democracy and civil and political rights."Marta Rovira, the general secretary of the Junqueras' separatist ERC party, said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's actions are a "coup d'etat" designed to crush Catalonia's self-rule and aspirations of breaking away from Spain.Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau has opposed a declaration of independence in Catalonia based on an the Oct. 1 referendum that Spain's constitutional Court had suspended.Colau nonetheless criticized the central government on Saturday and called its moves "a serious attack" on Catalonia's regional autonomy.___2:20 p.m.Officials in Catalonia says regional leader Carles Puigdemont plans to join an afternoon protest before delivering a speech in response to the Spanish government's decision to take over the regional cabinet's functions.In the streets of Barcelona, banging pots and pans and honking cars greeted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's announcement Saturday that the central government wants to replace the regional cabinet to block its bid to break away from Spain.At the national level, Pablo Echenique, a secretary in the far-left Podemos party, vowed to work to oust Rajoy and his conservative Popular Party.Pro-business Ciudadanos (Citizens) party president Albert Rivera says he supports the announced measures to heal divisions created by the Catalan independence movement and to provide the security companies need to remain in Catalonia.___1:50 p.m.Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he wants the Senate to give him direct power to dissolve the regional Catalan government and to call an early election as soon as possible.Rajoy said after meeting with his Cabinet on Saturday that the central government needs to take the unprecedented step of assuming control of Catalonia to "restore order" in the face of a secession effort backed by the regional government.He is proposing that the powers of Catalan officials be taken over by central government ministers.Rajoy's government is activating a previously untapped constitutional article to take control of Catalonia.The move is aimed at blocking the independence movement that has gained pace since a disputed Oct. 1 referendum on separating Catalonia from Spain.___11:50 a.m.A spokeswoman for Spain's constitutional Court says the court's website has been affected by a cyberattack of unknown origin.The attack on Saturday came as social media accounts linked to the Anonymous hacktivist group had launched a campaign to "free Catalonia."The spokeswoman says it only affected the court's website and no internal information was compromised. She requested anonymity in line with internal rules.Spain's National Security Department said late on Friday that an undisclosed number of government websites had been hit in recent weeks with slogans supporting independence for the country's Catalonia region.In a YouTube video posted by an account linked to Anonymous, the group announced actions that would be rolled out on Saturday as part of an "Operation Free Catalonia."___10.30 a.m.A Cabinet meeting is underway in Madrid to outline government measures for taking control of the Catalonia region to stop regional authorities from breaking away from Spain.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is chairing the meeting at the Moncloa palace on Saturday.The measures could include stripping some or all of the top Catalan officials of their authority and laying out a roadmap to an early regional election for as early as January.Rajoy said Friday that the goal of revoking Catalan self-governance is "the return to legality and the recovery of institutional normalcy."Members of the ruling separatist coalition in Catalonia have rejected the idea of fresh regional elections as a way out to the crisis.Instead, they are threatening to make an explicit declaration of independence if central authorities go ahead with the intervention in the region's autonomous powers.___10:10 a.m.The Spanish government is activating a previously untapped constitutional article to take control of the Catalonia region in a bid to stop a rebellion from separatist politicians.Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Cabinet is meeting Saturday to outline the scope and timing of the measures the government plans to take under Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.The article allows central authorities to intervene when one of Spain's 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law.Rajoy could force the removal of Catalan officials and call early regional elections for as soon as January.Opposition parties have agreed to support him in revoking Catalonia's autonomy. The specific measures need approval from the country's Senate.Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has threatened to call a vote in the regional parliament for an explicit declaration of independence from Spain.The Associated Press.
Turkey funding cuts signal EU mood shift By Nikolaj Nielsen-euobserver
BRUSSELS, 20. Oct, 17:45-A mood shift among EU leaders and heads of state against Turkey appears to have surfaced following intense talks at a summit in Brussels on future relations amid demands to reduce accession funding.European Council president Donald Tusk told reporters on Friday (20 October) that Turkey's relations to the European Union had dominated the late evening debates amid a growing chorus of complaints against Ankara."We want to keep the door open to Ankara but the current reality in Turkey is making this difficult," he said.Summit conclusions under the 'external relations' heading had dedicated only one line to Turkey, noting simply that "the European Council held a debate on relations with Turkey."But the single phrase fails to underscore the importance of the issue.One EU diplomat said the discussions took three hours, largely sidelining other agenda points on the Iran nuclear deal and North Korea sanctions.A second EU official said the Commission would put forward its proposal on cutting Turkish aid in the "next coming weeks".Another warned that Turkey's candidacy for membership may slip depending on the outcome of annual European Commission Turkey report due out early next year.Few, aside from the European Parliament, appear willing to completely cut off Turkey over broader fears it may feed into Ankara's nationalist rhetoric and undermine cooperation over preventing foreign fighters returning to Europe.-The money and the purge-Turkey has been earmarked some €4.45 billion up until 2020.The EU money is geared towards helping country on its track towards EU member state.But accession talks nose dived following Ankara's crackdown in the wake of a failed military coup early last year and the consolidation of power by Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.A purge has seen tens of thousands arrested, detained, or sacked from their jobs for having links to the banned Fethullah Gulen movement, which Ankara has pegged as a terrorist group and has blamed for instigating the coup."It [funding cuts] is meant to pass a message to the Turks that when you have different parts of the administration that are heavy-handed with journalists, with judges, they cannot get EU money towards the accession," noted another EU official.Taner Kilic, Amnesty International's Turkey director and chair, was arrested along with 10 other human rights defenders in June for their alleged links to the movement.Earlier this week, an Istanbul court had accepted the indictment against all eleven, possibly paving the way towards 15-year jail sentences.European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said the plan may include redirecting some of the Turkey funds elsewhere."What I've been told is that the European Parliament is talking about putting a rather large amount of this accession [cash] into the budgetary reserve," he said.More than a third of Turkey's €4.45 billion goes to areas like democracy and governance, empowerment of civil society, rule of law, and fundamental rights.Juncker described them as "noble causes", suggesting that other funding sectors like transport or energy may take a hit.Out of the total, only €368.3 million has so far been contracted. Payments stand at €258.4 million at the end of August 2017.Turkey's embassy to the European Union has yet to comment of the funding cut threats as of writing.But Turkey's ambassador to Belgium, Mehmet Hakan Olcay, told this website in July that his country deserved even more money than the billions offered by the European Union."Our membership process goes on since 1954, so I think we must have deserved even more funding," he said.More recently, Turkey is pressing ahead in its demands to update a customs union agreement with European Union. But member state leaders, including Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, oppose expanding the customs union.It means the European Commission has yet to be given a mandate to enter negotiations with Turkey. Almost half of Turkey's exports are sent to the EU.
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)
Governments shouldn't tell women what to wear and what not to wear: Trudeau-[The Canadian Press]-yahoonews-October 20, 2017
ALMA, Que. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again waded into the debate on Quebec's Bill 62 on Friday, saying governments should not be telling women what to wear and what not to wear."I will always stand up for Canadians' rights,' he said in Alma, Que. "I will always stand up for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is what Canadians expect of me."As I've said a number of times as well, I don't think it should be the government's business to tell a woman what she should or shouldn't be wearing."Bill 62, which was adopted in the Quebec legislature Wednesday, bans people from providing or receiving public services in the province with their faces covered and is widely seen as an attack on Muslim women.It also prohibits people from taking public transit if their face is covered."We know there is going to be many weeks and many months of discussions on this, on what the implications are," Trudeau said as he campaigned ahead of a federal byelection Monday."And as a federal government, we are going to take our responsibilities seriously and look carefully at what the implications are."Asked if that means challenging the law in court, Trudeau replied, "this means looking carefully at the implications of this law and how we continue to stand up for Canadians' rights."A day earlier, Trudeau asserted it is not up to the federal government to challenge its constitutionality.On Friday morning, a group Montrealers lined up by a downtown bus station wearing surgical masks, Halloween disguises and face-covering bandanas in a protest against the law.Organizer Kathryn Jezer-Morton said the goal was to show solidarity with women who wouldn't be able to ride buses or use other services in light of the law."To not allow women who wear a niqab to access public services is so harmful, and a violation of their human rights," she told The Canadian Press in a phone interview."To think that you're doing them any kind of favour in the name of feminism, for one thing, is preposterous."She added that most passersby supported the protesters, although others suggested the law could be good for women.Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard has defended the law by saying it is necessary for reasons related to communication, identification and security.On Friday, he reiterated his belief it will withstand any legal challenge."In society, people communicate with each other, identify themselves with their face uncovered," Couillard told reporters in Mirabel, Que., where he was meeting with Bombardier Inc. employees."What surprises me is that people seem surprised this is happening."Couillard noted the Liberals under Jean Charest tabled a similar bill in 2009 but that it did not become law, and that he himself promised in the 2014 election campaign to bring in such legislation."We're doing exactly what we said we would do," he said.On Friday, the Canadian Human Rights Commission said it was "concerned" by Bill 62."It is extremely worrisome to me that any government would use the law to target and marginalize a group rather than protect those who already suffer at the hands of discrimination," chief commissioner Marie-Claude Landry said in a statement."Laws should be adopted to end discrimination — not promote it."Landry pointed out that, while Bill 62 applies to Quebec's public services, "city buses crossing provincial borders make this (the law) a federal matter."On Thursday, the law was also unanimously condemned in the Ontario legislature, with Premier Kathleen Wynne calling religious freedom "part of our identity.""Forcing people to show their faces when they ride the bus, banning women from wearing a niqab when they pick up a book from the library will only divide us," she said.— With files from Morgan Lowrie in Montreal-Caroline Plante, The Canadian Press.
Unforgiving wildfires affect vineyard workers and owners-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
SONOMA, Calif. — When the wildfires ignited, vineyard workers stopped picking grapes and fled for their lives. Some vineyard owners decided to stay and fight back, spending days digging firebreaks and sleeping among their vines for safety.As the danger drew closer, grape pickers spread word of the threat and helped neighbours pack their homes. The owner of an elite golf resort abandoned his home to try to save his golf course.The deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history imperiled both the low-wage workers who harvest the nation's most valuable wine grapes and the wealthy entrepreneurs who employ them. Vintners were suddenly plunged into the same desperate struggle as their labourers , with everyone fighting to preserve the things most precious to them — families, belongings and businesses.On the public beach campgrounds where hundreds of evacuees escaped the flames, the affluent slept alongside migrant workers and combed through donated supplies."We had people in Mercedes and Lexuses showing up" with soot on their faces after losing everything, said Patty Ginochio, a volunteer who helped feed, house and clothe evacuees. Even some of the well-off "had nothing but the clothes on their back. It's humbling."If anything, the fires seemed to target the affluent, blackening leafy suburban developments and hilltop estates more than the flatlands where many farm workers and middle-class families live.Winery owners with multiple houses will take vastly different roads to recovery than the grape pickers who lost the only rental home they could hope to afford. But for a short time, fire was the great leveler in a region where the wealthiest 1 per cent of people makes 20 times more than the rest.Everybody thinks the winery owners are "rich guys and rich families, and they're above everything," said Adam Mariani, a fourth-generation farmer whose family runs the Scribe Winery in Sonoma. "But the truth is people are completely bootstrapping here" and worried about the effect of the fires on their livelihood.The harvest was winding down on Oct. 8 as Gonzalo Jauregui worked an overnight grape-picking shift intended to protect workers and the fruit from the heat of the day. Around 10 p.m., a gale blew into the vineyard outside of Sonoma with a strength that the 45-year-old had never seen before."We saw the power lines bouncing against each other and trees losing their branches and sparks flying," Jauregui recalled. The grape harvesters ran to their cars.Dozens of other blazes were erupting at the same time across wine country, and Jauregui "could see the fire coming down the mountain."At the Scribe Winery, the winds disrupted a dinner among the vines, upending table settings. Diners who had hoped to linger over their meals were driven inside. Kelly Mariani, one of the family members there, recalled the ominous rattle of rattlesnakes in dry grass as the wind rose.By midnight, flames had burned a neighbour's home and were creeping down an oak ridge toward the winery buildings and family homes."There were hurricane winds. The house was rattling. The dog was barking," said Adam Mariani, whose family has worked for a decade to rebuild the winery, which was eradicated during Prohibition and turned into a turkey farm.As fires came over ridge after ridge above the wine valleys, Manuel Contreras lingered for days at a Sonoma apartment complex housing mostly migrant workers like him. He helped neighbours pack belongings and find transportation and shelters."I want to be the last person out," he said.While he spoke, firefighters and sheriff's deputies went house to house and business to business to warn people that the flames were expected to arrive within hours. But, Contreras said, authorities never came to tell the Spanish-speaking workers."We were waiting for them to come to tell us" it was finally time to go, he said. The grape workers finally joined the evacuation when they saw streams of cars racing out of town.At Napa's championship Silverado golf resort, former PGA master Johnny Miller climbed to the roof of the white-pillared country club with a garden hose to save the clubhouse himself. He taped other hoses to the rails of balconies to spray water down on embers.In one of the mansions near the course was Tim Wall, whose businesses include Rug Doctor carpet-cleaning and the golf resort. He made sure his family and animals were safe and left his home to its fate. Then he fought to save the golf course."I hadn't thought of it that way," Wall said of his decision to choose the course over his home. "If the house burned down, it wouldn't be near the impact, economically or otherwise, to myself or other people." The home survived.In Sonoma County, Jauregui and his co-workers and neighbours sped home through smoke. They woke their families, then pounded on doors of their apartment building to wake others.Adam Mariani, with help from a changing cast of relatives, friends, neighbours and passing crews of firefighters, used shovels and tractors to gouge firebreaks in the dirt.Mariana and his brother figured their homes were lost, but they fought to save the winery's restored hacienda, a landmark from the days of California's first wine makers in the 1850s. When Adam needed to rest, he drove his car to the middle of the vineyards, where the live rows would resist fire.The firebreaks, along with helicopter water drops from a reservoir maintained by the Gundlach-Bundschu winery and the vineyards themselves, helped crews finally turn the corner on the wildfires a week after the blazes began. In all, more than 100,000 acres burned in Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties, and more than 100,000 people evacuated.Even as the flames eased, winery employees and owners alike faced economic fears. Many had gone more than a week without work, and months of rebuilding lay ahead. Shelters, soup kitchens and donation centres opened. Near Jauregui's home, 2,500 returned evacuees lined up last Wednesday for free lunches.That day, he knocked on the doors of a bakery and other businesses to ask for work.Scribe employees returned Wednesday, many for the first time. The green and gold landscape was etched with dark char lines. Blackened trees surrounded the winery on three sides. But the old hacienda, the homes and the winery buildings still stood.Winery workers came back with red eyes. Adam Mariani enfolded them in his arms."It's all here," he said.Ellen Knickmeyer And Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press.
Trump: Raqqa fall 'critical breakthrough', end of Islamic State in sight-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed the defeat of Islamic State fighters in their self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa as "a critical breakthrough" in a worldwide campaign against the militants.On Friday, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formally announced Raqqa's liberation from Islamic State after four months of battles and said the city would be part of a decentralized federal Syria."Together, our forces have liberated the entire city from ISIS control," Trump said in a statement."The defeat of ISIS in Raqqa represents a critical breakthrough in our worldwide campaign to defeat ISIS and its wicked ideology. With the liberation of ISIS’s capital and the vast majority of its territory, the end of the ISIS caliphate is in sight."Trump said the U.S. campaign against Islamic State, which was launched by his predecessor Barack Obama, would soon enter a new phase, in which the United States would "support local security forces, de-escalate violence across Syria, and advance the conditions for lasting peace, so that the terrorists cannot return to threaten our collective security again.""Together, with our allies and partners, we will support diplomatic negotiations that end the violence, allow refugees to return safely home, and yield a political transition that honors the will of the Syrian people," he said.Trump's statement made no mention of the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He also did not spell out how the United States would support local security forces.A White House spokesman said U.S. policy towards Assad "remains the same." U.S. officials have said Assad has no future governing Syria and U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said last month a stable Syria was not possible while he remained in place.The fight against Islamic State has taken place amid a wider, multi-sided civil war between Assad's government, which is backed by Iran and Russia, and an array of rebel groups supported by other powers, including the United States.Experts believe the defeat of ISIS at Raqqa may only be the start of a wider struggle by the United States to contain any insurgency launched by the militant group and to stabilize the region, as Washington grapples with defining a comprehensive strategy in Syria.On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France's military would continue its fight against Islamic State in Syria, but that the fall of the militant group's bastion in Raqqa needed to lead to an inclusive political system to restore stability.(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Jeff Mason; Editing by Chris Reese)
54 Egyptian police killed in ambush, say officials-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-October 21, 2017
CAIRO — At least 54 policemen, including 20 officers and 34 conscripts, were killed when a raid on a militant hideout southwest of Cairo was ambushed, officials said Saturday. The ensuing firefight was one of the deadliest for Egyptian security forces in recent years.Two police officials told The Associated Press that the exchange of fire began late Friday in the al-Wahat al-Bahriya area in Giza province, about 135 kilometres (84 miles) southwest of Cairo.They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.The firefight began when security forces acting on intelligence moved against a militants' hideout in the area. Backed by armoured personnel carriers and led by senior counterterrorism officers, the police contingent drew fire and rocket-propelled grenades, according to the officials.The officials said what happened next is not clear, but added that the force likely ran out of ammunition and that the militants captured several policemen and later killed them.The officials said the police force appeared to have fallen into a carefully planned ambush set up by the militants. The death toll could increase, they added.Those killed included two police brigadier-generals, a colonel and 10 lieutenant colonels.Egypt's Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police, announced a much lower death toll, saying in a statement read over state television that 16 were killed in the shootout. It added that 15 militants were killed or injured, later releasing photos of some of them.The last time Egypt's security forces suffered such a heavy loss of life was in July 2015 when militants from the extremist Islamic State group carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks, including suicide bombings, against army and police positions in the Sinai peninsula, killing at least 50. However, the army said only 17 soldiers and over 100 militants were killed.An official statement issued Saturday said Friday's incident would be investigated, suggesting that the heavy death toll may have been partially caused by incompetence, intelligence failures or lack of co-ordination . The officials said prosecutors will look into whether the police's counterterrorism agents failed to inform the military of the operation or include them.Two audio recordings purportedly by policemen who took part in the operation circulated online late Friday. One policeman, apparently using a two-way radio, was heard in the nearly two-minute recording pleading for help from a higher-ranking officer."We are the only ones injured, sir," the policeman said. "We were 10 but three were killed. After their injury, they bled to death, sir.""They took all the weapons and ammunition," he added, "We are now at the foot of a mountain."The second recording was purportedly by a policeman warning others. "I can't identify any direction. Only planes can see us. Take care every one," he was heard saying, adding that militants were pursuing them.The authenticity of the recordings could not be immediately verified.The heavy loss of life will likely lead to the restructuring and streamlining of the country's counterterrorism effort, the officials said, with better co-ordination between the police, military and security agencies high on the list of objectives.It's also likely to be cited by government critics as a vindication of their long-held argument that suppressing freedoms, jailing opponents and cracking down on civil society does not, as the pro-government media insists, help in the war against terror.No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. A local affiliate of the extremist group is spearheading an insurgency whose epicenter is in the Sinai Peninsula, which borders Israel and the Gaza Strip.The United States condemned the attack in a statement issued by State Department, offering "profound condolences to the families of the deceased and the government and people of Egypt... at this difficult time."The incident comes a few days after militants staged a brazen daylight attack in the heart of el-Arish, the largest city in the Sinai Peninsula, attacking a church and a nearby bank and reportedly making away with some $1 million. Seven were killed in the Monday attack.Attacks by militants have significantly increased since the 2013 ouster by the military of an Islamist president, who was freely elected but whose one-year rule proved divisive. Attacks have also spread outside Sinai and into the country's mainland and areas close to the porous Libyan border to the west.The country has been under a state of emergency since April, following a spate of suicide bombings targeting minority Christians that have killed more than a 100 since December. The attacks were claimed by IS.Egypt blamed the attacks on the Christians on militant cells trained and armed in neighbouring Libya, where mostly Islamist militias, including extremist groups like IS, control territory or maintain a foothold in the vast, oil-rich nation. In response, Egypt has stepped up security along its desert border with Libya, where it supports an eastern-based army general fighting militant groups.In July 2014, gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked a border guard post in Egypt's western desert in a brazen assault that killed 21 troops deployed close to the Libyan border.Associated Press writer Thomas Strong in Washington D.C. contributed to this report.Menna Zaki, The Associated Press.
