Democracy on Display as Millions of Egyptians Celebrate Ouster of President Morsi

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Photo Credit: Life News

Photo Credit: Life News

With a solemn speech and flanked by scores of leaders, Egypt’s top General announced the military has peacefully removed President Morsi from power.

The announcement was greeted by thunderous cheers from millions in the streets of Egyptians major cities. Citizens were proclaiming they do not want sharia law and a Muslim religious state shoved down their throat…. but they do want a democratically elected secular government. Many felt Morsi was chipping away at democratic freedoms and was steering Egypt towards a religious state.

The General claimed during his speech, the military had been trying to broker an agreement bringing all sides of Egypt’s factions together to discuss a new government, but Morsi rejected these efforts.

As a result the military stepped in today to remove Morsi and appoint the Chief Justice of Egypt’s Supreme Court as interim leader until new elections can be held.

Since Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have been in power, an undeclared war on Christianity has been waged forcing over 200,000 Coptic Christians to flee the country.

Under Morsi, poverty has massively increased, murder and robbery have risen dramatically and the economy is in a death spiral….One of Egypt’s mainstays of its economy, tourism, has tanked because visitors were not safe.

Granted, Egypt’s economy wasn’t doing well when Morsi took over, but he took a bad economy and made it much worse increasing the suffering.

What we are witnessing is democracy in action at the most basic level…people taking to the streets to protest the way their government is working. It may not be pretty, but it is the catalyst that has established change throughout the world when a government does not respect the will of the people.

Lets hope that Egypt can take this opportunity to elect a government that is looking out for the best interests of the people, in a peaceful way.

On this July 4,perhaps the leaders in Washington can take a hint from the events in Egypt and listen to the growing chorus of voices who do not like the direction our country is being directed.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

Bolivian President’s Plane Diverted Due to Suspicion of Snowden on Board, Reportedly Endangers Passengers (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By Fox News. As an international round of asylum rejections piled up Tuesday for Edward Snowden, a plane carrying Bolivia’s president home from Russia was diverted to Vienna because of suspicions the NSA leaker might be onboard.

Officials in both Austria and Bolivia said that Snowden was not on the plane, which had to land in Vienna after Bolivian officials said France and Portugal refused to let it cross their airspace.

“We don’t know who invented this lie,” a furious Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said. “We want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales.”

He said the decision by France and Portugal “put at risk the life of the president.”

Morales had said in an interview with Russia Today television that Bolivia would be willing to consider granting asylum to Snowden. He was reported meeting there Tuesday night with the plane’s crew to reprogram his return to Bolivia. Read more from this story HERE.

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Snowden Affair Diverts Bolivian President’s Plane in Europe

By Thomson/Reuters. The diversion of Morale’s plane on Tuesday was another strange turn in the 30-year-old American’s cat-and-mouse game with the United States. Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca blamed it on “unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane.”

“We don’t know who invented this lie,” Choquehuanca said. “We want to express our displeasure because this has put the president’s life at risk.”

Bolivia is among more than a dozen countries where Snowden has sought asylum and Morales, who was attending an energy conference in Russia this week, has said he would consider granting the American refuge if requested.

Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said the State Department may have been behind the decisions to not allow Morales’ plane to land in Portugal or fly over French air space…

Snowden’s options seem only to have narrowed since he arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23 with no valid travel documents, after the United States revoked his passport. Read more from this story HERE.

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Venezuela’s President Maduro defends Edward Snowden: ‘He did not kill anyone’

By Valerie Richardson. Mr. Snowden’s increasingly desperate bids for asylum to escape prosecution on espionage charges could lead him back to America — specifically, South America.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro defended the accused leaker to Russian reporters Tuesday during a visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He did not kill anyone and did not plant a bomb,” said Mr. Maduro, according to the Interfax news agency. “What he did was tell a great truth in an effort to prevent wars. He deserves protection under international and humanitarian law.”

Mr. Maduro avoided saying whether he would admit the accused leaker, but Bolivian President Evo Morales said in an interview with Russian Today television that his country would be willing to consider granting asylum to Mr. Snowden.

“If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea,” Mr. Morales said on RT Actualidad, a Spanish-language broadcast, adding that in the past, “Bolivia was there to shield the denounced.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Toasts Failed Socialist Founding Dictator of Tanzania

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Photo Credit: Daily Caller

Photo Credit: Daily Caller

President Barack Obama toasted the founding dictator of post-colonial Tanzania on Monday, who collectivized the nation’s low-tech agricultural sector, established a one-party state and left that African nation’s economy in ruins.

“[Y]ou might say an American child is my child. We might say a Tanzanian child is my child,” Obama said after quoting the Tanzanian saying “my neighbor’s child is my child.”

“In this way, both of our nations will be looking after all of our children and we’ll be living out the vision of President [Julius] Nyerere,” Obama continued.

“The core values that he proclaimed for Tanzania also describe what both our countries seek — wisdom, unity, and peace — Hekima, Umoja, na Amani,” Obama said at a state dinner, held at 9:00 p.m. local time…

Nyerere “led a one-party state that nationalized key industries and created ujamaa, a rural, collective village-based movement of ‘African socialism’ and ‘self reliance,’” according to a 2011 report by the Congressional Research Service.

Read more from this story HERE.

Israel: Obama Sending “Highly Confusing and Contradictory” Signals

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

With violence and chaos surrounding Israel, policy experts within the Jewish state say the Obama administration is sending mixed – and highly confusing – signals as to where it stands.

The U.S. policies regarding Egypt, Syria, Turkey and even Qatar, where talks are slated with the Taliban, has left some observers in Israel, America’s staunchest ally in the region, wondering if the alliance still holds. In Egypt, the Obama administration was quick to support protesters in 2011, when they rose up against President Hosni Mubarak. But with fresh demonstrations aimed at President Morsi’s regime, there is no sign of the U.S. calling for the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood government despite its violent crackdown and widespread persecution of Egypt’s Christian community.

“In Egypt, the fanatics of the Muslim Brotherhood are attempting to control every aspect of Egyptian society,” said Gerald Steinberg, professor of political science at Israel’s Bar Ilan University. “You would think the Obama administration would sympathize with liberals and with democrats, with people who oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, but they are paralyzed there, too. They have shown no sign of dealing with the fact that we have replaced one dictatorship with another dictatorship.”

To the north, where more than 100,000 Syrians have died in a bloody, two-year civil war, the U.S. is planning to arm rebels, who include anti-Israel jihadists. The plan goes against previous stated policies, and threatens to put U.S. arms in the hands of Israel’s enemies, said Steinberg.

Read more from this story HERE.

European Nations Lash Out at Kerry Who Maintains that “Spying on Allies is Not Unusual”

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The US spying scandal deepened today as Secretary of State John Kerry said it is ‘not unusual’ for governments to bug the offices of their allies sparking fierce retorts from France and Germany.

The extraordinary statement has angered leaders across the world after leaked documents revealed America spied on 38 foreign missions and embassies including the European Union’s Washington nerve centre.

As outrage grew across the EU over the damaging revelations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was first to lash out, declaring that ‘bugging friends is unacceptable’ before French premier Francois Hollande demanded its ‘immediate halt’.

Speaking to a press conference today, Kerry said: ‘I will say that every country in the world that is engaged in international affairs and national security undertakes lots of activities to protect its national security and all kinds of information contributes to that. All I know is that is not unusual for lots of nations.’

But the remarks did not wash with Francois Hallande who demanded an immediate explanation, adding: ‘We cannot accept this kind of behavior.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russia’s Putin Signs ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban Into Law

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Photo Credit: AFP

Photo Credit: AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a bill punishing people for homosexual “propaganda”, an official publication showed Sunday, in a move critics fear will fuel hate crimes.

In another controversial step, Putin also signed a bill imposing jail terms and fines on those who offend religious believers, seen as a response to last year’s anti-Putin stunt by the punk band Pussy Riot in a Moscow cathedral.

Rights activists and Western governments have criticised both bills as part of an unprecedented crackdown on dissenting voices after Putin returned to the Kremlin last year.

The anti-propaganda law introduces fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($156) for citizens who disseminate information aimed at minors “directed at forming nontraditional sexual setup” or which may cause a “distorted understanding” that gay and heterosexual relations are “socially equivalent”, the official publication of the bill showed.

Read more from this story HERE.

Security Officials: Syria Used Chinese Intel to Bomb U.S. Arms Shipment

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

Intelligence provided by China was utilized by Syria’s air force to bomb a Western weapons shipment on its way to arm the Syrian rebels, according to informed Middle Eastern security officials.

The officials said the air strike was carried out Saturday just as the weapons convoy entered Syrian territory from neighboring Jordan.

The officials said the arms shipment was coordinated with help from the U.S.

Just last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the Central Intelligence Agency began moving weapons to Jordan from a network of secret warehouses as part of a plan to arm the Syrian rebels within a month after first vetting the fighting groups.

The Journal reported the CIA was bringing light arms and possibly anti-tank missiles to Jordan.

Read more from this story HERE.

Anti-Muslim Brotherhood Protests in Egypt: Largest Political Event in World History

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Photo Credit: breitbart

Photo Credit: breitbart

The demonstrations that began Sunday in Cairo, Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood government of President Mohamed Morsi have attracted “millions” of supporters and many counter-demonstrators as well, making the protest the largest political event in the history of the world, according to the BBC.

The protests in Tahrir Square and throughout Egypt exceed those that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 in the key event of the Arab Spring. Two years later, after constitutional reforms and elections that saw Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood move to aggrandize their power, the public backlash is immense.

The demonstrations pose a puzzle for President Barack Obama, who was touring South Africa at the other end of the continent when the demonstrations began. In 2011, Obama initially supported Mubarak, then threw his weight behind the protests and reached out to the Muslim Brotherhood on its way to power.

The Obama administration, through Ambassador Anne Patterson, actively discouraged Sunday’s protests, as Breitbart News’ Kerry Picket reported last week. “Egypt needs stability to get its economic house in order, and more violence on the streets will do little more than add new names to the lists of martyrs,” she said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Europe Fuming: NSA Bugged, Spied on European Union Offices

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Photo Credit: DPA

Photo Credit: DPA

By Laura Poitras, Marcel Rosenbach, Fidelius Schmid and Holger Stark. America’s NSA intelligence service allegedly targeted the European Union with its spying activities. According to SPIEGEL information, the US placed bugs in the EU representation in Washington and infiltrated its computer network. Cyber attacks were also perpetrated against Brussels in New York and Washington.

Information obtained by SPIEGEL shows that America’s National Security Agency (NSA) not only conducted online surveillance of European citizens, but also appears to have specifically targeted buildings housing European Union institutions. The information appears in secret documents obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden that SPIEGEL has in part seen. A “top secret” 2010 document describes how the secret service attacked the EU’s diplomatic representation in Washington.

The document suggests that in addition to installing bugs in the building in downtown Washington, DC, the European Union representation’s computer network was also infiltrated. In this way, the Americans were able to access discussions in EU rooms as well as emails and internal documents on computers.

The attacks on EU institutions show yet another level in the broad scope of the NSA’s spying activities. For weeks now, new details about Prism and other surveillance programs have been emerging from what had been compiled by whistleblower Snowden. It has also been revealed that the British intelligence service GCHQ operates a similar program under the name Tempora with which global telephone and Internet connections are monitored. Read more from this story HERE.

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New Warning: ‘Totalitarianism’ On Way

By F. Michael Maloof. Europeans are beginning to express increasing alarm over the Obama administration and the extent of electronic snooping it has been conducting on people around the world, including Americans, and are proposing heavy penalties on U.S. internet networks if they’re caught, according to report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

“Is Barack Obama a friend?” asks one commentary in the highly regarded German magazine Der Spiegel.

“Revelations about his government’s vast spying program call the assumption into doubt,” it said. “The European Union must protect the continent from America’s reach for omnipotence.”

This feeling was further underscored on the occasion of President Barack Obama’s recent appearance in Berlin. The people who turned out for his speech were just a fraction of those who saw the one the president gave in Berlin years ago.

Der Spiegel referred to Obama as the “head of the largest and most all-encompassing surveillance system ever invented.” Read more from this story HERE.

Catholic Priest Beheaded in Syria by Al-Qaeda-Linked Rebels as Men and Children Take Pictures and Cheer

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Photo Credit: Syria Report

Photo Credit: Syria Report

Syrian Catholic priest Francois Murad killed last weekend by jihadi fighters was beheaded, [Caution: Very Graphic Images] according to a report by Catholic Online which is linking to video purportedly showing the brutal murder.

As TheBlaze reported last week, Murad, 49, was setting up a monastery in Gassanieh, northern Syria. Last Sunday, on the Christian leader’s Sabbath, extremist militants trying to topple President Bashar Assad breached the monastery and grabbed Murad.

While earlier reports suggested Murad may have been shot to death, Catholic Online reported Saturday: “The Vatican is confirming the death by beheading of Franciscan Father, Francois Murad, who was martyred by Syrian jihadists on June 23.”

The Catholic news service quotes local sources who report that the radical Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or Al-Nusra Front, was behind the savage killing.

In video posted by Live Leak purporting to show the execution, dozens of men and boys are seen cheering on as three men are seated on the ground awaiting their grisly fate.

Read more from this story HERE.