Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Why are We Funding Terrorists? – Palestinian Authority Receives $148m from U.S.
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Palestinian Authority is doling out millions of dollars in cash grants to convicted terrorists recently released from Israeli prisons in a program announced the same day as the P.A. accepted $148 million in the latest round of U.S. aid.

The authority announced Aug. 18 it would disburse $15 million in so-called “Dignified Life Grants” to more than 5,000 prisoners who had served more than five years in Israeli lockups, but had been recently released as a show of good faith by the Jewish state to bolster the Middle East peace process, according to Palestinian Media Watch.

The announcement came on the same day the State Department’s Michael Ratney, consulate general of the U.S. in Jerusalem, signed off on $148 million in aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, currently in the throes of a budget crisis.

Although the U.S. funnels about $400 million per year in aid to the authority, none of the money, by law, is supposed to go to terrorists or former terrorists. Critics say there is no way to separate money from U.S. taxpayers and the funds which go to the former prisoners.

“We have a lot of funding that goes to the PA that is fungible and co-mingled and there is a lot of concern the money is going to radical causes and extremist issues,” Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the bipartisan think tank, Foundation for Defense of Democracy, told FoxNews.com.

“There are many problematic questions concerning the way the Palestinian Authority disperses funds and especially those coming from the U.S. This is not unique. We’ve seen in the past, monies allocated from the PA’s budget to the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, which is a designated terrorist organization, and all of this points to a troubling trend whereby the U.S. has tried to get a handle on financing within the P.A.”

In August, The Associated Press reported that Israel published the names of 26 men to be freed before the latest peace talks between the Jewish State and the P.A. In all, 104 prisoners have been slated for release in four phases over a period of nine months that the U.S. has set aside for negotiations. But their freedom is reportedly contingent on progress in the talks.

It’s not clear who exactly has applied for the “Dignified Life Grants,” although Palestinian Media Watch reports that prisoners released from Israeli prisons swarmed the P.A.’s Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs office in Gaza following the grants’ announcement.

And among those Israel was slated to release was Mustafa al-Haj, convicted of killing an American-born settler hiking in the West Bank in 1989.

“It’s not certain our specific dollars are finding their way into terrorists’ or former terrorists’ pockets but - at the least - it’s freeing funds for the P.A. to do these types of things,” Jim Phillips, Middle East analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based conservative think tank, told FoxNews.com. 

“The Palestinians will argue this money is not fungible, but the fact that they are making these grants is a sign to me that the P.A. has plenty of money and maybe the U.S. should be scaling back its aid to the organization.”

Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition, a national conservative organization, turned up the rhetorical heat a few degrees further, telling FoxNews.com, “The Israelis were wrong to release these murderers and Obama is wrong to pay them a bonus for their evil actions. No good can come with any cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. 

“These are repeat, serial terrorists and murderers that we have been funding. And The more we learn about the twisted foreign policy of the Obama Administration, the better we understand why the president is so inept to handle any issue foreign or domestic.”

Russia Went on War Alert Over Missile Test
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Just as the Syrian crisis was getting under way, a joint U.S.-Israeli test of an anti-missile system prompted the Russian General Staff to go on “high alert” and notify President Vladimir Putin that missiles may be incoming on Syria.

The reason: Neither the United States nor Israel bothered to notify Russia that the Sept. 2 test was going on in the Mediterranean near Syria.

Moscow’s response was immediate.

The Russian General Staff thought Israel had launched a preemptive attack on Syria in the eastern Mediterranean which some Russian officials said could have led to World War III.

The U.S. and Israel were conducting a joint test of Israel’s Arrow-3 anti-missile system when it launched two Israeli Ankor, or Sparrow, missiles as targets from the central Mediterranean toward the eastern Mediterranean coast.

The Arrow is Israel’s most advanced anti-missile system and the U.S. has spent billions of dollars in its development.

According to various sources, the Russian ballistic missile early warning radar at Armavir on the Black Sea detected the launch of the two Ankor target missiles, heading toward Syria.

Armavir provides early warning of incoming missile attacks on Russia from Europe and the Middle East.

Putin was immediately notified of the launches.

When the truth came out about the unannounced anti-missile test, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov criticized Israel for undertaking such a launch during a crisis occurring in the neighboring country of Syria.

Referring to the Mediterranean region as a “powder keg,” Antonov warned that anything such as an unannounced missile test could explode into war.

“A match is enough for fire to break out and possibly spread not only to neighboring states but to other world regions as well,” Anotov said. “I remind you that the Mediterranean is close to the borders of the Russian Federation.”

The Russians pointed to a similar example in 1995 when Norway, without prior notification, launched a meteorological rocket which Moscow thought was a possible rocket attack on Russia.

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Helm hard a starboard: Norway joins European right turn
The Conservative Party’s Erna Solberg, who is due to become Norway’s second female Prime Minister, won public support with promises of diversification of the oil-focused economy, privatization of state firms and tax cuts. The victory of rightist parties in Norway puts it on a par with countries like France, Hungary or Austria, where political forces sharing anti-immigration, protectionist and often anti-Muslim views are gaining popularity.  

‘Russia to sell Iran anti-aircraft system, nuclear reactor’
Russia will supply Iran with five state-of-the-art S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries and a new nuclear reactor in Bushehr...  

Oil drops to near $107 a barrel after Obama speech
The price of oil dropped Wednesday after...Barack Obama said he asked U.S. lawmakers to postpone a vote authorizing the use of military force against Syria.Obama, in a televised speech to the nation late Tuesday, said he wanted to give Syria a chance to turn over its chemical weapons before he asks Congress for consent to intervene in the country's civil war.  

‘President Obama Needs Your Help Starting World War III!’     “President Obama needs your help starting World War III! Find out how you can help!” the video’s description reads. The supposed Kickstarter, appropriately titled “The World War III Project,” is being sponsored by the (obviously) fictitious “Americans for Whatever Barack Obama Wants Did You Know He’s Friends With Jay-Z?”  

ALMOST-BLANK SUN
2013 is supposed to be a year of solar maximum. Indeed, the sun's magnetic field is poised to flip, a long-held sign that Solar Max has arrived. But if this is Solar Max, it looks a lot like Solar Min. The face of the sun is almost completely blank.  

Scientists study Gippsland earthquake hotspot
Seismologists are describing the region as an earthquake hotspot. There were only 50 earthquakes recorded up until 2009, but since then there have been 700. The activity has been particularly high in the Strzelecki Ranges which lie between the Latrobe Valley and the Gippsland coastline. Locals have been intrigued by the tremors for years. Gary Gibson from the University of Melbourne says the motion in Gippsland is high.  

Obama’s Approval Rating At All-Time Low
54 percent of 900 registered American voters who responded to the phone poll, conducted from Sept. 6-8, said they disapprove of Obama. The polling period occurred at a time of fresh, new embarrassments for the President, whose determination to find a pretense for a military strike against Syria has heightened Americans’ incredulity toward the commander in chief and diminished their esteem of America’s international reputation.  

Taking Credit For Political Defeat And International Embarrassment, Obama Set To Give A Speech Like No Other
“It will be a White House address in which a president argues for an endeavor he is abandoning. It will be a president appealing for public support for an action he intends not to take. “We’ve never had a presidential speech like that!”  

Obama signs executive order to allow shut down of all US communications
Barack Obama signed an executive order giving the Department of Homeland Security the ability to shut down all of the United States' communications systems upon his request. Barack Obama laid out a statement he titled "Assignment of National Security Emergency Preparedness Communications Function". No doubt a very confusing title. The reasoning behind his issuing of this executive order, is that he feels the government may one day need to access all of our telephones, computers, cable communications, etc., in the name of national security. "The Federal Government must have the ability to communicate at all times and under all circumstances to carry out its most critical and time sensitive mission."  

'Either You Convert to Islam, Or You Will Be Beheaded'
The village of Maaloula has been taken over by Syrian rebels associated with al Qaeda, who have stormed the Christian center and offered local Christians a choice: conversion or death. A resident of the town said the rebels shouted “Allahu Akhbar” as they moved through the village, and proceeded to assault Christian homes and churches. “They shot and killed people,” he said. “I heard gunshots and then I saw three bodies lying in the middle of a street in the old quarters of the village. Where is President Obama to see what has befallen us?  

2 million bikers to D.C.: 9/11 rally is on without permit
2 million bikers to D.C. to participate is a "no stop" rally. The 9/11 rally was denied a permit by the National Park Service, but will proceed anyway. According to U.S. News and World Report on Sept. 10, 2013, the parade is expected to tie up traffic on Wednesday in the nations capital.  

Glenn Beck: America "Lost It's Superpower Status' This Week
"When I saw the story that Putin came out and said, ‘I just was wrestling a bear here about 10 minutes ago…and I called up Assad and I said, ‘Hey! You’re gonna give me your chemical weapons.’ And he said, ‘Okay, dude.’ After [Putin] made that statement and then the president said, ‘Okay, uh, we could do that…’ I thought to myself…we’re done as a superpower,” Beck said. “He has just put the final nail in the coffin."  

Egypt bomb strikes Sinai intelligence HQ in Rafah
A car bomb has hit Egypt's intelligence headquarters in the Sinai peninsula, killing at least three soldiers, reports say. Twenty other people were wounded in the attack on the building in Rafah, on Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip. A second blast hit a nearby army checkpoint. It is unclear whether anyone was hurt.  

Syria crisis: Barack Obama calls off Congress vote
US President Barack Obama has postponed a congressional vote on military action in Syria, vowing to pursue diplomacy to remove the regime's chemical weapons. Damascus has admitted for the first time that it has chemical weapons, and has agreed to abide by a Russian plan to hand over its arsenal. The US threatened strikes after a gas attack killed hundreds last month.  

Report: Russia to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the transfer of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, according to the prestigious Russian daily newspaper Kommersant. The newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Russian government will revive the transfer three years after it canceled the original transaction.  

Hurricane Humberto Becomes First Hurricane of 2013 Season
Hurricane Humberto continues to move off to the northwest in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean. Humberto became the first hurricane of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season Wednesday morning at 5 a.m. Humberto fell just three hours short of being the latest in the season that the first hurricane has developed.  

North and South Korea set to reopen factory park, in latest sign of easing tensions
North and South Korea agreed Wednesday to restart operations at a jointly run factory park that Pyongyang shut down in April during a torrent of threats, the latest sign of easing animosity between the rivals.  

Pakistan to release top Afghan Taliban prisoner
Pakistan has decided to release the most senior Afghan Taliban prisoner it is holding and could do so as soon as this month to jumpstart the struggling peace process, a senior Pakistani official said.  

France says military option in Syria still valid
France said on Wednesday it remained determined to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over what it calls his use of chemical weapons if diplomacy fails, and a military strike was still possible.  

House preps plan to avert shutdown, force Senate Obamacare vote
House Republican leaders are moving forward with a bill that would extend government funding until mid-December, averting a government shutdown but forcing the Democratically-controlled Senate into a vote on defunding the 2010 health care reform law.  

U.S.-Israel missile test rebuked by Russia
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov summoned the Israeli and American military attaches in Moscow to rebuke them for last week's U.S.-Israel missile test, voicing his displeasure with the fact that Israel and the U.S. did not notify Russia about the test, the news agency RIA Novosti reported.  

Putin Wins Again As Obama Puts Attack On Hold
Starting just 1 minute late, the President begab by unapologetically conjuring images of WWI and WWII and stuck to the line that "we know" Assad was responsible for killing his own people with Sarin. Then moved to fear-mongery over what Iran might do, adding that he was very much for strikes. But, in giving Congress the hot potato he knew decision would be difficult. The US military does not do 'pin pricks' and a "targeted" strike will send a message to Assad. While recognizing the need for a diplomatic solution, Obama made it clear that those efforts would follow a military strike.  

Baseball-sized meteor blows up spectacularly over Alabama
A baseball-sized meteor blasted over the southeastern United States on Monday night, creating a bright streak of light, a sonic boom and a ruckus on Twitter.  

Moroccan Christian Jailed for 'Shaking the Faith of a Muslim'
A Moroccan Christian man has been jailed for two and a half years and fined for evangelizing, World Watch Monitor reports. Mohamed el Baldi, 34, from the town of Ain Aicha, was ordered at a September 3 court hearing to pay 5000 dirhams ($600) for "shaking the faith of a Muslim." He was arrested after his house was raided on August 28 and items linked to his faith, such as his Bible, were confiscated. Propagating Christianity is prohibited under Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code.  

United Nations’ War on Free Speech Continues
German federal authorities have responded to earlier criticism by the United Nations’ (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) of lax German hate speech measures with troubling proposals to restrict further freedom of expression. These developments in a case previously documented here demonstrate once again the dangers for freedom that foreign organizations can present, especially in light of international campaigns against “Islamophobia.”  

Obama 'letting Muslim Brotherhood run anti-terror ops'
The Obama administration allowed into government agencies Islamic groups and activists tied to the Muslim Brotherhood who now influence U.S. anti-terrorism policies and endanger the nation, charges a newly released book.  

Hackers Call for 9/11 Cyberattacks Against Israel, U.S.
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsTimes of Israel
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

International computer hacking groups called on Muslim hackers to attack US and Israeli websites and other Internet presences on 9/11.

The threat for Wednesday was posted last week in a YouTube video by the hacker groups Anonymous, AnonGhost and Fallaga. The groups are protesting Israeli policies on the Palestinians.

“Hi, Israel, do you remember us?” says the computer-modified voice in the video. “We are the same people who f—–d you on April 7. And now we are back to punish you again.”

“America, Israel. We will show you.” At its end, the video issues a call to “Free Palestine.”

In April, on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, Anonymous tried to “erase Israel from the Internet,” as it had threatened in a similar YouTube video.  In the so-called OpIsrael attack, several Israeli government websites were affected, Israeli business websites were brought down and Israeli Facebook pages were hacked.

Fatah Declares War Over Temple Mount: ‘Green Light’ on Terror
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Maayana Miskin
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

While Fatah head and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas negotiates with Israel for the creation of a PA state, Fatah’s armed branch, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, has declared war.

The Brigade issued a statement Tuesday announcing that it would give the “green light” to terrorist attacks targeting Israelis beginning on Friday.

The reason given for the planned resumption of open hostilities was Jewish visits to the Temple Mount, which the group termed, “The invasion of the compound by hordes of settlers, and the harm to [Muslim] worshipers, with no intervention from the international community.”

Tensions have been high on the Temple Mount in recent weeks, with many Jewish visitors to the holy site reporting harassment and violence at the hands of groups of Muslims.

The Temple Mount is the holiest place on earth according to Judaism. The site is currently run by the Muslim Wakf. Jews are allowed to visit only during limited hours, and are forbidden to pray on the Mount.

Muslim leaders have denounced Jewish visits to the Temple Mount, which is also the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque, and have accused Israel and Jews of attempting to harm the mosque. PA leaders, including Abbas himself, have made similar claims, insisting that Jews have no ties to the holy site and that Israel is secretly plotting to replace the mosque with a Jewish Temple.

Police responded to recent Muslim violence by closing the Temple Mount to Jews, a step commanders argued was necessary in order to keep the peace.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade was responsible for several mass-casualty terrorist attacks during the wave of “Second Intifada” attacks on Israel. Among the attacks which its terrorists committed were a shooting at a bat mitzvah – a traditional celebration for a 12-year-old Jewish girl – which left six people dead, a bombing in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem targeting a group of women and children, which left 11 dead, 7 of them children, and a bombing at the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station that murdered 22.

Editors note.... Is it not absurd to conduct peace negotiations in such an environment?

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christians: Convert to Islam, or Pay ‘Jizya’ Tax
Sep 11th, 2013
Daily NewsThe Washington Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have began forcing the roughly 15,000 Christian Copts of Dalga village in Egypt to pay a jizya tax as indicated in Koran 9:29, author and translator Raymond Ibrahim reported on Sunday.

Jizya is the money, or tribute, “that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords ‘with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued’ to safeguard their existence,” Mr. Ibrahim explained.

According to Fr. Yunis Shawqi, who spoke yesterday to Dostor reporters in Dalga, all Copts in the village, “without exception,” are being forced to pay the tax.

“[The] value of the tribute and method of payment differ from one place to another in the village, so that, some are being expected to pay 200 Egyptian pounds per day, others 500 Egyptian pounds per day,” Mr. Shawqi said, according to the translator.

In some cases, families not able to pay have been attacked. As many as 40 Christian families have now fled Dalga, Mr. Ibrahim reported.