Containing Russia's Advances
(From Stratfor The Geopolitics of Russia: Permanent Struggle, April 15, 2012)
From the Russian point of view, creating a sphere of influence that would return Russia to its relatively defensible imperial boundaries is imperative. Obviously, forces in the peripheral countries as well as great powers outside the region will resist. For them, a weak and vulnerable Russia is preferable, since a strong and secure one develops other appetites that could see Russia pushing along vectors such as through the Skagerrak toward the North Sea, through the Turkish Straits toward the Mediterranean and through La Perouse Strait toward Japan and beyond.
Russia's essential strategic problem is this: It is geopolitically unstable. The Russian Empire and Soviet Union were never genuinely secure. One problem was the North European Plain. But another problem, very real and hard to solve, was access to the global trading system via oceans. And behind this was Russia's essential economic weakness due to its size and lack of ability to transport agricultural produce throughout the country. No matter how much national will it has, Russia's inherently insufficient infrastructure constantly weakens its internal cohesion.
Russia must dominate the Eurasian heartland. When it does, it must want more. The more it wants the more it must face its internal economic weakness and social instability, which cannot support its ambitions. Then the Russian Federation must contract. This cycle has nothing to do with Russian ideology or character. It has everything to do with geography, which in turn generates ideologies and shapes character. Russia is Russia and must face its permanent struggle."
Pray that the sanctions and other measures being taken against Russia will hold President Putin and the Russian government back from further aggressive moves against Ukraine or other nations in their neighborhood or globally.
Pray for Israel's Election This Tuesday
http://www.wnd.com/2015/01/obama-army-deploys-to-tel-aviv-to-topple-netanyahu/
TEL AVIV - A consulting firm almost entirely composed of former staffers of President Obama's re-election campaign has been hired to run an election effort in Israel aimed at defeating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The conservative blogosphere is reporting Jeremy Bird, national field director for Obama's 2012 campaign, is now working for a new non-profit group, V15, that is running an effort to defeat Netanyahu in the upcoming election.
A closer look at Bird's consulting firm as well as its working relationship with the Israeli groups finds he is just one of scores of former senior Obama election campaign staffers now working on the anti-Netanyahu effort...
The left-leaning Haaretz daily in Israel reported V15 is "trying to replace Israel's government" and cause "nothing less than an electoral upset" in elections here in March.
Haaretz reporter Roy Arad writes that he directly asked V15 founder Nimrod Dweck whether his group's goal was "anyone but Bibi," referring to Netanyahu by his popular nickname.
Dreck replied: "We say 'replace the government,' it's not directed at specific individuals. There have been many years of right-wing governments during which little happened, it's time to change course and give people hope."
V15, or "Victory 2015" is backed by a U.S.-U.K. group called "One Voice," whose official Tel Aviv offices are adjacent to those of V15.
One Voice bills itself as an "international grassroots movement that amplifies the voice of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians." It has a clearly leftist tone...
270 Strategies' team of 45 staffers includes 16 who worked directly for Obama's campaigns.
Most of the former Obama staffers comprise the senior posts at the firm. Others worked for the Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee or grassroots groups involved in progressive efforts, including a group to enroll Americans in Obamacare."
Pray for this important election in Israel that all external manipulation will fail and that God's purposes will be accomplished with the right leadership put in place for this challenging time in the nation's history, especially the dangerous confrontation with Iran over its attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
PINK (Prayer Initiative for North Korea) 2015
An Invitation to the Last Prayer Initiative for North Korea
In September 2011, leaders, prayer warriors and intercessors serving the Lord all across nations and different sectors of society gathered in Seoul, Korea under a concerted purpose called "PINK" - Prayer Initiative for North Korea. It was the first prayer gathering where the three cords of South Korea, North Korea and the nations gathered to cry out for North Korea for three days. God heard our cries.
Prophetic decrees were made during that time, and the prophecy of Kim Jong-il's fall was fulfilled three months after the gathering - just as it was prophesied. Many more significant changes took place both in South and North Korea leading immediately after PINK 2011.
We stand once again at a crucial juncture.
2015 marks the 70th year of the division of the two Koreas, and the Lord Himself affirms that it is time.
"Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins." Isaiah 40:2 (NIV)
Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, was once called the "Jerusalem of the East."
The Lord is waiting for His people to proclaim that the time of hard service has ended, to speak tenderly with His love and compassion.
We believe that PINK 2015 will be the last prayer gathering for North Korea.
Let us set aside three days from April 6 to 8, 2015 to proclaim and witness the historical shift.
In His Royal Service,
Preparatory Committee for PINK 2015
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Prayer Initiative for North Korea (PINK ) 2015
Dates: April 6 ~ 8, 2015
Venue: Young San Camp (Osan-ri, Jori-eup, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, http://www.fgcamp.com)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Homepage: www.pink2015.org
Please find the brief schedule below:
- Registration, dinner & reception: April 5 evening
- Main conference: April 6 Monday ~ April 8 Wednesday
- Daily Subject: Repentance (6th), Intercession (7th), Proclamation(8th)
- DMZ Prayer Tour: April 9 morning
ISIS FIGHTER CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY RELIGION
Aleppo | An ISIS jihadist has recently converted to Christianity after being left for dead near the Eastern border of Syria where he was finally rescued by Christian missionaries from the region, reports the Aleppo Herald this morning.
The man, that has miraculously survived multiple gun shot wounds after an altercation between ISIS and Syrian Army forces, was rescued by members of the Saint Dominican Catholic Presbytery of Ayyash hours after the conflict had erupted.
The members of the Christian organization wanted to give the man a proper Christian burial and carried him over 26 kilometers before the man miraculously came back to life as he was believed to have died from his wounds.
http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/catholic-priest-syria.jpg
The man was believed to be dead for hours before he suddenly came back to life, recalls priest Hermann Groschlin, who discovered the body of the young man. As the man came back to his senses, he reported to priest Hermann Groschlin of the visions he had whilst in the afterlife, an event that profoundly changed the 32-year old jihadist and eventually led to his conversion to Christianity days later.
"He told me that he was always taught that to die as a martyr would open him the Gates of Jannah, or Gates of Heaven" recalled the priest. "Yet, as he had started to ascend towards the light of the Heavens, devilish entities, or Jinns he called them, appeared and led him to the fiery pits of Hell. There he had to relive all the pain he had inflicted upon others and every death he had caused throughout his entire life. He even had to relive the decapitations of his victims through their own eyes", images the jihadist claims will haunt him for the rest of his life, admits the priest.
"Then Allah, or God, spoke unto him and told him that he had failed miserably as a human soul, that he would be banned from the Gates of Heaven if he chose to die, but that if he chose to live again, he would have another chance to repent of his sins and walk along God's path once again"
The young man claims he was brought back to life moments later and eventually converted to Christianity days later, believing he had been misled throughout his religious life under the worship of Allah.
The young man, who's wounds have surprisingly healed in a very short time, has chosen to live amongst the members of the Catholic presbytery who rescued him from the desert and hopes his story will help other ISIS fighters change their ways and convert to the one and only true God, the priest told local reporters.
World News Daily Report, February 23rd, 2015
