Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Unbelievably Disturbing Obama Thanks Muslims for Building the Very Fabric of Our Nation
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsThe White House
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

As Muslims throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to them and their families.  This last month has been a time of fasting, reflection, spiritual renewal, and service to the less fortunate.  While Eid marks the completion of Ramadan, it also celebrates the common values that unite us in our humanity and reinforces the obligations that people of all faiths have to each other, especially those impacted by poverty, conflict, and disease.

In the United States, Eid also reminds us of the many achievements and contributions of Muslim Americans to building the very fabric of our nation and strengthening the core of our democracy.  That is why we stand with people of all faiths, here at home and around the world, to protect and advance their rights to prosper, and we welcome their commitment to giving back to their communities.

On behalf of the Administration, we wish Muslims in the United States and around the world a blessed and joyous celebration.  Eid Mubarak.

U.S. Federal Appeals Court Upholds Judge's Ruling That Gay Marriage Ban is Unconstitutional
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsBrandon Sun
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Enlarge Image

FILE- In this Feb. 4, 2014 file photo, plaintiff in the Bostic v. Rainey case, Tony London, waves to the crowd as he and his partner, Tim Bostic, right, leave Federal Court after a hearing on Virginia's ban on gay marriage in Norfolk, Va. Virginia's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, July 28, 2014 in a decision that could overturn similar prohibitions in the Carolinas and West Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, one of more than 20 legal decisions around the country favouring gay marriage proponents since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the Defence of Marriage Act last year.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond is the second federal appellate court to overturn gay marriage bans, after the Denver circuit, and is the first to affect the South, where states' rights have held particular sway for generations.

More than 70 cases have been filed in all 31 states that prohibit same-sex marriage. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia allow such marriages.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper quickly announced Monday that his office will stop defending his state's ban, saying, it is "time to stop making arguments we will likely lose." But a spokesman for South Carolina's attorney general, Alan Wilson, said he sees no need to change course.

Cooper joins a growing number of top state lawmen, including Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, who have refused to defend their state bans.

"I am proud that the Commonwealth of Virginia is leading on one of the most important civil rights issues of our day," Herring said. "We are fighting for the right of loving, committed couples to enter the bonds of marriage."

In Monday's 2-1 opinion in Virginia, the judges ruled that Virginia's constitutional and statutory provisions barring gay marriage and denying recognition of such unions performed in other states violate the U.S. Constitution. The defendants are likely to ask for the ruling to be stayed pending more appeals to the full 4th circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court; otherwise, marriage licenses to same-sex couples could begin to be issued in 21 days.

Virginians voted 57 per cent to 43 per cent in 2006 to amend their constitution to ban gay marriage. Virginia laws prohibit recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. Writing for the 2-1 majority, Judge Henry F. Floyd said Virginia's bans "impermissibly infringe on its citizens' fundamental right to marry."

Three more federal appeals of gay marriage rulings are coming up: The 6th Circuit in Cincinnati will hear arguments on Aug. 6 for Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The 7th Circuit in Chicago is set for arguments on Aug. 26 and the 9th Circuit in San Francisco for Sept. 8.

The many rulings give the U.S. Supreme Court plenty of options to take up gay marriage again in its next term, beginning in October.

The 4th Circuit decision also will apply to other states in the circuit when the decision becomes final in 21 days, providing that the court does not issue a stay at the request of the supporters of Virginia's gay marriage ban, said James Esseks, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. Maryland, one of the states in the circuit, already allows same-sex marriages.

In February, U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen ruled that Virginia's same-sex marriage ban violates the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and due process guarantees. Lawyers for two circuit court clerks whose duties include issuing marriage licenses appealed. Attorney General Mark Herring, representing a state official also named as a defendant, sided with the plaintiffs.

Family Foundation of Virginia President Victoria Cobb, who had not fully read the entire ruling, said the court "ignored all the facts and evidence that the government's only interest in marriage is that kids, whenever possible, have a mom and a dad."

The Virginia lawsuit was filed by Timothy Bostic and Tony London, who were denied a marriage license, and Carol Schall and Mary Townley. The women were married in California and wanted their marriage recognized in Virginia, where they are raising a 16-year-old daughter.

U.S. Ambassador: Tape of 'Obama - Netanyahu Conversation' Fabricated
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Dan Shapiro (file)

Flash90

The United States' Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, has emphatically rejected the authenticity of an audio tape released Tuesday night, said to be a leaked recording of a conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, in which the US President reportedly sought to aggressively push an unfavorable ceasefire on Israel.

"Have seen reports of an alleged Obama-Netanyahu transcript; neither reports nor alleged transcript bear any resemblance to reality," Ambassador Shapiro posted on his official Twitter account.

"Shocking and disappointing someone would sink to misrepresenting a private convo between POTUS and PM in fabrications to Israeli press," he added in another.

U.S. Ally Underwriting Jihadist Expansion Into Africa
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Middle East and Africa analysts say there is a growing wave of militant Islamic activity in sub-Saharan Africa that is being funded by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia.

Hussein Solomon, University of the Free State professor and analyst for the Israel-based think tank Research on Islam and Muslims in Africa, said the expansion of jihad into sub-Saharan Africa is bad news for Christians and other groups who don’t embrace the radicalism.

“We’re going to see more pastors and priests get killed and more churches being burned,” he said. “Because of this, there will be more attacks on churches. There will be more attacks on interfaith groups as well. The radicals are creating hard dichotomies between black and white, between ‘us’ and ‘them.’”

Central African countries are particularly vulnerable, he said, because religious identities reinforce ethnic identities.

Solomon said it’s not just Nigeria, pointing to increased activity in countries such as Tanzania. Mozambique will likely be the next target, he said.

IntelligenceCommunity.com and Consultancy Africa Intelligence analyst Maha Hamdan said the Saudis are deeply involved in the growing jihad. They are using their vast oil wealth to pay for non-governmental groups to go head-to-head with Christian non-governmental groups.

“Islamic development work among non-Muslims is performed as a form of Dawah (the Islamic act of inviting conversion) to gain more converts to Islam. These NGOs have focused their work, first of all, on development and relief issues in Sub-Saharan Africa in the name of jihad and the cause of converting more people to Islam,” Hamdan said.

Solomon said the Saudis are paying the tab for the radicalization.

The Saudis’ Wahhabist-Salafist ideology can be seen in Nigeria’s Boko Haram group.

“The founder of Boko Haram set up a group of schools that were being funded by Saudi charities. This network of schools continues to exist, and Boko Haram recruits directly from those schools,” Solomon explained.

He pointed out that Ansar Dine in Mali is aligned with the group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. It’s leader, Iyad ag-Ghaly, was a Malian consular official in Saudi Arabia.

Solomon said al-Shabaab is also the product of Saudi funding and education.

But Western governments have hesitated to address the source of the money.

“No one has wanted to deal with these issues because of the widespread belief that they need Saudi Arabia to counter Iran or whatever the strategy of the day may be,” Solomon said. “The problem is that ordinary people on the ground are going to be suffering.”

Hamdan agrees the Saudis are using their wealth to spread militant Islam.

“The ever-growing conversion to Islam in Africa is due to the intensive activity of Islamic NGOs, such as the Muslim World League, based in Saudi Arabia, World Islamic Call, based in Libya, and other organizations, within the continent,” Hamden said.

“The increase in the number of Islamic NGOs can be largely attributed to financial sponsorship from oil-rich Muslim states in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and North Africa.”

Saudi Wahhabists use “community development projects” to make inroads, she said.

“In Africa, Islamic community development projects go hand-in-hand with Dawah and Islamization projects. The main reason for the Islamic NGOs growing involvement in development matters in Africa is their better ability to reach the rural poor population, than government agencies do.

“These same rural poor are also the main target for Dawah and Islamization projects. The primary missionary feature of the Dawah in Africa has been the training of Muslim teachers, leaders, imams and legal experts, alongside building of mosques and of schools attached to them,” Hamden said.

“Future imams and youth leaders have become increasingly involved with the Islamic NGOs after an initial training in Africa. Then, they have been sent by these NGOs for further education abroad in Islamic institutions, universities, and advanced seminaries.

“It is not surprising to find the version of Islam that has been emphasized by these NGOs is Salafist or Wahhabist or other radical versions as propagated in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States. Saudi Arabia, as well as some Salafi elements in other Gulf States, managed through the finance of relief projects, to turn a marginal Islamic trend of Salafism of the Wahhabi school into a worldwide network,” Hamdan said.

Horowitz Freedom Center fellow, author and Middle East specialist Raymond Ibrahim confirmed Solomon’s concerns and said Christians are the targets of the growing jihadist movement.

“Absolutely. It’s especially true in Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Central African Republic and increasingly Tanzania,” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim said the key to anticipating where militant Islam will have a major impact is to look at the population.

“It’s basically wherever there is a significant Islamic population. However, even in nations where Muslims are the minority, such as Uganda, attacks are certainly not uncommon,” Ibrahim said.

Human rights activist and Shillman-Ginsberg fellow for the Middle East Forum Mark Durie said some Christians have been willing to resist.

“Sometimes Christians have responded to such attacks only with fasting, praying and repentance. Some of these communities no longer exist as Christian,” Durie said.

Ibrahim said there is a familiar pattern of how Islamic movements operate.

“If the Muslims are the majority, for example in Somalia, the Christians and other minorities are being hunted out of existence. Where the populations are split, it’s all-out jihad; Nigeria is a perfect example,” Ibrahim said.

Government officials in these countries need to act to counter the growing threat, Durie urged.

“Christians (and non-Christians) in positions of authority, as in the government, should show strong leadership in resisting insurgent movements using force, but again, avoiding reprisals against non-militants. The strategy of security forces should be to take out key Islamic religious leaders: the sheikhs who inspire, guide and regulate the militants and the flow of religious ideology need to be cut off.

“Special forces should pursue the sheiks through the jungles and deserts if need be, as the highest strategic goal in getting the conflict under control,” Durie said.

Corruption of African governments is widespread, and Solomon noted it’s a major reason military solutions are frequently not enough to fight the spread of jihad.

“The people who want to stop this need to look at the ideology being followed,” he said.

They also need to reform the states in these countries and fight corruption in the governments,” he said. Because of the corruption, millions of dollars go missing every day.

“The French fought al-Qaida in Mali with the military. The U.S. is giving aid to Nigeria, and there are others. The problem is the corruption in those countries that may end up giving the governments there a greater ability to oppress their own people,” Solomon said.

Durie added that Christians should get involved in the process and become pro-active.

“Christians should reach out and form strong relationships with non-militant Muslims in their neighborhoods. They should also resist the temptation to respond to attacks with collective punishment, e.g. if Fulani militants attack your village, that is no reason to launch a reprisal on non-militant Fulanis,” Durie said.

Durie said sometimes violence works against the Muslims’cause.

“Another factor which is significant is that as militancy increases, so also does disenchantment with Islam. More moderate Muslims suffer under radical Islamic rule. Christians, while being willing to fight for their security, should also be ready to witness to Christ,” Durie said.

Durie is optimistic. He said that some of the sub-Saharan regions are seeing a turnaround because of Islamic violence.

“Some of the areas of sub-Saharan Africa you refer to are also notable for significant numbers of Muslims becoming Christians, and in some countries where disenchantment with Islam has ripened, after many years of radical leadership, e.g. Iran, conversions are taking place in vast numbers. So this is potentially a significant factor in bringing lasting change,” Durie said.

U.S. Accuses Russia of Violating 1987 Missile Treaty
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Obama administration has accused Russia of violating a 1987 nuclear missile treaty by testing a ground-launched cruise missile and says the U.S. is prepared for immediate high-level dialogue with Moscow over the matter. 

An administration official told Fox News in a statement that the violation "is a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now." The New York Times first reported the accusation. 

President Obama informed Russian President Vladimir Putin in a letter Monday of the U.S.'  determination that Russia broke the agreement. The official said the U.S. is prepared to engage in "senior-level bilateral dialogue immediately" with Russia with the goal of assuring Washington that Moscow will return to compliance with the treaty.

"The United States is committed to the viability of the I.N.F. Treaty," the official said. "We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the Treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable manner."

According to the Times, Russia started testing the missiles as early as 2008, and the Obama administration flagged them as a possible violation at the end of 2011. 

Russian officials have said they looked into the allegations and consider the matter closed. 

Obama's most senior advisors recently unanimously agreed that the tests was a serious violation of the treaty, the Times reported. The State Department will publicly reveal the accusation in an annual report on compliance with arms control agreements Tuesday.

The treaty confrontation comes at a highly strained time between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia's intervention in Ukraine. 

In raising the issue now, the U.S. appears to be placing increased pressure on Russia and trying to further isolate it from the international community. The European Union and the United States plan to announce new sanctions against Russia this week in the face of U.S. evidence that Russia has continued to assist separatist forces in Ukraine.

The public finding comes in the wake of congressional pressure on the White House to confront Russia over the allegations of cheating on the treaty. The treaty, which President Ronald Reagan signed with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned all U.S. and Russian land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 300 miles and 3,400 miles.

Obama, who has made nuclear disarmament a key foreign policy aim, has little interest in having Russia pull out of the treaty altogether. Obama won Senate ratification of a New START treaty, which took effect in February 2011 and requires the U.S. and Russia to reduce the number of their strategic nuclear weapons to no more than 1,550 by February 2018.

Obama last year announced that he wants to cut the number of U.S. nuclear arms by another third and that he would "seek negotiated cuts" with Russia, a goal now complicated by the accusation of a missile treaty violation.

The Obama administration has informed Congress and U.S. allies of its decision to seek Russian compliance.

The TV Cameras Responsible for Civilian Deaths in Gaza
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

I write this as a member of the press. I’m proud to be a journalist and a documentary filmmaker. I’m a member of the Foreign Press Association in Israel, and the co-recipient of this year’s Edward R. Murrow Award from the American Overseas Press Club. I say this off the top because I’m not an outsider pointing my finger at the media. Every year, journalists sacrifice their lives in war zones so as to keep us informed and protect freedom of the press, a cornerstone of democracy. 

But the fact is that when it comes to Israel, the media has acted irresponsibly. Good journalism has been replaced by politically correct misreporting, and one of the net results is that Palestinian civilians, including children, are paying with their lives. How so?

There is no group that can be more evil, in the narrowest sense of the word, than the rulers of the Gaza strip, Hamas. They are openly anti-democratic, anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Western. The list continues. These are the people who distributed candies, danced in the street and openly celebrated after 9/11.

I simply don’t know what else they could do to make Westerners dislike them. For good measure, they are anti-Palestinian nationalism. They don’t believe in a Palestinian state. They believe that “statehood” is a Western invention. They also believe in the destruction of the Jewish state as a step toward an international Islamic Republic. And yet, despite all of this, they are portrayed as freedom fighters by much of the international media.

The Western press has taught them that if they turn their children into props, they will win the propaganda war against Israel. In today’s media war, you need a good prop. Israeli Cabinet minister Naftali Bennett understood this when he faced CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. When she repeatedly used the term “occupied territories” to refer to parts of the ancient land of Israel, Bennett was ready. He pulled out a 2000-year-old coin that says “Zion” on it. 

He held it to the camera and asked something like, “I’m a Jew. How can I be ‘occupying’ Zion? How can I occupy my own land?” His point was “I’m not an occupier, I’m indigenous”, and he used an ancient coin as a prop for an audience with a limited attention span. It worked.

Turkish prime-minister Erdogan also understands that in today’s media war you need props. In 2010, the boat called the “Mavi Marmara” was just such a prop. From a PR point of view, it was a relatively cheap trick. You get a boat, you fill it with what Lenin called “useful idiots”, i.e. well-meaning politically-correct members of the bourgeoisie, espousing half-baked ideas. Then into the mix you insert a dozen jihadists ready to kill and be killed – and you’ve got yourself a media circus of incredible proportions. 

The Mavi Marmara incident involved a “ship of fools” which tried to run Israel’s sea blockade around Gaza. Ostensibly they were bringing humanitarian aid, but humanitarian aid can be delivered without any problems. It’s missiles that are a problem. So when Israeli commandos armed with paintball guns so as not to hurt anyone boarded the ship, they were attacked by jihadists wielding axes and knives. The commandos called for help. The jihadists were killed. 

But they had won the prop war. My fellow journalists portrayed the jihadists as victims and the Israelis as oppressors. The anti-Israel forces got billions of dollars worth of free publicity, and Turkish-Israeli relations were damaged almost beyond repair. None of this would’ve happened if there hadn’t been a prop that the cameramen could point their cameras at. The boat was the prop. Now it’s the children.

Hamas has understood what the ideology of terror has clearly espoused for over a hundred years. When attacking a democracy, the terrorist has to put it in a quandary. The way to do that is to force the democracy to kill civilians. So if you set up your terror-base under a school or a hospital, you’ve got it made in the shade. You launch missiles, for example, against Israel. Now the Israelis have a choice. Either they don’t respond, in which case the terror mounts in the face of ongoing impotence, or they do respond, in which case you’re going to have civilian deaths and dramatic pictures for the West’s nightly news. 

Basically, the Western media has taught Hamas that it doesn’t matter how downright evil you are. It doesn’t matter if you launch two thousand missiles at civilian targets, including the airport. It doesn’t matter if you use your own children as human shields. You’ll get the coverage you want if CNN, BBC et al. have props to point their cameras at. Our form of news-gathering has taught Hamas to turn their children into those props, and to sacrifice them on the altar of Jihad. By misreporting, our media has encouraged the bad guys to kill their own children, and has dragged Israel into a war it did not want. 

Nissim Sean Carmeli was a 21 year old soldier in Golani, Israel’s marines. He emigrated here from Texas. Until a few years ago, he went to the high school around the corner from my house. He had plans to go to university, meet a girl, start a family. When a few weeks ago Hamas started raining hundreds of rockets down on Israeli civilians, nobody wanted to send Sean and his friends into Gaza. As in Afghanistan, that would involve house to house fighting with a ruthless enemy who knows the terrain and has booby trapped every passage. 

It would have been very easy for the Israeli Air Force to simply level entire blocks of Hamas dominated neighborhoods. Americans have done this with impunity in Iraq and Afghanistan. But since Hamas plants its terror network beneath schools, hospitals and mosques, such a bombing mission would have involved high Palestinian casualties. So Israel decided not to level Gaza and send Sean in. He died so as to minimize Palestinian losses. 

I just came back from where his family is sitting Shiva, the Jewish custom of mourning. There were no anti-Arab speeches, no signs of militarism, just the tremendous grief of parents burying a child. As a journalist, I sat there and hung my head in shame, overwhelmed by the simple truth that while journalists feign concern for Palestinian kids, they are actually creating the environment for their deaths. In the meantime, Israelis like Sean are paying with their lives to avoid the very deaths they are being blamed for.

Senior IDF Officer: We Achieved Our Goals
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

A senior IDF officer said on Tuesday with respect to Operation Protective Edge that “We have achieved the goals defined for us.”

According to the officer, “The diplomatic Cabinet needs to decide whether to advance the operation or to retreat from Gaza.”

Poll: Overwhelming Support for IDF Operation, Netanyahu
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

IDF in Gaza (illustrative)

Flash90

Ninety-one percent (91%) of Israeli Jews support Israel's self-defense campaign against terrorism in Gaza, Operation Protective Edge, according to a survey published Monday - and just 4.2% believe the operation is a "mistake."

Over 1,000 people were polled by Dr. Yuval Feinstein, a Sociology and Political Science researcher at University of Haifa, on their opinions regarding the operation and other current events. All participants were Israeli, Jewish, and over 18. 

The survey also revealed that 85% of respondents would only support a cease-fire agreement if Israel eliminated every Hamas rocket and destroyed the full network of terror tunnels before agreeing to do so. 

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Israeli Jews polled "very strongly support" Operation Protective Edge's airstrikes on Gaza; 17% "support" the airstrikes; and 4.5% had "weak support" for the airstrikes. Just 1.5% of respondents opposed the airstrikes on Gaza.

Similarly, 50% "strongly support" the IDF's ground offensive in Gaza; 28% "support" the ground campaign and 14% have "weak support" for the campaign. By contrast, only 9% of respondents oppose sending ground troops into Gaza. 

Eighty-two percent (82%) of respondents "strongly disagree" with the statement "Israel launching Operation Protective Edge was a mistake"; 11% only "slightly disagree." Just 7% of respondents "agree" or "strongly agree" with that statement. 

As to the operation's success, 74% of respondents overall believe the IDF is "achieving its goals" in Gaza; of those, 23% "very strongly agree" and 51% "strongly agree." Just 22.5% of respondents were neutral on the issue and only 3% believe the operation is failing. 

Ninety-five percent (95%) of respondents said the operation has "made them proud of the IDF, the State of Israel, and the Jewish people," and only 2% disagreed with that statement. 

Respondents were also questioned on events surrounding the many protests for and against the operation over the past several weeks, which have seen protestors arrested in Tel Aviv and Haifa. 

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of respondents "strongly agree" to the suggestion that protests against the IDF should be outlawed; 17% agreed. In addition, nearly half - 49% - of respondents believed that anti-IDF protestors should be tried for treason against the State. 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has a very high approval rating, according to the survey: 65% are "very satisfied" with Netanyahu's handling of the operation, 20% are "satisfied" with his leadership and only 10% are "not satisfied" with the Prime Minister.

A surprising third (34%) of respondents also said that Israeli Arabs "cannot be trusted" and are "a security risk," vs. just 12% who insist that they "can be trusted" and 15% who believe they "are not a security risk." 

Despite all of the above, the majority of respondents still insist that Israel must implement a "Two-State Solution" for peace - some 42%. Just 20% of respondents preferred the crowning of Jordan as a Palestinian state and only 10% agreed to any form of annexation for Judea-Samaria and Gaza. 

PLO Announces: 72 - Hour Ceasefire
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, announced Tuesday a 72-hour unilateral ceasefire by the Palestinians. The ceasefire will supposedly to go into force immediately and has received the approval of Hamas.

Channel 2's veteran Arab affairs analyst Ehud Yaari said that Abed Rabbo is "a serious person" and that an announcement of this nature probably has substance behind it.

Obama Considers Large - Scale Move on Immigration
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsCBS News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House with Arne Duncan, U.S. education secretary, from left, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Sally Jewell, U.S. secretary of the interior secretary, on July 1, 2014 in Washington, DC. Obama said yesterday he'll go it alone on changing U.S. immigration rules because House Republicans won't act. (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images

WASHINGTON -- White House officials are making plans to act before November's midterm elections to grant work permits to potentially millions of immigrants in this country illegally.

The move could scramble election-year politics and lead some conservative Republicans to push for impeachment proceedings against President Barack Obama.

Advocates and lawmakers who've been in touch with the administration say officials are weighing a range of options including changes in the deportation system and ways to grant relief from deportation to targeted populations in the country.

Play Video

That might include parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen children - which could be around 3.8 million people - or parents of immigrants brought here illegally as kids who've already received executive relief from Obama. That could be an additional 500,000 to 1 million people.

Obama recently put a $3.7 billion proposal on the table to provide resources for additional border security and additional immigration judges to deal with an increasing number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border from Central America. Last week, he urged Congress to pass his proposal, saying "we need action and less talk."

"It is my hope [that Congress] will not leave town for the month of August for their vacations without doing something to solve this problem," Obama said.

Several Republicans have expressed interest in including a provision in the funding to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) -- the program that Mr. Obama enacted in 2012 to allow certain undocumented youths to stay in the country legally (temporarily) if they meet certain requirements. However, it's unclear whether many GOP members would insist on including this provision in any bill.

A bipartisan coalition of senators passed a reform bill last June that would extend an earned path to citizenship to some undocumented immigrants, throw considerably more security resources at the border, and strengthen domestic enforcement of immigration laws.

House Republican leaders refused to take up the Senate bill, and though some smaller bills targeting border security and visas for skilled workers have passed through the House Judiciary Committee, nothing has reached the House floor.

GOP leaders tried earlier this year to rally their caucus around a bill that would confer citizenship on those who have served in the military, but even that proved too heavy a lift for the fractious Republican conference. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., even lost his seat to a conservative challenger in a stunning primary upset last month that some blamed on his support for the measure.

Obama Administration Fuming Over Israeli Criticism of Kerry
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsNewsMax
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

North Korea Threatens Nuclear Strike on White House
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsDefense News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is seated July 28 during a performance given by the State Merited Chorus at the People's Theatre in Pyongyang. (AFP)

Military Bars Troops from Attending Vacation Bible School Honor
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Bible Baptist Church in Carthage, Missouri is a small country church bursting with American pride. Old Glory is posted in the sanctuary. And every morning at summer youth camp, the teenagers pledge allegiance and sing the national anthem.

Patriotic holidays are big doings at Bible Baptist. On Memorial Day, the church ladies put out quite a spread – fried chicken, potato salad. Veterans would wear their uniforms and the preacher would salute them during the morning worship service.

“We are a very patriotic church,” Pastor Kent Hogan told me. “We love America. We love this country.”

So it was not that big of a surprise when the church decided to honor the military during their annual Vacation Bible School. The theme was “God’s Rescue Squad.” And each day of the week, the church invited local “rescue squads” to visit with the boys and girls.

The paramedics came on Monday and on Tuesday, the fire department showed up. The boys and girls were taught how to stop, drop and roll. On Wednesday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Dept. brought their K-9 unit..

But our story picks up with what happened on Thursday. That was the day when the church was supposed to honor the National Guard. They had invited troops from the nearby armory to drop by with one of their Humvees.

“We were going to thank them for protecting our religious liberty,” said Pastor Hogan. “It was more of a promotion for the military – to show the kids what the military does.”

But the National Guard did not visit Bible Baptist Church on Thursday night, and the reason why has caused great anger and frustration among church members.

“We were told it was against military policy for National Guard troops to participate in Vacation Bible School,” Pastor Hogan said. “They said if the National Guard had assets on church property it would look like the National Guard is sponsoring the Baptist religion.”

Pastor Hogan said he was dumbfounded.

“We are right in the middle of the United States of America,” the pastor said. “We are part of the Bible Belt. You read about this stuff going on in big cities. But in Carthage?”

The pastor said the military was concerned about people getting offended by the sight of National Guard troops visiting a church.

“They said they didn’t want to offend anybody. Well, it’s offended our whole church.”

So Pastor Hogan reached out to his state representative – a Republican named Mike Kelley. Kelley then called the adjunct general of the Missouri National Guard.

“They told me that federal policy prohibits them from doing anything with any specific church,” Kelley said. “The guys on the state level did everything they could. I have great respect for our local Missouri National Guard. But we are dealing with an over-burdensome federal regulation.”

The Missouri National Guard did not return my calls for comment – but it doesn’t matter. Kelley sent me a copy of the Army regulation.

It states: “Army participation must not selectively benefit (or appear to benefit) any person, group, or corporation (whether profit or nonprofit); religion, sect, religious or sectarian group, or quasi-religious or ideological movement.”

The policy also states that troops are to avoid any activities that might involve or appear to involve the promotion, endorsement, or sponsorship of any religious or sectarian movement.

Rep. Kelley told me he is incredibly disappointed with the federal policy and feels especially bad for the church.

“He (Pastor Hogan) basically got blown off by the federal government,” Kelley said.

Several members of the Missouri National Guard told me they were disgusted by what happened. They only agreed to be quoted provided I not disclose their identities.

“I can tell you I’m ashamed and embarrassed right now,” one Guardsman said. ‘This isn’t the military I signed up for.”

Other soldiers said it was extremely disappointing and embarrassing.

“We had a lot of disappointed kiddos because of the National Guard being unwilling to allow a Humvee and a few soldiers to spend an hour at a Baptist Church,” another Guardsman said. “It makes we wonder what I’m actually fighting for.”

But I believe this soldier’s observations and analysis truly sum up our nation’s current state of affairs.

“I will never understand why it’s okay for the military to march in a gay pride parade but not be allowed to spend an hour talking to children who look up to them (soldiers),” the Guardsman said. “I honestly never thought I’d see the day that this would happen in my hometown.”

In June, the Department of Defense gave permission for a military color guard to march in Washington, D.C.’s gay pride parade. It marked the first time in history the U.S. Army Military District of Washington participated in the parade.

Pastor Hogan said the entire incident is both appalling and ludicrous.

“I don’t think most Americans realize how much their religious liberty is in jeopardy,” he said. “If they did this to us – how bad is it somewhere else? This is not just a big city issue. This is a small town America issue. Americans need to wake up.”

Welcome to the age of enlightenment, Pastor Hogan - where the military can march in a gay pride parade but they can’t hang out with six-year-olds at Vacation Bible School.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

More Americans blame Hamas over Israel for violence, poll finds
About 4 in 10 Americans say that Hamas is most responsible for the violence while 2 in 10 put most of the responsibility on Israel, the new survey by the Pew Research Center shows. An additional 14% of respondents blamed both sides and about 3 in 10 said they did not know.  

N. Korea threatens nuclear strike on White House
A top-ranking North Korean military official has threatened a nuclear strike on the White House and Pentagon after accusing Washington of raising military tensions on the Korean peninsula.  

Russia has violated arms treaty by testing cruise missile: US
The United States has found that Russia violated a 1987 arms control treaty by testing a ground-launched cruise missile, a senior US official said late Monday, calling the matter "very serious." The finding comes in a 2014 report that concluded Russia was in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which barred it from possessing, producing or flight-testing such cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, the official told AFP.  

Iranian vessels cleared for oil exports
Iranian vessels are the only ones capable of delivering Iranian crude oil to international customers, an executive at the National Iranian Oil Co. said. Mohsen Qamsari, director of international affairs at the company, said foreign carriers are wary of carrying Iranian crude because of insurance issues.  

Ebola can spread like 'forest fire,' US warns
The deadly Ebola virus can spread like a forest fire, US health authorities said Monday, urging travelers to West Africa to take extra precautions amid the largest outbreak in history.  

Israeli Leader Sees No Quick End to Gaza War
An informal lull between Israel and Hamas timed for the start of a Muslim holiday collapsed into deadly violence on Monday and Israel’s prime minister signaled no quick end to the three-week-old Gaza war, advising Israelis that “patience and determination” were needed.  

Leftist MK Dismisses Calls to Retake Gaza As 'Cheap Populism'
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Zehava Galon

Flash 90

Meretz Chairman Zehava Galon heavily criticized ministers who are pushing for an expansion of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza on Tuesday, claiming that to continue the self-defense campaign - or retake Gaza - would harm Israel's security.

"It is precisely because of the terrible loss of soldiers and our international legitimacy, which is gradually fading against the backdrop of destruction and casualties in Gaza, that ministers must remember that they are dealing with lives, not another speech for Likud," Galon fired.

"The ultimate goal isn't popularity or cheap populism, but to maximize our security with minimal losses," she added. 

Early on in the operation, Galon accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of "warmongering", saying, "we know that there is a heavy price of blood for those who live by the sword, even when you are on the side that holds the bigger sword."

Throughout the offensive, she has called for the IDF to accept a cease-fire with Hamas, claiming Israel "has no exit strategy" in Gaza.

She has also accused Israel of being involved in a "killing spree" against Palestinian Arabs, buying into Hamas's claims that most of the over 1,000 people killed are civilians instead of terrorists. 

Meanwhile, ministers have become increasingly vocal about retaking Gaza - with even Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) admitting last week that "all options" are on the table. 

The most vocal calls have come from Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who has said time and time again that the only way to eliminate the rocket attacks is take over Gaza.

Former Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror made similar comments several weeks ago.

"We’ve never had a crushing blow that hurt the other side’s the ability to launch missiles," Amidror said, adding that he believes the only way to achieve complete quiet is to "retake Gaza and be there for six months to a year to clean it out."

John Kerry and White House Fire Back At Scathing Criticism of Failed U.S. Ceasefire Plan
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsNational Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

AP Photo/Cliff OwenU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry: “Any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and all terrorist groups.”

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration pushed back strongly Monday at a torrent of Israeli criticism over Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest bid to secure a ceasefire with Hamas, accusing some in Israel of launching a “misinformation campaign” against the top American diplomat.

“It’s simply not the way partners and allies treat each other,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Her comments were echoed by the White House, where officials said they were disappointed by Israeli reports that cast Kerry’s efforts to negotiate a ceasefire as more favourable to Hamas. Tony Blinken, President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said the criticism was based on “people leaking things that are either misinformed or attempting to misinform.”

Kerry himself, in a speech to the Center for American Progress, noted the criticism but did not give ground.

“Make no mistake, when the people of Israel are rushing to bomb shelters, when innocent Israeli and Palestinian teenagers are abducted and murdered, when hundreds of innocent civilians have lost their lives, I will and we will make no apologies for our engagement,” he said.

Iran: Hezbollah Can Fire Rockets 'Nonstop' At Israel
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hezbollah military parade

Reuters

Iranian officials are closely studying the progress of Operation Protective Edge, in light of concern over Israel airstrikes on its nuclear facilities and its ongoing quest to destroy Israel.

Hossein Salami G'anshin, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, said in this context that the war in Gaza is an introduction prior to the collapse of Israel, noting that Hezbollah has become a very powerful factor that can launch missiles "non-stop" on all the cities of Israel. 

The Naval commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Fadawi, said at a meeting with senior officers that following the war, the Iranian army should place emphasis on strengthening deterrence and defense capabilities in order to bring down Israel.

According to Fadawi, the Iranian army closely monitors the IDF's activities and is engaged in the development of plans for the protection of Iranian assets in accordance with Israeli "threats" and the different possible scenarios.

Fadawi added that the information gathered from the "enemy" for the Iranian army is one of the factors helping build Tehran's deterrence and towards realizing the capabilities of Iran.

Iran recently stated that it provided "rocket technology" to Hamas before the current conflict, denying that it provided the actual rockets but claiming it provided data and research. 

Iran has provided Hamas and Islamic Jihad with long-range missiles such as the Fajr-5 and M302.

Earlier this year, Israeli naval commandos seized the Klos C ship, and discovered weapons including long-range rockets destined for terrorist groups in Gaza.

Despite its active role in providing the rockets raining down on Israeli population centers, Iran condemned the IDF operation aiming to stop the rockets as "savage aggression" earlier this month.

Iran has also been explicitly linked with Hezbollah and has been accused of using the group to further its aims in war-torn Syria.

In Leaked Tape, Hostile Obama Tries to Force Pm to Accept Truce
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Barack Obama in Jerusalem

Flash 90

Damning evidence has emerged of US President Barack Obama's dismissal of Israel's position in favor of supporting the position of Hamas and its allies during ceasefire talks.

A "senior US official" leaked an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Channel One. In it the 35-minute conversation, which took place on Sunday, the US President appears downright hostile at points, and even cuts off Netanyahu in the middle of his protestations over a one-sided truce proposal which would have seen Hamas receive all its key demands, but that Israel ultimately rejected.

The following is an excerpt of the conversation, published in Hebrew by Channel One:

Obama: I demand that Israel agrees to an immediate, unilateral ceasefire and halt all offensive activities - particularly airstrikes.

Netanyahu: What will Israel receive in return for a ceasefire?

Obama: I believe that Hamas will stop firing rockets - silence will be met with silence.

Netanyahu: Hamas violated all five previous ceasefires, it is a terrorist organization which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

Obama: I repeat and expect Israel to unilaterally stop all its military activity. The pictures of destruction from Gaza distance the world from Israel's position.

Netanyahu: Kerry's proposal was completely unrealistic and gives Hamas the military and diplomatic advantage.

Obama: Within a week of the end of Israel's military activities, Qatar and Turkey will begin negotiations with Hamas on the basis of the 2012 understanding [following the end of Operation Pillar of Defense - ed.], including Israel's commitment to removing the siege and restrictions on Gaza,

Netanyahu: Qatar and Turkey are the biggest supporters of Hamas. It is impossible to rely on them to be fair mediators.

Obama: I trust Qatar and Turkey, and Israel is in no position to choose its mediators.

Netanyahu: I object, because Hamas is able to continue and to fire rockets and to use tunnels for terror attacks...

Obama - interrupts Netanyahu mid-sentence: The ball is in Israel's court - it is obligated to end all military activities. 

The Channel One journalist who received the tape emphasized that at other points during the conversation there were more "positive" word exchanged between the two, such as Obama repeating America's commitment to Israel's security.

But those words will ring hollow to Israelis, considering that the proposal put together by John Kerry, Qatar and Turkey did not address a single one of Israel's demands and - as alluded to by Obama himself - relied on little more than the goodwill of Hamas to stop firing rockets. This, despite the group (which the US itself lists as a terrorist organization) being unabashedly committed to the destruction of the State of Israel and the genocide of all Israeli Jews.

For his part, earlier on Tuesday John Kerry claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu had in fact approached him to ask him to help hammer out a ceasefire deal, after previous truce proposals were rejected by Hamas.

If that was indeed the case what resulted could hardly have been what Netanyahu had in mind: a joint initiative with two states overtly hostile towards Israel, concluding in a draft proposal which would have granted Hamas all of its key conditions - including the opening of air and sea ports and the total lifting on Israel's security blockade - but which addressed Israel's "security concerns" in only the vaguest possible terms.

Gaza's Only Power Plant Knocked Out
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Gaza electricity workers.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

The only power plant supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip was knocked out of commission by Israeli shelling, deputy director of the energy authority in the Palestinian territory said Tuesday.

Israel's Channel 2 said that Gaza's electricity supply has been reduced by 90% since the start of the military campaign there.

"Gaza's sole power plant has stopped working due to Israeli shelling last night, which damaged the steam generator and later hit the fuel tanks which set them on fire," Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil told AFP.

An AFP reporter saw huge fires raging near the plant Tuesday morning, noting that fire department vehicles were still unable to reach the area.

The damage of the power plant exacerbated the heavy damage to civilian infrastructure in Gaza already inflicted during the 22 days of the Israeli offensive aimed at stamping out terrorist rocket fire and destroying attack tunnels.

Besides the power plant, Gaza also purchases electricity from Israel, but many of the supply lines have been badly damaged by the recent fighting, Sheikh Khalil said.

"Five out of 10 of the Israeli electricity lines into the Gaza Strip were also damaged because of Israeli shelling, and maintenance still cannot reach the areas and fix them," he explained.

Israel blamed Hamas fire for damaging some of the supply lines. Two weeks ago, Israel said that a Hamas rocket hit the power line that supplies electricity to Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah. 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.

One suggestion for action against Gaza that has come up numerous times in Israel – including from MKs – is cutting off electricity to Gaza, which Israel is still supplying. 

Debt to IEC

The Palestinian Authority currently owes the Israel Electric Company NIS 1.5 billion ($525 million) in unpaid bills for electricity. An examination of that debt by business daily Globes shows that the relative amount owed by Gaza was NIS 220 million ($62 million).

Last month, the IEC filed a petition with the High Court demanding to be allowed to shut off electricity to the Palestinian Authority until the debt was paid – or to allow the IEC to seize customs and aid payments collected on behalf of the PA to pay off its debt. That case is still pending.

Meanwhile, the IEC is still supplying electricity to Gaza, under orders from the government. The power is delivered to Gaza via 12 high-tension wires that are capable of delivering up to 120 megawatts of electricity. Experts say this is not enough for all the residents of Gaza, and in recent weeks residents have said that they have been getting electricity only 12 hours a day.

Along with the IEC's power, Gaza also receives electricity from a 140 megawatt generator which is under the control of the PA's Palestine Electric Company, which is run by Hamas operatives. The generator, which is currently operating, is maintained by a crew from German company Siemens. It had been damaged by IDF forces several times in the past, officials said.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has admitted to members of the Security Committee that harsh steps, such as cutting off the water and electricity to Gaza in response to the incessant rocket fire, are being opposed by the government's legal advisers.

Following the admission, the Movement for Governability and Democracy harshly criticized the fact that the IDF is being limited in its operational capacity by the legal system, a situation that in the end harms the security of Israeli citizens.

According to the legal adviser of the Movement, Attorney Simcha Rotman, "the international law that obligates in a time of war is the customary international law. In other words, the way that countries of the world conduct themselves in times of war."

Arabs cut electricity to Jewish communities

Palestinian Arabs deliberately cut electricity lines in the Dolev-Talmonim Bloc in Binyamin ten days ago, causing power outages throughout several communities over Shabbat. 

Power was finally restored since the early evening hours in Dolev, Talmon, Harsha, Neria, Horesh, Yaron, and Nahaliel. 

The terrorists uploaded footage of the attack on social media, confirming suspicions that the power cut was a deliberate assault on the Jewish communities in the region.

EU to Unveil New Sanctions Targeting Putins Inner Circle Wednesday
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsRia Novosti
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

EU is to adopt and publish a new list of individuals and entities to be subject to sanctions

BRUSSELS, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union is to adopt and publish Wednesday a new list of individuals close to Russia’s president inner circle and entities to be subject to sanctions over their "role" in taking decisions on Crimea and Ukraine, an EU source said.

“Coreper agreed to add further persons and entities supporting or benefitting from Russian decision makers ("cronies") to the list of those subject to an asset freeze and a ban from entering the EU. It also reached agreement to target further entities responsible for action against Ukraine's territorial integrity,” the EU official said.

“The legal acts bringing these agreements into force will be adopted by written procedure closing on Wednesday and will be published in the Official Journal late on Wednesday 30 July,” the source said.

Reuters reported earlier Monday that the EU reached a preliminary agreement on Monday on a list of associates of President Vladimir Putin and companies. The list is in addition to 87 people and 20 organizations already subject to EU sanctions, the agency said.

The Wall Street Journal earlier said that the EU is due to include five individuals and two companies to the list over the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian Foreign Ministry previously called the «language of sanctions» counterproductive and said these measures would have a boomerang effect on European economies.

Danny Danon Wants Obama to Lay Off Netanyahu
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Former Deputy Defense Minister, Danny Danon, wants US President, Barack Obama, to ease his pressure on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Danon claims that instead of pressuring the side most willing to reach peace, Obama should use his resources to support the side that is right; namely, Israel.

Christianity Outlawed in Central Indian Villages
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Several villages in central India have outlawed the open practice of Christianity—a move of questionable legality yet one that worries church leaders who say it already has encouraged anti-Christian violence.

"The situation is becoming worse. The anti-Christian propaganda is becoming stronger," Arun Pannalal, president of Chhattisgarh Christian Forum, told World Watch Monitor on Tuesday. Chhattisgarh is one of India's 29 states, in the heart of the country.

Pannalal said the village of Belar, in Chhattisgarh's southeast district of Bastar, convened a Gram Sabha, or village assembly, on July 6 and passed a resolution banning all non-Hindu religious activities.

The Belar assembly, Pannalal said, was an echo to Gram Sabha of representatives from about a dozen villages held May 10 in Sirsiguda village, also in Bastar district. There, the delegates passed a resolution banning the outward practice of non-Hindu faiths.

"To stop the forced conversion by some outsider religious campaigners and to prevent them from using derogatory language against Hindu deities and customs, the Sirsiguda Gram Sabha bans religious activities such as prayers, meetings and propaganda of all non-Hindu religions," said the text of the resolution. It contains no provisions for penalties.

"These meetings are held under the Chhattisgarh Panchayati Raj Act," or Village Council System Act, Pannalal said. He said the councils erroneously believe the act provides a legitimate legal foundation upon which to ban minority religious practice.

"Hindu fundamentalists are using this provision to take the people for a ride to enforce their agenda," he said. "Their strategy is to use the influential gram sabhas to adopt such controversial resolutions to mislead the locals to believe that banning non-Hindus is well within the law."

The Times of India, a national English-language daily newspaper, on July 9 quoted a claim by Suresh Yadav, the Bastar district president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, that more than 50 villages have adopted similar resolutions.

The Rev. Aneesh Andrews, Methodist district superintend for the region, told World Watch Monitor that after the resolutions are passed, poor Christian families in some villages have been denied government rations of staples such as wheat, rice and sugar, and access to village water sources such as tube wells and common ponds.

"In some places, the passing of the resolution has been followed by attacks on pastors and pulling down of village churches," Andrews said.

"It is not just passing of a resolution," he said. "This is a ploy to harass Christians."

Following the adoption of the multi-village resolution at the Sirsiguda village, 10 Christians—including three pastors—were assaulted by Hindu fundamentalists, according to a report by the Salt Foundation, an Indian religious-freedom organization.

Christians in the villages "were not given access to (rations) due to their religious practices and for not giving donations to the village's Hindu temple, as reported by our area coordinator," the foundation report said. "Without the ration cards, they were not able to receive any food from the government ration shop and if they went and bought food from (shops in) the city it would be exorbitantly expensive. This made them raise a concern."

In two villages, Gadiya and Parapur, Christians have been ordered to leave town "or suffer the consequences," according to the Rev. Vijayesh Lal, national director of the Religious Liberty Commission for the Evangelical Fellowship of India. The threats, Lal said, have been made by groups containing members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a Hindu nationalist organization.

"If timely protection and intervention is not provided, there is an apprehension of anti-minority violence," Lal said in a July 15 letter to Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand. Lal also conveyed reports of a Christian man in Kue Mari village who had been ordered to pay a fine. He did, and yet his house was burned down, Lal said.

"Today he is living under a plastic sheet with his family that includes three children and his elderly parents. I humbly request you to please intervene in his situation and provide him some relief and protection," Lal wrote to Dhand.

The resolutions popping up in Chhattisgarh are the first of their kind, according to Rolf Zeegers, an analyst for Open Doors International, a charity that provides aid to Christians who live under pressure because of their faith.

"Christian leaders fear that the ban will increase suspicion and distrust in the community, generating disharmony and hate that could have disastrous consequences for non-Hindus," Christians and Muslims alike, Zeegers wrote in a recent Open Doors report.

"Following the ban and the attack on a church being the latest in a string of violent incidents, Christian leaders affirmed that Chhattisgarh is becoming a cauldron of hate mongering against non-Hindus," he said.

Chhattisgarh law already requires residents to obtain government permission before they can change religions, placing the state among the handful in India with laws restricting conversion. The anti-conversion laws, held up as a tool to defend individuals from being forced to convert against their will, are regarded by religious-freedom advocates as a tool that instead is used to drive minorities into the corners of society. And Chhattisgarh, governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is particularly fertile political ground for anti-minority abuse, church leaders fear.

"The situation could get worse. We have to be vigilant," said Purna Sagar Nag, bishop of the Chhattisgarh diocese of the Church of North India. "Right now, it is confined to [Bastar] district; it may spread to other areas."

"We are planning to take it up with the higher government officials to ensure that this stopped at the earliest," he said.

The head of Bastar's district administration, Ankit Anand, dismissed the village resolutions as "legally null and void" documents that aren't enforced by government agencies.

Legality aside, the chief concern among church leaders is the potential the resolutions have to encourage a climate of impunity toward religious minorities.

Catholic Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi has urged authorities to intervene and stop the ban on non-Hindu missionaries in Bastar district. In a statement released to the press, Couto said a ban "violates constitutional rights of freedom of faith, and the freedom of movement, expression" and will have "serious impact on the secular ethos of India, and damages its international reputation."

"Though it could be considered as just another ban on Christian missionaries at the behest of fundamentalist groups and bigoted political functionaries, who are now greatly encouraged, it is a grave assault on the fundamental rights of individuals and peoples' groups," he said.

Allowing the bans to stand, the archbishop said, would encourage extremist religious organizations to wage hate campaigns against Christians, which in turn give rise to organized violence.

CDC Urges U.S. Health Workers to be Vigilant As Ebola Virus
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the risk of Ebola spreading to the United States was low, but it nevertheless issued a Level 2 health alert, advising U.S. health workers to be vigilant.

The largest outbreak of the Ebola virus on record has spread across the West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia since first detected in March, with more than 670 deaths, according to the CDC.

Two Americans working in Liberia were diagnosed with the virus last week. That raised fears that the virus could be spread to the United States by those traveling from the region.

But the CDC played down the possibility. “The likelihood of this outbreak spreading outside of West Africa is low,” said Stephan Monroe, deputy director of the agency’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. Still, he said in a teleconference with reporters, “the CDC has to be prepared for the remote possibility.”

The alert advised U.S. doctors to check patients’ travel histories to identify those who might have recently traveled to West Africa. The CDC also urged physicians to learn the symptoms of Ebola, which include fever and diarrhea, and the immediate treatment necessary if they suspect it. The agency warned travelers going to West Africa to avoid contact with bodily fluids or blood of anyone in the affected areas.

His wife and two children had been living with him in Liberia but returned recently to the United States, and they are being watched closely for symptoms as a precaution.

Nancy Writebol, who worked with an international mission organization, also tested positive for the virus and is under surveillance. Both she and Brantly had been in the region providing medical humanitarian assistance before the outbreak.

Doctors Without Borders, which has more than 300 staff members responding to the outbreak, said its resources were stretched to the limit by the epidemic.

The fact that there is any risk, even if it is a low one, of the virus spreading to the United States should be a reminder that all countries have a vested interest in responding to the crisis in West Africa and working to protect global health security, said Monroe.

The Liberian government on Sunday closed most border crossings, restricted public gatherings and announced an increase of surveillance of travelers at entry and exit points in the country, including at the country’s main airport. The government adopted the stricter measures after a man was reported to have died of the virus in Nigeria.

Patrick Sawyer, a consultant for the Liberian Ministry of Finance, was confirmed to have died from Ebola infection on Friday. He had been quarantined by Ni­ger­ian authorities when he arrived at Lagos Airport earlier last week.

(The Washington Post)

Wade Williams, an editor and reporter at the Liberian online magazine Front Page Africa, said that Sawyer’s sister had recently died of Ebola, and Sawyer had taken her to hospital.

Williams met both of the Americans infected nearly a month ago when she filmed the burial of Ebola patients at ELWA Hospital. Writebol, she said, had a white body bag opened so a family could say a last goodbye to their deceased loved one, and she reminded local colleagues who were about to remove their protective gear to go through decontamination.

On Saturday, Samuel Brisbane, a senior Liberian doctor who had devoted himself to treating Ebola patients, was the first Liberian doctor to die of the virus in this outbreak.

Local health workers often lack adequate resources such as personal protective equipment and training despite being at risk, said Williams.

“I have a neighbor who is a nurse, and the government hasn’t even given nurses the gloves to protect themselves,” Williams said. “I told her: ‘If the government is not giving you protective gear, you don’t have to go to hospital.’ ”

Even in neighbouring Guinea, where cases have declined, Monroe likened the epidemic to a wildfire that can be spread again by a single spark.

“The response to this outbreak will be more a marathon than a sprint,” he said.

Broad Hamas Rocket Barrage Early Tuesday
Jul 29th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas carried out its first nocturnal rocket attack on metropolitan Tel Aviv Monday night. One rocket exploded in Rishon Lezion. The IDF reacted by bombing the unoccupied home of Hamas PM Ismail Haniye. Tuesday morning began with another massive Hamas barrage on Tel Aviv, Holon, Bat Yam, Yavne, Ness Ziona, Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi, Gedera, Rosh Ha’ayin and Rishon Lezion.