Great Lesson from The Voice of the Martyrs

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"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." – 2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

A church occupied in Great Commission work will see growth when people discover the love of the Father through Jesus, His Son. Then, fuelled by the Holy Spirit's guidance, these new followers of Jesus mature in the faith through discipleship and the application of God’s Word. Thus, the church becomes a marvellous blending of young and old, immature and mature, growing together in awe and reverence of the one true God.

However, Christians will encounter hostility in this world because of their faith and witness of Christ. As the church increases through conversion, the world's pushback will be one of threats, intimidation and eventual attack. Regardless of where they live, every Christian will be hated by the world because of their allegiance to Jesus. This is just as true for Christians in Canada as it is for believers in North Korea. While hostility from the world may vary from location to location, suffering for righteousness is a normal aspect of the Christian life.

For example, in Sri Lanka, while mob intimidations and attacks incited by Buddhist monks are common, local authorities often turn a blind eye to these incidents. Such aggression is not what we in the West typically associate with Buddhism, as a "violent Buddhist" is an oxymoron. And yet, whoever rejects Christ, regardless of their religion or belief, the normal outcome will be expressed in opposition to His will and way.

I recall hearing a story of a Sri Lankan pastor who witnessed Buddhist leaders and police stand silently in the foreground as an angry mob stormed his church and set it on fire. When the fire eventually died out, the church was completely gutted, with everything destroyed by the flames. Yet, picking through the charred remains, the pastor found a small clay flowerpot – the only thing that survived the fire.

The next Sunday, the congregation gathered in the ruins of their church. The pastor stood to welcome the members and lifted the flowerpot. He then asked, "Why do you think this little pot survived while everything else burned?" After a moment of silence, the pastor stated, "The reason this little pot survived is because it had already been through the fire while being made and, therefore, was able to withstand the heat."

Drawing a lesson from this little pot, he further explained: "The same can be said about our lives. When we go through trials and challenges because of our faith, we become stronger, our faith becomes stronger, and we can stand firm. Remember Isaiah 43:2 which reads, ‘When you pass through the waters, I [God] will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.’ You may be going through a challenge this very day in your own life. Whatever it may be, it is not a fire that will destroy you, but the Refiner's fire that will purge and purify your faith for His glory."

Christians are made of "stronger stuff," as God uses the difficulties and trials of life to shape us for His unique calling on our lives. The Apostle Paul tells us that all Christians are in the process of being transformed daily into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). He also reminds us of the fact that all things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). For all who desire to live the Godly life in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12), the question we must ask ourselves is: How will we respond when trouble comes because of our faith in Him?

Rev. Richard Wurmbrand, the international founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, spent 14 years in a Communist prison. For much of that time, he was imprisoned underground in complete solitary confinement. He endured tortures and mistreatments that should have killed him. And yet, amid such miserable conditions, Rev. Wurmbrand said: "There's always a good reason to rejoice. There is a God in heaven and in the heart. I had a piece of bread this morning. It was so good! Look now, the sun is shining, and so many here love me! Every day you do not rejoice is a day lost!"

What amazing insights from a man who would not allow hate to rule his heart. Instead, Rev. Wurmbrand chose to live a life of worship, even in the darkest moments of his human experience. A characteristic of the Christian life is thankfulness – a thankfulness not influenced by outward circumstances, but one that resides in the recesses of the heart and offers right sacrifices to God. Hope is the "stronger stuff" in the life of a believer who finds peace in the flames of adversity and rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Grace and peace,

Floyd A. Brobbel

Chief Executive Officer

The Voice of the Martyrs Canada Inc.

Islam - Current Day - Courageous Female Afghan Footballers; Canada Abandons Canadians in Afghanistan; More Kidnapped Students Released in Nigeria

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‘Women remain in danger’: Female footballers dodge gunfire to flee Taliban-led Afghanistan as escape organizers slam US government

25 Aug, 2021 16:37

Female footballers have been among those evacuated from Afghanistan © Twitter / David Martinon via Reuters | 

© Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters

Organizers have voiced their relief after a 72-hour bid to evacuate female athletes from Afghanistan succeeded – but criticized the US government and warned that others are stranded under the new Taliban regime.

Khalida Popal, who captained the Afghan team following its formation in 2007 before seeking asylum in Denmark amid threats to her life, had warned last week that terrified female sportspeople – some of whom had actively opposed the Taliban in the belief that the group would not regain power – had sent her messages and photos documenting their increasing horror.

Players and teams from the country's relatively healthy female football scene had been advised to delete their social media profiles and do anything possible to safeguard themselves after the Taliban takeover last week – and Popal has been part of a team that has worked with six countries to arrange evacuation flights for some of them.

Former Afghanistan women's team coach Haley Carter, who was part of the daring mission, explained the ordeal the evacuees faced and was unimpressed by a message from US vice-president Kamala Harris claiming that her government had been working relentlessly to save people.

"Our players narrowly avoided gunfire, were trampled, beaten by the Taliban and waded through sewer water to get through to Hamid Karzai International Airport," said Carter, accompanying her account with shocking photos showing chaotic scenes in the Afghan capital.

"They went two days with limited supplies, camped three nights to survive. The situation on the ground is dire."

Carter said the team had used an intelligence network to "co-ordinate and share real-time information" on issues such as transport gates and "potential threats".

"I still can’t believe we managed to pull the last three-to-four days off," she admitted. "I also don’t think I can ever describe these events in a manner that does them justice.

"The bravery and resilience of our players, working until exhaustion, constant communications challenges and location tracking. Nothing short of a miracle. Truly. So proud of every person on our team."

When Harris attempted to offer assurances about the response from president Joe Biden's administration, Carter asked whether she had a "mouse in her pocket" – a term used to suggest that others are being volunteered to take action they should not be responsible for leading.

"The service members who are on the ground, from all nations and all services, have been doing an incredible job managing a massively difficult and chaotic situation," she observed.

"We should all be proud of them and their commitment to helping others in this humanitarian crisis. God bless our service members giving everything they have to this mission for the sake of others’ safety and wellbeing.

"That said, senior US military leaders should be held accountable for their failure to adequately plan and prepare for this.

"The evacuation of American citizens and high value Afghans is happening solely because of the grit, professionalism, and compassion of those on the ground. God bless Marines and the Strategic Corporal."

Professional footballers' governing body FIFPRO thanked the Australian government for accepting a "large number" of female footballers and athletes from Afghanistan as part of a group of more than 75 people flown out of Kabul.

"These young women, both as athletes and activists, have been in a position of danger and, on behalf of their peers around the world, we thank the international community for coming to their aid," it added.

A little girl evacuated from Kabul walks to her room at a temporary camp in Australia’s main operating base in the Middle East. 

"We are grateful for the assistance of governments, military and human rights groups who are collaborating closely with us to evacuate women footballers and other athletes from Afghanistan.

"We are encouraged by recent developments. Our thoughts remain with all those still in danger."

Popal spoke of "sleepless nights" and "being on the call all the time answering questions", reporting that 75 players and "some family members" had left Afghanistan.

"[We were] handling media, motiving players to keep fighting and not give up even there were gunfires and they were beaten," she said. "It was tough. Teamwork. Work continues."

Popal is among a team of Fifpro lawyers and advisers who have worked with authorities in six countries, including Australia, the US and UK, to get athletes and their families on to evacuation lists and flights to safety.

"These past days have been an ugly reminder of the power the lottery of birth holds over all of us," said Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, FIFPRO's General Secretary.

"In the middle of this humanitarian crisis, I am so grateful to everybody on this unique team who helped to get the players evacuated.

"Two weeks full of genuine care, masterminding and incredible perseverance. We won’t stop here. Without representation these people can’t be saved."

The future of women's sport in Afghanistan looks bleak. "The work doesn’t end here, and we get back to it," pledged Carter.

"Many Afghan women and girls remain in danger and it’s vital to continue these efforts for as long as we can. All sporting bodies must continue the push to protect the women and girl athletes of Afghanistan."

We had ten years to get Afghan interpreters and their families out and we waited for the last 5 days. What a disgrace!

Canada's airlift mission from Kabul ends, leaving many behind

Government says it knows citizens, permanent residents and others are stranded

Catharine Tunney · CBC News · 

Posted: Aug 26, 2021 7:54 AM ET | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

U.S. Air Force officials load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of

the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 24,

2021. (U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/Handout/Reuters)

Canada's effort to airlift those fleeing Taliban rule out of Afghanistan has come to an end, says the acting chief of the defence staff.

A notice sent out this morning from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says that evacuation operations are done and "at this time, no further evacuation flights are being planned."

"The government of Canada recognizes that there are a number of people in Afghanistan, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents, their families, and applicants under programs for Afghans," said the notice sent to all on the government's list, a copy of which was obtained by CBC News.

"Until such a time that the security situation stabilizes, be mindful of the security environment and where possible, take the necessary steps to ensure your security and that of your family."

Yeah, right! Thanks a lot!

Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defence staff, said most of the Canadian personnel still in the country left Hamid Karzai International Airport eight hours ago, although a small contingent has stayed behind to support allies.

On Thursday, two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Kabul's international airport, killing at least 60 Afghans,12 U.S. troops and wounding scores of others, according to Afghan and U.S. officials.

The Department of National Defence (DND) confirmed that all CAF members are safe and accounted for. 

"The situation on the ground remains dangerous and CAF personnel are taking all appropriate personal security measures," said a DND media statement.

Eyre said Canada has helped to evacuate more than 3,700 people from Kabul.

Tens of thousands of Afghans fearing persecution under the Taliban, which swept to power in recent days, have rushed to Kabul's airport hoping to escape the country.

Numbers unclear

Among those seeking to flee Afghanistan are Afghans who worked with Canadian troops during Canada's mission who now fear retribution at the hands of the Taliban.

It's unclear how many Canadians and people who applied to come to Canada remain stranded. Officials briefing reporters this morning said they received applications representing 8,000 people and that two-thirds of those applications have been processed.

But they said they don't have a tally of how many didn't make it out. They said not all of the people who applied are necessarily still in Afghanistan and many might have fled to neighbouring countries.

"Their pleas and the photos of the families in terrible situations that accompany many of them are heart-wrenching," said Eyre.

"They tear at our souls."

U.S. withdrawing Tuesday

The U.S. plans to complete the withdrawal of its forces from the country on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Wednesday that Canada needed to get its crews and equipment out of the country before then.

"As the Americans draw down to meet their deadline, partner nations, including Canada, must draw down our troops, assets and aircraft ahead of the Americans," he said. "These moves are necessary for the U.S. to safely maintain control of the airport until they depart."

The White House said Thursday that since Aug. 14, it has evacuated and helped in the evacuation of about 95,700 people. Britain said on Wednesday it has evacuated more than 11,000 people from Afghanistan.

Advocacy groups, families and those on the ground have reported problems reaching officials and have criticized the government for not acting sooner.

For months, interpreters and their families appealed to Canada to bring them to safety as the Taliban tightened its control.

The Canadian military was in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Canada ended its combat mission in 2011 but kept soldiers in the country for another three years to help train the Afghan National Security Forces.

In 2009, under the Harper government, Canada offered refuge to approximately 800 interpreters fearing for their lives in Afghanistan, but the program had restrictive criteria.

To qualify under the old program, the advisers had to demonstrate they worked for Canadian troops, diplomats or contractors for 12 consecutive months between October 2007 and July 2011.

Two-thirds of the Afghans who applied to Canada for refuge were turned away, according to figures compiled by The Canadian Press.

The Liberal government announced a new temporary program in July.

The immigration department advises those with an application in progress to contact them by email at Afghanistan@international.gc.ca or to call 1-613-321-4243.

Gunmen release some students in northern Nigeria months after kidnapping

136 students, several teachers abducted from Salihu Tanko Islamic School in May

The Associated Press · 

Posted: Aug 26, 2021 6:43 PM ET | Last Updated: 36 minutes ago

More than 100 students and several teachers were abducted from the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in May. Authorities reported Thursday that some students had been released, months after their kidnapping. (Mustapha Gimba/The Associated Press)

Gunmen have released some of the children kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria back in May, some of whom were as young as five years old, the school's head teacher said late Thursday.

Abubakar Garba Alhassan told The Associated Press that the freed students were on their way to the state capital, Minna, but added he could not confirm the exact number freed.

Authorities have said that 136 children were abducted along with several teachers when gunmen on motorcycles attacked the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Niger state. Other preschoolers were left behind as they could not keep pace when the gunmen hurriedly moved those abducted into the forest.

Alhassan did not provide details of their release, but parents of the students have over the past weeks struggled to raise ransoms demanded by their abductors. There was no immediate comment from police of the Niger governor's office.

The release, though, came a day after local media quoted one parent as saying six of the children had died in captivity.

More than 1,000 students have been forcibly taken from their schools during those attacks, according to an Associated Press tally of figures previously confirmed by the police. Although most of those kidnapped have been released, at least 200 are still held by their abductors.

The government has been unable to halt the spate of abductions for ransom. As a result, many schools have been forced to close due to the concerns about the kidnapping risk.

After one abduction at a university in Kaduna state earlier this year, gunmen demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in ransom. They killed five other students to compel the students' parents to raise the money, and later released 14 others.

This is no longer an ideological struggle, it has turned into a criminal enterprise.

Islam - This Day in History - Profoundly Important Battle For Turkey and The Balkans, And Maybe The Americas

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Is there a connection between this battle and the discovery of the Americas?

Today in History: Turkey is Born of Jihad

08/26/2021 

by Raymond Ibrahim

Turkish president Erdogan (L. image of large statue of Seljuk Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud, aka Alp Arslan)

 

Today in history, on August 26, 1071, one of the most decisive battles in all world history took place, that of Manzikert, without which there would be no modern nation of Turkey to speak of—much less centuries of jihadist conquests and atrocities in the Balkans.

It is, in fact, a battle that Turkey is celebrating today, as it does annually.  Its hero, Seljuk sultan Muhammad bin Dawud — better known in the West by his Turkish nickname, Alp Arslan, meaning “Heroic Lion” — is a personal favorite of Turkish president Erdoğan.  After all, as historian Carole Hillenbrand explains, the battle “symbolized the subjugation of Christianity by Islam.  Manzikert was perceived to be the first step in an epic story in which Turkish-led dynasties would defeat the Christians and proclaim the triumph of Islam.”

As such, it may behoove the Western reader to become acquainted with that pivotal encounter that occurred today in history.

By the middle of the eleventh century, the Seljuk Turks had virtually annihilated the whole of Armenia — massacring and enslaving hundreds of thousands, according to contemporary records.  

That would be the first genocide of Armenians by the Turks!

They continued riding westward across Asia Minor, then part of the Eastern Roman Empire (“Byzantium”), leaving a trail of smoke and destruction in their wake.

Although several Byzantine rulers equivocated, on becoming emperor in 1068, Romanus Diogenes made it his priority to act.  By 1069, he had amassed and marched a massive army deep into Asia Minor, liberating numerous cities from the Turks.

The two forces eventually met near the city of Manzikert, just north of Lake Van.  Sultan Muhammad bin Dawud sent a delegation to parley with Romanus on “the pretext of peace,” though in reality, he was “stalling for time,” explained Michael Attaleiates, who was present.  This only “roused the emperor to war.”

Romanus spurned the emissaries, forced them to prostrate themselves before him, and commanded them to tell their sultan that “there will be no treaty … and no going home except after I have done in the lands of Islam the like of what has been done in the lands of Rome [Asia Minor].”  Then, having “dismissed the ambassador with the greatest contempt,” Romanus incited his men to war with “words of extraordinary violence.”

Muhammad exhorted his men to jihad and reminded them of its win-win promise: “If we are given victory over them, [well and good].  If not, we will go as martyrs to the Garden.”  “We are with you!” cried the men in unison when he finished his harangue, followed by a barrage of “Allah akbars” that reportedly “shook the mountains.”

Thus, as “martial music resounded from both sides and the dust of the battlefield billowed up like clouds in the sky,” the two armies met on that fateful Friday, August 26, 1071.

The battle ensued in the usual way: Turkic horsemen, in a crescent formation that hid their fewer numbers, sped forward and unleashed volleys of arrows, before swiftly retreating.  Throngs of Christian men and their horses fell; some even broke rank and fled.  Undaunted, Romanus maintained the line and marched his forces forward, but because the Muslims had unlimited terrain to fall back on, the Christian army never managed to corner and finish them off, even as the Turks continued to engage in effective hit-and-run tactics.

When the day was nearly spent, Romanus ordered an about-face back to camp, the only place to feed his men and water their horses.  Once he turned his back, the Turks launched an all-out assault, “hurling themselves fiercely upon the Romans with terrifying cries.”  Havoc ensued, not least as some of Romanus’s generals betrayed and fled.  “All were shouting incoherently and riding about in disorder; nobody could say what was going on. … It was like an earthquake with howling, sweat, a swift rush of fear, clouds of dust, and not least Turks riding all around us,” Attaleiates later remembered.

Romanus’s Varangian Guard (the empire’s elite unit of Nordic warriors who were always attached to the emperor they served) was surrounded and, despite fighting valiantly, butchered to the last man.  Seeing that he was

abandoned and completely cut off from help, [Romanus] unsheathed his sword and charged at his enemies, killing many of them and putting others to flight. But he was surrounded by a crowd of adversaries and was wounded in the hand. They recognized him and he was completely encircled; an arrow wounded his horse, which slipped and fell, dragging its rider down with it. Thus the emperor of the Romans was captured and led in chains to the sultan.

Worse, the once proud and imperious Romanus became the first Roman emperor in over a thousand years to experience the ignominy of being taken prisoner from the field of battle.  As for his men, one Muslim chronicler writes that the Christians “were killed to such an extent that a valley there where the two sides had met was filled [with their corpses].”

Sultan Muhammad declared victory and hurriedly dispatched “the cross and what had been taken from the Byzantines” to Baghdad, and “the caliph and the Muslims rejoiced.  Baghdad was decorated in an unprecedented fashion and domes were erected.  It was a great victory the like of which Islam had not seen before,” writes a Damascene historian.

As seen, the battle opened the doorway to the permanent conquest of Asia Minor.  Before he was assassinated a year later, Muhammad had commanded the Turks to “be like lion cubs and eagle young, racing through the countryside day and night, slaying the Christians and not sparing any mercy on the Roman nation.”  This they did, and “the emirs spread like locusts, over the face of the land,” invading every corner of Anatolia, sacking some of ancient Christianity’s most important cities, including Antioch, where the word “Christian” was coined, and Nicaea, where the Christian creed was formulated in 325.  “All that was left were devastated fields, trees cut down, mutilated corpses and towns driven mad by fear or in flames.”  Hundreds of thousands of Anatolian Christians were reportedly massacred or enslaved.

By the early 1090s, the Turks had taken the last Christian bastion, Nicomedia, only 2,500 feet away from the imperial capital of Constantinople, across the narrowest point of the Bosporus strait.  Not only did that occasion the First Crusade, but centuries later, on May 29, 1453, it led to the fall of Constantinople and much of the Balkans to the Turks.  But that is another story — one which still has to reach its finale.

Note: Quotes from this article were excerpted from and are documented in the author’s book, Sword and Scimitar: Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West.

It's interesting that 39 years after the fall of Constantinople and a large part of the Eurasian continent was lost by Christians, Columbus opened the floodgates to new continents. England, France, Spain, and Portugal all turned their attention to the west and forgot about the near east as it was no longer accessible to them. I don't think it was a coincidence. Do you?

Did Canada Contribute to the Development of the Coronavirus?

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Samples From Early Wuhan COVID Patients Had Genetically Modified

Henipah, One of Two Types of Viruses Sent From Canadian Lab

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in a file photo. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

By Omid Ghoreishi 

August 25, 2021

Samples from early Wuhan COVID-19 patients show the presence of genetically modified Henipah virus, an American scientist has found.

Henipah was one of the two types of viruses sent to China by Chinese-born scientists from a Canadian laboratory at the centre of a controversy over the firing of the scientists and collaboration with Chinese military researchers. It is not clear whether the virus found in the Chinese samples is related to the virus samples sent by the Canadian lab, which were shipped in late March 2019.

The finding was confirmed for The Epoch Times by another qualified scientist.

The evidence was first found by Dr. Steven Quay, a Seattle-based physician-scientist and former faculty member at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who looked at early COVID-19 samples uploaded by scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) shortly after China informed the World Health Organization about the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli is seen inside the P4 laboratory in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 23, 2017. 

The samples from the patients, who reportedly were found to have an “unidentified pneumonia disease” in December 2019, were uploaded to the genetic sequence database, GenBank, on the website of the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH).

Quay says that while other scientists around the world were mostly interested in examining the genome of SARS-CoV-2 in the samples uploaded by the WIV scientists, he wanted to see what else was in the samples collected from the patients.

So he collaborated with a few other scientists to analyze sequences from the samples. “We started fishing inside for weird things,” Quay told The Epoch Times.

What they found, he says, are the results of what could likely be contamination from different experiments in the lab making their way into the samples, as well as evidence of Henipah virus.

“We found genetic manipulation of the Nipah virus, which is more lethal than Ebola.” Nipah is a type of Henipah virus.

The Epoch Times asked Joe Wang, PhD, who formerly spearheaded a vaccine development program for SARS in Canada with one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, to verify the finding. Wang is currently the president of NTD Television Canada, the sister company of The Epoch Times in Canada.

After examining the evidence, Wang said he was able to replicate Quay’s findings on the Henipah virus. He explains that the genetic manipulation of the virus was likely for the purposes of vaccine development.

Documents released by the Canadian government state that the WIV’s intended use of the virus samples sent by Canada was “stock virus culturing,” which in simpler terms means storing the viruses while keeping them alive. Genetic manipulation would not be within the scope of this description.

Winnipeg Lab

The firing of Chinese-born scientist Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, from the National Microbiology laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg has been the subject of much controversy in Canada, with opposition parties pressing the government for more details on the case, and the government refusing to release information citing national security and privacy concerns.

Qiu and Cheng along with several Chinese students were escorted out of the NML, Canada’s only lab designated at containment level 4—or P4, the highest level of biosafety—amid a police investigation in July 2019. The two scientists were formally fired in January 2021.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which is in charge of the NML, said the termination was the result of an “administrative matter” and “possible breaches of security protocols,” but has declined to provide further details, citing security and privacy concerns.

House Speaker Anthony Rota admonishes Public Health Agency of Canada President Iain Stewart in the

House of Commons on June 21, 2021, for failing to provide documents related to the firing of two scientists

from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)

During her time at the NML, Qiu travelled several times to the WIV in an official capacity, helping train personnel on level 4 safety. The Globe and Mail later reported that scientists at the NML have been collaborating with Chinese military researchers on deadly pathogens, and that one of the Chinese military researchers worked at the high-security Winnipeg lab for a period of time.

Documents and emails released by PHAC show that the shipment of Henipah and Ebola samples was done with the permission of NML authorities.

In one of the emails sent in September 2018, David Safronetz, chief of special pathogens at PHAC, informs then-head of NML Matthew Gilmour and other lab administrators about the request from the WIV for the shipment of the samples, saying “I trust the lab.”

In response, Gilmour asks about the nature of the work that will be done at the Wuhan lab, and why the lab doesn’t get the material from “other, more local labs.” He also tells Safronetz that it’s “good to know that you trust this group,” asking how the NML was connected with the group.

In his reply, Safronetz doesn’t specifically say what the samples will be used for in China, but notes that they will only be sent once all paperwork and certification are completed. He also says the WIV is requesting the material from NML “due to collaboration” with Qiu.

He adds, “Historically, it’s also been easier to obtain material from us as opposed to US labs. I don’t think other, closer labs have the ability to ship these materials.”

Gilmour resigned from his position at the NML in May 2020 and joined a UK-based bioresearch company.

MPs have asked NML management why shipment of the samples was allowed and whether they knew if China performs any gain-of-function (GoF) research at the WIV. GoF research involves increasing either the lethal level (virulence) or the transmissibility of pathogens or both.

The NML’s acting scientific director general Guillaume Poliquin told MPs during a parliamentary committee meeting on March 22 that the lab only sent the samples to the WIV after receiving assurance that no GoF research would take place.

Conservative MP John Williamson pressed for more answers, saying the word of the state-run Chinese lab can’t be trusted as the Chinese regime “has a history of theft and lies.”

The issue of GoF research at WIV has been a point of contention in the United States between lawmakers and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIH’s head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci’s organization has funded research (through EcoHealth Alliance) on coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab. U.S. Sen. Rand Paul says published work from WIV on coronaviruses shows the lab is conducting GoF research, a charge that Fauci denies.

Despite repeated requests by the opposition parties for more details related to the firing of the two NML scientists, the Liberal government has refused to provide records, saying there are national security and privacy concerns.

After the House of Commons issued an order requiring the government to disclose the information, the government took the Speaker of the House to court to obtain confirmation from a judge that it can withhold the documents. The government later dropped its court case once Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election and Parliament was dissolved.

Military Madness - Dramatic Increase in Drone Strikes in Afghanistan - What did it Accomplish?

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‘Killing for the sake of killing’: Disillusioned US drone pilots

leak footage of air strikes against unarmed Afghans, media says

25 Aug, 2021 13:54 / Updated 2 hours ago

FILE PHOTO. The US military in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, a Taliban stronghold, are using high-tech Predator drones against their enemy. © Getty Images / Veronique de Viguerie; (inset) A U.S. Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). © Getty Images / John Moore

American drone pilots have leaked video of “punitive” and “nihilistic” strikes in Afghanistan in 2019 that led to the killing of civilians, including at least one child, as the US looked for an exit strategy in the two-decade war.

The footage, published on Tuesday as part of an investigation by military news outlet Connecting Vets, reportedly reveals how successive US administrations and defense strategists relaxed the rules of engagement in Afghanistan – as part of a policy to pressure the Taliban to the negotiating table.

However, drone operators interviewed by the outlet claimed the loosened rules around air strikes served “no point” and did not “make a difference” – with one pilot stating that it was “killing for the sake of killing.” The strikes also reportedly killed far more civilians than the Pentagon has admitted.

An unidentified pilot, who worked with the Marines as part of ‘Task Force South West’ in the country’s Helmand province in 2019, said he had been traumatized by one mistaken killing and shared a journal account of the incident with the site.

My productivity today was derailed. We killed two innocent men and a charger [military slang for a child]. They were on a motorcycle and by dumb luck drove into the same intersection as our target as the hellfire [missile] struck.

The operator said the target was an Afghan man on a bike who had been using a two-way radio – which were commonly used in Helmand after cellular towers were downed.

However, the target “rode right through the blast and kept going,” the pilot wrote, adding that he “watched a passerby load the bodies into a truck and drive them to a hospital. They are all dead.”

The account was corroborated by a military official involved in the operation who spoke to the site on condition of anonymity. While the Afghan on the radio – whose name or connection to the Taliban was never discovered – drove off through the smoke like a “Bond villain,” the official said the “two adults and a toddler on the other motorcycle ... were killed right off.”

But the Connecting Vets report noted that the Department of Defense (DoD) recorded only one civilian casualty on the date of the strike, which was “likely the toddler,” while leaving out the two adult males who “just happened to be there.”

US Central Command, which had jurisdiction over military operations in the area, did not respond to questions submitted by the site.

Drone operators told the site about being disillusioned with the task force, whose Marines had apparently already given up on Helmand. By 2019, the province was largely under the control of the Taliban, with “virtually no American ground patrols ... and not many Afghan military ones”.

According to the outlet, the military had “transitioned from intelligence-driven targeting to using a target engagement criteria” such as holding a rifle, but the threshold for coming under suspicion could be easily crossed by unarmed adult men.

Last year, the DoD released air power summaries for Afghanistan that showed a six-fold increase from less than a thousand strikes in 2015 to 7,423 strikes in 2019.

And what did they accomplish except to keep the 'hellfire' inventory moving?

According to a 2017 report by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, Barack Obama “vastly [expanded] and [normalized] the use of armed drones for counterterrorism” to the tune of 542 strikes, killing roughly 3,797 people in various countries.

Under Donald Trump, authorization for drone strikes was delegated to field commanders as part of a National Security Council strategy to get the Taliban to agree on an exit strategy for US forces.

How did that work?

Islam - Current Day > BBC Covers-up Muslim ID of Criminal, Again; PA Cracks Down on Protesters; Taliban Executions; Afghans Kept From Airport; Squalid Conditions for Migrants

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BBC accused of 'omitting facts' about Muslim culprit seen

in video of shocking anti-Semitic attack in London

23 Aug, 2021 12:41

(L) © Twitter / @metpoliceuk; (R) © Twitter / @Shomrim

The BBC has once-again drawn the ire of the British public after it reported a shocking assault that left a man in "Orthodox Jewish dress" unconscious, but failed to describe his attacker's Islamic clothing.

Over the weekend, reports emerged of a horrific and unprovoked attack on a 64-year-old Jewish man as he walked down a street in Stamford Hill, London, last Wednesday. Videos show the moment he was knocked unconscious by his attacker. He was also left with a broken ankle. 

However, the BBC's reporting of the anti-Semitic assault hasn't been well received, as the national broadcaster strangely elected to describe the Jewish attire of the victim but not the Muslim dress of the perpetrator.

The BBC simply labelled the attacker, who wore a white kaftan under his jacket, a kufi, and sported a sizeable beard, as "another man" while they described the victim as "a man in Orthodox Jewish dress." The attacker's attire can be seen more clearly in other images shared online.

Author Douglas Murray was among those highlighting the unusual omission by the BBC. But while Murray stuck to the facts, many were keen to lay into the BBC, with some claiming they have a reputation for not fully reporting a story when Islam is concerned.

"The BBC always covers up for certain criminals," one Twitter user wrote, while another added "Criminal Muslims. There I said it. They do exist you know."

Others ask why Muslims are getting a free pass in the media, claiming the piece in question appears to blame the Jewish man for being attacked. "Imagine them describing the attire of a female assault victim - 'she wore a short skirt & high heels' - cue outrage & 'victim blaming' accusations," they added.  

"One religion can do no wrong in the eyes of the BBC. Their actions are beyond reproach," another commenter wrote, while others claimed the BBC "owned the word hypocrisy." 

One person claimed that by "omitting obvious facts and important information" the BBC was in fact creating fake news. "Referring to one in this case victims religion but not the perpetrators shows shocking bias," they added.  

Others claimed the BBC won't change as reporting on crimes seemingly committed by people of the Muslim faith doesn't fit in with their narrative that Britain is racist. By leaving out the details about the Muslim attacker, they claimed people will assume the attacker was both "white" and "English."

No one was forthcoming to back up the BBC, although some jokingly suggested the attacker could have been Scottish, a jovial reference to the wearing of a kilt.

Earlier this year a BBC reporter found herself in hot water after it emerged that she'd once posted "Hitler was right" on Twitter. Having been fired by the BBC, Tala Halawa, a Palestinian journalist, blasted the corporation, accusing it of giving into the "pro-Israel mob."

Now, this is completely out of character for the EU and the UN to criticize the Palestinian Authority without even blaming Israel. But this has been happening in Gaza by Hamas for many years now, I believe.

EU condemns ‘politically motivated’ arrests of activists

by Palestinian Authority

24 Aug, 2021 15:11

FILE PHOTO. Palestinian demonstrators attend an anti-Palestinian Authority protest, forty days after the death of Nizar Banat, a critic of the Palestinian Authority, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank August 2, 2021. © Reuters / Mohamad Torokman

The UN and EU issued statements on Tuesday criticizing the Palestinian Authority for the “politically motivated” arrest of activists and “continued pressure” on people demonstrating in the territory.

Protests have been taking place in recent months, as activists demand justice for Nizar Banat, a critic of the Palestinian Authority, who died after security forces detained him earlier this year and subjected him to physical violence.

On August 21 and 22, dozens of activists who had been participating in these protests were detained by Palestinian Authority security forces in Ramallah, with several still in custody. 

On Tuesday, the UN Office for Human Rights declared that it is “deeply concerned” by the Palestinian Authority’s actions and the “continued pressure on those seeking to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly” in the area. 

In a separate statement, the EU’s representative in the region expressed concern at “an increase in apparently politically motivated arrests by the Palestinian Authority,” firmly stating that “violence against peaceful human rights defenders, activists and protesters is unacceptable.”

While the remarks from the UN demanded the “immediate release without any charges” of the activists who were detained, the EU called on Palestinian officials to focus on “swiftly” concluding the investigation of Banat’s death and ensuring that “those responsible are held accountable.”

The Palestinian Authority has not yet publicly responded to the UN or EU statements but the detention of protesters comes after the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, indefinitely postponed elections amid low approval ratings.

Surely, Abbas has enough billions stashed away in Swiss banks to be able to retire.

Credible reports of Taliban executions in Afghanistan

– UN human rights chief

24 Aug, 2021 12:48

Taliban forces stand guard inside Kabul, Afghanistan (FILE PHOTO) © REUTERS/Stringer

The United Nations human rights boss has spoken of credible reports of serious rights abuses by the Taliban, including "summary executions" of civilians as well as those who served in the now-defunct Afghan security forces.

Speaking on Tuesday, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council, a Geneva-based forum, to closely monitor the actions of Afghanistan's new rulers, the Taliban.

Bachelet was President of Chile for 8 years.

Bachelet said there had been credible reports that the group was committing human-rights violations, including the "summary execution" of civilians as well as those who served in the defense of the US-backed government.

The UN human rights chief did not give any details about the killings but noted that Afghanistan's ethnic minorities were at risk. She cited a series of targeted attacks and killings in recent months. Bachelet added that the maltreatment of women and girls was also "a fundamental red line." 

A draft resolution, which calls for Bachelet to report back to the council in March 2022, will be considered by the Geneva-based forum. The resolution does not mention the Taliban by name and makes no provision for a probe into rights abuses in Afghanistan.

The text, which was submitted by Pakistan, also urges parties to respect human rights law including "the full and meaningful participation of women" and minority groups. A western diplomat told Reuters they were disappointed by the weak text.

Good grief. What's the point? There definitely seems to be no hurry. Wasn't there anyone but Pakistan who could have written the text?

Meanwhile, Chen Xu, China's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said the US and its NATO allies should also be held accountable for alleged rights abuses in Afghanistan. The Chinese foreign ministry has repeatedly highlighted reported accounts of rights abuses by western troops.

We don't seem to get those on this side of the Atlantic.

There have been several concerning reports of Taliban abuses since the Islamist group took Kabul. Among other concerning footage, one video showed Taliban gunmen firing on protesters in Jalalabad. Another shows the militants arresting citizens while pointing a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in their direction.

No Afghans will be let into Kabul airport, only foreigners – Taliban

24 Aug, 2021 14:01 / Updated 5 hours ago

Crowds of people gather outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan (FILE PHOTO) © ASVAKA NEWS via REUTERS

The Taliban has said it will no longer permit Afghans to leave the country via Kabul airport, calling on the west not to encourage the educated elite to flee, as the new rulers reiterated foreigners must be evacuated by August 31.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid announced that the Islamist militant group would no longer allow Afghans to access Kabul airport in an attempt to flee the country.

Mujahid stated they were not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave, adding that foreigners could continue to use the airport until the August 31 deadline.

Taking aim at the west, the spokesman demanded that western powers refrain from evacuating Afghanistan's educated elite, such as doctors and engineers.

He also cited the chaotic situation at the airport as a reason for Afghans to avoid it. He said the crowds around the capital's airport should return to their homes, claiming that their safety would be guaranteed. 

In the same press briefing, Mujahid claimed that people could remain in Afghanistan and promised that there would be no reprisals. He said the Taliban had forgotten conflict in the past and would let bygones be bygones.

He also confirmed that the Taliban had not agreed to extend the August 31 deadline set by the US to complete their evacuation of Afghanistan.

‘Urine, fecal matter, rats’: Leaked email describes

squalid conditions facing Afghan refugees in Qatar

24 Aug, 2021 14:11

Special Immigrants from Afghanistan walk through the in-processing building after their evacuation at

Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, August 20, 2021 © Reuters / US Army / Sgt. Jimmie Baker

The United States is flying thousands of refugees out of Afghanistan, but they face desperate and unsanitary conditions in the US’ processing center in Qatar, a leaked email has revealed.

Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, is the first port of call for many Afghan refugees lucky enough to get a spot on an American flight out of Kabul. The base is one of several where these refugees will be processed and screened, before being flown on to the United States, Europe and Asia.

Conditions at the base, however, are “a living hell,” Colin Sullivan, an agent with US Central Command, told State Department and Pentagon officials in an email on Friday, reported by Axios on Tuesday.

“Trash, urine, fecal matter, spilled liquids and vomit cover the floors,” Sullivan wrote, describing the packed hangar housing the refugees. “I spent an hour in there picking up trash... almost suffocated.”

“We’re in the middle of humanitarian crises [sic] that compounds itself with every flight that lands in Doha,” he continued, before writing a grim update: “They now have a rat problem.”

According to Sullivan, the hangar lacks proper air conditioning, a serious problem when temperatures in Doha this week are expected to hit 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 Census) this week. “There’s a reason they’re not holding the World Cup in the middle of the summer there,” an anonymous official told Axios, referring to the 2022 World Cup’s November kickoff. “It’s brutally hot.”

The precise number of refugees housed in the hangar at any one time is unknown, as is the total number the Biden administration plans on bringing to the US. “Roughly a few thousand” Americans remain on the ground in Kabul, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told NBC News on Sunday, and they are reportedly being prioritized for evacuation. However, Sullivan told reporters on Monday that “thousands, if not tens of thousands” of people are being flown out of Kabul every day. Presumably, the bulk of these are Afghans, bound for processing centers like Al Udeid Air Base.

Many of these refugees are traveling without passports, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. While this presents US officials with difficulty verifying that these people are who they say they are, officials at Al Udeid are facing more immediate risks to their safety. US embassy bosses pulled their staff out of the hangar in recent days, citing the risk of catching Covid-19 from incoming refugees. Less than 1% of Afghans are fully vaccinated against the disease. 

The State Department says it’s alleviating the problem by speeding the Afghans on to the West. On Monday alone, “more than 3,700 individuals were transported to follow-on destinations in the United States, Germany and Italy,” a department spokesman told Axios. 

A Pentagon spokesman added that the military has installed more than 100 toilets in the hangar and is now supplying 7,000 traditional Afghan meals, three times a day.

Against the wishes of the Taliban, which has controlled Afghanistan for more than a week, Biden has refused to rule out extending the August 31 deadline for a complete US withdrawal from Afghanistan. A decision on this deadline is expected later on Tuesday. 

Islam - This Day in History - How East Jerusalem Went From the Jewish Quarter to the Palestinian Quarter

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Precious record of Jerusalem ethnic cleansing of 1948 resurfaces

Point of No Return

Posted on 22 August 2021

Had it not been for Life photojournalist John Phillips, the destruction of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem by the Arab Legion in 1948, now ignored by western pundits and politicians,  would not have been documented. Phillips evaded the Arab censor to smuggle out poignant pictures. They were later published as the book,  A Will to Survive. Richard Pollock takes up the story in JNS News: 

Jerusalem Mayor Mordechai Weingarten escorted by Arab fighters to sign surrender papers

for the Jewish Quarter

 

Phillips faced personal danger to do the shoot. He entered the Middle East undercover and wore the uniform of the Arab Legion, a British-created Arab army led by British officers, many of whom stayed on with their units to fight the Jews. “Mistaking me for a British officer, the Arab populace left me alone,” he wrote.

He was appalled about the Arab censorship. “Aware that the sack of the Jewish Quarter would shock the western world, Arab authorities across the Middle East tried to prevent the news from leaking out. Jerusalem could not be mentioned under any circumstances,” he wrote.

“I knew my pictures of the agony of the Jewish Quarter would end up in a censor’s wastepaper basket. I did not want this to happen and decided to smuggle them out of the Middle East.”

Phillips’ first job was to meet the pro-Nazi Arab fanatic, Fawzi al-Qawuqji, the field commander of the so-called Arab Liberation Army—a separate, brutal volunteer force specifically created to battle the Jews.

During the Second World War, Fawzi lived in Nazi Germany alongside Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and held the official rank of colonel in the Wehrmacht, the German army. The Nazis awarded Fawzi a chauffeured car and an apartment, along with other privileges.

Impulsively, Fawzi invited Phillips to lunch. He wrote that he was offended by what he saw. “There was a brutishness about the way they roared with laughter and slapped their thighs in delight at the prospect of wallowing in Jewish blood,” he wrote.

Afterwards, Philips ran into a Yugoslav mercenary who had witnessed their lunch meeting. “What rabble,” Phillips wrote, quoting the mercenary. “They have no idea what a real fighting outfit is like. I do. I was with the Waffen S.S.”

In fact, that soldier was not alone. The ranks of Arab Liberation Army included demobilized Nazi Wehrmacht Army soldiers, including the brutal SS, along with pro-Nazi mercenary forces from across Europe.

Phillips admired the Jewish defiance. “While the Old Quarter might well be indefensible, they would defend it. This was the Jerusalem that Jewish people around the world asked to return to in their prayers.”

The pre-war atmospherics shocked Phillips, a veteran World War II photographer. “Weapons were peddled on Arab street corners as they were Jaffa oranges. British deserters, German S.S., Polish and Yugoslav mercenaries hired by the Arabs performed acts of sabotage.”

Phillips traveled the city with a British deserter. He was astonished by the destruction of its synagogues. “Whenever we paused to catch our breath, all I seemed to see were damaged synagogues,” he wrote.

He also saw the destruction of the famed Pirate Josef Synagogue. “From a spot near the Wailing Wall I could see Porat Josef synagogue rising in the distance across no-man’s-land. The synagogue, with its adjoining Talmudic schools and academy, was disintegrating behind billows of smoke. The massive walls were coming down in a rising torrent of stone debris. Stunned by this spectacle of wanton destruction, I wondered how many tons of TNT the Arab Liberation Army would squander to reduce this seat of learning to dust.”

For 11 days and nights, the battle raged. On May 28, Jerusalem fell to the Arabs. “By day the Arabs blasted their way into the Jewish Quarter with their artillery,” wrote Phillips. “On May 28 the exhausted Israeli fighters surrendered.”

Eventually, Jerusalem Mayor Mordechai Weingarten walked in to sign the surrender documents.

The surrender of the Jewish Quarter now was official. But the city’s tragedy was only beginning. “Had any Jews decided to remain in the Old City he would have been homeless within hours and probably dead by nightfall. Most of the civilians were Orthodox Jews. The men wore beards and side curls, wide-brimmed black felt hats and long black coats. The women wore babushkas. They were descendants of families that had lived in the Jewish Quarter for centuries. Now they were given just one hour to pack and get ready to leave.”

He describes the stunned civilians. “Dazed by the shelling, the civilians gathered up their belongings and trudged off to Ashkenazi Square.”

After the Jews fled, Phillips walked back to witness wild Arab looting and arson. “Arab civilians … had come leaping over the rooftops like a swarm of locusts to loot. In their frenzied path fires sprang up. Black smoke billowed out of windows, while bright yellow flames licked wooden balconies. The entire quarter was now afire. The smell of burning mingled with the stench of death.”

Phillips continued to follow the fires. “Outside the Jewish Quarter burned like a pyre. On May 29 the Jewish Quarter was charred and a burned-out shell. Down Beit El a proud Moslem led the way, followed by his barefoot wife carrying three wooden containers of Sephardic scrolls from a nearby synagogue.”

Thirty years later, in 1976, Phillips published Survive. Many of his photos were unveiled at Jerusalem’s Israel Museum. Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir wrote a short introduction to the book.

With the help of then-Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, he was able to meet with 51 of the survivors he had photographed.

What Phillips said affected him was the Jews’ complete lack of self-pity. “What struck me most while talking to these people, from the Chief Rabbi of Haifa to a Jerusalem housekeeper, was that none indulged in self-pity.”

Today’s Jews still don’t seek pity, but they should demand justice. The sacredness of the Old Jewish Quarter and its brutal destruction by the Arabs need to be widely republicized. There needs to be an international historical reckoning of their 1948 ethnic cleansing. Most importantly, the Jewish community must stand up for historical truths and strongly denounce the Palestinians’ baseless claims for the eastern part of the city. 

Devout Jews know that justice will arrive in the Name of the Messiah. I believe, and I pray, that it will be in the next decade!