Is Russia readying for the kill in Syria?

russRussia may be preparing to back a renewed assault by Syrian government forces to retake Aleppo, and perhaps even Raqqa, from Jabhat al-Nusra and allied groups in the coming weeks.

Mohammad Ballout wrote, in Al-Monitor’s partner publication As-Safir, “The Russians will put their Sukhoi fighter jets to the test and bet on direct ground offensives to weaken rather than defeat Syrian armed factions. It should be noted that isolating Jabhat al-Nusra from other armed factions, which is a difficult and complicated objective, would strike a painful blow to those factions since Jabhat al-Nusra’s military and ideological might form the backbone around which those factions unite.” MORE

Vatican Council II, Pope John XXIII a saint by acclamation?

thumbRNS-GOOD-POPE100312bIt was the final session of Vatican Council II, and some bishops began to say that the council, before closing, should make Pope John XXIII a saint by acclamation.13  ‘Don’t do that,’ several of the Protestant observers at the council said.  ‘The Good Pope John is a saint for all of us, Catholics and Protestants alike.  If you box him into your canonical structures, he will no longer be our saint.  And we don’t want to lose him.’14 They didn’t—John XXIII is listed on June 3rd in the Lutheran Book of Worship15 under Lesser Festivals and Commemorations along with the heretics Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Huss.

His Death Continue reading

In sign of unity, Christians renovate Christ’s tomb together

A team of expeChristians renovate Christ's tomb togetherrts has begun a historic renovation at the spot where Christians believe Jesus was buried, overcoming longstanding religious rivalries to carry out the first repairs at the site in over 200 years.

The project, which began Monday, will focus on repairing, reinforcing and preserving the Edicule — the ancient chamber housing Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is the first such work at the tomb since 1810, when the shrine was restored and given its current shape following a fire. MORE

Storms lash Australia’s east coast

STORMA huge low pressure system that brought flooding and strong winds to New South Wales over the weekend has combined with a king tide to bring widespread coastal destruction, forcing people to flee homes.

As towns from Lismore in the state’s north to Wollongong and south-west Sydney dealt with flooding, on Sydney’s northern beaches, a number of houses and a unit block were evacuated when the wild weather battered the coast.

People were removed from about seven houses and the unit block at Collaroy as large waves up to eight metres high continued to erode the coast, crossing 50 metres over the coastal road, police said. MORE

 

200,000 gather for Middle East’s biggest LGBT pride parade

984901_1_telavivpride_0605_standardThis past weekend, over 200,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv for the city’s annual Gay Pride Parade. The eighteenth year of festivities took off on Friday, June 3, after a moment of silence honoring the memory of those who have been victims of anti-LGBT violence.

“We’re slowly walking toward a more equal, more respectful society that allows all human beings to express themselves as they see fit,” said Ron Huldai, mayor of Tel Aviv. The parade’s theme this year was “Women for a change,” focusing on women’s empowerment. MORE

Europe on the Brink: Christians Told To ‘Pray In Silence… Don’t Disturb The Migrants’

ARISHParishioners visiting a church in Italy were told they must “pray in silence” so as not to disturb African migrants being housed there.

Some of the faithful hoping to practice their Christianity at the church of St. Anthony in Ventimiglia were surprised when they were told by Caritas volunteers they couldn’t recite the rosary and would instead have to pray in silence out of respect to migrants who are living there. MORE

Pope proclaims 2 new saints in canonization Mass

ap_francis_ap-photo-640x466VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has proclaimed two new saints: a Lutheran convert who hid Jews during World War II and the Polish founder of the first men’s religious order dedicated to the immaculate conception.

Francis called Swedish-born Elizabeth Hesselblad and Stanislaus Papczynski “exemplary witnesses to this mystery of resurrection” during the canonization Mass on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Continue reading

Episcopal Priest: LGBTQ People Will ‘Revitalize Christianity’

lgbt-640x480In a recent essay in Salon Magazine, the Reverend Elizabeth M. Edman argues for the power of “queer virtue” to combat “heteronormativity” and revitalize a Christianity that is too wedded to traditional ideas of human sexuality and marriage.

An Episcopal priest and a political strategist, Edman attempts to redeem the concept of “Pride” as central to the LGBT movement and integral to an authentically Christian life. MORE

Ali was raised in a Baptist household but converted to Islam in 1964

MAWorld
Reporter freed from Iran recounts how Ali helped save him – CNN
Jason Rezaian: Ali’s Freedom Demand Led to Better Treatment in Iranian Prison – Newsmax
Muhammad Ali to Iran: Release Jason Rezaian – CNN

Also they call him the G.O.A.T. which is an acronym for Greatest Of All Times. The devil is the same as the goat. They know what they are saying when they refer to him as a G.O.A.T.

Allah Save the King

kingsWatchers of contemporary Arab politics will quickly notice one thing: the Arabmonarchies—Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait—have proven to be the most politically resilient Arab states. Not a single monarchy fell during the Arab Spring.

Attempts elsewhere in the Arab world at democracy, military regimes and one-party states have all proven unstable and bloody in the long run. Moreover, in addition to stability, monarchies in the Arab world have been able to provide some semblance of the institutional stability and rule of law necessary for economic, and eventually social development while still being rooted in tradition. This is the golden mean between an excess of fundamentalism and an excess of Westernization. MORE

Chile Producing So Much Solar Energy It’s Giving Electricity Away for Free

CHILI3In a new Bloomberg report, Chile Has So Much Solar Energy It’s Giving It Away for Free, solar capacity from the country’s central grid has increased four fold to 770 megawatts since 2013. Another 1.4 gigawatts will be added this year with many solar power projects under development.

Thanks to an economic boost from increased mining production, Chile now has 29 solar farms and another 15 in the pipeline. Enel Green Power Chile Ltda. recently commissioned Chile’s largest solar PV project connected to the grid. The 160-megawatt facility will be located in the northern part of the country in the municipality of María Elena, about 1,300 kilometers north of Santiago. MORE