Israel Election

Netanyahu Warns War With Gaza Could Break Out In Next Few Days

September 13, 2019 , 1:12 pm

This past Tuesday, Prime Minister Netanyahu due to Red Alert warning sirens, he was rushed offstage during a campaign event in Ashdod. 2 days later he said “I do not wage war unless it is a last resort and I don’t risk the lives of our soldiers and citizens just to get applause,” “We will probably have no choice but to set out on a big campaign, a war against the terror forces in Gaza.”

Israel election this Tuesday 9-17, 3rd temple party

Polls released by mainstream media, Haaretz, Channel 13, and Ynet, news sites all place the pro-3rd Temple party having at least four seats. Four seats is the minimum amount needed for a political party to enter the 22nd Knesset. Many were skeptical about their chances of passing the minimum threshold needed to sit in the Knesset (Parliament), just about every mainstream poll is showing them reaching the minimum four seats needed.

Israeli State Prosecutor Visiting the Temple mount and entered the Dome of the Rock

On Monday 9-9, the State Attorney of Israel along with several other members of the Israeli justice department, marking the first time a Jewish official had entered the Dome of the Rock since Ariel Sharon’s visit in 2000.

Saudi Arabia oil facilities ablaze after drone strikes

In Saudi Arabia, Drone attacks have set alight two major oil facilities run by the state-owned company Aramco, state media say. A huge blaze at site of Aramco's largest oil processing plant, and a second drone attack started fires in the oilfield. the country's second largest oilfield.

A spokesman for the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen said it had deployed 10 drones in the attacks.The military spokesman, said further attacks could be expected in the future.

He said "Saturday's attack was one of the biggest operations the Houthi forces had undertaken inside Saudi Arabia." The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia is said to be shutting down around half of its oil output.

In 2006, 13 years ago, Saudi security forces foiled an attempt by al-Qaeda to attack

the oil facility with suicide bombers.

An attack method open to all

This latest attack underlines the strategic threat posed by the Houthis to Saudi Arabia's oil installations. The growing sophistication of the drone operations questions if the Houthis simply weaponized commercial civilian drones or have they had significant assistance

from Iran?

The Saudi Air Force has been pummeling targets in Yemen for years. Now the Houthis have a capable, if much more limited, ability to strike back. It shows that the era of armed drone operations being restricted to a handful of major nations is now over.

Drone technology is available to all; from the US to China, Israel and Iran... and

from the Houthis to Hezbolllah.

Markets await news from key facilities

Aramco ranks as the world's largest oil business and these facilities are significant. The Khurais oilfield produces about 1% of the world's oil and Abqaiq is the company's largest facility - with the capacity to process 7% of the global supply. Even a brief or partial disruption could affect the company, and the oil supply. But whether this will have an impact on the oil price. However, there are concerns that escalating tensions in the region could pose a broader risk, potentially threatening the fifth of the world's oil supply that goes

through the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Who are the Houthis?

The Iran-aligned Houthi rebel movement has been fighting the Yemeni government and a Saudi-led coalition.

Yemen has been at war since 2015, when President was forced to flee the capital by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia backs President Hadi, and has led a coalition of regional countries against the rebels.

The coalition launches air strikes almost every day, while the Houthis often fire missiles into Saudi Arabia. The Houthi group's military spokesman, said operations against Saudi targets would "only grow wider and will be more painful than before, so long as their aggression

and blockade continues". There have been other sources of tension in the region, often stemming from the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia and the US both blamed Iran for attacks in the Gulf on two oil tankers in June and July. Tension worsened when in June, Iran shot down a US surveillance drone over the

Strait of Hormuz, leading a month later to the Pentagon announcing the deployment of US troops to Saudi Arabia.

IDMC: 7 million people displaced due to natural disasters in the first half of 2019

Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) Geneva, Switzerland establishment in 1998 as part of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), in a report published on September 12, 2019.

show that over 7 million people have been displaced from their residences due to natural disasters during the first 6 months of 2019.

There were 10.8 million new displacements worldwide in the first half of 2019, 7 million triggered by disasters – the highest mid-year figure IDMC has ever recorded - and 3.8 million by conflict and violence,

Extreme weather events, particularly storms and floods, were responsible for most of the disaster displacement. Cyclones triggered more than 4 million displacements and devastating floods in Iran affected 90% of the country.

The numbers do not yet include records from the devastation of Hurricane

Dorian, which destroyed 90% of the Islands in the Bahamas.

India has the highest level of displacement associated with disasters in South Asia. It is also one of the countries with the highest level of disaster displacement, globally. Between 2008 and 2018 about 3.6 million people were displaced on a yearly basis, the majority triggered by flooding due to monsoon rains. India is also prone to other sudden-onset and slow-onset hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, storm surges and drought.

India is closely followed by Bangladesh, Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries due to its location and population density, which result in high levels of exposure and vulnerability, Tropical storms and cyclones regularly flood coastal areas and yearly monsoons affect much of the country. Thousands of displacements take place each year as a

result of these disasters.

The center said in the report "Disasters triggered a record 7 million new displacements. The fact that the vast majority were associated with storms and floods suggests that mass displacement by extreme weather events is becoming the norm."

FORBES Sep 9, 2019, 12:15pm

Why California Must Declare A State Of Emergency On Homelessness

(Bloomberg) It’s time for California Governor to use the powers granted to him by

the state’s constitution and declare a state of emergency on housing and homelessness.

The growing number of people without shelter in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, San Diego, and other cities threatens public health and safety.

Allowing large numbers of people to sleep, eat, in designated grounds is not safe.

Homeless encampments overflow with dirty needles, feces, and rats, making them

breeding grounds for diseases including typhus, tuberculosis, and hepatitis A.

The crisis is worsening. The number of homeless people in LA increased.

Homelessness increased by 43% in Alameda County, which includes Oakland, and

17% in San Francisco. In LA, deaths on the street rose.

Murders and rapes involving the homeless increased by 61% between 2017 and 2018. And 2019 data show that both deaths and homicides are continuing to rise rapidly.

In 2018, the people of California elected a new governor a mandate to take radical action to significantly increase both temporary and permanent housing. He promised 3.5 million new units by 2025, which is 580,000 units per year. And he promised to create a homelessness czar with the power of a cabinet secretary to “focus on prevention, rapid rehousing, mental health and more permanent supportive housing.”

The crisis is worsening. The number of people living outdoors has increased by 30% and violence both by and against them has risen by 37% In June, the governor let a package of housing reform measures die. In August, he announced would not appoint a homelessness czar. And now the data make clear that less housing will be built this year than in any other year over the last decade.

The crisis demands action. That starts with declaring a state of emergency. Doing so will allow the governor to waive regulations that are blocking and driving up the cost of new construction, and preventing the creation of temporary shelters.

There is no shortage of land or money. Earlier this year The governor's office identified 1,390 state-owned parcels suitable for development. Space is opening up in former malls. There is billions in state and local money. It is time to start building.

The Crisis

California’s Constitution allows the governor to declare a state of emergency for any reason. He typically does so for natural disasters. On July 6, the governor declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino after an earthquake in which nobody died or was even injured.

Homelessness is far deadlier than natural disasters. Ten times more people will die on LA’s street in 2019 (~1,000) than died in the deadly 2018 forest fires (103). Over a three year period, more people will die on the streets of LA than died in San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake.

Assaults on the homeless are rising.

Of the 12 homeless individuals suspected of violent crime in Los Angeles, CBS found that none had criminal pasts. “A squabble over space for a tent can escalate into assault with a deadly weapon,” said the head of homeless outreach for the LA police.

In Los Angeles and San Francisco, a growing number of residents are afraid to leave their homes and simply walk past homeless encampments. “The longer we leave people on the streets the more danger all of us are in,” says Rev. Andy Bales, who runs Union Rescue Mission.

Homelessness has become a human rights crisis.

The problem is that, so long as there is no temporary or permanent shelter available

to homeless people, it is unethical and, in many circumstances, illegal to prevent

people from sleeping outdoors, even when doing so poses a threat to themselves and to others.