“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
(Matthew 5:5)

The Meek

Dear Friends,

Greetings! Job, chapter two, states; “There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.”

Satan is telling God that a man will give everything he has to save himself. Of course we know that this is not true because Job in the end did not give in and the Bible says, “the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning”.

However, how many of us would give in? Matthew 7:13 says; “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”

When it comes to faith verses pragmatism where would most people stand, where would most nations stand.

As Tyler Durden, writing for Zero Hedge, points out in his article Russia Reveals "Plan B": Gazprom Says Gas Transit Via Ukraine May Be Stopped Completely. (read the entire article below) Putin “scored a massive political victory by creating a fissure in the heart of the Eurozone, after Austria openly defied its European peers and sided with Putin."

Most are aware of the trouble in the Ukraine. One of the main concerns involving the Ukraine is that one of Russia's most important natural gas pipelines runs through the Ukraine and helps supply western Europe and the EU with much of its very needed gas supplies.

See the map in the article below.

As we are aware the US/EU are backing the new government in Kiev, while the eastern Russian speaking areas of the Ukraine want independence from the government in Kiev with much closer ties with Russia.

It is all part of what is known as “The Great Game”.

"The Great Game" was a term for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. A less intensive phase followed the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. In the post-Second World War post-colonial period, the term has continued in use to describe the geopolitical machinations of the Great Powers and regional powers as they vie for geopolitical power and influence in the area.(End of Wikipedia)

With the countries of the EU suffering from austerity, some from extreme austerity such as Greece, this puts the governments of these countries at risk of either being ousted from power or perhaps something even worse.

With Austria having agreed to and implementing austerity measures which are extremely unpopular throughout Europe, what do you think could happen if Austria, which receives 52.2% of its natural gas from Russia should lose this vital commodity this coming winter and it's population not only having to suffer austerity measures but also having to suffer in the cold?

So who is all this money owed to that is requiring the populations of Europe to implement these extreme measures? It is owed to the central bankers. You may wonder why the nations of the world don't just tell the bankers to forget it, we are not paying this usury? It is because the banks are now more powerful than the nations and the leaders of the nations are bought and paid for by the bankers and the huge corporations.

“He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.” Hosea 12:7

“The merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; (Babylon the mother of harlots, the world wide city system.) for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:” which includes the “souls of men”. “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,And saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.” Revelation chapter eighteen.

Incidentally, New York City which has one of the greatest natural harbors in the world continues to maintain her claim as the worlds number one commercial center on earth.

So it looks at this point anyway that Austria has opted for pragmatism over EU ideology.

There are some interesting verses in Revelation that talk about ten kings or nations that unite with Gog, the antichrist, in his destruction of “Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth”.

“And he brought me to the wilderness in The Spirit, and I saw a woman who sat on a blood-red beast full of blasphemous names, which had seven heads and ten horns.”

“And the Angel said to me, “Why are you stunned? I shall tell you the mystery of The Woman and of The Beast that bears her, which has seven heads and ten horns.”

“And the ten horns of The Beast are ten Kings, whose Kingdoms they have not yet received, but take authority as Kings for one hour with The Beast.”

“And the ten horns that you saw on The Beast will hate The Harlot and will make her desolate and naked and will devour her flesh and will burn her in fire.” Revelation 17:3,7,12,16

Could it be, just speculating, that this gas agreement between Austria and Russia which has “created a fissure in the heart of the Eurozone” be the start or precursor of the ten kings which align with Gog?

And lets remember Russia just recently struck an historic Gazprom deal with China, which has the largest armed forces in the world with two hundred million-strong available.

Which just happens to be the size of the army mentioned in Revelation 9:16.

Another interesting verse, Revelation 16:12 states: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared”.

The Euphrates is actually being dried up at this very moment. See Global Research

Water Wars directed against Syria and Iraq: Turkey’s Control of the Euphrates River

Turkey's control of the Euphrates might lead to disaster below.

Whether or not this is the fulfillment, partial fulfillment, or precursor remains to be seen.

Speaking of the ten kings or nations the Bible says “three of the first horns plucked up by the roots”. Daniel 7:8

What can the plucked up by the roots mean? We are again going to speculate. Could it be something akin to internal coups or something very similar.

No matter what one thinks of Putin you do have to give him credit for being extremely clever.

Germany is by far the most powerful country in Europe. East and West Germany reunited in 1990 after being divided at the end of the second world war in 1945.

East Germany, which was communist, had what “has been described as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies to ever have existed”.

Russia's new government leader represents some of the worst elements of the old KGB, Kremlin observers say. His main assignment abroad was a post as KGB commissioner in Dresden, East Germany, where he oversaw the city division of the Stasi secret police in the dark years of the 1980s. So notorious was the Stasi that Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal once termed it "worse than the Gestapo."

Putin served as KGB commissioner in Dresden in the 1980s, overseeing the activities of the East German "Stasi" secret police.

Free Republic

Who is Vladimir Putin?

Center for Security Policy | September 6, 1999 | J. Michael Waller

The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (IPA: [ˈʃtɑːziː]) (abbreviation German: Staatssicherheit, literally State Security), was the official state security service of the German Democratic Republic or GDR, colloquially known as East Germany. It has been described as one of the most effective and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies to ever have existed. The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin, with an extensive complex in Berlin-Lichtenberg and several smaller facilities throughout the city. The Stasi motto was "Schild und Schwert der Partei" (Shield and Sword of the Party), that is the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).

Stasi officers reportedly had discussed re-branding East Germany as a democratic capitalist country to the West, but which would be in practice taken over by Stasi officers. The plan specified 2,587 OibE officers who would take over power (Offiziere im besonderen Einsatz, "officers on special assignment") and it was registered as Top Secret Document 0008-6/86 of 17 March 1986. According to Ion Mihai Pacepa, the chief intelligence officer in communist Romania, other communist intelligence services had similar plans. On 12 March 1990, Der Spiegel reported that the Stasi was indeed attempting to implement 0008-6/86.[61] Pacepa has noted that what happened in Russia and how KGB Colonel Vladimir Putin took over Russia resembles these plans. Wikipedia

Is it possible that when Germany united in 1990 there were untold numbers of sleeper cells implanted into the united Germany to wait unto the time was right?

{Sleeper cells....“group of terrorists awaiting instructions: a cell of trained terrorists who are awaiting instructions to commit a terrorist act against the country in which they are living seemingly ordinary lives” Bing Dictionary.}

Who would have thought just a few years ago a former leader of an underground Maoist movement would become president of the European Union.

Jose Manuel Barroso's political activity began in his late teens, during the Estado Novo regime in Portugal, before the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974. In his college days, he was one of the leaders of the underground Maoist MRPP (Reorganising Movement of the Proletariat Party, later PCTP/MRPP, Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers/Revolutionary Movement of the Portuguese Proletariat).

So, who are the good guys? Maybe an answer may come from the High Lama in James Hilton's 1933 classic, Lost Horizon.

“Then my son, when the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled, and the meek shall inherit the earth”.

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CHARISMANEWS

Blood Moons, the Shemitah and Prophetic Implications We Can't Ignore

ALEX KOCMAN

2:00PM EDT 6/26/2014

A blood moon viewed through the wall of Damascus gate in Jerusalem's Old City during a total lunar eclipse, June 15, 2011 (Reuters)

Israel is appropriating $29 million to help farmers observe a critical agricultural commandment from the Mosaic law, according to WND.

That commandment instructs the Israelites to give the land a rest from all agricultural activity once every seven years.

In the Torah, the Sabbath concept isn't limited to the seventh day of the week; it also applies to every seventh year—also known as the Shemitah year.

The $29 million in funding is headed to Israel's Religious Affairs Ministry, which will spend the money encouraging and enabling Jewish farmers who wish to follow the command.

Though farming regulations may seem insignificant to Western eyes, it was in part Israel's original failure to observe the resting years that resulted in the 70-year exile (2 Chronicles 36:20-23)—a seven-decade "Sabbath rest" for the land.

The Sabbath year command has not been observed in any real official capacity since A.D. 70, when God judged the nation of Israel for rejecting the Messiah, Jesus Christ, about 40 years earlier.

Biblically, while Israel may once more seek to observe the ordinance, the Jewish people remain in spiritual exile (Romans 11:7-11, Acts 28:25-28) because they rejected the Messiah's true Sabbath rest for the soul (see Hebrews 4).

The move on Israel's part may be critical as the nation navigates through events surrounding blood moons occurring in 2014 and 2015, which may be prophetically significant.

In the book of Joel, the prophet writes, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (2:31-32). At Pentecost, the Apostle Peter quotes that passage in reference to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Now, many are connecting that same passage to a new end-times move of the Spirit preceding Christ's return—whenever that may be.

The question is: why Israel's revived interest in the law? Is it drawing closer to seeking God's will just as when King Josiah rediscovered the law in 2 Kings 22? Or is it instead keeping God "on their lips" but far from their hearts as they "seek to establish their own righteousness"—not knowing that the whole point of the law is to be fulfilled in the righteousness given freely through the Messiah (Romans 10:3-4)?

The unusual tetrad of lunar eclipses correspond with Jewish feast dates, beginning with Passover of April 2014 and ending with the Feast of Tabernacles on September 28, 2015—around which time Israel will celebrate the end of the Sabbath year.

The next blood moon will occur October 8, 2014.

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PRESSTV

Any Israeli attack will open gates of hell: Hamas

Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:33PM GMT

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has warned against any Israeli attack on Palestinians in retaliation for the death of three Israeli teenagers.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said on Monday that if the occupiers escalate the situation or start a war, the resistance movement will respond to the aggression.

“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu should know that his threats don’t scare Hamas,” Abu Zuhri said. “If he wages war on the Gaza Strip, the gates of hell will be opened.”

He said the disappearance and murder of the three Israelis is only based on the Israeli narrative.

He added that Tel Aviv is trying to use the story as an excuse to crack down on the Palestinians and Hamas.

The bodies of the Israeli teenagers were reportedly discovered near the village of Halhul north of the city of al-Khalil (Hebron).

Hamas had earlier denied involvement in the alleged disappearance of the teens.

The resistance movement had said Israel is trying to sabotage the recent reconciliation accord reached between the Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah, which led to the formation of the Palestinian national unity government earlier this month.

IA/AS/MAM

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RT

Israeli PM Netanyahu endorses Kurdish independence citing chaos in Iraq

Published time: June 29, 2014 17:39

Edited time: June 30, 2014 12:56

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP Photo / Jack Guez)

Citing the “collapse” of Iraq amid the ISIS insurgency and sectarian violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the de-facto independence of Iraqi Kurds. Netanyahu has also called to support the “Kurdish aspiration for independence.”

The hawkish Israeli leader said on Sunday that Kurds are “fighting people that has proved its political commitment, political moderation, and deserves political independence,” Reuters reported. 

Speaking to Tel Aviv University’s INSS think-tank, Netanyahu described the situation in Iraq and the Middle East in general as a “collapse,” due to strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. 

Amid the recent insurgency of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL) militants, Kurds have seized the opportunity to bring a long-sought independent state of Kurdistan closer to reality. Kurdish Peshmerga armed forces have been guarding their provincial borders from ISIS, but also seized the contested Iraqi city of Kirkuk, proclaiming it part of their territory.

Kurdish Peshmerga troops prepare to fire a cannon during clashes with militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Jalawla, Diyala province June 29, 2014. (Reuters / Stringer)

Now, in an apparent clash against the international community's support of a united Iraq, the Israeli leader has called to back the de-facto independence of Kurds. 

“We should...support the Kurdish aspiration for independence,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

Netanyahu’s words followed similar statements by senior Israeli officials. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday told US Secretary of State John Kerry that he believes “the creation of an independent Kurdish state is a foregone conclusion,” citing Iraq’s “breaking up.” Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres told US President Barack Obama that “the Kurds have, de facto, created their own state, which is democratic.”

The 40 million-strong Kurdish population has historically been scattered between northern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and western Iran – and has been denied independence by each of those countries. Kurds have had the broadest autonomy in Iraq, ruled by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Iraq is the only country that has accepted the Kurdish language as official. Turkey and Syria have restricted its use.

‘Deal or no deal with Palestine, IDF will stay’

Netanyahu on Sunday also officially confirmed what was reported in Israeli media earlier this year, in regards to sustained military presence in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

In a policy speech Sunday night, Netanyahu said that there would have to be a long-term presence of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) throughout the West Bank, even after any future deal with the Palestinians, AP reported. 

The Israeli government’s position on the issue comes in sharp contrast to that of the international community, which has been calling for IDF’s withdrawal from the West Bank to make way for an independent Palestinian state.

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RT

ISIS declares creation of Islamic state in Middle East, 'new era of international jihad'

Published time: June 29, 2014 17:50

Edited time: June 30, 2014 12:56

ISIS jihadists have declared the captured territories from Iraq's Diyala province to Syria's Aleppo a new Islamic State - a ‘caliphate.' They removed 'Iraq and the Levant' from their name and urged other radical Sunni groups to pledge their allegiance.

ISIS announced that it should now be called 'The Islamic State' and declared its chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as "the caliph" of the new state and "leader for Muslims everywhere," the radical Sunni militant group said in an audio recording distributed online on Sunday.

This is the first time since the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 that a Caliph – which means a political successor to Prophet Muhammad – has been declared. The decision was made following the group’s Shura Council meeting on Sunday, according to ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani.

The new Islamic State has marked its borders, spanning the territory captured by the group in a bloody rampage, from Iraq's volatile Diyala province to Syria's war-torn Aleppo.

The jihadist group has also claimed that they are now a legitimate state.

The Islamic State has called on Al-Qaeda and other radical Sunni militants in the region to immediately pledge their allegiance, ushering in “a new era of international jihad.”

"The Shura [Council] of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue…The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic caliphate and to designate a caliph for the state of the Muslims," said group spokesman Adnani.

He described the establishment of the caliphate as "the dream in all the Muslims" and "the hope of all jihadists.”

The militant group, notorious for its brutal violence, separated from Al-Qaeda in early 2014. It has seized major areas of western and northern Iraq in recent weeks, committing mass murders of opposing Shia Muslims in the region.

ISIS previously made statements vowing to siege the Iraqi capital Baghdad and to march and capture the holy Shia sites of Najaf and Karbala.

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cnn

Iraq developments: ISIS establishes 'caliphate,' changes name

By Chelsea J. Carter, CNN

June 30, 2014 -- Updated 0400 GMT (1200 HKT)

(CNN) -- The extremist group that's taken over a large swath of western and northern Iraq announced on Sunday the establishment of a "caliphate," an Islamic state stretching across the region, and said it would now be known as the Islamic State rather than the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The announcement was made in a newly released audio message and written statement purportedly from the official spokesman of ISIS, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani al-Shami.

He said "Al-Baghdadi" is the emir of the caliphate, using his real name Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al Samarrai, but who is more commonly known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The group said its flag flies from the Aleppo province in Syria to Diyala province in Iraq.

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THE DAILY BEAST

Iraq’s Christians See Putin As Savior

06.29.14

Reeling from regional developments and disillusioned with the West, some Iraqi Christians are looking to Russia for support.

After a decade of church bombings, targeted killings, and anti-Christian workplace discrimination, Ramy Youssef has finally tired of Iraq’s halting progress and is intent on emigrating.

“I don’t want to leave. I don’t want these terrorists to do what no one’s ever done before: push Assyrians out of our historic homeland, but I can’t work like this,” said the fresh-faced IT technician, his voice rising, as he sipped tea in his cousin’s Erbil liquor store a month after death threats forced him to abandon his business in Baghdad.

Youssef will be the last of his immediate family to jet off—joining roughly two-thirds of Iraq’s pre-war population of 1.5 million Christians who’ve fled abroad or trudged north to Kurdistan. Before he goes, though, he’s keen to set the record straight and settle some old scores.

“This is America’s fault. It’s the Muslims who are killing us, but this never would have happened if the West hadn’t turned our lives upside down,” he fumed. “Maybe we’ll be able to return one day if we have proper allies.”

Enter Putin stage right.

As far as some of his Iraqi co-religionists are concerned, there’s a ready-made alternative to American influence out there and they’re frantically trying to solicit its support.

“Russia proved through history that it’s the only defender of Christians,” said Ashur Giwargis, who heads the Assyrian Patriotic Movement (APM), which for two years has energetically lobbied the Kremlin to support an independent Assyrian Christian state in northern Iraq.

Until recently, the Beirut-based exile and his colleagues, who are scattered among the global Iraqi diaspora, had little to show for their efforts, but in January, as Western-Russian tensions escalated over Ukraine, Giwargis was summoned to Moscow to meet government officials.

ISIS’s rampage through the historically Christian Nineveh province, its gutting of the Holy Spirit Church, and its use of the ancient Mar Behnam monastery as a base for militant operations threatens to trigger an additional exodus.

“They assured their support for the Assyrian cause, but we’re looking for a serious Russian stand in the international arena,” he said.

While they wait, APM members are busy currying favor by disseminating the Kremlin’s message, appearing at Russian embassy events, and cheering its foreign policy maneuvers elsewhere in the world.

“With the growing Americo-European incitement for the Republic of Ukraine to join the European Union … the Crimean parliament’s decision to join the Russian Federation came as pleasant news for the oppressed Christian peoples around the world,” read a public letter of congratulations dispatched to the Russian Embassy in Lebanonin Mid-March.

“Russian professional diplomacy has proven able to contain conspiracies against vulnerable peoples and states,” Giwargis wrote in another missive.

There are few assurances that Russia—which is already held in low regard bymuch of the Arab World for its stance on Syria—will further jeopardize its relations across the region by throwing its weight behind Iraq’s Christians. Nor, for that matter, does APM’s courting of Putin necessarily command serious support among many Iraqi Christians, of whom only 10-15 percent favor its pro-active approach, according to several church officials.

But the APM’s fishing for alternative patrons is illustrative of the tremendous anger many Eastern Christians feel towards the West for its perceived indifference to their plight.

“The West is not Christian,” raged Aziz Emmanuel al-Zebari, a Chaldean Catholic church official, when we met in Erbil’s buzzy Christian quarter on a blazingly hot Ascension Day late in May. “They destroyed us by installing a government based on Islamic sects in which we have no place,” he added, as a sermon in Aramaic rang out from the distinctive Ziggurat-style cathedral in the background.

Amid all the bombast, Iraq’s Christians have some legitimate grievances. Once protected by Saddam—though subject to the same tyrannical rulings as the rest of the population—the community was left brutally exposed when the civil war that followed the US invasion of 2003 devolved into bitter sectarian strife.

Many Christians had initially rallied to the U.S.-led coalition’s side, enlisting as army translators and hailing its early successes, but as Western troops outgrew their welcome, Christians were damned by their association with the occupying powers.

“Muslims thought we were like the Americans, and so as they became more unpopular, our problems increased,” remembered Ramy Youssef, whose once friendly Baghdad neighbors ostracized his family as the occupation dragged on. (Some had it much worse. The U.S.’s hiring of a number of Lebanese Christian interpreters meant that anyone with a Lebanese accent was deemed suspect, and a number of visiting Beirutis were allegedly mistakenly killed.)

Among the many charges leveled at the U.S. and its partners is that it failed to exercise a duty of care towards a minority whose secure position it had undermined.

“When everything got violent, the Shiites received help from Iran, the Sunnis had the Gulf, and us? Well, we were left unprotected,” said an Erbil-based civil engineer who asked to withhold his name.

The Iraqi Christian insistence that the U.S. and its coalition partners have done nothing to right past wrongs doesn’t ring entirely true though.

Several hundred thousand Iraqi Christians took advantage of loosened immigration laws to move to America.The California diocese has mushroomed from 30,000 to 70,000 people since 2003, while Michigan alone has taken in over 120,000 Chaldeans and Assyrians.

But here too, some Iraqi Christians have taken issue with American policy.

“In opening its doors, the U.S. is weakening those are who left behind,” said al-Zebari, who’s fearful that a further diminution in Christian numbers might lead to awkward questions about the Christian quota of five seats in the Baghdad and Kurdish regional parliaments.

Meanwhile, Putin’s continuing defense of Assad in neighboring Syria, at a time of peak unrest in Iraq, is seen as an admirable demonstration of Russia’s commitment to minority rights.

A sponsor like the Russians never would have allowed the Iraqi government to run roughshod over its Christian citizens, al-Zebari believes.

“They’ve always stood up for Christians. I’m sure they’d do more for us in our ancestral lands,” he reasoned, echoing Giwargis’ talking points.

But even if Russia were to somehow provide assistance, it remains to be seen whether there would be many Christians left to aid.

2013 was a good year—with only 500 families fleeing abroad from northern Iraq, as opposed to roughly 6500 families a year absconding in the immediate aftermath of the invasion—but ISIS’s rampage through the historically Christian Nineveh province, its gutting of the Holy Spirit Church, and its use of the ancient Mar Behnam monastery as a base for militant operations threatens to trigger an additional exodus.

In the meantime, it’s far from clear what—if any—effect, Russia’s increasingly cozy relationship with Middle Eastern Christians will have on the regional dynamic.

Egypt’s signing of a $2 billion defense deal with Russia in February raised hackles in Washington, which has equipped much of the Egyptian military since the 1970s, while Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s call for Russian jets to halt ISIS’s advance after the Obama Administration rejected his initial approach threatens to muddle an already complicated mess.

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InvestmentWatch (We'don't have long to wait to see if this is correct.)

Steve Quayle: We Are Headed for a Crisis of Biblical Proportions-IMF Christine Lagarde’s Warning!

July 2nd, 2014

Why did the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, give a warning that 2014 would be a big year of financial change? Lagarde’s forecast is based on the number she calls “magic 7.” In her many examples, Lagarde says 2014 is 7 years from the beginning of the last financial meltdown that began in 2007.

July is the 7th month of the year, and many think she is giving a date for massive change coming to the world and the U.S. dollar in a currency reset. Talk radio veteran Steve Quayle says, “In the occult, they have a maxim in their world. They must warn the people they consider useless eaters and stupid people of what they are going to do. They derive some sort of sick pleasure out of that, and it’s kind of like the ultimate mocking through numerology.

The point being is Lagarde made 10 different references in a six minute portion of her speech at the beginning of 2014; you gotta know the message is being sent. . . . What these guys are doing is basically telling everybody ahead of time that they plan to change everything. . . . Jesus said, ‘The love of money is the root of all evil,’ and I’ll take it one step further and say the control of money is the control of all evil. They are speaking the message loud and clear. This month, something big starts to happen, and it changes the rest of the world for the next 7 years. . . . We are headed for a crisis or turning point of Biblical proportions that is going to change everything literally in a matter of days, if not overnight.”

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Global Research

Water Wars directed against Syria and Iraq: Turkey’s Control of the Euphrates River

Turkey's control of the Euphrates might lead to disaster

By Global Research News

Global Research, July 01, 2014

by Abdulrahman Al-Masri

The water level of the Euphrates Lake has decreased by six metres in the body of the dam, RMC reported.

Criticism of the Turkish government has been voiced by civil society activists in Northern Syria concerning Turkey’s control of the River Euphrates. In recent weeks, the Turks have stopped the flow of water into Syria from the mighty river, which has its source in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains before flowing into Syria and on into Iraq. The Euphrates is the main source of water for the Northern Syrian province of Raqqa.

“This threatens us with a real disaster within the next few days,” said Abu Mohamed, a local activist from Raqqa. He pointed out that half of the villages in the district currently have no water available for residential use or agricultural purposes.

The Euphrates has three main dams within Syria: Tishreen, Euphrates and Al-Baath. The Euphrates dam is considered the most important of the three. The water level in the Euphrates Lake (formerly known as Al-Assad Lake) has dropped significantly. It is the largest man-made lake in Syria at 85km long; until recently it held more than 14.2 billion cubic metres of water. The lake and hydro-electric power station on its dam is the source of water and electricity to Raqqa and eastern Aleppo.

Turkey initially cut the flow of water into Syria at the beginning of May for six days. In June, the government decreased the river flow gradually until it was stopped completely by the middle of the month.

According to a news report published by the independent Raqqa Media Centre (RMC), there are currently only three turbines working to generate electricity at the dam, instead of the usual eight, due to the low water level. The RMC also noted that the water level lake has dropped by 1.6 billion cubic metres; the report condemns Turkey for the suffering caused to the people of Raqqa. “Turkey is purposely not allowing the water to enter Syria for political reasons,” claimed the RMC report.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS), which controls Raqqa province, were also angered by Turkey’s control of the river. It issued a statement criticising the Turkish government for “cutting water to Al-Sham [Levant] prefectures.”

However, according to Abu Mohamed from Raqqa, ISIS has not expressed contempt about the issue, as the group is not concerned with the issues of the Syrian people; rather, it is concerned about maintaining control of the province. “ISIS provides water and electricity through generators for its own people,” he added, emphasising that the negative impact of extremist groups on the people of Raqqa is now compounded by Turkish control of the Euphrates.

A source close to ISIS told the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi last week that the group called on the Turkish government to open the flow of the Euphrates River as a prerequisite for the release of the kidnapped Turkish consul in Iraq and his colleagues.

The Istanbul-based Syrian National Coalition, which is considered the most important opposition body, has not yet issued a comment on the dispute. “The coalition doesn’t have enough confidence to express an explicit stance on this issue,” said Ali Amin Al-Suwaid, a Syrian political analyst and a member of the General Authority of the Syrian Revolution. He explained that the coalition headquarters is based in Turkey and so it must maintain diplomatic relations with the Turkish government. “What is needed is to urge Turkey to return to the Syrian people the agreed share of the Euphrates,” he demanded.

Turkey’s decision to block the flow of the Euphrates also affects Iraq’s share, said Khaled Abu Al-Waled, a media activist from Raqqa City. “This is a flagrant violation of international water conventions,” he insisted. “No drop of the Euphrates now enters Syrian territory.”

Some villages have no safe drinking water, forcing locals to use water taken directly from the lake, despite the danger of disease.

The pro-opposition Violation Documentation Centre in Syria (VDC) also condemned Turkey’s behaviour, warning that the consequences will be negative. “This is a weird action,” said Bassam Al-Ahmad, the VDC spokesperson. He called on the Turkish government to reverse the decision. “Our demands are clear for the Turkish government to take immediate measures to stop this action.”

Historically, Turkey has been in conflict with Syria and Iraq over the control of the Euphrates. In the past, Turkey denied that the Euphrates is an international river and that Syria and Iraq had any rights over the control of the flow.

In 1994, an agreement between Syria and Turkey was registered at the United Nations to guarantee a minimum share of the water from the Euphrates to Iraq and Syria. “We can say that this measure is serving the interests of Turkey and embarrassing the Assad regime,” added Ali Amin Al-Suwaid.

***

theguardian

Water supply key to outcome of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, experts warn

Security analysts in London and Baghdad say control of rivers and dams has become a major tactical weapon for Isis

John Vidal

The Guardian, Wednesday 2 July 2014 09.19 EDT

Bottled water is prepared for distribution at a camp for those caught up in fighting around Mosul, Iraq. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The outcome of the Iraq and Syrian conflicts may rest on who controls the region’s dwindling water supplies, say security analysts in London and Baghdad.

Rivers, canals, dams, sewage and desalination plants are now all military targets in the semi-arid region that regularly experiences extreme water shortages, says Michael Stephen, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank in Qatar, speaking from Baghdad.

“Control of water supplies gives strategic control over both cities and countryside. We are seeing a battle for control of water. Water is now the major strategic objective of all groups in Iraq. It’s life or death. If you control water in Iraq you have a grip on Baghdad, and you can cause major problems. Water is essential in this conflict,” he said.

Isis Islamic rebels now control most of the key upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, the two great rivers that flow from Turkey in the north to the Gulf in the south and on which all Iraq and much of Syria depends for food, water and industry.

“Rebel forces are targeting water installations to cut off supplies to the largely Shia south of Iraq,” says Matthew Machowski, a Middle East security researcher at the UK houses of parliament and Queen Mary University of London.

“It is already being used as an instrument of war by all sides. One could claim that controlling water resources in Iraq is even more important than controlling the oil refineries, especially in summer. Control of the water supply is fundamentally important. Cut it off and you create great sanitation and health crises,” he said

Isis now controls the Samarra barrage west of Baghdad on the River Tigris and areas around the giant Mosul Dam, higher up on the same river. Because much of Kurdistan depends on the dam, it is strongly defended by Kurdish peshmerga forces and is unlikely to fall without a fierce fight, says Machowski.

Last week Iraqi troops were rushed to defend the massive 8km-long Haditha Dam and its hydroelectrical works on the Euphrates to stop it falling into the hands of Isis forces. Were the dam to fall, say analysts, Isis would control much of Iraq’s electricity and the rebels might fatally tighten their grip on Baghdad.

Securing the Haditha Dam was one of the first objectives of the American special forces invading Iraq in 2003. The fear was that Saddam Hussein’s forces could turn the structure that supplies 30% of all Iraq’s electricity into a weapon of mass destruction by opening the lock gates that control the flow of the river. Billions of gallons of water could have been released, power to Baghdad would have been cut off, towns and villages over hundreds of square miles flooded and the country would have been paralysed.

Iraqi men move a boat that was stuck on the banks of the Euphrates River after supplies were blocked by anti-government fighters who control a dam further upstream.

In April, Isis fighters in Fallujah captured the smaller Nuaimiyah Dam on the Euphrates and deliberately diverted its water to “drown” government forces in the surrounding area. Millions of people in the cities of Karbala, Najaf, Babylon and Nasiriyah had their water cut off but the town of Abu Ghraib was catastrophically flooded along with farms and villages over 200 square miles. According to the UN, around 12,000 families lost their homes.

Earlier this year Kurdish forces reportedly diverted water supplies from the Mosul Dam. Equally, Turkey has been accused of reducing flows to the giant Lake Assad, Syria’s largest body of fresh water, to cut off supplies to Aleppo, and Isis forces have reportedly targeted water supplies in the refugee camps set up for internally displaced people.

Iraqis fled from Mosul after Isis cut off power and water and only returned when they were restored, says Machowski. “When they restored water supplies to Mosul, the Sunnis saw it as liberation. Control of water resources in the Mosul area is one reason why people returned,” said Machowski.

Increasing temperatures, one of the longest and most severe droughts in 50 years and the steady drying up of farmland as rainfall diminishes have been identified as factors in the political destabilisation of Syria.

Both Isis forces and President Assad’s army are said to have used water tactics to control the city of Aleppo. The Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, 60 miles east of the city, was captured by Isis in November 2012.

The use of water as a tactical weapon has been used widely by both Isis and the Syrian government, says Nouar Shamout, a researcher with Chatham House. “Syria’s essential services are on the brink of collapse under the burden of continuous assault on critical water infrastructure. The stranglehold of Isis, neglect by the regime, and an eighth summer of drought may combine to create a water and food crisis which would escalate fatalities and migration rates in the country’s ongoing three-year conflict,” he said.

“The deliberate targeting of water supply networks ... is now a daily occurrence in the conflict. The water pumping station in Al-Khafsah, Aleppo, stopped working on 10 May, cutting off water supply to half of the city. It is unclear who was responsible; both the regime and opposition forces blame each other, but unsurprisingly in a city home to almost three million people the incident caused panic and chaos. Some people even resorted to drinking from puddles in the streets,” he said .

Water will now be the key to who controls Iraq in future, said former US intelligence officer Jennifer Dyer on US television last week. “If Isis has any hope of establishing itself on territory, it has to control some water. In arid Iraq, water and lines of strategic approach are the same thing”.

A satellite view showing the two main rivers running from Turkey through Syria and Iraq. Credits: MODIS/NASA

The Euphrates River, the Middle East’s second longest river, and the Tigris, have historically been at the centre of conflict. In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein drained 90% of the vast Mesopotamian marshes that were fed by the two rivers to punish the Shias who rose up against his regime. Since 1975, Turkey’s dam and hydropower constructions on the two rivers have cut water flow to Iraq by 80% and to Syria by 40%. Both Syria and Iraq have accused Turkey of hoarding water and threatening their water supply.

“There has never been an outright war over water but water has played extremely important role in many Middle East conflicts. Control of water supply is crucial”, said Stephen.

It could also be an insurmountable problem should the country split into three, he said. “Water is one of the most dangerous problems in Iraq. If the country was split there would definitely be a war over water. Nobody wants to talk about that,” he said.

Some academics have suggested that Tigris and Euphrates will not reach the sea by 2040 if rainfall continues to decrease at its present rate.

***

cnsnews.com

Biden: 'I Don't Care What Your Culture Is,' LGBT Rights Are More Important

June 24, 2014 - 10:04 PM

BY JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to mobilize a global front against anti-gay violence and discrimination, Vice President Joe Biden declared Tuesday that protecting gay rights is a defining mark of a civilized nation and must trump national cultures and social traditions.

Biden told a gathering of U.S. and international gay rights advocates that President Barack Obama has directed that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender men and women around the world

"I don't care what your culture is," Biden told about 100 guests at the Naval Observatory's vice presidential mansion. "Inhumanity is inhumanity is inhumanity. Prejudice is prejudice is prejudice."

With anti-gay laws taking root in nearly 80 countries, Biden and other top White House officials met with religious, human rights and HIV health care advocates in a forum dedicated to promoting gay rights internationally.

Biden, who has emerged as a leading gay rights advocate within the Obama administration ever since he got ahead of Obama in declaring his support for gay marriage, said that across U.S government agencies officials have been instructed to make the promotion of gay rights abroad a priority.

Where countries fail to move toward protections of LGBT people, he warned, "there is a price to pay for being inhumane." Among those at the evening reception were leading gay rights activists and the ambassadors from Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland.

Earlier Tuesday, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice cast the protection of gays from global discrimination, abuse and even death as one of the most challenging international human rights issue facing the United States. Biden called gay rights "the civil rights issue of our day."

"To achieve lasting global change, we need everyone's shoulder at the wheel," she said. "With more voices to enrich and amplify the message — the message that gay rights are straight-up human rights — we can open more minds."

Rice cautioned that the effort is difficult because laws limiting gay rights in some countries enjoy strong popular support. But she said cultural differences do not excuse human rights violations.

"Governments are responsible for protecting the rights of all citizens, and it is incumbent upon the state, and on each of us, to foster tolerance and to reverse the tide of discrimination," Rice said.

Last week, the U.S. imposed visa bans on Ugandan officials who are involved in corruption and are violating the rights of gay people and others. Uganda passed a law in February that strengthened criminal penalties for gay sex and made life sentences possible for those convicted of breaking the law.

During his trip to Africa last year, Obama, while in Senegal, urged African leaders to extend equal rights to gays and lesbians. Senegal's president, however, pushed back, saying his country "still isn't ready" to decriminalize homosexuality. Seven countries have laws imposing death sentences for gay sex and Brunei is on track to becoming the eighth one.

Tuesday's forum was the latest administrative attempt by Obama to promote gay and lesbian rights both in the United States and abroad. Obama successfully pushed to repeal the ban on gays serving openly in the military and his administration stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act years before the Supreme Court took it up.

Earlier this month, Obama announced he will sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Last week, it also granted new benefits to same-sex couples, including those who live in states where gay marriage is against the law.

***

WND

'PUPPETEER' PUTIN PLAYS WAITING GAME IN UKRAINE

Analyst expects Russian advances if other nations respond to Iraq fight

Published: June 29, 2014

By Andrew Ireland

WASHINGTON – A top U.S. Defense Department analyst under President Bush says Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to use chaos and turmoil in the Middle East to make further advances in Ukraine and the Baltic states.

But for right now, he appears to be waiting.

In an exclusive interview with WND Michael Maloof, an expert on Middle Eastern affairs and senior staff writer for WND, called Russian President Vladimir Putin “the ultimate puppeteer.”

As Putin is committing Russia to back the al-Maliki regime in Iraq against the rising tide of jihadist radicals, ceasefire orders in Ukraine are breaking down. As a result, Russian advances in those strategic regions are expected.

In Iraq, the radical jihadists in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, have been sweeping through and conquering northern portions of Iraq. They’ve been executing and destroying as they go through, and are threatening to overthrow the government of Iraq and its neighbors to build a caliphate.

Ukraine, at the same time, has been involved in high level talks with Russia in attempts to calm the turmoil and violence that developed when the region of Crimea declared its independence from Ukraine and was “annexed” by Russia.

Analysts have described that essentially as a power grab by Putin to ensure his access to the Black Sea where many assets, including Russian warships, are.

Since then, other regions of Ukraine have threatened to break off and much of the country has been marred by violent protests. Further, sizable units of Russian troops have mobilized at Ukraine’s eastern border, causing the new Ukrainian leadership and much of the world to fear further Russian gains.

Maloof, author of “A Nation Forsaken,” says as ISIS faces opposition moving into the Shiite-dominated southern portions of Iraq, they are likely to turn back north and move into southeastern portions of Turkey.

If ISIS insurgents move to attack Turkey, as Maloof believes they will, he says the Turkish government is likely to invoke Article 5 of the NATO pact. That subsequently would catapult the U.S. and its allies into direct combat in the Middle East.

Article 5, a principal of collective defense, provides that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the ally attacked.

That would open the door for Russia, he said.

“Russia will probably use that opportunity to make further moves into Ukraine,” he said.

***

Zero Hedge

Russia Reveals "Plan B": Gazprom Says Gas Transit Via Ukraine May Be Stopped Completely

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/30/2014 10:25 -0400

A few days ago, when we wrote our "explainer" on the need for Russia to have an alternative pathway for its gas, one which bypasses Ukraine entirely and as the current "South Stream" framework is set up, crosses the Black Sea and enters Bulgaria before passing Serbia and Hungary on the way to the Central European energy hub located in Baumgarten, Austria, we said that "one short month after Putin concluded the Holy Grail deal with Beijing, he not only managed to formalize his conquest of Europe's energy needs with yet another pipeline, one which completely bypasses Ukraine (for numerous reasons but mostly one: call it a Plan B), but scored a massive political victory by creating a fissure in the heart of the Eurozone, after Austria openly defied its European peers and sided with Putin."

Today we find just what said Plan B is.

As Itar-Tass reports, citing Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, "Russia’s gas giant Gazprom does not rule out gas transit via Ukraine may be stopped completely."

"What happened once is a tendency, nothing happens incidentally. In 2009, gas supplies were stopped completely — so, we know precedents,” Miller told a briefing on Friday.

Clearly, this is bad news for Ukraine: Gazprom not interested in participation in Ukraine’s gas transportation system (GTS), “train has departed”, CEO said.

“The train has already departed. It seems it departed yesterday,” Miller said. “It belongs to no one. The GTS has no owner,” he said. “The GTS of Ukraine does not belong to Naftogaz but to the Ukrainian government. Before discussing things with someone regarding modernization and cooperation, it should appear on the balance sheet of this or that economic entity.”

“Property and legal issues should be resolved first,” Miller said.

In fact, the civil war torn country may soon lose all leverage it had with both Europe and Russia as a transit hub for natural gas, which also means that it is quite likely that Ukraine is about to be abandoned by its western allies who will no longer have any practical use for it.

The Gazprom chief added that “a dozen Ukrainian laws need to be changed to be able to do something with the GTS.”

Confirming that Ukraine's leverage at least with Russia is now effectively zero, Gazprom's CEO also said that “As for the continuation of negotiations with Ukraine, today there is no subject for talks. First, they must repay their debts."

“The gas price for Ukraine is fair - this price is fixed in the contract,” he stressed.

There have been no requests on the part of Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy on a change of the transit deal with Russia, Alexei Miller said. Miller told journalists that it would be bad news if such requests had been received.

At least we now know what the Ukraine endgame will look like: as Russian transit through the country is completely cut off, the nation will lose all strategic importance first to Russia and then to Europe, which is still over-reliant on Russian gas (see map below), but which will increasingly turn its attention to the countries which the South Stream passes through.

***

THE INDEPENDENT

Ukraine crisis: Putin warns Ukraine faces 'serious consequences' after signing EU deal

Ukraine has signed a historic trade and economic pact with the EU along with two other former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia

HEATHER SAUL

Friday 27 June 2014

Russia has warned there could be 'serious consequences' for Ukraine after its President Petro Poroshenko signed up to a trade and economic pact with the European Union, in a deal that has been central to the crisis in the country.

The signing of the partnership agreements, hailed by Mr Poroshenko as the "most important day" for Ukraine since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, comes as a shaky cease-fire between government troops and pro-Russian rebels is due to expire.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Mr Putin, told Russian news agencies that the Kremlin would respond to the EU-Ukraine accord "as soon as negative consequences arise for the economy".

The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin also warned that while signing the document is "a sovereign right of each state, the consequences of the signing by Ukraine and Moldova no doubt, will be serious", the BBC reports.

Russia's comments threaten to reignite the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 400 people since mid-April by the United Nations' estimate.

The European Union signed similar association agreements with two other former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia.

***

MailOnline

Farage turns his back on 'European anthem' after Brussels 'stitch up' sees German socialist appointed MEP president

• UKIP leader joined his party's MEPs turning their backs as anthem played

• Party said they did not 'recognise or respect the EU flag or anthem'

• Comes after Martin Schulz chosen by MEPs to carry on as Parliament chief

• The vote was taken in secret today sparking accusations of EU 'carve up'

• Socialist MEP wants more power for Brussels over national Parliaments

• Schulz backed by supporters of Jean-Claude Juncker in 'backroom' deal

***

The Telegraph

Nicolas Sarkozy charged with corruption

Former president of France formally charged in a move which could wreck hopes of political comeback

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives with police by car at the financial investigation unit in Paris to be presented to a judge Photo: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

By Rory Mulholland, Paris

3:02AM BST 02 Jul 2014

Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption in a probe linked to allegations that the French ex-president received up to €50 million in illegal campaign financing from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

After 15 hours of questioning by police, the conservative politician was driven to offices of a judge in the small hours of Wednesday where he, his lawyer and a senior magistrate were told they were being charged with corruption and “influence-peddling”.

Mr Sarkozy is accused of using his position of power to try to find out information about legal proceedings against him in one of a raft of corruption probes embroiling him since he was defeated by the Socialist François Hollande in the 2012 presidential election.

“Sarkozy: The Shock Wave” was the front-page headline in Le Figaro newspaper which described his police custody on Tuesday as “spectacular” and noted that it was the first time in modern history that a French ex-president had been detained by police.

Investigators must now decide if there is enough evidence to bring Mr Sarkozy and the other two suspects to trial on the charges of influence-peddling, which can be punished by up to five years in prison, and “active corruption”, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years.

Mr Sarkozy, who has vigorously denied any wrong-doing in this and the various other affairs for which he is being investigated, was due to speak on Wednesday evening on French television station TF1, the broadcaster said.

This will be his first broadcast interview since he left office.

The corruption charges will deal a severe blow to Mr Sarkozy’s rumoured plans to attempt a political comeback in time for the 2017 presidential election.

They come at a time of turmoil in French politics, with Mr Hollande’s government deeply unpopular as it struggles with a sluggish economy and record unemployment, a surge in support for the far-right Front National, and Mr Sarkozy’s UMP party riven by in-fighting and weighed down by a campaign finance scandal.

The Hollande government has denied it is carrying out a witch-hunt against Mr Sarkozy. Both Mr Hollande and his Prime Minister Manuel Valls said judges were acting independently and that Mr Sarkozy benefited like all suspects from the presumption of innocence.

“No-one is above the law,” said Mr Valls.

Police are trying to establish whether Mr Sarkozy promised a plum job in Monaco to a judge in return for letting him know whether corruption allegations against him would go to court.

French media in March revealed police intercepts of Mr Sarkozy’s phone conversations with his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, which suggested that the two men may have persuaded a judge to provide inside information on a case against the former president.

The phone taps had initially been ordered by judges probing allegations that Libya’s Gaddafi had donated up to €50 million in illegal financing for Mr Sarkozy’s successful 2007 presidential campaign.

After four fruitless months the judges discovered Mr Sarkozy had a secret phone registered under an assumed name. Recordings from that device led to the opening of the influence peddling investigation.

Mr Sarkozy, who is a lawyer by trade, was charged last year in a probe into allegations his party took envelopes stuffed with cash from France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Those charges were later dropped but his campaign treasurer is one of 10 people awaiting trial in that case.

Mr Sarkozy’s encounters with the law began only a short time after he lost his presidential immunity a month after leaving the Elysée, when anti-corruption police raided the Paris home he shares with his third wife, the former supermodel and pop singer Carla Bruni.

The other cases involving Mr Sarkozy include claims that, while president, he rigged a settlement procedure which resulted in disgraced tycoon Bernard Tapie receiving €400 million from the state in return for political support in 2007.

Another centres on an allegation he helped organise kickbacks from a Pakistani arms deal to finance the 1995 presidential campaign of former premier Edouard Balladur.

Mr Sarkozy is not the first French ex-president to face the law. His predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was was convicted in 2011 on corruption charges and was given a two-year suspended prison term. But he was never held in custody during the investigation.

***

Natural News (Edited from longer article.)

Medical police state at U.S. immigration camps as doctors threatened with arrest for talking about infectious disease

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) The signs of America's plunge into police state insanity just keep coming one after another, and today a de facto medical police state has been declared in government-run immigration refugee camps where infectious disease is running wild.

Many people will not believe the statements contained in this article for the simple reason that they are not intellectually prepared to admit this is happening right now in America. However, this article is well-sourced, and readers are encouraged to approach its contents with an open mind, regardless of their current political beliefs, so they can learn the truth about just how quickly the United States of America is becoming a medical police state where stating a medical truth is now considered a criminal act.


"Arrest doctors and nurses if they divulge..."

"A government-contracted security force threatened to arrest doctors and nurses if they divulged any information about the contagion threat at a refugee camp housing illegal alien children at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas," reports Todd Starnes of Fox News. (1)

The truth about the infectious diseases being carried by this wave of illegal immigrants is so politically distasteful, it seems, that medical staff are being ordered at gunpoint to keep their mouths shut or face arrest.

Politics trumps medical science, in other words, when it comes to immigration. The need for certain elements within our own government to exploit this humanitarian crisis for political gain is far more important than protecting the U.S. population from exposure to AIDS, Swine Flu, scabies, influenza, measles and other diseases being carried into the country.

The federal government apparently feels so strongly that the truth about this situation should remain hidden that they have unleashed a gang of Gestapo-style enforcers to demand complete silence from medical workers in these camps: no phone texts, no photographs, no interviews with the press and no going public with any firsthand knowledge of what's really happening. This is the kind of political enforcement we might expect in a nation like North Korea, but it's now happening at government camps in the state of Texas.

***

Natural News (Edited from longer article.)

Oregon criminalizes permaculture; claims state ownership over all rainwater - ponds and swales restricted - jail time for violators

Sunday, July 29, 2012

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) There's nothing more refreshing than standing in a cool, summertime rain shower. Or bathing in the warm sunlight on a crisp spring day. Or inhaling the cool autumn air, fresh with the scent of turning leaves and pine needles. These things -- rainwater, sunlight, air -- have long been assumed to be not only free, but un-claimable. You can't claim to own the sunlight that falls on my front yard, for example. A corporation can't claim intellectual property ownership over the air that you breathe and demand you pay a royalty for inhaling.

But these days, Jackson County, Oregon says it owns YOUR rainwater, and the county has sentenced a man to 30 days in jail and fined him over $1500, for the supposed "crime" of collecting rainwater on his own property.

The man's name is Gary Harrington, and he owns over 170 acres of land in Jackson County. On that land, he has three ponds, and those ponds collect rainwater that falls on his land. Common sense would say Gary has every right to have ponds with water on his 170 acres of land, but common sense has been all but abandoned in the state of Oregon.

Much like California, Oregon is increasingly becoming a collectivist state. You didn't build that! The government built that! You don't own that! The government owns that! That rainwater that just fell on your land? That's the government's rainwater, and you're going to jail if you try to steal from the government!

That's the explanation from Jackson County officials, who initially granted Harrington "permits" to build ponds back in 2003. Yes, in Oregon you actually need to beg for permission from the government just to have a pond on your own land. But the state of Oregon revoked his permits a few years later, after he had already created the ponds, thus putting Harrington in the position of being a "water criminal" who was "stealing" rainwater from the state.

Tom Paul, administrator of the Oregon Water Resources Department, is an obedient water Nazi. He insists, "Oregon law that says all of the water in the state of Oregon is public water and if you want to use that water, either to divert it or to store it, you have to acquire a water right from the state of Oregon before doing that activity."

What he means, of course, is not that the water is "public" water, but that it's government water. The government owns it, and if you "steal" from the government by, for example, damming up rainwater runoff from your own land, you will go to jail.

Thus, even when rainwater falls on your own property, you don't own it! The government owns it. You didn't build that! The government built that. That's not YOUR land, you only lease it from the King, and by the way, your property tax is due again...

Paul continues, "If you build a dam, an earthen dam, and interrupt the flow of water off of [YOUR OWN] property, and store that water that is an activity that would require a water right permit from us." (http://www.nwpr.org/post/southern-oregon-man...)

You don't own the rain that falls on your own yard, Oregon insists

The state of Oregon openly admits, on its website, that you don't own the rain water that falls on your land! As stated on Oregon.gov:

Under Oregon law, all water is publicly owned. With some exceptions, cities, farmers, factory owners, and other water users must obtain a permit or water right from the Water Resources Department to use water from ANY source... (http://cms.oregon.gov/owrd/pages/pubs/aquabo...)

That page describes an exception to allow rainwater collection from rooftops, but not from a yard or natural landscape: "Exempt uses of surface water include ...collection and use of rainwater from an artificial impervious surface (like a parking lot or a building's roof)..."

So, in other words, if Harrington had paved his fields with asphalt, then collected the rainwater would have been legal in Oregon! But because his fields were natural grasses, shrubs and trees, the rainwater collection was deemed illegal.

Harrington said that he will never stop fighting the government on this issue. As reported in CNS News: "When something is wrong, you just, as an American citizen, you have to put your foot down and say, This is wrong; you just can't take away anymore of my rights and from here on in, I'm going to fight it." (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon-man-s...)

***

Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
(John 7:38)