Another French Mayor Says to Hell With Islam, and Posts up a Picture of a French Crusader With These Words

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Another French mayor, named Didier Barachet, is saying to hell with Islam and has posted up a portrait of a French crusader with these words:

We Will Never Submit To islam! Respect Our culture, Our Traditions, Our Values, And Our country, Otherwise Leave It!

This was done after another mayor, Robert Chardon, declared that Islam should be banned from the nation of France.

Photo Credit Facebook

According to one French report:

Didier Barachet, UMP mayor of Ardentes (Indre), relayed an anti-Islam message on his Facebook account. … Where the image appears there is a knight clutching his sword, alongside this message: “Never, we will submit to Islam!” “Respect our culture, our traditions, our values and my country, otherwise leave it!”

(Read more from “Another French Mayor Says to Hell With Islam, and Posts up a Picture of a French Crusader With These Words” HERE)

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After Russian Special Forces Soldiers Captured, Ukraine Says it’s Fighting a Real War Against Russia

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Photo Credit: Business Insider Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sparked fresh Kremlin fury by warning that his crisis-torn country was fighting a “real war” against Russian aggressors that could escalate at any time.

The pro-Western leader said the weekend capture of two purported Russian special forces members proved the separatist uprising in the industrial east of Ukraine was a guise for a Moscow-orchestrated campaign aimed at breaking up his ex-Soviet state.

“This is not a fight with Russian-backed separatists, this is a real war with Russia,” the 49-year-old Ukrainian leader told the BBC . . .

Ukraine’s military on Tuesday showed off two wounded Russians who had been taken prisoner during a firefight in Lugansk — a blue-collar region that together with neighbouring Donetsk revolted against Kiev’s shift toward the West 13 months ago.

The men testified during a taped interrogation that they entered the war zone nearly two months ago as part of a 200-strong reconnaissance unit from the Russian army’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). (Read more from “After Russian Special Forces Soldiers Captured, Ukraine Says it’s Fighting a Real War Against Russia” HERE)

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Iraqi forces, civilians flee as ISIS gains control of Ramadi

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Fear of a possible Islamic State bloodbath sent tens of thousands of Iraqis fleeing Ramadi on Monday after government forces abandoned the city — just 80 miles from Baghdad — in what one U.S. military official conceded was a fight “pretty much over.”

Some 25,000 people have fled the embattled streets of Ramadi as thousands of ISIS fighters seized the key Iraqi city, killing some 500, and reportedly going door-to-door looking for Iraqi government troops and police to run out of town.

“There have been executions in the streets of Ramadi,” Muhannad Haimour, a spokesman for the Anbar provincial government, told NBC News Monday. ISIS extremists used vehicles, bulldozers rigged with explosives and suicide bombers to overrun the city after weeks of battles in the street. . .

Although there were a large number of Iraqi security forces occupying Ramadi, most troops fled after ISIS fighters began their assault on the city center Sunday, leaving behind Humvees and armored vehicles supplied by the U.S. military, a separate senior U.S. military official told Fox News.

“The Iraqi security forces were pushed out by a much smaller [ISIS] force,” the official said. (Read more from “ISIS gains control of Ramadi” HERE)

John Kerry: Internet Needs Stronger Regulations to “Work Properly”

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In a speech in South Korea, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the Internet needs heavier regulations to “be able to flourish and work properly.”

Touting the Obama administration’s new policy on the Internet, Kerry insisted that without strict government regulation, the Internet could not reach its potential, and he couched his comments as a way to respond to threats of cyberattacks.

Kerry claimed that his “universal concepts” and “five principles” were necessary to protect the world’s Internet:

First, no country should conduct or knowingly support online activity that intentionally damages or impedes the use of another country’s critical infrastructure. Second, no country should seek either to prevent emergency teams from responding to a cybersecurity incident, or allow its own teams to cause harm. Third, no country should conduct or support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets, or other confidential business information for commercial gain. Fourth, every country should mitigate malicious cyber activity emanating from its soil, and they should do so in a transparent, accountable and cooperative way. And fifth, every country should do what it can to help states that are victimized by a cyberattack.

But even with these “five principles,” Kerry said that there is still more work to do to “develop a truly reliable framework—based on international law—that will effectively deter violations and minimize the danger of conflict.” (Read more about John Kerry asserting that the Internet needs stronger regulations HERE)

Enormous, “Bulletproof” Cross Arises in Pakistan

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A Pakistani businessman who is building a 14-story cross in the heart of Pakistan’s largest city claims he got the idea when God came to him in a dream.

Parvez Henry Gill, part of the small Christian minority in predominantly Muslim nation, is believes his 140-foot-tall cross will be a source of comfort and inspiration for the country’s followers of Christ, who often face persecution and violence.

“I said, ‘I am going to build a big cross, higher than any in the world, in a Muslim country,’” Gill told the The Washington Post. “It will be a symbol of God, and everybody who sees this will be worry-free.”

The cross is being built at the entrance to the largest Christian burial ground in Karachi, Gora Qabristan Cemetery, in the southern section of the city. Made of concrete and steel, the massive monument will boast a 42-foot wide crosspiece and will be the largest in Asia.

Tombstones in the graveyard are often defaced, but Gill hopes the cross while be a beacon of hope in his country for minority Christians and encourage them to remain in Pakistan. (Read more from “Enormous Cross Arises in Pakistan” HERE)

US Special Forces Conduct Successful Raid in Syria, Kill High-Value Target [+video]

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Photo Credit: Controversial Times According to a White House press release, United States Special Operations Forces (specifically Delta Force) have killed a senior ISIS official, Abu Sayyaf, during a covert operation inside of Syrian borders.

The team reportedly managed to capture the commander’s wife during the raid while Sayyaf himself was killed. The raid was carried out by United States forces at the authorization of President Obama. The team entered Syria via Blackhawk helicopters and Osprey aircraft. According to statements made by defense officials, US personnel were forced to engage in hand to hand combat after landing at a multi-story building where the raid took place.

According to the White House statement, at least 12 ISIS fighters were killed during the raid. American forces suffered no casualties.

Sayyaf is reportedly in charge of oil and gas operations for the terror group. The sale of oil and gas is one of the reasons ISIS has been able to amass such a large fortune so quickly. With top ISIS leadership in question, it was believed Sayyaf was becoming more and more involved with day to day operations and may have been in line to become one of the top officials in the organization.

(Read more from “BREAKING: US Special Forces Raid in Syria” HERE)

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Russia Says It Can Deploy Nuclear Arms to Crimea

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Russia’s envoy to the NATO alliance said on Friday that Moscow will bolster military forces in occupied Ukraine, and is not banned from deploying nuclear arms in Crimea.

“Everything that we do in Crimea fully complies with all obligations of the Russian Federation under international treaties. We do not violate anything, there are no prohibitions on us deploying certain weapons systems,” said Alexander Grushko, the envoy, when asked if nuclear arms would be placed in Crimea.

Grushko also declined to say whether nuclear arms currently are deployed inside the Ukrainian territory forcibly annexed by Russia in March 2014. He made the remarks in a video press conference from Moscow with reporters in Brussels, where NATO headquarters is located.

European Command spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks said Grushko’s comments were “rhetoric” and a “diatribe” that would not alter the NATO position on the issue. . .

A State Department official agreed. Additionally, the official said stationing nuclear arms in Crimea would “violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in breach of [Russia’s] obligations under the U.N. Charter, and to be inconsistent with Russia’s commitments under the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest Memorandum.” (Read more from “Russia Says It Can Deploy Nuclear Arms to Crimea” HERE)

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Christians Planting Churches in Pakistan Receiving Horrific Death Threats From Muslims

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Photo Credit: Gospel Herald

Photo Credit: Gospel Herald

Christian leaders in Lahore, Pakistan have received death threats from Muslims over the past few months because of their involvement in the building of churches in the area, AsiaNews has revealed.

Javed David, a Pakistani Christian activist, told the news source on Monday that he and at least three of his Christian associates have been threatened by an anonymous group of Muslims amid growing anger regarding the construction of Christian churches.

David, who is the president of Hope for the Light Ministries, and his associates have been helping poor Christian communities in Pakistan build places of worship since 2013. However, he explained that he is becoming increasingly uneasy, particularly in the wake of the double suicide bomb attacks on churches in Lahore back in March.

In April, the anonymous group warned that if he continues to help construct churches, he will be made an “example” of.

“I had been to church in Sheikhupura to attend a meeting with colleagues. It was 8 p.m. when we left to return to Lahore. We were about to reach the main road when a motorbike drove up and blocked the way,” David said. “[I thought] maybe they were following us. The two bikers were wearing a helmet. One of them came up to my window and spoke to me. ‘We know what you are doing here,’ he said. ‘Stop building churches. Convert to Islam, which is the true religion. Otherwise we will make a horrible example of you.'” (Read more from “Christians Planting Churches in Pakistan Receiving Horrific Death Threats From Muslims” HERE)

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HSBC WARNS: The World Economy Faces a ‘Titanic Problem’

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titanic-19HSBC chief economist Stephen King is already thinking about the next recession.

In a note to clients Wednesday, he warns: “The world economy is like an ocean liner without lifeboats. If another recession hits, it could be a truly titanic struggle for policymakers.”

Here’s King’s warning:

Whereas previous recoveries have enabled monetary and fiscal policymakers to replenish their ammunition, this recovery — both in the US and elsewhere — has been distinguished by a persistent munitions shortage. This is a major problem. In all recessions since the 1970s, the US Fed funds rate has fallen by a minimum of 5 percentage points. That kind of traditional stimulus is now completely ruled out.

King notes that this far into the recovery, there’s a lack of “traditional policy ammunition.” For instance, Treasury yields have not risen, the budget deficit is not falling, and welfare payments are still on the rise. (Read more from “HSBC WARNS: The World Economy Faces a ‘Titanic Problem'” HERE)

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Pope Continues his Leftward March, Will Officially Recognize Palestinian Statehood

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1429260931_The Vatican announced Wednesday that it had brokered a treaty with the “state of Palestine,” upsetting Israeli advocates and propelling Pope Francis into the heart of yet another geopolitical fray.

The treaty is expected to be signed “in the near future,” the Vatican said. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, is scheduled to visit Pope Francis on Saturday, the day before the church canonizes two Palestinian nuns.

The treaty is thought to mark the first time the Holy See has formally recognized Palestinian statehood in a legal document. Vatican policy, however, has long held that a two-state solution is the best road to peace in the Holy Land. The Vatican has referred to Palestine as a state since November 2012, when the United Nations voted to recognize it as a nonmember observer state, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, told CNN. At the time, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI led the Catholic Church. . .

According to Palestinian officials, as many as 135 states now recognize Palestine as a state. Few political leaders, though, have the moral authority and popular appeal of Pope Francis.

While the Vatican commended the midlevel diplomats who hammered out the agreement, Wednesday’s announcement seems sure to polish the Pope’s image as a one-man United Nations, confidently wading into turbulent political waters and unafraid of upsetting the status quo. (Read more from “Vatican to Officially Recognize Palestinian Statehood” HERE)

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