JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
N. Korea warns of preemptive strikes against US, S. Korea-AFP-FEB 23,16-YAHOONEWS
North Korea on Tuesday lashed out at an upcoming joint US-South Korean military exercise, warning it would attack the South and the US mainland in case of any armed provocation.The South and its close US ally will next month hold their largest-ever annual exercise in response to the North's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Seoul's defence ministry has announced.The North's military supreme command said the allies planned to practise a "beheading operation" aimed at the North's leadership, and other moves to neutralise its nuclear weapons and missiles.If there were even a "slight sign" of special forces moving to carry out such operations, the military said, "strategic and tactical" preemptive attacks would be launched.The primary target would be the South's presidential Blue House, it said in a statement on the official news agency, condemning it as "the centre for hatching plots for confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north, and reactionary ruling machines".The North also threatened attacks on US bases in the Asia-Pacific and the mainland.It said it has "the most powerful and ultra-modern strike means" in the world capable of "dealing fatal blows at the US mainland any moment and in any place".Such blows would "reduce the cesspool of all evils to ashes, never to rise again on our planet", it added in a reference to the United States.The North habitually claims that the annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise is a rehearsal for invasion while Seoul and Washington say it is purely defensive.Tensions are high as the United Nations considers tougher sanctions against the North to punish it for January's nuclear test and this month's rocket launch.The South, in an unprecedentedly tough move, has shut down a Seoul-financed and jointly-run industrial estate in the North, saying it was helping finance its neighbour's military programmes.
North Korea warns against U.S., South Korea military exercises-Reuters-FEB 23,16-YAHOONEWS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea warned on Tuesday of harsh retaliation against South Korea and its ally the United States, which are preparing for annual joint military exercises next month amid heightened tensions following the North's nuclear test and rocket launch.The North calls the annual exercises preparations for war and routinely vows to retaliate."All the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign of their special operation forces and equipment moving to carry out the so-called 'beheading operation' and 'high-density strike,'" the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by state media.It said its first target would be South Korea's presidential Blue House, while U.S. military bases in Asia and on the U.S. mainland would be its secondary targets. About 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea.Last week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned of tough measures against the North following its January nuclear test and its long-range rocket launch this month, saying Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons would speed the collapse of the regime.South Korea and the United States say both actions were violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and are pushing for further sanctions.Days after the rocket launch, South Korea suspended the operation of the Kaesong industrial zone just north of the border, which had been run jointly with the North for more than a decade.Isolated North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty.(Reporting by Tony Munroe and Ju-min Park; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Republicans in Wild West White House showdown in Nevada-After New Hampshire and South Carolina, and with Cruz and Rubio trailing in the polls, Trump eyes third straight win-By AFP February 23, 2016, 8:50 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US Republican presidential candidates face off in Nevada Tuesday as frontrunner Donald Trump tries to maintain momentum with a rousing victory in the last contest before next week’s all-important “Super Tuesday” votes.Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul whose name is lit up on a glitzy hotel on the Las Vegas strip, is the man to beat as he seeks a third straight win after New Hampshire and South Carolina victories cemented his frontrunner status.The contest will be the fourth for the Republican presidential candidates after Iowa, where Trump came second, and those other two states.But it will be their first in the US West and is a crucial part of the election cycle, with Nevada considered a swing state; its government is dominated by Republicans, but more Democrats are registered as voters.In addition, the state has a significant Hispanic population of 27.8 percent. And while they may not be the determining factor on Tuesday — most Hispanics in the state are believed to lean Democrat — they mark the largest bloc of Latino voters to date in the nominations race.Trump has consistently held a double-digit lead here. The latest CNN/ORC poll, released last week, shows Trump with 45 percent support, followed by Senator Marco Rubio a distant second at 19 percent, and Senator Ted Cruz with 17 percent.The remaining two Republicans in the race, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Ohio Governor John Kasich, earned seven percent and five percent respectively.-Clashing contenders-It remained unclear whether Trump will reach such heights in Tuesday’s caucus in the Silver State: he has alienated many Hispanic voters with his persistent anti-immigrant rhetoric, and continues to clash bitterly with his Republican rivals. In a Monday rally, Trump called Cruz “sick,” and reacted to a heckler by saying that he’d “like to punch him in the face.”Several of the candidates were making their final pushes to win over voters, holding town hall meetings and rallies, and canvassing neighborhoods.The field of Republican candidates, which once stood at more than a dozen, has been whittled down to five. Jeb Bush was the latest to pull out, on Saturday, following his poor showing in South Carolina.Rubio and Cruz, both Cuban-Americans, stand to gain from Bush’s exit in Nevada, where he had backing from Republican Hispanic leaders.However, the two candidates face a formidable foe in Trump, who barreled to victory in South Carolina.“He’s probably going to get about 35 percent of the vote, and it will be enough to win,” Eric Herzik, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, told USA Today.Cruz finished third in South Carolina but noted Monday that he is the only candidate to have beaten Trump so far, in Iowa.Cruz said there were only three viable candidates left in the Republican race, and “at this point here in Nevada, it’s all about turnout.”On the Democrat front, Hillary Clinton notched a comfortable Nevada win Saturday over rival Bernie Sanders, a victory that breathed new life into her sluggish campaign.Trump and Clinton’s weekend wins give them a major boost heading into the next crucial phase of the White House race — Super Tuesday on March 1, when about a dozen states go to the polls.As the race tightens, candidates — especially on the Republican side — have increasingly engaged in mudslinging in one of the most entertaining and unpredictable primary seasons ever.On the eve of the Nevada vote, Cruz fired his communications director over a false report about Rubio disparaging the Bible.Rick Tyler had shared on Facebook a story from the University of Pennsylvania student newspaper, which reported that Rubio told a Cruz staffer reading the Bible that the holy book did “not have many answers in it.”Contrary to primaries, caucuses allow participants to openly engage with one another and hear arguments from the candidates’ supporters or surrogates, in meetings at schools, community centers and churches.Republicans then vote by secret ballot, in 130 caucus sites across Nevada.The results will be used to determine the number of Republican delegates who represent the state at the party’s nominating convention in July.
CAMPAIGN 2016-With GOP nomination looming, Trump slated to take witness stand in fraud trial-Michael Isikoff-Chief Investigative Correspondent-February 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Here’s a part of the political calendar that nobody in the Republican Party seems to have noticed: This spring, just as the GOP nomination battle enters its final phase, frontrunner Donald Trump could be forced to take time out for some unwanted personal business: He’s due to take the witness stand in a federal courtroom in San Diego, where he is being accused of running a financial fraud.In court filings last Friday, lawyers for both sides in a long-running civil lawsuit over the now defunct Trump University named Trump on their witness lists. That makes it all but certain that the reality-show star and international businessman will be forced to be grilled under oath over allegations in the lawsuit that he engaged in deceptive trade practices and scammed thousands of students who enrolled in his “university” courses in response to promises he would make them rich in the real estate market.Although the case has been winding its way through the courts for the past five years — and Trump has denied all wrongdoing — the final pretrial conference is now slated for May 6, according to the latest pleadings in the case. No trial date has been set, but the judge has indicated his interest in moving the case forward, the pleadings show.“This is pretty amazing,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican Party consultant, about Trump’s upcoming due date in federal court. “Usually, you clean this stuff up before you run for president.”Trump’s new lead lawyer in the case, Daniel Petrocelli, best known for representing one of the slain murder victims in a civil suit against O.J. Simpson, did not respond to emailed questions about Trump’s upcoming testimony, including how long he expects his client to be on the witness stand.As noted by Yahoo News last week, the Trump University case has already intruded on Trump’s political schedule. On Dec. 10, 2015, during a day he was making international headlines over his pledge to ban Muslim immigrants from the United States, Trump managed to escape any press attention and give a closed-door pretrial deposition in the case, according to court filings reviewed by Yahoo News. Exactly what he said in the deposition remains under seal, but lawyers for Tarla Makaeff, a California yoga instructor who is the lead plaintiff in the case, cited portions of his testimony (blacked out in her pleadings) to support their contention that Trump has threatened to ruin her financially for bringing the lawsuit and that she needs protection from his “retaliation.”But the upcoming civil trial could be a much bigger burden on Trump’s time. If it takes place in May, that would put it in the middle of the final phase of the GOP primary schedule: Nebraska and West Virginia vote on May 10, Oregon on May 17, and Washington state on May 24. Then on June 7, the biggest prize of all: the California primary (with 172 delegates at stake). New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota vote the same day.While it is unclear how long the trial over Trump University will take, both sides have submitted lengthy witness lists: 72 individuals have been identified as prospective witnesses by the two sides. The case shows little sign of being settled. Trump just last December hired Petrocelli, a master litigator, and he recently identified 965 trial exhibits he expects to use at trial, including PowerPoint presentations, course curriculums, emails, letters, videos and other material. Picking jurors who have neutral views on Trump could present another time-consuming hurdle.The core case revolves around the operations of a school Trump launched in 2005 with a promotional You Tube video, as well as ads that proclaimed, “I can turn anyone into a successful real estate investor, including you,” “Are YOU My Next Apprentice?” and “Learn from my handpicked experts how you can profit from the largest real estate liquidation in history.” The plaintiffs, former students at Trump University, allege they were misled into maxing out their credit cards and paying up to $60,000 in fees for seminars in hotel ballrooms and “mentoring” by Trump’s “hand-picked” real estate experts. The lawsuit against the school, which is no longer in business, alleges the seminars turned into little more than an “infomercial” and the Trump mentors offered “no practical advice” and “mostly disappeared.” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a separate suit in 2013 alleging fraud on the part of the “university,” which was never an accredited institution and awarded no degrees.Trump’s lawyers have adamantly denied the charges. “None of it is true. No one was defrauded,” said Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s general counsel, in an interview about the allegations last year. “The people that take these classes go into it with their eyes open. A lot of people did very well [with Trump University]. A lot of people enjoyed it. But like everything else, if people don’t put the effort into it, they don’t succeed.”
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
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)
Brexit would trigger Czech EU exit, PM says-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 19:34-"We can expect a debate on an EU exit in a few years time if Britain left the EU," Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Tuesday. Leaving the EU would return the Czech Republic into Russia's sphere of influence, in "an absolute negation of the evolution since 1989," he warned.
Poll: Majority of Dutch want EU membership referendum-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 09:20-Fifty-three percent of Dutch want an EU membership referendum similar to the British vote, according to a poll by De Hond. Forty-four percent would vote to stay in the EU, with 43 percent voting to leave and 13 percent undecided. Forty-eight percent would like the UK to stay.
EP's emissions probe will not begin until next week-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 09:26-The European Parliament's two largest groups have not yet resolved their dispute over who should lead the inquiry committee that will investigate the role of the EU and member states in Dieselgate, committee member Francoise Grossetete told EUobserver Tuesday. She added its first meeting will not be this week.
French court delays Calais migrant camp clearance-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 15:01-The evacuation of a camp housing thousands of migrants near Calais has been delayed by French judges. The government wanted part of the "jungle" to be cleared on Tuesday. But an administrative court said it needed until Wednesday or Thursday to decide if the clearance would violate fundamental rights.
Malta takes refugees from Italy in EU scheme-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:44-Malta on Tuesday received 15 Eritrean asylum seekers from Italy under the EU's migrant relocation scheme. It says it'll receive a further six people from Greece on 1 March. With several eastern EU states opposed to the project, Malta said its actions show it "truly practices solidarity at all times."
Belgium reintroduces controls on French border-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:41-Belgium has started checks at its border with France and will make them systematic from Wednesday to avoid migrants crossing when a camp in Calais is partly evacuated, the interior minister announced Tuesday, adding it "will last as long as necessary". The planned evacuation was delayed by French judges.
Migrant arrivals to EU higher than ever-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:27-The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday that 102,500 migrants reached Greece so far this year and 7,500 made it to Italy. It took until June last year to reach the same figure. The IOM said nearly 50% of people coming to Greece are Syrians and 25% are Afghans.
EU urges humanitarian plan on Balkan migrant route-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 14:30-The EU Commission and the Netherlands, holding the EU rotating presidency, have called on "all countries and actors along the [Western Balkan migrant] route to prepare the necessary contingency planning to be able to address humanitarian needs", following tightening of border controls and risks of a crisis "especially in Greece".
Obama in last-ditch attempt to close Guantanamo Bay-US president says he’s resolved to fulfill 2008 campaign vow to shutter facility, which ‘undermines US world standing’-By AP February 23, 2016, 7:26 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed to “once and for all” close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer remaining detainees to a facility in the United States, though his plan does not specify where.Obama said that despite significant political hurdles and congressional opposition he is making one last effort to shutter the facility.“I don’t want to pass this problem on the next president, whoever it is. Are we going to let this linger on for another 15 years?” he said, in an appearance at the White House. “Keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law.”Obama’s proposal ducks the thorny question of where the new facility would be located and whether Obama could complete the closure before he leaves office.The plan, which was requested by Congress, makes a financial argument for closing the controversial detention center. US officials say it calls for up to $475 million in construction costs that would ultimately be offset by as much as $180 million per year in operating cost savings.The proposal is part of Obama’s last effort to make good on his unfulfilled 2008 campaign vow to close Guantanamo and persuade lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the US. But with few specifics, the proposal may only further antagonize lawmakers who have repeatedly passed legislation banning any effort to move detainees to the US.Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of House Armed Services Committee, has said his panel would hold a hearing on a closure plan. But he sent a letter to Obama warning that Congress has made clear what details must be included in any plan and that anything less than that would be unacceptable.Obama, meanwhile, planned to make a midmorning statement on Guantanamo at the White House.US officials say the plan considers, but does not name, 13 different locations in the US, including seven existing prison facilities in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas, as well as six other locations on current military bases. They say the plan doesn’t recommend a preferred site and the cost estimates are meant to provide a starting point for a conversation with Congress.The seven facilities reviewed by a Pentagon assessment team last year were: the US Disciplinary Barracks and Midwest Joint Regional Corrections Facility at Leavenworth, Kansas; the Consolidated Naval Brig, Charleston, South Carolina; the Federal Correctional Complex, which includes the medium, maximum and supermax facilities in Florence, Colorado; and the Colorado State Penitentiary II in Canon City, Colorado, also known as the Centennial Correctional Facility.According to the officials, the US facilities would cost between $265 million and $305 million to operate each year. The annual operating cost for Guantanamo is $445 million, but the officials said the Cuba detention center will need about $225 million in repairs and construction costs if it continues to be used.They said it will cost between $290 million and $475 million for construction at the various US sites, depending on the location. Some of the more expensive sites are on the military bases, which would need more construction. Because of the annual operating savings, the officials said the US would make up the initial construction costs in three to five years.More detailed spending figures, which are considered classified, will be provided to Congress, said the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly ahead of its release, so spoke on condition of anonymity.Late last year, other US officials said that the assessments done by the Pentagon team suggested that the Centennial Correctional Facility in Colorado is a more suitable site to send detainees whom officials believe should never be released. Those officials were not authorized to discuss that matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.Members of Congress have been demanding the Guantanamo plan for months, and those representing South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado have voiced opposition to housing the detainees in their states.“I remain committed to blocking the transfer of Guantanamo detainees anywhere in the United States, especially Fort Leavenworth,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in a statement Tuesday. “We must safeguard the missions on Fort Leavenworth, the nearly 14,000 military and civilian personnel and their family members, and the thousands of Kansans who live in the Leavenworth community.”The administration is currently prohibited by law from moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States. Obama has long opposed that prohibition and the White House has not ruled out the possibility that the president may attempt to close the prison through executive action. The plan submitted Tuesday does not address that option, officials said.Advocates of closing Guantanamo say the prison has long been a recruiting tool for militant groups and that holding extremists suspected of violent acts indefinitely without charges or trial sparks anger and dismay among US allies.Opponents, however, say changing the detention center’s zip code won’t eliminate that problem.On that point, Obama’s proposal faced criticism even from those who endorse closing the detention center. His initial campaign pledge was widely viewed as a promise to end the practice of detaining prisoners indefinitely without charge, not to bring that practice to the US, said Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security and Human Rights Program.“Whatever the president proposes, even if it doesn’t come to fruition, the administration is changing the goal posts on this issue,” she said.There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 35 are expected to be transferred out by this summer.The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges. Some can’t be charged because of insufficient evidence and some may face future prosecution or have been designated for indefinite detention under the international laws of war.Seven detainees are in the early stages of trial by military commission, including the five men accused of planning and aiding the September 11 terrorist attack, and three have been convicted and are serving sentences.At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held nearly 680 detainees, and there were about 245 when Obama took office.
Nato to take migrants back to Turkey, if rescued By Andrew Rettman-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 20:38-Nato ships will take anybody they rescue in the Aegean Sea back to Turkey instead of Greece, the head of the military alliance has said.“When we rescue those people, what we agreed with Turkey at a ministerial level, we agreed that if those people came from Turkey then we can return them to Turkey,” Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, told the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday (23 February).Nato states’ defence ministers two weeks ago decided to send ships to monitor the waters between Turkey and Greek islands.The International Organisation of Migration estimates that over 102,000 asylum seekers, most of them Syrians, made the crossing from Turkey so far this year.Dozens of people have drowned en route.Stoltenberg said Nato’s mandate isn’t to “police” the waters, but to give information to the Greek and Turkish coastguards, as well as to the EU border control agency Frontex, so that they can crack down on human smugglers.But he added that under international law if a Nato ship is “close to a vessel in distress, a boat with refugees that’s sinking” then it’s “obliged to help those people.”“Everything we do with Nato capabilities … in the Aegean Sea will be according to international law,” he said.He noted that Nato air power is also monitoring movements of refugees on the Syrian-Turkish land border, which was recently closed by Turkey.He said the Aegean operation, which is currently limited to between two and five ships, might “do more” in future, without giving details.“We’d like to do more … We’re now concluding the techncial details of our operational mandate,” he said.Some Greek MEPs voiced concern that Turkey, whose ships are taking part in the operation, might use it to score points against Greece.The two countries, which are historical adversaries, can't agree how to delimit maritime and airspace zones in the region or who owns this or that tiny island.-Trojan horse?-Eva Kaili, a centre-left Greek deputy, said Turkish warplanes routinely violate Greek airspace, with 36 violations recorded on Monday alone.“How will you respond if Turkey uses the Nato mission as a cover to question Greek sovereignty in the Aegean?” she said.Stoltenberg replied that the Greek defence minister approved the mission, however.He also said the new project might improve relations between Greece and Turkey and improve Nato-EU cooperation.“It was the 28 Nato states who decided [on the Aegean mission]… it’s not some people in Brussels developing ideas and trying to make allies implement them,” he said. “It’s not me inventing the idea.”He voiced hope that a US-Russia deal to pause hostilities in Syria this coming weekend will stick.He said the Syria talks, as with previous talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, show that Nato powers still have a “dialogue” with Russia despite their grave concern over its behaviour in Syria and Ukraine.But he said plans to restart meetings of the Nato-Russia Council, which were suspended after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are yet to bear fruit.-Lukewarm war-He also justified the alliance's military build-up in central Europe as being of a purely "defensive" nature. “Nato doesn’t seek confrontation [with Russia]. We do not want a new Cold War,” he said.Some MEPs, as well as national MPs who attended Tuesday’s parliamentary hearing, questioned his choice of vocabulary.“Why are we afraid of the expression Cold War when we have a lukewarm war in Ukraine with daily shelling and people killed? This didn’t happen in the classic Cold War,” Karel Schwarzenberg, a Czech MP and former foreign minister said.Stoltenberg replied that the fighting in east Ukraine is “a hot war, a real war … that also affects our security.”He noted that Nato has created a Russia-deterrent force, with eight new mini-bases in central Europe.He also said recently purchased Nato drones will monitor “hybrid” threats in the region, by reference to Russia’s use of infiltrators and agent provocateurs alongside its conventional forces in Ukraine.He said his native country, Norway, a Nato member, is also buying new frigates, F35 warplanes, and submarines to counter Russia’s military build-up in the Arctic Circle.
Greek migration crisis enters worst-case scenario By Eric Maurice-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 19:27-The European Commission and the Dutch EU presidency warned on Tuesday (23 February) of a humanitarian crisis in the Western Balkans and "especially in Greece,” adding that preparation for "contingency plans" was under way.The warning comes after border controls along the Western Balkan migration route were tightened in recent days in Austria and Macedonia.It is the realisation of a worst-case scenario becoming reality for EU authorities, in which Greece would be in effect cut off from the Schengen area and left to cope with hundreds of thousands of stranded refugees, while still being itself in the middle of an economic and social crisis.On Monday, Macedonia decided to deny entry to Afghan migrants and restricted access to Syrians and Iraqis.The move followed last week's decision by Austria to cap to 80 the number of daily asylum applications and to 3,200 the number of entries, also under the condition that the people go to another country to apply for asylum.The situation illustrates the growing rift between the actions of some EU and Balkan states and the common policies the European Commission and Germany have tried to put in place since the start of the migrant crisis last summer.The result is growing and potentially dramatic pressure on Greece, where 2,000 to 4,000 migrants arrive on the islands each day. On Tuesday (22 February) alone, 1,130 refugees arrived at Athens Piraeus port, where they will have to be taken care of."We are concerned about the developments along the Balkan route and the humanitarian crisis that might unfold in certain countries especially in Greece," EU migration commissioner Dimitri Avramopoulos and Dutch minister for migration Klaas Dijkhoff said in a joint statement.They called on "all countries and actors along the route to prepare the necessary contingency planning to be able to address humanitarian needs, including reception capacities".-’Risk of fragmentation'-"In parallel," they said, "the commission is coordinating a contingency planning effort, to offer support in case of a humanitarian crisis both outside and within the EU, as well as to further coordinate border management."Commission experts are already in Greece to assess the needs and what could be done in cooperation with the UN.Faced with the new developments, the commission seems to be more helpless than ever."There is a clear risk of a fragmentation of the [Balkan] route," an EU official said, with countries deviating from previously agreed plans."We are concerned by the fact that member states are acting outside of the agreed framework," commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told journalists on Tuesday."We believe that member states should be working together and not against each other," she added, with Austria appearing to take the lead in moves to close the Balkan route and to cut off Greece from the rest of the Schengen zone.On Wednesday (24 February), Vienna will host a meeting of Balkan countries involving Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.The commission was not invited. Neither was the Dutch presidency of the EU.-'Unfriendly move'-Last Friday, at the EU summit where Austria's decision to cap entries was discussed, EU sources said the Austrian leaders had promised not to organise the meeting.Also last week, commissioner Avramopoulos wrote to the Austrian interior minister, saying that the cap on asylum applications was unlawful and that waving migrants through to other countries was contrary to polices agreed by EU countries.The answer given by the Austrian government is being assessed by the commission's legal services, but on Tuesday the Austrian chancellor expressed his disagreement with the commission.Werner Faymann said that the commission's demands to cancel the cap were "nonsense" and that Austria could not "surrender to that kind of advice".Greece will also be kept out of Wednesday's Vienna meeting."We believe that Greece should be involved in all the discussions about measures that have a direct impact on it," the EU official said Tuesday.Greek authorities summoned the Austrian ambassador on Tuesday to protest against the meeting, which they described as a "unilateral move which is not at all friendly toward our country".During the recent EU summit, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras threatened in vain to block the adoption of the conclusions if he did not receive guarantees that borders would remain open.The idea of closing borders in the Balkans, especially Macedonia's border with Greece, has been floated for several months, as Greece appeared not to control its frontiers.It has been popular in the ranks of the EPP, the centre-right European political grouping in which German chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian Viktor Orban represent two opposing lines.The idea has been taken over by the social democrat Austrian chancellor Faymann, whose EPP interior minister Mikl-Leitner already threatened Greece in January with a "temporary exclusion from the Schengen zone".Last week, Orban and the three other leaders from the Visegrad group of countries - Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia - said that "an alternative back up plan" should be ready if more migrants were to come to Europe through Turkey and Greece.Suggesting a closure of borders with Greece, they anticipated a humanitarian crisis in the country and proposed assistance.The move "may bring additional impacts on the Hellenic Republic and would, therefore, necessitate a corresponding level of complex assistance, including humanitarian, to be provided," they said in their statement.-'The whole EU would dismantle'-"Schengen is of the highest value for us. Pushing Greece out is not our first choice. But a plan B is better than to replace Schengen," a source from a Visegard country told EUobserver.This is the scenario that is now unfolding with the Austrian-Balkan initiative, one that the commission, together with Germany and some other EU countries, had wished to avoid."We cannot let Greece become an open air detention camp," a senior EU diplomat said, adding that "preserving the integrity of Schengen" was crucial for the EU.Financial and geopolitical concerns also come under consideration as Greece is engaged in an €85 billion bailout programme."We do not want 500,000 migrants to destabilise the Greek government and Greece itself," a source from another influential country said."We would not see our money back and the whole EU would dismantle."On Tuesday, Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili told journalists that Athens was "ready to handle any kind of situation that might occur due to increased migrant flows, no matter how difficult this could be".On 12 February, the EU officially sent Greece 50 demands for stepping up control of its borders within a three-month deadline, after a commission report said that the government had "seriously neglected its obligations".The procedure was launched mainly to give Germany and Austria a legal basis to prolong border controls in May in case all requirements were not met, which many assume will be the case.So far, Germany's policy has been to push Greece to improve the control of its borders and negotiate with Turkey to reduce the flow of refugees, while trying to keep Greece in the Schengen system.But at the EU summit last week, Merkel said that Austria's initiative "made matters more urgent for us to see whether we are on the right track or whether we ought to adopt alternative measures".On Sunday (21 February), the German interior minister said that the next two weeks would be "decisive"."If the steps agreed upon by all the European states work, then other measures won't be necessary," he said. If not, he added, "protecting the Schengen area would have to take place at different borders".Less than a year after an exit from the eurozone was avoided at the last minute, Greece's fate will once again depend partly on Germany. This time, the deadline could be 7 March, when an EU-Turkey summit is planned.
Why Europe should fight Nord Stream II By Sijbren de Jong-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
The Hague, Today, 09:02-Last week the European Commission published its long awaited gas package. The usefulness of the proposed measures on security of supply and oversight on bilateral energy agreements notwithstanding, it was interesting to see the biggest elephant in the room being notably absent from any of the proposals.The one development that threatens to unravel the entire Energy Union – the Nord Stream II pipeline – did not feature at all. Despite differences of opinion on whether or not EU law applies to the project, the risk that Nord Stream II confines the Energy Union to the dustbin is too high. For that reason, the commission would do well to not give ground and let the courts decide whether the project is in line with the law.Proponents of Nord Stream II claim that the project is strictly commercial. However, upon closer examination the project’s business credentials are dubious at best. At an estimated cost of €10 billion at a time when oil prices are at rock bottom, the consortium led by Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom would expand pipeline capacity when half of the existing transit capacity from Russia to the EU is in fact unused.Also, gas demand in Europe has gone down due to the competition from renewables and coal. Convincing business case, huh? The real goal is geopolitical. The project is to circumvent Ukraine, which the Kremlin views as an unreliable transit state and interfering with its desire for control of its strategic markets. If the pipeline is built, the Ukrainian route would pretty much cease to exist.-Politics, not business-The existing supply route through Poland could similarly be at risk. Kiev would lose over $2 billion a year in transit revenues; a death-blow to its fragile economy and Poland could find itself at the mercy of Gazprom and Russia. Through Nord Stream II Gazprom’s market share in Germany would increase from 40 percent to 60 percent, at a time when Brussels actually wants to lessen its dependence on Russian gas.What is more, with the Ukrainian route gone, as much as 80 percent of all Russian gas exports to Europe would flow via Nord Stream. Although the European Commission views destination clauses (i.e. contractual clauses that forbid the resale of imported gas to other countries) as illegal, it is not unimaginable that Gazprom will pump just enough gas through the pipes to supply Germany and perhaps a few other EU states, but not enough so that significant reverse-flow capacity would be available to Ukraine. This would mean that Kiev again has to knock on Putin’s door. Strictly business? I think not.-European Unity and Security at Risk-At a time when Europe buckles under the refugee crisis, Nord Stream II is an additional threat to the fragile unity that holds the EU together. The pipeline has alienated Germany from the Baltic States, Poland and other Central European countries. The German position, and particularly Angela Merkel’s support for the project, is downright peculiar given Merkel’s tough stance on Vladimir Putin over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.You cannot push other EU Member States to stay firm on sanctions, yet strike a pipeline deal with the Kremlin at the same time. Italy’s Matteo Renzi was right in pointing out Germany’s double standards. Worse, the project directly contradicts every political goal agreed upon at European level concerning EU energy policy. Germany’s Ostpolitik handling of Nord Stream II is doing no favours for Berlin or Europe.Interestingly, hard security aspects appear wholly absent from the discussions at the EU level, despite the fact that naval movement in the Baltic Sea will be affected by the construction work throughout the whole building period.The transport of pipes will disrupt maritime traffic above and below the sea level across the whole length of the Baltic Sea, from Northwest Russia in the Finnish, Swedish, German and Danish exclusive economic zones, and right off the coast of Poland, and the three Baltic States.In light of the ongoing tensions with Russia, and the fact that building Nord Stream II will take many months and involves construction bases on Nato and EU territory, this is a factor to consider when assessing the broader security ramifications of the project. Perhaps this sheds a different light on why the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is not used as a base for construction.A scenario of Russian area denial tactics under the cover of pipeline construction poses a risk to lightly defended areas such as the Swedish island of Gotland which will not see the return of troops stationed there until 2018. Worse, area denial vis-a-vis non-Nato member states Sweden and Finland would render the defence of the three Baltic States – if required in the event of a few "little green men" paying a quasi-permanent visit – even more complicated than it already is.These risks set aside, upon completion of the pipeline, you can expect the Russian navy to increase its presence in the area to "protect" Nord Stream II.-See you in court-According to the European Commission’s energy directorate general EU competition regulations apply to the whole project, including the offshore section. This would mean Gazprom has a problem, as it cannot simultaneously own the infrastructure, as well as supply the gas.However, the European Commission’s legal service in a recent opinion claimed EU energy market rules in fact do not apply. Finding a conclusive answer to this question is essential to determine whether Nord Stream II can be built.The European Court of Justice is an excellent place to settle disputes like these. Sure, you run the risk of losing the case, but the stakes are simply too high to rely on a political settlement which would likely undermine the Energy Union anyhow.Moreover, from a security point of view, the risks to the Baltic Sea region should not be underestimated. Germany, which has acted as the custodian of the Minsk II agreement, really should know better than to engage in such harmful deals with Russia.The new Crude World monthly column on Eurasian (energy) security and power politics in Europe’s eastern neighbourhood is written by Sijbren de Jong, a strategic analyst with The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), specialised in Eurasian (energy) security and the EU’s relations with Russia and the former Soviet Union.
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3 (200 MILLION MAN ARMY)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THE TURKEY ATATURK DAM ON THE EUPHRATES CAN BE SHUT AND DRIED UP ALREADY BY TURKEY)
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.(ITS AT THIS TIME I BELIEVE WHEN AMERICA GETS NUKED BY RUSSIA ON THE WAY TO THE MIDEAST)
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(WORLDWIDE WAR)(TURKEY-IRAQ-SYRIA)(EUPHRATES RIVER CONSISTS OF 760 MILES IN TURKEY,440 MILES IN SYRIA AND 660 MILES IN IRAQ)
15 And the four(DEMONIC WAR) angels were loosed,(WORLDWIDE WAR) which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE-2 billion)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
N. Korea warns of preemptive strikes against US, S. Korea-AFP-FEB 23,16-YAHOONEWS
North Korea on Tuesday lashed out at an upcoming joint US-South Korean military exercise, warning it would attack the South and the US mainland in case of any armed provocation.The South and its close US ally will next month hold their largest-ever annual exercise in response to the North's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, Seoul's defence ministry has announced.The North's military supreme command said the allies planned to practise a "beheading operation" aimed at the North's leadership, and other moves to neutralise its nuclear weapons and missiles.If there were even a "slight sign" of special forces moving to carry out such operations, the military said, "strategic and tactical" preemptive attacks would be launched.The primary target would be the South's presidential Blue House, it said in a statement on the official news agency, condemning it as "the centre for hatching plots for confrontation with the fellow countrymen in the north, and reactionary ruling machines".The North also threatened attacks on US bases in the Asia-Pacific and the mainland.It said it has "the most powerful and ultra-modern strike means" in the world capable of "dealing fatal blows at the US mainland any moment and in any place".Such blows would "reduce the cesspool of all evils to ashes, never to rise again on our planet", it added in a reference to the United States.The North habitually claims that the annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise is a rehearsal for invasion while Seoul and Washington say it is purely defensive.Tensions are high as the United Nations considers tougher sanctions against the North to punish it for January's nuclear test and this month's rocket launch.The South, in an unprecedentedly tough move, has shut down a Seoul-financed and jointly-run industrial estate in the North, saying it was helping finance its neighbour's military programmes.
North Korea warns against U.S., South Korea military exercises-Reuters-FEB 23,16-YAHOONEWS
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea warned on Tuesday of harsh retaliation against South Korea and its ally the United States, which are preparing for annual joint military exercises next month amid heightened tensions following the North's nuclear test and rocket launch.The North calls the annual exercises preparations for war and routinely vows to retaliate."All the powerful strategic and tactical strike means of our revolutionary armed forces will go into preemptive and just operation to beat back the enemy forces to the last man if there is a slight sign of their special operation forces and equipment moving to carry out the so-called 'beheading operation' and 'high-density strike,'" the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by state media.It said its first target would be South Korea's presidential Blue House, while U.S. military bases in Asia and on the U.S. mainland would be its secondary targets. About 28,500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea.Last week, South Korean President Park Geun-hye warned of tough measures against the North following its January nuclear test and its long-range rocket launch this month, saying Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons would speed the collapse of the regime.South Korea and the United States say both actions were violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and are pushing for further sanctions.Days after the rocket launch, South Korea suspended the operation of the Kaesong industrial zone just north of the border, which had been run jointly with the North for more than a decade.Isolated North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty.(Reporting by Tony Munroe and Ju-min Park; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Republicans in Wild West White House showdown in Nevada-After New Hampshire and South Carolina, and with Cruz and Rubio trailing in the polls, Trump eyes third straight win-By AFP February 23, 2016, 8:50 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
US Republican presidential candidates face off in Nevada Tuesday as frontrunner Donald Trump tries to maintain momentum with a rousing victory in the last contest before next week’s all-important “Super Tuesday” votes.Trump, the billionaire real estate mogul whose name is lit up on a glitzy hotel on the Las Vegas strip, is the man to beat as he seeks a third straight win after New Hampshire and South Carolina victories cemented his frontrunner status.The contest will be the fourth for the Republican presidential candidates after Iowa, where Trump came second, and those other two states.But it will be their first in the US West and is a crucial part of the election cycle, with Nevada considered a swing state; its government is dominated by Republicans, but more Democrats are registered as voters.In addition, the state has a significant Hispanic population of 27.8 percent. And while they may not be the determining factor on Tuesday — most Hispanics in the state are believed to lean Democrat — they mark the largest bloc of Latino voters to date in the nominations race.Trump has consistently held a double-digit lead here. The latest CNN/ORC poll, released last week, shows Trump with 45 percent support, followed by Senator Marco Rubio a distant second at 19 percent, and Senator Ted Cruz with 17 percent.The remaining two Republicans in the race, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and Ohio Governor John Kasich, earned seven percent and five percent respectively.-Clashing contenders-It remained unclear whether Trump will reach such heights in Tuesday’s caucus in the Silver State: he has alienated many Hispanic voters with his persistent anti-immigrant rhetoric, and continues to clash bitterly with his Republican rivals. In a Monday rally, Trump called Cruz “sick,” and reacted to a heckler by saying that he’d “like to punch him in the face.”Several of the candidates were making their final pushes to win over voters, holding town hall meetings and rallies, and canvassing neighborhoods.The field of Republican candidates, which once stood at more than a dozen, has been whittled down to five. Jeb Bush was the latest to pull out, on Saturday, following his poor showing in South Carolina.Rubio and Cruz, both Cuban-Americans, stand to gain from Bush’s exit in Nevada, where he had backing from Republican Hispanic leaders.However, the two candidates face a formidable foe in Trump, who barreled to victory in South Carolina.“He’s probably going to get about 35 percent of the vote, and it will be enough to win,” Eric Herzik, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, told USA Today.Cruz finished third in South Carolina but noted Monday that he is the only candidate to have beaten Trump so far, in Iowa.Cruz said there were only three viable candidates left in the Republican race, and “at this point here in Nevada, it’s all about turnout.”On the Democrat front, Hillary Clinton notched a comfortable Nevada win Saturday over rival Bernie Sanders, a victory that breathed new life into her sluggish campaign.Trump and Clinton’s weekend wins give them a major boost heading into the next crucial phase of the White House race — Super Tuesday on March 1, when about a dozen states go to the polls.As the race tightens, candidates — especially on the Republican side — have increasingly engaged in mudslinging in one of the most entertaining and unpredictable primary seasons ever.On the eve of the Nevada vote, Cruz fired his communications director over a false report about Rubio disparaging the Bible.Rick Tyler had shared on Facebook a story from the University of Pennsylvania student newspaper, which reported that Rubio told a Cruz staffer reading the Bible that the holy book did “not have many answers in it.”Contrary to primaries, caucuses allow participants to openly engage with one another and hear arguments from the candidates’ supporters or surrogates, in meetings at schools, community centers and churches.Republicans then vote by secret ballot, in 130 caucus sites across Nevada.The results will be used to determine the number of Republican delegates who represent the state at the party’s nominating convention in July.
CAMPAIGN 2016-With GOP nomination looming, Trump slated to take witness stand in fraud trial-Michael Isikoff-Chief Investigative Correspondent-February 23, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Here’s a part of the political calendar that nobody in the Republican Party seems to have noticed: This spring, just as the GOP nomination battle enters its final phase, frontrunner Donald Trump could be forced to take time out for some unwanted personal business: He’s due to take the witness stand in a federal courtroom in San Diego, where he is being accused of running a financial fraud.In court filings last Friday, lawyers for both sides in a long-running civil lawsuit over the now defunct Trump University named Trump on their witness lists. That makes it all but certain that the reality-show star and international businessman will be forced to be grilled under oath over allegations in the lawsuit that he engaged in deceptive trade practices and scammed thousands of students who enrolled in his “university” courses in response to promises he would make them rich in the real estate market.Although the case has been winding its way through the courts for the past five years — and Trump has denied all wrongdoing — the final pretrial conference is now slated for May 6, according to the latest pleadings in the case. No trial date has been set, but the judge has indicated his interest in moving the case forward, the pleadings show.“This is pretty amazing,” said Scott Reed, a veteran Republican Party consultant, about Trump’s upcoming due date in federal court. “Usually, you clean this stuff up before you run for president.”Trump’s new lead lawyer in the case, Daniel Petrocelli, best known for representing one of the slain murder victims in a civil suit against O.J. Simpson, did not respond to emailed questions about Trump’s upcoming testimony, including how long he expects his client to be on the witness stand.As noted by Yahoo News last week, the Trump University case has already intruded on Trump’s political schedule. On Dec. 10, 2015, during a day he was making international headlines over his pledge to ban Muslim immigrants from the United States, Trump managed to escape any press attention and give a closed-door pretrial deposition in the case, according to court filings reviewed by Yahoo News. Exactly what he said in the deposition remains under seal, but lawyers for Tarla Makaeff, a California yoga instructor who is the lead plaintiff in the case, cited portions of his testimony (blacked out in her pleadings) to support their contention that Trump has threatened to ruin her financially for bringing the lawsuit and that she needs protection from his “retaliation.”But the upcoming civil trial could be a much bigger burden on Trump’s time. If it takes place in May, that would put it in the middle of the final phase of the GOP primary schedule: Nebraska and West Virginia vote on May 10, Oregon on May 17, and Washington state on May 24. Then on June 7, the biggest prize of all: the California primary (with 172 delegates at stake). New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico and South Dakota vote the same day.While it is unclear how long the trial over Trump University will take, both sides have submitted lengthy witness lists: 72 individuals have been identified as prospective witnesses by the two sides. The case shows little sign of being settled. Trump just last December hired Petrocelli, a master litigator, and he recently identified 965 trial exhibits he expects to use at trial, including PowerPoint presentations, course curriculums, emails, letters, videos and other material. Picking jurors who have neutral views on Trump could present another time-consuming hurdle.The core case revolves around the operations of a school Trump launched in 2005 with a promotional You Tube video, as well as ads that proclaimed, “I can turn anyone into a successful real estate investor, including you,” “Are YOU My Next Apprentice?” and “Learn from my handpicked experts how you can profit from the largest real estate liquidation in history.” The plaintiffs, former students at Trump University, allege they were misled into maxing out their credit cards and paying up to $60,000 in fees for seminars in hotel ballrooms and “mentoring” by Trump’s “hand-picked” real estate experts. The lawsuit against the school, which is no longer in business, alleges the seminars turned into little more than an “infomercial” and the Trump mentors offered “no practical advice” and “mostly disappeared.” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a separate suit in 2013 alleging fraud on the part of the “university,” which was never an accredited institution and awarded no degrees.Trump’s lawyers have adamantly denied the charges. “None of it is true. No one was defrauded,” said Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s general counsel, in an interview about the allegations last year. “The people that take these classes go into it with their eyes open. A lot of people did very well [with Trump University]. A lot of people enjoyed it. But like everything else, if people don’t put the effort into it, they don’t succeed.”
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
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)
Brexit would trigger Czech EU exit, PM says-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 19:34-"We can expect a debate on an EU exit in a few years time if Britain left the EU," Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Tuesday. Leaving the EU would return the Czech Republic into Russia's sphere of influence, in "an absolute negation of the evolution since 1989," he warned.
Poll: Majority of Dutch want EU membership referendum-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 09:20-Fifty-three percent of Dutch want an EU membership referendum similar to the British vote, according to a poll by De Hond. Forty-four percent would vote to stay in the EU, with 43 percent voting to leave and 13 percent undecided. Forty-eight percent would like the UK to stay.
EP's emissions probe will not begin until next week-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 09:26-The European Parliament's two largest groups have not yet resolved their dispute over who should lead the inquiry committee that will investigate the role of the EU and member states in Dieselgate, committee member Francoise Grossetete told EUobserver Tuesday. She added its first meeting will not be this week.
French court delays Calais migrant camp clearance-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 15:01-The evacuation of a camp housing thousands of migrants near Calais has been delayed by French judges. The government wanted part of the "jungle" to be cleared on Tuesday. But an administrative court said it needed until Wednesday or Thursday to decide if the clearance would violate fundamental rights.
Malta takes refugees from Italy in EU scheme-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:44-Malta on Tuesday received 15 Eritrean asylum seekers from Italy under the EU's migrant relocation scheme. It says it'll receive a further six people from Greece on 1 March. With several eastern EU states opposed to the project, Malta said its actions show it "truly practices solidarity at all times."
Belgium reintroduces controls on French border-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:41-Belgium has started checks at its border with France and will make them systematic from Wednesday to avoid migrants crossing when a camp in Calais is partly evacuated, the interior minister announced Tuesday, adding it "will last as long as necessary". The planned evacuation was delayed by French judges.
Migrant arrivals to EU higher than ever-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 16:27-The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday that 102,500 migrants reached Greece so far this year and 7,500 made it to Italy. It took until June last year to reach the same figure. The IOM said nearly 50% of people coming to Greece are Syrians and 25% are Afghans.
EU urges humanitarian plan on Balkan migrant route-By EUOBSERVER-FEB 23,16
Today, 14:30-The EU Commission and the Netherlands, holding the EU rotating presidency, have called on "all countries and actors along the [Western Balkan migrant] route to prepare the necessary contingency planning to be able to address humanitarian needs", following tightening of border controls and risks of a crisis "especially in Greece".
Obama in last-ditch attempt to close Guantanamo Bay-US president says he’s resolved to fulfill 2008 campaign vow to shutter facility, which ‘undermines US world standing’-By AP February 23, 2016, 7:26 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Tuesday proposed to “once and for all” close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer remaining detainees to a facility in the United States, though his plan does not specify where.Obama said that despite significant political hurdles and congressional opposition he is making one last effort to shutter the facility.“I don’t want to pass this problem on the next president, whoever it is. Are we going to let this linger on for another 15 years?” he said, in an appearance at the White House. “Keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. It undermines our standing in the world. It is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law.”Obama’s proposal ducks the thorny question of where the new facility would be located and whether Obama could complete the closure before he leaves office.The plan, which was requested by Congress, makes a financial argument for closing the controversial detention center. US officials say it calls for up to $475 million in construction costs that would ultimately be offset by as much as $180 million per year in operating cost savings.The proposal is part of Obama’s last effort to make good on his unfulfilled 2008 campaign vow to close Guantanamo and persuade lawmakers to allow the Defense Department to move nearly 60 detainees to the US. But with few specifics, the proposal may only further antagonize lawmakers who have repeatedly passed legislation banning any effort to move detainees to the US.Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of House Armed Services Committee, has said his panel would hold a hearing on a closure plan. But he sent a letter to Obama warning that Congress has made clear what details must be included in any plan and that anything less than that would be unacceptable.Obama, meanwhile, planned to make a midmorning statement on Guantanamo at the White House.US officials say the plan considers, but does not name, 13 different locations in the US, including seven existing prison facilities in Colorado, South Carolina and Kansas, as well as six other locations on current military bases. They say the plan doesn’t recommend a preferred site and the cost estimates are meant to provide a starting point for a conversation with Congress.The seven facilities reviewed by a Pentagon assessment team last year were: the US Disciplinary Barracks and Midwest Joint Regional Corrections Facility at Leavenworth, Kansas; the Consolidated Naval Brig, Charleston, South Carolina; the Federal Correctional Complex, which includes the medium, maximum and supermax facilities in Florence, Colorado; and the Colorado State Penitentiary II in Canon City, Colorado, also known as the Centennial Correctional Facility.According to the officials, the US facilities would cost between $265 million and $305 million to operate each year. The annual operating cost for Guantanamo is $445 million, but the officials said the Cuba detention center will need about $225 million in repairs and construction costs if it continues to be used.They said it will cost between $290 million and $475 million for construction at the various US sites, depending on the location. Some of the more expensive sites are on the military bases, which would need more construction. Because of the annual operating savings, the officials said the US would make up the initial construction costs in three to five years.More detailed spending figures, which are considered classified, will be provided to Congress, said the officials, who were not authorized to discuss the plan publicly ahead of its release, so spoke on condition of anonymity.Late last year, other US officials said that the assessments done by the Pentagon team suggested that the Centennial Correctional Facility in Colorado is a more suitable site to send detainees whom officials believe should never be released. Those officials were not authorized to discuss that matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity.Members of Congress have been demanding the Guantanamo plan for months, and those representing South Carolina, Kansas and Colorado have voiced opposition to housing the detainees in their states.“I remain committed to blocking the transfer of Guantanamo detainees anywhere in the United States, especially Fort Leavenworth,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said in a statement Tuesday. “We must safeguard the missions on Fort Leavenworth, the nearly 14,000 military and civilian personnel and their family members, and the thousands of Kansans who live in the Leavenworth community.”The administration is currently prohibited by law from moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States. Obama has long opposed that prohibition and the White House has not ruled out the possibility that the president may attempt to close the prison through executive action. The plan submitted Tuesday does not address that option, officials said.Advocates of closing Guantanamo say the prison has long been a recruiting tool for militant groups and that holding extremists suspected of violent acts indefinitely without charges or trial sparks anger and dismay among US allies.Opponents, however, say changing the detention center’s zip code won’t eliminate that problem.On that point, Obama’s proposal faced criticism even from those who endorse closing the detention center. His initial campaign pledge was widely viewed as a promise to end the practice of detaining prisoners indefinitely without charge, not to bring that practice to the US, said Naureen Shah, director of Amnesty International USA’s Security and Human Rights Program.“Whatever the president proposes, even if it doesn’t come to fruition, the administration is changing the goal posts on this issue,” she said.There are currently 91 detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Of those, 35 are expected to be transferred out by this summer.The rest are either facing trial by military commission or have been determined to be too dangerous to release but are not facing charges. Some can’t be charged because of insufficient evidence and some may face future prosecution or have been designated for indefinite detention under the international laws of war.Seven detainees are in the early stages of trial by military commission, including the five men accused of planning and aiding the September 11 terrorist attack, and three have been convicted and are serving sentences.At its peak in 2003, Guantanamo held nearly 680 detainees, and there were about 245 when Obama took office.
Nato to take migrants back to Turkey, if rescued By Andrew Rettman-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 20:38-Nato ships will take anybody they rescue in the Aegean Sea back to Turkey instead of Greece, the head of the military alliance has said.“When we rescue those people, what we agreed with Turkey at a ministerial level, we agreed that if those people came from Turkey then we can return them to Turkey,” Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, told the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday (23 February).Nato states’ defence ministers two weeks ago decided to send ships to monitor the waters between Turkey and Greek islands.The International Organisation of Migration estimates that over 102,000 asylum seekers, most of them Syrians, made the crossing from Turkey so far this year.Dozens of people have drowned en route.Stoltenberg said Nato’s mandate isn’t to “police” the waters, but to give information to the Greek and Turkish coastguards, as well as to the EU border control agency Frontex, so that they can crack down on human smugglers.But he added that under international law if a Nato ship is “close to a vessel in distress, a boat with refugees that’s sinking” then it’s “obliged to help those people.”“Everything we do with Nato capabilities … in the Aegean Sea will be according to international law,” he said.He noted that Nato air power is also monitoring movements of refugees on the Syrian-Turkish land border, which was recently closed by Turkey.He said the Aegean operation, which is currently limited to between two and five ships, might “do more” in future, without giving details.“We’d like to do more … We’re now concluding the techncial details of our operational mandate,” he said.Some Greek MEPs voiced concern that Turkey, whose ships are taking part in the operation, might use it to score points against Greece.The two countries, which are historical adversaries, can't agree how to delimit maritime and airspace zones in the region or who owns this or that tiny island.-Trojan horse?-Eva Kaili, a centre-left Greek deputy, said Turkish warplanes routinely violate Greek airspace, with 36 violations recorded on Monday alone.“How will you respond if Turkey uses the Nato mission as a cover to question Greek sovereignty in the Aegean?” she said.Stoltenberg replied that the Greek defence minister approved the mission, however.He also said the new project might improve relations between Greece and Turkey and improve Nato-EU cooperation.“It was the 28 Nato states who decided [on the Aegean mission]… it’s not some people in Brussels developing ideas and trying to make allies implement them,” he said. “It’s not me inventing the idea.”He voiced hope that a US-Russia deal to pause hostilities in Syria this coming weekend will stick.He said the Syria talks, as with previous talks on Iran’s nuclear programme, show that Nato powers still have a “dialogue” with Russia despite their grave concern over its behaviour in Syria and Ukraine.But he said plans to restart meetings of the Nato-Russia Council, which were suspended after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, are yet to bear fruit.-Lukewarm war-He also justified the alliance's military build-up in central Europe as being of a purely "defensive" nature. “Nato doesn’t seek confrontation [with Russia]. We do not want a new Cold War,” he said.Some MEPs, as well as national MPs who attended Tuesday’s parliamentary hearing, questioned his choice of vocabulary.“Why are we afraid of the expression Cold War when we have a lukewarm war in Ukraine with daily shelling and people killed? This didn’t happen in the classic Cold War,” Karel Schwarzenberg, a Czech MP and former foreign minister said.Stoltenberg replied that the fighting in east Ukraine is “a hot war, a real war … that also affects our security.”He noted that Nato has created a Russia-deterrent force, with eight new mini-bases in central Europe.He also said recently purchased Nato drones will monitor “hybrid” threats in the region, by reference to Russia’s use of infiltrators and agent provocateurs alongside its conventional forces in Ukraine.He said his native country, Norway, a Nato member, is also buying new frigates, F35 warplanes, and submarines to counter Russia’s military build-up in the Arctic Circle.
Greek migration crisis enters worst-case scenario By Eric Maurice-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 19:27-The European Commission and the Dutch EU presidency warned on Tuesday (23 February) of a humanitarian crisis in the Western Balkans and "especially in Greece,” adding that preparation for "contingency plans" was under way.The warning comes after border controls along the Western Balkan migration route were tightened in recent days in Austria and Macedonia.It is the realisation of a worst-case scenario becoming reality for EU authorities, in which Greece would be in effect cut off from the Schengen area and left to cope with hundreds of thousands of stranded refugees, while still being itself in the middle of an economic and social crisis.On Monday, Macedonia decided to deny entry to Afghan migrants and restricted access to Syrians and Iraqis.The move followed last week's decision by Austria to cap to 80 the number of daily asylum applications and to 3,200 the number of entries, also under the condition that the people go to another country to apply for asylum.The situation illustrates the growing rift between the actions of some EU and Balkan states and the common policies the European Commission and Germany have tried to put in place since the start of the migrant crisis last summer.The result is growing and potentially dramatic pressure on Greece, where 2,000 to 4,000 migrants arrive on the islands each day. On Tuesday (22 February) alone, 1,130 refugees arrived at Athens Piraeus port, where they will have to be taken care of."We are concerned about the developments along the Balkan route and the humanitarian crisis that might unfold in certain countries especially in Greece," EU migration commissioner Dimitri Avramopoulos and Dutch minister for migration Klaas Dijkhoff said in a joint statement.They called on "all countries and actors along the route to prepare the necessary contingency planning to be able to address humanitarian needs, including reception capacities".-’Risk of fragmentation'-"In parallel," they said, "the commission is coordinating a contingency planning effort, to offer support in case of a humanitarian crisis both outside and within the EU, as well as to further coordinate border management."Commission experts are already in Greece to assess the needs and what could be done in cooperation with the UN.Faced with the new developments, the commission seems to be more helpless than ever."There is a clear risk of a fragmentation of the [Balkan] route," an EU official said, with countries deviating from previously agreed plans."We are concerned by the fact that member states are acting outside of the agreed framework," commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud told journalists on Tuesday."We believe that member states should be working together and not against each other," she added, with Austria appearing to take the lead in moves to close the Balkan route and to cut off Greece from the rest of the Schengen zone.On Wednesday (24 February), Vienna will host a meeting of Balkan countries involving Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.The commission was not invited. Neither was the Dutch presidency of the EU.-'Unfriendly move'-Last Friday, at the EU summit where Austria's decision to cap entries was discussed, EU sources said the Austrian leaders had promised not to organise the meeting.Also last week, commissioner Avramopoulos wrote to the Austrian interior minister, saying that the cap on asylum applications was unlawful and that waving migrants through to other countries was contrary to polices agreed by EU countries.The answer given by the Austrian government is being assessed by the commission's legal services, but on Tuesday the Austrian chancellor expressed his disagreement with the commission.Werner Faymann said that the commission's demands to cancel the cap were "nonsense" and that Austria could not "surrender to that kind of advice".Greece will also be kept out of Wednesday's Vienna meeting."We believe that Greece should be involved in all the discussions about measures that have a direct impact on it," the EU official said Tuesday.Greek authorities summoned the Austrian ambassador on Tuesday to protest against the meeting, which they described as a "unilateral move which is not at all friendly toward our country".During the recent EU summit, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras threatened in vain to block the adoption of the conclusions if he did not receive guarantees that borders would remain open.The idea of closing borders in the Balkans, especially Macedonia's border with Greece, has been floated for several months, as Greece appeared not to control its frontiers.It has been popular in the ranks of the EPP, the centre-right European political grouping in which German chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian Viktor Orban represent two opposing lines.The idea has been taken over by the social democrat Austrian chancellor Faymann, whose EPP interior minister Mikl-Leitner already threatened Greece in January with a "temporary exclusion from the Schengen zone".Last week, Orban and the three other leaders from the Visegrad group of countries - Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia - said that "an alternative back up plan" should be ready if more migrants were to come to Europe through Turkey and Greece.Suggesting a closure of borders with Greece, they anticipated a humanitarian crisis in the country and proposed assistance.The move "may bring additional impacts on the Hellenic Republic and would, therefore, necessitate a corresponding level of complex assistance, including humanitarian, to be provided," they said in their statement.-'The whole EU would dismantle'-"Schengen is of the highest value for us. Pushing Greece out is not our first choice. But a plan B is better than to replace Schengen," a source from a Visegard country told EUobserver.This is the scenario that is now unfolding with the Austrian-Balkan initiative, one that the commission, together with Germany and some other EU countries, had wished to avoid."We cannot let Greece become an open air detention camp," a senior EU diplomat said, adding that "preserving the integrity of Schengen" was crucial for the EU.Financial and geopolitical concerns also come under consideration as Greece is engaged in an €85 billion bailout programme."We do not want 500,000 migrants to destabilise the Greek government and Greece itself," a source from another influential country said."We would not see our money back and the whole EU would dismantle."On Tuesday, Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili told journalists that Athens was "ready to handle any kind of situation that might occur due to increased migrant flows, no matter how difficult this could be".On 12 February, the EU officially sent Greece 50 demands for stepping up control of its borders within a three-month deadline, after a commission report said that the government had "seriously neglected its obligations".The procedure was launched mainly to give Germany and Austria a legal basis to prolong border controls in May in case all requirements were not met, which many assume will be the case.So far, Germany's policy has been to push Greece to improve the control of its borders and negotiate with Turkey to reduce the flow of refugees, while trying to keep Greece in the Schengen system.But at the EU summit last week, Merkel said that Austria's initiative "made matters more urgent for us to see whether we are on the right track or whether we ought to adopt alternative measures".On Sunday (21 February), the German interior minister said that the next two weeks would be "decisive"."If the steps agreed upon by all the European states work, then other measures won't be necessary," he said. If not, he added, "protecting the Schengen area would have to take place at different borders".Less than a year after an exit from the eurozone was avoided at the last minute, Greece's fate will once again depend partly on Germany. This time, the deadline could be 7 March, when an EU-Turkey summit is planned.
Why Europe should fight Nord Stream II By Sijbren de Jong-FEB 23,16-EUOBSERVER
The Hague, Today, 09:02-Last week the European Commission published its long awaited gas package. The usefulness of the proposed measures on security of supply and oversight on bilateral energy agreements notwithstanding, it was interesting to see the biggest elephant in the room being notably absent from any of the proposals.The one development that threatens to unravel the entire Energy Union – the Nord Stream II pipeline – did not feature at all. Despite differences of opinion on whether or not EU law applies to the project, the risk that Nord Stream II confines the Energy Union to the dustbin is too high. For that reason, the commission would do well to not give ground and let the courts decide whether the project is in line with the law.Proponents of Nord Stream II claim that the project is strictly commercial. However, upon closer examination the project’s business credentials are dubious at best. At an estimated cost of €10 billion at a time when oil prices are at rock bottom, the consortium led by Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom would expand pipeline capacity when half of the existing transit capacity from Russia to the EU is in fact unused.Also, gas demand in Europe has gone down due to the competition from renewables and coal. Convincing business case, huh? The real goal is geopolitical. The project is to circumvent Ukraine, which the Kremlin views as an unreliable transit state and interfering with its desire for control of its strategic markets. If the pipeline is built, the Ukrainian route would pretty much cease to exist.-Politics, not business-The existing supply route through Poland could similarly be at risk. Kiev would lose over $2 billion a year in transit revenues; a death-blow to its fragile economy and Poland could find itself at the mercy of Gazprom and Russia. Through Nord Stream II Gazprom’s market share in Germany would increase from 40 percent to 60 percent, at a time when Brussels actually wants to lessen its dependence on Russian gas.What is more, with the Ukrainian route gone, as much as 80 percent of all Russian gas exports to Europe would flow via Nord Stream. Although the European Commission views destination clauses (i.e. contractual clauses that forbid the resale of imported gas to other countries) as illegal, it is not unimaginable that Gazprom will pump just enough gas through the pipes to supply Germany and perhaps a few other EU states, but not enough so that significant reverse-flow capacity would be available to Ukraine. This would mean that Kiev again has to knock on Putin’s door. Strictly business? I think not.-European Unity and Security at Risk-At a time when Europe buckles under the refugee crisis, Nord Stream II is an additional threat to the fragile unity that holds the EU together. The pipeline has alienated Germany from the Baltic States, Poland and other Central European countries. The German position, and particularly Angela Merkel’s support for the project, is downright peculiar given Merkel’s tough stance on Vladimir Putin over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.You cannot push other EU Member States to stay firm on sanctions, yet strike a pipeline deal with the Kremlin at the same time. Italy’s Matteo Renzi was right in pointing out Germany’s double standards. Worse, the project directly contradicts every political goal agreed upon at European level concerning EU energy policy. Germany’s Ostpolitik handling of Nord Stream II is doing no favours for Berlin or Europe.Interestingly, hard security aspects appear wholly absent from the discussions at the EU level, despite the fact that naval movement in the Baltic Sea will be affected by the construction work throughout the whole building period.The transport of pipes will disrupt maritime traffic above and below the sea level across the whole length of the Baltic Sea, from Northwest Russia in the Finnish, Swedish, German and Danish exclusive economic zones, and right off the coast of Poland, and the three Baltic States.In light of the ongoing tensions with Russia, and the fact that building Nord Stream II will take many months and involves construction bases on Nato and EU territory, this is a factor to consider when assessing the broader security ramifications of the project. Perhaps this sheds a different light on why the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is not used as a base for construction.A scenario of Russian area denial tactics under the cover of pipeline construction poses a risk to lightly defended areas such as the Swedish island of Gotland which will not see the return of troops stationed there until 2018. Worse, area denial vis-a-vis non-Nato member states Sweden and Finland would render the defence of the three Baltic States – if required in the event of a few "little green men" paying a quasi-permanent visit – even more complicated than it already is.These risks set aside, upon completion of the pipeline, you can expect the Russian navy to increase its presence in the area to "protect" Nord Stream II.-See you in court-According to the European Commission’s energy directorate general EU competition regulations apply to the whole project, including the offshore section. This would mean Gazprom has a problem, as it cannot simultaneously own the infrastructure, as well as supply the gas.However, the European Commission’s legal service in a recent opinion claimed EU energy market rules in fact do not apply. Finding a conclusive answer to this question is essential to determine whether Nord Stream II can be built.The European Court of Justice is an excellent place to settle disputes like these. Sure, you run the risk of losing the case, but the stakes are simply too high to rely on a political settlement which would likely undermine the Energy Union anyhow.Moreover, from a security point of view, the risks to the Baltic Sea region should not be underestimated. Germany, which has acted as the custodian of the Minsk II agreement, really should know better than to engage in such harmful deals with Russia.The new Crude World monthly column on Eurasian (energy) security and power politics in Europe’s eastern neighbourhood is written by Sijbren de Jong, a strategic analyst with The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), specialised in Eurasian (energy) security and the EU’s relations with Russia and the former Soviet Union.
