“Whoever
is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let
him know them For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous
will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.”
(Hosea
14:9)
Whoever Is Discerning
Dear Friends,
Greetings! Charles Spurgeon said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”
There are web sites with vast numbers of followers which reveal astounding truths that may even be considered “scoops” but we have to be careful as they are at the same time highly critical of God in the Old Testament and Jesus being the way to be reconciled to God in the New Testament.
These sites often maintain a strong sense of “spirituality” but may be closely aligned with New Age philosophy or thinking. The spirituality will of course appeal to those who have an awakened spiritual need.
Equating churchianity with true Christianity it can be easy to see the appeal of these types of web sites.
Again a quote from Charles Spurgeon: “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats.”!
However, the closer one is to the truth while at the same time denying the truth of whom Jesus claimed to be, John 14:6, makes all this even more dangerous and leads to the well known verse in Matthew twenty-four, that if it were possible He, the antichrist would deceive the very elect.
One thing to ask ourselves is why these sites, with there phenomenal disclosures concerning not just the elite, but the spiritual entities empowering the elite ,are permitted to continue and propagate their views. Wouldn't these powerful entities wish to put a stop to their exposure?
Could it be that this exposure of powerful truths is tolerated, and possibly even encouraged because it serves a greater usefulness, the denial of God and salvation though Jesus Christ?
“In political jargon, useful idiot is a term for people perceived as propagandists for a cause whose goals they are not fully aware of, and who are used cynically by the leaders of the cause.” Wikipedia
One of the major arguments made against God in the Old Testament by such sites is: how can a God of love order the annihilation of a complete group or race of people including women and children.
We have two possible ways to go on this question, either God did issue such condemnations or as Douglas Reed postulated in his magnum opus “The Controversy of Zion” he believed the Levites altered sections of the Old Testament.
We know this is possible in respect the redacting done to the Old Testament in regards to the changes made by the Masoretes between 600AD and 1000AD which we have published previously.
For the time being let us go with the belief that God did issue the decree that Moses and the Hebrews should annihilate a complete group of people as illustrated in
The Book of Numbers, Chapter 21:33-35 and Deuteronomy, Chapter 3:1-3
“And having returned, they went up the road that leads to Basan; and Og the king of Basan went forth to meet them, and all his people to war to Edrain. And the Lord said to Moses, Fear him not; for I have delivered him and all his people, and all his land, into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon. And he smote him and his sons, and all his people, until he left none of his to be taken alive; and they inherited his land.
And we turned and went by the way leading to Basan; and Og the king of Basan came out to meet us, he and all his people, to battle at Edraim. And the Lord said to me, Fear him not, for I have delivered him, and all his people, and all his land, into thy hands; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Seon king of the Amorites who dwelt in Esebon. And the Lord our God delivered him into our hands, even Og the king of Basan, and all his people; and we smote him until we left none of his seed.” The Book of Numbers, Chapter 21:33-35 and Deuteronomy, Chapter 3:1-3
Well, how does a God of love reconcile what would appear to be a conundrum at best and a contradiction at worst.
Something about the Amorites of whom Og was king from the books of Jubilees and the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch:
"According to the Book of Jubilees (xxix. [9] 11), "the former terrible giants, the Rephaim, gave way to the Amorites, an evil and sinful people whose wickedness surpasses that of any other, and whose life will be cut short on earth." In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (lx.) they are symbolized by "black water" on account of "their black art, their witchcraft and impure mysteries, by which they contaminated Israel in the time of the Judges."
It should also be noted in Deuteronomy, chapter two, that Moses made a peaceable appeal to king Seon another king of the Amorites to allow him and the Hebrews to pass through his land on the way to Canaan and that they would pay for food and water and then leave. It was after this the Hebrews were attacked by king Seon and then by king Og.
There is a book called “The Lost Book of King Og. We can not vouch for the authenticity of this book, you would have to decide that for yourself. Below is an introduction to the book and excerpts from the book itself. We do want to caution you that the book is not pleasant to read and very blasphemous. If you are highly sensitive you may want to consider skipping this section.
The Lost Book of King Og
The Only Written Words of the Rephaim – Copyright 2016 by DEMMON
The Lost Book Of King Og – CHAPTER 7
*Editor’s note:
This is the only Aramaic translation of the remaining chapter from THE BOOK OF KING OG the Giant. This text (which was lost/hidden because of the historic, calculated move by Pope Pius XII to separate it from the Manichean Book of the Giants) has been the source of great speculation within the research halls of the Vatican for centuries. Originally, both Latin and Aramaic versions existed. The Latin version was censored and destroyed by the Catholic Church in the 5th century CE.
In fact, the Catholic Church originally posted the following words of anathema in regards to THE BOOK OF KING OG and other forbidden texts:
With Constantine’s systematic destruction of non-Christian texts in and around 326 CE, and the following Gelasian Decree of the 5th century CE, knowledge and/or reproduction of Og’s verses were rendered impossible.
Dated in or around 1400 BCE.
CHAPTER 7 – The Final Words of King Og
¹Did you think, O [corrupt worm] of [Israel], that I did not stand above [. . . the great wa[ter..] in the [mountains]? ²You who have never touched the sky or stood two cubits over another man. My meditation [my dreams] are your [. . .][death]. Baal will see to it, worm. Behold, I am Og, the largest man in the land. What can you possibly do to me? Are you [prepared to die]?
³I have watched you[. . .] crawl into the [light] as a corrupt [fecal worm]. I have watched your mother Egypt [. . .] eat your young. ⁴I watch now and I [ponder] is this why you now war with me, O [worm] of Israel? [You have sl]ain my neighbor in Sihon. Baal will avenge [. . .]. Both Baal and Baalat will [. . .empower me. . .] to sever the corrupt [worm] with force. ⁵[ . . .your false god. . .your weak [little] men. . .] I Og spit upon your warriors who trail like ants [. . .beneath. . .][feces]. I [wipe] the spittle from my beard. I will arise when ready. […] [the strength in] but one arm will [break] the [horn] of [Israel].
⁶Are the tales of my [exploits] not [traveling] to your itching ears O corrupt [fecal worm] of [Israel]? Of my power [. . .how I did battle. . .] against the [unspeakable] [monsters] in the renowned fields alongside my [Watcher] and [Nephilim] parentage? [. . .how we moulded to murder. . .] How we turned our wrath [. . .mercy. . .a foreigner. . .] where the old world [monsters] stood. Stupid, [fecal worm]. Stupid corrupt [fecal worm]. Your ox-like stupidity tires me to [sleep].
⁷O bitter, [blackened] corrupt [fecal worm]. Did not my [royal] [sorceresses] of Baal dance and prophesy of your arrival? Have we in Bashan not dreamed of your [murder]? My soothsayers tell of our [. . .victory. . .worship. . .sacrifices. . .]. My priests speak of [sorcery.and perversion] Baal has spoken [. . .] of when I will [tear] the [child skull] of the corrupt [fecal worm] Moses from his soft body and [. . .] hold it over Bashan as [. . .blood sign to Baal]. Your barren women will sing my praises. My dream needs no interpretation.
⁸How will I [murder] [. . .] corrupt one? [. . .] [as [a] dog. . .torn by a bull at the slaughter]. Should I lift [an entire [. . . ] mountain [of earth] over my head [. . . ]? Is not [Baal the god] of this [earth] I live in? The kingdom [. . .] supreme Baal has thousands of [. . .] answers to [. . .the pathetic] [fecal] [insect sized] god [. . .] [Israel]. Come here, that I might b[ind you with] cords [empowered by] Baal.
⁹[. . .How many . .] castaways have you killed, since your [insect sized] god told you not to kill? Hypocrite. [. . .the spirits of the sl[ain] complain about you and cry out. [. . .] Moses, you [blood drunk feaster] upon feces. Like a cowardly [child] with gift toys [you run] from the [skirts] of your mother Egypt to me, that we may do [battle]? I will grind your [bones]. I will [eat] all of your [fingers] to the stump. [. . .great fear] shall seize you and you shall fall upon your face.
¹¹Corrupt [little worm] Moses. My spies have told me [. . .your. . .] army, and their [. . .worship. . .] for any god but yours [. . .your murder(ous). . .] Of your time in Egypt. Of your [. . .commandments. . . of laws] your barbarism and insanity all in the name of your [fecal][insect-sized] god.
Also remember Og was the last of the Raphaim. The progeny of the fallen angels, Watchers, and human woman of whom the Bible has nothing good to say but condemnation.
Is it possible the Og and the Amorites, all of them, had absolutely no redeeming qualities what so ever?
This is in fact a criticism J.R.R. Tolkien was questioned about after writing the “Lord of the Rings” that amongst all of the Orcs there was not a one that had a single redeeming quality.
From a discussion from a web site discussing this issue: “Orcs the only certainty is that they were corrupted versions of an existing race, which answers your question: Orcs cannot be good, ever.
“But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” 2 Peter 2:12
Would the material presented justify God condemning an entire group of people? King David in referring to Og's destruction in Psalms 135:11 and 136:20 counts it as one of many great victories for the nation of Israel.
And we shouldn't forget Armageddon where the “the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” Revelation 14:20 By a God of love? 1John 4:8
We are now going to segue from the Old Testament to Hebrews eleven in the New Testament.
Hebrews, chapter eleven, is often referred to as God's Hall of Fame. In verse thirty it talks about the destruction of Jericho and verse thirty-one talks about the faith of the harlot Rahab.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot (prostitute, whore) Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
How could someone of such dubious character be a “member” of God's Hall of Fame. The above verse tells you why, faith. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man,(Jesus) if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.” Luke 7:39.
But what was it that gave Rahab the faith to receive the spies with peace and to believe in the God of the Hebrews. “It has been widely stated by archaeologists that the inhabitants of Jericho were moon worshipers”.
The book of Joshua, chapter two, makes it clear what it was that inspired Rehabs faith in the true God of the Hebrews.
“For we have heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of the land of Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And when we heard it we were amazed in our heart, and there was no longer any spirit in any of us because of you, for the Lord your god is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath. Joshua 2:10-11
It was the testimony of what God had done for the Hebrews including the utter destruction of King Og and the Amorites that inspired Rehabs faith and put her in God's hall of fame.
“But as the heaven is distant from the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my mind.” Isaiah 55:9
Have a great week ahead.
***
The Telegraph
Jesus Christ would be banned from UK universities today, Oxford professor says
30 MAY 2016 • 10:00PM
Jesus Christ would be banned from preaching on university campuses if he were alive today, (He is alive) after Britain became "too feeble" at standing up for free speech, a leading Oxford professor has said.
Professor Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European Studies at Oxford University, said the trend for "so-called safe spaces" had led to free speech being eroded from all sides, with even students insisting on shutting one another's opinions down.
Warning universities must "hold the line" against the "salami slicing" of free speech, he said it was time for the public to stand up against creeping legislation and self-censorship.
Speaking at the Hay Festival, sponsored by the Telegraph, Prof Garton Ash said he had identified four key areas of threat to free speech in Britain, including an increasing fear of violence against those who chose to share their opinions.
Home Office legislation, he added, meant that universities were now encouraged to block even non-violent extremists from sharing their opinion, in a definition that could include some of the world's leading thinkers of centuries past.
He told an audience: "Some of you may know that in the new counter-terrorism legislation, the securocrats in the Home Office are trying to impose on universities a so-called prevent duty, which would call on us to prevent event non-violent extremists speaking on campus.
"Now non-violent extremists? That's Karl Marx, Rousseau, Charles Darwin, Hegel, and most clearly Jesus Christ, who was definitely a non-violent extremists. The Home Office wouldn't want him preaching on campus.
"This is a real threat I think to free speech and one we have to fight back against."
Speaking of the key threats to speech, Prof Garton Ash, author of Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World, said he had noticed an increasing trend for a small number of offended individuals to be able to shut debate down.
"It's not just the state saying that's offensive," he said. "It's a subjective veto act in which one person or a small group of people can say 'I'm offended' and that's held to be sufficient reason to not show that thing.
"We have a big problem at the moment in our universities, because on the one hand we're under attack from our government like I said.
"And on the other hand there's a certain push from below from our own students demanding so-called safe spaces.
"You have to no-platform, say for example Germaine Greer.
"In my book, while we should really listen closely to our students, we have to hold that line.
"Because it's not just someone like me saying 'I don't want to hear Germaine Greer', because you don't have to hear Germaine Greer.
"What this is is actually a group of students saying to another group of students who want to hear Germain Greer 'no you can't do that'.
"It's one group of students censoring another."
He added: "We as universities really have to hold the line. Our free speech in Britain is gradually being salami-sliced away.
"This country, which in a way invented the modern version of free speech in the 17th century, is in my view much too feeble when it comes to standing up for free speech."
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The law is explicit that, in complying with the Prevent duty, universities must have particular regard to their duty to ensure freedom of speech and academic freedom. So in many cases, complying with the Prevent duty is as simple as ensuring there is an effective chair and a strong opposition voice.”
"There is no contradiction between promoting freedom of speech and taking account of the well-being of students, staff and the wider community, nor is there anything in the duty or any other aspect of Prevent which curtails genuine political debate.
"Protecting those who are vulnerable and at risk of radicalisation is a job for all of us and this Government is continuing to work in partnership with communities of all backgrounds to challenge those who spread hatred and intolerance.
***
WND
SCHOOL SENDS DEPUTY TO WARN 7-YEAR-OLD ABOUT BIBLE VERSES
'District cannot suppress and censor this discussion, or the 1-page notes'
Published: June 3, 2016
BOB UNRUH
Officials at a California public grade school who dispatched a sheriff’s deputy to stop a 7-year-old from sharing Bible verses with his classmates because someone could be “offended” now are being warned of “civil rights violations.”
The student regularly shared notes from his mother containing Bible verses that were tucked into his lunch at Desert Rose Elementary School in the Palmdale, California, School District, which declined to respond to a WND request for comment.
A media spokesman for the sheriff’s office told WND he knew nothing about the deputy visiting the 7-year-old’s home at the request of school officials and declined to comment.
But Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit litigation, education and policy group emphasizing religious liberties, has sent a letter to the school regarding its “unconstitutional suppression and censorship of student religious speech.”
The organization said it demanded that Desert Rose “correct an outrageous violation of a first grader’s constitutional rights.”
“The situation started with an encouraging note and Bible verse from mom Christina Zavala, tucked into a packed lunch for her little boy (‘C’),” Liberty Counsel explained. “The seven-year-old boy read the note and verse, and showed them to his friends during lunch time at school.”
Soon multiple students at C’s school were asking for copies of the notes, which included short stories from the Bible, Liberty Counsel reported.
“However, when one little girl said ‘teacher – this is the most beautiful story I’ve ever seen,’ ‘separation of church and state’ was the response, and the notes were banned from lunchtime distribution. C was told that the school gate was the only location at which he could give the Bible verses to his friends, and only after the bell rang,” the organization explained.
Then, however, C was reprimanded by his teacher in front of the whole class, twice, and told to stop talking about religion or sharing his mother’s notes, and he went home in tears, Liberty Counsel said.
Even as the crowd of students asking for the after-school Bible notes grew, on May 9, Principal Melanie Pagliaro approached Zavala and demanded that the notes only be handed out somewhere beyond school property.
With the school not satisfied with only the banishment, Liberty Counsel said, “a Los Angeles deputy sheriff knocked at the door of C’s home, demanding that C’s note-sharing cease altogether because ‘someone might be offended.'”
“This is a clear, gross violation of the rights of a child. That the school district enlisted a police officer to intimidate C and his family makes this case even more outrageous,” Liberty Counsel contended.
“I would expect something like this to happen in Communist Romania, where I went to elementary school, but cops don’t bully 7-year-olds who want to talk about Jesus in the Land of the Free,” said Horatio “Harry” Mihet, vice president of legal affairs and chief litigation counsel of Liberty Counsel.
The letter to the district said Liberty Counsel, “having reviewed the above facts, district policies, and applicable law, it is clear that the actions of the district staff in this instance, in prohibiting voluntary student religious expression during non-instructional time; then completely banning such student expression from school property entirely, and finally calling the police to report the same are simply unconstitutional.”
“These actions must be disavowed and reversed, to avoid liability for civil rights violations,” the letter said.
It gave the district a deadline for responding of June 1, which was ignored.
“The district simply cannot prohibit student speech during non-instructional time, where that speech is neither lewd, obscene, or indecent. … The district cannot prohibit spontaneous student verbal speech, or handwritten notes passed between students, during non-instructional time, or require (legally, or practically), prior review of all student expression, before it is permitted.”
Students regularly exchange items such as Christmas cards and birthday party invitations.
“Therefore, it was improper to ban student religious discussion during lunch time. The district cannot suppress and censor this discussion, or the one-page notes consisting of Bible stories and verses placed by C’s mother in C’s lunch for his own personal enjoyment and edification; which he voluntarily chose to share with his little friends during non-instructional time; which interested classmates were free to accept or refuse, at their own discretion,” the letter said.
“If being censured for religious expression by one’s first grade teacher in front of one’s classmates is not intimidating and humiliating enough, the message of hostility to a child’s religious expression is underscored by the district calling law enforcement for a ‘follow-up visit’ to his house,” it said.
The letter was sent to Supt. Raul Maldonado, Pagliaro and board members Juan Carillo, Nancy Smith, Joyce Ricks, Dennis Trujillo and Sharon Vega.
RT
Naked torsos & horned beasts: Swiss tunnel’s bizarre opening leaves viewers baffled (VIDEOS)
Published time: 2 Jun, 2016 14:33
Edited time: 3 Jun, 2016 00:04
Switzerland celebrated the opening of the world’s longest train tunnel, a 17-year project that cuts through the Alps and cost €11 billion to construct - but all anyone’s talking about is its ridiculous opening ceremony.
Efforts to highlight the incredible engineering accomplishment of the 2,300 meter-deep tunnel resulted in an utterly strange opening ceremony that reported cost €8 million.
Co-ordinated by German director Volker Hesse, the performances were supposed to represent various aspects of Swiss culture, but, at times, ended up resembling a Kanye West fashion show.
More than 600 actors reportedly took part in the show, which at one point, included a topless creepy-looking bird that hung over nine performers, representing the nine miners that lost their lives during the tunnel’s construction.
Soon after the elaborate performance began, viewers took to Twitter to ask the question on viewers’ lips: what is actually going on here?
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BREAKINGISRAELNEWS
Rabbi Calls for a Public Disputation About God
By Rivkah Lambert Adler May 25, 2016 , 10:30 am
“Know this day, and lay it to thy heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.” Deuteronomy 4:39 (The Israel Bible™)
(Shutterstock)
In his weekly Torah message this past Friday, Jerusalem-based rabbinic scholar and prolific author Rabbi Nachman Kahana called for a public disputation, to be held in Jerusalem. He encouraged Israel’s Chief Rabbinate to invite “the papal representatives living in Israel and from other countries, as well as Islamic scholars” to debate spiritual matters with Israel’s leading Jewish scholars, in a public forum.
The time has come, Rabbi Kahana explained, to encourage the world to begin to relate to Israel from a spiritual perspective, rather than a political or economic one.
A scholarly article in the Jewish Encyclopedia defines disputations as “Public debates on religious subjects between Jews and non-Jews.”
In his message, Rabbi Kahana traced the history of disputations from their Biblical origin, claiming that the first religious disputation occurred when Moses attempted to convince Pharaoh that the Israelites should be allowed to worship God in the desert.
Disputations between Jews and representatives of the Catholic Church often ended in expulsion and persecution of Jews, particularly in the 13th century. One of the two most famous disputations of that period was held in Paris in 1240. Two years later, 24 carts full of copies of the Talmud, Judaism’s core rabbinic text, were torched in the same city.
Arguably the most famous disputation of all was held in Barcelona, Spain in 1243. The debate centered on whether or not the promised messiah had already appeared and whether the messiah is human or divine. The Jews were represented by Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, known as Nachmanides, a leading medieval Jewish scholar, philosopher and physician. As a direct result of the disputation, Nachmanides was forced to flee Spain.
Rabbi Kahana confirmed for Breaking Israel News that a public disputation in our day, to be held in Jerusalem, with a goal of clarifying spiritual truth, could bring the world a step closer to geula (redemption).
Rabbi Kahana believes that the time has come for the spiritual character of Israel to take center stage. “Israel’s present political and financial interaction with the gentile world is a total distortion of why HaShem (God) has placed us in this world!” he wrote in his call for the disputation. Further, he expects that such an event “could create an avalanche of interest among the gentiles,” in a Jewish message.
According to the prophet Habakkuk, all people on the earth will ultimately know and understand the same spiritual truth. The prophet Habakkuk is believed to have lived just before the destruction of the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In the Jewish mystical tradition, he is identified as the son of the Shunamite woman, whom Elisha blessed in II Kings, chapter 4.
This common, shared spiritual knowledge is understood to be an outcome of the messianic process.
For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
Implicit in Rabbi Kahana’s call for a public disputation is that various religious claims would be presented and debated, and the outcome of the debate would help move the world toward the messianic vision of Habakkuk and other prophets.
(“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11) “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Romans 11:5 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and compassion: and they shall look upon me, because they have mocked me, and they shall make lamentation for him, as for a beloved friend, and they shall grieve intensely, as for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10)
***
ARUTZ SHEVA
Tzfat Chief Rabbi declares 'next step is the Temple Mount'
Rabbi Eliyahu reveals growing spiritual awakening seen in Lag B'Omer festivities, next stage is 'going up to the Mount, nothing less.'
By Arutz Sheva Staff
First Publish: 5/25/2016, 11:24 AM
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Flash 90
Ahead of the Lag B'Omer celebrations on Wednesday night, Tzfat (Safed) Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu spoke to Arutz Sheva about the spiritual awakening of the Jewish nation in Israel - and declared the "next step" in that process is to control the Temple Mount.
The Mount, which was the site of the First and Second Temples and is the holiest site in Judaism, remains under the de facto control of the Jordanian Waqf despite having been liberated in the 1967 Six Day War. The Waqf bans Jews from praying at the site and imposes harsh limitations and discrimination at the holy site.
Rabbi Eliyahu began by talking about the massive festivities at Meron, located in the north near Tzfat, where multitudes of Jews turn out on Lag B'Omer to commemorate the day of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's (Rashbi) passing at his grave.
He noted the turnout has in recent years jumped from 30,000 or so up to around 600,000 Jews who now visit Meron on Lag B'Omer, and all that increase comes despite the lack of a formal campaign to try and raise the numbers.
"The nation of Israel is waking up inside. The nation of Israel wants holiness. The nation of Israel wants the real deal, not the Reform," he said in explaining the phenomenon - and criticizing Reform Judaism that rejects the divine nature of the Torah.
He noted on the paltry turnout at a section designated for Women of the Wall, a Reform group seeking to challenge Jewish tradition at the Western Wall (Kotel), and said that in contrast to the poor turnout there hundreds of thousands of Jews come to visit the Kotel Plaza.
"They come because they want God, and it all brings us to an understanding that we're elevating and the next step is the Temple Mount, and nothing less," he emphasized.
"We've been waiting for (the Mount) thousands of years, and none of us is giving up on it. No one is intending to go half-way, it doesn't work. We want the real deal, and just like we received the land of Israel and the nation of Israel went up to the land despite all the skeptics, the nation of Israel will go up to the mountain of God's abode, soon and in our days."
Rabbi Eliyahu spoke about the process of repentance and spiritual awakening seen in Israel among "the religious public, the traditional public, and also the public that is called 'secular,'" noting that all are strengthening their faith and aspiring for unity.
"This is happening under the surface and the media doesn't see the incredible process that the nation is undergoing, it sees black marks here and there, but we on Lag B'Omer see the truth and that is that the nation of Israel is revealed to be a nation of believers, the children of believers."
***
CNN
Hard-liner takes new post as Israel defense minister
By Michael Schwartz and Oren Liebermann, CNN
May 30, 2016
Of the 120-seat Knesset, 55 members voted in favor of Avigdor Liberman's appointment, while 43 voted against.
Jerusalem (CNN)One of Israel's most controversial politicians, hard-liner Avigdor Liberman, was sworn in as the country's new defense minister on Monday.
Liberman's appointment comes after weeks of political turmoil leading to the resignation of his predecessor, Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon, in protest.
The majority of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, voted in favor of Liberman. Israel state radio broadcast on Monday that of the 120-seat Knesset, 55 members voted in favor of Liberman, while 43 voted in opposition.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition now includes all the right-wing parties and excludes the left-wing parties, which some politicians find problematic.
Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee member, has criticized the addition of Liberman to the government.
"Such a decision is extremely dangerous. Lieberman, who has called for the beheading of Palestinians and for their transfer outside the state of Israel, is a serious threat to peace and stability, and his appointment will generate a culture of lawlessness, extremism, violence and hate in Israel."
Liberman, a member of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, has a history of making controversial comments.
In March 2015, Liberman said that Arab-Israelis who are not loyal to Israel should be beheaded. "We need to pick up an ax and cut off his head," he said, speaking before the most recent elections. In 2001, he said he would bomb Egypt's Aswan Dam in the event of a war between Israel and Egypt.
However, when it comes to peacemaking with their neighbors, both Netanyahu and Liberman seem to see eye to eye, holding firm on the notion of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
"I take this opportunity to make clear that I remain committed to making peace with the Palestinians and with all our neighbors," said Netanyahu.
"I listened to everything you [the Prime Minister] said and I absolutely agree with every word, including two states for two peoples," said Liberman after Netanahu's comments on Monday.
Liberman is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union who lives in a West Bank settlement that many in the international community consider to be illegal.
He served as the foreign minister but critics have taken issue with Liberman's limited military experience as he takes on this new role.
CNN's Azadeh Ansari contributed to this article
***
THE JERUSALEM POST
Netanyahu’s government may be near collapse, report says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset. (photo credit:REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government may be on the verge of collapse according to Israel’s Channel 10.
In a report Friday night, the TV station quoted unnamed “party leaders” saying that Netanyahu’s surprise move to bring the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party into the coalition may be backfiring on him.
In the past eight days, two ministers have resigned: Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, of Likud, following reports that he would be replaced with the hawkish Avigdor Liberman, and Environmental Minister Avi Gabai of Kulanu. Both harshly criticized Netanyahu in their resignation announcements.
Gabai, who resigned Friday, said Israel’s increasingly “extremist” government was leading Israel on a path to destruction and that he “found it difficult” to be part of Netanyahu’s government for several reasons, including how it “totally upset the relationship with the world’s most important power – the one safeguarding our security interests,” referring to the United States.”
Relations between Likud and Jewish Home are also “in real crisis," the report also said
The report also said Finance Minister and Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon is working to persuade the center-left Zionist Union to renew talks with Netanyahu about joining the coalition, while Yaalon “has already begun preparing the organizational infrastructure” for a potential return to politics.
***
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL
Israel eyes world coalition to force social media platforms to block incitement
Gilad Erdan to develop legislation that would force Facebook, YouTube, Twitter et al. to take responsibility for content; says Europe ‘very interested in idea’
BY DAVID SHAMAH January 19, 2016,
Israel is aiming to build an international coalition to force the world’s leading social media giants to prevent their platforms from being abused to peddle incitement to terrorism.
The move, which was unveiled by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan at Sunday’s cabinet meeting, aims at requiring Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and other social networks to take greater responsibility for such content. While some experts consider the idea unworkable — arguing that the terms of service of such platforms protect them from any legal threat, and that the preventative measures Erdan wants to see introduced are not possible technologically, others say a coalition pushing for change could be effective, and certainly stands more of a chance than an effort led by Israel alone.
The social media giants “make millions but claim they are not responsible for content, and that they only provide a platform,” a spokesperson for Erdan told The Times of Israel. “That is not going to wash. We are planning to put a stop to this irresponsibility, and we are going to do it as part of an international coalition that has had enough of this behavior as well.”
Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan arrives at the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem, January 3, 2016. (Alex Kolomoisky/POOL)
On Sunday, Erdan introduced the idea of building an international legal coalition to take action against social media platforms if they do not proactively prevent the use of their systems to upload videos, songs, photos, and other content that inspire would-be terrorists to pick up knives, guns, rocks, and other weapons to attack Israelis.
At the weekly cabinet meeting, Erdan presented ministers with an “index of incitement,” showing a correlation between instances of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic content posted by Palestinians, and the level of violence by Palestinians against Israelis.
Innumerable posts, videos and tweets have extolled the virtues of attacking Israelis in the ongoing terror wave, with terror groups and private individuals posting incitement, songs hailing the terrorists, and instructional videos telling them how best to attack. In several cases, attackers have posted their own messages ahead of such attacks.
There were numerous things Israel could do to combat the phenomenon, said Erdan. In a statement Sunday, Erdan said that he “intended to methodically expose the Palestinian culture of incitement among relevant communities around the world.”
Among Erdan’s proposals for action: Linking a reduction in incitement to assistance provided by Israel or other parties to the Palestinian Authority; publicizing the link between incitement, both by individual Palestinians and the Authority itself, to violence against Israelis; and developing legislation in Israel and abroad to prosecute social media platforms for failing to keep calls for violence and hateful materials off their platforms.
Erdan’s plan, said his spokesperson, calls for developing legislation in conjunction with European countries, most of which “are very interested in this idea. The legislation would have common features, such as defining what constitutes incitement and what the responsibilities of social networks regarding it are. Companies that do not comply will find themselves hauled into court, paying a penalty.”
The participating countries would be part of a loose coalition that would keep an eye on content and where it was being posted, and members of the coalition would work to demand that the platforms remove the content that was posted in any of their countries at the request of members.
“This is a perfectly logical and just project,” Erdan’s spokesperson said. “If a hotel was being used as a venue for a hate group, we would demand that the hotel break its contract, and we would lean on other hotels to abstain from hosting them, so that the hate group would not be able to hold its event. This is no different.”
Erdan’s proposal came weeks after the son of a Jerusalem man killed in a terror attack urged lawmakers to do more to quash social media incitement. Richard Lakin, a US-born teacher and peace activist, was shot and seriously wounded on October 13, and died of his injuries two weeks later. His son, Micah Avni, has been campaigning against social media incitement, with Lakin named as lead plaintiff in a 20,000-complainant-strong lawsuit against Facebook.
At a Knesset hearing in November, Avni argued that social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, virtually inhabited by millions of people every day, should be thought of as countries or continents. It would follow, he said, that it is necessary to regulate social media in the same way that nations regulate other areas such as finance, transportation, communication, broadcast, healthcare, and food.
Lawyers respond
Reaction to Erdan proposal from attorneys who spoke to The Times of Israel was mixed. One attorney involved in the highest echelons of the Internet business in Israel asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of her position. She said the terms of service of social media platforms protect them from prosecution.
“The point of social media platforms is to provide a forum for users to express themselves,” said the attorney. “We wouldn’t want them to micromanage every bit of data that we post, and we probably don’t want the admins at Facebook and Twitter reading or looking at all the images we post, either,” she added.
“In addition, this would be next to impossible to pull off technologically,” the attorney continued. “How would the site know when something negative was uploaded? And even if such a law were passed, the platform might decide that it is just not worth the trouble to do business in the country where they are being prosecuted – like Israel – and just shut off access to their platform altogether. Is that what we really want?”
Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Israel Law Center disagreed, however. Actually, she said, “that is exactly why Erdan is seeking a coalition.”
It turns out that Israel already has in place the legislation needed to prosecute Facebook and other social media sites for anti-Semitic content; a law that allows Israel to prosecute anti-Semites who threaten the existence or welfare of the Jewish people has been on the books for decades. That law, she said, could be used to prosecute social media networks that do not do enough to prevent anti-Israel or anti-Jewish incitement.
But if Israel goes it alone, “then they might decide to cut off ties with us,” said Darshan-Leitner. “That is why Erdan is seeking to build this international coalition. There’s safety in numbers; if Facebook et al. know they are going to have to face the music in a dozen countries, they will be much more amenable to being proactive on this matter than if they were just contending with Israel.”
Darshan-Leitner said she thinks Erdan’s idea will succeed. “While we are perhaps the biggest sufferers of Arab incitement, we are not the only ones. The Europeans, after all, have in recent years been given devastating tastes of what that incitement can lead to — in the terror attacks in Marseille, Paris, Toulouse; in the stream of Muslims in Sweden identifying with IS, and many other incidents and attacks, large and small.
“This is not about freedom of speech,” said Darshan-Leitner. “It’s long ago been established that yelling ‘fire’ in a movie theater is a prosecutable offense. You are free to say what you want, but when what you say leads to damages – much less murder – that’s a different story altogether.”
Twitter and Youtube could not be reached for comment for this piece. In a statement, Facebook said that “we regularly work with safety organisations and policy makers around the world to ensure that people know how to keep safe when using Facebook. There is no place for content encouraging violence, direct threats, terrorism or hate speech on our platform.
“This is a community of over 1.5 billion people, including more than 4 million people in Israel, with clear rules. We have a set of Community Standards to help people understand what is allowed on Facebook, and we urge people to use our reporting tools if they find content that they believe violates these standards, so we can investigate and take swift action. We look forward to continuing dialogue with the government about these issues,” the statement added.
Zero Hedge
Paul Craig Roberts: Killary Will Be The Last US President
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/29/2016
Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,
As Our Past Wars Are Glorified This Memorial Day Weekend, Give Some Thought To Our Prospects Against The Russians And Chinese In World War III
The Saker reports that Russia is preparing for World War III, not because Russia intends to initiate aggression but because Russia is alarmed by the hubris and arrogance of the West, by the demonization of Russia, by provocative military actions by the West, by American interference in the Russian province of Chechnya and in former Russian provinces of Ukraine and Georgia, and by the absence of any restraint from Western Europe on Washington’s ability to foment war.
Like Steven Starr, Stephen Cohen, myself, and a small number of others, the Saker understands the reckless irresponsibility of convincing Russia that the United States intends to attack her.
It is extraordinary to see the confidence that many Americans place in their military’s ability. After 15 years the US has been unable to defeat a few lightly armed Taliban, and after 13 years the situation in Iraq remains out of control. This is not very reassuring for the prospect of taking on Russia, much less the strategic alliance between Russia and China. The US could not even defeat China, a Third World country at the time, in Korea 60 years ago.
Americans need to pay attention to the fact that “their” government is a collection of crazed stupid fools likely to bring vaporization to the United States and all of Europe.
Russian weapons systems are far superior to American ones. American weapons are produced by private companies for the purpose of making vast profits. The capability of the weapons is not the main concern. There are endless cost overruns that raise the price of US weapons into outer space.
The F-35 fighter, which is less capable than the F-15 it is supposed to replace, costs between $148 million and $337 million per fighter, depending on whether it is an Air Force, Marine Corps, or Navy model.
A helmet for a F-35 pilot costs $400,000, more than a high end Ferrari.
(Washington forces or bribes hapless Denmark into purchasing useless and costly F-35)
It is entirely possible that the world is being led to destruction by nothing more than the greed of the US military-security complex. Delighted that the reckless and stupid Obama regime has resurrected the Cold War, thus providing a more convincing “enemy” than the hoax terrorist one, the “Russian threat” has been restored to its 20th century role of providing a justification for bleeding the American taxpayer, social services, and the US economy dry in behalf of profits for armament manufacturers.
However, this time Washington’s rhetoric accompanying the revived Cold War is far more reckless and dangerous, as are Washington’s actions, than during the real Cold War. Previous US presidents worked to defuse tensions. The Obama regime has inflated tensions with lies and reckless provocations, which makes it far more likely that the new Cold War will turn hot. If Killary gains the White House, the world is unlikely to survive her first term.
All of America’s wars except the first—the war for independence—were wars for Empire. Keep that fact in mind as you hear the Memorial Day bloviations about the brave men and women who served our country in its times of peril. The United States has never been in peril, but Washington has delivered peril to numerous other countries in its pursuit of hegemony over others.
Today for the first time in its history the US faces peril as a result of Washington’s attempts to assert hegemony over Russia and China.
Russia and China are not impressed by Washington’s arrogance, hubris, and stupidity. Moreover, these two countries are not the native American Plains Indians, who were starved into submission by the Union Army’s slaughter of the buffalo.
They are not the tired Spain of 1898 from whom Washington stole Cuba and the Philippines and called the theft a “liberation.”
They are not small Japan whose limited resources were spread over the vastness of the Pacific and Asia.
They are not Germany already defeated by the Red Army before Washington came to the war.
They are not Granada, Panama, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, or the various Latin American countries that General Smedley Butler said the US Marines made safe for “the United Fruit Company” and “some lousy bank investment.”
An insouciant American population preoccupied with selfies and delusions of military prowess, while its crazed government picks a fight with Russia and China, has no future.
ANTIWAR.com
NATO in Montenegro: Securing the Rear Before Barbarossa II?
by Nebojsa Malic, May 28, 2016
The strategic importance of Montenegro is inversely proportional to its size. With it, NATO will have full control of the Adriatic Sea, finish the encirclement of Serbia, and be emboldened to pursue a more aggressive stance towards Russia.
Last week, the government of Montenegro signed a protocol on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. If ratified by the Alliance’s other 28 members – and it will be – the membership may become a formality by the end of this year. While the country has a population fewer than 700,000 and no more than 1,500 members of the military, the reason NATO wants Montenegro is not its military might, but in equal measures strategic location and symbolism.
Geographically speaking, the country is a natural fortress, and could be held against an invading force by a much smaller number of defenders, Thermopylae-style. That is precisely what the Montenegrin Army did at Mojkovac in 1916, protecting the flank of the retreating Serbian Army against a numerically superior Austro-Hungarian force.
Then there is the symbolism part. Back in the 15th century, even after they successfully overran the Serbian principalities of the central Balkans and advanced on Vienna, the Ottoman Turks found that they could never fully subjugate the mountain clans of Montenegro. After trying many times and failing, they settled for exacting tribute instead. This enabled the small Orthodox Serb community to preserve their faith, culture and memories – until their statehood could be resurrected in the 1800s. The Prince-Bishops of Montenegro were a loyal ally of Imperial Russia, to the point of declaring war on Japan in 1904 in solidarity with the Tsar.
Montenegro united with Serbia in 1918, and soon thereafter became part of the Kingdom of South Slavs, later known as Yugoslavia. It stayed in the union with Serbia even after Yugoslavia was dismembered by the EU and NATO in the early 1990s. It, too, was bombed by NATO airplanes in 1999, when the Alliance attacked Yugoslavia in support of the ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. When NATO sought to drive a wedge between Serbia and Montenegro by sparing the latter, the following graffiti appeared in the city of Niksic: “Bomb us too, we’re not lepers.”
Yet the leader of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, decided to switch allegiances after that war. Having come to power in 1989 as a fierce supporter of union with Serbia, he reinvented himself a decade later into the biggest anti-Serb in the former Yugoslavia, a fairly daunting task.
Djukanovic aided the US-backed activists in their October 2000 coup that seized power in Belgrade, arguing that Montenegro’s suddenly-discovered problems with Serbia were due to a deficit of democracy. Within months, however, he was campaigning for independence. NATO and the EU were happy to oblige. They first negotiated an agreement between Montenegro and Serbia, abolishing the very name of Yugoslavia and proclaiming a “State Union.” Within three years, right on script, Djukanovic called a referendum on independence.
A video surfaced of Djukanovic agents openly buying votes, persuading people to “break their minds” and vote yes. Tens of thousands of Montenegrins living in Serbia were disenfranchised, while buses and charter jets of ‘Bosnians’ and ‘Kosovars’ were brought in. On May 21, 2006, the separatists won by fewer than 2,000 votes, or 0.5 percent. The US-controlled government of Serbia shrugged and accepted the outcome.
Djukanovic proceeded to turn Montenegro into a virulently anti-Serb society, establishing a new “Orthodox Church,” proclaiming a new language, and essentially redacting all mention of the country’s Serb identity from history books and literature. The crowning achievement of this ‘identity change’ would be membership in NATO and the EU.
The regime in Belgrade, which oscillates madly between practical submission to NATO and gestures of eternal friendship towards Russia, doesn’t appear too concerned about Montenegro’s membership in the aggressive military bloc. Neither, for that matter, does Moscow.
“This is their personal matter, it’s their personal choice. It’s up to them to decide on this. If they think that this will benefit their national security, then this is so,” is how Yevgeny Lukyanov, Deputy Secretary of Russian Security Council, commented on Montenegro’s NATO membership to reporters on Monday, according to TASS.
Is it? So, one supposes, was the choice faced by Regent-Prince Pavle Karadjordjevic of Yugoslavia in March 1941, when Hitler and Mussolini pressured him to join the Tripartite Pact, promising safety in the Axis rear. Traumatized by the bloodbath of WW1, his government signed the pact, only to be overthrown in a coup two days later. The enraged Hitler – who needed the Balkans pacified before he could launch his invasion of the Soviet Union – ordered Yugoslavia “wiped off the map,” postponing Operation Barbarossa from mid-May to late June. The end of that particular story was commemorated on May 9 – though hardly by any NATO members, one should note.
Yugoslavia was literally decimated, and the USSR lost almost 27 million people fighting the Nazis, only for the modern map of Europe to look eerily like it did in 1942. Many of Hitler’s allies then are NATO members now, and German troops are once again in artillery range of Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg). Having secured Montenegro and expecting no resistance from “softly” occupied Serbia, NATO may be emboldened to act even more aggressively towards Russia. This is madness, of course, but there is an alarming lack of sanity in Brussels and Washington these days.
That is why Montenegro matters.
This originally appeared on Russia Today.
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STRATEGIC CULTURE
Europe Revolts Against Russian Sanctions
FINIAN CUNNINGHAM | 26.05.2016 | OPINION
From ministerial offices to barricades on the streets, Europe is in open revolt against anti-Russian sanctions which have cost workers and businesses millions of jobs and earnings. Granted, the contentious issues are wider than anti-Russian sanctions. However, the latter are entwined with growing popular discontent across the EU.
Germany’s vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel is among the latest high-profile politicians to have come out against the sanctions stand-off between the European Union and Russia.
At stake is not just a crisis in the economy, of which the anti-Russian sanctions are symptomatic. It is further manifesting in a political crisis that is challenging the very legitimacy of EU governments and the bloc’s institutional existence. The issue is not so much about merely trying to normalize EU-Russian relations. But rather more about preserving the EU from an existential public backlash against anti-democratic and discredited authorities.
Gabriel, who also serves as Germany’s economy minister, said that relations between the EU and Moscow must be quickly normalized. And he called for the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed since early 2014 as a result of the dubious Ukraine conflict. The EU followed Washington’s policy of slapping sanctions on Russia after accusing Moscow of «annexing» Crimea and interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs. The charges against Russia are tenuous at best and are far removed from the mundane pressing concerns of ordinary EU citizens, who are being made to bear a heavy economic price for a stand-off that seems unduly politicized, if not wholly unwarranted.
Russia responded to the sweeping sanctions by implementing counter-measures banning exports from the EU and the US. The stand-off has hit the European economies hardest, with the Austrian Institute of Economic Research estimating that the trade war will cost the EU over €100 billion in business and up to 2.5 million in jobs. By contrast, the US has scarcely felt a pinch from the trade impasse.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy with the largest trade links to Russia, has suffered most from the sanctions rift. Up to 30,000 German businesses are invested in Russia, amounting to as many as half a million jobs in danger and €30 billion in lost revenues, according to the Austrian Institute of Economic Research.
In one German state alone, Saxony-Anhalt, the local economy minister Jorg Felgner says that exports to Russia have been slashed by 40 per cent, with the loss of €200 million to his state. Felgner is among the growing chorus of EU voices who are calling for the anti-Russian sanctions to be lifted when the EU convenes in July to decide on whether to extend its embargo or not.
The EU has been reviewing its sanctions policy on Russia every six months since 2014. To extend the measures, a unanimous decision is required among all 28 member states. It looks increasingly unlikely that the EU will maintain its hitherto unanimity. It can be safely assumed that if Brussels were to end the sanctions, then Moscow will respond in kind to promptly resume normal trade with the bloc.
In addition to the country’s vice chancellor, Germany’s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also expressed disquiet with the ongoing EU-Russian tensions stemming from the sanctions. Steinmeier noted that «resistance to anti-Russian sanctions is growing across the EU.
He also reiterated dismay over a fundamental contradiction in EU policy objectives. How can we expect Russia’s help in solving the Syrian crisis while at the same time imposing economic sanctions on Russia? asked Steinmeier.
It’s not just Germany that is growing leery with the deterioration in relations with Russia. Hungary and Italy, which have also strong historic trade ties with Russia, are increasingly opposed to the EU’s policy towards Moscow, according to a recent Newsweek report.
Added to the maligned mix is Greece. The country’s six-year economic crisis has been greatly exacerbated by the loss of a once-bustling agricultural export business to Russia. The country’s finance minister Dimitrios Mardas attributed major losses specifically to the anti-Russian sanctions, which have piled on fiscal deficits to the teetering Greek economy. Greece is no isolated problem. It threatens to undermine the whole EU from its chronic bankruptcy.
In France, the National Assembly’s Lower House voted last week by 55 to 44 votes to end the EU sanctions on Russia. The vote is non-binding on the government of President Francois Hollande. Nevertheless, it demonstrates the growing popular opposition to what is widely seen as a self-defeating policy of trade antagonism with Russia.
The cancellation last year by the Hollande government of the Mistral dual helicopter-ship contract with Moscow epitomizes the self-inflicted pain on French workers. The cancellation – cajoled by Washington – cost the French government revenues of over €1.5 billion and has put thousands of shipyard jobs at risk. Paris claims to have since directed the ships’ order to Egypt, but that remains doubtful.
The economic losses from anti-Russian sanctions have rebounded severely on French farmers too. Dairy, meat, vegetable and fruit exports to the once lucrative Russian market have been pummeled. Hollande recently vowed to release €500 million in state aid to placate angry farmers. The absurdity is not lost on the French agricultural sector that such state handouts would not be necessary if the Hollande government hadn’t sabotaged Russian markets in the first place by following US hostility towards Moscow, as in the case of the Mistral fiasco.
France’s economic problems, as with the rest of Europe, are not entirely related to the downturn in relations with Russia. But there seems little doubt that the issues intersect and are compounded. And the public knows that.
Hollande – the most unpopular French president since the Second World War – is ramming through draconian labor reforms. The president and his truculent prime minister Manuel Valls claim that the retrenchment of workers’ rights will boost the economy and reduce France’s soaring unemployment rate of 10 per cent nationally and 25 per among French youth.
In opposition to the French government’s deeply unpopular assault on workers’ rights, the country is to observe nationwide strikes this week. The protests have been going on now for several months and seem set to escalate, as Hollande’s administration digs its heels in and refuses to relent.
Among students and farmers joining France’s nationwide strike are workers in the transport sectors of road haulage, rail, shipping and airports. With exports to Russia slashed due to the French government-backing of EU sanctions, the transport sectors are among the hardest hit. The Hollande government’s attempt to force through labor cuts, purportedly to reinvigorate the economy, is seen as it trying to offload responsibility for economic woes on to workers and businesses. If Hollande did not pick a fight with Russia – at Washington’s goading – then the country’s economy wouldn’t be under such duress.
Across Europe, the popular revolt against economic austerity is bound up with the EU’s self-defeating sanctions on Russia. And it is leading to a crisis of authority among EU governments who are held with increasing disdain by their citizens. More enlightened political leaders like Germany’s vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel and foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are obviously aware of the geopolitical connection that citizens are making.
As Europe’s economic crisis deepens, the policy of anti-Russian sanctions is tantamount to the EU cutting off its nose to spite its face. The growing public disaffection is also fueling the electoral rise of anti-EU political parties in Germany, France, Britain, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and other member states.
Mainstream EU parties like the ruling coalition government in Berlin realize that the EU’s trade war with Russia is simply becoming untenable. It is an ideologically driven and dubious antagonism that the EU can ill-afford. That policy speaks to EU citizens of a political leadership that is losing legitimacy from its fundamentally wrongheaded and anti-democratic governance. As well as from slavish pandering to American hegemonic ambitions.
Brussels, in following Washington’s hostility to Moscow, is inflicting further economic pain on the bloc’s 500 million citizens. Something has to give way if Europe is not to implode, or explode, from popular fury. Normalizing relations with Russia is not the whole solution to Europe’s economic and political crises. But such a move would certainly alleviate. And is long overdue.
EU governments are thus facing a stark choice. Are they to continue on the path of destruction at Washington’s reckless behest, or can they find an independent policy of pursuing mutual relations with Russia? Undoing the crass anti-Russian sanctions is taking on an urgency – before such a policy leads to the undoing of the EU itself.
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Natural News
The end of chemical medicine: Superbug discovered in America that resists ALL known antibiotics... blind faith in failed pharma will soon cost you your life
Monday, May 30, 2016 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger NaturalNews) It's always interesting to study how civilizations collapse and eras of seemingly great human ingenuity come crashing to an end. Since the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Flemming in 1928, the chemical medicine industry has promised humanity that all our ills will be cured by prescription medications. We've been promised that cancer, diabetes, heart disease and even Alzheimer's will all be cured once the pharmaceutical industry finally discovers the correct chemicals for treatment. But today, we've come to realize that Big Pharma's chemicals aren't curing us... they've just DOOMED us.
Superbugs are antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They're immune to Big Pharma's chemicals, in other words, and they come into existence because of the over-prescription of existing antibiotics. If you attack bacteria with chemicals for long enough, the bacteria develop biological immunity to the chemical. It happens automatically, and it's part of Mother Nature's survival problem solving at the cellular level. The problem, of course, is that it only takes one mutation to render an entire antibiotic drug obsolete.
As bacteria become more and more resilient to Big Pharma's toxic chemicals, the medical efficacy of antibiotic drugs collapses, one by one. Big Pharma's chemicals fall like dominoes, overrun by the molecular ingenuity of Mother Nature. To prevent a "superbug apocalypse," drug companies and hospitals have kept one chemical in reserve: colistin, a "last ditch defense" against superbugs. This is the drug that's used when everything else fails... it's the very last option when a patient is being literally eaten alive by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Today we've just learned that colistin is now obsolete, too. A 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania was just found to be carrying a colistin-resistant infection, reports Raygano.com. The same story has been carried across the mainstream media.
What this means is that the era of chemical antibiotics has now reached its inevitable end. Big Pharma can no longer save you from the infections it brought into existence.
Obedient followers of Big Pharma's useless chemicals will die by the millions
This development is more than just a game changer. It's a medical apocalypse. It means that if this colistin-resistant superbug goes pandemic, millions of people will die from infections while pharma's obedient doctors stand around twiddling their thumbs, wondering what happened.
What happened, of course, is that the giants of chemical medicine -- Big Pharma -- spent the last five decades cashing in on the sales of the very same antibiotic drugs that gave rise to this medical apocalypse. They profited handsomely from pushing antibiotics even when people didn't need them, and doctors were routinely bribed to maximize their patient prescriptions.
Everybody cashed in: the drug companies, pharmacies and doctors. But all the while, determined microorganisms were quietly and systematically defeating all known antibiotic drugs. Such drugs are very easy to defeat, by the way, for the simple reason that they are isolated, purified chemicals. It's hard to defeat natural antibiotics (such as garlic) because they contain a vast array of plant-based molecules. This allows natural antibiotics to attack cells from multiple biological vectors all at the same time. But isolated pharma chemicals are not sophisticated. They "carpet bomb" the patient's body with a heavy dose of a single chemical. As a result, bacteria easily develop defenses against those chemicals.
As a result of all this, we now live in a world where the hospital is probably the most dangerous place to find yourself in modern society. You can be killed by a colonoscopy! Not from the procedure itself, but from the fact that unclean probing instruments often deposit deadly superbugs into your body, where they multiply and kill patients by the thousands.
According to Pharma Death Clock, over 1.2 million people die each year from hospital infections. An astonishing 377,000 die from superbug infections, and with the discovery of a colistin-resistant strain in the USA, that number is about to get much larger. Not only are hospitals the most likely place to contract such a deadly infection; it's also the place where everybody who works there is utterly ignorant of REAL antibiotics that kill superbugs.
REAL antibiotics come from nature, and nothing is immune
What are REAL antibiotics? They're the multi-faceted, plant-based medicines that the entire corrupt industry of pharmaceuticals and medicine has deliberately ignored in order to protect their own profits. Yet plant-based antibiotics are the most powerful in the world, and they work on every bacterial strain yet discovered.
Even the very first antibiotic -- penicillin -- was discovered to have been synthesized by nature. The chemical was created by mold, not by Man. And it's just one of literally millions of unique chemical compounds created by Mother Nature that can kill superbugs.
Even common plants such as garlic and ginger exhibit powerful antibacterial properties, and natural antibacterial solutions made from silver or copper are extremely effective against nearly all known bacteriological strains. Yet hospitals in America refuse to use these simple, effective substances for the simple reason that they can't be patented and sold at 50,000% mark-ups. So they are abandoned by the medical industry... and patients die by the hundreds of thousands as a result.
Here's something I believe: As superbugs take over our hospitals, those who have blind faith in the useless chemicals of the pharmaceutical industry will pay for that misplaced belief with their lives. Those who survive the superbugs will be the people who turn to natural antibiotics and reject their ignorant, pharma-whored physicians.
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Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions
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