Why ISIS Targeted France And Who Is Next
By Tom Olago
The horror that unfolded in Paris last week, and the recent downing of a Russian airliner must have left many wondering: who will be next? Which city of ‘infidels’ and ‘crusaders’ will face the wrath of ISIS or some other terrorist group, hell-bent on shedding the blood of the innocent and leaving a long trail of destruction and pain in its wake?
No nation wants to be next, so heightened security alerts and measures are being hurriedly put into place, reactivated or enhanced all over the world, all in the hope of preventing terror attacks altogether, or minimizing the effects of any potentially successful ones.
Mali quickly discovered that it is almost impossible to know where the next terror attack is going to be as 21 people were killed after being taken hostage at the Radison Blu hotel by an Al Qaeda affiliate. Al Qaeda is looking to show that it is not to be forgotten in an effort to stay relevant in the ISIS onslaught. Belgium has gone on a high state of alert, which has included shutting down many parts of the city as it prepares to be next.
Many went into a panic over the weekend when reports surfaced that the online hacker group Anonymous had discovered information regarding planned terror attacks in Paris, the United States, Indonesia, Italy and Lebanon. Anonymous has since distanced itself from the report but it shows you how quickly disinformation or misinformation can propagate on the web and social media. We should expect a lot more of these types of false reports as people find themselves on edge which is exactly what Islamic terror groups are hoping.
One of the questions being asked is: why France? Some attacks conducted by Islamic Terrorists are clearly well planned and purposely chosen for symbolism such as the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon or the 7/7 bombings in London. Other attacks that are more “lone wolf” such as the Ft Hood shooting or the British soldier run down and beheaded in a London street in the middle of the afternoon are attacks of opportunity.
It is impossible to know where attacks of opportunity are going to arise but symbolic attacks take much more planning and it might be useful to examine the motivating factors behind the Paris onslaught for nations to examine their own history and policies that may make them a target.
A recent analysis by Elliot Friedland for the Clarion Project.org believes ISIS prioritizes which countries to attack, and when. He offers five top reasons that Paris, and France in general was singled out:
1. France has been fighting the Islamic State and other Islamists, and so far has been the only European country to join the air strikes with the U.S;
2. France has specifically named the Islamist ideology as the problem. They have stated that they are at war with radical Islam and have taken steps against other extremist groups;
3. France is standing up for its values and seeking to integrate Muslims. ISIS finds this unacceptable. The model proposed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls explicitly stated: “We seek to establish a model of Islam that is fully integrated, fully compatible with the values of the Republic.”
4. Paris represents the enlightenment values of Western civilization. ISIS derides Paris as “the capital of prostitution and vice, the lead carrier of the cross in Europe – Paris.”
5. The Islamic State is obsessed with history and honor. It carries a grudge with France over what it sees as historical injustices dating back to the 11th century, and now seeks to re-assert itself over Europe whilst taking the form the revived Muslim Caliphate.
None of the above are reasons that would resonate with civilized modern society, yet as usually happens, such attacks still tend to motivate other potential terrorists to launch their own offensives. They thrive on riding the publicity waves as far as possible, while media interest and social focus on terror is still at its highest.
Ryan Mauro of ClarionProject.org suggests that there are several ISIS threats that now loom large:
1. “Copycat” attacks by the Islamic State and other Islamist terrorist supporters, including those who are loyal to Al-Qaeda, who want to show that the group hasn’t become a ‘has-been’ in the jihadist world – such as Mali.
2. There are those who will worry that they might now lose their chance to strike and earn their ticket to Paradise by dying in jihad as a “martyr.” Supporters of the Islamic State have every reason to expect Western governments to become extra aggressive in rounding up possible terrorists. ISIS supporters who believe they are on the authorities’ radar could choose to act sooner instead of patiently preparing their plot and risk being foiled, as suggested by the terror alert in Belgium.
Mauro believes that the recent attacks will earn ISIS a wave of recruits and encourage the millions of Islamic State supporters who have yet to take up arms finally to act upon their beliefs. The West will need to push back and counteract the ISIS propaganda scores, by persistently reminding ISIS and the world of the group’s failures, mistakes and acts of terror, all carried out in the name of Islam.
In a recent analysis published in Christian Headlines.com, Ayman S. Ibrahim states four ways that ISIS bases its acts of violence on religion, and why it matters:
1. ISIS based its actions on a literal reading of the Qur’an. It views itself as truly Islamic and claims its actions are supported by the Qur’an.
2. For ISIS followers, France is at war with Islam. The ISIS-issued statement that accepted responsibility for the attacks portrays France (and its allies) as Crusaders, literally “the holders of the Cross,” portraying the war in purely religious terms.
3. The attacks were meant to imitate seventh-century raids led by the Prophet Muhammad. The statement identified the Paris attacks using the Arabic term “ghazwa”, meaning ‘battle’. This term is said to have been primarily used in the biography of Muhammad, in reference to his raids and expeditions against the non-Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century.
4. The terrorists viewed themselves as martyrs for Islam. They died, the statement said, to support the cause of the true religion and in fulfillment of the charges of the Prophet Muhammad to humiliate enemies, rubbing “their noses in the dusty ground.”
Ayman concludes that to claim that all Muslims are terrorists is far from correct, but to deny or underestimate the significant power and influence of some Islamic texts and specific interpretations of them is not prudent, either.
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Genesis 12:3
And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curse you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.
The French government chose to curse Israel by backing Palestinian attempts to steal the land from it’s rightful owners – the Jews.
The French government chose to sponsor UN edicts that call for Israel to give it’s land to these Egyptians and Arabs etc, even though they know from the experience of Gaza, that the Palestinians have no intention of living in peace with Israel.
There has never in history been a Palestinian state, or any ethnic group called Palestinians. This is an invention of those who seek only the annihilation of Israel and Jews everywhere. Those governments who support these terrorists can expect terrorism on the streets of their cities.
Prince Charles: “Climate Change Is a Root Cause of Syrian War”
Britain’s Prince Charles has pointed to the world’s failure to tackle climate change as a root cause of the civil war in Syria, terrorism and the consequent refugee crisis engulfing Europe. The heir to the British throne is due to give a keynote speech at the opening of a global climate summit in Paris next week where the leaders of 118 countries will gather to try to nail down a deal to limit rising greenhouse gas emissions.
We need to note two very important facts about this new story:
1) Prince Charles is the heir to the British throne and will become King one day. Therefore, he holds a most prestigious office, whose occupant will naturally carry great weight in convincing sceptical people.
2) Prince Charles is making the kind of sweeping statement that Antichrist will make one day as he forces the entire world to adopt the United Nations’ Biodiversity Treaty, where all the people of the world will be forced to give up their homes and their property to move into an area designated as “safe” for the Earth.
Returning to our featured story:
“Some of us were saying 20 something years ago that if we didn’t tackle these issues, you would see ever greater conflict over scarce resources and ever greater difficulties over drought, and the accumulating effect of climate change which means that people have to move,” he said. “And in fact there’s very good evidence indeed that one of the major reasons for this horror in Syria, funnily enough, was a drought that lasted for about five or six years, which meant that huge numbers of people in the end had to leave the land but increasingly they came into the cities.”
Prince Charles sweeps all science refuting Climate Change under the rug as he makes this sweeping statement.
Charles is paralleling an action Antichrist plans to take once he has “solved” the problem in the Middle East and in Israel, during the first seven years of his 1,000-year reign. The “Man of Sin” plans to step to the podium one day to declare that all nations of the world force their population into designated human living zones, shown in this United States map as the turquoise blue.
All other areas of the country will be set aside for Mother Nature, where all human activity is forbidden. This plan is set forth in a document known as the “United Nations Biodiversity” agenda.
In this map, all areas designated in yellow and red will be areas in which no human activity whatsoever will be allowed.
The justification from Antichrist will be similar to that from Prince Charles. Ignoring genuine science, Antichrist will announce that all the horrific, deadly storms in the past 100 years are the result of human activity. Once this plan is fully implemented, you will be told where you can live and what occupation you will be allowed to work, if you are allowed to live at all.
Before we get further into this subject, let us review a very important statement that former Soviet President Gorbachev made concerning the extremely important role that Environmental Extremism was to play in the successful implementation of Antichrist and his kingdom.
Quote of the Century: “The threat of environmental crisis will be the ‘international disaster key’ that will unlock the New World Order.” [Mikhail Gorbachev, quoted in “A Special Report: The Wild-lands Project Unleashes Its War On Mankind”, by Marilyn Brannan, Associate Editor, Monetary & Economic Review, 1996, p. 5.]
Antichrist will insist that man has evolved into such a “predatory” animal, that he threatens all other animals, and Mother Earth herself [Gaia is her name] with extinction. Man’s “predatory” nature now threatening the world is manifested in his pollution and destruction of the environment and his destruction of the many species of wildlife. Therefore, man is a dangerous “animal” that must be controlled by other men who have spiritually “evolved” into a higher state than the rest of us humans. Of course, these “more highly evolved” humans just so happen to be the ones who are controlling governments, global institutions, and armed forces today that are spearheading the drive to the New World Order!! They have concocted many extreme environmental “crises” that are global in nature, and are being promoted by schools and various governmental agencies as “turning mankind upside down”.
Our Industrial Civilization is most to blame for placing such undue pressure on Mother Gaia –Mother Earth. Therefore, just as the propaganda film, “The Day After Tomorrow” depicts, our current civilization must be destroyed and replaced by an agricultural civilization similar to that which existed in Europe 500 years ago!
And, just as Prince Charles is doing today, Antichrist will completely ignore genuine science as he broadly and boldly declare that Mother Nature is so overburdened by man’s activities that this kind of draconian action is required!
One final fact is necessary for all Fundamental, Bible-believing Christians. Since Antichrist plans to announce his “Biodiversity Treaty” plan after he has completed his first seven years of reign from Jerusalem, we know that God will never allow him to make this announcement. You see, God will allow Antichrist to serve only seven years and then will cut him off, overthrow his kingdom, and cast him into the Abyss.
This example is one of the most important of Illuminati Plans which God will not allow to be fulfilled. This reason is why it is so important for Christians to pass events, both real and planned, through Bible prophecy and doctrine. Many plans of the Elite will never actually occur as they are cut off by God’s prophecies.
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This report from Cutting Edge comes as no surprise to me. The European Union took on leadership of the world in the battle to halt ‘climate change’. The EU Commission set up the Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG Clima). Its mission statement I set out below.
- formulate and implement climate policies and strategies
- take a leading role in international negotiations on climate
- implement the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
- monitor national emissions by EU member countries
- promote low-carbon technologies & adaptation measures
I believe their invitation to Prince Charles to address the UN Climate Change meeting in Paris on the 30th November to be another step toward his fulfilment of Bible prophecy. The Prince is THE highest profile individual leading the claim that climate change is a man-made phenomena. He is also reported to have put himself forward for the roll of European king, reviving the throne of Roman Emperor.
Cutting Edge points out the similarities between what the Prince is doing and what they expect of the Antichrist. They are in my opinion, totally on the right track. I have pointed to the numerous ways in which Prince Charles fulfils biblical prophecy concerning the Antichrist in my book (climate change being only one of them).
For more information on this click “Buy Now” on the top bar.
British Pastor Facing Jail For Criticizing Muslim Terrorists
By Jack Minor
While Muslim terrorists with ISIS have begun an aggressive new campaign against the West including the bombing of a Russian airliner and murdering at least 129 people in Paris, a 78 year old British pastor may end up going to prison for criticizing the violent elements of Islam.
Pastor James McConnell was preaching a sermon in a church at the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in May, 2014, when he called Islam a “satanic” religion for wanting to punish Meriam Ibrahim, a pregnant woman who committed the crime of refusing to renounce her Christian faith and marrying a Christian man.
During his message McConnell said that it is impossible that the God of the Hebrew and Christian Bible is the Allah of the Koran. He said:
“The Muslim religion was created many hundreds of years after Christ. Mohammed, was born in 570. But Muslims believe that Islam is the true religion, dating back to Adam, and that the biblical Patriarchs were all Muslims, including Noah and Abraham and Moses, and even our Lord Jesus Christ.
“To judge by some of what I have heard in the past few months, you would think that Islam was little more than a variation of Christianity and Judaism. Not so. Islam’s ideas about God, about humanity, about salvation are vastly different from the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. Islam is heathen. Islam is satanic. Islam is a doctrine spawned in Hell.”
It was those words that streamed live on the Internet — violated the 2003 Communications Act by “sending, or causing to be sent, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message or other matter that was grossly offensive.”
While the words spoken by McConnell may sound harsh in today’s culture of “microagressions,” it is nothing more than traditional bible teaching by great men of God over the years including George Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, DL Moody, and many others. Indeed, one of the foundations of Christianity is that Jesus is the only way of salvation and all other ways lead to hell.
Yet it now appears that preaching traditional Christianity is now illegal in the UK. Following his sermon, McConnell was told that he was facing hate crime charges and has a court date scheduled for Dec. 14-16 in a Belfast court.
McConnell is refusing to back down for his statements defending Christianity and criticizing Islam, saying at the time he made his comments he was specifically referencing Ibrahim.
“It began with the Muslim issue when I protested (through my sermon) concerning the young Muslim woman who was pregnant and had been converted to Christianity,” the pastor wrote. “She was to receive 80 lashes and possibly martyrdom. Thankfully she and her husband are now living in the United States. I have no regrets about what I said. I do not hate Muslims, but I denounce Islam as a doctrine and I make no apologies for that”.
McConnell said, his situation should be alarming for everyone, including those who disagree with him because of the implications for the right to engage in free speech and to freely practice religion.
“I also appeal and challenge every Muslim who lives in this country. No-one is questioning your right to worship here and practice your religion,” McConnell wrote. “If I was living in many Muslim countries in the world, I would be forbidden to practice my religion and would probably be imprisoned or even put to death for doing so. Yet you, as a Muslim, have perfect liberty here. So I appeal to you, come with me and protest.”
McConnell summed it up this way: “Islam is allowed to come to this country, Islam is allowed to worship in this country, Islam is allowed to preach in this country and they preach hate. And for years we are not allowed to give a tract out, we are not allowed in Islam, we are not allowed to preach the gospel. We are persecuted in Islam if we stand for Jesus Christ.”
Interestingly, McConnell has received support from Suzanne Breen, a prominent Irish journalist and editor.
“As an atheist, I carry no candle for Christian fundamentalists, but there is something seriously wrong in hauling a pensioner pastor in ill health through the courts for simply expressing his opinion,” Breen wrote.
While it is easy to dismiss the issue as something that is happening “over there,” Christians in America need to realize that it is just a matter of time before the same thing happens here.
Following the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, President Obama responded to the attacks by saying “the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.”
There is also a move by the United Nations to make criticism of Islam a crime against humanity. For years the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been pushing for a UN resolution that would make defamation of religion a criminal offense.
While the resolution does not mention any single religion, it is noteworthy that the resolution has been aggressively pushed by Muslim countries. The Obama administration strongly supports the resolution.
In 2011, the State Department and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sponsored a closed door conference in Washington on implementing the resolution. The stated purpose of the conference was to establish international standards for criminalizing “intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of … religion and belief.”
In 2012, a Pennsylvania judge dismissed assault charges against a Muslim man who attacked an atheist for insulting his faith.
American Atheists Pennsylvania State Director, Ernest Perce was attacked by a Muslim while dressed as a zombie Muhammad in a Halloween parade. During the same parade another atheist was dressed as a zombie Pope, but there were no reports of a Roman Catholic attacking anyone.
In dismissing the charges, Judge Mark Martin berated the victim, saying essentially he deserved it and should be grateful he did not live in an Islamic country where he could face the death penalty for daring to insult Islam.
The judge, who is an admitted Muslim said, “There’s a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity – I understand you’re an atheist – but see Islam is not just a religion. It’s their culture, their culture, their very essence, their very being.”
He continued, “Whenever it is very common, their language, when they’re speaking to each other, it’s very common for them to say, uh, Allah willing, this will happen. It’s, they’re so immersed in it. And what you’ve done is, you’ve completely trashed their essence, their being. They find it very, very, very offensive. I’m a Muslim. I find it offensive.”
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Write to your MP’s, both individually and as a church congregation throughout the UK. Let them know this matters to you, and your vote will not be in support of them if they fail to use their influence in support of this Pastor. Evil has been triumphing in the UK because good men and women have done nothing to stop it.
Islamists have taken power above all proportion to their numbers because good men and women have tolerated their demands thinking it isn’t going to affect them. Lets all live and let live you say. Well did you forget so quickly what they did to London in the 7/7 bombings? Did it have to take the Paris massacre to remind you? Do you think they want to “live and let live”?
The last time the UK and Europe faced an evil like this was 1930’s Germany and the rise of the Nazis. The good men and women tried to “live and let live” back then until it was too late.
Israeli Apartheid Exposed
Arab priest exposes the truth behind the accusation of Israel’s apartheid state.
New Spy Regulations Monitor Every Online User Experience
By Jack Minor
With the recent terror attacks in Paris, more and more people will be willing to exchange privacy for security as the general population looks to the government to do whatever is necessary to make them feel safe.
Under the guise of fighting terrorism, police and security services in the UK will soon be able to access the browsing history of every resident under new legislation announced by the Home Secretary.
A new Investigatory Powers Bill is expected to be introduced in both Houses of Parliament that will attempt to bring the surveillance powers of the various security services such as MI5, MI6, GCHQ and the police under the jurisdiction of a single piece of legislation instead of the patchwork of regulations that currently govern their right to access information through wiretaps and other forms of communication.
Under the legislation, internet providers would be required to store and archive the entire web history of each of their customers for an entire year. The information would be kept even if a person clears their web rbrowsing history. Like most bills that expand government snooping powers, such as the Patiot Act in the US, the bill is being touted as necessary because of the popularity of online communications among terrorists, including social media.
In an interview with Sky News, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Chris Phillips said, “The world has moved on so quickly: people communicate on many different means, whether it’s WhatsApp, whether it’s Facebook, whether it’s email or telephone. So it’s really important that the laws keep up. [Without new laws] we’d be in a very dangerous place.”
The bill attempts to be a workaround to current privacy laws by classifying browsing history and information on emails sent and received as communications data rather than refer to it as content. To clarify the difference, communications data is considered the basic details of a message or web page visited such as details on an itemized phone bill or information on the outside of an envelope, whereas officials are defining content as the letter sent with your bill or the words spoken on a phone call. Under current UK law, accessing data does not require a warrant like accessing content does.
The bill also addresses the issue of personal encryption of data. Governments, including the US, have been pressuring companies that provide encryption services to create their systems with a back door to allow government surveillance without a warrant. Companies such as Apple have so far been pushing back on the idea, noting that the back door would make their systems more vulnerable to a hacker.
Under the UK bill, communications firms would have to go even further and help government agencies hack into people’s computers and smartphones.
While the purpose may sound noble, at a time when free speech is coming increasingly under attack, including attempts to prevent anonymous internet postings, it is easy to see how such power could be abused by authorities. Indeed, as the recent IRS scandal in the US showed, groups with political beliefs opposite of the Obama administration’s liberal agenda have even been harassed by having to provide such information as the content of their prayers.
With many Bible teachers believing the internet will help usher in the antichrist’s economic system of preventing those without the mark of the beast from buying or selling, it is easy to see how having access to this level of personal information could come in handy in waging war on Christians here on earth during the tribulation. The UK government just may have moved things closer in that direction.
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Revelation 13: 16-17
And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
That passage of scripture speaks of the beast that rises out of the earth, also known as The False Prophet. I have for some time now suspected this prophecy to have a partial historical fulfilment, (similar to Antiochus IV Epiphanes partial fulfilment of the Antichrist) as well as a complete fulfilment in a man of the last days. I think it highly probable that this False Prophet was historically Muhammad, and will in future be one of his descendants.
These security measures affecting our lives today are caused by the actions of Islamists, and could result in a measure that is designed to deprive them of finance. Thus, the False Prophet ’causes’ the Mark Of The Beast financial system.
Palestinian Incitement/Conspiracies Continue – Blame Israel For Paris Massacre
By Kade Hawkins
It should come as no surprise that Palestinian groups that formerly blamed the Jews for the attacks of 9/11 and the Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this year in France are now suggesting Israel is also responsible for the Paris massacre.
The official PA daily al-Hayat al-Jadida published an op-ed blaming Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, and its “octopus arms,” for the six coordinated attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people and injured over 352.
The story suggests that it’s no coincidence that “human blood was exploded in Paris” at the same time that “certain European sanctions” are being implemented.” Referring to the European Union’s decision to approve guidelines that require member states to stop carrying the “Made in Israel” label for products made in the “occupied territories”
The PA government is attempting falsely to compare Israel’s actions of self-defense against terrorism as, ironically, terrorism itself. The PA’s twitter account tweeted the following, “Terror is terror and we condemn all terror. Be it destroying houses in Nablus and killing our children by Israel or hitting a Russian plane over Egypt. The Paris attacks are criminal acts done by coward terrorists.”
The daily also compared Israel to ISIS by publishing a cartoon showing an Israeli decapitating the Al-Aqsa Mosque alongside an ISIS terrorist beheading a hostage.
According to the Algemeiner Journal, Palestinian National Council member Bassam Abu Sharif also blamed Israel for the attacks in Paris. He criticized US and Western leaders for not taking a stand against Israel and the “Zionists,” and implied that the West had a hand in the attacks, because it has “used terror organizations before” to carry out Israel’s and their own “schemes” in the Middle East.
This conspiracy rhetoric comes on the heels of more terror attacks in Israel which saw a Rabbi and his son murdered while on their way to a wedding celebration on Friday. A Red Crescent ambulance passed by the site of the deadly terrorist attack and ignored the victims as they lay dying. The Israeli government will be launching an international campaign against the organization, which in principle does not treat Jews – despite being bound to treat all casualties regardless off their identity. Netanyahu noted that “no such thing” had ever occurred with Israeli emergency services “who provide aid without distinction to Jews, to Arabs, to everyone.”
While Israelis may not currently be experiencing mass casualty attacks like France they have endured weeks of constant attacks which have seen many Israeli’s lose their lives and their entire population set on edge.
Despite the PA’s attempts to convince people it is on the side of those fighting terror, the wave of incitement by Palestinians on social media and by Government representatives continues unabated.
A few recent examples:
Songs about stabbing Jews to death — including one by the winner of the Arab equivalent of “American Idol” — are all the rage on West Bank airwaves, a year after the twisted hit parade featured calls for running down Israelis with cars.
A store in Gaza named “Hitler” has armed its display mannequins with knives. (All Pro-Palestinian supporters should take note. You are supporting neo-Nazis)
The Palestinian Authority’s UN representative claimed Israel is harvesting the organs of dead Palestinians.
Both the PA and Fatah continue to encourage rock-throwing against Israelis. Recent cartoons in the official PA daily states that the rock is the “best friend ever” of Palestinians.
Palestinian terrorist Muhannad Halabi, who murdered two Israelis and wounded two others last month, had a football (soccer) tournament named after him by the Yasser Arafat Youth Center in Jenin. Deemed a martyr for his murder of Israeli civilians, the 19-year-old Halabi has also been honored in other ways, including the Palestinian Authority (PA) naming street after him, Abbas’s Fatah movement bringing soil from the Al-Asqa mosque to Halabi’s grave (so he could “hug the soil for which he died”), and the PA Bar Association awarding him an honorary law degree.
It’s no wonder a full 369 members of the House of Representatives issued a stern letter to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas demanding that he stop inciting terrorism.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on world leaders to show the same level of indignation over terror against Israelis as they do over terror attacks around the world.
“The time has come for countries to condemn terrorism against us to the same degree that they condemn terrorism everywhere else in the world,” Netanyahu said. “It would be proper for Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas], who condemned the attack in France yesterday, to condemn ruthless terrorism against innocent people in Israel and fight the incitement that motivates it.”
OBAMA TO ASK NETANYAHU TO AVOID ANY “ONE-STATE SOLUTIONS”
Malley noted that Obama will want to hear from Netanyahu what trust-building steps he is willing to take in order to “leave the door open for a two-state solution.”
No Place To Hide – Swedes Force Cash Out Into The Open
By Jack Minor
Developments in Sweden’s monetary policy, along with recent trends by banks to discourage cash transactions are putting individuals in a no-win situation where they can no longer hide or save their money, but are increasingly being “urged” to spend it to prop up failing economies.
Since July, the Swedish central bank has had an interest rate of -0.35%. Yes, you hear that right, negative interest. In other words, like gift cards that lose money each month they are not used, people who chose to be wise stewards and save their money in Sweden could soon be punished by actually losing money if they chose not to spend it; a “use it or lose it” scenario.
While the banks have not yet passed this negative rate onto their customers, this is not sustainable and experts predict it is only a matter of time before account holders see their balances shrink.
In the past, low interest rates that are not profitable have resulted in people removing their money from banks and “hoarding it,” however Sweden has made this logical move difficult. The banks have been taking steps to limit cash withdrawals by removing ATMs in rural areas. In addition, banks will call the police if they feel you are using too much cash.
One of the supposed reasons for forcing cash into the open is to combat money laundering and terrorism. However, economic experts have criticized those who save their money, saying by not spending they are hampering economic activity, thus blaming them for many of the economic woes their own governments have created through financial mismanagement.
The world has been in the midst of a global economic crisis for years, with nations facing various degrees of issues. Japan has long been in an economic slump, Greece is dealing with its own debt crisis, while in America the federal debt has risen to over an astounding $18.5 trillion.
To get an idea of how big a number one trillion is, if you were to go back in time one billion seconds ago you would be in 1979. However, if you set your time machine for one trillion seconds it would take you back to 29,700 BC, if you believed the evolutionist model for the age of the earth. The US national debt as it currently stands would take a person back to 534,600 BC.
Many of the economic problems are the result of government spending policies that spend more than they take in. As a result, central banks have had to lower interest rates to prevent governments with sizeable interest payments on their debt from becoming insolvent. For instance, if the Federal Reserve were to raise interest rates, the national debt would balloon overnight, possibly putting the nation into a death spiral where all income would need to go for debt interest payments.
Students of the Bible have long warned of a cashless society as part of the Antichrist’s plan for ultimate control over mankind. Many prophecy experts believe that what we are seeing as “encouragement” to go cashless will one day become mandatory so that no one will be able to buy or sell unless they have a mark of allegiance, often called the “mark of the beast”.
Some recent examples show we are already well on our way: a video on Reddit shows a Bank of America branch in California refusing a cash payment on a mortgage. In 2014, Chase Bank changed its policy to now refuse cash payments for credit cards, mortgages and auto loans. In addition, Chase prohibits using safe deposit boxes to store “any cash or coins.”
Proxy Wars And The Battle For Syria
By Tom Olago
What is happening in Syria is an example of the confusion that is possible when countries with a stake in a war use proxies. ISIS is supposed to be the common enemy that everyone is aiming to defeat, but this one united objective is somewhat compromised by several other radically different, and even opposing agendas held by proxy armies and/or their foreign puppet masters.
These developments have become of concern to U.S President Obama, who has reportedly expressed dismay at the turn of events in Syria. However, during a recent news conference, President Obama said he would not allow the current conflict in Syria to devolve into a proxy war between the United States and Russia: “That would be bad strategy on our part…this is a battle between Russia, Iran and [Syrian President Bashar Assad] against the overwhelming majority of the Syrian people.”
Indications are that as far as avoiding a proxy war with Russia over Syria is concerned, it may well be already too late for President Obama.
In a recent Washington Post opinion piece, David Ignatius illustrates “the confusing order of battle”: The United States has decided that its strongest partner against the Islamic State is a Syrian Kurdish force known as the YPG. But Turkey, nominally a NATO ally, says the YPG has links with what it claims is a Kurdish terrorist group.
Russia, meanwhile, contends that it is fighting the Islamic State, alongside forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But Russian warplanes have been bombing Islamist rebel groups that are covertly supported by the United States, Turkey and Jordan — and these brigades are fighting back hard. The rebels are posting videos bragging about their success with U.S. anti-tank missiles.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have been fighting by proxy in Syria for nearly four years. According to Ignatius, this may be the most toxic conflict of all, because it feeds the Sunni-Shiite sectarian inferno that is immolating the Middle East. Initially, Shiite-ruled neighbors, Iran and Iraq, dispatched Hezbollah fighters and Iraqi militiamen to rescue Assad’s army. This Sunni-Shiite feud added an extra burst of savagery.
Opinion is split, though, regarding the extent to which the proxy war is but a reflection of larger Russia-United States rivalries. Some analysts do not even agree that a proxy war exists. A recent report in npr.org quotes Cliff Kupchan, chairman of the global risk analysis firm Eurasia Group:
“In my view, the term ‘proxy war’ overstates U.S.-Russian strains over Syria. A proxy war entails two major nations actively — and to a real extent equally — supporting opposite sides in a conflict. The decades-long civil war in Angola between the MPLA and UNITA was a classic proxy war, where the Soviet Union and the U.S. provided major support to opposite sides.
“In Syria, the U.S. strongly objects to the Russian intervention — holding that it will only stoke conflict, further radicalize the opposition, and make eventual formation of a coalition government even less likely. Russia in turn sympathizes with President Bashar al-Assad’s view that the opposition are terrorists and must be eradicated. The U.S. and Russia deeply distrust each other’s motives in Syria, and cooperation is unlikely in the foreseeable future. But the U.S. has not, and I don’t think will, actively oppose the Russian move… U.S. strategy is not proxy war, but to let President Vladimir Putin dig his own hole in the morass that is the Syrian civil war.”
Yet overall, with so many powerful military forces gathering in the same area, the danger for accidents and miscalculations remains large irrespective of the current levels of proxy. The waters are further muddied by the fact that the outside powers (United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia) recently disagreed sharply about what a transition should look like.
Each side appears to be trying to extend its territory so as strengthen its bargaining position eventually, leading to fears of “a more devastating, region-wide explosion” ahead.
This cynical intervention is said to be reminiscent of similar meddling that helped ravage Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq and Libya during their civil wars.
“Until they are truly working together — funneling money and weapons to a single rebel army — the mess in Syria will continue”, concludes Ignatius.
And so the prolonged Syrian conflict seems certain to get even bigger and bloodier, as if it was not already devastating enough.
International threat of radical Islam discussed at Jerusalem Leadership Summit
By Daniel K. Eisenbud, Jerusalem Post
The gravest threat facing the world today is indisputably radical Islam, the American-Israeli New York Times best-selling author and former US and Israel political adviser, Joel Rosenberg, said at the Jerusalem Leadership Summit in the capital on Wednesday.
While he emphasized that the vast majority of Muslims are not radicals, Rosenberg, whose debut novel, The Last Jihad, published in 2002, was an international bestseller, contended that even at a fraction of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslim population, the extremists pose an imminent threat.
“If you look at some of the polling that’s been done about the attitudes in the Muslim world, you see that 90% or more are moderate, really peaceful people,” said Rosenberg, during his lecture at the Inbal Hotel, adding that only between 7%-10% of Muslims express approval of radical Islam.
“However, in a world of 1.6 billion Muslims, 10% is 160 million people. That’s half the population of the United States; if you grouped them in one country…you have one of the largest country’s on the planet.”
Therefore, Rosenberg said, he takes issue with US President Barack Obama’s contention that the fight against Muslim terrorists is not a “war against Islam.”
“You cannot say that those in the 160 million category are not driven by Islam,” he said.
“They say they are. You can call it a ‘perversion,’ but you have to understand why they would say that Islam motivates them? Whether that’s pure Islam or not, I’ll leave that to the Islamic scholars.”
Noting that the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, a descendant of Muhammad, has said that “the West is engaged in a third world war against Islamic terrorism,” Rosenberg said that Abdullah has conceded that Muslims themselves must do far more to fight the killers in their midst.
“At its core, King Abdullah says: ‘This is a Muslim problem…we need to take ownership of this. We Muslims need to stand up and say what is right and what is wrong,’” he said.
Moreover, Rosenberg cited Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as recently warning religious leaders at Al-Azhar University that the fight against radical Islam must be fought by moderate Muslims.
“At the Harvard of Sunni Islam, he said directly to the clerics and to the professors: ‘This is your mission. You will be held to account if you do not confront this problem inside Islam,’” Sisi said. “So Muslim leaders say that it is a problem in Islam, and obviously, it is.”
Extrapolating from the unexpected attacks on Pearl Harbor and New York City during 911, Rosenberg said that the theme of his novels is that “to misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it.”
“We were blindsided by a theology and an ideology… that we did not understand,” he said. “Was it understandable? Yes it was. But did we as leaders in America, and in the West generally, understand it and take it seriously? We did not.”
Rosenberg went on to cite Obama’s “catastrophic” Iranian nuclear deal as a case in point of the inherent dangers of not understanding the consequences of radical Islam. “He believes that he’s Nixon and he’s dealing with China…and that Iran wants to be part of the world’s system, that they feel isolated and left out,” he said.
“So, let’s bring them in… and hope that gradually, they will evolve into a player that we can deal with.”
Such a supposition, Rosenberg warned, is profoundly naïve and dangerous, despite the fact that the majority of Iranians want freedom and to be integrated into the world. “If you base your analysis on the Iranian people, you come to the conclusion that they want engagement,” he said. “The key is the top: the Ayatollah and his inner circle. The question is not what the country wants… the question is what the supreme leader and his inner circle want. What do they believe?” “Because if you misunderstand what they believe,” he continued, “you will be blindsided.”
He contended that Iran, which is far more patient than ISIS, poses the larger threat of genocide.
“Iran’s leadership says: ‘No, we’re not going to build a caliphate now, we’re going to build nuclear weapons because once we’re ready for genocide, we’re not going to use swords and AK-47s, we’re going to use atomic weaponry. We’re going to be able to kill millions, and not just thousands.’” Iran, he warned, is “biding its time.”
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