In The News: Peace Talks With Those Who Don't Want Peace

What a strange and bizarre world we are living in as we approach the end of the age:

US-Led Israeli-Palestinian Talks Get Off To Confused Start

They say that the US delegation chairing the negotiations “appears to be at sea on which issue to lead off.” There is anger in Jerusalem over the leak from US Secretary of State John Kerry’s circle of his threat that Israel would face a campaign against its legitimacy unless it gives way to pressures on West Bank settlements.

“The Secretary would be better advised to focus on the hardening of the Palestinian position,” said Israeli sources. They also pointed out that although Kerry had insisted on the talks being held in confidence, his own people were pouring out confidential data to the media. “This can only be explained,” said the Israeli sources, “by the talks having run into crisis before they begin.”

By declaring that the future Palestinian state must be cleansed of every last Jew, civilian or military, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas takes an even more extreme line than Yasser Arafat did in 2000. In the trilateral talks he held with then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, under the auspices of President Bill Clinton, the Palestinian leader accepted the right of the Israeli Defense Forces to rapidly deploy on the West Bank and Jordan Rift Valley in the event of a security crisis threatening Israel from the east.

Abbas has also backed away from the Palestinians’ original consent for Israeli security forces to be posted at the border crossings of the future Palestinian state.

This position encouraged Abbas to take a tough line, say the sources, and for Israel it is a non-starter. “If Kerry does not recognize that a consensus on security must be embedded in the crux of any accord and accepted by all three parties, the negotiations must be considered to have run into insurmountable difficulties,” said the Israel source, who preferred to stay anonymous in view of the sensitivity of the issues.

Washington sources report that the Secretary failed to win the support of American Jewish leaders when he met them at the White House on Aug. 8 along with National Security Adviser Susan Rice. They found his arguments vague, inconsistent and loaded with danger for Israel.

Israel says that in view of 50 years of failed peace talks stalled by the Palestinians, this new round must start afresh with all the issues on the table.
Kerry appears to have grasped that his initiative on security arrangements and general approach were misplaced, only encouraging the Palestinians to revert to the dangerous pipe dream that they can force all parties to turn the clock back at their convenience.

Peace Talks To Resume Against Backdrop Of Prisoner Release

Israel and the Palestinians are scheduled to begin substantive talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, amid extremely low expectations on the Israeli side and Palestinian threats that Israeli announcements of settlement plans could torpedo the talks.

The talks will be held under a complete media blackout, with neither the location nor time of the negotiations made public, let alone any mention of what topics are on the initial agenda. The talks will take place following the release late Tuesday night of 26 Palestinian terrorists.

“We set ourselves the goal of nine months in which we will try to reach something with the Palestinians,” he said. “We’ve been trying for 20 years since Oslo, and for over 120 years of the conflict.

The skepticism in the tone of my remarks is apparent, but we’ve decided to give it a chance.”

Israeli officials dismissed as “overstated” speculation that fears of Israel’s being delegitimized in the world is what motivated Netanyahu to return to the table. At a speech in June to the American Jewish Committee, Kerry warned that the “insidious campaign to delegitimize Israel will only gain steam” if the talks fail.

Egypt's Islamist Rage Targets Christians

Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi have reportedly been lashing out at Christian targets, besides confronting the government.

In Fayoum, in Upper Egypt, pro-Morsi supporters set fire to a Christian youth center locatednext to the Muslim youth center where they had been protesting,according to a report on Ahram Arabic cited by the BBC

Ahram Arabic also reported that pro-Morsi supporters threw fire bombs at the Al-Raey Al-Saleh Church and set three military vehicles on fire. Clashes are ongoing between protesters and military forces.

The BBC said that there have been a number of attacks on churches around Egypt Wednesday, including in Minya and Sohag.


The Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya movement – a close ally of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood – also urged its loyalists “enraged by police attacks on the Rabaa and Nahda sit-ins,” not to assault “Christians or their religious buildings.”

Al Qaeda Vows: 'Islam Is Coming' To The U.S.

A representative of al Qaeda in the Gaza Strip sent a stark warning to Americans during a Sunday interview on WABC Radio in New York: Get ready for Islam.

“Islam is coming, and there is no other choice,” said Abu Sager, a leader of Jihadiya Salafiya in the Gaza Strip, on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on Sunday. “Because we think Islam will come, and this is something that no one can prevent.”

He did not claim that Islam would spread in America through acts of violence, WND reported. But he did suggest that jihadists who are currently fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad could turn their anger next onto Israel and the United States, the “enemies of Islam,” WND reported.

“And we will raise the Islamic flag on every point on earth where Muslims live, and we will chase all the enemies of Islam wherever they are,” he said. “Even in the West, in Europe and in the United States.”

U.S. Source: Code Words In Al Qaeda Intercepts Raised 'Great Concern'

'Hindenburg Omens': Another Stock Crash Coming?

 A number of top analysts are pointing out the fact that the biggest cluster of "Hindenburg Omens" has appeared since the last stock market crash.  And those that have studied this insist that the more "Hindenburg Omens" there are in a cluster, the stronger the signal is.  Meanwhile, another very disturbing sign is the fact that the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries is starting to soar again.  On Tuesday it shot up from 2.62% to 2.727%.  As I have written about previously, the yield on 10 year U.S. Treasuries is the most important number in the U.S. economy right now.  If that number continues to rise, it is going to be very, very bad news for the financial system.

When the Hindenburg Omen makes an appearance, it is supposedly a signal that the U.S. stock market will likely experience a significant decline within the next 40 days.

But of course this has not always happened when a Hindenburg Omen has appeared.  However, what we are seeing right now is a highly concentrated cluster of Hindenburg Omens.  According toSentimenTrader's Jason Goepfert, the last time such a cluster appeared was before the last stock market crash...

Will the pattern hold up this time?

We'll see.

But without a doubt we have been witnessing some very unusual activity in the markets over the past couple of weeks.  In fact, according to Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge, we have now seen a Hindenburg Omen occur five times in the last seven trading days...

For the 5th time in the last 7 days, equity market internals have triggered an anxiety-implying Hindenburg Omen. Based on our data, this is the most concentrated cluster of new highs, new lows, advancing/declining based confusion on record. The last few occurrences have not ended well (though obviously not disastrously) but as the creator of the 'Omen' notes, the more occurrences that cluster, the stronger the signal.

Also see:

One Second After The Rapture