"Tipping Point: World in Crisis"

The world situation has been slowly deteriorationg for some time now, but today it exploded. Literally.

First, a commercial Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot from the sky by a Soviet-era SA-11 ground-to-air missile over Ukraine. All 295 on board perished, including possibly 23 Americans.

This is the third downed plane in that region in the last four days.

The Big Question? Who's responsible? Both sides blame the other.

Ukraine accused militant rebels fighting to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia. Russia flatly denies any involvement, despite recent threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin that any attempt to impose sanctions on Russia would "boomerang and cause very serious damage."

Russian rebels point the finger of blame at Ukraine forces, claiming the Ukraine military is responsible. Ukraine officials cry untrue, and so far it looks like they can be ruled out.

Though it's too early to know for sure, all of the evidence seems to zero in on Russia. If so, get ready for real trouble.

Meanwhile, Israel finally launched a ground invasion into Gaza after days of trying to avert one. The invasion comes hours after a Hamas assault squad of heavily-armed terrorists attempted to carry out a massacre of civilians inside the Israeli border.

Apparently fed up with showing restraint, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu ordered the ground offensive. The stated goal? Eradicate infiltration tunnels Hamas was planning to use to sneak into Israel and cause havoc; and if they can seriously harm the infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist organizations and stop the constant barrage of missiles aimed at Israeli civilians--all the better.

But that ain't all folks. The world has never before in history had so many crises brewing at once:

• Iraq is unraveling as terror group ISIS conquers one city after another.
• Iran's Supreme Leader has called for more enrichment capacity despite a July 20th deadline to cut a deal with world powers to prevent it from being able to produce a nuclear bomb.
• The Syrian civil war is still raging out of control with an estimated 170,000 dead and counting.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning "the worst-ever outbreak of Ebola has expanded beyond Africa." With 600 dead and hundreds more infected, health ministers from 11 countries plan to gather for an emergency meeting.

And to top it off? The sun is acting weird. But that's another blog...

"...in the last days there will be very difficult times." 2Timothy 3:1

A wise man once said: "Don't let us make imaginary evils, when you know we have so many real ones to encounter." -- Oliver Goldsmith, Irish poet

News:

• Fox News Channel: Vice Pres. Joe Biden says Malaysian plane crash "no accident, blown out of the sky on purpose."
• MSN News: Israel orders ground offensive in Gaza; heavy shelling on border
• MSN Money: Ukraine, Middle East hammer stocks; Dow plummets 161 pts.