Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Pakistan's Christians Fear for Their Lives
Sep 28th, 2013
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Pakistan's Christians now fear for their lives after a bomb ripped through the All Saints' Church in the biggest ever suicide attack on their community. Dean Nelson reports.

Obama and Iranian President Talk By Phone
Sep 28th, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 28th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

White House preps fall immigration push
The White House is getting ready to launch a major fall blitz for immigration reform — this time, one that appears to be more about partisanship than partnership with Republicans. While Washington may be consumed in the latest continuing resolution crisis and debt ceiling drama, it’s also just days away from massive new push on an issue many had written off months ago.  

Iran nuclear: Rouhani faces protesters on UN return
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been met by hardline protesters chanting "Death to America" on his return from the UN forum in New York. During his trip, President Rouhani had suggested a shift in tone on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. This culminated in a phone call with US President Barack Obama - the first such top-level conversation in 30 years.  

Pakistani quake area struck again
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake has struck south-west Pakistan, in a region where at least 400 people died in a quake earlier this week. There were no initial reports of casualties from the quake, centred in the remote province of Balochistan. Reports said already damaged buildings collapsed in the new tremor which sent people running into the streets.  

FHA needs $1.7 billion taxpayer subsidy
The Federal Housing Administration plans to tap $1.7 billion in taxpayer money at the end of the month to cover its losses — a first for an agency that has been self-sustaining since its 1934 creation. The FHA has played a pivotal role in propping up the housing market by backing low- down-payment loans for borrowers after the mortgage market unraveled and other lending sources dried up. It accounts for nearly 20 percent of all home-purchase mortgages.  

Nearly two mass shootings per month since 2009, study finds
There have been almost two mass shootings per month in the U.S. for five consecutive years -- yet such cases account for only a tiny fraction of firearm killings, according to a report by a coalition of mayors eager to stave off gun violence in the country.  

NJ legal battle over gay marriage will continue
A judge's ruling Friday that New Jersey must allow gay couples to marry will not be the last word on the issue after Gov. Chris Christie's administration said it would appeal to a higher court.  

Iran nuclear: Obama and Rouhani speak by phone
US President Barack Obama has spoken by phone to Iran's Hassan Rouhani - the first such top-level conversation in more than 30 years. Mr Obama spoke of a "unique opportunity" to make progress with Iran's new leadership, amid a flurry of diplomacy over its nuclear programme.  

Greece's Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos held
Greek police have arrested the leader of the far-right Golden Dawn party, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, on charges of forming a criminal organisation. Another Golden Dawn MP has been held and more warrants issued, police say.  

US sending bankrupt Detroit $300 million. Think 'stimulus,' not 'bailout.'
The Obama administration is pledging nearly $300 million in federal dollars to Detroit to help shore up basic infrastructure priorities, such as improving public transit and police and eradicating blight. Just don’t call it a bailout – a term that's still toxic on Capitol Hill, on both sides of the aisle.  

Gold Climbs Higher as U.S. Government Nears Shutdown
On Friday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for December — the most active contract — increased $15.10 to close at $1,339.20 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures edged 7 cents higher to finish at $21.83.  

U.N. Security Council demands elimination of Syria chemical arms
The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday that demands the eradication of Syria's chemical weapons but does not threaten automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government if it does not comply.  

Is Christianity the Reason the World is in Trouble?
Sep 28th, 2013
Daily NewsRoger Oakland
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

As the world continues to plunge into further darkness and despair, ”new” spirituality leaders say it is the church’s fault, particularly that of rigid Christians who won’t bend their beliefs or convictions. While Christians certainly are not without sin, true believers are not causing the world to fall apart. It is happening for one reason alone … man’s sinful condition. We are each responsible for the sin in our own lives. The Bible is clear that the penalty for sin is death. We all, each and every one of us, have had a death sentence meted out to us. But we have also been offered a free gift of salvation.

As Christians, God expects us to reach out to those suffering and in need. When Jesus dwells in a human being, He convicts and He communes with that individual. He has saved us from destruction, and He desires to live in us and fellowship with us. And He compels us to live righteously and care about those less fortunate than ourselves.

The world is in trouble because of sin. And Jesus commissioned us as believers to go out into the world and preach the wonderful Good News of His free gift of salvation to all who come to Him by faith. Satan hates this Gospel message, and he hates the messenger, the church. Is it any wonder that as this new, self-deifying reformation takes form, its followers will grow increasingly hostile to those who preach the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Ironically, the emerging “progressive” church, which says its main goal is to help the suffering and to help eradicate the world’s problems, is not pointing the world to Jesus Christ and His body. Rather it is rejecting the atonement, locking arms with a religion (Catholicism) that teaches we are justified by works rather than by grace alone, embracing mystical practices and altered states of consciousness, and pulling these suffering lost souls further and further away from the only thing that will ever help them—a personal one-on-one relationship with Jesus Christ, who explains very clearly who He is:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. (John 10:7-11)

Governments Stealing from Bank Accounts
Sep 28th, 2013
Daily NewsF. Michael Maloof, staff writer for WND and G2Bulletin
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

'Bail-ins' taking depositors' money could be headed to U.S.

WASHINGTON – The questionable practice of “bail-ins” begun by Cyprus a year ago to keep banks solvent is beginning to spread to other nations, and holders of large deposits are starting to see their balances plunge literally overnight.
A “bail-in,” as opposed to a bailout that countries especially in Europe have been seeking from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, is a recognition that such outside monetary injections won’t be forthcoming.    Consequently, banks have been seeking money from another source – their large depositors. The funds are simply taken and applied to a bank’s recapitalization in lieu of government bailouts.
The practice essentially is a transfer from a personal savings account to the bank’s operating account, without the customers’ permission or even any notice.
The example set in Cyprus when the island nation confronted its financial crisis now is spreading to such other countries as Italy, Poland, New Zealand and now Canada.

Financial experts agree that the practice soon could spread to the United States
The “bail-in” a year ago in Cyprus developed after the island nation was refused further outside financing from the IMF and the European Central Bank of the EU, of which the Mediterranean island is a member.
Cyprus never was looked upon as a place to spend money. Instead, it was seen more as a place to safely hide large deposits of cash for private individuals and companies not only in Europe and Russia but for major shareholders and top executives from all over the world.
Hiding huge sums of cash was made easy in Cyprus with such mechanisms as outright bank deposits, shell companies and holding companies, with massive transfers taking place between them.
“Cyprus was a leader – in some circles and for some applications, the leader – in quiet storage, management and structuring of exceptionally large sums for private individuals and corporations all over the world,” financial expert Franklin Raff wrote in a March 2013 WND article.
“Cypriots were fast learners in the fields of global asset protection and ‘tax optimization,’” Raff said. “Cyprus’ 2004 entrance into the E.U. gave financial operations a deeper veneer of legitimacy and security.
“All of this meant almost a decade of rapidly expanding business,” he said. “This was surely from Europeans and Russians wary of unpredictable tax laws and indiscriminate, extralegal confiscations, but also from entities in North America and elsewhere.”
Because a long line of EU banks had been bailed out at major public expense during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the EU decided to turn down two of Cyprus’ major banks, Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, for similar help.
In an effort to save the Cypriot economy from collapse, the government passed a law that took some 4.3 billion euros in deposits belonging to some 14,000 depositors just in the Laiki bank alone, leaving each depositor with no more than 100,000 euros, the limit on deposit insurance under EU regulations.
Ultimately, Laiki bank folded, with depositors’ diminished assets transferred to the Bank of Cyprus.
In an effort to recapitalize the Bank of Cyprus, Cypriot officials imposed a 47.5 percent loss on deposits exceeding the 100,000 euro limit, exchanging the seized deposits for shares in the bank.
Depositors in Cyprus lost an estimated total of 10.6 billion euros.
In viewing the recapitalization experience in Cyprus, financial experts say “bail-ins” are increasingly becoming accepted practice around the world due to the lack of any outside bailouts.
In jeopardy will be all private bank accounts and private pension funds.
Financial sources say that the government of Poland just “raided” private pension funds in an effort to reduce the size of the government debt.
According to a Reuters report, the Polish government will transfer to the state many of the assets held by private pension funds, slashing public debt but putting in doubt the future of the multi-billion-euro funds, much of which is foreign-owned.
“The Polish government is doing the best that it can to make this sound like some sort of complicated legal maneuver, but the truth is that what they have done is stolen private assets without giving any compensation in return,” said financial expert Michael Snyder writing for the Financial Collapse blog.
Now, finance ministers in the EU are undertaking a similar approach.
They have approved a plan to force bondholders and shareholders to finance future bank failures before going to taxpayers for bailouts.
This will apply to bondholders and shareholders with deposits over 100,000 euros. Those with less than 100,000 euros of insured deposits will be protected.
“What this means is that if you have over 100,000 euros in a bank account in Europe, you could lose every single bit of the unprotected amount if your bank collapses,” Snyder said.
Italy also is organizing a form of its own “bail-in” for the country’s oldest bank as it has halted any further interest payments and doesn’t intend to make up for the missed payments if and when they resume.
While deposits will remain untouched for now, financial experts believe it will only be a matter of time before its depositors experience a Cypriot-type “bail-in.”
In Canada, the government has actually written a “bail-in” provision into its new government budget proposal in its “Economic Action Plan 2013.”
“This new budget actually proposes to implement a ‘bail-in’ regime for systemically important banks’ in Canada,” Snyder said.
Snyder believes that governments throughout the world will be eyeing depositors’ money as part of the solution to halt future failures of major banks.
“As a result, there is no longer any truly ‘safe’ place to put your money,” Snyder said.
“One of the best ways to protect yourself is to spread your money around,” he said. “In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. If you have your money in a bunch of different places, it is going to be much harder for the government to grab it all.
“But if you don’t listen to the warnings and you continue to keep all of your wealth in one giant pile somewhere, don’t be surprised when you get wiped out in a single moment someday,” he added.
That certainly was the experience of the Andrew Georgiou family in Cyprus earlier this year. Literally overnight, his life’s savings of 750,000 euros, except for 100,000 euros which were covered by deposit insurance, were wiped out. Georgiou subsequently had a heart attack, though he survived.
He, like hundreds of other depositors in Cyprus, has gone to court against the central bank and the Cypriot government, but the outcome is far from certain.