Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Abbas says Palestinians no longer bound by pacts with Israel
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told world leaders Wednesday that he is no longer bound by agreements that have defined relations with Israel for the past two decades and are meant to form the basis for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. [...] However, the Palestinian leader stopped short of specific threats that would irrevocably put him on a collision course with Israel, such as suspending security cooperation."

Pestilence

My Way News - New NYC Legionnaires' disease outbreak kills 1, sickens 12
My Way News reports: "A new Legionnaires' disease cluster discovered in the Bronx has killed one person and sickened 12 others just a month after the largest outbreak of the disease in New York City history, health officials said Wednesday."

My Way News - UN: HIV patients should start treatment immediately
My Way News reports: "The World Health Organization has revised its HIV guidelines to recommend that anyone who tests positive for the virus that causes AIDS should be treated immediately. That guidance fits with what is already recommended in many developed nations, including the United States. "

My Way News - Bill Gates and UN say malaria could be eradicated by 2040
My Way News reports: "Malaria could be wiped out by 2040, despite the lack of an effective vaccine, previous failed attempts to eradicate the disease and drug resistance problems, the United Nations and Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in a report released on Monday [...] About 500,000 children are killed by malaria every year and it's unknown whether cases are going up or down in the worst-hit countries."

War - Doomed Damascus - King of the North

My Way News - Russia begins airstrikes in Syria, but West disputes targets
My Way News reports: "Russia launched airstrikes Wednesday in Syria, sharply escalating Moscow's role in the conflict but also raising questions about whether its intent is fighting Islamic State militants or protecting longtime ally, President Bashar Assad. [...] Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed charges that Russian airstrikes in Syria targeted positions of the Syrian opposition. [...] Putin and other officials have said Russia was providing weapons and training to Assad's army to help it combat IS."

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Doomed Damascus - King of the North - War

My Way News - Syria state media praise Putin's UN speech
My Way News reports: "Syria's state media on Tuesday praised Vladimir Putin's speech before the U.N. General Assembly in which the Russian leader defended Syrian President Bashar Assad. [...] Putin appears keen to bolster the standing of his longtime ally, casting Assad's government as the best defense against Islamic State militants. Moscow has been ramping up its involvement in Syria in recent weeks by ferrying weapons, troops and supplies to an airport near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia in what the U.S. sees as preparations for setting up an air base there."

Roaring Waves

My Way News - Study: Sea level rise increasing major storms off New Jersey
My Way News reports: "A new study looking back over 1,000 years finds the flooding risk along the New York and New Jersey coasts increased greatly after industrialization, and major storms that once might have occurred every 500 years could soon happen every 25 years or so."

Temple Mount - Covenant With Many

My Way News - Palestinians, Israeli forces clash amid holy site tensions:
My Way News reports: "Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli troops across the West Bank on Tuesday, while three tourists were lightly wounded by Palestinian stone throwers as tensions remained high following days of violence at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site. [...] The clashes occurred a day before Abbas is to address the U.N. General Assembly. With the plight of the Palestinians overshadowed this year by the civil war in Syria and the migrant crisis in Europe, Tuesday's unrest appeared to be an attempt to draw attention back to the conflict."

Comment: In other words, it's a manufactured crisis designed to set the stage for a politician to speak at the UN and make more demands of Israel. 

Monday, September 28, 2015

Temple Mount

My Way News - Palestinians clash with Israeli riot police at holy site
My Way News reports: "Palestinians clashed with Israeli riot police after barricading themselves inside a mosque at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, throwing firebombs and rocks at officers outside during a major Jewish holiday on Monday. The hilltop compound in Jerusalem's Old City is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two biblical Jewish temples."

Comment: It doesn't appear to this observer that the Palestinians treaty their "holy site" with any sense of reverence. 

Global Government

My Way News - World leaders at UN lay out sharply different views on Syria:
My Way News reports: "Vladimir Putin played it cool, Barack Obama was earnest but firm and Iran's president walked in smiling. World leaders glided through the opening day of a U.N. gathering Monday that aims to wrestle with the globe's biggest crises — a historic flood of refugees, the rise of threats like the Islamic State group and the conflict in Syria. [...] Obama announced that more than 40,000 new troops and police have been pledged to U.N. peacekeeping missions from more than 50 countries."

Signs in the Stars

My Way News - Life on Mars? NASA says planet appears to have flowing water
My Way News reports: "Scientists in 2008 confirmed the existence of frozen water on Mars. Now instruments aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have yielded what researchers said is the strongest evidence yet that water in liquid form trickles down certain Martian slopes. And because liquid water is essential to life, the finding could have major implications for the possibility of microscopic life forms on Earth's next-door neighbor."

Comment: Remember Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
I think God the Creator has created an amazing universe filled with wonder and a few microbes on Mars would not bother me in the least.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Final Kingdom - Persecution - Gospel

My Way News - Migrant arrivals unlikely to bring major changes to Europe
My Way News reports: "Experts say, however, that there's virtually no chance that the newcomers will radically change the demographics or cultural makeup of the continent — as many populist leaders have contended. They cite recent research by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center which estimated that in 2010 Muslims made up 6 percent of the population of Europe and Russia and this was expected to rise to just over 10 percent by 2050. In the same period, the percentage of Christians is set to decline from 74.5 percent to just over 65 percent — with part of that decline due to the increasing numbers of those with Christian backgrounds who are turning their backs on religion altogether. [...] although projections of numbers of migrants may need to be updated."

Comment: Well, there's an understatement. I hope they don't make policy based on 2010 projections without taking into account the demographic and population surge caused by the mass exodus of refugees from the Middle East. To say there will be virtually no change in the demographics or cultural makeup of Europe is merely wishful thinking after what we've seen in the last month and what is still to come. Refugees traditionally return home after the the war, but I doubt the majority of those recent arrivals will make the return journey. Still unanswered, why are the rich Gulf states, with whom the refugees share ties of ethnicity and religion, not the safe haven that Europe is?

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - Analysis: US-China agreement on cybertheft a first step
My Way News reports: "China's pledge to help crack down on hackers who steal commercial secrets from the United States, even coming as it did amid a bit of arm-twisting by President Barack Obama, is a big breakthrough that could reduce U.S.-China tensions and end huge losses for American companies."

Pestilence

My Way News - Nigeria revels in removal from list of polio-endemic nations:
My Way News reports: "Nigeria on Saturday celebrated the announcement by the U.N. health agency that polio is no longer endemic in the West African country. The news of Nigeria's progress, made by the World Health Organization on late Friday, leaves only Pakistan and its war-battered neighbor Afghanistan as countries where the disease is prevalent. Polio which can cause life-long paralysis can be prevented with a simple vaccination."

Comment: Some good news for a change. This is a milestone well worth celebrating.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Rumors of War - Doomed Damascus - Gog Alliance

My Way News - Hezbollah leader welcomes Russia's growing role in Syria
My Way News reports: "The leader of Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group has welcomed what he described as Russia's growing 'combat presence' in Syria, saying it will have a significant impact on the war in the neighboring country. Moscow has denied that it is building up its presence in Syria to protect its long-time ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, but says instead that it wants to help him fight the Islamic State group."

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Signs in the Moon

My Way News - Supermoon plus eclipse equals rare sky show Sunday night
My Way News reports: "Get ready for a rare double feature this weekend, starring our very own moon. A total lunar eclipse will share the stage with a so-called supermoon Sunday night or early Monday, depending where you are. That combination hasn't been seen since 1982 and won't happen again until 2033. [...] This weekend's eclipse marks the end of a tetrad, or series of four total lunar eclipses set six months apart. This series began in April 2014. The 21st century will see eight of these tetrads, an uncommonly good run. From 1600 to 1900, there were none."

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - Obama seeks elusive progress on cyberspying in China talks
My Way News reports: "President Barack Obama is banking that tough talk on suspected Chinese cyberattacks will yield changes in Beijing's behavior and justify a decision to hold off penalizing China. [...] The U.S. has been preparing sanctions against China in retaliation for its suspected theft earlier this year of personal data of millions of current and former U.S. government employees."

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Nations in Distress

My Way News - EU leaders order broader response to migrant crisis
My Way News reports: "After months of delay and debate, European Union leaders agreed early Thursday to mount a broader, more comprehensive response to Europe's migration crisis, including ponying up more money to aid refugees in the Middle East, both to feed them and to reduce the chance they will come to Europe, and to toughen EU border controls."

Pestilence

My Way News - UN Ebola response now planned to continue into 2016
My Way News reports: "The United Nations is now planning for its Ebola response to last into mid-2016, suggesting the battle against the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people won't be over by year-end, according to a report Wednesday. The news comes as health officials struggle to contain a resurgence of cases in both Sierra Leone and Guinea largely because of problems tracing patients."

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Nations in Distress

My Way News - European ministers agree to relocate 120,000 refugees
My Way News reports: "Deeply divided European Union ministers agreed Tuesday to relocate 120,000 asylum-seekers to ease the strain on Greece and Italy, which are on the front line of the migrant flood. But a senior European leader conceded the move was only a small step toward resolving one of the worst crises ever faced by the 28-nation bloc."

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - US officials expect robust talks with China on cyber, trade
My Way News reports: "White House officials will seek to demonstrate during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit that cracking down on theft of commercial secrets and promoting fair trade is in China's best interest in helping to sustain and grow the world's second-largest economy. [...] Xi is scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon and he and President Barack Obama will have a private dinner that night. [...] On Friday, there will be an arrival ceremony at the White House followed by meetings and a joint news conference. A state dinner honoring the Chinese president will be held at the White House on Friday night."

Comment: The U.S. and China are on a collision course and only an act of will by both countries will avert it. Please join me praying that this meeting will go well and set both countries on the path of peaceful relations.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - UN agency: Iran's role in nuclear probe meets standards
My Way News reports: "The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency acknowledged Monday that samples used to determine whether Iran tried to develop a nuclear weapon were collected by the Iranians instead of agency experts, but insisted the probe stands up to strict agency standards."

Comment: It seems perfectly reasonable to ask Iranians to collect evidence on their covert nuclear program. Doesn't it?

Temple Mount

My Way News - Israel: No young Muslim men at holy site during Yom Kippur
My Way News reports: "Israel says it will reinstate a rule banning Muslim men under age 40 from a mosque at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site as a measure to ensure calm during an upcoming Jewish holiday. The hilltop compound known to Jews as the Temple Mount and known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary has been a flashpoint for violence in recent days."

Pestilence

My Way News - AP Investigation: Bungling by UN agency hurt Ebola response
My Way News reports: "Weak leadership, shoddy supplies and infighting exacerbated a chaotic situation at a critical front in the battle against the virus, an Associated Press investigation has found. More than 40 health workers died in Kenema — a devastating loss in the fight to control an epidemic that has claimed more than 11,000 lives."

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - UN nuke chief in Tehran on implementation of roadmap
My Way News reports: "Iran said a Sunday visit by the U.N. nuclear chief to Tehran is aimed at implementing an agreement between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog. [...] Also on Saturday, IRNA said during his visit to Tehran, Amano would probably attend a meeting of a special parliamentary committee that will be reviewing Iran's nuclear deal. [...] Iran and the world powers reached a historic deal in July to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international economic sanctions."

Friday, September 18, 2015

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - Japan enhances military's role as security bills pass
My Way News reports: "Japan's parliament early Saturday approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country's military by loosening post-World War II constraints, after the ruling bloc defeated opposition parties' last-ditch effort to block a vote. The upper house's approval makes the legislation into law, reinterpreting Japan's constitution and fundamentally changing the way it uses its military."

Nations in Destress

My Way News - Europeans shut borders, block bridges, to halt migrant surge
My Way News reports: "Thousands of migrants were trapped Friday in a vicious tug-of-war as bickering European governments shut border crossings, blocked bridges and erected new barbed-wire fences in a bid to stem the wave of humanity fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa."

Comment: Why can't the rich Gulf states take them? Shouldn't there be some kind of pan-Arab solidarity or at least sympathy? Why is it all up to Germany and Europe to care for Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees? 

Temple Mount - Peace of Jerusalem

My Way News - Palestinians and Israel forces clash in Jerusalem, West Bank
My Way News reports: "Violence between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces spread beyond the walls of Jerusalem's old city on Friday, with at least eight Palestinians shot in clashes in the West Bank and Israeli policemen injured by firebombs in a restive part of the city. [...] Most of the unrest had until now focused on Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site — a hilltop compound sacred to both Jews and Muslims. The compound is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Rumors of War - War - Doomed Damscus

My Way News - Moscow urges US to engage Syria, offers military talks
My Way News reports: "Russia on Thursday strongly urged the United States and its allies to engage the Syrian government as a 'partner' in the fight against the Islamic State group, and offered to share any information about its military supplies to Damascus with Washington. New satellite imagery, meanwhile, showed the recent arrival of Russian tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military equipment at an air base in Syria's coastal Latakia province, confirming reports by U.S., Israeli and other officials of a military buildup."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - UN nuclear conference votes down anti-Israel resolution
My Way News reports: "An Arab-led attempt to censure Israel over its 'nuclear capabilities' failed Thursday, with states backing the Jewish state at the U.N atomic agency's annual meeting voting down a resolution critical of the Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the result as a 'great victory.' Israel has yet to formally declare its widely-known status as a nuclear weapons state — a status that Arab nations and Iran insist presents the greatest threat to Mideast peace. That view is opposed not only by Israel but also the United States and other Western nations that for years have said that Iran's potential to make such arms is the key danger in the region."

Comment: I'm increasingly leaning towards the view that the Covenant With Many of Daniel 9:27 will be a regional security agreement and not (as many have conjectured) a peace treaty with the Palestinians. The Palestinians could have had a peace agreement years ago but they proved to be intransigent. I think other issues have come to the fore now and the region has moved on. After the next war there will be a greater emphasis on arms control and demilitarization. The Iran Agreement has provided a framework for a multilateral arms control process that is phased in over many years, that is most likely what a seven-year CWM will be. Stay tuned, time will tell!    

Temple Mount

My Way News - Jerusalem's holiest site, a raw nerve in Mideast conflict
My Way News reports: "A rectangular hilltop compound in Jerusalem is ground zero of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, it is Islam's third holiest spot and is home to an iconic golden-domed shrine. But to Jews it is the Temple Mount, their holiest place, and the only religious site in the world revered by Jews where Jews are explicitly forbidden to pray. This sensitive arrangement — and attempts to change it — lie at the heart of the unrest that rocked Jerusalem this week."

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Earthquakes

My Way News - Strong quake shakes Chile, tsunami warning issued
My Way News reports: "A powerful magnitude-8.3 earthquake hit off Chile's northern coast Wednesday night, causing buildings to sway in the capital of Santiago and prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning for the Andean nation's entire coast. Officials reported one death in a town north of the capital and heavy waves and some flooding in a handful of coastal cities. The tremor was so strong that people on the other side of the continent, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, reported feeling it. [...] A magnitude-8.8 quake and ensuing tsunami in south-central Chile in 2010 killed more than 500 people, destroyed 220,000 homes, and washed away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts. That quake released so much energy, it actually it shortened the Earth's day by a fraction of a second by changing the planet's rotation."

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Roaring Waves

My Way News - Feds: Arctic sea ice levels shrink to 4th lowest level
My Way News reports: "Summer Arctic sea ice shrank to its fourth lowest level on record this month, dispelling faint hopes of a recovery, federal scientists said. [...] The world overall so far this year is easily the hottest it has been in more than a century of record keeping, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - NKorea warns it has restarted all nuclear bomb fuel plants
My Way News reports: "With a big anniversary drawing near, North Korea declared Tuesday it has upgraded and restarted all of its atomic fuel plants — meaning it could possibly make more, and more sophisticated, nuclear weapons.:

Temple Mount

My Way News - Clashes at Jerusalem holy site for third straight day
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister vowed tougher measures to curb Palestinian violence at an emergency meeting Tuesday night after police clashed with Palestinian protesters in a third straight day of unrest at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site during the Jewish new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah. [...] The compound in Jerusalem's Old City is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, site of the two biblical Jewish temples. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to enter the site at specific hours and are banned by police from praying there."

Nations in Distress

My Way News - Hungary declares emergency, seals border, detains migrants: Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with massive coils of barbed wire Tuesday and began detaining migrants trying to use the country as a gateway to Western Europe, harsh new measures that left thousands of frustrated asylum-seekers piled up on the Serbian side of the border. [...] This week, Germany and the Netherlands were among countries that reintroduced border checks to manage the huge flow of people, while the Czech Republic said Tuesday it is prepared to deploy its armed forces to protect its borders if police alone cannot manage the crisis."

Monday, September 14, 2015

Nations in Distress

Border-free Europe unravels as migrant crisis hits record day | Reuters
Reuters reports: "Two decades of frontier-free travel across Europe unraveled on Monday as countries re-established border controls in the face of an unprecedented influx of migrants, which broke the record for the most arrivals by land in a single day. Germany's surprise decision to restore border controls on Sunday had a swift domino effect, prompting neighbors to impose checks at their own frontiers as thousands of refugees pressed north and west across the continent while Hungary sealed the main informal border crossing point into the European Union."

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

Confident China moves to challenge U.S. in Beijing's backyard | Reuters
Reuters reports: "An assertive China under President Xi Jinping now believes its military has the technology to at the very least make the United States think twice before undertaking any military adventures in what China sees as its backyard. [...] Analysts see three potential arenas for such a showdown - the South China Sea, where China has a series of overlapping territorial disputes with its neighbors, the East China Sea, where remote islets are a source of friction between Beijing and U.S. ally Japan, and any conflict over self-ruled Taiwan."

China appears to be working on third airstrip on disputed South China Sea islets | Reuters
Reuters reports: "China appears to be carrying out preparatory work for a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a U.S. expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week. [...] Security experts say 3,000-meter airstrips would be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia, where it has competing claims with several countries."

Rumors of War - King of the North - Doomed Damascus

Russia positioning tanks at Syria airfield: U.S. officials | Reuters
Reuters reports: "Russia has positioned about a half dozen tanks at an airfield at the center of a military buildup in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Monday, adding that the intentions of Moscow's latest deployment of heavy military equipment were unclear."

Pestilence

Michigan resident tests positive for plague | Reuters
Reuters reports: "A Michigan resident is recovering from the state's first ever confirmed case of bubonic plague, state health officials said on Monday. [...] It was the 14th human plague case reported nationally in 2015, more than four times the average of three cases annually of the rare and potentially life-threatening flea-borne illness, state health officials said."

Thursday, September 10, 2015

War - King of the North - Doomed Damascus

My Way News - To Russia, Syria is key in history of seeking Mideast allies
My Way News reports: "Russia's deployment of military advisers and troops to Syria to back President Bashar Assad in the country's civil war is a rare direct intervention by Moscow in the Middle East, a sign of how vital its alliance with Damascus is for it in the region."

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - Iran nuclear deal survives: Democrats block disapproval vote
My Way News reports: "Senate Democrats voted to uphold the hard-fought nuclear accord with Iran on Thursday, overcoming ferocious GOP opposition and delivering President Barack Obama a legacy-making victory on his top foreign policy priority. [...] Beginning next week, Obama will be free to start scaling back U.S. sanctions to implement the agreement negotiated by Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers. The accord aims to constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions."

Iran's Khamenei: Israel won't exist in 25 years - CNN.com
CNN reports: "Israel will not exist in another quarter century, Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said during a speech this week in Tehran, state-run media report."

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

King of the North - Persia - Gog Alliance

My Way News - Russia said to get Iran's clearance for Syria-bound flights
My Way News reports: "Iran has granted permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory en route to Syria, Russian news agencies said Wednesday, a bypass needed after Bulgaria refused overflights amid signs of a Russian military buildup in Syria that has concerned the U.S. and NATO."

Temple Mount

My Way News - Israel outlaws Muslim groups that protest at key holy site
My Way News reports: "Israel's defense minister has outlawed two Muslim activist groups that have been holding rallies against Jewish visitors at a contentious Jerusalem holy site. [...] The two are informal movements of mostly Arab women and elderly men who demonstrate when Jews visit the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and Jews as the Temple Mount. It's revered as Judaism's holiest site and Islam's third-holiest [and not even mentioned in the Quran... Ed.]. Religious Jews have been increasingly visiting the site, seeking to reverse an existing ban on Jewish prayer there. Palestinians say Israel is encroaching on the site."

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - Presidential candidates duel on Iran; House GOP in turmoil
My Way News reports: "Debate on the Iran nuclear deal morphed into full-blown political spectacle Wednesday as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz held a rally to denounce it, Hillary Rodham Clinton gave a speech to praise it and congressional Republicans turned on each other angrily as they grasped for a last-ditch play to stop it. [...] Congress has until Sept. 17 — a week from Thursday — to pass a disapproval resolution of the Iran deal, under legislation passed earlier this year giving lawmakers the right to review it. Republican leaders did not sound receptive to conservative attempts to change the terms of the debate."

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Covenant With Many

My Way News - US-Israel spat over Iran deal may sideline Palestinians
My Way News reports: "In recent months, many in the Middle East had assumed — some in hope, others with concern — that once the Iranian nuclear issue was resolved, the United States would make another push for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. But the opposite seems more likely. After a drawn-out confrontation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Iranian nuclear deal, the White House seems to have little appetite for what would almost certainly be a new round of tensions with the Israeli leader over the terms of Palestinian statehood."

Pestilence

My Way News - Sierra Leone officials confirm 3 new cases of Ebola
My Way News reports: "The head of Sierra Leone's National Ebola Response Center says that three new cases of Ebola have emerged in an area where a 67-year-old woman died in late August, bringing the total new cases in treatment to four. [...] The worst Ebola outbreak in history has killed nearly 4,000 people in Sierra Leone, and more 11,300 people in total."

Nations in Distress

My Way News - UN warns Hungary it faces a wave of 42,000 more migrants
My Way News reports: "Leaders of the United Nations refugee agency warned Tuesday that Hungary faces a bigger wave of 42,000 asylum seekers in the next 10 days and will need international help to provide shelter on its border, where newcomers already are complaining bitterly about being left to sleep in frigid fields."

Friday, September 04, 2015

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

China building two aircraft carriers: Taiwan defense ministry report | Reuters
Reuters reports: "China is building two aircraft carriers that will be the same size as its sole carrier, a 60,000-tonne refurbished Soviet-era ship, according to a new Taiwanese Defence Ministry report on the capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Little is known about China's aircraft carrier program, which is a state secret, although Chinese state media have hinted new vessels are being built. The Pentagon, in a report earlier this year, said Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years."

Thursday, September 03, 2015

Rumors of War - King of the North

My Way News - NATO opens military center in Lithuania amid Ukraine crisis
My Way News reports: "Fighter jets roaring overhead, NATO on Thursday inaugurated a military center in the Lithuanian capital amid growing concerns in the Baltic countries over Russia's military presence. [...] The NATO force integration unit in Vilnius is one of six small headquarters — manned by some 40 staff each — that opened this month in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Romania, as part of the alliance's biggest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War."

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - Iran's top leader: No nuclear deal unless sanctions lifted
My Way News reports: "Iran's supreme leader said Thursday 'there will be no deal' if world powers insist on suspending rather than lifting sanctions as part of a landmark nuclear agreement, and said it is up to Iran's parliament, and not him, to approve or reject it."

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Rumors of War - Kings of the East

My Way News - China pledges to cut 300,000 troops from its massive army
My Way News reports: "Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday pledged to cut China's 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army by 300,000 troops, amid rising manpower costs and technological capabilities that reduce the need for large numbers of personnel. The announcement at the start of a massive parade in Beijing commemorating Japan's World War II defeat 70 years ago brings the armed forces' headcount down to about 2 million, still making it the world's largest standing military."

My Way News - China marks Japan WWII defeat, shows rising power in parade
My Way News reports: "Under Xi, who took power as party leader in late 2012, Beijing has sent ships to confront Japan's coast guard near disputed islands in the East China Sea, blockaded Philippine island outposts and constructed whole islands from reefs, topping them with airstrips and other military infrastructure."

Status of Jerusalem - Covenant with Many

My Way News - Israel asks UN to reject Palestinian attempt to raise flag
My Way News reports: "Israel on Tuesday urged U.N. leaders to reject a Palestinian attempt to raise their flag at U.N. headquarters as early as this month's gathering of world leaders there. [...] The Palestinians are seeking General Assembly approval of a draft resolution that would allow non-member observer states to raise their flags. [...] Several nations have shown support for the Palestinians' pursuit of statehood, including the Vatican. In May, the Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine with a bilateral treaty. [...] The United States, Israel's closest ally, opposed the Palestinian move."

Rumors of War - Iran

My Way News - Iranian hard-liners unveil anti-US plaque at former embassy
My Way News reports: "More than a dozen hard-line Iranian students have unveiled an anti-American plaque at the gate of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran. [...] Hard-liners in Iran have stepped up displays of anti-American fervor since the signing of a landmark nuclear agreement with Washington and five world powers last month."

Comment: Such a peaceful country, you can see it in everything they do. We can totally trust them to live up to their agreement.  Right?

Knowledge Increases

My Way News - CERN: Test results show more detail about 'God particle'
My Way News reports: "After three years of scrutinizing the elusive Higgs boson closely, scientists say they've determined that the 'God particle' behaves just as predicted. [...] The results largely match with the predictions of the Standard Model, which explains how much of the universe works at the subatomic level. CERN and other physicists are trying to establish the accuracy of that model. [...] The collider was recently given a $150 million upgrade that allows atoms to be smashed together with even greater force, allowing it to recreate conditions similar to those during the earliest moments of the universe."

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

Pestilence

My Way News - Legionnaires' outbreaks not unusual in summer & early fall
My Way News reports: "Legionnaires' disease has been reported in a handful of states this summer, leading to 19 deaths and more than 100 illnesses. [...] While such outbreaks have become more common in recent years, experts don't know if that's because of better reporting or surveillance, or if the disease, a type of pneumonia, is truly becoming more prevalent, said Dr. Matthew Moore, a medical epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nations in Distress

My Way News - Hungary bars migrants from trains; smugglers wait in wings
My Way News reports: "Hungary's right-wing nationalist government defended its U-turn — just days after it started permitting migrants on the trains without any coherent immigration controls at all — as necessary to send a get-tough signal. Cabinet ministers told lawmakers that the nation, struggling to cope with more than 150,000 arrivals this year, was determined to seal its borders to unwelcome travelers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa."

Jerusalem Security - King of the North

My Way News - Egypt gas find sparks panic in Israel about Israeli reserves
My Way News reports: "Egypt's new natural gas bonanza is causing an uproar in Israel, with energy stocks plummeting and recriminations over indecisiveness and infighting that have delayed production from the country's own gas fields. The government is currently struggling to get parliament to approve its natural gas business plan, but observers fear Israel may need to reassess everything now that Egypt, which had been cast as both an export destination and a partner, may have found its own independent solution."

Comment: Is natural gas the "hook" and the "spoils" that make Israel a tempting target for a future invasion?