Macron To Shift Focus From NATO To EU Constitution

Macron: Europe can no longer rely on United States for its security

French President calls for EU defense project and EU cooperation with Russia and Turkey; Macron: It is up to us today to take our responsibilities and guarantee our own security, and thus have European sovereignty.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for new, urgent European security policy on Monday.

Speaking in Paris at the annual Ambassador’s Conference, Macron stated that “Europe can no longer rely on the United States for its security. It is up to us to guarantee European security… It is up to us today to take our responsibilities and guarantee our own security, and thus have European sovereignty…”

He urged for focus on the European Union’s constitution rather than NATO policy. His remarks follow the NATO summit in July where President Trump announced he would be “very unhappy if they [EU] didn’t up their commitments very substantially, because the United States has been paying a tremendous amount—probably 90% of the cost of NATO…”

Macron stated on Monday that Europe must “take new initiatives, build new alliances… France wants a Europe which protects, even as extremism has grown stronger and nationalism has awoken,” calling for reform in trade and security cooperation.

He also called for European cooperation with Turkey and Russia in order to improve diplomatic relations and cooperation. He not only accused the Trump Administration of “aggressive isolationism,” but asked “Do China and the United States think of Europe as a power with similar independence to their own? It is not the case.”

Turkey will hold a summit on Syria in September to be attended by officials from France, Germany and Russia. The United States was not invited to the talks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the summit would take place in Istanbul earlier this month.

Thousands Of Dead Fish Along Florida Beaches

Crews covertly removing 'non-stop flow of toxic dead fish' from Florida beaches on tractor-trailers

Several popular Florida beaches are now virtually empty and the smell of dead fish has filled the air due to the recent red tide algae bloom which officials say is the worst on record.

The nasty warm water algae bloom has prompted cleaning crews to covertly remove presumably tens-of-thousands of dead fish carcasses via tractor-trailers at Siesta Key Beach and other beaches in recent days in the wee hours.

In fact, the amount of stench so horrid that investigative reporter Dennis Michael Lynch posted a video to his Facebook page on Monday describing just how bad it really is.

“What happens is the clean it up in morning … before anyone comes down and then high tide comes in,” Lynch explains in the video filmed on the scene. “In fact, my son is so sick from the smell that I may actually have to take him to the doctor if he doesn’t start showing me some signs of getting better.”

Making matters worse, not only fish are washing up. Manatees and other sea creatures have been found as well.

“Check that out, that’s a dead manatee,” Lynch said while filming the carcass covered with flies. “Now they won’t show that to you on the news — they don’t want it — they won’t show it.”

Additionally, Lynch made clear that in no way is he trying to “hurt the businesses” in the area and said that he is just trying to help but did admit “at sunset, there is not a single soul to be found.”

“If we don’t start treating these water better … if we don’t do something soon — that becomes the norm,” he said.

Siesta Key Beach is one of the state’s most premiere beaches and is located on Florida’s west coast in between Tampa and Fort Myers.

Revolution Taking Place In The Way The U.S. Deals With The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

ANALYSIS: Trump Causes Revolution in Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

A revolution is taking place in the way the United States deals with the Palestinian Israeli conflict and it could have serious ramifications for the security situation in Israel some say while others see God's hand in the stunning developments.

Last week the Trump Administration announced it would cut $200 million in U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority until it will receive assurances the PA and Hamas will spend the aid to improve the lives of Palestinians and not on funding terrorism directed at Israel.

The money will now be “redirected” from the so-called West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza and will be used “to serve U.S. national interests”, according to a statement by the U.S. State Department.

The Washington Free Beacon reported that a senior Trump official had said “the administration will no longer enable the Palestinian Authority and those in the Hamas terrorist government to use aid dollars in their war against Israel.”

"Hamas is fighting a morally-bankrupt war at the expense of the Palestinian people, the anonymous official was quoted as saying.

“Hamas's corrupt and illegitimate control has provoked conflict and led to poverty and hopelessness, while hampering the ability of the international community to help," he added.

The Taylor Force Act, named after an American tourist who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv, is meant to force the PA in ending its so-called ‘pay to slay’ policy, the payment of monthly stipends to jailed Palestinian terrorists and their families via the PLO.

PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat reacted furious to the decision and argued that the U.S. has an obligation to provide the Palestinian Arabs with financial aid.

“The international community is not doing the Palestinians a favour by providing them with financial aid," Erekat said in a statement.

"This is a due duty of the international community, which bears responsibility for the continued Israeli occupation," he claimed in an apparent reference to the process which led to the founding of the state of Israel.

The PA claims there are now 5,3 million Palestinian ‘refugees’ and has always demanded the not-existing ‘right of return’ for them while UNRWA takes care 809,738 registered ‘refugees’ who still live in 19 refugee camps in Judea and Samaria, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The U.S. is reportedly demanding a new definition of a ‘Palestinian refugee’ and wants UNRWA to adopt the definition used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees the UN body which takes care of refugees worldwide and resettles most of them in their host countries within three years.

Harel fears the cutting of US aid to the Palestinian Arabs will result in a new round of violence with Hamas in Gaza.

Others, however, regard Trump’s brazen steps in the now 100-year-old conflict with a more spiritual outlook based on ancient Jewish scriptures.

One of them is rabbi Yosef Berger who is the custodian of King David’s tomb on Mount Zion.

Berger says Trump is paving the way for the building of the third Temple and the coming of the Messiah while he already achieved a great ‘Tikkun’ (reparation) by recognizing Israel sovereignty over Jerusalem and by moving the US embassy to Israel’s capital.

“He (Trump) has already created a great tikkun (reparation) for the Christians through his unprecedented relationship with Jerusalem. Trump is the representative of Edom that will perform that final historic reparation for his entire nation by building the Temple,” according to rabbi Berger.

Pro-Iran Militias Attempting To Establish Land Corridor To Mediterranean

Pro-Iran militias turn on Assad, try to establish land corridor to Mediterranean

A concerned Israel has been closely watching developments as pro-Iran Shiite militias have been observed fighting Syrian army forces on the border with Iraq several times over the last two weeks, in what has been described as a battle for one of Syria’s key strategic areas.

This marks the first time the two sides have been reported to be fighting, with fatalities and casualties on both sides, after years of cooperation as Iran supported Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country’s civil war.

The reports came from various media outlets in the eastern area of Al-Bukamal and from credible Syrian opposition websites.

The fighting is focused around the town of Al-Bukamal, next to the Al-Qa’im border crossing between Syria and Iraq, which is considered a key strategic point in securing trade between Iraq and Syria — and indirectly, between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea.

Al-Bukamal is located on the eastern border of the Deir Ezzor region, on the banks of the Euphrates River.

The fighting between Shiite militia forces and the Syrian military’s forces began more than two weeks ago, and the two sides are apparently in an all-out battle over control of the town, its various neighborhoods and the border crossing. Similar exchanges of fire were reported in the nearby town of Al-Mayadin.

In both towns there were reports of fighters killed and wounded, although the exact number isn’t clear. Among the dead was a high-ranking officer of Iranian origin and fighters from the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division, which is funded, equipped and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

One report said more than 25 people have been killed in the battles, but that number hasn’t been confirmed by credible sources.

It is likely part of the Iranian effort to gain control of the key route without the Syrian army — or any other force — being able to have any influence.

Israel has been following the developments in that area, fearing that Iran could succeed in establishing a land corridor to the Mediterranean that would pose a significant threat to the Jewish state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been campaigning internationally against Iranian presence and influence in Syria, and has lately been seeking to convince Russia to expel all Iranian forces from Syria.

Over the last few months there has been an Iranian effort to establish a presence around the border crossing, and the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, has been seen there several times.

Magnitude 4.4 Quake Hits Southern California Near La Verne

Shaking Reported Across SoCal When 4.4 Magnitude Quake Struck Near La Verne

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake centered in the San Gabriel Valley rattled a sizable chunk of Southern California Tuesday evening, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It struck at 7:33 p.m. about 2.5 miles north of La Verne at a depth of 3.79 miles, according to the agency.

That depth — relatively shallow — is what allowed the quake to be felt across the region, according to earthquake expert Lucy Jones.

"People who were very near it would have had strong shaking, potentially even throwing a few things off of shelves," Jones said during a briefing at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory. "As you get farther away, the shaking gets lower and more rolling motion."

It was felt as far as the Santa Clarita Valley, Victorville and Riverside.

Scientists at Caltech were alerted to the quake three second before it hit thanks to its early warning system.

About a dozen aftershocks followed, Jones said, including a magnitude 3.4 quake at 7:34 p.m. and a 2.3 magnitude temblor at 8:02 p.m.

Imperceptible shaking would likely continue — or, Jones said, the 4.4 magnitude quake could have actually been a precursor to something larger.

"We're continuing to have magnitude 1s and 2s," she said. "It would not be at all a surprise to have another felt event with this one, and in fact — like any earthquake in California — this has about a 5 percent chance of being foreshock to something bigger."

Jones said on Twitter that the quake happened near but not on the Sierra Madre fault, describing the shaking as a "strike-slip motion."

Tuesday's temblor was the second with a 4.4 magnitude to strike Southern California this month, following one east of Temecula on Aug. 12. But for the greater Los Angeles area, it's the largest to hit in three years, Jones said in a tweet.