Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Yellowstone Super Volcano Threatens Two Thirds of U.S.A
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsInternational Business Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Lava lake beneath Yellowstone over two-and-a-half times bigger than previously thought (wiki commons)

The reservoir of lava beneath Yellowstone National Park is at least twice as big as scientists previously thought.

Researchers from the University of Utah say the lake of molten rock is at least two-and-a-half times larger than the previous estimate, with pictures showing the reservoir measures 80km long and 20km wide.

Reported in Nature, geophysicist Robert Smith said: "I don't know of any other magma body that's been imaged that's that big."

Scientists reported their finding at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver, Colorado.

Yellowstone is the largest supervolcano on the continent and has erupted several times in the last two million years.

 If it was to erupt today, some scientists predict a cloud of plant-killing ash would affect areas up to 1,000 miles away, with two thirds of the US becoming uninhabitable.

 Yellowstone is famous for its underground lava lake, which fuels the park's hot springs. Most of the molten rock likes a few kilometres below Earth's surface.

Jamie Farrell, a researcher at the University of Utah, mapped the reservoir by analysing data from over 4,500 earthquakes: "Seismic waves travel more slowly through molten rock than through solid rock, and seismometers can detect those changes," Nature reports.

The scientists found the molten reservoir underlies most of the Yellowstone caldera.

Despite this upward estimate, the team say the biggest threat posed by Yellowstone is not a volcanic eruption, but an earthquake.

Above the reservoir lies a crust where rocks are cooler and more brittle, meaning they fracture earthquakes during earthquakes, which are common to the area around Yellowstone.

Smith said earthquakes of magnitude seven or more are cause for more concern than an eruption. In 1959, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that hit near Yellowstone killed 28 people.

The researchers believe earthquakes of this magnitude will become more common as the area around the park is "stretched and thinned by geological forces".

"They are the killer events which we've already had," Smith said. 

Supplemental Defense Funding Requested for Iran Strike
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The defense-political cabinet  holds an urgent meeting Wednesday to decide whether to accede to the defense ministry’s application to cancel the current defense budget cutback of 4 billion shekels (just below $1bn). DEBKAfile reports that the extra funding is requested to pay for the accelerated pace in recent weeks of IDF preparations for a possible military confrontation with Iran.

Peres: Israel Has Secret Weapons
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsIsrael Today - Ryan Jones
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israel's air force is globally recognized as one of the best. But it also possesses hidden weapons that have never before been seen, Israeli President Shimon Peres cautioned last week.

"Not all of the IDF's and the air force's capabilities are open to view. Whoever derides us and seeks to harass us should take this into account," Peres said during a visit to the large Palmachim Air Force base.

The remarks were taken as a none-too-subtle warning to regional enemies like Iran and its proxies in Gaza and Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Benny Gantz followed the president by stating, "We are ready 365 days a year, at any range and facing any challenge. ...The air force is our main system for deterrence, offensive and defensive action, and has fantastic technological abilities."

While there is no doubting Israel's military prowess and technological capacity, many both in Israel and among its supporters abroad would argue that the Jewish state's true "secret weapon" is none other than the Almighty.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested as much from the podium of the UN General Assembly last month.

Netanyahu pointed out that despite the odds being stacked against them, the Jews had reestablished their ancient nation-state in direct accordance with the Word of God. And, as the Bible clearly states, "people of Israel have come home never to be uprooted again," concluded the Israeli leader.

A survey conducted by Israel Today last year found that while nearly all Israelis are proud of their army, a firm majority ultimately places its trust in God for deliverance from the nation's enemies.

Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ancient Curse Unearthed at City of David
The text was determined to be a curse written by a professional magician, according to the analysis of Dr. Robert Daniel of Koln University, Germany, an international expert in the field. Apparently following a legal dispute of unclear nature, a woman named Kirila hired the magician's services to call on the gods of the netherworld to curse her opponent, a man by the name of Yanis.  

Crude oil slides to less than $98
The price of crude oil dropped to less than $98 per barrel in New York early Tuesday as traders waited for an afternoon report on U.S. stockpiles. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 68 cents to $97.52 per barrel. Home heating oil added 1.96 cents to reach $2.984 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 1.67 cents reach $2.6265 a gallon.  

DARPA developing drone-mounted lasers to shoot down missiles
The research and development arm of the US Department of Defense plans to establish drone-mounted laser weapons, a scheme referred to as ‘Project Endurance’ in the agency’s 2014 budget request.  

Renminbi rising: China’s ‘de-Americanized world’ taking shape?
China’s leadership will soon usher in bold reforms to support a domestic consumption-driven economic model, and globalizing the renminbi as an alternative store of wealth to the US dollar is at the center of the strategy. The scathing commentary published by China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency calling for a ‘de-Americanized world’ was undoubtedly music to the ears of many in the developing world. The article – published during the recent fiscal deadlock – accused Washington of abusing its superpower status by engaging in unwarranted military conflicts, engineering regime changes with impunity, and mishandling its status as the issuer of the world reserve currency by exporting risk abroad.  

Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension as Danger to Profits
Allowing Americans more time to enroll for health coverage under Obamacare may raise premiums and cut into profits, insurers are telling members of Congress in a bid to stop such a move. Extending the enrollment period would have a “destabilizing effect on insurance markets,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the Washington-based lobbyist group American’s Health Insurance Plans.  

Iraq violence: Fresh wave of bombings kills 20
Three separate bombings in Iraq have killed at least 20 people, officials have said. In the deadliest attack north of Baghdad, two suicide bombers killed at least 11 military and police officers overnight on Tuesday. Another suicide bomber drove his car into a checkpoint near the northern city of Mosul. A third hit near a policeman's car in Tikrit.  

Egypt detains Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian
A fugitive senior Muslim Brotherhood leader, Essam al-Erian, has been detained by the Egyptian authorities. Prosecutors ordered Mr Erian's arrest in July, after the military ousted President Mohammed Morsi. The arrest is the latest move in a crackdown by the interim government against the Islamist movement.  

Netanyahu to advance east Jerusalem construction as 'compensation' for prisoner release
Israel was planning to advance four building projects in east Jerusalem as "compensation" for the overnight release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, Israeli media cited Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as saying. Netanyahu made the announcement, as was expected alongside the much-contested freeing of 21 long-serving Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank, and five to Gaza.  

5.3-magnitude earthquake hits China’s Jilin Province
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck Hunchun city in north-east China’s Jilin Province in the early hours today. No casualties or damage was reported so far, local officials said. The quake hit the city at 4.17 a.m. local time with its epicentre at a depth of 539 km, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said.  

Five days of flares and CME's - 26 M and X-class solar flares
23 of the 26 M- and X-class flares on the Sun between 18:00 UTC on October 23 and 15:00 UTC on October 28, 2013, as captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It also shows the coronal mass ejections, great clouds of solar material bursting off the sun into space, during that time as captured by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.  

ANOTHER X-FLARE
Consider it a parting shot. Just before sunspot AR1875 rotated over the sun's western limb on Oct. 29th, it unleashed a powerful X2-class solar flare. NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the explosion's extreme ultraviolet flash.  

M 6.2 earthquake struck offshore Maule, Chile
Strong earthquake registered as M 6.2 (USGS, EMSC) occurred at 02:51 UTC on October 30, 2013. The epicenter was located 9 km (6 miles) SSE of Constitucion and 268 km (167 miles) SW of Santiago, Chile.   

Israel to Ramp Up Building in Jerusalem
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Wednesday morning announced a major increase in Jewish building projects in Jerusalem.

The announcement came just hours after Netanyahu had freed 26 blood-soaked Palestinian terrorists as a "peace gesture." The new building projects were themselves seen as a gesture to the Israeli public that had so opposed the release of jailed murderers.

The new building plans are to include an additional 1,500 housing units in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in north-eastern Jerusalem, a large new visitors' center at the City of David archaeological park outside the Old City, and a new national park on the slopes of Mt. Scopus.

Ramat Shlomo was at the center of a rift in Israel-US relations in 2010 when the municipality announced new building tenders there during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden. Washington supports the Palestinian claim to the eastern half of Jerusalem.

The City of David archaeological park is situated in the volatile Arab neighborhood of Silwan, another local flash point, and the new park on Mt. Scopus will reportedly prevent the expansion of nearby Arab neighborhoods.

Iranians Jailed for House Church Attendance
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsWorld Watch Monitor
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Four Iranian Christians jailed for attending a ‘house church’ have lost their judicial appeals.

Mojtaba Seyyed Alaedin Hossein, Mohammad-Reza Partoei, Vahid Hakkani and Homayoun Shokouhi were each sentenced in June to three years and eight months in prison.

Shokouhi’s wife Fariba and son Nima both received suspended sentences of two years’ imprisonment at the appeals-court hearing, which took place in Shiraz.

This is the latest in a long line of prosecutions of Christians in Iran, with the most common charges being actions against public security and propaganda against the regime.

Article 26 of the Iranian Constitution gives the right to religious minorities, including Christians, to form societies and to meet together. 

Christian Support for 'palestinian Cause' Ascendant
Oct 31st, 2013
Daily NewsIsrael Today
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

An interview with an American Christian commentator published by Israeli media this week reveals just how far the Evangelical Church has moved into the "Palestinian camp" when it comes to the Middle East conflict.

For decades, Israel's most stalwart supporters were to be found among Evangelical Christians, the bulk of whom saw the rebirth of the Jewish state as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and evidence of God's faithfulness.

But a new generation of Evangelical leaders are "committed to spreading the Palestinian version of the conflict," said Jim Fletcher, a long-time Christian publisher, in an interview published to Israel National News. "These pro-Palestinian leaders currently control the narrative within the Church."

According to Fletcher, there is a "massive effort...in the heart of the American Evangelical Church to lure its members to the Palestinian side." As a result of that effort, it is now "severely mistaken to think that all Evangelicals are pro-Israel."

Among those Evangelical leaders one should be wary of are Willow Creek Pastor Lynne Hybels, Saddleback Community Church Pastor Rick Warren, Dr. Gary Burge of Wheaton College and Christian publisher Cameron Strang.

Hybels and Burge were speakers at last year's Christ at the Checkpoint conference in Bethlehem, where local and foreign Evangelical leaders painted modern Israel as a nation wholly disconnected from its biblical roots and prophecies pertaining to it.

Furthermore, this movement interprets Yeshua's own teachings in a more humanistic light in order to use them against Israel.

"In the Palestinian narrative, emotion is predominant. The emphasis is on ‘land confiscations, checkpoints, detentions, beatings.’ What they call the ‘apartheid wall’ is also mentioned frequently," explained Fletcher.

But, perhaps most disconcerting, is the lack of a strong response from those who still love Israel and see her for what she truly is, warts and all.

"To my knowledge, there are no broad-based Evangelical leaders in the U.S. who will speak out about this problem, which is developing into an epidemic," said Fletcher, warning in conclusion that "the way things are going, support will completely flip from Israel to the Palestinians in the next generation."

For those of us sitting in Israel, there is another worrying effect: more and more Israelis are starting to feel that, once again, they cannot trust or rely on Christians.

The mere fact that this interview was published on a religious Israeli media website demonstrates that Israeli Jews see the strong wall of Christian support eroding, and as a result the bonds that were built up over the past century are beginning to unravel.