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)
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)
U.S. East Coast braces for up to 30 inches of snow-[Reuters]-By Ian Simpson-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington D.C., New York and other East Coast cities readied fleets of snow plows, airlines canceled flights and residents stocked up on groceries on Thursday ahead of a winter storm expected to dump up to 30 inches (76 cm) of snow.At least five states had declared emergencies by Thursday afternoon, as the season's first major Atlantic Coast storm started to move over the Mid-South before barreling on an expected north and eastward course.Blizzard warnings were out in the nation's capital and Baltimore, with extreme conditions expected to begin on Friday afternoon, while New York City was under a blizzard watch for Saturday morning.The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which includes the second-busiest U.S. subway system, said it would suspend operations from late on Friday through Sunday.Grocery store shelves were being stripped of bread, milk and other essentials as millions of residents in the storm's path prepared to hunker down for a wintry weekend. Consumer watchdogs warned against illegal price gouging for such essentials as generators, batteries, flashlights and hotel lodging.Airlines began cancelling Friday and Saturday flights, with most of the 951 cancellations for Friday at Washington and North Carolina airports, according the FlightAware.com.American Airlines Group Inc scrapped all Friday flights into North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Delta Air Lines Inc canceled about 120 flights in the Southeast region. American scrapped most Saturday flights into Washington, New York and Philadelphia area airports, and Delta was poised to cancel many of the same.Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged motorists to stay off roads, starting on Friday." Anyone who has the illusion you’re going to be taking big trips over the weekend, get that out of your mind," de Blasio said at a news conference.Speaking at a news conference surrounded by dump trucks being loaded with salt, Bowser said the U.S. capital's public schools would be shut on Friday and local government offices would close at noon.Bowser apologized for not having the city ready for about 2 inches (5 cm) of snow that snarled Wednesday's rush hour traffic, in what many Washington residents saw as a bad omen for the weekend.Asked on Thursday how she thought Washington would cope with the blizzard, Patricia DeWolf, a 63-year-old retiree, said, “If last night was an indication, not very well.” She spoke outside a Safeway grocery store, where she had been loading up on supplies.The National Weather Service put Washington and Baltimore under blizzard warnings from 3 p.m. Eastern (2000 GMT) Friday through Sunday morning.It forecast up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow in the capital, and as much as 30 inches (75 cm) in western suburbs, with winds gusting to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour)."Visibility will be reduced to near zero in whiteout conditions," it said.In North Carolina, two women died late on Wednesday in car accidents on slippery roadways, the governor’s office said.The U.S. government's personnel office did not respond to a query about whether federal offices in the Washington area would close on Friday.The storm was expected to deliver a slightly weaker wallop to the New York and Long Island areas with blizzard conditions from Saturday morning through Sunday.New York canceled its Winter Jam in Central Park, set for Saturday, even after the snow-starved city had spent days making artificial snow for the winter sports festival.Governors in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania joined Bowser in declaring states of emergency, and the governor of West Virginia declared a state of preparedness.(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Frank McGurty and Diane Craft)
What to expect when you're expecting two feet of snow-[Reuters]-By Amy Tennery-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - With a huge winter storm looming over the eastern United States, many of the region's residents will stock up on canned goods, bottled water and - for some - diapers.The storm, which is expected to pound the Mid-Atlantic states on Friday and Saturday, has mothers-to-be asking a simple, yet vital, question: What do you do if you go into labor and there are two feet of snow on the ground?"I'm vascillating between thinking this is no big deal and freaking out," Julie Walsh, a former lobbyist living in the Washington, D.C.- area, wrote on a Facebook page for "These Walls," her personal blog. "GOOD LORD, WHAT WILL I DO IF I GO INTO LABOR IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLIZZARD?!""So who has a snowplow and truck that's gonna come take me to the hospital when I go into labor during a freaking blizzard?" wrote Facebook user Jillian Hostetter from Churchton, Maryland.It is not an unfounded concern, according to Chris Strong, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia."Know that it will be very difficult if not impossible to move around Friday night and Saturday (in the Washington, D.C., area)," Strong said.The National Weather Service anticipates as much as 24 inches (60 cm) of snow to hit the region during the storm.Strong suggested that those who have the means and are expecting to give birth in the coming days consider getting a hotel room near a hospital.States of emergency have already been declared for Maryland and Virginia.In the event that roads are not clear, women going into labor should call 911, according to Timothy J. Wilson, a spokesperson for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department."We're going to be in service regardless of the weather," he said.Elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, pregnant women expressed mild horror over the prospect of giving birth in the middle of a snowstorm." Finally a snowstorm," tweeted Golden Oreo (@HomeypopBee) on Wednesday. "I betcha I go into labor."The hashtag #AwwHellSnow was trending on Twitter in the United States on Wednesday.Posted in reference to the alarming weather forecasts, the hashtag first originated in February 2015, as part of a "hashtag game," hosted by "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.""All winter we've had highs of 64 in NYC," tweeted Meredith Frame (@MeredithFrame) from Brooklyn, New York. "Now I'm 9 months pregnant, due any day & here comes a blizzard. Anyone have a sled? #AwwHellSnow."(Reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by G Crosse)
REVELATION 11:12-13 (THE GREATEST QUAKE WILL BE IN JERUSALEM)
12 And they(ELIJSH-MOSES) heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.(REV 4:1 WE KNOW IS THE RAPTURE FOR SURE) And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.(RAPTURED)
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
REVELATION 16:17-20
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city (JERUSALEM) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Emergency planners plan for deadly 'Big One' earthquake-[Associated Press]-TERRENCE PETTY-January 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As military helicopters ferry search and rescue teams over the Pacific Northwest, below them are scenes of devastation from a giant earthquake that could strike the region at any time.Tsunami waters surge through coastal communities. Buildings, bridges and roads lie in ruins. Fires burn out of control. Survivors are stranded on rooftops, cling to floating debris or are trapped inside wrecked buildings.Seismologists say a full rupture of a 650-mile-long offshore fault running from Northern California to British Columbia and an ensuing tsunami could come in our lifetime, and emergency management officials are busy preparing for the worst.Federal, state and military officials have been working together to draft plans to be followed when the "Big One" happens.These contingency plans reflect deep anxiety about the potential gravity of the looming disaster: upward of 14,000 people dead in the worst-case scenarios, 30,000 injured, thousands left homeless and the region's economy setback for years, if not decades.As a response, what planners envision is a deployment of civilian and military personnel and equipment that would eclipse the response to any natural disaster that has occurred thus far in the U.S.There would be waves of cargo planes, helicopters and ships, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers, emergency officials, mortuary teams, police officers, firefighters, engineers, medical personnel and other specialists."The response will be orders of magnitude larger than Hurricane Katrina or Super Storm Sandy," said Lt. Col. Clayton Braun of the Washington State Army National Guard, referring to two of the best-known natural disasters in recent U.S. history.Since 2013, Braun has led a team at work on putting together a military response plan for Washington state, to be used in conjunction with efforts by state and federal civilian agencies.Oregon's response plan is called the Cascadia Playbook, named after the threatening offshore fault — the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The plan, unveiled last year, has been handed out to key officials so the state can respond quickly when disaster strikes."That playbook is never more than 100 feet from where I am," said Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. When Phelps goes out to dinner, he keeps the playbook in his car for quick access.A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan in 2011 gave greater clarity to what the Pacific Northwest needs to do to improve its readiness for a similar catastrophe."The Japanese quake and tsunami allowed light bulbs to go off for policymakers," Phelps said. Federal and state emergency planners, as well as military officials, have been holding meetings to identify what can be done to lessen loss of life and to put the region in a better position to recover.Much still needs to be done, and it is impossible to fully prepare for a catastrophe of this magnitude, but those responsible for drafting the evolving contingency plans believe they are making headway.The plans call for using a tiered system for delivering personnel, gear and supplies into the devastated region.Large cargo planes, like the military's C-5 Galaxy, would land at airports or air bases capable of handling them, and then progressively smaller aircraft would be used to get personnel and supplies to smaller airfields close to devastated areas.Helicopters will play a crucial role, especially in coastal communities, which would likely be unreachable by road because of destroyed bridges and roads. Ships will likely be needed to assist with the delivery of emergency supplies and to assist with the evacuation of displaced and injured people.Emergency medical facilities to treat the injured will be set up because hospitals on the coast will probably be too damaged to use. Collection points for bodies will be created. Hotels, motels, college dorms, sports arenas and government facilities would be used as temporary shelters for evacuees.Military and civilian engineers will be sent in to begin repairing an infrastructure that could be shattered in the western — and most populated — third of the Pacific Northwest.Worst-case scenarios show that more than 1,000 bridges in Oregon and Washington state could either collapse or be so damaged that they are unusable.The main coastal highway, U.S. Route 101, will suffer heavy damage from the shaking and from the tsunami. Traffic on Interstate 5 — one of the most important thoroughfares in the nation — will likely have to be rerouted because of large cracks in the pavement.Base camps will be set up for emergency responders coming in from across the country, planners say, as will areas for the distribution of critical supplies such as water, food, tents, blankets and medical supplies.Transportable water purification systems and emergency communic ations units will be deployed.Seattle, Portland and other urban areas could suffer considerable damage, such as the collapse of structures built before codes were updated to take into account a mega-quake. Specially trained urban search and rescue teams would be sent to look for survivors in the ruins of destroyed buildings.Phelps said he has learned to live with the threat from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Still, "it's a little unsettling to know that in five minutes I might have to grab that playbook and call the governor," among others.
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.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
Spain's Podemos moves closer to governing role-By EUOBSERVER-JAN 21,16
Today, 09:07-Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos and its three associates in Valencia, Galicia and Catalonia have agreed to integrate into a single parliamentary group. The deal removes one of the hurdles to Podemos joining a national governing alliance with the Socialists following elections 20 December, reports El Pais.
Cameron 'not in a hurry' for EU deal By Eszter Zalan-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 19:38-British prime minister David Cameron said Thursday (21 January) he would not take any EU deal if there were insufficient curbs to in-work benefits for migrants and that he was not in a hurry to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.“If there isn’t the right deal, I’m not in a hurry, I can hold my referendum at any time until the end of 2017,” he told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, possibly setting the stage for a delay.“It is much more important to get it right, than to rush it,” Cameron added.EU leaders are expected to have a deal on offer by their next EU summit in Brussels in mid-February.In line with that, Cameron is widely expected to try to hold a referendum early in the summer, although he has given himself by the end of 2017 to do it.In a sign that a deal is far from being done, French prime minister Manuel Valls warned also in Davos that Britain's demands for reform could not be met at any price, even if Britain leaving the EU would be a “tragedy”.“Anything that allows us to simplify the organisation of Europe, yes. Anything that throws into doubt the foundations of the European project or the eurozone, no,” Valls said, setting out the red lines.Cameron for his part said there was goodwill among his counterparts to find a deal for Britain.“If there is a good deal on the table, I'll take it,” he said, adding it would be good for Britain and Europe that “we demonstrated that we can turn the good will there is into the actions that are necessary to put this question beyond doubt”.Cameron’s most controversial request in his quest to reform the EU is a four-year ban on in-work benefits for EU migrants working in Britain.Critics say it is discriminatory and threatens freedom of movement within the EU. Negotiators have been looking for a compromise that would not discriminate against EU migrants, but would still be good for Cameron to convince voters to vote to remain in the EU.In an upbeat speech in Davos, Cameron said his aim was to secure the future of Britain in a reformed EU. “That is the best outcome for Britain and for Europe,” he said.Besides curbing in-work benefits, Cameron wants the EU to be more competitive, complete the single market, cut red tape, and to get assurances that decisions made within the eurozone will not be detrimental to countries outside the common currency.He said that migration pressure in recent years has been “too great”, saying the net migration to Britain is 330,000 per year.“It is not a concern about race, colour, creed. It is about numbers and pressure on public services and communities has been too great,” Cameron argued, saying that on the other hand he supported the idea of free movement.Cameron also said that negotiations with European partners had made good progress.“I hope we can, with the good will that is there, reach on agreement at the February council,” he said.
China arrests of European activists is 'worrying trend'-By Eric Maurice-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:20-The EU envoy to China expressed "deep concern" on Wednesday (20 January) about the treatment of EU nationals involved in human rights activities in China.China's crackdown on human right activists, lawyers and journalists has intensified recently and even EU citizens are now targeted.Swedish activist Peter Dahlin on Chinese TV. 'We do hope it's not representing the new normal,' an EU envoy said-" We do see an extremely worrying trend," Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, the EU ambassador to China, told reporters in Beijing.On Tuesday Peter Dahlin, a Swedish co-founder of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, a humans rights NGO, appeared on Chinese CCTV channel and confessed "he violated China's law through [his] activity here".In a show reminiscent of Maoist forced self-criticism, 35-year old Dahlin went on to say: "I have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. I apologise sincerely for this and I am very sorry that this ever happened."Chinese authorities had earlier said they had "smashed an illegal organisation that sponsored activities jeopardising China's national security", according to the official news agency Xinhua.-'Voluntary' surrenders-Dahlin and another activist were accused of operating illegally and receiving "unregulated huge sums of money" from abroad.Dahlin's TV appearance comes two days after another Swedish national was also seen confessing his "crime".Gui Minhai, a 51-year-old Hong Kong publisher of books critical of the Chinese government, vanished in October during a holiday in Thailand.Gui, who was born in China but has Swedish citizenship, was shown on Sunday on CCTV claiming he had handed himself to police in October for his involvement in a hit and run accident in 2003.“It is my own choice to come back and to confess my crime. It is nobody else’s business," he said.Another Hong Kong publisher, British citizen Lee Bo, also disappeared in October. Hong Kong authorities said last week he was in China after a "voluntary" surrender to the police.In December, the correspondent for the French weekly L'Obs, Ursula Gauthier, was expelled for writing articles about terrorism in the Xinjiang province.“Gauthier failed to apologise to the Chinese people for her wrong words and it is no longer suitable for her to work in China,” a Chinese spokesman said at the time.-'New normal'?-"Clearly, I cannot but once again say that we are deeply concerned about all those issues,” EU ambassador Schweisgut said on Wednesday.“We do hope it’s not representing the new normal yet … all these cases are taken extremely seriously,” he said.Schweisgut added that the EU wanted to be able to "solve those issues in the framework of human rights dialogues".“We have come out very clearly as a question of principle, and we will continue to do so. This is something where we will never be willing and able to compromise our values," he said.
Pro-Russia protesters storm Moldova parliament By Andrew Rettman-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:28-Hundreds of protesters broke into Moldova’s parliament on Wednesday (20 January), shortly after MPs approved the nomination of a new, pro-EU prime minister.The Reuters news agency reports that members of the crowd, which had called for new elections, scuffled with police in riot gear, leading to minor injuries and arrests.The demonstration, reminiscent of the pro-Western, so-called Colour Revolutions of 10 years ago, was the latest in a series of protests which are being organised, in the main part, by pro-Russian opposition parties, such as Our Party of oligarch Renato Usatii, EU sources say.Opinion polls indicate that if elections were held, the opposition could sweep to power, putting in doubt Moldova’s EU integration.The EU foreign service, for its part, called for “calm and restraint from all sides.”“We encourage all stakeholders in the country to engage in a dialogue and to find, together, a way forward for the Republic of Moldova," it said on Wednesday.But the protests, which have rumbled, on and off, since February last year also involve pro-transparency and anti-corruption groups.Wednesday’s rally numbered about 3,000 people. But a protest in September involved up to 100,000 - nearly 3 percent of the population.The unrest comes after a banking scandal in 2014, in which up to $1.5 billion vanished from three lenders in what is Europe’s poorest country.The new PM, Pavel Filip, a 49-year old former sweets factory manager and communications minister in the ruling Democratic Party, won 57 out of 101 votes in the chamber on Wednesday."The people of Moldova don't need a government that says pleasant things, but a government that solves their problems," he said after the result.Members of the pro-Russian Socialist party also heckled proceedings and held up banners saying “Early elections!”.Filip’s elevation comes after two previous candidates, Vlad Plahotniuc, an oligarch, and Ion Paduraru, a member of the president’s staff, fell by the wayside. If the Filip vote had also failed, the president would have been forced to call the snap vote.Filip is Moldova’s third prime minister in less than a year.His predecessor, Valeriu Strelet, was ousted in a no-confidence motion in October. Strelet’s predecessor, Chiril Gaburici, stepped down in June amid allegations he lied about school diplomas.Another former PM, and one-time pro-EU darling, Vlad Filat, was arrested on bribery charges last year.Moldova, like Ukraine, has signed an association and free-trade treaty with the EU. It was also granted visa-free travel and had been seen as a front-runner in the EU’s Eastern Partnership project, designed to build closer ties with former Soviet states.Part of the country - Transniestria - broke away in a civil war in the 1990s and still hosts a Russian arms dump and thousands of Russian soldiers.It's in a strategic location, amid concerns that if Russia reignites fighting in Ukraine, it could try to connect Russia-occupied regions to Transniestria, cutting off Ukraine from the Black Sea.EU diplomats say the Russia-linked unrest is similar to events in Montenegro, where protesters, also under an anti-corruption banner, have called for the country’s pro-Nato leader to go.
Germany announces indefinite border checks By Nikolaj Nielsen-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-Domestic pressure is mounting for Germany to extend border control checks amid further rifts within Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition.Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told German radio MDR info on Wednesday (20 January) the border control checks, first introduced last September, would not be lifted for the foreseeable future."I don't foresee a moment when we can end it," he said.De Maiziere's announcement follows heightened tensions over Merkel's open asylum policy as her fiercest domestic critic, Bavarian prime minister Horst Seehofer, demanded a sharp reduction of refugee numbers within the "next few weeks".Seehofer, who heads the Christian-Social Union (CSU), earlier this week demanded results before March. The CSU is the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian-Democrats (CDU).Controls 'not the solution'-Germany is hosting more than 1 million refugees and asylum seekers. Some 40% are fleeing conflict in Syria.An average of 3,000 are arriving every day, down from a peak of about 10,000 last year.De Maiziere's announcement to keep border checks for an indefinite period marks a departure from foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.Steinmeier, a centre-left Social-Democrat, said closing borders would not solve the issue."I guarantee you that 'a solution to the crisis' will not be achieved through a closure of the border," he said.Steinmeier's response came after Germany's transport minister criticised Merkel's policy.Meanwhile Merkel, who faces the biggest challenge in her political career, has reportedly denounced moves by neighbouring Austria to impose a cap on the number of asylum claims. Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann said the number of claims would be limited to 1.5% of the Austrian population over the next four years.The Austrian border clamp down is already having knock-on effects elsewhere with Macedonia sealing its border with Greece.Authorities in Serbia and Croatia say they would only allow people through who were seeking asylum in Austria and Germany.Slovenia, which borders Austria to the south, is likely to send troops to the border with Croatia.-Schengen six-month rule-Germany first imposed a ten-day control at its Austrian border at the start of September after having announced an open door policy for Syrian nationals.It then extended it to 20 days and then again for another 20 days.It now wants to maintain the controls, but EU rules allow for border checks for only six months.The limit can be extended to two years if EU institutional procedures and evaluations determine the gaps on the external frontiers somehow pose a major threat to the passport-free Schengen zone.The EU Commission, for its part, said in December that it was probing Greek border holes and would submit a report to the Schengen Evaluation committee.
Austria imposes asylum cap to 'shake up' Europe By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 20. Jan, 19:45-Austria has said it will place a cap on the number of asylum claims it will process. The German president, the same day, said it may be “morally and politically” necessary to limit numbers.The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, announced that the number of claims will be limited to 1.5 percent of the Austrian population over the next four years.The cap means it will limit claims to 37,500 this year, 35,000 in 2017, 30,000 in 2018, and 25,000 in 2019. By comparison, it handled 90,000 claims last year, more than 1 percent of the population.Faymann said the “emergency measure,” the first of its type in Europe, is designed to “shake up” the EU, which remains divided on refugee-sharing plans.“We cannot take in all asylum seekers in Austria, or in Germany, or in Sweden," he said, referring to the EU states taking in the most migrants."We must also step up controls at our borders massively,” he added.He didn’t specify what the border measures might involve, or what would happen if the number of asylum applications exceeds his quota.But his comments are likely to prompt concern in Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia - the migrants' main transit route to Austria and Germany.Speaking in Vienna one day earlier, on Tuesday, Austria’s finance minister, Hans Joerg Schelling, said Austria’s coordination with Germany on migrants is “business as usual.”But he added: “If Germany decides to seal its borders, where will Europe stand?”. German chancellor Angela Merkel has, so far, championed an open-door policy for people fleeing conflicts. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, on Wednesday, declined to comment on the Austrian plan. But he said, according to Reuters: “The German government still favours a joint European solution, which tackles the causes of migration in order to reduce the number of refugees significantly and noticeably.”-Gauck-Merkel stayed away from the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, taking place this week, in order to devote more time to migration issues.But the German president, Joachim Gauck, said in a speech in Davos on Wednesday that Germany is, like Austria, “discussing limits in terms of the number of people we can absorb.”“A limitation strategy may even be both morally and politically necessary in order to preserve the state’s ability to function,” he said. “If democrats don’t want to talk about limits, populists and xenophobes will march in.”Gauck criticised former Communist EU states for not wanting to take part in the EU’s refugee-sharing projects.“I can comprehend only with difficulty when precisely those nations whose citizens, once themselves politically oppressed and who experienced solidarity, in turn, withdraw their solidarity for the oppressed,” he said.“No other problem has divided and jeopardised the European Union as much as the refugee question,” he added.-IMF report-His comments are a political blow for Merkel.But for its part, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a report out on Wednesday, said the EU states which take in the most people will get the biggest economic windfall.The report predicts that 1.3 million people a year will come to Europe until the end of 2017.It says the influx will contribute a 0.13 percent increase to the EU's GDP in 2017. But the migrant-related boost will be 0.5 percent in Austria, 0.3 percent in Germany, and 0.4 percent in Sweden.“The negative effects of immigrant surges tend to be short-lived and temporary,” Enrica Detragiache, one of the report’s authors, told press, Bloomberg reports.“There will be a huge challenge to try to bring the skills the refugees can bring to the labour market in line with the demands of industry,” she added.But if migrants can be found jobs, their contribution to the GDPs of Austria, Germany, and Sweden could reach 1.1 percent by 2020, the IMF said.
Two Americans held in Iran arrive home after prisoner swap-[Reuters]-By Emily Stephenson-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Reuters) - A Christian minister and a former U.S. Marine who were released by Iran in a prisoner swap returned to the United States on Thursday after years behind bars in the Islamic Republic. Pastor Saeed Abedini, 35, arrived in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for a Christian group said.Ex-Marine Amir Hekmati, 32, touched down in a private jet at the airport in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and stepped onto a small red carpet on the tarmac.They were among five Americans whose release coincided with the lifting last weekend of economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear program. The White House offered clemency to seven Iranians who were convicted or facing trial in the United States.Hekmati spent more than four years in jail in Iran where he faced the death sentence at one point.“I am happy to finally be home. It’s been a very long road, a very long journey. Unfortunately, many people have traveled this road with me," he told reporters.He was arrested while visiting family in Iran in 2011 and accused of being a U.S. spy, a charge his relatives and the United States deny. He was sentenced to death the following year-but that was commuted to a 10-year prison term.Hekmati said on Thursday he was "healthy, tall and with my head held high." The son of Iranian immigrants, Hekmati went to high school in Flint, an industrial town now struggling with a water contamin ation crisis.“It’s great to be back in Flint, my hometown. I love this city. I love its people. They have been so good to me and my family and we are very grateful,” Hekmati said.Abedini, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Iranian origin,arrived at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, a Christian conference center in Asheville, North Carolina, that is linked to popular evangelist Billy Graham."He arrived safely in Asheville," said Todd Shearer, a spokesman for the Graham family.Abedini was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison after being accused of harming Iran's national security by setting up home-based churches in Iran.He was reunited with his parents on Thursday, his wife said.(Reporting by David Bailey, Colleen Jenkins and Ben Klayman; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)
U.S. tightens visa waiver rules for visitors after Paris attacks-[Reuters]-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday began implementing restrictions to its Visa Waiver Program under a law passed after last year's Paris attacks that makes it harder for citizens of some countries to visit.Several of the Islamic State attackers who killed 130 people in France held European passports that would have allowed them to easily enter the United States under the former system.Citizens of the 38, mainly European, countries in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), who were previously able to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, must now obtain one if they have visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria since March 1, 2011.They must also obtain a visa if they are dual Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationals, the U.S. State Department said.Citizens from the 38 nations are required to obtain a travel authorization through the so-called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before coming to the United States.The State Department said that as of Thursday it would revoke the ESTA travel authorizations held by citizens from the 38 Visa Waiver Program countries if they are dual Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian citizens.However, it noted that under the new law the U.S. secretary of homeland security has the authority to issue waivers to the restrictions on law enforcement or national security grounds.People who could be eligible for a waiver include those who visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of international organizations or humanitarian groups, or journalists who carried out reporting in the four countries.They may also include people who traveled for legitimate business reasons to Iraq or to Iran following the July 14, 2015 nuclear agreement.The Visa Waiver Program nations are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom.(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Shumaker)
POISONED WATERS
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,(EARTH) because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Political fallout from Flint, Michigan water crisis spreads-[Reuters]-By Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner-January 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pledged to offer support for the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan on Wednesday and environmental regulators were set to provide Congress with information about their role.Blame is swirling after a switch in the water supply to the financially-strapped city of 100,000 north of Detroit led to elevated levels of lead in drinking water."It is a reminder that we can't shortchange the basic services we provide to our people," Obama said about the crisis after visiting a car show in Detroit. "If I were a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kid's health could be at risk."Facing protests, lawsuits and calls for his resignation, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, apologized to the city's residents on Tuesday and called for the state to spend $28 million on fixes.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while saying it was reviewing its handling of the crisis and could have acted faster to inform the state of what measures it should take, also blamed the state on Tuesday. It said the agency's oversight was hampered by "failures and resistance at the state and local levels."Flint, under a state-appointed emergency manager, switched to Flint River water in April 2014 from the Lake Huron supply that Detroit uses to save money.Complaints about the water began within a month of the move. But Flint did not return to Detroit water until October 2015 after tests showed elevated levels of lead, which can cause brain damage and other health problems, in Flint tap water and in some children. Corrosive water from the river, known locally as a dumping ground, caused more lead to leach from Flint pipes than Detroit water did."This is something nobody should have to deal with. Everybody should have clean water," Flint Mayor Karen Weaver told a conference in Washington."They need to be much more aggressive in what's going on with Flint," Weaver said on CNN about the EPA's response.In his State of the State speech on Tuesday, Snyder said federal, state and local leaders had failed residents.He asked Michigan lawmakers to authorize spending on diagnostic tests, health treatment for children and adolescents, replacement of old fixtures in Flint schools and day care centers and a study of the city's water pipes.-MAJOR DISASTER APPEAL-Snyder, who has faced questions on how soon he acted after learning about the water problem in Flint, released his Flint-related emails from 2014 and 2015 on Wednesday.He submitted an appeal to Obama for his denial of a major disaster declaration saying Flint faces a long-term threat and that such an order could bring additional help. Obama signed an emergency order on the same day he rejected the disaster declaration.A group of bipartisan lawmakers including Michigan Republican Fred Upton, of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote last week to EPA head Gina McCarthy, requesting a briefing about the Flint contamination. That briefing to congressional staffers was scheduled for Thursday.The House committee letter mentioned reports that said people in Flint have been exposed to dangerous biological pathogens and chemicals in the drinking water. Although Flint has now switched back to Detroit's water system, lead levels in the city's water are still elevated.Several lawsuits have been filed in the case. The latest on Tuesday asked a judge to stop Flint from issuing shutoff notices to residents who are still receiving bills for water declared undrinkable.(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Detroit, David Shepardson, Lacey Johnson, Ian Simpson; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Frances Kerry and Alan Crosby)
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)
U.S. East Coast braces for up to 30 inches of snow-[Reuters]-By Ian Simpson-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington D.C., New York and other East Coast cities readied fleets of snow plows, airlines canceled flights and residents stocked up on groceries on Thursday ahead of a winter storm expected to dump up to 30 inches (76 cm) of snow.At least five states had declared emergencies by Thursday afternoon, as the season's first major Atlantic Coast storm started to move over the Mid-South before barreling on an expected north and eastward course.Blizzard warnings were out in the nation's capital and Baltimore, with extreme conditions expected to begin on Friday afternoon, while New York City was under a blizzard watch for Saturday morning.The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which includes the second-busiest U.S. subway system, said it would suspend operations from late on Friday through Sunday.Grocery store shelves were being stripped of bread, milk and other essentials as millions of residents in the storm's path prepared to hunker down for a wintry weekend. Consumer watchdogs warned against illegal price gouging for such essentials as generators, batteries, flashlights and hotel lodging.Airlines began cancelling Friday and Saturday flights, with most of the 951 cancellations for Friday at Washington and North Carolina airports, according the FlightAware.com.American Airlines Group Inc scrapped all Friday flights into North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and Delta Air Lines Inc canceled about 120 flights in the Southeast region. American scrapped most Saturday flights into Washington, New York and Philadelphia area airports, and Delta was poised to cancel many of the same.Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged motorists to stay off roads, starting on Friday." Anyone who has the illusion you’re going to be taking big trips over the weekend, get that out of your mind," de Blasio said at a news conference.Speaking at a news conference surrounded by dump trucks being loaded with salt, Bowser said the U.S. capital's public schools would be shut on Friday and local government offices would close at noon.Bowser apologized for not having the city ready for about 2 inches (5 cm) of snow that snarled Wednesday's rush hour traffic, in what many Washington residents saw as a bad omen for the weekend.Asked on Thursday how she thought Washington would cope with the blizzard, Patricia DeWolf, a 63-year-old retiree, said, “If last night was an indication, not very well.” She spoke outside a Safeway grocery store, where she had been loading up on supplies.The National Weather Service put Washington and Baltimore under blizzard warnings from 3 p.m. Eastern (2000 GMT) Friday through Sunday morning.It forecast up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow in the capital, and as much as 30 inches (75 cm) in western suburbs, with winds gusting to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour)."Visibility will be reduced to near zero in whiteout conditions," it said.In North Carolina, two women died late on Wednesday in car accidents on slippery roadways, the governor’s office said.The U.S. government's personnel office did not respond to a query about whether federal offices in the Washington area would close on Friday.The storm was expected to deliver a slightly weaker wallop to the New York and Long Island areas with blizzard conditions from Saturday morning through Sunday.New York canceled its Winter Jam in Central Park, set for Saturday, even after the snow-starved city had spent days making artificial snow for the winter sports festival.Governors in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania joined Bowser in declaring states of emergency, and the governor of West Virginia declared a state of preparedness.(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, N.C. and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Frank McGurty and Diane Craft)
What to expect when you're expecting two feet of snow-[Reuters]-By Amy Tennery-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - With a huge winter storm looming over the eastern United States, many of the region's residents will stock up on canned goods, bottled water and - for some - diapers.The storm, which is expected to pound the Mid-Atlantic states on Friday and Saturday, has mothers-to-be asking a simple, yet vital, question: What do you do if you go into labor and there are two feet of snow on the ground?"I'm vascillating between thinking this is no big deal and freaking out," Julie Walsh, a former lobbyist living in the Washington, D.C.- area, wrote on a Facebook page for "These Walls," her personal blog. "GOOD LORD, WHAT WILL I DO IF I GO INTO LABOR IN THE MIDDLE OF A BLIZZARD?!""So who has a snowplow and truck that's gonna come take me to the hospital when I go into labor during a freaking blizzard?" wrote Facebook user Jillian Hostetter from Churchton, Maryland.It is not an unfounded concern, according to Chris Strong, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia."Know that it will be very difficult if not impossible to move around Friday night and Saturday (in the Washington, D.C., area)," Strong said.The National Weather Service anticipates as much as 24 inches (60 cm) of snow to hit the region during the storm.Strong suggested that those who have the means and are expecting to give birth in the coming days consider getting a hotel room near a hospital.States of emergency have already been declared for Maryland and Virginia.In the event that roads are not clear, women going into labor should call 911, according to Timothy J. Wilson, a spokesperson for the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department."We're going to be in service regardless of the weather," he said.Elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, pregnant women expressed mild horror over the prospect of giving birth in the middle of a snowstorm." Finally a snowstorm," tweeted Golden Oreo (@HomeypopBee) on Wednesday. "I betcha I go into labor."The hashtag #AwwHellSnow was trending on Twitter in the United States on Wednesday.Posted in reference to the alarming weather forecasts, the hashtag first originated in February 2015, as part of a "hashtag game," hosted by "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.""All winter we've had highs of 64 in NYC," tweeted Meredith Frame (@MeredithFrame) from Brooklyn, New York. "Now I'm 9 months pregnant, due any day & here comes a blizzard. Anyone have a sled? #AwwHellSnow."(Reporting by Amy Tennery, editing by G Crosse)
REVELATION 11:12-13 (THE GREATEST QUAKE WILL BE IN JERUSALEM)
12 And they(ELIJSH-MOSES) heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither.(REV 4:1 WE KNOW IS THE RAPTURE FOR SURE) And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.(RAPTURED)
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
REVELATION 16:17-20
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city (JERUSALEM) was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
Emergency planners plan for deadly 'Big One' earthquake-[Associated Press]-TERRENCE PETTY-January 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As military helicopters ferry search and rescue teams over the Pacific Northwest, below them are scenes of devastation from a giant earthquake that could strike the region at any time.Tsunami waters surge through coastal communities. Buildings, bridges and roads lie in ruins. Fires burn out of control. Survivors are stranded on rooftops, cling to floating debris or are trapped inside wrecked buildings.Seismologists say a full rupture of a 650-mile-long offshore fault running from Northern California to British Columbia and an ensuing tsunami could come in our lifetime, and emergency management officials are busy preparing for the worst.Federal, state and military officials have been working together to draft plans to be followed when the "Big One" happens.These contingency plans reflect deep anxiety about the potential gravity of the looming disaster: upward of 14,000 people dead in the worst-case scenarios, 30,000 injured, thousands left homeless and the region's economy setback for years, if not decades.As a response, what planners envision is a deployment of civilian and military personnel and equipment that would eclipse the response to any natural disaster that has occurred thus far in the U.S.There would be waves of cargo planes, helicopters and ships, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers, emergency officials, mortuary teams, police officers, firefighters, engineers, medical personnel and other specialists."The response will be orders of magnitude larger than Hurricane Katrina or Super Storm Sandy," said Lt. Col. Clayton Braun of the Washington State Army National Guard, referring to two of the best-known natural disasters in recent U.S. history.Since 2013, Braun has led a team at work on putting together a military response plan for Washington state, to be used in conjunction with efforts by state and federal civilian agencies.Oregon's response plan is called the Cascadia Playbook, named after the threatening offshore fault — the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The plan, unveiled last year, has been handed out to key officials so the state can respond quickly when disaster strikes."That playbook is never more than 100 feet from where I am," said Andrew Phelps, director of the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. When Phelps goes out to dinner, he keeps the playbook in his car for quick access.A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan in 2011 gave greater clarity to what the Pacific Northwest needs to do to improve its readiness for a similar catastrophe."The Japanese quake and tsunami allowed light bulbs to go off for policymakers," Phelps said. Federal and state emergency planners, as well as military officials, have been holding meetings to identify what can be done to lessen loss of life and to put the region in a better position to recover.Much still needs to be done, and it is impossible to fully prepare for a catastrophe of this magnitude, but those responsible for drafting the evolving contingency plans believe they are making headway.The plans call for using a tiered system for delivering personnel, gear and supplies into the devastated region.Large cargo planes, like the military's C-5 Galaxy, would land at airports or air bases capable of handling them, and then progressively smaller aircraft would be used to get personnel and supplies to smaller airfields close to devastated areas.Helicopters will play a crucial role, especially in coastal communities, which would likely be unreachable by road because of destroyed bridges and roads. Ships will likely be needed to assist with the delivery of emergency supplies and to assist with the evacuation of displaced and injured people.Emergency medical facilities to treat the injured will be set up because hospitals on the coast will probably be too damaged to use. Collection points for bodies will be created. Hotels, motels, college dorms, sports arenas and government facilities would be used as temporary shelters for evacuees.Military and civilian engineers will be sent in to begin repairing an infrastructure that could be shattered in the western — and most populated — third of the Pacific Northwest.Worst-case scenarios show that more than 1,000 bridges in Oregon and Washington state could either collapse or be so damaged that they are unusable.The main coastal highway, U.S. Route 101, will suffer heavy damage from the shaking and from the tsunami. Traffic on Interstate 5 — one of the most important thoroughfares in the nation — will likely have to be rerouted because of large cracks in the pavement.Base camps will be set up for emergency responders coming in from across the country, planners say, as will areas for the distribution of critical supplies such as water, food, tents, blankets and medical supplies.Transportable water purification systems and emergency communic ations units will be deployed.Seattle, Portland and other urban areas could suffer considerable damage, such as the collapse of structures built before codes were updated to take into account a mega-quake. Specially trained urban search and rescue teams would be sent to look for survivors in the ruins of destroyed buildings.Phelps said he has learned to live with the threat from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Still, "it's a little unsettling to know that in five minutes I might have to grab that playbook and call the governor," among others.
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.(THE EU (EUROPEAN UNION) TAKES OVER IRAQ WHICH HAS SPLIT INTO 3-SUNNI-KURD-SHIA PARTS-AND THE REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE IS BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER-THE TWO LEGS OF DANIEL WESTERN LEG AND THE ISLAMIC LEG COMBINED AS 1)
Spain's Podemos moves closer to governing role-By EUOBSERVER-JAN 21,16
Today, 09:07-Spanish anti-austerity party Podemos and its three associates in Valencia, Galicia and Catalonia have agreed to integrate into a single parliamentary group. The deal removes one of the hurdles to Podemos joining a national governing alliance with the Socialists following elections 20 December, reports El Pais.
Cameron 'not in a hurry' for EU deal By Eszter Zalan-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 19:38-British prime minister David Cameron said Thursday (21 January) he would not take any EU deal if there were insufficient curbs to in-work benefits for migrants and that he was not in a hurry to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.“If there isn’t the right deal, I’m not in a hurry, I can hold my referendum at any time until the end of 2017,” he told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, possibly setting the stage for a delay.“It is much more important to get it right, than to rush it,” Cameron added.EU leaders are expected to have a deal on offer by their next EU summit in Brussels in mid-February.In line with that, Cameron is widely expected to try to hold a referendum early in the summer, although he has given himself by the end of 2017 to do it.In a sign that a deal is far from being done, French prime minister Manuel Valls warned also in Davos that Britain's demands for reform could not be met at any price, even if Britain leaving the EU would be a “tragedy”.“Anything that allows us to simplify the organisation of Europe, yes. Anything that throws into doubt the foundations of the European project or the eurozone, no,” Valls said, setting out the red lines.Cameron for his part said there was goodwill among his counterparts to find a deal for Britain.“If there is a good deal on the table, I'll take it,” he said, adding it would be good for Britain and Europe that “we demonstrated that we can turn the good will there is into the actions that are necessary to put this question beyond doubt”.Cameron’s most controversial request in his quest to reform the EU is a four-year ban on in-work benefits for EU migrants working in Britain.Critics say it is discriminatory and threatens freedom of movement within the EU. Negotiators have been looking for a compromise that would not discriminate against EU migrants, but would still be good for Cameron to convince voters to vote to remain in the EU.In an upbeat speech in Davos, Cameron said his aim was to secure the future of Britain in a reformed EU. “That is the best outcome for Britain and for Europe,” he said.Besides curbing in-work benefits, Cameron wants the EU to be more competitive, complete the single market, cut red tape, and to get assurances that decisions made within the eurozone will not be detrimental to countries outside the common currency.He said that migration pressure in recent years has been “too great”, saying the net migration to Britain is 330,000 per year.“It is not a concern about race, colour, creed. It is about numbers and pressure on public services and communities has been too great,” Cameron argued, saying that on the other hand he supported the idea of free movement.Cameron also said that negotiations with European partners had made good progress.“I hope we can, with the good will that is there, reach on agreement at the February council,” he said.
China arrests of European activists is 'worrying trend'-By Eric Maurice-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:20-The EU envoy to China expressed "deep concern" on Wednesday (20 January) about the treatment of EU nationals involved in human rights activities in China.China's crackdown on human right activists, lawyers and journalists has intensified recently and even EU citizens are now targeted.Swedish activist Peter Dahlin on Chinese TV. 'We do hope it's not representing the new normal,' an EU envoy said-" We do see an extremely worrying trend," Hans Dietmar Schweisgut, the EU ambassador to China, told reporters in Beijing.On Tuesday Peter Dahlin, a Swedish co-founder of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group, a humans rights NGO, appeared on Chinese CCTV channel and confessed "he violated China's law through [his] activity here".In a show reminiscent of Maoist forced self-criticism, 35-year old Dahlin went on to say: "I have hurt the feelings of the Chinese people. I apologise sincerely for this and I am very sorry that this ever happened."Chinese authorities had earlier said they had "smashed an illegal organisation that sponsored activities jeopardising China's national security", according to the official news agency Xinhua.-'Voluntary' surrenders-Dahlin and another activist were accused of operating illegally and receiving "unregulated huge sums of money" from abroad.Dahlin's TV appearance comes two days after another Swedish national was also seen confessing his "crime".Gui Minhai, a 51-year-old Hong Kong publisher of books critical of the Chinese government, vanished in October during a holiday in Thailand.Gui, who was born in China but has Swedish citizenship, was shown on Sunday on CCTV claiming he had handed himself to police in October for his involvement in a hit and run accident in 2003.“It is my own choice to come back and to confess my crime. It is nobody else’s business," he said.Another Hong Kong publisher, British citizen Lee Bo, also disappeared in October. Hong Kong authorities said last week he was in China after a "voluntary" surrender to the police.In December, the correspondent for the French weekly L'Obs, Ursula Gauthier, was expelled for writing articles about terrorism in the Xinjiang province.“Gauthier failed to apologise to the Chinese people for her wrong words and it is no longer suitable for her to work in China,” a Chinese spokesman said at the time.-'New normal'?-"Clearly, I cannot but once again say that we are deeply concerned about all those issues,” EU ambassador Schweisgut said on Wednesday.“We do hope it’s not representing the new normal yet … all these cases are taken extremely seriously,” he said.Schweisgut added that the EU wanted to be able to "solve those issues in the framework of human rights dialogues".“We have come out very clearly as a question of principle, and we will continue to do so. This is something where we will never be willing and able to compromise our values," he said.
Pro-Russia protesters storm Moldova parliament By Andrew Rettman-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:28-Hundreds of protesters broke into Moldova’s parliament on Wednesday (20 January), shortly after MPs approved the nomination of a new, pro-EU prime minister.The Reuters news agency reports that members of the crowd, which had called for new elections, scuffled with police in riot gear, leading to minor injuries and arrests.The demonstration, reminiscent of the pro-Western, so-called Colour Revolutions of 10 years ago, was the latest in a series of protests which are being organised, in the main part, by pro-Russian opposition parties, such as Our Party of oligarch Renato Usatii, EU sources say.Opinion polls indicate that if elections were held, the opposition could sweep to power, putting in doubt Moldova’s EU integration.The EU foreign service, for its part, called for “calm and restraint from all sides.”“We encourage all stakeholders in the country to engage in a dialogue and to find, together, a way forward for the Republic of Moldova," it said on Wednesday.But the protests, which have rumbled, on and off, since February last year also involve pro-transparency and anti-corruption groups.Wednesday’s rally numbered about 3,000 people. But a protest in September involved up to 100,000 - nearly 3 percent of the population.The unrest comes after a banking scandal in 2014, in which up to $1.5 billion vanished from three lenders in what is Europe’s poorest country.The new PM, Pavel Filip, a 49-year old former sweets factory manager and communications minister in the ruling Democratic Party, won 57 out of 101 votes in the chamber on Wednesday."The people of Moldova don't need a government that says pleasant things, but a government that solves their problems," he said after the result.Members of the pro-Russian Socialist party also heckled proceedings and held up banners saying “Early elections!”.Filip’s elevation comes after two previous candidates, Vlad Plahotniuc, an oligarch, and Ion Paduraru, a member of the president’s staff, fell by the wayside. If the Filip vote had also failed, the president would have been forced to call the snap vote.Filip is Moldova’s third prime minister in less than a year.His predecessor, Valeriu Strelet, was ousted in a no-confidence motion in October. Strelet’s predecessor, Chiril Gaburici, stepped down in June amid allegations he lied about school diplomas.Another former PM, and one-time pro-EU darling, Vlad Filat, was arrested on bribery charges last year.Moldova, like Ukraine, has signed an association and free-trade treaty with the EU. It was also granted visa-free travel and had been seen as a front-runner in the EU’s Eastern Partnership project, designed to build closer ties with former Soviet states.Part of the country - Transniestria - broke away in a civil war in the 1990s and still hosts a Russian arms dump and thousands of Russian soldiers.It's in a strategic location, amid concerns that if Russia reignites fighting in Ukraine, it could try to connect Russia-occupied regions to Transniestria, cutting off Ukraine from the Black Sea.EU diplomats say the Russia-linked unrest is similar to events in Montenegro, where protesters, also under an anti-corruption banner, have called for the country’s pro-Nato leader to go.
Germany announces indefinite border checks By Nikolaj Nielsen-JAN 21,16-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:29-Domestic pressure is mounting for Germany to extend border control checks amid further rifts within Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition.Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere told German radio MDR info on Wednesday (20 January) the border control checks, first introduced last September, would not be lifted for the foreseeable future."I don't foresee a moment when we can end it," he said.De Maiziere's announcement follows heightened tensions over Merkel's open asylum policy as her fiercest domestic critic, Bavarian prime minister Horst Seehofer, demanded a sharp reduction of refugee numbers within the "next few weeks".Seehofer, who heads the Christian-Social Union (CSU), earlier this week demanded results before March. The CSU is the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's Christian-Democrats (CDU).Controls 'not the solution'-Germany is hosting more than 1 million refugees and asylum seekers. Some 40% are fleeing conflict in Syria.An average of 3,000 are arriving every day, down from a peak of about 10,000 last year.De Maiziere's announcement to keep border checks for an indefinite period marks a departure from foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.Steinmeier, a centre-left Social-Democrat, said closing borders would not solve the issue."I guarantee you that 'a solution to the crisis' will not be achieved through a closure of the border," he said.Steinmeier's response came after Germany's transport minister criticised Merkel's policy.Meanwhile Merkel, who faces the biggest challenge in her political career, has reportedly denounced moves by neighbouring Austria to impose a cap on the number of asylum claims. Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann said the number of claims would be limited to 1.5% of the Austrian population over the next four years.The Austrian border clamp down is already having knock-on effects elsewhere with Macedonia sealing its border with Greece.Authorities in Serbia and Croatia say they would only allow people through who were seeking asylum in Austria and Germany.Slovenia, which borders Austria to the south, is likely to send troops to the border with Croatia.-Schengen six-month rule-Germany first imposed a ten-day control at its Austrian border at the start of September after having announced an open door policy for Syrian nationals.It then extended it to 20 days and then again for another 20 days.It now wants to maintain the controls, but EU rules allow for border checks for only six months.The limit can be extended to two years if EU institutional procedures and evaluations determine the gaps on the external frontiers somehow pose a major threat to the passport-free Schengen zone.The EU Commission, for its part, said in December that it was probing Greek border holes and would submit a report to the Schengen Evaluation committee.
Austria imposes asylum cap to 'shake up' Europe By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 20. Jan, 19:45-Austria has said it will place a cap on the number of asylum claims it will process. The German president, the same day, said it may be “morally and politically” necessary to limit numbers.The Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, announced that the number of claims will be limited to 1.5 percent of the Austrian population over the next four years.The cap means it will limit claims to 37,500 this year, 35,000 in 2017, 30,000 in 2018, and 25,000 in 2019. By comparison, it handled 90,000 claims last year, more than 1 percent of the population.Faymann said the “emergency measure,” the first of its type in Europe, is designed to “shake up” the EU, which remains divided on refugee-sharing plans.“We cannot take in all asylum seekers in Austria, or in Germany, or in Sweden," he said, referring to the EU states taking in the most migrants."We must also step up controls at our borders massively,” he added.He didn’t specify what the border measures might involve, or what would happen if the number of asylum applications exceeds his quota.But his comments are likely to prompt concern in Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia - the migrants' main transit route to Austria and Germany.Speaking in Vienna one day earlier, on Tuesday, Austria’s finance minister, Hans Joerg Schelling, said Austria’s coordination with Germany on migrants is “business as usual.”But he added: “If Germany decides to seal its borders, where will Europe stand?”. German chancellor Angela Merkel has, so far, championed an open-door policy for people fleeing conflicts. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, on Wednesday, declined to comment on the Austrian plan. But he said, according to Reuters: “The German government still favours a joint European solution, which tackles the causes of migration in order to reduce the number of refugees significantly and noticeably.”-Gauck-Merkel stayed away from the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, taking place this week, in order to devote more time to migration issues.But the German president, Joachim Gauck, said in a speech in Davos on Wednesday that Germany is, like Austria, “discussing limits in terms of the number of people we can absorb.”“A limitation strategy may even be both morally and politically necessary in order to preserve the state’s ability to function,” he said. “If democrats don’t want to talk about limits, populists and xenophobes will march in.”Gauck criticised former Communist EU states for not wanting to take part in the EU’s refugee-sharing projects.“I can comprehend only with difficulty when precisely those nations whose citizens, once themselves politically oppressed and who experienced solidarity, in turn, withdraw their solidarity for the oppressed,” he said.“No other problem has divided and jeopardised the European Union as much as the refugee question,” he added.-IMF report-His comments are a political blow for Merkel.But for its part, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a report out on Wednesday, said the EU states which take in the most people will get the biggest economic windfall.The report predicts that 1.3 million people a year will come to Europe until the end of 2017.It says the influx will contribute a 0.13 percent increase to the EU's GDP in 2017. But the migrant-related boost will be 0.5 percent in Austria, 0.3 percent in Germany, and 0.4 percent in Sweden.“The negative effects of immigrant surges tend to be short-lived and temporary,” Enrica Detragiache, one of the report’s authors, told press, Bloomberg reports.“There will be a huge challenge to try to bring the skills the refugees can bring to the labour market in line with the demands of industry,” she added.But if migrants can be found jobs, their contribution to the GDPs of Austria, Germany, and Sweden could reach 1.1 percent by 2020, the IMF said.
Two Americans held in Iran arrive home after prisoner swap-[Reuters]-By Emily Stephenson-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Reuters) - A Christian minister and a former U.S. Marine who were released by Iran in a prisoner swap returned to the United States on Thursday after years behind bars in the Islamic Republic. Pastor Saeed Abedini, 35, arrived in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for a Christian group said.Ex-Marine Amir Hekmati, 32, touched down in a private jet at the airport in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and stepped onto a small red carpet on the tarmac.They were among five Americans whose release coincided with the lifting last weekend of economic sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear program. The White House offered clemency to seven Iranians who were convicted or facing trial in the United States.Hekmati spent more than four years in jail in Iran where he faced the death sentence at one point.“I am happy to finally be home. It’s been a very long road, a very long journey. Unfortunately, many people have traveled this road with me," he told reporters.He was arrested while visiting family in Iran in 2011 and accused of being a U.S. spy, a charge his relatives and the United States deny. He was sentenced to death the following year-but that was commuted to a 10-year prison term.Hekmati said on Thursday he was "healthy, tall and with my head held high." The son of Iranian immigrants, Hekmati went to high school in Flint, an industrial town now struggling with a water contamin ation crisis.“It’s great to be back in Flint, my hometown. I love this city. I love its people. They have been so good to me and my family and we are very grateful,” Hekmati said.Abedini, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Iranian origin,arrived at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, a Christian conference center in Asheville, North Carolina, that is linked to popular evangelist Billy Graham."He arrived safely in Asheville," said Todd Shearer, a spokesman for the Graham family.Abedini was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison after being accused of harming Iran's national security by setting up home-based churches in Iran.He was reunited with his parents on Thursday, his wife said.(Reporting by David Bailey, Colleen Jenkins and Ben Klayman; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)
U.S. tightens visa waiver rules for visitors after Paris attacks-[Reuters]-January 21, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday began implementing restrictions to its Visa Waiver Program under a law passed after last year's Paris attacks that makes it harder for citizens of some countries to visit.Several of the Islamic State attackers who killed 130 people in France held European passports that would have allowed them to easily enter the United States under the former system.Citizens of the 38, mainly European, countries in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), who were previously able to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, must now obtain one if they have visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria since March 1, 2011.They must also obtain a visa if they are dual Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationals, the U.S. State Department said.Citizens from the 38 nations are required to obtain a travel authorization through the so-called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before coming to the United States.The State Department said that as of Thursday it would revoke the ESTA travel authorizations held by citizens from the 38 Visa Waiver Program countries if they are dual Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian citizens.However, it noted that under the new law the U.S. secretary of homeland security has the authority to issue waivers to the restrictions on law enforcement or national security grounds.People who could be eligible for a waiver include those who visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria on behalf of international organizations or humanitarian groups, or journalists who carried out reporting in the four countries.They may also include people who traveled for legitimate business reasons to Iraq or to Iran following the July 14, 2015 nuclear agreement.The Visa Waiver Program nations are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and United Kingdom.(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Shumaker)
POISONED WATERS
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land,(EARTH) because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
EZEKIEL 32:6-9
6 I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
7 And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
8 All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
9 I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known.
REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Political fallout from Flint, Michigan water crisis spreads-[Reuters]-By Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner-January 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pledged to offer support for the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan on Wednesday and environmental regulators were set to provide Congress with information about their role.Blame is swirling after a switch in the water supply to the financially-strapped city of 100,000 north of Detroit led to elevated levels of lead in drinking water."It is a reminder that we can't shortchange the basic services we provide to our people," Obama said about the crisis after visiting a car show in Detroit. "If I were a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kid's health could be at risk."Facing protests, lawsuits and calls for his resignation, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, apologized to the city's residents on Tuesday and called for the state to spend $28 million on fixes.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, while saying it was reviewing its handling of the crisis and could have acted faster to inform the state of what measures it should take, also blamed the state on Tuesday. It said the agency's oversight was hampered by "failures and resistance at the state and local levels."Flint, under a state-appointed emergency manager, switched to Flint River water in April 2014 from the Lake Huron supply that Detroit uses to save money.Complaints about the water began within a month of the move. But Flint did not return to Detroit water until October 2015 after tests showed elevated levels of lead, which can cause brain damage and other health problems, in Flint tap water and in some children. Corrosive water from the river, known locally as a dumping ground, caused more lead to leach from Flint pipes than Detroit water did."This is something nobody should have to deal with. Everybody should have clean water," Flint Mayor Karen Weaver told a conference in Washington."They need to be much more aggressive in what's going on with Flint," Weaver said on CNN about the EPA's response.In his State of the State speech on Tuesday, Snyder said federal, state and local leaders had failed residents.He asked Michigan lawmakers to authorize spending on diagnostic tests, health treatment for children and adolescents, replacement of old fixtures in Flint schools and day care centers and a study of the city's water pipes.-MAJOR DISASTER APPEAL-Snyder, who has faced questions on how soon he acted after learning about the water problem in Flint, released his Flint-related emails from 2014 and 2015 on Wednesday.He submitted an appeal to Obama for his denial of a major disaster declaration saying Flint faces a long-term threat and that such an order could bring additional help. Obama signed an emergency order on the same day he rejected the disaster declaration.A group of bipartisan lawmakers including Michigan Republican Fred Upton, of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote last week to EPA head Gina McCarthy, requesting a briefing about the Flint contamination. That briefing to congressional staffers was scheduled for Thursday.The House committee letter mentioned reports that said people in Flint have been exposed to dangerous biological pathogens and chemicals in the drinking water. Although Flint has now switched back to Detroit's water system, lead levels in the city's water are still elevated.Several lawsuits have been filed in the case. The latest on Tuesday asked a judge to stop Flint from issuing shutoff notices to residents who are still receiving bills for water declared undrinkable.(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Detroit, David Shepardson, Lacey Johnson, Ian Simpson; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Frances Kerry and Alan Crosby)
