Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

White House Urged to Build ‘Death Star’ As Petition Passes 25,000 Threshold
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsRT
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

An online petition on a White House website to build a \"Death Star\" like the one featured in the movie Star Wars by 2016 has gathered more than 26,400 signatures. The government now has to respond as the petition on the website \'We the People\' has surpassed the 25,000 mark. The authors said that a Death Star, a doomsday weapon capable of destroying planets, would help the government to “spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.”

UN Treaty to Regulate Internet Blocked At Dubai Conference
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsRT
Categories: Today's Headlines;World Government

The US and several other nations have blocked a proposed global telecoms treaty that would have given national governments control of the Internet. The proposals at the International Telecoms Union (ITU) conference in Dubai would have given governments greater powers to control international phone calls and data traffic. Washington was “unable to sign the agreement in its current form,” Terry Kramer, head of the US delegation, said. The US stance was supported by the UK, Canada, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Qatar and Sweden. The ITU is a UN organization that coordinates telecoms use around the world.

Poll: Only 28% Still Believe in ‘Palestinian Partner’
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsINN - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Only 28.2% of Israelis believe that Israel has a partner for peace in negotiations with the Palestinians, according to a new survey conducted by Gal Hadash for Yisrael Hayom. 62.4% say there is no partner for peace.

The Arab population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza is currently politically split. Those in Gaza are ruled by Hamas, which rejects Israel’s existence and calls to destroy the Jewish state.

The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas has control in Judea and Samaria. Abbas’ term in office expired in 2010, but the PA has declined to hold new elections prior to reconciliation with Hamas.

The Gal Hadash survey also found that 75.3% of Israelis believe Likud Beyteinu, led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, will win the upcoming national elections and form the next government. Just 9.2% of respondents said they believe the Labor party will lead the next administration.

Netanyahu had the most support among respondents, with 40.7% naming him as their preferred candidate for Prime Minister. Tzipi Livni was in second place with 13.1% support, while the Labor party’s Shelly Yechimovich came in third with 7.6% support.

Those polled were also asked for their opinion regarding ongoing attempts to disqualify MK Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset race. 55.2% said they support the effort, while 29.1% said Zoabi should be left alone.

Muslims Riot, Jews Banned from Temple Mount
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsINN - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 Jews have been barred from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem until Sunday, the last day of Hannukah. The Temple Mount is the holiest site on earth according to Jewish tradition.

The ban is aimed at preventing a Muslim riot at the site. Riots are thought to be particularly likely following Friday prayers.

It follows riots and terror attacks in Judea and Samaria. Tensions were particularly high following two incidents in which soldiers shot Arab attackers in Hevron.

Jewish organizations dedicated to Temple Mount activism expressed upset at the police ban. “The police treat the Temple Mount like a Muslim site, and open it to others only when necessary for tourism, at times and on days that suit tourists,” activists accused.

“In comparison,” they continued, “Jewish residents of Israel are discriminated against.”

They called to leave the Temple Mount open to Jews on every Jewish holiday. “The police must consider the many who wish to ascend the Mount for prayers and visits on Jewish holidays, and to institute the model used in the Tomb of the Patriarchs,” they urged. The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron is normally split between Jews and Muslims, but is opened in its entirety to each religion on its holidays.

Currently Jewish prayer is not allowed on the Temple Mount, again for fear of Muslim reactions. Jews are allowed to visit the holy site but can be arrested for praying or even moving their lips in what appears to be prayer.

Activist groups have intervened against such arrests, and have successfully lobbied police to ease anti-Jewish discrimination.

Let the Headlines Speak
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

UN treaty to regulate internet blocked at Dubai conference
The US and several other nations have blocked a proposed global telecoms treaty that would have given national governments control of the Internet. The proposals at the International Telecoms Union (ITU) conference in Dubai would have given governments greater powers to control international phone calls and data traffic.

Pentagon to send missiles, 400 troops to Turkey
Leon Panetta signed a deployment order en route to Turkey from Afghanistan calling for 400 U.S. soldiers to operate two batteries of Patriots at undisclosed locations in Turkey, Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters flying with Panetta. Germany and the Netherlands have already agreed to provide two batteries of the U.S.-built defense systems and send up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops to man them, bringing the total number of Patriot batteries slated for Turkey to six.

6.3-mag. ocean earthquake hits off Southern California coast
The quake hit around 2:36 a.m. PT, 88 miles SW of Avalon, Calif., on Santa Catalina Island. It was initially reported that there were two quakes, 6.4 and 6.1, within seconds of each other, but seismologists concluded it was only one temblor.

Earthquake Confirmed In Dallas-Fort Worth Area

In a statement to CBS, officials said that the earthquake is nothing to worry about. Rafael Abreu from the USGS National Earthquake Information Center said: “This is a very small earthquake, the kind that can definitely happen anywhere in the world.” North Texas has been experiencing small earthquakes over the course of the past few months. This is the fifth earthquake to occur in the since late September. This one is by far the deepest at 8.1 miles.

Hybrid GPS-Seismic System Can Accelerate Earthquake Response
Traditional seismic instruments charged with determining vital earthquake information for rapid hazard assessment have relied on devices that measure ground motions with exquisite precision, but lack the ability to produce rapid views of large seismic events because they do not directly measure ground motion. GPS networks do and therefore are complementary to the more precise seismic data.

EPA finds contamination at former rocket test site
Lingering radioactive contamination exists at a former rocket test lab outside of Los Angeles that was the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, federal environmental regulators said Wednesday. The Environmental Protection Agency launched a $42 million study to investigate radioactive pollution at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Sandy Aid Package Includes Millions for Smithsonian, Space Center, Forests
The Obama administration’s $60-billion emergency aid package for victims of superstorm Sandy is now caught in the crossfire over the “fiscal cliff,” with some critics questioning why millions of dollars are directed to areas far from the epicenter of the storm. ...“The aid to federal agencies is a ...small percentage of the entire package,”... “On the federal items, we know what the damage is because we are the federal government. The storm damage has to be paid for at some point.”

Geminid meteor shower reaches peak early Friday morning

The annual Geminids meteor shower peaked overnight into Friday morning. Each December, meteors appear to radiate from a point near the star Castor, in the constellation Gemini. In early morning hours, that is located westward and overhead in the northern hemisphere and nearer the horizon in the southern hemisphere.

Egypt crisis: Opposition rallies as referendum looms

Egyptian opposition groups are holding last-ditch protests against a referendum on a draft constitution, due to start on Saturday. At least two anti-constitution rallies are to take place in Cairo after Friday\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s main weekly Muslim prayers. Critics say the draft document, backed by President Mohammed Morsi and his supporters, is too Islamist.

Rice withdraws as US secretary of state candidate

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations and a close confidante of President Barack Obama, withdrew her name from consideration as secretary of state on Thursday in the face of what promised to be a difficult Senate confirmation battle.

Jews Told to Hide Identifying Symbols in Denmark, Jordan
Dec 14th, 2012
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;Antisemitism

\"Never Again,\" they say, and yet even in 2012 Jews must be warned not to openly identify themselves as Jews in certain places for fear of a violent response to their ethnicity.

Such was the case in Denmark this week, where Israeli Ambassador Arthur Avnon warned visiting Israelis not to wear their skullcaps (kippot) in public, to hide any Star of David jewelry and to refrain from conversing loudly in Hebrew.

Avnon said this warning applies \"irrespective of whether the areas [Israelis] are visiting are seen as being safe.\"

Israel Radio noted that Denmark\'s capital, Copenhagen, had experienced no fewer than 39 reported anti-Semitic attacks this year.

Local Jewish leaders confirmed that it has become increasingly dangerous to be seen as a Jew, and hinted that the problem stems from growing Muslim influence in the city.

A little less surprising was a report that Jordan\'s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities had sent out a letter to all local tour guides instructing them to advice Israeli visitors against wearing Jewish symbols or publicly worshipping in a Jewish way.

Present-day Jordan makes up part of the biblical Land of Israel, so many Israeli visitors consider points of interest in Jordan to be holy sites, and consequently like to pray there.

But the Jordanian government said it has received numerous complaints over these outward displays of \"Jewishness\" and felt compelled to bring the situation under control, both for the safety of visiting Israelis and to appease the sensibilities of local Jordanians.