When freedom of religion is not

Indian Christians protesting the Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill also known as the Anti-Conversion Bill makes provisions for the prohibition of unlawful conversion from one religion to another by force, allurement, or by any fraudulent means with punishments ranging between a minimum of three years and a maximum of 10 years along with monetary penalties. Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images

A devastating wave is crashing over South Asia, wreaking havoc on those who choose to follow a faith other than the majority. It is a wave of anti-Christian sentiment. So-called “Freedom of Religion” and “Anti-Blasphemy” laws fuel it, generating a powerful undercurrent of distrust and disdain toward Christians.

They suppress one of the most basic human rights: the right to worship without government interference. India and Pakistan stand out as countries where this hostility results in unsubstantiated accusations, unjust arrests, and violence.

Sovereign states almost universally agree on protecting an individual’s right to choose their faith.

Sovereign states almost universally agree on protecting an individual’s right to choose their faith and peacefully practice and share it as they see fit. In fact, 175 of the 193 United Nations members are parties to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

This instrument, designed by the UN to protect citizens from the treacherous waves of religious persecution, includes India and Pakistan among its bound members. Still, religious freedom violations persist in South Asia.

Six pastors and one Christian have recently been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Thirteen of India’s 28 states have “Freedom of Religion” laws. Under Madhya Pradesh’s state “Freedom of Religion” law, six pastors and one Christian have recently been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The pastors attended a child’s birthday party hosted by a Christian family. An uninvited neighbor showed up intoxicated and began to cause a commotion, inciting over 100 people to rage against the Christian family.

A guest called police to restore order. The neighbor consequently filed charges against the pastors. The charges led to convictions, despite testimony from the party host disputing any wrongdoing.

In Pakistan, anti-Christian sentiment has recently resulted in a large mob trapping between 10 and 15 Christian families in their homes.

In Pakistan, anti-Christian sentiment has recently resulted in a large mob trapping between 10 and 15 Christian families in their homes after an anonymous package containing a burned Quran was mailed to a shopkeeper, alleging that a Christian had desecrated the Quran. The accused and his family had to be evacuated with the aid of an armored police escort.

We applaud the government for stepping in to help. Still, one has to wonder whether it would have been necessary if the government had reformed the laws that fuel anti-Christian sentiment and, in doing so, rescued the country as a whole.

As Christians, we stand against conversion by coercion, fraud or force.

Following Jesus is a choice that each person must make on their own. As Christians, we stand against conversion by coercion, fraud or force. We believe that governments have an obligation to protect their citizens from all manner of exploitation, even religious exploitation. Laws protecting people from coercion, force and fraud are one thing. Laws that prohibit people from hearing about or choosing another religion are a completely different matter.

One enforces human rights; the other violates them. Ironically, the so-called “Freedom of Religion” laws place people in bondage by restricting their free speech and their ability to proclaim and live out their faith freely.

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Note: 

It's vital to understand that the doctrines that the Jesuits introduced to the Japanese WAS NOT CHRISTIAN; It may have had a Christian veneer, but it definitely was not Biblical, and instead a blend of pagan idolatry. 

Jesuits are not CHRISTIANS, since they are devoted to the Virgin Mary and the Papacy.

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Pope Francis arrives at Jakarta airport | REUTERS

 

LIVE: Pope Francis arrives at Jakarta airport | REUTERS

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To witness to the Gospel in Asia

US B-52 bombers flying over South China Sea manmade islands contacted by Chinese ground control

Updated 6 minutes ago

PHOTO: US B-52s were contacted by China but continued their mission, says the Pentagon. (File: Getty Images/USAF)

RELATED STORY: US to operate 'whenever, wherever' law allows in South China Sea

RELATED STORY: China, US agree to maintain dialogue to avoid sea clashes

MAP: China

Two US B-52 strategic bombers flying near Chinese manmade islands in the South China Sea recently were contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued their mission undeterred, the Pentagon said.

"We conduct B-52 flights in international air space in that part of the world all the time," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told a briefing.

In the latest mission, which occurred overnight on November 8 and 9, the bombers flew "in the area" of the Spratly Islands but did not come within the 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as its territory, Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban said.

"The B-52s were on a routine mission in the SCS (South China Sea)," taking off from and returning to Guam, Mr Urban said.

Chinese ground controllers contacted the bombers but the aircraft continued their mission unabated, he said.

The latest US patrol in the disputed South China Sea occurred in advance of president Barack Obama's visit to the region next week to attend Asia-Pacific summits where he is expected the re-assert Washington's commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight in the area.

Before and after: South China Sea

See how China is converting reefs to military facilities by building artificial islands in the South China Sea.



White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he did not know whether the South China Sea would be on the formal agenda at any of the three Asia summits, but added it would be "on the minds and lips" of world leaders who gather there.

China claims most of the South China Sea through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year, and the US has said it will continue conducting patrols to assure unimpeded passage.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims in the region.

Last week, a top US admiral said in Beijing the US military would continue to operate wherever international law allows after infuriating China by sailing close to artificial islands it is building in the South China Sea.

"The South China Sea is not — and will not — be an exception," he said.

In late October, the USS Lassen guided missile destroyer travelled within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the land formations China claims in the disputed Spratly Islands.

The US and Chinese navies recently held high-level talks after the challenge, with a US official saying they have agreed to maintain dialogue to avoid clashes.

Vietnam, China, Malaysia have eyes on the prize
Explore the conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea

Rich in resources and traversed by a quarter of global shipping, the South China Sea is the stage for several territorial disputes that threaten to escalate tensions in the region.

At the heart of these disputes are a series of barren islands in two groups - the Spratly Islands, off the coast of the Philippines, and the Paracel Islands, off the coasts of Vietnam and China.

ABC/Reuters

More on this story:
US navy to operate 'whenever, wherever' international law allows, Admiral says
China, US navies agree to maintain dialogue to avoid clashes

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The New Great Game Round-Up

The New Great Game Round-Up: May 11, 2014

CHRISTOPH GERMANN | MAY 12, 2014


U.S.- Russia Struggle for Influence in Central Asia, Georgia Joining the New Cold War, Azerbaijan Fighting NDI Activists & More!

*The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus region between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players.

At the beginning of this week, the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey gathered in Tbilisi for their first high-level trilateral summit. All three leaders praised the close ties and pledged to further increase cooperation between the countries. They discussed, among other things, a possible transition from bilateral to trilateral cooperation in the defense sector. Moreover, the Georgian side informed the guests from Azerbaijan and Turkey about the progress of the major railway project linking the three countries, which should have been operational by the end of 2013 but was delayed several times and is still not anywhere near completion [emphasis mine]:

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey Reiterate Partnership with Trilateral Summit

The focus of the summit, according to the officials, was joint energy and transportation projects, among them Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is currently under construction and which will connect Azerbaijan with Turkey via Georgia.

According to Georgian Economy Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the railway is expected to be put into operation before the end of 2015.

…

Azerbaijan Fights NDI’s Activists, Georgia Joins New Cold War

Azerbaijan and Georgia had planned to profit from the transit of U.S. military equipment out of Afghanistan and back to Europe and the United States by proposing a new route for the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) evolving around the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. But the railway project will not be operational early enough to get any significant share of the NDN business, which means that the United States will have to rely on the NDN routes passing through Russian territory besides the problematic transit route via Pakistan. So far, Russia has refrained from shutting down the NDN in response to the reckless actions of the West in recent months. But if NATO continues to ramp up its Cold War posturing, this could obviously change. The latest delay of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was not the only bad news for Washington on the day of the trilateral summit. While Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev met with his Georgian and Turkish counterparts in Tbilisi, Aliyev’s crackdown on the Azerbaijani opposition made the headlines once more due to the sentences handed down to some of Washington’s favorite youth activists:

Azerbaijan sentences eight opposition youth activists to jail

Azerbaijan sentenced eight opposition youth activists on Tuesday to between six and eight years in prison in a case that critics say highlights a government-led crackdown on dissent in the oil-rich former Soviet republic.

Eight activists of NIDA, an Azeri non-government youth movement, were jailed after being convicted on charges of hooliganism, possessing drugs and explosives as well as intent to cause public disorder.

All eight, aged between 18 and 28, were arrested in March 2013 during protests in the capital Baku against violence within the armed forces prompted by the death of conscript Jeyhun Gubadov at a barracks – the latest in a string of non-combat deaths under murky circumstances in the military.

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Unfortunately, the report fails to mention one interesting character, who was detained twice along with NIDA activists after participating in the above-mentioned protests in March 2013. His name is Ruslan Asad and he is working as a Civic Program Assistant for the infamous National Democratic Institute (NDI). Furthermore, Asad is the co-founder of the OL! Movement, another civic movement in Azerbaijan similar to NIDA. In contrast to his fellow activists, Asad was released shortly after both arrests. Working for NDI pays off. But Asad’s role in the protests only confirmed the belief of the Aliyev regime that the Azerbaijani opposition is being directed from NDI’s Baku office and this led to a major dispute last year. Eventually the issue was resolved but activism and human rights are still the main points of contention between Azerbaijan and the United States:

In U.S. Calls To Hold Energy Rich Baku’s Feet To The Fire Over Rights

The United States should hold Azerbaijan accountable for its human rights record, even as the energy-rich country has come into renewed focus as a potential key player in weaning Europe off of Russian gas in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, U.S. officials say.

“I feel strongly that as we work closely with Azerbaijan on energy issues, we must also engage them just as forcefully on the declining human rights situation as part of our overall concern for energy security in the region,” U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, said in a statement to RFE/RL.

…

Even before the NIDA activists were sentenced, the Aliyev regime faced increasing criticism from the U.S. and the EU. Washington is always playing the human rights card if it seeks to put pressure on Baku. Considering the timing of these reports, the U.S. government’s latest “concerns” about human rights abuses might have something to do with Azerbaijan’s crackdown on the U.S.-backed Gülen movement. Azerbaijani President Aliyev will be careful not to antagonize his masters in Washington in a similar way like Turkish PM Erdogan. So while the Turkish Prime Minister is still teasing his NATO allies with a lucrative missile defense system deal, the Azerbaijani authorities are doing their best to please the U.S.-led military alliance. The same applies to the authorities in neighboring Georgia. Although NATO’s enlargement did not work out the way it was supposed to in Ukraine, NATO can still count on several other Russian neighbors to support its anti-Russian campaign:

Alasania Calls for NATO ‘Defensive Assets’ in Georgia

Georgia’s Defense Minister, Irakli Alasania, said in Washington on April 30 that in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, NATO allies should deploy “defensive assets” in Georgia.

Air defense and anti-armor capabilities – “this is something we need to put in Georgia and Russians will understand that you are serious,” Alasania told the Washington-based think-tank Atlantic Council’s “Toward a Europe Whole and Free” conference on April 30.

…

Rick Rozoff of Stop NATO explained in a recent interview the importance of the Atlantic Council and the significance of the term “Europe whole and free”, which means no less than the consolidation of a unified Europe controlled by Brussels on behalf of the United States. During the conference U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s mask slipped, when he emphasized that “our entire model of global leadership is at stake” due to the Ukraine crisis. Georgian Defense Minister Alasania also stressed that the crisis marked a watershed. Before he met with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon this week, Alasania justified his call for NATO “defense assets” in Georgia and dismissed the idea that this move would provoke Russia by saying: “That’s the pre-Crimea thinking. There is a new reality. Russians are creating new realities on the ground.” Meanwhile, another world-class warmonger, British Foreign Secretary William Hague, visited Georgia to demonstrate NATO’s “support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions”. The Georgian government is expected to substantiate these ambitions by signing an Association Agreement with the EU next month and the Georgian leaders know what will happen if they pull a Yanukovych:

Sergey Lavrov – Ask EU and U.S. about their plans if Georgia doesn’t do what they expect

It would be my advice to ask the EU and U.S. about their plans if Georgia’s government doesn’t do what they expect, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Vienna, responding to the question from the broadcasting company “Imedi”, ‘ whether Russia-Georgia relations may tense, after Georgia signs the association agreement with EU. Lavrov says that addressees of this question are not Russia.

“We are not busy with changing the regimes, arranging colored revolutions, especially with brown spots, like it happened in Ukraine”, Russia’s Foreign Minister said.

…

U.S., Russia Struggle for Influence in Central Asia

Nowadays, color revolutions are frequently mentioned as a major threat by the authorities in Russia, China and Central Asia. Both the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) want to prevent any Ukrainian-style color revolutions on their territory. Especially the ‘stans could become the next targets for regime change. One reason for the coup d’état in Kiev was Washington’s determination to thwart Ukraine’s steering towards the Eurasian Customs Union. After the debacle in Crimea, the United States is now trying to maintain influence in Central Asia and this might imply more problems for the Moscow-led Customs Union:

How the West will oppose increased Russian influence in Central Asia

Most experts believe that the West, which would like to see a decrease in Russian influence in the region, will incite opposition in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to act. In Kyrgyzstan this process is already observable – Western-grant-funded non-governmental organizations are conducting counter-propaganda against the idea of pro-Russian integrative union. In connection with events in Ukraine, the West will do everything it can to strengthen this vector.

…

In the last few years, NGOs were increasingly involved in protests in Kyrgyzstan. These rallies are more often than not aimed at opposing Russian influence in the country, like for example the recent protests against the possible takeover of the Manas Transit Center by Russian companies. Predictably, the Eurasian Customs Union is a frequent target of demonstrations organized by Kyrgyz NGOs. Nevertheless, Bishkek is going ahead with Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Customs Union and there are only a few details left to clarify before the documents will be signed. Kyrgyz President Atambaev discussed the issue with Russian President Putin, when the CSTO leaders met in Moscow a few days ago. However, one CSTO leader was notably absent:

Kazakhstan Skips CSTO Meeting in Moscow Today

A number of experts are noting that Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev was not present at tonight’s emergency meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Moscow, nor did he send representatives to the massive display of Russian armed forces, including the simulation of an ICBM launch on the eve of 9 May Victory Day celebrations.

Instead, he met with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the second-highest ranking American diplomat and the Obama Administrator’s top expert on Russia.

…

This week, William Burns visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to “affirm the United States’ longstanding commitment to the security and prosperity of Central Asia”. While the high-ranking U.S. diplomat met with two Central Asian leaders, Vladimir Putin showcased the preparedness of Russia’s strategic and defensive forces to the Presidents of Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Russian head of state also shared his concerns about the rise of fascism and neo-Nazism in Europe with his fellow CSTO leaders. Although the informal summit focused on the Ukraine crisis, NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was discussed as well. According to Sapar Isakov, chief of the foreign policy department of the Kyrgyz President’s Office, the CSTO will hold large-scale exercises in Tajikistan later this year to prepare for a deterioration of the security situation in the region. In the light of the CIA’s latest masterstroke, this is certainly not the worst idea:

CIA, U.S. military at odds over Afghanistan pullback plan

The CIA also plans this summer to stop paying the salaries of Afghan paramilitary forces that it has armed and trained for more than a decade to help fight the Taliban-led insurgency in the country’s east, near the Pakistani border. It is unclear what will happen to the militias.

Pentagon officials also are exploring whether the military can take over financial support of the CIA-backed militias to keep the Afghans from leaving the fight or switching sides, officials said. Some of the frontline units already have been disbanded, according to a report in the Daily Beast.

…

China’s Railway Stations under Attack

China is currently experiencing at first hand what a rapidly deteriorating security situation means. Last week’s terrorist attack at the important Urumqi railway station highlighted once again the terror problem in Xinjiang, which can be attributed to a great extent to Washington’s East Turkestan project. German politician and former OSCE vice-president Willy Wimmer interpreted the recent high-profile attacks in Urumqi and Kunming as a warning to the Chinese authorities reminding them that China is also on NATO’s hit list. Before Beijing had any time to respond to the Urumqi attack another railway station was attacked, this time in Guangzhou, the capital and largest city of Guangdong province:

China Knife Attack: 6 Wounded In Stabbing Spree At Guangzhou Railway Station

Chinese police shot and wounded a suspect who attacked passengers at a busy railway station in southern China on Tuesday, leaving six people injured in the third high-profile assault on civilians at a train station in a little more than two months.

The latest incident happened late in the morning at the Guangzhou Railway Station, city police said on their microblog. Officers arrived as passengers were being hacked, and shot and subdued a male suspect with a knife after he failed to respond to a police warning, the statement said.

…

At this point, it is unclear whether there is any “Uyghur connection” to the attack in Guangzhou but the detained suspect will have plenty of time to explain his motivation. A migrant worker who helped to capture the assailant was rewarded with 5.000 yuan and celebrated by the Chinese media. Lately, the Chinese authorities have been trying to engage the population in the fight against terrorism by rewardingpeople who inform the government about “potential hazards to society”, which include all kinds of things from growing beards to illegal religious activities. After the stabbing spree in Guangzhou, armed police patrols were enhanced nationwide and Beijing will introduce new anti-terror legislation next month. But this will not be enough to solve the persistent problem:

One assailant shot dead, another captured in attack on Xinjiang police

Police shot dead one assialant and captured another on Thursday in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said in a statement.

The attack occurred at about 1:20 p.m. in the city of Aksu when police checked a suspect vehicle based on a tipoff from residents, said the statement.

…

On Monday, China released its first blue paper on national security focusing predominantly on terrorism. The report mentioned, for example, the threat posed by religious extremists who are “manipulated by hostile western forces”. Finding a proper way of dealing with the terror threat, is one China’s biggest challenges right now. In the wake of the latest attacks, some voices in the Chinese media have cautioned against neglecting the underlying social and economic problems of the conflict. But the Chinese authorities seem to prefer a hard-line approach and the deterrent effect [emphasis mine]:

5 convicted in Kashgar on terror-related charges

Five people were recently sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for separatism and endangering national security, Xinjiang Daily on Thursday.

The trial of the five was jointly carried out by the municipal and prefectural people’s courts in Kashgar. A gallery of more than 300 people, including local cadres and students, witnessed the trial.

The five were convicted in five separate cases of using secure digital memory cards with content from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement; using audiovisual materials downloaded from the Internet to spread jihadist ideas; instigating terrorism attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan; preaching extremist religious ideas to young people; and keeping machetes and other weapons for planned attacks. The prison sentences ranged from 7 to 15 years.

…

# # # #



Christoph Germann- BFP Contributing Author & Analyst
Christoph Germann is an independent analyst and researcher based in Germany, where he is currently studying political science. His work focuses on the New Great Game in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. You can visit his website here

Source: http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2014/05/12/the-new-great-game-round-up-may-11-2014/#sthash.qUjGTxd9.dpuf

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Who was Tamerlane?

Tamerlane Facts

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Tamerlane (1336-1405) was a celebrated Turko-Mongol conqueror whose victories, characterized by acts of inhuman cruelty, made him the master of the greater part of western Asia. His vast empire disintegrated at his death.

Tamerlane or Timur (Tamerlane is a corruption of the Persian Timur-i Lang, "Timur the Lame"), belonged to the Turkized Mongol clan of the Barlas, which had accompanied the Mongol armies westward and had settled in the Kashka Valley to the south of Samarkand, between Shakhrisyabz and Karshi. He was born near Shakhrisyabz on April 9, 1336. This whole region, the present-day Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan, was then part of the Chaghatai khanate, which received its name from its founder, the second son of Genghis Khan, and which included, besides Transoxiana—the countries between the Amu Darya (Oxus) and the Syr Darya—the whole area to the east of the Syr Darya up to the western borders of Mongolia.

In 1346/1347 the Chaghatai khan, Kazan, who had his residence at Karshi, was defeated and killed by a tribal leader called Kazaghan, and Transoxiana ceased to be part of the khanate. Kazaghan's death (1358) was followed by a period of anarchy, and Tughluk-Temür, the ruler of the territories beyond the Syr Darya (now known as Moghulistan, "land of the Moguls, or Mongols"), invaded Transoxiana in 1360 and again in 1361 in an attempt to reestablish Chaghatai rule.

Tamerlane declared himself Tughluk-Temür's vassal and was made ruler of the Shakhrisyabz-Karshi region. He soon, however, rebelled against the Moguls and formed an alliance with Husain, the grandson of Kazaghan. Together in 1363 they drove Ilyas Khoja, Tughluk-Temür's son, out of Transoxiana; he returned in the following year, having succeeded his father as khan, and inflicted a defeat upon Tamerlane and Husain, but they were able, after his withdrawal, to consolidate their power as joint rulers of the country. They were often on bad terms but with some interruptions maintained an uneasy partnership until 1370, when open war erupted. Besieged at Balkh, Husain was captured and executed, and Tamerlane, now the undisputed master of Transoxiana, took up residence at Samarkand, henceforward his capital city and the base of his operations against eastern and western Asia.


Expansion of Power

Tamerlane's first campaigns were directed against Khiva and his old enemies, the Moguls; it was not until 1381 that he turned his attention westward, leading an expedition into eastern Iran; further expeditions in subsequent years extended gradually into Iraq, Asia Minor, and Syria. The atrocities committed in the course of these campaigns are recorded even by his own court historian. At Sabzawar, in what is now Afghanistan, Tamerlane directed a tower to be constructed out of live men heaped on top of one another and cemented together with bricks and mortar. To punish a revolt in Isfahan, he ordered a general massacre of the population, and the heads of 70, 000 people were built up into minarets.

In 1387 an invasion of Transoxiana by Toktamish, the ruler of the Golden Horde, obliged Tamerlane to interrupt his operations in western Asia, and the repulsion of the invader, followed by expeditions into Moghulistan, was to keep him occupied for the next 4 years. It was not until 1392 that he resumed the conquest of western Asia in what is known as the Five Years' Campaign. After suppressing the Muzaffarid dynasty in Fars (spring 1393), Tamerlane entered present-day Iraq, received the submission of Baghdad, whose Jalayirid ruler, Sultan Ahmad, had fled at his approach, continued northward into eastern Turkey and the Caucasus area, defeated Toktamish in a battle on the Terek (April 1395), and advanced up the Don to capture the Russian town of Yelets, on the border between the Russian principalities and the territory of the Golden Horde. The campaign ended, in the winter of 1395-1396, with the destruction of the two main centers of the Horde at Astrakhan and New Saray, and Tamerlane returned to Samarkand to prepare for his invasion of India.


India, Turkey, and Egypt

This, the briefest of his campaigns, lasting less than 6 months, was the occasion of Tamerlane's greatest massacre: the execution in cold blood, before the gates of Delhi, of 100, 000 Hindu prisoners. There followed immediately the so-called Seven Years' Campaign (1399-1403), which brought Tamerlane into conflict with the two most powerful rulers in western Asia, the Ottoman sultan of Turkey and the Mamluk sultan of Egypt.

Syria, then part of Egypt's territory, was invaded in 1400, Aleppo falling in October of that year and Damascus in March 1401. Tamerlane now turned eastward against Baghdad, which had been reoccupied by Sultan Ahmad's forces and offered stubborn resistance to Tamerlane's attack. It was taken in June 1401, and the slaughter which followed was such that the heads of the dead were piled up into 120 towers. Tamerlane passed the winter of 1401/1402 in the eastern Caucasus before moving westward into Anatolia to deal the final blow to Sultan Bayazid (Bajazet), who was defeated and taken prisoner at the Battle of Ankara (July 20, 1402).

The Sultan died while still in captivity, but the story, familiar from Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, that he was transported in an iron cage like a wild beast, is based on a misunderstanding of a phrase in the record of the historian Arabshah. The last action of the campaign was the storming and sacking of Smyrna, then held by the Knights of St. John, who had recaptured it from the Ottoman Turks a half century before.

Tamerlane returned from the Seven Years' Campaign by slow stages, reaching Samarkand in August 1404. He set off before the end of the year upon a still more grandiose enterprise, the conquest of China, liberated only some 30 years previously form its Mongol masters. He was, however, taken ill at Otrar, on the eastern bank of the Syr Darya, and died on Feb. 18, 1405.


Further Reading on Tamerlane

Hilda Hookham's gracefully written Tamburlaine the Conqueror (1964) is the most detailed and up-to-date work addressed to the general reader. Older works include a 14th-century account in Arabic by Ahmed ibn Arabshah, Tamerlane, translated by J. H. Sanders (1936), and Harold Lamb, Tamerlane, the Earth Shaker (1928). See also the relevant sections in René Grousset, Empire of the Steppes (1939; trans. 1970); Richard N. Frye, Iran (1954); Sir John Glubb, The Lost Centuries (1967), which contains an excellent chapter on Tamerlane; and the Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 6 (1971).

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Pope expresses solidarity with those effected by the earthquake and rain storms in Asia

Published on Aug 13, 2012 by romereports

http://www.romereports.com During the Angelus, the Pope expressed his closeness to the thousands of people that have been effected by recent natural disasters in Asia.



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When honchos talk boom amid global bust

Business Birdie

Shaili Chopra
Thursday January 26, 2012, 05:04 PM


Davos, the buzzing networking Swiss village for the last week of January is back in focus. But will the snow clad promenade which witnesses the world's most influential once again fail to get the pulse of the world? Over the years it’s becoming clearer that many subjects discussed at the World Economic Forum along the corridors by the world’s best CEOs, are getting predictions wrong. And it’s not the economists alone.

From an India standpoint, this is starker than ever. At the previous Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2011, India celebrated the 5 year anniversary of the ‘India Everywhere’ campaign, making another pitch for vibrant India and the economic promise. Except that in the 12 months that followed, it was proved that India was ‘not quite there’ as it saw its GDP dip, corruption soar and gloom enveloped the country.

“Today we are trapped in individual goal chasing and a fractured resolve,” says Vineet Nayar of HCL Tech “The crying need of the hour therefore is to come together as a nation, pool all our resources together to create a unified vision, take decisive actions and most importantly collaborate across all stake holders to get the most important things done. Maybe we needed an external crisis to wake up the giant … that crisis is now right at our doorstep.”

But does WEF really reflect this reality? Anand Mahindra says, "I'm more comfortable with their being bullish, even if they often prove to be off the mark." Davos sees attendance from many of the people who make the world turn. Indian CEOs believes the feel good factor is more encouraging. "It would be a little scary if they were always pessimistic about the global economy," says Mahindra.

Lee Howell, MD of WEF believes more leaders come here for a sense of change and there "are keen to know of what can be the opportunities of the existing situation." But Soumitra Dutta, just appointed dean of Cornell doesn't entire agree, "The danger is Indian optimism should not turn into arrogance."


Sentiment vs Reality

History is testimony to the ironically timed discussions at Davos, which often would see just the opposite play out in the world economy in the following year. In 1999, there was plenty of bubbly flowing to celebrate the peak of Internet boom, one that was expected to be everlasting. Bill Gates who attended WEF that year was worth $101 billion and called the Centibillionaire. Most CEOs at the forum’s corridors were smug and upbeat but just within the12 months that followed, the Davos Man began shivering. The boom had gone bust. The same people talked about how Internet stocks were grossly overvalued.

2007 played up the rise of Asia in the forum’s key agenda but entirely ignored the underlying threats to the world economy, that it was slowing down and facing major risks including the American subprime and the over-heating in China. Exactly a month after a bullish Davos forum, the Shanghai Stock exchange tumbled 9%, the largest in the preceding ten years, triggering a world wide sell-off. What everyone forgot was the rise of Asia, particular China is closely linked to the US economy and so the economic muck began to float to the surface with 2007 triggering off the start of tough times. Why go far? Even as the subprime crisis held the US economy hostage, Davos had little premonition about it earlier in the year.

When CEOs gather from across the world, each is trying to pitch to investors and often that selling point is a tad inflated. Rahul Bajaj, who goes there every year says, “ We are going to have a different tone here and there. We have a different purpose of opening our mouth. We need to attract investment, we need to put our best foot forward.” But Azim Premji of Wipro takes this with a pinch of salt, admits the euphoria has seen a correction "I think hypes have come down. That's not a bad thing because if we over-hype ourselves, then there can be a little disappointment. Plus the growth has come down which is a dampener on the situation, there is no doubt about that."

Less India Star Power

Whether Davos gets it right or wrong, it’s definitely become a once-a-year stop for a quick networking binge. But overtime, CEOs have been faced with dilemmas about what they really gain from it. Bajaj quips, “I haven’t earned a penny from going there!” He is in his 35 year of visit and believes its “an expensive holiday for me. I love it” This year much of India’s star power has decided to stay back. Kumar Mangalam Birla has called off his visit while Anand Mahindra is skipping Davos for the Sundance Festive. The finance minister has yet again decided not to go. Also not attending this year are WEF favourite Nandan Nilekani, bankers like KV Kamath, Chandha Kochchar. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and later Kamal Nath have also decided to drop out. An economist at Davos wondered,"Could they be worried about the world seeking explanations to the mess over India's scams?"

Nayar of HCL Tech has in the past questioned the relevance of Davos in an article he wrote, "Do the issues being debated at Davos by the world's movers and shakers, in both public and private forums, result in significant change? In short, does the event create more light than heat?" That's question many introspect on but most return to the forum.

Davos is planning to move its 5 day business-avangza to another few days of January or yet another month. We don't know if its numerology for luck or just a desire to keep date with the Chinese who can only make it after their Chinese new year celebrations end in January, but hopefully whatever the case, it may mean better fortunes for forecast and getting the pulse right.

Source

WORLD News of the Day From Across the Globe

1 Mali abduction: Gunmen burst into a restaurant in Mali's most famous city of Timbuktu on Friday, grabbed four European tourists dining there and executed one when he refused to climb into their truck, said an official. Timbuktu is one of the many former tourist hotspots in Mali that have been deemed too dangerous to visit by foreign embassies because of kidnappings by al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa, whose members have kidnapped and ransomed more than 50 Europeans and Canadians since 2003.

2 Lethal storm: A storm and floods in Sri Lanka left at least 12 people dead, local officials said on Friday. Gale-force winds also injured 50 people and damaged more than 1,000 houses in the southern districts of Galle and Matara, where eight fishermen were killed.

3 Marine reserve: Australia says it will create the world's largest marine reserve in the Coral Sea. The proposal includes seas beyond the already protected Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off northeast Australia. The reserve would cover almost 400,000 square miles.

4 Gambia election: Gambia's electoral commission says the nation's president of 17 years has won re-election after a poll that critics say was unfair. President Yahya Jammeh won with 72 percent of the vote, and leading opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe came in second with nearly 17 percent.

5 Teen's drug trial: An Australian teen was sentenced to two months in detention Friday for buying drugs while vacationing with family on Indonesia's resort island of Bali. Judge Amzer Simanjuntak told the packed Denpasar district court that the 14-year-old would be freed in just over a week and immediately deported. The boy was not named because of his age.

6 Rebel leader slain: A senior Maoist rebel leader in India was killed in a gunbattle with security forces in West Bengal state, news reports said Friday. Press Trust of India quoted a top paramilitary official as saying the operation that killed Kishenji, who uses just one name, was "clean and successful." The government has called the rebels, who are now spread across 20 of India's 28 states, the country's greatest internal security threat.

7 Antarctica solo crossing: A 33-year-old British adventurer set out on skis Friday from the Ross Ice Shelf to attempt a historic solo crossing of Antarctica. Felicity Aston intends to become the first woman to make it across the frozen continent alone. She expects the journey of more than 1,000 miles will take about 70 days.

8 Nuclear waste protest: Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police, setting a vehicle on fire, as skirmishes intensified Friday after a shipment of nuclear waste reprocessed in France crossed into Germany on its way to a controversial storage site. The clash broke out between about 400 riot police and 300 demonstrators outside the northern German town of Dannenberg, near the storage facility where the nuclear waste is being transported by train.

9 Ghoulish crime: Police say they have arrested a woman in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi suspected of murdering her husband, then chopping his body into pieces and boiling them to try to get rid of the evidence. Police said Friday that 42-year-old Zainab Bibi told authorities she killed her husband because he tried to sexually assault her 17-year-old daughter from another marriage.

Chronicle News Services




This article appeared on page A - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle


Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/25/MNGO1M3TF2.DTL#ixzz1en6nIEPw

Putin Calls for New ‘Euroasian Union’ of Former Soviet Countries

05 October 2011

ByIrina Filatova

Tipping his hand on his foreign policy priorities if re-elected president next year, Prime MinisterVladimir Putinhas called for the creation of a "Eurasian Union" of former Soviet countries that could serve as "a bridge" between Europe and Asia.

The new union would further integrate the economies of existing customs union members Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and gradually expand to include Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Putin said in an article published Tuesday in Izvestia.

"We won't stop with this and have set an ambitious goal to reach the next, higher level of integration — the Eurasian Union," he wrote.

The Eurasian Union, which is supposed to become "a powerful supranational body" and "an effective bridge between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region," will welcome accession of other countries, with the CIS nations having a priority, the article said.

But it would be wrong to associate the new body with the Soviet Union, Putin said.

"It's naive to try to restore or copy what has already been left in the past, but tight integration on a new political, economic and value basis is the requirement of the time," he said.

The union will be part of "a greater Europe with common values of freedom, democracy and market laws," which will provide a faster integration into Europe for its members, Putin said.

He moved forward the idea of creating a free-trade zone between Russia and the European Union, which he voiced in his article published in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung late last year.

In the Izvestia article, Putin reiterated that Russia and Europe could form a free-trade zone stretching "from Lisbon to Vladivostok."

The article indicates that the focus of the Kremlin's foreign policy is likely to move to strengthening ties with former Soviet countries after Russia has a new president next year, said Tatyana Stanovaya, a France-based analyst with the Center for Political Technologies.

If Putin returns to the Kremlin as the country's next president, Russia is likely to pursue a tougher foreign policy focused on developing the post-Soviet region, she said by telephone.

This issue is currently the No. 2 priority because PresidentDmitry Medvedevis largely focusing on the "reset" with the United States and the treaty on reducing the nuclear weapons, Stanovaya said.

But Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said integration of the post-Soviet region does not cancel the reset with the United States, since these are two priorities of Russia's foreign policy.

"Both these vectors can be developed simultaneously and independently. But the pace of the vectors' development can be different," he said by telephone.

Putin's article is "sort of a presidential manifest" aimed at outlining his initiatives after he returns to the Kremlin, said Alexei Portansky, a professor of the global economy and policy department at the Higher School of Economics.

But the idea of the Eurasian Union is not new because forming this body is the next integration step after creating the customs union and setting up a common economic space between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, he said by telephone.

But it is likely to take a while before implementing this initiative becomes possible, since the customs union has yet to prove its ability to work properly, he said.

"The economic crisis in Belarus in June proved that the customs union isn't working the right way yet," he said.

The customs union has been operating as a free-trade zone since July 1, when internal customs controls were removed at the borders of its member-countries.

But in a measure to protect the local consumer market, Belarus, in a severe economic crisis, restricted individuals from exporting food items and a number of other goods beyond the customs union borders in June. The country's authorities also restricted gasoline sales at the pumps.

Portansky said the move had not been agreed with the customs union commission, the organization's joint oversight body.

"It's impossible to imaging this in a developed customs union. A customs union member can't make such decisions without getting a permission from the supranational body," he said.

Meanwhile Putin pointed out that the Eurasian Union could be crucial for strengthening the global economy, as "the process of creating post-crisis models for global development is progressing with difficulties."

The Doha round of international trade talks "has almost stalled, and there are objective obstacles inside the World Trade Organization, the very principle of freedom of trade and the markets' openness is facing a serious crisis," he said.

The comments appeared as Russia made significant progress in its 18-year talks on its accession to the WTO.

Russia, which aims to join the organization by the end of this year, has reached an agreement on meat import quotas, which have been a sticking point in the negotiations, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Slepnyov said Tuesday.

He declined to elaborate on the conditions of the agreement, saying only that they are "comfortable" for the Russian side and "imply a certain decrease in quota deliveries compared to what we had before," Reuters reported.

First Deputy Prime MinisterIgor Shuvalov, who is the country's main negotiator for joining the WTO and currently on a trip to the U.S., said Russia hopes to complete its entry into the organization this year.

"We are trying to complete the deal by the end of December and, I am pleased to say, thanks to the leadership in the United States, we are closer to that goal," he told a Russia-U.S. business group in Chicago, Reuters reported.

Putin said earlier this year that Russia would not fulfill the obligations that come with WTO accession until after joining the organization.

Meanwhile, his spokesman Peskov told The Moscow Times on Tuesday that a number of discrepancies remain before Russia can join the organization.

Shuvalov said that there are "a few minor things" that are hurdles to WTO membership, and mentioned a "third party I don't want to discuss publicly.

The main obstacle for accession is Georgia's position requiring that Russia remove customs points on borders with North Ossetia and Abkhazia, Stanovaya said. Georgia is already a WTO member and has the right to block Russia from joining.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who met Shuvalov in Washington on Monday, expressed his hope that "remaining issues, including satisfactory resolution of bilateral discussions between Russia and Georgia, would be addressed constructively and in a manner enabling Russia to meet its objective of concluding the WTO negotiations by the end of the year," according to a statement issued after their meeting.

Source:http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/putin-calls-for-new-euroasian-union-of-former-soviet-countries/444856.html#ixzz1ZtgUiaMt
The Moscow Times

World Markets Plunge on Fears of New US Recession

A currency trader covers his face with his hands in front of screens showing markets worldwide falling Monday as international investors became increasingly convinced of a new U.S. recession. Asian stock markets took a beating after U.S. companies stopped hiring in August, reviving fears that the world's largest economy is heading back into recession. (AP Photo)


Wall Street braced for losses on Tuesday after world stock markets took a beating over fears that the U.S. economy was heading back into recession. Any troubles in the world's largest economy cast a long shadow over the markets, and a report Friday that the U.S. economy failed to add any new jobs in August caused European and Asian stock markets to sink sharply Monday. The full impact of the jobs report will hit U.S. markets on Tuesday

Read more

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Jesuit Superior General in East Asia

Father General in East Asia

(18-Jan-2011) From 20 to 28 January, 2010, Father General will visit various places in East Asia. His primary objective will be to participate in the regular meeting of the Major Superiors of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (of which he used to be President), to be held in Singapore from January 23 to 28. Taking advantage of the long trip from Rome to the East, Father General will also visit Bangkok, Thailand from January 20 to 21, to meet with Jesuits and our collaborators in the Dependent Region of Thailand. From January 21 to 22, he will make a brief visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he will meet with the Jesuit Community and our collaborators in Cambodia. While in Singapore, in addition to attending the sessions of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, and receiving the manifestations of the Major Superiors, Father General will also spend some time with the Jesuits and collaborators of the Dependent Region of Malaysia-Singapore. Visits with the Archbishop of Bangkok, the Bishop of Phnom Penh, and the Archbishop of Singapore are also included in Father General’s full schedule.

Source
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World Church Leader Calls for Relevant Evangelism

November 1, 2010, Ilsan City, South Korea


Gary Krause reiterates the importance of showing God's love in practical ways









Former PMM to Taiwan, Chung HaeSub, relates some of his struggles and victories in the field.



Connecting with people in their community, showing God’s love in practical ways, and building a sense of belonging should be the focus of outreach in urban areas, a Seventh-day Adventist official from the denomination’s world headquarters said yesterday.

Gary Krause, an associate secretary of the Adventist world church and director of the church’s Office of Adventist Mission, urged leaders from the church’s Northern Asia-Pacific Division to continue following Christ’s model of mingling with people and reaching them with examples from their own culture.

“Church itself is not a destination, but it’s a place to get people to where they need to be spiritually,” Krause said. “Often, though, our focus is how to attract people to church instead of getting out into the community where people are.”

Krause delivered his remarks as the key presenter for the division’s Council on Evangelism and Witness, held a day before the church region’s annual business meetings at the administration’s headquarters in Ilsan, Goyang, South Korea. The meeting included some 40 church leaders from China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia and Taiwan.

Krause also used the occasion to mark 20 years since the denomination released a global strategy for offering outreach in many un-entered areas, including India, the Middle East, Russia, China and growing urban areas. Many of his themes touched on the church’s 2005 outreach initiative Hope for Big Cities.

He revisited church co-founder Ellen White’s call for members to offer outreach in urban areas. The worldwide denomination has historically spent much of its resources on rural areas, Krause said. In 1950, he said, about 30 percent of the world’s population lived in urban areas. He said that figure is expected to increase to 60 percent by the year 2030. Already, about 75 percent of people in developed countries live in urban areas.

Krause showed a model for outreach that emphasizes creating a sense of belonging for potential new members. The method, he said, has been demonstrated in many world regions as more effective than soon pushing potential new members for Bible studies and an immediate change in behavior in order to become a church member.

The day highlighted several of the mission movements in the division, including the Pioneer Mission Movement (PMM), a church planting initiative. Already in the past eight years, about 60 pastors have served in the program in other countries.

One of several guest presenters yesterday was Pastor Chung Hae Sub, who served in the PMM program in Taiwan. He said he struggled for the first seven months of his ministry there, with few people showing interest. Eventually, though, he helped establish a community center, teaching Korean culture and language, as well as exercise and health programs. The center led to several people joining Chung’s small congregation. He said he later became well known, with people stopping him on the street to offer greetings.

Chung, who now serves as a chaplain at Sahmyook University, said he originally entered the PMM because he had little experience approaching people. “Many times pastors push their members or deacons to reach out to people. I wanted to have that experience myself,” he said of his six-year commitment to the program.

Several leaders at yesterday’s meeting highlighted the need for contributions of lay members to drive church mission. Still, several challenges remain.

“Members are very busy,” said James Wu, director of the church’s outreach to Chinese people of the world. He said members come to church once a week, but they have little time to contribute to mission activities during the week.

Ken Osborn, NSD treasurer, said the denomination doesn’t need to ignore successful outreach methods of other Christian churches. “We need to be careful that we don’t become so insular that we adopt the attitude that we can’t learn anything from other Christian groups,” Osborn said.

Krause agreed, saying the Adventist Church wouldn’t just accept what other groups are doing, but would carefully examine what outreach methods could be adopted.

CEW is part of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division’s Annual Council, which meets through Monday, November 1.


Source - Ansel Oliver, Adventist News Network

Source

Most Americans may soon be banned from traveling overseas and US may also restrict imports under new regime

Posted by benjamin
March 29, 2010

The United States is facing regime change as a result of the nation’s imminent bankruptcy, according to high level CIA sources in Washington and also senior MI6 sources. The information reaching us is that all the State governments except Florida, Washington and California are backing a return to constitutional law. The Pentagon is also on the program with people like General’s Schwarskopf and Stubblemeyer leading the patriotic forces. There is talk of action starting this week and this photo of Obama on March 26th shows us he is clearly worried and stressed out about something:

President Barack Obama

The new regime may take some drastic measures on the economy as a result of the bankruptcy of the Federal Government, the sources say. These measures would include restrictions on imports so the US can rebuild its manufacturing base. There may also be severe restrictions placed on the amount of Americans allowed to travel overseas. These measures are designed to eliminate the US’s structural external deficit as quickly as possible.

The various states, together with the Pentagon and the Supreme Court will take over, at least temporarily, the powers to create currency. They will replace Federal Reserve promissory or debt notes with a new currency. They will exchange Federal Reserve promissory notes for the new currency at a fixed rate within a 30-day period. The 90% of US dollars owned by non-Americans are likely to be converted into other currencies. The Chinese are actively considering offering gold and commodities backed Hong Kong dollars in exchange for valid (i.e. not created through derivatives fraud) US dollars. The Japanese, the Russians, the Europeans and others may also offer to exchange the overseas US dollars for their own currencies.

It is still not decided if the new US currency will be the Amero or something else but signs are that it will be something else, probably a new type of Greenback. The British are actively using their influence to remove New World Order traitor Harper and his government and not allow him to hand Canadian sovereignty over to the Washington D.C. criminal cabal. That is why the Amero idea looks like it will not float.

The final shape of the soon to be announced international debt jubilee is also starting to appear. The latest news from our sources is that international financial obligations between nation states will be reset to 1916 levels. That is because although the Federal Reserve Board act was passed in 1913, it did not go into action until 1916.

Hopefully this will be accompanied by a much needed telling of the real truth behind the horrific tragedy and wasted opportunity that was the 20th century.

Pentagon people have contacted the Black Dragon Society and have indicated they are going actively start developing free energy technology for civilian use. The main technology they are pushing is the Stirling engines they currently use to power their missiles (have you ever wondered how a cruise missile can travel thousands of miles without giant fuel tanks?). Since at least 6,000, and probably a lot more, inventions have been suppressed in the name of “national security” we can expect a lot more wonders to emerge soon from the bowels of the Pentagon.

Several different major financial institutions including the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Credit Agricole, Mizuho Bank and the People’s Bank of China have begun creating funds dedicated to the development and application of the various suppressed technologies. Once the various T’s are crossed and I’s dotted then hundreds of billions of dollars will become available to finance the new technology as well as to finance an end to poverty and the repair of global eco-systems.

In Japan, meanwhile, pressure is steadily being increased on New World Order and Trilateral Commission hold outs led by former Prime Minister Nakasone. The system of worshipping the Emperor as a symbol will continue in Japan. However, the Japanese right-wing now realizes that ever since Emperor Hirohito died, the emperor became merely a symbol for David Rockefeller and his Federal Reserve Board crime syndicate lackeys in Japan.

The new system will be headed by an informal group of Japan’s most intelligent and powerful people. They will act as a shadow government that will step in only if Japan’s democratic and bureaucratic institutions show signs of becoming dysfunctional. The Emperor will once again become a truly Japanese symbol under the new system.

The Japanese right wing has also been explained that they cannot count on the United States to defend Japan against China. They know, for example, that when Obama visited China last year, he offered to give control of Japan to China as part of a proposed G2. China rejected the plan but the Japanese right wing remains wary of China nonetheless. That is why they will be seeking an alliance of countries like Russia and India -countries that actually have borders with China- to agree to protect each other from Chinese domination.

The Chinese do not see these moves as a threat because they insist their rise will be peaceful and that nobody, including Japan should worry about it. The Black Dragon Society has a reliable pipeline now to the Chinese politburo and we believe all concerned are interested in harmonious relations.

In Europe meanwhile, the secret war against Nazi influence continues unabated. The recent revelations against the German pope Ratzinger regarding his helping a pedophile in the Church are part of a campaign to purge the upper reaches of the Vatican of all Satan worshippers. The Christian rank and file of the Church is behind the move to expose these people.

The agreement by the EU to act as a last resort helper of Greece is expected to be nothing more than a time saving effort and will almost certainly not prevent the demise of the Euro. Once the new financial system kicks into gear, there may be plenty of money available to the nearly bankrupt PIIGs (Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Greece) but they will be told in no uncertain terms that they will have to earn any money they get. The economic reality facing these countries is that they will either have to lower their standard of living or else leave the Eurozone and put out a new Mediterranean currency. This will also, of course lead to a temporary drop in living standards but that is inevitable because a derivatives sugar high is always only temporary. Reality cannot be avoided forever.

Various European governments are also actively considering a new alliance with Russia and the colonization of Siberia by unemployed Europeans.

However, until the dust settles it is hard to see exactly what new institutions will arise from the ashes of the old.

The dark Cabal is still in control of much of the US media and the fake Obama regime continues in power at the time of this writing. Until we see this end, we must keep our powder dry and our wits sharp.

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Source: http://benjaminfulford.blog.shinobi.jp/
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Europe, Asia dig out from winter storms

Published On Wed Jan 6 2010







A Highland bull wears an icy beard as it digs through the snow-covered North Yorkshire Moor in northern Enghland for grass. (Jan. 4, 2010).JOHN GILES/AP PHOTO/PA


It may seem that hard winter has arrived, but in reality it's about normal for the time of year. Not so in parts of Europe and Asia, where they're digging out from records snowfalls. It's even cold in Florida, where there's ice on the strawberries. We tell the story in photos.


Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/article/746801--europe-asia-dig-out-from-winter-storms