Arab Spring Begins Weeding Out Christians as Sunni and Shia Ideologies Lock Horns Over Control of New Islamic Kingdom

12/14/2011 Leave a comment

Daniel 2:41, “Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.”

By Michael Carl – “Islamic factions jockeying for position from out of the ashes of the Arab Spring are posing an increased threat to Middle East Christians, an international human rights group contends.

The British group Barnabas Aid says that Christians in Iran and Azerbaijan are coming under increased pressure from their governments.

Barnabas Aid wrote in its December prayer alert that there is cause for concern for Iran’s persecuted believers, because Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei recently urged more than 2.5 million Muslims on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to form ‘an international Islamic power bloc.’

The Ayatollah Khamenei told the listeners the Arab Spring was guided by Islam and said Muslims worldwide should rally to the Islamic cause.

The prayer alert also said the Iranian leader called on Muslims ‘to make the most of the opportunity’ created by the Arab Spring, as well as the anti-capitalist ‘Occupy’ movement across the world…

Center for Security Policy senior fellow Clare Lopez said the Ayatollah Khamenei’s call for an Islamic power bloc fits together with the objectives of other Islamic groups and countries.

‘Iran’s jihadist objectives are exactly the same as al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey. Indeed, the Iranian leadership was among the first, most consistent and most vocal of supporters of the ‘Islamic Awakening,” Lopez said.

‘Notice that the Iranians don’t call it the ‘Arab Spring,’ because the Iranians want to be the ones seen as the leaders of the jihadi movement,’ Lopez said.

Lopez said the Iranians’ desire to lead the movement may run into a barrier with Turkey.

‘Turkish leadership, seized with neo-Caliphate illusions, has decided on claiming that role for themselves. Moreover, the Turks are openly opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Alawites, which is an ally of Iran,’ Lopez said.

‘Plus, the Arab League has decided it wants Turkey to lead the next Caliphate, not a bunch of Shias who long for an Imamate and the imminent return of the 12th Imam Mahdi, together with Armageddon,’ Lopez said.

Lopez said Iran is in a battle against the rest of the Muslim world.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War Tags: , ,

Fox News Host Boots Atheist Off Show for Belittling Jesus

12/14/2011 Leave a comment

Psalm 14:1, “… The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ …”

Isaiah 5:20a, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness …”

By Gabrielle Devenish – “Two rules to avoid family blowouts at holiday gatherings: don’t bring up politics and don’t bring up religion. For proof, just look to Eric Bolling’s show on Fox Business News, where the host booted an atheist leader off the show Monday night for ‘denigrating the name of Jesus.’

What was supposed to be a civil discussion about a nativity scene on public property in Wisconsin quickly turned into a rapid-fire attack upon Christianity when Bolling interviewed Dan Barker, a spokesman for the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation. When asked why his group was pushing for the nativity scene’s removal, Barker began to attack Christianity, first by declaring that America is not Christian.

‘America is a diverse country. It is not a Christian country,’ Barker firmly stated. He went on to say, ‘The nativity scene basically is an insult to human nature, that we are all doomed and damned…’

Bolling quickly cut him off by saying that he was a Christian and the nativity scene was not an insult to him. He then tried to steer the conversation back to the issue at hand – whether or not the nativity scene should be allowed on public property.

But Barker only wanted to continue hurling insults.

‘By the way, why was Jesus even born?’ Barker asks. ‘To save us from our sin. What an insult to say we are degraded and depraved human beings.’

Again Bolling tried to cut him off, firmly stating, ‘I cannot allow that on my show. … You sir, are denigrating the name of Jesus and I’m not going to let it happen.'” Read more.

Categories: Anything Else Tags: ,

Utah: Thousands of Migratory Birds Die On Impact After ‘Crash Landing’ in Walmart Parking Lot, ‘They’re Just Everywhere’

12/14/2011 Leave a comment

“ST. GEORGE, Utah – Thousands of migratory birds died on impact after apparently mistaking a Wal-Mart parking lot and other areas of southern Utah for bodies of water and plummeting to the ground in what one wildlife expert called the worst downing she’s ever seen.

Crews went to work cleaning up the dead birds and rescuing the survivors after the creatures crash-landed in the St. George area Monday night.

By Tuesday evening, volunteers had rescued more than 2,000 birds, releasing them into nearby bodies of water.

‘They’re just everywhere,’ said Teresa Griffin, wildlife program manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resource’s southern region. ‘It’s been nonstop. All our employees are driving around picking them up, and we’ve got so many people coming to our office and dropping them off.’

Officials say stormy conditions probably confused the flock of grebes, a duck-like aquatic bird likely making its way to Mexico for the winter. The birds tried to land in a Cedar City Wal-Mart parking lot and elsewhere.

‘The storm clouds over the top of the city lights made it look like a nice, flat body of water. All the conditions were right,’ Griffin told The Spectrum newspaper in St. George. ‘So the birds landed to rest, but ended up slamming into the pavement.’

No human injuries or property damage have been reported.

It’s not uncommon for birds to mistake hard surfaces for water. However, Griffin noted most downing are localized, while ‘this was very widespread.’

‘I’ve been here 15 years and this was the worst downing I’ve seen,’ she told the newspaper.” Read more.

Categories: Mass Animal Deaths Tags: ,

Israeli Officials Say Assad is Doomed and Will Fall Within Weeks

12/14/2011 1 comment

And this is being said while Assad is listening. What Syria does next is anybody’s guess …

By Joel Greenberg – “JERUSALEM — In a shift, Israeli officials are welcoming the prospect that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, will be overthrown, an event Defense Minister Ehud Barak says could be weeks away.

As Assad has come under mounting pressure from a revolt at home and moves to isolate him abroad, initial wariness of speaking out publicly about the fate of his regime has given way to open speculation by officials and analysts about how long he can hold on to power, who might replace him and the possible risks of a chaotic disintegration of his rule.

‘Basically, it’s inevitable,’ Barak said in a telephone interview before flying Wednesday to Washington for meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other administration officials. ‘The Assad family, through their own behavior, have lost their last drop of legitimacy and put themselves beyond the point of no return with their brutal slaughter of their own people. He has ceased to be something relevant.’

‘It might take many weeks,’ Barak added, ‘but it’s not a matter of months or years.’

In a separate interview, Moshe Ya’alon, the minister of Strategic Affairs, said: ‘It’s a matter of time and bloodshed before we will witness Assad’s departure. That is our assessment.’

Barak predicted that an eventual removal of Assad would undermine an alliance of Israel’s enemies, including militant Islamist groups backed by Iran and Syria that have fought Israel across its northern and southern borders.” Read more.

Expert: A Threatened Assad May Attack Israel – “Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser warned on Monday against a possible Syrian attack on Israel, if President Bashar Assad feels threatened by the anti-regime protesters. In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Zisser said that in the short term there is no reason for particular concern, because a situation which is bad for Assad is good for Israel as this means that the Syrian president is preoccupied with his internal affairs and not with attacking Israel.” Read more.

Report: Syria Arms Medium-Range Missile Arsenal with Chemical Warheads – “The Syrian regime, which has endured nine months of civil unrest spurred by the Arab Spring as it swept across the Middle East, has armed its medium-range missile arsenal with chemical warheads … Damascus armed 600 one-ton chemical warheads to use in the event of a foreign military intervention. Furthermore, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the deployment of 21 missile launchers along its border with Turkey. Syria’s medium-range missiles that can be equipped with chemical warheads have a range of up to 1,300 kilometers…” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War

It’s Christmas in Fallujah: Hundreds in Iraqis Burn U.S. Flag to Celebrate Troops Pulling Out of Iraq

12/14/2011 Leave a comment

No, this isn’t their way of saying ‘thank you’ …

“FALLUJAH, Iraq — Hundreds of Iraqis set alight U.S. and Israeli flags on Wednesday as they celebrated the impending pullout of American forces from the country in the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah.

Shouting slogans in support of the ‘resistance,’ the demonstrators held up banners and placards inscribed with phrases like, ‘Now we are free’ and ‘Fallujah is the flame of the resistance.’

Surrounded by the Iraqi army, demonstrators carried posters bearing photos of apparent insurgents, faces covered and carrying weapons.

They also held up pictures of U.S. soldiers killed and military vehicles destroyed in the two major offensives against the city in 2004.

‘We are proud to have driven the occupier out of Iraq, at the cost of enormous sacrifice,’ said Khalid al-Alwa, the local leader of the Islamic Party, a Sunni Muslim grouping.

‘Those who destroyed Iraq paid the price because the people here held them accountable.’

The demonstration, which was held in Al-Khadra Mohammediyah Square in the centre of Fallujah, was dubbed the first annual ‘festival to celebrate the role of the resistance.’

The United States is due to pull out the last of its troops from Iraq by the end of December, more than eight years after the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

Fallujah, a city of about half a million people 60 kilometres west of Baghdad, was home to some of the earliest anti-U.S. protests in the aftermath of the March 2003 invasion.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War Tags:

Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Need Our Support and Our Prayers

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

 

Syrian refugee children sit on mattresses at an abandoned school where food and shelter are provided by a local charity in Wadi Khaled area, northern Lebanon. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Syrian refugee children sit on mattresses at an abandoned school where food and shelter are provided by a local charity in Wadi Khaled area, northern Lebanon. (Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Christian Aid Mission – “You’ve read about the politics of the Syria/Lebanon situation in the news and media, and now here is your report from a ministry leader working among the Syrian refugees and muslim host families in Lebanon.

‘There are many Syrian refugees in Lebanon escaping from the turmoil in their home country. I can understand why our government will not want to share what is really happening in northern Lebanon.

I have been involved in the relief ministry among the Syrian refugees with a group of local believers since the first of June 2011. We are still involved in ministering to the Syrian refugees. We are also supporting the Lebanese families who are hosting the refugees, since they are also facing a difficult economic situation due to the border closing with Syria.

The numbers of refugees has varied since the problems started in Syria. The official estimates were from 5,000 to 7,000 refugees. When we started to minister among them, we could identify around 1,600 Syrian families located in 16 villages.

As we were distributing Bibles, food and clothing, many Syrian men returned to their homes in Syria since they felt that the danger had ceased and they needed to make an income to support their families. When conditions grew worse again, they wanted to return to Lebanon but the Syrian troops had already closed the borders. Many of those who returned to Syria could not get back into Lebanon when the fighting started up again, and consequently many women and children are separated from their husbands/fathers.

We have hundreds of families to help. They live in a difficult situation because even the men who stayed in Lebanon cannot find work in northern Lebanon, and the Lebanese host families have very limited resources to support them.

The most essential need in these days is the ability to support the Syrian refugees and the Lebanese host families during the winter season. It is very cold these days in northern Lebanon. Most of these people do not have enough winter clothes, blankets, or carpets.

We are the only ministry supporting the Lebanese host families, as well as the Syrians. Now that the border with Syria is closed, the Lebanese host families are in a bad economic situation because these families had lived on an income from smuggling fuel, food items, and other things out of Syria and selling them in Lebanon for a higher price.

Some of the Syrian refugees are staying with Christian families, but the majority of the villages on the border are Sunni Muslim, thus most of the refugee families are living with Muslim Sunnis. This gives us wide open doors to reach both the Lebanese Muslim host families and the Syrian refugees who are living with them.’ Read more…

Categories: Anything Else, Man-Made Disasters Tags: , , , , ,

Israel: Iran Must Chose Between a Bomb, or Survival

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

“A senior Israeli cabinet minister on Monday said Iran must be forced to face an existential question over its nuclear drive: choose between getting an atomic bomb, or survival.

‘We believe that in order to stop the Iranian military nuclear project, the regime in Tehran should face a dilemma — whether to have a bomb or to survive,’ Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Jerusalem.

Yaalon said however it was for the international community, rather than Israel, to apply what he called an ‘achievable’ policy.

‘We prefer that the international community led by the United States will bring about this dilemma in order to convince the regime to give up its military nuclear programme,’ he said, stressing the need for political isolation and economic sanctions aimed at the banking and oil sectors.

Israel and much of the international community fear that Iran’s nuclear programme masks a drive for a weapons capability.

Tehran denies any such ambition and says the programme is for peaceful civilian energy and medical purposes only.

‘Our policy is very clear — by one way or another, the military nuclear project in Iran should be stopped,’ Yaalon said, indicating it “might be 12 months, might be 24 months” until Iran was able to reach a military nuclear capability.

Israel has pushed Washington and the European Union for tough sanctions against Tehran, but has repeatedly warned it would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

Yaalon, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle of eight ministers, also reiterated the line that while a military option was still on the table, as ‘the last resort.'” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War

Iran to Hold Military Maneuver to Close Strait of Hormuz, ‘If the World Wants to Make the Region Insecure, We Will Make the World Insecure’

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

(Reuters) – “TEHRAN (Reuters) – A member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee said on Monday that the military was set to practice its ability to close the Gulf to shipping at the narrow Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil transit channel in the world, but there was no official confirmation.

The legislator, Parviz Sarvari, told the student news agency ISNA: ‘Soon we will hold a military maneuver on how to close the Strait of Hormuz. If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure.’

Contacted by Reuters, a spokesman for the Iranian military declined to comment.

Iran’s energy minister told Al Jazeera television last month that Tehran could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over its nuclear program.

Tension over the program has increased since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on November 8 that Tehran appears to have worked on designing a nuclear bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Iran has warned it will respond to any attack by hitting Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf and analysts say one way to retaliate would be to close the Strait of Hormuz.

About a third of all sea-borne shipped oil passed through the Strait in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage.” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War

Canada: Muslims Red-Faced After Ottawa Bans Face Veils at Citizenship Ceremonies

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

There are plenty of countries in the Middle East where face veils are not only accepted, but ‘encouraged‘.  Saudi Arabia, for instance, would welcome you with opened arms.  When you get there, just do as you’re told and you won’t have to worry about the sword in the hands of those opened arms …

By MAX HARROLD – “Some Muslim groups are disturbed by the federal government’s decision to immediately ban the wearing of the niqab and burka during Canadian citizenship ceremonies and worry it could lead to similar bans in other settings.

Federal Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said Monday the ban was necessary because he recently discovered women with face coverings could not be fully identified at ceremonies to swear in new Canadians.

Some citizenship judges have told him it’s a common practice. ‘It is happening pretty much every week around the country,’ Kenney told CBC News in a TV interview. ‘My view is that this is a public act of testimony in front of your fellow citizens – it’s a legal requirement – and it’s ridiculous that you should be doing so with your face covered.’

Salam Elmenyawi, head of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said the ban is an attempt by the Conservative government to divide Canadian Muslims.

He estimated that perhaps two dozen Muslim women in Quebec wear face coverings and a few hundred across Canada.

He said a woman who chooses to cover her face is doing so because she believes it is the best way for her to live her faith.

There is widespread respect by those who don’t cover their faces for those who do cover them, he added.

The government’s decision is ‘sending a message that we’re watching you and we’re going to tell you which parts of your religion are acceptable and which are not,’ Elmenyawi said.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case about whether a Muslim woman who is accusing her cousin and uncle of childhood sexual abuse should be allowed to wear a full face-covering on the witness stand, Elmenyawi noted.

The decision could set precedent for laws on face veils, he said.

Quebec’s Bill 94, still being studied in committee in the National Assembly, would require people receiving or offering health care, education or government services to do so with their face uncovered.” Read more.

Categories: Anything Else

Expert: A Threatened Assad May Attack Israel

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

Here is an addendum to some thoughts on this story …

By Elad Benari – “Middle East expert Professor Eyal Zisser warned on Monday against a possible Syrian attack on Israel, if President Bashar Assad feels threatened by the anti-regime protesters.

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Zisser said that in the short term there is no reason for particular concern, because a situation which is bad for Assad is good for Israel as this means that the Syrian president is preoccupied with his internal affairs and not with attacking Israel.

Zisser added that the concern is in the long run, because it is quite possible that a desperate Assad may decide to rally his people around a common enemy, namely Israel.

Referring to Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s comments on Sunday that the end of Assad’s rule is approaching and that it would be a ‘blessing for the Middle East,’ Prof. Zisser said that these remarks do not have any special meaning for the Syrians as they do not pay attention to remarks made by an Israeli defense minister.

He also spoke of the interview Assad gave last week to ABC News, in which he told veteran journalist Barbara Walters that ‘no government in the world [would] kill its people unless it’s led by a crazy person.’ Zisser explained that the interview is a direct continuation of an attempt by Assad’s men to show him as an enlightened person who is different from his father. This attempt, he said, has been ongoing since Assad took over power from his father.” Read more.

Report: Syria Arms Medium-Range Missile Arsenal with Chemical Warheads – “The Syrian regime, which has endured nine months of civil unrest spurred by the Arab Spring as it swept across the Middle East, has armed its medium-range missile arsenal with chemical warheads. According to a report published by the Sabah daily Sunday, Damascus armed 600 one-ton chemical warheads to use in the event of a foreign military intervention. Furthermore, President Bashar al-Assad ordered the deployment of 21 missile launchers along its border with Turkey. Syria’s medium-range missiles that can be equipped with chemical warheads have a range of up to 1,300 kilometers…” Read more.

Categories: Radical Islam, Wars and Rumors of War

Liege Under Seige: Guns and Grenades Leave at Least Two Dead, Dozens Wounded in Belgium

12/13/2011 Leave a comment

Some reports are now saying at least four dead, including the gunman …

“The attack took place around noon on Saint-Lambert square, home to the town’s courthouse and located near a busy Christmas market, Belga news agency said.

A two-year-old child is reportedly fighting for life in hospital. Six other victims are said to be gravely injured.

One of two or more assailants threw stun grenades into the courthouse while another was hurled at a bus shelter, RTL-TV1 said.

Shots were fired across the square by gunmen posted on the rooftop of a bakery shop, with further shots heard later from across town.

Police cordoned off the square and gave chase to the assailants, one of whom was reportedly killed. The gunmen are thought to be hiding in Liege cathedral.

aspard Grosjean, a journalist for La Meuse Liege on the scene, told The Daily Telegraph there was panic and confusion on the streets of Liege.

‘There is at least one dead and the attacker. Police are looking for another shooter. There are lots of ambulances and many casualties – at least 10 people.'” Read more.

Belgium attack: grenades thrown at bus-stop in Liège – “The death toll from the attack has risen to four, including the attacker, according to police sources quoted in the local media. The identities of the victims are not yet known, but a press conference is due to begin at 4pm local time during which a clearer picture should be formed. Meanwhile the Belgian authorities have quashed speculation about any terrorist links with the Liege attack. Sudpresse, the new site that was the first to name the alleged attacker as Nordine Amrani, is now reporting that his car was found by police on the place Saint Lambert.” Read more.

Categories: Man-Made Disasters, Wars and Rumors of War

Newt Gingrich: Palestinians Are Terrorists and It’s ‘Time For Somebody to Say Enough Lying About the Middle East’

12/12/2011 3 comments

Don’t back down, Newt.  Tell it exactly like it is …

Newt Gingrich during ABC News Debate: “Hamas does not admit the right of Israel to exist and says publicly not a single Jew will remain. The ambassador to India said last month there is no difference between Fatah and Hamas. Both agree Israel has no right to exist. Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. These people are terrorists. They teach terrorism in their schools. They have textbooks that say ‘if there are 13 Jews and 9 Jews are killed, how many Jews are left?’ We pay for those textbooks through our aid money. Time for somebody to say enough lying about the Middle East.” Source.

Categories: Radical Islam