Has Qatar turned Away from Islamist Support in the Middle East?

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Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal published an intriguing analysis by Yaroslav Trofimov of the of Qatar’s apparent withdrawal from being a broker in the murky world of Middle East peace and Islamist causes, “Qatar Scales Back Role in Middle East Conflicts.”   Trofimov noted:

From mediating in Lebanon and Sudan to helping rebels in Libya and Syria and backing the Palestinian group Hamas, Qatar has been involved in virtually every Middle Eastern flash point. But, under pressure from bigger neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it has moved in recent weeks to distance itself from its traditional posture of championing Islamist movements—particularly the Muslim Brotherhood—in Egypt and elsewhere.

“The Qataris were a little bit shaken about how much blowback they have had,” said Abdullah Baabood, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University. “The recent events show they have overstretched themselves. They will now pick their battles and focus on what serves best their strategic interests.”

Trofimov drew attention to some demonstrable turns of events in December 2014 following the dust up in March when envoys from three Arab States in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia withdrew their Ambassadors.  In November the UAE followed Saudi Arabia and listed the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliates Hamas,  CAIR and the Muslim American Society in the US as terrorist organizations. Trofimov noted the turnabout:

After their threats to boycott a summit of Gulf monarchies in Doha this month, Qatar revised its stance on the critical point of disagreement—how to treat the Muslim Brotherhood and the current Egyptian leadership, which ousted the Islamist group from power last year.

Having expelled several Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders ahead of the summit, Qatar sent a senior envoy to Egypt on Dec. 20 to seek a rapprochement with President Abdel Fattah El -Sisi.

Two days later, Qatar shut down the Egyptian channel of its Al Jazeera TV network, an outlet for the Brotherhood and other opponents of Egypt’s current leadership.

“The security of Egypt is important for the security of Qatar,” Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said.

Earlier on December 6, 2014, we reported that the Qatari Ambassador to the US,  H.E. Mohammed Jaham Al-Kuwari at a presentation before the Pensacola, Florida Tiger Bay Club proclaimed, “We do not support Hamas”.  He astounded some in the audience.  That was in contrast to the views of Jon Schanzer of the Washington, DC-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies who in a September 2014 Congressional hearing said, “That Qatar is currently Hamas’ ATM”.  We noted Qatar’s pledge of $1 billion to rebuild Gaza after the cease fire that ended the 50 day war in the summer of 2014. Qatar had provided a luxurious safe haven for billionaire Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.  The Ambassador said, “Better to have Khaled Meshaal in Qatar than across the Gulf in Iran”.  But then there were other matters for example the Taliban office in Qatar that facilitated the exchange of senior commanders released from  Gitmo for US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.  Oatar had provided a long exile of anti-Semitic and anti-American Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Preacher Yusuf al Qaradawi who coincidentally had an Interpol red tag warrant issued for his arrest and extradition to Egypt on the same day as the Ambassador’s Pensacola presentation. We cited US Treasury concerns over wealthy Qatari businessmen funding Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al Nusra in Syria and the Islamic State. These stood in contrast to GCC member Kuwait that had moved at US behest to shut off the spigot of such jihad donations from wealthy individuals there.  The Qatari Ambassador cited diplomatic recognition of Israel and a state office the Jewish nation had in Doha. Curiously, the other GCC member who maintains relations with Israel, Oman, apparently doesn’t support the Palestinian cause.

The Qatari Ambassador’s  presentation on December 6th in Pensacola was eclipsed by the Emir al-Thani’s appearance at a GCC summit in Doha three days later on December 9th that marked the start of a lowering of Qatar’s profile internationally reflected in Trofimov’s WSJ revelations.

There were also some fundamental economic realities; the plummeting oil and gas prices, reflecting the excess of supply over current global demand.  That resulted in hammering the revenues of oil producers like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.  There is the prospect in 2015 of the US vaulting to the forefront as both the world’s leading oil and gas producers propelled by the fracking revolution. If allowed by the Obama Administration exports of oil and gas would further weaken world prices that could result in a further drop in Qatar’s revenues.  Al Arab in a report on December 16, 2014 quoted the Qatari energy minister at an industry conference in Doha saying:

“Energy markets are interconnected, and we can see the effects of the oil price drop affecting gas too,” Mohammed al-Sada told reporters in Doha.

There was already a “strong degree of conversion of gas spot prices between different regions,” he said on the sidelines of the 16th ministerial meeting of gas exporting countries.

Oil prices have dropped by nearly 50% and natural gas prices 10% since June 2014.

Then there were still unresolved FIFA 2018 and 2022 bribery investigations of both Russia and Qatar. That has besmirched the reputation of the world football federation and its autocratic head, Sepp Blatter, following the resignation of former US Attorney Michael Garcia of the US law firm of Kirkland and Ellis, over the failure to release the final report of his investigation in bribery allegations. There have been  accusations that some of the $220 billion funds for the infrastructure  in preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup competition  in Qatar may have involved bribes to FIFA officials and  possible  diversion of contractor payments  to fund the Jihad of the Islamic State.

Qatar’s estimated $220 billion investment in infrastructure to support the 2022 World Cup matches in its torrid climate has engendered another problem: the deaths of  nearly 1,000 foreign workers and their  near servitude-like employment and housing conditions. The Times of India in a December 24, 2014, report cited evidence of Qatar’s continuing toll of foreign workers:

A series of stories in The Guardian have shown that migrant workers from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere were dying in their hundreds.

While some were listed as having been killed in workplace accidents, many more were said to have died from sudden, unexplained cardiac arrest.

The government confirmed in the DLA Piper report that 964 workers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh had died while living and working in the Gulf state in 2012 and 2013.

The report recommended that Qatar do more to record and investigate the causes of death among the migrant population but it has made little outward progress.

After it was published, Qatar said it would reform the kafala system that keeps workers tied to their employer, and better enforce laws that require contractors to provide humane living conditions and ban them from seizing passports.

But the system that Qatar proposed to replace kafala would still leave workers tied to their employers for the length of their contract, which could be as much as five years.

Seasoned observers of the Middle East region say that Qatar under the two century rule by the Al-Thani family “has been punching internationally above its weight class” to use the boxing analogy. Yet Qatar has often been referred to as a Frenemy.  Not exactly a friend, not exactly an enemy.  The friend part is reflected in the forward operating base for the US CENTCOM at the al-Udeid airbase complex and multi-billion dollar purchases of weapons from US defense contractors. There was also the creation of an education hub for several US universities and the Brookings Institution Doha Middle East Research Center.  That may be winding down with status of forces agreement with the Afghanistan government and the Obama Administration ending active US combat participation in the conflict with the Taliban.  The enemy side of Qatar  had  until these latest developments been reflected in support for the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Al Qaeda and Islamic State by wealthy fundamentalist Qataris.

Trofimov in his WSJ analysis cites the characterization of Qatar by a human rights critic:

Despite its rhetoric in favor of democratic change in the region, the absolute monarchy has remained just as repressive as its neighbors, said Najab al Nuaimi, the country’s former justice minister who is now a prominent human-rights lawyer.

“It is a police state. There is no democracy in Qatar. If you open your mouth, they will even strip you of your passport,” he said. “We supported directly all the uprisings, with violence, with guns—but only the Brotherhood, not the liberals.”

Thus, tiny Qatar has been forced to rein in its support of the Islamist jihadist causes because of geo-political realities, leaving Turkey’s President Erdogan as the lone supporter of Hamas in the region.  That has been  fueled by the  US energy revolution producing a glut in the weakened demand for oil and gas that precipitated  the plummeting oil and gas prices. We can thank American entrepreneurial enterprise for causing the drop in revenues to energy dependent producers like Russia, Iran and Venezuela and quickening the possible demise of OPEC.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review. The featured image is of Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Doha on 12-9-14. Source: Associated Press.

UN Security Council Nixes Palestinian Resolution

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The following is a JTA report issued on December 30th, 2014:

U.N. Security Council vote on Palestinian statehood resolution fails

NEW YORK (JTA) — A Palestinian-backed U.N. resolution setting a deadline for a peace deal with Israel failed to garner sufficient votes for passage in the U.N. Security Council.

The resolution, which was voted on Tuesday, was aimed at achieving a full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank by late 2017.

Eight nations on the 15-member council votes yes, two voted no and five abstained. Nine votes were required for passage.

Had nine votes been obtained, the United States, which voted against the resolution, was expected to exercise its Security Council veto. The United States believes a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinians must be negotiated by the parties themselves.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, called the draft resolution “deeply imbalanced” and slammed the council for the unusual move of putting the resolution to a vote without any debate.

“We voted against it because we know what everyone here knows as well: Peace will come from hard choices and compromises that must come at the negotiating table,” Power said.

“This text addresses the concerns of only one side,” she said. “It would undermine efforts to get back to an atmosphere that achieves two states for two peoples.”

The deadlines in the resolution, she said, “take no account of Israel’s legitimate security concerns.”

The vote took place shortly after 5 P.M. EST on Tuesday.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review.

U.S. Special Ops commander on Islamic State: “We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it”

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What Major General Nagata says is absolutely correct: the U.S. government and military does not understand the Islamic State, and as long as that continues, the U.S. will never defeat the Islamic State. But why don’t they understand the Islamic State? Because the Obama Administration has forbidden investigation of Islamic doctrine in connection with terrorism. The Obama Administration wants to pretend that jihad terror has nothing to do with Islam. As long as it persists in this delusion, the U.S. will never understand — or defeat — the Islamic State.

“In Battle to Defang ISIS, U.S. Targets Its Psychology,” by Eric Schmitt, New York Times, December 28, 2014 (thanks to Bill):

WASHINGTON — Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, commander of American Special Operations forces in the Middle East, sought help this summer in solving an urgent problem for the American military: What makes the Islamic State so dangerous?

Trying to decipher this complex enemy — a hybrid terrorist organization and a conventional army — is such a conundrum that General Nagata assembled an unofficial brain trust outside the traditional realms of expertise within the Pentagon, State Department and intelligence agencies, in search of fresh ideas and inspiration. Business professors, for example, are examining the Islamic State’s marketing and branding strategies.

“We do not understand the movement, and until we do, we are not going to defeat it,” he said, according to the confidential minutes of a conference call he held with the experts. “We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand the idea.”

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“How to stab a Jew” video going viral on Palestinian Authority social media

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In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.

“‘How to Stab a Jew’ Going Viral on Palestinian Authority Social Media,” by Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu, Jewish Press, December 28, 2014:

The “resisters of occupation in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem” are spreading on Arab social media a frightening video demonstrating tactics on how to stab a Jew to death quickly and efficiently.

The 1-minute and 13-second video, as seen below, shows the “teacher” calmly walking up to a “victim,” stabbing him, and walking away.

One of the tactics appears to imitate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) method of beheading.

The guide to killing Jews teaches that after stabbing the victim, the knife should be twisted to maximize wounds and cause death.

The Palestinian Authority and anti-Israel Arabs in Jerusalem do not need terrorist cells when “resisters” use social media to reach hundreds of thousands of Arabs in Jerusalem as well as in Judea, Gaza and Samaria, with a single simple post.

Israel needs to find the source of whoever posted this video and arrest him or them.

All of Israel is paying a heavy price, the price of life, for a decade of conducting “negotiations” with the Palestinian Authority while it has incited an entire generation to hate Jews and then murder them.

Until the Palestinian Authority halts all incitement, and until Mahmoud Abbas starts condemning terrorists in Arabic as well as in English, and until the Obama administration understands that Israel means what it says, the government needs to stop all contact with Ramallah.

Arab stabbing attacks on Jews have increased significantly this year, and every Israeli is a potential victim when “resisters” educate every Arab to be a murderer.

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Acquittal of the Guilty

California: Muslim arrested in mosque vandalism

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Yet another fake “Islamophobic” hate crime. As if Mohammad Khan was simultaneously mentally ill and a “devout Muslim.” Hamas-linked CAIR and other Muslims have not hesitated to stoop even to fabricating “hate crimes,” including attacks on mosques. CAIR and other groups like it want and need hate crimes against Muslims, because they can use them for political points and as weapons to intimidate people into remaining silent about the jihad threat.

“Man arrested in Islamic center vandalism was targeting a bully, Fresno police say,” by Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee, December 27, 2014 (thanks to James):

The man who vandalized the Islamic Cultural Center on Christmas Day also vandalized and burglarized a business about two miles away because he thought he was getting back at the family of a girl who he believed had disrespected and bullied him, police said Saturday.

Asif Mohammad Khan, 28, who is Muslim, was arrested the day of the burglaries and vandalism at the Fresno Digestive Center, 7405 N. Fresno St., and the Islamic Cultural Center near Nees and Maple avenues.

His older sister describes Khan as having schizophrenia. She said he is a big National Basketball Association fan and was surprised not to see him in the family home Thursday while NBA games were being broadcast.

He was arrested at the Fresno Digestive Center on Thursday afternoon as he tried to run from Fresno police officers. Detectives interviewed him Friday evening. They then went to his home in Clovis, where they recovered a Philadelphia Eagles jacket and baseball cap that matched the clothing worn by the man who was seen on the Islamic Cultural Center’s video surveillance.

Khan told detectives that the crime was not meant as hateful to the Islamic Cultural Center, where he had at one time attended mosque programs. His crimes were targeted at a young woman who had bullied him and her family, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

“He did say this is not a hate crime, although he was angry and perhaps had some hatred toward individuals,” the chief said. “It was not geared towards the Islamic community, it was not geared to the Islamic faith or any of those things and was simply to get back at a few people at the center who had belittled him and in his eyes bullied him.”…

Dyer said that in the days before the vandalism, Khan had posted on social media that Osama bin Laden was the “most inspirational person in his life.” He said Khan also made references to Adolf Hitler.

“I do not know what that reference was about,” Dyer said. “Perhaps that addresses his mental state.”

Khan’s sister, Samia Khan, said her brother is a devout Muslim. He prays five times a day, but attends Friday prayers in a different mosque. She said her parents were “deeply sorry” for the damage….

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The Stark Contrast Between Two People’s Views on the Communist Cuba / Castro Controversy with Obama

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Hope all is well as I trust that everybody had a Blessed & Beautiful Christmas Holy Day…It’s not a Holiday – it’s a “Holy Day”…Along with the Day of the Resurrection, Christmas Day is the most significant day in our calendar year, as if it were not for these two days, I would not be writing this piece; we would not have eternal life…and Barack Obama would be the last thing on my mind…

But, we are blessed to have these two sacred days in our calendars…and, we are stuck with the Emperor for a little more than “730” days. And, boy, have these last “53” days been excruciating. Yes, since November 4th, when the Republican Party slapped the Liberals something silly – their ruthless and squeaky “lame duck” has made more noise than the AFLAC duck on TV commercials. And, with his latest and most blatant Executive Action taking place over a week ago – when he thought he would “go it alone”, again – taking on another Foreign Policy move that he has no place or business even going near – this fiasco with “Cuba & the Castro Commies” – is way out of his league…

And, like I wrote last week in my introduction message in regards to this down-right slap in the face to every Cuban exile living in this country, age 45 and up – Obama has no clue what he is doing with Fidel & Raul Castro – and does not even know what the word embargo means – let alone, what the word democracy means…

And, it seems that every time this dictator wannabe puts his foot in his mouth and does something that he has no business doing – he always manages to escape to Hawaii or the nearest golf course for another “much needed” vacation, as he is there now with Michelle and the girls, on our dime, again…

Yes, that has been Obama’s M.O. for the past 6 years – make a dumb move; create controversy; stir up the hornet’s nest; piss off the entire country; then go hide away in Hawaii or Martha’s Vineyard. But, this time, he knows he has to come back and he knows that come January, a new Congress will be awaiting him. And, he also should be well aware that what he did last week by gutlessly going behind our country’s back and “unofficially” trying to lift the embargo from Cuba, is going to cost him and it did not sit well with two vocal senators who have Cuban ties – Marco Rubio & Ted Cruz.

My prayer is that both, Rubio and Cruz, continue to take the lead in standing up against Obama in regards to this controversy with Cuba, and convince John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the rest of this new Congress to NOT allow Obama’s Executive Action to actually take place. They need to fight this tooth and nail with all they’ve got and not allow any type of lifting of the embargo to take place until the ruthless tyrants who have run Cuba aground for the past 55 years, declare Cuba to be “Free of Communist Rule” and sign an agreement with the United States stating that Cuba will be a Free Democracy from now on, with Free Elections and that all human rights will be bestowed upon the 13 million Cubans living on this beloved island nation…Churches and schools must be open to everybody.

Until this is done – there is NO DEAL! I am all for progress and making things better with Cuba, but one cannot do business with ruthless dictators who have imprisoned, tortured and killed thousands of innocent people for over 5 decades, pretending that this never took place, and out of the clear blue, declaring Cuba “open for business”…There has to be a price to pay; an apology to take place; and lots of healing and conversion in order for the United States of America to do business with Cuba…Freedom does not come Free – and, it’s Cuba who needs to adjust to United States policies – not the other way around. If an embargo does take place sometime in the future, it is the U.S. who is doing Cuba a favor. Now, they need to come clean; release all prisoners; put down their guns and firing squads; lose that Communist flag; pay their dues and play by our rules. That’s the democratic way…That’s the only way…But, by the looks of things and from Raul Castro’s latest comments, it looks like he wants to stick to his guns and is still saying that “Cuba will always be under Communist rule as long as he is alive”…

And, there, the problem lies…but, Obama, as stubborn as he is, will continue to “go it alone”, and with those big ears of his, pretend that he did not hear Raul Castro’s latest comments…

The real problem is that an individual like Barack Obama has no clue what took place in Cuba the past 55 years. (He does not even now what took place in the United States the past 55 years, let alone, Cuba). He has no idea what the Castro brothers represent – and until you walk in the shoes of those courageous Cubans who left the island between 1959-1965, and see what they had to endure – do NOT even think of messing with their families’ history and the beloved island they had to leave because of Communist rule. This is sacred, personal and sensitive to all Cubans who fled back then and when an arrogant socialist like Obama decides that he knows best and is going to wreak havoc on these Cubans’ past & future by recklessly dealing with two Communist brothers who turned their lives upside down and more – you better be prepared to pay the consequences…Obama, don’t mess with Cuba…You would not want anyone to mess with your birthplace, Kenya…

So, please take a look at these two articles that I have included for you, below, so you can see how different two people’s points of view on this controversial issue with Cuba, Castro and Obama truly are. The first article happens to come from the President of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue, who, you can tell, is quite liberal. Claims to be a devout Catholic – but, definitely, left-handed. His views on what Obama is trying to accomplish with Cuba is in total disagreement with the millions of Cubans who are living in this country today who see it as an insult to them and the place of their birth. Donohue’s comments about Obama and Pope Francis only adds more insult to injury and coming from the President of the Catholic League, his socialist views are just as slanted as Obama’s…

http://www.catholicleague.org/obama-pope-right-cuba/

Then, we have a phenomenal article and commentary from an incredible woman who was born and raised in Cuba – who saw it all first-hand, along with her very active family. Yes, Marielena Montesino de Stuart, a devout Pro-Lifer, patriot and outspoken Republican activist, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 – truly lays it all on the line here. She has the right to be able to express herself like this because she lived it. She walked in those shoes I was referring to earlier. Marielena basically says everything that I, along with any Cuban-American in this country (ages 45 and up), would have written. She could not have said it any better. Her article should serve as an inspiration to all Cubans in this country. Thank you for being bold for your Faith, your present country and for your country of birthplace…

http://romancatholicworld.wordpress.com/2014/12/18/rewarding-evil-obama-embraces-communist-cuba/

Friends: I humbly ask that we, as American citizens of this great country of ours – please keep this volatile situation with Cuba, the Castros and Obama – in deep prayer. Had it been anybody else (other than Barack Obama), executing this Executive Action – I know I would personally feel a lot more comfortable and confident that something positive is going to be happening in Cuba in the near future. Let’s face it – 55 years is way too long a time to have this beautiful island still under Communist rule – especially when it is only 90 miles away from my sister, Elena’s house, in Key West. But, I along with millions of Americans in this country (Obama’s approval ratings are at an all-time low right now), do not trust Obama with anything – especially with an area he has absolutely no experience in or clue as to what he is doing – Foreign Policy…it’s all foreign to him…and, Cuba can be quite dangerous…

In closing, let’s pray that Obama comes to his senses; that cooler and smarter heads prevail; that our new Congress shows some courage, boldness and self control; and that we, in fact, are able to do something with Cuba in the very near future. I honestly believe that this is in GOD’s Plan and we owe it to all those courageous and passionate Cubans who gave up their lives fighting for their Patria, dreaming that one day we would all be able to say out loud: VIVA CUBA LIBRE!!…I, for one, am one of those. And, although I came from Cuba, myself in 1961, at the age of three and consider myself more American than most Americans – my heart goes out to all those older Cubans who suffered and gave up so much for their beloved homeland (including my beloved mother and late father). It is only right that those well-deserving Cubans get to see a Free Cuba before they die and go to their final resting place knowing that, in the end – good triumphed over evil – GOD over the devil…Free Democracy over ruthless Communism…

VIVA CUBA LIBRE – BUT, NOT UNDER OBAMA!!!

UK Opting Out of EU Revealed: First in Daniel’s Dream of Lion (UK) with Eagle’s Wings (US) Alliance?

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“If referendum was today … Britons WOULD vote to QUIT Europe, reveals expert new survey.” The full story of this headline is linked at the end, but our headline suggests what the prophet Isaiah said, that God declares the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46:10.

When asked about the end of the world, the Great Teacher who divided BC from AD said to understand the book of Daniel, Matthew 24:3,15.

The word “Daniel” means God is my judge and he faithfully faced potential life or death situations in Daniel 1-6, suggesting a lesson for us. If we don’t have something we are willing to die for (like Daniel) do we really have something worth living for? Or are we going with the flow so nothing matters? And in that case, do we matter? Do we want our lives to count for something?

In Daniel 7, God revealed the nature of earthly governments as fierce beasts of prey. A lion, bear, leopard and dragon represented Bablon, Medo-Persian, Grecia and Rome. But the book of Daniel was also “sealed” until the time of the end (Daniel 12:4) which implies an end-time meaning that wouldn’t be seen until we see how it fits again!

So while the lion with eagle’s wings represented the kingdom of Babylon (and Babylon had many lion sculptures), the interpretation also fits now when the four beasts are said to be “four kings [kingdoms] which shall arise out of the earth.” This was written when Babylon was declining under the last king, Belshazzar, Daniel 7:17.

With this in mind, perhaps we should ask, What do the other beasts represent? There’s a bear and if God knows the end from the beginning, He probably knew we would be using a bear to represent Russia. The bear had three ribs in its mouth. Could they represent the Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus?

The 3rd beast was a leopard with four heads. As we look to major players in this vision that includes our time, we shouldn’t miss China that could be aligned with Japan, Korea and Thailand.

And finally the dragon-like beast with 10 horns that in the original interpretation represented the 10 tribes that roamed Europe after the Roman Empire fell. All the Protestant Reformers were united in their view that the “little horn” described in Daniel 7:21,25 represented the papacy.

The relationship of these beasts to the end-time in the book of Revelation is seen in chapter 13 where a beast comes out of the sea, but waters represent nations and peoples, Revelation 17:15. It’s an amalgamation of Daniel’s beasts with a mouth like a lion, feet like a bear, looks like a leopard, but it has the total of 7 heads and 10 horns from Daniel 7. This is the papacy as it survived those kingdoms.

This political cartoon had a “deadly wound” from a sword. This could be the end of the Holy Roman Empire as Napoleon’s General Berthier took the pope prisoner and he died in exile.

But that “deadly wound” was healed as Mussolini gave the Vatican area and the deadly wound healed, and the world “wonders after the beast,” [representing the geopolitical system as our cartoons do with an eagle, bear, donkey, elephant, etc]

With that in mind, it’s not hard to see the papacy again having a central role for the European Union, even as the pope speaks great words, Daniel 7:8.

The point of concern regarding Daniel 7 is that Christ receives His kingdom in verse 14 and it appears to be separate and distinct from these four fierce beasts. This is matched with a message from Revelation 18:2-4 that calls us out of Babylon.

There are major clues in the previous chapter (17), but suffice it to say that the term “Babylon” represents all false systems of government, medicine, education, welfare, correction and religion. Everywhere we turn, someone is hyping something for financial or some other gain when, in most cases, there “None of the above” is the best answer for us.

But before this is all over, we can expect the forces behind One World Government to make a major push for compliance, even as everyone was expected to bow to the image or face the fire in Daniel 3.

So far from a book of myths that atheists, evolutionists and so-called “educators” might wish to paint it, the Bible is the guidebook showing the God knows the end from the beginning and we need to study it well to be sure we are on His side. The stakes are high and the results are for ever.

This column is based on an article by Owen Bennett in the Express titled “If referendum was today … Britons WOULD vote to QUIT Europe, reveals expert new survey.”

Islamic State to Ferguson protesters: “Hey blacks, ISIS will save you”

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As I wrote about here, Islamic jihadists and supremacists have long tried to co-opt black Americans’ sense of grievance, and channel it into the jihad. The Islamic State has had its eye on the Ferguson protests since they began.

“ISIS tries to influence criminals in Ferguson,” by Farrah Fazal, KSDK, December 23, 2014:

FERGUSON, Mo. — The tweets say “Hey blacks, ISIS will save you,” and use the hashtags #IslamicState, #Ferguson and #Coming. The terror group ISIS, or Islamic State for Iraq and Syria was recruiting criminals and anarchists in Ferguson.

The FBI received the intelligence through situational reports. ISIS was targeting the criminals, not the peaceful protesters in Ferguson. ISIS wants nothing to do with people fighting for social justice.

The U.S. Attorney in Southern District of Illinois, Steve Wigginton, said ISIS wants people who hate the U.S. government as much they do.

“We received intelligence reports for law enforcement showing actual tweets ISIS was putting out encouraging Americans to join the people who were burning down buildings in Ferguson to engage that kind of conduct across America,” said Wigginton.

We are learning the terrorists called ISIS were trying to reach out to criminals in Ferguson during unrest. 12-22-14

He said situational reports show ISIS is recruiting heavily on the internet and through social media techniques. Somebody captured a picture of a person carrying an “ISIS is here” banner while CNN anchor Jake Tapper was interviewing peaceful protesters on live TV.

“They are trying to reach the people who are anti government to begin with. We have a number of those individuals in the U.S., whether they are sovereign citizens, whether they are anarchists, they all showed up at one point or another in the St. Louis area in the last few months,” said Wigginton.

Isis terrorists made names for themselves by beheading American and International journalists and aid workers. They put those executions on YouTube.

“We are very concerned by threats posed by homegrown violent extremists from individuals who live in the same community they intend to attack,” said FBI special agent in charge of the Springfield Illinois area, Sean Cox.

Cox said terrorist groups like ISIS are recruiting more Americans….

How are they able to do that, when what they do has nothing to do with Islam?

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Released Al Qaeda Inspire magazine #13 titled ‘Neurotmesis: Cutting the Nerves and Isolating the Head’

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Today, December 24, 2014, the Al-Malahem media wing of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the 13th issue of its English-language magazine Inspire, dated Winter 2014.

MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) reports”

This issue’s title, “Neurotmesis: Cutting the Nerves and Isolating the Head” includes the symbols for the Euro, the British pound, and the American dollar. Much of the content is devoted to lone-wolf attacks, including threats to airlines, with an emphasis on making hidden bombs.

The cover story, which is also titled “Neurotmesis,” states (p. 63): “[W]e have placed a policy, renewing what has already been started. We call it ‘Neurotmesis: Cutting the Nerves and Isolating the Head from the Body’. The nerves of the American war is its economy. Biidhnillâh, we will decapitate America from the rest of the world. Thereupon, we will have reigned supreme in this war. So we have to be innovetive [sic] and creative and come up with new ways of targeting the American economy, and master in choosing the most effective targets.”

The release coincides with the anniversary of the attempted 2009 Christmas Day airline bombing by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also known as the “underwear bomber.”

Cover of Inspire Issue 13:

Inspire magazine cover

For a larger view click on the image.

FBI warns of possible Islamic State jihad terror plot in Memphis

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An “USPER” is a U.S. person, that is, an American who is willing to carry out jihad attacks for the Islamic State — that is, in MyFox13’s parlance, “radicalized extremists.” Radicalized in what? Extreme in what? They don’t say, of course.

Video from MyFoxMemphis (thanks to Robert).

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Why does hatred of Israel and hatred of America go hand in hand?

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It is hard to understand why so much anti-Israel propaganda and Antisemitism has taken hold in U.S. elite Universities. Aside from Arab money that infiltrated our elite Universities, Antisemitism masquerading as anti-Israel propaganda has found fertile ground in the classrooms of elite Universities.

It is interesting to note these elites, who detest and attack Israel, also detest America their country of their birth too. Their hatred of Israel and hatred of America seem to go hand in hand. What is so disturbing many of these University students one day will become the leaders of America.

Boycotting Israel on U.S. Campuses

By Peretz Lavie

According to an Anti-Defamation League report, some 90 anti-Israel incidents have taken place on campuses across the U.S. since the beginning of the academic year – double the number in the same period last year. These incidents include protests, mock “checkpoints” and “apartheid walls,” and even “eviction notices” slid under the doors of Jewish and Israeli students. Some 15 student councils voted on proposals for divestment from Israel and an academic boycott of Israel. Although not all were accepted, the fact that the issue was raised for discussion is unprecedented.

What began as a local initiative on a few campuses has turned into an organized and well-funded campaign with the goal of isolating and boycotting Israel. At the same time, campaigns are being waged to defame and intimidate pro-Israel activists on campuses.

Read more.

The writer is the president of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. (Ynet News)

Warnings of post-Sony Cyber Attacks on U.S. Power Grid

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Underscored by penetration of South Korean nuclear plant’s computers.

In the aftermath of the devastating attacks on Sony Pictures computers, there is a heightened recognition that other information technology systems may be at risk of what President Obama last week depicted as “cyber vandalism.”  Others call it an act of war in the new domain known as the cyberbattlespace.

Increasingly, national leaders are recognizing that one of the prime targets for such attacks in the future may be the control systems of the U.S. electric bulk power distribution system, better known as the electrical grid. The salience of those concerns has only been intensified by today’s news that computers have been hacked at the company that runs South Korea’s nuclear power plants.

A report from Reuters quotes a South Korean specialist in nuclear designs, South Korea University’s Su Kune-yull, as saying: “This demonstrated that, if anyone is intent with malice to infiltrate the system, it would be impossible to say with confidence that such an effort would be blocked completely. And a compromise of nuclear reactors’ safety pretty clearly means there is a gaping hole in national security.”

The Secure the Grid Coalition – a group of American national security practitioners, scientists and engineers co-chaired by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Clinton Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey – has long believed that the vulnerabilities of the U.S. grid pose an existential threat to the United States.  That is a finding confirmed by no fewer than eleven different studies performed or commissioned by the federal government over the past decade.

Unfortunately, cyber attacks are not the only manner in which large regions of the country could be subjected to disruption or destruction of the electric grid.  These include: physical sabotage of the kind seen notably at the PG&E Metcalf Substation outside of San Jose, California on April 16, 2013; the danger of strategic electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strikes involving the detonation of one or more nuclear weapons high above the United States; the use of radio frequency weapons (RFW) to do locally what an EMP would do over large areas, weapons that can be built using readily available hardware or adapted from commercial technology; and naturally occurring intense geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) that produce potentially devastating electromagnetic solar storms.

In connection with the last of these threats, NASA marked last July the second anniversary of a very close call: A so-called Carrington-class GMD missed the earth by one week in the summer of 2012.  The NASA press release noted that the probability of such an event hitting us in the next decadewas twelve percent.

One of the preeminent leaders in Congress championing corrective measures to protect the nation’s grid against EMP and these other hazards is Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ).  He appeared today on Secure Freedom Radio, a syndicated talk radio program sponsored by the Center for Security Policy, which also hosts the Secure the Grid Coalition.  Congressman Franks’ call-to-arms could not be more clear:

There is a moment in the life of nearly every problem when it is big enough to be seen by reasonable people and still small enough to be successfully addressed. Those of us across America live in a time when there still maybe opportunity for the free world to address and mitigate the danger that naturally occurring or weaponized EMP represents to the mechanisms of our civilization. This is our moment.

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President of the Center for Security Policy, added:

The vulnerability of America’s electric grid is a ticking time-bomb.  Our government knows that, if that vulnerability is exploited by enemies or afflicted by space weather, we could experience the end of our nation as we know it. Many of our foes are aware both of the grid’s susceptibility to attack and the potentially catastrophic consequences for this country and its people should it happen.

Only the public is still largely in the dark about these dangers.  If something is not done promptly to rectify this situation, our countrymen and women risk being kept in the dark permanently.  We must secure the grid now.

An important step in that direction was the unanimous adoption by the House of Representatives late in the lame duck session of legislation lead-sponsored by Rep. Franks: The Critical Infrastructure Protection Act (H.R. 3410).  It would require that: electromagnetic pulse threats – both man-induced and naturally occurring) become the subject of a national planning scenario; research and development into the techniques needed to protect the grid; and a plan to be drafted and presented to Congress for achieving that protection.

Unfortunately, the Senate did not consider this legislation before it recessed, meaning both houses will need to take it up afresh in 2015.  There is, however, an evident determination on the part of both the chairmen of the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), respectively, to do just that early on.  The Secure the Grid Coalition stands ready to support that effort.

Secure the Grid Coalition members are available for comment on the electric grid’s susceptibility to cyber warfare and other threats – and what needs to be done to protect it against all hazards. More information can be found at www.securethegrid.com.

RELATED ARTICLE: North Korean Internet “Erased From the Global Map”; US Attack Suspected

NYPD cop killer worked for Hamas-linked Islamic Society of North America

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More indication that Ismaaiyl Abdullah-Muhammad, aka Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley, was indeed intending to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60) when he shot NYPD cops Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

“BREAKING, EXCLUSIVE: NYPD Cop Killer Worked For Muslim Terror Front Group,” by Charles C. Johnson, GotNews, December 23, 2014 (thanks to Doc):

The Muslim NYPD cop killer Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley worked for a Muslim Brotherhood front group, according to his Facebook page.

GotNews.com has confirmed and exclusively discovered that Brinsley went by another name — Ismaaiyl Abdullah-Muhammad — and that he worked for the Islamic Society of North America.

The Islamic Society of North America is a Muslim Brotherhood front group that was described as an unindicted co-conspirator by the Justice Department in the 2007 Holy Land terror cases.

Brinsley a.k.a. Muhammad’s Facebook page includes liking pages like “I love Islam” and “I Have To Be More Philosophical, About My Life.”…

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False Predictions that a Huge Earthquake Can Happen “Anytime”

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An article by Lyn Leahz in BeforeItsNews.com cites David Wilkerson’s vision that “The United States is going to experience, in the not-too-distant future, the most tragic earthquake in its history.” We believe Wilkerson was a godly man and blessed with insights, but the title of her article suggested it can happen “anytime.” The sense of impending calamity was true of prophets like Joel (2:10,11) and Zephaniah (1:7)

Wilkerson never saw the earthquake. His vision was in 1973–and he is dead and gone. And while we can expect the possibility of a man-made earthquake with HARRP technology (search YouTube if you haven’t seen it) as a pretext for martial law and control of the masses, a really huge earthquake should have biblical timing, and it may be expected this spring.

Why this spring? Because it would seem like God is marking this coming year with a solar eclipse as the biblical year begins in spring as He indicated to Moses in Exodus 12:2—the eclipse occurring on a new moon which signaled the new month and beginning of the new year in the text.

Then there is a “blood moon” on Passover two weeks later, much like Israel put blood on doorposts two weeks later in Exodus 12:7. God said He would “execute judgment” in the context of Passover in Exodus 12:12. Calamity befell them and there was a “midnight cry” like Christ foretold in His wedding parable that woke the 10 women up for the wedding. In Egypt, God took Israel to a wedding—they made a covenant and He later said, “I am married to you,” Jeremiah 3:14.

Paul says that history will repeat. He included the Exodus when he said, “All those things happened to them for examples….written for [us] upon whom the ends of the world are come,” 1Corinthians 10:1,11

Paul also said the end-time “day of the Lord” would come with “sudden destruction” when they are saying ‘Peace and safety.’ 1Thessalonians 5:2,3. That might imply Israel being forced to sign a peace treaty with Palestinians as our Muslim-favoring White House considers sanctions against Israel.

Re a huge earthquake, the insight offered by Ellen White is of interest. She was esteemed a prophetess by Seventh-day Adventists, but she saw her church in apostasy until the Lord comes. Nevertheless, she is a credible witness for these reasons:

She founded Loma Linda University, a community featured in National Geographic’s cover story on health and longevity as the only “blue zone” in the western hemisphere, November, 2005. The article pictured Marge Jetton, 100 years old, putting gas in her car. On an average, Adventists live 7-10 years longer than others in controlled studies, which is why NIH funded a study for millions to discover why.

It’s probably due to diet. Dr. Clive McCay, Professor of Nutrition at Cornell University, summarized a 7-page review of Ellen White’s writings on health–-“In spite of the fact that the works of Mrs White were written long before the advent of modern scientific nutrition, no better over-all guide is available today”

Back to the “Big One” and credibility as a prophetess…while visiting NYC, she was shown tall “buildings rising story after story…warranted to be fireproof…consumed as if made of pitch.” Vol 9 pg 11-13, of Testimonies for the Church, published in 1909.

In the same book, she visited the medical school she founded and saw a vision of an earthquake in which “many lives were blotted out…It seemed that Judgment day had come.” ibid, pg 93. Casual readers think she was reporting the San Francisco Earthquake that occurred then, but on pg 95, she cited Zephaniah 1:8 where God says, “In the day of the Lord’s sacrifice [Passover] I will punish…the king’s children clothed in strange apparel.”

Ellen White did not want pharmacology taught. She said drugs change the form and location of the disease. If she were writing today, she would probably call them Adverse Drug Reactions, cited in Journal of American Medical Association, April 15, 1998 as the 4th leading cause of death, but updated to #1 now at LeadingCauseOfDeathPrescriptionDrugs.com

Seventh-day Adventists think they are the “king’s children,” and American Christianity is also lukewarm with materialism and subject to the “knock” in Revelation 3:20 for a church that anciently ended in an earthquake circa 63 AD.

Christ words, You don’t know the day or hour” meant Christ’s disciples didn’t understand, and each time He said it, He gave an example that fit a provision in their law for Passover a month later, “as the days of Noah” when the Flood came with Passover timing, but in the 2nd spring month. Further clues explained in #8-10 at TheBridegroomComes.com.

RELATED VIDEO: Experts VERY CONCERNED-Warning USA To Prepare! Horrific Monster Quakes To Shake the Hell Out of USA!

EDITORS NOTE: Dr. Ruhling recommends an inexpensive soft cover of Ellen White’s book on health as the best single book ever written on health, happiness and how to live life well. Readers can get a copy at  http://ChooseABetterDestiny.comThe book is non-denominational. Readers may also appreciate a copy of Dr. Ruhling’s latest eBook, “Our High Destiny Discovered in the Bible’s 7 Wedding Messages” free this Saturday – Happy Holidays! The featured image is from San Andreas the movie.

International Emissions Idiocy

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Most of the people of the world have concluded that the decades of warnings about “global warming” and its successor, “climate change”, is just idiotic nonsense. Few believe that humans ever had or ever will have any role in what the weather will be tomorrow or a thousand years from now. They are right.

One of the most distinguishing factors about the Anthropogenic Global Warming theory has been the way its advocates have always predicted major changes decades into the future. When the future arrived, as it has since the first doomsday predictions were made in the late 1980s, they simply push off the next arrival date for another couple of decades. A classic example is the prediction that that Arctic and Antarctic sea ice would have all melted by now. Instead the global cold weather have been making new records of late.

Delegates from two hundred nations attended the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties and the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol which took place from December 1 through 12. COP 20/CMP 10 was hosted by the Government of Peru in Lima. The event is part of the United Nations agenda that began with the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.

The Kyoto Protocol dates back to 1997 and sets limits on how much “greenhouse gas” emissions, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2), nations could permit. The theory, now long since debunked, that CO2 was rising and would cause the Earth to warm too much was right in only one respect. There is more CO2, but the Earth has been in a cooling cycle for some 19 years at this point. The U.S. did not ratify, i.e. sign onto the Protocol. The Senate unanimously rejected it. Canada later withdrew from it. China and India were both exempted from it!

So what we have been witnessing have been a bunch of international officials wrangling over something that did not happen and will not happen.

The hard core “Warmists” wanted the climate change agreement to be legally binding under international law. They were led by those from the European Union. They and others wanted more money to be spent on renewable energy, wind and solar, and money given to poor countries to help them deal with climate change.

The COP20 conference was not about the climate. It was about funding wind and solar energy projects that have proven globally to be huge, expensive failures, and about providing money to poor countries that, as often as not, are poor because they are poorly governed. It’s a scheme based on totally false “science.”

Cover - Climate for the LaymanAs to the “science” proclaiming a warming Earth and that “greenhouse gas emissions” are responsible, the easiest and most entertaining way to learn the real science is to read Anthony Bright-Paul’s new book, “Climate for the Layman.”

Bright applies the known knowledge of the universe in which we live with the kind of logic you are not likely to hear from the likes of Al Gore or Bill Nye the “science guy.” Add to them the blissfully ignorant legions of “leaders” of various nations who have signed off on “global warming” without a lick of knowledge with which to refute the lies and you get idiotic conferences and demands to end the beneficial use of fossil fuels which improved our lives long before and since the IPCC was created.

“So how does one measure the temperature of something that has a multiplicity of temperatures and is constantly on the move?” asks Bright. “It is clearly impossible.” How difficult is that to understand?

“In my dictionary,” says Bright, “’Global’ is defined as ‘worldwide’. So let us ask ourselves the question—has there been a worldwide warming of 0.07 degrees Celsius? Has there been a uniform increase in temperatures worldwide? The answer is simple. It is utterly impossible to make such declaration”, adding that “It is completely impossible to measure the temperature of the atmosphere which is 100 kilometers high and which has a huge range of temperatures in a continuous state of flux.”

If it cannot be measured then years from now the climate cannot be predicted. The weather—what is happening where you live—can only be predicted in general terms for the next few days and that is largely thanks to modern satellites. Moreover, the weather is never exactly the same from day to day. Meteorologists focus on what’s happening now, but climatologists measure the climate in units of decades, the smallest of which is thirty years. The largest take in millions of years.

Carbon dioxide is such a minor “trace” gas—0.04% of the Earth’s atmosphere–that most people are astonished to learn that it is Nitrogen and Oxygen that make up 99% of the atmosphere. Both are transparent to incoming and outgoing radiation. It is the Earth that acts as a conductor of heat, affected as always by solar radiation. It is the Sun along with the actions of the oceans and volcanic activity that determines the weather and, long term, the climate.

Virtually everything you have heard or been told about “greenhouse gas emissions” is pure bunkum.

The Earth is not a greenhouse closed in by heat trapping gases. It is the mass of the Earth that absorbs the Sun’s radiation and reflects it into the atmosphere. The process is so dynamic that there is no way to accurately predict what the temperature anywhere on any day.

The IPCC and its idiotic “climate change” conference wants you to believe it can predict the climate of the entire world! And control it.

Not a single dime of U.S. taxpayer’s money should be devoted to either the U.N. or any bogus “global warming” claims. We could begin by defunding the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations to limit “greenhouse gas emissions”, the reason they give for closing coal-fired plants to produce electricity.

We should laugh Secretary of State John Kerry off the stage every time in claims that climate change is the greatest threat to life on Earth.

© Alan Caruba, 2014