RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16221/turkey-hagia-sophia-mosque

“Would you have enjoyed it so much if a mosque at the center of Europe were converted into a church?” — Ertugrul Özkök, Hurriyet, March 8, 2014.

Turkey, however, also apparently wanted to inflict humiliation on the West. By turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Erdogan has been able to embarrass Washington, mock Brussels and defy Moscow.

For Erdogan and the Islamists, Hagia Sophia is the prime symbol of Christianity’s subjugation to Islam.

“Hagia Sophia is the symbol of conquest. It belongs to us”. — Yunus Genç, head of the Istanbul branch of the Anatolian Youth Association, Le Figaro, October 7, 2020.

When cartoons of Mohammed appeared in Danish and French newspapers in 2005, the Muslim world erupted in violence…. Now that Turkey is turning its formerly most important Christian monument into a mosque, there is no protest, only silence and mumbling, which are nothing but the soundtrack of the West’s submission to Islam.

“The city that Constantine had protected for more than a thousand years… has now undergone, in this unfortunate year, the destruction by the Turks. I suffer at the thought that the temple of Saint Sophia, famous all over the world, has been destroyed or desecrated. This is a second death for Homer, a second passing for Plato”. These words by the great humanist, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II, were written five centuries ago, after the great Christian city of Constantinople fell to the Ottomans.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an unprecedented decree converting Hagia Sophia once again into a mosque. Erdogan’s decree is a gesture of immense symbolism and historic meaning. “A threat against Hagia Sophia,” said the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, “is a threat for the whole of Christian civilization”.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated:

“We urge the Government of Turkey to continue to maintain the Hagia Sophia as a museum, as an exemplar of its commitment to respect the faith traditions and diverse history that contributed to the Republic of Turkey, and to ensure it remains accessible to all”.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/07/11/iran-accuses-west-of-disinformation-as-another-huge-explosion-rocks-tehran-n631399

For the third time in three weeks, an explosion has rocked the Iranian capital of Tehran, leading many to conclude that these were coordinated attacks probably planned by Israel and the United States. Iran is denying that the explosion even occurred, although social media postings and “unofficial” news agencies say it did. They are accusing the west of mounting a disinformation campaign to undermine the regime.

That’s a good idea. Why didn’t we think of that?

The blast yesterday was so powerful, it knocked out power to thousands of residents. The Jerusalem Post reports that the blast may have targeted a Revolutionary Guard missile site.

Explosions were reported west of Tehran on Thursday night, with some initial reports claiming that the explosions occurred at a missile depot belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

According to the Iranian Mehr News Agency, the explosions were reported by social media users west of Tehran and in the cities of Garmdareh and Quds.

The Iranian government quoted the mayor of Garmdereh as saying that they heard no explosions. But there was one small problem.

Along with the denial of the explosion, Iranian media reported that the mayor of Garmdareh had stated that the explosion was caused by gas tanks, but it was later discovered that the quoted mayor had died over a year ago and that the quoted news was from years ago, according to the Independent Persian.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/07/11/tensions-rising-again-in-south-china-sea-as-beijing-u-s-conduct-exercises-n631452

There are a lot of warships steaming around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and the chances for some kind of encounter are rising.

The United States sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region while China augmented its own forces. Both sides are conducting exercises while the war of words escalates.

SCMP:

The US Department of Defence said in a July 2 statement that the Chinese military exercises around the Paracel Islands had violated China’s international commitments to avoid actions that would “complicate or escalate disputes” in the region.

“The military exercises are the latest in a long string of [Chinese] actions to assert unlawful maritime claims and disadvantage its Southeast Asian neighbours in the South China Sea,” the statement read. “[These] actions stand in contrast to its pledge to not militarise the South China Sea and the United States’ vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

China tried to play dumb but given their long-standing ambitions in the South China Sea, their words ring a little hollow.

China’s defence ministry rebuffed the US statement on Thursday, describing its early July exercises in the area as “not targeted at any specific country or objective”.

“The intent was to effectively elevate the Chinese navy’s maritime defensive capabilities, resolutely defend the safety of our country’s sovereignty, and to safeguard regional peace and stability,” the spokesperson said. “The US Department of Defence is disregarding facts, reversing black and white, inciting regional tensions, and seeking its own gain in all this.”

Donald Trump has been backing up his tough rhetoric toward Beijing by giving China a sample of U.S. airpower. Rear Adm. Jim Kirkof the Nimitz strike group says that the Navy made sure the Chinese got an eyeful.

Fox News:

Chinese naval officials are closely watching the carrier, and in the past People’s Liberation Army naval fleets have tried unsuccessfully to force U.S. Navy warships out of the area.

“We saw plenty of the Chinese navy operating around us as we did our exercises,” Adm. Kirk said.

The Chinese presence near the exercises “helped us raise our level of readiness as we go against each other through training,” he said. “So that was a marvelous opportunity for us.”

The Chinese navy has been gradually improving its capabilities over the years, especially in amphibious warfare, as they contemplate invading Taiwan. But the entire Red Chinese Navy is no match for a couple of ultra-modern, lethal instruments of war like a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

Bloomberg is reporting that the administration will lay out its case against Chinese aggression next week.

The Trump administration plans to make an announcement next week related to escalating tensions in the South China Sea, where Washington and Beijing are vying for military supremacy, according to two people familiar with the matte

The U.S. has raised concerns over China’s decision to conduct military exercises in the contested waters around the Paracel Islands. The Defense Department last week called the actions “unlawful,” and the U.S. plans to lay out its official position next week, said one of the people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Neither side wants to get in a shooting war, but with so many ships and planes buzzing each other in a small area, accidents have a way of happening. For the nations of Southeast Asia under threat from the Chinese, a strong statement by the White House would be welcome.