“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122: 6
________________________________________
#####
Bernard Condon—NYC premiere of Rogen film canceled as threats fly:
The blow that the hacking attack has dealt Sony is spreading beyond the entertainment corporation itself to theater chains and movie goers alike. And the financial toll is adding up too.
Threats of violence against movie theaters. The New York premiere of “The Interview” canceled. Leaks of thousands more private emails. Lawsuits by former employees that could cost tens of millions in damages.
The fallout from the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack that began four weeks ago exploded Tuesday after the shadowy group calling themselves Guardians of Peace escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The Department of Homeland Security said there was “no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters,” but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group, dubbed GOP. The warning did prompt law enforcement in New York and Los Angeles to address measures to ramp up security.
Those security fears spurred Sony to allow theater chains to cancel showings of the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy “The Interview,” that has been a focus of the hackers’ mission to bring down Sony.
A spokesperson for Landmark Sunshine cinemas said the New York premiere of “The Interview,” scheduled for Thursday night, has been canceled. Carmike Cinemas, which operates 247 theaters across the country, was the first to cancel its planned showings of the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
[…]
To continue reading, click here.
SnyderTalk Comment: Are we ready for war? No.
Problem is the war has already started and people don’t know it.
North Korea is a small part of our problem. What is going to happen when Iran has a nuclear bomb, and Islamist terrorists strengthen their grip on Europe?
I know one thing that will happen. People will finally begin to understand how much Obama’s presidency has cost us.
Obama’s incompetence is breathtaking. His Hollywood “friends” know it and they mock him in private emails. We know that because some of the emails from Sony Pictures were stolen by hackers and published:
Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal and major movie producer Scott Rudin mocked President Obama’s race in the latest email exchange leaked by hackers.
“What should I ask the president at this stupid Jeffrey breakfast?” Ms. Pascal asked Mr. Rudin, referring to a breakfast hosted by DreamWorks Animation head and major Democratic donor Jeffrey Katzenberg, Buzzfeed reported.
Mr. Rudin, known for producing blockbuster hits like “Moneyball” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” responded, “Would he like to finance some movies[?]”
“I doubt it. Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?” Ms. Pascal, a major Democratic donor, asked.
“12 YEARS,” Mr. Rudin responded, referring to the 2013 Academy Award-winner “12 Years a Slave.”
“Or the butler. Or think like a man? [sic]” Ms. Pascal replied, assuming the president’s favorite movies are ones starring black actors.
“Ride-along. I bet he likes Kevin Hart,” Mr. Rudin joked.
Sony has yet to comment on the explosive emails, the latest embarrassment for the studio since computer hackers, calling the “Guardians of Peace” took credit for breaching its firewall.
Those emails were written by Hollywood hotshot, liberal left-wing political donors. They get it, but they continue to throw money at Obama anyway.
I wish we had access to emails that they write back and forth to each other in which they talk about the kind of “entertainment” that they produce for the masses. I’m positive that they make candid remarks about how they have to dumb things down for American moviegoers. It would be helpful for people who buy their products to hear from them about how ignorant they are.
The hackers stole lots of material. Hopefully, they will release other emails that prove my point. They have said that they have a Christmas surprise for us. Maybe that’s what they have in mind.
At this point, the only people who don’t seem to realize that Obama is a joke are his appointees who are in his administration, Democrats, and ignorant souls. I want to emphasize appointees “in his administration” because they will turn on him in a heartbeat when they leave his administration.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is a perfect example. Right now, she is the darling of the mainstream media and left-wing political donors because she is attacking Obama for being too conservative.
When Obama leaves office, we can expect a flood of books written by insiders. Some of them should be eye-openers. Under a new and unbiased Justice Department, we may even get information that Obama administration insiders don’t want us to know.
I have a hunch that some of them may be heading for prison. Will they fall on their swords to protect their boss? A few will but most won’t.
One day, some of Obama’s Hollywood “friends” may decide to produce a movie titled From the White House to the Big House. It’s a good title; it would probably be a good movie; and it could actually happen.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Ben-Dror Yemini: From Sydney to Rome, Until Islam Rules the World—During a solidarity ceremony with the Islamic State, children aged 6 to 13 proclaimed: “One Ummah without the West; until Islam rules there will be no rest.” The ceremony took place in a suburb of Sydney and was documented by Australian 7News television. The English-speaking children, guided by adult jihadists, are receiving an education similar to the education in Gaza. The goal is not to free the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The goal is to free Sydney from the chains of democracy. It turns out that there is no need for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to nurture hatred towards democracy and the West. The jihadists in Sydney are also calling for the death of President Obama.
Lawfare Project: Video: Why Can’t We Have a “Conversation” about Militant Islam?—We see art that critiques Christianity, and musicals that satirize Mormonism. Virtually every religion is open to a conversation – except Islam. Talk about Islam, particularly militant Islam, and it’s met instead with censorship, intimidation, lawsuits, and even violence. When Major Nidal Hasan went on a murdering spree at Fort Hood, the U.S. government classified his act of terrorism as workplace violence, with no mention of him screaming, “Allah is great,” as he gunned down 13 fellow soldiers. References to Islam and Jihad have been removed from the FBI’s training manuals.
Barry Shaw: Correcting the Rise of Political Anti-Semitism— Anti-Semitism is politically motivated. In Germany, the Nazis targeted the Jews in part because they represented liberal democracy and emancipation, the antithesis of everything that an authoritarian Nazi Germany stood for. It was the same back in authoritarian Catholic Spain that viewed the Jews as outside their theological control yet prospering in their society and led to the expulsions and inquisition of Spanish and later Portuguese Jews. It was as political in its motives as it was religious. We saw it under authoritarian Soviet communism where Jews were the scapegoat, as they had been under tsarist rule. We see it in the drive of intolerant Islamic dominance of which the Palestinian problem is a part. Jews are constantly the target. Almost a million Jews were driven out of Arab countries in a regional wave of anti-Semitism that still festers despite the absence of Jews. Anti-Semitism is embedded in both the Hamas and Palestinian charters.
Jerold Auerbach: Miracles and Victories— The first Hanukkah candle has been lit. What we know about this ancient holiday comes largely from The First Book of Maccabees, which recounts the rebellion led by Mattathias and his sons against the pagan rule of Antiochus. Although the narrative may seem to be a straightforward historical account that began in 167 BCE, it is anything but. In the foothills of Judea, twenty miles west of Jerusalem, residents of the village of Modiin were commanded by the king’s soldiers to make sacrifices of swine and other unclean animals. With the observance of Jewish holy days and the rituals of sacrifice and circumcision already forbidden, this further humiliation was unbearable. The village priest, Mattathias, responded in fury: “I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers.” They would not forsake Jewish law or abandon their own forms of worship. Then we read: “a Jew came forward in the sight of all” to obey the royal command. Seeing such a flagrant display of apostasy, Mattathias slew him on the altar to demonstrate his zeal for Jewish law.
Elder of Ziyon: For 20 Years, the EU Has Not Been Able to Figure Out Hamas is Terrorist— Here is the legal reasoning behind today’s decision by the European Union General Court to de-list Hamas as a terror organization: On 27th December 2001 the Council of the European Union adopted a common position and a regulation to combat terrorism. These measures require the freezing of the funds of those people and entities included on a list adopted and regularly updated by Council decisions. The same day the Council adopted its first decision establishing that list. By this decision the Council included Hamas on the list and has maintained them on that list ever since. Hamas contests the measures maintaining them on this list. In today’s judgment, the General Court finds that the contested measures are based not on acts examined and confirmed in decisions of competent authorities but on factual imputations derived from the press and the internet.
Carol Morello and William Booth: Israel, Palestinians Gird for Showdown over UN Resolution on West Bank Withdrawal—Israel and the Palestinians are girding for a showdown at the UN this week over a resolution that would recognize a Palestinian state and demand an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank in less than two years. The Palestinian leadership announced that it will submit a resolution to the Security Council on Wednesday, but it is likely doomed from the start. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat saidMonday that the measure does not yet have the support of a majority of Security Council members. Trying to avert a confrontation over the resolution, Secretary of State John Kerry summoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a three-hour meeting in Rome on Monday. While Netanyahu declined to say whether Kerry had promised that the U.S. would use its veto, he said, “I very much appreciate the secretary of state’s efforts to prevent a deterioration in the region.” Netanyahu added: “I said that the attempts of the Palestinians and of several European countries to force conditions on Israel will only lead to a deterioration in the regional situation and will endanger Israel. Therefore, we will strongly oppose this.”
Hamza Mustafa: ISIS Regaining Ground in Western Iraq—Islamic State fighters have recaptured several villages in Iraq’s Anbar Province. The government’s failure to “send sufficient weapons to the tribes fighting there who ran out of ammunition” has led to the fall of strategic cities such as Hit and Haditha, Anbar provincial council member Adhal Al-Fahdawi said. “The government’s lack of interest and support” has enabled ISIS to infiltrate the area. The new ISIS advances have cut off a key supply route between the province and Baghdad, Anbar tribal leader Sheikh Naim Al-Kaoud said.
Yoav Zitun: Palestinian Suicide Attack in Tel Aviv Thwarted—Five Palestinians from the West Bank who planned terror attacks in Tel Aviv and other cities were arrested in the past two months. Yasmin Shaaban, 31, from Jenin, was planning to impersonate a pregnant Jewish woman, wearing a suicide vest. She was to try to receive an entry permit to Israel on medical grounds in order to commit a suicide bombing. Cell members were in contact with an operative in Gaza who guided them in preparing the suicide vest. The Palestinians also confessed to planning a shooting attack, an attempt to bomb a bus full of soldiers, and kidnapping a soldier.
Yoram Hacohen: Law Enforcement and National Security vs. Global Business Interests— Three interesting processes are underway as a direct result of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the extent of the access by US security services to personal information stored and processed in the IT systems of global American companies. One of these processes is essentially technological, the second is legal, and the third is of a business nature. All three processes are designed to constrict access by American government agencies to personal information held by those companies, in their effort to preserve national security and enforce the law. These processes are likely to complicate law enforcement efforts and the fight against terrorism throughout the world, including Israel. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies must understand the various processes and interests – civilian, technological, and business – and make sure that on the one hand, these interests are not harmed unnecessarily, and on the other hand, preserve the ability to fight 21st century crime and terrorism.
Rabbi Benjamin Blech: Exodus & Hollywood: Why the new film is a disgrace— According to Hollywood insiders, this year has been unofficially designated as “The Year of the Bible.” As 2014 comes to a close, Ridley Scott’s just released blockbuster Exodus: Gods and Kings is just the latest in a series of major movies based on biblical themes to make their appearance these past twelve months. In February, 20th Century Fox made the first move with a Christian biopic based on the history Channel’s hit 2013 miniseries The Bible – a hugely successful miniseries which racked up about 100 million cumulative viewers over a six-week period, making it the third most-watched cable series of 2013. Paramount followed soon after in March with Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s reimagining of the biblical story of the flood and its survivors. April brought usHeaven Is For Real, Sony’s movie based on the best-selling book that purports to tell a young boy’s after death experience meetings with God and biblical heroes. Now, just in time to be considered for Oscars, comes Exodus: Gods and Kings, hoping to capture the huge interfaith market for whom the Bible is sacred. What explains this sudden revival of Hollywood’s interest in the Holy Book? No, Hollywood hasn’t suddenly become transformed into a religious mecca. There’s a simple reason why the Bible today is almost as “cool” as Kim Kardashian. It’s the same reason that Willie Sutton famously gave when he was asked by an FBI agent why he chose to rob banks. “Because,” he explained with succinct honesty, “that’s where the money is.”
SnyderTalk Comment: Where Yahweh is concerned, dumbing down, fictionalizing, and fantasizing don’t work. Simply telling the truth is more than enough to capture peoples’ attention. Hollywood hotshots would do well to keep that in mind.
If Hollywood producers and screenwriters want to make lots of money, they should stick to the facts. Problem is most of them don’t believe the Bible. To them, it’s just fiction, and they feel at ease playing loose with the truth. Audiences that should be drawn to their movies reject them because they know that they are make-believe.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Israel severely rebuked, as PM warns ‘spirit of appeasement’ blowing through Europe
What elections? Europe presses ahead on Palestine question as Israel prepares for poll
Incitement against Abbas: Gaza posters depict hanging of PA leader
UN Security Council wasting time on Palestinian gimmicks, Liberman says
Iranian lawmaker touts good relations between country’s Jews and government
Anti-Islam politician Wilders faces prosecution for comments about Moroccans
Palestinian draft resolution submitted to UNSC: Israeli withdrawal from West Bank by 2017
126 signatories of Geneva Convention call on Israelis, Palestinians to respect humanitarian law
Herzog slams Netanyahu after economic report decries hardships of Israeli households
In diplomatic snub, Liberman refuses meeting with Swedish counterpart
#####
________________________________________
#####
Hamas Holds Largest Military Exercise Since Op. Protective Edge
Man Arrested for Threatening Eli Yishai
Pakistani Court Grants Bail to Mumbai Attacks Mastermind
MK Horowitz: Look Where Extremism Brings Us
Ben-Ari: I Get Raided, Zoabi Gets Away Scot-Free
Slomiansky: Lapid Was ‘A Nightmare to Work With’
Liberman, Steinitz: PA Move Will Only Bring War
Man Detained After Catching Arab Rock Thrower
Israeli Escapes Abduction Attempt Near Hevron
Shoval: ‘Listgate’ Proves EU No Friend of Ours
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Ancient rock adds evidence of King David’s existence
Massive 2,800-year-old farmhouse found in central Israel
European UN draft likely to reference Israel’s Jewish nature
Poll: Most Israelis believe US-Israel ties in crisis
SnyderTalk Comment: Most Israelis are right.
PA to consider revised European statehood bid
Netanyahu tells Kerry Israel opposed to French UN bid
Shas the latest victim of growing left-right divide
Kahlon said to refuse merger with Lapid
Police arrest head of anti-assimilation group Lehava
‘The best defense against Palestinian lawfare is offense’
#####
________________________________________
#####
Wellesley College can’t tiptoe around anti-Semitism
Austria Closes Saudi-Backed School Over Anti-Semitism
Obamas say they’re still affected by everyday racism
Michelle Obama’s Example of Racism in America: I Was Asked to Get Something Off the Shelf at Target
SnyderTalk Comment: The Obamas could tell us lots of insightful things about racism if they were honest. They could talk about jobs they got that they were not qualified for and didn’t deserve; they could discuss the elite schools they attended even though they were not competitive academically; and they could wax poetic about the racism that they continue to encounter as President of the United States and First Lady.
To them, criticism is racism. For the past 6 years, the Obamas and their supporters have leveled that charge against anyone who dared to question Obama’s misguided policies.
Hopefully, the Obamas will be the last nail in the coffin of reverse racism in America or what is commonly known as affirmative action.
To be completely fair, assume for a moment that affirmative action was required to right the wrongs done to people of color in America. There is no doubt that they suffered greatly and were denied access to many things that whites in America take for granted, but at what point should the program be eliminated? If you ask the Obamas, if suspect that the answer would be “never”.
I used to tell my students at the University of Virginia that affirmative action is like an addictive drug. Those who take it discover that breaking the habit is very difficult. Several of my African-American students thought that that point of view was racist. They were shocked when they discovered that my Asian students understood my point perfectly and supported it completely.
Asian-Americans have suffered more from reverse discrimination than any other group because they tend to be too well qualified. Routinely, they are denied things that should be rightfully theirs because underachieving African-Americans are given things that Asian-Americans work hard to earn.
I would ask my African-American students what they thought about imposing affirmative action on the NFL and the NBA. They didn’t like that idea at all.
Martin Luther King, Jr. got it right. We should be color blind when it comes to justice, academic admission, and hiring, for example. Sadly, that point of view is considered racist by many African-Americans including the Obamas.
Interestingly, something like affirmative action comes into play when people criticize the way that the U.S. government under Obama deals with radical Islamists. Rather than addressing the substance of the criticism, they simply write it off as meaningless guff from “Islamophobes”. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Pakistan seeks Afghanistan’s help to track down Taliban leaders
No Repeat Of 1998: Russia Capital Flight Good For Dollar And Stocks
EU’s Mogherini says detects some ‘willingness’ from Russia to resolve Ukraine Conflict
Israel Suffers Sharp Rebuffs From Europe
Russia’s Neighbors in Europe Warily Watch Ruble Crisis
More Israeli teens encounter hate on Internet
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Putin’s Economic System Frays Further
Putin Addresses Russia Amid Economic Crisis
Putin: The West didn’t stop building new walls despite all our attempts to cooperate
Vladimir Putin’s woes are about to get worse
US senators express concern over crackdown on media in Turkey
US and Iran could have a friendlier future ahead
Iran unlikely to be another Cuba for Obama
Is China’s economy really the largest in the world?
China media: Russia’s rouble crisis
#####
________________________________________
Email Distribution List:
I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk. If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line. If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.
________________________________________
Genesis 41: 38-45
38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. 43 He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
________________________________________
His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
________________________________________
#####
What about people who came to faith in Yahweh through the Name Jesus?
Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached. Share it as often as you want.
#####
________________________________________
Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
________________________________________
Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
