Iraq militants 'turning back clock' in captured Mosul

Look what Daniel said about the Antichrist:


Daniel 7:25

New King James Version (NKJV)

25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute[a] the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.


Baghdad (AFP) - In the two weeks since it was seized by Sunni militants, some residents of the northern Iraq city of Mosul feel the clock has been turned back hundreds of years.

The militants, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group, have begun imposing an extreme interpretation of Islamic law in the days since they took the city, residents reached by telephone told AFP.

"These militants will return us and our country hundreds of years backwards, and their laws are the opposite of the laws of human rights and international laws," said Umm Mohammed, a 35-year-old teacher.

"We live in continuous fear of being subjected to new pressures," she said. "We are afraid of being prevented from working and contributing to building the community."

The city, known before 2003 for its historic sites and parks and in later years as a hub for deadly violence, fell on June 10 to the militants, who subsequently overran surrounding Nineveh province and swathes of other territory.

Security forces in Mosul, a city of some two million people before the offensive, wilted in the face of the onslaught, in some cases abandoning uniforms and even vehicles in their haste to flee.



Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in A …

After seizing control, gunmen declared Nineveh a part of their Islamic state and issued a document outlining new rules.

The 16-point document announced the prohibition of the selling and consumption of alcohol and drugs as well as smoking, and forbade gatherings and carrying weapons.

Women are to wear non-revealing clothes and keep to their homes, while "shrines" are to be destroyed.

All depictions of people are considered idolatrous under the militants' extreme interpretation of Islam, and gunmen have removed various statues from the city in recent days, including some depicting famous poets.




Iraqi military kit litters the ground close to the Kukjali Iraqi Army checkpoint, some 10km of east …

Abu Ramzi, one of Mosul's Christians who did not flee the city, said militants destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary in front of a church.

"We have not received any threat from any side yet," Abu Ramzi said. "We will not leave our houses and city even if they slaughter us."

The militants also distributed a document to mosques in the city ordering that they not make or publish any statement not approved by ISIL, and designated a specific mosque for the acceptance of the "repentance of apostates".

ISIL has also appointed representatives for different areas of the city who are to conduct a survey of its residents.

One resident who fled said a neighbour told him that gunmen came to check empty houses in the area and find out who owns them.



Iraqi families fleeing violence in the northern Nineveh province gather at a Kurdish checkpoint in A …

"They asked about my house, my (religious) sect and my phone number," he said.

The gunmen left a message that he had two days to return and renounce his Shiite faith, or the house would be burned.

Militants are deployed in most areas of Mosul, some on foot and others moving either in civilian vehicles or those captured from security forces when they withdrew, one resident said.

Some wear civilian clothes, while others dress in military uniforms or black.

The militants, some of whom mask their faces, are armed with a variety of weapons, including Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols.

There is a major electricity shortage in the city, and fuel is also in short supply, with hundreds of people waiting for hours at petrol stations to fuel their cars and trucks.

But not all residents of Mosul view the militants in a negative light.

"The gunmen in Mosul are decent people, they are treating the residents well," said Umm Abdullah, a woman who was among half a million people who fled the city in the wake of the militant takeover.

"We're not leaving because of them, we're leaving because the government is bombing and has cut the electricity and water in Mosul," she said.

"To be honest, I'm happy they took control of Mosul. I see them as rebels, not gunmen, and I think they will make the city better."

But another resident, Abu Ali, 40, said that the city has just moved from restrictions by Iraqi security forces to others by the militants, who are imposing "a new style of life on us".


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Russia's Air Force starts large-scale troop transfer in combat readiness check

© Photo: Vesti.ru


The Russian Air Force has stared large-scale airlifting of personnel and materiel in a combat readiness check for troops in the Central Military District, the Defense Ministry press service report. The combat readiness test will last from June 21 to 28. The task set by the president is to assess the military's ability to perform their duties within existing time standards over the first 24 hours, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said.

"The transfer of troops involves over 40 Antonov An-124 Ruslan, Ilyushin Il-76, Antonov An-22 and Antonov An-26 from the military aviation transport unit in Tver, Pskov, Taganrog and Orenburg air bases, which today alone will fly over 50 missions to transfer personnel and military hardware to various destinations," a ministry report says.

Personnel and equipment from detachments of the 98th air-borne division and the 31st assault brigade of Air-Borne Troops are loaded at airdromes for subsequent transfer to the Chelyabinsk region where they will take part in an exercise with combined-arms units of the Central Military District, the press service says, Interfax reports.

Putin orders Russia's Central Military personnel to prepare for combat readiness

Russian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin has ordered a comprehensive surprise combat readiness test of the entire personnel of the Central Military District, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced at a conference at the Defense Ministry on Saturday. "In line with [Putin's] orders, the Central Military District's troops and also units and garrisons deployed on its territory have been put on full combat alert since 11:00 am today," he said.

The troops will then be deployed at ranges and conduct exercises in line with their intended purpose, he said, Interfax reports.

The maneuvers will test the planning of the use of a group of forces, the movement of forces for long distances using combined transport means, and the deployment of command and logistic support systems.

Shoigu instructed Airborne Forces Commander Vladimir Shamanov to redeploy the Airborne Forces. 98th Division for 1,500 kilometers from Ivanovo to the Chelyabinsk region using military transport planes with an air drop at the Chebarkul range.

The defense minister also ordered that foreign military attaches be informed of the surprise combat readiness test.

"The return of the forces to their permanent stationing bases must be completed by July 1," he said.

"The Air Forces commander [must] establish control over actions of the Air Forces and Air Defense Forces 2nd command during their redeployment to operational airfields and performance of combat training tasks, including the practicing of bomb-dropping and aerial refueling," the defense minister said.

Shoigu ordered that reports on the course of the maneuvers be presented to him on a daily basis. He stressed particularly that proper safety precautions be taken and safekeeping of weapons and ammunition be ensured.

Over 65,000 troops, 5,500 combat vehicles to participate in Russian combat readiness test

Over 65,000 military servicemen and about 5,500 items of weapons and military hardware will be involved in an ongoing comprehensive surprise combat readiness test of the Russian Central Military District forces, says Valery Gerasimov, the chief of staff of the Russian armed forces.

"Over 65,000 troops, about 5,500 weapon units and vehicles, over 180 planes, and about 60 helicopters will be involved in the test," Gerasimov said at a conference with the Russian Defense Ministry command staff on Saturday.

The maneuvers are designed to test the training level of the troops in performing their duties through shooting practice, control exercises, the use of aircraft and airborne drops, Gerasimov said, Interfax reports
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_06_22/Russias-Air-Force-starts-large-scale-transfer-of-forces-as-part-of-check-of-combat-readiness-Defense-Ministry-9830/

Credit to Voice of Russia

The British jets intercepted seven Russian military aircraft

Britain's Ministry of Defence said this week it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets after four separate groups of aircraft were detected in international airspace near the Baltics by NATO air defenses. The British jets intercepted seven Russian military aircraft that, as Reuters reports, did not file a flight plan and did not use their transponders, making them invisible to civilian air traffic control and a safety hazard to commercial air traffic. "The Russian aircraft were monitored by the RAF Typhoons and escorted on their way," noted the ministry. This follows an event last Thursday when Latvia said NATO fighters had scrambled a record four times after a total of 16 Russian military planes were spotted close to the country’s air space.

As Reuters reports,

Britain said on Wednesday it had scrambled Typhoon fighter jets to intercept seven Russian military aircraft flying near the Baltic states, as tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine remained high.

A NATO official said the Russian aircraft were armed and in the vicinity of NATO airspace.

They did not file a flight plan and did not use their transponders, making them invisible to civilian air traffic control and a safety hazard to commercial air traffic, which was why NATO had intercepted them, he said.

Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday it had launched the Typhoons on Tuesday after four separate groups of aircraft were detected in international airspace near the Baltics by NATO air defences.

It said the aircraft had been identified as a Russian Tupolev Tu-22 bomber, four Sukhoi Su-27 fighters, one Beriev A-50 early warning aircraft, and an Antonov An-26 transport aircraft.

They appeared to be carrying out routine training, it said.

"The Russian aircraft were monitored by the RAF Typhoons and escorted on their way," the ministry said in a statement.

NATO has been building its forces ever since the troubles began...

The alliance last month tripled the number of fighter jets based in the Baltics as part of measures to beef up its defences in eastern Europe following Russia's annexation of Crimea. Britain contributed four Typhoons to the operation.

And this is not the first time...

NATO planes patrolling the Baltics have scrambled repeatedly in the last week in response to sightings of Russian military aircraft.

Last Thursday, Latvia said NATO fighters had scrambled a record four times after a total of 16 Russian military planes were spotted close to the country’s air space.

Local news agency BNS quoted Latvia's Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma on Monday as saying that the increased activity by Russian military planes was an "intimidation tactic" and a demonstration of power by Russia. "The same tactics are used also in Ukraine and elsewhere," she said.

The incidents may have been connected to military exercises in Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad that Moscow said last week it was holding in response to drills by NATO allies in parts of eastern Europe.

But with stocks at record highs (and expected volatility at record lows), we are sure this is nothing to worry about - go back to the World Cup.

Credit to Zero Hedge

UK Bans Creationism In Schools

Schools in the United Kingdom are banned from teaching creationism following a clarification of regulations released by the UK government last week.

The new documents make plain that any school receiving public funds, which includes many church-run schools, will violate the Funding Agreement with the government if it teaches creationism as a scientifically valid alternative to the theory of evolution. In addition, schools are required to teach evolution as the current scientific consensus regarding the origin of Earth’s many species.

“The parties further recognize that the requirement on every academy and free school to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, in any case prevents the teaching of creationism as evidence based theory in any academy or free school,” the government’s new documents say.

Elsewhere, creationism is defined as “any doctrine or theory which holds that natural biological processes cannot account for the history, diversity, and complexity of life on earth and therefore rejects the scientific theory of evolution.” Such theories, the agreements say, are roundly rejected by today’s scientists.

“It does not accord with the scientific consensus or the very large body of established scientific evidence; nor does it accurately and consistently employ the scientific method, and as such it should not be presented to pupils at the Academy as a scientific theory,” the government declares.

Creationism may be brought up when studying religion, but instructors may never present it as a scientific alternative to evolution.

A 2012 poll by AngusReid found that only 17 percent of Britons believed humans were created by God in their original form within the last 10,000 years, while 69 percent believe humans arose through millions of years of evolution. The same poll found that only 30 percent of Americans believe in Darwinian evolution while 51 percent believe humans were created in the last 10,000 years.

The announcement is a win for the British Humanist Association, which has been running a “Teach Evolution, Not Creationism” campaign since 2011.

“We believe that this means that the objectives of the campaign are largely met. We congratulate the Government on its robust stance on this issue,” the organization’s spokesman Pavan Dhaliwal said in a statement.

The UK’s decisive prohibition is in stark contrast to the United States. While the Supreme Court has abolished bans on teaching evolution, as well as laws requiring that creationism be taught alongside evolution, private schools have extensive leeway in teaching science and many state legislatures have battled over laws affording varying degrees of protection to public school teachers who wish to question evolution.

Credit to Daily Caller

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/20/uk-bans-creationism-in-schools/#ixzz35L7hCZm2