Friday, September 09, 2016

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU THANKS CHRISTIAN ZIONISTS IN THE NETHERLANDS.

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)

LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth (ATOMIC BOMB) before them;(RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIM ARMIES AGAINST ISRAEL) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(ATOMIC BOMB AFFECT)

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

Snowden: Privacy Shield won't stop US mass surveillance
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/09/snowden-privacy-shield-wont-stop-us.html

Netanyahu thanks Christian Zionists in Netherlands for support-‘We know we have no better friends on earth than you,’ PM tells director of Christians for Israel organization-By JTA and Times of Israel staff September 8, 2016, 7:04 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Benjamin Netanyahu cleared 20 minutes from the schedule of his visit to the Netherlands to thank the country’s leading Christian Zionist activist and chief rabbi for their support for the Jewish state and its people.The Israeli prime minister on Wednesday called Roger van Oordt, director of the Christians for Israel organization. He also telephoned Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs, the offices of both men said in statements to the media.“This was a good visit, but it was too short, and I didn’t get to see our best friends in the world,” Netanyahu told a beaming van Oordt, in explaining why they were speaking over the phone rather than in person.“I wanted to call and show my deep appreciation, and we know we have no better friends on earth than you,” Netanyahu said on speakerphone to the board of Christians for Israel – an international pro-Israel advocacy and charity organization based near Amsterdam whose 30 affiliates worldwide have hundreds of thousands of members.Van Oordt said his group was privileged to be phoned by Netanyahu, who said: “I should say I’m the privileged one. We, the people of Israel are the privileged ones in this partnership, this alliance, which is growing strong and based on the deepest values and the deepest, most rich history of culture and faith.”Earlier this year, Christians for Israel’s Dutch affiliate urged its thousands of supporters to buy West Bank settlement goods to counterbalance a government-backed plan to issue special labels for products made by Jewish settlers in that area, which are widely perceived as aimed at generating pressure on Israel to resolve the Palestinian conflict.Also last year, Christians for Israel opened an affiliate in Ukraine, where the group for years has been engaged in efforts to help Jews immigrate to Israel and strengthen their Jewish identities in existing communities. Also involved in this effort is Jacobs, who is a personal friend of van Oordt.Netanyahu thanked Jacobs, a Chabad rabbi who is outspoken in media in his support for Israel and defense of its actions as designed to fight terrorism, for his efforts and for his cooperation with Christians for Israel, which is unusual in its scope for a haredi rabbi of his position.Netanyahu’s two-day visit to the Netherlands, which ended Wednesday, featured some unpleasant incidents from the prime minister’s point of view.Hours before Netanyahu’s arrival, a former Dutch prime minister, Dries van Agt, told a public broadcaster that Netanyahu was a war criminal who should be tried in The Hague, rather than visit it as a head of state.And on Wednesday, a Dutch lawmaker with many Muslim supporters demonstratively refused to shake Netanyahu’s hand.Later in the day Netanyahu released a video from his plane in which he seemed to respond to the snub.“Those who wrinkle their noses, let their noses stay wrinkled,” he said in a video posted to Twitter, quoting former prime minister Menachem Begin. PM Netanyahu: Today, we saw another clear example – of those who want peace and those who don’t. pic.twitter.com/E6FClNdF7E— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 7, 2016.

Atlas labeling Jerusalem as Israeli capital won’t be pulled from Czech schools-Czech education minister overturns decision to remove book following Palestinian complaint-By JTA September 8, 2016, 12:47 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

A school atlas that labels Jerusalem as the capital of Israel will not be removed from Czech schools, as originally announced.The Czech Education Ministry said last week that the atlas would be removed following a complaint by the Palestinian ambassador in Prague to the ministry. But on Tuesday night, Education Minister Katerina Valachova told Czech Radio that Jerusalem would not be removed from the textbooks after all.“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital from the viewpoint of the declaration of the country to which this relates, which means Israel,” Valachova said in the radio interview, according to The Jerusalem Post. “If there is a sentence relating to all of the international steps, I believe that this fact will not offend either side.”The Czech Republic does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital pending a comprehensive peace agreement and maintains its embassy in Tel Aviv.Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Sunday wrote a letter to Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka calling on him to revoke the decision.“Jerusalem is on the map!” Barkat said in a statement Wednesday, adding, “Truth has indeed overcome lies.”He also said: “I’m thankful to the Czech government for making the right choice and for refusing to surrender to Palestinian incitement and lies.”Barkat said the friendship between the Czech and Jewish peoples has deep and historical roots.“Future generations of Czech students will continue to learn the truth: Jerusalem is Israel’s capital and the heart and soul of the Jewish people,” he wrote.The atlas, first published by the Czech firm Shocart in 2004, was approved by the ministry for use in Czech elementary and secondary schools in 2011. However, after the envoy’s complaint, the ministry said it would demand the publisher alter the labeling to show Tel Aviv as the capital, according to a report last week by the Czech newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes.Czech Jews had organized a protest for Wednesday in Prague.

Hezbollah to move into south Syria, just across Israel border-IDF says it’s watching and ‘prepared for any scenario’ as the Shiite terror group sets up shop next door-By Judah Ari Gross September 8, 2016, 6:45 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Hezbollah fighters are preparing to move into southern Syria, a stone’s throw from the border with Israel’s Golan Heights, Iranian state media reported Monday.“Hezbollah has deployed a large number of its forces at Quneitra passage which has connected the Syrian territories to the occupied Golan,” unnamed sources told the semi-official Fars news agency.According to the sources, the Hezbollah fighters will be taking part in an “anti-terrorism” operation with Syrian ruler Bashar Assad’s army to fight the various militant groups located in the Syrian Golan Heights.The IDF would not comment specifically on the reports that Hezbollah would be taking positions close to the Israeli border, but said it “closely monitors all of Israel’s borders, including in the north, and remains prepared for any scenario.”The Syrian Army, the Fateh al-Sham Front and the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army have been waging a bloody war in southern Syria, which occasionally spills over into Israeli territory.The salafist Fateh al-Sham Front, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, is the new name for the group formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.The group changed its name on July 28, the same day it was recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and Iran. The next day Russia joined them in declared it terrorist and the day after that, the United Nations followed suit.Similarly, the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army is another successor to a terrorist organization that had been operating out of the Syrian Golan Heights in recent months: the Yarmouk Martyr’s Brigade.In May, the Islamic State-affiliated Yarmouk Martyr’s Brigade merged with two smaller IS groups in the area, the Islamic Muthanna Movement and the Army of Jihad, to form the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army.“The Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters have been working on a joint plan to end militancy in Southern Syria, particularly near the Golan Heights,” the sources told Fars.An attempt by the United States and Russia to broker a partial peace deal in Syria fell through this week, though both sides said they were committed to continuing the effort.Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the five-year conflict, which has killed upwards of 300,000 people and forced millions to flee.AFP contributed to this report.

Soviet documents ‘show Abbas was KGB agent’; Fatah decries ‘smear campaign’-Israeli researchers: Notes from USSR archivist who defected indicate PA president was working for Soviets in Damascus in 1980s while Putin’s current Mideast envoy was stationed there-By Tamar Pileggi September 7, 2016, 10:43 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was a Soviet spy in Damascus in the 1980s, Israel’s Channel 1 television reported Wednesday, citing information it said was included in an archive smuggled out of the USSR.According to Channel 1’s foreign news editor Oren Nahari, the famed Mitrokhin archive, kept by KGB defector Vasily Mitrokhin, revealed that Abbas was a Soviet mole in Damascus in 1983.The documents — obtained by Israeli researchers Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez — purportedly show that Abbas, code-named Krotov (mole), was involved with the Soviets while Mikhail Bogdanov, today Vladimir Putin’s envoy to the Middle East. was stationed in Damascus.Bogdanov was caught in a diplomatic tussle earlier this week after trying to broker a summit between Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow, who both claimed a willingness to meet while decrying the other for allegedly refusing.Mitrokhin was a senior KGB archivist who defected to the UK in 1992, and his edited notes on various KGB operations were released in 2014. His handwritten notes remain classified by MI5.The archivist’s notes on the KGB are considered among the most complete information available on Soviet intelligence operations. He claimed that the KGB recruited the then head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Wadi Haddad, as an agent in the 1970s.His writings also revealed that Haddad, operating under the code name NATSIONALIST, was given Soviet assistance in funding and arming the PFLP.According to an Eastern Soviet bloc intelligence agent who defected to the US in the 1970s, the PLO, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the PFLP all received help from the KGB.Romanian Lt. General Pacepa told US officials that in 1972 that then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat closely collaborated with the KGB and the Romanian Securitate service, and PLO guerrilla fighters were secretly trained by Soviet intelligence agents.In response to the Channel 1 report, Fatah official Nabil Shaath denied that Abbas was ever a KGB operative, calling the claim a “smear campaign” that attempted to distract from potentially Russian-led peace talks in Moscow.Throughout his early life, Abbas developed a network of Palestinian political activists from across the Arab world that would eventually become Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Abbas studied at the People’s Friendship University of Russia, where he wrote his doctoral thesis, “The Secret Relationship between German Nazis and Zionists,” which has been accused of denying the scope of the Holocaust.After earning his doctorate, Abbas moved to Tunisia where he took a more active role in PLO leadership, and worked his way up to chairman of the organization. He became PA president following Arafat’s death in 2004.

Israel begins work on NIS 2 billion underground Gaza barrier-IDF’s ‘largest-ever project’ ever will see construction of concrete wall above and below ground, in bid to thwart Hamas attack tunnels-By Times of Israel staff September 7, 2016, 8:19 pm

Israel recently broke ground on a new subterranean barrier along the length of its border with the Gaza Strip, aimed at stopping Palestinian terror groups from tunneling into the country and carrying out attacks.The Defense Ministry in July approved the NIS 2 billion ($530 million) project that would see a concrete wall — both below and above ground — built along the entire the 60 kilometer (about 37 miles) border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.Construction on the barrier wall began at the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, to protect a cluster Israeli towns bordering the northern Gaza Strip from cross-border attacks, the Ynet news website reported.According to Ynet, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot called the border wall “the largest project” ever carried out in Israel’s military history. The website added, however, that the project is at risk of being defunded due to a lack of clarification from the government about how the barrier will be financed.That wall, which was first proposed by the IDF in the wake of the 2014 conflict with Hamas in Gaza, is set to include both physical barriers and technological detection systems to better protect against infiltration from the coastal enclave.The army proposed the construction of the fence to protect the areas surrounding the coastal enclave in the immediate aftermath of the 50-day war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge.Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, used the cross-border tunnels to launch a number of attacks against Israel during the conflict.Earlier this year, the IDF uncovered two tunnels that crossed into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, the first such discoveries since the end of the 2014 conflict.A tunnel discovered in April ran at a depth of approximately 30-40 meters (100 feet) below ground, extending dozens of meters inside Israel from the Gaza Strip.In response to reports of the expansive border wall, a senior Hamas official and several other leaders of other Palestinian terror groups in Gaza, vowed to strike Israel should an underground barrier be built along the border.Ismail Radwan in June told a Hamas-affiliated news site in June the project indicated Israel’s “failure to face the tunnels.” He stressed that the wall would “not limit the resistance’s ability to defend our people.”Israel has sought to find a technological or physical answer to the cross-border tunnels for over a decade.

German Jews seek explanations for Iranian minister’s reported visit-Leadership queries government over media claims that intel chief, who ‘supports terror organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah,’ was invited to Berlin-By JTA September 8, 2016, 7:02 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

An alleged visit to Berlin by Iran’s intelligence minister has raised the eyebrows and ire of Jewish leaders in Germany.Citing Iranian media reports, the American Jewish Committee in Berlin has asked for an official explanation from the German government as to why the minister, Mahmoud Alavi, would have been officially invited to Berlin.“Iran’s secret service supports terror organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, which destabilize the entire Middle East,” Deidre Berger, head of the AJC Berlin office, said in a statement Wednesday, requesting information about the purpose of the meeting and the content of the discussions.“In Germany, it was the Iranian secret service that took part in illegal efforts to gain nuclear technology and that has been proven to have played a role in the death of Iranian exiled politicians in Berlin.”There have been suggestions that a visit by Alawi might be a prelude to an official state visit by the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, whose official visit to Austria was canceled in March following protests over his country’s human rights record.In response to an official query from Green Party parliamentarian Volker Beck in July, the German government said there can be no normalization of relations between Germany and Iran “as long as Iran does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

5 Israeli Arabs sent to prison for joining Islamic State-Defendants given sentences of 2-6 years after confessing swearing allegiance to group and planning attacks on Israelis-By Times of Israel staff September 8, 2016, 7:10 pm

Five Arabs from northern Israel were sentenced to multiple-year jail terms on Thursday for joining the Islamic State and planning to carry out attacks in Israel in the terror group’s name.Karim abu Salah, 22, was sentenced to six years; his brother Sharif, 30, to three; Husam Marisat, 31, to four and a half; Fadi Bashir, 30, to three; and Muhammad abu Salah, 29 to two and a half.The men had all confessed under a plea bargain arrangement, according to court documents.The five were part of a seven-man group arrested in late 2014 for swearing allegiance to the jihadist organization and plotting to carry out attacks in Israel, including against the Arab Druze minority, according to the Shin Bet security service at the time.The central member of the Galilee cell was identified as Adnan Ala a-Din, a 40-year-old lawyer from Nazareth, who, the Shin Bet charged, presented himself to the other members of the group as a “senior and official IS officer in Palestine.”A-Din, who has yet to be sentenced, allegedly preached the gospel of Islamist ideology to the other members of the group, advocated strongly in favor of terror attacks against Israeli civilians, and had the members slaughter sheep in order to steel themselves and “prepare their souls” for the rigors of jihad.Another alleged central figure was Karim Abu Salah of Sakhnin, who was arrested in July 2014 at Ben Gurion International Airport on his way to Syria. From prison, the Shin Bet alleged, Abu Salah sought to organize strikes against Israeli military targets and against Druze citizens of Israel.The group would convene regularly for religious lessons, studying under an unnamed religious leader in the north of Israel, and maintaining contacts with Islamic State fighters in Syria, including several Arab citizens of Israel.Over the past several years, the number of Palestinian and Israeli Arab volunteer recruits has increased among Syrian rebel groups. The Shin Bet believes that more than 40 Israeli Arabs have joined the Islamic State in the last two years.Israeli authorities have made several arrests of such recruits.In July two Arab men from northern Israel were charged with supporting the Islamic State, with each of them separately making plans to join the jihadist group in Syria. In that same month an Israeli-Arab mother of five was sentenced to 22 months in prison for trying to join the group in order to teach jihadist ideology.In May, Hamis Salameh, 21, from Ramle, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for trying to join the Islamic State in Syria.In April, Amin Snobar, 24, from Kafr Yasif in the Upper Galilee, was sentenced to five years in prison after he traveled to Syria to join the al-Nusra Front and fight against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

IMF: Conflict, infighting, blockade hurting Palestinian economy-International Monetary Fund says Palestinians’ GDP would be 37-130% higher if not for political issues-By AFP and Times of Israel staff September 7, 2016, 10:40 pm

The conflict with Israel, the blockade on Gaza and internal political infighting have severely constrained the Palestinian economy, according to an International Monetary Fund report released Wednesday.Palestinian gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would be between 37% and 130% higher were it not for political issues, the IMF said, using three different economic models to assess the impact.“Absent the political uncertainty and restrictions of the past 20 years, real GDP per capita would have been significantly higher in the West Bank and Gaza,” the report, dated August 26, said.It predicted the Palestinian economy would grow by 3.3% in 2016, compared with 3.5% last year.The findings echo a Tuesday report from the United Nations, which found the Palestinian economy could double were it not for Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade on Gaza.Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War. It pulled out of Gaza in 2005, but since then has fought three wars against Hamas, the terror group which rules the Strip, and maintains a blockade on the enclave to prevent Hamas from importing weaponry.The IMF report painted a gloomy picture of growth prospects, saying unemployment reached 26.9% across the Palestinian territories by the end of June, up 2 percentage points on the previous year.In Gaza, the unemployment rate is over 40%, with close to two-thirds of young people without jobs.“Political and security uncertainties weigh heavily on the prospects for growth,” it said.“Israeli restrictions and continued [Israeli] settlement expansion impede economic activity and exacerbate social hardships,” it said, adding that Hamas’s control of Gaza and divisions between Palestinian factions were also hindering reconstruction.The Palestinian economy is heavily dependent on international aid, though funding has been declining and could fall by 25% this year, the report said. Further cuts could lead to a “vicious cycle of political and fiscal risks.”Only a “political breakthrough” could lead to “fundamental improvement in the outlook,” it added, though it called such an occurrence “unlikely.”The report said the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, should focus on developing a longer-term fiscal plan for the economy.

Israelis have nothing to fear from IS but fear itself-Beset by military defeats and a host of other headaches, Islamic State is relying on suicide attacks and nasty videos to keep its credibility intact. Let’s not help them-By Avi Issacharoff September 8, 2016, 6:52 am-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

A video released on Saturday by an organization called the “Khalid ibn al-Walid Army,” which is identified as a new branch of the Islamic State on the Syrian Golan Heights, has become a hit in the Hebrew media, widely and prominently reported.There is little surprising in the video, which features the scenes Westerners have come to associate with the jihadist group: flogging, death sentences, amputations, and so on. The Khalid ibn al-Walid Army has failed recently to conquer any new territory on the Syrian Golan, and despite its threatening rhetoric, the militia is not a new or unusual threat to Israel. It is just another armed group operating in the Syrian Golan Heights, without any particularly impressive military ability.The organization, presented in the video as carrying out tank and artillery battles against an unspecified enemy, is far from a threat to the IDF. It is not even a threat to the moderate Syrian opposition organizations or the fighters of the-Nusra Front, which it sees as its main enemy within the framework of the raging battle for primacy among the ultra-extreme groups in Syria.In other words, Israelis don’t have anything to fear in that direction.IS, or the groups like the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army that purport to represent it on the Syrian side of the border, are not going to conquer the Israeli Golan Heights anytime soon.Quite the opposite. IS, which announced the establishment of its worldwide caliphate in June 2014, enjoyed a few months of ecstasy that included victories and tremendous territorial conquests. But for more than a year now, IS has been busy in unsuccessful attempts to stop the advance of enemy forces which are piece by piece reconquering territory.On the Golan Heights, the IS situation is not great, to put it mildly. Its predecessor, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, fell to pieces after its commander Muhammad “Abu Ali” al-Baridi and some of his senior colleagues were killed in a suicide bomb attack by the Nusra Front. The remnants united with two other jihadist groups and from that was born the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army.But the Golan Heights is the smallest of the headaches that IS is dealing with at the moment. Three weeks ago, the Kurds conquered from IS the town of Manbij; Fallujah, held by IS since the beginning of 2014, was taken in June by the Iraqi army; and in recent days the Turkish army managed to conquer from IS some villages on the Syrian border. On top of all of that are the targeted killings of senior IS figures in airstrikes, such as that of IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani last month, along with a reduction in financial income, a drop in volunteers lining up to fight, and various other problems.The Islamic State group has responded to all of these setbacks in two of the ways in which it still excels: firstly, by suicide attacks like those carried out Monday in areas across Syria, including Hasakah City, Homs, Tartus, and Damascus, in which more than 40 people were killed. And secondly, via videos on the internet.Both of these methods help maintain its image as “victorious” despite the military defeats. They enable the jihadist group to present apparent “achievements” on social media with sufficient effect as to prevent its stream of volunteers from drying up completely. They keep alive the idea of an Islamic State, despite the reality of defeats on the battlefield. And that, in essence, is the biggest danger IS poses for the Western world – not the threats of another jihadist faction on the Golan Heights, but the ideas disseminated by such factions, permeating the minds of young Muslims across the world, not just in the Middle East.-Europe is getting ready-IS military defeats in the Middle East bring with them familiar troubles for Europe and elsewhere. The Independent reported Tuesday morning that European countries are preparing for the possibility that thousands of jihadists — who in recent years traveled from Europe to Syria and Iraq, where they fought for IS — will try now to return to their countries of origin in light of the territorial and financial setbacks.The British paper estimated that 5,000-7,000 Europeans joined Islamic terror groups during the five-year-old, ongoing Syrian civil war. Just from Britain, there were around 800 volunteers. To date, most of them have remained in areas still under IS control or elsewhere in the Middle East. and only a few have returned to their countries of origin. One of the reasons for this is that IS does everything it can to prevent volunteers from leaving, including executing deserters. Nonetheless, it can be expected that the ability of IS to prevent its members from leaving Syria and Iraq will decline as its military capability weakens.As for the Hebrew media, why is it so interested in the monster called the Islamic State? Is it our Jewish trend for panic, as expressed in the old adage “in every generation they rise up to destroy us?” Or perhaps the excessive fondness of journalists for drama? The answer is likely affirmative to both, but another factor needs to be taken into consideration: ratings. IS, the conqueror, destroyer, executor, brings ratings. Readers, viewers, listeners all want to know about this cruel organization, real life perpetrator of ongoing horror movies.The true picture of IS facing defeats, retreating from the battlefield, is much less captivating than all those clips of Arab Muslim extremists cutting off people’s heads on the other side of the border and very soon (but not really) conquering Israel and executing all of us.

'Wherever there is a breakdown, Jews experience it more intensely because that is the fate of Jews'-‘No future for Jews in Western Europe,’ says French prosecutor-In a legal war on bigotry, Charles Baccouche, 70, fights anti-Semitism the only way he knows how — in the courtroom-By Lisa Klug September 8, 2016, 7:05 pm-THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

PARIS — In the land known for “Liberté, Egalité et Fraternité,” (“liberty, equality, and brotherhood”) the headquarters of French Jewry, known as the Consistoire, remain under constant armed guard.The heavily secured entrance of a beautiful 19th century exterior is surrounded by metal barriers, reminiscent of Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport in the early 1980s. Like something out of a period piece on the silver screen, this feature unfolds in grayscale.Visitors approaching a plain concrete section of the building must first pass the sentry, who bears an automatic weapon inside a bulletproof booth, where he questions “who goes there.” After clearing that first hurdle, guests approach heavy metal doors observed via security camera. They ring a bell and state their business, and an audible click allows guests to push the heavy doors open and enter a dimly lit foyer.One at a time, each one approaches a small speaker, announces themselves, and if approved to proceed further, is admitted beyond another heavy door. Standing sequestered between two sets of locked doors, a visitor must again explain the nature of the visit. And now the security gets even tighter.The male voice of an unseen guard behind a darkened reception window with a small clear spot questions guests and requests government-issued identification. A small metal receptacle near the floor swings open to transfer visitors’ belongings, which the guard examines beyond the darkness, behind which he remains invisible. Once the bag clears the search, the receptacle swings open, returning the effects to their owner. Another click is heard and visitors are allowed to proceed inside.Whether guests have a scheduled meeting or are seeking a place for afternoon prayers, they undergo the same screening.Given the tenor of France today, the precautions are understandable.In contrast to the spectacular architecture and elaborate interior of the adjacent La Victoire synagogue, this brain center of French Jewry is noticeably sparse. Plain walls embrace standard issue metal desks and office chairs. Israeli posters, Consistoire publications and kosher snacks dot a plain waiting room. A small but charming vintage elevator surrounded by a circular staircase is one of the few design elements that hint at French Jewry’s finer days.The Consistoire’s focus is clearly not on appearances but content. And on this visit, the subject is truly menacing: violence and hate speech against Jews. This is the charge of Charles Baccouche, the second in command of the Bureau National de Vigilance Contre l’Antisemitisme, or, the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism.Founded by retired Paris-area police commissioner Sammy Ghozlan, the BNVCA has worked for more than 15 years to combat French anti-Semitism and boycotts against Israel. These include the physical acts of aggression against rabbis, children, synagogues and Jewish schools which began escalating in 2000.In 2014, for instance, the Jewish community reported 851 anti-Semitic incidents, of which 241 were violent attacks, up from 423 and 105, respectively. Although Ghozlan has retired to Netanya, he frequently returns and is in constant touch with his team, including his right hand man, Baccouche.-‘The most important thing is to submit complaints to the French government’-It is Baccouche who represents the BNVCA on behalf of French Jewry in legal proceedings. His adversaries are not only the terrorists set on taking Jewish lives but also France’s most notorious and most vocal anti-Semites. These include Dieudonne, Alain Soral, Jean Marie Le Pen and Zeon aka Fernandez, whom he pursues in court four or five times a year.“Court is very slow and they delay it repeatedly,” he says. “The most important thing is to submit complaints to the French government.”Over the past three years, in fact, he has submitted an estimated 400 complaints about anti-Semitic acts, a process he has continued since 2009 — “each time there is an anti-Semitic act,” says Baccouche, who resides near the Eiffel Tower.Although he is well known in France for his legal efforts, published work and public addresses, Baccouche is virtually unknown elsewhere. At a meeting in the Consistoire, he discussed his concerns in an exclusive interview with The Times of Israel.The building’s dim atmosphere hints at the questionable future of French Jewry. The city’s Judaic populace is “afraid since the attack on Hyper Cacher,” he says, referring to the high end kosher market where four men were killed in a massacre in 2015.The market, which continues to operate, remains under armed guard.“Even with our security forces, there are attacks,” Baccouche says. “In short, they don’t feel good in France now.”The attack at the Bataclan night club is another horrific example of the violence the community has suffered.‘The managers were Jewish and the terrorists knew that’-“The managers were Jewish and the terrorists knew that and sold that,” Baccouche says.In his 70s, Baccouche, who has Israeli citizenship, has no imminent plans to retire, although his intent is to make aliyah.“One day I will return home,” he says. “I am Jewish but I am in the middle of the war because I go to trial from time to time. So I am in the struggle.”He says the French establishment maintains that things aren’t all that bad, but Baccouche argues that this is just a way to “mask reality. It is a sheker pumbi — a public falsehood — all is well,” he says, peppering his French with select Hebrew phrases. “But nothing is going well,” he says. “There is a French breakdown in general.”The overall experience of the French public, which has experienced a number of indiscriminate terror attacks this summer — at the Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, and at a cathedral in the North — has driven the fear home for Jews, as well, Baccouche says.“In every place, wherever there is a breakdown, Jews experience it more intensely because that is the fate of Jews,” he says.And even though there is no suggestion the violence will end, it is no less shocking to Jews who previously enjoyed great safety in France.‘It’s like there is no salt in the soup. The Jews are the soup’-“It’s like there is no salt in the soup,” Baccouche says. “In this example, the Jews are the soup. It’s much worse. They exact blows. They kill us. This is the first time since World War II that they attack and murder Jews.”Baccouche points to a phrase established by the city’s many Polish refugees, “Happy as a Jew in France,” after World War II as an indicator of just how good conditions once were.“France was the country of freedom and human rights,” he says. “From [chief of state of Vichy France Philippe] Petain, it began to fall apart. [Former president of France Charles] de Gaulle was the one who caused harm to the Jews because he described them as a strong, dominating and confident people. And the environment degraded and became more severe.”As a means to counter the violence, Baccouche pursues legal action against violent acts as well as expressions of anti-Semitism, which are also outlawed in France.“We always win because I am not alone here,” he says. “I am the state prosecutor. And this is criminal.”Baccouche considers himself “responsible toward the Jewish people in my way. We each have a portion in Eretz Yisrael and in the fate of the Jewish people, whether we want it or not,” he says. “I’m near pension age, 70, but I don’t take my pension so I can continue this struggle. I could have taken retirement for a while, but I decided to work with Sammy and these good people.”As he speaks, he waves his arm toward the young woman who serves as a part-time administrative aide to the BNCVA. Elisheva Cohen, a married 22-year-old, prefers to use an alias for fear of her own safety. When she must go to French bureaucratic offices, she prefers to wear a wig instead of her head covering that suggests she is a religious Jew. Like Baccouche, she sees aliyah in her future.“The danger is there if I am Orthodox or not because even the secular wear a Magen David,” she says, referring to the Star of David necklaces favored by many French Jews. “It’s a danger for everyone… I don’t feel the danger but I put a wig when I go to French offices because I feel a difference when I am with a head covering or a wig. Even the ‘true’ French look at me as a Jew.”‘The danger is there if I am Orthodox or not because even the secular wear a Magen David’-As for Baccouche, the BNVCA’s volunteer lieutenant president, he doesn’t wear a yarmulka or a Magen David necklace.“I put tefillin (phylacteries) on and go to synagogue since I was young,” he says, matter of factly.When asked why, his simple answer is “Because. It has no connection to anti-Semitism,” he says. “I feel myself as a Jew from North Africa but I decline to say what country I’m from. For me, it’s not important.“I’m not a prophet or a prince but there is no future for Jews in all of Western Europe. Not only because of the war in the Mediterranean basin but because anti-Semitism is part of the Koran. I don’t think there is a future for Jews in France. There will be a day when all of Israel will be gathered back in our country,” Baccouche says.Despite his negative predictions of Europe, Bacchouche says, “We are not going to our deaths. We live. Jews are more and more living amongst ourselves. There are always interactions with non-Jews but all our social interactions are with Jews, more and more. For example, ‘Elisheva’ has to remove her Jewish symbols but it’s a shame. She doesn’t bother anyone.”

SNOWDEN-PRIVACY SHIELD WON'T STOP US MASS SURVEILLANCE.

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)

Snowden: Privacy Shield won't stop US mass surveillance By Nikolaj Nielsen-SEPT 8,16-EUOBSERVER

BRUSSELS, Today, 09:25-The US government allegedly continues to engage in mass surveillance on EU citizens despite assurances under a new data-sharing pact with the EU.Edward Snowden, a former US national security agency intelligence contractor, told an audience in Brussels on Wednesday (7 September) that US government claims surveillance has been narrowed under the new EU-US Privacy Shield data sharing agreement is false."It's categorically untrue," he said via video-link from Russia, where he has been granted asylum, at an event organised by German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht."Governments don't like to hold themselves out as direct liars, saying something that is attributable and falsifiable," said Snowden.The whistleblower, whose documents in 2013 revealed a US-led global digital dragnet, said that the Americans are instead twisting language in an effort to convince EU policy and lawmakers of falsehoods."They are denying they do mass surveillance, they are saying what we do do is bulk collection, which is in their world something entirely different, but in reality, in our world, it is mass surveillance," said Snowden.Privacy Shield replaced the 15-year old Safe Harbour pact, which was declared invalid by the European Court of Justice last October over broader concerns linked to US mass surveillance programmes disclosed by Snowden.Shield, for its part, is supposed to ensure the privacy rights of EU citizens whenever their data is used and then transferred to the US by companies like Google and Microsoft.Penned between the European Commission and the US Department of Commerce, the transatlantic trade of EU data is said to have been worth over €200 billion annually under the old Safe Harbour scheme.Snowden is not alone in casting doubts on the latest agreement. Top EU data protection authorities are also wary.The EU's main regulatory body on privacy, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, earlier this year said US commitments not to carry mass surveillance under the pact were not good enough."The possibility that is left in the Shield and its annexes for bulk collection, which if massive and indiscriminate, is not acceptable," working party chair Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin told reporters in April.The EU commission, for its part, says they have since received better assurances from the US following Falque-Pierrotin's April criticisms prior to Shield's operational launch at the start of August.Those assurances centre around signed letters from top US authorities and includes a US-based ombudsperson to help steer compliance.Some 200 US firms have since signed up to the self-certifying agreement, but many remain concerned the agreement may meet the same fate as Safe Harbour.A survey of some 600 privacy professionals in the US and EU found that only 34 percent of companies intend to use the Privacy Shield framework.Conducted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the consulting firm EY, the findings, published in late August, revealed that the vast majority will instead rely on other methods to transfer the data.But those other transfer methods, known as standard contractual clauses, are also on shaky legal grounds and likely to be challenged by the European Court of Justice."Companies could be left without a viable legal channel for transferring data across the Atlantic, even as hundreds of billions of dollars in trade hang in the balance," said the report.

EU-Canada passenger data deal infringes privacy: EU adviser-[Reuters]-By Julia Fioretti-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An agreement between the European Union and Canada to share airline passenger data that the two sides say is vital to fighting terrorism must be redrafted before it can be signed, an adviser to the top EU court said on Thursday.Parts of the deal, agreed in 2014, go against the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi said, and in most such cases, judges follow advisers' views.Mengozzi's opinion will therefore come as a blow to governments around the world, which have stepped up their arguments for data retention and sharing after a spate of militant attacks this year.EU lawmaker Timothy Kirkhope, who successfully steered so-called Passenger Name Record (PNR) legislation through the European Parliament in April, called the opinion "irresponsible", given the level of security threat.Canada welcomed the "detailed opinion" but said it would not comment until the final ruling, expected in a few months."We remain committed to continue working closely with the European Union until the ratification of a Canada-EU PNR Agreement that complies with EU fundamental rights and EU law," a government representative said.Mengozzi said the proposed agreement allowed authorities to use the passenger name records data beyond what is strictly necessary for the prevention and detection of terrorist offences and serious transnational crime.It also leaves too much leeway for Canadian authorities to transfer the data to a non-EU country's authorities, he said.Passenger name records include names, travel dates, itineraries, ticket and contact details, travel agents and other information.However, he said the agreement would be compatible with EU fundamental rights subject to certain conditions. These include sensitive data not being collected, that the offences for which data can be retained be listed exhaustively and that the number of targeted persons be limited to those who can reasonably be suspected of participating in a terrorist offense.The opinion might also bode badly for a separate commercial data transfer deal with the United States, Privacy Shield, which replaces a framework disallowed a year ago by the European Court of Justice over concerns about mass U.S. surveillance. It is widely expected to be challenged by privacy advocates.Civil rights groups and liberal politicians welcomed the opinion as a reaffirmation of the importance of privacy even when responding to security threats."For years now we have questioned the necessity and proportionality of a massive transfer of European passenger data and the legal basis for this," Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Sophie In’t Veld, said.(Editing by Louise Ireland)

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS-10 WORLD REGIONS/TRADE BLOCS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS-10 WORLD DIVISION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(EITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR BOOTS 3 COUNTRIES FROM THE EU OR THE DICTATOR TAKES OVER THE WORLD ECONOMY BY CONTROLLING 3 WORLD TRADE BLOCS)

Germany's Merkel says more EU centralization 'not the answer'-[Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday rejected further centralization within the EU after Britain's vote to leave, saying the bloc instead needed to delegate more tasks to subsidiary organizations."Centralization is definitely not the answer," Merkel told a local political event before a Sept. 16 summit in Bratislava between the 27 European Union states that will remain after Britain departs."Germany is a country that has had good experiences with the sharing out of tasks," added Merkel, who has been a strong defender of EU institutions since becoming chancellor in 2005.Donald Tusk, who chairs the EU talks, last week said the meeting would focus on the future of the EU, not Britain.Topics likely to be high on the agenda include immigration, terrorism and how to address EU citizens' concerns that globalization threatens their economic well-being.Britons voted to leave the bloc in June, hitting the pound and forcing a change of prime minister. London has yet to submit to Brussels the formal notification that will kick-start the departure process.(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, writing by Andrea Shalal; editing by John Stonestreet)

MEPs call for EU ratification of Paris agreement-By EUOBSERVER-sept 8,16

Today, 17:59-Members of the European Parliament's environment committee (Envi) urged the assembly and EU governments to quickly ratify the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. Otherwise it may enter into force without the EU as a signatory, said Envi chair Giovanni La Via, a centre-right Italian deputy. The deal will enter into force when 55 countries that produce at least 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions ratify it.

Federalist Verhofstadt to join top table in Brexit talks By Andrew Rettman and Aleksandra Eriksson-sept 8,16-euobserver

BRUSSELS, Today, 19:00-The European Parliament has picked Belgian federalist Guy Verhofstadt to speak for it in the upcoming Brexit negotiations.The decision, announced by EP political chiefs on Wednesday (8 Thursday), prompted a slight dip in the value of the British pound amid speculation that he will take a hard line.The 63-year old former Belgian prime minister, who advocates the creation of a US-type federal state in Europe, will join Michel Barnier, a French former EU commissionner, who is to represent the European Commission, and who has a history of antagonism with the City of London.Didier Seeuws, a younger Belgian official, will represent the EU Council.An EU source told EUobserver that the two main EP groups, the centre-right EPP and the centre-left S&D, endorsed Verhofstadt, a liberal, because of how he had handled pre-referendum UK talks.“He had a good rapport with [former British PM] Cameron during the negotiations on special status. They disagreed on several issues, but they had the same, plain-speaking style”, the source said.The UK, prior to holding the referendum in June, had negotiated “special” derogations from EU law.The EU source added that the liberal Alde group was in line for a top job because the EPP and S&D had dominated other high EU posts.For his part, Philippe Lamberts, a German green MEP, said Verhofstadt was a good choice because he was a former PM who knew how the EU Council operated and because he was a “convinced European, even if I disagree with him on other issues".The Brexit talks are expected to start early next year and to revolve around access to the UK for EU workers and access to the single market for British firms.The EU exit negotiations, the first in history, are uncharted waters.They will be dominated by member states, but the EP says it has power of co-decision on the new international treaty that is to govern issues such as EU-UK trade.It also says it has to give “consent,” a majority vote, on a separate treaty enacting the UK’s EU exit, as well as on a third text - a new version of the EU treaty with all the references to the UK redacted.“The European Parliament will need to approve a possible agreement on the conditions for the UK’s departure from the EU”, Verhostadt’s group said on Thursday.It said he would “help prepare the EP position in the [Brexit] negotiations, in close consultation” with other political chiefs and relevant committees, such as the constitutional affairs committee.The EU source said no one knows yet what the Brexit talks will look like.The contact said initial negotiations are likely to take place in the EU Council building between the 28 sherpas (senior aides) from the member states, and a delegation from the EU Council’s legal services.“The legal services will tell us what’s possible and what’s not possible on technical issues,” the source said.He said the big questions will be decided at a “higher political level”, with the EU triumvirate - Barnier-Verhofstadt-Seeuws - involved.

European Central Bank: Governments must do more for economy-[Associated Press]-DAVID McHUGH-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left its stimulus measures on hold Thursday and warned governments in the 19 country euro currency union that they need to do more to help the economy grow and push up inflation to healthier levels.The bank kept its key interest rates unchanged and decided against extending the duration of its existing bond-buying stimulus program.Bank President Mario Draghi seemed relatively confident about the economy and less inclined to hint at more stimulus than some analysts had expected.Instead, he used his news conference to urge governments to do their part.He said that implementation of "structural reforms" — that is, steps to make economies more business and growth-friendly — "needs to be substantially stepped up to reduce structural unemployment and boost potential output growth."He added that eurozone governments that have the capacity to spend more on investments in infrastructure should do so. He said in particular that Germany, the eurozone's biggest economy, "has fiscal space" to act.Draghi's urgings have so far largely been ignored by governments, led by Germany, that have tended to focus instead on reducing deficits. They have also been slow to heed calls to cut bureaucracy and special protections for favored professions and trades.In his effort to underline governments' responsibilities, Draghi read from this week's joint statement issued by the Group of 20 most advanced nations in which they said they were ready to use "all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural" to improve growth."What the ECB can do is to flag what is needed for monetary policy to be even more effective," Draghi said. He added that the G-20 statement represented governments, not central bankers, calling it "quite a powerful statement of commitment."Several analysts said that despite Draghi's more confident tone, the ECB would eventually have to take more stimulus action at its October or December meetings."Price pressures remain extremely weak and if growth continues at slow quarterly rates of 0.3 percent or less, as the business surveys now suggest, the ECB will struggle to meet its medium-term inflation goal," Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note.One reason to wait may be the need for time to plan an expansion of the kinds of financial assets the ECB can buy as part of its bond-buying stimulus program. There are concerns that the program may run out of high-quality government and corporate bonds to buy.The central bank faces stubbornly low annual inflation of only 0.2 percent despite pumping 1 trillion euros ($1.1 trillion) in newly printed money into the banking system through bond purchases since March, 2015. The purchases, made at a rate of 80 billion euros a month, are set to continue at least through March, 2017 or until inflation convincingly picks up.The bank left that earliest end date unchanged. Some analysts thought the bank might commit to a longer program.The central bank's 25-member governing council also left its benchmark rate at zero and its rate on deposits from commercial banks at minus 0.4 percent.The ECB's decision to hold off more stimulus saw European stocks dip, while the euro rose, gaining 0.2 percent on the day to $1.1265.Draghi seemed relatively confident about the eurozone's modest recovery, saying the bank's outlook was for growth "at a moderate but steady pace." He also said the bank's low rates were being more effectively transmitted through the banks and credit markets, meaning more effective stimulus.The ECB staff's economic estimates showed inflation is expected to increase only gradually. They trimmed their inflation projection for next year to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent, but left its outlook for 2018 unchanged at 1.6 percent. That indicates it sees itself getting gradually closer to its goal of just under 2 percent over the longer term.While the eurozone is enjoying moderate growth, inflation continues to lag well below target, despite a raft of stimulus measures, and unemployment is high at 10.1 percent and falling only slowly.Added uncertainty about future growth has come from the British vote June 23 to leave the European Union and its tariff-free trade zone. Britain would have to renegotiate its trade conditions with the EU over several years, and no one can say now how things will turn out. So far, economic data do not suggest a major impact.

EU extends Russia blacklist by six months By Andrew Rettman-sept 8,16-euobserver

BRUSSELS, Today, 11:25-EU ambassadors on Wednesday (7 September) decided to extend the life of a blacklist that designates top Russian officials on grounds of “actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity”.The list, which expires on 15 September, is to stay in place until 15 March next year, with EU capitals to ratify the decision by written procedure in the next few days.“It is expected that no change will be made to the list of persons and entities under restrictive measures”, an EU Council official said.The list imposes a travel ban and asset freeze on 146 Russians and Ukrainians and an asset freeze on 37 entities.Named individuals include Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s oligarch friends, top Kremlin aides, senior politicians, and Russian security chiefs.The EU official said it was extended without any debate by all 28 ambassadors.The move comes ahead of talks on future Russia relations by EU leaders at a summit in October.The EU has also imposed biting economic sanctions on Russian banks, energy firms, and arms makers. These are due to expire in January unless renewed.One EU diplomat said the UK’s decision to leave the EU has weakened the internal bloc of Russia hawks that is set to push for a renewal.“The UK already has one foot out of the door. That leaves Poland, the Baltic states, Sweden and, to an extent, Denmark, without a major ally on Russia”, the contact said.“The other Visegrad countries [the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia] are pursuing better relations with Russia, while in Germany, the SPD is trying to differentiate itself from Merkel in the run-up to elections, and that is likely to mean a more pro-Russian line”, he added.The Russia-friendly, centre-left SPD party is a member of German chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition.Merkel has taken a firm line that Russia must fully comply with the Minsk ceasefire accord in Ukraine before the EU reciprocates, but French and Italian leaders have criticised the EU sanctions regime.The accord says that "foreign" troops must leave Ukraine and Russia must hand back control off the border to Kiev.The EU diplomat said October’s talks could see EU leaders “decouple” sanctions from Minsk compliance, opening the door to sanctions relief down the line.Fighting in east Ukraine has intensified over the summer, with international monitors, the OSCE reporting 62 explosions in the Donetsk region on Wednesday and 42 in the Luhansk region.Russia denies that its soldiers are active in Ukraine.But a new investigation by Bellingcat, a British NGO, which counted the number of medals awarded to Russian soldiers during the past two years of the Ukraine conflict, indicated that “more than 10,000” Russian servicemen took part in combat operations in east Ukraine.

Groups write to Trudeau asking him to shut down NEB process pending reforms-[The Canadian Press]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

MONTREAL — The current federal review process of energy projects needs to be shut down and overhauled immediately, say more than 50 environmental and activist groups in a letter sent to the prime minister.No pipeline projects should go forward until Justin Trudeau reforms the National Energy Board (NEB), says the letter, which was also addressed to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr.That means the current review of the Energy East pipeline proposal for Eastern Canada and the NEB's decision to accept the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Alberta and British Columbia need to be annulled, they argue."If the government wants to restore public confidence in the (review) process and they want a fair, objective and evidence-driven analysis they need to overhaul this thing," Patrick DeRochie of Environmental Defence, one of the letter's signatories, said in an interview.The activists say the NEB board members are in a conflict of interest and that First Nations communities are not being properly consulted.Moreover, they argue the review process doesn't properly explain to citizens how Canada can build pipelines and expand Alberta oilsands production while also respecting the country's greenhouse emission targets.The groups that signed the letter include Greenpeace and the Sierra Club Canada Foundation.Trudeau campaigned in 2015 on the premise that Canadians had lost confidence in the NEB process after what he claimed were years of Conservative government meddling that made pipeline approvals foregone conclusions.The Liberals put in place interim measures at the NEB — such as increased consultations with aboriginal groups — to give more legitimacy to the Energy East and Trans Mountain reviews while the government reforms the federal body."It's inconsistent to say the process is flawed, create interim measures, and then review these pipelines without going through the entire modernization process as they had promised," DeRochie said.The NEB review of TransCanada's Energy East pipeline is on hold after protesters forced the cancellation of public consultations in Montreal at the end of August.Protesters demanded that two of the three board members overseeing the proposal resign after it was revealed they had met with former Quebec premier Jean Charest when he was a paid lobbyist for TransCanada (TSX:TRP).Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline was approved by the NEB in May and the federal government still has to make a decision on whether to proceed with it.DeRochie acknowledged that several First Nations groups accepted the Kinder Morgan proposal but pointed out that many opposed it.While he stopped short of declaring that First Nations communities should have a veto on all energy projects going through their territory, Patrick Bonin of Greenpeace Canada was unequivocal."We have to respect the right of refusal on the part of (First Nations) communities," he said. "If projects go against their interests and opinions we cannot impose them. They have suffered enough from the impacts in Alberta and British Columbia."Giuseppe Valiante, The Canadian Press.

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. weather forecaster says La Nina no longer likely in fall, winter-[Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. government weather forecaster said Thursday La Nina conditions were no longer likely to develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2016/17, saying neutral conditions were more likely.The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, said in a monthly forecast there was a 55 to 60 percent chance of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions, meaning La Nina was no longer favored to occur.Last month, CPC said La Nina conditions were slightly favored to occur, with a 55 to 60 percent chance of developing during the fall and winter of 2016/17.La Nina, which tends to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.The CPC's predictions follow a damaging El Nino weather period. While typically less harsh than El Nino, severe La Nina occurrences have been linked to floods and droughts that can roil commodity markets.The reduced chances of La Nina will be welcomed by producers of corn and soybeans in Brazil and Argentina, where La Nina conditions can cause dry weather that hurts harvests, said Donald Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist with Maryland-based MDA Information Systems."It would certainly benefit South America... they would see wetter conditions there," Keeney said, adding that rubber producers in Indonesia could also benefit.But the return of neutral conditions could harm cotton growers in India, the world's largest producer of the fiber. La Nina tends to boost monsoon rains, and fading La Nina forecasts have led to lower precipitation expectations.Keeney said the adjusted forecast could mean better chances of winter precipitation in drought-stricken California, but that it was too early to say for sure.The CPC first warned that La Nina could develop in February, and maintained that such conditions were likely in each monthly forecast since then.In June, the agency said there was a 75 percent chance La Nina would develop, though it lowered that outlook in subsequent months.It said Thursday the average of its models favored "borderline neutral-La Nina Conditions," but added that its more recent models more strongly favored ENSO-neutral conditions.(Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Hermine lingers off U.S. East Coast, high winds and rain expected-[Reuters]-September 6, 2016-YAHOONEWS

(Reuters) - Hermine, a storm that raked Florida with hurricane-force winds last week, lingered on Tuesday off the U.S. East Coast where it was expected to produce heavy gusts and rain over the next two days.Forecasters warned swimmers and boaters to stay out of treacherous waters and rough surf. New York City said all public beaches would be closed through Tuesday because of "life-threatening" rip currents.At 2 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Hermine's center was about 110 miles (175 km) southeast of the eastern tip of Long Island and expected to move northwest at about 9 mph (15 kph).Hermine was forecast to bring up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain to Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts through Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.A tropical storm warning remained in effect from the eastern end of New York's Long Island and to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island off Massachusetts.On Cape Cod and its islands, high surf and wind put a crimp in the Labor Day plans of many people looking to celebrate summer's end, but some beaches farther south reopened.Hermine was classified as a Category 1 hurricane when it slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast on Friday. It became a post-tropical storm by week's end after its winds dropped below 74 miles per hour (119 kph) and it lost its tropical characteristics.The storm, which crossed northern Florida and then moved up the Georgia and the Carolina coasts, was packing sustained surface winds of up to 65 mph (100 kph) with higher gusts, the National Weather Service said."Just because it's a post-tropical cyclone doesn't mean the impact of tropical force winds, winds in general and storm surge go away," said National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen.The storm has claimed at least three lives, in Florida and in North and South Carolina. The third reported death was that of a man struck by a car on a South Carolina highway on Friday as he tried to move a fallen tree, a Colleton County fire department spokesman said.Hermine became the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph), and knocking out power to 300,000 homes and businesses.(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee)

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.

Firefighters battle wildfires in Portugal-[Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

LISBON (Reuters) - Firefighters battled blazes across Portugal on Thursday, calling in air reinforcements to help tackle the spreading flames.Eleven wildfires raged across the country, according to the civil protection service, with nine aircraft and over 400 firefighters struggling to put out the largest in Monchique in the southern Algarve region.Another major fire was blazing in the northern part of the country in Guarda, with four aircraft combating the flames.So far this year, wildfires in the Iberian country have destroyed a wooded area the size of over 130,000 soccer fields, about twice the annual average in 2008-15.(Reporting By Reuters Television and Andrei Khalip)

LUKEWARM CHURCHES

REVELATION 3:15-19
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I(GOD) will spue (VOMIT) thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Avowed atheist minister should be defrocked, United Church panel urges-[The Canadian Press]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

TORONTO — An unabashedly atheist minister who does not believe in the Bible should be defrocked for her beliefs, a United Church committee has recommended in a split decision that seems likely to stir further dissent in the church.In its unprecedented report, the reviewing panel said Gretta Vosper would not be ordained were she applying today given her extreme beliefs."She is not suitable to continue in ordained ministry because she does not believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit," the report by the Toronto Conference interview committee states."Ms. Vosper does not recognize the primacy of scripture, she will not conduct the sacraments, and she is no longer in essential agreement with the statement of doctrine of the United Church of Canada."Vosper, 58, who has been fighting to keep her job as minister of her West Hill congregation in east-end Toronto, had no immediate comment.In June, she appeared before the committee to defend her views, arguing she was on the receiving end of a church inquisition. She argued against a "singular definition" of God and pleaded for church ministers and members to be allowed to explore and define their own ideas.The committee, however, felt Vosper had gone far too far."Although the United Church of Canada is a big tent, welcoming a diversity of theological beliefs, Ms. Vosper is so far from centre of what holds us together as a United Church that we have concluded that she is not suitable to continue as an ordained minister," the report states."The committee is not recommending any form of remediation because Ms. Vosper has been so clear and unequivocal about her beliefs."The conference's sub-executive will receive the panel report next week and Vosper and her supporters will be able to speak to its findings. The executive will then decide whether to ask the church's governing body for a formal disciplinary hearing that would ultimately decide on whether to fire her.In an interview Thursday, Rev. David Allen, the executive secretary of the Toronto Conference, acknowledged the divergent views on Vosper and whether she should be booted from the pulpit. Whatever the final determination, he said, there will be "fallout.""There will be a lot of people who are going to be disappointed and angry if that (defrocking) were to happen," Allen said."At the same time, over the months we've heard from probably an equal number of people who would be dissatisfied if she were allowed to stay."Not everyone on the interview committee, comprising 23 lay and ordained members of the church, wanted to see Vosper gone. In a dissenting view, the minority concluded that Vosper was "suitable" as a minister and should continue in her role. The church has evolved since its founding and has to continue to do so to meet the spiritual needs of Canadians, they argued."Many of Ms. Vosper's theological positions, while not in the mainstream, are not unique amongst the ministers and lay persons of the United Church," the dissenters said. "The United Church has a history of welcoming theological diversity and to find Ms. Vosper unsuitable could stifle exploration and stunt that diversity."Vosper, who was ordained in 1993, joined her West Hill congregation in 1997 and has been upfront about her beliefs for years.Things came to a head after she wrote an open letter to the church's spiritual leader following the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris in January 2015 in which she pointed out that belief in God can motivate bad things.Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press.

EZEKIEL 38:1-7
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:TOBOLSK)
4 And I (GOD) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back,(RUSSIA-ARAB MUSLIM ISRAEL HATERS) and leave but the sixth part of thee,(5/6TH OR 300 MILLION DEAD RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS I BELIEVE) and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR ATOMIC BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

Russian jet intercepts US aircraft with 'unsafe' maneuvers-[Christian Science Monitor]-Weston Williams-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

A Russian plane made an "unsafe intercept" of a US Navy spy plane flying over the Black Sea Wednesday, say US officials.The intercept this week is the latest in a series of encounters that evoke cold war posturing between Russia and the United States in the aftermath of World War II.The American plane, a Boeing P-8A Poseidon, was reportedly intercepted four times by a Russian SU-27 Flanker as it flew through international airspace. The US pilot reported one of those intercepts as particularly unsafe.US and Russian ships and planes regularly interact amicably and professionally when patrolling across international waters and skies. But this week the Russian plane got within a dangerous 10 feet of the US plane for a duration of 19 minutes, reported the Associated Press. At that range, a minor error from either pilot could have destroyed both aircraft."We have concerns when there is an unsafe maneuver like this," Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told the AP. "These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident."Russian authorities say the US aircraft provoked interception when the spy plane approached its borders with its transponders off, according to Reuters. Transponder signals identify a plane's location and country of origin, and assist in preventing collisions."After the Russian fighters got close to the spy planes for visual confirmation and to determine their wing numbers, the American aircraft changed course sharply and flew away," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a release, according to the BBC. "The Russia pilots acted in strict accordance with international rules for flights."US officials, however, insist that the US plane's transponder was active the whole time, and that the Russian pilot responded to the US aircraft in a "dangerous and unprofessional" manner.This is not the first encounter like this between US and Russian forces. The Christian Science Monitor reported an incident in April when Russian planes repeatedly buzzed a US Navy destroyer in what the commander of the US vessel called "a simulated attack."  During that incident, Russian officials also insisted that the jets were not doing anything wrong, claiming the maneuvers were "conducted in strict compliance to the international rules of airspace management over neutral waters."This latest incident occurs as tensions between the two countries remain high.In July, NATO leaders agreed to deploy military forces to Poland and various Baltic states and increase patrols to reassure former Soviet bloc allies, according to Reuters, and the US and Russia are already at odds in Ukraine and Syria.The interception over the Black Sea comes as Russia carries out military exercises in the area.

Iran sticks to nuclear deal limits agreed with world powers: U.N.Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has stayed within the limits of a nuclear deal it agreed with six world powers last year on its stockpiles of uranium and heavy water, two chemicals that could be used in an atomic weapons program, the U.N. nuclear agency said on Thursday.In exchange for sanctions relief, Iran in 2015 committed to keeping its stockpile of uranium enriched to up to 3.67 percent purity below 300 kg (662 pounds) and its stock of heavy water, a non-radioactive product, at less than 130 metric tonnes."Throughout the reporting period, Iran had no more than 130 metric tonnes of heavy water... Iran's total (low) enriched uranium stockpile did not exceed 300 kg," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a quarterly report on Iran.The IAEA is in charge of policing the nuclear deal.(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Louise Ireland)

UN nuclear report on Iran hints at potential problem-[Associated Press]-GEORGE JAHN-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. agency monitoring the Iran-six power nuclear pact is reporting no clear violations of the agreement meant to crimp the ability of Tehran to make atomic arms.But in one area of potential concern, Thursday's report said Iran had begun manufacturing rotor tubes for centrifuges, machines used to enrich uranium.Iran is allowed to make such parts but there are limitations.For the 5,060 centrifuges now producing limited amounts of fuel-grade enriched uranium, Tehran must use spare parts stripped from old machines. Parts for more advanced centrifuges would fall under even tighter regulations.The confidential report obtained by The Associated Press said "related technical discussions" on the issue are ongoing.Depending on its enrichment level, uranium has a variety of uses ranging from reactor fuel to fissile warhead cores.

Lavrov, Kerry discuss possible U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria-[Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday discussed possible cooperation between the two nations to defeat terrorist groups active in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.The phone conversation followed discussions on Syria between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in China earlier this week, the ministry said.Lavrov and Kerry also discussed potential cooperation to facilitate deliveries of humanitarian aid and achieve a political resolution to the Syria crisis.It was still unclear if Lavrov and Kerry would meet in Geneva on Sept. 8-9, as originally planned.The Kremlin said earlier on Thursday Russia and the United States have not yet finalised work on a mutually acceptable agreement to resolve the crisis in Syria, and a compromise was needed on a small number of issues.(Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov)

Fight for Iraqi city of Mosul may begin 'soon': U.S. military official-[Reuters]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The coalition fighting Islamic State will have to begin the fight for Mosul soon to meet Iraq's aim of freeing the city by the end of the year, a U.S. military official said on Thursday, but he declined to say if the offensive would begin in a month.The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, who took over last month as commander of U.S. operations against Islamic State, predicted in an interview that the battle for Mosul would begin before early October."Ultimately, if the desire is to try to get it done around the end of the year, we're going to have to start soon," Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, told a Pentagon briefing. But he declined to confirm an October timeline.(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Merkel allies say Germany must favour Christian migrants-[AFP]-Frank Zeller-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Bavarian allies sparked anger Thursday by calling for tougher immigration rules that would favour migrants from Europe's "Christian-occidental cultural sphere".The Christian Social Union (CSU) in a party paper also demanded a ban on Muslim facial veils, an end to dual citizenship, iron-clad rules that newcomers socially integrate and learn German, as well as an upper limit of 200,000 asylum seekers a year.The party -- which has fervently attacked Merkel's liberal stance on refugees that welcomed a million asylum seekers into the EU's top economy last year -- plans to present the paper, seen by AFP and widely reported on in Germany, at a two-day party meeting starting Friday.The move comes days after the right-wing populist and anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) beat Merkel's party in a state vote, and about a year before Germany expects to hold national elections.Merkel, whose long-stellar approval ratings have taken a dive amid the refugee crisis, on Wednesday warned all political parties against a race to the bottom where they adopt the rhetoric of the anti-Islam AfD.But her coalition allies from the CSU, based in the deeply conservative and mainly Catholic southern Bavaria region, did not pull their punches in the five-page paper."Germany must stay Germany," declared the paper. "We are against our welcoming country being changed through migration and waves of refugees."- 'Find another country' -A mass influx like the one seen a year ago, when thousands of refugees entered Germany through Bavaria every day, "must under no circumstances be repeated," it argued.From now, demanded the CSU, Germany must set an upper limit of accepting 200,000 refugees a year and otherwise give preference to migrants "from our Christian-occidental cultural sphere".It added that "a state must decide by itself whom it accepts -- it's not the migrants who decide".It also wants to ban the full-face burqa covering, calling it "a uniform of Islamism, a huge barrier to integration and a symbol of the repression of women that is unacceptable in our culture"."Those who don't want to live without the burqa and niqab should find another country," it said.The party also reiterated its long-standing opposition to admitting Turkey into the EU, or granting its citizens eased visa conditions to the bloc as part of a deal to halt the refugee flows to Europe.The paper echoes some of the key demands of the AfD and even the far-right street movement Pegida, short for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident.Criticism rained down quickly, with opposition Greens party leader Simone Peter charging that the CSU was seeking to become "the Bavarian sister party of the AfD".Lawmaker Jan Korte of far-left party Die Linke charged that the paper was "irresponsible, backward-looking and brimming with hypocrisy".The idea of selecting migrants by cultural background was "racist", he added, charging that the CSU was ignoring the German constitution and international human rights conventions.- 'Physical, verbal attacks' -Amid the mass influx to Germany, crimes against foreigners -- including assaults, online hate speech and arson attacks at refugee shelters -- have risen sharply.The number of "physical and verbal attacks" against Muslims had increased "in an unprecedented way", said the head of the advocacy group Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek.Attacks against mosques and their congregations had multiplied, as had racial slurs spread on social media, he told the Welt daily.Mazyek defended Merkel against claims her liberal migrant policy was to blame for the rise of the AfD, which is now represented on the opposition benches in nine of Germany's 16 state assemblies."Those who blame the chancellor's refugee policies alone for the AfD's poll success ignore the deep rooted racist resentments in our society," he said.

Syrians on haj pray for peace; Damascus says Riyadh plays politics-[Reuters]-By Dahlia Nehme-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Syrians from territory held by opposing sides in the civil war prayed together for peace as they flew to Mecca for the haj, even as President Bashar al-Assad's government accused Saudi Arabia of politicizing the annual Muslim pilgrimage.Riyadh has no diplomatic ties with Damascus and requires Syrians seeking to make the haj to obtain visas in third countries through a committee controlled by the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), an anti-Assad opposition body."Saudi Arabia now does not deal with the legitimate government (in Syria) but rather with individuals who are not recognized, and thus the responsibility for protecting these people falls on the Saudi government," Sheikh Ahmed al-Jazaily, an advisor at Syria's Islamic Affairs ministry, told Reuters by telephone.Tamam al-Khatib, an SNC official, said Saudi Arabia gave the group 9,000 visas for Syrian pilgrims residing in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey.For Syria, which had 23 million people before the war, that is far less than its usual quota of 1,000 visas per million Muslims, Jazaily said. All able-bodied Muslims who have the means are expected to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetimes.Whichever side they came from, Syrians on board a flight from Beirut to Mecca made no mention of their differences and said the pilgrimage transcended politics.Safaa, 40, said she had traveled from government-controlled Damascus with her parents, her sister, her brother and his wife, despite the difficulty of arranging the trip."All our friends and relatives in Damascus asked us to make special prayers for them while in the Grand Mosque," said Safaa, wearing the seamless white cloth all pilgrims must use during haj. "God willing, we will pray for them and all of Syria."Mariam, 60, made the journey from Talfita, an opposition-held village north of the Syrian capital."We left the war and suffering and came to haj. By God ... I long to see the Prophet," she said, as her cousin Khadra gazed at white clouds and the yellow desert below. "May God give Syria a remission."None of the Syrian pilgrims who spoke to Reuters on the flight would give their surnames, to protect relatives back home. Nor would any say which side they support in the five year conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and made 11 million Syrians homeless.Open discussion of politics is traditionally barred during the haj. However, Reuters met only members of Syria's Sunni Muslim majority on the flight; there appeared to be no members of Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, many of whose adherents see Saudi Arabia as a sectarian enemy.Jazaily, the Syrian government advisor, said Damascus would not block Syrians from taking part in the haj, but would not be able to offer them protection."From our side, we are not stopping anybody from going to haj," he said. "But if a pilgrim goes on his own, are his rights protected? If they faced a problem, where will they turn?"(Editing by Sami Aboudi, William Maclean and Peter Graff)

"What is Aleppo?" asks U.S. Libertarian Party candidate-[By Doina Chiacu]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson framed an embarrassing lapse on foreign affairs as simple human error on Thursday after he responded to a question about a flashpoint in the Syrian civil war by asking, "What is Aleppo?"The gaffe came during an MSNBC interview about the continuing battle for Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, which has been divided for years into government and rebel sectors and has been in the news daily in recent weeks."What would you do, if you were elected, about Aleppo," Johnson was asked."About Aleppo. And what is Aleppo?" he responded."You're kidding?" the MSNBC interviewer said."No," Johnson said."Aleppo is in Syria. ... It's the epicenter of the refugee crisis," the interviewer said."OK, got it. Got it," Johnson said.The embarrassing exchange followed a forum on Wednesday night in which Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican rival Donald Trump sought to showcase their national security and defense credentials.Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, has been trying to turn the two major candidates' low approval ratings to his advantage in the race to win the Nov. 8 election.However, he has just 8.6 support in the current average of opinion polls by website RealClearPolitics in a matchup with Clinton, Trump, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein.While the Libertarian Party has long rejected U.S. military intervention abroad, the candidate's failure to recognize one of the most troubled spots in the Middle East drew ridicule and prompted speculation that his campaign was essentially over.Clinton, asked at a news conference about Johnson's remarks, laughed and quipped, "You can look on the map and find Aleppo."In a statement after the MSNBC interview, Johnson said the mistake showed he was human and explained that, when asked about Aleppo, he was thinking of an acronym and not the Syrian war."Can I name every city in Syria? No. Should I have identified Aleppo? Yes. Do I understand its significance? Yes," he said.In the 2012 presidential election, Johnson set a record for most votes won by a Libertarian candidate - about 1 percent of the popular vote - and was aiming to attract disaffected Republicans and Democrats to sustain steady growth in the party.The Libertarian agenda promotes civil liberties and a small-government agenda. Johnson has pledged to cut spending, stick to conservative fiscal policies and legalize marijuana.Appearing on ABC's talk show "The View" later, Johnson reacted mildly to suggestions the gaffe would kill his campaign. "I guess people will have to make that judgment," he said.(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)

Kurdish role a sticking point as U.S., Turkey discuss Raqqa operation-[Reuters]-By Phil Stewart-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

LONDON (Reuters) - Turkey supports a planned operation to drive Islamic State out of its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa but U.S.-backed Kurdish militia fighters should not be at the core of it, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Thursday.Turkey launched its first major military incursion into Syria just over two weeks ago. Washington has said it supports the effort to push back Islamic State, but the two NATO allies remain at odds over the role Kurdish fighters should play.The United States sees the Syrian Kurdish YPG as a useful ally in the fight against the jihadists. But Turkey views them as a hostile force, an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency on its own soil.Speaking to Reuters after a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in London, Isik said YPG fighters should not be at the heart of any bid to seize Raqqa."What Turkey focuses and insists on is that instead of solely the YPG forces, the operations must be conducted, as the core of the operatives, by the local people of the region, instead of the YPG," he said in an interview."Turkey will not allow YPG forces to extend their territory and gain power by using the Daesh operations as an excuse," he said, using an acronym for Islamic State.Turkey and the United States are already at odds over control of another town, Manbij, some 30 km (20 miles) south of the Turkish border, which was captured last month from Islamic State by a U.S.-backed coalition that includes the YPG.Turkey has insisted that the Kurdish fighters pull back east of the Euphrates river following the operation, and warned that they will be legitimate targets for Turkish forces and the Syrian rebels Turkey backs if they fail to do so.-CONTROLLING BORDER WITH TURKEY-Carter told reporters that YPG fighters had already pulled out of Manbij and pledged to stay east of the Euphrates, but Isik said they had yet to fully do so.Turkey fears that by advancing westwards from the Euphrates the Kurds would control unbroken tracts of borderland."We are expecting this pledge to be fulfilled. However the information we are receiving from our intelligence units and local sources indicate that YPG forces have not retreated to the east of the river. They are still present in the area," he said.Turkey would seek no other objective around Manbij other than the retreat of the YPG forces, Isik said.Turkey's incursion into Syria came after it had called in vain for several years for world powers to help create a "safe zone" along the Syrian border, with the aim of clearing out Islamic State and Kurdish fighters and of stemming a wave of migration that has caused tension with Europe.Western allies have so far balked at the idea, saying it would require a significant ground force and planes to patrol a "no-fly zone", a major commitment in such a crowded and messy battlefield.Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart on Thursday that Turkish forces would nonetheless continue "north to south".In London, Carter assured the Turkish defense minister of continued U.S. support for Turkey's efforts to clear Islamic State from its borders. The two men also discussed the importance of local forces being at the center of any Raqqa operation, the Pentagon said in a statement.(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by Ralph Boulton)

Two 'radicalised' women sought over gas cylinders in Paris car-[AFP]-Sophie Deviller-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Paris (AFP) - French police were searching Thursday for two "radicalised" women linked to a car containing six gas cylinders found near the Notre Dame cathedral in central Paris.Four people -- two brothers and their girlfriends -- are currently in custody over the discovery, a source close to the probe also said.A 34-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, the first couple arrested, have been held since Tuesday and are known to the security services for links to radical Islamists.The man's brother and his girlfriend, both aged 26, were arrested late Wednesday, the source said.The two women being sought are the daughters of the owner of the grey Peugeot 607 that was found abandoned on Sunday near Notre Dame, which draws millions of visitors every year.They have both been described as "radicalised".France is on high alert following a string of jihadist attacks, including last November's coordinated bloodshed in which Islamic State extremists killed 130 people.Speaking on Thursday, President Francois Hollande referred to attack plots that have been foiled "in recent days", without elaborating.A bar employee working near Notre Dame raised the alert after noticing a gas cylinder on the back seat of the car, police said.The car had no number plates and its hazard lights were flashing.Although the cylinder on the back seat was empty, five full cylinders were discovered in the boot of the car.Three bottles of diesel fuel were also discovered in the vehicle, but police found no detonators.- 'Strange method' -"If it was an attack plot, the method was very strange," a police source said Thursday.Photographs of the car after it was discovered showed its boot open and the gas cylinders placed on the ground in a quiet side street opposite the cathedral.Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Wednesday the intentions of those arrested were as yet unknown.Hollande's comments followed a deadly summer in France in which 86 people were killed when a truck ploughed into a Bastille Day crowd in the southern resort of Nice.IS said the truck was driven by one of its followers.Less than two weeks later, two young jihadists murdered a priest near the northern city of Rouen.In May, the head of France's DGSI domestic intelligence service, Patrick Calvar, warned of a "new form of attack" in which explosive devices would be left near sites that attract large crowds.French security services are particularly worried about the danger posed by extremists returning from Syria after fighting with IS forces.Around 700 French nationals are still in Syria, France's top prosecutor said last week.

Arab ministers condemn Khamenei attack on Saudi-[AFP]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Cairo (AFP) - Arab foreign ministers weighed in Thursday on a bitter dispute between Tehran and Riyadh over the hajj pilgrimage, after Iran's supreme leader questioned Saudi Arabia's management of Islam's holiest site."The council of Arab foreign ministers condemns the bellicose, inciting statements by the supreme leader, (Ali) Khamenei," the ministers said in a statement after a meeting in Cairo where the Arab League is based."The language used in (Khamenei's) statements is inappropriate for the highest authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran," they said.Iranians have been blocked from attending the pilgrimage to Mecca that starts on Saturday, after talks on logistics to avoid a repeat of last year's deadly stampede in the holy city foundered.The stampede killed 2,300 pilgrims, including hundreds of Iranians.Khamenei on Monday denounced the "incompetence" of the Saudi royal family as he met with families of victims of last year's stampede."This incident proves once again that this cursed, evil family does not deserve to be in charge and manage the holy sites," located in western Saudi Arabia, Khamenei said.Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric, Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, has also waded in, telling the Makkah daily on Tuesday: "We must understand these are not Muslims, they are children of Magi and their hostility towards Muslims is an old one."The reference to the Zoroastrian religion that prevailed in Iran before Islam is used by fundamentalist Sunnis as an insult against Iranians.Relations between Shiite Iran and ultraconservative Sunni Saudi Arabia were already tense before the regional rivals started trading caustic remarks ahead of the annual pilgrimage.

Muslims crowd Mecca ahead of hajj-[AFP]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Mecca (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Close to 1.5 million Muslims from around the world had descended Thursday on Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage, undeterred by last year's stampede disaster but with Iranians absent.As temperatures exceeded 40C (105F), pilgrims crowded into Mecca's sprawling, air-conditioned Grand Mosque complex to walk around the Kaaba -- the black cube that Muslims across the globe face while they pray.In one of the first rites of hajj, which formally starts on Saturday, white-clad pilgrims take their turn circling the Kaaba in a procession that continues 24 hours a day.Pilgrims who cannot walk are pushed around the mosque in wheelchairs by workers.Regularly-spaced taps provide thirsty pilgrims with spring water, and visitors can eat under large fast food signs at a commercial centre inside the complex, where they are also able to shop.But as soon as loudspeakers sound the call to prayer, the shops are shuttered and the faithful line up to worship.Outside at all the Grand Mosque's entrances, Saudi police control the movement of pilgrims between green plastic barriers.Step out of line, and a policeman calls through a megaphone to order them back into place.At prayer time, access to the Kaaba is suspended and the walk around it is stopped to avoid overcrowding.It is one of several safety measures authorities say they have implemented after, according to data from foreign officials, close to 2,300 pilgrims died during the hajj stoning ritual last year.The stampede and security had been on the mind of a pilgrim from Ivory Coast, who gave her name only as Mrs Coulibaly, 49."But since arriving at the airport we have been taken charge of and well supervised. So I feel at ease and totally dedicated to my prayers," she said.For the first time in almost three decades Iranians will not join the pilgrimage after talks between Tehran and Riyadh on logistics and security fell apart in May.Iran sent 60,000 pilgrims last year, and claimed the largest number of stampede fatalities, at 464.Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are regional rivals who have had no diplomatic relations since early this year.They are at odds over a number of regional issues including Syria and Yemen.Verbal sparring between the two Islamic powers has intensified ahead of this year's pilgrimage.

FALSE POPE FROM THE VATICAN

ISAIAH 23:15-17
15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.(COULD THIS BE 70 YEARS AFTER ISRAEL BECAME A NATION IN 1948)(IF SO THIS SATANIC ONE WORLD WHORE CHURCH WILL MINGLE TOGETHER BY 2018)(AND NOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY AND ALL RELIGIONS ARE MINGLING AS ONE PEACE-LOVE-JOY-GET ALONG RELIGION LEAD BY THE VATICAN RIGHT NOW 4 YEARS FROM THE 70 YEAR TIME WHEN ISRAEL BECAME A NATION).AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM.

REVELATION 13:11-13
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;(FALSE VATICAN POPE) and he had two horns like a lamb,(JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD) and he spake as a dragon.(HES SATANICALLY INSPIRED,HES A CHRISTIAN DEFECTOR FROM THE FAITH)
12 And he (FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADER) exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him,(WORLD DICTATOR) and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.(THE WORLD DICTATOR CREATES A FALSE RESURRECTION AND IS CROWNED LEADER OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER).
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

REVELATION 17:1-5,9,15-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,(VATICAN IN POLITICS) and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman (FALSE CHURCH) was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour,(VATICAN COLOURS)(ANOTHER REASON WE KNOW THE FALSE POPE COMES FROM THE VATICAN) and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.(THE VATICAN IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS OR MOUNTAINS)
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen,(1-ASSYRIA,2-EGYPT,3-BABYLON,4-MEDO-PERSIA,5-GREECE) and one is,(IN POWER IN JOHNS AND JESUS DAY-6-ROME) and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.(7TH-REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE OR THE EUROPEAN UNION TODAY AND THE SHORT SPACE IS-THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL HAVE WORLD CONTROL FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YEARS.BUT WILL HAVE ITS MIGHTY WORLD POWER FOR THE FULL 7 YEARS OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD.AND THE WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE THE BEAST FROM THE EU.AND THE VATICAN POPE WILL BE THE WHORE THAT RIDES THE EUROPEAN UNION TO POWER.AND THE 2 EUROPEAN UNION POWER FREAKS WILL CONTROL AND DECIEVE THE WHOLE EARTH INTO THEIR DESTRUCTION.IF YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.YOU WILL BE DECIEVED BY THESE TWO.THE WORLD POLITICIAN-THE EUROPEAN UNION DICTATOR.AND THE FALSE PROPHET THAT DEFECTS CHRISTIANITY-THE FALSE VATICAN POPE.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.(VATICAN-CATHOLICS ALL AROUND THE WORLD OVER 1 BILLION)
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.(BOMB OR NUKE THE VATICAN)
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city,(VATICAN) which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Former pope Benedict thanks God for retirement-[AFP]-September 8, 2016-YAHOONEWS

Berlin (AFP) - Retired pope Benedict XVI says he has no regrets about his 2013 decision to retire and thanks God for enabling him to recover his "freedom" from the responsibilities associated with leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics."I thank God that this responsibility, which I could no longer bear, no longer weighs upon me and that I can in all humility move forward with Him, that I can live with friends and friends can visit me more," Benedict, 89, says in an extract from "Final Conversations", a series of interviews with German journalist Peter Seewald.In the work to appear Friday the former pontiff says that "of course it wasn't easy" to take the decision to become the first pope to retire in seven centuries.But the erstwhile Joseph Ratzinger insisted that "it was the right moment" to step down.He explained that the decision stemmed from a March 2012 visit to Mexico and Cuba during which he realised he no longer had the strength to oversee World Youth Day celebrations in Rio the following year.After he stepped down it was successor Pope Francis who led celebrations for three million faithful on Copacabana Beach.Seewald told German news weekly Die Zeit, in an article which appeared Thursday, that Ratzinger "fell in love... in a very serious way" as a student.But his collection of interviews do not contain any revelations on the scandal of paedophile priests, although Ratzinger indicates that he would "deal with things straight away" if he did get wind of an issue that required action.Benedict admitted he had initial reservations on the choice of Pope Francis, Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, to succeed him."I was uncertain to begin with. But then I saw how he speaks with God, with men -- and I was very happy."He also told Seewald that he felt he himself had "perhaps not been enough among men" during his stewardship and found Francis' direct style of engagement "very good."Even so, "I do of course ask myself how long he will keep it up... because that requires a lot of energy."

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