Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Trunews Exclusive: Pope Francis Meets Evangelical Delegation
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsTrue News
Categories: Today's Headlines;One World Church

Two prominent Fort Worth-based Christian ministers led a delegation of Evangelical Christian leaders to Rome to meet privately with Pope Francis.

James and Betty Robison, co-hosts of the Life Today television program, and Kenneth Copeland, co-host of Believer’s Voice of Victory, met the Roman Pontiff at the Vatican on Tuesday.  The meeting lasted almost three hours and included a private luncheon with Pope Francis.

Mr. Robison told the Fort Worth Star Telegram, “This meeting was a miracle…. This is something God has done. God wants his arms around the world. And he wants Christians to put his arms around the world by working together.”

Mr. Robison said he was impressed by Pope Francis’ humility and courtesy to the visiting delegation of Evangelical Protestant Christian leaders.

In a written statement, Mr. Robison said he believes “the prayers of earnest Christians helped lead to the choice of Pope Francis.”  He described Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Argentine Archbishop chosen as Pope, as “a humble man…filled with such love for the poor, downtrodden…”

In addition to Mrs. Betty Robison, the high-profile Protestant delegation included Kenneth Copeland, co-founder of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Newark, TX; Reverend Geoff Tunnicliff, CEO of the World Evangelical Alliance; Rev. Brian Stiller and Rev. Thomas Schirrmacher, also from the World Evangelical Alliance; and Rev. John Arnott and his wife, Carol, co-founders of Partners for Harvest ministries in Toronto, Canada.  Gloria Copeland did not travel to Rome because of a previously scheduled commitment.

Photo Courtesy of Life Outreach

The ecumenical meeting in Rome was organized by Episcopal Bishop Tony Palmer.  Rev. Palmer is an ordained bishop in the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches, a break-away alliance of charismatic Anglican-Episcopal churches.  Bishop Palmer is also the Director of The Ark Community, an international interdenominational Convergent Church online community, and is a member of the Roman Catholic Ecumenical Delegation for Christian Unity and Reconciliation.

Bishop Palmer developed a friendship with Pope Francis when the future Roman Pontiff was a Catholic official in Argentina.  Prior to becoming a CEEC bishop, Rev. Palmer was the director of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries’ office in South Africa.  He is married to an Italian Roman Catholic woman.  He later moved to Italy and began working to reconcile Roman Catholics and Protestants.  Kenneth Copeland Ministries was one of Mr. Palmer’s first financial contributors over 10 years ago in support of his ecumenical work in Italy.

Earlier this year, Pope Francis called Bishop Palmer to invite him to his residence in Vatican City.  During the meeting, Bishop Palmer suggested that the Pope record a personal greeting on Mr. Palmer’s iPhone to be delivered to Kenneth Copeland.  Mr. Copeland showed the Papal video greeting to a conference of Protestant ministers who were meeting at Mr. Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church near Fort Worth, TX.  In the video, Pope Francis expressed his desire for Christian unity with Protestants.

Later, James Robison telecasted the video on his daily TV program, Life Today.  “The pope, in the video, expressed a desire for Protestants and Catholics to become what Jesus prayed for — that Christians would become family and not be divided,” Mr. Robison said the response to the video was very positive, and that Pope Francis asked Bishop Palmer whether a meeting could be arranged with Evangelical Protestants seeking Christian unity in the world.

In his written statement released after the Papal meeting, Mr. Robison said he was “blessed to be part of perhaps an unprecedented moment between evangelicals and the Catholic Pope.”  He described the Protestant delegation’s private meeting with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church as “an intimate circle of prayerful discussion and lunch to discuss not only seeing Jesus’ prayer answered, but that every believer would become a bold, joy-filled witnesses for Christ.

In describing the ecumenical gathering as a miracle, Mr. Robison said, “This is something God has done. God wants his arms around the world. And he wants Christians to put his arms around the world by working together.”

During the luncheon on Tuesday, Mr. Robison got a high-five from Pope Francis after the Pope and Protestant guests talked about the need for all people to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  According to the Life Today host, the Roman Pontiff did not know what a high-five was until Bishop Palmer explained it to him in Italian.  Mr. Robison said, “The Pope made it very clear that he wanted every believer to become Spirit-filled, joy-filled witnesses.”

Photo Courtesy of Life Outreach

Mr. Robison said Pope Francis had written recently, “Too many Catholics look like they’ve been to Lent with no Easter. It’s a mistake for them to look like they’ve been to a funeral” as he challenged Catholics to witness and never try to control the Holy Spirit, but yield to Him.

Mr. Robison said he received a divine call from God to seek Christian unity while he was hospitalized several years ago with a serious staph infection following hip surgery.  Robison recalled, “[I] was so weak I could not lift a cup of water to my lips…God got my full attention…He spoke to me through Isaiah 58:6-12 and I saw the importance of living in freedom, touching the suffering, the hungry, poor, and downtrodden. I recognized the promise that our prayers would be answered quickly and we would become a free-flowing stream and a well-watered garden, restoring the foundations upon which we must build. During that time God instructed me to focus my attention on Jesus’ prayer and encouraging others to begin fulfilling it through us in our day.”

During that time, he said, he was impressed by a prayer of Jesus in John 17:21, pleading that all Christian believers be one.  “We’ve tried to focus on being an answer to Jesus’ prayer,” Robison said. “We want to see Jesus’ prayer for unity answered in our day.”

Aware that the meeting with the Pope will be troublesome among staunch Protestants, Mr. Robison said he and the other visiting Evangelical Christian leaders talked about diversity and their belief that Roman Catholics and Protestants could work together without compromising their beliefs.

“The world is suffering,” said Robison. “We as Christians have too much love to share without fighting one another.”

Mr. Robison said he and other “respected Evangelical leaders and Spirit-filled Catholics began meeting together to pray for God’s will to be done and to bring true believers together in supernatural unity….We have been commanded to love God with all of our heart and our neighbors as ourselves. The enemy has kept many Christians from loving one another as Christ loves us and have failed to recognize the importance of supernatural unity even with all of the unique diversity.”

Mr. Robison, whose ministry digs water wells and supplies food for impoverished people in third-world nations, recounted that he was christened as a fatherless boy in an Episcopal Church.  As an adult, he joined the Southern Baptist Church.  In the 1980s, he became one of the first prominent Southern Baptist ministers to openly proclaim he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Spain to Deport Pakistani Refugee for Criticizing Islam
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled that a political refugee should be deported because his criticism of Islam poses "a danger to the security of Spain."

The May 30 ruling, which upholds an earlier decision by a lower court to revoke the refugee status of a Pakistani ex-Muslim named Imran Firasat, showcases how the fear of Muslim rage continues to threaten the exercise of free speech in Europe.

Firasat obtained political asylum in Spain in October 2006 because of death threats against him in both Pakistan and Indonesia for leaving the Islamic faith and marrying a non-Muslim.

Spanish authorities, however, took measures to deport Firasat in December 2012, after he released a one-hour amateur film entitled, "The Innocent Prophet: The Life of Mohammed from a Different Point of View." The movie, which was posted on YouTube, purports to raise awareness of the dangers of Islam to Western Civilization.

The film shows images of the Muslim terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, on double-decker buses in London and on commuter trains in Madrid. The movie, which features many passages from the Koran that threaten violence against non-Muslims, promises to answer the question: "Was Mohammed an inspired prophet of God, or was he a madman driven by his own demons, thus producing a religion of violence and tyranny?"

Firasat, who runs a website called MundoSinIslam.com (A World Without Islam), says he was inspired by another amateur film, "The Innocence of Muslims," which portrayed the Islamic Prophet Mohammed as a womanizer and a pedophile. Released in September 2012, the movie triggered a wave of riots across Europe and the Middle East that resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people.

At the time, the Obama Administration falsely alleged that the film was responsible for the death of the American ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three others in Benghazi, Libya.

"When I heard that the U.S. ambassador was slain," Firasat told the Belgian newspaper De Morgen in December 2012. "I said okay, you Muslims, use violence, but we will continue to make films. One day one of us will lose."

Shortly after Firasat's film was released, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo and Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz initiated a process to review his refugee status.

A Foreign Ministry document, dated November 27, 2012, stated that "the consequences of the release of a video with such [anti-Islamic] characteristics are highly worrisome and constitute a real risk for Spanish interests because the author of the video identifies himself as a 'Spanish citizen.'"

The document added that Firasat's actions, including his threats to burn the Koran, were "destabilizing" and "heightened the risk of attacks against Spanish interests abroad, especially in the current context of the extreme sensitivity and indignation in the Muslim world."

Fernández issued an order on December 21, 2012 to deport Firasat based on Article 44 of the Law on Asylum and Protection, which allows the state to revoke the refugee status of "persons who constitute a threat to Spanish security." The deportation order stated that Firasat constituted a "persistent source of problems due to his constant threats against the Koran and Islam in general."

Firasat appealed the deportation order at the National Court [Audiencia Nacional], arguing that the expression of his views about Islam fall within the constitutional right to free speech.

But the National Court rejected Firasat's appeal. A ruling dated October 3, 2013 states:

"The right to the freedom of expression can be subject to certain formalities, conditions, restrictions or sanctions, which constitute necessary measures, in a democratic society, to preserve national security, public security and the constitutional order."

Now the Supreme Court has not only confirmed the National Court's ruling, but it has gone one step farther. Its ruling states:

"The right to the freedom of expression does not guarantee the right to intolerant manifestations or expressions that infringe against religious freedom, that have the character of blasphemy or that seek to offend religious convictions and do not contribute to the public debate."

This paragraph is strangely similar to an international blasphemy law being promoted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of 57 Muslim countries dedicated to implementing a worldwide ban on "negative stereotyping of Islam."

Warning of potential trouble ahead for the exercise of free speech in Spain, two judges—Manuel Campos and Isabella Perelló—dissented from the majority opinion. They signed a statement in which they ask whether the source of the danger to national security is in the actions of Firasat, or in the reactions of Islamic fundamentalists. They write:

"The pernicious effects against national security do not strictly derive from the conduct of the refugee, but rather from the violent reactions of third persons."

Although Firasat can now be deported, the court says he and his family will not be delivered "to a country where there is danger to life or freedom." It remains unclear whether Firasat will appeal the Spanish high court ruling at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The Strasbourg-based ECHR enforces the European Convention on Human Rights and its jurisdiction is compulsory and binding for all 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

In a December 2012 interview with the online newspaper International Business Times [IBT], Firasat said he has received far more threats from the Spanish government than from angry Muslims. He said:

"Seven years ago I was granted refugee status in Spain for the reason that I used to criticize Islam. Since then I have taken the fight against Islam very far. And my right to freedom of expression was always respected by this great country. But now suddenly for doing the same thing which I have been doing for the last seven years, I have been threatened by the authorities [and told] that my refugee status will be revoked. I will be deported back to Pakistan where the death penalty for blasphemy is waiting for me."

IBT asked Firasat: "What made the Spanish authorities 'suddenly threaten' you? What could be the reason?" Firasat responded:

"That's a very funny, interesting and surprising question even for me. Why now? I was granted asylum because of my criticisms of Islam. I have formally asked the Spanish government for the prohibition of Koran in Spain. I have given thousands of interviews to radio and TV channels. I wrote articles in newspapers. But I was never told by anyone that what I am doing is illegal. Now suddenly they try to revoke my refugee status, detain me and prosecute me for offending Muslims' religious sentiments. Why? There may be two reasons: Fear of violence by Muslims abroad and in Spain, and conflicts in diplomatic relations with Islamic countries which are investing in Spain... This is not the Spain where I arrived seven years ago and where there was complete liberty of expression."

Some free speech activists say that Firasat is himself guilty of seeking to restrict free speech. In March 2012, Firasat filed a 10-point petition with the Spanish government asking that it ban the Koran in Spain.

In an interview with the Spanish business newspaper La Gaceta (no longer online), Firasat explained why he submitted the petition:

"There are hundreds of verses in the Koran that encourage believers to kill, hate, discriminate, exact revenge and torture women. A book that promotes violence should not be circulating in a free and democratic society. In the last 10 years, all terrorist attacks have been promoted by Islamic jihad as contained in the Koran.

"Over 100 places in the Koran mention the phrases such as 'go to war' or 'kill all the infidels until everyone is submitted to Allah.' And the Koran requires Muslims to continue to fight jihad until it has captured the Western world, its freedoms and its religion at any cost.

"I formally asked the government of Spain to ban the Koran in Spain. It is a book that cannot exist in our free society. There are millions of Muslims who follow the book, but we cannot allow millions of other people who want to live in peace and in freedom and enjoy human rights to suffer and die. I do not understand why the Spanish penal code, the Spanish constitution and the European constitution prohibit violence of any kind and yet close their eyes when talking about the Koran."

Two days after filing his petition to outlaw the Koran, the Spanish National Police [Policía Nacional] called Firasat in for questioning after it emerged that he wanted to burn a Koran at the Plaza del Sol in central Madrid.

According to a police statement dated March 5, 2012, agents asked Firasat if he "understood that his actions could hurt the religious sensibilities of those who profess the Muslim faith." He was also asked if he was "conscious that the burning of the Koran could be considered a crime" according to Title XXI, Chapter IV, Sections 1 and 2 of the Criminal Code [referring to crimes against offending religious sentiments]."

After reviewing his website with the police, Firasat said: "I am not hurting the feelings of any Muslim. Rather, I am taking an action that seems necessary against a book which gives the message of jihad: killing, hatred, violence and discrimination, which in no way is compatible with Spanish law."

Firasat summed up his feelings in a newspaper interview: "Fighting the injustice of Islam is not so easy. On the one hand there are the Islamists who are seeking to kill me, and on the other side our own police, our own system which seeks to intimidate me and dissuade me from confronting Islam."

PM Wages Intensive Media Campaign in P5+1 Countries Against Bbad Nuclear Deal With Iran
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu took his message that no deal is better than a bad one to major media outlets in each of the P5+1 countries negotiating with Iran on Sunday, four days before Iran and the world powers begin another round of nuclear talks.

Netanyahu’s media blitz coincides with intensive lobbying efforts under way in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow and Beijing against signing a nuclear deal with Iran that would leave in place the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities, but install a robust verification regime.

“A good deal is what was done in Syria,” Netanyahu told CNN, “in the case of Syria, the United States led an effort to dismantle and remove Syria’s chemical stockpiles and its means to make chemical weapons. What Iran is pushing for is an entirely different deal, that is to keep and inspect – keep its nuclear stockpiles and the means to make nuclear weapons and rely on inspectors to prevent it from using them.”

The problem, Netanyahu pointed out, was that “inspectors can be deceived” or sidelined, as Iran has done before.

“That’s what breakout means,” he said. “They break out, rush and make the stuff for a nuclear bomb in a very short time – weeks, months. That’s exactly what North Korea did.”

Asked about concern that the US may go softer on the Iranian program now in an effort to get Tehran “on board” in dealing with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Netanyahu said that to do so would be “grievous strategic error.”

He warned against crossing the “historical threshold of giving the ayatollahs atomic bombs” for “tactical gains in Iraq.”

Netanyahu said that Iran was looking for a “deal of surrender” from the P5+1, which includes the US, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain.

The Iranians, he said, were keen on a situation where the P5+1 would allow them to “keep their capability and park as a threshold nuclear state” just a few weeks or months from a nuclear bomb, and then allow inspectors to verify.

Rather than rely on verification, Netanyahu said, what needed to be done was dismantle or “remove what’s not destroyed.”

In addition to interviewing with CNN, Netanyahu also gave interviews Sunday to Sky News in Britain, ARD Radio in Germany, France 24, Channel 1 Russia, and CCTV in China.

Netanyahu has also sent National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen and Intelligence Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz to Washington for meetings on the Iranian issue on Monday.

Steinitz is also scheduled to carry on to London and Paris for meetings.

In addition, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is to hold meetings in Berlin on Monday, following his meetings last Thursday with US Secretary of State John Kerry and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, where the Iranian issue was central among the issues discussed.

Liberman: Jordan's Stability 'Vital' to Israel's Security
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman

Flash 90

The spread of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) through Iraq has not eluded the Jewish state's notice, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) said Monday.

According to Liberman, regional stability is important enough to prompt financial help from Israel to Jordan, if necessary, to prevent ISIS from reaching the Jewish state.  

"Jordan's stability is a vital interest of the State of Israel," Liberman stated, in a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "Without going into details, we will do everything to maintain the stability of Jordan."

Steinmeier agreed.

"ISIS in Iraq constitutes a serious threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq and the entire region," he said. He urged that the entire international community must work so that "ISIS cannot tighten its grip [on the Middle East] and the caliphate it declared does not turn into a center for terror and violence." 

"We have seen from clashes in the Golan Heights how events in the region can affect the security of Israel," Steinmeier continued. "We must ensure that a solution is found for the internal problems in Iraq, and establish a government that will represent proportionally all communities and factions to detract support for ISIS from the Sunni population." 

On Sunday, former National Security Council director Yaakov Amidror warned against ISIS moving in on Jordan and posing a threat to Israel, adding that if Jordan requested Israeli assistance in preventing its border with Iraq from being overrun by ISIS, Israel would have little choice but to help.

ISIS on Sunday declared it had established a "caliphate", or Islamist state, straddling Iraq and Syria.

The jihadists said the state would spread from Aleppo in northern Syria to Diyala in eastern Iraq, and ordered Muslims in those areas to pay allegiance to the group.

In Syria, ISIS fighters already control large swathes of territory in Deir Ezzor near the Iraq border, in Raqa in the north, as well as parts of neighboring Aleppo province.

In Iraq, they have spearheaded a lightning offensive, capturing sizable territories in the north and west of the conflict-torn country.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu also voiced concern over "the powerful wave triggered by ISIS, which could reach Jordan in a very short time" Sunday, in a speech calling for independence for Kurdish Pashmerga forces fighting the terrorist group. 

"We must be able to stop the terrorism and fundamentalism that can reach us from the east at the Jordan line and not in the suburbs of Tel Aviv," he added.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Bodies of Israeli kidnapped teens found, government confirms
Israel's nearly three-week vigil for three teens kidnapped in the West Bank - including one with U.S. citizenship - ended grimly Monday, with the discovery of their bodies just north of Hebron. The search for Eyal Yifrach, 19; Gilad Shaar, 16 and Naftali Frenkel, 16, who were snatched while hitchhiking, ended even as Israeli forces were conducting raids in the West Bank, where Hamas operates. Frenkel holds duel U.S.-Israeli citizenship.  

Shock As It’s Revealed Obama Orders Us Military To Submit To Sharia Law During Ramadan
Shock waves spreading across the Internet today as it has been revealed that US soldiers serving in the Middle East are now required to observe the demonic doctrine of Sharia Law during the month of Ramadan, while at the same time being denied access to use of their bibles and open display of their Christian faith.  

The Real Reason Liberal Churches Are Losing Members
Almost every day conservative Christians are told that if we don't become more enlightened and progressive, we will become irrelevant to society as our numbers continue to decline. In reality, the opposite is true: We will only be relevant to the extent we honor God and hold fast to biblical truth, which is why the more "progressive" and "enlightened churches" are the ones losing members the most rapidly.  

Israel rediscovers Shemitah in time for blood moons
Why are so many Christians in the U.S. and elsewhere standing up and taking notice of an Israeli government action to set aside $29 million to encourage local farmers to observe an ancient biblical commandment to let their fields lay fallow every seventh year? n Exodus 23:10-11, you will find this commandment of God to Israel: “And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.” Modern Israel hasn’t paid much attention to this ancient commandment – until recently.  

Oklahoma Earthquakes
The quake struck around 8:30 p.m. and weighed in at a 3.1 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located five miles west, southwest of Medford, or about 92 miles north of the Oklahoma City metro area, at a depth of just over half a mile.  

Brazilian Pastor Pours 110 lbs. of Salt on Church Floor; Sparks Witchcraft Speculation
Pastor Agenor Duke of Igreja Apostolica Plenitude Do Trono De Deu in Sao Paulo, Brazil prayers over 110 lbs. of salt during a church service. "This is a witchcraft practice, very different from what the Scripture reflects on the use of salt," commented Jonathan Martinez, a Facebook user on the church's account. "That method is only used for witchcraft and for calling upon negative things."  

Israel should ensure West ‘keeps eyes open’ on Iran
Israel should ensure that the international community remains briefed on the full picture of Iran’s nuclear program, as talks between the P5+1 countries and Tehran continue, former Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Ze’evi Farkash told The Jerusalem Post. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has cleverly adapted his country’s nuclear policies to fit the Islamic Republic’s economic and social needs, Farkash stated.  

Gunmen Fire on Nigerian Churchgoers
Gunmen fired at worshipers and burned four churches on Sunday in a village just miles from the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped, witnesses said.  

As China Flexes Muscle, Obama Frets Over Rival’s Weakness
China is tailgating Japanese warplanes, playing chicken with Vietnamese ships and questioning America’s toughness. Yet it isn’t Chinese strength that most worries President Barack Obama, it’s Chinese fragility.  

Isis rebels declare 'caliphate' in Iraq and Syria
Islamist militant group Isis has said it is establishing a caliphate, or Islamic state, on the territories it controls in Iraq and Syria. It also proclaimed the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as caliph and "leader for Muslims everywhere".  

Israel tightens grip on E.Jerusalem with $90m plan
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a $90 million dollar socio-economic development plan for annexed east Jerusalem which focuses on increased security and police presence in the area, the municipality said.  

Why The Next Four Days Could Be Huge For The Future Of America
Get ready: This week is going to be huge. This holiday-shortened week is going to be jam-packed with economic data, culminating with the grand finale at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday  

Jordans King: We Fear Spread of Iraq Chaos
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Times of Israel
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

King Abdullah II of Jordan at the Royal Palace, in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday March, 20, 2013. (photo credit: AP Photo/Yousef Allan, Jordanian Royal Palace)

Jordanian Bedouin Hoist Al Qaeda Flag in Maan
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Ma’an is the Falluja of Jordan!” shouted thousands of Bedouin Saturday, June 28, in the southern Jordanian town of Ma’an. This legend was inscribed on the placards and flags they bore aloft with one hand in the name of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). In the other, they waved automatic rifles.

Ma’an (pop: 50,000) is in a sensitive location:  218 km south of Amman, it also lies 104 km from the Israeli port town of Eilat and some 60 km from the main artery cutting south from northern Israel to the south.

But although pro-Al Qaeda riots have been going on for days in Ma’an, capital of the southern province of the Kingdom of Jordan, military and security personnel have not been seen in its vicinity.

The town has a history of violent unrest. It has in the past suffered curfew and was even, when the rioting got out of hand, stormed by soldiers firing live rounds and leaving dozens dead.

For now, King Abdullah is conferring urgently with his army and intelligence chiefs on how to suppress the Islamist revolt in Ma’an without it spilling over into other Jordanian towns, especially Salt, Irbid and Zerka, which have large clusters of Al Qaeda followers.

There was anxious talk in Washington Sunday about the prospect of Abdullah’s throne being rocked by an Islamist revolt, in which case the Obama administration would have no option but to approve the intervention of American and Israeli special operations forces to defend the king,  and push back against an Al Qaeda-ISIS invasion. However the domestic Islamist peril may be more immediate and acute than the external one.

A US military source consulted by debkafile revealed that the Jordanian army is now concentrated in three sectors: The Syrian border in the north, the Iraqi border in the east and the capital.

In the first case, Jordanian troops are ranged to head off a possible incursion by ISIS forces concentrated in eastern Syria. They are also prepared to withstand a possible Syrian army assault to dampen Jordan’s military support for the Syrian rebels operating in southern Syria in defense of the Jordanian and Israeli borders.

In the second case, the Jordanian army is deployed directly opposite the ISIS forces which have seized control of most of Iraq’s Anbar province adjacent to the Jordanian border.
The army’s third sector is the capital, Amman, where it acts as the guardian of the royal regime.

Should the Islamist conflagration spread from Ma’an to other corners of the kingdom, its army will be short of fighting manpower for simultaneous defense against internal and external threats.
Our Washington sources report that Brig. Gen. Dennis McKean, commander of the joint US-Jordanian-Israeli underground Centcom-Forward war room established near Amman, has already received instructions to place the 12,000 US soldiers and USAF F-16 fighter squadron positioned in Jordan on the ready.

They also disclose that Brig. McKean is in direct communication with Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the commander of Israel’s Deep Operations command, Maj. Gen. Shay Avital and Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. .Amir Eshel.
The Deep Operations command was established in case it was necessary to launch operations against Iran or the Lebanese Hizballah in alien territory. This unit may find itself operating against Al Qaeda’s ISIS in Jordan instead

Washington, Jerusalem and Amman are mulling over whether to wait for the trouble in Jordan to escalate further before intervening, or to act preemptively before matters get out of hand by punching hard at ISIS forces concentrated along the Iraqi-Jordanian border. In the latter case, there would have to be a second decision as to which army would inflict the punch, its location and a forward estimate of the potential repercussions on Jordan’s internal security.

Jordan's King: Iraq Crisis Could Affect the Entire Region
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Jordan's King Abdullah II

AFP/File

Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday warned that the crisis in Iraq could affect the entire region, reports the Jordan Times.

Speaking with a delegation of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives, the King renewed Jordan’s keenness on the territorial integrity of Iraq and its call for a comprehensive political solution to the ongoing Iraqi crisis, according to the report.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has started moving towards Baghdad, after conquering the second-largest Iraqi city of Mosul and several other northern cities this week in a lightning offensive.

King Abdullah recently requested urgent military aid from the U.S. and other Western countries, so as to hold off ISIS if it tries to move in on Jordan.

Last week, Jordan placed tanks, army vehicles, missile launchers and soldiers along its border with Iraq.

ISIS Islamists have publicly called for Jordanian King Abdullah's execution, declaring him a traitor to Islam who has joined forces with the West.

During his meeting with the American delegation, King Abdullah also discussed the Syrian crisis and its consequences on the Kingdom, which is home to about 1.3 million Syrian guests, including more than 600,000 registered refugees, a Royal Court statement said.

He reportedly called on the international community to increase its assistance to Jordan to enable it to continue its humanitarian efforts targeting the refugees.

On the peace process, the King called on the international community to support the Palestinian Authority-Israeli peace negotiations that can lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, the statement said.

Italy to Push for United States of Europe When It Holds the EU Presidency
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, has said that Italy will push for a "United States of Europe" during its six-month EU presidency, in a move likely to raise hackles in Britain. 

Launching an appeal to convince European leaders to show "that a stronger and more cohesive Europe is the only solution to the solve the problems of our time", Mr Renzi said: "For my children's future I dream, think and work for the United States of Europe." 

He further called for "courageous leaders" to work towards achieving that goal - something that Britain has always objected to. In 1988 Margaret Thatcher, then prime minister, dismissed the idea that the United States might be a model for the future of Europe and David Cameron is actively trying to prevent the election of a committed federalist, Jean-Claude Juncker, to the head of the European Commission. 

Italy takes over the rotating EU presidency from Greece on July 1. Its job will be to steer the EU at a time when the so-called "European Project" is coming under renewed attack, in the wake of an EU-wide surge in support for Eurosceptic parties in the recent European elections. 

Mr Renzi, whose country will preside over the EU until December, said the only effective response to the outcome of the European elections is to offer "an idea of Europe that corresponds to an attractive adventure, rather than just a financial or economic exercise." He said it was vital to show that the EU "is not only a common past but a common destiny." 

Two other pillars of the Italian presidency will be the push for growth over austerity, and greater help with the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. More than 50,000 people have arrived in Italy by boat from North Africa this year. 

Mr Renzi's comments, in a speech in Florence last week, come amid a growing storm over the nomination of Mr Juncker as president of the European Commission. David Cameron will call for a vote from fellow EU leaders at Thursday's summit in Ypres if there is an attempt to rubber-stamp Mr Juncker in the role. Mr Cameron opposes the candidacy of the former prime minister of Luxembourg, whom he sees as preventing EU reforms and is seen by some as a politician with an instinct for ever-closer European integration. 

Meanwhile, the incoming Italian presidency has caused a stir after ruling that its official website will only be published in English and Italian, meaning it will not be translated into French or German for the first time since 2007. 

In order to save money, it will not be translated into any of the other 24 official languages of the EU. 

The decision shows how English has become increasingly dominant in EU communications, especially when compared to the European Commission's two other official working languages - French and German. 

Since 2007, all EU presidencies made a point of offering multilingual websites and always included German, French, English and their national language. 

During their presidency in 2008, France translated their website into Polish, Spanish and Italian. In 2010, Spain also produced versions in their main regional languages of Catalan, Basque and Galatian. 

Despite a tight budget, the official Greek website has still offered four languages: Greek and the three EU working languages, English, French and German. 

Italy's decision has angered some MEPs. 

Michèle Rivasi, the leader of the French Greens in the European Parliament, said: "It's a disgrace. Considering the rise of Euroscepticism in wake of the European elections, this decision almost comes as provocation." 

According to the French MEP, budget cuts do not justify the decision to leave out French and German. 

"Cuts could have been made elsewhere, for example, on the presidency's subsistence costs or on transport. We will call on the presidency of the Parliament to address this issue."

Israel: Hezbollah is Now Stronger Than Any Arab Army
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy New Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Israel’s top military officer warned today that Hezbollah is more powerful than most of the world’s armies and that a confrontation between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant organization was a near certainty.

While the threat posed by conventional Arab armies has diminished in recent years, Israel now faces highly mobile enemies like Hezbollah, skilled in asymmetric warfare and equipped with advanced weapons systems, Gen. Benny Gantz said. However, the massive destruction Israel can inflict on Hezbollah’s assets and Lebanon’s infrastructure continues to deter Hezbollah from overt aggression against Israel. 

“Bring me four or five states that have more firepower than Hezbollah: Russia, China, Israel, France, and England,” he told Israel’s annual security-oriented Herzliya Conference. “What is this enormous power that they [Hezbollah] have that can cover every area of the state of Israel?”

Gantz’s comments reflect Israel's longstanding concern about Hezbollah’s growing might, which has soared in terms of weaponry, technology, and personnel since the two enemies last fought each other in open war in 2006.

Last week, an anonymous Israeli intelligence officer wrote in Israel’s Maarachot military magazine that in the next war, Hezbollah would not merely defend against an Israeli invasion but could make a “ground offensive and multi-pronged attack on Israeli territory."

In the past eight years, the Iran-backed group is believed to have acquired GPS-guided Syrian-manufactured missiles fitted with 1,100-pound warheads with ranges of at least 150 miles. That puts Tel Aviv within range of the Lebanese border. It also has drones that can carry dozens of pounds of explosive. In October 2012, a drone operated by Hezbollah penetrated Israeli airspace in the south before being detected and shot down by Israeli jets.

Hezbollah’s reconnaissance and communications capabilities have also improved. Fighters serving in Syria use thermal imaging cameras to monitor rebel movements and prepare ambushes, including one in February that killed 175 rebel fighters near Otaiba, east of Damascus. It has built a few dozen training camps across the Bekaa Valley in recent years to process the steady influx of new recruits.

But the most significant change may be the crucial combat experience Hezbollah's cadres have gained from fighting in Syria's war on behalf of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Hezbollah is credited with helping turn the tide against the rebel forces in the past year, granting Mr. Assad the confidence to hold a presidential election last week that saw him earn his third seven-year term in office in a poll widely derided by the Syrian opposition and the West.

“Iran is investing a lot in Hezbollah in Syria.... Hezbollah is involved up to their necks in it,” Gantz said.

It is fortunate for Israel that Hezbollah's attention is divided between domestic politics, military preparations against Israel, and its intervention in Syria, Gantz said. Fear of a damaging war has served as a mutual deterrence.

“Hezbollah is like a state and they know exactly what is going to happen in Lebanon if they start a war with us, and that this would set Lebanon back decades,” he said.

Despite that, tensions rose in February and March after an Israeli airstrike on a Hezbollah facility in the Bekaa Valley. The target was a 2,450-sq.-ft. utility building, possibly a temporary arms storage facility, beside a track used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons into Lebanon from neighboring Syria, according to comparisons of satellite imagery on Google Earth.

It was the first Israeli air attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon since 2006. In response, Hezbollah detonated a roadside bomb against Israeli troops on Lebanon’s southern border. It is also thought responsible for staging three other attacks against soldiers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, wounding four.

ISISs Now Openly Operating in Gaza
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsAlgemeiner
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

ISIS soldiers in convoy in confiscated trucks in Iraq. Photo: Twitter / nayelshafei.

Mourners in Gaza were seen carrying black flags of the bloody Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group at a funeral on Sunday for one of two terrorists Israel targeted in an airstrike on Friday, Israel’s Ma’ariv daily reported.

Analysts said this was the first such open sign of local support for the group (also known as the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant”), which is engaged in fierce battles for control of Iraq, and in Syria, in order to create a unified Islamic caliphate.

Israeli and other western intelligence services have warned that the group’s influence is spreading and may have set down roots in the coastal enclave.

The Israeli Air Force struck Osama Has​sumi, 29, and Mohammad Fatzih, 24, with a direct missile, as they traveled in a vehicle along the Gazan shore.

“​Militants, like Hassumi and Fatzih, attacking Israel from Gaza, are not safe, do not have immunity, and will not be free to plan, plot and operate,” IDF Spokesman Lt.-Col. Peter Lerner said on Friday.

“We will continue to strike the instigators and agitators with patience, determination and precision. Gaza rocket terrorism does not pay,” he said.

Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon said in Friday that the IDF would foil “rocket fire on Israel or attempted attacks on our civilians or troops. We will hunt down those who carry out or plan [these attacks], like we did today.”

While it is unclear if either of the two were, in fact, directly backed by ISIS, the IDF said the two were behind volleys of rockets fired into Israel over the last two weeks, and belonged to the “Salah e-Din Brigades” of the Popular Front.

Meanwhile, Hamas, which controls the strip, “categorically denied Egyptian security claims that ISIS terrorists infiltrated Sinai through Gaza tunnels,” according to the al-Kassam website.

On Saturday, Iyad Bazam, a spokesman for the terror group, called the claims, “blatant lies,” and said they were “part of the ongoing Egyptian smear campaign against the Gaza Strip.”

On Saturday night, six rockets fired from Gaza struck Israel, with two hitting a populated building.

“Over the course of the weekend 12 rockets hit Israel and over the past two weeks 25 rockets hit Israel. Approximately 50 rockets were launched at Israel over the past two weeks,” the IDF said in a statement.

“In response to the rocket attacks that hit Israel earlier this evening and in order to prevent further attacks on Israeli civilians, an IAF aircraft targeted three terror activity sites and three concealed rocket launchers in the southern Gaza Strip, a weapon manufacturing site in the northern Gaza Strip and a terror activity site and weapon manufacturing site in the central Gaza Strip,” the statement read.

ISIS Militants Declare Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsFrance 24
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS or ISIL), a Sunni jihadist group, on Sunday declared the establishment of a “Caliphate” or Islamic state, spanning parts of both Iraq and Syria with the group’s leader as the ruling “Caliph”.

The group, known for its ruthless tactics and systemic abuses during its involvement in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria where it has captured vast swathes of territory, also announced it was renaming itself the “Islamic State” and called on jihadi factions worldwide to pledge allegiance to it.

The Caliphate would be imposed on areas the group controls in Iraq and Syria with its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the Caliph, or head of state, and “leader for Muslims everywhere”, ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani said in an audio recording distributed online.

“The Shura (council) of the Islamic State met and discussed this issue (of the Caliphate)... The Islamic State decided to establish an Islamic Caliphate and to designate a Caliph for the state of the Muslims,” he said.

“The jihadist cleric Baghdadi was designated the Caliph of the Muslims,” said Adnani, adding that the Caliphate will extend “from Aleppo (in northern Syria) to Diyala” in Iraq.

The part of the group’s name referring to Iraq and Syria has been removed in official papers and documents, Adnani said, describing the Caliphate as “the dream in all the Muslims’ hearts” and “the hope of all jihadists”.

He demanded that “all Muslims pledge allegiance to the Caliph".

Ever since the Prophet Mohammed’s death, a Caliph was designated “the prince” or emir “of the believers”.

After the first four Caliphs who succeeded Mohammed, the Caliphate lived its golden age in the Omayyad empire from the year 661 to 750, and then under the Abbasids, from 750 to 1517.

It was abolished when the Ottoman empire collapsed in 1924.

Fighters from ISIS overran the Iraqi city of Mosul last month and have advanced towards Baghdad. In Syria they have captured territory in the north and east, along the frontier with Iraq.

ISIS Fanatics Publicly Crucify Nine Men in Syria As Rival Militias in Iraq Prove Just As Brutal
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsTrue News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Iraqi forces have pressed a counter-attack on Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit.

IS there no end to their depraved brutality?

The fanatical jihadists waging war across Syria and Iraq have already horrified the world with their mass shootings and the discovery of a “death pit” where they hurl victims’ bodies.

Now they have employed a cruelty many centuries old — crucifixion.

The fiends of ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL) publicly hung nine men on crosses at the weekend in Syria.

In a reflection of the complex and terrifying forces wreaking havoc across the region, the jihadists’ victims were not soldiers of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime; they were fellow rebels, who are fighting both the goverment and ISIS.

NEW MENACE RISING IN IRAQ

News of the killings come as, over the border in Iraq, fears are emerging that the Shiite Muslim militias raised to fight the Sunni ISIS forces are just as brutal as their foes — with no escape for those caught between.

Bloody insurgency ... fighters from ISIS march in Raqqa, Syria. Source: AP

The crucifxions came amid fierce clashes on the outskirts of Damascus between ISIS and other anti-Assad rebels, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

“ISIL executed eight men in Deir Hafer in the east of Aleppo province” on Saturday because they belonged to rebel groups that had fought against the jihadists as well as Assad’s forces, it said. The group then “crucified them in the main square of the village, where their bodies will remain for three days.”

Also in Aleppo province, a ninth man was crucified for eight hours as a form of punishment in Al-Bab town near the border with Turkey.

He survived the ordeal.

 

ISIS launched a campaign aimed at recruiting followers in the West, seeking to capitalize on its successful military offensive in Iraq. Now, the pitch is falling on receptive ears. Maria abi-Habib joins Simon Constable on the News Hub to discuss. Photo: ISIS Recruitment Video

The news came as ISIL continued its bloody push into Iraq, where the Sunni group is bent on destroying the deeply-divided nation’s Shia government.

Iraq’s security spokesman has said hundreds of soldiers have been killed since the insurgent offensive was launched on June 9, while the UN puts the overall death toll at over 1,000, mostly civilians.

However, the militias that have sprung up in response to the attacks appear to be just as terrifying as the extremists they are fighting.

Abu Mustafa, a resident of Baquba, 60km north of Baghdad, described his flashpoint city as being caught between two fearsome forces.

Horrifying ... this image appears to show ISIS militants leading away captured Iraqi soldiers dressed in plain clothes after taking over a base in Tikrit, Iraq. Source: AP

“We have Da’ash on one side,” he told the Guardian, using the colloquial word for ISIS. “And we have Asa’ib ahl al-Haq on the other. I don’t know who to be more scared of.”

Asa’ib ahl al-Haq is said to be one of the most powerful Shia militias in Iraq, and always present wherever government forces are clashing with ISIS.

‘NO ONE WILL STAND UP TO THEM’

They have become so important to the official fightback effort that some say the government is afraid to stand up to them, leaving the shady militiamen free to wreak their own brand of sectarian havoc.

In Baghdad’s southern suburb of Dora, the Guardian reports that several Sunnis have been killed in recent weeks after being seized on the streets.

One man, who retrieved his nephew’s body earlier this week after he was kidnapped by the side of the road last week, said Asa’ib had been responsible for killing him.

“They are operating right under the nose of the government and no one will stand up to them. Only Asa’ib can do that. It is clear who did this.”

Hamas Vows to 'Open the Gates of Hell' If IDF Responds to Murder
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas terrorists

Flash 90

The Hamas terrorist group has warned it will "open the gates of hell" if Israel sought to escalate its operation against the Islamist group in response to the murder of the three Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found this afternoon.

"If the occupiers carry out an escalation or a war, they will open the gates of hell on themselves," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.    

The warning came shortly after Israel confirmed finding the bodies of the three students who disappeared while hitchhiking in Gush Etzion on June 12.  

The bodies were found in a field near the Arab village of Halhoul some 10 minutes from the roadside spot where they were last seen, media reports said.

Israel has said Hamas is behind the kidnapping; last week, authorities released for publication the identities of two Hamas operatives wanted in connection with the kidnappings. They are now being sought for murder.

Countering the Presbyterian Churchs World Without Zion
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsAlgemeiner
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Presbyterian Church Assembly. Photo: Screenshot.

The tactics deployed by anti-Israel zealots at the recent Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly would have made Soviet dictator Joe Stalin proud. The leadership of PCUSA and a few committees long hostile to Israel hijacked the committee process. They removed a chairman they couldn’t control, and made sure that the microphone stayed in the hand of anti-Israel speakers, along with self-loathing Jewish Quislings who piled lies upon accusations upon demonization of Israel. Pro-Israel voices were given only one-90 second shot to respond. Pro-Israel resolutions were turned into pro-Palestinian, so that delegates who had bothered to read originals before the conclave unwittingly voted against their actual wishes.

By the time the dust settled, Committee 4 had sent a number of resolutions to the floor that openly contradicted each other – but all were hostile to the Jewish State. The divestment resolution – the one everyone was watching – passed by a narrow margin. A sleeper resolution – not even debated during the plenary – which was far, far worse, passed by a huge margin.

Delegates still don’t realize that they voted to repudiate the two-state solution, central to U.S. foreign policy and the negotiating positions of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. PCUSA’s vision is in lock step with those seeking to replace two-states with – not Eretz Yisrael Ha-shelemah - but a single Arab majority, Judenrein state. That “democracy” will quickly degrade into another failed Middle East state, or someone’s Caliphate, depending on whether Sunnis or Shi’ites succeed in exterminating the other.

So now what? First we wake up and understand that the long-range goal of the anti-Israel forces is no longer to merely marginalize Israel, or hurt it economically. It is to correct the “sin” that is Israel, to have the historic “mistake” of 1948 undone as a political entity. We must immediately raise the alarm and awaken Christians with a conscience to act. First stop – the many wonderful Presbyterians and many local churches appalled by the PCUSA anti-Israel juggernaut – clergy and laypeople  - who have struggled mightily for many years to stand up to the rot at the church’s top leadership.  They, not their Church, deserve our attention and support.

In fact, PCUSA is a dying church. Membership is down to 1.8 million from a high of 4.25 million members in 1965. The denomination is expected, by its own forecast, to lose another 25% of its membership in the next 3-4 years. The median age is 63.

The age factor holds true of members of the committees hostile to Israel (ACSWP, MRTI, ACREC); the median age of the often overtly anti-Semitic Israel-Palestine Mission Network is even more advanced.

So what should Jewish groups do?

First, treat the governing body of PCUSA as pariahs. For us, they no longer exist.

Second, reach out to local Presbyterians as concerned neighbors. Meet with the pastors. Ask them if they understand the implications of 04-04, and of 04-01 and how it all fits into the global plan to end the Jewish State.

If they support the anti-Israel measures, thank them, close the door, and don’t turn back. File them away with other small groups like Quakers and Mennonites whose hostility to the Jewish state will never be interrupted by the facts.

If they distance themselves from the implications of the resolutions, ask them if they will be willing to publicly join other Presbyterians who openly opposed the biased anti-Israel initiatives. Urge them to reassert their commitment to peace in the Middle East through a negotiated settlement that guarantees the security of the Jewish State of Israel. By speaking out, they will be taking back a major part of the symbolic victory scored by the Israel-haters. And finally ask them to reinsert fairness and balance in their own church programming, i.e. that in studying the conflict in depth – a good idea for Christians who have a stake in the Holy Land – they should always listen to mainstream voices on all sides of a complex issue.

The shock within PCUSA ranks to the GA vote creates a window of opportunity for us to establish new relationships with local churches and leaders. Failure to do so will hand the PCUSA elites the ultimate victory in their war against Israel.

BIS Warns Low Interest Rate Policies May Generate Next Global Financial Crisis
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsABC News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The international body representing central banks is warning its members that record low interest rates are generating conditions for another global financial crisis that may be worse than the first.

In its annual report, the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) expressed serious concern that global share markets had reached new highs and the interest rate premium for many risky loans had fallen.

"Overall, it is hard to avoid the sense of a puzzling disconnect between the markets' buoyancy and underlying economic developments globally," the bank wrote.

The BIS says the disconnect is largely due to continued monetary stimulus in the form of money printing and record low interest rates by many developed economy central banks.

"Financial markets have been exuberant over the past year, at least in advanced economies, dancing mainly to the tune of central bank decisions," it observed.

"Volatility in equity, fixed income and foreign exchange markets have sagged to historical lows. Obviously, market participants are pricing in hardly any risks."

This has led to another run up in global debt, with private debt outside the banking sector now 30 per cent bigger than it was before the financial crisis.

Of even more concern to the BIS than the total size of the debt is where it has gone, with many signs that risk is again being under-priced and finances being misdirected to speculative asset booms - just as it was in the run up to what the bank calls the Great Financial Crisis (GFC).

"Tellingly, growth has disappointed even as financial markets have roared: the transmission chain seems to be badly impaired," the bank lamented.

It is a warning central banks and market participants should heed, as the BIS was one of the only major international financial organisations to warn of the GFC before it began.

'Window of opportunity' to raise rates

Given the role of record low rates in generating financial risks, the BIS says that a recent upturn in the global economy is "a precious window of opportunity that should not be wasted" to start returning interest rates to more normal levels, while also putting other measures in place to temper booms.

The BIS accuses many of its major economy members of focusing on the short-term health of their economies, while failing to consider the long-term effects of their policies.

"Focusing our attention on the shorter-term output fluctuations is akin to staring at the ripples on the ocean while losing sight of the more threatening underlying waves," warned the bank's head of economics, Claudio Borio, in a briefing on the report.

The BIS warns that the fundamental failure of central banks and governments to deal with the underlying causes of the previous financial crisis is allowing the risk of a "bigger one down the road".

It says continued debt accumulation over successive business and financial cycles is at the root of the problem.

The bank argues that this debt accumulation has been largely caused by policymakers failing to lean against the booms but easing "aggressively and persistently" during busts.

The road ahead may be a long one. All the more reason, then, to start the journey sooner rather than later.

This growing mountain of debt is making it harder for economies to grow at higher interest rates, forcing central banks into a downward spiral of record low rates and monetary stimulus that simply encourages more borrowing, worsening the underlying problem - what the BIS labels "a debt trap" where, in effect, "low rates validate themselves".

"In contrast to what is often argued, central banks need to pay special attention to the risks of exiting too late and too gradually," the BIS report argues to its central bank members.

"The benefits of unusually easy monetary policies may appear quite tangible, especially if judged by the response of financial markets; the costs, unfortunately, will become apparent only over time and with hindsight."

These comments appear particularly directed at the US Federal Reserve, which just under a fortnight ago told markets that official rates were likely to remain near zero for "a considerable time" after it stops its bond buying stimulus program later this year.

The BIS also appears to take issue with such so-called forward guidance by the Fed.

"Seeking to prepare markets by being clear about intentions may inadvertently result in participants taking more assurance than the central bank wishes to convey," it warned.

"This can encourage further risk-taking, sowing the seeds of an even sharper reaction."

The BIS report may also be firing a shot across the bow of European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi, who is considering launching a continental version of the Fed's "quantitative easing" to boost the availability of cheap euros.

The bank played down the menace of deflation, the threat of which is the ECB's main justification for proposing further unconventional monetary stimulus.

"Few are ready to curb financial booms that make everyone feel illusively richer. Or to hold back on quick fixes for output slowdowns, even if such measures threaten to add fuel to unsustainable financial booms," the BIS bemoaned.

"The road ahead may be a long one. All the more reason, then, to start the journey sooner rather than later."

Apostasy Rising: 4 Denominations in Less Than a Week Defy God
Jun 30th, 2014
Daily NewsBarbwire
Categories: Apostasy;Commentary