“Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek Yahweh until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” Hosea 10: 12
________________________________________
#####
Michael Oren—How Obama Opened His Heart to the ‘Muslim World’ and got it stomped on:
Days after jihadi gunmen slaughtered 11 staffers of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a policeman on January 7, hundreds of thousands of French people marched in solidarity against Islamic radicalism. Forty-four world leaders joined them, but not President Barack Obama. Neither did his attorney general at the time, Eric Holder, or Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, both of whom were in Paris that day. Other terrorists went on to murder four French Jews in a kosher market that they deliberately targeted. Yet Obama described the killers as “vicious zealots who … randomly shoot a bunch of folks in a deli.”
Pressed about the absence of a high-ranking American official at the Paris march, the White House responded by convening a long-delayed convention on “countering violent extremism.” And when reminded that one of the gunmen boasted that he intended to kill Jews, presidential Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained that the victims died “not because of who they were, but because of where they randomly happened to be.”
Obama’s boycotting of the memorial in Paris, like his refusal to acknowledge the identity of the perpetrators, the victims, or even the location of the market massacre, provides a broad window into his thinking on Islam and the Middle East. Simply put: The president could not participate in a protest against Muslim radicals whose motivations he sees as a distortion, rather than a radical interpretation, of Islam. And if there are no terrorists spurred by Islam, there can be no purposely selected Jewish shop or intended Jewish victims, only a deli and randomly present folks.
Understanding Obama’s worldview was crucial to my job as Israel’s ambassador to the United States. Right after entering office in June 2009, I devoted months to studying the new president, poring over his speeches, interviews, press releases, and memoirs, and meeting with many of his friends and supporters. The purpose of this self-taught course—Obama 101, I called it—was to get to the point where the president could no longer surprise me. And over the next four years I rarely was, especially on Muslim and Middle Eastern issues.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” Obama declared in his first inaugural address. The underlying assumption was that America’s previous relations with Muslims were characterized by dissension and contempt. More significant, though, was the president’s use of the term “Muslim world,” a rough translation of the Arabic ummah. A concept developed by classical Islam, ummah refers to a community of believers that transcends borders, cultures, and nationalities. Obama not only believed that such a community existed but that he could address and accommodate it.
The novelty of this approach was surpassed only by Obama’s claim that he, personally, represented the bridge between this Muslim world and the West. Throughout the presidential campaign, he repeatedly referred to his Muslim family members, his earlier ties to Indonesia and the Muslim villages of Kenya, and his Arabic first and middle names. Surveys taken shortly after his election indicated that nearly a quarter of Americans thought their president was a Muslim.
[…]
To continue reading, click here.
SnyderTalk Comment: Michael Oren is spot on. As Israel’s ambassador to the United States, his firsthand account is informed and insightful. He knows our president better than we do.
It’s incredibly difficult for an Israeli leader to step forward and criticize a U.S. president. We owe Oren and Prime Minister Netanyahu a debt of gratitude for doing what had to be done.
The fact that Netanyahu would not reprimand Oren when asked to do so by the White House is telling. I’m not suggesting that Netanyahu could have prevented Oren from speaking out publicly, but he could have said something to the press to soften the blow. He didn’t. That speaks volumes.
Obama did get “stomped on” by his Muslim brothers, and he’s still getting stomped on. If Obama alone had to suffer the consequences for his incompetence, I would say “good riddance”, but that’s wishful thinking. All of us will have to pay the price for his ineptitude.
Problem is Obama doesn’t learn. I would say that he is just a slow learner, but that doesn’t go far enough. Obama has proven time and time again that he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. He keeps on repeating them.
As a college professor, I devoted my career to working with really bright students. Some of my students were sharper than others. It was my job to identify the truly gifted ones. That’s something you must learn to do if you hope to do well at a great university. I’m not bragging, but the University of Virginia really is a great university.
Be that as it may, I discovered that the brightest of the bright were always looking for new insights that would inform their thinking. When they discovered something that was new to them and that they believed to be factually correct, they would adjust their thinking and their behavior.
They evaluated everything, absorbed what was good, and discarded the rest.
Less bright students were different. They were looking for “the answer” so that they could go into cruise control. By that I mean they stopped seeking to improve their knowledge base and learn because they were satisfied with what they already knew. Most of those students were intellectually lazy, but some of them didn’t have the raw firepower. Yes, even great universities admit some students who lack intellectual dexterity.
Have you ever heard about the man who said, “Just when I learned all the answers, they changed all the questions.” That line resonates because it’s true.
The questions/issues are always in a state of flux. Today’s correct answer may be wrong tomorrow. It’s like the stock market. Exxon stock may be a great bargain today, but tomorrow everything can change. You have to stay on top of things, learn, and deal with reality as it is—not as you want it to be.
The world changes; there are few absolutes; and we have limited knowledge. That’s why it’s imperative to learn and adjust.
The most intelligent people I know analyze everything so that they will always be at the cutting edge. They have identified the absolutes in life to which they adhere no matter what—I call those bedrock principles, but everything else is subject to change. They can connect the dots and see relationships between seemingly disparate variables and events. Less intelligent people can’t do that.
Intellectually gifted students were not afraid to admit that they were wrong. They didn’t waste their precious time trying to defend things that they once thought were true. When evidence proved that they were mistaken, they changed their perspective without hesitation. Less intelligent students would consume an entire class period if I would let them trying to convince their fellow students that the evidence was wrong no matter how strong it was. They didn’t want to take their brains out of cruise control.
Thinking people have had problems with Obama since the beginning of his presidency. He is dogmatic to a fault; he listens to no one; and even when he’s forced to change, he holds on to his personal predilections while he looks for an opportunity to sneak them back in surreptitiously.
Consider gun control, for example. Obama is dead set on restricting gun ownership in America. If he was honest, which he is not, he would admit that in his perfect world only the government would have guns and it would be run by people who are exactly like him.
Obama’s obsession with gun control became obvious immediately. He did everything that he could to make guns and ammunition harder to obtain and more expensive. The result shocked him. People paid the price; bought guns and ammo in large quantities; and started to aggressively attack him and his policies.
The best evidence available doesn’t support Obama’s conclusion. A recent study published by Harvard shows that more restrictive gun laws lead to more violent crimes and more gun deaths. (See “Harvard Publication On Gun Laws Resurfaces As Talks About Firearms Continue”.) It’s the exact opposite of what Obama believes.
Obama relented on gun control because he had no choice, but to this day he still can’t resist the temptation to harp on private gun ownership as something that must change.
That’s the same problem Obama has in his dealings with Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups. They are taking him to the cleaners, but he stubbornly refuses to accept reality.
In Obama’s world, all Muslims are nice people. He thinks that the people who are cutting off heads and publishing videos, raping women, slaughtering children, and destroying priceless ancient historical sites can’t be Muslims even though they are adhering to the letter of Sharia law. For example, see “‘ISIS enforces Ramadan fast by crucifying two children’” and “ISIS offers sex slaves to winners of Koran memorization contest”.
Even after Egypt’s President Sisi, a Muslim, and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, a Jew, told him that he is wrong, he still insists that he is right. The fact that they have better information and more experience than he does is irrelevant to Obama. Our president knows because he knows, and that’s all the rationale he needs.
To hell with the facts, Obama has an opinion.
It’s difficult for me to understand how a person who thinks that way could graduate from prestigious universities unless he was an Affirmative Action admit. That’s not a racial slur. It’s a statement of fact.
I’m not surprised that Obama won’t allow the release of his academic records and why he didn’t write a single article for the Harvard Law Review while he was editor. Without a teleprompter or some others means of support, he is completely lost. Stated simply, the arts of thinking and logic are things that Obama hasn’t developed.
Thankfully, some Western leaders are beginning to wake up to the truth, but Obama is not one of them. See “The west opens up to Egypt’s President Sisi”.
The whole world has suffered because of Obama. Israel has suffered the most, and I believe that the worst is yet to come.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Yitzhak Benhorin: US ex-officials, experts warn of weak Iran deal—A group of prominent American security advisers, including five with ties to President Barack Obama’s first term, warned on Wednesday that a deal on curbing Iran’s nuclear program was at risk of failing to provide adequate safeguards. In an open letter, the group of former US officials and foreign policy experts cautioned that an Iran nuclear deal would “fall short of meeting the administration’s own standard of a ‘good’ agreement” unless it included a tougher line on United Nations nuclear inspections and conditions for sanctions relief. The release of the letter, which was signed by Dennis Ross, an adviser on Iran and the Middle East in Obama’s first term, comes as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to fly to Vienna on Friday to join the talks. “Most of us would have preferred a stronger agreement,” the letter released by the Washington Institute said. “The agreement will not prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapons capability. It will not require the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. It will, however, reduce that infrastructure for the next 10 to 15 years.”
SnyderTalk Comment: Below are the names of the people who signed the open letter to President Obama and brief biographical information about them:
- Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Howard Berman, U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA), 1983-2013
- Robert Blackwill, deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategic planning under President George W. Bush, 2003-2004
- General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2007-2011
- Patrick Clawson, Morningstar Senior Fellow, director of research, The Washington Institute
- Paula J. Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for global affairs, 2001-2009
- Robert Einhorn, special advisor to the Secretary of State for nonproliferation and arms control, 2009-2013
- Norman Eisen, U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic, 2011-2014
- Michael Eisenstadt, Kahn Fellow, director of the Military and Security Studies Program, The Washington Institute
- Stephen Hadley, national security advisor to President George W. Bush, 2005-2009
- Olli Heinonen, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 2005-2010
- James Jeffrey, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, 2010-2012, deputy national security advisor to President George W Bush, 2007-2008. Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute
- Joseph Lieberman, U.S. Senate (I-CT), 1989-2013
- David Makovsky, senior policy advisor to the U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations (2013-2014). Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process, The Washington Institute
- David Petraeus, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2011-2012
- Dennis Ross, special assistant to President Obama and National Security Council senior director for the central region, 2009-2011. Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute
- Gary Samore, coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction under President Obama, 2009-2013
- Robert Satloff, Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy and executive director, The Washington Institute
You have to wonder why a group of distinguished and experienced people from both sides of the political isle would feel compelled to write an open letter to the president that in essence told him that he was taking us to the edge of a cliff.
The first thing you know is that they have already told the president or tried to tell him personally what they think and that he has ignored them completely or refused to see them.
Next, you know that they believe Obama is making a huge mistake that will cost us and our allies dearly. That’s exactly what Netanyahu told Congress a few weeks ago.
Finally, you know that Obama has a history of doing the right thing only when he has no choice, and they are turning up the political heat. It may not work, but at least they gave it their best shot.
It’s not about Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, or blacks and whites. It’s not about an Israeli prime minister who left the reservation.
It’s about right and wrong. It’s about our nation’s security, and it’s deadly serious.
That is not what Obama and people in his current administration want you to hear because it is at odds with everything that the president and his secretary of state are telling us. The people who signed the letter knew that, but they made it public anyway.
Gorana Grgic: Talking to terrorists: what Obama’s new directive on hostage situations means—It was Ronald Reagan in 1985 who famously stated, “America will never make concessions to terrorists – to do so would only invite more terrorism – nor will we ask nor pressure any other government to do so.” A decade later, the Clinton administration issued a fact sheet on international terrorism saying that the US government would not “pay ransom, release prisoners, change its policies or agree to other acts that might encourage additional terrorism”. The current US president echoed Reagan today in saying that there will be “no concessions” offered to those who hold hostages. However, Barack Obama’s newly announced presidential directive and executive order make a departure from the previous principle of not communicating and negotiating with captors holding Americans, or helping family members who seek to make concessions.
Wall Street Journal: The UN’s Israel Inquisition— U.N. reports on Israel sometimes remind us of the classic Monty Python sketch “Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!” with its screwball combination of comic ineptitude and malignant predictability. So it is with Monday’s inquisi—er, “Inquiry”—by the U.N. Human Rights Council on last summer’s war between Israel and its terrorist enemies in Gaza. The 183-page report, from former New York state Justice Mary McGowan Davis and Senegalese lawyer Doudou Diene, purports to be even-handed by citing both Israel and Hamas for possible war crimes and violations of international law. That’s something of an achievement for the Council, which has a lopsided record of condemning Israel and whose current members include Qatar, Russia and Venezuela. Yet the report is fundamentally an anti-Israel document. The bias begins with a preposterous claim that Israel continues to “occupy” Gaza, despite its 2005 withdrawal, on the theory that Israel has the capacity “to send troops within a reasonable time to make its power felt.” By that standard, the U.S. occupies Canada and the Bahamas.
Ann O’Neill, Aaron Cooper and Ray Sanchez: Boston bomber tells victims he’s sorry as judge formally sentences him to death—[Tsarnaev said] “If there is any lingering doubt … I did it along with my brother,” he said, referring to the bombings carried out by him and his older brother, Tamerlan. “I ask Allah to have mercy on me, my brother and my family.” […] “I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken, for the suffering that I’ve caused you, for the damage that I’ve done. Irreparable damage,” he said. […] He added, “I prayed for Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased, those affected in the bombing and their families. Allah says in the Quran that with every hardship there is relief. I pray for your relief, for your healing, for your well-being, for your strength.”[…] [The judge said] “Surely someone who believes that God smiles on and rewards the deliberate killing and maiming of innocents believes in a cruel God. That is not, it cannot be, the God of Islam. Anyone who has been led to believe otherwise has been maliciously and willfully deceived.”
SnyderTalk Comment: Both Tsarnaev and the judge are confused. I am not celebrating the death sentence imposed on Tsarnaev, but it’s right and he deserves it.
It saddens me that the judge is so clueless. He should set an example for people to follow. His example is total ignorance.
This is serious business. Eternal destinies are on the line. It doesn’t get any more serious than that because eternity is a very long time.
It troubles me that so many people focus exclusively on the here-and-now and don’t realize that life never ends. It just changes forms.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
US Congress passes rare law targeting boycotts of Israel
Study by German commission: Schoolbooks biased against Israel
Drone from Gaza penetrates into Israeli territory, crashing near border fence
Hamas launches official English-language web site
Jordanian journalists slam ‘enemy’ Israel for protesting terror praise
UN official warns Israel against force-feeding of prisoners
PA set to submit report at The Hague; Israel hopes ICC won’t ‘fall into trap’
WikiLeaks: France sought to exclude world powers from fresh Israeli-Palestinian talks
‘With violence spreading, Egypt’s Sisi needs to change strategy’
#####
________________________________________
#####
PA Officially Submits Case against Israel at ICC
Russia, Like China, Tests Nuclear Vehicle to Beat US Defenses
Three More Druze Arrested in IDF Ambulance ‘Lynch’
Family: Farmer Murdered by Palestinian Illegals
Activists: Israel ‘Messing’ With Flotilla Ships
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
Poll finds massive drop in Israelis’ approval of Obama
Iran leader dramatically toughens ‘red lines’ for nuclear deal
Leaked Saudi memo claims Iran sent nuke equipment to Sudan
#####
________________________________________
#####
France summons US ambassador after reports US spied on presidents
Hungary Seeks to Push Back Migrants to Greece Amid EU Discord
Barbarism by the book: New ISIS video aims to show religious purity
Last-ditch Greek rescue hopes dashed as Alexis Tsipras faces austerity ultimatum
SnyderTalk Comment: Keep your eyes on this one because it’s coming to America.
Queen speaks of need for unity in Europe
Saudi Arabia rubbishes calls for gay rights
Israel-Hating Professor Hired to Teach Class on Israel at U of Missouri
Catholic bishop condemns arson attack on Israel church by ‘Jewish zealots’
A new Hamas-Saudi-Egyptian triad is emerging
Syria crisis: IS re-enters Kurdish held town of Kobane
#####
________________________________________
#####
#####
________________________________________
#####
US, West ready to offer nuclear equipment to Iran if it limits possible atomic weapons programs
Russia pictured as monster with claws on cartoon map for schoolkids causes stir in Netherlands
Erdogan’s colossal dinner table inspires a stream of Turkish memes
Yemen airstrikes kill over 100 as Oman talks chase truce
Gulf states get more assertive as Iran nears N-deal
France plans new Saudi nuclear reactors
EU drafts plan to counter Russian media ‘disinformation’, targeting RT
#####
________________________________________
Email Distribution List:
I have created an email distribution list that I use to notify people when I post a new SnyderTalk. If you would like to be on that list, send your email address to nhsny@yahoo.com, and put “add me to your distribution list” in the subject line. If you know others who are interested in SnyderTalk content, tell them to send me their email address, and I’ll put them on the list.
________________________________________
2 Chronicles 7
12 Then Yahweh appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 17 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 18 then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’”
SnyderTalk Comment: Read His Name is Yahweh.
This is an important passage of scripture. First, it says that Yahweh “appeared to Solomon”. That means Yahweh has a human form.
Second, it identifies Jerusalem and the Temple Mount as the place that Yahweh has chosen for Himself and His people forever.
Finally, it makes clear that people who call themselves by Yahweh’s Name have an important role to play. According to Yahweh, we must humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways.
Contrast that with the things our political leaders keep telling us.
________________________________________
His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
________________________________________
Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
________________________________________
Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
