For those of us who support and defend the nation of Israel, it may come as a surprise to know that many of the accepted expressions referencing the land of Israel and its people were actually contrived following the 1948 independence of Israel and are meant to delegitimize the State, according to authors, Lee S. Bender and Jerome R. Verlin, in a recent The Algemiener article.
While controversial, the authors assert that the history of the nation of Israel, spanning some 3,300 years, is being “forfeited” by the use of some very familiar terms written and heard daily around the world. They advocate removing the following phrases from the vocabulary of those who support Israel.
Topping their list of names we should strike from the list is:
• The use of the “West Bank” to refer to the areas of Judea and Samaria, since they are not synonymous. The term “West bank” was actually coined by Jordanian invaders attempting to disassociate Judea and Samaria from the Jewish homeland for the Jews.
• References to “East Jerusalem” imply that the city was always divided into a Jewish and Arab side, but this is erroneous since this term only came into use following 1947. In fact, short periods from 638 to 1099 AD and 1948 to 1967 AD, are the only times in which the city was under Arab control, and the city has never been under “Palestinian” Arab control.
• The lie that Israel was” created” in 1948, seeks to deny the Jews claim to a land they had previously possessed and fought hard to regain. 1948 is merely the year rightful statehood was regained.
• The “Palestinian refugee issue” is actually a result of the surrounding Arab nation’s invasions of Israel since the “Palestinian” Arabs were forced out of Israel during these conflicts and encouraged to remain in “refugee camps” instead of being accepted into neighboring Arab countries.
• Israel did not “seize” lands in 1967 but defended the Homeland and created buffer zones in the new Israeli territories as a protective measure against Arab nations bent on Her destruction.
• Israel’s “1967 borders” “resulted from the 1949 Israel-Jordan Armistice Agreement” which expressly declared the “green line” it drew between the two sides’ ceasefire positions as a military ceasefire line only, without prejudice to either side’s political border claims. The post-’67 war UN resolution 242 pointedly did not demand Israel retreat from these lines.”
• References to the “Israeli occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem” infer that Israel unlawfully inhabits a sovereign nation’s territory, when in fact; the area they possess has been their ancestral home for over 3000 years.
• The media loves to contrast the expressions “Jewish Settlers and Settlements” with “Palestinian Residents of Neighborhoods and Villages.” Jews cannot be settlers in the land that is their historical heartland and wherein they have been a majority since the 19th century.
• The recognition of the “Jewish State” is a major stumbling block for the Arabs. However, since the time of Moses, the Jews have recognized and claimed the Jewish Homeland of Israel.
• Falsely claiming that Israel rejects the “two State solution” and the Arabs are favorable to it, is another big deception, since it is actually the Arabs who refuse to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a sovereign state. In fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu supports the two State solution provided terrorist activities on the part of the Arabs cease.
• And finally, perhaps the most egregious term of all, the “Palestinians”, is a misnomer as,” they have no distinguishing language, religion, or culture from neighboring Arabs, and have never been sovereign in Palestine.” According to Bender and Verlin, “Nothing is more self-delegitimizing and counter-productive to achieving peace based on Arab recognition of Jews’ right to be there, than that Jews should go around calling Palestinian Arabs “The Palestinians.”
As Israel continues to be attacked in the main stream Western media, it is imperative that all persons seeking to affirm and strengthen the right of the Jewish people to possess and dwell peacefully in their ancestral Homeland, become educated on the truth concerning the nation of Israel and her Arab enemy neighbors. It is God who has given Israel to the Jews and it is God who defends her right to the Homeland. Refusing to use terms meant to delegitimize Israel represents an effective way to support and defend Israel.
More and more Protestants are testifying they are being drawn to the Catholic Church, especially through the Eucharist. Some say they have encountered the presence of Christ in a new and exciting way. One such person is Presbyterian pastor Steven Muse. Muse is one of the contributing authors of Mary the Mother of All: Protestant Perspectives and Experiences of Medjugorje.
According to Muse, his visit to Medjugorje was life changing, especially after he encountered the Eucharistic Christ. He states:
The fact remains that never before or since in my life have I had such an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. I believe this is because I never received the bread and the wine as the Body and Blood of Christ, so what I loved in my heart and believed with my mind were never experienced as real in the here and now of my bodily presence as I encountered him again and again for the entire week. Sometimes this happened twice a day as I received Communion both in the morning at English Mass, and again in the evening at the Croatian Mass, where I did not even understand what they were saying or singing but only prayed the rosary in my own language with the others as if I had been saying “Hail Marys” all my life. What was true was that Father, Son and Holy Spirit were real. And Mary was real.1
While Muse testifies of a real encounter with Christ and then Mary while visiting Medjugorje, Protestant evangelist Benny Hinn made a prediction that Christ will be showing up on stage at his crusades. On March 29, 2000, Hinn made the following statement on his television program:
The Holy Spirit has spoken, He told me He is about to show up. Oh, I gotta tell you this just before we go. I had a word of prophecy from Ruth Heflin, you know who Ruth Heflin is? Ruth prophesied over me back in the seventies. Everything she said has happened. She just sent me a word through my wife and said: The Lord spoke to her audibly and said, that He is going to appear physically in one of our crusades in the next few months. Yeah, She … I’m telling ya she said, the Lord spoke to her audibly and said, tell Benny I’m going to appear physically on the platform in his meetings. Lord, do it in Phoenix, Arizona in the name of Jesus! And in Kenya too, Lord, please, Lord, in fact, do it in every crusade in Jesus’ name.2
For those who have followed the ministry of Benny Hinn, the previous statement should come as no great surprise. Hinn had previously claimed that Jesus materialized to him during a Catholic Mass while he was participating in Communion at a Catholic Church in Amarillo, Texas. Speaking with Paul Crouch on a Trinity Broadcasting Network “Praise the Lord Program” on December 24, 1997, Hinn described this experience:
The next thing I was feeling was actually the form of a body, the shape of a body. And my body … went totally numb.… And God really gave me a revelation that night, that when we partake communion, it’s not just communion, Paul [Crouch]. We are partaking Christ Jesus himself. He did not say, “Take, eat, this represents my body.” He said, “This is my body, broken for you…” When you partake communion, you’re partaking Christ, and that heals your body. When you partake Jesus how can you stay weak? … sick? … And so tonight, as we partake communion, we’re not partaking bread. We’re partaking what He said we would be partaking of: “This is my body.”3
While Benny Hinn would not be considered a Catholic by his followers, the previous statement indicates he has been influenced by the Catholic teaching of the Eucharistic Christ. Hinn’s ministry has had a powerful influence on people all over the world. It will be interesting to see if his acceptance of transubstantiation and the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist will become more and more apparent.
It should be noted, however, that the Catholic Church does not teach that transubstantiation occurs when a Protestant minister does a communion service. On the contrary, the official teaching is that only a Catholic priest has the power to perform this transformation of the bread and wine. So, in Benny Hinn’s case, he cannot perform the sacrament of the Eucharist even if he believes he is doing so. This places Hinn in an incredibly stalemated position, because if our position is correct, then he is in error to believe in transubstantiation; but if he is right about transubstantiation, then he is wrong according to Catholic teaching to think he can perform it. And even if he were to become Catholic, he still could not perform the Eucharist because only the celibate can become priests.
Peter Kreeft’s Catholic Conversion
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., a professor of philosophy at Boston College and a regular contributor to several Christian publications, is in wide demand as a speaker at conferences and is the author of over forty books dealing with spirituality, apologetics and philosophy.4 Kreeft, once a Dutch Reformed Protestant, converted to Catholicism and is considered by many to be a leader in the area of Christian apologetics, even by Protestants. One of Kreeft’s books is Ecumenical Jihad. The back cover of this book lists a number of endorsements by well-known evangelical leaders. For example:
Peter Kreeft is one of the premier apologists in America today, witty, incisive and powerful. On the front lines in today’s culture war, Kreeft is one of our most valiant intellectual warriors.5
—Chuck ColsonThis racy little book opens up a far-reaching theme. With entertaining insight Kreeft looks into the attitudes, alliances and strategies that today’s state of affairs requires of believers. Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox alike need to ponder Peter Kreeft’s vision of things—preferably in discussion together. What if he is right?6—J. I. Packer
To understand Kreeft’s spiritual journey, it is helpful to examine a number of testimonial statements he made in Ecumenical Jihad. Regarding the role that the Eucharist played in his conversion to Catholicism, he writes:
In my pilgrimage from Dutch Reformed Calvinism to Roman Catholicism, the one Catholic dogma that most drew me in was the Eucharist.7
Now, as a strong promoter of the Catholic Church, Kreeft believes the teaching of transubstantiation and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist has potential for winning other Protestants back to the Mother of All Churches. Although he recognizes the Catholic Church’s view on the Sacrament of the Eucharist was instrumental in bringing about division between Protestants and Catholics in the past, he believes the Eucharist has the potential to now be an evangelistic tool in bringing back the separated brethren to Catholicism. As he states in his book:
No Catholic dogma is so distinctive and so apparently anti-ecumenical as the dogma of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Yet this dogma may be the greatest cause of ecumenism and eventual reunion.7
Predicting that future ecumenism will be fostered by the very factors that once brought about division, Kreeft continues:
I found that this doctrine, which seemed to repel and divide, at the same time attracted and united. The same with Mary: she—who is a point of division between Catholics and Protestants—she may bring the churches together again and heal the tears in her Son’s visible body on earth, she, the very one who seems to divide Catholics from Protestants. The most distinctive Catholic doctrines, especially those concerning the Eucharist and Mary, may prove to be the most unifying and attracting ones.9
Kreeft expresses his heartfelt concern for those Protestants who still refuse to accept the Catholic teaching of the Real Presence of Christ in a wafer. He writes:
When I think how much my Protestant brothers and sisters are missing in not having Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist; when I kneel before the Eucharist and realize I am as truly in Christ’s presence as the apostles were but that my Protestant brothers and sisters don’t know that, don’t believe that—I at first feel a terrible gap between myself and them. What a tremendous thing they are missing!10
As there is even now a move by many Protestant/evangelicals toward Catholicism and the Eucharistic adoration, Kreeft’s longing to see them enter in may be fulfilled.
There are countless other testimonies like Kreeft’s who have had an encounter with the Eucharistic Christ. The New Evangelization program presently underway is definitely showing signs of success. Numerous other testimonies could be presented that confirm a mystical addictive spiritual power that seems to be drawing people to the Eucharistic Christ.
In almost every recorded conversion account, there exists a common denominator. Each person who has converted to the Catholic Church has done so based on profound, powerful, and often gratifying experiences. These people were first drawn by a feeling that they were missing some deeper spiritual encounter, while the Eucharistic experience brought a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
An experience-based Christianity focused on signs and wonders associated with the Eucharistic Christ is clearly influencing many Protestants and evangelicals.
Endnotes:
1. Sharon E. Cheston, Mary the Mother of All: Protestant Perspectives and Experiences of Medjugorje (Chicago, IL: Loyola University Press, 1994), section written by Steven Muse, p. 57, emphasis in the original.
2. Benny Hinn with Steve Brock, This is Your Day (700 Club Studios, Virginia Beach, VA, March 29, 2000), television broadcast.
3. Praise The Lord Show (Trinity Broadcasting Network, December 27, 1994).
4. See http://www.peterkreeft.com/about.htm.
5. Peter Kreeft, Ecumenical Jihad ( San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1996), back cover, endorsement by Chuck Colson
6. Ibid., endorsement by J. I. Packer.
7. Ibid., p. 145.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., p. 158.
10. Ibid., p. 159.
WASHINGTON, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Taliban might repeat Islamic State (IS) accomplishment after the NATO force pullout unless the Afghan government learns Iraq's lessons, Bradley Moss, national security lawyer has told RIA Novosti.
"If the Afghans make the same mistakes that were made by the Iraqi Government after the US withdrawal in 2011, it would be rather easy to see the Taliban replicating in Afghanistan the success of ISIL in Iraq," Moss warned in the wake of the ongoing western troops pullout from the country.
The drug trade has not been eradicated and the central Afghan Government still has a lot to prove about its ability to effectively govern beyond Kabul, particularly in the rural areas, he explained.
Moss stressed that the continued drawdown of remaining Coalition Forces in Afghanistan serves as a stark reminder that the writing is on the wall for the Afghan Government.
"After 13 years of supported operations, the day is drawing closer and closer when the Afghan Army will have to largely handle the counter-offensive against the Taliban – as well as the stabilization of the country at large – without Western assistance," he explained.
"One can only hope that the extensive resources provided, as well as sacrifices made by the Coalition Forces, will not have been in vain," Moss stated.
On Monday, the final UK armed forces and US marines have left the camp in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
Moss underlined that the withdrawal of Coalition Forces poses obvious threats.
"For all its successes, the Afghan Army is still effectively the equivalent of a child riding a bike with training wheels," he asserted, adding that the coalition forces were far better trained, funded and prepared to handle combat operations against a foe like the Taliban.
"We do not yet know how well they will handle these operations when the training wheels come off and they no longer have a Plan B in the form of U.S. or U.K. forces," the lawyer stressed, noting however, that If they can rise to the challenge, it would provide a real and legitimate opportunity for a stable, centralized Afghan Government for the first time in recent memory.
Moss said that the Afghan Government has to isolate and contain the Taliban, ensure the necessary physical security that will enable substantial foreign investment, and create effective and responsive local governing institutions in areas outside of Kabul.
"The situation is fragile enough that they essentially have to "run the table" and largely accomplish all three tasks to survive," he claimed. "If they fail on even one of these prongs, it is unlikely that they will be able to hold on."
About 34,000 NATO troops remain in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban insurgency alongside Afghan soldiers and police. NATO's combat mission will end in December.
In September, Washington and Kabul signed an agreement formally justifying the presence of a limited US military contingent in Afghanistan, the after new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani was sworn into office. A follow-up force of some 10,000 troops is likely to stay throughout 2015 on training and support duties.
Swarms of highly intelligent militarized robots are predicted to hit the battlefield in the near future and could spark a modern day arms race, according to a report released Monday by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
Teams of interconnected robots will change the way America and other countries fight their wars, providing them with more range and the ability to conduct “suicidal missions” without risk to living humans, according to the report, entitled, “Robotics on the Battlefield Part II: The Coming Swarm.”
The study predicts that in the very near future, advances in technology will allow “swarms of robotic systems” to effect “dramatic, disruptive change to military operations”—and that the United States must significantly step up its focus on these technologies or risk losing its status as the world’s preeminent fighting force.
“Swarms of robotic systems can bring greater mass, coordination, intelligence, and speed to the battlefield, enhancing the ability of warfighters to gain a decisive advantage over their adversaries,” the report states.
While the United States and other major powers have made great advances in unmanned technologies—such as drones and other remotely piloted devices—the report predicts that global militaries will soon enter a race to perfect the tactic known as “swarming,” in which droves of militarized robots act together on the battlefield.
“Many of the game-changing innovations that enable swarming … will be widely available to a range of actors,” the reports states.
However, severe U.S. defense budget cuts known as sequestration threaten to stymie America’s investment into these critical new technologies and could leave the country vulnerable to enemies, according to the report.
“Today the U.S. military faces a pernicious cycle of ever rising platform costs and shrinking quantities,” it states. “As a result, the number of combat ships and aircraft in the U.S. inventory has steadily declined, even during periods of significant growth in defense spending.”
“Today’s acute fiscal pressures only exacerbate these trends, forcing a crisis not only in military modernization and readiness, but also in the ability to field sufficient quantities to be relevant in future fights,” the report warns.
The United States continues to make major investments in “increasingly exquisite systems” in order to compensate for its lack of more nimble robotic technologies. This model, however, “is not sustainable,” according to the report, and could allow even rogue state-actors to gain an upper hand over U.S. forces.
“As precision-guided munitions proliferate to other adversaries—both state and non-state actors—the shrinking numbers of U.S. combat assets becomes a major strategic liability,” the report warns. “Adversaries can concentrate their weapons, which are becoming increasingly accurate and capable at ever-longer ranges, on the relatively small number of U.S. ships and bases, overwhelming their defenses.”
The American military is not yet investing enough in these interconnected unmanned systems, which would actually cost less in the long run, the report says.
“A new paradigm is needed, one that sustains the qualitative superiority of U.S. forces in aggregate, but that disperses combat power among a greater number of platforms, increasing resiliency and diversity and imposing costs on adversaries,” the report says.
“Militaries that figure out how best to employ swarms, along with the doctrine, training, command-and-control structures, and other key enablers needed to support them, will have a significant advantage over those who do not,” the report concludes.
The CNAS report goes on to suggest that the Pentagon begin studying “swarming platforms” and allocate funding for “a multi-year series of experiments” to test various technologies.
A “Defense Robotics Systems Office” also should be created in the Pentagon to coordinate such activities.
The Army, Air Force, and Navy also should be investigating and pursuing fleets of unmanned, interconnected robot technologies, according to the report.
“When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Jesus posed this question 2000 years ago (Luke 18:8). Perhaps a recent Barna research polling reveals the answer to that query.
The Barna group has been studying the steady decline in church attendance for the past twenty years and has published their results in a new book titled ”Churchless” by George Barna and David Kinnaman. The research findings reveal what many of us may have feared; church attendance is decreasing in a post-Christian America! The study identified these five trends among those who are unchurched;
1. Increasing secularization has occurred among American adults with 38% of adults surveyed indicating that they are post –Christian (meaning they do not attend church, believe in God, or read the Bible) and 10% of those identifying as “highly post-Christian.” The younger the respondent, the more likely they are to consider themselves “post-Christian”, with 48% of Milliennials identifying as such.
2. Barna found that people are less open to the very idea of church. Even though a personal invitation by a friend continues to be the most successful method of getting someone to come to church, over the past 20 years even this tried and true method has declined in efficacy, down from 65% to 47% of respondents who were willing to attend church following an invitation by a friend.
3. Church attendance is no longer considered a normal part of American life. Surprisingly, the vast majority of persons reporting that they do not attend did at one point attend church services.
4. Today’s unchurched would not be interested in Sunday morning services, at least 43% say they would not, and increasingly, if they did attend, would not limit themselves to attending one church.
5. Finally, the unchurched have no idea of what Christianity has done for America, either positive or negative. Almost half, 49%, of those surveyed could not name any positive impact the church has had on American society.
These five points may come as a surprise to regular church attendees, but, according to David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, this”research indicates a growing indifference toward churches among the unchurched. Kinnaman predicts an expanding gap between “Christian communities of faith” and those who are outside those communities.
Interestingly, Barna’s research finds that methods to attract church attendees such as; TV, radio, and internet advertising, direct mailings, and billboards, have little impact to encourage attendance by the unchurched. The personal touch; pastoral visits and phone calls are much more effective ways to persuade visitors to attend, and as was stated earlier, personal invitation by a friend is most successful.
While this study indicates the importance of personal interaction when inviting someone to attend church, a Barna study from last year revealed that only about 50% of born- again Christian respondents actually shared their faith with an unbeliever over the past year, although three quarters of born-again Christian’s understand their responsibility to evangelize.
It appears that efforts by churches to be relevant in society, to relate to the culture, and attempts to conform the gospel to the world have fallen short of reaching hearts for Christ. This should not be surprising, given that the method of evangelism Jesus and His early disciples used, emphasized the uniqueness of the message and its effect on the messenger, and instead of conforming to the culture, the Gospel caused such a radical change in the culture that detractors from it claimed that the gospel message had” turned the world upside down!” (Acts 17:6) Just think about it, 2000 years ago, 120 born-again Christians accomplished the impossible; they “turned the world upside down!”
No doubt, the culture will continue to change, but the call on the church and the great commission to preach the gospel throughout the world will not. So where does the church go from here? How does the church member actively evangelize while respecting those who are churchless? And how do we recapture the urgency to accomplish the great commission in an increasingly secular and post-Christian America?
David Kinnaman answers, “Wrestling with answers to this question will help prepare a faith community to engage more meaningfully with unchurched people.”
This recent Barna study should motivate all born-again Christians to reexamine the methods they use to evangelize as they seek to lead the lost to Christ.
It is no secret that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, president of Russia since May 2012 and a former KGB boss, is viewed with a lot of mistrust and suspicion by the West. Political stand-offs pitting Putin against the United States and her allies have most recently been exemplified by the divergent positions taken primarily over the Ukraine and Syria, which further appear to have reinforced the long-held view that Putin is a threat to freedoms in the West and the rest of the ‘free world’.
Many analysts seem to have concluded that Putin stands for a return to the aggressive and bullish hard-core communistic approaches and attitudes that were a core basis for the ‘Cold War’ between the capitalistic United States and the communistic former U.S.S.R.
On the surface, this does indeed seem to be the reality. Nonetheless, strange as it seems, both East and West are actually working towards the same end-goals using largely similar means. Concerns raised largely in the West with regards to the so called “New Cold War” is but a convenient smokescreen – diverting the world’s attention to the fact that Putin and his publicly accepted allies are actually working in tandem with the West towards one major mutual goal.
That goal happens to be the establishment on a ‘New World Order’: a common euphemized expression for a system of political and economic global governance and control over humanity.
This view may seem somewhat far-fetched to many. However, Alex Newman, in his recent analysis published in TheNewAmerican.com presents observations in support of his controversial conclusions. Says Newman: “… Putin, a former KGB boss, is following precisely the strategies toward world order outlined openly by the same Western establishment he purportedly stands as a bulwark against. He often refers to his vision as the imposition of a new, “multi-polar” world order. But a growing amount of evidence shows that it is exactly the same order sought by globalist Western powerbrokers.”
Key examples of such powerbrokers highlighted by Newman include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, ex-National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski (architect of David Rockefeller’s infamous Trilateral Commission), Rothschild dynasty protégé George Soros,and former general and CIA chief David Petraeus, a member of the globalist-minded Council on Foreign Relations and the Bilderberger group. Even UN boss Ban Ki-moon is said to be inclined toward the globalist agenda.
According to Newman, some key elements of the “New World Order” involve the following objectives and strategies:
• Divide the planet’s people and nations into massive “regions” ruled by supranational institutions — such as the European Union, which is now responsible for the bulk of European laws — virtually free of public control or oversight.
• A coherent strategy to “establish a concept of order within the various regions and to relate these regional orders to one another”.
• Progressive regionalization of power towards larger, more stable, more cooperative units while manufacturing and exploiting crises along the way. This should then result in strong regional groupings and better global governance.
• Building of truly global structures to eventually run the emerging “New World Order” as the regional blocs become integrated, suggesting co-ordination to an overall oversight and governing body such as the UN.
• The eventual creation of truly global monetary and financial governance. This would entail diluting and even crushing national sovereignty and ruling over diverse nations by bureaucratic decree via such entities as the European Union.
• Harmonized communities of economies, free trade zones and more sophisticated integration patterns geared towards major sectors such as industry, technology, energy sector, education and science.
• The creation of a stable international reserve currency disconnected from individual nations, thus removing the inherent deficiencies caused by using credit-based national currencies. The IMF “proto-global” currency known as “Special Drawing Rights,” or SDRs, have been touted as a useful starting point for a world currency.
• To develop and enhance the use of international legal courts such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) to centralize legal processes.
• Use of such entities as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Financial Services Board (FSB) for global “financial policing”.
• Global governance under the UN, with everything from terror and “global warming” to “human rights” enforcement being dealt with by the UN.
• Exploitation of competition or even wars between regional super-regimes to dramatically accelerate the quest for global government by bringing about “a sudden transformation in national attitudes sufficient for the purpose”, via a series of sudden, nasty, and traumatic shocks, the aftermath of which would be managed and controlled by the UN.
Putin’s aggression is said to be fuelling counteractive Western integration via the EU, NATO, and the “transatlantic partnership”, but also pursuing a “New World Order” via the regionalization approach. Putin’s initial intention to bring about the “Eurasian Economic Union,” comprising Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, later followed by other former Soviet regimes in the region, particularly members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Putin denies that his goal is a rebirth of the USSR, instead writing that: “We suggest a powerful supranational association capable of becoming one of the poles in the modern world and serving as an efficient bridge between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region.
Alongside other key players and regional structures, such as the European Union, the United States, China and APEC, the Eurasian Union will help ensure global sustainable development… we believe that a solution might be found in devising common approaches from the bottom up, first within the existing regional institutions, such as the EU, NAFTA, APEC, ASEAN inter alia, before reaching an agreement in a dialogue between them…these are the integration bricks that can be used to build a more sustainable global economy.”
Newman also points out that Putin has been pursuing the “regionalization” approach to the new world order not only in Eurasia but on the other side of the Atlantic, forming a key alliance with US competitor Xi Jinping of communist China, as well as touting multiple integration schemes as partners in his efforts — especially the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which includes all governments in the Americas except the United States and Canada.
Other “integration formations” that Putin has expressed public interest in include: the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the Pacific Alliance, the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The Putin/Jinping partnership also reportedly hopes to rope in the socialist- and communist-minded BRICS regimes — Brazil, Russia,India, China, and South Africa.
Newman concludes: “Finally, Putin’s globalist and establishment credentials hardly preclude the orchestration of a real war between “East” and “West” at some point, particularly if America cannot be induced to surrender its sovereignty to a global regime. Indeed, more than a few analysts have suggested that another World War between the two sides may be in the cards as a way of accelerating the move toward global government”.
Putin’s aggressive expansionist predispositions and belligerent attitudes, coupled with Russia’s rush to nuclear stockpiling, is rapidly setting the stage for just such a scenario. Consider the following recent developments:
• A recent edition of The Washington Times pointed out that for the first time, Russia has more deployed nuclear warheads than the United States, according to the latest numbers released by the State Department.
• Putin has threatened to retaliate against US strikes in Syria, according to a WND report if her interests are threatened by the strikes.
• EndofTheAmericanDream.com recently reported that Russia has been conducting military tests targeted directly at the United States, as though preparing for an imminent war between the two superpowers – although clearly the advantage sits with Russia, based on known factors.
They say actions speak louder than words. Clearly Putin is ready to do whatever it takes to remain a major player in the “New World Order” and certainly at the expense of the United States of America. The writing is on the wall.
Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/October28/282.html#OOWBGRTXBl5IRTpX.99
Poland's Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak (R), (Reuters / Bartosz Bobkowski / Agencja Gazeta)
Warsaw has decided to relocate troops from the west of the country towards its eastern border due to “the biggest security crisis since the Cold War.” It is a major realignment of the military structure, Poland’s defense minister told the AP.
"The geopolitical situation has changed, we have the biggest crisis of security since the Cold War and we must draw conclusions from that," Poland’s Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told The Associated Press on Monday.
He explained that the number of troops stationed at three military bases in the east will triple in two years. Siemoniak added that the quantity of military hardware stationed at the bases will also be increased.
The Polish minister explained that it was not a radical measure but for protection due to the threat posed by the neighboring Ukrainian conflict.
“…we would like those units in the east of Poland to be more efficient," he said.
Most of Poland’s army has been concentrated in the western part of the country as the country has not realigned its military structure since it was part of the Soviet bloc.
Warsaw plans to invest in the army’s modernization, particularly in the eastern part of the country, adding that the ministry has planned buying new hardware in 2016, Siemoniak said on October 23 while visiting the Siedlce military base located in eastern Poland, Polskie Radio reported.
"Today, our eastern flank is crucial. We will work out the details, we will preserve and develop what we have. I saw the infrastructure here. Frankly, it looks outdated, so we will improve it," Siemoniak said.
Polish soldiers (AFP Photo/Ceerwan Aziz)
According to the Polish media, the Siedlce base was under the threat of closure a few years ago, however the minister has now decided to reinforce it. The minister also said he plans to visit eastern military bases in Chelm and Suwalki in the near future.
In April, NATO-member Poland asked the military organization to permanently station 10,000 troops near the country’s eastern border amid claims that Russia amassed troops on Ukrainian border. NATO has not directly responded to Poland’s request.
Now former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen confirmed in August that the alliance is planning to permanently deploy forces under its flag in Eastern Europe. However some NATO members, including Germany, have expressed reservations over the plans as they do not see the point of provoking tensions with Moscow.
The new NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg paid a visit to Poland in early October where he reiterated calls for a rapid reaction “spearhead” force – a 4,000 soldier force which was agreed upon by the 28 NATO member states following a conference in Wales in September.
Such a military force was intended to substitute for permanent NATO bases in Eastern Europe, which the military alliance pledged not to create following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Moscow criticized the plans of creating the rapid force and accused NATO of using the Ukrainian crisis as a pretext to push its military presence closer to Russia’s borders. Russia’s envoy to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, suggested in September that the alliance was engaged in “Cold War thinking,” and risked undermining the landmark 1997 treaty in which Moscow and Brussels officially proclaimed that they were no longer “adversaries.”
Poland announced today (Tuesday) its long-term plan to place some of its military strength along its eastern border, closer to both the Ukraine and Russia, due to Russia’s intervention in the Ukraine, Reuters has reported.
The NATO member is concerned that it may be the Kremlin’s next target for expansion after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula earlier this year.
“We want to strengthen our units in the east of Polancd,” Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s Defense Minister, said on public radio. However, he declined to say how many additional troops or units were being discussed.
Oil prices have fallen by as much as 25 per cent in recent months, but they could fall further, Goldman Sachs says.
One of the world's leading investment banks says the benchmark price of North American oil is going to fall even further, to $70 US a barrel by next spring.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs slashed its forecast late Sunday night for both West Texas Intermediate (known as WTI) and Brent crude — the two most common types of oil used and sold in North America and Europe.
Goldman Sachs says WTI will go for $75 a barrel in the first three months of 2015. Brent, meanwhile, will change hands at $85 a barrel. Both forecasts are down $15 from what the bank was last expecting. And both are forecast to slip even lower in the second quarter — historically a seasonally low time for oil prices — before rebounding a little in the summer of 2015.
If the prediction on WTI proves correct, it will be the lowest price for North American oil since 2010, when crude was on its way higher after cratering during the recession of 2008 and 2009.
Currently, WTI is trading just below $80 US. That's down from more than $100 a barrel as recently as four months ago.
The main reason the bank cited for its call is simple supply and demand — there's just more oil being produced now than the world needs, the bank says.
A boom in shale oil and gas in North America this year and last has drastically increased the amount of oil in circulation. This month, it's expected that the U.S. will pump out more crude oil than Saudi Arabia does — the first time that's been the case since the early 1970s.
Saudi Arabia could traditionally control the price of oil by limiting supply due to its status as the world's largest pumper of crude. Now, there's a conspiracy theory going around in oil circles that the Saudis are quite happy to let the oil price go into freefall long enough to convince new U.S. rivals it's not worth it to develop their resources.
"Goldman is saying a new oil order has arrived where the Saudis have decided to let the short-term oil price be low long enough to curb U.S. production in the shales," is how Judith Dwarkin, chief economist for the Ross Smith Energy Group in Calgary put it.
As one of the cheapest sources of oil in the world, the Saudis can certainly better afford to wait out the current price lull more than most. Projects in Northern Alberta can't afford to have nearly as much patience. "Oilsands are far more sensitive to drops in price," Dwarkin said. "You don't have to go to $75 to be in pain as an oilsands miner."
'The slump in global oil prices couldn't have come at a worse time for Canada.'—Capital Economics
Goldman says the North American oil price will average $73.75 for 2015 as a whole. Last year, the bank predicted the average price of North American oil would be $94.83 this year.
A sustained period of cheap oil would be welcomed by drivers and sectors of Canada's economy most affected by energy costs. But on the whole, it's likely to be bad news for Canada's economy, experts said Monday.
"The slump in global oil prices couldn't have come at a worse time for Canada," Capital Economics said in a note to clients Monday. "For a country that now produces 4.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, the recent decline in prices … represents a loss of $2.5 billion in annual revenue for producers."
That's not to say Canada's oil patch isn't still turning a profit, though the same can't be said of some operations in other countries that have only recently started developing previously unprofitable oil deposits. Capital Economics says oil prices would have to drop a lot further before operations in Canada start selling at a loss, or shutting down.
"World oil prices are expected to remain above the marginal cost of domestic production and, therefore, don't pose a threat to existing oil operations," Capital Economics said.
So, just how low would oil prices have to fall before we see a real slowdown in Canada's oil patch? It's hard to say. "I don't know," Dwarkin said. "It depends how low prices go and how long they stay there."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed to ignore the torrent of criticism from the international community Tuesday, declaring that Israel would continue to build Jewish homes in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu made the remarks during the cornerstone-laying ceremony at a new port in Southern Ashdod.
"We will continue to develop the ports in order to lower commodity prices, we will continue to build roads and railways to connect the center of the Negev and the Galilee, and we will continue to build in Jerusalem, our eternal capital," Netanyahu stated.
Netanyahu reiterated that Israel has built Jewish homes in Jerusalem in the past, has continued building in the present, and will continue to do so in the future.
"I heard an argument that the construction of Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem distances [the Middle East from] peace," Netanyahu added. "It is this criticism which distances peace."
"These statements are detached from reality, they are harboring false statements made by the Palestinians."
"When Abbas incites the murder of Jews in Jerusalem, the international community is silent, and when we build in Jerusalem, that leaves them indignant," he continued. "I do not accept the double standard here."
"The French build in Paris, the English build in London - that's the same as Israel building in Jerusalem," he concluded. "We will continue to build in Jerusalem and will continue to build here in Ashdod."
Washington 'deeply concerned'
On Monday, Netanyahu gave instructions for the building of about 660 homes in Ramat Shlomo, in northern Jerusalem, and about 400 more in Har Homa, in the capital's southern section. All of the tenders had been slated for construction from as far back as 2010.
Earlier this month, he approved 2,610 building tenders from 2012 to be approved for full construction.
Both decisions have been met with threats from the EU and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and drawn criticism from the US. On Monday night, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington was "deeply concerned" by the reports and American embassy officials were having high-level talks with Israeli leaders to seek more information.
"We continue to make our position absolutely clear that we view settlement activity as illegitimate and unequivocally oppose unilateral steps that prejudge the future of Jerusalem," Psaki told reporters.
"Israel's leaders have said they would support a pathway to a two-state solution, but moving forward with this type of action would be incompatible with the pursuit of peace," she added.
Meanwhile, leftist organizations and the international community alike continue to remain quiet on the green light given for rampant illegal construction in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, where there are more than 40,000 illegal housing units, in an attempt to establish facts on the ground to divide Jerusalem and establish the groundwork for a Palestinian state.
Team Obama's Pointless Attack on Israel
What does the Obama administration hope to accomplish by trashing Israel in the press? This is the most important question after an apparently coordinated wave of anonymous quotes welled up in Tuesday’s press. Relations with Israel have steadily worsened over the course of Obama’s presidency, and little of what was said was out of step with some views being expressed in broader policy circles. But why say it, and why now?
USA Today's Susan Page Says Obama Administration Most 'Dangerous' To Press In U.S. History
Yet another journalist has come out against the seemingly unprecedented secrecy of the Obama administration. USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page said at a White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) event on Saturday that the current administration is more threatening to press freedom than "any administration in American history." Page said she was "really worried" about what could happen if the White House continues to prevent reporters from doing their job of telling the news and telling the truth.
Obama White House did little to stop 'The Rise of ISIS,' says 'Frontline' documentary
President Obama’s former ambassador to Iraq says in a new interview that his administration “did almost nothing” in response to intelligence warnings earlier this year that Islamic State radicals were gaining ground in Iraq and threatening the country’s stability.
‘Swarms of Cooperative, Autonomous’ Robots to Hit Battlefields
The study predicts that in the very near future, advances in technology will allow “swarms of robotic systems” to effect “dramatic, disruptive change to military operations”—and that the United States must significantly step up its focus on these technologies or risk losing its status as the world’s preeminent fighting force. “Swarms of robotic systems can bring greater mass, coordination, intelligence, and speed to the battlefield, enhancing the ability of warfighters to gain a decisive advantage over their adversaries,” the report states.
Poll: 70% angry at country's direction
(CNN) — Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are angry at the direction the country is headed and 53% of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance, two troubling signs for Democrats one week before the midterm elections, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows.
“Vote Flipping” Shows Up In Early Voting In Illinois And Maryland, 2014 Voter Fraud Looms?
“Vote flipping” is the phrase given when a vote flips from one candidate or party selected to the other. In these cases, the Republican option flipped to the Democratic one. The cause of the issue of Republican votes turning blue is said to be a “calibration issue”, but Illinois is not the only state experiencing these early voting issues. According to WBALTV, complaints of “vote flipping” is plaguing several counties in Maryland.
Union Chief Urges Vote Against Obama Amnesty
Americans must use next week’s election to reject President Barack Obama’s apparent plan to impose a unilateral amnesty for illegals, says the director of the union that represents the nation’s immigration officials. “Whether it’s the failure to uphold the public charge laws, the abuse of our asylum procedures, the admission of Islamist radicals, or visas for health risks, the taxpayers are being fleeced and public safety is being endangered on a daily basis,” he said.
New fight over Ebola quarantine looms as nurse returns to Maine
A nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before being briefly and controversially quarantined in New Jersey could be the focus of a new battle over state health policy as she returns to her home state of Maine.
ERLC Conference Discussion on 'The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage' Draws Plenty of Fireworks via #ERLC2014
"First of all, the gay community is never going to find the Evangelical response satisfactory because we're not going to accept their behavior," Land told The Christian Post. "But I think the first day of the conference did a good job of putting this in the context that same-sex attraction and behavior is but one of many aspects of the fall [of mankind]."
Isis attack on Idlib: Assad's army leaders 'slaughtered' as jihadists nearly take Syrian provincial capital
Syria almost lost its second city to the jihadists of Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra last night when hundreds of fighters stormed into the provincial capital, Idlib, captured the newly installed governor’s office and began beheading Syrian army officers.
ISIS has nothing to do with Israel
ISIS has done what al-Qaeda failed to do. It has made it clear that Israel is out of the picture. It made it clear that the Muslim world is engaged in self-massacre, sometimes at the level of genocide, with absolutely no connection to Israel. ISIS takes pride in its mass slaughter and goes to trouble to spread the photos.
Netanyahu rebuffs U.S. criticism of Jerusalem construction as 'disconnected from reality'
"The criticism is that it distances us from peace. These statements infuse the empty rhetoric of the Palestinians," said Netanyahu.The EU and the U.S. are applying a double standard when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Netanyahu added.
CDC says returning Ebola medical workers should not be quarantined
Federal health officials on Monday revamped guidelines for doctors and nurses returning home to the United States from treating Ebola patients in West Africa, stopping well short of controversial mandatory quarantines being imposed by some U.S. states.
Anti-Islamist rally turns violent in Germany
At least six people were arrested as violent clashes broke out between anti-immigration groups including members of 'Hooligans against Salafists' and a thousand strong crowd of counter-demonstrators in the German city of Cologne, Sunday. Riot police had to fire water cannons to disperse the protesters.
Fight Against Ebola Hits High Seas
The fight against Ebola has hit the high seas, Walla! News reports Tuesday - as Israeli ports have been advised to screen all passengers arriving in the Holy Land. Ports in Haifa and Ashdod will now screen all arriving passengers for signs of the Ebola virus, including vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding, or fever above 38 C (100.4 F).
US Sues NYC Over Medicaid Claims Worth Millions
The lawsuit says the city and a computer company used computer programs to dodge a requirement that Medicaid be billed only after private insurance coverage is exhausted. The lawsuit says false diagnosis codes were submitted to Medicaid.
ANOTHER STRONG FLARE AND RADIO BLACKOUT
Super-sunspot AR2192 produced another strong flare on Oct. 27th. The X2-category blast ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused a strong HF radio blackout over the Atlantic Ocean basin as well in South America and western Africa. AR2192 is the biggest sunspot in nearly 25 years, and it is still growing.
Netanyahu goes toe-to-toe with US, EU over criticism of Jerusalem construction
Netanyahu, at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new port in Ashdod, said that Israel would continue to build new ports, pave roads, lay rail road tracks and “continue to build in our eternal capital.”
Earthquake, magnitude 6.1, strikes near Samoa
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the south Pacific island nation of Samoa on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, and there were no initial reports of damage or injuries.
Despite tensions with US, Israel to purchase second batch of F-35 fighter jets
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel finalized the terms of Israel's purchase of a second squadron of F-35 fighter jets in recent days. The move came after the previous Israeli government decided that the air force may buy up to three F-35 squadrons.
Developing world embracing coal despite Obama’s efforts to limit use
Coal is more popular than ever as the cheapest fuel for generating electricity in the developing world, despite efforts by the Obama administration and environmentalists to limit its use.
U.S. and EU hail pro-West election outcome in Ukraine, Russia guarded
Pro-Western parties will dominate Ukraine's parliament after an election handed President Petro Poroshenko a mandate to end a separatist conflict and to steer the country further away from Russia's orbit towards mainstream Europe.
Expect Obama to Compromise With Iran
So keen is President Obama on a deal with Iran, he cannot say “no.” The fact that zero tolerance for an Iran with nuclear weapons is no longer a negotiating point is telling. The fact that Iran’s missile force site is not on the agenda suggests yet another concession.
Pope Francis Aligns Creation, Evolution As 'Not Contrary'
Noting that both God and Christ are commonplace in nature, Pope Francis says the "Big Bang" theory behind evolution is not contrary to the religious theory of creation."Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve," Francis told a Vatican gathering on Monday, weighing in thoughtfully on a position that has divided the scientific and faith communities,
Abbas calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting on Jerusalem
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas submitted a request Monday for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the unrest in Jerusalem. According to the communique, the Palestinian leader is calling for international intervention to stop “Israeli violations” in Jerusalem, and alleged “attacks” by “settlers” at the al-Aqsa Mosque
Terrific: Bowl Cut Jr. can now put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile
One of the ever-present concerns about nuclear proliferation is not that we would get into a nuclear war with another superpower, since presumably the leaders of both nations would opt for their own survival rather than letting it come to that - which is probably why we and the Soviets never ended up pressing the buttons.
Couple Look to Paul’s Example in Resisting Order to Perform Gay Marriages
Perform same-sex wedding ceremonies or pay tens of thousands of dollars in fines and spend months behind bars. That’s the choice their Idaho town gave one Christian couple who have made marriage ministry their life’s work.
Losing Liberty
Please let us reason together for a few moments without respect to anything we may or may not be a member of, but just Americans who love to be free. I am very concerned that the Socialistic Liberals within our Federal Government are leading us down the path to the complete loss of all Individual Liberty in the United States of America. I literally cry real tears in my observance of the death of our Constitution and the Liberty it provides.
Democrats Target Online Political Speech
The desire to kill political speech on the internet is nothing new, when it comes to the liberal left progressive Democrats. Their goal is not to win in the arena of ideas, but to eliminate any voice that dares to speak out against them in the arena of ideas. In the battle to silence dissent online, an attack is being launched by the FEC (Federal Elections Commission).
This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a small shed being consumed by lava in a pasture between the Pahoa cemetery and Apa?a Street near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dozens of residents in this rural area of Hawaii were placed on alert as flowing lava continued to advance. Authorities on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 said lava had advanced about 250 yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days. The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa.
Officials say molten lava from a Hawaii volcano has been flowing steadily in an area where residents have been warned they might have to evacuate their homes.
Dozens of residents in the flow path have been told to complete all necessary preparations by Tuesday for a possible evacuation. The timeline could change, based on the flow rate.
The Red Cross said it was opening a shelter to aide any evacuees.
Authorities on Sunday said lava flow on the Big Island of Hawaii had advanced hundreds of yards since Saturday morning and was moving at the rate of about 10 to 15 yards an hour, consistent with its advancement in recent days.
Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Most lava from this eruption has flowed south. But the lava has flowed to the northeast over the past two years.
The current flow that has been threatening Pahoa began in June. It's been moving toward town in fits and starts for weeks, speeding up and then slowing down.
The flow front passed through a predominantly Buddhist cemetery, covering grave sites in the mostly rural region of Puna, and was roughly a half-mile from Pahoa Village Road, the main street of Pahoa.
Darryl Oliveira, director of civil defense for Hawaii County, told reporters during a late Sunday morning teleconference that the nearest home was at least 300 yards from the flow front. He planned to get better coordinates during a flight later in the day.
Residents in the nearest home said they could see the flow front from their balcony and were prepared to evacuate when the time came, Oliveira said.
Oliveira estimated there were at least 50 to 60 structures, including homes and businesses, in the area most likely to be impacted.
Authorities went door-to-door, notifying residents Saturday of the need to be ready to evacuate. The vast majority of residents contacted had identified places where they could go, with "less than a handful" saying they may need to go to a shelter, he said.
As the lava moved through the cemetery, Oliveira said a monument was visible, protruding through the molten mass.
Janet Babb, a geologist and spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said methane explosions also have been going off. She said decomposing vegetation produces methane gas that can travel subsurface beyond the lava front in different directions, accumulating in pockets that can ignite. She said it was a bit unnerving to hear all the blasts on Saturday.
One passed near where she and others were standing.
"At the time that it happened, it was such a rumble I thought it was thunder and that we were about to be struck by lightning," she said.
Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) sharply criticized the American condemnation of building plans in the Israeli capital of Jerusalem, which were finally given government approval by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday.
The plans included about 660 housing units in the northern neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, and about 400 more in Har Homa in Jerusalem's south - all of the tenders have been on hold since as far back as 2010.
"Building in Jerusalem is not something to be done under the table or under the cover of night," Edelstein told Arutz Sheva.
"It has been part of the policy of every Israeli government and anyone who even thinks that in a peace agreement we will need to evacuate (the Jerusalem neighborhoods) Gilo, Talpiot and Pisgat Ze'ev apparently doesn't understand what they're talking about," added the MK.
But the US State Department lost no time on Monday slamming the routine development of the Jewish neighborhoods in the capital, which comes amid a severe housing crisis, calling the plans "incompatible" with "peace efforts."
In response to the criticism, Edelstein said: "I support the government and the prime minister, and am confident that both in the Knesset and the nation there is a majority (supporting) building in Jerusalem."
Netanyahu on Tuesday struck back at the American criticism as well, saying "it is this criticism which distances peace. These statements are detached from reality, they are harboring false statements made by the Palestinians."
"No to discrimination against Judea and Samaria"
The Knesset Chairman emphasized that currently there are more than 350,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria, and "the overwhelming majority of them are people of action who are dedicated to the state, and there is no reason to discriminate between them and others."
"Just as the north and the south must be developed, and Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - so too there is room for student villages and neighborhoods in Samaria, Gush Etzion (in Judea) and Har Homa (in Jerusalem)," added Edelstein.
Indeed, many have argued that the solution to the current housing crisis in Israel lies precisely in the development of Judea and Samaria, a region which according tosome estimates is over 90% unpopulated.
Instead, Netanyahu has until now imposed a covert freeze on Jewish construction. The newest announcements still leave much room for doubt as to whether they constitute a policy change, or are merely a case of political maneuvering giving the upcoming Likud primaries. Many similar announcements in the past have not actually led to any physical construction.
Aside from the primaries there has been talk about the Knesset coalition splitting up over the issues of building along with a slew of controversial legislation, such as the Conversion Bill, with some speculating there may be a breakdown during the Winter session that began Monday.
However, Edelstein assessed that "from a national perspective no one thinks that what we need to do to deal with the results of (Operation) Protective Edge and social problems or issues of religion and state is an election campaign for several months, and then coalition negotiations, and then new ministers taking office... basically (that would be) to put the state on strike without much need for another year."
"We need to work in government ministries and also here in the Knesset to solve the true problems, and not the political problems or the known arguments about who will get the credit for this issue or another," added Edelstein.
Japan will today begin exercises with the U.S. Army on its northernmost island of Hokkaido, a day after it started naval maneuvers with Russia 800 kilometres away off the coast of Vladivostok.
The drills illustrate the balance Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must strike between his attempts to mend relations with Russia and the need to bolster his country’s alliance with the U.S. as a backstop to a more assertive China in the region.
While Russia supplies about 10 percent of Japan’s natural gas needs, and potentially more, Japan backed Group of Seven sanctions over Russia’s infiltration of Ukraine. That sparked recriminations from Russia and raised military tensions, with Japanese jets dispatched hundreds of times to head off approaches by Russian aircraft in the three months through June.
“What’s difficult for Japan is that the alliance with the U.S. is the centerpiece of its security policy,” said Taisuke Abiru, a research fellow specializing in Russia at research group The Tokyo Foundation. “How can they maintain this alongside relations with Russia? This is an extremely important problem for Prime Minister Abe now.”
Abe had sought to strengthen ties with Russia until that country’s annexation of Crimea in March. He may use his first summit with President Vladimir Putin in nine months at an international forum in Beijing in November to restart his diplomatic push.
The roar of F-15 fighter jets is almost constant at Japan’s most northerly air base in Chitose, even as the number of approaches by Russian planes has fallen.
Japanese aircraft were dispatched 89 times to head off Russian planes in the three months through September, compared with 235 such flights in April-June, the Defense Ministry said this month.
The Russian missions are probably a message aimed at the U.S., which has 38,000 military personnel in Japan, Abiru said.
The 12-day Operation Orient Shield, the U.S. Army’s first maneuver with Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force on Hokkaido in four years, will involve about 2,000 military personnel. The U.S. sent Apache helicopters and Stryker combat vehicles.
Japan has separately dispatched its Hamagiri warship to Vladivostok for the first joint exercise since Russia’s takeover of Crimea. Even though U.S. and Russian naval ties are frozen, Vice Admiral Robert Thomas, commander of the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet, sees Japan’s exercises with Russia as a useful point of contact.
Japan’s maritime force acts as “an interlocutor while the Seventh Fleet is on hold interacting with the Russian Federation Navy,” Thomas told reporters in Tokyo last week.
A row over ownership of a small group of islands off the north of Hokkaido has lingered since the Soviet Union ended a neutrality pact with Japan days before the end of World War II, invading the islands and expelling thousands of Japanese residents.
Pledging to resolve the dispute of the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia, Abe has held five summits with Putin since taking office in December 2012.
Even though a planned visit to Tokyo by Putin this autumn has been postponed, the two leaders have kept lines of communication open. They called one another on their respective birthdays in September and October, and met briefly on the sidelines of a forum in Milan this month.
“Abe cannot risk falling too far out of step with Washington’s policy of punitive measures against Moscow,” said Tina Burrett, assistant professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo. “He needs Obama’s goodwill in Japan’s ongoing territorial dispute with China and in stalled negotiations over TPP,” she said, referring to the Trans- Pacific Partnership trade pact.
The Japanese government and corporations are continuing to consider importing more gas from Russia’s Sakhalin island, which could increase the share of Japan’s gas needs supplied by Russia to about 17-18 percent, Abiru said.
Putin is interested in continuing what was a regular and steady dialogue with Abe, said Sheila Smith, a senior fellow for Japan studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
“Of course the state visit cannot happen given the annexation of Crimea and Russian military intervention in Ukraine,” she said. “Nonetheless, there is ample reason for Japan to pursue its own interests with Russia.”
LONDON — Egypt is warning terrorist groups are poised to seize control of Libya’s oilfields, as the country’s foreign minister appealed for an expansion of the Western-led campaign against jihadists fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq & Al-Sham (ISIS) to tackle extremism threatening North Africa.
Sameh Shukri, the Egyptian foreign minister, used a visit to London Monday to push for a new approach from Britain and the West to Islamist violence in Egypt and its neighbours, modelled on the campaign targeting the Islamic extremists.
“The natural resources in Libya represents a very large pool of wealth and funding that will fund terrorist activity not only there but in other parts of the world,” he said. “You see
Egypt has supported the Libyan government against Islamist militias that now control most of the country’s big cities and large swaths of territory, though not yet the oilfields capable of producing 2.7 million barrels a day.
“We have a struggle against similar organizations that are an offshoot of other terrorist ideologies like the AP/Maya Alleruzzo/File
He pressed Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, to increase cooperation over “common security threats” and also met MPs from all parties in the House of Commons.
After 33 members of the Egyptian security forces were killed last week by attacks on the Sinai peninsula blamed on the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group, Mr. Hammond promised to intensify cooperation with the Cairo government.
Islamic fighters have been battling security forces in the Sinai for a decade, but the violence spiked after the military overthrew Mr. Morsi in July 2013 amid massive protests demanding his resignation. Suicide bombings and assassinations have also spread to other parts of Egypt, with police in Cairo and the Nile Delta frequent targets.
An advanced surface-to-air missile believed to have been supplied to Syrian rebels by Qatar against American wishes has been filmed in the hands of Isil jihadists, raising the threat to allied operations in Iraq.
A militant was shown firing a Chinese-made FN6 shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missile, with a later image suggesting it had brought down an Iraqi army helicopter.
The attack was said to have happened during the battle for Baiji, a town that is host to Iraq's biggest oil refinery, north of Baghdad.
The biggest worry is the greater power of the FN6, a modern weapon that is still being manufactured, compared with the older Russian-made missiles previously seen in the hands of moderate rebels and the ISIS.
The helicopter the militants claimed to have brought down, an Mi-35M, was of a type provided to Iraq by Russia in the last year and is supposed to be fitted with defence systems.
Syrian rebels have occasionally managed to bring down regime helicopters and even jets, but only rarely, as they have only been able to buy and pillage redundant Soviet-era models from regime stocks.
The new missile raises the threat to US Apache helicopters, which have returned to Iraq as part of the US-led coalition support for the Iraqi army.
"The US Apaches deployed to Baghdad will have countermeasures, but I cannot comment on whether they would be more effective than the ones on Iraq's new Mi-35Ms," said Jeremy Binnie, of IHS Jane's, who spotted the Isil video.
The United States has argued vehemently against giving Syrian rebels surface-to-air missiles despite the Assad regime's bombardments of the civilian population, precisely for fear they would end up in the hands of jihadists, as did Stinger missiles provided to the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
But last year The New York Times reported that Qatar, an American ally which is already under fire for its support of more extreme factions among the rebels, delivered a batch.
The Iraqi government maintains there is no threat to civilian aviation. Shoulder-mounted missiles are not dangerous to airliners at normal heights, unlike the vehicle-launched BUK missile thought to have brought down the MH17 passenger plane over Ukraine in July.
They are dangerous to planes taking off and landing, however, and the large quantities of such missiles that have gone missing during Arab Spring uprisings continue to cause alarm. Baghdad airport is protected by a broad perimeter, and pilots use a special "corkscrew" approach to keep them safe from missile-launchers like the FN6.
The cruelty of the Islamic State (ISIS) has led to unprecedented receptivity to the message of Christ in Iraq. A curious colonel from the Kurdish forces battling ISIS in Iraq approached members of an indigenous Iraqi ministry team to ask them questions about the aid they were offering to the people in crisis there.
He was curious about the reasons that motivated the actions of the ministry team that, with the assistance of Christian Aid Mission was supplying displaced people with food, clothing, beds, medicine and Bibles. The colonel had observed these workers demonstrate Christ’s love in a tangible way, and how these followers of Christ were bringing love and peace and goodness to people everyday. What was the reason for offering all this aid? What was the motivation, what was the source of it?
The colonel was serving as a division commander of the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s armed forces, which have helped to slow the incursion of ISIS in its brutal push to establish a caliphate imposing a strict version of Sunni Islam. With the aid of U.S. airstrikes, the Peshmerga have also slowly retaken some territory and are helping to secure the Kurdish capital.
The ministry team director reported on the moving conversion of the colonel after the team was able to have a long talk with him about Christ. As a result of this encounter the colonel bowed and prayed, asking Christ into his life, and received a copy of the Holy Bible.
The colonel said, ‘Today I am the happiest person – I’ve had the privilege of making this decision.’
The colonel’s experience was just one of many taking place in Iraq. In cities of refuge like Erbil for people displaced from their homes in other parts of Iraq, people are turning to Christ at a stunning pace. Tent churches are springing up in the makeshift camps. The team director said that under normal circumstances, mission strategies focus on how to proclaim Christ effectively, but the challenge now is keeping pace with the numbers who would receive Him.
He continued to say that the greatest challenge in the ministry right now is not whether these people will accept Christ or not, and that in all their travel to deliver the aid and preach God’s Word, they did not find anyone opposed to or rejecting their message. Another challenge is how and when they would reach all those people with the message of salvation in the squares, sidewalks, roads, inside the tents and out, and everywhere.
The harvest indeed is great here, and the need for workers and support is just as great as the teams working here strive to reach the spiritually hungry multitudes for Christ as well as provide them with critical daily necessities.
Christian Aid Mission’s Middle East director said that as a result of this trend, some church leaders and workers for ministry organizations are remaining in Iraq even as the cruel practices of ISIS – beheading Iraqi children who refuse to deny Christ in Qaroqosh and Western journalists elsewhere – gain greater notoriety.
The director reported that workers who stayed behind in Mosul and the surrounding areas to evangelize, as there are so many there who are receptive to the gospel. These workers are willing to risk being in an area under the rule of ISIS for the privilege of bringing more fruit for Christ.
The persecution has forced the new Christians to trust God more than they ever have before, and the director continued by saying that these Christians were growing in their relationship with God in ways they had never imagined. There is also a great need to intercede for the workers there whose lives are always in danger as they live day by day at great risk.
Luke 10:22 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
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![]() ISIS Crisis Creates Unprecedented Opportunity To Share Christ In Iraq October 28, 2014 | Share this articleThe cruelty of the Islamic State (ISIS) has led to unprecedented receptivity to the message of Christ in Iraq. A curious colonel from the Kurdish forces battling ISIS in Iraq approached members of an indigenous Iraqi ministry team to ask them questions about the aid they were offering to the people in crisis there. |
The largest sunspot observed on the sun in more than 20 years has been firing off powerful solar flares for the past week, and it's still producing strong solar storms.
Today, the huge sunspot erupted with a large solar flare, peaking at around 10:47 a.m. EDT (1447 GMT). The flare caused a strong radio blackout on Earth, according to the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center. This solar flare is the fourth X-flare (the most powerful kind of solar storms) in as many days.
On Sunday (Oct. 26), the giant sunspot unleashed a solar flare, which peaked at about 6:56 a.m. EDT (1056 GMT). The sunspot, called Active Region 12192 (also known as AR 2192), also shot out another powerful flare on Saturday. Today and Sunday's flares measured in at X2, while Saturday's is classified as an X1 flare.
Sunday's X2-class flare was "the third X-class flare in 48 hours, erupting from the largest active region seen on the sun in 24 years," NASA spokesperson Karen Fox wrote in an update yesterday (Oct. 26). AR 2129 also shot out an X3.1-class flare on Friday (Oct. 24).
The active region on the sun is also responsible for spewing out two big M-class flares — moderate solar storms — since Friday. The most recent M-class flare (categorized as an M6.7) peaked this morning at about 6:09 a.m. EDT (1009 GMT).
"An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.," Fox added.
Sometimes, big solar flares are followed by huge bursts of hot plasma known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) shooting out from the sun. Large CMEs can cause geomagnetic storms or supercharge Earth's auroras, but according to astronomer Tony Phillips at Spaceweather.com, the earlier storms released by the current sunspot have not had any major accompanying CMEs.
If aimed at Earth, X-class flares can be dangerous for astronauts and spacecraft orbiting the planet. The radiation can disrupt radio and communication signals, but solar flares cannot injure people on Earth's surface, according to Fox. The planet's atmosphere acts as a protective barrier from the harmful radiation.
On Thursday (Oct. 23), skywatchers around North America got a chance to see the sunspot during an amazing partial solar eclipse. Many observers attempting to photograph the cosmic event were able to see the sunspot on the sun's face.
WARNING: Never look directly at the sun through binoculars, a telescope or with your unaided eyes. Serious eye damage and even blindness can result. Scientists and experienced skywatchers use special filters and glasses to safely observe the sun. Do not use regular sunglasses to look at the sun.
Although Friday's X3.1 flare is a powerful solar storm, it isn't the most powerful flare of the year. In February 2014, the sun discharged an X4.9-class tempest.
US-Israeli relations have suffered over the past month, with the State Department making multiple condemnations against Israel for both building Jewish homes in Jerusalem and for increasing its fight against Palestinian Arab terror.
However, it has not damaged the military cooperation between them, as the Israel Aerospace Industries, together with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that Israel will acquire a new squadron of F-35 jets from the US Army and Lockheed-Martin.
The transaction was finalized, in theory, last week between Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, during Ya'alon's US visit.
However, the deal will not be finalized in practice until the US government signs off on the deal in a public announcement.
As part of the deal, the IDF will receive 19 "stealth" aircraft at a cost of $2.7 billion, which will be deducted from US aid funds to Israel.
As early as 2016, Israeli pilots will train on the new aircraft at a US Air Force base in Arizona.
Recently, the suggestion has been made that the US's decision to provide funding for such projects as the Iron Dome Missile Defense System and the IAF's fleet gives it free rein to make comments regarding Israel's policies.
Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama insisted that US funding for Iron Dome was an "American value," and thus provided the justification for criticizing the decision to build 2,610 Jewish homes in the Jewish Givat Hamatos neighborhood of Jerusalem.
But Ya'alon, in particular, has sought to deflect criticism over remarks such as these, noting that the mutual defense partnership, in his words, is a function of "shared values."
"Relations between the United States and Israel are based on shared interests and values, and a dispute or other comments should not cast a shadow over that," Ya'alon stated. "The United States supports Israel in a variety of fields - including, of course, security - and we need to remember that and to recognize and thank its leaders for that."
"The security systems of the two countries have an intimate relationship, one unprecedented in scope and importance to the security of Israel, and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and I have a close relationship," he added.