Abbas by fomenting Palestinian unrest risks losing control

End Of Days News

Day by day, Palestinian fury on the West Bank is stoked by one charge against Israel after another. The protesters of Hebron, Nablus and other West Bank towns and villages are in no mood to hear Israel’s version of the facts. Sunday, Feb. 24, Palestinian Authority officials alleged that Israeli mistreatment caused the death of a 30-year old Palestinian Arafat Jaradat in custody after taking part in rocking-throwing clashes with Israeli troops. Israel denied he was beaten and said he had died of heart failure. Israel’s forensic institute conducted an autopsy with a Palestinian physician in attendance with uncertain results. But the Palestinian street, demonstrating violently for the past week in solidarity with four Palestinian inmates on hunger strike, weren’t waiting. Tomorrow, there will be another trigger for protest and Israeli troops will disperse the rioters and stone-throwers with crowd dispersion measures.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials keep the heat up by accusing Israel of “murder, racism, and brutality.”
Clearly, Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his henchmen are prepared to risk matters getting out of hand on the West Bank.

debkafile examines their motives.
Abbas appears to count on reining in the violence whenever he decides it has exhausted its political usefulness. The Palestinian Authority chairman seems to believe that he only has to give the order for the seven special commando battalions subservient to the PA for the forces to go into action and restore order to the Palestinian street. But Western and Israeli military circles familiar with the situation in Ramallah think his calculus is flawed, because he is doesn’t seem to realize that parts of the PA commando force have established relations with Hamas, the rival group which rules the Gaza Strip.
This takes the Palestinian military structures into a period of uncertainty which recalls the early months of their second uprising (intifada) in 2000. It was hard then to make out which Palestinian units and security arms served which Palestinian strongman. The militias of the day, including the one under the command of Jibril Rajoub – a close Abbas aide today – divided their loyalties and their time between different Palestinian masters. At times, this was contingent on how much they were paid.
debkafile’s military sources estimate that if the current unrest is allowed to continue unchecked, Abbas will be swept aside by the turbulence. Faceless officers will take over and the force will break up into militias and the Palestinian Authority sink into anarchy.
Already Abbas’s relevance among the Palestinians at large is ebbing along with the welcome mat and donations extended him in most Arab capitals.
Even if Abbas does manage to squeeze another settlement construction freeze out of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, along with the release of jailed prisoners, and even revive the stalled flow of funds to the bankrupt Palestinian Authority, he will still face a tough impediment from the Gaza Strip.
To solve it, he would have to turn the clock back to November, 2012 and reverse a process launched then after the Israel Gaza Operation. The US, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Hamas and Israel, struck a deal, which ended the operation with a ceasefire and boosted Hamas domestically and internationally by ending the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and promoting cooperation between the Palestinian fundamentalists and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
Mahmoud Abbas clearly hopes that by fostering spiraling anti-Israel unrest on the West Bank, he can catch up with Hamas’s enhanced standing and recover a strong bargaining position for resumed talks with Israel in time for US President Barack Obama’s visit next month to Jerusalem and Ramallah. But he is skating on very thin ice.
This visit in any case may be postponed if Netanyahu fails to set up a post-election government coalition by March 20.

 

http://www.debka.com/article/22790/Abbas-by-fomenting-Palestinian-unrest-risks-losing-control



THIS IS THE HOMETOWN I GREW UP IN! I AM DISGUSTED!Students made to wear burqas – in Texas

End Of Days News

 

There’s a new controversy in Texas involving the online public school curriculum called CSCOPE, which already has been the subject of heated debate and state legislative hearings.

There are reports now that students were made to wear Muslim burqas as part of their public school lessons.

CSCOPE has been facing criticism over its alleged Islamic and anti-American bias. It is a “curriculum management system” now used in 80 percent of Texas classrooms – and recently was the subject of a heated inquiry that culminated in hearings conducted by the Texas Senate Education Committee chaired by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston.

According to a joint press release by Sen. Patrick, State Board of Education Chairperson Barbara Cargill and CSCOPE representatives, CSCOPE ultimately agreed to “significant changes,” but it is unclear when these changes will take place, and whether or not the pledged cooperation is legally binding or simply to mollify critics.

WND contacted Sen. Patrick’s office but has been unable to obtain documentation confirming whether CSCOPE compliance is required or optional.

He did release a statement: “Be assured we are working on this issue as is the SBOE almost every day. The hearing was step one, the letter step two. The only thing that is binding from a legislative standpoint is legislation. We are working on those issues based on what we are discovering now. We are doing our job, one that must be thorough and will take time.”

CSCOPE has come under fire for controversial curriculum content, including accusations of multiple lessons showing a pro-Islamic agenda. CSCOPE representatives had claimed that such content had been “taken out of context” or that they were “old lessons that have since been taken down.”

CSCOPE proponents have denied the existence of such lessons, or, when faced with documentation, have dismissed critics’ claims as exaggerations.

However, in Lumberton, Texas, this week, high school girls were made to wear burqas as part of a CSCOPE study of Islam.

One student quoted the teacher as saying, “We are going to work to change your perception of Islam.”

The teacher in the burqa lesson, according to a student, also said, “I do not necessarily agree with this, but I am supposed to teach you that we are not to call these people terrorists anymore, but freedom fighters.”

Critics argue that this should not be a teacher’s role, and are concerned that CSCOPE curriculum appears agenda-driven.

According to a student in the class, the lesson was to teach about the life of women in Islam. The burqa exercise focused on fashion and did not include the fact that to be in public without a burqa in many Muslim countries is punishable by death.

At the end of class, the students were assigned to write a paper about Egypt. According to one student, they were instructed to discuss “how Egypt was a good country until democracy took over, and that things were finally corrected when the Muslim brotherhood came into power.”

Muslim women are portrayed as liberated in CSCOPE literature. In a lesson entitled, “Thinking About Sexuality,” that utilizes a series of film clips, students are asked, “What do the women portrayed in these film clips think Islam teaches about sexuality? How are their thoughts similar or dissimilar to your own ideas about sexuality?”

Under the subheading, “For further discussion,” select quotes from Muslim women are included for student reflection, e.g. Harlina Halizah, who says, “I don’t think it is fair to say that Islam restricts your sexual desire. It is more directing it toward a more purposeful kind of life.”

Halizah goes on to say, “I don’t need to be liberated. I was born a free person.”

Students are then asked, “Do you agree? What would you define as the criteria for being ‘liberated’?”
Another Muslim female prototype, Zainah Anwar, is quoted under the subheading, “Thinking about Gender Relations,” as saying, “We found that it is not Islam that discriminates against women, it is not the verses in the Quran, it is the way that these verses have been interpreted by men, living in patriarchal societies who wish to maintain their dominance, and their superiority and control over women.”

To get a better understand of the situation, WND reached out to Mary Bowen. Bowen is a teacher of more than 30 years with a masters degree in curriculum who recently testified during the Senate Education Committee hearing about CSCOPE’s academic deficiencies and its politically driven nature.

In response to the picture and the companion lesson, Bowen said the following,

“As for these smiling children, [pictured above] I wonder if they have been taught that the women they are representing cannot drive, cannot be schooled, that they do not have legal birth records and if they are accused of rape/sexual impropriety their father can legally take them out on the patio and kill them like a dog without legal penalty …I just wonder if they are being taught the real story behind the burqa.”

CSCOPE has been heavily criticized by parents and teachers for other controversial content. One lesson from a CSCOPE social studies unit teaches students that communism is the highest attainable economic system, and is the most fair, and that capitalism is merely an evolutionary step on the ladder. The lesson calls “Communism” a system where “all people work together for everyone,” and shows a man climbing stairs towards a communist pinnacle. Capitalism is defined as a system where “all people strive to fulfill their own needs and wants,” and is at the bottom of the included handout.



A civics unit defines political viewpoints and paradigms on a continuum. Fascism/Nazism are placed under “Conservative,” in spite of the fact that these ideologies dictate total state control and ownership of resources, while conservatism dictates less government and wide economic and political freedom.

Students read on the handout that conservatism exists when “the state/group” is “greater than the individuals themselves.” Liberalism allegedly exists when “the individual is above all else and the state is not greater than the individuals that create it.”

Republicans are defined as favoring “big business over labor unions.”

Democrats are defined this way: “Will spend more tax dollars on education to benefits [sic] each individual.”

CSCOPE oversight legislation is pending in the Texas House of Representatives and took less than a week to gain the full support of a majority of representatives.

In the meantime, teachers are legally required under CSCOPE contracts to teach only CSCOPE lessons, and are not permitted to discuss content with parents and others in the community.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/students-made-to-wear-burqas-in-u-s-state/#VTTEwtgcmfukbtmb.99



Separation vs. Healing in Relationships

End Of Days News

Gathering of the Elect

End Of Days News

Laura Bush Demands She Be Removed From Pro-Gay Marriage Ad

End Of Days News

 

U.S. former first lady Laura Bush has requested that her spot be removed from a pro-gay marriage advertisement that launched this week. The ad is part of a $1 million print and broadcast media campaign by the Respect for Marriage Coalition.

 

"Mrs. Bush did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated in any way with the group that made the ad," Anne MacDonald, a spokeswoman for the former first lady, told The Dallas Morning News Thursday morning.
"When she became aware of the advertisement Tuesday night, we requested that the group remove her from it," MacDonald added.
The commercial features a 2010 clip from the former first lady speaking on her support for gay marriage. She tells CNN's Larry King: "When couples are committed to each other and love each other that they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has."
Bush's support for gay marriage came as a surprise to much of the U.S. public, as her husband, former U.S. president George W. Bush, has openly voiced his opposition to gay marriage. He endorsed a 2004 constitutional amendment which would restrict marriage to two people of the opposite sex.
Laura Bush even wrote in her book, Spoken From the Heart, that during the 2004 presidential election, she asked her husband not to make gay marriage a central issue in his campaign platform, as they held opposing views on the issue.

The commercial also features previous clips from U.S. President Barack Obama, former vice president Dick Cheney, and former secretary of state Colin Powell, all speaking on their support of gay marriage.

President Obama's clip is taken from his inaugural address earlier this year in January, in which he said:
"Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law."
According to the  Respect for Marriage Coalition, this new commercial will reportedly hit various Sunday talk shows on Feb. 24. It is expected to also run as full-page print advertisements in major national newspapers, including The New York Times, and online advertisements will appear in the upcoming days.
Currently, there are two gay marriage cases facing the Supreme Court: California's Proposition 8 gay marriage ban, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
It was announced today that the Obama administration is considering intervening in the Supreme Court's Proposition 8 case in an attempt to urge the court to overturn the state's ban on gay marriage.

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/laura-bush-demands-she-be-removed-from-pro-gay-marriage-ad-90500/#dlXdODfkKfhW8RJo.99 

Respect For Marriage- Leadership

End Of Days News

New pro-gay marriage advertisement by the Respect for Marriage Coalition features President Barack Obama, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former first lady Laura Bush, and former secretary of State Colin Powell
Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/obama-cheney-bush-and-powell-in-new-pro-gay-marriage-ad-90436/#A4DAEkKR1oQTrCmw.99

In 1933 it happened! Will Obama Confiscate Guns and Gold?

End Of Days News

 

Barack Obama often compares himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt. When he does, gold owners reach for a gun, of which they usually have several. Gold and guns are becoming politically entangled, and a connecting word is often “confiscation.”

The prospect of gun confiscation is fueling discussion of FDR’s 1933 nationalization of gold ownership, which resembled Hugo Chavez’s nationalization of Venezuelan gold mines in 2011. FDR did so by executive order; Chavez did so by decree. If guns in America are also ‘nationalized’, then the 1933 gold grab may have insights on how the state could proceed and how American public may react.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1933 GOLD HEIST
Roosevelt was inaugurated as President on March 4th, 1933. He immediately moved to outlaw the private ownership of gold. He proceeded in several steps.
On March 6th, FDR issued Proclamation 2039 that declared a bank holiday in order to halt “heavy and unwarranted withdrawals of gold and currency from our banking institutions for the purpose of hoarding”; that is, to cease redeeming money for gold or releasing client-held gold from its vaults. FDR blamed the “severe drain on the Nation’s stocks of gold” on foreign speculation and individual hoarding, which were causing a “national emergency.” The President assumed the power to “investigate, regulate or prohibit” the so-called wrongful use of gold. Americans violating the Proclamation or the regulations produced under its authority would “be fined not more than $10,000” or “imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both.”

On March 9th, the Emergency Banking Act passed Congress without being read because it had not been distributed. The Act affirmed all of FDR’s orders since March 4th, and amended the WWI Trading with the Enemy Act to give the President “absolute control over the national finances and foreign exchange” not only in times of war but also in emergencies. It required that “any individual or organization…deliver any gold that they possess or have custody of to the Treasury” in return for other lawful currency. Only Federal Reserve-approved and accountable banks were to remain open; private or independent banks were no longer permitted. In effect, all banks had to meet Fed regulations, including reporting and turning over gold in their vaults upon demand.

On April 5th, FDR signed Executive Order 6102 that prohibited the ownership, called “hoarding,” of “gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates…by individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations.” (There were minor exceptions such as jewelry.) Gold-holders had until the end of April to surrender gold to the Federal Reserve. They were reimbursed in currency worth $20.67, which had been the gold price per troy ounce since the late 1800s.
On January 30th, 1934, the Gold Reserve Act required the Federal Reserve to surrender its gold and gold certificates to the US Treasury. It also arbitrarily changed the price of gold from $20.67 to $35. This caused a 69% devaluation of the dollar. Otherwise stated, the government increased the value of its gold by 41%.
The process: a declaration of absolute Presidential authority; Congressional affirmation; an executive order of implementation; and, an arbitrary devaluation of the dollar to increase government’s wealth.
Remember that Obama models himself on FDR [A good reason to get your larger gold holdings out of Dodge and beyond his reach while you can. --Ed.]. Obama actively pursues a path of regulation through executive orders. For example, a January 16th, 2013 Forbes headline reads, “Here Are The 23 Executive Orders On Gun Safety Signed Today By The President.” Obama also favors rule through policies imposed by massive and unaccountable federal agencies of which there are close to 70; their counterparts in FDR’s time were called Alphabet Agencies. Congressional approval is rarely required. Executive power has swelled since FDR’s days and Congress has been largely reduced to a funding role. As for devaluing the dollar, what else can you call the incessant increase in the currency supply? The increase enriches government because it is first to spend the new dollars before they can devalue through circulation. The main element missing from the FDR procedure is the executive order that provides implementation.
But how will the American people respond?
A PASSIVE PEOPLE NO MORE?
FDR was able to confiscate private gold for a combination of reasons. A major one was the cooperation of banks under the Federal Reserve. But what of the multitudes who directly surrendered their wealth? (In 1933, gold still circulated as currency and private ownership was widespread.)
One reason was fear of punishment. Another was patriotism. The Austrian economist Thomas Woods explained yet another reason. “The paper currency [$20.67] they were receiving in exchange for the gold had always been redeemable in gold in the past.” It was only later that they realized “they weren’t getting that gold back, and that the paper dollars they were being given in exchange would be devalued.” In short, they were duped.

Today’s gold-holding public is not so naïve or patriotic. Gold is not a circulating currency and those who buy it do so knowing that government is devaluing every dollar through inflation. Moreover, they know history.
Will Obama move to confiscate gold? No one knows. If he does, I expect it will not start as a direct confiscation from individuals. It would probably begin through steps toward nationalizing private retirement accounts such as IRAs. This could happen in one of two ways: require accounts to hold some percentage of government security, especially Treasury bonds; or, have a government agency manage the accounts.
On the Austrian economic LewRockwell site (August 21st, 2010), Ron Holland (contributing editor to the Swiss Mountain Vision Newsletter and Swiss Confidential) wrote:

Just as with the…nationalization of Healthcare, the tremendous amount of funds in private retirement plans and IRA accounts are also being targeted to meet future revenue needs. Bills have just been introduced in both the House and Senate to create the new Auto IRA accounts which will at first be voluntary but later will become mandatory like Social Security and I expect the early 3% employee after tax contribution levels to eventually rise to 10 to 15% of compensation rising even more than Social Security has increased over the years….The Auto IRA is the first step to… replace our private system with a forced, government controlled Social Security type program. In addition they will force much of your retirement funds into buying junk treasury bonds along with the Federal Reserve when the dollar/national debt crisis hits as billions of retirement funds become the buyer of last resort… (Auto IRA bills remain in both the House and the Senate, a glaring sign that you should get into a self-directed IRA while there’s still time.)

The relevance of such “pension reform” to gold is twofold: many retirement funds contain a considerable amount of gold in some form; and, the state control would set a precedent.
Gold confiscation would likely begin with pension accounts because the state mechanisms to do so are already in place. Moreover, as with the gold in FDR-era bank vaults, the location and quantity is known; the organizations holding it would cooperate fully. (Again, more reason to make sure your IRA is self-directed and that you can internationalize the assets therein.)
Direct confiscation from individuals would be more problematic, and not merely because of its comparative anonymity. Direct confiscation returns us to guns. Given the personality of the typical gold bug and the simmering state of society, Obama must know that gun confiscation is a political prerequisite of a direct gold grab. On February 13th, the UK Market Oracle predicted for 2013, “The collection programs for guns will be eclipsed by collection of private pension funds and perhaps gold itself.” Guns and gold are blurring.

 

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/will-obama-confiscate-guns-and-gold_022013