A vantage point for inquiring minds and those who’ve lived faith shy of geographical or historical context. Biblical maps are enlightening for tethering us to what was and what is and understanding how small our world has become, bringing Israel and the Middle East today into sharper focus.

The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire caused people to start questioning what they thought they knew. By 392 A.D. it was the official religion of the region. As it spread across the Mediterranaen, Christianity connected with larger themes in Roman history.

Reading Historical Dates

Without going into all of the science, emporer and political changes to calendars over time – and there were a lot of them – this keeps understanding date abbreviations simple. For more information see the “More Reading” resources below:

There is no Year 0.

There is no difference between “A.D.” & “CE.” They are the same.

There is no difference between “B.C.” & “BCE.” They are the same.

B.C. – means ‘Before Christ’ and starts with Year 1

A.D.- means ‘Anno Domini’ or ‘Year of our Lord.’ This is the year of Christ’s birth and also starts with Year 1. (Commonly referred to as ‘After Death,’ obviously not correct.)

CE – a more recent term meaning ‘Common Era,’ used in place of A.D.

BCE – a more recent term meaning ‘Before Common Era,’ used in place of B.C.

Jesus in Judae (Israel) & the Roman Empire

It’s widely accepted that Jesus Christ was born 4-6 B.C., two years before the death of the Roman Empire’s Herod the Great. Scientific calculations suggest Christ was born in the month of September or October.

Christianity began in Judea about 2,000 years ago with the birth and teachings of Jesus and the disciples who followed Him. Judea was a cultural hub of cities and farms. Click the map to view the area in what we now know as current day Israel.

When Jesus taught the “new covenant” (New Testament) in Judea, Rome was under its first emperor rule. Jesus is known by Christians as the Son of God and of Man, conceived by God by immaculate conception with the virgin Mary, who married Joseph.

The Jews hated Roman rule because it was a pagan reminder of their historical oppression and it violated their faith under the Torah* (Old Testament). The Romans worshiped a number of gods and superficial idols they‘d built to those gods. That was in direct conflict with the Jewish faith, which recognized the one and only God of the Bible.

*”Torah” refers to the Five [Biblical] Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. But the word “torah” can also be used to refer to the entire Jewish bible (the body of scripture known to non-Jews as the Old Testament and to Jews as the Tanakh or Written Torah), or in its broadest sense, to the whole body of Jewish law and teachings.

The start of Christianity is recorded in accounts of the New Testament but its history began with Old Testament prophecy. There are over 300 predictions of the coming of a Jewish Messiah that are recorded in the Old Testament, spanning more than 1000 years.

Click this map to see the Jews’ exodus from Egypt through the Wilderness and into Cannan (current day Israel), their Promised Land.

Some Jews saw conforming to the Roman Empire as their only hope. Others became religious zealots developing warlike guerilla resistances against Rome. Still others withdrew into the Judean wilderness to study Jewish law and wait for the coming of their Messiah, or savior, as promised in the Old Testament.

Isa 7:14 [OT] Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel means “God with us”. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with, His people.

John 1:14 [NT] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.

Jesus was a Jew. He observed Jewish faith and was well studied in its law. Said to be a carpenter by trade (though that is questioned today), by His early thirties Jesus traveled between villages teaching in synagogues, healing people and performing miracles. His news traveled swiftly. From a young age He challenged religious leaders to repent from their self-righteous and hypocritical ways and to realize that the Kingdom of God is rooted in service and love.

Jesus taught during the Roman rule of Augustus, their first emperor from 27 B.C. through 14 A.D. He urged purification of the Jewish religion with a moral code of love, charity and humility. Christ’s teachings stirred the hearts of people and His healings grew in influence and ever-increasingly high demand as word of His message and acts spread.

These things and Jesus’ growing popularity because of them created an instability that Jewish authorities feared. The disciples were faithful men who followed Him and Jesus taught them about the “new covenant” that God was bringing to humanity, because men had fallen into so much sin they’d lost the personal relationship with God that they had in Old Testament days.

Jesus was crucified on a cross about 30 A.D., believed to be in Golgotha or “The place of a skull” just outside of Jerusalem. His followers believe he rose three days later, proving that He was the Son of God. The Christian faith, unlike any other religion, hinges on historical events. An example can be seen in the eye-witness accounts evidenced by Paul in I Corinthians 15:3-6.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

Manuscript studies point to this scripture being written within a few years after Christ’s death. Paul, born Greek, ends this passage with “most of whom are still living,” inviting people to confirm the facts for themselves. He wouldn’t have if he was trying to perpetrate a myth or fraud. It is the historical validity that gives Christians their belief and a genuine and eternal hope.

Roman Mythology & Christianity

Before the coming of Christ and Christianity the Roman Empire was “embroiled in myth,” having archeological traces of early settlements dating back to 750 B.C. The myths were based on both fiction and history in stories passed down through the ages.

Roman mythology was an emphatic state religion consisting of rituals and ceremonies. Their myths were more practical than the Greek’s but they adopted most of the Greek deities.

Every Roman god served a purpose and had an office to fill. There were “divisions of labor” between them, some presiding over births; some over bakers and some over the bakers’ ovens. Every vocation and household function had presiding gods and goddesses. This picture depicts a god tending to the wound of a solider with a Greek goddess looking on.

The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire caused people to start questioning what they thought they knew. By 392 A.D., Christianity was the official religion. As Chrsitianity spread it connected with larger themes in Roman history.

Christianity comforted social grievances in an empire marked by inequality and among the poor. Slaves, dispossessed farmers and impoverished city dwellers found hope in a religion that encouraged a goodness of morals and after-life rewards for living morally.

The Christian faith also answered cultural needs that Roman values, which stressed political goals and ethics about living in the world, did not. It brought political benefits to the Romans as their empire grew and consolidated, as well. The new faith was seen as universal, open to all, whether people followed the Jewish faith or not.

Click to enlarge this map showing the growth of the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean area; and Israel’s place within it (boxed).

Belief in Jesus spread among Jewish communities in the Middle East, the Roman Empire and beyond. When His disciples realized that Jesus was not returning to earth to set up the Kingdom of God, they fanned out to spread the news, particularly around the eastern Mediterranean area.

The predominant language of the day was Greek. Paul’s Greco-Roman culture helped to explain Christian beliefs in Greece and in Italy as well as in the Middle East. Paul essentially created Christian theology as a set of intellectual principles; and some speculate that he emphasized women’s more subordinate role to men and the dangers of sexuality in the books of the New Testament.

By the 4th Century A.D. Christian writings were the only creative cultural expression of the Roman Empire. Theologians sought to explain issues brought up by the new religion; and to relate it to ethics and Greek philosophy. Just as the Roman Empire was in decline Christianity produced complex thought and elegant language, redirecting its culture and preserving its earlier literary and philosophical achievements.

Christianity goes well beyond Rome and had more to do with opening a new era of history of the Mediterranean region than in shaping the Roman Empire.

Today’s Conflicts between the Middle East and Israel & The West

In the Bible’s Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 17, God promised Abraham that he would become “the father of many nations.” Many today aren’t familiar with the divisions hinged on that promise.

Abraham’s wife, Sarah, could not bear children so she gave to her husband her Egyptian maiden, Hagar. Hagar birthed Abraham’s son, Ishmael. Many years later Sarah gave Abraham a son named Isaac (described in the scripture below).

When dissention in the houshold grew, Hagar returned with her son to her homeland of Egpyt. By then Abraham and Sarah had located to Cannan (Israel), where they remained. Today Sarah’s descendants are Christian and Hagar’s are Muslim. Indeed Abraham was “the father of many nations.”

Genesis 17 (OT, KJV excerpted): And when Abram was ninety years old and nine the LORD appeared and said, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect and I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee and I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house [and] which is not of thy seed. And God said unto Abraham, as for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

Then Abraham fell upon his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him.

Coming: What was Constantine the Great’s role in Christianity?

“From the time of Constantine onward, the worship of the Roman Catholic Church, in its forms and ceremonies, has been more clearly identified with the paganism of Ancient Rome, than with the religion of the New Testament. The customs of pagan religion were only baptized with Christian names.”

More Reading:

Wise Geek, Bible Time, Got Questions, History of Religion, Judaism 101:Torah, BibleLight, Greek & Roman Religion, History of Christianity, Romans Empire, Cynric

Watch the comment in context below:

And Florida Congressman Allen West, never one to mince words, responded with outrage, stating his response  to the uprisings would be in the form of an “Angel of Death in the form of an American Bald Eagle,”

Read the note, posted to his Facebook page, in its entirety below:

In his speech today to the United Nations, President Obama stated six times that the attacks across the Islamic world are attributed to a silly video. Furthermore, he refused to use the words terrorist attack in referring to what occurred in Benghazi Libya at our US Consulate on the 11th anniversary of 9-11. He continues to offer up apologies instead of defending our hard earned First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. There is no message to this silly video trailer, and it is beneath the dignity and esteem of the Office of the President of the United States to mention it at all. When tolerance becomes a one way street it leads to cultural suicide. I shall not be tolerant of the intolerant. I know about the UN Resolution 1618 which would make any statement deemed by the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) “offensive’ to Islam a crime…..NOT ON MY WATCH FELLAS!

My statement to the United Nations would have been, “The future does not belong to those who attack our Embassies and Consulates and kill our Ambassadors. The Angel of Death in the form of an American Bald Eagle will visit you and wreak havoc and destruction upon your existence”

The US State Department is paying $70,000 to run a television ad in Pakistan.  The ad consists of sound bites from statements made by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the death of US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens.

The clips are reiterations by the President and Mrs. Clinton that the United States government had no involvement in creating and producing the film anti-Islam film that sparked riots, unrest, attacks, and the death of Ambassador Stevens in Benghazi, Libya last week.

The statements are unaltered clips of the President and Secretary Clinton, but they are subtitled in Urdu, the predominant language in Pakistan.

(story continues below video)

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Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman, told reporters that the intent of this commercial is to get the message to the largest possible audience in Pakistan.  Pakistan is being targeted due to the swarm of protesters that attempted to attack the US Embassy last week, but were deterred by Pakistani police forces.

“The sense was that this particular aspect of the president and the secretary’s message needed to be heard by more Pakistanis than had heard, and that this was an effective way to get that message out,” Ms. Nuland said in Washington.

The ad will air on seven networks inside Pakistan, which have an estimated audience of 90 million people.  Nuland added that these ads will not air in other countries.

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There are people who hate America.  The Obama administration is now making excuses for them.  They have apologized to them.  Obama has bowed before their kings.  In the form of foreign aid, they are still trying to bribe them with money borrowed from China.  Despite Obama’s claims that his election would change Islamist attitudes towards the U.S., the people who have hated America for many long decades still hate America.

Still, U N Ambassador Susan Rice and the entire Obama administration continues to insist that it was all due to an almost entirely unknown video: “In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.  We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to – or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo.”

The Obama foreign policy of appeasement towards those who openly desire to destroy America has failed.  In typical Obama fashion, they have chosen a scapegoat and, along with the obedient lapdogs in the “progressive” Party Pravda, carefully orchestrated a full bore propaganda campaign designed to brainwash Americans into believing their lie.

If the White House insisted that the earth is flat would Americans be expected to blindly accept that too?  Just because Obama said so?  Just because Chris Matthews, Brian Williams, George Stephanopoulos et al dutifully repeated that lie?

Is this who America wants to oversee foreign policy and initialize economic recovery?

In the past month the producer price index jumped 1.7 percent, the biggest gain in three years.  Gasoline and food prices continue to soar.  Gasoline alone rose by 13.6 percent.  The median income of American households has continued to decline, dropping to its lowest level since 1995.  2011 median income fell to $50,054, which is 4.1 per cent below the median income level when Obama took office.

Despite economists’ predictions that initial unemployment benefit claims would rise to 370,000, they rose to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the highest in two months.  Consistent with a clear and consistent pattern of deception shown since the current administration began, figures from the prior week were once again revised upwards, showing there were 2,000 more applications than what had been originally reported.  This subsequent upwards revision of unemployment claims has taken place with every report since Obama took office.

The jobless rate staying over 8 percent for more than three years is the longest since the Great Depression.  Hiring in America is not even increasing fast enough to keep up with population growth, much less change the outlook for tens of millions of Americans.  “Official” unemployment dropped from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent only because so many Americans have dropped entirely out of the labor force.  They have given up on the idea of finding work in an economy stifled and smothered by failed “progressive” economic policies.

America is not better off than it was four years ago.  In fact, at home and abroad, America is far worse off.  On all fronts, Obama’s policies have been met with abject failure.

With fifty days remaining before the November 6^th election, Americans must make a choice.

The choice is between retaining the failure of an utterly disingenuous, irresponsible, ineffective, excuse making Obama administration, and supporting the promise of a new American revival in choosing strong, honest, reliable, responsible leadership by electing Mitt Romney.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/an-untrustworthy-white-house/

It was all about the video.

So said the White House, so said the State Department, so said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice:

“Our current best assessment, based on the information that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a spontaneous – not a premeditated – response to what had transpired in Cairo.  In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.  We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people came to the embassy to – or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of challenge that was posed in Cairo.  And then as that unfolded, it seems to have been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came with heavier weapons… And it then evolved from there”.

Never mind that Libyan President Mohamed Magariaf said the attack was planned in advance.

What would people who live and work in an official capacity within Libya know about what is going on in their country?

How could Americans possibly believe that the President of Libya knows more about what is happening on the ground in Libya than do Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice or Jay Carney?

Those Americans should be ashamed of themselves.

Rather, Americans are to believe that on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks upon the United States no elements of Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood or any other Islamofascist groups within Libya, Egypt, Tunis, or the other twenty odd countries that purportedly simultaneously and spontaneously erupted into violent anti-American hatred, planned to assault American embassies, besiege American consulates, burn American flags, hoist the Al Qaeda flag over the U.S. Embassy in Egypt and ruthless murder American Citizens in cold blood.

Nobody in any of those countries planned in advance.  No groups coordinated the date, the targets, the weapons, the tactics…nope.

It was all about the video.

It was all because of a low budget privately made video posted online by a relative unknown that a slim few had heard of, much less seen.

A video which, whether the White House, the State Department or anyone else within the institutionalized “progressive” left cares to admit, falls within an American’s God given, constitutionally protected Right to free speech.

The administration of Barrack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, Jay Carney, et al are counting on enough American voters being so naive that they will blindly accept any flimsy cover story coming out of the White House.

Of course it definitely helps when everyone save for a brave few souls in the media obediently parrots the “progressive” Party line while hiding, obstructing or completely ignoring entire stories and/or pertinent facts in the process.

It is a pretty darned good bet the people buying this White House cover story concerning anti-American violence in the Middle East also swallowed the equally flimsy cover story about Fast and Furious…hook line and sinker.

Yes, the administration and like-minded members of the self-imagined, self-appointed intellectual “progressive” elite truly believe a sufficient number of Americans needed to re-elect them ARE that stupid, ignorant, sufficiently distracted or simply not paying attention.

Americans have the chance to prove them wrong on November 6, 2012.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/white-house-mid-east-attacks-not-premeditated/

On Friday, an interview with Netanyahu was published, during which he implied that Israel may not be able to rely on the U.S. claims of taking action against Iran. This is following, what some perceived, as a harsh statement made earlier in the week in which he said, “those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran do not have the moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

Recently, the Israeli PM has made requests to the U.S. to set a timetable for action against Iranian nuclear facilities, claiming that Iran is close to nuclear capability, a fact that Iran is quick to deny. He has pointed out that action now could lead to less need for force in the future. The rhetoric from the Obama administration has been a promise to keep Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon but refusal to set a timeline. Cautioning the necessity to wait, they say there is still time.

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stated “We’re watching very carefully to see what they do because it has always been more about their actions than their words.”

Comments such as that prompted Netanyahu to ask, “How long must we wait?” How long indeed? And for what action would Clinton and the administration wait? For Iran to realize nuclear capability and take military action against Israel?

Despite the obvious pressure added to U.S./Israel relations, Obama has denied a request made by the Israeli leader for a meeting when he visits the U.S. for a UN General Assembly Meeting later this month. Representatives for Obama site scheduling conflicts as the reason for denying the request. However, Obama has made time to meet with Egypt’s President and member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammad Morsi next week.

Egypt is an Obama proclaimed non-ally while Israel has been a long-standing friend and ally of the U.S.; which begs the question, with friends like the Obama administration…

American diplomatic facilities around the globe are being attacked and set fire as protest grows over everything from the Pope’s visit to Lebanon to the killing of Al-Qaida’s second-in-command. Despite the Obama administration’s condemnation of the an American-produced youtube video trailer that displays the Islamic prophet Mohammed in a negative light, the protests seem to be largely-fueled by the recent publicity the video has received. The video was released in July.

Lebanon: Protesters set a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant ablaze in protest to the Pope’s visit to Lebanon. One protester has been killed and 25 wounded in clashes with police.

Sudan: Protesters broke into the German embassy, removed the German flag and replaced it with the now-familiar black, Islamic religious flag. The embassy is now reportedly on fire. At least one protester killed.

Libya: U.S. Ambassador, staff member and two former Navy Seals killed at Consulate on 9-11 and Consulate burned down. Four people have been arrested in connection to the attack, but Libyan officials say that the suspects are not directly connected to the killings.

Yemen: Hundreds of protesters storm the U.S. embassy in San’a. One protester shot and killed by Yemeni security forces.

Iraq: Protesters in the Sadr City district of northeast Baghdad carried banners and pictures of radical Shiite and anti-American cleric Muqtada

Egypt: Egyptian security forces pushed protesters back to Tahrir square on Thursday after four days of protest at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Thursday’s protests included crowd-thrown fire bombs and rocks.

Afghanistan: An hour-long protest of the youtube video was held in the Nangarhar province. The Afghan government has indefinitely blocked the entirety of youtube to prevent further violence.

Syria: Hundreds gathered in protest of the American government’s failure to prevent the production of the youtube video and the film it portrays. Buses and cars carrying protesters are now heading to the U.S. Embassy outside of Khartoum.

India: Thousands are holding protest in the Kashmir region. Protesters are calling President Obama a “real terrorist” and chanting “Down with America. Down with Israel.” Five top separatist leaders have been put under house arrest.

Fire near/at U.S. Embassy in Tunis

Tunisia:Fire reported near U.S. Embassy in Tunis. 3 dead, 28 wounded after protesters attacked the embassy.

U.K.: American flag being burned among hundreds of protesters at American embassy in London.

Oman: Protest occurring in front of U.S. embassy.

Sinai Peninsula: U.N. Peacekeeping forces attacked by anti-American protesters.

Mauritania: U.S. Personnel told to avoid embassy and BMCI bank area due to large anti-American protest.

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In light of yesterday’s news about the death of US Ambassador to Libya, an Indianapolis suburb has had their school website hacked by a group claiming to represent the group “All Muslims Of The  World”.

The text on the website said the following:

“This breakthrough in response to the film and graphics depicting the master of the world may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”

“Coming, soon you will hear voices of our swords.”

The video to the right is the Indianapolis-based CBS affiliate’s (WISH-TV) report on this incident.

The school system released this statement:

“Brownsburg Community School Corporation believes its website was hacked earlier this evening.

District personnel and police are aggressively investigating how this happened and who is responsible.

The site in its hacked state appears to have only been visible for approximately half an hour before staff was alerted and the site taken down.

BCSC apologizes for any offensive language or information on the site and for the inconvenience of its unavailability.

The website will be up as soon as we are assured it is safe.

More information will be available as the investigation continues.”

h/t WISH-TV Channel 8

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Iran’s Gooya News uses the headline:

America’s ambassador to Libya killed in protest of anti-Islam film

Notice how a film considered incendiary by Islamists is featured within the headline.

The first paragraph of Gooya’s story speaks specifically about how the attackers, referred to as protesters, were motivated by an anti-Islamist film made by American pastor Terry Jones.

Following mention of remarks made by Libya’s Deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abvshaqvr and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the article launches into an aggressive verbal attack on Jones’ film, assailing it as an assault on the Koran and the Prophet of Muhammad.  Objections are raised to the film’s depiction of Muhammad as a child molester.  Ongoing objections concern themselves with Jewish funding of the film.

http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/2012/09/146923.php

BBC Persia headlines their report with:

The killing of America’s ambassador and three of its diplomats in Libya is confirmed

While the BBC headline manages to stay on point by reporting the killing of the American diplomats, the story follows the pattern of Gooya by blaming the attack on the Jones movie.  However, BBC largely stays focused on reporting the news event rather than assigning blame for its instigation.  It defers further comment about the movie until the end of the article, choosing rather to relay detailed statements of condemnation made by Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Libyan government.

When the BBC does mention the movie, it does so in the context of how the film is viewed in Iran.  They report that according to Iran’s government, the publishing in America of a film that insults the Prophet Muhammad is a despicable act.  “The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns blasphemy and hurting the feelings of Muslims.”  Iran then warns America: “this dangerous trend of cultural hatred and insulting the Great Nation of Islam is blasphemy”.

BBC Persia then concludes by relaying how in the United States, preventing the publication of opinions is against the principle of free speech and protected by the U.S. Constitution.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/world/2012/09/120912_l03_us_libya.shtml

Yahoo News uses its headline to focus on how Stevens was killed and his record of diplomatic service:

Chris Stevens, U.S. ambassador to Libya killed in rocket attack, served as envoy during revolution

Yahoo commits multiple paragraphs to conveying circumstances of the attack on the Libyan consul, Barrack Obama’s statement condemning the attack, and details about the diplomatic career of Chris Stevens.

Before featuring Stevens’ U.S. Embassy website bio, Yahoo describes how: “Mitt Romney condemned Tuesday’s attacks as “disgusting” and “outrageous,” but he also attacked the Obama administration for standing by a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that he claimed was an “apology” for American values”.

Romney later stated it was “disgraceful that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks”.

Wednesday morning Romney did not back down from his earlier remarks: “It’s a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values.  It’s never too early for the U.S. government to condemn attacks on Americans and defend our values. … When our grounds are being attacked, being breached, the first response of the United States must be outrage”.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/chris-stevens-us-libya-ambassador-killed-142949456.html

Only when attempting to portray Romney as politicizing events by accusing him of “attacking” the Obama administration, does Yahoo even mention Tuesday’s apology, released by the Cairo Embassy apologizing to Muslims for hurting their feelings.

Yahoo never mentions the movie.  How convenient.  When the movie is not mentioned, there is no need for Yahoo to explain away the Cairo Embassy apology.  Since Yahoo publishers chose to omit specific details, there is no need to defend the Obama administration for apologizing (again) to the Islamist world for America.  Out of sight, out of mind, right Yahoo?

An American leader would have immediately condemned Islamists attacks on American Embassies, especially on the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America.

Yahoo News, like other card carrying members of the “progressive” Party Pravda, continues to run interference for the Obama administration, and remains devoted to using their voice in the U.S. news media to ensure his re-election through selective censorship.

Surely Tim Russert is rolling in his grave.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/libya-egypt-mumbling-bumbling-and-stumbling/

US Ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens (photo: usembassy.gov)

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A Libyan official has told the Reuters news agency, ”The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them.”

When asked about the report, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told Fox News that they have no information at this time about the report.

The U.S. ambassador to Libya is J. Christopher Stevens, and he became ambassador to Libya in May 2012.

His duties as Ambassador – according to his biography on USEmbassy.gov – were defined as: “As the President’s representative, his job is to develop a strong, mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Libya.”

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Libyan Interim President Mohammed el-Megarif

UPDATE: Libyan Interim President Apologizes To U.S., and American People

Libya’s interim president, Mohammed el-Megarif, has issued an apology to the United States, and the American people, for the attacks on the US Consulate that resulted in the death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US Embassy staff.

“We extend our apology to America, the American people and the whole world,” he said.

El-Megarif called the attack “cowardly” and sent condolences to the families of those who has been killed.

The Interim President told reporters that he vows to bring to justice those responsible for the attack and murders, and that he wants relations between Libya and the US to remain close.

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President Barack Obama

UPDATE: PRESIDENT OBAMA RELEASES STATEMENT:

Statement by the President on the Attack in Benghazi

I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America’s commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives.

I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.

On a personal note, Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States. Throughout the Libyan revolution, he selflessly served our country and the Libyan people at our mission in Benghazi. As Ambassador in Tripoli, he has supported Libya’s transition to democracy. His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice. I am profoundly grateful for his service to my Administration, and deeply saddened by this loss.

The brave Americans we lost represent the extraordinary service and sacrifices that our civilians make every day around the globe. As we stand united with their families, let us now redouble our own efforts to carry their work forward.

This Post will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

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UPDATE: Statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Benghazi attack

It is with profound sadness that I share the news of the death of four American personnel in Benghazi, Libya yesterday. Among them were United States Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and Foreign Service Information Management Officer, Sean Smith. We are still making next of kin notifications for the other two individuals. Our hearts go out to all their families and colleagues.

A 21 year veteran of the Foreign Service, Ambassador Stevens died last night from injuries he sustained in the attack on our office in Benghazi.

I had the privilege of swearing in Chris for his post in Libya only a few months ago. He spoke eloquently about his passion for service, for diplomacy and for the Libyan people. This assignment was only the latest in his more than two decades of dedication to advancing closer ties with the people of the Middle East and North Africa which began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. As the conflict in Libya unfolded, Chris was one of the first Americans on the ground in Benghazi. He risked his own life to lend the Libyan people a helping hand to build the foundation for a new, free nation. He spent every day since helping to finish the work that he started. Chris was committed to advancing America’s values and interests, even when that meant putting himself in danger.

Sean Smith was a husband and a father of two, who joined the Department ten years ago. Like Chris, Sean was one of our best. Prior to arriving in Benghazi, he served in Baghdad, Pretoria, Montreal, and most recently The Hague.

All the Americans we lost in yesterday’s attacks made the ultimate sacrifice. We condemn this vicious and violent attack that took their lives, which they had committed to helping the Libyan people reach for a better future.

America’s diplomats and development experts stand on the front lines every day for our country. We are honored by the service of each and every one of them.

This Post will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

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UPDATE: ROMNEY RELEASES STATEMENT

2012 Republican Candidate for President Mitt Romney (AP)

GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has released a statement about the Libyan Embassy attack:

“I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi.  It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

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UPDATE:

Here is the film that sparked the riots and outrage in the Islamic world:

http://youtu.be/4sQPRtS2h7k

This Post will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

___

Internal government emails have been obtained that show the U.S. Treasury Department, run by Timothy Geithner, was behind those termininations.  All 20,000 of the pensions seem to have been ended strictly for the reason that those retirees did not belong to labor unions.

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/07/emails-geithner-treasury-drove-cutoff-of-non-union-delphi-workers-pensions/

Perhaps the National Labor Relations Board was too busy preparing to harass another private sector company planning to hire non-union workers to get involved.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder has yet to file any criminal charges against top Wall Street bankers with connections inside the Department of Justice or who had made political donations to the 2008 presidential campaign of the current White House occupant.

Over the years, both the Oval Office and Holder have talked tough, aggressively attacking big fat cat bankers, blaming their reckless speculation for the 2008 financial collapse.  The Government Accountability Institute has found that Holder still has not “filed a single criminal charge against any top executive of an elite financial institution.”

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/07/report-cronyism-political-donations-likely-behind-obama-holder-failure-to-charge-any-bankers-after-2008-financial-meltdown/

All talk no action.  Sound tough for the union organized OWS crowd, but do nothing to upset potential campaign donors.  The heck with credibility, the “progressive” Party Pravda will run interference for the re-election campaign.

Overseas, Iran has vowed it will not allow Assad to fall in Syria.

“Iran will never allow the resistance axis – of which Syria is an essential pillar – to break,” said Saeed Jalili, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary.  The “axis of resistance” includes Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, all of which are anti-Western and openly hostile towards Israel and the United States.

Assad reassured Jalili by saying: “The Syrian people and their government are determined to purge the country of terrorists and to fight the terrorists without respite.”

If Assad is overthrown, Iran will lose influence over Syria and a crucial link to Hezbollah.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9459321/Syria-Iran-vows-it-will-not-allow-Assad-to-fall.html

Could it be that Muslim Brotherhood influence over the White House has surreptitiously led to policies that support the creation of a regional Caliphate?  What other way is there to logically explain policies that support rebellions to overthrow some Middle Eastern dictators, but not support rebellions hostile to the Iranian regime or its allies?

With so much baggage for the White House to carry through the campaign, their “Priorities” are to have their “progressive” allies run misleading ads that attempt to tie Mitt Romney to death.

Priorities USA Action, a super PAC supporting the Oval Office is running a new ad that blames Mitt Romney for a family losing health insurance which contributed to a woman dying from cancer.

It apparently makes no difference to the “progressive” super PAC that Romney left Bain Capital years before the GST Steel bankruptcy in 2001.  In addition, the cancer casualty Ranae Soptic died in 2006, long after the GST plant had been closed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/priorities-ad-ties-mitt-romney-to-cancer-death/2012/08/07/d723d8c0-e084-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html

In another move to distract attention away from the dismal economic performance of the White House, the Oval Office occupier was overheard whispering to a top fundraiser that GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney wants to name Gen. David Petraeus as his choice for Vice President.

http://drudgereport.com/flashgp.htm

The White House was more than happy to clutter the news cycle by dismissing the Drudge Report.  Anything to keep the pathetic economic record of the White House out of the headlines will suffice.

Press Secretary Jay Carney reminded reporters to “be mindful of your sources” when asked about the Petraeus rumor.  “I can say with absolute confidence, such an assertion has never been uttered by the president.  And again be mindful of your sources” said Carney.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/white-house-disses-drudge-report-be-mindful-of-your-sources/article/2504233

And so it goes for the most open, transparent White House in American history.  They are more than happy to talk about anything but their own record.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/white-house-talk-about-anything-but-our-record/

“Four years ago, I stood before you at a time of great challenge for our nation. We were engaged in two wars.  Al Qaeda was entrenched in their safe havens in Pakistan.  Many of our alliances were frayed.  Our standing in the world had suffered.  We were in the worst recession of our lifetimes.  Around the world, some questioned whether the United States still had the capacity to lead.  Because we’re leading around the world, people have a new attitude toward America.  There’s more confidence in our leadership.  We see it everywhere we go.”

“So, four years ago, I made you a promise.  I pledged to take the fight to our enemies, and renew our leadership in the world.  As President, that’s what I’ve done.  And as you reflect on recent years, as we look ahead to the challenges we face as a nation and the leadership that’s required, you don’t just have my words, you have my deeds.  You have my track record. You have the promises I’ve made and the promises that I’ve kept,” he said.

http://tinyurl.com/czzxhck

Do the promises you’ve kept include the over $1 trillion in pending defense cuts, which will lead to Army, Air Force and Marine Corps troop levels being reduced by tens of thousands?  Does this qualify as instilling more confidence in American leadership?

Do they include an embarrassingly incoherent strategy for how to engage the Arab Spring?  Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen are now heavily influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood and Syria appears to be not far behind.

Did the promises you made include blaming Israel, not the Palestinians, for the absence of peace between them?  Are you including snubbing and humiliating Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu?

Neither Iran nor North Korea have been deterred or dissuaded from further pursuit of nuclear weapons.  They both remain belligerent towards other countries in their regions.  Are these facts included on your list of promises kept?

Does the list of confidence inspiring deeds include your decision to leave Iraq’s fate twisting in the wind by pulling out prematurely?   Does it include failing to negotiate a status-of-forces agreement with Iraqi Prime Minister al-Malik? How about leaving a power vacuum certain to delight Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s Mullahs?

Is ratification of the New START treaty with Russia, one that weakens America’s missile-defense capabilities included in your calculations?

How about Senator Dianne Feinstein stating that national security leaks came from the White House: “I think the White House has to understand that some of this is coming from its ranks. I don’t know specifically where, but I think they have to begin to understand that and do something about it.”

Is your ongoing failure to secure America’s borders, allowing illegal aliens to continue pouring into the United States while Mexican drug-cartel violence spins out of control on your list of inspirational achievements?

Are you including your decision to state a hard timeline for American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan that, if kept allows Al Qaeda and the Taliban to wait America out?

Did you include sending a bust of Winston Churchill, a gift from Britain to America as sign of solidarity with the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington back to the British Embassy?

How about your refusal back in 2010 to meet with then Prime Minister Gordon Brown after no less than five requests, further undermining America’s long time special relationship with Great Britain?

The list could go on.

It is fair to say that the White House has instilled around the world a new attitude towards the United States.  To say that it has created a climate of new confidence in American leadership is not aligned with the facts revealed by a review of the administration’s foreign policy actions.  Claims that the White House has renewed America’s leadership in the world are nothing more than wishful thinking and empty campaign rhetoric.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/a-new-attitude-yes-more-confidence-no/

Meanwhile, factory activity fell shy of expectations held by economic experts and contracted for a third straight month.  The new orders index is currently minus 6.9.  A reading below zero indicates contraction.  Two consecutive quarters of economic contraction means that after spending $878 billion taxpayer dollars on government “stimulus”, the U.S. economy will experience a double dip recession.  Of course “progressives” will insist the reason the “stimulus” spending failed is because the government did not spend enough.

Over 1.5 million older Americans have lost their homes, while millions more are in danger of losing theirs due to the unsolved, ongoing national housing crisis.  About 3.5 million older homeowners’ mortgages are underwater.  The “progressive” solution to problems caused by “progressive” government interference in the U.S. housing market?  Have the government refinance underwater mortgages.  Why not?  The U.S. debt is only $15,884,155,929,632.05 and climbing rapidly.  America has money to burn.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Home sales dropped by 5.4% in June to an adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million homes, the fewest since October 2011.  Despite 30-year fixed mortgage rates being the lowest since the 1950s, potential buyers are having difficulty qualifying for loans due to the weakening job market.  Without vigorous job growth, consumers may continue delaying the purchase of new homes.  Why is it the White House jobs panel has not met in six months?  Perhaps having such a meeting would cut into the current Oval Office occupant’s golf, fundraising and campaign appearance time.

The outlook for consumers is not good.  Driven by corn prices reaching near record highs due to drought in the Midwest, grocery bills will continue to rise.  Since corn and corn syrup are used in 75% of the products found in supermarkets, shoppers can plan on paying higher grocery bills.

How long will it be before for a “progressive” Senator, Representative or White House czar calls for the use of more corn in ethanol production?

Why be bothered with the population’s food supply when there is a planet to be saved from carbon gas.  Never mind that more “greenhouse gasses” are belched by volcanoes every year than the combined amount produced by humans since civilization began.  Besides, the people most likely to starve to death probably fit into one of the “progressive’s” genetically inferior categories anyway.

Speaking of alternative fuels, the administration’s taxpayer funded capital investments in “green energy” are going so well that the Amonix solar manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas closed after receiving $20 million in federal subsidies.  The announcement came only14 months after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid endorsed the plant’s opening by heralding solar energy in Nevada, comparing it to Saudi Arabian oil.

On the foreign policy front, the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the U.S. government while they seize power in Egypt and Libya.  Israel and Iran are rattling sabers over the Islamist government’s pursuit of nukes and the prospects of an Israeli military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Russia and China joined forces to veto sanctions on Syria in a UN Security Council vote.  Afterwards, the White House called Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main international supporter, about the deteriorating Syrian situation.  Not surprisingly, that call ended with the two of them divided over how to move forward.

This is what is known as: Not peace through strength.

Don’t worry.  The White House saved the day by announcing that the USDA and Mexico have decided to work cooperatively in promoting American food assistance programs, including food stamps, to Mexican Americans, nationals and migrants living in America.

How is this “progressive” hope and change deal working out for you?

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/hows-that-progressive-deal-working-out-for-you/

Russia has dispatched a flotilla of eleven warships, almost half of which have the ability to carry hundreds of marines to the eastern Mediterranean.  Some of those ships are to be docked in Syria. It is the greatest display of Russian power in the region since the start of Syria’s current conflict.

This is clearly a part of Russia’s effort to become a decisive power broker in Syria, and by extension, the Middle East.  Syria is Russia’s one remaining ally in the region and home to Tartus, the last remaining Soviet era military base outside of Russia.

The unusually large size of the deployment announced by Moscow can be considered a message.  The message is not just to the Middle East, but also to the United States.  The message is: We are strong and you are weak.

Not unexpectedly, the response from Washington was, to put it politely, muted.  Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the National Security Council said:  “Russia maintains a naval supply and maintenance base in the Syrian port of Tartus.  We currently have no reason to believe this move is anything out of the ordinary, but we refer you to the Russian government for more details.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/world/middleeast/russia-sends-warships-on-maneuvers-near-syria.html?_r=1

The nature of this response will reaffirm to Putin that the current Oval Office occupant is willing to react passively and submissively to the Kremlin.  Leading from behind is seen by experienced global power brokers like Putin as weakness.

Although KGB style secrecy and the Kremlin’s careful manipulation of his image make him difficult to read, watching the recent body language between Putin and Obama makes it is clear for all to see that Putin has little respect for Obama.

Whether Putin or any other Soviet/Russian leader likes you or not is irrelevant to a successful foreign policy.  Ronald Reagan understood that.  George W. Bush understood that.  Mikhail Gorbachev respected Ronald Reagan and grew to like him.  Putin never openly displayed affection for Bush in the way Gorbachev did for Reagan, but Russia’s relative inaction during Bush’s presidency indicated that Putin respected him.  It seems clear that Putin saw, as a result of Bush’s actions, that Bush was ready and willing to promote U.S. interests and power abroad.  In Obama, Putin sees the inverse.  Putin does not see a partner in Obama.  He does not see an adversary in Obama.  In Obama, Putin sees a tool, a weakling who can be punked at will.  Russia’s military deployment to Syria reinforces that conclusion.

Obama’s insistence on making the world like him the cornerstone of his foreign policy is but one of a multitude of reasons why removing him in November is vital to American interests.

http://mjfellright.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/putin-punks-obama/