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)
HOMOSEXUALS.(SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERS)
LEVITICUS 20:13
13 If a man also lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
LEVITICUS 18:22
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind,(ANOTHER MAN) as with womankind: it is abomination.
2 TIMOTHY 3:3
3 Without natural affection,(HOMOSEXUALS) trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,(HARDENED SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUPERRS) nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
PSALMS 14:1
1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
ROMANS 1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:(HOMOSEXUALITY,AND ALL SEX SINS)
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:(LESBIENS)
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,(SODOMITES) and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.(AIDS ETC)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
GOD CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE IN MARRIAGE
GENESIS 1:27-28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,(HAVE LOTS OF CHILDREN) and replenish the earth,(HOMOSEXUALS CAN NOT REPLENISH THE EARTH WITH CHILDREN)(BY HAVING SEX WITH EACH OTHER) and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
GENESIS 2:21-24
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
MATTHEW 19:4-6
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Court overturns US school's transgender bathroom rule-[The Canadian Press]-Larry O'Dell, The Associated Press-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
RICHMOND, Va. - A Virginia high school discriminated against a transgender teen by forbidding him from using the boys' restroom, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in a case that could have implications for a North Carolina law that critics say discriminates against LGBT people.The case of Gavin Grimm has been especially closely watched since North Carolina enacted a law last month that bans transgender people from using public restrooms that correspond to their gender identity. It also bans cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances, a response to an ordinance recently passed in Charlotte.In the Virginia case, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which also covers North Carolina — ruled 2-1 to overturn the Gloucester County School Board's policy, saying it violated a federal law that prohibits discrimination in schools. A federal judge had previously rejected Grimm's sex discrimination claim, but the court said that judge ignored a U.S. Department of Education regulation that transgender students in public schools must be allowed to use the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity."We agree that it has indeed been commonplace and widely accepted to separate public restrooms, locker rooms, and shower facilities on the basis of sex," the court wrote in its opinion. "It is not apparent to us, however, that the truth of these propositions undermines the conclusion we reach regarding the level of deference due to the department's interpretation of its own regulations."Maxine Eichner, a University of North Carolina law professor who is an expert on sexual orientation and the law, said the ruling — the first of its kind by a federal appeals court — means the provision of North Carolina's law pertaining to restroom use by transgender students in schools that receive federal funds also is invalid."The effects of this decision on North Carolina are clear," she said, adding that a judge in that state will have no choice but to apply the appeals court's ruling.Other states in the 4th Circuit are Maryland, West Virginia and South Carolina. While those states are directly affected by the appeals court's ruling, Eichner said the impact will be broader."It is a long and well-considered opinion that sets out the issues," she said. "It will be influential in other circuits."Appeals court Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote in a dissenting opinion that the majority's opinion "completely tramples on all universally accepted protections of privacy and safety that are based on the anatomical differences between the sexes."The school board could appeal the decision to the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court. David Patrick Corrigan, attorney for the school board, did not immediately respond to a telephone message.On another issue, the appeals court ordered the trial judge to reconsider his refusal to issue an order that would allow Grimm to use the boys' restrooms immediately.Grimm was born female but identifies as male. He was allowed to use the boys' restrooms at the school for several weeks in 2014. But after some parents complained, the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom.Grimm called the policy stigmatizing. School officials said the policy respects the privacy of all students."I feel so relieved and vindicated by the court's ruling," Grimm said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents him. "Today's decision gives me hope that my fight will help other kids avoid discriminatory treatment at school."Grimm, 16, said he started refusing to wear girls' clothes by age 6 and told his parents he was transgender in April 2014.Grimm's parents helped him legally change his name, and a psychologist diagnosed him with gender dysphoria, characterized by stress stemming from conflict between one's gender identity and assigned sex at birth. Grimm began hormone treatment to deepen his voice and give him a more masculine appearance.___Associated Press writer Jonathan Drew contributed to this report from Raleigh, North Carolina.
Religious group sues San Francisco over open-air urinal-[Associated Press]-OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A religious organization sued the city of San Francisco to remove an open-air urinal from a popular park that it calls unsanitary and indecent.The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint last week demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from iconic Dolores Park.The group says the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only with plants for privacy, "emanates offensive odors," ''has no hand-washing facilities" and "it's offensive to manners and morals."The lawsuit alleges that the item installed in February discriminates against women and the disabled and exposes those who use it to "shame and embarrassment.""The open-air urination hole violates the privacy of those who need to use the restroom but would be required to expose their bodies and suffer shame and degradation of urinating in public view," it says.The city attorney's office said in a statement that it will fight the litigation. It pointed out that the 16-acre park is well-known for its "counterculture, immodest sunbathers, pot brownie vendors, spectacular city views, and famously irreverent 'Hunky Jesus' contest."The office said residents advocated for the facility, called a "pissoir" (piss-WAH), to stop people from urinating on walls, bushes and sidewalks."If I had to predict the top 100 things in Dolores Park likely to offend these plaintiffs, I wouldn't have guessed that this would make the cut," city attorney spokesman Matt Dorsey said in the statement.The urinal is part of a $20 million renovation plan that now has put more than two dozen toilets in the park along with other upgrades.San Francisco has a long, sometimes creative, history of dealing with public urination.Last summer, the city painted nearly 30 walls with a repellant paint that makes urine spray back on the offender. In 2002, the city increased the possible fine for the crime up to $500, but that did little to deter the practice.
Capital of conservative Utah will name street for gay leader-[Associated Press]-LINDSAY WHITEHURST-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to name a street after pioneering gay leader Harvey Milk, the latest display of its position as a blue island in a sea of deep-red, where the prevailing Mormon faith still has a fraught relationship with the LGBT community.Utah's capital city recently elected its first openly gay mayor and its second sitting gay councilman, creating an increasingly friendly atmosphere for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The conservative religion's tone on gay issues has softened in recent years, but it still opposes same-sex marriage, believes homosexuality is a sin and recently banned baptisms for the children of gay parents. Faith leaders said the highly criticized move would avoid putting children in a tug-of-war between their parents and church teachings.The Mormon church declined to comment on renaming the street. Sponsor Stan Penford, the city's first openly gay councilman, said that leaders likely would have reached out if they had a strong opposition.Milk set the tone for the modern gay rights movement and his uncompromising calls for gay people to come out of the closet inspired a generation of activists, including many in Utah, said supporters who spoke at a Tuesday hearing that drew about 100 people."This sends a loud message that Salt Lake City values inclusion and diversity," said Troy Williams, director of the group Equality Utah.Several people spoke against the idea, with many saying that a local leader or inventor should be honored instead. The street serves as the ending spot for an annual parade honoring the deeply felt legacy of Mormon pioneers."Those are our pioneers, not San Francisco's pioneers," said resident Ralph Pahnke.The street with the honorary name will be located near thoroughfares named for civil rights icons like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez. Lined with coffee shops, restaurants and a community garden, it runs through one of the city's most in-demand neighborhoods.Milk became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in the U.S. when he won a seat on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977. A disgruntled former city supervisor assassinated him and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone at City Hall in 1978.The activist's life was memorialized in the Oscar-winning 2008 movie "Milk," and he also has been honored with a commemorative stamp and a posthumous Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. The San Diego City Council approved naming a street for Milk in 2012, something officials said was a first.The honorary name will be placed on part of a street that is nine blocks from Mormon church headquarters. Temple Square was the site of protests in 2008 after the church supported efforts to pass a short-lived gay marriage ban in California.Mormon leaders subsequently softened their tone, backing a Utah anti-discrimination law last year that protects gay and transgender people from housing and employment discrimination while safeguarding the rights of religious groups and individuals.As many as two-thirds of Utah's 3 million residents are believed to be members of the Mormon religion, though some are more involved in the faith than others.Utah's capital also has supported a thriving gay community. An annual LGBT pride parade is the second largest in the state — behind only the yearly celebration of Mormon pioneers.The city's first openly gay mayor, Jackie Biskupski, took office this year, as well as its second sitting gay councilman. Derek Kitchen and his husband were one of three couples who sued to overturn the state's same-sex marriage ban.
Tennessee student apologizes for rainbow noose project-[Reuters]-By Brendan O'Brien-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
(Reuters) - The Tennessee university student whose art project, six rainbow-colored nooses hanging from a tree, was swiftly removed by police said on Tuesday that she did not intend to be racially insensitive or offend the gay community.The project was up for less than an hour on Monday before complaints prompted officials at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee to take it down."My intention with my sculpture project was to address the cycle of death and rebirth that is represented by the arrival of spring," the student, whose identity was not disclosed, was quoted as saying in a statement released by the university."I had no social or political statements in mind. I did not take into consideration that nooses are a racially charged symbol, for that I am sorry."A university spokesman would only identify the student as a female.A professor in the art department approved the initial concept for the artwork and expressed concerns about how the project might be interpreted. The student mounted the project without final approval, the spokesman said."This incident is deeply disturbing and is hurtful to our university community," said university President Alisa White. "I am saddened, and I am sorry for the hurt and offense this has caused."The noose is a symbol of racial hatred in the United States, where thousands of blacks were lynched in a dozen states including Tennessee between 1877 and 1950, according to a 2015 Equal Justice Initiative report.High-profile police killings of unarmed black men in the last two years have triggered waves of protest and heightened awareness of racism and discrimination in the United States.Speculation on social media suggested the display might have been meant to highlight the struggles facing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community with suicide, given that the nooses were in the colors of the movement's rainbow flag.In March, a former University of Mississippi student pleaded guilty to draping a noose around the neck of a statue of the school's first black student. Another ex-student was sentenced to six months in prison for a similar incident last year.(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Justin Madden in Chicago; editing by Tom Heneghan and Cynthia Osterman)
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
1 PET 5:8
8 Be sober,(NOT DRUGED UP OR ALCOHOLICED) be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders,(KILLING) nor of their sorceries (DRUG ADDICTS AND DRUG PUSHERS), nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE MARRIAGE OR PROSTITUTION FOR MONEY) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)
Pot law coming next spring: Health Minister Jane Philpott-[The Canadian Press]-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
UNITED NATIONS, United Nations - Canada's legislation to begin the process of legalizing and regulating marijuana will be introduced next spring, Health Minister Jane Philpott announced Wednesday at the United Nations.During her impassioned speech at a special UN session on drugs, Philpott acknowledged the pot plan "challenges the status quo in many countries," but she said the Liberal government is convinced it's the best way to protect youth, while enhancing public safety.Canada must do better when it comes to drug policy, she added, saying the government's approach will be rooted in science and will address the devastating consequences of drugs and drug-related crimes."I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm," she said."As a doctor, who has worked both in Canada and sub-Saharan Africa, I have seen too many people suffer the devastating consequences of drugs, drug-related crime and ill-conceived drug policy. Fortunately, solutions are within our grasp."Philpott began her speech with an emotional recounting of a story she recently heard from a mother who lost her daughter to substance abuse.The woman described watching her daughter die as she sought help that should have been available to save her life, Philpott said."She described watching her daughter slip away as she struggled to access the treatment and services that should have been available to save a beautiful, fragile life," she said."Stories like this are far too commonplace. Countless lives are cut short due to overdoses of licit and illicit substances. Today, I stand before you as Canada's minister of health to acknowledge that we must do better for our citizens."Philpott's address happened to coincide with 4-20, the annual day of celebration for cannabis culture lovers, which takes on greater significance in Canada this year, with the government planning to green-light recreational marijuana use.The UN General Assembly is holding a special session on global drug policy. Officials from around the world have gathered for the meeting that has been billed as the first of its kind in nearly two decades.Other countries and cultures will pursue different approaches, Philpott noted."I believe that if we respect one another's perspectives and seek common ground we can achieve our shared objective: protecting our citizens," she said. "Better yet, we can improve their lives."In 1998, the assembly adopted an action plan that emphasized the need for law enforcement and a "drug-free world." Critics have argued the so-called war on drugs has been ineffective and has undermined public health efforts.
Invasion of many moose driving Newfoundland capital to distraction-[The Canadian Press]-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland's capital is suddenly overrun with moose, with residents reporting close encounters across St. John's and police warning drivers to be on the lookout for antlers."A baby moose just followed my daughter to the bus stop," one father, Aiden Martin, tweeted on Friday.The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said it has received nine calls since Saturday, and asked drivers to be wary. Spring moose sightings aren't unusual, but the sudden appearance of so many has set social media alight.Moose were seen munching on breakfast by the highway, strolling by the Rod and Gun club, hanging out in a Wingin' It parking lot and going to the gym.After a sighting near a Goodlife Fitness centre in Mount Pearl, the RNC tweeted: "Today was a 'leg day.'"Martin said the little moose shadowed his 14-year-old daughter Melanie as she headed to school, so close she could have touched it."I was more worried at first," her father said in an online message, "but since all ended well, I'm glad she had such an experience."Many social media spotters reported sightings on St. John's-area thoroughfares."Keep an eye out for the moose running around University Ave/Elizabeth/Freshwater ... It's moving fast," Kayla Hollett tweeted."(Moose on) Kenmount Road heading West across from Avalon Ford. THAT was a close call #shaking," Twitter-user @Kimberlydaisy posted."Yip, Mr. Moose in the ditch across from Islander Rd. I'm fine but the moose never made it!" Brian Ridgley tweeted, attaching a picture of his wrecked GMC truck and adding a wry hashtag: "#nfldtraffic."The island of Newfoundland has the highest concentration of moose in the world. Between 500 and 600 moose-vehicle crashes are reported annually, with five to 10 serious injuries per year and one human death on average.Last April, Newfoundland launched a five-year moose management plan, partly aimed at reducing moose-vehicle crashes.RNC Const. Geoffrey Higdon said Tuesday moose often migrate to the big city around this time of year.Every spring, mothers kick out yearlings to go out on their own. The wide-eyed moose sometimes stumble into the city, where they are tranquilized and returned to their habitat."You could take a video of us out trying to reel these moose in and put some memes on it," Higdon said."I don't want to be a police officer in Australia because they probably get snake calls," he said, "(Australians) probably don't want to come St. John's, because we have to haul thousand-pound moose out of backyards."He said as a patrol officer, he received up to three moose calls a day.— By Adina Bresge in Halifax
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.
Hundreds of homeowners ordered out as fires sweep through B.C.'s northeast-[The Canadian Press]-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. - Dozens of wildfires burning around the northeastern B.C. community of Fort St. John have forced residents from nearly 500 homes to evacuate or prepare to leave at a moment's notice.Peace River Regional District declared a state of local emergency Monday night, just hours after winds gusting to 80 kilometres per hour brought down power lines.Unseasonably high temperatures of nearly 30 degrees aggravated the conditions, although fire information officer Amanda Reynolds of the Prince George Fire Centre said the cause of the fires had not been confirmed."This time of the year, most of our fires are human caused," she said. "However, we have not had an origin and cause investigator and we do know that some fires have resulted from fallen power lines."The Peace River Regional District's Facebook page said three structures were destroyed, while Reynolds said one home was lost.Residents of the nearby communities of South Taylor Hill, Charlie Lake and Baldonnel were ordered out late Monday and early Tuesday, and several other neighbourhoods were placed on evacuation alert.A reception centre was opened in Taylor, south of Fort St. John, where arrangements were being made to care for animals moved off evacuated farms.Environment Canada forecasts also provided some optimism, showing winds would remain gusty but temperatures were expected to return to the mid-teens Tuesday, with rain due later in the week.There have been 45 new wildfires in the Prince George Fire Centre, where Fort St. John is located, since Monday, marking an early start to fire season.Spring blazes are not unusual, said Provincial Fire Information Officer Kevin Skrepnek."I think it's important to remember that it's not uncommon to have an early spring grass fire season in B.C., but certainly not to the level of activity that we're seeing in the Peace Region and elsewhere right now," he said.There have been 131 wildfires across the province so far this year, meaning fire season has come about two or three weeks early, said Forestry Minister Steve Thomson.An early season is always cause for concern, he said."It does give you that little churn in your stomach, I guess, in terms of 'Here it comes and we're getting started.'"There are more than 1,400 crew members and support staff ready to battle the blazes, plus 1,600 contract workers who could be called in to help, Thomson said."We need to deal with the season as it comes to us," he said. "The crews are trained. We have a very, very professional wildfire service in British Columbia, so we're ready and we'll deal with the season as it comes."Environment Canada is predicting warmer temperatures across B.C. this summer, but right now it is impossible to predict how much precipitation there will be, which will have a huge impact on wildfire activity."It's important to point out that this is an early start, but it doesn't necessarily indicate what the long-term outlook for the fire season will be," Thomson said.Last year, wildfires charred nearly 3,000 square kilometres of B.C. woodland, costing the province nearly $300 million.
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Earth's hot streak continues for a record 11 months-[The Canadian Press]-Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON - Earth's record monthly heat streak has hit 11 months in a row — a record in itself.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday that March's average global temperature of 54.9 degrees (12.7 degrees) was not only the hottest March, but continues a record streak that started last May.According to NOAA climate scientist Jessica Blunden, the 11 heat records in a row smashes a streak of 10 set in 1944. Climate scientists say this is a result of El Nino, along with relentless, man-made global warming.Blunden and Michael Mann at the University of Pennsylvania worry that people will be desensitized to the drumbeat of broken records and will not realize the real effect they have on weather — for example, massive changes in what is supposed to be winter in the Arctic. Greenland had a record early start for its ice sheet melting. The Arctic had its smallest winter maximum for sea ice and it was the second smallest March snow cover for the Northern Hemisphere."It's becoming monotonous in a way," said Jason Furtado, a meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma. "It's absolutely disturbing ... We're losing critical elements of our climate system."March was 2.2 degrees (1.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th-century average. That's a record amount above average for any month, breaking the mark set only the month before. Africa and the Indian Ocean were especially warm, Blunden said.The first three months of the year were 2.07 degrees warmer than normal (1.15 degrees Celsius) and half a degree (0.28 degrees Celsius) warmer than the previous record start, set last year.Beyond NOAA, NASA, the Japanese weather agency and satellite tracking measurements have reported that March was a record hot month. Blunden said there's a good chance April will mark a solid year of records. Eventually, she said, the record setting streak will come to an end as the El Nino dissipates.El Nino, a warming of parts of the Pacific which changes weather worldwide, tends to push global temperatures up. La Nina, its cooling flip side, is forecast for later this year.For NOAA, this is the 37th time monthly heat records have been broken since the year 2000, but it has been more than 99 years since the last time a global cold record has been set.NOAA records go back to 1880.___Online:NOAA: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/global/201603-___Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein
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)
Houston flood control efforts fall behind urban sprawl-[The Canadian Press]-Michael Graczyk And Frank Bajak, The Associated Press-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
HOUSTON - Flood control has long been a challenging issue in Houston, dating back to the city's infancy on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou when its first flood was recorded more than 170 years ago.Major reservoirs built in the 1940s helped alleviate some of problems, but a population explosion and urban sprawl since then enveloped the reservoirs. Experts said the city's efforts since then have fallen woefully short of the massive needs. And there is climate change, which has increased the frequency of large rainfalls, climatologists said. The result this week was that sudden downpours overwhelmed infrastructure and inundated whole sections of the city, leaving at least seven people dead."To throw up your hands and say we're going to be vulnerable and have hundreds of millions of dollars of impact every year in Houston just because it rains a lot is not the attitude we need to take," said Sam Brody, a professor of regional planning at Texas A&M University at Galveston. "We are not thinking about the big picture."Thousands of people were routed from their homes and major highways when Houston's spaghetti-like web of bayous spilled over banks after rains that began Sunday night.Then on Tuesday, creeks getting runoff from nearly 18 inches of rain in some spots in outlying northwestern Harris County rose quickly over their banks, prompting a new round of evacuations, including rescues of some residents in wheelchairs from an assisted living facility.Prospects brightened for some as many roads reopened, although a flash flood watch was in effect through Wednesday."It's going to have to trickle its way through the city of Houston and to Galveston Bay," Francisco Sanchez, a county emergency services spokesman, said of the waters progressing downstream toward the Gulf of Mexico.Houston, with more than 2 million people including 90,000 arriving last year alone, is the nation's fourth-largest city. And Harris County, which includes most of Houston, has seen a 30 per cent jump in population since 2000, with an accompanying 25 per cent increase in pavement.The situation is exacerbated by a flat topography barely above sea level and the humid Gulf Coast climate prone to produce extreme rainfall.There have been at least three dozen significant floods since Houston's founding, including one in 1929 and another in 1935 that prompted construction of reservoirs in the western part of the county, Barker and Addicks, in the 1940s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers."They were way out in the country," said Wayne Klotz, a former American Society of Civil Engineers president who has a Houston engineering firm. "They were going to solve all the problems. The city continued to grow. And Barker and Addicks now are like in the middle of town."Few notable flood-control efforts have been implemented since then, said Philip Bedient, a Rice University engineering professor who has been studying flood control in the area for more than three decades.Houston's leaders "sort of forgot about it for the next 20 years, and it was the wild west," he said. "They built and built like there was no tomorrow.""It didn't have to be this way," he said.Among Houston's recent efforts is a voter-approved program aimed at rebuilding its streets and drainage systems to better cope with floods. The city says it has collected and spent more than $1 billion since 2012, improving 900 miles of roadway.Brody says more could be done, including an effort to buy out homeowners flood-prone areas and turn the land into open space. He also suggests upgrading building codes to mandate elevating structures in flood-prone areas, as some suburbs have done."You need to think," he said. "And we're not."The Harris County Flood Control District, the agency working in recent years with the Corps of Engineers on hundreds of millions of dollars in projects to ease the flooding impact, did not immediately return a phone message Tuesday seeking comment.Tropical Storm Allison, with nearly 39 inches of rain in the hardest hit area, left $5 billion in damage in 2001. Hurricane Ike hit in in 2008. Just last Memorial Day, hundreds of homes along Brays Bayou in Houston sustained severe damage after an 11-inch rainstorm.From 1999 to 2009, the Houston area incurred over $3 billion in insured flood losses, Brody said.Money is a considerable obstacle to improved flood control."We know what it would take to eliminate flooding," Klotz said. "The cost is in the billions. ... We live in times of constraint of public resources. Elected bodies have elected to choose to spend on different priorities."An increase in sudden downpours across the nation in recent decades augurs worse for ill-prepared cities such as Houston. Incidents of extreme rainfall increased 16 per cent in the Southwest region in the 54 years ending in 2012, according to the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment."You are in this paradoxical situation where you're going to get more intense rainfall" but also more extended droughts, said Andrew Dressler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M. And as Houston grows, "it's going to be a more challenging place to live."___AP writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this story from Dallas.
Sharp shock hits Ecuador, biggest post-quake jolt-[Associated Press]-CRISTIAN KOVADLOFF and RODRIGO ABD-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
MONTECRISTI, Ecuador (AP) — A fresh tremor rattled Ecuador before dawn Wednesday, a magnitude-6.1 magnitude jolt that set babies crying and adults pouring into the streets, fearful of yet more damage following a monster earthquake over the weekend.It was the strongest aftershock yet following the magnitude-7.8 quake that killed more than 500 people.The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor was centered offshore, 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of the devastated beach town of Muisne, at 3:33 a.m. local time (4:33 EDT; 0833 GMT).The new aftershock led some people in Portoviejo to abandon homes, even those with no apparent damage, and head through the night toward a former airport where temporary shelters have been set up.Meanwhile, scenes of mourning multiplied all along Ecuador's normally placid Pacific coastline as people began burying loved ones and hope faded that more survivors will be found. Funeral homes were running out of caskets, and local governments were paying to bring in coffins from other cities.In the small town of Montecristi, near the port of Manta, two children were among those buried Tuesday. They were killed with their mother while buying school supplies when the big quake struck.The funeral had to be held outside under a makeshift awning, because the town's Roman Catholic church was damaged and unsafe. Family members wailed loudly and one man fainted as the children were laid to rest in an above-ground vault.The National Prosecutors Office put the death toll at 525 on Wednesday — up from a previous official toll of 507 — but officials expected more bodies to be found, with the Defense Department reporting Tuesday that more than 200 people were still missing.The office said on its official Twitter account Wednesday that there were at least 11 foreigners among the dead. It said that of the 525 fatal victims, 15 people remained unidentified but none was foreign.The office said 435 of the dead were found in the Manta, Portoviejo and Pedernales areas.The final toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.Yet even as grief mounted, there were glimmers of hope.In several cities, rescuers with sniffer dogs, hydraulic jacks and special probes that can detect breathing from far away continued to search for survivors among the rubble. At least six were found in Manta early Tuesday.One of the most hopeful tales was that of Pablo Cordova, who held out for 36 hours beneath the rubble of the hotel where he worked in Portoviejo, drinking his own urine and praying that cellphone service would be restored before his phone battery died. He was finally able to call his wife Monday afternoon and was pulled from the wreckage soon after by a team of rescuers from Colombia-Cordova's wife had given up on ever seeing him again and managed to buy a casket."They were organizing the funeral, but I've been reborn," Cordova said Tuesday, grinning from beneath his bushy mustache in a provincial hospital. "I will have to give that coffin back because I still have a long way to go before I die."Rescuers who have arrived from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and other nations said they would keep searching for survivors Wednesday, but cautioned that time was running out and the likelihood of finding more people alive grew smaller with the passage of every hour.Even as authorities begin to shift their attention to restoring electricity and clearing debris, the earth continued to move. Local seismologists have recorded more than 400 aftershocks, some felt 105 miles (170 kilometers) away in the capital of Quito.Saturday's earthquake destroyed or damaged about 1,500 buildings, triggered mudslides and left some 20,000 people homeless, the government said. It was the worst temblor in Ecuador since one in 1949 killed more than 5,000 people.Some 13 nations are involved in the relief effort. Cuba, which suffered the deaths of three doctors in the quake itself, sent more health workers. Venezuela has flown in food and the U.S. government said Tuesday that it was sending a team of disaster experts as well $100,000 in assistance.President Barack Obama spoke by phone with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Tuesday. The White House said Obama offered condolences on behalf of the American people for lives lost.Correa has spent the past days overseeing relief efforts and delivering supplies. He said Tuesday the quake caused $3 billion in damage, about 3 percent of gross domestic product, and rebuilding would take years."It's going to be a long battle," he told reporters.After a deadly earthquake in Chile in 2010, that South American country was able to get back on its feet quickly thanks to a commodities boom that was energizing its economy. But Ecuador must rebuild amid a deep recession that has forced austerity on the OPEC nation's finances. Even before the quake, the International Monetary Fund was forecasting the oil-dependent economy would shrink 4.5 percent this year.___Associated Press writers Joshua Goodman in Bogota, Colombia, Gonzalo Solano in Quito, Ecuador and Ciaran Giles in Madrid, contributed to this report.
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.
Half Australia's Great Barrier Reef coral 'dead or dying': scientists-[Reuters]-By Colin Packham-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists said on Wednesday that just seven percent of the Great Barrier Reef, which attracts around A$5 billion ($3.90 billion) in tourism every year, has been untouched by mass bleaching that is likely to destroy half the coral.Bleaching occurs when the water is too warm, forcing coral to expel living algae and causing it to calcify and turn white. Mildly bleached coral can recover if the temperature drops, otherwise it may die.Although the impact has been exacerbated by one of the strongest El Nino weather systems in nearly 20 years, scientists believe climate change is the underlying cause."We've never seen anything like this scale of bleaching before. In the northern Great Barrier Reef, it's like 10 cyclones have come ashore all at once," said Professor Terry Hughes, conveyor of the National Coral Bleaching Taskforce, which conducted aerial surveys of the World Heritage site."Our estimate at the moment is that close to 50 percent of the coral is already dead or dying," Hughes told Reuters.The Great Barrier Reef stretches 2,300 km (1,430 miles) along Australia's northeast coast and is the world's largest living ecosystem."There were some who said that the worst had passed. We rejected that, and they were wrong," Environment Minister Greg Hunt told reporters. "Let it be known that this is a significant event. We take it seriously."U.S. President Barack Obama embarrassed Australia 18 months ago by warning of the risk of climate change to the reef during a G20 meeting.UNESCO's World Heritage Committee last May stopped short of placing the Great Barrier Reef on an "in danger" list, but the ruling raised long-term concerns about its future.Australia is one of the largest carbon emitters capita because of its reliance on coal-fired power plants for electricity.Despite pledging to cut carbon emissions, Australia has continued to support fossil fuel projects, including Adani Enterprises Ltd's proposed A$10 billion ($7.7 billion) Carmichael coal project in the Galilee Basin in western Queensland."It’s not good enough for them to say they care about the reef while they keep backing the coal industry and avoid tackling climate change,” said Shani Tager, a Greenpeace campaigner.The findings will likely place pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ahead of an expected federal election on July 2.Turnbull is an advocate of carbon trading and supports progressive climate policies, but has left some disappointed over a failure to strengthen his party's commitment to addressing climate change.(Additional reporting by James Regan; Editing by Nick Macfie)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Juncker: EU has been too invasive-By EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
Today, 09:26-Over-regulation and interference in people's lives has caused a loss of faith in the European project, EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday. “We are interfering in too many areas of their private lives, and in too many areas where member states are better placed to act," he said.
Nato and Russia continue to have 'profound disagreements'-By EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
Today, 15:58-Russia and Nato have "profound and persistent disagreements" on Ukraine and other issues, Nato head Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday after a meeting of the Nato-Russia Council. "Today’s meeting did not change that," he said. The meeting was the first of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014.
EU says Ukraine meets visa-free standards-By EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
Today, 15:57-The European Commission on Wednesday said Ukraine has met all technical benchmarks to obtain EU visa-free travel. "It is an important achievement for the citizens of Ukraine," EU commissioner Avramopoulos said. A sizeable majority of EU states must back the step politically for it to enter into force.
Turkey visa-free progress report set for May-By EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
Today, 15:44-The European Commission will issue its progress report on Turkey's path towards visa liberalisation on 4 May. Turkey wants visa waivers lifted in June for visiting nationals in the passport-free Schengen zone as part of its migrant swap deal with the EU but must first meet 72 criteria.
Russia warns U.S. over naval incident as NATO tensions laid bare-[Reuters]-By Robin Emmott-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of intimidation by sailing a U.S. naval destroyer close to Russia's border in the Baltics and warned that the Russian military would respond with "all necessary measures" to any future incidents.Speaking after a meeting between NATO envoys and Russia, their first in almost two years, Moscow's ambassador to NATO said the April 11 maritime incident showed there could be no improvement in ties until the U.S.-led alliance withdrew from Russia's borders."This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia," the envoy, Alexander Grushko, said. "We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force," he told reporters.U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute pressed Russia about the incident, warning it had been dangerous. The United States has said the guided missile destroyer USS Cook was on routine business near Poland when it was harassed by Russian jets."We were in international waters," a NATO diplomat reported Lute as telling Grushko during the NATO-Russia council meeting.Despite what officials said was a calm and professional meeting, the public comments highlighted the state of tension that persists between the sides since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the NATO member states had, during the meeting, rejected Grushko's account of the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where 9,000 people have died since April 2014.Stoltenberg said while there were "profound disagreements" over how to handle Europe's security, each side urgently needed to talk more and to use existing rules to reduce military risk.Stoltenberg suggested revamping a Cold War-era treaty known as the Vienna document, which sets out the rules for large-scale exercises and other military activity, as well as telephone hotlines and other military communication channels."We have to use our lines of communication," he said.Russia's chief concern is NATO's biggest modernization since the Cold War, which is likely to include a military build-up in eastern Europe with a rotating, multinational force in Poland and the Baltics.NATO says the plans are a proportionate response to Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of Crimea, and the alliance had no forces in eastern Europe before the Ukraine crisis.Poland and other NATO members in the Baltics worry about an increase in the Russian military presence in its Kaliningrad enclave, where Russia is positioning longer-range surface-to-air missiles.-NO AGREEMENT ON UKRAINE-The session of the NATO-Russia Council, which last met in June 2014, had been called in part to assuage Russia's concerns that it feels threatened by NATO. But core differences clearly remained afterwards.NATO envoys had expressed concern about Russia's so-called snap exercises, where thousands of Russian troops carry out war games without any prior warning. "That is clearly destabilizing," a NATO diplomat said.Stoltenberg said NATO members had rejected Grushko's description of the crisis in eastern Ukraine as a civil war."In the meeting, it was re-confirmed that we disagree on the facts, on the narrative and the responsibilities in and around Ukraine," Stoltenberg said after the meeting."Many allies disagree when Russia tries to portray this as a civil war. This is Russia destabilizing eastern Ukraine, providing support for the separatists, munitions, funding, equipment and also command and control," he said."So there were profound disagreements," he said.Russia denies any direct involvement in eastern Ukraine.(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Turkey and EU hail successes of migrant deal By Eszter Zalan-EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
BRUSSELS, Today, 09:17-The EU commission and Turkey have praised their controversial migrant deal for breaking the business model of the people smugglers and decreasing the number of migrants travelling to Europe.EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu talked about the deal at the Council of Europe on Tuesday (19 April), a day before the EU’s executive was due to unveil its first assessment of the agreement.“The plan is starting to work. Since the agreement took effect, we have seen a sharp decrease in the number crossing the Aegean from Turkey into Greece,” Juncker told the human rights watchdog.“We are breaking the cruel business model of smugglers.”In his speech, Davutoglu insisted that Turkey had “fulfilled all its commitments in the deal”.“The number of crossings from Turkey to Greece has gone down to 60, and sometimes zero, people a day. This is a successful deal.”However, he added that the €3 billion pledged by the EU to Turkey to help care for the 2.7 million refugees there is not yet in place.The agreement on returning migrants to Turkey, signed in March, was criticised for allowing migrants to be detained, and failing to provide proper legal safeguards.Juncker insisted the deal respected European and international norms, saying he was “not happy about all that criticism”.EU border agency Frontex said on Monday that the agreement had led to a “noticeable” reduction in the number of migrants arriving on the Greek islands in March.The total number was 26,460 - half of February's figure.Frontex also said in the first half of April, on average, there had been fewer than 100 daily arrivals of migrants on Greek islands.-Visa liberalisation-But Juncker said that Turkey should not expect special treatment on visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in Europe.Davutoglu earlier warned that Turkey would no longer honour the accord, if the EU failed to ease visa requirements by June."As part of the agreement, we are working towards visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens. Turkey must fulfil all remaining conditions," Juncker said."Visa liberalisation is a matter of criteria. The criteria will not be watered down in the case of Turkey," he added.Granting visa waiver to 75 million Turks is highly sensitive issue among EU states, with some fearing it would open the way for more Muslim migration to the bloc.-Europe needs Turkey-Davutoglu told the Council of Europe that “discrimination and intolerance is rising in European societies”.“Muslims, migrants and Roma people unfortunately become the primary victims of discrimination,” he added, saying it was “strange that there is some maltreatment of Syrian refugees and migrants in Europe”.Meanwhile, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan told supporters in Ankara on Tuesday that “the European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the European Union”.Erdogan denounced as “provocative” last week's European Parliament report that said Ankara was backsliding on democracy.He lashed out at the report for not praising Turkey for hosting refugees from Syria and Iraq.He said: "Three million people have been looked after in this country so they don't disturb the Europeans. Is there anything about this in the report?"The Turkish president has threatened before to open the gates to migrants into Europe, if negotiations with the EU do not go his way.
Focus-Nordic politicians look to EU for border solutions By Aleksandra Eriksson-APR 20,16-EUOBSERVER
OSLO, Today, 15:44-Nordic politicians want to reinstate passport-free travel between their countries, but rather than proposing regional solutions, most argue that nothing can be done until the EU solves the migrant crisis.Whether they voyaged to the Swedish fells, Norwegian fjords or Santa’s village in Finnish Lapland, Nordic people have enjoyed passport-free travel between their respective countries since the 1950s, decades before the EU's Schengen area was established.This changed on 4 January this year.Sweden, struggling to accommodate a large number of asylum seekers, announced identity checks and border controls concentrating on the bridge to Denmark. It ended 60 years of free movement in the Nordic region.Shortly afterwards, Denmark authorised checks on all of its borders and Norway followed suit.“The costs have been huge,” said Henrik Dam Kristensen, a Danish Social Democrat MP.He chairs the Nordic Council, an inter-parliamentary forum for MPs from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as the Faroe, Greenland and Aaland islands.On Tuesday, (19 April) the council convened in Oslo’s parliament for a special session on border controls and how it affects Nordic cooperation. The discussion was calm, but short on solutions. It was supposed to last for an hour but ended after only 35 minutes.The crisis has revealed some cracks in Nordic cooperation.“Solutions to the migration crisis are at the European and global level, not at the Nordic level,” said Finnish transport minister Anne Berner. She spoke on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers, another inter-governmental forum.-Searching the toolbox-Norwegian conservative MP Michael Tetzschner told journalists afterwards that the Nordic Passport Union – the 1950s agreement allowing free movement – could not function if the EU's system for handling asylum seekers was failing.“Nordic problems won’t be solved until the situation on the EU’s outer borders has been normalised,” he said.Many other politicians agreed that the controls were necessary until the EU’s outer borders were sealed.Danish MP Dam Kristensen was hopeful that this would take place in the wake of EU’s recent deal with Turkey.“We will see when the weather becomes better if it is a stable agreement. I hope it is, because the EU border is the most important protection we have," he told this website-Swedish moderate party MP Hans Wallmark had a different solution. Speaking before the assembly, he expressed support for a common Nordic border, a concept first proposed by Denmark’s prime minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen who suggested border checks should take place at Denmark’s frontier with Germany.“We need to try anything in the toolbox”, Wallmark later told the EUobserver. “There has been a lack of creativity when it comes to proposing solutions.”-Dysfunctional'-Wallmark criticised other politicians for urging more cooperation and integration without making any practical plans.“It’s a good idea to share experiences, but we also need concrete proposals for what to do together,” he said.“For instance, how can controls be implemented with the least possible burden on commuters.”He referred to a recent proposal of Danish and Swedish justice ministers to carry out checks in Copenhagen rather than on both sides of the Oresund bridge, which links the Danish capital to the Swedish city of Malmo.“It’s a concrete proposal. But it should have been discussed earlier, not four months after the checks were introduced,” he said.“The Nordic countries could find solutions and set examples. Unfortunately, we have shown to be just as dysfunctional as the EU when it comes to dealing with large movements of people.”The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Southern Sweden recently calculated that Oresund bridge controls cost at least €325,000 a day.Critics also say the checks have damaged Sweden’s relations with Denmark.“No doubt it had a negative effect, also on a political level,” said Danish politician Dam Kristensen.In the past, Denmark’s minister of migration Inger Stojberg has accused Sweden of creating problems for itself with its “expansionist” migration policy.Danish conservative MP Rasmus Jarlov recently called for additional checks on people coming from Sweden. He feared Sweden’s more restrictive policies would drive what he called illegal migrants back over the bridge.This is despite the number of asylum applications in Sweden in the first quarter of this year dropping by 30 percent from the same period last year.And the number of people travelling from Germany to Denmark without valid documents is about 100 a week, according to Wallmark.Lawmakers continue to stand by border controls even as the number of refugees keeps falling.
EU navies prepare to start work in Libyan waters By Andrew Rettman-EUOBSERVER
BRUSSELS, 19. Apr, 09:25-The EU is to make plans for posting security experts to Libya and moving its naval operation into Libyan waters, following initial talks with the country’s new government.EU foreign ministers decided to go ahead after speaking in Brussels via video link with new Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj on Monday (18 April).They said in a joint statement that EU security experts would help Libyan authorities on “counter-terrorism, border management, countering irregular migration and smuggling of migrants and trafficking of human beings”.They said the naval operation in the Mediterranean, called Sophia, which had so far been limited to international zones, could move into Libyan waters to help with “capacity building for the Libyan coastguard”.The EU also agreed to spend €100 million on humanitarian initiatives, such as restoring water and electricity to war-damaged towns.The statement recognised that Sarraj’s Government of National Accord, formed last week, does not have full control of Libyan territory.It urged “existing militias and armed groups to respect its authority” .It said EU states, in line with a UN decision, would cease “official contact” with all “parallel institutions”. It also said it might blacklist further individuals “who threaten the peace, stability or security in Libya, or who undermine its political transition”.Europe’s foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini said the new EU deployments were unlikely before July - its internal deadline for a review of Sophia’s mandate.She noted that Sarraj had mentioned migration and counter-terrorism as just two among many of the new government’s priorities.-Huge numbers-But she said he had voiced concern on the “huge number of migrants and refugees” that have come to Libya following the EU’s closure of the Western Balkan migration corridor.She said one of the options was for Sophia to start work on interception and rescues of migrants in Libyan waters. She said it could also start to destroy migrant boats on shore or train the Libyan coast guard to destroy them.Mogherini said she was “proud” of Sophia’s work to date, saying that it in the past six months it had arrested 68 suspected people smugglers, “neutralised” 104 vessels, and rescued over 13,000 people, including 800 children.She spoke on the one-year anniversary of a mass drowning in the Mediterranean, but also amid as-yet uncorroborated reports of another large-scale sea tragedy.Speaking after the Sarraj video conference, French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the creation of the GNA was itself a big step.“We couldn’t have imagined that a few weeks ago,” he said.He described Sarraj as a “brave” man who “wants to help his country”. He also said it was important for both Libya and the EU to halt people smuggling and arms and drugs trafficking.Michael Fallon, the British defence minister, said that the spread of the jihadist group Islamic State “along the Libyan coastline … is a threat to us in Europe”.Speaking last weekend at the Globsec security conference in Bratislava, Nato deputy head Alexander Vershbow said the alliance could help Sophia on maritime surveillance if it was asked.But he added: “The EU seems to think it has things covered, at least for now.”Nato is already helping Greek and Turkish coastguards to spot migrant boats in the Aegean.Vershbow said the mission was “not yet fully deployed”, but it helped last week to identify “two or three dozen illegal smuggling vessels”.-Criticism-The EU security mission is to be based on a 2013 EU initiative known as Eubam Libya, whereby 100 or so police and military experts were posted to Libya. Eubam was scaled back and eventually moved to Tunisia because of deteriorating security in Tripoli.The Sophia mission became fully operational in July last year. It consists of four warships from Italy, Germany, and the UK, as well as two planes and three helicopters.Libya has 6,000km of land borders, which are in effect controlled by stateless Toubou and Tuareg tribes, many of whom profit from smuggling.Italian security chiefs have in the past criticised Sophia.Vincenzo Camporini, Italy’s chief of defence from 2008 to 2011, told EUobserver last year the closer the operation moved to Libya, the more migrants it would be forced to rescue.“In essence, it’s helping the smuggling operation because it provides people with more means to reach their desired objective, which is to land in Europe,” he said.Luigi Binelli Mantelli, Italy’s defence chief from 2013 to 2015, told EUobserver in March that Libyan authorities had a long way to go to establish control.“It’s a problem of more than 100 tribes, each one with its own interests in human trafficking, oil smuggling, arms, and drugs,” he said.“People say we should talk with this or that government, but they [Libyan authorities] have no power to control the tribes.”
UNHCR: 500 people probably dead at sea-By EUOBSERVER-APR 20,16
Today, 16:55-Five hundred people probably died at sea last week somewhere between Libya and Italy, the UNHCR said Wednesday. The UN refugee agency interviewed survivors of the shipwreck, rescued on 16 April after drifting for three days. They said a boat "carrying hundreds of people in terribly overcrowded conditions" capsized.
Up to 500 feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck last week-[The Canadian Press]-Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
GENEVA - Up to 500 people are feared dead after a shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea last week, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday, citing the accounts of survivors.The disaster happened in waters between Italy and Libya, based on accounts from 41 survivors who were rescued on April 16 by a merchant ship, UNHCR said. The agency said that if confirmed, it would be one of the deadliest tragedies on the Mediterranean in the last year.The survivors said they had been among 100 to 200 people who left a town near Tobruk, Libya, on a smugglers' boat last week. The agency said Wednesday that "after sailing for several hours, the smugglers in charge of the boat attempted to transfer the passengers to a larger ship carrying hundreds of people in terribly overcrowded conditions.""At one point during the transfer, the larger boat capsized and sank," UNHCR said in a statement, saying that its staff had visited the survivors at a local stadium in Kalamata, Greece, where they have been housed by authorities while they undergo "police procedures."Barbara Molinario, a Rome-based spokeswoman for UNHCR, said details remained unclear and said its staffers didn't want to press the survivors too hard "as they are still very tried by their experience."The statements offered the most official comment yet following repeated news reports about the incident in recent days.Somalia's president, prime minister and parliamentary speaker on Monday issued a joint statement over an unconfirmed report about the incident. Reports of the drownings circulated among families and on social media, but they hadn't been confirmed by coast guard authorities in Italy, Greece, Libya or Egypt.More than 1 million migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean last year — mostly refugees from war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria fleeing to Greece, and the European Union, via Turkey. However, the longer Libya-Italy route has traditionally seen more deaths.Facing internal divisions, the EU has struggled to cope with the influx, and UNHCR on Wednesday reiterated its longstanding call for more "regular pathways" to Europe such as with resettlement and humanitarian admission programs, family reunification, private sponsorship and student and work visas.Rights groups have repeatedly slammed a new Turkey-EU deal to curtail the flood of refugees into Europe, raising questions about the safety of Syrian refugees on both sides of the Turkish border.Earlier Wednesday, Human Rights Watch urged Turkey to allow Syrians displaced by government shelling to cross the border to safety. The advocacy groups said the Syrian army hit two migrant camps on April 13 and 15, triggering an exodus of 3,000 people.Last week, the rights group said Turkish border guards had shot at Syrians escaping an Islamic State offensive. Turkey, home to 2.7 million Syrian refugees, rejects the claim and says it has an open-door policy toward migrants, but new arrivals are rare.The rights group says tens of thousands of civilians are trapped along Turkey's border.___Dominique Soguel in Istanbul, and Frances d'Emilio in Rome, contributed to this report.
Rouhani clashes with Iranian police over undercover hijab agents-[Reuters]-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's president criticized the use of thousands of undercover morality police in Tehran to report on young women who are not wearing a full Islamic hijab or those who play loud music in their cars.Some 7,000 men and women officers began reporting such violations in Tehran, Iran's capital, on Monday. The head of police said the officers were not authorized to arrest anyone; they can only send reports of violations by text messages to police headquarters.Asked about the undercover morality police, President Hassan Rouhani said such decisions should not be made by the government and he would keep his promise to preserve citizens' freedom."Our first duty is to respect people's dignity and personality. God has bestowed dignity to all human beings and this dignity precedes religion," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the news agency ISNA on Wednesday.Iranian police are part of the armed forces and supervised by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the government has a say in their policies through the Interior Ministry.The morality police in Iran usually detain women on the street for wearing bright clothes, a loose hijab or make-up, and men for "unacceptable" hair and clothing styles. They have sealed off barber shops for giving Western haircuts and cafes in which boys and girls were not observing Islamic law.Rouhani came to office in 2013 mainly on the votes of young people, and he has disagreed with strict Islamic rules. Many young Iranians hoped that his presidency would be accompanied by an easing of cultural restrictions.But hardliners have moved to block any relaxation of the Islamic Republic's social rules, warning of the "infiltration" of Western culture. They harshly criticized Rouhani last year for saying the police should enforce the law rather than Islam.In 2014, he said "you can't send people to heaven by the whip," a comment that brought a reaction from the Supreme Leader.(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, editing by Larry King)
Palestinian sister-city proposal stirs rancor in Colorado-[Associated Press]-DAN ELLIOTT-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — This peaceful university town is 7,000 miles from the violence of the Middle East, but a proposal to become sister cities with a Palestinian community has stirred such rancor that the City Council is trying to negotiate a truce among its own residents.The council decided Tuesday to hire a moderator and convene a citizen panel in hopes of settling differences between two sides arguing about whether Boulder should have a formal sister-city relationship with Nablus on the West Bank.Sister-city ties would help combat misunderstandings about Palestinians, said Essrea Cherin, president of the Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project, which is promoting the relationship. She said the entire Palestinian population is unfairly portrayed in the U.S. media as violent because of the actions of a few.But opponents told the council Tuesday night that Nablus, a city of about 130,000 residents that is a commercial and cultural center for Palestinians, was too closely linked with anti-Israel sentiment. Others have said formal ties would make it appear that Boulder was taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.An official sister-city relationship would require City Council approval. The council rejected a similar proposal in 2013, citing community opposition and similar concerns that the city — about 30 miles northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado-Boulder — would appear to be taking sides.Boulder spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said the city has received about 200 emails, some supporting the sister-city ties, some opposed, and others commenting on whether Boulder should try to resolve the dispute.Cherin said becoming a sister city isn't taking sides in the Middle East conflict, only working for international understanding. Boulder's rules for such relationships specifically demand neutrality, she said.Cherin said her group has worked hard to win over their critics but encountered a surprising level of resistance."We were really kind of taken aback to find that they did not shift their views very much," she said.The Boulder-Nablus Sister City Project has already arranged pen-pal relationships between Boulder and Nablus students, Cherin said. The group has brought women from Nablus to learn yoga in Boulder and plans to send a yoga teacher there. The group has also arranged for cultural exchanges.That work will continue, she said, but having a formal relationship with Nablus would allow it to expand through Sister Cities International.Cherin said she's optimistic Boulder will eventually formalize the relationship because the project has done all the city requires."Absolutely," she said. "As far as I can tell, we've met all the criteria.... Met and/or exceeded all of the criteria."
Trump, Clinton win big in NY, push closer to nominations-[The Canadian Press]-Julie Pace And Jonathan Lemire, The Associated Press-April 20, 2016-YAHOONEWS
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton swept to resounding victories in Tuesday's New York primary, with Trump bouncing back convincingly from a difficult stretch in his Republican campaign and Clinton pushing tantalizingly close to locking up the Democratic nomination."The race for the nomination is in the home stretch, and victory is in sight," Clinton declared to cheering supporters.Trump captured more than 50 per cent of the vote in New York and was headed toward a big delegate haul in his home state, a commanding showing that keeps him on a path to the GOP nomination if he continues to win. He claimed at least 89 of the 95 delegates at stake Tuesday, with Ohio Gov. John Kasich winning at least three and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in danger of getting shut out.A confident Trump insisted it was impossible for his rivals to catch him. Indeed, Cruz's poor showing in New York left him without any mathematical chance of clinching the nomination before the Republican convention in July, though Trump could still end up short of the needed 1,237 needed to seal victory before the gathering."We don't have much of a race anymore," Trump said during a victory rally in the lobby of the Manhattan tower bearing his name. He peppered his brash remarks with more references to the economy and other policy proposals than normal, reflecting the influence of a new team of advisers seeking to professionalize his campaign.Clinton's triumph padded her delegate lead over rival Bernie Sanders and put her 80 per cent of the way to clinching the Democratic nomination that eluded her eight years ago. In a shift toward the general election, she made a direct appeal to Sanders' loyal supporters, telling them she believes "there is more that unites us than divides us."Exit polls suggested Democrats were ready to rally around whoever the party nominates. Nearly 7 in 10 Sanders supporters in New York said that they would definitely or probably vote for Clinton if she is the party's pick.Sanders energized young people and liberals in New York, as he has across the country, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset victory he desperately needed to change the trajectory of the Democratic race. Still, the Vermont senator vowed to keep competing."We've got a shot to victory," Sanders said in an interview with The Associated Press. However, his senior adviser Tad Devine said later that the campaign planned to "sit back and assess where we are" after a string of contests next week.Of the 247 Democratic delegates at stake in New York, Clinton picked up at least 135 while Sanders gained at least 104.The fight for New York's delegate haul consumed the presidential contenders for two weeks, an eternity in the fast-moving White House race. Candidates blanketed every corner of New York, bidding for votes from Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs to the working class cities and rural enclaves that dot the rest of the state.The nominating contests will stay centred in the Northeast in the coming days, with Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania all holding contests next week. Sanders spent Tuesday in Pennsylvania, as did Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump's closest rival.Cruz panned Trump's win in New York as little more than "a politician winning his home state," then implored Republicans to unite around his candidacy."We must unite the Republican Party because doing so is the first step in uniting all Americans," Cruz said in formal remarks.Trump needed a strong showing in New York to keep alive his chances of sewing up the GOP nomination before the party's July convention — and to quiet critics who say the long primary season has exposed big deficiencies in his campaign effort.Having spent months relying on a slim staff, Trump has started hiring more seasoned campaign veterans. He's acknowledged that bringing new people into his orbit may cause some strife, but says the moves were necessary at this stage of the race.Cruz is trying to stay close enough in the delegate count to push the GOP race to a contested convention. His campaign feels confident that it's mastered the complicated process of lining up individual delegates who could shift their support to the Texas senator after a first round of convention balloting.Kasich, the only other Republican left in the race, bested Cruz on Tuesday and is refusing to end his campaign despite winning only his home state.Trump's political strength, though he boasts of drawing new members to the party, has left some Republicans concerned that his nomination could splinter the GOP. Among Republican voters in New York, nearly 6 in 10 said the nominating contest is dividing the party, according to exit polls.Still, about 7 in 10 New York Republicans said the candidate with the most votes in primary contests should be the Republican presidential nominee-The surveys were conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.Trump now leads the GOP race with 845 delegates, ahead of Cruz with 559 and Kasich with 147. Securing the GOP nomination requires 1,237.Among Democrats, Clinton now has 1,893 delegates to Sanders' 1,180. Those totals include both pledged delegates from primaries and caucuses and superdelegates, the party insiders who can back the candidate of their choice regardless of how their state votes. It takes 2,383 to win the Democratic nomination.___AP writers Thomas Beaumont, Lisa Lerer, Ken Thomas, Jill Colvin, Emily Swanson and Steve Peoples contributed to this report.___Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/JonLemire
China should confirm no plans for military planes in Spratlys: U.S.[Reuters]-By David Brunnstrom and Ben Blanchard-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Tuesday called on China to reaffirm it has no plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratly Islands after Beijing used a military plane to evacuate sick workers from a new airstrip on an island it has created in the disputed South China Sea.China's Defence Ministry earlier dismissed U.S. queries as to why China had used a military aircraft rather than a civilian one in Sunday's evacuation from Fiery Cross Reef.U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told a regular news briefing it was "difficult to understand" why China would have had to use a military aircraft for the evacuation. He also said it was "a problem" that the workers had apparently been working on "infrastructure improvements of a military nature."A Pentagon spokesman, Commander Gary Ross, called on China to clarify its intentions."We urge China to reaffirm that it has no plans to deploy or rotate military aircraft at its outposts in the Spratlys, in keeping with China's prior assurances," he said.Ross also called on all rivals in the South China Sea to clarify their claims in accordance with international law and "to avoid unilateral actions that change the status quo."China's Defence Ministry said Beijing had indisputable sovereignty over the Spratly Islands and the United States had no right to comment on Chinese building works and defensive facilities there.It said it was Chinese military tradition to "wholeheartedly serve the people" and help those in need."In sharp contrast, the U.S. side is expressing doubts about whether it's a military or civilian aircraft at a time when somebody's life is in danger," it said."We cannot but ask: if a U.S. citizen suddenly took ill on U.S. soil, would the U.S. military look on with folded arms?"Chinese activity in disputed waters of the South China Sea, including the construction of islands by dredging sand onto reefs and shoals in the Spratly archipelago, has alarmed rival claimants, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.The United States has repeatedly criticized the construction of the islands and worries that China plans to use them for military purposes. It worries that trade in what is one of the world's busiest waterways could be threatened, but China says it has no hostile intent.The runway on the Fiery Cross Reef is 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) long and is one of three China has been building in the archipelago.Civilian flights began test runs there in January but Sunday's landing was the first China has publicly reported by a military plane at Fiery Cross Reef.(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel and James Dalgleish)
AP finds SKorea covered up mass abuse, killing of 'vagrants'-[The Canadian Press]-Kim Tong-Hyung And Foster Klug, The Associated Press-April 19, 2016-YAHOONEWS
BUSAN, South Korea - Three decades ago, a policeman tortured Choi Seung-woo over a piece of bread he found in the boy's schoolbag.After being stripped and having a cigarette lighter repeatedly sparked near his genitals, the 14-year-old falsely confessed to stealing the bread. Two men with clubs came and dragged him off to the Brothers Home, a mountainside institution where some of the worst human rights atrocities in modern South Korean history took place.Even now, Choi weeps as he speaks of what happened there.A guard in Choi's dormitory raped him that night in 1982, and the next, and the next. So began five hellish years of slave labour and near-daily assaults, years in which Choi saw men and women beaten to death, their bodies carted away like garbage.Choi was one of thousands — the homeless, the drunk, the unlucky, but mostly children and the disabled — who were forced into facilities for so-called vagrants in the 1970s and '80s. The roundup came as the ruling dictators prepared to bid for and host the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which they saw as international validation of South Korea's arrival as a modern country. So they ordered police and local officials to "purify" the streets.Today, nobody has been held accountable for the hundreds of deaths, rapes and beatings on the grounds of Brothers, the largest of dozens of facilities for those considered undesirable, according to an Associated Press investigation. The AP found that abuse at Brothers, previously almost unknown, was much more vicious and widespread than had been realized, based on hundreds of exclusive documents and dozens of interviews with officials and former inmates, most of whom had not spoken before publicly.Secrecy around Brothers persists because of a coverup at the highest levels, the AP found. Two early attempts to investigate were suppressed by senior officials who went on to thrive in high-profile jobs; one remains a senior adviser to the current ruling party.Products made using slave labour at Brothers were sent to Europe, Japan and possibly beyond, and the family that owned Brothers continued to run welfare facilities and schools until just two years ago.The few former inmates speaking out want a new investigation. The government is blocking an opposition lawmaker's push to revisit the case, contending that the evidence is too old.Ahn Jeong-tae, an official from Seoul's Ministry of the Interior, said Brothers' victims should have submitted their case years ago to a temporary truth-finding commission. "We can't make separate laws for every incident," Ahn said.The official silence means that even as South Korea prepares for its second Olympics, in 2018, thousands of traumatized former inmates have still received no compensation, let alone public recognition or an apology."The government has consistently tried to bury what happened. How do you fight that?" Choi asked. "Look at me now. I am wailing, desperate to tell our story. Please listen to us."Police officers, assisted by shop owners, rounded up children, panhandlers, small-time street merchants, the disabled and dissidents. They ended up as prisoners at 36 nationwide facilities, and numbered 16,000 by 1986, according to government documents obtained by AP.Nearly 4,000 were at Brothers. Once an orphanage, Brothers Home at its peak had more than 20 factories behind its well-guarded walls in the southern port city of Busan, churning out goods made by mostly unpaid inmates.Some 90 per cent of those shouldn't have been there because they didn't meet the government's definition of "vagrant," former prosecutor Kim Yong Won told the AP, based on Brothers' records and interviews compiled in 1987 before government officials ended his investigation.A former inmate, Lee Chae-sik, said he watched the man he worked for, chief enforcer Kim Kwang-seok, lead near-daily, often fatal beatings at a "corrections room." Lee said he also saw records that sometimes listed as many as five daily deaths. The AP tried repeatedly to track Kim down but could not.Amid the violence was a massive money-making operation partly based on slave labour. Eleven of the factories, ostensibly meant to train inmates for future jobs, saw a profit by the end of 1986, according to Busan city government documents obtained exclusively by the AP.The documents show that Brothers should have paid the current equivalent of $1.7 million to more than 1,000 inmates for their dawn-to-dusk work over an unspecified period. However, facility records and interviews with inmates at the time suggest that most people at Brothers were subjected to forced labour without pay, according to prosecutor Kim.In his autobiography and elsewhere, Brothers' owner, Park In-keun, has denied wrongdoing, saying he simply followed government orders. Repeated attempts to contact him through family, friends and activists were unsuccessful.The former second-highest management official at Brothers, Lim Young-soon, attributed the facility's high death toll to the many inmates he said arrived there in poor health."These were people who would have died in the streets anyway," Lim told AP in a phone interview.While Park grew rich, inmates struggled to survive.On his second day at Brothers, Choi said he watched a guard drag a woman by her hair and beat her with a club until blood flowed.Death tallies compiled by the facility claimed 513 people died between 1975 and 1986; the real toll was almost certainly higher. Most of the new arrivals at Brothers were in relatively good health, government documents show. Yet at least 15 inmates were dead within just a month of arrival in 1985, and 22 in 1986.Brothers' downfall began by accident.While pheasant hunting, Kim, then a newly appointed prosecutor in the city of Ulsan, stumbled upon bedraggled prisoners working on a mountainside. Their guards said they were building a ranch for the owner of the Brothers Home in nearby Busan.Kim and 10 policemen raided Brothers in January 1987. But at every turn in his investigation, Kim said, high-ranking officials blocked him, in part out of fear of embarrassing pre-Olympics news. Internal prosecution records reveal intense pressure from the president's office for Kim to curb his probe and push for lighter punishment for the owner.Kim's boss, Park Hee-tae, then Busan's head prosecutor and later the nation's justice minister, pushed to reduce the scope of the investigation, Kim said, including forcing him to stop efforts to interview every Brothers inmate. Park, a senior adviser to the current ruling party, denied AP interview requests. His personal secretary said Park can't remember details about the investigation.Kim, now 61 and a managing partner at a Seoul law firm, said his bosses also prevented him from charging the owner for suspected widespread abuse at the main compound, limiting him to pursuing much narrower abuse linked to the construction site he'd found.Despite interference, Kim eventually collected bank records and financial transactions indicating that, in 1985 and 1986 alone, the owner embezzled millions from government subsidies. The Supreme Court in 1989 gave Park 2 1/2 years in prison for embezzlement and violations of construction, grassland management and foreign currency laws.Brothers finally closed its gates in 1988.While most former inmates are silent, a few are demanding an apology and an admission that officials encouraged police to kidnap and lock away people who shouldn't have been confined."How can we ever forget the pain from the beatings, the dead bodies, the backbreaking labour, the fear ... all the bad memories," said Lee, who now manages a lakeside motel. "It will haunt us until we die."___Follow Foster Klug, the AP's Seoul bureau chief, on Twitter at twitter.com/apklug. Follow reporter Kim Tong-hyung at twitter.com/kimtonghyung.
