Sunday, June 30, 2013

TORAH PORTIONN FROM JUNE 30 TO JULY 6,2013

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

TORAH PORTION FROM JUNE 30 - JULY 6,13
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2011/07/parshah-matot-numbers-302-3242.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2011/07/parshah-massei-numbers-331-3613.html

EGPTIANS PROTEST MURSIS 1 YR RULE-SAY GET OUT AND QUIT MURSI

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

06/28/2013 VATICANINSIDER

Francis’ first encounter with world Jewish Leaders: warmth and personal commitment

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Rabbi David Rosen
Rabbi David Rosen

Pope Francis' new style shone through in his first meeting with representatives of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations on 24 June

lisa palmieri-billig rome In the first three months after his election, Jorge Maria Bergoglio has imprinted a new style on the papacy.  True to his chosen name inspired by the life of St. Francis of Assisi, Rome’s 266th Pope is setting a record-breaking example of empathetic simplicity.  His mode of presentation is Franciscan, while enveloping the rigor of his Jesuit background.  One by one, he has been discarding many worldly trappings of the papacy. Following a tradition begun with John XXIII, handed down to John Paul I in his short reign and then disseminated via John Paul II’s talents in communication and his genial use of world media, Francis prefers direct, spontaneous communication over hierarchical formalities.  Characteristically, he works at eliminating symbols of power and privileges for himself and the Roman Curia.After a series of unconventional – one might even say “dissident” -- acts against papal conventions (refusing to move into the papal suite, preferring to wear a silver cross rather than gold, deserting a concert in his honor in favor of meeting with international papal representatives, abolishing the class of noble “gentlemen of the Pope”, etc.)  the new style was evidenced again on June 24th, during his first official meeting with representatives of world Jewry.The 28 delegates of Jewish organizations representing IJCIC (the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations) experienced a visible break with past tradition when we scrambled respectfully to our feet in surprise as Pope Francis, unannounced, quietly entered the room where we were awaiting his arrival.His brief speech conveyed personal warmth and a clear embrace of the progress made in the past half-century of Christian-Jewish dialogue based on the Vatican II document, “Nostra Aetate”.An essential message, heard around the world, was reiterated in his emphatic statement: “Due to our common roots, a Christian cannot be anti-Semitic.”Equally important were Francis’s  reflections on “the path of greater awareness and mutual understanding…strongly encouraged” by his predecessors by “significant gestures and the publication of a series of documents to deepen the thinking about theological bases of the relations between Jews and Christians…a journey for which we must surely give thanks to God.”Jorge Maria Bergoglio, as the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, has nourished an intimate dialogue with the large Jewish community of that city. His rich personal experience was evidenced by further remarks.  In Buenos Aires, he said, “I had the joy of maintaining relations of sincere friendship with leaders of the Jewish world.” He recalled meeting “on various occasions to discuss the challenges which Jews and Christians both face.  But above all”, he continued, “as friends, we enjoyed each other’s company, we were all enriched through encounter and dialogue, and we welcomed each other, and this helped all of us grow as people and as believers.”“This has happened in many other places in the world”, he concluded, “and these friendly relations are in a way the basis for the development of a more official dialogue. So I encourage you to follow this path trying, as you do so, to involve younger generations. Humanity needs our joint witness….”A joint witness was offered just two weeks prior to this audience, when the Focolare Movement hosted a Catholic-Jewish encounter at Castel Gandolfo with a significant participation by Buenos Aires Jewish Community delegates.  At the press briefing concluding the meeting, Catholic and Jewish representatives were equally enthusiastic about the high level of communication they had experienced. “The dialogue has reached new heights of trust and expression of spiritual togetherness” commented one of the participants, Emily Soloff,  Associate Director of the Interreligious Department of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).Pope Francis’ Argentinian friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka, with whom he co-authored the book, “Between Heaven and Earth ”also took part in the Focolare seminar. He admitted that he considers Jorge Maria Bergoglio “a true friend”  (and Pope Francis used this very same expression in speaking of Rabbi Skorka to me in a private comment after the IJCIC audience.)In a way, Abraham Skorka seems to be to Pope Francis what Karol Wojtyla’s Polish childhood friend Jerzy Kluger was to John Paul II. In both cases, deep personal  friendships serve as emotional and spiritual keys opening doors to further understanding between our two fraternal religions.An awareness of the advanced state of our dialogue with a detailed charting of accomplishments and the remaining challenges we face together was traced by IJCIC’s Chair, Prof. Lawrence Schiffman, in his speech to Pope Francis.
Future plans of the International Liaison Committee (IJCIC plus Vatican officials) include a colloquium next October in Madrid on “Challenges to Faith in Contemporary Society”, and events to take place in 2015 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Nostra Aetate.”Our common pledge to defend human dignity and equality, religious freedom and the ethical values springing from our parallel traditions, became topics for discussion the day following the IJCIC audience.   Several of the Jewish delegates, during a morning meeting with Cardinal Koch and Fr. Norbert Hofmann (respectively President and Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews) expressed concern over the mounting persecution of Christians in many countries in Africa, Asia and the Near East, where they live as minority populations.  Cardinal Koch confirmed that Christians today are the most persecuted minority in the world. Given the repeated persecutions of Jewish communities in history, this touches a sensitive chord of empathy in the Jewish psyche. The question of what can be done and whether the public expression by Jewish leaders of solidarity and outrage actually helps or hinders the security of Christians in these countries, met with contradictory assessments.One organization, the AJC, has embraced the idea that it is always better to speak out against injustice rather than remain silent, and it acts on this premise.  Together with other member organizations of IJCIC, AJC has championed reciprocal and mutual solidarity not only against anti-Semitism but against prejudice and persecutions of any group anywhere anytime. “AJC is a founder of IJCIC and is the oldest American Jewish organization that pioneered the transformation in Catholic-Jewish relations” said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC’s International Director for Interreligious Affairs. This transformation, as Pope Francis reminded us all, is rooted in our ever deepening friendship and is part of “a whole movement to be found here and there throughout the world….”

06/30/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Francis praised Ratzinger: "He decided with courage and conscience"

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[Translate to English:] Angelus, Papa Francesco
[Translate to English:] Angelus, Papa Francesco

New tweet of the Pope "A Christian can never be bored and sad. Whoever loves Christ is a person full of joy and spreads joy "

Vatican Insider Staff Vatican City Pope Francis prayed the Angelus on Sunday with faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square. In remarks before the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father spoke of the conscience as the interior space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. Pope Francis praised his predecessor, Benedict XVI, as a model of docile attention to the voice of one’s conscience.“Pope Benedict XVI has given us a great example in this sense,” he said. “When the Lord had made it clear, in prayer, what was the step he had to take, he followed, with a great sense of discernment and courage, his conscience, that is the will of God speaking to his heart.
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Dear brothers and sisters,
This Sunday's Gospel (Lk 9:51-62) shows a very important step in the life of Christ: the moment in which, as St Luke writes, "[Jesus] steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (9:51 )” Jerusalem is the final destination, where Jesus, in his last Passover, must die and rise again, and so to fulfill His mission of salvation.
From that time, forth, after the steadfast decision, Jesus aims straight for the finish line, and even to the people he meets and who ask to [be allowed to] follow Him, He says clearly what are the conditions: not having a permanent abode; knowing how to detach oneself from familiar affections; not succumbing to nostalgia for the past.Jesus also said to his disciples, charged with preceding Him on the way to Jerusalem to announce His coming, not to impose anything: if they do not find willing welcome, they are [simply] to proceed further, to move on. Jesus never imposes. Jesus is humble. Jesus extends invitations: “If you want, come.” The humility of Jesus is like this: He always invites us. He does not impose. All this makes us think. It tells us, for example, the importance, even for Jesus, of conscience: listening in his heart to the Father's voice, and following it. Jesus, in his earthly life, was not, so to speak, “remote-controlled”: He was the Word made flesh, the Son of God made man, and at one point he made a firm decision to go up to Jerusalem for the last time - a decision taken in His conscience, but not on His own: ​​with the Father, in full union with Him! He decided in obedience to the Father, in profound intimate attunement to the Father’s will. For this reason, then, was the decision was steadfast: because it was taken together with the Father. In the Father, then, Jesus found the strength and the light for His journey. Jesus was free. His decision was a free one. Jesus wants us Christians to be free as he is: with that liberty, which comes from this dialogue with the Father, this dialogue with God. Jesus wants neither selfish Christians, who follow their egos and do not speak with God, nor weak Christians, without will: “remote-controlled” Christians, incapable of creativity, who seek ever to connect with the will of another, and are not free. Jesus wants us free, and this freedom – where is it found? It is to be found in the inner dialogue with God in conscience. If a Christian does not know how to talk with God, does not know how to listen to God, in his own conscience, then he is not free – he is not free. So we also must learn to listen more to our conscience. Be careful, however: this does not mean we ought to follow our ego, do whatever interests us, whatever suits us, whatever pleases us. That is not conscience. Conscience is the interior space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of God. It is the inner place of our relationship with Him, who speaks to our heart and helps us to discern, to understand the path we ought to take, and once the decision is made, to move forward, to remain faithful.Pope Benedict XVI has given us a great example in this sense. When the Lord had made it clear, in prayer, what was the step he had to take, he followed, with a great sense of discernment and courage, his conscience, that is, the will of God that spoke to his heart – and this example of our father does much good to all of us, as an example to follow.
May Our Lady, who, with great simplicity, listened to and meditated deep within herself upon the Word of God and what was happening to Jesus. She followed her son deep conviction, with steadfast hope. May Mary help us to become more and more men and women of conscience – free in our conscience, because it is in conscience that the dialogue with God is given – men and women able to hear the voice of God and follow it with decision.After the Angelus, the Holy Father had these remarks:Dear brothers and sisters,
Today in Italy we celebrate the Day of charity of the Pope. I desire to thank the bishops and all the parishes, especially the poorest ones, for the prayers and offerings that support the many pastoral initiatives and charitable activities of the Successor of Peter in every part of the world. Thank you all!I extend my heartfelt greetings to all the pilgrims present, particularly to the many faithful from Germany. I also greet the pilgrims from Madrid, Augsburg, Sonnino, Casarano, Lenola, Sambucetole and Montegranaro, the group of lay Dominicans, the Apostolic Fraternity of Divine Mercy in Piazza Armerina, the Friends of the Missions of the Precious Blood, UNITALSI of Ischia di Castro and the children of Latisana.I wish you all a good Sunday

EGYPT

ISAIAH 19:1-5
1 The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.
2 And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
3 And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.
4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.
5 And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up.

Egyptians stream into streets to demand Mursi quit

By Shaimaa Fayed and Yasmine Saleh JUNE 30,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians poured onto the streets on Sunday, swelling crowds that opposition leaders hope will number into the millions by evening and persuade Islamist President Mohamed Mursi to resign.
Waving national flags, tens of thousands gathered on Cairo's Tahrir Square, seat of the 2011 uprising against his predecessor Hosni Mubarak."The people want the fall of the regime!" they chanted - this time not against an ageing dictator but against their first ever elected leader, who took office only a year ago to the day.
As the working day ended and the heat of the sun eased, more joined them on the otherwise deserted streets of the capital. Many are angry at Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, saying it has hijacked the revolution through a series of electoral victories to monopolize power and push through Islamic law.Others are simply frustrated by the economic crisis, deepened by political deadlock, over which Mursi has presided.In other cities, thousands of protesters also gathered.Security sources said three Brotherhood offices were set on fire by demonstrators in towns in the Nile Delta - the latest in over a week of street violence in which hundreds have been hurt and several killed, including an American student.Over 10,000 Mursi supporters also congregated in the capital, by a mosque not far from the suburban presidential palace. Mursi himself is working elsewhere. But liberal protest organizers plan a sit-in outside the palace from Sunday evening.Interviewed by a British newspaper, Mursi repeated his determination to ride out what he sees as an undemocratic attack on his electoral legitimacy. But he also offered to revise the new, Islamist-inspired constitution, saying clauses on religious authority, which fueled liberal resentment, were not his choice.He made a similar offer last week, after the head of the army issued a strong call for politicians to compromise. But the opposition dismissed it was too little too late. They hope Mursi will resign in the face of large numbers on the streets.Some also seem to believe the army might force the president's hand. In Cairo, demonstrators stopped to shake hands and take photographs with soldiers guarding key buildings.While many Egyptians are angry at Mursi over the economy, many others fear that more turmoil will make life worse.Mursi and the Brotherhood can hope protests fizzle out like previous outbursts. If they do not, some form of compromise, possibly arbitrated by the army, may be on the cards.
VIOLENCE
Both sides insist they plan no violence but accuse the other - and agents provocateurs from the old regime - of planning it.Helicopter gunships flew over Cairo. The U.S.-equipped army, though showing little sign of wanting power, warns it may step in if deadlocked politicians let violence slip out of control.U.S. President Barack Obama called for dialogue and warned trouble in the biggest Arab nation could unsettle an already turbulent Middle East. Washington has evacuated non-essential personnel and reinforced security at its diplomatic missions.In an interview with London's Guardian newspaper, Mursi repeated accusations against what he sees as attempts by entrenched interests from the Mubarak era to foil his attempt to govern. But he dismissed the demands that he give up and resign.If that became the norm, he said, "well, there will be people or opponents opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later, they will ask him to step down".Liberal leaders say nearly half the voting population - 22 million people - has signed a petition calling for new elections, although there is no obvious challenger to Mursi.The opposition, fractious and defeated in a series of ballots last year, hope that by putting millions on the streets they can force Mursi to relent and hand over to a technocrat administration that can organize new elections."We all feel we're walking on a dead-end road and that the country will collapse," said Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and now liberal party leader in his homeland.
ARMY ROLE
Religious authorities have warned of "civil war". The army insists it will respect the "will of the people".
Islamists interpret that to mean army support for election results. Opponents believe that the army may heed the popular will as expressed on the streets, as it did in early 2011 when the generals decided Mubarak's time was up.A military source said the army was using its helicopters to monitor the numbers out on the streets. Its estimate on Tahrir in mid-afternoon was 40-50,000, with a few thousands at similar protest sites in other major cities.It put the number at the Islamists' Cairo camp at 17,000. Having staged shows of force earlier this month, the Brotherhood has not called on its supporters to go out on Sunday.Among the Islamists in Cairo, Ahmed Hosny, 37, said: "I came here to say, 'We are with you Mursi, with the legitimate order and against the thugs'."This is our revolution and no one will take it from us."At Tahrir Square, banners ranged from "The Revolution Goes On", "Out, Out Like Mubarak" to "Obama Backs Terrorism" - a reference to liberal anger at perceived U.S. support for Mursi's legitimacy and its criticism of protests as bad for the economy."I am here to bring down Mursi and the Brotherhood," said Ahmed Ali al-Badri, a feed merchant in a white robe. "Just look at this country. It's gone backwards for 20 years. There's no diesel, gasoline, electricity. Life is just too expensive."The Egyptian army, half a million strong and financed by Washington since it backed a peace treaty with Israel three decades ago, says it has deployed to protect key installations.
Among these is the Suez Canal. Cities along the waterway vital to global trade are bastions of anti-government sentiment. A bomb killed a protester in Port Said on Friday. A police general was gunned down in Sinai, close to the Israeli border.Observers note similarities with protests in Turkey this month, where an Islamist prime minister with a strong electoral mandate has been confronted in the streets by angry secularists.For many Egyptians, though, all the turmoil that has followed the Arab Spring has just made life harder. Standing by his lonely barrow at an eerily quiet downtown Cairo street market, 23-year-old Zeeka was afraid more violence was coming."We're not for one side or the other," he said. "What's happening now in Egypt is shameful. There is no work, thugs are everywhere ... I won't go out to any protest.
"It's nothing to do with me. I'm a tomato guy."(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, Alexander Dziadosz, Shaimaa Fayed, Maggie Fick, Alastair Macdonald, Shadia Nasralla, Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh in Cairo, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Abdelrahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Anna Willard)

ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Bahrain: Iran can help ease Syrian civil war

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain's foreign minister on Sunday urged Iran's newly elected president to seek the withdrawal of Tehran-backed Hezbollah fighters from Syria as a gesture to try to ease the civil war there.The appeal by Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, during meetings between the European Union and Gulf Arab foreign ministers, showed the widening shadow of Syria's 27-month conflict that has spilled across borders, involving Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey in varying degrees.Bahrain and other Arab states have been highly critical of the intervention by Lebanon-based Hezbollah on behalf of the regime of Syria's President Bashar Assad, who is Iran's main regional ally. Bahrain has outlawed contact with Hezbollah, which it claims aids fellow Shiite groups in an Arab Spring-inspired uprising against the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain. More than 60 people have died in Bahrain's unrest since February 2011."The situation is critical in Syria, and we hope that Iran takes a serious steps to withdraw the foreign troops in Syria, specifically Hezbollah and other militias," Sheik Khalid told reporters at the gathering in the Gulf nation's capital, Manama. He welcomed the election of Hasan Rouhani as president of Iran and hope it could "open a new page" in Tehran's relations with the region.Iran's president, however, has little sway over major policymaking, such as strategies in Syria or relations with Hezbollah. All Iran's key decisions rest with the ruling clerics and the powerful Revolutionary Guard.Bahrain's Gulf partners, led by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, also have urged for stepped up weapons shipments to Syrian rebels, whose fight has drawn in some guerrillas from across the Muslim world. However, the emergence of Al-Qaida-linked groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Nusra Front, has fuelled Western reluctance to supply heavy weapons to the opposition.Participants in the meeting in Bahrain also expressed worry that political tensions in Egypt could spill out of control, as protesters opposing President Mohammed Morsi vowed to remain on the streets until he is pushed from power.The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who led the EU envoys in Bahrain, told The Associated Press that "all are watching with concern" the unfolding protests in Egypt. She said she met last week with Morsi and members of the opposition in efforts to ease tensions."We encourage a dialogue to understand the current issues," she said.Ashton faces pressure from rights groups to publicly criticize Gulf leaders for crackdowns around the region including widespread arrests for social media posts deemed insulting to rulers or raising questions about the scope of their power.On Sunday, Human Rights Watch urged Ashton and the EU to complain to Gulf leaders about the sentencing a week ago of seven critics in Saudi Arabia to prison terms of five to 10 years, mostly for Facebook posts. The sentences have not been published officially in Saudi Arabia.A joint statement by Bahrain's opposition urged the EU to press the Gulf nation's leaders to free political prisoners and expand efforts for a political solution to the unrest. Talks since last year have failed to make headway in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

06/30/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Egypt close to civil war, the country's anglican bishop warns

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Egypt protests
Egypt protests

Egypt risks civil war or another revolution as clashes escalate between Islamist supporters of President Mursi and the movement calling for his resignation, the country’s Anglican leader warns

Gerard O'Connell ROme
“The situation in Egypt is very serious” and is “on the verge of violent demonstrations, another revolution, or civil war”, the country’s Anglican bishop warned on June 27.
“We do not know what is going to happen, but we know that we are at the edge of something drastic”, the Cairo based prelate, Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis, a well-informed commentator, said in a letter to friends at home and abroad.As he wrote, the country braced itself for June 30 when many fear a violent showdown could take place between Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Mursi and the opposition coalition that claims to have collected 15 million signatures demanding his resignation.The Bishop’s dire predictions were echoed by Hasan el-Shafei, a senior scholar of Al Azhar, the main religious authority of Sunni Muslims in Egypt and worldwide, who warned of the risk of civil war, as news came in of deaths, injuries and violence in various places.The Anglican leader recalled how one year ago Mohammed Mursi was elected President of this majority Muslim country of 90 million people, 10% of whom are Christian.  He was elected after eleven-months of “socio-economic and political turbulence”, and then people hoped the situation would improve but in fact “things have become worse”, and the situation today is “very difficult” with Egyptians “divided between Islamists and non-Islamists.”Dr Mouneer blamed this present dramatic situation on several factors. First, the new Constitution was “written and approved in haste”, then “moderates and non-Islamists” were excluded from participation in the country’s political life, while Islamists were appointed as Cabinet ministers and to other prominent posts. He said these divisions have led to “instability, a lack of security, and many demonstrations”.  All this “badly affected the economy and tourism” and “people started to complain from the rise of food prices, the frequent power cuts, the sectarian clashes, and lately the lack of fuel.”Then two weeks ago, he said, demonstrations started in several governorates in protest at the appointment of “known Islamists” as new governors.The Anglican bishop recalled that in April “a new movement” was formed in Egypt, called “tamarrod” or “Rebellion”. It called for massive demonstrations on June 30 against President Mursi and the Government, and claims to have the signatures of 15 million supporters demanding Mursi’s resignation.In response to this, the Anglican bishop said “Islamist supporters” of President Mursi, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, organized “big demonstrations” in Cairo and elsewhere, and warned the “tamarrod”movement against demonstrating on June 30.  The Islamists threatened that blood would be shed if people tried to force the President to resign.  Some Islamists also warned Christians against joining the anti-Moursi demonstrations.In spite of such threats, Egypt’s top Muslim and Christian authorities came out in support of freedom of expression, Dr. Mouneer reported. The Grand Imam of Al Azhar stated that, “Anyone can demonstrate to express his or her views and this has nothing to do with faith.” His Holiness, Pope Tawadros II, the leader of the 8 million strong Coptic Orthodox Church said, “Everyone is free to express his or her views.”President Mursi, for his part, sought to calm the situation with a two-and a half hour speech, but that only “stirred the people even more”, Dr Mouneer said.  In his televised speech, June 26, the New York Times reported that the President had warned that “one year is enough”, dismissed the opposition as anti-democratic, and threatened a purge against what he described as holdovers from the Mubarak regime.In his letter, the Anglican bishop reported that demonstrations had started on June 26 in Tahrir Square and in the Province of Mansoura.  Dozens were injured and two people were killed, he said, “and now the military tanks have started to move in to protect the important sites”.“What is going to happen on June 30th? We do not know! All what we know is that when emotions run high, anything can happen”, Dr Mouneer wrote.“We trust that God is in control and we are in His hands”, the Anglican leader said. He concluded his letter by asking his friends at home and abroad to pray “for Egypt and for the people of Egypt”.

1 CHRONICLES 17:9
9  Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel,(IN PALESTINE) and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more;(ISRAEL-NEVER DESTROYED-FOREVER AN EARTHLY NATION) neither shall the children of wickedness(ISHMAEL-ARAB/MUSLIMS-WORLD ISRAEL HATERS) waste them any more, as at the beginning,(ARAB/MUSLIMS ATTACK ISRAEL ON MAY 15,1948)

ISAIAH 56:5
5 Even unto them (ISRAELIS) will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name,(ISRAEL) that shall not be cut off.

ISAIAH 51:3-4
3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion:(JERUSALEM) he will comfort all her waste places;(FROM NUCLEAR WAR) and he will make her wilderness like Eden,(I BELIEVE THE EZEKIEL-4TH TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT AFTER JESUS RULE FOR THE 1,000 YRS FROM JERUSALEM) and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.(PRAISE TO JESUS IN THE DESERT-COULD BE THE NEW JERUSALEM-4TH TEMPLE BUILT 25 MILES INTO THE DESERT FROM THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT.SINCE EZEKIELS TEMPLE IS WAY TO BIG FOR THE CURRENT TEMPLE MOUNT)
4  Hearken unto me, my people;(ISRAEL) and give ear unto me, O my nation:(ISRAEL) for a law shall proceed from me,(JESUS IN JERUSALEM) and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.(ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)

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.)

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

Gohmert in Exclusive Interview: Israel will Never 'Buy' Peace

Member of Congress speaks to Arutz Sheva regarding "trading land for peace" and inherent biblical rights of Jewish people to land of Israel.By Eliran Aharon, Washington-First Publish: 6/30/2013, 5:40 PM

Rep. Gohmert
Rep. Gohmert-Reuters
Louis Gohmert, a Christian member of the United States Congress, spoke to Arutz Sheva regarding American efforts to jumpstart the peace process, Jewish biblical rights to the land of Israel, and the united support of U.S. members of Congress for the Jewish state.“You can search the history of Israel and I don’t believe you’ll ever find a time when Israel has ever—going back to its inception—given away land trying to buy peace that that land was ultimately used as a staging area to attack it,” said, Gohmert, a Republican Representative from Texas’s First Congressional District.“One thing should be very clear: Israel should never and will never buy peace by giving away land,” he told Arutz Sheva.Gohmert notes that the biblical prophecies from thousands of years ago are coming true.Whether one believes in G-d or not, he said, the history recounted in the Torah teaches us that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people.Commenting on the situation in the Palestinian Authority, Gohmert said that while the PA continually incites hatred against the state of Israel and Jewish people, it refuses to take concrete steps to better the lives of its own people.
Regarding discussions of a possible prisoner release, Gohmert said, “You don’t release killers as an act of peace. They will likely kill again.”“That is not helpful to peace,” he told Arutz Sheva.Israel should not be considering releasing prisoners, but should start by urging the PLO to change its textbooks to stop teaching hatred of Jews and to stop naming streets and cities after terrorists who kill Israelis, he said.Gohmert added that he had been pushing for over a year for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to come to speak to the United States Congress because he wanted the world to see that while the leader of Israel may “get snubbed” by the administration and State Department, Congress stands unanimously in support of the Jewish state.Echoing the words of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his address before Congress, Gohmert noted the truth in the words: “If Israel lays down its weapons, there will be no Israel. If the Palestinians lay down their weapons there will be peace.” He further stated his opposition to President Barack Obama’s nomination of Samantha Power for the post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.Powers “disregard and disdain” for the state if Israel has been made extremely clear, he said.

Kerry plans return to Middle East after visit yields no deal

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ended a shuttle diplomacy mission on Sunday without an agreement on resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but said gaps had been narrowed and he would return to the region soon."I'm pleased to tell you that we have made real progress on this trip. And I believe that with a little more work, the start of final status negotiations could be within reach," he told a news conference before his departure from Tel Aviv's airport."We started out with very wide gaps and we have narrowed those considerably," he said, without elaborating."We are making progress. That's what's important and that's what will bring me back here."Over four busy days, Kerry met Israeli and Palestinian leaders repeatedly and separately to try to find a compromise for reviving direct talks, stalled since late 2010 in a dispute over Jewish settlements on occupied land Palestinians want for a state.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said negotiations cannot resume until Israel halts settlement-building, which most countries deem illegal, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas it captured in a 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to declare a new moratorium following a partial, 10-month construction halt that ended in September 2010. Neither side gave any sign they had budged from those positions."There was an attempt (by Kerry), and to our regret it has been so far unsuccessful. But as the secretary of state said, there is still room for more work and it is possible the formula will be found," Civil Defense Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of Israel's security cabinet, told Army Radio.In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said there had been some progress in the three sessions of talks between Kerry and Abbas, and further meetings would be held with U.S. representatives following his departure.
PRISONERS
The issue of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel - a highly emotional issue for Palestinians, who view them as heroes in a struggle for statehood - has also been a sticking point.An Israeli official, who asked not to be identified, said Abbas was seeking the release of long-serving security prisoners as a goodwill gesture. But Netanyahu believed the issue should be addressed only after talks resume, the official added."Releasing murderers with blood on their hands carries a very problematic deterrence message for future murderers in the area," Erdan said.Netanyahu, who met overnight with Kerry for six hours, reiterated at Sunday's weekly meeting of his cabinet that Israel was prepared to enter into negotiations with the Palestinians "without delay and without preconditions".But in his remarks, he also pointedly referred to Israel's security concerns in any future peace deal.For new talks to be held, Abbas has said Netanyahu must recognize the West Bank's boundary before its capture by Israel as the basis for the border of a future Palestinian state.Israel, seeking to keep major settlements under any peace accord, has rejected those terms and has said its security forces would not be able to defend the pre-1967 frontiers.Erdan, asked if continued impasse could lead to a third Palestinian uprising, said: "I do not think this is the situation. On the other hand, you never know and it is possible a wave of violence could build up."But he added, "that doesn't mean we need to take steps that will worsen our position".Kerry, who has come to the region five times since taking office, said both Netanyahu and Abbas had asked him "to return to the area soon". "(That is) a sign that they share my cautious optimism," he added.Kerry is keen to get fresh peacemaking under way before the United Nations General Assembly, which has granted de facto recognition to a Palestinian state, convenes in September.Netanyahu is concerned that the Palestinians, in the absence of direct peace talks, could make further moves at the U.N. session to get their statehood recognized, circumventing Israel.But Kerry said the pace of his diplomacy was set by the two sides, whom he described as sincere about finding a way forward."We're not going to get stuck with artificial deadlines. That's a big mistake," he said before flying to Asia.(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Dan Williams; Editing by Andrew Roche)

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Southwest bakes in 115 to 120-degree heat

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A man died and another was hospitalized in serious condition Saturday afternoon in heat-aggravated incidents as a heat wave blistered this sunbaked city and elsewhere in the Southwest.
Forecasters said temperatures in Las Vegas shot up to 115 degrees on Saturday afternoon, two degrees short of the city's all-time record.Phoenix hit 119 degrees by mid-afternoon, breaking the record for June 29 that was set in 1994. And large swaths of California sweltered under extreme heat warnings, which are expected to last into Tuesday night — and maybe even longer.The forecast for Death Valley in California called for 128 degrees Saturday, but it was 3 degrees shy of that, according to unofficial reports from the National Weather Service. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.Las Vegas fire and rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said paramedics responded to a home without air conditioning and found an elderly man dead. He said while the man had medical issues, paramedics thought the heat worsened his condition.Paramedics said another elderly man suffered a heat stroke when the air conditioner in his car went out for several hours while he was on a long road trip. He stopped in Las Vegas, called 911 and was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The heat wave has sent more than 40 other people to hospitals in Las Vegas since it arrived Friday, but no life-threatening injuries were reported."We will probably start to see a rise in calls Sunday and Monday as the event prolongs," Szymanski said in a statement. "People's bodies will be more agitated the longer the event lasts and people may require medical assistance."The forecast for Death Valley called for 128 degrees, but temperatures topped at 125, according to unofficial reports from the National Weather Service. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.About 100 miles south in Baker, the temperature peaked at an unofficial 117 degrees in the road tripper's oasis in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15. The strip of gas stations and restaurants between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is known by travelers for the giant thermometer that often notes temperatures in the triple digits.Elsewhere in Southern California, Palm Springs peaked at 122 degrees while the mercury in Lancaster hit 111 — a record.To make matters worse, National Weather Service meteorologists John Dumas said cooling ocean breezes haven't been traveling far enough inland overnight to fan the region's overheated valleys and deserts.In Northern California, record-breaking temperatures were recorded in Sacramento, where the high was 107 degrees; Marysville, which sweltered in 109 degrees; and Stockton, which saw 106.Cooling stations were set up to shelter the homeless and elderly people who can't afford to run their air conditioners. In Phoenix, Joe Arpaio, the famously hard-nosed sheriff who runs a tent jail, planned to distribute ice cream and cold towels to inmates this weekend.Officials said personnel were added to the Border Patrol's search-and-rescue unit because of the danger to people trying to slip across the Mexican border. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the brutal desert heat.Temperatures are also expected to soar across Utah and into Wyoming and Idaho, with triple-digit heat forecast for the Boise area. Cities in Washington state that are better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s next week.The heat was so punishing that rangers took up positions at trailheads at Lake Mead in Nevada to persuade people not to hike. Zookeepers in Phoenix hosed down the elephants and fed tigers frozen fish snacks. Dogs were at risk of burning their paws on scorched pavement, and airlines kept close watch on the heat for fear that it could cause flights to be delayed.

German prosecutors probe NSA surveillance claims

BERLIN (AP) — German federal prosecutors say they are looking into whether reported U.S. electronic surveillance programs broke German laws.The Federal Prosecutors' Office said in a statement Sunday that it was probing the claims so as to "achieve a reliable factual basis" before considering whether a formal investigation was warranted.It also said private citizens were likely to file criminal complaints on the matter.
Germany news weekly Der Spiegel reports that at least one such complaint was lodged with prosecutors in the state of Hesse last week.The magazine reported Sunday that apart from its PRISM program used to eavesdrop on Internet traffic, the U.S. National Security Agency also spied on European Union offices on both sides of the Atlantic.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.A top German official accused the United States on Sunday of using "Cold War" methods against its allies, after a German magazine cited secret intelligence documents to claim that U.S. spies bugged European Union offices.Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger was responding to a report by German news weekly Der Spiegel, which claimed that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. The magazine cited classified U.S. documents taken by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that it said it had partly seen.
"If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War," Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement to The Associated Press."It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies," she said, calling for an "immediate and comprehensive" response from the U.S. government to the claims.According to Der Spiegel, the NSA planted bugs in the EU's diplomatic offices in Washington and infiltrated the building's computer network. Similar measures were taken at the EU's mission to the United Nations in New York, the magazine said.
Der Spiegel didn't publish the alleged NSA documents it cited or say how it obtained access to them. But one of the report's authors is Laura Poitras, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who interviewed Snowden while he was holed up in Hong Kong.The magazine also didn't specify how it learned of the NSA's alleged eavesdropping efforts at a key EU office in Brussels. There, the NSA used secure facilities at NATO headquarters nearby to dial into telephone maintenance systems that would have allowed it to intercept senior EU officials' calls and Internet traffic, Der Spiegel report said.Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger urged EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to take personal responsibility for investigating the allegations.
The United States has defended its efforts to intercept electronic communications overseas by arguing that this has helped prevent terror attacks at home and abroad.___Frank Jordans can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

22 MILLION SIGNATURES AGAINST EGYPTS MORSI

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Phoenix, Las Vegas bake in scorching heat

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Dan Kail was vacationing in Las Vegas when he heard that the temperature at Death Valley could approach 130 degrees this weekend. He didn't hesitate to make a trip to the desert location that is typically the hottest place on the planet."Coming to Death Valley in the summertime has always been on the top of my bucket list," the 67-year-old Pittsburgh man said. "When I found out it might set a record I rented a car and drove straight over. If it goes above 130 I will have something to brag about."The forecast called for Death Valley to reach 128 degrees Saturday as part of a heat wave that has caused large parts of the western U.S. to suffer. Death Valley's record high of 134 degrees, set a century ago, stands as the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth."The wind out here is like being in front of a blast furnace," Kail said.As temperatures soared in Las Vegas Friday, 200 people were treated for heat problems at an outdoor concert, Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa said.Thirty of them were hospitalized for heat-related injuries at Vans Warped Tour at Silverton Casino as temps reached 115.Most of the others "were essentially provided shade and water and a place to sit down," Pappa said.It was expected to get even hotter in Las Vegas over the weekend.Phoenix reached 116 on Friday — 2 degrees short of the expected high — in part because a light layer of smoke from wildfires in neighboring New Mexico shielded the blazing sun, the National Weather Service said. Phoenix was forecast to hit nearly 120. The record in Phoenix is 122.The heat was so punishing that rangers took up positions at trailheads at Lake Mead in Nevada to persuade people not to hike. Zookeepers in Phoenix hosed down the elephants and fed tigers frozen fish snacks. Dogs were at risk of burning their paws on scorched pavement, and airlines kept close watch on the heat for fear that it could cause flights to be delayed.The heat wasn't expected to break until Monday or Tuesday.The scorching weather presented problems for airlines because high temperatures can make it more difficult for planes to take off. Hot air reduces lift and also can diminish engine performance. Planes taking off in the heat may need longer runways or may have to shed weight by carrying less fuel or cargo.Smaller jets and propeller planes are more likely to be affected than bigger airliners that are better equipped for extreme temperatures.Temperatures are also expected to soar across Utah and into Wyoming and Idaho, with triple-digit heat forecast for the Boise area. Cities in Washington state that are better known for cool, rainy weather should break the 90s next week."This is the hottest time of the year, but the temperatures that we'll be looking at for Friday through Sunday, they'll be toward the top," said weather service meteorologist Mark O'Malley. "It's going to be baking hot across much of the entire West."The heat is the result of a high-pressure system brought on by a shift in the jet stream, the high-altitude air current that dictates weather patterns. The jet stream has been more erratic in the past few years.Health officials warned people to be extremely careful when venturing outdoors. The risks include not only dehydration and heat stroke but burns from the concrete and asphalt. Dogs can suffer burns and blisters on their paws by walking on hot pavement."You will see people who go out walking with their dog at noon or in the middle of the day and don't bring enough water and it gets tragic pretty quickly," said Bretta Nelson, spokeswoman for the Arizona Humane Society. "You just don't want to find out the hard way."Cooling stations were set up to shelter the homeless and elderly people who can't afford to run their air conditioners. In Phoenix, Joe Arpaio, the famously hard-nosed sheriff who runs a tent jail, planned to distribute ice cream and cold towels to inmates this weekend.Officials said personnel were added to the Border Patrol's search-and-rescue unit because of the danger to people trying to slip across the Mexican border. At least seven people have been found dead in the last week in Arizona after falling victim to the brutal desert heat.In June 1990, when Phoenix hit 122 degrees, airlines were forced to cease flights for several hours because of a lack of data from the manufacturers on how the aircraft would operate in such extreme heat.US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher said the airline now knows that its Boeings can fly at up to 126 degrees, and its Airbus fleet can operate at up to 127.While the heat in Las Vegas is expected to peak Sunday, it's unlikely to sideline the first round of the four-week Bikini Invitational tournament."I feel sorry for those poor girls having to strut themselves in 115 degrees, but there's $100,000 up for grabs," said Hard Rock casino spokeswoman Abigail Miller. "I think the girls are willing to make the sacrifice."___Skoloff reported from Phoenix. Also contributing were Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Julie Jacobson and Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Michelle Price in Salt Lake City, Cristina Silva and Bob Christie in Phoenix, and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, N.M.

06/29/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Pope Francis’ fight for transparency

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Vatican: Operation transparency
Vatican: Operation transparency

Pope Francis’ mission of purification is taken to the next level following the scandalous developments in the investigation into Curia prelate Nunzio Scarano

Andrea Tornielli vatican city The issues of the Vatican Bank’s management and the Holy See’s finances have resurfaced following the scandalous arrest of a prelate employed as an accountant in the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), a Vatican unit that deals with property owned by the Holy See. Pope Francis’ decision three days ago to set up a surprise commission of inquiry into the Vatican bank’s activities can now be understood in a different light. The decision shows Francis does not intend to blindly believe the words of reassurance addressed to him after the election.The prosecutors will verify the extent of Nunzio Scarano’s involvement in an alleged money-laundering operation. 600 thousand Euros in cash are said to have left one of Mgr. Scarano’s two IOR bank accounts in 2009. The prelate is under investigation by prosecutors in his native city of Salerno, southern Italy and now, prosecutors in Rome have ordered his arrest, after accusing him of organising a daring operation to smuggle twenty million Euros into Italy, on board a jet from Switzerland. Holy See authorities have said they will cooperate fully with investigators. Prosecutors described how the prelate transferred huge sums of money with complete nonchalance: the Vatican Financial Information Authority which monitors Vatican finances had been keeping track of the cash transfers made from Mgr. Scarano’s accounts but the decision to suspend him from his position was taken after the findings of the inquiry carried out by the Italian prosecutors.In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI called the Church to a new path of transparency, to bring the IOR and all Holy See institutions in line with international anti-money laundering standards. A path that ended up being filled with obstacles. It is evidently impossible to boil everything that is going on down to a number of small isolated cases, glossing the situation over with a series of operations that give a good image of the IOR, restoring public credibility.There is no doubt that the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) has done and continues to do a great job in supporting numerous Church bodies in poor countries, even thug this positive aspect of Church history always goes unnoticed. But what is also clear is that a number of problems to do with management, staff and attitude have accumulated. Anti-money laundering and transparency regulations need people to actually implement them to ensure that some over-confident IOR account holders doesn’t start thinking illicit actions will go unpunished.Only those who weren’t listening or who pretended not to listen to the messages Pope’ Francis has been repeatedly sending out in the first months of his pontificate could have thought that the management of the Vatican’s finances could go on unchanged. The phrases used by Francis: “St. Peter didn’t have a bank account” and “the IOR is necessary but only to a certain extent” were not just said for effect. Bergoglio’s  is not just a falsely rigid approach.The Pope has not used the media to save the face of the institution.The quiet strength of his approach lies in his belief that even in situations like these, what comes through is nature of the Church itself and the adequacy of its actions. The Church must now finish what Francis’ predecessor started, “in order to allow the Gospel’s principles to permeate into economic and financial activities.”

06/29/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

Francis: "We need to grow in collegiality"

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Francis
Francis

On today's Feast of Sts Peter and Paul the Pope said: "Let us take the path of synodality, in harmony witht he primacy"

Andrea Tornielli vatican city On the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul Pope Francis imposed the pallium – the white woollen stole that symbolises the special tie with the Bishop of Rome – on 34 new archbishops from across the world, including Mario Aurelio Poli, Jorge Bergoglio’s successor as leader of the Buenos Aires diocese.In his brief homily, the Pope reflected on a passage in the Gospel where Peter scolds Jesus for talking about his passion. But Jesus responds firmly, warning him not to think in “worldly terms”: “Get behind me, Satan!” He went on to explain that confirming brothers and sisters in the faith is  Peter’s task and that of his successors. This is something that started with him but it “is founded upon his [Peter’s] confession of faith in Jesus” and “is made possible by a grace granted from on high.”Peter’s “readiness to lay himself open, personally, to be consumed for the sake of the Gospel, to make himself all things to all people, unstintingly, that gives him credibility and builds up the Church,” Francis said. But this is true not only for the Pope but for every shepherd: The Bishop of Rome, but also all of you, bishops and archbishops are called to live and to confirm his brothers and sisters in this love for Christ and for all others, without distinction, limits or barriers.” After speaking about being servants of unity and explaining that “communion” in the Church “does not mean uniformity” because the Catholic way is that of unity through difference, he discussed collegiality, mentioning the Second Vatican Council.“We need to develop the Synod of Bishops in harmony with the primacy and grow in synodality, in harmony witht he primacy,” Pope Francis said. His words pointed to possible reforms in the structure of the Synod of Bishops and how it operates, in the spirit of collegiality. Today’s ceremony was attended by the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople headed by Metropolitan Joannia Zizioulas who represented Bartholomew. During the liturgy, hymns were sung in the Sistine Chapel and by the Lutheran Choir of the Thomaskirche of Leipzig, Bach’s own church.

Religious groups vow further legal fight after contraceptive rule released

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Religious organizations on Friday rejected the Obama administration's final compromise for how faith-based groups must provide contraceptive coverage to employees.The new rule, released on Friday after months of negotiations, says a third-party administrator will contact the employees of nonprofit religious organizations to offer and pay for contraceptive coverage for them. Churches and religious orders are exempt from the rule, but religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and other organizations must provide contraceptive care as a free preventive measure under President Barack Obama's health care law. The administration rejected requests from for-profit groups owned by religious employers for a similar exemption.A religious liberty group suing the administration on behalf of dozens of organizations said the rule does nothing to alleviate their clients' concerns. "They're forced to be the ones who provide access to the employees who obtain abortions," Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, told reporters. He said even if the groups do not pay for any of the contraception, they are still the "gatekeepers" of the service because their employees ultimately receive birth control through their insurance. Rassbach said he expects more organizations will file suit in the coming days.The Becket Fund is also helping more than 30 for-profit companies sue over the rule, on the grounds it violates employers' religious liberty to provide contraception. Hobby Lobby, a privately owned crafts-store chain, won a preliminary court victory this week when the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a lower court to reconsider the store's request for an injunction against the federal government. David Green, founder and CEO of the 500-store chain, said providing the "morning after" pill to his employees violates his belief that life begins at conception. Studies have shown that pills like Plan B work by preventing ovulation, not by blocking implantation of a fertilized egg. (Hobby Lobby's health care plan does provide birth control.)Groups must begin providing the coverage at the start of their next plan year, as soon as Monday, July 1.“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to respect the concerns of houses of worship and other non-profit religious organizations that object to contraceptive coverage, while helping to ensure that women get the care they need, regardless of where they work,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

Gay marriage: In states, a hodgepodge lies ahead

Across the country, this week's landmark Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage have energized activists and politicians on both sides of the debate. Efforts to impose bans — and to repeal them — have taken on new intensity, as have lawsuits by gays demanding the right to marry.The high court, in two 5-4 decisions Wednesday, opened the way for California to become the 13th state to legalize gay marriage, and it directed the federal government to recognize legally married same-sex couples. A federal appeals court on Friday lifted its freeze on same-sex marriages in California, saying the state is required to issue licenses to gay couples starting immediately.But the rulings, while hailed by gay-rights activists, did not declare a nationwide right for gays to marry. Instead, they set the stage for state-by-state battles over one of America's most contentious social issues. Already, some of those battles are heating up.In Pennsylvania, the only Northeast state that doesn't legally recognize same-sex couples, gay state Rep. Brian Sims, a Philadelphia Democrat, says he will introduce a bill to allow same-sex marriages. The bill may flounder in the GOP-led Legislature, but the issue is likely to be volatile in next year's gubernatorial race, pitting GOP Gov. Tom Corbett, an opponent of gay marriage, against any of three Democrats who favor it.In Arizona, gay-rights supporters have begun circulating petitions aimed at repealing the state's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage by way of a ballot measure next year. With California's ban quashed, Arizona is now among 29 states with constitutional amendments that limit marriage to one-man, one-woman unions.Gay-rights activists and Democratic politicians in several other states also hope to repeal the bans in their states — in Oregon, Ohio and Arkansas with possible ballot measures next year, and in Nevada and Michigan with referendums in 2016.
Ohio activist Ian James of FreedomOhio said his group's resolve to collect signatures "has been doubled" as a result of the Supreme Court decisions. And Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat who favors repealing his state's ban, said the court action "underscores the urgency of extending the freedom to marry to all our citizens.""Oregon has not yet lived up to the ideal of equal rights for all," Kitzhaber said.In Indiana and West Virginia, some Republican politicians want to move in the other direction, joining the ranks of states with constitutional bans. Both states have laws that bar gays from marrying, but constitutional amendments are viewed as more durable measures that resist being overturned by litigation.The leaders of Indiana's Republican-controlled Legislature had deferred action on an amendment during this year's session, opting to wait for the Supreme Court rulings. Now, with the backing of GOP Gov. Mike Pence, they say the Legislature will consider the ban in the session starting in January, possibly putting the question to voters later next year.Micah Clark, executive director of the conservative American Family Association of Indiana, was pleased by that prospect."The future of marriage matters," he said. "And it belongs in the hands of Hoosier voters, not the courts, not Hollywood, and not the activists seeking to change it from what it is and always has been."West Virginia, like Indiana, has a state law prohibiting gay marriages. Until now, though, it has not joined the parade of states taking a further step with a constitutional amendment. After the Supreme Court rulings, the leader of the large Republican minority in the House of Delegates suggested there is now an urgent need for an amendment,"We don't know when someone might file a lawsuit or have some other issue come up where a judge can review that," said Tim Armstead. "We need to go to the next step."
Democratic Delegate Stephen Skinner, West Virginia's first openly gay lawmaker, disagreed. "There's really not much reason for a constitutional amendment, except to promote discrimination and promote homophobia," he said.National gay-rights leaders expect that lawsuits seeking to expand gay marriage rights will eventually bring the issue back to the Supreme Court in a quest for a ruling that would establish a 50-state policy.Lawsuits already are pending in a number of states. Some of those involved were heartened by the past week's rulings."What this does is establish very, very powerful precedents that we will be able to use in our case," said Mark Lawrence of Restore Our Humanity, which is backing a legal challenge by three same-sex couples to a ban approved by Utah voters in 2004.Michigan's constitutional ban, also approved in 2004, is the target of a pending lawsuit by Detroit-area nurses April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse seeking a right to jointly adopt each other's children. The federal judge hearing the case had been waiting for the Supreme Court before issuing a judgment.In New Mexico, two gay men from Santa Fe asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to decide whether same-sex marriage is legal. The lawsuit contends that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the state constitution, including provisions prohibiting gender-based discrimination and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.New Mexico is one of only five states — along with West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Indiana — that has neither extended legal recognition to gay couples nor enacted a ban-gay-marriage constitutional amendment. There also is litigation in three states offering civil unions to gay couples, providing the rights and responsibilities of marriage but not extending that title.

In New Jersey, one lawsuit contends that civil unions do not fulfill a state Supreme Court mandate from 2006 that gay couples receive equal treatment to married heterosexual couples. The plaintiffs say they will soon file a motion arguing that, in light of the Supreme Court ruling, the only thing that is keeping the couples from equal treatment is the state law.New Jersey's Democratic-majority Legislature passed a bill last year to legalize gay marriage, but it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie. He says the matter should be decided in a referendum."There is no longer any excuse to delay," said Troy Stevenson of the gay-rights group Garden State Equality. "It is as immoral as it is impractical to force any New Jersey family to be stripped of critical economic and legal protections every time they cross the Hudson or Delaware Rivers."
Hawaii's civil union law, adopted in 2011, is being challenged in federal court by two women who want to marry rather than enter into a civil union. Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who supports a right to same-sex marriage, says the Supreme Court ruling on federal benefits for same-sex couples bolsters his argument.Illinois also allowed civil unions in 2011, but efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in the recently ended legislative session fell short. The sponsor of the measure, Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, said the Supreme Court rulings should bolster efforts to revive the bill in the fall session.Meanwhile, gay-rights lawyers are pressing ahead with a lawsuit on behalf of more than two dozen same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in Cook County. The suit also challenges an Illinois law that defines marriage as between a man and woman.Gay-rights activists in some conservative states say there is no near-term prospect for softening their states' gay-marriage bans, and they're looking toward a more incremental approach.In states such as Georgia, Idaho and Louisiana, these efforts include lobbying for local and statewide anti-discrimination laws that would extend protections to gays and lesbians.In Wisconsin, a state that has tilted Democratic in national elections, Republicans now hold power at the Statehouse, and there's little discussion by gay-rights supporters of mounting an effort to repeal the gay-marriage ban approved by voters in 2006.Instead, gay-rights activists there are trying to defeat a conservative group's lawsuit challenging a 2009 domestic partnership law that ended some legal rights to same-sex couples.Wyoming has no constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but proposals to permit civil unions and to ban discrimination against gays died in the latest legislative session.State Rep. Cathy Connolly, the openly lesbian Democrat who sponsored those bills, says Wyoming's strong libertarian streak might be conducive to a legalization of same-sex marriage at some point in the future.___Cristina Silva in Phoenix, Tom LoBianco in Indianapolis, Nigel Duara in Portland, Ore., Matt Moore in Philadelphia, Larry Messina in Charleston, W.Va., and other AP reporters nationwide contributed to this report.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

ISAIAH 33:8
8  The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Kerry's Meetings 'Positive', Say Officials

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been having “positive” meetings in the Middle East, according to officials.By Elad Benari, Canada-First Publish: 6/29/2013, 2:27 AM-Israelnationalnews

Peres and Kerry
Peres and Kerry-Flash 90
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has been having “positive” meetings in the Middle East, reports said on Friday.Kerry and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, their second meeting in 24 hours.The contents of the meeting were not disclosed, but an American official was quoted by Kol Yisrael radio as having said that the meeting was “detailed and meaningful." The two agreed to meet for a third time on Saturday night.Kerry, who is trying to break a protracted deadlock in the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, met Netanyahu in Jerusalem before and after a visit to Amman for lunch with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.A State Department official told AFP that Kerry's two-and-a-half hour meeting with Abbas on Friday afternoon was "very constructive... (and) focused on the importance of moving the peace process forward".These two men will also meet again in Amman on Saturday, an official said.After his meeting with Netanyahu, Kerry met President Shimon Peres at his residence in Jerusalem for talks and stayed for the Sabbath-eve dinner.Welcoming his guest, Peres praised Kerry's efforts in seeking to prepare the ground for peace talks."All of us admire your investment in creating really the right environment," said Peres, according to AFP."It is difficult, there are many problems. But as far as I'm concerned I can see how (among) people, there is a clear majority for the peace process, a two-state solution, and a great expectation that you will do it and that you can do it."Kerry is expected to hold a press conference on Saturday night in which he will summarize his latest visit to the Middle East.
Netanyahu has clearly indicated on more than one occasion that he is willing to return to the negotiating table without preconditions. Abbas, however, has refused to talk and has continued to impose preconditions on talks with Israel, including a demand that Israel release terrorists who were jailed before 1993, freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and even present a map of the future Palestinian state before any negotiations take place.Meanwhile, a newly released poll finds that most Israelis support the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, but do not really believe that the diplomatic process can yield a peace agreement.When asked what the one thing Israel must never relinquish in talks should be, 35.5% thought the one thing Israel must never do is divide Jerusalem, while 30.3% were most opposed to giving PA Arabs the right of return, which would see Israel being flooded by millions of Arabs. Another 17.6% said that Israel must refrain from handing over all the territories, while 7% were most opposed to handing over the so-called “settlement blocs.”(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)

Member states agree to fast-track youth money

28.06.13 @ 16:44
By Honor Mahony
BRUSSELS - A low-key EU summit finished Friday (28 June) with an agreement to fast-track money to tackle youth unemployment and boost lending to small companies, but the meeting was nearly overshadowed by side issues, including a colouring-book featuring fictional MEPs."It has been a very productive summit," said EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, with governments pledging to spend €6 billion over the next two years to support getting young people into jobs or training.They also agreed to "prioritise" any unspent money from the budget for employment issues, although critics say the sums are too small to make a difference to the EU's 26 million without work.The European Investment Bank was given the nod to lend hundreds of billions of euros to small businesses - seen as the backbone of the economy, but currently starved of credit.There was no progress on further steps to banking union, considered essential for ensuring the longterm stability of the eurozone. But the commission said it would come forward with plans on how to wind down failing banks - a key and controversial part of banking union - within two weeks."The bridges are ready or under construction," said Van Rompuy referring to the legislative process.Looking ahead, member states said they would discuss what makes an economy competitive at their next meeting in October and how to make Brussels' economic policy recommendations binding at their December summit."We can only agree on what to do next once we agree what is important. It lasts longer, yes, but now we have a clear calendar and by the end of the year we'll be a step forward," said German Chancellor Merkel, responding to criticism about the slow pace of progress.Meanwhile, the relative calm of the summit compared to previous panicked meetings at the height of the eurozone crisis meant that other 'events' came to the fore.To the bemusement of his colleagues, UK Prime Minister David Cameron brandished a colouring book representing the privileged lives of "Mr and Mrs MEP" at the meeting, as an example of how EU money is being wasted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel spent several minutes looking through the book, before remarking afterwards in a press conference that she could not be sure that the book was not a spoof.A lengthy, but ultimately ineffectual, discussion about the British rebate, was not, as had been first assumed, started by London, but by France.The French, for their part, also kept media ink flowing by continuing to batter away at European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.Trade minister Nicole Bricq remarked on the eve of summit that the former Portuguese leader was doing much good in the job.Her comments followed similar jibes by other left-wing French politicians that Barroso - seen as not appreciative enough of Paris' efforts to protect French culture from liberalisation - ought to resign.Barroso, having entered the fray previously, this time said only that "some comments are not worth commenting on."Ireland's Enda Kenny, for his part, tried to wrap up the country's six-month EU presidency on a positive note. But he was forced to admit that leaked tapes by two Anglo-Irish bankers - mocking Germany and the Irish government's decision to guarantee the bank's liabilities - had "damaged our reputation."The Irish government offered a guarantee to Anglo and other lenders to keep them afloat, a move that eventually meant Dublin had to seek a bailout in 2010, funded largely by Germany.In a lengthy apology, Kenny condemned the "toxic nexus between the banking world and the world of government and senior personnel," but said it belonged to a "past" Ireland.Merkel, for her part, said: "For people who go to work each day and earn an honest living, this kind of thing is very hard to take, it's impossible to stomach."

JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37  For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)

EZEKIEL 35:3-6,11-15
3  And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir,(ARABS) I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4  I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
5  Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred,(AGAINST ISRAEL) and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
6  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee.
11  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
12  And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.
13  Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them.
14  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.(ARAB,MUSLIMS)
15  As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir,(ARABS) and all Idumea,(ARAB,MUSLIMS) even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

Syrian army, backed by jets, launch Homs assault

By Dominic Evans
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis linking Damascus to the Mediterranean.Activists said jets and mortars pounded rebel-held areas of the city which have been under siege by Assad's troops for a year, and soldiers fought battles with rebel fighters in several districts."Government forces are trying to storm (Homs) from all fronts," said an activist using the name Abu Mohammad.There were no immediate details on casualties but video uploaded by activists showed heavy explosions and white clouds of smoke rising from what they said were rebel districts. Loud, concentrated rounds of gunfire could also be heard.Syrian state media said the army was "achieving great progress" in Khalidiyah neighborhood.The attack on Homs city follows steady military gains by Assad's forces, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants, in provincial Homs villages and towns close to the Lebanese border.
Three weeks ago Hezbollah spearheaded the recapture of the border town of Qusair, a former rebel bridgehead for guns and fighters smuggled into Syria, and last week secured another border town, Tel Kalakh.Those gains have consolidated Assad's control over a corridor of territory which runs from the capital Damascus, through Homs, to the traditional heartland of his minority Alawite sect in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean.They have also alarmed international supporters of the rebels, leading the United States to announce it will step up military support. Saudi Arabia has accelerated deliveries of sophisticated weaponry, Gulf sources say.
DERAA VICTORY
The interventions by Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a staunch backer of the mainly Sunni rebels, and Shi'ite Hezbollah highlight how the 27-month-old uprising has divided the Middle East along sectarian lines.
Gulf Arab States, Turkey and Egypt support the rebels while Shi'ite Iran and Hezbollah are actively helping Assad's military. Assad's family, which has dominated Syria for four decades, is from the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.More than 100,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which has driven 1.7 million refugees abroad and displaced another four million within Syria's borders.Hopes of holding a U.S. and Russian-backed peace conference have faded, with rebels reluctant to negotiate while they are on the defensive militarily and tensions between Moscow and Washington exacerbating their deep differences over Syria.Despite losing ground around Damascus and Homs, rebels registered a symbolic victory on Friday when they overran a major military checkpoint in Deraa, the southern city where the uprising first erupted.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the fall of the army post was strategically significant and could change the balance of power in Deraa, where rebels control most of the old city.The province of Deraa, on the border with Jordan, has been a conduit for rebel arms supplies.
(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Egypt group: 22 million signatures against Morsi

CAIRO (AP) — The youth group leading the campaign against Egypt's president says it has collected the signatures of 22 million Egyptians who want to remove the Islamist leader.Mahmoud Badr, a leader of the Tamarod, or rebel, movement said Saturday that 22,134,460 Egyptians have signed the petition demanding President Mohammed Morsi's ouster.Badr did not say whether there had been an independent audit of the signatures.Morsi's supporters have long questioned the authenticity of the collected signatures.The announcement came on the eve of massive protests planned by Tamarod, which started off the campaign saying it wanted to collect more signatures than the some 13 million votes Morsi won in his narrow 2012 victory in the presidential election.

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