Friday, May 27, 2011

BBC News - G8: Libya's Gaddafi 'should go', say world leaders
BBC News reports: "World leaders at the G8 summit in France have issued a joint call for the embattled Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to step down. Russia, which has criticised Nato's campaign in Libya, said it agreed Col Gaddafi had lost all legitimacy [...] Nato intervened in Libya after the UN passed a resolution in March mandating the protection of civilians in the country, following the uprising against Col Gaddafi."

BBC News - UK calls for G8 financial aid for 'Arab Spring'
BBC News reports: "Leading nations' financial support for the so-called Arab Spring will reduce extremism and immigration, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said [...]At the two-day G8 summit in France, the UK and US are pushing for other pledges of financial support."

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Yahoo! News - G8 gives unpopular host Nicolas Sarkozy a platform to polish his image
Yahoo News reports: "Leaders of the G8 countries are discussing a wide range of issues at their two-day meeting in the French beach resort of Deauville: the Arab Spring, nuclear energy, International Monetary Fund leadership, and rules and regulations for the Internet."
My Way News - 7 US troops among 9 NATO dead in Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "Nine NATO service members were killed Thursday in Afghanistan, including seven U.S. troops among eight who died when a powerful bomb exploded in a field where they were patrolling on foot, officials said [...] Thursday's blast was the worst single attack against NATO forces by one of the Taliban's crude, homemade bombs since October 2009."
My Way News - Google tries to replace wallets with smartphones
My Way News reports: "Google Inc. is trying to nudge consumers and merchants into a world where the smartphone has replaced the wallet as the container for credit cards, coupons and receipts [...] The Internet search and advertising company faces tough competition from cellphone companies, payment card issuer Visa Inc., eBay Inc.'s PayPal payment service and others. All of them want to play the central role of tying together phones, retailers and banks into a new payment system."

Comment: Once again, this is not the mark, just a trend we are watching. I always feel that I need to include a disclaimer, you know how gullible people can be. The mark may have nothing at all to do with payment systems, we are just watching the trends. This trend is important because there are many parts of the world in which people don't have credit cards but they do have cell phones, so mobile payment systems bring a much larger part of the world into the global economic system.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My Way News - Europe set for key Palestine role
My Way News reports: "Europe, its global influence waning by the day, has long wished for more of a voice in a Middle Eastern diplomatic arena dominated by the U.S. That wish is now being granted, in a limited way: The position of key European nations could determine the impact of the Palestinians' plan to ask the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state at its September annual meeting."

My Way News - Palestinians set their sights on UN recognition
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday dismissed Benjamin Netanyahu's outline of a peace deal as a non-starter and said he's now setting his sights on U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state in the fall - unless the Israeli prime minister softens his stance before then."
My Way News - NATO pushes Taliban back in east Afghan district
My Way News reports: "Airborne NATO and Afghan soldiers expelled Taliban fighters Wednesday from a government building they occupied in a remote eastern district and forced them to flee to surrounding mountains, a local official said, the latest fighting in a region bordering Pakistan's lawless tribal area [...] NATO plans to hand over control of seven areas to the Afghan army in July, despite new bombings and assaults by insurgents who have begun their spring offensive. The U.S. plans to begin a gradual drawdown of troops at the same time."
My Way News - Banks offer cash transfers to cell numbers, emails
My Way News reports: "Three of the nation's four largest banks are launching a system that lets customers transfer money from their checking accounts using only a mobile number or email address [...] The service is a joint venture between Bank of America Corp. (BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. The banks expect to add other financial institutions, eventually creating an industry-wide utility for moving money [...] The service is a direct threat to PayPal, which dominates the market for online electronic payments with nearly 100 million active users."

Comment: An interesting development in mobile commerce. I'm not convinced that the mark is money (this requires an unexamined assumption) but I can certainly respect the importance of the trend of currency becoming a digital commodity.
My Way News - Activists warn G-8 against Web restrictions
My Way News reports: "Internet activists and digital entrepreneurs warned Wednesday that if global leaders attempt to limit access to the Web, their restrictions will be bypassed and they will become irrelevant [...] French President Nicolas Sarkozy, had convened Internet mavens in Paris on Tuesday to argue that the online world needs more real-world regulation."
My Way News - Are pre-1967 borders indefensible for Israel?
My Way News reports: "During a swing through Washington this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly said his country's pre-1967 lines are 'indefensible.' A total withdrawal from the West Bank, a strategic highland looming over central Israel, would certainly leave the Israeli heartland more vulnerable to attack or invasion."

My Way News - Egypt to open Rafah crossing permanently
My Way News reports: "Egypt's decision Wednesday to end its blockade of Gaza by opening the only crossing to the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory this weekend could ease the isolation of 1.4 million Palestinians there. It also puts the new Egyptian regime at odds with Israel, which insists on careful monitoring of people and goods entering Gaza for security reasons."

My Way News - Hezbollah leader stands firm behind Syria
My Way News reports: "The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group stood firmly behind his allies in Syria on Wednesday in his first comments on the country's uprising, saying that toppling the Damascus regime would serve only U.S. and Israeli interests."

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Netanyahu: Israel ready for painful compromises - Yahoo! News
Yahoo News reports: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cheering U.S. Congress on Tuesday he was willing to make 'painful compromises' for peace with the Palestinians, but he offered little concrete to entice Palestinians back to the bargaining table."
My Way News - IAEA: Syria very likely hid nuke program
My Way News reports: "The U.N. nuclear agency says that a Syrian target bombed four years ago by Israel was very likely a nearly finished, covertly built nuclear reactor. The finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency backs U.S. findings and sets the stage for potential U.N. Security Council action against Syria."
My Way News - EU tightens sanctions on Iran
My Way News reports: "The European Union is tightening sanctions against Iran over worries about its nuclear program. The EU foreign ministers decided Monday to impose asset freezes and travel bans on more Iranian officials and companies with links to the nuclear program."
My Way News - UN: Security Council should be more representative
My Way News reports: "U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the U.N. Security Council should be 'more democratic and representative,' but did not directly answer Nigeria's bid to become a permanent member of the council [...] Nigeria currently occupies one of the 10 rotating seats."
My Way News - Flights canceled as volcanic ash touches Scotland
My Way News reports: "Ash spewing from an Icelandic volcano is bringing disruption and days of uncertainty to more parts of Europe, as officials in Germany said dozens of flights will be grounded on Wednesday."
My Way News - Repeat deadly storms 'unusual but not unknown'
My Way News reports: "Weather experts said it's unusual for deadly tornadoes to develop a few weeks apart in the U.S. But what made the two storm systems that barreled through a Missouri city and the South within the last month so rare is that tornadoes took direct aim at populated areas. The tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., on Sunday killed more than 100 people and marked the nation's deadliest single tornado in almost six decades. The series of twisters that swept through the South late last month killed more than 300 people. Both disasters leveled entire communities."

Monday, May 23, 2011

My Way News - Radio host says world's end actually coming in Oct
My Way News reports: "Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven Saturday before global cataclysm struck the planet, said he felt so terrible when his doomsday message did not come true that he left home and took refuge in a motel with his wife. His independent ministry, Family Radio International, spent millions - some of it from donations made by followers - on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the Judgment Day message."

Comment: I wonder if he will return the donations or keep them as deposit for the next doomsday date? Let's all remember that the gospel is free to all, no need to give donations to hucksters selling doom.

The gospel is called the "good news" and not the "bad news" because it's never been about "the end of the world," it's about salvation. "Save The Humans" that's God's bumper sticker (he also likes whales, but that's already taken) and he is not in a rush to end the world because more time means more souls saved...and that is what it's all about.

And let's just get this out of the way: the world will never end. Humans have an open-ended destiny, that's why saving them is so important. Thanks to God's work of salvation through Jesus we have eternity to play with and that's an exciting thing to think about. So forget about all this doom and gloom and get on with life.
My Way News - Palestinians more skeptical about Mideast talks
My Way News reports: "Palestinian officials said Saturday that Israel's dismissive response to President Barack Obama's new Mideast peace proposal proves there's not enough common ground for meaningful negotiations."

My Way News - Obama's 'Jewish state' reference jars Palestinians
My Way News reports: "U.S.-Israel tension over Barack Obama's endorsement of Israel's pre-1967 borders is obscuring a flip side of the Middle East coin: The past days' speeches by the U.S. president contained difficult challenges for the Palestinians as well [...] Most difficult for Palestinians is Obama's call to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, essentially requiring the Palestinians to accept that most refugees will be denied the 'right of return' to what is now Israel."

My Way News - Israel's Netanyahu: 1967 borders can't be defended
My Way News reports: "The U.S., the international community and even past Israeli governments have endorsed a settlement based on the 1967 lines, but Obama was far more explicit than in the past. His position appeared to put him at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not accepted the concept."

Comment: It's a rare mediator that isn't really trusted by either side of the conflict.
My Way News - China calls for attacking Somali pirate bases
My Way News reports: "A Chinese general's call for land attacks on Somali pirate strongholds is being seen by analysts as another sign of the armed forces' growing assertiveness, even if the proposal is unlikely to result in action."
My Way News - Militants storm Pakistani naval base in Karachi
My Way News reports: "Islamist militants stormed a naval base in the Pakistani city of Karachi late Sunday, destroying a U.S.-supplied surveillance aircraft, firing rockets and battling commandos sent to subdue them in one of the most brazen attacks in years, officials said."
My Way News - Obama: '67 borders reflects long-standing policy
My Way News reports: "President Barack Obama defended his endorsement of Israel's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a future Palestine, telling America's pro-Israel lobby Sunday that his views reflected long-standing U.S. policy that needed to be stated clearly."
My Way News - Rescuers race to find survivors of Joplin tornado
My Way News reports: "Rescue crews dug through piles of splintered houses and crushed cars Monday in a search for victims of a half-mile-wide tornado that killed at least 116 people when it blasted much of this Missouri town off the map and slammed straight into its hospital. It was the nation's deadliest single twister in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month."

Saturday, May 21, 2011

My Way News - Apocalypse believers await end, skeptics carry on
My Way News reports: "They spent months warning the world of the apocalypse, some giving away earthly belongings or draining their savings accounts. And so they waited, vigilantly, on Saturday for the appointed hour to arrive. When 6 p.m. came and went across the continental U.S. and various spots around the globe, and no extraordinary cataclysm occurred, some believers expressed confusion, while others reassured each of their faith. Still, some others took it in stride."

Comment: I feel sorry for those followers of Camping who really did sell their possessions and got duped by him. When Jesus himself said that no man knows the day or the hour it's just prideful arrogance to say that you know. Camping is a deceiver and a false prophet. I hope that the followers of Camping hold on to their faith and leave Camping and find a good Bible-based church that will focus more on living the truth of their faith instead of preparing for an end that may not happen in our lifetimes.

The lesson for the church at large from this is to be ever watchful (the Lord said to be watchful), but don't be alarmed or fearful about the times, just carry on with the work that God has given you to do and let God worry about his prophetic calendar.
My Way News - Scientists: Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano erupting
My Way News reports: "Iceland's most active volcano has started erupting, scientists said Saturday - just over a year after another eruption on the North Atlantic island shut down European air traffic for days [...] A no fly zone has been designated for 120 nautical miles (220 kilometers) in all directions from the eruption."

Friday, May 20, 2011

My Way News - Face to face, Netanyahu rejects Obama on borders
My Way News reports: "In a blunt display of differences, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of using his country's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a neighboring Palestinian state on Friday, declaring his objections face-to-face to President Barack Obama who had raised the idea just 24 hours earlier in an effort to revive stalled Mideast peace talks."

Comment: It's a good thing the Israeli PM has a backbone and is willing to stand up to Obama. I really appreciate the way he was willing to do it in a public meeting and face to face. It's a sad day for America when the U.S. tries to get an ally to give up even more land (Gaza anyone?) to those nice peace-loving Palestinians. I'm surprised Hamas hasn't celebrated by raining down more missiles on Israel. They do that from time to time, as a peace gesture.
My Way News - Japan quake could raise concerns elsewhere
My Way News reports: "The quake and following tsunami are believed to have killed more than 24,500 people. Police reported last week that 15,019 were dead and 9,506 were still listed as missing. In addition, radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have forced 80,000 people living within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius of the facility to leave their homes for an indefinite time."
My Way News - Arab uprising disturbing flow of anti-terror intel
My Way News reports: "Extremist groups such as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are not believed to have played a big role in the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. But concerns are mounting they will exploit the instability caused by the sudden collapse of autocratic regimes that clamped down hard on terrorism and cooperated with the West."

Comment: What comes after the Arab Spring? Well, Fall and Winter, of course. There is a chance that North Africa will become a hotbed of radical Islamic terror with its sites set on Israel and the U.S.
My Way News - Al-Qaida eyed oil tankers as bombing targets
My Way News reports: "Osama bin Laden's personal files revealed a brazen idea to hijack oil tankers and blow them up at sea last summer, creating explosions he hoped would rattle the world's economy and send oil prices skyrocketing, the U.S. said Friday [...] The U.S. has warned for years that such an attack in a narrow waterway, such as the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran, would immediately send oil prices higher."
My Way News - CDC's 'zombie apocalypse' advice an Internet hit
My Way News reports: "'Zombie apocalypse.' That blog posting headline is all it took for a behind-the-scenes public health doctor to set off an Internet frenzy over tired old advice about keeping water and flashlights on hand in case of a hurricane [...] The idea evolved from a CDC Twitter session with the public earlier this year about planning for disasters."

Comment: I especially worried about the Mayan Zombie apocalypse, better start preparing now!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

May 21, 2011: Harold Camping’s followers say doomsday is near - Under God - The Washington Post
The Washington Post reports: "By now you may have heard: Family Radio evangelist Harold Camping says Judgment Day in May 21, 2011 — that’s three days, people! Camping has been denounced by Christian leaders left and right --not necessarily for asserting that the end of the world is nigh, but for putting a date on it."

Comment: This is a sad example of date-setting by someone who already failed the Biblical test for being a true prophet of God. Still, there is a bright spot - how often do you see the Gospel quoted in a major national newspaper? I'm still making plans for the weekend, how about you?
My Way News - Prodding Israel, Obama embraces Palestine borders
My Way News reports: "Exasperated by stalled Middle East peace talks in a season of tumultuous change, President Barack Obama jolted close ally Israel Thursday by embracing the Palestinians' terms for drawing the borders of their new nation next door. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel rejected the idea as 'indefensible' on the eve of his vital White House meeting with Obama."

Comment: This is a very unfortunate development. Someone needs to explain the concept of "strategic depth" to the president who has never visited the tiny state of Israel and obviously fails to appreciate just how little land there is to give away to those nice peace-loving Palestinians.
My Way News - Earthquake hits western Turkey; 2 dead
My Way News reports: "A 5.9-magnitude earthquake rocked western Turkey on Thursday, shattering windows, damaging old buildings in one town and killing two people, authorities said [...] In 1999, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people."

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

My Way News - US slaps sanctions on Syria's Assad for abuses
My Way News reports: "The United States slapped sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and six senior Syrian officials for human rights abuses over their brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, for the first time personally penalizing the Syrian leader for actions of his security forces."
My Way News - US official: growing threat from solar storms
My Way News reports: "A senior official at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says solar storms pose a growing threat to criticial infrastructure such as satellite communications, navigation systems and electrical transmission equipment. NOAA Assistant Secretary Kathryn Sullivan says the intensity of solar storms is expected to peak in 2013 and countries should prepare for 'potentially devastating effects.'"
My Way News - US troops face increasing dangers in southern Iraq
My Way News reports: "American forces are facing an increasingly dangerous environment in southern Iraq, where Shiite militias trying to claim they are driving out the U.S. occupiers have stepped up attacks against bases and troops."

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

My Way News - Pakistan's Gilani visits ally Beijing amid US rift
My Way News reports: "Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani began a visit to China on Tuesday with his country's old ally looking more attractive after the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden further strained Islamabad's ties with Washington [...] Days earlier, Beijing had underscored its regional heft by hosting forces from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan for joint anti-terrorism drills in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, part of its embrace of Central Asia through the Chinese and Russian-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization."

Monday, May 16, 2011

NYTimes.com - Muslims and Coptic Christians Clash Again in Egypt
The New York Times reports: "Muslims and Coptic Christians clashed with bullets, rocks and Molotov cocktails here for the second time in seven days on Saturday night, sending at least 55 people to the hospital, officials with Egypt’s Interior Ministry said."

Comment: Sad that this is continuing, please join me in praying for the church in Egypt.
My Way News - Mideast middleman quits _ but does it matter?
My Way News reports: "The question of whether mediators matter took on acuity this weekend with the resignation of U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, a move that came exactly as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict he was asked to help resolve seems about to retake center stage."
My Way News - Egypt police fire at rally outside Israel Embassy
My Way News reports: "Egyptian riot police fired tear gas and live ammunition overnight to disperse thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, and a security official said Monday that at least 185 demonstrators were arrested over allegations of attacking police and vandalism [...] The protesters set fire to an Israeli flag, chanted anti-Israeli slogans and called for the expulsion of Israel's ambassador and the closure of the embassy."
My Way News - Russia wants US guarantees on missile shield
My Way News reports: "Russia wants the United States to provide Moscow with guarantees that a prospective U.S.-led missile shield wouldn't threaten its security, a senior Russia official said Monday [...] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned that a failure to reach a deal on the issue could force Russia to deploy new offensive weapons, triggering a new arms race."
My Way News - US Navy drones: Coming to a carrier near China?
My Way News reports: "he U.S. is developing aircraft carrier-based drones that could provide a crucial edge as it tries to counter China's military rise [...] the drones could offset some of China's recent advances, notably its work on a 'carrier-killer' missile."
My Way News - US hits credit limit, setting up 11-week fight
My Way News reports: "The United States reached its $14.3 trillion limit on federal borrowing Monday, leaving Congress 11 weeks to raise the threshold or risk a financial panic or another recession."
My Way News - IMF crisis opens the door to emerging nations
My Way News reports: "The arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has plunged the International Monetary Fund into a leadership dilemma just as it's playing a key role in addressing Europe's debt crisis and other global challenges [...] The 187-member IMF lends money to countries unable to pay their debts. The World Bank provides loans to poor nations for building roads, dams and other development projects."

Saturday, May 14, 2011

My Way News - Ally criticizes Iran's president in power struggle
My Way News reports: "The spiritual mentor of Iran's president has harshly criticized him for his role in an internal power struggle that has split the country's hard-liners, indicating that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's own support base is badly fraying."

WPR - Iran's Leadership Struggle Reveals Secular-Islamist Split
World Politics Review reports: "In essence, Iran's political battle is over two possible paths ahead: a continuation of the Islamic Republic with its Islamist system of governance or the emergence of a more secular nation with elected, nonclerical officials."

Comment: Some very important developments here in the power struggle among the power elite in Iran. Our Western media have painted the Iranian president as an Islamic radical and it turns out he is a Persian nationalist. Interesting development, but still does not bode well for Israel.
My Way News - Palestinians, Israeli troops clash over teen death
My Way News reports: "Masked Palestinians whirling slingshots clashed with Israeli riot police in two Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem on Saturday after the shooting death of a teenage stone thrower. It was a sign of rising tensions on the eve of Palestinian commemorations of their uprooting during Israel's 1948 creation."
My Way News - Israeli soldiers train to shoot down missiles
My Way News reports: "Israel has put together a multilayered shield designed to intercept rockets and missiles capable of striking it from as close as the Gaza Strip and as far away as Iran, reflecting concern that future conflicts will target Israel's civilian population centers."
My Way News - Experts debate destroying last smallpox viruses
My Way News reports: "Smallpox, one of the world's deadliest diseases, eradicated three decades ago, is kept alive under tight security today in just two places - the United States and Russia. Many other countries say the world would be safer if those stockpiles of the virus were destroyed. Now for the fifth time, at a World Health Organization meeting next week, they will push again for the virus' destruction. And again it seems likely their efforts will be futile."
My Way News - White House unveils cybersecurity plan
My Way News reports: "The threat is diverse, ranging from computer hackers going after banking and financial accounts to terrorists or other nations breaching government networks to steal sensitive data or sabotage critical systems like the electrical grid, nuclear plants or Wall Street. Federal computer networks are being scanned and attacked millions of times a day, and U.S. officials warn that hackers have begun targeting power plants and other critical operations to either bring them down or take them over."
My Way News - Hamas sends signals of moderation to West
My Way News reports: "Hamas, the Islamic militant group known for suicide bombings, rocket attacks and hatred of Israel, is sending subtle signals of moderation as it prepares to join a Palestinian unity government."
My Way News - Obama accepts resignation of US Mideast envoy
My Way News reports: "His two-year mission unfulfilled, Sen. George Mitchell announced his resignation Friday as the Obama administration's special envoy to the Mideast at a time of turmoil in the region and after fruitless attempts at rekindling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks."
My Way News - Strong earthquake shakes Costa Rica's capital
My Way News reports: "A magnitude-6 earthquake shook the capital city of Costa Rica on Friday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was felt strongly in San Jose but there were no immediate reports damage or injuries, said Juan de Dios Castillo, spokesman for Seismological and Volcanic Institute. He said there were reports of fallen objects but none of major damages to buildings."

Friday, May 13, 2011

CNN.com - Blasts kill at least 70 in northwest Pakistan
CNN reports: "Twin explosions targeting recruits at a military training facility in northwest Pakistan killed at least 70 people and injured 30 others, police said. One of the explosions was a suicide blast, while the other was a planted bomb, according to Nisar Khan Murrawat, the police chief of the Charsadda district. Some 65 of the dead are believed to be military recruits, the police chief said."

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

My Way News - 2 quakes in Spain kill 10, injure dozens
My Way News reports: "Two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession Wednesday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings, officials said. It was the highest quake-related death toll in Spain in more than 50 years."

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

My Way News - Mississippi Delta braces for historic flood
My Way News reports: "The bulging Mississippi River rolled into the fertile Mississippi Delta on Tuesday, threatening to wash away stately homes and shotgun shacks, and destroy fields of cotton, rice and corn in a flood of historic proportions."

My Way News - Fire and rain: Fed scientists point to wild April
My Way News reports: "April was a historic month for wild weather in the United States, and it wasn't just the killer tornado outbreak that set records, according to scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April included an odd mix of downpours, droughts and wildfires."

Monday, May 09, 2011

My Way News - Church burning deepens tumult of Egypt transition
My Way News reports: "Relations between Egypt's Muslims and Christians degenerated to a new low Sunday after riots overnight left 12 people dead and a church burned, adding to the disorder of the country's post-revolution transition to democracy."

Comment: Praying for the church in Egypt.
My Way News - Al-Qaida in Iraq pledges support for al-Zawahri
My Way News reports: "Al-Qaida's front group in Iraq reaffirmed its support Monday for the terror network's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, a week after U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden."
My Way News - Combat stirs Libya's deadlocked eastern front
My Way News reports: "Rebels battled Moammar Gadhafi's forces on a deadlocked front line in eastern Libya, and NATO warplanes struck Tripoli early Tuesday in the heaviest bombing of the Libyan capital in weeks."

My Way News - Yemeni security forces fire on protesters, 3 dead
My Way News reports: "Security forces backed by army units opened fire Sunday on protesters demanding the ouster of Yemen's longtime president, killing three, an opposition activist said. In all, tens of thousands of protesters mobilized in several cities and towns, according to activists - the latest installment of daily protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that have been staged for almost three months."

My Way News - Thousands of Moroccans call for reforms
My Way News reports: "Thousands of Moroccans have demanded political reforms in this Muslim kingdom during an anti-violence march in Marrakech, where 17 people died in a cafe bombing last month. Sunday's march was the latest by the February 20 movement that regularly mounts pro-democracy protests."

Sunday, May 08, 2011

My Way News - New clashes hit Cairo after Muslims burn church
My Way News reports: "Hundreds of Christians and Muslims hurled stones at each other in downtown Cairo on Sunday, hours after Muslim mobs set fire to a church and a Christian-owned apartment building in a frenzy of violence that killed 12 people and injured more than 200."

Comment: Please join me in praying for the church in Egypt, that the Holy Spirit will guide and protect their faith and that they will keep love, compassion and mercy in their hearts and not seek revenge and retribution. It is a witness to the world to show that Christians react to persecution in a different way than non-believers do.

Friday, May 06, 2011

My Way News - Witnesses: Syrian forces kill 30 protesters
My Way News reports: "Syrian security forces opened fire Friday on thousands of protesters demanding regime change, killing more than 30 people in a sign that President Bashar Assad is prepared to ride out a wave of rapidly escalating international outrage."

Comment:The real danger in all of this "Arab Spring" turmoil is that these embattled dictators will decide to use the ultimate weapon of mass-distraction and attack Israel in the hopes that this will unite their people. Nothing unites the Arab street more than hatred for Israel. I wonder though if maybe the younger generation are past that kind of manipulation and they won't be so easily distracted from their desire for reform?
My Way News - Internet chatter up on bin Laden revenge attacks
My Way News reports: "Western intelligence officials said Friday they are seeing increased Internet and phone chatter about cheap, small-scale terror attacks to avenge the death of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden [...] Interpol has asked law enforcement agencies in some 188 countries to be on alert for retaliatory attacks."

My Way News - Al-Qaida vows revenge for Osama bin Laden's death
My Way News reports: "Al-Qaida confirmed the killing of Osama bin Laden Friday and vowed revenge, saying Americans''happiness will turn to sadness' in the first statement by the terror network since its leader was slain in a U.S. commando raid against his Pakistani hideout."

Thursday, May 05, 2011

My Way News - Residents: Syrian troops mass around coastal city
My Way News reports: "The Syrian army said Thursday it has begun withdrawing from a city at the heart of the country's uprising, but the regime expanded its crackdown elsewhere by deploying soldiers and arresting hundreds ahead of a new wave of anti-government protests."
My Way News - Despite economic growth, India lets its girls die
My Way News reports: "Despite a booming economy and big cities full of luxury cars and glittering malls, the country is failing its girls [...] The discrimination happens through abortions of female fetuses and sheer neglect of young girls, despite years of high-profile campaigns to address the issue."

Comment:
Since I don't subscribe to politically correct moral and cultural relativism I'll just say this is wrong and wicked no matter what their culture says. I think they need a right-to-life movement in India.
My Way News - Climate scientists told to 'stop speaking in code'
My Way News reports: "An authoritative report released at the meeting of nearly 400 scientists in Copenhagen showed melting ice in the Arctic could help raise global sea levels by as much as 5 feet this century, much higher than earlier projections."

Comment: If you live in a coastal area, this may be a good time to start planning to move inland. No rush, but it would be wise to start making plans.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

My Way News - Palestinian deal ends rift, hurts peace prospects
My Way News reports: "Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas signed a landmark reconciliation pact on Wednesday, ending a four-year rift that had divided the territory envisioned for a future Palestinian state. The deal plunged Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking deeper into uncertainty as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a 'mortal blow to peace.'"

My Way News - Jerusalem mayor says holy city indivisible
My Way News reports: "The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem said Wednesday that Arabs and Jews are now so intertwined that the city cannot possibly be divided, even though both Israel and the Palestinians claim it as their capital [...] The Palestinians want east Jerusalem for the capital of the state they hope to set up in the West Bank and coastal Gaza Strip."
My Way News - For computer chip builders, only one way to go: Up
My Way News reports: "In the race to build a faster computer chip, there is literally nowhere to go but up. Today's chip surfaces are packed with the tiniest electronic switches the laws of physics allow, but Intel Corp. says it is blowing past those limits with a breakthrough, three-dimensional transistor design it revealed Wednesday."

Comment: Just when you think chips can't get any smaller or faster. Intel: Saving Moore's Law one breakthrough at a time.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

My Way News - Syrian regime resorts to intimidation, threats
My Way News reports: "Facing international condemnation for its bloody crackdown on protesters, the Syrian regime is expanding an intimidation campaign to keep people off the streets, according to human rights activists. They report a sharp escalation in arbitrary arrests and unexplained disappearances - including people being plucked from their homes and offices in the middle of the day."
My Way News - Palestinian factions agree to reconciliation deal
My Way News reports: "Fifteen Palestinian factions, including militant Islamic groups, endorsed a reconciliation deal Tuesday meant to end a four-year rift between the two major Palestinian political movements, Hamas and Fatah. The declaration paved the way for the two groups to sign the agreement on Wednesday, then form a unity caretaker government to prepare for national elections next year."

Comment: This is an unfortunate development. It does not mean that the radical group (Hamas) is aligning with the "moderate" group (Fatah), it means that Fatah is becoming more like Hamas simply because Hamas, as a radical group, is unyielding in their hater ideology. How can a group that champions the destruction of Israel be welcomed into Palestinian political life and then expect anyone to seriously think that the Palestinians want peace?
My Way News - New Zealand's largest city hit by tornado
My Way News reports: "A tornado ripped across part of New Zealand's largest city on Tuesday, upturning cars and sending debris slicing through the air, witnesses and news reports said. At least one person was killed and about 20 injured, a hospital official said."
My Way News - Bin Laden story shows changing media nature
My Way News reports: "In an illustration of how the information world has changed, many people learned through media formats or devices that weren't available a decade ago that the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks had been killed [...] The speed of social media struck some as an epochal moment in news coverage."
My Way News - Scientologists say Russia lifts publications ban
My Way News reports: "The Church of Scientology says Russian authorities have lifted a ban on some of its publications. A statement on the website of the organization's Russian branch says 29 books and lectures by the movement's founder L. Ron Hubbard were banned in late April after a court in the Siberian city of Surgut found them 'extremist.'"

Monday, May 02, 2011

My Way News - Bin Laden's demise: US rejoices after a decade
My Way News reports: "After nearly a decade of anger and fear, America rejoiced Monday at the demise of Osama bin Laden, the terror mastermind behind the horrific 9/11 attacks. Navy SEALs who killed the world's most-wanted terrorist seized a trove of al-Qaida documents to pore over, and President Barack Obama laid plans to visit New York's ground zero."

Sunday, May 01, 2011

CNN.com - Osama bin Laden is dead, Obama says
CNN reports: "The mastermind of the worst terrorist attack on American soil is dead, U.S. President Barack Obama announced late Sunday night, almost 10 years after the attacks that killed more than 3,000 people. Osama bin Laden -- the longtime leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces in a mansion outside the Pakistani capital of Islamabad along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN."

Comment: This is a major milestone in the war, perhaps a turning point.