Sophisticated U.S. Arms Flowing to Jihadists

Fox News is reporting a stunning theft of U.S. arms by jihadist salafists in Libya. This news item will be made much of by critics of Obama on the right. However, military and government blunders, cost overruns, unneeded weapons systems, and general mis-management are par for the course.

Of more relevance is the light this sheds on the U.S. arms being shipped into Syria. There have already been detailed press reports that there really are no significant controls that prevent these arms from reaching the most terror-prone and jihadist elements among the Syrian rebels, whose numbers are large in proportion to all the rebels. This decision to ship arms was foolhardy from the get-go, and now in light of the Libyan theft it looks even more ill-conceived.

This theft of arms needs to be seen in an even broader context, which is the utter folly of the U.S. military adventurism of the past 15 years. The libertarian anti-war position has, among its themes, consistently argued that the foreign U.S. military actions in the last 15 years were spawning terrorists, terrorism and retaliation of various kinds. The Nairobi event has to be seen as connected to events in Somalia. Another theme has been that these intrusions were de-stabilizing states and delicate balances between Shia and Sunni sectarian interests. These intrusions have been creating whole new regions in which terrorism and armed conflicts could flourish. Yet another theme has been the folly of thinking that the U.S. could secure itself or eliminate terrorism by military actions, or that it could rebuild states in new democratic forms, or that it could remake societies along lines desired by the U.S. government.

A large theft of U.S. weapons in Libya reinforces the meaning of the Benghazi event, which is the futility of these armed interventions as a means of creating a better world. That approach is bankrupt, and more and more people and even officials are recognizing this. No one can miss that message except for the staunch warmongers who persist in calling for more and ever more. No one with any sense can be listening any longer to Netanyahu’s broken record. Every day in Iraq, a very large number of persons are being slaughtered in sectarian strife. Syria is an equally large tragedy.

Libertarian analysis cuts even deeper, with the position that if people want a better world, they’re not going to get it no matter what the conventional governments of the day do or attempt. The opposite is going to happen with any and all forms of conventional government actions, and that is exactly what the events of the past 15 years (that are in recent memory) show. Unconventional government today means government that takes natural law seriously, which no government does.

The greatest relevance of this news report of an arms theft is to add one more glaring piece of evidence that the U.S. has to move in very new directions. The U.S. has brought about and is encouraging 4th generation warfare in lands where it is interfering.

Americans need to be thinking in very different ways about what proper government is, what it should be doing if they want peace, freedom and justice, and what it should not be doing.

Credit to Lewrockwell.com

Police officer exposes FEMA CAMPS and New World Order

U.S. Is Broke, Can't Afford to Raise the Debt Ceiling

Russian Landing Ship Nikolai Filchenkov in Syria

LATAKIA (Syria), September 26 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s assault landing ship Nikolai Filchenkov, scheduled to visit the Syrian port of Latakia, has been met by two Syrian missile boats on the border of Syria’s territorial waters, a Syrian Defense Ministry spokesman told RIA Novosti.

The boats were sent to greet the Russian vessel in a welcome ceremony in line with naval traditions, the spokesman said.

Earlier, RIA Novosti sources in Syria’s navy said the Nikolai Filchenkov would call at Latakia on a one-day friendly visit. Russian and Syrian sailors were to hold a soccer friendly at a local stadium.

Russia remains one of the world’s most influential supporters of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, where over two years of fighting between government and opposition forces has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, according to UN data.

The administration of US President Barack Obama has accused Assad’s government of responsibility for an August 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus that Washington claims left more than 1,400 dead.

Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly suggested in recent weeks that they have evidence showing the attack was likely carried out by Syrian rebels seeking to frame Assad in order to secure outside military intervention against government forces.

After weeks of intense diplomacy and an almost three-day-long marathon of talks in Geneva between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, Moscow and Washington reached a breakthrough agreement earlier this month to place Syria’s chemical weapons under international control for eventual destruction.

RIA Novosti

Massive Pakistani earthquake leaves a brand new 18 meter high island

Television channels showed images of a stretch of rocky terrain rising above the sea level, with crowds surrounding the shore to witness the rare phenomenon.

Zahid Rafi, principal seismologist for the National Seismic Monitoring Center, said such masses are sometimes created by the movement of gases locked in the earth under the sea, pushing mud and earth up to the surface in something akin to a mud volcano.

'When such a strong earthquake builds pressure, there is the likelihood of such islands emerging,' he said. 'That big shock beneath the earth causes a lot of disturbance.'

This liquefaction of sand layers takes place after any earthquake, but these sudden islands are usually only spotted after strong earthquakes, at least 7- or 8-magnitude events.

An aerial view of the island which is thought to be about 60 feet (18 meters) high, 100 feet (30 meters) long and 250 feet (76 meters) wide


Zahid Rafi, principal seismologist for the National Seismic Monitoring Center, said such masses are sometimes created by the movement of gases locked in the earth under the sea, pushing mud and earth up to the surface in something akin to a mud volcano



To get a better idea of what the island is made of and how permanent it is, scientists will have to get samples of the material to see if it's mostly soft mud or rocks and harder material

HOW THE ISLAND WAS FORMED

Scientists believe the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Baluchistan, triggered what is known as 'mud volcano'.

They occur where there is a reservoir of loosely compacted sediments buried beneath harder, denser rock and a path is made to the surface.

The seismic waves caused a movement of gases locked in the earth under the sea, pushing mud and earth up to the surface along with gas.

These sudden islands are usually only spotted after strong earthquakes, at least 7- or 8-magnitude events.

Richard Luckett a seismologist the British Geological Survey said that these mud volcanoes are relatively common in this area on both land and at sea.

‘They occur where there is a reservoir of loosely compacted sediments buried beneath harder, denser rock and a path is made to the surface,’ he told MailOnline.

‘There is a subducting plate boundary in this region where the Arabian plate is converging on the Eurasian plate at about 2cm a year and being pushed beneath it.

‘This is the same plate boundary responsible for the magnitude 7.7 earthquake.’

Scientists believe gases associated with the melting at the plate boundary contribute to heating the mud in the reservoirs and making it more fluid.

‘Certainly mud volcanoes are most common near this type of plate boundary, such as in Japan,’ said Dr Luckett.

‘It is known that mud volcanoes can be triggered by large nearby earthquakes – in fact the same thing happened in this area in 2001.

‘The exact mechanism for this triggering is poorly understood but the fact that mud volcanoes often occur without a triggering earthquake suggests that little extra impetus is required.’


To get a better idea of what the island is made of and how permanent it is, scientists will have to get samples of the material to see if it's mostly soft mud or rocks and harder material.

These types of islands can remain for a long time or eventually subside back into the ocean, depending on their makeup.

A Pakistani Navy team reached the island by midday Wednesday, navy geologist Mohammed Danish told the country's Geo Television.

He said the mass was about 60 feet (18 meters) high, 100 feet (30 meters) long and 250 feet (76 meters) wide.



The 7.8 magnitude quake struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan's quake-prone province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran, on Tuesday

'There are stones and mud,' he said, warning residents not to try to visit the island. 'Gasses are still emitting.'

But dozens of people had already visited the island, said the deputy commissioner of Gwadar district, Tufail Baloch, who travelled by boat himself to the island this morning.

Water bubbled along the edges of the island, in what appeared to be gas discharging from under the surface, Baloch said.

He said the area smelled of gas that caught fire when people lit cigarettes.

Dead fish floated on the water's surface while local residents were visiting the island and taking stones as souvenirs, he added.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2431913/Massive-Pakistani-earthquake-pushes-brand-new-18-metre-high-island-sea.html#ixzz2fyE1dO4Y

The End is Near

Joseph Herrin



Randy Simmons occasionally speaks to me regarding how long it has been since the Father has spoken about things to come, both in his life on a personal level and on a national and global scale. The Father has not been stinting with His prophetic utterances. There have been many of them. I carry a number of personal prophetic words around with me. I have them printed out and folded into the pages of my Bible. I looked at a few of them this week. Some, like the prophecies spoken through my daughter Kristin when she was fourteen years old, I have carried for a lengthy season. Kristin will turn twenty-six in December.

Although various prophecies have tarried, this fact has not diminished my belief in their authenticity, nor caused me to doubt that they will be fulfilled. My common reply to Randy when this subject is broached is that “God’s promises are closer to being fulfilled now than ever before.” This, of course, is an irrefutable statement, and it may seem pointless, for of course God’s promises must be closer to being fulfilled than they were yesterday, or last month, or ten years ago. Nevertheless, the saying expresses well my belief that Yahweh will fulfill what He has spoken, and it is an affirmation of my expectation of the same. Of Abraham we read:

Romans 4:18-22
In hope against hope [Abraham] believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

Some of the prophetic words Yahweh has spoken to Randy and to myself are personal promises. They are akin to words we find throughout Scriptures, such as those spoken to Abraham above. They are promises of blessing, of some fulfillment of a long awaited desire or dream. Joseph, the son of Jacob, received promises from God when he was a youth. At the age of seventeen he was given divine dreams of promotion. He would be thirty years old before he saw the promise fulfilled.

Some of the prophetic words and signs Yahweh has been revealing to His people relate to end time events and judgments to befall the nations. Yahweh has affirmed through a plethora of signs that judgment is coming. He has especially shown me many divine portents of judgment to befall America, the nation in which I reside. I first shared these signs of judgment with Randy around 2005-2007 when we were in residence at the Macon Rescue Mission together. Randy believed the signs, yet he asked Yahweh to speak to him personally, affirming that America would fall. It was not long before Yahweh answered Randy’s petition.

Randy was driving down the Interstate in Macon, Georgia one day when he glanced over and saw a line of motorcyclists riding two abreast. They were exiting the Interstate on one of the off-ramps. As Randy watched the motorcyclists slow down as they approached the intersection, an unusual, and highly symbolic, event occurred. The last two motorcycles in the group included a man who had a jacket on that was red, white, and blue, emblazoned with the flag of the United States. As the motorcyclists stopped Randy watched the rider wearing this jacket fall over. The person riding abreast with him tried to grab the man, but was unable to keep him from falling. The man lay on the ground and did not get up. Randy recognized immediately that this was a sign from the Father, and an affirmation that America would fall and would not rise again.

There is no doubt that in large degree, America’s collapse, and that of the nations of the world, is a planned event being carried out by Satan and his human emissaries. I have often written of the plans that the government is carrying out to prepare for tremendous civil unrest, martial law, and the collapse of societal order. (See the post titled Others are Preparing - Should You?) That America’s vaunted economy will collapse is undeniable. The only question is “How soon?” America is drowning in debt. Her manufacturing base has been critically eroded. Over forty million Americans receive food stamps from the government just to be able to feed their families. There are record numbers of unemployed. The government published numbers are a deceit. True unemployment in America is running at more than 20%.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/heres-the-real-unemployment-rate-2/

Two weeks ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report sharing that for the first time in America there are more than 90 million people who are NOT in the work force. America is a ship that is taking on water. The more water she takes on, the faster she sinks. The process is accelerating, and soon the entire ship of state must founder.

An interesting parallel is seen in the magnificent cruise ship the Costa Concordia striking a reef and sinking. The ship lay off an Italian island for the past year being battered by the waves. It was finally righted this past week, but it will never again serve as a cruise ship. It has sustained too much damage. It is to be floated to a port where it will be dismantled and sold as scrap. Such is the fate awaiting America and many other nations. The vultures are circling, waiting to pick the meat off the bones of those nations that have lived in fatness and sensuality.




Costa Concordia on its Side

As the picture above demonstrates, the Costa Concordia, a ship much larger than the Titanic, was built for amusement and pleasure. It stands as a symbol of the wealthy nations of the world, particularly America and Europe. Yahweh is signifying that an end is coming to the mirth and pleasure of the world’s wealthy nations.

A further sign was given this past week in America when a fire broke out on the amusement pier that had been devastated last year by Superstorm Sandy.



Funtown Pier in Flames

There is much in this particular story that serves as a spiritual parable of things to come to America. It was just off of this pier in the city of Seaside Heights, New Jersey, that the extremely popular television series Jersey Shore was filmed. This series ran for 5 or 6 years on MTV, garnering higher numbers of viewers than any other program in the cable channel’s history. The show featured 8 young men and women living together in a home, participating in a life of drinking, sex, and generally debauched living. Yahweh must judge a people who have given themselves over to the pursuit of moral decadence, and who celebrate a lifestyle of materialism and fornication.

The fire erupted on this New Jersey pier on September 12th. The pier had been heavily damaged when Superstorm Sandy struck the New Jersey shore. The pier was in the process of being rebuilt. The governor of New Jersey, and the local people, said they would rebuild after Sandy and make things bigger and better than before. The owner of the Funtown section of the pier had applied for a permit to extend the pier an additional 300 feet beyond its previous size. What Sandy did not destroy, the fire completely ruined.




The town of Seaside Heights was set to celebrate their 100th anniversary beginning on September 13th. The fire struck a day before the festivities were to begin. Note the boasting in the name of the Festival. The people were proudly going to raise their city to “NEW HEIGHTS.” Like the politicians in the aftermath of the World Trade Center’s destruction, they boasted that they would rebuild bigger and stronger than before.

Isaiah 9:9-10
Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart: "The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

Remarkably, the first day of festivities were to have as their highlight entertainment that centered around fire. A fireworks display, and a bonfire were to be the central focus of the festival’s kick-off.




The fireworks and bonfire arrived a day early. The fiery destruction of the pier led to the cancellation of man’s celebration of fire. Approximately thirty businesses were destroyed by the blaze which was whipped along by thirty mile an hour winds resulting from an approaching storm. At its peak, more than 400 firefighters from all across the state were called in to battle the blaze.

Another significant attribute of this blaze was revealed in the way it had to be extinguished. The boardwalk had a concrete walkway, but underneath the concrete the supports were wood. The firefighters were battling the blaze from atop the pier and the concrete prevented them from extinguishing the fire that had spread under the pier. A large piece of demolition equipment had to be brought in and a breach made in the pier to prevent the fire from spreading further. A 25 foot wide section of the pier was quickly torn down and a wall of sand erected in its place. This divide was made right where Lincoln Avenue intersected with the boardwalk.

Last Stand at Lincoln Avenue

This “coincidental” detail evokes memories of the fiery conflagration that consumed America during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln was President. The nation was divided even as the boardwalk was torn in two between north and south. Similarly, it was the southern section of the pier that was destroyed while the northern section survived.

Readers of this blog may be reminded of other similar testimonies of what is to come to America. The last Super Bowl featured for the first time ever, two brothers serving as head coaches of opposing teams.

Brother Against Brother

Heavenly Harbinger

A divide is growing between the patriots in America and the government forces. The government is active at this very moment seeking justification to disarm the American population. Civil unrest is coming. Brother will be divided against brother. Mirth and amusements will fall silent as the land is consumed with violence, slaughter, and devastation.




Shaded yellow area of pier was damaged during Sandy.
Shaded red area was damaged in fire.
Note Lincoln Avenue at top where a divide was made.

Some may remember that I shared some months back a prophetic word that Yahweh had revealed to a brother in Christ whom I have been privileged to know for some years now. Andrew Eberly was told by the Father years ago that he would have a son to be born who would be named Jacob. He would be born during the time the Bible describes as “Jacob’s Trouble.”

Two days ago I was on a bicycle ride with the young man I have come to visit, when my phone rang. It was Andrew. He told me he was driving home to pick up his wife for she was going into labor. Andrew’s son Jacob was born a little after 5 P.M. on the 17th day of the month. This was the 17th hour of the day on the 17th day of the month.

The number 17 is an interesting one. E.W. Bullinger shares the following information.

SEVENTEEN
stands out very prominently as a significant number. It is not a multiple of any other number, and therefore it has no factors. Hence it is called one of the prime (or indivisible) numbers. What is more, it is the seventh in the list of the prime numbers.
The series runs 1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, etc. Thirteen, it will be noted, is also a prime number, and is therefore important; but it is the sixth of the series: hence it partakes of the significance of the number 6, and is indeed an intensified expression of it.
In like manner seventeen being the seventh of the series, it partakes of and intensifies the significance of the number seven. Indeed, it is the combination or sum of two perfect numbers—seven and ten—seven being the number of spiritual perfection, and ten of ordinal perfection.
Contrasted together the significance of these two numbers is clear; and when united in the number seventeen we have a union of their respective meanings, viz., spiritual perfection, plus ordinal perfection, or the perfection of spiritual order.
We see a beautiful illustration in

ROMANS 8:35-39
which concludes the first great division of that all-important Epistle, and sums up the blessings of those who are dead and risen in Christ. First we have a series of seven, then a series of ten. The seven are marked off by being put in the form of a question, while the ten are given as the answer to it.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall

1 Tribulation,
2 Or distress,
3 Or persecution,
4 Or famine,
5 Or nakedness,
6 Or peril,
7 Or sword?

as it is written, For Thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that,

8 Neither death (1),
9 Nor life (2),
10 Nor angels (3),
11 Nor principalities (4),
12 Nor things present (5),
13 Nor things to come (6),
14 Nor powers (7),
15 Nor height (8),
16 Nor depth (9),
17 Nor any other creature (10),

shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
[Source: http://www.philologos.org/__eb-nis/13666.htm#17]

Thus we see the relationship of the number 17 to trials and suffering for the purification of the people of God. Further insight is obtained as one looks at the relationship of the number 17 to the number 153. I have written about this in a number of posts. Following is a further quote from Bullinger.

The sum of all the digits up to and including 17 amounts to exactly 153. Thus, 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 +14 + 15 + 16 + 17 = 153.

As the result of our investigations in numbers, 153 = 9 x 17, and see in this number all judgment (9) exhausted for the people of God (17) in the person of their Surety.
[End Excerpt]

Bullinger points out that 9 is the number of judgment, and 17, as we have seen, is related to trials and suffering that results in the perfecting of the people of God. Little Jacob Eberly was born on 9/17, and we additionally find that 9 multiplied by 17 equals 153.

The number 153 appears prominently in the Scriptures at the third appearance of Christ after His resurrection. We read that the disciples, at Peter’s suggestion, had returned to fishing. They spent all night fishing on the Sea of Galilee and had caught nothing. In the morning they approached the shore and observed a man with coals prepared cooking some fish. The man called out to them to inquire if they had caught any fish. They replied in the negative. He instructed them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat and they would catch some fish.

The disciples obeyed and they encompassed a great number of fish. John recognized that it was the Lord, and told the other disciples. Upon drawing the net to shore and counting the fish, they found that there were 153 large fish in the net. The Lord told them to bring some of the fish, and He added them to the fire He had already prepared.

This entire event is a grand parable. Fish represent men, for Yahshua told these same disciples, “I will make you fishers of men.” The fish have to go into the fire. It is a fire that has already been prepared ahead of time. So too must the people of God pass through fiery experiences to be purified and made ready for the coming of the Lord.

It is worthwhile to examine what the Scriptures have to say about the period known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” Following is an excerpt from the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 30:1-7
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Thus speaks Yahweh God of Israel, saying: 'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,' says Yahweh, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says Yahweh. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'" Now these are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and Judah. "For thus says Yahweh: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.’”

Note particularly the comparison to these days and a man giving birth. It seems more than coincidental that the news reported last week (on September 11th, a day of infamy) that a “man” gave birth to a baby in Germany. This transgender man was the first in Europe to give birth. See the following account.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10301862/Transgender-man-gives-birth-in-Germany.html

The prophet Jeremiah indicates that the time of Jacob’s trouble will be a worldwide event. The nations of the world who have persecuted Yahweh’s people will suffer tremendous judgments. (Read the entirety of Jeremiah chapter 30 for this information.)

During this season of anticipation of soon coming judgment, I am being led to get all things in readiness. My chief focus is upon my personal life. I have long struggled with being overweight, and the Father has dealt with me on this area of the flesh for many years. I have at times gotten down to the target weight goal the Father set for me of being 165 lbs. or less, but I have not consistently remained there. I sense an urgency to bring to completion all obedience that the Father has laid upon me. I believe the anointing we will bear in these coming days, and the fulfillment of Yahweh’s promises to His people, will be contingent upon their obedience to Him.

I am placing a focus at this time upon altering my eating habits, and bringing my life into full alignment with the revealed will of the Father. I believe we are in a final season of preparation before a great shaking comes to the earth. The promises of the Father have delayed, but the delay has been for a good purpose. These recent years have been used by the Father to perfect, purify, and instruct a remnant of His people who are destined for promotion in the days ahead.

I encourage you to press into the Father at this time. Ask Him to reveal to you if there is anything in your life that has not been brought under subjection to His will. King David prayed:

Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

The hour is late. Do not delay.

Credit to Joseph Herrin

Solar Activity Is At A 100 Year Low

Are you ready for bone chilling cold this winter?  The Old Farmer’s Almanac and other weather forecasters that rely on solar activity as a factor in their weather forecasts are projecting that this upcoming winter will be bitterly cold.  Solar activity is at a 100 year low, and even though we were supposed to be in the midst of a solar maximum this year, our sun has been eerily quiet.  So precisely what in the world is going on?  

There have been other periods throughout history when solar activity has been extraordinarily quiet, and those times have corresponded with periods of extreme cold.  For example, the “Maunder Minimum” which stretched from 1645 to 1715 corresponded with the most bitterly cold period that the earth experienced in the last 1000 years.  So could we be heading toward another “mini-ice age”?  That is a question that some scientists are now beginning to ask.

Clearly, something unusual is happening with our sun.  The following is from a Universe Today article that was posted back in July…

Our nearest star has exhibited some schizophrenic behavior thus far for 2013.

By all rights, we should be in the throes of a solar maximum, an 11-year peak where the Sun is at its most active and dappled with sunspots.

Thus far though, Solar Cycle #24 has been off to a sputtering start, and researchers that attended the meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division earlier this month are divided as to why.“Not only is this the smallest cycle we’ve seen in the space age, it’s the smallest cycle in 100 years,” NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center research scientist David Hathaway said during a recent press teleconference conducted by the Marshall Space Flight Center.

In a previous article, I noted that scientists are absolutely baffled by this.  So far, nobody can explain why this solar cycle is so weak…

The Sun is acting weird. It typically puts on a pageant of magnetic activity every 11 years for aurora watchers and sungazers alike, but this time it overslept. When it finally woke up (a year late), it gave the weakest performance in 100 years.

The good news is that this kind of thing has happened before.

The bad news is that when solar activity slows down dramatically it tends to correspond with extremely cold weather as the Times of India recently explained…

Predictions that 2013 would see an upsurge in solar activity and geomagnetic storms disrupting power grids and communications systems have proved to be a false alarm. Instead, the current peak in the solar cycle is the weakest for a century.

Subdued solar activity has prompted controversial comparisons with the Maunder Minimum, which occurred between 1645 and 1715, when a prolonged absence of sunspots and other indicators of solar activity coincided with the coldest period in the last millennium.

Certainly solar activity is just one of the factors that influences our weather and many other factors are involved as well.

But it is undeniable that during the last “Little Ice Age” in Europe there were very few sunspots…

Times of depressed solar activity seem to correspond with times of global cold. For example, during the 70-year period from 1645 to 1715, few, if any, sunspots were seen, even during expected sunspot maximums. Western Europe entered a climate period known as the “Maunder Minimum” or “Little Ice Age.” Temperatures dropped by 1.8 to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Conversely, times of increased solar activity have corresponded with global warning. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Sun was active, and the European climate was quite mild.

And the lull in solar activity that we are experiencing now is causing many,including the Old Farmer’s Almanac, to project that we have a bitterly cold winter ahead of us…

The Farmers’ Almanac is using words like “piercing cold,” “bitterly cold” and “biting cold” to describe the upcoming winter. And if its predictions are right, the first outdoor Super Bowl in years will be a messy “Storm Bowl.”

The 197-year-old publication that hits newsstands Monday predicts a winter storm will hit the Northeast around the time the Super Bowl is played at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands in New Jersey. It also predicts a colder-than-normal winter for two-thirds of the country and heavy snowfall in the Midwest, Great Lakes and New England.

“We’re using a very strong four-letter word to describe this winter, which is C-O-L-D. It’s going to be very cold,” said Sandi Duncan, managing editor.

That doesn’t sound very fun.

So has the Old Farmer’s Almanac been accurate in the past?

According to their website, they claim an 80 percent accuracy rate…

The Old Farmer’s Almanac, first published in 1792 during the first term of George Washington, has always watched the weather. Our famous long-range weather forecasts are traditionally 80 percent–accurate.

We will see what happens this year.

For North America, the Almanac is predicting that we will see “below-normal temperatures” and “above-normal snowfall”…

According to the newest edition of North America’s oldest continuously published periodical, a decline in solar activity combined with ocean-atmosphere patterns in the Pacific and Atlantic will result in below-normal temperatures and above-normal snowfall during most of the winter across much of the United States.

“This winter is shaping up to be a rough one,” says Janice Stillman, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. “Sweaters and snow shovels should be unpacked early and kept close by throughout the season. The good news is that the extra precipitation—which will fall as rain or snow depending where you are—will help with any drought issues left over from the summer.”

So if you like winter weather, it looks like this will be a good year for you.

For the rest of us, we will just have to wear lots of warm clothing and stay inside a lot.

But of course the much bigger story is what this could mean for the years ahead.

Are we now moving into a time similar to the “Maunder Minimum” when solar activity will be very low and global temperatures will decrease?

Could it be possible that Matthew Penn of the National Solar Observatoryand others are correct and that we are heading into a new mini-ice age?

Let’s certainly hope not, but without a doubt something very strange is happening to our sun.

Only time will tell what that means for our future.

Credit to The Truth

Heavy Rains Kill 36 in Vietnam, Cambodia

Heavy monsoon rains exacerbated by Typhoon Usagi have pounded parts of Vietnam and Cambodia killing at least 36 people, authorities said Tuesday, with many swept to their deaths in floods.

Despite not being directly hit by Usagi — the world’s most powerful storm this year — parts of Southeast Asia have seen a worsening of their annual rainy season as the typhoon barrelled through the Philippines and China in recent days.

Central and southern Vietnam have been hit by bad weather since early last week, inundating fields and villages, with 24 dead and six missing, according to a 10-day update from the country’s flood and storm control department.

In Cambodia, officials said low pressure from the typhoon caused heavy rains, swelling the Mekong river with floods sweeping across several provinces.

At least 12 people, including six children under six years old, have died in the deluge, said Keo Vy of the National Disaster Management Committee.

Typhoon Usagi killed at least two people in the Philippines and some 25 people in southern China as it swept across the region over the weekend.

Strong winds and torrential rain lashed the Chinese coast after making landfall in Guangdong province northeast of Hong Kong on Sunday evening.

As the typhoon bore down on Hong Kong, operators shut down one of the world’s busiest sea ports and nearly 450 flights were either cancelled or delayed on Sunday.

At least 18 further deaths have been reported in the Philippines in monsoon rains worsened by the typhoon, which also unleashed landslides and power outages across southern Taiwan at the weekend as it ploughed through the Luzon Strait with ferocious winds and heavy downpours.

Some 7,000 houses were inundated and more than 5,000 hectares of crops have been damaged in Vietnam, officials said, although much of the water has since receded.

Early this month, the communist country reported 21 deaths as flash floods and landslides ravaged northern mountainous areas.

Last year, more than 260 people were killed in floods in Vietnam.

Credit to Jakarta Globe

Islamic Terror Groups Are Killing Christians All Over The World

Over the past couple of days, we have witnessed some absolutely horrific examples of Islamic terror groups specifically targeting Christians and those from other non-Muslim religions.  Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon.  Radical Islamic jihadists are constantly attacking churches and slaughtering Christians all over the planet. 

 The recent events in Pakistan, Kenya and Egypt may have taken this persecution to a new level, but this is just the continuation of a trend that has been building for years.  Unfortunately, Barack Obama does not seem too concerned about Islamic terrorism.  

In fact, he specifically directed that “all references to Islam” be removed from terrorism training materials that the federal government uses.  If that wasn’t bad enough, now Obama is actually supplying weapons to the radical jihadist rebels that want to take over Syria, and he appears to be very ready to use the U.S. military to attack the Assad regime directly if “negotiations” with the Syrian government fail.  In essence, Obama wants the United States to be allies with psychotic jihadists that have the exact same radical philosophy that those who are killing Christians in Pakistan, Kenya and Egypt have.

Is Obama insane?

In Pakistan, the Taliban (a very close cousin of al-Qaeda) has already claimed responsibility for the worst church bombing in the history of that nation.  The attack left 85 dead and nearly twice that many wounded.  To say that this was a horrific attack would be a massive understatement…

The attack on All Saints Church, which also wounded 140 people, underlines the threat posed by the Pakistani Taliban at a time when the government is seeking a peace deal with the militants.

The attack occurred as hundreds of worshippers were coming out of the church in the city’s Kohati Gate district after services to get a free meal of rice.

‘There were blasts and there was hell for all of us,’ said Nazir John, who was at the church with at least 400 other worshippers.

‘When I got my senses back, I found nothing but smoke, dust, blood and screaming people. I saw severed body parts and blood all around.’

Who would do something like that?

In Kenya, a team of Al-Shabaab gunmen stormed a shopping mall in Nairobi and murdered at least 62 people.

What makes that attack even more disturbing is that the terrorists specifically targeted non-Muslims.

In fact, hostages were given a test by the terrorists to determine whether or not they were actually Muslims.  Those that failed the test were executed…

The reason the Islamists targeted the Westgate shopping centre was clear from the moment they stormed inside brandishing AK-47s and grenades. Anyone who was not a Muslim, or could not prove that they were, was immediately targeted. Reports from separate floors of the building in the first hours of the assault told how the attackers, speaking rough Swahili and English, shouted at Muslims to identify themselves.

Many people came forward. They were ordered to speak in Arabic, or to recite a verse from the Koran, or to name the Prophet Mohammed’s mother. Those who passed this test were allowed to flee. Those that did not were executed, including children.

You can find some very graphic pictures of the attack right here.

Are you starting to understand why I use words such as “psychotic” to describe these terrorists?

And all over the world these radical jihadists seem to have a particular hatred for Christians.

Just consider what has happened in Egypt over the past few months.  After the Egyptian military removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power, radical Islamists responded by destroying more than 80 Christian churches…

On July 4th, the day after the Egyptian military liberated the nation of Muslim Brotherhood rule, Christian Copts were immediately scapegoated and targeted.  All Islamist leaders—from Brotherhood supreme leader Muhammad Badi, to Egyptian-born al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri, to top Sunni cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi—made it a point to single out Egypt’s Copts as being especially instrumental in the ousting of former Islamist president Morsi, ushering in a month of pogroms against the nation’s Christian minority.

Among other things in July, unprecedented numbers of Christian churches were attacked, plundered, desecrated, and torched.  According to one Egyptian human rights lawyer, “82 churches, many of which were from the 5th century, were attacked by pro-Morsi supporters in just two days.” Al-Qaeda’s flag was raised above some churches; anti-Christian graffiti littered the sides of other churches and Coptic homes.  Due to extreme anti-Christian sentiment, many churches ceased holding worship services until recently.  Dozens of Coptic homes and businesses were also attacked, looted, and torched.

Should the U.S. military ever be used to help radial jihadists that would commit such horrible acts?

That is such a crazy question that you would think that nobody would ever have to ask such a thing.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what Barack Obama wants to do.

In Syria, radical jihadists are doing all of the same kinds of things that you just read about.  As I have written about on numerous occasions, the Syrian “rebels” are savagely killing Christians, repeatedly using chemical weapons anddismembering little girls.

In a previous article, I included eyewitness testimony from a Christian missionary who explained what happens when the “rebels” take over a Christian area in Syria…

“The Christian residents were offered four choices: 1. renounce the ‘idolatry’ of Christianity and convert to Islam; 2. pay a heavy tribute to the Muslims for the privilege of keeping their heads and their Christian faith (this tribute is known as jizya); 3. be killed; 4. flee for their lives, leaving all their belongings behind.”

And now this sick philosophy is even rubbing off on little children.  In the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn, children were recently filmed pretending to behead their enemies while shouting Allahu Akbar.

What kind of place will Syria become if Obama is successful and the Assad regime is removed?

Will it become a jihadist paradise where Christians and all other non-Muslims are systematically exiled or exterminated?

These jihadists are a cancer, and Obama seems absolutely determined to help that cancer spread in Syria and beyond.

What in the world is he thinking?

Government shutdown could come in only five days

Gold shipment disappears from Air France flight to Zurich

Some 44 kilograms of gold bars from an overall cargo of 300 kg of precious metal have mysteriously disappeared from a flight bound to Zurich. An insider operation could be to blame for a €1.5 million heist at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.

France's national aviation police (GTA) is now investigating how and by whom the gold was stolen from the aircraft, after Air France said it had filed a complaint with police.

"We hope the investigations will allow us to quickly determine the sequence of events and identify those responsible," a spokesman for Air France was quoted by the Local.

Only seven of nine cases handled by the American secure transportation company Brink's reached the final destination in Switzerland onboard the Air France flight last Thursday.

“We are investigating the matter, and especially the possibility that this was an inside job,” a source familiar with the investigation told the British Daily Mail.

Brink's, which provided for the cargo’s security, nonetheless denied being responsible, saying "it was not in charge of the transport and the packages were not under its responsibility when they disappeared,"writes the Local.

The firm clarified that their responsibility "was limited to ensure the safety of the consignment during its transit at Charles de Gaulle.”


AFP Photo/Joel Saget

News of the heist comes on the heels of another scandal for the carrier, when earlier this month a record-breaking 1.3-ton, €200 million worth of cocaine was discovered being transported by Air France from South America.

The flight from Caracas, Venezuela to Paris contained 30 suitcases of narcotics onboard and has led to the arrests of nine suspects, including three Venezuelan security agents and three British nationals following the cargo’s discovery on September 11th. The other three suspects were Italian nationals.

During that scandal Venezuelan Interior Minister was quick to suggest an inside Air France job.

"How can the cocaine shipment reach France and it gets taken out without going through the normal controls?" Miguel Rodriguez asked.

The security firm Brink's had also been in the spotlight earlier this year after approximately €38 million worth of diamonds were stolen in a Brussels airport. Not a single shot was fired during the fifteen minute heist, carried out by eight suspects armed with AK-47s who drove two vehicles straight to the airplane where the gems were being transferred from a Brink's armored van.

Credit to RT

Here We Go Again: State Department Issues New Worldwide Terrorist Threat Alert

The last time the State Department issued a comparable worldwide terror alert, the majority of US embassies in the Muslim world were promptly evacuated and a few weeks later the Syrian false flag affair was unleashed upon the world. One wonders just what provocation John Kerry has in mind this time.

• STATE DEPT ISSUES NEW WORLWIDE CAUTION ON TERRORIST THREATS
• STATE DEPT SAYS AMERICANS MUST BE VIGILANT WHILE TRAVELING
• STATE DEPT DETAILS POSSIBLE THREATS IN EUROPE, ASIA, AFRICA

At least the evil terrorizers have not infiltrated the Arctic circle yet. As for the always convenient scapegoat:

• STATE DEPT SAYS AL-QAEDA PLOTTING IN MULTIPLE REGIONS

They sure are: mostly in Syria, but luckily they are now armed with US weapons.

In the meantime, be afraid. Be very afraid.

* * *

Full Statement:

Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC  20520

Worldwide Caution

September 25, 2013

The Department of State has issued this Worldwide Caution to update information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world.  U.S. citizens are reminded to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.  This replaces the Worldwide Caution dated February 19, 2013, to provide updated information on security threats and terrorist activities worldwide.

The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas.  Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida, its affiliated organizations, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.  These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings,  and bombings.

Extremists may elect to use conventional or non-conventional weapons, and target both official and private interests.  Examples of such targets include high-profile sporting events, residential areas, business offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, public areas, shopping malls, and other tourist destinations both in the United States and abroad where U.S. citizens gather in large numbers, including during holidays.

In early August 2013, the Department of State instructed certain U.S. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations August 4 through August 10 because of security information received.  The U.S. government took these precautionary steps out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may have planned to visit our installations.

U.S. citizens are reminded of the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.  Extremists have targeted and attempted attacks on subway and rail systems, aviation, and maritime services.  In the past, these types of attacks have occurred in cities such as Moscow, London, Madrid, Glasgow, and New York City.

EUROPE: Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida, its affiliated organizations, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. and Western interests in Europe.  Additionally, there is a continuing threat in Europe from unaffiliated persons planning attacks inspired by major terrorist organizations but conducted on an individual basis.  On February 1, 2013, an individual detonated a bomb at a side entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, killing one Embassy guard and injuring others.  The Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Partisi/Cephesi or DHKP/C) claimed responsibility on its website for the attack.  The DHKP/C has stated its intention to commit further attacks against the United States, NATO, and Turkey.  In May 2013, in London, two Islamic extremits, unaffiliated with any group, killed a British soldier.  The reported reason for the attack was to avenge the deaths of Muslims killed by British soldiers.  European governments have taken action to guard against terrorist attacks, and some have made official declarations regarding heightened threat conditions.  In the past several years, organized extremist attacks have been planned or carried out in various European countries.  On February 5, the Bulgarian government announced its judgment that Hezbollah was responsible for a July 2012 terrorist attack in Burgas which resulted in the deaths of five tourists and a bus driver.

MIDDLE EAST and NORTH AFRICA: Credible information indicates terrorist groups also seek to continue attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East and North Africa.  The U.S. government remains highly concerned about possible attacks against U.S. citizens, facilities, businesses, and perceived U.S. and Western interests.  Terrorist organizations continue to be active in Yemen, including al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).     Security threat levels remain high in Yemen due to terrorist activities and civil unrest.  In September 2012, a mob of Yemeni protestors attacked the U.S. Embassy compound. 

U.S. citizens have also been the targets of numerous terrorist attacks in Lebanon in the past (though none recently) and the threat of anti-Western terrorist activity continues to exist there.  There are a number of extremist groups operating in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, a group designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.  Iraq is experiencing levels of violence not seen since 2007, and al-Qa'ida in Iraq is increasingly resurgent.  Although U.S. interests have not been targeted directly, the threat of attacks against U.S. citizens, including kidnapping and terrorist violence, continues, even in Baghdad's International Zone.  Bahrain continues to see bouts of sectarian violence, with Shi'a insurgents conducting IED attacks against Bahraini government and security facilities.  Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its affiliates are active throughout North Africa. 

In Algeria, terrorists sporadically attack Westerners and Algerian government targets, particularly in the Kabylie region, and near Algeria's borders with Libya and Mali.  In January 2013, terrorists attacked a natural gas facility at In Amenas resulting in the deaths of dozens, including three U.S. citizens.  Terrorists have also targeted oil processing plants in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.  The In Amenas attack was staged from southern Libya, which has become a haven for regional terrorist organizations that present a threat to U.S. interests in Tripoli.  Libyan security is largely provided by militias that occasionally fight one another, and that have been unable to protect U.S. persons from past attacks, such as the September 2012 attack against the U.S. Temporary Mission Facility in Benghazi that led to the deaths of four U.S. citizens, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya.  Some elements in Iran remain hostile to the United States.  U.S. citizens should remain cautious and be aware that there may be a more aggressive focus by the Iranian government on terrorist activity against U.S citizens.  Continuing political and social unrest in Egypt has led to large demonstrations that have turned violent.  Westerners and U.S. citizens have occasionally been caught in the middle of clashes and demonstrations.  On June 28, a U.S. citizen was killed during a demonstration in Alexandria.  On May 9, a private U.S. citizen was attacked with a knife outside the U.S. Embassy after being asked whether he was an American.  Political and social unrest in Tunisia has also led to large demonstrations that occasionally turn violent.  In September 2012, a large group of demonstrators breached the U.S. Embassy compound in Tunis, causing significant damage.

No part of Syria should be considered immune from violence, and throughout the country the potential exists for unpredictable and hostile acts, including kidnappings, sniper assaults, large and small-scale bombings, and chemical attacks, as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture. [ZH: courtesy of the CIA?] The conflict in Syria has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths with many thousands wounded and over one million displaced persons.

AFRICA: A number of al-Qa'ida operatives and other extremists are believed to be operating in and around Africa.  In February 2012, the emir of U.S-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization al-Shabaab and al-Qa'ida's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, announced the alliance of the two organizations.  Al-Shabaab has taken credit for the attack on the shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya on September 21, 2013, which claimed the lives of over 60 people and injured over a hundred more, including U.S. citizens.  Al-Shabaab assassinations, suicide bombings, hostage taking, and indiscriminate attacks in civilian-populated areas are also frequent in Somalia.  Terrorist operatives and armed groups in Somalia have demonstrated their intent to attack Somali authorities, the African Union Mission in Somalia, and non-military targets such as international donor offices and humanitarian assistance providers. 

Additionally, the terrorist group al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has declared its intention to attack Western targets throughout the Sahel (an area that stretches across the African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea to include Senegal, Mali, Algeria, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Eritrea).  It has claimed responsibility for kidnappings, attempted kidnappings, and the murder of several Westerners throughout the region, including southern Algeria.  AQIM-related threats against Westerners in Mali and elsewhere increased following the initiation of the U.S.-supported, French-led intervention in northern and central Mali, where the security environment remains fluid.  In neighboring Niger, terrorists formerly associated with AQIM conducted suicide attacks targeting a French mining facility and a Nigerien military compound in Agadez in late May.  The loosely organized group of factions known as Boko Haram continues to carry out significant improvised explosive device and suicide bombings in northern Nigeria, mainly targeting government forces and innocent civilians; attacks have continued at a high rate since their attack on the UN building in the capital of Abuja in 2011.  Boko Haram and splinter group Ansaru have also claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of several Western workers and tourists, both in northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon; Ansaru has murdered virtually all of its hostages in the face of real or perceived rescue attempts, while Boko Haram allegedly received a large ransom payment for the release of a French family abducted near a tourist park in northern Cameroon.  In 2013, extremists have also targeted both Nigerians and foreign nationals involved in polio eradication efforts in northern Nigeria.  Extremists attacked a school in northeast Nigeria, killing over 40 students, and have called for further attacks on educational institutions.  Several agencies that have partnered with the U.S. government in the field of public health development in northern Nigeria have curtailed their activities in response to these threats.  The president of Nigeria declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states in response to activities of extremist groups.

U.S. citizens considering travel by sea near the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, or in the southern Red Sea should exercise extreme caution, as there have been armed attacks, robberies, and kidnappings for ransom by pirates.  The threat of hijacking to merchant vessels continues to exist in Somali territorial waters and as far as 1,000 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, Yemen, and Kenya in international waters.  There has also been a recent rise in piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, including hijackings.

U.S. government maritime authorities advise mariners to avoid the port of Mogadishu and to remain at least 200 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.  In addition, when transiting around the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea, or in the Red Sea, it is strongly recommended that vessels travel in convoys and maintain good communications at all times.  U.S. citizens traveling on commercial passenger vessels should consult with the shipping or cruise ship company regarding precautions that will be taken to avoid hijacking incidents.  Commercial vessels should review the Department of Transportation Maritime Administration's Horn of Africa Piracy page for information on maritime advisories, self-protection measures, and naval forces in the region.  Review our International Maritime Piracy Fact Sheet<http://www.state.gov/t/pm/rls/fs/2013/207651.htm> for information on piracy in the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.

SOUTH ASIA: The U.S. government continues to receive information that terrorist groups in South Asia may also be planning attacks in the region, possibly against U.S. government facilities, U.S. citizens, or U.S. interests.  The presence of al-Qa'ida, Taliban elements, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, indigenous sectarian groups, and other terror organizations, many of which are on the U.S. government's list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, poses a potential danger to U.S. citizens in the region.  Terrorists and their sympathizers have demonstrated their willingness and ability to attack locations where U.S. citizens or Westerners are known to congregate or visit.  Their actions may include, but are not limited to, vehicle-borne explosive attacks, improvised explosive device attacks, assassinations, carjackings, rocket attacks, assaults, or kidnappings.

Such attacks have occurred in a number of South Asian states, including Pakistan, where a number of extremist groups continue to target U.S. and other Western citizens and interests, and Pakistani government and military/law enforcement personnel.  Suicide bombing attacks continue to occur throughout the country on a regular basis, often targeting government authorities such as police checkpoints and military installations, as well as public areas such as mosques, and shopping areas.  U.S. citizens are increasingly targeted for kidnapping.  No part of Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and throughout the country the potential exists for hostile acts, either targeted or random, against U.S. and other Western nationals at any time.  Elements of the Taliban and the al-Qa'ida terrorist network, as well as other insurgent groups hostile to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, remain active.  Insurgents continue to target various U.S. and Afghan government facilities in Kabul City, including the June 25, 2013 attack against a U.S. government facility adjacent to the Afghan Presidential Palace and U.S. Embassy.  There is an ongoing threat of kidnapping and assassination of U.. citizens and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers throughout the country.  India has experienced terrorist and insurgent activities that may affect U.S. citizens directly or indirectly.  Anti-Western terrorist groups, some of which are on the U.S. government's list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, have been active in India, including Islamist extremist groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-i-Islami, Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Indian Mujahideen, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e Tayyiba.  Terrorists have targeted public places in India frequented by Westerners, including luxury and other hotels, trains, train stations, markets, cinemas, mosques, and restaurants in large urban areas.

Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and other countries experienced civil unrest, large scale protests and demonstrations following the release of anti-Islamic videos and cartoons in September 2012.

CENTRAL ASIA: Supporters of terrorist groups such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, al-Qa'ida, the Islamic Jihad Union, and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement remain active in Central Asia.  These groups have expressed anti-U.S. sentiments and may attempt to target U.S. government interests.

Credit to Zero Hedge