Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 31, 2016
Three years after the Obama administration allowed Egyptian strawberry producers access to U.S. markets, imported strawberries from Egypt are “thought to be the source” of an outbreak of hepatitis A that has sickened 44 people in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
“Frozen Egyptian strawberries used at Tropical Smoothie Café are thought to be the source of this outbreak,” VDH reported. The 44 people infected with the hepatitis A virus “reported consuming a smoothie at Tropical Smoothie Café prior to becoming ill.”
“On August 12, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified VDH that genetic testing of multiple ill persons showed the illnesses were caused by a strain of hepatitis A that had been associated with past outbreaks due to frozen strawberries from Egypt,” according to an August 26 VDH press release.
spokeswoman told CNSNews.com. “Other restaurants, and firms that supply restaurants, may also have received the frozen strawberries imported from Egypt.
“VDH continues to investigate cases and work with state and federal partners, including the Virginia Department of Agruculture and Consumer Services, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC to identify additional locations where the product may have been distributed.”
Hepatitis A causes inflammation of the liver. Symptoms include jaundice, pain, fever and nausea. VDH noted that 50 percent of those infected by the virus, who range in age from 15 to 68, had to be hospitalized.
A statement issued by Tropical Smoothie Café on August 19th stated that “our cafes and their food handling practices have not been implicated in any way – the health department believes this is a single product issue (strawberries) sourced from Egypt.
“Egyptian strawberries represent a fraction of our overall strawberries purchased and were predominantly distributed to stores in the Virginia market. Today, our strawberries are primarily sourced from Mexico and California,” the statement continued.
“However, in an abundance of caution, we voluntarily pulled all strawberries sourced from Egypt from every café in our system, not only the Virginia cafes. Our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of our guests and crew members and we will continue to cooperate with health authorities.”
Egypt, which is the world’s fourth largest strawberry producer, exports 40 million tons of fresh and frozen strawberries to 30 countries, including the U.S.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 31, 2016
Egypt’s lawmakers on Tuesday passed the country’s first law spelling out the rules for building a church, a step Christians have long hoped would free up construction that was often blocked by authorities. But angry critics in the community say the law will only enshrine the restrictions.
Church building has for decades been one of the most sensitive sectarian issues in Egypt, where 10 percent of the population of 90 million are Christians but where Muslim hardliners sharply oppose anything they see as undermining what they call the country’s “Islamic character.”
Local authorities often refuse to give building permits for new churches, fearing protests by Muslim ultraconservatives. Faced with refusals, Christians turned to building illegally or setting up churches in other buildings, which in many cases prompted riots and attacks by ultraconservatives. In contrast, building a mosque faces few restrictions.
Christians had hoped that the law would enshrine broad rights to build, encouraged by promises from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The Christian minority has been among el-Sissi’s staunchest supporters ever since, as army chief, he led the military’s ouster Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013 and launched a heavy crackdown on Morsi’s supporters.
But the law left critics, including some Christian lawmakers, embittered, warning that it will maintain Christian’s second-class status. The Coptic Orthodox Church, to which most Egyptian Christians belong, had at first opposed the bill but later backed it — and critics say it bent to heavy government pressure.
Under the law passed Tuesday, Christians must apply to the local provincial governor when they want to build a church.
The law stipulates that the size of the church must be “appropriate” to the number of Christians in the area. According to an official supplement to the law, the governor should also take into account “the preservation of security and public order” when considering the application.
The law “empowers the majority to decide whether the minority has the right to hold their religious practices,” said Ishaq Ibrahim, a top researcher in the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Christian activist and researcher Nader Shukry said the security and order provisions connected to the law still mean authorities can still use threats of mob violence as an excuse to ban church construction.
“What if Salafis protest against the construction of a church, would this prompt the governor to turn down the request, for fear of national security?” he said.
He and other activists also warned that authorities can also limit churches by citing the article that restricts the size of churches according to the size of the local Christian community, because there are no official statistics on the Christian population.
The government has never released an official figure for the Christian population, viewing the statistic as a sensitive national security matter. Activists believe the government doesn’t want to show how large the community actually is.
Youssef Sedhom, the chief editor of the Coptic weekly Watani, wrote Sunday that the law shows the state wants to continue to have “full mandate and monopoly” over the Copts and their churches. The provisions are “vague” and empower local authorities to say “yes, this is allowed” or “no, this is not allowed,” he wrote.
The law does allow churches built without permits in the past to be recognized, if the construction meets regulations and if religious rites have been held there over the past five years.
But critics say that many such churches were shut down by force, so no rites were held, while others were not built according to specifications since they were hastily converted from residential buildings.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 31, 2016
The Obama administration has surpassed its goal of receiving 10,000 Syrian refugees by Oct. 1, but very few of the new arrivals are Christian.
The official count for the fiscal year reached 10,126 resettled Syrians when 224 refugees arrived Monday. They are among 12,000 Syrian refugees interviewed earlier this year in Jordan by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Although 1 million Christians have fled Syria, Christians comprise only 0.51 percent of the refugee total. More than 98 percent of those allowed into the United States this fiscal year are Sunni Muslims, the largest Islamic sect in Syria comprising 74 percent of that population.
Some Christians believe the Syrian Christian immigration numbers should be much higher; the percentage of those allowed into the United States should reflect their percentage of the population in Syria.
Last September, President Obama pledged to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed to enter the United States. He set a goal of 10,000, six times the number of those allowed to enter the U.S. in FY 2015 when a total of 1682 were admitted – that compared to only 105 Syrian refugees admitted in FY 2014.
Although Christians are 10 percent of the Syrian population, only 100 Syrian Christian refugees have been allowed to enter the United States since the start of the civil war more than five years ago.
Why so few Christians?
Earlier this year some of the Republican presidential candidates–Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump said greater immigration priority should be given to Syrian Christians over Muslims.
President Obama has argued there should be no religious litmus test for admitting Syrian refugees. He said such a policy would be un-American.
“When individuals say we should have a religious test and that only Christians, proven Christians, should be admitted, that’s offensive and contrary to American values,” the president said.
Last March, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that atrocities committed by the Islamic State against Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria constituted genocide.
But so far, the genocide declaration has not changed the number of affected minorities allowed into the United States. In addition to receiving only 52 Christians this fiscal year, the government has only admitted 14 Yazidis and 20 Shi’a Muslims into the country (official figures released before the Monday arrivals).
The Obama administration has yet to announce its goal for next year, but immigration observers expect the number to be set at 20,000. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she’d like to see the number increased to 65,000.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says that would amount to a 500 percent increase in Syrian refugees admitted into the country. He has called it a “bigger version of the legendary Trojan Horse.”
He and other Republicans say the government lacks a thorough vetting program for the refugees and the current process exposes the people of the U.S. to the possibility of more Islamic terror attacks like those that occurred in San Bernardino and Orlando.
How Mullah Obola Al-Baraki approved agency chooses nearly all Sunni Muslims
The year was 2007, and the late Father Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity and I had formed a fact-finding mission to Lebanon and Iraq to investigate the condition of Christians who were fleeing Iraq after the United States had overthrown Saddam Hussein and the nation had deteriorated into a state of chaos. As part of the delegation, we recruited Gov. David Beasley, R-S.C., and investigative journalist Ken Timmerman. What we found was shocking.
The acting American ambassador to Jordan at the time, David Hale, had zero interest in the plight of Christians, as his main personal agenda was “gay rights.” He actually wanted those of us on the fact-finding team to have a picture taken with him in the Embassy in front of his wall tapestry, which was in reality a rainbow flag – not the American flag.
It was disturbing to hear him and his staff talk about the Christians. When we asked if anyone on staff had contacted any churches about the plight of the Iraqi Christians, we were told, “It isn’t our job to go to church.” For some reason, gays in the State Department are attracted to Muslim nations. Hale is currently the American ambassador to Pakistan, having been appointed by President Obama.
Jordanian guards had been hired by Hale, presumably with the permission of the State Department, to form a primary perimeter around the U.S. Embassy. Any Iraqi citizen who approached was told verbally to go to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) office in Amman. There were no exceptions, not even for those who had relatives in the United States who would sponsor them, nor for those who had worked with the United States military in Iraq and were thus endangered.
Because the vast majority of Jordanians are Sunni Muslims, the entire staff of the UNHCR dealing with refugees was and still is Sunni Muslim. The female staffers of the UNHCR work in hijabs, and of course everyone on the UNHCR staff can recognize the Christian surnames of some applicants. The Christian applicants have been treated accordingly. Many Christian refugees were forced to flee to Jordan with their families because they had worked for the United States military in Iraq.
As the occupation force downsized and contractors also departed, Christians who had worked for them found themselves not only out of work but targets of Sunni terrorists as well.
As I write about the mission nine years later, I recall some of the testimonies that were given me by Iraqi Christians about how the middle-class lives they once had in Iraq crumbled as law and order vanished. One that still rattles my brain is the weeping of a mother whose daughter was kidnapped when the family refused to give her in marriage to a Muslim who had moved into the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad. The girl was kidnapped and $100,000 demanded.
The family sold most of what they had and paid the money only to find the 16-year-old dumped at their doorstep with a cut throat the next morning. The kidnappers called the family to taunt them by saying they killed her to break the hearts of Christians. The Dora neighborhood had 30,000 Christians before the 2003 invasion and by 2008 had virtually no Christians left. Of the 1.3 million pre-war Christians in Iraq, perhaps 400,000 remain. Virtually none made it to America.
Today the Obama administration still relies on the UNHCR to “vet” refugees.
On Aug. 29, President Barack Obama reached his goal of 10,000 Syrian “refugees” almost all of whom are Sunni Muslims chosen by the United Nations. Patrick Goodenough of CNS News, who has dogged this story, reported that with the arrival of 224 new Syrian refugee this week brings “… the total this fiscal year to 10,126, of whom 52 or 0.51 percent are Christians; and 9,945 or 98.2 percent, are Sunni Muslims.”
Just one-half of 1 percent of the 10,000 Syrians were Christians despite the fact that over 10 percent of the Syrian population is Christian. The Sunni population at about 60 percent should not represent 98.2 percent of refugees. However, almost all of those working for the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees in Jordan, where the “refugees” were chosen, are Sunni Muslims.
At the same time Christians victims are ignored by President Obama and the media. The “mainstream” media fail to report true horror surrounding the persecution of Christians. Christians have faced the that the Islamic State has to offer – crucifixions, beheadings, gang rapes, sex slavery, beatings and robbery – but it is rare that the mainstream media report this fact to the public.
When news articles do appear they are watered down. On Aug. 10, this year, an Associated Press article appeared by Balint Szanko titled “Christians say defeating Islamic State won’t make Iraq safe for them.” Although the reporter refers to the eviction of the Christians from Qaraqosh on the Nineveh Plain and their lives now in Ankawa in the Kurdish area, the full terror they endured is not reported.
Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, there were 1.4 million Christians in Iraq. The vice president of Iraq was a Christian, as was the head of Saddam Hussein’s air force at the time of the First Gulf War, Georges Sada. He was retired before the Second Gulf War, but sided with the opposition to Saddam and as a result became the national security adviser in the new government the United States established. Sada is alive today and living in the United States, and I have had the opportunity to speak with him often about Iraq and the two wars.
Because of the size of the Christian population and the fact that Iraq had a secular government, Christians fared better than in most majority-Muslim nations. That does not mean they were treated equally. For example, all given names on birth certificates had to be names that appeared in the Quran, so no Christian first names were allowed.
The thrust of Szanko’s article was that 90 percent of the Christians in one of the camps would leave “if organized migration was possible.” What the article does not mention is that most Christians forced from their homes are not in U.N. camps. They are “urban refugees” often living in slum basements for fear of persecution in the U.N.-run camps. As a result they are not considered refugees and are not registered with the United Nations. Since the Obama administration only accepts refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, there is no possible way for most Christians to immigrate to the USA.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 30, 2016
As we’re heading to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year (2009) — which will fall on 9/11 — two Sportsmen, traitors from two different countries – Ethiopia & The United States – who had an exclusive privilege and luxury to represent their respective countries have demonstrated their hatred for their homeland in the span of seven days, in an almost identical manner.
At the Rio Olympics we had Ethiopia’s Olympic silver medalist, who went from national hero to despised traitor over night. Many patriotic Ethiopians were outraged last week, as I’m sure tons of people will also be outraged in America that football player Kaepernick refuses to Stand for the national anthem of the United States after converting to Islam. Both individuals are biting the hands that fed them after allowing the Islamic spirit to mess up with their personal lives. It won’t be surprising if these individuals are on a Saudi or Soros payroll! There is a Luciferian conspiracy of linking soul-destroyer Islam to some Ethiopian groups (like the Oromos) and to the struggles of Black Americans (Civil Rights Movement). And this didn’t just start today.
Why Do So Many Converts to Islam Learn to Hate Their Home?
Almost all converts are traitors to Jesus, traitors to their country traitors to their family. Kaepernick thus joins other American converts to Islam who have turned traitor. Al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn and the Marin County Mujahid, John Walker Lindh, both of whom converted to Islam and ended up waging war against the country of their birth, on behalf of its enemies.
It is possible for someone to have allegiance to something higher than the United States. All Christians do, for example.
But for most Christians, and most other religious people, allegiance to country and allegiance to God are not mutually exclusive. No country will ever live up to every value and commandment promulgated by any religion. And no religion will have values and commandments totally in line with a country’s principles.
This behavior of hating the country they were born in, the family they were raised in, is coming from Islam. There are enough examples for that.
No sane individual would convert to Islam after 9/11, after witnessing the never-ending atrocities made in the name of Islam: the suiciding of children, the enslavement of women, sex with a woman’s corpse, the knifing of innocent people, the burkas, the incest, pedophilia, the intolerance, the impotence, the pain, the frustration, the universal and unmitigated hate etc. Any non-Muslim who willingly converts to Islam is weak & wicked – a lost case.
Someone who might have converted to Nazism, Anarchy, Communism, Paganism, Hinduism, Buddhism or Satanism, (Latest report claims Satan worship is on rise in America.) for subversive reasons in the past might convert to Islam today. All the above ideologies are actually different varieties of Paganism. To such converts, it does less what the ideology actually is than whether it can be used as a banner to annoy their families, their neighbors, their country. Islamic teachings make a difference, particularly the ones that make Muslims stick out like a sore thumb. Still, converts to Islam are not so likely to be treasonous because they are Muslim converts, but are rather Muslim converts because they seek a flag of convenience to rationalize their treason. Saudi Trojan horse, “Nation of Islam” (Black Muslims) was anti-American from its inception as a prison-born “religion” practiced by criminals.
Over 80 million Africans were castrated and murdered by Arab Muslims during the trans-Sahara slave trade alone between A.D. 650 and 1900, even now, right before our own eyes, millions of Black Africans are humiliated, their body organs harvested and murdered in the Sahara desert, in Libya, Algeria and Egypt. It’s more than a disgrace that any black person could be a follower of this particular religion. Let’s take the following history lesson very seriously:
“The Arab slave trade typically dealt in the sale of castrated male slaves. Black boys between the age of 8 and 12 had their scrotums and penises completely amputated to prevent them from reproducing. About six of every 10 boys bled to death during the procedure”
And you’ll be left breathless after reading the following account:
Mr. Obama, Mr. Kaepernick, Ato Lilesa, doesn’t your blood boil?
Can you see how identical these dudes are — can you spot the hateful anti-Christ islamic spirit within them?
Some reaction to Kaepernick’s controversy from the net:
“It’s your inalienable right to protest social cleavages by sitting during what is normally accepted as an opportunity to take pride in the country that has afforded you the opportunities which have made you wealthy. But in doing so, you continue to make this game more about yourself which in turn makes you less and less appealing to any potential employers. Refresh my memory, where were you raised again?”
“You will not be missed and I hope you like snow and take Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Penn, Benn Affleck, the Obama’s and Miley Cyrus with you. Traitors.”
“He is welcome to go to Syria and see how that works out for him.”
“It’s also a matter of respect for the country — which is truly worthy of that respect. It’s everyone’s job to work toward making this a “are perfect union.”
“Images are powerful. Kaepernick did himself no favors last night.”
“Shame. American Football is America’s game. Those millions he was (over) paid are a direct result of his freedom of choice to participate in America’s Game. What a lame, sorry excuse for not wanting to respect that freedom via the national anthem.”
“He just ended his career in the NFL”
“I forget, is it America that allows this giant douchenozzle the opportunity to make millions of dollars for being bad at his job?”
A host of professional athletes have taken to Twitter to express their thoughts on the matter:
I will be STANDING during the National Anthem tonight. Thank you to ALL (Gender,Race,Religion) that put your lives on the line for that flag
— Justin Pugh (@JustinPugh) August 27, 2016
Easy way to make sure you’re NOT the starting QB on opening day. #Sept11 https://t.co/DyQrIOGGO5
— Matthew Hasselbeck (@Hasselbeck) August 27, 2016
Activists changed USA for better but have to associate Nat Anthem w/ military that die for ur right to protest. Stand up. Find another way
— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) August 27, 2016
Pretty cool picture! My big cuz took a bengals flag up on a mission in hostile territory. But, thanks for defending the flag that really matters, even for the people who don’t appreciate it! 🇺🇸
I rotely stood for the #NationalAnthem all my life..post 9/11 & Giants@Chiefs, I never took it for granted again!
God bless America 🇺🇸
— Tiki Barber (@TikiBarber) August 27, 2016
This guy is a joke. Get lost. You don’t like it in a country that has given you opportunity to succeed? Then get out https://t.co/Dwssw2I1zA
— AUBREY HUFF (@aubrey_huff) August 27, 2016
Bad decision by @Kaepernick7 but bc of the men/women who died for that flag, he has the liberty to disrespect them #betterwaystogetattention
The King Fahad Academy in Bad Godesberg will be closed at the end of the year. Politicians are discussing how the building can be used in the future.
The König-Fahad-Akademie (King Fahad Academy) in Lannesdorf, established in 1995, will be shut down at the end of the year. Reports from a Berlin newspaper, “Tagespiegel” also say construction on another King Fahad Academy in Berlin-Charlottenburg will be stopped. The school in Bonn has 30 teachers and 150 Arabic-speaking students, mainly children of medical patients, diplomats and business people from Arab countries.
Officially, Saudi diplomats say the decision is part of the reform process to restructure the economy and society in Saudi Arabia. An aim of the government is that Saudi youth get the best possible education. Because Germany is viewed as having “one of the best education systems worldwide”, the Saudi government sees no further need for a Saudi sponsored school in Germany. It can also be that the financial crisis in Saudi Arabia may have contributed to the decision to close the school, or friction at the level of school directors.
In 2003, the Academy made headlines due to alleged Islamic activities. It was thought to be a magnet for radical Islamists across Germany, including Al Qaeda sympathists. At the time, a few teachers there were accused of promoting radical Islam. The district government then determined that many of the students did not have permission to be at the school because they were permanent residents of Bonn. Enrollment was only allowed for those temporarily living in Bonn. After local authorities threatened to close the school, sponsors of the Saudi school demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with district officials. One year later, school authorities discovered passages in the school books which diminished the value of Christians and Jews. Again, there was a debate about closing the school. Since then, the school has opened its doors to the public, seeking dialogue, hosting activities and regularly inviting Bonn residents to visit the school.
City spokesperson Monika Hörig acknowledged that the Fahad Academy had opened up in the last years and worked together with the city but she said they welcomed the decision from Saudi officials which was based on recognition of the quality of the German education system. They would now have to work together quickly to find a solution for further schooling of the students.
State parliament representative Bernhard von Grünberg sees two major challenges that will come as a result of the school closing. The first is how and where the students will be taught when the school is shut down and the second is what to do with the building which is located on Mallwitzstraße. “It shouldn’t sit vacant for so many years like the former Saudi Arabian Embassy,” he said. He has spoken with the Saudi Embassy in Berlin about two possible uses for the building; one could be as a scientific center where the Saudi government could hold seminars and events based on topics such as desertification and water resources and the other possible use could be as a dialogue center for Islamic issues.
The King Fahad Academy educates students in grades 1 through 10 using the Saudi Arabian curriculum. Subjects are taught in the Arabic language. German and English are required foreign languages at every grade level. In August of 2014, the International Baccalaureate program was introduced for 11th and 12th graders, taught in the English language. Bad Godesberg’s Mayor Simone Stein-Lücke said she was surprised by the news and regretted the closing of the school, which despite a controversial history had become a solid part of the social and cultural life in Bonn.
My Note: It’s shameful, first of all, that European governments are continuously empowering the Muslim invaders by allowing such good-for-nothing schools and madrasas throughout Europe. What’s going on?
Two days ago, in an interview (a must read) with the mainstream, “Welt” newspaper, former iranian Muslim, founder and chairwoman of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany, made the following remarkable statements:
“Whenever I hear, Allahu Akbar’, I get so angry”
“I know the monster I am not afraid of it”
“The Koran is an instrument of power and means male power”
Ahadi find discussion of a ban on the burqa necessary.”Burka and chador are symbols of women’s oppression. It shows that women do not mean anything and must be invisible. There are thousands who do not want, but will be forced.”
“Learning and Studying mean a way out. I studied medicine in Tabriz, and the first day I threw away the chador. For me, the chador was like a mobile prison.”
Ahadi read the Koran in Persian rather than Arabic – “and because the sanctity was gone, the effect was gone,” says Ahadi. She learned a lot, so she could go to the university.
Mina Ahadi says she ones got a call for help from a refugee. This time describes an Iranian refugee the conditions in a refugee camp in Frankfurt: “I’m afraid of these Islamists, and sometimes I think that may behead and kill me. I rarely get out of my room. Perhaps it’s ridiculous, but I have the feeling that the government in Germany is an Islamic government” writes the man. Woow!
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 29, 2016
Hillary Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin revealed in a statement to reporters that she would separate from her husband Anthony Wiener after the former New York Congressman embarrassed her again with lewd online behavior with other women.
“After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” she said in a statement. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life. During this difficult time, I ask for respect for our privacy.”
In the past, Abedin repeatedly cited therapy, her Muslim faith, and personal forgiveness to try to put the scandal behind her, but Weiner repeatedly embarrassed her with revelations of his behavior splashed on the front pages of New York tabloids.
Abedin has been traveling the country with Clinton assisting her with her presidential campaign.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 29, 2016
A charity that campaigns for equal rights in Egypt has filed a formal complaint of discrimination against Coptic Christians in the selection of Egypt’s Olympic team.
Coptic Solidarity has complained to the International Olympic Committee and to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) claiming that Egypt has discriminated against Coptic athletes.
Coptic Solidarity says this discrimination prevents Coptic athletes from competing at national and international levels in football, athletics and many other sports, and says it has received numerous complaints from Copts complaining of exclusion.
“Despite successfully passing all selection stages, these athletes have been excluded from national and international competition for no reason other than their religious background,” says Coptic Solidarity.
About 10 million of Egypt’s 90 million citizens are Christian.
Egypt’s Olympic mission to Rio de Janeiro was made up of 122 athletes but did not include a single Copt.
Egypt’s 2012 London delegation also did not include any Copts.
Additionally, not a single Egyptian Christian player, coach or trainer can be found on any club in the country’s premier soccer league.
Over the past four decades, just a handful of Copts have been included in any club at any level of professional or semi-professional competition in Egypt.
“This is not an impossible statistical anomaly, but instead is the product of deep-rooted discrimination that exists in the administration of athletics and football in Egypt, and in Egyptian society at large,” says Coptic Solidarity. “The infusion of religious bigotry into sports has become all too pervasive in Egypt, and is undermining the very meaning of sportsmanship. The shameful action of Egypt’s judoka, Islam El Shehaby in refusing to shake hands with his Israeli counterpart at the 2016 Olympic Games was condemned worldwide, yet in Egypt celebrated as a contrived religious victory.“
The charity says it has at least 10 such cases where athletes are prepared to testify regarding the religious discrimination they have endured in Egyptian athletics.
It reports hundreds, if not thousands, of other cases that have not been publicized because of the perceived futility of even trying.
This is just UNBELIEVABLE! Why should the world community tolerate this shameful episode? Compare the horrendous situation of Christians in the Arab republic of Egypt with the degree of tolerance and freedom ungrateful Muslims experience in Christian Ethiopia. Why isn’t Egypt excluded from international sport events?
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 28, 2016
According To The Holy Orthodox Christian Church
My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Amen.
+++
Please note: I am bringing to your attention the position of our Holy Orthodox Christian Church on the existence of Satan, demons and the spiritual warfare that is taking place in our lives and our world. The greatest of all satanic deception is that he does not exist and therefore there is no evil or hell or sin or spiritual death.
When our Savior Jesus Christ taught us how to pray, He did not say to ask for deliverance from evil, but specifically, “deliver us from the evil one (Πειρασμόν). For, in this life we are often subjected to evil, and those who actually struggle to follow Christ and His Holy Orthodox Christian Faith must often endure it. Indeed, in the Beatitudes, we are even assured that we must endure evil. Moreover, in this world, evil often seems to triumph over good. Christ came to redeem us from our bondage to the prince of this world, to deliver us from bondage to his world of the materialism and sensuality. Our Savior has given us His Holy Orthodox Church as the vessel of our deliverance, and this freedom awaits those who will accept it and struggle for it according to the way God has provided for us.
In addition to the created spiritual powers who the will of God, the Angels, there are, according to the Orthodox Christian faith, those who rebel against Him and do evil. These are the demons or devils (which means literally those who “tear apart” and destroy) who are also known both in the Old and New Testaments as well as in the lives of the saints of the Church.
Satan (which means literally the enemy or the Adversary) is one proper name for the devil, the leader of the evil spirits. He is identified as the serpent symbol of Genesis 3 and as the tempter of both Job and Jesus (Job 1:6; St. Mark 1:33). He is labeled by Jesus Christ as a deceiver and liar, the “father of lies” (St. John 8:44) and the “prince of this world” (St. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). He has “fallen from heaven” together with his evil angels to do battle with God and His servants (St. Luke 10:18; Isaiah 14:12). It is this same Satan who “entered Judas” to effect the betrayal and destruction of Christ (St. Luke 22:3).
The Holy Apostles of Christ and the Saints of the Church knew from direct experience Satan’s powers against man for Man’s own destruction. They knew as well Satan’s lack of power and his own ultimate destruction when man is with God, filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ. According to Orthodox theology and doctrine there is no middle road between God and Satan. Ultimately, and at any given moment, man is either with God or the devil, serving one or the other. The ultimate victory belongs to God and to those with Him. Satan and his hosts are finally destroyed.
It is imperative to understand that without this recognition–and still more-the experience of this reality of the cosmic spiritual struggle (God and Satan, the good Angels and the evil angels), one cannot truly be called an Orthodox Christian who sees and lives according to the deepest realities of life. Once again, however, it must be clearly noted that the devil is not a “red-suited being” nor any other type of grossly-physical tempter. He is a subtle, intelligent spirit who acts mostly by deceit and hidden actions, having as his greatest victory man’s disbelief (atheism, skepticism, denial, rationalism etc.) in his existence and power. Thus, the devil attacks “head-on” only those whom he can deceive in no other way: Jesus and the greatest of the Saints. For the greatest part of his warfare he is only too satisfied to remain concealed and to act by indirect methods and means.
“Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-12). (Source: Orthodox Church in America)
EVIL SPIRITS ARE EXISTING INDIVIDUAL SPIRITUAL BEINGS
By Archbishop Lazar Puhalo (Source: Concerning Evil Spirits and “Internal Demons”: The Orthodox Christian Tradition about the Nature and Activity of Satan and his Demons.)
Evil spirits are angels who became evil by their own free wills. As the prayers of the Church constantly teach us, Angels are bodiless spirits. Because of our carnal condition, we are unable to see evil spirits but “we have a more certain word of prophecy, and you will do well to pay attention to it as to a light which shines in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). We cannot physically see the demons, but we can learn enough about them to defeat them. The source of this knowledge is the Holy Scripture which is lived, verified and made manifest in the life of the Holy Orthodox Church, and the experiences and teachings of our holy God-bearing Fathers. From the beginning of the Holy Scripture, we encounter Satan as a truly existent individual. According to the testimony of the Book of Genesis, Satan entered into a serpent and convinced our first ancestors to violate God’s Commandment (Genesis 3:119). The Holy Prophet Solomon affirms that the devil was the original cause of the sin which ruined all mankind: “God created man to be immortal and made him an image of His own eternity. Through envy of the devil, however, death came into the world” (Wis. 2:23-24). For this reason, Satan is called a “murderer from the beginning” (St. John 8:44).
From the Book of Deuteronomy, we see that Moses was clearly aware of the existence of evil spirits. Enumerating the sins of the Hebrews, Moses says that they “sacrificed to demons, not to God” (Dt. 32:17), that is, as Saint John Chrysostom explains, they sacrificed to idols in which demons dwelt. The devil tormented the Righteous Job (Job 1:6-22); instigated David to “number Israel” (1 Chr. 21:1) and an evil spirit possessed Saul (1 Ki. 16:14-15 Orthodox Bible).
In the Book of Kings (3 Ki. 22:19-23 Orthodox Bible) and in the Book of Prophet Zachary (3:12), the evil one is accorded the personal attributes of envy, falsehood, cunning and wickedness. In the first case, he wanted to invite the king of Israel to violate God’s Commandment, promising to become a spirit of falsehood in the mouths of prophets and, in the second instance, he was calumniating the people of Israel. The Holy Evangelist John the Theologian binds the truth of the existence of evil spirits with the coming of the Son of God into the world. “He that sins is of the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8; cp St. Matthew 12:24-29; St. John 2:19). From these words, it follows that a renunciation of belief in the devil leads to the renunciation of the truth of the fall and, consequently, also a renunciation of the mystery of redemption. Indeed, why would Christ have come to earth if the evil one did not exist? In thus renouncing the mystery of redemption, we must reject all of Christianity. The whole Gospel history testifies that the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth in order to destroy the works of the devil, to “deliver us from the evil one.”
Jesus Christ told the Jews: “You are of your father the devil, and you will also do the works of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning” (St. John 8:44). Then, in positive teaching and in the explanatory parts of Parables, Christ taught about the evil one and his angels as real, individual beings who were striving to harm humanity. Describing the last dread judgment, Christ says: “Then He shall say to those on the left hand, ‘depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels” (St. Matthew 25:41).
Christ pronounced this judgment on real, individual, totally sinful beings. It is quite clear from this that the evil one and his angels, for who the everlasting fire is prepared, are real beings. Sinners inherit eternity in this fire by being followers of Satan. United to him, they are also united with his destiny. Christ the Savior Himself said that Satan desired to sift the Apostles like wheat (St. Luke 22:31). In other places of the Holy Gospel, we see cited the words of Jesus Christ about the existence of a whole kingdom of evil spirits, ruled by Satan, the malicious prince of this kingdom (St. Matthew 12:24-28), and Christ calls the evil one the “prince of this world” (St. John 12:31). How clearly did our Savior teach about the existence of evil spirits when He healed those possessed by demons. Never did He suggest that possession by demons was a natural disorder (St. Matthew 4:24; St. Mark 1:34; 7:29-30, for example). The Holy Apostles, following Christ, also taught about the perniciousness of evil spirits and their ruinous influence of mankind. According to the Holy Apostle, Christ took on our flesh so that, by His Own death, He would deliver us from the power of “him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). The Holy Apostles also revealed that the demons are intelligent spirits (St. James 3:15), but evil (Acts 19:13). Being numerous (Revelation 12:47-8) they form their own dominion, at the head of which is Satan (Romans 16:20). Finally, in the “Lord’s Prayer,” He quite clearly taught us to pray, “deliver us from the evil one,” asking for deliverance from the power and influence of a real, personal being.
The fact that evil spirits are real, individual beings is revealed to us through the lives of the great ascetics who, being illumined by the Holy Spirit, saw the true character of the evil spirits, fought with and, by their lofty, moral lives, defeated the demons and gained power to cast them out of others. This understanding is also taught by the Church’s divine services and prayers. Thus, for example, in the eighth prayer before sleep, the Orthodox Christian prays to God: “Deliver me from the besetting presence of the devil…Snatch me from the jaws of the pernicious serpent.” In the Mystery (Sacrament) of Holy Baptism, the godparents are required; on behalf of an infant being baptized, to “renounce the devil and all his works and all his pride.”
The Holy Scripture, therefore, clearly teaches that the devil exists as an individual spirit. And Saint John of Kronstadt says, “Stubborn unbelief in the existence of evil spirits is in itself actual demonic possession, for it bids defiance of Divine revelation; he who denies the evil spirits is a person already swallowed up by the devil (see 1 Peter 5:8) and sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, in no condition to behold the Sun of Truth.”
Therefore, our Savior commands us to pray, specifically, “and deliver us from the evil-one,” and not “deliver us from evil.”
Note: We live in dangerous and evil days. See how Christians are mislead and deceived by the devil. Even “Christian” heads of other traditions have fallen prey to his influence and openly have declared that there is no devil, no sin, no hell, and some even deny the existence of God. Others have deliberately accepted evil lifestyles to be introduced to their “church” and to defend them as “natural”. Other “Christian churches” have protected clergy that have abused, seduced, sexually exploited children that were entrusted to them. Others include pagan practices and beliefs in their rituals and tradition. Others believe that the Holy Bible is outdated and needs to be improved by the contemporary man. And others have distorted the Gospel message and the Person of Christ. Others have stopped to believe in the Divinity of Christ, in the miracles of Christ, in the Resurrection of Christ, in the Kingdom of God etc. etc.
Evil is very real and we are witnesses of what is taking place in our society and the world. We see the violence, immorality, the deception, the wars, the murders, the destruction of the traditional family, the abortion and infanticide, the pressure of world governments to impose homosexuality, prostitution, on the populace. I recall how when the Orthodox country of Romania wanted to become a member of the EU, the EU told Romania that it had to accept and approve of homosexuality, prostitution, abortion etc. before it could be admitted in the EU.
We see how the secular society which promotes atheism attempts to undermine, discredit our Christian Church both from within and without and render Christianity powerless and without any influence in the world by causing divisions within the Christian Church. We see how contemporary Christians have diluted the Christian faith in their own lives.
Please be alert, vigilant and watchful. Practice your Christian faith daily with faith, humility, trust, sincerity and consistency. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by the evil powers and the “prince” of this world.
Pray unceasingly to the Almighty God, our Creator and Savior to protect you, your family, our country and our world.
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 27, 2016
Diaprax is a word coined by Dean Gotcher, founder of the Institute for Authority Research. Dean has traveled the United States and given over 1,000 live presentations to Christians explaining this wicked technique that is surreptitiously destroying our families, our government, and even our Christian churches.
After reading and digesting 600+ social psychology books, Mr. Gotcher joined the word dialectic and the word praxis to create the term DIAPRAX. Dialectic is a philosophical term that describes the use of dialogue to resolve conflict between opposing ideas or opinions. The word Praxis simply means “to practice.” Therefore, Diaprax is the practice of the dialectic.
These terms are derived from the ungodly 18th century philosophical model that is known as the Hegelian Dialectic. Named after the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel (although considerably refined since its inception in Hegel’s era), this world view has now completely enveloped the world.
In its simplest form, the Diaprax system is a process whereby the entire world will eventually dialog until they reach a consensus. The 3 part formula consists of 3 essential components: Thesis, Antithesis, and Synthesis. Simply put, a “thesis” is combined with the opposing view, the “anti-thesis,” and the result is called the “synthesis.”
In the Bible we see Satan cause the fall of man through the use of Diaprax (the practice of the dialectic). Eve tells the Serpent that God has commanded that of the tree in the midst of the garden, that they “shall not eat of” it. That is the thesis. Then Satan offers an opposing opinion (the antithesis) that flies in the face of the Word of God, telling Eve about the benefits of eating the forbidden fruit. Eve joins the two views and comes up with the synthesis – the fruit is “good food,” “pleasant to the eye” and will “make one wise.” Through Adam and Eve’s reasoning, God’s eternal truth was reasoned away, and the curse of death replaced the gift of eternal life.
No Christian can follow the Lord of the Bible, and partake of Diaprax. You cannot serve two masters, and the practicing of the Dialectic is an insidious process that now permeates all forms of society – including the “management” practices of the corporate Christian church.
In the same manner that Diaprax was used to “facilitate” the fall of man, it is today “facilitating” the complete destruction of our country. The American family has moved from Patriarchic (the Biblical model of the family) to the more Diaprax-oriented Matriarchic. The end result may be referred to as Heresyarchic. The synthesis of the Patriarchal and the Matriarchal is Heresy-archical. Satan tempted (diapraxed) Eve who compromised the fact based instructions of God the sake of relationship – the then nascent dialog with the Serpent.
Obviously, men are also susceptible to the same approach, for Adam willfully disobeyed God for the sake of the relationship with Eve – who had already eaten of the fruit. When reduced to a simple philosophical paradigm, God’s Word is absolute and is true. This is the Thesis.
As various doctrinal approaches to Christianity vie for pre-eminence, while posing as interpretive systems, they ultimately put forward the Antithesis. As Christians seek to maintain their relationships with churches, family, friends, government, etc. (see Mark 13:12) slowly erode (sacrifice) their previously firm stance on the pure fact of God’s word in order to preserve the relationship. Thus, each person is eventually processed and a Synthesis is reached.
Virtually all organizational structures are presently moving in the spirit of Diaprax. Every city council, county board of commissioners, courthouse, church board of Elders, and corporate enterprise is deeply enmeshed in the process.
In this fashion, previously Protestant organizations that were staunchly anti-Papist are now embracing the heresy of Rome. Previously conservative Christian groups are slowly allowing women to become pastors, homosexuals to be married in the church, and firm doctrines such as the Virgin birth to be liberally “spiritualized.” Bibles (such as the NIV) are being translated via a system known as “dynamic equivalency” which is built on the process of the Diaprax – a translational dialogue to consensus.
On the political front, the once great American Republic is Diapraxing itself into a totalitarian police state, and falling in line with the One-World United Nations government that the Scriptures declare will arise in the last days. After “dialoguing to consensus” on the subject of security versus personal freedom, the public has moved from the absolute guarantee of The Bill Of Rights (the thesis) and forfeited personal freedoms (the synthesis) because the compromise is necessary in order for the government to “protect” us – the threat to our security being the antithesis.
The consensus (the result of the social Diaprax) has concluded that “peace and safety” is more important than individual freedoms.
The process works in literally thousands of environments and is now running at full speed. Interestingly enough, the American Peoples Encyclopedia states that the Diaprax “can come to rest only at the apex of a hierarchial system.” Its early 20th century fruits were Communism and Fascism. This is the mechanism for the ultimate hierarchic system which the Bible tells us will be ruled by the globalist elite with their inevitable Antichrist (the synthesis) at the top of the political pyramid that is presently being constructed.
Sadly, most mainstream Christian churches are allowing the Diapraxing of their values as codified in the Ten Commandments – the Thesis. The Antithesis is Government sanctioned Abortion, Homosexuality, Pornography, Divorce, and many other non-Christian behaviors. Because the incorporated state-sanctioned churches are required by law to respond in a certain fashion to these sins in order to maintain their 501(c)(3) non-profit status, the churches have compromised the truth of God’s word in order to preserve the relationship with the government.
The inevitable Synthesis is a powerless church that has “become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit… .” (Revelation 18:3)
Once again, a simple example of the Diaprax process in the Christian church works like this: Homosexuality is a sin (God’s truth). This is the Thesis, the truth of God. Man reasons that Jesus loves everyone, therefore we should love everyone. This is the Antithesis. Thus, the Synthesis is that the church accepts (or simply tolerates) the sin because it loves the sinner.
For Christians, all SIN is the inevitable result of practicing Diaprax. The conscience deals in truth in absolute black and white – thou shalt not, right or wrong, yes or no. Man’s “ego” deals in the gray zone of feelings and emotions – the desires of man’s lustful heart – could be, should, wannabe, etc. So we compromise God’s truth with our reasoning, and we sin. Unless you have “the mind of Christ,” the end result for all humanity is a reprobate mind that has brought the organized Christian church and the freedom loving people of America to the point where they are now embracing the diabolical system of The Antichrist and his False Prophet – the Diaprax.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.” – Isaiah 55:8
As Europe Begins to Welcome Syrians, African Refugees Fear Being Left Behind
TIME Magazine, Sept. 12, 2015
There is growing concern that Europe may unwittingly divide migrants into two distinct classes.
With E.U. leaders finally working on a Europe-wide refugee policy, there is growing concern among some migrants and aid officials that the new policies might unwittingly divide the migrants into two distinct classes—with two different kinds of welcomes.
First, the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing the war back home, whose stunning flight into Europe has seized world attention; and second, the hundreds of thousands of much poorer, less educated newcomers who have also fled dire circumstances in Africa.
As EU officials prepare to meet in Brussels on Monday to hash out an emergency plan, the details are sketchy as to how the continent will integrate the massive influx of migrants who have crossed into Europe from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. On Wednesday the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made it clear to the EU Parliament that the union’s 28 countries were duty-bound to help host the 160,000 asylum-seekers currently stuck in Greece, Italy, and Hungary, and emphasized that all would be treated equally. “Europe has made the mistake in the past of distinguishing between Jews, Christians, Muslims,” he said. “There is no religion, no belief, no philosophy when it comes to refugees.”
Yet, for some of the 80,000 or so who have landed in Sicily this year—the vast majority African—the promise of fairness for all sounds unconvincing.
Africans who have fled deadly, often forgotten conflicts, or various kinds of persecution—including religious and anti-gay violence—say they believe it could take years to win refugee status or residence in Europe, if they ever receive it at all. Those simply fleeing poverty, and there are many, are not eligible for asylum.
Instead, many predict a long, tough road towards acceptance and employment somewhere on the continent. Several African asylum-seekers in Sicily described overwhelming bureaucratic hurdles towards those goals — a far different picture than the tens of thousands of Syrians whom the E.U. and U.S. now appear willing to host.
Yet both sets of newcomers share one experience: life-threatening journeys to Europe. “”We risked everything to cross the Mediterranean,” says Samate, a tall 17-year-old from Senegal, sitting in a detention center in the Sicilian town of Messina on Wednesday. He said he fled his home last February after separatist rebels in the disputed Casamance region where he comes from tried to draft him into battle. The Italian Coast Guard rescued him and other migrants as they tried to cross the Mediterranean on in late July, and brought them to Sicily.
About half of those who have landed on Europe’s shores this year have been Syrian, according to the U.N. refugee agency, most crossing from Turkey to Greece, before moving quickly on to Austria, Germany and Sweden. But a large portion of the rest are Africans who have crossed from Libya to Italy—a more lethal sea route that has so far killed more than 2,200 migrants this year. Most have arrived after hair-raising treks across the vast, searing Sahara, and then weeks in Libya’s migrant jails. Samate’s five-month journey included working for traffickers in Niger and Libya at meager wages.
Far different from the Syrians clambering off boats in Greece, the Africans land in Sicily penniless and empty-handed. When I ask to see what they carried with them, most look puzzled, then point to the clothes on their back. “I arrived with nothing, not even my documents,” said Mandjo, 16, from Guinea, who fled when religious violence destroyed his village. What little he grabbed as he fled was lost to bandits along the way.
Now, the plight of African refugees like Mandjo risks getting lost amid the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe, aid officials say. “It’s important to us that Europe is now beginning to talk about opening their borders and welcoming refugees,” says Giovanna Di Benedetto of Save the Children in Sicily. “But it is not only Syrians who have to be welcomed.”
To underscore her point, Di Benedetto whips out her iPhone to show me photos of dead African infants whose bodies washed ashore on a beach off Zuwara, Libya on August 28, when their smugglers’ boat capsized. About 200 people drowned when the ship overturned.
Five days later, a photo on a beach off Bodrum, Turkey showed another dead toddler: Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy. That image finally jolted EU leaders into action. “Syrians of course need help, but they are not the only ones,” Di Benedetto says. Shaking her head at the photos of dead African children on her phone, she says she wonders whether Aylan’s “white skin” made the difference.
On Wednesday, Juncker, the European Commission President, announced a new €1.8-billion fund for Africa that will be financed from the EU’s operating budget. The fund is meant to address “root causes of illegal migration in Africa,” and Juncker expects individual European countries to “pitch in” with more money to effectively persuade Africans to stay at home, rather than move to Europe. He said the money would help generate jobs in Africa, thus reducing “destabilization, forced displacement and illegal migration.”
Such programs, sorely needed, could take generations to work, however. In the meantime, thousands of African migrants await settlement inside Europe’s borders.
How the EU will address this more immediate problem that problem is less clear than the issue of the new Syrian arrivals. “The EU is talking about the Syrians,” says Valeria Morace, an Italian working in the Messina center for unaccompanied minors. “But politicians don’t talk about Africans in general, because they are not really doing anything for them.”
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