Evening Update:

Gold Rush Possible In Southern Israel

First it was oil, then natural gas, now a group believes it has found a commercially-viable concentration of gold in Israel. A few weeks ago, Gulliver Energy Ltd. officially applied for a gold exploration permit in the mountainous area surrounding the southern Israel resort town of Eilat.

Chaired by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, Gulliver believes, according to past drillings, that the area contains a reasonable amount of gold in concentrations of 3-4 grams per ton. Of course, the company would also expect to find large quantities of other precious metals, like copper. The mountainous regions of southern Israel were famous for their copper mines during Israel's biblical period.

Gulliver has teamed up with Northwood Exploration of Australia to explore the 43 square kilometer (16.6 square mile) area covered by their permit.

Interestingly, as Israel continues to do so well economically, not so much for the rest of the world:

"Massive Wealth Destruction Coming, Well-To-Do May Lose 50%

The critical question over the next decade isn’t “where will my returns be highest?” but “where will I lose the least money?”

That, according to economist and investor Marc Faber, is the scenario facing investors today.

As the author of the Gloom, Boom, and Doom Report, Marc Faber is a well-known contrarian, earning celebrity status because of his ominous predictions.

Faber stated, “I think somewhere down the line we will have a massive wealth destruction. That usually happens either through very high inflation or through social unrest or through war or credit-market collapse.”

“I would say that well-to-do people may lose up to 50 percent of their total wealth.”

Faber points out that this bleak outlook for the United States has been caused by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve’s continuous printing of new money.

While Faber’s prognostications are worrisome (especially for those who fall into the “well-to-do” category), they are hardly as alarming as the scenario laid out by another economist.

Without appearing on CNBC, earning celebrity status, or being known by a scary nickname, Robert Wiedemer did what Marc Faber couldn’t: He accurately predicted the economic collapse that almost sunk the United States.

The Fate Of Syria's Christian Minority

If the Western democracies succeed in toppling Assad—as they seem to intend—what will be the fate of these Christians? Have any of our State Department policy makers given any thought to this question?

Will these Christians who sheltered under Assad’s shaky regime be considered collaborators in his tortures and killings when he is toppled? Past experience suggests that this is exactly what will be their fate. The Copts in Egypt survived on the edge during thirty years of Mubarak’s authoritarian rule. Today, their churches are burned and they are shot down in the flames

The Muslim Brotherhood is rising in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and throughout the Bloody Crescent.

Who may determine what is repugnantto Islam? The clerics do, of course. Which ones? The clerics with more guns, doubtless. In Kuwait, liberated in 1991 by American blood and treasure, it is now a death penalty offense to “blaspheme” against Islam.

Blaspheming Islam can include saying “Jesus is Lord.”

Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Spreading Says World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is warning medical providers around the world about the potential spread of a drug-resistant form of gonorrhea, urging them to be vigilant in spotting the disease and taking steps to stop its spread.

The health agency plans to issue a "global action plan," hoping to raise awareness of the disease and encouraging research efforts to find a cure.

Cases of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea have so far been identified in Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Sweden and Norway, the AP reported, but it's likely that there are undetected cases in other countries.