“And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
(Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29)

Sin Of The World

***

Click to View PDF online
or Right-click to Download PDF.

Lamb Of God

***

Ynetnews.com

Report: Trump's peace plan to be presented 'soon'

Detailing approaches to sensitive and incendiary topics without pushing for any single approach, the new US peace plan for the Israel-Palestinian conflict aims to give the two sides freedom to pick and choose from its proposals, according to a New York Times report.

Orly Azoulay|Published: 03.12.18 , 22:39

US President Donald Trump is expected to present his peace plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, The New York Times reported Monday, citing three Trump administration officials.

The White House, according to the Times, is still polishing the plan, seeking to find a formula that will ensure the American intiative is not dead on arrival. The Trump administration hopes that when the peace plan is finally put on the table, the pressure on the Palestinians to enter negotiations with Israel will increase.

PM Netanyahu (L) and US President Trump(Photo: Haim Katz/GPO)

According to the report, the delay in presenting the plan, which was written by Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and adviser on Middle East affairs Jason Greenblatt, stems from two reasons: The expected Palestinians opposition to the plan and the possibility of snap elections in Israel, which will make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wary of making any concessions out of fear of creating resentment among his voters on the Right.

Despite these challenges, the White House nevertheless decided to go ahead with the plan, although the exact date for its publication has yet to be determined.

One official quoted by the Times likened the plan to the Israeli navigation software Waze, as its purpose is helping both sides bypass obstacles on their way to the final destination—what Trump refers to as the "ultimate deal."

Not expected to push for a two-state solution

It is unlikely Trump's peace plan would present clear guidelines similar to the Saudi plan, which was adopted by the Arab League.

The plan is not expected to offer a two-state solution, but instead offer a blueprint for a two-state solution, should both sides decide on it as the best option. At the same time, the document will include appendices to solutions to controversial issues such as borders, security arrangements, Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.

The White House is working to write the plan in such a way that would allow both sides to pick and choose, taking out of the plan what they believe will work and ignoring what they believe won't.

According to the report, no one outside the White House saw the plan, but its three authors met with Netanyahu for hours at the Blair House, the official guesthouse of the US president, during his visit to Washington last week.

Contrary to report, when the prime minister returned to Israel, he said at the cabinet meeting that "there is no concrete American plan on the table" and that only 15 minutes of his meeting with Trump were devoted to the Palestinian issue.

Meanwhile, representatives of Arab states, which had previously pledged to help put pressure on the Palestinians in all matters related to negotiations with Israel, informed the White House that they would not be able to do so after Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the American embassy there.

Since the controversial American declaration, the Palestinians have cut off contact with the Trump administration and have turned to another route: putting pressure on other countries—especially in Europe—to replace the United States as mediator in the peace talks with Israel.

***

WND
57 MUSLIM NATIONS URGED TO BESIEGE ISRAEL

Erdogan's Islamic newspaper demands 'army' be launched against U.S. ally in Mideast

March 11, 2018

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

A Turkish newspaper close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party is urging 57 Islamic nations to build a joint army specifically to attack Israel, notes a new report in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The Middle East Media Research Institute reports the article appeared on the paper’s website under the title “What If an Army of Islam Was Formed against Israel?”

It was published shortly ahead of a summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 members, MEMRI reported.

The article notes, MEMRI said, “that such a joint army will greatly exceed the Israeli army in manpower, equipment and budget, and presents statistics to prove this.”

“It also advocates establishing joint bases for the army’s ground, air and naval forces that will arrive from all over the Muslim world to besiege Israel, while noting that Pakistan, as the only nuclear country, has ‘a special status’ among the OIC countries,” the report said.

MEMRI explained that many of the major points in the newspaper article were “taken from the website of the Turkish SADAT International Defense and Consulting Company, which provides consultancy on defense and warfare, both conventional and unconventional, and on military organization, training and gear.”

“The company has an agenda of promoting pan-Islamic military cooperation. According to its mission statement, it seeks ‘to establish defense collaboration and defense industry cooperation among Islamic countries, to help the Islamic world take its rightful place among the superpowers by providing … strategic consultancy and training services to the militaries and homeland security forces of Islamic countries.'”

The article states: “It becomes evident that the member states’ [joint] military might greatly exceeds that of Israel. Moreover, in a possible military operation, this superiority [can] be realized on the ground by [setting up] joint military bases for ground, air and naval forces.”

It says that if the OIC member states “unite and form a joint military force, it will be the largest army in the world.”

“These countries’ total population is 1,674,526,931. The number of soldiers in active service in these countries is at least 5,206,100.”

The newspaper calls Israel “significantly inferior” and says that “this country, which attempted to occupy Jerusalem while surrounded by Muslim states” has a population of only about 8 million, while Istanbul alone exceeds 14 million.

New American
The Copper Scroll Project: In Search of the Ark of the Covenant
Written by William F. Jasper

March 8, 2018

Readers of the Old Testament are familiar with the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred golden chest carried by the Israelites during their wanderings in the desert and finally placed in the temple built by King Solomon. The 1981 adventure/fantasy film Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas introduced a Hollywood version of the Ark to a much larger global audience outside the Jewish and Christian traditions. That movie ends with the Ark disappearing in a large crate, along with thousands of other similar crates, into a huge U.S. government warehouse.

The Ark did indeed disappear, but not following World War II, as Hollywood portrayed, and not into a top-secret warehouse. There is much dispute among scholars and researchers about when, and by whom, it was removed from the Temple. Some believe it was taken to Babylon, following the Jewish-Babylonian War, which culminated in 586 B.C. with Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II plundering and destroying Jerusalem, slaying most of the Israelites, and taking most of the survivors into captivity. Others hold that the Ark is in Aksum, Ethiopia, or that it is buried in a tunnel under the Temple, or that it is in a cave beneath Golgotha (also known as Calvary), the hill on which Jesus Christ was crucified. At any rate, it has been “missing” for well over two millennia, its location known only to God.

Jim Barfield believes it is in Qumran, the area of the Judean Desert where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. In 1952, a fragile scroll made of copper was discovered in a cave above the Dead Sea at Qumran. The Copper Scroll is materially unique in that it was written on thin, hammered copper, rather than the less-durable papyrus or parchment, which were the materials used for all of the other scrolls. Jim Barfield, founder and director of The Copper Scroll Project, believes he has found in the enigmatic Copper Scroll the key to the location of the cave where the Ark of the Covenant is hidden, along with the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and the Altar of Incense. The Copper Scroll, he believes, also shows the locations of 56 additional sites where vast hoards of sacred treasures are buried — including tons of Temple items made of gold and silver from the Temple of Solomon.

The clues provided in the Copper Scroll, Barfield says, are reinforced by the ancient account of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremias) in the Second Book of Maccabees, which recounts that Jeremiah removed the Temple treasures from Jerusalem before the city fell to Nebuchadnezzar. The account in II Maccabees reads:

You shall also find it set down in the dispositions made by the prophet Jeremias, that he bade the exiles rescue the sacred fire, in the manner aforesaid. Strict charge he gave them, the Lord’s commandments they should keep ever in mind, nor let false gods, all gold and silver and fine array, steal away their hearts; with much else to confirm them in their regard for the law. And here, in this same document, the story was told, how a divine oracle came to Jeremias, and he must needs go out, with tabernacle and ark to bear him company, to the very mountain Moses climbed long ago, when he had sight of God’s domain. A cave Jeremias found there, in which he set down tabernacle and ark and incense-altar, and stopped up the entrance behind him. There were some that followed; no time they lost in coming up to mark the spot, but find it they could not. He, when they told him of it, rebuked their eagerness; Nay, said he, the place must remain ever unknown, till the day when God brings his people together once more, and is reconciled; then, divinely, the secret shall be made manifest. Then once again the Lord’s majesty shall be seen, and the cloud that enshrines it; the same vision that was granted to Moses, and to Solomon when he prayed that the great God would have his temple on earth; Solomon, the master of wisdom, that in his wisdom offered sacrifice to hallow the temple he had made.

Utilizing the copper scroll, the Book of Maccabees, and other ancient sources, Barfield has created a map of Qumran depicting where he believes the 57 Temple treasure sites are. In 2009, he was able to put his theories from the copper scroll to the test. With the help of a member of the Israeli Knesset, he and his team were allowed to conduct a survey of four of the sites utilizing advanced scanning detector technology that allowed them to see 50 feet below the surface of the ground. According to Barfield, their detector showed “massive amounts” of nonferrous metal objects in precisely those locations. This, he says, is an exciting confirmation to him that they are on the right track. He is confident that the objects depicted by the detector are indeed the much-sought-after Temple treasures. Most exciting of all, he says, were the detector readings for the cave location where he believes the greatest treasures, including the Ark of the Covenant, are hidden. That’s where the detector gave off the biggest readings for nonferrous metals, indicating to him they had found the Ark and the other most important gold and silver Temple objects.

Jim Barfield has been to Israel 15 times in the past 11 years in efforts to advance the Copper Scroll Project’s mission, which he says is to “Help the Nation of Israel recover the items of the Copper Scroll.”

Barfield was not surprised that his initial approaches to Israeli authorities and archeologists were met with skepticism. Besides being an outsider, without the archeological credentials and experience of other noted authorities in this field, there are tremendous political sensitivities and rivalries involved that complicate any excavation effort. “The political and religious ramifications of this are huge,” he told The New American in a recent telephone interview. “The Palestinians certainly don’t want anything like this that would confirm Israel’s historical claim” to the area.

In addition to the Palestinians, there are also influential Israelis who are opposed to the project. Some are opposed to it because they fear a discovery of this sort would lead to increased Arab-Israeli tensions and an increase of attacks by the Palestinians against Israelis. Other Jews, says Barfield, particularly the wealthier, non-religious classes, see it as a threat because they fear it would lead to greater religious fervor among the Jews and a clamor to build a third temple, which they oppose.

Our video interview with Barfield embedded above was conducted in 2016. However, because of political instability in Israel at the time and security concerns, he asked us not to post it at that time. Since then, he says, the Copper Scroll Project has made enormous strides. “On our last visit to Israel — in September last year — we had a very good meeting with a top Israeli archeologist and a high official in the Israeli government,” he told The New American. The official from the Israeli government, when presented with all of Barfield's evidence, became very interested and supportive.

Jim Barfield has worked on the Copper Scroll Project for more than a decade. He has experienced many delays, setbacks, and roadblocks, as well as more than his fair share of detractors. He freely admits to getting impatient and discouraged at times. However, he firmly believes that, ultimately, God is in control of world events, and he intends to remain faithful to what he believes is God’s calling for him in this historic effort. The Ark of the Covenant will be revealed “in God’s good time,” he says. “It might not be Jim Barfield whom He uses to reveal it, but that’s not what’s important — I’m not important. What’s important is that I faithfully carry out His will for me, as I understand it.”

We, at The New American, take no position on the validity or accuracy of the findings and claims of Jim Barfield and the Copper Scroll Project. Whether or not he has truly discovered the Ark of the Covenant will likely only be revealed by time — and a shovel. However, we were intrigued enough with the subject to do this interview and report. We believe our readers may find it intriguing, if not fascinating, especially in light of the recent developments concerning President Trump’s focus on Jerusalem.

Photo: courtesy of The Copper Scroll Project

(It is our belief the cave is located on Mt. Nebo. We'll see.)

***

WND

SCIENCE CONFIRMS GENESIS FLOOD ACCOUNT, AGAIN

Oceans of water found deep within mantle of planet

March 11, 2018

WASHINGTON – For the first time, scientists have corroborated with direct evidence that the Earth has oceans of water deep within mantle by actually recovering some trapped inside diamonds.

While at least three recent studies have found evidence to support the theory, what few scientists are noting is that the discovery of actual droplets of the water hundreds of miles deep below the Earth’s surface corroborates what the Bible said in the Genesis Flood account, note Christians who have been following the latest research.

The latest study by University of Nevada Las Vegas geo-scientist Oliver Tschauner and his colleagues who found traces of water trapped within diamonds pushed up to the surface by intense pressure.

The discovery is being hailed by other scientists as groundbreaking and surprising.

The study, “Ice-VII inclusions in Diamonds: Evidence for Aqueous Fluid in Earth’s Deep Mantle,” was published Thursday in the journal Science.

While in the jewelry business, diamond with any impurities hold less value, for Tschauner and other scientists, this flaw may hold the key to understanding the inner workings of our planet.

Tschauner studied diamonds found in China, the Republic of South Africa and Botswana that surged up from inside Earth.

“This shows that this is a global phenomenon,” the professor said.

Scientists theorize the diamonds used in the study were born in the mantle under temperatures reaching more than 1,000-degrees Fahrenheit. The mantle – which makes up more than 80 percent of the Earth’s volume – is made of silicate minerals containing iron, aluminum, and calcium among others. Until relatively recently, scientists were skeptical that water could be found there.

“These discoveries are important in understanding that water-rich regions in the Earth’s interior can play a role in the global water budget and the movement of heat-generating radioactive elements,” Tschauner said.

This discovery can help scientists create new, more accurate models of what’s going on inside the Earth, specifically how and where heat is generated under the Earth’s crust. In other words: “It’s another piece of the puzzle in understanding how our planet works,” Tschauner said.

Interestingly, Tschauner and his colleagues weren’t looking for water. Like most scientists and climatologists today, they were looking for carbon dioxide – thought to be the culprit behind the theory of global climate change. They didn’t find any.

“We’re still looking for it, actually,” said Tschauner.

The presence of water in diamonds suggests there is water-rich fluid in the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle, and even into the top of the lower mantle.

“This is really the first time that we see water at such depths,” says Oded Navon, a mantle petrologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who was not involved in the new study.

Other recent studies, beginning in 2014, based on wobbles in the Earth’s rotation and other phenomena, have postulated the amount of water inside the mantle could be as large or larger than all the water found in the oceans on the surface of the planet. Studies have indicated the fluid may influence all sorts of geological processes, including the grinding of tectonic plates, the formation of volcanoes and the movement of Earth’s elements.

Last June, for instance, researchers examining the rumbling of seismic waves and performing lab experiments that mimicked the crushing pressures and extreme temperatures of Earth’s mantle, made the argument that a huge amount of water resides within the planet. Those findings, conducted by Yale University geophysicist Jennifer Girard, who was not involved with this study, appeared in the June 13 issue of Science.

In January 2017, another study, conducted by Zdenek Futera of the University College Dublin in Ireland and published in Earth and Planetary Letters postulated the mantle was filled with fresh water exceeding the amount of saline fluid found in all the Earth’s oceans. That study suggested the novel idea that the Earth was actually manufacturing water.

There was another similar study in 2014 led by Graham Pearson, a geochemist at the University of Alberta in Canada. He now believes there is more water inside the planet than on the surface.

These theories, now backed up by the first physical evidence, hold some world-shaking ramifications:

• That far from Earth having a limited amount of fresh water for its teeming population, there may be an unlimited amount deep in the mantle;

• That scientists can divert some attention from the urgent race to discover of water on other planets;

• That scientists might want to reconsider their skepticism of the biblical Great Flood account in Genesis 7:11, which said the waters broke through the surface of the Earth when “all the fountains of the great deep [were] broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” Most scientists discount the notion that the Earth was ever flooded, despite the fact that 71 percent of the surface is covered by water today.

• That the Earth’s water came from extraterrestrial sources – namely comets and asteroids, a common theory until this burst of new evidence of abundant water inside the planet.

“It is ironic that secularist scientists are still seeking to explain where the Earth’s water came from,” Andrew Snelling, Ph.D geologist from Australia and director of research for Answers in Genesis, told WND. “For many years now, they have endeavored to fill in the difficult-to-explain pieces of their ‘story’ about how our home Earth ‘just happened’ to become so habitable for life over the course of its supposed billions-of-years history. Secularists believe the Earth condensed from clumpy matter flung out of the solar nebula 4.56 or so billion years ago. It was thus originally a hot, molten blob that cooled. They used to suggest that most of the water came from inside this cooling Earth, but not enough to fill the oceans we have on the Earth’s surface today. A once popular theory was that comets (which are essentially large, dirty snowballs) collided with the Earth and deposited their water on its surface.”

But that explanation could not possibly explain oceans of water deep beneath the surface of the planet. With the new evidence for just that, a new explanation was needed.

“Of course, these same secularists and Bible skeptics say, as predicted in 2 Peter 3:3-6, that there never was a global flood on the Earth, even though it is still 70 percent covered in water, which averages more than two miles deep,” writes Snelling. “But ironically, they also say that, due to the many evidences of massive water erosion on Mars, there was a watery flood ‘of Biblical proportions’ on that planet in the past, even though that planet’s surface is dry today!”

Snelling, too, sees the recent studies as evidence of the biblical Flood account.

“The Bible’s description of that outbursting event is merely confirmed by the latest findings of the secular scientists,” he writes. “So, the waters that came from inside the Earth, combined with the waters in the original, created oceans to produce the Genesis Flood.”

Pastor Mark Biltz, the man who discovered the “Blood Moons” phenomenon and the author of the new book “God’s Day Timer,” called the earlier reports of the massive water supplies within the Earth “fantastic news.”

“Over and over again science is finally catching up to the Bible,” Biltz said. “The Bible says in the Book of Daniel that in the last days knowledge will be increased. Well, it seems the scientific community is waking up more and more to the truths of the Bible.”

He added: “The Bible is much like the ocean itself in that its depths are unsearchable and vastly unknown to man. In time, God has been revealing its hidden treasures for science to find. Long before, when scientists thought the world was flat or a cube held up elephants or turtles, the Bible declared in Job 26 that the Earth was just suspended in space and in Isaiah 40 that it was a sphere.”

Joseph Farah, founder of WND and author of “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age,” wrote about science’s evolving theories about water inside the Earth in that book and is revising and expanding his own observations for a future updated and expanded edition.

“Since massive amounts of water from inside the Earth were used by God to destroy the planet, and future biblical prophecies suggest ‘living waters’ from inside the Earth will restore the planet to its Garden of Eden-like beginning, what we are seeing in these new discoveries makes perfect sense,” he says. “In fact, I believe the ‘living waters’ we read about in the Bible are already present deep beneath the surface of the planet.”

Both Old Testament and New speak about something called “living waters.”

In Zechariah 14:8, a prophetic book it says: “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.” Farah says there is more detail on the flow of these living waters provided in Ezekiel 47 as waters rush out from under the threshold of the Temple in Jerusalem toward the east. This will not be trickle of water like we see today in the Jordan River. It will be river that cannot be passed over. It will run eastward and go down into the Judean desert and into the Dead Sea. “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh” (Ezekiel 47:9).

“While we know these ‘living waters’ are of God and could be produced entirely supernaturally, we also know that God uses what He has created in the natural world for His own purposes. Could it be these waters are just waiting to break forth on His timing?” Farah posits.

A Christian thought leader who has long used the “living waters” metaphor is author, filmmaker and apologist Ray Comfort. Comfort, founder of the Living Waters ministry, welcomed the news of water within the Earth as further support for his Christian position.

“It’s beneath the intellectual dignity of most people nowadays to believe in the biblical account of anything,” he told WND. “This is because God, in His great wisdom, chose foolish things to confound the wise. The Bible is filled with stories that are an insult to anyone who is proud of heart, and God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The door of salvation is deliberately set low.”

He adds: “However, there is a massive amount of evidence to prove a worldwide flood. The main one being that 70 percent of the Earth is covered in water. That’s the kind of ultimate ‘duh.’ Or, for want of a better analogy, they can’t (or won’t) see the forest for the trees.”

“In Ezekiel 47:8-12 it talks about how the waters shall bring healing to the whole area,” he says. “Very soon the future will be upon us and mankind will stand in awe as the Creator of the Universe reveals Himself as the Grand Scientist!”

Another Christian minister who said he was not surprised by how science is catching up to the Bible is Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries, the author of “Esau Rising.”

“Obviously, as a believer, discoveries such as these don’t surprise me,” he told WND. “Not only does it confirm my faith in the Bible is well placed but it also reveals that God uses those who tend to doubt His existence to prove that He does exist! I believe this is connected to a principle found in Proverbs 25:2: ‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; it is the honor of kings to search out the matter.’ In other words, sometimes God plays ‘hide and seek’ and those who investigating His creation are ‘it.’ If they keep searching, they are going to be continually stunned by what they find.”

He added: “In this case, that vast supplies of water are concealed beneath the earth’s mantle should come as no surprise to those who believe what the Bible has to say. Water covered the entire earth before God caused dry land to appear – that water had to go somewhere. The great flood was not brought about solely by rain falling from heaven but also because the ‘fountains of the great deep were broken up.’ When those waters abated, it is likely they returned to where they originated – deep within the Earth.”

(Here are a few interesting verses about a flood:
“I looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was not; and to the sky, an there was no light in it. I beheld the mountains, and they trembled, and I saw all the hills in commotion. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared. I saw, and, behold, Carmel was desert, and all the cities were burnt with fire at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his fierce anger they were utterly destroyed.” Jeremiah 4:23-26
“For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:5-8
We know this could not have been Noahs flood because in Jeremiah chapter four the prophet saw and said: “I looked, and behold, there was no man.” In Noah's flood eight souls were saved, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives.
Again in second Peter it states: “The world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.”
Again we know that this could not have been Noah's flood simply because the earth did not perish. In fact God told Noah after the flood to “increase and multiply, and fill the earth and have dominion over it.” The KJV version of the Bible uses the word “replenish”.
If this was not the flood of Noah, what flood was it?
“But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water.” Genesis 1:2 “For God is not the author of confusion.” l Corinthians 14:33 All Old Testament verses are from the Septuagint.)

***

news.com.au

New book claims Jesus Christ may have been unattractive or even disfigured

A BRITISH historian claims to have found compelling new evidence that Jesus was singularly unattractive or possibly even disfigured.

March 12, 2018

AS THE most painted figure in Western art, Jesus is mostly depicted as a beautiful, towering man with luxurious long locks and dreamy, often blue, eyes.

While we know from research of the skeletal remains of men found in the area — known during Jesus’ time as Judea — this image of him is likely false, we still prefer to believe his physical appearance matched his indisputable charisma.

But a new book by British historian Professor Joan Taylor titled What Did Jesus Look Like? explores the controversial theory that the Nazarene was less than blessed in the looks department and may have even been disfigured.

Professor Taylor, of King’s College London, studied historical documents dating back to Christ’s lifetime and concluded that the lack of descriptions of his face in the Bible compared to other figures such as Moses and David — whose looks are celebrated — spoke volumes.

In fact, the only physical description of Christ before his crucifixion is a line in the Book of Isaiah which reads: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.”

The pale, blue-eyed Jesus popularised in Western culture. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

She believes that Jesus was “probably around 166cm tall, somewhat slim and muscular, with olive-brown skin, dark brown to black hair, and brown eyes”.

That tallies with the findings of forensic anthropologists who have placed Christ at between 155cm and 167cm in height and weighing roughly 58kg — 64kg.

Professor Taylor’s conclusions are drawn from both the skeletal remains of men buried in the region and from residents of Judea and those who lived in Egypt.

“In terms of a colour palette then, think dark brown to black hair, deep brown eyes, olive-brown skin,” she wrote in a piece for the Irish Times. “Jesus would have been a man of Middle Eastern appearance. What I have learned is that Judeans of this time were closest biologically to Iraqi Jews of the contemporary world.”

Diogo Morgado, who played Jesus in the hit 2014 series The Bible, was so good looking viewers dubbed him ‘hot Jesus’. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

While acknowledging the close ties between Judea, Europe, the Sudan and Ethiopia, Professor Taylor argues in her book that because Judeans tended to marry only among themselves, Jesus is more likely to have looked like the men depicted in Egyptian funerary art than those hailing from Europe or Ethiopia.

The author says that since Jesus worked outdoors as a carpenter until he was about 30 years old, it is reasonable to assume he was more muscular and physically fit than the willowy man featured in Westernised paintings.

His face likely had a leathery appearance from exposure to the elements, making him look older than he was.

One of the most controversial claims Professor Taylor makes in her book — besides challenging the notion that Jesus was handsome — is the probability he was in some way disfigured.

She points out that it was possible Jesus had scars from his work with wood because craftsmen of the time were susceptible to injury and bodily disfigurement would almost have been the norm.

Broken arms and limps would not have set properly and limps, as well as eye injuries, would have been commonplace.

A review of What Did Jesus Look Like? published by the Daily Beast on March 11 noted: “Taylor actually thinks that the silence about Jesus’ looks says something about his appearance.

“She points out that certain Biblical figures, like Moses and David, were described in ancient literature in terms that gestured to their good looks and attractiveness. But the evangelists provide no such indications for Jesus.

“While his face is radiantly white at the Transfiguration (the moment in the story when Jesus goes up a mountain and converses with Moses and Elijah), we do not know anything else about his facial features. Taylor argues that the silence on the question of Jesus’ appearance suggests that, contrary to cinematic tradition, he was not handsome.”

It’s not the first time a scholar has challenged the veracity of the pale-skinned, blue-eyed blonde Jesus depicted and popularised in later European culture.

In 2015, Richard Neave, a retired medical artist from the University of Manchester used forensic and archaeological evidence to reconstruct the face of Jesus.

The result was a stunning sculpture of a swarthy, Middle Eastern man that has been recognised by experts as the most accurate portrait yet of the Son of God.

A new book explores the controversial theory that Jesus was disfigured or uglySource:Supplied

Mr Neave and his research team used Semite skulls collected by Israeli archaeologists to create a computer generated reconstruction of what Jesus may have looked like.

He concluded that Jesus looked a lot like every other man of the times because the Bible states that just before the crucifixion, Judas Iscariot had to point Jesus out to his soldiers because they could not tell him apart from his disciples.

“I made a plaster cast of the skull which gives me something to work on,” Mr Neave told the BBC.

“Then I put clay over it and, using soft tissue measurements, build up the anatomy of the face,” he said. “Inevitably there are some areas where you have to speculate, particularly if parts of the skull are missing.”

Mr Neave and his team concluded that Jesus likely had dark eyes, hair and skin, around 150cm tall, with short hair and bearded in the Jewish tradition.

(“And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself.” “Luke 4:23 was not a metaphor.” Ernest L. Martin)

***

Bloomberg

Sweden’s Social Democrats Pledge to Ban Religious Schools

By Amanda Billner

March 13, 2018

Sweden’s governing Social Democrats pledged to ban religious schools in an effort to combat segregation, as it outlines its education policy ahead of this year’s general election.

The school system’s foundation should be knowledge, learning, equality and democratic values where each pupil "is free to form their own ideas and future," the party, which leads a minority government with the Greens, said in a statement. It should give all pupils, regardless of background, gender or religion, a good education and be free from confessional elements, it said.

"In our schools, teachers and principals should make the decisions, not priests or imams," Minister for Upper Secondary School and Adult Education and Training Anna Ekstrom said at a press conference in Stockholm.

While Sweden has a long tradition of private schools complementing the public education system, the number of such institutions exploded after the country in the early 1990s required municipalities to provide them with funding. While most of those schools have a general focus, some are specialized in a special pedagogy or language while others focus on a religion such as Christianity or Islam. According to the Social Democrats, that has created more segregation.

At the press conference, Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi said the Swedish education system needs to be based on the values and principals in the Swedish constitution. Shekarabi, who grew up with gender-segregated schools with religious influence in Iran, said in the statement that he will "never accept that the oppression that I and many with me have fled from will find its way into the Swedish education system."

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

In blow to minorities, Pakistani court orders citizens to declare religion

SAAD SAYEED

ISLAMABAD

REUTERS

March 8, 2018

A Pakistani court ruled on Friday that all citizens must declare their religion when applying for identity documents, a move human rights advocates say is another blow for the country's persecuted minority communities.

The ruling will pile further pressure on the Ahmadi community, who are not allowed to call themselves Muslim or use Islamic symbols in their religious practices, a crime punishable under Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

The Islamabad High Court ruled that citizens who disguised their religious affiliation were guilty of betraying the state and ordered that anyone applying for government jobs should declare their faith.

"The Government of Pakistan shall take special measure ensuring availability of correct particulars of all the citizens," Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui said in the judgment.

"It should not be possible for any citizen to hide his/her real identity and recognition."

If no appeal is launched, the court's directives will have to be followed.

The vast majority of Pakistan's 208 million people are Muslims, with minorities accounting for about 3 percent of the population, according to a 1998 census.

The Ahmadi community has been a target of mob violence and attacks since legislation categorized the sect as non-Muslim in 1974 and have been vilified as blasphemers by leaders of new ultra-religious political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan.

The judge "is not only attacking everybody's religious freedom in Pakistan but he is also focusing on one particular sect, which is the Ahmadis," said Human Rights Watch representative Saroop Ijaz.

"A judgment like this would enable and incite violence."

The order was issued as a result of a petition brought forward by Tehreek-e-Labaik in connection with a change in wording to an electoral law. The amendment sought to replace a religious oath with a simple declaration, which Tehreek-e-Labaik said was blasphemy.

The government blamed the change on a clerical error and swiftly restored the original format.

Last year, Tehreek-e-Labaik shut down the nation's capital for nearly three weeks with protests against the change.

Seven people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in a failed police bid to disperse protesters, leading the government to give way to their demand that a minister accused of blasphemy resign.

Insulting the Prophet Mohammad is punishable by death in Pakistan and even a rumor of blasphemy can spark mob violence.

"All his (the judge's) specific instructions are about ensuring and finding out who is an Ahmadi," human rights lawyer Jibran Nasir told Reuters, adding that the order would automatically provide the government with specific lists about who belongs to which minority group.

"Every day they are being institutionally reminded that they are a minority," he added. "It is a bigoted order."

Pakistan's minority Shi'ite Muslims regularly come under attack by Islamist groups. Members of its small Hindu and Christian communities have also sometimes been accused of blasphemy.

AMMC

***

NEW YORK POST

Footage of mysterious object above ocean stuns military personnel

Newly-released video of a mysterious object streaking over the Atlantic Ocean shows the Pentagon needs to take UFOs seriously, a researcher says.

The sensational two-minute clip captured by a camera aboard a US Navy F/A 18 jet flying at 25,000 feet wowed military personnel.

“What the f— is that thing?” shouted the pilot in the video posted online by the To the Stars Academy of Arts and Science, a private research company.

“Oh my gosh dude!” exclaimed the jet’s weapons systems officer.

The video was shot off the East Coast in 2015. To the Stars Academy did not say how it obtained the declassified footage, but said others could obtain it through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Three videos showing similar incidents became public last year in reports of $22 million in Pentagon spending on UFO research.

The videos, along with observations by pilots and radar operators, “appear to provide evidence of the existence of aircraft far superior to anything possessed by the United States or its allies,” writes Christopher Mellon, a former defense official in the George W. Bush and Clinton administrations and an adviser to To the Stars Academy.

In a Washington Post op-ed, Mellon reasoned that if the origin of these aircraft is a mystery, “so is the paralysis of the US government in the face of such evidence.”

Mellon, who served as an intelligence official for the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, charged that military and department agencies “treat such incidents as isolated events rather than as part of a pattern requiring serious attention and investigation.”

Mellon compared the government’s current approach to UFOs to the counterterrorism efforts of the CIA and the FBI prior to 9/11.

He wondered if the US has been “technologically leap-frogged by Russia or China” or might these videos “be evidence of some alien civilization. Unfortunately, we have no idea, because we aren’t even seeking answers.”

***

EXPRESS

Does melting snow reveal ancient human settlement in Antarctica?

AN ancient civilisation may have lived in Antarctica, some experts claim, after melting snow revealed man-made-looking structures under the ice.

Does melting snow reveal ancient human settlement in Antarctica?

As the ice sheets of Antarctica continue to melt, experts believe that the lessening snow is revealing a mysterious truth about the South Pole.

Satellite images from NASA show a possible human settlement some 2.3 kilometres beneath the icy surface.

The images seem to show strange markings in the snow which look manufactured, and as though structures used to stand there.

Archeologist, Ashoka Tripathi, of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Calcutta believes the images are evidence of an ancient human settlement.

As the ice sheets of Antarctica continue to melt, experts believe that the lessening snow is revealing a mysterious truth about the South Pole.

Satellite images from NASA show a possible human settlement some 2.3 kilometres beneath the icy surface.

The images seem to show strange markings in the snow which look manufactured, and as though structures used to stand there.

Archeologist, Ashoka Tripathi, of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Calcutta believes the images are evidence of an ancient human settlement.

The melting snow allegedly revealed these structures

He said: “These are clearly features of some sort of human-made structure, resembling some sort of pyramidal structure.

“The patterns clearly show nothing we should expect from natural geomorphological formations found in nature. We clearly have here evidence of human engineering.

“The only problem is that these photographs were taken in Antarctica under 2 kilometres of ice. That is clearly the puzzling part, we do not have any explanation for this at the moment.

“These pictures just reflect a small portion of Antarctica’s total land mass. There are possibly many other additional sites that are covered over with ice.

“It just shows us how easy it is to underestimate both the size and scale of past human settlements.”

One theory is that Antarctica was not always as cold and covered in snow.

An ancient map dating back to the 1500s seems to show Antarctica’s coastline in unprecedented detail.

The map was credited to Turkish admiral Piri Reis and is aptly dubbed the Piri Reis Map.

The famous Piri Reis map

Perhaps the most significant item on the map is the depiction of Antarctica – despite Antarctica not officially being discovered until until 1773 by Captain James Cook.

But even more perplexing is that the map shows the frozen continent much more eastern than it is today, and with less snow and ice coverage.

Despite numerous studies concluding the last time Antarctica could have been ice free was 4,000 BC, even the United States Air Force Reconnaissance Technical Squadron (SAC) believed that the mysterious map “indicates the coastline had been mapped before it was covered by the ice-cap”.

Historian and cartographer at the University of Cambridge, Christopher Adam, said: “One of histories most puzzling maps is that of the Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513 AD which successfully mapped the coastline of Antarctica over 500 years ago.

“What is most fascinating about this map is that it shows the coastline of Antarctica without any ice. How is this possible when images of the subglacial coastline of Antarctica were only seen for the first time after the development of ground-penetrating radar in 1958?

“Is it possible Antarctica has not always been covered under such an ice sheet? This could be evidence that it is a possibility.

“A slight pole shift or displacement of the axis of rotation of the Earth in historical times is possibly the only rational explanation that comes to mind but we definitely need more research done before we jump to any conclusion.”

***

Zero Hedge

Russia Threatens UK: "One Does Not Give 24Hrs Notice To A Nuclear Power"

by Tyler Durden

March 13, 2018

On the heels of UK PM May's red hot rhetoric and ultimatum yesterday and Germany's pressure this morning, Russia has cranked up their response to '11' on the Spinal Tap amplifier of global armageddon.

Having made clear this morning that:

“We have certainly heard the ultimatum voiced in London,” Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov said.

“The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry has commented on our attitude to this,” he added referring to Maria Zakharova branding of May’s appearance in Parliament as a “circus.”

Russia faces warning from Germany too, as Reuters reports Merkel and May spoke this morning about the nerve agent attack. Merkel condemned the attack and stated that she was "taking very seriously the British government's view that Russia might be responsible." Merkel then said Russia "needs to give prompt answers to the British' justified questions."

But then, Interfax reports Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova turned up the heat dramatically, warning (or threatening):

"One does not give 24 hours notice to a nuclear power" adding that the "Skripal poisoning was not an incident but a colossal international provocation."

She also slammed the British for "not using a single international legal mechanism to probe the Skripal case."

Additionally, in a series of tweets the Russian embassy in the UK said:

“Moscow will not respond to London’s ultimatum until it receives samples of the chemical substance to which the UK investigators are referring.

“Britain must comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention which stipulates joint investigation into the incident, for which Moscow is ready.

“Without that, there can be no sense in any statements from London. The incident appears to be yet another crooked attempt by the UK authorities to discredit Russia.

“Any threat to take ‘punitive’ measures against Russia will meet with a response. The British side should be aware of that.

“Today the Embassy sent a note to the Foreign Office reiterating that Russia is not involved in the Salisbury incident and outlining the above mentioned demands for joint investigation.”

The embassy added: “UK Ambassador Laurence Bristow was summoned to Russia’s ministry of foreign affairs, where first deputy FM Vladimir Titov strongly protested the evidence-free accusations by the UK authorities of Russia’s alleged involvement in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

“It was stated that the actions of the UK authorities are a clear provocation and that the Russian Federation was not involved in the incident that took place in Salisbury on March 4, 2018."

* * *

Meanwhile, the Press Association reports that Russia has warned Britain to "consider the consequences" of mounting a retaliatory cyber strike after the Salisbury spy poisoning.

In a fresh sign of the escalating diplomatic tension sparked by the case, the Russian Embassy cautioned against "such a reckless move".

...

The Government has not publicly disclosed the options under consideration but reports on Tuesday suggested one possibility was a cyber counter-attack.

Responding to the speculation, the Russian Embassy in the UK said: "Statements by a number of MPs, 'Whitehall sources' and 'experts' regarding a possible 'deployment' of 'offensive cyber-capabilities' cause serious concern.

"Not only is Russia groundlessly and provocatively accused of the Salisbury incident, but apparently, plans are being developed in the UK to strike Russia with cyber weapons.

"Judging by the statements of the Prime Minister, such a decision can be taken at tomorrow's meeting of the National Security Council.

"We invite the British side to once again consider the consequences of such a reckless move."

Additionally, Zakharova stated that British Prime Minister Theresa May apparently has no actual facts concerning the poisoning of former Russian military intelligence Colonel Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

"No one knows anything, including Theresa May, who has no actual fact in her hands," Zakharova told the 60 Minutes program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

Finally, following reports that Britain’s media regulator Ofcom said Russian broadcaster RT could lose its UK licence if Theresa May’s government determines that Moscow was behind the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in England this month, Russia's foreign ministry threatened retaliation:

"...not a single British media outlet with work in Russia if London shuts RT."

The news comes as Nikolai Glushkov, a Russian businessman and close associate of late Putin critic Boris Berezovsky, was found dead in the UK, according to reports. As reported earlier, Glushkov, a former deputy director of Aeroflot, died at the age of 68 at his London home in New Malden, according to Russia's business FM radio station.

The cause of death has not been confirmed.

The 68-year-old’s body, which had ‘strangulation’ marks on his neck, was discovered by his daughter, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant. Glushkov was twice charged with fraud in Russia and was a close ally of Mr Berezovsky, who was once one of the most powerful businessmen in Russia and played a pivotal role in Vladimir Putin's rise to power during the late 1990s.

Berezovsky fell out with Putin in 1999 and fled to Britain, while Glushkov was charged with money laundering and fraud and subsequently jailed until 2004.

This escalation is far from over.

***

RT

'Fishwife’s rhetoric' reveals 'intellectual impotence' of UK Defense Secretary – Russian MoD

March 15, 2018

British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson © Thaier Al-Sudani / Reuters

By telling Russia to “shut up,” UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson has revealed his “extreme intellectual impotence” and underlined the vanity of British accusations against Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

“Fishwife’s rhetoric demonstrated today by the head of the British Defense Ministry Gavin Williamson, perfectly characterizes an extreme degree of his intellectual impotence,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian side hit back at Williamson after his Thursday comments, when he said that the country “should go away and shut up.” That was the Defence Secretary’s reaction to the question about possible countermeasures by Moscow in response to the British sanctions over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in early March.

The vocabulary employed by the UK defense secretary “only confirms the vanity of all of London’s accusations against Russia… but also the total pettiness of the ‘accusers’ themselves,” the MoD pointed out.

A “cozy home” of “fake sensations,” that’s how the ministry called the UK, referring to Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the White Helmets. “Therefore we’ve developed a strong immunity to London’s fake accusations of Russia.”

“As for the boorish expressions by the UK Defense Secretary regarding Russia, in the absence of actual results of his official activities, apparently, they alone remain in the arsenal of Her Majesty's Armed Forces,” the MoD said.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Williamson’s outburst showed that British authorities were nervous and had “something to hide.”

“What could he say, the defense minister of a country that conceals information on the use of chemical-warfare agents on its soil?” she wrote on Facebook, refereeing to London’s refusal to provide evidence in the Skripal case to Moscow.

READ MORE: Defense secretary’s reaction shows UK is worrying, has something to hide – Moscow

Williamson’s remarks were also ridiculed online by many in the UK who expressed their concerns over the British Armed Forces being headed by “a pre-pubescent schoolboy” who comes up with threats one would be “more likely to hear on the playground.”

READ MORE: 'Straight off the playground': UK defence sec ridiculed for 'childish' Russia remarks

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain in critical but stable condition after being discovered slumped on a bench in Salisbury in early March. Authorities in the UK claim a Soviet-era nerve agent called Novichok was used in the attack on the former Russian-UK double agent. Russia denied any involvement in the incident.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May rushed to accuse Russia of using a chemical weapon on British soil and confronted Moscow with an ultimatum to reveal the details of the Skripal plot. The demand was rejected and, on Wednesday, the UK imposed sanctions on Moscow, which included the expulsion of 23 diplomats, limiting ties and freezing Russian state assets in the UK.

Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that UK diplomats will “definitely” be expelled from the country in response to the move by London. However, Moscow stressed that it was open to cooperation with the UK on the Skripal case if it is treated as an equal partner in the probe.

***

REUTERS

Russia says U.S. plans to strike Damascus, pledges military response

Reuters Staff

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday it had information that the United States planned to bomb the government quarter in Damascus on an invented pretext, and said it would respond militarily if it felt Russian lives were threatened by such an attack.

Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, arrives for the opening ceremony of the International Army Games 2017 in Alabino, outside Moscow, Russia, July 29, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Valery Gerasimov, head of Russia’s General Staff, said Moscow had information that rebels in the enclave of eastern Ghouta were planning to fake a chemical weapons attack against civilians and blame it on the Syrian army.

He said the United States intended to use the fake attack as a pretext to bomb the government quarter in nearby Damascus where he said Russian military advisers, Russian military police and Russian ceasefire monitors were based.

“In the event of a threat to the lives of our servicemen, Russia’s armed forces will take retaliatory measures against the missiles and launchers used,” Gerasimov said in a statement.

He did not say when the alleged attack would take place or provide detailed evidence to back his assertions.

Russia has previously accused rebels in Syria of preparing to use toxic agents in eastern Ghouta so they could later accuse Damascus of employing chemical weapons.

Damascus denies Western allegations that government forces have used chemical weapons.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley warned on Monday that Washington “remains prepared to act if we must,” if the U.N. Security Council failed to act on Syria, as the Syrian army’s onslaught in eastern Ghouta continued unabated.

Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh

***

RT

West launches massive campaign to kick ‘inconvenient’ Russia out of UN Security Council – Senator

March 14, 2018

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya votesduring a meeting of the UN Security Council. © Brendan McDermid / Reuters

The West has launched a large-scale campaign to remove Russia from the UN Security Council (UNSC), Senator Sergey Kalashnikov said, commenting on the UK's accusations against Moscow over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

“The West has launched a massive operation in order to kick Russia out of the UN Security Council,”Kalashnikov said, as cited by RIA Novosti. “Russia is now a very inconvenient player for the Western nations and this explains all the recent attacks on our country.”

The Senator believes that in order to curb Russia’s membership there is going to be an attempt to reform the principal UN body tasked with the maintenance of international peace and security. The Russian Federal Council member reminded that the USSR, to which Russia is the legal successor, has been an integral part of the UNSC since its establishment in 1946.

On Wednesday, Labor MP Chris Leslie addressed May on the issue of reforming the UN Security Council in order to limit Russia’s rights within the body during a parliament session.

Leslie argued that Russia was “increasingly looking like a rogue state,” adding that “we must now begin to talk about reform” of the UNSC. “Russia can’t be allowed to simply sit pretty, thumbing its nose to the rest of the world community and feeling that it’s immune from the rule of law internationally,” Leslie said.

May responded by saying that Leslie was not the only one to stress the need for changes within the UNSC, promising that “this is something that we will look at.”

“We do talk to the United Nations about the reform of the UN in a whole variety of ways. Of course, any decision – the Catch 22 if you like – is that any decision that might be taken in the Security Council to reform it, of course, could be subject to a veto by Russia, who are sitting there,” the prime minister said.

Earlier in the day, the British government said that it was seeking an urgent UN Security Council meeting to update members on the Skripal case. The Russian-UK double agent and his daughter remain in critical condition after being discovered slumped on a bench in Salisbury in early March.

The UK authorities claim that that the duo were poisoned with a Soviet-engineered nerve agent called Novichok. On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May alleged that the attack was either authorized by the Russian government or Moscow allowed the nerve agent to fall into the wrong hands.Russia has said that it’s open to cooperation with the UK on the Skripal case if it’s carried out in accordance with international law and Moscow is treated as an equal partner in the probe. Russia has also officially requested that the UK provide all the case files regarding the incident, but the requested was turned down.On Tuesday, the UK announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and suspension of high-level diplomatic contacts with Moscow as part of new sanctions against Russia. Britain said that it was also going to freeze Russian assets in case there’s proof that they are being used to compromise the UK’s security. “Legally Britain has the right to do this because state assets don’t possess diplomatic immunity," Kalashnikov said, urging Russia to withdraw its funds from the UK and “invest in itself.”

***

Tass

Returning Crimea to Ukraine 'impossible under any circumstances', Putin states
The president has stated that "such circumstances do not exist and never will"
March 11, 2018

MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said returning Crimea to Ukraine is impossible under whatever circumstances.

"What are you talking about? Such circumstances do not exist and never will," he said in response to a question whether such circumstances may ever appear.

The question was asked in an interview for Andrei Kondrashov’s film "Putin," posted on social networks.

***

NEWSWARS

By Dan Lyman Friday, March 16, 2018

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán delivered a rousing speech to tens of thousands of Magyars on March 15, a national holiday commemorating their struggle for independence, in which he declared, "Our biggest battle is about to begin."

With just three weeks to go before parliamentary elections that will shape the future of Hungary and Europe at large, a crowd of "unprecedented numbers" turned out to Kossuth Square in Budapest to hear PM Orbán as he dedicated the lion's share of his address to the subject of immigration and the war for European-Christian culture.

"Africa wants to kick down our door, and Brussels is not defending us," Orbán warned. "Hungary and Europe face a mass migration wave which endangers the way of life of their peoples. Europe is under invasion. The situation is that those who don’t block migration at their borders will be lost."

"We are expected to willingly hand over [our country] within a few decades… to foreigners from other continents who don’t speak our language, respect our culture, our laws or way of life."

"We are fighting an enemy that is different from us. Not open, but hiding; not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money; does not have its own homeland but feels it owns the whole world," he continued, making a clear reference to the 'George Soros mafia.' "This is our homeland, our life, and since we don’t have another one, we will fight for it till the very end and we will never give it up."

Orbán reminded voters that their decision in the April 8 elections will affect not just Hungarians for the next four years, but also European civilization for many years to come. He asserted, "If Poland is strong, Hungary cannot be lost either," and compared the allied nations to 'ancient trees with entangled roots.'

The latest polls reflect dominating support for Orbán's Fidesz party, indicating that Magyars are strongly in favor of rigorous measures taken by the Hungarian government to shield the country from the migration crisis, while also fighting off immense pressure from the EU, Soros, and other powerful globalist forces to open their borders and accept virtually limitless 'refugee resettlement quotas.'

"Dear Hungarian youth, the homeland needs you," Orbán concluded. "Come and join us in our fight so that when you’ll need the homeland you’ll still have one."

"If the dike collapses and the water flows in, the cultural conquest will become irreversible."

***

100,000 ounces heading back to Budapest

Paul Joseph Watson | Infowars.com - MARCH 14, 2018

The National Bank of Hungary is bringing back the country’s 100,000 ounces of gold from London, citing fears over a coming ‘geopolitical crisis’.

The total value of the 3 tons of gold amounts to 33 billion Hungarian forint ($130 million dollars).

According to Hungary’s central bank, the move was motivated by concern over future “geopolitical crises” and the fact that storing gold outside the country is increasingly being seen as too risky.

“Gold is not merely an investment product for central banks, but is a strategic tool that is conducive to confidence in the country both abroad and domestically,” the bank said in a press release, adding, “The time has come to bring home the gold reserves of the country.”

The reference to “geopolitical crises” undoubtedly refers to Russia. Tensions have increased yet again in recent days after the nerve agent poisoning death of a former Russian double agent in the UK.

After the British government issued an ultimatum to Russia, Moscow responded in kind, with Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova asserting, “One does not give 24 hours notice to a nuclear power.”

Hungary is not the only country to recently repatriate its gold reserves. Back in August, Germany announced that it had brought back 53,780 gold bars from Paris, with the the Bundesbank now holding no reserves in France. The bank also repatriated 940 tons of gold from London.

Austrian and Dutch central banks have also recently decided to repatriate large amounts of gold reserves.

***

‘We do NOT support EU Army’ Ireland TURNS on Brussels in shock security broadside

IRELAND has hit out at Brussels in an unexpected security broadside, with a number of MEPs declaring “we do NOT support the EU Army”.

March 17, 2018

Dublin and Brussels have grown closer during the past few months with Brexit negotiations siding the Republic of Ireland against their nearest neighbour.

But this week a group of Irish MEPs have warned Brussels not to expect unquestioning loyalty from Dublin - especially on the subject of security.

The warning was issued in a joint report by MEPs from Fine Gael, Ireland’s ruling government party, called ‘Ireland and the EU: Defending Our Common European Home’.

The report said: “We believe the time is right to openly debate the issue of Irish security and defence. We cannot leave this debate to the member states.

“Ireland should support the emerging European Defence Union and should seek to shape it according to our needs and traditions.

“We want to make it clear that we do not support the creation of an EU Army.”

Instead the report called for Brussels to “respect the traditions” of individual countries and focus on “collaboration”, not the creation of an all-out joint army.

Ireland, as a neutral state whose military primarily focus on peace-keeping, is especially concerned at that impact an EU Army could have on its foreign policy.

The report, signed by MEPs Sean Kelly, Mairead McGuinness, Deirdre Clune and Brian Hayes, said: “The debate on a possible new EU Defence Union continues. Nobody knows the outcome to that.

“It is our firm view that Ireland needs to be part of that debate and seeking to shape the final outcome on needs that meet our objectives.”

A joint army, which has been pushed for by EU chiefs for months, should not be supported, however.

Last September Guy Verhofstadt once again declared his desire for an EU Army while speaking in London.

The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator said: “It was Jean-Claude Juncker who said at the state of the union address a few weeks ago ‘by 2025 we need a full-fledged European defence union - we need it and NATO wants it’.

“That was what he said - and I said: ‘finally!’

“What we really need is a European defence union. Call it a ‘European Army’, call it what you want but it is the way forward.”

***

RATIONAL STANDARD

Is South Africa Approaching a Civil War?

By Nicholas Woode-Smith

March 8, 2018

Alarmism shouldn’t be scoffed at in South Africa. More often than not, the alarmists are the realists in this dreadful country characterised by corruption and violence. But despite all the bad things that have happened, and all the times alarmists have been validated, they are still laughed at and condemned – until the hecklers are killed in the first volley.

An alarmist theory which has been making the rounds is the idea that South Africa may erupt in civil war. This is not new. South Africa has been teetering on the edge of civil war since the 1980s. Probably even before. Even during the late 90s, people were toying with the idea that there was an inevitable civil war.

The state of the nation is much direr now than back in the late 90s, so why is it apparently more ludicrous to think that we are closer to war now?

In the early 90s, we basically faced a civil war between the African National Congress and Inkatha. Throughout South Africa’s history, this region has been faced with turmoil. The Boer War, the Anglo-Zulu wars, the Frontier Wars, the Rand Revolt… the list goes on.

And even forgetting the history – our violent crime rate puts us on the level of a small civil war already. The nature of the violent crime makes it even more terrifying, as our criminals more and more seem to kill for mere sport.

This is not a country known for its peace and prosperity. So why, then, is the idea of a civil war so laughable to many? Blind optimism, probably.

South Africa teeters on the brink of three possibilities: civil war, unrivalled dictatorship or some sort of miracle of reason.

In the face of unrivalled dictatorship, I would rather have a civil war. But is it likely? Civil wars aren’t waged by disparate and spontaneous mobs. They are started and persisted by organised groups. In South Africa, there are two possible groups that could stand up the state. These are Afrikaner and Zulu ethnic groups.

Both of these ethnicities have a strong cultural identity, a sense of unity, a desire for independence and a militaristic background. The Zulu king has already threatened civil war in the wake of threats to expropriate the Zulu homeland (even though there should be no Zulu homeland). The Afrikaner minority is already forming separatist movements and identities in a country that doesn’t want them to exist.

The Zulu nation does seem mobilizable, and so does the Afrikaner minority. With the proliferation of military grade firearms in this country, they are no doubt able to arm themselves.

Would the state be able to put down their insurrection? The South African military is, by and large, useless, but do still have access to arms and a military structure funded by taxpayers. If the military can remain stable and loyal to the state (which isn’t guaranteed) it could put up a good fight. But if the military splinters, the civil war will persist.

But a civil war is not guaranteed. The Afrikaner minority seems tired and more likely to leave for greener pastures, and I don’t blame them. The Zulu nation also may not be as radicalised as their king would want us to believe.

But this unlikelihood of a civil war may not be a good thing. South Africa is starting to reach the end of the road to serfdom. The government is close to embracing full socialism, and seizing all land in the country. The Hate Speech Bill promises to make free speech illegal. And the state is moving to censor the internet.

South Africa is at another precipice, like so many times before it. I doubt there will be a miracle of reason and liberty. I’ve lost all faith in South Africans to do what they need to do. South Africa will burn under civil war or rot under Soviet-style dictatorship.

I only hope it is the former.

***

The Sydney Morning Herald

Peter Dutton looks to help 'persecuted' white South African farmers

By Daniel McCulloch

March 14, 2018

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton wants to help white South African farmers come to Australia.

Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Australia is investigating what visas can be offered to white South African farmers who are facing violence and land seizures at home.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton believes the farmers deserve "special attention" and need help from a "civilised country" like Australia.

"If you look at the footage and read the stories, you hear the accounts, it's a horrific circumstance they face," Mr Dutton told News Corp on Wednesday.

"We have the potential to help some of these people that are being persecuted."

He has directed the Home Affairs Department to explore whether the farmers can be accepted into Australia through refugee, humanitarian or other visas, including the in-country persecution visa category.

"I do think on the information that I've seen, people do need help, and they need help from a civilised country like ours," Mr Dutton said.

The minister said it was clear the farmers in question wanted to work hard and contribute to countries like Australia.

"We want people who want to come here, abide by our laws, integrate into our society, work hard, not lead a life on welfare," he said.

"And I think these people deserve special attention and we're certainly applying that special attention now."

Mr Dutton suggested an announcement could be made soon.

"We're just looking at the moment at what might be feasible and hopefully we'll make an announcement in due course," he said.

***

RT

Hold those tweets! The Donald agrees to 'meeting of the century' with Kim Jong-un

Robert Bridge

March 12,2018

© Reuters

Long reviled in the Western media as a pariah state with devilish ambitions, Pyongyang is showing real savvy on the political stage in an attempt to lure Trump to the negotiating table. Can Kim and Trump agree to disagree?

Last week, a South Korean envoy arrived at the White House bearing a surprise invitation for Donald Trump from none other than his Twitter nemesis, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The South Korean security adviser said Kim was prepared to discuss, among other pressing issues, the possibility of North Korea giving up its nuclear habit. This would naturally entail major concessions on the part of Washington, yet without so much as a nod to his military brass, Trump accepted the invitation.

Although there has been much ado over Trump’s abrupt willingness to meet Kim, possibly as early as May, the reality is that he never really had much choice. That’s because, ever since the Olympic Games in PyeongChang, the communist recluse state has been embarking on a diplomatic charm offensive that has left Washington looking flat-footed and even slightly foolish.

It all began last month when Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of Kim Jong-un, arrived in South Korea for the Winter Olympics, marking the first time a member of the country’s dynastic family crossed the demilitarized border (DMZ) since the Korean War.

By the most conservative estimates, Yo-jong departed PyeongChang a gold medalist in diplomacy. Indeed, all of the pent-up hostility between North and South seemed to evaporate into thin air when the Western-educated party member shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the opening ceremony. From that moment, the situation went from bad to worse for Team Trump, which had said it would meet with the North Korean delegation on the sidelines of the Games. Instead, it only played party spoiler.

When a united North and South Korean Olympic team marched together during the opening ceremonies, attracting a standing ovation from Moon and Kim Yo-jong in the VIP section, a doleful-looking Pence remained conspicuously seated alongside his wife. How that spiteful gesture went down among the manners-manic Asians is anyone’s guess, but probably not very well. After all, it would have cost Pence nothing to have stood up and applauded on behalf of peace.

If all that were not enough to scuttle any hopes of a bilateral chat during the world’s premier sporting event, then the specter of Pence using his trip to announce the “toughest and most aggressive” sanctions against North Korea, as well as meeting with North Korean defectors, certainly did.

Meanwhile, Kim Yo-jung’s diplomatic barnstorming was not limited to simple handshakes. During an official meeting of delegates from North and South Korea, she took the opportunity to present an invitation from her brother requesting Moon to visit Pyongyang at the “earliest date” possible. That proposal turned to reality last week as Kim Jong-un stepped out of his Hollywood-style villain character, regaling South Korean officials in Pyongyang with sumptuous food and drink, all the while cracking self-deprecating jokes.

***

MailOnline

Police probe five suspicious killings by lethal injection carried out by Dutch doctors over fears they were cases of 'criminal euthanasia'

• The deaths of five women in the Netherlands are under criminal investigation

• It places new question mark over the rapid spread of mercy killing in the country

• Under 1961 Suicide Act helping someone to die can bring a 14-year jail sentence

By STEVE DOUGHTY SOCIAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 22:00, 9 March 2018 | UPDATED: 01:32, 10 March 2018

A string of suspicious killings by doctors are being investigated in the country that pioneered legalised euthanasia.

The deaths of four women who died by lethal injection in the Netherlands may have been ‘criminal euthanasia’, prosecution officials said.

It brings to five the number of deaths under criminal investigation, and places a new question mark over the rapid spread of mercy killing in the country.

The deaths of four women who died by lethal injection in the Netherlands may have been ‘criminal euthanasia’, prosecution officials said (above: protesters outside Houses of Parliament in London as MPs debated the Assisted Dying Bill in 2015)

Euthanasia, first allowed 16 years ago, now accounts for more than one in every 25 deaths.

The growing number of cases – 6,585 in 2017 – has gone unquestioned by authorities until recent months.

Last year the Dutch equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service began an inquiry after a 74-year-old woman suffering from dementia struggled against the lethal injection and was held down by relatives as it was administered.

The new cases under investigation include a 67-year-old dementia sufferer killed even though she was unable to give her consent.

The doctor who gave the lethal injection is also under suspicion of failing to comply with the law by establishing that the woman was enduring ‘unbearable suffering’.

Dutch officials played down the importance of the inquiries, with chief prosecutor Rinus Otte saying: ‘It could be a few years before there is another investigation.

'We consider these four cases to be sufficiently serious. We are now investigating them, but that does not mean there will be a prosecution.’

But Lord Carlile, who leads an anti-euthanasia pressure group, Living and Dying Well, said the latest cases ‘illustrate the grave dangers presented by euthanasia and assisted dying’.

He added: ‘Doctors should not be implicated in it and I would be very surprised if British doctors considered it as falling within their ethical matrix.’

British campaigners for assisted dying have repeatedly failed to win the support of Parliament, and have instead brought a series of test cases before the courts to try to persuade judges to change the law.

Under the 1961 Suicide Act, helping someone to die can bring a jail sentence of 14 years.

Nikki Kenward, of Distant Voices, a UK disability rights group opposed to euthanasia, said: ‘At last it appears that the Dutch authorities are finally coming to their senses and are acting against some of the excesses that frankly have shocked the world.

‘It remains to be seen, however, if it will ever be possible to devise a legal framework under which euthanasia can be effectively regulated.’

***

***

WND

$2.3 BILLION GOOF: NEW COMMUTER TRAINS TOO WIDE FOR TUNNELS

Government solution – relax safety standards

March 14, 2018

Sydney lite rail (Source Transport of New South Wales)
No one disputes this Australian state’s need to upgrade its rail-transit fleet after 40 years of service.

The New South Wales regional train system in and around Sydney operates with a variety of trains, the oldest rolling stock – called V-sets – and newer XPT longer-distance carriers. After four decades, purchasing 512 new carriages at a cost of $2.3 billion had become a necessity. And with the purchase, commuters can look forward to mobile-phone charging stations, accessible toilets and more space for bike racks and luggage.

All good … except for one rather major problem.

The new trains are too wide for existing tunnels, reports News.com.au.

Whereas Transport for NSW’s current trains are 114.17 inches wide, the replacement trains on order are 122.05 inches in width. Because trains sway and tilt, particularly when rounding curves, TfNSW set a minimum clearance, or “kinematic envelope,” of 7.88 inches around the current rolling stock. That, coincidentally, is only one-hundreth of an inch wider than the increased width of the new trains. New trains tilting inside tunnels are expected to experience scraping on portions of the roof and base as they make contact with the rock walls.

“It takes a special type of incompetence to buy trains that don’t fit through the tunnels,” said state opposition leader Luke Foley.

“No, They Can’t: Why Government Fails, but Individuals Succeed (Hardcover)” debunks the notion government can solve our problems.

Foley is demanding TfNSW show how it will guarantee rider safety when the trains come online next year.

Foley’s concern has taken on greater weight since TfNSW officials announced their solution to the oversight is basically to simply relax safety standards.

“There are parts of the network where it is not possible to fully comply with the modern standards due to physical constraints, and in these circumstances, additional measures such as speed restrictions, varied track maintenance and timetabling are implemented to ensure safety,” a TfNSW spokesman said.

TfNSW’s recommended “sub-medium electric standard” relaxes rules that would normally prevent the wider trains from operating.

“This option would allow the New Intercity Fleet to operate on both lines and pass each other, and therefore ensure better longer-term operational outcomes, while also minimizing heritage impacts through reduced tunnel-lining modifications,” a TfNSW report states.

The same report notes that widening the ten tunnels in question and realigining parallel tracks to increase the margin of safety is not financially feasible.

But some tunnel modification will be unavoidable. Approxomately one-third of the system’s total tunnel length will be “notched” with a five-inch deep gouge where swaying and tilting could cause the new carriages to hit the walls or ceiling. This will add to the $2.3 billion already spent on the new trains and as much as two years to the promised operational date, with closures expected. TfNSW is saying the new trains, combined with some more modern track, will result in less swaying.

It was only two months ago NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance was under fire for another on-the-job debacle. Following a $100,000 campaign for the public to pick names of six new ferries on Sydney Harbor, Constance announced the people’s choice was Ferry McFerryface. But a freedom-of-information request by local media revealed the satirical name had not been chosen by the public – Constance had selected it on his own.

“Andrew Constance’s ministerial performance is a joke, but this latest bungle is no laughing matter,” said Foley. “People are right to be suspicious that Constance is going to change the safety standard to fix his bungle.”

***

Natural News

World health chief stokes the panic fires by warning that a catastrophic global pandemic is imminent… humanity WIPEOUT foreshadowed?

Sunday, March 11, 2018 by: Jhoanna Robinson

(Natural News) Dr. Tedros Adhanom, director-general for the World Health Organization(WHO), has said that the next outbreak that will hit us will be a “terrible” one, causing huge amounts of death all over the world. Fears of a pandemic have been hovering lately after the worst flu outbreak in recent years devastated Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

More recently, the mosquito-borne Zika virus crisis, rocked 70 countries in 2016 and worried scientists the world over. The Zika virus can cause microcephaly, or an abnormally small head, in babies. It spread all over South America in 2016.

The hemorrhagic fever Ebola killed 11,000 individuals in West Africa in 2014 and 2015. It spread to various parts of the U.S. in the same time period. Ebola was officially declared over in January 2016, when Liberia was announced Ebola-free by the WHO. A group of international researchers traced the pandemic back to a two-year-old boy in Meliandou, which is about 400 miles (650 kilometers) from Conakry, the capital of Guinea. The researchers said Emile Ouamouno, who was identified as Patient Zero, probably got infected by the deadly virus by playing with bats in a hollow tree.

Around 29,000 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia contracted Ebola. The virus killed around 40 percent of those it struck. Deaths were also reported in Mali, Nigeria, and the U.S., although at a much smaller scale, with 15 fatalities between the three nations.

Ebola was first identified by scientists in 1976; however, the most recent outbreak is the biggest the world has ever felt so far. It can be transmitted between humans through infected blood, bodily fluids, and other secretions. (Related: Ebola outbreak may already be uncontrollable; Monsanto invests in Ebola treatment drug company as pandemic spreads.)

“This is not some future nightmare scenario. A devastating epidemic could start in any country at any time and kill millions of people because we are still not prepared. The world remains vulnerable. We do not know where and when the next global pandemic will occur, but we know it will take a terrible toll both on human life and on the economy,” Dr. Tedros said.

“Hidden underneath this fear mongering message of a global pandemic is a far more sinister W.H.O. agenda,” warns Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, publisher of Medicine.news. “The real agenda is a global push for blind, fear-based acceptance of unsafe, unproven vaccines that will be rolled out alongside the next global pandemic,” Adams warns. “Fear circumvents rational thinking, which is why the vaccine-pharma cartels routinely turn to irrational fear propaganda to demand absolute and unquestioning acceptance of risky medical interventions that should always be scrutinized for safety and efficacy.”

According to Dr. Tedros, the flu is extremely dangerous to everyone living in the planet. This fear was also promoted by experts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month.

The claims now arise exactly 100 years after the deadly 1918 Spanish flu that caused the death of 50 million individuals and killed three times as many people as World War I. The first result of such fear-mongering was the swine flu pandemic of 2009, which claimed 300,000 lives all over the world after affecting 60 countries.

“Humanity is more vulnerable in the face of epidemics because we are much more connected and we travel around much more quickly than before,” said WHO specialist in infectious diseases Dr. Sylvie Brand.

For more stories on the spread of viruses and pandemics, visit Outbreak.news.

Sources include:
DailyMail.co.uk
SMCYInternationalFamily.org

Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
(Hebrews 2:14-15)