ISRAEL
Israeli Parliament Retroactively Legalizes Thousands of West Bank Settlements
The law passed 60-52 in a late-night vote Monday. The law is expected to be challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court and is likely to face legal hurdles. The law retroactively legalizes several thousand homes built illegally on private Palestinian land. The original landowners would be compensated either with money or alternative land, even if they do not agree to give up their property.
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…Angers Palestinians, two-state advocates
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Muslim world slams ‘provocative,’ ‘unacceptable’ outpost law
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LIKUD MINISTER: ‘TIME TO REMAKE ISRAEL AS A REAL DEMOCRACY’
“There is no constitution in Israel and because of that trying to say something is unconstitutional is something ridiculous,” Levin said on the sidelines of a tourism convention in Tel Aviv adding, “I think it is about time to understand that in Israel there is democracy and in democracy the parliament votes over bills that become law and not the High Court or other bodies or entities.” Israelis will have to make the choice: Be Hebrews (a Jewish nation) or be Edomites (a Democratic nation).
IRAN: ‘ONLY SEVEN MINUTES NEEDED FOR THE IRANIAN MISSILE TO HIT TEL AVIV’
Trump said on Twitter that Iran was “playing with fire.” And, in a statement, US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said Iran’s “belligerent and lawless” behavior across the Middle East had only increased since it agreed to a deal with six foreign nations meant to govern its nuclear program for more than a decade.
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Israel’s inaction in Syria may open Golan to Iran
Half-Shekel Tithe for Building Temple Reinstated by Sanhedrin After 2,000 Years
After a 2,000 year moratorium, it is now possible for a Jew anywhere in the world to perform the mitzvah (commandment) of paying the half-shekel, a Biblically-mandated tax incumbent on every Jew to finance the day-to-day operations of the Temple.
WARS & RUMORS THEREOF
Russia, Turkey, Iran discuss Syria ceasefire in Astana
Representatives from Russia, Turkey and Iran have kicked off a technical meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to discuss details of the implementation of the Syrian ceasefire agreement. The meeting comes two weeks after the three countries reached an agreement in Astana to create a trilateral mechanism aimed at monitoring breaches of a fragile truce established in late December and paving the way towards UN-led peace talks in February. Representatives of Jordan are also expected to take part in Monday’s meeting.
ISIS reportedly keeps files on how many sex slaves its fighters have
Documents obtained by the Washington Post show the different informational categories the terror group keeps on its fighters. An illustration from the newspaper showed that one Frenchman who joined ISIS in 2015 had a B+ blood type and didn’t have any slave girls or children from slave goals. The file also shows that the man didn’t have any children or wives in so-called “infidel countries.”
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ISIS Drops Mortar Bombs From Drones for ‘Airstrikes’ on Iraqi Forces
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‘The New York Times’ Uncovers How ISIS Recruits From Afar
US tanks, infantry fighting vehicles arrive in Estonia amid NATO buildup on Russian borders
US & GLOBAL ECONOMY
Debt Apocalypse Beckons As U.S. Consumer Bankruptcies Do Something They Haven’t Done In Almost 7 Years
When debt grows much faster than GDP for an extended period of time, it is inevitable that a good portion of that debt will start to go bad at some point. We witnessed a perfect example of this in 2008, and now it is starting to happen again. Commercial bankruptcies have been rising on a year-over-year basis since late 2015, and this is something that I have written about previously, but now consumer bankruptcies are also increasing. In fact, we have just witnessed U.S. consumer bankruptcies do something that they haven’t done in nearly 7 years.
WHITE HOUSE
Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile
Details of Iran nuclear deal still secret as US-Tehran relations unravel
President Trump could come under new pressure to lift the curtain on secret elements of the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, especially as the Islamic Republic continues its war of words with his administration. “Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them!” Trump tweeted last week, quickly adding: “Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion.”
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Iran and China respond to Trump with military drills
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KHAMENEI TO TRUMP: NO ENEMY CAN PARALYZE IRAN
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Trump’s new sanctions targeted Iran. So why is China angry about them?
Sanctions weren’t targeted at Iran’s government, but rather specifically designed to strike people and organizations that either aid its ballistic missiles program or help Tehran provide support to militant proxy forces in the region — and China got caught in the crosshairs. Uh-oh! More reason for China to be mad at the United States and to make Americans pay for the policies implemented by President Donald Trump.
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Donald Trump and China on dangerous collision course, say experts
Vetting of Refugees Slows U.S.-Australia Accord
A refugee resettlement deal between Australia and the U.S. that was imperiled by President Donald Trump’s rise to power is continuing apace but will take months to implement due to stringent vetting procedures, a senior Australian official said on Tuesday. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton also said Australia is still negotiating with other countries to take some refugees, a task given greater urgency since Mr. Trump signaled disapproval of the deal made by his predecessor.
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US justice department defends ‘lawful’ Trump travel ban
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Worried about Trump, asylum seekers walk cold road to Canada
ISLAM & NEW WORLD ORDER
Gay Marriage Is Fueling Research On Lab-Grown GMO Babies
Researchers from Harvard and Brown universities warn that in the future scientists may be able to create embryos from skin cells. “The technique could allow women whose fertility has been wiped out by cancer drugs or radiotherapy to have their own children,” but as the title of their report highlighted, it could also cut mothers out of the reproductive process, allowing gay men to “have babies with each other, and a man could even fertilize his own cells to produce offspring containing a mixture of genes inherited from him and his parents.”