MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“Istanbul – The specter of Aghia Sophia continues to plague the Islamic world of Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey. Not the most famous symbol of the church of Constantinople, but another church, Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (now Izmit), which predates the Constantinople church, having been built in the fourth century. It passed into history in 787 AD, when it was the last church to host a united Christendom drawn to discuss the iconoclastic question, in a truly ecumenical synod, before the fatal schism of 1024.

This Christian church, the Aghia Sophia in Nicaea (Izmit), was transformed into a mosque in 1331 by Orhan Gazi who led the Ottomans and which was later made a museum in 1920, has returned once again to being a mosque.

All that was needed was a directive from the Directorate General for Religious Affairs led by Mehmet Gormez, appointed by Erdogan instead of Ali Bardakoglu, the man behind the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, since retired. The move has elicited several considerations in Turkey and abroad in a period in which much importance and emphasis is placed on religious freedom. It is also noted that this decision by the Directorate for Religious Affairs, made in accordance with the Directorate General of Religious Foundations, to which the church of Aghia Sophia in Izmit belongs, is in complete contrast with the decisions of the Ministry of Culture in Ankara, which granted permission for religious celebrations in Christian monuments that have since been transformed into museums.” Read more.

Flashback: Turkey: One of the world’s earliest Christian cultures totters on the edge of extinction – “Syriac-speaking Christians in this area have persisted through more than a dozen centuries of Muslim, Ottoman, and now Turkish rule. They languish between the secularizing government of the Republic of Turkey and an Islamic culture that views them as heathen outsiders… In short, the government would be pleased to see the Christian communities quietly disappear altogether. Christians have been caught in the middle of a war between the government and the Kurds. Now it matters little to the government that the Hezbollah as well as the Kurds are harassing them. Christians abroad, meanwhile, know little of their life-and-death struggle.” Read more.

By Tammy Bruce – “Usually around Christmas time we can count on a variety of stories where bizarre leftist worshipping of political correctness imposes itself on civilization with obsessive efforts to eradicate the word ‘Christmas’ itself, and public displays of faith.

You know the drill; it’s ‘Holiday Trees’ and ‘Holiday Season,’ or ‘Winter Celebration.’ The left is thrilled we are a nation right now where Occupy Wall Street’s nihilistic thugs command the public square, while the nativity scene and baby Jesus remain banned as ‘offensive’ to one miserable group or another.

This, of course, has nothing to do with fairness, and everything to do with the atheistic and narcissistic left trying to impose its hopeless, godless view of the world on everyone else.

It’s one thing for the usual liberal Gestapos or the odd atheist to pull that craven cart through society, but now even more disturbingly it appears President Barack Obama himself isn’t even remotely trying to hide his contempt for Christianity and its importance to our great nation.

Just a few days ago, Obama and the White House went out of its way to issue a special proclamation for Eid al-Adha, the Muslim ‘festival of sacrifice.’

In an official White House statement, the president and first lady gushed about Eid and congratulated Muslims involved in the Hajj ‘pilgrimage.’

All of that is well and good, but what struck me about this special message was the reminder that this very same president deliberately ignored Easter this year, the most holy of Christian holidays, by snubbing Christians here and around the world.

In April there was disbelief that the White House issued no proclamation about Easter, let alone a personal statement by the president and his wife. Newsmax noted:

“By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance of major Muslim holidays and released statements in 2010 on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha.” On top of neglecting Easter, the president “also failed to release a statement marking Good Friday.” The White House did, however, “release an eight-paragraph statement heralding Earth Day,” which fell on Good Friday.”

Most of us recognized a problem with a man whose spiritual leader and father figure ran a church where pleading to God to ‘damn’ America was standard, but it now seems Obama’s contempt for this nation is personal and isn’t even something he bothers to mask.” Read more.

By Tabassum Zakaria – “(Reuters) – Herman Cain, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has hired a high-profile defamation lawyer to keep an eye on the sexual harassment accusations made public by two women this week.

Atlanta attorney Lin Wood told Reuters Thursday he was not hired to scare, intimidate or threaten anyone from making statements, but to monitor the accusations against Cain and respond accordingly.

Wood, a top libel and defamation lawyer, was hired on Monday morning when it became clear that Sharon Bialek was about to become the first of four women alleging inappropriate behavior by Cain to go public with her accusations.

‘I would certainly at some point and time give him my legal evaluation of whether any of these particular statements are potentially actionable,’ Wood said. ‘But I was not hired to run out and file a lawsuit against anybody.’

The two public accusers — Bialek and Karen Kraushaar — are planning to hold a joint news conference, but it has not been scheduled. They have accused Cain of inappropriate behavior in the late 1990s when he was head of the National Restaurant Association.

Cain has repeatedly denied the sexual harassment accusations. At a Republican debate Wednesday, he said: ‘The American people deserve better than someone being tried in the court of public opinion based on unfounded accusations.'” Read more.

Video: Investigator says he is 95% certain that Cain is innocent:

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Link: Investigator: Herman Cain innocent of sexual advances

Incroyable! We are quickly approaching a pivotal time in history where Israel needs all freedom-loving nations to stand with her against an existential, common enemy. But with friends like these …

N'apprend pas aux vieux singes à faire des grimaces

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly told US President Barack Obama that he could not ‘stand’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he thinks the Israeli premier ‘is a liar.’

According to a Monday report in the French website ‘Arret sur Images,’ after facing reporters for a G20 press conference on Thursday, the two presidents retired to a private room, to further discuss the matters of the day.

The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington’s strong objection to the move.

The conversation then drifted to Netanyahu, at which time Sarkozy declared: ‘I cannot stand him. He is a liar.’ According to the report, Obama replied: ‘You’re fed up with him, but I have to deal with him every day!’

The remark was naturally meant to be said in confidence, but the two leaders’ microphones were accidently left on, making the would-be private comment embarrassingly public.

The communication faux pas went unnoticed for several minutes, during which the conversation between the two heads of state – which quickly reverted to other matters – was all but open to members the press, who were still in possession of headsets provided by the Elysée for the sake of simultaneous translation during the G20 press conference.

‘By the time the (media) services at the Elysée realize it, it was on for at least three minutes,’ one journalist told the website. Still, he said that reporters ‘did not have a chance to take advantage of this fluke.'” Read more.