Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Two Pastors Killed in Kenya‏
Oct 29th, 2013
Daily Newsorld Watch Monitor
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Two pastors from southern coastal towns in Kenya were killed last weekend in separate attacks.

Charles Mathole, a leader of Mombasa's Redeemed Gospel Church in Mtopanga, was found dead in church on the morning of Sunday October 20, shot in the head and with a Bible in his lap.

In Kilifi, about 60 kilometres north of Mombasa, the body of a pastor with the East African Pentecostal Churches, Ibrahim Kithaka, was found dumped in a patch of bushes.

The two deaths come just a few days after the coastal town of Mombasa witnessed its worst rioting in recent years after the drive-by shooting of a Muslim Imam, Ibrahim Rogo, itself in the aftermath of the Westgate mall attack.

SALVATION
Oct 29th, 2013
CommentaryThe Bible
Categories: Bible Salvation

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:1-3).

Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 29th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

'Lost world' discovered in remote Australia
"The top of Cape Melville is a lost world. Finding these new species up there is the discovery of a lifetime -- I'm still amazed and buzzing from it," said Hoskin, a tropical biologist from the Queensland-based university. "Finding three new, obviously distinct vertebrates would be surprising enough in somewhere poorly explored like New Guinea, let alone in Australia, a country we think we've explored pretty well."  

Pope Francis to Make First Visit to Israel in March
Although the country of Israel has been in existence for six and a half decades, only three Popes have ever visited the Holy Land.  

Sinkhole 'swallows' house, 4 dead   MANILA-- Four people died as a sinkhole "swallowed" a house in Brgy. Ubojan, Antequerra, Bohol. Sinkholes appeared in different parts of the province after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the Visayas last October 15. The house belonged to the Barace family.  

First Western eyewitness in Benghazi to go public gives account of attack, warning signs
The witness -- a former British soldier who for decades helped protect U.S. diplomats and military leaders -- told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that Al Qaeda forces first attacked the U.S. Special Mission Compound in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed. Then they launched a second attack on a secret CIA annex about a mile across the city. “They knew what they were doing,” the security guard told CBS. “That was a well-executed attack.”  

Dangerous 90 mph storm hits England
Dangerous hurricane-force winds topping 90 mph wreaked havoc in much of England and southern Wales Monday, stranding millions of commuters and air travelers.  

‘We’ve reached the end of antibiotics’: Top CDC expert declares that ‘miracle drugs’ that have saved millions are no match against ‘superbugs’ because
A high-ranking official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared in an interview with PBS that the age of antibiotics has come to an end. 'For a long time, there have been newspaper stories and covers of magazines that talked about "The end of antibiotics, question mark?"' said Dr Arjun Srinivasan. 'Well, now I would say you can change the title to "The end of antibiotics, period.”'  

Rare biblical manuscripts on display
The parchment looks fragile, and holes dot the page, but the letters are as clear as when they were written 1,500 years ago. A piece of a prayer that at one time was meticulously set onto papyrus by a scribe. This is one of more than 200 ancient biblical objects that now fill a hall in the Bible Lands Museum, which last week opened an exhibit titled “The Book of Books,” where visitors come face to face with almost 2,000 years of the history.  

God exists, say Apple fanboy scientists
It goes like this: "God, by definition, is that for which no greater can be conceived. God exists in the understanding. If God exists in the understanding, we could imagine Him to be greater by existing in reality. Therefore, God must exist."  

60-minutes-benghazi-report-blames-white-house-was-planned-sophisticated-attack-on-barely-protected-american
TheBlaze reported on the chilling objective stated by Al Qaeda terrorists in the 2012 Benghazi attack — “We’re here to kill Americans” — as a preview of a “60 Minutes” segment, “Benghazi.” The report aired Sunday and examines the horrific attack on the U.S. mission in Libya that took the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11, 2012, noting that there were many unheeded warnings about the attack as well as misinformation regarding what sparked it — i.e., it wasn’t caused by an anti-Muslim YouTube video, rather it was an Al Qaeda operation from the beginning.  

Obama ‘knew and approved’ NSA spying on Chancellor Merkel – report
Obama was aware of NSA spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel since 2010, German media have revealed. An NSA spokeswoman later denied the allegations. According to German Bild am Sonntag newspaper, which cited US intelligence sources, National Security Agency chief Keith Alexander briefed Obama on the bugging operation against Merkel in 2010.  

Strong eruption of Mount Etna, 14th paroxysm of the year from new SE crater
Following a slow gradual build-up of increasing strombolian activity and a swarm of earthquakes the New Southeast Crater (NSEC) of Etna has produced a new episode of lava fountaining (paroxysm) on the morning of October 26, 2013. This comes almost six months after the previous paroxysm.  

Major X1.0 solar flare erupts with bright CME - glancing blow expected on October 31
Increased solar activity will continue this week. Beta-Gamma-Delta classified Active Region 1875 erupted with major solar flare reaching X1.0 at 02:03 UTC on Monday, October 28, 2013. A bright Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is visible emerging from the Sun. This region is located on the west limb and the majority of material is heading away from Earth. However, it appears that the eastern flank of the expanding cloud may still be Earth directed and a glancing blow impact to our geomagnetic field will be possible within 72 hours.  

Health Care CEO Defends Obamacare: ‘We’re Not Cutting People, We’re Actually Transitioning People’
The CEO of a major health insurance company appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday morning to defend President Barack Obama’s signature health care program, arguing insurance companies aren’t booting individuals from their current plans but merely “transitioning” them to new ones. “We’re not cutting people,” Florida Blue CEO Patrick Geraghty said. “We’re actually transitioning people.”  

Palestinians make stiff land demands for peace deal
The Palestinian Authority demands that any land swap with Israel as part of a peace deal not exceed 1.9 percent of the West Bank, less than half of the land necessary to incorporate the lion’s share of settlers, according to details leaked to Channel 2 by a disgruntled Palestinian official on Sunday.  

IDF hits back at Gaza after early morning rocket fire
Precision strike targets missile launchers, hours after Iron Dome intercepts rocket aimed at Ashkelon.  

ANOTHER X-FLARE
Earth-orbiting satellites detected an X1-class solar flare from sunspot AR1875 on Oct. 28th at 0203 UT. This is the 3rd X-flare since Oct. 25th, which means solar activity is still high. Stay tuned for more information about the latest eruption.  

NBC crowns new 'laughingstock of America'
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” program ridiculed Barack Obama’s health secretary in its opening segment last night, leading one Republican senator on Sunday to label Kathleen Sebelius as the “laughingstock of America.”  

3.3-magnitude quake reported near The Geysers
COBB, Calif. – The US Geological Survey reported Sunday night that the area near The Geysers geothermal steamfield was shaken by a 3.3-magnitude earthquake. The quake occurred at 9:59 p.m., the survey reported.  

Series of earthquakes leaves Israelis jittery
Five moderate earthquakes rattled northern Israel this week, causing no major damage but prompting increased concern over the Jewish state's preparedness for a much larger disaster.  

MK Regev: Prisoner release a sign of weakness
Sunday evening the government authorized the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners – the second batch of prisoners being release... ..."Thirty years in power?" MK Moalem fired back, "such political blindness I haven’t seen in quite a long while. There have been prime ministers who tried to work towards that peace, yet nothing happened. The current process will lead to nothing but terror.  

Syria hands in chemical weapons destruction plan
Syria has handed in a plan for the destruction of its chemical weapons to the watchdog monitoring the process. In a statement, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical weapons (OPCW) said the declaration was submitted three days ahead of schedule. OPCW inspectors are also due to complete visiting the last four of 23 weapons sites declared by Syria.  

Iran metes out 80 lashes to Christians for communion wine drinking
An Iranian court sentenced four Iranian men to 80 whiplashes for drinking wine during communion and possession of a satellite antenna. The court issued the sentence in the city of Rasht on October 6. Christian Solidarity Worldwide, an advocacy organization for religious freedom, reported on the punishment last week on its website.  

IAF strikes underground rocket launchers in Gaza following rocket attacks on Israel
The Israel Air Force struck two underground rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday morning in response to earlier rocket fire on the Ashkelon region. Palestinian sources reported that the IAF strike targeted a site belonging to Hamas's Kassam Brigades terrorist group.  

Large Demo Against Freeing Terrorists At 7:30 PM
Oct 29th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Dozens of buses from all over Israel are to bring protesters to a planned large-scale demonstration Monday evening, against the release of terrorist murderers scheduled for Tuesday. The protest will take place outside Ofer Prison, north of Jerusalem, where the terrorists selected for release to Judea and Samaria are being gathered ahead of their bus ride to freedom.

The rally is being organized by My Israel – a grassroots group founded by Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett before he joined party politics; the Almagor terror victims' group and other organizations.

Relatives of terror victims, MKs and other public figures are expected to take part in the rally.

The protesters will form a human chain outside the gates to the jail, and demand that the prisoner release be halted. They will hold up signs with images of bloody hands, and red glow sticks.

The protesters will hold photos of the victims whose murderers are being released, and films about bereaved families will be shown.

The list of terrorists to be released and their crimes has been made public.

EU Proposal to Monitor "Intolerant" Citizens
Oct 29th, 2013
Daily Newsgatestoneinstitute
Categories: Revived Roman Empire

While European leaders are busy expressing public indignation over reports of American espionage operations in the European Union, the European Parliament is quietly considering a proposal that calls for the direct surveillance of any EU citizen suspected of being "intolerant."

Critics say the measure -- which seeks to force the national governments of all 28 EU member states to establish "special administrative units" to monitor any individual or group expressing views that the self-appointed guardians of European multiculturalism deem to be "intolerant" -- represents an unparalleled threat to free speech in a Europe where citizens are already regularly punished for expressing the "wrong" opinions, especially about Islam.

The proposed European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance was recently presented to members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, the only directly-elected body of the European Union.

The policy proposal was drafted by the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR), a non-governmental organization established in Paris in 2008 by the former president of Poland, Aleksander Kwasniewski, and the president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor.

The ECTR -- which describes itself as a "tolerance watchdog" that "prepares practical recommendations to governments and international organizations on improving interreligious and interethnic relations on the continent" -- includes on its board more than a dozen prominent European politicians, including former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar.

The ECTR first presented its proposal for a Europe-wide Law on Tolerance to the European Parliament in November 2008 as part of the European Week of Tolerance that marked the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, a night of anti-Semitic violence that began the Jewish Holocaust in Germany.

After five years of lobbying in Europe's halls of power, the ECTR proposal appears to be making headway, as evidenced by the European Parliament's recent decision to give the group a prominent 45-minute time slot to present its proposal to the Civil Liberties committee on September 17.

Also known as the "Model Statute for Tolerance," the ECTR's proposal was presented as part of the EU's ongoing work towards a new "Equal Treatment Directive" (ETD) that would vastly expand the scope of discrimination to all sectors of life in both the public and private spheres.

Critics of the ETD, currently being negotiated within the Council of the European Union, say the directive seeks to establish an ill-conceived concept of "equal treatment" as a horizontal principle governing the relationships between all and everyone, thus interfering with the right of self-determination of all citizens.

According to European Dignity Watch, a civil rights watchdog based in Brussels,

The principles of freedom of contract and the freedom to live according to one's personal moral views are in danger of being superseded by a newly developed concept of 'equality.' It would undermine freedom and self-determination for all Europeans and subject the private life of citizens to legal uncertainty and the control of bureaucrats. 

It is about governmental control of social behavior of citizens. These tendencies begin to give the impression of long-passed totalitarian ideas and constitute an unprecedented attack on citizens' rights.

When viewed in the broader context of the ETD, the ECTR document is so audacious in scope, while at the same time so vague in defining its terminology, that critics say the proposal, if implemented, would open a Pandora's Box of abuse, thereby effectively shutting down the right to free speech in Europe.

According to Section 1 (d), for example, the term "tolerance" is broadly defined as "respect for and acceptance of the expression, preservation and development of the distinct identity of a group." Section 2 (d) states that the purpose of the statute is to "condemn all manifestations of intolerance based on bias, bigotry and prejudice."

An explanatory note to Section 2 states: "Religious intolerance is understood to cover Islamophobia" but it provides no definition at all of "Islamophobia," a term invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1990s. If taken to its logical conclusion, Section 2 would presumably ban all critical scrutiny of Islam and Islamic Sharia law, a key objective of Muslim activist groups for more than two decades.

The document also declares that "tolerance must be practiced not only by governmental bodies but equally by individuals." Section 3 (iv) elaborates on this: "Guarantee of tolerance must be understood not only as a vertical relationship (government-to-individuals) but also as a horizontal relationship (group-to-group and person-to-person). It is the obligation of the government to ensure that intolerance is not practiced either in vertical or in horizontal relationships."

According to Section 4 (f) (i) of the document: "There is no need to be tolerant to the intolerant. This is especially important as far as freedom of expression is concerned." Section 5 (a) states: "Tolerance (as defined in Section 1(d)) must be guaranteed to any group, whether it has long-standing societal roots or it is recently formed, especially as a result of migration from abroad."

Section 6 states: "It goes without saying that enactment of a Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance does not suffice by itself. There must be a mechanism in place ensuring that the Statute does not remain on paper and is actually implemented in the world of reality."

An explanatory note to Section 6 (a) states: "Members of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups are entitled to a special protection, additional to the general protection that has to be provided by the Government to every person within the State." Another note adds: "The special protection afforded to members of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups may imply a preferential treatment. Strictly speaking, this preferential treatment goes beyond mere respect and acceptance lying at the root of tolerance."

Section 6 (b) demands that every one of the 28 member states of the EU "set up a special administrative unit in order to supervise the implementation of this Statute." An explanatory note adds: "The special administrative unit should preferably operate within the Ministry of Justice (although the Ministry of the Interior is another reasonable possibility)."

Section 6 (c) calls for the establishment of a "National Tolerance Monitoring Commission as an independent body -- composed of eminent persons from outside the civil service -- vested with the authority to promote tolerance." An explanatory note adds: "The independent Commission will be empowered to express its views regarding implementation of the Statute by all concerned. Implementation in this context includes (but is not limited to) the imposition of penal sanctions."

Section 7 (a) states: "The following acts will be regarded as criminal offences punishable as aggravated crimes: Incitement to violence against a group and group libel. "Group libel" is broadly defined as: "defamatory comments made in public and aimed against a group or members thereof with a view to inciting to violence, slandering the group, holding it to ridicule or subjecting it to false charges."

Section 7 (b) states that "Juveniles convicted of committing crimes listed in paragraph (a) will be required to undergo a rehabilitation program designed to instill in them a culture of tolerance." Paragraph 7 (e) states that "victims of crimes listed in paragraph (a) will have a legal standing to bring a case against the perpetrators, as well as a right to redress." Paragraph 7 (f) states that "free legal aid will be offered to victims of crimes listed in paragraph (a), irrespective of qualification in terms of impecuniosity."

Section 8 states that "the government shall ensure that (a) Schools, from the primary level upwards, will introduce courses encouraging students to accept diversity and promoting a climate of tolerance as regards the qualities and cultures of others." An explanatory note adds: "It is very important to start such courses as early as possible in the educational program, i.e. in elementary school. Yet, these courses must be offered also at higher levels of education, up to and including universities."

Section 9 (a) states: "The government shall ensure that public broadcasting (television and radio) stations will devote a prescribed percentage of their program to promoting a climate of tolerance." Section 9 (b) adds: "The government shall encourage all privately owned mass media (including the printed press) to promote a climate of tolerance." Section 9 (c) states: "The government shall encourage all the mass media (public as well as private) to adopt an ethical code of conduct, which will prevent the spreading of intolerance and will be supervised by a mass media complaints commission."

The document, if adopted by the European Parliament in its current form, would -- among other problems -- establish a right to a freedom from hurt feelings at the expense of the freedom of speech and expression. 

In practical terms, critics say, the highly subjective definition of terms and concepts such as "tolerance," "discrimination," "vulnerable," and "disadvantaged," amounts to a legal straitjacket that would encourage frivolous litigation aimed at silencing individuals and groups, or at finding circumlocutions that appear to avoid violating these principles.

"Faith-based groups and schools, adherents of a particular religion or even just parents who want to teach their children certain moral values would all be put under general suspicion of being intolerant," according to European Dignity Watch.

"Even worse, if enshrined as EU policy, such language also could lead to the possibility that charges are brought on unclear or even without legal grounds. The chilling result of this would be the dramatic diminution (and possible disappearance) of the fundamental freedom of expression -- individuals and groups would censor themselves, afraid that they might be prosecuted for expressing their own personal moral views," the NGO argues in a statement.

"The authors of this proposed statute -- under the aegis of an international NGO for tolerance and reconciliation -- have invited the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee to endorse it as a legal project. But not only would an adoption of this statute at the national level of the European states be a significant step backward," the statement concludes, "but the supra-national surveillance that it would imply would certainly be a dark day for European democracy."