A suicide bomber blew himself up in central Damascus Tuesday and killed four people, the state media said, while a Syrian mother superior accused opposition fighters of abducting 12 nuns from a predominantly Christian village near the capital.
Category Archives: Religion
Croatia Defines Marriage As Man+Woman
The banner proclaims ‘Marriage equals woman plus men, everything else is something different’
Croats voted overwhelmingly in favor of defining marriage in the constitution as a “union of man and woman” on Sunday. Croatia now shares its constitutional definition of marriage with Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia.
Almost 66 percent of those who voted in the referendum in the new European Union member endorsed the initiative, launched by the Catholic group “In the Name of the Family”, according to preliminary results on Sunday night. Turnout was 37 percent. The vote was not surprising given that 90 percent of Croatia is Roman Catholic.
Current law in Croatia states that marriage is between a man and woman. The point of the constitutional referendum was to insure that no laws would or could change that definition, short of a constitutional amendment which would need a two-thirds vote, 66 percent. Despite the overwhelming majority of the effort to put it in the constitution, the Croatian government was opposed to it but will comply with the referendum. The government will be making laws to grant equal rights to same-sex couples instead of changing or expanding the definition of the word. It is also considering changes to the constitutional referendum process to restrict the ability for the public to start changes to it.
It is instructive to see the liberal bias in the news reporting of the referendum. More than just defining the meaning of the word in the constitution, there are headlines like “Same-sex marriage ban divides Croatia” and “Croatians Vote Against Same-Sex Marriage.” Choosing automatic victim status, in true liberal fashion, Croatians didn’t vote for the normal definition of marriage, they voted against gays. There was no same-sex marriage ban. In Croatia, same-sex marriage isn’t now and never has been legal. And if anything, the referendum united Croatia on what marriage is. It didn’t divide it.
Iran Deal, Great For Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
A week after the big “deal” with Iran is complete, we begin to see just what was in it and what led up to it. Who is surprised to see that the Obama/Kerry team pretty much surrendered to Iran for the sake of saying they had reached a deal?
Turns out, not only did the deal include Iran not having to dismantle anything, while we give them billions, and certain more economic sanctions are lifted, but we turned over to Iran a nuclear scientist caught buying nuclear weapons components for Iran, in exchange for two hikers. Leaving behind former FBI agent Robert Levinson (captive since 2007), former U.S. Marine Mr Hekmati arrested by Iran in 2011 on accusations of being a spy when he visited the country to see his grandmother, and American Pastor Saeed Abedini, imprisoned since July 2013 for being a Christian.
Remembering a tough-talking candidate Sen. Obama in 2008 saying “If they bring knives, we will use guns.” Of course, he was talking about his Republican opponents then. Where America’s real enemies are concerned, he’ll bring a white flag, foreign aid, and some crying towels.
Drive-By Amish Buggy Shooting
In light of the Knockout Game incidents, you wonder how the hell could it get any worse. Then comes this. A horse pulling an Amish buggy was killed Sunday 11/24/2013, in a drive-by shooting in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The family (a married couple and their children, aged 12, 9, and 7) inside the buggy told police that they heard “a loud noise, described as sounding like a firecracker” as the car passed by.
Upon returning to their farm–which is about a mile from the shooting scene–the family discovered the horse was bleeding from its mouth. After removing a harness, family members spotted a bullet hole in the chest of the animal, who died before a veterinarian could arrive at the farm.
Police Lieutenant Robin Weaver told TSG that a veterinarian will attempt to extract the bullet from the horse so that investigators can develop ballistics evidence. Weaver added that, if identified, the unknown assailant could face weapons, reckless endangerment, or even hate crime charges.
Link: Cops: Horse Killed In Drive-By Amish Buggy Shooting | UPDATE: Help from public wanted in drive-by horse shooting | Investigation continuing in shooting death of horse pulling buggy
A Barbaric Side Of Islam
Yemen’s human rights minister wants child marriage outlawed after an 8-year-old girl reportedly died of internal injuries that she suffered on her wedding night.
Not surprisingly, some are saying the girl didn’t die. That the story is made up. Also not surprising is the fact that no one is denying that Islam condones selling your children to be some pervert’s bride.
Link: Yemen minister on child marriage: Enough is enough – CNN.com.
Related: Yemeni girl from YouTube wants education, not marriage
Million Muslim March A Bust
Not counting the seven speakers, the turnout was about evenly split between media there to cover the event and attendees. About 30 (THIRTY) people total, half of which were media. Aside from the turnout being almost nill, the event organizers of the Million Muslim March asked for a permit for up to 1,000 attendees.
Link: ‘Million Muslim March’ 2013 has low turnout, lost in sea of motorcyclists | Sea of motorcyclists
Obama’s “Intelligence” On Syria Is The Muslim Brotherhood
When Sec. of State John (Lurch) Kerry made the case for an attack on Syria, the sources guiding his judgement were that of the Arab League, the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), and Turkey. All Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers or affiliates.
In Sec. of State John Kerry’s statement . . .
The world is speaking out. And many friends stand ready to respond. The Arab League pledged, quote, “to hold the Syrian regime fully responsible for this crime.” The Organization for Islamic Cooperation condemned the regime and said we needed, quote, “to hold the Syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime. Turkey said there is no doubt that the regime is responsible.
Right, those friends.
So it should come as no surprise why the President has lost his coalition, and why the President is still talking about a military action in Syria.
When asked if the Arab League is advocating military action in Syria, Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Arabi told the BBC that they aren’t advocating it openly, but . . .
“Maybe it is in our minds that someone would do that but we would like the Security Council to take charge,” Mr el-Arabi said.
What they considered might happen “would be something of a limited scope”, he told the BBC’s Bethany Bell, in Cairo.
Using the rest of the same talking points as President Obama and Sec. of State Kerry, el-Arabi also said the strike would “hopefully” prevent future use of chemical weapons, and punish those who used them.
http://youtu.be/9RVEngLwSNQ
So who do you suppose that “someone” would be? The United States of course. The President is the only one on the planet talking about military action against Syria. He helped the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, sacrificed our Ambassador and three other Americans in Lybia to alQaeda, and still doing the bidding, or wanting to, of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria.
That chemical weapons were used is no longer a question. But watch el-Arabi squirm when asked what evidence the Arab League has that the Assad regime was the party that used them. Secretary of State Kerry says unequivocally that it was the Syrian government that used the WMD outside Damascus. OK, but look at the way President Obama said it, wordsmith that he is, when interviewed by PBS . . .
“We have concluded that the Syrian government in fact carried these out,” Obama said during an interview with PBS’ NewsHour. “And if that’s so, then there need to be international consequences.”
So what’s the “And if that’s so” all about? Nevermind that even if Syria did do it, it wasn’t upon the U.S.. It was on their own people. And sorry as that is, it does not raise to the level of harming our national interest in any way, shape, or form. Again, we’re not the world’s policeman and civil-war-country custodian.
For The White House to still, after all that’s happened in Egypt, be listening and catering to the Muslim Brotherhood says volumes on how naive and dangerous President Obama is to our national security interests.
President Fails To Make His Case On Syria
After weeks of saber-rattling and ego boosting, and statements on Syria from everyone but the Commander-in-Chief himself, President Obama finally speaks to the question everyone is asking. What is our national security interest that necessitates attacking Syria?
And to that question, the President fails to make the case. He said . . .
This kind of attack threatens our national security interests by violating well-established international norms against the use of chemical weapons by further threatening friends and allies of ours in the region, like Israel and Turkey and Jordan, and it increases the risk that chemical weapons will be used in the future and fall into the hands of terrorists who might use them against us.
Might use them against us? There are no national interests of ours where Syria is concerned. They haven’t attacked us. They have telegraphed what they’d do to Israel if they were attacked by the U.S. But predicated on the United States attacking them first. To pin our national security interests on what might or could happen means there are no boundaries or limits to a trigger happy President. President Obama also failed to explain the end-game to his limited “smack in the face” attack on Syria.
The Syrian government is doing bad things, but it is doing them to their own people. Not to the United States. They are involved in a civil war now, and most of Assad’s opposition is coming from the alQaeda and Muslim Brotherhood types. Launching any kind of attack will only improve the chances that alQaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood will take over.
Syria needs to fight their own civil war. It’s as if nothing has been learned from the last 60 years of history in the Middle East. Let’s not repeat history. No one interfered with our civil war. And after it was over, we had a unified country. Their civil war needs to play out to its conclusion. Then, and only then, will the world know what kind of country remains. Friendly to the west, or not. At least, it will be a known entity. Not a mess like the rest of the Middle East.
Bottom line, we’re not the world’s policeman nor are we a civil-war-country’s custodian.
Obama Losing Coalition Support On Syria
Great Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron called a special session of Britain’s Parliament to discuss growing tensions in Sirya and President Obama’s call for military action over the use of chemical weapons, ostensibly used by the Syrian regime on its own people.
President Obama, on the other hand, demonstrating his lack of leadership in not calling Congress back from vacation for a special session, is now talking about going it alone. Without a coalition of willing partners and without involving Congress. And so far, without addressing the American people as to what our security interests in Syria are that justifies us getting involved militarily on our own. And also without explaining to the American people the possible consequences of a slap-in-the-face cruise missile attack.
A proposed attack with the potential targets being revealed to the world, including the Assad regime. A military strategist, he is not. Nor, apparently, are the people advising him.
It is this lack of leadership and President Obama’s vague, if not non-existent, strategy in the end-game with Syria that has caused all the coalition partners he had last week to drop out. Add NATO to the list of the unwilling. Instead of following the blind, they’ve taken the position to wait and see what the U.N. inspectors conclude about who it was that used the WMD’s outside of Damascus. So far, most people in the U.S. aren’t convinced that we are being threatened by Syria to the extent that we need to act unilaterally against them, not only at the expense of our credibility in the world, but at the expense of our ally Israel, who both Iran and Syria said will attack if the U.S. attacks Syria. And certainly not before knowing who will be taking over in Syria. Common thought now is if Assad goes down, alQaeda and company takes his place.
We’ve already seen it happen in Libya with alQaeda and their affiliates, and in Egypt with the Muslim Brotherhood. Is Obama’s ego worth turning over the rest of the middle east to radical Islam and possibly sacrificing the state of Israel?
The time to act militarily has long past. We’re not the world’s policeman and civil-war-country custodian. They’ll have to fight it out on their own, and kill each other until someone wins. Then, and only then, will we know who it is we’re dealing with.
Link: U.S. ready to go it alone on Syria after stinging British defeat | Obama strike plans in disarray after Britain rejects use of force in Syria | NATO CHIEF: NO PLANS FOR ALLIANCE ACTION IN SYRIA
Egypt Arrests Muslim Brotherhood Leader, Obama Dumbfounded
Egyptian security forces have arrested the top leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, pressing a crackdown on his group. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates know who the enemy is, and have already sent over $12 Billion to support Egypt’s military, who is taking the fight to them. The U.S. position under 
President Obama? Undecided.
He won’t say releasing Mubarak, who he help to overthrow, is good. But does say that Morsi (Muslim Brotherhood) should be released. Won’t say a peep about the war on Christians in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood. Where Egypt’s neighbors have stepped up financial support to Egypt’s military to take the fight to the ‘Hood, to the tune 10 times what the U.S. was committed to, Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the fight, if for no other reason than not being in the fight.
What we have here is the Nobel Peace prize recipient who manages to make the United States the laughing-stock of the world while at the same time alienating the United States from our friends and allies in the region.
If there’s anything more the President could do to make the United States irrelevant on the world stage, I’d like to hear it. For the first time in his Presidency, he has finally come upon an instance where ‘voting present’ isn’t an option, and he hasn’t the courage to take a stand. It’s what ‘leading from behind’ gets us.
via Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie: state media – Yahoo! News.