Saturday In The News: Violence Increasing Around Israel. Iran's Ships A Dry Run For Future EMP Attack?

Expert: Iran Ships A Dry Run For Later Nuclear/EMP Attack

Iran's surprising decision to move warships off the Atlantic coast poses a potential catastrophic threat to America from a nuclear or electromagnetic pulse attack, according to an expert who foresaw Iran's move.

Peter Pry, an expert on EMP attacks, said the ships are likely a dry run for a future attack, a maneuver meant to lull Washington into complacency while also embarrassing President Obama and his effort to convince Tehran to give up production of a nuclear bomb in return for a lifting of some economic sanctions.

“Yes, patrols by the Iranian Navy off our coasts could pose threat of a surprise EMP attack,” said Pry, who with others such as former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, has convinced several state legislatures to take moves to harden their electric and energy grids from EMP attack because Washington won't.

Pry said the ships are probably conducting a test for a future visit from an Iranian freighter that would launch the attack.

“I think the Iranian Navy patrols off our coasts may be intended to lull us into complacency, to get the U.S. Navy accustomed to an Iranian naval presence in our hemisphere, so eventually they could contribute to 'Zero Hour' and the great day when the Mullahs decide to drop the nuclear hammer on America,” said Pry, who staffed a former congressional EMP commission.

Pry, president of EMPACT America, one of the nation's leading authorities on EMP, revealed that Iran recently purchased Russia's Club-K missile launcher, which can be hidden in tractor-trailer-sized cargo boxes.

“I and my colleagues, including Reza Kahlili, who warned six months ago that these Iranian patrols were coming, think it more likely Iran would make an EMP attack by launching a missile off a freighter, so they could do the deed anonymously, and escape retaliation,” Pry explained.

“Iran has demonstrated the capability to launch a missile off a freighter. Iran has also purchased Russia's Club-K missile system. The Club-K is a complete missile launch system, disguised to look like a shipping container, that could convert any freighter into a missile launch platform. The Club-K, if armed with a nuclear warhead, could be used to execute an EMP attack.”

Sabbath Calm Disturbed By Rocket Attacks

The calm of Shabbat was interrupted in southern Israel on Friday evening, as terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at the region.
The rocket, fired shortly after 9:00 p.m. local time, exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no physical injuries or damages.
Only an hour earlier, a Gaza rocket exploded in an open area in the Hof Ashkelon Region. There were no physical injuries or damages in this attack as well.
In both cases, the “Red Alert” siren was heard in surrounding communities before the explosion, forcing local residents into shelters.
Rocket attacks have been on the increase in recent days, especially after Hamas gave terrorists the "green light" to open fire at Israel by withdrawing its forces that were deployed to prevent such rocket fire. 
On Monday, two rockets were fired at southern Israel. The first one, on Monday afternoon, exploded in an open field near the Ashkelon coast. No physical injuries or damages were reported.
Later that evening, Gaza-based terrorists fired another rocket at southern Israel.

Jordanian Islamists Rally Against Israel

Hundreds of Islamists rallied in Jordan on Friday against a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA),The Associated Press (AP)reported.
The largest protest in months came hours before Jordan's King Abdullah was scheduled to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in California.
The 1,200 protesters affiliated with Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, who demonstrated against Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace framework, also burned the Israeli flag, reported AP.
The protesters also demanded that King Abdullah II "revoke the peace treaty with the Zionists," the report said, referring to the 1994 peace treaty signed between the two countries.
The protest comes amid reports of tensions in the Hashemite Kingdom, which is reportedly nervous over the implications of an Israel-PA peace treaty for King Abdullah II's tenuous hold over the country.

Caroline Glick: Why Turkey Is Gone For Good

In an interview with The Times of Israel, Turkish opposition MP Ayken Kerdemir said that Erdogan has cultivated Turkish anti-Semitism. “He is not only capitalizing on the existing sentiments, Kerdemir explained. Erdogan is “fueling some of that anti-Israel and anti-Semitic feeling… with his rhetoric, conspiracy theories, campaign slogans and actions.”

Kerdemir explained that Erdogan’s cultivation of anti-Semitism in Turkish society will continue to affect Turkey’s behavior and social values long after he is gone. “Even after Erdogan and AKP are gone, even if [the opposition party] CHP comes to power, it will take us quite some time to mend inter-societal relations through dialogue, awareness raising and sensitivity training.”

Once you let that genie out of the bottle, it is very hard to stuff it back inside.

Erdogan’s anti-Semitism is not opportunistic. He isn’t simply exploiting a popular prejudice for his own benefit. He is an anti-Semite. And his anti-Semitism informs his behavior toward Israel.

In Kerdemir’s view, Erdogan’s uncontrollable hatred of Jews makes it impossible for him to agree to reconcile Turkey’s relations with Israel.

As he put it, “Erdogan’s core values vis-à-vis Jews and Israel prevent him from dealing with this issue in a tolerant, embracing and sustainable way.”

Against this backdrop it should surprise no one that this week Erdogan sunk prospects for a renewal of Turkish ties with Israel.

Immediately after he took office 10 years ago, Erdogan began systematically downgrading Turkey’s strategic alliance with Israel. This process, which began gradually and accelerated after Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian elections, reached its peak in 2010.

In May 2010, Erdogan sponsored the pro-Hamas flotilla to Gaza whose aim was to undermine Israel’s lawful maritime blockade of the terrorist-controlled Gaza coast. The flotilla’s flagship, theMavi Marmara, was controlled by the al-Qaida-aligned IHH organization. Its passengers included terrorists who, armed with iron bars, knives and other weaponry tried to kill IDF naval commandos when they boarded the Gaza-bound ship to enforce the blockade. In the ensuing battle, the commandos killed nine IHH terrorists.

Erdogan used the incident on the Mavi Marmara as a means of ending what remained of Turkey’s ties to Israel. For three years, he insisted that he would only restore full diplomatic relations if Israel ended its blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, apologized for its forces’ actions on board the Mavi Marmara, and paid reparations to the families of the IHH terrorists killed in their assault on the IDF commandos.

U.S. Administration Pushes For TPP Despite Mounting Opposition

Obama and the US Trade Rep are still forging ahead to try to bring TPP closer to agreement among the 12 negotiating countries. US Trade Rep Michael Froman will meet this weekend with Japan's trade minister, who is head of the country's TPP negotiations, to reconcile differences on some major remaining sticking points around tariffs and auto trade. The next TPP meeting, already delayed several times, will begin on February 22 in Singapore. Then in April, President Obama is scheduled to make a trip to Asia. A White House press statement this week shows that TPP is clearly on his agenda as he visits two countries participating in the negotiations.

The next few months will be interesting for the White House as it struggles to pull together support on this sprawling trade deal both at home and abroad. Senator Ron Wyden has become the new Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, where he will face pressure from the President to pass some form of Fast Track legislation to pass TPP as quickly as possible. But Wyden has been a vocal opponent to the secrecy around these trade negotiations. In 2012, he sent a letter to the US Trade Rep calling them to release detailed information about provisions in the TPPthat would impact Internet freedoms. He also introduced a bill to the floor demanding the US Trade Rep give Congress members full access to the TPP text—the same access afforded to representatives of corporations like the Motion Picture Association.

Also see:

2/3 Of America To Lose Everything Because Of This Crisis

A record breaking stock market is distorting a frightening reality: The U.S. is being eaten alive by a horrific cancer that will ultimately destroy the economy and impoverish the vast majority of its citizens.

That's according to Peter Schiff, the best-selling author and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, who delivered his harsh warning to investors in a recent interview on Fox Business.

"I think we are heading for a worse economic crisis than we had in 2007," Schiff said. "You're going to have a collapse in the dollar...a huge spike in interest rates... and our whole economy, which is built on the foundation of cheap money, is going to topple when you pull the rug out from under it."

Schiff says that, despite "phony" signs of an economic recovery, the cancer destroying America stems from a lethal concoction of our $16 trillion federal debt and the Fed's never ending money printing.

Currently, Yellen and The Fed are buying nearly $1 trillion of Treasury and mortgage bonds a year. That's about $75 billion per month against a budget deficit that is about the same level.

According to Schiff, these numbers are unsustainable. And the Fed has no credible "exit strategy."

Eventually interest rates will rise... and when they do, Schiff says, stocks will tank and bonds dip to nothing. Massive new tax hikes will be imposed and programs and entitlements will be cut to the bone.

 "The crisis is imminent," Schiff said.  "I don't think Obama is going to finish his second term without the bottom dropping out. And stock market investors are oblivious to the problems."

 "We're broke, Schiff added.  "We owe trillions. Look at our budget deficit; look at the debt to GDP ratio, the unfunded liabilities. If we were in the Eurozone, they would kick us out."

Schiff points out that the market gains experienced recently, with the Dow first topping 17,000 on its way to setting record highs, are giving investors a false sense of security.  

"It's not that the stock market is gaining value... it's that our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased currency... a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up. Stocks are no exception," he said.

"The Fed knows that the U.S. economy is not recovering," he noted. "It simply is being kept from collapse by artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing. As that support goes, the economy will implode."

In his most recent book, "The Real Crash" How to Save Yourself and Your Country", Schiff writes that when the "real crash" comes," it will be worse than the Great Depression.

Unemployment will skyrocket, credit will dry up, and worse, the dollar will collapse completely, "wiping out all savings and sending consumer prices into the stratosphere."

Schiff estimates this "cancer" could consume a trillion dollars from consumers this year.

"Today we're the world's greatest debtor nation. Companies, homeowners and banks are so highly leveraged, rising interest rates will be devastating."

According to polls, the average American is indeed sensing danger. A recent survey found that 61% of Americans believe a catastrophe is looming - yet only 15% feel prepared for such a deeply troubling event.

'Weaponizing Government' Against Nonprofits. Behind The Curtain Lurks George Soros (again)

[Surprise, surprise - guess who is heavily involved in the IRS abuse scandal?]

WND broke the news that the IRS essentially subcontracted its responsibility to review the applications to the Urban Institute, a leftist organization that receives major federal funding but also gets significant financial backing from liberal billionaire George Soros. Specifically, online applicants are directed to the Urban Institute’s website if they take in less than $50,000 in annual receipts.

True the Vote President Catherine Englebrecht, who ripped the IRS for its heavy-handed tactics and not conducting any meaningful investigation into alleged abuses, says this sort of cozy working relationship should not surprise anyone.

“It is exactly as it seems to be,” Englebrecht said. “They are weaponizing government against private individuals and nonprofit organizations that oppose current policy or the performance of this administration. They want them silenced. It doesn’t shock me in the least.

“This is the bare-knuckle politics that we sadly see being used by agencies within the government that are not about representing the people but are about maintaining their own power.”

 WND’s investigation found the supposedly “nonpartisan” organization’s employees have a record of donating nearly 100 percent of their political contributions to Democrats, and officially, the Urban Institute advocates for totally socialized medicine, carbon taxes and amnesty for illegal aliens.

Englebrecht said she can’t think of any legitimate reason for the IRS and a group like the Urban Institute to be working together on matters involving that kind of sensitive information the government requires from tax-exempt applicants.

Does Freedom Matter?

What was the purpose of the founding of these United States of America and the creation of our Constitution? Before the migration from Europe to this newly discovered land, all people of the civilized world were ruled by Kings. Even the original thirteen established states of this new land were ruled, as a colony, by the King of England.

Then something very profound and monumental took place, Independence was declared and the American Revolution was underway, a war for the freedom of man insued. A group of men bent on their desire to be free and rule themselves in a land where the government answered to the people and not the people answering to the King and his court, rose up and risked their lives and fortunes in an attempt to end government dictating to, taxing at will, and over regulating the people. Through the shedding of their blood and fortune the American Constitutional Republic was born, an experiment in self government. As you know the opening shot fired in that revolution was called “the shot heard round the world.” It was so called because it was a rebellion against, not only the King of England, but against mankind being ruled by kings.

A campaign was started many years ago by President Woodrow Wilson, and continues today, to undermine and discredit the United States Constitution. Those efforts are headed today by the Progressive Liberals (Socialists) both in our news media and our federal government, and they are led, among others, by Barack Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, and MSNBC.

The managing editor of Time Magazine, Richard Stengle, in an essay he wrote is a case in point, where he says, “If the Constitution was intended to limit the federal government, it certainly doesn’t say so.” Mr. Stengle, I would like to direct you to the Tenth Amendment of that document, for apparently you have not read it. It reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or the people.”

Our Constitution was designed to create a framework for a Federal Government—and worded to keep the government inside that framework. In other words, the Constitution exists for the purpose of limiting the powers of the Federal Government. “Does the Constitution matter?” “If it doesn’t, then neither does our freedom.”

America, we are on a collision course with full blown Socialism.

Determined To Make Mideast Peace, Obama To Meet With Jordan's King Abdullah

As readers of this blog know, I’ve been writing a series of columns on “Who To Watch” in the epicenter in 2014. First on my list was Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

There are many reasons, but among the most important is that the King is emerging as a critically important player in the Mideast peace process.

Hot in pursuit of a comprehensive peace deal by the end of this year, President Obama today begins the first of three rounds of meetings with key Middle Eastern leaders scheduled over the next few weeks.

Few Americans spend much time thinking about Jordan or her King. Why then in the 51 year old monarch emerging as such an important player? Here’s the brief version:

• Any peace deal that might be struck between the Israelis and Palestinians will be predicated on the stability of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the security the King’s military and intelligence services can provide to make sure a Palestinian state would be peaceful and not radicalized.
• If the King is overthrown by Radical Islamists, all the assumptions undergirding the current peace process would collapse.
• Removing Jordan’s moderate, pro-Western monarch is a top priority of the jihadists.
• The King’s father — the late-King Hussein — negotiated and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
• King Abdullah II was the originator of an Arab peace plan that eventually was refined by the Saudis as the “Arab Peace Initiative” and was ratified by the entire Arab League.
• The King has a great deal of trust with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, something the President doesn’t have himself.
• The King is well known and liked on Capitol Hill among key House and Senate leaders, both Democrat and Republican.
• The King also has a good working relationship with American Jewish leaders, some of whom he met with in Washington this week to discuss the latest developments in the peace process.
• The President visited Jordan in March 2013 as part of a Mideast trip that included stops in Israel and with Palestinian leaders in Ramallah. [Read text of press conference.]

Understanding Jordan is not a high priority for most Americans, but for anyone interested in the epicenter it should be.