Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Ukrainian Army Plane Shot Down With 49 Aboard
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. Sends Warship to the Gulf Over Iraq Crisis
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Let the Headlines Speak
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Exhausted Obama to drive golf balls as ISIS drives on Baghdad, Twitter erupts

CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller was simply doing his job when he tweeted President Barack Obama‘s weekend plans. Little did he know that his effort would unleash a wave of criticism directed at the president.  

Public Universities Around The Country Allow Special Cords To Gay Graduates For Being Gay
College graduation is a special time in America, and it’s even more special this year if you are gay. A number of public colleges and universities gave special recognition this year to graduating seniors who amazingly managed to complete their degrees while suffering the grueling hardship of being lesbians and homosexuals, reports Campus Reform.  

Supreme Court has 17 cases to decide by June's end
It's crunch time at the Supreme Court. The justices are racing to issue opinions in 17 cases over the next two weeks. Among the big questions: the religious rights of corporations, the speech rights of abortion protesters and the privacy rights of people under arrest.  

Pentagon studying protesters to prep for ‘mass civil breakdown’
The Department of Defense has disbursed some funds to universities so that scientists might study the dynamics of civil unrest — and how the U.S. military might best respond. It’s called the “Minerva Research Initiative,” and it’s a program...to “improve DoD’s basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the U.S.,” The Guardian reported.  

ISIS Leader: ‘See You in New York’
The Islamist extremist some are now calling the most dangerous man in the world had a few parting words to his captors as he was released from the biggest U.S. detention camp in Iraq in 2009. “He said, ‘I’ll see you guys in New York,’” recalls Army Col. Kenneth King, then the commanding officer of Camp Bucca.  

China to build school in contested Paracel Islands
China says it will build a school in the disputed Paracel Islands, boosting its presence in waters also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. China calls the island Yongxing and has been building up a settlement there for the last two years. The school is expected to serve just 40 children, whose parents all work on the tiny island.  

IDF calls up reserves, deploys Iron Dome in South
The IDF has called up a limited number of reserves as the military operation to rescue three kidnapped Israelis in the West Bank continues to grow. The call up is small in scope at this stage. Also on Sunday, the air force deployed a number of Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries in southern Israel.  

Border agent laments gang members entering U.S.: ‘Why are we letting him in here?’
Border Patrol officials are swamped by the number of minors crossing illegally into the United States and frustrated that they can’t turn away known Mexican gang members.  

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Ordered to Persian Gulf in Wake of Iraq Unrest
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to the Persian Gulf on Saturday to “protect” American lives and interests during terror flare-ups in several Iraqi towns.  

IAF strikes Gaza following rocket attack
The Israel Air Force carried out an air strike on three terror sites in the Gaza Strip and two weapons manufacturing sites, along with an additional terror site in central Gaza, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Office.  

Ukraine crisis: Russia condemns attack on Kiev embassy
Russia has reacted angrily to a violent protest outside its embassy in Ukraine, which saw windows smashed, the Russian flag torn down and cars overturned. Russia accused Ukrainian police of doing nothing to stop the attack, and called it a "grave violation of Ukraine's international obligations".  

Iraq conflict: Sunni militant push on Baghdad 'halted'
Iraqi government forces, backed by Shia Muslim and Kurdish militias, are reportedly holding back an advance by Sunni militants north of Baghdad. A number of towns have been retaken from the rebels, but they still control the key cities of Tikrit and Mosul.  

Manning says US public lied to about Iraq from the start
The detained US soldier convicted of leaking a trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks made a rare foray into public life Saturday to warn Americans they were being lied to about Iraq once more. Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence on espionage charges and other offenses for passing along 700,000 secret documents, including diplomatic cables and military intelligence files, to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in the largest-scale leak in US history.  

Airstrikes kill about 100 militants in Pakistan
Pakistani intelligence officials say that airstrikes overnight in the northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan have killed as many as 100 militants. Two intelligence officials said Sunday that the airstrikes by the Pakistani military targeted eight militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal area.  

Iran Is the Biggest Loser in Iraq
After all of its efforts to undermine the U.S. mission, Tehran now has a violent, semi-failed state right on its border. And it will have to deal with the financial fallout on its own. Sen. John McCain has called for the heads of President Obama’s entire national-security staff for the debacle in Iraq. Papers and websites are filled with opinion pieces running some variation of the title “Who lost Iraq?”

Kerry: Iraqi Leaders Must Unite
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke of the ongoing security situation in Iraq in a conversation with the country’s Foreign Minister.

Kerry said that American aid to Iraq in an attempt to hold back the advancement of Islamist extremists in the country will only be successful if the country’s leaders work as one.

Israel Issues Sanctions on Palestinian Arabs Over Kidnapping
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

IDF troops search for missing boys

Flash 90

Israel has begun taking several steps to both prevent more terrorism in the wake of the abduction of three missing yeshiva students, and create pressure on Palestinian Arabs to reveal the whereabouts of the boys.

Palestinian Arabs have rejoiced publicly at the kidnapping, and even attempted to obstruct Israel's attempts to find the boys. In Gaza, Palestinian Arabs handed out sweets in a sick "celebration" of the kidnappings; fireworks could be heard and loud music playing Saturday night in Arab communities across Judea and Samaria.

Moreover, Fatah, on an official Facebook post in Arabic, called on all Palestinian Authority (PA) residents on social media to destroy all video and photo evidence of the boys, in order to hinder the ongoing IDF search. 

The statement is a harsh contrast to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's official pledge to Israel in English on Friday that he would dispatch the PA's own police forces to help search for the boys. 

Israel has begun issuing sanctions on Palestinian Arabs in response.

Palestinian Arab workers have been banned from entering Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria on Sunday, the Yesha Council announced Saturday night. 

"Closing communities is being used as leverage to pressure the population in the Palestinian Authority that would cover up the abduction, and create pressure for the extradition of the hijackers, to allow our boys to be brought home safely," the Council posted on Facebook. 

Specific communities listed to be preventing the Palestinian Arab workers from entering Sunday include Hevron, Tekoa, Efrat, Beit Aryeh, Karnei Shomron, Kiryat Arba, Beit El, Kedumim, Emmanuel, Elkana; entire regions have also instituted a ban, including Binyamin, Samaria, Gush Etzion, and the Hevron Hills. 

In addition, the Israeli Prison Service announced Saturday night that families of terrorists held in Israeli prisons would be banned from visiting their relatives Sunday. The move is widely being seen as another tactic to force Palestinian Arabs who know where the boys are to reveal the missing teens' whereabouts.

Israel Considers Calling Up Military Reserves
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iraq: Senior Shiite Cleric Calls on Citizens to Fight Isis
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

ISIS in Mosul, Iraq

Reuters

Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric has issued a call to arms after Sunni-led insurgents seized more towns, the BBC reported on Friday.

The call by a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as the Islamists from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) widened their grip in the north and east, and threatened to march south, towards Baghdad.

In his sermon at Friday prayers in Karbala, Sheik Abdulmehdi al-Karbalai said, "Citizens who are able to bear arms and fight terrorists, defending their country and their people and their holy places, should volunteer and join the security forces to achieve this holy purpose."

There are reports that thousands have already joined Shiite militias which could play a crucial role in the defense of Baghdad, according to the BBC.

Meanwhile Iraq's Ministry of Communications has started blocking social media sites in the capital, according to the privately-owned Iraqi news agency Al-Mada.

The call by the Shiite cleric came a day after reports indicated that Iran has deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq in order to fight the Islamists who have taken over cities there.

Iran is not a stranger to doing this, as it is already involved in Syria’s civil war, where it has provided President Bashar Al-Assad with military support during his fight against the rebels.

Iran, which is a majority Shiite Muslim country, shares a border with Iraq and has a direct line to Iraq's Shiite Muslim Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, noted the BBC, adding that the Iranians could direct their proxies, and even their own special forces units, at ISIS.

Officials in Tehran have denied, however, that their forces are actively operating inside Iraq, noted the report.

Idf Arrests 80 Hamas Members, Unity Government Officials
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

IDF counter-terror unit

Flash 90

The IDF has arrested over 80 Hamas terrorists overnight in Judea and Samaria, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Office, as part of the wide-scale operation to find three missing yeshiva students abducted Thursday night. 

According to a military source, as quoted by Channel 10, several of the arrested were reportedly members of the "unity" government sworn in earlier this month. The source also indicated that a large number of paratroopers and Nahal brigade soldiers had been dispatched in the region.

According to Palestinian media outlets affiliated with Hamas, IDF forces raided hundreds of houses in Hevron, Jenin, Ramallah and other cities overnight.

At least one of the terrorists arrested by IDF forces was apparently Hassan Yousef, a senior Hamas official. 

Meanwhile, the IDF operation continues. 

"Palestinian terrorists will not be able to feel safe or hide," the IDF Spokesperson's Office tweeted on Sunday morning. "They will feel the heavy arm of Israeli military capabilities."

Criticism Mounting of Obama Administration
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washtington Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Members of Congress called on President Obama Sunday to link up with Arab allies and quell a quick-moving crisis in Iraq, where Islamic militants swept toward Baghdad and left a bloody trail in their wake.

Border Agent Laments Gang Members Entering U.S.: Why are We Letting Him in Here?
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Border Patrol officials are swamped by the number of minors crossing illegally into the United States and frustrated that they can’t turn away known Mexican gang members.

Bennett: Israel's 'Fist of Steel' will Make Terrorists Pay
Jun 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Lapid and Bennett (file)

Flash90

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday night said that the terrorists who kidnapped three Israeli teens would soon realize what a mistake they made. “We will find the people who planned, carried out, and assisted this kidnapping,” Bennett said. “Israel is very strong, the perpetrators should not get the wrong idea.”

“The security forces are working with intelligence services to find the kidnapped teens and their kidnappers,” Bennett said in an interview on Channel Two.

Bennett's interviewer pressed him on whether or not he would agree to release terrorists in exchange foe the three missing teens. Bennett said that doing so would only guarantee more kidnappings. “You kidnap an Israeli and get back one, a hundred, or a thousand terrorists, sometimes just in exchange for the bodies,” said Bennett. “The other side has to feel pain and realize that we will get to the planners and executors of this action.

“Right now the government is planning a series of actions that will be taken against those involved that will ensure that the understand that these actions are not in their best interests. We also must figure out ways to prevent the next kidnapping,” Bennett said. “We are very strong, and we will show them a fist of steel for this crime.

“There is a good side and a bad side here, and we are the good,” Bennett added.

A Church Cemented in the Routine
Jun 15th, 2014
Thought For The WeekA. W. Tozer
Categories: Commentary;Exhortation

What is the worst enemy the church faces today? This is where a lot of unreality and unconscious hyprocrisy
enters. Many are ready to say, "The liberals are our worst enemy." But the simple fact is that the average
evangelical church does not have too much trouble with liberalism. Nobody gets up in our churches and claims
that the first five books of Moses are just myths. Nobody says that the story of creation is simply religious
mythology. Nobody denies that Christ walked on the water or that He rose from the grave. Nobody gets up in
our churches and claims that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God or that He isn t coming back again. Nobody
denies the validity of the Scriptures. We just cannot hide behind liberalism and say that it is our worst enemy.
We believe that evangelical Christians are trying to hold on to the truth given to us, the faith of our fathers, so
the liberals are not our worst enemy. Neither do we have a problem with the government. People in our country
can do just about whatever they please and the government pays no attention. We can hold prayer meetings all
night if we want, and the government would never bother us or question us. There is no secret police breathing
down our backs watching our every move. We live in a free land, and we ought to thank God every day for that
privilege. The treacherous enemy facing the church of Jesus Christ today is the dictatorship of the routine,
when the routine becomes "lord" in the life of the church. Programs are organized and the prevailing conditions
are accepted as normal. Anyone can predict next Sundays service and what will happen. This seems to be the
most deadly threat in the church today. When we come to the place where everything can be predicted and
nobody expects anything unusual from God, we are in a rut. The routine dictates, and we can tell not only what
will happen next Sunday, but what will occur next month and, if things do not improve, what will take place next
year. Then we have reached the place where what has been determines what is, and what is determines what
will be.