Sunday Morning Cartoons To Put A Smile On Your Face: Animaniacs :D

BONUS LOL! :D

Good Morning Everybody. Don't Worry About A Thing... ♥

Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain, teardrops and laughter, pleasure and pain. Just remember, there was never a cloud that the sun couldn't shine through. :)

This is where it's at... May you FEEL INSPIRED today!!! ♥

"Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty.

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old."

~ by Franz Kafka

"May my heart always be open to little birds
who are the secrets of living."
~ by e.e. cummings

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
~ by Thich Nhat Hanh

"Once we believe in ourselves,
we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight,
or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
~ by e.e. cummings

Three Little Birds ~ by the Legendary Bob Marley

Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

What Is Success? A Poem By Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is Success?
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and love much;
to win the respect of intelligent persons
and the affection of children;
to earn the approbation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;

to find the best in others;
to give of one's self;
to leave the world a bit better;
whether by a healthy child;
a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm
and sung with exultation;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived -
this is to have succeeded.

The Meaning Of Success...

Many many years ago in my early 20's as I was climbing the corporate ladder I came across this poem at a gift shop. I was experiencing growing pains at the time in every area of my life. I bought it and have had it hanging on my refrigerator ever since.

This poem has served as my guide to always keep me in-line and to not lose sight that "Success is a journey, NOT a destination". I hope this poem inspires you too! :)

Success. . .
written by Larry S. Chengges

Success is doing the best you can,

in as many ways as you can.

It is being just and honest and true-

not in a few things, but in everything you do.

Always look ahead and never look back,

believe you can make all your dreams come true.

Always believe in the best you can be

and have faith in the things that you do.

Forget about mistakes you've made yesterday,

the lessons you learn will prove valuable for today...

Never give up and think that you're through...

for there's always tomorrow and a chance to begin brand new.

It is in dreaming the greatest dreams...

and seeking the highest goals...

that we build the brightest tomorrows.

There is no limit to the goals you can attain,

or the success you can achieve...

your possibilities are as endless as your dreams.

Whatever it is that you seek in life,

whatever your dreams and what you hope to achieve,

whatever you try to reach - whatever you plan...

can ALL be yours - if you only believe YOU CAN!

"Live, Laugh, Love" A Poem By Jill Eisnaugle ~ May This Poem Touch Your Heart And Inspire You To Embrace Life With Childlike Innocence And Joy!

Live, Laugh, Love
By Jill Eisnaugle

May every dream be yours to keep
May every joy be near
May every hour without sleep
Be one of warmth and cheer
May every beat within your heart
Be blessed with much to give
So, your path is a work of art
Each day that you shall live.

May every smile upon your face
And every childish grin
Be filled with memories to embrace
As if you’re young again
May each sunrise bring cause to view
Life’s humor for its pleasure
So, each path you choose to pursue
Yields laughter beyond measure.

May every vision in your eyes
Be for those you hold dear
May you know only brilliant skies
Where shooting stars appear
And with each shooting star, I pray
Your hopes are heard, above
So, every path to come your way
Is paved in lasting love.

Rocks and Sand: Good Advice To Help You Priortize Your Life From Here On Out. ♥

Rocks and Sand

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

"The sand is everything else. The small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

Steps To Happiness... ♥

Steps To Happiness

poem written by Father Pat

Everybody Knows:

You can't be all things to all people.

You can't do all things at once.

You can't do all things equally well.

You can't do all things better than everyone else.

Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.

So:

You have to find out who you are, and be that.

You have to decide what comes first, and do that.

You have to discover your strengths, and use them.

You have to learn not to compete with others,

Because no one else is in the contest of *being you*.

Then:

You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.

You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.

You will have learned to live with your limitations.

You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due.

And you'll be a most vital mortal.

Dare To Believe:

That you are a wonderful, unique person.

That you are a once-in-all-history event.

That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.

That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.

And we'll be able to stay one up on what used to get us.

May God Bless you and keep you safe.

Deep Calleth Unto Deep

Deep Calleth unto Deep

[source: Benny Hinn]

To experience a deeper dimension of God's presence, your soul must hunger and thirst for God in the same way a deer pants for the safety and sustenance of water. Only a small percentage of believers ever really experience this kind of intimacy with God because of the price.

Psalm 42:1-2 declares, "As the hart [male red deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"

In the natural, the panting of the deer is an audible agonizing for the safety the waters provide when pursued by a predator. When the deer runs into the water, the predator can no longer detect its scent. In addition to finding safety from its enemies, the deer finds relief from thirst in the waters.

“Intimacy with God is found only in the realm of the spirit.”Spiritually, your process of discovering a deeper dimension of God's presence involves longing, thirsting, and seeking. David wrote, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary" (Psalm 63:1-2).

Intimacy with God is found only in the realm of the spirit. There is a place of deep anointing, deep presence, and deep intimacy with God Almighty where "deep calleth unto deep" or spirit calls unto spirit.

It is a place that is so pure that every part of your being is consumed by the presence of Almighty God; a deep place where there is perfect communion between your spirit and every dimension of God's presence.

Your soul is stirred and there is a breakthrough in the spirit as "deep calleth unto deep" (Psalm 42:7).

It is at times like these that words become inadequate, because spoken words are the expression of the mind and not the soul. Words cease, and you stop asking. Only your heart can speak as it erupts in worship.

There is perfect harmony, perfect oneness. As you bask in the glory of His awesome presence, your spirit begins to fellowship with Him, crying out, "Oh, that I might know Him! Not the things He gives, or what He imparts, but Him!"

Deep Calls Unto Deep: Created For God's Purpose

Deep Calls Unto Deep

[source: Watchman Nee]

Psalm 42:7 says, "Deep calls unto deep." Only a call from the depths can provoke a response from the depths. Nothing shallow can ever touch the depths, nor can anything superficial touch the inward parts. Only the deep will respond to the deep. Anything that does not issue from the depths cannot touch the depths. Others can respond deep within to only what issues from deep within us. When we go to a certain place and listen to a message, the only thing that touches us is something that has issued from the depths of others. If nothing comes from the depths, the help we receive is just superficial. We have to see the importance of the depths. Anything that is not from the depths will never reach the depths of others. If we have never received help or benefit in our depths, we will never have anything issuing from our depths. If we want to render spiritual help to others, something must issue from our depths. If we do not dig deep, we can never gain others. Unless our utterance is from the depths, we will not touch the depths in others, even though we gain their emotions and thoughts and make them cry or be happy or excited for a while. Only deep calls unto deep. Superficial expressions will not touch the depths of others.

Deep Roots

One principle in preaching and receiving the word is found in the Lord's parable of the sower. While the sower sowed, some seeds fell beside the way, some on the rocky place, some into the thorns, and some into the good earth. This shows us four different ways for man to receive the word. The Lord Jesus tells us that among these different conditions, one is the rocky place. There is a little earth on the surface, but underneath there are rocks. When the seed falls into this kind of ground, it springs up quickly, but as soon as the sun comes out, it withers because of the lack of root.

What is a root? It is growth that occurs beneath the soil. What are the leaves? They are growth that occur above the soil. In other words, roots are the hidden life, whereas leaves are the manifest life. The trouble with many Christians is that, while there is much apparent life, there is very little secret life. In other words, there is the lack of a hidden life. You have been a Christian for a number of years, have you not? Then let me ask: How much of your life is hidden from view? How much is unknown to others? You stress outward works, Yes, good works are important; but apart from that manifest expression of your life, how much of your life remains hidden: If all your spiritual life is exposed, you do not have any root. Are all your virtues before God manifested before man, or is there something more that is unknown to man? If all your experiences are manifested, then all your growth is upward; there is no downward growth. If this is the case, you are a person who has only leaves without root, and you are on shallow ground.

In our Christian life it is necessary that we learn the meaning of the Body of Christ; we must learn to have a life of the Body. On the other hand, we must learn that the life given to each member of His Body by the Lord is distinctly individual. The measure that has been given to you personally by Him needs to be guarded; otherwise, it will lose its specific character and will be of no particular use to God. If that which has been specially committed to you is exposed, it will wither.

The discourse of the Lord Jesus on the Mount was most remarkable. On the one hand He said, "You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden" (Matt. 5:14). It is open. On the other hand He said, "When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret;...when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret" (Matt. 6:3-4, 6). On the one hand, if you are a Christian, you must come right out into the open and make a public profession; on the other hand, there are Christian virtues which you should preserve from the public gaze. The Christian who parades all his virtues before men and who does not have anything in the depth of his being has no root; he will not be able to stand in the day of trial and temptation

We have been the Lord's children many years; may the Lord open our eyes and show us the extent to which our experiences have been hidden from public view. How much would be left if what is known by man was taken away? May God work in us so that we can take root downward.

As we extend ourselves deeper and take root downward, we will discover that "deep calls unto deep." When we can bring forth riches from the depths of our inner life, we will find that other lives will be deeply affected. The minute our inner being is touched, others will receive help and be enlightened. They will know that there is something beyond their knowledge. When deep touches deep, deep will respond to deep. If our life has no depth, our superficial work will only affect other lives superficially. We repeat yet again--only "deep calls unto deep."

The Parable of the Sower

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23 NIV

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37 NIV

[source: Biblegateway]

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” [enjoy active, blessed, endless life in the kingdom of God].

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

You Made It... HAPPY FRIDAY Everybody! :)

ADVENTURE: British Female Adventurer 1st To Row Solo From Japan To Alaska

Anchorage Daily news

British adventurer 1st to row solo from Japan to Alaska

written by Michelle Theriault Boots

Monday September 23, 2013

A British adventurer became the first woman to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska Monday, arriving in Adak's small boat harbor after 150 days and 3,750 miles at sea.

Sarah Outen celebrated her feat with a bottle of Pol Roger champagne and greeted supporters, her first human contact in nearly five months, according to her blog.

The 28-year-old set out from Japan in a custom-built ocean rowing shell in April.

Outen is trying to make history with "London2London" a self-powered loop of the globe by bicycle pedal and paddle.

On the North Pacific row she battled dangerous seas, isolation, cargo ships, sickness and currents that often tossed her boat in the wrong direction.

In recent days she was nearly hit by a cargo ship after her radar failed. Outen described seeing a "big black wall" coming through mist in a phone interview posted on her website.

She also tweeted about whiteout fog and exhaustion-induced hallucinations in the final, treacherous miles to Adak.

Outen came within a half mile of land before winds and current started to push her custom-built 22-foot ocean rowing shell "Happy Socks" onto the rocks Monday afternoon.

"Her support boat decided it was time for a tow," wrote Mel Johnson, a spokeswoman for the expedition, on Outen's blog.

She was towed into Adak's small boat harbor, where community members had assembled to greet her.

Next up: a hot shower, sleep and a good meal, Johnson said.

Outen will return to the exact point she was towed in to shore in spring of 2014 to continue her expedition by kayak, Johnson said.

IRAN: Pakistan To Proceed With A Plan To Build A Gas Pipeline From Iran Despite Objections From The U.S.; Oh, What A Surprise. NOT. :/

The Wall Street Journal

Pakistan's Iran Pipeline to Proceed

written by Saeed Shah

Thursday September 26, 2013

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he would proceed with a plan to build a gas pipeline from Iran, despite objections from the U.S., and said that he plans to use his speech at the United Nations on Friday to hit out against American drone strikes in his country.

In an interview in New York with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Sharif also spelled out, for the first time, the conditions that Pakistani Taliban would have to accept if his government proceeds with a peace deal with the militant group, demanding that they lay down arms and recognize Pakistan's constitution. At the same time, he voiced fears that continued U.S. drone attacks would wreck his policy to negotiate with the Pakistani Taliban, a group closely linked to al Qaeda.

Mr. Sharif, who came to power in June after the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan's history, also said he hopes to use his visit to the U.N. headquarters in New York for a meeting with Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, Pakistan's traditional enemy. Mr. Sharif said he hopes to restart the peace process with India that he had pursued when he was last in office, in the late 1990s.

In the interview Wednesday, Mr. Sharif acknowledged frictions with the U.S. but said he believed that the issues could be overcome. "President Obama was very kind to call me up immediately after my election and express his desire to work with Pakistan. I also want to work with the United States of America," he said.

The White House said Thursday that President Barack Obama and Mr. Sharif will meet Oct. 23 at the White House, part of what officials said was a broader effort to deepen ties.

A White House statement said terrorism and the economy will be among the topics discussed, but didn't mention the controversial pipeline. "The visit will highlight the importance and resilience of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship and provide an opportunity for us to strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual concern, such as energy, trade and economic development, regional stability, and countering violent extremism," the White House said in a statement.

The meeting in Washington will follow Secretary of State John Kerry's trip to Pakistan in August, in which he offered assurances that the U.S. won't abandon Pakistan after U.S. troops leave neighboring Afghanistan next year.

Pakistan has said it wants the U.S. to open its markets to Pakistani products, among other things, while the Obama administration has urged Pakistan to do more to police border territory where Afghan Taliban and al Qaeda militants flourish.

However, relations could be strained by both the proposed gas pipeline from Iran, which U.S. officials say will mean imposing American sanctions on Pakistan, and the missile strikes by U.S. drone aircraft against suspected militants on Pakistani soil.

The pipeline project, signed by the previous Pakistani government earlier this year, U.S. officials say, is firmly in breach of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran. However, Pakistan is angered that other countries, including Turkey and India, have been granted partial waivers from that sanctions regime to allow them to do business with Iran, an offer not being made to Islamabad.

"The way it appears at this point, the pipeline would attract sanctions," a State Department official said Thursday. "There are other options for Pakistan that are less expensive and more reliable."

Mr. Sharif met Iranian President Hasan Rouhani on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, where the issue of the pipeline was discussed, in a meeting described as warm by the Pakistani side. For Tehran, selling gas to Pakistan would be a way of showing that the U.S. cannot stop its trade altogether. For Pakistan, it is of vital economic importance.

"Pakistan needs gas very badly," said Mr. Sharif." We have to run our power plants. We need gas for them. There is an acute shortage of gas in Pakistan, so we have to import gas from somewhere."

An inadequate supply of gas, used to produce electricity, is one of the main reasons for the crippling shortage of power in Pakistan. Mr. Sharif said Pakistan had a contractual obligation to go ahead with the agreement, or face penalties from Iran of $3 million a day if it is not completed by the end of next year. He said that in Islamabad's legal opinion, the pipeline wouldn't trigger the sanctions.

He said that Pakistan would proceed "unless you give us the gas, or the $3 million a day."

However, Pakistan still needs to find $1.5 billion to build the pipeline, which is already completed on the Iranian side, according to Tehran. Islamabad is also hoping that a change in Washington's stance on Iran after the election of Mr. Rouhani could help Pakistan avoid the sanctions.

In his speech on Friday at the U.N., Mr. Sharif said he plans to say that American drone strikes in his country are illegal, as they breach Pakistan's territorial sovereignty. He said that weapon is also counterproductive as it is producing more "terrorists."

"The more the drones, the more the terrorists get multiplied. You kill one man, his sons, his father, his brothers, they become terrorists. So this is something that is not helping at all," said Mr. Sharif.

Washington believes the drones have been highly effective in killing senior al Qaeda commanders, Pakistani Taliban leaders and Afghan insurgents who use Pakistan's tribal areas, which border Afghanistan, as a sanctuary.

Mr. Sharif said he was particularly concerned that drone strikes now could derail his offer of peace talks to the Pakistani Taliban, who operate separately from the Afghan Taliban. The militant group has demanded that Islamabad stop the drone strikes before negotiations begin.

"Once the talks start, then of course, we consider them [drones] as something that has the ability to break the talks, which must be avoided at all costs," said Mr. Sharif.

Islamabad offered to open dialogue with the Pakistani Taliban following a conference with all the other parliamentary parties earlier this month. The joint resolution from that meeting didn't name any conditions for the talks, or for eventually coming to terms with the group.

In words not used in the offer of talks, Mr. Sharif, in the Journal interview, laid out the terms that would be available to the militants.

"They will have to renounce terrorism," said Mr. Sharif. "They [Pakistani Taliban] will have to abide by the constitution of Pakistan."

"It's been often said by them that they don't recognize the constitution of the country," he said. "But the constitution has to be recognized. If we agree on addressing this terrorism, they will have to be disarmed, lay down their arms."

IRAN: Iran Takes Control Of Bushehr Nuclear Reactor Handed Over By Russia

The Daily Star, Lebanon

Iran takes control of Bushehr nuclear reactor

written by Siavosh Ghazi, AFP

Monday September 23, 2013

TEHRAN - Iran on Monday was finally taking control of its civilian nuclear reactor at Bushehr, a project begun 37 years ago by West Germany, wracked by setbacks, and finished by Russia.

The Islamic republic's atomic agency chief Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed Russia was handing over the 1,000-megawatt plant but said its experts would remain in Bushehr as part of a guarantee scheme for the operation.

"A team of Iranian engineers will take control of the Bushehr power plant beginning today," he told state television, ahead of the handover ceremony in the southern city located east across Gulf waters from southern Kuwait.

Construction of the facility -- championed by Tehran as an illustration of its peaceful nuclear intentions -- began in 1975 with the help of West German company Siemens, which quit the project after the 1979 Islamic revolution over concerns about nuclear proliferation.

Work was hampered during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, until Russia agreed in mid-90s to take up the construction baton due originally for completion in 1999.

It is not clear how much the plant has finally cost Iran.

Finally finished more than a decade late and inaugurated in 2010, Bushehr did not come into service until 2011 because of repeated technical problems.

And since then, difficulties have stopped its operation periodically.

"There will be a two-year warranty period, during which Russian experts will be present at the Bushehr plant ... Should any problem arise the Russian contractor is responsible for removing it," Salehi said Monday.

He added that after that period Iran will be "fully responsible" for the plant's operation.

Moscow has also agreed to provide its fuel for 10 years, with the supply deal committing Tehran to returning the spent fuel, amid Western concerns over its controversial uranium enrichment programme.

Tehran's nuclear ambitions have been at the heart of its troubled relations with world powers for years.

Western powers and Israel suspect that Iran's declared peaceful programme of uranium enrichment masks a covert weapons drive, a charge vehemently denied by the Iranian leadership.

Some Iranian officials accuse Russia of foot-dragging in Bushehr under pressure from the United States, which had sought in vain to prevent the project from reaching fruition.

Construction of the Bushehr facility has sparked concern among Gulf Arab states, but both Iran and Russia say it is subject to safeguards of United Nations watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Foreign experts say Tehran attaches great importance to Monday's handover, as it illustrates its self-sufficiency in harnessing civilian nuclear power, no longer dependent on outside help.

But neighbouring nations and the West have concerns about Bushehr, given its location in an earthquake-prone zone on the Gulf, especially since Japan's Fukushima disaster of 2011.

As the crow flies, the plant is far closer to Iran's neighbours than it is to its own capital, one foreign diplomat pointed out, adding: "The prevailing winds go towards Dubai, and marine currents towards Kuwait."

Iran sits astride several major fault lines and is prone to frequent earthquakes, some of which have been devastating.

On April 9, a 6.1-magnitude quake rocked the south, with an epicentre around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Bushehr.

However, a spokesman for Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom -- which finished the plant -- at the time said "they did not even feel the tremors" in Bushehr.

Western concerns also include Iranian engineers' ability to run a power plant constructed of components from three different sources -- German, Russian and domestic.

Iran has said it wants to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity from nuclear power, which would necessitate building 20 1,000-megawatt reactors.

According to Iranian officials, negotiations with Russia are underway for cooperation on future plants.

Salehi said Sunday he expected work to start soon on a second plant upon completion of talks with Moscow, saying: "Negotiations are continuing and are well-advanced."

"Work will start soon," he added, without specifying a date.

KINGDOM OF NETHERLANDS: Euthanasia Claims 42 with Dementia, 13 with Psychiatric Problems

Breitbart's "The Conversations"

Euthanasia Claims 42 with Dementia, 13 with Psychiatric Problems

written by John Nolte

Tuesday September 24, 2013

How in God's name can people with dementia and "severe" psychiatric problems make a competent decision about ending their own lives?

In the Netherlands, they apparently can.

Last year, just ten years after laws were passed legalizing physician-assisted suicide,"mercy killings" have risen to 4,188 -- forty two of whom suffered from dementia, another 13 had severe psychiatric problems.

In one case, approved by the review committee, euthanasia was carried out on an unnamed woman aged between 80 and 90 who was in an advanced stage of dementia.

The elderly woman was suffering from back pain after a fall and was plagued by delusions caused by her dementia.

Medication for pain helped, but made her confused and, clinching the case, she had an advance directive requesting euthanasia in the event of her unbearable suffering. During a lucid moment, she was able to tell her doctor, "Yes, I want euthanasia".

Hope everyone was sure that was a "lucid moment."

PAKISTAN: A 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Rocked Balochistan Creates New Island In Sea; 356 Dead; 619 Injured; 21,000 Homes Destroyed

CNN news

Pakistan quake death toll rises to 356

written by Sophia Saifi

Thursday September 26, 2013

Islamabad, Pakistan - The death toll from the strong earthquake that struck southwestern Pakistan this week has risen to 356 as rescue workers struggle to reach victims, authorities said Thursday.

Further complicating relief efforts, two rockets were fired at -- and missed -- a military helicopter on its way to the quake zone.

The number of people injured has climbed to 619, said Jan Muhammad Buledi, a spokesman for the government of Balochistan, the province where the quake hit. Authorities estimate that 21,000 houses have been destroyed.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake took place Tuesday in a remote, sparsely populated area of Balochistan. Rescue efforts are under way in the heavily hit districts of Awaran and Kech.

Images from the scene have shown buildings reduced to rubble. More people are feared to be trapped under the wreckage, authorities say, suggesting the death toll could rise.

The remoteness of the affected area and damaged communications networks are hindering the rescue operation.

Officials say some areas remain inaccessible, preventing them from getting a full picture of the scale of the damage.

Meanwhile, thousands of survivors in need of assistance after the quake are having to cope with high temperatures, a lack of drinking water and little in the way of shelter.

October is the hottest month in Balochistan and the region is in a perpetual state of drought, said Muhammad Hanif, the director of the National Weather Forecasting Center. Temperatures in Awaran and Kech have reached 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit).

Helicopter attacked

The Pakistani military has deployed more than 1,000 troops to help with rescue and relief efforts

The troops are entering a difficult region. Militants fighting for a separate state in Balochistan operate out of part of Awaran district, which has been the site of bombings.

The potential threat was underlined Thursday when two rockets were fired at an army helicopter ferrying the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority to the earthquake zone, a military official said.

The rockets missed the helicopter as it flew over the narrow Mashki Valley on its way to Awaran, said Brig. Muhammad Abdur Raheem, an army spokesman in Balochistan.

The helicopter was carrying Maj. Gen. Muhammad Saeed Aleem, the National Disaster Management Authority chairman, as well as staff officers and two members of the local news media, Raheem said. All those who were aboard are safe, he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the failed attack.

Pakistani officials have said the quake was powerful enough to cause the appearance of a small mud island a few kilometers off the country's coast in the Arabian Sea. But some overseas scientists have questioned whether the island was the direct result of the earthquake.

PAKISTAN: Taliban Islamic Militant Group Launched Rocket Attacks On A Helicopter Carrying The Head Of The Country's Relief Operations For Earthquake Victims :/

The Telegraph Uk

Pakistan militants attack head of earthquake relief efforts

written by Taha Siddiqui, Islamabad

Thursday September 26, 2013

Major General Muhammad Saeed Aleem, chairman of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was surveying the scale of destruction caused by the earthquake, which has so far left more than 350 dead, more than 500 injured and wiped out entire villages.

But as he and his colleagues carried out an aerial survey to identify the areas of greatest need, his helicopter was attacked by militants with rocket launchers.The rocket missed its target and there were no injuries but the assault highlighted another factor hampering officials as they try to dispatch aid and rescuers to remote villages throughout a barren landscape of 8,000 square miles.

Balochistan, where the earthquake struck on Tuesday, is home to a separatist insurgency of Baloch nationalists and 'safe haven' areas for the Afghan Taliban leadership. Baloch nationalists are believed to have carried out the attack but no group has yet claimed responsibility.

"The attack happened earlier today around 1 pm. He is safe now. He landed in Panjgur district, and thankfully no one was injured," said Lt. Colonel Tauseef Hassan, a senior NDMA official. The attack would not affect the rescue efforts, he added.

Lt. Col Hassan said the attack was however a cause for concern.

"As evident from this latest incident, we are concerned for the safety of our relief efforts but the Pakistani army, the paramilitary forces and the civilian administration are alert and providing us security around the clock," he said.

The earthquake,which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, has destroyed 90 per cent of homes and buildings in some areas but poor roads, the insurgency and the collapse of telecommunications have hampered the government's relief and rescue efforts.

Hospital officials in Awaran district, one of the worst affected, said they were shifting more cases to Karachi because the local area simply did not have the medical resources to cope. "We do not have the capacity to deal with such a huge number of affectees," said Dr. Noor Bakhsh Bizenjo, the medical superintendent at the district hospital in Awaran.

Around 100 protestors gathered in Awaran to demand the government speed up its relief efforts. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked officials to explain why there had been delays in aid reaching the worst affected areas.

PAKISTAN: Your Cowardice Will Not Deter Me, I Am Christian And I Am Pakistani ♥

 

Environmentalist based in Peshawar. Christian by faith and a proud Pakistani. She tweets as @farahsamuel. twitter.com/farahsamuel

 

The Express Tribune

Your cowardice will not deter me, I am Christian and I am Pakistani

written by Farah Samuel

Monday September 23, 2013

The night before

It was a beautiful night. We had all gathered to celebrate my cousin’s birthday in Kohati. The party went on till late night and at around 12:30 am, on my way back home, I marvelled at how peaceful Kohati bazaar looked. The city was sleeping, the shutters were down and with minimum traffic on the roads, the walk back home seemed so lovely knowing that the core of Peshawar city was so beautifully serene.

Not even in my wildest dreams had I anticipated that the very next morning would smell like the blood and tears of hundreds.

The mass murder

It was a fine Sunday morning – bright and sunny. Many of my family members and friends were getting ready for the Sunday mass; a morning which usually brings spirituality, satisfaction and joy. Who knew that it would turn in to such a ghastly spectacle of bereavement? All we went to do was pray. Even this is unacceptable in today’s Pakistan.

Two consecutive blasts in the All Saints Church shook the city while worshipers were still inside, innocently praying. All the serenity from the night before vanished, just like that.

I myself was initially unaware of the blasts, since my immediate family and I attend St John’s Cathedral. However, when the phone rang, my life changed forever. A friend called up and inquired about my family; I had no idea what she was talking about, but then I turned the TV on and scenes of my beloved community made me hysterical.

What is there to say?

We didn’t deserve this.

The blasts

A cousin of mine, Shaleem John, was a part of the Sunday mass and he witnessed first-hand both the blasts. He was standing outside the Church near a water cooler and just 10 minutes before the blast, he was somewhere near the suicide bombers. It is a miracle that he is alive today.

A fellow worshiper who was standing just a few paces from him was injured by shrapnel and fell on top of my cousin; this probably saved his life. He had passed out for a few minutes but as he regained consciousness, the thing that hit him first was the smell- like rust. Moving his eyes across the devastation, all Shaleem could focus his eyes on was the pieces of flesh – human flesh – that clung to the Church’s building.

The incalculable tragedies

On hearing about the blasts, we rushed to the site in an attempt to do what we could to help. At the Lady Reading Hospital, all one could hear was screams, sobs and agony. I saw a woman who had lost her husband in the blast but didn’t even realise that her daughter was missing too. Having looked for her daughter everywhere – inside the Church and outside – she was taken to the hospital where after hours of search she found her daughter in the children’s ward. The poor woman seemed to be on the verge of a total breakdown when she was reunited with her daughter.

Another family lost eight people; eight brothers and sisters; eight husbands and wives; eight mothers and fathers; eight sons and daughters.

My friend’s sister suffered a serious injury to her eye. She was carried to the hospital where the doctors performed a minor surgery, but unfortunately there have been many blood clots and she is now on a ventilator in critical condition.

The whole day was a series of grave and graver losses.

As the day proceeded, I found out that a close friend and his father had also passed away. This boy was in his final year at Khyber Medical University – he was studying to become a doctor and was the pride and joy of his family and his community. We all looked up to him and hoped that one day he would serve not only the Christian community, but the nation on the whole.

But Christians don’t have the right to dream in Pakistan, do they?

Today his mother and younger siblings are left all alone – no father, no brother and no answers.

The tales of grief go on and on; 81 is no small number. But how much blood will satiate the appetite of these monsters?

From a Christian in Pakistan:

As an individual, I feel a sense of such horrific loss; I have lost many brethren; I have lost my family.

We hadn’t yet recovered from the Gojra and Joseph colony’s incidents, and now this one has ripped open the already raw wounds.

The silver lining is that I have many Muslim friends and colleagues who have been calling me since yesterday, showing their love, concern and support. Many have told me how terribly sorry they are. They have felt my pain and made it their own. This is the true Pakistan; a place where people of all faiths come together, not the polarised state the terrorists want to portray. These calls and visits from my Muslims friends have defeated the terrorists. No matter how much they bomb us or how many lives they take, they cannot take away my Pakistan.

Christians stood alongside Jinnah for this country; Pakistan is my country too and I will not let bombs scare me. We will stay; we will prevail and we will fight. We will serve our nation with all our heart.

Yesterday’s incident has left us shocked, but we will keep praying to God to save our country because Pakistan was made for Christians, Muslims, Hindus and every other minority present here.

USA: Shhh! Don't Mention Islam! 90% of Top Newspaper Headlines Censor Islam in Nairobi, Pakistan Attacks

Media Research Center (MRC)

90% of Top Newspaper Headlines Censor Islam in Nairobi, Pakistan Attacks

Generic ‘terrorists’ and ‘militants’ appear in nine of 10 headlines.

written by Staff

Monday September 23, 2013

Dare a top newspaper journalist to play connect-the-dots and chances are he’ll fail miserably – at least with drawing the line between Islam and terrorism. In Nairobi, Kenya last weekend, Islamist militants took over a high-end shopping mall and began executing non-Muslims. In Pakistan, Islamist suicide bombers detonated at a Christian Church on Sunday.

Yet on Monday, September 23, 90 percent of the top ten (via circulation numbers) daily newspapers’ headlines in the United States censored the words “Islam” and Muslim” from Nairobi and Pakistan reports. One – the New York Daily News – didn’t even have a headline for the latest Islamic terrorist attacks. That’s journalism at its finest.

The Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) headline by Heidi Vogt announced that, “Assault on Mall Stuns Kenya” and called the act a “terrorist attack” by “armed militants.” In a small reference to the Pakistan Christian fatalities, the newspaper credited a group linked with the “Pakistan Taliban.”

As the second most popular newspaper after the WSJ, The New York Times proclaimed “Carnage In Mall Shows Resilience of Terror Group” for an article by Nicholas Kulish, Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt. In fact, on the front page the Times used every description but the Islamic connection to describe the aggressors: “the ferocious armed political movement known as the Shabab” – with ties to Al Qaeda and Boko Haram.

Only USA Today (number three in circulation) broke the Islam silence with a headline admitting, “Islamists kill dozens in Kenya and Pakistan” (under an even larger headline: “Two New Terror Attacks”). Jim Michaels and William W. Welch’s story detailed how “Islamic extremists unleashed bloody attacks.” For Pakistan, the reporters called Sunday’s two suicide bombers assault “the deadliest-ever attack against the nation’s Christian minority” and included a picture with a caption describing, “a relative of victims of the Christian church bombings.”

The New York Post’s front page read “BLOODY RAID” and “Kenyan soldiers storm mall, save most hostages. Its Sunday cover showed a woman running with a baby above the words “Terror massacre in Kenya.” but the website publicized. Only inside the piece were the assailants described as “Islamist attackers” related to “Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents.”

The Chicago Sun-Times’s website broadcast “2 Militants Killed in Mall Attack: Kenya Minister” by Associated Press’ Jason Straziuso and Tom Odula. Inside the piece, the reporters noted that “two Islamic extremists were killed.”

The Washington Post’s front page read “Kenyan Forces Move Into Mall, Rescue Many” for a piece by Sudarsan Raghavan and Greg Miller. The story below noted “Islamist militants” connected to al-Shabab militia and Al Qaeda. For Pakistan, The Washington Post blamed “suicide bombers” for murdering “scores outside a Christian church.”

The rest of newspapers unabashedly blacked out Islamic ties in reports. The Los Angeles Times’s front page to “Kenya Fights Terrorists in Mall Siege,” by Nicholas Soi and Robyn Dixon, charged “Somali militants.” The Denver Post’s front page, for “Kenya Moves to End Siege at Mall” by The Washington Post’s Sudarsan Raghavan, faulted “heavily armed assailants” for Nairobi and “bombers” for Pakistan. Chicago Tribune’s front, entitled, “Security Forces Launch Assault to End Mall Standoff,” cited “Somali militants.”

Last and least, the New York Daily News offered nada on the front page to the attacks. The publication deemed the Emmys and baseball news more worthy.

USA: The Council On American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): “Who Cares” If American Jihadists Were Involved In The Murderous Terror Attack On A Shopping Mall In Kenya

The New York Post

Muslim group: ‘Who cares’ if US terrorists in Kenya mall siege

written by S.A. Miller

Tuesday September 24, 2013

WASHINGTON – One of the most prominent and controversial Muslim-American advocacy groups says “who cares” if American jihadists were involved in the murderous terror attack on a shopping mall in Kenya.

“It doesn’t matter who’s involved in it,” Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told The Post.

“Terrorism is terrorism, whether it is Americans involved or anyone from any nation or background. Who cares?” he said.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said Monday “two or three Americans” were among the bloodthirsty thugs from the al Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab who attacked the mall, hunting down and killing non-Muslims.

The American jihadists were 18 to 19 years old and of Somali or Arab origin and came from Minnesota and another place in the United States, Mohamed told PBS.

CAIR is a DC-based nonprofit organization that describes itself as a “grassroots civil rights and advocacy group” for Muslim-Americans. The group also has been linked to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

“The American-Muslim community has repeatedly and consistently condemned all acts of terrorism, in whatever form they take and wherever they occur,” said Hooper.

Stressing that Islamic extremists from the United States or around the world are merely a “tiny minority” of Muslims, he insisted that American Muslims are not being radicalized in American mosques or American Muslim communities.

“When you see individuals engaged in religious extremism or violence, it’s a violation of the norms in their community – not because of something that is being promoted,” he said.

Rep. Pete King (R-LI), chairman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on counterterrorism and intelligence, was skeptical.

“I don’t believe a word of it,” said King.

King conducted a series of Homeland Security Committee hearings in 2011 that focused on homegrown terrorist, which included testimony about more than 40 Muslim Americans from Minneapolis, Minn., recruited to fight for al-Shabab in Africa.

“In Minneapolis some of the local leaders at the mosques told the people, told the family members not to cooperate with the FBI or with the police,” he said. “They actually gave out false information to the families that were trying to find out where their sons were.”

USA: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Impeded FBI Probe of Somali Terrorist Group in Kenya Attack

Judicial Watch

CAIR Impeded FBI Probe of Somali Terrorist Group in Kenya Attack

written by Staff

Monday September 23, 2013

The Al Qaeda affiliate that terrorized a Kenyan shopping center and murdered scores of innocent people has a powerful and influential advocate in the United States, the Muslim “civil rights” group known as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

It’s unlikely that the mainstream media will mention the connection, but it’s deep and it involves interfering in federal probes involving the radicalization of young Somali men in the U.S., like the ones carrying out the attack at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Northern Nairobi. CAIR has also wielded its power to silence critics of the Al Qaeda offshoot—Somalia’s Al Shabaab—that stormed into the mall, murdered at least 68 and took dozens of hostages.

Several of the jihadists involved in the attack are Somalis from Minnesota, according to a mainstream news report. They include 22-year-old Ahmed Mohamed Isse of St. Paul and 24-year-old Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid of Minneapolis. In the last few years the FBI and Congress have launched probes into the radicalization of the Somali American community in Minnesota. Al Shabaab recruits young men in local mosques and ships them off to train and fight in Somalia.

CAIR, an Islamic terrorist front group that reportedly raises money for Hamas, has interfered with the U.S. government’s investigation into this operation. A few years ago it actually hampered an FBI probe into the disappearance of dozens of Twin Cities Somali men. Many in the local Somali community denounced CAIR’s actions, saying that the group was actually discouraging them from cooperating with the FBI.

During congressional testimony, the uncle of one of the missing men—recruited and radicalized by Al Shabaab—blasted CAIR for instructing the Somali American community not to cooperate with law enforcement and standing blindly behind the mosque that radicalized his nephew. “CAIR held meetings for some members of the community and told them not to talk to the FBI, which was a slap in the face for the Somali American Muslim mothers who were knocking on doors day and night with pictures of their missing children and asking for the community to talk to law enforcement about what they know of the missing kids,” Abdirizak Bihi told the House Committee on Homeland Security.

CAIR has also tried to silence critics of Al Shabaab in parts of Minnesota that have been impacted by the Al Qaeda affiliate. A few years ago CAIR blasted two Minneapolis Muslim activists for participating in a seminar (“Al Shabaab: An Islamic Extremist Terrorism Organization”) about the Islamic terrorist group in Somalia. Among other things CAIR said the seminar failed to distinguish between Islam and terrorism and that it offered inaccurate and biased information about Muslims and Somalis.

During the Obama administration we’ve seen CAIR gain tremendous power and influence, which is incredibly alarming considering the group has extensive links to foreign and domestic Islamists. It was founded in 1994 by three Middle Eastern extremists (Omar Ahmad, Nihad Awad and Rafeeq Jaber) who ran the American propaganda wing of Hamas, known then as the Islamic Association for Palestine. In 2008 CAIR was a co-conspirator in a federal terror-finance case involving the Hamas front group Holy Land Foundation. Read more in a Judicial Watch special report that focuses on Muslim charities.

Yet last year President Obama’s deputies held hundreds of closed-door meetings with CAIR officials. Little information was discussed publicly about the secret sessions, but the news organization that broke the story quoted a White House director saying that government departments and agencies discussed a “range of issues.”

Around the same time, the FBI purged its anti-terrorism training curricula of material determined to be “offensive” to Muslims. Judicial Watch uncovered this scandal and obtained the FBI records just a few weeks ago. CAIR is not specifically named but the records show that an undisclosed group of “Subject Matter Experts” (SME) determined the federal training material was offensive to Muslims. Just last month, several police departments in Illinois cancelled their anti-terrorism training because CAIR complained that the instructor was blatantly anti-Muslim.

BRAZIL: Air Pollution Deadlier Than Road Accidents In Sao Paulo

France24 news

Pollution deadlier than road accidents in Sao Paulo

written by AFP staff

Wednesday September 25, 2013

Air pollution kills more people annually than road accidents in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous city which will host the opening game of the 2014 World Cup, a study found.

The survey by the Health and Environment out Tuesday said at least 4,655 people died from pollution-related ailments in the city which is home to 11 million, compared with 1,556 killed in crashes.

With four million vehicles clogging the city streets every day, pollution was also a bigger killer than breast cancer and AIDS, it added.

At the state level, the split is also stark.

"Few people know it, but every year, 15,000 people die throughout the state due to pollution, more than the 7,900 deaths from road accidents," said institute president Evangelina Vormittag.

With a total population of 42 million, the state of Sao Paulo is also Brazil's most populous and the annual average of pollutants in the air reaches 20 to 25 micrograms per cubic meter, much higher than the 10 micrograms tolerated by the World Health Organization.

Scientists say environmental pollution can cause many respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems and breast cancer.

The study was conducted between 2006 and 2011, in collaboration with health and economic experts from the University of Sao Paulo.

VENEZUELA: Venezuelan Government Seizes Toilet Paper Factory Amid Shortage. Pay Attention This Is The Socialist Path Obama And His Supporters Are Taking Us Down. Wake Up Policies Are The Same!

Business Insider

Venezuelan Government Seizes Toilet Paper Factory Amid Shortage

written by AFP staff

Sunday September 22, 2013

Venezuela's leftist government said Saturday it temporarily seized a major toilet paper factory hoping that it can end troublesome shortages of the staple personal care item.

"The temporary occupation of Manpa (Manufactora de Papel) is aimed at verifying that toilet paper industry production, marketing and distribution" are all in line with state policies, Vice President Jorge Arreaza said on Twitter, without indicating how long the takeover would last.

He said the decision had been taken by an economic panel sworn in last week by President Nicolas Maduro, a close ally of Communist-ruled Cuba.

OPEC member Venezuela has vast crude oil resources, sitting atop the world's largest proven reserves.

But efforts to centralize its economy like Havana have seen the country reach an inflation rate of 32.9 percent, and a toilet paper shortage rate of 20 percent, according to government data.

Even hospitals have reported food shortages, while citizens routinely deal with shortages of coffee, flour, sugar or personal care basics like toilet paper.

Venezuela imports half the food it consumes, and the government also has been taking over large farms hoping it can boost domestic production and supply.

Maduro last week claimed the White House is plotting the "collapse" of his government next month by sabotaging food, electricity and fuel supplies.

Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, also made regular claims about several alleged US plots to kill him.

VENEZUELA: Bonds-for-Chickens Barter Feeds Debt Selloff in Venezuela

Bloomberg news

Bonds-for-Chickens Barter Feeds Debt Selloff in Venezuela

written by Nathan Crooks & Andrea Jaramillo

Thursday September 26, 2013

Venezuela will pay for $600 million of food imports including milk and live chicks from Colombia with dollar-denominated bonds, a sign the nation is running out of money to address the chronic shortages of basic goods fueling the world’s fastest inflation.

Venezuela’s borrowing costs, which fell this month on speculation it would start a foreign-exchange system to boost the dollars needed to buy necessities from abroad and alleviate inflation of 45 percent, surged by the most in three weeks yesterday after El Nacional newspaper said China wouldn’t loan the cash intended to fund the change. Yields on the benchmark 2027 bonds rose 0.49 percentage point to 11.9 percent at 2:52 p.m. in New York today, the biggest daily increase on a closing basis since June 20.

With Venezuela’s foreign reserves plummeting to an almost nine-year low, the South American country is seeking to trade dollar bonds issued by state oil producer Petroleos de Venezuela SA for food, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told exporters Sept. 13. Investors such as EM Quest Capital LLP’s Phillip Blackwood say the bond selloff will deepen unless Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro immediately introduces a more flexible currency-exchange model because the country imports almost everything besides oil.

“They’re at that point now where there is no other choice but to do something,” Blackwood, a managing partner who oversees $3.5 billion of developing-nation debt, said by telephone from London. “If it doesn’t come, then the market is going to be massively disappointed and will sell off dramatically.”

Dollar Debt

The issuance of new dollar debt is probable in the coming weeks as Venezuela runs out of options, Deutsche Bank AG economist Gustavo Canonero wrote in an e-mailed note to clients today.

A bonds-for-food agreement would help boost Colombia’s exports to its neighbor, which have slumped 60 percent from a peak of $6.8 billion in 2008 as producers struggle to get paid.

“The bonds that trade in international markets can be sold and converted into dollars,” Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas told reporters in Bogota on Sept. 25. That’s “what our exporters need. We are studying the mechanism for that sale.”

Venezuela Vice President Jorge Arreaza told reporters in Caracas yesterday that Maduro had approved economic measures to fight an “economic war” and will guarantee the supply of Christmas food and toys.

Inflation Quickens

An official at Venezuela’s Finance Ministry, who asked not to be identified because he isn’t allowed to speak publicly, declined to comment on how the government would pay for Colombian imports. He wouldn’t confirm the report in El Nacional about Chinese aid, which the newspaper obtained from a source it didn’t identify.

Shortages of goods in Venezuela ranging from sugar to beef are stoking consumer prices as importers struggle to obtain foreign currency. Inflation accelerated to 45.4 percent last month from 42.6 percent in July, the highest rate among 114 economies tracked by Bloomberg. The central bank’s scarcity index is 20 percent, meaning that one out of about every five consumer staples is out of stock at any given time.

Using external debt to buy basic goods “speaks volumes about the difficulties that the country is grappling with,” Marco Santamaria, who helps oversee $25 billion in emerging-market debt at AllianceBernstein Holding LP (AB) in New York, said by phone.

Narrow Gap

Venezuela Finance Minister Nelson Merentes said Sept. 17 that the country would unveil a new foreign-exchange system to increase the supply of dollars and narrow the gap between the official and black-market exchange rates.

One dollar buys 41.2 bolivars on the black market, compared with 6.3 bolivars at the official rate, according to rate-tracking website dolartoday.com, which tracks the exchange rate on the border with Colombia.

“We want to use this market to encourage the private sector to sell their dollars in a transparent, logical and rational way,” Merentes said in an interview on the Globovision television network, referring to the new system.

Speculation the new exchange system will increase the supply of dollars has given a boost to Venezuela’s bond market, EM Quest Capital’s Blackwood said.

Venezuelan notes returned 5.6 percent since Merentes said on Sept. 1 the government was drafting changes to its foreign-exchange system. That compares with a 2.9 percent average gain for speculative-grade notes from 37 developing nations tracked by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

‘Initial Step’

“The expectation is that they actually deliver something at least,” Blackwood said. “It’s certainly not going to be a panacea, but it’s going to be an initial step.”

If the government fails to act, the bolivar may depreciate to 60 per dollar by December, Alejandro Grisanti, an analyst at Barclays Plc, said in an interview.

Venezuela’s five-year credit-default swaps, contracts protecting holders of the nation’s debt against non-payment, climbed 24 basis points, or 0.24 percentage point, to 889 basis points.

Venezuela’s average bond yield climbed 23 basis points to 11.6 percent yesterday, while JPMorgan’s high-yield index rose six basis points to 9.06 percent.

“If this becomes a bigger program, it certainly could start raising questions on what is the strategy in Venezuela,” Daniel Volberg, an economist at Morgan Stanley, said by phone. “Is there a longer term plan so you don’t issue long-term debt to buy food?”