|
|
Who is Barack Hussein Obama?
|
|
Friday: September 19, 2008 |
|
|
Live Teaching Engagements
|
|
|
|
Contact Us
|
|
P. O. Box 100223
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
15233
|
|
Shalom in Christ Jesus,
Who is Barack Obama?
In America, we have many "professing Christians" whose beliefs vary widely but are not in the least bit in line with the Word of God and the current political race for the presidency tends to bring this out like nothing else. I know people who claim to believe the Bible and even claim to believe that we are in the last days but are fervent supporters of Barack Obama for President despite the fact that his beliefs are antichrist.
This alert is part one of a compilation of articles concerning United States presidential candidate Barack Obama. The main concerns are issues of Scriptural importance however some of the articles do cover the topic of bias in the media as well. (An alert will be forthcoming on McCain and Sarah Palin as well)
Politics is an ugly subject that is full of emotion, lies and darkness. We have a problem here in America where the political landscape and the truth of scripture become intermingled to the point where in some people's minds The United States is some kind of New Testament Israel. There may be much documentation of the intention to found this country on biblical principles but there is absolutely no scriptural basis to back up this viewpoint. If anything, this idea falls more into the building of Mystery Babylon the Great than God's Kingdom on earth. Considering that the common persons involvement in ruling the people was quite limited up until the time of Messiah's first coming (and up until the Nation-States that came out of the Protestant Reformation) the only command we really have from the New Testament is to pray for our leaders that things may go well with us.
That said, living in a "so-called" free country (which is free up to a point, but not as free as most make it out to be - one need only look back at the history of this country to a time when it was truly free) one should not take the privilege to vote lightly and if there is a choice that is Biblically acceptable, than I am all for it.
Scripture is neither rightwing nor leftwing as the world defines it but Truth, and when composing the alert I have always strived to look for articles that can be supported by a Biblical worldview. That is why I will even use unashamedly biased publications such as the BBC or The New York Times when their reporting reflects the truth of scripture, even though I doubt that was their intention. It is like using the enemy's own ammunition against himself.
I feel compelled to write as an apologist on this matter because many write accusing us of being anti-Republican here in America because of our strong stance against the Bush Administration as if that is somehow criterion for being a Christian. However, that could not be farther from the truth. Personally, I am a registered Republican, but the Republicans for the most part have strayed just as far as the Democrats (turning their back on Bible believing Christians and forcing Israel to divide her land as well as appointing leftwing pro-abortion judges) and as of late a third party as the Constitutional Party is the only real option. Although propagated in the rightwing media as ones Patriotic duty, there is no scriptural defense for choosing the lesser evil.
With all this, let me make some clear points as to why Barack Obama is exceptionally dangerous choice for the future president:
- Barack Obama poses as a Christian but in reality is a false-brother. I base this solely by judging what he says he believes and his actions vs. what the Bible says a Christian is and believes.
- Many people who claim to be Christians are either deceived by this man and/or deceived themselves and are planning to vote for him this November 4th. This shows that there is a spiritual battle taking place and not just a political one.
- His campaign is even targeting religious supporters with a new lie of "faith merchandise" under the general banner, "Believers for Barack".
- His background is a complete mixture of Islam, Roman Catholicism, Black Liberation Theology and radical left-wing political ideologies and he is a master of legal speak graduating from Harvard Law School. He is pro-abortion for any reason, pro-homosexual and good reason to believe that he is pro-Islam, pro-terrorist, and anti-Christian and anti-Israel despite what he says.
- As you will see from the articles below, the world loves Obama (something scripture warns of), terrorists love Obama, and there is much about him and his past that are legitimately questionable. Because of what he represents (advancement for Blacks-African Americans), many are just ignoring all the many warning signs concerning him.
- Vice-Presidential Candidate Joseph Biden is a long time supporter of the New World Order as you will see in a report in part 2.
I pray this series of alerts will give you the additional information you need to wage the battle for righteousness and warn others of the extreme dangers we may face from his election.
BE/\LERT!
Scott Brisk |
|
|
| |
1 John 2:15-21
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
Titus 1:16
They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Romans 13:1
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
|
Barack Obama-the Muslim Christian?
|
 CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW NETWORK - By Jill Martin Rische - July 8, 2008
Ed Note: Published along with the article is a very informative list of footnotes included on the Be Alert! Blog as well as at the original source. For more information see the links below.
In the crazy world of American politics, it should come as no surprise when a fast-talking presidential candidate attempts, yet again, to redefine Christianity.
This time around, we have Barack Obama and his cohort of political reformationists nailing their 95 Theses smack dab in the middle of our foreheads. "I am a Christian!" Obama proclaims from rooftops all over America as swooning women breathe his name like a prayer. The junior Senator from Illinois has become the messiah of millions: Obama will cure what ails American society and-yes-the world. Change We Can Believe In is his mantra, ringing like a funeral dirge to the few who remember that change is not always good.
Barack Obama aka Barry Soetoro (his name throughout his Muslim youth) claims to be a "committed Christian" and yet the emerging truth about him is a study in contradiction and frankly, alarming: I am a Christian (but I was a devout Muslim); I am a Christian (but I never renounced Islam); I am a Christian (but there is more than one way to God). [1] Add to this the fact that Barack Obama flatly denies his Muslim roots, even labeling the word Muslim a "smear," and suddenly the question of integrity pops into the picture. Who is telling the truth: Barack Obama aka Barry Soetoro or his relatives, teachers, and childhood friends?
Eyewitness testimony, reported on credible websites, reveals that Barack Obama was raised Muslim and was, in fact, quite devout throughout his youth. [2] Today, Senator Obama states that his "Christian" faith is not the only way to God, and he rejects Christian positions on key moral issues. Finally, he never formally renounced the Islamic faith he followed until he met his wife, Michelle. [3]
So who, exactly, is Barack Obama? It's only fair to let the man speak for himself:
The Gospel According to Barack Obama
1. God/Jesus:
"I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."
"Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he's also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher." [4]
2. Heaven:
"What I believe in is that if I live my life as well as I can, that I will be rewarded. I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die." [5]
3. Hell:
"I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can't imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That's just not part of my religious makeup." [6]
4. Sin:
What is sin?
"Being out of alignment with my values." [7]
5. Salvation - The Born Again Experience:
"I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.
I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at its best comes with a big dose of doubt." [8]
"If all it took was someone proclaiming I believe Jesus Christ and that he died for my sins, and that was all there was to it, people wouldn't have to keep coming to church, would they." [9]
6. Doctrine:
"Obviously as an African American politician rooted in the African American community, I spend a lot of time in the black church. . . . Rarely in those settings do people come up to me and say, what are your beliefs. They are going to presume, and rightly so. Although they may presume a set of doctrines that I subscribe to that I don't necessarily subscribe to." [10]
7. Abstinence and Abortion:
"Look, I've got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16." [11]
"I think women, in consultation with their pastors and their doctors and their families are in a better position to make these decisions than some bureaucrat in Washington. That's my view. Again, I respect people who may disagree, but I certainly don't think it makes me less Christian." [12]
8. Same-sex marriage
"As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples-whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage." [13]
9. Fundamentalism:
"I am a great admirer of our founding charter, and its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming, and its resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root in this country. . . . As I said before, in my own public policy, I'm very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in politics." [14]
10. Faith and Life Role Model:
"I think Gandhi is a great example of a profoundly spiritual man who acted and risked everything on behalf of those values but never slipped into intolerance or dogma. He seemed to always maintain an air of doubt about him.
I think Dr. King, and Lincoln. Those three are good examples for me of people who applied their faith to a larger canvas without allowing that faith to metastasize into something that is hurtful." [15]
And so, my friends and associates, that is the gospel according to Barack Obama. Senator Obama believes you can be a Christian and not believe in the biblical Jesus Christ. He believes you can support homosexuality-including civil marriages and adoptions-and still be a follower of Jesus Christ. Barack Obama believes the taking of innocent life in the form of an unborn child is acceptable under most circumstances. He believes there is more than one way to God. He has never publicly renounced the Prophet Mohammed. This is the "Christianity" of Barack Obama, who seems to think he can take historic theology and spin it like cotton candy.
But the bottom line in life is that words have specific meanings. A heart is a heart-it can never be a lung. Definition is the foundation of logic, and logic fuels a rational society. Barack Obama may use and abuse the name "Christian," but as long as he rejects the biblical definition of Christianity, he can never be one.
For information on the cults and the occult, and a free listening library, visit WalterMartin.com.
The full list of footnotes are published along with the article on the Be Alert! Blog: See Here
|
| Barack Obama is not authentic Christian |
TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES [Tribune Company] - By Cal Thomas - June 11, 2008
Barack Obama's presidential campaign plans to strike at the heart of the Republican base by attempting to woo Evangelical Christians and Roman Catholics to his side.
The Christian Broadcasting Network's David Brody first broke the story on his blog "The Brody File." Obama's campaign for the conservative Christian vote, which has largely gone to the Republican presidential candidate in recent elections, has been dubbed the "Joshua Generation Project." Joshua, Moses' successor, led the Israelites into the Promised Land. It wasn't the group that fled Egypt in the Exodus, though. They died in the wilderness, lacking faith in God's promise. It was the next generation that Joshua led into Canaan. Apparently, if we have enough faith in Obama, he will lead us all into a new America, but if we vote for John McCain, we will demonstrate a lack of faith (in Obama) and die in the political badlands.
Obama is better at biblical language and imagery than any Democrat in modern times.
He certainly beats Howard Dean, now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who once offered Job as his favorite New Testament book. This is cynical manipulation of the devout and it is no better when Democrats do it than when Republicans use religious language for partisan advantage.
Obama has declared himself a committed Christian. He can call himself anything he likes, but there are certain markers among the evangelicals he is courting that one must meet in order to qualify for that label.
Some insight into Obama's "Christianity" comes from an interview he gave in 2004 to Chicago Sun-Times religion editor Cathleen Falsani for her book, "The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People."
"I'm rooted in the Christian tradition," said Obama. He then adds something most Christians will see as universalism: "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."
Falsani correctly brings up John 14:6 (and how many journalists would know such a verse, much less ask a question based on it?) in which Jesus says of Himself, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That sounds exclusive, but Obama says it depends on how this verse is heard. According to Falsani, Obama thinks that "all people of faith -- Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone -- know the same God." (Her words.)
Evangelicals and serious Catholics might ask if this is so, why did Jesus waste His time coming to Earth, suffering pain, rejection and crucifixion? If there are many ways to God, He might have sent down a spiritual version of table manners and avoided the rest.
Here's Obama telling Falsani, "The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There's the belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven't embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they're going to hell." Falsani adds, "Obama doesn't believe he, or anyone else, will go to hell. But he's not sure he'll be going to heaven, either." Again, that is contrary to what Evangelicals and most Catholics believe.
Here's Obama again: "I don't presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I've been a good father to them, and I see that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they're kind people and that they're honest people, and they're curious people, that's a little piece of heaven."
Any first-year seminary student could deconstruct such "works salvation" and wishful thinking. Obama either hasn't read the Bible, or if he has, doesn't believe it if he embraces such thin theological wisps.
Obama can call himself anything he likes, but there is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn't meet that requirement. One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in Scripture. They are called "false prophets."
Cal Thomas can be reached at tmseditors@tribune.com.
Original Report
|
| Dobson accuses Obama of 'distorting' Bible |
 ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Eric Gorski - June 23, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - As Barack Obama broadens his outreach to evangelical voters, one of the movement's biggest names, James Dobson, accuses the likely Democratic presidential nominee of distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution.
The criticism, ... comes shortly after an Obama aide suggested a meeting at the organization's headquarters here, said Tom Minnery, senior vice president for government and public policy at Focus on the Family.
The conservative Christian group provided The Associated Press with an advance copy of the pre-taped radio segment, which runs 18 minutes and highlights excerpts of a speech Obama gave in June 2006 to the liberal Christian group Call to Renewal. Obama mentions Dobson in the speech.
"Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?" Obama said. "Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" referring to the civil rights leader.
Dobson took aim at examples Obama cited in asking which Biblical passages should guide public policy - chapters like Leviticus, which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination, or Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, "a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."
"Folks haven't been reading their Bibles," Obama said.
Dobson and Minnery accused Obama of wrongly equating Old Testament texts and dietary codes that no longer apply to Jesus' teachings in the New Testament.
"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.
"... He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."
Joshua DuBois, director of religious affairs for Obama's campaign, said in a statement that a full reading of Obama's speech shows he is committed to reaching out to people of faith and standing up for families. "Obama is proud to have the support of millions of Americans of faith and looks forward to working across religious lines to bring our country together," DuBois said.
Dobson reserved some of his harshest criticism for Obama's argument that the religiously motivated must frame debates over issues like abortion not just in their own religion's terms but in arguments accessible to all people.
He said Obama, who supports abortion rights, is trying to govern by the "lowest common denominator of morality," labeling it "a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution."
"Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?" Dobson said. "What he's trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe." . . .
Obama recently met in Chicago with religious leaders, including conservative evangelicals. His campaign also plans thousands of "American Values House Parties," where participants discuss Obama and religion, as well as a presence on Christian radio and blogs.
Read Full Report
|
| Obama was 'quite religious in Islam' |
 Contemporaries, records dispute campaign claim that he was never 'practicing Muslim'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - April 3, 2008
JERUSALEM - Was Sen. Barack Obama a Muslim? Did he ever practice Islam?
The presidential candidate officially rejects the claims, but the issue of Obama's personal faith has re-emerged amid conflicting accounts of his enrollment as a Muslim during elementary school in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Widely distributed reports have noted in January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. He was listed as an Indonesian citizen whose stepfather, listed on school documents as "L Soetoro Ma," worked for the topography department of the Indonesian Army.
Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students, but exempt them from studying religion. Obama's school documents, though, wrongly list him as being Indonesian.
After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled - also as a Muslim, according to documents - in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.
The Loatze blog run by an American expatriate in Southeast Asia who visited the Besuki school, noted, "All Indonesian students are required to study religion at school and a young 'Barry Soetoro' being a Muslim would have been required to study Islam daily in school. He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam."
Indeed, the Israel Insider online magazine points out in Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledges studying the Quran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.
The Indonesian media have been flooded with accounts of Obama's childhood Islamic studies, some describing him as a religious Muslim .
Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.
"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old. The Kaltim Post says Obama's teacher, named Hendri, died.
"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said, according to an English translation by Loatze.
Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.
Also, Loatze documented the Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post caught up with Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who describe Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."
"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.
The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque, something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.
"We prayed but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," said Adi.
Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ."
But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a slightly different statement to the Times stating Obama "has never been a practicing Muslim."
An article last month by the Chicago Tribune seems to dispute Adi's statements to the L.A. Times. The Tribune catches up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama
But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.
"Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia," states the Tribune article.
It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and 3rd grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."
Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes the Tribune article - cited by liberal blogs as refuting claims Obama is Muslim - actually implies Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim and twice confirms Obama attended mosque services.
In a free-ranging interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset."
The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.
Israel Insider's Reuven Koret notes the first few lines state:
"Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet... "
Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family. His father, described in some reports as an atheist, polygamist and alcoholic, was buried in Kenya as a Muslim. Obama Sr., also named Barack Obama, had three sons with another woman who reportedly all are Muslim.
Obama's brother Roy is described as a practicing Muslim.
Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, the presidential candidate stated: "The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam, and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol."
Still, Obama says he was raised by his Christian mother and repeatedly has labeled as "smears" several reports attempting to paint him as a Muslim.
"Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance [to the American flag] and lead the pledge of allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding," he told the UK's Times Online earlier this year.
Read Full Report
|
| As a child, Obama crossed a cultural divide in Indonesia |
LOS ANGELES TIMES [Tribune Company] - By Paul Watson - March 15, 2007
As a boy in Indonesia, Barack Obama crisscrossed the religious divide. At the local primary school, he prayed in thanks to a Catholic saint. In the neighborhood mosque, he bowed to Allah.
Having a personal background in both Christianity and Islam might seem useful for an aspiring U.S. president in an age when Islamic nations and radical groups are key national security and foreign policy issues. But a connection with Islam is untrod territory for presidential politics.
Obama's four years as a child in Indonesia underscore how dramatically his background differs from that of past presidential hopefuls, most of whom spent little, if any, time in other countries. No one knows how voters will react to a candidate with an early exposure to Islam, a religion that remains foreign to many Americans.
Obama's campaign aides have emphasized his strong Christian beliefs and downplayed any Islamic connection. The candidate was raised "in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother," his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement in January after false reports began circulating that Obama had attended a radical madrasa, or Koranic school, as a child.
"To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ in Chicago," Gibbs' Jan. 24 statement said. In a statement to The Times on Wednesday, the campaign offered slightly different wording, saying: "Obama has never been a practicing Muslim." The statement added that as a child, Obama had spent time in the neighborhood's Islamic center.
His former Roman Catholic and Muslim teachers, along with two people who were identified by Obama's grade-school teacher as childhood friends, say Obama was registered by his family as a Muslim at both of the schools he attended.
That registration meant that during the third and fourth grades, Obama learned about Islam for two hours each week in religion class. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| Obama slips on TV: 'My Muslim faith' |
 Presidential candidate drops line in interview discussing his belief
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - September 7, 2008
Slip of the tongue or momentary confusion? In a television interview today discussing his religion, Sen. Barack Obama stated, "My Muslim faith."
Obama, speaking to ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "This Week," was talking about what he described as "smears" that were claiming he was a Muslim when he maintains he is a practicing Christian.
"Let's not play games," Obama stated. "What I was suggesting - you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come."
Stephanopoulos immediately interrupted Obama, stating, "Christian faith."
"My Christian faith," Obama quickly said. "Well, what I'm saying is that he (McCain) hasn't suggested that I'm a Muslim. And I think that his campaign's upper echelons have not, either. What I think is fair to say is that, coming out of the Republican camp, there have been efforts to suggest that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith - something which I find deeply offensive, and that has been going on for a pretty long time."
The statements came amid an exchange in which Obama accused Republicans of spreading "lies" that he is a Muslim. McCain, though, has strongly condemned such accusations.
"These guys love to throw a rock and hide their hand," Obama said.
But Stephanopoulos corrected the Illinois senator, stating, "The McCain campaign has never suggested you have Muslim connections."
Obama replied: "I don't think that when you look at what is being promulgated on Fox News, let's say, and Republican commentators who are closely allied to these folks."
"But John McCain said that's wrong," Stephanopoulos shot back.
Obama's momentary slip was immediately picked up by scores of Internet blogs. - - - -
Read Full Report
Video
Full Context Video
* Emphasis Added
|
Obama's Childhood: Praying to Saints and Bowing in Mosques
|
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Hana Levi Julian - September 8, 2008
Despite the best efforts of his aides to minimize his dual religious upbringing, the election campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama continues to be dogged by the issue.
Obama's childhood religious practice and its influence in his formative years is being repeatedly raised as an issue due to a question over whether he might buckle under pressure exerted by the Muslim and Arab world when it comes to foreign policy decisions relating to the State of Israel.
'My Muslim Faith' - Freudian Slip?
Obama in fact slipped during a nationally-televised ABC interview on Sunday by referring to "my Muslim faith" while accusing the Republicans of suggesting he has Muslim connections.
Interviewer George Stephanopoulus, former senior political advisor and White House communications director to former Democratic president Bill Clinton, did what he could to gloss over what may have been a Freudian slip, but the damage was done.
The ABC transcript follows:
STEPHANOPOULOS: You mention your Christian faith. Yesterday you took off after the Republicans for suggesting you have Muslim connections. Just a few minutes ago, Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, said they've never done that. This is a false and cynical attempt to play victim.
OBAMA: You know what? I mean, these guys love to throw a rock and hide their hand. The...
STEPHANOPOULOS: The McCain campaign has never suggested you have Muslim connections.
OBAMA: No, no, no. But the -- I don't think that when you look at what is being promulgated on Fox News, let's say, and Republican commentators who are closely allied to these folks-
STEPHANOPOULOS: But John McCain said that's wrong.
OBAMA: Now, well, look. Listen. You and I both know that the minute that Governor Palin was forced to talk about her daughter, I immediately said that's off limits. And-
STEPHANOPOULOS: But John McCain said the same thing about questioning your faith.
OBAMA: And what was the first thing the McCain's campaign went out and did? They said, look, these liberal blogs that support Obama are out there attacking Governor Palin.
Let's not play games. What I was suggesting -- you're absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith. And you're absolutely right that that has not come-
STEPHANOPOULOS: Christian faith.
OBAMA: -- my Christian faith. Well, what I'm saying is that he hasn't suggested-
STEPHANOPOULOS: Has connections, right.
OBAMA: -- that I'm a Muslim. And I think that his campaign's upper echelons have not, either. What I think is fair to say is that, coming out of the Republican camp, there have been efforts to suggest that perhaps I'm not who I say I am when it comes to my faith -- something which I find deeply offensive, and that has been going on for a pretty long time.
Praying to Saints, Bowing in Mosques
In his childhood, Obama was registered as a Muslim and bowed toward a mosque on Fridays while praying to a Catholic saint on other days, according to a 2007 report in The Los Angeles Times.
Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, was careful in an earlier statement to emphasize that he was raised in a secular household in Indonesia by his stepfather and mother. Gibbs said, "To be clear, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim and is a committed Christian... "
However, the issue, which has dogged the Obama team throughout the campaign, is one that is being juggled as a hot potato, with statements by aides being adjusted as time goes on. A subsequent statement to The Times offered a little more careful wording, saying that "Obama has never been a practicing Muslim," but admitting that he had, as a child, spent time in his Chicago neighborhood's Islamic Center.
The article quoted his former Roman Catholic and Muslim teachers, and others who said that Senator Obama was registered by his family as a Muslim at both of the schools he attended while in the third and fourth grades.
"We prayed but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," The Times quoted Zulfin Adi, who described himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends.
Obama has written in his autobiography, "In the Catholic school when it came time to pray, I would close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended. Just a parched old nun and 30 brown children, muttering words."
As a first-grader in the Catholic school, Obama prayed as a Catholic, but was registered as a Muslim since that was his father's faith.
Questioning Obama's Sincerity on Support for Israel
At least one well-known anti-Israel activist insists that the Democratic presidential hopeful is currently hiding his anti-Israel views in order to get elected. Activist Ali Abunimah claimed in a report earlier in the year to know Obama well and to have met him on numerous occasions at pro-Palestinian events in Chicago.
Jewish groups are also wondering whether Obama is reliable in his expressed support for Israel. The Democratic candidate told an AIPAC convention earlier this year that he backs an undivided Jerusalem.
Within 24 hours, however, in the face of a firestorm of Arab rage Obama quickly backtracked, qualifying his declaration of support with a "clarification" that he had simply meant he did not want to see the Jewish capital split asunder by barbed wire as it had been when captured by the Jordanians during the war in 1948.
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu contributed to this report.
Original Report
|
| Obama campaign rolls out new 'faith merchandise' |
 CNN [Turner Broadcasting/Time Warner] - September 15, 2008
The Obama campaign is preparing rolling out a new line of "faith merchandise" - the latest move in an ambitious effort to win over religious voters. "Check out the Believers for Barack, Pro-Family Pro-Obama, and Catholics for Obama buttons, bumper stickers and signs...." says Obama Deputy Director of Religious Affairs Paul Monteiro in an e-mail obtained by the Beliefnet Web site.
"Believers for Barack rally signs and bumper stickers, along with all Pro-Family Pro-Obama merchandise, are appropriate for people of all faith backgrounds. We'll soon be rolling out merchandise for other religious groups and denominations, but I wanted to get this out to you without delay," he adds.
Both campaigns have been making a major push for the Catholic vote, which has gone to the winning presidential campaign in every race since 1976, except Al Gore's 2000 White House bid.
Beliefnet reported that "Clergy for Change" and "Pro-Israel Pro-Obama" merchandise will soon be offered.
Last week, the Obama campaign began to offer merchandise with a slightly more worldly appeal: New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week marked the debut of clothing and accessories by some of the nation's top designers.
The collection, announced earlier this summer, includes totes, shirts and other merchandise designed by about two dozen major industry names, including Narciso Rodriguez, Zac Posen and Vera Wang. Original Report |
| Sojourning Socialists |
Barack Obama has joined forces with a white socialist he calls a "good friend" - the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of "Sojourners." He too believes in "liberation theology," sans the black nationalism. In fact, Wallis is the white version of Jeremiah Wright, sans the black rage.
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY [William O'Neil+ Co.] - Editorial - September 9, 2008
In addition to publishing "Sojourners" magazine, Wallis runs Call to Renewal - a network of liberal churches and activist groups "committed to ending poverty and racism."
Wright once joined Wallis at the U.S. Capitol in an anti-poverty "preach-in" sponsored by Call to Renewal.
Wallis and his Washington-based operation have essentially replaced Wright and his militantly Afrocentric Chicago church, which Obama expediently dumped in the heat of the primary race after videos surfaced of his fire-breathing preacher damning America.
The avuncular, noncombative Wallis offers Obama a voting bloc that Wright could never help deliver: white Christian evangelicals, if in Birkenstocks.
At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Obama tapped Wallis to oversee the drafting of the faith-based plank of the party platform (which, by the way, champions outreach programs for "ex-offenders").
"This is a very faith-friendly convention," Wallis said. "I think Democrats have really gone through an important change." But their newfound faith is not one most mainline Christians would even recognize, let alone embrace.
Like Wright and Obama, Wallis believes that biblical faith compels radical social action. Their political ministry is called the "social gospel," but it's really just socialism dressed up in a cheap tunic. They refuse to separate personal faith from political activism, whether at home or abroad.
In the '80s, for example, Wallis and Wright rallied to the cause of the communist regime in Nicaragua, and protested the U.S. arming of the Contra rebels. Wallis, in fact, marshaled thousands of "Witnesses for Peace" and joined them in Nicaragua, making it known they were willing to take a bullet to stop the anti-communist insurgency.
Wallis is more eloquent than Wright, but he preaches the same anti-American message. According to discoverthenetworks.org, he once called the U.S. "the great power, the great seducer, the great captor and destroyer of human life, the great master of humanity and history in its totalitarian claims and designs."
Like Obama, Wallis got his start in Chicago, where he too was involved in community organizing. He forged ties with black gang leaders, including at least one known cop-killer.
While agitating in Chicago, Wallis published a newspaper called the "Post-American," which was printed by the same radicals who put out the Black Panther paper. Now in D.C., he presides at funerals of gangbangers and runs a commune in the ghetto that romanticizes blight and mocks efforts at urban renewal.
"I don't know which is the worst evil," he said in a 1994 interview with the Los Angeles Times magazine, "the crackhouse or the gentrified house."
Wallis agrees with Obama that American racism and capitalism are to blame for inner-city poverty, and echoes his oft-repeated call for "economic justice." They share a spread-the-wealth vision, including subsidizing the working poor beyond expanded tax credits and minimum-wage hikes.
"The Bible says prosperity has to be shared," Wallis said in a January 2000 interview with IBD. "It's very simple."
"So far the rising tide is lifting all the yachts, but not the boats the poor inner-city kids are in," he said, adding that the stock market has created a "casino economy."
Wallis likes to think of himself and his sojourners as "progressives." But "they're really just socialists," said David Kelley, director of the Objectivist Center in New York.
Wallis may couch his Bolshevist views today. But in 1979, he was quoted in the journal "Mission Tracks" saying he hoped that "more Christians will come to view the world through Marxist eyes."
Obama is one who's seen the light. While delivering the keynote address for Wallis at his Call to Renewal 2006 conference in Washington, he condemned the "idolatry of the free market" and professed: "I believe in the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change."
Wallis says Obama is the kind of leader he's been searching for, one who's "responsive to social movements." "Barack Obama talks about 'being our brother's keeper' and how he finds a faith that does justice to be compelling to him," he said in a recent interview.
But it's not just "movements" that Wallis has in mind. He recently wrote the foreword to a leftist book titled, "The Revolution: A Field Manual for Changing Our World."
Wallis is also an anti-military pacifist who fasted for 47 days to protest last decade's popular Gulf War.
Like his fellow traveler Obama, he believes 21st Century America is guilty of "structural injustice and social oppression" aimed at blacks. His Sojourners magazine features radical professor Cornel West as a contributing editor. West, a black Marxist, is working as an adviser to Obama's campaign.
Wallis put another radical professor, James Cone, on his Sojourners editorial board. Cone is Wright's mentor and the father of black liberation theology, a Marxist version of Christianity that worships a white-hating black Jesus.
"Together," Cone said, "black religion and Marxist philosophy may show us a way to build a completely new society."
Wallis, who once regularly attended black liberation churches in his hometown of Detroit, has no problem with that. He says his mission is to "sojourn with others in different faith and traditions" toward a common goal of "social justice."
Now he's hoping to sojourn his way into the White House with Obama, whose favorite scripture happens to be a verse from Chronicles referencing sojourners: "For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers." (He quotes from it in his first memoir; in fact, it sits strangely alone on what should be his dedication page.)
Such foes of capitalism and apologists for communism belong in communes, not national leadership. Better they sojourn their way completely out of American politics.
Original Report
|
| Obama to expand Bush's faith based programs |
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Jennifer Loven - July 1, 2008
CHICAGO - Reaching out to evangelical voters, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is announcing plans to expand President Bush's program steering federal social service dollars to religious groups and-in a move sure to cause controversy-support some ability to hire and fire based on faith.
Obama was unveiling his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday in Zanesville, Ohio, at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services.
"The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama was to say, according to a prepared text of his remarks obtained by The Associated Press. "We need all hands on deck." . . .
Obama does not support requiring religious tests for recipients of aid nor using federal money to proselytize, according to a campaign fact sheet. He also only supports letting religious institutions hire and fire based on faith in the non-taxypayer funded portions of their activities, said a senior adviser to the campaign, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more freely describe the new policy. . . .
Obama proposes to elevate the program to a "moral center" of his administration, by renaming it the Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and changing training from occasional huge conferences to empowering larger religious charities to mentor smaller ones in their communities.
Saying social service spending has been shortchanged under Bush, he also proposes a $500 million per year program to provide summer learning for 1 million poor children to help close achievement gaps with white and wealthier students. A campaign fact sheet said he would pay for it by better managing surplus federal properties, reducing growth in the federal travel budget and streamlining the federal procurement process.
Like Bush, Obama was arguing that religious organizations can and should play a bigger role in serving the poor and meeting other social needs. But while Bush argued that the strength of religious charities lies primarily in shared religious identity between workers and recipients, Obama was to tout the benefits of their "bottom-up" approach. . . .
Obama also planned to talk bluntly about the genesis of his Christian faith in his work as a community organizer in Chicago, and its importance to him now.
"In time, I came to see faith as being both a personal commitment to Christ and a commitment to my community; that while I could sit in church and pray all I want, I wouldn't be fulfilling God's will unless I went out and did the Lord's work," he was to say.
Read Full Report
|
| Book links Obama to massacre of Christians |
 Senator's continuing ally launches genocidal tribal violence
WORLDNETDAILY - August 3, 2008
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has continued to support Kenya's Raila Odinga, even after Odinga has been blamed for inciting tribal violence and slaughtering Christians, according to an explosive new book written by WND senior staff reporter Jerome R. Corsi.
In "The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality," Corsi argues that Odinga's protests following his loss to U.S.-backed Mwai Kibaki in Kenya's 2007 presidential election led to a wave of tribal and religious violence aimed against Kibaki's majority Kikuyu tribe.
The violence Obama's ally was blamed for included the slaughter of some 50 Pentecostal Christians.
As WND reported earlier, during his first visit to Kenya as a U.S. Senator in 2006, Obama openly campaigned for Odinga, to the point where Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua accused Obama of meddling inappropriately in Kenyan presidential politics. Mutua charged during a television news video that Obama had become a "stooge" to Odinga during the Kenyan presidential election campaign. Obama's father belonged to the same Luo tribe as Odinga.
In the disputed Dec. 27, 2007, presidential vote, Odinga charged he was denied winning the presidency by voter fraud.
After the election, Odinga pressed for a power-sharing arrangement in which he would be the prime minister in a government where Kibaki was president, with the two factions sharing a 50-50 power split in the cabinet.
Odinga's claim led to widespread fighting that killed more than 1,000 people in the weeks after the election, leaving more than 350,000 Kenyans displaced.
While proving involvement is difficult, many in Kenya assumed the post-election violence was supported, if not organized, behind the scenes by Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement party.
In a horrifying incident following the election, at least 50 people, including women and children, were killed when an angry mob forced Kikuyu Christians into an Assemblies of God Pentecostal church and set fire to the church, hacking with machetes any of the Christians who tried to escape the flames.
The violence occurred in the village of Eldoret, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi. The massacre in the church was part of youth gang violence aimed at harassing the Kikuyu Christian minority, which before the election numbered around 20 percent of Eldoret's 500,000 people. . . .
In the final days of the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary, after the post-election violence in Kenya, Obama told reporters he had telephoned Raila Odinga by telephone.
Obama sided with Odinga, indicating Odinga was willing to meet with Kibaki.
"Obviously he [Odinga] believes that the votes were not tallied properly," Obama told reporters, almost as if he were running for election in Kenya. "But what I urged was that all the leaders there, regardless of their position on the election, tell their supporters to stand down, to desist with the violence and resolve it in a peaceful way with Kenyan laws."
Reporters asked if Obama had telephoned Kenyan President Kibaki.
"I have not spoken to President Kibaki as yet," the senator answered, "but I hope to get in touch with him some time soon. I want to see if I can be helpful."
It is unclear whether Obama ever spoke with Kibaki, after a rough initial meeting during Obama's 2006 Kenyan trip.
Read Full Report
|
| World wants Obama as president: poll |
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - September 9, 2008
US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may be struggling to nudge ahead of his Republican rival in polls at home, but people across the world want him in the White House, a BBC poll said.
All 22 countries covered in the poll would prefer to see Senator Obama elected US president ahead of Republican John McCain.
In 17 of the 22 nations, people expect relations between the US and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama wins.
More than 22,000 people were questioned by pollster GlobeScan in countries ranging from Australia to India and across Africa, Europe and South America.
The margin in favour of Senator Obama ranged from 9 per cent in India to 82 per cent in Kenya, while an average of 49 per cent across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12 per cent preferring Senator McCain. Some four in 10 did not take a view.
"Large numbers of people around the world clearly like what Barack Obama represents," GlobeScan chairman Doug Miller said.
"Given how negative America's international image is at present, it is quite striking that only one in five think a McCain presidency would improve on the Bush administration's relations with the world."
In the United States, three polls taken since the Republican party convention ended on Thursday (local time) show Senator McCain with a lead of 1 to 4 percentage points - within the margin of error - and two others show the two neck-and-neck.
The countries most optimistic that an Obama presidency would improve relations were America's NATO allies, including Australia (62 per cent).
A similar BBC/Globescan poll conducted ahead of the 2004 U.S presidential election found that, of 35 countries polled, 30 would have preferred to see Democratic nominee John Kerry, rather than the incumbent George Bush, who was elected.
A total of 23,531 people in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, the UAE, Britain and the United States were interviewed face-to-face or by telephone in July and August 2008 for the poll.
Original Report Here
|
| Saudi Arabians Back Obama |
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - September 1, 2008
Saudi Arabians, including expatriates, are backing Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama.
According to the Arab News, which describes itself as the Arab world's leading English daily newspaper, the reasons for Saudi support of the rookie senator range from his being black to his middle name being Hussein, which has led many Saudis to believe he is a Muslim. Sen. Obama was born to a Muslim father, who had several wives, but the presidential candidate is Christian.
Arab News quoted Pakistani expatriate Mohammed Yousuf as saying, "Some believed Obama is a Muslim because of his middle name. All the blacks so far in power at various levels have shown their commitment and determination to serve the country and the world without discrimination of color and religion. However, the track record of whites has been to side with Israel rather than with Muslim countries. We now have a ray of hope in Obama."
Arab and Muslim support for Sen. Obama is not universal but few Arab voices are encouraging voters to back Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain. Ali Alarabi, writing for the London-based AlArab web site, wrote last week that Arab and Muslim Americans should not vote for a third candidate instead of Sen. Obama.
He said that initial support for Sen. Obama waned after he made several public moves to remove his identification with Muslims and picked as his running mate Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, a non-Jew who defined himself as a "Zionist."
However, Sen. Obama still maintains a wide appeal among Muslims because of his father having been a Kenyan Muslim. "Many are those who will agree that his message of change and hope is destined for the African audience," wrote for Modern Ghana.com. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| Iranian TV goes ga-ga over Obama |
Heaps praise on Democrats while blasting 'absentminded' McCain, 'inexperienced' Palin
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - September 4, 2008
JERUSALEM - GOP Sen. John McCain is "absentminded" and "terrible" and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, doesn't have any appropriate experience.
Sen. Barack Obama, by contrast, is "highly educated" and "eloquent" and would serve the world much better and improve America's overall situation.
And Sen. Joe Biden is a "very respectable" man with a "good reputation."
All this according to an interview broadcast this week on Iranian state-run media.
"[McCain] doesn't know anything, poor thing. He is terrible. Let me tell you, he's awful," stated Mohammad-Ali Fardanesh, a political science professor at Shahid Behshti University, which is an Iranian state-funded school.
Fardanesh was speaking Tuesday on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting television network in an interview translated today by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.
Continued Fardanesh about McCain: "He doesn't know the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, yet he wants to resolve the problems in Iraq? He doesn't know whether Iran is Shiite or Sunni, or the difference between the two. ... He is a respectable, humane, honest, and patriotic man, but when it comes to foreign policy and domestic affairs, he has nothing to offer."
"McCain not only has no experience, but doesn't even know where 'abroad' is. The poor guy is very absentminded," said Fardanesh.
The political science professor, billed by Iranian television as a U.S. expert, then turned his sights on Palin, calling her inexperienced. . . .
Fardanesh then lavished praise on Obama, stating his election would "improve the situation in America in general." . . .
"Mr. Obama's perspective is more clear. Only yesterday, they transferred control of the Al-Anbar province to the Iraqi government, on the first day of Ramadan. This is something Mr. Obama has been saying. Mr. Obama has said several times: 'Al-Qaida operates in 80 countries, but we got ourselves entangled in Iraq. Our presence in Iraq is what led al-Qaida to begin operating there.'" - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| Obama camp 'flattered' by Hamas compliment |
 Terror group compared senator to JFK in its endorsement of him for president
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - April 17, 2008
Barack Obama's campaign said yesterday it is "flattered" that Hamas' endorsement of the Illinois senator compared him to John F. Kennedy, though it objects to any diplomatic contact with the terrorist group.
"I like John Kennedy too," said chief Obama strategist David Axelrod. "That's about the only thing we have in common with this gentleman from Hamas. We all agree that John Kennedy was a great president, and it's flattering when anybody says that Barack Obama would follow in his footsteps."
Axelrod was reacting to comments earlier this week from Ahmed Yousuf, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, who said Hamas "hopes" Obama will win the presidential elections and "change" America's foreign policy.
"I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse. ... I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance," Yousuf said during an exclusive interview with WND and WABC-New York radio's John Batchelor. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
|
6% of US Rabbis sign petition backing Obama
|
ISRAEL INSIDER [Koret Communications Ltd.] - September 11, 2008
WASHINGTON - More than 300 rabbis from all streams of Judaism, out of 5000 total US rabbis, have signed a document expressing their support for Democratic candidate Barack Hussein Obama for president of the United States. The initiative was launched in Senator Obama's home state of Illinois, with hundreds of rabbis adding their names to the proclamation of support.
The struggle for the Jewish vote is crucial to the Obama campaign, as it is to Republican rival John McCain -- particularly in swing states like Pennsylvania and Florida, which both have large Jewish communities. Despite the early Obama backlash, 80% of the Jews who intend on keeping with their traditional voting pattern (i.e. - staunchly Democrat), now say they back Obama.
However, the Democratic candidate has been suffering in southern Florida, where the older Jewish community tends to lean to the right in regards to their support for Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Original Report
|
| Obama: Terror groups have 'legitimate claims' |
Asserts U.S. needs foreign policy that 'looks at the root causes of problems'
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - September 8, 2008
JERUSALEM - The Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations have "legitimate claims" that are being "weakened" by the violence the terror groups carry out, Sen. Barack Obama recently stated in largely unnoticed remarks in the New York Times.
Speaking in May with columnist David Brooks, Obama said the U.S. needs a foreign policy that "looks at the root causes of problems and dangers."
The presidential candidate compared Hezbollah to Hamas, stating they both need to be compelled to understand that "they're going down a blind alley with violence that weakens their legitimate claims."
Brooks was speaking to Obama for clarification on an earlier statement the Illinois senator made implying Lebanese militias should be tempered with enticements.
Regarding Hezbollah, Obama earlier declared: "It's time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment."
Brooks took issue with that statement, writing it has the "whiff" of "appeasement."
"Is Obama na�ve enough to think that an extremist ideological organization like Hezbollah can be mollified with a less corrupt patronage system and some electoral reform?" asked Brooks, who said he called Obama today to clarify his remarks.
Obama immediately affirmed Hezbollah is "not a legitimate political party." Instead, "It's a destabilizing organization by any common-sense standard. This wouldn't happen without the support of Iran and Syria."
He continued by stating Hamas and Hezbollah violence weakens the groups' "legitimate claims."
Hamas' official charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of the Jewish state. It also calls for Muslims to "pursue the cause of the Movement (Hamas), all over the globe." . . .
Obama previously was embroiled in controversy regarding Hamas after Ahmed Yousuf, the terror group's chief political adviser in the Gaza Strip, said in an interview in April with WND and with WABC radio that he "hopes" Obama becomes president. . . .
Obama's comments about "legitimate causes" of terror groups and "root problems of causes and dangers" seems to echo little-noticed remarks the presidential candidate made eight days after 9/11 in which he said the attacks were carried out because of a lack of "empathy" for others' suffering on the part of al-Qaida, whose terrorist ideology "grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."
Obama went on to imply the Sept. 11 attacks were, in part, a result of U.S. policy, lecturing the American military to minimize civilian casualties in the Middle East and urging action opposing "bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle-Eastern descent."
"Even as I hope for some measure of peace and comfort to the bereaved families, I must also hope that we, as a nation, draw some measure of wisdom from this tragedy," Obama wrote in a piece about 9/11 published Sept. 19, 2001, in Chicago's Hyde Park Herald. . . .
"We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity or suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, it may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
Media Savvy: Obama camp plasters posters at Western Wall
|
 Advertises Democrat candidate's website, official slogan at Judaism's holiest site
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - July 24, 2008
JERUSALEM - Sen. Barack Obama's campaign plastered the entrance to the Western Wall - the holiest site in Judaism - with official campaign posters, ....
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld confirmed to WND posters that adorned police barricades erected at the Western Wall plaza for Obama's visit were distributed by the presidential candidate's campaign.
"These posters were his campaign and not the doing of the police," said Rosenfeld, whose police department coordinated security and provided protection for Obama's visit today to the holy site.
Asked if it was traditional practice for politicians visiting the Western Wall to bring along posters or campaign materials, Rosenfeld replied, "No."
Obama campaign posters can be seen in media footage of the Illinois senator's early morning surprise visit to the Western Wall.
His visit reportedly was not on the official campaign schedule.
The posters display Obama's name in Hebrew. One poster erected on the main police barricade used by Obama to enter the holy site boasts the official red, white and blue campaign "O" symbol and advertises the candidate's campaign's website.
A second poster also displays Obama's name in Hebrew and contains an image of Israeli and American flags.
Reuters posted images of the Obama campaign posters showing a handful of people waiting behind the police barricades.
Reuters images had the following caption:
"Supporters of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) stand behind banners printed with his name in Hebrew as they wait for his arrival at the Western wall."
The caption implied supporters brought along the pro-Obama material.
But an eyewitness speaking to WND tells a different story.
"The kids waiting for Obama may not even be Obama supporters. No one knew Obama was coming in advance. We saw the police barricades erected. We saw Obama's face on the posters, and some police said Obama was on his way. So a few people gathered by the barricades and waited for Obama," said the witness.
Obama's media relations department in the U.S. did not reply to a WND phone call request for comment. . . .
According to media accounts, one worshipper repeatedly heckled Obama, chanting: "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale" and "Jerusalem is our land." - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| Report: Obama Kotel Note Leak was PR Stunt |
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Gil Ronen and Hana Levi Julian - July 29, 2008
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign seems to have purposely leaked the contents of the note that he placed in the Kotel, web magazine Israel Insider wrote Tuesday. While Israel's Hebrew newspaper Maariv came under fire for publishing the note, "it now appears that Maariv had collaborated with the Obama campaign in getting the 'private' prayer, with its 'modest' supplication to the Lord, out to the public, buffing his Christian credentials and showing his "humility," the web magazine said. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| 'Obama Has Made Jerusalem Campaign Issue' |
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu - June 15, 2008
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama's comment and subsequent backtrack on an "undivided Jerusalem" has turned the capital into an election campaign issue, the New York Jewish Week reported. Sen. Obama later softened his statement, saying that the status of the city will be decided by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Orthodox Union (OU) political director Nathan Diament commented, "Sen. Obama made it an issue by highlighting it in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) speech, so now it's not just the issue, but whether the candidates, both Obama and [Republican presidential candidate Senator John] McCain, speak clearly and consistently about that issue."
Sen. Obama hit the headlines with his original comment that "any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided."
Arab officials quickly and harshly condemned him for the statement, and less than 24 hours later explained on CNN, "Obviously it is going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues, and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations. My belief is that as a practical matter it would be very difficult to execute. And I think that it is smart for us to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem. But Israel has a legitimate claim on that city." . . . .
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain stated, "Jerusalem is undivided. Jerusalem is the capital, and we should move our embassy to Jerusalem before anything else happens."
Republican party official Matthew Brooks said, "The Obama flip-flop on Jerusalem shows to the electorate that he is just another politician who will say anything to any group in order to get elected." - - - -
Read Full Report
|
|
Obama's Pro-Gay Flyers
|
CBN NEWS [Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc.] - The Brody File, By David Brody, CBN News Senior National Correspondent - July 1, 2008
Barack Obama may be talking up his Christian faith like he's doing today in Ohio and trying his best to appeal to Evangelicals with a "new kind of politics," but he's got a problem. Many of his positions are the same liberal positions that have turned off Evangelicals for years.
Obama delivered another speech about faith Tuesday. He's done a few of these concerning his faith and how it shapes his public policy. But Sunday his campaign and the Democratic Party were handing out pro-gay rights flyers at the Pride Festival in St. Louis. How is that going to play in the heartland? The Brody File has four flyers in its possession. You can view them by clicking here and here and here and here. These are larger files, so please give them a moment to download.
Obama has passed the first hurdle by engaging people of faith and being willing to discuss his faith openly. He has passed with flying colors. But now comes the hard part. It's called scrutiny. His political opponents believe that once Evangelicals really get a handle on what Obama is all about policy wise, then they'll be turned off and they won't buy in to the lofty rhetoric.
Handing out pro-gay rights flyers while at the same time talking about your "Christian faith" is a MAJOR disconnect for not only conservative Evangelicals but for some of those Independent voting, moderate leaning working class folks in the rust belt. It doesn't play well.
Look, I understand that Obama is saying ALL people should be treated with respect. That's not the issue. Evangelicals also believe ALL people should be treated respectfully. Rather, Obama's next challenge may be defending his liberal positions as part of his Christian narrative. Let's face it. Talking about fighting genocide in Darfur, poverty in America, global warming and promoting faith based groups are all well and good but will it be enough to make a dent in the Evangelical vote when his full record is exposed? Evangelicals will need ALL the information out there to make an informed decision.
For example, this past week he sent a letter to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club where he congratulated those in California who recently got married. He also lays out his gay rights agenda. Read the letter below:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club's Pride Breakfast and to congratulate you on continuing a legacy of success, stretching back thirty-six years. As one of the oldest and most influential LGBT organizations in the country, you have continually rallied to support Democratic candidates and causes, and have fought tirelessly to secure equal rights and opportunities for LGBT Americans in California and throughout the country.
As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, and the passage of laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states.
For too long. issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It's time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. This is no less than a core issue about who we are as Democrats and as Americans.
Finally, I want to congratulate all of you who have shown your love for each other by getting married these last few weeks. My thanks again to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club for allowing me to be a part of today's celebration. I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years, and I wish you all continued success.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Original Report
|
Obama birth certificate: Real or phony baloney?
|
Authenticity of crucial document staked on Daily Kos-derived image
WORLDNETDAILY - July 8, 2008
Questions over a birth certificate for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama - the document that could prove his constitutional qualifications to run for the presidency - have been revived by a report from Israel Insider.
A blogger who earlier raised the "unlikely" but circulating rumor Obama was born not within the United States, but elsewhere, possibly Kenya, eventually said he was satisfied the senator was born in Hawaii.
WND's report on the questions over his birth site followed secrecy by the Obama campaign over the issue, which centers on the U.S. Constitution's requirement that presidents be "natural-born" U.S. citizens.
Jim Geraghty, reporting on the Campaign Spot, a National Review blog, had cited the "unlikely" possibility that Obama's 1961 birth was not within the U.S.
At the time, he wrote, "If Obama were born outside the United States, one could argue that he would not meet the legal definition of natural-born citizen . . . because U.S. law at the time of his birth required his natural-born parent (his mother) to have resided in the United States for 10 years, at least [f]ive of which had to be after the age of 16.'"
He then pointed out Ann Dunham, Obama's mother, was 18 when Obama was born "so she wouldn't have met the requirement of five years after the age of 16."
But when the Daily Kos website posted an image that appeared to be Obama's birth certificate, Geraghty announced he was satisfied.
However, investigative work done by the Insider now raises the possibility that the image posted on the Kos site, and an image later on the Obama campaign site, lack authenticity.
The Insider said Jay McKinnon, a self-described Department of Homeland Security-trained document specialist, "has implicated himself in the production of palpably fake Hawaii birth certificate images similar to the one endorsed as genuine by the Barack Obama campaign, and appearing on the same Daily Kos blog entry where the supposedly authentic document appears."
The report said the publication had located a collection of Hawaii birth certificate images on the Photobucket site, and the result is an implication that the Kos site, as well as the candidate's own "Fight the Smears" website, are "misleading the public with official-looking but manipulated document images of doubtful provenance."
"Without a valid birth certificate, the primary record of U.S. birth, Obama cannot prove that he fulfills the 'natural born citizen' requirement of the Constitution, throwing into doubt his eligibility to run for president and throwing the race into turmoil," the Insider report said. - - - -
Read Full Report
|
| Three Members of Obama's Church Killed |
Investigator close to case believes there's more to the brutal murders than mainstream press is letting on
AMERICAN FREE PRESS - By Victor Thorn - May 26, 2008
Is a Barack Obama bombshell lurking in the shadows, waiting to derail one of the biggest Cinderella stories in recent history?
While most political prognosticators in the mainstream press presume that Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, they still wonder aloud if Hillary Clinton (or some other entity) has something up their sleeve.
The bombshell may involve the murder of Donald Young, a 47-year-old choir master at former Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ-the same congregation that Obama has attended for the past 20 years. Two other young black men that attended the same church-Larry Bland and Nate Spencer-were also murdered execution style with bullets to the backs of their heads-all within 40 days of each other, beginning in November 2007. All three were openly homosexual.
What links this story to Barack Obama is that, according to an acquaintance of Obama, Larry Sinclair, Obama is a closet bisexual with whom he had sexual and drug-related encounters in November 1999.
Further, Sinclair claims that Obama was friendly with at least two of these deceased parishioners, and that choir director Donald had contacted him shortly before being murdered from multiple gunshot wounds on December 23, 2007.
These killings are receiving a number of different reactions. Mike Parker, reporting for CBS in Chicago, wrote, "Activists fear gay African-Americans are being targeted for murder," while Marc Loveless of the Coalition for Justice and Respect queries, "Are we under attack? Is this a serial killer?"
An even more sinister aspect of this case is being investigated. According to Sinclair in an affidavit to the Chicago Police Department, Donald Young had informed him that he and Barack Obama were "intimate" with each other. Sinclair, it should be noted, declared on a January 18, 2008, YouTube video that on two separate occasions in November 1999, he engaged in sexual acts with Obama, and that Obama smoked crack cocaine-once in a limousine and the other time at a hotel in Gurnee, Ill.
Sinclair has also asked: why would Young-whom he had never met-initiate these calls by contacting him on cell phone numbers known only in the Obama camp? Further, a private investigator connected to the Chicago Police Department told the Globe, "Donald Young was silenced because of something he knew about Obama. Donald was in a position where he heard a lot of things and saw a lot of things concerning Barack."
Another questionable Obama associate is openly homosexual. That person is Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig, who was listed during the 2008 campaign as being part of Obama's "technology initiative."
In April, Lessig showed a video at a Google seminar entitled Jesus Christ: The Musical where "Jesus Christ lip-syncs Gloria Gaynor's late 1970s disco hit I Will Survive during which he strips down to just a diaper, effeminately struts along a city street, and finally gets run over by a speeding bus."
Are three murders within the span of 40 days among members of America's most discussed church-one run by the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright-enough to arouse the suspicions of Chicago law enforcement officials and members of the national media?
Or, as Sinclair wrote in a May 18 email, was the murder of Young "made to look similar to other recent murders as to make it look as if it were a hate crime" because he had become a political liability?
One can only hope that this isn't the beginning of another body count eerily reminiscent of that associated with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Original Report
| |
FAIR USE NOTICE
This Email newsletter
contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically
authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our
efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human
rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to
those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information
for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish
to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go
beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.
Important Disclaimer
Moriel Ministries does not
necessarily endorse everything that is transmitted to our email groups, as being
completely trustworthy or godly as some items are drawn from secular sources.
Nor does it suggest in any way that any individual or organization mentioned
should be followed or given any special credence. Be Alert! is for the
dissemination of information only and godly discretion must be applied
by recipients to every transmission received by them, from us.
Regarding "Conspiracy Theories"
Be Alert! and Moriel do not
necessarily endorse the views expressed by those deemed as "conspiracy
theorists" (nor do we necessarily always agree with the use of this terminology
used as a label by the establishment) when such an article reprinted or topic
covered. We present this in the interests of research - for the relevant
information, we believe it contains. We encourage the reader to prayerfully use
this information within the framework of reasoned and scriptural consideration
for the purposes of investigative journalism, research and sound bible study,
towards a greater, common understanding of the unanswered questions, concerning
intrigue and deception which have engulfed both the church as well as the
world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
