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
Top Middle East intel official says Mossad behind killing of Syrian rocket chief-New York Times quotes senior figure from intelligence agency in the region; Israeli cabinet minister refuses to comment on report but says it's a 'good thing' Aziz Azbar is dead-By TOI staff and Agencies-AUG 8,18
A senior official from a Middle East intelligence agency has pointed the finger at Israel’s Mossad for the killing of a top Syrian chemical weapons and rocket scientist over the weekend, The New York Times reported Tuesday, reinforcing accusations from Syria.Aziz Azbar was killed when his car exploded in the northern city of Masyaf late Saturday night. The unnamed official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the paper that Israel was behind the attack and said his own intelligence agency had been informed of the Israeli operation.A senior Israeli government official declined to comment on the report Tuesday, but noted it was “a good thing” that Azbar was dead.A pro-government Syrian paper on Sunday had accused the Mossad of being behind the hit. Azbar’s driver was also killed in the blast.According to the report, Israel believed that Azbar was leading a classified weapons development program called Sector 4 at the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, and was busy re-building an underground weapons factory to replace the one said destroyed by Israel last year.Azbar was working alongside Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite al-Quds Force and enjoyed high-level access to both the Syrian and Iranian governments, the New York Times said.Azbar and his team were working to begin mass-producing precision-guided missiles by retrofitting SM600 Tishreen rockets. They were also working on a solid-fuel plant for missiles and rockets, a safer alternative to liquid fuel, the report said. The Tishreen is a Syrian version of the Iranian Fateh-110, a missile with a range of 200 kilomenters (125 miles.) On Sunday the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syria war through local contacts, also reported Azbar’s death. It said he specialized in developing rocket systems at the center’s Masyaf facility in Hama.Israel’s Hadashot TV news said Sunday night he was in charge of a project improving the range and accuracy of the regime’s Scud missiles. Reports have also indicated an Iranian missile operation at the site.The intelligence official also told The New York Times that Azbar had for years been active in the Assad regime’s chemical-weapons production program and was also involved in coordinating Iranian and Hezbollah activities in Syria.The Scientific Research and Studies Center in Masyaf, also known by its French acronym CERS, has long been associated with chemical weapons production, and was the target of a number of airstrikes attributed to Israel. An alleged Israeli strike on the site in April reportedly killed a number of Iranian soldiers.The official quoted in The New York Times Tuesday said that Israel had been tracking Azbar for years, and had wanted to assassinate him over his prominent role in Syria’s weapons program even before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. He said it was the fourth time in three years the Mossad has assassinated an enemy weapons engineer in a foreign country.Israel has been blamed for the killing of several scientists in recent years, including two Hamas engineers in the last 18 months.A Hamas rocket scientist was shot dead by gunmen in Malaysia in April and a drone engineer was killed in Tunisia in December 2016. Hamas blamed the Mossad for both deaths.Israel does not usually comment on reports of its alleged military operations in Syria but has repeatedly warned it would work to keep advanced weapons out of Hezbollah terrorists’ hands and has vowed to stop Iran establishing a military presence in the country.On Tuesday, Gilad Erdan who heads the Public Security and Strategic Affairs ministries declined to comment on Israel’s involvement in Azbar’s killing, but said it was “a good thing” that he was dead.“We obviously do not comment on these kinds of reports — neither confirming nor denying them — but we can talk about the man himself, who was responsible for putting high quality weapons in the hands of some bad people, and so we can say that the fact he is no longer with us is a good thing,” he told Israel Radio when asked about the New York Times report.Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday sought to downplay the possibility of Israeli involvement.“Every day in the Middle East there are hundreds of explosions and settling of scores. Every time they try to place the blame on us. So we won’t take this too seriously,” he told Hadashot News.An insurgent group calling itself the Abu Amara Brigades claimed responsibility for the operation. The group has previously claimed attacks targeting officials and militia commanders inside government territory.In April 2017, the Trump administration placed sanctions on hundreds of CERS employees following a chemical attack on the Syrian rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun that killed dozens of civilians, including children.Another CERS facility near Damascus was bombed by US, British and French forces in April after another chemical attack.The Syrian regime has been accused of dozens of gas attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians during the war, even after it said it was giving up its stockpile.
Israeli minister says ‘good chance’ Iran will renegotiate nuclear deal-Gilad Erdan slams 'morally bankrupt' EU for trying to salvage accord; Israeli intelligence community said optimistic that new sanctions will force major change in Tehran-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Tuesday praised the US for reimposing tough sanctions on Iran that brought back into effect the harsh penalties lifted under the Iran nuclear deal.“It would be better if the Iranian regime would disappear entirely from this world, but it would also be a blessing to see Obama’s bad nuclear agreement replaced with a better one,” he told Israel Radio. US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in May.“In my opinion, there is a good chance of that,” said Erdan, who also heads the Strategic Affairs Ministry. “We can already see positive results from what Trump did.”Erdan criticized the European Union for trying to salvage the deal by ensuring that economic benefits guaranteed under the 2015 accord continue to flow to the country.“The EU is morally bankrupt, and we need to remember that next time they try to lecture us,” Erdan said. The EU, along with China, Russia, France, Germany and the UK, was also a signatory to the deal and has not withdrawn.In Israel, the reimposition of US sanctions was lauded as a historic turning point that could ultimately lead to the Islamic Republic’s downfall.On Tuesday, Israel Radio quoted an unnamed senior official who said the Israeli intelligence community was optimistic the sanctions would lead to major changes in Iran and force Tehran to renegotiate the deal.“We would like to see a change in policy, but there is no way of knowing how long that will take,” the official said.“The only hammer available right now is economic, and using that, there is a good change Iran will fall to its knees,” he said. “Right now Iran is weak and hysterical.”The new sanctions on Iran took effect just after midnight in Washington on Tuesday as part of Trump’s withdrawal from the international accord designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program.Trump signed an executive order restoring the penalties on Monday, which he said would put “maximum economic pressure” on the country. The sanctions affect financial transactions that involve US dollars, Iran’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.A second batch of US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector and central bank are to be reimposed in early November.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump for ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic, and called on European nations to follow his lead.“It symbolizes the determination to curb Iran’s regional aggression and its ongoing plans to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said in a video released Monday.On Monday, the European Union’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc, as well as Britain, France and Germany, deeply regretted Washington’s move.“We are determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran,” she said in a statement.Many large European firms are leaving Iran for fear of US penalties, and Trump warned of “severe consequences” against firms and individuals that continued to do business with Iran.The impact of the return of sanctions has ramped up tensions inside Iran, which has seen days of protests and strikes in multiple towns and cities over water shortages, high prices and wider anger at the political system.Severe reporting restrictions have made it impossible to verify the swirl of claims coming through social media.Agencies contributed to this report.
Fresh US sanctions on Iran kick in as clock hits midnight-Reimposition of economic restrictions as part of Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal met with cheers in Jerusalem, jeers in Tehran and Europe-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
New US sanctions on Iran took effect just after midnight in Washington on Tuesday as part of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the international accord meant to limit the Iranian nuclear program.On Monday, Trump signed an executive order restoring sanctions on Iran, which he said would would put “maximum economic pressure” on the country. He also held out hope for new negotiations between Iran and the United States that would result in another, more wide-ranging, accord.The new sanctions target Iran’s automotive sector and trade in gold and precious metals. They come ahead of even more biting sanctions set to be introduced on November 5 against the country’s energy and banking sectors.While cheered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, the reimposition of US sanctions was bemoaned by the nuclear deal’s European signatories and the EU, who defended the accord and vowed to protect European firms from US economic penalties.In a White House statement announcing the sanctions, Trump repeated his criticisms of the deal, and argued that Iran’s behavior since the pact was implemented has vindicated his long-held position.“The JCPOA, a horrible, one-sided deal, failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb, and it threw a lifeline of cash to a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos,” Trump said.“Since the deal was reached, Iran’s aggression has only increased. The regime has used the windfall of newly accessible funds it received under the JCPOA to build nuclear-capable missiles, fund terrorism, and fuel conflict across the Middle East and beyond.”Following Trump’s announced US departure from the deal in May, the White House has, through 17 rounds, sanctioned 38 Iran-related targets.The objective, the administration has indicated, is to change Iranian behavior.“Reimposition of nuclear-related sanctions through today’s actions further intensifies pressure on Tehran to change its conduct,” Trump said Monday.In May, Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal forged under the Obama administration and with five other world powers, a move that set in motion a renewal of sanctions against Iran that had been removed once the landmark accord was implemented in January 2016.In Israel, the reimposition of US sanctions was lauded as a historic turning point that could ultimately lead to the Islamic Republic’s downfall, with senior officials calling on other countries to follow suit.“It symbolizes the determination to curb Iran’s regional aggression and its ongoing plans to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” said Netanyahu in a video released Monday, moments after Trump signed new sanctions into law.Jerusalem’s warm embrace of the US sanctions in Iran stood in stark contrast to the European Union, which said it would move to protect countries that remain in Iran.“We deeply regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the US, due to the latter’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany said in a joint statement, using the nuclear deal’s technical name.“The JCPOA is working and delivering on its goal, namely to ensure that the Iranian program remains exclusively peaceful,” the statement went on. “It is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, crucial for the security of Europe, the region, and the entire world.”The European Commission vowed to oppose the new US sanctions regime, updating its so-called Blocking Statute that is aimed at “sustaining trade and economic relations between the EU and Iran.”In Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani rejected Trump’s call for renewed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, saying it was a statement intended only for American audiences and to foment chaos in Iran.In a televised interview, he said “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense. They are imposing sanctions on Iranian children, patients and the nation.” He was referring to fears that essential supplies such as medicines would be affected when sanctions return.He said Iran had “always welcomed negotiations,” but that Washington would first have to demonstrate it can be trusted.“If you’re an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife and then you say you want negotiations, then the first thing you have to do is remove the knife.”“How do they show they are trustworthy? By returning to the JCPOA,” he said, using the technical name for the 2015 nuclear deal.Rouhani fell back on the rhetoric of many of his predecessors by referencing the 1953 CIA-backed coup that overthrew Iran’s elected prime minister and cemented the shah’s rule.“I have no pre-conditions” for negotiating with America “if the US government is ready to negotiate about paying compensation to the Iranian nation from 1953 until now,” Rouhani said. “The US owes the Iranian nation for its intervention in Iran.Two weeks ago, Trump indicated that he was willing to meet with Iran’s leaders at any time and without any preconditions.“I would certainly meet with Iran if they’re ready to meet,” Trump said during a White House press conference, adding that he was willing to do so with “no preconditions.”The week before, Trump tweeted at Rouhani that Iran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before,” in a dramatic all-caps tweet.To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018-His tweet was ostensibly a response to a speech Rouhani gave the night before in which he threatened that the United States would experience the “mother of all wars” if it entered into an armed confrontation with Iran.Agencies contributed to this report.
2 officers dismissed from elite army unit after training accidents-After 2 Maglan soldiers injured in separate incidents, IDF says it is 'unacceptable and unprofessional to unnecessarily endanger' troops during training-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday the dismissal of two officers from an elite commando unit following a pair of recent training accidents in which soldiers were injured.Additionally, the commander of the platoon in which the officers served was reprimanded, the IDF said in a statement summarizing the investigation into the incidents led by Brig. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of the 98th Paratroopers Division.In one of the instances, a soldier from the Maglan unit was seriously injured during a training exercise while jumping from a moving vehicle into a thorn bush, according to the army.The soldier’s commander, who the army named only as First Lieutenant Y., was removed as a result of the incident. Finkelman also ordered a halt to all training exercises in the Commando Brigade until the investigation’s recommendations are implemented and the unit’s training files are reviewed.“The division commander determined this action was improper, unprofessional, immoral, dangerous and unnecessary,” the IDF said.In the second incident a soldier was moderately wounded during Krav Maga exercises but did not receive medical treatment immediately after. The army said the injury occurred during a Krav Maga demonstration in which protective equipment was not used.The IDF said the soldier’s commander, First Lieutenant G., was removed for “acting erroneously during the [Krav Maga] training and acted negligently by not sending the soldier for treatment.”Krav Maga exercises have been put on hold in the Commando Brigade until commanders and instructors undergo a “refresher” of the training commands, the army said. New mechanisms for oversight and approval of Krav Maga training in the brigade will also be introduced, the IDF added.The army said the findings of the investigation would be given to the Military Advocate General to decide whether to open a Military Police investigation. It also said commanders were in touch with the families of the injured soldiers.“The IDF takes risks in the face of the enemy as required to fulfill its operational duties,” the army said. “It is unacceptable and unprofessional to unnecessarily endanger soldiers during training and routine activities.”Parents of soldiers in the unit claimed to the Ynet news site earlier this week that routine training for the soldiers regularly crossed the threshold into violence. They also complained of the secrecy surrounding the activities of the unit, and said they relied on the officers and commanders to keep their children safe.Maglan is a special elite unit that operates behind enemy lines. The unit’s 18 months of training is among the most strenuous in the IDF.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
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 battling 122 active forest fires across northern Ontario-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
TORONTO — There was little rest for firefighters in northern Ontario during the long weekend as they continued battling flames on numerous fire lines.The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says there were 122 active fires as of Monday night, including 78 in the northwest region and 44 in the northeast.Eighteen fires in the northeast and seven in the northwest were classified as out of control.The largest fire in the northeast, "Parry Sound 33," covers about 113 square kilometres and remains out of control. Officials say "extremely dry fuel conditions remain" despite the area receiving about 10 millimetres of rain on Monday.An evacuation order for residents of several communities in the French River area remain in effect and numerous travel restrictions remain in force.Another large fire dubbed "North Bay 72" about 30 kilometres west of Temiskaming Shores remains out of control. That blaze began on July 8 and was being held at about 272 square kilometres.The ministry says there have been 918 forest fires so far this year compared to 354 in 2017.The Canadian Press.
Health care workers ask Tories to stop repeal of sex-ed curriculum-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
TORONTO — Nearly 1,800 health-care workers from across the province are asking the Tory government to stop plans to repeal and replace Ontario's modernized sex-ed curriculum.The group of doctors, nurses and social workers signed a petition that was delivered to the provincial legislature today by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.Premier Doug Ford had long promised to scrap the sex-ed curriculum updated by his Liberal predecessors, and has said the government will engage in a province-wide consultation to create a new lesson plan.The government has said teachers will use a 1998 version of the curriculum this fall as those consultations are underway.The group of health-care workers who signed the petition says repealing the curriculum will put children's safety and mental health at risk by providing them with outdated information.In addition to individual workers, groups including the Registered Nurses of Ontario, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Ontario Association of Social Workers have signed the petition.The Canadian Press.
Largest wildfire in California history to burn for rest of August-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-By Dan Whitcomb-August 8, 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's biggest wildfire on record was expected to burn for the rest of the month, fire officials said on Tuesday, as hot and windy conditions challenged thousands of fire crews battling eight major blazes burning out of control across the state.The Mendocino Complex grew to span 290,692 acres (117,639 hectares) by Tuesday morning, with barely a third of it contained since two wildfires merged at the southern tip of the Mendocino National Forest, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.It is the largest of eight major fires burning out of control across California, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to declare a "major disaster" in the state.The size of the fire has surpassed that of last year's Thomas Fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and destroyed more than 1,000 structures.Nearly half of the ten largest California wildfires on record occurred in the last decade.The Mendocino Complex has burnt 75 homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Fire officials had hoped to extinguish the fire by mid-August, but pushed that date to early September on Tuesday.Temperatures could reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) in Northern California over the next few days, with gusty winds fanning the flames of the complex, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.The 3,900 personnel battling the Mendocino Complex on Monday were focusing on keeping flames from breaking through fire lines on a ridge above the foothill communities of Nice, Lucerne, Glen Haven, and Clearlake Oaks, said Tricia Austin, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire.Elsewhere in California, evacuations were ordered for cabins in Cleveland National Forest's canyons in Orange County on Monday afternoon, after a blaze broke out to quickly engulf 700 acres (283 hectares).The Carr Fire, which has torched 167,000 acres in the scenic Shasta-Trinity region north of Sacramento since breaking out on July 23, was 47 percent contained.The Carr Fire has been blamed for seven deaths, including that of a 21-year-old Pacific Gas and Electric Company lineman Jay Ayeta. The company said on Sunday he was killed in a vehicle crash as he worked with crews in dangerous terrain."California wildfires are being magnified and made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren't allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized," Trump wrote on Twitter, without providing supporting evidence.A Cal Fire spokesman declined to comment on Trump's claims but said crews did not lack water to fight the flames.Environmental activists and some politicians say the intensity of the state's wildfire season could be linked in part to climate change.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Bernadette Baum)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Amnesty International calls for united front against Saudi Arabia-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
MONTREAL — Amnesty International says the global community should form a united front with Canada and speak out to protect two recently arrested women, including the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi.Genevieve Paul, the director of Amnesty's francophone branch, points out that pressure is put on the Saudi government when news of such arrests becomes public."I don't think it will worsen the situation because very often when we make evident unjust imprisonments, like the case of Samar Badawi, that increases their protection and increases pressure on the government," she said in an interview Monday.Amnesty International has said Badawi's sister was recently detained along with Nassima al-Sada, another prominent female activist.Paul pointed to the case of Raif Badawi as an example of how putting international pressure on the Saudis can have an impact."He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison, he received 50 lashes in 2015 and he could receive others, but he hasn't," she said."We do believe that this is because of continuous pressure and visibility on Raif's case so we're really hoping that more states speak out on Samar Badawi and all other activists."Paul stressed the situation is worse when the government does what it wants in secret and is not singled out for alleged human rights violations. "Clearly the aggressive reaction of the Saudi government shows that it's been disturbed," she added.Saudi Arabia said Sunday it was ordering Canada's ambassador to leave the country and freezing all new trade and investment transactions with Canada in a spat over human rights.The Islamic Kingdom made the decision in retaliation to a Global Affairs Canada's tweet that expressed concerns about the arrests of civil society and women's rights activists in the country, such as Samar Badawi.Paul said the Saudi government knows there are serious human rights violations in the country."It shows the real colours of the regime, and the international community should toughen its tone against the Saudi government," she said.The Amnesty spokeswoman noted a ban on women drivers was lifted in June, but that a number of activists who campaigned for the right to drive were arrested and face up to 20 years in prison."That's proof there's double talk, it's proof that there is no real reform in the country," she said. "On the contrary, the repression has intensified." She reiterated that Ottawa should suspend the sale of armoured vehicles to the Saudis, claiming that Amnesty still has strong reasons to believe they are being used in Yemen to commit serious human rights violations."We've been saying that without a serious human rights evaluation, we should not be transferring any military aid, any arms to Saudi Arabia," Paul said.Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday the Canadian government will continue to raise its voice and defend human rights."We will always speak up for human rights, we will always speak up for women's rights around the world," she told reporters in Vancouver. "The most important thing for us is the life and the living conditions of activists."Ensaf Haidar, Raif Badawi's wife, who lives in Quebec with her three children, said Monday she was surprised when she heard about the two new arrests.Haidar and her children became Canadian citizens on Canada Day.Freeland also said Haidar and her family merit special attention from the government of Canada, adding, "a lot of Canadian civil society has been speaking up for her.""It's something that we do," Freeland said. "We stand up for Canadians and their families around the world."Peter Rakobowchuk , The Canadian Press.
For God or party? China's Christians face test of faith-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
NANYANG, China — The 62-year-old Chinese shopkeeper had waited nearly his entire adult life to see his dream of building a church come true — a brick house with a sunny courtyard and spacious hall with room for 200 believers.But in March, about a dozen police officers and local officials suddenly showed up at the church on his property and made the frightened congregants disperse. They ordered that the cross, a painting of the Last Supper and Bible verse calligraphy be taken down. And they demanded that all services stop until each person, along with the church itself, was registered with the government, said the shopkeeper, Guo.Without warning, Guo and his neighbours in China's Christian heartland province of Henan had found themselves on the front lines of an ambitious new effort by the officially atheist ruling Communist Party to dictate — and in some cases displace — the practice of faith in the country."I've always prayed for our country's leaders, for our country to get stronger," said Guo, who gave only his last name out of fear of government retribution. "They were never this severe before, not since I started going to church in the 80's. Why are they telling us to stop now?"Under President Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.The crackdown on Christianity is part of a broader push by Xi to "Sinicize" all the nation's religions by infusing them with "Chinese characteristics" such as loyalty to the Communist Party. Islamic crescents and domes have been stripped from mosques, and a campaign launched to "re-educate" tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims. Tibetan children have been moved from Buddhist temples to schools and banned from religious activities during their summer holidays, state-run media report.This spring, a five-year plan to "Sinicize" Christianity in particular was introduced, along with new rules on religious affairs. Over the last several months, local governments across the country have shut down hundreds of private Christian "house churches." A statement last week from 47 in Beijing alone said they had faced "unprecedented" harassment since February.Authorities have also seized Bibles, while major e-commerce retailers JD.com and Taobao pulled them off their sites. Children and party members are banned from churches in some areas, and at least one township has encouraged Christians to replace posters of Jesus with portraits of Xi. Some Christians have resorted to holding services in secret.A dozen Chinese Protestants interviewed by the Associated Press described gatherings that were raided, interrogations and surveillance, and one pastor said hundreds of his congregants were questioned individually about their faith. Like Guo, the majority requested that their names be partly or fully withheld because they feared punishment from authorities. After reporters visited Henan in June, some interviewees said they were contacted by police or local officials who urged them not to discuss any new measures around Christianity.The party has long been wary of Christianity because of its affiliation with Western political values. Several Chinese human rights lawyers jailed for their work, including Jiang Tianyong and Li Heping, are outspoken Christians. So too are many Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, not least among them 2014 protest leader Joshua Wong."Chinese leaders have always been suspicious of the political challenge or threat that Christianity poses to the Communist regime," said Xi Lian, a scholar of Christianity in China at Duke University. "Under Xi, this fear of Western infiltration has intensified and gained a prominence that we haven't seen for a long time."___Guo, who keeps a small storefront selling ornate doors in a riverside district, once had eyesight so poor that he could not distinguish the sky from the earth. But after finding God at 27 years old, he made a seemingly miraculous recovery that he attributes to his faith.For decades, he, like many Christians in China, shuttled from one unregistered house church to another, where folding chairs served as pews and coffee tables as lecterns. Two years ago, he and 10 other Christians pooled their money to erect a permanent church on his property.They are part of what experts describe as a spiritual awakening in China.The number of Chinese believers of all faiths has doubled in two decades to an estimated 200 million, by official count, as the hold of the Communist party has weakened. Among them are an estimated 67 million Christians, including Catholics — a number that is expected to swell to become the world's largest Christian population in a matter of decades. This rapid growth has reinvigorated the party's longtime mission to domesticate a religion traditionally aligned with the West.Historians believe that Christianity was known to China as early as the seventh century, and was later propagated by Jesuit missionaries starting in the 1500s. In recent decades the religion has faced by turns heavy persecution and tacit acceptance.During the Cultural Revolution, when Mao sought to eradicate all religions, Christians were jailed, tortured and publicly humiliated. But they survived by operating covertly and grew steadily in number after Mao's death in 1976, when a populace disillusioned with the Communist Party began to seek moral guidance elsewhere.Chinese Christians say the Bible gives them a sense of right versus wrong and the strength to endure in a country where power often trumps justice. While China's rapid growth has brought prosperity to many, others despair at what they see as a deterioration of public morals. The deaths of children in scandals involving tainted infant formula and shoddily-built schools in recent years have led to the sense that modern China was in the midst of an ethical crisis."After the 'collapse' of communist ideology, no value system has been in place to fill the spiritual vacuum," said writer Zhang Lijia. "China has witnessed a religious revival in recent decades precisely because of this vacuum and relaxed control."Officials once largely tolerated the unregistered Protestant house churches that sprang up independent of the official Christian Council, clamping down on some while allowing others to grow. But this year they have taken a tougher approach that relies partly on "thought reform" — a phrase for political indoctrination. Last November, Christian residents of a rural township in southeast Jiangxi province were persuaded to replace posters of the cross and Jesus Christ inside their homes with portraits of Xi, a local official said."Through our thought reform, they've voluntarily done it," Qi Yan, a member of the township party committee, told the AP by phone. "The move is aimed at Christian families in poverty, and we educated them to believe in science and not in superstition, making them believe in the party."The poster campaign appears to symbolize what analysts see as the underlying force driving the change in the party's approach to religion: the ascendance of Xi."Xi is a closet Maoist — he is very anxious about thought control," said Willy Lam, a Chinese politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "He definitely does not want people to be faithful members of the church, because then people would profess their allegiance to the church rather than to the party, or more exactly, to Xi himself."Various state and local officials declined repeated requests to comment. But in 2016, Xi explicitly warned against the perceived foreign threats tied to faith, telling a religion conference: "We must resolutely guard against overseas infiltrations via religious means." And in April, the religious affairs department published an article saying that churches must endorse the party's leadership as part of "Sinicization.""Only Sinicized churches can obtain God's love," the article stated.The government is even cracking down on Christians more aggressively through legal means. In March, a prominent Chinese house church leader with US permanent residency was sentenced to seven years in prison after he built Christian schools in Myanmar. And half a dozen Christians were sentenced last month to up to 13 years in jail for involvement in a "cult," according to U.S.-based Christian non-profit ChinaAid.The pressure has pushed several dozen pastors and their families to flee to the United States in recent years, ChinaAid says. The wife of one pastor under house arrest left for Midland, Texas about a year ago, after authorities warned that their children might have trouble getting an education in China. She said members of their church in China were barred from being baptized, and even a simple Christmas service was interrupted."The government says that we have religious freedom, but really there is no freedom at all," said the pastor's wife, who asked to remain anonymous for her husband's safety. "Many of our Christian brothers and sisters are upset and fearful."Those who resist pay the price.After Jin Mingri, a prominent pastor who leads Zion Church in Beijing, refused local authorities' request to install surveillance cameras inside his house church, police individually questioned hundreds of members of the 1,500-person congregation, he said. The congregants faced veiled threats, Jin said, and many were asked to sign a pledge promising to leave Zion, which the government agents called illegal, politically incorrect and a cult. Some people lost their jobs or were evicted from rented apartments because police intimidated their bosses and landlords.For 11 years, the church has been housed on one floor of an office building, but the property management informed Jin in May that they would have to move out at the end of the summer. Jin said the management admitted to being influenced by external "pressures.""A lot of our flock are terrified by the pressure that the government is putting on them," he said. "It's painful to think that in our own country's capital, we must pay so dearly just to practice our faith."__At the epicenter of the drive to control the Christian community in China is Henan, the cradle of Chinese civilization and the entry point for many of the earliest foreign missionaries. Today, the province is one of the most populous in the country and a key part of Xi's fight against poverty, as proclaimed by red banners across acres of peanut farms and oil fields.Around the time authorities ordered Guo's church to stop congregating in March, his district announced a crackdown on private Christian meeting spots. On a single Sunday morning, the announcement said, 700 religious banners were removed, 200 religious texts seized and 31 illegal Christian gathering places shut down. Officials went door-to-door stripping decorative scrolls bearing the cross from home entrances.In Zhengzhou, Henan's capital, all that is left of one house church is shattered glass, tangled wires and torn hymnbooks, strewn among the rubble of a knocked-down wall. Pegged to another wall is a single wooden cross, still intact.The church inside a commercial building had served about 100 believers for years. But in late January, nearly 60 officials from the local religion department and police station appeared without warning. Armed with electric saws, they demolished the church, confiscated Bibles and computers and held a handful of young worshippers — including a 14-year-old girl — at a police station for more than 10 hours, according to a church leader.The authorities called the church illegal. The church leader said they had brought documentation to the religion department three or four times in an attempt to formally register it, but never received a response. Now, they have ceased to congregate.The church leader prays that the government will change its mind."We support President Xi," he said. "All we ask for is a space for our faith."That space for Xu Shijuan, a 63-year-old Seventh-Day Adventist, was her living room, where she held house church gatherings for four years. She stopped in March, after a group of men led by a local official ordered her to disband the meeting of about two dozen elderly Christians."If you don't heed our orders, the next group to come will be law enforcement," he said, according to Xu. "They will use force to disband you."Xu readily complied. "The people have dispersed, but our faith has not," she told the AP at her home in Zhengzhou. "God's path cannot be blocked. The more you try to control it, the more it will grow."Even Protestant churches already registered with the state have not been spared greater restrictions. When reporters visited five such churches in Henan this June, all bore notices at their entrances stating that minors and party members were not allowed inside. A banner above one church door exhorted members to "implement the basic direction of the party's religious work." Another church erected a Chinese flag at the foot of its steps.Some congregations now sing the national anthem during services, according to a house church pastor named Liu. Another pastor said his government-approved church shut down its Sunday school and cancelled all activities for children after receiving orders in February.Across Henan, house churches that once hosted gatherings of hundreds have now sealed their doors and split into groups of no more than a handful. Services are announced last-minute and held in different locations each week, often under the cloak of darkness.For a time, Guo's church did the same. They avoided congregating on Sundays to escape authorities' notice.But the church members were scared, and the group dwindled to 30. Authorities appealed to Guo to help gather information on his fellow Christians. He was given a form, reviewed by the AP, which asked for churchgoers' names, educational background and addresses, as well as the length of time they had been faithful and whether they were baptized.The brick house was largely deserted this summer. Around the door frame, tattered red outlines remained of a scroll that once read "God's love is as deep as the sea."Inside, Guo has refused to remove the cross and other decorations, telling authorities they are within his private property.Among them, pinned to a wall in the nave, is a bright blue poster that quotes China's constitutional promise of religious freedom.__AP writer Brian Skoloff contributed to this report from Midland, Texas.__Follow Yanan Wang on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yananw.Yanan Wang, The Associated Press.
Russia warns of 'horrible' conflict if Georgia joins NATO-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV-August 8, 2018
MOSCOW (AP) — An attempt by NATO to incorporate the former Soviet republic of Georgia could trigger a new, "horrible" conflict, Russia's prime minister said Tuesday in a stern warning to the West marking 10 years since the Russia-Georgia war.Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Kommersant daily broadcast by Russian state television that NATO's plans to eventually offer membership to Georgia are "absolutely irresponsible" and a "threat to peace."Medvedev was Russia's president during the August 2008 war, which erupted when Georgian troops tried unsuccessfully to regain control over the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia and Russia sent troops that routed the Georgian military in five days of fighting.The Russian army was poised to advance on the Georgian capital, but Medvedev rolled it back, accepting a truce mediated by the European Union.After the war, Georgia entirely lost control of both South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia. Russia has strengthened its military presence in both regions and recognized them as independent states, but only a few countries have followed suit.The European Union on Tuesday reiterated its "firm support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders" and lamented the Russian military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.In a show of support for Georgia, foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and a Cabinet member from Ukraine, visited Tbilisi Tuesday, urging Russia to withdraw its troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "Nowadays no country can change the borders of another country by force," said Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.Russian-Georgian relations have improved since the war, but the issue of the breakaway regions remains, preventing the full normalization of ties.Medvedev warned that NATO's attempt to embrace Georgia could have catastrophic consequences."There is an unresolved territorial conflict ... and would they bring such a country into the military alliance?" he said. "Do they understand the possible implications? It could provoke a horrible conflict."Medvedev pointed to Moscow's recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the Russian military bases there, saying that any attempt to change the status quo could lead to "extremely grave consequences." ''I hope that NATO's leadership will be smart enough not to take any steps in that direction," he said.The Russian prime minister described NATO's eastward expansion as a major security threat to Russia."Whatever our colleagues from the alliance may say, NATO countries see Russia as a potential enemy," he said. "We can't help getting worried when the circle around our country keeps narrowing as more and more countries join NATO. NATO's expansion clearly poses a threat to the Russian Federation."
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
Top Middle East intel official says Mossad behind killing of Syrian rocket chief-New York Times quotes senior figure from intelligence agency in the region; Israeli cabinet minister refuses to comment on report but says it's a 'good thing' Aziz Azbar is dead-By TOI staff and Agencies-AUG 8,18
A senior official from a Middle East intelligence agency has pointed the finger at Israel’s Mossad for the killing of a top Syrian chemical weapons and rocket scientist over the weekend, The New York Times reported Tuesday, reinforcing accusations from Syria.Aziz Azbar was killed when his car exploded in the northern city of Masyaf late Saturday night. The unnamed official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the paper that Israel was behind the attack and said his own intelligence agency had been informed of the Israeli operation.A senior Israeli government official declined to comment on the report Tuesday, but noted it was “a good thing” that Azbar was dead.A pro-government Syrian paper on Sunday had accused the Mossad of being behind the hit. Azbar’s driver was also killed in the blast.According to the report, Israel believed that Azbar was leading a classified weapons development program called Sector 4 at the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, and was busy re-building an underground weapons factory to replace the one said destroyed by Israel last year.Azbar was working alongside Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite al-Quds Force and enjoyed high-level access to both the Syrian and Iranian governments, the New York Times said.Azbar and his team were working to begin mass-producing precision-guided missiles by retrofitting SM600 Tishreen rockets. They were also working on a solid-fuel plant for missiles and rockets, a safer alternative to liquid fuel, the report said. The Tishreen is a Syrian version of the Iranian Fateh-110, a missile with a range of 200 kilomenters (125 miles.) On Sunday the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syria war through local contacts, also reported Azbar’s death. It said he specialized in developing rocket systems at the center’s Masyaf facility in Hama.Israel’s Hadashot TV news said Sunday night he was in charge of a project improving the range and accuracy of the regime’s Scud missiles. Reports have also indicated an Iranian missile operation at the site.The intelligence official also told The New York Times that Azbar had for years been active in the Assad regime’s chemical-weapons production program and was also involved in coordinating Iranian and Hezbollah activities in Syria.The Scientific Research and Studies Center in Masyaf, also known by its French acronym CERS, has long been associated with chemical weapons production, and was the target of a number of airstrikes attributed to Israel. An alleged Israeli strike on the site in April reportedly killed a number of Iranian soldiers.The official quoted in The New York Times Tuesday said that Israel had been tracking Azbar for years, and had wanted to assassinate him over his prominent role in Syria’s weapons program even before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. He said it was the fourth time in three years the Mossad has assassinated an enemy weapons engineer in a foreign country.Israel has been blamed for the killing of several scientists in recent years, including two Hamas engineers in the last 18 months.A Hamas rocket scientist was shot dead by gunmen in Malaysia in April and a drone engineer was killed in Tunisia in December 2016. Hamas blamed the Mossad for both deaths.Israel does not usually comment on reports of its alleged military operations in Syria but has repeatedly warned it would work to keep advanced weapons out of Hezbollah terrorists’ hands and has vowed to stop Iran establishing a military presence in the country.On Tuesday, Gilad Erdan who heads the Public Security and Strategic Affairs ministries declined to comment on Israel’s involvement in Azbar’s killing, but said it was “a good thing” that he was dead.“We obviously do not comment on these kinds of reports — neither confirming nor denying them — but we can talk about the man himself, who was responsible for putting high quality weapons in the hands of some bad people, and so we can say that the fact he is no longer with us is a good thing,” he told Israel Radio when asked about the New York Times report.Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Sunday sought to downplay the possibility of Israeli involvement.“Every day in the Middle East there are hundreds of explosions and settling of scores. Every time they try to place the blame on us. So we won’t take this too seriously,” he told Hadashot News.An insurgent group calling itself the Abu Amara Brigades claimed responsibility for the operation. The group has previously claimed attacks targeting officials and militia commanders inside government territory.In April 2017, the Trump administration placed sanctions on hundreds of CERS employees following a chemical attack on the Syrian rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun that killed dozens of civilians, including children.Another CERS facility near Damascus was bombed by US, British and French forces in April after another chemical attack.The Syrian regime has been accused of dozens of gas attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians during the war, even after it said it was giving up its stockpile.
Israeli minister says ‘good chance’ Iran will renegotiate nuclear deal-Gilad Erdan slams 'morally bankrupt' EU for trying to salvage accord; Israeli intelligence community said optimistic that new sanctions will force major change in Tehran-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan on Tuesday praised the US for reimposing tough sanctions on Iran that brought back into effect the harsh penalties lifted under the Iran nuclear deal.“It would be better if the Iranian regime would disappear entirely from this world, but it would also be a blessing to see Obama’s bad nuclear agreement replaced with a better one,” he told Israel Radio. US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal in May.“In my opinion, there is a good chance of that,” said Erdan, who also heads the Strategic Affairs Ministry. “We can already see positive results from what Trump did.”Erdan criticized the European Union for trying to salvage the deal by ensuring that economic benefits guaranteed under the 2015 accord continue to flow to the country.“The EU is morally bankrupt, and we need to remember that next time they try to lecture us,” Erdan said. The EU, along with China, Russia, France, Germany and the UK, was also a signatory to the deal and has not withdrawn.In Israel, the reimposition of US sanctions was lauded as a historic turning point that could ultimately lead to the Islamic Republic’s downfall.On Tuesday, Israel Radio quoted an unnamed senior official who said the Israeli intelligence community was optimistic the sanctions would lead to major changes in Iran and force Tehran to renegotiate the deal.“We would like to see a change in policy, but there is no way of knowing how long that will take,” the official said.“The only hammer available right now is economic, and using that, there is a good change Iran will fall to its knees,” he said. “Right now Iran is weak and hysterical.”The new sanctions on Iran took effect just after midnight in Washington on Tuesday as part of Trump’s withdrawal from the international accord designed to limit Iran’s nuclear program.Trump signed an executive order restoring the penalties on Monday, which he said would put “maximum economic pressure” on the country. The sanctions affect financial transactions that involve US dollars, Iran’s automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.A second batch of US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector and central bank are to be reimposed in early November.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump for ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic, and called on European nations to follow his lead.“It symbolizes the determination to curb Iran’s regional aggression and its ongoing plans to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said in a video released Monday.On Monday, the European Union’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the bloc, as well as Britain, France and Germany, deeply regretted Washington’s move.“We are determined to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran,” she said in a statement.Many large European firms are leaving Iran for fear of US penalties, and Trump warned of “severe consequences” against firms and individuals that continued to do business with Iran.The impact of the return of sanctions has ramped up tensions inside Iran, which has seen days of protests and strikes in multiple towns and cities over water shortages, high prices and wider anger at the political system.Severe reporting restrictions have made it impossible to verify the swirl of claims coming through social media.Agencies contributed to this report.
Fresh US sanctions on Iran kick in as clock hits midnight-Reimposition of economic restrictions as part of Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal met with cheers in Jerusalem, jeers in Tehran and Europe-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
New US sanctions on Iran took effect just after midnight in Washington on Tuesday as part of President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the international accord meant to limit the Iranian nuclear program.On Monday, Trump signed an executive order restoring sanctions on Iran, which he said would would put “maximum economic pressure” on the country. He also held out hope for new negotiations between Iran and the United States that would result in another, more wide-ranging, accord.The new sanctions target Iran’s automotive sector and trade in gold and precious metals. They come ahead of even more biting sanctions set to be introduced on November 5 against the country’s energy and banking sectors.While cheered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, the reimposition of US sanctions was bemoaned by the nuclear deal’s European signatories and the EU, who defended the accord and vowed to protect European firms from US economic penalties.In a White House statement announcing the sanctions, Trump repeated his criticisms of the deal, and argued that Iran’s behavior since the pact was implemented has vindicated his long-held position.“The JCPOA, a horrible, one-sided deal, failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb, and it threw a lifeline of cash to a murderous dictatorship that has continued to spread bloodshed, violence, and chaos,” Trump said.“Since the deal was reached, Iran’s aggression has only increased. The regime has used the windfall of newly accessible funds it received under the JCPOA to build nuclear-capable missiles, fund terrorism, and fuel conflict across the Middle East and beyond.”Following Trump’s announced US departure from the deal in May, the White House has, through 17 rounds, sanctioned 38 Iran-related targets.The objective, the administration has indicated, is to change Iranian behavior.“Reimposition of nuclear-related sanctions through today’s actions further intensifies pressure on Tehran to change its conduct,” Trump said Monday.In May, Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal forged under the Obama administration and with five other world powers, a move that set in motion a renewal of sanctions against Iran that had been removed once the landmark accord was implemented in January 2016.In Israel, the reimposition of US sanctions was lauded as a historic turning point that could ultimately lead to the Islamic Republic’s downfall, with senior officials calling on other countries to follow suit.“It symbolizes the determination to curb Iran’s regional aggression and its ongoing plans to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” said Netanyahu in a video released Monday, moments after Trump signed new sanctions into law.Jerusalem’s warm embrace of the US sanctions in Iran stood in stark contrast to the European Union, which said it would move to protect countries that remain in Iran.“We deeply regret the re-imposition of sanctions by the US, due to the latter’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany said in a joint statement, using the nuclear deal’s technical name.“The JCPOA is working and delivering on its goal, namely to ensure that the Iranian program remains exclusively peaceful,” the statement went on. “It is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, crucial for the security of Europe, the region, and the entire world.”The European Commission vowed to oppose the new US sanctions regime, updating its so-called Blocking Statute that is aimed at “sustaining trade and economic relations between the EU and Iran.”In Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani rejected Trump’s call for renewed negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, saying it was a statement intended only for American audiences and to foment chaos in Iran.In a televised interview, he said “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense. They are imposing sanctions on Iranian children, patients and the nation.” He was referring to fears that essential supplies such as medicines would be affected when sanctions return.He said Iran had “always welcomed negotiations,” but that Washington would first have to demonstrate it can be trusted.“If you’re an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife and then you say you want negotiations, then the first thing you have to do is remove the knife.”“How do they show they are trustworthy? By returning to the JCPOA,” he said, using the technical name for the 2015 nuclear deal.Rouhani fell back on the rhetoric of many of his predecessors by referencing the 1953 CIA-backed coup that overthrew Iran’s elected prime minister and cemented the shah’s rule.“I have no pre-conditions” for negotiating with America “if the US government is ready to negotiate about paying compensation to the Iranian nation from 1953 until now,” Rouhani said. “The US owes the Iranian nation for its intervention in Iran.Two weeks ago, Trump indicated that he was willing to meet with Iran’s leaders at any time and without any preconditions.“I would certainly meet with Iran if they’re ready to meet,” Trump said during a White House press conference, adding that he was willing to do so with “no preconditions.”The week before, Trump tweeted at Rouhani that Iran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before,” in a dramatic all-caps tweet.To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2018-His tweet was ostensibly a response to a speech Rouhani gave the night before in which he threatened that the United States would experience the “mother of all wars” if it entered into an armed confrontation with Iran.Agencies contributed to this report.
2 officers dismissed from elite army unit after training accidents-After 2 Maglan soldiers injured in separate incidents, IDF says it is 'unacceptable and unprofessional to unnecessarily endanger' troops during training-By TOI staff-AUG 8,18
The Israel Defense Forces announced on Monday the dismissal of two officers from an elite commando unit following a pair of recent training accidents in which soldiers were injured.Additionally, the commander of the platoon in which the officers served was reprimanded, the IDF said in a statement summarizing the investigation into the incidents led by Brig. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of the 98th Paratroopers Division.In one of the instances, a soldier from the Maglan unit was seriously injured during a training exercise while jumping from a moving vehicle into a thorn bush, according to the army.The soldier’s commander, who the army named only as First Lieutenant Y., was removed as a result of the incident. Finkelman also ordered a halt to all training exercises in the Commando Brigade until the investigation’s recommendations are implemented and the unit’s training files are reviewed.“The division commander determined this action was improper, unprofessional, immoral, dangerous and unnecessary,” the IDF said.In the second incident a soldier was moderately wounded during Krav Maga exercises but did not receive medical treatment immediately after. The army said the injury occurred during a Krav Maga demonstration in which protective equipment was not used.The IDF said the soldier’s commander, First Lieutenant G., was removed for “acting erroneously during the [Krav Maga] training and acted negligently by not sending the soldier for treatment.”Krav Maga exercises have been put on hold in the Commando Brigade until commanders and instructors undergo a “refresher” of the training commands, the army said. New mechanisms for oversight and approval of Krav Maga training in the brigade will also be introduced, the IDF added.The army said the findings of the investigation would be given to the Military Advocate General to decide whether to open a Military Police investigation. It also said commanders were in touch with the families of the injured soldiers.“The IDF takes risks in the face of the enemy as required to fulfill its operational duties,” the army said. “It is unacceptable and unprofessional to unnecessarily endanger soldiers during training and routine activities.”Parents of soldiers in the unit claimed to the Ynet news site earlier this week that routine training for the soldiers regularly crossed the threshold into violence. They also complained of the secrecy surrounding the activities of the unit, and said they relied on the officers and commanders to keep their children safe.Maglan is a special elite unit that operates behind enemy lines. The unit’s 18 months of training is among the most strenuous in the IDF.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
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)
THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.
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 battling 122 active forest fires across northern Ontario-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
TORONTO — There was little rest for firefighters in northern Ontario during the long weekend as they continued battling flames on numerous fire lines.The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources says there were 122 active fires as of Monday night, including 78 in the northwest region and 44 in the northeast.Eighteen fires in the northeast and seven in the northwest were classified as out of control.The largest fire in the northeast, "Parry Sound 33," covers about 113 square kilometres and remains out of control. Officials say "extremely dry fuel conditions remain" despite the area receiving about 10 millimetres of rain on Monday.An evacuation order for residents of several communities in the French River area remain in effect and numerous travel restrictions remain in force.Another large fire dubbed "North Bay 72" about 30 kilometres west of Temiskaming Shores remains out of control. That blaze began on July 8 and was being held at about 272 square kilometres.The ministry says there have been 918 forest fires so far this year compared to 354 in 2017.The Canadian Press.
Health care workers ask Tories to stop repeal of sex-ed curriculum-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
TORONTO — Nearly 1,800 health-care workers from across the province are asking the Tory government to stop plans to repeal and replace Ontario's modernized sex-ed curriculum.The group of doctors, nurses and social workers signed a petition that was delivered to the provincial legislature today by NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.Premier Doug Ford had long promised to scrap the sex-ed curriculum updated by his Liberal predecessors, and has said the government will engage in a province-wide consultation to create a new lesson plan.The government has said teachers will use a 1998 version of the curriculum this fall as those consultations are underway.The group of health-care workers who signed the petition says repealing the curriculum will put children's safety and mental health at risk by providing them with outdated information.In addition to individual workers, groups including the Registered Nurses of Ontario, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Ontario Association of Social Workers have signed the petition.The Canadian Press.
Largest wildfire in California history to burn for rest of August-[Reuters]-YAHOONEWS-By Dan Whitcomb-August 8, 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California's biggest wildfire on record was expected to burn for the rest of the month, fire officials said on Tuesday, as hot and windy conditions challenged thousands of fire crews battling eight major blazes burning out of control across the state.The Mendocino Complex grew to span 290,692 acres (117,639 hectares) by Tuesday morning, with barely a third of it contained since two wildfires merged at the southern tip of the Mendocino National Forest, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.It is the largest of eight major fires burning out of control across California, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to declare a "major disaster" in the state.The size of the fire has surpassed that of last year's Thomas Fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and destroyed more than 1,000 structures.Nearly half of the ten largest California wildfires on record occurred in the last decade.The Mendocino Complex has burnt 75 homes and forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Fire officials had hoped to extinguish the fire by mid-August, but pushed that date to early September on Tuesday.Temperatures could reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) in Northern California over the next few days, with gusty winds fanning the flames of the complex, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.The 3,900 personnel battling the Mendocino Complex on Monday were focusing on keeping flames from breaking through fire lines on a ridge above the foothill communities of Nice, Lucerne, Glen Haven, and Clearlake Oaks, said Tricia Austin, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire.Elsewhere in California, evacuations were ordered for cabins in Cleveland National Forest's canyons in Orange County on Monday afternoon, after a blaze broke out to quickly engulf 700 acres (283 hectares).The Carr Fire, which has torched 167,000 acres in the scenic Shasta-Trinity region north of Sacramento since breaking out on July 23, was 47 percent contained.The Carr Fire has been blamed for seven deaths, including that of a 21-year-old Pacific Gas and Electric Company lineman Jay Ayeta. The company said on Sunday he was killed in a vehicle crash as he worked with crews in dangerous terrain."California wildfires are being magnified and made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren't allowing massive amount of readily available water to be properly utilized," Trump wrote on Twitter, without providing supporting evidence.A Cal Fire spokesman declined to comment on Trump's claims but said crews did not lack water to fight the flames.Environmental activists and some politicians say the intensity of the state's wildfire season could be linked in part to climate change.(Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Bernadette Baum)
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
WORLD TERRORISM
OH BY THE WAY WHEN THE MEDIA SAYS ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS GOD IS GREAT LIE. IN ISLAM ALLU-AK-BAR MEANS OUR GOD IS GREATER OR GREATEST. THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA SUCK HOLES UP TO ISLAMIC-QURANIC-MUSLIMS. BY WATERING DOWN THE REAL MEANING OF THE SEX FOR MURDER DEATH CULT ISLAM. TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A PEACEFUL RELIGION (CULT OF DEATH AND WORLD DOMINATION).
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her,(HAGAR) Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael;(FATHER OF THE ARAB/MUSLIMS) because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he (ISHMAEL-FATHER OF THE ARAB-MUSLIMS) will be a wild (DONKEY-JACKASS) man;(ISLAM IS A FAKE AND DANGEROUS SEX FOR MURDER CULT) his hand will be against every man,(ISLAM HATES EVERYONE) and every man's hand against him;(PROTECTING THEMSELVES FROM BEING BEHEADED) and he (ISHMAEL ARAB/MUSLIM) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.(LITERAL-THE ARABS LIVE WITH THEIR BRETHERN JEWS)
ISAIAH 14:12-14
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,(SATAN) son of the morning!(HEBREW-CRECENT MOON-ISLAM) how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I (SATAN HAS EYE TROUBLES) will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.(AND 1/3RD OF THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN FELL WITH SATAN AND BECAME DEMONS)
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.(ISLAM MURDERS IN THE NAME OF MOON GOD ALLAH OF ISLAM)
Amnesty International calls for united front against Saudi Arabia-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
MONTREAL — Amnesty International says the global community should form a united front with Canada and speak out to protect two recently arrested women, including the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi.Genevieve Paul, the director of Amnesty's francophone branch, points out that pressure is put on the Saudi government when news of such arrests becomes public."I don't think it will worsen the situation because very often when we make evident unjust imprisonments, like the case of Samar Badawi, that increases their protection and increases pressure on the government," she said in an interview Monday.Amnesty International has said Badawi's sister was recently detained along with Nassima al-Sada, another prominent female activist.Paul pointed to the case of Raif Badawi as an example of how putting international pressure on the Saudis can have an impact."He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison, he received 50 lashes in 2015 and he could receive others, but he hasn't," she said."We do believe that this is because of continuous pressure and visibility on Raif's case so we're really hoping that more states speak out on Samar Badawi and all other activists."Paul stressed the situation is worse when the government does what it wants in secret and is not singled out for alleged human rights violations. "Clearly the aggressive reaction of the Saudi government shows that it's been disturbed," she added.Saudi Arabia said Sunday it was ordering Canada's ambassador to leave the country and freezing all new trade and investment transactions with Canada in a spat over human rights.The Islamic Kingdom made the decision in retaliation to a Global Affairs Canada's tweet that expressed concerns about the arrests of civil society and women's rights activists in the country, such as Samar Badawi.Paul said the Saudi government knows there are serious human rights violations in the country."It shows the real colours of the regime, and the international community should toughen its tone against the Saudi government," she said.The Amnesty spokeswoman noted a ban on women drivers was lifted in June, but that a number of activists who campaigned for the right to drive were arrested and face up to 20 years in prison."That's proof there's double talk, it's proof that there is no real reform in the country," she said. "On the contrary, the repression has intensified." She reiterated that Ottawa should suspend the sale of armoured vehicles to the Saudis, claiming that Amnesty still has strong reasons to believe they are being used in Yemen to commit serious human rights violations."We've been saying that without a serious human rights evaluation, we should not be transferring any military aid, any arms to Saudi Arabia," Paul said.Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday the Canadian government will continue to raise its voice and defend human rights."We will always speak up for human rights, we will always speak up for women's rights around the world," she told reporters in Vancouver. "The most important thing for us is the life and the living conditions of activists."Ensaf Haidar, Raif Badawi's wife, who lives in Quebec with her three children, said Monday she was surprised when she heard about the two new arrests.Haidar and her children became Canadian citizens on Canada Day.Freeland also said Haidar and her family merit special attention from the government of Canada, adding, "a lot of Canadian civil society has been speaking up for her.""It's something that we do," Freeland said. "We stand up for Canadians and their families around the world."Peter Rakobowchuk , The Canadian Press.
For God or party? China's Christians face test of faith-[The Canadian Press]-YAHOONEWS-August 8, 2018
NANYANG, China — The 62-year-old Chinese shopkeeper had waited nearly his entire adult life to see his dream of building a church come true — a brick house with a sunny courtyard and spacious hall with room for 200 believers.But in March, about a dozen police officers and local officials suddenly showed up at the church on his property and made the frightened congregants disperse. They ordered that the cross, a painting of the Last Supper and Bible verse calligraphy be taken down. And they demanded that all services stop until each person, along with the church itself, was registered with the government, said the shopkeeper, Guo.Without warning, Guo and his neighbours in China's Christian heartland province of Henan had found themselves on the front lines of an ambitious new effort by the officially atheist ruling Communist Party to dictate — and in some cases displace — the practice of faith in the country."I've always prayed for our country's leaders, for our country to get stronger," said Guo, who gave only his last name out of fear of government retribution. "They were never this severe before, not since I started going to church in the 80's. Why are they telling us to stop now?"Under President Xi Jinping, China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, believers are seeing their freedoms shrink dramatically even as the country undergoes a religious revival. Experts and activists say that as he consolidates his power, Xi is waging the most severe systematic suppression of Christianity in the country since religious freedom was written into the Chinese constitution in 1982.The crackdown on Christianity is part of a broader push by Xi to "Sinicize" all the nation's religions by infusing them with "Chinese characteristics" such as loyalty to the Communist Party. Islamic crescents and domes have been stripped from mosques, and a campaign launched to "re-educate" tens of thousands of Uighur Muslims. Tibetan children have been moved from Buddhist temples to schools and banned from religious activities during their summer holidays, state-run media report.This spring, a five-year plan to "Sinicize" Christianity in particular was introduced, along with new rules on religious affairs. Over the last several months, local governments across the country have shut down hundreds of private Christian "house churches." A statement last week from 47 in Beijing alone said they had faced "unprecedented" harassment since February.Authorities have also seized Bibles, while major e-commerce retailers JD.com and Taobao pulled them off their sites. Children and party members are banned from churches in some areas, and at least one township has encouraged Christians to replace posters of Jesus with portraits of Xi. Some Christians have resorted to holding services in secret.A dozen Chinese Protestants interviewed by the Associated Press described gatherings that were raided, interrogations and surveillance, and one pastor said hundreds of his congregants were questioned individually about their faith. Like Guo, the majority requested that their names be partly or fully withheld because they feared punishment from authorities. After reporters visited Henan in June, some interviewees said they were contacted by police or local officials who urged them not to discuss any new measures around Christianity.The party has long been wary of Christianity because of its affiliation with Western political values. Several Chinese human rights lawyers jailed for their work, including Jiang Tianyong and Li Heping, are outspoken Christians. So too are many Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, not least among them 2014 protest leader Joshua Wong."Chinese leaders have always been suspicious of the political challenge or threat that Christianity poses to the Communist regime," said Xi Lian, a scholar of Christianity in China at Duke University. "Under Xi, this fear of Western infiltration has intensified and gained a prominence that we haven't seen for a long time."___Guo, who keeps a small storefront selling ornate doors in a riverside district, once had eyesight so poor that he could not distinguish the sky from the earth. But after finding God at 27 years old, he made a seemingly miraculous recovery that he attributes to his faith.For decades, he, like many Christians in China, shuttled from one unregistered house church to another, where folding chairs served as pews and coffee tables as lecterns. Two years ago, he and 10 other Christians pooled their money to erect a permanent church on his property.They are part of what experts describe as a spiritual awakening in China.The number of Chinese believers of all faiths has doubled in two decades to an estimated 200 million, by official count, as the hold of the Communist party has weakened. Among them are an estimated 67 million Christians, including Catholics — a number that is expected to swell to become the world's largest Christian population in a matter of decades. This rapid growth has reinvigorated the party's longtime mission to domesticate a religion traditionally aligned with the West.Historians believe that Christianity was known to China as early as the seventh century, and was later propagated by Jesuit missionaries starting in the 1500s. In recent decades the religion has faced by turns heavy persecution and tacit acceptance.During the Cultural Revolution, when Mao sought to eradicate all religions, Christians were jailed, tortured and publicly humiliated. But they survived by operating covertly and grew steadily in number after Mao's death in 1976, when a populace disillusioned with the Communist Party began to seek moral guidance elsewhere.Chinese Christians say the Bible gives them a sense of right versus wrong and the strength to endure in a country where power often trumps justice. While China's rapid growth has brought prosperity to many, others despair at what they see as a deterioration of public morals. The deaths of children in scandals involving tainted infant formula and shoddily-built schools in recent years have led to the sense that modern China was in the midst of an ethical crisis."After the 'collapse' of communist ideology, no value system has been in place to fill the spiritual vacuum," said writer Zhang Lijia. "China has witnessed a religious revival in recent decades precisely because of this vacuum and relaxed control."Officials once largely tolerated the unregistered Protestant house churches that sprang up independent of the official Christian Council, clamping down on some while allowing others to grow. But this year they have taken a tougher approach that relies partly on "thought reform" — a phrase for political indoctrination. Last November, Christian residents of a rural township in southeast Jiangxi province were persuaded to replace posters of the cross and Jesus Christ inside their homes with portraits of Xi, a local official said."Through our thought reform, they've voluntarily done it," Qi Yan, a member of the township party committee, told the AP by phone. "The move is aimed at Christian families in poverty, and we educated them to believe in science and not in superstition, making them believe in the party."The poster campaign appears to symbolize what analysts see as the underlying force driving the change in the party's approach to religion: the ascendance of Xi."Xi is a closet Maoist — he is very anxious about thought control," said Willy Lam, a Chinese politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "He definitely does not want people to be faithful members of the church, because then people would profess their allegiance to the church rather than to the party, or more exactly, to Xi himself."Various state and local officials declined repeated requests to comment. But in 2016, Xi explicitly warned against the perceived foreign threats tied to faith, telling a religion conference: "We must resolutely guard against overseas infiltrations via religious means." And in April, the religious affairs department published an article saying that churches must endorse the party's leadership as part of "Sinicization.""Only Sinicized churches can obtain God's love," the article stated.The government is even cracking down on Christians more aggressively through legal means. In March, a prominent Chinese house church leader with US permanent residency was sentenced to seven years in prison after he built Christian schools in Myanmar. And half a dozen Christians were sentenced last month to up to 13 years in jail for involvement in a "cult," according to U.S.-based Christian non-profit ChinaAid.The pressure has pushed several dozen pastors and their families to flee to the United States in recent years, ChinaAid says. The wife of one pastor under house arrest left for Midland, Texas about a year ago, after authorities warned that their children might have trouble getting an education in China. She said members of their church in China were barred from being baptized, and even a simple Christmas service was interrupted."The government says that we have religious freedom, but really there is no freedom at all," said the pastor's wife, who asked to remain anonymous for her husband's safety. "Many of our Christian brothers and sisters are upset and fearful."Those who resist pay the price.After Jin Mingri, a prominent pastor who leads Zion Church in Beijing, refused local authorities' request to install surveillance cameras inside his house church, police individually questioned hundreds of members of the 1,500-person congregation, he said. The congregants faced veiled threats, Jin said, and many were asked to sign a pledge promising to leave Zion, which the government agents called illegal, politically incorrect and a cult. Some people lost their jobs or were evicted from rented apartments because police intimidated their bosses and landlords.For 11 years, the church has been housed on one floor of an office building, but the property management informed Jin in May that they would have to move out at the end of the summer. Jin said the management admitted to being influenced by external "pressures.""A lot of our flock are terrified by the pressure that the government is putting on them," he said. "It's painful to think that in our own country's capital, we must pay so dearly just to practice our faith."__At the epicenter of the drive to control the Christian community in China is Henan, the cradle of Chinese civilization and the entry point for many of the earliest foreign missionaries. Today, the province is one of the most populous in the country and a key part of Xi's fight against poverty, as proclaimed by red banners across acres of peanut farms and oil fields.Around the time authorities ordered Guo's church to stop congregating in March, his district announced a crackdown on private Christian meeting spots. On a single Sunday morning, the announcement said, 700 religious banners were removed, 200 religious texts seized and 31 illegal Christian gathering places shut down. Officials went door-to-door stripping decorative scrolls bearing the cross from home entrances.In Zhengzhou, Henan's capital, all that is left of one house church is shattered glass, tangled wires and torn hymnbooks, strewn among the rubble of a knocked-down wall. Pegged to another wall is a single wooden cross, still intact.The church inside a commercial building had served about 100 believers for years. But in late January, nearly 60 officials from the local religion department and police station appeared without warning. Armed with electric saws, they demolished the church, confiscated Bibles and computers and held a handful of young worshippers — including a 14-year-old girl — at a police station for more than 10 hours, according to a church leader.The authorities called the church illegal. The church leader said they had brought documentation to the religion department three or four times in an attempt to formally register it, but never received a response. Now, they have ceased to congregate.The church leader prays that the government will change its mind."We support President Xi," he said. "All we ask for is a space for our faith."That space for Xu Shijuan, a 63-year-old Seventh-Day Adventist, was her living room, where she held house church gatherings for four years. She stopped in March, after a group of men led by a local official ordered her to disband the meeting of about two dozen elderly Christians."If you don't heed our orders, the next group to come will be law enforcement," he said, according to Xu. "They will use force to disband you."Xu readily complied. "The people have dispersed, but our faith has not," she told the AP at her home in Zhengzhou. "God's path cannot be blocked. The more you try to control it, the more it will grow."Even Protestant churches already registered with the state have not been spared greater restrictions. When reporters visited five such churches in Henan this June, all bore notices at their entrances stating that minors and party members were not allowed inside. A banner above one church door exhorted members to "implement the basic direction of the party's religious work." Another church erected a Chinese flag at the foot of its steps.Some congregations now sing the national anthem during services, according to a house church pastor named Liu. Another pastor said his government-approved church shut down its Sunday school and cancelled all activities for children after receiving orders in February.Across Henan, house churches that once hosted gatherings of hundreds have now sealed their doors and split into groups of no more than a handful. Services are announced last-minute and held in different locations each week, often under the cloak of darkness.For a time, Guo's church did the same. They avoided congregating on Sundays to escape authorities' notice.But the church members were scared, and the group dwindled to 30. Authorities appealed to Guo to help gather information on his fellow Christians. He was given a form, reviewed by the AP, which asked for churchgoers' names, educational background and addresses, as well as the length of time they had been faithful and whether they were baptized.The brick house was largely deserted this summer. Around the door frame, tattered red outlines remained of a scroll that once read "God's love is as deep as the sea."Inside, Guo has refused to remove the cross and other decorations, telling authorities they are within his private property.Among them, pinned to a wall in the nave, is a bright blue poster that quotes China's constitutional promise of religious freedom.__AP writer Brian Skoloff contributed to this report from Midland, Texas.__Follow Yanan Wang on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yananw.Yanan Wang, The Associated Press.
Russia warns of 'horrible' conflict if Georgia joins NATO-[Associated Press]-YAHOONEWS-VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV-August 8, 2018
MOSCOW (AP) — An attempt by NATO to incorporate the former Soviet republic of Georgia could trigger a new, "horrible" conflict, Russia's prime minister said Tuesday in a stern warning to the West marking 10 years since the Russia-Georgia war.Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with the Kommersant daily broadcast by Russian state television that NATO's plans to eventually offer membership to Georgia are "absolutely irresponsible" and a "threat to peace."Medvedev was Russia's president during the August 2008 war, which erupted when Georgian troops tried unsuccessfully to regain control over the Moscow-backed breakaway province of South Ossetia and Russia sent troops that routed the Georgian military in five days of fighting.The Russian army was poised to advance on the Georgian capital, but Medvedev rolled it back, accepting a truce mediated by the European Union.After the war, Georgia entirely lost control of both South Ossetia and another separatist region, Abkhazia. Russia has strengthened its military presence in both regions and recognized them as independent states, but only a few countries have followed suit.The European Union on Tuesday reiterated its "firm support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders" and lamented the Russian military presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.In a show of support for Georgia, foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and a Cabinet member from Ukraine, visited Tbilisi Tuesday, urging Russia to withdraw its troops from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "Nowadays no country can change the borders of another country by force," said Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz.Russian-Georgian relations have improved since the war, but the issue of the breakaway regions remains, preventing the full normalization of ties.Medvedev warned that NATO's attempt to embrace Georgia could have catastrophic consequences."There is an unresolved territorial conflict ... and would they bring such a country into the military alliance?" he said. "Do they understand the possible implications? It could provoke a horrible conflict."Medvedev pointed to Moscow's recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and the Russian military bases there, saying that any attempt to change the status quo could lead to "extremely grave consequences." ''I hope that NATO's leadership will be smart enough not to take any steps in that direction," he said.The Russian prime minister described NATO's eastward expansion as a major security threat to Russia."Whatever our colleagues from the alliance may say, NATO countries see Russia as a potential enemy," he said. "We can't help getting worried when the circle around our country keeps narrowing as more and more countries join NATO. NATO's expansion clearly poses a threat to the Russian Federation."
