More Updates: Palestinian Statehood Goes to UN Admissions Panel

PA Statehood To Admissions Panel

The United Nations Security Council agreed Wednesday to send the Palestinian application for statehood to its admissions committee for review.

The first meeting of that committee, which includes all 15 members of the council, is set for Friday.

"As you see, the process is moving forward step by step, and we hope the Security Council (will) shoulder its responsibility and approve our application and send a recommendation to the General Assembly for the admission of Palestine into the United Nations," Mansour said Wednesday.

In some other news in the region:

Region Watch: Storm Clouds Over Eastern Mediterranean

Another potential tipping point:

Cyprus dipute over natural gas exploration could be flashpoint where Ankara’s deteriorating ties with Jerusalem become truly dangerous.

Cyprus’s defiance of recent Turkish warnings against beginning the search for natural gas in this area is unlikely to be the last word on the matter.

Muscle-flexing in the eastern Mediterranean forms part of Ankara’s broader combined strategic and economic ambitions. Israel is part of the picture and is drawing closer to the Cypriots.

The Turkish Piri Reiss and a Norwegian seismic ship are to commence exploration, accompanied by ships of the Turkish Navy. There are reports that Turkish F-16s will be stationed on Northern Cyprus to provide protection for this activity.

The article closes on this ominous warning:

AKP leaders of Turkey are sailing into confrontation with a list of long-demonized enemies. Israel is near the top of the list. Economic ambitions and rivalries are combining for Turkey with strategic goals and ideological visions. The storm clouds are gathering over the eastern Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, in the midst of a dramatic escalation in world-wide sabre rattling, the U.S. plans to disarm:

Disarming America's Military

In an article posted on Military.com, a September 26 report released by the House Armed Services Committee warned that $465 billion in cuts to the defense budget over ten years would “transform a Superpower into a Regional Power” and return the military to funding levels of “the post-Vietnam Carter era of the late 1970s.”

Below are a few details:

The report contemplated cuts that would “eliminate 60 ships, two carrier battle groups, and over 200,000 troops through 2021.

The Army would lose ground combat vehicles. The Navy would suffer cuts in ship building and replacements for older ships.

The Air Force would likely lose the next generation bombers and aerial refueling tanker aircraft. The Marine Corps would lose personnel carriers and indefinitely postpone replacements for new amphibious assault vehicles and ships.

We also see this tragic story involving persecution:

Iranian Pastor Must Disavow His Christian Faith This Week Or Face Execution

Updates:

Today there are several updates to some of the stories we have been following recently.

Iran has been back in the news recently:

'French UN envoy warns of 'strong' risk of strike on Iran'

Gerard Araud says "some countries" won't accept the prospect of Iran crossing nuclear threshold, AFP reports; follows Russian calls for freezing of centrifuge production, ahead of Panetta visit to Israel.

French Ambassador to the United Nations Gerard Araud warned of a "strong" risk of a military strike on Iran if it proceeds on the path to nuclear proliferation, AFP reported on Wednesday.

"If we don't succeed today to reach a negotiation with the Iranians, there is a strong risk of military action," AFP quoted the French envoy as saying in a New York panel discussion.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was expected to arrive in Israel for talks with counterpart Defense Minister Ehud Barak, talks which were expected to include the Iranian nuclear threat.

France: Iran faces high risk of military strike

Debka weighs in and reveals how far tensions are escalating around the Iranian nuclear situation:

France's UN Ambassador Gerard Araud warned Wednesday, Sept. 28 that Iran runs a high risk of a military strike if it continues on the path to nuclear proliferation. "Some countries won't accept the prospect of Tehran reaching the threshold of nuclear armament," he said. "Personally I am convinced that it would be a very complicated operation …with disastrous consequences in the region."

Ambassador Araud's comment confirmed reports from DEBKAfile's military sources in recent months that US and European sanctions against Iran had been ineffectual and the ayatollahs had no intention of slowing down on their drive for a nuclear weapon.

Tehran was not idle: Tuesday, the day before the war game ended, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Iranian Navy, stated that Iranian warships would be deployed "close to US territorial waters," since the Islamic Republic of Iran considers the US presence in the Persian Gulf "illegitimate and makes no sense."

After Tehran rejected a recent US request to establish a "red phone" link between the countries to avoid unwanted confrontation between their armed forces in the Gulf region, Ali Fadavi, Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Navy chief, commented enigmatically: "When we are in the Gulf of Mexico, we will establish direct contact with the United States."

The ambassador therefore held out little hope of the long-stalled US-South Korea talks with the North resumed lately getting anywhere on Pyongyang's denuclearization.

All these ominous events – pointed comments by French and British diplomats and the large-scale Russian-Central Asian war game – add up to widespread skepticism about any chance of halting Iran's race for a nuclear weapon or disarming North Korea.

Iranian Navy Plans to Send Ships Near U.S. Waters

The Iranian navy plans to move naval vessels out of the Persian Gulf and into the Atlantic Ocean, "near maritime borders of the United States," the Tehran Times reported Tuesday.

According to the English-language paper based in Tehran, the announcement came from a top Iranian naval officer on Tuesday.

As the global arrogance (forces of imperialism) have a (military) presence near our sea borders, we also plan to have a strong presence near the U.S. sea borders with the help of the soldiers who are loyal to the vali-e faqih (supreme jurisprudent),” said Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, as quoted and paraphrased by the Tehran Times.

20,000 Heat-Seeking Missiles Reportedly Feared Missing From Libyan Warehouse

A recent secret White House meeting revealed that an estimated 20,000 portable, heat-seeking missiles appear to have vanished from an Army warehouse in Libya, ABCNews.com reported.

The new revelations stoke ongoing fears that such weapons, which are light, relatively easy to use and have the capacity to take down a commercial airplane, could end up in the wrong hands as the Libyan war that ousted Muammar Qaddafi winds down.

Icy Comet Elenin Passes Close to Sun, Could be Falling Apart

In August, doomsday prophets speculated that icy comet Elenin would wreak havoc on Earth. Now new images from an amateur Australian astronomer are showing a rapid dimming in Comet Elenin, leading some astronomers to believe that the comet may be falling apart.

Michael Mattiazo, an amateur astronomer from Australia, captured two images of Elenin -- one on Aug. 19 and the other on Sept. 6 -- that show the comet could be disintegrating. The video footage of Elenin shows that the comet began losing some cohesion around late August and early September as it neared the sun.

Officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said they are still waiting for the comet to reappear from the near-sun pass before they make any new observations.

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a U.S. and European satellite observatory, might see Elenin by Sept. 29, according to Space.com. Scientists expect Elenin to pass closest to Earth on Oct. 16. At that time, the comet, which is about two to three miles (three to five kilometers) wide, will be about 22 million miles (35 million kilometers) from the planet.

Growing Persecution

The article below puts things in perspective and offers some facts that are quite disturbing:

18 Examples Of How Christians Are Being Specifically Targeted By Big Brother

I'll just put the introduction to the article below, but the article is worth reading. As shocking as the information is, we should expect such as we enter the era of the Tribulation:

The truth is that any individual or group that does not "fit in" with the new "politically-correct" global system that is emerging is going to be persecuted sooner or later. In our society today, it has become quite fashionable to bash Christians. In fact, I am quite certain that some of the comments that get left after this article will say really horrible things about Christians.

When I speak of "Big Brother", I am not just speaking of the government. In today's world, giant corporations and the mainstream media also play instrumental roles in the totalitarian police state prison grid that is being constructed all around us.

Anyone that does not "conform" to their system is a threat. As time goes by, the persecution of those that attempt to "rebel" against their system is only going to become more intense.

Now, take a look at the examples cited. Rather than allowing these examples to create anger and/or depression - use them to see the nearness of the hour. And the hour is drawing ever so close. That should be our focus now.

Ketika Orang Kaya....

Ketika Orang Kaya Menolong Orang Miskin

Banyak orang kaya yang menolong orang miskin

     bukan karena ia ingin menolong mereka

Tapi karena ia ingin dilihat orang sebagai penderma

     dan ingin mendapatkan pahala

          atas apa yang telah dilakukannya

Ketika Orang Kaya Ditinggalkan oleh Pembantunya

Banyak orang kaya yang baru sadar

     betapa besar jasa pembantunya

          yang telah membuat mereka

               merasa nyaman menikmati hidupnya

setelah mereka kehilangan atau ditinggalkan oleh pembantunya     

Iran Threatens The U.S. While Thousands Of Surface-Air Missiles Disappear In Libya

If tensions weren't already high enough in the world, today we have two more to add to the growing list:

Iran Threatens to Deploy Navy Off U.S. Coast

Reuters is reporting that Iran has raised the possibility of sending Iranian warships close enough to U.S. shores to ratchet up tensions.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Iranian naval chief Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said:

“Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders.”

This Iranian saber-rattling comes on the heels of other recent provocations, including the passage of Iranian warships through the Suez Canal a few months ago, which marked the first time the Islamic Republic of Iran has ever deployed warships to the Mediterranean.

Sayyari was speaking at a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. He didn’t elaborate on the scale or timing of the possible naval deployment.

Iran says could deploy navy near U.S. coast

Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States' Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries.

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to stop it getting nuclear weapons. Tehran denies it is developing nuclear arms saying its atomic program is for purely peaceful purposes.

Nightmare in Libya: Thousands of Surface-to-Air Missiles Unaccounted For

The White House announced today it planned to expand a program to secure and destroy Libya's huge stockpile of dangerous surface-to-air missiles, following an ABC News report that large numbers of them continue to be stolen from unguarded military warehouses.

ABC News reported today U.S. officials and security experts were concerned some of the thousands of heat-seeking missiles could easily end up in the hands of al Qaeda or other terrorists groups, creating a threat to commercial airliners.

The missiles, four to six-feet long and Russian-made, can weigh just 55 pounds with launcher. They lock on to the heat generated by the engines of aircraft, can be fired from a vehicle or from a combatant's shoulder, and are accurate and deadly at a range of more than two miles.

Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch first warned about the problem after a trip to Libya six months ago. He took pictures of pickup truckloads of the missiles being carted off during another trip just a few weeks ago.

"I myself could have removed several hundred if I wanted to, and people can literally drive up with pickup trucks or even 18 wheelers and take away whatever they want," said Bouckaert, HRW's emergencies director. "Every time I arrive at one of these weapons facilities, the first thing we notice going missing is the surface-to-air missiles."

The ease with which rebels and other unknown parties have snatched thousands of the missiles has raised alarms that the weapons could end up in the hands of al Qaeda

You have to wonder just how much longer a lid can be kept on the ability of terrorist groups to create widespread havoc in the world with large-scale attacks. Surface-to-air missiles could be used not only against military aircraft, but on commercial airlines as well.

This was one of the initial fears when the uprisings began in Libya and it seems that these fears are now being realized.

In the news:

Joel Rosenberg is also noticing Putin's movements to continue his power grab in Russia:

Putin Set To Re-Emerge As Czar Of Russia

On August 17th – in a column entitled, “Putin Rising: But Is He Gog?” — I wrote that “after keeping a relatively low profile for the last several years, Vladimir Putin is rising. In recent weeks, the Russian leader — currently serving as his country’s prime minister — once again has been making headlines, stoking controversy, and seeming to position himself to run for president of Russia again in March 2012.”

As stated before, I would argue that he never really lost power, due to the way he crafted the position of Prime Minister.

Reuters notes that “the next president will be elected for six years and the constitution still allows the head of state a maximum of two straight terms — meaning Putin could be in power for another 12 years.”

The re-emergence of Putin as Russia’s central tyrant will re-stoke speculation that we are heading towards the “War of Gog and Magog”as prophesied in the Bible in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39.

A growing number of Jews also believe Ezekiel 38 and 39 could come true in our lifetime, and possibly in the next few years. In June of 2010, for example, a group of Rabbis in Israel said current events seemed to be leading to the “War of Gog and Magog.”

Below we see another stark reminder of the rising Christian persecution around the globe, as the nations yawn:

More Than 100 Christians Killed in Nigeria's Plateau State

A rash of attacks by armed Muslim extremists on villages in Nigeria’s Plateau state in the past month have left more than 100 Christians dead, including the elimination of entire families, sources said.

In a guerilla-type “hit and run” attack on the Christian community of Vwang Kogot, Muslim attackers at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 killed 14 Christians, including a pregnant woman. Survivors of the attack told Compass that the assailants raided the village with the aid of men in military uniforms of the Nigerian Army.

“After the soldiers and the Muslims left, we rushed into the place to see the destruction they did,” he said. “We discovered that 14 people were killed. Among them was a pregnant woman who died with a child in her womb – bringing the number of deaths to 15 persons. We also observed that the victims died from gun and machete wounds.”

Netanyahu's Speech and the Deafening Silence

If Israel shrank to just one downtown city block in Tel Aviv, it would still be reason for an all-out war of extermination by the Arab and Muslim world.

Those of you who saw Bibi’s speech at the UN - that Temple of Hypocrisy and Moral Turpitude - will have noticed the polite but tepid applause from a few along with the deafening silence from oh, so many of the international delegates.

The stark fact, which nobody wants to hear, is that Islam will never make peace with a non-Muslim state, especially if the Muslim foot trod triumphal upon that same territory once occupied in the name of Allah.

In conclusion, the endless and repeated begging for peace from a perverse and irretrievably hostile Muslim and Arab world must stop. The reality is desperately hard to acknowledge and accept, but it is an Islamic fact that Islam and its adherents will never make peace with non-Muslims.

A Palestinian State Will Not Bring Peace

Abbas, not surprisingly, blamed the failure of earlier negotiations on Israel. He complained that "the Israeli government ... frantically continues to intensify building of settlements on the territory of the state of Palestine.

Are the Israeli settlements really the problem? No, they’re just the obstacle du jour.

In fact, the Palestinian Arabs rejected the United Nations’ original proposal to create a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947, long before any "settlements” were on the horizon.

As Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu explained in his own UN address on Friday: "Our conflict has been raging for—was raging for nearly half a century before there was a single Israeli settlement in the West Bank. ...

The hypocrisy below is mind numbing:

Syria's UN envoy: Israel is committing 'state terrorism' against Palestinians

Compare these two statements:

Israel's human rights violations are proof that it is committing "state terrorism," Syria's ambassador to the United Nations told the UN's Human Rights Council on Monday.

The comment by the Syrian official came amid a months-long crackdown by Bashar Assad's regime against pro-democracy protesters. Earlier this month, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that at least 2,700 people have been killed in Syria since anti-government protests broke out in March.

Again. Mind numbing. Typical for discourse in the Middle East.

We can see the same below:

Stockholm Syndrome from Tehran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad engineered the release last week of two American hikers serving eight-year prison terms on trumped-up espionage charges.

He may have thought the release would make him seem more humane, but the $1 million bail-for-freedom deal makes Tehran look like Somali pirates, grabbing innocent tourists, holding them hostage and then releasing them for ransom.

So why did released hiker Shane Bauer say the following upon his release? "Two years in prison is too long, and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America (emphasis added) and Iran."

The moral-equivalent rhetoric may have worked when Bauer was a peace and conflict studies major at the University of California, Berkeley, but one country ginned up phony espionage charges to use him and his companions as political pawns -- that's Iran -- and the other country doesn't imprison critics because of what they say or use violence to quell dissent.

At the time of their arrest, Bauer and Shourd were living in Damascus, in the bosom of Bashar Assad's Syria. They have shared a professed love of Middle Eastern culture. They also shared some blind spots.

Shourd, for example, wrote that in Yemen,

"The separation of sexes is widely understood as an attempt to protect women, and I have to admit, the streets do feel safe. Men leave you alone as long as you are covered; in a bizarre way it is less of a hassle being a woman here than anywhere I've ever been."

However, reality suggests something very different. Again - its the whole "reality thing":

Newsweek lists Yemen as one of nine countries that are "the worst places to be a woman," because domestic violence is not illegal and there is no legal recognition of spousal rape.

A year before Shourd wrote about how safe she felt in Yemen, 10-year-old Nujood Ali went to a Sanaa courtroom to ask a judge to release her from an arranged marriage to an older man who beat her. Other girl brides came forward with their horror stories. A Sanaa University study found that more than half of Yemeni girls are married before they turn 18.

But reality matters little in bizarro world.

Gaya Kepemimpinan dari Kacamata Orang Miskin

Ada dua gaya kepemimpinan

Pemimpin yang suka memberikan perintah

     dan pemimpin yang hanya memberikan arah

Pemimpin yang suka berkata “Saya..”

     dan pemimpin yang suka berkata “Kita..”

Ada lagi dua gaya kepemimpinan lainnya

Pemimpin yang cepat mengambil keputusan

      dan pemimpin yang hati-hati mengambil keputusan

Pemimpin yang suka berkata “Lebih cepat, lebih baik.”

     dan pemimpin yang suka berkata “Biar lambat, asal selamat.”

Ada banyak lagi gaya kepemimpinan lainnya

Tapi apalah arti itu semua

     kalau tak satu pun mampu

          memenuhi kebutuhan hidup seluruh rakyat-kecil nya