“I call on the public to take part in the prayer… And bring umbrellas because together we will rip open the skies,” he stated. The minister’s call was backed by Israel's two Chief Rabbis, Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau; farmers, settler leaders and heads of agricultural organizations who said they were all planning to attend the mass prayer scheduled for Thursday.

The supreme spiritual authority in Judaism, the Chief Rabbinate, also called on synagogues to make arrangements for special prayers to be recited three times a day during services. It also declared Thursday a day of fasting, prayer and repentance, asking God for rain, Arutz Sheva reported.

“He will see our suffering and hear our prayers, and fulfil our requests for mercy, providing rain and blessed dew. May God Bless us with the dew of heaven, the fat of the land, and bless us with peace,” the declaration by the Chief Rabbinate said.

However, many people on Facebook and Twitter were puzzled by the authorities’ over-reliance on a higher power, urging practical steps to tackle the drought. “I don’t want to rain on your parade… It will be more efficient if you worry about adding more desalination plants,” one said as cited by Jewish Chronicle paper.

1. Hollywood and the political elite have been exposed for their rampant and horrifying sex abuse against men, women, and children alike. Just last year, as good people tried to point out that although Pizzagate may not have taken place in some restaurant in DC, the idea of sex abuse among the elite was no laughing matter. However, anyone who mentioned sex abuse among the elite was scoffed at and ridiculed by those in the mainstream.

This year, however, it was different. With Harvey Weinstein as the catalyst, former victims came forward and began publicly naming their abusers and even getting the police involved. No longer will companies like Disney be able to hire convicted pedophiles as the world looks the other way — nor will sicko politicians be allowed the immunity to rape and pillage as they see fit. 2017 will be known as the year the victims fought back.

2. Weather modification just jumped from “chemtrail” conspiracy theory into mainstream reality, as Congress began holding hearings on geoengineering.

Geoengineering is finally going mainstream as the US House Subcommittee on Environment and Subcommittee on Energy Hearing, in November, held the first House hearing about the science that until now has generally been considered a “conspiracy theory” and relegated to the fringes of society by the Praetorian Guard mainstream media — controlled by the ruling power-elite oligarchy.

The controversial subject of climate engineering or weather modification – which was popularized, and oversimplified with the term “chem-trails” – is stepping from the shadows and into the light of public scrutiny for the first time.

3. 20,000 documents were released in August proving the EPA conspired with chemical companies to unleash deadly toxic substances on the public.

Highly toxic chemical compounds made by Dow, Monsanto, DuPont and other companies were being developed and marketed in ever greater quantities, and federal agencies were rubber-stamping their approval based on fraudulent safety testing.

The Poison Papers reveal that, instead of acting to protect the public and reassess the chemicals, EPA held a secret meeting with chemical companies to assure them that their products would continue being sold.

4. US media giant Sally Quinn admitted she practiced the occult to murder people — and she was praised for it.

In her latest publication titled, “Finding Magic: A Spiritual Memoir,” Quinn reveals that she believes she has killed at least three people in her lifetime. She claims that while she did not harm anyone physically, she believes strongly in the occult, and has used hexes on people who got on her bad side.

5. Mainstream media finally admitted the United States has been aiding terrorists in Syria.

In November, the BBC released a bombshell report confirming that the US and Syrian Defense Forces knowingly aided thousands of ISIS fighters.

According to the bombshell BBC report:

The BBC has uncovered details of a secret deal that let hundreds of Islamic State fighters and their families escape from Raqqa, under the gaze of the US and British-led coalition and Kurdish-led forces who control the city. A convoy included some of IS’s most notorious members and – despite reassurances – dozens of foreign fighters. Some of those have spread out across Syria, even making it as far as Turkey.

6. The Federal Reserve bank was exposed in June to be a working arm of US Intelligence.

Confidential accounts within the Federal Reserve have been used by the US Treasury and other departments “several times a year to analyze the asset holdings of the central banks of Russia, China, Iraq, Turkey, Yemen, Libya and others,” according to a report from Reuters that cites more than a dozen current and former senior US officials.

7. Declassified document proved the conspiracy that the CIA planned and carried out the 1953 Iranian Coup.

The newly declassified documents, titled “Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, Iran, 1951–1954,” provide a notable difference from the State Department’s 1989 version of the coup, which left out any involvement from American and British intelligence.

A memorandum from Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles to President Eisenhower, dated March 1, 1953, serves as a reminder that internally, “the elimination of Mossadeq by assassination or otherwise,” was used as a method in repairing ties with Iran, restoring oil negotiations, and stopping a “Communist takeover.”

8. Billionaire elitists openly admit to ingesting the blood of young children 

Once the talk of conspiracy theorists — the rich ingesting the blood of the young to foster longevity — is now a reality and an actual business in the United States. Not only is it a business but billionaires are actually admitting their interest in it.

9. CIA drug trafficking conspiracy was blown wide open in an explosive History Channel series.

A&E Networks addressed the government’s role in the drug war in a four-part documentary series on the History Channel, titled, “America’s War on Drugs.”

“America’s War on Drugs” is an immersive trip through the last five decades, uncovering how the CIA, obsessed with keeping America safe in the fight against communism, allied itself with the mafia and foreign drug traffickers. In exchange for support against foreign enemies, the groups were allowed to grow their drug trade in the United States.

10. Mainstream science showed Vitamin C’s ability to fight cancer.

According to researchers from the University of Iowa, ascorbate, derived from Vitamin C, was successfully observed increasing hydrogen peroxide levels in cancer cells, which in turn had a toxic result with cancer cells, killing the cancer cells in lab rats yet not damaging normal cells in the process. The researchers concluded that Vitamin C might, indeed, be lethal to some cancers. 

In 2017, the world has learned that truth is indeed stranger than fiction as the light continues to shine into the darkness. With all the proven conspiracies in 2017, we can’t help but remain optimistic for 2018 to become the year the world begins to wake up.

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident” -Arthur Schopenhauer.

While $2.3 trillion may seem like a lot, another government agency admitted to losing triple the amount in 2009, when former Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman admitted that the Federal Reserve could not account for $9 trillion.

“I have a copy of the Inspector General Act here in front of me. It says, among other things, that it’s your responsibility to conduct and supervise audits and investigations related to the programs and operations of your agency,” Former Representative Alan Grayson said during a special hearing.

“That’s correct,” Coleman replied.

“So I’m asking you, if your agency has, in fact according to Bloomberg, extended 9 trillion dollars in credit —which, by the way, works out to $30,000 for every single man, woman and child in this country — I’d like to know, if you’re not responsible for investigating that, then who is?” Grayson inquired.

“We have responsibility for the Federal Reserve’s programs and operations — to conduct audits and investigations in that area,” Coleman replied. She went on to claim that she could not comment about specific details while the Federal Reserve was in the middle of a review. Even when Representative Grayson specifically asked, “Are you telling me that nobody at the Federal Reserve is keeping track on a regular basis of the losses that occur on what is now a 2-trillion-dollar portfolio?” IG Coleman refused to give him a straight answer.

“This course surveys queer and trans readings of biblical texts. It introduces students to the complexity of constructions of sex, gender, and identity in one of the most influential literary works produced in ancient times,” the course description reads. “By reading the Bible with the methods of queer and trans theoretical approaches, this class destabilizes long held assumptions about what the bible — and religion — says about gender and sexuality.”

According to a report from The College Fix, “Queering the Bible” is the only religious course at Swarthmore that centers on the Bible. The course will be taught by Gywnn Kessler, an associate professor of religion at Swarthmore. Kessler has her PhD in Rabbinics and has focused her research on “rabbinic constructions of gender and identity.”

In another course offered in the department called  “Queering God: Feminist and Queer Theology” the attempt is made to argue that God is a female.

The motion, passed Thursday and proposed by Labour members Dr Onkar Sahotam and Fiona Twycross, labelled pro-life activists and Christian women’s support groups “anti-choice campaigners” and accused them of “obstruction, intimidation and harassment”.

However, the Good Counsel Network (GCN), the pro-life group concerned, say there has not been a single conviction or caution from police in their 23 years of prayer vigils and outreach gatherings in Ealing, West London, near the Marie Stopes abortion clinic, where their campaigning began.

“At some point, and for the good of the country, I predict we will start working with the Democrats in a Bipartisan fashion.” “Infrastructure would be a perfect place to start,” the tycoon-turned-president tweeted, adding: “After having foolishly spent $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is time to start rebuilding our country!"

The tweet came a day after 128 UN members supported a General Assembly resolution which condemned the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital. The vote took place during a rare UN General Assembly emergency session, convened at the request of Arab and Muslim states.

Trump warned before the session that the US could punish nations which vote against Washington’s decision at the General Assembly, saying on Wednesday that there are countries that “take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us, we’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

In 2015’s “SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water,” there are several scenes in the American-style restaurant the “Krusty Krab” where overweight diners eat so many burgers that their chairs break.

Meanwhile, in the Pixar movie “Inside Out,” the main character refuses to eat the broccoli that her father is trying to feed her. She even knocks the vegetables off of the table and she throws a tantrum when her father tells her that she won’t be getting any dessert.

Researchers from Duke University wrote, “[children] may learn from movie characters and imitate the eating behaviors they see on-screen if they see the characters as representations of themselves.” 

At least 32 percent of children aged between two and 19 years old in the US are overweight and 17 percent are obese. Children who weigh more “tend to be obese in later life.” This also puts them at risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

Schulz left no doubt that the SPD is preparing to form the most right-wing federal government since the end of the Second World War. “It is clear that we need sustainable solutions in migration policy,” he declared threateningly. And further: “That our army has to be better equipped, that is absolutely necessary.” Moreover, Schulz demanded that the European Union (EU) must be “reformed” and “promoted.”

This is intended to make the EU more independent of the United States militarily and to enable military interventions independent of NATO. EU Council President Donald Tusk praised the initiative as “bad for our enemies.”

The project of a European military union under German leadership has long been pushed for by the Social Democrats. In its election programme, the SPD was the only party to call for the creation of a European army. In the past few weeks, the acting foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), renewed the demand for an independent European military policy under German leadership in a keynote address at the Foreign Policy Forum of the Körber Foundation.

A village of nearly 2,000 people, Dalama, was buried by a mudslide, according to police. “The river rose and most of the homes were swept away. The village is no longer there,” Tubod police officer Gerry Parami told AFP. The houses were toppled by mud and logs and only the stumps of a few concrete homes are left,” Parami said, adding that police, volunteers, and soldiers were digging through the rubble, using shovels in search of more bodies. 

The Philippines is one of the most typhoon-prone countries in the world. It endured Typhoon Koppu in 2015, which killed about 50 people. Another deadly tropical storm, Haiyan, hit the Philippines in November 2013, killing about 6,000 and causing massive damage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel’s envoy to UNESCO, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, to officially announce the withdrawal, Haaretz reports.

In doing so, Tel Aviv joins Washington, which announced in October that it will leave UNESCO due to its “continuing anti-Israel bias” and “the need for fundamental reform in the organization.” According to Haaretz, Netanyahu made the decision after a series of discussions centered around Israel’s desire to not leave the US isolated in the move.

According to UNESCO regulations, a member state’s exit takes effect on December 31 of the year after the official letter of intent is submitted. Even though the US made its official announcement earlier in October, both countries will leave the agency at the same time.

She carefully chose a location, flowers, a quartz ring, a sweetheart-neckline wedding dress and wrote thoughtful vows. She even wore "something borrowed, something blue" on the day, even though the event was purely symbolic and lacked one crucial component: a groom. Nonetheless, her friends and family attended and Ms Penabaz says she had the "best wedding ever". Since then she has been "officiating" at other people's self-marriage ceremonies as a form of performance art - a service for which she charges.

Her clients are usually single women, although people from all genders and marital statuses have taken part. She claims to have "married" more than 1,500 people, typically in ceremonies like her own, with mock-up chapels, costumes, cakes and most importantly, vows.

"The ceremonies are usually very cathartic and all about self-love," Ms Penabaz says. "80% of the people whom I married to themselves shed a tear reading their vows. They usually say things like 'I forgive myself' and 'I will no longer call myself ugly'." Welcome to the world of self-marriage or "sologamy", which has attracted increasing attention over the last few years.