Frank DiMora P.O. Box 732, Lompoc Ca. 93436 fjdimora@gmail.com
Bible prophecy documentary book download proving our generation will see the return of the Lord. Do you want to know what is going to happen in the future before it actually takes place? The Word of God provides you with specific details about our future and all of these things are coming to pass in this generation. If you aren’t saved yet this is a must read! Please don’t forget to subscribe to receive my daily prophecy up-dates. The Last Chronicles of Planet Earth January 15, 2015 Edition written by Frank DiMora.
Jim Sinclair: Russia Can Collapse US Economy, Gold Update, Silver is Gold on Steroids & More
Headline: ‘US Consulate in Jerusalem arming Palestinian guards’
The US Consulate in Jerusalem is training a force of 35 Palestinians from East Jerusalem to serve as armed guards, particularly for consular trips to the West Bank’s Area A, which is off-limits to Israelis, it was reported on Wednesday. The arrangement violates a 2011 agreement between Israel and the consulate, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth stated, whereby only IDF combat veterans would be authorized to carry arms as consulate guards. “The consulate was authorized to keep roughly 100 handguns for security staff, on condition that they be either American diplomats or Israeli army veterans,” the paper’s Itamar Eichner wrote. Additionally, Israeli guards at the consulate alleged that the Palestinians were being trained with firearms in Jericho at a Palestinian Preventative Security base and in the United States.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-consulate-in-jerusalem-arming-palestinian-guards/
Headline: UN Demands Israel Unfreeze PA Taxes
The United Nations (UN) on Thursday demanded that Israel unlock millions of dollars in taxes it collected for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and froze as a penalty, in response to the PA applying to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in breach of the Oslo Accords to sue Israel. A senior UN official claimed to the UN Security Council that the freeze of about $127 million imposed on January 3 was in violation of the Oslo Accords. He failed to mentioned that the ICC application was itself a breach, as were the numerous unilateral PA requests to join international treaties that accompanied it. “We call on Israel to immediately resume the transfer of tax revenues,” said UN Assistant Secretary-General Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen. The UN’s criticism joins the bandwagon after the US and European Union (EU) already slammed Israel’s move, with both parties remaining notably silent regarding the PA application to ICC that triggered the Israeli response.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/190018#.VLgF_XuxXhI
Headline: Hamas Holds Independent Parliament Meeting in Gaza
In yet another sign that the Hamas-Fatah unity government is dysfunctional, Hamas-affiliated parliament members in Gaza on Wednesday reactivated the coastal enclave’s parliament, which had been suspended since the unity deal was agreed upon in April. According to the Ma’an news agency, the convening of the session, which was attended exclusively by Hamas legislators, represents a major eruption of tensions within the Palestinian coalition government and presents yet another hurdle for officials trying to hold the agreement together. The deputy speaker of the Gaza parliament, Ahmad Bahar, delivered a speech at the beginning of the session in which he warned of a possible “blowup” in Gaza as a result of, among other things, the delay in reconstruction the Palestinian Authority’s failure to pay monthly salaries to civil servants employed under the former Hamas government. “A blowup is at a distance of two-bows length or less if the international community does not take action to end the suffering of the people of Gaza,” he warned, according to Ma’an.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189970#.VLgHnnuxXhI
Headline: Arab League to Push for New Palestinian U.N. Resolution
The Arab League said on Thursday it will seek to shore up international support for another attempt to obtain a U.N. resolution on ending Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. The decision at a gathering of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo came after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas asked them for another chance following the UN Security Council’s rejection of his last bid in December. Those at the meeting gave several Arab countries the task of undertaking “the necessary communications and consultations to submit a new Arab proposal to the Security Council,” a statement said. After last month’s failed U.N. bid, the Palestinians were granted a request to join the International Criminal Court, in a move paving the way for them to pursue Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/163217-arab-league-to-push-for-new-palestinian-u-n-resolution
Headline: Iraq Donates $28 Million to the PA
Iraq on Wednesday donated $28 million to the Arab League as part of its contribution to support the Palestinian Authority (PA), an Iraqi official said, according to the Ma’an news agency. Iraq’s representative to the Arab League, Diya al-Dabbas, said that the payment highlights Iraq’s commitment to the “Palestinian cause.” He condemned Israel’s decision to freeze PA tax funds, a decision which came after the PA applied to join the International Criminal Court, and called on Arab countries to use their economic and financial weight to support the Palestinians. Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi applauded Iraq’s contribution to support the PA’s budget. Iraq’s donation to the PA comes a day after Saudi Arabia said it had provided $60 million in direct support for the PA budget. The PA has repeatedly asked for foreign donations, claiming it is on the verge of collapse due to a worsening financial crisis.
****AND YET THE US IS FOOTING THE BILL FOR THEIR WAR AGAINST ISIS!
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189972#.VLgGvHuxXhI
“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! 2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. 3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” (Psalm 83)
Saudi Arabia
Headline: Saudi Arabia Is Building A 600-Mile ‘Great Wall’ To Shield Itself From ISIS
When a raiding party from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant attacked a Saudi border post last week, it was no mere hit on a desert outpost. The jihadists were launching an assault on the new, highest-profile effort by Saudi Arabia to insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbours. The Saudis are building a 600-mile-long “Great Wall” — a combined fence and ditch — to separate the country from Iraq to the north. Plans for the 600-mile wall and ditch Saudi Arabia will build with Iraq in an effort to insulate itself from the chaos engulfing its neighbors. Much of the area on the Iraqi side is now controlled by Isil, which regards the ultimate capture of Saudi Arabia, home to the “Two Holy Mosques” of Mecca and Medina, as a key goal. The proposal had been discussed since 2006, at the height of the Iraqi civil war, but work began in September last year after Isil’s charge through much of the west and north of the country gave it a substantial land border with the Kingdom to the south. The border zone now includes five layers of fencing with watch towers, night-vision cameras, and radar cameras. Riyadh also sent an extra 30,000 troops to the area.
Jan. 14, 2015
Egypt
Headline: Militant leader urges jihad, or holy war, in Egypt
The purported leader of a militant group that has staged several small attacks over the past year in the Egyptian capital has urged holy war, or jihad, calling on the young to join the extremists’ fight. The call came in an hour-long interview with a man identified as Magd Eddin al-Masri, who claims to be the leader of Ajnad Misr, or “Egypt’s Soldiers,” a group that surfaced as part of a rising insurgency in Egypt following the ouster of President Mohammad Morsi in July 2013. The interview by the group’s media arm was posted on social networking sites Sunday. It was the first public appearance of Al-Masri, which is Arabic for “the Egyptian,” and a move apparently aimed at gaining more prominence in the group’s campaign of retribution for the government’s crackdown on Islamists. In the footage, Al-Masri claimed that Egypt is well suited for jihad to avenge the killings, torture and detentions of Islamists in the wake of the authorities’ crackdown on Islamists following Morsi’s ouster. The crackdown has killed hundreds and jailed thousands.
Jan. 15, 2015
Syria Iraq ISIS- the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (the Levant) ISIS=ISIL=IS=Daash
Iraq Syria Kurdistan
Syria Headline: ISIS control of Syria reportedly expands since start of US-led airstrikes
The Islamic State terror group reportedly has increased the amount of territory they control in Syria as the U.S.-led bombing campaign approaches its four-month anniversary. The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. government and independent assessments, say that the Islamic State, commonly known as ISIS, has control of a large swath of northeastern Syria and is creeping toward key cities in the country’s west, including Aleppo, a center of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Journal reports that ISIS’ expansion of control can partially be attributed to the U.S. focus on Iraq, where it is working closely with Baghdad to roll back gains made by ISIS last summer. However, as a result, ISIS fighters are flowing into Syria unchecked. In other cases, Syrian rebel groups who once fought against ISIS have been convinced to join their side. The paper also reports that nearly three-quarters of the U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria since Sept. 22 have concentrated on the fight for Kobani, a town near the border with Turkey that has seen fierce fighting between ISIS and Kurds. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the airstrikes had helped Kurdish forces gain an estimated 80 percent of the town, in what would be the first major defeat for ISIS since their current campaign of terror began. However, experts say whatever good the strikes have done in Kobani, they have not prevented ISIS from consolidating their control elsewhere, a truth that some U.S. officials readily acknowledge.
Jan. 15, 2015
Syria Headline: U.N. envoy: ISIS ‘only 20 miles away from Aleppo’
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is “only 20 miles away” from Syria’s second biggest city of Aleppo, the U.N. peace envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday. “I am just determined to raise the fact that Aleppo cannot be abandoned,” De Mistura said, vowing to press on with efforts for a truce in between government and opposition forces in the city. “We are engaged in intense discussions with the government… and the opposition regarding the freeze,” he said. De Mistura, a Swedish-Italian diplomat appointed as U.N. envoy on Syria in July, said Aleppo was a “symbolic microcosm of all of Syria.” This was so “because it has the highest number of displaced people, because it has seen two years of suffering,” he added. De Mistura said the international community had to make sure that the Syrian conflict did not go in a “backburner,” adding: “Movement towards some kind of political solution should take place this year.”
Jan. 15, 2015
Syria Headline: Regime strikes kill 43 people
The Syrian regime forces have killed 43 people including 12 children and four women on Wednesday, according to a statement made by the Syrian Network for Human Rights. The regime attacked cities controlled by opposition forces with missile strikes and barrel bombs, targeting inhabitants of Daraa, Damascus and Homs. In Daraa, 16 people were killed, in the countryside of Damascus 11 people lost their lives. Seven were killed in Hama, five in Homs, two each in Aleppo and Quneitra. Moreover, the Syrian Revolution General Commission announced that the al-Nusra front had managed to seize control of the village of Tal Selmo village in Idlib province. The village is located nearby Abo Zohour airbase, which is controlled by Syrian regime forces. Intensive clashes between the opposition forces of al-Nusra and the Syrian regime forces occurred in the area between Tal Selmo and Abo Zohour. The Syrian regime forces airstrikes have targeted the opposition forces in Idlib, Aleppo and Daraa, the Commission said.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/450447–syria-regime-strikes-kill-43-people
Syria Headline: ISW Syria Situation Report Jan. 6-12, 2015
http://iswsyria.blogspot.com/2015/01/syria-update-january-6-12-2015.html
Syria Headline: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
https://www.facebook.com/syriahroe
http://syriahr.com/en/category/news/
Iraq Headline: France sends Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier for anti-ISIS op in Iraq
French President Francois Hollande has announced that the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is ready for use in military operations against Islamic State in Iraq. The warship is to work in cooperation with coalition forces combatting the militants. In a speech onboard the aircraft carrier on Wednesday, Hollande told military personnel that that the Charlie Hebdo massacre carried out by Islamic extremists last week “justifies the presence of our aircraft carrier.” “Thanks to the Charles de Gaulle we will have intelligence … we may also conduct operations in Iraq,” Hollande said. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is the flagship of the French fleet, and is currently cruising off France’s southern coast in the Mediterranean. The carrier is the largest Western European warship currently in commission, and is France’s only nuclear-powered surface vessel. The ship can carry 20 to 25 aircraft, including Super Etendard strike fighter jets, Rafale M multirole fighter jets and Aster missiles. The ship’s deployment, during which it will provide airstrikes against Islamic State militants, is expected to last until May at the earliest.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://rt.com/news/222647-hollande-aircraft-carrier-islamic-state/
Iraq Headline: ISIL launches fierce attacks across Iraq
Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have launched a series of attacks in Iraq’s restive region, killing at least 23 people, including several Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers. Sources told Al Jazeera that at least 16 Peshmerga soldiers were killed on Thursday trying to repel an ISIL attack on the Mosul Dam in Nineveh province. The dam, located on the Tigris river, provides electricity to northwestern province of Anbar, which is under ISIL’s control. In another attack, seven fighters from militias fighting against ISIL in Diyala Province were killed in the town of al- Mansuriya. Meanwhile, in the flashpoint town of Sinjar, Peshemerga forces, backed by US-led coalition warplanes, stopped an attack on the town’s southwestern side. The ISIL fighters have since mostly been driven out of the area. The capture of Sinjar by ISIL fighters and the plight of the mostly Yazidi population there was cited by President Barack Obama as one of the reasons for the US military intervention in Iraq. US-led forces launched 12 air strikes against the group’s positions overnight on Wednesday, targeting tactical units, buildings and equipment used by the group, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. Despite nearly 5,000 bombs being dropped against the armed group, General John Allen, the US envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIL, said more time and training was needed to retake ISIL’s stronghold of Mosul. “We expect we will see the effectiveness of this force improve over time and we believe that they will be able to take back the population centres and municipalities,” Allen said.
Jan. 15, 2015
Iraq Headline: ISW Iraq Situation Report Jan. 12, 2015
http://iswiraq.blogspot.com/2015/01/iraq-situation-report-january-12-2015.html
Iraq Headline: ISW Control of Terrain in Iraq: Jan. 13, 2015
http://iswiraq.blogspot.com/2015/01/control-of-terrain-in-iraq-january-13.html
Headline: Duke University’s decision to sound Muslim call to prayer riles some
The Muslim call to prayer will sound from a bell tower at North Carolina’s Duke University — but not everyone is considering the chant music to the ear. Starting Friday, the Duke Muslim Students Association will chant the call, or adhan, from the Duke Chapel bell tower. The adhan signals the beginning of the weekly prayer service. It’s ubiquitous in Muslim countries the world over; not so in the Carolina piedmont. The call will last three minutes and will be only “moderately amplified,” the school said. Duke, which got its start in the late 19th century with help from the Methodist church, says the move “represents a larger commitment to religious pluralism that is at the heart of Duke’s mission.” “It connects the university to national trends in religious accommodation,” said Christy Lohr Sapp, the chapel’s associate dean for religious life. Various Christian denominations hold prayer and worship services in the chapel. The school also has spaces dedicated spaces on campus for various faiths, including Jews, Hindus and Buddhists. “Just as the bells announce chapel worship in the building on Sundays, the adhan announces Muslim prayers on Fridays,” the chapel said.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/15/us/duke-call-to-prayer/index.html
Headline: The Islamic State Is Starting A TV Channel
The Islamic State is about to launch its first TV channel, having hitherto relied on social media to spread its violent propaganda. A “teaser” for the new channel was just published on a popular ISIS forum with a link to the page that will host the 24/7 online propaganda channel. As you might expect, it won’t be showing any reruns of Friends. The new channel is set to broadcast only propaganda. The expected lineup will include a new video series by the British ISIS captive John Cantlie and a daily news show, plus repeats of his back catalogue. It will also broadcast a program called “Time to Recruit,” which is likely to discuss the recruitment of new jihadis, every Wednesday at 5 p.m., Islamic State Time (GMT+3). ISIS already runs the FM radio station Al-Bayan, which broadcasts propaganda from the city of Mosul in northern Iraq. A TV station is the latest expansion in the terrorist group’s growing propaganda efforts. ISIS has been actively seeking media and technology recruits of late to bolster production.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/isis-tv-channel/
Listed below are the nations which will attack Israel from Ezekiel chapter 38 and their modern day names (see chart above).
Gog is the leader of the Russian invasion of Israel.
Magog, Meshech, and Tubal comprise modern day Russia.
Persia is Iran, parts of northern Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Cush is Ethiopia and Sudan.
Put is Libya and will most likely include Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.
Gomer is Eastern Germany.
Beth Togarmah is Turkey and Armenia.
Russia
Headline: Fierce battle for airport breaks out in Ukraine’s east
Heavy artillery and shelling rocked Ukraine’s east on Thursday as the army and pro-Russian rebels waged a fierce battle for a key airport, forcing monitors to flee and threatening all-out conflict. The fighting came as Ukraine made renewed accusations of a Russian military build up on its border, and approved fresh troop mobilisations in the midst of a wave of violence over recent days. A national day of mourning was also held for 13 people killed on Tuesday when a rocket exploded near a commuter bus travelling towards the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the worst loss of civilian life since a September truce that only partially halted the violence. The upsurge in fighting that has rocked eastern Ukraine follows the postponement of a planned peace summit between President Petro Poroshenko and the leaders of Russia, Germany and France. Heavy fighting shook the area around the airport in the rebel bastion of Donetsk, while pro-Kremlin insurgents had earlier been accused of unleashing a massive rocket assault. The rebels claimed to have been on the verge of taking control of the airport, but there was no independent confirmation. Ukraine’s military said in a statement on Thursday night that it was still defending the airport under heavy attack by the rebels. An AFP journalist in Vodiane, a few miles west of the airport and where Ukrainian forces transport their dead and wounded, saw one soldier dead and five wounded. Ukraine confirmed two soldiers had been killed.
Jan. 15, 2015
Headline: Kerry Supports Syrian Peace Talks in Russia
Secretary of State John Kerry voiced support for Russia’s attempt to convene peace talks in Moscow between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, even though some leading opposition figures have said they do not plan to attend. “We hope that the Russian efforts could be helpful,” Mr. Kerry said on Wednesday at the start of a meeting here with Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations envoy for the crisis in Syria. Mr. Kerry also praised Mr. de Mistura’s attempt to broker local cease-fires in Syria, starting with the contested city of Aleppo, saying he hoped it could “have effect.” Mr. Kerry’s support for the Russian and United Nations initiatives comes as the American-led push to negotiate a solution to the bloody Syria conflict, the so-called Geneva process, has faltered. The United States has not withdrawn its public insistence that no enduring political settlement is possible as long as President Bashar al-Assad is in power. Nevertheless, Mr. de Mistura’s step-by-step strategy to de-escalate the civil war is attracting growing interest among some Obama administration officials. Mr. Kerry said before the failed peace talks in Geneva last year that the United States’ goal was a transitional government in Syria that did not include Mr. Assad. But he refrained from making such an explicit demand on Wednesday, urging instead that Syria’s leaders rethink their course. “It is time for President Assad, the Assad regime, to put their people first and to think about the consequences of their actions, which are attracting more and more terrorists to Syria, basically because of their efforts to remove Assad,” Mr. Kerry said. Russia, which has backed the Syrian government politically and by sending arms, is planning to convene talks among the warring Syrian factions on Jan. 26 in Moscow.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://syriahr.com/en/2015/01/kerry-supports-syrian-peace-talks-in-russia/
Iran
Headline: Rouhani Announces Iran is Building Two New Nuclear Plants
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Tuesday plans to construct two new nuclear power plants to increase the country’s nuclear-generated power output, Iran’s state-run Fars News Agency reported. “Construction of two new power plants will increase the capacity of Bushehr province’s power generation to 2,000 megawatts,” Rouhani said in a meeting with investors. Earlier on Tuesday, Rouhani visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant and claimed the country is pursuing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The United States, Israel and many of the world’s powers have long suspected that Iran is, in fact, pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program. Rouhani asserted, “The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is an example showing that Iran is only looking for a civilian use of the nuclear energy and for power generation.” However, US-based advocacy group The Israel Project said the Iranians will use their new nuclear infrastructure to boost to their “leverage” in negotiations over the country’s nuclear program with the West. “The more they have, the more they have to trade away,” the group said on Wednesday, referring to the November, 2013 interim agreement between Iran and world powers.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/01/14/rouhani-announces-iran-is-building-two-new-nuclear-plants/
Sudan
Headline: More Than 50 Killed in South Sudan Clashes
More than 50 fighters from both sides of South Sudan’s year-old conflict were killed in clashes last week in oil-producing Upper Nile state, the spokesman for the South Sudan army said Wednesday. SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer blamed the fighting on rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar. He said fighting broke out last Thursday in an area northeast of the Upper Nile capital, Malakal, when around 2,000 rebel fighters attacked SPLA bases and positions. Aguer said government forces repulsed the rebels, but only after fierce fighting. He said that after the clashes, “The SPLA… identified 36 killed on the side of the rebels. The SPLA lost 18 in action and 26 wounded.” He also blamed Machar’s rebels for wounding two civilians and a soldier in separate attacks in Bentiu, capital of Unity state.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-unrest-peace-talks/2598154.html
Headline: Sudan clerics urge demo over Charlie Hebdo
Muslim clerics in Sudan called Thursday for demonstrations against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s for publish a cartoon of the Muslim prophet Mohammed a week after a deadly attack on its offices. The Sudanese Scholars’ Authority called for demonstrations “after Friday prayers to condemn the publication of more than three million copies of cartoons insulting” the Mohammed, said a statement carried by state news agency SUNA. Authority Chairman Mohammed Osman Salih demanded that the French government apologise for the “shameful act,” but gave no further details of the marches. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo, published Wednesday, features a cartoon of Mohammed on its cover holding a “Je suis Charlie” sign under the headline “All is forgiven”. The slogan that has become a global rallying cry for those expressing sympathy for the victims and support for freedom of speech.
Jan. 15, 2015
Libya
Headline: Libya Warplane Hits Trawler Carrying Gasoline to Benghazi
A Libyan warplane attacked a fishing trawler carrying gasoline to the port of Benghazi this week after the internationally recognized government suspected it of supplying Islamist militants, a military official said on Thursday. Libya’s recognized government, which has been driven out of the capital, is locked in escalating conflict with a self-declared government of a faction known as Libya Dawn that seized Tripoli last summer. There were no details about the ownership or origin of the vessel that military official Mohamed Hejazi said was attacked Tuesday off the coast of the eastern city of Benghazi, which has seen heavy fighting for months between pro-government forces and Islamist militants.
Jan. 15, 2015
Germany
Headline: Islamic State blitzkrieg: Germany tracking 50-member terror cell
German authorities are tracking an Islamic State terror cell suspected of having 50 members. Prosecutors told the German newspaper Bild that they are focused on finding a 26-year-old, German-Tunisian man known as “Ayoub B” who traveled to Iraq and Syria with six others. The Telegraph reported Thursday that when Bild tried to find Ayoub B, the newspaper was stopped by German police and told to refrain from investigating further because he was under surveillance. German authorities are concentrating their investigation on the northern city of Wolfsburg, the newspaper reported. News of the terror investigation comes on the same day that German Chancellor Angela Merkel unveiled a nine-point plan for securing the country from the kind of terrorist attacks recently perpetrated in Paris. Ms. Merkel said that new measures will address German citizens who travel to the Middle East with the desire to fight on behalf of radical groups, The Telegraph reported. She then added a caveat to her speech, saying: “Any marginalization of Muslims, any general suspicion is unacceptable. […] As Chancellor, I place Muslims in Germany under my protection,” the newspaper reported.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/15/islamic-state-blitzkrieg-germany-tracking-50-membe/
Turkey
Headline: Turkish premier says a Kurdish state would ‘endanger the region’
A Kurdish state would pose a danger to the region, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with a German newspaper. “A Kurdish independent state will endanger the region and turn it into chaos,” he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. “Changing frontiers will bring about fighting between the neighboring countries, that is why it is better the frontiers remain as they are,” he added, in response to a question about Turkish fears of a Kurdish state in the Middle East. Turkey has strong economic and political ties with its neighboring autonomous Kurdistan Region, but it has remained opposed to Erbil’s aspirations of independence from Iraq. Responding to reports accusing Turkey of helping the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist organizations, Davutoglu reiterated Ankara’s line about removing Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria. “If the international community had taken our advice into consideration or had found an alternative to the Syrian regime there would have been no crimes and atrocities against humanity,” he told the daily. Turkey has always denied accusations of allowing Islamic militants to cross into Syria for jihad. Ankara has acknowledged, however, that Hayat Boumedienne, a suspect wanted in connection with last week’s deadly attacks in Paris, had escaped across the Turkish border into Syria.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/14012015
Armenia
Headline: Protesters clash with police in N. Armenia after Russian soldier kills family of 6
Twelve people have reportedly been injured as police were dispersing a rally outside the Russian consulate service in Gyumri, Armenia. Protesters demanded that a Russian serviceman accused of killing six Armenians be handed over to national authorities. Police reportedly fired stun grenades into crowds gathered in Armenia’s second largest city on Thursday after the funeral of the six members of the Avetisyan family killed earlier this week. Russian solider Valery Permyakov is the key suspect in the murder. The solider allegedly gunned the family down with an AK-74, in what is believed to have been a crime of passion. The protesters – who came “in thousands” according to local media – marched from the Shirak province prosecutor’s officeto theconsulate service, and then began hurling stones and bottles at police. Police responded with stun grenades, witnesses reported on Twitter. Live footage also showed smoke rising from the crowd.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://rt.com/news/223103-armenia-clash-russia-soldier/
Luke 21:9 and Matthew 24:7 speak of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom in the end times. Revelation 6:3-4 speaks of the fiery red horse given power to make men slay one another and Revelation 6:8 speaks again of this red horse in conjunction with the pale horse of Death and Hades, as the one that has the power to kill by sword. Luke 21:9: wars & commotions; the Greek word here is Akatastasia, meaning instability, a state of disorder, disturbance, confusion (revolutions) Matthew 24:7: the Greek word for nation is Ethnos & refers to various ethnic groups fighting among themselves, where the next sentence in the verse refers to kingdoms (basileiva) fighting one another (not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom)
Headline: ‘Black Lives Matter’ protesters block Boston highway during morning rush
At least 23 people were arrested Thursday after activists protesting what they call “police and state violence against black people” chained themselves to barriers and blocked a busy Boston area highway at the height of the morning commute. State police say in response to the Thursday morning protest, they shut down Interstate 93 north at East Milton Square south of the city, and I-93 south at Mystic Avenue north of the city. Seventeen protesters were arrested on I-93 south and six on I-93 north, MyFoxBoston.com reports. State police later tweeted that two of the four northbound lanes at East Milton Square reopened to traffic and all the southbound lanes were reopened just after 8 a.m. Authorities said they needed power saws to free some protesters who had chained barrels to themselves. The Boston contingent of Black Lives Matter said in a statement that the protest was intended to “to confront white complacency in the systemic oppression of black people in Boston.”
Jan. 15, 2015
Headline: U.S., U.K. mulling initiative to deal with Boko Haram
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he and his British counterpart are discussing a special initiative to deal with the Boko Haram extremist group in Nigeria and its neighbors. Speaking in the Bulgarian capital on Thursday, Kerry said Boko Haram is “without question one of the most evil and threatening terrorist entities on the planet.” He says their recent attacks in Nigeria’s north is a “crime against humanity” and must be addressed. Kerry said that during breakfast in Sofia with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, they had talked about setting up a new initiative to address Boko Haram and the situation in Nigeria. He did not elaborate on the idea. The rights group Amnesty International said Thursday that the recent attacks by the radical Islamist group may have killed many more people than the Nigerian government says. The government says about 150 people were killed in attacks that started in Baga in the north-east on January 3, downplaying reports that put the death toll at 2,000. However, satellite images published by Amnesty show that the neighboring towns of Baga or Doron Baga were largely destroyed, with more than 3,700 structures damaged or burned down. “These detailed images show devastation of catastrophic proportions in two towns,” with Doron Baga almost completely wiped off the map, said Daniel Eyre, a Nigeria researcher with Amnesty.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.637339
Headline: Al-Qaeda in Yemen claims responsibility for Paris attack
Headline: Yemeni terror suspects held at Gitmo released
Al-Qaeda in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, saying it was ordered by the Islamist militant group’s leadership for insulting Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), according to a video posted on YouTube. “As for the blessed Battle of Paris, we, the Organization of Al-Qaeda al Jihad in the Arabian Peninsula, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the Messenger of God,” said Nasser bin Ali Al-Ansi, a leader of the Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda (AQAP) in the recording. Gunmen killed a total of 17 people in three days of violence that began when they opened fire at Charlie Hebdo in revenge for its past publication of satirical images of the Prophet. Ansi, the main ideologue for AQAP, said the “one who chose the target, laid the plan and financed the operation is the leadership of the organization,” without naming an individual. He added without elaborating that the strike was carried out in “implementation” of the order of overall Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri, who has called for strikes by Muslims in the West using any means they can find.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/689346
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/15/us-announces-release-5-gitmo-detainees/
Economic collapse Revelation 6:5-6 & James 5:1-3– Worldwide– “ When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation) “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” (James)
Headline: Russia Just Pulled Itself Out Of The Petrodollar
Back in November, before most grasped just how serious the collapse in crude was (and would become, as well as its massive implications), we wrote “How The Petrodollar Quietly Died, And Nobody Noticed“, because for the first time in almost two decades, energy-exporting countries would pull their “petrodollars” out of world markets in 2015. This empirical death of Petrodollar followed years of windfalls for oil exporters such as Russia, Angola, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. Much of that money found its way into financial markets, helping to boost asset prices and keep the cost of borrowing down, through so-called petrodollar recycling. We added that in 2014 “the oil producers will effectively import capital amounting to $7.6 billion. By comparison, they exported $60 billion in 2013 and $248 billion in 2012, according to the following graphic based on BNP Paribas calculations.” The problem was compounded by its own positive feedback loop: as the last few weeks vividly demonstrated, plunging oil would lead to a further liquidation in foreign reserves for the oil exporters who rushed to preserve their currencies, leading to even greater drops in oil as the viable producers rushed to pump out as much crude out of the ground as possible in a scramble to put the weakest producers out of business, and to crush marginal production. Call it Game Theory gone mad and on steroids. Ironically, when the price of crude started its self-reinforcing plunge, such a death would happen whether the petrodollar participants wanted it, or, as the case may be, were dragged into the abattoir kicking and screaming. It is the latter that seems to have taken place with the one country that many though initially would do everything in its power to have an amicable departure from the Petrodollar and yet whose divorce from the USD has quickly become a very messy affair, with lots of screaming and the occasional artillery shell. As Bloomberg reports Russia “may unseal its $88 billion Reserve Fund and convert some of its foreign-currency holdings into rubles, the latest government effort to prop up an economy veering into its worst slump since 2009.” These are dollars which Russia would have otherwise recycled into US denominated assets. Instead, Russia will purchase even more Rubles and use the proceeds for FX and economic stabilization purposes. “Together with the central bank, we are selling a part of our foreign-currency reserves,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in Moscow today. “We’ll get rubles and place them in deposits for banks, giving liquidity to the economy.” Call it less than amicable divorce, call it what you will: what it is, is Russia violently leaving the ranks of countries that exchange crude for US paper.
Jan. 14, 2015
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-14/russia-just-pulled-itself-out-petrodollar
Headline: New credit rating agencies to balance ‘Big Three’, China says
The creation of a joint Russian-Chinese credit rating agency will balance the global outlook and give the world an alternative view on how credit ratings should be done, Chinese international relations expert Victor Gao told RT. “Traditionally credit rating is mostly done by Western credit rating agencies. They sometimes may not fully understand the dynamics of the economics of any particular company or the sovereign borrower,” he said, adding that the agency won’t pursue a goal of replacing traditional Western credit rating agencies like S&P and Moody’s. “It will give the whole world another perspective of how risks are analyzed and how credit rating should be done,” he said. Gao believes Western rating agencies claim to be independent and professional, but in fact they turn out to be biased when it comes to issues of geopolitical importance. “During the global financial crisis the Western rating agencies did not react as quickly as possible,” he said. “In terms of the rating of the sovereign debt of the US for example, or even for Japan, they’ve actually displayed much more flexibility in rating these countries compared with many other countries.” The announcement of a rating could actually make a situation even worse rather than help stabilize it, he added.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://rt.com/business/222871-china-russia-rating-agency/
Headline: Puerto Rico approves 68 percent oil tax increase
Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a law that will increase the excise tax on a barrel of crude oil by 68 percent to help generate funds and sell an anticipated $2.9 billion in bonds. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Thursday he also will file additional bills to help the government access financial markets. Puerto Rico has said it needs to issue new bonds to help reduce $73 billion in public debt and strengthen public corporations that are struggling financially. The tax per barrel would increase from $9.25 to $15.50 and generate about $178 million a year.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://news.yahoo.com/puerto-rico-approves-68-percent-oil-tax-increase-181107450.html
Headline: U.S. jobless claims rise to four-month high
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week increased to the highest level since early September, but the underlying trend continued to point to a strengthening labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000 for the week ended Jan. 10, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 291,000 last week. The prior week’s data was revised to show 3,000 more claims received than previously reported.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/15/us-usa-jobless-idUSKBN0KO1HJ20150115
Headline: Gold rallies to a 4-month high; ends at $1,264.80
Headline: Switzerland lifts currency cap, rocks global markets as franc soars
Gold prices jumped to a 4-month high on Thursday as European shares and the dollar turned lower after a shock move by Switzerland to abandon its three-year cap on the franc sent Europe’s shares and bond yields tumbling. U.S. gold futures for delivery in February settled $30.30 higher, at $,264.80 an ounce, its highest close since early September. Spot gold rose as much to its highest level since Sept. at $1,260.30 an ounce in earlier trade and was last up 2.3 percent at $1,257 an ounce. “Gold is gaining from a risk-off situation because nobody expected the Swiss central bank not to keep that cap, and this has created potential big losses in many places and is obviously triggering some flight to safety,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. European stocks plunged and the dollar fell 0.2 percent against a basket of main currencies after the Swiss National Bank’s move, which is seen potentially preceding outright money-printing by the European Central Bank at its policy meeting next week.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102338987
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-swiss-currency-20150116-story.html
Headline: Saudi Arabia in oil-price war with Iran, Russia
Saudi Arabia is extending its own international jihad not only through its export of Wahhabism, an extreme form of Sunni Islam. The Islamic kingdom is now going after Russia, a main backer of the kingdom’s sectarian opponent, Shiite Iran, by targeting its oil production clout to adversely impact the Russian economy. Sources say the United States might even be colluding with Saudi Arabia to cause a dramatic drop in the international oil price in an effort to punish Russia not only for its support of rebels in Ukraine but for its backing of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as Iran. The Saudi strategy is to flood the international market to harm the economies of Russia and Iran (and the American Shale industry), both of which need the international price to be above $100 a barrel to break even. The price of oil today is less than $50 a barrel.
http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/saudi-arabia-in-oil-price-war-with-iran-russia/?cat_orig=money
Headline: Russia Just Made A Bold Move To Keep Its Gas Leverage On Europe
On Wednesday Russia’s announced that it will shift all its natural gas flows to Europe via Turkey, instead of Ukraine, reports Bloomberg News. “…the Turkish Stream us the only route along which 63 billion cubic metres of Russian gas can be supplied, which at present transit Ukraine. There is no other way,” the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller said. The European Union’s energy chief said that this would hurt Russia’s reputation as a supplier, and the European Commission’s VP for energy union said that the decision makes no economic sense, according to Bloomberg. However, the move makes sense when considering that Russia has been increasingly losing its control over the European gas market after changes in European policy and warmer winters. Now Europe will be forced to link up to Russia’s planned energy pipeline to Turkey — or it will lose Russian gas.
http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-turkey-black-sea-pipeline-2015-1
Headline: Shell scraps $4.6bn Qatar project as oil prices keep tumbling
Wars & Rumors of Wars Matthew 24:6 , Revelation 6:3-4 & Revelation 6:8 “ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Revelation 6:3-4 speaks of the fiery red horse given power to make men slay one another and Revelation 6:8 speaks again of this red horse in conjunction with the pale horse of Death and Hades, as the one that has the power to kill by sword. Weapons of Mass Destruction Zechariah 14:12 “And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.”
Headline: China enlists citizens to patrol border with North Korea
China is sending civilian militias to help secure the border it shares with North Korea, state media said, in the wake of two reported killings of Chinese citizens by North Koreans that could strain ties between Pyongyang and its sole major ally. The China Defence News said on Wednesday the government had established a civilian-military defense system in the Yanbian prefecture of Jilin province. Yanbian shares a border of about 500 km (310 miles) with North Korea. “China and North Korea are both keeping guard on the border …,” the newspaper said. “The situation is more complicated and relying on just one party would make it difficult to achieve effective control.” The government has also “guided the establishment of militia patrols” to guard border villages. Every 10 neighboring households would have their own border security group and there would be 24-hour video surveillance, the newspaper said. Last week, China said it had lodged a protest with North Korea after media reported that a North Korean army deserter had killed four people during a robbery in the Chinese border city of Helong late last month. State media has raised questions about the China-North Korea relationship, saying that the Chinese government “should not be too accommodating”. The issue of border security has become “very serious”, said Zhang Liangui, a North Korea expert at China’s Central Party School.
Jan. 15, 2015
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/china-enlists-citizens-patrol-border-north-korea-state-033258479.html
Pestilence & Plagues Luke 21:11 & Revelation 6:8 “And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” (Luke) “So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death (Thanatos in Greek meaning the death of the body whether natural or violent), and by the beasts of the earth” (Revelation)
Headline: Egypt woman dies of bird flu: 2nd death in January
A 65-year-old Egyptian woman has died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, the second victim of the virus this month.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says there has been a recent jump in the number of H5N1 infections in people in Egypt, but says there does not appear to have been any major genetic change in the flu strain to explain the rise in human cases.
Jan. 15, 2015
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/689661
January 8, 2015 – Thousands of birds ‘die suddenly’ due to avian flu in Lendah, Indonesia
January 9, 2015 – 1,370 birds dead due to avian flu in Kano, Nigeria
January 10, 2015 – Thousands of dead fish found in a lake in Jabalpur, India
January 10, 2015 – Thousands of fish dead ‘due to pollution’ in a canal in Leicestershire, England
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-30760001
January 10, 2015 – Thousands of dead fish found in a river in Oaxaca, Mexico
January 10, 2015 – Thousands of dead starfish wash up in Westerland Germany
January 12, 2015 – Hundreds of pigeons are ‘falling dead out of the sky’ in Antrim, Northern Ireland
January 13, 2015 – Dozens of birds found dead in Sultanpur National Park, India
January 13, 2015 – 20,000 birds have died from avian flu in Jiangxi, China
January 14, 2015 – 554 sea birds and 4 sea lions found dead on beaches in Baja California, Mexico
January 14, 2015 – 160,000 birds killed due to avian flu in Taiwan, China
Matthew 24:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.” Luke21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring”
Headline: Fire in the South Pacific: Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano erupts to turn the sea blood red and the sky grey with ash
An underwater volcano off the coast of Tonga is spewing ash high into the air – causing air travel chaos and turning the surrounding ocean the colour of blood. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano is around 40 miles (65km) north of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa. Its ash plume has reached heights of more than 14,765ft (4,500 metres) and the eruption has disturbed algae in the region, causing what’s known as a red tide. The volcano, which first erupted in 2009, had been rumbling in recent weeks before exploding violently in the past few days. Brad Scott, a volcanologist at New Zealand agency GNS Science, said volcanic activity had been recorded for several weeks in a stretch of ocean and small islands around 35 miles (60km) north of Nuku’alofa. He believes the volcano may have started beneath the ocean and grown until it reached the surface, essentially creating a new island. But he said details of the eruption still remain unclear. The Wellington Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) confirmed the height of the volcanic ash plume earlier today.
Jan. 13, 2015
Headline: What’s shaking? 
List & map of USGS Earthquakes