Britain's largest diary eight times longer than War and Peace - Telegraph

 
 An interesting read:

Britain's largest diary eight times longer than War and Peace - Telegraph

Cognitive computing: IBM unveils software for its brain-like SyNAPSE chips Trunews:

Cognitive computing: IBM unveils software for its brain-like SyNAPSE chips Trunews:

Glenn Beck Explains the ‘Real Reason Why You Should Care About the Middle East’ | TheBlaze.com

One of the hottest topics in the news day-in and day-out, oftentimes, is the Middle East. On his weekday television program Wednesday, Glenn Beck addressed the fundamental question: why should you care?

Beck began by explaining why he cares, saying his approach radically changed after 9/11, when he vowed to do all he could to better understand the region and the world at large.

One of Beck’s main motivations, which he said you may or may not agree with, is the Bible, and how we are “wound in so deeply to Israel.”

“If you disagree with the Bible, that’s fine, whatever, but you have to understand the role [it] played in history, and why this matters,” Beck said.

“We are a nation that is based on Judeo-Christian values and the Bible, period…But there’s no way to deny that the majority of our laws come directly from the scriptures…and the Bible comes from Judah,” Beck continued.  “The people of Jerusalem – we owe our existence in many ways.  We owe our laws to them…We owe the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we owe our support and our allegiance.  Not blind allegiance – and I’m not talking about putting troops down on the ground.  We have to be not only on their side, but God’s side.”

Click to watch:

Glenn Beck Explains the ‘Real Reason Why You Should Care About the Middle East’ | TheBlaze.com

Millennials and Mainlines

To counter the exodus of young people from American churches, Evans says it’s time to own up to our shortcomings and give millennials what they really want—not a change in style but a change in substance. The answer to attracting millennials, she writes, is NOT “hipper worship bands” or handing out “lattés,” but actually helping them find Jesus.
Amen. I couldn’t agree more.

Don't stop here, read entire article:

Millennials and Mainlines

Sunni-Shi’ite battles spread like wildfire | JPost | Israel News

IRAQI SUNNIS wave national flags, Dec. 31, 2012 Photo: Ali al-Mashhadani/Reuters

 

Two of Iraq’s most prominent Shi’ite leaders, Moqtada al-Sadr and Ammar al- Hakim, called on Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki to resign because of his lack of action in the midst of non-stop bombings and security lapses, according to a report on Wednesday in the London based daily Asharq Al-Awsat.
A week ago, 500 al-Qaida-affiliated prisoners escaped from Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons. Iraq is in the headlines almost every day as another bombing or attack takes a heavy death toll in the sectarian war between the ruling – and majority – Shi’ites and the Sunnis. The security situation has continued to deteriorate, especially since US forces completed its withdrawal from Iraq at the end of 2011. The US eventually was able to keep a lid on the violence by drastically increasing its military presence and by paying off various tribes.

The war raging next door in Syria has also inflamed sectarian tensions in Iraq as the Sunni rebels fight the Iranian allied regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The rebels are resentful of the fact that the Shi’ite regime in Iraq is facilitating Iran’s involvement in the Syrian war.

Sunni-Shi’ite battles spread like wildfire | JPost | Israel News

A high divorce rate means it’s time to try ‘wedleases’ - The Washington Post

We all know that far too many marriages end in divorce, yet this institution does not adapt. Indeed, most Americans today want to expand conventional marriage to include same-sex couples.

So why is there no effort to improve the legal structure of marriage, when it shows itself to be deficient?


A high divorce rate means it’s time to try ‘wedleases’ - The Washington Post

Palestine: Kerry Commits Harakiri

US Secretary of State John Kerry has fallen on his sword in attempting to seek a renewal of negotiations designed to culminate in the creation of a new Arab State between Jordan and Israel for the first time ever in recorded history.

He has apparently learned nothing from the failed attempts of his predecessors - James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Warren Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

Each was confident in his or her ability to persuade and cajole Israel and the PLO to do a deal - but all failed for one simple reason - both Israel and the PLO hold positions from which neither is prepared to resile.

Israel has demanded the PLO recognise Israel as the Jewish State and that any new Arab state - created as a result of negotiations - be demilitarised.

These demands are non-negotiable - since the PLO Charter - first promulgated in 1964 - does not accept the right of the Jewish people to have their own state existing alongside 22 Arab Islamic States and calls for armed struggle to eliminate the Jewish State.


Palestine: Kerry Commits Harakiri - Op-Eds - Israel National News

What happened on the Ninth of Av?

 

The 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe it's clearly a day specially cursed by G‑d.

What happened on the Ninth of Av? - A Historical Overview - Tisha B'Av and the 3 Weeks

Some Historical Notes on the East Gate

 
After reading a comment that the Eastern Gate was built approximately a thousand years before 691AD when the Dome of the Rock was built, I did a little research.  I had always been under the assumption that the current wall around the old city was ALL constructed by Suleiman the Magnificient.  Here is what I found and the link to the article which included this quote:

" The East Gate or Golden Gate is the oldest of all the city’s gates. It is the only visible entrance to the city of Jerusalem from the east. It is the only gate of the Old City not rebuilt by Suleiman. This is evidenced by the monolithic stones in the wall which are just above the ground. These stones date to the 6th century B.C. from the time of Nehemiah."

Some Historical Notes on the East Gate

Unmasking the embassy threat

There is one thing certain about the publicized threat to our embassies; it is not what it is presented to be. To accept the official explanation of a nebulous threat from al Qaeda as the reason for closing our embassies across the Middle East and North Africa is being dangerously naive and simplistic.

 This is much more serious than what we are being told, but not for the reasons we are being given. We are seeing the consequences of a long running “Cold War” on two major fronts of political conflict that could escalate into military engagement with proxy nations of world super powers. The world, and life as we know it, could change in an instant should we awaken one morning to the news of bombs flying across the Middle East. That is a very real possibility, as we are now in a heightened proxy war environment. We are standing in a thick forest of dry tinder, and the smallest of sparks could ignite a conflagration the likes of which we have never before seen.

Read more:
Unmasking the embassy threat

Obama’s Limits to Growth - Club of Rome & Agenda 21

 In 1972 the Club of Rome put out a blueprint for international action called “Limits to Growth , a study based on computer models simulating unrestrained economic and population growth verses finite planetary resources. Working from a static vision of wealth Limits predicted doom as the world’s population continued to rise and the planet’s resources continued to dwindle. Limits was a landmark document, spawning the “sustainability” movement worldwide.

Read on:

Obama’s Limits to Growth