Steven Sotloff Beheaded

A video of journalist Steven J. Sotloff was released a few hours ago showing his final words and his beheading.  He is the second American executed so far by ISIS which has been running rampant in Syria and Iraq.  His captors insist that his beheading is retribution for the airstrikes carried about by the United States of America. 

My condolences go out to Sotloff's family, especially his mother who pleaded on behalf of her son.  Her pleas were obviously given a deaf ear by the psychopathic militants bent on killing.  President Obama was even called out on the video showing that the militants do not consider him a formidable leader.  Obama drew criticism to himself after going golfing after giving a press conference regarding the beheading of James Foley.  Recently, Obama stated that he did  not have a strategy against ISIS. 

Despite this criticism, we can see clearly that ISIS is scared. They know the airstrikes are causing them damage and are trying everything to get the United States to back down. 






Source:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/executed-journalist-steven-sotloff-noted-heartfelt-war-reporting/story?id=25077040

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2740998/ISIS-release-video-showing-beheading-American-journalist-Steven-Sotloff.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/world/middleeast/steven-sotloff-isis-execution.html?_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/world/meast/isis-american-journalist-sotloff/index.html

Journalist Beheaded

James Foley, a freelance journalist was beheaded by ISIS Islamists just about a day ago. Foley went missing in Syria for some years and appeared on video wearing what seems to be an orange jumpsuit. In the video, he blames America for the murders in the Middle Easts, trashes America, says that he wished he had more time to see his family and ultimately renounces America. An ISIS member in black with face covered is next to him and speaks on camera with a British accent. He basically trashed America as well voiced his anger against America airstrikes in Iraq.  Shortly afterwards, he then begins to saw off James Foley's head with a knife.  The decapitated body of James Foley is left laying with head on back. The orange suit/shirt seems to be an indirect message to America because that is what prisoners at Guantanamo wear and what prisoners during the Iraq war wore.

The video is just horrible to watch and shows how mentally disturbed and out of touch these ISIS people are. To be able to cut off another human's head like nothing says much about this individual.  He is a psychopath, feeling nothing. The parents of Foley have been grieving and have pleaded to ISIS to release other prisoners they have which they have promised would face the same fate as Foley.

President Obama spoke on the issue and said that no religion or God justifies this kind of violence against human beings and said that movements like ISIS will fail. Obama fell victim to criticism for returning to play golf after giving the statement. Meanwhile on Twitter, accounts posting the beheading of James Foley have face suspension.  This act on the part of Twitter is odd because they are usually lax about what people post. The NY Post even faced criticism after posting a graphic photo on its cover page.

This whole news is tragic and shows the danger of being in a region where ISIS has control. My prayers and condolences go out to the Foley family. Hopefully this video will wake up other nations to the dangers of ISIS and will bring about a united global response to this evil which is more organized and more well funded than Al Qaida.





Source:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/20/new-york-post-james-foley-front-page_n_5694299.html

https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/24769410/new-york-post-front-page-photo-of-james-foley-sparks-outrage/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/james-foleys-parents-recall-sons-big-heart/story?id=25053972

http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2014/08/james_foley_s_family_begs_ruthless_captors_to_spare_other

http://www.usnews.com/news/newsgram/articles/2014/08/20/us-officials-confirm-islamic-state-video-of-journalist-james-foleys-beheading

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/08/james-foley-punished-for-suspected-escape-plans-fellow-hostage-says/

http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/men-killed-james-foley

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/james-foley/watching-purported-james-foley-video-may-trigger-charges-u-k-n184931

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/08/20/obama-reaches-out-to-parents-of-slain-journalist-james-foley/

Triumph of Prayer for Peace

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

Prayer is something most of the world's population does on a regular basis.  Atheists often criticize it by claiming that it does not work and that it is a delusion to speak to oneself.  The recent course of events has proven them wrong.  On September 7, 2013 the Holy Father Pope Francis called the world to Pray and Fast for Peace.  Billions joined him worldwide as he led a prayer service at the Vatican that lasted over 5 hours!  People of all walks of life, even religions joined in the pray for peace campaign.

Prior to this, rumors of war were circulating about.  President Obama warned that he would authorize a strike with or without allies against Syria.  He even went on television to make his case to the American people.  Within just hours of making a final decision to attack based on the vote of Congress, something extraordinary happened.  President Putin brokered a deal with Syria, Kerry and the United Nations in order to avert war.  He even used a well known American newspaper to voice his plan.  This made President Obama look bad eventually causing some to question why he received the Nobel Peace Prize when Putin could have received it instead.

Anyhow, there is no more talk of a strike; only talks of peace and the surrendering of chemical weapons.  This is good news!  Our prayers worked!  Prayer triumphed over war and violence.

Let us keep praying for peace!  

"Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us." - Isaiah 26:12

Obama Makes Case

Tonight, Obama made his case for his planned strike against Syria claiming it to harbor chemical weaponry which he claims has used on its own people.

Many Americans as well as other nations are against the strike.  Some arguments against it claim that the United States should not be the police of the world and that helping rebels in Syria will help terrorism.  However, Obama countered these arguments by claiming that Syrian leader Asad has abused his own people and that the presence of chemical weaponry in Syria cannot be tolerated.

Recently, Syrian's president, Asad made a remark that was considered a threat.  He said that if any strikes were carried out against his nation that there would be a response of some sort.  Obama countered saying that Asad does not have the capacity to be a serious threat against the United State's military.

In a ironic twist, Russia's president Putin has been acting as a peacemaker of sorts by trying to push for Syria to get rid of its weapons instead of the United States attacking it.  In response, Obama has called on Congress to delay a vote that would okay the strike; a vote that was most likely going to be against Obama.

Here is Obama's speech:

My fellow Americans, tonight I want to talk to you about Syria -- why it matters, and where we go from here.
Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war. Over 100,000 people have been killed. Millions have fled the country. In that time, America has worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement. But I have resisted calls for military action, because we cannot resolve someone else’s civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The situation profoundly changed, though, on August 21st, when Assad’s government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children. The images from this massacre are sickening: Men, women, children lying in rows, killed by poison gas. Others foaming at the mouth, gasping for breath. A father clutching his dead children, imploring them to get up and walk. On that terrible night, the world saw in gruesome detail the terrible nature of chemical weapons, and why the overwhelming majority of humanity has declared them off-limits -- a crime against humanity, and a violation of the laws of war.
This was not always the case. In World War I, American GIs were among the many thousands killed by deadly gas in the trenches of Europe. In World War II, the Nazis used gas to inflict the horror of the Holocaust. Because these weapons can kill on a mass scale, with no distinction between soldier and infant, the civilized world has spent a century working to ban them. And in 1997, the United States Senate overwhelmingly approved an international agreement prohibiting the use of chemical weapons, now joined by 189 governments that represent 98 percent of humanity.
On August 21st, these basic rules were violated, along with our sense of common humanity. No one disputes that chemical weapons were used in Syria. The world saw thousands of videos, cell phone pictures, and social media accounts from the attack, and humanitarian organizations told stories of hospitals packed with people who had symptoms of poison gas.
Moreover, we know the Assad regime was responsible. In the days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad’s chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix sarin gas. They distributed gasmasks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regime-controlled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces. Shortly after those rockets landed, the gas spread, and hospitals filled with the dying and the wounded. We know senior figures in Assad’s military machine reviewed the results of the attack, and the regime increased their shelling of the same neighborhoods in the days that followed. We’ve also studied samples of blood and hair from people at the site that tested positive for sarin.
When dictators commit atrocities, they depend upon the world to look the other way until those horrifying pictures fade from memory. But these things happened. The facts cannot be denied. The question now is what the United States of America, and the international community, is prepared to do about it. Because what happened to those people -- to those children -- is not only a violation of international law, it’s also a danger to our security.
Let me explain why. If we fail to act, the Assad regime will see no reason to stop using chemical weapons. As the ban against these weapons erodes, other tyrants will have no reason to think twice about acquiring poison gas, and using them. Over time, our troops would again face the prospect of chemical warfare on the battlefield. And it could be easier for terrorist organizations to obtain these weapons, and to use them to attack civilians.
If fighting spills beyond Syria’s borders, these weapons could threaten allies like Turkey, Jordan, and Israel. And a failure to stand against the use of chemical weapons would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction, and embolden Assad’s ally, Iran -- which must decide whether to ignore international law by building a nuclear weapon, or to take a more peaceful path.
This is not a world we should accept. This is what’s at stake. And that is why, after careful deliberation, I determined that it is in the national security interests of the United States to respond to the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons through a targeted military strike. The purpose of this strike would be to deter Assad from using chemical weapons, to degrade his regime’s ability to use them, and to make clear to the world that we will not tolerate their use.
That’s my judgment as Commander-in-Chief. But I’m also the President of the world’s oldest constitutional democracy. So even though I possess the authority to order military strikes, I believed it was right, in the absence of a direct or imminent threat to our security, to take this debate to Congress. I believe our democracy is stronger when the President acts with the support of Congress. And I believe that America acts more effectively abroad when we stand together.
This is especially true after a decade that put more and more war-making power in the hands of the President, and more and more burdens on the shoulders of our troops, while sidelining the people’s representatives from the critical decisions about when we use force.
Now, I know that after the terrible toll of Iraq and Afghanistan, the idea of any military action, no matter how limited, is not going to be popular. After all, I’ve spent four and a half years working to end wars, not to start them. Our troops are out of Iraq. Our troops are coming home from Afghanistan. And I know Americans want all of us in Washington
-- especially me -- to concentrate on the task of building our nation here at home: putting people back to work, educating our kids, growing our middle class.
It’s no wonder, then, that you’re asking hard questions. So let me answer some of the most important questions that I’ve heard from members of Congress, and that I’ve read in letters that you’ve sent to me.
First, many of you have asked, won’t this put us on a slippery slope to another war? One man wrote to me that we are “still recovering from our involvement in Iraq.” A veteran put it more bluntly: “This nation is sick and tired of war.”
My answer is simple: I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria. I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan. I will not pursue a prolonged air campaign like Libya or Kosovo. This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective: deterring the use of chemical weapons, and degrading Assad’s capabilities.
Others have asked whether it’s worth acting if we don’t take out Assad. As some members of Congress have said, there’s no point in simply doing a “pinprick” strike in Syria.
Let me make something clear: The United States military doesn’t do pinpricks. Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver. I don’t think we should remove another dictator with force -- we learned from Iraq that doing so makes us responsible for all that comes next. But a targeted strike can make Assad, or any other dictator, think twice before using chemical weapons.
Other questions involve the dangers of retaliation. We don’t dismiss any threats, but the Assad regime does not have the ability to seriously threaten our military. Any other retaliation they might seek is in line with threats that we face every day. Neither Assad nor his allies have any interest in escalation that would lead to his demise. And our ally, Israel, can defend itself with overwhelming force, as well as the unshakeable support of the United States of America.
Many of you have asked a broader question: Why should we get involved at all in a place that’s so complicated, and where -- as one person wrote to me -- “those who come after Assad may be enemies of human rights?”
It’s true that some of Assad’s opponents are extremists. But al Qaeda will only draw strength in a more chaotic Syria if people there see the world doing nothing to prevent innocent civilians from being gassed to death. The majority of the Syrian people -- and the Syrian opposition we work with -- just want to live in peace, with dignity and freedom. And the day after any military action, we would redouble our efforts to achieve a political solution that strengthens those who reject the forces of tyranny and extremism.
Finally, many of you have asked: Why not leave this to other countries, or seek solutions short of force? As several people wrote to me, “We should not be the world’s policeman.”
I agree, and I have a deeply held preference for peaceful solutions. Over the last two years, my administration has tried diplomacy and sanctions, warning and negotiations -- but chemical weapons were still used by the Assad regime.
However, over the last few days, we’ve seen some encouraging signs. In part because of the credible threat of U.S. military action, as well as constructive talks that I had with President Putin, the Russian government has indicated a willingness to join with the international community in pushing Assad to give up his chemical weapons. The Assad regime has now admitted that it has these weapons, and even said they’d join the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits their use.
It’s too early to tell whether this offer will succeed, and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments. But this initiative has the potential to remove the threat of chemical weapons without the use of force, particularly because Russia is one of Assad’s strongest allies.
I have, therefore, asked the leaders of Congress to postpone a vote to authorize the use of force while we pursue this diplomatic path. I’m sending Secretary of State John Kerry to meet his Russian counterpart on Thursday, and I will continue my own discussions with President Putin. I’ve spoken to the leaders of two of our closest allies, France and the United Kingdom, and we will work together in consultation with Russia and China to put forward a resolution at the U.N. Security Council requiring Assad to give up his chemical weapons, and to ultimately destroy them under international control. We’ll also give U.N. inspectors the opportunity to report their findings about what happened on August 21st. And we will continue to rally support from allies from Europe to the Americas -- from Asia to the Middle East -- who agree on the need for action.
Meanwhile, I’ve ordered our military to maintain their current posture to keep the pressure on Assad, and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails. And tonight, I give thanks again to our military and their families for their incredible strength and sacrifices.
My fellow Americans, for nearly seven decades, the United States has been the anchor of global security. This has meant doing more than forging international agreements -- it has meant enforcing them. The burdens of leadership are often heavy, but the world is a better place because we have borne them.
And so, to my friends on the right, I ask you to reconcile your commitment to America’s military might with a failure to act when a cause is so plainly just. To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain, and going still on a cold hospital floor. For sometimes resolutions and statements of condemnation are simply not enough.
Indeed, I’d ask every member of Congress, and those of you watching at home tonight, to view those videos of the attack, and then ask: What kind of world will we live in if the United States of America sees a dictator brazenly violate international law with poison gas, and we choose to look the other way?
Franklin Roosevelt once said, “Our national determination to keep free of foreign wars and foreign entanglements cannot prevent us from feeling deep concern when ideals and principles that we have cherished are challenged.” Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used.
America is not the world’s policeman. Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when, with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death, and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That’s what makes America different. That’s what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth.
Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. 

Transcript courtesy of the White House.

Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/-what-to-expect-from-obama’s-syria-speech--234047363.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/running-transcript-president-obamas-sept-10-speech-on-syria/2013/09/10/a8826aa6-1a2e-11e3-8685-5021e0c41964_story.html  

Pope Francis' Homily - Prayer for Peace Vigil

"And God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:12, 18, 21, 25). The biblical account of the beginning of the history of the world and of humanity speaks to us of a God who looks at creation, in a sense contemplating it, and declares: "It is good". This allows us to enter into God's heart and, precisely from within him, to receive his message. We can ask ourselves: what does this message mean? What does it say to me, to you, to all of us?

1. It says to us simply that this, our world, in the heart and mind of God, is the "house of harmony and peace", and that it is the space in which everyone is able to find their proper place and feel "at home", because it is "good". All of creation forms a harmonious and good unity, but above all humanity, made in the image and likeness of God, is one family, in which relationships are marked by a true fraternity not only in words: the other person is a brother or sister to love, and our relationship with God, who is love, fidelity and goodness, mirrors every human relationship and brings harmony to the whole of creation. God's world is a world where everyone feels responsible for the other, for the good of the other.

This evening, in reflection, fasting and prayer, each of us deep down should ask ourselves: Is this really the world that I desire? Is this really the world that we all carry in our hearts? Is the world that we want really a world of harmony and peace, in ourselves, in our relations with others, in families, in cities, in and between nations? And does not true freedom mean choosing ways in this world that lead to the good of all and are guided by love?

2. But then we wonder: Is this the world in which we are living? Creation retains its beauty which fills us with awe and it remains a good work. But there is also "violence, division, disagreement, war". This occurs when man, the summit of creation, stops contemplating beauty and goodness, and withdraws into his own selfishness. When man thinks only of himself, of his own interests and places himself in the centre, when he permits himself to be captivated by the idols of dominion and power, when he puts himself in God's place, then all relationships are broken and everything is ruined; then the door opens to violence, indifference, and conflict.

This is precisely what the passage in the Book of Genesis seeks to teach us in the story of the Fall: man enters into conflict with himself, he realizes that he is naked and he hides himself because he is afraid (cf. Gen 3: 10), he is afraid of God's glance; he accuses the woman, she who is flesh of his flesh (cf. v. 12); he breaks harmony with creation, he begins to raise his hand against his brother to kill him. Can we say that from harmony he passes to "disharmony"? No, there is no such thing as "disharmony"; there is either harmony or we fall into chaos, where there is violence, argument, conflict, fear ....

It is exactly in this chaos that God asks man's conscience: "Where is Abel your brother?" and Cain responds: "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?" (Gen 4:9). We too are asked this question, it would be good for us to ask ourselves as well: Am I really my brother's keeper? Yes, you are your brother's keeper! To be human means to care for one another! But when harmony is broken, a metamorphosis occurs: the brother who is to be cared for and loved becomes an adversary to fight, to kill. What violence occurs at that moment, how many conflicts, how many wars have marked our history!

We need only look at the suffering of so many brothers and sisters. This is not a question of coincidence, but the truth: we bring about the rebirth of Cain in every act of violence and in every war. All of us! And even today we continue this history of conflict between brothers, even today we raise our hands against our brother. Even today, we let ourselves be guided by idols, by selfishness, by our own interests, and this attitude persists.

We have perfected our weapons, our conscience has fallen asleep, and we have sharpened our ideas to justify ourselves. As if it were normal, we continue to sow destruction, pain, death! Violence and war lead only to death, they speak of death! Violence and war are the language of death!

3. At this point I ask myself: Is it possible to change direction? Can we get out of this spiral of sorrow and death? Can we learn once again to walk and live in the ways of peace? Invoking the help of God, under the maternal gaze of the Salus Populi Romani, Queen of Peace, I say: Yes, it is possible for everyone! From every corner of the world tonight, I would like to hear us cry out: Yes, it is possible for everyone! Or even better, I would like for each one of us, from the least to the greatest, including those called to govern nations, to respond: Yes, we want it! My Christian faith urges me to look to the Cross.

How I wish that all men and women of good will would look to the Cross if only for a moment! There, we can see God's reply: violence is not answered with violence, death is not answered with the language of death. In the silence of the Cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue, and peace is spoken. This evening, I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions, and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: violence and war are never the way to peace!

Let everyone be moved to look into the depths of his or her conscience and listen to that word which says: Leave behind the self-interest that hardens your heart, overcome the indifference that makes your heart insensitive towards others, conquer your deadly reasoning, and open yourself to dialogue and reconciliation. Look upon your brother's sorrow and do not add to it, stay your hand, rebuild the harmony that has been shattered; and all this achieved not by conflict but by encounter!

May the noise of weapons cease! War always marks the failure of peace, it is always a defeat for humanity. Let the words of Pope Paul VI resound again: "No more one against the other, no more, never! ... war never again, never again war!" (Address to the United Nations, 1965).

"Peace expresses itself only in peace, a peace which is not separate from the demands of justice but which is fostered by personal sacrifice, clemency, mercy and love" (World Day of Peace Message, 1975). Forgiveness, dialogue, reconciliation - these are the words of peace, in beloved Syria, in the Middle East, in all the world! Let us pray for reconciliation and peace, let us work for reconciliation and peace, and let us all become, in every place, men and women of reconciliation and peace! Amen.

Pray and Fast for Peace Sept 7

Pope Francis has called the world to Prayer and Fasting for Peace on September 7, 2013 in order to counter the violence throughout the world, in particular, the violence in Syria.

Let us heed the call of the Holy Father by fasting and praying next Saturday, September 7.  Our world is in much need of prayer.  Wars won't solve anything and we cannot fight violence with violence.

Some 'demons' in life can only go away via prayer and fasting.(Matthew 17:21)






Source:

http://www.ibtimes.com/pope-francis-syria-i-condemn-use-chemical-weapons-1402192

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pope-announces-day-fasting-prayer-syria-20129395