Thursday, September 19, 2013

ON SUKKOT TURNING OY INTO JOY

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


On Sukkot, turning oy into the season of joy

Finding the energy to build a temporary home for a temporary family of guests is not always the easiest thing to do


By Edmon J. Rodman September 19, 2013, 6:34 am 0-The Times of Israel
Israeli family eating in the sukkah during the second night of Sukkot in the Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. (photo credit: Serge Attal / Flash 90)
Israeli family eating in the sukkah during the second night of Sukkot in the Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. (photo credit: Serge Attal / Flash 90)
With our children in their 20s, the motivation of putting up the sukkah for them was missing, too. Balancing on a ladder in our shaky shack just so we could hang the decorations they made in school was no longer a starter.Hanging signs of their more recent achievements — term papers, pay stubs and renderings (one of them is studying to be an architect) — was an interesting updating of the tradition, but I didn’t think the public display would be appreciated.Since with each day the pile of weathered boards and rolls of bamboo seemed to be receding farther and farther into the depths of my garage, and wondering if others might be having a similar problem, I sat down to interview a psychologist.“A lack of motivation and apathy could be a sign of depression,” said Rae Freed, a clinical social worker in private practice in Los Angeles who sees patients of all ages. Depression could show itself through “a lack of energy, fatigue, in difficulty in making a decision or lack of focus.”As we talked about the social component of the sukkah — inviting over guests — Freed suggested that potential sukkah builders might think the effort requires “too much energy to participate in a social interaction.”“That sounded about right,” I thought, thinking of the effort it took in past years to call people to negotiate the “right” night.Freed also spoke about seasonal depression that comes with the shortening of days from a Jewish point of view.“You build up to the High Holy Days, spending time with family, and afterwards feel the loss,” she said.“Especially when they live on the other side of the county or have passed away,” I thought.Over time, “age and strength” become factors as well, Freed said.“Yeah, that too,” I thought, then asked, “How do you get over it?”For Freed, simply pretending and putting on a “mask of joy” was not going to cover it. She countered my question with questions: “Ask yourself, how did you feel in the past when you did that? Was it positive?”“Having guests over did make me feel good,” I thought.
‘Having guests over did make me feel good’Explaining further, Freed suggested that even if you don’t feel like doing something, it might be motivating to remember the pleasure the activity brought, especially the communal associations.Recall the “memories of earlier Sukkots,” said Freed, who pleasantly recalled that she had spent her teen years living in an art deco hotel run by her father that catered to vacationing Jews in south Miami Beach, Fla.I remembered having in several groups of people the previous year. It was kind of like running a sukkah hotel — tons of work, yet they sang, played instruments and filled our evenings with camaraderie.“People feel alone and isolated if they are not surrounded by family,” Freed said, and suggesting the sukkah is a way of “bringing together a temporary family.”“A temporary structure for a temporary family,” I thought.Later, thinking over Freed’s words, my low energy thoughts dissipated. Going into the recesses of my garage, I found what it would take to build my sukkah.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/160413#.UjrIR1MwneE

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0&feature=player_embedded

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 DIVSION REGION WORLD GOVERNMENT) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT-NEW AGE MOVEMENT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies,(UNITED NATIONS TROOPS) gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

UK and France going own way on military co-operation

Today @ 09:11-Sept 19,13
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - Britain is forging ahead on military co-operation with France, while warning about EU "interference" on defence.The two countries are the EU's leading military powers.They spent €92 billion on defence last year (more than Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain put together), according to Swedish NGO Sipri.They are also the most hawkish. They took the lead in wars in Libya and Mali and they were keen to join US strikes on Syria."As shown from our joint operations in Libya and Mali, the UK and France are natural partners and have a key role to play in leading and shaping the defence and security of Europe," a British defence ministry spokesman told EUobserver on Tuesday (17 September).In line with the 2010 Lancaster House Treaties, the British and French army, navy and air force regularly train together and some British officers serve full time on the French aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.They are "on track" to create a Combined Joint Expeditionary Force (CJEF) with France by 2016 and they plan to test the CJEF's air component next month in an operation called Exercise Joint Venture.For its part, the EU also has "battlegroups," or rapid reaction battalions put together by two or three states. But they have never seen action.The European Union is aiming to agree on joint procurement of some military hardware at a defence summit in December.But here, France and the UK are also streets ahead.They are already building a "Future Combat Air System," due in 2030, with manufacturers to send in proposals this month."Our defence co-operation has grown both in importance and scope since then [the 2010 treaties]," the British spokesman said.He declined to say whether Britain favours bilateral co-operation over EU-level action.The UK's official line is that British-French military integration will help to win wars whether they fight them together or as part of EU or Nato structures.Some French officers are more outspoken, however.Colonel Michel Goya, a teacher at the Institut de Recherche Strategique de l'Ecole Militaire in Paris, told EUobserver at the time of the Mali conflict: "If you have to react quickly to events, it's better to do it at a national or bi-national level."
Meanwhile, with Britain to potentially quit the EU in a referendum in 2017, it is hard to imagine that it will endorse a far-reaching military deal at the EU's December summit.British defence minister Philip Hammond criticised the European Commission's ideas on defence reforms earlier this month.Speaking to arms firms at an event in London on 10 September, he said he backs the commission on "improving competition in the [EU] internal defence market, and supporting SMEs."But he added: "Interference in the export of defence equipment and government-to-government defence sales; or the creation of … 'specific European standards for military products' represent a significant potential extension of the commission’s role and are not necessarily in the UK defence industry’s best interests - and we will resist them."He promised to keep "a very careful eye on potential interference from Brussels" and to "protect" firms from EU "bureaucratic burdens."France aside, Hammond also asked: "Should British industry, in fact, be looking across the Atlantic, to our closest ally, for our future industrial partnerships?"A failed merger last year shows the limits of EU fellowship when it comes to jobs and national politics.The UK, France and Germany in 2012 came within a hair's breadth of merging the UK's BAE Systems with Franco-German firm Eads to create a European military-industrial giant.But German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked the deal, in part because France declined to locate the new HQ in Germany.For Judy Dempsey, a Brussels-based analyst at the US foundation, the Carnegie Endowment, the bottom line was that Merkel feared losing German defence jobs in the run-up to German elections.Amid Britain's euroscepticism, Dempsey noted in a recent Carnegie paper that Germany is also a spoiler on EU defence."Of all the more recent German Chancellors, Angela Merkel is probably the one with the least interest in defence and security policy," she said."Having no security strategy of its own, Germany has discouraged the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton from drawing up a new security strategy for Europe … [which] defeats any attempts within Nato or the EU to pool and share military resources in order to face ever-growing financial pressure," she added.

Nato wants EU countries to buy more drones

Today @ 09:27-Sept 19,13
By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen wants EU countries to buy more drones, refuelling planes and naval radars.The head of the military alliance is expected to call for the measures at a speech in the Carnegie Europe foundation in Brussels on Thursday (19 September)."I believe that European nations can, and should, do more, to match America's commitment … [and] help to rebalance Nato," he aims to say.
"I would like to see European allies playing their part to acquire more drones to improve surveillance. More large transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft to enhance their ability to deploy on operations. And more upgraded radars on their ships so they can be integrated into our Nato missile defence," he plans to add. Looking ahead to an EU summit on defence in December, he also plans to endorse European Commission ideas on how to create "a strong European defence industrial base."He is to say "the European defence industry remains too national and too fragmented."He also aims to urge EU leaders to "demonstrate strong political commitment" to spend more on defence when their economies recover from the crisis and "to assume more security responsibilities in Europe's neighbourhood."The EU commission in July published a draft blueprint for EU defence co-operation.It proposed a series of actions, including the creation of EU-level certification standards for military equipment, such as chemical and nuclear detection technology, airworthiness of aircraft and data encryption instruments.It aims to crack down on state aid and other market distortions in the sector.It intends to give more EU money to train defence sector workers and to fund research into military technology.It wants EU countries to pool buying of military and commercial satellite technology.It is also keen to launch an assessment of whether some kinds of assets, especially "dual-use" technology, which can be used in civilian or military missions, should be "directly purchased, owned and operated by the Union."The commission paper said EU countries' total defence budgets have gone from €251 billion a year to €194 billion since 2001, while total EU military R&D spending is just €9 billion, seven times less than the US.It noted that 80 percent of current defence spending is done at national level.It also said the future of the 1.36 million people who work in member states' military-related companies is at risk unless Europe makes the sector more competitive.Like Rasmussen, it noted that "the US is rebalancing its strategic focus towards Asia."It added: "Europe must be able to decide and to act without depending on the capabilities of third parties. Security of supply, access to critical technologies and operational sovereignty are therefore crucial."

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH(BECAUSE OF SIN AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

REVELATION 9:20-21
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils,(OCCULT) and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,(DRUG ADDICTIONS) nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)

Stolen EU funds in the billions, top official says

18.09.13 @ 17:31
By Nikolaj Nielsen
BRUSSELS - The annual theft of EU funds is around €500 million, but a top European Commission official says the figure is likely in the billions.“We have reasons to believe that the real figure is closer to billions than to millions,” Francoise Le Bail, who heads the commission’s justice directorate-general, told the European Parliament's civil liberties committee on Wednesday (18 September).The current €500 million figure arises from statistics sent to Olaf, the EU anti-fraud office, by member states, but Le Bail said national authorities do not have the right tools to make an accurate estimate.Le Bail, along with Olaf boss Giovanni Kessler, spoke to MEPs to set out their case for tracking down those who steal EU money by setting up a new European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).The EU-wide prosecutor would be mandated to investigate fraud of EU finances, although the Lisbon Treaty says the office's power could be expanded at a later date.
The top prosecutor would be composed of a central office along with deputies or prosecutors from different member states. Most member states would also have an EPPO branch staffed with prosecutors selected by the respective national governments.Kessler says the office is necessary because national authorities have a dismal track record when it comes to chasing down leads sent to them by Olaf.“There is a non-uniformity by member states in their capacity and willingness to deal effectively with these kinds of crimes,” he said.
Conviction rates sent to Olaf over the past 13 years vary from less than 5 percent in some member states to over 90 percent in others.Both Le Bail and Kessler said political will among some member states to stop the theft is either non-existent or primarily focused on a national perspective that fails to look at the transnational nature of the crime.“Crimes which are committed by authors at the same time by different actors in different member states like corruption, like fraud involving European funds, are likely not to be discovered, not to be even seen or perceived by national authorities which only have a national fragmented perspective,” said Kessler.Le Bail said the EPPO would be independent from national and institutional influence and would be accountable to budget overview by the European Parliament. The Court of Justice can also dismiss the prosecutor.Most member states have expressed interest in the idea. But Denmark has opted out, with both the UK and Ireland likely to do so as well, noted Le Bail.Deputies in the committee were largely supportive but questioned the scope of the proposal, its safeguards, and the new prosecutor's investigative powers.
Romanian Liberal MEP Renate Weber, who backs the idea, said there is a risk that a two-tier procedure on prosecution may emerge as a consequence.“I cannot imagine that a bunch of prosecutors working for the European prosecutor will apply a certain procedure regarding the European financial interest and a different one regarding other crimes within the country,” she said.For his part, German Green Jan Albrecht said his group backs the concept but noted that numerous questions remain, including the broad definition of investigative measures.The European commission tabled the proposal over the summer with an aim to have the office operational at the start of 2015.

ISAIAH 17:1,11-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
11  In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12  Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13  The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14  And behold at evening tide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.

AMOS 1:5
5  I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden:(IRAQ) and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir,(JORDAN) saith the LORD.

JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23  Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24  Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25  How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26  Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27  And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

JEREMEIAH 49:35-37 (IN IRAN AT THE BUSHEHR NUKE SITE SOME BELIEVE)
35  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,(IRAN/BUSHEHR NUCLEAR SITE) the chief of their might.(MOST DANGEROUS NUKE SITE IN IRAN)
36  And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,(IRANIANS SCATTERED OR MASS IMIGARATION) and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.(WORLD IMMIGRATION)
37  For I will cause Elam (IRAN-BUSHEHR NUKE SITE) to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger,(ISRAELS NUKES POSSIBLY) saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them:(IRAN AND ITS NUKE SITES DESTROYED)

OTHER RECENT SYRIA NEWS
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2013/09/syria-un-says-chemical-weapons-were-used.html

FOX NEWS INTERVIEWS ASSAD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmMmGZQaVsc

Germany Admits Exporting Chemicals to Syria

Germany says it exported 111 tons of chemicals to Syria between 2002 and 2006 that could be used in the production of sarin gas.-By Elad Benari, Canada-First Publish: 9/18/2013, 10:16 PM-INN

German Chancellor Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel-Flash 90
Germany said on Wednesday that it exported 111 tons of chemicals to Syria between 2002 and 2006 that could be used in the production of sarin gas, according to a government document cited by Reuters.
The government, however, rejected a suggestion from an opposition lawmaker that Germany might thereby have inadvertently contributed to the August 21 sarin attack in Syria.The chemicals - sodium fluoride, hydrofluoric acid and ammonium hydrogen fluoride - are classified as "dual use" under European Union law, meaning they can be used for either civil or military purposes. They require special export permits.
In a written response to a parliamentary question from Germany's Left Party, the economy ministry said the chemicals sold between 2002 and 2003, in 2005 and 2006 had a total value of 174,000 euros ($232,300) and were sold for civilian use."Permits were granted after careful consideration of all possible risks, including of the goods' misuse or transfer into chemical weapons use. In all cases their planned civil use was considered to be plausible," the ministry stated, according to Reuters."The German government has no information to suggest that the delivered goods were later used for purposes other than the originally declared civilian purpose," it added.Chancellor Angela Merkel told ARD television, "We are of course looking into all allegations on this but from what we can see so far the export license was for civil use."
Jan van Aken, a spokesman for the Left party, condemned the sale of the chemicals to Syria, noting that it was a country which "the whole world knew had a huge chemical weapons program."On Monday, a UN team that visited Syria submitted a report which confirmed the use of sarin nerve agent in an August 21 poison gas attack outside the Syrian capital. The United States, Britain and France said the long-awaited UN report proved beyond any doubt that Syrian government forces were responsible.Russia, however, has dismissed the report and said Wednesday it has received evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian rebels.Ake Sellstrom, the head of the inspection team that visited Syria, said on Wednesday that the investigators are planning to return to Syria to follow up on more allegations of chemical weapons use.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Sukkot in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)


Assad: One year, $1 bn needed to destroy chem arms


AFP
Dave Clark 8 hours ago-sept 19,13-yahoonews
Defiant strongman Bashar Al-Assad promised he would surrender Syria's chemical weapons but warned it would take at least a year to do so and cost one billion dollars.His latest appearance came as UN envoys debated a draft resolution that would enshrine a joint US-Russian plan to secure and neutralize his banned weapons in international law.In a confident interview with US network Fox News, Assad insisted that Syria was not gripped by civil war but was the victim of infiltration by foreign-backed Al-Qaeda fighters.He insisted that his forces had not been behind an August 21 gas attack on the Damascus suburbs that left hundreds of civilians dead, but vowed nevertheless to hand over his deadly arsenal.It was Assad's second interview this month with US television, and one of a series of meetings with Western journalists to counter mounting political pressure from Western capitals.After last month's barrage of sarin-loaded rockets, which Western capitals say was clearly launched by the regime, US President Barack Obama called for US-led punitive military strikes.But -- with US lawmakers and the Western public not sold on the virtues of another Middle East military adventure -- Assad's ally Russia seized the opportunity to propose a diplomatic solution.Pushed by President Vladimir Putin, the White House agreed to hold fire while Russia and the international community -- with Assad's agreement -- draws up a disarmament plan.Assad reiterated his pledge to cooperate, but insisted he had not been forced to do so by US threats of US action."I think it's a very complicated operation, technically. And it needs a lot of money, about a billion," he told Fox."So it depends, you have to ask the experts what they mean by quickly. It has a certain schedule. It needs a year, or maybe a little bit more."Asked why he had used force to repress a popular uprising and triggered a two-and-a-half year war that has claimed 110,000 lives, Assad insisted Syria was a victim of terrorism.
"What we have is not civil war. What we have is war. It's a new kind of war," he said, alleging that Islamist guerrillas from more than 80 countries had joined the fight."We know that we have tens of thousands of jihadists... we are on the ground, we live in this country," he said, disputing an expert report that suggested 30,000 out of around 100,000 rebels were hardliners."What I can tell you is that ... 80 to 90 percent of the underground terrorists are Al-Qaeda and their offshoots."Assad admitted that at the start of the uprising there were non-jihadist rebels, but alleged that since the end of 2012, Islamic extremists had become a majority.He added that "tens of thousands of Syrians" and 15,000 government troops had been killed "mainly because of the terrorist attacks, assassinations and suicide bombers."While Assad pursued his media counterattack, the five UN Security Council powers held new talks on a resolution backing the Russia-US plan to destroy the chemical weapons.Western nations, who said they are not looking for an immediate threat of force against Assad, could seek a Security Council vote this weekend if Russia agrees.UN envoys from the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China held two hours of talks at the US mission."There is no accord yet, there will be more negotiations," said one UN diplomat.The disarmament plan will face its first big test on Saturday, the one-week deadline announced by Moscow and the United States for Assad to provide a list of his chemical facilities.Assad said in his interview that he could provide a list "tomorrow," and Moscow said it had received assurances that he would cooperate.Britain, France and the United States have prepared a draft resolution that would invoke Chapter VII of the UN Charter but would not explicitly threaten force or sanctions.Without giving details of the draft, Britain's UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said the Western powers want to use Chapter VII to make the Russia-US plan binding under international law.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said when he struck the deal with US Secretary of State John Kerry that it would be backed with a UN resolution under Chapter VII but has since questioned its use.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground became still more complex and dangerous, when -- according to residents -- an Al-Qaeda front group overran a Syrian border town."The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has seized complete control of Azaz. They are in control of the town's entrances," said Abu Ahmad, an activist inside the town.The development in Azaz comes amid increasing reports of fighting in northern Syria between ISIS and non-jihadist rebels vying to bring down Assad's regime.Syria's conflict has grown highly localized, and ISIS has fought side by side with rebels against government troops in other areas of the country.The opposition is highly fragmented and Russia has supported Assad's claim that the rebels were behind the poison gas attacks.Washington rejects that claim out of hand.State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: "We have seen no credible reporting, no credible evidence that the opposition used chemical weapons in Syria, period."And she warned Damascus must quickly "submit a full accounting" of its chemical stockpile.


Israeli nuclear chief warns of Iranian ‘deception’

Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency denies reports that Rouhani is willing to close the Fordo facility


By Yoel Goldman September 19, 2013, 1:59 am 1-The times of Israel
Chorev castigated Iran for “deception and concealment, creating a false impression about the status of its engagement with the agency … with a view to buy more time in Iran’s daily inching forward in every aspect of its nuclear military program.”He also blasted Arab states for using the IAEA meeting to “repeatedly bash” Israel and urged members to reject an Arab-sponsored draft resolution calling on Israel to join a global anti-nuclear weapons pact, reported Reuters.In Tehran, meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear chief denied reports that recently elected President Hasan Rouhani was willing to shut down the underground Fordo nuclear facility in exchange for an easing of sanctions.“The closure of the Fordo site is a sheer lie,” Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by the state-run Fars news agency as having told reporters on Wednesday.Citing intelligence sources, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported this week that Rouhani might consider closing down Fordo, near the holy city of Qom, and allowing international observers to supervise the destruction of its centrifuges, if the West were to lift the sanctions placed on Iran’s oil industry and central bank.Rouhani could make the offer later this month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the report said.


Egypt troops surround Islamist stronghold by Cairo

Security forces backed by helicopters surround town after militants kill senior policeman

By MAGGIE MICHAEL September 19, 2013, 12:07 pm 0-The Times of Israel
The August assault on the police station evoked the decades-old conflict between Egypt’s police and Islamists.


McCain answers Putin’s New York Times broadside

Veteran Republican senator unleashes a wide-ranging attack in Pravda article, telling Russians they deserve better than their president

By Donna Cassata September 19, 2013, 7:52 am 4-The Times of Israel
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