VIDEO: Meanwhile, in the Middle East, something big is on the horizon

Are we witnessing the beginning of a bigger Middle East war? ISIS seems to be just about finished, at least in the sense of occupying a defined territory. The Syrian government of Basher Assad has overrun the last ISIS stronghold and seems likely to turn its attention to putting the Kurds back in their place. The Kurds are also being attacked by the so-called Iraqi National Army. Those conflicts will continue, while the western powers dither about whose side they should be on. See "Gulf Wars drag on: Walt's guide to who's fighting who", WWW 16/10/17 and "Why the Canadian Army is 'suspending' ops in Iraq", WWW 2810/17.

Here's the scary part. The fighting in Syria and Iraq is just a proxy war, a smaller part of the larger Muslim civil war between the Shi'ites (read: Iran) and the Sunnis (read: Saudi Arabia). Recent events suggest that an escalation of that conflict is imminent. This month has seen a huge purge among Saudi royals, accusations of Lebanese aggression, and threats by Hezbollah. Recent semi-secret trips by (((Jared Kushner))), President Trump's son-in-law and advisor to visit with the Saudi crown prince raise questions about the position of the USA. Israeli policy seems to be lining up with Saudi regional policy against Iran and Hezbollah. The Yemen war is at a standstill. Tensions are rising throughout the sandpit.

Is this the start of something big? In the November 7th edition of the Ron Paul Liberty Report (running time 16:50) Dr. Paul and co-host Daniel McAdams analyze the signs and portents, and conclude that we are getting ever closer to a major conflict. Notice that I didn't use the word "Armageddon", but only because they didn't use it!



Walt suggests that you bookmark the Ron Paul Liberty Report. There's a new broadcast every day at noon, Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East...

A random selection of headlines from this weekend's news...

- 25 dead after bomb explodes during Mass at Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo

- Turkey stadium bombing death toll rises to 38, including 30 police officers

- 9 months after being driven out, IS militants recapture Palmyra

- Iraqi offensive against ISIS stronghold in Mosul stalls; Defense Secretary Carter arrives to assess situation

- Syrian army, Russian warplanes pound rebel-held Aleppo but advances halt

- Death toll hits 45 in Yemen suicide bombing

- Kerry calls for "grace" as Syrians set to take Aleppo

- US Sends 200 More Troops To Syria Days After Obama Lifts Ban On Arms Supplies To Rebels

Meanwhile, the Prez (soon to be ex-Prez) thinks the most important thing he should do before leaving office (at last!) is to prove that the Russians are responsible for the election of Donald Trump. You couldn't make this stuff up.

Further reading: "Trump’s Promised 'New Foreign Policy' Must Abandon Regime Change for Iran", by Ron Paul, 4/12/16.

25 worst places to be a Christian

The British newspaper The Guardian has published an overview of the persecution of Christians worldwide, accompanied by a list of the 25 worst places to be a Christian. "Christians are facing growing persecution around the world," they wrote, "fueled mainly by Islamic extremism and repressive governments, leading the Pope to warn of 'a form of genocide' and for campaigners to speak of 'religio-ethnic cleansing,'."

Click here to read The Grauniad's list, with their reasons. Walt's "Reader's Digest version" follows. The list is not in bad-worse-worst order because, well... I don't need to explain, do I?

North Korea - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Believers meet in secret "house churches", risking imprisonment, torture and martyrdom.
Somalia - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim, lawless and chaotic. Christians often executed on the spot.
Iraq - Middle East sandpit, officially Muslim, but which kind of Muslim? Shi'ites and Sunni Muslims are fighting it out in a Muslim civil war, in which the USA and its reluctant allies are meddling for no good reason.
Syria - Like Iraq, only worse.
Afghanistan - Like Syria, only worse.

Sudan - Northern Africa, officially Muslim, Sharia law. Converting to Christianity punishable by death. Blasphemy gets you the lash.
Iran - Middle East, officially Muslim. Safer for Christians than Iraq or Syria, and that's about all you can say.
Pakistan - Asia, officially Muslim. Christians are second-class citizens. Blasphemy (against the Prophet or the Holy Qu'ran) punishable by death.
Eritrea - Horn of Africa, pseudo-Communist dictatorship, Muslim majority. See North Korea.
Nigeria - Africa, divided between Muslim north and nominally Christian south. Sharia law in the north. Boko Haram abducts girls, kills Christians by the thousands.

Maldives - Never heard of it, right? Beautiful little islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India. Great tourist destination. Officially Muslim. Converting from Islam means forfeiting Maldivian citizenship, and owning a Bible is punishable by death. Churches are banned; Christian migrants and tourists also have to meet in secret and cannot own Bibles.
Saudi Arabia - Middle East, feudal kingdom. Officially Muslim and we're talking Wahabi, the most extreme branch of Sunni Islam. For their faith, Christians may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured and deported.
Libya - North Africa, officially Muslim. ISIS hotspot, going through a civil war following a pointless Western invasion. The new Somalia.
Yemen - Middle East, feudal, officially Muslim. Christians treated as in Saudi Arabia, and caught in the middle of a civil war, with Saudis intervening on the side of Islamic fundamentalists.
Uzbekistan - Central Asia, pseudo-Communist dictatorship. As in China [How did China get left off this list?! Ed.], all churches must be registered with the state. Converts from Islam face imprisonment, beatings and sometimes banishment.

Vietnam - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Not quite as bad as China, since the Roman Catholic Church still has a large following, the legacy of the colonial days. As in China and Uzbekistan, churches must be officially registered. As in China, many churches have been destroyed, and Christians attacked and imprisoned.
Central African Republic - Africa [Duh! Ed.], chaotic, lawless. The militant group Séléka, (= CAR rebels + Muslims from neighbouring countries), have raped, tortured and killed Christians throughout the country. Unlike in other countries on this fecal roster, defence groups made up of people claiming to be Christians are fighting back. Victims, Christian or Muslim, may be eaten.
Qatar - Middle East, Islamic kingdom. Converts to Christianity face banishment and death. Large population of migrant workers have to keep their faith to themselves.
Kenya - Africa. Like Nigeria but substitute Al Shabaab for Boko Haram. If you're a white, presumably Christian tourist, keep your head down.
Turkmenistan - Central Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Muslim. See Uzbekistan.

India - Asia. Officially a secular state but under the ruling BJP effectively "Hindustan". Like Pakistan, only with the persecutors being Hindus. In some states there are anti-conversion laws, and attacks on Christians and church buildings occur frequently. Indian Muslims are recommended to move to Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Ethiopia - Horn of Africa. I don't agree with The Guardian on this one, as the majority of Ethiopians are Coptic Christians. But there are Muslim-dominated areas, where Christians report harassment for their faith. The Grauniad says there were 60 violent incidents reported in 2014.
Egypt - Northern Africa, officially Muslim. There is a large(ish) minority of Coptic Christians who were largely left alone until the US-supported overthrow of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which was followed by a sharp increase in anti-Christian violence, with 65 churches, convents, Christian bookshops and schools attacked. There are fears these attacks will increase as radical Islamist groups gain power in the region.
Djibouti - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim. You'll find it on the map next to Eritrea, which it greatly resembles. That's all you need to know.
Burma - Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Buddhists. Included in The Guardian's list (I guess) to show that it's not only the Islamists who have it in for Christians. There has been a rise in nationalist religious movements in the past few years, with nearly two dozen Christians killed in clashes with the army in 2014. Buddhist nationalist groups are putting pressure on the government to adopt laws that would make life harder for Christians, such as limiting conversions and restricting interfaith marriages.

So there you have it -- the 25 worst countries in which to be a Christian. OK, 26 if you count China, which you definitely should. And The Guardian says nothing of the persecution of believers in the True Faith by the secular humanists who have triumphed in post-Christian Europe and North America.

Dear Christian readers, please keep in your minds and hearts the words of St. Paul:
2 Timothy 3:12 - And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Romans 8:35/37 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or persecution, or sword? / But in all these things we overcome, because of Him that hath loved us.

Further reading: "Dying for Christianity: millions at risk amid rise in persecution across the globe" (Companion piece to The Guardian's list)

Canada re-ups for another year of the Obama war

This just in from the second-coldest capital city in the world. Although Americans might wish otherwise, Canadian Prime Minister, Steve "Stephen" Harper has taken note of the fact that the Prez still has nearly two years of his second term left. Two years in which, if Mr. Harper keeps tugging his forelock tugged and his lips pursed over the presidential nether regions, Mr. Obama might change his mind about blocking the Keystone XL pipeline.

Not only that, but the Dear Leader Himself faces an election sometime between now and the middle of October. Mr. Harpoon would dearly love to make it a four-peat, and protecting the Great Formerly-white North from the evil Islamic extremists seems to be playing well with the frost-backed folk in Otter Haunch SK.

Steve's course was therefore clear. In spite of the fact that "ISIL" (as he calls it, because that's what Obama calls it) has already been "degraded" -- stopped in its tracks -- Mr. Harper has bravely volunteered his country's troops and treasure for another year fighting Obama's war, until the spring of 2016. And, yes, it's now officially a combat mission. (Body count so far: 1 killed in Iraq, 2 at home, total 3.)

One more thing... Canadian forces will now pursue the jihadis into Syria. Walt wonders if Mr. Harper will now change the official designation of the enemy to "ISIS". Walt also wonders if Steve has thought through the implications of following the Islamists wherever they go. Since the beginning of the year, they have extended the Muslim civil war into Libya, Tunisia and Yemen. Will "our" operations expand along with theirs?

Whether the Canadian government (S. Harper, Prop.) has thought about anything other than the political benefits of standing shoulder to shoulder with Obama is doubtful. Mr. Harper, like one of his heroes, Margaret Thatcher, is not one for turning.

All that remains now is to make sure that the brave Canadian soldiers and airmen (and/or airwomen -- whatever the term is) understand the mission. That is the point, Walt reckons, of this brilliant editorial cartoon by Brian Gable in today's Globe and Mail.

INTERESTING FOOTNOTE - JUST RECEIVED from CBC News. Iraq's attempt to retake the city of Tikrit from ISIS has run into a major problem. More than 80% of the ground forces involved on the government side are Shia militias. Many say they won't keep fighting if the US-led coalition (the one Harper is happy to be a part of) is allowed to conduct airstrikes. According to the Corp, the US has poor relations with the militia groups, many of whom once battled the previous American occupation of Iraq. Looks like the good guys (see above) don't want "our" help. How about that, eh!

Wise words about liberty from Mark Twain

Walt stumbled upon this quote from the great American writer and humorist, Mark Twain.

I believe we ought to retain all our liberties. We can't afford to throw them away. They didn't come to us in a night. The trouble with us in America is that we haven't learned to speak the truth. We have thrown away the most valuable asset we have -- the individual's right to oppose both flag and country when by one's self we believe them to be in the wrong.

Got that? Don't call Ron Paul, Mark Steyn, Matt Taibbi, Charles Krauthammer, Thomas Friedman et al. [Who's Al? Ed.] unpatriotic. Count them, instead, among those who refuse to utter the mindless shibboleth "My country, right or wrong!"

Footnote: Walt must add to the list of those who dare to point out that the Emperor -- read: the Prez -- has no clothes, the name of Michelle Malkin. See "Obama’s bloody Yemen disaster" for her take on the latest failure of US foreign policy.

UPDATED: Muslim's girl's private Facebook photo!

This started out as a joke, see. Ed. found a picture of a Muslim woman (?) wearing a burqa, and said to me, "I guess all their Facebook profile pages look like this." Ha ha. So we put it up.

Then last night, while tidying up my library, I found this book, which I can't recall reading. I must have bought it [or stolen it. Ed.] and put it away for future reference. So I'm referring to it now. [Geddit? Ed.]

Sold, by Zana Muhsen (with ghostie Andrew Crofts) is "one woman's true account of modern slavery". (That's what it says on the cover.) It was published by Warner Books in 1991.

According to the summary on the back cover, the author -- 15 years old at the time -- and her still younger sister, Nadia, born in Birmingham, England, were asked by their folks if they'd like to go on a holiday to visit relatives in northern Yemen. To the innocent girls, it sounded like the trip of a lifetime.

Those who know a bit about Islam and the countries of the Arabian peninsula will not be surprised to learn that the girls' father had sold them into marriage! Once they arrived in the sandpit, they were held virtual prisoners in primitive stone houses, with shit-plastered walls and no running water. They were subjected to beatings, rape and "the terrifying ordeal of childbirth on bare mud floors with only old women in attendance".

This went on for eight years, and the book is the story of how they escaped what is, sadly, "normal life" for young women in countries bound by the feudal barbarism of Sharia law. Is it still like this for Muslim women, a quarter of a century later? Answers on the back of a postage stamp, please, to the usual address.

See also: "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?"

Too young to wed

As mentioned a couple of days ago, I don't mind having to wait to be seen by my dentist because his* palatial office has a pretty good selection of reasonably up-to-date magazines -- "up-to-date" meaning published in the 21st century.

Among them is National Geographic, which has the best pictures in the world of the world, IMHO.But reading National Geographic is like reading Playboy. [Does Playboy still exist? Ed.] It actually has articles to go with the pictures, and the articles are often worth reading. Case in point: "Too Young to Wed", in the June 2011 issue.

In the article, which you can read online by clicking this link, you can read about the practice -- supposedly illegal but still persistent -- of marrying girls as young as 6 to much older men. The story documents examples in Yemen (pictured above), Rajasthan (in northwestern India), and Nepal. And, of course, Afghanistan, where westerners are still laying down their lives to change the culture and emancipate girls.

What are the chances of putting an end to this centuries-old tradition? Christian missionaries have been trying for centuries to show these heathens -- for that's what they are -- the error of their ways. To no avail. Anyone who thinks there's any hope for change tomorrow or next year or anytime this century should think again.

Read the article. If you want to see more pictures of these pretty sad little girls, you'll have to buy the magazine. Walt recommends it.

* Footnote: Walt's dentist is of indeterminate gender. I call my dentist "the tooth fairy".

Middle East madness

For the tiny percentage of you who care what's happening over in the sandpit, here's today's news, in four parts.

Item: South African President Jacob Zuma -- the one with four or five wives, who takes showers to avoid getting HIV/AIDS -- has been on a mission to Libya to persuade Brother Gadhafi to stop fiddling while Tripoli burns. In other words, to go while the going's good. It is rumoured that Zuma offered Gadhafi asylum in Comrade Bob Mugabe's Zimbabwe, where he could join former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu in luxurious exile. Gadhafi's answer? "Hell no! I won't go!"

Item: Yemen is a country where houses are built tall, not wide, so the contents of the alleged toilets can run down the outside walls and dry in the hot desert sun. Civil war has been imminent for weeks, and looks more so today, as the off-again on-again truce between President Saleh and groups of desert tribesmen has gone off again.

Last week, fighting between members of the powerful Hashed tribe -- mounted on camels and armed with scimitars and muskets -- and Saleh's security forces widened to areas outside the capital. Saleh's elite Republican Guard is armed with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, so the morning line makes the tribal types a long shot.

Item: Afghanistan's alleged president, Hamid Karzai -- krazai name, krazai guy! -- warned NATO-led forces in the armpit of the world that they risk being seen as an occupying force rather than an ally. Wow! Stop the presses!

The prez, wearing his trademark Afghan hat [what else? Ed.] despite 100-degree heat, said NATO's killing of civilians had to stop or he would take unspecified "action". Like leaving the country to join Gadhafi somewhere? Highly unlikely. Lifetime pct: .976

And finally: As Karzai spoke, so did Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpoon, who called the Canucks' mission "in general a success" and proclaimed Afghanistan "no longer a threat to the world". Which begs the question of why the USA and a few other members of the coalition of the allegly willing are staying there after the Canadians leave.

Walt nominates Harper for the Brass Neck Award [or similar. Ed.]. How he can stand, clad in khakis and the new "Peter Mackay" model flak-catcher and lie to his troops -- 156 of whom have died in the Afghani dust and dirt -- mystifies me. And the Canadian soldiers know they're being lied to, yet they listen politely and refrain from booing or fragging their dear leader. Canadian politeness, I guess!

Book review: Baghdad Without a Map

Why should a book written over 20 years ago be of interest to us today? Because, in Baghdad Without a Map, freelance journalist Tony Horwitz describes scenes and events he witnessed in the Middle East, which are being replayed today. Reading this book helps us understand why the Arabs are revolting. [Nice use of ambiguity there! Ed.]

Mr. Horwitz, an American Jew, travelled the countries of Araby in the late 1980s, reporting from all the places in the news today -- Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Libya -- and more. He presents witty and insightful vignettes of the history and culture of a volatile territory understood by few Westerners, even after a decade fighting and dying in the sands and scrub.

Reading his accounts of Hussein's Iraq, Mubarak's Egypt and Gadhaffi's Libya, as he found those states 20 years ago, is like watching "Groundhog Day". We know it all happened again and again and again. Intrigue and absurdity abound. People are still caught in the cross-fire of conflict. The desert sands are still being watered with blood every day.

Yet nothing changes. And, one suspects, nothing will change. The Middle East remains, in Horwitz's words "a malodorous mix of arms, zeal and anarchy", a place where "progress [is] measured in grains of sand".

To read Baghdad Without a Map (Dutton, 1991) is to wonder yet again why on earth Western treasure is being squandered and Western blood being spilt there. Highly recommended by Walt.

Plus ça change

Every now and then Walt, like most others who put words in public spaces regularly, hits a dry patch -- a time when inspiration fails, the juice dries up and the monitor is a big white void.

Something may have happened in the world. Something may be about to happen. But in my world right now, nothing is happening. Nothing that matters to me, at least. The things that are happening today have happened before, and will happen again, if not tomorrow then certainly the day after.

In the Middle East, there are wars and rebellions. Muslims are killing Christians when they're not killing each other. People are dying in the streets of Syria, Yemen and Palestine. Nothing new there.

A think tank has warned the Canadian government that if it keeps troops in Afghanistan as "trainers", they could get killed, so maybe a rethink of that decision would be in order. Well, stop the presses! Walt said the same thing months ago.

A trio of African leaders -- three who have yet to be overthrown -- jetted into Libya and brokered a truce between the Mad Colonel's forces and those rebelling against him. The ink wasn't yet dry on the Kufic script when Gadhafi's men shelled the excrement out of a rebel sandcastle. The rebels responded by calling in a NATO airstrike. (Yes, they're now "communicating with" NATO forces.) The body count rises as the stalemate continues.

Speaking of stalemates, the government of the Excited States of America did not grind to a halt on the weekend, as a truce was reached in the debate over how much more indebtedness the nation could stand. Well, not a truce so much as an agreement to continue the fight for another six weeks. The ship is sinking and the solons are arguing over the side on which the lifeboats should be launched.

And in Canada, there's a rumour than an election campaign is in progress, if "progress" is a suitable word for such an event. A TV debate between the leaders of the four parties which held seats in the outgoing Parliament is scheduled for tonight. Walt predicts all four leaders will prove themselves masters of evasion, but none more so than Stephen Harpoon. Lifetime pct: .974.

The French debate was to have been held on Thursday night, but has been moved up to tomorrow night so Canucks can watch what they really want to watch, namely the NHL playoff game between Boston and Montréal. At least one country has its priorities straight!

So...everything is kind of stuck in neutral, chez Walt. But keep watching this space. Something might happen tomorrow.