White House irked by Netanyahu’s “red line” speech, reverts to Iran diplomacy

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton berated Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the powerful presentation of his case for confronting Iran with red lines instead of hitherto failed diplomacy and sanctions in his speech to the UN General Assembly Thursday, Sept. 27. This is reported byDEBKAfile’s Washington sources.

Neither released a statement from their conversation of an hour and a quarter one-on-one shortly after the speech.

Our sources report that Clinton made it clear that President Barack Obama would not tolerate the Israeli prime minister having a say in his Iran agenda. He remained committed to diplomacy regardless of Netanyahu’s warning that it was getting “late, very late” to stop a nuclear Iran.

Clinton accordingly announced a decision by the world powers to go into another round of nuclear negotiations with Iran, although after the breakdown of diplomacy in July, they expected an improved Iranian offer. EU foreign executive Catherine Ashton was directed to get in touch with Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalilee for another attempt to set up talks, although when the two officials met in Istanbul on Sept. 18, they made no headway.
DEBKAfile: US steps early Friday Sept. 28 put the clock back five days to Monday when Obama dismissed Netanyahu’s advocacy of agreed red lines for warning Iran off its nuclear bomb program as “background noises” which he systematically blocked. This reversal came after White House and Israeli officials had begun discussing moving the critical timeline for that program to late spring, early summer 2013, instead of this year.
DEBKAfile reported earlier:

Addressing the UN General Assembly Thursday, Sept. 27 Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu graphically depicted Israel’s red line for Iran. He held up a simple diagram showing that Iran had covered 70 percent of the distance to a nuclear bomb and must be stopped before it reached the critical stage next spring or early summer of 2013.
He stressed that it is getting late, very late to stop a nuclear Iran.
The best way, he said, is to lay down a clear red line on the most vulnerable element of its nuclear program: uranium enrichment. “I believe that if faced with a clear and credible red line, Iran will back down and may even disband its program,” he said.

Red lines prevent wars, don’t start them and in fact deterred Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel and the US are in discussion over this issue, said Netanyahu. “I’m sure we can forge a way forward together."

He went on to accuse Iran of spreading terrorist networks in two dozen countries and turning Lebanon and Gaza into terror strongholds. Hoping a nuclear-armed Iran will bring stability is like hoping a nuclear al Qaeda will bring world peace, the prime minister remarked.

DEBKAfile quotes some Washington sources as disclosing that the White House and Israel emissaries have come to an understanding that Israel will hold back from attacking Iran’s nuclear sites before the US election in November, while a special team set up by President Barack Obama completes a new paper setting out the end game for Iran.

He put the team to work after concluding that negotiations with Iran had exhausted their usefulness. Gary Samore, top presidential adviser on nuclear proliferation, leads the team.

Netanyahu’s citing of late spring, early summer 2013, as the critical point on Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb appears to confirm that he has agreed to delay military action against Iran following negotiations with the White House on the next agreed steps. Our sources report that the prime minister was represented in those talks by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and National Security Adviser Yakov Amidror.

According to another view, which is current in Washington’s intelligence community, Israel was finally persuaded to delay by fresh intelligence presented by the Obama administration which showed that Israeli estimates were overly pessimistic in judging the timeline for Iran’s nuclear facilities to be buried in “immunity zones.” That timeline extended to spring 2013, leaving Israel five to six months up to April-May for ordering a military operation against those sites.

However, we have learned that Israeli intelligence circles dispute their American colleagues’ estimate as “interesting” but inaccurate. Netanyahu, in his speech, confirmed that Washington and Jerusalem were constantly exchanging views and evaluations on the state of Iran’s nuclear program.

He also made the point that while intelligence services, American and Israeli alike, had remarkable aptitudes, their estimates on Iran were not foolproof. He was referrng to the Pentagon claim that when Iran was ready to build a bomb, American intelligence would know about it in good time.




DEBKAfile

Weapons of Mass Distraction

High Level Insider: DHS Preparing to Start A Civil War!!

The Godhead - Chuck Missler

The top 10 breakfast cereals most likely to contain Monsanto's GMO corn

(NaturalNews) By now, nearly everyone interested in healthy living is aware of the recent research linking Monsanto's GMO corn to cancer tumors and an increase risk of premature death in both men and women. News of the research is spreading like wildfire across the 'net, and support for Proposition 37 -- which seeks to label GMOs in foods -- is growing by the day.

But the media has not yet reported on the everyday foods being sold in grocery stores right now and made with Monsanto's genetically modified corn (GM corn). Which foods are most likely to contain Monsanto GM corn? To answer this question, I visited a local grocery store in Austin, Texas and purchased 10 breakfast cereals made with high levels of non-organic corn.

According to the Center for Food Safety, up to 85% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified. This means corn-based cereals that use non-organic corn have a very high likelihood of containing GM corn.

The following list presents the top 10 popular breakfast cereals most likely to contain Monsanto's genetically modified corn. For the record, none of these cereals claim to be GMO-free, nor made with organic corn. The exact GMO content of these cereals remains a mystery precisely because manufacturers of these cereals refuse to label them with their GMO content. This lack of full disclosure by the food industry underscores the urgent need for a labeling law so that consumers can make an informed decision.

Legal note: In no way are we claiming these cereals will cause cancer tumors to grow in your body or that they pose an immediate risk to your health. Those studies have not yet been done on humans. GM corn is an experimental crop with unknown long-term effects of humans. Breakfast cereals made with GM corn may turn out to pose a significant long-term risk to human health, but that has not yet been determined. This article is presented in the public interest, reflecting reasonable caution over a common food ingredient which French scientists have now convincingly linked to cancer and premature death in studies conducted on rats.


The top 10 popular breakfast cereals most likely to contain Monsanto's GM cornCocoa Puffs and Corn Chex


Frosted Flakes and Honey Graham Oh's


Honey Nut Chex and Kashi Heart to Heart


Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Kellogg's Corn Pops


Kix and Barbara's Bakery Puffins Peanut Butter



Which cereals contain no GMOs? Nature's PathThere is only one brand of breakfast cereal I know of that's 100% non-GMO and 100% organic across their entire product line. That company is Nature's Path:

If you buy breakfast cereal, and you don't want to eat Monsanto's GM corn, always choose cereals from Nature's Path. This is my No. 1 most highly trusted cereal company.

Many "natural" brands that appear to be healthful and natural are actually not organic or GMO-free. For example, "Barbara's Bakery" cereals are not organic. Although they are positioned in store shelves alongside other organic cereals, they are actually made with conventional crops grown with pesticides which may include Monsanto's Roundup.

You may also notice that most of the cereals most likely to contain GM corn are children's cereals. It is the children in America who are being fed the most GMOs. This represents a highly unethical food experiment being conducted on an entire generation, and the long-term effects of human consumption of GMOs are simply not known.

What we do know is that rats fed this very same Monsanto GM corn developed shockingly large cancer tumors.

The photo released by the French research team, showing large cancer tumors growing at a strongly heightened risk in rats fed a "lifetime" of Monsanto's GM corn, is shown below. According to that study, 70% of females died premature and showed significant damage to their liver, kidneys and other organs.



Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037315_Monsanto_GM_corn_breakfast_cereals.html#ixzz27m5FrD7b

Russia Reasserts Ownership Over The North Pole

A Russian Orthodox bishop has lowered a "holy memorial capsule" into the sea at the North Pole in an attempt to "consecrate" the Arctic and reassert Moscow's claims to the territory.

The service was held by Bishop Iakov on the ice alongside the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya during a polar expedition titled "Arctic-2012", organised by the country's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

The metal capsule carried the blessings of the church's leader, bearing the inscription: "With the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the consecration of the North Pole marks 1150 years of Russian Statehood."

The Kremlin is keen to claim the hydrocarbon riches off its northern coast despite territorial claims from other governments, and is gradually re-militarising the area.

A conservative Moscow think-tank suggested in July that the Arctic Ocean should be renamed the "Russian Ocean" and this week it was announced that MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft will be based in the region by the end of the year.

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, who says exploiting oil and gas reserves in the North is a "strategic priority".

At the North Pole, the bishop's service was attended by a small group of scientists and the Rossiya's captain Oleg Shchapin.

It was held during an expedition to find a floe suitable for Russia's 40th drifting polar research station and to deliver a 17-strong team to man the outpost for the next year.

The consecration earlier this month highlights Russia's urge to claim international waters beyond its continental shelf because of underwater ridges it says are attached to the mainland.

Bishop Iakov, who is thought to be the first Russian priest to visit the pole, emphasised that the consecration symbolised efforts "to restore Russia's position and confirm its achievements in the Arctic".

In 2007, in another political move, Russia planted its flag on the seabed below the polar ice cap using a remotely operated mini-submarine, symbolically laying claim to the surrounding area.

The Rossiya carried on its voyage an icon and holy relics of St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker, the patron saint of sailors, normally kept in the diocese's main church on dry land.

Bishop Iakov was appointed last year as bishop of the newly created, most northerly diocese of Naryan-Mar and Mezen, which lies inside the Arctic Circle on the White and Barents Seas.

The diocese includes the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, where airfields have recently been upgraded by the Russian Air Force as operational strategic bomber stations.

One airbase on Graham Bell Island boasts a 7,000-foot year-round compacted ice runway.

Bishop Iakov has taken part in other polar missions, sailing the length of the contested Northern Sea Route between Scandinavia and Alaska along Russia's Arctic coast, which Russia claims and seeks to charge ships for using like the Panama Canal, but is regarded by most other countries as international waters.

In 2004 the bishop consecrated an Orthodox church in Antarctica at Russia's Bellingshausen research base.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-reasserts-ownership-over-the-north-pole-2012-9#ixzz27m43BRdy

Faber Warns “Everything Will Collapse”

Famed economist Marc Faber appeared on Bloomberg TV with a harsh, direct warning to investors.

"U.S. monetary policies will destroy the world," he said, referring to the new round of stimulus - QE3, or "QE Forever" - the Fed plans to launch this year.

As the publisher of the influential Gloom Boom & Doom report, Faber is well-known for making ominous predictions. Many regard him as the first to warn investors to get out of the stock market one week before the October 1987 crash.

And since the 2008 meltdown, he's been a fierce critic of the Fed's policy of money printing, arguing it only creates a phony recovery.

So it wasn't surprising to hear him speak out against Bernanke's most recent stimulus plan, quantitative easing or QE3.

What was surprising - and frightening - was the level of wealth-destruction he believes will occur.

According to Faber, "eventually we will have a systematic crisis and everything will collapse."

Faber couldn't pin down the timing of his alarming prediction, but said the bigger concern wasn't when the economic storm will begin, but how high the market will go until then.

"The question is really between here and then," he said. "Will everything collapse with Dow Jones 20,000 or 50,000 or 10 million? Mr. Bernanke is a money printer and, believe me, if Mr. Romney wins the election the next Fed chairman will also be a money printer. And so it will go on."

Faber's not alone.

A group of his economic peers agree that with more central bank action like QE3, global economic collapse is imminent.

In a newly released documentary that went viral last month, a team of influential economic experts say they have discovered a "frightening pattern" they believe points to a massive economic catastrophe unlike anything ever seen.

And according to these experts - who have presented their findings to the United Nations, the UK Parliament and a long list of world governments - the catastrophe may happen well before Americans hit the polls in November.

Money Morning

Cops Track Your Face through Phones

U.S. Air National Guard order for long range acoustic hailing devices 100X units

LRAD Corp., a provider of long range acoustic hailing devices (AHDs), announced on Sept. 26 that it has received a new order from the U.S. Air National Guard for LRAD 100X systems. The order totals $550,000 and is scheduled to ship this quarter.

"With this order, LRAD systems will be in use by every major force of the Department of Defense," noted Tom Brown, president and CEO of LRAD. "The Air National Guard will be deploying the LRAD 100X systems throughout the country to support and assist civil authorities in the event of severe natural or man-made disasters. LRAD systems have proven highly effective in communicating warnings, instructions and commands over wide areas before, during, and in the aftermath of catastrophes."

Self-contained and hand portable, the LRAD 100X is 20 to 30 decibels (dB) louder than most bullhorns and megaphones. Optimized driver and wave-guide technology ensure crystal clear voice communication, so every syllable is understood over distances up to 600 meters, says LRAD in its news release. “This extraordinary acoustic performance comes in a rugged package that can be operated in all weather conditions,” said the release.

Interfaces include a hardened microphone as well as a Mil-Spec media player designed for easy operation in demanding environments.

"Our proprietary LRAD systems are the most reliable AHDs available," Brown added. "When disaster strikes, LRAD provides military and civilian emergency responders with One Voice to clearly communicate warnings and instructions to help keep the peace and save lives."

GSN

Stan Deyo video report

Watch live video from cubn1 on Justin.tv

U.S. durable goods plunge worst since recession

WASHINGTON — New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in August fell by the most in 3-1/2 years, pointing to a sharp slowdown in factory activity even as a gauge of planned business spending rebounded.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday durable goods orders dived 13.2%, the largest drop since January 2009, when the economy was in the throes of a recession. Orders for July were revised down to show a 3.3% increase instead of the previously reported 4.1% gain.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders for durable goods — items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years — to fall 5%.

Last month, the drop in orders reflected weak aircraft and automobiles demand. Boeing received only one aircraft order in August, down from 260 in July, according to information posted on the plane maker’s website.

Transportation equipment tumbled 34.9% after racing ahead 13.1% in July. Excluding transportation, orders fell 1.6% after dropping 1.3% the prior month. Economists had expected this category to rise 0.3% after a previously reported 0.6% fall.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1.1%, halting two straight months of hefty declines. That was above economists’ expectations for 0.5% gain.

Jonathon Rivait/National Post

But shipments of these goods, which are used to calculate equipment and software spending in the gross domestic product report, fell 0.9% after declining 1.1% in July. The wea kness su ggested third-quarter economic growth would probably not improve much from the April-June’s 1.3% annual pace.

Manufacturing, which has been the main driver of the recovery from the 2007-09 recession, has been hit by turbulence from sluggish domestic and global demand.

Fears that the U.S. Congress could fail to avert a “fiscal cliff” — the $500 billion or so in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions set to take hold in 2013 — have also left businesses with little incentive to boost production.

Financial Post

Israel's threats only strengthen our resolve, says Iranian military commander

Israel's threats against Iran only serve to strengthen the resolve of its leaders, said the head of the Revolutionary Guards on Friday.

"The enemies want to stop us continuing our path... but these threats only reinforce our determination to continue in the same direction," said General Mohammad Ali Jafari in a speech to thousands of Basij militiamen.

"That is why, when the Zionists make military threats, they are put in their place by the United States," he added.

His statements were posted on Sepah News, the Guards' website, according to a report published by AFP.

Meanwhile, AFP also quoted General Farzad Esmaili, the head of Iran's air and ballistic missile units, as saying, "If a military attack is launched against our nuclear installations, we promise that the enemies will not escape alive." His comments were published by Iran's ISNA news agency.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to draw a "clear red line"beyond which the Iranian nuclear weapons project would not be allowed to progress. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu warned that Iran would be dangerously close to attaining nuclear weapons capability by next summer.

Also Friday, Iranian news agency FARS reported the results of a Gallup poll which it said had found that "an overwhelming majority of rural white Americans said they would rather vote for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than U.S. President Barack Obama."

The poll in question, however, was not a real poll, but afake poll published by the satirical website The Onion.

Apparently not realizing that the poll was a fake, FARS reported that "60 percent of rural whites said they at least respected that Ahmadinejad doesn't try to hide the fact that he's Muslim."
Haaretz

Military conflict 'looms' between China and Japan

The spat over the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands has escalated dramatically in the past month with violent protests across China.

But with a national election approaching in Japan, and a change of leadership in China, politicians on both sides have refused to step back from the brink, afraid that they will appear weak.

"There is a danger of China and Japan having a military conflict," said Yan Xuetong, one of China's most influential foreign policy strategists, and a noted hawk.

"One country must make a concession. But I do not see Japan making concessions. I do not see either side making concessions. Both sides want to solve the situation peacefully, but neither side can provide the right approach," he added.

He warned that unless one side backs down, there could be a repeat of the Falklands Conflict in Asia.

"Generally speaking, according to the theory of international relations, unless one country makes concessions to the other, the escalation of a conflict between two countries will not stop until there is a military clash, like between the UK and Argentina," he said.

He added: "China takes a very tolerant policy elsewhere, with smaller powers. But the case of Japan is different. There is history between us. Japan is a big power. It regards itself as a regional, and sometimes a world power. So China can very naturally regard Japan as an equal. And if we are equal, you cannot poke us. You cannot make a mistake."

Mr Yan is the dean of International Relations at Tsinghua university, the elite college that schooled both China's president, Hu Jintao, and his likely successor, Xi Jinping.

He is also one of China's representatives to the Council of Security Cooperation of Asia-Pacific, a non-governmental body that coordinates security in the region.

Chinese and Japanese diplomats have met this week for talks over the crisis, but no agreement has been reached.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign ministry attacked Yoshihiko Noda, the Japanese prime minister, for telling reporters at the United Nations that the islands belonged to Japan.

"There are no territorial issues as such. Therefore, there cannot be any compromise that represents a retreat from this position," Mr Noda said.

"China is strongly disappointed and sternly opposes the Japanese leader's obstinacy regarding his wrong position on the Diaoyu Islands issue," replied the Chinese Foreign ministry.

In the balance is some £216 billion of bilateral trade. Last year, exports to China were responsible for three per cent of the Japanese economy.

Meanwhile Japan's new opposition leader, Shinzo Abe, is, if anything, more determined than Mr Noda. "Japan's oceans and territory are being threatened. It is my mission to overcome these difficulties," he said.

Several Japanese businesses on the Chinese mainland have had to shut down because of the crisis. Nissan, which relies on the Chinese market for as much as 25 per cent of its revenues, has shut down until October 7 after demand for its cars plummeted.

Toyota has suspended plants in Tianjin and Guangzhou until October 8.

Chinese consumers are shying away from Japanese cars not just because of nationalism, but out of fear after one man in Xi'an was beaten into a coma for driving a Japanese marque.

All Nippon Airways, meanwhile, said 40,000 reservations had been cancelled on flights between China and Japan from this month to November. A cruise line between Shanghai and Nagasaki will suspend its operations from October 13. Guizhou television has banned all advertisements by Japanese brands.

Mitsumi, a supplier for Nintendo, has not reopened its factory in Qingdao since September 16, while two toothbrush factories owned by Lion Corporation also remain shuttered.

Mr Yan predicted that if there was a military confrontation between China and Japan, the United States would not physically intervene.

"I do not think they will send soldiers to fight against the People's Liberation Army," he said. "They [the US] will be involved, but they can be involved in many different ways, providing intelligence, ammunition, political support, logistical help and so on."

Mr Yan said he expected whoever wins the US presidential election to continue to toughen policy on China.

"In terms of the economy, China and the US are partners. But in terms of security, they are rivals. We both know we cannot get along. Both sides are always alert to the other's military policy," he said.

"In the future, the military relationship will become more important. There is a simple reason for this: American hegemony is based on military capability and the military gap with China. When China narrows that gap, it will scare the US," he said.

However, he added that China increasingly needs to change the ideology that guides its foreign policy. "Deng Xiaoping said China should not take a leadership role, make no alliances, and focus on the economy.

"This gap, between China's international status and its foreign policy is widening. We have reached the point where China needs to seriously consider having a new policy consistent with its international status. I do not know when it will happen, but it will not be too long," he said.




The Telegraph

As the UN opens its General Assembly it is thinking on new global taxes

A 1 percent tax on billionaires around the world. A tax on all currency trading in the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound sterling. Another “tiny” tax on all financial transactions, including stock and bond trading, and trading in financial derivatives. New taxes on carbon emissions and on airline tickets. A royalty on all undersea mineral resources extracted more than 100 miles offshore of any nation’s territory.

The United Nations is at it again: finding new and “innovative” ways to create global taxes that would transfer hundreds of billions, and even trillions, of dollars from the rich nations of the world — especially the U.S. — to poorer ones, in line with U.N.-directed economic, social and environmental development.

These latest global tax proposals have received various forms of endorsement at U.N. meetings over the spring and summer, and will be entered into the record during the 67th U.N. General Assembly session, which began this week. The agenda for the entire session, lasting through December, is scheduled to be finalized on Friday.

How to convince developed countries wracked by economic recession and spiraling levels of government debt – especially the U.S. — is another issue, which the world organization may well end up trying to finesse.

As the U.N. itself notes, in a major report on the taxation topic titled, “In Search of New Development Finance” -- the main topic at a high-level international meeting of the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this summer -- “These proposals are subject to political controversy. For instance, many countries are not willing to support international forms of taxation, as these are said to undermine national sovereignty.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/09/27/as-un-opens-its-general-assembly-session-it-is-already-thinking-up-new-global/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fworld+%28Internal+-+World+Latest+-+Text%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz27lv3TnmG

Nuclear Iran same as nuclear-armed al-Qaeda': Netanyahu full UN 2012 speech

Obama-Netanyahu: handshake cancelled

Regardless of who will do this, a new scandal is in place. Leaders of the two allied countries will not meet on the sidelines of the session of the UN General Assembly, just like there will be no face-to-face talks between Barack Obama and Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on September 28. The Israeli prime minister is expected to focus on Iran’s dogged movement towards creating nuclear weapons. He might urge the international community to draw a red line for Iran beyond which a strike should follow. Netanyahu’s earlier attempts to secure Obama’s consent for using force against Iran brought no results. It’s differences over Iran, not Obama’s busy schedule in connection with election debates with Mitt Romney, that preclude a meeting between the two in the White House. Tatiana Nosenko of the Institute of Oriental Studies, comments.

"The US’ major concern is how Iran could threaten its security. At present, Washington doesn’t possess any reliable data that Tehran is close to building a nuclear bomb. For this reason, it finds it senseless to discuss military operations against Iran, particularly since military campaigns of late have demonstrated that using force can do little to resolve problems facing the region. For now, the US administration is abstaining from making statements that contain threats against Iran. At the same, US officials make it clear that all options, including using force, are on the table."

This bundle of controversies is affecting the crisis surrounding Syria, with differences between supporters and opponents of foreign intervention getting more and more pronounced. The US and NATO say they are unprepared to support the military scenario for Syria, while Israel has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. In addition, the US and Israel have been at odds over the construction of Jewish settlements on the West Bank. Washington’s attempts to persuade Tel Aviv to freeze all settlement-building projects invariably lead to more rifts between the two allies.

Israeli-Palestinian relations have been included in the agenda of the session of the UN General Assembly in connection with the Palestinian request for the status of ‘a non-member observer state’. Since Palestinians have the status of an observer but don’t have the status of a state, they want to upgrade their status to ‘an observer state’. Dmitry Maryasis of the Institute of Oriental Studies, comments.

"The Palestinian leader is seeking to boost his image and at the same time divert the world public opinion from internal Palestinian problems. First, Abbas is not a legitimate ruler because his term has long ended with no new elections held for several years running. Second, he has also been unable to strike a deal with Hamas. Third, the Palestinian Authority is split. Finally, the Palestinian administration is going through a severe financial crisis."

Given Mahmoud Abbas’ ‘shaky status’, Palestinian attempts to secure a new status may fail in the same way they failed to win UN recognition as an independent state at the UN General Assembly last year.




Voice of Russia

Barak: Israel can rely only on itself for defense

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday reiterated that Israel is ready for any challenge, but cautioned it cannot rely on anyone but itself.

Speaking at a memorial service for the 1973 Yom Kippur War's victims, Barak stated: "The region around us is alight." The IDF and security forces, however, "are ready for any challenge, be it near or far."

He continued: "It is our duty to maintain absolute security at all times, not foster false hopes, ambitions and dreams. When faced with the ultimate test, we can rely on no one but ourselves."

Directing his comments at the bereaved families present at the ceremony, Barak added: "If necessary, we will fight and win every battle, even at painful costs."

The Yom Kippur War, he said, was a turning point in Israeli history.

The annual memorial ceremony for the 2,691 fallen soldiers of the Yom Kippur War was held in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl and attended by bereaved families, former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Supreme Court Justice Yoram Danziger.

Last week, newly declassified documents released by the IDF archives revealed serious shortcomings leading up to the surprise attack by Egypt and Syria on Israel at the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The shortcomings include a failure to pass on a warning of imminent war from the Mossad handler of Ashraf Marwan – the son-in-law of then- Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser – who allegedly spied on behalf of Israel.

Jerusalem Post

President Obama Declares The Future Must Not Belong to Practicing Christians

In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly today the President of the United States declared that the future does not belong to practicing Christians. Already, the media and the left are in full denial, probably based on their general lack of understanding of theology. This would have been a gaffe had Mitt Romney said it. But with Barack Obama, he’s just speaking bold truths. His bold truth declares that the future does not belong to practicing Christians.

Pay careful attention to what he says.

The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam. Yet to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see when the image of Jesus Christ is desecrated, churches are destroyed, or the Holocaust is denied. Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims, and Shiite pilgrims. It is time to heed the words of Gandhi: “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.” Together, we must work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not defined by them. That is what America embodies, and that is the vision we will support.

Now, that’s the full paragraph so no one can claim I took him out of context.

But consider this.

It is an orthodox Christian belief that Mohammed is not a prophet. Actual Christians, as opposed to many of the supposed Christians put up by the mainstream media, believe that Christ is the only way to salvation. Believing that is slandering Mohammed. That’s just a fact. If you don’t believe me, you go into the MIddle East and proclaim Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and see what happens to your life.

Then Barack Obama went on to say “Yet to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see when the image of Jesus Christ is desecrated, churches are destroyed, or the Holocaust is denied.” Note he says we cannot “slander the prophet of Islam” but it’s only the image of Christ in the next sentence — not actually Christ himself desecrated. If this is so, why does Barack Obama’s government continue funding the National Endowment for the Arts, which funded Christ in piss, the Virgin Mary painted in dung, etc.?

Now, in point of fact, this is a major difference between Islam and Christianity. Christ came to this world as an enemy of the world and expected to be impugned. He also tells his followers that they should expect to be impugned. There is joy in being persecuted for following the Risen Lord. In Islam, if you impugn Mohammed, you get a fatwa on your butt.

And then there is the first amendment. The President of the United States tried to have it both ways in his speech.

I know there are some who ask why we don’t just ban such a video. The answer is enshrined in our laws: our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech. Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. Moreover, as President of our country, and Commander-in-Chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so. Americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views – even views that we disagree with.

We do so not because we support hateful speech, but because our Founders understood that without such protections, the capacity of each individual to express their own views, and practice their own faith, may be threatened. We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can become a tool to silence critics, or oppress minorities. We do so because given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech – the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.

I know that not all countries in this body share this understanding of the protection of free speech. Yet in 2012, at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete. The question, then, is how we respond. And on this we must agree: there is no speech that justifies mindless violence.

Just words, Mr. President? You say “there is no speech that justifies mindless violence,” but all last week you condemned a ridiculous video trailer for a movie that does not exist. Your government ran advertisements in Pakistan denouncing the video. What of free speech, Mr. President? Last week you were saying the violence was understandable given the offensive film and this week you are trying to claim it was mindless.

Oh wait, you did it again in the same speech where you said “there is no speech that justifies mindless violence”:

At times, the conflicts arise along the fault lines of faith, race or tribe; and often they arise from the difficulties of reconciling tradition and faith with the diversity and interdependence of the modern world. In every country, there are those who find different religious beliefs threatening; in every culture, those who love freedom for themselves must ask how much they are willing to tolerate freedom for others.

That is what we saw play out the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world.

Time and again the President of the United States tries to have it both ways.

But are they just words?

The fact is, many religions do not recognize Mohammed as a prophet. In the widest swath of Islam, that denial is, in and of itself, slander. So what exactly are you saying Mr. President?

As an exit point, with all of President Obama’s statements on tolerance in his speech, we should remember that tolerance is really not a Christian virtue. As Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia noted, “We need to remember that tolerance is not a Christian virtue. Charity, justice, mercy, prudence, honesty — these are Christian virtues. And obviously, in a diverse community, tolerance is an important working principle. But it’s never an end itself.” The Archbishop also noted that evil preaches tolerance until it is dominate and then it seeks to silence good. That’s not a statement that the President is evil in any way, shape, or form, but we should be mindful when the secular world demands tolerance for all, tolerance for all means we cannot have standards of faith to live by, because those standards obviously require we be intolerant of sins this world has embraced.

RedState

Wave of hostility to Christianity in America

Could you imagine going to jail for your faith? A recent report warns that it could happen.

CBN News investigated the growing wave of hostility to Christianity in America that's led to hundreds of court cases.

No Religion Allowed

Angela Hildenbrand faced the very real possibility of going to jail for her faith. The trouble began when a federal judge ruled that no one at her Texas high school could pray or even use words like "prayer" or "amen" during the 2011 graduation ceremonies.

As class valedictorian, Hildenbrand felt God deserved the praise, even if it meant jail for her.

"I was definitely preparing myself to have to make that sort of tough decision and mentally prepare myself for what well could be coming next," she told CBN News.

Hildenbrand's case is just one of more than 640 cases of religious hostility cited in a new report by the Liberty Institute. General Counsel Jeff Mateer, who takes on many of these cases, helped put the survey together.

"The atheists and the secularists are well-organized and they're well-funded," the Liberty Institute attorney told CBN News.

"The rate of hostility to people of faith is overwhelming," he said. "It's increasing. Every day, we're getting calls."

One call involved the Veterans Administration demanding to preview Scott Rainey's prayer for a Memorial Day ceremony at Houston National Cemetery.

They told Rainey, who pastors the Living Word Church of the Nazarene in Houston, he couldn't pray "in Jesus' name."

"I have never said a prayer in my life where I didn't end it saying 'in the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen,'" Pastor Rainey said.

Contending for the Faith

Mateer is also working to save this veteran's memorial cross in San Diego, one of several cases that could have serious national consequences if courts order their removal.

"Are we going to bulldoze all those crosses?" Mateer asked. "We're going to sandblast God from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?"

But Mateer says the good news is, when believers fight back, they usually win.

"You need to stand up and fight," he said. "And that's exactly what Angela did."

Just one day before Hildenbrand's graduation, an appeals court ruled she could pray and say whatever she wanted.

"I thank You for Your great love for us and for our great nation, where we are free," she prayed at her graduation. "And it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen."

Courts eventually ruled that Pastor Rainey -- and all veterans at burials -- are allowed to freely express their faith.

But there is an across-the-board assault of religious hostility, and Americans' religious liberty hangs in the balance.

CBN

Earth's Earliest Ages with Tom Horn

Iran unveils 'indigenous' drone with 2,000km range

Iran has unveiled what it says is a new "indigenous" long-range unmanned drone capable of flying over most of the Middle East, state media report.

The Shahed (Witness) 129 had a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles) and could be equipped with bombs and missiles, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said.

It is reportedly capable of carrying out reconnaissance and combat missions.

Last year, the Iranian authorities displayed a US drone which they claimed to have brought down electronically.


The US insisted that Iran neither shot down the the RQ-170 Sentinel nor used electronic warfare or cyber-technology to force it from the sky. They blamed a malfunction.

Later, the head of the IRGC's aerospace programme, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said it was trying to build a copy of the drone. It is not clear whether the Shahed 129 bears any resemblance.Defences 'ready'

The unveiling of the drone follows a major naval exercise in the Gulf by the US and its allies.

Thirty countries participated in the manoeuvres designed to test the international community's capacity to deal with mines that could hamper shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply is transported.

The exercises took place amid heightened tensions between the West and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme.

On Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was not concerned by the threat that Israel could launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," he told reporters in New York. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."

He also ignored a plea by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for both sides to avoid "incendiary rhetoric" by saying the modern state of Israel had "no roots" in the Middle East and would eventually be "eliminated".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently warned that Iran was only six or seven months from having "90%" of what it needed to make a nuclear bomb, and urged the US to draw a "red line" which if crossed would lead to military intervention.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

BBC