August 29, 2015

Requesting Loved Ones Not Vote For Hillary in Obituaries Is Becoming A Thing
Hillary Clinton is so unpopular among some older voters that their last dying wish, literally, is that their loved ones do not vote for the former secretary of state. Since Hillary launched her campaign, at least three people have requested in their obituaries that in lieu of flowers, their loved ones give their vote to anyone but Hillary on Election Day.  

Al-Jazeera Journalists Jailed For Three Years
He explained that the journalists brought equipment without the approval of security officials into Egypt. The three also spread "false news" and used a hotel as a broadcasting point without permission, the judge added.  

Feds fighting to keep cash seized from person never charged with crime
Federal prosecutors are battling in court to keep $167,000 in cash seized in a 2013 traffic stop, despite the motorist never being charged in the incident and the Obama administration clamped down this spring on such asset seizures and forfeitures.  

Arab Spring May Be Blowing into Gaza
A growing number of Arabs in Gaza are calling on people to burn down Hamas institutions. The match they may ignite a full-scale rebellion may have been lit yesterday by a corn vendor, who poisoned himself after Hamas closed down his stand. He now is in critical condition in a Gaza hospital.  

Why All the Gun Violence? The Answer Is Simple
There is a very simple explanation as to why the country seems to be experiencing the gun violence of recent years. It basically comes down to one simple explanation, Liberals. Though I’m sure they’ll take exception to that, the reality is that we live in a society that has lost all sense of morality over the last sixty-odd years, leading to a societal breakdown.  

Poland almost certain it has located buried Nazi train
Poland said on Friday it was almost certain it had located a buried Nazi German train, rumored to have gone missing near the close of World War Two loaded with guns and jewels.  

SIMMERING GEOMAGNETIC STORM
For the third day in a row, Earth's magnetic field is simmering with G1-class geomagnetic storms.  

Report: FBI 'A-Team' Leading 'Extremely Serious' Probe into Hillary Email Scheme
An FBI "A-team" is leading the "extremely serious" investigation into Hillary Clinton's server and the focus includes a provision of the law pertaining to "gathering, transmitting or losing defense information," an intelligence source told Fox News. The section of the Espionage Act is known as 18 US Code 793.  

Tropical Storm Erika kills at least 20 in Dominica
A tropical storm heading across the Caribbean has killed at least 20 people on the island of Dominica, with dozens more missing. Tropical Storm Erika hit Dominica, in the eastern Caribbean, causing floods and mudslides that have set the country back 20 years, its prime minister said. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are now expecting 53mph (85km/h) winds.  

Sheriff's deputy fatally shot in Houston while pumping gas
HOUSTON — A sheriff's deputy in uniform was shot and killed Friday night while filling up his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station, according to authorities.  

Europe's migrant crisis brings new death by land and sea
Death and desperation mounted in Europe's migrant crisis Friday as Austrian police said 71 people appeared to have suffocated in the back of an abandoned truck, while an estimated 200 people were feared drowned off Libya when two overloaded boats capsized.  

Venezuela expands Colombian border closure
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escalated his country's spat with Colombia Friday by expanding the partial closure of their shared border to four new frontier towns.  

Dominica prime minister says Erika leaves 20 dead
A weakening Tropical Storm Erika drenched Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Friday after leaving a trail of destruction that killed at least 20 people and left another 31 missing on the small eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, authorities said.  

Martin O’Malley Rails at Democrats for Debate Schedule ‘Rigged’ to Aid Hillary Clinton
Martin O’Malley had one clear chance to make waves within the Democratic National Committee, and he seized it, delivering a fiery speech Friday that condemned his party’s leadership for what he called a process “rigged” to help Hillary Rodham Clinton — namely, curtailing the number of presidential primary debates.  

Climate change: 2015 will be the hottest year on record 'by a mile', experts say
Climate scientists are predicting that 2015 will be the hottest year on record “by a mile”, with the increase in worldwide average temperatures dramatically undermining the idea that global warming has stopped – as some climate-change sceptics claim.  

Paying the Media for Pro-U.N. Coverage
“The American stock market has surrendered a stunning $2.1 trillion of value in just the last six days of market chaos.” The ups and downs of the stock market have been seized upon by those leading a global campaign to steal trillions of dollars from the American people in the name of “sustainable development.”  

How This New Government Ruling Destroys the Franchise Business Model
To understand how far-reaching this could be, it should be noted that almost 9 million Americans work at over 780,000 franchised businesses. From Jiffy Lube to Terminex to Wendy’s, franchises enable many Americans to run their own small businesses without having to design and market everything from scratch. Franchising is a particularly important opportunity for minority entrepreneurs.  

The Children of Illegal Immigrants Are Not Born American Citizens
Once again, Donald Trump has managed to open up a robust national discussion about an issue that up to this point had been largely ignored by the political class. This time, the discussion is about so-called “birthright citizenship,” the idea that whenever a foreign national (regardless of legal status and with a very few exceptions) has a child on American soil, this child automatically becomes an American citizen from birth.  

Kurds Are Surging – America Is Not
The Kurds are surging in Iraq again. Kurdish fighters are successfully attacking both the Islamic state and other terrorist factions in Syria and Iraq; as we saw with the Kurdish capture of many Iraqi villages two days ago. The recent Kurdish push in Iraq occurs in spite of Turkey’s President Erdogan and his counterproductive air campaign against Kurdish fighters.  

Minnesota Terror suspect granted class-A truck driving license. Would like to drive school buses
I don’t even really know what to say about this. Is it insane? Yes. Is it further evidence that this country isn’t really interested in dealing with the threat of homegrown radical Islam? Yes. Is it a painfully obvious recipe for disaster? You bet.  

August 28, 2015

Dan Walters: California drought, wildfires aren't the only looming disasters
California has been experiencing a series of moderate earthquakes this month -- coinciding, somewhat eerily, with the first anniversary of a temblor that severely damaged downtown Napa.  

Pew: Orthodox Jews mirror evangelical Christians, vote GOP
In a shift sure to impact American politics, a new study of the growing orthodox Jewish population shows that they are in virtual lockstep with the nation's conservative evangelical Christians, with 57 percent identifying with the Republican Party.  

Christians Debate Whether It’s OK to ‘Act Muslim’ to Save Their Lives
It often happens that during jihadist raids, militants will try to ascertain quickly whether persons they are attacking are Christians or Muslims by asking them questions about Islam or having them recite the Muslim creed in Arabic.  

Federal judge blocks Obama’s water rule
A federal judge in North Dakota acted late Thursday to block the Obama administration’s controversial water pollution rule, hours before it was due to take effect. Judge Ralph Erickson of the District Court for the District of North Dakota found that the 13 states suing to block the rule met the conditions necessary for a preliminary injunction, including that they would likely be harmed if courts didn't act...  

Saudi Arabia sees Mers deaths surge
Saudi Arabia has announced four more deaths from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), bringing the number of deaths in the past week to 17. Health officials admit they are worried by the timing, as the kingdom prepares to welcome around two million Muslims for the Hajj next month. Mers infections have been recorded in countries across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.  

Shanghai shares end week almost 8% lower as markets recover
Chinese shares ended the week almost 8% lower after volatile trading that started on Monday with shock losses and spread fear to global markets. On Friday, the mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite closed up 4.8% at 3,232 points. China's second bourse, the Shenzhen Composite, closed up 5.4% to 1,846 points, but ended the week 9.4% lower.  

Concerns grow over Iran military complex as construction is spotted
Short-term concerns over the nuclear deal reached with Tehran last month center on...a UN inquiry into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s past nuclear work. The difficulty...has become evident in recent days...“At a particular location at the Parchin site, the agency has continued to observe, through satellite imagery, the presence of vehicles, equipment, and probable construction materials,” the report reads.  

The Invaders: A Parable
Pulling into our driveway after a relaxing month-long cruise, my wife Mary yelled, “What…?” Mexican flags, old cars, discarded beer cans, and trash were all over our property.  

Move Over, Megyn Kelly, America is Calling
With America the Beautiful crying out in death throes for rescue from its undeserved ‘Fundamental Transformation’, Fox News seems intent on making the 2016 presidential election all about—Fox News. Move over, Megyn Kelly, America is calling.It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to recognize a conspiracy, and as the Kelly File proved last night, it only takes a single television show.  

The Children of Illegal Immigrants Are Not Born American Citizens
Once again, Donald Trump has managed to open up a robust national discussion about an issue that up to this point had been largely ignored by the political class. This time, the discussion is about so-called “birthright citizenship,” the idea that whenever a foreign national (regardless of legal status and with a very few exceptions) has a child on American soil, this child automatically becomes an American citizen from birth.  

Jewish settlers take over homes in Arab part of Jerusalem
Ultra-nationalist Israelis took over a four-story building in the heart of an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem on Thursday, raising fears of fresh violence in the tense area. A small group of activists from the Ateret Cohanim settler organization moved into the rundown white stone building. It was the latest in a wave of settler advances since nationalist Jews began buying up properties in densely populated Palestinian areas two decades ago.  

TS Erika kills 4 in Dominica; takes aim at Puerto Rico
Rescue crews fanned across Dominica late Thursday to search for missing and injured people after Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people.  

Kim Jong-Un credits nukes not talks for deal with South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said nuclear weapons -- not negotiating skills -- secured what he described as a "landmark" agreement this week with South Korea to end a dangerous military standoff.  

Gen. Paul Vallely: Iran Already Has Nuke, Making Deal 'Moot'
Iran already has a nuclear weapon, making the nuclear deal "a moot point," retired U.S. Army Gen. Paul Vallely told Newsmax TV on Thursday. Decades of intelligence reports show that Tehran has "gotten the support from Russia, from North Korea and from China," Vallely told "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth. "It's a cabal that's been set up to support the Iranian nuclear program.  

What China's Treasury Liquidation Means: $1 Trillion QE In Reverse
Earlier today, Bloomberg - citing the ubiquitous "people familiar with the matter" - confirmed what we’ve been pounding the table on for months; namely that China is liquidating its UST holdings. As we outlined in July, from the first of the year through June, China looked to have sold somewhere around $107 billion worth of US paper. While that might have seemed like a breakneck pace back then, it was nothing compared to what would transpire in the last two weeks of August. Following the devaluation of the yuan, the PBoC found itself in the awkward position of having to intervene openly in the FX market, despite the fact that the new currency regime was supposed to represent a shift towards a more market-determined exchange rate. That intervention has come at a steep cost - around $106 billion according to Soc Gen. In other words, stabilizing the yuan in the wake of the devaluation has resulted in the sale of more than $100 billion in USTs from China’s FX reserves.  

August 27, 2017

Malaysia To Introduce RFID Tracking For Every Vehicle
Here on Techdirt, nationwide tracking schemes tend to raise a red flag. In Malaysia, by contrast, there seem to be no such worries, as ambitious plans to introduce RFID tagging for all vehicles, reported by The Sun Daily, indicate: A new vehicle security tracking system suitable for all types of vehicles -- the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) -- will be implemented nationwide by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) by 2018.  

We Want '50 More Baby Livers a Week,' Says Planned Parenthood Partner Who Jokes About Shipping Severed Heads
another step in the process is to remove the hands and feet from babies' limbs before they send the body parts to academic labs because researchers don't want to know that they're working on aborted babies. Many researches, according to Dyer, leave the field because they cannot ethically and emotionally handle working on aborted babies. 
1,000+ black activists endorse boycott of Israel

More than 1,000 African-Americans have signed a letter reaffirming black solidarity with the plight of Palestinians and endorsing resistance to Israel and its products, known as the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.  

EU envoy warns of more steps against Israeli settlements
John Gatt-Rutter says EU will 'use more tools' to force Israel out of Jewish settlements expansion.  

Iraq: PM facing calls to sever ties with party, declare state of emergency
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi is facing calls to sever his links to the Islamic Da’wa Party. Several Iraqi lawmakers have also called on Abadi to declare a state of emergency in the country and freeze its current constitution. The calls come amid mounting public anger and widespread, weeks-long protests over corruption, sectarianism, and the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group in the country.  

Washington Wildfires the ‘Worst in the State’s History’ as Firefighters Travel from Australia and New Zealand to Help Battle the Blazes
Fires are being started by lightning strikes that ignite the tinder-dry forests, quickly spreading on the wind The wildfires spreading across Washington and Oregon are now officially the worst since records began – with firefighters having to be drafted in from Australia and New Zealand to fight the flames.  

Obama’s Pentagon Declares Journalists To Be ‘Unprivileged Belligerents’ With No Rights
New Defense Department guidelines allow commanders to punish journalists and treat them as “unprivileged belligerents” if they believe journalists are sympathizing or cooperating with the enemy.  

History of Unmistakable Divine Wrath Serves as Warning for Nuclear Deal
We have already seen that natural phenomenon can often be seen as divinely guided. Is it a coincidence that after announcing the nuclear deal Iran was hit with an apocalyptic-like heat wave and, in a separate incident, a meteor? While the heavenly warning are clearer to some than others, a quick look at the timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the accompanying natural disasters makes claims of coincidence lose their credibility.  

Jeb Bush Seeking Jewish Support
Jeb Bush is preparing to reach out the senior Jewish leaders to endorse him for Republican party’s presidential nominee, the Jewish Insider reported.  

Democrat pollster: This 1 issue could kill the party
Obama appears to be on pace to find enough votes to save the Iran nuclear deal, but longtime Democratic pollster and strategist Pat Caddell says the party is at risk of an electoral disaster by propping up a deal the public hates and may well pave the way to a nuclear-armed Iran.  

Catholics Support Gay Marriage as Much as General Population and Believe Pope Francis Has Backed It, PRRI Study Finds
A study by the Public Religion Research Institute released in August on the beliefs of American Catholics has found that despite the Church's teachings, they support same-sex marriage and abortion just as much as the general population. What is more, a large percentage of Catholic respondents mistakenly believed Pope Francis has backed gay marriage.  

Putin: Russia Planning to Build Nuclear Plant in Egypt
Russian President says his country will build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, announces greater economic cooperation with Cairo.  

GEOMAGNETIC STORM, NOW!
A G2-class geomagnetic storm is underway and intensifying on Aug. 27. This is sparking some of the first visible auroras in months around the Arctic Circle. Terror Tensions The results of the firebomb on the border police vehicle The results of the firebomb on the border police vehicle The border poli
Several firebombs were thrown at a border police vehicle in East Jerusalem's A-Tur neighborhood on Wednesday night, mere hours after a convicted killer stabbed a border policeman near Damascus gate in Jerusalem's Old City. One of the firebombs hit the border police jeep, setting the vehicle alight. The policemen in the vehicle managed to free themselves, while the fire began spreading to nearby cars.  

French intelligence fears Islamist 'missile strike on airliner' or 9/11-style attack
French security forces are bracing for the eventuality of civil unrest and fear there could be a missile strike on a passenger airliner or a September 11-style attack, according to sources close to French intelligence. “Airlines have been warned of a possible attack on a plane with an anti-tank missile,” a source told The Telegraph. “But pilots are unsure how to take evasive action.”  

Venezuela’s Food Shortages Trigger Long Lines, Hunger and Looting
Hours after they looted and set fire to a National Guard command post...earlier this month, a mob infuriated by worsening food shortages rammed trucks into the smoldering edifice, reducing it mostly to rubble. The incident was just one of numerous violent clashes that have flared in pockets around the country in recent weeks as Venezuelans wait for hours in long supermarket lines for basics like milk and rice.  

Sydney dam spills as flood clean-up continues
Sydney's giant Warragamba Dam is spilling for the first time since 2013, in the wake of days of heavy rain in the region. Authorities have warned of flooding in low-lying areas near the dam but don't expect any homes to be at risk. Residents south of Sydney are still waiting to return to their flood-affected homes after the wild weather.  

Report: Hamas summons Palestinian factions to discuss terms of ten-year truce with Israel
Amid rumors of backchannel talks...the Palestinian Islamist organization has reportedly summoned other Palestinian factions to Beirut where the details of a long-term truce with Israel will be discussed. According to...newspaper Rai-al-youm, Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas figure, had already met with some of the factions in the Lebanese capital regarding the possibility of a ten-year truce with Israel. 
Israel Air Force targets Hamas munitions operation in Gaza after rocket attack

After a rocket landed in Israel on Thursday, the Israel Air Force responded by attacking a weapons manufacturing target in Gaza, the IDF said. The site belonged to Hamas and was located in the central part of the coastal territory, according to the IDF. The army said that it viewed the "Hamas terror organization as solely responsible for what happens in Gaza."  

US drone strike kills British IS hacker in Syria: sources
A British hacker who US and European officials said became a top cyber expert for Islamic State in Syria has been killed in a US drone strike, a US source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.  

Gunmen in Afghan uniforms kill two US troops in Helmand
Men wearing Afghan military uniforms shot dead two Nato soldiers in the country’s south on Wednesday, the coalition said, the first insider attack on foreign troops since the Taliban’s bitter power transition.  

Why Saudi Arabia Won’t Cut Oil Production
Nine months after OPEC decided to leave its production target unchanged and pursue market share instead of trying to prop up prices, the group is facing a set of complex problems and decisions going forward.  

David Duke: Donald Trump Is Too Zionist for Me
The white supremacist insists he has not endorsed the billionaire ‘either informally or formally’—because while Duke likes Trump’s immigration plans, his support of Israel is a problem.  

Saudi arrested in 1996 bombing that killed 19 Americans
A man described as the mastermind of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 American servicemen in Saudi Arabia has been captured, a U.S. and a Saudi official said Wednesday, ending a nearly two-decade manhunt for one of the FBI's most-wanted terrorists.  

Hungary scrambles to confront migrant influx, Merkel heckled
Hungary made plans on Wednesday to reinforce its southern border with helicopters, mounted police and dogs, and was also considering using the army as record numbers of migrants, many of them Syrian refugees, passed through coils of razor-wire into Europe.  

Venezuela Is Adding More Zeroes to Its Currency to Deal With Hyperinflation
Venezuela is preparing to issue bank notes in higher denominations next year as rampant inflation reduces the value of a 100-bolivar bill to just 14 cents on the black market. The new notes -- of 500 and possibly 1,000 bolivars -- are expected to be released sometime after congressional elections are held on Dec. 6, said a senior government official who isn’t authorized to talk about the plans publicly.  

August 26, 2015

Palestinian President Constructing $13 Million Palace
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is constructing a $13 million palace in the West Bank, despite the country being crippled by financial woes. The project, titled the Presidential Guest Palace in Surda, Ramallah, is listed as an ongoing project on the official website of the Palestinian Economic Council for Development & Reconstruction (PECDAR). It is due to take two years to complete, though the project's start date is not clear from the website.  

Message From the Next World Comes to Israeli Mystical Rabbi, Warns of Imminent War
“We’re getting close to the big day of Moshiach. Before that happens, Hashem wants us to do teshuva. We have to be ready and prepared,” pleaded Nachman. “When we do real teshuva, Hashem will fight for us. Nachman said that in the past, Jewish leaders such as Moses and King David knew about decrees against the Jewish people before they happened. These great leaders took it upon themselves to repent first, but the leaders of today are telling others to repent without doing it themselves.  

‘Israel should be annihilated,’ senior Iran aide says
Ssenior Iranian official on Tuesday said Israel “should be annihilated,” and that the thawing relations with the West would not translate into a shift in Tehran’s position concerning the Jewish state.  

Venezuela’s Food Shortages Trigger Long Lines, Hunger and Looting
Hours after they looted and set fire to a National Guard command post in this sun-baked corner of Venezuela earlier this month, a mob infuriated by worsening food shortages rammed trucks into the smoldering edifice, reducing it mostly to rubble.  

Drought-plagued California readies for El Nino storms
While drought-plagued California is eager for rain, the forecast of a potentially Godzilla-like El Nino event has communities clearing out debris basins, urging residents to stock up on emergency supplies and even talking about how a deluge could affect the 50th Super Bowl.  

Obama Threw Clinton 'Under the Bus' With Biden Endorsement
Obama was "clearly stabbing Hillary in the back" when he expressed support Monday for Vice President Joe Biden running for the Democratic nomination, political strategist Dick Morris told Newsmax TV on Tuesday. "To whatever is left of her candidacy, Obama is stabbing her in the back. "What I'm saying is that all of Hillary's problems to date are self-inflicted wounds," Morris added. "This one's not."  

If Assad Falls, West Will Be Unable to Defeat ISIL –French Politician
French politician Nicolas Dupont-Aignan noted that the West's "ill-conceived neo-colonial policy" of overthrowing secular governments in the Middle East was to blame for the disaster presently being faced by the region and by Europe, adding that if the Syrian government falls, ISIL's positions will become unassailable.  

US may have inflated gains against Islamic State, auditor says
The inspector general probe began after at least one civilian analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency said he had evidence that US Central Command officials were reworking intelligence report conclusions prepared for US President Barack Obama and other policymakers.  

Ex-Obama aides: US should give Israel bunker-buster bombs to prevent Iran from getting nukes
The Iran nuclear deal would be far more effective if the United States provided Israel with weapons capable of destroying the Islamic Republic's atomic facilities, two former high-level officials in the Obama administration wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post on Wednesday.  

Vatican and Palestinian Authority Clash over Flag-Raising at UN
The Palestinian Authority is trying to pull a fast one on the Vatican by sponsoring a motion in the United Nations to allow the flags of two non-member states, itself and the Vatican, to wave at the headquarters in New York.  

Assad 'Confident' of Russia's Support
Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad expressed "strong confidence" Tuesday that Russia will continue supporting his embattled regime, speaking in an interview with Hezbollah's Al-Manar television network and quoted by AFP. Assad also described as "legitimate" the presence in Syria of fighters from Hezbollah backing his forces.  

Rabbis to March on DC Sept 9 + Expanded Demo Plan!
The Orthodox Union and the Rabbinical Council of America are sponsoring a massive Rabbinical March on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to demand that Congress vote down the suicidal agreement with Iran. The march is set for September 9th, just 4 days before Rosh HaShana, which is also marks the deadline for Congress to vote on the deal.  

Japan Earthquake Today 2015 Strikes East of Tsuma
USGS indicates to news that a 5.3 magnitude Japan earthquake today started just after 3:51 pm PST. The quake was shallow. Reps tell news that the quake was 19.9 miles below ground level. As a result the quake could be felt across the quake.  

Prophecy Fulfilled: N. American Jews Return to Israel
"Only think for a moment about your fathers, your grandfathers, your great grandfathers, all those generations of your families who were dreaming and praying next year in Jerusalem and you did it," Sharansky told the new arrivals.  

CORONAL HOLE
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is monitoring a hole in the sun's atmosphere--a "coronal hole." Coronal holes are places where the sun's magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape. 
U.S. plans more Asia-Pacific drills to counter China reclamation

The United States plans to increase the number of military and humanitarian drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of a new strategy to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said on Wednesday. ...China claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.  

CBO report forecasts unsustainable debt in long term
The economy is sluggish but growing and inflation remains low, painting a decidedly mixed picture for the federal government, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday, saying the fiscal situation is improving this year but will snap back by 2018 to swelling deficits and unsustainable debt.  

US reports unusual spike in human plague cases
An unusually high number of cases of human plague have been recorded by US health authorities since April -- 11 in all, with three of them fatal, officials said Tuesday. "It is unclear why the number of cases in 2015 is higher than usual," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC said that having 11 cases in just the past four months is unusual.  

Dozens rescued as wild weather lashes NSW south coast
Hundreds of residents south of Sydney have been forced to flee their homes and evacuate from schools because of rising floodwaters. Nearly 70 people have been rescued since the severe weather first lashed Sydney's southern suburbs on Monday. More than 1,400 calls for help were made to the State Emergency Service (SES).  

China market slump: Shares end lower despite rate cut
Chinese shares have closed lower despite a fresh rate cut by the central bank. The mainland's benchmark Shanghai Composite fell 1.27% to 2,927.29, after veering in and out of negative territory. It had fallen about 16% this week, rocking global markets. 
May the force be with you? Turkey fears rise of religion of 'Jediism'

A Turkish theologian believes...newest threat...may be a brand new religion - "Jediism." ... warning of the rise of a Jedi movement among Christians. "Jediism...is spreading today in Christian societies," Bilal Yorulmaz, an assistant professor at Marmara University..."Around 70,000 people in Australia and 390,000 people in England currently define themselves as Jedis."  

France train suspect watched jihadi video, prosecutor says
Minutes before he slung an assault rifle across his chest and walked through a high-speed train, the Moroccan suspect in the foiled attack watched a jihadi video on his cellphone, the French prosecutor said in formally opening a terrorism investigation Tuesday.  

Dry, windy conditions challenge Washington state firefighters
A return of hot, dry winds hampered ground crews fighting the largest cluster of wildfires on record in Washington state on Tuesday, one of more than five dozen major conflagrations raging across the drought-stricken American West.  

'The wave has reached us:' EU gropes for answers to migrant surge
A surge in migrants, many of them refugees from Syria, hit Hungary's southern border on Tuesday, passing through gaps in an unfinished barrier to a Europe groping for answers to its worst refugee crisis since World War Two.  

Girl suicide bomber kills 5, injures 41 in northeast Nigeria
Two suicide bombers carried out separate attacks Tuesday that killed five people in Damaturu, a town in northeastern Nigeria, police and witnesses said.  

Toll of Syrian air strikes near Damascus rises to 247 in 10 days: monitor
Syrian government air strikes on areas east of Damascus have killed 247 people in the last 10 days, including 50 children, and wounded 1,000 more people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.  

Hezbollah throws weight behind protests, deepening crisis
The powerful Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah threw its weight Tuesday behind mass protests calling for the government's resignation, deepening a crisis that started over piles of uncollected garbage in the streets of the capital but has tapped into a much deeper malaise.  

August 25, 2015

3.5-magnitude earthquake shakes West TN
According to United States Geological Survey, a 3.47-magnitude earthquake happened near Covington, Tennessee. Initially, USGS reported the earthquake as a 3.4, but then rounded that number up to 3.5. WMC Action News 5 viewers reported feeling the earthquake all over western Tennessee and in parts of eastern Arkansas.  

Economist survey says outlook dim for US economy, wages and hiring
Growth would pick up in six months, or in a year. That was then. The latest Associated Press survey of leading economists shows that most now foresee a weaker expansion than they had earlier. A majority of the nearly three dozen who responded to the survey predict tepid economic growth, weak pay gains and modest hiring for the next two years at least.  

Liberal Lunacy: People Who Steal from Wal-Mart Should not be Arrested
You never know what is going to come out of the mouth of a liberal college administrator. Just when you think you've heard it all, some left-wing nut says something even stranger. The latest example comes in the form of a panel discussion in which one participant said that "police should stop prosecuting individuals who shoplift from Wal-Mart and Target."  

Tracking Tropical Storm Erika
Tropical Storm Erika is the newest storm to form in the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane season, and now that Danny has dissipated, it's the only storm we're tracking for a potential threat to the US.  

Typhoon Goni Cuts Path Through Japan’s Kyushu; Injuries Reported
Goni, which had been the strength of a category 3 hurricane, came ashore in Kumamoto prefecture about 6 a.m. The storm cut a path through Kyushu and re-entered the sea near Shimonoseki, where 280,000 people in surrounding Yamaguchi prefecture were advised to evacuate due to concern over landslides, public broadcaster NHK said.  

STILL WAITING FOR CMEs
A pair of CMEs expected to reach Earth on Aug. 24th did not arrive on time. This means they are slower and less potent than previously thought.  

What’s Missing from Codex Sinaiticus, the Oldest New Testament?
The text of Codex Sinaiticus differs in numerous instances from that of the authorized version of the Bible in use during Tischendorf’s time. For example, the resurrection narrative at the end of Mark (16:9–20) is absent from the Codex Sinaiticus. So is the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen”  

No Arab Women and Children Hecklers Allowed on Temple Mount
Arab women and children who have spent more than a week harassing Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount were barred from entering the site this morning (Tuesday, August 25) by security forces.  

California sinking faster than thought, aquifers could permanently shrink
Some areas of the Golden State are sinking more than 2 inches per month, the imagery reveals. Though the sinking, called subsidence, has long been a problem in California, the rate is accelerating because the state's extreme drought is fueling voracious groundwater pumping. "Because of increased pumping, groundwater levels are reaching record lows — up to 100 feet (30 meters) lower than previous records  

Rivlin: Israel has 'right' to settle in West Bank
President Reuven Rivlin said during talks with settler leaders on Monday that Israel had a "right" to build settlements in the West Bank, his office said in a statement.  

Global stocks, oil, dollar extend gains after China cuts rates
Shares, oil and core bond yields extended gains in midsession European trade on Tuesday as a tentative market rebound picked up pace after China cut interest rates and banks' reserve requirements to kick-start its wavering economy.  

We have reason to believe the unthinkable is happening to China's president
The one thing the West has taken for granted in China is that the Chinese Communist Party is unified behind its leadership. But now, under the pressure of an economic slowdown and a stock market in free fall, we are likely seeing the CCP fracture in a way we've never seen before. It seems some factions within the party are turning away from President Xi Jinping behind closed doors and at high-level retreats. This is what we know. 

Russia 'sends more troops to eastern Ukraine' as leaders get together for crisis summit
Fears of a return to all out warfare continue to mount in Ukraine after Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, accused Russia of sending fresh troops and equipment into the eastern part of the country. The comments come ahead of a summit on the crisis between Mr Poroshenko, Angela Merkel, and Francois Hollande in Berlin, where the three leaders are expected to discuss how to keep a peace agreement...from falling apart.  

800 potential Isil terrorists back in Europe 'prepared to do anything'
Around 800 potential terrorists "prepared to do anything" have returned to Europe after fighting or training with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)... Those returning are believed to have been trained in terrorist camps in Syria and Iraq, Spanish anti-terrorism forces told their European colleagues following the attack on the Amsterdam-Paris train on Friday by Ayoub El-Khazzani.  

Child Of Islamic State Fighter Beheads Stuffed Animals in Training
Islamic State (IS) supporters online have been exchanging a new video that depicts the small child of an alleged jihadi fighter beheading a stuffed animal... The video is being hailed by IS’s online supporters as proof that the next generation of jihadis are being trained to continue the terrorist group’s violent march across Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. 
‘Flakka,’ the new killer drug, is spreading across the country

Known on the street as “flakka,” the synthetic concoction is hitting hard in Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and other parts of the country. It’s causing a rash of emergency room visits and overdose deaths. In one highly publicized Florida case, a man reportedly high on flakka gnawed on and disfigured another man’s face before he was shot to death by police.  

Duke students boycott 'pornographic' reading assignment
A group of students at Duke University have refused to read a book assigned to all new students, saying the graphic novel's depictions of sexuality "compromised" their religious beliefs. Fun Home was selected as "shared experience" reading for the Class of 2019 at the North Carolina university. The novel is an autobiography of Alison Bechdel, a lesbian, whose father was a closeted gay man.  

Carbon credits undercut climate change actions says report
The vast majority of carbon credits generated by Russia and Ukraine did not represent cuts in emissions, according to a new study. The authors say that offsets created under a UN scheme "significantly undermined" efforts to tackle climate change. The credits may have increased emissions by 600 million tonnes.  

Spain and Morocco make 'Islamic State' arrests
Spain and Morocco have arrested 14 people in a joint operation targeting suspected recruiters for the so-called Islamic State (IS) group. The arrests were made in suburbs of Madrid and in various Moroccan cities. Those arrested are suspected of involvement in a network to send fighters to areas of Syria and Iraq under IS control.  

Zahar: Hamas not near a truce with Israel, should focus on taking over the West Bank
Hamas is currently focusing its energy's on taking power in the West Bank, a senior official in the organization said Monday. Mahmoud Zahar told Hamas's Al Aksa TV that the organization should build on its successes in legislative and municipal elections in the West Bank and move to consolidate its power.  

North, South Korea reach agreement to ease tensions
North and South Korea reached agreement early on Tuesday to end a standoff involving an exchange of artillery fire that had pushed the divided peninsula into a state of heightened military tension.  

Ukraine faces risky year fighting to escape Russian orbit: Poroshenko
President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday Ukraine was facing a precarious year struggling to fend off what he called Russian strategies to undermine Kiev's drive for closer relations with Europe.  

Asian shares bounce off three-year lows while China's suffering goes on
Volatile global markets showed signs of a respite from the recent blood-letting on Tuesday, as bargain hunters helped Asian stocks off three-year lows hit on fears that China's economy was risking a hard landing, with Chinese shares losing another 5 percent.  

Ring of Fire
The West is burning in more ways than one.Stationed in eastern Oregon, we are circled by wildfires to the point that the few access roads teeter on the edge of closure, smoke haze hangs low in the sky and floating ash stings eyes and hampers breath.  

Iran: from “roll-back” to “roll-on”
1. “Why does Iran – which has the world’s 4th largest proven oil reserves and the world’s 2nd largest proven natural gas reserves – need nuclear power for domestic energy?.... if Iran is to acquire a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it….  

Denver City Council halts Chick-fil-A’s airport operation because its owners believe the Bible
Forcing you to bake a gay wedding cake is just the start. The gay marriage fascists are pretty resourceful when it comes to using the power of government to enforce their orthodoxy. And by the way, this is one of the less-discussed problems with the perpetual expansion of government into everything.  

August 24, 2015

Stocks attempt comeback: Dow cuts losses after falling 1,089
In afternoon trading, the Dow climbed back from the early morning plunge and was down 280 points, or 1.7%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped as much as 100 points as it dipped into correction territory — which is defined as a drop of 10% or more — before cutting its losses to about 35 points, or a drop of 1.9%.  

Harbinger man: The time is now to prepare
“We have been deluged with people calling, emailing, asking questions from all over the country, wanting to know what’s happening. So we decided to put out a video,” Cahn told WND via email.  

Turkey’s Erdogan expected to call new elections
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected on Monday to formally call new elections for November 1 and re-appoint Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form an interim administration, a day after the deadline passed for establishing a government following Turkey’s inconclusive election in June.  

The ‘insiders’ are freaking out about Trump, and that’s too bad
What the insiders don’t get is that Trump’s bombastic style, and occasionally over-the-top pronouncements, tap into a rejection of the whole failed, gridlocked, special-interest-driven system. And that’s in part why his street talk is important.   
The Big List Of 33 Things That Are Going To Happen In September 2015
Is September 2015 going to be a month that changes history? For months, there has been an unprecedented amount of buzz all over the Internet about what is going to happen in September. And without a doubt, we are going to witness a convergence of events during that month that is quite remarkable.  

80 percent chance of cyclone near Windward islands
A low pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Africa and the Windward Islands, has an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday.  

‘Jihadi John’ Vows to Return to Britain and ‘Cut off Heads’
The Islamic State’s (ISIS) infamous beheader Mohammed “Jihadi John” Emwazi said on a video that he will return to his native Britain to “carry on cutting heads off,” the London Daily Mail reported Sunday.  

Security Minister Wants to Outlaw Temple Mount Rioters
If the defense minister signs a declaration to this effect, security forces will have a freer hand against the rioters. Erdan has been carrying out behind-the-scenes staff work in the past few weeks, together with police, the Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet), the State Attorney's Office and even the Attorney General, who has agreed to help advance the declaration.  

Great fall of China sinks world stocks, dollar tumbles
Alarm bells rang across world markets on Monday as a near 9 percent dive in China shares and a sharp drop in the dollar and major commodities panicked investors.  

Weakening Danny to Bring Beneficial Rain to Caribbean
With Danny weakening and still approaching the northern Caribbean Islands, it may be just what the doctor ordered for the drought-stricken region.  

POTENT SUNSPOT FACES EARTH
Sunspot AR2403 has a 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field that harbors energy for strong solar flares. Moreover, the behemoth sunspot is directly facing Earth.  

Islamic State accused of using mustard gas in the battle around Aleppo in Syria
Militants from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) have been accused of using mustard gas in the battle around Syria’s shattered second city of Aleppo. Doctors working in Marea...said they had treated more than 30 patients with suppurating blisters in the wake of Isil shelling. The jihadist militants have launched a series of small-scale chemical attacks on Kurdish forces in Iraq in recent weeks...  

Cruz’s evangelical outreach shifts into high gear
Sen. Ted Cruz, who has assiduously courted evangelicals throughout his presidential run, will take a lead role in the launch this week of an ambitious 50-state campaign to end taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood... More than 100,000 pastors received e-mail invitations...to participate in conference calls with Cruz on Tuesday in which they will learn details of the plan to mobilize churchgoers in every congressional district beginning Aug. 30.  

Global shares plunge as Chinese losses rattle markets
Stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt have fallen sharply as fears of a Chinese economic slowdown continue to haunt investors. London's FTSE 100 index was down by 2.6% in morning trade, while major markets in France and Germany lost nearly 3%. Shares in Asia were hit overnight, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing down 8.5%, its worst close since 2007.  

South Africa rand hits all-time low against the dollar
South Africa's currency has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar. It briefly hit a rate of 14 rand to the dollar amid concerns about the strength of the Chinese economy, reports the Reuters news agency. Economies that rely on the sale of commodities - such as South Africa's - have been hit by the slowdown in growth in China, a major source of demand.  

Tel Aviv share prices fall steeply after Shanghai shock
Stock prices were falling again on Monday morning on the Tel Aviv Stock exchange. After losing 4.1% on Tuesday, the Tel Aviv 25 Index is currently down a further 3.33%... In an attempt to calm the markets...the Chinese government announced yesterday that for the first time it would allow local pension funds to invest in the stock market.  

With many Ebola survivors ailing, doctors evaluate situation
Lingering health problems afflicting many of the roughly 13,000 Ebola survivors have galvanized global and local health officials to find out how widespread the ailments are, and how to remedy them.  

Chinese shares drop in dramatic free-fall
Chinese shares continued their sharp fall on Monday as concerns over the country's slowing growth and volatile markets sparked panic among traders. The mainland benchmark index, the Shanghai Composite, fell sharply by 8.4% to 3,211.75 points, extending last week's sharp losses.  

IS blows up temple in Syria's Palmyra: antiquities chief
Islamic State militants on Sunday blew up the ancient temple of Baal Shamin in the UNESCO-listed Syrian city of Palmyra, an official said, the latest in a series of cultural relics to be destroyed by the jihadist group.  

Too soon for 'illogical' U.S. to return to Tehran: Iran
Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday it was too early to talk of reopening the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, as Britain restored its diplomatic mission four years after protesters ransacked the British ambassador's residence.  

As North, South Korea hold marathon crisis talks, Seoul talks tough
South Korean President Park Geun-hye talked tough on Monday, demanding that North Korea apologize over a recent landmine incident, even as the bitter rivals held marathon negotiations in a bid to defuse tensions that have brought the peninsula to the brink of armed conflict.  

Blast rips through building at US military depot in Japan
A blast ripped through a warehouse at a US military post near Tokyo early Monday, according to Japanese officials and the Pentagon, triggering a fire, but no injuries had been reported.  

August 23, 2015

Fresh Earthquake of Magnitude 5.1 Hits Nepal; Tremors Felt in Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim
Tremors were felt in several parts of India after an earthquake hit Nepal on Sunday. The fresh quake struck 89 km east of Kathmandu. According to The National Seismological Centre in Kathmandu, the quake, measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale with the epicentre at Dolakha was recorded at 2.47 pm (local time).  

Denying the Israel-basher — kudos to Oprah and other principled stars
For years, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has worked to make Israel an international pariah. Happily, it’s started seeing some serious pushback.  

ISIS’s Dead-Serious Obsession With The Apocalypse
ISIS has an intense interest in the apocalypse. Its propaganda references it constantly, and the group has even conquered a town that only really made sense to target in light of prophecy. The idea that ISIS’s actions are literally helping bring on the end times is central to the group’s unique, and disturbing, ideology.  

Upcoming Jewish Holidays Begins Period of Cataclysmic Events for Israel
The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, will begin on the evening of September 13 and end after sunset on September 15. According to Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashana is the day that God begins the process of judging the entire world. As the second and final day of the holiday of Rosh Hashana ends on September 15, the 70th United Nations General Assembly will commence. The issue of the creation of a Palestinian state is expected to be decided by world representatives during the General Assembly.  

Catholic monastery in Syria 'destroyed by Isil bulldozers'
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants have destroyed a historic monastery seized in their latest advance across central Syria. Photographs appeared online of fighters from Isil with bulldozers at the Mar Elian monastery in Al-Qaryatain, in Homs province.  

Stock markets in the Middle East fall sharply
Stock markets in the Middle East have fallen sharply after a difficult week for all major global share indexes. The Dubai Financial Market fell almost 7%, while the Saudi exchange was down 4% after Fitch ratings agency cut its outlook for the country. Last week, the Dow Jones in the US fell 6%, while the UK's FTSE 100 posted its biggest weekly loss this year of 5%.  

India-Pakistan talks cancelled amid recriminations
Planned high-level talks between India and Pakistan have been cancelled hours before they were due to start on Sunday, amid mutual recriminations. Pakistan said that it could not accept India's "preconditions" for the talks, while India denied that it was to blame. Delhi said that it was only willing to discuss "terrorism-related issues" at the talks and nothing else. 
Britain to reopen embassy in Iran after 4 years
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said he would reopen the UK's embassy in Iran on Sunday, four years on since it was trashed by a mob, as Tehran's ties warm with the West.  

Abbas quits PLO leadership ahead of internal election: official
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas resigned Saturday as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Executive Committee in a bid to force new elections for the top body, an official said. Wassel Abu Yussef said that more than half of the 18-member committee had also stepped down.  

One of Pacific's twin typhoons kills 10 in Philippines
One of the twin typhoons in the Pacific has claimed its first casualties, killing 10 people in the Philippines and forcing the evacuation of almost 13,000 people, authorities said Saturday.  

Police fear Bangkok bombing suspect may have fled
Despite new surveillance video that may offer a possible clue to the bombing in central Bangkok that killed 20 people, Thai police said Sunday the perpetrators may have already fled the country.  

Why It Really All Comes Down To The Death Of The Petrodollar
In short, the world seems to have underestimated how structurally important collapsing crude prices are to global finance. For years, producers funnelled their dollar proceeds into USD assets providing a perpetual source of liquidity, boosting the financial strength of the reserve currency, leading to even higher asset prices and even more USD-denominated purchases, and so forth, in a virtuous (especially if one held US-denominated assets and printed US currency) loop. That all came to an abrupt, if quiet end last year when a confluence of economic (e.g. shale production) and geopolitical (e.g. squeeze the Russians) factors led the Saudis to, as we put it, Plaxico'd themselves and the US.  

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood chief gets new life term
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, who has been sentenced to death, was handed another life term in prison Saturday for an attack on a police station.  

Greek opposition leaders weigh coalition despite crises, poll pressure
Greek opposition politicians embarked on Saturday on the laborious and apparently futile exercise of trying to form a new government, oblivious to pressure for rapid elections so the nation can start tackling an array of crises.  

Israel wanted to attack Iran's nuclear facilities in 2010, 2011 and 2012, but backed away
Israel's political leaders pushed to attack Iran at least three times in the past few years but had to back down on the advice of the military and due to concerns about its ally the United States, former defense minister Ehud Barak said.  

Light earthquake 4.9 mag, 69 km ESE of Le Vauclin, Martinique
A tsunami warning has not been issued (Does not indicate if a tsunami actually did or will exist). The 4.9-magnitude earthquake has occurred at 09:03:10 / 9:03 am (local time epicenter). The earthquake occurred at a depth of 74.84 km (47 miles) below the earth’s surface.  

Light earthquake 4.9 mag, 69 km ESE of Le Vauclin, Martinique
A tsunami warning has not been issued (Does not indicate if a tsunami actually did or will exist). The 4.9-magnitude earthquake has occurred at 09:03:10 / 9:03 am (local time epicenter). The earthquake occurred at a depth of 74.84 km (47 miles) below the earth’s surface.