The Ukrainian-Russian Ceasefire … Prelude for Another War?
Deutsche Welle wrote on September 5:
“Under this military pressure, Kyiv agreed to a ceasefire… Ukraine had no choice. In fact, it capitulated to Russia’s superiority. Russia’s role is now far too great, with tanks, rockets and more and more new soldiers. The cynical and dishonest Kremlin continues to deny this is the case. But that it continues to lead the war in Ukraine is now well documented. Russian soldiers were captured and the fallen are buried in Russian cemeteries. Braver elements of the Russian media and the Union of the Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers of Russia have now reported it even inside Russia.
“With the ceasefire, Ukrainian President Poroshenko made a decision under duress… Russia demands a high price: the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk will remain in the hands of the separatists… This moves Moscow one step closer to its goal:… the region will in the long run remain outside the control of Kyiv…
“Many Ukrainians were disappointed. Some regard Poroshenko and his government’s orientation towards Europe as the wrong choice, and that the Kremlin may be in the right…
“For the separatists and the Russian special forces, the ceasefire means a first respite. They can now consolidate their positions. And they can regroup, perhaps for an attack on other areas in eastern Ukraine. Therein lies the great danger, if it proves impossible to transform the ceasefire into a permanent truce.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin may have already given the go-ahead for further attacks. He recently questioned the statehood of Ukraine. He brought up the notion of ‘Novorossiya’ (New Russia), a vast area that could reach from Donetsk and Luhansk to Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa. This area was conquered by the Russian Empire during the 18th century war with the Ottoman Empire, but was never an independent state. Above all, Putin may want to create a corridor to the annexed Crimean peninsula, which can currently only be reached from Russia by sea or air…
“Some Ukrainians are already talking about treason and collusion between the West and Moscow, because Europe and the US have left them virtually alone militarily… [Ukraine is] at war with Russia. And the ceasefire hasn’t changed this predicament.”
Ultimately, Russia and Ukraine will join forces and collaborate against continental Europe. However, in the meantime, it was reported in the German press (by Stern and Bild), on September 6, 2014, that the “cease-fire,” which started Friday evening, was already broken and fighting resumed on Saturday, with Ukrainians and Russian separatists blaming each other. Further incidents happened subsequently as well. The occasional reports in the press that the cease fire was “holding” are therefore not completely accurate.
More European Economic Sanctions Against Russia
The EUobserver wrote on September 11:
“Poland and Slovakia have said gas supplies from Russia are down, as the EU prepares to impose new sanctions… Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary are involved in shipping “reverse-flow” gas to Ukraine after Russia cut off Ukraine gas in a price dispute…
“Gazprom’s reductions come the same week the EU adopted a new round of economic sanctions against Russia following its invasion of east Ukraine. Some EU states had wanted to wait and see if a ceasefire deal with Russia holds before implementing the new measures. But EU Council chief Herman Van Rompuy announced on Thursday that they will enter into life the following morning… The Van Rompuy announcement saw the ruble fall to a historic low against the dollar.
“Russia… has threatened to block EU airlines from flying over Siberia to Asia… it also threatened to curb import of used cars, light industry materials, and some textiles.”
The USA announced on September 11 that they will also issue further sanctions against Russia.
NATO United?
Fox News wrote on September 5:
“President Obama on Friday delivered a tacit warning to Russia’s Vladimir Putin amid the unrest in Ukraine, vowing at the close of a NATO summit that the allies will not tolerate an attack on any member nation. ‘An armed attack against one shall be considered an attack against them all. This is a binding treaty obligation. It is non-negotiable,’ Obama said at a press conference…
“The U.S. has effectively ruled out military action in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member…”
It will still have to be seen what NATO will do if or when a NATO member is being attacked.
Germany’s Future Role
The Local wrote on September 5:
“The Western defensive alliance agreed on Friday to the creation of a ‘spearhead’ force to deter possible Russian aggression against its Eastern members. It will consist of between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers and be capable of deploying within two to three days. Weapons, vehicles and equipment will be stockpiled in countries where they might be deployed, allowing the troops to travel light.
“Six German Eurofighter interceptors have been patrolling the Baltic Sea since September 1. Germany has also promised to send 60 more soldiers to Nato’s eastern headquarters in Stettin, Poland. Integrating German soldiers into the Nato ‘spearhead’ may be difficult, as the Bundestag has to approve any deployment of military forces overseas, a process which usually takes longer than a few days…
“Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry convened a meeting of a ‘core coalition’ of 10 nations on Friday to discuss tactics to fight terror group Isis on the sidelines of the conference. The coalition, which includes Germany, will need to ‘prevent [Isis] from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own,’ Kerry said.
“Germany has already begun delivering military supplies, vehicles and weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq, who have found themselves on the front lines of Isis’ rapid territorial expansion.”
Bild Online speculated on September 5 that Germany’s new military role might necessitate the reinstitution of the draft.
The New NATO Spearhead Force—Mixed Feelings in Eastern Europe
The Associated Press wrote on September 6:
“Leaders in most Eastern European nations are just short of jubilant after NATO created a rapid-reaction ‘spearhead’ force to protect the region from Russian bullying… But not all share in the joy. Some who spent decades under the Soviet yoke — politicians and ordinary people — think that the move could enrage Moscow and undermine the sense of security they have felt since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO in the 1990s…
“Poland’s former ambassador to NATO, Jerzy Maria Nowak, believes that NATO’s decisions may be a comfort for some, but ‘for Russia they may be a provocation and a violation of the agreements’ it has with NATO…
“In Romania, which borders Russia across the Black Sea, reaction to NATO’s spear-shaking was also divided… Valerica Stefanescu, 57, who runs a small café on the sea front in the resort of Mamaia said everyone was ‘worried about the situation in Ukraine… But we don’t want to see more military presence on the Black Sea, we’d feel like it was war’…
“Nearby, retired mechanical engineer, Niculae Oprea, 66, drew an even gloomier picture. ‘[President Traian] Basescu will get us into a war, we are too small compared to Putin, who didn’t even bat an eyelid with Crimea. The sanctions aren’t hurting him. You saw how he placed an embargo and now you have fruit and vegetables rotting in Europe. The Russian bear won’t let us off lightly… He will turn off the gas and we will go to Russia crying and on our knees.’”
Russian Nuclear Pre-Emptive Strike on USA?
Newsmax reported on September 4:
“A Russian defense minister wants his country’s official military doctrine rewritten to allow for a pre-emptive nuclear attack against the United States and NATO, the Russian-language news agency Interfax reports.
“Russian Army Gen. Yury Yakubov said the doctrine, last revised in 2010, should be updated to classify the United States and other NATO countries as the ‘main enemy’ of Russia, Interfax reported on Wednesday…
“Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday told children at a Kremlin-sponsored youth camp, ‘I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers.’”
Russia will not attack the USA prior to Christ’s return, but rumors of a Russian attack on Europe will prompt a future German leader to launch a pre-emptive strike against Russia.
Terror Attacks in Europe and USA in one or two Months?
The Washington Times wrote on August 30:
“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has a stark warning to America: The Islamic State’s terror will visit American shores in one month if it is not confronted in Syria and Iraq. ‘If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,’ the king said Saturday, Agence France Presse reported.”
Radical Islamists—Not Just a Tiny Minority
Breitbart wrote on September 4:
“Over the weekend, former President Jimmy Carter attended the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) conference in Detroit. There, he assured Muslims that the ‘principles of Allah; were designed to ‘bring peace and justice to all’… Carter isn’t alone… This week, Barack Obama said, ‘ISIL speaks for no religion’… Eric Holder has said that radical Islam is not consistent with the teachings of Islam. For years, George W. Bush assured Americans that Islamic extremists represented but a tiny minority of Muslims…
“American politicians, mostly Christian or atheist, know less about the nature of Islam and Islamic radicalism than members of ISIS… the polls show that Islamic extremism is on the rise… the enemy we face is not a ‘tiny minority’ of Muslims, let alone a rootless philosophy unconnected to Islam entirely…
“A new, widely-covered poll shows that a full 16% of French people have positive attitudes toward ISIS. That includes 27% of French between the ages of 18-24. Anne-Elizabeth Moutet of Newsweek wrote, ‘This is the ideology of young French Muslims from immigrant backgrounds…these are the same people who torch synagogues.’…
“In 2006, a poll for the Sunday Telegraph found that 40% of British Muslims wanted shariah law in the United Kingdom, and that 20% backed the 7/7 bombers. Another poll from that year showed that 45% of British Muslims said that 9/11 was an American/Israeli conspiracy; that poll showed that one-quarter of British Muslims believed that the 7/7 bombings were justified…
“A poll in 2011 showed that 32% of Palestinians supported the brutal murder of five Israeli family members, including a three-month-old baby. In 2009, a poll showed that 78% of Palestinians had positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. A 2013 poll showed 40% of Palestinians supporting suicide bombings and attacks against civilians. 89% favored sharia law. Currently, 89% of Palestinians support terror attacks on Israel.
“After the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the Gilani Foundation did a poll of Pakistanis and found that 51% of them grieved for the terrorist mastermind, with 44% of them stating that he was a martyr. In 2009, 26% of Pakistanis approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq. That number was 29% for troops in Afghanistan. Overall, 76% of Pakistanis wanted strict shariah law in every Islamic country…
“A 2009 poll showed that 68% of Moroccans approved of terrorist attacks on US troops in Iraq; 61% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan as of 2006. 76% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country…
“72% of Jordanians backed terror attacks against US troops in Iraq as of 2009. In 2010, the terrorist group Hezbollah had a 55% approval rating; Hamas had a 60% approval rating…
“In 2009, a poll demonstrated that 26% of Indonesians approved of attacks on US troops in Iraq; 22% backed attacks on American troops in Afghanistan. 65% said they agreed with Al Qaeda on pushing US troops out of the Middle East. 49% said they supported strict sharia law in every Islamic country. 70% of Indonesians blamed 9/11 on the United States, Israel, someone else, or didn’t know. Just 30% said Al Qaeda was responsible…
“As of 2009, 87% of Egyptians said they agreed with the goals of Al Qaeda in forcing the US to withdraw forces from the Middle East. 65% said they wanted strict sharia law in every Islamic country. As of that same date, 69% of Egyptians said they had either positive or mixed feelings about Osama Bin Laden. In 2010, 95% of Egyptians said it was good that Islam is playing a major role in politics…
“In short, tens of millions of Muslims all over the world sympathize with the goals or tactics of terrorist groups – or both. That support is stronger outside the West, but it is present even in the West. Islamist extremism is not a passing or fading phenomenon – it is shockingly consistent over time…”
The concept that the “Holy Koran” –which was allegedly handed by the archangel Gabriel to Mohammed–preaches a peaceful way of life is an illusion. The Koran was not delivered through Gabriel, and Islam under its prophet Mohammed and his successors and different factions (Sunni and Shia) was a warrior religion from its very inception. Note the next article.
“Terrorizing the Enemy Part of Islam”
Newsmax wrote on September 5:
“A British imam gave a television interview this week in which he defended acts of terror, including the beheading of foreign journalists, as consistent with the teachings of the Koran, Breitbart News blogger John Sexton reported.
“London-based cleric Anjem Choudary told Russia Today that ‘terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam’ in an interview with the English-language RT news program, ‘Worlds Apart.’
“Choudary cited a passage of the Koran that calls for Muslims to use ‘steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah.’ ‘So terrorizing the enemy is in fact part of Islam,’ Choudary said. ‘I mean this is something that we must embrace and understand as far as the jurisprudence of Islam is concerned.’
“Sexton wrote that, ‘Choudary went on to say that Muslims make no distinction between civilians and armed forces since civilians elect the leaders who direct the armed forces.’ Choudary, also a lawyer who lectures on Sharia law, headed an Islamic group, Al Muhajiroun, which was banned in the United Kingdom.”
President Obama said in his speech on September 10 that ISIS or ISIL is not a religion and does not represent Islam. He said this: “ISIL is not ‘Islamic.’ No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL’s victims have been Muslim.” In light of the foregoing articles and a correct understanding of Islam, the President’s statements are clearly erroneous. ISIL is a radical Sunni group. ISIS murdered Shiites and those more liberal Sunnis who do not agree with ISIS. But that does not disqualify ISIS as being Islamic.
President Obama Pushes for War
The Washington Post wrote on September 11:
“Nearly six years into a presidency devoted to ending U.S. wars in the Muslim world, President Obama faced the nation Wednesday night to explain why he has decided to engage in a new one…
“Obama’s escalation of airstrikes and the use of U.S. personnel to help ‘degrade and destroy’ the extremist Sunni group represents a major setback for [the] commander in chief…”
Germany and Britain Will Not Participate in Airstrikes Against Syria
Deutsche Welle reported on September 11:
“German and British foreign ministers said on Thursday that their countries would not participate in airstrikes in Syria. The statements were in response to an address the previous day by US President Barack Obama that the US planned to expand its military campaign against the ‘Islamic State’ (IS)…
“Meanwhile on Thursday, the Syrian government criticized the US military campaign against IS militants within Syrian territory… Russia, the closest ally of Syrian President Assad’s government, also slammed the US’ strategy saying it would be a blatant violation of international law.”
USA in Cahoots with Iran?
The Washington Post wrote on September 5:
“The urgent fight to keep Islamic State forces from taking over more of Iraq has led the Obama administration to tolerate, and in some cases even approve, things it once would have loudly protested.
“When Iraqi Shiite militias, backed by Iran and long branded illegal by the administration, retook the town of Amerli from the Sunni Muslim militants last week, U.S. officials breathed a sigh of relief…
“Farther north, Kurdish fighters have occupied the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a prize the Kurds have long claimed but which lies outside the borders — recognized by both Baghdad and Washington — of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan region. Far from insisting the fighters withdraw, the administration is glad that someone is defending the city from the Islamic State…
“It is not, as one administration official said with significant understatement, an ideal situation, and there is widespread recognition that facts are being created on the ground that are likely to cause problems in the future…
“While the administration has acknowledged discussing the Iraqi crisis with Iranian officials on the margins of separate talks about Iran’s nuclear program, ‘we do not coordinate military action or share intelligence with Iran and have no plans to do so,’ National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Friday… Asked whether there was a role for Iran in the international coalition the administration is forming to fight the militants in Iraq and ultimately in Syria, a senior administration official this week said, ‘I don’t know.’ But, the official acknowledged, ‘they already . . . have a role on the ground.’
“Iranian contributions have extended beyond weapons and advisers to the Shiite militias. Despite Tehran’s concerns about separatism within its own Kurdish community, it ‘was the first country to provide us with weapons and ammunition’ to fight the militants, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said late last month during a visit of Iran’s foreign minister.
“Iran is also believed to have conducted airstrikes against the Islamic State, U.S. officials said.”
Iran, a Shiite nation, would obviously be opposed to a radical fundamental Sunni group. The idea of collaboration between the USA and Iran is very troublesome. See also the next article.
An Unusual Fragile Alliance
The Washington Post wrote on September 5:
“For weeks, Iraqi Kurdish fighters had joined an unusual alliance to free this dusty highway town besieged by Islamic State fighters. Shiite militias, Iranian trainers and U.S. military pilots had all contributed, finally wresting the city from the Sunni extremists and saving the 15,000 residents from starvation or brutal slayings.
“But on Friday, as the Kurdish pesh merga fighters approached the city to greet the residents they helped save, they were treated less like liberators and more like intruders. ‘Pesh merga forces are not allowed to enter this city!’ yelled a Shiite militiaman with Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi group. He waved his rifle at them and the pesh merga retreated…
“The Obama administration’s strategy in Iraq is predicated on the country’s competing militia groups, as well as its battered army, setting aside their differences over territory, ethnicity and religion to form a grand coalition to battle the radical Sunni members of Islamic State. The aftermath of the fighting in Amerli shows how quickly this hodgepodge of militia forces can turn on each other as they fight for influence and the spoils of battle…
“The U.S. government has largely looked at the Kurds, who live in a semi-autonomous zone in northern Iraq, as a stabilizing force in the region. But the months of fighting are wearing on the pesh merga troops, who have begun to view everyone with distrust. The pesh merga forces — which are divided into two groups that report to the two major Kurdish parties — even suspect each other. Around Amerli, the pesh merga fighters complain that the best weapons from the U.S. government and Iran are going to Kurdish fighters associated with their rival party.
“The Sunnis and Shiites, meanwhile, say the Kurds are using the chaos to grab territory well beyond the Kurdistan region’s traditional borders with an eye to independence…”
UK Sends Heavy Machine Guns to Iraq
BBC News wrote on September 9:
“Heavy machine guns and ammunition are being donated to Iraq to help fight Islamic State militants, the Ministry of Defence says. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the equipment was worth about £1.6m, and there would be an estimated £475,000 in transport costs. He said the UK was committed to aiding the Iraqi government and helping Kurdish forces defend themselves.”
Venezuela Worships Hugo Chavez—Quite Literally
Deutsche Welle reported on September 8:
“‘Our Chavez, who art in heaven’ – Hugo Chavez’s most ardent admirers have been praying to the late Venezuelan leader with presidential support… At a recent congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, an activist actually recited a version of the Lord’s Prayer dedicated to Hugo Chavez, and was joined by hundreds of voices shouting ‘Viva Chavez!’ in place of Amen…
“As expected, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has denounced the use of Chavez’s name and called for respect for Christianity’s most sacred prayer… Less expected, however, at least from a rational perspective, was the reaction of the current Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro… comparing the prayer to the work of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and calling critics ‘new inquisitors’…
“Maduro said during the 2013 presidential campaign that Chavez’s spirit had inspired him in the form of a ‘very little bird’… he spoke of Chavez as a ‘leader who embodied the values of Christ.’…”
Hugo Chavez had been Venezuelan president for 14 years. The leftist leader was a staunch critic of the US. He retains huge popularity among the country’s working classes. Chavez lost his battle with cancer on March 5, 2013, at the age of 58.
Respiratory Illness for Children to Become Nationwide Problem in the USA
ABC News reported on September 7:
“A respiratory illness that has already sickened more than a thousand children in 10 states is likely to become a nationwide problem, doctors say. The disease hasn’t been officially identified but officials suspect a rare respiratory virus called human enterovirus 68… Doctors say they are not even sure yet how this particular virus spreads…
“Dr. Christine Nyquist, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado, said the virus usually ends up appearing similar to a severe cold but can be particularly dangerous for children with asthma because of how it affects the respiratory system… To stay healthy… basic sanitary practices [are recommended] to avoid spreading the virus, including washing hands, avoiding those who are sick, and covering the nose and mouth during sneezes or coughs.”
Meteorite Hits Nicaragua
BBC News reported on September 8:
“A small meteorite landed near the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital, Managua, on Saturday night, government officials say. Residents reported hearing a loud bang and feeling the impact, which left a crater 12m (40ft) wide and 5m deep. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said the meteorite seemed to have broken off an asteroid which was passing close to Earth…
“Astronomer Humberto Saballos said the meteorite could have broken off from the 2014RC asteroid which passed Earth at the same time. 2014RC, which is the size of a house, came closest to earth at 18:18 GMT on Sunday, when it passed over New Zealand at a distance of about 40,000km (25,000 miles).The asteroid was first discovered on 31 August and, at its closest approach, was about one-tenth of the distance from the centre of Earth to the Moon…
“It is expected to orbit near Earth again in the future. In February 2013, a meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk in Central Russia, injuring more than 1,000 people. Nasa currently tracks more than 11,000 asteroids in orbits that pass relatively close to Earth.”
“Dwarf”—Only Existing Animal of Its Kind
The Local wrote on September 5:
“Diederode, near the university town, boasts the world’s only living sheep-goat hybrid, which is now the object of study by scientists.
“Goats and sheep belong to the same sub-family of species, the Caprinae, but almost never produce offspring together. Livestock researcher Professor Christoph Knorr of Göttingen University told Focus that a cross between the two species is an extremely rare case. The animal in Diederode is the only one in the world which has been confirmed by scientists to be a true hybrid.
“Sheep farmer Dirk Pieper called it ‘Dwarf’ as it was so small, he told the Göttinger Tageblatt.”
The fact that even sheep-goat hybrids are extremely rare, even though they belong to “the same sub-family of species,” confirms the scientifically proven fact that a cross between two unrelated species from different families (such as a cross between a bird and a mammal) is impossible. This in turn proves the utter ridiculousness of the concept of the atheistic evolution theory.
Find of Largest Terrestrial Animal—So Far…
The Washington Post wrote on September 4:
“Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains of a new long-necked, long-tailed dinosaur that has taken the crown for largest terrestrial animal with a body mass that can be accurately determined. Measurements of bones from its hind leg and foreleg revealed that the animal was 65 tons, and still growing when it died in the Patagonian hills of Argentina about 77 million years ago. ‘To put this in perspective, an African elephant is about five tons, T. rex is eight tons, Diplodocus is 18 tons, and a Boeing 737 is around 50 tons,’ said study author and paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara at Drexel University. ‘And then you have Dreadnoughtus at 65 tons.’
“Dreadnoughtus, meaning ‘fears nothing,’ is named after the impervious early 20th century battleships. Although it was a plant-eater, a healthy Dreadnoughtus likely had no real issues with predators due to its intimidating size and muscular, weaponized tail… ‘How do you come up with a body size that is so enormous when you’re a terrestrial animal?” said Luis Chiappe, director of the National History Museum of Los Angeles’s Dinosaur Institute, who was not involved in the study. ‘You need to have a structural design that allows you to support a body like that, and you have to be potentially adapted to eat 24 hours a day, nonstop, with a minimal amount of sleep.’
“The huge creature also had a smaller companion, which Lacovara and his colleagues also dug up. Both got caught in quicksand, which is how their bones became so well-preserved… The skeleton of Dreadnoughtus schrani is remarkably complete for a dinosaur of this size — over 70 percent of the bones were dug up, excluding the head…”
Remains of Largest-Known Carnivorous Dinosaur Found
BBC News wrote on September 11:
“A giant fossil, unearthed in the Sahara desert, has given scientists an unprecedented look at the largest-known carnivorous [aquatic] dinosaur: Spinosaurus… Scientists say the beast had flat, paddle-like feet and nostrils on top of its crocodilian head that would allow it to submerge with ease… Spinosaurus aegyptiacus remains were first discovered about 100 years ago in Egypt, and were moved to a museum in Munich, Germany. However, they were destroyed during World War II, when an Allied bomb hit the building…”
These huge dinosaurs did exist long before the creation of man. Please read our current series in our Q&As on whether there were dinosaurs prior to man.
