World's Most Influential Apostate
Oct 1st, 2014
Commentaryby Bob Kirkland
Categories: Apostasy;Warning
It Saddens My Heart to find it necessary to write an article like this. My mother, my father, my brother and myself were all saved as a direct result of Graham’s 1955 Crusade in Toronto.
I heard the gospel, walked down that long aisle, and trusted Jesus Christ as mypersonal Savior. However, B i l l y G r a h a m h a s changed s i n c e t h a t e v e n i n g . He i s an apostate going directly against the Word of God.
Graham has almost completely abandoned what he formerly professed to believe. The word "apostasy" comes from the Greek apostasia, which is translated "falling away." An apostate is one who falls away from the true faith.
To have an influence is to have the capacity to have an effect on the behavior of someone. Graham could have used his influence to direct people to obedience, instead he has influenced millions into apostasy.
Why Is Graham So Popular? Graham has met with virtually every countries President, Prime Minister. He met with Kings, Queens, Princes and Pope’s, no door was ever barred to his entrance.
Graham's magazine, Decision, reaches 1.7 million people, his column appears in more than 100 newspapers, his radio program is on 700 stations worldwide, and several of his books have been best-sellers. (Angels, published in 1975, sold one million copies in just 90 days.) Graham has reportedly preached to over 215 million people and once claimed that precisely 2,874,082 of them have stepped forward to "accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior." (11/15/93, Time magazine)”.
He has met with presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Bush's who referred to him as "America’s Pastor.” He recently met with Obama. In 1949 at the LA crusade even the movies theaters promoting Graham.
Graham was also given national coverage by the news mogul William Randolph Hearst. Hearst sent a telegram to his newspaper editors: "Puf f Graham," and within five days, he gained national coverage. With such media attention, the crusade event ran for eight weeks— five weeks longer than planned. Graham became a national figure.
Henry Luce a magazine publisher, was called "the most influential private citizen in the America of his day,” also promoted Graham with coverage at this time, and by 1954 featured him on the cover of his magazine TIME.
Jesus said, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26).
Graham’s Early Compromise Graham made a profession of salvation in 1934 at the age of sixteen, at a revival meeting conducted by Mordecai Ham in Charlotte, N.C. Following that experience Graham went to Bob Jones University; however, finding the rules too ridged for him, after only one semester, he transferred to the Florida Bible Institute, where the first seeds of his ecumenicalism were sown.
Graham wrote in his biography that “...one thing that thrilled me [about Florida Bible Institute] was the diversity of viewpoints we were exposed to in the classroom, a wondrous blend of ecumenical and evangelical thought that was really ahead of its time” (Graham, Just As I Am, p. 46).
Graham’s compromise began as early as 1944 when he was befriended by one of the most influential Catholic leaders in America, Fulton Sheen. When Sheen died in December 1979, Graham testified that he had “known him as a friend for over 35 years.” (Religious News Service, Dec.11, 1979).
The Graham crusade committee in New York included 120 Modernists who denied the infallibility of Scripture. The wife of Modernist Norman Vincent Peale headed up the women’s prayer groups for the Crusade. Modernists like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., sat on the platform and led in prayer. In the National Observer, Dec. 30, 1963, King said the virgin birth of Christ was "a mythological story" created by the early Christians. In Ebony magazine, January 1961, King said: "I do not believe in hell as a place of a literal burning fire."
In March, 1950 Graham wrote, “...a number of Roman Catholic priests and Unitarian clergy, together with some of their parishioners, came to the meetings along with those from Evangelical churches...this was a further expansion of my own ecumenical outlook. I now began to make friends among people from many different backgrounds and to develop a spiritual love for their clergy.” (Graham, Just As I Am, p. 167). Interesting when you consider that in 1948 Graham said, 'The three greatest menaces faced by orthodox Christianity are Communism, Roman Catholicism and Mohamedanism'. (Plains Baptist Challenger, July 1977).
Interesting also is the fact that in 1967 at the Belmont Abbey College, a well-known academic Catholic institution of the Church of Rome in North Carolina, Graham was invited to come that they might present him with an honorary doctorate.
The Gastonian Gazette of November 22, 1967, reported in full what he said. "Dr. Graham, what gospel do you preach?” Here is his answer: "The gospel that built this school and the gospel that brings me here tonight is still the way of salvation." Billy Graham is a turncoat, compromising apostate.
May 28, 1978 in the Japanese newspaper 'Mainichi Daily News' Graham said, 'I think communism's appeal to youth is its structure and promise of a future utopia. Mao Tse-Tung's eight precepts are basically the same as the Ten Commandments. In fact if we can't have the Ten Commandments read in the schools I'll settle for Mao's precepts'.
In McCall’s, Jan. 1978. p. 158 (I Can’t Play God Anymore) Graham said, “I’ve found that my beliefs are essentially the same as those of orthodox Roman Catholics, for instance....We only differ on some matters of later church tradition”
In 1952 from the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph of September 6: "Many of the people who reach a decision for Christ at our meetings have joined the Catholic church."
1957, San Francisco News, November 11: "Even if the penitents are non-Protestant they are referred to the church of their choice." San Francisco is a heavily concentrated Roman Catholic city. "Anyone who makes a decision at our meeting is seen later and referred to a local clergyman--Protestant, Catholic or Jewish."
1963: "I admire Pope John [XXIII] tremendously. I felt he brought a new era to the world." (Chicago Tribune, June 8, 1963).
1966: "I find myself closer to Catholics than the radical Protestants." (Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, Radical Protestants? One has little doubt he meant fundamentalists.
1977: In Manila, the Philippines, Graham said, "We have received wondrous support from the Catholic Church" (Christianity Today, Dec. 30, 1977).
In 1980 he wrote an article which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post (Jan.-Feb. 1980). Graham said: "Pope John Paul II is one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century. He is an evangelist."
In 1989 Graham spoke further in the Today newspaper of June 8, and he said this about the Pope: "There was a pause in the conversation, suddenly the Pope's arm shot out and he grabbed the lapels of my coat, he pulled me forward within inches of his own face. He fixed his eye on me and said, `Listen, Graham, we are brothers.'"We are brothers! Graham said that was a great happening in his life, when the Pope took him by the lapels, pulled him into his cheek and said, "We are brothers."
An Interview with Midwest Today, (January 1997) called A Conversation with Billy Graham asked one question and the answer was...
Question - “You talked about emphasizing more the love and mercy of God in the later years of your ministry. Can you tell us a little bit about how that applies to people of other faiths?”
Grahams Answer - “Well, you know when I was growing up and after I came to Christ in the beginning of my life and went to school, I didn't know much about Catholics; I didn't know much about Lutherans; and people who were more ritualistic in their worship. Through the years I have been thrown [together] with them and have a great many friends in the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, when we go to a city now nearly all of the Roman Catholic churches support it. When we went to Minneapolis for the crusade -- St. Paul, which is next door joined with Minneapolis, it’s largely Catholic and Minneapolis is largely Lutheran -- they all supported the crusade, which wouldn't have happened 25 years ago. But it does today. The same is true with the Eastern Orthodox churches, because when I went to Russia, long before Communism fell, I was the guest of the Orthodox C h u r c h . " h t t
Larry King Live-April 2, 2005 Billy Graham said the late Pope was “the most influential voice for morality and peace in the world in the last 100 years.”
Larry King: “There is no question in your mind that he is with God now?”
Graham: “Oh, no. There may be a question about my own, but I don't think Cardinal Wojtyla, or the Pope -- I think he’s with the Lord, because he believed. He believed in the cross. That was his focus throughout his ministry, the cross, no matter if you were talking to him from personal issue or an ethical problem; he felt that there was the answer to all of our problems, the cross and the resurrection. And he was a strong believer.”
I Cant’ Play God Any More. McCall’s, January, 1978 - “I used to think that pagans in far-off countries were lost -- were going to hell -- if they did not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I NO LONGER BELIEVE THAT...I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God – through nature, for instance -- and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying yes to God."
NEWS BRIEF: "Graham Believes Men Can Be Saved Apart From Name Of Christ", by Robert E. Kofahl, Ph.D.,
A television interview of Billy Graham by Robert Schuller, on May 31, 1997. The following segment is an exact transcript of an excerpt close to the end of the broadcast. Reported by The Christian News, October 20, 1997, page 15.
SCHULLER: “Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity?”
GRAHAM: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer -- you know, I think there's the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ...I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first council in Jerusalem, when he said that God's purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that's what God is doing today, He's calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and that they're going to be with us in heaven."
SCHULLER: “What, what I hear you saying, that it's possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and soul and life, even if they've been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you're saying?”
GRAHAM: “Yes, it is, because I believe that. I've met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations, that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, and never heard of Jesus, but they've believed in their hearts that there was a God, and they've tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived."
SCHULLER: [He trips over his tongue for a moment, his face beaming, then says] “I'm so thrilled to hear you say this. There's a wideness in God's mercy.”
GRAHAM: “There is. There definitely is." Again, Graham said, "I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ."
No person on the face of the earth has had more influence that has lead us into our present day apostasy than has the apostate we call Billy Graham. His October 1948 crusade in Augusta, Georgia, marked the beginning of an openly ecumenical program. Sponsored by the city ministerial association. The Graham organization began demanding broad denominational support for his crusades. During Graham’s 1949 Los Angeles crusade, his ministry began to receive national press coverage. Graham’s final rift with most Fundamentalist leaders did not occur until 1957, though.
In 1955 (two years prior to the New York campaign) during Billy Graham’s Scotland crusade an i n t e r v i e w e r asked him t o d e f i n e the fundamentalist label he had been plastered with. Billy objected saying, "I don’t call myself a fundamentalist," Graham said, "I prefer to call myself a "constructionist," Billy said, explaining he was seeking to rebuild the church (March 1956, Christian Life).
Concerning the San Francisco crusade Graham refused two invitations to come to California under fundamental sponsorship (one by the Christfor- San Francisco Committee which included about 100 fundamental churches and one by the United Evangelistic Churches of Oakland). However, the liberal council of the Bay Area invited Graham to hold a campaign and this invitation was accepted. On September 26, 1957, sixty-five fundamental ministers of the San Francisco area issued a proclamation in which it was stated that these fundamental men would cooperate with the Graham Crusade if all participating churches and ministers were required to subscribe to the following minimal doctrinal statement:
• The full inspiration of the Bible.
• The virgin birth of Christ.
• The vicarious blood atonement of a sinless Christ on the cross.
• The bodily resurrection of Jesus.
• Salvation by the grace of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Graham refused to make belief in these doctrines a prerequisite for participation in the crusade.
As a result the General Crusade Committee for the San Francisco Crusade was dominated from the start by men who were advocates of liberal theology. Amongst others in support of the crusade was Bishop James A. Pike, Episcopalian Bishop of the diocese of California. Pike was asked to lead in prayer before the crowds. Pike considered the Garden of Eden and the Virgin Birth to be mere myths.
It was around this same time that Graham separated from John R. Rice and The Sword of the Lord. Rice asked Graham if he could conscientiously sign the doctrinal statement which appeared on the front page of every issue of his paper.
The statement reads as follows: "An Independent Christian Weekly, Standing for the Verbal Inspiration of the Bible, the Deity of Christ, His Blood Atonement, Salvation by Faith, New Testament Soul-Winning, and the Premillennial Return of Christ. Opposes Modernism, Worldliness, and Formalism."
In reply Graham stated that he did not believe he could sign the doctrinal statement as carried by the paper, and requested that his name be dropped from the Cooperating Board.
Billy Graham’s separation from fundamentalism is also evidenced by the fact that he helped to launch the magazine Christianity Today, a magazine that generally opposes fundamentalism and promotes the new evangelical philosophy. Graham told a ministerial friend that he gave $10,000 to start the magazine, and that he influenced others to give largely. The magazine has consistently featured his campaigns and has promoted his philosophy of coexistence with modernism.
In a letter to Dr. John R. Rice, dated May 10, 1952, Dr. Graham said: "Contrary to any rumors that are constantly floating about, we have never had a modernist on our Executive Committee, and we have never been sponsored by the Council of Churches in any city, except Shreveport and Greensboro, both small towns where the majority of the ministers are evangelical."
In a letter to Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., June 3, 1952, Graham said, "The modernists do not support us anywhere. We have never been sponsored by the Council of Churches in any cities except Greensboro and Shreveport."
In 1954 Jack Wyrtzen, a noted New York youth leader, along with several other fundamentalists, issued an invitation to Billy Graham to come to New York sponsored by born-again believers. This invitation was rejected by Graham, on the grounds that not enough churches were represented. At about the same time, the Protestant Council of New York, which is predominantly liberal, invited Dr. Graham to New York under their auspices. After some delay the invitation from the Protestant Council was accepted. Thus the invitation from the liberal Council was accepted; the invitation from the fundamentalists rejected. As a result, the crusade was held in 1957. Lawyer James Bennett, a longtime resident of New York City and strong Christian leader there for years, estimates that the General Crusade Committee in New York was composed of about 120 modernists and unbelievers and about 20 fundamentalists, and the Executive Committee contained about 15 modernists and 5 fundamentalists.
Dr. Henry Van Dusen, president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, an extremely liberal Seminary.
John A. Mackay, the former Princeton president and undoubtedly a liberal theologian.
Dr. Ralph Sockman, well known Methodist Modernist.
Dr. John Sutherland Bonnell who wrote in Look Magazine (March 23, 1954): "Presbyterians do not believe in the literal inerrancy of the Scriptures.... Most Presbyterians do not believe in a material (literal) heaven or hell." etc. etc.
According to Christian Life [Sept. 1957, p.25] the church that received the most decision cards of any New York Church was the Marble Collegiate Church, pastored by "positive thinking" Norman Vincent Peale (a man who did not preach the true gospel in his pulpit or in his writings).
On April 3 Graham addressed the National Association of Evangelicals and said, "Our New York Campaign has been challenged by some extremists on two points. First as to sponsorship, I would like to make myself clear. I intend to go anywhere, sponsored by anybody, to preach the Gospel of Christ, if there are no strings attached to my message. I am sponsored by civic clubs, universities, ministerial associations and councils of churches all over the world. I intend to continue" [Christian Beacon, April 4, 1957].
The following is written by Dr. John R. Rice and is but one example of how fundamental men pleaded with Graham to adhere to a separated position:
“I talked with Dr. Graham again and again about the danger of yoking up with modernism. Again and again he assured me that he had vowed to God he would never have a man on his committee who was not right on the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, and such matters. I visited Dr. Graham in his own home in Montreat, North Carolina, by his invitation, and we talked earnestly on such matters. Again and again we have talked by long distance telephone sometimes as long as thirty minutes. At his own request, we sent him THE SWORD OF THE LORD air mail, week after week, in his tour around the world. I wrote him in great detail on matters where I thought he was wrong. And all the time I defended him openly and publicly, excusing his mistakes, until he openly declared he had decided to keep company with modernists and put them on his committees and to go under their sponsorship. Then I was compelled, in order to be true to Christ, to come out openly against that compromise.
The issue is not Billy Graham. I have loved him through the years. I have prayed for him daily for many years...The warmhearted, friendly Cliff Barrows, the beloved Beverly Shea, the dear friend Jerry Beavan, and the assistant Grady Wilson—God knows how I have prayed for them all! I did all that a good man could do privately to help keep Billy Graham for the historic Christian position, and for working with Biblebelieving Christians instead of unbelievers.” [from pp.304-305 of "Cooperative Evangelism" in Earnestly Contending for the Faith by Dr. John R. Rice].
Other fundamental leaders, such as Bob Jones and Charles Woodbridge, also approached Graham personally about the dangers of cooperation with liberal churchmen.
Why This Article At This Time?
Some might ask why this article at this time? Graham is not preaching anymore and he will soon pass away. The truth is when Graham passes away he will have more influence than he is ever had in his life. His work will be featured on every magazine every television station every news broadcast around the world will once again promote the apostasy of Billy Graham. He will have more influence upon his death that he ever had during his life.
What Does The Bible Say? Second Thessalonians 3:6 “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.”
Second Thessalonians 3:14 “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.”
Ephesians 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that
thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing
thou hast forgotten the law of thy God,
I will also forget thy children.”
Ecclesiastes 8:11
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
The list of experts who teach that Russia, Iran and others will attack Israel in a future war called the Battle of Gog and Magog is impressive (Ezek. 38-39). So for the sake of brevity, I will simply state that God will put a hook in the jaws of Russia’s leader (Ezek. 38:4) and drag him and his allies into Israel in the latter days (Ezek. 38:16) and latter years (Ezek. 38:8). And I will make eight points about this in connection with current events.
First, Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities is not the Battle of Gog and Magog. But, if Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities, Russia and Iran have said they will counterattack and that could be the Battle of Gog and Magog.
Second, I agree with those who say Psa. 83 is a prayer about a war between Israel and her neighbors that will take place before the Battle of Gog and Magog. This war hasn’t happened, but events seem to indicate that it could happen soon. An Intifada has been raging in Jerusalem for more than two months; there is currently a temporary ceasefire between Israel and the PA, but Hamas is threatening to break it and no one expects it to hold.
Third, I agree with those who say Isa. 17 prophesies a war between Israel and Syria that will take place before the Battle of Gog and Magog. This hasn’t happened, but it is something else that could happen soon. The U.S. and several Arab allies have already attacked oil fields, refineries, Islamic State troops, other terrorists and weapons in Syria even though Russia, Iran and Syria warned us not to do it. In the past, Syria, Russia and Iran have threatened to attack Israel, if Syria is attacked. Israel has her troops on high alert and the IDF has just shot down a Syrian jet that supposedly strayed over Israeli territory.
Fourth, on Sept. 17, 2014, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence, Yuvall Steinitz said Iran is nine to eighteen months away from developing a nuclear bomb and Iran already has missiles that can deliver one. He pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.” Nine to eighteen months will quickly come and go. Therefore, it is obvious that time is running out for Israel to act and for Russia, Iran and others to respond.
Fifth, on Sept. 18, 2014, the P5 +1 (the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) began what they call their final round of negotiations with Iran over the abandonment of Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the two sides have agreed to resolve all of their differences by Nov. 24, 2014. So the P5 + 1 and Iran are now less than two months away from their self-imposed deadline, the talks are going nowhere and Iran says she will not give up her nuclear program. In addition to this, because of western sanctions on Russia over her actions in Ukraine, Russia has threatened to retaliate against the west by siding with Iran in these negotiations.
Sixth, in 2013, Israel included almost three billion dollars in her budget to finance a war with Iran. In 2014, Israel budgeted almost three billion dollars more for a war with Iran. In Sept. 2014, while preparing Israel’s budget for 2015, a problem arose. Israeli Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, did not want to raise taxes on the Israeli people, but Israeli Air Force Commander, Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel, wanted more money to upgrade Israel’s Air Force and Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted more money to finance operations to deal with security threats against Israel. Some in the media took Mr. Netanyahu’s request for more money to mean that Israel will soon attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Could it happen in the next nine months?
Seventh, Russia’s economy is in trouble. Mr. Putin is still financing a covert war in Ukraine. Western nations have gradually upped sanctions on Russia and the sanctions are finally beginning to take hold. Russia threatened to cut off the flow of natural gas to the EU, but the loss of income could be devastating. The value of the Ruble has dropped 15% against the dollar this year and a recession is looming. Russia will soon have to change her ways, deal with a recession, or find a prey with silver and gold, cattle and goods.
Eighth, based on the Jewish Talmud (not the Bible) some say a Tetrad of blood moons are an omen of war for Israel. It is a debatable issue, but no one can deny that the first blood moon in the current Tetrad occurred on April 15, 2014 (the Feast of Passover), the next blood moon will occur on October 8, 2014 (the Feast of Tabernacles) and there will be two more in 2015.
Russia is still causing trouble in Ukraine; Pres. Obama is arming the so-called friendly rebels in Syria; the U.S. and several Arab allies are attacking the Islamic State in Syria; Israel’s war with Hamas is probably not over; so it is quite possible that within months God could set the hook on Russia. Time will tell.
The Turkish Parliament will vote on Tuesday whether or not they will send grounds forces to fight against the “Islamic State” (ISIS) terrorist organization.
Also up for vote – the establishment of a “No-man’s land” and no-flight zone between Turkey and Syria.
Timely History Lessons
Oct 1st, 2014
CommentaryIan Kurylyk
Categories: Exhortation
"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37). This is a passage worth going back to again and again as a mirror of the days we live in.
It is interesting to see the Biblical view of the history of the human race portrayed here. We see long periods of time we think of as everyday life - punctuated by occasions of God's global intervention. The days of Noe (Noah) and the present days are portions of distinct ages in God's timetable for history, each to be terminated by God. What probably seemed to the men of Noah's time as "business as usual" one day was suddenly changed by the Great Flood. This age is also soon to be brought to a close by an earthshaking intervention, the return of Jesus Christ.
We also learn that conditions leading up to the flood will be found again before the return of Christ. This means that all we have to do is read of life in Noah's day to know when things are ready for the Lord's coming. "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence" (Genesis 6:11). Corruption has to do with immorality, perversion, and other forms of rottenness that come from human selfishness and lust. The violence follows naturally with corruption as people abuse others to satisfy their addictions and selfishness. Is that true today? It sounds like a summary of the evening news
This text is an example of one of the great benefits of God's Word - prophecy, knowledge of the future. The second benefit is knowledge of the past and therefore the opportunity to learn from history. "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house" (Hebrews 11:7a). Jesus came the first time to provide salvation on the cross and to have the message of salvation preached throughout this entire church age. When He comes back the day of grace and opportunity will be over. He tells us that, "behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2b).
Covert talks to 'change reality on ground in Gaza' with PA unity government held in parallel to official Cairo truce talks.
A senior Palestinian Authority (PA) source revealed to Yedioth Aharonoth that a secret channel of communication exists between Israel and the PA in parallel to the Cairo truce talks, through which Israel is negotiating with the PA, Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives.
The source exposed that a senior Israeli diplomat who was left unnamed met on Tuesday with PA unity government Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in Ramallah to speak about a number of steps by Israel to provide relief for residents of Gaza.
A senior Israeli source speaking to the Hebrew-language news source described the meeting as "coordination with a goal of changing the reality on the ground."
"These talks are not meant to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather they parallel the ceasefire talks," said the source. "The goal is to ensure supervision over what's happening in Gaza, and that can be done with the UN or with the (Palestinian) Authority."
The source continued "for the Authority to do that, we need to coordinate processes with them and also to change the reality on the ground for the Gaza residents. It's meant to establish a basis for the ceasefire."
Other Israeli diplomatic sources claimed the Ramallah meeting was a routine affair before Muslim holidays, as this Saturday marks Eid al-Adha which celebrates Abraham's "binding of Ishmael," in a Muslim appropriation of the original Torah story. The sources insisted there is no change in the policy of no direct talks with the PA since its unity deal with Hamas, but wouldn't reveal details of the talk's contents.
The meeting with Hamdallah is important because last week in Cairo, Hamas and the PA reportedly agreed to let the unity government take responsibility for Gaza by supervising crossings, making Hamdallah as head of that government the source to talk to for coordinating happenings in Gaza.
As part of that process, Hamas official Izzat Al-Rishq last week said 3,000 PA Security Forces troops would be deployed to Gaza, and that the wage war to have the unity government pay Hamas employees would be resolved via a third-party country acting in coordination with the PA.
Letting Gaza residents into Jerusalem?
Reportedly, dramatic relief steps are being discussed by Israel in the various talks that come following the terror war that Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists launched on Israel from Gaza.
According to Yedioth Aharonoth, Gaza has strongly demanded that male residents over the age of 60 be allowed to enter Jerusalem and pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount for Muslim holidays.
In a PA unity government meeting on Tuesday, it was announced that Israel had agreed to let Gaza residents travel to Jerusalem to pray at the mosque built on the holiest site in Judaism.
Another strong demand has been that Israel allow Gaza-produced goods to be marketed in Judea and Samaria, and let students from Gaza study in Judea and Samaria or abroad.
Israel has already agreed to raise the number of Gaza merchants travelling to Judea and Samaria to 200 per day, raised the maximum age of children allowed to accompany family visits to the area to 16, and given humanitarian visit permits to grandfathers and grandmothers.
When Cairo truce talks resume in the last week of October, other major topics will be raised such as control of Gaza border crossings, their supervision, and letting Gaza goods be exported abroad.
Hamas has also leveled the extravagant demands of a sea and airport in Gaza, and according to reports Tuesday is close to achieving a terrorist swap deal for the bodies of fallen soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul hy"d.
For its part, Israel's lone demand for the disarmament of Gaza has been completely rejected by Hamas, leading many to question why Israel is negotiating numerous concessions with the terrorist group.
Russia has delivered a behind-the-scenes threat to retaliate if airstrikes carried out by the U.S. or its allies target the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Middle Eastern security officials told WND.
The security officials said Russia complained Sunday in quiet talks with United Nations representatives that the Obama administration’s current aerial campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria is a violation of international agreements regarding control of Syrian airspace.
The officials said Russia warned it could potentially retaliate if U.S. or Arab airstrikes go beyond targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and instead bomb any Syrian regime targets.
The officials told WND they do not have any information about the seriousness of the Russian threat or whether Moscow meant it would retaliate directly or aid Assad’s air force in a military response.
The officials said Russian diplomats asserted terms regarding Syrian airspace were agreed upon last September as part of a sweeping deal to disarm Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons by the middle of 2014.
At the time, the international community feared Assad could target chemical weapons inspectors acting in Syria. That fear in part lead to a deal in which Moscow says it was provided with significant responsibility over the skies of Syria, purportedly to insure against Assad’s air force acting against the international disarmament effort.
The officials further said that both the Russia and Iranian militaries are on heightened alert amid the ongoing situation in Syria.
On Saturday, U.S.-led coalition warplanes for the first time reportedly struck ISIS targets in Syria near the Turkish border as well as positions in the country’s east, according to activists and a Kurdish officials speaking to the Associated Press.
Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or PYD, told the AP the strikes targeted Islamic State positions near the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
U.S.-coalition strikes also reportedly targeted a local ISIS headquarters in the northern Syrian town of Tel Abyad along the Turkish border, setting an oil refinery ablaze.
“Our building was shaking and we saw fire, some 60 meters (65 yards) high, coming from the refinery,” local businessman Mehmet Ozer told Time Magazine.
Time reported the strikes were also confirmed by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and were reported by Turkey’s Dogan news agency.
Netanyahu to meet Obama in Washington Wednesday, seven months after their last meeting.
Binyamin Netanyahu
Flash 90
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will meet in Washington Wednesday with US President Barack Obama – in their first meeting in seven months.
Netanyahu will talk to Obama about the current tensions between Israel the Palestinian Authority, and is also expected to ask Obama not to cooperate with Iran as part of the campaign against the Islamic State (aka ISIS), reports IDF Radio.
Iran is ready to work with the United States and its allies to stop Islamic State terrorists, but would like to see more flexibility on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, senior Iranian officials told Reuters.
Netanyahu arrived in the United States Monday and gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. He criticized the international community and claimed that it had been hypocritical when it criticized Israel for its war on Hamas, at the same time as it was taking action against ISIS.
“ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree,” he said. “When it comes to their ultimate goals, Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas. And what they share in common, all militant Islamists share in common.”
He also accused Palestinian Authority chief Mahmou Abbas of complicity in Hamas's war crimes.
Netanyahu displayed a photograph showing children playing next to two Hamas rocket launchers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a war crime,” he said. “And I say to President Abbas, these are the war crimes committed by your Hamas partners in the national unity government which you head and you are responsible for. And these are the real war crimes you should have investigated, or spoken out against from this podium last week.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, As Israeli children huddled in bomb shelters and Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system knocked Hamas rockets out of the sky, the profound moral difference between Israel and Hamas couldn’t have been clearer: Israel was using its missiles to protect its children. Hamas was using its children to protect its missiles.”
A plan to rid Gaza and the West Bank of Israeli presence will be presented to the UN Security Council in about two weeks time, Israel Radio reported Sunday, quoting an unnamed Palestinian source.
The source said that they are planning to present the proposal first to Mahmoud Abbas and then work out technical details.
On Friday, during his speech at the UN General Assembly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that without a “firm timetable” in place to end the Israeli presence in Gaza and the West Bank, there’s no value in continuing peace talks.
"It's high time for this settlement occupation to end now," Abbas told the 193-member world body, which voted overwhelmingly in 2012 to grant the Palestinians de facto statehood by upgrading their UN status from "entity" to "non-member state." This also made the Palestinians eligible to apply for inclusion in the Rome Statute, opening them up to join the International Criminal Court, and possibly bring war crimes charges against Israel.
In what appears to be a new phase in the Palestinian diplomatic drive for unilateral recognition of statehood, Abbas said that he would seek the approval of the Security Council for a draft resolution that establishes a timetable for independence.
World leaders demanded Security Council reform during their addresses to the UN General Assembly over the past few days, calling for the addition of more permanent and non-permanent seats on the council and the elimination of the veto.
“The world is bigger than five,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his speech during the General Debate, referencing the five countries with veto power – the US, Britain, France, China, and Russia.
Heads of state from across the globe echoed his call for immediate reform.
The status quo has made the governing body inefficient, Peru’s President Ollanta Humala Tasso said. He asked for the addition of more permanent and non-permanent members, which, he said, should result in a more democratic process.
“The Security Council’s capacity to respond to the different crises in different parts of the world reflects the need for reforming its work methodology,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pleaded his case for Japan’s acceptance as a permanent member of the Security Council. Since joining the UN in 1956, he said, Japan has worked tirelessly to advance the causes of the UN.
“It is my wish... [that] countries sharing the same aims all work together to finally resolve a long-standing issue to reform the UN in a way that reflects the realities of the 21st century,” he said.
Discussions about council reform have been ongoing for years. France’s foreign minister first floated the idea of a “code of conduct” for the veto in 2001.
During his speech last year to the General Assembly, French President François Hollande called on the five powers to agree on a set of scenarios in which the veto should not be used, notably when resolutions address mass atrocities.
Former General Assembly president John Ashe, whose term just ended with the conclusion of the assembly’s 68th session, made Security Council reform a priority on his agenda.
He called for a permanent seat on the council for an African delegate.
Regional representation and the veto are key issues for reform.
“Our United Nations is – and must remain – a place where we reach compromise, a place of accommodation. The essence of the process of negotiations is compromise,” Ashe said last year.
By the end of Ashe’s tenure, however, the UN had made no progress on the matter.
In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the US has vowed to always use its veto to help protect the people of Israel.
In August, State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf said she couldn’t envision a scenario in which the US wouldn’t veto an action within the Security Council to take Israel to the International Criminal Court.
While the US’s veto might prove beneficial to Israel, overall it deadlocks the Security Council, critics say, making any real, meaningful action impossible.
As a further example, action within the council on the crisis in Ukraine has been limited in part because Russia has veto power, and it would surely veto any action condemning or holding it accountable. China and Russia both blocked early efforts by the US to take action on Syria against President Bashar Assad.
More Join Huge Hong Kong Protests
Oct 1st, 2014
Daily NewsRadio New Zealand News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues
Thousands more people are joining pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong before what organisers are confident will be the largest day so far, on China's NationalDay public holiday.
Demonstrators rejected demands to end rallies and numbers in the downtown area swelled.
Protesters ignored a call from the city's embattled leader to end the sit-in, as well as Beijing's branding of their demonstrations as "illegal", to take to the streets of the key financial hub.
A heavy downpour briefly sent umbrellas skyward and crowds scurrying, but the prospect of bad weather left the crowds undeterred.
Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters shelter from the rain.
The protesters are demanding that China withdraw plans to vet candidates for the next leadership election in 2017.
Current leader Leung Chun-ying has urged the protesters to go home, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing's influence on the territory.
There was a carnival atmosphere among demonstrators on Tuesday, in contrast to weekend clashes when riot police fired pepper spray and tear gas to quell the unrest. The streets were relatively quiet but thousands flocked the protest camps as night fell.
The demonstrators include students and supporters of the Occupy Central group and said they were confident they would step up the protests for Wednesday's National Day holiday, which marks the anniversary of the founding of Communist China.
The degree of overall support for the protesters among the 7.2 million who live in the territory is unclear, the BBC reports. Some residents fear the demonstrations could affect relations with Beijing or hit the economy of the financial hub.
Let the Headlines Speak
Oct 1st, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues
Oregon Earthquake Today 2014 Strikes Lakeview
USGS indicates to news that a 3.9 magnitude Oregon earthquake today just at 5:46 am PST. The quake had no depth. Officials tell news that the quake started at ground level. USGS is currently categorizing the movement as an earthquake. No further update about the nature has been released to news.
Oklahoma Beheading is the First of More to Come in the US
Islamic beheadings are making their way to the West. Recently an elderly woman in Britain was savagely decapitated by a Muslim inspired by the ISIS beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and now a woman in Oklahoma has been beheaded by a Muslim coworker.
Iran Killed Physicist Who Refused to Build Bomb, Says Sister
When Iranian nuclear physicist Ardeshir Hosseinpour was murdered in 2007, Israel was the main suspect. Now, his sister claims he was murdered by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) because he would not cooperate with its efforts to divert nuclear work from peaceful purposes to building an atomic bomb, reports the Canadian National Post's Media Line.
Shemitah author answers critics: 'Judgment is coming'
In the absence of repentance and mass revival, Cahn sees a continuation of catastrophic “shakings” that will gradually break America down, knocking it off its perch as world leader. America’s current downward spiral started in 1973 with the Arab oil embargo, economic turmoil, the first lost war and the legalization of abortion, Cahn said in an interview with conservative radio host and theologian Michael Brown.
Ebola victim was originally SENT HOME from hospital with antibiotics before the deadly virus was diagnosed after he had mixed with other people for TW
A Dallas hospital initially mistook a man's case of the Ebola virus in a Texas hospital for something else and gave him antibiotics.
Mosquito Virus That Walloped Caribbean Spreads in U.S.
A mosquito-borne virus that can cause debilitating joint pain lasting for years has spread to the continental U.S. after infecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean and Central America. The virus is called Chikungunya.
Traveler from Liberia is first Ebola patient diagnosed in U.S.
A man who flew from Liberia to Texas has become the first patient infected with the deadly Ebola virus to be diagnosed in the United States, health officials said on Tuesday, a sign the outbreak ravaging West Africa may spread globally.
Moderate earthquake hits Papua New Guinea
A moderate earthquake, with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale, occurred at 11.38am today in the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea, the Malaysian Meteorological Department reported.
Two Oklahoma earthquakes recorded today
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded two more Oklahoma earthquakes so far today. A 3.3 magnitude quake recorded 12:58 a.m. about 15 miles west-southwest of Perry. Then, at 1:06 a.m., a 3.5 magnitude quake recorded about 14 miles west-southwest of Perry.
Catalina Earthquake Today 2014 Strikes Southern California
The Catalina Island quake today began just after 1:28 pm PST, officials tell news. The quake was near Avalon. Reps indicate that that quake was shallow. It began only three miles below sea level, in the Pacific Ocean. As a result the quake could be felt across the immediate region.
University of New Mexico Fights Sexual Assault–With Sex Week
Sex Week at the University of New Mexico is not supposed to be all fun and games. It’s part of a “larger strategy to reduce sexual violence on campus,” school officials insist... The event features “workshops” with deliberately provocative titles, such as, “How to be a Gentleman AND Get Laid,” “Negotiating Successful Threesome,” “O-Face Oral” and “BJs and Beyond,” according to a flier distributed on campus.
Northeast loses 40% of House seats as people flee high-tax states
The Northeast, once the nation’s political engine that produced presidents, House speakers and Senate giants...is losing clout in Washington as citizens flee the high-tax region... The Census Bureau reports that population growth has shifted to the South and the result is that the 11 states that make up the Northeast are being bled dry of representation in Washington.
Nigeria’s Actions Seem to Contain Ebola Outbreak
With quick and coordinated action by some of its top doctors, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, appears to have contained its first Ebola outbreak, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. ...Nigeria is the only country to have beaten back an outbreak with the potential to harm many victims in a city with vast, teeming slums.
U.S. Law Enforcement Seeks to Halt Apple-Google Encryption of Mobile Data
U.S. law enforcement officials are urging Apple Inc. and Google Inc. to give authorities access to smartphone data that the companies have decided to block, and are weighing whether to appeal to executives or seek congressional legislation. The new privacy features, announced two weeks ago...will stymie investigations into crimes ranging from drug dealing to terrorism, law enforcement officials said.
Islamic State crisis: New strikes in Syria near Kobane
US-led forces have carried out air strikes on Islamic State (IS) militants battling Kurdish fighters around the northern Syrian border town of Kobane. A BBC correspondent saw explosions outside the town in the morning. At least 10 people were killed overnight, Syrian activists said, as the jihadists moved to within 2 to 3km (1.2-1.9 miles) of Kobane.
Abbas: If Security Council bid fails, we will join ICC, may end security cooperation with Israel
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas vowed Tuesday to join the International Criminal Court at the Hague in the event that his efforts at the UN Security Council to set a timetable forcing the withdrawal of Israel to the pre-1967 lines should fail.
US signs long-delayed pact to keep troops in Afghanistan past 2014
Officials from Afghanistan and the United States on Tuesday signed a long-delayed security agreement to allow American troops to stay in the country after the end of the year, filling a campaign promise by new President Ashraf Ghani.
California wildfires: 2014 budget spent, as typical high-fire season begins
Facing historic drought conditions, California firefighters are tapping into a state backup fund. As a result, firefighting crews can still be deployed and water tankers flown, despite spending beyond annual firefighting budget.
Japan volcano death toll likely to rise to around 46 as more victims found
The death toll from Japan's worst volcanic eruption in decades is likely to rise to around 46 after as more victims were discovered on the ash-covered summit, media said on Wednesday.
Taliban bombs hit Afghan army vehicles, killing at least seven
Two Taliban suicide bombers carried out separate attacks on Afghan army vehicles in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 15, the government said, a day after Afghanistan signed security deals with NATO and the United States.
Australian aircraft to support U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq: PM
Australian aircraft will join the U.S.-led coalition in air strikes against Islamic State insurgents in Iraq in an initial support role, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Wednesday, ahead of a final decision to undertake bombing missions.
Another Palestinian Mistake at the UN
Abba Eban, Israel’s legendary representative to the United Nations, once famously remarked that “the Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas proved Eban’s point Friday, in an incendiary speech to the UN General Assembly in which he accused Israel of “a new war of genocide” against the Palestinian people.
American Millennials are keeping Kosher at twice the rate of their parents.
More and more young Jews keeping it kosher
Flash 90
Many Jewish leaders expressed concern about the results of the 2013 Pew Research Center Survey, which found high rates of intermarriage and assimilation among American Jews.
But amid the doom and gloom some more positive trends went largely unnoticed. For instance, nearly a quarter of Jews from the millennial generation (born after 1980) are keeping Kosher - a rate of almost double to that of the their parents from the baby boomer generation, noted NPR.
For Lisa Faulds, the change came only a few months ago. She says she grew up eating "bacon, ham, all that fun stuff. Seafood, shellfish." But now, in her early twenties, she has began to keep kosher.
Margo Smith, another milennial, says that keeping kosher is about values, "taking the root idea of keeping kosher as an idea of being respectful and knowledgeable about the way in which your food is prepared and where it comes from and kind of combining it with the farm-to-table philosophy."
For others it's about identity and roots. Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-owner of The Gefilteria, a New York company offering high-end versions of gefilte fish, believes that Jewish food should not just be seen as hummus and falafel. As the descendant of Eastern European immigrants, he is concerned with preserving the food culture of Ashkenazi Jews.
The combination of young people with kashrut has been very influential on high-end kosher cuisine. In addition to the Gefilteria, there is Mason and Mug, a hip, Kosher restaurant in Brooklyn which serves the traditional Vietnamese sandwich bahn-mi, as well as craft beer in mason jars. Kosher grass-fed beef and kosher free-range chicken are both now available, as well.
The Earth seems to have been smoking a lot recently. Volcanoes are erupting in Iceland, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ecuador and Mexico right now. Others, in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, erupted recently but seem to have calmed down. Many of these have threatened homes and forced evacuations. But among their spectators, these eruptions raise question: Is there such a thing as a season for volcanic eruptions?
While volcanoes may not have “seasons” as we know them, scientists have started to discern intriguing patterns in their activity.
Eruptions caused by a shortened day
The four seasons are caused by the Earth’s axis of rotation tilting toward and away from the sun. But our planet undergoes another, less well-known change, which affects it in a more subtle way, perhaps even volcanically.
Due to factors like the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, the speed at which the Earth rotates constantly changes. Accordingly the length of a day actually varies from year to year. The difference is only in the order of milliseconds. But new research suggests that this seemingly small perturbation could bring about significant changes on our planet — or more accurately, within it.
A study published in the journal Terra Nova in February showed that, since the early 19th century, changes in the Earth’s rotation rate tended to be followed by increases in global volcanic activity. It found that, between 1830 and 2013, the longest period for which a reliable record was available, relatively large changes in rotation rate were immediately followed by an increase in the number of large volcanic eruptions. And, more than merely being correlated, the authors believe that the rotation changes might actually have triggered these large eruptions.
Altering the spin of a planet, even by a small amount, requires a huge amount of energy. It has been estimated that changes in the Earth’s rotation rate dissipate around 120,000 petajoules of energy each year — enough to power the United States for the same length of time. This energy is transferred into the Earth’s atmosphere and subsurface. And it is this second consequence that the Terra Nova authors believe could affect volcanoes.
The vast quantities of energy delivered to the subsurface by rotation changes are likely to perturb its stress field. And, since the magma that feeds volcanic eruptions resides in the Earth’s crust, stress variations there may make it easier for the liquid rock to rise to the surface, and thereby increase the rate of volcanic eruptions.
The Terra Nova study is far from conclusive. Nevertheless, the idea that minute changes to the Earth’s spin could affect volcanic motions deep within the planet is intriguing.
But there’s another natural phenomenon that has a much stronger claim to affecting volcanic activity: climate change.
Eruptions caused by climate change
In recent decades, it has become apparent that the consequences of planetary ice loss might not end with rising sea levels. Evidence has been building that in the past, periods of severe loss of glaciers were followed by a significant spike in volcanic activity.
Around 19,000 years ago, glaciation was at a peak. Much of Europe and North America was under ice. Then the climate warmed, and the glaciers began to recede. The effect on the planet was generally quite favourable for humankind. But, since the mid-1970s, a number of studies have suggested that, as the ice vanished, volcanic eruptions became much more frequent. A 2009 study, for example, concluded that between 12,000 and 7,000 years ago, the global level of volcanic activity rose by up to six times. Around the same period the rate of volcanic activity in Iceland soared to at least 30 times today’s level.
There is supporting evidence from continental Europe, North America and Antarctica that volcanic activity also increased after earlier deglaciation cycles. Bizarrely, then, volcanic activity seems — at least sometimes — to rise and fall with ice levels. But why? Again, this strange effect might come down to stress.
Eruptions cause by the melting of ice
Ice sheets are heavy. Each year, Antarctica’s loses around 40 billion metric tons of ice. The sheets are so heavy, in fact, that as they grow, they cause the Earth’s crust to bend — like a plank of wood when placed under weight. The corollary of this is that, when an ice sheet melts, and its mass is removed, the crust springs back. This upward flexing can lead to a drop in stress in the underlying rocks, which, the theory goes, makes it easier for magma to reach the surface and feed volcanic eruptions.
The link between climate change and volcanism is still poorly understood. Many volcanoes do not seem to have been affected by it. Nor is it a particularly pressing concern today, even though we face an ice-free future. It can take thousands of years after the glaciers melt for volcanic activity to rise.
Yet while it may not be an immediate hazard, this strange effect is a reminder that our planet can respond to change in unforeseen ways. Contrary to their brutish reputation, volcanoes are helping scientists understand just how sensitive our planet can be.
First Ebola Case Diagnosed in America
Oct 1st, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues
Man traveling from Liberia to Dallas falls sick with lethal virus, becomes first case outside of Africa in current outbreak.
Ebola patient in Liberia (file)
Reuters
A man who traveled on a commercial flight from Liberia to Dallas on September 20 was diagnosed on Tuesday as being infected with the Ebola virus, becoming the first such case in the US and the first case outside of western Africa in the recent global outbreak.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the man is in critical condition, and is being held in isolation at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, reports the New York Times. He traveled to Dallas to visit relatives.
CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden stressed there was "zero chance" the man infected anyone else on the flight, because he was screened before boarding the plane and had no symptoms. He only developed symptoms of the disease last Wednesday.
The disease, which has a 51% mortality rate, has already killed over 3,000 in Africa so far, but can only be transmitted by contact with the bodily fluids of someone ill with the virus.
After developing symptoms the man sought care last Friday but was sent home in a misdiagnosis of his fever and nausea; he returned for care on Sunday after symptoms worsened and was placed in isolation, and on Tuesday was confirmed by lab results as having the disease.
Frieden briefed US President Barack Obama about the case on Tuesday afternoon, telling him a CDC team is being dispatched to Dallas to trace any possible infected contacts, a process that has already been started by local health officials.
The process will have all people possibly exposed to the patient while he was infectious monitored over the 21-day incubation period of the disease, and isolated if they show symptoms. If they are diagnosed with the disease, they will be kept in isolation while their contacts are then traced for 21 days.
The methods are "tried and true" assured Frieden, saying "I have no doubt that we’ll stop this in its tracks in the US."
The White House on Tuesday released guidelines through its official Twitter account, saying "you cannot get Ebola through the air, water or food in the U.S. Ebola can only spread from contact with the blood or body fluids of a person or animal who is sick with or has died from the disease."
A report released last Tuesday by CDC gave a doomsday prediction that if the current Ebola epidemic is not countered with serious international efforts, there could be 1.4 million infected people in Sierra Leone and Liberia by the end of January.
Another report last Tuesday by the New England Journal of Medicine warned the current Ebola outbreak may never be fully controlled making the virus endemic, and bringing civic life in the stricken countries to a standstill while keeping the threat of Ebola spreading globally constant.
Some Israeli politicians see in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stirring speech before the UN General Assembly the final nail in the coffin of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In his speech, Netanyahu made clear that the current “template” for peace has failed, and that Israel is not prepared to repeat the mistakes of the Lebanon and Gaza withdrawals in Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”).
The Israeli leader strongly urged that Western peace brokers first facilitate stronger ties between the Jewish state and its more moderate Arab neighbors as a necessary first step toward eventual rapprochement with the Palestinians.
As far as Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely was concerned, Netanyahu had effectively stated there would never be a Palestinian state on Israel’s biblical heartland.
Netanyahu’s speech “informed the world that the two-state solution is dead,” Hotovely told Arutz Sheva Radio. “He spoke about the Middle East, about Cairo and Saudi Arabia and in essence hinted at other solutions rather than dividing the country. He alluded to the concepts of confederation.”
While Netanyahu did make reference to “territorial compromise,” he very conspicuously avoided the phrases “Palestinian state” or “two states for two peoples.”
In an interview with NPR, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads Israel’s peace negotiations and supports the two-state solution, suggested that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ intransigent speech days earlier had facilitated Netanyahu’s new position and all but killed the peace process.
Last Friday when he mounted the same podium at the UN General Assembly, Abbas essentially labeled Israel as his enemy and gave virtually no hope that peace talks based on mutual goodwill would restart any time soon.
“Instead of following the path of negotiations which would have enabled the creation of a Palestinian state, Abbas is now going to spend years on his [unilateral] demand for the UN to set a date for statehood,” said Livni. “Abbas should have opted for the American framework document which would have led him to a Palestinian state.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said he was unsurprised by Abbas’ belligerence, insisting that the current Palestinian leader had transformed into “a more serious enemy” than his predecessor, Yasser Arafat.
“[Abbas’] ideology is stronger and [he] negates the existence of a Jewish state and the right of the Jewish people to have a state of their own,” Steinitz told a conference at Bar-Ilan University. “For [Abbas], there is no Jewish people. He is only willing to recognize the Jewish religion.”
Still, there were some holdouts for “land-for-peace,” even if it meant Israel tread that path alone.
During a panel discussion on Channel 2 News, Opposition and Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog was asked to explain exactly what he expects of Netanyahu in his (Herzog’s) repeated demands that the prime minister continue to advance the peace process.
Herzog acknowledged that all previous surrender of land had only resulted in more terrorism, but nevertheless insisted that Netanyahu announce additional withdrawals backed by “iron clad guarantees.”
He failed to elaborate, or to address the fact that the 2005 Gaza pullout was supposedly backed by “iron clad guarantees” that failed to prevent Hamas’ violent takeover or subsequent assaults on southern Israel.
Moody's International credit rating agency echoes similarly positive report by S&P, shows economy unshaken by Gaza conflict.
Hi-tech start ups leading the charge
Flash 90
In spite of the summer's conflict with Gaza terrorist groups and the knock to tourism during that period, Israel had maintained its sterling A1 credit rating, according to the Moody's international credit rating agency.
The report based its findings on Israel's resilient growth model and effective government.
Unsurprisingly for the so-called "Start Up Nation", the key engine driving that growth is the flourishing hi-tech sector.
"Key to Israel's economic dynamism is a high-tech export sector that benefits from the country's well-educated, relatively young population, as well as one of the highest levels of per capita investment in research and development," according to the report.
It further noted the recent decision by technology giant Intel to invest $6 billion in a new chip manufacturing plant as evidence of the "substantial" inflow of foreign capital to the Jewish state's high-tech sector.
Growth is expected to continue to accelerate into next year, according to the report.
Despite the positive outlook, however, it warned that "Israel's extensive geopolitical challenges continue to constrain the ratings."
"These include territorial disputes with the Palestinians, intense civil strife in Egypt and Syria and the stand-off with Iran over its nuclear program. Intermittent conflicts pose near- to medium-term risks for the public finances and impair Israel's standing in the international community."
The good news comes less than two weeks after a similarly glowing report by Standard & Poors (S&P) international credit ratings agency, which said the impact of the 50-day Operation Protective Edge on Israel's economy was "minor".
S&P reiterated its high regard for Israel's economy, affirming its 'A+/A-1' rating for the country's sovereign debt, meaning that investors in Israeli bond issues and government debt are almost sure to get their money back.
Charles Nenner, who has claimed to have never been wrong on a market call, appeared on CNBC and warned that deflation and a stock market crash both coming.
Nenner, who developed the "Nenner cycle," which he says can time the ups and downs of any market, said on CNBC that "for the next many years, you will not see the S&P more than 5% higher than [current levels.]"
But he warns this period of low returns will be followed years of large losses.
"And there's a major thing coming down — I'm talking about far in the future — a major collapse coming down starting in 2018 to 2020," he said.
Fortunately for investors looking for a long-term buy signal, Nenner sees the next bull market starting in 2020.
Earlier in the segment, Nenner had a contentious exchange with CNBC host Scott Wapner reminiscent of the exchange CNBC anchor Jackie DeAngelis had with Bill Fleckenstein earlier this month.
Wapner challenged Nenner regarding some of his past market calls, including a call back in 2010 for a "major crisis" after 2013 due to sunspot activity, and a 2009 call that the Dow would hit 5,000 in the next "two to two-and-a-half years."
Fortunately, those calls did not come to fruition.
Currently, Nenner said he is "totally" out of the market.
Nenner sees the primary catalyst for a crash being deflation, which he believes is already starting to take hold across the world's economies and cripple growth.
"I think the big problem is in deflation, which I'm saying every year," Nenner said.
"Europe is close to deflation, Japan is still in deflation, China has very low inflation, and if the dollar continues to rise in the United States, we'll get deflation over here. And I don't think investors are ready for it."
Nenner said that there is deflation in most of the world already, and that a strong dollar will see that deflation get exported here, making it hard for indebted governments to pay off their debts.
CDC: Ebola Confirmed in Dallas Patient
Oct 1st, 2014
Daily NewsABC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues
"There is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control
DALLAS — A patient in a Dallas hospital was confirmed Tuesday to have the deadly Ebola virus, the Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday. Within hours, a team of CDC investigators arrived in North Texas to begin working on the first-ever case of this strain of the Ebola virus confirmed in the U.S.
The Dallas patient remains in "strict isolation" at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Officials said there are no plans to transfer the him to a specialized hospital with a biocontainment unit at this time.
Officials would not confirm or deny if he was an American citizen, saying only he was "visiting family in the U.S."
Gov. Rick Perry planned to visit Dallas on Wednesday to evaluate the response to this health emergency.
Here's the latest information about the Ebola patient now being cared for at a Dallas hospital. WFAA
"I have no doubt that we will control this case of Ebola, so that it does not spread widely in this country," said Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in Atlanta. "It is certainly possible that someone who has had contact with this patient could develop Ebola. But there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here."
The Dallas Fire-Rescue crew that transported the Ebola patient on Sunday is now under quarantine. The city has activated its Emergency Operations Center on "Level 2: High Readiness" in response to Tuesday's developments.
'This is not Africa. We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak.'
Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson
According to the CDC, the patient acquired the virus in West Africa, though they are not sure how he was infected. He was not involved in stopping the Ebola outbreak in Africa, where the disease has claimed more than 3,000 lives.
The patient traveled by commercial airline to visit family in the U.S., but Frieden said they will not release the flight number unless the CDC receives additional information that would mean those on the flight were at risk of infection. Frieden said based on the information they have, the patient would not have been at the stage of the virus in which he could transmit it to others at the time of the flight.
"There is zero risk of transmission on the flight," Frieden said. "He was checked for fever before getting on the flight."
Frieden also gave a brief timeline of the patient's infection in his comments Tuesday afternoon.
- September 19: The adult patient boards a flight to the U.S. in Liberia after being screened for Ebola symptoms
- September 20: The patient arrives in the United States
- September 24: Patient shows first symptoms of Ebola
- September 26: Patient seeks initial medical care
- September 28: Patient admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas
A Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital spokesman said the patient has been in isolation since he arrived on Sunday, and hospital officials had been "meeting for weeks in anticipation of such an event." He added that the facility has a "robust infection control system" in place.
Dr. Frieden said he believes "a handful" of people had contact with the patient between the September 24-28, including family members and "a couple" of community members. Those people are to be monitored by the CDC starting Tuesday.
The virus is not contagious until symptoms are present. Early symptoms of Ebola include sudden fever, fatigue, and headache. Symptoms may appear anywhere from two to 21 days after exposure.
CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden discusses the Dallas Ebola case at a news conference in Atlanta on September 30, 2014.(Photo: CDC)
Frieden said the next steps are to care for the patient and keep to a minimum the chance the virus may spread, while identifying all people the patient was in contact with while he could transmit the virus. Those people will be monitored for 21 days and isolated if they develop a fever during that time.
"Contact-tracing is something we do day-in and day-out, and something we do well," Frieden said.
Frieden conceded that others may have been infected in the United States, but said there was "no doubt" in his mind that the infection will be contained to the current patient and anyone he may have had contact with.
'It is easier to get the flu than to get Ebola, so Dallas County residents should go about their daily activities -- [we] don't feel that there is a public health threat.'
DCHHS Director Zachary Thompson
Hospital officials also said the patient will not be given ZMapp, the experimental serum given to Dr. Kenneth Brantly and Nancy Writebol, American aid workers who caught the virus in Africa and were later treated in the U.S. The supplies of ZMapp have run out.
"This person is being isolated, and we are evaluating the situation, and we'll act accordingly," said Dr. C.J. Perkins of Dallas County Health and Human Services.
While the situation is serious, Dallas County officials stress the conditions in the United States are a world away from the developing countries devastated by Ebola, and that every hospital in North Texas should already be equipped to contain a contagious disease.
"It is easier to get the flu than to get Ebola, so Dallas County residents should go about their daily activities -- [we] don't feel that there is a public health threat," said Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zachary Thompson.
State health officials said no other cases are suspected in Texas.
Specimens from the patient were tested by a state laboratory and confirmed in a separate test by the Centers for Disease Control, said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, located at Greenville Avenue and Walnut Hill Lane in Northeast Dallas, said it's complying with all recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the Texas Department of Health to ensure the safety of other patients and medical staff.
Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital officials said the staff that treated the patient will be closely observed by the CDC, but stressed that personnel were immediately suspicious of Ebola when the patient described his symptoms and background, and that the virus can only be spread by direct contact with bodily fluids, which they don't believe happened in this case.
Dallas County Health and Human Services officials told News 8 Tuesday the CDC had mobilized a group of epidemiologists who specialize in viral containment.
Thompson said Dallas County is ready to care for the patient.
"This is not Africa," Thompson said. "We have a great infrastructure to deal with an outbreak."
Ebola has infected 6,553 people and has killed 3,083 in the three countries hit hardest by the epidemic — Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — the World Health Organization says. The number of cases has been doubling every three weeks, and the CDC estimates that the disease could affect up to 1.4 million people by January if it's not quickly put under control.
Twelve other people in the U.S. have been tested for Ebola since July 27, according to the CDC. All of those tests were negative.
Frieden said that in the past, there have been five cases of patients with similar hemorrhagic fevers in the U.S. — including Lassa fever and Marburg virus — and none of them infected anyone else.
Four American aid workers who became infected while volunteering in West Africa have been treated in special isolation facilities in hospitals in Atlanta and Nebraska, and a U.S. doctor exposed to the virus in Sierra Leone is under observation in a similar facility at the National Institutes of Health.
Fort Worth physician Dr. Kent Brantly, who became infected while working in Liberia, recovered after being moved to a hospital in Atlanta.
The U.S. has only four such isolation units, but the CDC has insisted that any hospital can safely care for someone with Ebola.
President Obama has committed more than $750 million in resources and is deploying 3,000 troops to help combat the spread of Ebola abroad. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., noted that Congress also authorized $58 million in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services to expedite development, testing and production of a vaccine and treatment.
Several other U.S. hospitals have previously raised alerts in connection with patients who presented Ebola-like symptoms, but all those cases tested negative for the virus.
Since the summer months, U.S. health officials have been preparing for the possibility that an individual traveler could unknowingly arrive with the infection. Health authorities have advised hospitals on how to prevent the virus from spreading within their facilities.
People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but that does not guarantee that an infected person won't get through. Ebola is not contagious until symptoms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread.
(CNSNews.com) – The Rev. Andrew White, vicar of St. George’s Anglican Church in Baghdad, said Tuesday that he believes Christianity may be at an end in Iraq.
“The future’s very bleak,” Father White said in an interview with CNSNews.com. “For the first time, I’ve had to consider the very real fact that Christianity could be at an end here.”
“We don’t know if it will survive,” he said by phone from Baghdad. “Nobody wants to stay here. Everybody wants to get out of here.”
When asked to describe the current situation in Baghdad, White said, it “is basically the worst it’s ever been. People are very fearful … with what has happened.”
“Things are slightly better today than yesterday,” he added. “We believe that ISIS has been repelled and is no longer marching towards Baghdad.”
But “they’re still two miles away,” he said. ”That’s quite close.
“People are fleeing in the hundreds,” he said, “What we’ve seen recently is, we saw all the people who were made to leave Mosul and Nineveh, and now we’ve seen several come back to Baghdad because things are so bad in the north.”
White, the only Anglican vicar in Baghdad, works with the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (FFRME) to provide “a spiritual home, medical care and humanitarian relief as well as promoting reconciliation amongst different religious groups.”
“In Baghdad, things are very stable, but everybody is so frightened,” White said, when CNSNews.com asked him about how the Christians he ministers to are faring.
He added, however, that Christians in the northern section of the country – where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been attacking Christian villages--“are literally homeless.
“They’ve no longer got their homes or their security, and they’re living in camps,” he said. “We’re having to take them food and medicine and sleeping equipment, so things are really bad.”
CNSNews.com asked White about his recent return to the United Kingdom (UK) and what brought him back to Baghdad in such dangerous circumstances.
“Here is where I belong, where I’m based and have been based for many years,” he said. “I can’t supply here without raising funds for our work amongst the various churches, and so that’s why I came over to the U.S. and the U.K.”
White said working in Baghdad was worth the risk “because I love the people, and when you love the people, you can’t leave them. They’re your people, and I could never leave them.”
CNSNews.com also asked White about his experience with radical versus moderate forms of Islam.
“Radical Islam is seriously affecting everybody,” he said. “But one thing we see constantly is most of Islam, most of the Muslims here, are not our enemies, but our friends. We live together. We work together, and so we are one.”
Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, threatened on Tuesday to hinder security-related cooperation with Israel in Judea and Samaria, if the diplomatic proceedings he initiated do not advance.
Abbas, who spoke with the press in Ramallah, added that the PA will reexamine its contacts with Israel over the next few months.
