MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD REJECTS TRANSITION PLAN

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

EGYPT

ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Report: Russia Could Suspend Syria S-300 Sale for Golan Role

Russia badly wants its soldiers on the Golan as peacekeepers - and is willing to cancel its missile deal with Syria to do so, a report said.-By David Lev-First Publish: 7/10/2013, 3:18 PM-israelnationalnews

Golan soldiers-IDF Website

Israel may drop its opposition to stationing Russian troops on the Golan Heights as members of the UN peacekeeping force there – if Moscow halts its shipments of S-300 missiles to Damascus. Such a deal could be in the works, the London-based Arabic-language a-Sharq al-Awsat said Wednesday.In June, Russia expressed interest in stationing its troops on the Golan, where they would take the place of Austrian troops who had left their posts as fighting between rebels and Syrian Army troops rocked the UN base at Quneitra.
Russia applied to have its troops join the patrol, called UNDOF, but according to UN rules, Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, cannot include its troops in the Golan peacekeeping force, as per the UN-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Syria establishing UNDOF after the Yom Kippur War. Russia had proposed sending 380 troops to join the peacekeeping force.It is not clear why Russia is interested in stationing its troops on the Golan, but the a-Sharq al-Awsat report said that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni had met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in recent weeks, with the latter suggesting cancellation of the S-300 deal as a “gesture” to Israel for Jerusalem's agreement to allow Russian troops to take up posts at Quneitra.The report did not say whether the proposal had been submitted to the UN for approval, or if there had been a final agreement on the matter.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood rejects transition plan

Army rule takes the country ‘back to zero,’ says senior Islamist figure

By MAGGIE MICHAEL July 9, 2013, 4:59 pm 1-thetimesofisrael

 

Supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi protest at the Republican Guard building in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. (photo credit: AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday rejected a new timetable announced by the military-backed interim leadership that sets a fast track for amending the Islamist-drafted constitution and holding new parliamentary and presidential elections by early next year.The quick issuing of the transition plan showed how Egypt’s new leadership is shrugging off Islamists’ vows to reverse the military’s ousting of President Mohammed Morsi and wants to quickly entrench a post-Morsi political system.Egypt’s military also likely aims to show the United States and other Western nations that the country is moving quickly back to an elected civilian leadership. Washington has expressed concern over the removal of Egypt’s first freely elected president, and if the US government determines that the army’s move qualifies as a coup it would have to cut off more than a $1 billion in aid to Egypt, mostly to the military. The Obama administration has said doing so would not be in US interests.Egypt’s political divide was only further enflamed Monday by one of the worst single incidents of bloodshed in 2 ½ years of turmoil: Security forces killed more than 50 pro-Morsi protesters in clashes at a sit-in by Islamists. The military accused armed Islamists of sparking the fighting, but Morsi supporters said troop opened fire on them without provocation after dawn prayers.

Egyptian army stand guard around the Republican Guard building in Nasr City in Cairo, Egypt, on Monday, July 8, 2013. (photo credit: AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Since then, the military and allied media have depicted the campaign to restore Morsi as increasingly violent and infused with armed extremists. Islamists, in turn, have talked of the military aiming to crush them after what they say was a coup to wreck democracy.Essam el-Erian, a senior Brotherhood figure and deputy head of its Freedom and Justice Party, rejected the transition timetable, saying it takes the country “back to zero.”“The cowards are not sleeping, but Egypt will not surrender. The people created their constitution with their votes,” he wrote on his Facebook page, referring to the constitution that Islamists pushed to finalization and then was passed in a national referendum during Morsi’s year in office.He said the military and its allies were targeting “not just the president but the nation’s identity, the rights and freedoms of the people and the democratic system enshrined in the constitution.”The constitution passed under Morsi — and suspended since his fall — was written by an assembly created by the first post-Mubarak parliament, elected in 2011-2012. But the panel was deeply controversial.Reflecting the parliament, the constituent assembly had a strong Islamist majority. Most non-Islamists eventually abandoned the assembly, complaining that the Brotherhood and its allies were imposing their will. Courts were considering whether to dissolve the panel but Morsi unilaterally decreed that they could not while his allies rushed to finalize the draft.The final version had a strong Islamist flavor, deepening requirements for laws to abide by Shariah. The document passed in a referendum with around 60 percent of the vote — but only around 30 percent of voters casting ballots.

A supporter of ousted President Mohammed Morsi with a national flag gestures to army soldiers guard at the Republican Guard building in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, July 9, 2013. (photo credit: AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Under the timetable issued Monday by interim president Adly Mansour, two appointed panels would be created.One, made up of judges, would come up with amendments. The other, larger body consisting of representatives of society and political movements would debate the amendments and approve them.

The new constitution would be put to a referendum within 4 ½ months from now.Elections for a new parliament would be held within two months of that. Once the new parliament convenes, it would have a week to set a date for presidential elections.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Egypt orders arrest of Brotherhood leaders

By Maggie Fick and Alexander Dziadosz-july 10,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor ordered the arrest on Wednesday of the leaders of ousted President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, charging them with inciting violence in a clash that saw troops shoot dozens of his supporters dead.A week after the army toppled Egypt's first democratically elected leader, bloodshed has opened deep fissures in the Arab world's most populous country, with bitterness at levels unseen in its modern history.Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said the announcement of charges against leader Mohamed Badie and several other senior Islamists was a bid by authorities to break up a vigil by thousands of Mursi supporters demanding his reinstatement.This week's unrest has alarmed Western donors and Israel, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Egypt. Washington, treading a careful line, has neither welcomed Mursi's removal nor denounced it as a "coup". Under U.S. law, a coup would require it to halt aid, including the $1.3 billion it gives the army each year.The Brotherhood's downfall has, however, been warmly welcomed by three of the rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf, who showered Cairo with aid to prop up the collapsing economy.Kuwait promised Egypt $4 billion in cash, loans and fuel on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia pledged $5 billion and the United Arab Emirates offered $3 billion.The Brotherhood leaders were charged with inciting violence in Monday's shootings, which began before dawn, when the Brotherhood says its followers were peacefully praying. The army says terrorists provoked the shooting by attacking its troops.According to security sources, 57 people died including 53 protesters and four members of the security forces.Haddad said the Brotherhood leaders had not been arrested and some were still attending the protest vigil at Rabaa Adawiya mosque. The charges against them were "nothing more than an attempt by the police state to dismantle the Rabaa protest"."What can we do?" he asked. "In a police state, when the police force are criminals, the judiciary are traitors and the investigators are the fabricators, what can one do?"In addition to Badie, prosecutors ordered the arrest of others including his deputy, Mahmoud Ezzat, and outspoken party leaders Essam El-Erian and Mohamed El-Beltagi. Khairat El-Shater, another senior leader, was held last week.The prosecutor also ordered 206 Brotherhood activists arrested after Monday's violence to be detained for a further 15 days on accusations of involvement in the killings. It released 464 others who had been detained, on bail of about $300 each.
RAMADAN OVERSHADOWED
Egyptians have hoped the start of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month, would cool passions, but it has been overshadowed by rancour.Thousands of Brotherhood supporters braved brutal summer heat to maintain their outdoor protest vigil despite the fast, clustering in tents to protect themselves from sun during daylight hours when Islam forbids all eating or drinking.Some milled about, others staged small marches. A list was posted at the camp bearing the names of the more than 650 people arrested following Monday's "massacre". They say they will not budge until Mursi is restored to power."He'll come back," said Reda Ibrahim, a 43-year-old Mursi supporter who came from the Suez Canal city of Ismailia. "He'll finish his term."
Despite the violence that followed Mursi's removal, the interim authorities are proceeding with the army's "road map" to restore civilian rule. On Tuesday, they named 76-year-old economist Hazem el-Beblawi as acting prime minister.Beblawi told Reuters he would start selecting ministers and would begin by meeting liberal politicians Mohamed ElBaradei and Ziad Bahaa el-Din. ElBaradei, a former U.N. agency chief, has been named vice president. Bahaa el-Din, a former head of Egypt's investment authority, has been touted for senior posts.Both are prominent figures in the National Salvation Front, the main secularist group that led protests against Mursi.They also support a stalled $4.8 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, which would require Egypt to make politically painful reforms to subsidies for food and fuel that support its 84 million people but drain its public finances.Beblawi accepted that it would be a challenge to find a cabinet line-up with universal support. "I don't believe that anything can have unanimous approval," he told Reuters.Beblawi has indicated he would be open to offering cabinet posts to Islamists, including Brotherhood figures. The Brotherhood says it will have nothing whatsoever to do with a government of what it calls a "fascist coup".
COUP OR NO?
Both sides of Egypt's divide have become fiercely anti-American. Mursi's opponents say President Barack Obama's administration supported the Brotherhood in power, while Mursi's supporters believe Washington was behind the plot to unseat him.Secularist posters depict the U.S. president as a bearded Brotherhood member and call Cairo ambassador Anne Patterson - who spoke against street protests against Mursi - a "witch". To Islamists, Obama's refusal so far to label the military takeover a "coup" shows he is a hypocrite in promoting democracy.White House spokesman Jay Carney, who voiced confidence in the ambassador, said it was still too soon to conclude whether the takeover was a coup: "We are evaluating how the authorities are responding to and handling the current situation," he said.But aid has not been suspended. The Pentagon said a planned delivery four F-16 fighters to Egypt would take place soon.The promised $12 billion in aid from the Gulf states will go a long way to easing a deep economic crisis that has driven Egypt's finances to the brink during two and a half years of instability since autocrat Hosni Mubarak was swept from power.
The funds also reduce the incentive for Egypt to make the reforms the IMF says are needed to stabilize public finances, attract investment and rekindle economic growth.In other steps on their "road map", the authorities have announced a temporary constitution, plans to amend it, and a timetable for elections beginning in about six months.Those moves already demonstrated the difficulty achieving political consensus, even among Mursi's opponents. The secularist NSF initially rejected the interim constitution, as did Islamists and others, although on Wednesday the NSF withdrew its rejection and issued a new, milder criticism.
On Wednesday, the authorities also named a chief prosecutor, replacing Mursi's appointee who was pushed out last week by a court that briefly reinstated his Mubarak-era predecessor.With the Brotherhood sidelined, the authorities are courting the second largest Islamist group, the ultra-orthodox Nour Party, to demonstrate that Islamists will not be suppressed as they were during six decades of military-backed rule.Nour officially withdrew from politics in response to Monday's violence but has said it does not object to Beblawi's appointment and will assist his government.Nour spokesman Nader Bakkar said on Wednesday the group would not accept posts in the new cabinet but would offer "consent and advice to help the cabinet pass through the transition period as soon as possible and with minimum damage"."We are waiting to help. We are ready to advise but for the time being we still take the decision not to participate in the political process until the judiciary committee gives its report about what happened," he said of this week's shooting deaths.
Bloodshed has abated since Monday's incident, the deadliest since Mubarak's fall, apart from a 2012 soccer stadium riot.However, there are fears that the political violence could lead to a breakdown in security, especially in the lawless Sinai peninsula region bordering Israel. Two people were killed and six wounded overnight when Islamist militants attacked a Sinai checkpoint.(Reporting by Maggie Fick, Alexander Dziadosz, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Sarah McFarlane, Mike Collett-White, Shadia Nasralla and Peter Graff in Cairo and Laura MacInnis, Roberta Rampton and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Peter Millership and Alastair Macdonald)

REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a(MEASURING) reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out,(TO THE WORLD NATIONS) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.(JERUSALEM DIVIDED BUT THE 3RD TEMPLE ALLOWED TO BE REBUILT)

DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Knesset Speaker: Temple Mount Solution 'by Next Year'

MK Edelstein says preventing MKs from visiting the Temple Mount is a "very grave" matter.

By Gil Ronen-First Publish: 5/8/2013, 8:11 PM-israelnationalnews

Speaker Edelstein-Israel news photo: Flash 90

Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein stated Wednesday that the present state of affairs, in which MKs are prevented from visiting the Temple Mount, is a "very grave" matter, which he hopes will be solved in a year's time.In a Facebook post devoted to Jerusalem Day, Edelstein wrote: "In the last few weeks, the rights of prayer at the Kotel, the Remainder of our Temple, as well as the right of Jews to ascend to the Temple Mount and pray there, have been placed on the Knesset's agenda."The Temple, as is known, was a place of prayer for all nations."The state of Israel is almost the only one, throughout the history of Jerusalem, which allows free access to all places of worship, which are sacred to all nations, out of respect."Our belief in our right over the Land does not detract from our commitment to Israel's Arab and Christian citizens, and to believers in other religions."However, we must not limit the Jews, of all people, from access to the places of worship they hold dear to their hearts."I hope that the initiative of our friend, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, for establishment of an egalitarian site for worship, at the Kotel Plaza, will materialize. It is specifically out of consciousness of Jerusalem's central role in shaping Jewish identity that we must allow Reform, Conservative and other Jews to pray in accordance with their beliefs, while maintaining the Kotel as a holy place."At the same time, I see with gravity, the curtailing of the immunity of Knesset Members, and preventing this or another MK from implementing his right to ascend the Mount."In the discussion with the police's top echelon I made clear that it is unthinkable that decisions that impinge on MKs' immunity are made without the presence of, or consultation with, Knesset representatives."I understand that sometimes, one needs to take into account considerations of the public peace. I do not see such considerations as making us less sovereign on the Temple Mount (On the contrary, I see those who complain day and night of our lack of sovereignty as weakening our consciousness, and creating a reality that is the opposite of the one they want). But I will not give up on the right of MKs to ascend the Mount."I hope that by the time of the celebration of 47 years since the unification of Jerusalem, next year, we will find a formula that allows MKs to visit the Tempe Mount without harming the public peace."

TOR ROLLING BLACKOUTS-15 DEAD IN DERAILMENT

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

WITH THE ROLLING BLACKOUTS GOING ON IN TORONTO.I HOPE ROB FORD WILL NOT END UP CHARGING MORE TAXES ON PEOPLE TO FIX THE HYDRO STATIONS.SOME CITIES PULL THE BLACKOUT SCAM TO GET A HIGHER HYDRO RATES.I HOPE TORONTO IS NOT PULLING THIS TRICK LIKE CALIFORNIA DONE TO THEIR CITIZENS YEARS BACK.AND SCAMMED BILLIONS FROM THE CITIZENS UNDER THE GUISE OF ROLLING BLACKOUTS.

In wake of Toronto flood, officials warn of rolling blackouts for downtown

ANN HUI

The Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Jul. 09 2013, 11:45 AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 09 2013, 5:04 PM EDT

Officials are warning that much of downtown Toronto will experience power outages Tuesday afternoon and evening, in an attempt to reduce the city’s energy consumption after Monday’s flooding brought massive power outages, shut down the city’s subway system, and flooded homes across the GTA.After Monday’s record rainfall caused flooding damage at two of the city’s main transmission systems, the city’s hydro system is “hanging on a thread,” Mayor Rob Ford said in a statement.

Video: Stranded commuters joined by snake on flooded GO train

As a result, about 70,000 customers in downtown Toronto south of St. Clair Ave West, between Jane Street and Spadina Avenue, will experience “rotating blackouts” starting Tuesday afternoon, Toronto Hydro spokesperson Jennifer Link said. Those customers may not see their power return until Wednesday morning, she said.As of Tuesday afternoon, Environment Canada warned of more rain for Tuesday evening, and a risk of thunderstorms.Meanwhile, the mayor asked the rest of the city to help out by reducing their consumption and turning off non-essential electronics.Toronto Hydro’s president Anthony Haines said that the city is asking for 200,000 megawatts of power of volunteer “load-shedding,” to reduce strain on the system.
Much of the strain on the energy system is the result of flooding damage at the Richview and Manby transmission stations, which provides much of the city’s west end with power.Hydro One said between 400,000 and 500,000 people were blacked out at the height of the storm, and about 90 per cent of those had restored power by Tuesday morning. Toronto Hydro said about 50,000 of its customers remain without power, primarily in the west end of the city between Highway 427 and Jane Street. Restoring power to those customers depends on repairing the Manby and Richview stations, spokeswoman Jennifer Link said Tuesday.Terry Young, vice-president of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), which forecasts energy consumption, issued a similar appeal for energy reduction.Mr. Young said that certain parts of the city’s west end, like the area between Yonge and Jane and between Bloor to Eglinton, are particularly vulnerable, because the downed stations has left those areas essentially “without a backup.”“The simple analogy is like if you’ve got a highway that you can’t use,” Mr. Young said of the damaged transmission stations. By redirecting power around those stations, Mr. Young said, “you’re using side roads” and placing strain on the overall system.The last time the IESO issued a public appeal for reduced consumption was in 2007, during a particularly bad heat wave in Ontario.In addition to his plea for reduced energy use, Mayor Ford also said that he is asking the city to review its emergency response after Monday’s flooding.“There are many things that worked well last night,” Mayor Ford said in a press conference Tuesday. But other areas, such as the way in which information was communicated, may need to be improved, the mayor said.
“Basements were flooding, people were panicking, their hydro wasn’t coming on, people needed answers,” Mr. Ford said. “It was hard to get answers because it was a little chaotic.”The 126 millimetres of rain recorded at Pearson Airport yesterday beat the previous record set by 1954’s Hurricane Hazel, according to Environment Canada.As of Tuesday morning, the city’s transit and roadways were still recovering.
The Bloor-Danforth subway line is still not operating between Kipling and Jane stations, after flooding and power outages shut down much of the city’s entire subway service Monday. The 504 King streetcar is also diverting due to a flooded underpass at Atlantic Avenue.Many of GO Transit’s trains and buses were delayed and re-routed Tuesday, and commuters are advised to check the GO website for an updated list of disruptions.The flooding had caused a full closure of the north-sound Don Valley Parkway last evening, but all lanes were re-opened in time for the morning rush hour. Lake Shore Boulevard and the Allen Expressway were also re-opened. Road closures in Toronto that continued into Tuesday morning included Rosedale Valley Road from Bayview to Park Road, and the underpass at King Street and Atlantic Avenue.
Peel Regional Police tweeted a number of intersections where officers are directing traffic Tuesday morning. Dixie Road north of Lakeshore Road East in Mississauga is closed in both directions due to dangerous conditions.Toronto Pearson tweeted Tuesday morning that its operations may be slower than usual, and that travellers should confirm their flight status before heading to the airport. Porter Airlines had cancelled all Toronto flights Monday after power outages at the airport, but flights appeared to be departing on time again as of Tuesday morning.By late afternoon, Toronto Hydro reported that there were still 70,000 customers, mostly in the west end, without power. The power outage also meant that subway service west of Jane Station could not be resumed for the afternoon rush hour.And there are signs of more bad weather to come. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement regarding a low pressure trough crossing southern Ontario early Wednesday. This may cause possible thunderstorms including torrential downpours, damaging winds, and large hail.For those cleaning up in the storm’s aftermath, the City of Toronto said it will have a special garbage collection on Saturday, July 13 for waste created by flooding. Items must be at the curb by 7 am and crews may take until Monday to collect all items.  City-issued bag tags will not be required for this collection.With a report from Elizabeth Church

Quebec train disaster: now 15 declared dead, about 35 more still missing

By Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – JULY 9,13

LAC-MEGANTIC, Que. - The official death toll in the Quebec train disaster has climbed to 15, with two more bodies pulled Tuesday from a scorched area police were calling a crime scene.With about another 35 other people still missing, residents expect the grim news to continue.Provincial police said they had 200 officers on the site performing a criminal investigation — and because they were treating much of the downtown core as a crime scene, trespassers could be charged with obstructing justice.''There is potential evidence there that could eventually lead to criminal charges being laid,'' said Insp. Michel Forget.''I won't speculate on the elements we have recovered because they will be secret.''He said he doesn't believe terrorism is at play.He also refused comment when asked whether the evidence related to any possible crimes was found at the scene of the derailment or further up the line.Earlier on Tuesday, the national Transportation Safety Board is performing its own investigation.The TSB said Tuesday that authorities were never alerted to the fact that a runaway train was on its way to levelling part of the small Quebec town.
Rail dispatchers had no chance to intervene during the fateful 18-minute journey because they didn't know it was happening, TSB investigator Donald Ross told a news conference."There were no signals nor track circuits, so the rail-traffic controller had no — and would have had no — indication that there had been a runaway train," he said.Such systems are in place on busier rail lines including the one linking Montreal and Quebec City, but not on secondary lines, said TSB manager Ed Belkaloul.A clearer picture of the events leading up to the fatal derailment began to emerge Tuesday as board officials gave a bare-bones account of their investigation thus far.But they stressed it's much too early to say who was responsible for the security of the train that rolled into Lac-Megantic and exploded into balls of fire.''We want to know the answer to that question as well,'' Ross said.''We need to do all of our interviews and talk to all of the people before we make sure we've got it right.''It's very important to know exactly who did what. Who was there? What did they do? Until we've had a chance to interview everybody we need to talk to, we can't comment on that yet.''The finger-pointing has already begun, with untold financial stakes at play: there are already local rumours of potential lawsuits while various parties speculate about impending compensation.The company that owns the train, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, and fire officials in the nearby town of Nantes have blamed each other as investigators search for causes in the tragedy that has ravaged the close-knit community about 250 kilometres east of Montreal.The fire chief in Nantes has offered an assessment different from the railway's about who might have been to blame in the hours leading up to the tragedy.Edward Burkhardt, the president and CEO of MMA's parent company, Rail World, Inc., has suggested the fire crew didn't do enough — and even suggested the decision to shut off the locomotive to put out a fire earlier in the night might have disabled the brakes.The fire crew, however, says it was simply following procedures set out by the railway itself.Burkhardt is set to visit Lac-Megantic this week and will likely face tough questions and a fair degree of anger from residents.He told the CBC in an interview that the company has already changed some of its procedures — such as switching crews around Lac-Megantic and its older rail infrastructure.
He also suggested that the decision to staff trains with one-man crews, and leaving them unattended during breaks, might have to change."I think we followed normal industry practice, but the question is is that normal industry practice adequate in today's circumstances, particularly when you're handling trains of flammable materials like oil," Burkhardt told the network."I think there is going to be a number of changes in the rail industry overall as a result of what occurred here and I hope that we'll be at the forefront."When asked whether the one-person policy had been a good idea, Burkhardt replied: "Is this correct? I'd put a real question mark on that one right now... I can tell you on MMA, we're not leaving any of these trains unattended from now on."A key unanswered question now is: Who was the last person at the scene, tending to the stationary train? ''The employee who was on site initially was the employee who brought the train to Nantes,'' Ross said. ''That person secured the train.''Subsequent to that, the fire department personnel were on site and subsequent to that another MMA was called to assist the department.''Ross said the train was travelling well in excess of its authorized speed when it careened off the tracks, although no exact speed was given.Ross said the train started to roll after the firefighters and the rail employee had left.Questions were also raised at the news conference about the rail tankers involved in the crash.The tankers are known as DOT-111 and have a history of puncturing during accidents, Ross has said.Flaws in the DOT-111 have been noted as far back as a 1991 safety study. Among other things, its steel shell is too thin to resist puncturing in accidents, which almost guarantees the car will tear open, potentially spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or contaminate the environment.''We've had a long record of advocating for further improvements to many of these 111s because they're a very common type of tanker car,'' Ross said Tuesday.''When you take very large volumes of petroleum products, like in this case, everyone sees the damage that was caused here.''
Ross said it's too early to say the explosions could have been prevented had the tanker cars been stronger.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis sent a blessing from the Vatican to those touched by the tragedy. In a statement announcing that "special apostolic blessing," the Pope expressed his sympathy to victims, their families and emergency workers.The Queen has also offered a message of condolence.It remains to be seen how the disaster might affect the ongoing political debates in Canada, and the United States, about energy transportation and pipelines.The head of TransCanada, which hopes to build the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast, said he's been optimistic about the project's chances but stressed Tuesday he saw "no good news" for anybody in the tragic Quebec event.As for another project to build a West-East pipeline, Quebec's premier was asked whether the plan should be sped up in light of what's happened with rail transport.Premier Pauline Marois replied that it's "fair to ask that question." But she cautioned she didn't want to "get the two files, (the disaster and the pipeline-approval process), mixed up."There are plans to reverse the flow of an existing pipeline to bring Alberta oil to customers in the eastern half of Canada. The project is being reviewed by the National Energy Board.The premier also offered a first hint that her pro-independence government might be gearing up to blame Ottawa for the Lac-Megantic disaster.Marois said she's concerned about federal safety standards and wants answers. She pointed out that, under Canada's federal system, there's little the province can do to protect against rail disasters."All we can do now is demand answers from Ottawa," Marois said during a brief news conference outside her office in Quebec City."I believe they've understood and that's what they're working on."She was asked whether she might call a public inquiry into the disaster: "We're not there yet," she said. "It's a federal responsibility. The federal government will assume its responsibilities. But we can revisit all the issues related to this event in the coming days."Meanwhile, Lac-Megantic's mayor said Tuesday that about 1,200 residents were being allowed home.The town of about 6,000 has lost most of its downtown — with a library, a popular bar, a waterfront park, and dozens of homes and businesses incinerated.Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche pleaded for tourists to come this summer to the region, whose wild natural beauty and charming 19th-century towns are a popular draw.She urged people not to cancel their travel plans."If you want to do something for us, don't abandon us," Roy-Laroche told a news conference."Even if there's a catastophe downtown, everything else works."-With file from Patrice Bergeron in Quebec City

IRAN-40 NKOREAS-ISRAELI LEADER

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages;(ISRAEL) I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil,(OIL IS IN SPOIL) and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8,11-18
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog (RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300 MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
13 Yea, all the people of the land (OF ISRAEL) shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I (GOD-JESUS) shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they shall sever out men of continual employment,(NUCLEAR BOMB EXPERTS) passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
15 And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it,(WON'T TOUCH IT) till the buriers have buried it (PROPERLY) in the valley of Hamongog.(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS NEW BURIEL SITE)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl,(500 MILLION MIGRATING BIRDS THREW ISRAEL EVERY SPRING,FALL) and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF THE RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ARMIES)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye (MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL) shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.(RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS)
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21 And I (GOD-JESUS) will set my glory among the heathen,(WORLD NATIONS) and all the heathen (WORLD NATIONS) shall see my judgment that I have executed,(AGAINST ISRAELS ENEMIES) and my (GODS) hand that I have laid upon them.(ISRAELS HATER ENEMIES)

JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37  For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)

EZEKIEL 35:3-6,11-15
3  And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir,(ARABS) I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4  I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5  Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred,(AGAINST ISRAEL) and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
11  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12  And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
13  Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.(ARAB,MUSLIMS)
15  As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir,(ARABS) and all Idumea,(ARAB,MUSLIMS) even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

EGYPT

ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Egypt seeks end to crisis with quick elections

By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry-JULY 9,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's interim rulers issued a faster than expected timetable for elections to try to drag the country out of crisis, a day after 51 people were killed when troops fired on a crowd supporting ousted President Mohamed Mursi.The streets of Cairo were quiet on Tuesday but Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood movement called for more protests later in the day, raising the risk of further violence.Under pressure to restore democracy quickly, Adli Mansour, the judge named head of state by the army when it brought down Mursi last week, decreed overnight that a parliamentary vote would be held in about six months. That would be followed by a presidential election.In an important positive signal for the transitional authorities, the ultra-orthodox Islamist Nour Party said it would accept ex-finance minister Samir Radwan as prime minister, potentially paving the way for an interim cabinet.The stakes were raised dramatically by the bloodshed on Monday, the worst since Mursi was toppled by the military. The army opened fire outside Cairo's Republican Guard barracks where the deposed leader is believed to be held.The bloodshed has also raised alarm among key donors such as the United States and the European Union, as well as in Israel, with which Egypt has had a U.S.-backed peace treaty since 1979.Officials said troops fired in response to an attack by armed assailants. The protesters disputed that account, insisting they were conducting peaceful dawn prayers."They shot us with teargas, birdshot, rubber bullets - everything. Then they used live bullets," said Abdelaziz Abdel Shakua, a bearded 30-year-old who was wounded in his right leg.
EGYPT SHOCKED AND TIRED
The bloodshed shocked Egyptians, already tired of the turbulence that began 2-1/2 years ago with the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising. However, many Egyptians seemed to accept the official account that the troops had come under attack and had fired back."Of course I condemn this: Egyptian versus Egyptian. But the people attacked the army, not the other way around," said Abdullah Abdel Rayal, 58, shopping in a street market in downtown Cairo on Tuesday morning.Winning the support of Nour for a new prime minister would be an important step to show that violence has not derailed the transition. Nour is the main Islamist group apart from Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, and the authorities aim to show their transitional arrangement is acceptable to Islamists.Radwan emerged as favorite to lead a government after Nour rejected Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. diplomat and secularist politician.A high level delegation from the United Arab Emirates was due to arrive in Egypt, signaling vital regional support for the military-led transitional rulers and potentially bringing a lifeline of billions of dollars in desperately-needed aid.
TURMOIL HITS TOURISM, INVESTMENT
With turmoil driving away foreign investors and tourists, Egypt is running dangerously short of cash to provide the subsidized bread and fuel that its 84 million people rely on.Egyptian newspapers, mainly controlled by the state or by Mursi's opponents, described Monday's violence as the result of terrorism by Mursi's supporters.Millions of people took to the streets on June 30 to demand Mursi's resignation, fearing he was orchestrating a creeping Islamist takeover of the state.To the Brotherhood, his removal amounted to the reversal of democracy a year after he became Egypt's first freely elected leader. Islamists fear a return to the suppression they endured for decades under autocratic rulers like Mubarak.Protesters said Monday's shooting started as they performed morning prayers outside the barracks. Military spokesman Ahmed Ali said that at 4 a.m. (0200 GMT) armed men attacked troops in the area in the northeast of the city. Emergency services said in addition to the dead 435 people were wounded.At a hospital near Cairo's Rabaa Adawiya mosque, where many of the wounded and dead were taken, rooms were crammed full, sheets were stained with blood.On Friday, clashes between pro- and anti-Mursi supporters had swept across Egyptian cities, killing 35 people.Mansour decreed that Egypt will hold new parliamentary elections once amendments to its suspended constitution are approved in a referendum.
OLIVE BRANCH
In what appeared to be an olive branch to Islamists, the decree included controversial language put into the constitution last year that defined the principles of Islamic sharia law.Whether that will be enough to lure back Nour, which had supported the military-led transition but pulled out of the talks after Monday's attack, remains to be seen.Egypt's main share index rose after Nour said it would accept Radwan as prime minister.
Nour spokesman Nader Bakkar said Radwan met its conditions: "We asked for a technocrat economist ... a neutral guy."Nathan Brown, a leading expert on Egypt's constitution at George Washington University in Washington, said that while the overnight decree laid out a clear sequence for transition, it repeated some mistakes made two years ago, after Mubarak."It was drawn up by an anonymous committee; it was issued by executive fiat; the timetable is rushed; the provisions for consultation are vague; and it promises inclusiveness but gives no clear procedural guidelines for it," he told Reuters.Although Tuesday was comparatively quiet, there were minor incidents reported by late morning. Gunmen fired on a church in Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal overnight. Two people were wounded, medical sources said.
The Brotherhood movement has refused to have anything to do with the process, and thousands of supporters have camped out in northeast Cairo for the last five days and vowed not to budge until Mursi returns as president - a seemingly vain hope.
WELCOME WINDFALL?
The arrival of a senior UAE delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, could signal a welcome windfall.The UAE - long skeptical of the Brotherhood - had pledged billions in aid to Egypt after the fall of Mubarak but held the money back during Mursi's year in power. Saudi Arabia could also send much-needed cash and fuel.The West has had a harder time formulating a public response, after years of pushing Arab leaders towards democracy while at the same time nervous about the Brotherhood's rise. Demonstrators on both sides in Egypt have chanted anti-American slogans, accusing Washington of backing their enemies.
Washington has refrained from calling the military intervention a "coup" - a label that under U.S. law would require it to halt aid. It called on Egypt's army to exercise "maximum restraint" but has said it is not about to halt funding for Egypt, including the $1.3 billion it gives the military.The army has insisted that the overthrow was not a coup and that it was enforcing the "will of the people" after millions took to the streets on June 30 to call for Mursi's resignation.(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, Maggie Fick, Alexander Dziadosz, Tom Perry, Yasmine Saleh, Peter Graff, Patrick Werr, Shadia Nasralla and Tom Finn in Cairo, Roberta Rampton, Lesley Wroughton and Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Peter Graff, editing by Peter Millership)

Livni in Moscow 'to Discuss S-300 Threat'

Israeli Justice Minister to meet Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in a bid to convince Moscow not to go through with the delivery.By Arutz Sheva-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 2:28 PM-Israelnationalnews

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni-Flash 90

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni was due in Moscow on Tuesday for talks over Russia's plans to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, IDF Radio said.
During the visit, Livni, who also serves as Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, was to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a bid to convince Moscow not to go through with the promised delivery.
Livni's spokeswoman confirmed she was to meet with Lavrov in Moscow but denied it was in connection with the S-300 system, AFP said.The S-300 batteries are advanced ground-to-air weapons that can take out aircraft or guided missiles. The weapon could theoretically shoot down Israeli jets in the region or complicate any Western efforts to impose a no-fly zone over war-torn Syria, or to stage any intervention to take out chemical weapons.Israel has also expressed fears that such weapons could fall into the hands of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement or of Iran, both of whom are closely allied with Assad's regime.The report came as Israeli commentators suggested an initial delivery of the surface-to-air system was likely to take place "in the next few weeks".Israel is strongly opposed to Moscow supplying Damascus with such a system and warned it could take military action if it went ahead, AFP noted."The deliveries have not taken place, and I hope they do not. But if, by misfortune, they arrive in Syria, we will know what to do," Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon warned in May in a thinly-veiled allusion to a strike.Writing in the top-selling Yediot Aharonot, commentator Alex Fishman said Israel was "tensely awaiting" the delivery of a first batch of the S-300 missiles which were likely to arrive in Syria "in the next few weeks" accompanied by a delegation of Russian experts who would train the Syrians in how to use the system."Israel is now bracing for a last diplomatic effort, together with the Americans, in an attempt either to postpone or cancel the deal," he said, noting that the Russian deal was financial rather than political in nature.In early June, Yaalon said Russia would not be able to deliver the anti-aircraft system to Damascus before 2014.

Nuclear Iran is 'Like 40 North Koreas' – Steinitz

No time for diplomacy, says Strategic Affairs minister. Rouhani is “a wolf in sheep's clothing.”

By Gil Ronen-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 3:27 PM-Israelnationalnews

Minister Yuval Steinitz-Flash 90

The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is “the equivalent of 40 North Koreas,” Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steintz said Tuesday at the annual Cyber Conference at the Institute for National Security Studies.
Steinitz repeated Israel's long held position, that Iran's nuclear weapons bid is “the most critical and meaningful” subject “for the safety of Israel and the entire world.”He warned that Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, is “a wolf in sheeps clothing” and explained that for this reason, there is no time for diplomacy and additional rounds of talks..”"The Iranian threat is the equivalent of 40 North Koreas, it is a threat that will change the world order,” he added. "This is the challenge of our generation, as far as global diplomacy is concerned. There is time only for one thing, which must be made crystal clear.“The Iranians,” he said, “must be made to face a very clear dilemma: 'Do you want to save Iran's economy? Give up nuclear weapons and spare yourself a military risk as well. If you do not give up on the nukes, you will finish off the Iranian economy.'”His comments came as human rights activists slammed Rouhani's government for a wave of executions - more than 60 in less than a month in office. Claims that the new regime is any more "moderate" than the previous one, they claim, ring hollow against such actions.

Over 50 hurt as car bomb hits Hezbollah Beirut stronghold

By Laila Bassam and Mariam Karouny-JULY 9,13
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A massive car bomb ripped through a Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, wounding 53 people on Tuesday.None of those hurt were seriously wounded, Health Minister Hassan Khalil told Reuters, and there were no fatalities.Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of the Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah in support of Assad's forces fighting a two-year revolt led by Syria's Sunni Muslim majority.There was no immediate indication of who was behind the blast, the worst such attack in years, which came as forces loyal to Assad are making gains on the battlefield and as Sunnis and Shi'ites clash in Lebanon.But residents in the Shi'ite district blamed Sunni militant supporters of the insurgency against Assad, while politicians also suspected a sectarian motive."This is the work of agents trying to create strife in Lebanon," Hezbollah parliamentary deputy Ali Meqdad said at the site of the explosion.Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the attack was "a criminal act aimed at destabilizing the country and creating Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian strife". President Michel Suleiman said it reopened the "black pages" of Lebanon's civil war.
Syria's conflagration has spread to Lebanon, where there have been outbreaks of fighting reflecting the renewed sectarian tension now spreading through the Middle East.Lebanon's Sunni Muslims mostly support the rebels in Syria, while Shi'ites have largely supported Assad, who is part of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.Sunni militant groups have threatened to attack Hezbollah following its military intervention in Syria. Hezbollah did not immediately respond to Tuesday's blast but it has made clear it intends to keep fighting alongside Assad's forces in Syria.A Reuters reporter saw a large fire raging at the site of the blast near a shopping mall in Bir al-Abed, an area that is also home to Hezbollah officials and their offices. It was unclear if any of the group's leaders had been in the area.
DENSE SMOKE
A pillar of dense black smoke billowed above surrounding high-rise apartment blocks. Ambulances and fire engines sped through the streets to rescue casualties.Dozens of cars were ablaze in the parking lot where the car rigged with explosives was left. Reuters and other media outlets were prevented from reaching the area, where Hezbollah gunmen allowed only the group's Al Manar TV to operate.Images from the scene showed a crater covered by a blue tarpaulin and surrounded by wrecked cars. Hezbollah men with red caps and yellow arm-bands set up a security cordon around the blast scene along with Lebanese soldiers.Hezbollah gunmen were seen arresting two men near the scene.Angry young men carrying pictures of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah began shouting "God and Nasrallah".Soldiers fired in the air to dispel crowds trying to attack interior minister Charbel, who has in the past declined to crack down on hardline Sunni groups in Lebanon.Zeinab, a 45-year-old woman whose apartment opposite the blast site had its windows blown out, broke down in tears."I went to fetch breakfast for my son and then heard the explosion. I want to know he is OK. I want to talk to him."Shopping areas would likely have been full on Tuesday, the day before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins. Most of the casualties were apparently women and children out shopping.The attack is the second strike in Shi'ite southern Beirut this year. Two rockets struck the area in May.No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blast but shocked and angry residents were quick to blame Sunni militants.Hajje Alia, a 35-year-old woman clad in a black robe, said: "We have been expecting explosions in this holy month of Ramadan from the Takfiris (Sunni militants) who are trying to stop us from carrying out our holy war duties alongside our Syrian brothers, but nothing will stop us, not even 1,000 explosions."The last car bomb to hit Beirut targeted a senior intelligence official in October. Wissam al-Hassan was part of the country's leading Sunni opposition party, which has supported the uprising in Syria.
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah has promised that his group will continue fighting for Assad after it spearheaded the recapture of the strategic town of Qusair last month.Abu Ali, who lives near the blast scene, blamed what he called Sunni terrorists for the attack."They want to terrorize us. The scumbags. These terrorists want us to abandon (the leader of Hezbollah) but we swear we will love him more, for all our lives. All we own, and our children we pledge to him."(Writing by Erika Solomon and Giles Elgood; Editing by Alison Williams)

Jewish Voice for Peace Drives 'Wedge' Through Jewish Community

“Jewish wing” of Palestinian solidarity movement creates “wedge” within American Jewish community over support for Israel.By Rina Tzvi-First Publish: 7/9/2013, 4:40 PM-Israelnationalnews

anti-Israel boycotters-Flash 90

NGO Monitor released on Monday a report detailing the goals, tactics, and opaque financing of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S.-based advocacy organization dedicated to driving "a wedge" within the Jewish community to create the impression that the Jewish community is polarized over Israel.The group implements tactic in an effort to dilute support for Israel in the Jewish community, toward the goal of reducing or eliminating the United States government’s economic, military, and political support for Israel, says report.
"Since American Jews are important supporters of Israel, JVP's attempt to divide the Jewish community is aimed at undermining U.S. support for Israel," warned Yitzhak Santis, Chief Programs Officer of NGO Monitor and the report's author.JVP implements a strategy of political warfare against the state of Israel, which was adopted at the 2001 Durban NGO Forum,  and promotes divestment campaigns on U.S. campuses and in mainline churches by deploying the language of demonization and delegitimization, the report states."JVP's tactics," said Santis, "include boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS), a sustained campaign of demonization against Israel, and support for a Palestinian claim to a 'right of return.'"
The NGO Monitor report indicates that JVP views itself as the "Jewish wing" of the “Palestinian solidarity movement”.JVP consistently partners with anti-Israel groups in the U.S. and abroad, including Electronic Intifada, American Muslims for Palestine, Adalah-NY, Code Pink, Sabeel, International Solidarity Movement, and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (of which JVP is an official member).
JVP members also participated in the 2011 Gaza flotilla, which sought to breach Israel’s borders and posed a threat to the safety and security of the Jewish state.According to the report, JVP’s funding sources are not transparent and  its website carries no information on its donors.  Limited financial information on JVP is only available through public IRS documents and databases, which report a total budget of $876, 529 for 2011.
JVP has received funding from an Arab-American foundation that also supports Electronic Intifada, the Firedoll Foundation, and the Wallace Global Fund, which all contribute to numerous anti-Israel groups. 
"JVP's funding sources are far from transparent, and its website carries no information on its donors," Santis emphasized, "Yet, we discovered that a number of foundations that contribute to JVP also contribute to other groups active in the BDS delegitimization campaign. Most of JVP's funding sources remain hidden, leaving the question, who is funding this group?"  

EU officials feel little love for Brussels, survey says

Today @ 09:27 JULY 9,13

By Andrew Rettman

BRUSSELS - Expats who work for EU institutions in Brussels have few Belgian friends, think the city is "dirty" and plan to go home when their job ends.Municipal authorities in the EU capital published the findings on Monday (8 July) after polling 8,000 people out of the 100,000 or so who live in the "Brussels bubble."
They noted the typical expat has been in Brussels for less than 10 years, works for the European Commission, comes from Germany or France, is part of a couple and lives in the city centre or in the districts of Ixelles, Etterbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert or Schaerbeek.Just six percent said they will stay in Brussels when their contract ends.Almost 40 percent said they have three or fewer Belgians in their circle of friends, while 12 percent have none at all.Around half prefer to send their children to international schools instead of Belgian ones.Compounding the isolation, few expats watch Belgian TV or vote in Belgian regional elections, with the majority saying they do not take part in the votes due to naked "disinterest."The biggest complaint - by almost 80 percent of people - is that Brussels is "too dirty."Another 78 percent said the city should do more to combat road congestion, while half said the city feels "unsafe" to live in, following a string of muggings in the EU district in 2009 and 2010.On the plus side, almost 75 percent said they "like" living in Brussels. Many said property is quite cheap, that healthcare is good and that Brussels has plenty of parks. Many also voiced fondness for its arts and restaurant scene.But almost one in four said Belgian telecom companies and shop staff get on their nerves.Opinion was split on whether Brussels is the best place in Europe to host the EU institutions.But 74 percent said the city should make more of an effort to beautify the EU district, while 73 percent agreed with the statement "the international community lives in a separate world with few contacts with other Brussels residents."

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

After deadly Quebec explosion, questions about the viability of oil transport by rail get louder 

By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun July 8, 2013-The star Phoenix

 

 

 

Saturday’s runaway oil-filled train cut a swath through downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec near the border with the state of Maine. The horrific derailment is raising new questions about the safety of transporting oil by rail, especially in a province where opposition to pipelines is widespread.

Photograph by: John Kenney , The Gazette

After a catastrophic oil train explosion in Lac-Mégantic, Que. where 13 are confirmed dead and 50 missing, a critical question has emerged.Isn’t it safer to transport oil by pipelines? The question is of particular importance to people in British Columbia, where two major proposed oil pipelines have met stiff resistance from environmentalists, First Nations and some communities.Both pipelines — the $6.5-billion Enbridge line through northern B.C. and Kinder Morgan’s $5.4-billion twinning project to the Lower Mainland — are meant to deliver crude from the Alberta oilsands to new markets in Asia.If the pipelines are not approved, there is little doubt oil shipments by rail to B.C.’s ports will increase. Alberta oil producers are intent on diversifying from their dependence on the U.S. market. Alberta oilsands producer Nexen has already investigated that possibility using CN through the Port of Prince Rupert in northern B.C.And companies are already bidding on the right to transport their oil on Kinder Morgan’s existing Trans Mountain line because Alberta producers are now shipping oil via the Burnaby terminal to Asian markets.The combined capacity of the two proposed oil pipelines of more than 1.1 million barrels a day would take more than 1,500 rail cars a day to transport.No longer able to get all the conventional oil it needs for its small refinery in Burnaby, Chevron began transporting small amounts of oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan by CN rail to Langley, then trucking it to the refinery. In May, Chevron increased the amount of oil brought in by rail, and the 7,500 barrels of oil now brought in by train and truck account for about 14 per cent of the refinery’s maximum operating capacity.“Our position is that pipelines represent, we think, the safest most efficient method (of transportation). However, in response to business needs, we’ve had to introduce these others,” Chevron Burnaby refinery spokesman Ray Lord said Monday.But Lord also said rail is safe and that there have been no incidents since they started using trains more than a year ago.Historically, it doesn’t appear using rail to transport oil to the former Ioca refinery in Port Moody was a safety issue either.Rail was used to transport oil to the refinery for decades until the Trans Mountain pipeline was built in the 1950s without any derailments or spills, said Al Sholund, a Port Moody historian and former employee at the Ioca refinery.There have been major derailments in Western Canada, including on Aug. 3, 2005 when 800,000 litres of bunker oil and wood preservative spilled into Wabamun Lake west of Edmonton. Just days later, a derailment near Squamish spilled 40,000 litres of caustic soda into the Cheakamus River.There were 49 fatalities from railway incidents in 2012 in Canada, five in B.C., according to the Transportation Safety Board.
However, all but a handful were from crossing or trespassing incidents.University of B.C. professor David Farrell said there is no question that statistically, it’s safer to transport oil by pipeline than it is by rail.
He said a U.S. study of incidents between 2005-2009 shows road transportation had the highest accident rate, followed by rail and pipelines. Citing the study by the think-tank Manhattan Institute, which supports building pipelines, Farrell noted that the number of incidents on rail were four times as great as on pipelines.
The study found road had 19.95 incidents per billion ton-miles, followed by rail with 2.08 per billion ton-miles, natural gas transmission at 0.89 and oil pipelines at 0.58.“There is nothing that really moves on (pipelines) other than the stuff in the pipeline. In the case of rail, you have steel wheels, and steel rails, and these are moving, so when you get an incident there’s going to be more damage and the risk of ignition by sparks,” said Farrell, a transportation and logistics expert in UBC’s Sauder School of Business.However, a Burnaby citizen’s group opposed to Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline says it makes little difference whether its pipelines or trains transporting oil.“It’s like choosing between different poisons,” said Alan Dutton, a member of the Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion.CP Railway declined to comment after the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic, Que.In an email, CN spokesman Mark Hallman said Tuesday the tragic Quebec accident is a sober reminder of the vital importance of rail safety.“However, this tragedy notwithstanding, movement of hazardous material by rail not only can be, but is being handled safely in the vast majority of instances,” said Hallman.According to the Association of American Railroads, of which CN is a member, 99.9977 per cent of hazardous material carloads moved by railroad are accident free.
Pipelines in British Columbia have also had spill incidents, including two recent small spills on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.Major past incidents include a 2007 rupture that leaked 1,400 barrels of oil in Burnaby after an excavator punctured the Trans Mountain line.Both Kinder Morgan and Enbridge also declined an interview on Tuesday, saying their companies’ thoughts were with the community of Lac-Mégantic and those grieving loved ones.Kinder Morgan noted its safety record of oil spills is well below the industry average.Enbridge has also touted the industry’s safety record, noting on its Northern Gateway website that pipelines “are the safest, most economical, and most environmentally sensitive method of transporting petroleum on the planet.”The Canadian Petroleum Association has noted that from 2002 and 2009, the average annual volume released from pipelines was just two litres for every million litres transported. That works out to 99.9998 per cent of the product transported safely.
ghoekstra@vancouversun.com

Original source article: After deadly Quebec explosion, questions about the viability of oil transport by rail get louder

SEVERE THUNDER STORM FLOODS TORONTO

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; 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.

I WONDER IF THIS FLOODING WAS A RESULT OF TORONTO HAVING A WEEK PLUS OF GAY PRIDE CELEBRATIONS FROM JUNE 21-30.THIS COULD BE THE REASON TORONTO GOT A MONTH OF RAIN ALMOST 2 MONTHS OF RAIN IN 2 HOURS.

Severe thunderstorms cause flooding, blackouts, havoc on roads around GTA

Severe thunderstorms that have caused flooding and power outages around the city Monday will likely exceed 100 mm of total rainfall before it tapers off later this evening.

Severe thunderstorms that have caused flooding and power outages around the city Monday will likely exceed 100 mm of total rainfall before it tapers off later this evening, according to Environment Canada.

Meteorologists from Environment Canada are tracking a slow moving cluster of thunderstorms capable of producing localized flash flooding.The amount of rainfall has beaten the previous one-day rainfall record of 29.2 mm in 2008 and trounced the roughly 70 mm monthly average for July.The thunderstorms are over the Mississauga and Brampton regions and moving slowly eastward toward Markham, Richmond Hill and Toronto.Toronto Hydro said as many as 300,000 people are without power around the city. Earlier in the day they said the storm had hit Etobicoke hard.They added that crews are out and assessing the damage.

Enersource said roughly 80 per cent of Mississauga, with a population of more than 700,000, is without power.Powerstream said roughly 29,000 people in Markham and Richmond Hill are still without power after a loss of supply from Hydro One’s transformer station in Buttonville.Due to severe flooding there is no TTC service at Downsview to St. Clair West, St. Andrew to Bloor, Lawrence to Finch, Jane to Kipling, and the Sheppard Line.The TTC has stopped all subways due to signal and power issues throughout the city. Parts of Union Station have been sandbagged in order to stem the flow of water.TTC Chair Karen Stintz said they have asked Hydro One to consider TTC a priority in regards to restoring power. She said it is hard to determine how many people are trapped underground on the subway system.The Toronto Region Conservation Authority also warned that the banks of the Don River were at risk of collapse in the area of Hoggs Hollow in the area of Yonge St. and York Mills.Metrolinx said buses and trains have been affected due to severe rain throughout Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.A portion of the track west of Long Branch is completely under water, which is making it difficult to operate GO trains along the Lakeshore West line.A GO train is also partially submerged on the Richmond Hill line that left Union around rush hour. The murky brown water, which spilled through the bottom floor of the train has left passengers stuck for roughly three hours.Toronto police’s Marine Unit has arrived on scene and they are evacuating passengers, starting with those who have medical issues.Metrolinx spokeswoman Vanessa Thomas said the power was shut off and windows were opened on the train, which can carry up to 1,900 commuters during the evening rush.

All flights at Billy Bishop Airport have now been suspended due to the storm, according to Pamela McDonald, spokeswoman for the Toronto Port Authority.The ferry service has been suspended for passengers travelling to the airport, but arriving passengers are being transported.The Don Valley Parkway is closed northbound and southbound from the Gardiner to Bayview and Bloor due to flooding.Toronto police said significant rainfall has caused the banks of the Don River to overflow. They are urging people to stay at home if they can.Toronto police and Toronto Fire have said there have been no injuries due to the storm. Toronto Fire also said that they received around 300 stacked calls in regards to the rain.Toronto EMS are recommending people do not travel if they can as cars are creating obstacles for paramedics. They also said they have received a large number of people stuck in elevators.The Toronto Region Conservation Authority also warned that the banks of the Don River were at risk of collapse in the area of Hoggs Hollow in the area of Yonge St. and York Mills.Yorkdale and Sherway Gardens are both closed due to power failures.

Toronto’s Fringe Festival has also cancelled their performances tonight. They tweeted that the “priority is artist, staff and audience safety.”Earlier Monday afternoon, Environment Canada issued two special weather statements — one for thunderstorms over southern Ontario and the other for local heavy downpours.

Environment Canada also recommends drivers avoid going through water on roads as even shallow fast moving water can sweep a vehicle away.With files from The Canadian Press-THE TORONTO STAR

AND IT SURE DOESN'T HELP WHEN THE LEADER OF ONTARIO A LESBIEN HERSELF MARCHES IN THE PARADE AS WELL AS OTHER POLITICIANS.THIS HAS GOT TROUBLE WRITTEN ALL OVER IT FOR TORONTO AND CANADA.

Ontario premier, party leaders march in Toronto Pride Parade amid adoring crowd

By Adam Miller, The Canadian Press June 30, 2013-Ottawa Ciitizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Premier+Wynne+Justin+Trudeau+attend+Pride+church+services/8600226/story.html 

 

 

 

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is greeted by a supporter at the annual Church on Church Street service before Toronto’s Pride Parade on Sunday, June 30, 2013.

Photograph by: Michelle Siu , THE CANADIAN PRESS

Ontario's premier was embraced as the VIP of what's billed as Canada's largest gay pride parade, alongside a host of other political figures and colourful characters celebrating equality.Premier Kathleen Wynne, the first openly gay premier and the first sitting premier to attend the festivities, dodged water guns and frisbees as thousands of supporters of the gay and lesbian community chanted her name and reached over barriers to touch her in the city's downtown core.Standing on garbage cans and climbing atop roofs along Toronto's Yonge St., crowds estimated in the hundreds of thousands by Toronto police sprayed water and waved rainbow flags in celebration of what has traditionally been the largest event of its kind in the country.
Wynne was joined by NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and former Ontario premier Bob Rae at a church service held before the parade to kick off the day's festivities."For me it's a really central part of this celebration," she said, adding that she and her partner Jane Rounthwaite had attended the church services for the past 20 years."I think that it's a very important part. The music is fantastic, it's inspirational and it really gives people a sense of the community and being together."The outdoor event, which focused on the theme of "celebrating everyone," saw people singing and dancing to music as they packed the church grounds."There's still a lot of discrimination against the community and it's important to show that diversity is something to be respected and celebrated and it's going to be a great day to do it," said Mulcair.Trudeau marched alongside Wynne and Rae in the parade, waving a rainbow flag and getting soaked by the crowd."It's my first time [at the event] in Toronto, I've celebrated many times in Montreal, but the energy here is just astounding. It's wonderful to see such celebration, such positivity and such pride," said Trudeau."Around the world people don't have the same rights and showing that it doesn't have to be that way and reminding people that they're not alone and that we have a community here that is fighting for rights and fairness and equality — this is what we stand for as a community and this is what we have to continue fighting for."Rae said before the parade that although he had retired from politics, he still felt it was important to attend the event because he was among neighbours and friends and is very glad to be a part of the community."30 or 40 years ago for a kid to come out to his parents was a huge, huge ordeal and many kids ran away from home and many kids were not able to be themselves for a long time," he said."We're now seeing that change and this has become an event of celebration for the whole city and you're going to see that all day — it's quite fantastic."New Democrat MPs Craig Scott and Olivia Chow were also in attendance at the church event and were later joined by Mulcair and other Toronto-area politicians on the NDP float in the parade."It's an inspiration, it talks about love, it talks about equality and justice," said Chow, who added that if her late husband former NDP Leader Jack Layton were still alive, he wouldn't have missed it."I think politicians should play a small role in making everyone feel proud of who they are. And it sends a very clear signal that discrimination and hatred have no place in this country or this world."Chow added the fact that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was noticeably absent from the festivities was "up to him," adding that she hoped he is enjoying his time at his cottage.The mayor has said his family tradition of a cottage gathering on the Canada Day long weekend keeps him from attending the popular street event — a reason some in the gay community have called a flimsy excuse.It's the third time in as many years that Ford has missed the event, although he did attend last week's flag raising ceremony to commence Pride Week.