Tag Archives: Syria

Oct 9 2023

Sunday Talks – Ambassador Michael Herzog Confirms Americans Were Taken as Hostages by Hamas, Death Toll Surpasses 600


Posted originally on the CTH on October 8, 2023 | Sundance

Appearing on CBS, Michael Herzog, the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., tells “Face the Nation” that after the unprecedented attack in Gaza that left at least 600 dead, “we have to destroy the Hamas war machine.” “This is war,” he said.  Additionally, Ambassador Herzog confirms that Americans were taken as hostages back into Gaza.   WATCH:

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are there Americans among those hostages?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: I understand there are, but I don’t have details.

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We’re joined now by the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Herzog. Mr. Ambassador, first, I want to offer you our condolences.

AMBASSADOR MICHAEL HERZOG: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We know that your Prime Minister is promising a sustained campaign. Do you have any sense of how Israel will define success?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: Well, Israel is at war. Yesterday, we were attacked by a terror organization. They infiltrated Israeli territory and killed hundreds of Israelis. At least 600 were butchered yesterday, including whole families, elderly, women, children, babies were taken out of the mothers laps and murdered. This is war and we have to fight that war and win it. We have to destroy the Hamas war machine. You know, in war- back in war- we have to fight it.

MARGARET BRENNAN: How is it that Hamas managed to take Israeli Defense Forces by surprise? Did they shut down communications?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: Well, it was a surprise attack. There was definitely an element of surprise. But I think we’ll have enough time to investigate that once we conclude that war in victory.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You said you want to destroy the Hamas war machine. Hamas is armed and funded by Iran. The Biden administration says they don’t have evidence that Iran was linked to this particular attack. Does Israel have evidence they were?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: Well, we suspect Iranian hands behind the scenes, as you know Hamas and Iran are closely tied. Iran provides material support, funding, weapons to Hamas. They are tied in what they call the Axis of Resistance, of course, resistance to the existence of the State of Israel. They are part of the same coalition. So, as far as we are concerned, this is an Iranian led coalition and we suspect that Iran is involved.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Does that mean Israel will take the fight to Iran?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: I’m not going to say what exactly Israel is going to do. But I will just say that whoever strikes Israel, we’ll strike back.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Sir, this is just stunning to see what has happened in the past few hours. But there are questions within Israel, as you know about how such a strong military was taken by surprise. There has been a massive expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank area, and with that a buildup of forces to protect them. The former ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, has publicly raised the question of whether that’s why the border towns over and around Gaza were left unprotected. Were they? Was that a factor?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: Well, I don’t buy that argument. I think that analogy is irrelevant to the current situation. Yes, it was a surprise attack, but I don’t think it has much to do with the fact that the IDF was preoccupied in the West Bank. They prepared a surprise attack, they reached the border fence, they came with paragliders, and through the sea. And as I said, there will be sufficient time after the war to investigate what exactly happened. Right now, we are at war and we have to fight that war and win it. We are attacked by a terror organization funded by Iran. And that’s where we are right now.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But you have said that perhaps Hamas miscalculated by looking at all the domestic problems Israel has within its own politics right now. Do you–

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: –Absolutely.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think that that was actually, though, a factor when it comes to military readiness? Did it leave your forces vulnerable?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: They may have- maybe they were under the impression that given the internal debate in Israel, that Israel is weakened so that they can provoke us. They thought so, I think they’re definitely mistaken. You have to know Israelis to understand that when Israel is under attack, Israelis close ranks and they fight together. And there is no opposition coalition right now in Israel. There’s no debate. All reservists are volunteering. We- our embassy is flooded with phone calls from people who want to go back to Israel and fight Hamas. So in that sense, I think it was a gross miscalculation on their part.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But did it impact readiness? Because there were concerns of, you know, your reservists having objections, political objections, and refusing to serve.

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: No, it did not impact readiness, I think Israel is strong. As I said, Israelis are closing ranks right now and we will fight back.

MARGARET BRENNAN: In- back in 2006, you had a soldier taken captive and held in Gaza. It took over five years to get him back. And Israel did so in exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. At what cost is Israel prepared to get these new hostages out?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: I think it’s premature to discuss that. I think we- we just attacked yesterday. We understand that there are probably dozens of kidnapped Israelis and others in the hands of Hamas. We’ll have to deal with it in due time. The whole issue of hostages is a very sensitive issue. I think you know it from your situation, the US, and we- we’ve had experience in that in the past. It’s a very complicated situation. But I think it’s premature to discuss any deals or prices or whatever. Right now we are at war.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Are there Americans among those hostages?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: I understand there are, but I don’t have details.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You don’t know the numbers or ability to retain them?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: No.

MARGARET BRENNAN: What is it that Israel and your Prime Minister is asking of the American President right now?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: So, it was a very good phone call between President Biden and our Prime Minister yesterday. The U.S. administration sounded a very strong voice of support for Israel, from the nation for the terror attack and support for Israel’s right to self defense. We are in discussions with the administration about the situation and about our needs. I want to take the opportunity to thank the administration for the solid support of Israel and its rise to self defense.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And before I let you go, how is Israel going to allow some of those Palestinian civilians who are trapped within Gaza to escape so that they aren’t victims of these strikes?

AMBASSADOR HERZOG: Well, the fact of the matter is that Hamas uses civilians as human shields.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

[End Transcript]

Oct 8 2023

A Very Somber Assessment by Caroline Glick From Israel


Posted originally on the CTH on October 8, 2023 | Sundance

Caroline Glick provides a somber rundown of what has happened in Israel, and starting at 06:00 of the video below, shares some pragmatic thoughts on the meaning of the war and the only way that it can end with Israel and its people safe.

Given the nature of what has been happening in Israeli politics, and the coordination Saturday in the Hamas attack, as Mrs. Glick aptly notes, all prior metrics for a regional Israeli control and defend policy has failed.

In very somber tones, Caroline Glick deconstructs the pretending model and cuts to the heart of the issue.  Regardless of diplomatic costs, the strategic killing of every element of Hamas must begin immediately, with extreme prejudice and without regard for collateral damage. WATCH (Prompted):

.

(Via Daily Mail) –  The Hamas gunmen who launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel have taken babies and elderly women hostage, according to former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Bennett revealed the sickening details of the ongoing assault in an interview with CNN on Saturday night, as running gun battles continued in the streets of Israel more than 24 hours after the assault began. (more)

Oct 8 2023

Victor Davis Hanson Discusses Elevated Picture of Hamas Attack Against Israel


Posted originally on the CTH on October 7, 2023 | Sundance 

Victor Davis Hanson is a man not known for short-term thinking.  Indeed, while his analysis does not always contain the same scope of datapoints reviewed here, his opinions are generally rooted in accepting things as they are, not as he would pretend them to be.

Recently during an interview with Tucker Carlson, as he contrasts the targeting of President Donald Trump, VDH was far more distraught than previously noted in his analysis. He increasingly sees our American options for a peaceful approach to retain our constitutional republic, diminishing.

Today, VDH takes the overall geopolitical landscape and outlines his thoughts below on the Hamas terror attack against the nation state of Israel.  Victor Davis Hanson:

A 50th Anniversary War?

Why did Hamas stage a long-planned, carefully executed and multifaceted attack on Israeli towns, soldiers, and civilians—one designed to instill terror by executing noncombatants, taking hostages, and desecrating the bodies of the dead?

And how were the killers able to enter Israeli proper in enough numbers to kill what could be hundreds and perhaps eventually wound what could be thousands?

a) Ostensibly, radical Palestinians wanted to stop any rumored rapprochement between the Gulf monarchies—the traditional source of much of their cash—and Israel, by forcing the issue of Arab solidarity in times of “war”, especially through waging a gruesome attack aimed at civilians and encompassing executions and hostage taking. Iran likely was the driving force to prompt the war—given its greatest fear is a Sunni Arab-Israeli rapprochement.

b) Arab forces have had only success against Israel through surprise attacks during Israeli holidays, as in the Yom Kippur War (i.e., was it any accident that the present attack began 50-years almost to the day after the October 6, 1973 beginning of the Yom Kippur War?). And so they struck again this Saturday during Simchat Torah, coming at the end of a weeklong Jewish celebration of Sukkot—in hopes that others will join in as happened in 1973. (So much for the Arab warnings not for Westerners to conduct war during Ramadan).

c) Hamas may have reckoned that recent Israeli turmoil and mass leftist street protests over proposed reforms of the Israeli Supreme Court had led to permanent internal divisions and thus a climate of domestic distraction if not an erosion of deterrence.

But, more importantly, in a larger sense the Biden administration has contributed both to the notion that Hamas was a legitimate Middle East player, and to the perception that the U.S. was backing away from its traditional support for Israel—to the delight of Hamas—based on the following inexplicable policies:

1) In February Secretary of State Blinken had bragged that not only had the Biden administration resumed massive aid to the PLA cancelled by Trump, but cumulatively had transferred $1 billion—even as Palestinian authorities bragged that they would continue to pay bounties to the families of “martyrs” (i.e., those killed while conducting terrorists attacks against Israel).

And millions of American dollars also went into Gaza, run by Hamas—despite the Biden administration’s efforts to keep mostly quiet the resumption of such inexplicable support. In this regard, note the current shameful State-Department (“U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs”) website news release that was posted after today’s attack. It ended with this quite embarrassing, morally equivalent admonition:

“We urged all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing.”

“All sides?” “Refrain from retaliatory attacks?”

So Israel is the moral equivalent of terrorists executing civilians and brutalizing their corpses? And the IDF then is not supposed to retaliate against these killers?

This Biden State Department insanity cannot stand. So expect some apparatchik to take down this Munich-like posting as soon as possible.

2) The Biden administration had recently released some $6 billion to Iran through a prison swap deal that saw South Korea hand over embargoed Iranian money to Qatar—despite Tehran’s increased anti-Israeli rhetoric and its loud brag about the escalation. We should assume money for rockets (Hamas claims they have launched 5,000, and have received 100,000 of them via the Damascus airport) and weapons in general for Hamas were supplied by Iran, which again is likely the chief catalyst for this surprise attack.

3) Almost immediately, after his inauguration Biden mobilized to resume the bankrupt Iran deal. And in unhinged fashion he appointed the anti-Israeli bigot, pro-Iranian journalist Robert Malley as America’s chief negotiator. Note that Malley is now under FBI investigation for security breaches, involving disclosing classified U.S. documents and also for allegedly helping pro-Iranian activists and propagandists land influential billets inside the U.S. government.

In short, there was a general Hamas and Iranian perception that the Biden administration had resumed the discredited Obama madness of empowering Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. This discredited agenda was to “balance” the power of Israel and the moderate Arab Gulf governments to achieve “creative tension”, exacerbated by Biden’s loathing of the government of Benjamín Netanyahu (who has been snubbed by Biden and never invited for an official visit).

Note as well that the Biden administration has siphoned off key weapons and munitions from stockpiles inside Israel to transfer them to Ukraine. The so-called “War Reserve Ammunition—Israel” is all but depleted of just the sorts of weapons needed in the present crisis.

In this regard is there not a pattern here?

Upon the ascension of Biden and his woke military agendas, we saw the following: the complete humiliation of the U.S. in Kabul in its most shameful flight in 50 years and greatest abandonment of equipment in its history; followed by Vladimir Putin’s opportunistic invasion of Ukraine; followed by China’s new belligerence and escalating threats to Taiwan; followed by Turkey’s new de facto alliance with Russia and recent drone encounter with the U.S. air force in Syria; followed by the Hamas/Iranian inspired attack on Israel—with more to come unfortunately.

And will Biden finally get the message from the attacks on the Ukraine and Israeli borders, that borders matter and we too are being invaded, with the encouragement of the Mexican government and to the advantage of the cartels whose fentanyl exports kills 100,000 Americans a year?

What to expect in Israel?

Expect the following: the usual Hamas/terrorist selling and/or execution of Israeli hostages, the use of Israeli hostages as “human shields” in Gaza, the bargaining/sale of the remains of Israeli dead, occasional killings of Jews inside Israel by Arabs who falsely believe there will be a winning Middle East-wide existential war against Israel. And finally, a devastating Israeli counter-response that will eventually earn a U.S. rebuke.

What should the U.S. instead do?

It should quit talking to Iran and restore full sanctions against it. It should cut off all aid immediately to all the Palestinians. It should undertake a 1973-like massive arms lift of key munitions to Israel and warn Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and others in the Middle East not to intervene or else, given that Israel will need several weeks to deal with Hamas and Gaza. And if it shows any hesitation or weakness, other terrorist groups will opportunistically jump in.” (link)

**ahem**

Oct 8 2023

Israel Under Attack With Widespread Infiltration by Hamas Terrorists – Netanyahu Declares War, Hezbollah Threatens to Enter


Posted originally on the CTH on October 7, 2023 | Sundance 

The reports from the ground in Israel are horrific.  Israeli citizens have been targeted by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated the border – with families killed and multiple kidnappings, as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) rapidly deploys into several areas.  Hundreds have been killed in a well-coordinated attack from the air, land and sea.

(FOX NEWS) – […] Israeli media reported that at least 100 people have so far been killed in the wide-ranging assault, while Gaza health officials say that 198 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes made in response to the Hamas attack. Hospitals are treating at least 561 wounded people, including 77 who were in critical condition, the Associated Press reported based on public statements and calls to hospitals. (read more)

[Source – Source]

GROUND REPORT – (Long Time Treeper, David)

My American friends,

Today is a very sad day for Israel. We had a surprise attack with terrorists from gliders from the sky, boats and ground. The situation is not fully understood yet and there is a lot of media confusion.

Not all is published but there are over 40 dead (probably a lot more), over 750 injured and citizens are donating blood as there is scarcity. And there are hostages. I don’t know how many, Hamas is claiming 35.

They managed to occupy about 7 towns and army bases or a base and at this time about 3 towns are still in heavy combat. I saw footage of terrorists shooting at Israeli vehicles and killing families with children. There are thousands of rockets fired at Israel. I saw a footage of Israeli national counter terror unit negotiating and preparing and assault at a hostage situation in a town.

During the years Israel had rounds of operations on the Gaza area. This one was declared as a war, not an operation.

Israel has called its reserve forces and tens of thousands of soldiers are now on the way to the areas.
We are also preparing at the north border with Hezzbolla to prevent them from joining the situation and there are soldiers moving to the West Bank as Hamas is calling a wide attack. In the past Israel attacked the near areas to the border at Gaza.

I think this time we will have to go all the way in.

And they prepared it so there will be many explosives in the houses and under the roads. It could take a heavy toll from Israel but there must be a response that will be remembered for decades or Israelis will replace this government. Yes we need prayers for the hostages the dead, injured and those who lost family.

I will give you more precise information and footage later. Shalom. (link)

BACKGROUND INFO HERE

The IDF confirmed Hamas has taken hostages!

Jerusalem Post – The Hamas terrorist organization has taken Israelis captive in Gaza, the IDF has confirmed hours after a barrage of rockets slammed into southern and central Israel Saturday. 

Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country and took over Southern Israeli towns, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is at war.

“Since this morning, the State of Israel is at war,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, shortly after the IDF declared “Operation Swords of Iron.”

At least 100 people were announced dead by early evening and more than 900 wounded by Magen David Adom and the Health Ministry. The number of people captured has not yet been confirmed. 

Among them, Ofir Liebstein, head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, was killed in an exchange of fire with terrorists. Liebstein was killed as he defended his settlement during an attack. Deputy head of the council, Yossi Keren, is currently filling his place.  (read more)

SEE TIMES OF ISRAEL HERE

My solution, napalm Gaza.

“Our world was at peace under President Trump.

His clear-eyed realism, raw projection of national strength, and his rejection of ideology in favor of pragmatism and national interest, brought us an unprecedented era of global harmony.

Whereas the DC set prattles on endlessly about the rules-based international order — the bloodless and esoteric obsession of the grad school credential class divorced from the iron laws of history — Trump understood the forces that shape world events: relationships, resources, rivalries, and the rational pursuit of self-interest and self-determination.

He understood you cannot impose an ideology over the essential nature of nation and man.

Instead of wasting away America’s diplomatic and financial assets trying to forcibly impose our values across the planet — which consistently yields the opposite effect — he focused on the formation of mutually-beneficial partnerships to foster global stability.

And he used our economic leverage as deterrence rather than fritter it away on nation building: knowing that a country which seeks to protect its own economic interests will always command more respect and find more common ground in its dealings with foreign powers.

Biden trashed it all. Set it all ablaze. His Administration’s toxic blend of idiocy, imbecility, incompetence and ideological extremism has turned calm into calamity. Peace into pandemonium. Harmony into hell.

The message sent and received by our humiliation in Afghanistan, our cash bonfire in Ukraine, our internal repression as we preach “democracy,” our cultural self-flagellation, self-abasement and the self-annihilation of our own border, is that we are not a country to be taken seriously only taken advantage of. Over and over.

Under Biden, we are not a sovereign nation but a checkbook. A printing press. A mark. A punching bag. A sunken power. A spent power. A hollowed power. A rapidly declining power.

And as the torch of American liberty goes dark the world is lit instead by the fire of destruction.”

~ Stephen Miller

Oct 7 2023

Pray For Israel


Posted originally on the CTH on October 7, 2023 | Menagerie 

I also read a comment elsewhere saying the military wing of Hamas Al Qassam Brigades have entered and captured military bases. Please be sure to note, this is totally unconfirmed information I saw only in a comment.

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.

Apr 17 2023

Iran Uses Digital Surveillance to Freeze Bank Accounts of Women who Refuse to Wear Hijab


Armstrong Economics Blog/Human Rights Re-Posted Apr 17, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Brave women in Iran have been defying the hijab law despite the risk of death. The Iranian government is now installing cameras throughout the nation to see who dares to defy their orders. Those found guilty will be fined 2.5 billion rials ($60,000) and their bank accounts will be frozen. Iranian women have been protesting throughout the nation since September after a 22-year-old girl named Mahsa Amini died in police custody after she refused to wear a hijab.

Canada’s PM Trudeau began the trend of freezing protestors bank accounts after he invoked the Emergencies Act during the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau even targeted people merely associated with protestors. Iran is employing the same tactics as the government plans to shutdown businesses who permit women to enter without a hijab. The government has the ability to message citizens via text as soon as they see them defying laws. This is far worse than anything Orwell imagined.

The Western left thinks they are so oppressed and our top leaders refuse to acknowledge women exist, saying they cannot be properly identified. Simone de Beauvoir popularized the term “The Second Sex” in her book by the same name, pleading for women’s rights. The French writer said that men were the default while women were simply “other.” Women could not even open a bank account in America until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. Women no longer exist in the West, according to the disturbed media and politicians, and women elsewhere face death for not adhering to laws implemented by men.

Governments want us to move to a CBDC so that they can immediately freeze our finances and track everything we do. They may not implement hijab laws in the West, but they could track whoever is behind on boosters, anyone who supported an unpopular politician, or any deemed a nuisance to the new world order.

Feb 14 2023

Israel & Rising Tensions over the Temple Mount


Armstrong Economics Blog/Israel Re-Posted Feb 13, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Marty; Does Socrates show anything with regard to the status quo of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? I recently visited the site and I was shocked to hear that the temple plateau that once held two ancient is just a tad over 37 acres.  That is one of your key numbers in the Economic Confidence Model 8.615 x 4.307 =  37.1 which is a strange coincidence. But then taking 365 days × 24 hours = 3600 hours and that amounts to virtually Pi 31536000 seconds in a year.

Do you have anything on Israel long-term?

Thank you

Jeff

ANSWER: What I can say from personal experience, is that I traveled all around Israel. I even climbed Masada as they did in ancient times rather than take to lift up. I climbed Masada which sits on the Dead Sea. I had hair then. By the time I reached the top, I had looked like Moses. The wind carries the salt off the seas and my hair was pure white but in an Afro wind-blown combination of Moses met Einstein. Probably the best movie of all time was the Mini-Series – Masada of 1981.

What I will say after touring all of Israel, I found that absolutely every site that was holy to the Jews and Christians except for Calvary seems to have been the same site that the Muslims also claimed was holy to them for different reasons. The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem marks at its foot the place of Jesus’ arrest, in the Garden of Gethsemane. On the top of Mount of Olives, is where tradition places the Risen Christ ascended into heaven. Tradition says he left a footprint on the rock.

Before Christianity was legalized in 313 AD by Constantine the Great,  whose mother Helena was an avid Christian who scoured the Holy Land to mark every place related to Jesus, Jerusalem’s Christians used a cave near the summit of the Mount of Olives for gatherings and Mass. That cave was remembered reported as where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord’s Prayer, and it is still revered as such in the Paternoster monastery complex. I just found it curious how almost every spot was claimed by all three religions

The Temple Mount is what the Jews refer to it and the Muslims call it the Dome of the Rock. It contains a huge rock that the Jewish tradition says is that this is where Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. To the Muslims, the rock is the spot from which the Prophet Muhammad was taken up into heaven for an encounter with God (an event known as the Miʿrāj). Thus, it is the same rock and this symbolizes the clash between the two religions. At least Jesus did not do anything there for in his time, the Jewish Temple stood there until  70AD.

The Hebrew tribes settled in Canaan around c. 1200 BC. Add Pi, 3145 years, and you come to 1945. Israel’s declaration of independence took place on May 14th, 1948 (1948.367). The United States, the Soviet Union, and many other governments quickly recognized it. Then came 1967 in June when Israel was once again thus into war for the third time – but it was the shortest.

Israel succeeded against all odds and prevailed over the armies of three of its neighbors. In May 1967, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser announced that the Straits of Tiran would again be closed to Israeli vessels. He also ordered the mobilization of the Egyptian military along the border with Israel. However, he further ordered the immediate withdrawal of all UNEF personnel a clear sign that war was about to start.

On June 5th, 1967, as the UNEF was in the process of leaving the zone, Israel launched a series of pre-emptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields and other facilities. It effectively destroyed the entire Egyptian airpower. By June 10th (1967.441), the Six-Day War was over. Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem, was reunited. For the first time in 19 years, the Old City was open to believers of all faiths and Jews could access their holiest sites. I was fortunate to have visited everywhere in the lat 1970s.

Tensions are once again rising since Israel allowed Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.  The Jews have been praying at the base of the Temple Mount where the old Temple Wall still remained. Jordan was the custodian of the Dome of the Rock and is now demanding that the government cease Jewish prayer on the mount which began about five years ago. The Israeli government avoids addressing these silent prayers formally. They are taking place on the eastern side of the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount, albeit without traditional Jewish prayer items such as tallit, tefillin, or siddur.

Meanwhile, Israel is in a constitutional crisis where there is an attempt to reduce the power of the judiciary. Allowing the prayer on the Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount is an encroachment that will eventually lead to a major confrontation. Our computer is projecting rising confrontation and looking to 2024 and beyond.

Sep 12 2022

We Remember September 11, 2001


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on September 11, 2022 | Sundance 

The anniversary of the attacks on 9-11 presents a day to reflect, remember and pay tribute to those we lost.   I am sure most of us remember exactly where we were at the moment when we found out our nation was under attack.  Our nation was forever changed by those moments on September 11th, 2001.

Perhaps we can share our memories together as we think about the anniversary of this date.

Where were you on that day?  And what memories are most vivid for you?

~ The Better Option ~

He stared toward a cloudless sky; a tear was present in his eye.
What did he see I wondered aloud – this man of strength did not look proud.

Transfixed we watched through a camera’s lens, strangers before, now oddly friends.
What are his eyes held witness to? What’s stirring such tears of painful hue?

Electronically we were connected, our lives attached, a stopped nation affected.
What horror was there, upon his gaze? – What caused such pain amid the haze?

Some sounds not known were heard aloud – and people screamed amid the crowd.
We struggled to sense what view they saw; the fireman’s face was present more.

His sorrowed eyes bleeding despair – my God, what was he seeing there?
I could not move, we stood transfixed, my view of hell would soon be nixed.

He bore my witness through those flames, this hell on earth from terror planes.
Our Eagle screamed….. the metal cracked; two once proud towers stood attacked.

The human toll still yet unknown, our feeling safe was overthrown.
Finally, as I stared, I recognized….. what was causing those tears in that fireman’s eyes.

Oh – My – God, humanity was being lost – and helplessly we saw the cost.
The sound of people,… people, jumping down, from towers strong in our New York town.

Locked in horror, frozen, all there stood – bewildered eyes saw nothing good.
We viewed a scene of great despair…amid evil, smoke, and hate filled air.

Connected witness we became, to terror’s rage and human pain.
Trapped atop a blinding heat, were once moms and dads upon the street.

A “better option“?… caused by hate – to leap the flames and own your fate.
More horrid thoughts we’d never known, not from before the glass had blown.

Theirs was not an option for the stair, their only choice hands locked in prayer.
I cannot grasp the thoughts that crossed – the minds of those loved, soon to be lost.

As victims now…. their life soon ceased, a hurling body – soul released.
and for those who bore witness, my God the pain; those memories seared will long remain.

Connected all we stood aghast, all witness to the terror blast.
Their bodies torn; their spirit lost; memories now……. a priceless cost.

But what we have now to decide; reflecting on this place they died.
The Blood-soaked ground, the empty skies, our throat in knots, our tear-filled eyes.

A memory now so deeply burned, their sacrifice for us was learned.
The hurt, the pain, the bitter sorrow, must guide us now toward tomorrow.

For those we loved, and families lost, no gold of man can count the cost.
Through the eagles’ tears our nations price, we must honor those of sacrifice.

How do we honor such courage bold and warm our souls despite the cold.
A daunting charge ‘mid our mortal stage – to reflect that courage amid our rage.

Two decades past and now we find – our hearts, our souls, our tears, our mind.
Still harken back and feel those tears; the wound -the scar- through many years.

Memories honored must remain, our task in life to cherish that pain…
For souls we lost, and sorrow bound – we must always respect such hallowed ground.

~Sundance

Sep 11 2022

9/11


We must never forget

passingthecolorsDownload
wtc-911Download

This is a book I produced in the months after 9/11, some of the images are very disturbing so don’t download it if that might brother you.

Aug 13 2022

Salman Rushdie on Ventilator After Horrific Attack in New York


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 13, 2022 | Sundance 

For many people Salman Rushdie is perhaps the most well-known free speech defender in the current generation. He certainly is one of the bravest people who originally spoke out against Islamic extremism with his 1988 book Satanic Verses.

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death over what he claimed were blasphemous references to Islam. A $3 million bounty was placed on his head for anyone who kills him. The fatwa was never rescinded, and Rushdie spent well over a decade hiding under protective custody.

In recent years Rushdie has been a visible advocate for free speech and has given multiple speeches on issues around the need for freedom of expression. During a speech yesterday he was attacked and stabbed multiple times.

[New York] – Author Salman Rushdie is likely to lose one of his eyes and is currently on a ventilator after he was attacked on stage at a literary event in upstate New York on Friday, a report said.

“The news is not good,” the 75-year-old writer’s agent, Andrew Wylie, told The New York Times. “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” said Wylie.

Rushdie, who is still unable to speak, was attacked by a lone man while speaking at an event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY, about 55 miles south of Buffalo.

He was scheduled to speak about the United States as a place for exiled authors “as a home for freedom of expression,” according to the institute. After the stabbing, he was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he underwent surgery.

[…] Rushdie’s alleged attacker, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was arrested at the scene by a state trooper who was assigned to the lecture. (read more)