Christians, Poverty, and the Culture Wars
"in 2009, American churches gave $13 billion to global relief and development efforts..... In 2012, World Vision alone spent about $2.8 billion on the poor. And 600 evangelical agencies spent $9.2 billion on orphan care, relief work, and on medical, educational, and other services to the poor. And I won’t even mention the evangelical fight against Ebola."
Quote: Eric Metaxas: Breakpoint: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27444
lørdag den 30. maj 2015
fredag den 29. maj 2015
(39) Zagros cudi
(39) Zagros cudi
Michael Anrit ..... US actor left Hollywood and joined the #YPG our units to fight terrorists ISIS
ممثل الامريكي هوليود الشهير مايكل انريت الذي ترك اضواء النجومية في الولايات المتحدة الامريكية و انضم الى وحداتنا ال YPG&YPJ لمحاربة داعش عاشة اخوة الشعوب هربشي برخدانه YPG&YPJ
Michael Anrit ..... US actor left Hollywood and joined the #YPG our units to fight terrorists ISIS
ممثل الامريكي هوليود الشهير مايكل انريت الذي ترك اضواء النجومية في الولايات المتحدة الامريكية و انضم الى وحداتنا ال YPG&YPJ لمحاربة داعش عاشة اخوة الشعوب هربشي برخدانه YPG&YPJ
torsdag den 28. maj 2015
But we feel your fallen tears, your beheaded bodies, your raped dignity.”
“I will follow anyone . . . and remind everyone . . . of the
fate . . . of the . . . Yazidi . . . No one mentions
your tears, sadness or slow death! But we feel your
fallen tears, your beheaded bodies, your raped dignity.”
fate . . . of the . . . Yazidi . . . No one mentions
your tears, sadness or slow death! But we feel your
fallen tears, your beheaded bodies, your raped dignity.”
–Widad Akrawi,
Iraqi-born human rights activist
www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF Annual Report 2015 (2).pdf
onsdag den 27. maj 2015
tirsdag den 26. maj 2015
søndag den 24. maj 2015
Fra sejr til sejr i kampen mod ISIS - Yekîneyên Parastina Gel v18.pdf - Google Drev
Fra sejr til sejr i kampen mod ISIS - Yekîneyên Parastina Gel v18.pdf - Google Drev
Fra
sejr til sejr i kampen mod ISIS: Yekîneyên
Parastina Gel
Endelig
skete ”miraklet”: Efter lang tids hårde kampe og enorme ofre har
det amerikanske militær endeligt givet en helhjertet og uforbeholden
officiel anerkendelse af den gruppe soldater, som har været mest
succesfulde i kampen mod ISIS: De syriske kurdiske
Yekîneyên
Parastina Gel
YPG,
Yekîneyên
Parastina Gel
-
folkets
beskyttelsesenheder - udgør hovedparten af hærstyrkerne i Rojava i
Nordsyrien. Både mænd og kvinder er med, men i modsætning til
danske og andre vestlige hærstyrker er kvinderne organiseret i deres
egne seperate regimenter (YPJ),
ved fronten kan kvinder og mænd dog godt kæmpe side om side.
Efterhånden som YPG/YPJs ry og rygte er vokset har de fra en meget
spæd begyndelse organiseret en stadig mere tydelig tilstedeværelse
på internettet. En del frivillige ikke-kurdiske vesterlændige er
rejst til Syrien for at kæmpe mod ISIS sammen med kurderne, heraf er
en del tidligere soldater. Antallet er formentlig et sted mellem
150-250, men det præcise tal er ukendt. Et af de seneste skud på
den stamme er tidligere Hollywood-skuespiller Michael Enright, som
bl.a. har spillet med i “ Pirates
Of The Caribbean”. i
Patrick
Ryder, som er oberst i det amerikanske luftvåben - US Air Force - og
talsmand for US Central Command, operationshovedkvarteret for det
amerikanske militær i Tampa, Florida, sagde under en briefing den
20. maj at
”Kurdiske
krigere i det Nordøstlige Syrien har gjort det meget godt og de
udgør virkelig en fjendtlig styrke i ISILs baghave, som har givet
dem nogle væsentlige problemer der.”
lørdag den 23. maj 2015
fredag den 22. maj 2015
Folk i verden, kig på Rojava!
Folk i verden, kig på Rojava!
Folk
i verden, kig på Rojava!
I
verdens folk, I folk i Amerika, i England, i Frankrig, i Italien! Se
på Rojava og erkend, at I ikke må lade dette folk stå alene i
deres kamp! Der findes kun en mulighed for os alle: fælles at stå
sammen så længe, indtil denne kamp er vundet, til denne kamp
endelig er beseglet ved sejren over fjenderne, ved sejren over
mørkets magt.
Folket
i Rojava har talt. Vi har gjort vor pligt, vi har drevet ISIS ud af
Kobane og vi står i dag nu kun cirka 60 kilometeri
fra slangens hoved – Raqqa - og vi vil fortsætte med at gøre vor
pligt. Folk i verden! Gør også jeres pligt og hjælp os i den tid,
der står foran os, ikke kun med drønet fra jeres flyvemaskiner,
ikke kun med de modige frivillige mænd og kvinder, som rejser fra
jeres lande og hertil for at kæmpe på vores side, men med den
standhaftige og evigt eksisterende indeståen for de fælles idealer,
som alene kan sikre vor fremtid og som også alene kan sikre jeres
fremtid. Folk i verden, kig på Rojava! Og folk i Rojava, vær sikre
på, denne kamp vil vi, denne kamp vil vi vinde!
Læs i linket ovenfor eller her: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4hjJTbOj_agbld1bmJXTlB1U3c/view
iYPG take Over Cement Factory and Villages in Raqqa
Kurdish forces just 60km from Caliphate 'capital city' Raqqa
A war going on in Turkey against the Kurds
There is a war going on in Turkey... a war - small scale perhaps - against the Kurds... but still it is a war of continued provocations, violent attacks, arson attacks, discrimination, arrests and cases of injustice.. During the current election campaing the office of HDP - a mainly kurdish party - - has even been attacked with bombs two times. Once again I feel somewhat bewildered - or rather appalled - by the apperent indifference in my own country - Denmark - towards the popular democratic non-violent struggles of HDP and the Kurds in the region.. Not much solidarity here.. But to anyone who relates to this I want to express my support and solidarity to you in your peaceful democratic struggles in Turkey and the region as a whole. I hope and wish that the HDP will get a strong and triumphant election result.
(added 2605-2015: I regret using the word "war". It is not really fitting here, there is an ongoing and at times very difficult struggle for equal rights, justice and political influence in Turkey. HDP and kurds often find themselves in situations as the ones I described above - in my view it is not quite unlike the situation in the South in the US in the nineteen fifties and sixties.. where the black civil rights movement often met a lot of resistance. But to call it a war is too much)
"Our Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş in Istanbul" : https://www.facebook.com/pdpturkey/photos/pb.540807819351347.-2207520000.1432327616./777586609006799/?type=3&theater
Pictures: https://www.facebook.com/pdpturkey?fref=photo
THANKS HDP : https://hdpenglish.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/solidarity-message-against-garissa-attack-in-kenya/
May many blessings rain down upon you. May justice prevail in Turkey, justice for all, and equal rights for all.
Heine Strømdahl, 22-05-2015
(added 2605-2015: I regret using the word "war". It is not really fitting here, there is an ongoing and at times very difficult struggle for equal rights, justice and political influence in Turkey. HDP and kurds often find themselves in situations as the ones I described above - in my view it is not quite unlike the situation in the South in the US in the nineteen fifties and sixties.. where the black civil rights movement often met a lot of resistance. But to call it a war is too much)
Our Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ: The first fire for Newroz celebrations has just been lighted at the Kobani-Suruç border. To those lighting the fire and fanning the flame, and to all peoples, happy Newroz! -- https://www.facebook.com/pdpturkey/photos/pb.540807819351347.-2207520000.1432327761./754621321303328/?type=3&theater
"Our Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş in Istanbul" : https://www.facebook.com/pdpturkey/photos/pb.540807819351347.-2207520000.1432327616./777586609006799/?type=3&theater
THANKS HDP : https://hdpenglish.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/solidarity-message-against-garissa-attack-in-kenya/
May many blessings rain down upon you. May justice prevail in Turkey, justice for all, and equal rights for all.
Heine Strømdahl, 22-05-2015
torsdag den 21. maj 2015
onsdag den 20. maj 2015
another #hdp election song. try not to dance:
"another #hdp election song. try not to dance:"
https://twitter.com/fgeerdink/status/600938305966968832
HDP'nin 2015 Seçim Şarkısı-HD - YouTube
https://twitter.com/fgeerdink/status/600938305966968832
HDP'nin 2015 Seçim Şarkısı-HD - YouTube
tirsdag den 19. maj 2015
Character and Conviction | Andy Bannister
Character and Conviction | Andy Bannister
Character and Conviction
In a fascinating essay in Education Forum, the magazine of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, Stephen Anderson tells a chilling story of a philosophy class he was teaching on ethics.[1] Wanting an “attention getter” to shock his students into thinking morally, he displayed a photo of Bibi Aisha. She was a young Afghani girl who, aged just 14, was forced into marriage with a Taliban fighter, who proceeded to horribly abuse her. After suffering four years of violence, Aisha fled but was soon captured. Her husband and other family members then hacked off her nose and ears and left her to die in the mountains where she was later rescued by aid workers.
Read the whole article by Andy Bannister here http://www.andybannister.net/character-and-conviction/
Mayday mayday mayday --- hjælp Kobane og Rojava. Bryd blokaden mod Rojava.
Read here in link : Mayday mayday mayday --- hjælp Kobane og Rojava. Bryd blokaden mod Rojava.
Mayday mayday mayday --- hjælp Kobane og Rojava.
Bryd blokaden mod Rojava.
Arab (perhaps kurdish, see link) woman from Rojava in tears after ISIS attack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrO9cKTJ3O0
"Kurds treat Sunni Arabs far better, for example, than the US treated loyal Japanese Americans during WW2
Boots on the Ground | Foreign Affairs
"Kurds treat Sunni Arabs far better, for example, than the United States treated loyal Japanese Americans it interned during World War II. Faced with a brutal enemy that shares over 650 miles of their border, and charged with the responsibility of protecting the safety and well-being not only of their local population but also of an incredible 1.6 million-plus refugees and internally displaced, what the Kurds have accomplished in the midst of war is nothing short of remarkable."
Quote: Foreign Affairs : https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iraq/2015-05-14/boots-ground?cid=soc-tw-rdr
"Boots on the Ground
In Praise of the Kurdish Peshmerga
By Jay Montgomery Garner"Kurds treat Sunni Arabs far better, for example, than the United States treated loyal Japanese Americans it interned during World War II. Faced with a brutal enemy that shares over 650 miles of their border, and charged with the responsibility of protecting the safety and well-being not only of their local population but also of an incredible 1.6 million-plus refugees and internally displaced, what the Kurds have accomplished in the midst of war is nothing short of remarkable."
Quote: Foreign Affairs : https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/iraq/2015-05-14/boots-ground?cid=soc-tw-rdr
mandag den 18. maj 2015
søndag den 17. maj 2015
post-traumatic stress rife within the ranks of the Syrian fighters.
BasNews
"post-traumatic stress rife within the ranks of the Syrian (YPG - my addition) fighters."
Quote: http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/04/28/canadian-fighter-blogs-about-his-experiences-with-ypg/
"post-traumatic stress rife within the ranks of the Syrian (YPG - my addition) fighters."
Quote: http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/04/28/canadian-fighter-blogs-about-his-experiences-with-ypg/
fredag den 15. maj 2015
Kurds in Turkey
Turkey! A little more precisely: kurds in Turkey. Source: Pics from Leyla Imrets Twitter account, Leyla Imret is co-mayor in Cizre in Turkey
Most of the pics: Here: https://twitter.com/azadius/status/598836547031605249
Of Millstones and Fences
Of Millstones and Fences
"Of Millstones and Fences
HOW CHRISTIANITY MADE CHILDREN HUMAN
By: Eric Metaxas|Published: May 15, 2015 8:00 AM
Topics: Christian Living, Church Issues, Culture/Institutions, History
In their rush to dismantle Christian morality, modern secularists would do well to read their history. I’ll help them out.
LISTEN NOW | DOWNLOAD
Eric Metaxas
So many of the ideas and values we take for granted today are historical innovations, brought about by the rise of Christianity. Take the common rules of engagement that add a measure of “fairness” to warfare, or the idea that men and women are equally valuable in the sight of God.
These days, of course, Christianity takes the fall for things that cramp peoples’ style: monogamous marriage, chastity, the sanctity of life, and the nuclear family, to name but a few. But in their rush to dismantle these irksome rules, modern secularists would do well to heed G. K. Chesterton’s warning about knocking down a fence before knowing why the fence was put there in the first place.
You see, the early Christians’ insistence on sexual restraint proved enormously beneficial to the ancient world—especially to society’s most vulnerable members. My colleague John Stonestreet talked about this recently on “The Point.”
Take the case of children. Writing at “The Week,” Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry explains, “Today it is simply taken for granted that the innocence and vulnerability of children makes them beings of particular value, and entitled to particular care...[but] this view of children is a historical oddity.”
Gobry points to the work of historian O. M. Bakke, whose book “When Children Became People” documents how radically Christianity altered the practices of ancient Greece and Rome, and what the world before Christ looked like.
Children, he says, were considered nonpersons. In the cultures of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Pliny the Elder, society was organized in “concentric circles,” with the most valuable (freeborn, adult males) in the center, and the least valuable (women, slaves, and children) on the fringes.daily_commentary_05_15_15
From the moment of birth, a child in ancient Rome was as likely as not to die. If disease or injury didn't end a young life, very frequently the parents themselves did, “exposing” any infants deemed inconvenient. Such children usually fell prey to wild animals or the elements. But as Gobry points out, a few were rescued only to be raised in one of the ancient world's most lucrative industries: sex slavery.
Today, sexually abusing a child is a serious crime. Not so in the pre-Christian world, writes Gobry. During that time it was legal, and even considered good form, for a married Patrician to keep children—particularly young boys—to exploit sexually in his free time. “[M]ost sexual acts were permissible,” Gobry explains, “as long as they involved a person of higher status being active against or dominating a person of lower status. This meant that, according to all the evidence we have, the sexual abuse of children...was rife.”
Into this world came Christianity, with its condemnation of abortion, infanticide and child abuse, its glorification of faithful marriage, and its teaching that children come first in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble,” said Jesus, “it would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.”
Newsletter_Gen_180x180_B
This ethic, which the Western world takes for granted today, is a direct heritage of Christianity. It rests on the very same beliefs as traditional marriage, chastity, and the sanctity of all life. And secularists who want nothing more than a world free from these constraints of Christian morality, warns Gobry, had better consider—or rather remember—what that world looks like...."
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27363
"Of Millstones and Fences
HOW CHRISTIANITY MADE CHILDREN HUMAN
By: Eric Metaxas|Published: May 15, 2015 8:00 AM
Topics: Christian Living, Church Issues, Culture/Institutions, History
In their rush to dismantle Christian morality, modern secularists would do well to read their history. I’ll help them out.
LISTEN NOW | DOWNLOAD
Eric Metaxas
So many of the ideas and values we take for granted today are historical innovations, brought about by the rise of Christianity. Take the common rules of engagement that add a measure of “fairness” to warfare, or the idea that men and women are equally valuable in the sight of God.
These days, of course, Christianity takes the fall for things that cramp peoples’ style: monogamous marriage, chastity, the sanctity of life, and the nuclear family, to name but a few. But in their rush to dismantle these irksome rules, modern secularists would do well to heed G. K. Chesterton’s warning about knocking down a fence before knowing why the fence was put there in the first place.
You see, the early Christians’ insistence on sexual restraint proved enormously beneficial to the ancient world—especially to society’s most vulnerable members. My colleague John Stonestreet talked about this recently on “The Point.”
Take the case of children. Writing at “The Week,” Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry explains, “Today it is simply taken for granted that the innocence and vulnerability of children makes them beings of particular value, and entitled to particular care...[but] this view of children is a historical oddity.”
Gobry points to the work of historian O. M. Bakke, whose book “When Children Became People” documents how radically Christianity altered the practices of ancient Greece and Rome, and what the world before Christ looked like.
Children, he says, were considered nonpersons. In the cultures of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Pliny the Elder, society was organized in “concentric circles,” with the most valuable (freeborn, adult males) in the center, and the least valuable (women, slaves, and children) on the fringes.daily_commentary_05_15_15
From the moment of birth, a child in ancient Rome was as likely as not to die. If disease or injury didn't end a young life, very frequently the parents themselves did, “exposing” any infants deemed inconvenient. Such children usually fell prey to wild animals or the elements. But as Gobry points out, a few were rescued only to be raised in one of the ancient world's most lucrative industries: sex slavery.
Today, sexually abusing a child is a serious crime. Not so in the pre-Christian world, writes Gobry. During that time it was legal, and even considered good form, for a married Patrician to keep children—particularly young boys—to exploit sexually in his free time. “[M]ost sexual acts were permissible,” Gobry explains, “as long as they involved a person of higher status being active against or dominating a person of lower status. This meant that, according to all the evidence we have, the sexual abuse of children...was rife.”
Into this world came Christianity, with its condemnation of abortion, infanticide and child abuse, its glorification of faithful marriage, and its teaching that children come first in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble,” said Jesus, “it would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.”
Newsletter_Gen_180x180_B
This ethic, which the Western world takes for granted today, is a direct heritage of Christianity. It rests on the very same beliefs as traditional marriage, chastity, and the sanctity of all life. And secularists who want nothing more than a world free from these constraints of Christian morality, warns Gobry, had better consider—or rather remember—what that world looks like...."
http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/27363
onsdag den 13. maj 2015
http://en.hawarnews.com/bomb-explodes-in-coach-2-women-died/
(48) Asayîş Rojava - آساييش روج آفاs billeder - Asayîş Rojava - آساييش روج آفا
"SERÊKANIYÊ – A bomb placed in a bus in Serêkaniyê city of Rojava exploded leaving 2 women dead and a women and her child wounded.
According to ANHA reporters who obtained information from Serêkaniyê Asayîş (Public Security Forces), the bus was going from Til Ebyad region to village of Erbeyîn (Menacîr, Serêkaniyê). An investigation was launched by Asayîş while the wounded people were taken to hospitals."
http://en.hawarnews.com/bomb-explodes-in-coach-2-women-died/
http://en.hawarnews.com/bomb-explodes-in-coach-2-women-died/
"SERÊKANIYÊ – A bomb placed in a bus in Serêkaniyê city of Rojava exploded leaving 2 women dead and a women and her child wounded.
According to ANHA reporters who obtained information from Serêkaniyê Asayîş (Public Security Forces), the bus was going from Til Ebyad region to village of Erbeyîn (Menacîr, Serêkaniyê). An investigation was launched by Asayîş while the wounded people were taken to hospitals."
http://en.hawarnews.com/bomb-explodes-in-coach-2-women-died/
http://en.hawarnews.com/bomb-explodes-in-coach-2-women-died/
mandag den 11. maj 2015
søndag den 10. maj 2015
“IS have institutionalised sexual violence and the brutalization of women as...
BasNews
“IS have institutionalised sexual violence and the brutalization of women as a central aspect of their ideology and operations, using it as a tactic of terrorism to advance their key strategic objectives,” said Bangura.
Sarah, a 14-year-old girl The Sunday Times interviewed, is still traumatized. Two men offered their hands in marriage, but she refused.
“I refused both of them; I don’t want to fall in love,” she cried. “I don’t think I can. I don’t want to be married or have children — I am damaged goods.”
Quote: Basnews.com : http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/05/09/islamic-state-forces-girls-to-undergo-virginity-surgery-un/
“IS have institutionalised sexual violence and the brutalization of women as a central aspect of their ideology and operations, using it as a tactic of terrorism to advance their key strategic objectives,” said Bangura.
Sarah, a 14-year-old girl The Sunday Times interviewed, is still traumatized. Two men offered their hands in marriage, but she refused.
“I refused both of them; I don’t want to fall in love,” she cried. “I don’t think I can. I don’t want to be married or have children — I am damaged goods.”
Quote: Basnews.com : http://www.basnews.com/en/news/2015/05/09/islamic-state-forces-girls-to-undergo-virginity-surgery-un/
fredag den 8. maj 2015
torsdag den 7. maj 2015
tirsdag den 5. maj 2015
ISIS Repelled From Western Kobane - YouTube
ISIS Repelled From Western Kobane - YouTube
Watch and weep.
"Offentliggjort den 5. maj 2015
Sunday night ISIS made a new attempt to get a foothold in Kobane, by attacking the Western front.
The YPG were able to quickly repel and neutralize the ISIS threat.
One of the villages which was targeted by ISIS gang was Gire Sork, which is mostly inhabited by Arabs."
Watch and weep.
"Offentliggjort den 5. maj 2015
Sunday night ISIS made a new attempt to get a foothold in Kobane, by attacking the Western front.
The YPG were able to quickly repel and neutralize the ISIS threat.
One of the villages which was targeted by ISIS gang was Gire Sork, which is mostly inhabited by Arabs."
mandag den 4. maj 2015
Stop ISIS. Act decisively
Link to PDF: Stop ISIS. Act decisively
Stop
ISIS. Act decisively
By Heine Strømdahl, 05-05-15
The
current plan to defeat ISIS seems woefully bad. It is a
plan/strategy that depends much on the "Iraqi Army". US
Marines liberated Falleluja in 2004 and could do the same in Mosul in
a week or two. But the current White House administration doesn't
want to fight open battles and liberate - say Mosul - with its own US
troops, instead President Obama is sitting in his comfortable stuffed
chair in the White House and waiting and hoping (and perhaps even
praying) that someday the Iraqi Army finally will rise to its feet
and start liberating Iraq from the claws of ISIS.
In
the meantime this miserable loser's
strategy to defeat ISIS - ”Let's wait and hope and pray that
one day somehow ”The Iraqi Army” will move into action ” -
carries a high human cost and allows ISIS to
1:
Carefully select and train hundreds or thousands of children to be
suicide-bombers.
2:
Carefully select and train many women to be the same – remember
ISIS has female brigades too.
3:
Kill lots of people in the areas subjected to their evil domination.
And by the way: Decapitation and torture still seems to be very
popular among ISIS henchmen. And there is no reason to believe that
ISIS suddenly will bring a halt to these devilish practices.
4:
Oppres, murder and manipulate/brainwash people in the areas they
control. Not to mention all the other kind of miseries that follows
with an occupation by such an entity.
The
most recent example is the reported yet still unverified killing of
300 Yazidisi
At
the same time this passive stance allows for the stockpiles of ”The
Iraqi Army” to be slowly filled. But these weapons will never be
used against ISIS. (They may however one day end up being used
against the kurds – in a scenario similar to that which took place
in august 2014: ISIS ”stood at the gates of Erbil” with advanced
US weaponry in its hands. Only after
a phone call between US
Vice President Joe Biden
and Kurdistan
Region President Massoud Barzani
on the night of august 6 did President Obama finally authorize
airstrickes. ii
)
Here
is the problem – from my perspective :
”The
Iraqi Army” isn't an army. It is a sham, a circus, a tragic and
miserable spectacle. They will not fight against ISIS. They WILL not
fight against ISIS. They shy away//run away from fighting if they can
see any possibity to do so – and the few battles they actually have
fought against ISIS have been with mixed results – or even worse
perhaps: they have performed poorly on the battlefield.
Questions
to be answered honestly:
Do
they have any real leadership in ”The Iraqi Army”? A leadership
the soldiers trust?
Do
they have any fighting spirit at all?
When
will ”The Iraqi Army” finally be ready for real battle? In 2035?
In 2045? In 6800?
Nobody
seems to know.
And
we haven't even begun to talk about Syria.
But
one thing we do know:
Nobody
in the Obama administration is talking candidly and honestly about it
- they are still dreaming and hoping and waiting and praying for a
resurrection of the dead Iraqi Army.
In
the meantime ISIS continues it's reign of terror in the areas under
their control, jihadists and extremists from all over the world are
emboldened by the relative succes of ISIS: they flock to Syria, they
lay plans for terrorattacks in Western cities, they seek to carve out
new territory in countries in Africa, they kill over 150.000
christians a year according to OSCEiii
– and we continue to have millions of people living as refugees or
IDPs in Iraq and Syria and the surrounding countries, while hundreds
or thousands of other refugees continue to seek towards the borders
of Europe on a daily basis.
The
only bright spot on this map are the kurds in Rojava in North Syria:
Their forces are equipped with very simple means and assisted only
with the limited effects of airstrickes. Yet the men and women of the
YPG/YPJ are still fighting ferociously and they are actually
defeating ISIS and pushing them further away from their region. They
need our help.
”In
the last few months we have watched in horror as ISIS sympathizers
have attacked innocent people, businesses and governments in at least
the United States, Canada, France, Australia, the United Kingdom, and
Belgium. Even as we’ve watched wanna-be jihadists travel to
and from America and Europe on western passports to fight in the ISIS
jihad themselves.
Their
propaganda machine is causing mega-corporations like Google and
Twitter to struggle to keep up with the amount of jihadist propaganda
showing up online every single day, and, shockingly, one study
recently noted that one-in-five Arabic language tweets in the United
States and the United Kingdom referencing ISIS were in “support”
of the organization.
The
fact is, we will deal with this crisis there or we will deal with it
here.
Not
dealing with it seriously is simply not an option.
We
expected Syria would fix itself as well.
And
what did it get us?
ISIS.”
i
Stop
ISIS. Act decisively ii
ihttp://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/03/16/has-christian-holocaust-begun-when-will-west-wake-up-to-isis-threat/
, by Johnnie
Moore, 1603-2015.
ii Senior Kurdistan Official: IS Was at Erbil’s Gates; Turkey Did Not Help. http://rudaw.net/english/interview/16092014
iii
whereas
according to OSCE data the number of Christians killed every year is
over 150 000;
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2015-0369&language=EN
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/08/07/statement-president
lørdag den 2. maj 2015
Stop ISIS. Act decisively Vasiliki Scurfield Barnsley, United Kingdom
Stop ISIS. Act decisively
They all have names. Every one of the people who ISIS has murdered has a name and every day more people die trying to protect their right to a life free from persecution and terror.
All decent human beings are disgusted and horrified by the atrocities perpetrated by ISIS, yet ISIS continues its evil work unhindered, even affiliating with other extremist organisations. In the meantime there are some half-hearted coalition air strikes which, at best, succeed only in temporarily containing ISIS. Yet all across Northern Syria especially, Rojavan Kurds continue to fight, essentially unassisted, to protect people of all religions and ethnic backgrounds and support refugees.
Picture (added by me Heine) : Funeral for fallen Assyrian fighter, who fought side by side with YPG in Rojava against ISIS. https://twitter.com/NinBazi/status/594550229157842944
Western governments have largely ignored these Kurdish people yet think about what would be happening if these Kurds had not stepped forward and resisted. ISIS would now own most of Northern Syria and would be pressing forward with its stated aim of spreading its extremist ideology across the world. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
Despite Kurdish progress ISIS is not defeated. How long can the Kurds continue to hold ISIS back without help? How many of them must die in this battle? How many more people from the west, shamed by their governments’ apathy, must go out to do battle against ISIS? How many must give their lives, like my son Kosta did, while western governments sit back and watch? How many more civilians must be brutally murdered before the rest of the world does something convincing to stop this evil?
It’s time for us to work together and do something to help.
It’s time to stop ISIS.
Join the fight against extremism. Step up, be brave, sign the petition. Help us get more than 100.000 signatures so that governments can’t ignore what’s going on any more.
We want:
1. A UN presence/ monitors all along the Turkish Syrian border to ensure:
a. that supplies and volunteers for Daesh/ISIS are not entering the conflict using this route and if they are, then to stop them immediately.
b. a humanitarian corridor is opened so that aid, including medical supplies, and the resources needed to rebuild towns and villages after ISIS has retreated, reach the civilians in Rojava consistently
Why: a. ISIS are getting their supplies and new members from somewhere. There are many reports that indicate that they are coming through the Turkish/Syrian border. If this is the case then evidence needs to be collected and it needs to be stopped immediately. b. Also supplies and aid are being stopped from getting through to the Kurdish people. A protected and independent corridor is vital to ensure they get the help they need.
2. Western governments to open up a dialogue directly with the YPG in Rojava to find out what they need in order to defeat ISIS conclusively and then supply it.
Why: The best way to help Rojavan Kurds on the frontline is to ask them what they need. It’s obvious. Why is no-one listening to them? Why is no-one asking them? The YPG is not a listed organisation so there is no barrier to doing this.
3. the immediate release of Silhan Ozcelik and any other person being held for wishing to fight against ISIS.
Why: We should not demonise people going out to fight against ISIS.
4. the de-listing of the PKK.
Why: The PKK are trying to be conciliatory. They are prepared to work at creating a positive relationship with Turkey. They could be a useful ally in the fight against ISIS. If we can de-list Cuba, work with Iran and the IRA we can de-list the PKK.
5. a commitment to dedicate resources to ensuring the return of every girl taken by ISIS and sold into slavery and their return to their families and communities with appropriate support.
Why: slavery and rape are unacceptable under any circumstances. These women need justice.
6. an investigation into Western ‘allies’ who may be funding or supporting ISIS and immediate punitive measures if they are found to be doing so.
Why: ISIS are getting funding, supplies and members from somewhere and these are reaching them somehow. They are selling oil, antiquities and women/ children somewhere. This needs to stop whether it is being done with or without the relevant governments’ awareness.
Please speak out and sign this petition.
LETTER TO
Number 10 Downing Street.
President Barack Obama
Jean-Claude Juncker
Welcome to The Apache Software Foundation!
Welcome to The Apache Software Foundation!
COMMUNITY.
WE CONSIDER OURSELVES
not simply a group of projects sharing a server, but rather a community of developers and users.
fredag den 1. maj 2015
U.S. Congressmen offer another approach to Iraq
U.S. Congressmen offer another approach to Iraq
The irony is that Mr. Obama and his diplomats have not apparently made any of their military aid to Baghdad conditional. Last I checked, Shiite militias -- with much more U.S. weapons coming to them (via the “Iraqi Army”) than the Kurds -- are behaving infinitely worse towards Sunni Arab civilians than the Kurds.
The irony is that Mr. Obama and his diplomats have not apparently made any of their military aid to Baghdad conditional. Last I checked, Shiite militias -- with much more U.S. weapons coming to them (via the “Iraqi Army”) than the Kurds -- are behaving infinitely worse towards Sunni Arab civilians than the Kurds.
The Frightened Vietnamese Kid Who Became A U.S. Army General : Parallels : NPR
www.NPR.org :
"The Frightened Vietnamese Kid Who Became A U.S. Army General
Luong made a decision on that carrier deck. "People might not believe that, but, I knew right back then that I want to serve our country," he says."
Quote:The Frightened Vietnamese Kid Who Became A U.S. Army General : Parallels : NPR