Iran Gives Christians 80 Lashes for Communion Wine as UN Blasts Human Rights Record

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Photo Credit: ReutersFour Iranian Christians were reportedly sentenced to 80 lashes for drinking wine for communion, a shocking punishment meted out even as a new United Nations report blasted the Islamic republic for its systematic persecution of non-Muslims.

The four men were sentenced Oct. 6 after being arrested in a house church last December and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the theocracy’s strict laws, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide. They were among several Christians punished for their faith in a nation where converting from Islam to Christianity can bring the death penalty. According to a new October UN report by Ahmed Shaheed, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, such persecution is common, despite new President Hasan Rouhani’s pledge to be a moderate.

“At least 20 Christians were in custody in July 2013,” Shaheed wrote. “In addition, violations of the rights of Christians, particularly those belonging to evangelical Protestant groups, many of whom are converts, who proselytize to and serve Iranian Christians of Muslim background, continue to be reported.”

Iran’s regime has made stopping the spread of Christianity a cornerstone of its crackdown on religious freedom. There are estimated to be as many as 370,000 Christians in Iran, according to the most recent U.S. State Department report. The clerical rulers see Christianity as a threat to Iran’s majority ultra-orthodox Shiite Islamic religion.

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Air Force Academy Considering Dropping ‘So Help Me God’ from Honor Oath

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Photo Credit: Air ForceThe Air Force Academy is considering dropping the phrase “so help me God” from its honor oath after a complaint from a civil liberties group that advocates for the separation of church and state in the military.

The Academy’s Honor Review Committee met Wednesday at the Colorado-based campus to review the oath after a complaint filed by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Academy Public Affairs Director Major Brus Vidal told Fox News the Honor Review Academy considered a range of options with the ultimate decision to be made by the Academy Superintendent.

Air Force officials could opt to leave the oath as it is, make the mention of God optional or remove it altogether.

The Academy’s current honor oath reads: “We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me God.”

The complaint originated with a poster at the Academy which included the oath. MRFF President Mikey Weinstein said once the poster was brought to his group’s attention, he contacted Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson.

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NSA Monitored Calls of 35 World Leaders after US Official Handed Over Contacts

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Photo Credit: Guardian The National Security Agency monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after being given the numbers by an official in another US government department, according to a classified document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The confidential memo reveals that the NSA encourages senior officials in its “customer” departments, such the White House, State and the Pentagon, to share their “Rolodexes” so the agency can add the phone numbers of leading foreign politicians to their surveillance systems.

The document notes that one unnamed US official handed over 200 numbers, including those of the 35 world leaders, none of whom is named. These were immediately “tasked” for monitoring by the NSA.

The revelation is set to add to mounting diplomatic tensions between the US and its allies, after the German chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday accused the US of tapping her mobile phone.

After Merkel’s allegations became public, White House press secretary Jay Carney issued a statement that said the US “is not monitoring and will not monitor” the German chancellor’s communications. But that failed to quell the row, as officials in Berlin quickly pointed out that the US did not deny monitoring the phone in the past.

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Soros Donates Big Bucks, Joins Ready for Hillary National Finance Council

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Photo Credit: Fox NewsBillionaire investor and hedge fund titan George Soros is backing an effort to lure Hillary Clinton into a 2016 White House bid.

Soros signed on to be a co-chair for Ready for Hillary, a super PAC trying to trump up support for a presidential run by Clinton.

“We are proud to welcome George Soros as one of the co-chairs of @ReadyForHillary’s national finance council,” the organization tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Soros’ political director, Michael Vachon, said in a statement that the 83-year-old is “delighted to join more than 1 million Americans in supporting Ready for Hillary.”

“His support for Ready for Hillary is an extension of his long-held belief in the power of grassroots organizing,” the statement said.

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Obamacare Website Disqualifies Enrollees: You’re in Jail

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Photo Credit: WND Are you in jail and didn’t know it?

Don’t worry. Obamacare will tell you.

That’s the “circumstance” for a commenter to a government website taking responses to the problems with the failing Healthcare.gov website, which has been unable to provide reasonable access for Americans.

“Website said my wife and I were ineligible due to current incarceration,” wrote Fred in an acknowledgement by the left-leaning ProPublica of the website problems. “We have never been arrested in our lives, both 63!!!!!!!!!!!”

Charles Ornstein, in the ProPublica report, documented some of the responses on the federal site collecting comments. “The Obama administration has not always been transparent about Healthcare.gov: A case in point is how HHS has withheld the number of people who have been able to successfully enroll. But in this instance, the administration allowed comments to the blog post to be seen by all.”

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‘We’re Here to Kill Americans,’ Benghazi Attackers Declared: Witness (+video)

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Photo Credit: GettyThe attackers on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, said they were there “to kill Americans,” a Westerner who witnessed the terrorist strike tells CBS News.

The full interview with the British security expert hired to train Libyan guards will air at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack.

The man called himself “Morgan Jones” to protect his identity, although his face is shown on camera.

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U.S. Middle Class Implosion: 37% Say They’ll Never Retire, Over 40% Can Barely Pay Bills

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Photo Credit: CNBCYou’ve heard the story about America’s retirement crisis.

Young people don’t save enough. Older people have to work longer. Public pension benefits are always on the verge of being slashed, and Social Security’s future is anyone’s guess. No one trusts the stock market, but keeping assets in a savings account generates the same return as keeping them under a mattress.

The retirement picture is alarming at best. And now it has come to this: In its annual retirement study of middle-income Americans (income of $25,000 to $100,000), Wells Fargo asked participants if they expect to work until they die.

“This is the first time we asked if people thought they would work until they die or become too sick,” said Laurie Nordquist, head of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. Thirty-seven percent of middle-income Americans surveyed by Wells Fargo said they have that expectation. The finding translates to just under two in five Americans who believe they will never be able to retire.

Wells included the question based on a larger trend exposed when participants have been asked how many expect to work until they are at least 80. That number was at 34 percent in this year’s survey, a significant rise from 25 percent two years ago. It’s been on a steady rise, too, up from 30 percent in 2012.

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Alaska Air Group Reports Record Third Quarter 2013 Results

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Photo Credit: Kiskadee 3Alaska Air Group, Inc., (NYSE: ALK) today reported third quarter 2013 GAAP net income of $289 million, or $4.08 per diluted share, compared to $163 million, or $2.27 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2012. Excluding the impact of mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments of $20 million ($12 million after tax, or $0.17 per diluted share), and a one-time special revenue item of $192 million ($120 million after tax, or $1.70 per diluted share) that primarily resulted from the application of new accounting rules associated with the modified affinity card agreement, the company reported record adjusted net income of $157 million, or $2.21 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $150 million, or $2.09 per diluted share, in 2012.

“These results represent our best quarter ever and mark Alaska’s 18th consecutive quarterly profit,” Alaska Air Group CEO Brad Tilden said. “This is noteworthy given significant additional competition in some of our core markets. The balance and strength of our network combined with the ability of our people to respond quickly to changing business conditions are enabling us to succeed in this highly competitive industry.”

The following table reconciles the company’s reported GAAP net income and earnings per diluted share (EPS) during the third quarters of 2013 and 2012 to adjusted amounts:

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Redneck, Inc: The Duck Dynasty Story

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Way out Jonesboro Road in West Monroe, Louisiana, past all the Baptist churches, past the Jack Fluck realty signs, past the Guns & Gifts store, past the dog playing dead in the middle of the road, you will find Phil Robertson in the ramshackle house where he’s lived with his wife, Miss Kay, for the past 37 years – a born-again, God-loving, God-fearing bayou couple if ever there was one – and maybe his gap-toothed brother, Si, too, and his boys, Willie, Jase, and Jep. One thing is for sure: They’ll mostly all be dressed in full duck-hunting camouflage regalia and wearing headbands to restrain their long, knotted hair but letting their long, freaky beards fly free. All of them will probably have gotten ready for the day the same way Phil has – “There’s not a lot of personal hygiene going on,” he says; specifically, no brushing of the teeth (that being reserved for nighttime), no combing of the hair, no flossing of the teeth, no shower, no face washing, no deodorant – and they will all look slightly dazed and bewildered by the success of their A&E TV show, ‘Duck Dynasty,’ which is about them, their wives, and their incredibly lucrative duck-call business.

Phil, 67, flips up the footrest on his camo-patterned, extrawide La-Z-Boy recliner, wiggles his toes in the air, tells the rat terrier named Bobo to hush, and says, “We’re trying to infuse a little good into a culture in which gentleness, patience, kindness, self-control, love, joy, and peace have become abnormal.”

Si, 65, is sitting next to him, sipping tea from the blue Tupperware cup his mother sent him while he was serving in Vietnam and that has since become nearly as famous as he has. “Sad,” he says, shaking his head.

“Very sad,” says Phil. “I go out into America and I am literally navigating a minefield. Godliness has become abnormal. I just left California, where I spoke to 40,000 altogether. I told them I was a Bible man. I told them I believe that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. ‘What’s he trying to say? That I can’t sleep with anybody I want? Is this guy crazy?’ Then they see a little family structure on TV – us – and the show goes ballistic. Thousands and thousands of people have thanked us. Isn’t that right, Si?”

Si bobs his head and says, “Yeah.”

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Student Homelessness Hits Record High (+video)

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Photo Credit: John Moore/Getty Images The number of homeless students in U.S. public schools is at an all-time high, according to new data.

There were 1.2 million homeless students during the 2011-12 academic year, from preschool all the way through high school. That’s up 10% from last year and 72% from the start of the recession, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Homeless Education, which is funded by the Department of Education.

Advocacy groups say continuing economic struggles are causing more students to end up homeless, meaning that they live in shelters, motels, or are staying temporarily with someone else because they have nowhere to live.

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