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Economy

Producer-Prices

Producer Price Index (PPI): A worker in a wholesale foods production and distribution warehouse.

The Labor Department reported on Friday the Producer Price Index (PPI), a gauge of prices at the wholesale level rose 0.3% in November, beating flat expectations. The gain followed two consecutive months of decline in the PPI,

Excluding the volatile food and energy components–producer prices rose 0.3%–more than the 0.1% gain economists’ expected.

In the 12 months through November, the PPI lost 1.1% after shedding 1.6% in October. November marked the 10th straight 12-month decrease in the index. Economists had forecast the PPI unchanged last month and sliding 1.4 percent from a year ago.

Table A. Monthly and 12-month percent changes in selected final demand price indexes, seasonally adjusted
Month Total
final
demand		 Final demand goods Final demand services Change
in final
demand
from 12
months
ago
(unadj.)
Total Foods Energy Less
foods
and
energy		 Total Trade Transportation
and
warehousing		 Other

2014

Nov.

 -0.3 -0.8 0.1 -3.7 -0.1 0.0 -0.4 0.3 0.1 1.3

Dec.

 -0.3 -1.2 -0.1 -6.6 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.0 0.2 0.9

2015

Jan.

 -0.7 -1.9 -0.9 -10.1 0.1 -0.1 0.5 -1.0 -0.2 0.0

Feb.

 -0.4 -0.4 -1.6 0.0 0.0 -0.5 -1.6 -0.9 0.1 -0.5

Mar.

 0.0 0.1 -1.0 1.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 -0.3 0.1 -0.9

Apr.

 -0.1 -0.6 -1.0 -2.6 0.0 0.2 -0.1 -0.5 0.4 -1.1

May

 0.5 1.5 1.4 6.5 0.2 -0.1 0.1 0.2 -0.1 -0.8

June

 0.4 0.5 0.5 1.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 -0.5

July(1)

 0.1 -0.2 -0.7 -0.6 0.0 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.2 -0.7

Aug.(1)

 -0.1 -0.5 0.7 -2.9 -0.3 0.2 0.2 -0.7 0.2 -0.8

Sept.

 -0.5 -1.2 -0.8 -5.9 0.0 -0.4 -0.4 -0.7 -0.3 -1.1

Oct.

 -0.4 -0.4 -0.8 0.0 -0.3 -0.3 -0.7 0.1 -0.1 -1.6

Nov.

 0.3 -0.1 0.3 -0.6 -0.1 0.5 1.2 0.3 0.1 -1.1

Footnotes
(1) Some of the figures shown above and elsewhere in this release may differ from those previously reported because data for July 2015 have been revised to reflect the availability of late reports and corrections by respondents.

The Labor Department reported on Friday the

World

ISIS-Video-SS-Bring-It-On

Screenshot from the latest video purportedly released by the Islamic State (ISIS) taunting the U.S.-led coalition.

A new propaganda video purportedly released by the Islamic State (ISIS) taunts the U.S.-led coalition President Obama repeatedly cites while attempting to fend off critics. The video, which was released in multiple languages, claims the West will eventually rally an 80-state coalition against the caliphate to fulfill the Islamic prophecy.

There message: “Bring it on!” There were also several key points made in the video, which aims to embarrass and taunt the U.S.-led coalition. They include but are not limited to the following:

  • They fight for God, while we now fight for manmade laws (thanks to Leftists).
  • Preying on racial tensions that are stoked by some at home, they claim not to disseminate between Arab and non-Arab; black man or white man. Only their degree of piety separates them.
  • We spend $250,000 on each missile/bomb we drop from the air because Obama is too much of a coward and the nation is “too weak to put boots on the ground.” The narrator in fact used that term to mock a terminology that came from political voices with weak resolve.
  • On the other hand, they spend .50 cents on a 7.62 round each time they kill one of their enemies.
  • Our soldiers have lost the will to fight and 16 commit suicide each day after they come home. This is because they are now godless, and now fight for

“Gather your allies, rally against us and show us no respite,” the narrator says with an American accent. “Our ally is the greatest. He is Allah.”

The Islamic State released the English version seen here at the same time with French, Russian, and Turkish versions.

[brid video=”22282″ player=”2077″ title=”ISIS to West in Propaganda Video “Bring It On””]

A new propaganda video purportedly released by

Video

Explaining the Spheres of Radical Islam

[brid video=”22272″ player=”2077″ title=”By The Numbers The Untold Story of Muslim Opinions & Demographics”]

Raheel Raza, a female Sunni Muslim and true human rights advocate, reveals the truth about radical Islam “by the numbers” in a new video produced by The Clarion Project. Ms. Raza, the president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, has herself been a target of radical Islam and hosted the video to start an honest discussion about Muslim opinions and demographics.

“The numbers are right here for all to see. It’s time for an honest conversation about one of the most important issues of our time,” Raza said. “By silencing the debate about radical Islamists’ beliefs we abandon our own core beliefs of truth, free speech and tolerance. And we abandon human rights in favor of political correctness. Together we have begun the conversation. Now it’s time for you to have your say.”

Raza breaks down the 3-tiered spheres of radical Islam, which includes violent jihadists, Islamists and fundamentalists. Taken with the data from a Pew Research survey, the results are very concerning. So, we asked our resident polling and data expert to verify and comment on Raza’s argument in the video. His response was equally disturbing.

“She’s speaking truth to power, plain and simple,” Rich Baris, PPD’s senior political analyst said. Ms. Raza and The Clarion Project did the nation a great patriotic service by producing this film. Unfortunately, they may be painting too rosy of a picture.”

Raheel Raza Radical Islam By The-Numbers

Raheel Raza, the president of Muslims Facing Tomorrow, hosts “By the Numbers,” a video revealing the truth about Muslim opinions and demographics.

While Pew Research is a viable, trustworthy polling firm in the mainstream media, PPD’s research shows they 1) often underestimate radical values held by Muslims inside and outside the U.S. juxtaposed to other surveys and, 2) are complacent in helping the Left obfuscate radical Islam with moderate Islam.

“National discourse rarely identifies or defines which Muslim views are collectively deemed radical,” Baris said. “Of course blowing yourself up for Allah is widely considered to be radical. But as Ms. Raza points out, there are central tenets of fundamentalist Islam that are adhered to by millions of Muslims around the world. We in the West believe these views to be radical. But rather than underscoring this important distinction, Pew instead chooses headlines that are blatantly bias or PC.”

A recent Pew study cited in the video and criticized by Baris was entitled “Most dislike ISIS in Muslim countries.” Yet another recent Pew study was entitled “Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the U.S. and around the world.” Baris says these headlines and oft-touted top line numbers are highly misleading and help to make it all too easy for the same groups Ms. Raza cites in the video–groups our own president would have you believe are moderate–to conflate the issue.

Raza notes in the video that groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) hold many of the same beliefs as jihadists carrying out terror attacks, such as implementing Islamic Sharia law and global domination. CAIR, other groups, and even pop culture celebrities like Ben Affleck resort to PC tactics when someone or group makes an effort to advance the conservation and expose the truth.

“Either way, Ben Affleck, President Obama and most of the self-appointed defenders of Islam are either lying or don’t know what they are talking about,” Baris said. “The myth that holds the vast majority of Islam is moderate is just that–a myth.”

Join the Conversation. It is, indeed, time for you to have your say.

Raheel Raza, a female Sunni Muslim and

Opinion

Sistine-Chapel-Michelangelo

The above picture, from Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel

As the Christmas season approaches, I want to explain why I am so enthusiastic about the subject matter I’ve written about in my new book, The Emmaus Code: Finding Jesus in the Old Testament.

As I came to Jesus Christ kicking and screaming, I have always been passionate about sharing the epiphanies that led me to become a believer. I love to relate my excitement about the Bible and encourage others to give it a chance–really give it a chance–and to avail themselves of the full riches of God’s Word.

I admit that before I embraced the Gospel, I hadn’t given sufficient serious thought to whether the Bible actually is the Word of God. It’s hard to believe I was so negligent about something that matters so much. To my surprise, I find many people today — adults included — who seem to give this very little thought. It is one of my humble goals with this book to nudge people to contemplate it.

For too many years, I fashioned God in my own image. I thought I could bootstrap my way into understanding who he is without ever going to the very book in which he reveals himself to us and shows us precisely who he is. In retrospect, I wonder how I could have been so unserious as to formulate my beliefs without giving the Word of God a fair hearing. How could I have been so engrossed in my earthly existence that I essentially ignored God’s revelation?

When–in the process of studying Christian apologetics, the Bible and theology–it finally hit me that the Bible is the living Word of the living God, I was blown away. I was stunned, excited and overwhelmed by this truth that I’d avoided for too long. I finally realized that I was holding in my hands a book whose every word was inspired by the God of the universe. I understood that when I opened that book and began to read it, I was opening myself up to God’s direct communication to me.

I’m not talking about sitting around in meditation imagining that I could be receiving promptings from God, which, of course, can also be a legitimate experience. Instead, I’m talking about reading God’s words that were written to me and to you — words that I now understood are unmistakably from him and directed to me individually. This is not a matter of speculation. I had already satisfied myself by putting Christianity’s claims to the test and realizing that every bit of Scripture is God-breathed. I can rely on it for life as surely as I rely on every breath I take for life.

Corniness aside, you can imagine the feelings I experienced with this “aha” discovery. I immediately wanted to inhale every syllable of the Bible and learn everything I could as quickly as I could. How could I possibly ever get enough of this spiritual food?

As I began to learn more, I became eager to share what I’d learned with my friends and family and anyone else who would listen — many of whom, I assumed, had been every bit as negligent as I’d been about this most serious of matters. I wanted to help them enjoy the same kind of excitement that was overtaking me.

I was under no illusion that the people I approached would just automatically embrace my new “discoveries,” no matter how infectious I’d hoped my spirit would be. I also doubted that many would all of a sudden reorder their schedules to begin studying the Bible and theology with relentless fervor.

So, as I’ve mentioned before, I began to write a book for laypeople that would serve as an introduction to the Bible, beginning with the Old Testament. I intended to walk the readers through the Scriptures, showing how each book of the Bible, beginning with Genesis, points to Jesus Christ.

Perhaps because I wasn’t sufficiently prepared to write such a book then–more than 20 years ago–I abandoned the project. A generation’s worth of years later, I started the project anew, and I completed it this time with “The Emmaus Code.”

I sincerely hope that you will consider picking up the book for yourself or as a Christmas gift for someone else who you believe might benefit from a book designed to introduce readers to the Old Testament and, most importantly, to its essential Christ-centeredness. Everyone owes it to himself to learn as much as he can about God’s Word, and I pray this book will encourage readers to do just that.

Jesus himself told his disciples on the road to Emmaus that they had misunderstood the Scriptures in anticipating that the Messiah would deliver Israel from its political and military enemies. He came not to conquer earthly kings but to die a sacrificial, substitutionary death on our behalf and thereby conquer Satan, sin and death, so that by faith in him, we can live.

He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then he “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures (the Old Testament) the things concerning himself.”
Amen.

As the Christmas season approaches, I'd like

Policy

cbo-obamacare-costs-jobs

Time for a mea culpa. In the past, I’ve criticized ObamaCare for a variety of reasons.

But I’m not here to apologize for those views. Instead, I feel obliged to issue somewhat of a retraction for my assertion that Obama care is a job killer.

Some of you may be scratching your heads, particularly if you read these passages from an article earlier this week in The Hill.

ObamaCare will force a reduction in American work hours — the equivalent of 2 million jobs over the next decade, Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper said Monday. The total workforce will shrink by just under 1 percent as a result of changes in worker participation because of the new coverage expansions, mandates and changes in tax rates, according to a 22-page report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). …the law changes incentives over the years for the workers themselves both in part-time and full-time positions.

And if you go to the actual CBO report, you’ll see that the story is accurate. And the CBO report is very consistent with some of the academic research on the issue. So why, then, am I issuing a mea culpa on ObamaCare and jobs? Well, some readers may have concluded from my writings that ObamaCare is an absolute job killer.

Yet, as we see from this story in the Kansas City Star, there may be some jobs being created because of the so-called Affordable Care Act. Here are some relevant excerpts.

H&R Block expects more customers to feel the impact of the Affordable Care Act when they do their taxes early next year, providing a source of growth for the Kansas City-based business. A year ago, Block invested in marketing and training its tax preparers… “We think we’re going to start to reap the benefits of that investment,” Block chief executive Bill Cobb said Tuesday during a strategy session with analysts. …the company said an early effort will be aimed at getting back customers the company lost last year.

To be sure, H&R Block isn’t explicitly saying that it will have additional employees, but I think we can infer that some new positions will be created as the company takes advantage of the fact that many taxpayers will be overwhelmed by the complexities and penalties that are part of ObamaCare.

With this in mind, I’m going to be very careful in the future to state that the President’s law is a net job killer or a relative job killer.

After all, I wouldn’t want anyone to accuse me of being unfairly or inaccurately critical of government-run healthcare. Even in cases when the jobs being created are evidence of bad legislation rather than a good economic climate.

P.S. I’m not a big fan of H&R Block. Assuming they didn’t support Obamacare, I don’t blame them for enjoying the extra profits they’ll earn because of the law. But the company has supported government rules to block competition in the tax-compliance industry. And I remember many years ago being part of a debate in Louisiana where a representative from H&R Block argued against the flat tax.

Gee, I wonder why?

Read Also — CBO ObamaCare Report Says Law Destroys 2.3 Million Jobs

As it turns out, the Congressional Budget

Politics

Mitch-McConnell-AP

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kty., speaks to the press in the halls of the Senate. (PHOTO: AP)

The GOP-controlled Senate passed a short-term spending bill on Thursday to keep the government open until Wednesday and give negotiators more time to work out a final bill.

The Senate approved the bill by voice vote, and it now goes to the House of Representatives where it is expected to pass on Friday.

Lawmakers were hoping to hatch out a deal on a $1.1 trillion budget bill that funds all federal agencies in 2016. However, Republicans and Democrats could not agree on provisions dealing with several key issues, including the environment, taxes and Syrian refugees.

The GOP-controlled Senate passed a short-term spending

World

Ammunition-French-Mosque

File Photo: Ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles (AK-47) seized in raids of a mosque on the outskirts of Paris, France on Dec. 2, 2015. (Getty Images)

Law enforcement officials seized Kalashnikov ammunition and Islamic State propaganda after raiding a mosque on the outskirts of Paris, France last week. The mosque, which was located in Lagny-sur-Marne roughly 30km east of Paris, was the third mosque to be shut down last Wednesday in the wake of last month’s Paris terror attacks.

As as result of the raids, nine people were placed under house-arrest, while another 22 were barred from leaving the country. The prefect said officials also found recordings of religious chants “glorifying the martyrs of jihad linked to the terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra,” the al-Qaeda affiliate operating in Syria. Further, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the mosque leader was in possession of “extremist documents” and a revolver.

“In 15 days we have seized one-third of the quantity of war-grade weapons that are normally seized in a year,” he said.

France has been under a state of emergency since a series of attacks on Nov. 13 left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded. Since officials went on the offensive, roughly 2,235 homes and buildings have been raided, 232 people were taken into custody and 334 weapons have been confiscated.

Just for context, Mohammed Ramdane, the president of the local Muslim association in Lagny, previously slammed the closure of the prayer hall on Wednesday.

“Nothing has been found,”Ramdane said before the bust. “Nothing is hidden, we don’t hide anything.”

Right. Nothing, at all.

Meanwhile, Swiss officials confirmed Thursday Geneva police are “actively searching” for suspects connected with the investigation into the Paris attacks last month. Geneva security officials said that city authorities were acting on a tip received on Wednesday that resulted in Swiss federal authorities flagging “suspicious individuals who could be in Geneva or the Geneva region.”

Salah Abdeslam, a suspected terrorist believed to have ties to the deadly attacks in Paris, is still at large. Officials believed him to be in Belgium following the attacks, but PPD was unable to confirm whether the recent raids are connected to Abdeslam.

Law enforcement officials seized Kalashnikov ammunition and

World

Yecenia-Armenta-Mexico

Yecenia Armenta says she was hung upside-down by her ankles, suffocated, beaten and raped over the course of 15 hours. (News.com.au)

Yecenia Armenta, a 39-year old woman who was arrested in July 2012 as she drove relatives to the Culiacan International Airport, claims she was beaten and raped into signing a confession to a crime she says she didn’t commit. In a letter to Amnesty International, Armenta accused the infamously corrupt Mexican police of hanging her upside-down by her ankles, suffocating her, beating and raping her over the course of a 15-hour period.

“They said they would bring my two children, rape them and cut them up into pieces,” the stay-at-home mother told Amnesty. “After many hours of torture and after they’d raped me, I signed the confession. I was still blindfolded. I never even read what I had signed.”

Armenta, who is currently imprisoned for the murder of her husband in the City of Culiacan, which is located in Sinaloa State, told Amnesty being away from her children was the hardest part of her ordeal. Amnesty International is now calling on the Mexican government to release her from jail, drop the charges and vacate the sentence.

“The heat is intense: in these summer months it gets to 40 degrees and rising, and inside these cells, we are all sweating. Three years: I’ve seen summers come and fade, people arrive at, and then leave, this place, and all the time my children are growing up, outside these walls,” she wrote. “Before all this happened, I used to feel useful in society, and I loved looking after others. But then, I was tortured by Mexican police. They tortured me physically, psychologically and sexually. Then, they charged me with a crime I never committed.”

As shocking as these claims may sound, it is far from the first time the Mexican government has been accused, suspected or known to be behind such a heinous human rights crime against women. From 2011 to 2012, 1238 women and girls were reported missing in the State of Mexico, with more than half of them being under the age of 17.

Claudia Medina, another Mexican woman, was arrested and taken to a local Mexican naval base without representation. Medina also claimed she was tortured in various ways over several days, including being beaten, subjected to electrical shock, sexual abuse, had chili sauce forced up her nose with a syringe and forced to sign a confession stating that she belonged to a criminal gang. In February 2015, Medina was cleared of all charges.

Amnesty International noted how the Mexican government continues to allow confessions into evidence that were coerced as a result of confession, despite ratifying a UN convention prohibiting torture.

Yecenia Armenta, 39, told Amnesty International in

Economy

trade-cargo-reuters

A Ferrari cargo crane moves shipping containing on a U.S. trade port. (Photo: Reuters)

The Labor Department reported on Thursday import prices declined less than expected in November, falling 0.4% compared to the 0.7% economists expected. Meanwhile, export prices fell 0.6%, far more than the 0.3% forecast.

Import prices, which decreased by a revised 0.3% in October, have declined in 15 of the last 17 months. Further, in the 12 months through November, prices tanked by 9.4%. The strength of the U.S. dollar and a sharp decline in oil prices have dampened inflation, leaving it running well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

The report also showed export prices decreased 0.6 percent last month after slipping 0.2 percent in October. They were down 6.3 percent in the 12 months through November.

The Labor Department reported on Thursday import

World

ISIS-Paris

Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, left, and a scene from the attacks in Paris, right. (Photos: AP/Reuters)

DEVELOPING: Swiss officials confirmed Thursday Geneva police are “actively searching” for suspects connected with the investigation into the Paris attacks last month. Geneva security officials said that city authorities were acting on a tip received on Wednesday that resulted in Swiss federal authorities flagging “suspicious individuals who could be in Geneva or the Geneva region.”

The series of attacks in Paris, France on Nov. 13 by the Islamic State left 130 people dead and hundreds of others wounded. Salah Abdeslam, a fugitive suspected in the deadly attacks in Paris, is still at large. Several arrests were made in Belgium following the attacks, and PPD was unable to confirm whether the recent activity is connected to Abdeslam.

Police authorities are looking for four people believed to be in the city, according to a security guard at the United Nations in Geneva. At the U.N. headquarters, security guards with MP5 submachine guns were stationed at entry points for cars.

“It is maximum alert,” another U.N. guard told Reuters.

Swiss officials confirmed Thursday Geneva police are

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