Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Hezbollah fires missile salvo, killing 2 Israeli soldiers
My Way News reports: "The Lebanese militant Hezbollah group fired a salvo of missiles at an Israeli military convoy in a disputed border area Wednesday, killing two soldiers and triggering deadly clashes that marked the most serious escalation since the sides' 2006 war. [...] Netanyahu said that Iran, through Hezbollah, was working to establish a base in southern Syria from which to launch attacks against Israel."

Comment: While our American media remains focused on the weather (!) tensions are increasing in the Middle East. 

Rumors of War - Jerusalem Security

My Way News - Israel says 2 rockets from Syria strike Golan Heights
My Way News reports: "At least two rockets launched from Syria struck the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Tuesday and Israel responded with artillery fire, the military said. The exchange came after an airstrike last week in Syria attributed to Israel killed six members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and an Iranian general. Israel has braced for a response to that strike, beefing up its air defenses and increasing surveillance along its northern frontier."

Fearsome Events

My Way News - Snowstorm threatens to paralyze the crowded Northeast US
My Way News reports: "Tens of millions of people along the Philadelphia-to-Boston corridor rushed to get home and settle in Monday as a fearsome storm swirled in with the potential for hurricane-force winds and 1 to 3 feet of snow that could paralyze the Northeast for days."

Rumors of War - King of the North

My Way News - Pro-Russian rebels reject peace deal, launch new offensive
My Way News reports: "Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine rejected a previously signed peace deal Friday and launched a new multipronged offensive against Ukrainian government troops, upending recent European attempts to mediate an end to the fighting.[...] U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said air-defense and electronic-warfare equipment have been detected in eastern Ukraine — hardware that, in the past, coincided with the incursion of Russian troops into Ukraine."

Peace and Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - UN meeting challenges world to stand up to anti-Semitism
My Way News reports: "The assembly met at the request of 37 mainly Western countries including the United States who urged the world body to address the 'alarming outbreak of anti-Semitism worldwide.' It was an informal meeting, attended by about half the 193 member states, so no resolution could be adopted. But 40 mainly Western countries issued a joint statement afterward urging all nations to 'declare their categorical rejection of anti-Semitism,' strengthen laws to combat discrimination, and prosecute those responsible for anti-Semitic crimes."

Pestilence

My Way News - Measles outbreak casts spotlight on anti-vaccine movement
My Way News reports: "A major measles outbreak traced to Disneyland has brought criticism down on the small but vocal movement among parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children. In a rash of cases that public health officials are rushing to contain, at least 70 people in six states and Mexico have fallen ill since mid-December, most of them from California. The vast majority of those who got sick had not gotten the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Boehner defies Obama on Iran sanctions, invites Netanyahu
My Way News reports: "Defying President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner announced on Wednesday that he's invited Israel's prime minister to stand before Congress and push for new sanctions against its archenemy Iran. [...] Obama has threatened to veto any new sanctions legislation, saying it could scuttle ongoing nuclear talks with Iran and heighten the risk of a military showdown."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Israel on high alert for possible Hezbollah retaliation
My Way News reports: "Israel has gone on high alert for possible attacks by Hezbollah, Israeli defense officials said Wednesday, beefing up its air defenses and increasing surveillance along its northern frontier following an airstrike in Syria that killed six members of the Lebanese militant group and an Iranian general."

Comment: Will the cold war between Israel and Iran turn hot? Stay tuned. 

Persecution

My Way News - Charlie Hebdo protests leave at least 10 dead in Niger
My Way News reports: "President Mahamadou Issoufou said that five deaths were reported after demonstrations in Niamey, the capital, on Saturday. Another five people died Friday in the town of Zinder following prayer services there. The victims were inside churches and bars that were set ablaze, he said.

Future Fear & Roaring Waves

My Way News - The heat is on; NOAA, NASA say 2014 warmest year on record
My Way News reports: "For the third time in a decade, the globe sizzled to the hottest year on record, federal scientists announced Friday. Both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA calculated that in 2014 the world had its hottest year in 135 years of record-keeping. Earlier, the Japanese weather agency and an independent group out of University of California Berkeley also measured 2014 as the hottest on record. [...] This was the 38th year in a row that the world was warmer than the 20th Century average, according to NOAA data. Most people in the world and the United States were born after 1976 and have never lived in a cooler than normal year."

My Way News - GO FIGURE: Figuring the odds of Earth's global hot streak
My Way News reports: "Nine of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the 21st century. The odds of that being random are 650 million to 1, the statisticians said. Thirteen of the 15 the hottest years on record have occurred in the last 15 years. The odds of that being random are more than 41 trillion to 1, the statisticians said. All 15 years from 2000 on have been among the top 20 warmest years on record. They said the odds of that are 1.5 quadrillion to 1. A quadrillion is a million billion. "

Pestilence

My Way News - UN: At least 50 Ebola hotspots remain, but new cases falling
My Way News reports: "At least 50 Ebola hotspots remain in the three hardest-hit West African countries but new cases are declining and the deadly disease will be defeated, the U.N.'s Ebola chief said Thursday."

My Way News - Flu vaccine not working well; only 23 percent effective
My Way News reports: "Indeed, the flu season is shaping up to a bad one. Health officials are comparing it to the nasty flu season two winters ago, and this one may prove to be worse. Hospitalization rates in people 65 and older are higher than they were at the same point in the 2012-2013 season, according to CDC data."

Wars and Rumors of War

My Way News - Belgian police kill 2 in anti-terror raid during shootout
My Way News reports: "With Europe dreading more terror, Belgian authorities moved swiftly to pre-empt what they called a major attack by as little as hours Thursday, killing two suspects in a firefight and arresting a third in a vast anti-terrorism sweep that stretched into the night."

My Way News - France sees 19,000 cyberattacks since terror rampage
My Way News reports: "Hackers have targeted about 19,000 French websites since a rampage by Islamic extremists left 20 dead last week, a top French cyberdefense official said Thursday as the president tried to calm the nation's inflamed religious tensions."

Roaring Waves and Seas

My Way News - Study: Sea level rise accelerating more than once thought
My Way News reports: "The current sea level rise rate — which started in 1990 — is 2.5 times faster than it was from 1900 to 1990, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Scientists say that faster pace of sea level rise is from melting ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica and shrinking glaciers, triggered by man-made global warming."

Wars and Rumors of Wars

My Way News - Defiant Charlie Hebdo fronts Muhammad, drawing more threats
My Way News reports: "In an emotional act of defiance, Charlie Hebdo resurrected its irreverent and often provocative newspaper Tuesday, featuring a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover that drew immediate criticism and threats of more violence [...] criticism and threats immediately appeared on militant websites, with calls for more strikes against the newspaper and anonymous threats from radicals, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based terrorism monitor."

My Way News - Israel buries 4 Jewish victims of Paris attack
My Way News reports: "Thousands of mourners joined Israeli leaders and the families of the four Jewish victims of a Paris terror attack on a kosher supermarket for an emotional funeral procession on Tuesday, reflecting the deep sense of connection and concern in Israel over the safety of fellow Jews in Europe. The ceremony, broadcast live on all Israeli TV channels, turned into a nationwide expression of mourning and solidarity."

Persecution

My Way News - IS affiliate claims abduction of 21 Christians in Libya
My Way News reports: "A Libyan affiliate of the Islamic State has claimed the abduction of 21 Coptic Christians and released pictures of the captives. The claim and photos were posted Monday on jihadi forums used by Islamic State supporters. The Egyptian workers were seized last month in the central Libyan city of Sirte."

Wars and Rumors of War

My Way News - Paris attack rallies Islamic extremists, may boost support
My Way News reports: "For Islamic State group militants, it is a welcome 'success' in global jihad, or holy war, as they struggle to maintain momentum in the face of U.S.-led airstrikes targeting their positions in Syria and Iraq, where the group seized large swaths of territory last year. For al-Qaida, the attack can serve to demonstrate that the group is still relevant and able to strike in the heart of Western civilization, more than a decade after the Sept. 11 attacks on United States."

Global Community

Comment: I'm posting the above news video for two reason. First, as the news headline says, it's a great representation of an event impacting the "global community" and one in which millions of people all over the world have become personally involved thanks to the immediacy of the mobile internet and social networks. When people send each other their comments and catchy hashtags go viral, it's a great example of the kind of connectivity foretold by John in the Book of Revelation. I use the tag "global community" to archive such news reports, you can find the link over on the right side of the page.

The second reason I'm posting this is to demonstrate the perverse and willful blindness of our news guardians who have bought into the Palestinian narrative of victim-hood. Instead of highlighting the dangers of radical Islam to France's Jewish population, the AP editor sent their reporter to talk to a Palestinian, who speciously decried the burden of terrorism on the Palestinians. That comment, of course, goes unexamined and is presented as a self-evident truth. There indeed have been Palestinian victims of terrorism. For example, there are numerous documented incidents of Palestinian bomb-makers accidentally blowing themselves up before attacking their Jewish targets. That, I suspect, is not what the interviewee had in mind. They sought, rather, to redefine the terms (as all activists do) to suggest that Israeli actions towards the Palestinians (in retaliation of missile attacks perhaps?) constitute terrorism. As I said, the statement was presented without elaboration or context, simply sent out by the AP to confirm the bias of those already infected by groupthink. It's a brilliant example of how our Western news media have become co-opted by those who wish us harm.

Wars and Rumors of War

My Way News - France to hold emergency meeting to avert terror attacks
My Way News reports: "Key members of the French government will meet Saturday morning to decide on new measures aimed at thwarting a repeat of the attacks in Paris that culminated in a massacre of 12 people at a satirical newspaper, and a supermarket bloodbath that left four hostages dead. [...] With explosions and gunfire, security forces Friday ended the three days of terror, killing the two al-Qaida-linked brothers who staged a murderous rampage at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and an accomplice who seized hostages at a kosher supermarket to try to help the brothers escape."

My Way News - Al-Qaida member in Yemen says group directed Paris attack
My Way News reports: "Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula directed the attack against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris 'as revenge for the honor' of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, a member of the group told The Associated Press on Friday."

Global Community

My Way News - Massive manhunt for 2 suspects in Paris attack
My Way News reports: "The worst spasm of terror violence in more than a half-century stunned France. The lights of the Eiffel Tower went out Thursday night in a tribute to the dead from the elegant iron lady that symbolizes France to the world. At noon, the Paris Metro came to a standstill and a crowd fell silent near the Notre Dame Cathedral. The attack struck a chord beyond French borders and similar tributes were held around Europe and elsewhere."

My Way News - No living in fear: 'I Am Charlie' rallies back free speech
My Way News reports: "From Berlin to Bangkok, tens of thousands took a stand against living in fear, as rallies defended the freedom of expression and honored the victims of a Paris newspaper attack. [...] Many held placards proclaiming "Je Suis Charlie" — 'I am Charlie' — a slogan that went viral on social media within hours of Wednesday's terror attack on the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead. [...] European capitals including Madrid, London and Brussels and cities in the U.S. saw large demonstrations and candlelit vigils late Wednesday. More rallies were held Thursday from Sarajevo to Athens, where some formed a line and held up a letter each spelling out in Greek: 'I do not hate, I am not afraid.'"

Comment: As people tune in on their mobile devices to keep up with the breaking news, this the first global news event of the new year, drawing in millions of people all over the world who are showing their support on social media and mass public gatherings. Global news events are common in our time, but not in John's time when he wrote Rev. 11:9-12.

Wars and Rumors of War

My Way News - Hunt for 2 in French shooting that killed 12; 1 surrenders
My Way News reports: "France raised its terror alert system to the maximum — Attack Alert — and bolstered security with more than 800 extra soldiers to guard media offices, places of worship, transport and other sensitive areas. Fears had been running high in France and elsewhere in Europe that jihadis trained in warfare abroad would stage attacks at home."

Comment: There are many in the West who believe the politically correct narrative that Islam is a religion of peace. I wonder if such continued attacks will at some point undermine that narrative?

King of the North

My Way News - Despite pressure, EU's sanctions against Russia could last
My Way News reports: "EU sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine are cutting both ways: hurting Russia as well as pinching some big European companies. But economic relief isn't likely any time soon, diplomats and analysts say, since EU divisions make the sanctions tough to overturn."

My Way News - For some Russians, mortgage costs soaring due to ruble slide
My Way News reports: "Russia's energy-dependent economy has suffered a severe shock over the past few months, largely because oil prices have tanked. Western sanctions over Moscow's course on Ukraine also have had a negative effect, particularly on the banks."

My Way News - Putin foe Navalny defies house arrest by going to buy milk
My Way News reports: "Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny defied his house arrest on Tuesday by walking to his local store to buy milk, and said he was quickly intercepted by three men — presumably police — who escorted him home. "

Temple Mount

My Way News - Islamic leader urges Muslims to visit Jerusalem holy site
My Way News reports: "The head of the world's largest Islamic organization on Monday paid a rare visit to Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, urging Muslims to follow suit to strengthen Palestinian claims to the holy site. [...] The hilltop compound housing Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of the dispute over Jerusalem. Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is their most sacred place, revered as the home to the ancient Hebrew temples."

Jerusalem Security

My Way News - Israeli group files war crimes claim against Palestinians
My Way News reports: "An Israel-based rights organization said Monday that it has filed a war crimes complaint against three top Palestinian leaders it accuses of terrorism, torture and civil rights violations. [...] The move [...] comes a week after the Palestinians announced they would be joining the international court to pursue war-crimes charges against Israel. The gambit opened them up to their own set of potential war crimes allegations over rocket attacks by the extremist group Hamas on Israeli population centers and other violence against Jewish targets."

Pestilence

My Way News - UN: Ebola kills 8,153 people in West Africa, infects 20,650
My Way News reports: "The World Health Organization says at least 8,153 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Geneva-based body said Monday that the total number of confirmed, probable and suspected deaths from the disease comes from 20,656 cases in the three most affected countries — a mortality rate of 39 percent."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Iran, 6 powers move closer to nuclear talks deal
My Way News reports: "Iran and the U.S. have tentatively agreed on a formula that Washington hopes will reduce Tehran's ability to make nuclear arms by committing it to ship to Russia much of the material needed for such weapons, diplomats say.[...] The diplomats said differences still dominate ahead of the next round of Iran-six power talks on Jan. 15 in Geneva. But they suggested that even agreement to create a to-do list would have been difficult previously because of wide gaps between the sides."

Comment: So, reading between the lines, the U.S. still has very high hopes and very little to show for it except an agreement to keep talking. I suspect that Iran realizes that time is on their side. All they have to do is keep talking and continue to convince the U.S. that talking is a sign of progress. 

Rumors of War

My Way News - US slaps sanctions on North Korea after Sony hack
My Way News reports: "Opening a new front in its cyber spat with North Korea, the United States slapped new sanctions Friday on government officials and the North's defense industry in its first public act of retribution for a cyberattack against Sony. Despite lingering doubts by the cyber community, the U.S. insisted that North Korea was to blame."

Comment: This is the very definition of a rumor of war, isn't it? Even though Obama has confidence in the intelligence community's conclusion that North Korea is to blame, tech analysts aren't so sure. Stay tuned for North Korea's response. Will it be the usual bluster? Or, perhaps, will they continue the cyberattacks? In many ways, a declared cyberwar is new territory for us all, and very alarming, given that the U.S. and North Korea are still technically in a state of war stemming from the unresolved Korean War.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

I'm off for my holiday break and wanted to wish you all a happy and joyous Christmas. I know that the news we link to here is often grim but I'm sure that most of you who visit this site are Christians who understand that beyond the headlines we know that God is sovereign and always in control. We know that this effort to be watchful has a purpose and a focus, and that focus is on Jesus Christ.

We watch the signs of His return, but this season is all about the First Coming, not the Second Coming, so as we turn to our families and friends to celebrate the holidays we offer thanks and praise to God and above all, celebrate Jesus as the reason for the season.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
lyrics by Charles Wesley

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Rumors of War

My Way News - Obama says North Korea hacked Sony, vows response
My Way News reports: "President Barack Obama declared Friday that Sony "made a mistake" in shelving a satirical film about a plot to assassinate North Korea's leader, and he pledged the U.S. would respond "in a place and manner and time that we choose" to the hacking attack on Sony that led to the withdrawal. The FBI blamed the hack on the communist government. [...] the U.S. detected communications between computer Internet addresses known to be operated by North Korea and hacking tools left behind at the crime scene, which the FBI said contained subtle clues linking them to that country's government."

Comment: Will this become the first openly declared cyberwar? There have been lots of secret and not-so-secret cyberwar events since the dawn of the information age (like the attacks on Estonia in 2007 assumed to have been made by Russia), but this seems unprecedented.

Jerusalem Security

My Way News - Israel carries out airstrike on Hamas site in Gaza
 My Way News reports: "Israel's military struck a Hamas site in the Gaza Strip early Saturday in its first airstrike on the Palestinian territory since this summer's war. The Israeli military said the airstrike on what it called a 'Hamas terror infrastructure site' in the southern Gaza Strip was in response to a rocket fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Friday."

Comment: Isn't that nice, the Palestinians are expressing their support for peace with Israel again with another gift of rockets. It's the little gestures that mean so much. 

King of the North

My Way News - Putin: West wants to defang, declaw Russian bear
My Way News reports: "The mixture of blistering anti-Western rhetoric and constructive signals appeared to indicate that Putin is eager to negotiate a face-saving solution to the Ukrainian crisis, but has no intention of conceding defeat in his standoff with the West. In his first public appearance since the crash of the ruble's value this week, Putin accepted responsibility for the economic crisis."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Palestinian leader supports more talks on UN bid
My Way News reports: "Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he supports further negotiations on a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that sets a 2017 deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from war-won lands the Palestinians seek for their state. His comments indicated that he is trying to avoid a clash with Washington at the council."

My Way News - US prepared to veto UN plan for Israeli occupation
My Way News reports: "The U.S. is prepared to veto a United Nations Security Council proposal that calls for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands in 2017. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the resolution, offered by Jordan and pushed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is unlikely to face an immediate vote."

Comment: Why are the Palestinians setting the agenda? We know that there will be no serious efforts on the Mideast peace front until after the Israeli elections, but the media seems more then willing to make it appear that the Palestinians are now driving the peace process. The Palestinians have no credibility (thanks to Hamas) or standing (a non-state can't make valid demands of a state), and yet just from media reports, you would think they are the dominant player. It's very strange. 

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Palestinians set deadline for Israeli occupation
My Way News reports: "Israel suffered back-to-back diplomatic setbacks in Europe on Wednesday, while the Palestinians at the United Nations set a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from lands captured nearly 50 years ago by the end of 2017. In Geneva, the international community delivered a stinging rebuke to Israel's settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, saying the practice violates Israel's responsibilities as an occupying power."

Comment: How about Israel setting a deadline for the Palestinians to disarm Hamas? I mean, if the Palestinians want peace so much, they should deal with the faction of their people who have come out violently against the peace process. 

Covenant With Many

My Way News - France seeking support for Mideast plan
My Way News reports: "France on Tuesday tried to overcome resistance and rally international support for a draft U.N. plan setting a two-year deadline for peace talks on Palestinian statehood. [...] The French, seeking a higher-profile role in Middle East diplomacy, see their draft as more palatable than a Jordanian-backed resolution also under discussion."

Rumors of War - Nations in Distress

My Way News - 141 - mostly children - killed in Pakistan attack
My Way News reports: "In the deadliest slaughter of innocents in Pakistan in years, Taliban gunmen attacked a military-run school Tuesday and killed 141 people — almost all of them students — before government troops ended the siege."

Comment: It seems like it was not that long ago that a U.S. politician we need not name was bragging about how the U.S. had defeated the Taliban. Braggarts always get their due.

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Palestinians seek end-of-occupation vote this week
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will push for a U.N. Security Council vote this week on a resolution setting a November 2016 deadline for ending the Israeli occupation, officials said Monday. Such a move could set the stage for a clash at the Security Council, both over the resolution, which is backed by Jordan, or over a second proposal by France, which seeks a two-year deadline for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations on the terms of Palestinian statehood."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - 'Bibi Fatigue' could factor into Israeli election
My Way News reports: "With elections on the horizon, the greatest obstacle standing between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a return to high office could be Netanyahu himself. [...] Even among more conservative voters, many fear that Netanyahu has veered too far to the religious-nationalist right, while hardliners ironically think Netanyahu is too soft on security issues and are turning to other parties. Meanwhile, an economy that is increasingly divided between haves and have-nots has alienated many Israelis. Across the board, many just feel it's time for some fresh blood."

Fearsome Events

My Way News - Weather porn? Storms take over evening news
My Way News reports: "Weather disasters are actually becoming more frequent and costly. Between 1988 and 1992, there were 19 weather disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage, adjusted for inflation. There were 48 between 2009 and 2013, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Israel slams Irish motion endorsing Palestine
My Way News reports: "Israel has slammed the decision of the Irish parliament to adopt a non-binding resolution supporting an independent Palestinian state. Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon expressed disappointment Thursday at the decision, accusing the Irish parliament of giving voice to 'statements of hatred and anti-Semitism directed at Israel in a way which we have not heard before.' Some Irish lawmakers accused Israel of genocide during the parliamentary debate on Palestinian recognition."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - Ireland: 'Early recognition' of Palestine possible
My Way News reports: "Ireland is considering early recognition of Palestinian statehood as a possible tactic for kick-starting Middle East peace talks, the foreign minister declared Wednesday as he offered conditional support for an idea bitterly opposed by Israel. [...] Israel argues that nations which confer full diplomatic legitimacy on the Palestinian Authority discourage their enemies from engaging in direct talks."

Fearsome Events

My Way News - 500,000 Filipinos evacuated as storm's path widens
My Way News reports: "Half a million Filipinos fled their homes as differing forecasts about the path of a dangerously erratic typhoon — one predicting it will graze the capital, Manila — prompted a wide swath of the country to prepare for a weekend of destructive winds and rain."

King of the North

My Way News - Putin speech offers few reforms for economic woes
My Way News reports: "Russia will defend its geopolitical interests, President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday as he promised economic reforms to pull his country back from the brink of recession. But Putin's patriotic bluster and vague promises did little to assuage real fears that Western sanctions, plummeting oil prices and a collapsing ruble are crippling Russia's economy."

Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - Israel's election a referendum on Netanyahu
My Way News reports: "The coming Israeli election amounts to a referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu — hard-headed defender of Israel to some, the man who buried dreams of peace to others. Early polls suggest Netanyahu, an enigmatic leader who has already served three terms as prime minister, is likely to be returned for a fourth on March 17. But new developments, especially the emergence of an array of unpredictable centrist parties, make things difficult to predict."

Rumors of War - King of the North

My Way News - NATO steps up to Russia, but back from Afghanistan
My Way News reports: "NATO nations on Tuesday agreed to bolster its defenses against Russian aggression, continuing the military alliance's return to its founding mission by focusing on nearby threats as it steps back from more than a decade of combat in Afghanistan."

Covenant With Many

My Way News - French vote urges recognition of Palestinian state
My Way News reports: "France's lower house of Parliament voted Tuesday to urge the government to recognize a Palestinian state, in the hope that it would speed up peace efforts after decades of conflict. The 339-151 vote is non-binding, but it's a symbolic boost for the Palestinians, amid growing support in Europe for two states."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - US: Iran launches airstrikes into eastern Iraq
My Way News reports: "The Pentagon says that Iran has launched airstrikes against Islamic State militants in eastern Iraq. Rear Adm. John Kirby says the U.S. believes this may be the first time Tehran has launched manned aircraft from inside Iran to strike targets in Iraq."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Pro-Israel lobby seeks tougher Iran sanctions
My Way News reports: "The powerful pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is urging a dramatic escalation in sanctions on Iran in response to a recent seven-month extension of nuclear talks. The group, widely influential in Congress, wants the U.S. to reinstate all economic penalties on Iran suspended during the diplomacy. It also seeks a U.S. ban on Iranian oil exports worldwide and more Iranian industries blacklisted. The Obama administration believes new Iran sanctions would harm hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough."

Final Kingdom

My Way News - EU moves eastward with Tusk taking presidency
My Way News reports: "Monday's transition ceremony highlighted the increasing power of Poland within the 28-nation EU, and the bloc's ongoing shift from a western European economic association half a century ago to a strong political body uniting some 500 million people from Britain to the borders of Russia."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - The US-Iran differences that blocked a nuke deal
My Way News reports: "Renewed failure by Iran and the U.S. to reach a nuclear agreement by a Monday deadline reflects the difficulties each side has with crossing red lines they brought with them to the negotiating table. With the two sides so far apart when they started the latest round of talks in February, sizable differences remain as talks were extended for another seven months."

My Way News - Iran nuclear talks stumble, extended until July
My Way News reports: "A yearlong effort to seal a nuclear deal with Iran fizzled Monday, leaving the U.S. and its allies little choice but to declare a seven-month extension in hopes that a new deadline will be enough to achieve what a decade of negotiations have failed to do — limit Tehran's ability to make a nuclear weapon."

Pestilence

My Way News - Plague outbreak kills 40 people in Madagascar
My Way News reports: "A plague outbreak has killed 40 people on the island nation of Madagascar, with 119 people diagnosed with the bacterial disease since August. Two people have been diagnosed and one has died in the capital, Antananarivo. The World Health Organization fears the plague outbreak may spread rapidly through Madagascar's largest and densely populated city [...] The plague is most famous for killing millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plague infections still occur throughout the world, mainly in parts of Africa and Asia."

Earthquake

My Way News - 37 homes collapse, dozens injured in Japan quake
My Way News reports: "At least 37 homes were destroyed in two villages, and 39 people were injured across the region, including seven seriously, mostly with broken bones, officials said. The magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck shortly after 10 p.m. (1300 GMT) Saturday west of Nagano city at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The agency revised the magnitude from a preliminary 6.8 while the U.S. Geological Survey measured it at 6.2. Since the quake occurred inland, there was no possibility of a tsunami."

My Way News - Strong quake in west China kills 4; 54 hurt
My Way News reports: "A strong earthquake that hit a sparsely populated, mountainous area of western China killed at least four people and injured 54 others, including schoolchildren in a stampede, officials said Sunday. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-5.9 quake hit Saturday about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the county of Kangding in Sichuan province. China's seismological agency put the magnitude at 6.3.

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Iran nuke talks stalled, despite Kerry efforts
My Way News reports: "Contentious nuclear talks between world powers and Tehran hit a new snag Friday after Iran apparently again turned down U.S. demands for concessions, leaving negotiations in limbo just three days before a deadline for a deal."

Security of Jerusalem - Holy Place

My Way News - Divided Jerusalem: Attacks put holy city on edge
My Way News reports: "Streets are subdued, marketplaces are quiet and people are on edge in Jewish areas of Jerusalem, where Arabs have been using meat cleavers, guns, screwdrivers and even their cars in deadly, small-scale attacks. The holy city - which Israel says must forever stay united - has rarely seemed more divided."

Pestilence

My Way News - CDC chief drops worst-case Ebola estimate
My Way News reports: "The government's worst-case scenario forecast for the Ebola epidemic in West Africa won't happen, a U.S. health official said Wednesday. In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the number of people sickened by the Ebola virus could explode to as many as 1.4 million by mid-January without more help. Things have changed."

My Way News - Military scaling back treatment units in Liberia
My Way News reports: "A Pentagon spokesman says the U.S. military is scaling back the size and number of Ebola treatment facilities it is building in Liberia. Army Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday that a total of 10 treatment facilities will be built; the Pentagon previously had planned to build as many as 17. Additionally, seven of the 10 will have 50 beds each rather than the 100 beds previously planned."

War - Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - Israel vows harsh response to synagogue attack
My Way News reports: "Israel vowed harsh retaliation Tuesday for a Palestinian attack that killed five people and left blood-smeared prayer books and shawls on the floor of a synagogue in Jerusalem — an assault that sharply escalated already-high tensions after weeks of religious violence. The attack during morning prayers in the west Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof was carried out by two Palestinian cousins wielding meat cleavers, knives and a handgun. [...] Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that runs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack. In Gaza, dozens celebrated in the streets, with some offering trays full of candy."

War

My Way News - Europeans have prominent role in beheading video
My Way News reports: "A U.S.-led coalition is targeting the Islamic State group in airstrikes in northern Syria, supporting Western-backed Syrian rebels, Kurdish fighters and the Iraqi military. The U.S. said 31 airstrikes had been carried out from Nov. 14-17 against Islamic State group targets. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the Islamic State group could grow worldwide if left unchecked. Already, he said, the IS has seized more land and resources 'than al-Qaida ever had on its best day of its existence.'"

Temple Mount - Holy Place

My Way News - Israel lifts Muslim age limits for Jerusalem site
My Way News reports: "A Jerusalem holy site at the heart of recent tensions between Israelis and Palestinians was quiet on Friday, police said, after age restrictions for Muslim men who wanted to pray there were lifted for the first time in weeks, but minor clashes with Palestinian protesters continued in the West Bank. [...] The development came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordan's King Abdullah II in an attempt to restore calm in the holy city that has seen months of tension and violent confrontations."

Comment: Here is a good example of Israel making a concession (yet again) to cool tensions and promote peace. Let's see if the Palestinians reciprocate with an equally meaningful gesture.

Earthquakes

My Way News - 7.3 quake hits Indonesia waters; tsunami possible
My Way News reports: "A 7.3-magnitude quake hit Indonesian waters Saturday morning and has the potential to generate tsunami waves along nearby coasts, a monitoring agency said. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit 154 kilometers (96 miles) northwest of Kota Ternate at a depth of 47 kilometers (29 miles). There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage."

Global Government

My Way News - G-20 summit opens in Australia; growth tops agenda
My Way News reports: "The leaders of the world's 20 largest economies are under pressure to take definitive action at this year's summit, rather than simply producing a set of vague, unmeasurable goals. The International Monetary Fund has warned about a "new mediocre" for the world economy, and the G-20 has vowed to focus on a plan to add $2 trillion to world GDP."

Temple Mount - Holy Place

My Way News - US: Commitments made to reduce Jerusalem tensions:
My Way News reports: "Israel and Jordan have committed to a series of 'specific and practical' steps to reduce spiraling tensions over Jerusalem holy sites and the Palestinians have pledged to curb incitement and violence, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. [...] Netanyahu has insisted that Israel has no plans to change the arrangements at the holy site, but his pledges have done little to bring calm."

Temple Mount

My Way News - Hilltop compound lies at heart of Mideast tensions
My Way News reports: "The trapezoid-shaped compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, is at the heart of the territorial and religious conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors. It has been the site of recent unrest. [...] Jews believe the rock may be where the holiest part of the two ancient temples stood in biblical times — and where religious Jews pray that a third temple will one day be built."

Pestilence

My Way News - WHO says more than 5,000 have now died of Ebola
My Way News reports: "More than 5,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak that is ravaging West Africa, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday, marking another grisly toll in the epidemic. This is the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded, with more than 14,000 people sickened, the vast majority in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone."

Kings of the East

My Way News - China uses APEC to boost regional role
My Way News reports: "Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Asia-Pacific leaders Tuesday to strengthen trade ties at a summit Beijing is using to boost its role as a regional power with a flurry of trade and finance pacts. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Xi called for progress on a 'road map' toward closer economic integration among the group's 21 member economies. They include 40 percent of the world's population and 60 percent of global economic output."

King of the North

My Way News - Amid currency gyrations, Russia floats ruble
My Way News reports: "Plagued by the Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis and by falling oil prices, Russia's economy is struggling and the ruble is taking a head-spinning drop, losing a third of its value since the beginning of the year and touching an all-time low last week. On Monday, the national central bank on Monday decided to freely float the currency and shield it more from speculators. [...] Some observers warn that a long-lasting erosion of purchasing power could fuel social unrest and say the country's financial stability is at risk."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - US officials: More work needed on Iran nuke deal
My Way News reports: "Two days of tough talks to limit Iran's nuclear program failed Monday to make major headway toward a final deal —a foreboding sign for years of negotiations that are set to expire in less than two weeks."

Temple Mount - Holy Place

My Way News - Israel tries to soothe tensions over Jerusalem
My Way News reports: "In an attempt at diplomatic damage control, Israel's prime minister reassured Jordan's king Thursday that he won't yield to increasing demands by some members of his center-right coalition to allow Jews to pray at a Muslim-run holy site in Jerusalem. [...] Israeli-Palestinian confrontations have been escalating in Jerusalem, including near-daily clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli riot police."

Comment: This supernatural flashpoint is dominating the headlines in the Jerusalem and international news media. It's a red alert people. Let's all pay attention. 

Jerusalem Security

My Way News - Israeli police: Driver slams car into pedestrians
My Way News reports: "A Hamas militant slammed a minivan into a crowd waiting for a train Wednesday in Jerusalem, killing one person and wounding 13. Hours later, the Israeli military said a Palestinian motorist drove into a group of soldiers in the West Bank, injuring three. The incidents and a similar attack two weeks earlier raised concern that Israel could be facing a new type of threat."

Comment: There the Palestinians go again, demonstrating just how much they want peace with Israel. What other country in the world would put up with this kind of thing? Missiles every other week and now this. And yet the world will persist in thinking of the Palestinians as victims and Israel as the bad guy. 

Pestilence

My Way News - Ebola countries to get $450 million in financing
My Way News reports: "A new private sector initiative announced Wednesday will provide at least $450 million in commercial financing to the three West African countries hardest hit by Ebola to promote trade, investment and employment."

Rumors of War - Persia - Jerusalem Security

My Way News - Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance
My Way News reports: "Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamic militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East, The Associated Press has learned. The alliance would also serve as a show of strength to counterbalance their traditional rival, Shiite-dominated, Iran."

Comment: A military alliance or Arab powers. What could go wrong? 

Temple Mount - Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - Israel closes Jerusalem holy site after shooting
My Way News reports: "Israel closed all access to Jerusalem's most sensitive religious site on Thursday, a rare move that ratcheted up already heightened tensions following the attempted assassination of a prominent Jewish religious activist and the killing of his suspected Palestinian assailant by police. The Palestinians accused Israel of a 'declaration of war,' deepening a crisis fueled by failed peace efforts, continued Israeli settlement construction and months of simmering violence in the holy city. While Israel said it would reopen the site on Friday, the increasingly religious nature of the unrest risked igniting further violence."

Comment: Does it seem like the Temple Mount has been in the news a lot lately? I can't help but think that this flashpoint is an important barometer of the end times and any activity there is worth keeping an eye on.

Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - Israeli leader lashes back at harsh US criticism
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister said Wednesday that recent verbal attacks against him from the United States were merely because he was "defending Israel" and vowed to carry on with his policies despite the vitriolic rhetoric. Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to parliament followed a report in The Atlantic this week in which unidentified U.S. officials lambasted the Israeli premier for his settlement policies and for undermining American peace efforts. The officials derided Netanyahu as cowardly and recalcitrant, among other insults."

Comment: Stand strong Bibi, the vast majority of Americans are with you. We recognize the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself. We recognize the right of Israel to inhabit the land gained in wars that it won (we all love a winner!) and we recognize the right of those who win territory in wars to consider such territory fully their own and to do with it as they wish. For us, there is no "occupied" or disputed land. So keep defending, keep building, and keep strong!

Pestilence

My Way News - AP IMPACT: If Ebola batters US, we are not ready
My Way News reports: "The U.S. health care apparatus is so unprepared and short on resources to deal with the deadly Ebola virus that even small clusters of cases could overwhelm parts of the system, according to an Associated Press review of readiness at hospitals and other components of the emergency medical network. [...] And Ebola is not the only possible danger that causes concern; experts say other deadly infectious diseases — ranging from airborne viruses such as SARS, to an unforeseen new strain of the flu, to more exotic plagues like Lassa fever — could crash the health care system."

Comment: So, basically, a real outbreak of an easily communicable disease (which Ebola - sensational news headlines aside - is not) would quickly overwhelm the U.S. health care system. This is a crisis, but not about Ebola, it's about preparedness.

Security of Jerusalem

My Way News - Premier: Israel will build in all of Jerusalem
My Way News reports: "Israel's prime minister pledged Monday to keep building in east Jerusalem, despite stiff international criticism and recent rising tensions between Jews and Arabs in the city. [...]  Speaking to parliament, Netanyahu defended the stance saying there was a wide consensus in Israel to continue building throughout the city, just as every Israeli government has done since Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967."

Pestilence

My Way News - American official: US in Ebola fight for long haul
My Way News reports: "The United States will help fight Ebola over 'the long haul,' the American ambassador to the United Nations said on a trip to the West African countries hit by the outbreak. [...] Many people hide in their homes rather than seek medical care because of fears that an Ebola diagnosis is an automatic death sentence and the social stigma attached to the disease, further fueling its spread. So far, more than 10,000 people are believed to have been infected."

Pestilence

My Way News - NY, NJ order Ebola quarantine for doctors, others
My Way News reports: "Alarmed by the case of an Ebola-infected New York doctor, the governors of New Jersey and New York on Friday ordered a mandatory, 21-day quarantine of all medical workers and other arriving airline passengers who have had contact with victims of the deadly disease in West Africa."

My Way News - WHO: Millions of Ebola vaccine doses ready in 2015
My Way News reports: "The World Health Organization says millions of doses of two experimental Ebola vaccines could be ready for use in 2015 and five more experimental vaccines will start being tested in March. Still, the agency warned it's not clear whether any of these will work against the deadly virus that has already killed at least 4,877 people this year in West Africa."

Jerusalem Security

My Way News - AP Interview: Jerusalem mayor vows to calm city
My Way News reports: "Jerusalem's mayor on Thursday called for a crackdown against a wave of Palestinian unrest, as police beefed up security after a Palestinian motorist with a history of anti-Israel violence slammed his car into a crowded light rail train station and killed a baby girl. The crash Wednesday night escalated already heightened tensions in east Jerusalem, the section of the holy city captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital."

Signs in the Sun

My Way News - Solar flare knocks out some radio temporarily
My Way News reports: "Federal forecasters say a brief but strong solar flare Wednesday morning temporarily blacked out a few radio communication systems before weakening. Space Weather Prediction Center forecaster Christopher Balch said it affected radio that uses part of the upper atmosphere. That includes some radar and plane systems, but not all, and amateur radio."

Pestilence

My Way News - EU leaders seek more Ebola funding at summit
My Way News reports: "Britain pledged an additional 100 million euro ($126 million) to fight Ebola and Prime Minister David Cameron called on the other European Union leaders at a summit to step up their efforts to contain the deadly virus too. [...] To coordinate all the efforts of the 28 EU nations, the EU leaders appointed the incoming EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides as its Ebola czar. [...] In Geneva, the World Health Organization said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has killed more than 4,800 people, remains an international health emergency."

My Way News - NY doctor back from Guinea has Ebola, 1st in city
My Way News reports: "An emergency room doctor who recently returned to the city after treating Ebola patients in West Africa has tested positive for the virus, becoming the first case in the city and the fourth in the nation."

My Way News - CDC details new Ebola response and prep teams
My Way News reports: "The government's new federal Ebola response squads were getting their first test Thursday, dispatched to New York to help care for the city's first case, a doctor who had treated a patient with the disease in west Africa. The squads — likened to public health SWAT teams — were set up to rush to any U.S. city where a new Ebola case might be identified."

Persecution

Reuters - Pakistani Christian loses appeal against death sentence for blasphemy
Reuters reports: "A Pakistani court upheld the death penalty on Thursday against a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, her lawyer said, in a case that drew global headlines after two prominent politicians who tried to help her were assassinated. [...] Rights groups say the blasphemy law is increasingly exploited by religious extremists as well as ordinary Pakistanis to settle personal scores. The law does not define blasphemy and evidence might not be reproduced in court for fear of committing a fresh offence. There are no penalties for false accusations."

Persecution

My Way News - North Korea frees US man; 2 more still detained
My Way News reports: "North Korea's reclusive government abruptly freed an American man Tuesday, nearly six months after he was arrested on charges of leaving a Bible in a nightclub, but Pyongyang refused to hand over two other U.S. citizens who are still being held. [...] Christian evangelism is considered a crime in North Korea."

Comment: Imagine that, he was arrested and jailed for leaving a Bible in a nightclub.  

Pestilence

My Way News - CDC releases revised Ebola gear guidelines
My Way News reports: "Federal health officials on Monday issued new guidelines to promote head-to-toe protection for health workers treating Ebola patients. Officials have been scrambling to come up with new advice for protective gear since two Dallas nurses became infected while caring for the first person diagnosed with the virus in the United States."

My Way News - Nigeria declared Ebola-free; 'spectacular success'
My Way News reports: "In the end, Nigeria — the most populous country in Africa, with 160 million people — had just 20 cases, including eight deaths, a lower death rate than the 70 percent seen elsewhere across the stricken region. Officials are crediting strong tracking and isolation of people exposed to the virus, and aggressive rehydration of infected patients to counter the effects of vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms."

Temple Mount

My Way News - Abbas suggests ban on Jews at Jerusalem holy site
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suggested on Friday that Jews should be banned from a Jerusalem holy site revered by both Jews and Muslims. Abbas made the comments following recent clashes between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces over what Palestinians see as Jewish encroachment on the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. [...] The site is the holiest in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam."

Pestilence

My Way News - WHO faulted for Ebola failures as Obama taps czar
My Way News reports: "The World Health Organization bungled efforts to halt the spread of Ebola in West Africa, an internal report revealed Friday, as President Barack Obama named a trusted political adviser to take control of America's frenzied response to the epidemic. The stepped-up scrutiny of the international response came as U.S. officials rushed to cut off potential routes of infection from three cases in Texas, reaching a cruise ship in the Caribbean and multiple domestic airline flights."

Pestilence

My Way News - Ebola: Rising call for ban on travel from W Africa
My Way News reports: "Warning that Americans are losing faith in their government's ability to stop Ebola, Republican lawmakers on Thursday pressed for a ban on travel to the U.S. from the West African outbreak zone. The White House said other measures are more effective. The administration spent the day trying anew to tamp down fear as the pool of Americans being monitored for symptoms expanded from Texas to Ohio. President Barack Obama said he might appoint a single official to lead the nation's efforts against the deadly disease."

Comment: Another day another development in this strange story. The media won't tell you that more people die every every year from the flu than will ever die of Ebola, but that isn't nearly as sensational. I guess the 24-hour news cycle never met a fake crisis they didn't like. 

Pestilence

My Way News - Second Texas nurse tests positive for Ebola
My Way News reports:  "The Ebola crisis in the U.S. took another alarming turn Wednesday with word that a second Dallas nurse caught the disease from a patient and flew across the Midwest aboard an airliner the day before she fell ill, even though government guidelines should have kept her off the plane."

My Way News - African leaders: Ebola could lead to food crisis
My Way News reports: "Financial aid and global coordination are needed to prevent the Ebola health care crisis from becoming a food emergency, agriculture ministers from West African nations at the center of the Ebola outbreak said Wednesday. In Sierra Leone, where thousands are infected and more than 900 have died, 40 percent of the farmers have abandoned their fields, said Joseph Sam Sesay, minister of agriculture, forestry and food security."

My Way News - Obama: Ebola monitoring must be 'more aggressive':
My Way News reports: "President Barack Obama vowed Wednesday that his administration would respond in a "much more aggressive way" to cases of Ebola in the United States and warned that in an age of frequent travel the disease could spread globally if the world doesn't respond to the 'raging epidemic in West Africa.'"

Mark of the Beast

My Way News - South Korea identity thefts forces ID overhaul
My Way News reports: "After an avalanche of data breaches, South Korea's national identity card system has been raided so thoroughly by thieves that the government says it might have to issue new ID numbers to every citizen over 17 [...] ID numbers and personal details of an estimated 80 percent of South Korea's 50 million people have been stolen from banks and other targets since 2004, according to experts. Those numbers stay with South Koreans for life and, instead of being picked randomly, are based on their age, sex and other details. They are used to confirm identity, get a job or government services and even to buy cigarettes."

Comment: Not the Mark, but a good example of how mandatory identification systems can be imposed by governments...and how they can go awry.

Quake Update

My Way News - 4 Northern California faults primed for big quakes
My Way News reports: "Three fault segments running beneath Northern California and its roughly 15 million people are overdue for a major earthquake, including one section that lies near the dams and canals that supply much of the state's water, according to a geological study published Monday. The three fault segments and one other in the region are loaded with enough tension to produce quakes of magnitude 6.8 or greater, according to a geological study published Monday."

Comment: Well, they can't say they haven't been warned.

Pestilence

My Way News - CDC urges all US hospitals to 'think Ebola'
My Way News reports: "The government is telling the nation's hospitals to 'think Ebola.' Every hospital must know how to diagnose Ebola in people who have been in West Africa and be ready to isolate a suspected case, Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday."

Rumors of War - Persia

My Way News - Saudi top diplomat criticizes Iran over conflicts
My Way News reports: "Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Monday lashed out at regional rival Iran, accusing the Shiite powerhouse of having forces inside Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and insisting that Iran is "part of the problem" in trying to defuse the myriad Mideast crises."

My Way News - Iran's Rouhani: Nuke deal possible before deadline
My Way News reports: "Iran's president said on Monday that Tehran and world powers may still be able to reach a final deal on the country's controversial nuclear program before the Nov. 24 deadline. The remarks by moderate President Hassan Rouhani came as Iran and the six nation group — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany — are to begin another round of talks in Vienna on Tuesday, in the countdown to the November deadline for a final, comprehensive deal."

Pestilence

My Way News - WHO: Ebola death toll rises to more than 4,000
My Way News reports: "Liberian lawmakers on Friday rejected a proposal to grant President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf the power to further restrict movement and public gatherings and to confiscate property in the fight against Ebola. One legislator said such a law would have turned Liberia into a police state. The proposal's defeat came as the World Health Organization once again raised the death toll attributed to the Ebola outbreak. The Geneva-based U.N. agency said that 4,033 confirmed, probable or suspected Ebola deaths have now been recorded."

Future Fear

My Way News - US stocks close out worst week since May 2012
My Way News reports: "Germany, which has been the economic powerhouse for Europe, reported on Thursday its biggest monthly drop in exports in five years. In addition, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for global economic growth. Meanwhile, some traders are interpreting the decline in oil prices as further indication that growth is slowing. 'You put those three factors together and it has investors nervous at the health of the world economy,' said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management."

My Way News - Top finance officials grapple with weak growth
My Way News reports: "Finance ministers from the world's largest economies said Friday they are determined to prevent a slide into another global recession, but a top U.S. official expressed frustration that a number of major economies were not doing enough to bolster growth."

Pestilence

PBS NewsHour - These six diseases should worry you more than Ebola
PBS NewsHour reports: "Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian citizen visiting the U.S., died this morning. He was the first and so far only patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. It’s important not to trivialize his death, but it’s also important to put it in perspective. In Africa, the virus has claimed the lives of at least 6,871 people and sickened more than 8,100 others, according to the World Health Organization. But that one case has captured the news [...] Meanwhile, in our country, the enterovirus 68 has infected at least 628 people since August, most of them small children. [...] As anxiety about Ebola mounts, we asked the experts which U.S. diseases we should be worried about, or at least more worried about than Ebola. Here are six, in no particular order."

Pestilence

My Way News - U.S. Ebola patient dies; airport screening expanded
My Way News reports: "The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the U.S. died Wednesday despite intense but delayed treatment, and the government announced it was expanding airport examinations to guard against the spread of the deadly disease. The checks will include taking the temperatures of hundreds of travelers arriving from West Africa at five major American airports."

Temple Mount

My Way News - Israeli police, Palestinians clash in Jerusalem
My Way News: "Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli police at a sensitive holy site in Jerusalem on Wednesday, leaving three officers lightly injured, a police spokeswoman said. The clashes erupted after several dozen masked Palestinians began throwing rocks, firecrackers and other pyrotechnical devices at police when the site — known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary — opened for prayers on Wednesday morning, said spokeswoman Luba Samri."

Comment: It's hard to understand the lack of respect Palestinians have for the Temple Mount until you realize that it's not really a holy site for them, they only value it because the Jews do. I mean if you have one group that says it's their "third" holiest site and another group that says it's their most holy site, it's not hard to see which group should have precedence.

Signs in the Moon

CNN - Blood moon returns; tetrad sequence of four continues
CNN reports: "Blood moon, Act II, opens soon in the heavens near you. And it will be bigger than Act I. If you live in the western half of the United States, you'll have a front-row seat on a lunar eclipse that will turn the moon a burnt reddish orange for about an hour Wednesday, creating the second blood moon in relatively short succession. [...] It will be the second in a sequence of four -- called a tetrad -- that are occurring in roughly six-month intervals. The next one will appear on April 4, 2015, and the last one on September 28, 2015."

Signs in the Moon

October 2014 Blood Moon: Total Lunar Eclipse Coverage
Space.com reports: "A total lunar eclipse is set to rise above people across a large swath of the world Wednesday (Oct. 8). Weather permitting, people in North America, Australia, western South America and parts of East Asia will be able to see the total lunar eclipse. Sometimes, when the moon dips into Earth's shadow during an eclipse, the natural satellite takes on a coppery-red color, leading some people to dub it a "blood moon." The eclipse should reach totality just before sunrise at about 6:25 a.m. EDT (1025 GMT) on the east coast of the United States."

Comment: Really nice video presentation here for those unfamiliar with the blood moon eclipse.

War

My Way News - Video: Islamic State group beheads British hostage
My Way News reports: "An Internet video released Friday purports to show an Islamic State group fighter beheading British hostage Alan Henning, the fourth such killing carried out by the extremist group now targeted in U.S.-led airstrikes. The video mirrored other beheading videos shot by the Islamic State group, which now holds territory along the border of Syria and Iraq, and ended with a militant threatening a man they identified as an American named Peter Kassig."

My Way News - Heavy fighting hits Syrian border town
My Way News reports: "Islamic State militants heavily shelled a Kurdish town on Syria's border with Turkey on Friday as jihadi fighters prepared an all-out offensive for the strategic site, whose capture would provide a direct link between areas under their control in Aleppo and their stronghold in Raqqa to the east. The fighting came as Turkey's prime minister pledged his country would do what it could to prevent the fall of Kobani, although he did not spell out what assistance Turkey would provide."

Pestilence

My Way News - Crew disinfects home where Ebola patient stayed
My Way News reports: "A hazardous-materials crew on Friday decontaminated the Texas apartment where an Ebola patient was staying when he got sick, while public-health officials cut by half the number of people being monitored for any symptoms of the deadly disease. Hours later, the family that was living in the apartment was moved to a private residence in a gated community that was offered by a volunteer."

My Way News - Things to know about respiratory bug plaguing kids
My Way News reports: "A wave of severe respiratory illnesses has swept the country in the last two months, propelled by what was long considered an uncommon germ. The enterovirus 68 has caused serious breathing problems in many children, and now is being eyed as possible factor in at least four deaths, and muscle weakness and paralysis in children in Colorado and perhaps other states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday released a report on the Colorado cluster. The investigation continues and many questions remain unresolved."

Pestilence

My Way News - Family that hosted Ebola patient confined to home
My Way News reports: "Four members of a family the U.S. Ebola patient was staying with were confined to their Texas home under armed guard Thursday as the circle of people possibly exposed to the virus widened, while Liberian authorities said they would prosecute the man for allegedly lying on an airport questionnaire. The unusual confinement order was imposed after the family failed to comply with a request not to leave their apartment, according to Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins."

War

My Way News - Turkey approves military operations in Iraq, Syria
My Way News reports: "Turkey's parliament gave the government new powers Thursday to launch military incursions into Syria and Iraq, and to allow foreign forces to use its territory for possible operations against the Islamic State group. The move opens the way for Turkey, a NATO member with a large and modern military, to play a more robust role in the U.S-led coalition against the Sunni militants. [...] The United States has been bombing the Islamic State group across Syria since last week and in neighboring Iraq since early August. [...] Turkey had been reluctant to join its NATO allies in a coalition against the militants, citing worries about the safety of Turkish hostages held by the group, but reversed its decision after the hostages were released last month."

My Way News - British PM: 2 more warplanes in fight against IS
My Way News reports: "Britain's prime minister says that two more warplanes will be deployed at a British air base on Cyprus to join others flying missions against Islamic State group targets in Iraq. Prime Minister David Cameron made the announcement during a brief visit at RAF Akrotiri late Thursday. The deployment will bring the number of Tornado aircraft now deployed at the base to eight."

My Way News - US: Marine 'presumed lost' in the Persian Gulf
My Way News reports: "A U.S. Marine who ejected from an airplane over the Persian Gulf is "presumed lost at sea," the U.S. Navy said Thursday, marking the first reported casualty from the ongoing operation against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria."

Pestilence

My Way News - Respiratory virus seen in 4 deaths; role unclear
My Way News reports: "Four people who were infected with a virus causing severe respiratory illness across the country have died, but what role the virus played in the deaths is unclear, health officials said Wednesday. A 10-year-old Rhode Island girl died last week after suffering both a bacterial infection and infection from enterovirus 68, Rhode Island health officials said. The virus is behind a spike in harsh respiratory illnesses in children since early August."

Comment: The Ebola virus is getting all the headlines, but this is the one to be worried about. Ebola is difficult to spread and doctors know what causes it and how to treat it. Not so with this virus.