U.N. Chief to Visit Israel and Palestine to Calm Tensions

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

In an attempt to calm tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be visiting the area, despite the waves of violence that has plagued the area for about a month.

The violence began about a month ago over tensions concerning policy changes to the Temple Mount, a holy site for both Jews and Muslims. Then stabbings began happening in Arab neighborhoods East of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. The escalation in violence has prompted some to believe that a third Palestinian uprising may begin.

On Tuesday there were two more reported incidents. Israeli forces shot a Palestinian man after he stabbed an Israeli military officer. In the West Bank, a separate incident occurred where an Israeli man was killed after being run over by a truck. The Washington Post reports that Palestinians were throwing rocks at the man’s car. The Israeli man then exited his vehicle and began hitting Palestinian vehicles with a stick. He hit a passing truck that then ran over the man. The driver did turn himself in, claiming that the man’s death was the result of him trying to swerve out of the way.

Ban Ki-moon released a video prior to his Tuesday visit, asking for peace on both sides. During his visit Ban will be visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem.

Since the violence began, 40 Palestinians, including attackers, and 8 Israelis have been killed, according to BBC News.

Seoul’s Spies Report that North Korea is Gearing Up for a Nuclear Test

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

ABC News reported today that South Korea’s spy agency may be preparing for a fourth nuclear test, although they don’t believe it will happen in the immediate future.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said to the Yonhap news agency that the North may be ready to perform a test because of confrontations with the United States and its allies. The agency did not provide details on what type of test North Korea would be performing, other than it was nuclear related. They also did not elaborate on how they received this information.

The speculation that North Korea might be preparing for a fourth nuclear test is strengthened by the country’s announcement last month that North Korea was restarting its atomic bomb fuel production plants. At this time, it’s unclear if their scientists have developed a method to attach nuclear weapons to long-range missiles. However, North Korea has announced they do have such a weapon that could hit the U.S. mainland.

North Korea has performed nuclear tests in 2013, 2009, and 2006, which forced the U.N. to draw sanctions on the country.

On October 10th, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated in a speech that he was prepared to wage war against the United States, according to USA Today.

Planned Parenthood to No Longer Receive Medicaid Funding in Texas

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

The issue of defunding Planned Parenthood took a big step on Monday as Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Planned Parenthood would no longer receive funding from the state’s Medicaid program.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector General told the group and its affiliates in a letter that their state-federal Medicaid funding would end due to violations in the Medicaid program. According to USA Today, Planned Parenthood and its affiliates receive about $3 million to $4 million a year in Medicaid reimbursements.

“The State has determined that you and your Planned Parenthood affiliates are no longer capable of performing medical services in a professionally competent, safe, legal, and ethical manner,” the letter said.

The move comes after undercover videos showed employees of Planned Parenthood discussing the sale of fetal tissue and organs, which has sparked national uproar and controversy. After the videos were released, several government officials, including Gov. Abbott, called for an investigation. Congress is still investigating the claims made in the videos.

“Texas has stepped forward and shown its unyielding commitment to both protecting life and providing women’s health services,” Gov. Abbott told NBC News. “The gruesome harvesting of baby body parts by Planned Parenthood will not be allowed in Texas and the barbaric practice must be brought to an end. As such, ending the Medicaid participation of Planned Parenthood affiliates in the State of Texas is another step in providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable — the unborn.”

Gov. Abbot has also stated that this latest step is part of his administration’s LIFE movement. The “F” in this movement stands for the deFunding of Planned Parenthood.

A similar situation is taking place in Louisiana where Gov. Bobby Jindal stopped Planned Parenthood from receiving state money. Planned Parenthood quickly filed a lawsuit that reinstated their funding for 14 days; the judge’s order came just hours before Texas announced their defunding move.

Planned Parenthood told NBC News that they will rebuke the new steps and fight for the funding. They noted that they provide non-abortion health care services to thousands of women through Medicaid statewide, according to ABC News.

“It is completely outrageous that Texas officials are using these thoroughly discredited, fraudulent videos to cut women off from preventive health care, including cancer screenings, HIV testing, and birth control,” Dawn Laguens, executive vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement to the Associated Press.

“We will fight back against this outrageous, malicious, political attack in Texas with everything we’ve got, and we will protect women’s access to the health care they need and deserve.”

Planned Parenthood continues to deny that they have done anything wrong and that the undercover videos that were released over the summer were biased in their editing.

Russian Air Strikes Kill 45 in Northwest Syria, including Rebel Leader

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

A rebel commander who previously worked for President Bashar Assad’s army along with dozens of people were killed on Monday after a series of Russian air strikes hit the Northwest region of Syria.

Activists reported to ABC News that the attack was one of the deadliest incidents since Russia began their airstrikes three weeks ago. The head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdurrahman, stated that at least 45 people were killed, including civilians and rebels. Overall, the group states that Russia’s aerial assaults have killed 370 people, and one third of those are civilian deaths, according to Reuters.

The group of rebels call themselves the “Free Syrian Army” and has received foreign military aid from the U.S., including very powerful anti-tank missiles. The group also confirmed the death of Basil Zamo, its chief of staff.

Russia continues to claim that their air strikes are aimed at defeating ISIS but multiple news agencies, including ABC News, report that many of the areas hit by the air strikes have not been occupied by ISIS, but rebels.

The International Business Times reports that medical organizations in the area are accusing Russia and the al-Assad regime of targeting hospitals in the northern province of Syria. Three hospitals have been hit and two of the hospitals were closed. One was closed due to no longer being operational, and the other closed after medical staff decided to evacuate, fearing they would be targeted further by Russian forces.

The conflict in Syria has resulted in the deaths of more than 250,000 people since the civil war began in March 2011, according to ABC News.

China Still Trying to Hack U.S. Firms, Despite Denials

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

Despite a recent pact between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Obama to stop cyber war, security services provider, CrowdStrike, has reported that several Chinese state-backed hackers have been carrying out cyberattacks on several U.S. companies, according to NBC.

CrowdStrike claims that they have blocked every attack that they have come across so far and that the hackers seem to be targeting the networks of U.S. technology and pharmaceutical companies.

Just a few weeks ago, Xi visited the United States, promising leaders of American technology companies that the cyber attacks would stop. He also signed an agreement with President Obama that China and the United States would refrain from continued hacks that were aimed at obtaining company trade secrets for commercial advantage.

But two days after the agreement there were two attacks on technology companies, and more hacking attempts have happened since then.

“Seven of the companies are firms in the technology or pharmaceuticals sectors, where the primary benefit of the intrusions seems clearly aligned to facilitate theft of intellectual property and trade secrets, rather than to conduct traditional national-security related intelligence collection which the Cyber agreement does not prohibit,” CrowdStrike wrote in a blog post Monday.

If the cyberattacks continue it could lead to sanctions being placed against Chinese companies according to the agreement made between Xi and Obama.

The U.S. has also been accused of attempting to hack the networks of Chinese companies. Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor, came forward with information on how the U.S. hacked Chinese company, Huawei last year. Government officials continue to state that the reason for the hack was for national security purposes, not economic advantages.

The Chinese government has not made any comments regarding these attacks at this time.

Thousands of Refugees Stranded across Balkans

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

Thousands of refugees, including children and babies, were left stranded at borders in the Balkans as Croatia and Slovenia and other countries began tightening border control and limiting the number of refugees allowed in their countries.

According to CNN, approximately 10,000 refugees were left stranded in Serbia due to Hungary closing down two of its borders – including its border with Serbia. Many of the refugees have been bottlenecked on Serbia’s western border where they are trying to enter Croatia, then travel to Slovenia. Slovenia recently announced they would only accept 2,500 refugees a day, but their neighbor, Croatia, is letting more than 5,000 travel through to Slovenia, despite Slovenia’s limitations. Slovenia borders Croatia, Austria, Hungary, and Italy.

“Croatia is ignoring our pleas, our plans,” Bostjan Sefic, state secretary at Slovenia’s interior ministry, told a news conference, saying the army would be called in to help if such a rate continued.

Croatia is also considering tighter restrictions after more than 200,000 refugees crossed their border over the past month. Government officials are considering raising a barrier or fence across the border.

“I would like to avoid the situation where we have to put any kind of physical barrier on the border, but I have always requested from our government a tight control of the border… I don’t know about the fence, I don’t exclude it as a possibility in the future,” said Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

U.N. refugee agencies have reported another concern: they are running out of supplies. As colder weather approaches, doctors are worried that they will not have the supplies to treat children and weaker adults who suffer from hypothermia. Aid agencies and charities continue to donate to the cause, but have been struggling to keep up with the large number of refugees fleeing war in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

“We don’t have a chance to treat, we don’t have the actual medicine to be given out to them, we don’t have any more rain coats,” Dr. Ramiz Momeni, London-based founder of the Humanitas Charity, told Sky News.

“There is a lack of food, lack of blankets, we are missing everything,” UN Refugee Agency spokeswoman Melita Sunjic also told the media outlet.

Since the crisis began, more than 615,000 refugees have arrived in Europe via sea so far this year. In 2014 there were 626,000 asylum applications according to Eurostat figures. Germany alone is expected to see up to 800,000 asylum seekers and refugees this year.

“Coronal Hole” Found in Sun; Geomagnetic Storm Watch Issued for Later This Week

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

NASA has discovered a colossal dark hole – “the size of 50 earths” – on the sun’s surface, and it has been sending solar wind our way.

The Huffington Post reports that the new image of the sun, revealing the hole, was taken on October 10th by NASA’s orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory. The hole is located on the outmost layer of the sun, called the corona. Coronal holes have a lower density of solar material and weakened magnetic field lines, resulting in faster solar winds, of up to 500 miles per second, to escape.

When solar winds hit Earth, it disturbs our planet’s magnetosphere and causes geomagnetic storms. The geomagnetic storms create auroras in the sky like the Northern Lights, but they can also disrupt radio communications systems and satellites.

A geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for Wednesday through Friday, however, coronal holes can last up to months and more geomagnetic storms could be on the way.

California Experiencing Flash Floods and Mudslides, Trapping Motorists

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

As flash floods and large hail hit areas north of Los Angeles, California emergency crews scrambled to rescue motorists that were trapped on roadways.

As some motorists took refuge on top of their cars, excavator trucks were brought to the scenes to scoop and haul mud. Approximately 15 cars were wedged in debris and 5 feet of mud and needed to be towed. Over 100 people were stranded on Interstate 5 and were still waiting for help Friday morning. So far, there have been no reports of deaths or injuries. Firefighters are still searching the roadways and abandoned cars for people who may be stuck and needing help getting to a safe area.

Two major highways and several secondary roads have been closed due to the impassable mud and debris, leaving some residents trapped inside their homes.

Between 4-6 inches of rain fell in parts of Kern and Los Angeles counties, causing the floods that have led to nearly a half dozen of water rescues.

Robert Rocha, a 37-year-old resident, was driving home from work when the storm hit.

“It was getting pretty hairy out there,” he said. “I’ve never seen it rain that hard in such a short period of time, the hail and wind — it was coming down hard,” he said. “The debris was just intense — chunks of wood and rock flowing everywhere.”

ISIS Trying to Hack American Power Grid

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

On Wednesday American energy firms held a meeting about national security concerns where U.S. law officials announced that ISIS has been trying to hack the power grid.

“ISIL is beginning to perpetrate cyber attacks,” Caitlin Durkovich, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security, told company executives.

Investigators didn’t reveal any details or provide any evidence to support the claims, but they did say that all attempts have been unsuccessful. They added that the terrorists lacked the right hacking technology to invade the computer systems and shut off or blow up the machines.

“Strong intent. Thankfully, low capability,” said John Riggi, a section chief at the FBI’s cyber division. “But the concern is that they’ll buy that capability.”

With hacking software available on the black markets, the FBI is now worried that ISIS and other terrorist organizations could get their hands on the right hacking software to attack power companies and grids. This would disrupt power to several U.S. homes and businesses. And the threat isn’t just ISIS; the FBI is also worried about domestic terrorists and hate groups getting their hands on the hacking technology.

U.S. officials also stated that the greatest threat to our power grid is other countries. Last year, they found malware on industrial control systems at energy companies that were traced back to the Russian government.

However, an organization taking down the entire nationwide grid – or even a section of the grid – is extremely unlikely as each grid isn’t uniform and connected like most people believe. The random patterns of the grid keep the machines and software from communicating and coordinating. It would take a large and expensive team of highly trained technical specialists to understand the layout and then hack it. Even if the team was successful, in a worst case scenario they would take out power for a small section of a major city. An entirely different cyberattack would be needed to shut down a different grid at a different plant.

The last infamous attack on a power grid was in 2013 when a sniper shot at a California energy grid substation. The attack was only for 19 minutes, but caused $15 million in damage. The Department of Homeland Security recently released a report that the attacker was likely an inside job. However, no other details were given.

Palestinian Rioters Set Fire to Joseph’s Tomb

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

After a month or rising tensions and violence, Palestinian rioters set fire to Joseph’s Tomb, a Jewish holy site in the West Bank city of Nablus that is believed to contain the remains of the Biblical patriarch.

The arson came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Palestinian leaders to stop the attacks that have been plaguing the nation for weeks. Rioters attacked Joseph’s tomb with petrol bombs.

“The burning and desecration of Joseph’s Tomb last night is a blatant violation and contradiction of the basic value of freedom of worship. The IDF will take all measures to bring the perpetrators of this despicable act to justice, restore the site to its previous condition and ensure that the freedom of worship returns to Joseph’s Tomb,” IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement Friday morning.

Palestinian Authority security forces arrived on the scene, dispersing the crowd and dousing the fire. Once the confrontation was over, Israel Defense Forces were deployed to the area according to Channel 2 television. There were no reports of any injuries.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli leaders quickly condemned the attacks. Israeli leaders compared it to the actions of ISIS who have destroyed various holy sites throughout the Middle East. Abbas stated that the holy site would be repaired and called for an investigation.

In a separate incident on Friday, a Palestinian man disguised himself as a journalist and attacked an Israeli soldier. The soldier suffered minor wounds; the attacker was shot on site.