Israel, Iran deploy warships in Red Sea
Israel's dispatch of two corvettes to bolster its naval forces in the Red Sea and Iran's deployment of a submarine and a warship in the same waters have heightened the tensions pervading the Middle East amid political upheaval and rivalries.

What do Muslims Really Celebrate on Id al-Fitr?
The Muslim holiday of Id al-Fitr is one of the two most important holidays on the Islamic calendar. Usually marked on the day after the last day of Ramadan, Id al-Fitr celebrates the end of the holy month of fasting. But it also has another meaning for Muslims that dates to the earliest days of Islam.

Syrian Weapons Sites Worry U.S., Israel - WSJ.com
The U.S. and Israel are closely monitoring Syria's suspected cache of weapons of mass destruction, fearing that terror groups could take advantage of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad to obtain blistering agents, nerve gas and long-range missiles, according to officials from both countries.

Blair’s Sister-in-Law Incites Muslims to ‘Liberate’ Jerusalem
Laura Booth, sister-in-law of Quartet envoy Tony Blair, has called on “Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt liberate Al-Quds [Jerusalem].”

Ezekiel 38 is brewing

⁷ “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. ⁸ After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. ⁹ You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land. 

 
'Palestine statehood only a step forward: Ahmadinehad

...The broadcast showed large crowds in major cities, carrying banners of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America."

"The recognition of an independent Palestinian government is not the ultimate goal... (but) only a step forward for the full liberation of the Palestinian land," Ahmadinejad said at Friday prayers at Tehran University.

"The Zionist regime is the hotbed for germs and cancerous cells. If they persist even in a very small parcel of the Palestinian land, they will move again... and harm everyone" in the region, he said in comments broadcast on television.  Ahmadinejad reiterated that the Holocaust was a "lie" which he said was used as an excuse for Israel's creation.

Ahmadinejad: Iran is determined to eradicate Israel
Iranian president says those who are for humanity should also be for eradicating Israel, since the 'Zionist regime is a symbol of suppression and discrimination.'

Sinai crisis could spark Egypt-Israel war - UPI.com
Israelis and Palestinians are observing an uneasy truce after five days of fighting in southern Sinai but the clashes underlined how a security crisis brewing since Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was toppled Feb. 11 could explode into a wider conflict.

Hamas Ends ‘Ceasefire’ with Israel - Defense/Security - News - Israel National News: As the situation in southern Israel escalates, Hamas' military wing announces the artificial ceasefire with Israel is over.

 Was the ceasefire ever on?

The Lord Jesus must just squirm when he sees these things. I'll never ask forgiveness from a mere priest. I'll go directly to the King of Kings instead.

Priests to forgive abortion in Pope youth festival
"The Vatican already announced on August 11 that it had authorized a plenary, or full indulgence, to all the young people attending the celebrations. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment a person is due for sins that have been forgiven"

Sharia Enclaves in the West | FrontPage Magazine
"Islamist organizations are hard at work creating Muslim enclaves in the West, including right here in the United States. These efforts are designed to create Islamic autonomous areas, often with the expressed desire of incrementally bringing the host country completely under Sharia-based governance."

Obama and Erdogan grant Assad 15 days to finish uprising. Call-up in Turkey
Thursday night, Aug. 11, US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed to set Syrian President Bashar Assad the deadline of Aug. 27for extinguishing the popular uprising against his rule and starting to implement genuine democratic reforms.

White House Cleanses Israel from Website | The Weekly Standard

WARNING! - Is any world leader wise enough to listen?
The Bible warned 2,500 years ago that Jerusalem would be the center of controversy in the end ... and here we are.

Tragically, the vast majority are asleep like Sodom, and like Sodom, it won't end well for them.

East Jerusalem building plan draws World, Palestinian Ire
"PA says Israel trying to create facts on the ground, US calls construction 'illegitimate.'"

Zechariah 12:

 ² I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. ³ On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves...

⁸ On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them! ⁹ For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰ “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.

PA Bemoans Jerusalem Construction
"“We are determined to defend the rights of our people and resist the occupation’s settler projects through legal means.”

Gaza, Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem are technically 'disputed territories' under international law, and have been since their liberation from Jordan's illegal 17-year occupation of those sections of the British Mandate, which began in 1948. There has never been a 'Palestinian state' for Israel to occupy."

Why no outcry for Syria deaths?
"There have been more than 1,600 deaths in Syria at the hands of President Bashar Assad in recent weeks, which is a bigger death toll than the estimated 1,300 Arab fatalities during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, when the communities of the world sent 'peace' flotillas.

Where is the outcry now over the Arab deaths in Syria by a cruel and despotic regime?"

Palestinian Authority Forgets to Say 'Thank You'
"Philanthropists establish Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department at Rambam, hoping to save more sick Arab children. PA is silent."

Economic Uncertainty Leading to Global Unrest
Chaos spreading.

Luke 21:

 ²⁶Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

 ²⁷And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Palestinians planning ‘unprecedented bloodshed’ after UN vote: Israeli foreign minister

"Mr. Lieberman drew his conclusions from intelligence reports and public statements by Palestinian officials."


In light of the time we're living in, this could be huge if this 'third intifada' happens. If anyone dares even to touch Israel after she's been 're-gathered' - look out! There's warnings in the Bible about doing that, but of course, like in Noah's day, nobody's listening or they think themselves just too darn smart to heed something like the Bible. Book of fairy tales in their minds - they'll soon see, but all too late.

Zechariah 9:

 ⁸ I will guard my Temple
      and protect it from invading armies.
   I am watching closely to ensure
      that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.

Zion’s Coming King

 ⁹ Rejoice, O people of Zion!
      Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
   Look, your king is coming to you.
      He is righteous and victorious,
   yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
      riding on a donkey’s colt.
 ¹⁰ I will remove the battle chariots from Israel
      and the warhorses from Jerusalem.
   I will destroy all the weapons used in battle,
      and your king will bring peace to the nations.
   His realm will stretch from sea to sea
      and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
 ¹¹ Because of the covenant I made with you,
      sealed with blood,
   I will free your prisoners
      from death in a waterless dungeon.
 ¹² Come back to the place of safety,
      all you prisoners who still have hope!
   I promise this very day
      that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.
 ¹³ Judah is my bow,
      and Israel is my arrow.
   Jerusalem is my sword,
      and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.

 ¹⁴ The Lord will appear above his people;
      his arrows will fly like lightning!
   The Sovereign Lord will sound the ram’s horn
      and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.
 ¹⁵ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people,
      and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones.
   They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine.
      They will be filled with blood like a bowl,
      drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.
 ¹⁶ On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people,
      just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.
   They will sparkle in his land
      like jewels in a crown.
 ¹⁷ How wonderful and beautiful they will be!
      The young men will thrive on abundant grain,
      and the young women will flourish on new wine.

S&P Downgrades US Debt
"Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's says it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating from a top AAA rating to AA+, the first debt downgrade in U.S. history."

Gathering the world's armies to the most important region in the universe

DEBKAfile, Russia: NATO close to military steps in Syria for beachhead to attack Iran
"Moscow's envoy to NATO Dmitry Rogozin accused the Western alliance of planning a military campaign against Syria to help overthrow the Assad regime 'with the long-reaching goal of preparing a beachhead for an attack on Iran.'"

Revelation 16:

¹⁵ “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

 ¹⁶ Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 

---

What other country would put up with this?

Iron Dome battery moved south after Gaza rocket escalation
"Barak's decision came after close to thirty rockets have been fired into Israel since the beginning of July."

Strange world we live in - Syria's massacring its people with tanks while NATO is bombing Gadhaffi?

The Orontes River runs red as Syrian anti-aircraft guns pound Hama

Netanyahu: Israel 'ready to negotiate Palestinian borders' - Telegraph

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has bowed to US pressure by agreeing for the first time that a Palestinian state should roughly follow the contours of the 1967 ceasefire lines separating the West Bank from Israel.

PM would accept pre-’67 lines as baseline for talks - JPost
"Jerusalem, while not endorsing the 1967 lines, would agree to language that would say that Israel recognizes that this is the position of the international community. The willingness to show this degree of flexibility, the official said, would be contingent on the Palestinians demonstrating flexibility of their own and endorsing language nodding at recognition of Israel as a Jewish state."

Arab unrest, high food prices cast pall on Ramadan

From Syria to Libya and Egypt, the uprisings and unrest gripping the Arab world have cast a pall on the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when the traditional focus on piety will likely be eclipsed by more unrest.

Egypt's political risks ahead

No one doubts the army will ensure a free and fair vote, nor do most question that it wants to quit day-to-day government.
But many protesters believe the army, with its vast business interests and which provided Egypt’s rulers for six decades, will seek to keep a hand on the levers of power. This has fueled tension on the streets and sometimes violent clashes.

Syria: UN Security Council in talks as tanks shell Hama

The protests came as the UN Security Council held a first session of emergency talks on the deadly crackdown, with Western powers again demanding a condemnation of the violence, but the closed session ended with no agreement.

A managed Syrian transition has failed

In recent weeks, the Obama administration’s approach to Syria could be summed up in two words: managed transition. The preferred solution to the Syrian crisis was to try to reach out to members of both the opposition and the power structure simultaneously to try to begin a real dialogue about Syria’s future. That now looks increasingly unlikely, and the prospect of what Washington fears most—sectarian civil war—is increasingly possible.

Kahlili: Iranian missiles could soon reach U.S. shores - Washington Times
"While America focuses on its internal problems and its involvement in three wars and the world focuses on the global economy, Iran is progressing on three dangerous fronts: nuclear weapons, armed missiles and naval capability."

Syria: scores dead as Assad troops launch major tank offensive - Telegraph
"Bodies littered the streets of Hama on Sunday as the Syrian army launched major tank offensives across the country in a fresh bid to crush the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad."