Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Envoy Ford’s Secret Crossing Into Syria. Turkey’s “chemical Dossier” for Obama
May 10th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Obama administration’s slowcoach policy on Syria has given Iran and Hizballah unfettered access for military intervention in the Syrian civil war, magnifying its lethality and heightening the prospects of its spilling over into Israel, Turkey and Jordan, say debkafile’s Middle East analysts. 

Ahead now is the influx of highly advanced weapons into the already excessively violent conflict. Thursday, May 9, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the transfer of advanced missile defense systems from Russia to Syria would be a “destabilizing factor for Israel’s security.”

Speaking to reporters in Rome, he was referring to Moscow’s imminent sale of S-300 air defense missiles to the Assad regime, which debkafile revealed Tuesday, May 7, President Vladimir Putin had disclosed in his tough conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about Israel’s air strikes on Damascus.
In his comments, Kerry said nothing about how the US intended to stop the sale or respond to the deployment in Syria of weapons that would not only affect Israel’s security but lock the sky against US air action against Syria and the imposition of a no-fly zone.
debkafile’s sources estimate that the Syrian conflict and its repercussions, already horrendous, will go from bad to worse when it transpires – inevitably - that the Obama administration has no partner for its loudly hailed accord with Moscow, obtained by Kerry on May 7, for an international peace conference on the conflict.
Moscow has not joined the celebration. In fact, the prospects of this event started fading the moment Secretary Kerry declared in Rome, two days after his talks in Moscow, that “Bashar al-Assad cannot be part of a transitional government that would try to lead the country out of its civil war.”

This brought the rift to the fore, because Moscow will on no account countenance the exclusion of Assad’s representatives from any international forum or transitional government, whereas Washington keeps on insisting that Assad must go as the precondition for any deal to settle the conflict.

Washington, the West and Israel have been progressively losing bargaining chips in the weeks since a coalition of Syrian, Hizballah and Iranian Bassij troops began turning the tide of war against the rebels, pushing them out of one area after another which they had captured, including parts of the main cities of Damascus and Aleppo.   
This pro-Assad military alliance and its gains have been largely ignored by Western media.
Another complication is the emergence of the pro-Al Qaeda Jabhat al-Nusra as the most dedicated and best trained and armed of all the Syrian rebel militias fighting Assad. Although the US and Russia share an interest in liquidating this Islamist front and rooting al Qaeda’s followers out of Syria, no assent on this appears to be in the offing.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was mobilized meanwhile to fend off the pressure for US military intervention in Syria coming from Israel, Turkey and the Gulf emirates. Addressing the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Thursday, Hagel stressed the “unprecedented levels in recent years” of US defense cooperation with Israel and US reliance on “strong partnerships with other regional countries from Jordan and Egypt to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

He did not however disclose if and when the US might take action to stop the bloodshed in Syria or curb Iran’s drive for a nuclear bomb.
The defense secretary likewise avoided spelling out how the US would be able to act militarily in a Middle East emergency while at the same time cutting deeply into its military resources. He assured his listeners that “US strategy sees the Middle East as critical to its security interests, and a robust presence would remain,” adding, “We have made a determined effort to position high-end air, missile defense, and naval assets to deter Iranian aggression and respond to other contingencies.”

His audience was well-informed enough to question this assertion at a time that US Air Force squadrons in Europe were being dismantled and returning home to be grounded.

While Hagel was speaking, US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford quietly crossed into northern Syria from Turkey for secret meetings with leaders of rebel groups fighting in Aleppo and Idlib - a mission assigned him by Secretary Kerry. He was only there for a few hours before crossing back to Turkey.
Ambassador Ford left Damascus in February 2012 when the embassy suspended operations in a capital beset by full-blown civil war.

debkafile’s sources report his mission in meeting Syrian rebel leaders was threefold:

1. A demonstration that the Obama administration had no qualms about sending emissaries into embattled Syria and conveying direct US assistance to rebel forces.
2. A message to Moscow that if it persisted in sending Syria S-300 interceptor missile systems, that would jeopardize Israeli air force flights over Syria, Lebanon and even northern Israel, the United States would send the rebels weapons for knocking out Syrian air force operations and so eliminate the Assad’s military edge against the rebels.
3. Turkey was used for the crossing to hold off Ankara’s push for American military intervention in Syria - even on a limited scale.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who is scheduled to meet the US President at the White House on May 16, told an NBC TV interviewer Thursday: President Barack Obama’s red line had been crossed a long time ago as it was clear that the Syrian government used chemical weapons.”
The dossier Erdogan is preparing for Obama is based on the evidence of Turkish physicians who treated rebel casualties and diagnosed them as suffering from the effects of poison chemicals. Nonetheless, he has as little chance of being heeded by the US president as was Israel when it presented its findings on the use of chemical weapons in Syria last month.
In view of the US administration’s head in the sand and the spreading of a strong Russian umbrella for Bashar Assad over to his Lebanese Hizballah ally as well, Hassan Nasrallah was not surprisingly cockier than ever when he declared in a speech Thursday night that Syrian territory rather than Lebanon would henceforth be the stage for the combined Syrian-Iranian-Hizballah “resistance” front against Israel.
Secretary Kerry had a point when he noted that the Syrian war was on the point of spilling over into Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

Shepherds or Wolves?
May 10th, 2013
CommentaryUnderstand the Times - Roger Oakland
Categories: Exhortation

The Bible provides a model for leadership. The model is quite simple. Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. The good shepherd is in charge of the sheep. Christians are sheep who belong to the flock. Unlike what some religious groups teach, the sheep should have personal access to the good shepherd. There is one mediator between God and man. We don’t need a priest to intervene.

Of course, the body of Christ is rightfully divided into smaller flocks with shepherds who are called to teach and protect the sheep. This is where a problem can arise. What if a shepherd is in the position of a shepherd but has not been called to be a shepherd? What if his job is just a job and not a calling? What if the shepherd is actually a wolf? The Bible states this can definitely happen.

Now, there is another aspect to this. Because mankind has the tendency to do things man’s way rather than God’s way, even shepherds can be influenced. Shepherds who follow Jesus and walk according to the Scriptures are truly God’s shepherds. However, as you know, because man is man, a shepherd can actually believe he is a shepherd when he is not. There are a number of factors that can lead a shepherd astray. Solomon, a very wise man, was warned about what could lead a servant of God away from God – for example, possessions, power, and women. Unfortunately, Solomon fell for all three.

We are living in the last days. These are perilous times according to the Scriptures and the events unfolding in the church and in the world. This is a time for godly leadership to make the right decisions. This is a time for true shepherds to lead the sheep and protect them from the wolves the Bible warns are out to devour the sheep.

Unfortunately, the wolves are getting bolder and bolder in many churches and organizations. Because we live in the last days, apostasy abounds, and the sheep don’t know it. Many have been put to sleep by false teachers who are masquerading as shepherds.

It seems to me that pastors who play the role of a shepherd need more than ever to keep their eyes focused on Jesus, the true shepherd and stay true to His Word. When they get their eyes on human shepherds because they are popular or successful, they have the potential to be led astray.

If you belong to a church that has a good shepherd who teaches the Word and follows Jesus, support him in every way. However, we must always remember that a shepherd is just a man. I have known cases where shepherds have gone astray and they didn’t even know it. This is because they are human. If you know a shepherd like this pray that God, by His grace, will open his eyes.

Schiff: 2/3 of America to Lose Everything Because of This Crisis
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsMonday Morning
Categories: Commentary;Contemporary Issues

A record breaking stock market is distorting a frightening reality:  The U.S. is being eaten alive by a horrific cancer that will ultimately destroy the economy and impoverish the vast majority of its citizens.

That's according to Peter Schiff, the best-selling author and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, who delivered his harsh warning to investors in a recent interview on Fox Business.

"I think we are heading for a worse economic crisis than we had in 2007," Schiff said.  "You're going to have a collapse in the dollar...a huge spike in interest rates... and our whole economy, which is built on the foundation of cheap money, is going to topple when you pull the rug out from under it."

Schiff says that, despite "phony" signs of an economic recovery, the cancer destroying America stems from a lethal concoction of our $16 trillion federal debt and the Fed's never ending money printing.

Currently, Bernanke and company is buying $1 trillion of Treasury and mortgage bonds a year. That's about $85 billion per month against a budget deficit that is about the same level.

According to Schiff, these numbers are unsustainable. And the Fed has no credible "exit strategy."

Eventually interest rates will rise... and when they do, Schiff says, stocks will tank and bonds dip to nothing. Massive new tax hikes will be imposed and programs and entitlements will be cut to the bone.

 "The crisis is imminent," Schiff said.  "I don't think Obama is going to finish his second term without the bottom dropping out. And stock market investors are oblivious to the problems."

 "We're broke, Schiff added.  "We owe trillions. Look at our budget deficit; look at the debt to GDP ratio, the unfunded liabilities. If we were in the Eurozone, they would kick us out."

Schiff points out that the market gains experienced recently, with the Dow first topping 14,000 on its way to setting record highs, are giving investors a false sense of security.  

"It's not that the stock market is gaining value... it's that our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased currency... a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up. Stocks are no exception," he said.

"The Fed knows that the U.S. economy is not recovering," he noted. "It simply is being kept from collapse by artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing. As that support goes, the economy will implode."

A noted economist, Schiff has been a fierce critic of the Fed and its policies for years. And his warnings have proven to be prophetic.

In August 2006, when the Dow was hitting new highs nearly every day, Schiff said in an interview: "The United States is like the Titanic, and I'm here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States."

Just over a year later, the meltdown that became the Great Recession began, just as Schiff predicted.

He also predicted the subprime mortgage bubble burst, nearly a year before the real estate market fully crashed.

His recent warnings, however, have been even more alarming.  Will they also prove to be true?

Republicans Say U.S. Headed Toward ‘Armed Revolution’: Poll
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsInside Politics
Categories: Commentary;Contemporary Issues

A survey of Republicans found nearly half agreed that “an armed revolution in order to protect liberties might be necessary in the next few years.”

The poll, from Farleigh Dickinson University’s Public Mind, surveyed a random sampling of 863 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus-minus 3.4 percentage points.

It found 44 percent of registered Republicans believed an armed rebellion could come in the next few years. But only 18 percent of Democrats and 27 percent of independents agreed.

Moreover, only 24 percent of Republicans believed new gun laws were necessary — compared to 73 percent of Democrats. Bipartisan legislation on gun control is not likely in the coming days, one political science professor at Farleigh Dickinson said, in a press release on the poll.

“If there was a bipartisan moment after Sandy Hook to pass gun control legislation, it’s past,” Dan Cassino said. “Partisan views have strongly reasserted themselves, and there’s no sign that they’ll get any weaker.”

The difference in views is due to partisan differences in beliefs about what guns are for, Mr. Cassino said.

“If you truly believe an armed revolution is possible in the near future, you need weapons, and you’re going to be wary about government efforts to take them away,” Mr. Cassino said.

Report: Muslim Cleric Invited to Pray Over Fallen Seals Damns Them During Service
May 10th, 2013
Daily Newswashingtontimes.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The families of Navy SEALs killed in an August 2011 shoot-down of a helicopter in Afghanistan spoke at a press conference Thursday morning, citing a number of grievances, including an allegation that the Pentagon invited a Muslim cleric who “disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen.”

In addition to blasting the Obama administration for the mission and for an official investigation they deemed a cover-up, the families complained that “military brass, while prohibiting any mention of a Judeo-Christian God, invited a Muslim cleric to the funeral for the fallen Navy SEAL Team VI heroes who disparaged in Arabic the memory of these servicemen by damning them as infidels to Allah.”

During the news conference, attorney Larry Klayman who is representing the grieving parents showed a video with audio of the prayer and a translation that scrolled over the screen.

Palestinian Official Longs to Nuke Israel
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsIsrael Today Staff
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

There is a very good reason for Israel taking the Iran nuclear threat so seriously. There are a lot of people in this region, many of them holding positions of authority, who would like nothing more than to use a nuclear weapon against Israel, the consequences be damned.

One such figure admitted as much in an interview with Lebanese TV last week.

"I swear that if we had a nuke, we'd have used it this very morning," said Jibril Rajoub, Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee and Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Olympic Committee.

Rajoub explained that the Palestinian Authority only continues to play this "negotiating game" with Israel because it currently lacks the military strength to defeat the Jewish state.

This revelation validates one of Israel's chief concerns in the peace process - that in the absence of actually being educated for peace and coexistence, the inhabitants of an independent Palestinian state will, as a first order of business, work toward acquiring the military means to engage in renewed warfare against Israel.

In his previous role as head of Palestinian police and security adviser to former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Rajoub was widely praised as a "moderate" by Western leaders.

[Thanks to Palestinian Media Watch for translation ]

Nasrallah: Syria to Supply 'Game Changing Weapon'
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

 Syria will supply Lebanese terror group Hizbullah with "game-changing weapons" despite air strikes reportedly aimed at cutting off the flow of arms to the Lebanese Shiite terror group, Hizbullah's leader said on Thursday.

"You Israelis say your objective is to stop the capability of the resistance (against Israel) from growing... but Syria will provide (Hizbullah) with game-changing weapons it has not had before," Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech reported by AFP.

Nasrallah spoke days after Israel reportedly carried out two air strikes near Damascus.

Syria's response, he said, "is highly strategic" and involves "opening to resistance fighters the front in the Golan" Heights, which were captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

"If you (Israel) see Syria as a corridor of arms to (Hizbullah), Syria will provide the resistance with those arms. This is a highly strategic decision," said Nasrallah.

Such a response "is more strategic than launching a rocket or carrying out an air raid" on Israel, he added.

Hizbullah has remained a staunch supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime throughout the country's conflict, which the UN said has killed more than 70,000 people.

Nasrallah recently acknowledged that Hizbullah fighters were backing loyalist troops in Syria who are fighting to crush an anti-regime insurgency.

He has systematically backed Assad's claims that the violence in Syria is the product of a foreign conspiracy aimed at crushing the anti-Israel axis.

Nasrallah said "Israel says it wants to push Syria out of the equation of the Arab-Israeli conflict".

He described any future opening of the Golan front "and the declared opening of the door to jihad (holy war) to fighters from the Golan" as "the second strategic answer" to Israel's strikes.

"We are ready to receive any kind of game-changing weapons, even if it breaks the power balance (with Israel)... We deserve such weapons, and we will use the weapons to defend our people and our country."

"Just as Syria stood by the Lebanese people and gave moral and financial backing to its people's resistance, we announce that we stand by the side of the Syrian resistance," said Hizbullah's chief, pledging "moral, financial and logistical support for the liberation of the Syrian Golan."

Israel "knows that among the main sources of strength" of the region's resistance movements are "Syria and, of course, the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Iran funnels arms through Syria to the Shiite movement Hizbullah.

"Everyone knows how much Syria has given to the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance" against Israel, said Nasrallah.

"In the whole of Arab history, no other Arab regime has given us as much as President Bashar al-Assad's regime has," he added.

Nasrallah said it is because of this support that Israel "carried out an air strike on Damascus and near Damascus... regardless of the accuracy of its claimed targets."

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes killed 42 soldiers.

While Israel has not officially acknowledged the strikes, an Israeli official said they were aimed at a rockets shipment intended for Hizbullah.

Damascus said the strikes hit Syrian army bases.

In his speech, Nasrallah lashed out against Arab governments' silence over Israel's strike on Syria.

Some "Arab states have become readier than ever to give up (to Israel)...  after the Arab Spring" that brought down several dictators in the region, he said.

Nasrallah meanwhile called on "the free and honorable in the Arab and Muslim world" to take action to bring about "a settlement" and "political solution" in Syria.

Let the Headlines Speak
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Kerry Talks Peace with Tony Blair
As part of his ongoing efforts to get Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday hosted talks with special Middle East envoy Tony Blair,. The two men met privately for more than two hours in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Rome, after Kerry also talked earlier in the day with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, reported AFP.  

Larger portion of Canadians denying religious affiliation
A growing number of Canadians are identifying themselves as having no religious affiliation, although more than two-thirds of the country’s population says they’re Christian. Statistics Canada’s voluntary National Household Survey (NHS) released Wednesday also shows immigration is contributing to the growth of non-Christian religions, including Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist.  

Earthquake strikes Marina del Rey area
A shallow magnitude 3.0 earthquake was reported Thursday afternoon, one mile from Marina del Rey, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 2:08 p.m. Pacific time. The depth was recorded at 8.1 miles.  

Earthquake: 3.4 quake strikes near East Foothills, Calif.
A shallow magnitude 3.4 earthquake was reported Thursday evening four miles from East Foothills, Calif., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 10:12 p.m. at a depth of 3.7 miles.  

M-CLASS SOLAR FLARE
A sunspot located just behind the sun's northeastern limb erupted during the early hours of May 10th, producing an M3-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion's extreme ultraviolet flash: movie. The farside active region will turn toward Earth in the days ahead; stay tuned.  

3 suspected cases of SARS-related virus in France
Since September 2012, the World Health Organization has been informed of 30 confirmed cases of the virus, and 18 of the patients have died. Cases have emerged in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Britain and Germany, and health officials say the virus has likely already spread from person to person in some circumstances.  

2 popes meet: Egyptian Copt and Pope Francis
Two popes are praying together at the Vatican, one Catholic and one Orthodox. The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, Pope Tawadros II, called on Pope Francis on Friday in the first such meeting in 40 years. The occasion was to mark the anniversary of the signing of a declaration for improving ties between the two churches between Pope Paul VI and Tawadros' predecessor, Pope Shenouda III. The Coptic and Catholic churches split in the fifth century over theocratic differences. Since taking office last year, Tawadros has reached out to Egypt's Catholics.  

Kerry says Israel, Palestinians serious about peace
The Israelis and Palestinians are serious about pursuing peace, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday. Kerry is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 21 or 22 to try to revive long-stalled Middle East peace talks.  

Islamic cleric in Gaza rejects Israel's existence
A prominent Islamic scholar making a landmark visit to the Gaza Strip declared Thursday that Israel has no right to exist and voiced his support for rocket fire on Israel, giving a boost of legitimacy to the militant Islamist Hamas rulers of the Palestinian territory.  

Outbreak of mice-vector hemorrhagic fever in Argentina; attacks in rural areas
The contagion potential of the disease covers a wide area of central Argentina: the provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, La Pampa and Santa Fe, with other strains of the disease in Paraguay and Bolivia. The death and hospitalization were confirmed by the Epidemiology Director from the city of Rosario.  

Scientists Just Recorded the Brightest Explosion We’ve Ever Seen
Two weeks ago, says NASA, astronomers saw the longest and brightest gamma-ray burst ever detected. It was the biggest shot of energy we’ve ever seen, streaming from the universe’s most powerful class of explosions. “The event, labeled GRB 130427A, was the most energetic gamma-ray burst yet seen, and also had the longest duration,” says Matthew Francis for Ars Technica. “The output from GRB 130427A was visible in gamma ray light for nearly half a day, while typical GRBs fade within a matter of minutes or hours.”  

New Evidence from His Doctors Shows Hitler Was Gay
Army interrogator Herman Merl, who was a medical technician who interviewed Hitler's doctors, Karl Brandt and Hitler’s primary physician, Theodor Morell, wrote “Homosex” in the space provided for Hitler’s sexuality. The doctors told Merl that Hitler did not sleep with girlfriend Eva Braun in her bedroom, and he himself received female hormones. Merl wrote, "Eva Braun = separate rooms" and "female hormone - injection 50,000 units." He added, "His sexual life and intercourse with Eva Braun was told to me."  

US invokes emergency act to keep H7N9 flu at bay
THE US government has declared that H7N9 bird flu "poses a significant potential for a public health emergency", and has given "emergency use authorisation" for diagnostic kits for the virus. This means tests can be used that haven't gone through the usual lengthy approval process by the US Food and Drug Administration.  

'We Have No Hope in America’: Christians from Egypt Reveal the Darker Side of ‘Moderate’ Islam in Egypt
While the Obama administration would like Americans to believe that Egypt’s new government and its new president Morsi are the culmination of the freedom movement and the Arab Spring in the country, Coptic Christians there are telling a very different story. ...Christians who live in fear, have been told to convert to Islam, and are living a much harsher reality than the one promised after the revolution.  

Iran unveils new attack drone
Iran unveiled on Thursday a new drone, dubbed the Epic, capable of carrying out both surveillance and attack missions, the Mehr news agency reported. Defence Minister General Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying the Epic, which can fly at high altitudes, is a "stealth aircraft that cannot be detected by enemies."  

Philippines eyes Golan peacekeeper pull-out after abductions
The Philippines' foreign minister says he wants to pull its peacekeepers from the UN force in the Golan Heights after four were seized by Syrian rebels. Albert del Rosario said the soldiers were being held as human shields and that peacekeepers' exposure was "beyond tolerable limits". The UN peacekeepers patrol the line separating Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.  

Vatican declares Mexican Death Saint blasphemous
A senior Vatican official has condemned the cult of Santa Muerte, or Holy Death, in Mexico as "blasphemous". The president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, said worshipping Santa Muerte was a "degeneration of religion". Cardinal Ravasi spoke at a series of events for believers and non-believers in Mexico City.  

US to chide Germany on eurozone growth at G7 meeting
US treasury secretary Jack Lew will repeat calls for Germany to stimulate demand in order to drag the eurozone out of recession, according to US government sources. Speaking with reporters...ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers in the UK on Friday (10 May), a senior US Treasury official commented that Lew's main message would be to urge the eurozone to "reinvigorate growth and domestic demand."  

Hagel: US strategy is to reinforce Israel, allies
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said reinforcing Israel's edge and bolstering security relationships with neighbors like Egypt were both US priorities. Hagel, speaking Thursday to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's annual Soref Symposium, described his recent visit to Israel and the region, his first since assuming the defense secretary post in February.  

Syria conflict: US says Assad can have no post-war role
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have no role in a political settlement to Syria's conflict. The comments followed reports that the US was softening its insistence on Mr Assad's departure as a precondition for any deal - as demanded by rebels.  

Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000
The death toll from Bangladesh's worst industrial accident has passed 1,000 as recovery teams continue to find more bodies in the wreckage. The eight-storey Rana Plaza factory building near Dhaka collapsed on 24 April with an unknown number inside.  

Syria "likely" to have used chemical weapons, says UK
Britain said on Thursday it was "very likely" the Syrian government had used chemical weapons, and Turkey announced it was stepping up testing of people fleeing the Syrian civil war for traces.  

China's growing military might: top 4 concerns for the Pentagon
China continues to increase spending to grow its already considerable military, and top Pentagon officials continue to watch the developments carefully.

Geological Upheaval Pt. 1
May 10th, 2013
VideoYou Tube
Categories: Prophecy;Contemporary Issues

Egypt's New Anti - Muslim Brotherhood Militia
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ashraf Ramelah
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Egypt's Black Bloc grew out of a struggle for liberation from an authoritarian system, only after non-violent civil efforts had failed. Not to be confused with America's Black Bloc, which is friend to likes of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's Black Bloc is an enemy to their country's new Islamist rulers and fights for democracy and legitimate government.

Clad in black garb and ski masks, the faceless and nameless Black Bloc soldiers lock arms to create a human shield in defense of pro-freedom protesters -- the Black Bloc's number-one priority -- in the streets and squares of Egypt. Experts in martial arts and ostensibly military-trained, Black Bloc warriors only recently surfaced in Egypt to safeguard fellow freedom-fighters from their arch-enemies, the foes of democracy: President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-Hamas gangs.

Originating out of a plan to protect women protesters from sexual assault, this huge band of men and women numbering in the thousands (the exact number is not known) form a dedicated and determined corps of combatants divided into local groups of 30-50 individuals.

The secret members of the "elite" Black Bloc guard first appeared in the streets of Cairo this January, when revolutionaries commemorated their two-year anniversary with protests in Tahrir Square. Now everywhere the Egyptian opposition stages protests, the rank-and-file Black Bloc, whose leaders remain unknown to them, dutifully move in to police the area on behalf of fellow protesters.

Deemed "terrorists" and "outlaws" by the Morsi regime, the shadowy Zorro-like heroes refer to their network as the "United Ghosts Revolution" and represent a just cause in the ongoing rebellion against Egypt's Islamist government. The Black Bloc mission is to ensure that no more assaults, kidnappings, and torture occur from Morsi's security forces [the Muslim Brotherhood militia] and so-called law enforcement. Many Black Bloc members carry firearms, most likely acquired through the illegal networks smuggling weapons from Libya and Gaza.

If the best defense is a good offense, the forceful Black Bloc has aggressively expanded its scope beyond the scene of gathered protesters and their protection. With a physical presence in more than eight cities across Egypt, the anonymous soldiers have claimed responsibility for ransacking at least eight separate Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party offices.

At first, the shrouded Black Bloc raised fears; the public saw them as terrorists. This wrong impression, however, was soon dispelled as their image as guardians took shape. Appearing first in the social media, the Black Bloc now has the moral support of more than 57,000 Facebook members for the purpose of countering Islamic supremacy and brutality.

Their core concern is to facilitate the pursuit of Western-style democracy. Its members claim no affiliation with existing political parties, as the group states that it "aims only to stand against the Muslim Brotherhood and any group exploiting religion to achieve political goals." Their challenge to the Muslim Brotherhood has prompted a new crackdown by President Morsi and his Prime Minister, Hasham Kandil. The state now targets opposition protesters who wear black, tracking those who do and conducting investigations. By mid-February, Morsi began arresting members of Black Bloc and its sympathizers.

Running under the banner of "Allah, Country, Revolution," the "outlaws" have been accused by Islamists of having Israeli backing and connections to Western funding.

In keeping with their mission statement, Egypt's Black Bloc members claim they have nothing against state institutions per se, "but against control by a particular system, the supremacy of a certain group." They further contend that "the best thing is to hit the existing system and its economy by sabotaging the system's institutions and not ones belonging to the public."

China Urges Israeli Prime Minister to Remove Obstacles to Restarting Talks With Palestinians
May 10th, 2013
Daily NewsAP
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

BEIJING — China’s premier has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove obstacles to restarting talks with the Palestinians, as Beijing seeks to bring its growing international influence to bear on the Middle East peace process.

Greeting the Israeli leader at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made no direct mention of his meeting two days earlier with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads his people’s efforts to achieve statehood. Talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the statehood issue have been deadlocked for four years, despite pressure on Jerusalem from the United States, Russia and the European Union, long the major players in Middle East diplomacy.

The Palestinian issue lies “at the core of factors influencing peace and stability in the Middle East,” Li told Netanyahu, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

“China expects Israel and Palestine to work together, take substantive measures to remove obstacles and create conditions for the restoration and progress of peace talks,” Li said. As a friend to both Israel and Palestine, China wants to work as a broker to bring the sides together, he said.

The near simultaneous visits to China by Abbas and Netanyahu underscore China’s desire to play a greater role in the Middle East, a region Beijing has long seen as a key source of energy.

“The Middle East confuses the Chinese,” said China expert Yoram Evron of Israel’s University of Haifa. “But in the past two years, there are people in China who think it needs to expand its activities in the region in order to safeguard its interests.”

Evron’s view was echoed by Middle East expert Li Weijian of the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Studies, who said the region was far too important for China to ignore, particularly in light of Beijing’s increased economic and political clout elsewhere in the world.

“China needs to play a role in major international affairs, including the affairs of the Middle East, and China has been stepping up efforts in this respect,” he said.

Last week, China’s Foreign Ministry said it would be willing to arrange a meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu, but with the Israeli side casting Netanyahu’s visit in largely commercial terms, the meeting didn’t take place. Instead, Netanyahu devoted much of his time on his trip to pressing for an expansion of his country’s $8 billion annual trade with China, and encouraging Chinese investment in Israeli industry.

Following their meeting, Li and Netanyahu presided over the signing of five agreements on aerospace, agricultural research, financial cooperation, science and technology, and on Chinese language instruction.