Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Has 'No Plans' for Joint Military Action With Iran
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The United States said Friday it has "no plans" for any military coordination with Iran in the fight against Islamic State fighters operating in Iraq and Syria, AFP reported.

"We are not going to coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and have no plans to do so," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said, reacting to reports that Tehran had approved such an arrangement.

Harf said that Washington was "open to engaging" with Iran as it had in the past on select issues, notably on Afghanistan in late 2001, when the two sides worked to put Hamid Karzai into power after the fall of the Taliban.

"But we will not be coordinating our action together," she declared, according to AFP.

The BBC earlier reported, citing unnamed sources in Tehran, that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had approved cooperation with the U.S. in the fight against Islamic State. Iran's foreign ministry said the report was not correct.

According to the sources, Khamenei gave the orders to General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds force that is a special operations unit of the Revolutionary Guards for international missions

While Khamenei has previously opposed U.S. action in Iraq, U.S. airstrikes have been proving effective in the country; recent airstrikes either took out 18 IS leaders in Iraq, including an American jihadist leader.

As far back as in June when the IS threat was first becoming fully recognized, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned America not to join forces with Iran against IS in Iraq, saying that "both of these camps are enemies of the United States, and when your enemies are fighting each other, don't strengthen either one – weaken both."

U.S. and Iranian Official Hold Nuclear Talks in Geneva
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Bushehr nuclear power plant

AFP photo

U.S. and Iranian officials on Friday met for a second day of negotiations in Switzerland as they work towards hammering out a full nuclear deal ahead of a November deadline, AFP reports.

The U.S. team, led by Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Under Secretary Wendy Sherman, began meeting Thursday with an Iranian delegation led by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a luxury Geneva hotel.

No information filtered out from the first day of closed-door talks, and it remained unclear whether they would wrap up Friday or continue into Saturday, according to AFP.

EU and U.S. officials did announce Thursday that broader talks would be held on September 18 in New York between Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany, and would be led by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

That will mark the first meeting of the so-called P5+1 and Iran since they failed to meet a July 20 deadline for implementing a comprehensive and complex deal on curbing Tehran's enrichment capabilities and number of centrifuges.

The deadline has been pushed forward to November 24.

The West suspects Iran wants to acquire nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists the program is purely for peaceful purposes.

 Iran has been taking an increasingly aggressive line in demanding its "right" to enrich uranium, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently saying Iran "needs" 19 times more nuclear centrifuges than the amount being offered by world powers.

Israel’s  Minister of Intelligence, Yuval Steinitz, warned this week that Iran “is closer than ever to nuclear capabilities”.

"What we see today is a very troubling picture. While Iran has agreed to several small concession, on all the issues touching the heart of the (nuclear) program, like uranium enrichment in the centrifuges, Iran hasn't agreed to budge even a millimeter," said Steinitz, who will head an Israeli delegation to Washington DC next week to petition U.S. officials to take stronger stance in renewed talks between major world powers and Iran.

"We oppose not only the possibility that Iran will be a nuclear-armed military state, but also to the very possibility that Iran will be a nuclear-threshold state," continued Steinitz.

U.S. Aircraft and Drones Struck is Vehicles Near Irbil
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Obama and Erdogan Discuss Fighting Anti - Semitism
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Antisemitism

Obama and Erdogan (archive)

Reuters

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to combat anti-Semitism, the White House said in a statement.

“The President met with Turkish President Erdogan today in Newport, Wales, where both leaders were attending the NATO Summit. They exchanged views on how best to cooperate in the struggle against ISIS and violent extremism in Iraq and Syria, and on the need for strengthened measures against foreign fighters transiting to and from the battlefield,” the statement said. 

“They discussed the urgent need for effective pressure and diplomacy aimed at bringing to an end the conflicts in Ukraine and Libya. The President and President Erdogan also discussed the importance of building tolerant and inclusive societies and combating the scourge of anti-Semitism,” it added.

Under the rule of the Islamist AKP party of Erdogan, who used to be the country’s prime minister before his recent election as president, anti-Semitism has risen steadily, prompting many young Turkish Jews to leave the country.

That rising hatred has been blamed on vitriolic anti-Israel rhetoric by Turkish leaders and politicians, which often spills over into anti-Semitism.

Israel and Turkey used to be close allies, even at the start of the AKP's rule. However, things soon turned sour as Erdogan drifted towards a "pan-Islamic" foreign policy, attacking the Jewish state regularly, including most notably when he stormed out of a TV interview with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres over Israel's 2009 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

Relations reached an all-time low after the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, when the Marmara ship, which claimed to be providing "humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza," defied orders to turn around and dock at the Ashdod port. After it ignored repeated warnings to change course, the IDF boarded the vessel - only to be attacked by Islamist extremists on board.

The soldiers had no choice but to open fire, resulting in the deaths of nine of the IHH members on board.

After an investigation, Israeli authorities discovered the vessel to be carrying no humanitarian aid - in fact, no aid supplies at all - whatsoever. 

Erdogan has continued to verbally attack the Jewish state even after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, at the urging of Obama, apologized for the Marmara incident.

The Turkish leader renewed his attacks against Israel during the recent Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. He threatened to end the normalization process with Israel over "state terrorism."

Last week, however, Erdogan publicly shook the hand of an Israeli official, the first time in six years he had done so.

Middle East Expert: 'Fight Islam Like Nazism'
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;War

Palestinian Arabs hold Nazi flag (file)

Reuters

Middle East studies expert Dr. David Bukay of the University of Haifa ridicules intelligence experts trying to downplay the danger posed by the extremist group Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), which has captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Bukay explained "today they have nearly 20,000 fighters; it's a contagious phenomenon, they cast fear and dread and many join them."

"There's no clear strategy against them," added Bukay, noting on US President Barack Obama's statements last Thursday that he has "no strategy" to combat IS in Syria.

"Today they're already waving their flags in Arab villages in Israel, in Umm al-Fahm and Saknin. The new amendment against waving Hamas and IS flags is ludicrous, I'd like to see the attorney general fight them," commented the Middle East expert.

Bukay argued that the world must understand the war today must not be against this or that terror group, but against extremist Islam as an ideology.

"Islam is an existential threat, and if in the past they declared war on the Nazis and afterwards on Communism, today they must declare war on Islam and not necessarily on terror. You're fighting an ideology here that speaks about conquering the world and killing infidels, that's a religious war by all means," argued the expert.

"IS published a map of all the next countries in line, including India, China, Africa and the Middle East," continued Bukay. "Today they are functioning in areas where there is a governmental vacuum, like Iraq and Syria, but them are also functioning in Lebanon and approaching Jordan."

It is worth noting that at least one Jordanian Muslim scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Adwan, has sharply criticized Islamic fundamentalism, saying in March "there are classes in Islam which claim that the Koran seeks to abolish the Torah and Bible. There is no truth to that. ...Allah chose to call this land 'Israel' and not 'Palestine.' The term 'Palestine' does not appear in the Koran either."

Adwan said "Palestinians" were "the killers of children, the elderly and women. ...This is their habit and custom, their viciousness, their having hearts of stones towards their children, and their lying to public opinion, in order to get its support."

Regarding the IS threat in Israel, General Security Services reported on Friday that at least ten Arab citizens of Israel have joined IS and are taking part in the fighting in Syria and Iraq, reports Yisrael Hayom.

Likewise Arab reports indicated that a Syrian-born IS terrorist was killed in Gaza during the fighting against Israel in Operation Protective Edge, showing how the threat of IS is encroaching on Israel.

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

6.1 Earthquake Shakes Easter Island
An earthquake registering 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Easter Island early Saturday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck 10 kilometers below the surface, with the epicenter located 502 kilometers from the Hanga Roa area, the only residential sector on the inconic island.  

Robin Williams: The Sad Truth The Media Won't Tell You
Robin Williams acknowledged that he had opened himself up to transformative demonic powers that aided him on stage. Without the aid of such demonic powers, it is likely that you would have never have heard of Robin Williams and many other famous celebrities. “Yeah! Literally, it's like possession...it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where you really can become this other force."  

Is Japan's Economy Headed for Collapse?
Japan was once known as the land of the rising sun, but more recently it has become known as one of the worst-managed economies in the world. The lost decade of the 1980s has extended into lost decades, with subpar economic growth and a declining population among the list of accomplishments.  

Franklin Graham: World Turmoil Could Signal 'End of the Age'
In a post on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, the evangelist — the association's president and CEO — notes "it seems the world is coming apart at the seams." "There appears to be no end to the bad news." Ticking off some of the most troubled places on earth, Graham notes the "killing of Christians by Muslims from Indonesia to Bangladesh to Pakistan," China "tearing down church buildings," "Christians tortured, beheaded, and crucified in Iraq, with villages burned and churches destroyed, and much the same in Syria."  

WEEKEND ASTEROID FLYBY
This Sunday, a house-sized asteroid named "2014 RC" will fly through the Earth-Moon system almost inside the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. At closest approach, Sept. 7th at 18:18 UTC, the 20-meter-wide space rock will pass just 40,000 km over New Zealand.  

U.S. confirms death of al Shabaab leader Godane in Somalia strike
Ahmed Abdi Godane, a leader of the al Shabaab Islamist group, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Somalia this week, calling it a "major symbolic and operational loss" for the al Qaeda-affiliated militants.  

IRS says it has lost emails from 5 other employees related to probes
The IRS said Friday that it has lost emails from five other employees involved in congressional probes into the agency's targeting of conservative groups, leading one top Republican to declare "this pattern must stop."  

Russia dispatches naval force to reopen Arctic base
Russia on Saturday sent six ships carrying personnel and equipment to a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic that it is reopening to bolster its presence in the region, Russian news agencies reported. Moscow is ramping up its military presence in the pristine but energy-rich region as other countries such as Canada and Norway are also staking claims to access its resources.  

Egyptian militants being guided by ISIS leaders
Confirmation that Islamic Sate, currently the most successful of the region's jihadi groups, is extending its influence to Egypt will sound alarm bells in Cairo, where the authorities are already facing a security challenge from home-grown militants.  

Deadly plague and botulism microbes found in US lab
A number of long-forgotten deadly microbes have been uncovered in US government laboratories. The highly poisonous substances were found in a hunt triggered by the accidental discovery in July of vials of smallpox at a lab in the National Institutes of Health near Washington. They included vials of ricin and pathogens that cause botulism, the plague and a rare tropical infection.  

Kurdish fighters retake territories seized by Islamic State
While US president Obama says NATO allies agree to take on Islamic State threat, Kurdish forces continue operations on ground, recapture villages from grip of ISIS militants in Iraq's Mosul province.  

Iran to spare no effort to help Iraq stave off IS
After reports surfaced on Friday that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei approved cooperation with the United States in fighting Islamic State jihadists in the region, both Tehran and Washington were quick to deny the allegations. Marie Harf, deputy spokeswoman for the State Department, said the US was not going to cooperate militarily "or share intelligence" with Iran, nor did it have future "plans to do so."  

Eruption: Bárðarbunga Shaken by 5.0 Earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 shook Bárðarbunga at 5:40 this morning. It was in the same vicinity as other big quakes have occurred in the past few days.  

Few gains for Gaza after Hamas 'victory' over Israel
Palestinians here just endured a devastating conflict, with thousands dead and countless homes destroyed. Hamas promised that its resistance would break the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip.  

Heavy monsoon downpours, floods kill 110 people in Pakistan as forecast calls for more rain
A government official in Pakistan says 110 people have been killed across the country in heavy monsoon downpours and flooding as more rain is forecast for the coming days.  

Plane carrying Americans reaches Dubai after being diverted to Iran
A chartered aircraft carrying about 100 Americans from the US airbase at Bagram, Afghanistan, has landed safely in Dubai after being diverted to Iran because of issues with its flight plan, the US State Department said on Friday.  

U.S. confirms Al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane killed in airstrike
The Pentagon has confirmed that Ahmed Abdi Godane, leader of al Qaeda linked militant group al Shabaab has been killed in Somalia in a United States airstrike that was carried out on Monday this week.  

Teen Inspired by 'Slender Man' Set House on Fire: Police
A 14-year-old girl was arrested after allegedly setting her family’s house on fire in what authorities suspect is the latest case of Slender Man-inspired violence.  

This is bad: Russia 'abducts' Estonian officer after Obama says US will defend Estonia
On Friday morning, less than 48 hours after President Obama delivered a speech in Estonia warning that Russian aggression against Estonia could trigger war with the US and NATO, Russian security forces have seized an officer with Estonia's state security bureau at gunpoint and taken him into Russia.  

Obama: Nato coalition ready to join US against IS
A coalition of Nato allies is ready to join the United States in military action against Islamic State (IS), US President Obama has announced. Speaking at the Nato summit in Wales, he said that a "core coalition" had been formed to tackle the threat.  

Some Christians arm as Mideast perils mount
Every day around sunset, dozens of residents of this small Lebanese Christian village on the border carry their automatic rifles and deploy on surrounding hills, taking up positions and laying ambushes in case Muslim extremists from neighboring Syria attack.  

Sierra Leone declares Ebola lockdown
Sierra Leone - one of the countries worst hit by West Africa's Ebola outbreak - has announced a four-day lockdown to try to tackle the disease. From 18 to 21 September people will not be allowed to leave their homes, a senior official said. The aim of the move is to allow health workers to isolate new cases to prevent the disease from spreading further.  

Herzog Speaks to Abbas, Urges Resumption of Talks
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Herzog and Abbas (archive)

Flash 90

Opposition leader and Labor party chairman MK Yitzhak Herzog on Friday spoke with Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the first conversation between an Israeli leader and Abbas since the end of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.

Writing about the conversation in a post on his Facebook page, Herzog said he had asked the PA leader to resume peace talks with Israel and to refrain from unilateral steps.

“I told him that after the war there is a rare opportunity for a regional diplomatic settlement, and that the core of such an arrangement would be stable and strong security arrangements. It is also a Palestinian interest,” wrote Herzog.

“I pointed out that it is necessary to avoid unilateral diplomatic measures that would harm the chances of reaching an arrangement and instead the parties must enter real negotiations on the basis of the security principles and defining the borders first,” he continued.

According to Herzog, Abbas “reiterated his position that negotiations should be resumed based on the principles of determining permanent borders first.”

“We both agreed that Israel and the PA, as well as other Arab countries, have a common interest in stopping the Islamic State. We agreed that we will meet soon and continue the dialogue between us,” concluded the opposition leader.

Abbas has been planning to resume his unilateral steps to achieve recognition of Palestinian state by the United Nations, in a direct violation of the Oslo Accords.

Aides to Abbas revealed that he will soon appeal to the international community to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw back to the pre-1967 borders and make way for an independent Palestinian state.

In April, the PA requested to join 15 international agencies in breach of the conditions of the peace talks that were going on with Israel at that time.

In response, Israel cancelled the fourth terrorist release "gesture" and subsequently pulled out of the talks altogether, after the PA signed a unity pact with Hamas.

Abbas has also repeatedly threatened to pursue Israel through the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, unless Israel agrees to discuss a Palestinian state along the indefensible pre-1967 borders.

Fox News a Major Sponsor of a Conference Promoting the Homosexual Agenda in Journalism
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily Newswayoflife.org
Categories: Today's Headlines;Apostasy

Fox News was one of the major sponsors of the annual meeting of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association. Though promoting itself as a “fair and balanced” news forum, it is obvious that the fairness and balance breaks down when he comes to the “gay” agenda. Fox contributed $10,000 to the conference. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth, who attended part of the meeting, said that there was no balance of perspective. Even in the panel on religion, no traditionalist view was invited. The speakers for that forum were two homosexuals, former Episcopal Church bishop Vicky Gene Robinson, who broke his marriage vows when he left his wife to marry a man, and ECLA bishop Guy Erwin. Throughout the conference, supporters of traditional biblical morality and marriage were portrayed as hateful people, the new racists. Though the conference mouthed the words “diversity” and “inclusion,” the hypocrisy is glaring, since they want to quiet every diverse opinion and run roughshod over every opponent. Robinson and Erwin said that when Christian businessmen refuse to participate in gay weddings, it is “racist bigotry.” LaBarbera said, “The prevailing viewpoint at the conference--surely shared by most secular media professionals these days--is that ‘gay, lesbian and transgender’ journalists are a legitimate sexual (or gender) ‘minority,’ not unlike racial and ethnic minorities, deserving solicitous attention in newsrooms” (“Journalists Strategize to Report on Being ‘Gay,’” WorldNetDaily, Aug. 30, 2014). Other corporate sponsors included Coca-Cola, JetBlue, Nissan, ESPN, Prudential, Toyota, CNN, CBS, Chevrolet, Comcast, Gannett, Cox Media Group, and McClatchy,

Ceasefire Talks to be Restarted in Two Weeks
Sep 6th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

DFLP terrorists

Flash 90

A senior member of the Palestinian Arab negotiating team that reached a ceasefire deal with Israel on August 26 in Cairo said Saturday that restarted talks on larger demands will begin in another two weeks.

Qais Abd al-Karim, a leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) terrorist group that is a main faction in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), told the Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency that renewed talks are expected to start September 20 or 21.

More specifics regarding what will be discussed are to be agreed upon in Cairo before the talks resume according to al-Kairm, who noted no end date has been set for the continued negotiations that were slated to be held within a month of the ceasefire deal.

Al-Karim did specify that the issue of construction materials being allowed into Gaza will be discussed, as such materials currently are still not being allowed in.

According to details of the ceasefire deal released by Palestinian Authority (PA) sources, Israel agreed to allow construction materials in to rebuild Gaza, despite the usage of such goods to build an extensive network of terror tunnels used lethally against Israel in Operation Protective Edge. During ceasefire negotiations Israel proposed letting in such materials after the ceasefire holds over a period of time.

Some key issues that were demanded by Hamas and are likely to be on the docket for the renewed talks include the construction of a Gaza sea and airport, which Israel has rejected. However, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahar has said his group would build the ports even without permission, hinting that construction materials would be used on the projects.

Hamas is also demanding a swap of hundreds of terrorists for the bodies of IDF soldiers Second Lt. Hadar Goldin and First Sgt. Oron Shaul hy''d, who were killed in the operation.

The terrorists being demanded include those arrested in Operation Brother's Keeper, roughly 60 terrorists who were freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal and later re-arrested, 37 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members, all but two of whom are Hamas members, and 26 terrorists promised in the fourth batch of release "gestures" as part of the Israel-PA peace talks that broke down in April.

From the Israeli side, the lone demand has been the disarmament of Gaza - a demand that has been flatly rejected.