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)
MIGRATING BIRDS IN ISRAEL EATS HUMANS FLESH FOR COMING AGAINST ISRAEL-JERUSALEM
EZEKIEL 39:11-12,18
11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog
(RUSSIA/ARAB/MUSLIMS) a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of
the passengers (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN JORDAN VALLEY) on the east of
the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall
they bury Gog (RUSSIAN) and all his multitude:(ARAB/MUSLIM HORDE) and
they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(BURIEL SITE OF THE 300
MILLION,RUSSIAN/ARAB/MUSLIMS)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.(OF ISRAEL)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land.(OF THE ISRAEL-GOD HATERS)
EZEKIEL 39:17-21
17
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every
feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves,
and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel,
that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(OF RUSSIAN/ISLAMIC HORDES
AGAINST ISRAEL)
18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink
the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats,
of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall
see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon
them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
REVELATION 19:17-18
17
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and
gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;(AGAINST ALL
NATIONS ARMIES THAT COME AGAINST JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL)
18 That ye
may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of
mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and
the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
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.
After
UNSC vote, Russia offers to replace US as ‘honest’ Mideast
mediator-Turkey and UK criticize Washington's actions regarding
Jerusalem, while Jewish groups mostly praise Trump administration's
stance-By AP and TOI staff-DEC 19,17
Russia on Monday
said it was ready to become “an honest mediator” between the Israelis
and Palestinians, a role the United States has played for years, after a
vote at the UN Security Council showed the depth of global opposition
to US recognition of Jerusalem.Washington vetoed a resolution supported
by the 14 other Council members that would have required President
Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel.Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said it was
becoming more important to move “as quickly as possible towards direct
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.” He reiterated Russia’s proposal to
hold a summit between the Palestinian and Israeli leaders.“We are ready
to become an honest mediator here,” he said.He also reiterated Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov’s call for the Security Council to conduct “a
comprehensive review of the situation in the Middle East.”The United
States had been certain to veto the Egyptian-sponsored resolution, but
its Arab supporters wanted the vote to demonstrate that countries
everywhere and even many US allies such as Britain, France and Japan are
against Trump’s action.Turkey criticized the US veto, saying Washington
had lost its “impartiality” in the Middle East.A Turkish Foreign
Ministry statement said the fact that the resolution was approved by the
14 other Security Council members was “the most concrete indication of
the illegitimacy” of the US decision on Jerusalem. The statement added
that the veto had left the UN Security Council “in a state of failure”
and said Turkey would continue to stand by the “Palestinian state and
its people.”British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said “The status of
Jerusalem should be determined through a negotiated settlement between
the Israelis and the Palestinians, and should ultimately be the shared
capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states.”The Palestinians
immediately announced that they would seek a resolution with similar
demands in the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes.
But unlike the Security Council, the assembly’s resolutions are not
legally binding.Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters
after meeting with the General Assembly president that he expected a
vote this week. He said he hoped for “overwhelming support.”Several
Jewish groups praised Washington’s veto.The Republican Jewish Coalition
thanked the administration for making a “stand for truth, justice, and
peace.” The Orthodox Union said it “applauds” the US “standing by its
ally.”Meanwhile the liberal J Street was less effusive.“Israel’s capital
is in Jerusalem and it should be internationally recognized as such in
the context of an agreed two-state solution,” the group said. “The
administration’s move has only made that solution harder to achieve.”US
Ambassador Nikki Haley called the Security Council resolution “an
insult” that won’t be forgotten, saying the United Nations forced the US
to cast a veto simply because of its right to decide where to put its
embassy. She said the veto — the first cast by the US in more than six
years — was done “in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of
America’s role in the Middle East peace process.”Haley, explaining the
US veto, castigated the response to the US president’s recognition of
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital: “The President took great care not to
prejudge final status negotiations in any way, including the specific
boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. That remains a subject
to be negotiated only by the parties. That position is fully in line
with the previous Security Council resolutions, ” she noted.“The
President was also careful to state that we support the status quo
regarding Jerusalem’s holy sites, and we support a two-state solution if
that’s what the parties agree to. Again, these positions are fully
consistent with the previous Security Council resolutions. It is highly
regrettable that some are trying to distort the President’s position to
serve their own agendas.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
thanked the US for using its veto in a video posted to Facebook.He said
Haley “lit a candle of truth” and dispelled “lies.”Netanyahu compared
Haley to the Maccabees, Jewish warriors commemorated during the current
Jewish holiday of Hannukah for revolting against Hellenic rulers,
rededicating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and establishing a Jewish
Kingdom in Judea.In Netanyahu’s words, “One defeated the many, truth
defeated lies.”The vetoed resolution would have demanded that all
countries comply with 10 resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967,
including requirements that the city’s final status be decided in direct
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.It would also have
affirmed that “any decisions and actions which purport to have altered,
the character, status or demographic composition of the holy city of
Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be
rescinded.”Trump broke with decades of US neutrality on Jerusalem on
December 6 when he declared that the United States recognizes the city
as Israel’s capital and will move its embassy there. Trump insisted that
after repeated peace failures it was past time for a new approach,
saying his decision was merely based on reality.Abbas, in some of his
sharpest rhetoric since Trump’s announcement, reiterated in public
comments to senior Palestinian officials Monday that he will no longer
accept the US as a Mideast mediator.He said “a crazy person wouldn’t
accept” that role for Washington after Trump’s action.The status of
Jerusalem has been a central issue in the decades-long
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Trump’s announcement was widely
perceived as taking the side of Israel. It countered an international
consensus that Jerusalem’s status should be decided in negotiations
between Israel and the Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the
capital of their future state.Trump’s announcement triggered
denunciations and demonstrations around the world. Abbas’s Fatah
movement and other groups organized mass protests while its rival, the
Gaza-based Hamas, has called for a third violent uprising against
Israel.Trump has been working on a new Mideast peace plan and says he
remains committed to brokering a deal, despite the Jerusalem move.
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
Pence’s trip to Israel postponed to
mid-January for US tax vote-At last minute, fears of procedural delays
in Congress prompt White House to delay vice president's visit to region
to next month-By Eric Cortellessa and AFP-TOI-DEC 19,17
WASHINGTON
— US Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Israel scheduled for this
week has been delayed until an unknown date in mid-January, the White
House announced Monday evening, as the Trump administration seeks to
push through historic tax reform legislation.The delay will allow Pence
to remain in Washington in case he needs to break a tie vote in the
Senate over President Donald Trump’s tax reforms.“The largest tax cut in
American history is a landmark accomplishment for President Trump and a
relief to millions of hardworking Americans,” the vice president’s
press secretary, Alyssa Farah, said in a statement. “The Vice President
is committed to seeing the tax cut through to the finish line. The Vice
President looks forward to traveling to Egypt and Israel in
January.”Another administration official told The Times of Israel that
because the vote could possibly “take place shortly before midnight on
Wednesday, it was not practically possible for [Pence] to travel this
week.”Pence’s visit had already been postponed for several days due to
attempts to pass the tax-cutting bill through the US Congress. He had
originally been set to arrive on Sunday, but then delayed his
arrival.Taking into account the possibility that the vote could delay
him another day, the White House decided his trip was coming at an
inopportune time — and that more could be accomplished if he came next
month.“The tax vote is still in very good shape, but we don’t want to
take any chances whatsoever,” said a senior administration
official.Senator John McCain’s return home to Arizona to fight cancer
has left Republicans with a razor thin margin to push the legislation
over the finishing line.If the vote were delayed, Pence would have
arrived in Egypt late on Thursday night and then would have run up
against Shabbat and Christmas for his visit to Israel, the official
said. “Therefore, to get the most out of the trip, the VP will now be
traveling in mid-January.”Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s top envoy trying to
broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, is still on his way to
the region as part of the administration’s continued push to clinch an
accord.Officials denied that Pence’s decision was motivated by a wave of
deadly protests in the wake of Trump’s deeply controversial decision to
declare Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.“This is all about the largest
tax cut in American history and having the vice president and the full
team here,” the official said.“It’s an odd case to make given we are
going to be there in two or three weeks,” a second senior White House
official said.Breaking with decades of US policy, Trump also said on
December 6 that he would move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem.That prompted a string of protests and Palestinian, Muslim and
Coptic leaders had cancelled meetings with the vice president, who had
already trimmed the trip by three days.Palestinian Authority President
Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah faction had called for a massive demonstration to
protest against Pence’s visit.In his address, Trump insisted that after
repeated failures to achieve peace, a new approach was needed, and said
the move to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government was
merely based on reality. He stressed that he was not specifying the
boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in the city, and called for no change
in the status quo at the city’s holy sites.The US on Monday vetoed a
draft UN resolution rejecting Trump’s decision, after all 14 other
Security Council members backed the measure. The text was introduced by
Egypt, where Pence was scheduled to arrive Wednesday.Times of Israel
staff contributed to this report.
Western Wall rabbi said
to rule out Pence presser at holy site-Report says Shmuel Rabinowitz
denied request citing religious objections, but privately feared
potential for violence-By Alexander Fulbright-DEC 19,17
The
chief rabbi of the Western Wall reportedly rejected an American request
for US Vice President Mike Pence to hold a press conference at the
Jerusalem holy site during his trip to Israel later this week.While
making preparations for the visit, US diplomats inquired last week about
holding a press conference for reporters accompanying Pence at either
the Western Wall Plaza or Western Wall Tunnels, Channel 10 reported
Monday.Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz rejected the request,
however, arguing it would be inappropriate to hold a press conference at
the religious site. According to the report, Rabinowitz said in private
that his main concern was the threat of renewed violence due to the
press conference likely conveying a political message, coming exactly
two weeks after US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as
Israel’s capital.The report said the US is now searching for an
alternative site nearby in which to hold the press conference.Pence is
set to land in Israel on Wednesday and while here is scheduled to light a
Hannukah menorah at the Western Wall, which stands adjacent to the
Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and site of the Al-Aqsa
Mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine.Hebrew media reports on Friday said
Pence would visit the Wall in his role as vice president and not in a
private capacity, as Trump did in May. Trump was the first ever US
president to visit the site while in office.After Trump’s December 6
announcement, in which the US president stressed the city’s borders
should be determined in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians
and access to holy sites shouldn’t be impeded, a senior administration
official told reporters on Friday that the White House “envisions” the
Western Wall will remain part of Israel under any accord with the
Palestinians.“We cannot envision any situation under which the Western
Wall would not be part of Israel,” the official said. “But as the
president said [in his speech on Jerusalem], the specific boundaries of
sovereignty of Israel are going to be part of the final status
agreement.”Furthermore, the official added, “We note that we cannot
imagine Israel would sign a peace agreement that didn’t include the
Western Wall.”The Western Wall, along with the rest of the Old City,
lies in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967
Six Day War. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their
future state, while Israel maintains the entire city is its undivided
capital.Trump’s declaration, in which he also said he would move the US
embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, has infuriated the Palestinians,
with the Palestinian Authority refusing to meet with Pence during his
trip to the region.PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party has called
for a day of rage to coincide with Pence’s visit.On Monday the US vetoed
a UN Security Council resolution condemning its recognition of
Jerusalem. An Abbas spokesman called the veto “unacceptable” and a
threat to international stability.The US was the only country in the
Security Council to vote against the measure. Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu thanked Trump and America’s envoy to the UN Nikki Haley for
vetoing the resolution, saying “truth defeated lies.”
Full
text of Nikki Haley’s 2 speeches at UN Security Council debate on
Jerusalem-'Today, for acknowledging a basic truth about the capital city
of Israel, we are accused of harming peace. The record will reflect
that we reject that outrageous claim'-By TOI staff-19 December 2017,
Remarks
by US Ambassador Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, before and after a UN Security Council briefing on the
situation in the Middle East, December 18, 2017. Remarks before the
vote:Thank you, Mr. President. In this meeting, I will not use Council’s
time to address where a sovereign nation might decide to put its
embassy, and why we have every right to do so. I will address a more
appropriate and urgent concern.This week marks the one-year anniversary
of the passage of Resolution 2334. On that day, in this Council, in
December 2016, the United States elected to abstain, allowing the
measure to pass. Now it’s one year and a new administration later. Given
the chance to vote again on Resolution 2334, I can say with complete
confidence that the United States would vote “no.” We would exercise our
veto power. The reasons why are very relevant to the cause of peace in
the Middle East.On the surface, Resolution 2334 described Israeli
settlements as impediments to peace. Reasonable people can disagree
about that, and in fact, over the years the United States has expressed
criticism of Israeli settlement policies many times.But in truth, it was
Resolution 2334 itself that was an impediment to peace. This Security
Council put the negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians
further out of reach by injecting itself, yet again, in between the two
parties to the conflict.By misplacing the blame for the failure of peace
efforts squarely on the Israeli settlements, the resolution gave a pass
to Palestinian leaders who for many years rejected one peace proposal
after another. It also gave them encouragement to avoid negotiations in
the future. It refused to acknowledge the legacy of failed negotiations
unrelated to settlements. And the Council passed judgment on issues that
must be decided in direct negotiations between the parties.If the
United Nations’ history in the peace efforts proves anything, it is that
talking in New York cannot take the place of face-to-face negotiations
between the regional parties. It only sets back the cause of peace, not
advance it.As if to make this very point, Resolution 2334 demanded a
halt to all Israeli settlement activity in East Jerusalem – even in the
Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This is something that no responsible
person or country would ever expect Israel would do. And in this way,
Resolution 2334 did what President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel did not do: It prejudged issues that should be
left in final status negotiations.Given the chance today, the United
States would veto Resolution 2334 for another reason. It gave new life
to an ugly creation of the Human Rights Council: the database of
companies operating in Jewish communities. This is an effort to create a
blacklist, plain and simple. It is yet another obstacle to a negotiated
peace. It is a stain on America’s conscience that we gave the so-called
BDS movement momentum by allowing the passage of Resolution 2334.To the
United Nations’ shame, this has been a disproportionately hostile place
for the Middle East’s most enduring democracy.The United States refuses
to accept the double standard that says we are not impartial when we
stand by the will of the American people by moving our US embassy, but
somehow the United Nations is a neutral party when it consistently
singles out Israel for condemnation.For decades, Israel has withstood
wave after wave of bias in the UN and its agencies. The United States
has often stood beside Israel. We did not on December 23, 2016. We will
not make that mistake again.This week marks the one year anniversary of a
significant setback for Middle East peace. But the United States has an
undiminished commitment to helping bring about final status
negotiations that will lead to lasting peace.Our hand remains extended
to both parties. We call on all countries that share this commitment to
learn the hard lessons of the past and work to bring Israel and the
Palestinian people in good faith to the peace table.Thank you, very
much.—Remarks by Haley explaining the use of the US veto:Thank you, Mr.
President.I have been the proud Representative of the United States at
the United Nations for nearly a year now. This is the first time I have
exercised the American right to veto a resolution in the Security
Council. The exercise of the veto is not something the United States
does often. We have not done it in more than six years. We do it with no
joy, but we do it with no reluctance.The fact that this veto is being
done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role
in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for
us; it should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Security
Council.As I pointed out when we discussed this topic 10 days ago, I
will once again note the features of the President’s announcement on
Jerusalem that are most relevant here. The President took great care not
to prejudge final status negotiations in any way, including the
specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem. That remains a
subject to be negotiated only by the parties. That position is fully in
line with the previous Security Council resolutions.The President was
also careful to state that we support the status quo regarding
Jerusalem’s holy sites, and we support a two-state solution if that’s
what the parties agree to. Again, these positions are fully consistent
with the previous Security Council resolutions.It is highly regrettable
that some are trying to distort the President’s position to serve their
own agendas.What is troublesome to some people is not that the United
States has harmed the peace process – we have, in fact, done no such
thing. Rather, what is troublesome to some people is that the United
States had the courage and honesty to recognize a fundamental reality.
Jerusalem has been the political, cultural, and spiritual homeland of
the Jewish people for thousands of years. They have had no other capital
city. But the United States’ recognition of the obvious – that
Jerusalem is the capital and seat of the modern Israeli government – is
too much for some.First, some have threatened violence on the street, as
if violence would somehow improve the prospects of peace.Now today,
buried in diplomatic jargon, some presume to tell America where to put
our embassy. The United States’ has a sovereign right to determine where
and whether we establish an embassy. I suspect very few Member States
would welcome Security Council pronouncements about their sovereign
decisions. And I think of some who should fear it.It’s worth noting that
this is not a new American position. Back in 1980, when Jimmy Carter
was the American President, the Security Council voted on Resolution
478, which called upon diplomatic missions to relocate from Jerusalem.
The United States did not support Resolution 478.In his remarks,
then-Secretary of State Ed Muskie said the following: “The draft
resolution before us today is illustrative of a preoccupation which has
produced this series of unbalanced and unrealistic texts on Middle East
issues.”Specifically, regarding the provision on diplomatic missions in
Jerusalem, Secretary Muskie said this: “In our judgment, this provision
is not binding. It is without force. And we reject it as a disruptive
attempt to dictate to other nations. It does nothing to promote a
resolution of the difficult problems facing Israel and its neighbors. It
does nothing to advance the cause of peace.”That was in 1980. It is
equally true today. The United States will not be told by any country
where we can put our embassy.Buried even deeper in the jargon of this
resolution is the accusation that the United States is setting back the
prospects of peace in the Middle East. That is a scandalous charge.
Those who are making it should consider that it only harms the very
Palestinian people they claim to speak for. What does it gain the
Palestinian people for their leaders to throw up roadblocks to
negotiations? A “peace process” that is damaged by the simple
recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is not a peace
process; it is a justification for an endless stalemate. What does it
gain the Palestinian people for some of their leaders to accuse the
United States of being hostile to the cause of peace? It gains them
nothing, but it risks costing them a great deal.The United States has
done more than any other country to assist the Palestinian people. By
far. Since 1994, we have given over $5 billion to the Palestinians in
bilateral economic assistance, security assistance, and humanitarian
assistance.The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian
Refugees operates schools and medical facilities throughout the region.
It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. Last year, the
United States voluntarily funded almost 30 percent of UNRWA’s budget.
That’s more than the next two largest donors combined. And it’s vastly
more than some of the members of this Council that have considerable
financial resources of their own.I’ll be blunt: When the American people
see a group of countries whose total contributions to the Palestinian
people is less than one percent of UNRWA’s budget – when they see these
countries accuse the United States of being insufficiently committed to
peace – the American people lose their patience.I have been to the
Palestinian refugee camps the United States supports with their
contributions. I have met with men, women, and children. I have
advocated on their behalf. I can tell you that their leaders do them no
favors by being more open to abandoning peace negotiations than to doing
the hard work of seeing them to completion.The United States has never
been more committed to peace in the Middle East. We were committed to it
before the President announced our recognition of Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel, and we’re committed to it today.What we witnessed
here today in the Security Council is an insult. It won’t be forgotten.
It’s one more example of the United Nations doing more harm than good in
addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Today, for the simple act
of deciding where to put our embassy, the United States was forced to
defend its sovereignty. The record will reflect that we did so proudly.
Today, for acknowledging a basic truth about the capital city of Israel,
we are accused of harming peace. The record will reflect that we reject
that outrageous claim.For these reasons, and with the best interests of
both the Israeli and the Palestinian people firmly in mind, the United
States votes no on this resolution.Thank you.
US veto of UN
Jerusalem resolution ‘unacceptable,’ Palestinians fume-Abbas signs
international treaties as part of statehood drive, Fatah calls for day
of rage during Pence visit; Haley slams Palestinian leaders for false
claim US hostile to peace-By AFP and TOI staff-19 December 2017
The
Palestinian Authority slammed as “unacceptable” Monday a US veto of a
UN resolution against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and vowed to take actions toward gaining
statehood.A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the
veto was “unacceptable and threatens the stability of the international
community because it disrespects it.”The 14 other countries on the
Security Council voted in favor, but US Ambassador Nikki Haley exercised
the American veto.Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP in Arabic that the support
for the resolution, which included US allies France, Italy and Japan,
“showed the (American) isolation. The international community must work
now to protect the Palestinian people.”The Palestinians are expected to
bring the vote to the full General Essembly sometime later this week.
Though the measure is almost certain to pass, unlike the Security
Council, General Assembly resolutions are non-binding.Trump’s December 6
announcement that he would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and
move the American embassy there from Tel Aviv has faced heavy criticism,
not least from the Palestinians.Abbas said soon after Trump’s
declaration that the move ended Washington’s historic role as the key
sponsor for Israel-Palestinian peace talks — a role it has played since
the early 1990s.Trump’s speech “represents a declaration that the United
States has withdrawn from playing the role it has played in the past
decades in sponsoring the peace process,” he said at the
time.Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future
state and have fumed against Trump’s move, including boycotting an
upcoming visit by US Vice President Mike Pence to the region.-Statehood
drive to continue-On Monday, Abbas signed 22 international agreements
and treaties as part of a renewed campaign to gain international
legitimacy for a Palestinian state, and said he would continue the drive
unabated.The measure came during the convening of two of the most
senior Palestinian political bodies, the Fatah Revolutionary Council and
the Palestine Liberation Organization Central Committee, both of which
met in Ramallah to formulate a response to Trump’s Jerusalem
decision.Abbas said the names of the 22 organizations the PA is trying
to join will be published tomorrow in the newspapers.In his opening
remarks to the PLO meeting, the PA chairman reiterated that the
Palestinians would no longer view the US as a mediator in the peace
process.He also reasserted the PA’s intention to win full membership in
the United Nations, and to join as many international organizations as
possible, challenging the US’s request for Ramallah to refrain from
taking unilateral actions toward statehood.“Every Monday we will join
22, 30…international organizations…there are 522 organizations we have a
right to belong to,” Abbas said, according to a transcript of his
speech published by the official PA news site, Wafa.Abbas also said that
a committee would be formed to study any and all possible proposals
that can be brought before the UN.Meanwhile, Fatah declared after its
meeting that it will form local leadership committees to help to “lead
the popular resistance against the occupation.”The organization has
called for a day of rage in the Palestinian territories and across the
world on Wednesday to coincide with Pence’s visit to Israel.Trump’s
Ambassador to the UN, Haley, explaining the US veto, castigated the
response to the US president’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital: “The President took great care not to prejudge final status
negotiations in any way, including the specific boundaries of Israeli
sovereignty in Jerusalem. That remains a subject to be negotiated only
by the parties. That position is fully in line with the previous
Security Council resolutions, ” she noted.“The President was also
careful to state that we support the status quo regarding Jerusalem’s
holy sites, and we support a two-state solution if that’s what the
parties agree to. Again, these positions are fully consistent with the
previous Security Council resolutions. It is highly regrettable that
some are trying to distort the President’s position to serve their own
agendas.”She added: “A ‘peace process’ that is damaged by the simple
recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is not a peace
process; it is a justification for an endless stalemate. What does it
gain the Palestinian people for some of their leaders to accuse the
United States of being hostile to the cause of peace? It gains them
nothing, but it risks costing them a great deal.”“The United States,”
Haley also noted, “has done more than any other country to assist the
Palestinian people. By far. Since 1994, we have given over $5 billion to
the Palestinians in bilateral economic assistance, security assistance,
and humanitarian assistance.”
Despite failing, UN
Jerusalem bid paints Israel, US as alone against the world-If Trump’s
move was meant to cement international legitimacy for Jerusalem’s status
as Israel’s capital, the world body is proving there's nothing of the
kind-By Raphael Ahren-TOI-19 December 2017
It came as a
surprise to absolutely nobody that the US on Monday vetoed a United
Nations Security Council draft resolution condemning its recent
recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.No one, not even the
Egyptian sponsors of the resolution, believed for a second that the
administration of President Donald Trump would allow a resolution to
pass that expressed “deep regret” over his December 6 statement, and
which declared that his words “have no legal effect, are null and void
and must be rescinded.”Israeli leaders praised US Ambassador to the UN
Nikki Haley’s raising her hand opposing the draft resolution. “On
Hanukkah, you spoke like a Maccabee. You lit a candle of truth. You
dispel the darkness. One defeated the many. Truth defeated lies,” Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.“Nothing could be more honorable. The
Jewish people will not forget,” Deputy Minister for Diplomacy Michael
Oren tweeted.But the fact that the resolution was dead on arrival in the
Security Council does not mean that it cannot become a veritable
nuisance to Israel and the US elsewhere.Jerusalem may remain Israel’s
capital no matter what the UN says, but the cost of maintaining that
stance alone against the world will leave America and Israel looking
more and more like international rebels.After the US was forced to stand
alone against 14 other countries, many of them allies, to sink the
resolution on Monday, the administration and Israel can expect to be
overwhelmingly isolated again against an even larger crowd later this
week.The Palestinians, having anticipated an American veto, have
announced their intention to take the resolution to the UN General
Assembly, where there is no veto, but also no actual legal
ramifications.Speaking to the Security Council minutes after the vote,
the Palestinian envoy to the UN in New York, Riyad Mansour, said the
international community “will find other frameworks for its position in
the days to come.”Even in the unlikely event that Haley had somehow
fallen asleep at the wheel and allowed the Security Council resolution
to pass, it should be noted, the body does not have the power to revoke
or rescind Trump’s decision.The US, as a sovereign state, decided to
recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. That is its prerogative, just
as Ankara can recognize the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” and
Moscow can recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia.“The United States has a
sovereign right to determine where and whether we establish an
embassy,” Haley said after the vote, in the second of her two stirring
addresses to the Security Council. “I suspect very few member states
would welcome Security Council pronouncements about their sovereign
decisions.”Nonetheless on Monday, 14 out of 15 voting countries —
Britain, China, France, Russia, Bolivia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Italy, Japan,
Kazakhstan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay — supported a text that
urged all states not to open diplomatic missions in Jerusalem, arguing
that the city’s status must not be changed before a final-status peace
deal.At the General Assembly, the depth of the American-Israeli
isolation on this matter will be on full display, with almost all of the
193 member states expected to back a similar text.A resolution denying
that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital would have a strong optical impact,
just as the US vetoing a measure supported by 14 other states did.And it
would send a strong message that Netanyahu’s claim that other states
will follow the US’s lead is nothing but a pipe dream.Israeli officials
are currently downplaying the significance of the UN votes, saying that
Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital even if the entire world declares
otherwise.But if Trump’s move was meant to cement international
legitimacy for Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital, a widely backed
General Assembly vote declaring it null and void might achieve the exact
opposite.
US blames North Korea for major ransomware
attack-Trump administration says Pyongyang 'directly responsible' for
cyberattack that hit hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide,
including Britain's National Health Service-By AP-DEC 19,17-TOI
President
Donald Trump’s administration is publicly blaming North Korea for a
ransomware attack that infected hundreds of thousands of computers
worldwide in May and crippled parts of Britain’s National Health
Service.Homeland security adviser Tom Bossert wrote in a Wall Street
Journal op-ed published Monday night that North Korea was “directly
responsible” for the WannaCry ransomware attack and that Pyongyang will
be held accountable for it.Bossert said the administration’s finding of
responsibility is based on evidence and confirmed by other governments
and private companies, including the United Kingdom and
Microsoft.Bossert said the Trump administration will continue to use its
“maximum pressure strategy to curb Pyongyang’s ability to mount
attacks, cyber or otherwise.”Pyongyang has previously denied hacking
allegations.The WannaCry attack struck more than 150 nations in May,
locking up digital documents, databases and other files and demanding a
ransom for their release.It battered Britain’s National Health Service,
where the cyberattack froze computers at hospitals across the country,
closing emergency rooms and bringing medical treatment to a halt.
Government offices in Russia, Spain, and several other countries were
disrupted, as were Asian universities, Germany’s national railway and
global companies such as automakers Nissan and Renault.The WannaCry
ransomware exploited a vulnerability in mostly older versions of
Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Affected computers had generally
not been patched with security fixes that would have blocked the attack.
Security experts, however, traced the exploitation of that weakness
back to the US National Security Agency; it was part of a cache of
stolen NSA cyberweapons publicly released by a group of hackers known as
the Shadow Brokers.Microsoft president Brad Smith likened the theft to
“the US military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen,” and
argued that intelligence agencies should disclose such vulnerabilities
rather than hoarding them.WannaCry came to a screeching halt thanks to
enterprising work by a British hacker named Marcus Hutchins, who
discovered that the malware’s author had embedded a “kill switch” in the
code. Hutchins was able to trip that switch, and the attack soon ended.
In an unusual twist, Hutchins was arrested months later by the FBI
during a visit to the US; he pleaded not guilty and now awaits trial on
charges he created unrelated forms of malware.
Miss Iraq
recounts ‘death threats’ and fears for family over selfie with
Israeli-Instagram photo with Adar Gandelsman caused outrage in Sarah
Idan's home country, forcing relatives to flee. Still, she tells CNN,
she has no regrets-By TOI staff-DEC 19,17
An Iraqi Miss
Universe contestant whose family was forced to flee the Arab country
after a photo of her with an Israeli candidate went viral has spoken of
her ordeal to CNN, recounting “scary” death threats and anxious calls to
her mother back home.Sarah Idan said she “didn’t think for a second
there would be blowback” when she posted a selfie to Instagram with
Israeli Adar Gandelsman. Both Gandelsman and Idan published the joint
selfie on their Instagram pages, expressing a desire to promote peace,
while participating in the Miss Universe International Beauty Pageant in
Las Vegas.The 27-year-old Iraqi said she had been on “on cloud nine” at
the pageant, where she was the first Iraqi contestant in 45 years. “I
had been dreaming of that forever.”When she and her Israeli counterpart
became friendly at the contest, Idan recounted, “I said ‘let’s take a
picture so our people can see we don’t have a problem and we’re actually
ambassadors for peace.'”But the response in Idan’s home country was
swift and vicious.“I woke up to calls from my family and the Miss Iraq
Organization going insane. The death threats I got online were so
scary.”Her Iraqi sponsors demanded that she remove the photo from her
account. “The director of the Miss Iraq Organization called me and said
they’re getting heat from the ministry. He said I have to take the
picture down or they will strip me of my title.”Idan refused to take
down the photo, though she did write a second post stressing the photo
was not a show of support for the government of Israel.“I want to stress
that the purpose of the picture was only to express hope and desire for
peace between the two countries,” she wrote, going on to apologize “to
all those who consider [the picture] harmful to the Palestinian
cause.”But that clarification didn’t do much good.“People in Iraq
recognized my family, they immediately knew who they were. And they were
getting death threats,” Idan said. “My mom was freaking out. I told her
‘Mom, just get out. Get out.’ I told her I’m sorry and asked if she
wants me to leave the competition. I was ready to drop out right
then.”The Miss Iraq Organization has denied threatening to strip Idan of
her title, but acknowledged getting a strong response from Iraqis and
asking her to “to clarify what happened.”Idan said this was not true. “I
have proof showing they threatened to take my title away if I didn’t
remove the picture… They threatened to take my title many times.”Idan
also received threats for wearing a bikini during a pre-competition
photo-shoot. But she said the selfie with Gandelsman caused her far more
trouble.“I’m here trying to paint a good picture about our country and
our people, but instead I get a negative response. I have no support
whatsoever from the Miss Iraq Organization and our government,” she
said.Idan, who has dual citizenship, is still in the US, and said she
feared going back home. Her family has been forced to leave Iraq until
the controversy subsides.“I was crying to my mom and felt like it’s my
fault they left, and she said, ‘no, it’s not your fault, we live in a
f****d up society.'”She added that “The government has been scary quiet.
And when they’re this quiet, you don’t know what waits for you at
home.”Despite the trouble it has caused her and her family, Idan has
said she has no regrets about posting the photo. She also remains
optimistic about her people.“A lot of people have the wrong idea about
Iraq, and while we do have extremists, we also have good people,” she
said. “Most of the good people go unnoticed.”Dov Lieber contributed to
this report.
Israel rejects meetings with far-rightists in
new Austrian government-Contact with ministries headed by far-right
party to be limited to civil servants; Foreign Ministry stresses need to
combat anti-Semitism-By AFP and TOI staff-19 December 2017
Israel
said Monday it would work with the new Austrian government “for the
moment,” but would limit contacts with ministries run by the far-right
Freedom Party (FPOe) to civil servants.A government statement said Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also holds the foreign ministry
portfolio, is in “direct contact” with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian
Kurz of the conservative People’s Party (OeVP).It said Netanyahu had
instructed the Foreign Ministry to draw up guidelines on how the Jewish
state would “conduct itself” in its dealings with the new ruling
coalition in Vienna.“For the moment, Israel will maintain working
relations with the professional echelon of the government ministries
headed by a minister from the Freedom Party,” the Hebrew-language
statement added.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Monday
that Kurz’s decision to take hard-right positions on things such as
immigration to win support marked “a dangerous development… in the
political life of Europe.”Founded by former Nazis, the FPOe emerged as
Europe’s strongest far-right force in the late 1990s.“The State of
Israel wishes to emphasize its absolute commitment to the struggle
against anti-Semitism and commemoration of the Holocaust,” Monday’s
Israeli statement said.Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz, who chairs the
Knesset’s Israel-Austria Friendship Association, praised Netanyahu and
the Foreign Ministry for “boycotting ministers from the extreme
right.”“The State of Israel has good and important connections with the
Austrian people and their representatives, but concerning a part with a
Nazi past, we draw a clear red line,” said Peretz. “Even on the
parliamentary level, we will not have ties with members of the extreme
right-wing party.”Likud MK Yehudah Glick, who met with FPOe head Heinz
Christian-Strache when he visited Israel and is in favor of
strengthening ties with the party, called the decision a “serious
mistake.”“It is too bad that the prime minister succumbed to the
traditional positions of Foreign Ministry officials and didn’t listen to
those familiar [with the FPOe] from up close,” said Glick.“It is
difficult to understand why the government saw no problem maintaining
ties with the socialist party that headed the previous government, even
though its members were identified with Hamas and the Popular Front [for
the Liberation of Palestine,” Glick added.This is the FPOe’s second
stint in government.In 2000, the OeVP — now Kurz’s party — picked the
FPOe as its junior coalition partner.At that time, the FPOe was headed
by Jorg Haider, who praised Hitler’s “orderly employment policies.”He
called SS veterans “decent people” and described concentration camps as
“punishment camps.”Israel recalled its ambassador from Vienna in protest
and its then-prime minister Ehud Barak called Haider “the
representative of evil.”Austria’s 14 European Union partners at the time
imposed bilateral diplomatic sanctions.Under pressure, Haider stood
down as FPOe leader on May 1, 2000.The FPOe has since softened its image
and won 26 percent of the vote in the October 1 Austrian election.
Japan approves missile defense system amid NKorea threat-[Associated Press]-MARI YAMAGUCHI-YAHOONEWS-December 19, 2017
TOKYO
(AP) — Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a plan to purchase a set of
costly land-based U.S. missile combat systems to increase the country's
defense capabilities amid escalating threats from North Korea.The
approval will allow the Defense Ministry to buy two Aegis Ashore systems
to add to Japan's current two-step missile defense consisting of
Patriot batteries and Aegis-equipped destroyers."North Korea's nuclear
and missile development has become a greater and more imminent threat
for Japan's national security, and we need to drastically improve our
ballistic missile defense capability to protect Japan continuously and
sustainably," a statement issued by the Cabinet said.The deployment will
add to growing defense costs in Japan as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
government pushes to allow the military a greater international role and
boost its missile combat capability.Defense officials say two Aegis
Ashore units can cover Japan entirely by using advanced missile
interceptors such as SM-3 Block IIA that was jointly developed by Japan
and the U.S., and would cost around 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion),
though they have not released exact figures.Officials say they hope the
systems are ready for operation by 2023.Officials refused to disclose
cost details until a planned release of a 2018 budget, in which defense
spending is expected to rise to a record.Abe has said he fully backs
U.S. President Donald Trump's policy of keeping all options on the
table, including possible military actions, against the North. Abe has
vowed to bolster Japan's security cooperation and increase use of
advanced U.S. missile defense equipment.Defense officials declined to
give details about potential sites for Aegis Ashore deployment, while
Japanese reports cited Self-Defense Force bases in Akita, northern
Japan, and Yamaguchi, in southwestern Japan.Defense officials said they
chose Aegis Ashore over an option of Terminal High-Altitude Area
Defense, or THAAD, because of its cheaper cost and versatility.
Typically, a THAAD setup comes with 48 missiles and 9 mobile launch
pads, priced about $1.1 billion, and Japan would need at least six of
those to defend the country, officials said.The deployment of THAAD in
South Korea triggered protests from China as Beijing sees it a security
threat.Aegis Ashore can be compatible with the ship-based Aegis systems
that are on four Japanese destroyers and also could work with SM-6
interceptors capable of shooting down cruise missiles, defense officials
said. Japan plans to add four more Aegis-equipped destroyers in coming
years.The U.S. has installed the land-fixed Aegis in Romania and Poland,
and Japan will be a third to host the system.___Follow Mari Yamaguchi
on Twitter at twitter.com/mariyamaguchi.
California wildfire fight aided by better weather-[Reuters]-By Steve Gorman-YAHOONEWS-December 19, 2017
LOS
ANGELES (Reuters) - Thousands of weary firefighters, battling a deadly
2-week-old California wildfire that ranks as the third largest in state
history, welcomed a second straight day of favorable weather on Monday
that allowed a more aggressive attack on the flames.The so-called Thomas
fire has scorched 271,000 acres (110,000 hectares) of drought-parched
chaparral and brush in the coastal mountains, foothills and canyons of
Ventura and Santa Barbara counties northwest of Los Angeles.The burned
zone encompasses an area about a third of the size of the state of Rhode
Island.More than 1,000 homes and other buildings have gone up in flames
and some 18,000 other structures remained threatened from a late-season
firestorm that kept firefighters on the defensive for the better part
of two weeks.One firefighter lost his life, succumbing to smoke
inhalation and burns last Thursday near the town of Fillmore in Ventura
County.A mix of lighter winds, rising humidity and cooler air
temperatures prevailed for a second day on Monday, affording crews the
greatest weather break they had seen yet, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a
spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CalFire)."Everybody is breathing a sigh of relief that this
will give those firefighters a chance to get in there and do some good
work, and not just be constantly chasing things," she told Reuters by
telephone.A firefighting force of 8,500 personnel had carved containment
lines around 50 percent of the blaze's perimeter as of Monday night, up
from 45 percent earlier.But coastal communities within the towns of
Santa Barbara, Montecito and Summerland were still at risk as crews
hurried to extend and shore up buffer zones before a return of higher
winds forecast for Wednesday, Tolmachoff said. Full containment is not
expected before the second week of January.The blaze erupted on Dec. 4
and was stoked by hot, dry Santa Ana winds blowing with rare hurricane
force from the high desert to the east, spreading the flames across
miles of rugged coastal terrain faster than firefighters could keep
up.The latest tally of burned landscape puts the Thomas blaze among the
three largest wildfires documented in California, approaching the record
size of the 2003 Cedar fire in San Diego County that consumed 273,246
acres (110,600 hectares) and killed 15 people.The Thomas fire has
displaced more than 100,000 people, although authorities in Santa
Barbara County lifted evacuation orders for additional areas no longer
considered to be in harm's way, and more communities were to be reopened
on Tuesday.CalFire has put the estimated cost of fighting the blaze at
nearly $131 million. The cause remained under investigation.The Thomas
came two months after a spate of wind-driven blazes in Northern
California's wine country incinerated several thousand homes and killed
more than 40 people, ranking as the deadliest rash of wildfires, and one
of the most destructive, in state history.(Additional reporrting by
Chris Kenning in Chicago and Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Clive
McKeef and Peter Cooney)
Passenger train on new route
derails in Washington state, killing at least three-[Reuters]-By Tom
James-YAHOONEWS-December 19, 2017
DUPONT, Wash. (Reuters)
- An Amtrak train derailed on Monday during its inaugural run on a
faster route from Seattle to Portland, Oregon, sending passenger cars
tumbling from a bridge onto a major highway, killing at least three
people and injuring more than 70.Thirteen of the train's 14 cars jumped
the tracks near the town of DuPont, Washington State Patrol spokeswoman
Brooke Bova said. Amtrak said there were 86 aboard, 80 of them
passengers.Five vehicles and two trucks were involved in the accident,
and the highway was littered with fragments of the bridge and tree
branches. Some motorists were injured but none died, authorities
said."We have been told there are three casualties at this time," Bova
told a news conference, adding about 100 people were taken to nearby
hospitals. Ten people have serious injuries and dozens have been
released, the Washington State Patrol said.She said all the train cars
had been searched. The state patrol has turned over the investigation to
the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whose members
were on the scene.One aspect of the situation likely be in focus is the
speed at which the train took a curve leading up to the bridge.Geoff
Patrick, a spokesman for Sound Transit, which owns the track, said it
had recently been upgraded to handle passenger trains, from its prior
use for slow-moving freight trains. The curving stretch of track where
the accident took place had a speed limit of 30 miles per hour (48 kph),
Patrick said.Several hours after the 7:34 a.m. crash, train cars
remained dangling from the overpass, with others strewn across
Interstate 5, a major West Coast route stretching from the Canadian to
Mexican borders.Cranes have been brought in to remove the carriages."It
was just a scene of chaos and piles of twisted metal," said Ted Danek,
administrator for the city of Dupont who visited the site.Some of those
on board escaped by kicking out windows, passenger Chris Karnes told
news outlet KIRO 7."All of a sudden, we felt this rocking and creaking
noise, and it felt like we were heading down a hill," Karnes said. "The
next thing we know, we're being slammed into the front of our seats,
windows are breaking, we stop, and there's water gushing out of the
train. People were screaming."The derailment happened on the first day
Amtrak trains began using the new inland route between the Washington
cities of Tacoma and Olympia, part of a $181-million project to cut
travel time, according to an October news release from the state's
transport department and Amtrak.The rerouting takes trains along I-5,
enabling them to reach speeds of 79 miles per hour (127 km per hour).It
was not immediately clear whether the derailment was connected to the
new route. An NTSB member told reporters it was too early to say what
may have caused the crash.The state transportation department said the
track had undergone "weeks of inspection and testing" before
Monday.'CARS EVERYWHERE'-A train crew member told an emergency
dispatcher the train came around a corner before the bridge and then "We
went on the ground," according to an audio recording posted by
Broadcastify.com.Asked whether everyone was OK, the crew member replied,
"I am still figuring that out. We got cars everywhere and down onto the
highway."Amtrak's co-chief executive, Richard Anderson, declined to
speculate on the cause. He confirmed that positive train control (PTC), a
system that automatically slows trains if they are going too fast, was
not installed on the tracks.By law, PTC must be installed on all
passenger rail systems by 2018, a deadline that has repeatedly been
delayed after rail agencies said implementation was more complicated
than anticipated. Sound Transit commuter line, which owns the track,
reported in September that it did not yet have PTC in operation.U.S.
President Donald Trump said the crash illustrated the need for
infrastructure improvements.The derailment was Amtrak's second in
Washington state this year. On July 2, a southbound train with more than
250 people aboard derailed in the town of Steilacoom, just a few miles
north of Monday's derailment. No serious injuries were reported.In May
2015, an Amtrak train derailed in Philadelphia, killing eight people and
injuring more than 200. The NTSB concluded the driver became distracted
by radio transmissions and lost track of where he was.An Amtrak train
traveling from New York in April 2016 hit a backhoe working on railroad
tracks in Chester, Pennsylvania, killing two maintenance workers and
injuring 41.That crash prompted criticism from the NTSB about Amtrak's
safety record. Amtrak said last month it had made numerous
reforms.(Reporting by Tom James in DuPont, Washington; Additional
reporting by David Shepardson, Jonathan Allen, Gina Cherelus, Peter
Szekely and Daniel Trotta in New York and Sharon Bernstein in
Sacramento, Californina; Writing by Joseph Ax and Jon Herskovitz;
Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Clarence Fernandez)
