Today is one of those days in which there were so many pertinent and interesting articles I just had to stop before even getting through the various sites that we see on a daily basis.
It reminds me of Jesus' first coming - when there were abundant signs around His coming (not nearly as many signs as we have been given for this generation) and what Jesus had to say about that. Specifically, we can see from the scriptures what Jesus said about those who remained ignorant to the signs of His first coming:
"He said to the crowd: 'When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain', and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say 'It's going to be hot' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" (Luke 12:54-56)
Jesus revealed that they knew the weather signs because it was important to them (farming etc.), and they took the time to understand those signs. Yet they remained ignorant of the signs (prophetic scriptures) relating to His coming. Jesus was clearly not happy with this ignorance of the signs of His coming.
In today's era - aka 'this generation' - we have many many more signs. What would Jesus have to say about those who remain ignorant of these signs?
Today is an example of just how many signs that we have all around us - you could say that we are immersed in signs.
The past week was one of Hamas’s best recent stretches, especially compared to the difficult times the organization has experienced since the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
For months, Hamas prepared for last Sunday’s rally, which marked 10 years since the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Buses were readied to transport the crowds; posters were hung, featuring pictures of Yassin and other celebrity martyrs; video clips were recorded. Still, organizers feared that only a modest number of participants would show up.
During the recent escalation in Gaza, only a week-and-a-half before the rally, Hamas was conspicuous in its absence from the fight between Islamic Jihad and Israel. And the Gaza economy isn’t looking good, to say the least: The tunnels are closed, unemployment is high — reaching 41% among young Gazans — and the real estate sector is shut down because of Israel’s refusal to allow building materials in.
But when all was said and done, hundreds of thousands came to the rally on Sunday. Downtown Gaza City was filled with green, and the demonstration of power was impressive.
In many ways, Hamas owes Israel a debt of gratitude. A day before the rally, Israeli police special forces entered the Jenin refugee camp and killed Hamza Abu al-Hija, the son of Jamal Abu al-Hija, one the symbols of Hamas in the West Bank, who was arrested in 2002 for his part in a suicide bombing. Two other Palestinians were killed along with Hamza — one an Islamic Jihad member, and the other from the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade.
The killings enraged Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, especially in the refugee camps. By Saturday afternoon, a funeral procession of 15,000 marched through the city in a scene reminiscent of the beginning of the Second Intifada.
Jenin, too, was decked out in green. The masses moved angrily through the city, led by politicians from the spectrum of Palestinian movements, including Hamas, and accompanied by dozens of armed men. Cries for revenge against Israel were sounded again and again, as was bitter criticism against the PA for cooperating with Israeli forces.
The Palestinians “have not moved one inch” in their negotiating positions since 1994, while the Netanyahu government has made dramatic concessions unacknowledged by world opinion, Israel’s outgoing national security adviser said on Thursday.
“Israel made huge steps towards the Palestinians, while the Palestinians — at the very least — did not budge an inch. In certain areas, they even moved backward,” Amidror said.
Amidror served as national security adviser under Netanyahu from March 2011 until November 2013, and was involved in the current round of talks with the Palestinians. As a senior officer, he served as head of the research department in Military Intelligence and as secretary to the minister of defense.
The retired Israeli general highlighted two issues where Israel made a dramatic move towards the Palestinians: accepting a Palestinian state, while Rabin only agreed to “less than a state”; and limiting the Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley to the Jordan River, while Rabin envisioned the entire valley under Israeli control.
On the latter issue, Amidror said, “The Americans didn’t even notice the difference until we turned their attention to it.
“The world doesn’t acknowledge the huge shift Israel made, and even in Israel there’s low sensitivity to this,” he added.
“From a diplomatic point of view, I know of not one Palestinian concession since the start of negotiations until today,” he said.
WAS Crimea just the beginning?
A senior military academic is warning Europe is staring down the barrel of its biggest war since 1945. And it could start in days, as Russian forces mass on the border with Ukraine — apparently poised to invade.
The commander of NATO forces in Europe visited the White House overnight to voice his alarm at Moscow’s massive military build-up facing eastern Ukraine — on the other side of the embattled country to the already-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Many other military and political voices are suddenly expressing the same fears.
“By the end of the weekend, Europe’s biggest war since 1945 will have begun or Putin will have started to send the troops on the border home,” declared Professor of the Naval War College at Boston University, John Schindler.
And he is not the only academic voicing this concern.
The troops are reportedly not average Russian conscripts. New intelligence reveals the mechanised infantry units and their tanks to be among the best and most highly trained the Russian Federation has — diverted from their Moscow barracks to their tents and revetments overlooking Ukraine.
Also early this morning Australia time, a group of masked right wing ultra-nationalists began a demonstration inside and out of the Ukraine’s main parliament building - calling for the sacking of the police minister after one of their leaders was shot dead.
There are even reports — unconfirmed at this stage — that Russia has in the past few hours erected a massive field hospital designed to treat wounded soldiers.
And Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric has also been heating up, with claims that Russian-speaking people in Ukraine are being treated “brutally”.
The much-talked-about Russian defence exercises near the Ukraine seem to be a spoof, designed to explain away the buildup.
While highly publicised exercises have been underway in distant Siberia, only a few “events” seem to have been staged among the troops massed near Crimea and Ukraine.
US Defense officials say the numbers of troops far exceeds the amount needed for any training exercise. And there is no evidence any large-scale manoeuvres have actually taken place
More worrying is that none of the troops have returned to their bases.
War expert Schindler has been fast and furiously tweeting his fears to all who care to listen in recent hours.
He speculates the real number of Russian troops now in place may amount to 80,000.
“(The) odds of invasion are raising,” he tweeted early this morning. “Only Putin really knows, but the world will know soon enough.”
“We’re all concerned about what Russia is doing on the border of Ukraine,” Breedlove said after the first briefing. “The size of the forces have a message that are not congruous with respecting the borders.”
Even the United States — until now somewhat timid in its talk of Russia’s ambitions — is starting to get the message.
The Church of England will provide no more resistance to gay marriage among churchgoers, the Archbishop of Canterbury revealed last night.
Gay marriage becomes legal tomorrow and thousands of ceremonies are planned across the country from one minute past midnight onwards.
Changing the law has caused bitter divisions within the church.
Last month, bishops attempted to ban clergy from marrying same-sex partners, provoking a backlash among Christian supporters of the change.
However, in a shift in tone, Archbishop Justin Welby tells the Guardian today: ‘I think the Church has reacted by fully accepting that it’s the law, and should react on Saturday by continuing to demonstrate in word and action, the love of Christ for every human being.’
In defiance of the bishops, at least seven clergy couples were already planning to marry their partners, and some clergy are offering to bless same-sex marriages.
Globally, the Anglican Church remains deeply split on the issue and Archbishop Welby is trying to prevent the divide from spreading to the UK.
Some conservative evangelical congregations are threatening to leave the Church of England if it compromises its opposition to gay sex by blessing civil partnerships.
Archbishop Welby hopes to tactfully approach the problem via a series of ‘structured conversations’ between opponents and supporters of the move.
The Reverend Andrew Cain, from north London, has also announced his intention to marry his partner.
Gay marriage becomes legal tomorrow and thousands of ceremonies are planned across the country from one minute past midnight onwards.
Changing the law has caused bitter divisions within the church.
Last month, bishops attempted to ban clergy from marrying same-sex partners, provoking a backlash among Christian supporters of the change.
However, in a shift in tone, Archbishop Justin Welby tells the Guardian today: ‘I think the Church has reacted by fully accepting that it’s the law, and should react on Saturday by continuing to demonstrate in word and action, the love of Christ for every human being.’
In defiance of the bishops, at least seven clergy couples were already planning to marry their partners, and some clergy are offering to bless same-sex marriages.
Globally, the Anglican Church remains deeply split on the issue and Archbishop Welby is trying to prevent the divide from spreading to the UK.
Some conservative evangelical congregations are threatening to leave the Church of England if it compromises its opposition to gay sex by blessing civil partnerships.
Archbishop Welby hopes to tactfully approach the problem via a series of ‘structured conversations’ between opponents and supporters of the move.
The Reverend Andrew Cain, from north London, has also announced his intention to marry his partner.
The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus said to have already claimed 63 lives in rural Guinea has now spread to the West African nation’s capital, Conakry, with the Health Ministry ringing the alarm and officials calling it a “threat to regional security.”
A total of four capital dwellers have fallen victim to the hemorrhagic fever – one of the deadliest viruses known to man. They are currently in quarantine, Reuters reports, citing local Health Minister Remy Lamah.
The origin of the outbreak in Conakry appears to be an old man who visited a place about 150km away from the previously-identified outbreaks. After his funeral, four of his brothers started showing similar symptoms, and were immediately quarantined.
Medical sources also confirmed two staff members at the Kipe University Hospital in Conakry are exhibiting signs of the hemorrhagic fever. This is where the initial victims were treated upon discovery of suspicious symptoms.
After the virus claimed 63 lives in the rural Forest region of Guinea, the spread to Conakry, with its population of 2 million – and an international airport – is seen as a serious escalation by officials. And the problem is beginning to affect the western region of Africa as well, with at least six Guinean arrivals dead in Sierra Leone and Liberia from symptoms closely resembling Ebola.
It is a very infectious disease whose symptoms involve diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding among other things, and it kills between 25 and 90 percent of those who fall victim to it, depending on the virus’s strain.
The banker suicide saga has just reached a new level as a top level JPMorgan attorney has been exterminated in a hit & run incident involving a minivan.
JPM attorney Joseph Giampapa was killed over the weekend when he was struck by a minivan in a hit and run incident. Giampapa was reportedly hit and thrown 150 ft and was pronounced dead at the scene. No charges have been filed.
It gets better: Giampapa was JPMorgan’s top commercial bankruptcy lawyer (SVP).
Somehow we suspect the incident was not inflicted by a soccer mom.
Joseph Giampapa was riding alone on Troy-Sidney Road when he was struck by a car at about 11:08 a.m. Saturday morning.
The driver of the car called 911 and Miami County Sheriff deputies responded to the scene. Giampapa was found lying in the driveway of a home located in the 6500 block of Troy-Sidney Road in Springcreek Township.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by medic personnel.
Deputies say Giampapa was taking part in a 200 mile bike ride with a bicycle club named Ohio Randonneurs.
Their route started in Springfield and went through Troy, then reversed course. Deputies believe Giampapa was on his return trip when the crash occurred.
“Joe was an extremely accomplished cyclist a responsible cyclist and that’s what makes this tragedy so mind numbing,” said Jeff Stephens, a friend of Giampapa. “That road that Joe was on was flat. No trees. It was just wide open visibility.”
False Flag Alert ('wars and rumors of war'): This Time In Middle East
As we noted here, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan had blocked Twitter access to his nation ahead of what wasrumored to be a "spectacular" leak before this weekend's elections. Then this morning, amid a mad scramble, he reportedly (despite the nation's court ruling the bans illegal) blocked YouTube access. However, by the magic of the interwebs, we have the 'leaked' clip and it is clear why he wanted it blocked/banned. As the rough translation explains, it purports to be a conversation between key Turkish military and political leaders discussing what appears to be a false flag attack to launch war with Syria.
Among the most damning sections:
Ahmet Davutolu: “Prime Minister said that in current conjuncture, this attack (on Suleiman Shah Tomb) must be seen as an opportunity for us.”
Hakan Fidan: “I’ll send 4 men from Syria, if that’s what it takes. I’ll make up a cause of war by ordering a missile attack on Turkey; we can also prepare an attack on Suleiman Shah Tomb if necessary.”
Feridun Sinirliolu: “Our national security has become a common, cheap domestic policy outfit.”
Ya?ar Güler: “It’s a direct cause of war. I mean, what’re going to do is a direct cause of war.”
...
Feridun Sinirolu: There are some serious shifts in global and regional geopolitics. It now can spread to other places. You said it yourself today, and others agreed… We’re headed to a different game now. We should be able to see those. That ISIL and all that jazz, all those organizations are extremely open to manipulation. Having a region made up of organizations of similar nature will constitute a vital security risk for us. And when we first went into Northern Iraq, there was always the risk of PKK blowing up the place. If we thoroughly consider the risks and substantiate… As the general just said…
Yaar Güler: Sir, when you were inside a moment ago, we were discussing just that. Openly. I mean, armed forces are a “tool” necessary for you in every turn.
Ahmet Davutolu: Of course. I always tell the Prime Minister, in your absence, the same thing in academic jargon, you can’t stay in those lands without hard power. Without hard power, there can be no soft power.
To summarize: a recording confirming a NATO-member country planned a false-flag war with Syria (where have we seen that before?) and all the Prime Minister has to say is the leak was "immoral."
Erdogan is not amused:
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described the leaking on YouTube on Thursday of a recording of top security officials discussing possible military operations in Syria as "villainous" and the government blocked access to the video-sharing site.
...
"They even leaked a national security meeting. This is villainous, this is dishonesty...Who are you serving by doing audio surveillance of such an important meeting?" Erdogan declared before supporters at a rally ahead of March 30 local polls that will be a key test of his support amid a corruption scandal.
Turkish Political And Military Leaders Admit To Planning False Flag Terror To Justify War With Syria
So Common … There’s a Name for It
This tactic is so common that it was given a name for hundreds of years ago.
“False flag terrorism” is defined as a government attacking its own people, then blaming others in order to justify going to war against the people it blames. Or as Wikipedia defines it:
False flag operations are covert operations conducted by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to appear as if they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one’s own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example, during Italy’s strategy of tension.
The term comes from the old days of wooden ships, when one ship would hang the flag of its enemy before attacking another ship in its own navy. Because the enemy’s flag, instead of the flag of the real country of the attacking ship, was hung, it was called a “false flag” attack.
Turkish government officials were caught red-handed in a leaked audio tape planning a false flag terror attack as a pretext to invade Syria, but the mainstream media completely buried the key aspect of the story and made it all about Prime Minister Erdogan blocking YouTube.
The Internal Revenue Service’s tea party targeting program is still withholding approval of 19 organizations’ nonprofit status, nearly a year after the scandal was revealed, the agency’s commissioner testified Wednesday to Congress — where he faced fierce criticism from lawmakers who said he is stonewalling.
John Koskinen, the man President Obama tapped to clean up the embattled agency, also said it will take years to respond to all of thedocument
requests from Congress. He told Congress that even complying with a subpoena for emails from just a handful of key employees couldn’t be done before the end of this year because it takes time to have attorneys delete protected taxpayer information.
requests from Congress. He told Congress that even complying with a subpoena for emails from just a handful of key employees couldn’t be done before the end of this year because it takes time to have attorneys delete protected taxpayer information.
Republicans signaled that they are moving ahead with plans to hold former IRS employee Lois G. Lerner in contempt of Congress. They released a memo from the House counsel saying the committee made her aware that it expected her to answer questions at a hearing earlier this month, and that she endangered her legal standing by again refusing to testify.
“The American people believe the IRS is now a politicized agency, because the IRS is a politicized agency,” said Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The IRS continues to face scrutiny after an internal audit by its inspector general last year found the agency had improperly singled out conservative and tea party nonprofit applications for special scrutiny and had delayed many of those applications — in some cases for three years.
for special scrutiny and had delayed many of those applications — in some cases for three years.
Nearly a year after the targeting and delays were revealed, however, some groups are still awaiting approval.
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