News Items February 18 2017 Compiled by Dr. Don Ward Army Preps For Urban Warfare In MegaCities

News Items February 18 2017

Compiled by Dr. Don Ward

Army Preps For Urban Warfare In MegaCities

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/

The scenarios are many, the issues are complex. The current anger from the left, who are violently protesting against President Trump, is just one aspect of it.
But the Pentagon and the U.S. national security structure is increasingly looking towards the shifting demographics around the globe - people have moved from rural areas, and shifted into cities. 
Where ever conflict stirs, there will be a need for military and SWAT response to the call. Entire cities will be locked down; door to door sweeps will often have violent ends.
Baghdad could be brought home to the streets of America, and the military already knows it.
The powers that be are deeply concerned about the unfolding situations with migrants, illegal immigrants, potential terrorists, political factions, violent protests, arson and riots.
Increasingly, they are training for and expecting a homegrown conflict that will call for them to restore order in a major city - and even hunt down suspects block to block, like in the Boston Marathon bombing incident, while making some significant infringement of our civil liberties. During the past several years, there have been reports about unannounced urban warfare drills in major U.S. cities, sometimes in coordination with major events; there have also been military training scenarios that have maintained a consistent theme of civil unrest, economic breakdown and widespread riots.
As Intellihub reported:
For years the alternative media has warned about the US military possibly being used against the American people in a time of economic collapse or any sort of martial law scenario.
Drills such as Vigilant Guard 2010 have brought widespread attention to the fact that portions of our own military are training to take on crowds of American citizens demanding food and Constitutional rights in a time of crisis.
Now, a new release by the website Public Intelligence, once again confirms that as recently as February and March of 2012, US troops at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington were conducting training scenarios for a civil disturbance domestic quick reaction force.
A series of photos of the drills shows US troops with crowd control riot shields on the opposite side of actors portraying what can only be described as American citizens.
What do the elite know that we don't?
Now, a major military scholar is calling for the creation of "megacities combat units" - a proposal that is a major and drastic departure from warfare of the past, which has been designed away from cities. 
Now, military and paramilitary units, as well as local law enforcement, much engage the population itself - with all the unpredictability afforded by a real life, complex situation filled with combatants, non-combatants and friendlies behind any and all doors, etc.
With a heightened focus on terrorism and reigning in undocumented immigrants, there will be a tendency, if we are not careful, for a heightened militarized and police state atmosphere to arise - both at home, and in everyplace that they take the fight.
Major John Spencer, a former Ranger Instructor and scholar at West Point's Modern War Institute called for an armed unit ready for megacities deployment in an op-ed:
Every year more and more of the world's population moves into cities. The number of megacities is growing exponentially. 
Both of these global patterns and their inevitable consequences for military operations are well documented. 
Yet we still do not have units that are even remotely prepared to operate in megacities. If we want to find success on the urban battlefields the US Army will inevitably find itself fighting on in the future that needs to change.
Throughout history, military forces either sought to avoid or simply had no need to engage in urban combat. Most military doctrine, and the strategic theory it is built upon, encourages land forces to bypass, lay siege to, or--if required--isolate and slowly clear cities from the outside in. 
The great armies of the world have historically fought for cities rather than in cities, a distinction with a significant difference. In cases where military forces had no choice but to operate within cities, the environment, almost without exception, proved very costly in both military and civilian casualties. 
Today, many armies have accepted that global population growth and urbanization trends will increasingly force military operations into crowded cities, and military forces must therefore be capable of conducting the full range of operations in large, dense urban areas.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley recently remarked that the Army "has been designed, manned, trained and equipped for the last 241 years to operate primarily in rural areas." But that is about to change. Milley continued:
The conclusions of the SSG research are clear: megacities are unavoidable, they are potentially the most challenging environment the Army has ever faced, and the Army is unprepared to operate in them.
One ongoing military study of megacities is the NATO Urbanization Project. In the project's most recent experiment, the NATO team conducted a wargame to determine the capabilities needed to achieve the goals of three likely missions in 2035: response to mass migration, natural disaster, and inner-city turmoil. 
Within these missions, the wargame specified that a brigade conduct three operations in a megacity--joint forcible entry, major combat, and subsequent stability operations--without unacceptable levels of military or civilian casualties.
Of course, urban warfare is not exclusively a future phenomenon. Much has been learned from urban battles in recent history: the Siege of Sarajevo (1992-95); the Battle of Mogadishu (1993); Russian operations in Grozny (1994-95 and 1999-2000); US operations in Baghdad (2003) and Fallujah (2004); Lebanese operations in Nahr al-Bared, Lebanon (2007); and the Second Battle of Donetsk (2014-15). 
But the broad lessons of these cases have yet to truly inform Army training for urban combat, which for most units consists mainly of tactical training (e.g., room clearing drills with four-man teams). The Army would be much better served by the creation of an entire unit dedicated to preparing to operate in dense urban environments, particularly megacities.
Any way you slice it, the military and the national security infrastructure are watching for cracks in the system.
People are at their wits end, and many are on the edge of poverty - and for many, it just won't take much more to set them loose and let riots erupt. Whether the system wants those to spread, or wants to suppress and contain them, they know they are coming.
Population pressures and clashing groups within growing city centers are creating more problems, and compounding old ones.
If the economic stability of a given region were to give way, nearly every megacity would spiral out of control and descend into absolute madness - whether or this continent or any other.
Drills such as "Unified Quest" run yearly by the U.S. Army took a sharper turn in 2014 toward addressing the problem of combat in megacities - defined as cities with more than 10 million people, of which there already are nearly 25 and projected to total near 40 by the year 2025. 
The Pentagon's own solicitation early last year called "Thunderstorm Spiral" was a request for "help from technological innovators to take on the future of warfare." 
This appeared to indicate that in addition to boots on the ground, an additional pervasive centralized intelligence apparatus would be needed to properly plan for troop movements through such dense but vast environments that also would be made up of networks underground.
Rather than trying to guess what specific crisis may spill over into violence, or bring things to a standstill in traffic or electronic commerce, just consider the piling pressure that is growing in the techno hubs and swelling urban population centers.
New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and dozens of enormous cities around the world are all completely vulnerable. 
Depending upon the political situation, unrest, violence or whatever else could spread across the entire Eastern half of the U.S., and the entire country could face collapse as it has never before known it. It is only a question of timing and circumstance.
There are some very major crises brewing right now. They are preparing; you should, too.
Originally published at SHTFplan.com - reposted with permission.

Germany's Muslim Demographic Future

image: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/images/recent/germanyjan262016.jpg

By Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute February 13, 2017

Share this article:

Germany will need to take in 300,000 migrants annually for the next 40 years to stop population decline, according to a leaked government report.
The document, parts of which were published by the Rheinische Post on February 1, reveals that the German government is counting on permanent mass migration -- presumably from Africa, Asia and the Middle East -- to keep the current size of the German population (82.8 million) stable through 2060.
The report implies that Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow into the country some 1.5 million mostly Muslim migrants between 2015 and 2016 was not primarily a humanitarian gesture, but a calculated effort to stave off Germany's demographic decline and to preserve the future viability of the German welfare state.
If most of the new migrants arriving in Germany for the next four decades are from the Islamic world, the Muslim population of Germany could jump to well over 20 million and account for more than 25% of the overall German population by 2060.
Critics of Germany's open-door immigration policy are warning that the recent surge in Germany's Muslim population -- which surpassed six million in 2016 for the first time -- has already changed the face of the country forever.
Mass migration is fast-tracking the rise of Islam in Germany, as evidenced by the proliferation of no-go zones, Sharia courts, polygamy, child marriages and honor violence. 
Mass migration has also been responsible for social chaos, including jihadist attacks, a migrant rape epidemic, a public health crisis, rising crime and a rush by German citizens to purchase weapons for self-defense -- and even to abandon Germany altogether.
The government has not said how it plans to integrate potentially millions of additional Muslims into German society. The price for reversing Germany's demographic decline appears to be the further Islamization of Germany under the guise of multiculturalism.
According to the report, which was drafted by the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), the government had previously predicted that Germany's population would drop from a high of 82 million to 73 million by the year 2060 -- or even 67.6 million in the worst case scenario. 
That estimate is now being revised, however, based on a recalculation of forecasts regarding immigration, birth rates and life expectancy.
Due to positive net migration (more people entering the country than leaving it), the German population increased by 1.14 million in 2015, and by another 750,000 in 2016, to reach an all-time high of 82.8 million at the end of 2016, according to preliminary estimates by Destatis.
With a fertility rate of 1.6 births per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1, Germany will require a permanent influx of 300,000 migrants per year in order keep the current population level stable through the year 2060, according to the report.
The report stresses the need quickly to integrate migrants into the workforce so that they can begin paying into the social welfare system. "According to past experience, this will not be easy and will take longer than initially often hoped," the report concedes. "Successes will only be visible in the medium to long term."
A recent survey by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung found that the 30 biggest German companies have employed only 54 refugees, including 50 who have been hired as couriers by Deutsche Post, the logistics provider. Company executives said the main problem is that migrants lack professional qualifications and German language skills.
According to the Federal Labor Office, the educational level of newly arrived migrants in Germany is far lower than expected: only a quarter have a high school diploma, while three quarters have no vocational training at all. Only 4% of new arrivals to Germany are highly qualified.
For now, the vast majority of migrants who entered Germany in 2015 and 2016 are wards of the German state. German taxpayers payed around ¬21.7 billion ($23.4 billion) on aid for refugees and asylum seekers in 2016, and will pay a similar amount in 2017.
A Finance Ministry document revealed that the migrant crisis could end up costing German taxpayers ¬93.6 billion ($101 billion) between now and 2020. About ¬25.7 billion would be for social spending, such as unemployment benefits and housing support. About ¬5.7 billion would be destined for language courses and ¬4.6 billion for integrating refugees into the workforce.
Mass migration has also increased the demand for housing and has pushed up rental costs for ordinary Germans. Some 350,000 new apartments are required each year to meet demand, but only 245,000 apartments were built in 2014, and another 248,000 in 2015, according to the Rheinische Post.
Meanwhile, migrants committed 208,344 crimes in 2015, according to a police report. This figure represented an 80% increase over 2014 and worked out to around 570 crimes committed by migrants every day, or 23 crimes each hour, between January and December 2015.
A leaked German intelligence document warned that mass migration from the Muslim world will lead to increasing political instability in the country. 
The document warned that the "integration of hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants will be impossible given the large numbers involved and the already-existing Muslim parallel societies in Germany." The document added:
"We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of society and law. German security agencies are unable to deal with these imported security problems, and the resulting reactions from the German population."
In an interview with Die Welt, an unidentified high-ranking security official said:
"The high influx of people from other parts of the world will lead to the instability of our country. By allowing this mass migration, we are producing extremists. Mainstream society is radicalizing because the majority does not want migration, which is being forced by the political elites. In the future, many Germans will turn away from the constitutional state."

A recent YouGov poll found that 68% of Germans believe that security in the country has deteriorated due to mass migration. Nearly 70% of respondents said they fear for their lives and property in German train stations and subways, while 63% feel unsafe at large public events.

An INSA poll found that 60% of the Germans believe that Islam does not belong to Germany. Nearly half (46%) of those surveyed said they are worried about the "Islamization" of Germany.
If the German election were held today, however, Angela Merkel would easily win another four-year term as chancellor. An INSA poll conducted for Bild on February 2 found that Merkel's ruling Christian Democratic Party (CDU) would win with 33% of the vote, compared to 27% for the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and 9% for the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Calculating the Muslim Population of Germany
Germany now vies with France for the highest Muslim population in Western Europe.
The increase in Germany's Muslim population is being fueled by mass migration. An estimated 300,000 migrants arrived in Germany in 2016, in addition to the more than one million who arrived in 2015. 
At least 80% (or 800,000 in 2015 and 240,000 in 2016) of the newcomers were Muslim, according to the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.
In addition to the newcomers, the rate of population increase of the Muslim community already living in Germany is around 1.6% per year (or 77,000), according to data extrapolated from a Pew Research Center study on the growth of the Muslim population in Europe.
Based on Pew projections, which were proffered before the current migration crisis, the Muslim population of Germany was to have reached an estimated 5,145,000 by the end of 2015.
Adding the 800,000 Muslim migrants who arrived in Germany in 2015, and the 240,000 who arrived in 2016, combined with the 77,000 natural increase, the Muslim population of Germany jumped by 1,117,000, to reach an estimated 6,262,000 by the end of 2016. This amounts to approximately 7.6% of Germany's overall population of 82.8 million.
The Muslim population of Germany could swell to 20 million as early as 2020, according to the president of the Bavarian Association of Municipalities (Bayerische Gemeindetag), Uwe Brandl. 
His forecast is based on so-called family reunifications -- individuals whose asylum applications are approved will subsequently bring between four and eight additional family members to Germany.
More than a decade ago historian Bernard Lewis warned that if current migration trends continue, Europe will be Islamic by the end of the 21st century. Germany's political elites are at the vanguard of making that prediction come true.
Originally published by The Gatestone Institute - reposted with permission.


Facebook CEO warns against reversal of global thinking

By David Ingram | SAN FRANCISCO

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg laid out a vision on Thursday of his company serving as a bulwark against rising isolationism, writing in a letter to users that the company's platform could be the "social infrastructure" for the globe.

In a 5,700-word manifesto, Zuckerberg, founder of the world's largest social network, quoted Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. president during the country's 19th century Civil War known for his eloquence, and offered a philosophical sweep that was unusual for a business magnate.

Zuckerberg's comments come at a time when many people and nations around the world are taking an increasingly inward view. U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put "America first" in his inaugural address in January. That followed Britain's decision last June to exit the European Union.

"Across the world there are people left behind by globalization, and movements for withdrawing from global connection," Zuckerberg wrote, without naming specific movements.

The question, the 32-year-old executive said, was whether "the path ahead is to connect more or reverse course," adding that he stands for bringing people together.

Quoting from a letter Lincoln wrote to Congress in the depths of the Civil War, he wrote to Facebook's 1.9 billion users: "The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present."

Zuckerberg said that Facebook could move far beyond its roots as a network for friends and families to communicate, suggesting that it can play a role in five areas, all of which he referred to as "communities," ranging from strengthening traditional institutions, to providing help during and after crises, to boosting civic engagement.

In comments on Facebook, some users praised Zuckerberg's note for staying positive, while others declared "globalism" dead.

Facebook has been under pressure to more closely police hoaxes, fake news and other controversial content, although the concerns have had little impact on its finances. The company reported 2016 revenue of $27.6 billion, up 54 percent from a year earlier.

One area where Zuckerberg wrote that Facebook would do better would be suggesting "meaningful communities." Some 100 million users are members of groups that are "very meaningful" to them, he wrote, representing only about 5 percent of users.

Facebook is also using artificial intelligence more to flag photos and videos that need human review, Zuckerberg wrote. One-third of all reports to Facebook's review team are generated by artificial intelligence, he wrote.

Zuckerberg's letter was "a bit more ambitious and a bit more of the 30,000-foot view than I see from most tech company CEOs," Peter Micek, global policy and legal counsel at Access Now, an international digital rights group, said in a phone interview.

But Zuckerberg stayed away from certain subjects on which Facebook could be vulnerable to criticism, mentioning the word "privacy" only once, Micek said.

Pope appears to back anti-Trump protests in letter condemning populism

Pontiff tells activists he supports their fight against ‘gutting of democracies’ in letter that appears to take aim at US president

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/pope-francis-donald-trump-letter-condemning-populism by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome

Pope Francis has offered his unequivocal support to grassroots organisers and activists who are fighting for social justice, migrants, and environmentalism, saying he “reaffirms” their choice to fight against tyranny amid a “gutting of democracies”.

“As Christians and all people of good will, it is for us to live and act at this moment. It is a grave responsibility, since certain present realities, unless effectively dealt with, are capable of setting off processes of de-humanization which would then be hard to reverse,” the pontiff wrote in a letter that was read to organizers this week.

The remarks can be viewed as a clear endorsement by the Argentinian pope of resistance against populist and xenophobic political movements. While he did not name Donald Trump, and stressed his remarks were not targeted at any individual politician, the letter, read at the opening of the US Regional World Meeting of Popular Movements in Modesto, California, seem to speak directly to protests against the Republican president.

Now HALF of families text each other in the same house: Experts say tech craze could have a 'catastrophic' effect on family life

• 
  45 per cent of people message somebody under the same roof on their phones
  
• 
  In a third of households, people use their mobiles during their mealtimes 
  
• 
  More than four in ten parents complain their children have ignored them 
  

By Katherine Rushton Media And Technology Editor For The Daily Mail

Some will find it depressing. Others will recognize an all-too familiar snapshot of tech-obsessed modern life.

But nearly half of families with children now text each other when they are in the same house.

Just under a third of us (32 per cent) are guilty of tapping out messages on mobiles when we want to talk to someone under the same roof, according to research.

Nearly half of families with children now text each other when they are in the same house (file image)

That figure rises to 45 per cent for households with children – suggesting the phenomenon is only set to get worse.

It’s not the only way mobiles get in the way of family time at home.

In a third of households, people use their mobiles during their mealtimes.

More than four in ten parents complain their children have ignored them at the table because they were so distracted by their phones. In fact, tablets and mobiles are so prevalent at home, they are also depriving us of rest.

A quarter of the 2,800 adults surveyed by Aviva admitted at least one person in their household was losing sleep because they were staying up too late on their phone, and one in five said that there was someone at home who just couldn’t ‘switch off’.

Last night campaigners warned the surge in mobile phone usage could be ‘catastrophic’ for family life. Dr Richard House, a psychologist, said: ‘These communication technologies are almost certainly having long-term and possibly dramatic impacts on family life.

‘It is potentially catastrophic for the human relational values that underpin family life at its best, with real, face-to-face communication being increasingly displaced and sidelined by the machine.’

However, it is not always the youngsters of the household who are to blame.

Dipti Shah, family therapist at London Child and Therapy centre, said: ‘Technology makes keeping in touch easier. But sometimes children complain it is their parents who are on the phone too much.’

The study found that a third of us worry that family members have become ‘lazy’ because they spend too much time playing video games. But whilst these findings would fill many of us with horror, eight out of ten still say that technology has had a positive impact on their lives.

Those who think technology has improved their lives value activities such as online shopping and the ability to stream TV shows on Netflix and the BBC iPlayer.

More than a quarter also valued the peace of mind technology brings, whilst six out of ten say that it has become easier to stay in touch with family and friends.

Lindsey Rix, of Aviva, said there was evidence that ‘the “always on” culture is making it difficult for people to switch off, and in some cases is causing people to become stressed’.

She added: ‘Households with children in particular suggest that technology can at times be intrusive, with people communicating via their phones rather than in person, and at inappropriate times such as during family meals.

Trump & Netanyahu agree: Israel-Gulf peace first

DEBKAfile Special Report February 15, 2017, 9:30 PM (IDT)

“One state, two states, I like this state,” Donald Trump joked, turning to visiting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu when they addressed a wide-ranging, friendly news conference Wednesday, Feb.15, at the White House, ahead of their face-to-face talks.

Trump reacted positively to Netanyahu’s proposal to broaden the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to a regional effort as a “very important” new idea “on a broader canvas” which he believed could succeed. Netanyahu said that the regional fears of Iran also presented an opportunity for cooperation against the Islamic State and radical Islamic terror.

debkafile reports that these sentiments reflected agreement in principle between Trump and Netanyahu to seek an Israeli peace accord with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates as the lead-in to negotiations for an accord with the Palestinians. Egypt, Jordan and Turkey with whom Israel already has normal relations would jump in later. This deal fits in with the US plan reported more than once on these pages for a regional peace between the Sunni Arab nations and the Jewish State.

Some of the spadework may have been performed by CIA Director Mike Pompeo who paid a secret visit to Ramallah Wednesday morning for talks with Mahmoud Abbas, after trips to Ankara and Riyadh, following which Turkey upgraded its diplomatic mission in Israel

This plan was the fulcrum for the president to push back against the two-state solution advocated by the Obama administration as the cure for the conflict. It remains to be seen if this plan takes on life outside the White House and in the region’s capitals.

Trump realistically called on Israel to “hold back settlements,” show flexibility and make compromises for a peace deal. He urged the Palestinians to “get rid of hate starting in the schoolroom.” Whatever the Israelis and Palestinians agree to in direct talks - one state or two – “I will accept,.” he said, adding “I believe we will have a deal that is better than many Israelis think.”

In answer to a question on settlements, Netanyahu replied that he did not believe they were the core of the conflict and the issue could be addressed in peace negotiations. With regard to a two-state formula, the prime minister said this was a label and he preferred to deal in substance. An independent state was contingent on the Palestinians recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, giving up incitement to violence and Israel remaining responsible for security up to the Jordan River. “Do we want another failed state, another terrorist state?” he asked.

Netanyahu commended the US President for pledging that Iran must never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon and stressed that its missile program was a threat - not only to Israel and the region, but to America due to the ICBMs under development and Iran’s plans for a nuclear arsenal.

President Trump greeted the Israeli leader with stress on the “unbreakable bond with our cherished ally, Israel” their cooperation against violence and terror and shared values in respect of human life. He said that his first sit-down with Netanyahu as president would be the first of “many productive meetings.”

The president made the exceptional gestures of welcoming Netanyahu and his wife Sarah at the door of the White House, with the First Lady at his side. The couples exchanged warm embraces.

Melania Trump took a seat beside Sarah Netanyahu in the front row of the news conference. They were joined by Ivanka and Jared Kushner, who holds the post of special adviser to the president.

Netanyahu ends his Washington visit Thursday after meeting Vice President Mike Pence and leaders of Congress.

Ahead of Netanyahu-Trump talks, Abbas woos Iran
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 13, 2017, 2:39 PM (IDT)



EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has pivoted towards Iran in a move to pre-empt a possibly impending US embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the friendly talks scheduled to take place in Washington Wednesday, Feb. 15, between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

This is revealed by debkafile’s exclusive intelligence sources.

Our sources report that the Abbas has opened a direct channel of communications between Ramallah and Tehran as a permanent fixture. Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub is in charge of the Palestinian end of the relationship and will lead the first official Palestinian delegation to Tehran.

For some months now, he has served as Abbas’s senior spokesman and the Palestinian Authority’s “foreign minister.” In the third week of January, Rajoub declared: “In our opinion moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a declaration of war on the Muslims.”

Two weeks ago, Palestinian and Iranian delegations met secretly for the first time in a European country. Two more encounters followed and dealt with such urgent matters as the fate of Palestinians stranded on Syria’s battlefronts and in former refugee camps. They also discussed the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon and their problematic relations with Iran’s Shiite surrogate, Hizballah.

At their third meeting, the Iranian delegates asked where the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah stood vis-a-vis a political resolution of the Syrian conflict. They decided to talk about this some more at the next Iranian-Palestinian meeting on a date this month and a location yet to be arranged.

As part of his pivot towards Tehran, Abbas made sure to send the Palestinian Authority’s warm congratulations to Iran’s rulers on the anniversary of their Islamic revolution: He asked God “to bring more stability and prosperity to Iran and its brotherly people as they celebrate this occasion, and more progress and advancement the brotherly relations between our peoples.”

Abu Mazen’s pro-Iranian shift is intended as a signal to five parties, debkafile’s intelligence sources report: President Trump, the Presidents of Russian and Egypt, the rulers of the Gulf Emirates and King Abdullah of Jordan.

He is warning Trump that the US embassy’s relocation to Jerusalem and the strengthening of US-Israeli ties would be countered by a parallel enhancement of Palestinian relations with Tehran. The message to Vladmir Putin is that, even though he is fully engaged in Syria, he can’t afford to abandon the Palestinians; Abdel-Fatteh El- Sisi, the Gulf rulers and Jordan’s monarch are put on notice that if they have a problem with rising Iranian influence in Baghdad, they had better be prepared to find Tehran’s imprint in Ramallah too.

Hezbollah Leader Calls Trump an “Idiot”, Threatens Israeli Nuclear Reactor

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/83776/hezbollah-leader-calls-trump-idiot-threatens-israeli-nuclear-reactor/#3JaPywTDUQluE0TJ.97 By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz

In a televised speech last Sunday, Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of the political and military wings of Hezbollah in Lebanon called US President Donald Trump, “an idiot” and former President Barack Obama a hypocrite. His diatribe continued as later in the week, he threatened Israel’s with missile strikes targeting its nuclear reactor.

In a televised address on the website of the al-Manar television last Sunday, Nasrallah directly insulted President Trump.

“We are very optimistic that when an idiot settles in the White House and boasts about his idiocy, this is the beginning of relief for the oppressed around the world,” Nasrallah said. He did compliment the new president, saying Trump removed former President Obama’s “mask of hypocrisy,” revealing the “racist and blood-shedding” of America.

In an address on Thursday, Nasrallah threatened that  his organization’s missiles could hit any strategic site inside of Israel, including the nuclear reactor in the southern city Dimona.  He warned Israel to dismantle their nuclear reactor lest it cause massive destruction after being hit by Hezbollah missiles.

“I call on Israel not only to empty the ammonia tank in Haifa, but also to dismantle the nuclear reactor in Dimona. Our military capabilities will strike Israel and its settlements,” he warned.

This warning was a mocking reference to a previous incident. Last year, Nasrallah threatened a missile strike against a large, industrial ammonia tank in Haifa, saying the ensuing explosion would have the same effect as a nuclear bomb. Last week, a Haifa court ordered the 12,000 ton tank emptied, saying it posed a threat to the city’s population if it was damaged by missile strikes or a natural disaster.

Court rules that YET ANOTHER Christian florist must promote homosexual agenda

https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2017/02/court-rules-that-yet-another-christian-florist-must-promote-homosexual-agenda By: Nate Madden | February 16, 2017

In yet another case where an LGBT “non-discrimination” order trumped First Amendment rights, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that conscience rights don’t matter when it comes to running a business.

In the case of Ingersoll v. Arlene’s Flowers – in which a gay client sued Baronelle Stutzman, a Christian floral artist who refused to participate in his same-sex wedding – the Evergreen State’s high court ruled that Stutzman’s First Amendment rights to freedom and expression should be subjugated to the LGBT agenda.

Even though Stutzman argued her floral arrangements are a form of artistic expression and the law is forcing her to promote a message with which she disagrees, the opinion reads: “[H]er store is the kind of public accommodation that has traditionally been subject to antidiscrimination laws.”

“This case is about crushing dissent. In a free America, people with differing beliefs must have room to coexist,” argued Kristen Waggoner, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing Stutzman. “Freedom of speech and religion aren’t subject to the whim of a majority; they are constitutional guarantees.”

Stutzman and her attorneys at ADF plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it could be one of “many” similar cases that could be granted cert and heard. “We’ll hope there will be a 9^th justice on the bench” when that happens, said Waggoner in a press call after the decision.

The court’s ruling hearkened back to Elane Photography v. Willock, a previous case in which a wedding photographer was similarly told by the New Mexico Supreme Court that formally cooperating in events that directly violate one’s faith are simply “the cost of citizenship,” and that “[w]hile photography may be expressive, the operation of a photography business is not.”

What this effectively does is reaffirm that artists and religious folks lose all constitutional protections against laws that violate their faith and conscience the minute they start putting their talents to work in the marketplace.

In short, your building, your talent, your message, and your materials are all yours right up until someone’s feelings get hurt.