THE CURRENT ISRAEL - U.S RIFT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME

KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.

The current Israel-US rift was only a matter of time

Given their wildly different stances on the Mideast — the so-far positive outcome in Syria notwithstanding — is it any wonder the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government keep clashing?

By Avi Issacharoff November 15, 2013, 2:19 pm 0-The Times of Israel

In many ways, the most recent discord between Washington and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was inevitable. It was really only a matter of time — for more reasons than just the personal tensions between Netanyahu and President Barack Obama.A deep abyss separates the two sides when it comes to their perspectives of the Middle East and the changes it has undergone in recent years.When an Israeli official was asked about the most recent disagreement with the Obama administration, he tried to argue that the disputes were over a single specific issue, namely the Iranian nuclear program and interim negotiations with world powers.But later in the conversation with The Times of Israel, that same source admitted that the strategy that the Americans chose to employ in the talks with Iran is consistent with the erratic policies, in Israel’s eyes, that the US government has been promoting throughout the Middle East.In his speeches this week, US Secretary of State John Kerry tried to send a message to Netanyahu along the lines of “you can trust me” — his precise words in the Iranian context being, “We are not blind and I don’t think we’re stupid.”The trouble is that since the Arab Spring began three years ago, the White House has displayed what seems to many in the Israeli leadership to be a worrying combination of blindness and stupidity — from its intervention in Libya, its handling of Egypt under Hosni Mubarak’s regime and then under General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, its insistence on a settlement construction freeze in the West Bank at the beginning of Obama’s first term, to its decision not to act in Syria, despite ultimately making significant progress in dismantling Damascus’s chemical weapons.For many in Jerusalem, the Syrian issue demonstrates the White House’s erratic policies in the region perfectly. The Assad regime ordered its forces to use chemical weapons against civilian populations, and the entire Arab world — including the Syrian opposition — expected American forces to strike back at Damascus. But then came Washington’s glorious capitulation.That last-minute stammer, that indecision, may have had positive implications as far as dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal was concerned (mostly thanks to Russia’s intervention), but it had a negative impact on the US’s standing among moderate Sunni Arab countries in the region.In addition, it intensified Jerusalem’s skepticism over Washington’s ability and willingness to take military action against Iran if the latter chooses to continue marching toward the bomb. The bottom line is that while the outcome of Washington’s strategies in Syria may turn out to be positive, the manner in which this strategy was devised has caused the decision makers in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to think twice before accepting Kerry’s appeal to Israel to trust America.

No more chemical weapons

Many, including several senior IDF officers, question the new recommendation made by defense officials to stop the production and distribution of gas masks. Nevertheless, the efficiency with which Syria has destroyed its chemical weapons capabilities has succeeded in pleasantly surprising many, including Israeli supporters of the US-Russian agreement on the arsenal, signed in late September.The latest progress reports from Syria regarding the complex task of destroying its nonconventional weapons are as follows: In the next 24 hours, Damascus is expected to present the UN delegation and the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) with a detailed description of its plans for destroying all of the chemical weapons in its possession, or transporting it outside of Syrian boundaries.The plan will also include disposing raw materials used to manufacture nuclear weapons. Last week, the OPCW reported that it had searched all of the facilities in 21 of the 23 sites used to produce chemical weapons, sealed them off and destroyed the machinery used to manufacture these weapons. The Syrians showed videos that documented an additional site being dismantled and sealed off by the Syrian army, meaning that only one facility remains. This final site is accessible only by routes that are currently controlled by the opposition, thus preventing the UN supervisors from reaching it. This means that the threat of Syria launching a chemical attack against Israel has all but dissipated. Progress on this scale would have been considered inconceivable only two months ago, but it happened nevertheless thanks to America’s indecision and Russia’s persistence.There is still the “small” problem of destroying or transporting these materials. There are currently 1,300 tons of chemical warfare materials on Syrian soil, including raw materials — materials that do not become lethal until they make contact with other materials — that the Syrian government committed to destroying by mid-2014. Multiple inspections have led the international supervisors to the conclusion that the only alternative is to transport a significant amount of these materials outside of Syria where they can be neutralized. This means guaranteeing that the material is safely transported to a secure port such as the one in Latakia, though many of the routes that connect Damascus to the port city are controlled by rebels.The Syrian army has recently compiled a long list of equipment that it will need in order to safely transport these materials outside of Syria. The list includes dozens of armored vehicles, which western countries adamantly refuse to provide to the Syrian army, fearing that they will use the vehicles against the opposition forces. Another challenge is finding a country willing to receive and destroy these dangerous materials.One of the countries that the US considered was Albania, though several days after the Albanian government announced that the US had contacted them, concerned Albanian citizens began to protest the government’s intention of accepting the request. It remains unclear where the Syrian chemical weapons will be taken.What about the possibility of the Syrians hiding chemical weapons or attempting to deliver them to Hezbollah? This scenario is possible, considering Assad’s long rap sheet and his past inability to conceal the nuclear reactor that was being built. US and Israeli sources suspect the Syrian regime is concealing chemical weapons, though the general consensus is that its capabilities are no more than “residual,” to use the term coined by Israeli experts. In other words, the supervision and control mechanisms that have been put in place as a result of the US-Russian agreement will make it extremely difficult for Syria to conceal a substantial amount of chemical weapons.The agreement was drafted after Russian and American intelligence experts cross-checked the information that they had regarding the Syrian chemical weapon cache — and if any country has accurate information about this, it is certainly Russia. After Washington and Moscow compared information, and reported it in great detail back to Moscow, supervisors arrived in Syria equipped with this data.In addition, Damascus submitted its own version of the amounts of chemical weapons in its possession and the location of all of the materials; and the supervisors found only minor discrepancies between the two versions. The probability of Syria delivering chemical weapons to Hezbollah is negligible as well — first, due to the accurate information about existing chemical weapons; and second, because of Israel’s proven ability to foil attempts to smuggle “game-changing” weapons from Syria to Lebanon.Hezbollah, for its part, does not appear at all enthusiastic about receiving chemical weapons. Therefore, even at this early stage (less than two months since the agreement) and despite the erratic route that the US took to reach its decision, the Israeli government had to admit that the agreement served the interests of the State of Israel as well as those of the citizens of Syria.The Americans can also celebrate a preliminary triumph on yet another complex issue. The Syrian National Council, the central political opposition organization that operates outside of Syria, has announced the establishment of a temporary government that will take responsibility for all of the territories under opposition control. What’s more, the Council has agreed to participate in Geneva II — the international conference aimed at finding a political solution for Syria set for later this month.The Council has meanwhile retracted its demand that no representatives of the Syrian regime would attend the conference, a demand it stood by for months. The opposition further announced that it will not demand the release of political prisoners and the creation of humanitarian corridors leading to territories under opposition control, as preconditions for attending the conference.The dramatic announcements means that if and when Geneva II convenes, the opposition leaders will finally meet with representatives of the regime and attempt to resolve the crisis in Syria.The armed militant forces that fight the regime on Syrian soil vehemently object to the Council’s announcement and refuse to sit with members of the regime. This was the reason for the fierce arguments at the Syrian National Council meeting held in Istanbul late last week.The political opposition may have finally comprehended the situation in Syria — realizing that continuing to boycott the regime means intensified fighting and increased instances of violence and terror. Or to echo the US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who attended the meeting in Istanbul and is of course not in Syria, in a conversation with representatives of the opposition (as quoted in The New York Times) — your alternatives are to sit with representatives of Assad’s regime or with those of al-Qaeda.

11/14/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

That time when Bergoglio threatened torturers with hell

The fight against the dictatorship

The Jesuit Juan Carlos Scannone recalls some memories of his relationship with the future Pope

Alver Metalli Buenos Aires He was surprised to see one of his articles published in L’Osservatore Romano: “Di fronte agli abissi che dividono poveri e ricchi” (“Facing the abysses that divide rich and poor”). The Vatican newspaper had rarely published anything about or by Scannone, who only recently turned 80. The Jesuit celebrated his birthday this week in the historic Universidad del Salvador (USAL), a Jesuit university in Buenos Aires. Then, at the beginning of April, completely out of the blue, it published an interview on his student Bergoglio and an article on the Philosophy of Liberation. A second part to this interview followed.“In mid April I received a handwritten letter from Bergoglio,” Scannone said. “Air mail” were the only two words he had not handwritten but the rest, including the sender, F. Casa Santa Marta, Vatican City, he had. Dear cachito … he wrote to me, addressing me with the nickname I was given in the Jesuit residence of San Miguel; in the letter he thanked me for the interview. “Only talk about the good things, not the bad…”he said mockingly. The envelope contained a number of prayer cards with an image of the risen Christ.”This was actually the second time he was contacted by Bergoglio, Pope. The first time was when Scannone had a letter sent to Bergoglio in Rome, before the Conclave started. The letter was about a Latin American network on the social doctrine of the Church, which he, Carlos Ferrero (sponsor of Mgr. Mario Toso, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace) and other Argentineans decided to create “to say something, in tune with what we want, to the new Pope when he is elected…”When the tasks were handed out, Scannone was asked to pass on the news about the creation of this new network, to cardinals Rodriguez Maradiaga, Francisco Javier Errázuriz and Bergoglio. “He was in Rome, so I sent the letter to the email address of the Buenos Aires Curia, asking for it to be forwarded to him, wherever he was at that time.”What happened to Bergoglio next is common knowledge. But not the fact that Pope Francis wrote to Scannone the day after his election to thank him for the letter and not various other things which his former teacher prefers to keep confidential.Liberation theologian, Scannone, had always felt Bergoglio’s support when the latter was a superior. “He was familiar with all my writings,” Scannone said. “I cannot say he agreed with everything I wrote but he certainly approved them and read what I wrote about Liberation Theology during the military dictatorship; when bishops asked him about me he defended me by saying that my views were linked to the Church.”

It was Bergoglio in fact who encouraged him to publish what he wrote. “When international magazines asked me to send in articles … Mexico’s Christus asked me to write about the relationship between theory and practice in liberation theology, Concilium … he encouraged me to accept and recommended that I did not send my articles from the San Miguel post office but from the post offices in central Buenos Aires, in order to avoid potential censorship here.”Fr. Scannone knew that the military was keeping an eye on him. “As a provincial, Bergoglio had contacts among military chaplains and they told him to be careful with me because I was being watched.” This is also why Bergoglio advised him to be prudent. “He told me never to go round the neighbourhood unaccompanied because if I was kidnapped there had to be witnesses in order to intervene. At the time I was visiting a neighbourhood called La Manuelita which is where the Assumptionists studying at the Jesuit university lived. Their superior was Fr. Jorge Oscar Adur.The military searched for him but did not find him. They did however take away two seminarists who disappeared forever. It was 4 June 1976. I remember it well because this was a special date for me. They had nothing to do with the subversion; Fr. Adur was exiled to France but in June 1980 when the Pope went to Brazil he also went to visit a nun; they agreed to meet at Porto Alegre but he disappeared when he was on his way to meet her. Operation Condor was probably behind this.”

Juan Carlos Scannone witnessed many such cases.

“I was good friends with Fr. Jorio (who was kidnapped with Francisco Jalics in 1977). Bergoglio was living here and told me about what they were doing for them. Particularly to find out who had kidnapped them: the army, the navy, the air force or the police. He found out through the military chaplains that the navy was responsible. This was why they had not been tortured, Jorio told me. Torture involved leaving kidnapping victims tied up and blind-folded, with the prison guards defecating and urinating on them until proven innocent. Then they let them have a shower, gave them clothes and flew them, unconscious, in a helicopter to the open countryside and left them there.”Another kidnapping case that sticks in Scannone’s mind is that of a student of his, Alvarez. “Bergoglio proved he was innocent but the boy saw the face of one of his torturers and was thus condemned to death. He went to speak with the person in charge of the unit where he was being kept prisoner; he said that knowingly killing an innocent man just because he saw his torturer’s face, was a serious sin. “If you believe in hell – he said – you should know that you get sent to hell if you sin.” He saved the boy’s life.

11/14/2013 VATICAN INSIDER

“The Virgin Mary is not a postmistress, who sends messages every day”

The Pope at St. Martha's House

At this morning’s mass in St. Martha’s House the Pope recalled that curiosity distances people from wisdom and God’s peace

vatican insider staff Rome “The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom…which gives us peace,” Pope Francis said at this morning’s mass in St. Martha’s House in the Vatican. Bergoglio emphasised that the Virgin Mary “is not postmistress, who sends messages every day" and asked faithful to understand that “the Kingdom of God is among us” and we should “not seek strange things.” In today’s homily the Pope commented on the passage from the Book of Wisdom which describes "the state of mind of the spiritual man and woman" of the true Christian who lives “And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit". As reported by Vatican Radio, Francis said that "this is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham-'Walk in my presence and be irreproachable'-is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women... because they follow the movement of God's patience." In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, "we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity.” "And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand... the Pharisees asked Jesus, 'When will the Kingdom of God come?'”“Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day... The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
 
“Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: "But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady.” And the Pope commented: "But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day. Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, "distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God." "Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom. The Kingdom of God is among you,' said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace.”“The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom. Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she always had to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity. The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”

First baby born in IDF field hospital in Philippines named ‘Israel’

Humanitarian mission to typhoon-struck country, which departed Wednesday with over 100 tons of supplies, begins treating casualties

By Times of Israel staff November 15, 2013, 10:22 am 25

Members of the IDF mission to the Philippines deliver their first baby boy in the field hospital they set up in the country. The baby was named 'Israel' by his parents. (IDF Rescue/Twitter)

The first baby boy delivered by members of the IDF mission in the field hospital set up in the typhoon-struck Philippines will be named “Israel,” the army tweeted Friday morning.“It’s a boy!” wrote IDF Spokesman Peter Lerner on Friday, “amazing news coming out of the IDF field hospital. First baby delivered. The thankful mum named him Israel.”The IDF humanitarian mission completed the set-up of the hospital earlier Friday, after departing for the storm-ravaged city of Daanbantayan, in the northern province of Cebu, late Wednesday with about 100 tons of supplies. Casualties were already being brought in for treatment, according to reports.The 147-member group, comprising national search-and-rescue unit officials and senior doctors in the IDF medical corps, was tasked with rapidly setting up a “multi-department medical facility” to provide medical care for casualties of the disaster.The facility has children’s, women’s and ambulatory care departments, as well as a general admission department, and is “equipped with approximately 100 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies from Israel.”The IDF also posted a video of the mission’s activities on their first day upon arrival.Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon spoke with the Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense Voltaire Gazmin Friday to express his condolences for the lives lost in the storm.“The Israeli people feel the pain of the Filipino people and stands by you at this difficult hour,” Ya’alon said, according to a statement released by the Defense Ministry. “I am hopeful that the IDF mission to the Philippines will do as much as it can to save lives.”The death toll from the typhoon, which made landfall in the central Philippines last Friday, could be at least 10,000, according to reports, though the official death toll currently stands at more than 4,000.The United Nations says the storm affected 11 million people in all, more than 670,000 of whom lost their homes. The enormity of the task of helping them all has pressed the resources of the Philippines hard.

EARTHQUAKES

ISAIAH 42:15
15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools.

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,(DIFFERNT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME) and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

1 Day, Magnitude 2.5+ Worldwide

29 earthquakes - DownloadUpdated: 2013-11-15 07:28:33 UTC-05:00Showing event times using Local System Time (UTC-05:00)29 earthquakes in map area

1. 4.4 110km WNW of Naha-shi, Japan 2013-11-15 06:26:29 UTC-05:00 96.3 km
2. 4.9 22km E of Mach, Pakistan 2013-11-15 05:42:41 UTC-05:00 20.8 km
3. 4.3 36km ENE of Gharm, Tajikistan 2013-11-15 05:32:37 UTC-05:00 11.0 km
4. 2.5 12km NW of Paonia, Colorado 2013-11-15 04:34:50 UTC-05:00 1.0 km
5. 4.5 69km WSW of Chirovanga, Solomon Islands 2013-11-15 04:04:20 UTC-05:00 31.3 km
6. 2.5 70km W of Anchor Point, Alaska 2013-11-15 03:30:37 UTC-05:00 100.0 km
7. 4.9 75km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea 2013-11-15 03:08:25 UTC-05:00 56.8 km
8. 2.7 7km N of Spencer, Oklahoma 2013-11-15 02:09:22 UTC-05:00 5.0 km
9. 4.8 15km SE of Kara Suu, Kyrgyzstan 2013-11-15 01:57:15 UTC-05:00 32.3 km
10. 5.5 105km ENE of San Martin, Argentina 2013-11-15 01:19:12 UTC-05:00 19.3 km
11. 5.4 35km NNE of Amatignak Island, Alaska 2013-11-14 22:35:14 UTC-05:00 10.3 km
12. 4.1 71km SW of San Andres, Colombia 2013-11-14 22:17:38 UTC-05:00 14.2 km
13. 5.2 86km ENE of Mutsu, Japan 2013-11-14 21:00:34 UTC-05:00 50.9 km
14. 4.9 247km WSW of Merizo Village, Guam 2013-11-14 20:09:05 UTC-05:00 160.4 km
15. 4.0 194km NW of Saumlaki, Indonesia 2013-11-14 19:44:42 UTC-05:00 136.8 km
16. 3.0 3km NW of Spencer, Oklahoma 2013-11-14 19:17:32 UTC-05:00 4.9 km
17. 4.9 41km SSW of Checca, Peru 2013-11-14 19:13:55 UTC-05:00 107.8 km
18. 4.7 26km NNW of Cempa, Indonesia 2013-11-14 18:25:42 UTC-05:00 180.1 km
19. 2.8 42km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 2013-11-14 18:04:01 UTC-05:00 33.0 km
20. 2.6 36km SW of Ferndale, California 2013-11-14 16:20:09 UTC-05:00 21.0 km
21. 4.7 4km S of Sagbayan, Philippines 2013-11-14 13:14:01 UTC-05:00 73.6 km
22. 2.9 96km SSE of Old Iliamna, Alaska 2013-11-14 11:21:40 UTC-05:00 100.0 km
23. 2.6 64km NE of Road Town, British Virgin Islands 2013-11-14 11:09:49 UTC-05:00 35.0 km
24. 4.8 113km SSW of Biha, Indonesia 2013-11-14 10:31:48 UTC-05:00 33.9 km
25. 4.7 58km NE of Chongoyape, Peru 2013-11-14 10:02:58 UTC-05:00 63.9 km
26. 4.4 141km SSE of Nishinoomote, Japan 2013-11-14 09:23:42 UTC-05:00 25.9 km
27. 4.6 259km WNW of Neiafu, Tonga 2013-11-14 09:15:26 UTC-05:00 9.5 km
28. 4.5 Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge 2013-11-14 09:06:24 UTC-05:00 10.0 km
29. 4.8 110km ENE of Miyako, Japan 2013-11-14 07:39:08 UTC-05:00 39.km