The Russian Perspective: "There Will Be War In Ukraine"

With Ukrainians living in the Crimea region voting to join Russia, the West calling for sanctions (well some of the West), boots still on the ground, and markets apparently of the belief that all is well in the world once again, we thought the Russian perspective on the next steps was useful...

Via Sergei Markov of The Moscow Times,

The current crisis is not about Crimea. It is about the rights of Russian-speakers throughout Ukrainewhom the Kremlin wants to protect from violence and discrimination. Russia does not want a military intervention in Crimea and does not want to take Crimea from Ukraine.

There is a political solution to this crisis.

First, create a coalition government in Kiev composed of all parties, including those from the east and south of the country. The current government is dominated by anti-Russian extremists from western Ukraine.

Second, Ukraine needs to draft a democratic constitution that has guarantees for Ukraine's Russian-speaking population that would grant official status to the Russian language and establish the principle of federalism.

Third, presidential and parliamentary elections must be held soon. Independent election observers must play an active role in ensuring that the elections are free and fair. There is a real danger that they will be manipulated by the neo-Nazi militants who de facto seized power in a coup.

If these democratic and peaceful solutions to the crisis in Ukraine are rejected by the opposition forces that have seized power in Kiev, I am afraid that Russia will have no other choice but to revert to military means. If the junta leaders want to avoid war, they need to adopt Moscow's peaceful and democratic proposals and adhere to them.

Those currently in power in Kiev are carrying out a political strategy that is not so much pro-European as it is anti-Russian, as evidenced by the surprisingly heavy-handed tactics the U.S. and European Union  have employed in Ukraine. In the end, a minority executed a violent coup that removed the democratically elected and legitimate president of Ukraine.

The Kremlin believes that the current Ukrainian leadership will manipulate the elections planned for May 25 to install a single leader or coalition government functioning much as former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili did in Tbilisi. A "Ukrainian Saakashvili" will unleash an even more repressive campaign of intimidation against Russian-speakers, one that over several years would stoke anti-Russia hysteria among the general population.

After that, Kiev may evict Russia's Black Sea Fleet from Sevastopol and purge Crimea of any Russian influence. Ukraine could easily become a radicalized, anti-Russian state, at which point Kiev will fabricate a pretext to justify taking subversive action against Moscow. This looks especially likely considering that ruling coalition members from the neo-fascist Svoboda and Right Sector parties have already made territorial claims against Russia. They could easily send their army of activists to Russia to join local separatists and foment rebellion in the North Caucasus and other unstable regions in Russia. In addition, Russia's opposition movement will surely want to use the successful experience and technology of the Euromaidan protests and, with the help and financial support of the West, try to carry out their own revolution in Moscow. The goal: to remove President Vladimir Putin from power and install a puppet leadership that will sell Russia's strategic interests out to the West in the same way former President Boris Yeltsin did in the 1990s.

The official census puts the Russian minority in Ukraine at 16 percent of the total population, although that number was falsified. The actual number is closer to 25 percent. Surveys indicate that 45 percent of the country's population speak Russian at home, 45 percent speak Ukrainian and 10 percent speak both languages. In the most recent Gallup survey, when asked in which language they would like to be polled, 83 percent of respondents chose Russian. Taking into account the rural population in western and central Ukraine, about 75 percent of the people, probably speak Russian. Of that 75 percent, only about 10 percent are those in Kiev and a few other major cities who supported the protests. This means that only 35 percent of the population are attempting to impose its will on the remaining 65 percent, using a violent coup to achieve their goals.

Putin made the right decision: He did not to wait for that attack and took preventative measures. Many in the West say the Kremlin's reactions were paranoiac, but Germany's Jews also thought the same of leaving the country in 1934. Most of them chose to believe they were safe and remained in Germany even after Hitler came to power. The infamous Kristallnacht took place five years later, one of the first early chapters in the "Final Solution." Similarly, just four years remain until Russia's presidential election in 2018, and there is a strong risk that subversive forces within and outside Russia will try to overthrow Putin, in part using their new foothold in Ukraine.

Will there be war in Ukraine? I am afraid so. After all, the extremists who seized power in Kiev want to see a bloodbath. Only fear for their own lives might stop them from inciting such a conflict. Russia is prepared to move its forces into southern and eastern Ukraine if repressive measures are used against the Russian-speaking population or if a military intervention occurs. Russia will not annex Crimea. It has enough territory already. At the same time, however, it will also not stand by passively while Russophobic and neo-Nazi gangs hold the people of Crimea, Kharkiv and Donetsk at their mercy.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Dalai Lama Opens Senate with Prayer to 'Buddha and All Other Gods'

The Dalai Lama delivered the opening prayer in the U.S. Senate Thursday morning, noting that he is a "simple Buddhist monk--so pray to Buddha and all other gods."

He read his prayers in both English and his native tongue:

"With our thoughts, we make our world. Our mind is centered and precedes our deeds. Speak or act with a pure mind. And happiness will follow you, like a shadow that never leaves."

"May there be joy in the world, with bountiful harvest and spiritual wealth," he said, when he reverted to English. "May every good fortune come to be. And may all our wishes be fulfilled."

He concluded with what he described as his "favorite prayer." "Daily I pray this, (because) it gives me inner strength."

- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/susan-jones/dalai-lama-opens-senate-prayer-buddha-and-all-other-gods#sthash.A0vl0eVY.dpuf

Credit to CNS

Russia Starts Massive Air Defense Drills Amid Crimea Standoff

MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Western Military District has begun large-scale air defense drills at its southern testing range of Kapustin Yar on the backdrop of further escalation of tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Kapustin Yar, located some 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, will host about 3,500 troops and over 1,000 units of military hardware for about a month. The exercise will culminate with live-firing drills, involving S-300, Buk-M1 and other air defense systems.

“It is for the first time that all air defense units from the district, including coastal defenses of the Northern Fleet, have gathered in one place,” said the district’s spokesman, Col. Oleg Kochetkov.

“It is the largest-ever exercise held by air defense units of the Western Military District,” Kochetkov said, adding that the drills were part of a regular combat training cycle.

The exercise, however, coincides with further escalation of a political crisis in Ukraine that has led to the current standoff between Russia and the West over the fate of Crimea, an autonomous Ukrainian region with a majority ethnic Russian population.

Crimean authorities have refused to recognize as legitimate the new central government in Kiev, which ousted President Viktor Yanukovych late last month, and on Thursday they announced a decision to become part of Russia.

A popular vote to approve the decision will be held in Crimea on March 16.

Russia’s parliament has recently approved military intervention in Ukraine, while thousands of “local militia” allegedly under Russian command have taken control over Ukrainian military bases across Crimea in the past week.

Following these developments, the West showered Moscow with accusations of aggression and threats of sanctions while cutting off military exchanges with Russia and scrambling to bolster military cooperation within NATO.

The Pentagon announced plans on Wednesday to expand combat pilot training in Poland and to send six additional F-15C fighter jets to a NATO mission carrying out air patrols over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Patrols have been carried out on a three- to four-month rotation basis by 14 NATO states from Lithuania’s air base in Zokniai, near the northern city of Siauliai, since 2004 when the ex-Soviet republics joined the alliance.

The Estonian military said Thursday that the six US fighter jets as well as two KC-135 aerial refueling tankers landed at Zokniai, joining four US F-15s deployed there since January.




Credit to RIA Novosti

NORTH KOREAN TYRANT KIM JONG-UN TO EXECUTE 33 CHRISTIANS

Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, has called for the execution of 33 people for reportedly working as accomplices to South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook and planning to help him create 500 underground churches.

The North Korean tyrant has asserted himself by ruthlessly and brutally murdering all whom he deems a threat to his power. In August, Kim Jong-un executed by firing squad his ex-girlfriend/singer Hyon. She and eleven others in her orchestra were executed with machine guns while the families of the victims watched in horror. Also, Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his own uncle, Jang Song Thaek, in December for allegedly being a “traitor to the nation for all ages, and a despicable political careerist and trickster, human scum and worse than a dog.”

Last October, Kim Jung-wook was arrested and placed in jail for his plan to set up underground churches. Supposedly having received help from South Korea's intelligence agency, the missionary entered North Korea from China and was heading for Pyongyang.

Part of his plan was to distribute bibles, Christian instructional materials, and movies. Jung-wook supposedly said at the time of his arrest, "I was thinking of turning North Korea into a religious country, and destroying its present government and political system." In a press conference held last week, he apologized for committing "anti-state" crimes with the hope of being released from the North Korean prison cell where he is being held.



Credit to Breitbart

Major air defense exercises begin in Russia’s Western Military District

Military exercises of the Air Defense Troops in Russia’s Western Military District have gathered all district ground forces, including air defense formations of the Northern Fleet, at firing range Kapustin Yar outside the southern Russian city of Astrakhan, chief press officer of the Western Military District Colonel Oleg Kochetkov told Itar-Tass on Thursday.


“This is the most large-scale military exercise of the Air Defense Troops in the Western Military District,” he noted.

Around 3,500 specialists of the district’s army air defense systems and more than 1,000 pieces of military and special hardware were participating in the drills, Kochetkov said. Around 30 military trains were used to transfer military hardware from different Russian regions.

“Air defense forces are fulfilling missions to cover troops and the most important infrastructure sites and to rebuff air strikes of an imaginary enemy,” the army chief press officer said. “Combat crews will be operationally coordinated with tactical, technical, engineering and military medical training in the military exercises,” he noted.

He added that combat crews of air defense systems S-300, Buk M1, Osa, Strela-10, air defense gun systems Tunguska, mobile air defense systems Igla would participate in the military exercises.

Credit to Infowars

Out of the Pit

Joseph Herrin 

I thought I would take some time to get caught up on some recent news events even though I have recently started a new series of writings which I anticipate continuing for some time (the Foundations series). I had seen a news item last month regarding the National Corvette Museum near Bowling Green, Kentucky. The museum is located in Kentucky due to General Motor’s Corvette factory, the only one that produces these iconic cars, being situated half a mile away. Incredibly, a large sinkhole developed right under one of the buildings of the Museum. The building, called the Skydome, housed the rarest and most expensive cars in the Museum’s collection.



Skydome Sinkhole

The sinkhole was fully enclosed inside the building, which is a rare occurrence. I have seen news articles in the past where sinkholes have swallowed up houses. The vast majority of sinkholes occur away from buildings, however, and I have not heard of one appearing directly underneath a large public venue such as this museum.

I briefly pondered the symbolism of this event when it occurred back in mid-February. Did it stand as a symbol of the demise of America’s automotive industry? Was it a message regarding the sudden and unexpected end of life in the fast lane of America? Did it signify a collapse of the nation’s infrastructure? Was it a sign that the citizens of America are enjoying an illusion of solidity when the foundations of American society, her economy, and industry, have been eroded while the people have been sleeping?

I did not have any clarity on this and set the matter aside until I received an e-mail from a brother in Christ (thank you Carl) that provided an link to an update on this story. The recovery of these rare and expensive cars has begun this week and the first car to be recovered was a 2009 Corvettte ZR1 Blue Devil.




Blue Devil Rising from the Pit

The imagery evoked by a Devil coming forth from a pit in the earth certainly has an apocalyptic ring to it. In fact the book of Revelation, also known as The Apocalypse, includes a passage that describes locusts coming forth from a pit, and the locusts have as their king the angel of the abyss (pit) whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon.

Revelation 9:1-11
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. And he opened the bottomless pit; and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die and death flees from them. And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads, as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. And they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

Interestingly, the Scripture reference containing the names of the ruling angel of the pit is Revelation 9:11. The number 911 is associated with disaster, calamity, and emergency services. Strong’s Concordance defines Abaddon as “a destroying angel.” Similarly Apollyon is defined as “a destroyer.”

There are some interesting links to pursue here. The first I would mention is that the word “Corvette” is the name of a type of warship that is somewhat smaller than “a destroyer.” I found the following information online.

Corvette: a highly maneuverable armed escort ship that is smaller than a destroyer.

Fast naval vessel smaller than a frigate. In the 18th–19th century corvettes were three-masted ships with square rigging and carried about 20 guns on the top deck. Often used to send dispatches within a battle fleet, they also escorted merchant ships. Early U.S. corvettes won distinction in the War of 1812. They disappeared as a class after the shift to steam power in the mid-19th century, but in World War II the term was applied to small armed vessels that served as escorts for convoys. Modern corvettes, usually displacing 500–1,000 tons (454–900 metric tons) and armed with missiles, torpedoes, and machine guns, perform antisubmarine, antiaircraft, and coastal-patrol duties in small navies.
[Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corvette]



The Sa’ar 5 Corvette, Built in America for Israel

The automobile bearing this name is also small, fast, and highly maneuverable. Like modern corvettes in the navies of the world, it has a powerful engine to drive it at high speeds. These naval corvettes are instruments of warfare and destruction. They played a large role during the World Wars in protecting shipping from submarine attacks. Could the collapse of these Corvettes signify that the merchants of this world are no longer safe? There are many possible interpretations.

Whatever the significance of this sinkhole event is, destruction is certainly a part of it. Not only was the building in which the Corvettes were housed severely damaged, necessitating that it be closed to the public until very expensive repairs can be performed, but eight valuable automobiles, among the most valuable in the museum’s collection, fell into the pit. All received some damage, though the Blue Devil was in remarkably good shape when it was raised from the pit.

Another detail I would comment upon is that the automobile bearing the name Corvette is known for its powerful engine which is rated in horsepower. Horses are mentioned twice in the passage cited above from Revelation chapter 9.

And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle...

and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.

The mention of horses prepared for battle evinces a connection to another story I recently posted on the Parables Blog. 2014 is the Chinese year of the horse, and recently the Denver Broncos football team were contending for the SuperBowl title. The Broncos quite naturally have a horse as their mascot, but even more telling is that Denver, the city they are located in, has a large, blue, demonic horse statue near the entrance to Denver International Airport. This statue is of such an evil and malevolent character that locals have nicknamed it Blucifer.




Blucifer

Another local nickname for this statue is DIAblo. DIA are the initials for the airport, and the word Diablo is the Spanish word for “Devil.” This statue, like the Corvette raised from the pit, is a Blue Devil.

Another symbolic detail that I noted as I looked into this story is that the Corvette Blue Devil car was marketed alongside images of the US Navy’s Blue Angels performance aircraft. Although some may see the words Devil and Angels as being opposites, this is not true. Satan is called the Devil, and he is a fallen angel. Not all angels are holy and benevolent. Some are wicked and malevolent.


Corvette Blue Devil and USN Blue Angel

As I pondered the significance of the term “Blue Devil,” I was at once reminded of the association with Duke University. All of their sports teams for this university have a Blue Devil as their symbol.



Duke Blue Devil

I was curious to discover the origin of this school symbol, so I did some research and found that Duke University adopted this name in honor of a French Army Corp that gained renown during World War I. The Chasseurs Alpins were a mountain infantry brigade that wore blue uniforms and gained the nickname “les Diables Bleus” or “the Blue Devils.” This brigade exists to this day, and

“They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare.”
[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasseurs_Alpins]

The mention of urban warfare and its association with Blue Devils drew my attention. America’s military has been training for urban warfare for a number of years in anticipation of coming civil unrest that the powers-that-be have both foreseen and precipitated. America experienced a foretaste of the military invading their cities and confining citizens to their homes under a declaration of martial law as Constitutional rights were suspended and homes were searched without warrants in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.



Urban Warfare in America

Not more than 15 miles from where I am located, a former missile plant originally owned by Northrop has been converted to an urban warfare and disaster training facility. It is complete with a fabricated city with streets, buildings, and everything needed to train both military and police agencies in the tactics of urban warfare.

http://youtu.be/Walbkvwhvso

During the London Olympics there was also symbolism during the Illuminati inspired closing ceremonies that featured an urban landscape and beings streaming forth from an underground pit. The entire ceremony was filled with occult symbolism. We live in dark days and Christians need to be prepared spiritually, having their lives and homes set in order.

On another note, I would notify readers that I am aware of the recent scandalous embrace of Kenneth Copeland Ministries and the Harlot of Rome. I watched the 45 minute video of the service where a former member of KCM introduced a video message from Pope Francis to the ministers attending a Kenneth Copeland conference. There was great deception present in the message as people were encouraged to forget about doctrine and truth and focus entirely on “loving” God and one another. A great evil occurs when men attempt to divorce truth from love. Truth without love leads to tyranny, while love without truth leads to apostasy.

Those who have not viewed the video where the Pope presents a message to the attendees of the KCM conference, can view it here:

http://youtu.be/ehFpeVGLyxs



May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Credit to Joseph Herrin

Putin Controls the Fate of Ukraine, but Who Controls Putin?

Look, up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane, no, it’s Super Putin. He is single handedly taking on the evil bankers and winning.

According to some, Putin will singlehandedly rescue the world from the clutches of the Rothschild/Rockefeller criminal banking cartel. Putin is the modern day version of George Washington who will lead the world to the promise land while crushing the New World Order. I wish this was true, but to believe so would be to engage in the fantasy thinking of a five year old. There are no good guys, there are no bad guys. There are the banksters. They own everything and they control everything. It may be true that Putin appears in control of the world’s chessboard as evidenced by his repulsing of the planned American invasion of Syria and now he controls the high ground on regaining control of Ukraine. Putin may presently control the chessboard, but who is in control of Putin?

Putin’s Persona

Today, some are crediting Putin with paying off the Rothschild debt, kicking the banksters out of Russia and standing up to the New World Order in the same matter that the world witnessed Iceland jailing criminal bankers that had wrecked their economy. On the surface, the persona has been created that Putin is a freedom fighter against the NWO. If this is true, Putin will likely have a very short shelf life as Russia’s leader as history speaks clearly for itself on what happens to leaders who oppose the banksters.

The Fate of Those Who Say No to the Banksters

When Lincoln refused to bow down to Rothschild banking demands, he was assassinated. When McKinley refused to give the bankers the Spanish American War and he also refused to support the early attempts at establishing the Federal Reserve, he was assassinated. When JFK produced the now infamous Treasury Certificates (C Notes) which were in competition to the fiat currency of the Federal Reserve, he was assassinated. When Reagan refused to prop up Middle East terrorism as the new boogey man which was being lined up by the bankers to replace the cold war conflict which had netted the bankers hundreds of trillions dollars of profits, he was shot and barely survived.

Saddam Hussein was murdered for the “human rights violations” of associated with selling oil for Euros. OK, he did gas the Kurds, but is was Bechtel that provided the means to carry out the act.

When Libyan leader Gaddafi refused to help create an African Union currency and establish a central bank inside of the booming economy that was Libya, he was murdered for human rights violations against his people. The Libyan government provided a house to newly married couples. Gas was 14 cents per gallon. Libya had no national debt. The Rothschild/Rockefeller banksters could not tolerate a prosperous nation that they did not control through central banking. Did you know that the government paid for its citizens to go to college and paid for students to study abroad? The Libyan government provided its citizens with free health care and also paid for medical procedures to be performed in foreign countries. However, Gaddafi was taken out “for human rights violations”. Let’s be clear, he was killed because Libya was profitable and not under the control of the banksters.

Why would Putin be any different than any other leader who opposes the NWO? And even if Putin was indeed as pure as the driven snow and is standing up to the NWO, then doesn’t that mean that Putin has to go to war with Western banking interests? Doesn’t that mean that Putin would be at war with the United States? Doesn’t that also mean that Putin’s nuclear missiles would have to reign down on American citizens killing hundreds of millions? Therefore, if you support Putin, doesn’t that prove that you are suicidal? Is Putin the latest hero in the fight against the banksters? Do you want to bet your life on it?


Why Putin’s Independence Should Be Questioned



 

Did you know that Putin’s Russia controls much of the energy needs in Europe? Russia supplies 36% of German gas, 27% of Italy’s gas and 23% of France’s gas. Does any rational person think that Putin would be allowed to be the major supplier or Europe’s energy needs without express approval of the bankers? Do you not think that the bankers are not taking a cut of the profits? The Rothschild banksters could simply ban Russian exported oil and force Europe to pay higher prices to obtain their energy needs by purchasing their oil elsewhere? Until someone can explain this discrepancy in Putin’s independence from the bankers, I have to believe that he is a banker plant designed to be the controlled opposition in a contrived and coming World War III in which billions will die. Maybe Putin is an unwilling stooge in this whole scenario. However, he is a former KGB Colonel, I do not see how he would NOT know the score of the game that he is playing in. Putin supplies Europe’s energy needs and the Rothschild’s sit on the sidelines and have just let it happen? What is more likely is that the banksters are controlling both sides of the for a desired outcome.

Bankers Control Both Sides

How many times in history have the bankers controlled both sides of a conflict? Rockefeller interests control both major American political parties.

Jesus was so upset by the practices of the money changers in the temple, he tipped over tables and drove the banksters out with a whip. This was the one and only time we witness Jesus using force during his entire ministry.

All Wars Are Controlled By the Bankers

World War I was waged by 27 nations. The number of participants totaled 66 million. There were 37million casualties with seven million who were killed. Its direct costs are estimated at $210 trillion. The indirect costs of the war are estimated at $150 trillion dollars. And these figures do not include the additional billions in interest payments, veterans’ care and pensions, and similar expenses…” In WWI, we see the Rothschild/Rockefeller banking interests prolonging the conflict by at least three years. The only way that this war continued beyond 1915 was because the Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and could make up money out of thin air. This is how the bankers do it. This is how they get endless war by supplying both sides with fiat currency and promoting wars by controlling both sides of the conflict.

Many experts credit Standard Oil with giving the allies the ability to win WWII against the Nazi’s. Yet, The banksters also supported the Nazis in World War Two as Charles Higham documents in his classic book, Trading with the Enemy (1983). Higham clearly demonstrates that Rockefeller’s Standard Oil supplied oil to the Nazis. George H. W. Bush’s father, Prescott Bush was actually charged with violating the Trading with the Enemies Act in WWII, because the elder Bush was supplying aid and comfort to the Nazis. The charges were eventually dropped and the event was covered up because Bush was in charge of the USO and the damage to American morale could have been significant. Coke and IBM supplied both sides in WWII and the list goes on and on. And Super Putin is above all of this control?

Conclusion

The next part in this series will demonstrate exactly how two sides of this conflict are being created by the banksters which will ultimately plunge the world into World War III. Whether or not Super Putin is a willing participant in the plans of the banksters is irrelevant. He and the Ukrainian leadership are playing a script that was created for them in Basel. To believe otherwise, is to ignore the present facts as well as the lessons of history.

Credit to Common Sense

Newly discovered ancient manuscripts from Dead Sea Scroll caves

An archaeologist has announced a remarkable finding at the International Research Seminar, History of the Caves of Qumran, which was held in Lugano, Switzerland – nine scrolls dating back 2,000 years containing Biblical text which were found in the Qumran caves, the famous caves that yielded the Dead Sea Scrolls over seven decades ago. The scrolls were found hidden inside three leather phylacteries, pouches traditionally carried by observant Jewish men.

According to reports, the leather pouches were first pulled out of the Qumran caves in the 1950s, but were never examined or analysed until Yonatan Adler, an archaeologist from Ariel University, was working on materials from the old archaeological excavations and found the phylacteries. Using latest technology, including multispectral imaging carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), it is now possible to view the text on the ancient scrolls.

“I am very proud that in our laboratory, using the most advanced technologies, we can reconstruct the history of two thousand years ago,” said Pnina Shor, Head of the laboratory for conservation of the IAA.

Qumran was a town inhabited by an Essene community on the western shore of the Dead Sea, in the West Bank, near the ruins of Jericho. The site was built between 150 BC and 130 BC and saw various phases of occupation. The town became famous in 1947 when a Bedouin shepherd unearthed the first of nearly 900 texts, which became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.



Two Dead Sea scrolls in situ in the Qumran Caves. Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a set of approximately 930 manuscripts – 750 in Hebrew, 150 in Aramaic and a small number in Greek – written on animal-skin parchments which contain some of the oldest known versions of the Hebrew Bible and are said to be the greatest archaeological find in history. The scrolls have been dated from the late third century BC to the first century AD and were discovered in a series of 11 caves near Qumran in the years 1947-1956.

The ancient and priceless texts have been dubbed "the academic scandal of the 20th century" because of the long delay in publication, which many have claimed is due to the controversial nature of its contents. The manuscripts shed unprecedented light on Judaism around the turn of the era, at the time when Christianity was born.

Only 20% of the texts were published upon their discovery; the other 80% remained locked away in a secret vault at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem for about 35 years, causing fury among archaeologists.

The nine ‘newly found’ documents are from caves 4 and 5 and were excavated in 1952 by the archaeologist Roland de Vaux. Considering the academic scandal concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls, one has to wonder if they really have just been rediscovered or whether they too have been protected and hidden away. The content of the text has not yet been released.

Credit to Ancient Origins

- See more at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/newly-discovered-ancient-manuscripts-dead-sea-scroll-caves-001416#sthash.uek5eZtc.dpuf

Crimea Parliament "Accelerates Crisis", Votes To Join Russia

While the world is convinced that Putin's Tuesday press conference was an admission of blinking to the west, the reality is anything but that, and hours ago Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in what Reuters said is a "a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula." To be sure, the Crimea - which has an ethnic Russian majority - affiliation to Moscow as opposed to Kiev is well-known, yet still the sudden acceleration of moves to bring Crimea formally under Moscow's rule came as European Union leaders gathered for an emergency summit to seek ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation. And now all Putin has to do is sit back and say the people have spoken and without spilling a drop of blood has effectively split the country in two parts, with the entire east of Ukraine, where pro-Russian sentiment also runs high - sure to follow Crimea. Just as we said from the very beginning.

From Reuters:

The Crimean parliament voted unanimously "to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation". The vice premier of Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea military base in Sevastopol, said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16. The announcement, which diplomats said could not have been made without Russian President Vladimir Putin's approval, raised the stakes in the most serious east-west confrontation since the end of the Cold War.

Far from seeking a diplomatic way out, Putin appears to have chosen to create facts on the ground before the West can agree on more than token action against him.

EU leaders had been set to warn but not sanction Russia over its military intervention after Moscow rebuffed Western diplomatic efforts to persuade it to pull forces in Crimea, with a population of about 2 million, back to their bases. It was not immediately clear what impact the Crimean moves would have.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a Twitter message: "We stand by a united and inclusive #Ukraine."

French President Francois Hollande told reporters on arrival at the summit: "There will be the strongest possible pressure on Russia to begin lowering the tension and in the pressure there is, of course, eventual recourse to sanctions."

To be sure, the new Kiev government - which may or may not have killed its own citizens in order to rise to power while blaming the atrocities on Yanukovich as described yesterday - has responded in kind to how Putin views them, and declared the referendum illegal and opened a criminal investigation against Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Askyonov, who was appointed by the region's parliament last week. The Ukrainian government does not recognise his authority or that of the parliament. Still, it is by now far too late for Kiev to enforce its will in Crimea.

In the meantime, and confirming that Putin has all the cards, EU leaders had been set to warn but not sanction Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine after Moscow rebuffed Western diplomatic efforts to persuade it to pull forces in Crimea back to their bases. According to EU sources the leaders gathered in Brussels delayed the discussion on sanctions to Russia to a new meeting in two weeks. As we stated yesterday, due to stern German industrial lobby objection, Europe will never implement full blown sanctions and at best will stick to some optical wristslap which has no real adverse impact on Russia.

But back to the Crimea, where a parliament official said voters will be asked two questions: should Crimea be part of the Russian Federation and should Crimea return to an earlier constitution (1992) that gave the region more autonomy?

"If there weren't constant threats from the current illegal Ukrainian authorities, maybe we would have taken a different path," deputy parliament speaker Sergei Tsekov told reporters outside the parliament building in Crimea's main city of Simferopol.

"I think there was an annexation of Crimea by Ukraine, if we are going to call things by their name. Because of this mood and feeling we took the decision to join Russia. I think we will feel much more comfortable there."

All the while, Europe is engaged in idiotic meetings and summits, spearheaded by John Kerry, who was quick to point out how constructive the meeting has been. Perhaps it would have been more so if Russia had participated:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov refused to meet his new Ukrainian counterpart or to launch a "contact group" to seek a solution to the crisis at talks in Paris on Wednesday despite arm-twisting by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European colleagues. The two men will meet again in Rome on Thursday.

Tension was high in Crimea after a senior United Nations envoy was surrounded by a pro-Russian crowd, threatened and forced to get back on his plane and leave the country on Wednesday.

The EU summit in Brussels seemed unlikely to adopt more than symbolic measures against Europe's biggest gas supplier, because neither industrial powerhouse Germany nor financial centre Britain is keen to start down that road.

The short, informal EU summit will mostly be dedicated to displaying support for Ukraine's new pro-Western government, represented by Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, who will attend even though Kiev is neither an EU member nor a recognised candidate for membership.

After meeting European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Yatseniuk appealed to Russia to respond to mediation efforts.

After a day of high-stakes diplomacy in Paris on Wednesday, Lavrov refused to talk to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchitsya, whose new government is not recognised by Moscow.

As he left the French Foreign Ministry, Lavrov was asked if he had met his Ukrainian counterpart. "Who is that?" the Russian minister asked.

He stuck to Putin's line - ridiculed by the West - that Moscow does not command the troops without national insignia which have taken control of Crimea, besieging Ukrainian forces, and hence cannot order them back to bases.

Kerry said afterwards he had never expected to get Lavrov and Deshchitsya into the same room right away, but diplomats said France and Germany had tried to achieve that.

Western diplomats said there was still hope that once Lavrov had reported back to Putin, Russia would accept the idea of a "contact group" involving both Moscow and Kiev as well as the United States and European powers to seek a solution.

Keep hoping. In the meantime, with each passing day, Putin consolidates his new territory even as the west dithers, Europe is unable to obtain the bailout loans it has promised Ukraine, and Kerry keeps talking.

Credit to Zero Hedge

The Globalist's Chessboard

Putin Now Directly Threatening Economic Attack On The U.S.

US Sends F-15s to Poland

Following the dust up in Ukraine the United States has announced it will send warplanes to Poland and expand NATO’s air patrols over Baltic countries.

Currently there are four F-15 fighter jets on patrol. The Pentagon will send an additional six and also one KC-135 aerial refueling tanker. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“This morning the Defense Department is pursuing measures to support our allies,” Pentagon boss Chuck Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said it is “time for all of us to stand with Ukrainian people in support of their territorial integrity.”

The U.S. has suspended military cooperation with Russia. All scheduled training exercises and other exchanges have been cancelled.

Currently there are four F-15 fighter jets on patrol. The Pentagon will send an additional six and also one KC-135 aerial refueling tanker.

The Defense Department collaborates with Poland on aviation training with F-16s and C-130 transport planes. Officials say they may add more aircraft and personnel to the mission.

Poland, a former Soviet satellite state, is closely aligned with the United States. It borders the Russian exclave Kaliningrad in the north and Ukraine to the southeast.

“Traditionally, Polish security policies are strongly oriented towards the US. Poland constantly tries to underline its special relationship with Washington,” Otfried Nassauer, head of the Berlin-based Information Center for Transatlantic Security, told Deutsche Welle.

In December, Russia deployed Iskander missiles within a hundred kilometers of the Kaliningrad exclave. In response to a question about the missiles, Russian President Vladimir Putin said putting Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad would be a logical response to American plans to build a missile defense system in Europe.

The United States decided against placing a European Interceptor site in Poland and the Czech Republic following opposition to the plan.

The United States initially said the missiles were intended to protect against future missile plans by Iran. It was noted at the time Central Europe is beyond the range of Iranian missiles such as the Shahab-6.

Credit to Infowars