Russian destroyer docks at Iranian port
DEBKAfile December 19, 2012, 10:40 PM (GMT+02:00)

The Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer has docked at Bandar Abbas port, continuing the Russian naval buildup in and around Syria and Iran, which was first reported by DEBKAfile Tuesday. In November, Russian Caspian Flotilla Commander Rear Adm. Sergei Alekminiski called for closer cooperation between Iranian and Russian naval forces.

 

http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/3228/

I like the Egyptian atheist more than the ones here! They are actually fighting for a real purpose! American atheist should be THANKFUL Christians don't want them dead for disagreeing with them! If you think were so bad then go after MUSLIMS you COWARDS! AMERICAN ATHEIST TAKE A LESSON!

Egyptian atheist blasts Islamist regime as no better than Mubarak

Alber Saber was arrested in September after neighbors complained he had posted an anti-Islam film on Facebook

 

 

 

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian atheist convicted then released from prison on bail this week told The Associated Press Wednesday that the new Islamist government is no better than the dictatorial regime it replaced.

The blasphemy case against Alber Saber, 27, is seen by rights advocates as part of a campaign by Egypt’s ultraconservative Islamists to curb free expression. It underlines the growing divide between the country’s powerful Islamists and those who say their uncompromising approach is creating a new authoritarian system that does not represent all Egyptians.

Saber was arrested in September after neighbors complained he had posted an anti-Islam film that sparked protests across the Muslim world on his Facebook page, but investigators didn’t find evidence of that. Even so, he was put on trial and sentenced last week to three years in prison for blasphemy and contempt of religion. He was released on bail on Tuesday pending an appeal in January.

Saber, wearing a black tracksuit that hung off of his slight frame, told the AP that he believes the Muslim Brotherhood used him as an example — and as a means of warning those who oppose their Islamist ideology that alternate views will not be tolerated.

“They are no different from the former regime,” said Saber of President Mohammed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government.

“The weapons have changed, but they are both oppressive regimes,” he said, explaining that while the Mubarak government relied on a network of security agencies to stifle dissent, the Brotherhood mobilizes an equally well-organized network of followers to carry out similar efforts to repress opposition to the Islamist-led government.

The fundamentalist group and its ultraconservative Islamist allies have dominated politics in the aftermath of Egypt’s 2011 popular uprising that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak, winning several elections and sparking fears from secular and liberal Egyptians of a crackdown on basic rights.

Islamists insist they speak for the Muslim majority in Egypt’s conservative society, calling the constitution a compromise that cannot meet all demands of every group. They deny that their intention is to persecute minorities.

“They picked a good moment to target me,” said Saber, referring to the charged environment in the Muslim world after the anti-Islam film “The Innocence of Muslims” circulated on the Internet.

He was arrested at home on Sept. 13 during a wave of public outrage over the film, which triggered a riot at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

Saber said that the night he was arrested and jailed, a police officer moved him to a cell where the officer incited detainees against Saber by telling that he had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Saber was attacked by angry cellmates, one of whom slashed his neck with a knife.

He said that this means of incitement on religious grounds is one of the tools being used by the government.

He has a bumpy discolored scar from the wound.

Saber said that regardless of the result of his appeal, the Egyptian system is unjust for minorities like himself.

“Egypt is a religious state,” said Saber. “If you disobey the norms, you get judged and sentenced. I’m not a criminal, but I’m being judged and sentenced on my opinion.”

Openly admitting to being an atheist is extremely rare in Egypt, and the notion of atheism is considered offensive to many in the predominantly religious society.

His mother, a Coptic Christian who wears a cross and bears a tattoo of a cross on her wrist like many Egyptian Christians, said she feared for her son’s safety. She was forced to leave her apartment the morning after Saber was arrested when men banged her door, telling her that they would burn her apartment and her church after Friday prayers if she did not leave.

“Alber’s case is not the first and will not be the last,” said Ahmed Ezzat, one of Saber’s lawyers. “There are no steps by the authorities to protect freedom of expression — the opposite, authorities are attacking more.”

Saber’s sentencing came days before Egyptians began voting on an Islamist-backed constitution. In the first of two legs, the draft received a 56 percent “yes” vote.

Rights groups and members of Egypt’s opposition fear the document will enable the Islamist government to severely restrict civil rights.

One article forbids limiting the basic rights of individuals but specifies that they “must be practiced in a manner not conflicting with” principles of religious law, which rights groups say opens the door for further clashes over freedom of expression.

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/egyptian-atheist-blasts-islamist-regime-as-no-better-than-mubarak/

Security Council members step up pressure on Israel over settlements

US reportedly blocked vote on resolution against Israel and joint presidential statement condemning move

 

 

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and all members of the Security Council except the United States criticized Israel on Wednesday, demanding an immediate halt to new settlement construction.

Representatives of the 14 council members stepped to the microphone outside the council chamber after its monthly Mideast briefing to denounce the Israeli settlement plans, which they warned are threatening a two-state settlement with the Palestinians. The move was clearly aimed at intensifying pressure on Israel and demonstrating the isolation of the United States on the issue.

Four statements were made by the eight council members from the Non-Aligned Movement, the four European members, Russia and China.

The council president, Morocco’s UN Ambassador Mohammed Loulichki, said 14 countries made the statements because efforts to get the council to agree on a resolution or statement had failed.

Indian UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri called the statements a “Plan B” to a Security Council resolution after it became evident that the US would veto the measure, according to Reuters.

According to a Foreign Ministry source quoted by Haaretz, the US stymied a vote on an official resolution condemning Israeli settlement construction plans, as well as a joint statement by all 15 members of the Security Council condemning Israel’s actions.

“Consultations (on a resolution) were held amongst the members of the council and an attempt was made … (to see) if the 15th member could be accommodated,” Puri said in reference to the US.

“But when we came to the conclusion that that was not likely to happen … it was felt that Plan B – which is what this is essentially – was for members of the council to come out individually and in groupings to make statements,” he said.

“Israel’s announcements to accelerate the construction of settlements send a negative message and are undermining faith in its willingness to negotiate,” read a joint statement by France, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

“China expresses serious concern over the announcement of settlement construction in the E1 area, and Israel’s suspension of transfers of tax payments to the Palestinian side,” Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency quoted UN Ambassador Wang Min saying.

“China is deeply worried by the long halt of the peace talks between Palestine and Israel,” he said. “The current circumstances have made it more important and urgent to resume peace talks.”

Separately, the UN secretary-general told reporters that Israel’s heightened settlement activity “gravely threatens efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state.”

“I call on Israel to refrain from continuing on this dangerous path,” he said.

“The Middle East peace process is in a deep freeze,” he said. “The two sides seem more polarized than ever, and a two-state solution is farther away than at any time since the Oslo process began” in the 1990s.

Peace talks that resulted from the Oslo process have been frozen for four years, in large part because of the settlement issue. The Palestinians refuse to negotiate while Israel expands its settlements, which are now home to more than 500,000 Israelis.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build thousands of homes in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the Palestinians’ hoped-for capital, in response to the UN General Assembly’s decision last month to upgrade the Palestinians’ status to a nonmember observer state. Israel opposed UN recognition of a Palestinian state, saying it bypassed peace negotiations.

The United States, Israel’s closest Mideast ally, voted against the Palestinian statehood resolution and vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the 14 other members in February 2011 that would have urged a halt to all settlement building. But the Obama administration is growing increasingly frustrated with recent Israeli announcements on new settlement activity and other issues clearly aimed at punishing the Palestinians for the General Assembly vote.

US officials made no statement Wednesday. But in a rare, stinging rebuke of a close ally, US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Tuesday accused Israel of engaging in a “pattern of provocative action” that runs counter to the government’s commitment to peace. She said settlement activity puts the goal of peace “further at risk”

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN envoy, said Wednesday that the strong US statement indicated that “there is unanimity against settlement activity.”

“Now, the ball is in the court of the Israelis,” he said.

Mansour warned that with UN recognition of the Palestinian state, “if the Israelis continue to ignore the wishes of all of us, and if they continue to decide to destroy the two-state solution then we will be able to resort to all possible options available to us to defend ourselves and our people in a better way.”

He did not elaborate but this could include the Palestinians seeking to join the International Criminal Court and then urging the tribunal to prosecute Israel.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor accused Security Council members of ignoring the Syrian government’s Scud missile and fighter jet attacks this week “to single out” plans to build “Jewish homes in Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people. ”

He said the major hurdle to peace is not settlements but the Palestinian insistence on the right of all Palestinians to return to Israel and its refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Representatives of the 14 council members, however, stressed that settlements are a major hurdle.

A statement from the four European Union members — Britain, France, Germany and Portugal — strongly opposed the Israeli plans, especially in a corridor known as E1 which would separate the West Bank from east Jerusalem, jeopardizing a contiguous Palestinian state and the possibility of Jerusalem as the future capital of both Israel and Palestine.

“The viability of the two-state solution is at stake and must be preserved,” the EU statement said. “A bold demonstration of political will and leadership is needed from both sides to break the current impasse and resume negotiations.”

India’s UN Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri — speaking on behalf of the eight council members in the Nonaligned Movement — Morocco, Colombia, Togo, Pakistan, South Africa, Guatemala and Azerbaijan — condemned the recent Israeli settlement plans as “the foremost obstacle to peace.”

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Israel’s settlement activity especially in the E1 area and suspension of transferring tax and duty revenues to the Palestinians “put in question” the two-state solution, a view echoed by China’s deputy ambassador Wang Min.

He also called for a ministerial meeting of the Quartet of Mideast mediators — the US, UN, European Union and Russia — to be held “without delay” to discuss a way forward.

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/security-council-members-step-up-pressure-on-israel-over-settlements/

For the people with their head in the sand Ban Ki-moon is the U.N. Secretary- General = New World Order

Ban Ki-moon slams ‘dangerous’ settlement plans, urges world to focus on Israeli-Palestinian conflict ‘before it is too late’

Top UN political affairs official tells Security Council that sides’ rhetorical commitment to a negotiated peace ‘not translating into meaningful steps’

 

 

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that the Middle East peace process is in a “deep freeze” and that the Israelis and Palestinians are seemingly more polarized than ever. The UN chief added that a two-state solution was farther away than at any time since the Oslo peace process began in the early ’90s.

“I am deeply concerned by heightened settlement activity in the West Bank, in particular around Jerusalem. This gravely threatens efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state,” Ban said at an end of year press conference in New York. “I call on Israel to refrain from continuing on this dangerous path, which will undermine the prospects for a resumption of dialogue and a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis alike. Let us get the peace process back on track before it is too late.”

Speaking at a Wednesday Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs Jeffrey Feltman said the world cannot afford to be content with the ongoing standstill in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He stressed the urgent need to reach the goal of a two-state solution, warning that it will become almost impossible to achieve such a goal later.

“While the world’s gaze of concern points elsewhere in the Middle East, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict drifts dangerously in a direction that must be avoided,” Feltman told the council.

“Both sides maintain their rhetorical commitment to a negotiated peace. However, the creeping realities on the ground and the stalemated diplomacy portray a more worrying reality. Stated intentions to adhere to a two-state solution are not translating into meaningful steps to renewed dialogue on the core issues to be resolved,” he said. Feltman noted that the window of opportunity for taking action to preserve the two-state solution is becoming more and more limited.

Feltman also stated that the violence and other sources of tension coming from both sides were making it difficult to overcome political stalemate. He expressed his concern about settler violence and continued settlement activity in the West Bank, as well as Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

“We must all work to ensure that calm is realized, the closure regime is lifted and the Palestinian divide ends,” the UN political chief said. “Regrettably, there is no new progress to report in ending that divide.”

Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s right to build in Jerusalem’s eastern neighborhoods after the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of 2,612 housing units in Givat Hamatos, an area in East Jerusalem between the neighborhoods of Gilo and Talpiot, beyond the Green Line..

“All Israeli governments have built in Jerusalem, we’re not going to change that,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Asian ambassadors.

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/ban-ki-moon-calls-on-international-community-to-focus-on-israeli-palestinian-conflict-before-it-is-too-late/

Found: Whale thought extinct for 2 million years

 

 

The pygmy right whale, a mysterious and elusive creature that rarely comes to shore, is the last living relative of an ancient group of whales long believed to be extinct, a new study suggests.

The findings, published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, may help to explain why the enigmatic marine mammals look so different from any other living whale.

"The living pygmy right whale is, if you like, a remnant, almost like a living fossil," said Felix Marx, a paleontologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand. "It's the last survivor of quite an ancient lineage that until now no one thought was around."

The relatively diminutive pygmy right whale, which grows to just 21 feet long, lives out in the open ocean. The elusive marine mammals inhabit the Southern Hemisphere and have only been spotted at sea a few dozen times. As a result, scientists know almost nothing about the species' habits or social structure.

The strange creature's arched, frownlike snout makes it look oddly different from other living whales. DNA analysis suggested pygmy right whales diverged from modern baleen whales such as the blue whale and the humpback whale between 17 million and 25 million years ago. However, the pygmy whales' snouts suggested they were more closely related to the family of whales that includes the bowhead whale. Yet there were no studies of fossils showing how the pygmy whale had evolved, Marx said.

To understand how the pygmy whale fit into the lineage of whales, Marx and his colleagues carefully analyzed the skull bones and other fossil fragments from pygmy right whales and several other ancient cetaceans.

The pygmy whale's skull most closely resembled that of an ancient family of whales called cetotheres that were thought to have gone extinct around 2 million years ago, the researchers found. Cetotheres emerged about 15 million years ago and once occupied oceans across the globe.

The findings help explain how pygmy whales evolved and may also help shed light on how these ancient "lost" whales lived. The new information is also a first step in reconstructing the ancient lineage all the way back to the point when all members of this group first diverged, he said.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50242411/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/found-whale-thought-extinct-million-years/

WARNING: Mayor And Police Chief Declares Martial Law In Arkansas City!

RED ALERT URGENT YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS WITH YOUR OWN EARS THIS IS REAL!!!

They don't even hide it it anymore!

Lots Of Satellites In 2012 DA14 Path....This is something I have been following if you are interested!

NDAA 2013 - Indefinite detention without trial is back! THIS IS ANOTHER PUZZLE PIECE TO THE PLANS BIG O HAS FOR US!

Endtime News Update 12-19-12 with Hummingbird027

“Gun Free” Chicago Ranks #1 as the Deadliest Alpha World City

 

 

NBC Chicago reports on some of those “Chicago values” the city’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Democrat, naturally) touted, justifying his alderman’s refusal to grant a license to a Chick-fil-A potential franchisee.
Chicago likes to compare itself to other world cities, so Ward Room thought it would find out how we rank in violence. It turns out no one can top us. Among what are considered Alpha world cities, Chicago has the highest murder rate — higher even than the Third World metropolises of Mexico City and Sao Paolo.
Chicago’s murder spree of 19.4 per 100,000 is more than three times that of New York’s (6 per 100,000) and more than two and a half times of Los Angeles’ (7.5 per 100,000), its closest American competitors. Caracas, Venezuela, which apparently is not an Alpha world city–thank you Hugo Chavez–has a higher murder rate of 130 per 100,000.

Read more: http://clashdaily.com/2012/12/gun-free-chicago-ranks-1-as-the-deadliest-alpha-world-city/#ixzz2FXM7vLoZ



Israeli Air Force preparing to deal with chemical weapons

Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, told reporters Wednesday that the Israeli Air Force, which he heads, is preparing for “every eventuality and threat,” when asked about the Syrian army’s possible use of chemical weapons. He added: “Syria has every kind of advanced weapon, some of then nonconventional.”
DEBKAfile disclosed earlier Wednesday that Syria had just taken delivery of sophisticated Russian Iskander missiles. Maj. Eshel went on to disclose that the Lebanese Hizballah has a plan to send small unmanned gliders into Israeli air space, some weighing no more than a few dozen kilograms. Hizballah, he said, has been stocking up on small and large drones for some time and the IAF is set to intercept them. He did not say whether the potential UAV intruders were armed or loaded with explosives.

 

http://www.debka.com/newsupdatepopup/3226/

OH MY...LOOK MY ATHEIST FRIENDS! YOU ARE EVENTUALLY GONNA GET TREATED THE SAME WAY AS US CHRISTIANS! DOES THAT EAT YOU UP INSIDE?

Egyptian Atheist Sentenced to Prison for 'Blasphemous' Online Statements

 

 

A Cairo court sentenced 27-year-old avowed atheist Alber Saber, who hails from a Christian family, to three years in prison on Dec. 12 for blasphemy and contempt for religion due to statements found on his computer.

 

"This is an outrageous verdict and sentence for a person whose only 'crime' was to post his opinions online," Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy chief of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program, told The Associated Press in a Dec. 12 report.
"The court should have thrown the case out on the first day, yet now he's been branded as having insulted religion," Sahraoui added.
Saber was initially arrested in early September after he was accused of posting clips online of the short film "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked protests throughout the Middle East as it apparently insulted the prophet Muhammad.
Saber denied promoting the video, and was ultimately found guilty of blasphemy and contempt of religion due to other comments found on his computer by Egyptian authorities.
The 27-year-old atheist may appeal his verdict if he pays a bail of $167.

Saber is not the first to be charged for the promotion of "Innocence of Muslims."

In late November, an Egyptian court sentenced, in absentia, seven Egyptian Christians to death for their alleged participation in the film, although the sentencing was seen as largely symbolic considering none of the accused live in Egypt.
Critics contend that sentences such as Saber's come at a weary time for religious rights in Egypt, as the country is currently preparing to vote on a draft constitution that arguably limits the rights of religious expression.
The draft constitution was approved in late November by an Islamist majority without the presence of liberal or Christian members of the constitutional panel.
This draft increases the level of crime for insulting religion, as well as offers a dangerous amount of power to Muslim clerics regarding legislation.
"Expect to see many more blasphemy prosecutions in the future now that it's embedded as a crime in the constitution," Heba Morayef, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, told The New York Times.
Still, Egypt's president, Mohammed Morsi, argues that he will rule the country in a democratic fashion, saying in late November on state-run television that there is "no place for dictatorship" in Egyptian government.
Evidently, many Egyptians seek to escape the autocratic binds of former ruler Hosni Mubarak, who was criticized for his militaristic method of control and ultimately overthrown as a result of the 2011 Arab Spring Uprisings.
As The New Yorker pointed out in a Dec. 13 article, "the direction that Mohamed Morsi steers in during the weeks ahead may define the limits - or the potential - of Islamist politics in the Arab world for many years to come."

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/egyptian-atheist-sentenced-to-prison-for-blasphemous-online-statements-86619/#vQPDI18G4efBdG3L.99 



OOPS I SPOKE TO SOON! ATHEISM IS HATEFUL MEAN AND VINDICTIVE!

Atheist Group Puts Up Ads on Alaska Buses

 
A nationwide atheist organization has purchased and put up 10 ads on the buses that service the largest city in Alaska.
The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation posted the ads on Anchorage's "People Movers" bus system on Monday. The ads on display for two of the buses depict a cartoon Santa Claus with the statement "Yes, Virginia...There Is No God."
The phrase for the ad parodies the famous editorial by Francis P. Church in an 1897 New York Sun newspaper edition.
Others include phrases such as "Imagine No Religion," "Enjoy Life Now: There Is No Afterlife," and "Sleep in on Sundays."
Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF Co-President, said in a statement that these and other bus signs posted across the country were meant to give expression to the many nonreligious thought to exist in the area.
"Given that independent streak Alaskans are known for, there are many nonbelievers in Anchorage and Alaska at this time of year, who also have a message of good news and cheer – that reason is the answer," said Gaylor.

Paula J. Kangis, spokeswoman for the Municipality of Anchorage, told The Christian Post that this was the first year that FFRF had purchased ads for their buses.

According to Kangis, the ads will be on the buses until Jan. 6 of next year. She added that Christian groups are free to post pro-Christmas and pro-faith messages.
"If an advertiser with such messages would like to place ads on our buses with those messages, they would be welcome to," said Kangis.
When asked by CP about those who may feel that such messages are offensive, Kangis responded that the city government does not endorse the ads' message.
"The messages do not represent the opinion of the Public Transportation Department or the Municipality of Anchorage. However, they do fall within our guidelines and do not depict what we prohibit," said Kangis.
According to FFRF, Co-President Dan Barker explained that the overall free-thought ad campaign was meant to challenge the perception that Christians "own" December.
"[Christians think] they own the month of December. We don't agree. No month is free from pagan reverie!" said Barker.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/atheist-group-puts-up-ads-on-alaska-buses-86494/#J27hViw1WAMV6epc.99

WOW! MY PRAYING IS WORKING! I VERY PROUD OF THE ATHEIST FOR DOING SOMETHING WITH THEIR TIME TO HELP PEOPLE INSTEAD OF HURT THE CHRISTIANS! There still hope for you yet Atheists! Ill be praying for you!

Atheist, Faith-Based Organizations Rally Support for Sandy Hook Families

Numerous atheist groups have decided to team together to collect donations for the families of those killed in the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

"The families that have been hurt did not plan for their child's funeral, no parent does," read the press release of the Atheists Giving Aid donation fund, which was created in collaboration by American Atheists, the Society of Open-Minded Atheists and Agnostics, and We Are Atheism to help collect donations for affected Newtown families.
"This horrific time is difficult enough without having to worry about how they are going to pay to bury their child and afford counseling for themselves and their siblings left behind," the press release continues.
"Now it is your turn to show that there are more of those who love and care for their fellow community members than those who would kill mercilessly," the press release adds.
The group ensures that the money donated to the Atheists Giving Aid fund will go directly to those 20 families for which they have contact information.
The initial donations will be used toward "funeral expenses and counseling for the survivors of the shooting and their families," while all additional funds will go towards helping families of the adults killed in the tragedy, as well as the community to provide counseling for the those affected.

According to the Kansas-based We Are Atheism's Twitter page, the donation group ended its first day of donations on Monday with $11,350.33.

Faith-based groups are also lending a hand to the families affected by Friday's massacre.
The crisis-trained chaplains of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team reportedly arrived in Newtown, Conn., on the day of the shooting to provide support and comfort for those stricken with grief.
"They see us come up as Billy Graham chaplains and they just know we're here to give them love and comfort in the name of Jesus," chaplain coordinator Ginger Sanders told WLTX.com, adding that sometimes "[victims] need a hug, and sometimes we don't need to say anything. Just be there for them."
CNN reports that the Lutheran Church Charities organization, based in Illinois, sent a band of golden retriever "comfort dogs" to Newtown so families may hug and pet the animals, a type of therapy which is believed by some to relieve stress and anxiety.
Several nonreligious groups and individuals are also offering their support.
For example, Chris Johnson, running back for the NFL's Tennessee Titans, wrote the names of the recently deceased students and teachers on his cleats while playing a game against the New York Jets on Monday, Dec. 17.
Johnson says he plans to auction off the shoes and donate the proceeds to the victims' families.
There has also been a reported slew of donations to anti-gun organizations, including the Brady Campaign, a nonprofit which lobbies for stricter gun control legislation, and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a nonprofit advocacy group for gun control.
"People are desperate to do something to make sure that this does not happen again, a mass shooting in a kindergarten classroom," Sarah Hench, director of development at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, told The Huffington Post.
Other notable relief groups providing aid to this small Connecticut community include the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, set up by the United Way of Western Connecticut, the Newtown Memorial Fund and the Red Cross.
Newtown. Conn., is trying to recover after a gunman, who police identify as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, went on a shooting rampage on the morning of Dec. 14, killing his mother, as well as 26 students and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School before killing himself.

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/atheist-faith-based-organizations-rally-support-for-sandy-hook-families-86908/#6Ba2ExdzzFy5l2h3.99

God on Trial in Newtown....THIS IS AN AMAZING ARTICLE!

God is on trial today.

 

The self-professed Creator of the universe claims to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. For millions of people, it is harder to believe such assertions after the Newtown massacre. Atheist Sam Harris declares that "the murder of a single little girl – even once in a million years – casts doubt upon the idea of a benevolent God." Now we're facing the killing of 20 children in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
If God is all-knowing, he knew the morning of December 14 that a mass murderer was going to kill 20 children and seven adults before shooting himself. If God is all-powerful, he could have stopped this tragedy. If God is all-loving, he would want to. And yet 28 people were killed on that horrific day.
Every day in America 40 people are murdered. Each death is unspeakably tragic. But when 20 first-graders are killed at their elementary school, something in us rages at such senseless violence. Each child who died left a parent who treasured them above everything else in this world. Each child who survived will be scarred forever by the terror of the morning.
The Newtown massacre ripped away the veneer of a joyful holiday season, exposing the ugly cruelty that lies at the heart of this fallen world – a world made by an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God. You don't have to be an atheist like Sam Harris to ask how this can be.
Four accusations against God

The Newtown tragedy is not an isolated event. In July 2012, suspect James Holmes killed 12 in an Aurora, Colorado movie theater. In January 2011, Jared Lee Loughner killed six and injured more than a dozen in Tucson, Arizona. In 2009, suspect Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas. In 2007, Seung-Hui Cho murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech before killing himself. Many of us still remember the April 1999 Columbine High School massacre, where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 classmates and then themselves in Littleton, Colorado.

Nothing has changed as a result of Newtown. There is no reason that today could not be another day of senseless death. In a nation similarly fraught with violence and facing an uncertain future, the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk expressed to God our confusion and anger:
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
you cannot tolerate wrong.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
Why are you silent while the wicked
swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (Habakkuk 1:13).
Has his last question ever been more appropriate than today?
I am writing this essay on the anniversary of my father's death. He died of a heart attack at the age of 55, when I was in college. Dad left an empty place in our wedding photos, our children's lives, and every Christmas table since. The great tragedy of my life is that my father never met my sons.
Soon it will be the one-year anniversary of the horrible day we learned our oldest son had cancer. 2012 will always be remembered by our family as the year of Ryan's diagnosis, surgery, and radiation. Even as I write these words, tears come to my eyes as my stomach knots in pain.
Where was God in Newtown? Where was he when my father died? Where was he when my son's malignancy began growing inside his body? Only four options are possible. Each constitutes an accusation against the God of the Bible.
One: he is not omniscient. Perhaps he does not see our problems in time to prevent them. If he is trapped in time as we are, he does not see tragedy until it unfolds. But this is no defense of an all-knowing God. Even if he did not see the Newtown massacre before it happened, he watched Adam Lanza prepare to kill his mother. He then watched Lanza drive to Sandy Hook Elementary, break into the school, and take aim at those inside. He watched my father's heart disease build to the point where it took his life; he watched Ryan's cancer cells begin to multiply inside his body.
We can defend God's power and love at the expense of his omniscience, but we must then wonder how relevant they are. If he doesn't know about our problems, how can help with them?
Two: he is not omnipotent. Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his bestselling When Bad Things Happen to Good People, claimed that God cannot intervene miraculously in our world. He can help us as we grieve, but he cannot prevent our grief. In our scientific age, it is common to ascribe the miracles of the Bible to myth and superstition. Perhaps God saw and wanted to stop Adam Lanza's violence or my son's cancer, but could not.
We can defend God's knowledge and love at the expense of his power. But once again, we must wonder how relevant they are. If he knows about our problems and wants to solve them but cannot, how much help is he?
Three: he is not all-loving. The Greeks pictured their gods atop Mt. Olympus, capricious and uncaring. The fatalistic Stoics described us as dogs tied to carts – we can trot along or be dragged behind, but we're going with the cart.
We can defend God's knowledge and power at the expense of his love. But yet again, we must wonder if they are then relevant to us. If he knows about our pain and has the power to prevent it, but he doesn't care about our suffering, why would he help us?
Four: God does not exist. David Hume, the 18th-century skeptic, proposed this syllogism:
• If God exists, he must be loving and powerful and thus eradicate evil.
• Evil exists.
• Therefore, God does not exist.
For millions of atheists, including Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris in our day, his argument is theirs. Is there a way to defend God's omniscience, omnipotence, love, and existence in the aftermath of Newtown?
My case for God
One of the most famous Christmas texts in Scripture was first delivered to a world filled with "distress and darkness and fearful gloom" (Isaiah 8:22). In the midst of such suffering, the prophet heard an amazing promise: "There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress" (Isaiah 9:1). Why? Because:
Unto us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this (vs. 6-7).
Christians believe this promise to be fulfilled with the Christmas miracle of Jesus' birth. We look to him as our all-knowing "Wonderful Counselor," our all-powerful "Mighty God," and our all-loving "Everlasting Father." In a violent, destructive world, we believe that he is our only "Prince of Peace." As he stands trial today, I imagine you as the jury and myself as his attorney. Here's my defense.
Consider other suspects
First, the Defendant is not the only being capable of committing this crime. If God were the only Person able to instigate the violence at Newtown, it would be difficult to defend his character today. But this is not the case.
Consider the criminal record of another suspect, one who is "a murderer from the beginning" of time (John 8:44). Satan instigated the betrayal of Jesus which led to his execution (Luke 22:3). He has power over unbelievers (Acts 26:18) and blinds their minds (2 Corinthians 4:4). He "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He is alive and working in our fallen world. Everything about the Newtown massacre is consistent with his character and actions.
Another suspect is the Newtown shooter. Adam Lanza was created by God to know and love his Maker (Matthew 22:37). But love requires the ability to choose, so God gave him free will (Genesis 3:15-17; Exodus 32:26; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Kings 18:21).
Lanza's freedom was intended by God to be used for good and not evil (Matt. 4:10; Proverbs 1:10; 4:14; Romans 6:13; Ephesians 6:13; 2 Peter 3:17). Tragically, he used his free will to choose sin and death (James 1:13-15; 4:1). In a moment we will ask why God did not prevent his crime or its consequences. For now, it is my intent to show you that Lanza should be considered the perpetrator of Newtown, not my Client.
Now examine the character of the Person on trial. He touched leprous bodies and healed them (Matthew 8:3), fed hungry crowds (John 6:1-13), and raised a father's dead daughter (Mark 5:35-43) and a widow's only son (Luke 7:11-15). He forgave the disciples who abandoned him (John 21:15-19) and even the soldiers who crucified him (Luke 23:34).
How did he feel about the children who were killed at Newtown? He rebuked disciples who kept children from him and declared, "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Then he "placed his hands on them" and blessed them (Matt. 19:14-15).
Jesus did not cause even a single death during his life and ministry, but grieved for those who died (John 11:35). Nothing about the Newtown tragedy is consistent with his character or actions.
How can he be omniscient and allow evil?
Now let's move to the specific charges against my Client. The first is that if he is omnipotent and all-loving, he cannot be omniscient. He could not know about the Newtown tragedy in time to prevent it, or he would have.
In response, I'd like you to consider this question: Are knowing and choosing always the same? Does the fact that God knows what we are going to do mean that he makes that decision for us?
God is not bound by time. He is the eternal "I Am" (Exodus 3:14). As he is not constrained by the space he created, neither is he confined to the time by which he regulates his creation. As a result, God can "see" my activities in what we call "tomorrow" as though they were "today." But seeing and choosing may not be the same.
I have spoken in churches and classes around the world. In each setting I have watched people take their seats in the sanctuary or classroom. Never have I chosen their seats for them. In the same way, God sees today what I'll eat for breakfast tomorrow, but such knowledge does not mean that he will choose my food for me.
The fact that God knew Adam Lanza would kill so many children and adults in Newtown does not mean that he made this murderous choice for him.
Can he be omnipotent and allow suffering?
The second charge against my Client is that he must not be omnipotent, or he would have prevented the Newtown massacre. His omniscience would have alerted him to the tragedy before it happened or at least as it began. His omnipotence would then prevent this calamity from occurring.
If God could create the universe with just his spoken word (Genesis 1:3), he could have kept Lanza's guns from firing. If he could make the Red Sea part (Exodus 14:21-22), he could have stopped the bullets before they reached their targets. If he could raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44), he could have brought the Newtown victims back to life.
In response, consider this question: once God begins preventing the consequences of misused freedom, where does he stop? We'd all like a world where God prevents every Holocaust or 9/11 or Newtown tragedy. But once he intervenes to prevent the results of free will, where does he draw the line?
I want God to prevent a drunk driver from killing my sons. But I also want him to prevent someone from injuring them. I want him to intervene whenever someone is going to lie to them or manipulate them in some way. I have no doubt that he is powerful enough to do all of this and more. But if he uses his omnipotence in this way, is he not violating our freedom?
Imagine that I am keeping a low-carb diet but order a pizza to be delivered. My wife discovers my subterfuge and persuades the delivery service to substitute yogurt for the pizza. When my food arrives, it will be clear that my choice was only apparent, not real.
God is powerful enough to have prevented the Newtown massacre. But he would have also prevented Adam Lanza from using his God-given free will, violating his created purpose.
Can he be all-loving and allow innocent suffering?
The third charge against my Client is that he must not be all-loving, or he would not have allowed these innocent children and adults to die. His omniscience would alert him to the pending tragedy; his omnipotence would enable him to intervene. The fact that he did not must mean that he lacks the compassion to do so.
In response, consider the biblical claims that God hurts as we hurt:
• "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you" (Deut. 20:1).
• "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me" (Psalm 23:4).
• "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).
• "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior" (Isa. 43:2-3).
• "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
He allows us to misuse our free will, refusing to prevent the consequences of our wrong choices, but then he suffers as we suffer. The fact of evil does not disprove the fact of God's love. Rather, the former provides opportunity for the latter.
Can he exist and allow a world like this?
The final charge against my Client is that he does not exist: he must be omniscient, omnipotent, and all-loving to be the God of Scripture, yet he does not prevent the suffering we experience daily. If we will not abandon one of his biblical traits, their combination in the face of an evil world requires us to reject the existence of such a Being.
In response, consider this proposal: God redeems for greater good all he allows or causes. If he is sovereign, he must at least permit all that happens in this life. If he is holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), he can never make a mistake (Matt. 5:48):
• "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he" (Deut. 32:4).
• "Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me" (Isa. 45:21).
• "For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love" (Psalm 33:4-5).
• "The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice" (Psalm 9:7-8).
• "For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face" (Psalm 11:7).
• "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made" (Psalm 145:17)..
• "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight" (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
If this God allows any evil that he does not redeem for a greater good, he has erred in allowing it. Thus, his character requires him to redeem all that he permits or causes.
This assertion does not guarantee that you and I will experience or even understand God's greater good on this side of glory. As Paul said, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12). But I do not need to understand something to believe that it is true. I don't understand the physics of air travel, but I board airplanes regularly. I don't understand the techniques involved in knee surgery, but I've experienced them twice. I don't understand how my laptop computer converts my keystrokes into the digital data you are reading, but I use it daily.
In the same way, I believe that God is redeeming my father's death and my son's cancer for a greater good. I am convinced that he is already redeeming the Newtown tragedy for a greater good as well. Some of this good we may see in our lifetime, as when he uses suffering to refine us (Psalm 66:10; Isa. 48:10; Malachi 3:3), enabling us to share our faith (1 Peter 2:12, 15) and making us more like Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29).
Much of this greater good we will not see until we are in heaven. In the meantime, I choose to agree with Paul: "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).
I understand the frustration many feel in trying to reconcile an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God with our broken world. But I would ask those who prosecute my Client this question: how would you do better? He created a perfect world in which no Newtown massacres would have occurred, but humans chose to sin against his will and corrupted his creation (Rom. 8:22). He gave us his commandments, principles that would prevent all such tragedies if they were followed (cf. Exodus 20:13, "You shall not murder"). He gave us his prophets to interpret and apply his principles to our lives.
Then he gave us his Son to teach us his word and to die for our sins. His miracles attested to his omniscience, omnipotence, and love; his resurrection demonstrated his uniqueness and divinity. Now he has given us his trustworthy, authoritative Scriptures by which to know his Son and follow his will.
The fact of suffering does not mean that this God is less knowing, powerful, loving, or real. Rather, it proves that he is relevant and essential to our lives and needs. When we are sick, we can blame medical science for our illness or we can turn to a doctor for our cure.
Conclusion
Elie Wiesel's books tell the story of the Holocaust through the prism of his personal suffering. No passage is more horrific than this account of a small boy hanged by the Nazis:
For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me, I heard [a] man asking: "Where is God now?" And I heard a voice within me answer him: "Where is He? Here He is – He is hanging here on this gallows."
In the same way, the God who made us entered our fallen world. He chose to come not as a conquering general but as a helpless child. The only baby who determined the circumstances of his birth chose a feed trough in a cow stall, peasants for parents, and grimy field hands for attendants. He chose to walk our planet, breathe our air, face our temptations, feel our pain, and die on our cross. Then he chose to rise from our grave and to prepare our eternal dwelling (John 14:3).
In the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, many are questioning the existence, character, and relevance of God. But nothing that happened in Connecticut on December 14 changed his nature. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
In fact, he is not on trial – we are. It is not his response to Newtown that is in question, but ours. It is not his knowledge of us, but our desire to know him; it is not his power, but our willingness to submit to that power in our lives; it is not his love for us, but our choice to receive his love and share it with all in need.
Max Lucado, with his usual sensitivity, offered this prayer after the Newtown shooting: "Oh, Lord Jesus, you entered the dark world of your day. Won't you enter ours? We are weary of bloodshed. We, like the wise men, are looking for a star. We, like the shepherds, are kneeling at a manger. This Christmas, we ask you, heal us, help us, be born anew in us."
Amen.

Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/god-on-trial-in-newtown-86778/#dtSxybhFu9cEGQ80.99

Connecticut Shooting a Result of God Allowing Judgment to Fall on America!

 

James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, said Monday that he believes the Connecticut shooting is a result of God allowing judgment to fall on America because it has turned its back on Him.

"And a lot of these things are happening around us, and somebody is going to get mad at me for saying what I am about to say right now, but I am going to give you my honest opinion: I think we have turned our back on the Scripture and on God Almighty and I think He has allowed judgment to fall upon us. I think that's what's going on," Dobson told listeners of his "Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk" program.
Monday's broadcast was titled "A Nation Shaken by the Sandy Hook Tragedy."
A description of the program Monday read: "We are all still in shock trying to process the senseless shootings which occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut last Friday. How could such a thing happen ... and why can't we protect our innocent children? Tune in as Dr. James Dobson responds to this tragedy and offers his assessment of where we are as a nation."
Dobson is an evangelical Christian who has dedicated his life to strengthening families through Focus on the Family. In addition to being a psychologist and prolific author of books on children, Dobson is also an outspoken conservative who has defended traditional marriage as being between one man and one woman and the sanctity of life.
During his program Monday, Dobson also pointed to abortion and gay marriage as indicators that America has gone against God.

"Our country really does seem in complete disarray. I'm not talking politically, I'm not talking about the result of the November 6th election; I am saying that something has gone wrong in America and that we have turned our back on God.

"I mean millions of people have decided that God doesn't exist, or He's irrelevant to me and we have killed 54 million babies and the institution of marriage is right on the verge of a complete redefinition. Believe me, that is going to have consequences, too."
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee also made similar comments on Fox News on Saturday following the shooting.
"We ask why there's violence in our school but we've systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools have become such a place of carnage? Because we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, what responsibility means, accountability," Huckabee said on Fox News.
Huckabee later clarified that he wasn't suggesting the shooting wouldn't have happened if prayer were allowed in schools but making a point about the important role of God in culture.
"We've escorted Him right out of our culture and we've marched Him off the public square and then we express our surprise that a culture without Him actually reflects what it has become," said Huckabee.
The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., claimed the lives of 28 people including the gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza.
Police say he killed his mother Nancy Lanza at the home they shared before driving to the school. Officials say he broke into the school, fatally shot 20 children and six adults, and turned the gun on himself before authorities could arrest him.
Funerals for the victims are being held throughout this week.

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/james-dobson-connecticut-shooting-a-result-of-god-allowing-judgment-to-fall-on-america-newtown-ct-sandy-hook-86891/#vWR7Zh1GA248f7Sk.99

Geologist: 50 to 100 million cubic feet of gas in aquifer near giant sinkhole

THIS IS SOME SCARY STUFF!

Gary Hecox, a Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure Inc. geologist working on the issue for the State of Louisiana:

This is what people have been wondering about.

50 to 100 million cubic feet of gas at formation pressure, which is about 50 psi. So that’s not surface, That’s under 50 psi pressure.

That’s what’s in place in the aquifer according to our best estimate calculation.

So people are wondering — these are the kind of numbers we’re dealing with. This is not a small quantity of gas.

Preparing us for civil unrest! MARK MY WORD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Army Officer Was Disciplined for Insulting Islam

 

Posted by commonsense on Dec.18, 2012, under Christians Under Attack, Common Sense, Islam

 

 

 

The Thomas More Law Center says it has obtained more evidence to prove its contention that the Pentagon is taking its marching orders from Islamic groups in taking extreme disciplinary action against Lt. Col. Matthew Dooley, a 1994 graduate of the United States Military Academy.

The highly decorated armor officer was excoriated and relieved of a teaching assignment because he discussed negative aspects of Islam in an elective course entitled “Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism” at the Joint Services Staff College.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, says they have obtained an official communication that vindicates their client.

“In December 2011, the vice president of the National Defense University, a Dr. Brenda Roth, officially confirmed in writing to the Pentagon that all the course materials that were being taught at the National Defense University were vetted and approved by the university and its military command,” he tells OneNewsNow.

But Thompson says the bottom line is that President Barack Obama, the commander-in-chief, is pro-Islam.

“The Pentagon is now doing his bidding,” he points out. “And his bidding is there is to be no negative aspect of the religion of Islam or the political ideology of Islam that he is not ready to embrace or which is a concern of national security.”

Thompson says the TMLC is considering a federal lawsuit if the case is not resolved by administrative remedy.

 

http://whateverhappentocommonsense.com/?p=3059

WE NEED TO PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS FOLKS!

Down to -50C: Russians freeze to death as strongest-in-decades winter hits

 

RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev

 

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Kryazhev

Russia is enduring its harshest winter in over 70 years, with temperatures plunging as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Dozens of people have already died, and almost 150 have been hospitalized.
­The country has not witnessed such a long cold spell since 1938, meteorologists said, with temperatures 10 to 15 degrees lower than the seasonal norm all over Russia.
Across the country, 45 people have died due to the cold, and 266 have been taken to hospitals. In total, 542 people were injured due to the freezing temperatures, RIA Novosti reported.
The Moscow region saw temperatures of -17 to -18 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and the record cold temperatures are expected to linger for at least three more days. Thermometers in Siberia touched -50 degrees Celsius, which is also abnormal for December.

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

 

 

­The Emergency Ministry has issued warnings in 15 regions, which have been put on high alert over possible disruptions of communication and power.
Across the country, heat pipelines have broken down due to the cold. In southeastern Russia’s Samara, the cold has broken down many heat pipelines, leaving hundreds of homes without heating, including an orphanage and a rest house. Many schools and kindergartens have been closed for almost a week.
The cold spell, along with snowfalls, has disrupted flights all over the country, and led to huge traffic jams. In the southern city of Rostov-on-Don some highways were closed due to snowfalls over the past two days, triggering a traffic collapse.

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

­

More cold in the capital

Over the weekend, meteorologists predict temperatures will plunge even lower in the Moscow region, hitting -25. The Russian capital is also expected to be swept with snow, RIA Novosti reported.
Temperatures have been 7 degrees lower than the norm for five days already, which is considered an anomaly, according to the Meteonovosti.ru website. The cold spell in the Moscow region is expected to continue for at least three more days.
Due to the high humidity, these freezing temperatures will feel even colder than they actually are, meteorologists explained.

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Kryazhev

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Kryazhev

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Yakov Andreev

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksey Malgavko

 

 

 

RIA Novosti / Aleksandr Kryazhev

 

 

http://rt.com/news/russia-freeze-cold-temperature-379/

 

 

I am proud to be a TEXAN!

Rick Perry: Guns In Schools Should Be Decided By District

Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) warned against a "knee-jerk" reaction from the federal government on gun control in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, and expressed support for allowing teachers to carry guns on campus.

Speaking at a Tea Party event in North Richland Hills, Texas, on Monday night, Perry reflected on the Connecticut elementary school massacre that left 20 first-graders dead, calling it "evil," according to NBC 5.

Perry expressed his continued support for gun rights, according to the Dallas Morning News, saying he believed people with concealed-handgun licenses "should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in this state,” and elicited applause when he spoke positively about a Texas school system that allows some staff members to come to school armed.

Perry was referring to the Harrold Independent School District, which, in 2008, became the first district in the country to permit teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons. Those participating in the program must hold concealed-carry licenses and be approved by the school board.

In response to a reporter question about allowing guns on campus, Perry clarified that he thought local school districts should make their own policies. "Local control," he said.

Perry cautioned about a federal move to tighten gun laws. A number of pro-gun lawmakers have signalled a growing willingness to address gun control in the wake of the mass shooting.

"One of the things that I hope we don’t want to see from the federal government is a knee-jerk reaction from Washington, D.C., when there is an event that occurs, that they can come in and think they know the answer,” he said.

Perry also said he is open to running for president again, despite his spectacular crash-and-burn in 2012, when his campaign for the Republican nomination effectively ended after he bungled a debate question.

He said he still had a "burning desire" to see America led by a "God-fearing conservative patriot.”

"It was an extraordinary experience. I mean, one that I wouldn't trade," Perry said. "Looking back on it and knowing even, you know, unsuccessful, I would do it again."

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/18/rick-perry-guns-in-schools_n_2322185.html