Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

You Won't Need a Pin When You Pay for Everything With Your Face
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily Newsgismodo.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;Prophecy

Imagine a world where your debit card stays in your pocket at all times, and you never have to touch cash. This is a place where you don't have to remember your wallet, or even phone, when you run down to the corner store. It's a future well off in the distance, to be sure, but dozens of companies are taking the first steps to get there. 

You probably already know about payment systems like Google Wallet, which can use NFC technology to let you check out with the swipe of a smartphone. There are also services that use geo-fencing to register when you've walked into a store and when you walk out. The latest fad, however, doesn't require any extra equipment at all—at least none you'd be carrying around. You just need your face. It's a big, crazy step. But also one we have the tools to start working toward. 

At present, there's a small slew of companies using facial recognition software to handle all kinds of transactions. The work they're doing has the potential to completely change your daily life, and scare the underpants off of privacy advocates. But companies like Uniqul are mostly counting on the former. This Finnish start-up is on a mission with the stated purpose to create "the world's fastest payment system," and this week they launched a novel payments system based on facial recognition. 

The elephant in the room, of course, is whether stores are willing to make the massive investment in extravagant facial recognition equipment to use the service, and whether people are willing to let Uniqul file their face away in a database of customers.

The basic premise behind Uniqul's checkout process is that you should never have to do anything but be yourself when paying for something. No wallet. No iPhone app. Just a smile—or a grimace depending on your mood. You just walk up to the register where a camera scans your face and matches it against the database. 

"In the background our algorithms are processing your biometrical data to find your account in our database as you are approaching the cashier," the company explained in a press release. "The whole transaction will be done in less than 5 seconds—the time it usually takes you to pull out your wallet." The only thing you have to do beyond that is tap OK on a screen.

It's hard to look past the basic idea behind Uniqul's service and not wonder what you gain by paying with your face. On one hand, the pay-by-face method is fast and entirely effortless. Again, there's no need wave your smartphone at anything. 

But even that benefit is tenuous, since 1) you're going to need to carry around a debit card or cash for everywhere without a face-reading kiosk, and 2) is the 5-second transaction (assuming it goes smoothly) really do much for you over a 15-second swipe-and-PIN purchase? 

And on the other hand, the system would require an upfront investment from merchants so that they have the right face-scanning equipment in the store and software to support it. Beyond that, the privacy question lingers. Will people that aren't using the service feel comfortable in front of the face-scanner, even if it's not scanning their faces?

Oh, and it's not free, either. Uniqul calculates fees based on physical space—from €0.99 a month for terminals in a one to two kilometer radius to €6.99 for global access—and it's entirely possible that you might end up paying for a service that you can only use in a couple of different location. Remember: Paying with your face is only fun when it works.

There are other players here, of course. An American company called Diebold is taking that same facial recognition idea and applying it to ATMs. The benefit here has as much to do with security as it does with convenience. 

So this time, instead of walking into a shop and getting your face scanned, you walk up to an ATM machine and connect to the network with a QR code on your phone. Instead of typing in a pin, you simply step back for a face scan, and you're on your way to taking out cash. The Diebold machine is so plugged in, it doesn't even issue paper receipts. Instead you get a text.
Related

But again, plenty of people out there are very turned off by facial recognition software. You need only look as far as Facebook's huge screw up when it attempted to roll out facial recognition feature to make tagging photos easier. While many users protested, Germany declared the software to be straight up illegal.

So that's one country that won't be enjoying a pay-by-face future. Otherwise, merchants and customers alike will have to invest time and energy to make the switch to virtual payments, regardless of whether it's by facial recognition, NFC or otherwise.

There is another way, though. Ironically, plain old humans might be the best "facial recognition" tech out there. Square is arguably leading the way with its geo-fencing features (think of it as analog facial recognition). The new Square Wallet software syncs up your profile with a store's point-of-sale software so that the cashier knows who you are when you walk in based on—you guessed it—your face. 

The GPS and Wi-Fi chips in your phone help. And because the system registers your presence as soon as you walk into the store, it's possible to tailor a completely personalized shopping experience based on that individual customer's preferences.

That sounds like a great compromise, huh? You get the convenience of facial recognition without the fear-inducing, privacy-invading trouble of facial recognition software. That sounds all well and good until you realize that it's also creepy to walk into a random store and be greeted by your name. Oh well, though. The future's bound to be uncomfortable at one point or another. Just remember, it's only going to get here when it's as convenient for the stores as it is for you.

U.S. City Looks to Penalize Bible Believers
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsWND - Bob Unruh
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Think it’s hot in Texas these days? Just wait a few weeks, until the San Antonio City Council ends its summer hiatus and resumes work on a proposed change to its  nondiscrimination ordinances that apparently will discriminate against all who take the Bible at its word and follow it.

That’s because the change creates a penalty for those who ever exhibit a “bias,” which clearly could include adopting the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality, with a permanent ban on participation in city government, business or employment.

Opponents of the plan, which would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the nondiscrimination ordinances, charge it is a violation of constitutional Article VI, paragraph 3, which states, “[N]o religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”

The opponents explain that the ordinance would bar anyone from office who has “demonstrated a bias” against someone based on categories that include “sexual orientation.”

The proposal, however, does not define “bias,” which, according to local church leaders, could mean someone who declares homosexual behavior is sinful.

The new ordinance would state: “No person shall be appointed to a position if the city council finds that such person has, prior to such proposed appointment, engaged in discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or disability.”

Anyone in office who demonstrates a bias would be considered guilty of “malfeasance” and removed from office.

Church leaders who oppose the proposed change argue it violates First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of association. It also violates, they say, the Texas Religious Freedom Act and the Texas Constitution.

Pastor Charles Flowers of Faith Outreach International, who has been alerting city residents about the issue, told OneNewsNow that the reference to “bias” could mean anything.

“The ordinance … says that if you have at any point demonstrate a bias – without defining what a bias is or who will determine whether or not one has been exercised – that you cannot get a city contract,” Flowers said. “Neither can any of your subcontractors [who have demonstrated a bias] sign on to the contract.”

He called the measure “unprecedentedly wrong” and said “the citizens of San Antonio must stop it.”

Many pastors are concerned, reported KHOU-TV’s Joe Conger in Houston.

Obama Withholds F - 16 Warplanes from Egypt
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

President Barack Obama decided Wednesday to hold back four F-16 fighter planes from the Egyptian Air Force over the unrest in Egypt. DEBKAfile: Obama is expressing his displeasure over Egyptian Defense Minister Gen/ Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s refusal to accommodate Washington’s demands to release the deposed president Mohamed and bring the Muslim Brotherhood into the new interim government. Instead, the general has escalated his duel with the Brotherhood, calling on the people to rally Egypt in support of the military’s confrontation with “terrorism and violence.”

Netanyahu: Iran 'weeks Away' from Crossing Red Line
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsJpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu launched a rhetorical offensive against Iran on Sunday. The move came amid unease that the world might be enticed by a “compromise proposal” that Jerusalem believes Tehran is hatching, and concern that regional turmoil was distracting everyone’s attention from Iran’s nuclear march.

Senior Israeli officials said the Iranians were considering a proposal whereby they would agree to a temporary halt of uranium enrichment to 20 percent, and even agree to convert some of that enriched material to a lower grade, in return for a partial lifting of sanctions.

“This is an insignificant and meaningless concession,” one senior official said.

“The Iranians have invested a lot in upgrading centrifuges and have the technological ability to replenish their stockpiles within a few weeks. We will totally oppose this sort of proposal because it does not offer a real solution.”

Netanyahu, meanwhile, told an American audience on CBS News’s Face the Nation that regarding the 20% enriched uranium, the Islamic Republic was just 60 kilograms short of crossing his “red line.”

He defined this line – beyond which the Iranians should not be allowed to proceed – as being the possession of 250 kg. of 20% enriched uranium, enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb. He said they now had 190 kg., up from about 110 six to eight months ago.

Netanyahu said the Iranians were also building “faster centrifuges that would enable them to jump the line at a much faster rate. That is, within a few weeks.”

“They’re getting closer,” he said. “They should understand that they’re not going to be allowed to cross it.”

Asked when he would make a decision to attack, Netanyahu responded: “I can tell you I won’t wait until it’s too late.” He added that it was “important to understand that we cannot allow it to happen,” and that the Israeli and US clocks on this matter were “ticking at a different pace.”

“We’re closer [to Iran] than the United States,” he said.

“We’re more vulnerable. And therefore, we’ll have to address this question of how to stop Iran, perhaps before the United States does. But as the prime minister of Israel, I’m determined to do whatever is necessary to defend my country, the one and only Jewish state, from a regime that threatens us with renewed annihilation.”

Netanyahu’s tough rhetoric is widely seen as an attempt to reinsert a sense of urgency regarding Iran, urgency that some in Jerusalem feel has been lost due to the election last month of Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s new president, and also because of the tumultuous events roiling the region.

Representatives of the six world powers known as the P5+1 that are negotiating with Iran – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Brussels to discuss strategy now that Rouhani is about to take over.

“I have a sense there’s no sense of urgency,” Netanyahu said. “All the problems that we have [in the region], however important, will be dwarfed by this messianic, apocalyptic, extreme regime that would have atomic bombs. It would make a terrible, catastrophic change for the world and for the United States.”

Regarding Rouhani, Netanyahu said the Iranian president-elect had criticized his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, “for being a wolf in wolf’s clothing. His strategy is, be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Smile and build a bomb.”

Iran also figured prominently in comments Netanyahu made earlier in the day at the weekly cabinet meeting, saying that a month after Iran’s elections the Islamic Republic continued to “quickly sail forward” toward nuclear capability.

According to Netanyahu, Iran was expanding and improving its uranium enrichment capabilities, and in parallel was developing a plutonium reactor so it would have two tracks to create material for a nuclear weapon. At the same time, he said, Tehran was expanding its ballistic missile capabilities.

“We believe that now, more than ever, it is important to stiffen the economic sanctions and present Iran with a credible military option,” he said.

“We are determined to stand firm by our demands [on Iran], which must become the demands of the international community,” he went on. “First, to cease all enrichment. Second, to remove from the country all the enriched uranium. And third, to close the illegal nuclear facility at Qom.”

Israel’s demands are harsher than those of the international community, which – through the P5+1 – has indicated that Iran must cease enriching uranium to 20% but could keep for civilian purposes some of its stockpiles of uranium that had been enriched to a lesser degree.

On other issues in his Face the Nation appearance, Netanyahu walked carefully around a direct question posed to him about whether he thought the US should cut off military aid to the new interim government in Egypt.

“Look, that’s an internal American decision,” he said. But then he added a caveat: “Our concern is the peace treaty with Egypt. One of the foundations of that peace treaty was the US aid given to Egypt.”

He said that Israel and Egypt had maintained formal contacts during the past two years since Hosni Mubarak was deposed, “including now.”

Netanyahu also gave an answer that could be interpreted different ways when he was asked about US reports that Israel, as alleged by anonymous US officials, had been behind the attack last week on Latakia in Syria. The strike targeted Russian-made Yakhont antiship missiles that Israel has in the past warned could fall into Hezbollah’s hands.

“Oh God, every time something happens in the Middle East Israel is accused,” Netanyahu said. “I’m not in the habit of saying what we did or we didn’t do. I’ll tell you what my policy is. My policy is to prevent the transfer of dangerous weapons to Hezbollah and other terror groups. And we stand by that policy.”

Mike Rogers: China, Iran, and Russia Launching Cyber Attacks Against U.S.
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsThe Washington Free Beacon
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Chinese government-backed hackers have cost the United States nearly $2 trillion in “lost and stolen property” that was seized through illicit Internet attacks, Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Monday.

The theft of proprietary information and technology by the Chinese constitutes “the largest transfer of wealth illegally in the world’s history,” according to Rogers, who warned that the United States is not prepared to combat these cyber threats.

Chinese military units identify vulnerable U.S. companies and then instruct a team of hackers to steal industrial secrets and other information, according to Rogers, who spoke at an event sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

“We are in a cyber war today,” Rogers said. “Most Americans don’t know it. They go about their lives happily. But we are in a cyber war today.”

China poses the largest threat, according to Rogers.

The Communist regime is “primarily” engaged in economic espionage, he said, explaining that China’s “military and intelligences services” have seized U.S. industrial technology, repurposed it domestically, and then “illegally” competed with the United States in the world market.

Although these hack attacks have been well documented by the United States, few preventative measures have been implemented, said Rogers, a former Army officer and FBI special agent.

“There have been no consequences, and I mean no consequences, to their economic espionage,” he said. “It’s been a free rein and a free run.”

This theft has allowed China to grow its economy by up to seven percent each year, while also damaging America’s own economic recovery.

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

Are You Weary of Being Outraged?
If you're like me, you're fed up. You're disgusted that evil always seems to win! You wonder why God allows serial liars in government and elsewhere to keep prospering and even to win re-election in many places. Just being aware of the fact that we're in an Isaiah 5:20 world isn't enough: that we're likely in the midst of evil being called good. We have unspeakable atrocities going on at the highest levels. People are being silenced on Benghazi and the perpetrators are still running free. America funds one of the most evil outfits on earth: the Muslim Brotherhood. All Americans are being spied on!  

U.S. city looks to penalize Bible believers
Think it’s hot in Texas these days? Just wait a few weeks, until the San Antonio City Council ends its summer hiatus and resumes work on a proposed change to its nondiscrimination ordinances that apparently will discriminate against all who take the Bible at its word and follow it. That’s because the change creates a penalty for those who ever exhibit a “bias,” which clearly could include adopting the Bible’s condemnation of homosexuality, with a permanent ban on participation in city government, business or employment.  

Urban warfare training exercises continue in Chicago area
In the late evening hours of July 22, several Blackhawk helicopters flew low over central areas of the city of Chicago without any lights, startling a number of residents who were not aware of the scheduled military helicopter training exercises. Not visible on the City of Chicago web site front page, but placed in the Office of Emergency Management’s “News” section―having gone up on that site around 5:30 p.m. CT―was a vague notice reading, “The City of Chicago is providing support for a routine military training exercise in and around the Chicagoland area on July 22-25. This routine training is conducted by military personnel in cities across the country, designed to ensure the military’s ability to operate in urban environments...  

CIA backs $630,000 study into how to control global weather through geoengineering
According to US website 'Mother Jones' the CIA is helping fund a study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that will investigate whether humans could use geoengineering - which is defined as deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth's climatic system - to stop climate change.  

Egyptian army chief calls for street protests
Egypt's army chief has called for demonstrations on Friday to give the military a mandate to confront "violence and potential terrorism". Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he was not calling for public unrest and wanted national reconciliation. Supporters of Mohammed Morsi have been protesting against the army intervention which removed him as president of Egypt on 3 July.  

Survey reveals widening EU north-south divide
A new survey has revealed large differences in economic confidence and perceptions about the EU between northern and southern member states. While 80 percent of Swedes and 77 percent of Germans expressed confidence about the state of their country's economy, this contrasted with only 1 percent of Spaniards, and 2 percent of Cypriots and Greeks.  

Israel to begin giving intel on Hezbollah to EU enforcement officials
Diplomatic officials say EU agencies will need abundance of information on group to ensure it does not operate on continent; Israel's UN envoy Prosor says EU allowed Hezbollah to operate freely in Europe for decades. Now that the EU has decided to designate Hezbollah’s military wing a terrorist organization, Israel will begin providing EU...intelligence material so they can enforce the decision...  

Majority of Israelis would back a peace deal, poll finds
A full 55 percent of Israelis are likely to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he were to submit a peace agreement with the Palestinians to a public referendum, according to a poll whose results were released Wednesday.  

Japan scrambles jets after China plane flies by southern islands
Japan scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday after a Chinese military aircraft flew through international airspace near its southern islands out over the Pacific for the first time, in a move seen by Japan as underlining China's maritime expansion.  

Clashes in Mexico's Michoacan state leave 22 dead
At least 20 armed gang members have died in clashes with police in Mexico's western Michoacan state, officials say. Two police officers were also killed in shootouts that started after gang members blocked roads with vehicles and ambushed police patrols. The attacks came a day after members of the Knights Templar drug gang shot dead five demonstrators protesting against the cartel's violent tactics.  

CDC: 250 people in 6 states have unidentified stomach bug
The Centers for Disease Control says the cyclospora infection causing diarrhea and other flu-like symptoms has been reported in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia and Connecticut. The CDC said 10 people have been hospitalized and most of the reported illnesses occurred from mid-June to early July.  

UN chemical weapons team arrives in Syria
A U.N. delegation tasked with investigating the reported use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict arrived in Damascus on Wednesday to discuss terms of a possible probe into alleged attacks.  

Scientists find strange, shape-shifting particles
Exotic particles called neutrinos have been caught in the act of shape-shifting, switching from one flavor to another, in a discovery that could help solve the mystery of antimatter.  

Traders Are Talking About A Gold Conspiracy Theory And There's Evidence To Back It Up
Gold soars as NYT story on metal warehouses fans flames of conspiracy theorists that gold warehouse stores have been "lent" out. That theory also aided by backwardation (spot price far above near future). If you haven't been following gold closely, let me expand on that a little. For several months "physical gold" (bracelets, coins and small bars) have seen near riotous demand with long lines stretching into the streets. At the same time "paper gold" (ETF's, futures and nominal spot) have seen sharply falling prices. That dichotomy has sparked more than a few conspiracy theories.  

NSA Reportedly Calls ‘Top Secret’ Emergency Meeting Ahead of Vote on House Amendment That Would Challenge Agency’s Power
The National Security Agency reportedly called for a “top secret” meeting with members of the U.S. House on Tuesday to argue against a House amendment that would challenge the spy agency’s power for the first time, according to an invitation circulated in Congress and obtained by the Huffington Post. The House amendment, written by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), would seek to reign in the NSA’s sweeping power to collect massive amounts of American citizens’ communications data. The amendment is co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. John Conyers. A vote on the amendment is scheduled to take place sometime this week.  

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces Start Snap Combat Drills
Over 2,500 servicemen and 350 weapons systems are involved in snap combat readiness drills for Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), a Defense Ministry spokesman said Tuesday. The drills, involving the headquarters and two missile divisions of the Orenburg Missile Army in Russia’s Urals region, began Monday and are set to run through Saturday, Col. Igor Yegorov said. 

Lawmakers Battle Over Push to Create Military ‘Chaplain’ for Atheists
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Members of Congress are set to square off over a push to create military chaplains for people who do not believe in God.

The effort to create a chaplain for atheists and “humanists” has been building over the last several weeks. While the title might sound inherently contradictory, supporters say the point is to give atheists in the military someone who will pro-actively reach out to them and facilitate meetings.

Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers, claims that 23 percent of those in the military ranks assert no religious preference. And he argues chaplains are not providing enough “positive outreach and support” in the way “they do for all of those beliefs that aren’t their own.”

As might be expected, the campaign is running into some heated criticism.

Lawmakers turned away a Democratic-sponsored amendment last month that would have created the post — and now, Republicans are trying to formally quash the idea, with an amendment to a defense budget bill that would require military chaplains to be affiliated with a particular faith.

“When it comes to the idea of an atheist chaplain, which is an oxymoron — it’s self-contradictory — what you’re really doing is now saying that we’re going to replace true chaplains with non-chaplain chaplains,” said sponsor Rep. John Fleming, R-La. “It’s just total nonsense, the idea of having a chaplain who is an atheist.”

IDF Faces Oncoming Al Qaeda Tide on Three Israeli Borders: Golan, Lebanon, Sinai
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

That the Netanyahu government took a wrong turn in its policy of non-intervention in the Syrian conflict was manifested by the warning coming from the IDF’s military intelligence (AMAN) chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi Tuesday night, July 23, when he said that Syria had become a global battleground for al Qaeda.
Addressing a passing-out ceremony at the IDF’s Officers’ School, Kochavi warned that the thousands of al Qaeda pouring into Syria from around the world are fighting to create an Islamic state there, just as they are in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. This peril, he said, is closing in on Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
At the UN Security Council in New York, his words were echoed by Robert Serry, UN Coordinator of the Middle East peace process, who said Syria “is increasingly turning into a big global battleground.”
It is important to note that Gen. Kochavi issued his warning shortly after returning home from meetings in
Washington with senior US military and intelligence officers.  He flew to the US on July 17, on the day that hostilities flared between the Israeli and Syrian armies in the southern Golan on a scale which was never released to the public.
That clash marked the bankruptcy of the government and army command’s efforts to stop the tide of violence from reaching Israel’s northern borders by means of a tactic of virtual non-involvement, aside from limited aid to certain Syrian rebel groups, medical care for some of their wounded and certain unreported small-scale operations.  

Threats from five separate sources now threaten to swamp those efforts entirely. They are posed by the Syrian army; Hizballah; global jiahdists; armed Syrian rebel militias funded by Saudi Arabia; and Al Qaeda groups bolstered for the first time by the arrival in recent weeks Pakistani Taliban groups of fighters.
Islamist forces are thrusting forward strongly in eastern, northern and western Syria. They murder any non-Islamist rebel chiefs, especial Free Syrian Army commanders, standing in their way and are moving on towards Lebanon and Jordan as well.
What strikes most concern in Jerusalem, are the first signs of a tie-in between al Qaeda in Syria and al Qaeda in Sinai. The intelligence chief’ went to Washington with a report that coordinated terrorist operations against Israel were shaping up for the first time from Syria, Sinai and possibly Lebanon too.

It was suddenly borne in on Israel that its two strikes against Syria’s chemical weapons and the transfer of advanced hardware to Hizballah were wide of the mark. The greatest danger has turned out to be Al Qaeda’s spreading potency. Anyway, chemical warfare has since spread across the Syrian battlefield and Hizballah forces fighting in Syria simply take direct delivery of advanced weapons from the Syrian army, without even trying to transfer them to Lebanon.  

The IDF has failed to come to grips with Al Qaeda on the Syrian front no less than the Egyptian army, for different reasons, has succeeded in curbing the jihadist marauders in Sinai.
As the mainstream Syrian rebel movement crumbles, al Qaeda is bolstered by an influx of fighters, weapons and funds from across the Muslim world, including the Persian Gulf. Over the past year, the IDF has had to reconfigure its deployment against Syria – first to contend with the potential of chemical weapons, then Iranian military involvement, followed by Hizballah’s advance towards the Israeli border and now al Qaeda’s inroads.
Gen. Kochavi was not led to expect a sympathetic hearing in Washington for Israel’s concerns.
The Obama administration is up to its neck in its efforts to speed the US military drawdown in Afghanistan and break off contact with the Taliban, whose Pakistani branch has meanwhile turned up in Syria.

The Israeli intelligence chief found Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff, fully engaged in phrasing an open letter to senators to rebuff their criticism of President Barack Obama’s decision to stay out of the Syrian conflict:
In his letter, he outlined the five options for involvement with price tags:
1. Training, advising and assisting the opposition;
2. Conducting limited strikes;
3. Establishing a no-fly zone;
4. Creating buffer zones inside Syria;
5. Controlling Damascus’s chemical arms.

Gen Dempsey estimated that the first option would cost about $500m a year, while each of the other four actions would require roughly $1bn a month, i.e., $12bn a year.
The US army chief did not elaborate on the long-term cost to the US treasury of non-involvement in operations to keep al Qaeda at bay as it fights to get a stranglehold on Syria, like in Yemen and North African Sahara.
Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and its chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz are struggling with imperatives to cut down on military outlay at the very moment when they need extra funding too keep the Al Qaeda menace away from Israel’s door. Gen. Dempsey has helped them by calculating costs. But that’s as far as it goes. For the fight, Israel is on its own.

Home Front Command Simulates Chemical Missile Attack on Tel Aviv
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily Newsjpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The IDF Home Front Command launched a three-day exercise on Tuesday simulating a chemical and conventional missile attack on Tel Aviv.

The drill, which concludes on Thursday, was planned last year, and is unrelated to any current events.

During the exercise, the Home Front Command will distribute chemical protection kits in three areas – Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, and Holon.

Residents near the distribution centers have been notified by mail, and the names of the distribution stations are listed on the Home Front Command’s website.

On Wednesday, the Home Front Command will conduct a drill simulating chemical missile attacks on the IDF’s headquarters at the Kirya in Tel Aviv and on two east Tel Aviv residential neighborhoods, Bitzron and Ramat Yisrael.

The drill will include voluntary evacuations of residents who agree to cooperate in the exercise. The Home Front Command will initiate emergency radio transmissions on satellite TV channel 717 at 5 p.m.

City-wide sirens will be activated at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday, and fireworks will be launched in Tel Aviv as part of the exercise.

“We’re holding this exercise in the context of a series of drills to improve our readiness,” a senior Home Front Command official said. A computer simulator was used to envisage the chemical attack, he added.

Foreign Policy Farce: U.S. Conduct of Israel - Palestinian Peace Process
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsBarry Rubin
Categories: Commentary;Peace Process

Cruz: Pastors Could Soon Face Hate Speech Charges
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsCBN News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says America is going down a dangerous road regarding what is considered “hate speech.”

The Texas lawmaker warned the next step could be charging pastors with a crime for speaking in support of traditional marriage from the pulpit.

“If you look at other nations that have gone down the road towards gay marriage – that’s the next step where it gets enforced,” he told CBN News’s David Brody.

Crippled Fukushima Nuclear Plant ‘leaking’ Into Pacific – Company
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsNew Zealand Herald
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

A Japanese utility said its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is likely leaking contaminated water into sea, acknowledging for the first time a problem long suspected by experts.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, also came under fire for not disclosing earlier that the number of plant workers with thyroid radiation exposures exceeding threshold levels for increased cancer risks was 10 times what it said released earlier.

The delayed announcements underscored the criticisms the company has faced over the Fukushima crisis. TEPCO has been repeatedly blamed for overlooking early signs, and covering up or delaying the disclosure of problems and mishaps.

Company spokesman Masayuki Ono told a regular news conference that plant officials have come to believe that radioactive water that leaked from the wrecked reactors is likely to have seeped into the underground water system and escaped into sea.

Nuclear officials and experts have suspected a leak from the Fukushima Dai-ichi since early in the crisis.

Japan’s nuclear watchdog said two weeks ago a leak was highly suspected and ordered TEPCO to examine the problem.

TEPCO had persistently denied contaminated water reached the sea, despite spikes in radiation levels in underground and sea water samples taken at the plant. The utility first acknowledged an abnormal increase in radioactive cesium levels in an observation well near the coast in May and has since monitored water samples.

Court: U.S. Does not Have to List Israel on Jerusalem Passports
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsINN
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

A federal appeals court has for a second time thrown out a case challenging the State Department’s refusal to list Israel as the birthplace of children born in Jerusalem. The court reiterated an earlier decision that Congress had no right to mandate that Jerusalem was a part of Israel for passport purposes. That decision, the court said, was solely that of the State Department and the executive branch.

The case revolved around a challenge to the State Department’s policy based on the Congressional law, which stated that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The law entails numerous implications, one of them being Israel ought to appear as the country on passports issued in Jerusalem. Currently, no country is associated with Jerusalem on U.S. passports.

Are You Weary of Being Outraged
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily NewsJan Markell
Categories: Exhortation;Commentary

If you're like me, you're fed up. You're disgusted that evil always seems to win! You wonder why God allows serial liars in government and elsewhere to keep prospering and even to win re-election in many places. Just being aware of the fact that we're in an Isaiah 5:20 world isn't enough: that we're likely in the midst of evil being called good.  

And even if we rioted in the streets, or started a third, fourth, or fifth political party, we wouldn't see much of a change for the good. Government is supposed to serve us yet it is clearly operating the other way around and to many, government has now become a god. Just quoting the familiar verse from Proverbs 29:2, "When the wicked rule, the people mourn," is not a comfort. We want to throw the wicked bums out and cannot.  

Most of us are weary of being outraged. We're outraged at media obsession or, the other side of the coin, media neglect. We're outraged that those in power never let a good crisis go to waste so they stoke the flames, lie even more, and promote an evil agenda.

And it isn't enough to suggest that because we're in the last of the last days that we have to sit and watch as tornadoes, floods, fires, droughts, and more, rip apart the lives of good people who just happened to be in their path. It's too heartbreaking. On many days, we cannot echo the words of Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" because if God is all powerful, He would put a stop to the mayhem and wipe out the corrupt. (That happens, but later!)

   
My favorite political commentator, Erick Erickson, says, "I think the world is going to hell. But I believe in God the Father and in His son, Jesus Christ, and the Second Coming, and a judgment, and a final victory over death and sin and evil, and a life everlasting where I will walk one day beside my very real Creator. The rest? It's rather small potatoes in the eternal scheme of things. God is permanent and politics and political coalitions are not."

Erickson continues, "I get why so many on the secular left, who don't believe in a Heaven or a Hell, get so upset about certain things and want to politicize everything. To them, this life is all there is and every advantage, in politics and culture, is fair game."

He concludes, "The grand story is that there is good news available. God didn't ignore the evil that the Fall produced by sin. He spoke by the entrance of His Son, Jesus, into the world (Hebrews 1:2). When Jesus cried those anguished three words on the cross, 'It is finished,' it signaled the beginning of the end. The power of sin and death, which so strangles the human soul, which ravages the planet, which obscures the glory and grandeur of our great God -- this has been defeated, and like a helium balloon, is dying a slow death.  

"Evil, my friends, is not winning. The story of the Bible is that there is hope in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Perfect One, the Son of God."  

Thanks, Erick, for putting things into a proper perspective! 

Yes, war is coming to the Middle East, the dollar will continue to melt, the economy will not recover, people will continue to let you down and betray you, selfishness will always be out of control, and everyone you know will tell big and little lies to cover up their basically rotten human nature.  The very person you just put a trainload of trust in will make a whopper of a mistake and get away with it. The love of money will get even more out of control and mankind will continue to thump his chest and declare that he is the best at you-fill-in-the-blank.

Nothing in this world works very well. That's by design. 

That is why Paul exhorts us to forget the things behind us and to look forward to what lies ahead. He pressed on to win the goal of a Heavenly prize leaving behind all the earthly, broken systems.

Fear is a choice. Frustration is a choice. Trust is a choice.  "Do not fear" is in the Bible 365 times.Is there a message there? It is an act of faith to look at this world and not fear. Not be anxious. Not be angry. Not be frustrated. Focusing on eternal things neutralizes the attitude and the angry juices in your gut telling you that you can't stomach one more dilemma.

Al Qaeda Pouring Into Syria to Set Up Islamic State – Israeli General
Jul 24th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochabi, head of IDF intelligence branch (AMAN), warned that “the thousands of al Qaeda fighters streaming into Syria from the region and around the world were not just bent on toppling Bashar Assad but replacing his regime with an Islamic state.” Speaking Tuesday at an IDF officers’ graduation, Kochavi said that this had an impact on the entire region, especially on Sinai, where the jihadists were on the march on Israel’s southern border as well.