Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman: Abbas Must Act
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

WASHINGTON -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas must do more to stem the tide of violent, religious-fueled terror against Israelis in Jerusalem, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) said on Tuesday.

"To have disorder and terror interrupt the calm of morning prayers is deplorable and sickening to the core," Menendez said, noting that one of the victims, Rabbi Moshe Twersky, is from his state of New Jersey.

US President Barack Obama also condemned the act on Tuesday, calling for calm from both Israelis and Palestinians after a month of violence across the capital.

Ten Israelis have been killed during that time, half of which have also held US citizenship. One was an infant.

"This tragedy demands a forceful response from President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority," Menendez said. "His words of condemnation are welcome, but must be followed up by a sincere demonstration of leadership.

"Abbas should use every tool at his disposal to deescalate this worsening situation in Jerusalem," he continued, "and guide the Palestinian people to reject violence and promote peace."

Menendez' counterpart, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-California), also called on Abbas to condemn the attack "in English, Hebrew and Arabic."

The PA has been accused in the past of issuing different statements in different languages.

Postmodern Science and Objective Reality [excerpts]
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily Newsworldviewweekend.com
Categories: Creation - Evolution;Commentary

Once-upon-a-time, the word science referred to the scientific process: verifiable propositions, experimental procedures, and reproducible observations. [Observability, testability, repeatability, and falsifiability are the hallmarks of the scientific method.]

And today? Science may still mean that in the dictionary, but in popular culture? Not so much.

Instead, the concept of science stands in for anti-supernaturalism with a political agenda - which I assume has probably always been the case to some extent. But today's science seems marked by a very unscientific illogical and contradictory nature exceeded only by its own level of dogma.

Some examples: The pro-abortion movement claims that science does not allow it to say that a baby in the womb is human life. Of course the baby is human, and is alive, but simply those observations are deemed "unscientific." In fact, after Senator Marco Rubio was foolish enough to use the antiquated concept of science in this statement: "Science is settled, human life beings at conception" - the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement saying that they could not agree with Rubio, because they "approach everything from a scientific perspective." They were fine saying that pregnancy begins with implantation, but the science is just not settled on if pregnancy and life are the same thing. It's not that they haven't done the right research, but rather they can't comment on the connection between human life and pregnancy because they approach everything from a "scientific perspective" (one blogger described this as "being super confused about where babies come from"). 

No word on the scientific perspective on this.

Another example: AOL news used this headline: "Global warming likely to cause colder winters." The lead said, of course, that "Scientists now believe that global warming is to blame for extreme cold snaps in North America." If scientists say so.

Which leads to the news that polar ice is actually increasing, scientists say. Which is good news according to some scientists, but bad news according to others - after all, it could break out into "global cooling" (the actual phrase used, without irony, in the International Science Times, and attributed to "scientists").

Note the irony that this all comes seven years after "the science was settled" and the polar ice caps would likely disappear by the year 2014. Well then.

Non-Christians I know (and many Christians too) often wonder why pastors who may be otherwise respectable suddenly sound like raving, backwards luddites when it comes to "science."

One result of our culture's post-modernism is its entirely modern love affair with its own view of science.

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Allah ‘The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful’ Praised on US House Floor, Reps Literally Bow to Muslim God
slam has overstepped its boundaries in a Christian nation of 73 percenters, and it’s getting progressively worse. Openly infiltrating our houses of government with blasphemous declarations to a false god, the particular people bowing their heads in reverence will disturb and anger you.

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Tweets 9-Point Plan to Annihilate Israel
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has decided to quantify the supposedly logical reasons for destroying the Jewish nation. Long known for his anti-Israel rhetoric, Khamenei has issued what appears to be his most detailed tirade to date in a Twitter post titled "9 key questions about the elimination of Israel."  

Video: White House asked if Obama thinks he's 'emperor'
ABC reporter Jonathan Karl recalled Obama’s argument that he doesn’t have legal authority to bypass Congress and declare amnesty through an executive order. On Feb. 14, 2013, Obama said, “I’m not the emperor of the United States. My job is to execute laws that are passed.”  

Eric Holder Sides With Alleged Cop Killers, Again
Earlier this year when President Obama nominated cop killer advocate Debo Adegbile to head up the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric Holder applauded the move. Because of Adegbile's voluntary work on behalf of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal, who brutally murdered Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner in cold blood back in 1981.  

Remains of New York City woman to be tested for Ebola
The remains of a New York woman who recently returned from a trip to West Africa will be tested for Ebola after she died suddenly at a Brooklyn hair salon Tuesday afternoon.  

Gun dealers report brisk sales ahead of Ferguson grand jury decision
Gun dealers in parts of the St. Louis suburbs have reported brisk sales, especially among first-time buyers, as local residents wait for a grand jury decision on whether to indict the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot teenager Michael Brown this past August.  

Four Dead as Snow Buries Buffalo, Great Lakes
A large lake-effect snow band formed on Monday night over Lake Erie as cold arctic air began sweeping over the relatively warmer Great Lakes. The snow band took aim at southwestern New York and has yet to give up its position.  

Violence in East Jerusalem; 'Intifada starts today,' Palestinian kids say
Over 120 children and youths rioted in East Jerusalem after Israel moves to demolish home of terrorist behind vehicular attack  

Shiveluch volcano (Kamchatka): several ash plumes up to 9 km altitude
A series of eruptions occurred during the past days from the volcano's growing lava dome.  

GEOMAGNETIC UNREST
Around the Arctic Circle this week, solar wind buffeting Earth's magnetic field has sparked bright Northern Lights.  

While You’re Distracted, Humanum is Happening
at the Vatican, an interfaith gathering is occurring to discus marriage. Leading voices in the Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Mormon, Muslim, and Christian communities have gathered to support and strengthen each other in the struggle against growing anti-faith norms toward marriage and family.  

4.2-magnitude quake rocks Ica, southern Peru
The tremor occurred at 09:34 local time (14:34 GMT) and its epicenter was about 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) southwest of Palpa, the smallest of five provinces comprising Peru’s Ica region.  

Shares fall, dollar gains as economic outlooks diverge
Shares fell in Europe and Asia on Wednesday while the dollar rose broadly, hitting a new seven-year high against the yen, as investors focused on the divergent outlooks for the world's major economies.  

Vladimir Putin vows that United States ‘will never subjugate
Putin issued a defiant message to the West on Tuesday, accusing the United States of trying to "subjugate" Russia while promising it would never succeed. The Russian president also appeared to channel Al Capone, the Chicago mobster, when he joked that "weapons and politeness" were more effective than "politeness alone".  

Under Obama, U.S. personal freedom ranking slips below France
Americans' assessments of their personal freedom have significantly declined under President Obama, according to a new study from the Legatum Institute in London, and the United States now ranks below 20 other countries on this measure.  

Saudi Arabia leans on Gulf states to close ranks as region boils
DUBAI/DOHA - Gulf Arab states have shelved a bitter row among themselves, hoping to repair an alliance that has been sorely tested by chaos in the Middle East and the prospect of an Iranian nuclear deal that could tilt the regional balance of power toward their old foe Tehran.  

Families in shock as Islamic State lures sons into 'barbaric madness'
CARDIFF (Reuters) - “Do you know how much it hurts to raise someone and watch them grow and suddenly they’re just gone?” says Ahmed Muthana, 57, a retired electronics engineer in Wales whose two sons Nasser, 20, and Aseel, 17, have gone to fight for Islamic State.  

Virginia college student's death ruled homicide
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A University of Virginia student whose disappearance sparked a monthlong search died from "homicidal violence" but the exact cause is unknown, authorities said Tuesday.  

Hezbollah: In Syria for the Long Haul
As Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gazes across Damascus from his palace on Mount Qasioun, he can be grateful to his Russian, Iranian, and Hezbollah allies that he is still in a position to enjoy such a view.  

Putin says US wants to subdue Russia
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States Tuesday of trying to make Russia submissive; an effort he said won't succeed. Speaking at a televised meeting with pro-Kremlin activists Tuesday, Putin said that Washington "wants to subdue us, wants to solve its problems at our expense."  

Synagogue attack: Netanyahu vow in 'battle for Jerusalem'
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to win a "battle for Jerusalem" after a deadly attack on a synagogue. Two Palestinians killed four rabbis in West Jerusalem before being shot dead. A policeman later died of his wounds. Mr Netanyahu vowed to "settle the score with every terrorist" saying that those "who want to uproot us from our state and capital... will not succeed".  

Iran Threatens to Flood Gaza With 'Millions' of Iranian Fighters
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Members of Iran's Basij paramilitary force march in Tehran

Reuters

The head of Iran's Basij paramilitary force has claimed it is raising an army of "millions" to flood Gaza and Syria to support Tehran's allies.

Fars, Iran’s semi-official newspaper, reported that that Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, Commander the Basij paramilitary force, as saying: "Millions of Basijis (volunteer forces) are ready in Iran to be dispatched to Syria and Gaza and they have come to us (for registration)." 

Iran’s Basij forces are much feared inside the country and known for their brutality in quashing anti-government dissent. They were highly utilized during Iran’s violent repression of the student protests in the wake of the Iranian elections of 2009. 

Thousands of Iranian volunteers - mostly tied with Iran's Revolutionary Guards force - are already reportedly fighting alongside pro-regime forces in Syria, where Iran is attempting to forge a Syrian Hezbollah composed of Shia Islamist foot-soldiers.

Brig. General Naqdi’s threat to inundate Gaza, and even Judea and Samaria if possible, with Iranian militiamen comes of the heels of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei’s call to arm the “West Bank just like Gaza.”  

In fact, Brig. General Naqdi himself elaborated on Iran's plans to arm its Hamas and Islamic Jihad allies in the "West Bank" just as it has in Gaza stating that: "The most serious job is that they need to receive the necessary training and skills; as today, Gaza has its own defensive industry and they have stood on their feet, we also try to implement the same plan in the West Bank, God willing."

In July 2014, after the recent 50-day Hamas-Israel conflict, Ayatollah Khamenei first publicly emphasized that, "We believe the West Bank, too, should be armed just like Gaza and those who are interested in the fate of the Palestinians must work in this respect so that the pains and miseries of the Palestinian people will be decreased due to their mighty hands and the weakness of the Zionist enemy."

Since Khamenei’s call to arm terrorists in Judea and Samaria, numerous other Iranian military leaders have publicly repeated the Iranian Supreme Leader’s directive to “arm the West Bank just like Gaza.”  For instance, in August 2014, Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, stated that “The continued war in Gaza will accelerate arming the West Bank and annihilation of the occupiers.  And, the holy Quds [Jerusalem’s] occupiers' fear from arming the people and the resistance movement in the West Bank shows how deeply Tel Aviv is vulnerable to the start of a new phase of (Palestinians') fight and resistance."

Although threats to send "millions" of volunteers to Gaza to fight Israel are little more than bluster, it - along with threats to accelerate efforts to arm terrorists in Judea and Samaria - highlight a serious flaw in the conventional ‘wisdom’ that a "two-state solution" will lessen the Palestinian demographic problem presented to Israel by maintaining the status quo. 

While Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, as well as its blockade on Gaza, render Naqdi's plans pure fantasy, an Israeli withdrawal from those areas makes the possibility of such Shia militiamen being dispatched to both regions - as they already have been in Syria and Iraq - far more real. 

How the IRS and DHS are Expanding Undercover Work (IRS Agents Can Even Pose As Clergy)
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsLiberty Blitzkrieg
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Those guidelines apply only to the law enforcement agencies overseen by the Justice Department. Within the Treasury Department, undercover agents at the I.R.S., for example, appear to have far more latitude than do those at many other agencies. I.R.S. rules say that, with prior approval, “an undercover employee or cooperating private individual may pose as an attorney, physician, clergyman or member of the news media.”

Across the federal government, undercover work has become common enough that undercover agents sometimes find themselves investigating a supposed criminal who turns out to be someone from a different agency, law enforcement officials said. In a few situations, agents have even drawn their weapons on each other before realizing that both worked for the federal government.

- From the New York Times article: More Federal Agencies Are Using Undercover Operations

If this article doesn’t prove to you without a shadow of a doubt what the prosecutorial priorities of the U.S. federal government are I don’t know what will. I have been railing for years on this site about how the rule of law is dead and buried in the USA. How the “justice” system is targeting average citizens for non crimes, while allowing the large financial criminals responsible for destroying the global economy to get off on DPAs, or deferred prosecution agreements originally crafted to deal with juveniles.

Further proof of this very disturbing trend can be seen in an article published by the New York Times over the weekend. Here are some excerpts:

WASHINGTON — The federal government has significantly expanded undercover operations in recent years, with officers from at least 40 agencies posing as business people, welfare recipients, political protesters and even doctors or ministers to ferret out wrongdoing, records and interviews show.

Wow, impressive. Even more impressive is the continued inability to put a single bank executive behind bars.

At the Supreme Court, small teams of undercover officers dress as students at large demonstrations outside the courthouse and join the protests to look for suspicious activity, according to officials familiar with the practice.

Ah, now we know why no bankers are in jail. Because dissent from the plebs poses a far greater threat to the corporate-fascist state.

At the Internal Revenue Service, dozens of undercover agents chase suspected tax evaders worldwide, by posing as tax preparers, accountants drug dealers or yacht buyers and more, court records show.

At the Agriculture Department, more than 100 undercover agents pose as food stamp recipients at thousands of neighborhood stores to spot suspicious vendors and fraud, officials said.

I guess I must have missed the section about the hundreds of agents embedded in TBTF banks.

Undercover work, inherently invasive and sometimes dangerous, was once largely the domain of the F.B.I. and a few other law enforcement agencies at the federal level. But outside public view, changes in policies and tactics over the last decade have resulted in undercover teams run by agencies in virtually every corner of the federal government, according to officials, former agents and documents.

Some agency officials say such operations give them a powerful new tool to gather evidence in ways that standard law enforcement methods do not offer, leading to more prosecutions.

“Done right, undercover work can be a very effective law enforcement method, but it carries serious risks and should only be undertaken with proper training, supervision and oversight,” said Michael German, a former F.B.I. undercover agent who is a fellow at New York University’s law school. “Ultimately it is government deceitfulness and participation in criminal activity, which is only justifiable when it is used to resolve the most serious crimes.”

At least they are focused on the most serious of crimes. You know, like illegal alcohol and cigarette sales.

At convenience stores, for example, undercover agents, sometimes using actual minors as decoys, look for illegal alcohol and cigarette sales, records show. At the Education Department, undercover agents of the Office of Inspector General infiltrate federally funded education programs looking for financial fraud. Medicare investigators sometimes pose as patients to gather evidence against health care providers. Officers at the Small Business Administration, NASA and the Smithsonian do undercover work as well, records show.

Mr. Hunker said sending federal and local agents undercover to meet with suspected money launderers “is a more direct approach than getting a tip and going out and doing all the legwork and going into a court mode.”

Those guidelines apply only to the law enforcement agencies overseen by the Justice Department. Within the Treasury Department, undercover agents at the I.R.S., for example, appear to have far more latitude than do those at many other agencies. I.R.S. rules say that, with prior approval, “an undercover employee or cooperating private individual may pose as an attorney, physician, clergyman or member of the news media.”

Yes you read that right, IRS agents “appear to have far more latitude than do those at many other agencies.” Must be a reward for targeting conservative political groups.

Oversight, though, can be minimal. A special committee meant to oversee undercover investigations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, for instance, did not meet in nearly seven years, according to the Justice Department’s inspector general. That inquiry found that more than $127 million worth of cigarettes purchased by the bureau disappeared in a series of undercover investigations that were aimed at tracing the black-market smuggling of cigarettes.

Well at least someone is getting paid…

Financial oversight was found lacking in the I.R.S.’s undercover operations as well. Detailed reviews of the money spent in some of its undercover operations took as long as four and a half years to complete, according to a 2012 review by the Treasury Department’s inspector general.

Does it get any more ironic than that?

Across the federal government, undercover work has become common enough that undercover agents sometimes find themselves investigating a supposed criminal who turns out to be someone from a different agency, law enforcement officials said. In a few situations, agents have even drawn their weapons on each other before realizing that both worked for the federal government.

It is impossible to tell how effective the government’s operations are or evaluate whether the benefits outweigh the costs, since little information about them is publicly disclosed. Most federal agencies declined to discuss the number of undercover agents they employed or the types of investigations they handled. The numbers are considered confidential and are not listed in public budget documents, and even Justice Department officials say they are uncertain how many agents work undercover.

Can’t make this stuff up if you tried.

But current and former law enforcement officials said the number of federal agents doing such work appeared to total well into the thousands, with many agencies beefing up their ranks in recent years, or starting new undercover units. An intelligence official at the Department of Homeland Security, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters, said the agency alone spent $100 million annually on its undercover operations. With large numbers of undercover agents at the F.B.I. and elsewhere, the costs could reach hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

A Supreme Court spokesman, citing a policy of not discussing security practices, declined to talk about the use of undercover officers.Mr. German, the former F.B.I. undercover agent, said he was troubled to learn that the Supreme Court routinely used undercover officers to pose as demonstrators and monitor large protests.

“There is a danger to democracy,” he said, “in having police infiltrate protests when there isn’t a reasonable basis to suspect criminality.”

Just another day in the American oligarchy.

Bennett Calls for Military Operation in East Jerusalem to Root Out Terror
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Naftali Bennett.

Economy minister tells Army Radio that, in face of terror wave, Israel should move from defense to attack, as it did in 2002's Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank during the second intifada.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett called Wednesday for Israel to launch a military operation in east Jerusalem to root out terror infrastructure.

Bennett's comments came in an Army Radio interview a day after two Arab suspects from east Jerusalem’s Jebl Mukaber neighborhood stormed the Kehillat Bnei Torah Synagogue in Har Nof, killing five people.

The Bayit Yehudi leader called for an action similar to 2002's Operation Defensive Shield aimed at rooting out terror in the West Bank during the second intifada.

"We need to move from defense to attack, like we did in Operation Defensive shield," Bennett said.

"Go in with Border Police forces, make arrests, create intelligence channels, stay there on a permanent basis, not just when there's a terror attack," he added.

"Instead of just placing guards at every cafe and restaurant in Israel,at every synagogue and every kindergarten, we need to go to the source," he stated.

Bennett has repeateadly lashed out at the government's policies regarding the wave of terror attacks that have targeted Israel in the past month.

Following last week's terror attack in which an IDF soldier was killed in Tel Aviv, Bennett said, "This is a terrible terror attack which proves that the concept of hiding behind barriers is bankrupt."

He also spoke out against the police decision to to set up concrete barriers at Jerusalem light rail stations to prevent vehicular terror attacks which have killed three people in recent weeks.

"It is not possible to barricade people in the streets, but rather we must put those responsible for incitement, fireworks and the rioters in jail. This is correct security policy" he said.

'Heartfelt Shock': Herzog Meets Synagogue Attack Survivors
Nov 19th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Opposition Leader, MK Yitzhak Herzog (Labor) came to lunch at Congregation Bnai Torah Synagogue in Har Nof in Jerusalem - the site of Tuesday's bloody terror attack. 

"I come here as a citizen and as a leader to express heartfelt shock as a Jew. The picture of a bullet in the Ark is difficult and heartbreaking. We have come to identify ourselves, to cry and to comfort," Herzog said, adding, "I appreciate the restraint of the hareidi community who continue to study Torah."

In response to Arutz Sheva's question if as opposition chairman, he will support the government at this time, Herzog replied, "in the struggle against terrorism we will always give the government back-up; I would expect the same if the situation were reversed."

"But ultimately, I believe there should be another way. The current path is failing. We should be bold and extend a hand [for dialogue] on the one side, but hit the terrorist enemy, on the other."

Meanwhile, the political-security cabinet convened to discuss the security situation following Tuesday's attack. Jerusalem police placed concrete barriers at the entrance to the Palestinian neighborhood Sur Baher, on the southeastern outskirts of Jerusalem. Border Police officers are checking all vehicles leaving the neighborhood.  

No checkpoints existed at the entrance to the Jabel Mukabar neighborhood - home of the two perpetrators of the synagogue massacre. The entrances of Abu Tor, Beit Hanina, and Issawiya saw no checkpoints either, but in some places security vehicles were stationed. 

The Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group took responsibility for the synagogue attack, claiming the assailants, cousins Uday and Rassan Abu Jamal, as its members. 

"We are proud of them and consider their actions a natural response to the crimes of the occupation. We stress that armed resistance will continue and that an intifada is imminent without any doubt," the organization said in a statement.