Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

UN's Schabas Doesn't Deny Double Standard Regarding Israel
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Professor William Schabas did not deny Wednesday, in an interview with Israel's Channel 2, that the international community has a double standard regarding Israel's conduct of war.

Channel 2's anchor, Danny Kushmaro, asked Schabas if there is not a double standard involved when that thousands of innocent civilians were killed in Chechnya by the Russians, and by NATO forces in Libya, yet there was “not one international investigation,” whereas Israel acted in self defense in Gaza and two investigations have been launched in the course of six years.

“There are a lot of double standards in the international level,” answered Schabas. “This is explained by the relative strength of the powers,” he added, and noted that some claim there is a double standard in Israel's favor in the UN Security Council, where anti-Israel resolutions are vetoed.

Schabas calimed that there has been “a great exaggeration of some of the statements” he made in the past regarding Israel. When he suggested that he would like to see Binyamin Netanyahu in the dock at the International Criminal Court, he was just “echoing what was in the Goldstone report, which is that the International Criminal Court should deal with the conclusions of the Goldstone Report concerning the possibility that war crimes were committed in Operation Cast Lead,” he argued.

When Kushmaro asked him about a second statement in which he said that President Shimon Peres should stand trial in front of the ICC, he defended himself by saying: “I expressed opinions about political leaders in the past. Is there a human being in Israel who has not expressed opinions about political leaders in Israel?”

UN Committee on Israel 'Like is on Religious Tolerance'
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ron Prosor

Reuters

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor on Wednesday morning went on the offensive, slamming the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) committee appointed to investigate Israel over allegations of "war crimes" in Operation Protective Edge.

Israel and the US have both rejected the three-man UNHRC committee which is headed by Prof. William Schabas, a Canadian law professor known for his blatant bias against Israel.

"To establish an investigative committee headed by Schabas is like inviting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) to arrange the religious tolerance week at the UN," quipped Prosor in an interview on Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio).

"There can be no doubt that Israel must not cooperate with a committee headed by this professor of international law. It is completely clear that this committee is designed for failure - its entire goal is to trip up Israel," elaborated the ambassador.

Noting the bias of Schabas, Prosor sarcastically remarked that when the professor was asked "if he will also investigate Hamas, he said he would need to consult with members of the committee. A telephone member can be arranged for him - (Syrian President) Bashar Assad."

Indeed, Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Tuesday stated his confidence that the UNHRC committee will find Israel guilty. Earlier that day, Finance Minister Yair Lapid termed it "a ridiculous committee of ridiculous commissionership, that instead of investigating the murder of millions of Muslims by other Muslims, investigates the most moral army on the planet."

Britain can "learn from Israel"

Prosor, who in the past was an Israeli ambassador to London, remarked on the British threats to suspend 12 arms export licenses to Israel if the fighting resumed in Gaza.

"Britain needs to weigh things again before it boycotts the state of Israel. Any country would stand to defend its citizens. Even Great Britain can learn from little Israel about this topic and not preach morals," stated the ambassador.

Regarding the wider phenomenon of skyrocketing anti-Semitism in Europe and worldwide, Prosor explained "most European governments understand the challenges standing before Israel, (but) the public sees the pictures" of war-torn Gaza.

"This gap in the end will close, like in any democratic country. It will create a problem that won't be easy," said Prosor. He added "whoever doesn't stand with Israel on the front of the war against terror will bear it on his doorstep."

Turkey: Iraqi Leaders Need to Support PM Ibadi
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, proclaimed on Tuesday that Turkey applauds the newly elected Prime Minister of Iraq, Haider al-Ibadi.

“The mandate handed down to Ibadi is positive and important. We wish him success in his new role and call to all leaders to support the new government,” Davutoglu said.

This Laser - Armed Drone Could Blow Fighter Jets Out of the Sky
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Here's an idea for an awesome dogfighting aircraft. Make it small, light, and fast. Build it out of materials that are hard to detect on radar. Even give it a laser cannon.

Oh, and don't put a human in the cockpit. In fact, don't even closely tie the drone to human ground control. Because in an aerial knife fight, a computer-controlled machine will beat a human pilot.

That's the idea behind a controversial proposal by U.S. Air Force captain Michael Byrnes, an experienced Predator and Reaper drone pilot. Byrnes is calling for the development of a robotic dogfighter, which he calls the FQ-X, that could blow manned fighters out of the sky.

"A tactically autonomous, machine-piloted aircraft … will bring new and unmatched lethality to air-to-air combat," Byrnes writes in Air and Space Power Journal.

In Byrnes' conception, machines have the edge in making the lightning-fast decisions necessary to win a close-quarters aerial battle. "Humans average 200 to 300 milliseconds to react to simple stimuli, but machines can select or synthesize and execute maneuvers, making millions of corrections in that same quarter of a second," he writes.

Byrnes focuses on famed fighter pilot John Boyd's classic observe-orient-decide-act decision cycle — the "OODA loop" — which predicts that victory in combat belongs to the warrior who can assess and respond to conditions fastest.

Like a fighter pilot trying to out-turn his opponent in a dogfight, the trick to OODA is quickly making the right decisions while your enemy is still trying to figure out what's going on.

It's a battle of wits in which computers are superior, according to Byrnes. "Every step in OODA that we can do, they will do better."

Byrnes envisions a drone designed from the start to utilize the full potential of an unmanned dogfighter. The FQ-X would be constructed of advanced, difficult-to-detect "metamaterials." It would have extremely powerful computers that could determine an enemy aircraft's position from even the scantest of sensor data.

"The principle of 'first look, first kill' belongs to the aircraft with the most processing power and the best software to leverage it," Byrnes writes.

The FQ-X would also have multispectral optics and computer vision software that would enable it to distinguish friendly from enemy aircraft. The drone would pack a laser or a cannon firing armor-piercing incendiary rounds.

To sweeten the robot's victory, on-board machine-learning systems would analyze the encounter and transmit tips to other combat drones.

It should be pretty obvious we're not talking about some plodding, prop-driven Predator drone being steered by humans sitting in a trailer in Nevada, but rather a fast- and high-flying robot jet that functions without much need for human guidance.

"With FQ-X, autonomy for the conduct of the engagement would return to the air vehicle to take advantage of its superior processing speed and reaction times," Byrnes proposes.

But there's a tension in robotic warfare between the machines' incredible speed and lethality and we human beings' natural desire for direct control. Inserting a man into the loop inevitably limits a drone's potential.

Without human control, we effectively grant robots licenses to kill.

Byrnes suggests breaking a dogfighting drone's actions into different phases, including searching, stalking, closure, capture, and kill. Operator control would vary with the phase. And in the heat of direct combat, when milliseconds matter, the robot calls most of the shots.

It's a bold proposal — one the Air Force as a whole has showed little interest in pursuing. Only the Navy has openly discussed adding air-to-air missiles to jet-powered drones. Considering the bureaucratic resistance, Byrnes worries that the flying branch could eventually have no choice but to borrow dogfighting robot technology from the sea service.

"Aviators may dislike it, the public will question it, science fiction imagines harbingers of the Cylon apocalyps,e and we are uncertain about how to best utilize it within the context of a larger Air Force," he writes. "Nevertheless, the FQ-X concept is too dangerous to our current thinking to ignore forever."  

This is the Terrifying Result of the Militarization of Police
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsBusiness Insider
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

    1

While serving as a U.S. Marine on patrol in Afghanistan, we wore desert camouflage to blend in with our surroundings, carried rifles to shoot back when under enemy attack, and drove around in armored vehicles to ward off roadside bombs.

We looked intimidating, but all of our vehicles and equipment had a clear purpose for combat against enemy forces. So why is this same gear being used on our city streets?

On Saturday, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed black man. In the days that have followed, the town with a population about 21,000 has seen massive protests in response to the shooting, as some witnesses said Brown had his hands up when he was killed.

Putting aside what started the protests for a moment, it's worth discussing the police response to the outrage. In photos taken on Monday, we are shown a heavily armed SWAT team.

They have short-barreled 5.56-mm rifles based on the military M4 carbine, with scopes that can accurately hit a target out to 500 meters. On their side they carry pistols. On their front, over their body armor, they carry at least four to six extra magazines, loaded with 30 rounds each.

AP Photo/Jeff Roberson  Police wearing riot gear try to disperse a crowd Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Their uniform would be mistaken for a soldier's if it weren't for their "Police" patches. They wear green tops, and pants fashioned after the U.S. Marine Corps MARPAT camouflage pattern. And they stand in front of a massive uparmored truck called a Bearcat, similar in look to a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or as the troops who rode in them call it, the MRAP.

When did this become OK? When did "protect and serve" turn into "us versus them"?

"Why do these cops need MARPAT camo pants again," I asked on Twitter this morning. One of the most interesting responses came from a follower who says he served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division: "We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone."

AP/Jeff Roberson  Police wearing riot gear point their weapons at a car as it pulls away after tear gas was used by authorities Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Let's be clear: This is not a war zone — even if the FAA banned flights under 3000 feet. This is a city outside of St. Louis where people on both sides are angry. Protesters have looted and torched a gas station, and shots were fired at police, according to The Washington Post.

The scene is tense, but the presence of what looks like a military force doesn't seem to be helping.

"Bring it. You fucking animals, bring it," one police officer was caught on video telling protesters. In Ferguson and beyond, it seems that some police officers have shed the blue uniform and have put on the uniform and gear of the military, and brought the attitude along with it.

Matt Ford, the social-media editor at The Atlantic, summed it up well:

And here's journalist Radley Balko, author of "Rise of the Warrior Cop":

In Afghanistan, we patrolled in big, armored trucks. We wore uniforms that conveyed the message, "We are a military force and we are in control right now." Many Afghans saw us as occupiers.

And now we see some of our police officers in this same way. "The militarization of law enforcement is counter-productive to domestic policing and needs to stop," tweeted Andrew Exum, a former Army infantry officer.

If there's one thing I learned in Afghanistan, it's this: You can't win someone's heart and mind when you are pointing a rifle at their chest.

AP Photo/Jeff Roberson  Police wearing riot gear walk toward a man with his hands raised Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Future of America, Israel & the Middle East in the Light of Scripture
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

It was an honor to be invited to speak at the 2014 Family Leadership Summit here in Ames, Iowa, and to spend personal time with many of the speakers and grassroots leaders who attended.

Most of the speakers were Governors, Senators, Congressman and potential presidential contenders. The covered a range of economic, social and foreign policy issues. I was specifically invited to speak about “The Future of America, Israel & the Middle East In Light of the Scriptures.”

THE FUTURE OF AMERICA, ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST IN LIGHT OF THE SCRIPTURES

Good morning. It is an honor to be back in Iowa, and to address The Family Leadership Summit. Thanks to Bob Vander Plaats and his team for inviting me back, especially at a time of great crisis for our country, and for Israel and our allies in the Middle East, who are facing a jihadist rampage.

When I was here for the first Summit in 2012, I made two simple points.

I’d like to recap them here because I think they remain relevant for where we are as a nation two years later. And then I’d like to add a third point for this year.

America is not simply in decline. We are on the road to collapse, on the road to implosion.
We must all ask ourselves a critically important question: “Is America at a Jonah moment, or a Nahum moment?”
What happens if — on top of all our nation’s challenges and sins — America abandons or turns against Israel?

I’m so grateful that Bob and his team are doing all they can to call Iowans and all Americans to pray and fast and seek the Lord for a Third Great Awakening. We need this more than ever.

Let me now share a bit more on each point.

1. America is not simply in decline. We are heading for collapse, for implosion.

There are many reasons for this, including a massive and crushing national debt with no end in sight, the implosion of families through divorce and out-of-wedlock-birth and the assault on traditional marriage, violent crime, drug use, pornography and so forth. I wrote about this in more detail in my 2012 non-fiction book, Implosion: Can America Recover From Its Economic & Spiritual Challenges In Time?, so I won’t take the time today to go through each of these issues in detail.

But I do want to discuss one threat above all: America faces the implosion because we face divine judgment for murdering so many unborn children.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in Poland. As I stood in an actual gas chamber that was used to systematically murder so many Jews, political prisoners and others, it was a horrifying experience. I’m Gentile on my mother’s side, and Jewish on my father’s side, and standing there thinking about how the Nazis created these murder factories to kill six million Jews was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

But as I stood in that gas chamber, I could not help but think of how my own country, America — a country I love so dearly — has created murder factories to kill millions of people, as well. I was born in 1967. In my lifetime — since 1973 — the American people have legally murdered more than 55 million babies. If this is not stopped soon, we will reach 60 million. Think about that. If we really get to the point that our nation has systematically murdered 60 million human beings, we will have murdered 10 times more people than the Nazis killed of the Jews.

Now we know how God judged Germany and the Nazi regime through a crushing defeat in World War II, and we believe that the Nazis deserved such judgment. What do we think is going to happen if continue to murder millions of children? We are going to face the judgment of God. It is extraordinary that it hasn’t happened already.

There is hope, but we are running out of time. We could repent as a nation. We could turn from our wicked ways, plead with God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive our sins, and plead with Him to heal our land.

The Bible says, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

This was specifically a promise given to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. But it is a principle we can apply today. We could plead with God for forgiveness, and He could grant it. He could give us a sweeping series of revivals that could culminate in a Third Great Awakening, with hundreds of millions of Americans — beginning with the Church — repenting of our sins, turning to Christ, praying, fasting, reading God’s Word and seeking to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is possible. There is hope. But again, we are running out of time.

But let’s be clear: Without a revival, we are on the road to implosion. Indeed, the threat of implosion is far beyond what the next President can solve alone — we desperately need a Third Great Awakening.

2. We must all ask ourselves a critically important question: “Is America at a Jonah moment, or a Nahum moment?”

In the Old Testament book of Jonah, the Hebrew prophet was sent by the Lord to the wicked city of Nineveh — the capital of the Assyrian empire — in order to preach a message of imminent judgment. Let’s not focus for the moment on the fact that Jonah didn’t want to obey the Lord and preach this messsage, and thus fled on a ship headed in the other direction.

For now, let’s focus on the fact that when Jonah finally did obey the Lord and did start preaching in Ninevah, he didn’t call the people to repentance. Rather, Jonah declared, “Forty days and Ninevah will be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4) However, even though Jonah never called the people to plead to the One True God of Israel to have mercy on their souls and on their city, even though Jonah never called on the people to beg for forgiveness and turn away from their wickedness, that is, in fact, exactly what the Ninevites did.

The text says: “Then the people of Ninevah believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Ninevah, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. He issued a proclamation and it said, ‘In Ninevah by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?’” (Jonah 3:5-9)

Sure enough, the Lord heard the earnest prayers of the people — and their king — as they repented, and He relented. “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” The promised judgment did not come. The people and their city were spared from God’s wrath. What an extraordinary moment. The pagan people heard the word of the Lord and it burned in their hearts. They believed God’s word, pleaded for mercy, and the Lord gave them mercy, even though He had never indicated that He would do so.

But this was not the only time the word of the Lord came to the people of Ninevah.

Many years later, the next generation of Ninevites had abandoned the Lord and fallen back into tremendous evil, violence, bloodshed, lies, sorcery and other wickedness. In the Old Testament book of Nahum, we read that the Lord again spoke to the people of Ninevah, this time through a different Hebrew prophet, this one named Nahum. Yet this time the people of Ninevah did not repent. They did not listen to God’s word. They did not plead for mercy. They did not turn from their wicked ways and start praying, fasting and begging God for mercy. And thus, mercy did not come. Instead, the judgment of God came upon the people, and in 612 B.C. the city of Ninevah was utterly destroyed.

Today we as Americans must confront this question: Is America in a “Jonah” moment, or a “Nahum” moment? That is, will we hear the word of the Lord that we have strayed far from the teachings of the Bible and allowed our land to become polluted with abortions and pornography and violence and wickedness of all kinds? Will we admit how far we are from God’s plan and purpose for our lives? Will we confess that our hearts are far from Jesus Christ and plead with the Lord for His mercy and grace and forgiveness? Will we fast and pray and earnestly seek God’s face, and implore Christ to give us a Third Great Awakening? Or will we ignore the word of the Lord and continue in our sins and watch our nation continue to decline, or even implode?

Twice in American history we have seen sweeping spiritual revivals known as the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening, respectively. Millions of Americans repented of their sins during those seasons, became devout followers of Jesus Christ, began to read the Bible voraciously and to obey the word of the Lord. Nowhere in Scripture, however, has America been promised a spiritual revival in the 21st century, much less one that would be so sweeping, so game-changing that it would qualify as a Third Great Awakening. But who knows? Perhaps the Lord will show us tremendous mercy and forgiveness if we all humble ourselves and pray, and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways? However, if we don’t repent and turn back to the Lord Jesus Christ, we may very well consign ourselves to suffer the fate of the Ninevites during the time of Nahum.

3. What happens if — on top of all our nation’s challenges and sins — America abandons or turns against Israel?

The fate of America, Israel and the Middle East are inextricably linked for three reasons.

Consider three passages of Scripture:

Genesis 12:3 — In Genesis 12, the Lord God chooses Abram, calls him out of Ur of the Chaldees (located in modern-day Iraq, 220 miles southeast of Baghdad) to go to “a land that I will show you,” which turns out to be the land later called Israel. The Lord promises to bless Abram, and through him bless “all the families of the earth.” Specifically in 12:3, the Lord says, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” As one reads through the rest of the book of Genesis, it becomes clear that this promise from God is passed down from Abram (who is later named Abraham) to Isaac to Jacob (later named Israel) and then to Jacob’s descendants, Israel and the Jewish people. Thus, the Lord is making clear that those who bless Israel and the Jewish people He will bless, and those who curse them He will curse. If America turns against or abandons Israel and the Jews after being their closest friend and ally for so many decades, God warns He will bring judgment upon us.

Joel 3:1-2 — In the first chapter of the book written by the Hebrew prophet Joel, the Lord warns the Israelites and “all inhabitants of the land” that they need to “wake up” from their physical and spiritual drunkenness, stupor and wandering from the Lord. In the second chapter, the Lord also calls the people to pray and fast and humbly seek God’s forgiveness and favor because “the Day of the Lord is coming.” In the third chapter, the Lord says that before the “Day of the Lord” (the tribulation and the Second Coming), the Lord will “restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.” In the context of other prophecies in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and other Hebrew prophets, we know this means Israel will be miraculously reborn as a nation, the Jews will return to the land of Israel and Judah and to Jerusalem after centuries of exile, and that the Lord will use the Jewish people to rebuild the ancient ruins of their ancient homeland and build a nation of prosperity and security.

Consider the specific passage of chapter 3, verses one and two: “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.”

The Lord specifically warns that “all the nations” who “have divided up My land” will be judged by the God of Israel.

Tragically, the United States is leading the league in trying to divide the land of Israel.

This process was formalized under President George W. Bush who officially called for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state, which would divide the land of Israel. “I was the first American President to call for a Palestinian state, and building support for the two-state solution has been one of the highest priorities of my Presidency,” said President Bush.

President Obama and his administration have continued the Bush policy and pushed hard for Israeli leaders to divide the land. “It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own,” President Obama told hundreds of Israeli students in a speech in Jerusalem. “Palestinians have a right to be free people in their own land.”

Creating a sovereign Palestinian state may sound like wisdom to many. But in the Bible, God specifically says He will judge every nation that divides up the land of Israel. Thus, speaking the truth in love, we must not encourage world leaders to take actions that will lead to the judgment of their nations. Rather, we must advise them not to go down that road.

No president or prime minister has the right to divide the land of Israel in defiance of God’s Word.

That said, the Bible also repeatedly tells Israel to love and bless and treat well those who live in their country. This is repeated over and over again in the Old Testament and the New. Just because the Bible does not allow the creation of another sovereign state in the land of Israel doesn’t mean Palestinians should be mistreated, or endangered, or oppressed in any way, shape or form. To the contrary, God loves the Palestinians. We must love the Palestinians. Israelis must love the Palestinians. Thus, Palestinians living in the West Bank should absolutely have the opportunity and freedom to run their own day-to-day affairs, their economy, education, infrastructure, transportation, health care, communications, police and courts, and so forth.

Psalm 122:6-9 — This passage reads, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.’ For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.”

Clearly, people all over the world, including in America, need to:

pray for peace in Jerusalem, Israel and the broader Middle East
pray for Jews and Arabs in the epicenter
love Jews and Arabs in the epicenter
seek the good of Jews and Arabs in the epicenter
The Lord promises to bless and “prosper” those who do.

CONCLUSION

If a nation follows these principles — if they love and bless Israel and the Jewish people, and do not divide the land of Israel, and love and pray for Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem and seek their good — then God will love and bless and show mercy to such a nation.

But if a nation violates these principles — especially chronically and consistently — then there will be a day of reckoning.

The question is: What do we want, a blessing or a curse, mercy or judgment?

Overall, most Americans are very supportive of Israel and find many ways to love and bless her, as well as the Arabs and others in Israel and the Middle East. This is good.

But there are a growing number of voices who say it is time to:

cut off military aid to Israel
boycott Israel
divest from Israel
sanction Israel
and/or turn against Israel once and for all
Some do so because of anti-Semitism, others out of a belief in isolationism, and others because of ignorance.

Given the high stakes, one of the things we need to do is teach people about God’s love and plan and purpose for Israel and the Jewish people, and why this matters to America. We need to help more people — including our leaders and future leaders — understand why America’s fate is inextricably linked with how we treat Israel and the Jewish people, as well as her neighbors.

I would encourage you to study Genesis 12 through 17, in particular, on your own more carefully.

You will seen how the Lord unfolds the Abrahamic Covenant, piece by piece, step by step, including the fact that this is an “everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:7) and thus cannot be broken or abrogated, and that the Lord has given the land of Israel as an “everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:8).

State Comptroller Launches Investigation of Operation
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Yosef Chaim Shapira

Flash 90

State Comptroller Judge (ret.) Yosef Chaim Shapira decided on Wednesday to launch an investigation into the decisions of the IDF military echelon during Operation Protective Edge, as well as into the IDF and government's mechanism of inspection.

The decision comes following accusations of IDF "war crimes" in Gaza during the operation to defend Israel's civilian population from the terror war launched by the Hamas terrorist organization.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has already appointed a committee to investigate Israel over the allegations; Israel and the US have both rejected the three-man committee headed by Prof. William Schabas, a Canadian law professor known for his blatant bias against Israel.

Shapira's office stated that the investigation will be conducted to check whether international law and Israeli Supreme Court rulings were adhered to in the operation, as well as prior conclusions drawn from reports and civilian committees.

 Additionally, the investigation will look at the security system's performance in context of the Hamas terror tunnels, with the main focus of the investigation being on the state's provision of security to its citizens.

Other areas falling under the scope of the investigation include the Homefront Command's preparedness during the operation in terms of policy and protection, as well as the arrangements of deterrence, shelter solutions for citizens, and the treatment of populations in conflict areas, as well as the state's publicity policy.

The office noted that it has received dozens of petitions and complaints recently, stating "this is a complicated task. Therefore the State Comptroller ordered the conduction of an inter-regimental investigation."

Despite the charges against Israel, an in-depth analysis from Israeli sources revealed that some 900 of those killed in Gaza, accounting for 47%, were terrorists. Such a ratio of combatant to non-combatant casualties - roughly 1:1 - would be almost unprecedented in the history of urban warfare.

Schabas Urged 'Twisting Things' to Get Israel in the Dock
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Speaking in a 2013 panel, Prof. William Schabas, who has been tapped to head the United Nations' investigation into Operation Protective Edge, clearly revealed his great eagerness to bring about the prosecution of Israel over its actions in Gaza, even if that involved “twisting things and maneuvering” in the international legal arena.

He said that it is his “profound belief, that international law can be used to demonstrate and underscore the violations committed by the state of Israel, and moreover can be used to hold accountable individuals who have perpetrated international crimes against the people of Palestine.”

Asked about various possible tools for prosecuting Israel, he said: “I would have been inclined to talk about crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, all of which I think can be shown have been perpetrated at various times during the history of the state of Israel. These are all crimes that have become increasingly robust in their definition in recent decades and for which we now have international institutions capable of prosecuting the crimes.”

Schabas urged prosecution of Israel in the International Criminal Court and said that a the court made “a policy error” in failing to take up the issue.

Asked about the possibility of prosecuting Israel for “ecocide” as well, Schabas expressed optimism on gradually enlarging the scope of legal accusations against Israel. “Years ago there were no courts at all,” he noted (at minute 25:15 in the video embedded above). “When [the term] 'genocide' was invented there was no court at all. There was no court for crimes against humanity, but we have them now. And with a bit of luck and by twisting things and maneuvering we can get them before the courts.”

Schabas did not deny Wednesday, in an interview with Israel's Channel 2, that the international community has a double standard regarding Israel's conduct of war.

Channel 2's anchor, Danny Kushmaro, asked Schabas if there is not a double standard involved when that thousands of innocent civilians were killed in Chechnya by the Russians, and by NATO forces in Libya, yet there was “not one international investigation,” whereas Israel acted in self defense in Gaza and two investigations have been launched in the course of six years.

“There are a lot of double standards in the international level,” answered Schabas. “This is explained by the relative strength of the powers,” he added, and noted that some claim there is a double standard in Israel's favor in the UN Security Council, where anti-Israel resolutions are vetoed.

Russian Aid Convoy Heads for Eastern Ukraine Amid Fears of Military Intervention
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Age
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Moscow: An enormous Russian convoy of about 280 trucks carrying humanitarian aid has left Moscow for south-eastern Ukraine, Russian television and news agencies reported on Tuesday.

Television reports showed a long line of tractor-trailers stretched along a road. A Russian Orthodox priest was shown sprinkling the trucks with holy water before their departure. Many of the vehicles were draped in huge banners reading "humanitarian aid" in Russian, along with the double-headed eagle of Russia and its white, blue and red flag.

Photo: AP

NTV, a Russian state channel, quoted drivers as saying that it would take a few days for the entire column to reach the intended crossing point on the Russian-Ukrainian border, which is roughly 965 kilometres south of Moscow.

The convoy was carrying 1814 tonnes of humanitarian aid, according to the news agency Itar-Tass. It included 362 tonnes of cereals, 90 tonnes of sugar, 56 tonnes of baby food, 49 tonnes of medical equipment and medicine, 12,000 sleeping bags and 69 generators of various sizes, the agency reported.

The Russian government began a concerted effort to get the convoy accepted on Monday, setting off alarm bells in the West despite the Kremlin's insistence that it was co-ordinating its efforts with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Refugees from south-eastern Ukraine arrive at a refugee camp set in the Russian border city of Donetsk. Photo: AFP

The secretary-general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has estimated that there is a "high probability" that Russia will intervene militarily in Ukraine, and Ukraine has announced that even more Russian troops than previously thought are massed along the border.

But Russian officials repeatedly insisted that the convoy was to provide relief, particularly to the besieged, separatist-held city of Luhansk, where residents have been without water and electricity for days.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday called the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to tell him that the convoy was being dispatched. Barroso responded by warning "against any unilateral military actions in Ukraine, under any pretext, including humanitarian," the European Union said in a statement.

The Ukrainian government approved the aid convoy, but only if delivered under the auspices of the Red Cross. The office of President Petro Poroshenko issued a statement saying that he had spoken with US President Barack Obama, who also welcomed the decision to allow humanitarian aid under Red Cross auspices into the city of Luhansk.

A spokesman for the Red Cross said the logistical details for the convoy's entry into Ukraine had yet to be worked out.

"A general agreement exists but not a detailed plan," said Andre Loersch, the spokesman, speaking by telephone from Kiev. The general agreement calls for the Russian Federation to hand over humanitarian aid, which will then be distributed by the Red Cross. Poroshenko has consulted twice by telephone in recent days with Peter Maurer, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, on the agreement, he said.

In Kiev, the former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, who has served as a mediator between the government and the rebels, said the aid would be distributed to hospitals, kindergartens, orphanages and other people in need. "The militants must not receive one gram," he was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax.

The Russian aid convoy would cross into Ukraine near Kharkiv, he said, and would then drive to Luhansk. Along with the Red Cross, representatives of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has also been part of the mediation effort, would accompany the convoy to Luhansk, Kuchma said.

The convoy evoked suspicion and anger from some Ukrainian politicians on Tuesday. At a morning session of parliament, called the Rada, Oleh Lyashko, a nationalist politician who has helped form several paramilitary battalions, called for Ukraine to turn back the convoy and seal the border.

"How can you take humanitarian aid from a country that destroys our country?" Lyashko said. "Stop this nonsense."

Parliament was also due to vote on imposing economic and legal sanctions against 172 Russian, Ukrainian and other foreign nationals.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk proposed the sanctions on Friday, saying they were directed at those "who have been financing terrorism, supporting the annexation of Crimea and encroached on the territorial integrity of Ukraine".

There has been speculation for months over whether Russia wanted to intervene directly in the conflict next door. Most analysts concluded that it did not, figuring that the costs of what would amount to an occupation would be too high in soldiers' lives and in financial terms, especially in the face of sweeping Western sanctions.

But as the area controlled by the separatists has gradually shrunk to the two cities of Luhansk and Donetsk, the question has focused on what Putin would do to assure continued influence over events in Ukraine. Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of sending men and weapons to the area, a charge the Kremlin has denied.

The headquarters for Ukraine's "anti-terrorism operation," as the military campaign in the east is officially known, said that military raids had destroyed three rebel checkpoints. Shelling continued in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions early on Tuesday.

In Donetsk, the City Council said that shelling had damaged the electricity infrastructure, leaving 206 substations without power.

Netanyahu 'Softening' Ministers for Concessions to Hamas?
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Binyamin Netanyahu

Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held personal talks with party chairperson coalition members Tuesday night to update them on the Cairo truce talks with Hamas, and according to reports, to prepare them to receive controversial concessions to the terror organization.

The ministers Netanyahu met with included Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua), along with Security Cabinet member and Communications Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud).

One of the ministers reportedly defined the meetings as "softening talks" to accept concessions to Hamas, according to Yedioth Aharonoth.

In fact, Netanyahu's private meetings came in place of a security cabinet meeting which the prime minister called off, indicating his attempts to rally support for a potentially highly contentious truce agreement.

Truce condition "rewards" for Hamas

According to the details about the truce conditions Israel has reportedly agreed to in order to stop the terror war launched by Hamas, Israel would pay the salaries of Hamas officials through a third-party country, and the siege on the terrorist enclave of Gaza would be lightened, reports Yedioth Aharonoth.

The fishing zone for Gaza would be expanded by six nautical miles, and building materials would be sent in under supervision, despite the fact that cement transported to Gaza helped Hamas build a massive network of terror tunnels used in the operation to kill IDF soldiers.

Israel is also reportedly close to agreeing to double the amount of trucks bringing materials to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing to 600 per day, as well as increasing the monthly amount of entry permits to Israel from the Erez Crossing, and expanding criterion for Gaza residents to enter Israel, Judea and Samaria.

As for what Israel gets in return for the numerous concessions, reports have yet to specify what exactly is being offered. One thing they do suggest is that the truce deal does not include a demilitarization of Gaza, despite calls to do so.

Will Netanyahu convince the ministers?

Despite the private talks Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether the ministers will be "softened" by Netanyahu's meetings.

Bennett already voiced his opposition Monday to paying the salaries of Hamas officials in Gaza. The minister said "it is impossible to fight our enemy with one hand and to fund it with the other."

Likewise Liberman on Monday came out against Israel caving in to Hamas demands, such as funding Hamas and allowing a Gaza sea and airport, stating that Hamas must not leave the clash "with a feeling that terror pays."

For its part, Hamas has bragged of holding negotiations with Israel "at gunpoint," and clarified that even if a truce is reached, it would only be so as to prepare the next terror war on Israel.

MK Erdan: the Fighting May Continue
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Member of the Knesset’s Diplomacy-Security Cabinet, MK Gilad Erdan, made it clear on IDF Radio on Wednesday, that fighting in Gaza may resume.

“Tonight at midnight, Israel can return to its aerial position and consider an expansion of a grounds operation including the conquering and bringing down of the Hamas regime,” Erdan said. “We cannot end such apainful military operation without ensuring quiet for the long-term.”

Let the Headlines Speak
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

“The Future of America, Israel & the Middle East in the Light of Scripture.”
America faces the implosion because we face divine judgment for murdering so many unborn children.  

New York City man at center of Ebola scare speaks out
"They gave me a mask. They took me into the isolation room and shut the door. I was there for about three days. I was transferred to a special ICU and only one nurse and one doctor could visit. They wore space suits.  

This Computer Chip Can Think Like a Human Brain
Researchers for the computer hardware giant have developed a postage-stamp-size chip, equipped with 5.4 billion transistors, that is capable of simulating 1 million neurons and 256 million neural connections, or synapses. In addition to mimicking the brain's processing by themselves, individual chips can be connected together like tiles, similar to how circuits are linked in the human brain  

Pro-Pot Push: The Next Gay Marriage
Marijuana legalization, its backers say, is the new gay marriage, on an unstoppable path to social and legal acceptance. "It's turned quite quickly," says Erik Altieri, communications director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "More and more Americans are waking up to the failure of marijuana prohibition."  

Virus is found in 14 Kansas City area newborns
Health authorities on both sides of the state line are investigating infections among 14 Kansas City area infants with a virus that can cause meningitis, as well as widespread inflammation, serious enough to require intensive care. The condition of the infants was not immediately available, but many have had to be hospitalized.  

A Massive ‘Red Tide’ Is Threatening Florida Beaches — and Scientists Haven’t Seen One So Large in Nearly a Decade
A toxic red tide blooming off the coast of Florida has killed about one-thousand sea creatures and may soon pose a minor health threat to humans. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the red tide occurs when Karenia brevis, a microscopic algae, begins to multiply quickly in numbers.  

Rare Event Captured In Region Around A Supermassive Black Hole
An extreme and rare event in the region of space immediately surrounding a supermassive black hole has been captured by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. The corona of the black hole, a compact source of X-rays that is situated nearby, has moved closer to the black hole over a period of just days.  

Russian humanitarian aid convoy pushes south to Ukraine
Russian lorries taking aid to conflict-hit east Ukraine have started a second day of their journey. The convoy of almost 300 vehicles stopped overnight in the southern city of Voronezh, and is due to arrive at the Ukraine border later on Wednesday. Uncertainty remains about how the aid will be delivered, amid fears Russia could use the convoy as a pretext for military action in Ukraine.  

Japan angry at Russian army drills on disputed islands
Japan says it will strongly protest to Russia over military exercises it is staging on disputed islands off northern Japan. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the drills were totally unacceptable. He has been trying to improve relations with Russia at a time of high tension with China over other islands, but has angered Moscow by backing sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.  

Ebola outbreak: Kenya at high risk, warns WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Kenya as a "high-risk" country for the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Kenya was vulnerable because it was a major transport hub, with many flights from West Africa, a WHO official said. This is the most serious warning to date by the WHO that Ebola could spread to East Africa.  

Magnitude 5.8 quake shakes southwest Mexico, no damage reported
An emergency services official in Pinotepa told Reuters that no damage had been reported by its patrols, and Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said on his Twitter feed there had been no damage in the capital, Mexico City.  

Magnitude-5.1 quake rattles Ecuadorian capital
The powerful quake caused landslides in a number of sandpits and hills in the area, which sent up a dust cloud that was easily observed from the capital.  

EU countries give France green light to arm Iraqi Kurds
EU countries have moved a step closer to sending arms to Iraqi Kurds to help them fight the Islamic State (IS). Ambassadors at a meeting of the bloc’s Political and Security Committee in Brussels on Tuesday (12 August) agreed that individual member states are free to send weapons, but stopped short of launching an EU-level effort to support the Kurdish militia, the Peshmerga.  

5.4-magnitude earthquake rattles Guam, Rota
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake's center was located 23 miles southwest of Rota at a depth of 62 miles.  

Israeli tactic to stop soldier capture criticized
An Israeli military tactic that allows overwhelming fire to stop the capture of soldiers — even at the risk of killing them — is facing criticism after its use in the Gaza war killed some 100 Palestinians.  

Ogallala Aquifer's dramatic drying sows deep concerns for High Plains agriculture
The Ogallala Aquifer across the region has dropped about 325 billion gallons every year for at least the past four decades. To put that number into perspective, the roughly 1-foot annual drop in the aquifer is more than enough to supply all of Lubbock’s municipal water needs for 25 years.  

The One Question About Ebola That Nobody Can Seem To Answer
How in the world is it possible that more than 170 health workers have been infected by the Ebola virus? That is the one question about Ebola that nobody can seem to answer.  

In North Korea, a church renovated, missionaries jailed
Tucked between trees and paddy fields in a quiet suburb in the west of Pyongyang, Chilgol Church is one of four state-operated churches in the capital of a country that espouses freedom of religion but effectively bans it.  

U.S. sends 130 more troops to Iraq
Another 130 U.S. troops arrived in Iraq on Tuesday on what the Pentagon described as a temporary mission to assess the scope of the humanitarian crisis facing thousands of displaced Iraqi civilians trapped on Sinjar Mountain and evaluate options for getting them out to safety.  

Israel furious as UN unveils Gaza probe team
Israel lashed out on Tuesday after the UN Human Rights Council named the man who will be running an inquiry into its Gaza offensive. Related Stories Clock ticks down to end of Gaza truce deadline AFP Clooney's fiancee opts not to join UN Gaza probe team AFP Palestinians say UN probe will prove Israel war crimes AFP Israel Ready To Continue Gaza War After Tunnels Razed: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Huffington Post Israel has the right to defend itself. What about the Palestinians? The Week (RSS) Canadian international lawyer William Schabas, who will head the commission, is widely regarded in Israel as being hostile to the Jewish state over reported calls to bring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court.  

Israels Three Options in Gaza
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

As Israel’s battle against Hamas drags into August, a new narrative is emerging here at home. From the White House to Fox News, self-proclaimed friends of Israel are invoking a similar illogic. Yes, they say, Israel has a right to defend itself. And yes, Hamas is aggressively using human shields in a cynical effort to pile up Palestinian civilian casualties. But, they complain, we’re now seeing evidence of something completely unacceptable: Palestinian civilian casualties! So Israel – that’s right, Israel – had better change its tactics immediately.

“The prolonged killing of children and women in Palestinian territories,” an indignant Joe Scarborough told his MSNBC audience, “will only serve to weaken Israel and strengthen Hamas.” He’s absolutely right – provided that people like Scarborough continue to mislead their audiences into believing that Israel could be doing more than its already doing to protect civilians. It cannot.

Given Hamas’ aggressive use of human shields, Israel has only three options. The first option is to crush Hamas regardless of the civilian toll. This is how the Nazis took care of business. This is also how Vladimir Putin defeated the Chechnyan separatists in 1999. This is also how Hamas would behave if they ever had the military might to do so. For all who value innocent human life, however, this option is unacceptable.

A second option is surrender. Since Israelis value innocent human life, and since Hamas has ensured that any Israeli efforts to defend themselves will result in the taking of innocent lives, then Israel’s hands are tied. Well played, Hamas. You have exploited Jewish morality to paralyze the Jewish state. To preserve its soul Israel must wave the white flag and seek terms of surrender.

But here’s the problem. Hamas’ terms of surrender require Israeli suicide – both national and individual. Hamas doesn’t want an end to the occupation of Gaza – Israel pulled out every last soldier and settler from Gaza in 2005. And Hamas doesn’t want a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel. The Hamas Charter specifically rejects any compromise or even negotiation with the Jewish state and adopts instead a rather more hostile goal: Jewish genocide.

Gandhi’s non-violence worked only because he was fortunate enough to confront an enemy – the British – who valued human life. Had Gandhi fought ISIS or Hamas, his tactics would have done nothing more than facilitate a Hindu genocide. If you hear hyperbole in this claim, please look at what is happening to Christians today in ISIS-controlled Mosul. For all who value their own lives, surrendering to Hamas is unacceptable.

This leaves Israel with one final option: to fight the terrorists while simultaneously doing everything in its power to spare innocent civilian lives. This is the option Israel has chosen. And by all practical measures this is exactly what Israel is doing. Using leaflets, phone calls, text messages and humanitarian pauses, Israel does more than any other army on the planet to ensure that civilians leave a targeted neighborhood or building before it strikes. The Israelis know that by giving up the element of surprise they’re more likely to find booby traps and bombs instead of the terrorists they seek. But such is the price of morality.

Confronted with Israel’s efforts to spare civilian lives, Hamas has developed enterprising new strategies for engineering their deaths. Hamas fired thousand of missiles into Israel and then rejected repeated ceasefires in order to ensure that Israel would come down to Gaza to fight. Hamas has then repeatedly forced civilians fleeing Israel’s warnings back into the danger zone. And Hams fires mortars at Israeli troops from shelters and schools knowing that, to save their own lives, these troops may have to fire back at the source of the mortar without the opportunity to warn and wait. Simply put, Palestinian civilians die when Hamas’ efforts to endanger them overcome Israel’ efforts to spare them.

We who support Israel know that a Palestinian life is every bit as precious as that of an Israeli. We are no less outraged by Palestinian civilian casualties than Israel’s critics. The only difference is that we stop and think before we point our finger in blame. We remember which side tries its best to avoid civilian casualties, and which side strives so diligently to create them. We understand that while we might wish it, Israel has yet to invent the perfect weapon by which it can both defend itself from Hamas and spare all of Hamas’ human shields.

If those in the media who blame Israel for these civilian deaths would take the time to examine the chain of causation, they would see that Hamas is the engine behind these horrors. And if these personalities looked down the chain of causation further still, they would see that by blaming Israel for these deaths, they are rewarding – and thereby encouraging – the very Hamas tactics that killed them. If these critics actually thought about it, they’d see that they are all accomplices in the deaths that so outrage them.

Israel Wants to Eradicate Palestinians, Saudi Minister Says
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Times of Israel
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, right, attends a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to discuss developments in the war-battered Gaza Strip on August 12, 2014 in Jeddah. (photo credit: AFP/STR)

In Jesus Calling: Jesus Contradicts Himself
Aug 13th, 2014
CommentaryWarren B. Smith
Categories: Warning

In Jesus Calling, “Jesus” openly contradicts the true Jesus Christ of Scripture.

I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. (1 John 2:21; emphasis added)

The true Jesus Christ said:

I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

Because Jesus Christ is the truth, He cannot contradict the truth. But in Jesus Calling, this “Jesus” (who claims to be the true Jesus) does contradict the truth of the true Jesus Christ. This “Jesus” states:

I am with you always. These were the last words I spoke before ascending into heaven.1

At the end of this day’s devotion at the bottom of the page, the reference Matthew 28:20 is given. In Scripture, this verse (which Sarah Young’s “Jesus” quotes), records the true Jesus Christ’s statement, “lo, I am with you alway,” which He spoke after His resurrection. But these were not the last words Jesus Christ spoke before ascending into heaven. As author and pastor Larry DeBruyn points out, this “promise of His continued presence” “was to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16, 20),” and His last words “were uttered later on a different mount near Jerusalem” which is the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12).2 Immediately prior to ascending into heaven, His actual last words were the following—which, as Pastor DeBruyn also points out, “were not that He would be with them but rather that they would be His witnesses”:

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Acts 1:7-9) (emphasis added)

Let’s take a look at the very next verses in this passage:

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:10-11; emphasis added)

Is the “Jesus” of Jesus Calling this same Jesus? No. He cannot possibly be the same, as that “Jesus” openly contradicts what Scripture tells us were Jesus Christ’s actual last words before He was taken up, according to Acts 1:7-9. More than ever, we need to heed Jesus’ warnings of false Christs and false prophets:

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. (Matthew 24:23-26; emphasis added)

Endnotes:

1. Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, p. 29. With thanks to Steve Griffith.
2. Pastor Larry DeBruyn e-mail sent to author on subject.

Hamas Declares the Current Ceasefire is 'Last Chance for Talks'
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas Al-Qassam Brigade terrorists

Flash 90

A senior Hamas leader declared ahead of the end of the current 72-hour ceasefire, which will come at midnight on Wednesday, that the current lull in fighting is the last chance for Israel to negotiate with his terrorist organization.

Ismail Radwan, the Hamas leader, warned Wednesday "these three days are the last opportunity as far as we are concerned," reports Channel 10.

"If there won't be advancement towards the demands of the Palestinian people, I anticipate the delegation will leave Cairo," added Radwan, referencing the ongoing truce talks being intermediated by Egypt.

Hamas, which along with Islamic Jihad have broken no fewer than six "humanitarian ceasefires" in the course of Operation Protective Edge, bragged last week that it is holding Israel "at gunpoint" in the negotiations, either to get its demands or "shoot you in the chest."

The terrorist organization also clarified that if a truce is indeed achieved in Cairo, the truce would only be so as to plan the next terror war on the Jewish state.

Hamas's lavish demands in the talks include serious threats on Israel's security, such as the release of terrorists, the opening of borders, as well as the establishment of a sea port and airport in Gaza.

According to Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, Egypt on Tuesday submitted a proposal, which would reject Israel's demands for a disarmament of Gaza as well as Hamas demands for a sea and airport, putting off such issues for future talks. The Egyptian proposal would include the easing of the blockade on the Hamas terror enclave.

It appears the talks have not reached a breakthrough, even as reports Tuesday indicated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with party head coalition members privately in what one minister termed "softening talks" to gain support for Israeli concessions to Hamas.

Gov. Cuomo to Pres. Rivlin: We Understand Your Need to Protect Your Citizens
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

In a working meeting that was held today (Wednesday) between President Reuven Rivlin and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the New Yorker expressed his support to the State of Israel and her people. 

"We fully understand the need for you to protect your citizens in a war that has been forced upon you," he said.

Governor Cuomo and several other US lawmakers arrived in Israel yesterday (Tuesday) for a two-day visit to show their solidarity with Israel.  During their visit they have been meeting with senior Israeli officials, and are also here to speak with some of the residents of the south, who have been so affected by the recent rocket fire from Gaza.

Former South African President Calls for Boycott of Israel
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Anti-Israel boycott campaigners

Reuters

South Africa's former President, Thabo Mbeki, has called for a boycott of Israeli goods to show solidarity with Palestinian Arabs, the BBC reported on Tuesday.

The public should mobilize against Israel so that it "does pay a price for the position that it is taking", Mbeki was quoted as having said in the capital, Pretoria.

Mbeki, in an address to students at the University of South Africa, rejected calls for the government to recall its ambassador to Tel Aviv, saying South Africa needed to "engage" with Israel to find a "just solution" to the conflict.

At the same time, South Africa's political parties, trade unions and religious groups should mobilize for a boycott of Israeli goods and "divesting" from Israeli companies, he said, according to the BBC.

"It is not the responsibility of government to mobilize people. We must mobilize ourselves," declared Mbeki.

The comments come a week after South Africa’s current President, Jacob Zuma, voiced outrage over civilian deaths in Israel's campaign in Gaza but distanced himself from calls to expel the Israeli ambassador.

"We are outraged by the killing of civilians by Israel, some in United Nations shelters," Zuma said.

"We call upon all sides to lay down arms and work towards a negotiated solution that will lead to an internationally recognized and supported two-state solution," he said.

Zuma, without explicitly ruling out the expulsion of the ambassador, said that South Africa needed to act in a way "that will benefit both countries of the Middle East in the long end, and as a country we do have to take a bigger picture."

South Africa has frequently been critical of Israel and has claimed that it is applying a policy of “apartheid” towards Palestinian Arabs. Last June, the former South African ambassador to Israel rejected a symbolic gift from the Israeli government, planting trees in his honor in a national park named after South Africa.

He explained that Israeli policies which, he claims, discriminate against Arabs appeared to be reminiscent of his experiences under South Africa's apartheid system.

South Africa's Foreign Minister has in the past slammed Israel's plans to build new homes in Jerusalem, saying she was “losing sleep” over the size of “Palestine”.

Most recently, Zuma’s party compared Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza to the actions of the Nazis during World War II, evoking outrage from Jewish groups in the country.

South Africa has also imposed rules requiring that goods imported from Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem display special labels.

Egypt's Grand Mufti: ISIS is Damaging Islam
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Member of ISIS

Reuters

Egypt's top religious authority on Tuesday condemned the armed group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria and is now calling itself the Islamic State (IS).

According to Reuters, Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam described the group as a corrupt, extremist organization that is damaging Islam.

“An extremist and bloody group such as this poses a danger to Islam and Muslims, tarnishing its image as well as shedding blood and spreading corruption,” said Allam, Egypt's most influential Muslim cleric, was quoted by the state news agency MENA as having reported.

The comments came as the Vatican called on Muslim religious leaders to take a “clear and courageous stance” and condemn “unspeakable criminal acts” by IS.

The grand mufti's view represents the opinion of Al Azhar, one of the world's oldest seats of Muslim learning, which influences the opinions of Muslims worldwide.

Allam said the group’s actions strengthened the hand of those who wanted to harm Islam.

“[They] give an opportunity for those who seek to harm us, to destroy us and interfere in our affairs with the [pretext of a] call to fight terrorism,” Allam said, according to Reuters.

ISIS declared a caliphate in areas of Iraq it captured, following which the group started using the abbreviated Islamic State name.

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Qatada, who is being tried on terror charges in Jordan, recently denounced the IS declaration as "void".

"The announcement of a caliphate by the Islamic State is void and meaningless because it was not approved by jihadists in other parts of the world," Abu Qatada said.

"This group does not have the authority to rule all Muslims and their declaration applies to no-one but themselves," he declared.

"Its threats to kill opponents, sidelining of other groups and violent way of fighting opponents constitute a great sin, reflecting the reality of the group," wrote the preacher, who is of Palestinian Arab descent.

Donohue: ISIS Persecution of Christians Far Worse Than China, North Korea
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsCNS News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Sunni demonstrators chant pro-Islamic ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) slogans and wave al-Qaeda banners in Mosul on Monday, June 16, 2014. (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) –The systematic slaughter of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq by the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) is "far worse" than the atrocities committed against believers by communist regimes in North Korea and China, says Catholic League president Bill Donohue.

“I would say they’re actually worse than the North Koreans at this point,” he told CNSNews.com.

“We’ve seen what’s going on in Communist China. It’s going on right now – they’re destroying churches. We’ve seen it in North Korea, the mass killing of Christians."

"But what’s different about this is that no one really believes that the Chinese anti-Christian Communists are going to go across somebody else’s border to bring about their messianic vision. The same is true for North Korea, for all their talk,” Donohue added.

“What’s different about this is that you don’t even have a nation. I mean, whether we like it or not, North Korea is a nation and so is China. But here we have nothing but a band of terrorist barbarians who did not spring from any particular nation, and who are on the march to take over the entire Middle East, which will destroy the economy of the world while they’re killing Jews and Christians, and Muslims, I might add."

“So this is a menace without borders. It’s far worse than China and North Korea. I wouldn’t even compare North Korea to what’s going on right now. At least that’s somewhat contained. These people do not want to be contained. They’ve promised not to be contained. They want to take it across the world. That’s what they believe in.”

Donohue gave the Obama administration credit for “finally reacting” to the genocide in Iraq, but criticized the president for comments he made during an August 8 interview with The New York Times.

“President Obama over the weekend made a comment that we don’t want winners and we don’t want the vanquished. But that’s just plain silly. You can’t have two winners in war. You can’t have two winners in a baseball game,” Donohue said. “As far as I’m concerned, you either have the forces of freedom or you have the forces of death. The Muslim jihadists are the forces of death.”

“When you have Muslims being murdered by ISIS because they don’t adopt the exact same Islamic perspective, when you have nations like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates being scared to death of what’s going on and where Iran is figuring in on this, when you have normal foes of Israel falling silent because they know what they’re up against, I think that we’re at a very dangerous point,” Donohue told CNSNews.com.

“I’ve never seen a more maniacal force since the days of Pol Pot, and then before that, you’d have to dial the clock back to Hitler, and Stalin and Mao Tse-tung. When you have children at the age of seven walking around with the heads of soldiers, when you have children being beheaded, when you have people being told that at midnight, you change your religion or we will kill you, you’re not dealing here with the normal kinds of antagonisms that will often exist between various parties, including in the Middle East."

Noting that over 100.000 Christians have already fled from Nineveh, which he called “one of the heartland cities for Christians in Iraq,” Donohue pointed out that ISIS’s stated goal is “to turn the whole Middle East into a caliphate.”

“We have a terrorist organization that kills everybody who doesn’t agree with its perspective 100 percent, including other Muslims.” he continued. “ISIS is not like any other force that we’ve seen. If in fact they quit al Qaeda because al Qaeda was considered too wimpy, then you’re dealing with people who cannot be stopped by dialogue and diplomacy. So they have to be met with force.”

More than a dozen airstrikes have been launched against ISIS by the U.S. military, but Pentagon officials say that they are just a temporary measure and the terrorists are already reacting by hiding among the civilian population.

On August 9, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that he “remains deeply concerned about the evolving humanitarian and security situation in Iraq.”

Donohue predicted that due to the vast extent of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, the United Nations will eventually intervene. “I think that’s coming. There have been encouraging words by the secretary general in condemning this genocide. He’s not holding back, and he doesn’t have measured words. I commend him on that, and a lot of Catholic leaders have as well. ”

CNSNews.com asked Donohue what he thinks will happen if ISIS is not defeated.

“If they were to continue on unabated, then you would have a caliphate, then you would have sharia law all over the Middle East. And then, of course, the next stop would be to destroy Israel. At that point, you actually risk a world war. I don’t think we’re going to get to that, because I think the resolve of the West will be strong enough, but I do think that this is a menace the likes of which goes beyond anything we’ve seen even in recent history out of the Middle East.”

Danon: You Don't Do Business With Terrorists
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

MK Danny Danon

Flash 90

MK Danny Danon (Likud) warned on Tuesday evening against Israel making any concessions to Hamas during ceasefire negotiations, amid reports that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was preparing the heads of the parties in the coalition for concessions to the terror organization.

“You do not do business with a terrorist organization,” Danon said.

“The agreement being put together will allow Hamas to raise its status on the Arab street and upgrade its military capabilities that will be directed towards us whenever the heads of Hamas decide to do so,” he warned.

“If [Hamas leaders] Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Al-Zahar receive immunity under this agreement, it will significantly harm our deterrence capabilities,” said Danon.

Earlier on Tuesday, it was reported that Israel has agreed to pay the salaries of Hamas officials through a third-party country, and lighten the naval blockade on Gaza.

The fishing zone for Gaza would be expanded by six nautical miles, and building materials would be sent in under supervision, despite the fact that cement transported to Gaza helped Hamas build a massive network of terror tunnels used in the operation to kill IDF soldiers.

Israel is also reportedly close to agreeing to double the amount of trucks bringing materials to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing to 600 per day, as well as increasing the monthly amount of entry permits to Israel from the Erez Crossing, and expanding criterion for Gaza residents to enter Israel, Judea and Samaria.

As for what Israel gets in return for the numerous concessions, reports have yet to specify what exactly is being offered. One thing they do suggest is that the truce deal does not include a demilitarization of Gaza, despite calls to do so.

Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett already voiced his opposition Monday to paying the salaries of Hamas officials in Gaza. The minister said that "it is impossible to fight our enemy with one hand and to fund it with the other."

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday came out against Israel caving in to Hamas’s demands, such as funding Hamas and allowing a Gaza sea and airport, stating that Hamas must not leave the clash "with a feeling that terror pays."

Birth Control Microchip Adds to Growing Applications of Digital Implants
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Medical technologies have advanced from simple birth control methods such as pills, to what is now being described as nothing short of a birth control revolution that could also revolutionize various other aspects of medicine: a microchip that could control a woman’s hormones, and prevent pregnancy for up to 16 years. According to reports, local researchers at Cambridge have developed the microchip that can be implanted under the skin and is accessible by remote control, delivering tiny amounts of hormone in much the same way as birth control pills.

According to cbsboston.com, this innovation was the result of a joint effort between M.I.T.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and bio-tech firm MicroCHIPS of Lexington; they first successfully tested the technology in 2012 in osteoporosis patients, attracting the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which stepped in with a multi-million dollar grant to investigate whether the chip could be used to prevent pregnancy. 

Some experts point out that women already have implantable birth control options like the IUD, but many still choose the pill. Given the prevalence and convenience of these long-used birth control systems, is there any real value that this new microchip process will bring, over and above the currently available and popular alternatives? Bob Farra, President and COO of MicroCHIPS says yes: unlike the IUD, the chip doesn’t need to be removed every time a woman is ready to have a child. When a woman wants to conceive, she or her doctor can turn off the device with a remote control. 

Researchers are now concentrating on that remote, to make sure it can’t be hacked. As Farra asserts: “The remote control must be put up against the skin in order to establish communication…the reason we do that is we want people to have close range communication to prevent anyone from listening in to the encrypted signal.”

The plan is to have the device ready for testing on women in 2016. The estimated price tag will end up being around $1,000.

Other applications within various facets of medicine that have been beneficiaries of microchip implant-based medical technologies include osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, cancer, and chronic pain. Benefits based on clinical trials and studies being conducted since 2012 and reported in mchips.com are said to include:

• Reduction of the need for frequent injections: During clinical trials, patients received daily doses of the marketed osteoporosis drug Teriparatide through microchip delivery rather than daily injection. 

• The drug released from the implanted microchip demonstrated similar measures of safety and therapeutic levels in blood to what is observed from standard, recommended multiple subcutaneous injections of Teriparatide.

• The device and drug combination were found to be biocompatible with no adverse immune reaction. 

• The study also demonstrated that the programmable implant was able to deliver the drug at scheduled intervals. Drug delivery and evaluation in patients occurred over a one month period and provided proof-of-concept measures of drug release and device durability that support implantable device viability for 12 months or more.

• Patient surveys found that the microchip device was well-tolerated, and patients indicated that they would repeat the implant procedure. 

• A microchip that continues to deliver Teriparatide with this or similar consistency and efficiency over 12 to 24 months could improve bone mass, density, architecture, and strength. This is according to co-author Robert Neer, Founder & Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Bone Density Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

• The design of a next-generation microchip drug delivery device is the only approach to an implantable device that can be wirelessly programmed to release drugs inside the body without percutaneous (needle-puncture) connections in or on the patient. 

• An implantable microchip device also provides real-time dose schedule tracking, and as part of a network, physicians can remotely adjust treatment schedules as necessary.

With such a wide array of actual and potential microchip features and benefits, little wonder that not much ado seems to have been raised around ensuring adequate controls and protocols against potential privacy and tracking violations within authorized establishments. As usual, it’s much easier to ignore the dangers when the benefits seem overwhelmingly popular and beneficial, and the public tnds to besold on the positive side, with the negativities masked somewhere in fine print.

This birth control system is eerily similar to what could potentially culminate in the mark of the beast system spoken of the Book of Revelations 13, where no-one will be able to buy or sell without a mark on their right hand or forehead. Such a mark would certainly require similar technologies as those currently supporting bio-chips and RFID tags today. 

It is therefore no surprise that these current technologies are allowing age-old Biblical prophecies to unfold before our very eyes. 

Atheist Group Tells Georgia High School Football Team to Punt the Prayers
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Army Under Fire for Forcing Out Conservative Christian Solider
Aug 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

A member of the U.S. Army Band said he was forced out of the U.S. Army for having anti-Obama bumper stickers on his personal car, serving Chick-fil-A sandwiches at a party and reading books written by conservative authors like Sean Hannity, a federal lawsuit alleges.

Master Sergeant Nathan Sommers, a 25-year veteran of the military and a decorated soloist in the U.S. Army Band Chorus, claims he was forcibly retired from the Army due to his religious and conservative political beliefs. I first told you about Sommers last year in a series of exclusive Fox News reports. 

John Wells, an attorney representing Sommers, called him a “true hero” who lost his career while trying to stand up for his religious beliefs.” He alleges that he drew the ire of his superiors because of his belief in traditional marriage.

Master Sergeant Nathan Sommers, a 25-year veteran of the military and a decorated soloist in the U.S. Army Band Chorus, claims he was forcibly retired from the Army dues to his religious and conservative political beliefs.
“Those who protect our rights must be allowed to exercise them,” said John Wells, an attorney representing Sommers. “Master Sergeant Sommers did nothing to interfere with good order and discipline. He was the perfect soldier.”

Sommers, who was based at Fort Myer in Washington, D.C., is the recipient of an Army commendation medal and was a soloist at the funeral of former First Lady Betty Ford.

The U.S. Army Band Chorus, known as “Pershing’s Own,” betrayed the core principles of the United States Army, Wells said.

“Congress has enacted laws to protect the free expression of religious beliefs in the armed forces,” Wells said. “The Army Band broke those laws and they will be held accountable.”

“I am certain that General ‘Black Jack’ Pershing, a true leader, is spinning in his grave at the actions taken by the organization that bears his name,” he added.

The lawsuit calls for Sommers to be returned to active duty service with full pay and benefits. 

I reached to the military hoping they might shed some light on Sommers' allegations. But a spokesman said the Army does not comment on pending litigation. 

Sommers first ran into trouble with his superiors when he put several anti-Obama bumper stickers on his car. The stickers read, “NOBAMA,” and “The Road to Bankruptcy is Paved with Ass-Fault.” That particular sticker included the image of a donkey. Sommers was ordered to remove the stickers, the lawsuit alleges.

“The Army took no action against those soldiers with pro-Obama bumper stickers,” Wells said.

Sommers was also criticized for reading books written by Sean Hannity, David Limbaugh and Mark Levin while in uniform. In one incident, he was backstage before a performance reading Limbaugh’s “The Great Destroyer” when a superior officer told him that he was causing “unit disruption” and was offending other soldiers.

“I wasn’t reading aloud,” Sommers told me. “I was just reading privately to myself. I was told they were frowning on that and they warned me that I should not be reading literature like that backstage because it was offensive.

It’s a good thing Sommers wasn’t caught reading my latest book, “God Less America.” He probably would’ve been tossed into a prison cell at Fort Leavenworth.

But the incident that really seemed to set off the chain of events that led to his forced retirement happened in 2012 and involved plump juicy chicken breasts.

Sommers decided to serve Chick-fil-A sandwiches at his promotion party – in honor of the repeal of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

“In honor of DADT repeal, and Obama/Holder’s refusal to enforce DOMA act, I’m serving Chick-fil-A at my MSG promo reception for Army today,” he tweeted.

That tweet came under fire from his superior officers, according to an official military document.

“As a Soldier you must be cognizant of the fact that your statements can be perceived by the general public and other service members to be of a nature bordering on disrespect to the President of the United States,” the document stated.

Sommers told me he paid for the party with personal money, not government funds – and for the record – he served the sandwiches because his family likes to eat more chicken.

“I had no idea a Chick-fil-A sandwich would get me in trouble,” he said.

Wells said those incidents led to “trumped up charges” and Sommers was eventually given a sub-standard evaluation – which he immediately appealed.

On July 31 the Army’s Quality Management Panel ordered him discharged from the military.

Since Sommers had enough years on his record to retire, he was allowed to do so. The lawsuit was filed the next day.

“Just because someone joins the military, they do not give up their rights as a citizen,” Wells said.

“Unfortunately, in this world of political correctness, some Commanders believe they can force their will on subordinates.”

As I document extensively in my book, “God Less America,” there is a clear and present danger for Christians serving in the armed forces. This administration seems hell-bent on marginalizing Christianity and punishing Christians who refuse to stifle their beliefs.