Endtime Magazine Jan-Feb 2013 | Page 29

models to study the environment and steal virtual objects such as financial documents. MIDDLE EAST WATCH UN Approves Palestinian Upgrade Status The United Nations General Assembly has endorsed an upgraded UN status for the Palestinian Authority, despite opposition from the United States and Israel. The resolution elevates their status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state,” the same category as the Vatican. Palestinians are hopeful the upgrade will provide new leverage in their dealings with Israel. The vote was 138 delegates in favor of the measure, 9 against and 41 abstentions. Ehud Barak to Step Down Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that he will retire from politics after the next election. Barak, a former prime minister of Israel, enjoyed a surge in popularity following Operation Pillar of Defense, but opinion polls show that his Independence Party is unlikely to win more than three seats in Israel’s upcoming parliamentary elections. He has pledged to serve the country as an advisor and private citizen next year. Israel Forced to Change Tactics Israeli military experts have concluded that a conventional strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities may fail. Western defense experts discovered that Iran’s Fordow nuclear site is hidden deeper underground than previously thought and would be safe from conventional air strikes. Defense experts claim Israel has two options, either deploy special forces on the ground, or use ballistic missiles with tactical nuclear warheads. Iran: We’re Key to Middle East Peace Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, the man who used to run Iran’s nuclear program prior to becoming foreign minister, says there is too much Iranophobia in too many countries. Salehi claims that Iran is a threat to “nobody” and that Iran is part of the solution to all of the region’s crises. He claims that Israel is the true main threat to future regional peace and stability. WORLD GOVERNMENT Global Gun Ban Flip-Flop The First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted 157-0 (with 18 abstentions) in favor of Resolution L.11 which will finalize the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) early in 2013. Critics say the treaty takes direct aim at Second Amendment freedoms here in the United States. The US had been the only obstacle preventing the global arms control regulations from being imposed on the world. But the day after President Obama was reelected he placed a late night call to the US United Nations delegation ordering them to vote in favor of the passage of L.11. A new round of negotiations on the treaty has now been scheduled for March 18-28 at the UN headquarters in New York City. Global Warming Stopped 16 Years Ago According to newly released data, the world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago. From the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures. This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose in 1980 to 1996. Some climate scientists are dismissing the significance of the plateau while others contend that it is clear that the computer models used to predict future warming were ‘deeply flawed’. US Government’s Data on Americans Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Angwin, who’s been covering the surveillance state in the US, says the US surveillance regime has more data on the average American than the Stasi ever did on East Germans. Much of that data seems to be collected illegally with little oversight and no security benefit. Such data is wide open to abuse, which inevitably happens. WORLD RELIGION Interfaith Dialogue: Key to World Peace According to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, dialogue between religions is as necessary as ever in light of ɕ