CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM RAY
A free service of Jesus Christ is Lord Ministries
News selected and edited by Ray Mossholder
Sunday, January 12, 2014
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NO END TO POLLUTION
Three hundred thousand people in West Virginia remain without clean tap water for a fourth day today following a chemical spill from Charleston into the Elk River. West Virginia American Water President Jeff McIntyre said yesterday at a news conference not to drink the water, bathe, wash dishes or clothes. But toilets can be flushed.
Hundreds of residents are calling the West Virginia Poison Center to report concerns or symptoms related to the spill, including nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, rashes and reddened skin, state health officials told Reuters.
The company has already been cited for causing air pollution stemming from the odor first reported Thursday when the leak began. Officials have no idea when it might be safe again.
INNOCENT IRAQIS DYING IN CROSSFIRE
At least 380 civilians died and at least twice that many were wounded over the past five days in the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, where government forces are fighting extremists linked to al-Qaeda, medical officials said Saturday. The Medical Center of the western province of Anbar, operated by the Iraqi Health Ministry, said in a communique that all the victims were civilians and included women and children.
The victims died or were wounded in gunfire and bombings by Iraqi forces, which launched an operation to drive out suspected members of the radical Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in those cities of Anbar Province.
That province has been the scene in recent weeks of clashes between government forces, armed tribal clans and members of the Islamic State.
Sources said that many inhabitants were forced to bury family members in public parks because of the danger of moving about in those cities.
They also said that a significant number of armed men from the tribes, along with civilians, were killed by “friendly fire” of troops shooting at groups they confused with al-Qaeda.
EFE
“SATAN” WANTS PEACE WITH IRAN
PARIS – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and top envoys from 10 other countries are raising the pressure on Syria’s main opposition group to attend peace talks that would bring it face-to-face with the Syrian government.
The two-day meeting begins Sunday in Paris, just a week before the scheduled talks in Geneva.
The Western-backed Syrian National Coalition is nearing collapse, hampered by infighting, international pressure and disagreement over whether to negotiate with Syria’s president, Bashar Assad.
The moderate rebels find themselves battling on two fronts — against al-Qaida linked militants on one side and Assad’s forces on another. But despite low expectations for the Geneva peace conference, diplomats say it is the only chance of ending fighting that has killed more than 130,000 people.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Thursday that nuclear negotiation talks with the U.S. reveal the western country’s enmity toward Iran and Islam. He also described the U.S. as “Satan.”
In a speech that was carried by IRNA, the official news agency, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “The talks between the United States and Iran will not stop our nuclear weapons program. They will simply bring an easing of international sanctions.
“We had announced previously that on certain issues, if we feel it is expedient, we would negotiate with the Satan (the United States) to deter its evil. The nuclear talks shows the enmity of America against Iran, Iranians, Islam and Muslims.
“On key issues Iran will negotiate with this Satan to deter its evil and solve problems.”
In Geneva, world powers promised Tehran some $7 billion in sanctions relief for actions that only freeze, not dismantle, central elements of the nuclear program. Rouhani insists its program is solely for peaceful energy and medical research purposes.
GATES OPEN ON PRESIDENT OBAMA
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates escalated his already-tough criticism of President Obama today on CBS News, saying the president lacked “passion” and “conviction” over his Afghanistan war strategy. Gates said, “The president didn’t believe in his own policies.”
Gates spoke publicly for the first time about claims made in his startlingly candid memoir, “Duty.” In the book, the former Pentagon chief contrasted Obama’s approach with that of former President George W. Bush, in whose administration he also served.
“It’s one thing to tell the troops that you support them. It’s another to work at making them believe that you believe as president that their sacrifice is worth it, that the cause is just, that what they are doing is important for the country, and that they must succeed,” Gates told CBS News. “President Bush did that with the troops when I was secretary. I did not see President Obama do that. As I write in the book, it was this absence of passion, this absence of a conviction of the importance of success that disturbed me.”
The White House has defended the president and Vice President Biden, who was also criticized in the book, ever since excerpts from the memoir were published this past week. The White House notes that Gates spoke in favor of the strategy Obama was pursuing.
But Gates, in his book and in the interview on Sunday, complained about interference in military affairs by White House staffers. He said Sunday that “I actually think it’s gotten worse.”
Gates has faced some criticism for the book, and for speaking out against the administration he served in a short time ago. But he defended his claims on Sunday, saying he didn’t think it made sense to wait until 2017, for instance, to discuss these issues. He said he does not regret anything he’s written, calling it an “honest” account.
CHRIS CHRISTIE CRISIS JUST GETTING STARTED
Democrat Vincent Prieto, Speaker-Elect of the New Jersey State Assembly, told the New York Daily News Saturday that he plans to summon legislators to Trenton Thursday to vote on extending the state’s subpoena power.
The current window for the assembly to subpoena documents and testimony related to the closures expires Tuesday, the same day that Christie is scheduled to give New Jersey’s State of the State address.
“Many questions remain unanswered about this threat to public safety and abuse of power,” Prieto told the Daily News. “The documents released this week … clearly show the need for a continued thorough investigation by the New Jersey General Assembly.”
Meanwhile, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the chair of its Transportation Committee, raised the possibility of impeaching Christie if more information tying him to the closures is revealed. “It’s hard to really accept the governor’s statement that he knew nothing until the other morning,” Wisnieswki told NBC News.
“These people travel with him, these people discuss things with him every single day,” Wisniewski said. “He knew there was an investigation. He knew people were looking at it, and his senior staff was involved. He expects us to believe he knew nothing? I just find that implausible. These people travel with him, these people discuss things with him every single day,” Wisniewski said. “He knew there was an investigation. He knew people were looking at it, and his senior staff was involved. He expects us to believe he knew nothing? I just find that implausible.”
Christie has not commented on the scandal since this past Thursday.
VIRGINIA’S INAUGURAL CROWD ALL WET
RICHMOND, Va. – Terry McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and rainmaker for Bill and Hillary Clinton, was sworn in as Virginia’s 72nd governor yesterday on a mild and rainy Saturday.
In an inaugural address on the south portico of the state Capitol designed by Thomas Jefferson, McAuliffe emphasized bipartisanship as he put several years of campaigning behind him to begin the more challenging task of leading a politically divided government. Republicans have firm control of the House of Delegates, while the outcome of two special elections will determine control of the Senate.
The Clintons huddled under a black umbrella until the rain stopped and the sun briefly peeked out during the new governor’s speech. The crowd McAuliffe spoke to was drenched.
The state will face “serious economic headwinds over the next four years. Skeptics are predicting partisan gridlock. Virginia, together, we will prove them wrong again,” he said.
The crowd cheered as the Clintons entered and made their way to their second-row seats. The former president, shaking hands as he descended the stairs, acknowledged the crowd with a brief wave but otherwise remained in the background.
During his 16-minute speech, McCaulife’s remarks promoting gay rights and abortion rights drew some of the loudest cheers. He said his administration would work to ensure equal opportunity for all “no matter whom you love,” and to protect women’s rights to make their own health care decisions. Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters as she exited through the Capitol, “I was very moved by it.”
He also commended legislators for reaching a bipartisan compromise on ethics reform prompted by the ongoing state and federal investigations into thousands of dollars in gifts and loans outgoing Republican Governor Bob McDonnell and his family received from Jonnie Williams, the former CEO of dietary supplement maker Star Scientific Inc.
As one of his first orders of business, McAuliffe signed an executive order setting a $100 gift limit on executive branch members and their families, including himself and wife Dorothy and their five children. The order also creates an Executive Branch Ethics Commission to ensure compliance.
Winning an office once held by Jefferson and Patrick Henry was a years-long effort by McAuliffe, who unsuccessfully sought his party’s nomination in 2009. He spent the next four years touring Virginia and campaigning, then won his first elective office by narrowly defeating Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
The Syracuse, N.Y., native’s ticket mates also won, giving Democrats their first sweep of Virginia’s top three statewide offices in 24 years. Mark Herring was sworn in as attorney general and Ralph Northam as lieutenant governor.
THE STATE DEPARTMENT AT LAST RELEASES NAMES NAMES ON BENGHAZI
The State Department on Friday for the first time blamed specific groups and militants for the 2012 Benghazi attack, designating them as terrorists — a move that further undermines initial claims the attack was spontaneous.
The department announced that it was labeling Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi and Ansar al-Sharia in Darnah as terror organizations and fingered them concerning their role in the Benghazi attack. It applied the same label to Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, over a separate attack on Americans in Tunis.
The State Department also labeled as terrorists Sufian bin Qumu, head of the Darnah branch and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and Ahmed Abu Khattalah, head of the Benghazi branch.
Fox News previously reported that the two were suspected of playing a role in the attack. And despite State Department claims that Al Qaeda leadership was not involved and a recent news report echoing that assessment, Fox News has learned that bin Qumu has historic ties to the Al Qaeda network including training at one point at “Usama bin Laden’s Torkham camp.”
The State Department also said, “Ansar al-Shari’a in Benghazi and Ansar al-Shari’a in Darnah have been involved in terrorist attacks against civilian targets, frequent assassinations, and attempted assassinations of security officials and political actors in eastern Libya including the September 11, 2012, attack against the U.S. Annex in Benghazi. Members of both organizations continue to pose a threat to U.S. Interests.”
The department’s new terror designation bars anyone from providing or trying to provide “material support or resources” to those organizations and individuals, and freezes any assets they have in the U.S. The State Department announced that it has also updated its Rewards for Justice website to include a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone involved in the Benghazi attack.
Four Americans died in the 2012 attack, and not one person has yet been brought to justice in connection with the killings.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge and Greg Palkot contributed to this report.
DICTATOR’S FAMILY “SOMEHOW” DISAPPEARING
Another member of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s inner circle is believed to have died. The South Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing a government source, reported Monday that Kim Kyong-hui — the aunt of dictator Kim Jong-un, had either committed suicide or died of a heart attack after being out the public eye for some time.
Kim Kyong-hui, 68, is the aunt of the current ruler of North Korea and the sister of his father and predecessor Kim Jong-il. She is also the widow of the recently executed Jang Song-taek, who was executed last month after being dismissed from his powerful position in North Korea’s ruling class.
AMERICAN HERO DIES AT 17
A Massachusetts teen credited with inspiring legions through his brave fight against an extremely rare illness died Friday – one day before he was to serve as honorary captain for the New England Patriots’ at a playoff game.
MyFoxBoston reports Sam Berns, 17, died from complications related to Progeria syndrome, a genetic disorder that debilitates approximately 1-in-8 million children with stunted growth, rapidly advanced, or premature, aging, and the deterioration of one’s organs uncharacteristically early in life.
“I loved Sam Berns and am richer for having known him,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft wrote in a statement following Berns’ death on Friday night.
“He was a special young man whose inspirational story and positive outlook on life touched my heart. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend time with him and to get to know his incredible family.”
Berns, a Foxboro High School junior, was the subject of a 2013 HBO documentary about his family’s dogged search for a cure, called “Life According to Sam.”
“You’re a different person after you meet Sam for the first time,” John Seng, a Progeria Research Foundation board member told the Boston Herald. “We go through every day worrying about traffic jams and why the Internet is so slow, yet, here is Sam Berns, carrying on with his life. He didn’t want people to feel sorry for him, he said he was happy and he meant it.”
Berns’ parents, Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns — both doctors — founded the organization in 1999, a year after their son was diagnosed with the illness, according to the Progeria Research Foundation’s website.
Kraft, just hours before the Patriots would beat the Indianapolis Colts 43-22 in the team’s AFC Divisional Playoff Game, said, “I had extended an invitation for Sam to be the Patriots’ honorary captain for tonight’s playoff game. I was looking forward to spending more time with Sam and his family.
“News of his passing came as a complete surprise. It is another reminder that we can’t take anything for granted. Be sure to give your loved ones hugs and kisses and tell them how much you love them.”
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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sin almost always starts out as fun until the steel trap
snaps shut.
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