October 17, 2015

Blood and black magic...where followers become 'possessed'
...Rituals involving animal sacrifices and its associations with skeletons and possession have given it a sinister reputation. But New York photographer Les Stone sees it as a fascinating practice... He describes voodoo as 'a huge package of physical sensory overload' and his pictures...capture the intoxicating energy of the ceremonies he attended.  

'Convert or die' ISIS graffiti jihadis declare first European 'caliphate'
The terror group's logo was daubed on the wall of a restaurant in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chilling messages such as "convert or die" and "the caliphate is here" were also found covering the outside of Markus Samuelsson's bakery. "I felt a sudden chill down my spine. It’s terribly painful, we feel threatened," Samuelsson said.  

Russia may fire missiles at Syria militants from Mediterranean, says official
Russia may use its ships in the Mediterranean Sea to fire missiles at Islamic State militants in Syria, a senior Russian military officer told a newspaper on Friday. ...When asked if it might launch...attacks from the Mediterranean if necessary, Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov told the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily: "Without doubt."  

Scientists Claim Zapping Brains with Magnets Can Treat Belief in God
Attitudes toward God...an experiment which “claims to be able to make Christians no longer believe in God...“Using a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation” researchers can “safely shut down certain groups of neurones” in the brain. ...Volunteers were coaxed into having their brains zapped by giant magnets...“Belief in God was reduced almost by a third...”  

Migrant crisis: Slovenia braces after Hungary border closure
Migrants have begun arriving in Slovenia by bus from Croatia, after Hungary shut its border with Croatia to try to stem the numbers arriving en route to western Europe. Hungary closed its frontier, reinforced with a razor-wire fence, at midnight local on Friday. Many of the migrants aim to continue north to Austria and Germany.  

Philippines on alert as Typhoon Koppu nears
The Philippines is preparing for a typhoon that is forecast to dump heavy rain and cause severe flooding when it arrives at the weekend. On Friday President Benigno Aquino warned people living in the path of Typhoon Koppu to be ready to evacuate. In a TV address, he said the storm could bring up to 12 hours' torrential rain and cause severe flooding.  

Reporting from Jerusalem: The astonishing bias of NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin
NBC News foreign correspondent and Palestinian-American Ayman Mohyeldin reported from Jerusalem this week as a Palestinian man dressed in camouflage raced past his camera wielding a knife. The dramatic incident, unfolding in front of the NBC News crew, began when the man began running from and toward Israeli police after rushing past a security checkpoint.  

Israel says will not accept international presence in east Jerusalem
Israel on Friday rejected Palestinian calls for a protection force to be deployed in east Jerusalem to quell violence around the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque.  

Islamic State gunman kills five at Shi'ite center in Saudi Arabia
A gunman shot and killed five people in an attack on a Shi'ite Muslim meeting hall in Saudi Arabia on Friday before being shot dead by police, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said, in an attack claimed by Islamic State.  

Turkey downs drone as Syria launches Aleppo offensive
Turkey shot down a drone on Friday in an incident highlighting the dangers of multiple air combat operations over Syria, where government troops and their allies backed by Russian jets have launched an offensive against rebels near Aleppo.  

Greece's Tsipras win austerity vote after snap poll
Greece's parliament has approved a new round of austerity measures — the first major test for leftwing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras after snap general elections last month, triggered by dissent over Greece's latest bailout deal.  

Obama cancels Arctic drilling lease sales
The Obama administration took a number of actions Friday to restrict future offshore drilling in the Arctic Ocean. The Interior Department is canceling two lease sales it had planned over the next year and a half for Arctic drilling rights and denying two oil companies’ requests to extend the time on leases that they currently hold.  

Is This the End of Boko Haram?
From 2014 through the February/March Nigerian military surge, Boko Haram was using advanced weapons systems and tactics to conquer and hold territory in northeastern Nigeria. At one point the insurgent group had control of a territory about the size of Belgium. This has changed.  

October 16, 2015

Fiscal Conservative Scott Walker Spent Like a Drunken Sailor, Put Kids on Payroll
As the saying goes, campaigns don’t end, they just run out of money. Scott Walker’s two-month presidential fling proved this maxim in spectacular fashion, as his third quarter finance filing screams a lack of fiscal probity.  

SHOCK CLAIM: World is on brink of 50 year ICE AGE and BRITAIN will bear the brunt
Crippling blizzards, snowstorms and sub-zero temperatures threaten a yearly dose of Arctic misery for the next FIFTY YEARS at least - and possibly decades more. Climate experts warn a rare pattern of water cooling in the north Atlantic will trigger a chain reaction of events leading to a “fully-blown ice age”.  

Fears grow over increased antibiotic resistance
More than 6,000 deaths a year could be caused by a 30% fall in the effectiveness of antibiotics in the US, a report in The Lancet suggests. It said most of the extra deaths would happen in patients having colorectal surgery, blood cancer chemotherapy and hip replacements. UK experts said the study confirmed their fears that antibiotic resistance would affect routine surgery.  

Palestinians set fire to Joseph's Tomb Jewish holy site
Palestinians have torched a Jewish holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus, amid soaring tensions with Israel. Rioters set fire to a tomb which Jews revere as that of the biblical figure Joseph. Firefighters put out the blaze but the site was badly damaged. It came hours after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinian leadership to stop a wave of attacks.  

China suggests joint South China Sea drills with Asean
China has proposed joint maritime drills with South East Asian nations in the hotly contested South China Sea in 2016. Beijing is currently hosting an informal meeting for defence ministers from the region. China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan has suggested drills for "maritime rescues and disaster relief".  

Nigeria blasts: Dozens dead as Maiduguri mosque targeted
At least 39 people have died after multiple explosions in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, an emergency official says. Three female suicide bombers, thought to be aged between 11 and 15, struck on Friday morning, an official with the National Emergency Management Agency told BBC Hausa. It follows bomb attacks on a mosque on Thursday, which killed at least 32.  

UN Security Council to meet on Israeli-Palestinian violence
The United Nations Security Council will hold a special meeting on Friday to discuss the recent spate of violence between Israel and the Palestinians in which 39 people have been killed over the past two weeks. The meeting, which diplomats said was called at the request of council member Jordan, will include a briefing from the UN secretariat on the situation on the ground and will take place at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), the United Nations said on Thursday.  

Hamas call for 'day of rage' Friday
Hamas has called for "Friday confrontations" with IDF forces in the West Bank and along the Gaza border with Israel as part of a Palestinian "day of rage." Security forces were bracing for possible outbursts of violence after Thursday passed with a rare day of relative calm amid two weeks of nearly daily attacks.  

Scientists claim they can change your belief on immigrants and God – with MAGNETS
A bizarre experiment claims to be able to make Christians no longer believe in God and make Britons open their arms to migrants in experiments some may find a threat to their values. Scientists looked at how the brain resolves abstract ideological problems.  

Turkey's worst terror attack ever 'was a disaster waiting to happen'
Two suicide bombers who killed over 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara last weekend — the worst terror attack ever on Turkish soil — were on security officials' radar long before they carried out their attack.  

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey's rapid decline after being 'cured' leaves experts staggered
A British nurse who was apparently cured of Ebola earlier this year is now in a critical condition, doctors have said, with experts expressing astonishment at the deterioration of her condition.  

Teenager becomes a focus in Israel-Palestinian conflict
The fate of a Palestinian boy seized center stage Thursday in the battle of narratives accompanying the recent burst of deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ignited an uproar in Israel after falsely claiming in a televised speech that Israelis had "summarily executed" Ahmed Manasra, when the 13-year-old actually was recovering at an Israeli hospital after he stabbed two Israelis, including a boy his own age.  

Scottish prosecutors: 2 Libyans are Lockerbie bomb suspects
A quarter-century after one of the worst terror attacks in British history, prosecutors say they have identified two new Libyan suspects in the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, and want U.S. and Scottish investigators to interview them in Tripoli.  

Oakland Gospel Choir Draws Nuisance Complaint, Faces $500 A Day Fine
Those who love Gospel music refer to it as “joyful noise” and it is anything but quiet. “The music of the church reveals the life of the church, the enthusiasm of the church,” said Michael Wright, pastor at Solid Rock Baptist Church. But the City of Oakland has a different description of it, they’re calling it a “nuisance.” Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in West Oakland recently received a letter from the city threatening a $3,500 nuisance fee and a $500 a day fine unless it toned down its choir practice.  

October 15, 2015

New Anti-Terror Guidelines for Police: Shoot Them Now, Talk Later
“Shoot now and negotiate later” is the new directive for police when confronting terrorists in a closed place, such as a bus or building, Haaretz reported Thursday. The new guidelines change the tactic whereby a negotiating team would arrive before a SWAT team could do what it came to do and eliminate any threat of terror by killing the terrorist.  

Indiana top cop to Obama: I won't register guns
Sheriff Brad Rogers, the top-ranking law enforcement official for Elkhart County, Indiana, said during a panel appearance on WNIT’s “Politically Speaking” segment, that he wouldn’t abide government orders to register weapons from private citizens within his jurisdiction, no matter what President Obama presses. And he went on, saying citizens should always resist the idea of registrations for firearms.  

DARPA developing vehicles that can literally disappear
One of the big challenges when fighting a battle is all the equipment left behind that could end up in the hands of an enemy. Well, DARPA, a research agency of the Department of Defense, may have come up with a solution. It is testing out a flock of small, single-use, unpowered vehicles delivering critical supplies like food or medicine that literally disappear after being dropped from an aircraft.

Syrian army and Russian jets target rebel towns north of Homs
The offensive that began before dawn expands on over a week of ground attacks launched with Russian air support in areas of western Syria that are crucial to Assad's survival and held by rebel groups other than Islamic State.  

Islam Plans to Destroy Israel by 2022
There is a date recurring obsessively in the proclamations of the leaders of the Arab-Islamic world: 2022. It is the year that they have reserved for the end of Israel. “By 2022, possibly earlier, Israel will be destroyed” has just said Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi of Iran’s Supreme Council for the Revolution, the right arm of Khamenei.  

Hubble's planetary portrait captures changes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot
Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter that show the continuing changes in its famous Great Red Spot. The images also reveal a rare wave structure in the planet's atmosphere that has not been seen for decades.  

DOJ Creates New Position to Tackle Domestic Terror Threat
The new lawyer, who the DOJ declined to name, will assist the department in identifying trends “to help shape our strategy, and to analyze legal gaps or enhancements required to ensure we can combat these threats.”  

Swarm of small quakes rattles San Ramon area
San Ramon has had more than 20 small earthquakes in the past 20 hours, which is quite the coincidence because Thursday is the Great California Shakeout, a day to bring attention to earthquake preparedness. The quakes keep shaking the East Bay city. The latest was a 2.6 magnitude quake at 3:44 p.m. The biggest Wednesday just a bit over magnitude 3.0. Residents said they felt the largest quake, a magnitude 3.2, among a swarm of at least 20 little ones.  

China economic growth seen slowing despite policy easing
China's economic growth is expected to slow to 6.5 percent in 2016 from an expected 6.8 percent in 2015, even as the central bank eases policy further to ward off a sharper slowdown, a Reuters poll showed. A 25-basis-point reduction in benchmark interest rates and another 50 basis points of cuts in banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) are expected by year-end, analysts surveyed by Reuters said.  

Obama to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016
President Barack Obama will keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017...casting aside his promise to end the war on his watch and instead ensuring he hands the conflict off to his successor. Obama had originally planned to pull out all but a small, embassy-based U.S. military presence by the end of next year, a timeline coinciding with the final weeks of his presidency.  

Iran broadcasts footage of underground missile base
Iranian state television broadcast unprecedented footage Wednesday of a deep underground tunnel packed with missiles and launcher units, which officials said could be used if "enemies make a mistake". Related Stories The pictures were released just three days after Iran tested a new long-range missile that the United States said may have breached a UN Security Council resolution.  

Attacks continue in Jerusalem despite new checkpoints
Attacks have continued in parts of Jerusalem only hours after Israeli forces launched a major security operation in Arab areas of the city. On Wednesday morning police blocked entrances to Jabal Mukaber, a district that was home to three men accused of killing three Israelis on Tuesday. Later, police said they shot dead a Palestinian who had stabbed an Israeli woman at Jerusalem's main bus station.  

Migrant crisis: EU leaders meet with focus on Turkey
European leaders are to discuss measures to ease the region's migration crisis, with Turkey the focus of their efforts in Brussels. Nearly 600,000 migrants have reached the EU by sea so far this year. Turkey is hosting some two million migrants, most of them fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.  

Israel blasts German-Palestinian protest for 'third intifada'
The Israeli Embassy in Germany condemned plans for a protest on Friday by the Palestinian community in that country...calling the third intifada against the Jewish state. “We believe that this form of a demonstration is forbidden in Germany,” the Israeli Embassy told the Tagesspiegel daily...The embassy said the German-Palestinian protest would be a call “to support the ongoing murder attacks on Israeli civilians.”  

Niger imposes state of emergency on region hit by Boko Haram
Niger imposed a state of emergency on the southeastern region of Diffa on Wednesday where at least 40 people have been killed in recent weeks in attacks blamed on the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.  

Pope asks forgiveness after sex scandals rock Vatican and Rome
Pope Francis asked for forgiveness on Wednesday for scandals at the Vatican and in Rome, an apparent reference to two cases of priests and gay sex revealed this month during a major meeting of bishops.  

New York teen dies after hours-long beating at church
A New York couple was charged with manslaughter in the death of their 19-year-old son after allegedly beating him for hours during a family counseling session inside the "sanctuary room" of an upstate Christian church, police said on Wednesday.  

With nothing to lose, Gazans join Palestinian unrest
Samir rushes forward and hurls the flaming bottle with all his might at the observation tower and the Israel soldiers inside, his contribution to the "intifada".  

Joel Osteen Says Stop Debating People Who Aren't Christian
Lakewood Church pastor and New York Times best-selling author Joel Osteen advises Christians to be "respectful" when engaging people of other faiths. "I think [Christians should] take the high ground and respect where [other people are] coming from. What I've seen in life is most people get their faith or their religious background from their parents," said Osteen to The Christian Post, noting that oftentimes Christians try to prove their faith by debating others.

October 14, 2015

Here's the Russian jet that's terrorizing Syria's anti-Assad rebels
As the Syrian military begins its push to take back opposition-held areas in northwestern Syria, Russia has provided backing through an intensifying aerial campaign. Among the planes Moscow has used to back the Syrian military's attempted advance is a Russian combat aircraft that some have compared to the US's venerated A-10 Warthog.  

NASA's Enceladus flyby: Cassini to dive through icy spray of Saturn's moon
This week's cruise past the northern pole of the Saturnian moon from a distance of 1,142 miles will give scientists a chance to see if icy plumes like those seen earlier at the south pole are active on the "top" of the satellite during its current northern summer. But the real excitement comes later this month when Cassini will circle back and pass within just 30 miles of the south polar region, actually flying through the spray of the plume.  

MEGA-EARTHQUAKE could SPLIT continents and kill millions, warns nuclear scientist
Ahead of the drills, Dr Mehran Keshe, who studied nuclear engineering at the University of London, released videos claiming a mega quake with the power to kill up to 20 million people on the west coast of the USA alone is on the cards.  

Israel Will No Longer Return Bodies of Terrorists to Their Families
A proposal submitted by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan not to return the bodies of terrorists killed in attacks to their families has been approved by Israel’s Security Cabinet Tuesday evening.  

Iran's Guardian Council passes nuclear bill into law
Iran's Guardian Council ratified a bill on Wednesday approving the implementation of nuclear deal reached by Tehran and six world powers, state news agency IRNA reported.  

Is Russia’s Involvement in Syria the Beginning of Gog and Magog?
With Russia’s military involvement in Syria growing by the hour, the conventional belief among many Christians is that Russia is Magog from the End of Days War of Gog and Magog is causing Bible believers to pay especially close attention to what’s going on at Israel’s northern border. Russia is, of course, the northernmost country in Eurasia and Syria sits at Israel’s northern border.  

Israel deploys hundreds of soldiers in Jerusalem
Six companies of Israeli soldiers were mobilized in Jerusalem Wednesday, as the IDF joined efforts to secure the city following an escalation in the violence there. The move is part of a slew of measures passed by the security cabinet overnight Tuesday aiming to prevent further terror attacks after the deadliest day so far in the current wave of unrest.  

What do you do when the people trying to kill you live around the block?
Or when they live in the same village as that lovely man your son’s been working with? Or when they work for the phone company? When they try to kill anybody — uniformed soldiers and police, ultra-Orthodox Jews, all the passengers on a city bus? When their leaders tell them they will go to paradise if they die in the act of killing us?  

Stunning Jupiter Video Reveals Mysterious New Red Spot Feature
The new images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope also show that the Great Red Spot is changing into more of an orange color, and that it continues to shrink, although at a slightly slower pace than expected. The spot is currently about 150 miles shorter than it was last year, making it just about 10,000 miles across. At its peak in the late 1800s, the Great Red Spot was estimated to be about 25,500 miles long, or more than triple the 7,900-mile diameter of the Earth  

2 Typhoons KOPPU and CHAMPI Likely in West Pacific
Typhoon KOPPU will form first. It is likely to be a massive cyclone. It will pass close by Guam and then swing north bypassing Japan. Typhoon CHAMPI is likely to form around October 22, 2015 in the South China Sea and hit Vietnam.  

Israeli Imam: We will protect al-Aqsa with spirit and blood
Head of northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel appeals his conviction for incitement, and clarifies that he will continue in his ways: 'We aren't afraid of prison.'  

ISIS calls on ‘Islamic youth’ to ignite holy war against Russians & Americans
Islamic State has called on its “youth” supporters world-wide to launch a “Holy War” against US and Russia in retaliation for their “crusader's war” on Muslims in Syria.  

Islamic State battles insurgents near Aleppo as army prepares assault
Islamic State militants battled rival insurgent groups on Wednesday north of the city of Aleppo, where officials say the Syrian army is preparing an offensive of its own backed by Iranian soldiers and Russian jets.  

Center in Israeli Arab City
The man whose blinders have contributed to the current violence now says he will return “soon” to “try to work to re-engage.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will return “soon”  

ENORMOUS CORONAL HOLE
A gigantic hole in the sun's atmosphere has opened up and a broad stream of solar wind is flowing out of it. For much of the next week, Earth's environment in space will be dominated by winds flowing from this broad hole.  

CHANCE OF FLARES
NOAA forecasters have boosted the odds of an M-class solar flare today to 30%. They are responding to the emergence of sunspot AR2434 near the sun's southeastern limb.  

The Anti-Jew Anti-Gun Crusade
"There was some armed Jewish resistance to the power of the Nazi war machine. But it often ended in death for the Jews involved." This is the height of idiocy. Pretty much everything ended in death for Jews during World War II in Europe. But what gave them a better shot of survival: having a gun or being completely disarmed?  

Earthquake 5.4M Rocks Northern Colombia
A 5.4M earthquake rocked Northern Colombia in the early morning of October 14, 2015. The temblor followed a 5.9 quake that shook a Russian city approximately an hour earlier. This was the first quake to hit Colombia this month.  

Kamchatka, New Zealand and Oklahoma: Earthquakes 8-14 October 2015
The Chile aftershock sequence contributed just three to the total of 23 earthquakes of at least magnitude 5 (¡ÝM5.0) which appeared on the United States Geological Survey¡¯s real time earthquake map for the week, and just eight of the 65 which registered as ¡ÝM4.5.  

Quake of magnitude 6.3 strikes off Russia's Kurile Islands
An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck 226 km (140 miles) south of Russia's Kurile Islands on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey reported. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 34 km, off the town of Severo-Kurilsk.  

U.S. to raise Iranian missile test at U.N. Security Council
A missile test announced by Iran over the weekend was an apparent violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution and Washington will raise it at the United Nations, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. Iran said it tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Sunday, signaling an apparent advance in Iranian attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile arsenal.  

Thousands of Iranian troops 'arrive in Syria' for Aleppo offensive
Thousands of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to...launch a ground attack against insurgents in Aleppo, two senior regional officials have said. Control of Aleppo city and the surrounding province in the area near the Turkish border is divided among the Syrian government, insurgent groups fighting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) that controls some rural areas near the city.  

In Chattanooga’s Wake, DHS Wants to Revive Terrorism Alert System
President Barack Obama’s top homeland security official has ordered a review of the nation’s terrorism alert system to reflect what he called the growing threat of attacks originating within the United States. ...“I’ve asked our folks to consider whether we should revise that system to accommodate how the terrorism threat has evolved,” DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said...“That review is underway now.”  

Syria 'near miss' prompts US-Russia air safety talks
The US and Russia are to hold new talks on air safety in Syria after it emerged combat aircraft from both nations came within miles of each other on Saturday. The planes were in visual contact with each other, 10 to 20 miles (15-30km) apart, a US defence spokesman told reporters in Washington DC. It will be the third round of talks as the two countries seek to find ways of avoiding an accidental conflict.  

ICC to probe possible war crimes in Russia-Georgia conflict
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said she will investigate Russian and Georgian forces over possible war crimes. The investigation relates to a five-day conflict in 2008 centred on South Ossetia, a breakaway region of Georgia. Fatou Bensouda said she had evidence suggesting South Ossetian forces killed up to 113 ethnic Georgian civilians, and both sides killed peacekeepers.

1,400 Border Police reservists called for duty in light of security crisis
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's request to immediately call up 1400 Border Police reservists on Thursday. The Border Police representative in the meeting, Commander Amir Cohen, said that 850 reservists were already called up, and if they need to, they will bring in the rest.  

Police begin sealing off flashpoint Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem
Hours after receiving approva...police on Wednesday morning began sealing off violent Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem in an effort to quell the ongoing wave of terrorist attacks. According to police, the entrances to Jabel Mukaber – the scene of Tuesday’s most deadly attack, when two men from the village killed two Jews and wounded several others...in neighboring Armon Hanatziv – have already been blocked by concrete barriers.  

Peru military fails to act as narco planes fly freely
It happens about four times a day, right under the nose of Peru's military: A small single-engine plane drops onto a dirt airstrip in the world's No. 1 coca-growing valley, delivers a bundle of cash, picks up more than 300 kilos of cocaine and flies to Bolivia.  

Global oil demand growth to slow in 2016: IEA
The world's demand for oil is expected to slow in 2016 in response to a more pessimistic outlook for the global economy, likely keeping the crude market oversupplied, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Tuesday.  

Kerry to visit Mideast in bid to calm Palestinian-Israeli tensions
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he plans to travel to the Middle East to try to calm violence between Palestinians and Israelis and move the situation "away from this precipice."  

The biggest city in the Western hemisphere is running out of water
The biggest city in the Western hemisphere is facing its greatest water crisis in over 80 years — and climate change is only part of the problem. Millions of residents in São Paulo, Brazil face daily water shutoffs unless the city manages its water better.  

Confrontation With Black Partygoers Leads to Gang Charges for White Group
In an unusual legal maneuver, the district attorney in this suburb of Atlanta said Monday that he had won indictments against 15 supporters of the Confederate battle flag, accusing them of violating the state’s anti-street-gang statute during a confrontation with black partygoers in July.  

October 13, 2015

Large Earthquakes Continue To Rattle Cushing Residents
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said it has already shut down suspect injection wells, but the quakes continue. For many people who live in and around Cushing, this weekend's 4.5-magnitude earthquake was the strongest they've ever felt.  

Terahertz radiation to enable portable particle accelerators
Researchers at MIT in the US and DESY (Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron) in Germany have developed a technology that could shrink particle accelerators by a factor of 100 or more. The basic building block of the accelerator uses high-frequency electromagnetic waves and is just 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) thick, with this drastic size reduction potentially benefitting the fields of medicine, materials science and particle physics, among others.  

Lieberman: Let the Police Shoot like American Cops Shoot
Former Foreign Minister Avigdor “Tough Guy” Lieberman came out Tuesday with a 4-step plan to combat the current wave of terror, including open-fire orders similar to those in the United States.  

Syrian army advances under Russian air cover, sparks fiercest clashes ever
The Syrian Arab Army has made significant progress in eliminating ISIS terrorists and destroying their command centers, ammo depots and vehicles in the Free Zone in Aleppo, as well as in 13 further towns and villages and two areas spanning Hama and Latakia provinces,  

Islamic Movement Threatens All-Out Religious War
"Israeli Jews, your numbers consist of eight million, but you will stand in this war against 13 million Palestinians - not just against hundreds of millions of Arabs, but all 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide."  

Jordan Border Crossing Closed after Terror Scare
Police and border police personnel scrambled to respond to a suspected shooting attack at the Rabin Terminal, along the Israeli-Jordanian border. No casualties were reported.  

Two Shells Hit Russian Embassy Compound in Damascus
Two shells hit the Russian embassy area in Syria's capital Damascus Tuesday as scores of pro-government supporters gathered outside the compound to thank Moscow for its intervention in Syria.  

Jerusalem on Lockdown, Prepares to Defend Against Terror
Jerusalem has placed the eastern neighborhoods of the city on lockdown and sealed off roads leading into the city following a chain of terror attacks.  

Does New Eyewitness Evidence Point to Noah's Ark?
In April 2010, NAMI released details of its exploration of the remains of a massive wooden structure buried beneath volcanic rock and ice on Mount Ararat. The remains were found at 4,000 meters above sea level, and researchers say the wood dates back about 4,800 years.  

Ben Carson: End times are likely upon us
Ben Carson, who’s coming in second in polls for the Republican candidate for president, told investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson during an SBG “Frontline” interview he thought the apocalypse could be right around the corner.  

Democrats Are Starting To Line Up Against Obama’s Clean Power Plan
Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) is facing some opposition from his own party in Kentucky and Missouri. The ambitious green energy plan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. It’s a regulatory nightmare that will hurt millions of Americans, especially those in rural areas and living on fixed-incomes. It will impact Americans’ electrical costs, and possibly gut millions of jobs within the black and Hispanic communities.  

ISIS to Execute 180 Assyrian Christians After Negotiations Break Down
The Islamic State terror group claims it will be executing 180 Assyrian Christians who were kidnapped in mass raids in February, after negotiators failed to meet the jihadists' high asking price to free the hostages. ARA News reported on Monday that the terror group is asking for $12 million for the release of the Assyrians, a sum deemed "unbearable" for the community.  

Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable Jews: The Temple Mount
The Temple Mount is not in our hands. East Jerusalem is not in our hands. Judea and Samaria and Gaza and the Golan are not in our hands. The Biblical Eretz Yisrael which we liberated through G‑d's decree in 1967, is not in our hands.  

Leaked letter adds intrigue, confusion to Vatican bishops meeting
A gathering of world Roman Catholic bishops was thrown into confusion on Monday with the leak of a letter from conservative cardinals to Pope Francis bitterly complaining that the meeting was stacked against them.  

October 2015 El Niño update
This El Niño continues to rank among the strongest in our records, which start in 1950. The July-September 3-month average sea surface temperature (the ONI) was 1.5°C above normal, third in line behind July-September 1987 (1.6°C) and 1997 (1.7°C). The atmospheric response to the warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures is keeping pace, too: the Equatorial Southern Oscillation Index (EQSOI) is -2.2. This is second to 1997’s -2.6, and well ahead of the next two El Niños on the list (1972 and 1982, tied at -1.4).  

In rare event, remnants of Pacific hurricane hit Alaska
Remnants of Pacific Hurricane Oho battered Alaska's southeast coast on Friday, the latest unusual weather event to hit a state that so far this year has dealt with a lack of snow, warmer temperatures and intense wildfires. The storm on Thursday brought more than 7 inches of rain to...Alaska's coastal rainforest. Gusts of up to 80 mph were forecast for Friday, and more rain was expected across the region.  

Multiple Terror Attacks Hit Israel in Unprecedented Strikes Tuesday; Dozens Wounded, Several Dead
The recent violence in Israel shows no signs of abating, with Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews recorded throughout Jerusalem and the entire country every day for the past week.  

Mystical Rabbi Receives Frightening Prophetic Message About Jewish Blood Being Spilled in Israel
peaking to Breaking Israel News, Gil Nachman, Vaknin’s English-speaking spokesman, reported that there will be an escalation in the attacks on Jews in Israel and that the attacks are going to start coming from groups of Muslims, not just single terrorists. “The judgement has come. It’s here,” said Nachman.  

Jerusalem: Israelis killed as attackers ambush bus
At least three Israelis have been killed and many injured in shooting and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and central Israel, Israeli police say. Two were killed and 16 others were wounded when two assailants opened fire and stabbed passengers on a bus in Jerusalem. Another died in a vehicle and knife attack elsewhere in the city.  

Syria conflict: Shells hit Russian embassy compound
Two shells have struck the Russian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus as hundreds of pro-government supporters rallied outside in support of Russian air strikes. A BBC Arabic correspondent in Damascus says some people have been injured. The explosions triggered widespread panic and smoke was seen coming from the embassy compound.  

Australia begins mass data retention under new law
Large amounts of telecommunications metadata must now be kept for two years by Australian telecommunications companies, after a new law that came into effect on Tuesday. It includes data on who called or texted whom and for how long, as well as location, volume of data exchanged, device information and email IP data. Some data was already being retained but the new rules expand on this.  

Iranian parliament passes bill approving nuclear deal
Iran's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday supporting the government in implementing a nuclear deal with world powers...in a victory for the government over conservative opponents of the deal. Some lawmakers have opposed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ...and Tuesday's vote removes a major obstacle to putting the agreement into practice.  

IDF artillery strikes 2 Assad military targets following cross-border shelling
The IDF's Artillery Corps struck two Assad regime military positions after a number of Syrian shells exploded in the northern Golan Heights on Tuesday. There were no injuries in Israel following the Syrian shell blasts. The IDF said its attack occurred in response to stray cross-border fire by the Syrian military due to internal battles raging with rebels on the Syrian side of the border.  

Nudes Are Old News at Playboy
Last month, Cory Jones, a top editor at Playboy, went to see its founder Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. In a wood-paneled dining room, with Picasso and de Kooning prints on the walls, Mr. Jones nervously presented a radical suggestion: the magazine, a leader of the revolution that helped take sex in America from furtive to ubiquitous, should stop publishing images of naked women.  

Israel vows to defeat 'knife terror' after new attacks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel would not bow to "knife terror" while four stabbings in Jerusalem gave no sign of Palestinian unrest slowing.  

Amid Russian airstrikes, a Putin craze takes hold in Mideast
Amid the ornate walls of Damascus' famed Omayyad Mosque, preacher Maamoun Rahmeh stood before worshippers last week, declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin a "giant and beloved leader" who has "destroyed the myth of the self-aggrandizing America."  

California forces Christians to disobey own beliefs
California’s Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a compelled speech plan into law that orders faith-based organizations to refer women to abortionists – even though the same idea was tried earlier in New York – and failed.  

America succumbs to viral mystery madness
We hear about them almost daily. “Mentally ill” loners who slaughter a classroom of students before shooting themselves; young Americans, male and female, who travel overseas to join ISIS and become barbarians and sex slaves; people who amputate healthy body parts in a desperate attempt to become the opposite sex, or who purposely put drain cleaner in their eyes to blind themselves.....  

October 12, 2015

Pork Used to Bar Palestinian Terrorist from Heavenly Reward
While pig flesh is considered impure by both Jews and Muslims, Jews are only prohibited to eat the flesh of the animal. However, according to some opinions in Muslim tradition, being in contact with or being buried with part of a pig’s flesh or blood could prevent a Muslim from receiving Allah’s blessing in the afterlife.  

Obama Administration Ends Effort to Train Syrians to Combat ISIS
The Obama administration on Friday abandoned its efforts to build up a new rebel force inside Syria to combat the Islamic State, acknowledging the failure of its $500 million campaign to train thousands of fighters and announcing that it will instead use the money to provide ammunition and some weapons for groups already engaged in the battle.  

US Losing Its Positions of World Power – Former US Military Official
Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to the US Secretary of State, argued that the US is losing its importance as a world power. According to him, the use of mercenaries instead of regular soldiers has always been typical for the decline of an empire, DWN reported.  

India, US, Japan kick off naval drills likely to annoy China
India, Japan and the United States will hold joint naval exercises each year, Indian government sources said on Monday, as the three countries kicked off the first such drills in the Bay of Bengal in eight years, a move likely to concern China.  

Powerful, conservative Republican caucus open to Ryan as next speaker
The leader of the House Republicans’ most powerful conservative caucus said Sunday that his group would consider Wisconsin GOP Rep. Paul Ryan as the chamber’s next speaker. “Paul Ryan is a good man,” Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told “Fox News Sunday.” “If he gets in the race, certainly our group would look favorably on him.”  

Turkey would talk with Russia and Iran on political solution in Syria
Turkey would hold talks with Russia and Iran to work towards a political solution in Syria but would not take a foreign policy stance which "legitimises the Syrian regime", Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday.  

Iraq Says Air Strike May Have Killed ISIS Chief Al-Baghdadi
Iraq says its troops may have eliminated Da’esh (ISIS) terrorist chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi this weekend in an air raid near the Syrian border, as Turkish leaders blame the terror group for a suicide bombing in the capital city of Ankara.  

Ex-Pastor to Obama Says ‘Jesus Was a Palestinian’ at Farrakhan Rally
Jeremiah Wright, who was President Barack Obama’s pastor before it was too politically uncomfortable for him, bellowed that “Jesus was a Palestinian” at a Saturday rally featuring Islamic leader and anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan.  

Syrian army, Russian jets drive back rebels in fiercest clashes for days: monitor
Syrian army and allied forces supported by Russian warplanes made further advances as they pressed an offensive against insurgents on Monday, in the fiercest clashes for nearly a week, a monitor said.  

5.4 earthquake hits 150km from New Zealand's capital
A 5.4-magnitude earthquake has shaken the area near Castlepoint, North Island, New Zealand, US Geological Survey has reported. The epicenter is about 155 kilometers from the country’s capital Wellington. Conflicting reports by local sources put the magnitude at 5.8.  

UK police says witchcraft, exorcism cases on rise
Britain's Metropolitan Police have reported an increase in the number of child abuse cases that involve allegations of witchcraft and exorcism. Police said Sunday a specialist unit received 46 such cases in 2014, more than twice as many as the year before.

Syria conflict: Putin defends Russia's air strikes
President Vladimir Putin has defended Russia's military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to "stabilise the legitimate authority" of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia wants to "create conditions for a political compromise" in Syria... On Monday the EU's foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, called Russia's role "a game-changer". She said: "It has some very worrying elements."  

Iran test-fires new generation long-range ballistic missiles, state media report
Iran has successfully test-fired a new precision-guided, long-range missile, state-run media reported on Sunday. The Emad (Pillar) surface-to-surface missile, designed and built by Iranian experts, is the country's first long-range missile that can be precision-guided until it reaches its target, said Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Iran's defense minister.  

Iranian-American journalist convicted, Iran news agency says
A court in Iran has convicted Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Iran's ISNA news agency said on Sunday, but the U.S. newspaper said Tehran was working a political angle by not disclosing details.  

Syrian troops gain as Putin defends strikes
Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes advanced against insurgents in the center of the country as President Vladimir Putin defended Moscow's intervention in the conflict, saying it would aid efforts to reach a political settlement.  

El Nino curbs Australian cyclone threat to iron ore, coal miners
Australian exports of commodities such as iron ore and coal face a less-than-average chance of being disrupted by cyclones in the upcoming cyclone season due to the El Nino weather pattern. That would mark a rare beneficial effect from El Nino, which often brings drought to some regions while prompting flooding in others.  

Obama Tells '60 Minutes' He Could Win a Third Term, Says Trump Won't Win
It is truly nothing for our current president to stunt. When President Barack Obama was asked on '60 Minutes' if he thought he could win a third term if he were allowed to run again, he had a simple reply: "Yes." 

October 11, 2015

Oklahoma feels another moderate magnitude earthquake
A moderate, magnitude-4.4 earthquake has shaken northern Oklahoma and was felt in parts of Kansas. It was one of the stronger temblors the earthquake-prone state has had this year.  

Tsfat Chief Rabbi Eliyahu: Soldiers “Prohibited” to Leave Terrorists Alive
Rabbi Eliyahu was asked on Thursday night via his Facebook page, which is maintained by his staff, “Is it permissible to leave a terrorist alive for questioning after an attack?” His response was: “It is prohibited to leave an attacker alive after an attack. If you leave alive — there’s a chance that he would be released and kill more people.”  

EPA spends millions on military-style weapons, watchdog group reports
The Environmental Protection Agency has spent millions of dollars over the last decade on military-style weapons to arm its 200 “special agents” to fight environmental crime.  

China asks world to impose 'code of conduct' on Internet
"It is highly necessary and pressing for the international community to jointly bring about an international code of conduct on cyberspace at an early date," said Wang Qun, director-general of the Arms Control Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in comments to the U.N. General Assembly.  

Column One: Abbas must be stopped
All the Palestinian terrorist attacks that have been carried out in recent weeks share one common feature. All the terrorists believe that by attacking Jews they are protecting the Temple Mount from destruction. One man stands at the center of this blood libel. PLO chief and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.  

Israeli leader seeks Islamic Movement sanctions
Israel's prime minister says he is holding consultations to promote sanctions against the Islamic Movement in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu says...the movement is a part of the "systematic, untrue incitement" against Israel that has sparked recent violence..the group, which runs education and religious services for Israeli Arabs...lies about Israel's...intentions regarding a...Jerusalem holy site...  

Isil fighters advance on Syria's Aleppo after Russian air strikes in 'most significant attack'
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) militants reached the outskirts of Syria’s second city on Friday as the US warned Russia that its campaign to tackle the extremist group was backfiring. The jihadists launched a surprise attack on non-Isil rebel positions north of Aleppo on Thursday night, seizing at least three villages and a former army base that rebels had captured from troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad two years ago.  

Iran tests new precision-guided ballistic missile
Iran successfully tested a new precision-guided ballistic missile, Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan was quoted as saying on Sunday, signaling an apparent advance in Tehran's attempts to improve the accuracy of its missile battery. "The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them," state news agency IRNA quoted Dehghan as saying.  

Zoabi calls for 'popular intifada,' and Netanyahu instructs A-G to open criminal investigation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to open a criminal investigation against Joint List MK Haneen Zoabi for calling for a “popular intifada” against Israel. Netanyahu, who said that Israel would not tolerate incitement from within and will act against it from all directions, quoted from an interview Zoabi granted this week to a Hamas newspaper.  

European agency issues alert to airlines following Russian missile strikes in Syria
Russia’s long-range missile strikes against targets in Syria have prompted aviation safety authorities to issue a safety alert to airlines flying in Iraq, Iran, and over the Caspian Sea amid growing concerns about the risk to commercial flying near conflict zones.  

Jeremiah Wright: 'Jesus was a Palestinian'
The controversial religious leader Jeremiah Wright compared Native Americans to Palestinians at the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March on the National Mall on Saturday, going so far as to assert that “Jesus was a Palestinian."  

Lake Chad blasts blamed on Boko Haram kill 37
Three explosions killed 37 people Saturday in a Chadian city on the shores of Lake Chad, security sources said, in the latest atrocity blamed on the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram.  

Israeli strike on Hamas in Gaza kills Palestinian woman, child
An Israeli air strike on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip on Sunday brought down a nearby house killing a Palestinian woman and her daughter, hospital officials said, as a wave of violence in the region triggered fears of wider escalation.  

Million Man March Speaker Leads Chant of ‘Down, Down USA’
Crowds gathered at the Million Man March in Washington, D.C. were led in a “down, down USA” chant Saturday morning by a female speaker. The Native American woman proclaimed that Muammar “Gaddafi is still alive” and called for President Barack Obama to pardon Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation officers in 1975. The woman then led the crowd in a chant of “down, down USA.”  

Bombs kill 95 at pro-Kurdish rally in Turkish capital
At least 95 people were killed when two suspected suicide bombers struck a rally of pro-Kurdish and labor activists outside Ankara's main train station just weeks before elections, in the worst attack of its kind on Turkish soil.  

Fierce battles in central Syria amid Russian airstrikes
Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes seized a village in central Syria on Saturday amid fierce clashes with rebels, part of a ground offensive launched earlier this week.