Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

UN Expert: Boycott Companies Dealing With Israeli Settlements Until They Meet Rights Standards Read
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily NewsAP
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. special investigator on human rights in the Palestinian territories is calling for a boycott of all companies that have dealings with Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem until they adhere to international human rights standards and practices.

In a report to the General Assembly on Thursday, Richard Falk alleged that a number of Israeli-owned and multinational corporations headquartered in the U.S., Europe and Mexico appear to be violating international human rights and humanitarian laws, including by exploiting Palestinian resources and helping Israel construct and provide security for illegal settlements.

He said further investigations will be made to determine whether the allegations are well founded.

Falk called on Israel to begin dismantling settlements and inform businesses with links to settlements of the legal ramifications of their operations.

Editors Note....The final world conflict is centered in Israel and Jerusalem specifically. Even now the tension is building for this final struggle betwen God and His adversary Satan. "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it" (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Three - Person IVF Trial 'success'
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily NewsMichelle Roberts - BBC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

US scientists say a human and animal trial of a controversial new IVF treatment has yielded promising results.

The findings in Nature magazine show healthy-looking embryos can be created from a mix of three adult donors.

Human embryos were grown in the lab and some appeared normal, while monkeys born using the same technique remained fit and well, now aged three.

A public consultation on the ethics of using this IVF in the UK is under way.

Its findings will be reported to the health secretary in spring 2013.

The technique is designed to prevent debilitating and fatal "mitochondrial" diseases, which are passed down only from mother to child and which cause muscle weakness, blindness and heart failure.

By using two female egg donors, these DNA errors could be cancelled out, scientists believe.

Three-person IVF uses the core genetic information from mother and father as usual, but puts it into a donor egg which contains healthy mitochondria.

Mitochondria sit in the cystoplasm of the egg - akin to the white of a hen's egg. They contain only a tiny fraction of our genetic material, with the bulk that determines things like our hair and eye colour housed in the nucleus - a speck in the yolk if you use the hen's egg analogy.

Scientists have been studying two ways of creating three person embryos.

One way is to take the nucleus from the mother's egg and put it into a donor egg that has healthy mitochondria and has had its own nucleus removed. This new egg can then be fertilised with the father's sperm.

Another way is to fertilise the mother's egg first before removing the nucleus and putting it into the donor egg.

The latest study looked at the first method.

Testing

The Oregon Health team took eggs from seven women who had volunteered to take part in the research.

The scientists were able to replace the mitochondrial DNA in 65 of the eggs and then looked to see how well these fared over the next week or so.

The fertilisation rate afterwards was similar to the 33 control eggs that had not been manipulated, although over half had abnormal qualities.

Those that did fertilise normally developed to blastocyst stage - five or six days later, the point at which IVF embryos are normally transferred into the mother's womb - at a similar rate to the controls.

Dr Masahito Tachibana and colleagues say their research shows that the technique can work, at least in the lab. It is still not clear if it could lead to a healthy baby.

The scientists now want to be able to do more studies to ensure the treatment is also safe.

UK expert Prof Mary Herbert, of Newcastle University, has also been studying three person IVF, but using the other method which takes the nucleus out of an already fertilised egg.

She called the latest findings "encouraging" and said they were further proof that the concept was sound, although she believes the technique she uses will provide better results.

Review

Before either method could be used to help couples have a healthy baby in the UK, the government would need to give its approval and any clinic would need to obtain a license from the regulator - the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Similar approval would be needed in other countries.

Last year the HFEA was asked to review the scientific effectiveness of both techniques. That review panel decided that the two methods might be useful in preventing mitochondrial disease, but asked for further experiments to assess their safety.

Prof Peter Braude, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King's College London, said: "It is exactly the sort of science that the HFEA expert committee recommended needed doing, and demonstrates further the feasibility of this technique.

"However it is still a long way off ready for human use."

He said: "Only one in five of the original eggs obtained fertilised normally and made it through to the implantation stage.

"This would mean that in order to be certain of getting embryos that might be suitable for transfer, around 12 eggs might be needed, not always possible in an IVF procedure."

Editors Note.....Man is constantly seeking new ways to disobey God. Whatever God designs and commands man is quick to defy. This warfare between God and man will soon come to a climax.

The Bombed Sudanese Factory Produced Iranian Shehab Missiles
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The Yarmouk Complex of military plants near Khartoum, whicht was bombed five minutes after midnight Wednesday, Oct. 24, by four fighter-bombers, recently went into manufacturing Iranian ballistic surface-to-surface Shehab missiles under license from Tehran, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources disclose. Western intelligence sources have not revealed what types of Shehab were being turned out in Sudan but they believe the Yarmouk’s output was intended to serve as Tehran’s strategic reserve stock in case Iran’s ballistic arsenal was hit by Israeli bombers.
The Israeli Air Force has a long record of pre-emptive attacks for destroying an enemy’s long-range missiles in the early stages of a conflict. In June 2006, for instance, the IAF destroyed 90 percent of Hizballah’s long-range missiles in the first hours of the Lebanon war.
Videos of the explosions caused in the air raid over Sudan showed large quantities of phosphorus flares in the sky suggesting that a large stockpile was demolished along with the manufacturing equipment.
Western sources did not divulge information about the comings and goings of Iranian missile specialists or whether the Bashir government had given Tehran permission to stage attacks from Sudan against Middle East targets, in return for the allotment of a number of missiles to the Sudanese army. All they would say is that the complex's structures had been completely leveled by the aerial bombardment and subsequent fire.
Sudan accused Israel of the attack and stated it reserved the right to respond at a time and circumstances of its choosing. Israeli officials declined to comment in answer to questions.
If Indeed Israel was responsible for the bombing raid, it is possible to postulate the following objectives:
1. Its air force flew 1,800-1,900 kilometers to reach the Sudanese arms factory, a distance longer than the 1,600 kilometers to the Iranian underground enrichment site of Fordo. This operation may have been intended to show Tehran that distance presents no obstacles to an Israeli strike on its nuclear program.
2. The IAF has an efficient in-flight refueling capability.
3. The raid would have degraded Iran’s ability to retaliate for a potential Israel or US attack.
If it was conducted by Israel, it would add a third item to the list of backdoor assaults in which Iran and Israel appear to be engaged in the past three months.
On August 17, the power lines to Fordo were sabotaged, interrupting the work of enrichment taking place there and causing some of the advanced centrifuges to catch fire.
On Oct. 6, an Iranian stealth drone was launched from Lebanon into Israeli air space and photographed its most sensitive military sites as well as the Dimona nuclear reactor before Israel brought it down.

The Awful Reality of Hell
Oct 25th, 2012
CommentaryGeoffrey Grider
Categories: Warning;Exhortation

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: " Matthew 25:41

Netanyahu and Lieberman Agree on Merger
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman anounced jointly Thursday that their parties, Likud and Israeli Beitenu, would run for election in January on one ticket. The united list expects increase its combined 42 Knesset seats out of 120. Netanyahu said the union would enhance Israel's ability to contend with external threats, especially a nuclear Iran and terrorism. Lieberman pledged to lower the cost of living and reform the system of government as top priorities. Their union caught the national political scene by surprise.

Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Russia tests rocket that could carry nuclear weapon
Russia successfully tested a prototype of a long-range rocket that could be armed with a nuclear weapon, the country's military announced late Wednesday, DPA reported. The test went off according to plan at a testing ground in neighbouring Kazakhstan, the military told the Interfax news agency. The prototype apparently is a the latest version of a Topol M rocket (NATO reporting name: SS-27 Sickle B).

Diplomats: Iran one step closer to nuclear bomb
Iran appears to have nearly finished installing centrifuges at its underground nuclear plant, Western diplomats say, potentially boosting its capacity to make weapons-grade uranium if it chose to do so. Iran only disclosed the existence of the Fordow plant, built inside a mountain to shield it from air strikes, in 2009 after learning that Western spy services had detected it.

Iran to conduct large-scale military exercises
The three-day large-scale military exercises involving ground forces and combat aircraft will begin in Iran on Oct. 29. The exercises will take place in Gilangerb area to the west of Kirmanshah province, Iranian news agency MEHR said today. The agency calls these exercises as "unprecedented" in scale.

Chinese ships enter disputed Senkaku waters
Japan's Coast Guard said the four Chinese surveillance ships were spotted within a 12-nautical mile zone that Tokyo considers its territorial waters near one of the disputed islands in the East China Sea early Thursday morning. The ships refused to leave, saying the area was Chinese territory, according to Atsushi Takahashi, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's headquarters in Okinawa, which has jurisdiction over the islands.

Arizona to vote on taking control of Grand Canyon
Arizonans will vote next month on a ballot proposal to give the state control over the Grand Canyon – the latest move in the so-called “sagebrush revolt” in which western states are trying to reclaim federal land. The issue was put on the ballot after the proposal passed the Republican-controlled legislature. It would amend the state constitution to give Arizona sovereignty and jurisdiction over not just the Grand Canyon but all the "air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources” within its boundaries.

U.S. extends $4 billion loan guarantees to Israel
The United States extended its $4 billion loan guarantees to Israel by another four years on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner and Doron Cohen, the director general of Israel's Finance Ministry, signed an agreement extending the loan program until 2016.

Gold now top conflict mineral in Congo: Report
"Gold is very portable, you can put it in your pocket and it is easily smuggled across the border. You don't need a large quantity to make a lot of money," said an anti-fraud agent of the border custom in Goma, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Texas AG Tells Int’l Election Monitors to Butt Out, Prompting Complaint
The head of an international body that will monitor the U.S. elections next month protested to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday after Texas’ attorney-general warned that any international observer who approaches a polling station in the state risks criminal prosecution.

Gazans fire mortar shell despite informal truce
Despite a Gazan mortar shell exploding in an open field near the Eshkol Regional Council Area on Thursday morning, a tense quiet prevailed in the South as an informal cease-fire brokered by Egypt appeared to be holding. The cease-fire followed two days of intense violence which saw some eighty rockets and mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev.

MAGNETIC FROTH:
Sunspot AR1598 has quieted down since unleashing an X1-class solar flare on Oct. 23rd. It might be the calm before the storm. The sunspot is still large and apparently potent.

U.N.: Truce pact reached amid questions
A tentative cease-fire pact between Syria and rebel fighters was announced Wednesday by envoy Lakhdar Brahimi amid questions about how it would be enforced. Brahimi wants the temporary truce to be in place during the Islamic Id al-Adha feast that begins Friday, The New York Times reported. The envoy, who represents both the United Nations and Arab League, said in Cairo Syria was preparing to announce the cease-fire and most rebel factions he had contacted said they would respect it as well.

Air strike on Sudan arms plant heightens Israel-Iran tensions
Warplanes bombed a Sudanese munitions factory Wednesday in Khartoum, setting off massive explosions and sending plumes of smoke roiling into the night sky. Sudan immediately blamed Israel, which was coy about whether it had launched the attack. “There is nothing,” Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said, “I can say about this subject.”

Hybrid of Sandy, Winter Storm Threatens East Coast!
Much of the U.S. East Coast has a good chance of getting blasted by gale-force winds, flooding, heavy rain and maybe even snow early next week by an unusual hybrid of hurricane and winter storm, federal and private forecasters say. Though still projecting several days ahead of Halloween week, the computer models are spooking meteorologists. Government scientists said Wednesday the storm has a 70 percent chance of smacking the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

Conflict Fears As Gaza Clashes Intensify
Oct 25th, 2012
Daily NewsSpace War
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;War

There are ominous signs that worsening clashes between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip could touch off a new conflict as the Middle East is wracked with upheaval, a civil war in Syria and the threat of a U.S.-Iranian shootout in the Persian Gulf.

This eruption of violence appears to be isolated but it's not. It's part of a very intricate gavotte between Israel and its Palestinian foes.

To an outsider it seems meaningless but to those on the inside, there's a merciless logic, according to rules that only the participants comprehend.

Hamas needs to reassert its revolutionary credentials every so often to maintain its political status.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called parliamentary elections and needs to burnish his security credentials without going to war with Iran over its nuclear program -- which Washington doesn't want.

That's a far bigger, more dangerous conflict that would inevitably entail a sustained missile barrage against Israel, with many casualties, than dueling with Hamas whose rockets inflict little real hurt.

But periodic violence carries political rewards for both sides.

The upsurge in clashes was accentuated by the Oct. 6 Israeli downing of a Hezbollah surveillance drone over the southern Negev Desert of the Jewish state, an area that over the years has been pounded by thousands of rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza.

The Iranian-built drone, which Hezbollah says it launched in south Lebanon, guided out into the Mediterranean then swung eastward into Israeli air space near Gaza, jolted the Israelis. It was over southern Israel for 30 minutes before an Israeli F-16 fighter jet shot it down over the Negev.

It's still not clear whether there was a connection between the drone's mission and the upswing in rocket fire from Gaza but the conjunction of events resonated in Israel.

"These incidents underscore that the threat of war in the Middle East has not receded despite a flurry of recent reports that claim Israel will refrain from striking Iran's nuclear program this year," observed Israel-based analyst Victor Kotsev.

"The sporadic outbreaks of civil unrest in the Islamic Republic, which are believed to have contributed to Israel's change of mind, may serve as a trigger for a more limited conflict."

Kotsev muses that "given recent friction between Hamas and its former Iranian patrons -- the movement has increasingly sided against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is a key ally of Iran and Hezbollah, in the Syrian civil war -- Iran may have an interest to lure the Gaza militants into a confrontation with Israel.

"In this way, it would punish the infidelity and would simultaneously raise the heat on Israel, deflecting attention from its own many troubles," Kotsev concluded.

If that sounds convoluted and conspiracy-manic, that's the way things work in the Middle East.

Israel's clashes with Palestinian militants in Gaza noticeably picked up around this time, with non-Hamas groups firing rockets and mortars into southern Israel that provoked Israeli retaliation.

This, as a matter of course, is generally far more destructive than the incidents that trigger it.

In this case, it's probably not just what damage Hamas or other groups in Gaza can inflict that matters but what military opportunities Israel perceives present themselves.

"While most analysts agree that the Jewish state can ill afford to draw further negative attention in light of regional upheaval caused by the Arab Spring, there are also certain strategic arguments in favor of a short but intense operation," Kotsev noted.

Israel ran into a brick wall of international opprobrium in December 2008 when it used Hamas' rocket attacks -- largely ineffectual -- to invade Gaza in force, killing some 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, in the name of deterrence.

Israeli commanders have threatened another invasion but the political leadership doesn't want such heat again. However, there are ways around that, despite U.S. presidential elections Nov. 6.

"A campaign to degrade the military capabilities of Hamas and Hezbollah would constitute a limited pre-emptive strike against Iran's sphere of influence," Kotzev observed.

"By picking out the Iranian military assets one by one, particularly given a solid legal justification for doing so -- such as self-defense -- Israel would offer Iran and Syria a grim choice: stay on the sidelines or be blamed for a war that could easily draw in the United States."