Category Archives: Middle East

Posted in America's Freedoms • Faith • Religion • Education • Government • Free Speech • Israel • Progressives • The Vote

Will The Next Pope Be The Anti-Christ?

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Edgar Cayce predicted that there will be one more Pope after John Paul II who will serve a short term.
As we all know ,Pope announced his resignation yesterday . For those of you interested in stuff like this…read and be amazed! He is the first Pope to step down rather than die in the position in more than 600 years

In 1139 AD, a man named St. Malachy was given a prophetic vision. He saw all of the Catholic Popes that would come in the future. He wrote down a short description of each one. Throughout history, each one has been accurate. He foresaw 112 Popes until Jesus returned and that # 111 would see the beginning of the tribulation. The current Pope is # 111.  We’ve had 111 since, and are on the verge of seeing No. 112, which Malachy says will be the final pope before the end of the world as we know it.
It gets more interesting.

Papal Prophecies – The End of Religion

Saint Malachy (1094 – November 2, 1148) was known as great prophet. While in Rome in 1139 he received a vision showing him all the Popes from his day to the end of time. According to these prophecies, only two Popes remaining after John Paul II.

St. Malachy was reported to have possessed the powers of levitation, healing, and clairvoyance. While on his way to the Vatican to assume the post of papal legate for Ireland, he fell into trance and saw a line of papal reigns stretching from the successor to Innocent II and extending through centuries to the last of the line, identified as Peter of Rome. Malachy assigned short descriptions in Latin to each pope when he committed his vision to paper. These mottoes usually refer to a family name, birthplace, coat-of-arms, or office held before election to the papacy. Some of the phrases are multiple prophecies, written with ingenious word play.

Through the centuries, his prophecies have turned out to be amazingly accurate, even prophesying the date of his death. In all, 112 popes and their characteristics are listed from 1143 to the alleged end of the world, or perhaps religion as we know it, when truth is inlay revealed about human creation and destiny.

Saint Malachy’s final words were: “Rome, the seat of the Vatican, will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people.”

Prophecy of the Popes is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with a pope described in the prophecy as “Peter the Roman”, whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.

Malachy’s Prophecies – The Last 10 Popes
1. The Burning Fire. PIUS X. 1903-1914. This Pope showed a burning passion for spiritual renewal in the Church.

2. Religion Laid Waste. BENEDICT XV. 1914-1922. During this Pope’s reign saw Communism move into Russia where religious life was laid waste, and World War I with the death of millions of Christians who were carnage in Flanders Field and elsewhere.

3. Unshaken Faith. PIUS XI. 1922-1939. This Pope faced tremendous pressure from fascist and sinister powers in Germany and Italy, but he was an outspoken critic of Communism and Fascism which enraged Hitler.

4. An Angelic Shepherd. PIUS XII. 1939-1958. This Pope had an affinity for the spiritual world and received visions which have not been made public. Peter Bander says Pius XII “has emerged as one of the great Popes of all time,” and he “was in the truest sense of the word an Angelic Pastor to the flock…”

5. Pastor and Mariner. JOHN XXIII. 1958-1963. John was a pastor to the world, much beloved, and the Patriarch of Venice. The connection to “mariner” is thus remarkable.

6. Flower of Flowers. PAUL VI. 1963-1978. Paul’s coat-of-arms depicts three fleurs-de-lis, corresponding to Malachay’s prophecy. His coat of arms included three fleurs-de-lis (iris blossoms).

7. Of the Half Moon. JOHN PAUL I. 1978-1978. John Paul I was elected Pope on August 26, 1978, when there was a half moon. He reigned 33 days, that is, about one month, when he died, although many think he was murdered. He was the 109th Pope – is “De Medietate Lunae” (Of the Half Moon). The corresponding pope was John Paul I (1978-78), who was born in the diocese of Belluno (beautiful moon) and was baptized Albino Luciani (white light). He became pope on August 26, 1978, when the moon appeared exactly half full. It was in its waning phase. He died the following month, soon after an eclipse of the moon.

8. The Labor of the Son. JOHN PAUL II. 1978-2005. Pope John Paul II was the most traveled Pope in history. He circled the globe numerous times, preaching to huge audiences everywhere he went. He survived an assassination attempt. He has written a book which has enjoyed a large circulation. Like the sun which never ceases to labor and provides light daily, this Pope has been incessant. He was born on May 18, 1920. On that date in the morning there was a near total eclipse of the sun over Europe. Prophecy – The 110th Pope is “De Labore Solis” (Of the Solar Eclipse, or, From the Toil of the Sun). Like the sun he came out of the East (Poland).

9. The Glory of the Olive. The Order of St. Benedict has said this Pope will come from their order. It is interesting that Jesus gave his apocalyptic prophecy about the end of time from the Mount of Olives. This Pope will reign during the beginning of the tribulation Jesus spoke of. The 111th prophesy is “Gloria Olivae” (The Glory of the Olive). The Order of Saint Benedict has claimed that this pope will come from their ranks. Saint Benedict himself prophesied that before the end of the world his Order, known also as the Olivetans, will triumphantly lead the Catholic Church in its fight against evil.

10. PETER THE ROMAN – This final Pope will likely be Satan, taking the form of a man named Peter who will gain a worldwide allegiance and adoration. He will be the final antichrist which prophecy students have long foretold. If it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived. The 112th prophesy states: “In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Petrus Romanus, who will feed his flock amid many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.

FROM THE CLEVELANDLEADER.COM

St. Malachy prophesied that the final pope would be “Peter the Roman”, which is interesting because no pope to date has chosen the name of Peter out of respect for Peter the Apostle. There has also been speculation that the final pope would be black. Even more curiously, there is a black cardinal in Ghana, Peter Turkson, who is believed to be a frontrunner and whose name has come up in previous discussions of papal appointment.

Cardinal Turkson has said in the past that “if God would wish to see a black man also as pope, thanks be to God.” Catholic Church chronicler Rocco Palmo has called Turkson the lone Scripture scholar in the Pope’s “Senate”, and believes that his status as a potential “papabile” has been elevated due to his 2009 appointment as spokesman for the Second Synod for Africa.

Outside of the Church, there are also many who believe that Turkson is the favorite to take over as pontiff. Even the London bookmakers believe he’s the top choice. Odds comparison site Oddschecker.com lists Turkson at best price odds of 4/1, and as short as 2/1 with some firms. Francis Arinze, the Nigerian Cardinal, is also a huge favorite with the bookies.

There are some who insist that Malachy did not say that the last pope he mentioned would be the 112th pope, insisting that he was merely the last, and theorizing that there could be more popes to come between Benedict and “Peter the Roman”. However, this is not a belief that everyone subscribes to and many believe that “Peter the Roman” will be both the 112th and last pope of the Catholic Church.

Malachy’s prophecies are taken very seriously as they’ve been uncannily accurate to date. Will the Catholic Church get its first black pope? Will “Peter the Roman” lead us into the End Times? These questions are set to be answered by Easter, which comes this year at the end of March, when the papal conclave announces their decision.

Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down due to health concerns just days ahead of the start of the Lenten season. He is due to step down officially on February 28. The announcement surprised even his inner circle, who were said to be unaware that he was planning to step down.

Posted in America's Freedoms • Crime • Violence • Government • Democrats • Progressives • White House • Obama • Islam • Libya • Middle East

Benghazi: Retaliation For Brennan’s Secret Wars

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Many refer to the President of the United States, leader of the sole superpower in the world, as the most powerful person on the face of the Earth. It follows then that Barack Hussein Obama, as President, would be considered this person.

But that would be an incorrect conclusion. Even Obama with his “we can’t wait for Congress to act” meme, spurning the legislative branch, spurning the checks and balances the Founding Fathers put in place—even with Obama spurning the Courts in the recent NLRB ruling deeming his “recess” appointments unconstitutional, there is one man who wields more power than Obama: CIA appointee John Brennan.

How can that be? Brennan is man who is actually relatively low in the White House food chain, who is nothing more than an adviser to the President, with the title of Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

Yet this man has a virtually unchecked amount of power—no, let us call it for what it is—unchecked power. Congress, the Courts, the CIA, even the Pentagon have no reign over this man as we shall see in a moment.

It was recently discovered that Brennan, running something akin to a fiefdom with his drone assassination program, has the power to decide who lives and who dies and doesn’t have to provide evidence to any entity that the “target” presents any threat to America—even if they are an American—even if the American is living in the United States!

Investigative Reporter Michael Isikoff uncovered a secret memo, entitled:

“Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a U.S. Citizen who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al Qa’ida or An Associated Force.”

The memo gives the Obama Administration—in effect Brennan—the authority to kill any American citizen at anytime for any reason without proof, without due process, and with absolutely no oversight.

The key passage in the sixteen page memo is the following:

The condition that an operational leader present an “imminent” threat of violent attack against the United States does not require the United States to have clear evidence that a specific attack on U.S. persons and interests will take place in the immediate future.

This was the basis for the drone strike against American-born al-Qaeda-linked terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki in September of 2011 in Yemen. And this was the basis of the murder of al-Awlaki’s sixteen-year-old son Abdulrahman, along with several other teenagers who were engaged in an outdoor barbecue. While it is debatable whether al-Awlaki as an American citizen should have received due process, it is doubtful that his son, murdered two weeks after al-Awlaki, had any connection to al-Qaeda.

But this unchecked power exercised by John Brennan is mild compared to what we learned with the recent release of an extensive book on the Benghazi consulate attack on September 11, 2012.

The book, Benghazi: The Definitive Report, released on February 12 makes the shocking claim that Obama’s chief counter terrorism officer, John Brennan, aside from having the authority to murder American citizens, has been waging a series of secret wars in North Africa and the Middle East against Al Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-linked groups. How secret? So secret that he and his minions at JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command, operated not only outside the purview of Congress but outside the purview of the Pentagon and CIA. Former CIA head David Petraeus wasn’t even aware of Brennan’s secret wars!

According to Benghazi: The Definitive Report, the attack on the Benghazi consulate had nothing to do with, as we were told, an amateurish anti-Muslim YouTube video leading to a “protest turned violent,” but was retaliation for John Brennan’s JSOC attacks on the Libya-based terrorist group, Ansar al-Sharia. This was the group that we learned had taken responsibility within two hours of the attack, of which information was emailed directly to the White House Situation Room. After said information was uncovered, the Obama administration denied was true.

It turns out that, per the book, the West, particularly the United States, leading up to the 2011 Libyan civil war had been flooding Libya with literally millions of weapons. After the West—NATO, with Obama at the helm—decided to topple Gaddafi, these millions of weapons then fell into Al-Qaeda and associated groups’ hands. And what Team Obama wasn’t funneling to the Syrian rebels (what Benghazi: The Definitive Report calls an “open secret”)—they wanted to get back from groups such as Ansar al-Sharia. Brennan, throughout North Africa, had been conducting his secret JSOC wars against al-Qaeda and associated groups; and lo and behold, yes, Mr. Brennan, there was retaliation. And that retaliation resulted in the deaths of four Americans at the consulate in Benghazi on the anniversary of 9/11.

The whole Obama Benghazi cover-up was only partially about hiding the illegal funneling of Libyan weapons to Syria and was mainly about the real—but illegal—Commander-in-Chief John Brennan conducting secret wars in Libya—without approval from Congress, without approval from the Pentagon, and hidden even from the CIA, with only a behind-doors approval by Barack Hussein Obama.

How can the “adviser” to Obama—John Brennan—have the authority to make war on any country in the world?

The answer is he doesn’t have the authority.

Brennan should be arrested, not appointed to lead the CIA. And the man who is doing the appointing—Barack Hussein Obama—should be immediately impeached.

After he is impeached?

Prison will come in due time.

As a postscript, for the record, Benghazi: The Definitive Report makes it clear that when the Benghazi consulate was attacked and requested help, the CIA annex was told to stand down. They were ordered to stand idly by while Americans were slaughtered. They refused. According to Benghazi: The Definitive Report:

[Tyrone Woods’] leadership that day, and his refusal to sit by and all his fellow Americans to be overrun, is a testament to his character. His willingness to stand up to his CIA boss and do what was right is an example of true American heroism. Glen Doherty ran toward the sound of gunfire…

Posted in Government • World News • Middle East • Terrorism • Islam • Violence

Malala The Pakistani Girl Shot by Taliban Has More Guts Than any RINO or Dem [VIDEOS]

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The infectious courage of Malala, the girl the Taliban couldn’t kill

Malala is anointed.

Obama supports Islam, wants your guns while Islam hates all that the USA is.

By ROBERT MACKEY

Last Updated, 4:54 p.m. Speaking on camera for the first time since she survived an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban last year, the young activist Malala Yousafzai began with the words, “Today you can see that I’m alive.” The 15-year-old, who was shot in the head as she left school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley four months ago, promised that she would continue to be an outspoken advocate of the right for “every girl, every child, to be educated.”

In the brief statement, the young advocate attributed her survival to the prayers of her supporters and urged them to contribute to a fund established in her name to further the cause of education for girls. “Because of these prayers, God has given me this new life,” Ms. Yousafzai said. “And this is a second life; this is a new life. And I want to serve, I want to serve the people.”

A video statement from Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani activist who was shot in the head by Taliban militants.

The English-language statement was recorded just before Ms. Yousafzaiunderwent surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, over the weekend to repair damage to her skull caused by the bullet fired into her head at point-blank range in October.

On Monday, the hospital released more video of the young patient, speaking to one of her doctors after the five-hour operation to reconstruct her skull and implant a device to restore hearing to her left ear.

Video of Malala Yousafzai speaking to a doctor in Birmingham, England after an operation on Saturday.

“I’m feeling alright and I’m happy that the operations, both the operations, were successful,” she told Dr. Mav Manji, a critical care specialist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Asked about the future, she said, “My mission is the same, to help people, and I will do that.” She also expressed her gratitude to the doctors in Pakistan and Britain who cared for her. “God gave me a new life,” she said, “because of the prayers of people and because of the talent of doctors.”

At a news conference on Monday, Dr. Anwen White, the neurosurgeon who led the reconstructive surgery, and Dr. Dave Rosser, the hospital’s medical director, explained that the titanium cranioplasty, which involved repairing the missing area of her skull with a specially molded titanium plate, “went very well.” (Video of the news conference was posted online by Britain’s Channel 4 News and the hospital uploaded images of the surgery in progress to YouTube.)

An update posted on the hospital’s Web site explained that, after the skull surgery, “Malala then had a cochlear implant fitted – a small, complex electronic device that provides a sense of sound to someone who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. The cochlear implant is to restore hearing to her left ear after she was left deaf in that ear by the bullet.”

As Fatima Manji of Britain’s Channel 4 News reports, the activist alsorecorded statements in Urdu and Pashto, languages spoken in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the Urdu version, Ms. Manji notes, the girl said, “I would be willing to sacrifice myself again.”

Posted in World News • Middle East • Terrorism • Crime • Islam • Violence

Middle East Not Safe: Staten Island Woman Murdered in Turkey

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NEW YORK – New details are emerging about the death of a Staten Island woman who went missing and was later found dead in Istanbul.

Turkish police now say the victim, Sarai Sierra, had suffered a fatal blow to the head.

Istanbul police chief Huseyin Capkin said Sunday that forensic experts had not concluded their autopsy report, but that it was “clear” the head injury caused her death.

There is no evidence of rape, and she was found wearing the same clothes she had on the day she disappeared.

There is also no evidence of drugs, or that she was involved in any kind of trafficking.

Sierra’s family remains in Turkey, searching for answers to her brutal murder.

Her husband, Steven Sierra, had the grim task of identifying her body.

Her children will not be told of her death until he returns to the United States.

NTV, a Turkish broadcaster, says 15 people have been detained for questioning in the case.

Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was to fly home. Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where the disappearance of tourists is rare, and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra’s.

The agency said she was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body. She was wearing jeans, a jumper and a jacket, and still had her earrings and a bracelet.

Sierra, whose children are 9 and 11, had left for Istanbul on Jan. 7 to explore her photography hobby and made a side trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. She had originally planned to travel with a friend, but ended up traveling alone when her friend canceled.

She was in regular contact with friends and relatives, and was last in touch with her family on Jan. 21, the day she was due back in New York. She told them she would visit Galata Bridge, which spans Istanbul’s Golden Horn waterway, to take photos.

The body was found not far from the bridge and near a major road that runs alongside the sea of Marmara. Here tourists often photograph dozens of tankers waiting to access the Bosporus strait.

On Saturday, police stopped traffic there as forensic police inspected the area.

Anadolu suggested Sierra may have been killed at another location and that her body may have been brought to the site to be hidden there.

It was not clear if a Turkish man Sierra had exchanged emails with during her stay in Istanbul was among those being questioned. He was detained for questioning Friday, then released. Turkish news reports said Sierra had arranged to meet the man on Galata Bridge, but he reportedly told police the meeting never took place.

Shortly after her body was discovered, a woman came forward and told police she had seen a white car parked near the city walls as she was driving there the night of Jan. 29, Anadolu reported. She said a man was trying to remove “something” from the car.

“At that moment, I noticed a woman’s hand,” Anadolu quoted the woman as telling reporters after talking with police. The agency said she declined to give her name.

Sierra’s husband, Steven, and her brother, David Jimenez, traveled to Istanbul to help search for her. Sierra’s mother, Betzaida Jimenez, said Saturday that she couldn’t talk about the case when reached in New York.

Shortly after Sierra was reported missing, Turkey set up a special police unit which scanned hours of security camera footage in downtown Istanbul in search of clues. A Turkish missing persons association joined the search, handing out flyers with photos of Sierra and urging anyone with information to call police.

While break-ins and petty thievery are common in Istanbul, the vast and crowded city is considered relatively safe compared to other major urban centers. Sierra’s death was unlikely to have a significant impact on tourism, a large component of the Turkish economy.

In 2008, an Italian artist, Pippa Bacca, was raped and killed while hitchhiking to Israel wearing a wedding dress to plead for peace. Her naked body was found in a forest in northwest Turkey. A Turkish man was sentenced to life in prison for the attack.

Full article here.

Posted in Government • Egypt • Islam • Middle East • Terrorism • Violence

Egypt’s leader declares emergency after clashes kill dozens

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By Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh

(Reuters) – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities along the Suez Canal where dozens of people have been killed over the past four days in protests that his allies say are designed to overthrow him.

Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 people killed there when locals angered by a court decision went on the rampage as anti-government protests spread around the country.

A total of 49 people have been killed since Thursday and Mursi’s opponents, who accuse his Islamist Muslim Brotherhood of betraying the revolution that ousted long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak, have called for more demonstrations on Monday.

“Down, down Mursi, down down the regime that killed and tortured us!” people in Port Said chanted as the coffins of those killed on Saturday were carried through the streets.

Mursi, who was elected in June, is trying to fix a beleaguered economy and cool tempers before a parliamentary poll in the next few months which is supposed to cement Egypt’s transition to democracy. Repeated eruptions of violence have weighed heavily on the Egyptian pound.

In a televised address, he said a nightly curfew would be introduced in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, starting Monday.

Several hundred people protested in Ismailia, Suez and Port Said after the announcement, in which Mursi also called for a dialogue with top politicians. Activists in the three cities vowed to defy the curfew in protest at the decision.

“The protection of the nation is the responsibility of everyone. We will confront any threat to its security with force and firmness within the remit of the law,” he said, offering condolences to families of the victims.

In Cairo the newly appointed Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim was ejected from the funeral of one of the police officers who died during Saturday’s clashes in Port Said, according to witnesses and police sources.

A police officer at the funeral said many of his colleagues blame the interior minister for the deaths of at least two policemen during Saturday’s clashes as he did not allow the police there to carry weapons and were only given teargas bombs.

SECURITY MEASURES

The violence has exposed a deep rift in the nation. Liberals and other opponents accuse Mursi of failing to deliver on economic promises and say he has not lived up to pledges to represent all Egyptians. His backers say the opposition is seeking to topple Egypt’s first freely elected leader.

Distancing itself from the latest flare-ups, the opposition National Salvation Front said Mursi should have acted far sooner to impose extra security measures that would end the violence.

“Of course we feel the president is missing the real problem on the ground which is his own polices,” spokesman Khaled Dawoud told Reuters. “His call to implement emergency law was an expected move given what is going on, namely thuggery and criminal actions.”

The Front, formed late last year when Mursi provoked protests and violence by expanding his powers and driving through an Islamist-tinged constitution, has threatened to boycott the parliamentary poll and call for more protests if its demands are not met, including for an early presidential vote

Mursi had invited 11 political parties, including Islamist, liberal and leftist groups, along with four top politicians to a meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT)to work out a basis for a fruitful dialogue that would resolve the political crisis, according to a statement from his office.

The Front said it will meet earlier on Monday to discuss the invitation.

But some of the Front’s top leaders had already announced their position. Hamdeen Sabahy, a leftist politician and former presidential candidate who was one of the four invited by Mursi, said he would not attend Monday’s meeting “unless the bloodshed stops and the people’s demands are met.”

Sabahy’s Popular Current movement said in a statement the protests are due to economic and political problems that need to be addressed by policies and not through “security solutions”.

Front leader Mohamed ElBaradie described the dialogue “a waste of time” on his Twitter account.

State television said seven people died from gunshot wounds in Port Said on Sunday. Port Said’s head of hospitals, Abdel Rahman Farag, told Reuters more than 400 people had suffered from teargas inhalation, while 38 were wounded by gunshots.

Gunshots had killed many of the 33 who died on Saturday when residents rioted after a court sentenced 21 people, mostly from the Mediterranean port, to death for their role in deadly soccer violence at a stadium there last year.

A military source said many people in Port Said, which lies next to the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula, possess guns because they do not trust the authorities to protect them. However it was not clear who was behind the deaths and injuries.

In Cairo, police fired teargas at dozens at protesters throwing stones and petrol bombs in a fourth day of clashes over what demonstrators there and in other cities say is a power grab by Islamists two years after Mubarak was overthrown.

In Ismailia city, which lies on the Suez Canal between the cities of Suez and Port Said, police also fired teargas at protesters attacking a police station with petrol bombs and stones, according to witnesses and a security source there.

‘KNEE-JERK REACTION’

Most of the deaths since Thursday were in Port Said and Suez, both cities where the army has now been deployed.

Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch in Cairo said a state of emergency reintroduced laws that gave police sweeping powers of arrest “purely because (people) look suspicious”.

“It is a classic knee-jerk reaction to think the emergency law will help bring security,” she said. “It gives so much discretion to the Ministry of Interior that it ends up causing more abuse which in turn causes more anger.”

The opposition Popular Current and other groups have called for more protests on Monday to mark what was one of the bloodiest days of the 2011 uprising.

Anti-Mursi protesters who have been camped out in Tahrir Square for weeks also demonstrated against Mursi’s move to impose a state of emergency, reviving memories of Mubarak’s era when emergency codes were in place for three decades and used to crush dissent and detain people without charge.

Protesters say Mursi has betrayed the revolution’s aims.

“None of the revolution’s goals have been realised,” said Mohamed Sami, a protester in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the uprising that erupted on January 25, 2011 and toppled Mubarak 18 days later.

“Prices are going up. The blood of Egyptians is being spilt in the streets because of neglect and corruption and because the Muslim Brotherhood is ruling Egypt for their own interests.”

Clashes also erupted in other streets near the square. The U.S. and British embassies, both close to Tahrir, said they were closed for public business on Sunday, normally a working day.

The army, Egypt’s interim ruler until Mursi’s election, was sent back onto the streets to restore order in Port Said and Suez, which both lie on the Suez canal. In Suez, at least eight people were killed in clashes with police.

Many ordinary Egyptians are frustrated by the violence that have hurt the economy and their livelihoods.

“They are not revolutionaries protesting,” said taxi driver Kamal Hassan, 30, referring to those gathered in Tahrir. “They are thugs destroying the country.”

(Additional reporting by Shaimaa Fayed in Cairo and Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Christopher Wilson)

Full article here.

Posted in America's Freedoms • Government • Democrats • Progressives • White House • Obama • World News • Middle East • Israel • Terrorism • Islam • Violence

Obama and Netanyahu – More Than a Bad Feeling, Total Dysfunction

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israel_flag_animatedEven Obama could understand this video. Please share it with your friends and any anti-semite that crosses your path. Every American, especially the Secretary of Defense should want to ally with our long time friends Israel. Ever believer understands the scriptural reasons. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3
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Obama: The Enemy of Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama heads into his second term weighed down by an American government snarled in partisan gridlock, but also by an unproductive relationship with the leader of Israel, the bedrock U.S. ally in the tumultuous Middle East.

And the puzzle that is the U.S.-Israeli relationship under Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is only growing more complex.

“It’s troubled. It’s the greatest dysfunction between leaders that I’ve seen in my 40 years in watching and participating,” said Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center who served under six secretaries of state in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He was deeply involved in negotiations involving Israel, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinians.

“I don’t think we are headed for a showdown,” he said, “but the relationship will continue to be dysfunctional.”

Even so, the United States routinely backs Israel when much of the world is deeply critical of the Jewish state. For example the U.S. was among the few nations opposing the Palestinians’ successful bid for upgraded status at the United Nations and did not criticize Israel’s bombardment of Gaza late last year in retaliation for rocket attacks from the tiny Palestinian enclave.

Still, an array of issues muddies the alliance.

Netanyahu likely will win re-election on Jan. 22, two days after Obama is sworn in for a second term. Netanyahu is a hardliner on making peace with the Palestinians, a goal that Obama said was foremost on his foreign policy agenda at the beginning of his first term. Beyond that, Netanyahu has been pressing Washington to adopt policy specifics that would trigger a military strike if Iran does not pull back on its nuclear program — widely believed to be aimed at building an atomic bomb. Iran claims its program is for generating electricity.

A further complication is Obama’s nomination of former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary.

Known as a maverick when he represented Nebraska in the Senate, Hagel is viewed by many in Washington and Israel as insufficiently supportive of the Jewish state. He has castigated what he called the “Jewish lobby” in the U.S., prompting some to label him anti-Semitic. While he voted for billions in aid for Israel, he has also called for engagement with its Hamas and Hezbollah enemies.

What’s more, he opposed unilateral American sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, which the Netanyahu government believes is an existential threat to Israel.

Netanyahu’s office refused comment on Hagel when contacted by The Associated Press in Jerusalem. But Reuven Rivlin, parliament speaker and member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, told AP that Israelis are worried because of Hagel’s “statements in the past, and his stance toward Israel.”

But Ori Nir, a spokesman for Americans for Peace Now, a Jewish group that pushes for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, said fears of Hagel are wrongheaded.

“Talk of anti-Semitism is unjust and over-the-top,” Nir said.

Republican lawmakers’ opposition to Hagel is the latest in the partisan battles that have snarled the U.S. government.

Disputes over the budget almost led to major tax increases for middle class taxpayers, which neither party wanted. Other fights are pending over spending cuts and the government’s borrowing authority — both with potentially dire consequences for the economy. The newly elected Congress, with a Republican-led House of Representatives and a Democratic-led Senate, is similar to the previous one, which passed fewer laws than any Congress since the end of World War II.

While most of the partisan disputes have been on domestic issues, Republicans have continually accused Obama of not doing enough to support Netanyahu’s government.

The bad blood between Obama and Netanyahu began early.

In their first public appearance together at the White House in 2009, Netanyahu pointedly rebuffed Obama’s call for Israel to stop building Jewish housing on land the Palestinians want in a future state. Obama dropped the issue after it became obvious that it was a waste of political capital at home and that Netanyahu would not budge. Netanyahu’s government has continued to announce plans for new settlements in the Palestinian West Bank.

During the presidential campaign, Netanyahu hosted Obama opponent Mitt Romney in Israel as if he were already a world leader. Netanyahu denied backing either candidate, but his words and actions clearly showed favoritism for Romney.

On Iran, Netanyahu called at the United Nations in September for the United States to draw a “red line” on Iran’s nuclear program, beyond which Iran would face military action. Obama continues to insist there is time for diplomacy, but has said he would not countenance a nuclear-armed Iran.

“The more Netanyahu believes Obama is serious about preventing Iran from getting a bomb, the better they will manage their relations,” said David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “If not, the issue of an Israeli first strike on Iran becomes more likely.”

Miller, of the Woodrow Wilson Center, said Obama will be too consumed with battling Congress on the budget, gun control legislation and other issues to spend much time on disagreements with Netanyahu.

“Is he going to go after Israel-Palestinian peace talks or war with Iran given all his domestic challenges?” Miller asked. “He will go to extreme lengths to avoid war with Iran.”

He said the two leaders are moving further apart on the Palestinian issue, but have found some consensus on Iran. “For the next six to eight months, I don’t think the president is going to push on those issues.”

But Nir, of Peace Now, says time is running out for a peace deal with the Palestinians and Israel could face another armed uprising like the one that bloodied the region in 2000.

“There’s more and more an atmosphere among Palestinians that there is no political horizon,” he said, “a feeling that diplomacy doesn’t work.”

___

Associated Press writer Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Full article here.

Posted in America's Freedoms • Government • Democrats • Progressives • White House • Obama • World News • Middle East • Libya • Terrorism • Islam • Violence

The Benghazi Barrage Continues. Where is Our Leader USA?

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http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/files/2012/10/benghazi_cloud_white_house_10-28-12-2.jpgThe Benghazi Barrage Continues. Where is Our Leader USA? Is he golfing? Or is he busy trying to take our guns away? The shootings and shrapnel continue in Libya. Leave it up to Italy to take the reigns on garnering proper security for their ambassador…What about us USA? Where is our leader? -PBN

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya plans to create a special force to protect diplomats, government sources said, after a gun attack on an Italian consul exposed the precarious security situation in the North African state.

Unidentified gunmen in Benghazi opened fire on Guido De Sanctis’s armored car on Saturday. The diplomat was unhurt but the attack was a reminder of the September 11 attack on the U.S. mission there that killed the ambassador and three other Americans.

“We are discussing putting in place a force that would look after diplomats. There are also plans to protect foreigners working for foreign companies,” a defense ministry source said, declining to be named as the proposal was still being discussed.

“The idea is it would be mixed between police and army but would likely come under the command of the defense ministry.”

The source said the members were likely to be trained abroad but did not give an estimate of how many there would be.

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi spoke by telephone to his Libyan counterpart to reaffirm Italy’s resolve to help Libya reinforce its security.

Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said Saturday’s attack was “an attempt to destabilize the institutions of the new Libya.”

“Italy expresses its strongest condemnation and reaffirms its total support of the democratic path and the reforms that the Tripoli authorities have started,” he said in a statement.

An Italian foreign ministry spokesman said security around officials in Benghazi was already high before Saturday’s attack, which will strengthen views that the city is seen as too dangerous a place for foreign diplomats and workers.

There was no immediate indication who might have been behind the attack.

DISARRAY

More than a year after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, security in Libya remains in disarray.

To keep a degree of order, the government relies on numerous militias made up of thousands of Libyans who took up arms against Gaddafi. The groups provide what passes for official security but also what poses the main threat to it.

The government has taken a twin-track approach, saying it will shut down rogue groups but licensing many of the most powerful armed brigades.

Almost 6,000 former rebel fighters have begun training to be policemen under a drive to disarm militias, the new interior minister said in an interview last week.

Confirming the government plan for a diplomatic security unit, a foreign ministry source said diplomats currently had to advise Libyan authorities if they planned to travel more than 80 kms (50 miles) from their base.

“Even when the force is established, diplomats need to take care of themselves. This is not Switzerland,” the source said.

American officials say militants with ties to al Qaeda affiliates were most likely involved in the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission and a CIA annex.

However four months on, no arrests have been made, with some saying it is too difficult for the weak armed forces to move against these groups and there is no real desire to dig too deep for fear of reprisals.

In a scathing assessment released last month, an official U.S. inquiry determined security at the Benghazi mission was inadequate to deal with the attack and there was little evidence militia guards alerted Americans to the assault or swiftly summoned reinforcements once it was under way.

The eastern city of Benghazi was where the anti-Gaddafi uprising broke out nearly two years ago but it is now a hot spot for violence, riven with armed factions.

In November, the city’s police chief was shot dead. And last June, a convoy carrying the British ambassador was attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade that injured two of his bodyguards.

The offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the city were also attacked last year, as was a convoy carrying the United Nations’ former special envoy to Libya.

(Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby in Rome; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Posted in Government • Military • World News • Middle East • Terrorism • Islam • Violence

Pakistan Protecting Rebels Costs US Military Lives

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http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/6/2/1307039050646/Haqqani-Taliban-fighters--008.jpgPakistan allegedly shelters the Islamist Rebel Militants within North Waziristan. North Waziristan is the equivilent of a Swiss Bank account for weapons and ordinance for terrorists. Why then do the US and UN want to bring them into the political fold? 

It is a point of contention between the US & Pakistan’s relationship specifically because the worst rebels end up in Afghanistan shooting our US Troops.  “The most powerful group in the area, the Afghan Haqqani network, is also believed to be seen by the army as a potential ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw, making a military offensive even more complicated.” All that said, our strategically challenged president is announcing our draw-down to the enemy putting our troops in even graver danger. -PBN

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani leaders dismissed the government of southwest Baluchistan province early Monday in response to the demands of protesters angry about an attack on minority Shiite Muslims there that killed 86 people.

In another part of the country, a roadside bomb killed 14 Pakistani soldiers.

Over the past three days, thousands of Shiites have blocked a main road in the Baluchistan capital of Quetta with dozens of coffins of relatives killed in the twin bombing of a billiards hall in the city Thursday. They demanded the provincial government be dismissed and that the army take over responsibility for the city.

Last year was the deadliest ever for Shiites in Pakistan, with over 400 dead in targeted killings. Violence has been especially intense in Baluchistan, home of the largest number of Shiites in the country.

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said in a televised address shortly early Monday that the governor has been made head of Baluchistan province, replacing the chief minister. Also, paramilitary forces will receive police powers and launch an operation against militants behind the billiards hall attack.

The prime minister flew to Quetta on Sunday after other efforts to pacify the protesters failed. Human rights organizations have accused the Pakistani government of not doing enough to protect Shiites targeted by radical Sunni Muslims who believe they are heretics.

The billiards hall attack was carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a sectarian militant group allied with al-Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban.

Taliban militants and their allies have also been waging a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani government over the past several years.

A roadside bomb hit a Pakistani army convoy Sunday in a mountainous militant stronghold in the northwest, killing 14 soldiers, one of the deadliest attacks against the army in that sector, intelligence officials said.

The North Waziristan tribal area is a major trouble spot that the military has been reluctant to tackle. The remote region is home to Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida militants at war with the government. It is also used as a sanctuary by other militants who have focused their attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.

The attack Sunday occurred near Dosalli village in North Waziristan, said Pakistani intelligence officials. The blast destroyed two vehicles and damaged a third, they said.

The 14 dead and 20 wounded were brought to a military hospital in the nearby town of Miran Shah, the officials said.

Pakistani military officials confirmed the bombing but said four soldiers were killed and 11 others wounded. The discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.

Then officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Pakistani military is worried that if it targets its enemies in North Waziristan, that could trigger a backlash whereby other militants in the area turn against Pakistan. The most powerful group in the area, the Afghan Haqqani network, is also believed to be seen by the army as a potential ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw, making a military offensive even more complicated.

North Waziristan has been a sore point in relations between Pakistan and the United States. Washington has repeatedly pushed Islamabad to launch an operation in the area, especially against the Haqqani network, considered one of the most dangerous groups fighting in Afghanistan. But Pakistan has refused.

North Waziristan has also become an increasing problem for Pakistan. It is the only part of the tribal region where the army has not conducted an offensive, and many Pakistani Taliban militants have fled there to escape army operations. The Taliban and their allies have staged hundreds of attacks across Pakistan that have killed thousands of people.

Also Sunday, a Pakistani cleric and thousands of his supporters left the eastern city of Lahore on a “long march” to demand sweeping election reforms before national elections expected this spring.

Police officer Suhail Sukhera estimated the crowd to be at least 15,000. They left for Islamabad in hundreds of buses, cars and trucks. Some waved flags and pictures of the 61-year-old Sunni Muslim cleric, while others shouted, “Revolution is our goal, brave and religious leader Qadri.”

Critics of Qadri, who returned last month after years in Canada, are worried he is bent on derailing elections, possibly at the behest of the country’s powerful military — allegations the cleric has denied.

Qadri has a large following that extends outside Pakistan and has a reputation for speaking out against terrorism and promoting his message through hundreds of books, an online television channel and videos.

Now, Qadri’s focus is on Pakistan’s election laws. He is suggesting vaguely worded changes, such as making sure candidates are honest as well as ending exploitation and income disparities so that poor people are free to vote for whomever they want.

His plan to hold a massive rally in Islamabad on Monday has alarmed many members of Pakistan’s political system. The government has deployed a large number of police throughout the capital and set up shipping containers to block protesters from reaching sensitive areas.

Qadri accused the provincial government of Punjab, where Lahore is the capital, of harassing his supporters Sunday to make it difficult for them to participate in the march.

“These negative tactics will not work, and God willing the march will reach Islamabad with a sea of people,” Qadri told reporters.

___

Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Zaheer Babar in Lahore, Pakistan, and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report

Full article here.

Posted in Government • Crime • Political Correctness • Iran • Islam • Middle East • Terrorism • Violence

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Convening an Emergency Meeting Regarding Islamic Regime’s Secret Nuclear Facility

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Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. Luke 12:3

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is convening an emergency meeting Monday of his cabinet and others from the Supreme National Security Council over WND’s revelation of the Islamic regime’s secret nuclear facility.

DigitalGlobe Sept. 2012 – Khondab secret nuclear facility

According to a source in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit with access to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran is scrambling to find out who leaked the information. The regime is concerned about international ramifications of yet another secret site being exposed amid pressure and sanctions by the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency ‘s request for inspection and clarification over illicit nuclear activities. The source is the same person who revealed the site’s existence.

The regime has twice been caught red-handed with its covert nuclear activity – in 2002 when its Natanz enrichment facility was exposed and in 2009 with the exposure of the Fordo underground nuclear facility near the city of Qom.

Upon the revelation of the Khondab site on WND, Ahmadinejad issued two directives, according to the source – one to Heydar Moslehi, the head of the Ministry of Intelligence, and another to Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, the head of the regime’s Atomic Energy Organization – requesting immediate investigation into the leak.

The source added that the Intelligence Ministry, which oversees the activity of all employees in the Iranian nuclear program, has begun questioning workers in Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization through its Herasat, an internal security force.

The regime fully knows, the source said, that any revelation of its secret nuclear activity under current circumstances will destroy its claim of peaceful nuclear activity and will embolden Israel’s position internationally that the regime is lying about its activity and that it needs to be confronted immediately.

According to the source, the Khondab facility houses over 2,000 centrifuges that are enriching uranium for Iran’s nuclear bomb program. More cascades of centrifuges are being made operational to add to its capacity.

DigitalGlobe images of the site have been given to organizations that specialize in Iran’s illicit nuclear program for further analysis. However, a retired imagery analyst who cannot be named has looked at two of the images and confirms that the imagery shows “a large surface installation showing characteristics of supporting a co-located underground facility.”

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry, a former CIA analyst and executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, an advisory board to Congress, said, “The imagery clearly shows some kind of highly sensitive and fortified installation supporting a deep underground facility inside the mountain.”

DigitalGlobe Sept. 2012 – Entrances to the underground facility