Early in 2010, Egypt and Israel made a gas deal allowing Israel to buy the gas at prices lower than its market value.
However, more recently Egypt's Irrigation Minister dismissed the possibility that Egypt would supply Israel with water from the Nile. (Egypt and Israel, a souring relationship?)
On 20 December 2010 (ISRAEL DESTABILISING EGYPT) we learnt that Egypt arrested members of an Israeli spy ring within its borders.
Egypt claims the spies kidnapped foreign nationals.
Reportedly, the aim is to destabilize security in the Sinai.
Emad Gad, an expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, says: "Despite Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt, Egypt remains Israel's primary threat in the region.
"Israel sees Egypt as its main obstacle to regional dominance."
George Galloway, alleged disinformation agent, has been attacking Mubarak.
Climate change is affecting the cultivation of Assam tea, with rising temperatures reducing yields and altering the distinctive flavor of India's most popular drink, researchers say.
High hills and abundant rainfall make the north-eastern state of Assam an ideal place to grow tea, with 850 gardens over 320,000 hectares (593,000 acres) producing the majority of the country's harvest. But in the last 60 years, rainfall has fallen by more than a fifth and minimum temperature has risen by a degree to 19.5C.
"This is clearly climate change, and it is bound to have major impact on the tea industry," said Debakanta Handique, a climate scientist in Assam.
The Tea Board of India said it had recorded a steady decline in tea production in recent years. In 2007, Assam produced 512,000 tons of tea. By 2008 this had declined to 487,000 tons, with estimated production in 2009 down again to 445,000. A further decrease is expected this year.
Mridul Hazarika, director of Tocklai Tea Research, the oldest tea research station in the world, said rainfall and minimum temperature were two of the most important factors affecting both quality and quantity of harvests.
"The decline has been taking place although there has been an increase in the area of tea cultivation as new gardens have come up, and many gardens have added new areas for tea plantation. This is an indication of the seriousness of the threat," said Hazarika. Efficient rainwater harvesting and new breeds of tea plants were needed to reverse the trend.
"Changes have already been observed in the flavor, but it is not possible to blame only climate change for this," he said. "Other factors like the fertilizers used and cultivation methods might also be partly responsible."
The changing taste of Assam tea is a serious concern for growers. Sudipta Nayan Goswami, an Assam-based planter, said subtle changes had already been observed: "The flavor has changed from what it was before. The creamy and strong flavor is no more."
"There is a huge demand for Assam tea abroad, and this is due to its strong, bright flavor. The changes will sharply hamper the demand for this variety of tea abroad."
Ben Ali fell out with Israel and the Council on Foreign Relations. So some shootings had to be arranged by CIA assets within the Tunisian security services?
"The Ambassador raised economic liberalization, noting the importance of opening up to franchising.
"El Materi agreed, noting that he would be pleased to assist McDonald’s to enter Tunisia, suggesting they begin at the new cruise port in La Goulette."
The CIA may think Materi is too controversial a figure to be Tunisia's leader?
Materi "feigns piousness, but is a phony (I once saw him going out to party with two girls and a friend; his wife wasn’t there; and he was driving a Bentley).
"How did he afford such a car? Using his new connections to acquire state funds and companies.
"He recently bought a +$1 million home in Montreal. The home operates as a gateway house in case Ben Ali dies and a new political order takes place that would rightfully prosecute him and the Trabelsis and the Ben Alis for their theft."
Suharto, perhaps like Tunisia's Ben Ali, was seen as getting too old, seen as not giving enough contracts to the USA, and seen as not being sufficiently subservient to Washington and Tel Aviv.
The bombing caused no real damage to the synagogue or its holy books.
Perez Trabelsi, head of Djerba’s large Jewish community, had left the synagogue for coffee just before the blast.
The people who died were 14 German tourists, five Tunisians and two French nationals.
The bombing was blamed on al-Qaeda, which is believed to be part of the CIA.
Christian
In 2003, Christian Ganczarski, who prosecutors believe had links to al-Qaeda, was arrested in connection with the bombing.
He has now been given a long prison sentence by a Paris court for his alleged part in the bombing. (Two jailed over Tunisia bombing)
Is Christian a double agent or a patsy?
Christian was born in Poland to devout Catholic parents. He moved to Germany. Reportedly he became "one of bin Laden's personal couriers."
The alleged financier of the Djerba bombing is a Spanish Catholic called Enrique Cerda Ibanez.
The Djerba bombing was on 11 April 2002.
The New York attack was on 11 September 2001.
The Madrid bombings were on 11 March 2004.
The number 11 is seen by some numerologists to signify "Israel."
Israel has attacked Tunisia in the past.
In 1985, Israel bombed the PLO headquarters in Tunis. - Mossad
In 1988 a small fleet of Israeli Sa'ar 4 Fast Missile Boats arrived in the waters just off the coast of Tunis. The Palestinian Abu Jihad, Arafat's deputy, living in the exclusive Sidi Bou Said suburb of Tunis, was then murdered byIsraeli special forces. - Tunis Raid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Djerba's chief rabbi, Haiem Maddar, has said that Jews in Djerba have more in common with their fellow Tunisians than they do with the Europeans, Russians and Americans who control Israel today.
Before 1948, Jews and Arabs coexisted together for centuries in Palestine. Now everyone in the world helps fuel the conflict so they can sell weapons to both sides, the rabbi complained.-(Tunisian Jews Enjoy Religious Tolerance and Peace in Djerba)
This will only benefit oil producing countries which are 'independent'.
3. The Euro will survive.
4. The 'economy' will slowly recover.
5. Some food prices will rise sharply.
6. There will be continuing unrest in parts of Europe, and elsewhere. Provocateurs will be at work.
7. Some banks will not be propped up, and bondholders in these banks will suffer.
8. There will be continuing attempts by the CIA and its friends to influence events in key states such as Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, India, Egypt ...
More Moslems will be recruited by the CIA and its friends.
9. Bloggers who try to criticise the status quo will find themselves increasingly sidelined by blogs promoting disinformation. Search engines will increasingly promote commercial junk.
10. The public will continue to be conned by CIA psy-ops.
Headley is accused of traveling to Denmark to scout the building of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, the newspaper which printed cartoons showing Muhammad as a terrorist. ("In alleged terror plot, a troubling twist")
"An enthusiastic follower of George Bush, like his friend Tony Blair he told outright lies to the Danish people about the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
"He also lied about the content of secret intelligence reports the Danes had on Iraqi WMD...
"A very brave and honourable man, Major Frank Grevil, stepped forward to tell the Danish people that Rasmussen had lied about the content of intelligence reports.
"Rasmussen did not show his famed support for freedom of speech in the case of Major Frank Grevil, who was jailed for telling the Danish people the truth..."
Denmark is in trouble.
History shows that there are plenty of Moslems willing to work for the CIA and Mossad, in return for money or sex or drugs.
It is not difficult to recruit Moslems as 'terrorists'.
China hopes to grab certain oil blocks from western energy groups, Shell, Chevron, Total and ExxonMobil.
Goodluck Jonathan, now Nigeria's president, shakes hands with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, 8 January 2010.
The car bomb explosions killed eight people in Lagos, Nigeria's capital.
Former President, General Ibrahim Babangida, allegedly a CIA asset, was the only past Nigerian leader absent at the Independence Day ceremony.(IBB, Atiku absent at celebration)
MEND, Nigeria's Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Nigeria's biggest rebel militia, reportedly warned it had planted bombs.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was quoted by AFP news agency as saying: "It has nothing to do with Mend."
MEND wants a greater share of oil revenues to go to the impoverished Niger Delta, home to Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
Reportedly, MEND has struck at off-shore oil installations.
In 2009, an amnesty was agreed with rebels in the Delta.
MEND may have been infiltrated by a certain group.
Allegedly, in Nigeria, the CIA is "positioning Ibrahim B. Babangida to return to power." (CIA Agents & Nigeria.)
Orji Kalu, linked to a mysterious death.He may be Babangida's running mate.
The CIA may want Ibrahim Babangida standing as the presidential candidate and Orji Uzor Kalu as his running mate.
General Ibrahim Babangida ruled Nigeria from his coup against Muhammadu Buhari in 1985 until his departure in 1993.
Allegedly, Babangida is a CIA asset.
"The CIA cut a deal with Babangida, where Nigeria was used as a major drug transit and money laundering center for the proceeds of the CIA drug trade." (CIA Agents & Nigeria.)
Orji Uzor Kalu was a candidate for President of Nigeria in the April 2007 general election. [1]
"Reports say, Kalu drives into CIA Virginia Headquarters freely, with little on no clearance required of him as expected of visitors at CIA headquarters; sources told RR that only CIA agents and its operatives can have such access in that CIA Virginia facility, others pointed that Orji Uzor Kalu is in proximity to CIA Virgina headquarters, ‘he is their boy’ another commentator who spoke on condition of anonymity added." (CIA Agents & Nigeria.)
Reportedly, Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian 'underwear bomber', bound for Detroit, was doing the work of the CIA and Mossad.
Former dictator Ibrahim Babangida and Kalu may be CIA operatives (Moshood Abiola too) who assisted the US, with drug trafficking.
The CIA may want Ibrahim Babangida standing as the presidential candidate and Orji Uzor Kalu as his running mate.
Reportedly, the CIA did not want Chinwe Masi's mysterious death in Kalu’s Mansion to become a distraction to the “CIA Nigeria Roadmap”.
If Nigeria becomes balkanised (broken up along tribal lines) by 2015 or earlier as predicted by the CIA, the US will use its AFRICOM to protect the oil-wells.
In 1986, the Time Magazine reported that during the Reagan administration, the U.S had the elite commando unit, the SEALS, dispatched to several different countries for covert activities.
This unit was in Nigeria in August 1985, during the week that Babangida overthrew Muhammadu Buhari.
General Buhari
After the coup, the CIA cut a deal with Babangida, where Nigeria was used as a major drug transit and money laundering center for the proceeds of the CIA drug trade.
The phony or rogue bank, BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) was used to launder the proceeds of the drug business and take them out of the country.
Babangida’s loot left the country through this bank. Remember that branches of this bank were everywhere in Lagos and the North.
Journalist Dele Giwa stumbled on this information about drugs and was about to break the news when, in 1986, he was killed by a mail bomb.
Dele Giwa
Toward the end of 1986, or 1987, Babangida was given a “Strategic” award, by the Heritage Foundation.
There was an explosion of drug activities during Babangida’s regime.
It was during Babangida’s regime that most of the wealth was looted.
"Monumental kleptocrat and notorious dictator" General Sani Abacha, President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998. He was trained at the Defence Officers cadet Training College in Aldershot, England.
Abacha and Abiola may have been killed with the assistance of the CIA.
The only leader that Nigerian people ever elected was Abiola.
Moshood Abiola (1937 – 1998) ran for the presidency in 1993, and won, but remained President-Elect till his death, as he was denied his mandate when the election results were annulled by the preceding military president Ibrahim Babangida.
Nigeria needs the likes of Nuhu Ribadus, Gani Fawhinmis, Tai Solarins, Mohammed Buharis and Babatunde Idiagbons.
Most of Nigeria's problems, especially the Niger Delta, can be traced back to LONDON AND WASHINGTON, through their multinational corporations.
Word of the Day: SALADIN (41D: Sultan who captured Jerusalem in 1187) —
Saladin was a Kurdish Muslim who became the first Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria and led Islamic opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, he ruled over Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, and Yemen. He led the Muslims against the Crusaders and eventually recaptured Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem after his victory in the Battle of Hattin. His chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, and despite being the nemesis of the Crusaders he won the respect of many of them, including Richard the Lionheart. Rather than becoming a hated figure in Europe, he became a celebrated example of the principles of chivalry. (Wikipedia)
• • •
Well hi there! And Happy New Year! Bet you didn't think you'd be seeing PuzzleGirl again so soon, did you? Neither did I. It's a long story and it's not very interesting so I won't bore you with it. I'll just say that it involves Rex becoming unsure about which day it was yesterday. It actually sounded a little like some kind of alcohol-induced confusion but I don't really have anything to base that on. Total speculation. Absolutely no facts. Nothing at all to indicate that Rex was actually drunk yesterday when he forgot what day it was. I mean I'm sure there are many other reasons a person would be confused about what day it is. Even a person who's drinking! I mean, just because a person is drinking doesn't mean that's the reason they can't remember stuff. Ya know what? Again, this is a completely unfounded rumor — the one about how Rex was drunk and couldn't blog today — so we really shouldn't even be talking about it. Just forget I said anything.
This is going to be a quick write-up because, well, you know, it's New Year's Eve and all. Plus I figure you all are hungover today and probably can't solve the puzzle, much less read some crazy lady running her mouth about it. This New Year's Eve is actually kind of interesting. PuzzleSon, our 6th grader, is at a New Year's Eve party put on by the county at a community rec center. PuzzleHusband dropped him off there at 8:00 and will pick him up at 1:00. That's right. 1:00 A.M. My baby is out there doing God only knows what and we won't see him until practically the middle of the night. It's a little unnerving. Sure, the people running the party were all wearing bright green "STAFF" shirts, and there were two cops at the door, and parents will be required to show I.D. to pick up their kids, but just because the people putting on the party have done every single thing they can do to calm the fears of the overprotective high-strung North Arlington parents doesn't mean that something TERRIBLE WON'T HAPPEN TO MY BABY! I mean they CAN'T ANTICIPATE EVERY POSSIBLE PROBLEM! ::deep cleansing breaths:: Oh man, teenage years are gonna be rough on the Mommy in this house. ::in with the good air, out with the bad air:: Tell ya what — let's talk about the puzzle.
I really enjoyed this one. I plunked in MR. ROBOTO with no crosses whatsoever and felt like I was off to the races. That southwest corner fell pretty easily and that's probably why I have an overall positive feeling about the puzzle. It was so nice and Scrabbly down there! I did run into a little trouble when I plopped in BALE OF HAY where BANJO PICK was supposed to go (55A: Barn dance accessory), but that didn't take long to straighten out. I knew LOKI was right for 59A: Mythological trickster who was punished by being held to a rock, so even though I wasn't entirely sure what 52D would be, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be *FL**. Obviously, you can never be too sure, especially on a Saturday, but it felt like a wrong-wrong start, not just a not-really-wrong-but-tricky start. So I erased BALE OF HAY, caught on to JOEY right away from its clue (56D: Bouncing baby) and was excited to add that J to the U, Y, Z, X, and V already in that part of the grid. Love it!
The rest of the grid was a little tougher. I'm sure I've seen the name ANOUK AIMÉE before (16A: "Prêt-à -Porter" actress), but I have no idea who she is and it took me a lot of crosses before her name actually came into view. Once I got her in there, I thought 7D: Dingbats looked like it should be LOONEYS (which I think is actually a better answer than the correct GOONEYS), so that made LIGHT SHOWS (5A: Concert spectacles) hard to see.
Let's do a few bullets and then you can all get back to nursing your hangovers. My suggestion? Peanut butter toast and 7-Up. Or next time maybe don't drink so much.
Bullets:
1A: Star of India, once (SABU). I do not know what this means.
30A: N.Y.P.D. descriptor (FINEST).
32A: Cry to get 40-Across (SEND HELP). I tried NEED HELP first, which is a crappy answer. Especially cuz it's, ya know, wrong.
42A: "Rock Me ___" (1984 hit) (TONITE). I don't remember this song. At first I was thinking "Rock Me Amadeus," and actually the year isn't that far off (1986). "Rock Me TONITE," though, is a Billy Squier song and its Wikipedia page explains that "The video for the track …, which shows Squier dancing around a room in a pink tank top, frequently appears on 'worst music video ever' lists." Well that's something, I guess.
45A: Simon & Schuster's parent (CBS). I did not know that.
51A: Leaving lines (TA-TAS). Heh heh. You said TATAS.
8D: Dug in, with "down" (HUNKERED). This is an awesome, awesome word and we all should use it more often.
11D: Area where blood vessels enter an organ (HILUM). This was my WTF answer of the day. I'm not real good at the science-y stuff.
38D: Hit from the 1983 platinum album "Kilroy Was Here" (MR. ROBOTO). Don't try to act like you didn't know this was coming.
47D: Yanks' foes (BOSOX). I started a new job a couple weeks ago and the guy I work for is a huge baseball fan. He has season tickets to the Nats and that's his main team (he grew up in this area, so he was a Senators fan back in the day). So I cornered him one day and said, "Okay, I know you're a Nats fan, but if you had to pick: Yankees or Red Sox?" He was all, "Ohhhhh, this is a trick question. I really don't want to screw this up." Don't worry, I let him off the hook.
I'll be here tomorrow with a special guest, so come on back and check us out. It's sure to be entertaining. Oh and here's a tip for tomorrow. At the very bottom of the New York Times crossword blog, there's a note: "The Sunday crossword will be available on the Premium Crosswords page in both Across Lite and PDF format …. Three clues in the PDF and print version use foreign alphabets; the Across Lite version uses English-letter transliterations." So make sure you don't let that trip you up. See you tomorrow.
Taken from CH Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, January 1, Morning
“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” - Joshua 5:12
Israel’s weary wanderings were all over, and the promised rest was attained. No more moving tents, fiery serpents, fierce Amalekites, and howling wildernesses: they came to the land which flowed with milk and honey, and they ate the old corn of the land. Perhaps this year, beloved Christian reader, this may be thy case or mine. Joyful is the prospect, and if faith be in active exercise, it will yield unalloyed delight. To be with Jesus in the rest which remaineth for the people of God, is a cheering hope indeed, and to expect this glory so soon is a double bliss. Unbelief shudders at the Jordan which still rolls between us and the goodly land, but let us rest assured that we have already experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause us. Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be “for ever with the Lord.” A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. “We who have believed do enter into rest.” The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us “glory begun below.” In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserve in Christ Jesus; there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!
Taken from Charles H Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, January 1, Morning
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Dwight Howard: Pumaman dominated the Knicks with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Of course, he went 8-for-19 from the field -- which included seven misses at the rim against New York's awesome interior defense -- bricked 5 free throws and committed a team-high 5 turnovers. But those reasons aren't why he's getting WotN treatment.
Dwight got tagged with his 12th technical foul of the season. Not only does that number lead the league, but Howard will be suspended for one game if -- sorry, make that when -- he reaches 16. Then he'll miss an additional game for every two technical fouls after that. Mind you, the Magic have played only 33 games so far...and there are 49 to go.
Of course, Dwight's coach thinks his player is getting the 'Sheed treatment.
Said Stan Van Gundy: "I don't think he's any harder on officials than anybody else in the league. I don't think even think he's one of the hardest guys on officials, quite honestly. I could probably give you 20 guys who are a lot harder on officials than he is. Why he's been the guy to get all the technicals, I don't know. But there are a lot of guys around the league who are a lot harder on officials, yell at them, swear and everything else and get away with it."
Whaaaat? Swear at an official? Who would do something like tha...
Huh. Never mind.
Amar'''''e Stoudemire, excuse machine: Chris Broussard's choice for early season MVP was limited to only 32 minutes due to foul trouble. He was productive during his PT, scoring 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting and blocking 4 shots. Sure, he finished with three fewer rebounds than Orlando shooting guard Jason Richardson, but STAT's job is to score...not rebound. Not to suggest that the Magic's 51-35 rebounding advantge -- which included 17 offensive boards -- had any impact on the game or anything. I was just sayin'.
At any rate, Stoudemire said: "If I didn't get in foul trouble, it would have been a different game for sure."
I love the "what if" games that get played by players on a losing team. If I was Amar''''''e, though, I might say something like, "If I could pull down contested rebounds against talented big men, it would have been a different game for sure."
By the way, Sun Tzu also had a shot blocked...by the rim.
Raymond Felton: You know what else would have made it a different game? If Felton hadn't been playing with a dolphin flipper for a shooting hand. Ray Boom Boom went 6-for-22 from the field, including 1-for-7 from downtown, and committed a game-high 6 turnovers.
The San Antonio Spurs: Yeah, they won, and sure, they have the best record in the league. But the the Mavs had to start Brian Cardinal in place of the injured Dirk Nowitzki. I dunno. Seems like the Spurs should have won by more than just six points, you know?
Said San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich: "We don't take too much out of the win. We didn't show very much. We didn't improve as a team, that's for sure."
Pretty much.
The Utah Jazz: Damn. I guess the Frail Blazers just have Utah's number.
I kinda figured this game would be a gimme for the Jazz, considering that, before the game, Portland shut down Brandon Roy indefinitely because the dude has an incurable case of Oden's knees. Instead, Wesley Matthews -- who played for the Jazz last season -- matched his career-high by scoring 30 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Matthews dropped 16 of those points in the third quarter. This kid just owned the Jazz. About the only thing missing was a Byron Russell for Matthews to push out of the way.
Mind you, the Jazz didn't help themselves by missing 10 foul shots. Or by giving up 26 points off 18 turnovers. Or by coming out totally flat. Which does tend to happen on the second night of back-to-backs, especially on the road.
Said Raja Bell: "It was poor effort, all the way around. You can talk it up all you want, but I thought we have to be tougher than that. That's just my personal opinion."
Bell then clotheslined Ronnie Price.
Oh well. At least Deron Williams gave us a nice highlight...
Knicks-Magic: Despite two assists in exactly 6 minutes, Ronny Turiaf fouled twice for a 2:0 Voskuhl.
Spurs-Mavs: For San Antonio, Ime Udoka and Chris Quinn spent 10 seconds arguing over which Game Genie codes were allowed on the hardwood tonight - resulting in their status as Mario Brothers!
Also joining the Mario party, albeit in a non-lacktive fashion, was the spectacular Steve Novak of Dallas, who managed 100% from one shot along the Stemmons Freeway...but also ran into King Koopa once for a foul in 51 seconds.
Jazz-Frail Blazers: Sean Marks notched a board in 6:35, but also earned a brick, three fouls, and a giveaway for a 4:1 Voskuhl. Fellow financier of fraility Armon Johnson collected 1.15 trillion (1:10), and in that same timespan, Luke Babbitt earned a +4 via a trio of bricks (twice from the charity stripe) and a rejection.
Netanyau meets Omar Suleiman, head of Egyptian Inteligence on 4 November 2010 in Tel Aviv. 
Egyptian
George Galloway, alleged disinformation agent, has been attacking Mubarak.
Gamal Mubarak (left) and Omar Suleiman
