Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Tehran and Assad Slide Past U.S. and Israeli Red Lines – Nuclear and Chemical
Apr 24th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was hardly out of Israel’s door Tuesday, April 23, when a spate of awkward data came spilling out in Tel Aviv.

Iran has crossed the last red line Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu laid down before the UN Assembly last September, said the well-informed former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin. None of the measures for halting Iran’s race for a nuclear bomb have worked, he said. For a while, Tehran was impressed by the Israeli prime minister’s warning, but then went back to uranium enrichment at top speed. By now, Iran has certainly gone past the limit set by Netanyahu.
Likud lawmaker Tzahi Hanegbi said Israel has no more than a month or two for stopping a nuclear Iran.
Ron Dermer, a senior Netanyahu adviser and Israel’s next ambassador to Washington, told a group of American Jewish leaders Sunday that the time for action against Iran’s capacity to build a bomb – which he termed an existential threat to Israel - must be counted in months.
Piling on the gloom, Brig. Gen Itay Brun reported that the Syrian army had started using chemical weapons against rebel forces, including Sarin and other paralyzing substances, without the world lifting a finger to stop it.

All the red lines had suddenly been knocked over by Iran’s rapid progress toward a nuclear weapon and by Bashar Assad who, backed by Tehran, mocked US President Barack Obama’s warning just a month ago that “proof of chemical weapons use would be a game changer.”

Responding to the Syrian development, Pentagon spokesman George Little, who arrived in Amman Tuesday with the US Defense Secretary, commented: “The Pentagon is continuing to assess reports on the matter and the use of such weapons would be entirely unacceptable.”

For some months, debkafile has been reporting that Iran had trampled over Netanyahu’s red lines for its nuclear program and moved on. On March 19th debkafile’s sources confirmed the finding of concrete evidence that the Syrian army had launched chemical warfare against rebel forces.

It is hard to believe that the Israeli chorus on these matters was spontaneous. Assuming that the various knowledgeable spokesmen shared the same choir master, they must be assumed to have been delivering the same message. It came in three parts:

1. The Israel’s military and defense leaders were not overly impressed by the $10 billion arms package the defense secretary delivered this week. The items listed are useful but don’t top their list of priorities. This coolness was reflected in comments by Israeli military chiefs this week, which underlined the IDF’s ability to deal with Iran’s nuclear facilities on its own and even handle the fallout of this attack coming in the form of joint retaliation by Iran, Syria and Hizballah.
2. The dissonance between Washington and Jerusalem on the issue of a nuclear Iran was present in Hagel’s talks in Israel. President Obama tried telling Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE - recipients of the new US arms package - that his pledge to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear bomb means he is willing to wait until Tehran has assembled all the components for a weapon.
Israel refuses to wait for Iran to reach that threshold and insists that the moment to strike is now.

3. The revelation that Bashar Assad has flouted the US president’s warning against chemical warfare was intended to push Washington into military action against Syria which may unfold at some point into a strike against Iran.
The Obama administration’s first response to the revelations by Israeli spokesmen came from Secretary of State John Kerry in Brussels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not confirm comments by the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst that Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons, he said Tuesday.

"I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning. I think it is fair for me to say that he was not in a position to confirm that in the conversation that I had," Kerry told a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "I don't know yet what the facts are."

Kerry had been asked about comments by Brigadier-General Itai Brun, an Israeli intelligence analyst, at a Tel Aviv security conference that Syrian forces had used chemical weapons, probably nerve gas, in their fight against rebels.

Searching the Truth for Origins 3
Apr 24th, 2013
VideoRoger Oakland
Categories: Creation - Evolution;Commentary

Let the Headlines Speak
Apr 24th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Moderate Earthquake Hits Afghanistan
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 5.7-magnitude earthquake was 65 kilometers deep and struck 25 kilometers northwest of Jalalabad, the main town in eastern Afghanistan which is close to the Pakistani border. Pakistan's meteorological office put the magnitude at 6.2.

Colorado to pay piper after Dems' war on guns
While the loss of tax revenue is expected to cost the state only $500,000 in 2013, Colorado can expect to lose even more revenue from other businesses who no longer will be doing business in the state as long as the restrictive gun control laws remain on the books. WND previously reported management of the Boulder-based Magpul Industries warned Democrats the company would be closing its plant and moving out of the state

Peres to meet Pope Francis at Vatican
President Shimon Peres is set to meet Monday with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Peres' tour of Italy next week shall also include meetings with his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano and Enrico Letta, Deputy Secretary of the Democratic Party, expected to become the country's next PM. The president's spokesperson said Peres will be one of the first political leaders to convene with Pope Francis since his election to the august post in March.

New bird flu strain 'more easily caught by humans' than 2003 outbreak
A new strain of bird flu that has killed 22 people in China is "one of the most lethal" of its kind and is more easily transmissible to humans than an earlier strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003, a top World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said.

A global murmur, then unusual silence
In the global aftershock zone that followed the major April 2012 Indian Ocean earthquake, seismologists noticed an unusual pattern. The magnitude (M) 8.6 earthquake, a strike-slip event at intraoceanic tectonic plates, caused global seismic rates of M=4.5 to rise for several days, even at distances thousands of kilometers from the mainshock site. However, the rate of M=6.5 seismic activity subsequently dropped to zero for the next 95 days.

Stocks stumble on White House bomb hoax
US government debt prices surged briefly and stocks fell sharply after a false tweet from the Associated Press said there had been two explosions at the White House and that President Barack Obama had been injured.

World factory orders flash warning signals despite booming markets
A rash of weak manufacturing data from America, Europe and Asia has cast serious doubts on the strength of the global economy and was starkly at odds with surging stock markets in the West.

First glimpse of ‘comet of the century’: Hubble gets snaps ISON that astronomers hope will amaze the world
The Hubble Space Telescope has given astronomers their clearest view yet of Comet ISON, which experts believe could light up the sky in a breathtaking display later this year. The image of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) was photographed on April 10, when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter’s orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the Sun, and 394 million miles from Earth. Experts believe it will get dramatically brighter as it swings around the sun in late November, with some claiming the comet could shine brighter than Venus or even the full moon.

Bloomberg Says Interpretation of Constitution Will ‘Have to Change’ After Boston Bombing
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks. “The people who are worried about privacy have a legitimate worry,” Mr. Bloomberg said during a press conference in Midtown.

The new 'normal' in police state America: SWAT teams order innocent Americans out of their homes at gunpoint
In a police state, citizens have no rights and can be ordered around at the whims of a militarized police force whose goons run around in black uniforms, terrorizing the populace. Welcome to Boston, 2013. The police state is running wild in this city, and it has reached the point where innocent families are being ordered out of their own homes by screaming, aggressive, 'roid-head SWAT teams armed with overwhelming firepower.

Boston Bombing Changes Lawmakers' Views on Drone Killings of Americans on U.S. Soil
In the aftermath of the Boston bombing standoff that ended last Friday, lawmakers have changed their tune on whether a drone should ever be used to target an American citizen on U.S. soil. The use of drones to kill American citizens is not "inherently illegal," as long as that citizen is a "combatant," a constitutional expert told a Senate panel considering the implications of targeted killings Tuesday.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg: ‘Interpretation of Constitution Will ‘Have to Change’ After Boston Bombing’
In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday the country’s interpretation of the Constitution will “have to change” to allow for greater security to stave off future attacks.

Hundreds of Europeans fighting in Syria, says EU expert
The EU's anti-terror chief has told the BBC that hundreds of Europeans are now fighting with rebel forces in Syria against Bashar al-Assad's regime. Gilles de Kerchove estimated the number in Syria at about 500. Intelligence agencies are concerned some could join groups linked to al-Qaeda and later return to Europe to launch terrorist attacks.

Afghan talks: Nato urges Pakistan to fight militants
Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on Pakistan to combat militants who use the country as a launch-pad for attacks on neighbouring Afghanistan. He was speaking alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the eve of US-led talks aimed at soothing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nato is set to end its decade-long combat mission in Afghanistan before the end of next year.

6.4-magnitude earthquake hits Papua New Guinea
The strong quake hit at 9.14 a.m. (2314 GMT yesterday), 31 kilometres (19 miles) north of Rabaul in the Pacific nation’s east, the USGS said. It was 18 kilometres (11 miles) deep. Rabaul was the scene of destruction in 1994, when an erupting volcano caused a large number of buildings in the town to collapse, but seismologists said that it was unlikely to have suffered any major damage this time.

China's Xinjiang hit by deadly clashes
Clashes in China's restive Xinjiang region have left 21 people dead, including 15 police officers and officials, authorities say. The violence occurred on Tuesday afternoon in Bachu county, Kashgar prefecture. ...The incidents come amid rumbling ethnic tensions between the Muslim Uighur and Han Chinese communities.

US steps in, stops PA going after Israel at UNESCO
Following US intervention, the Palestinian Authority has agreed to postpone five resolutions condemning Israel that they were to present to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) executive board in Paris, Israel Radio reported Wednesday. The resolutions would have condemned Israel's activity in the West Bank as well as its endangerment of Jerusalem's "Arab character", the radio said.

Israel's claim about Syria chemical weapons highlights 'red line'
Israel's accusation that Syria used chemical weapons against rebels raises the prospect that Damascus crossed what President Obama has termed a "red line," but appears unlikely to overcome deep resistance of the U.S. and its allies to military involvement in the country's civil war.

Las Vegas hospital gives mentally ill patients one-way Greyhound tickets out of town
San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera announced Monday that he is going to begin an investigation into Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada following accusations that the hospital has been providing patients with one-way Greyhound tickets to other states. The Sacramento Bee has run an investigative series into the hospital and claims that Rawson Neal has discharged around 1,500 patients this way, reports Yahoo News.

Two men linked to al Qaeda in Mali arrested in Spain
Spain has arrested two North Africans suspected of links to the North African branch of the militant Islamist network al Qaeda, the government said on Tuesday, following an investigation lasting more than a year.

Rebels Kidnap Syrian Bishops Who Warned of Persecution
Two prominent Syrian bishops, who had warned of the threat to religious tolerance and diversity from the two-year conflict in their country, were kidnapped on Monday by armed rebels in the northern province of Aleppo, state media said.

Chinese and Japanese ships cluster around disputed islands
The fragile relationship between China and Japan came under fresh strain Tuesday as ships from both sides crowded into the waters around a disputed group of islands and nearly 170 Japanese lawmakers visited a controversial war memorial.

Suspect in Canada terror plot denies charges
A man accused of plotting with al-Qaida members in Iran to derail a train in Canada was due to appear in a Toronto court Wednesday after declaring at his initial court appearance that the charges against him are unfair. Law enforcement officials in the U.S. said the target was a train that runs between New York City and Canada.

EU: 500 Europeans Fighting in Syria
Apr 24th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The European Union’s anti-terror chief Giles de Kerchove told the BBC that an estimated 500 Europeans are fighting with rebel forces in Syria. Intelligence agencies are concerned some could join groups linked to al Qaeda and return to Europe primed for terrorist attacks.

Arab Media Outcry As Mks Weigh Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount
Apr 24th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

For years Jews have been allowed to visit the Temple Mount, the holiest place on earth according to the Jewish religion, but have not been allowed to pray there. In late 2012 police issued draconian instructions under which Jewish visitors could be arrested for merely appearing to pray.

All that may change with MK Miri Regev’s appointment to head the Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee. Regev (Likud) is planning a trip to the Temple Mount in order to weigh the option of permitting Jewish prayer at the site.

In announcing her plans, Regev quoted from the Biblical prophecies of Isaiah, “Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” .

Regev’s announcement has caused anger in the Arab media, where several outlets have mistakenly reported that she is planning a visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located on the Temple Mount, and is planning to allow non-Muslim prayer inside the mosque.

One paper cited MK Taleb Abu-Arar of the Ra’am Ta’al party as saying that Regev “is planning a tour for committee members in the Al Aqsa mosque.”

Muslim groups in Israel have frequently accused Israel of planning to divide the Temple Mount or to rebuild the Temple. The Al-Aqsa Institute previously accused MK Moshe Feiglin of “defiling” the Al Aqsa mosque during a visit to the Temple Mount.

Regev has issued a clarification that she is not planning to visit the mosque or to seek to permit Jewish prayer within the mosque.

She noted the difference between the Jewish approach of “a house of prayer for all peoples” and the Muslim approach, as described by MK Abu-Arar, prohibiting non-Muslims from praying in the mosque – a difference she termed “interesting.”