Earlier Friday, Israel’s army urgently warned people to evacuate parts of a Beirut suburb, vowing to retaliate against strikes which it said were launched from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Hezbollah denied firing the rockets at northern Israel, and accused Israel of seeking a pretext to continue attacking Lebanon. Israel has struck targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since a ceasefire took hold in November 2024, mostly targeting Hezbollah.

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-beirut-strike-2deec514f1081633340a20ee4a7ad300

The post Middle East latest: Israel strikes Beirut for first time since ceasefire with Hezbollah first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Wafiq Safa, who heads Hezbollah’s liaison and coordination unit responsible for working with Lebanese security agencies, was targeted by Israel on Thursday night but survived, the security sources said.

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The post Senior Hezbollah official survives Israeli assassination attempt, sources say first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israel’s attack in Beirut on Friday afternoon allegedly targeted the head of Hezbollah‘s Operations Division, Ibrahim Aliq, Israeli media confirmed on Friday morning.

So, who is this leader in the terrorist organization, and why did Israel allegedly want to take him down?

Ibrahim Aqil, also known as Tahsin, “serves on Hezbollah’s highest military body, the Jihad Council,” according to the Rewards for Justice Program, the United States Department of State’s national security interagency program that offers reward for information leading to the location or an arrest of leaders of terrorist groups.

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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-821040#google_vignette

The post Who is Ibrahim Aqil, target of Israel’s Beirut strike? – explainer first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

So they’ve tried to kill former President Trump again. Trying to return America to its founding principles is dangerous work. We don’t even know if it’s possible, things are so crazy. The media thinks it has the high ground and that we Americans trust them. Wrong. The internet may be evil in a lot of ways, but now everyone can put something out there, and viewer beware. These networks have their trusted anchors, and they think they can tell us almost anything with a straight face. But they’re losing clout and credibility. 

The rapper with the last name Combs is under arrest, and said to be suicidal. They must have the goods on him, whatever he may have done. It was all fun and games for a while, but then reality bites. His mogul days may be a thing of the past, but how many other idiots are waiting in the wings?

Trying to figure out the Ukrainian mess has given me a headache. Somehow, Zelensky running around the world with hat in hand is getting old. We don’t know who’s winning, if anybody. Will Ukraine join NATO? There have been so many massacres over there it’s unbelievable. Mass graves have been dug up, and the evidence of brutality is not for the weak of heart.  

Maybe somebody is going to have to tell me how the election turns out. It’s getting pretty hard to watch. The left wing is absolutely apoplectic about what a bad guy Donald Trump is. To hear one of them rant is downright scary.  

The news that Israel somehow detonated terrorist pagers remotely is making the rounds. They did it in the middle of the day, when they would be in pockets. Right now they’re trying to track down how this was pulled off. The next day walkie talkies exploded all over Lebanon. The explosions killed several, wounded thousands and now what? Maybe the parties will be more willing to negotiate? This situation has gone on nearly a year, and Israel seems determined to make sure it never happens again, at least for a long time. Israel may have been underestimated. Who knows what device might blow up next? Israel has killed a bunch of the leadership, and the terrorists keep getting farther from their goal. You see the pictures of these guys, and they look like regular people, but the hatred runs deep, and they’ve got it bad.  

We’ve got our own troubles. This may be the calm before the storm. Whatever the outcome, the other side is going to cry foul. All kinds of theories are being floated about what might happen in the event of one outcome or another.  

The polls are tied or nearly tied according to the media. How can full stadiums compare to a Kamala rally? No explanations are forthcoming, certainly not in the mainstream media. They better not try to steal this one, or it will be anarchy. People have been forgiving, non-combative and don’t need any trouble. But we have trouble anyway, and if the mainstream, global-warming media thinks they can push the country around, they might just get a rude awakening.  

Right now our country is being invaded. They’re coming from all over the world. What are you, racist? When has any nation on earth allowed millions of people to walk in? That would be never.  But we’re racist, I guess against the whole world, if we’re not thrilled.  

Everybody is still arguing about the debate and Kamala’s body language. They’ve floated the idea that she may have had an earpiece. Some of the poses, we could have done without. Knowledgeable people are saying the debate was a tie or she won. But the news media is getting harder to believe. Hang on tight, because this is for all the chips. Regular people are no longer amused.   

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – September 20, 2024 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The IDF struck Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, likely eliminating a Hezbollah commander who was responsible for the strike on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights a few days earlier that killed 12 Israeli Druze children and teenagers, according to a report by KAN.

The name of the commander targeted was Fuad Shukr. The Hezbollah official had a $5 million bounty “on his head,” according to the United States Rewards for Justice.

Shukr was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s military adviser and has been active in the terrorist organization for 30 years, where he was the head of the terrorist group’s operations room, three senior security sources told Reuters. Shukar also goes by the names “Hajj Mohsen” and “Muhsin Shukr.”

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-812577

The post IDF strikes Beirut: Hezbollah commander responsible for Majdal Shams strike likely killed first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Lebanese army thwarted an attack by a gunman on the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday morning in Beirut.

The attack took place as tensions simmered in the tiny Mediterranean country, where months of fighting between Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops has displaced thousands along the border.

Local media reported that there was a gunfight involving at least one attacker and lasting almost half an hour at the U.S. diplomatic mission.

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/attack-us-embassy-lebanon-foiled-gunman-captured-after-shootout

The post Attack on US Embassy in Lebanon foiled, gunman captured after shootout first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Saleh al-Arouri, 58, who served as Hamas’ deputy politburo leader and its military commander of the West Bank, died in the attack. He was a founding commander of Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ Armed Wing, and has been living in Lebanon since 2018.

He was imprisoned twice in Israeli jails for a total of 18 years before being released in 2010. He was known to be the coordinator between Hamas and Hezbollah.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/01/02/lebanon-Hamas-commander-killed-Lebanon-Israel-Saleh-al-Arouri/8341704222898/

The post Hamas: Senior commander, companions killed in Israeli strike on Beirut first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Who said they didn’t?

One of the things that everyone’s had to grapple with is the non-stop accusations hurled at the President and the United States in general, is that we’re all a bunch of racists.  They tried this in the ’60s, but it never caught on nationally the way it has recently.  But this black lives matter slogan, and organizational moniker has thrown a lot of people off balance.  If you think about it, the very name indicates you’re guilty of believing the opposite.  Did somebody somewhere say black lives don’t matter?  So far as we know, nobody has said such a thing.  If they had, the media would be all over it.  As it is, the mainstream information sources treat the slogan as if it has deep meaning, and somehow justifies the looting and burning of some of the most exclusive districts of several American cities.

Finally, after weeks of justifying the plight of the mob, CNN’s prime time “gay” anchor said, “The looting has got to stop.”  What a thing to come out of his mouth!  Mind you, it was said after a bunch of civilians showed up with firearms to keep what was left of Kenosha, Wisconsin from being burnt to the ground.  Oh, now it’s got to stop.  After two violent soy boys got shot up and the “mostly peaceful protesters” (some of whom had traveled long distances to wreak mayhem) realized that there are at least some not willing to hide and watch while American cities are looted and burned.

Most probably have seen at least some highlights from this week’s convention which culminated with the President’s appearance last night.  After seeing nothing but clashes, anarchy and fires burning out of control, it was inspiring to witness the spectacle put on at the White House South Lawn with a couple thousand in attendance.  As the cameras scanned the audience, you’d have to look hard to find the few masks in the crowd.  It drove the commentators crazy!  It drove them crazy that the event was held on White House grounds.  There may be no explicit law against what was done, but it broke protocol, and… and…  Donald J. Trump is the President, so you can expect norms to take a back seat from time to time.

It’s not like the South Lawn was the first choice.  It was the third!  Two other locations had been chosen, only to have been made unworkable by local “officials” flexing their authority.  They’re insulated by the constant refrain about everybody keeping everybody safe, and that clearly was not in practice at the spectacular event we witnessed last night.  Expert commentators’ heads were popping throughout the presentation, especially as the words spoken resulted in one standing ovation after another.

“They’re trying to convince you he’s not a racist,” they hissed on CNN.  People that have known President Trump over decades pointed to many actions he’s taken over his personal career that prove just the opposite.  “But people already know what they’ve seen and heard with their own eyes and ears.”  Very likely the networks were wishing they hadn’t aired last week’s embarrassing debacle, then they wouldn’t have had to carry the proceedings this week.  If only they had it all to do over.

We’ve been assembling the mailing of this month’s letter yesterday and today, and it deals largely with the debasement of American society and the culture war that threatens our very way of life.

It does so, largely at the expense of other developments of importance on the world scene.  If the United States devolves into anarchist Utopia, freedom and prosperity wherever it exists will soon follow.  Some have already sought to use the China virus as an excuse to create a police state environment.  But rules only apply to the law abiding, you understand.  Some can attack police, attack civilians, loot and burn without incurring significant legal trouble.  But if one should try to open their place of business in contravention of some governor’s “orders,” Katy bar the door.

But there are some other things worth noting.  One is that North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is reportedly in a coma and his sister is taking the reigns.  We can’t imagine the brutality of the North Korean regime on its destitute population, and early indications are that the sister will be as heartless as her predecessors.

China fired missiles, apparently as a signal of their unhappiness with an American spy plane that was in position to witness training maneuvers. President Trump’s respectful “friendship” with Prime Minister XI has not panned out.  Trade disputes have arisen, and resulted in Chinese goods being taxed at higher rates.  Hong Kong is such a lost cause, no one holds out any hope of it retaining any of the allure of decades past.  China regularly reminds the world that Taiwan is its possession.  Meanwhile, Taiwan stocks up on American military equipment.  We haven’t even talked about repercussions for China having released the ruinous virus upon us.  It will undoubtedly come up.

We’ve been told that there could be no peace between Israel an the Arab world until the so-called Palestinians were satisfied.  The decades have shown that they’ll not ever be satisfied until Israel is gone, so there’s been a perpetual state of war.  The mainstream scoffed at the prospect of any further peace in the Middle East, due to the perpetual terrorist attacks, tunnels, rockets and snipers from Gaza.  But then a most surprising thing happened.  A peace agreement was forged between Israel and the United Arab Eremites, and suddenly announced.  It came as a blow to Palestinian leadership and to the mainstream media.

And then Beirut blew up.  We’ve read that the ammonium nitrate that destroyed the port and much of the city came from Iran, and had been there for at least a couple of years.  Beirut has little chance of recovery for the foreseeable future.  Residents of Beirut are unhappier than Americans, and that’s saying something.  There have been some exchanges of fire and air-strikes between Southern Lebanon and Israel, but, what’s new?

Let’s hope they don’t get too carried away with the Middle East peace proposals.  The Bible tells us that when peace and safety are declared, stand by for massive destruction.  With that in mind, maybe the Palestinians should hold their ground.  Sorry for the state of affairs, Stateside and abroad.  This is not how this year was supposed to play out.

Mark

Source:  http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Report by Mark Armstrong – 28 August 2020 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Lebanon‘s entire Cabinet resigned on Monday, a day after the death toll in last week’s devastating explosion at Beirut‘s port climbed to more than 200 people, according to the country’s health minister.

Lebanese health minister, Hamad Hassan, told reporters at the end of a Cabinet meeting Monday that Prime Minister Hassan Diab will head to the presidential palace to “hand over the resignation in the name of all the ministers.”

“The whole government resigned,” Hamad said.

BEIRUT COP KILLED IN ANTI-GOVERNMENT CLASHES AS MACRON CALLS ON WORLD TO HELP

Diab is also expected to resign in a few hours when he’s scheduled to address the nation Monday night, according to Sky News. His Cabinet now assumes a caretaker role until a new government is formed.  On Saturday, he had offered to push for early elections.

After large, violent demonstrations were seen in Beirut over the weekend involving security forces firing tear gas at protesters, another protest was planned outside the Baabda Palace on Monday, as the Lebanese people also called for President Michel Aoun to step down, Reuters reported. It was not immediately clear if Aoun would cede to their demands.

Protesters blame the country’s ruling class for corruption and negligence that led to the blast. Meanwhile, Iran, which backs the Shiite Muslim militant group Hezbollah that’s infiltrated Lebanon’s government, warned world leaders not to politicize the devastation seen after the explosion in Beirut.

“It won’t work, it’s just the same people. It’s a mafia,” Antoinette Baaklini, an employee at an electrical company destroyed by the explosion said, referencing proposed government reforms.

Rows of destroyed trucks are seen at the site of last week’s explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

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Lebanon’s information minister, Manal Abdel Samad, was the first to quit on Sunday in the aftermath of the explosion that left some 6,000 people wounded and another 300,000 people homeless. She was followed by Lebanon’s environmental minister, Demianos Kattar, who also stepped down Sunday.

Lebanon’s justice minister, Marie-Claude Najm, became the third Cabinet member to resign within 24 hours on Monday, the state news agency reported. While trying to visit a damaged neighborhood over the weekend, she was met with shouted insults, sprayed by water hoses, and forced to leave.

Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud said the death toll from the explosion had risen to at least 220 people as of Sunday, while another 110 people remain missing, the BBC reported.

BEIRUT EXPLOSION: US MILITARY SENDS 3 CARGO PLANES TO LEBANON FILLED WITH MEDICAL SUPPLIES 

Earthmoving equipment and rescue workers search for victims, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Beirut, Lebanon, near the site of last week’s explosion that hit the city’s seaport. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

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President Trump joined an international donor call on Sunday hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the explosion but warned that no money for rebuilding the capital would be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.

The massive blast on Aug. 4 has brought a new wave of public outrage at the government and Lebanon’s long-entrenched ruling class. The explosion, centered at Beirut port, is believed to have been caused by a fire that ignited a 2,750-ton stockpile of explosive ammonium nitrate. The material had been stored at the port since 2013 with few safeguards despite numerous warnings of the danger.

The result was a disaster Lebanese blame squarely on their leadership’s corruption and neglect. Losses from the blast are estimated to be between $10 billion to $15 billion.

Public Prosecutor Ghassan El Khoury began questioning Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba, the head of Lebanon’s State Security, according to state-run National News Agency. The outlet gave no further details, but other generals are scheduled to be questioned.

A soldier walks past damaged vehicles, Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, in Beirut, Lebanon, near the site of last week’s explosion that hit the city’s seaport. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

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About 20 people have been detained over the blast, including the head of Lebanon’s customs department and his predecessor, as well as the head of the port. Dozens of people have been questioned, including two former Cabinet ministers, according to government officials.

Iran meanwhile expressed concern that Western countries and their allies might exploit anger over the explosion to pursue their political interests. Iran supports the Hezbollah militant group, which along with its allies dominates Lebanon’s government and parliament.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said “it is natural for people to be frustrated.” But he said it would be “unacceptable if some individuals, groups and foreign countries use the incident as a pretext for their purposes and intentions.”

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Israel’s defense minister drew a line Monday between the blast and claims that Hezbollah stores its rockets and weapons deep inside civilian areas. While he did not accuse Hezbollah and its arms of being linked to the blast, Benny Gantz said villages and towns across Lebanon were packed with Hezbollah arms that if set off — whether by Israeli operations or by accident — would destroy homes. He said Hezbollah was Lebanon’s biggest problem.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/beirut-explosion-death-toll-200-lebanon-minister-resigns

[Disclaimer]

The post Entire Lebanese Cabinet resigns as Beirut explosion death toll surpasses 200 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

It was one of the biggest bangs this side of Nagasaki.  The explosion at the Beirut port was so powerful that it killed at least 135 instantly, wounded thousands and rendered some 300,000 suddenly homeless.  We heard conflicting reports, whether fireworks factory, storage for missiles imported by Hezbollah from Iran, or a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate.  Whichever is the culprit, the result has been the complete destruction of the Beirut port facility, along with the thousands of injuries and a mounting death toll.  All three may have gone up in the mushroom cloud, but ammonium nitrate looks to be the culprit for the massively destructive explosion.  Apparently officials knew of the danger, and now there is a frantic search for someone responsible for letting this happen.

You could logically be forgiven for limiting your intake of “official information.”  Nearly every newscast begins with a triumphant recitation of the latest COVID cases and deaths.  Isn’t it glorious?  The often renewed panic is gnawing away at any chance of economic recovery, and it’s all the fault of you know who.  But who knows what’s going on with these 99.9% accurate tests?  We don’t give medical advice, but possibly the worst thing one could do, from the standpoint of retaining any modicum of personal freedom, is to go get tested.

We know from numerous anecdotal stories and reports that a lot of people test “positive” who aren’t sick, haven’t been sick and don’t plan on being sick.  Once somebody tests positive, they’re liable to lose whatever freedoms they thought they still had.  You’ll likely be told (not asked) that you must take yourself out of circulation for ten days to two weeks.  Official state agencies may try to contact you, demanding to know every place you’ve been and everyone with whom you’ve had contact.    They’re called “contact tracers,” by media.  We have other terms.  Surely the information being gathered isn’t going into some politically-oriented database?

Mainstream outlets speculate endlessly about the President’s impulse to behave as a dictator, while angrily blaming him for having not instituted “national mandates” to “flatten the curve,” or whatever.  Questioning the vain babbling of Dr. Fauci is tantamount to heresy.  The social media giants will silence anyone who offers any logic that differs from the pint-size oracle of all things COVID.

Trouble is, Fauci has been all over the map with his arrogance showing.  He gave interviews prior to his rise to international fame that largely dispute most of what he’s saying now.  The diametrically opposed public statements were all delivered with the same cocksure attitude, along with the nervous chuckle the little doctor always displays.  It’s not just about his contradictory statements about masks either.  In January, before we commoners knew his name, he plainly said there couldn’t possibly be the kind of dictated “shutdowns” in America that he now calls for routinely.  It just couldn’t happen here.  But now it must.  The “people” have nothing to say about any of it.  “Doctor’s orders” claptrap.

Experts appear on all the news outlets to say that we simply “cannot consider” opening schools, businesses or entertainment venues while still logging the infection and death toll rates that are being reported.  Every time there is some encouraging news as to job growth or upward economic movement, more spikes, hot-spots and hideous illness and death reports are soon to follow, accompanied by more stringent lock-down orders from any of several local dictators, rather governors, mayors, or “medical experts.”

Why do hospitals benefit financially when they label patients “COVID positive?”  If you look, you’ll see a raft of articles from various publications and government agencies, most of which try to complicate the equation until you don’t know what to think.  But a common thread is that there is an admission of increased Federal payments to hospitals for COVIS cases, particularly those over the age of 65 through Medicare.  Then there is usually an expression of outrage that anyone would dare suspect that “medical professionals” would tinker with the diagnoses for financial gain.  How dare such a possibility even be raised!

It is a little interesting that nearly every other cause of death has fallen off the statistical chart.  Cancer, diabetes, heart-attack, stroke or the annual flu;  None of those seem to rate much concern in the age of COVID.  Everybody that expires dies of COVID now.  And none of those qualify for additional government money.  Go figure.  Did I mention that the country is going broke to the tune of 3 or 4 trillion in deficit spending so far this year?  There were tears of anger over Obama running a $2 trillion deficit in a single year.  We’re on track to see three times that amount before this year is over.

It took Rudy Giuliani years to clean up New York City to be a relatively clean and safe place.  It took the woke mob a matter of hours to return it to the filthy cesspool we knew in the ’70’s.  Graffiti mars every view.  Murders, as in other metropolises around the nation, are up dramatically without the manpower to solve them.  A few “peaceful” riots, and it’s back worse than before.

Things are anything but black and white.  Mainstream outlets are stoking fear and loathing around the clock.  The most successful early treatment has been all but outlawed because President Trump made the mistake of mentioning it out loud.  Therefore it must be dangerous!  It’ll cause heart palpitations, maybe brain damage! You must agree with the destructive COVID fear; you must hate President Trump with the anger of the mob or you’re probably a white-supremacist, even if you’re not white!

It came as a shock that we even survived the Obama years.  Despite a couple of years of faint hope that something might be salvaged by people who love freedom and a president who respects them, it may be too late.  We understand the propensity for optimism, and believe in it.  But this great nation may have passed the point of no return.

We used to wonder, how on earth could a whole population be so hopelessly deceived as to act upon false propaganda.  We don’t have to wonder anymore.  It looks like we may be living in the early stages of the book of Revelation.  Our cities are ruined.  Graffiti is everywhere.  Police have been vilified to an astonishing degree, and are being attacked, abolished and defunded.  They’re quitting in droves, and who wouldn’t?  Stick your head up on social media and that will be the end of your voice.  Should have known better than to buck the conventional wisdom.

Get used to it.  Your beliefs are not acceptable.  We have two choices.  Hide, or help inform as many as possible as to the brainwashing in progress. Actually, we have no choice.  But you do.  We need the Sabbath now as never before.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 7 August 2020 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.