Reflecting Further

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion… of Iran’s nuclear capability…The second stick is… in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States.

Recently I posted a blog about a Bully… In it I wrote:

If there are any U.S. veterans or current military personnel out there not completely livid with the actions of this Congress to limit our military’s right to defend itself and our Commander in Chief’s right to exercise that military to protect others and America’s interests, I have got to hear from you… I look across the Middle East and I have to ask myself, who has allowed this 3^rd world upstart of a country to gain such bully status? Although it is the second largest country in the Middle East, it is barely larger in square miles than our single state of Alaska!…

Iran has permitted the likes of the Taliban, ISIS, and al Qaeda while building a nuclear capability allied with North Korea, Russia and China.

Here is where we find ourselves on 10 January 2020… Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that ballistic missile attacks targeting U.S. military and coalition forces in Iraq Wednesday morning were “a slap in the face” to the United States.

IRAN – the BULLY in the neighborhood… Why? Because we are allowing it. The ruling Ayatollah and those loyal to him are killing their own people, jailing those who object and it is morally wrong for those in Congress to hamper the legitimate efforts of our military and its Commander in Chief to do everything it can to protect the lives of American soldiers who are in harm’s way, American citizens and private individuals in Iraq and those in Iran who choose to stand against the ruling regime. The Ayatollah has vowed to pursue nuclear weapons with the only goal of striking against America and Israel. At what point will our Congress wake up rather than be ‘woke’?

And I put in this plea: Remember the name of each and every Representative and Senator who has voted to keep our military from being able to defend themselves when you go next to the ballot box.

I’ve been giving a great bit of thought to things even as the circus of impeachment continues and members of Congress are so far out of touch with America and its people, it is scary. There is another side of the Iran issue I think needs to be considered. Here are my ruminations on that subject.

So far I have considered the American side of the coin. We, (the royal we including most Western nations), own a good piece of the blame for allowing Iran to be the bully, to have the military, to threaten with nuclear weaponry… Certainly, other western countries can point their finger at America and say it is our fault, and they are partially correct. We have had the most capability to put a stop to it during past administrations and we haven’t. Still, there is enough blame to go around.

HOWEVER, a very large part of the blame (for lack of a better term) lies with the Iranian people. How long are they going to put up with these bullies in black robes? There is a point that lies vaguely out in the cosmos somewhere. It is the place where people either fix what is wrong or they refuse to right the wrongs of the government over them choosing to ignore the abuses of that government. Their non-action, or ineffective action, becomes collusion. No longer can they maintain innocent bystander status, if there even is such a thing in today’s world.

The Christian who is also a patriot to his country walks a fine line. His first allegiance is to Christ, everything else is second. Some Christians take the words of Jesus, “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s” to mark the dichotomy between the two and it is an appropriate line. Others turn to Paul’s remarks in Romans, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same…” They then declare that any action taken against even an evil or oppressive government is wrong and we are to bide our time and let God deal with it.

How do we follow that thinking when faced with demonic rulers such as Adolph Hitler and the bullies we see currently in Iran? To be very open, I don’t know. Remember, when Paul wrote, Romans were killing Christians for sport. The Roman lions were the unbeatable opponent. Allow me to take a line from the United States’ Declaration of Independence.

“…all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.”

The point is made here that people are more likely to continue to permit suffering rather than get rid of the familiar as long as the suffering is tolerable, (more likely that it is on someone else’s front porch and not my own). How much stronger is the desire to not go against the authorities when the authorities claim divine position and to go against them is to assure oneself of hell? This is particularly true when the religion being so used has been inculcated into their very DNA since they were born.

I must choose how to correctly interpret what Paul’s words meant to the people of his day and how that applies to people today. After much soul-searching and prayerful consideration, I determined that if I must err, if it is an error, I choose to stand on the side of protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. When any person, organization, political body, government or military does evil against any person, particularly those most vulnerable, the weak, infirm, the widows and orphans, the children, then I must stand between them and that evil. I believe the weight of the biblical evidence supports such action. I pray and thank God that He continues to have mercy upon me when such decisions must be rendered. I encourage anyone who might read this to determine for yourself where you stand. There will be no time to contemplate it when the time comes. The following poem by Martin Niemoller says it best. It’s titled, First They Came for the Jews.

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.
Martin Niemöller

The Nazis imposed identification of the Jews

Will there be a time when the people of Iran have heard enough lies and seen enough abuse, felt the crush of unbridled power to that undefinable point and take a stand to demand there be revolution? In a bold move recently, rather than face a possible showdown with the IRGC, (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), Ayatollah Khamenei played a slick card trick. He has moved to declare those who were killed by Iranian forces in the street riots over the past few weeks as martyrs. What does that mean? It means the families of those killed are set financially for life. They have an honored status now in Iran. What better way to quell a rebellion than buying off those responsible for it.

Israel apparently has decided to allow the U.S. to take the lead in actions against Iran. Strategists suggest that as long as the U.S. is pushing back against Iran, Israel will be able to allow the U.S. to take the lead and perhaps ease the threat against itself for a short time. Still others believe it is only a matter of time until Tehran acts against Israel again.

SUMMARY

“So, now what?” In the movie, Big Jake, (you knew it was coming, right?), John Wayne is an absentee father now reconnected with two of his sons to retrieve a kidnapped grandson. Events make the sons believe their father stole the $1M meant as ransom and when they challenge him, he towers over them, hands on his hips and defiantly says, “So, now what?” The sons had a choice to make. Do they challenge or cower?

Does the United States wait for Israel to act? Do we wait and encourage the Iranian people to act? To think that U.S. resources are not currently in place creating incentives for insurrection is to be going about with one’s head in the sand. Will government changes at the top in Moscow make a difference?

Iran has threatened just this week that if the Western countries open the Iranian nuclear file before the U.N. Security Council, they will leave the non-proliferation agreement… Whoopi! As if anyone believed they were following it anyway!

For me, the line in the sand of the Arabian deserts is drawn with two sticks. One stick is the expansion and development of Iran’s nuclear capability. If they approach weaponization, all deals are off and the Iranian people need to know they are in a time crunch for acting in their own best interests. When that line is crossed, there is no doubt there will be collateral damage. Notice, I did not say of innocent bystanders because, at some point, inaction becomes collusion. If nothing else, they should remove themselves from harm’s way for their children’s sake if not their own. The children, sadly, will be at risk because of their parents’ choices.

The second stick is best visualized in the hands of a young American soldier in the desert with a wife and child back home in the States. When he and his brothers are fired upon, the green flag is down, the gate is up and America responds for as many furlongs as it takes.

In every smallest detail, we pray. We pray for peace in the region. We pray for the safety of our troops. We pray for the salvation of every individual in Iran and beyond and we pray for divine guidance for our leaders, particularly for wisdom for our Commander in Chief.

I thank God that He has allowed me to be a citizen of this great nation which I have sworn to defend. I thank Him all the more that He sought me out to be a citizen of His heavenly kingdom and may I never do, say or write anything to tarnish His Name.

“I solemnly swear… I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States… against all enemies foreign and domestic…that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…so help me God.“

Novochok Nerve Agent Threatens More

Wednesday, June 27, 2018 Amesbury, England Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were found in their home apparently poisoned by the same nerve agent that nearly killed Russian Intelligence Officer Sergei Scripal and his wife Yulia in March. Sergei was accused of spying for Britain. They survived the poisoning but are now in protective seclusion following the narrow escape. The nerve toxin, Novochok an A-234 nerve agent is nicknamed by the Russians as newbie – and consists of a series of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993. The symptoms of the drug’s ingestion is a headache, unconsciousness, convulsions and foaming at the mouth. Both Rowley and Sturgess are in critical condition. Reports indicate that they were at Salisbury’s Queen Elizabeth Gardens prior to becoming poisoned which is not far from where the Skripals had been found.

Charley Rowley

Dawn Sturgess

Photos of the Skripals have been redacted for security concerns.

On the heels of the intel of the arrest of a person was arrested in Germany with large amounts of the drug Ricin and terrorist plans to contaminate the water system. It is apparent that the proper amount of vigilance on the part of international, national, local and civilian intelligence and security persons is warranted.

Amesbury

British police have categorized this as a Major Incident and, with over officers from forty departments involved in the last poisoning may be recalled to the newest incident.

The two most recent targets of the attack are being treated at the Porton Down Defense Research Facility just 18 minutes by car from the Salisbury District Hospital.

porton down defense SCI’s intelligence agents and our network will continue to follow this and other leads as these cases progress.

The full story on where the gas came from is known: https://youtu.be/fXX4znMsHFk

SCI Intelligence Briefing: RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR’s MURDER and the CONSEQUENCES for the U.S.

“Those who live next6 door to an internationally known Muslim cleric who is an enemy of…president of Turkey and… President of Russia, may want to take an extended vacation in Florida this winter.”

sci-intel-briefing-russian-ambassador-killed russian-ambassador-assassinated-by-turkish-security-team-member

FULFILLING PROPHECY

Refugees are pouring into the surrounding countries as fast as time and space will allow.

“As regional and global powers search for a solution to the Syrian civil war, fighting on the ground appears to be on the verge of worsening. Both loyalist and rebel forces are preparing for two new offensives within the coming months that will greatly influence the trajectory of the conflict ahead.” (STRATFOR)

(Stratfor.com)

The fighting rages on with ISIS in the Middle East.

Vladimir Putin has placed his military in the region, a move seen as an overt attempt to make Russia the premier ally.

The U.S. continues some ham-handed airstrikes and half-hearted strategies. (It is not, I assure you that our military personnel there are half-hearted or incompetent but rather they are hobbled by a non-involvement type of involvement that only Washington could produce.)

Throughout Syria persons of nearly every faith are losing either their lives or their homes. Refugees are pouring into the surrounding countries as fast as time and space will allow. ISIS has made it clear that they intend to take over the entire region and only Sharia Law will be permitted. Those of Christian faith will have two choices, capitulate or die. Russia, that great ‘bear from the north’ is becoming the premier presence in the region, as if setting the stage for some future conflict.

Listen as your mind reads the next few lines, written by the Prophet Isaiah over 700 years before Christ was born. At the time he wrote, the nation of Israel had been divided into two nations; Israel (North) and Judah (South). The Northern Kingdoms had been taken captive by the Assyrians and it had, for all intents, ceased to exist. Isaiah speaks of a future time when peace would reign on the earth but before that would come. He wrote that there would be only one place left for those who worship the One True God to do so. Right now, in the Middle East, the only relatively SAFE place for Christians, Jews and even Muslims to worship freely is – believe it or not – Jerusalem.

So it shall be in that day:
The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:13 NKJV)

Perhaps it is time that our world leaders should take a page out of President Obama’s book. Better still, they should take all of the pages out of President Obama’s book and start focusing on what is real and true instead of socialist, atheistic, amoral doctrine repackaged and inspired from somewhere other than heaven.

Author’s note: It is understood that not every piece of socialist doctrine is necessarily atheistic or amoral. This is a description of the three characteristics of Obama’s new foundation for America. They are sometimes intertwined and, at other times, mutually exclusive.

Shoes

It was, however, the shoes left behind the spoke their message so quietly that it was deafening

We have heard the analogies perhaps dozens of times growing up. We should never think of judging anyone until we have walked a mile in their shoes. An ‘Americanized’ version of that is from what is known as ‘an American Indian proverb.’ Never criticize a man until you have walked a mile in his moccasins. I imagine it is the use of the moccasins that makes it an American Indian proverb. Still, the thought is there.
The Bible also placed some tradition upon shoes. It was customary in a Jewish home and perhaps, too, in homes of Arabs of similar times in history; that a guest in the home was to have his shoes removed so that his feet could be washed by the host or the host’s designee. It was not a light issue but one of great importance. To fail to treat someone in this way was to show them disrespect. Jesus instructed His disciples that when they came to a town and were well received, they were to allow their blessing to remain on that town. But, if they were mistreated, they were to remove their sandals and shake the dust off of their feet, symbolizing the removal of blessing. Jesus said it was better for Sodom and Gomorrah than it will be for that town’s people upon the Day of Judgment. Paul and Barnabas, when the irreverent people of the Antioch stirred up the populace against them, took leave of the city. Following the direction Christ gave to his apostles during His earthly ministry, they stopped at the city gate to shake the dust from their feet and then they continued then on their way.
Shoes, in many cultures may define their wearer. My own propensity is to almost always wear a western style “cowboy” boot even when donning a tuxedo for some special occasion. My boots have defined me to some folks. The business man or the sports enthusiast each may be defined by their shoes; as too, the child who cannot get a new pair of shoes before school starts because mother and father are simply too poor. All of these things help to define the wearer. There are, too, the ‘baby’s first shoes.’ Shoes that are bronzed and kept often with a photo of the baby who first toddled about in those clumsily formed shoes that looked like they were more of a prison for those tiny feet than a comforting wrap against the elements.
Twice, I had the inner-peace shattering occasion to view such baby shoes, not bronzed, but still immortalized in a macabre fashion that cried out against the evil that had stolen that small life from this world. Perhaps nothing can speak such a message about a person more than shoes that they have worn in a time or in a way that tells such a horrifying tale. A pitiful message across the years. It is a message that is given to those who happen upon those shoes, either by chance or choice; but in either way, the recipient, not being prepared for the impact those shoes would have upon them will most certainly be taken aback for some time to come.
The first encounter that I had with such shoes was in a stark building, darkened by dust encrusted windows and the absence of any produced light made it even darker. It was darker, still, in the evil that enveloped the building. The long center of the main room was roped off and within it, was a pile of shoes ten feet high at the crest of the pile and more than thirty feet long at this farthest edges. The building was in Stuthof Camp. It was one of the few buildings left in this, the first Nazi ‘relocation’ camp for Jews during WWII built on Polish soil, just about 21 miles NE of Gdansk Poland and less than 2 miles from the Baltic coast. Stuthof had as few as 250 prisoners and grew to a maximum of 52,000 with over 1,000 SS guards by January of 1945. It began not just for Jews but for the undesirable Polish elements. It was, however the shoes left behind that spoke their message so quietly that it was deafening.
Poland Stuthof Shoes

An early photo before the building was used to memorialize the shoes left behind

As difficult as this site was to view, particularly the small children’s and infants’ shoes, it did not prepare me for my next encounter with another such site; shoes whose souls are still speaking their silent message across the miles, the years and into the hearts of all who will stop long enough to listen.
The City of Budapest is one of the most beautiful in all of Central and Eastern Europe; perhaps even further. From Hero’s Square to the Opera House, to the casual promenade along the banks of the Danube River all the way to the base of the Chain Bridge which is known for its majestic lions and massive expanse across the river the cities of Buda and Pest have joined to make an amazing cultural venue. There is one site, though, along the shores of the Danube in the shadow of those majestic lions that bespeaks a horror so intense it will take away one’s breath. I found that it left me spell-bound in the mystery of what the last words, the last thoughts and the last looks between loved ones might have been as they were lined upon the bank of the river and murdered. Their bodies – from the smallest of children in their mothers’ arms to the old and infirm stood, awaiting the sting of the bullets that would dispatch them to their certain death and a watery grave marked only on this earth by the shoes the left behind. Immortalized by the townspeople of Budapest as a defiant call to never allow such a horror to happen again – the shoes are lined up along the banks as if their owner’s next steps would be into eternity.

Budapest WWII Memorial to those murdered on the banks of the Danube River 1944-1945 by ArrowCross Militia — Budapest WWII Memorial to those murdered on the banks of the Danube River 1944-1945 by the Arrow Cross Militia

On the night of January 8, 1945, an Arrow Cross execution brigade forced all of the inhabitants of the building on Vadasz Street to the banks of the Danube. Arrow Cross was an extremist socialist party holding power in Hungary’s government in collusion with the Nazis. At midnight, Karoly Szabo and 20 policemen with drawn bayonets broke into the Arrow Cross house and rescued everyone there. Among those saved were Lars Ernster, who fled to Sweden and became a member of the board of the Nobel Foundation from 1977 to 1988, and Jacob Steiner, who fled to Israel and became a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Steiner’s father had been shot dead by Arrow Cross militiamen on December 25, 1944, falling into the Danube. His father had been an officer in World War I and spent four years as a prisoner of war in Russia. The Arrow Cross had usurped the symbol from the ancient Magyar for themselves and was then used it to symbolize their fascist movement known later as Hungarists. They oversaw between ten and fifteen thousand people murdered outright and another 80,000 deported to Auschwitz.

.
Dr. Erwin K. Koranyi, a psychiatrist in Ottawa, wrote about the night of January 8, 1945 in his Dreams and Tears: Chronicle of a Life (2006), “in our group, I saw Lajos Stoeckler” and “The police holding their guns at the Arrowcross cutthroats. One of the high-ranking police officers was Pal Szalai, with whom Raoul Wallenberg used to deal. Another police officer in his leather coat was Karoly Szabo.
The memorial along the Danube almost always has flowers or candles laid within the shoes. No one particular pair is identified with an individual victim, rather the sixty pairs that are made from iron are fashioned and welded in place as a lifetime remembrance of the evil which can overtake mankind when he fails to stand for the laws which protect humanity and to stand for the biblical principles that demand one brother look after another regardless of nationality or genetics. Such evil happens when people forget that under the depth of skin lies a heart that beats every single beat only by the permission of God the Creator. The shoes serve as a reminder not only of the brave heroics of the policemen that night who took a stand for what is right and what is fair; for justice and for humanity as a whole but also as a call to all future generations to not allow this to happen again. By Christmas of 1944 when Jacob Steiner’s father was murdered on the banks of the Danube, millions had already died at the hand of demonic forces masquerading as military officers and enlisted soldiers, as well as government officials and ordinary people who simply did nothing.
This short monograph, Shoes was not meant to be light-hearted or lightly up-lifting. However, it is, if the reader allows it to be, a source of encouragement. Our world again faces demonic extremists that have only one desire: to rule and reign by terror and violence, murder and mayhem at the edge of a sword, inflicting the name of Allah upon those they call infidels, as well as, on those who might consider themselves of the faithful.
The encouragement lies within a simple maxim: The darker the room the more luminescent even the feeblest light. The brightness of that light is proportional to the depth of the darkness within which it burns. When the light is that which burns within a believer in Jesus Christ, even though the strength of that believer’s faith may provide only a modicum of power for the light to glow, the darkness that envelopes it enables that light to have an effect far beyond its means. Scientists tell us that under ideal conditions our unaided vision can detect a light as dim as a candle flame or a lit match 30 miles away on a dark clear night. You can perhaps imagine the strength of the light which has the full power of Jesus. In Him there is no darkness. God is truth, life and light. In these darkest of times, may the power of the light of Christ light your life, embolden your witness and may it never be said of this generation of Christians that we stood by while others collected shoes.

How Many Politicians Does It Take to Destroy a Country? A few thoughts on the untimely crash of Ukraine’s Parliament

And, the president of the country is trying to wage a war against a life-blood neighbor who is the second most powerful nation in the world, who controls Ukraine’s natural gas flow and must do so with not one single member of his own party in the Parliament.

Some have referred to Ukraine’s newest President, Petro Poroshenko as a man without a party because ever since his elevation to the position of President of the embattled Ukraine at the end of May; his own political party, the Solidarity Party, has not been represented in the Parliament. If it is difficult for any country’s leader to get legislation passed through a democratic process in which his own party is less represented to some degree, imagine being the president of a country and there is not one single representative in the entire parliament who sides with you! Poroshenko has had to rely on a shaky coalition of pro-Western politicians to prosecute the war.

In 1858, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech that has been given the name, ‘The Nation Divided’ speech in which Lincoln quotes the Bible; Mark 3:25, in which Jesus admonishes the Jewish leaders, “…and if a house against itself be divided, that house cannot be made to stand.” (Young’s Literal Translation) Lincoln went on to say that he did not believe that this government could not any longer endure going on half free and half slave.

When the framers of the U.S. Constitution went about finding the right examples for a model of government, they opted for a republic, that being democratically elected representatives making the laws for the people. They decided on a two house system, an upper and a lower. The upper being the Senate with a set number of two senators from every state. To balance out the legislature based on population, the lower house, the House of Representatives was decided by a formula to determine representation by population.

The United States of America has a population in 2012 of 313.9 million citizens. (Sources include: United States Census Bureau, World Bank) Although there are six (plus an others category) of listed political parties; in the current Congress only three parties are represented and they are the Republican, Democratic and Independent parties. Of the Independent there are only 2 in the Senate and they have come alongside the Democrats to make a majority. In the House of Representatives only the Democratic and Republican parties are represented. (Wikipedia)
For a country as complex as the United States with a citizenry of 313.9 million and an estimated 37.5 million additional non-citizens living legally in the U.S. (2006 figure by migrant information.org) and another 11.7 million illegal immigrants. (Pew Research Center)
For a country as complex as the United States with a citizenry of 313.9 million and an estimated 37.5 million additional non-citizens living legally in the U.S. (2006 figure by migrant information.org) and another 11.7 million illegal immigrants. (Pew Research Center)
To complete this short history, geography, political and mathematics review, keep the figures simple that for a country of roughly 360 million people the federal law making branch of the government consists of 541 law makers. One hundred are Senators, four hundred and thirty-five are voting members of the House of Representatives and six are non-voting representatives include the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and five delegates, District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands. (ballotpedia.org)
That brings the ratio of citizens to lawmakers to about 673,000 to 1.
Many Americans declare that Congress is broken, it never gets anything done correctly and so on, yet laws do get passed, a great many of them actually and an extremely large amount of business is handled. Also, very cleanly (relatively) and without violence (usually) at regular intervals every so many years, there is a peaceful introduction of those who the voters believe will do the job better than the last set. Then the process continues without skipping a beat.
America’s house may have a great many differences of opinion but we are not divided.
That brings up now the condition of Ukraine, the focus of this short essay. Once again Ukraine is politically in shambles. The country which follows (more or less) the president in Kiev is doing battle with a foreign invader, Russia – one of the most powerful countries in the world. Battling Russian separatists that are armed and aided by Vladimir Putin’s regime in Moscow, the battles go on. Now, in the midst of this crisis, the ruling coalition that is supporting the president is non-functioning and to be dissolved which could lead to early elections and now basically nothing will get done in a bureaucracy that wasn’t succeeding in doing much to begin with. Here is where the numbers and the mathematics become important.

Remember that America has 535 Congressmen (male and female) for 360 million citizens, a ratio of 673,000 to 1 and are divided basically into two parties. Ukraine, on the other hand, has 450 Parliamentarians for a country of 45.6 million citizens. Their ratio is approximately 101,000 to 1 (citizens to representatives).
Those 450 Parliamentarians are divided into 10 political parties
For a country whose population is 1/8 the size of the United States in population which would equate to roughly the populations of California and New Jersey together versus the entire US population, it has about the same number of law makers. However, instead of being more efficient and more personal because of the smaller person to legislature ratio, it is in complete disrepair because ten different political parties are all vying for power! And, the president of the country is trying to wage a war against a life-blood neighbor who is the second most powerful nation in the world, who controls Ukraine’s natural gas flow and must do so with not one single member of his own party in the Parliament. A nation divided against itself, will not stand.

In conclusion, to answer the question posed in the title of this essay: “How many politicians does it take to destroy a country?” The answer is, one – if the people let him get away with it.

THE WRONG COLOR RED: Radicalism Comes Home

We must never again sacrifice our principles in the name of tolerance and we should never resort to hate because of ignorance. Maintain who we are, strengthen who we will be, develop who we can be and exhibit to the world the foundation of our faith, unapologetically, with grace; the same amount of grace we are thankful God bestowed on us.

ON THE HOMEFRONT

Gilles de Kerchove,the EU Counterterrorism Coordinator declared before a UK Parliamentary hearing that the return of high risk, highly volatile Islamic extremists from Syria to the United Kingdom is “unprecedented. … All the reports I have seen suggest that it is becoming increasingly acute.” According to the Langley Intelligent Network, the British Home Office warned, “Dealing with terrorism in Syria is a very significant challenge due to the numbers of people fighting with the many Syria based terrorist groups, their proximity to the UK, ease of travel across porous borders and the ready availability of weapons.”[i]

What does this mean for the United States and its foreign policy particularly when it comes to dealing with international issues of terrorism and political unrest?

The current situation in Ukraine unveils the Russian bear, Vladimir Putin again showcasing the vulnerability of the United States and the weakness of this administration. It is a case in point of the inability of national governments to function effectively when leadership fails to adhere to the standards by which a citizenry can live in peace. There is no excuse that the citizens of Ukraine living on the peninsula of Crimea are suffering without water or electricity because their homeland has been invaded by an opposing army and no one has checked the violence brought by criminal elements acting under the direction of Vladimir Putin. A nation’s leadership will set the bar for its vulnerability whether international terrorism, crime or attack by foreign forces.

The same is true now for Great Britain. Parliament failed to act decades ago to stem the tide of Islamic extremists pouring across the borders, overwhelming communities, and degrading the legal and political system to their own advantage. The political correctness police have brought the British society to the point of near annihilation. Several British nationals have shared that they cannot even recognize London as their own any longer.

Feckless has become a term equated with the inability of the current Obama administration to be able to do anything to stand up against those forces that spit in the face of America. Recently, Retired Lt. Colonel Oliver North was quoted as making this very clear statement, “We don’t need a head of state who draws a phony red line with a pink crayon.”

What will it take for societies – that value freedom, democracy and, (whether they now admit it or not), have a foundation of Judeo-Christian values; to stand-up strong for those values that once made them great?

There has been a lot of blood spilled, not just over the centuries, but in these last two decades all in the name of Islam. If the hardline followers believe it to truly be a religion of peace, then how do they explain its resulting hardship, pain and grief particularly for their own people? Their own leadership has succeeded in embittering their people and reducing their lives to a struggle to survive. Never has there been a generation of harmony and peace between them and their neighbors for they define peace as only the total rule of Islam with total subjugation to their own rule, where no persons may live under another faith.

The African sub-Saharan is a primary example of the extremist mindset. Thousands of non-Muslim people, men, women and children are murdered in the most brutal of ways, without any shred of human dignity or compassion.

This piece is not, however, primarily a piece on the logic or the fundamentals of Islam. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of all comfort, the Father of all mercies (as Paul described him); never forced Himself on anyone. But, you say, in the ancient times the God of the Bible ordered entire populations killed in order to preserve His people ‘of the Book’, the Hebrews. I can only reply that in those instances, God, as sovereign with total right to reign over His creation, I believe knew the heart of every individual soul that perished and none were punished eternally that God was not fully aware of what was taking place and it was necessary for righteousness of His creation. Does that mean that children died naturally and were eternally separated from God? I believe that as God is a God of compassion and grace, no one was separated from Him eternally that was not fully capable of choosing to deny His grace.

God, Jehovah, was very clear that His people were not to allow themselves to be drawn away by other religions or gods; nor were they to allow those who taught such religions to take root within their communities. God’s people were (and are) to live among them in peace and if by the lives of the believers that they might win some, (those are Paul’s words). That was a good thing but to allow those who degraded and derided their faith, God would not allow for that. His patience is longsuffering and His grace sufficient but it is not without end. There will be a day when the doors shall be shut and the chances have run out.

To what end does this bring us? Here is a list: National governments who prey on and destroy their own people like Bashar al Assad and his cronies, even to the point of chemical weapons and mass murder. Egomaniacal dictators like Vladimir Putin whose demented mind at the age of a young teen even longed to be a KGB agent to strike fear into the hearts of those who trusted him. Inept novice rulers, like those atop the Ukrainian political rubble. Parliamentarians who have leaned so far left in the desire to be politically correct they have allowed themselves to be blinded to the eroding away of the very fabric of their Kingdom. Then there is the United States with a socialist president who believes that re-setting buttons with Putin, bowing before Middle Eastern royalty, backing down from countries like Iraq and Syria, turning his back on our only allied democratic nation in the Middle East who also happens to have the divine promise for those who aid Israel and the curse for those who fail to do so. And finally, the people of the United States who have stood back and allowed it to happen.

This is the list of the culpable. It is time to put a stop to the madness. Every citizen of each of the countries named here and, for that matter, every citizen of each of the countries not named here, should realize the important role – the absolutely critical role – that they have to set and maintain the standard for democracy, independence, and true freedom of religion. That means that each citizen may not only worship, in a house of worship as they choose (these are the limitations the Obama administration seeks for religious “freedom”) but to live out their faith within community. This requires, of course, that the Muslim has as much right to choose to live out his or her faith in peaceful accord with the remainder of society as does the Southern Baptist. I mentioned earlier that God required His people not to syncretize their faith with that of the other religions. But, Christ also modeled the ability to love people where they were and by love, show them the true faith.Strong, yet compassionate. We must never again sacrifice our principles in the name of tolerance and we should never resort to hate because of ignorance. Maintain who we are, strengthen who we will be, develop who we can be and exhibit to the world the foundation of our faith, unapologetically, with grace; the same amount of grace we are thankful God bestowed on us.

[i]http://www.lignet.com/ArticleAnalysis/UK-Threat-Radicals-Returning-From-Syria.aspx?ns_mail_uid=4703528&ns_mail_job=175366_04282014#ixzz30WceLmyA

JOINING FORCES: SCI Takes a MINUTE with Us

NATO has an obligation to the people of Ukraine. The United States has an obligation to the people of Ukraine. Not only them but to the people of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

Dr. Ross L. Riggs

We have had the pleasure of sharing through two different outlets – one is a blog that we have titled, The Ministry Minute and the other is our private investigative services (SCI) website. This day we find these two ventures not at cross-purposes certainly but both having something important to share. The messages are complementary.

As most of you, who follow us regularly, know… Doc has just returned from Latvia. The leaders of ABWE/CEEMed were holding their regular bi-annual meeting and considering the contingency options should Russia send troops further into Ukraine and incite a war. While Doc was there, a unit from the U.S. Army’s 82 Airborne arrived in Poland and a short time later another unit from the same battalion arrived in Latvia. Their arrival was a counter-response to Russia’s 40,000 troops on Ukraine’s Eastern border with Russia, who, of course, is maintaining that their presence there is simply for maneuvers. However, some reporters in Ukraine have made the comments that outside the small towns in the East that are occupied, life is pretty much going on as normal. They say that as long as the fighting is not on their doorstep; the locals can ignore it. IGNORE IT?! When they hear the sound of gun fire and explosions, do they understand that there is someone very nearby putting their life on the line for the freedom of those who are ignoring it!

Those comments caused me to reflect on a historical piece that I had read some years back regarding the U.S. Civil War battles that took place just outside the downtown area of Washington D.C. When the battles were about to be fought, the local ‘upper-class’ would come out in their fringed topped surreys with their picnic lunches and make an afternoon of it. The photographers would set up to record the events and painters with easels and pallets were ready to paint both the scenes of the battle and the picnickers; everyone oblivious to the carnage, the human suffering and the purpose for which these brave soldiers were fighting.

In Ukraine, two different sides are both arguing that they are fighting for freedom. One side, however, the ones who call themselves “separatists” are doing so in a criminal fashion with their identity hidden and wearing masks. Just yesterday, they reportedly kidnapped an entire busload of observers and have killed an unarmed politician who, it is reported, showed signs of being tortured before being dumped in the river. I really believe that these men and women who hide their faces in balaclavas and wear uniforms without markings are cowards and have a puppeteer by the name of Putin in Moscow.

NATO has an obligation to the people of Ukraine. The United States has an obligation to the people of Ukraine. Not only them but to the people of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. I have heard people try to argue some fine point of NATO jurisdiction when none of that matters. First, what matters is that the people who have lived in the sovereign nation of Ukraine deserve to be free from the fear that at any moment troops will storm into their towns and their homes and put them in harm’s way. Whether the troops are wearing the insignia of the Russian Federation, black balaclavas designed to conceal their identity; or, for that matter, the insignia of their own country of Ukraine, the citizens have an inalienable right to be secure in their persons and property. It would be a strong step in the right direction if they also had a constitution that would guarantee this right.

The United States government must offer more than six hundred troops as a ‘show of force.’ Granted they are some of the very best trained infantry units on the face of the earth but, come on, 300 U.S. Troops in Poland, 300 U.S. Troops in Latvia and 40,000 Russian troops on the Russian border…Hello?

Please understand that I do not profess to be an objective reporter of the ‘appropriate truth.’ I will not report or repeat what might be a lie but, I also do not shirk from sharing my opinion through the ministry blog if there is information that is necessary for your safety as we discuss issues of national security. Now is one of those times. I will not try to be politically correct if that equates to skirting around the real truth in order to appease some group. Rather, if it is important to share what is happening with an issue that the media is not saying because of their bias; then, as I have the facts, to the best of my ability I will share them with you. I do it only in the case where I believe that getting such information out there is important to the cause of freedom. I have watched hour’s worth of Putin Propaganda through the Russian Television Network. RTI acts like a news outlet but they are more biased than even the worst that CNN has ever put forward. And people of the world are buying it. America is suffering because of it because we do not have an administration in Washington that says or does anything that would repudiate it. More than anything the actions and words from the administration seem to reinforce the trash that RTI is putting out in e broadcasts. Please note, even as I share these views here in this instance, I will not ‘preempt’ my Bible time for it. The principle point of the ministry blog is ministry.

With that said, it is important to go back to a point I made earlier about the obligation that the U.S. and NATO countries have to protect the people of Ukraine. In 1991 when the U.S. brokered a deal with Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia to turn the nuclear weapons that were within their rights as sovereign nations to keep. These were nuclear weapons that had been deployed on their soil by the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic. Then, when ‘the wall fell’ and the U.S.S.R. no longer existed as a legal entity, by international law each country had every right to keep or broker whatever deal they chose for the weapons. With the Hungary Accord, the promise of protection was created. The U.S. and NATO nations made a pact with each of these countries that the US and NATO would rise to their defense if Russia broke the accord and either used or threatened to use those weapons against them or if they failed to respect the sovereign borders of those nations. Russia can trump up all the bogus reasons they want about having to come to the defense of Russian speaking people (who are not citizens of Russia) claiming that the Ukrainian government is not protecting them adequately. It means nothing as far as giving any nation the right to invade another without international agreement of crimes against humanity. It would be like Mexican forces invading the U.S. because they alleged we were ill-treating the Spanish speaking population here in the U.S. Witnesses reported that when Russian troops initially entered Crimea they immediately began handing out documentation of Russian citizenship for whoever wanted it. This was to supposedly reinforce Russia’s new found ‘right’ to protect these ‘citizens.’ This argument is so incredulous it hardly bears repeating, in fact, one would worry that by even mentioning it would somehow give it more credence than it has; if any. What is that old blues song of the 70’s “Nothing from Nothing Leaves Nothing”?

The glaring principle here stands like the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. So at the risk of offending the elephant, allow me to talk about it. Russian troops have been occupying Crimea now for three weeks plus and where is NATO? The American Air Force General in charge of NATO has made some preliminary comments and indicates that there are options available but nothing further has come out of NATO. A quick visit to Kiev by the Vice President and then one by Secretary of State John Kerry, each with some rhetoric about sanctions and then they left. And the American President, where is he? He is taking a turn in Asia. The primary issue, we are told is that Russia hopes to disrupt the May elections in Ukraine. The interim-president of Ukraine is holding things together by some kind of a thread. The initial actions by the Ukraine military units to try to retake the eastern towns held by separatists was less than stellar. Might I suggest that President Obama allow his egg drop soup to drop and get back to the business of being a President in charge of a country with men and women under arms with an obligation to protect human beings, citizens under siege in a land we have sworn to protect?

When we reflect on the faith aspects of this issue, I can tell you that even as Jesus said we are to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, to pray for those in power in government and Paul wrote that we were to, as much as possible, live at peace with all men; we must also go to the second greatest commandment according to our Lord; Love thy neighbor as thyself. In this case, Ukrainians are our neighbors and we should be about the task of loving them. But, you argue, are not the Russians our neighbors as well? I would answer that all men are our neighbors and love does not shirk from the responsibility of tough love, of consequences for wrong actions, or protection of one neighbor over the aggression of another who is in the wrong. In our Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, the last line is “and to the Republic for which she stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” I understand the context of that being the citizens of America but I also can extrapolate it to the logical conclusion that all of mankind is our brotherhood we must not continue to isolate ourselves from the debate but actively engage, as Christians, as Americans, as human beings tied to every other human being as with were through Adam, the first Ada and Jesus Christ, the last Adam. I have much more to say, another day, about the atrocities against Christians on the African continent. For now, we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Ukraine and in Russia. We pray for our American and NATO forces for their protection and their success and that a peaceful resolution can be obtained for the sake of all; one that respects all of the sovereign territory of Ukraine.

Godspeed.

Night of the Murdered Poets

But this Resurrection Morning, April 20, 2014 I write with a very heavy heart because you see, another type of discovery was made this time just outside of Jewish synagogues in the Crimea.

Soviet Anti-Semites Deny Jewish

Heroism in War time circa 1946

“In January 1948 Solomon Mikhoels, a popular actor-director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater and the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, was killed in a staged car accident. Mass arrests of prominent Jewish intellectuals and suppression of Jewish culture followed under the banners of campaign against “rootless cosmopolitans” and anti-Zionism. On 12 August 1952, in the event known as the Night of the Murdered Poets, thirteen most prominent Yiddish writers, poets, actors and other intellectuals were executed on the orders of Joseph Stalin, among them Peretz Markish, Leib Kvitko, David Hofstein, Itzik Feffer and David Bergelson. In the 1955 UN Assembly‘s session a high Soviet official still denied the “rumors” about their disappearance.

In 2012, Yad Vashem began releasing more than a million new testimonial pages about Jews in the Soviet Union that are expected to help researchers measure the scope of persecution and extermination of Jews in the former Soviet Union.^“(1)

Right now, as I write these words, there are Christians at the Garden Tomb just outside of Jerusalem celebrating the most magnificent act of love and grace the world will ever know – it is Resurrection Morning in Jerusalem! Praise Be to God! But this Resurrection Morning, April 20, 2014 I write with a very heavy heart because you see, another type of discovery was made this time just outside of Jewish synagogues in the Crimea. According to a USA Today report, as Jewish worshippers left the synagogue they were met by people handing out flyers to each of them. They were being ordered to report to the Russian authorities and register their families, the addresses, a list of all of their property and proof of citizenship. They were warned that if they failed to do so they would have their passports and citizenship revoked and their property confiscated. The only thing missing was the time of their curfew and their being ordered to wear a ‘Jude’ star identifying them as Jewish. Where is the worldwide outcry? According to the media U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry made known his displeasure at the announcement. Heaven forbid that the U.S. Secretary of State boil over and call the anti-Semite acts the horrific crimes against humanity that they are! Whether they are carried out by Putin himself or some radicalized group of Russian citizens of Crimea acting on Putins orders, it might even warrant hearing some measured disdain from President Obama himself. The Nation of Israel did step up, as they always do, and rightfully declared the horrid nature of this crime, but the world seems to turn a deaf ear (See: Chamberlain – comma, Berlin – comma, Hitler – comma, 1938 – comma, Peace in Our Time – comma…)

I do not write this to rain on anyone’s Easter Parade. Today, in the Christian world is a time of celebration of our Savior, but it is also a day to remember that our Savior, the Son of God determined to come to earth as a Jewish carpenter. Maybe, as we celebrate here in the United States this Resurrection Morning in just a few hours, just maybe, this should be a picture in our minds..

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with the declaration… “NEVER AGAIN”

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Russia

SYRIA BURNING: Fighting Continues to Escalate as Outside Forces Continue to Use Events to Political Advantage

Denigrated by the inaction and sanctimonious attitudes of the Clinton State Department, the bureaucrats under Kerry appear to be less representative of the United States citizenry and seen more as lifetime bureaucrats destined for a legacy of ineptitude due primarily to their wholesale inaction in the face of world crises.

Why the Syrian Civil War is Important to the United States

The ineptitude of the U.S. President’s foreign policy as it deals with: Iran’s nuclear threat, Assad’s use of chemical weapons against his own people in the Syrian Civil War and failing to stand behind Israel, our country’s only democratic ally in the region; has caused a dangerous imbalance of power in the Middle East. Not only have a multiplicity of countries in the Middle East declared that if Iran is permitted to have nuclear weapons, then they will do whatever it takes to obtain their own nuclear or WMD arsenal at any cost; and for some of those oil rich nations, cost is not an issue. There has perhaps been no time in the history of the United States when our State Department has had less respect among the nations of the world. Denigrated by the inaction and sanctimonious attitudes of the Clinton State Department, the bureaucrats under Kerry appear to be less representative of the United States citizenry and seen more as lifetime bureaucrats destined for a legacy of ineptitude due primarily to their wholesale inaction in the face of world crises.

Syria Burning photo

Such is their role in Syria which has brought about the intervention of Saudi Arabia in its own interests. The Sunni population of Saudi Arabia cannot bear to have the minority Shias of Iran dictating policy across the Middle East by way of an ICBM or nuclear bomb bearing aircraft. Strategically, Iran is feeding the Syrian rebels through its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. Without this on-going supply line, the rebels of Syria would have no hope of out-lasting Assad’s army. By interrupting the supply lines and requiring the Hezbollah fighters to remain focused on the crises within Lebanon, they detract from its ability to make any difference in Syria.

Sunni jihadists have attacked Shia militants within Lebanon five times since last summer (2013); the most recent just January 2^nd in a Beirut suburb. (See photo) According to intelligence sources, “Hezbollah maintains a heavy presence in the Dahiyeh area; its security headquarters, media offices and political council are near the location of the blast. Most of the damage from the attack was absorbed by nearby cars and a nearby building that houses a restaurant.”[i] The attack, using between 65 and 70 pounds of explosives, killed at least four and injured dozens. In early December, a “Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqis was gunned down in the parking garage of his Beirut apartment complex…”[ii] The Iranian Embassy and two other suburbs have been targets of attacks in the last 6 months.

The U.S. response has been unnoticeable. There is the maxim that ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Some have attempted to trace this adage to an Arabic proverb but it is most commonly remembered as a portion of the U.S. State Department policy following the Spanish-American War and has our own Theodore Roosevelt to credit for the declaration. Many of his antagonists believed, incorrectly, that Teddy Roosevelt was incapable of deep thinking.

Israel, the United States and Their Future Together or Apart

In the case of Sunni jihadists from Saudi Arabia, it is not wise to claim that adage too quickly. When the enemy of your enemy would just as soon slice your throat as well, that does not make him a friend. Perhaps the adage most appropriate is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. (Many attribute that line to Sun-Tzu but there is no proof that he said it.) There is an additional line that has been added so that it reads, ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Then, push your enemy off a cliff when he has gotten close enough.’ Since that last line is likely impractical in the world of international relations, it is important to note that the Saudi jihadists have been responsible for the weapons that have been run into Israel to support the Palestinians.

As long as the Saudi jihadists are tied up with the Hezbollah militants; Israel can keep the Palestinians on a short leash while they develop any response plans for Iran in the wake of the U.S. failure to stop the nuclear proliferation in that country. Reports indicate that because of Iran’s refusal to comply with even the most basic of the Iranian responsibilities within the ‘negotiated’ give away to the Iranians on their nuclear program, the entire ‘treaty’ is destined to complete failure. All it has done, (which is probably what it was expected to do) was to buy Iran even more time to complete its weapons’ delivery systems.

We should be clear on one aspect: neither side, including the intervening Russians, are very much concerned about the final outcome of the Syrian civil war. All sides expect that whoever ends up running what has been, for millennia, a Syria in chaos; those outside with a long enough reach and deep enough pockets will be the ones running the show and calling the shots. It should be expected that whoever that will be, they will not be friendly toward the U.S. or Israel. The Nation of Israel will continue to be surrounded by those who wish her ill.

Israel’s leadership has made it clear that they have stood their ground for decades, often on their own and they will continue to do so, with or without international assistance. (Often, they forget God’s promises to never leave nor forsake them.) It would be in the United States’ best interest to elect an administration that remembers the biblical quote, “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you.”[iii] The future of the United States, of the imbalanced Middle East, and of Israel can be influenced in the coming two years more by the voters of the United States than perhaps ever in our history. With the high likelihood that the average American voter has very little clue as to the intricacies of such an arena; we can be thankful to God that He has the ultimate control.

[i] In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Challenge Grows | Stratfor

[ii]In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Challenge Grows | Stratfor

[iii] Genesis 12:3 (NKJV)

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ON THE HOMEFRONT

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Soviet Anti-Semites Deny Jewish

Heroism in War time circa 1946

In 2012, Yad Vashem began releasing more than a million new testimonial pages about Jews in the Soviet Union that are expected to help researchers measure the scope of persecution and extermination of Jews in the former Soviet Union.“(1)

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with the declaration… “NEVER AGAIN”

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Why the Syrian Civil War is Important to the United States

Israel, the United States and Their Future Together or Apart

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In 2012, Yad Vashem began releasing more than a million new testimonial pages about Jews in the Soviet Union that are expected to help researchers measure the scope of persecution and extermination of Jews in the former Soviet Union.^“(1)