Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.k. Prepping Warships As West Eyes Strike on Syria in Wake of Suspected Chemical Attack
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsNational Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Warning

Britain is planning to join forces with America and launch military action against Syria within days in response to the gas attack believed to have been carried out by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against his own people.

British Royal Navy vessels are being readied to take part in a possible series of cruise missile strikes, alongside the United States, as military commanders finalize a list of potential targets.

Government sources said talks between Prime Minister David Cameron and international leaders, including Barack Obama, would continue but that any military action that was agreed could begin within the next week.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird joined other western leaders in applying more pressure on Syria on Sunday, with a call for Syrian authorities to allow the United Nations immediate and unfettered access to the site of last week’s alleged chemical attack.

Officials in Baird’s office said he had separate phone conversations on Sunday with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the Foreign Minister of the French Republic, Laurent Fabius. He spoke with British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Friday.

The ministers “shared their outrage” about recent events in Syria, especially the purported use of chemical weapons, said an foreign affairs official in an email.

As military preparations gathered pace, Hague warned that the world could not stand by and allow the Assad regime to use chemical weapons against the Syrian people “with impunity.”

Britain, the U.S. and their allies must show Mr. Assad that to perpetrate such an atrocity “is to cross a line and that the world will respond when that line is crossed,” he said.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper also was pulling the diplomatic levers over the weekend, discussing the situation in Syria by phone on Saturday in separate conversations with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande.

British forces now look likely to be drawn into an intervention in the Syrian crisis after months of deliberation and international disagreement over how to respond to the long and bloody civil war.

The possibility of such intervention will provoke demands for Britain’s Parliament to be recalled this week.

The escalation comes as a direct response to what the government is now convinced was a gas attack perpetrated by Syrian forces on a civilian district of Damascus last Wednesday.

The Assad regime has been under mounting pressure to allow United Nations inspectors on to the site to establish who was to blame for the atrocity. One international agency said it had counted at least 355 people dead and 3,600 injured following the attack, while reports suggested the true death toll could be as high as 1,300.

Syrian state media accused rebel forces of using chemical agents, saying some government soldiers had suffocated as a result during fighting.

After days of delay, the Syrian government finally offered Sunday to allow a team of UN inspectors access to the area. However, Mr. Hague suggested that this offer of access five days after the attack had come too late.

Baird said the delay in allowing inspectors, along with the bombardment of the affected areas, has likely already impaired the UN’s ability to assign responsibility in the attacks.

Salvation
Aug 26th, 2013
CommentaryThe Bible
Categories: Bible Salvation

And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40).

Radioactive Fukushima Water Threatens Pacific
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsHeraldnet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Deep beneath Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power station, a massive underground reservoir of contaminated water that began spilling from the plant’s reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has been creeping slowly toward the Pacific.

Now, 2½ years later, experts fear it is about to reach the ocean and greatly worsen what is fast becoming a new crisis at Fukushima: the inability to contain vast quantities of radioactive water.

The looming crisis is potentially far greater than the discovery earlier this week of a leak from a tank that stores contaminated water used to cool the reactor cores. That 80,000-gallon leak is the fifth and most serious from a tank since the March 2011 disaster, when three of the plant’s reactors melted down after a huge earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant’s power and cooling functions.

But experts believe the underground seepage from the reactor and turbine building area is much bigger and possibly more radioactive, confronting the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., with an invisible, chronic problem and few viable solutions. Many also believe it is another example of how TEPCO has repeatedly failed to acknowledge problems that it could almost certainly have foreseen — and taken action to mitigate before they got out of control.

It remains unclear what the impact of the contamination on the environment will be because the radioactivity will be diluted as it spreads farther into the sea. Most fishing in the area is already banned, but fishermen in nearby Iwaki City had been hoping to resume test catches next month after favorable sampling results. Those plans have been scrapped after news of the latest tank leak.

“Nobody knows when this is going to end,” said Masakazu Yabuki, a veteran fisherman in Iwaki, just south of the plant, where scientists say contaminants are carried by the current. “We’ve suspected (leaks into the ocean) from the beginning. … TEPCO is making it very difficult for us to trust them.”

To keep the melted nuclear fuel from overheating, TEPCO has rigged a makeshift system of pipes and hoses to funnel water into the broken reactors. The radioactive water is then treated and stored in the aboveground tanks that have now developed leaks. But far more leaks into the reactor basements during the cooling process — then through cracks into the surrounding earth and groundwater.

About 1,000 tons of underground water from the mountains flows into the plant compound each day, of which 400 tons seep into the reactor and turbine basements and get contaminated. The remaining 600 avoids that area, but at least half of it is believed to eventually come in contact with contamination elsewhere before entering the sea, according to an estimate by Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

Let the Headlines Speak
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

PM: Israel's 'finger on the pulse' of Syria developments, if necessary will also be 'on the trigger'
Syria's use of chemical weapons against its own people "simply demonstrates" what will happen if Iran gets even deadlier weapons, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday before a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. What we see in Syria is how extremist regimes have no reservations whatsoever about using these weapons even when they use it against innocent civilians, against their own people," he said.  

American Legion suspects it was targeted by IRS
The American Legion is raising concerns about also being a victim of IRS targeting, prompting a Republican senator to demand answers from the agency. The veterans’ service group says it recently learned about a so-called IRS “audit manual” that requires American Legion posts to keep dates of service and member records or perhaps face a $1,000-a-day fine, according to The Daily Caller.  

Earthquake New York 2013: Tremors felt in Glens Falls, Queensbury
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake's epicenter was located 13 km WNW of Glens Falls and 77 km N of Albany. It was 6.3 miles deep. Tremors were felt by the people of Corinth, Fort Edward, Gansevoort, Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Lake George, Lake Luzerne, Queensbury and South Glens Falls.  

Volcanic ‘geyser’ erupts close to Rome airport
Italian experts have been puzzled by the overnight appearance of a geyser crater spraying clouds of gas 15 feet in the air, yards from the end of the runway at one of Europe’s busiest airports.  

How the West could smash Assad's arsenal: UK and US military chiefs drawing up a list of targets for precision-guided bombs and missiles
WHAT TARGETS WOULD THE COALITION HIT? The favoured option among top brass is for limited Western action using ‘stand-off’ weapons from long distance to disrupt Assad’s ability to carry out chemical attacks and damage his military machine. Intelligence on targets would come from pilotless drones patrolling the skies above Syria and special forces on the ground.  

‘I Don’t Know What to Think’ About White House’s Silence on Chris Lane Killing, Says Oklahoma Governor
“What do you make of the silence of people like Al Sharpton, and, quite frankly, the silence of the president?” Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday, asked Fallin. “I don’t know what to think about that,” Fallin replied. “It would be nice if our nation were to certainly express their condolences.”  

Russia Compares Syria War Drums to Iraq Invasion, Warns of Consequences of Intervention
In a pair of statements, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman drew comparisons between the current situation in Syria and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and urged countries “not to repeat the mistakes of the past.” Responding directly to comments by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel about military contingency planning, Alexander Lukashevich said such remarks were “alarming.”  

Volcanic 'geyser' erupts close to Rome airport
Italian experts have been puzzled by the overnight appearance of a geyser crater spraying clouds of gas 15 feet in the air, yards from the end of the runway at one of Europe’s busiest airports. Motorists on Saturday were alarmed to notice hot, stinking gas spurting from a newly formed crater in the middle of a roundabout close to the perimeter fence of Rome’s Fiumicino airport...  

CME MISSES EARTH, AURORAS APPEAR ANYWAY
The double-CME expected to hit Earth's magnetic field over the weekend either is late or missed entirely. In Alaska, the Northern Lights appeared anyway:  

Marine Corps to open infantry training to enlisted women
The Marine Corps will allow enlisted women to participate in basic infantry training beginning this fall as part of ongoing research to determine what additional ground combat jobs may open to female personnel. New female enlisted Marines will volunteer for spots in the service’s Infantry Training Battalion...according to an official planning document obtained by Marine Corps Times.  

Yosemite wildfire threatening San Francisco's water and power supply, as well as giant sequoias
A massive wildfire racing through the Yosemite wilderness -- fueled by high winds -- is threatening San Francisco's fresh water and power supply as well as California's famous giant sequoias. It's one of several fires statewide being fought by more than 8,000 firefighters across nearly 400 square miles. The fire has consumed approximately 225 square miles of picturesque forests. Officials estimate containment at just 7 percent.  

Obama Admin Defies UN on Syria Inspections
It is a striking gesture of defiance from an administration that came to power preaching the importance of the UN, and suggests that President Barack Obama has already decided on military action against the Syrian regime, prior to--and, indeed, in the complete absence of--any authorization from the UN Security Council.  

Egyptian Pol: 'Very Strong Perception' Obama Backs Muslim Brotherhood
Speaking on August 22, the head of Egypt's Social Democratic Party Mohamed Abou El-Ghar said: "America is losing Egypt... There is a very strong perception that they are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and they are against other parties."  

Russia warns U.S. not to repeat in Syria past mistakes in region
Russia warned the United States on Sunday against repeating past mistakes, saying that any unilateral military action in Syria would undermine efforts for peace and have a devastating impact on the security situation in the Middle East. The Russian Foreign Ministry said its statement was a response to U.S. actions to give it the option of an armed strike against Syria.  

Iran army warns US of 'harsh consequences' over Syria
A top Iranian military chief warned on Sunday that the US will face "harsh consequences" if it intervenes in ally Syria over claims of chemical attacks, Fars news agency reported. "If the United States crosses this red line, there will be harsh consequences for the White House," armed forces deputy chief of staff Massoud Jazayeri was quoted as saying.  

Syria crisis: UN team visiting 'chemical attack' site
UN experts are visiting the sites of suspected chemical weapons attacks in which hundreds died last Wednesday in the Syrian capital Damascus. The Syrian government and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire to allow the inspectors to collect evidence. However, Western officials said Syria took too long to give permission, and evidence could have been destroyed.  

Greece 'may need 10bn euros more' in aid - Stournaras
Greece may need a third bailout but would not accept new austerity measures, the Greek finance minister has said. Yannis Stournaras said: "If there is need for further support to Greece, it will be in the order of about 10bn euros (£8.6bn; $13.4bn), or much smaller than the previous programmes." Greece has already received two bailouts totalling about 240bn euros.  

Yosemite boundary burns in California Rim Fire
Firefighters in California are struggling to gain control of a huge wildfire which has reached the edge of Yosemite National Park. Known as the Rim Fire, it covers an area of nearly 203 sq miles (526 sq km) and threatens a major reservoir serving San Francisco. The fire is now 7% contained, officials say, up from 2% on Friday.  

Fears of food, water poisoning after Damascus chemical weapons attack
Days after a suspected poison gas attack killed hundreds of people in crop-growing suburbs, residents of the Syrian capital say they are afraid their food and water supplies may be contaminated. Western countries believe President Bashar Assad's forces carried out the worst chemical weapons attack since Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988.  

France is Heading for the Biggest Economic Train Wreck in Europe
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsBusinessInsider
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

“The emotional side of me tends to imagine France, like the princess in the fairy stories or the Madonna in the frescoes, as dedicated to an exalted and exceptional destiny. Instinctively I have the feeling that Providence has created her either for complete successes or for exemplary misfortunes. Our country, as it is, surrounded by the others as they are, must aim high and hold itself straight, on pain of mortal danger. In short, to my mind, France cannot be France without greatness.

– Charles de Gaulle, from his memoirs

Recently there have been a spate of horrific train wrecks in the news. Almost inevitably we find out there was human error involved. Almost four years ago I began writing about the coming train wreck that was Europe and specifically Greece. It was clear from the numbers that Greece would have to default, and I thought at the time that Portugal would not be too far behind. Spain and Italy clearly needed massive restructuring. Part of the problem I highlighted was the significant imbalance between exports and imports in all of the above countries.

In the Eurozone there was no mechanism by which exchange rates could be used to balance the labor-cost differentials between the peripheral countries and those of the northern tier. And then there’s France. I’ve been writing in this space for some time that France has the potential to become the next Greece. I’ve spent a good deal of time this past month reviewing the European situation, and I’m more convinced than ever that France is on its way to becoming the most significant economic train wreck in Europe within the next few years.

We shifted focus at the beginning of the year to Japan because of the real crisis that is brewing there. Over the next few months I will begin to refocus on Europe as that train threatens to go off the track again. And true to form, this wreck will be entirely due to human error, coupled with a large dollop of hubris. This week we will take a brief look at the problems developing in Europe and then do a series of in-depth dives between now and the beginning of winter. The coming European crisis will not show up next week but will start playing in a movie theater near you sometime next year. Today’s letter will close with a little speculation on how the developing conflict between France and Germany and the rest of its euro neighbors will play out.

France: On the Edge of the Periphery

I think I need first to acknowledge that the market clearly doesn’t agree with me. The market for French OATS (Obligations Assimilables du Trésor), their longer-term bonds, sees no risk. The following chart is a comparison of interest rates for much of the developed world, which I reproduce for those who are interested in comparative details. Notice that French rates are lower than those of the US, Canada, and the UK. Now I understand that interest rates are a function of monetary policy, inflation expectations, and the demand for money, which are all related to economic growth, but still….

France’s neighbors, Italy and Spain, have rates that are roughly double France’s. But as we will see, the underlying economics are not that much different for the three countries, and you can make a good case that France’s trajectory may be the worst.

“No: France Is Not Bankrupt” – Really?

We will start with a remarkable example of both hubris and economic ignorance published earlier this year in Le Monde. Under the headline ”No: France Is Not Bankrupt,” Bruno Moschetto, a professor of economics at the University of Paris I and HEC, made the following case. He apparently wrote this with a straight face. If you are not alone, please try not to giggle out loud and annoy people around you. (Hat tip to my good friend Mike Shedlock.)

No, France is not bankrupt …. The claim is untrue economically and financially. France is not and will not bankrupt because it would then be in a state of insolvency.

A state cannot be bankrupt, in its own currency, to foreigners and residents, since the latter would be invited to meet its debt by an immediate increase in taxation.

In abstract, the state is its citizens, and the citizens are the guarantors of obligations of the state. In the final analysis, “The state is us.” To be in a state of suspension of payments, a state would have to be indebted in a foreign currency, unable to deal with foreign currency liabilities in that currency….

Ultimately our leaders have all the financial and political means, through the levying of taxes, to be facing our deadlines in euros. And besides, our lenders regularly renew their confidence, and rates have never been lower.

Four things leap to mind as I read this. First, Professor, saying a country is not bankrupt because it would then be insolvent is kind of like saying your daughter cannot be pregnant because she would then have a baby. Just because something is unthinkable doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Second, contrary to your apparent understanding and the understanding of your partners in the Eurozone, especially Germany, France does not have its own currency. The Greeks, Portuguese, Italians, and Spanish have all found out that they cannot print their own currencies, no matter how much they wish they could. You are all bound up in a misguided economic experiment called the euro. Deal with it. For all intents and purposes you are in fact indebted in a foreign currency. On your current path you will soon have to go to Germany and the rest of Europe asking for a special dispensation simply because you are France. If this development weren’t so potentially tragic, with horrific economic implications for the entire world, it would be especially amusing theater.

Third, I find the use of the term invited in the phrase “invited to meet its debt by an immediate increase in taxation” to be quite a wonderful French expression. Your tax rates are already among the highest in Europe. At a 75% top tax rate, your entrepreneurs and businesspeople are leaving the country in droves. That icon of economic enlightenment, tennis star Serena Williams, recently commented in Rolling Stone magazine that “75% doesn’t seem legal.” Gerard Depardieu and many others not quite so famous agree and have already left. You are going to collect less, not more, taxes from the rich with your remarkably ill-considered increase in the top tax rate. Just look across the channel to England and see how their raising their top rate merely to 50% worked out for them.

Fourth and finally, you clearly haven’t done your homework on economic crises. The fact that your interest rates are low and that your loans routinely get rolled over simply says that you have not yet come to your own Bang! moment. Every country that falls into crisis is able to get financing at low rates right up until the moment it can’t. It is all about investor confidence, and I readily admit that right now you have it. But through its policies the current government is doing everything it possibly can to destroy the confidence of the bond market as rapidly as it can. And France is particularly dependent upon non-French sources for the financing of its debt.

Let’s look at few facts, Prof. Moschetto:

1. Your country is in recession and has been for almost two years. Even the government is beginning to acknowledge that growth is and will be flat. Standard & Poor’s thinks your growth rate may be as low as -1.5%. Jean-Michel Six of Standard & Poor’s recently noted, “The current account deficit is growing month after month, and this means it is depending more and more on the rest of the world to finance its growth. In my view, France has got just one more year to sort itself out.”

Fatah Stresses: We're not Giving Up 'Right of Return'
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Dalit Halevi & Elad Benari
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

If anyone had any doubts about what Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas meant when he met last week with members of the Israeli leftist party Meretz, an official statement from his Fatah party on Sunday made things clear.

After Thursday’s meeting, members of Meretz said that Abbas had reassured them that if a peace agreement is reached with Israel, it would bring an end to his people’s demands of the Jewish state.

"I know your concerns, but guarantee that at the conclusion of successful negotiations, we undertake to end all the demands. We will not ask to return to Yafo, Akko and Tzfat,” he reportedly said.

Members of Meretz said that Abbas told them a “fair agreement” will end the conflict with Israel and that a “peace agreement with Israel will be final and binding." He did not, however, specify what is meant by a fair peace agreement and did not commit to the fact that the PA would give up its demand for the “right of return”, which would see millions of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and their descendants flood Israel.

On Sunday, Abbas chaired a meeting of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, at the conclusion of which Fatah spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that "the main goal of the negotiations with Israel is to establish an independent Palestinian state within the [pre-]1967 borders with its capital Al-Quds (Jerusalem -ed.), and the return of refugees in accordance with resolutions by international legitimate institutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Abu Rudeineh stressed that "all issues related to the permanent status agreement are on the negotiating table, within the time frame of the nine months that was agreed upon with the U.S. government."

He added that the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria “is an obstacle to reaching a just peace based on the rights of the Palestinian people that cannot be canceled.”

The meeting between Abbas and the Meretz members took place several days after the latest meeting between Israeli and PA negotiators, as part of the current round of peace talks.

So far, details of the discussions between the sides have not been revealed, apparently consistent with a request from Washington last week for a strict news blackout.

At the same time, the PA’s chief negotiator Saeb Erekat  revealed, in an interview with the Nazareth-based Arabic language A-Shams radio station on Tuesday, that the PA would not have returned to the negotiating table with Israel had it not received a letter of assurances from the United States, guaranteeing its main negotiating preconditions.

Meanwhile, not all PA factions are on board the peace talks. On Friday, hundreds of people in Gaza protested against Israeli-PA peace talks, in marches organized by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups.

Marchers set off from mosques across the coastal strip before converging on a square in the middle of Gaza City, with protesters brandishing signs saying "No to negotiations" and slamming Abbas's "political failure."

Damascus: Any Attack on Syria Deemed Coming from Israel
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

A Syrian official spokesman warned Monday that Israel would be held responsble for any attack on his country and be treated accordingly. He said that Syria had strategic weapons pointing at Israel and that country and other parts of the Middle East would  go up in a ball of fire.

A Session of “Peace Talks” Between Israeli and Palestinian Authority (pa) Negotiators Expected on Mo
Aug 26th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;Peace Process

A session of “peace talks” between Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiators expected on Monday was cancelled after Israeli security forces shot dead three Arabs who attacked them in Kalandiya, in the early morning hours.

According to AFP, a PA official said: "The meeting that was to take place in Jericho...today was cancelled because of the Israeli crime committed in Kalandiya today."

"What happened today in Kalandiya shows the real intentions of the Israeli government," said PA Chairman president Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina.

He called on the U.S. Administration to "take serious and quick steps" to prevent the collapse of peace efforts.

Three Arabs were dead and 19 wounded by the IDF, which had no choice but to open fire after its forces came under a massive violent attack in the neighborhood north of Jerusalem.

The IDF said Monday that the incident took place during nighttime activity by security forces for the arrest of a wanted man in Kalandiya. In the course of the arrest, “an extremely violent disturbance” developed, and “many hundreds” of Arabs attacked the IDF force.

The IDF force that was providing security for the arresting squad took action to extricate it, and when the forces felt actual danger to their lives, they opened fire at the attackers. The wanted man, a terrorist, was arrested and taken to interrogation.