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)
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI5_pMvLZd8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 DIVSION REGION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT-NEW AGE MOVEMENT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(UNITED NATIONS TROOPS) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
UK will oppose EU army plans: minister-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 12:54-Britain will oppose all EU plans for increased military cooperation that could interfere with Nato, despite the Brexit vote to leave the union, UK defence minister Michael Fallon said Tuesday. "We are going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato," he said, adding that there a number of other EU countries who oppose the idea.
Italy lays out 'vision' of EU army By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 26. Sep, 15:33-Italy has laid out plans for the creation of a “European force” that goes beyond Franco-German proposals on defence integration.It said in an informal paper, seen by EUobserver, ahead of a defence ministers’ meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September) that the EU should create a “powerful and usable European Force that can also be employed in support to Nato or UN operations”.Giving its full title, it said that the “joint permanent European Multinational Force (EMF)” should be created by “available member states willing to share forces, command and control, manoeuvre and enabling capabilities”.It added that the force should be “permanently offered” to a new EU military HQ.It also envisaged even deeper military integration in the future, saying that “the EMF will represent the initial nucleus of a future European integrated force”.The talk of defence cooperation comes as EU leaders try to reassert the European project in the wake of Brexit.It also comes amid growing security threats from Russia, from Middle East and north African conflicts, and from terrorist groups.Italy did not mention Brexit, but it said that its project “would have a strong political impact, as it would express our readiness to relaunch European integration”.It said that a “quantum leap” in EU military cooperation was needed to “avoid irrelevance”.It also said “we face a threat both from inside and outside our societies, generating fear and uncertainty … The EU must come up with effective answers to our citizens’ growing concerns, starting with security and defence.”Italy recognised that some member states do not want to create an EU army.It said that its ideas would require “political vision”, a “new and more ambitious [EU] political agenda”, and “new political perspectives”.Italian ambition-France and Germany, earlier this month, also circulated an informal paper on EU defence.They did not call for an EU force, noting that “political responsibility for defence lies in the first place with member states”.Like Italy, they also called for an EU military HQ, with its own medical and logistical assets, such as air-lift equipment, but they said that the HQ should command EU overseas crisis missions, not a “permanent” standing force.Italy, France, and Germany concurred in most other areas, however.-Echoing German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke, in Vilnius earlier this month, of a “Schengen of defence”, Italy spoke of a “Union for the European Defence, pursuing a model resembling the Schengen Agreement”.The Schengen accord, which governs the EU’s free-travel zone, was first signed by just five out of the then 10 EU member states in 1985, but later expanded to take in 22 out of 28.Italy said EU battlegroups should be more readily deployable and EU-funded.The ad-hoc, battalion-sized forces, made up of select EU states’ soldiers, have never seen action, in part, because capitals did not want to foot the bill.Like France and Germany, Italy expressed interest in overseas crisis missions, in what it called “capacity to project stability in areas and regions critical to our security”, rather than in the creation of a Russia deterrent.It said member states should invest in “ensuring a robust [military] industrial and technological base” in Europe.It said they should do more joint procurement and EU-funded R&D as well as creating “a common European military education system”.But with Rome struggling to keep its national debt within EU rules, it called for “fiscal and financial incentives” for military projects, such as “VAT exemption, support of the Investment European Bank … and facilitated loans”.Bratislava-EU defence ministers will discuss the ideas in Bratislava, together with a Finnish paper, also seen by EUobserver, that took more notice of Russia.Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden, have broadly endorsed the Franco-German proposals, EU sources said.France and Germany want to move quickly, with some ideas to be implemented in 2017 or 2018.The UK, which is likely to remain an EU member until at least 2019, and which has long-opposed EU defence integration,has threatened to veto the plans so long as it still held its seat in the EU Council.Speaking in an interview with the Reuters news agency, published on Monday, Germany’s Von der Leyen said she had telephoned her British counterpart, Michael Fallon, after he issued the threat.She said she told him that Berlin expected the UK “will not hinder important European Union reforms”."I told him the initiative is designed for a strong Europe, and that this Europe also wants to have good relations with Britain in the future, especially in the area of defence”, she said.
No contradiction' between EU defence plan and NATO: Stoltenberg-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Bratislava (AFP) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted Tuesday that EU plans for increased defence cooperation after Britain's departure would not undermine the transatlantic military alliance."There is no contradiction between strong European defence and strong NATO, actually it reinforces each other," Stoltenberg said as he attended a meeting of the union's 28 defence ministers in the Slovakian capital Bratislava."The importance is that we avoid duplication, that it is complementary," he said alongside EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.His comments came after British defence minister Michael Fallon said Britain would "continue to oppose any idea of an EU army", and that EU plans to boost defence cooperation after Brexit would undermine NATO.The European Union ministers are discussing a French and German plan for more joint defence and a European military headquarters, after EU leaders agreed to boost cooperation at a summit in Bratislava earlier this month.Italy's Mogherini said the EU defence ministers had "found common ground... on the need to strengthen European defence cooperation, and in full complementarity with NATO."Citing an EU-NATO agreement signed in Warsaw in July, she said it would be "in full complementarity with no duplications, but mutually reinforcing our work."
Finland calls for 'pragmatic' EU defence cooperation-SEPT 27,16-EUOBSERVER-By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:16-Finland’s “pragmatic” blueprint for EU defence goes less far than Italian or French “visions”, while quietly designating Russia as a threat.Helsinki said in an informal paper, seen by EUobserver, that the EU should draw up a plan for joint military capabilities because it has a “need for strategic autonomy”.It described Europe as “a comprehensive security actor” alongside Nato, while adding that member states “should reiterate … [their] commitment to mutual assistance and solidarity” in times of crisis.It said the objectives of EU defence integration should be “protecting Europe, managing crises and supporting partners” as well as “deterring against and responding to external threats”.It said some of the new EU capabilities should target “hybrid threats”, referring to foreign states’ covert military operations, as well as economic and information warfare.The Finnish paper was circulated last week ahead of an EU defence ministers’ meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September).Italy, as well as France and Germany, have also circulated ideas papers seen by this website.-Finnish pragmatism-The Italian proposal, billed as a political response to Brexit, said the EU should create its own “permanent” military force and military HQ.The Franco-German proposal said the EU should have its own military HQ, but that this should command the kind of short-term overseas crisis missions that already exist today.The Finnish paper goes less far than either of them, saying only that the EU should create a new “joint permanent civilian-military planning and conduct capability” that could, in future “take responsibility over … non-executive military operations”.The Italian paper spoke of a new “political vision” on EU defence.But Finland said that: “Following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU, it is of utmost importance to establish a pragmatic partnership in security and defence”.Like its EU peers, Finland said there should be more joint EU spending on military capabilities, for instance on battlegroups and on R&D.Battlegroups are battalion-sized groups of soldiers created by select subsets of EU states, but they have never been deployed, in part, because capitals did not want to pay for operations.“We should aim at normalisation of defence, making it possible for it to benefit from … Union policies like any other sector”, Finland said.Unlike, Italy, France and Germany, Finland is not a member of Nato.It also has the longest land border with Russia of any EU country and has been a target of Russian sabre-rattling over its ever-closer ties with the Nato alliance and with the US military.The Italian, French and German ideas focused on EU crisis operations in Africa and the Middle East.The Finnish paper did not name Russia, but Helsinki’s accent on EU “mutual assistance” and on “deterring … external threats” indicates that it sees EU military cooperation as a prophylactic against potential Russian aggression.The EU treaty has a clause on mutual security assistance, which was invoked by France after last year’s terrorist attack in Paris, but which falls short of Nato obligations on mutual defence.-Russia subtext-Finland’s focus on “hybrid threats”, mentioned three times in its informal paper, also nods to Russia, which recently shocked Europe by its hybrid attack on Ukraine.Aside from member states’ input into the Bratislava talks, the EU foreign service, or EEAS, has also circulated what one EU source called a “questionnaire/issues paper to structure the defence ministers’ discussion”.The source said the EU foreign service paper focused on three topics - “crisis management, partners' capacity building, and protection of Europe”.France and Germany have indicated that they wanted to move quickly on joint projects, with some ideas to be implemented in 2017 or 2018.The source indicated that the EEAS is also moving quickly.The EU contact said that the EU institution expected member states to file their answers to its questionnaire on future EU defence in early October.But the source said the EEAS is still trying to “sense the mood in the [EU] capitals” on how far to go on military integration rather than proposing concrete projects at this stage.
Britain's fear of European army muddles EU defence plan-[Reuters]-By Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would oppose any EU proposals to combine European forces into a single army while it is still in the bloc, but France and Germany said no such plans existed and won support from NATO to strengthen EU defences.At a meeting of EU defence ministers in Bratislava, Britain's Michael Fallon said it was up to NATO, not the European Union, to defend Europe against a more hostile Russia and that some northern and eastern EU countries agreed.France and Germany had hoped that Britons' decision to leave the EU, as well as London's need for goodwill in its exit negotiations, would leave the path open for common defence proposals that are meant to pull the remaining governments together. The proposals were presented on Tuesday.But there appeared to be confusion about what was on the table. Italy, France and German have come forward with proposals to bring together the EU's disparate military assets, spend more, develop technology and rely less on the United States, which pays the lion's share of NATO's military outlays.Fallon insisted he saw the makings of a EU army."There are member states who would like to see...a single set of forces. That looks and sounds to me like a European army, and we would oppose that," Fallon told reporters.Britain's objections also centre on proposals for a joint EU military headquarters, possibly in Brussels, fearing that would suck financial resources away from NATO, where allies have spent years cutting budgets following the global financial crisis."Europe is littered with HQs, what we don't need is another one," Fallon said.Britain retains full voting rights until it leaves the European Union, although defence decisions will rely on majority voting. Fallon said Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania had voiced concern about Franco-German proposals, which was confirmed by an EU diplomat.Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti countered that a number of other EU countries, including Spain and the Czech Republic, backed the range of proposals being discussed.EU diplomats said the military headquarters was one aspect of a strategy to be agreed at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels in December. The proposals also include increasing spending on military missions, jointly developing assets such as helicopters and drones, expanding peace-keeping abroad and working to counter state-sponsored hackers in cyberspace.-"NO CONTRADICTION"-Standing together, Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian were at pains to stress there were no plans for army of European soldiers wearing the same uniforms."On the contrary," von der Leyen said. "It is about bundling the various strengths of European countries to be ready to act together quickly."She cited how Europe had struggled to coordinate support during the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In 2011, the British and French air campaign in Libya also showed Europe's limits, as they quickly became reliant on a NATO-led operation including the United States, Canada and Norway for refuelling planes, logistics and military know-how.EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who has put forward her own proposals, said there was "nothing ideological" about what the bloc was trying to do.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was also at the meeting, welcomed debate on strengthening European military cooperation. "There is no contradiction between a strong European defence and a strong NATO," he said.Stoltenberg also said EU governments would need to spend more on defence. With Britain outside of the European Union, 80 percent of NATO spending would be provided by non-EU countries even though most EU members are part of the alliance, he said.European military spending is a fraction of the United States' and only a handful of countries, including Britain, Estonia and Greece, spend generously on defence.France is a major European military power and Germany has many military assets but has traditionally been cautious given its history in the 20th century's two world wars.(Additional reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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)
Singapore accuses Chinese paper of fabricating South China Sea story-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - Singapore's ambassador to China on Tuesday accused a major state-run Chinese newspaper of fabricating a report about Singapore's position on the South China Sea, but the paper stuck by its story.The Global Times said on Sept. 21 that at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Venezuela, Singapore had raised the issue of the disputed waterway and an international tribunal's ruling in favor of the Philippines in a case it lodged against Chinese claims.The influential tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said Singapore's attempt was foiled by the opposition of "many" other countries.The paper cited an unidentified "person in the know".Stanley Loh, Singapore's ambassador in Beijing, said in the letter to the paper's editor in chief Hu Xijin that the actions and words attributed to Singapore in the article were "false and unfounded"."Contrary to the claim fabricated by the Global Times, the Singapore delegation did not raise the South China Sea or the tribunal ruling at the NAM Summit," he said."We are disappointed that an established newspaper published this irresponsible report replete with fabrications and unfounded allegations with no regard for the facts."Hu, in a statement in response carried on the paper's official microblog, said he stood by the story and added that its source was "serious and reliable" and the report accurate, so he could not accept the ambassador's accusations.While not being a party to the South China Sea dispute, Singapore had taken sides with the Philippines and Vietnam, and allowed U.S. air force jets to be based in Singapore "which everyone knows are aimed at China", Hu added.China's Foreign Ministry did not directly comment on the spat between Singapore and the paper, with a spokesman saying only that they had "noted" the reports and that the two countries should understand and respect each other's core interests.China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which ships carrying about $5 trillion in trade pass every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, which is also believed to be rich in energy resources and fish stocks.In July, an arbitration court in the Hague said China's claims to the waterway were invalid, after a case was brought by the Philippines. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
China upset as U.S. sanctions firm tied to North Korea nuclear program-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it was opposed to any country using its own laws to carry out "long arm jurisdiction", after the United States sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery wholesaler tied to North Korea's nuclear program.The U.S. Treasury said it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co and four of its executives, including the firm's founder, Ma Xiaohong, under U.S. regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under U.S. and U.N. sanctions for supporting proliferation of such weapons.The U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.Asked about the move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was committed to upholding United Nations resolutions against North Korea, which mandate tough sanctions for its nuclear and missile tests.Any person or company found in breach of the rules will be punished, and if necessary China will cooperate with other countries on this on the basis of mutual respect and equality, Geng told a daily news briefing."I want to stress that we oppose any country enacting so-called long arm jurisdiction, using its own domestic laws against a Chinese entity or individual," he added."We have already communicated this position to the U.S. side," Geng said, without elaborating.While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programs and was angered by its latest nuclear test.Beijing has said it will work within the United Nations to formulate a necessary response, but questions remain as to whether it is willing to agree tough enough steps to force North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.On Monday, U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump said China should "go into North Korea" to stop its nuclear plans as China has all the power in the relationship.Chinese spokesman Geng said the crux of the North Korea issue was not China, and that China has made great efforts to try and bring about the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.Discussions are under way on a possible new U.N. sanctions resolution and the senior U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Friday he was confident an agreement would be reached before long, imposing further sanctions and tightening existing ones.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
ECB needs help from from states, says Draghi-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 09:24-European Central Bank president Mario Draghi on Monday called on eurozone governments to help him boost the economy. Speaking at an EU parliament hearing, he said that it was "quite clear that other policies should complement action" by the ECB. He added that the bank's action alone was “not enough" and that its low-interest policy would have "side effects that especially affect financial stability" if it lasts too long.
Column / Crude World-Why Putin's union doesn't want to work with the EU-By Sijbren de Jong-SEPT 27,16-EUOBSERVER
The Hague, Today, 10:46-In late November 2015, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told Russian president Vladimir Putin in a letter that he had asked commission officials to draft new proposals on cooperation between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).The idea was promptly condemned by officials from the EU's eastern member states as sending the wrong signal to Russia at the wrong time. Although this reaction is understandable in light of Russia’s uncooperative stance on Ukraine and Syria, the suggestion is nonetheless interesting in and of itself.To dismiss institutional cooperation out of hand is not only arrogant, it also risks being seen as seeking a strategy of divide and rule, playing off individual EEU states against each other; precisely the same criticism often voiced by Brussels about the way in which Russia engages the EU.On the contrary, seeking cooperation in one way or the other could act as an important test of the extent to which Russia is genuinely interested in seeing the EEU establish ties with Western regional organisations. Doing so is important as there are a number of reasons to believe why Russia may not be interested in pursuing meaningful cooperation between the two organisations at all.From Moscow with little love-When the EU and Ukraine negotiated a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), Russia raised a number of objections.According to Moscow, the treaty would cause the Russian market to be flooded with EU goods under the guise of Ukrainian products. Russia also alleged that EU technical and product standards, which Ukraine would have to adopt under the DCFTA, would then also apply to products made by Ukrainian enterprises that sell products to Russia.According to Russia this would harm bilateral trade, for which it should be compensated. Although presented as genuine, these objections were easily rebuffed. Goods exported to Ukraine from the EU and sold on to Russia would still be regarded as made in the EU under WTO rules, and thus subject to Russian import tariffs that apply to the EU.Moreover, technical standards would only apply to sales on the Ukrainian domestic market, or to the EU market, meaning Ukraine is free to produce for export to Russia according to Russian standards.Although aware of the bogus character of these complaints, the EU nonetheless postponed DCFTA implementation with a year in a bid to accommodate Russian concerns. Also, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered to sign a political statement on EU cooperation with the EEU as a way of accommodating Moscow.In a tell-tale sign of what was to come neither one of the initiatives aroused any interest from Russia. Instead, Moscow slapped trade sanctions on Ukraine the second the DCFTA entered into force. Moldova suffered a similar fate when it ratified its DCFTA. There too, Russia imposed trade sanctions banning imports of processed meat citing concerns over African swine fever.-Sovereignty, Kremlin style-The manner in which Russia reacted to Moldova and Ukraine’s signing of their respective DCFTA’s goes a long way in showing the degree to which the Kremlin is interested in pursuing meaningful cooperation between the EEU and the EU. By slapping sanctions on both countries Moscow effectively demonstrated the principal motivation underpinning the EEU’s creation.The Eurasian Union appears to have been designed not with the aim of fostering real economic integration within the post-Soviet space, but rather with the primary objective of preventing the westward regional integration of former republics out of a concern of losing influence and control over former Soviet territories.In other words, if you do not wish to toe the Kremlin line, there will be consequences. To say this is a 19th century black and white interpretation of what constitutes sovereignty is the understatement of the decade.-So what is next?-Ultimately, whether comprehensive cooperation between the EU and the EEU is possible one day rests firmly on the full implementation of the Minsk Agreement on Ukraine. However, since Moscow shuns few opportunities to claim they are no party to the Minsk Agreement in the first place, one should not have high hopes that Russia will ever abide by the agreement.That said, unwillingness on the part of the Kremlin need not mean that the EU should not attempt to seek cooperation with the Eurasian Union. Doing so will undoubtedly further expose the fact that Moscow created the EEU with the sole purpose of keeping countries under its belt, rather than seeking any real regional economic integration. If anyone doubts this, please call Kiev or Chisinau.In the longer term, Russia’s economic performance, its behaviour vis-a-vis its neighbours and China’s Silk Road is likely to determine the EEU’s fate.Given that the Russian economy is set for stagnation in the years to come, the EEU’s attractiveness to its members is set to erode further. Already there is disillusionment about membership and Moscow’s heavy handed tactics against Ukraine and Moldova have certainly not helped in making countries any more enthusiastic about being part of Putin’s union.With prospective members having signed agreements with the EU and existing EEU members increasingly looking east to China’s Silk Road, the Eurasian Economic Union looks destined to become the latest in a string of failed initiatives to bring about integration in the post-Soviet Space.The 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.
WTO drastically cuts global trade forecast-[AFP]-Nina Larson-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Geneva (AFP) - The World Trade Organization Tuesday downshifted its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalisation rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis.The warning comes as talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and United States battle stiff opposition and as Britain's EU exit causes jitters.The WTO said that global trade was now estimated to expand by just 1.7 percent this year, compared to its April projection of 2.8 percent.The new figure is also a far cry from a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 percent this year.Describing it as "wake-up call", the Geneva-based global trade body said growth had fallen to its slowest pace in around seven years when the global financial crisis hit."With expected global GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 2.2 percent in 2016, this year would mark the slowest pace of trade and output growth since the financial crisis of 2009," the trade body said in a statement.Looking ahead, the WTO said several issues, including Brexit's possible impact, had now cast a shadow and it had revised down its 2017 forecast.Trade is now expected to grow between 1.8-3.1 percent, down from the previously anticipated 3.6 percent, said the WTO, which sets the rules of global commerce.Also clouding the outlook, the WTO said, is "the possibility that growing anti-trade rhetoric will increasingly be reflected in trade policy" as well as financial volatility due to monetary policy changes in developed countries."The recent run of weak trade and economic, growth suggests the need for a better understanding of changing global economic relationships," it said.It warned that "creeping protectionism", coupled with lacking trade liberalisation and perhaps the growing role of the digital economy and e-commerce might help explain the recent declining ratio of trade growth to GDP growth.Last week, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said Britain -- the world's fifth-biggest economy -- was poised to take a major hit next year from its decision to leave the EU.The WTO said that the main impact of the shock vote in June had been on the value of the pound and noted that it had not sparked an immediate economic downturn.But, it added: "Effects over the longer term remain to be seen. Economic forecasts for the UK in 2017 range from fairly optimistic to quite pessimistic."- 'Anti-globalisation sentiment' -The WTO said the downgrade followed a sharper-than-expected decline in merchandise trade volumes in the first quarter, and a smaller-than-expected rebound in the second quarter.The contraction, it said, was driven especially by slowing economic and trade growth in developing economies like China and Brazil.China's banking sector debt came into the crosshairs earlier this month of the global central bank watchdog, the Bank for International Settlements, fuelling fresh fears about the world's second biggest economy.But, said the WTO, North America, which showed the strongest import growth of any region between 2014 and 2015, was also hit by deceleration."The dramatic slowing of trade growth is serious and should serve as a wake-up call," WTO director general Robert Azevedo warned in the statement."It is particularly concerning in the context of growing anti-globalisation sentiment," he added, cautioning against this translating into "misguided policies".Azevedo also highlighted the negative impact of inequality."While the benefits of trade are clear, it is also clear that they need to be shared more widely," he insisted."We should seek to build a more inclusive trading system that goes further to support poorer countries to take part and benefit, as well as entrepreneurs, small companies, and marginalised groups in all economies," he said."This is a moment to heed the lessons of history and re-commit to openness in trade, which can help to spur economic growth," Azevedo said.
Iran says not ready for oil output freeze in Algiers-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Algiers (AFP) - Iran is not ready to agree to an oil output freeze in Algiers, its Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tuesday on the eve of an informal OPEC meeting in Algeria's capital."It's not in our agenda to reach an agreement in two days. We need time for more consultation," he told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference.Zanganeh said an agreement on a freeze to stabilise oil prices could be struck at the November 30 meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.Cartel members are to meet with key non-OPEC producer Russia on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in the Algerian capital.They are expected to discuss ways to strengthen prices that have been depressed since 2014 amid a stubborn supply glut.With expectations of an agreement low, according to industry analysts, oil prices edged lower Tuesday in Asia and in London.Most oil states have been supportive of a cap, but pre-forum talks between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Iran have been less productive.Iran also refused at a meeting in April to take part in talks on a production cap after the country had just emerged from years of Western-imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme.The talks in Algiers will be "a consultative, informal meeting to exchange views," said Zanganeh.The minister pointed out Iran was investing to increase its output to pre-sanctions levels."Very soon this production will be operated and we will increase our production" to 4 million barrels per day (bpd), he said, from the current level estimated at between 3.6 million and 3.8 million bpd, he said.Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi, also attending the meetings in Algiers, said he expected "positive results" from the talks aimed at taking steps to increase prices."We support all efforts to stabilise prices," he said.The United Arab Emirates has said it supports a deal to freeze output if other nations agree but that production cuts were not up for discussion in Algiers, according to Bloomberg News.Host country Algeria said Sunday that the world's top oil producers "must take a decision" to stabilise prices.Failure to agree on a production freeze could push prices even lower, Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa said."Every state in the organisation agrees on the need to stabilise prices, it just remains for us to find a format that pleases everyone," he said.
Scotland says wants clarity on Brexit, warns of 'hard Brexit' risks-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday she wanted more clarity about the British government's position on leaving the EU and cautioned that a so called "hard Brexit" would hurt the economy.A hard Brexit could leave Britain without a deal on preferential access to the EU's single market and potentially grappling with soured relations with other EU members while London would impose limits on EU immigration."I'm trying to be tactful here - it would be helpful to know more about the UK government's kind of thinking," Sturgeon said in a speech to the Institute of Directors. "As a first step, I think we would all benefit greatly from some clarity."(Reporting by Helen Reid, writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)
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)
Bombs hit mosque in Germany-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 12:55-Bomb attacks hit a mosque and a congress centre late Monday night in the eastern German city of Dresden, police said Tuesday (27 September), AFP reported. No one was injured, but police suspected xenophobic and nationalist motives. The home-made bombs damaged the door of the mosque while the imam and his family were inside. Dresden is the birthplace of the anti-immigrant Pegida movement.
Russia denies its warplanes jeopardized air safety-[Associated Press]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military has denied allegations that its bombers jeopardized air safety during a patrol mission over the Sea of Norway.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov dismissed reports in Iceland that Russian bombers with their transponders switched off flew dangerously close to an Icelandic passenger jet last Thursday. A transponder emits a signal that allows the identification of an aircraft.Konashenkov said Tuesday that Russian Tu-160 bombers were flying at a safe distance from passenger planes and had their transponders switched on. He added that the bombers were escorted by NATO jets.Konashenkov described the reports as part of efforts to "incite Russophobia in Europe."Amid Russia-West tensions, the U.S. and its NATO allies have repeatedly said Russian warplanes threaten air safety. Moscow has denied the accusations.
NATO says Aleppo attacks 'blatant violation of international law'-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Bratislava (AFP) - NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the "morally totally unacceptable" bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo broke international law, and urged Russia to take genuine steps to restore a ceasefire."The appalling attacks on Aleppo have shaken all of us, and the violence and the attacks we have seen, also on an aid convoy, is morally totally unacceptable and is a blatant violation of international law," Stoltenberg told a news conference in Bratislava.Stoltenberg did not identify the Syrian regime or its ally Moscow as being behind the pounding of the city by warplanes in which dozens of civilians including children have died, or a deadly attack on an aid convoy in Aleppo province last week.But his comments came after Western powers slammed Russia over the violence with the United States accusing Moscow of "barbarism" and Britain and France alleging war crimes. Russia called that rhetoric "unacceptable".Speaking after meeting EU defence ministers in the Slovakian capital, Stoltenberg said the ongoing violence "underlines the importance of finding a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria"."I join the international calls on Russia to show credible efforts to restore the cessation of hostilities, to allow humanitarian aid into Aleppo and to create the conditions necessary for UN-led transition talks to resume," he said.
Spy agencies launch 'real-time' terror tracker By Nikolaj Nielsen-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 26. Sep, 15:43-European intelligence agencies launched a shared "interactive real-time" database over the summer to track suspected jihadists, EUobserver has learned.The move is part of a broader EU-wide trend triggered by last year's migration crisis, a spate of terror attacks and the threat of Islamist fighters returning to Europe from Syria.Dozens of intelligence agencies at the Dutch-led Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) in The Hague set up an "interactive operative real-time information system" of people suspected of being "jihadist troublemakers", said Germany's federal ministry of interior in a document seen by this website.The CTG was founded in 2002 and includes some 30 intelligence agencies from around Europe.Dubbed Operation Platform, the system was launched in July, but no public statement was released at the time. A February statement from both the German and Dutch intelligence agencies had announced a July launch of a system.One senior EU official has described it as an IT system with people working on it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.How they access people's details in real time and what details are stored is unclear.There are also larger questions on oversight and fundamental rights, and the system has echoes of the US-led mass surveillance disclosed in 2014 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.The blow-back from the Snowden revelations is still playing out.Despite this, 23 out of 30 European intelligence agencies and services "promised" to participate in Operation Platform. Germany says it has sent one officer from its domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.-Merging police and intelligence agencies-The general lack of cooperation among various domestic intelligence and law enforcement agencies was also repeatedly highlighted in the wake of the terror attacks in both Paris and Brussels.The German government, for instance, said two-thirds of people that have gone to fight in Syria or Iraq were known to the police. Of those, another third have criminal records. Similar data is found in France and the Netherlands.The fear of further attacks has enabled lawmakers to propose new powers or extend existing ones.Earlier this year, Bernard Barbier, the former head of signals intelligence at France's foreign intelligence agency (DGSE), mulled a merger idea with the German foreign intelligence agency (BND).But the launch of a single shared real-time database may be a step forward to laying the groundwork of deeper cooperation, also between the police and intelligence agencies.The EU's apparent direct involvement with national intelligence agencies is also likely to raise both legal implications and ethical questions amid wider sensitivities on privacy and data protection.The German document notes, for instance, the EU police agency Europol, which is also based in The Hague, has set up a "strategic" relationship with the Operation Platform.Europol did not respond to this website on how it interacts with the Counter Terrorism Group, where the platform is based.But EUobserver understands internal moves are being made to bridge the Group with Europol's European counter-terrorism centre, launched at the start of the year, with a so-called fusion centre.Europol, on its own, has more than 80 terabytes of data in which more than 12 million bits of communication are processed.It has dedicated a so-called Secure Information Exchange Network Application (Siena) system that connects 43 units working on counter terrorism that allows them to share sensitive information. Europol also works with 44 countries and hosts some 210 liaison officers under the same building.The EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove also is publicly pushing to intensify cooperation between police and the intelligence agencies.Kerchove has no operational role at the Counter Terrorism Group. But he does meet the heads of member state security services at the Group every six months.Andrej Hunko, a German MP from the Die Linke party, told this website that the democratic control over the EU agenda on internal and external security has been lost.Hunko is leading a parliamentary probe into German security and intelligence activities."In light of Germany’s experience with the Gestapo, this is a delicate issue in our country, where there is a clear legal distinction between these two areas," he said.He said the platform was developing quickly, noting that the CTG is also invited to terrorism working groups at the EU Council, representing member states."The EU thus appears to be merging the work of police and intelligence services – in secret," he said.
Blasts kill at least 17 in Baghdad - police, medics-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three blasts killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50 in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police and medical sources said.A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in a commercial street in the eastern Baghdad al-Jadida area of the Iraqi capital, killing nine people and wounding more than 30, they said.Another suicide attack hit a commercial street of Bayaa in western Baghdad, killing six and wounding 22, the sources said.A roadside bomb exploded near a gathering of cattle herders and merchants in al-Radhwaniya, also in western Baghdad, killing two people, they said.Islamic State claimed the two suicide attacks, but did not mention the third assault.The hardline Sunni Muslim group has intensified bomb attacks in government-held areas this year as it loses territory to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.The group claimed a truck bombing in July that killed at least 324 people in the Karrada shopping area of Baghdad - the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.The group continues to control vast areas in northern and western Iraq, including the city of Mosul, captured in 2014.(Reporting by Saif Hameed; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Syrian government mobilises for new Aleppo ground attack-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Pro-Syrian government forces were mobilising on Tuesday for a ground attack in Aleppo after attacking on four fronts in their largest assault since launching a campaign to retake the whole city last week, a senior rebel official said.Separately, an Iraqi militia commander fighting in support of the government told Reuters a large army force, spearheaded by an elite unit known as the Nimr, or Tiger Forces, had started to move in armoured vehicles and tanks for an attack on rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo.Pro-government forces attacked at the same time around the Handarat camp north of Aleppo, at the nearby Kindi Hospital area, in the Rashidin district in the centre of the city and at the 1070 Apartments in the southwest.Government forces briefly captured Handarat from rebels on Saturday, only to lose it in a counter-attack hours later.The senior rebel official said the simultaneous attacks had been repelled, but pro-government forces were also mobilising in two other areas near the rebel-held Sheikh Saeed district on the city's southern outskirts."They are working to expand on any opening they create," said the official from an Aleppo-based rebel faction, citing reports from his fighters. "Today, the other noticeable thing is the heavy use of helicopters and barrel bombs."The Syrian military, helped by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and the Russian air force, launched a major campaign to take rebel-held eastern Aleppo last Thursday.(Reporting by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Turkey says Kurdish militia role in Raqqa offensive would endanger Syria-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that cooperating with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in a potential offensive to retake the Islamic State-controlled city of Raqqa would endanger the future of Syria.Turkey views the YPG, which has enjoyed U.S. backing in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria, as a hostile force with deep links to Kurdish militants who have fought a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.Cavusoglu said some YPG elements still remained in the Syrian city of Manbij west of the Euphrates river, despite Ankara's repeated warnings that they should withdraw and U.S. assurances they would do so. He criticized Washington's cooperation with a group he said it was unable to control.Cavusoglu said Turkey, which launched a military incursion to drive Islamic State off its borders a month ago, had demonstrated that the strategy of supporting local groups could be successful and that this approach could be used in Raqqa or even a planned operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul.(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
Iran says will continue supporting Syria against terrorism-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed on Tuesday that his country would continue to back Syria in its fight against "terrorism", the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported."Iran will continue helping Syria in the fight against terrorism and towards establishing security in the region," Rouhani told the visiting Syrian parliament speaker Hadiyeh al-Abbas, the agency said.(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
Taiwan's third typhoon of the month kills at least four, injures hundreds-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
TAIPEI (Reuters) - The third typhoon to hit Taiwan this month killed at least four people and injured hundreds on Tuesday, knocking down trees and cutting power to millions.Most schools and offices were shut and the north-south bullet train suspended services as Typhoon Megi, packing winds of well over 160 kph (100 mph), roared in from the Pacific.At least 167 people were injured and more than 11,500 evacuated, the government's Central Emergency Operation Center said. Authorities also estimated more than two million households had lost power, while over 45,000 were without water.Taiwan's financial markets were closed because of the storm.Television footage showed people scurrying along city streets clutching umbrellas to try to fend off the rain.Bus and subway services were mostly suspended in the capital, Taipei, while hundreds of international flights were canceled.The typhoon was moving across Taiwan and expected to head into the Taiwan Strait and on towards China on Wednesday where it will make landfall in the southeastern province of Fujian.China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said it had ordered authorities across a large swathe of southern and eastern China to step up disaster prevention preparations.This month, super Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land.(Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Strong winds from big typhoon hit Taiwan, at least 4 dead-[Associated Press]-RALPH JENNINGS-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Strong winds knocked down people and scattered debris as a large typhoon crossed over Taiwan on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring more than 260, officials said.Typhoon Megi's bands of heavy rain and 162-kilometers- (100 miles-) per-hour sustained winds blanketed the island by midafternoon as the eye of the storm made landfall on the east coast. Authorities had raised alert levels for the island prone to landslides and flooding, said National Fire Agency Director-General Chen Wen-lung.The 268 injuries include eight Japanese tourists hurt in tour bus that turned on its side in central Taiwan. Three people suffered fatal falls and a fourth person died in a truck crash, said Lee Wei-sen, a spokesman for Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center. Many of the injuries were from falling and wind-blown objects.Megi is 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter, and rainfall had topped 300 millimeters (12 inches) in the south and eastern mountains."The rainfall problem will get increasingly severe as the storm passes over," Lee said. "We've got to see whether the amount of rain has a big impact. The only good news is that it's moving fast on its way over Taiwan."More than 8,000 people had been evacuated, mostly from mountainous areas at risk of landslides or floods. About 2,800 went to shelters, Chen said.More than 2.9 million households lost power, though 976,000 had been restored by late evening, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.More than 121 flights were delayed and 253 canceled at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport, and seven were diverted to other airports. Authorities had closed schools, offices and most of Taiwan's railway system.Megi is the fourth typhoon of the year to hit Taiwan.On the Chinese coast, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Taiwan at its nearest point, fishing boats were ordered back to port, the country's official Xinhua News Agency said. It said the typhoon was expected to reach Guangdong province and Fujian province Wednesday morning, bringing as much as 400 mm of rain to parts of Fujian.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Paris climate targets to cost Asia $300 billion a year, but will help save lives: research-[Reuters]-By Beh Lih Yi-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Developing economies in Asia will have to spend $300 billion a year until 2050 to meet targets set by the Paris climate deal, but can expect to save thousands of lives and avoid worsening poverty if they shift to low-carbon growth, research showed on Tuesday.As part of the landmark accord reached in December, nearly 200 nations agreed to keep global temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius to curb global warming.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the economic returns of spending on the Paris climate targets far outweighed the costs in the developing region - one of the most vulnerable to climate change and disasters like typhoons and flooding.The Manila-based bank's definition of developing Asia comprises 45 of the ADB's member countries in Asia Pacific including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam."ADB estimates that the region can generate more than $2 in gains for each $1 of cost it bears to reach the Paris goal - if the right steps are taken," ADB's deputy chief economist Juzhong Zhuang said.The extra cost for developing Asia is equivalent to the size of Denmark's gross domestic product (GDP) or the GDPs of Portugal and Morocco put together, according to World Bank data.The ADB said by meeting the Paris climate deal goals, Asian countries would see better air quality and could avoid nearly 600,000 air pollution-related premature deaths.Spending on renewable power, carbon capture and storage, and smart grids could also help communities who rely on climate-sensitive agriculture and land for their livelihoods from plunging deeper into poverty, it said."Developing Asia has some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations, whose livelihoods are fundamentally tied to natural resources," ADB said in the report."Unmitigated climate change could reverse decades of progress in poverty alleviation and jeopardize Asia's ambitions to pursue development that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable," the report said.Three Asian countries - China, India and Indonesia - are among the world's top 10 greenhouse gas emitters, according to the World Resources Institute.Six of Asia's developing economies are ranked among the world's top 10 countries most affected by climate risk based on frequency, death tolls and economic losses, according to the 2016 Global Climate Risk Index by think-tank Germanwatch.The ADB warned that if no action was taken to tackle climate change, it could slash the region's economic growth by more than 10 percent by 2100.ADB urged the region to slash its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, which currently contribute to over two-thirds of Asia's total emissions, and boost investment in renewable energy.(Reporting by Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi, Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
No wobbles, tantrums or knockouts on a relatively good night for Trump-Op-ed: A morning-after take from Jerusalem on the first presidential face-off-By David Horovitz September 27, 2016, 2:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
It may have been primetime American TV, but the first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump presidential debate came at an awkward time for Israel, getting underway at 4 in the morning. And for those here who stayed or got up, there was nary a reference to us to lift our tired, pre-dawn spirits — no direct mention of Israel, and just a single Trump namecheck of our prime minister.Issues that deeply concern Israel did feature, however, notably including the Iran nuclear deal and the battle against terrorism.Here are four morning-after debate takeaways from Jerusalem.Israel, unmentioned-A 90-minute debate and the word “Israel” wasn’t uttered?! With our destiny profoundly intertwined with that of the free world and America as its leader, should we be unhappy about this? I really don’t think so.Israel has every interest in not being abused as a political football in this spectacularly rancorous presidential campaign. We’re located on the geographical and practical front line of the battle against the death-cult Islamic extremism that widely threatens the free world. We’re the region’s only democracy (though we would be delighted to be joined by others). We want, need and feel that we merit support from across the American political spectrum.If these two endlessly arguing candidates found nothing compelling about Israel to disagree over, all the better. Nothing to say here. Let’s move on.Iran, contested-By contrast, Iran, and the nuclear deal with the ayatollahs that was pushed, signed and exalted by the Obama administration came up plenty. And I’d speculate that the sympathies of most Israelis watching would be with Trump’s take.The way Clinton described it, “I spent a year-and-a-half putting together a coalition that included Russia and China to impose the toughest sanctions on Iran. And we did drive them to the negotiating table. And my successor, John Kerry, and President Obama got a deal that put a lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single shot. That’s diplomacy. That’s coalition-building. That’s working with other nations.” Later she added: “There’s no doubt that we have other problems with Iran. But personally, I’d rather deal with the other problems having put that lid on their nuclear program than still to be facing that.”It’s the upstart candidate who can afford to feel happier-Trump was unimpressed: “… You started the Iran deal,” he reminded his rival, bitterly. “That’s another beauty where you have a country that was ready to fall. I mean, they were doing so badly. They were choking on the sanctions. And now they’re going to be actually probably a major power at some point pretty soon, the way they’re going.” He returned to the theme soon after: “This is one of the worst deals ever made by any country in history. The deal with Iran will lead to nuclear problems. All they have to do is sit back 10 years, and they don’t have to do much… And they’re going to end up getting nuclear. I met with Bibi Netanyahu the other day. Believe me, he’s not a happy camper.”From these shores, the Iran deal does look to many like a weak agreement when a better one could have been negotiated. The P5+1 set out to dismantle Iran’s rogue nuclear program and imposed the sanctions that forced the regime to the negotiating table, but wound up with an accord that leaves part of the program intact, doesn’t freeze all of its elements, and allows Iran a potential rapid break-out to a nuclear arsenal even if it honors the accord as the various clauses expire over the coming years.Adding insult to injury, the Obama administration told Israel to stop critiquing the accord before it was signed because our leadership ostensibly didn’t know what it was talking about, then claimed no better deal could have been made and that no deal would have satisfied Israel, and most recently the president himself asserted that “the Israeli military and security community” now recognizes it as a positive “game-changer.”Netanyahu “not a happy camper”? I’d imagine the prime minister would privately have nodded, sighing, at that Trump summation.Watchability-Pre-gladiation, this first face-off was being hyped by US media as some kind of political near-equivalent to the Thrilla in Manila. Britain’s Sky News called it a debate that could “change the world,” no less. But if 100 million Americans really did tune it for its opening feints and punches, I wonder how many of them were still watching by the final rounds.There was no knockout. No dazzling rhetorical sucker punch. Back from pneumonia, Clinton didn’t so much as clear her throat, let alone wobble, slump or cough. Trump didn’t flip his lid. And the early exchanges, on tax, loans and drapery, hardly made for the most riveting of television.Nixon-Kennedy, this was not. Nor, for that matter, to invoke an election-defining Israeli debate, was it Peres-Netanyahu: Twenty years ago, in May 1996, three days before Israel went to the polls to elect a successor to the assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, a very reluctant frontrunner named Shimon Peres consented to a single TV debate against the youngish opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Peres was reluctant because he had everything to lose: He was the political veteran, the establishment candidate who’d paid his dues and then some; he had the experience and the presumed wisdom, and he was facing off against an unpredictable, nimble and telegenic challenger.The defining moment came at the end of the debate, when the moderator, Dan Margalit, invited each of the candidates to ask the other a single question. Netanyahu, as he had done throughout the TV contest and indeed throughout an election campaign marked by Hamas suicide bombings, attacked Peres for his ostensible incapacity to rectify the “deteriorating” security situation, to which Peres retorted that his rival was making cynical political capital out of people’s fears. But when the time came for Peres to put his question to Netanyahu, he declined to ask anything at all, evidently intending to signal that Netanyahu was a piffling amateur who could contribute nothing of real value. What came across, however, was the sense that Peres could conceive of no question for which Netanyahu would not find an effective answer.Days later, Peres lost the election to Netanyahu by less than one percent — 29,457 votes, to be precise. The TV debate was certainly a factor.Clinton demonstrably knew better than Peres did then of the perils of underestimating a ruthless and sharp opponent. She has, as she noted, “prepared to be president.” And she had plainly prepared rigorously for this debate — knowing that TV is home territory for Trump.Neither candidate will have left the hall feeling defeated. But neither could credibly claim a decisive victory, either.-And yet-And yet, even though Trump was in his natural TV habitat but failed to land a definitive blow, even though Clinton seemed competent, confident and relatively assured, I rather think it’s the upstart candidate who can afford to feel happier after this first of three debates.Here he was, the self-styled outsider, the ostensible anti-establishment candidate, the long-odds challenger who nobody gave a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the nomination, finally standing on equal terms with the veteran insider, swinging and jabbing, ducking and diving. On the split screen, simply because he’s taller, there was Clinton even looking up at him now and again — a dream shot.Did he appear hopelessly out of his league against this hugely experienced political leader? He did not. Did he give his likely voters a powerful reason to reconsider, to pull away? I don’t think so. And did he damage his prospects among the undecideds? I don’t think so either. His campaign has been littered with superficial policy proposals and some appalling and vicious rhetoric; he steered clear of those on Monday night.Trump’s appeal stems, in part, from the fact that he’s brash, and contentious, and speaks from the gut. That appeal gets limited if he can also be shown to be irresponsible, intemperate, dangerous.Did Hillary Clinton persuade Americans on Monday night that Donald Trump must not be trusted with the leadership and defense of their country? I don’t think she did. And she may have to, if she is to stop him from winning the presidency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI5_pMvLZd8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 DIVSION REGION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT-NEW AGE MOVEMENT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(UNITED NATIONS TROOPS) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
UK will oppose EU army plans: minister-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 12:54-Britain will oppose all EU plans for increased military cooperation that could interfere with Nato, despite the Brexit vote to leave the union, UK defence minister Michael Fallon said Tuesday. "We are going to continue to oppose any idea of an EU army or an EU army headquarters which would simply undermine Nato," he said, adding that there a number of other EU countries who oppose the idea.
Italy lays out 'vision' of EU army By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 26. Sep, 15:33-Italy has laid out plans for the creation of a “European force” that goes beyond Franco-German proposals on defence integration.It said in an informal paper, seen by EUobserver, ahead of a defence ministers’ meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September) that the EU should create a “powerful and usable European Force that can also be employed in support to Nato or UN operations”.Giving its full title, it said that the “joint permanent European Multinational Force (EMF)” should be created by “available member states willing to share forces, command and control, manoeuvre and enabling capabilities”.It added that the force should be “permanently offered” to a new EU military HQ.It also envisaged even deeper military integration in the future, saying that “the EMF will represent the initial nucleus of a future European integrated force”.The talk of defence cooperation comes as EU leaders try to reassert the European project in the wake of Brexit.It also comes amid growing security threats from Russia, from Middle East and north African conflicts, and from terrorist groups.Italy did not mention Brexit, but it said that its project “would have a strong political impact, as it would express our readiness to relaunch European integration”.It said that a “quantum leap” in EU military cooperation was needed to “avoid irrelevance”.It also said “we face a threat both from inside and outside our societies, generating fear and uncertainty … The EU must come up with effective answers to our citizens’ growing concerns, starting with security and defence.”Italy recognised that some member states do not want to create an EU army.It said that its ideas would require “political vision”, a “new and more ambitious [EU] political agenda”, and “new political perspectives”.Italian ambition-France and Germany, earlier this month, also circulated an informal paper on EU defence.They did not call for an EU force, noting that “political responsibility for defence lies in the first place with member states”.Like Italy, they also called for an EU military HQ, with its own medical and logistical assets, such as air-lift equipment, but they said that the HQ should command EU overseas crisis missions, not a “permanent” standing force.Italy, France, and Germany concurred in most other areas, however.-Echoing German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen, who spoke, in Vilnius earlier this month, of a “Schengen of defence”, Italy spoke of a “Union for the European Defence, pursuing a model resembling the Schengen Agreement”.The Schengen accord, which governs the EU’s free-travel zone, was first signed by just five out of the then 10 EU member states in 1985, but later expanded to take in 22 out of 28.Italy said EU battlegroups should be more readily deployable and EU-funded.The ad-hoc, battalion-sized forces, made up of select EU states’ soldiers, have never seen action, in part, because capitals did not want to foot the bill.Like France and Germany, Italy expressed interest in overseas crisis missions, in what it called “capacity to project stability in areas and regions critical to our security”, rather than in the creation of a Russia deterrent.It said member states should invest in “ensuring a robust [military] industrial and technological base” in Europe.It said they should do more joint procurement and EU-funded R&D as well as creating “a common European military education system”.But with Rome struggling to keep its national debt within EU rules, it called for “fiscal and financial incentives” for military projects, such as “VAT exemption, support of the Investment European Bank … and facilitated loans”.Bratislava-EU defence ministers will discuss the ideas in Bratislava, together with a Finnish paper, also seen by EUobserver, that took more notice of Russia.Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden, have broadly endorsed the Franco-German proposals, EU sources said.France and Germany want to move quickly, with some ideas to be implemented in 2017 or 2018.The UK, which is likely to remain an EU member until at least 2019, and which has long-opposed EU defence integration,has threatened to veto the plans so long as it still held its seat in the EU Council.Speaking in an interview with the Reuters news agency, published on Monday, Germany’s Von der Leyen said she had telephoned her British counterpart, Michael Fallon, after he issued the threat.She said she told him that Berlin expected the UK “will not hinder important European Union reforms”."I told him the initiative is designed for a strong Europe, and that this Europe also wants to have good relations with Britain in the future, especially in the area of defence”, she said.
No contradiction' between EU defence plan and NATO: Stoltenberg-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Bratislava (AFP) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted Tuesday that EU plans for increased defence cooperation after Britain's departure would not undermine the transatlantic military alliance."There is no contradiction between strong European defence and strong NATO, actually it reinforces each other," Stoltenberg said as he attended a meeting of the union's 28 defence ministers in the Slovakian capital Bratislava."The importance is that we avoid duplication, that it is complementary," he said alongside EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.His comments came after British defence minister Michael Fallon said Britain would "continue to oppose any idea of an EU army", and that EU plans to boost defence cooperation after Brexit would undermine NATO.The European Union ministers are discussing a French and German plan for more joint defence and a European military headquarters, after EU leaders agreed to boost cooperation at a summit in Bratislava earlier this month.Italy's Mogherini said the EU defence ministers had "found common ground... on the need to strengthen European defence cooperation, and in full complementarity with NATO."Citing an EU-NATO agreement signed in Warsaw in July, she said it would be "in full complementarity with no duplications, but mutually reinforcing our work."
Finland calls for 'pragmatic' EU defence cooperation-SEPT 27,16-EUOBSERVER-By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:16-Finland’s “pragmatic” blueprint for EU defence goes less far than Italian or French “visions”, while quietly designating Russia as a threat.Helsinki said in an informal paper, seen by EUobserver, that the EU should draw up a plan for joint military capabilities because it has a “need for strategic autonomy”.It described Europe as “a comprehensive security actor” alongside Nato, while adding that member states “should reiterate … [their] commitment to mutual assistance and solidarity” in times of crisis.It said the objectives of EU defence integration should be “protecting Europe, managing crises and supporting partners” as well as “deterring against and responding to external threats”.It said some of the new EU capabilities should target “hybrid threats”, referring to foreign states’ covert military operations, as well as economic and information warfare.The Finnish paper was circulated last week ahead of an EU defence ministers’ meeting in Bratislava on Tuesday (27 September).Italy, as well as France and Germany, have also circulated ideas papers seen by this website.-Finnish pragmatism-The Italian proposal, billed as a political response to Brexit, said the EU should create its own “permanent” military force and military HQ.The Franco-German proposal said the EU should have its own military HQ, but that this should command the kind of short-term overseas crisis missions that already exist today.The Finnish paper goes less far than either of them, saying only that the EU should create a new “joint permanent civilian-military planning and conduct capability” that could, in future “take responsibility over … non-executive military operations”.The Italian paper spoke of a new “political vision” on EU defence.But Finland said that: “Following the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the EU, it is of utmost importance to establish a pragmatic partnership in security and defence”.Like its EU peers, Finland said there should be more joint EU spending on military capabilities, for instance on battlegroups and on R&D.Battlegroups are battalion-sized groups of soldiers created by select subsets of EU states, but they have never been deployed, in part, because capitals did not want to pay for operations.“We should aim at normalisation of defence, making it possible for it to benefit from … Union policies like any other sector”, Finland said.Unlike, Italy, France and Germany, Finland is not a member of Nato.It also has the longest land border with Russia of any EU country and has been a target of Russian sabre-rattling over its ever-closer ties with the Nato alliance and with the US military.The Italian, French and German ideas focused on EU crisis operations in Africa and the Middle East.The Finnish paper did not name Russia, but Helsinki’s accent on EU “mutual assistance” and on “deterring … external threats” indicates that it sees EU military cooperation as a prophylactic against potential Russian aggression.The EU treaty has a clause on mutual security assistance, which was invoked by France after last year’s terrorist attack in Paris, but which falls short of Nato obligations on mutual defence.-Russia subtext-Finland’s focus on “hybrid threats”, mentioned three times in its informal paper, also nods to Russia, which recently shocked Europe by its hybrid attack on Ukraine.Aside from member states’ input into the Bratislava talks, the EU foreign service, or EEAS, has also circulated what one EU source called a “questionnaire/issues paper to structure the defence ministers’ discussion”.The source said the EU foreign service paper focused on three topics - “crisis management, partners' capacity building, and protection of Europe”.France and Germany have indicated that they wanted to move quickly on joint projects, with some ideas to be implemented in 2017 or 2018.The source indicated that the EEAS is also moving quickly.The EU contact said that the EU institution expected member states to file their answers to its questionnaire on future EU defence in early October.But the source said the EEAS is still trying to “sense the mood in the [EU] capitals” on how far to go on military integration rather than proposing concrete projects at this stage.
Britain's fear of European army muddles EU defence plan-[Reuters]-By Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would oppose any EU proposals to combine European forces into a single army while it is still in the bloc, but France and Germany said no such plans existed and won support from NATO to strengthen EU defences.At a meeting of EU defence ministers in Bratislava, Britain's Michael Fallon said it was up to NATO, not the European Union, to defend Europe against a more hostile Russia and that some northern and eastern EU countries agreed.France and Germany had hoped that Britons' decision to leave the EU, as well as London's need for goodwill in its exit negotiations, would leave the path open for common defence proposals that are meant to pull the remaining governments together. The proposals were presented on Tuesday.But there appeared to be confusion about what was on the table. Italy, France and German have come forward with proposals to bring together the EU's disparate military assets, spend more, develop technology and rely less on the United States, which pays the lion's share of NATO's military outlays.Fallon insisted he saw the makings of a EU army."There are member states who would like to see...a single set of forces. That looks and sounds to me like a European army, and we would oppose that," Fallon told reporters.Britain's objections also centre on proposals for a joint EU military headquarters, possibly in Brussels, fearing that would suck financial resources away from NATO, where allies have spent years cutting budgets following the global financial crisis."Europe is littered with HQs, what we don't need is another one," Fallon said.Britain retains full voting rights until it leaves the European Union, although defence decisions will rely on majority voting. Fallon said Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania had voiced concern about Franco-German proposals, which was confirmed by an EU diplomat.Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti countered that a number of other EU countries, including Spain and the Czech Republic, backed the range of proposals being discussed.EU diplomats said the military headquarters was one aspect of a strategy to be agreed at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels in December. The proposals also include increasing spending on military missions, jointly developing assets such as helicopters and drones, expanding peace-keeping abroad and working to counter state-sponsored hackers in cyberspace.-"NO CONTRADICTION"-Standing together, Germany's Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian were at pains to stress there were no plans for army of European soldiers wearing the same uniforms."On the contrary," von der Leyen said. "It is about bundling the various strengths of European countries to be ready to act together quickly."She cited how Europe had struggled to coordinate support during the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In 2011, the British and French air campaign in Libya also showed Europe's limits, as they quickly became reliant on a NATO-led operation including the United States, Canada and Norway for refuelling planes, logistics and military know-how.EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who has put forward her own proposals, said there was "nothing ideological" about what the bloc was trying to do.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was also at the meeting, welcomed debate on strengthening European military cooperation. "There is no contradiction between a strong European defence and a strong NATO," he said.Stoltenberg also said EU governments would need to spend more on defence. With Britain outside of the European Union, 80 percent of NATO spending would be provided by non-EU countries even though most EU members are part of the alliance, he said.European military spending is a fraction of the United States' and only a handful of countries, including Britain, Estonia and Greece, spend generously on defence.France is a major European military power and Germany has many military assets but has traditionally been cautious given its history in the 20th century's two world wars.(Additional reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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)
Singapore accuses Chinese paper of fabricating South China Sea story-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - Singapore's ambassador to China on Tuesday accused a major state-run Chinese newspaper of fabricating a report about Singapore's position on the South China Sea, but the paper stuck by its story.The Global Times said on Sept. 21 that at a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Venezuela, Singapore had raised the issue of the disputed waterway and an international tribunal's ruling in favor of the Philippines in a case it lodged against Chinese claims.The influential tabloid, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said Singapore's attempt was foiled by the opposition of "many" other countries.The paper cited an unidentified "person in the know".Stanley Loh, Singapore's ambassador in Beijing, said in the letter to the paper's editor in chief Hu Xijin that the actions and words attributed to Singapore in the article were "false and unfounded"."Contrary to the claim fabricated by the Global Times, the Singapore delegation did not raise the South China Sea or the tribunal ruling at the NAM Summit," he said."We are disappointed that an established newspaper published this irresponsible report replete with fabrications and unfounded allegations with no regard for the facts."Hu, in a statement in response carried on the paper's official microblog, said he stood by the story and added that its source was "serious and reliable" and the report accurate, so he could not accept the ambassador's accusations.While not being a party to the South China Sea dispute, Singapore had taken sides with the Philippines and Vietnam, and allowed U.S. air force jets to be based in Singapore "which everyone knows are aimed at China", Hu added.China's Foreign Ministry did not directly comment on the spat between Singapore and the paper, with a spokesman saying only that they had "noted" the reports and that the two countries should understand and respect each other's core interests.China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which ships carrying about $5 trillion in trade pass every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, which is also believed to be rich in energy resources and fish stocks.In July, an arbitration court in the Hague said China's claims to the waterway were invalid, after a case was brought by the Philippines. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
China upset as U.S. sanctions firm tied to North Korea nuclear program-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday it was opposed to any country using its own laws to carry out "long arm jurisdiction", after the United States sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery wholesaler tied to North Korea's nuclear program.The U.S. Treasury said it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co and four of its executives, including the firm's founder, Ma Xiaohong, under U.S. regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under U.S. and U.N. sanctions for supporting proliferation of such weapons.The U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.Asked about the move, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was committed to upholding United Nations resolutions against North Korea, which mandate tough sanctions for its nuclear and missile tests.Any person or company found in breach of the rules will be punished, and if necessary China will cooperate with other countries on this on the basis of mutual respect and equality, Geng told a daily news briefing."I want to stress that we oppose any country enacting so-called long arm jurisdiction, using its own domestic laws against a Chinese entity or individual," he added."We have already communicated this position to the U.S. side," Geng said, without elaborating.While China is North Korea's sole major ally, it disapproves of its nuclear and missile programs and was angered by its latest nuclear test.Beijing has said it will work within the United Nations to formulate a necessary response, but questions remain as to whether it is willing to agree tough enough steps to force North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons.On Monday, U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump said China should "go into North Korea" to stop its nuclear plans as China has all the power in the relationship.Chinese spokesman Geng said the crux of the North Korea issue was not China, and that China has made great efforts to try and bring about the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.Discussions are under way on a possible new U.N. sanctions resolution and the senior U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Friday he was confident an agreement would be reached before long, imposing further sanctions and tightening existing ones.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)
LUKE 2:1-3
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
ECB needs help from from states, says Draghi-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 09:24-European Central Bank president Mario Draghi on Monday called on eurozone governments to help him boost the economy. Speaking at an EU parliament hearing, he said that it was "quite clear that other policies should complement action" by the ECB. He added that the bank's action alone was “not enough" and that its low-interest policy would have "side effects that especially affect financial stability" if it lasts too long.
Column / Crude World-Why Putin's union doesn't want to work with the EU-By Sijbren de Jong-SEPT 27,16-EUOBSERVER
The Hague, Today, 10:46-In late November 2015, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told Russian president Vladimir Putin in a letter that he had asked commission officials to draft new proposals on cooperation between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).The idea was promptly condemned by officials from the EU's eastern member states as sending the wrong signal to Russia at the wrong time. Although this reaction is understandable in light of Russia’s uncooperative stance on Ukraine and Syria, the suggestion is nonetheless interesting in and of itself.To dismiss institutional cooperation out of hand is not only arrogant, it also risks being seen as seeking a strategy of divide and rule, playing off individual EEU states against each other; precisely the same criticism often voiced by Brussels about the way in which Russia engages the EU.On the contrary, seeking cooperation in one way or the other could act as an important test of the extent to which Russia is genuinely interested in seeing the EEU establish ties with Western regional organisations. Doing so is important as there are a number of reasons to believe why Russia may not be interested in pursuing meaningful cooperation between the two organisations at all.From Moscow with little love-When the EU and Ukraine negotiated a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), Russia raised a number of objections.According to Moscow, the treaty would cause the Russian market to be flooded with EU goods under the guise of Ukrainian products. Russia also alleged that EU technical and product standards, which Ukraine would have to adopt under the DCFTA, would then also apply to products made by Ukrainian enterprises that sell products to Russia.According to Russia this would harm bilateral trade, for which it should be compensated. Although presented as genuine, these objections were easily rebuffed. Goods exported to Ukraine from the EU and sold on to Russia would still be regarded as made in the EU under WTO rules, and thus subject to Russian import tariffs that apply to the EU.Moreover, technical standards would only apply to sales on the Ukrainian domestic market, or to the EU market, meaning Ukraine is free to produce for export to Russia according to Russian standards.Although aware of the bogus character of these complaints, the EU nonetheless postponed DCFTA implementation with a year in a bid to accommodate Russian concerns. Also, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered to sign a political statement on EU cooperation with the EEU as a way of accommodating Moscow.In a tell-tale sign of what was to come neither one of the initiatives aroused any interest from Russia. Instead, Moscow slapped trade sanctions on Ukraine the second the DCFTA entered into force. Moldova suffered a similar fate when it ratified its DCFTA. There too, Russia imposed trade sanctions banning imports of processed meat citing concerns over African swine fever.-Sovereignty, Kremlin style-The manner in which Russia reacted to Moldova and Ukraine’s signing of their respective DCFTA’s goes a long way in showing the degree to which the Kremlin is interested in pursuing meaningful cooperation between the EEU and the EU. By slapping sanctions on both countries Moscow effectively demonstrated the principal motivation underpinning the EEU’s creation.The Eurasian Union appears to have been designed not with the aim of fostering real economic integration within the post-Soviet space, but rather with the primary objective of preventing the westward regional integration of former republics out of a concern of losing influence and control over former Soviet territories.In other words, if you do not wish to toe the Kremlin line, there will be consequences. To say this is a 19th century black and white interpretation of what constitutes sovereignty is the understatement of the decade.-So what is next?-Ultimately, whether comprehensive cooperation between the EU and the EEU is possible one day rests firmly on the full implementation of the Minsk Agreement on Ukraine. However, since Moscow shuns few opportunities to claim they are no party to the Minsk Agreement in the first place, one should not have high hopes that Russia will ever abide by the agreement.That said, unwillingness on the part of the Kremlin need not mean that the EU should not attempt to seek cooperation with the Eurasian Union. Doing so will undoubtedly further expose the fact that Moscow created the EEU with the sole purpose of keeping countries under its belt, rather than seeking any real regional economic integration. If anyone doubts this, please call Kiev or Chisinau.In the longer term, Russia’s economic performance, its behaviour vis-a-vis its neighbours and China’s Silk Road is likely to determine the EEU’s fate.Given that the Russian economy is set for stagnation in the years to come, the EEU’s attractiveness to its members is set to erode further. Already there is disillusionment about membership and Moscow’s heavy handed tactics against Ukraine and Moldova have certainly not helped in making countries any more enthusiastic about being part of Putin’s union.With prospective members having signed agreements with the EU and existing EEU members increasingly looking east to China’s Silk Road, the Eurasian Economic Union looks destined to become the latest in a string of failed initiatives to bring about integration in the post-Soviet Space.The 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.
WTO drastically cuts global trade forecast-[AFP]-Nina Larson-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Geneva (AFP) - The World Trade Organization Tuesday downshifted its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalisation rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis.The warning comes as talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and United States battle stiff opposition and as Britain's EU exit causes jitters.The WTO said that global trade was now estimated to expand by just 1.7 percent this year, compared to its April projection of 2.8 percent.The new figure is also a far cry from a projection a year ago that trade would swell by 3.9 percent this year.Describing it as "wake-up call", the Geneva-based global trade body said growth had fallen to its slowest pace in around seven years when the global financial crisis hit."With expected global GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 2.2 percent in 2016, this year would mark the slowest pace of trade and output growth since the financial crisis of 2009," the trade body said in a statement.Looking ahead, the WTO said several issues, including Brexit's possible impact, had now cast a shadow and it had revised down its 2017 forecast.Trade is now expected to grow between 1.8-3.1 percent, down from the previously anticipated 3.6 percent, said the WTO, which sets the rules of global commerce.Also clouding the outlook, the WTO said, is "the possibility that growing anti-trade rhetoric will increasingly be reflected in trade policy" as well as financial volatility due to monetary policy changes in developed countries."The recent run of weak trade and economic, growth suggests the need for a better understanding of changing global economic relationships," it said.It warned that "creeping protectionism", coupled with lacking trade liberalisation and perhaps the growing role of the digital economy and e-commerce might help explain the recent declining ratio of trade growth to GDP growth.Last week, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said Britain -- the world's fifth-biggest economy -- was poised to take a major hit next year from its decision to leave the EU.The WTO said that the main impact of the shock vote in June had been on the value of the pound and noted that it had not sparked an immediate economic downturn.But, it added: "Effects over the longer term remain to be seen. Economic forecasts for the UK in 2017 range from fairly optimistic to quite pessimistic."- 'Anti-globalisation sentiment' -The WTO said the downgrade followed a sharper-than-expected decline in merchandise trade volumes in the first quarter, and a smaller-than-expected rebound in the second quarter.The contraction, it said, was driven especially by slowing economic and trade growth in developing economies like China and Brazil.China's banking sector debt came into the crosshairs earlier this month of the global central bank watchdog, the Bank for International Settlements, fuelling fresh fears about the world's second biggest economy.But, said the WTO, North America, which showed the strongest import growth of any region between 2014 and 2015, was also hit by deceleration."The dramatic slowing of trade growth is serious and should serve as a wake-up call," WTO director general Robert Azevedo warned in the statement."It is particularly concerning in the context of growing anti-globalisation sentiment," he added, cautioning against this translating into "misguided policies".Azevedo also highlighted the negative impact of inequality."While the benefits of trade are clear, it is also clear that they need to be shared more widely," he insisted."We should seek to build a more inclusive trading system that goes further to support poorer countries to take part and benefit, as well as entrepreneurs, small companies, and marginalised groups in all economies," he said."This is a moment to heed the lessons of history and re-commit to openness in trade, which can help to spur economic growth," Azevedo said.
Iran says not ready for oil output freeze in Algiers-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Algiers (AFP) - Iran is not ready to agree to an oil output freeze in Algiers, its Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tuesday on the eve of an informal OPEC meeting in Algeria's capital."It's not in our agenda to reach an agreement in two days. We need time for more consultation," he told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference.Zanganeh said an agreement on a freeze to stabilise oil prices could be struck at the November 30 meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.Cartel members are to meet with key non-OPEC producer Russia on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in the Algerian capital.They are expected to discuss ways to strengthen prices that have been depressed since 2014 amid a stubborn supply glut.With expectations of an agreement low, according to industry analysts, oil prices edged lower Tuesday in Asia and in London.Most oil states have been supportive of a cap, but pre-forum talks between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Iran have been less productive.Iran also refused at a meeting in April to take part in talks on a production cap after the country had just emerged from years of Western-imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme.The talks in Algiers will be "a consultative, informal meeting to exchange views," said Zanganeh.The minister pointed out Iran was investing to increase its output to pre-sanctions levels."Very soon this production will be operated and we will increase our production" to 4 million barrels per day (bpd), he said, from the current level estimated at between 3.6 million and 3.8 million bpd, he said.Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaybi, also attending the meetings in Algiers, said he expected "positive results" from the talks aimed at taking steps to increase prices."We support all efforts to stabilise prices," he said.The United Arab Emirates has said it supports a deal to freeze output if other nations agree but that production cuts were not up for discussion in Algiers, according to Bloomberg News.Host country Algeria said Sunday that the world's top oil producers "must take a decision" to stabilise prices.Failure to agree on a production freeze could push prices even lower, Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa said."Every state in the organisation agrees on the need to stabilise prices, it just remains for us to find a format that pleases everyone," he said.
Scotland says wants clarity on Brexit, warns of 'hard Brexit' risks-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday she wanted more clarity about the British government's position on leaving the EU and cautioned that a so called "hard Brexit" would hurt the economy.A hard Brexit could leave Britain without a deal on preferential access to the EU's single market and potentially grappling with soured relations with other EU members while London would impose limits on EU immigration."I'm trying to be tactful here - it would be helpful to know more about the UK government's kind of thinking," Sturgeon said in a speech to the Institute of Directors. "As a first step, I think we would all benefit greatly from some clarity."(Reporting by Helen Reid, writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Stephen Addison)
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)
Bombs hit mosque in Germany-By EUOBSERVER-SEPT 27,16
Today, 12:55-Bomb attacks hit a mosque and a congress centre late Monday night in the eastern German city of Dresden, police said Tuesday (27 September), AFP reported. No one was injured, but police suspected xenophobic and nationalist motives. The home-made bombs damaged the door of the mosque while the imam and his family were inside. Dresden is the birthplace of the anti-immigrant Pegida movement.
Russia denies its warplanes jeopardized air safety-[Associated Press]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military has denied allegations that its bombers jeopardized air safety during a patrol mission over the Sea of Norway.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov dismissed reports in Iceland that Russian bombers with their transponders switched off flew dangerously close to an Icelandic passenger jet last Thursday. A transponder emits a signal that allows the identification of an aircraft.Konashenkov said Tuesday that Russian Tu-160 bombers were flying at a safe distance from passenger planes and had their transponders switched on. He added that the bombers were escorted by NATO jets.Konashenkov described the reports as part of efforts to "incite Russophobia in Europe."Amid Russia-West tensions, the U.S. and its NATO allies have repeatedly said Russian warplanes threaten air safety. Moscow has denied the accusations.
NATO says Aleppo attacks 'blatant violation of international law'-[AFP]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
Bratislava (AFP) - NATO head Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the "morally totally unacceptable" bombardment of the Syrian city of Aleppo broke international law, and urged Russia to take genuine steps to restore a ceasefire."The appalling attacks on Aleppo have shaken all of us, and the violence and the attacks we have seen, also on an aid convoy, is morally totally unacceptable and is a blatant violation of international law," Stoltenberg told a news conference in Bratislava.Stoltenberg did not identify the Syrian regime or its ally Moscow as being behind the pounding of the city by warplanes in which dozens of civilians including children have died, or a deadly attack on an aid convoy in Aleppo province last week.But his comments came after Western powers slammed Russia over the violence with the United States accusing Moscow of "barbarism" and Britain and France alleging war crimes. Russia called that rhetoric "unacceptable".Speaking after meeting EU defence ministers in the Slovakian capital, Stoltenberg said the ongoing violence "underlines the importance of finding a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria"."I join the international calls on Russia to show credible efforts to restore the cessation of hostilities, to allow humanitarian aid into Aleppo and to create the conditions necessary for UN-led transition talks to resume," he said.
Spy agencies launch 'real-time' terror tracker By Nikolaj Nielsen-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 26. Sep, 15:43-European intelligence agencies launched a shared "interactive real-time" database over the summer to track suspected jihadists, EUobserver has learned.The move is part of a broader EU-wide trend triggered by last year's migration crisis, a spate of terror attacks and the threat of Islamist fighters returning to Europe from Syria.Dozens of intelligence agencies at the Dutch-led Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) in The Hague set up an "interactive operative real-time information system" of people suspected of being "jihadist troublemakers", said Germany's federal ministry of interior in a document seen by this website.The CTG was founded in 2002 and includes some 30 intelligence agencies from around Europe.Dubbed Operation Platform, the system was launched in July, but no public statement was released at the time. A February statement from both the German and Dutch intelligence agencies had announced a July launch of a system.One senior EU official has described it as an IT system with people working on it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.How they access people's details in real time and what details are stored is unclear.There are also larger questions on oversight and fundamental rights, and the system has echoes of the US-led mass surveillance disclosed in 2014 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.The blow-back from the Snowden revelations is still playing out.Despite this, 23 out of 30 European intelligence agencies and services "promised" to participate in Operation Platform. Germany says it has sent one officer from its domestic intelligence agency, the BfV.-Merging police and intelligence agencies-The general lack of cooperation among various domestic intelligence and law enforcement agencies was also repeatedly highlighted in the wake of the terror attacks in both Paris and Brussels.The German government, for instance, said two-thirds of people that have gone to fight in Syria or Iraq were known to the police. Of those, another third have criminal records. Similar data is found in France and the Netherlands.The fear of further attacks has enabled lawmakers to propose new powers or extend existing ones.Earlier this year, Bernard Barbier, the former head of signals intelligence at France's foreign intelligence agency (DGSE), mulled a merger idea with the German foreign intelligence agency (BND).But the launch of a single shared real-time database may be a step forward to laying the groundwork of deeper cooperation, also between the police and intelligence agencies.The EU's apparent direct involvement with national intelligence agencies is also likely to raise both legal implications and ethical questions amid wider sensitivities on privacy and data protection.The German document notes, for instance, the EU police agency Europol, which is also based in The Hague, has set up a "strategic" relationship with the Operation Platform.Europol did not respond to this website on how it interacts with the Counter Terrorism Group, where the platform is based.But EUobserver understands internal moves are being made to bridge the Group with Europol's European counter-terrorism centre, launched at the start of the year, with a so-called fusion centre.Europol, on its own, has more than 80 terabytes of data in which more than 12 million bits of communication are processed.It has dedicated a so-called Secure Information Exchange Network Application (Siena) system that connects 43 units working on counter terrorism that allows them to share sensitive information. Europol also works with 44 countries and hosts some 210 liaison officers under the same building.The EU's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove also is publicly pushing to intensify cooperation between police and the intelligence agencies.Kerchove has no operational role at the Counter Terrorism Group. But he does meet the heads of member state security services at the Group every six months.Andrej Hunko, a German MP from the Die Linke party, told this website that the democratic control over the EU agenda on internal and external security has been lost.Hunko is leading a parliamentary probe into German security and intelligence activities."In light of Germany’s experience with the Gestapo, this is a delicate issue in our country, where there is a clear legal distinction between these two areas," he said.He said the platform was developing quickly, noting that the CTG is also invited to terrorism working groups at the EU Council, representing member states."The EU thus appears to be merging the work of police and intelligence services – in secret," he said.
Blasts kill at least 17 in Baghdad - police, medics-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Three blasts killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 50 in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim districts of Baghdad on Tuesday, police and medical sources said.A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in a commercial street in the eastern Baghdad al-Jadida area of the Iraqi capital, killing nine people and wounding more than 30, they said.Another suicide attack hit a commercial street of Bayaa in western Baghdad, killing six and wounding 22, the sources said.A roadside bomb exploded near a gathering of cattle herders and merchants in al-Radhwaniya, also in western Baghdad, killing two people, they said.Islamic State claimed the two suicide attacks, but did not mention the third assault.The hardline Sunni Muslim group has intensified bomb attacks in government-held areas this year as it loses territory to U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.The group claimed a truck bombing in July that killed at least 324 people in the Karrada shopping area of Baghdad - the deadliest single attack in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.The group continues to control vast areas in northern and western Iraq, including the city of Mosul, captured in 2014.(Reporting by Saif Hameed; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Syrian government mobilises for new Aleppo ground attack-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Pro-Syrian government forces were mobilising on Tuesday for a ground attack in Aleppo after attacking on four fronts in their largest assault since launching a campaign to retake the whole city last week, a senior rebel official said.Separately, an Iraqi militia commander fighting in support of the government told Reuters a large army force, spearheaded by an elite unit known as the Nimr, or Tiger Forces, had started to move in armoured vehicles and tanks for an attack on rebel-held districts of eastern Aleppo.Pro-government forces attacked at the same time around the Handarat camp north of Aleppo, at the nearby Kindi Hospital area, in the Rashidin district in the centre of the city and at the 1070 Apartments in the southwest.Government forces briefly captured Handarat from rebels on Saturday, only to lose it in a counter-attack hours later.The senior rebel official said the simultaneous attacks had been repelled, but pro-government forces were also mobilising in two other areas near the rebel-held Sheikh Saeed district on the city's southern outskirts."They are working to expand on any opening they create," said the official from an Aleppo-based rebel faction, citing reports from his fighters. "Today, the other noticeable thing is the heavy use of helicopters and barrel bombs."The Syrian military, helped by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and the Russian air force, launched a major campaign to take rebel-held eastern Aleppo last Thursday.(Reporting by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
Turkey says Kurdish militia role in Raqqa offensive would endanger Syria-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that cooperating with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in a potential offensive to retake the Islamic State-controlled city of Raqqa would endanger the future of Syria.Turkey views the YPG, which has enjoyed U.S. backing in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria, as a hostile force with deep links to Kurdish militants who have fought a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.Cavusoglu said some YPG elements still remained in the Syrian city of Manbij west of the Euphrates river, despite Ankara's repeated warnings that they should withdraw and U.S. assurances they would do so. He criticized Washington's cooperation with a group he said it was unable to control.Cavusoglu said Turkey, which launched a military incursion to drive Islamic State off its borders a month ago, had demonstrated that the strategy of supporting local groups could be successful and that this approach could be used in Raqqa or even a planned operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul.(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall)
Iran says will continue supporting Syria against terrorism-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed on Tuesday that his country would continue to back Syria in its fight against "terrorism", the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported."Iran will continue helping Syria in the fight against terrorism and towards establishing security in the region," Rouhani told the visiting Syrian parliament speaker Hadiyeh al-Abbas, the agency said.(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
Taiwan's third typhoon of the month kills at least four, injures hundreds-[Reuters]-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
TAIPEI (Reuters) - The third typhoon to hit Taiwan this month killed at least four people and injured hundreds on Tuesday, knocking down trees and cutting power to millions.Most schools and offices were shut and the north-south bullet train suspended services as Typhoon Megi, packing winds of well over 160 kph (100 mph), roared in from the Pacific.At least 167 people were injured and more than 11,500 evacuated, the government's Central Emergency Operation Center said. Authorities also estimated more than two million households had lost power, while over 45,000 were without water.Taiwan's financial markets were closed because of the storm.Television footage showed people scurrying along city streets clutching umbrellas to try to fend off the rain.Bus and subway services were mostly suspended in the capital, Taipei, while hundreds of international flights were canceled.The typhoon was moving across Taiwan and expected to head into the Taiwan Strait and on towards China on Wednesday where it will make landfall in the southeastern province of Fujian.China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said it had ordered authorities across a large swathe of southern and eastern China to step up disaster prevention preparations.This month, super Typhoon Meranti killed at least 28 people in China and Taiwan and cut power to more than a million homes.Typhoons are common in the region at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce wind and rain when they reach land.(Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Strong winds from big typhoon hit Taiwan, at least 4 dead-[Associated Press]-RALPH JENNINGS-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Strong winds knocked down people and scattered debris as a large typhoon crossed over Taiwan on Tuesday, killing four people and injuring more than 260, officials said.Typhoon Megi's bands of heavy rain and 162-kilometers- (100 miles-) per-hour sustained winds blanketed the island by midafternoon as the eye of the storm made landfall on the east coast. Authorities had raised alert levels for the island prone to landslides and flooding, said National Fire Agency Director-General Chen Wen-lung.The 268 injuries include eight Japanese tourists hurt in tour bus that turned on its side in central Taiwan. Three people suffered fatal falls and a fourth person died in a truck crash, said Lee Wei-sen, a spokesman for Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center. Many of the injuries were from falling and wind-blown objects.Megi is 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter, and rainfall had topped 300 millimeters (12 inches) in the south and eastern mountains."The rainfall problem will get increasingly severe as the storm passes over," Lee said. "We've got to see whether the amount of rain has a big impact. The only good news is that it's moving fast on its way over Taiwan."More than 8,000 people had been evacuated, mostly from mountainous areas at risk of landslides or floods. About 2,800 went to shelters, Chen said.More than 2.9 million households lost power, though 976,000 had been restored by late evening, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.More than 121 flights were delayed and 253 canceled at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport, and seven were diverted to other airports. Authorities had closed schools, offices and most of Taiwan's railway system.Megi is the fourth typhoon of the year to hit Taiwan.On the Chinese coast, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Taiwan at its nearest point, fishing boats were ordered back to port, the country's official Xinhua News Agency said. It said the typhoon was expected to reach Guangdong province and Fujian province Wednesday morning, bringing as much as 400 mm of rain to parts of Fujian.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
DEUTORONOMY 4:15-19
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
Paris climate targets to cost Asia $300 billion a year, but will help save lives: research-[Reuters]-By Beh Lih Yi-September 27, 2016-YAHOONEWS
JAKARTA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Developing economies in Asia will have to spend $300 billion a year until 2050 to meet targets set by the Paris climate deal, but can expect to save thousands of lives and avoid worsening poverty if they shift to low-carbon growth, research showed on Tuesday.As part of the landmark accord reached in December, nearly 200 nations agreed to keep global temperature increases to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius to curb global warming.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the economic returns of spending on the Paris climate targets far outweighed the costs in the developing region - one of the most vulnerable to climate change and disasters like typhoons and flooding.The Manila-based bank's definition of developing Asia comprises 45 of the ADB's member countries in Asia Pacific including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam."ADB estimates that the region can generate more than $2 in gains for each $1 of cost it bears to reach the Paris goal - if the right steps are taken," ADB's deputy chief economist Juzhong Zhuang said.The extra cost for developing Asia is equivalent to the size of Denmark's gross domestic product (GDP) or the GDPs of Portugal and Morocco put together, according to World Bank data.The ADB said by meeting the Paris climate deal goals, Asian countries would see better air quality and could avoid nearly 600,000 air pollution-related premature deaths.Spending on renewable power, carbon capture and storage, and smart grids could also help communities who rely on climate-sensitive agriculture and land for their livelihoods from plunging deeper into poverty, it said."Developing Asia has some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable populations, whose livelihoods are fundamentally tied to natural resources," ADB said in the report."Unmitigated climate change could reverse decades of progress in poverty alleviation and jeopardize Asia's ambitions to pursue development that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable," the report said.Three Asian countries - China, India and Indonesia - are among the world's top 10 greenhouse gas emitters, according to the World Resources Institute.Six of Asia's developing economies are ranked among the world's top 10 countries most affected by climate risk based on frequency, death tolls and economic losses, according to the 2016 Global Climate Risk Index by think-tank Germanwatch.The ADB warned that if no action was taken to tackle climate change, it could slash the region's economic growth by more than 10 percent by 2100.ADB urged the region to slash its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, which currently contribute to over two-thirds of Asia's total emissions, and boost investment in renewable energy.(Reporting by Beh Lih Yi @behlihyi, Editing by Katie Nguyen; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org)
No wobbles, tantrums or knockouts on a relatively good night for Trump-Op-ed: A morning-after take from Jerusalem on the first presidential face-off-By David Horovitz September 27, 2016, 2:06 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
It may have been primetime American TV, but the first Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump presidential debate came at an awkward time for Israel, getting underway at 4 in the morning. And for those here who stayed or got up, there was nary a reference to us to lift our tired, pre-dawn spirits — no direct mention of Israel, and just a single Trump namecheck of our prime minister.Issues that deeply concern Israel did feature, however, notably including the Iran nuclear deal and the battle against terrorism.Here are four morning-after debate takeaways from Jerusalem.Israel, unmentioned-A 90-minute debate and the word “Israel” wasn’t uttered?! With our destiny profoundly intertwined with that of the free world and America as its leader, should we be unhappy about this? I really don’t think so.Israel has every interest in not being abused as a political football in this spectacularly rancorous presidential campaign. We’re located on the geographical and practical front line of the battle against the death-cult Islamic extremism that widely threatens the free world. We’re the region’s only democracy (though we would be delighted to be joined by others). We want, need and feel that we merit support from across the American political spectrum.If these two endlessly arguing candidates found nothing compelling about Israel to disagree over, all the better. Nothing to say here. Let’s move on.Iran, contested-By contrast, Iran, and the nuclear deal with the ayatollahs that was pushed, signed and exalted by the Obama administration came up plenty. And I’d speculate that the sympathies of most Israelis watching would be with Trump’s take.The way Clinton described it, “I spent a year-and-a-half putting together a coalition that included Russia and China to impose the toughest sanctions on Iran. And we did drive them to the negotiating table. And my successor, John Kerry, and President Obama got a deal that put a lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing a single shot. That’s diplomacy. That’s coalition-building. That’s working with other nations.” Later she added: “There’s no doubt that we have other problems with Iran. But personally, I’d rather deal with the other problems having put that lid on their nuclear program than still to be facing that.”It’s the upstart candidate who can afford to feel happier-Trump was unimpressed: “… You started the Iran deal,” he reminded his rival, bitterly. “That’s another beauty where you have a country that was ready to fall. I mean, they were doing so badly. They were choking on the sanctions. And now they’re going to be actually probably a major power at some point pretty soon, the way they’re going.” He returned to the theme soon after: “This is one of the worst deals ever made by any country in history. The deal with Iran will lead to nuclear problems. All they have to do is sit back 10 years, and they don’t have to do much… And they’re going to end up getting nuclear. I met with Bibi Netanyahu the other day. Believe me, he’s not a happy camper.”From these shores, the Iran deal does look to many like a weak agreement when a better one could have been negotiated. The P5+1 set out to dismantle Iran’s rogue nuclear program and imposed the sanctions that forced the regime to the negotiating table, but wound up with an accord that leaves part of the program intact, doesn’t freeze all of its elements, and allows Iran a potential rapid break-out to a nuclear arsenal even if it honors the accord as the various clauses expire over the coming years.Adding insult to injury, the Obama administration told Israel to stop critiquing the accord before it was signed because our leadership ostensibly didn’t know what it was talking about, then claimed no better deal could have been made and that no deal would have satisfied Israel, and most recently the president himself asserted that “the Israeli military and security community” now recognizes it as a positive “game-changer.”Netanyahu “not a happy camper”? I’d imagine the prime minister would privately have nodded, sighing, at that Trump summation.Watchability-Pre-gladiation, this first face-off was being hyped by US media as some kind of political near-equivalent to the Thrilla in Manila. Britain’s Sky News called it a debate that could “change the world,” no less. But if 100 million Americans really did tune it for its opening feints and punches, I wonder how many of them were still watching by the final rounds.There was no knockout. No dazzling rhetorical sucker punch. Back from pneumonia, Clinton didn’t so much as clear her throat, let alone wobble, slump or cough. Trump didn’t flip his lid. And the early exchanges, on tax, loans and drapery, hardly made for the most riveting of television.Nixon-Kennedy, this was not. Nor, for that matter, to invoke an election-defining Israeli debate, was it Peres-Netanyahu: Twenty years ago, in May 1996, three days before Israel went to the polls to elect a successor to the assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, a very reluctant frontrunner named Shimon Peres consented to a single TV debate against the youngish opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Peres was reluctant because he had everything to lose: He was the political veteran, the establishment candidate who’d paid his dues and then some; he had the experience and the presumed wisdom, and he was facing off against an unpredictable, nimble and telegenic challenger.The defining moment came at the end of the debate, when the moderator, Dan Margalit, invited each of the candidates to ask the other a single question. Netanyahu, as he had done throughout the TV contest and indeed throughout an election campaign marked by Hamas suicide bombings, attacked Peres for his ostensible incapacity to rectify the “deteriorating” security situation, to which Peres retorted that his rival was making cynical political capital out of people’s fears. But when the time came for Peres to put his question to Netanyahu, he declined to ask anything at all, evidently intending to signal that Netanyahu was a piffling amateur who could contribute nothing of real value. What came across, however, was the sense that Peres could conceive of no question for which Netanyahu would not find an effective answer.Days later, Peres lost the election to Netanyahu by less than one percent — 29,457 votes, to be precise. The TV debate was certainly a factor.Clinton demonstrably knew better than Peres did then of the perils of underestimating a ruthless and sharp opponent. She has, as she noted, “prepared to be president.” And she had plainly prepared rigorously for this debate — knowing that TV is home territory for Trump.Neither candidate will have left the hall feeling defeated. But neither could credibly claim a decisive victory, either.-And yet-And yet, even though Trump was in his natural TV habitat but failed to land a definitive blow, even though Clinton seemed competent, confident and relatively assured, I rather think it’s the upstart candidate who can afford to feel happier after this first of three debates.Here he was, the self-styled outsider, the ostensible anti-establishment candidate, the long-odds challenger who nobody gave a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the nomination, finally standing on equal terms with the veteran insider, swinging and jabbing, ducking and diving. On the split screen, simply because he’s taller, there was Clinton even looking up at him now and again — a dream shot.Did he appear hopelessly out of his league against this hugely experienced political leader? He did not. Did he give his likely voters a powerful reason to reconsider, to pull away? I don’t think so. And did he damage his prospects among the undecideds? I don’t think so either. His campaign has been littered with superficial policy proposals and some appalling and vicious rhetoric; he steered clear of those on Monday night.Trump’s appeal stems, in part, from the fact that he’s brash, and contentious, and speaks from the gut. That appeal gets limited if he can also be shown to be irresponsible, intemperate, dangerous.Did Hillary Clinton persuade Americans on Monday night that Donald Trump must not be trusted with the leadership and defense of their country? I don’t think she did. And she may have to, if she is to stop him from winning the presidency.
