Brinkmanship on a sinking ship?

Brinkmanship on a sinking ship?

I don’t think Mr. Obama and the EU leaders will get many points with their unwashed masses for their efforts to curtail Russia’s ambitions. 

“U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday promised to increase Russia’s isolation, as the United States and the European Union agreed to work together to prepare possible tougher economic sanctions in response to Russia's behavior in Ukraine.
Speaking after a summit with top EU officials and quoted by Reuters, Obama declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin had miscalculated if he thought he could divide the West or count on its indifference over his annexation of Crimea.
"If Russia continues on its current course, however, the isolation will deepen, sanctions will increase and there will be more consequences for the Russian economy," he told a joint news conference with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/178953#.UzO1XfmwLa4

Meanwhile:

“Russia has increased its gold holdings by 7.247 tonnes to 1,042 tonnes in February. Turkey and Kazakhstan also raised their bullion reserves, data from the International Monetary Fund showed today.
Turkey's gold holdings rose 9.292 tonnes to 497.869 tonnes, the data showed.
Many analysts are ignoring the important context of today's new geopolitical backdrop. Russia alone has some $400 billion in foreign exchange reserves - mostly in U.S. dollars. If they were to diversify just 5%, worth some $20 billion, of those reserves into gold - it would be equal to nearly 500 tonnes of gold or nearly 25% of global annual production.”

http://www.goldcore.com/goldcore_blog/Russia_Raises_Gold_Holdings_By_7.247_Tonnes_To_Over_1040_Tonnes_In_February

China is now the world’s largest consumer of gold.

Jim Rickards is the author of the bestseller“Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis” and the forthcoming, “The Death of Money: The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System”.
He is a portfolio manager at West Shore Group and a partner in Tangent Capital Partners, a merchant bank based in New York. He is an advisor on capital markets to the U.S. intelligence community and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

“The best guide is to assume China has some target in mind, probably 5,000 tonnes or higher, and will continue to accumulate through diverse channels until that target is reached. My estimate is that China will announce it has over 5,000 tonnes of gold in early 2015. It probably has at least 3,000 tonnes today.”

At Bank of America:

“Here’s a story that’s starting to sound weirdly familiar: Bank of America Corp. just agreed to pay $9.5 billion to settle U.S. claims linked to mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from 2005 to 2007. The deal, which roughly $6.3 billion in cash to end legal claims and an agreement to buy back $3.2 billion worth of mortgage-backed bonds, might seem like a landmark … if it was not so similar to multi-billion dollar agreements Bank of America signed in 2011 and 2013.
The 2013 deal, signed that January, also involved paying $3.6 billion in cash and buying back mortgages with billions of dollars in outstanding principal. At the time, Bank of America CEO Brian T. Moynihan called the 2013 agreements “a significant step in resolving our remaining legacy mortgage issues.” One analyst told Bloomberg that the deal would let Bank of America put its Fannie and Freddie issues behind it.
Apparently not. But there’s more. The current deal doesn’t just come on top of the 2013 settlement. It also comes on top of a $3 billion deal with Fannie and Freddie in 2011. Not to mention an $8.5 billion settlement reached with mortgage bond investors the same year. The consensus then was also that Bank of America seemed to be climbing out of the mortgage crisis pit. “The good news for BofA is that it seems to be putting a significant chunk of its Countrywide problems behind it,” Forbes wrote. Sound familiar?”

http://go.bloomberg.com/market-now/2014/03/26/at-bank-of-america-a-multi-billion-dollar-deja-vu/

At Citigroup:

Citigroup Inc.’s capital plan was among five that failed Federal Reserve stress tests, while Bank of America Corp. won approval for its first dividend increase since the financial crisis.

http://www.trunews.com/citigroup-fails-feds-stress-test/

And another meanwhile:

It looks like the National Science Foundation has been handing out grants for some unorthodox research projects, according to House Republicans.
This includes $700,000 in funding for a climate change musical.
House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith questioned White House science czar John Holdren in a Thursday hearing over whether or not the National Science Foundation (NSF) should have to justify its use of taxpayer dollars to fund projects. Smith pointed out some examples of questionable projects the NSF has funded.

• $700,000 on a climate change musical

• $15,000 to study fishing practices around Lake Victoria in Africa

• $340,000 to examine the “ecological consequences” of early human fires in New Zealand

• $200,000 for a three-year study of the Bronze Age around the Mediterranean

• $50,000 to survey archived 17th Century lawsuits in Peru

• $20,00 to look at the causes of stress in Bolivia

“The Administration’s willful disregard for public accountability distracts from the important issues of how America can stay ahead of China, Russia, and other countries in the highly-competitive race for technological leadership,” said Smith, a Texas Republican.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/26/feds-spent-700000-on-a-climate-change-musical/

I’m thinking of the Titanic and “The band played on” Steve Turner wrote a book about:

“I believe the band took the courageous decision to play because of the moral character of their leader, the violinist Wallace Hartley. This musician, who’d previously played on both the Mauretania and the Lusitania, was from the small town of Colne in Lancashire, England, and was raised in the Methodist church. His father was the choirmaster there and responsible for introducing the hymn ‘Nearer, My God, to Thee’ to the congregation.
By all accounts Hartley was a highly principled person and a devout Christian. He’d recently been engaged to a young Christian girl, Maria Robinson, and they planned to marry after he’d completed a few trips on the Titanic. He was personable, cheerful and would always attend church when he was back on land.”

But I don’t believe our leaders have the principles as Hartley. 

“Rats deserting a sinking ship” is a more likely term.

God Particle?

God Particle?Have particle physicists actually falsified both quantum mechanics and special relativity?

If there indeed are ”Higgs particles” in this world, as particle physicists at Cern claim to have discovered, then “particles” do actually equal “fields”. This claim does, however, run counter to the scientific development since James Clerk Maxwell’s equations of 1865 unifying electromagnetic phenomena.

http://menvall.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/have-particle-physicists-actually-falsified-both-quantum-mechanics-and-special-relativity/ 

The finding of Higgs particle is a fraud  

This possibility reveals that “truth” has two orthogonal aspects: one specific and one generic, whereof the generic concerns the matter itself and the specific concerns the truthfulnesses of its alternatives. The problem with this is that it means that a search for a single truth actually is an orthogonal merry-go-round between these different kinds of truths, because the no-no alternative, ie that both alternatives are false, is the route to the yes-yes alternative, ie that both alternatives are true, and vice versa…

…We can, of course claim that there indeed is a single truth and even that we have found it, as cladists and particle physicists do,  but it does not change the fact that there isn’t any. Claims can’t create reality. The only thing it can accomplish is to confuse science, and thus also confuse those of us that weren’t confused in the first place. Fact is that such claims are wrong. There isn’t any single truth, although particle physicists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for finding it. This “finding” is actually nothing but a fraud. 

http://menvall.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/the-finding-of-higgs-particle-is-a-fraud/

No wonder they are confused!

I can recommend study material. It’s the Bible. You find out about the God who made the particles. 

“We were given the Scriptures to humble us into realizing that God is right, and the rest of us are just guessing.” 

― Rich Mullins

Not Normal

Not Normal

This morning after reading My Utmost for His Highest (February 10), I spoke  aloud saying, “Why is it so convoluted…the normal thinking person wouldn’t understand a word of it!" Then the forceful voice intruded with: “None of My children are normal thinking!” I had to laugh, and said, “You’re right, Lord!” …

Because we aren’t!…

The author, Mindy Silva, writes about what is normal and what is not. I have said that the definition of normal has been turned up side down in recent  years.

So, no, “Normal” is not something we are. We went from the world’s “normal” to uncommon…uncommon Christianity…

 We don’t even go where “normal” people go! We don’t drink, and we don’t party. We don’t curse and tell people where to stuff it, now do we? (Although some most likely do in the back of their minds!) We don’t envy, we don’t murder, we don’t commit adultery, we don’t worship anything or anybody but Christ…

So, no, “Normal” is not something we are. We went from the world’s “normal” to uncommon…uncommon Christianity.

But Christianity doesn’t allow for a middle road. We can’t please the world by operating as the world does once we know who we are in Christ.           

We can’t blend in folks, we are to stand out. This is the gist of Christianity. And that is the difference between not being normal, and trying to be.  

Jesus taught Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Read the whole article here:

http://www.raptureready.com/soap/silva-mindy10.html

Just some random notes

Americans are enthusiastic about the promise of science but lack basic knowledge of it, with one in four unaware that the Earth revolves around the Sun, said a poll out Friday.
The survey included more than 2,200 people in the United States and was conducted by the National Science Foundation.
Ten questions about physical and biological science were on the quiz, and the average score -- 6.5 correct -- was barely a passing grade.
Just 74 percent of respondents knew that the Earth revolved around the Sun, according to the results released at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting
in Chicago.

"STOP WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE!!!

A couple of years ago an undergrad went to the campus of UCF with a sign that said "STOP WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE!!!" and asked students to sign the petition to end the brutal act. The undergrad stayed there all day long, gathering signatures, the entire time, students going on and on about how much women had suffered and that the suffrage MUST be stopped!! Only ONE student stopped with a stunned look on his face, knowing what this meant...he's a Korean exchange student.

John Kerry Calls Climate Change a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'

Secretary of State John Kerry today spoke in stark terms about the dangers of climate change and compared those who deny it is happening to people who believe the world is flat.
Calling climate change "catastrophic," Kerry called on Indonesia's leaders to work on cutting greenhouse emissions.
"Climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction," he said.

I have your dog

An anonymous announcement in the New York PETS section of CraigsList shared a tale of redemption about an abused dog that was found in 2011 and has been recovering and thriving since being adopted through a rescue group. (We have messaged the author to ask their name but have not heard back yet.)
Three years ago on Feb 9th, you were evicted from apartment 13B at 20 Catherine Street and your old red pit bull was seized by animal control and taken to the kill shelter. She was really skinny and had bad skin infections, and had been bred A LOT. She'd even had a Caesarian, judging by the scar. They said at the kill shelter she was 12 years old. She also had a lopsided face and it looked like there were a few cigarette burns on her head/ears.
I figure you were having a pretty bad time of it, since you were being evicted. I hope things have gotten better for you in the intervening years. Although it's unlikely you'll ever see this note, I just wanted you to know that I have your dog and she is doing great.

Are you rapture ready?

Specifically Abraham

Specifically Abraham

I got absorbed in the Good Book a while ago. Specifically Abraham. Lot of people read about him but they gloss over some juicy stuff. Most people know that he was 99 years when Isaac was conceived, but they don't really notice that Isaac  was,  most likely,  in his twenties when they went to the mountain to make the sacrifice.

Sara was 124 years when she died, so she lived to see her son grow up, and be a man.

After Sara's death. Abraham was ready to pack it in, so he made his servant take an other to find Isaac a wife. The servant did that, and Isaac moved his new wife into Sara's house. Abraham apparently like that and he stuck around.

Abraham married again when he was, most likely, about 130 years old or older, and had 6 kid. He finally died at the tender of 175.

Wonder what the neighbors thought about a old guy marrying a child bride of only 62? I don't know the age of his bride, but he got the job done.

 It's a good day.

1-800-…

1-800-…
Things sure pile up don’t they?

Need health insurance? The Obama administration has you covered. Simply dial 1-800-FUCKYO to reach the next available health-care provider.
That’s the official number that Health and Human Services wants Americans to dial when seeking health care.
1-800-318-2596
1-800-3(F) 8(U) 2(C) 5(K) 9(Y) 6(O).
That’s 1-800-FUCKYO.
The collusion John "The Boner" and Ol' Harry on exempting Congress from Obamacare, the clandestine meetings with the prez, and more.
From the Washington Examiner:
“Senate Democrats blocked four resolutions to fund government programs, including paying the National Guard and opening national parks, as Republicans offered the limited measures in an attempt to win the government shutdown fight by financing popular programs and leaving those they oppose untouched.
“Unbelievably, today Senate Democrats went on record to oppose funding for National Guard and Reserve salaries, veterans’ services, lifesaving medicine and cures, and national parks and museums," Senate Republican Conference chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in a release following the procedural battle.
I hear 20 Republicans are caving on Obamacare, and Ol’ John is already talking about raising the debt limit.
I think we can use that phone number for just about anything and get the same results!
And be careful that you don’t step in a pile.

Obama Quotes

20 Obama Quotes About Islam Contrasted With 20 Obama Quotes About Christianity

You are about to read some of the most shocking quotes that Barack Obama has ever uttered in public.  A few of these have been widely circulated, but most of them are very obscure.  Even though he claims to be a Christian, throughout his political career Obama has repeatedly attacked traditional Biblical Christianity and he has a very long history of anti-Christian actions.

20 Quotes By Barack Obama About Islam

#1 “The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam”

#2 “The sweetest sound I know is the Muslim call to prayer”

20 Quotes By Barack Obama About Christianity

#1 “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation”

#2 “We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.”

Read them all here:

http://thetruthwins.com/archives/20-obama-quotes-about-islam-contrasted-with-20-obama-quotes-about-christianity

Government shut down

It turns out that the ominous “government shut down” isn’t so apocalyptic after all since it won’t actually shut down government because the vast majority of federal services and activity will continue as normal.

The same thing has happened – without dire consequences – no less than 17 times over the past three decades.

The most damaging consequence of a government shut down will be that non-essential federal employees will be furloughed (given temporary unpaid leave) and see their paychecks delayed.

Well… If these folks are not needed, we should fire them and save the money.

Senator Dianne Feinstein,

Senator Dianne Feinstein,
I will not register my weapons should this bill be passed, as I do not believe it is the government’s right to know what I own. Nor do I think it prudent to tell you what I own so that it may be taken from me by a group of people who enjoy armed protection yet decry me having the same a crime.
You ma’am have overstepped a line that is not your domain.
I am a Marine Corps Veteran of 8 years, and I will not have some woman who proclaims the evil of an inanimate object, yet carries one, tell me I may not have one.
I am not your subject.
I am the man who keeps you free.
I am not your servant.
I am the person whom you serve.
I am not your peasant.
I am the flesh and blood of America.
I am the man who fought for my country.
I am the man who learned.
I am an American.
You will not tell me that I must register my semi-automatic AR-15 because of the actions of some evil man.
I will not be disarmed to suit the fear that has been established by the media and your misinformation campaign against the American public.
We, the people, deserve better than you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Joshua Boston

Cpl, United States Marine Corps
2004-2012

Well said!

What goes around come around

What goes around come around

1 Samuel 8

1  And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.
3  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.4  Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

7  And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.8  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee...9  Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

10  And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.
11  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

16  And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
19  Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20  That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

Matthew 13

1  The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3  And he spake many things unto them in parables...

10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Mark 15:1-

 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and t he whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2  And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it.3  And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.
4  And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.

5  But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
6  Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
7  And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8  And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
9  But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
10  For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.
11  But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.12  And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews?
13  And they cried out again, Crucify him.
14  Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15  And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

They said "Give us a King"  And things got worse.

They said "Give us Barabbas". And things got worse.

We said, "Give us Barrack" -- Twice!

Do we, as a people, turn aside after lucre, and take bribes, and pervert judgment?

Have we, as a people, forsaken God, and served other gods?

Have the people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed?

What goes around will come again.

Think about it...

Something smells

There is some fishy about the debates. In the fisrt one Romney tore Obama a new one. Obama look like a school boy in the men's locker room. In the second one, Romney let up on him, big time, it was like he didn't want Obama the look bad. In the third on, there really was nothing to distinguished  them, one way or the other. They both are using the same play book. And that is it. To them it is game, or so they think. they have both got so much money, they can't spend it all, and they both think we will give them the best the world has to offer for as long as they live. But fate and The Lord may well have other plans.

Although the debate was officially on foreign policy, or the lack there-of, there was considerable talk about the economy. CNNMoney reports that the DOW continues its slide. 

 "A sell-off on Wall Street gained momentum Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 220 points after three Dow components issued disappointing earnings and forecasts.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq shed between 0.9% and 1.4%. Even with the sharp declines, all three indexes are still up between 7% and 14% this year."

Both the candidates have plans to fix the economy after the election. This situation have been in the making for at least thirty years. My question is: Why did you wait so long?

According Reuters:  "Insecurity blights Libya, where militias still call the shots a year after they toppled Muammar Gaddafi, keeping foreign investors wary and clouding the oil-producing country's future.
Last month's attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, in which U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans died, underlined the fragility of a state struggling to emerge from the legacy of Gaddafi's 42-year rule."

In my opinion WND is a good read, but always, always, always fact check, before you believe anything you read on the web. That said, WND is reporting this:  "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton communicate with the dead spirit of former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt just this week?"...
...This is not the first time a connection between Hillary Clinton and Eleanor Roosevelt has been made.

Author Bob Woodward claimed in his 1996 book “The Choice” that Hillary engaged in imaginary conversations with Mrs. Roosevelt as well as Mahatma Gandhi as a therapeutic exercise.

And while she was campaigning for president in 2007, then-Sen. Clinton said she found inspiration in the words of Roosevelt...

And  Hillary Clinton is not the only one:  Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House, claimed she heard from the spirits of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul at the White House.

And in 2009, WND reported on a study indicating Democrats are far more in touch with the dead than Republicans, and they also visit fortunetellers more often.

The Bible has plenty to say about communicating with the dead and dabbling with mediums, psychics, fortunetellers, witchcraft, astrology and characters such as the devil and his wicked.

The candidate and Israel

People are buzzing about the debates last night. I don't know if that will do any good. Most people have made up their minds, at this point. I suspect that most of the buzz is for the buzzers satisfaction, but everything help, some people may change their mind once the news gets though that thick bone

There is an interesting article by Dan Calic Ynet News:

Obama only 'talks the talk'
It's time US leader stops expecting Israel to make all the 'bold sacrifices' for peace
Have you heard the saying "talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk?" Simply put it means someone talks about things, but their words do not translate into action.
  This exemplifies President Obama when it comes to Israel. For example, throughout his administration he has promoted the so-called two state solution. Time after time he eloquently lauds the dreams and aspirations of the Palestinian people living in their own state side by side a secure Jewish state of Israel.

It's here http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4292661,00.html

And Shoula Romano Horing says this:

  Romney is good for Israel
Statements given in private show Republican candidate truly understands Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A secretly taped video of the Republican presidential candidate which was recently released shows how great a friend Romney will be to Israel if elected.

Voters cannot judge public statements by presidential candidates because they have the inclination to lie about their true intentions. Everyone remembers the infamous open microphone incident in which President Obama and French President Sarkozy were overheard in a private conversation ridiculing as a "liar" Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at a G20 summit last November. This is why it was refreshing to read that, contrary to Obama statements given in private, Romney in private truly understands the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and is sympathetic to Israel’s security concerns.

The full article is hereL http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4289059,00.html

Tomatoes, and bottles. shoes,.. Ohh, my!

Egyptians pelt Clinton with tomatoes, chant ‘Monica’

Hillary Clinton has been welcomed in Egypt by locals greeting her motorcade with tomatoes, shoes and water bottles. Rallying protesters showed awareness with US domestic policy history, chanting “Monica, Monica”.

­The two-day visit by the US secretary of state to Egypt ended in scandal when the convoy she was driving in from the newly-opened American consulate in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria was attacked by local citizens chanting anti-American slogans.

The protests against Clinton’s visit to Egypt started on Saturday when the US secretary of state met with Egypt's new President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist protégée of the Muslim Brotherhood.

During her visit to Egypt, the US Secretary of State also met with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the military council of Egypt that currently holds power in the country.

Clinton urged the Egyptian military to transfer power in full to the newly-elected president, who was sworn in two weeks ago.

 Morsi has vowed to win the release of an Egyptian cleric jailed by the U.S. for planning the first attack on New York's World Trade Center.

Omar Abdel-Rahman, "the blind sheikh," is serving a life sentence in a federal prison for his role in the 1993 bombing that killed six people in lower Manhattan, Omar Abdel Rahman, and others.

Rahman was jailed in Egypt for allegedly helping to inspire the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. He entered the U.S. in 1990. One of his followers was convicted of gun possession, though acquitted of murder, after the assassination of Jewish leader Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York in 1990.

The U.S. government prosecuted Rahman for conspiracy in connection with the February 1993 World Trade Center attack. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1996. He is presently incarcerated at the Butner federal facility in North Carolina.

Despite the hostility displayed the Egypts and Morsi's apparent conflict to our national interest, the U.S. is pressing forward with 1.3 billion and 2.5 million in economic aid, fueling a growing suspicion that the Obama administration harbors a secret, pro-Islamist agenda.

But Mrs. Clinton did not stop there, France-Afghanistan-Japan-Mongolia-Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia-Egypt-Israel... Thirteen days, nine countries. That's got to be record!

Meanwhile according to The Jerusalem Post:

"Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder and dean of the human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center, charged the US-sponsored Global Counterterrorism Forum of deliberately excluding Israel from a second meeting of the group that took place in Spain last week.

In a strongly worded letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Hier wrote that “when there was criticism following your announcement of the creation of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, which excluded Israel, I accepted the administration’s assurances that a way would be found to involve Israel. But after reading the Victims of Terrorism comments from the undersecretary of civilian security democracy and human rights, I’m prepared to believe that Israel is being left out intentionally...”
"...In June, the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s first formal meeting in Istanbul excluded Israel and invited countries with a history of sponsoring radical Islamic ideology.

A telling example was the presence of Saudi Arabia at the meeting. The kingdom’s government embraces and spreads the radical Wahhabist ideology to which many terrorists adhere."

'nough said.

Are you? 

The Book of Life

This old world is getting too mean for me. Mean and Godless. Oh, there are plenty of gods around, and if you did not know the One True God, you might pick one that suits your fancy, but then you would be doomed to hell. It will be harder and harder to pick the One True God as time goes on, I reckon. That is one reason to come to him early, and the sooner the better.
        I have been reading about The Book of Life. It is mentions six or seven times in the Bible (5 times in Revelation) so it must be important to understand it. There are other books the record every person that ever lived, and what they have did, good or bad. And I think all those names were originally in The Book of Life too. The books will opened at the White Throne of Judgement and is not in The Book of Life, you are out of luck.
        Adam and Eve sinned agains God and they, and their offspring, were cursed. I don't know much about generational curses. What little I know was gleaned from the folks on TV who want to sell you a bit of cloth or some oil, or some other gimmick. I tell you, Jesus is the only way, and He's all you need.
        Anyway… Sin is the transgression on the law, and Adam and Eve could not cut it. And then Moses gave the Israelites the ten commandments and they could not obey them, either. So God gave the Israelites 613 commandments though the Old Testament, and they could not obey them either.
        The truth of the matter is that not a single one on us can cut it. We all are not worthy. So Jesus had to come and die on the cross for our sins. His blood on the cross covers our sins. And He gave us a free gift: Ever lasting life, if we just will come and claim it. Sometime time in our lifetime we all must make the decision to take the free gift or reject it. That decision will determine whether we spend eternity in Heaven or hell, so is not to taken lightly.
        If we choose to reject Jesus our names are blotted of The Book of Life. What an awful thing!
        Take me advice. Choose life… And do it now!

Are you ready?

Mid-East Madness?

Ashton announces suspension of Iran nuclear talks

High-level nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers fizzled Tuesday, creating increased opportunity for Israel to use the setback to argue military force is the only way to stop Tehran from developing atomic arms.
As she announced the indefinite pause in negotiations, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said they could be resumed — but only if a low-level July 3 meeting of technical experts in Istanbul finds enough common ground to warrant such a step.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/talks-with-iran-are-being-suspended-downgraded/

Meanwhile, according to CCN:

Time is running out for a diplomatic solution to Western concerns about Iran's nuclear program, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Monday in an interview with CNN.
He said Iran continues to flout the United Nations and world leaders by pushing forward with work on its nuclear program - including, he said, work on a nuclear weapon. But he said Iranian leaders would be making a costly mistake in believing the threat of military action is an empty one.

And:

Terror Rocket Barrage: Four Hurt, One Seriously
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis under siege by Gaza terrorists, 44 rockets counted since midnight.
Four people were hurt, one of them seriously, in a terror rocket strike on the Hof Ashkelon Local Authority Tuesday night. The Maariv website says the injured Israelis are Border Policemen, and that the seriously injured man is an officer.
Forty-four terrorist rockets slammed into southern Israel between midnight and 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Most rockets were of the short range Kassam type but three Grad Katyushas were fired at Netivot.
No casualties were reported but the incessant rocket fire has placed hundreds of thousands of Israeli under siege since yesterday.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157032#.T-EjKY48HmY

And about Syria;

 Obama failed to secure the support of Putin for regime change in Syria. The US president had been seeking Putin's help in trying to persuade Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to relinquish power and leave the country. A joint statement issued after their meeting said simply that the Syrian people should independently and democratically be allowed to decide their own future, but there was no joint call for Assad to stand down, as the White House has been urging.  

And on Debca News:

Middle East military tensions around Syria shot up again Monday, June 18, with the news reported by the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars that a joint Russian-Chinese-Iranian exercise is to take place in Syria.
It was described as “the biggest of its kind ever staged in the Middle East” with 90,000 personnel, 400 air planes and 900 tanks taking part.
As part of its preparations, Beijing is reported to have asked Egyptian authorities to permit the passage through the Suez Canal in late June of 12 naval ships heading for the Syrian port of Tartus, where Moscow maintains a naval and marine base.

But:

MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters) - Russia and Syria on Tuesday denied an Iranian media report that Syria would host Russian, Chinese and Iranian military forces for joint exercises.
Iranian news agency Fars said 90,000 troops and hundreds of ships, tanks and warplanes from the four countries would take part in the war games on land and sea in Syria soon.
The Russian Defence Ministry called such reports "disinformation" and the Russian news agency Interfax quoted an adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as saying it was not true.

And more:

The IDF has deployed Armored forces near the Israel-Egypt border, moving tanks closer to the fence, Ynet has learned. The unusual move followed Monday's terror attack on defense contractor crews building the new security fence. The attack claimed the life of Said Phashpashe, 36, from Haifa. Golani soldiers who were scrambled to the area killed two terrorists.  

With so many things going on, somebody is going to make a boo-boo...

Are you ready?

'Avant, black-browes'.

 'Avant, black-browes'.

This phrase originates in Cervantes' Don Quixote, or at least in Thomas Shelton's 1620 translation - Cervantes Saavedra's History of Don Quixote:

"You are like what is said that the frying-pan said to the kettle, 'Avant, black-browes'."

The first person who is recorded as using the phrase in English was William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, in his Some fruits of solitude, 1693:

For a Covetous Man to inveigh against Prodigality, an Atheist against Idolatry, a Tyrant against Rebellion, or a Lyer against Forgery, and a Drunkard against Intemperance, is for the Pot to call the Kettle black.

In 1681, King Charles II handed over a large piece of his American land holdings to William Penn to satisfy a debt the king owed to Penn's father. This land included present-day Pennsylvania and Delaware. Penn immediately sailed to America and his first step on American soil took place in New Castle in 1682.

Penn was a Quaker, and he founded Pennsylvania. Among Penn's legacies was the unwillingness to force a Quaker majority upon Pennsylvania, allowing his state to develop into a successful “melting pot”. In addition, Thomas Jefferson and the founding Fathers adapted Penn’s theory of an amendable constitution and his vision that “all men are equal under God” in forming the federal government following the American Revolution.

But what of this “Pot calling the Kettle black”? 

Well, the USA and the Russia government are both customers of Russia arms trafficker Rosoboronexport to buy attack helicopters for Syria and Afghanistan, respectively. The circumstances are decidedly different. 

I don’t see anything wrong with our Secretary of State calling Russia to account in its dealings with Syria and Rosoboronexport, but Russia has always been an ally and suppler to Syria, so that is no surprise. 

And the US is doing the same in Afghanistan and this is no surprise, either.

If memory serves, the US backed the for-runners of the Taliban in what some called a proxy war against the USSR and the Afghan government in years gone passed. Now regimes have changed, and the US is friends with the Afghan government and Russia, and the Taliban is the enemy. But things could change in a matter of days, seemingly on the whim of a fickle politico. 

But it’s not actually whimsical at all. The Apostle Paul explains better than I could:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6-12)   

Are you ready?

Dinosaurs passing wind may have caused climate change

Now here’s something you don’t see every day.

Huge plant-eating dinosaurs may have produced enough greenhouse gas by breaking wind to alter the Earth's climate, research suggests.
Like huge cows, the mighty sauropods would have generated enormous quantities of methane.

Sauropods, recognisable by their long necks and tails, were widespread around 150 million years ago.

They included some of the largest animals to walk the Earth, such as Diplodocus, which measured 150 feet and weighed up to 45 tonnes.

Scientists believe that, just as in cows, methane-producing bacteria aided the digestion of sauropods by fermenting their plant food.

''A simple mathematical model suggests that the microbes living in sauropod dinosaurs may have produced enough methane to have an important effect on the Mesozoic climate,'' said study leader Dr Dave Wilkinson, from Liverpool John Moores University.
''Indeed, our calculations suggest that these dinosaurs could have produced more methane than all modern sources - both natural and man-made - put together.''

The research is published today in the journal Current Biology.

Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, with a stronger ability to trap heat.

Dr Wilkinson and colleague Professor Graeme Ruxton, from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, began to wonder about Mesozoic methane while investigating sauropod ecology.

Research on a range of modern species has allowed experts to predict how much methane is likely to be generated by animals of different sizes.

The key factor is the total mass of the animal.

Medium-sized sauropods weighed about 20 tonnes and lived in herds of up to a few tens of individuals per square kilometre.

Global methane emissions from the animals would have amounted to around 472 million tonnes per year, the scientists calculated.

The figure is comparable to total natural and man-made methane emissions today. Before the start of the industrial age, about 150 years ago, methane emissions were around 181 million tonnes per year.

Modern ruminant animals, including cows, goats, and giraffes, together produce 45 to 90 million tonnes of methane.

Sauropods alone may have been responsible for an atmospheric methane concentration of one to two parts per million (ppm), said the scientists.

In the warm, wet Mesozoic, forest fires and leaking natural gasfields could have added another four parts per million.

''Thus, a Mesozoic methane mixing ratio of six to eight ppm seems very plausible,'' the scientists wrote.

''The Mesozoic trend to sauropod gigantism led to the evolution of immense microbial vats unequalled in modern land animals. Methane was probably important in Mesozoic greenhouse warming.

''Our simple proof-of-concept model suggests greenhouse warming by sauropod megaherbivores could have been significant in sustaining warm climates.''
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/dinosaurs/9250032/Dinosaurs-passing-wind-may-have-caused-climate-change.html

Egypt Designates Israel Its Top Enemy — Obama Restores Military Aid | FrontPage Magazine

Egypt Designates Israel Its Top Enemy — Obama Restores Military Aid | FrontPage Magazine

Egypt Designates Israel Its Top Enemy

Egypt’s parliament, which is dominated by two pro-Sharia Islamic supremacist groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, voted unanimously last Monday to expel Israel’s ambassador to Egypt, and signaled that the Camp David Accords would soon be a thing of the past: Egypt, the parliamentarians declared, would “never” be Israel’s ally. In fact, Israel was Egypt’s “number one enemy.” And how did Barack Obama respond to this egregious trampling upon the agreement that has kept an uneasy peace between Israel and Egypt for thirty years? By announcing a resumption of military aid to Egypt.

1979 peace accords

1979 peace accords

Hamas and The Muslim Brotherhood don’t recognize Israel’s right to exist, so any talk about the Camp David Accords is hot air, anyway.

From the Jerusalem Post

Former US President Jimmy Carter said Thursday, after meeting Egypt's military rulers and political parties, that he expected Egypt's new government to focus more than the previous leadership on Palestinian rights as highlighted under the 1979 peace accords.

Haarets:

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns met Mohamed Morsi, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), in Washington's highest level outreach to the Islamist group as part of a series of meetings with Egyptian political figures in Cairo, the State Department said. "From our perspective it was an opportunity to hear from them and to reinforce our expectation that all the major parties will support human rights, tolerance, rights of women and will also uphold Egypt's existing international obligations," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.  

From the WIKi on the peace accord:

Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and the subsequent strong showing of Islamist parties in Egypt's parliamentary elections, the Deputy chief of Egypt's largest party, the Muslim brotherhood, has said that they will not recognize Israel's right to exist, the treaty is non-binding, and will be put to a referendum.