Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Will Congress Save Troop’ Christianity?
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Religious freedom in the military is a hot topic following a controversial meeting between Pentagon officials and an anti-Christian activist seeking to remove God from the military, and now Congress is on the verge of preserving those freedoms through the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA.

The furor over the rights of service members to share their faith peaked in April and May after Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation held a meeting with Pentagon leaders and reportedly received assurances that members of the military found sharing their faith would be prosecuted.

Now, Rep. John Fleming, R-La., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is advancing an amendment to the NDAA that would guarantee service members not only the right to believe as they wish but to express those beliefs freely as well.

“It allows for military members to exercise their First Amendment right within appropriate limits, so that not only can they maintain their beliefs of conscience … but also they can express it and they can take action, which means they can have a Bible on their desk or they can speak in a noncoercive fashion with other members,” said Fleming, who added that the amendment would not allow service members to disobey orders.

“If your commanding officer says, ‘Get in that tank and go shoot,’ you can’t say all of a sudden that, ‘It’s against my religion.’ You can’t do that,” he said.

Rouhani: Iran will not Halt Enrichment. Party Over?
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iran’s president-elect Hassan Rouhani said in his first speech that Iran will not stop uranium enrichment as demanded by the world powers – only make its nuclear program more transparent. DEBKAfile:  Rouhani made the first move in the bargaining with the world powers over which parts of Iran’s program would be transparent. Given Tehran’s record, the debate could go on for months, if not years.

Rand Paul: Your Taxes Fund Regimes That Kill Christians 'For Blasphemy Against Islam’
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily Newscnsnews.com - Michael W. Chapman
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

In a speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he was angry over the fact that U.S. tax money is used to support foreign regimes where Christians are killed “for blasphemy against Islam,” and where “Muslims who convert to Christianity” are also put to death. “It angers me to see my tax dollars supporting regimes that put Christians to death for blasphemy against Islam, countries that put to death Muslims who convert to Christianity, and countries who imprison anyone who marries outside their religion,” said Paul at the conference, held at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C.

“There is a war on Christianity, not just from liberal elites here at home, but worldwide,” said Paul.  “And your government, or more correctly, you, the taxpayer, are funding it. You are being taxed to send money to countries that are not only intolerant of Christians but openly hostile. Christians are imprisoned and threatened with death for their beliefs.”

News Update UN Watchdog Chief: Sanctions Have not Slowed Iran’s Nuclear Progress
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Monday that Iran is making steady progress in expanding its nuclear program - despite international sanctions that do not seem to be slowing it down. He spoke to Reuters shortly after Iran’s president-elect Hassan Rouhani said his country would not suspend its enrichment of uranium, but would be more transparent about its nuclear program for the sake of seeing sanctions lifted. Amano said he remained committed to dialogue with Iran although no meeting had been set after 10 rounds of talks since early 2012.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES
There are 7 sunspot groups on the Earthside of the sun, but none has a complex magnetic field that harbors energy for strong eruptions.  

Sarah Palin: The NSA ‘Couldn’t Find Two Pot-Smoking Deadbeat Bostonians with a Hotline to Terrorist Central in Chechnya…Really?’
“Our government spied on every single one of your phone calls,” Palin observed, “but it couldn’t find two pot-smoking deadbeat Bostonians with a hotline to terrorist central in Chechnya…really? And it’s built apparatus to sneak into all of the good guys’ communications, but oopsy-daisy! It missed the Fort Hood mass-murder of our own troops, despite this Islamic terrorist declaring his ideology in numerous army counseling sessions…and on his own business cards. But…no red flags there. Really?”  

News Massive blast devastates Damascus area
"It was so big. There was a white light followed by a sound like thunder," said one resident who was several kilometers from the site.  

School Recites Pledge in Arabic, One Nation Under Allah?
But an Arabic translation of the Pledge of Allegiance would have replaced “one nation under God” with “one nation under Allah.” “This is no longer about language,” wrote one reader in a letter to the local newspaper. “This is about targeting a group you know will object, intentionally stirring them up under the guise of your opinions on multiculturalism and subjecting your school and community to a divisive issue for absolutely no gain.”  

Amid Calls for ‘Holy War,’ Egypt Severs Diplomatic Relations with Syria
Egypt’s Islamist president announced Saturday that he was cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria and closing Damascus’ embassy in Cairo, decisions made amid growing calls from hard-line Sunni clerics in Egypt and elsewhere to launch a “holy war” against Syria’s embattled regime. Mohammed Morsi told thousands of supporters at a rally in Cairo that his government was also withdrawing the Egyptian charge d’affaires from Damascus.  

NSA leaked documents reveal U.S. spied on Russian president
Hours after President Obama met with then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, U.S. spies reportedly intercepted top-secret communications between Medvedev and his delegation.  

Only an all-out war can depose Assad. Anything less is like being 'half-pregnant'
Syria's insurgents cannot win just by getting a few more weapons. If the West intervenes, it will be as a main player  

Iran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria
Washington’s decision to arm Syria’s Sunni Muslim rebels has plunged America into the great Sunni-Shia conflict of the Islamic Middle East, entering a struggle that now dwarfs the Arab revolutions which overthrew dictatorships across the region. For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East.  

The Government’s Spying Is Not As Bad As The Whistleblower Said … It’s WORSE
The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”  

Protest and Resistance against America’s Police State: What’s Your Breaking Point to Take Action?
When Edward Snowden reached his breaking point, the world saw the truth about the vast extent of spying by the NSA on Americans and people around the world. In an act of conscience, Snowden released secret information, saying “My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.” Snowden sparked protest, lawsuits, criticism of the administration and US intelligence. His action shows the power that comes when someone inside the system break ranks and tells the truth.  

Obama Signals Start of US War in Syria
The Obama Administration’s sudden announcement last night that it has discovered the Syrian government used chemical weapons and thus crossed the “red line” is pretty unconvincing.The Administration provided no evidence, no new information, and no explanation of why the intelligence community’s assessment of just three months ago that chemical weapons had not been used by the Syrian government has changed so dramatically. What changed? They won’t tell us.  

China asks U.S. to explain Internet surveillance
China made its first substantive comments on Monday to reports of U.S. surveillance of the Internet, demanding that Washington explain its monitoring programs to the international community. Several nations, including U.S. allies, have reacted angrily to revelations by an ex-CIA employee over a week ago that U.S. authorities had tapped the servers of internet companies for personal data.  

Strong earthquake rocks tourist island Crete, Greece
A strong 5,8 earthquake was measured in Greece Sunday night. First reports from eTN readers in Crete report no major damages, but tourists and locals were running out of restaurants, nightclubs, homes and hotels. It's too early to get a clear picture of any possible damages or injuries.  

US cool on North Korea talks offer
The US and South Korea have responded coolly to North Korea's offer of high-level talks with Washington. North Korea will be judged "by its actions and not its words", a US spokeswoman said. The North proposed talks on "regional peace" with the US on Sunday, but said there should be no "preconditions".  

G8 Northern Ireland summit: Syria set to top agenda
World leaders are gathering in Northern Ireland for a G8 summit set to be dominated by the conflict in Syria. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the G8 nations would focus on "common ground" on the issue of bringing peace to Syria. But Russia, Syria's key ally, opposes US plans to arm the rebels - something leader Vladimir Putin made clear after talks with Mr Cameron on Sunday.  

UK set up fake Internet cafes to spy on G20 officials
A G8 summit kicks off Monday (17 June) in Northern Ireland amid embarrassing revelations that Britain's intelligence services set up fake Internet cafes to spy on its allies at international summits in London in 2009. ...One document revealed by Snowden states that “diplomatic targets from all nations have an MO of using smartphones. Exploited this use at the G20 meetings last year.”

Herman Cain Says U.S. Headed ‘Towards Socialism and Towards Communism’
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily NewsWashington Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

“This train is running full speed down the tracks towards socialism and towards communism,” he told the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “Yes, I said it. Before we stop it and reverse it, we got to slow it down. That’s what we do in 2014.”

Fitch Says China Credit Bubble Unprecedented in Modern World History
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Bennett: Palestinian State? Get Over It
Jun 17th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Bayit Yehudi head, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, said Monday that the idea of establishing a Palestinian state has reached a dead end and should be forsaken.

"Never in the history of Israel has so much energy been invested in something so pointless,” Bennett said at a conference on the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria and their depiction in the media.

Regarding the idea of a Palestinian state, he said, "We need to go from a situation in which we try to convince people that it is a bad idea, to one in which this idea is behind us. Anyone who travels around Judea and Samaria knows that what they say in the hallways of Oslo and Annapolis is detached from reality.”

"There are 400,000 Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, and another 250,000 in eastern Jerusalem,” he noted. “More than 10% of the residents of Israel live in what is called the Green Line. The attempt to establish a Palestinian state inside our land is over.”

The nation needs to keep on “building and building and building” in the Land of Israel, Bennett said. “It is important that there be a Jewish presence everywhere.”

“Our main problem is still the fact that Israel's leaders are not prepared to say simply, that the Land of Israel belongs to the nation of Israel,” he explained. “We need to tell ourselves and the entire world that this land has been ours for 3,000 years.”