Has America Lost the Iraq War? When Birds Fly in V Formation. Jewish Africans.

 

For "Scripture Sunday":

Has America Lost the Iraq War?

This photo posted on a militant website on June 14, 2014, shows militants from the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria leading away captured Iraqi soldiers dressed in plain clothes after taking over a base in Tikrit, Iraq (Photo: AP via militant website, File)Since the U.S. withdrew in 2011, Iraq has disintegrated. Now a terrorist organization threatens to reverse everything America accomplished there.

"In 2003 America and its allies launched the second Iraq war—dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom—to oust the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. At the time, the Bush administration reasoned that a Hussein-led Iraq was a strategic threat to the security of the United States.

The war was sold to the American public and the international community based on the belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) that he could use against the West (or Israel)—or give to terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda. The Bush administration was convinced that an Iraq without Hussein would result in more stability in the Middle East, make the United States and other Western nations safer, provide more freedom to Iraqi citizens and help start a wave of democracy across the Middle East.

The second Iraq war, though successful at defeating and overthrowing Hussein’s regime relatively quickly, achieved very few of the above objectives. The reality is that Iraq is more volatile and unstable today than it was under Hussein. Arguably, the Maliki government is not as brutal and violent as Hussein’s, but it has proven inept and unjust in other ways……

What we see in Iraq today is the hard-won coalition achievements quickly crumbling away."  Complete article at: http://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/has-america-lost-the-iraq-war/  by Erik Jones - June 18, 2014

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When Birds Fly in V Formation, Timing Is Everything

It’s an established fact that when birds fly in V formation, it offers considerable benefits in both energy expenditure and distance covered. But exactly how birds manage to stay in position in a “V” has been a bit of a scientific mystery… at least until recently.

"A team of European researchers devised an ingenious way to monitor the flight of captive-bred ibises that migrated from Austria to Italy. First they convinced the newly hatched chicks to view human volunteers as their moms. When it was time to migrate, the “moms” traveled just ahead of the birds, calling to them. The ibises, for their part, wore tiny backpacks containing monitoring equipment that collected data on their location and wing beats.

The researchers discovered that while flying in V formation, the birds flap in such a manner that one of their wing tips matches the pattern of the nearest wing tip of the bird in front, allowing the follower to take advantage of the upwash created by the forward bird."  Complete article at: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/06/18/birds-v-formation.aspx

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Jewish Africans

An Amazing Fact: "For as long as anyone can remember the Lemba tribe in Zimbabwe, South Africa has claimed to descend from Hebrew ancestors. The Lemba people look like regular Africans but have some very Jewish customs. For example they abstain from eating pork and other unclean foods. They are monotheistic, keep the Sabbath, and shun idolatry. They wear yarmulke-like caps and prayer shawls. They conduct religious animal sacrifice, and mark their gravestones with a Star of David. They even circumcise their male children, which is uncommon in Zimbabwe.

For years people laughed at the Lemba claims of Jewish heritage. But now, according to a recent BBC report, the legend has been backed up by science. British scientists have succeeded in proving the 80,000 member tribe in Zimbabwe descended from Jewish ancestors. The scientists conducted DNA tests on a large sample of the Lemba people, which confirmed Semitic origins dating back more than 2,600 years.

In fact, members of the priestly clan of the Lemba were discovered to have a unique genetic element only found among the Jewish priestly line known as Cohen. In addition, the report says the Lemba have a sacred prayer language that combines Hebrew and Arabic.

So how did their Jewish ancestors get there? The tribe’s oral tradition says that centuries ago a small group of men fled the Holy Land, making a 3,000 mile journey from Israel to southern Africa. They carried with them a replica of the Ark and took African wives along the way. This story does coincide with the disappearance of the real Ark around 586 b.c., just before Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the Jewish temple.

Despite their “Jewish roots,” many of the tribe people are now Christians. One Lemba pastor explained, “Christianity is my religion and Judaism is my culture.”
Finding a genetic connection with Jewish ancestors is fun and interesting but will not guarantee you an automatic ticket to heaven. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, explained to the Roman Christians, “Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Romans 3:29, 30). We may all be God’s children through faith.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. - Galatians 3:29

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Update:

Work had been slow around here, either Ray or Jay were sick, but Ray did get the hedge trimmed and Jay mowed.  Everything grew up like crazy with the rainy spell.  Now it has all grown up and needs mowing again!

Roni, the weird gal from down the road was put into a mental hospital for a while.    Some "friends" of Roni's had taken her dog and chained it to a tree in the woods, with no shelter, next to their place.  Said the dog couldn't be on their property because of her fleas.  They were going to charge Roni for "boarding" her. I explained to them that it is illegal in TX to leave a dog chained up 24/7, and anyway the poor dog was so miserable, I had to do something.  "Big Girl" had gone around and around the tree with the chain, and couldn't get to her water, so her urine was really dark, and she was very dehydrated when I rescued her.  Also, she has an abscess in her mouth, so I have been feeding her canned food mixed with good quality dry food soaked in salt-free chicken bouillon. 

Roni had fed the poor dog cheap cornmeal-based dog food and hadn't given her any flea or heartworm protection.  Obviously, the dog has a corn and flea allergy, so she has lost a lot of her hair from scratching all the time.  Big Girl used to be such a pretty black lab with a shiny coat.  Ray helped me put her up onto an outside table so that we could bathe her with the water hose. There was no way that I was taking her into my dog-bathing bathroom! Once she was flea-free and dry, I let her stay in my air-conditioned grooming room, and she thinks she is in dog heaven.  The next day, I put a hefty dose of Revolution on her, de-wormed her and now she is a happy dog, wagging her tail to beat the band.

Jay and I went to the morning church on FM1097 yesterday, the Sabbath.  The Bible readings were Psalms 103,104,105.  Lev.24,26,27 and some verses from Jeremiah.  The message was about Weaknesses.

So the SPCA foster mom who lives near me picked up my three foster cats at 10.30, so we could be at church by 11.  I felt bad that the cats had to stay in their carriers until 12.30 when they were put in their display cages for Adoption Day.  Chelsea was the most outgoing and greeted people who came by her cage. They were brought back at 6.00pm and seemed glad to be home. We will see if any adoption applications come in.

Ray came over and we got a few jobs done today.