Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. - Led Israeli-palestinian Talks Get Off to Confused Start. Palestinians Shun Security Issues
Aug 14th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

US-Israeli-Palestinian negotiations resume Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 14, in deep confusion, senior Israeli officials report to debkafile. They say that the US delegation chairing the negotiations “appears to be at sea on which issue to lead off.” There is anger in Jerusalem over the leak from US Secretary of State John Kerry’s circle of his threat that Israel would face a campaign against its legitimacy unless it gives way to pressures on West Bank settlements.

“The Secretary would be better advised to focus on the hardening of the Palestinian position,” said Israeli sources. They also pointed out that although Kerry had insisted on the talks being held in confidence, his own people were pouring out confidential data to the media. “This can only be explained,” said the Israeli sources, “by the talks having run into crisis before they begin.”
By declaring that the future Palestinian state must be cleansed of every last Jew, civilian or military, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas takes an even more extreme line than Yasser Arafat did in 2000. In the trilateral talks he held with then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, under the auspices of President Bill Clinton, the Palestinian leader accepted the right of the Israeli Defense Forces to rapidly deploy on the West Bank and Jordan Rift Valley in the event of a security crisis threatening Israel from the east.

Abbas has also backed away from the Palestinians’ original consent for Israeli security forces to be posted at the border crossings of the future Palestinian state.

According to debkafile’s sources, the US Secretary of State recently proposed that security arrangements along the Jordan River and the West Bank be determined by the US and Israel without Palestinian involvement.

This position encouraged Abbas to take a tough line, say the sources, and for Israel it is a non-starter. “If Kerry does not recognize that a consensus on security must be embedded in the crux of any accord and accepted by all three parties, the negotiations must be considered to have run into insurmountable difficulties,” said the Israel source, who preferred to stay anonymous in view of the sensitivity of the issues.

Washington sources report that the Secretary failed to win the support of American Jewish leaders when he met them at the White House on Aug. 8 along with National Security Adviser Susan Rice. They found his arguments vague, inconsistent and loaded with danger for Israel.

This last week, sources in Washington and Israel report that US Special Envoy Martin Indyk is working overtime to rescue the Israel-Palestinian peace track initiated by John Kerry from foundering before it gets properly underway.
Sunday, Aug. 11, Indyk met Israel’s Justice Minister and senior negotiator Tzipi Livni and her aides at a restaurant in Herzlia in search of a strategy for saving the process from collapse after the first substantial round takes place Wednesday.
Indyk was concerned that the Palestinian side led by Saab Erekat would kick of the session with a demand to pick up the negotiations from the point reached by former prime minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, even though the Palestinians rejected his proposals at the time. Abbas is now trying to maneuver Israel into undersigning the Olmert concessions and topping them up with more.
Israel says that in view of 50 years of failed peace talks stalled by the Palestinians, this new round must start afresh with all the issues on the table.
Kerry appears to have grasped that his initiative on security arrangements and general approach were misplaced, only encouraging the Palestinians to revert to the dangerous pipe dream that they can force all parties to turn the clock back at their convenience.

Pro - Morsi Supporters Burn Churches, Reprisal for Cairo Dispersal
Aug 14th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Muslim supporters of Mohamed Morsi torched three Christian churches in central Egypt Wednesday in reprisal attacks as security forces broke up their protest camps in Cairo. They burned down the Mar Gergiss Coptic church in Sohag and two more churches in Menia province.

Let the Headlines Speak
Aug 14th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Warning: cyber attack will trigger bank crash
The financial industry is preparing for a massive attack by Islamist hackers. In a study of the American Clearinghouse DTCC acknowledges: The financial system has become too complex to operate it safely. The enigmatic travel warning, the U.S. could have to do with the fear of Americans just before this bank crash.  

Snowden: NSA targeted journalists critical of government after 9/11
Edward Snowden accused the National Security Agency of targeting reporters who wrote critically about the government after the 9/11 attacks and warned it was “unforgivably reckless” for journalists to use unencrypted email messages when discussing sensitive matters.  

Networks Do 92 Climate Change Stories; Fail to Mention 'Lull' in Warming All 92 Times
Stories citing experts or the latest studies promoting alarmism get covered more than 8 times as often as critical experts and studies. Although many scientists say no, ABC, CBS and NBC continue to link weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes, heat waves and more to climate change nearly one-fourth of the time.  

America Is #1 at Something — Unfortunately, It’s Porn Websites
America is once again leading the world at manufacturing something, unfortunately it’s not cars, or the latest smart phones or tablet computers. We’re leading the world in the hosting of internet porn websites. And we lead by a lot. ...the USA hosts 60 percent of all the porn websites online. That figure translates to 428 million webpages. The next closest on the porn hosting list...is the Netherlands.  

CIA Director Brennan Confirmed as Reporter Michael Hastings Next Target
This week Elise Jordan, wife of famed journalist Michael Hastings, who recently died under suspicious circumstances, corroborated this reporter's sources that CIA Director, John Brennan was Hastings next exposé project (CNN clip). Last month a source provided San Diego 6 News with an alarming email hacked from super secret CIA contractor Stratfor’s President Fred Burton. The email (link here) was posted on WikiLeaks and alleged that then Obama counter-terrorism Czar Brennan, was in charge of the government's continued crackdown or witch-hunt on investigative journalists.  

Israel launches Gaza air raid after rocket attack
The Israeli air force targeted rocket launch sites in Gaza hours before the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, after rockets were fired from the area, the Israeli army said. "The raid targeted two rocket launch sites after rockets were fired on Tuesday from the Gaza Strip, one of which exploded on Israeli territory," said an army spokesman. No one was injured in the attack.  

Mexico Earthquake Today 2013: 5.3 Magnitude Terremoto Hits Ometepec
Officials tell news that a 5.3 magnitude Mexico earthquake today struck just after 9:50 am local time. The quake had a moderate depth. It struck just twenty-one miles below ground level. As a result the quake could be felt across the vicinity.  

No damage reported after quake off Colombia coast
The U.S. Geological Survey put the intensity of the quake at a higher magnitude of 6.7 and said it happened at a shallower depth of 10 km (six miles).  

Israel-Palestinian talks set to resume in Jerusalem
The first direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in three years are set to begin in Jerusalem. Few details have been released about the location, timing or agenda of the talks and both sides have been cautious about achieving any breakthrough. Overnight, Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal to restart negotiations.  

Panama: UN probes North Korea arms shipment
UN officials have begun inspecting an arms shipment found on a North Korean ship, Panama's security minister says. The Chong Chon Gang was seized last month on the Panama Canal. Inspectors looking for drugs found Cuban arms and two Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter jets. Cuba says the weapons were being sent to North Korea for refurbishment.  

Switzerland nominates Hezbollah advocate for UN Human Rights Council
The Swiss government has nominated Jean Ziegler–-a former Social Democratic MP who has praised Hezbollah as a legitimate national movement–- to serve as an adviser to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The formal notification of Ziegler’s nomination to UN diplomats took place last week, sparking sharp criticism on Monday from a UN watchdog group.  

Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe claims mandate for 'black empowerment' asset grab
President Robert Mugabe said today that his party had won “a resounding mandate” from voters to complete a sweeping “black empowerment” programme, taking over foreign and white-owned assets.  

Departure of UN chemical experts to Syria delayed
UN chemical weapons experts have delayed a trip to Syria because the United Nations and the Syrian government haven’t agreed on arrangements for the investigation of alleged chemical weapons use, a spokesman for the world body said Tuesday.  

Celebrations in Gaza, West Bank for freed Palestinian prisoners
Twenty six convicted Palestinian terrorists were freed by Israel overnight Tuesday, and welcomed home to the West Bank and Gaza, as part of the US-brokered deal that enabled the resumption of peace talks.  

What Global Warming? 2012 Data Confirms Earth In Cooling Trend
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its “State of the Climate in 2012” report, which states that “worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record.” But the report “fails to mention [2012] was one of the coolest of the decade, and thus confirms the cooling trend,” according to an analysis by climate blogger Pierre Gosselin.  

Netanyahu: Threat from Iran ‘dwarfs’ other challenges
The threat of Iran attaining nuclear weapons “dwarfs” the other security challenges facing Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday night, at the start of talks with the visiting US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey.  

Egyptian troops move against pro-Morsi camps; deaths reported
Casualties have been reported after Egyptian security forces moved on Wednesday to clear two sit-in camps that have sprung up in Cairo in support of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, state television and security officials said.

Deadly Egyptian Clashes in Cairo Spread to Other Cities
Aug 14th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Egyptian health ministry reports 56 dead, 526 injured countrywide in clashes over the Egyptian security clear-up of two fortified pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo Wednesday. The Muslim Brother has put the figure in the thousands. The violence has spread to Alexandria, Asyut and Menia. Witnesses report security forces using machine guns, firing tear gas from helicopters and posting snipers on the rooftops to clear the larger Muslim Brotherhood camp in Nasser City after tear gas, tanks and armored bulldozers. The smaller camp in Giza was quickly dismantled earlier.

The clear-up operation was expected. The military which deposed the Muslim Brotherhood warned the Brotherhood that the camps would be cleared by force after failing to obtain a negotiated consent to voluntary dispersal.