Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

World Powers Unlikely to Reach Nuclear Deal With Iran Before Deadline
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

VIENNA – Diplomacy with Iran may have reached an inflection point in the long-standing crisis over its nuclear program on Sunday in Vienna, where foreign ministers from the world’s most powerful nations met to gauge Iran’s seriousness at the negotiating table.

US Secretary of State John Kerry held individual meetings with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union and, in a rare one-on-one exchange, Iran, at the Palais Coburg residence in the Austrian capital.

“We have some very significant gaps still, so we need to see if we can make some progress,” Kerry told the press, before entering consultations.

According to US diplomats, those gaps are numerous and are wider than many had expected the parties to be at this point, merely a week before the July 20 deadline for talks. Reflecting public statements, Iranian officials have privately told their Western counterparts that they seek to expand – not reduce – Iran’s uranium enrichment capability, after world powers have insisted just the opposite is required to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal with the international community.

“There is no question that we have heard about Iran’s aspirations for its nuclear program in very specific terms and very specific numbers. And that remains far from a significant reduction in their current program,” one senior American official told reporters here, calling Iran’s negotiating position “unworkable and inadequate.”

An interim agreement reached last fall in Geneva granted parties at the table six months to negotiate. The parties may extend the talks, however, by up to six months, should all delegations at the table agree that substantial progress has been made.

“The gap on enrichment is a difficult gap to bridge,” said Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “It’s difficult because of what it says about Iran’s seriousness about getting a deal.”

A spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said over the weekend that Iran needs 50,000 centrifuges for peaceful purposes – 10 times the number Western officials have said they might be comfortable with.

“The view on the US side is that Iran’s position suggests they’re not really ready to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions,” Singh continued, “And when that’s the case, what is a deal really worth? And will more time really be the thing that gets you there?”

Granting an interview to the American Sunday interview show, NBC’s Meet the Press, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that he would commit “to everything and anything that would provide credible assurances for the international community that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons.”

“I can assure you that within the next 11 days... all of these concerns can be addressed,” Zarif said.

Zarif was the only minister to express optimism, however, as others took stock of the progress made over the course of the last six months. They also found themselves distracted by other crises: the foreign ministers of Britain and France expressed hope they might broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Germany’s top diplomat shared choice words with Kerry on recent US spying revelations out of Berlin.

Even Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – whose envoys have said through past crises in Ukraine and Iraq that Western allies must keep focus on Iran – managed to connect his government’s Operation Protective Edge with the ongoing nuclear talks.

The type of confrontation Israel is currently engaged in with Hamas will only get worse if Iran is allowed to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons, Netanyahu said on Sunday morning in Jerusalem .

“I would like to remind them [the P5+1 foreign ministers] that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are being financed, armed, and trained by Iran,” Netanyahu said at the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

“Iran is a terrorist power that finances, arms and trains the terrorist organizations that we are fighting against,” he continued. “This Iran cannot be allowed the ability to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons. If this happens, the things that we are seeing around us and the things that are happening in the Middle East will be far worse."

US officials said that Iran’s transfer of weapons to terrorist organizations in Gaza would be a topic of conversation in Kerry’s bilateral meeting with Zarif – only their second since a public rapprochement began last fall, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Netanyahu said that neither his predictions about developments in the Middle East nor those of other members of the cabinet should be taken lightly, since “these forecasts have, to my regret, come true one by one. The prediction of Iran as a nuclear threshold state cannot be allowed to come true, it cannot. This cannot be allowed to happen, and it will not happen.”

Among Netanyahu’s forecasts that have been borne out with time were that the 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip would lead to missiles on Israel’s population centers, and that the 2011 Arab Spring would lead to less, not more, Middle East stability.

While discussing the lack of progress here with reporters, one American official noted US President Barack Obama’s commitment to a nuclear weapons-free world, starting with aggressive enforcement of the UN Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty – applicable to all signatories, including Iran.

At the UN General Assembly this year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran holds out hope for a similar world, which begins, he says, with a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East – an overt reference to Israel’s nuclear program.

Western officials say the concept has not been a negotiating point behind closed doors.

World Powers Gather in Vienna Over Iran, Distracted By Gaza Operation
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

VIENNA -- After the United Nations Security Council agreed to a press statement on Saturday calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the foreign ministers of its five permanent members— the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China— gathered in Vienna on Sunday expecting to discuss the crisis.

The United States is growing "concerned about escalating tensions on the ground" in Gaza, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu by phone on Sunday, as Operation Protective Edge entered its seventh night.

"He described his engagement with leaders in the region to help to stop the rocket fire so calm can be restored and civilian casualties prevented, and underscored the United States' readiness to facilitate a cessation of hostilities, including a return to the November 2012 ceasefire agreement," one senior State Department official said.

Kerry did, however, restate the Obama administration's condemnation of rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel's citizens, and repeated American support for Israel's right to defend itself.

In Vienna, at the Palais Coburg, entering meetings with his counterparts, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that securing a ceasefire was an "absolute priority" for Paris.

"There are large numbers of victims in Gaza and rockets have been fired at Israel, and with an absolutely disastrous escalation, France— like the United Nations Security Council— asks for a return to the agreement of 2012," Fabius said, declining to assign culpability when pressed by journalists.

The world's top diplomats have gathered in Austria to determine whether a deal with Iran over its nuclear program is possible to forge in the next week. The deadline for those talks is July 20.

One senior US official told journalists on Saturday evening that the Obama administration considers Iran partially at fault in the Gaza crisis— and that Kerry would make that clear to his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in a rare one-on-one meeting planned for Sunday afternoon.

The two men have met only once before since rapprochement began between the two nations last September.

"Iran has a longstanding record of supplying weapons, rockets, to various terror groups in Gaza, including Hamas," the US official said from Vienna. "Those rockets are being used to fire at civilian areas, and Iran has a responsibility to cease and desist from continuing to supply weapons in this conflict."

The conflation of these crises is not lost on diplomats gathered in the Austrian capital, distracted by a new global crisis nearly every month since the talks began: from the annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine by Russia, to advances by ISIS through Syria and Iraq.

Nevertheless, a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran remains the priority of this gathering, another US official insisted, noting that whenever foreign ministers are together, "they discuss whatever is happening in the news and in the day."

Ultimate Big Brother Law
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

A Christian organization in the United Kingdom on Wednesday launched its legal challenge to the ultimate “Big Brother” law – a Scottish plan that appoints a government official to oversee the life of each newborn.

“We are making a stand for all mums and dads who are doing their best for the children they love,” said Colin Hart, director of the Christian Institute.

He confirmed that papers were lodged at Edinburgh’s Court of Sessions by the Institute, several other organizations and parents who would be subjected to the law’s requirements.

The “Named Person” initiative, the Institute has explained, would “see a state guardian assigned to every child between birth and 18-years-old.”

Those government officials would have access to all information about the child, whether the parents allow it or not, and could make recommendations and suggestions about the upbringing of the child.

Parents would be allowed to decline their advice, but then those government officials would “be able to share information with a wide range of public authorities and may intervene without parental consent.”

While the law is set to be imposed nationwide by 2016, it already is being implemented in some areas.

The Institute said the challenge was joined by Christian charity CARE, Tymes Trust and the Family Education Trust as well as parents James and Rhianwen McIntosh and Deborah Thomas.

The Institute explained the McIntoshes reported last month that they already were being subjected to the law when they were told their child’s private medical documents were being shared with the state-employed “named person.”

“I love my child better than anyone else and so for the government to tell me that I needed someone who knew better about my child to see to their well being, that was really quite belittling to me as a parent,” said Rhianwen McIntosh.

Thomas reported discovering the reaches of the law’s tentacles when her son was told to fill out a “creepy and weird” survey at school. She discovered questions were about “things like his perceptions of our family’s income, the seriousness of our family’s arguments, and whether he sometimes felt like he couldn’t go on – which is effectively a suicide question.”

“This marks the beginning of a landmark case which has implications for every family in Scotland,” said Hart. “We are not prepared to stand by and watch as the roles of parents and their rights to a family life are diminished and trampled over by an authoritarian big brother government intent on making its presence felt in every living room in the land.”

He said the idea behind the law may have been to prevent children who have needs from slipping through the net, but “that safety net will only be stretched to [a] breaking point as a result of this policy, raising the prospect that genuine child protection cases will fall through the holes.”

The BBC reported that the government has argued the plan will help with “vulnerable children,” but its critics say in simply violates the European Convention on Human Rights, which recognizes parental authority.

WND reported several weeks ago that physicians already were telling parents, “We are now required to inform the Named Person for your child if your child fails to attend an appointment.”

The Institute reported one family who received the letter told the Scottish Daily Mail: “We were absolutely shocked. The health board seems to be acting in advance of the law being implemented.”

“I shows the extent to which the law will impact on families and their private lives,” the family continued.

The Children and Young People Act, however, already has been condemned by a prominent human rights lawyer, Aidan O’Neill, who said in a legal opinion that the measure amounted to “unjustified interference” and “may be unlawful.”

He said the European Convention on Human Rights calls for governments to respect “private and family life.”

WND has reported the idea for a government watchdog for each child comes from the philosophy of the United Nations.

“This law shows the natural progression for a country that has ratified the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and attempts to live up to its treaty provisions,” said Michael Donnelly, the director of international relations for Home School Legal Defense Association.

HSLDA has been exposing the pitfalls of the U.N. treaty, which has not been adopted by the United States.

The Army's Bioprinted Skin is Almost Ready to be Used on Soldiers
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsMotherboard
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Six Powers and Iran Still Far Apart on Nuclear Deal
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

After hours of negotiations in Vienna, July 13, the foreign ministers of the six world powers and Iran had still not progressed toward overcoming the differences still in the way of their signing a final accord on Iran’s nuclear program by the July 20 deadline. Tehran rejects demands for a cap on its centrifuges and enriched uranium quotas, and refuses to halt construction of the Arak heavy water plant or shut down the underground enrichment facility שא Fordo.

Russia Warns Ukraine of 'Irreversible Consequences'
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsDeutsche Welle
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Russia said the shell fired from Ukraine hit the courtyard of a residential building in the Russian town of Donetsk early on Sunday, killing one person and injuring two others.

A statement from the foreign ministry said Ukraine had been handed a note of protest describing the incident as "an aggressive act by the Ukrainian side against sovereign Russian territory and the citizens of the Russian Federation."

The statement also warned of the possibility of "irreversible consequences, the responsibility for which lies on the Ukrainian side."

The town reportedly hit by the shell is situated on the border with eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting against the government in Kyiv for some three months. It is not clear who fired the shell.

Russia has repeatedly claimed that Ukrainian fire has hit settlements along the border, but no deaths have been previously reported.

Backing from Moscow?

Kyiv in turn accuses Moscow of supporting the separatists. A rebel attack on Friday using a Russian Grad multiple-rocket system, in which 19 soldiers were killed and nearly 100 wounded near the Russian border, has added fuel to the claims, with Kyiv authorities saying the separatists could only have received such arms from over the border.

Clashes between separatists and Ukrainian forces have meanwhile escalated following Friday's attack, with at least 18 troops and 20 civilians killed in the past two days.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's office on Sunday said he was cancelling his attendance at the soccer World Cup final in Brazil "considering the situation currently happening in Ukraine."

The match would have possibly given Poroshenko an opportunity for talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who is attending the final between Germany and Argentina to take part in a handover ceremony, with Russia due to host the next FIFA World Cup in 2018.

Pro - Israel Demonstrators Violently Attacked in LA
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Pro-Israel rally (file)

Flash 90

A pro-Israel rally came under attack Sunday night outside the Federal Building in Westwood, Los Angeles - the latest in a worrying string of similar instances in the US and Europe.

More than 2,000 supporters of Israel were demonstrating peacefully against terrorist rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and in support of the Jewish state's measures to defend itself, when witnesses say four men in a pickup truck launched a violent assault, according to the Jewish Journal. 

The attackers were waving Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags and reportedly began beating pro-Israel demonstrators almost immediately after pulling over next to the rally.

It is not known if they were previously taking part in a much smaller counter-demonstration of around 200 anti-Israel activists being held across the street at the same time.

Watch - Grainy footage shows the moment of the attack:

The attackers fled when police intervened to break up the confrontation which ensued. But adding to the drama a Homeland Security officer fired at least one shot with his service weapon at the vehicle in an apparent attempt to stop the attackers from fleeing, witnesses said.

Police eventually caught up with the truck at around 9:30 p.m. local time and arrested the four men - described as Palestinians living in the Anaheim area. An LAPD officer told the Jewish Journal they will all face felony assault charges.

One of them, Hany Rafai, denied that they had been involved in any kind of violence, and even managed to speak to CBS news before being taken away by police.

The pro-Israel rally was arranged by Israel advocacy group StandWithUs and the Israel American Council, and was described by IAC board member Adam Milstein as one of LA's largest-ever pro-Israel rallies.

The violent incident is just the latest in a string of assaults on supporters of Israel by anti-Zionists in less than a week since the start of Operation Protective Edge, launched by the IDF to stop rocket fire from Hamas and other terrorist groups which have targeted Israeli civilians for more than a decade.

On Friday in Boston, anti-Israel marchers surrounded a group of pro-Israel activists holding a counter demonstration, and hurled anti-Semitic abuse at them. One member of the pro-Israel group was physically assaulted by an Arab-American woman who told her that "Jews will go to hell."

And in the most alarming incident so far, a synagogue filled with worshippers was attacked by a Muslim mob in Paris Sunday night. Police in the French capital had to escort Jews from the synagogue after pushing back rioters who smashed the building's windows with rocks and attempted to break in.

Just a few weeks earlier, a pro-Israel march in protest of the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers came under attack in Paris, as Muslim attackers launched fireworks and charged the demonstration, resulting in at least one arrest.

Netanyahu Says Leaving Iran With Nuclear Enrichment Would be 'Catastrophic'
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsYNet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

"It would be a disaster for the United States and for everyone else," Netanyahu said as a deadline loomed for an agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear program between the West and the Islamic Republic. Netanyahu's comments in an interview with Fox News Sunday came as foreign ministers of the United States, France, Britain and Germany gathered in Vienna to face off with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

A six month interim deal with Iran expires July 20 and US Secretary of State John Kerry said "significant gaps" remain before a final deal can be reached.

Netanyahu warned that "a bad deal is actually worse than no deal," defining that as one in which Iran would keep enriched nuclear material and the capability to further enrich uranium in return for monitoring by international inspectors.

"I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I think it would be a catastrophic development, because you know the Middle East is in turmoil, everything is topsy-turvy, the worst militants, Shiites and Sunni radicals are vying with each other who will be the king of the Islamist hill," he said.

But the dispute over Iran's enrichment program appeared to be defying the Western foreign ministers' combined diplomatic muscle. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Sunday that any nuclear deal leaving Iran with the capability to enrich uranium would be "catastrophic."

"It would be a disaster for the United States and for everyone else," Netanyahu said as a deadline loomed for an agreement on Iran's disputed nuclear program between the West and the Islamic Republic.

Netanyahu's comments in an interview with Fox News Sunday came as foreign ministers of the United States, France, Britain and Germany gathered in Vienna to face off with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

A six month interim deal with Iran expires July 20 and US Secretary of State John Kerry said "significant gaps" remain before a final deal can be reached. Netanyahu warned that "a bad deal is actually worse than no deal," defining that as one in which Iran would keep enriched nuclear material and the capability to further enrich uranium in return for monitoring by international inspectors. "I certainly hope that doesn't happen. I think it would be a catastrophic development, because you know the Middle East is in turmoil, everything is topsy-turvy, the worst militants, Shiites and Sunni radicals are vying with each other who will be the king of the Islamist hill," he said.

"If any one of these sides get their hands on nuclear weapons, all bets are off."

No breakthrough

But joint efforts by Kerry and his counterparts failed to advance faltering nuclear talks with Iran on Sunday.

"There has been no breakthrough today," said British Foreign Secretary William Hague after meetings with Kerry and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Iran.

"We're working, we're working, we just got here," said Kerry, chiding reporters asking about progress as Sunday's meetings wound down. 

British Foreign Secretary William Hague and US Secretary of State John Kerry (Photo: AFP)

Tehran says it needs to expand enrichment to make reactor fuel but the US fears Tehran could steer the activity toward manufacturing the core of nuclear missiles. The US wants deep enrichment cuts; Iran wants to greatly expand enrichment.

"There is a huge gap" over enrichment, said Hague, in comments echoed by the other foreign ministers.

Steinmeier and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius left Sunday, a few hours after they arrived.

Kerry and Hague stayed on for another day of diplomacy. Still, the dispute and other differences strongly indicated that six world powers and Tehran will need to continue negotiations until July 20 and could decide to extend their talks past that informal deadline for a deal. 

US Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Photo: AFP)

Such an agreement would buy time to negotiate a pact limiting the scope of such programs in exchange for a full end to nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.

"Obviously we have some very significant gaps still, so we need to see if we can make some progress," Kerry told reporters before a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who is convening the talks.

"It is vital to make certain that Iran is not going to develop nuclear weapons, that their program is peaceful. That's what we are here trying to achieve."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said "positions are still far apart," and the ministers had come to "try to narrow differences."

Steinmeier said he and other Western foreign ministers had made clear in meetings with Iranian officials that "the ball is Iran's court."

"It is now time for Iran to decide whether they want cooperation with the world community or stay in isolation," he told reporters.

The show of Western unity notwithstanding, Kerry's presence was most important. With the most significant disputes between Washington and Tehran, his visit gave him a chance to discuss them directly with Zarif.

Lower-ranking officials represented both Russia and China, possibly reflecting their view even before Sunday that talks past July 20 are unavoidable.

But Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested any extension would be relatively short, saying "there is not much willingness" by either side to go a full six months. He, too, earlier spoke of "huge and deep differences."

Iranian hardliners oppose almost any concession by moderate President Hassan Rouhani's government. In the US, Republicans and Democrats have threatened to scuttle any emerging agreement because it would allow Iran to maintain some enrichment capacity.

Outside the negotiation, regional rivals of Iran, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, are extremely skeptical of any arrangement they feel would allow the Islamic republic to escape international pressure while moving closer to the nuclear club.

An interim deal in January effectively froze Iran's program, with world powers providing sanctions relief to Tehran of about $7 billion. The two sides also agreed to a six-month extension past July 20 for negotiations to reach a comprehensive deal if necessary.

Midwest to Feel September - Like Due to Polar Vortex
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsAccu Weather
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The first part of this week will feel more like September than the middle of July, typically the hottest time of year, throughout the Midwest.

The unseasonably cool air is arriving via a piece of the polar vortex.

That does not mean that kids across the Midwest will be trading their swimming gear for sled and skis.

As AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski first reported last week, this is a summertime version of the polar vortex that has broken off from the Arctic and is dropping southward.

The advancing cooler air will help trigger severe thunderstorms across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys through Monday.

A couple of gusty thunderstorms will also fire Monday afternoon within a separate zone from St. Louis to Indianapolis to Detroit.

Many residents will opt for jackets for the first part of the week as temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below normal for this time of year, stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Steve Travis.

Typical mid-July highs range from 77 F in Marquette, Michigan, to the mid-80s in Minneapolis, Chicago and Cincinnati to 89 F in St. Louis.

Monday will be the coolest day of the week in and around Minnesota with widespread highs in the 60s. Temperatures will even fail to rise out of the 50s in the vicinity of Lake Superior, including in Marquette, Michigan.

Monday's highs will actually be closer to the day's average low temperatures in Minneapolis and Duluth. A breeze will create even lower AccuWeather.com RealFeel® temperatures.

"Overnight lows will also feel quite chilly with many areas of the Upper Midwest in the lower 50s. Some places will even drop into the 40s," Travis stated.

Baseball fans watching Monday's Home Run Derby and Tuesday's All-Star Game at Target Field in Minneapolis may feel like they should be tailgating for a Minnesota Vikings football game in September.

The core of the cool air will spread across the Great Lakes Tuesday through Wednesday, holding temperatures to the 60s and lower 70s.

The cool weather through Wednesday will be accompanied by building clouds, daily showers and the danger of waterspouts on the Great Lakes.

Monday will be the most active day with a couple of small hail-producing thunderstorms also rumbling from northeastern Minnesota to northern Michigan.

For the warm weather-loving residents who are not ready for September to start, Travis has good news. "Temperatures will gradually warm up toward the end of the week."

While the Northeast's I-95 corridor will turn less humid later in the week, the cool blast will lose its punch prior to pressing that far east as the piece of the polar vortex lifts back to the Arctic.

Microchip Implants for Medical Purposes Could be Trojan Horse to Expanded Uses
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

For those who still think that microchip implants are something that will become commonplace or gain traction in perhaps many years to come, think again: people are now currently queuing up voluntarily to be injected with a microchip in their arm. ABC news recently reported that the 5 million or so U.S residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are the current prime target for the microchips, being implanted in the name of keeping Alzheimer’s patients safe, as well as allowing quick and easy access to their identities and medical records should they lose memory or become lost.

The implants are said to be about the size of a grain of rice and contain a unique 16 digit ID number. The implants are injected into the arm or hand of the recipient, and thereafter read and monitored by the use of supporting RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Systems, which typically include scanners that read the information contained in the embedded chip and relay that information to computerized data systems. These will in turn read and analyse the data transmitted to authorized stakeholders such as medical practitioners and law enforcement agencies.

As expected, privacy activists are up in arms, protesting against the potential “big brother” abuses, such as unwarranted privacy intrusions via GPS tracking and the perceived human indignity in the widespread use of a system that has so far been largely restricted to tracking pets and livestock. However the potential candidates for the microchip implants themselves seem to be sold on the benefits and undeterred from accepting the implants: ABC’s John Berman reported that 34 patients already received the chip with “dozens more” in line.

The process of microchip implants in humans seems to have been taking place quietly behind the scenes for quite a while now. This seems to be a well–calculated and subtle move to gradually desensitize a privacy centered culture and society into accepting the perceived benefits of physical implants, which are packaged and marketed in such a way that privacy and other concerns are made to seem trivial, ridiculous or foolish. 

The husband of a lady featured in the ABC news video who had been micro-chipped because she had Alzheimer’s, merely shrugged off privacy and monitoring concerns, considering the implant benefits to be overwhelmingly positive and went on to take the microchip implant himself, without hesitation.

Two years back, ABC news also reported that 100 law enforcement official in Mexico received implants in the name of providing secure and exclusive access to sensitive classified information to only authorized personnel. Scott Silverman of Applied Digital Solutions, whose company manufactures micro chipped implants, described them as “tamper proof and secure”, as the chips cannot be stolen and re-used to gain unauthorized access. 

According to breathecast.com Silverman is also credited with the very popular form of the RFID chip originally known as Verichip, and subsequently re-branded as PositiveID which is now reportedly being implanted inside of hundreds of Americans as well as many throughout the world. Verichip was FDA-approved as a human-implantable microchip in 2004.

Inquisitr.com which recently reported these developments, suggests that microchip implants now seem to be steadily gaining traction and acceptance perhaps because the military is developing implantable chips to treat soldiers with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), as reported in an earlier report published by The Inquisitr. 

The separate report states that the United States military plans to treat and monitor psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with high-tech devices implanted into patients’ brains. The five-year, $70 million program was launched by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). According to Justin Sanchez, a program manager at DARPA, simple versions of the future brain implants are already being used to help patients with Parkinson’s disease.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 11 to 20 percent of veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan operations (Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom) are believed to suffer from PTSD and 30 percent of Vietnam veterans are believed to have suffered from or are still being treated for symptoms of PTSD.

Meanwhile, the twin process of microchipping and gradual desensitization continues. The general populace is now widely exposed and accustomed to RFID and biometric technologies, sold on individual and social benefits seemingly to the extent that privacy issues are now almost always ignored or downplayed, as members of the public become willing participants towards “the greater good”. 

Many Bible scholars see the desensitization to chipping as one more reason the world populace would embrace the potential chip related technology known as "The Mark Of The Beast".  In Revelation 13 we are told that this mark would allow for the buying and selling of goods - in fact you can't conduct commerce without it.

"He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666." Revelation 13:16-18

While there is still much debate in the Christian community as to what this final "mark" will look like and be - the emergence of bio-technologies, microchip implants, digital currency (such as bitcoin/paypal) and the desire for greater security seems to be paving the way for several possibilities.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Internet giants press for net neutrality in FCC filing
An association of more than two dozen technology companies including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Netflix urged the Federal Communications Commission on Monday to create strong, enforceable net neutrality rules for wired and mobile networks.  

WHO warns of Ebola expansion beyond Africa
The spread of killer Ebola continues unabated in West Africa. The three countries that are battling the killer virus is Sierra Leone, Liberia and to a lesser extent in Guinea.  

USGS: 7 small earthquakes shake central Oklahoma
The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded seven small earthquakes shaking central Oklahoma in a span of just about 14 hours.  

Work week off to a shaky start after an Oklahoma earthquake; 7 quakes rattled OK over the weekend
All is quiet now in Medford, Okla. after a 3.9 magnitude earthquake shook the northern Oklahoma area early Monday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake happened around 2:15 a.m. Monday about 10 miles southwest of Medford east of the Great Salt Plains Lake.  

Evidence Of Super-fast Deep Earthquake Discovered By Scripps Scientists
Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have discovered the first evidence that deep earthquakes, those breaking at more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) below Earth’s surface, can rupture much faster than ordinary earthquakes. The finding gives seismologists new clues about the forces behind deep earthquakes as well as fast-breaking earthquakes that strike near the surface.  

Globalist Think Tank: North American Community “Will Be Forged in the Heat of Conflict”
The current influx of illegal immigrants into the United States has caught many by surprise, but globalist think tanks have eagerly awaited an event like this for many years.  

Hamas Fires Rocket And Destroys Their Own Power Grid In Gaza
Seventy thousand Gazans from Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah were in the dark Sunday night after a Hamas rocket hit the power line that supplies electricity to those places. It’s not clear when Israel Electric Company workers will be able to repair the system, but they are apparently in no rush to do so. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to restore power to the affected sector in Gaza, an operation that could take hours.  

Peru Earthquake Today 2014: Terremoto Strikes Off Coast
A 5.5 Peru earthquake 2014 struck moments ago, but out to sea. The Peru earthquake today July 14, 2014 is one of the strongest to strike the country this month.  

Deadly dose: US labs close after mishandling highly infectious pathogens
The latest incident this year happened in June when as many as 75 CDC employees were exposed to a live strain of anthrax in Atlanta, after failing to deactivate the deadly bacteria according to lab protocol.  

Left Moves to Outlaw Christianity
The mask is off. All pretense has been dropped, and the anti-Christian left’s boundless depth of hatred for individual liberty, rsn cultureofdeath 250our First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is now on full display.  

Court challenge for ultimate 'Big Brother'
The “Named Person” initiative, the Institute has explained, would “see a state guardian assigned to every child between birth and 18-years-old.”  

As some high-risk assets take a hit, investors fear worse is to come
World financial markets became reacquainted with fear last week, and even if it was short-lived, the ructions in some riskier assets looked to some like a precursor to a much rougher ride down the road.  

FLY ME TO THE SUPERMOON
When a full Moon occurs on the near side of the orbit, it looks extra big and bright, and we call it a "supermoon." The first of three supermoons arrived on July 12th:  

DARPA taps Lawrence Livermore to develop world's first neural device to restore memory
he Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) up to $2.5 million to develop an implantable neural device with the ability to record and stimulate neurons within the brain to help restore memory, DARPA officials announced this week.  

Gallup: Majorities of Muslims and Atheists Approve of Obama; Christians Don't
Obama’s job approval rating was highest, by religion, among Muslims, other non-Christians, Jews (by faith), and atheists, his highest job disapproval ratings were among Christians -- Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, and other Christians.  

Hamas Just Attempted To Create A Horrific Nuclear Disaster In The Heart Of Israel
No matter what side you are on in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, everyone should be able to agree that it is utter madness for Hamas to fire rockets at the Dimona nuclear installation in the Negev. The intent, of course, was to destroy the Dimona facility and create a horrific nuclear disaster in the heart of Israel.  

Philippines Earthquake Today 2014: 6.3 Strikes Pondaguitan
A 6.3 Philippines earthquake today 2014 has struck Pondaguitan. The Philippines earthquake today July 14, 2014 has been followed by a 4.9 magnitude quake moments ago. Damage assessment is pending.  

Magnitude 6.1 quake hits Davao Occidental
The tectonic earthquake occurred at around 4 p.m., and was centered 88 kilometers southeast of the Davao Occidental town of Don Marcelino.  

5.6-Magnitude Earthquake Hits East Java
A magnitude-5.6 earthquake jolted Indonesia's East Java province on Monday, Xinhua news agency reports quoting the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.

Strong and shallow M6.4 earthquake hit off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines
A strong and shallow earthquake measuring M6.4 on the Richter scale was registered off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines, on July 14, 2014, at 07:59 UTC. USGS is reporting depth of 22.5 km (14 miles). Epicenter was located 83 km (52 miles) SSE of Pondaguitan and 101 km (63 miles) ESE of Caburan, Philippines.  

Russia, Saudi Arabia to Sign Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Deal
Russia and Saudi Arabia plan to sign an intergovernmental agreement in the civilian nuclear cooperation, the head of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear energy corporation said on Sunday. “Everything is ready, at the level of delegations everything has been initialed and agreed. We expect to sign [the document] in the fall,” Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko said.  

World Health Organisation recommends that all gay men should take antiretroviral medicine to halt HIV epidemic
The World Health Organisation has announced for the first time that all men who have sex with men should take antiretroviral drugs, in a bid to try and contain the growing rates of HIV in gay communities around the world. ...Speaking after the release of the report, Gottfried Hirnschall, who heads WHO’s HIV department, said that they were seeing an “exploding epidemic” when it came to HIV rates in the gay community around the world.  

Putin calls for a new world order
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin and his Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner have called for a multipolar world order as Moscow sought to boost ties with Latin America amid heightened East-West tensions. The Russian leader is on a six-day Latin American tour seeking to increase Moscow’s influence in the region at a time when the Ukraine crisis has eroded East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.  

Yemen tribesmen blow up vital oil pipeline
Yemeni tribesmen have blown up a major oil pipeline, officials say, disrupting supplies from the interior to the Ras Isa export terminal on the Red Sea. The attack strikes at a key revenue stream for Yemen's government, which relies on oil exports to fund spending. The pipeline, carrying some 100,000 barrels daily, was blown up in Habab district of Marib province.  

Israel's Gaza campaign in seventh day, amid rocket fire
Israeli air strikes on Gaza and rocket fire on Israel have continued as Israel's operation against Palestinian militants entered its seventh day. Palestinian officials say 172 people in Gaza have been killed since the offensive began last Tuesday. Israel says nearly 1,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza in that time. It said it shot down a Palestinian drone near Ashdod on Monday morning.  

Women bishops: Church's second chance to decide
The Church of England will decide later whether to allow women into its top ranks as bishops. Its ruling General Synod is preparing for a crucial vote on the issue - after an attempt was blocked in 2012. It was passed by the Houses of Bishops and Clergy but was six lay members' votes short in the House of Laity.  

Seoul: N. Korea Fires Artillery Shells Into Ocean
North Korea on Monday fired artillery shells into waters near its sea border with South Korea, Seoul's military said, a day after the country test-launched two ballistic missiles in the latest of a series of weapon tests.  

Foreign nationals flee Gaza through Israeli crossing
Hundreds of foreign nationals left Gaza Sunday through the Erez border crossing with Israel. The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, received 812 requests from foreign nationals, most of which were approved. According to an officer in the COGAT office, all those approved left Sunday, along with 50 others whose requests had been mediated by foreign consulates.  

Clashes in Paris as thousands march against Israel offensive
Clashes erupted in Paris on Sunday as thousands of people protested against Israel and in support of residents in the Gaza Strip, where a six-day conflict has left 166 Palestinians dead.  

China national charged in hacking plot to steal US military data
US authorities have charged a Chinese businessman with hacking into the computer systems of Boeing and other firms with large defence contracts. Su Bin, who was arrested in Canada last month, is accused of working with two other suspects to steal data about military projects and sell it to China.  

Russia warns Ukraine after shell crosses border
Russia threatened Ukraine on Sunday with "irreversible consequences" after a Russian man was killed by a shell fired across the border, while Kiev said Ukrainian warplanes struck again at separatist positions in the east of the country, inflicting big losses.  

U.S., Iran say disputes remain in nuclear talks as deadline looms
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday major differences persist between Iran and six world powers negotiating on Tehran's nuclear program, with a week to go before a deadline for a deal.  

Israel Says Cease - Fire Possible Only If It Ensures Long-term Quiet
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Israel is not ruling out a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip if it results in a significant change in the situation inside Gaza and a restoration of quiet to the South, diplomatic officials said Saturday night.

The officials’ comments came as the UN Security Council issued a statement calling for a cease-fire, and as the foreign ministers of the US, France, Germany and Britain were set to discuss the situation at a meeting in Vienna on Sunday, on the sidelines of their talks with Iran.

Israeli officials were not speaking of the conditions they would demand for a cease-fire, but among the ideas that have been discussed are the dismantling of the rocket capabilities inside Gaza, similar to the manner in which the chemical weapons were dismantled in Syria; developing a mechanism to enforce the cease-fire; and a restoration of Palestinian Authority – not Hamas – control over the area.

Diplomatic officials said Israel was in contact with third parties about the possibilities but would not provide concrete details. Turkey and Qatar have reportedly also put cease-fire proposals on the table, but these have been rejected by Israel.

“The goals of Operation Protective Edge remain restoring quiet to Israel for a long period of time while delivering a significant blow to Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza... whether through military means or diplomatic ones,” one official said.

“Israel will weigh any proposal that will bring about an achievement of those goals,” the official continued. “If Hamas will continue to fire on Israeli citizens, the IDF will increase the power of its blows against Hamas and terrorist organizations in Gaza.”

The officials said Israel was not responding to any particular cease-fire that has been proposed.

On Friday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the situation in Gaza was a stark reminder of the need for Israel to hold on to territory for security purposes.

In a brief press conference he held just before Shabbat, Netanyahu said the terror kingdom that Hamas had set up in Gaza – where there are not only thousands of rockets, but also well over a thousand tunnels – will not be allowed to be replicated in the West Bank.

“We need to understand one fact: We are living in a Middle East that is being taken over by radical Islam, leading to the collapse of a number of counties and [these Islamists] knocking on our doors both in the North and the South. I say we cannot allow a situation where we get Gaza in Judea and Samaria,” the prime minister stated.

“Today I think that Israel’s citizens understand why I say all the time that there cannot be a situation in any agreement that we will give up security control from the Jordan River westward,” he continued. “I don’t want to create another 20 Gazas in Judea and Samaria.”

Netanyahu also addressed the importance of territory, where if Israel left the West Bank completely there would be the possibility of thousands of tunnels burrowing into the country.

“There are 1,200 tunnels in the 14 kilometers between Egypt and Gaza,” he revealed, adding that Egypt had sealed most of them.

The tunnels, he said, illustrated that territory “has tremendous importance.”

Netanyahu, who took questions from reporters for the first time since Operation Protective Edge began, pledged it would continue until quiet is restored. He did not, however, reveal his thinking on the question that is sure to be widely discussed at Sunday’s cabinet meeting: whether or not to launch a ground operation inside Gaza.

“We are weighing all possibilities and are prepared for all possibilities,” he said, adding everyone understood that he could not give details of tactical decisions. He said that as of late Friday afternoon the IAF had hit more than 1,000 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets and that the “military blow” would continue until Israel was sure that quiet had been restored. He did not widen the goal to destroying Hamas or retaking Gaza.

Netanyahu, who spoke Thursday night with US President Barack Obama and had also spoken with numerous world leaders, said “no international pressure will prevent us from acting with all our strength against a terrorist organization that calls for our destruction.”

He added that there was understanding for Israel’s actions among the leaders he spoke with and that the slow and measured manner in which Israel entered the operation had been due not only to operational considerations, but also to the desire to create an international atmosphere that would understand why Israel felt the need to hit Hamas.

“All the leaders understand our need to act,” he said. “I also asked them what they would do. Would they be willing to absorb rocket barrage attacks on London, Washington, Paris and Moscow? Of course not.”

Netanyahu also sent a warning to Hezbollah, saying Israel would act aggressively against any others who fire missiles on Israel.

“I would not recommend that anyone test us,” he said.

Netanyahu was full of praise for the country for its “fortitude,” and for the Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system. He said that over the years his governments had spent billions in protecting the home front.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, speaking a couple hours after Netanyahu in an interview on Channel 2, called on the government to “go all the way” and “eradicate the Hamas regime in Gaza.”

Liberman, who has called on the government to reconquer Gaza in the past and last week broke with Netanyahu after what he said was his unhappiness with the restraint the prime minister had been showing, said the goal was “not to reestablish Jewish settlement there” but to remove the threat of Palestinian rocket fire on Israeli towns.

“After Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defense, we can’t have a situation where we don’t finish the job because that will only lead to a countdown before the next operation,” the foreign minister said.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials on Saturday denied reports of an imminent cease-fire with Israel and vowed to continue their attacks on Israel.

Ziad al-Nakhleh, deputy head of Islamic Jihad, said talk about a cease-fire was nothing but rumors.

“All what is being said about a truce is incorrect,” Nakhleh said. “So far there is no serious talk about a cease-fire.”

He called talk about a cease-fire “premature,” adding that the previous 2012 truce between Hamas and Israel had been “behind our backs.”

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said his movement would continue to target Israel as long as the IDF military operation continued.

He also criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for saying over the weekend in an interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV station in Lebanon that Hamas’s conditions for a cease-fire were “unnecessary.”

In the interview Abbas indirectly condemned Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip for “trading in blood.”

Barhoum said Abbas saw himself as a “third party” in the current crisis.

“Abbas has destroyed the reconciliation agreement with Hamas from day one,” he charged. “Abbas has failed to assume his responsibility as president.”

Abbas, meanwhile, continued to talk to world leaders about the need for a ceasefire.

On Saturday he received a phone call from UK Foreign Secretary William Hague. He also talked to Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby about the situation.

Arab League foreign ministers are scheduled to hold an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday at the request of the PA leadership to discuss the latest developments in the region, PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki announced.

Is Shadow Banking Set to Take Off Globally?
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsCNBC
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Gennadiy Kondratyev | iStock / 360 | Getty Images

Shadow banking may get tagged as a big risk in China, but it's actually on the rise globally as low interest rates spur yield chasing and tougher regulations constrain lending by traditional banks.

"Banks have had to pull back from a lot of traditional areas they've been active in," such as corporate lending, said Jonathan Liang, senior portfolio manager for fixed income at AllianceBernstein, which has around $466 billion under management. "As banks withdraw, these companies are still going to need financing and that is giving us as an investor, an opportunity to step in."

AllianceBernstein is currently expanding its team, aiming to target middle-market lending as well as infrastructure and real-estate financing, he said.

It expects the trend will continue as banks face tougher regulation and capital requirements, citing the Basel global banking framework and the U.S. Dodd-Frank changes.

Societe Generale also expects disintermediation to increase, citing Standard & Poor's data estimating global business borrowing needs at $73 trillion through 2018, while banks' lending capacity is only around half that level.

But while disintermediation is strong in the U.S., bank financing has been making a comeback since 2011, it said in a note last week.

Instead, it sees a "huge potential" for disintermediation in Europe, citing problems with the transmission of low central bank interest rates to bank loans, where margins generally remain high.

With Europe's banks facing an asset quality review later this year and stringent regulatory capital positions, it noted.

"In the slow repair process, euro area non-financial institutions have had to look for new sources of funding," it said. At the same time, "the ECB's commitment to supporting the economy will likely push investors towards higher yielding assets."

Within Asia, however, interest in the strategy may be limited.

"Traditionally, Asia has been funded by bank loans," Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS, said.

"Banks continue to be well-funded in the region. The loan markets have their ups and downs, but they're still quite healthy," he said, noting this is a factor hampering the development of bond markets in the region.

While the strategy was more common before the global financial crisis, "the 2008 crisis saw that end in tears for hedge funds and those still have recent memories so we don't see the return of high-yield private debt coming back in a big way," Lee said.

Others are also skeptical that disintermediation will catch on as a trend.

"Because the bond markets are so alive and kicking, the need for companies to go to the private space is also lower," Harsh Agarwal, head of Asia credit research at Deutsche Bank, said, noting that Asia's bond issuance so far this year is around $105 billion, compared with around $125 billion for all of 2013. "If you get a rating, you could easily come to the bond market and raise money, so why go to the private market? I would guess the pie is smaller now than it was 4-5 years back," during the credit crisis.

Hamas Reiterates 'Conditions' for Cease - Fire
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas terrorist in Gaza (file)

Reuters

Hamas officials reiterated on Monday that a cease-fire was not on the agenda, unless Israel agreed to major concessions – including several that Israel has in the past said are non-negotiable.

Earlier Monday, Israeli officials said that they were hoping to cause long-term damage to Hamas's military infrastructure before agreeing to ceasefire talks.

Speaking to AFP, Hamas legislative member Mushir al-Masri said that “talk of a ceasefire requires real and serious efforts, which we haven't seen so far. Any ceasefire must be based on the conditions we have outlined, nothing less than that will be accepted.”

Among those conditions: An Israeli lifting of the sea blockade around Gaza, allowing free access to the sea; the reopening of the Rafah crossing into Sinai, which was closed by Egypt; and the re-release of Hamas terrorists arrested in recent weeks as the IDF rounded up suspects who may have been involved in the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha'ar.

In Cairo, a Hamas official said a general framework of the Hamas demands had been agreed upon by all factions of the terror group. Hamas, the official said, was determined to achieve more than it did in the truce deal that ended Operation Pillar of Defense. “We need to build on the 2012 truce and move forward. We don't want to go back," he said.

Masri said that "Arab countries and Islamic countries and Western countries" were involved in discussions about a truce, but declined to give details. He said Hamas was prepared to continue fighting and ready for a “long, drawn-out battle.”

Meanwhile, Israeli officials said that Israel had its demands as well, and was unlikely to agree to a cease-fire until they were fulfilled.

Chief among them is a commitment from Hamas, with guarantees, that the terror group will not gear up for another round of attacks next year or the year after. "The Israeli government at this stage is not answering ceasefire efforts because we want to know first that we have taken away Hamas's desire to do this again in another year or six months," Finance Minister Yair Lapid told army radio on Sunday. "That's not happened yet. When it does, then we'll talk."

"The IDF (military) has hit Gaza very hard, but has not hit Hamas's armed wing hard enough," former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin told army radio, saying that so far, only around 50 of the victims were believed to belong to the Islamist movement. Others hit include Islamic Jihad terrorists and a small number of members of other terrorist groups. Several civilians have also been killed as Hamas continues to enlist "human shields" to protect its positions from IAF strikes.

"Things are moving to another stage in which it will try to exact a very high price from Hamas's armed wing and strengthen both our position in the ceasefire negotiations and our deterrence, as well as hitting Hamas's ability to become stronger after the operation," Yadlin added.

Despite the pressure, Hamas has also shown little appetite for a truce, and has rejected ceasefire proposals outright. The Islamist group insists that Israel give in to its conditions for a ceasefire, including a total end to the blockade on Gaza and the release of terrorists arrested in the IDF's ongoing crackdown on Hamas in Judea and Samaria.

Hamas Just Attempted to Create a Horrific Nuclear Disaster in the Heart of Israel
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

After the horrors of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, how insane do you have to be to fire missiles directly at a major nuclear facility? No matter what side you are on in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, everyone should be able to agree that it is utter madness for Hamas to fire rockets at the Dimona nuclear installation in the Negev. 

The intent, of course, was to destroy the Dimona facility and create a horrific nuclear disaster in the heart of Israel. Fortunately, the area is heavily protected by the Iron Dome missile defense system and none of the rockets did any damage. 

And it is questionable how much damage to the facility that Hamas missiles could actually do. But that is not the point. 

What matters is that Hamas is trying to do it. With each passing year, Hamas rockets are becoming more advanced, more accurate and more powerful. 

And when Hamas fires some of their best rockets at a major nuclear facility, they are committing an act of all-out war. If Hamas continues to do this, it could spark a major regional war in which countless numbers of people could die.

Is that what they want?

There has been a lot of criticism of Israel in the mainstream media in recent days, but much of it is quite hypocritical. Just imagine what would happen in the U.S. if another country fired just one missile at New York City or at one of our nuclear reactors. 

If that happened, "glass parking lot" would suddenly be on the lips of tens of millions of Americans all over the country, and the U.S. military would rapidly be preparing for an absolutely devastating response.

Well, it isn't just one missile that has been fired at Israel. In recent days, dozens of rockets were fired at Israel before there was any response from the Israeli military at all.

And more than 225 rockets have been fired at Israel since Operation Protective Edge started on Monday night. At one point, an average of about one rocket was being fired into Israel every ten minutes.

And many of these rockets are being shot directly at Israeli population centers with the intention of killing civilians. It is a miracle that we have not seen many casualties so far. But where Hamas has really stepped over the line is by firing at the Dimona nuclear facility. 

The fact that Hamas is attempting to create a nuclear holocaust is essentially an act of genocide. The following is how the Jerusalem Post described the attack...

Three rockets were launched at Dimona in southern Israel on Wednesday afternoon. The Iron Dome intercepted one rocket before it could land, while two other rockets landed in open areas.

Dimona is the location of Israel's nuclear reactor. There was no indication that rockets damaged any part of the reactor.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the rockets, stating that it had been attempting to hit the nuclear reactor. Militants from Hamas's Qassam Brigades said they had launched long-range M-75 rockets towards Dimona.

And as Breitbart has pointed out, what Hamas has just done is actually an act of nuclear terrorism as defined by the United Nations...

Article 2 (1) of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism states:

1. Any person commits an offence within the meaning of this Convention if that person unlawfully and intentionally...(b)...uses or damages a nuclear facility in a manner which releases or risks the release of radioactive material: (i) With the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or (ii) With the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or (iii) With the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act.

Let us hope that future Hamas missile strikes will not do any damage to Dimona either. In the end, it is questionable how much of a threat Hamas rockets actually are to an extremely well defended facility such as Dimona, but let us not completely underestimate their capabilities either.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Hamas rockets are stronger and more accurate than ever and are now even capable of hitting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem...

Hamas has emerged from a 19-month cease-fire stronger, savvier, and more effective at hitting Israel where it will hurt the most.

Hamas's arsenal, estimated at 10,000 rockets, is only marginally bigger than it was heading into its last conflict with Israel, in November 2012. 

But its mid-range rockets are much more accurate, and it has acquired long-range missiles that reach beyond Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, putting as many as 5 million of Israel’s 8 million citizens at risk.

If Hamas wants Israel to stop attacking, they need to stop lobbing missiles into Israel. If Hamas keeps launching rockets, it could spark a major regional war. Just consider what Shimon Peres is saying about the conflict...

“We didn’t start the war today, they started it already several days ago,” he told CNN. “We asked them to stop it... We waited one day, two days, three days and they continued, and they spread their fire on more areas in Israel.”

He also said that a ground offensive on Gaza “may happen quite soon”. Referring to rockets being fired from Gaza, he added: “If they will stop for example tonight, there won’t be any ground entrance - but if they will continue, sooner or later this will be the response.”

And there are news reports today that Israel has already warned 100,000 Gaza residents living in cities near the border with Israel to leave their homes. That means that a ground invasion could be imminent. 

Let us pray for peace because every human life is extremely valuable. Every Israeli life is extremely valuable, and every Palestinian life is extremely valuable.

Nobody should want to see a major war between the Israelis and the Palestinians, because if one does happen it will be extremely bloody.

The Middle East is a powder keg that could erupt at any moment.

A single wrong move could bring about a nightmarish conflict that results in countless deaths.

Grumbling Foreign Banks Bend to U.S. Rules
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsCNBC
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Getty Images

Financiers may grumble that the United States is acting like an imperial power in punishing foreign banks for dealings far beyond U.S. territory, but in the end they are more likely to bow to Washington than kick against its dollar muscle.

Last week, French politicians and business leaders demanded an end to the global dominance of the U.S. currency - and hence of the U.S. banking system - after a New York court fined French bank BNP Paribas $9 billion for doing business in Sudan, Iran and Cuba. Yet despite irritation at the long reach of U.S. sanctions, most bankers see that as wishful thinking.

Instead, major lenders in Europe and Asia are reacting to the steady flow of punishments from the United States by doing ever more to comply with U.S. laws and by cutting business ties in countries Washington dislikes rather than risk its wrath and, in the worst scenario, risk exclusion from the dollar system.

Official regulators outside the United States are starting to look at ways to prevent their own banks and markets from being damaged by the scale of U.S. penalties. But for now, each bank on its own has little choice but to toe Washington's line.

"The demands placed on banks to know their customer's customer, even in countries where such records are not routinely kept, means that banks have little choice but to terminate relationships or risk eye-watering, balance sheet altering fines," said Anthony Browne, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association (BBA).

The BBA estimates Western banks have cut hundreds of relationships with correspondent banks in emerging markets, hurting businesses, governments and people in poorer countries.

Large commodity traders such as Glencore, Vitol, Trafigura and Mercuria are stepping in to plug the gap in trade finance. Glencore was chosen last month by the government of Chad to finance its purchase of $1.3 billion of assets being sold by U.S. oil company Chevron.

Meanwhile, far from turning their backs on the United States as a result of the demands of regulators and judges, foreign banks who have fallen foul of U.S. rules are doing everything they can to ensure they can still tap the world's financial epicenter.

BNP has set up a financial security unit in New York to ensure its staff comply with all U.S. sanctions and all of its U.S. dollar flows will ultimately be processed and controlled via its branch in New York, centralizing activities that used to be spread across various international offices.

Russia "wake-up call"

For all that, there are plenty of bankers with whom the U.S. attitude rankles. Many - privately - sympathize with the senior British banker who was quoted in U.S. legal papers when his bank was fined in 2012 for breaching sanctions on Iran.

In an expletive-charged broadside, the executive was quoted as saying: "You ... Americans! Who are you to tell us, the rest of the world, that we're not going to deal with Iranians?"

Nowadays, bankers are loath to object in public to U.S. requirements, even though privately many believe Washington is using its financial dominance to push its foreign policy agenda and give its own banks the edge over foreign rivals.

"It's the U.S. that people worry about," said the chief executive of a bank in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf state that has long been forum for business with sanctions-hit Iran.

"If the U.S. says you must clamp down, you have to do it."

New York attorney Adam Kaufmann dismissed the idea that the United States was engaging in "financial imperialism" overseas or targeting foreign banks for economic gain. U.S. courts were simply applying laws in respect of the domestic banking system - where foreign banks need some presence if they are to clear payments in dollars, wherever in the world they are made.

"If you're going to use U.S. financial institutions, you have to play by U.S. rules," said Kaufmann, a former prosecutor involved in numerous sanctions violations cases.

Despite grumbling from European players, U.S. banks have also suffered. JP Morgan was fined a record $13 billion this year for misleading investors during the housing crisis.

In Russia, where Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over this year's Ukraine crisis have prompted tens of billions of dollars in capital flight, the BNP fine may make international banks even more wary of doing business with Russian customers.

Brian Zimbler, managing partner of U.S. law firm Morgan Lewis's Moscow office called BNP's penalty a "wake-up call":

"Banks around the world are very scared of the U.S. authorities," he said. "They are less likely to want to do deals with any counterparty in Russia unless they know them well."

Ground Op. Still on Hold As Israel Seeks to Establish Deterrence
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Troops amassing at the border with Gaza

Flash 90

Israel is hoping to cause long-term damage to Hamas's military infrastructure before agreeing to ceasefire talks, officials say, as the deadly confrontation entered its seventh day Monday.  

But it appeared to be in no hurry to launch a threatened ground operation as the air force continued to pound Gaza, bringing the Palestinian death toll to 172, and as terrorists  fired barrages of rockets at central Israel, sending thousands running for cover in the country's major cities.

"The Israeli government at this stage is not answering ceasefire efforts because we want to know first that we have taken away Hamas's desire to do this again in another year or six months," Finance Minister Yair Lapid told army radio on Sunday.

"That's not happened yet. When it does, then we'll talk."

So far, the Israeli military campaign has been almost entirely from the air.  

"The IDF (military) has hit Gaza very hard, but has not hit Hamas's armed wing hard enough," former military intelligence head Amos Yadlin told army radio, saying that so far, only around 50 of the victims were believed to belong to the Islamist movement. Others hit include Islamic Jihad terrorists and a small number of members of other terrorist groups.

Several civilians have also been killed as Hamas continues to enlist "human shields" to protect its positions from IAF strikes.

"Things are moving to another stage in which it will try to exact a very high price from Hamas's armed wing and strengthen both our position in the ceasefire negotiations and our deterrence, as well as hitting Hamas's ability to become stronger after the operation," Yadlin added. 

Despite the pressure, Hamas has also shown little appetite for a truce, and has rejected ceasefire proposals outright. The Islamist group insists that Israel give in to its conditions for a ceasefire, including a total end to the blockade on Gaza and the release of terrorists arrested in the IDF's ongoing crackdown on Hamas in Judea and Samaria. 

'Hamas's pain map'

According to a senior military official, the army is operating according to a so-called "pain map" drawn up after the last major confrontation with Hamas terrorists in November 2012, that sets out targets most valuable to the Islamist movement.

"This will impair its abilities and force it into a difficult process, as long as possible, of post-war rehabilitation," he told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The harder we hit them, the longer and more difficult the (rehabilitation) process, and more effective the deterrence."

Although Israel has massed tanks and troops along the border, confirming its readiness for a ground assault, ministers at a late-night cabinet meeting decided against putting boots on the ground - at least for now, media reports said.

"A good outcome would be damaging the Hamas infrastructure and its ability to produce rockets," the military source said.

Following days of intensive air strikes, Israel had managed to hit Hamas sufficiently hard that any ceasefire agreement reached now would likely halt rocket fire for a "very long time," Yadlin said, suggesting Israel had a longer-term goal in mind.

"If the aim is to achieve 'quiet for quiet' and to strengthen deterrence, I think those aims have been reached," he said.

"If the aim is to is to deal a very heavy blow to Hamas's armed wing and damage its future ability to recover and become strong again ... there is no doubt that the army must continue this campaign."  

Truce in waiting

Meanwhile, Israel was holding mediation efforts at bay.

"We are not addressing any (truce) offer," an Israeli official said.

"The goal of Operation Protective Edge was and remains to return the quiet to Israel for a long period, while dealing a significant blow to Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.

"This goal will be reached either militarily or diplomatically."

Informed Israeli officials played down Egypt's part in any attempts to bring about a ceasefire, despite Cairo's traditional role as mediator in previous truce agreements between Israel and Hamas.

"Right now the Egyptians are in the picture but they are somewhat reluctant to play a practical role given their own internal challenges," former peace negotiator Michael Herzog told reporters, noting the bitter relationship between the current Cairo government and Hamas.  

Speaking to AFP, an Israeli official described Egyptian involvement until now as "lame".

Although Israel appeared happy to keep truce efforts at arm's length, it appeared in no hurry to launch a ground operation, commentators say.

So far, although over 750 rockets have struck Israel and another 200 shot down, no Israelis have been killed - although several have been badly injured and at least one elderly person reportedly died of a heart attack triggered by shock during a missile strike.

But a ground operation would likely change that, with terrorists also seeking to use the opportunity to capture soldiers to use as bargaining chips, as happened with Gilad Shalit - a soldier held in Gaza for five years whose freedom was bought with the release of over 1,000 jailed terrorists.  

"We see (Hamas) as seeking ways to carry out an attack that would be a victory picture as well as a bargaining chip," the military source said.

Germany: Police Car Broadcasts Anti - Israel Slogans
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamist anti-Israel protesters used a police car's speakers to broadcast messages of hate during a march against Israel's defensive operation in Gaza.

The rally, which took place in the center of Frankfurt on Saturday, was mainly attended by Muslim youths and featured signs reading "Israel kills children" and "Allah is great", alongside more openly anti-Semitic banners such as "You Jews are beasts!"

A large contingent of Turkish immigrants were particularly noticeable, with one woman holding a sign saying "Game Over Israel - Tayyip is coming.." a reference to Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The initial group of 300 demonstrators swelled to a crowd of roughly 2,500, according to the Frankfurter Algemein, and police soon began to lose control, with protesters hurling rocks and bottles at police, who responded with riot-control measures.

But then, in a controversial bid to diffuse the situation, police granted use of one of their own cars to one of the rally's coordinators, who brought the crowd "under control" - by leading them in vitriolic anti-Israel chants and Islamist slogans.

The Algemein said Jewish community leaders were outraged at the move, which comes amid a rise in violent attacks on Jews and pro-Israel activists during similar rallies in France and the US.

Gallup Poll: Majorities of Muslims and Atheists Approve of Obama; Christians Don't
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

While President Barack Obama’s job approval rating was highest, by religion, among Muslims, other non-Christians, Jews, and atheists, his highest job disapproval ratings were among Christians and Mormons -- Catholics, Protestants, and other Christian groups such as Evangelicals.

In the survey, conducted January-June 2014, Gallup asked about Obama’s job approval and disapproval, by religion. While 72% of Muslims and 54% of atheists expressed approval, only 44% of Catholics did, and only 37% of Protestant/Other Christian and 18% of Mormon/Latter-day Saints.

As for those Americans who disapprove of Obama’s job performance, 51% are Catholic; 58% are Protestant/Other Christian; and 78% are Mormon/Latter-day Saints.

“The United States remains a predominantly Christian nation, with roughly half of Americans identifying with a Protestant religion and another quarter identifying as Catholics,” said Gallup. “Thus, the opinions of these Christian groups are by far the most influential in determining Obama's overall ratings.”

“The patterns in Obama's job approval by religion have prevailed throughout his presidency, with Muslim, Jewish, and nonreligious Americans giving him higher ratings, and Mormons and Protestants giving him the lowest ratings,” said Gallup. “Catholics have typically been closest to the national average, but slightly

DOJ Set to Fight Gay - Marriage Bans in Supreme Court
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsABC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Supporters hold a pro-gay marriage rally outside the Utah State Capitol on Jan. 28, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

George Frey/Getty Images

The Justice Department is set to urge the Supreme Court to uphold a lower-court ruling and block states from banning same-sex marriage, Attorney General Eric Holder said.

The nation's top law enforcement official's remarks come just days after Utah officials announced they will ask the Supreme Court to overrule a lower court that concluded gay couples can legally marry in the state.

Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that a state ban on gay marriage, approved by Utah voters in 2004, was unconstitutional, finding that states cannot keep two people from marrying simply because they are of the same sex.

Now the state of Utah is asking the Supreme Court to weigh in, as several other federal appeals courts across the nation consider similar cases that could make their way to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear any of those cases, the Justice Department will file a brief with the court that "will be in support of same-sex marriage," Holder said in a rare interview, sitting down with ABC News' Pierre Thomas.

Holder said the brief would be "consistent with the actions that we have taken over the past couple of years." The Justice Department has refused to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and its legal efforts to extend federal benefits to same-sex couples have been successful.

Those efforts, Holder said, were "vindicated by the Supreme Court," which ruled last year that same-sex couples must receive the same federal benefits as other married people. That ruling in the so-called "Windsor decision," however, did not specifically address whether gay marriage is a constitutional right.

The Supreme Court could rule on that question if it takes up Utah's appeal or any of the similar cases.

Holder said he believes banning same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and he's confident the nation's highest court will agree.

"I think a lot of these measures that ultimately will come before the court will not survive a heightened scrutiny examination," he said.

Holder recently called the struggle for gay rights "a defining civil rights challenge of our time," adding that the gay and lesbian community is waiting for an "unequivocal declaration that separate is inherently unequal."

Can China Defeat America in Battle?
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

In an all-out war between China and America, could China possibly prevail and win? The answer, according to the week.com, suggests that China could win smaller, localized battles such as a battle for Taiwan, but its Achilles heel in a major military confrontation with the United States would be America’s nuclear-powered submarines. 

David Axe, in his article for theweek.com bases this conclusion on the testimony of Lee Fuell (from the U.S. Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center) on January 30th before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington, D.C. According to Fuell, China finally believes that after two decades of sustained military modernization and changes in military strategy over the past year, the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) officers indicate in their writings "a growing confidence within the PLA that they can more readily withstand U.S. involvement."

Axe believes that rather than execute a pre-emptive strike likely to provoke a full-scale American counterattack, Beijing believes it can attack Taiwan or another neighbor while also bloodlessly deterring U.S. intervention. It would do so by deploying such overwhelmingly strong military forces — ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers, jet fighters, and the like-that Washington dare not get involved. 

Such an outcome would, in the words of Roger Cliff, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, “…be tantamount to ceding East Asia (countries like Taiwan, Japan, or the Philippines) to China's domination.” Worse, according to Axe, is that the world's liberal economic order — and indeed, the whole notion of democracy — could suffer irreparable harm, quoting Cliff’s assertion that "The United States has both a moral and a material interest in a world in which democratic nations can survive and thrive." 

According to the report, the Navy has 74 submarines, 60 of which are attack or missile submarines optimized for finding and sinking other ships or blasting land targets. 

The balance is ballistic-missile boats that carry nuclear missiles and would not routinely participate in military campaigns short of an atomic World War III. 33 of the attack and missile boats belong to the Pacific Fleet, with major bases in Washington State, California, Hawaii, and Guam. When deployed, Pacific subs frequently stop over in Japan and South Korea and occasionally even venture under the Arctic ice. 

Based on quoted military sources, U.S. submarines are concluded on average to be greatest in number besides being bigger, faster, quieter, and more powerful than the rest of the world's submarines. 

Axe also alludes to America's superior submarine strategy and skill based on Cliff’s testimony: “…eight-at-a-time submarine picket in or near Chinese waters could be equally destructive to Chinese military plans, especially considering the PLA's limited anti-submarine skills…its ability to find and sink U.S. submarines will be extremely limited for the foreseeable future…those submarines would likely be able to intercept and sink Chinese amphibious transports as they transited toward Taiwan."

Axe further suggests that in practical military terms, the Pentagon can therefore more or less ignore most of China's military capabilities, including those that appear to threaten traditional U.S. advantages in nukes, air warfare, mechanized ground operations, and surface naval maneuvers. Supported by the submarines, American attack boats have the potential to destroy all of China's major amphibious ships — and with them, Beijing's capacity for invading Taiwan or seizing a disputed island.

Andrew Erickson, a Naval War College analyst believes that another factor that is expected to work towards U.S military advantage over China is the perceived unsustainability of its economic growth, coupled with the burdens of its ageing population demographic that “will probably divert spending from both military development and the economic growth that sustains it."

Other U.S military analysts are however not so optimistic that perceptions of U.S military superiority will deter China from attacking U.S interests. For example, earlier this year, James Fanell, deputy chief of staff for Intelligence and Information Operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, reportedly warned that China’s PLA Navy has developed into a fighting force that posed a significant threat to U.S. interests.

In addition, a recent report covered in Prophecy News Watch indicated that China’s belligerent behavior in the East and South China Seas suggests that she is not as impressed by U.S naval capacities to retaliate or defend herself or her allies. It would seem that, rather than being driven by recklessness or ignorance, China may have instead calculated that it has enough political advantage over Obama to risk “playing chicken.”

According to Hugh White in his recent article in the Huffington Post China’s confidence reflects two key judgments by its leaders:

1. They believe that China's new anti-access/area denial capabilities can deny America a quick and easy victory in a maritime clash in the East Asian littoral waters, without provoking a full-scale war. This confidence is based on China's leader’s belief that their U.S. counterparts know that they can neither win nor limit such a war against China today.

2. Beijing believes the balance of resolve is on China's side and that Washington understands this imbalance of resolve. That makes the Chinese confident that U.S. leaders will not assume that China would back down first in a crisis.

Other reports also indicate a massive ongoing effort by China to enhance its military capabilities. China’s military budget is now set to surpass the combined budgets of Britain, France and Germany. 

In contrast, the U.S is known to be cutting down on military expenditure – to dangerous levels, according to critics. Planned defense cuts announced earlier this year intended to reduce U.S. ground forces to their lowest level since World War II at a time when world threats are increasing. 

Earlier this year, Defense secretary Chuck Hagel outlined the dramatic reductions in a briefing for reporters at the Pentagon. They include significant cuts in Navy shipbuilding and Air Force aircraft purchases, and a 20 percent reduction in Army ground forces. Proposed Naval cuts included the following:

• For the Navy, 11 aircraft carrier strike groups were to be retained but the USS George Washington will be retired in 2016, leaving 10 carrier groups;

• Eleven warships—half of the Navy’s cruiser fleet—were to be taken offline or placed in a reduced operating status while they are upgraded; 

• Navy plans for Littoral Combat Ships, designed for mine-sweeping and anti-submarine warfare near coasts, were being limited to 32 ships, amid concerns the warships would not survive against advanced Chinese weaponry.

• Marine Corps cuts would include further planned reductions from the current level of 190,000 Marines to 182,000 Marines, with a further cut to 175,000 after 2016.

Are the effects of these cutbacks now being reflected, if only in part, in the increased Chinese aggression and confidence in East and South Asia? 

Russia, China not to mention terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS are anxiously waiting in the wings to defeat or fight for the spoils of the nation that once prided itself on being one nation under God: The United States of America.

BIS: Ultra Low Interest Rates Could Make Global Economy Permanently Unstable
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Mr Borio said policies were needed to "tame the financial cycle" and lean against financial booms rather than just "ease aggressively and persistently during busts" Photo: Alamy

BIS Chief Fears Fresh Lehman from Worldwide Debt Surge
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Jaime Caruana is head of the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements Photo: EPA

 

Arab Foreign Ministers in 'Urgent' Meeting on Gaza
Jul 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Arab League

Reuters

Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo on Monday to discuss the escalating Israeli counter-terror operation in Gaza.

Kuwait, which holds the rotating leadership of the Arab League headquartered in Cairo, had demanded an “urgent” meeting to discuss the fighting in Gaza, a diplomat said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians and their international supporters are discussing a UN draft resolution that would condemn all violence against civilians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and call for "an immediate, durable and fully respected cease-fire."

An initial draft of the proposed Security Council resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, expresses "grave concern" at the escalating violence and deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories due to Israeli military operations, particularly against Gaza, and at the heavy civilian casualties including children.

It makes no mention of the dozens of missiles fired daily by Hamas against Israeli civilians.

The Palestinian draft calls on the parties in the conflict to abide by their obligations under the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in war, to refrain from actions that could further destabilize the situation and to make urgent efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement based on a two-state solution.

The Palestinians began talks on the resolution after an emergency meeting of the council on Thursday.

"There's a lot of diplomacy going on right now to achieve our shared goal, which is a reduction in tensions and ensuring the safety and security of civilians on both sides," a U.S. official said. "And we've engaged with Security Council delegations on this."