Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Armys All Seeing Surveillance Blimps Get Go - Ahead to Guard Against Cruise Missil
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsMail Online
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Controversial surveillance blimps that can spot a person 340 miles away have been unveiled by military firm Raytheon.

It boasts the project can offer '360 degree 24/7 surveillance for 30 days at a time' - and revealed the US Army has already bought two.

One is being trialled over Maryland, with the other being kept in 'strategic reserve'.

The 'JLENS' blimp, built by Raytheon, which can spot objects 340 miles away using highly sensitive radio systems. The US Army is about to begin testing two of the craft over Maryland, sparking privacy fears.

'By putting JLENS in strategic reserve, the Army is giving combatant commanders around the globe the ability to pick up the phone and, in short order, receive this incredible air defense capability in their area of responsibility, said Raytheon's Dave Gulla, vice president of Integrated Defense Systems' Global Integrated Sensors business area.

The system is called JLENS -- or Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System -- which is composed of an integrated radar system on two tethered, 80-yard blimps.

The blimps fly at altitudes of 10,000 feet above sea level and remain aloft and operational for 30 days, enabling the use of defensive measures against cruise missiles, low-flying manned and unmanned aircraft, and moving surface vehicles such as boats, mobile missile launchers and tanks.

Threats can be detected from as far as 340 miles away.

how they work: The blimps can 'see' for 340 miles. They are moored to base stations, and offer 360 degree surveillance capabilites. They are designed to look for cruise missiles.

The Maryland systtem can detect missiles from Boston to North Carolina on the coast and as far inland as Lake Erie, according to the Washington Post.

Raytheon, which makes the craft, advertises them as useful for 24/7 surveillance.

'What if there was an affordable way the U.S. and its allies could always “see” the threat, instead of having to hope they had a ship or airplane in the vicinity to detect the threat?,' it says on its website.

'JLENS, an affordable elevated, persistent over-the-horizon sensor system uses a powerful integrated radar system to detect, track and target a variety of threats,' Raytheon says.

Aerostats, as they are now called, are already used to protect American bases in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are outfitted with cameras and used to track insurgent and U.S. troop movements.

The dirigibles famously snared Army Staff Seargent Robert Bates slaughtering 16 civilians in Kandahar in March 2012.

Old-fashioned: Blimps have been around for decades, but they only recently came back into usage by the U.S. Army

The two blimps work together to identify threats such as missiles entering the nearby area.

Video showed Mr Bates returning to the base under what he thought was the cloak of early morning darkness.

The footage showed him carrying the rifle used to carry out the mass murder.

The blimps are also used at the U.S. – Mexico border to try to catch illegal immigrants, CBS News noted.

The army has commissioned defense contractor Ratheon to provide the airships, which will hover at an altitude of about 10,000 feet over the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, for the multi-year trial run. 

Only missiles: The Pentagon insists the aerostats will only be used to search for missiles, but they are already used overseas to monitor insurgent movements

Will Big Brother be watching: The ACLU is also concerned the airships will be used to watch people on the ground

Privacy advocates worry the blimps will also be equipped with high-resolution cameras and radar to track the movements of civilians.

‘Right now there are no rules,’ Christopher Calabrese, of the American Civil Liberties Union, told CBS News. ‘There's nothing that bars us from having high-powered cameras monitoring our every public movement.’

Another ACLU analyst echoed those thoughts to the Post.

‘That's the kind of massive persistent surveillance we've always been concerned about with drones,’ said Jay Stanley. ‘It's part of this trend we’ve seen since 9/11, which is the turning inward of all these surveillance technologies.’

The blimps will fly in pairs at 10,000 feet. Maker Raytheon boasts the project can offer '360 degree 24/7 surveillance for 30 days at a time' - raising major privacy concerns over the project.

+8

HIghly visible: People as far away as Baltimore will be able to see the blimps high above them

The Army insisted in a letter to the paper that the aerostats, which can fly for as long as 30 consecutive days, will be the first line of defense against incoming missiles.

‘The primary mission... is to track airborne objects. Its secondary mission is to track surface moving objects such as vehicles or boats. The capability to track surface objects does not extend to individual people.’

The government also said that there are currently no plans to put cameras capable of tracking people on the blimps, but it could not rule out doing so in the future.

As it is currently constructed, the program is expected to cost $2.7billion.

Civilians as far away as Baltimore will be able to see them from the ground.

Two States Forced to Recognize Gay Marriage
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Daily Caller
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Shame of Nanaimo - Bc City Blocks Leadership Event Due to Christian Sponsorship
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

On May 5, city politicians in Nanaimo, B.C., voted 8 to 1 to ban a conference that was scheduled for their city’s convention centre just four days later. City councilors condemned one of the event ’s sponsors as “hateful,” mentioned it in the same breath as the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram, and said the decision to ban the event from public property was no different than if they had voted to ban an organized crime ring, too.

Sounds awful. Who was coming to town – the Hells Angels? The conference itself was based in Atlanta, Georgia, but plenty of people in Nanaimo were paying $60 to watch a pay-per-view simulcast of it in Nanaimo. The event, which took place May 8  and was streamed to 800 cities in North America, is aimed at providing thought-provoking speakers who can help build up a generation of viable leaders; the conference does not explicitly address controversial subjects like homosexuality. So who were these undesirable people?

Actually, Nanaimo councilors didn’t know very much about the conference themselves, calling it by different names throughout their meeting. They weren’t quite sure who was speaking at it either, or what they were speaking about, and they had to be corrected by city staff. And they didn’t invite any conference organizers to answer their allegations – or even give them any notice before ripping up the business contract signed with them by the convention centre.

But what the councilors lacked in knowledge, they made up for in vitriol. You can see for yourself. Nanaimo is a small city of just 80,000 people, but the politicians there think highly enough of themselves and their deep thoughts that they actually televise their council meetings. Their 20-minute tirade against the conference can be viewed online, at www.nanaimo.ca.

Fred Pattje, the councilor who introduced the motion, said that one of the many sponsors of the conference was an American fast-food restaurant named Chick-Fil-A. Several years ago, the founder of Chick-Fil-A had said he opposed changing U.S. law to permit same-sex marriage. Until a year ago, that was Barack Obama’s opinion, too. But to Pattje and fellow councilors, the fact that an executive affiliated with a fast food company was one of a dozen sponsors of a world-wide leadership event, being simulcast from the city’s convention centre, was intolerable. Even if some of the councilors couldn’t quite pronounce the name Chick-Fil-A either.

The problem, as councillor Jim Kipp said so succinctly, was that Chick-Fil-A has funded “a very strong unbelievable Christian belief” of being against same sex marriage, before referring to terrorists.

It was shocking bigotry. Councilors took turns defaming the convention, Chick-Fil-A, one of its speakers, its organizers and those in it – all without the burden of facts. They falsely accused one conference speaker of being anti-gay – even though city staff reminded councilors that the conference wasn’t about homosexuality at all. It was about leadership in business. One councillor – Bill McKay, the lone voice against the ban – pointed out that former First Lady Laura Bush would be speaking, and Nobel Prize laureate and former anti-Apartheid crusader Desmond Tutu also.

In the end, the motion passed over McKay’s sole objection. The motion instructed the convention centre that “any events that are associated with organizations or people that promote or have a history of divisiveness, homophobia, or other expressions of hate not be permitted and as such, advise the VICC not to permit in a City owned facility, the upcoming Leadercast event.”

One councilor, Bill Bestwick, actually suggested that city hall turn off the power and blackout the simulcast when a particularly objectionable speaker was scheduled to speak. Bestwick was very excited about his role as self-appointed censor.

Banning divisive people, and expressions of hate, eh? Sounds like the council was describing itself.

According to the Nanaimo Daily News, three pastors who came as a part of the Nanaimo Evangelical Fellowship, a coalition of churches, asked officials for an apology and for an affirmation that people of any and all faiths can use the conference center, citing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as the basis of the request.

Faith leaders expressed shock over the event’s cancellation at a June 16 council meeting, with Pastor Darcy Siggelkow of Generations Church calling both the cancellation and the councillors debate over the issue “immensely concerning.”

“I’m not asking you to agree with or accept my opinions and beliefs … but my rights to have those beliefs,” he said, according to the Daily News.

The Irony of the New Tolerance: It Doesn't Tolerate Christians
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily Newschristianpost
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

When it comes to same-sex "marriage," our culture, just like our president, has definitely evolved. After all, it was only in 2008 that a strong majority in California - yes, California - passed Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.

But when our president changed his mind a few months before the 2012 election, the cultural floodgates opened, particularly in the American workplace. Later that summer, Chick-fil-A faced angry boycotts when CEO Dan Cathy's views and donations in favor of traditional marriage became public knowledge.

The workplace pressure has only continued. Christian bakers and photographers who do not want to participate in what they consider to be a sin have been fined and faced being shut down. Attempts to protect their religious liberty, such as Arizona's State Bill 1062, have been crushed through threats of economic boycotts and media shaming.

More high-profile voices have also faced this smash-mouth, brass-knuckle treatment.  

Just weeks ago Brendan Eich, the accomplished founder and CEO of search-engine company Mozilla, was forced to resign when he was "outed" for donating all of $1,000 to Proposition 8 eight years ago.

We've all heard what A&E tried to do to Duck Dynasty when Phil Robertson indelicately expressed his disapproval of the "gay lifestyle." And more recently, the Home and Garden TV network canned the Benham brothers, David and Jason, for their supposed "anti-gay" and "anti-choice" beliefs. Apparently one cannot even host a home-improvement show if one does not also parrot the new sexual orthodoxy.  

In every case, the message to those who disagree with all this sexual "tolerance" is clear: If you want to keep your job, shut up.

Apparently the sexual left cannot tolerate even the slightest dissent. As Kirsten Powers wrote this week in USA Today, "Welcome to the Dark Ages, Part II. We have slipped into an age of un-enlightenment where you fall in line behind the mob or face the consequences."

As Powers notes, "They claim to be liberal while behaving as anything but. The touchstone of liberalism is tolerance of differing ideas. Yet this mob exists to enforce conformity of thought and to delegitimize any dissent from its sanctioned worldview. Intolerance is its calling card."

Facing such a McCarthy-esque onslaught, what are we Christians to do? Well, let's keep speaking about marriage and God's plan for human flourishing, despite the obvious and growing threats to our livelihoods. We owe it to our neighbors, and to the Lord.

As we do that we'll need to be the Body of Christ, supporting one another in practical ways against the attacks of an increasingly intolerant culture.

Sunni Militants Take Iraqi Gas Field Town An Hour from Baghdad
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

BAGHDAD - Militants took a town an hour from Baghdad that is home to four natural gas fields on Thursday, another gain by Sunni insurgents who have swiftly taken large areas to the north and west of the Iraqi capital.

Singapore Official Discusses Uneasy Calm, Tells Banks to Prepare for Financial Collapase
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsSovereign Man
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

 

Science Fiction Come True: Paralyzed Man Moves Arm With His Thoughts Using Microchip in His Brain
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsNational Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Handout/Ohio State University Wexner Medical CenterIan Burkhart shares a smile with Chad Bouton, research leader from Battelle. Bouton and his team at Battelle pioneered the Neurobridge technology, working closely with doctors from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, which allowed Burkhart to become the first patient ever to move his paralyzed hand with his own thoughts.

NEW YORK — An American man who was paralyzed in a swimming accident has become the first patient to move his hand using the power of thought after doctors inserted a microchip into his brain.

Ian Burkhart, 23, was able to open and close his fist and even pick up a spoon during the first test of the chip, giving hope to millions of accident victims and stroke sufferers.

Onlookers described the moment as like watching “science fiction come true”.

The “Neurobridge” technology, whereby a microchip reads patients’ thoughts to replace signals no longer transmitted by their bodies, was created by doctors at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and engineers from a non-profit research centre called Battelle.

Doctors have had success in recent years in getting stroke victims to manoeuvre robotic arms using their thoughts, but Burkhart is the first to be able to move his body.

Burkhart, from Columbus, Ohio, was injured at the age of 19 after diving into the sea and hitting a shallow sandbank, causing catastrophic damage to his spinal chord and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

He underwent surgery in April to drill into his skull and implant the chip into a port in his brain. At one fifteenth of an inch wide, the chip has 96 electrodes which “read” what the patient is thinking.

After weeks of practice, during which Burkhart focused intently on wiggling his fingers while the chip responded by moving an animated hand on a screen, the first proper test took place last week. A computer sent his brain messages to a sleeve containing electrodes, which stimulated his muscles.

The test exceeded all expectations. Burkhart said: “To be able to open and close my hand and do those complex movements was great. Physically, it was a foreign feeling. Emotionally it was definitely a sense of hope and excitement to know that it’s possible.”

Russia Threatened With Sanctions As Ukraine Ceasefire Implodes
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Western leaders warned Russia on Wednesday that new sanctions would be placed on Moscow should efforts not increase to defuse the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where a ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists and government forces seems to be imploding.

Western governments told Russian President Vladimir Putin that they would judge Russia by the progress that was made in an effort to end the revolution in eastern Ukraine.

Report: Syrian Forces Bomb Sunni Targets in Iraq
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Airstrike (illustrative)

Reuters

Iraqi officials accused Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces of taking advantage of the crisis near Baghdad Wednesday, saying that Syrian warplanes struck several border areas in Anbar province Tuesday. 

At least 57 Iraqi civilians were killed and 120 wounded in the attacks, local officials told CNN, in cities controlled by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). 

This is not the first time this week Syrian forces have fired into a neighboring country. On Sunday, Syrian forces lobbed a mortar shell into the Golan Heights, killing a 13 year-old boy and seriously wounding a Ministry of Defense civilian subcontractor. Israel responded with airstrikes. 

If true, the report would indicate an even broader spillover of the Syrian Civil War, which has mushroomed since 2011 from a statewide dispute into an all-out Islamic holy war between Sunni and Shi'te groups. 

Sabah Karkhout, the head of Iraq's Anbar provincial council, told CNN that Tuesday's airstrikes hit markets and fuel stations in Rutba, al-Walid and Al-Qaim (see map below). 

Syria-Iraq border. Burnt orange X = alleged site of Syrian airstrikes. Several hundred kilometers northwest of clashes near Bagdhad; note - the entire region under ISIS control, locals say. Google Maps/Annotations from A7 staff

Karkhout said he was certain the warplanes were Syrian because they bore the Syrian flag.

"Also, the planes flew directly from Syrian airspace and went back to Syria," he added. 

Nickolay Mladenov, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, confirmed Wednesday that the warplanes that bombed the Iraqi cities were not Iraqi jets, but told reporters he did not have information beyond that.

State-based media in Syria called the reports "completely baseless," blaming them on "malicious media outlets." 

Meanwhile, the Iraqi military continue to hold the entire area between Samarra and Baghdad, according to several international media outlets, despite constant skirmishes with advancing ISIS forces. 

ISIS progress, moving toward Bagdhad. Circles show where ISIS have taeken over full cities; X shows clashes between Iraqi forces and ISIS. Purple: Iraqi military holding, but ISIS clashes common Google Maps/Annotations from A7 staff

The ISIS has already controlled the Iraqi city of Fallujah for five months, and has also led one of the strongest rebel movements fighting Assad in Syria. 

This month's offensive has seen the ISIS claim an unprecedented number of victories in a lighting-fast takeover of the flashpoint region. 

So far, the Islamists have made a systemic advance from northern Iraq and southward. Several weeks ago, ISIS leaders seized Mosul; just 48 hours later, Tikrit - birthplace of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - fell to the terrorists.

Privacy Groups Sound the Alarm Over FBIs Facial - Recognition Technology
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

More than 30 privacy and civil-liberties groups are asking the Justice Department to complete a long-promised audit of the FBI's facial-recognition database.

The groups argue the database, which the FBI says it uses to identify targets, could pose privacy risks to every American citizen because it has not been properly vetted, possesses dubious accuracy benchmarks, and may sweep up images of ordinary people not suspected of wrongdoing.

In a joint letter sent Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others warn that an FBI facial-recognition program "has undergone a radical transformation" since its last privacy review six years ago. That lack of recent oversight "raises serious privacy and civil-liberty concerns," the groups contend.

"The capacity of the FBI to collect and retain information, even on innocent Americans, has grown exponentially," the letter reads. "It is essential for the American public to have a complete picture of all the programs and authorities the FBI uses to track our daily lives, and an understanding of how those programs affect our civil rights and civil liberties."

The Next Generation Identification program—a biometric database that includes iris scans and palm prints along with facial recognition—is scheduled to become fully operational later this year and has not undergone a rigorous privacy litmus test—known as a Privacy Impact Assessment—since 2008, despite pledges from government officials.

"One of the risks here, without assessing the privacy considerations, is the prospect of mission creep with the use of biometric identifiers," said Jeramie Scott, national security counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, another of the letter's signatories. "it's been almost two years since the FBI said they were going to do an updated privacy assessment, and nothing has occurred."

The facial-recognition component of the database, however, is what privacy advocates find most alarming. The FBI projects that by 2015 the facial-recognition database could catalog up to 52 million face photos. A substantial portion of those—about 4.3 million—are expected to be gleaned from noncriminal photography, such as employer background checks, according to privacy groups.

But earlier this month, FBI Director James Comey told Congress the database would not collect and store photos of average civilians and is intended to "find bad guys by matching pictures to mugshots." But privacy hawks remain concerned that images may be shared among the FBI and other agencies, such as the Defense Department and National Security Agency, and even state motor-vehicle departments.

Comey, during his testimony, did not completely refute the suggestion that photos would be shared with states.

"There are some circumstances in which when states send us records, they'll send us pictures of people who are getting special driving licenses to transport children or explosive materials or something," Comey said. "But as I understand it, those are not part of the searchable Next Generation Identification database."

Currently, no federal laws limit the use of facial-recognition software, either by the private sector or the government.

A 2010 government report made public last year through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center stated that the agency's facial-recognition technology could fail up to 20 percent of the time. When used against a searchable repository, that failure rate could be as high as 15 percent.

But even those numbers are misleading, privacy groups contend, because a search can be considered a success if the correct suspect is listed within the top 50 candidates. Such an "overwhelming number" of false matches could lead to "greater racial profiling by law enforcement by shifting the burden of identification onto certain ethnicities."

Facial-recognition technology has recently endured heightened scrutiny from the anti-government-surveillance crowd for its potential as an invasive means of tracking. Last month, documents supplied by Edward Snowden to The New York Times revealed that the National Security Agency intercepts "millions of images per day" as part of a program officials believe could fundamentally revolutionize the way government spies on intelligence targets across the globe. That daily cache includes about 55,000 "facial-recognition quality images," which the NSA considers possibly more important to its mission than the surveillance of more traditional communications.

When asked for comment, the Justice Department would only say it was reviewing the letter.

President - Elect Rivlin 'Ready to Meet Abbas'
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

MK Reuven Rivlin

Flash 90

Israel's president-elect Reuven Rivlin, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, has said he is willing to meet Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, a newspaper reported Thursday.

"I met with Abu Mazen (Abbas) in the past on a number of occasions and I will also meet with him in the future," the Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted Rivlin as saying.

"We both realize that direct dialogue is the condition for our Middle East to be a safe place," he said on Wednesday at the three-day Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem.

Rivlin said he received a letter from Abbas after he was elected on June 10 to succeed Shimon Peres, whose term ends in late July.

Yediot published what it said was an image of the letter, in Arabic, which congratulated Rivlin and also called for a peace agreement and an independent Palestinian state.

The incoming president has never hidden his opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Rivlin was quoted in 2010 as saying he would "rather accept Palestinians as Israeli citizens than divide Israel and the West Bank in a future two-state peace solution."

Poll: Most PA Residents Dont believe in a two-state solution
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

A poll formulated by the Washington Institute for Near East Study in the United States found that 60% of residents of the Palestinian Authority do not believe in a two-state solution.

The poll found that most PA residents do not sanction the use of violence and that Hamas’ policies are not beneficial to their nation.

Obama to Peres: U.S. will Protect Israels Security in Iran Talks
Jun 26th, 2014
DailyThe Times of Israel
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

President Shimon Peres meets with US president Barack Obama, at the White House in Washington DC, on June 25, 2014. (Photo credit: Kobi Gideon /GPO/FLASH90)

WASHINGTON — The United States will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, and will continue to remain steadfast on topics central to Israel’s security in the nuclear negotiations, US President Barack Obama assured Israeli President Shimon Peres during a Wednesday afternoon meeting at the White House.

Peres is on his final foreign trip before leaving office next month.

Obama told Peres that there were still gaps between the sides in the P5+1 talks with Iran, which are being held in the hopes of reaching a permanent agreement with Tehran by July 20 to curb its nuclear program. Briefing Peres on the current state of the negotiations, Obama promised that the US position would not change on Iran’s breakout potential or on key aspects of its technological development, and said that the US will not compromise on Israel’s security.

After the meeting, Peres told journalists that he hoped the final agreement with Iran would be similar to the agreement by which Syria was forced to part with its entire chemical weapons stockpile and the dismantling of its related infrastructure earlier this year. With such a deal in place, he said, Israel would consider supporting the removal of some of the sanctions against Tehran.

President Shimon Peres speaks to reporters after a June 25, 2014 meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House. (Photo credit: Rebecca Shimoni Stoil)

The visit was Peres’s last trip to the White House after some five decades’ worth of top level meetings with US presidents from John F. Kennedy onward. Obama told Peres that he expected to see the nonagenarian continue his work advancing peace in the Middle East even after he leaves office in July.

During his White House visit, Peres participated in three meetings – a roundtable with Obama and American Jewish community representatives, a working lunch and then a brief but private meeting in the Oval Office.

Obama began his address to American Jewish leaders by expressing his concern for the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers who have been missing for almost two weeks. Obama told the group that the two countries have worked in close coordination, and that the US will continue to offer its assistance to locate the trio.

Peres called on Obama to stand by Israel in an unequivocal manner regarding the kidnappings. The topic has been a sensitive one on the international stage, with a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noting that the UN had “no concrete evidence” that the kidnapping had even occurred.

Obama asked for Peres’s opinion on three key topics during the meeting – Iran, Iraq, and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Peres told the president that he supported his decision not to send large numbers of combat troops to Iraq. Instead, Peres stressed, the fight between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq is an ancient conflict stemming from an argument over the true heirs to the Prophet Mohammed – and the Arab League should take the lead in the effort to stem the tide of violence in the country. Peres reminded Obama that the Arab League has extensive military capabilities, and said that “it is time” for the organization to take responsibility for rectifying the situation in Iraq.

President Shimon Peres meets with US President Barack Obama at the White House on June 25, 2014. (Photo by Kobi Gideon/GPO/FLASH90)

Peres began his conversation with Obama by stressing his request for a humanitarian release for Jonathan Pollard, the US-born Israeli spy who has spent almost 30 years in prison for passing classified information to Israel.

Peres met with Pollard’s wife, Esther, and his attorneys before heading to the US, and left Obama with what Israeli officials described as a new proposal for Pollard’s release. According to officials, Peres brought the necessary legal documents with him to the meeting with Obama, and handed them to the American president.

Washington was reportedly considering releasing the spy recently in exchange for Israeli concessions in the troubled peace process with the Palestinians brokered by the United States, which has since foundered.

Peres told Obama that the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority can be renewed, and should be renewed soon. He reiterated comments made earlier this week, in which he said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was a “real partner” for peace, but stressed that Hamas, a partner in the technocratic unity government, was a terror organization. “You can’t put fire and water in the same cup,” Peres told Obama.

Noting continued rocket fire against Israel’s south from the Gaza Strip, Peres said that Israel must continue to battle Hamas.

On Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden will present Peres with the Congressional Medal of Honor during a ceremony at the Capitol, where Peres is expected to make a rare speech before both houses of Congress. During that speech, Peres will address the topic of the three kidnapped teenagers.

Obama Seeks $500 Million to Equip Syrian Rebels
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

President Barack Obama

Reuters

The Obama administration has proposed a $500 million program to train and equip the moderate opposition fighting in Syria, officials said Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The increased spending is part of the administration's annual request for supplemental funding for the Afghan war and other overseas operations, the report said.

Current U.S. training for the Syrian opposition forces is conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency, with a limited number of fighters receiving training each month.

Caitlin Hayden, the spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said the funding request would allow the Department of Defense to begin a training program for Syrian rebel fighters who have been vetted.

"These funds would help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control, facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement," she said in a statement quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

The budget unveiled Thursday also would provide $1.5 billion to help stabilize Syria's neighbors, including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

Over the last few weeks there has been increased speculation that the United States would indeed provide military training and perhaps even weapons to the moderate rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Small-scale weapons aid and some military training has already been supplied to select rebel groups, along with "non-lethal" aid such as medical supplies and other equipment, but both Congressional caution and a hesitant White House have prevented anything further, mainly due to fear that the jihadist rebel groups would get their hands on any weapons.

Two weeks, Obama's nominee to be ambassador to Qatar, said that the administration supported language in a Senate defense bill that would allow overt military training to the rebels.

A leading Syrian opposition figure recently said that western states could send desperately-needed arms to rebel groups in Syria "within weeks" and a recent report indicated that Obama is close to authorizing a military-led mission to train moderate Syrian rebels to fight the regime and Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

In May, Syrian opposition chief Ahmad Jarba said that rebels fighting to oust Assad need "efficient weapons to face these attacks including air raids, so we can change the balance of power on the ground."

He later met with Secretary of State John Kerry, who said Washington supports the Syrian opposition but made no mention of the rebels' plea for heavy weapons to help end the war.

Netanyahu: Impending Agreement With Iran is very Bad
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu

Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday warned against the impending nuclear deal between Iran and the West.

Speaking at the at the Israel Air Force pilots' course graduation ceremony, Netanyahu compared the Iran agreement with the project in Syria to remove its chemical arsenal.

"Above all, we have to prevent the forces of radical Islam from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. It's being done these days in relation to the chemical weapons in Syria and this job must be finished, but I must express my fear that it will not be done in relation to Iran's nuclear capabilities,” he said.

"In Syria, the agreement was about breaking down and taking out, the emerging agreement with Iran is about preservation and inspection. While in Syria there is supervision and removal of the chemicals and the ability to produce chemical weapons, it seems that the upcoming agreement with Iran will allow it to preserve the material and ability,” warned Netanyahu.

"Unfortunately all indications are that this is what will happen with Iran, and if that is so, it will it be a bad, bad thing which is dangerous for the region and the entire world and we must say this without fear," he added.

Netanyahu’s warnings were made amid reports that, 24 days ahead of a deadline for an agreement between western powers and Iran over Tehran's nuclear program, Jerusalem is worried that the deal will leave Iran with thousands of nuclear centrifuges.

Israel is preparing an intensive diplomatic push in the coming days in an effort to head off what it views as a dangerous emerging agreement the Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu reportedly called home his ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, for urgent consultations on the matter, and spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Israel will also hold a series of consultations with representatives of the six powers that are negotiating with Iran ahead of their meeting next Wednesday in Vienna.

Iran and the six powers, also known as the P5+1, are striving to turn an interim deal signed in November into a comprehensive settlement by July 20.

So far there has been little progress and Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said last week that Iran rejected the West’s "excessive demands".

At the same time, Zarif previously indicated  that the sides have started drafting a comprehensive agreement, though “there are still many differences” over the text.

NC Lawmaker: Pedophilia is Like Homosexuality
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsWNCN
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

As North Carolina lawmakers debated a proposal to prevent charter schools from discriminating against applicants based on sexual orientation, one representative suggested Tuesday that adult sexual attraction to children is a sexual orientation like homosexuality.

The amendment was tabled by Republicans, preventing a vote on it. But during the debate, Republican Rep. Paul Stam, R-Wake, said pedophilia, masochism and other illegal sexual practices are sexual orientations like homosexuality and he questioned the role adults who are sexually attracted to children might have in schools.

Several lawmakers called those comments offensive. After the House session, Twitter lit up with criticism of Stam's comments from other lawmakers and left-leaning advocacy groups.

The amendment from Rep. Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe, would "prohibit a charter school from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity."

In response, Stam handed out a sheet listing what he said were 30 different sexual orientations. He argued the definition of sexual orientation must be narrowed, otherwise it would include masochism, sadism, pedophilia, along with homosexuality and heterosexuality.

"Sexual orientation is not defined anywhere," he said. "Many, many sexual orientations are not the ones you want to have teaching kids in schools," he said. "You may think you know what you mean by this but you don't."

Stam asked Fisher to take a question, and she refused. No one else in the chamber would either.

"Well I think the response speaks for itself," he said.

In rebuttal to Stam, Rep. Marcus Brandon, D-Guilford, argued that pedophilia is not a sexual orientation.

"It's offensive. Pedophilia is not a sexuality, it is a disease. It is a problem that has to be addressed outside of this body," he said. Brandon said the bigger issue in North Carolina is policies that treat some people as second-class citizens. "I don't think you should be able to do that," he added.

On its website, the American Psychological Association says sexual orientation "refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes," and also refers to a person's sense of identity. It also says, "The American Psychological Association maintains that pedophilia is a mental disorder; that sex between adults and children is always wrong; and that acting on pedophilic impulses is and should be a criminal act."

An email request and phone call to Stam seeking comment was not immediately returned Tuesday night.

The House approved the changes to the charter school law, including making them subject to state open records law, allowing them to grow one grade level per year.

It also removed a provision prohibiting charter schools from discriminating against applications on the basis of ethnicity, national origin, gender or disability. And it allowed schools with single gender missions to limit admission on the basis of boys and girls, which the previous version had banned.

Charter school teachers also would be allowed to serve on the school's board of directors as non-voting members and make charter renewals valid for 10 years, unless specific conditions warrant a shorter charter.

NATO Warns Russia Over Ukraine As Obama Mulls Delaying Sanctions
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Moscow Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The head of NATO said Wednesday he saw no sign that Russia was respecting its international commitments over Ukraine as Britain warned Moscow it could face tougher European Union sanctions unless it acted to stop fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, sanctions aimed at key economic sectors in Russia because of its threatening moves in Ukraine might be delayed because of positive signals from President Vladimir Putin, according to Obama administration officials.

Sector Sanctions

The United States and its European allies were finalizing a package of sanctions with the goal of putting them in place as early as this week, the officials and others close to the process said Tuesday.

Penalizing large swaths of the Russian economy, including its lucrative energy industry, would ratchet up the West's punishments against Moscow.

The U.S. and Europe have already sanctioned Russian individuals and entities, including some with close ties to Putin, but have so far stayed away from the broader penalties, in part because of concern from European countries that have close economic ties with Russia.

But with the crisis in Ukraine stretching on, a senior U.S. official said the U.S. and Europe are moving forward on "common sanctions options" that would affect several areas of the Russian economy. A Western diplomat said those options included Russia's energy industry, as well as Moscow's access to world financial markets.

The U.S. and Europe have been eyeing a European Council meeting in Brussels later this week as an opportunity to announce the coordinated sanctions. However, the enthusiasm for new sanctions, particularly among European leaders, appears to have waned in recent days as countries evaluate whether Putin plans to follow through on a series of promises that could ease the crisis, officials said.

Russia Takes Action

Putin acted Tuesday to rescind a parliamentary resolution authorizing him to use the military to intervene in Ukraine. (See story, page 3) He also urged the new Ukrainian government to extend a weeklong cease-fire and called for talks between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels that are widely believed to be backed by the Kremlin.

Putin's moves came one day after he talked by phone with President Barack Obama, their first known conversation in more than two weeks.

The threat of sector sanctions may be driving Putin to try to avoid penalties that could have a devastating impact on the already shaky Russian economy. However, there were no guarantees that Moscow would abide by the West's requests to pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border, stop arming separatists and negotiate seriously with Kiev.

Fresh Violence

Indeed, there were signs Tuesday of just how fragile the situation on the ground remains. Hours after Putin called for the cease-fire to be extended, pro-Moscow separatists shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter, killing nine servicemen.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Ukraine's new president, Petro Poroshenko, for the third time in as many days and offered his condolences for the deaths. The White House said Biden also underscored the importance of having monitors in place in Ukraine to verify violations of the cease-fire, as well as the need to stop the supply of weapons and militants from flowing across the Russian border.

At the U.S. State Department, spokeswoman Marie Harf said the situation entailed "two steps forward, one step back."

"We do see some positive signs on the ground," she told reporters. "The cease-fire, some separatists have accepted it, but the same day some other separatists shot down a helicopter. That President Putin says he will go to the Duma, that's good, but then they continue the military buildup."

The Sanctions' Fate

At the White House, spokesman Josh Earnest said that if Russia were to make positive changes, it would make additional sanctions "less likely."

Even if the U.S. and European Union decide not to levy sector sanctions this week, they could outline clearer intentions to ultimately take that step. In Europe, the 28 nations that form the EU may at least agree on the details of a package of sanctions so the penalties could be levied quickly, according to the Western diplomat, who like other officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations by name.

An industry expert and legislative aides with knowledge of the sanctions said the penalties being readied by the U.S. are expected to focus on energy and aim to hurt the Russian economy without causing undue harm for U.S. industry — a shared concern among administration officials, business lobbies and members of Congress.

NATO's Reluctance

NATO has already suspended all practical cooperation with Russia over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region though it has kept open high-level political contacts.

"I regret to say that we see no signs that Russia is respecting its international commitments," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters during a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Brussels.

"So today we will review our relations with Russia and decide what to do next," he said, without specifying how Moscow's actions had fallen short.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, arriving for the NATO meeting, warned that support for tougher EU sanctions would grow unless Russia acted to defuse violence in eastern Ukraine and to support Poroshenko's peace plan.

"While there have been welcome words from Russia about that [the peace plan] we have not seen yet the actions to go with that," Hague told reporters at NATO's headquarters.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called Putin's request to rescind the intervention law good news.

"As there is no military option, it is crucial that we — despite the incidents of the last couple of days — leave no possibility unused and try cautious steps for the building of a minimum of trust, trust which has been completely lost between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

GIGANTIC SPRITES OVER THE USA:
Lesser known is what comes out of the top: sprites. "Lately there has been a bumper crop of sprites," reports Thomas Ashcraft, a longtime observer of the phenomenon. "Here is one of the largest' 'jellyfish' sprites I have captured in the last four years." The cluster shot up from western Oklahoma on June 23, so large that it was visible from Ashcraft's observatory in New Mexico 289 miles away.  

ISIL hell-bent on creating Islamic state to be launchpad for attacks on U.S.
The al Qaeda-linked army now conquering territory in Syria and Iraq ultimately wants its emerging Islamic state to be a launching pad for attacking the U.S. homeland, says a new congressional report.  

Federal Judge: Forced Removal of Christian Materials from Classroom Was Legal
A New York federal district judge ruled on Tuesday that a public school was justified in forcing a Christian science teacher to remove personal Bible-themed materials from her classroom.  

Convicted Heavy Metal ‘Christian’ Singer Admits Being Atheist, Duped Fans to Sell Music
A so-called Christian heavy metal band whose frontman was convicted of attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife has admitted that it duped fans into believing that they were Christian in order to sell their music. “Truthfully, I was an atheist,” Tim Lambesis, the lead singer and founder of As I Lay Dying told the Alternative Press in a recent interview.  

Bad News for the Big Bang: Secular Scientists Claim Universe Shouldn’t Exist
Nearly two years after the highly-publicized discovery of the elusive ‘God Particle,’ scientists have determined that the current Big Bang model cannot account for the existence of the universe.  

Apostate Presbyterians Vote to Allow Homosexual ‘Marriages’ by 3-1 Ratio
By a 76-24 percent vote, the General Assembly of the PCUSA voted to allow their pastors to perform homosexual “marriages” in states where they are considered legal. Delegates, meeting in Detroit this week, also approved new language about marriage in the PCUSA Book of Order, or constitution, altering references to “a man and woman” to “two persons.”  

Pluralism Is the Enemy: 'Jesus Is the Only Way' Will Be Deemed Hate Speech, Says Pastor
Bryan Chapell warned that increasingly "it will be difficult to say in this culture that 'Jesus is the only way.'" "That will be interpreted as hate speech," Chapell, senior pastor at Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria, Illinois, said Wednesday at the 42nd PCA General Assembly in Houston.  

Moderate quakes shake lower North Island
A 4.8-magnitude quake struck about 4pm and was located about 40km south-west of Whanganui at a depth of 40km. It was felt as far south as Kaikorua, well into Taranaki, and as far north as Taumarunui. GeoNet project director Ken Gledhill says the tremor was off the coast and at a reasonable depth, meaning shaking was felt widely.  

US House Speaker draws up plans to sue Barack Obama for breach of power
Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday that his chamber planned to "file suit in the coming weeks" against President Barack Obama for abuse of executive power. Mr Obama's Republican foes have long accused him of exceeding the regulatory boundaries laid out under the US Constitution, following a series of executive actions taken by the president.  

A Troubling New Report Regarding Christians in an Iraqi City
Christians in a northern Iraqi city are reportedly being ordered to pay a tax in return for protection by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. A Middle Eastern Christian website and a Lebanese daily reported that Christians have been required to pay $250 per individual who works and $500 per couple. If accurate, the tax would fall in line with past Islamist efforts to impose fines on Christians in the region...  

Iraqi PM welcomes Syria air strike on border crossing
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki of Iraq has told the BBC he supports an air strike on Islamist militants at a border crossing between Iraq and Syria. He said that Syrian fighter jets had bombed militant positions on the Syrian side of Qaim, which straddles the two countries' border. While Iraq did not ask for the raid, he added, it "welcomed" any such strike against the Islamist group Isis.  

Ukraine crisis: Kerry demands Russia action 'in hours'
US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on Russia to show "within hours" it is working to disarm separatist militants in eastern Ukraine. He was speaking to reporters in Paris a day before a shaky ceasefire was due to end in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia denies it has let pro-Moscow separatists and heavy weaponry cross its border into eastern Ukraine.  

Liberman to Kerry: Forget Israeli-Palestinian accord, focus instead on regional agreement
Give up trying to broker an Israeli-Palestinian accord, and focus instead on a comprehensive regional agreement, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting Thursday in Paris. Liberman...said Israel’s ongoing conflict is not only with the Palestinians, but the entire Arab world -- of which the Palestinians are a part.  

Emails: IRS official sought audit of GOP senator
Congressional investigators say they uncovered emails Wednesday showing that a former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the tea party investigation sought an audit involving a Republican senator in 2012.  

Obama to Peres: US will protect Israel’s security in Iran talks
The United States will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, and will continue to remain steadfast on topics central to Israel’s security in the nuclear negotiations, US President Barack Obama assured Israeli President Shimon Peres during a Wednesday afternoon meeting at the White House.  

Pope has most influence on Twitter, study finds
Pope Francis has by far the most clout of any world leader on Twitter because he is so widely retweeted, a study of political use of the social network shows.  

Libyan elections: Low turnout marks bid to end political crisis
Voting has ended in a Libyan general election marred by low turnout and deadly violence. The election is seen as a last chance to end the anarchy that has gripped the country since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Officials said about 630,000 people voted, fewer than half of those eligible.  

Iraq PM Maliki rejects emergency 'salvation' government
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has rejected calls for a national salvation government to help counter the offensive by jihadist-led Sunni rebels. Such calls represented a "coup against the constitution and an attempt to end the democratic experience", he warned.  

3 Iranian troops killed in attack near Iraq border
An attack near Iran's western border with Iraq has killed three Iranian border guards, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Wednesday.  

Kerry issues warning after Syria bombs Iraq
Syrian warplanes bombed Sunni militants' positions inside Iraq, military officials confirmed Wednesday, deepening the concerns that the extremist insurgency that spans the two neighboring countries could morph into an even wider regional conflict. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned against the threat and said other nations should stay out.  

U.S. says has fresh Russia sanctions 'ready to go'
The United States said on Wednesday it has fresh sanctions ready to impose on Russia if Moscow does not take steps to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine, including halting the flow of fighters and arms to Ukrainian separatists.  

Jewish Home Preparing to Fight Religion and State Laws
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Deputy Minister of Religious Services, Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home), announced on Thursday that his party would appeal any bill with the purpose of hurting the rabbinical courts or changing the status quo in matters of religion and state.

The announcement comes as the Ministerial Committee on Legislation is set to debate a series of laws related to these issues, including one submitted by MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) and which would allow public transportation to operate on Shabbat. Another law to be discussed is one being endorsed by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and which would give automatic preference to family courts over rabbinical courts.

"Some of the laws to be discussed are trying to change the balance that exists today between the family courts and the rabbinical courts, thus significantly weakening the rabbinical courts. Same goes for the law allowing public transportation on the Sabbath, which stands in stark contrast to the status quo,” Rabbi Ben-Dahan told Arutz Sheva.

Jewish Home Mk Attacks Plans to Give Party Head More Power
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

MK Yoni Chetboun

Israel news photo: Flash 90

The Jewish Home party leadership is facing a string of criticism from MKs and party members over a newly proposed party law, critics of which claim will give party chairman Naftali Bennett almost "absolute power" over the party.

The proposed party law in its current form would give Bennett the authority to fill every fifth spot on the party's Knesset list with an external candidate of his own discretion.

Likewise, the law would require each candidate for the list to undergo a qualification period of thirty months (2.5 years) membership in the party before running for the Knesset. The period could be shortened - but only by the party chairman, again at his own discretion.

All party placement for executive positions in the Knesset, including positions such as minister, deputy minister and committee chairman, would be selected by the chairman with the approval of the party center, and not be selected by the center directly as has been done in the past.

"Trampling on religious Zionism"

The law has sparked outrage from Jewish Home MK Yoni Chetboun, who on Thursday attacked it for giving the party chairman near absolute control over the nature of the party.

"There's a struggle here over the path. Is the Jewish Home just a substitute party for the Likud, or a movement with values? Bennett's law roughly tramples on the values of religious Zionism and critically harm the public trust," said Chetboun.

The MK took a jab at Bennett's business background, saying "Jewish Home is not a business platform or a start-up initiative, it's a movement with a tradition dozens of years old of honoring the Torah and the state, a religious Zionist movement. Someone is trying to liquidate it, and that we won't allow."

"It's very troubling that at a time when the whole nation is busy with the status of the kidnapped teens, Naftali Bennett is busy with party wheeling and dealing," added Chetboun. "Bennett wants a list in his own image that will give him sole power over the Jewish Home, and to escape public selection. We won't allow that."

Chetboun closed by promising a struggle for the public's right to choose who would be on the party list.

Adding irony to the situation is the fact that Bennett attacked his erstwhile ally Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party in January for being a "dictatorship," given that the party did not hold open primaries.

Chetboun and Bennett have been at odds in the past, with Chetboun in March refusing Bennett's orders and voting against the Enlistment Law that mandated hareidi IDF enlistment, arguing that it split Israeli society. Bennett punished Chetboun by removing him from the Committee for Foreign Affairs and Security for the entire summer session, and barring him from submitting laws during the first six weeks of the following session.

Minister Ariel: "I asked them to wait on the law"

Chetboun was not the only one to attack the new party law.

Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home), who heads the National Union faction that joined with Jewish Home's list in the last elections, said Thursday that the law should be waited on.

Speaking to National Union activists, Ariel spoke about unifying the faction with Jewish Home, and also criticized the new law.

"The connection (with Jewish Home) needs to be true and stable, and therefore I advised my friends in the Mafdal (National Religious Party, one of the factions which makes up the Jewish Home) to wait a bit with passing the new law, so that we won't need to add clauses or change anything after there will be party unification," said Ariel.

Criticism from Jewish Home's secular branch

Adding to the criticism was Jewish Home's secular branch, which demanded at least one secular candidate to be guaranteed in the top ten spots of the party list.

Inbal Lieber, head of the secular branch, said Thursday "with Naftali Bennett's election to party chairman, he asked to open the party to the wider public, and now is the time to show that it wasn't just a slogan but something that will be acted on."

Lieber noted that secular MK Ayelet Shaked of the party "is great and praiseworthy, but she's only one, and there need to be more. Jewish Home isn't a sectorial party anymore, but rather the Jewish Home for all of us."

The secular branch head noted that nearly 50% of the Knesset mandates in the last elections were for secular candidates, "and that needs to be expressed in the next list, and therefore there has to be at least one reserved spot for a secular in the top ten" spots on the list.

ISIS Hell - Bent on Creating Islamic State to be Launchpad for Attacks on U.S.
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

The al Qaeda-linked army now conquering territory in Syria and Iraq ultimately wants its emerging Islamic state to be a launching pad for attacking the U.S. homeland, says a new congressional report.

Four analysts at the Congressional Research Service made that assessment, citing intelligence reports and the words of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The CRS report, delivered to members of Congress, makes the point that ISIL is a well-organized, well-funded terrorist group with definite goals to take territory and kill people it considers nonbelievers.

“Several leading representatives of the U.S. intelligence community have stated that [ISIL] maintains training camps in Iraq and Syria, has the intent to attack the United States and is reportedly recruiting and training individuals to do so,” says the June 20 report.

It quotes al-Baghdadi threatening the U.S.: “Know, O defender of the Cross, that a proxy war will not help you in the Levant, just as it will not help you in Iraq. Soon, you will be in direct conflict — God permitting — against your will.”

What makes ISIL even more dangerous is its ability to raise, and steal, money. Wealthy Sunni sheiks in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have funneled money to ISIL to help it bring down the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is an Alawite, an offshoot of Shia Islam. Mr. Assad aligns himself with Shiite-dominated Iran, and its proxy in Lebanon, the militant group Hezbollah.

Oil-rich, Sunni-dominated Gulf states consider the Shiite-led regimes a threat.

ISIL also is coercing money from businesses in the cities it conquers. Media reports say it may have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from banks in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

It now controls many of the Sunni-majority towns in the north of Iraq and is expanding its conquest in Anbar province, including the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

The Shiite-dominated government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki mostly has watched and retreated, unable to field army units that can blunt or reverse the assaults.

“[ISIL] attempts to assert control over the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in Iraq’s Al Anbar province, and its June 2014 offensive in northern Iraq underscored the group’s lethality and ability to conduct combat operations and manage partnerships with local groups in multiple areas over large geographic distances,” the CRS report states.

Robert Maginnis, a retired Army officer and military analyst, said ISIL is planting the seeds for attacks on the West.

“It already has many hundreds of jihadists with Western nation passports,” Mr. Maginnis said. “Those battle-proven jihadists will eventually return to their Western homelands to carry on the jihad using the violent ways learned in Syria and Iraq. And now that [ISIL] controls a giant swath of the Middle East, the Western jihadists have a training platform, financing and [a] cheerleading state sponsor.”

ISIL is partly an offshoot of al Qaeda in Iraq, which American forces virtually defeated in 2007-2011 before a complete U.S. troop pullout.

Without U.S. guidance and intelligence, Iraqi security forces have shown themselves unable to deal with the new al Qaeda fighter influx. The invaders and Iraqi Sunni allies waged a new war based on terrorism, unleashing waves of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. The remnants of al Qaeda in Iraq have now hooked up with ISIL.

The Pentagon on Tuesday conceded that ISIL now controls vast stretches of territory in Iraq, as 90 more special operations, intelligence officers and planners arrived in Baghdad.

President Obama said as many as 300 U.S. troops ultimately will go to Iraq to create a new joint Iraqi-U.S. operations center. The Americans first will assess the situation, then advise U.S. commanders on what is needed, and then advise Iraq’s security forces themselves. The mission’s duration is sketchy.

Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, spokesman for Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, said ISIL is “well resourced” and “better organized” than most terrorist groups.

“If you look at the map of Iraq, I mean, sort of the central swath going from north of Samarra around Tikrit all the way up to Mosul — that’s [ISIL]-controlled territory, by and large, and we’re seeing them try to solidify those gains and to continue to threaten Baghdad,” Adm. Kirby said. “That’s kind of the general lay down.”

The CRS report concluded: “The offensive in northern and central Iraq, led by the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group [ISIL], has raised significant concerns for the United States. These concerns include a possible breakup of Iraq’s political and territorial order and the establishment of a potential base for terrorist attacks in the region or even against the U.S. homeland.”

Iraqi Shiite Leader Sadr Vows to Defeat ISIS
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iraqi Militants Seize Oilfields, Attack Air Base
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iraqi extremists attacked one of the country’s largest air bases and took control of a number of oilfields on Wednesday, just in time for the arrival of US Special Forces and intelligence analysts, coming to aid Iraqi security forces in their ongoing battle against an intensifying militant mutiny.

In light of the increasing insurgency in his country, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has given his support to disband the current cabinet and form a new one.

Hotovely: High Court Eliminating Jewish Values
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud Beytenu) on Thursday attacked the High Court which, she said, removes Jewish values from Israel’s definition as a “Jewish and democratic” state.

Speaking at a conference which dealt with Judaism and democracy, Hotovely said, "The High Court is eliminating the Jewish values ​​of the country in favor of universal values​​. The use Jewish law in rulings is marginal - according to studies, only nine percent of the court’s rulings are based on Jewish law.”

Arab Countries Call on UN Security Council to Condemn Israel
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Several representative of Arab and Muslim countries called on the UN Security Council to condemn Israel's actions in the West Bank on Thursday for the second time since the three teens went missing nearly two weeks ago.

Israel's Ambassador Ron Prosor responded that "rather than denouncing this appalling attack, the Arab nations have the audacity to stand before you today and criticize Israel."

He said the Arab nations gave the world mostly oppression and aggression adding that their only innovation was coming to the UN to criticize Israel.

Iran and Saudi Arabia "are fighting a proxy war in Syria, but here at the UN, love is in the air," he said. "Israel is submitted to terrorist activity day in and day out. We are entitled to defend ourselves."

Abbas: Free Terrorists and We'll Resume Talks
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Today's Headlines

Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he was willing to resume peace negotiations with Israel.

Abbas, who spoke at a ceremony at the Russian Diplomatic Academy in Moscow where he received an honorary degree, once again placed preconditions on the resumption of talks.

According to a statement that was published on the PA’s WAFA news agency, Abbas expressed his willingness to resume negotiations for another nine months but place three conditions: that Israel release the fourth batch of terrorists, that the first three months be dedicated to drawing up borders for the future Palestinian state, and that Israel halts construction in Judea and Samaria.

Israel cancelled the fourth terrorist release "gesture" in early April, after the PA requested to join 15 international agencies in breach of the conditions of the peace talks. Israel subsequently pulled out of the talks altogether, after the PA signed a unity pact with Hamas.

The statements by Abbas, who has for years imposed preconditions on peace talks, are nothing new.

In May, shortly after Israel pulled out of the talks, Abbas conditioned a return to talks on Israel releasing the fourth batch of terrorist prisoners and freezing construction in Judea and Samaria for three months.

Nabil Shaath, a senior PLO official and a close confidant of Abbas, said last month the PA wants to renew peace talks.

Speaking at a conference of the far-left Meretz party in Tel Aviv, Shaath claimed, "We are interested in renewing the talks. There are topics that are open for negotiations, and they are the core issues, while on the other hand there are topics that are not up for negotiations: the Palestinians' right of self-definition in the 1967 borders, and the right of unity in the Palestinian nation."

In his speech on Thursday, Abbas also praised the PA’s relations with Russia, saying, according to WAFA, that the Kremlin’s political positions have unequivocally contributed to advancing ways to achieve peace.

He noted that the Kremlin has made a contribution through its unwavering and preliminary position in the Quartet to support “the Palestinian people’s rights as well as the two-state solution.”

In January, Abbas said he wanted Russia to play a role in peace talks with Israel.

"We are pleased that Russia is acting as an active and influential player in the international arena," said Abbas at the time, adding, "We come out for Russia to play a central role in the Middle East, because you are a great power, a member of the international quartet on the Middle East settlement, you are a friendly nation to us, and you have national interests in the region.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Abbas met on Wednesday when Abbas arrived in Moscow. Putin told Abbas that he would like to see the resumption of the peace process between Israel and the PA.

"Of course, we all want to renew the peace process. I know there are many difficulties, but I'm glad we have the opportunity to exchange words and see what we can do together to move the issue forward," Putin said.

A Muslim Speaks Out Against the Islamization of Sweden
Jun 26th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

"I just want to make a living but those Islamist crazies won't leave us alone. They say they support jihad, they deal drugs, they get drunk and harass women. I swear to Allah, sometimes I feel I am not living in Malmö but in Afghanistan." — Mr. S., Palestinian refugee from Jordan living in Sweden.

"I am religious, but I cannot accept what the Muslim fundamentalists have been doing to this country. I have had job offers to teach at major Swedish cities, but instead chose to go to a remote town where I would not have to see those fundamentalist immigrants." — Muslim College Professor, northern Sweden.

If secular Western countries are evil and immoral in the view of some Muslims, why don't those who feel that way leave and relocate in Islamist states such as Iran and Afghanistan? Where is our Islamic rage against these lunatics? Our silence means that we agree to what the fundamentalists do and say. Can we than blame some Westerns for fearing us when we respond with hostility to their welcoming and generosity?

Renowned for tolerance and multiculturalism, Sweden has been most welcoming to immigrants from Muslims countries. As a result, today 350,000 of Sweden's population of 9.5 million are Muslims. On a recent visit to Sweden, this Muslim author saw that the Swedes' welcoming and tolerance have been abused by many Muslims. They respond to Sweden's kindness by seeking to Islamize the place.

According to a 2007 report by the Open Society Institute, the Muslim population of Sweden is estimated at between 250,000 and 400,000, representing between 1.8% and 4.4% of the Sweden's population.

In Uppsala, the fourth-largest city in Sweden and the seat of Archbishop of the Church of Sweden, a Swedish activist complained that the Muslim-dominated areas in Uppsala were "full of fundamentalists who are out of control... even the Swedish police fear going there because many Arab and Muslim youth will attack them with rocks. Even providers of Swedish state services are afraid to operate in the Muslim and Arab areas in Uppsala."

A local police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity -- noting that he was not speaking in the name of the authorities -- confirmed what the activist said. "Police cars that approach Arab and Muslim areas are regularly attacked with rocks," he said. "At the moment, local Swedish authorities are not sure how to keep providing public services in those areas. They are even considering rolling back certain state services there. It is just too risky to operate in such a hostile environment. A few residents of the Arab-Muslim areas in Uppsala describe their neighborhoods as 'Sharia areas where Sweden's government is not welcome.'"

Another police officer said, "We think of them [the Muslims] as Swedes, all are equal under the law, this is how we do things in Sweden. We would never judge the majority by the actions of few, there are many great Muslims we deal with... but we still cannot understand why many Muslims in this town hate us so much? We have never done anything bad to them!"

A local businessman in Uppsala, said, "I just feel sad for the insults we get from many Arabs and Muslims in this town. We consider them Swedes; they consider us enemies. We are doing our job, we are protecting them, and we will never fail them or look down on them, why are we received with such hostility?"

In Stockholm, while wearing my usual Palestinian keffiyeh headscarf, I went to the Jewish neighborhood and took a lengthy stroll there. No one gave me a bad look; one young man asked to take a photo with me.

This incident made me wonder: Would a Jew wearing a skullcap be tolerated if he entered an Arab or Muslim-dominated area in Sweden?

A Swedish Jew mentioned how he was attacked by three Arab men outside an Israeli restaurant because he was wearing a skullcap. Wearing my keffiyeh, I went to the same restaurant, and the owner warmly welcomed me.

An elderly couple from Citykyrkan, in Stockholm, mentioned how they had to leave their home and relocate after their area had become dominated by Muslim immigrants. "What hurts me the most," the woman said, "is that they smile to my face and hate me behind my back. We do not hate Muslims, but why is there all that hatred from some Muslims towards us? Our daughter's ex-fiancé is a Muslim; he is intelligent and he has a legitimate job, why can't his Muslim brothers act like him?"

The man said, "I am not sure where we are going in this country. We feel that we have lost our country forever to Islamists."

What message are we Arabs and Muslims in the West sending to the world by our actions of intolerance and arrogance such as the ones described above?

Can we then blame some Westerners for fearing us when we respond to their welcoming and generosity with hostility?

Malmö, Sweden's third largest city, where one quarter of the population is Muslim, is another Muslim stronghold in Sweden where the fire department and emergency workers no longer enter Muslim immigrants' areas without police protection.

When two Swedes, one a community leader, were to visit Malmö to examine the situation on the ground, they both said it was too risky to go.

Mr. S., a Palestinian living in Malmö, arrived in Sweden as a refugee fleeing the Jordanian intelligence service two decades ago. He said, "I am a true Muslim. My wife wears hijab, I appreciate this country, and I just want to make a living but those Islamist crazies won't leave us alone. They say they support jihad, they deal drugs, they get drunk and harass women. At the same time, they look down on me because I have Christian Swedish friends. They threatened my eldest son; they said his friends are white non-Muslim Swedes. I swear to Allah, sometimes I feel I am not living in Malmö but in Afghanistan."

"My daughter does not wear hijab," he added. "She has blonde hair and could easily pass for a Swede, therefore the minute she leaves the house, the local Muslim men start harassing her, thinking she is a native Swede. They think of Swedish girls as easy and prostitutes. When I confront these men harassing my daughter, they bluntly tell me they thought she was a Swede and they would have not harassed her if they had known she was a Muslim. Tell me what should I do now? Cut my daughter's hair? Force her to wear hijab? Now I understand how Swedes feel about us Muslims harassing their sisters and daughters."

Another Palestinian, a college professor, who lives in a small town in northern Sweden, said, "I am religious, but I cannot accept what the Muslim fundamentalists have been doing to this country. I have had job offers to teach at major Swedish cities, but instead chose to go to a remote town where I would not have to see fundamentalist immigrants. Our people are playing with fire. The Swedes are very polite and tolerant by nature, but I doubt they can take the Islamic provocation of this country much longer. I am not sure what will happen, but I would not be surprised if one day Sweden bans immigration from all Arab and Muslim countries."

As a practicing Muslim living in Europe, I could not help asking myself: Why do we Muslims -- or at least a good number of us -- choose to provoke the countries that open their doors to us?

How come we manage to intermediate Western societies we live in, whether Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK, France, Canada or the United States?

Those of us who do not wish to live in the secular West -- why did we go there in the first place?

If secular Western countries are evil and immoral in the view of some Muslims, why don't those who feel that way leave and relocate in Islamist states such Iran or Afghanistan?

I would love to think that the Islamist fundamentalists in the West do not represent the majority of Muslims. But if that is so, where is our Islamic rage against these lunatics?

Why are we Muslims in the West silent about those fundamentalists who want to Islamize and terrorize the countries we live in?

Our silence means either that we do not care for our adoptive countries, or worse, that we agree to what the fundamentalists say and do.

Many of us Muslims like what the Islamists say and do, and that is why we are silent. There are countless Muslims who want to Islamize the West by changing it from within, using demographic, legal, and cultural changes, slowly but surely, to do so.

Or is it that many of us Muslims in the West are enjoying governments' free hand-outs -- housing, education, healthcare, often even cash -- so we choose to stay while hating and insulting the societies that that pay for our stays with their tax money?

But it would be helpful if the other Muslims in Sweden and the West would make a clear choice to accept the West and respect its values, or else leave and go to a country that already embraces Islamist values.

If not, they should not complain about being labeled as supporting Islamists who want to turn Western states into places for terrorism and Islamism.

If Muslims are really against these Islamists, we have to take a clear and a vocal stand against them and what they stand for.