KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI JUNE 22,2012
09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +64.34
10:30 AM +42.99
11:00 AM +52.98
11:30 AM +49.05
12:00 PM +60.93
12:30 PM +56.31
01:00 PM +51.58
01:30 PM +49.43
02:00 PM +55.25
02:30 PM +60.61
03:00 PM +74.44
03:30 PM +68.77
04:00 PM +71.22 12,644.79
S&P 500 1335.27 +9.76
NASDAQ 2892.42 +33.33
GOLD 1,570.00 +4.50
OIL 80.04 +1.84
TSE 300 11,435.654 +27.22
CDNX 1206.03 -11.32
S&P/TSX/60 655.37 +2.89
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +67 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +67 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,562.50.OIL opens at $78.67 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today so far.
Dow +74 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +74 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(THE FALSE POPE WHO DEFECTED FROM THE CHRISTIAN FAITH) causeth all,(IN THE WORLD ) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(MICROCHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,(MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the name of the beast,(WORLD DICTATORS NAME INGRAVED ON YOUR SKIN OR TATTOOED ON YOU OR IN THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT) or the number of his name.(THE NUMBERS OF HIS NAME INGRAVED IN THE MICROCHIP IMLPLANT)-(ALL THESE WILL TELL THE WORLD DICTATOR THAT YOUR WITH HIM AND AGAINST KING JESUS-GOD)
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:(WORLD LEADER) for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM (6006006)OR(60020202006)(SOME KIND OF NUMBER IMPLANTED IN THE MICROCHIP THAT TELLS THE WORLD DICTATOR AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER THAT YOU GIVE YOUR TOTAL ALLIGIENCE TO HIM AND NOT JESUS)(ITS AN ETERNAL DECISION YOU MAKE)(YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINY)(YOU TAKE THE DICTATORS NAME OR NUMBER UNDER YOUR SKIN,YOUR DOOMED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND TORMENTS FOREVER,NEVER ENDING MEANT ONLY FOR SATAN AND HIS ANGELS,NOT HUMAN BEINGS).OR YOU REFUSE THE MICROCHIP IMPLANT AND GO ON THE SIDE OF KING JESUS AND RULE FOREVER WITH HIM ON EARTH.YOU CHOOSE,ITS YOUR DECISION.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PX-vW4VccY&feature=player_embedded#!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/indexes/
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI JUNE 22,2012
09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +64.34
10:30 AM +42.99
11:00 AM +52.98
11:30 AM +49.05
12:00 PM +60.93
12:30 PM +56.31
01:00 PM +51.58
01:30 PM +49.43
02:00 PM +55.25
02:30 PM +60.61
03:00 PM +74.44
03:30 PM +68.77
04:00 PM +71.22 12,644.79
S&P 500 1335.27 +9.76
NASDAQ 2892.42 +33.33
GOLD 1,570.00 +4.50
OIL 80.04 +1.84
TSE 300 11,435.654 +27.22
CDNX 1206.03 -11.32
S&P/TSX/60 655.37 +2.89
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +67 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +67 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,562.50.OIL opens at $78.67 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today so far.
Dow +74 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow +1 points at low today.
Dow +74 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,902.60 (NOT AT CLOSE)
EU hands personal data to US authorities on daily basis
Today @ 09:49 JUNE 22,12
BRUSSELS - EU and US co-operation in
combatting terrorism remains shrouded in secrecy as Europol, the EU
police agency, refuses to render public an inspection report that
details how financial data is handed over to US authorities.The document, written by the joint-supervisory body (JSB) which
supervises the data protection rules are properly applied at Europol,
noted on Thursday (21 June) that the EU agency transfers bulk data on a
daily basis to the US department of treasury.The transfers follow a controversial terrorist financing tracking
program (TFTP) agreement, adopted by the European Parliament in the
summer of 2010.
TFTP provides the US authorities information on international financial transactions via the European transactions processing firm Swift. The aim is to prevent and fight terrorism and its financing.Many MEPs were led to believe the European Commission would, within a year of the agreement, set up a system that would ensure the Americans would only get the data they had required.But two years later the Commission has yet to implement a system that would filter out the data, says Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie In't Veld.
“The Americans want a needle, and we give them a haystack,” In't Veld told this website.“Europol has never rejected a request. They also grant requests orally over the telephone. It is a complete violation of the terms of the agreement,” said In't Veld.Europol is supposed to verify that US requests for SWIFT data comply with the terms of the international agreement. They do not see or manage the provided data, which is transferred directly from the source to the US treasury.However, the terms would supposedly limit the number of transactions and ensure EU data protection protocols are respected. Requests must be tailored as narrowly as possible to minimise the amount of data requested, says the agreement.But the JSB report, of which only 3.5 pages were made public, noted that “Europol does not know the amount of data actually transferred.”Furthermore, the JSB report says data relating to certain financial transactions are provided to the US “for a time frame containing every single day of the year, year on year.”Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, told the European Parliament committee of civil liberties that the Americans had requested the Commission label the full JSB document an EU secret.“It’s classified EU secret by the US and quite frankly I’m not going to break my own legal framework that would potentially harm the public interest,” said Rainwright.He also rejected the allegation that requests are made over the telephone. He noted that the Americans attach a document, averaging 56 pages in length, explaining why they need the data in each request.Europol's internal assessment of the requests adds another ten pages, on average. The JSB say these explanations and assessments are generally just copy-pasted.Rainwright also noted that single euro payment area (SEPA), an initiative by the European banking industry to make all EU payments electronic, is never handed out the US. However, SEPA was already excluded from the TFTP agreement, said In't Veld.
“We [European Parliament] lied to the public when we said we took their interest first. We did not. This is unbelievable in my view,” stated Green MEP Jan-Philip Albrecht.The US press had revealed in 2006 that American authorities were secretly accessing and pulling data from SWIFT.SWIFT was then relocated to Europe in 2009 where more stringent data protection rules would reportedly prevent the Americans from illegally accessing the financial transaction trails of European citizens.
TFTP provides the US authorities information on international financial transactions via the European transactions processing firm Swift. The aim is to prevent and fight terrorism and its financing.Many MEPs were led to believe the European Commission would, within a year of the agreement, set up a system that would ensure the Americans would only get the data they had required.But two years later the Commission has yet to implement a system that would filter out the data, says Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie In't Veld.
“The Americans want a needle, and we give them a haystack,” In't Veld told this website.“Europol has never rejected a request. They also grant requests orally over the telephone. It is a complete violation of the terms of the agreement,” said In't Veld.Europol is supposed to verify that US requests for SWIFT data comply with the terms of the international agreement. They do not see or manage the provided data, which is transferred directly from the source to the US treasury.However, the terms would supposedly limit the number of transactions and ensure EU data protection protocols are respected. Requests must be tailored as narrowly as possible to minimise the amount of data requested, says the agreement.But the JSB report, of which only 3.5 pages were made public, noted that “Europol does not know the amount of data actually transferred.”Furthermore, the JSB report says data relating to certain financial transactions are provided to the US “for a time frame containing every single day of the year, year on year.”Rob Wainwright, director of Europol, told the European Parliament committee of civil liberties that the Americans had requested the Commission label the full JSB document an EU secret.“It’s classified EU secret by the US and quite frankly I’m not going to break my own legal framework that would potentially harm the public interest,” said Rainwright.He also rejected the allegation that requests are made over the telephone. He noted that the Americans attach a document, averaging 56 pages in length, explaining why they need the data in each request.Europol's internal assessment of the requests adds another ten pages, on average. The JSB say these explanations and assessments are generally just copy-pasted.Rainwright also noted that single euro payment area (SEPA), an initiative by the European banking industry to make all EU payments electronic, is never handed out the US. However, SEPA was already excluded from the TFTP agreement, said In't Veld.
“We [European Parliament] lied to the public when we said we took their interest first. We did not. This is unbelievable in my view,” stated Green MEP Jan-Philip Albrecht.The US press had revealed in 2006 that American authorities were secretly accessing and pulling data from SWIFT.SWIFT was then relocated to Europe in 2009 where more stringent data protection rules would reportedly prevent the Americans from illegally accessing the financial transaction trails of European citizens.
IMF anti-crisis recipe puts pressure on Germany
Today @ 09:23
LUXEMBOURG - The International Monetary
Fund (IMF) on Thursday (21 June) outlined a series of measures it says
should be taken if the eurozone crisis is to be overcome, including more
cental bank intervention and allowing banks to be funded directly by
bail-out funds - two ideas Germany opposes.
Markets continue to "question the viability" of the eurozone and put banks and governments under "acute stress," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a press conference at the end of six-hour talks with eurozone finance ministers in the Eurogroup."A determined and forceful move towards completing the economic and monetary union is needed to restore faith in the system," she said, outlining six steps the IMF will propose to EU leaders when they meet next week.Concluding an annual review of the situation in the eurozone, the recommendations are more in line with southern countries' views on how to overcome the crisis than those of Berlin.Among the three short-term measures envisaged by the IMF is a "creative and inventive monetary policy" by the European Central Bank - be it through a lower key interest rate or a resumption of the bond purchasing programme that last year brought Italy and Spain's borrowing costs down."We believe the ECB has the space to do so," Lagarde said, despite recent comments by ECB officials that they are not considering further intervention - a position in line with German central bank thinking.Another short-term measure - again viewed dimly in Germany - is to give banks direct access to the eurozone bail-out funds, so as to "break the negative feedback between banks and sovereigns governments."Berlin continues to insist that the current rules of the bail-out funds be respected. This means that any aid for national banks has to go through the government. A bail-out for the Spanish banks is to be negotiated in the coming weeks and decided on 9 July, with the IMF set to be involved with expertise in drafting the reforms plan for the banking sector.Asked whether Germany has signalled a shift in its position on the direct funding for banks, Lagarde said she hoped "wisdom will prevail and that the best solution will be at least looked at, when weighed against its drawback."In line with German demands, however, are other points, such as further ceding of sovereignty on the fiscal front, more democratic control and oversight and "intermediate steps towards limited sharing of funds, be it bonds or bills, between member states, but conditional on more centralised control and compliance."Plans for a "banking union" being considered next week by EU leaders should include common European supervision (a German demand), clear rules for banks being let go or rescued and a eurozone-wide deposit insurance.The European Commission "agrees with the IMF proposals, especially on breaking the negative feedback loops between sovereign and banks," economics commissioner Olli Rehn said during the same press conference.He dampened hopes of a long-term plan to be ironed out next week, however, saying that EU leaders are likely to define only the working method and "agree in the fall on a roadmap towards the economic and monetary union 2.0.""We are rebuilding the EMU at this critical juncture," he said.
Markets continue to "question the viability" of the eurozone and put banks and governments under "acute stress," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a press conference at the end of six-hour talks with eurozone finance ministers in the Eurogroup."A determined and forceful move towards completing the economic and monetary union is needed to restore faith in the system," she said, outlining six steps the IMF will propose to EU leaders when they meet next week.Concluding an annual review of the situation in the eurozone, the recommendations are more in line with southern countries' views on how to overcome the crisis than those of Berlin.Among the three short-term measures envisaged by the IMF is a "creative and inventive monetary policy" by the European Central Bank - be it through a lower key interest rate or a resumption of the bond purchasing programme that last year brought Italy and Spain's borrowing costs down."We believe the ECB has the space to do so," Lagarde said, despite recent comments by ECB officials that they are not considering further intervention - a position in line with German central bank thinking.Another short-term measure - again viewed dimly in Germany - is to give banks direct access to the eurozone bail-out funds, so as to "break the negative feedback between banks and sovereigns governments."Berlin continues to insist that the current rules of the bail-out funds be respected. This means that any aid for national banks has to go through the government. A bail-out for the Spanish banks is to be negotiated in the coming weeks and decided on 9 July, with the IMF set to be involved with expertise in drafting the reforms plan for the banking sector.Asked whether Germany has signalled a shift in its position on the direct funding for banks, Lagarde said she hoped "wisdom will prevail and that the best solution will be at least looked at, when weighed against its drawback."In line with German demands, however, are other points, such as further ceding of sovereignty on the fiscal front, more democratic control and oversight and "intermediate steps towards limited sharing of funds, be it bonds or bills, between member states, but conditional on more centralised control and compliance."Plans for a "banking union" being considered next week by EU leaders should include common European supervision (a German demand), clear rules for banks being let go or rescued and a eurozone-wide deposit insurance.The European Commission "agrees with the IMF proposals, especially on breaking the negative feedback loops between sovereign and banks," economics commissioner Olli Rehn said during the same press conference.He dampened hopes of a long-term plan to be ironed out next week, however, saying that EU leaders are likely to define only the working method and "agree in the fall on a roadmap towards the economic and monetary union 2.0.""We are rebuilding the EMU at this critical juncture," he said.
Monti ups the stakes ahead of EU summit
Today @ 09:29 JUNE 22,12
BRUSSELS - Italy’s technocratic leader
Mario Monti is warning of dramatic consequences should leaders at next
week’s EU summit fail to find concrete solutions to save the euro and
prevent contagion.
He told reporters in Rome on Thursday (21 June) that the doomsday scenario at the EU summit would invariably lead to higher borrowing costs on all EU countries.“There would be progressively greater speculative attacks on individual countries, with harassment of the weaker countries,” he said.An EU summit stalemate would risk turning Italians even more against the EU, he noted, with his government pushing through unpopular labour reforms, tax hikes and pension cuts.Monti is also calling for a fuller banking union, a European deposit guarantee, and “new market-friendly policy mechanisms” to help struggling countries.
The mechanism would apply to countries who “respect the rules on public finance and structural reforms”. Monti did not disclose the full details of his plan but said he favours the purchase of bonds of countries under attack, reports the Guardian.Italy, whose borrowing costs are soaring, had earlier floated the idea of using the €440bn eurozone bailout fund to buy bonds on the market. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had however quickly shot down the idea.“There must be something wrong if a country that complies still has such high interest rates,” Monti told the Guardian.Meanwhile, Italy’s ten-year bonds hit six percent and are rising. Analysts predict Italy’s weak exports may also stifle any kind of significant growth for at least another year. The country is also burdened by €2 trillion in public debt.Monti is hoping to secure a preliminary deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande, and Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy. All three are meeting him in Rome on Friday evening (22 June) to figure out how to achieve a fiscal and banking union in the euro zone.Spain, reports Reuters, may also use the occasion to formally request for a €100 billion following revelations on Thursday that its banking sector needs €62 billion in extra capital.Over a dozen European banks have also been hit by another downgrade by credit rating agency Moodys. Some 15 banks and financial institutions, including Germany’s Deutsche Bank, had their ratings cut on Thursday.“All of the banks affected by today's actions have significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses inherent to capital markets activities,” Moody’s global banking managing director Greg Bauer said in the agency’s statement.Credit Suisse had its rating cut by three notches. Ratings for four of the banks were cut by one notch and another ten by two. Credit Suisse's chief financial officer, David Mathers, told Reuters that Moody’s still recognises the bank as highly rated despite the three notch drop.The downgrades come on the heels of a Europe that is progressively sliding into a recession.
He told reporters in Rome on Thursday (21 June) that the doomsday scenario at the EU summit would invariably lead to higher borrowing costs on all EU countries.“There would be progressively greater speculative attacks on individual countries, with harassment of the weaker countries,” he said.An EU summit stalemate would risk turning Italians even more against the EU, he noted, with his government pushing through unpopular labour reforms, tax hikes and pension cuts.Monti is also calling for a fuller banking union, a European deposit guarantee, and “new market-friendly policy mechanisms” to help struggling countries.
The mechanism would apply to countries who “respect the rules on public finance and structural reforms”. Monti did not disclose the full details of his plan but said he favours the purchase of bonds of countries under attack, reports the Guardian.Italy, whose borrowing costs are soaring, had earlier floated the idea of using the €440bn eurozone bailout fund to buy bonds on the market. German Chancellor Angela Merkel had however quickly shot down the idea.“There must be something wrong if a country that complies still has such high interest rates,” Monti told the Guardian.Meanwhile, Italy’s ten-year bonds hit six percent and are rising. Analysts predict Italy’s weak exports may also stifle any kind of significant growth for at least another year. The country is also burdened by €2 trillion in public debt.Monti is hoping to secure a preliminary deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande, and Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy. All three are meeting him in Rome on Friday evening (22 June) to figure out how to achieve a fiscal and banking union in the euro zone.Spain, reports Reuters, may also use the occasion to formally request for a €100 billion following revelations on Thursday that its banking sector needs €62 billion in extra capital.Over a dozen European banks have also been hit by another downgrade by credit rating agency Moodys. Some 15 banks and financial institutions, including Germany’s Deutsche Bank, had their ratings cut on Thursday.“All of the banks affected by today's actions have significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses inherent to capital markets activities,” Moody’s global banking managing director Greg Bauer said in the agency’s statement.Credit Suisse had its rating cut by three notches. Ratings for four of the banks were cut by one notch and another ten by two. Credit Suisse's chief financial officer, David Mathers, told Reuters that Moody’s still recognises the bank as highly rated despite the three notch drop.The downgrades come on the heels of a Europe that is progressively sliding into a recession.
ECB set to relax collateral rules
Today @ 09:02 JUNE 22,12 By EUOBSERVER
The European Central Bank may decide Friday to accept more types of
securities as collateral to ease troubled banks lending, the Wall Street
Journal reports. The move is likely to spark concerns already flagged
by the German Bundesbank over the soundness of the ECB’s balance sheet.
Spain to apply for bank bail-out Friday
Today @ 07:07 JUNE 22,12By EUOBSERVER
Spain will officially request a eurozone bailout for its troubled
banks on Friday, French finance minister Pierre Moscovici said at the
end of a Eurogroup meeting. An audit published Thursday showed banks may
need up to €62 billion. A final decision on the figure will be taken on
9 July.
By Rick Rothacker and Steve Slater | Reuters – 3 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
BANKS CHALLENGE RATINGS
WAIT AND SEE
Moody's said while the banks have been making changes to improve their profits, it was taking a wait-and-see attitude."These transformations are ongoing and their success has yet to be tested," Moody's said.Bank of America spokesman Jerry Dubrowski said the second-largest U.S. bank has strengthened its governance and risk management and ended the first quarter of 2012 with record capital ratios, record liquidity and substantial reserves."We have significant liquidity and resources to serve clients and customers as we have transformed the company," he said.Royal Bank of Scotland said the ratings changes were "backward-looking" and do "not give adequate credit for the substantial improvements the Group has made to its balance sheet, funding and risk profile", but said they were manageable.Ahead of the Moody's downgrades, corporate treasurers had quietly accelerated their own reviews of where to put their bank deposits, who they trade swaps with and who they borrow from.Some had prepared by adding more banks to their credit facilities to diversify the risk of a Lehman Brothers-like bank failure. Some also adjusted their deposit relationships.Banks, for their part, had been reaching out to treasurers both offensively and defensively, trying to keep clients and win new business ahead of potential turmoil from Moody's review.
(Reporting by Steve Slater, Matt Scuffham and Rick Rothacker. Additional reporting by Ben Berkowitz, Jed Horowitz, Lauren Tara LaCapra, Danielle Robinson and David Henry; Editing by Alwyn Scott, Elaine Hardcastle, Carol Bishopric and John Mair)
AFP – 26 mins ago JUNE 22,12
Moody's cuts ratings of 15 banks
By Rick Rothacker and Steve Slater | Reuters – 3 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
CHARLOTTE,
N.C./LONDON (Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's downgraded 15 of the
world's biggest banks on Thursday, lowering credit ratings by one to
three notches to reflect the risk of losses they face from volatile
capital markets activities, but banks criticized the move as backward
looking.Morgan Stanley,
one of the most closely watched firms in the much anticipated review,
had its long-term debt rating lowered by just two notches, one level
less than had been expected, sending its stock up sharply in after-hours
trading.The downgrade left Morgan Stanley more highly rated than Bank of America Corp and Citigroup, but a step below Goldman Sachs Group.Credit Suisse, which last week was warned about weak
capital levels by Switzerland's central bank, was the only bank in the
group to suffer a three-notch downgrade. But its new A1 deposit and
senior debt ratings still rank higher than many of its peers."All of the banks affected by today's actions have
significant exposure to the volatility and risk of outsized losses
inherent to capital markets activities," Moody's Global Banking Managing
Director Greg Bauer said in the announcement.Financial markets have been bracing for the downgrades
since February, when Moody's Investors Service said it had launched a
review of 17 banks with global capital markets operations. These
companies faced diminished profitability and growth prospects due to
difficult operating conditions, increased regulation and other factors,
Moody's said.The long-term debt ratings cuts could increase funding costs for Morgan Stanley
and other banks, and trading partners may ask for more collateral. But
the impact could be muted since the changes were in-line with
indications given by Moody's on how much the ratings were likely to be
cut."The biggest
surprise is the three-notch downgrade of Credit Suisse, which no one was
looking for," said Mark Grant, managing director at Southwest
Securities Inc. "In fact, it was Morgan Stanley that was supposed to be downgraded by that amount and Morgan received only two notches of cuts."David Mathers, Credit Suisse's chief financial officer,
said the firm was pleased that Moody's continued to recognize it as one
of the most highly rated banks in its peer group.Besides Morgan Stanley,
two other banks fared better than they could have. UBS could have been
downgraded by three notches but was only bumped down two spots. HSBC
could have fallen by two, but dropped only one notch.
Other banks downgraded by two notches were: Barclays, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Canada, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Agricole, and Deutsche Bank.Along with HSBC, ratings for Bank of America, Royal Bank of Scotland and Societe Generale were also cut by one notch.Nomura and Macquarie were included in an original list
of global banks under review, but have already been downgraded.In a statement, Morgan Stanley said its ratings "still do not fully reflect the key strategic actions we have taken in recent years.""With our de-risked balance sheet, stable sources of
funding, diverse business mix and strong leadership team, we are well
positioned to deliver for clients and shareholders."Citigroup
went beyond defending itself to blasting Moody's for its treatment of
U.S. banks in general, and then to praising institutional investors and
the U.S. Congress for showing less respect for the agency."We have been
especially surprised by Moody's disproportionately adverse treatment of
U.S. firms relative to banks in Europe," Citigroup said in a statement.Moody's released the downgrades after U.S. stock
markets had closed on Thursday. Bank stocks had fallen as investor's
prepared the announcement, which was anticipated because Moody's had
told banks it was coming, according to sources.Morgan Stanley shares declined nearly 1.7 percent to close at $13.96, while Bank of America shares fell nearly 4 percent to $7.82. The KBW Banks Index was down 2.3 percent.But after suffering only a two-notch cut, instead of three as anticipated, Morgan Stanley shares rose 43 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $14.39 in after-market trading.
The market for bank bonds rallied on relief that the long wait for Moody's announcement was over and that Morgan Stanley's rating reduction was only two notches."The ratings profile will be seen as having returned to
stability," Scott Kimball, senior portfolio manager for Taplin, Canida
& Habacht, a fixed-income investment firm affiliated with Bank of
Montreal. The rally lifted hopes for an end to an eight-week drought in
new bond issues from the biggest U.S. banks.WAIT AND SEE
Moody's went
through "an exceptionally deliberate and detailed process in a
four-month review in coming to this," Bob Young, Moody's managing
director for North American banking, said when asked about criticism
from Citigroup and some outside analysts that Moody's was looking backwards with its downgrades.
Young said that the agency had looked closely at the
history of failures of lower-rated banks in setting the new ratings.In downgrading Citigroup, Moody's said it considered the bank's volatile earnings and the problems it had managing risk in the financial crisis."They have brought in new people and changed the risk
management structure and that is positive. We will see how they
perform," Young said.After the review,
Moody's divided the global banks into three tiers, with HSBC, Royal Bank
of Canada and JPMorgan at the top. Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland were in the bottom tier.
Capital markets risks are significant for the
highest-rated firms, but the institutions have stronger "shock
absorbers" in the form of earnings from generally more stable
businesses, Moody's said.The lowest-rated banks have more volatility or problems
with risk management, and in some cases thinner shock absorbers.Moody's said while the banks have been making changes to improve their profits, it was taking a wait-and-see attitude."These transformations are ongoing and their success has yet to be tested," Moody's said.Bank of America spokesman Jerry Dubrowski said the second-largest U.S. bank has strengthened its governance and risk management and ended the first quarter of 2012 with record capital ratios, record liquidity and substantial reserves."We have significant liquidity and resources to serve clients and customers as we have transformed the company," he said.Royal Bank of Scotland said the ratings changes were "backward-looking" and do "not give adequate credit for the substantial improvements the Group has made to its balance sheet, funding and risk profile", but said they were manageable.Ahead of the Moody's downgrades, corporate treasurers had quietly accelerated their own reviews of where to put their bank deposits, who they trade swaps with and who they borrow from.Some had prepared by adding more banks to their credit facilities to diversify the risk of a Lehman Brothers-like bank failure. Some also adjusted their deposit relationships.Banks, for their part, had been reaching out to treasurers both offensively and defensively, trying to keep clients and win new business ahead of potential turmoil from Moody's review.
(Reporting by Steve Slater, Matt Scuffham and Rick Rothacker. Additional reporting by Ben Berkowitz, Jed Horowitz, Lauren Tara LaCapra, Danielle Robinson and David Henry; Editing by Alwyn Scott, Elaine Hardcastle, Carol Bishopric and John Mair)
Gaza militants fire two rockets into Israel: army
AFP – 26 mins ago JUNE 22,12
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets that hit Israel on Friday, a military spokeswoman said, as a truce declared by the Islamist Hamas ruling the enclave entered its second day.The spokeswoman told AFP that the rockets, which struck southern Israel, did not cause casualties or damage.On Thursday, 12 rockets and mortar rounds hit Israel, and another was intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-rocket defence system.
Also on Thursday, Palestinians said they had recovered the bodies of two militants from a tunnel damaged by an Israeli air strike on Gaza, raising to 10 the death toll in the territory since Monday.The two were killed by gas fumes as they inspected the tunnel that was hit on Tuesday, the military wing of Hamas said.
By KIRIT RADIA | ABC News – 18 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
The ship is scheduled to arrive Saturday in the Russian port of Murmansk, which is near its far northern border with Finland, where it will drop its Curacao flag and re-register as a Russian ship.The Mi-25 helicopters were sold to Syria in the waning days of the Soviet Union and had been sent back to Russia for repairs.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained publicly that Russia was sending the aircraft back to Syria despite reports that the Syrian government had stepped up their use in attacks that have killed civilians.
Russia has come under international criticism for continuing its arms sales to Syria despite the increasing violence over the past year. The Kremlin has argued that there is no arms embargo prohibiting such transfers, though that is true in part because Russia has blocked measures that would impose one. It says the weapons it is providing to Syria are only defensive ones that could not be used in a civilian conflict.In his interview with Ekho Mosky, Lavrov said it was "completely false" to charge that Russia had "delivered helicopters which were used against demonstrators." He said the choppers aboard the Alaed were disassembled. "They need to be rebuilt, taking around three months."Still, weapons like the Russian air defense systems could deter international intervention, which Russia remains staunchly opposed to.Syria is one of Russia's biggest arms clients, with existing contracts worth between $5-6 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms transfers.Russia is also one of the largest arms exporters in the world. On Thursday a Kremlin aide said that Russia expects to sell about $12 billion worth of weapons in 2012, up from $11 billion last year.Numerous Russian news reports say that Russia is preparing to send at least two navy ships to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia maintains a ramshackle base and refueling depot. The ships are reportedly carrying hundreds of Russian marines which would secure the base and potentially evacuate Russian citizens from Syria, a sign of the deteriorating security situation in the country. Last weekend the United Nations suspended its monitoring mission in the country because of security concerns.
On Thursday the Russian Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Damascus denied reports that Russia is preparing to evacuate Russian citizens.On Wednesday the Russian Defense Ministry denied separate Russian news reports that a third ship, from its Baltic Fleet, was also preparing to travel to Syria to aid in the mission.
AFP – 6 mins ago JUNE 22,12
Also on Thursday, Palestinians said they had recovered the bodies of two militants from a tunnel damaged by an Israeli air strike on Gaza, raising to 10 the death toll in the territory since Monday.The two were killed by gas fumes as they inspected the tunnel that was hit on Tuesday, the military wing of Hamas said.
Since the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades military wing declared an
Egypt-brokered ceasefire with the Jewish state late on Wednesday, Israel
has not launched any raids against Gaza.The latest round of attack and counter-attack began with air strikes
on Monday morning, just hours after gunmen from Sinai staged an ambush
along Israel's southern border with Egypt, killing an Israeli civilian.Israel has said that its sudden spike in Gaza operations -- three
deadly air raids in just over 12 hours -- was "in no way related" to the
border incident, with the military saying warplanes were targeting
militants about to attack.Since Monday, 132 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired at
Israel, of which four have been brought down by Iron Dome, an army
spokeswoman told AFP on Friday.One rocket slammed into an Israeli border police post, wounding four people.The Hamas military wing said in
its statement on Wednesday that it had fired 120 rockets in a rare show
of force from the Islamist group that had been observing a de facto
truce.
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
JEREMIAH 47:1-7
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN/ARABS) before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,(NORTHERN TSUNAMI POSSIBLY) and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses,(ISRAELS ARMY) at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;(ISRAEL POSSIBLY NUKES GAZA)
4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN FAKE ARABS) and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5 Baldness is come upon Gaza;(NUKED POSSIBLY) Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6 O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7 How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? (MEDITTERANEAN SEA) there hath he appointed it.
DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south ( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 750 MILLION DEAD I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS-MUSLIMS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37 For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
JEREMIAH 47:1-7
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN/ARABS) before that Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north,(NORTHERN TSUNAMI POSSIBLY) and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses,(ISRAELS ARMY) at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands;(ISRAEL POSSIBLY NUKES GAZA)
4 Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines,(PALESTINIAN FAKE ARABS) and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.
5 Baldness is come upon Gaza;(NUKED POSSIBLY) Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
6 O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.
7 How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? (MEDITTERANEAN SEA) there hath he appointed it.
DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south ( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 750 MILLION DEAD I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS-MUSLIMS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,ARAB,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Russia Admits Attack Choppers Aboard Syria-Bound Ship
By KIRIT RADIA | ABC News – 18 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
Russia
has confirmed for the first time that the cargo ship MV Alaed, which is
now headed back to Russia, was carrying refurbished Russian attack helicopters and components for an anti-aircraft defense system that were bound for Syria."The ship was carrying air defense systems, which can only be used to
repel foreign aggression, and not against peaceful demonstrators, and
yes -- it was carrying three refurbished helicopters," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian radio station Echo Moskvy.
The Alaed had to turn back earlier this week as it traveled around
Scotland after its British insurer pulled its coverage following
pressure from the British government because it was believed to be
carrying weapons.
The ship is scheduled to arrive Saturday in the Russian port of Murmansk, which is near its far northern border with Finland, where it will drop its Curacao flag and re-register as a Russian ship.The Mi-25 helicopters were sold to Syria in the waning days of the Soviet Union and had been sent back to Russia for repairs.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton complained publicly that Russia was sending the aircraft back to Syria despite reports that the Syrian government had stepped up their use in attacks that have killed civilians.
Russia has come under international criticism for continuing its arms sales to Syria despite the increasing violence over the past year. The Kremlin has argued that there is no arms embargo prohibiting such transfers, though that is true in part because Russia has blocked measures that would impose one. It says the weapons it is providing to Syria are only defensive ones that could not be used in a civilian conflict.In his interview with Ekho Mosky, Lavrov said it was "completely false" to charge that Russia had "delivered helicopters which were used against demonstrators." He said the choppers aboard the Alaed were disassembled. "They need to be rebuilt, taking around three months."Still, weapons like the Russian air defense systems could deter international intervention, which Russia remains staunchly opposed to.Syria is one of Russia's biggest arms clients, with existing contracts worth between $5-6 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms transfers.Russia is also one of the largest arms exporters in the world. On Thursday a Kremlin aide said that Russia expects to sell about $12 billion worth of weapons in 2012, up from $11 billion last year.Numerous Russian news reports say that Russia is preparing to send at least two navy ships to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia maintains a ramshackle base and refueling depot. The ships are reportedly carrying hundreds of Russian marines which would secure the base and potentially evacuate Russian citizens from Syria, a sign of the deteriorating security situation in the country. Last weekend the United Nations suspended its monitoring mission in the country because of security concerns.
On Thursday the Russian Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Damascus denied reports that Russia is preparing to evacuate Russian citizens.On Wednesday the Russian Defense Ministry denied separate Russian news reports that a third ship, from its Baltic Fleet, was also preparing to travel to Syria to aid in the mission.
Russia remains one of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's few remaining
backers, and use of the Syrian port of Tartus gives Russia's navy reach
into the Mediterranean Sea. Recently, however, the Kremlin has shown
signs of impatience with its longtime ally, including reports this week
that Russia may finally be willing to help transition Assad from power.
Russia has denied that it is shielding Assad. It insists that no foreign
power can remove him from power, saying that can only be determined by
the Syrian people.Russia is organizing an international conference of influential
countries that aims to find an end to the violence in Syria, which has
gone on for over a year and according to the United Nations has claimed
over 10,000 lives. RIA Novosti reported on Thursday that the conference
would take place on June 30 in Geneva.The United States has been skeptical of Russia's plans to invite Iran,
which it sees more as part of the problem rather than the solution.
More protests planned against Egypt military 'coup'
AFP – 6 mins ago JUNE 22,12
Egypt's political forces
have called for more protests on Friday against the ruling military's
power grab, as the nation nervously awaits the results of the first
post-Mubarak presidential election.Hundreds of people spent the night in Cairo's Tahrir Square, with more protests planned for Friday afternoon, the Muslim Brotherhood and secular movements said in statements.The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which took power when Hosni Mubarak
was ousted last year, will issue a statement at 1130 GMT, state
television said without providing any details, as anger mounts over the
perceived threat to the fragile democratic gains made since the
uprising.The Muslim Brotherhood, which claimed its candidate Mohamed Morsi had won the divisive election against ex-premier Ahmed Shafiq, has been holding crisis talks with the country's political forces.It is due to announce "a national project to defend the revolution," its political arm the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said.Morsi also spoke by telephone
with Nobel laureate and reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, as well as
with former presidential hopeful Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh ahead of the protests, the FJP said.The April 6 movement, which helped launch last year's uprising that
toppled Mubarak, said it would join the protests to express "its
rejection of the constitutional declaration" and "continue to fight for
the goals of the revolution."The National Front for Justice and Democracy said it rejected the
constitutional declaration "which constitutes a military coup."A recent set of measures consolidating the army's power has infuriated pro-democracy groups and raised concerns abroad.The ruling SCAF assumed legislative powers after a court ordered the
Islamist-led parliament dissolved and issued decrees giving the army
powers of arrest and a broad say in government policy, rendering the
president's post toothless.
By | Associated Press – 13 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
___
Al-Sheikh is one face of the rebel movement in Syria. There are many more.During two weeks in northern Syria, three Associated Press journalists counted more than 20 rebel groups, with anywhere from fewer than 100 to more than 1,000 fighters each. They go by names like the Idlib Martyrs Brigade and the Shield of the Revolution, and while all share a deep hatred of President Bashar Assad's regime, their unity stops there.
Simply put, no one is in charge.This comes at a time when efforts to end 15 months of strife in Syria are collapsing, and the rebel movement has taken the lead in the struggle against Assad. Some countries have talked of boosting the rebels' capabilities against the regime, and U.S. officials have told the AP that U.S. operatives are sifting among the rebel groups to determine which should receive arms from other Arab nations.Rebel coordination rarely extends beyond neighboring towns and villages and never to the provincial or national level. Many rebels don't even know the commanders in towns two hours away.While the regime has been brutal, so have some of the rebels — another cause of concern for the West.Opposition activists filter most information about the rebels sent outside the country, making it hard to get an accurate picture. But several groups said they had sent captured soldiers "to Cyprus," which the rebels use as a euphemism for execution usually by gunfire.One group said it had killed two brothers caught collaborating with the regime — one during interrogation, the other by firing squad.Rebels have scored small victories against regime forces throughout Syria's northern Idlib province. Armed with bought, looted or homemade weapons, they have destroyed government army posts and littered main highways with charred army vehicles.In the countryside, they roam freely in much more territory than was previously known, their bearded, camouflaged gunmen on motorcycles zipping through strings of towns and villages with no remaining police or security presence. Children often hail the fighters with V-for-victory signs and calls of "May God protect you!"
But Syria's army retains a chokehold on many large towns and cities with tanks, attack helicopters and heavy artillery, weapons that the rebels' current arms can't challenge.Indeed, more than two dozen rebel commanders, fighters and activists said that without better arms they can do no more than chip away at the regime — a recipe for a long, deadly insurgency."If we get military aid, the end will come quickly," said Ahmed Abdel-Qader, a rebel coordinator in the village of Koreen. "If not, we have no idea how this will end. We are here. We're not going back. God will decide the rest."Even groups associated with the Free Syrian Army, which claims to represent the armed opposition, bemoan the failure of its Turkey-based leadership to deliver aid. While they wait, most rely on guerrilla tactics.One afternoon, 50 fighters in a vast olive grove crawled under barbed wire, leaped over oil drums and dove through flaming hoops in training for future attacks. Most were in their 20s and 30s and had fled the provincial capital of Idlib when the army seized it in March. Their rifles can't match the tanks guarding the city, and they can't afford better weapons.
Commander Maan Dahnin said a Kalashnikov rifle now costs $1,500 and bullets are $4 each. That's why when they lined up for target practice, most fighters fired only a few times.Some weapons come from neighboring Iraq, though many are duds, and some from Turkey, he said. The best come from corrupt officers in the Syrian army itself."There are those who worry that the regime is going to fall, so they want to fill their pockets first," Dahnin said.For now, his group's 1,000 men never gather in one place, so that if they are shelled or come under fire, not everyone will die. Meanwhile, they focus on roadside bombs built with dynamite, sugar and fertilizer and detonated by remote control.Like most rebel commanders, Dahnin said his group gets no outside support."Here's the biggest proof," he said, pointing to a fighter wearing plastic flip-flops. "He's only good for one thing: toothpaste advertisements," he said, prying open the man's mouth to reveal a row of rotten teeth.The conflict in Syria has already killed more than 14,000 people and appears headed for civil war. The Syrian government has ignored popular demands for reform, instead blaming the violence on armed gangs and foreign-backed terrorists. Others have warned against an influx of Islamists. The AP journalists saw no evidence of foreign fighters.The uprising reached Idlib in April 2011, about a month after Syrian protesters inspired by other Arab Spring revolts first took to the streets and faced violent security crackdowns.The protests started small in Ariha, a busy commercial center on the face of a round-topped mountain, but residents were shocked when regime forces shot and killed five protesters in one day, said Khalid Naif, a doctor. Many more people then joined in, armed first with hunting guns and later with attack rifles.A year ago, the army surrounded the city and took over a downtown building, paralyzing the city center, Naif said. He easily named many of the dozens of people he has treated for gunshot and shrapnel wounds since. Others died before reaching the clinic.Early this month, when a military convoy arrived to quash the city's opposition, rebel fighters blew up tanks and armored cars in a hail of gunfire and grenades and stormed the army position downtown.Weeks later, battle scars remain. Three destroyed tanks sit in the main boulevard, their tops blown off like bottle caps. The former army post is charred black, and walls of nearby buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes.Graffiti on one wall reads, in English, "The people wants SOS." Elsewhere: "We bow only for God."But the rebel victory was limited. Some stores have reopened and shoppers have returned to downtown, but a ring of army checkpoints restricts movement in and out, forcing many residents to sneak out on foot. Military helicopters and snipers still target the city, wounding more people every week.The city's rebel commander, Jamal Akta, who ran a unisex barber shop before the uprising, said the battle had killed 10 civilians and no rebels. While proud of the fight, he said his men could do no more."If we get more weapons, we can get rid of all the checkpoints," he said. "But the ammunition we have now is enough to defend the city, no more than that."A ring of checkpoints with a central army post full of snipers and armored vehicles also strangles Khan Sheikhoun, a dusty, sun-baked city further south, on the country's main north-south highway. Local rebels can't clear out the army, so they blast military vehicles on the highway with rocket-propelled grenades. Two destroyed armored vehicles, one still on its trailer, now lie in the road, and local fighters say the army has changed its route."We can't face the regime as an army face to face, so we have to fight like street gangs," said Waddah Sirmani, head of one of the town's half-dozen rebel brigades.Fighters have also surrounded the central base and fire on supply vehicles to keep the soldiers inside hungry and short of ammunition, he said."You could say that those soldiers are imprisoned among us," said activist Hisham Nijim.Almost all the rebels the AP journalists met were from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, and many consider the fight a religious cause. When asked what they are fighting for, most said they are fed up with corruption, harassment by security services and a system that gives preference to members of the ruling Baath party and the Alawite sect, to which Assad belongs. The word they used most often was dignity."If I go to the beach, I don't want an Alawite to call me a dog and I can't respond," said Ahmed Salim, 27, who left the police for the rebels in October. "I don't want to be treated like an animal. I want to be treated like a human."Most fighters said they did not target other sects, only those who had fought for the regime.There was little evidence of rebel attacks on civilians, but they were often merciless with regime troops. For most, the fight to topple Assad has become personal after they have been chased from their cities, their friends and relatives killed. Many frequently flip through "martyr" photos on their cellphones for inspiration.One night at al-Sheikh's headquarters in Sarjeh, a group of fighters flipped through brigade photos on a laptop."Martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr," they said, pointing out those who had died fighting.Videos of the group's attacks showed roadside bombs destroying tanks and flipping over army buses, as Islamic chanting played in the background. In one video, a booby-trapped van sped toward a checkpoint and blew up, splattering two soldiers into nearby trees.The group was still high on a recent attack that had destroyed a military camp nearby. In the end, they photographed the dead bodies of 35 soldiers, drove off a tank they now park under a tree in the village graveyard and held trials for five captured soldiers. All were found guilty of killing other Syrians."They traveled to Cyprus," al-Sheikh said with a grin. "On a fast plane."EDITOR'S NOTE _ Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, gathering firsthand information on the increasingly bloody rebellion against President Bashar Assad _ the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.
Protesters have been in Tahrir Square since the constitutional document was issued on Sunday.The tension comes as the country
waits to find out who will be the next president, after the election
commission failed to announce the results on Thursday, saying it needed
more time to look into appeals by both candidates.
Morsi's rival Shafiq -- Mubarak's
last prime minister -- said he was confident he would be declared the
"legitimate" president, raising fears of unrest in a country exhausted
by political upheaval and insecurity of the transition from Mubarak's
rule.
AP IMPACT: Syria rebels divided, at times violent
By | Associated Press – 13 hrs ago JUNE 22,12
SARJEH, Syria
(AP) — Rebel commander Ahmed Eissa al-Sheikh keeps a paper on his desk
bearing the names of the dead from his brigade. The first 16 are neatly
typed below a Quranic verse extolling martyrdom. The next 14 are
handwritten and crammed into the margin, because the paper is full.
Al-Sheikh,
an Islamist with a long black beard and gray fatigues, runs the Falcons
of Damascus group from the mayor's office in his village, which his
fighters have taken over. The list is a constant reminder of al-Sheikh's
personal score with the Syrian regime: 20 of the dead are his
relatives, including three brothers and his 16-year-old son, all killed
fighting Syrian forces in the last year.One of northern Syria's
most powerful and best-armed commanders, Al-Sheikh boasts more than
1,000 fighters, and they don't shy away from rougher tactics themselves.
They have released prisoners in bomb-laden cars and then detonated them
at army checkpoints — turning the drivers into unwitting suicide
bombers.Most of their weapons are booty, including at least two
anti-aircraft guns, some anti-tank missiles and one tank, but they buy
arms with donations from "honorable businessmen." Although al-Sheikh,
who ran a grocery store before the uprising, wouldn't disclose the
source or amount, he gets enough to pay some of his men monthly salaries
of about $25, slightly more for those with wives and children. His
fighters say the cash comes from Syrian expatriates and other Arabs. He
was heard on the phone thanking a group in Bahrain."God willing, Syria will not bow to anyone but Allah after the regime falls," he said.___
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated
Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, gathering
firsthand information on the increasingly bloody rebellion against President Bashar Assad — the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.
___Al-Sheikh is one face of the rebel movement in Syria. There are many more.During two weeks in northern Syria, three Associated Press journalists counted more than 20 rebel groups, with anywhere from fewer than 100 to more than 1,000 fighters each. They go by names like the Idlib Martyrs Brigade and the Shield of the Revolution, and while all share a deep hatred of President Bashar Assad's regime, their unity stops there.
Simply put, no one is in charge.This comes at a time when efforts to end 15 months of strife in Syria are collapsing, and the rebel movement has taken the lead in the struggle against Assad. Some countries have talked of boosting the rebels' capabilities against the regime, and U.S. officials have told the AP that U.S. operatives are sifting among the rebel groups to determine which should receive arms from other Arab nations.Rebel coordination rarely extends beyond neighboring towns and villages and never to the provincial or national level. Many rebels don't even know the commanders in towns two hours away.While the regime has been brutal, so have some of the rebels — another cause of concern for the West.Opposition activists filter most information about the rebels sent outside the country, making it hard to get an accurate picture. But several groups said they had sent captured soldiers "to Cyprus," which the rebels use as a euphemism for execution usually by gunfire.One group said it had killed two brothers caught collaborating with the regime — one during interrogation, the other by firing squad.Rebels have scored small victories against regime forces throughout Syria's northern Idlib province. Armed with bought, looted or homemade weapons, they have destroyed government army posts and littered main highways with charred army vehicles.In the countryside, they roam freely in much more territory than was previously known, their bearded, camouflaged gunmen on motorcycles zipping through strings of towns and villages with no remaining police or security presence. Children often hail the fighters with V-for-victory signs and calls of "May God protect you!"
But Syria's army retains a chokehold on many large towns and cities with tanks, attack helicopters and heavy artillery, weapons that the rebels' current arms can't challenge.Indeed, more than two dozen rebel commanders, fighters and activists said that without better arms they can do no more than chip away at the regime — a recipe for a long, deadly insurgency."If we get military aid, the end will come quickly," said Ahmed Abdel-Qader, a rebel coordinator in the village of Koreen. "If not, we have no idea how this will end. We are here. We're not going back. God will decide the rest."Even groups associated with the Free Syrian Army, which claims to represent the armed opposition, bemoan the failure of its Turkey-based leadership to deliver aid. While they wait, most rely on guerrilla tactics.One afternoon, 50 fighters in a vast olive grove crawled under barbed wire, leaped over oil drums and dove through flaming hoops in training for future attacks. Most were in their 20s and 30s and had fled the provincial capital of Idlib when the army seized it in March. Their rifles can't match the tanks guarding the city, and they can't afford better weapons.
Commander Maan Dahnin said a Kalashnikov rifle now costs $1,500 and bullets are $4 each. That's why when they lined up for target practice, most fighters fired only a few times.Some weapons come from neighboring Iraq, though many are duds, and some from Turkey, he said. The best come from corrupt officers in the Syrian army itself."There are those who worry that the regime is going to fall, so they want to fill their pockets first," Dahnin said.For now, his group's 1,000 men never gather in one place, so that if they are shelled or come under fire, not everyone will die. Meanwhile, they focus on roadside bombs built with dynamite, sugar and fertilizer and detonated by remote control.Like most rebel commanders, Dahnin said his group gets no outside support."Here's the biggest proof," he said, pointing to a fighter wearing plastic flip-flops. "He's only good for one thing: toothpaste advertisements," he said, prying open the man's mouth to reveal a row of rotten teeth.The conflict in Syria has already killed more than 14,000 people and appears headed for civil war. The Syrian government has ignored popular demands for reform, instead blaming the violence on armed gangs and foreign-backed terrorists. Others have warned against an influx of Islamists. The AP journalists saw no evidence of foreign fighters.The uprising reached Idlib in April 2011, about a month after Syrian protesters inspired by other Arab Spring revolts first took to the streets and faced violent security crackdowns.The protests started small in Ariha, a busy commercial center on the face of a round-topped mountain, but residents were shocked when regime forces shot and killed five protesters in one day, said Khalid Naif, a doctor. Many more people then joined in, armed first with hunting guns and later with attack rifles.A year ago, the army surrounded the city and took over a downtown building, paralyzing the city center, Naif said. He easily named many of the dozens of people he has treated for gunshot and shrapnel wounds since. Others died before reaching the clinic.Early this month, when a military convoy arrived to quash the city's opposition, rebel fighters blew up tanks and armored cars in a hail of gunfire and grenades and stormed the army position downtown.Weeks later, battle scars remain. Three destroyed tanks sit in the main boulevard, their tops blown off like bottle caps. The former army post is charred black, and walls of nearby buildings are pockmarked with bullet holes.Graffiti on one wall reads, in English, "The people wants SOS." Elsewhere: "We bow only for God."But the rebel victory was limited. Some stores have reopened and shoppers have returned to downtown, but a ring of army checkpoints restricts movement in and out, forcing many residents to sneak out on foot. Military helicopters and snipers still target the city, wounding more people every week.The city's rebel commander, Jamal Akta, who ran a unisex barber shop before the uprising, said the battle had killed 10 civilians and no rebels. While proud of the fight, he said his men could do no more."If we get more weapons, we can get rid of all the checkpoints," he said. "But the ammunition we have now is enough to defend the city, no more than that."A ring of checkpoints with a central army post full of snipers and armored vehicles also strangles Khan Sheikhoun, a dusty, sun-baked city further south, on the country's main north-south highway. Local rebels can't clear out the army, so they blast military vehicles on the highway with rocket-propelled grenades. Two destroyed armored vehicles, one still on its trailer, now lie in the road, and local fighters say the army has changed its route."We can't face the regime as an army face to face, so we have to fight like street gangs," said Waddah Sirmani, head of one of the town's half-dozen rebel brigades.Fighters have also surrounded the central base and fire on supply vehicles to keep the soldiers inside hungry and short of ammunition, he said."You could say that those soldiers are imprisoned among us," said activist Hisham Nijim.Almost all the rebels the AP journalists met were from Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, and many consider the fight a religious cause. When asked what they are fighting for, most said they are fed up with corruption, harassment by security services and a system that gives preference to members of the ruling Baath party and the Alawite sect, to which Assad belongs. The word they used most often was dignity."If I go to the beach, I don't want an Alawite to call me a dog and I can't respond," said Ahmed Salim, 27, who left the police for the rebels in October. "I don't want to be treated like an animal. I want to be treated like a human."Most fighters said they did not target other sects, only those who had fought for the regime.There was little evidence of rebel attacks on civilians, but they were often merciless with regime troops. For most, the fight to topple Assad has become personal after they have been chased from their cities, their friends and relatives killed. Many frequently flip through "martyr" photos on their cellphones for inspiration.One night at al-Sheikh's headquarters in Sarjeh, a group of fighters flipped through brigade photos on a laptop."Martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr, martyr," they said, pointing out those who had died fighting.Videos of the group's attacks showed roadside bombs destroying tanks and flipping over army buses, as Islamic chanting played in the background. In one video, a booby-trapped van sped toward a checkpoint and blew up, splattering two soldiers into nearby trees.The group was still high on a recent attack that had destroyed a military camp nearby. In the end, they photographed the dead bodies of 35 soldiers, drove off a tank they now park under a tree in the village graveyard and held trials for five captured soldiers. All were found guilty of killing other Syrians."They traveled to Cyprus," al-Sheikh said with a grin. "On a fast plane."EDITOR'S NOTE _ Journalist Ben Hubbard was part of a three-member Associated Press team that spent two weeks with rebels in northern Syria, gathering firsthand information on the increasingly bloody rebellion against President Bashar Assad _ the longest and deadliest uprising of the Arab Spring.
