News for today's 2018

DAGESTAN: SYRIA COMES TO RUSSIA...

3:54 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6b2QQmZSAjSE3oBlFDKiJbcAi7r5HZoi8VmZDx8SB7AP6bIYSeTrlKGbiZWpOSNBKoBGEPrIea67WkaROfNJpw7lbx8XLdxP7yVVfAVDK3SLCWJx4L-OKBnNTVwASjtVs0B8iOgBnFCv/s1600/dagestan.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6b2QQmZSAjSE3oBlFDKiJbcAi7r5HZoi8VmZDx8SB7AP6bIYSeTrlKGbiZWpOSNBKoBGEPrIea67WkaROfNJpw7lbx8XLdxP7yVVfAVDK3SLCWJx4L-OKBnNTVwASjtVs0B8iOgBnFCv/s320/dagestan.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMv_eyYHfQB4Ju77fewA0URuU-k7tn1j9jylSgqRWUMJCfuKNdQVF1rCYYJL-ynPBVuoDbrr9D7bG_oNoRVU6zxZyypdSE4r-_2PDvL6N7rYtNEP7VH_tkx-88A17plNS2BDX73Cv4ajb/s1600/Russia_Balkans_Caucasus_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> <span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SALAFISM AND THE US INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE WINNING FORMULA TO DESTABILIZE RUSSIA’S CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE EAST </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By </span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">F. William Engdahl</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The assassination of the most respected <b>Sufi </b>religious leader in DAGESTAN, RUSSIA’S volatile CAUCASUS, comes as <b>Salafis</b>t jihadists in LIBYA murder a US Ambassador who was actually a key player in ousting Gaddafi and bringing the <b>Salafist Muslim Brotherhood</b> and <b>Jihadists </b>into power. Throughout the entire Islamic world today, a wave of hate is being unleashed in the name of Islamic fundamentalism that could bring about a new worldwide crisis. This is the consequence of the <b>Greater Middle East Project</b> put in play in 2010 and earlier by circles in Washington and London. Manipulating religious fervor is an explosive cocktail. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SYRIA COMES TO THE RUSSIAN CAUCASUS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On August 28 Sheikh Said Afandi, acknowledged spiritual leader of the Autonomous RUSSIAN REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN, was assassinated. A jihadist female suicide bomber managed to enter his house and detonate an explosive device.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The murder target had been carefully selected. Sheikh Afandi, a seventy-five-year old <b>Sufi </b>Muslim leader, had played the critical role in attempting to bring about reconciliation in DAGESTAN between <b>jihadist Salafi Sunni</b> Muslims and other factions, many of whom in DAGESTAN see themselves as followers of <b>Sufi</b>. With no replacement of his moral stature and respect visible, authorities fear possible outbreak of religious war in the tiny RUSSIAN autonomous republic. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The police reported that the assassin was an ethnic RUSSIAN woman who had converted to Islam and was linked to an Islamic fundamentalist or <b>Salafist </b>insurgency against RUSSIA and regional governments loyal to Moscow in the autonomous republics and across the volatile Muslim-populated NORTH CAUCASUS region.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTl8uh1nQHC3m8eQ6MM4_7vUWTSAjVv_GKOgvLfrXn0G-6i7XTG-Cb09k4LOiGD9YDFI60_MMAzzRQZAyH63F-btZyKcNEBdRmqqfH8Gpfn8zb4tN-tgYiej9NCq3BoyimCh5DYOtVRX9a/s1600/dagestan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTl8uh1nQHC3m8eQ6MM4_7vUWTSAjVv_GKOgvLfrXn0G-6i7XTG-Cb09k4LOiGD9YDFI60_MMAzzRQZAyH63F-btZyKcNEBdRmqqfH8Gpfn8zb4tN-tgYiej9NCq3BoyimCh5DYOtVRX9a/s400/dagestan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ethnic Muslim populations in this region of RUSSIA and of the former SOVIET UNION, including UZBEKISTAN, KYRGYSTAN and into CHINA’S Xinjiang Province, have been the target of various US and NATO intelligence operations since the Cold War era ended in 1990. Washington sees manipulation of Muslim groups as the vehicle to bring uncontrollable chaos to RUSSIA and CENTRAL ASIA. It’s being carried out by some of the same organizations engaged in creating chaos and destruction inside SYRIA against the government of <b>Bashar Al-Assad</b>. In a real sense, as RUSSIAN security services clearly understand, if they don’t succeed in stopping the Jihadists insurgency in SYRIA, it will come home to them via the CAUCASUS.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The latest <b>Salafist</b> murders of <b>Sufi</b>and other moderate Muslim leaders in the CAUCASUS are apparently part of what is becoming ever clearer as perhaps the most dangerous US intelligence operation ever—playing globally with Muslim fundamentalism.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Previously US and allied intelligence services had played fast and loose with religious organizations or beliefs in one or another country. What makes the present situation particularly dangerous—notably since the decision in Washington to unleash the misnamed <b>Arab Spring</b> upheavals that began in TUNISIA late 2010, spreading like a brushfire across the entire Islamic world from AFGHANISTAN across CENTRAL ASIA to MOROCCO—is the incalculable wave upon wave of killing, hatreds, destruction of entire cultures that Washington has unleashed in the name of that elusive dream named “democracy.” They do this using alleged <b>Al-Qaeda</b>groups, SAUDI <b>Salafists </b>or <b>Wahhabites,</b> or using disciples of TURKEY’S <b>Fethullah Gülen Movement</b> to ignite fires of religious hatred within Islam and against other faiths that could take decades to extinguish. It could easily spill over into a new World War.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">FUNDAMENTALISM COMES TO CAUCASUS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Following the dissolution of the USSR, radical AFGHANISTANI Mujahadeen, Islamists from SAUDI ARABIA, from TURKEY, PAKISTAN and other Islamic countries flooded into the Muslim regions of the former USSR. One of the best-organized of these was the <b>Gülen Movement of Fethullah Gülen</b>, leader of a global network of Islamic schools and reported to be the major policy influence on TURKEY’S Erdogan AKP party.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span><a href="http://www.meforum.org/2045/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.meforum.org/2045/fethullah-gulens-grand-ambition</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMv_eyYHfQB4Ju77fewA0URuU-k7tn1j9jylSgqRWUMJCfuKNdQVF1rCYYJL-ynPBVuoDbrr9D7bG_oNoRVU6zxZyypdSE4r-_2PDvL6N7rYtNEP7VH_tkx-88A17plNS2BDX73Cv4ajb/s1600/Russia_Balkans_Caucasus_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcMv_eyYHfQB4Ju77fewA0URuU-k7tn1j9jylSgqRWUMJCfuKNdQVF1rCYYJL-ynPBVuoDbrr9D7bG_oNoRVU6zxZyypdSE4r-_2PDvL6N7rYtNEP7VH_tkx-88A17plNS2BDX73Cv4ajb/s640/Russia_Balkans_Caucasus_800.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Gülen was quick to establish The International DAHGESTANI-TURKISH College in DAGESTAN. During the chaotic days after the SOVIET collapse, the Ministry of Justice of the RUSSIAN FEDERATION officially registered and permitted unfettered activity for a variety of Islamic foundations and organizations. These included the <b>League of the Islamic World</b>, the <b>World Muslim Youth Assembly</b>, the reportedly <b>Al-Qaeda</b> friendly SAUDI foundation ‘<b>Ibrahim ben Abd al-Aziz al-Ibrahim</b>.’ The blacklist also included Al-Haramein a SAUDI foundation reported tied to <b>Al-Qaeda</b>, and IHH, [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb2" title="Mairbek Vatchagaev, "The Kremlin’s War on Islamic Education in the North (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] a Turkish organization banned in GERMANY, that allegedly raised funds for <b>jihadi fighters</b> in BOSNIA, CHECHNYA, and AFGHANISTAN, and was charged by FRENCH intelligence of ties to <b>Al Qaeda</b>. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb3" title="Iason Athanasiadis, "Targeted by Israeli raid: Who is the IHH?," The (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Many of these charities were covers for fundamentalist <b>Salafists</b>with their own special agenda.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As many of the foreign Islamists in CHECHNYA and DAGESTAN were found involved in fomenting the regional unrest and civil war, RUSSIAN authorities withdrew permission of most to run schools and institutions. Throughout the NORTH CAUCASUS at the time of the CHECHYN war in the late 1990’s, there were more than two dozen Islamic institutes, some 200 <i>madrassas</i>and numerous <i>maktabas</i> (Koranic study schools) present at almost all mosques.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The International DAGESTANI-TURKISH College was one that was forced to close its doors in DAGESTAN. The College was run by the <b>Fethullah Gülen organization</b>. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb4" title="Ibid."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">4</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">At the point of the RUSSIAN crackdown on the spread of Salafist teaching inside RUSSIA at the end of the 1990’s, there was an exodus of hundreds of young DAGESTANI and CHECHYN Muslim students to TURKEY, SAUDI ARABIA, PAKISTAN and other places in the MIDDLE EAST, reportedly to receive training with the <b>Gülen movement</b> and various SAUDI-financed organizations, including <b>Salafists</b>. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb5" title="Mairbek Vatchagaev, op. cit."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">5</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] It is believed in RUSSIA that the students trained by Gülen supporters or SAUDI and other <b>Salafist </b>fundamentalist centers then were sent back to DAGESTAN and the NORTH CAUCASUS to spread their radical strain of Islam.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By 2005 the situation in the CAUCASUS was so influenced by this <b>Salafist </b>intervention that the CHECHEN <b>Salafist, Doku Umarov</b>, cited by the UN Security Council for links to <b>Al-Qaeda</b>, [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb6" title="UN Security Council, QI.U.290.11. DOKU KHAMATOVICH UMAROV, 10 March 2011. (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">6</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] unilaterally declared creation of what he called the CAUCASUS EMIRATE, announcing he planned to establish an Islamic state under <b>Sharia</b> law encompassing the entire NORTH CAUCASUS region including DAGESTAN. He modestly proclaimed himself Emir of the CAUCASUS EMIRATE. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb7" title="Tom Jones, "Czech NGO rejects Russian reports of link to alleged Islamist (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SALAFISM AT WAR WITH SUFI TRADITION</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Salafism,</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">known in SAUDI ARABIA as <b>Wahhabism</b>, is a fundamentalist strain of Islam which drew world attention and became notorious in March 2001 just weeks before the attacks of September 11. That was when the <b>Salafist Taliban</b> government in AFGHANISTAN willfully dynamited and destroyed the historic gigantic Buddhas of Bamiyan on the ancient Silk Road, religious statues dating from the 6th Century. The <b>Taliban Salafist</b>leaders also banned as “un-islamic” all forms of imagery, music and sports, including television, in accordance with what they considered a strict interpretation of Sharia.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AFGHANI sources reported that the order to destroy the Buddhas was made by SAUDI-born jihadist <b>Wahhabite</b>, <b>Osama bin Laden</b>, who ultimately convinced Mullah Omar, <b>Taliban</b> supreme leader at the time to execute the act. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb8" title="The Times of India, "Laden ordered Bamyan Buddha destruction," March 28, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">8</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While <b>Sufis</b> incorporate the worship of saints and theatrical ceremonial prayers into their practice, <b>Salafis</b>condemn as idolatry any non-traditional forms of worship. They also call for the establishment of Islamic political rule and strict <b>Sharia</b> law. <b>Sufism</b> is home to the great spiritual and musical heritage of Islam, said by Islamic scholars to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam, going back centuries.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As one <b>Sufi </b>scholar described the core of <b>Sufism</b>, “<i>While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to God and will become close to God in Paradise—after death and the ‘Final Judgment’— Sufis believe as well that it is possible to become close to God and to experience this closeness—while one is alive. Furthermore, the attainment of the knowledge that comes with such intimacy with God, Sufis assert, is the very purpose of the creation. Here they mention the hadith qudsi in which God states, ‘I was a hidden treasure and I loved that I be known, so I created the creation in order to be known.’ Hence for the Sufis there is already a momentum, a continuous attraction on their hearts exerted by God, pulling them, in love, towards God</i>.” [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb9" title="Dr. Alan Godlas, "Sufism — Sufis — Sufi Orders.""><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The mystical Islamic current of <b>Sufism</b> and its striving to become close to or one with God is in stark contrast to the <b>Jihadist Salafi</b> or <b>Wahhabi </b>current that is armed with deadly weapons, preaches a false doctrine of jihad, and a perverse sense of martyrdom, committing countless acts of violence. Little wonder that the victims of <b>Salafist Jihads</b> are mostly other pacific forms of Islam including most especially <b>Sufis.</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">GEOSTRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: RUSSIA’S NIGHTMARE SCENARIO OF “SYRIA COMING TO RUSSIA.”</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The respected seventy-five year old <b>Afandi</b> had publicly denounced <b>Salafist Islamic</b> fundamentalism. His murder followed a July 19 coordinated attack on two high-ranking muftis in the RUSSIAN VOLGA REPUBLIC of TATARSTAN. Both victims were state-approved religious leaders who had attacked radical Islam. This latest round of murders opens a new front in the <b>Salafist</b> war against RUSSIA, namely attacks on moderate <b>Sufi </b>Muslim leaders.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLhl1nGp10Xmh0tKoJS6iNPWs3kBLlfFcEQAP_oN4DdRkHp1kGhg0C4uW-CGCZktovbUVG9qq3y-mhW3PAn_7kn5q0mWMRE6-u-zd9b2THsoL_rX3qC4cKlri6dMRKMGR9xDd4ik9zjke/s1600/dagestan-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLhl1nGp10Xmh0tKoJS6iNPWs3kBLlfFcEQAP_oN4DdRkHp1kGhg0C4uW-CGCZktovbUVG9qq3y-mhW3PAn_7kn5q0mWMRE6-u-zd9b2THsoL_rX3qC4cKlri6dMRKMGR9xDd4ik9zjke/s400/dagestan-map.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Whether or not DAGESTAN now descends into internal religious civil war that then spreads across the geopolitically sensitive RUSSIAN CAUCASUS is not yet certain. What is almost certain is that the same circles who have been feeding violence and terror inside SYRIA against the regime of <b>Alawite </b>President <b>Bashar al-Assad</b> are behind the killing of <b>Sheikh Afandi</b> as well as sparking related acts of terror or unrest across RUSSIA’S Muslim-populated CAUCASUS. In a very real sense it represents RUSSIA’S nightmare scenario of “SYRIA coming to RUSSIA.” It demonstrates dramatically why Putin has made such a determined effort to stop a descent into a murderous hell in SYRIA.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">SALAFISM AND US INTELLIGENCE SERVICES</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The existence of the so-called <b>jihadist Salafi</b> brand of Islam in DAGESTAN is quite recent. It has also been deliberately imported. Salafism is sometimes also called the name of the older SAUDI-centered <b>Wahhabism. Wahhabism</b> is a minority originally-Bedouin form of the faith originating within Islam, dominant in SAUDI ARABIA since the 1700’s.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> The Centre for Islamic Pluralism give the following description of SAUDI conditions under the rigid <b>Wahhabi </b>brand of Islam:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> “<i>Women living under SAUDI rule must wear the abaya, or total body cloak, and niqab, the face veil; they have limited opportunities for schooling and careers; they are prohibited from driving vehicles; are banned from social contact with men not relatives, and all personal activity must be supervised including opening bank accounts, by a male family member or "guardian." These <b>Wahhabi</b> rules are enforced by a mutawiyin, or morals militia, also known as "the religious police," officially designated the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV) who patrol SAUDI cities, armed with leather-covered sticks which they freely used against those they considered wayward. They raid homes looking for alcohol and drugs, and harassed non-<b>Wahhabi</b> Muslims as well as believers in other faiths</i>.” [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb10" title="Irfan Al-Alawi and Stephen Schwartz, "Wahhabi Internal Contradictions as (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">10</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It’s widely reported that the obscenely opulent and morally-perhaps-not-entirely-of- the-highest-standards SAUDI <b>Royal Family</b> made a Faustian deal with <b>Wahhabite</b> leaders. The deal supposedly, was that the <b>Wahhabists</b>are free to export their fanatical brand of Islam around to the Islamic populations of the world in return for agreeing to leave the SAUDI Royals alone. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb11" title="Ibid."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">11</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] There are, however, other dark and dirty spoons stirring the <b>Wahhabite-Salafist</b> SAUDI stew.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9wDTeqCq-dzmM45OWgIUqBDEw0x9UbheNspa7z1yNICr_y0jaybB-dez2sEHr2RRrAWhuqPyDSKCyB9rldf_FoEaYz2SqiiNJ-LJ511_UOV7sbW6szcJg3kXKN819QcVKmEgk7fLDEuX/s1600/20110202_CIAMB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix9wDTeqCq-dzmM45OWgIUqBDEw0x9UbheNspa7z1yNICr_y0jaybB-dez2sEHr2RRrAWhuqPyDSKCyB9rldf_FoEaYz2SqiiNJ-LJ511_UOV7sbW6szcJg3kXKN819QcVKmEgk7fLDEuX/s200/20110202_CIAMB.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">alleged close ties between the  CIA and Saudi Arabia</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Little known is the fact that the present form of aggressive SAUDI <b>Wahhabism</b>, in reality a kind of fusion between imported <b>jihadi Salafists</b> from EGYPT’S <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> and the fundamentalist SAUDI <b>Wahhabites</b>. Leading Salafist members of the EGYPTIAN <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> were introduced into the SAUDI Kingdom in the 1950’s by the CIA in a complex series of events, when Nasser cracked down on the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> following an assassination attempt. By the 1960’s an influx of EGYPTIAN members of the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> in SAUDI ARABIA fleeing Nasserite repression, had filled many of the leading teaching posts in SAUDI religious schools. One student there was a young well-to-do SAUDI, <b>Osama bin Laden</b>. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb12" title="Robert Duncan, "Islamic Terrorisms Links to Nazi Fascism," AINA, July 5, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">12</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/saudi-arabia-origin-of-wahhabism.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/08/saudi-arabia-origin-of-wahhabism.html</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">During the Third Reich, Hitler GERMANY had supported the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>as a weapon against the BRITISH in EGYPT and elsewhere in the MIDDLE EAST. Marc Erikson describes the Nazi roots of the EGYPTIAN <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> thus:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">…as ITALIAN and GERMAN fascism sought greater stakes in the MIDDLE EAST in the 1930s and ’40s to counter BRITISH and FRENCH controlling power, close collaboration between fascist agents and Islamist leaders ensued. During the 1936-39 ARAB Revolt, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of GERMAN military intelligence, sent agents and money to support the Palestine uprising against the BRITISH, as did <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> founder and "supreme guide" Hassan al-Banna. A key individual in the fascist-Islamist nexus and go-between for the Nazis and al-Banna became the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb13" title="Marc Erikson, "Islamism, fascism and terrorism (Part 2)," AsiaTimes.Online, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">13</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After the defeat of GERMANY, BRITISH Intelligence moved in to take over control of the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>. Ultimately, for financial and other reasons, the BRITISH decided to hand their assets within the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> over to their CIA colleagues in the 1950s. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb14" title="Ibid."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">14</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to former US Justice Department Nazi researcher John Loftus, “<i>during the 1950s, the CIA evacuated the Nazis of the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>to SAUDI ARABIA. Now, when they arrived in SAUDI ARABIA, some of the leading lights of the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>, like Dr Abdullah Azzam, became the teachers in the madrassas, the religious schools. And there they combined the doctrines of Nazism with this weird Islamic cult, <b>Wahhabism</b></i>." [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb15" title="John Loftus, "The Muslim Brotherhood, Nazis and Al-Qaeda,"  Jewish (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"<i>Everyone thinks that Islam is this fanatical religion, but it is not</i>,” Loftus continues. “<i>They think that Islam—the SAUDI version of Islam—is typical, but it’s not. The <b>Wahhabi </b>cult has been condemned as a heresy more than 60 times by the Muslim nations. But when the SAUDIS got wealthy, they bought a lot of silence. This is a very harsh cult. <b>Wahhabism</b> was only practised by the Taliban and in SAUDI ARABIA—that’s how extreme it is. It really has nothing to do with Islam. Islam is a very peaceful and tolerant religion. It always had good relationships with the Jews for the first thousand years of its existence</i>." [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb16" title="Ibid."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">16</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">“SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL”, DOMINATED IN REALITY BY THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Loftus identified the significance of what today is emerging from the shadows to take over EGYPT under <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> President Morsi, and the so-called SYRIAN National Council, dominated in reality by the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> and publicly led by the more “politically correct” or presentable likes of Bassma Kodmani. Kodmani, foreign affairs spokesman for the SNC was twice an invited guest at the <b>Bilderberg </b>elite gathering, latest in Chantilly, Virginia earlier this year. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb17" title="Charlie Skelton, "The Syrian opposition: who’s doing the talking?: The media (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">17</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">See: </span><a href="http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7e8_1340742492"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=7e8_1340742492</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The most bizarre and alarming feature of the US-financed regime changes set into motion in 2010, which have led to the destruction of the secular ARAB regime of <b>Hosni Mubarak</b> in EGYPT and <b>Muhammar Qaddafi</b> in LIBYA, and the secular regime of President <b>Ben Ali</b> in TUNISIA, and which have wreaked savage destruction across the MIDDLE EAST, especially in the past eighteen months in SYRIA, is the pattern of emerging power grabs by representatives of the murky <b>Salafist Muslim Brotherhood</b>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By informed accounts, a SAUDI-financed <b>Sunni Islamic Muslim Brotherhood</b>dominates the members of the exile SYRIAN National Council that is backed by the US State Department’s <b>Secretary Clinton</b> and by <b>Hollande’s </b>FRANCE. The SYRIAN <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> is tied, not surprisingly to the EGYPTIAN <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> of President <b>Mohammed Morsi</b> who recently in a meeting of the Non-Aligned in IRAN called openly for the removal of SYRIA’S <b>Assad,</b> a logical step if his <b>Muslim Brothers</b>in the present SYRIAN National Council are to take the reins of power. The SAUDIS are also rumored to have financed the ascent to power in TUNISIA of the governing Islamist <b>Ennahda Party</b>, [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb18" title="Aidan Lewis, "Profile: Tunisia’s Ennahda Party," BBC News, 25 October (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">18</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] and are documented to be financing the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>-dominated SYRIAN National Council against President <b>Bashar al-Assad.</b> [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb19" title="Hassan Hassan, "Syrians are torn between a despotic regime and a stagnant (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">19</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MORSI’S REIGN OF SALAFI TERROR</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Indicative of the true agenda of this <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> and related jihadists today is the fact that once they have power, they drop the veil of moderation and reconciliation and reveal their violently intolerant roots. This is visible in EGYPT today under <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b> President <b>Mohammed Morsi</b>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Unreported in mainstream Western media to date are alarming direct reports from Christian missionary organizations in EGYPT that <b>Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood</b> has already begun to drop the veil of “moderation and conciliation” and show its brutal totalitarian <b>Salafist</b> colors, much as <b>Khomeini’s</b>radical <b>Sharia </b>forces did in IRAN after taking control in 1979-81.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In a letter distributed by the Christian Aid Mission (CAM), a Christian EGYPTIAN missionary wrote that <b>Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood</b>"announced they would destroy the country if <b>Morsi</b> didn’t win, but they also said they will take revenge from all those who voted for [his opponent Ahmed] <b>Shafiq,</b> especially the Christians as they are sure we did vote for <b>Shafiq</b>. Yesterday they began by killing two believers in el <b>Sharqiya </b>because of this," the missionary added, speaking on condition of anonymity. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb20" title="Stefan J. Bos, "Egypt Christians Killed After Election of Morsi," (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">20</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This report came only weeks after EGYPTIAN State TV (under <b>Morsi’s</b> control) showed ghastly video footage of a convert from Islam to Christianity being murdered by Muslims. The footage showed a young man being held down by masked men with a knife to his throat. As one man was heard chanting Muslim prayers in ARABIC, mostly condemning Christianity, another man holding the knife to the Christian convert’s throat began to cut, slowly severing the head amid cries of “<i>Allahu Akbar</i>” (“Allah is great”), according to transcripts. In the letter, the EGYPTIAN missionary leader added that, "<i>soon after <b>Morsi </b>won, Christians in upper EGYPT were forcibly prevented from going to churches</i>.” Many Muslims, the letter claimed, "<i>also began to speak to women in the streets that they had to wear Islamic clothing including the head covering. They act as if they got the country for their own, it’s theirs now</i>." [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb21" title="Ibid."><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">21</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Already in 2011 <b>Morsi’s Salafist</b> followers began attacking and destroying Sufi mosques across EGYPT. According to the authoritative newspaper <i>Al-Masry Al-Youm</i> (Today’s EGYPTIAN), 16 historic mosques in Alexandria belonging to <b>Sufi </b>orders have been marked for destruction by so-called ’<b>Salafis</b>’. Alexandria has 40 mosques associated with <b>Sufis,</b>and is the headquarters for 36 <b>Sufi</b>groups. Half a million <b>Sufis</b> live in the city, out of a municipal total of four million people. Aggression against the <b>Sufis</b> in EGYPT has included a raid on Alexandria’s most distinguished mosque, named for, and housing, the tomb of the 13th century <b>Sufi Al-Mursi Abu’l Abbas</b>. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb22" title="Irfan Al-Alawi, "Egyptian Muslim Fundamentalists Attack Sufis," Guardian (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">22</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Notably, the so-called “democratically elected” regime in LIBYA following the toppling of Mohamar Qaddafi by NATO bombs in 2011, has also been zealous in destroying Sufi mosques and places of worship. In August this year, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova expressed “grave concern” at the destruction by Islamic Jihadists of <b>Sufi </b>sites in Zliten, Misrata and Tripoli and urged perpetrators to “cease the destruction immediately.” [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb23" title="Yafiah Katherine Randall, "UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">23</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Under behind-the-scenes machinations the LIBYAN government is dominated by Jihadists and by followers of the <b>Muslim Brotherhood</b>, as in TUNISIA and EGYPT. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb24" title="Jamie Dettmer, Libya elections: Muslim Brotherhood set to lead government, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">24</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The explosive cocktail of violence inherent in allowing the rise to power of <b>Salafist</b>Islamists across the MIDDLE EAST was clear to see, symbolically enough on the night of September 11th when a mob of angry supporters of the fanatical <b>Salafist </b>group, <b>Ansar Al-Sharia</b>, murdered the US Ambassador to LIBYA and three US diplomats, burning the US Consulate in Bengazi to the ground in protest over a YouTube release of a film by an American filmmaker showing the Prophet Mohammed indulging in multiple sex affairs and casting doubt on his role as God’s messenger. Ironically that US Ambassador had played a key role in toppling <b>Qaddafi </b>and opening the door to the <b>Salafist</b> takeover in LIBYA. At the same time angry mobs of thousands of <b>Salafists </b>surrounded the US Embassy in Cairo in protest to the US film. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb25" title="Luke Harding, Chris Stephen, Chris Stevens, "US ambassador to Libya, killed (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">25</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ansar Al-Sharia</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">("Partisans of Islamic law" in Arabic) reportedly is a spinoff of <b>Al-Qaeda</b> and claims organizations across the MIDDLE EAST from YEMEN to TUNISIA to IRAQ, EGYPT and LIBYA. <b>Ansar al-Sharia</b> says it is reproducing the model of <b>Sharia</b> or strict Islamic law espoused by the <b>Taliban</b>in AFGHANISTAN and the Islamic State of IRAQ, a militant umbrella group that includes <b>al-Qaeda</b> in IRAQ. The core of the group are jihadists who came out of an "Islamic state", either in AFGHANISTAN in the mid-1990s, or among jihadists in IRAQ after the US-led invasion in 2003. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb26" title="Murad Batal al-Shishani, "Profile: Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen," BBC, 8 March (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">26</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">]</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The deliberate detonation now of a new round of <b>Salafist </b>fundamentalist Jihad terror inside Muslim regions of the RUSSIAN CAUCASUS is exquisitely timed politically to put maximum pressure at home on the government of Russia.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Russian Government is the strongest and most essential backer of the current SYRIAN government of <b>Bashar al-Assad</b>, and for RUSSIA as well the maintenance of RUSSIA’S only Mediterranean naval base at SYRIA’S Tartus port is vital strategically. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">HARD COP - SOFT COP TACTICS</span></span></b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">At the same time, Obama’s sly message to Medvedev to wait until Obama’s re-election to evaluate US intent towards RUSSIA and Putin’s cryptic recent comment that a compromise with a re-elected President Obama might be possible, but not with a President Romney, [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb27" title="David M. Herszenhorn, Putin Says Missile Deal Is More Likely With Obama, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">27</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] indicate that the Washington “stick-and-carrot” or hard cop-soft cop tactics with Moscow might tempt RUSSIA to sacrifice major geopolitical alliances, perhaps even that special close and recent geopolitical alliance with CHINA. [</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nb28" title="M.K. Bhadrakumar, "Calling the China-Russia split isn’t heresy," Asia Times, (...)"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">28</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Were that to happen, the World might witness a “reset” in US-RUSSIAN relations with catastrophic consequences for world peace.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">[</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh2" title="Footnotes 2"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Mairbek Vatchagaev, </span><a href="http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5btt_news"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">"The Kremlin’s War on Islamic Education in the North Caucasus</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">=3334]," <i>North Caucasus Analysis Volume</i>: 7 Issue: 34.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh3" title="Footnotes 3"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Iason Athanasiadis, "</span><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0601/Targeted-by-Israeli-raid-Who-is-the-IHH"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Targeted by Israeli raid: Who is the IHH?</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>The Christian Science Monitor</i>, June 1, 2010.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh4" title="Footnotes 4"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">4</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>Ibid.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh5" title="Footnotes 5"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">5</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Mairbek Vatchagaev, <i>op. cit.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh6" title="Footnotes 6"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">6</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] UN Security Council, </span><a href="http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQI29011E.shtml"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">QI.U.290.11. DOKU KHAMATOVICH UMAROV</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, 10 March 2011. The UN statement reads: “<i>Doku Khamatovich Umarov was listed on 10 March 2011 pursuant to paragraph 2 of resolution 1904 (2009) as being associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of”, “recruiting for”, “supplying, selling or transferring arms and related materiel to” and “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” the Islamic Jihad Group (QE.I.119.05), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (QE.I.10.01), Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM) (QE.R.100.03) and Emarat Kavkaz (QE.E.131.11)</i>.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh7" title="Footnotes 7"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Tom Jones, "</span><a href="http://www.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/czech-ngo-rejects-russian-reports-link-alleged-islamist-terrorists-al-qaeda?utm_source=tw&utm_medium=enprofil&utm_campaign=twennews"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Czech NGO rejects Russian reports of link to alleged Islamist terrorists al-Qaeda</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," May 10, 2011.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh8" title="Footnotes 8"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">8</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>The Times of India</i>, "Laden ordered Bamyan Buddha destruction," March 28, 2006.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh9" title="Footnotes 9"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Dr. Alan Godlas, "Sufism — Sufis — Sufi Orders."</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh10" title="Footnotes 10"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">10</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Irfan Al-Alawi and Stephen Schwartz, "</span><a href="http://www.islamicpluralism.org/2040/wahhabi-internal-contradictions-as-saudi-arabia"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Wahhabi Internal Contradictions as Saudi Arabia Seeks Wider Gulf Leadership</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Center for Islamic Pluralism</i>, May 21, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh11" title="Footnotes 11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">11</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>Ibid</i>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh12" title="Footnotes 12"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">12</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Robert Duncan, "</span><a href="http://www.aina.org/news/2007070595517.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Islamic Terrorisms Links to Nazi Fascism</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>AINA</i>, July 5, 2007.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh13" title="Footnotes 13"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">13</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Marc Erikson, "</span><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DK08Ak03.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Islamism, fascism and terrorism (Part 2)</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>AsiaTimes.Online</i>, November 8, 2002.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh14" title="Footnotes 14"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">14</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>Ibid.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh15" title="Footnotes 15"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">15</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] John Loftus, "</span><a href="http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/loftus101106.htm"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Muslim Brotherhood, Nazis and Al-Qaeda</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Jewish Community News</i>, October 11, 2006.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh16" title="Footnotes 16"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">16</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>Ibid</i>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh17" title="Footnotes 17"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">17</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Charlie Skelton, "</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/12/syrian-opposition-doing-the-talking"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Syrian opposition: who’s doing the talking?: The media have been too passive when it comes to Syrian opposition sources, without scrutinising their backgrounds and their political connections. Time for a closer look …</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>The Guardian</i>, UK, 12 July 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh18" title="Footnotes 18"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">18</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Aidan Lewis, "</span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15442859"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Profile: Tunisia’s Ennahda Party</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>BBC News</i>, 25 October 2011.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh19" title="Footnotes 19"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">19</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Hassan Hassan, "</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/syrians-torn-despotic-regime-stagnant-opposition"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Syrians are torn between a despotic regime and a stagnant opposition: The Muslim Brotherhood’s perceived monopoly over the Syrian National Council has created an opposition stalemate</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>The Guardian</i>, UK, 23 August, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh20" title="Footnotes 20"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">20</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Stefan J. Bos, "</span><a href="http://www.bosnewslife.com/22304-egypt-christians-killed-after-election-morsi"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Egypt Christians Killed After Election of Morsi</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Bosnewslife</i>, June 30, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh21" title="Footnotes 21"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">21</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] <i>Ibid</i>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh22" title="Footnotes 22"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">22</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Irfan Al-Alawi, "</span><a href="http://www.islamicpluralism.org/1770/egyptian-Muslim-fundamentalists-attack-sufis"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Egyptian Muslim Fundamentalists Attack Sufis</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Guardian Online</i> [London], April 11, 2011.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh23" title="Footnotes 23"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">23</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Yafiah Katherine Randall, "</span><a href="http://sufinews.blogspot.de/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi sites</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Sufi News and Sufism World Report</i>, August 31, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh24" title="Footnotes 24"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">24</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Jamie Dettmer, </span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/9379022/Libya-elections-Muslim-Brotherhood-set-to-lead-government.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Libya elections: Muslim Brotherhood set to lead government</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, <i>The Telegraph</i>, London, 5 July, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh25" title="Footnotes 25"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">25</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Luke Harding, Chris Stephen, Chris Stevens, "</span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/12/chris-stevens-us-ambassador-libya-killed"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">US ambassador to Libya, killed in Benghazi attack: Ambassador and three other American embassy staff killed after Islamist militants fired rockets at their car, say Libyan officials</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>The Guardian</i> (London), 12 September 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh26" title="Footnotes 26"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">26</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] Murad Batal al-Shishani, "</span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17402856"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Profile: Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>BBC</i>, 8 March 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh27" title="Footnotes 27"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">27</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] David M. Herszenhorn, </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/world/europe/putin-calls-missile-deal-more-likely-if-obama-wins.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Putin Says Missile Deal Is More Likely With Obama</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">, <i>The New York Times</i>, September 6, 2012. According to an interview Putin gave on Moscow’s state-owned <i>RT TV</i>, Herszenhorn reports, “<i>Mr. Putin said he believed that if Mr. Obama is re-elected in November, a compromise could be reached on the contentious issue of American plans for a missile defense system in Europe, which Russia has strongly opposed. On the other hand, Mr. Putin said, if Mr. Romney becomes president, Moscow’s fears about the missile system — that it is, despite American assurances, actually directed against Russia — would almost certainly prove true. <br />“Is it possible to find a solution to the problem, if current President Obama is re-elected for a second term? Theoretically, yes,” Mr. Putin said, according to the official transcript posted on the Kremlin’s Web site. “But this isn’t just about President Obama. “For all I know, his desire to work out a solution is quite sincere,” Mr. Putin continued. “I met him recently on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, where we had a chance to talk. And though we talked mostly about Syria, I could still take stock of my counterpart. My feeling is that he is a very honest man, and that he sincerely wants to make many good changes. But can he do it? Will they let him do it?</i>”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">[</span><a href="http://www.voltairenet.org/Dagestan-Syria-comes-to-Russia#nh28" title="Footnotes 28"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">28</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">] M.K. Bhadrakumar, "</span><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NI05Ad01.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Calling the China-Russia split isn’t heresy</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">," <i>Asia Times</i>, September 5, 2012.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

DAGESTAN: SYRIA COMES TO RUSSIA...

SALAFISM AND THE US INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: THE WINNING FORMULA TO DESTABILIZE RUSSIA’S CAUCASUS AND THE MIDDLE EAST By F. William Engdah...

Pastoring & Self-Pastoring: A Concise Introduction

1:42 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">    Something has finally coalesced for me. After a journaling practice I’ve been doing for a few years, a couple of different ways of making sense of reality came together. It was my approach to church and my approach to myself. I don’t know whether sharing this will do anyone any good. Paul Tillich said, “There is no truth without the way to truth.” But since this truth is nothing new, since it is just other people’s wisdoms connecting, just me finally noticing that 2 + 2 = 4, it might be a little assistance, so here goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">       THE FRAMEWORK: When I do spirituality workshops or offer spiritual guidance, I operate out of a paradigm that sees each person as made up of a whole network of parts or Subpersonalities – not as a pathology, but as the basic way human beings are constructed. In his classic novel, <i>Steppenwolf, </i>19<sup>th</sup>Century German author Hermann Hesse told the story of a protagonist who was half bourgeois businessman and half mountain wolf. Toward the end of the book, the author admitted he had oversimplified this character. He was really the composite of far more personalities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">      Today, that view of human nature takes the form of various psychological models: psychosynthesis, psychodynamics, gestalt, and internal family systems just to name just a few. But the adherents of these theories of normal multiplicity did not just leap to this paradigm because they were fans of Hermann Hesse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Psychology began in the field of ascetic theology (spirituality), then was absorbed into philosophy, and began to become a science in the 19<sup>th</sup>C. The first doctors to explore the mind were neurologists. Their first main interest was situations when a person began to think, speak, and act with a personality different from their usual personality -- like mediums, shamans, what we now call channeling, etc. The neurologists didn’t really sort it out, but they did conclude that some people who had different personalities popping up at different times were seriously nuts – but others were not.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The observation that different personalities inhabit the same body was the starting point for scientific psychology. Freud studied under some of these neurologists & tried to systematize them. He said everyone has 3 parts: an id, an ego, and a superego. It was similar to Transactional Analysis if you remember that from the 70’s – we all have an inner parent, an inner adult, and an inner child.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">     <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Freud’s student, Carl Jung thought that was much too simplistic. We have far more parts inside us  – archetypes from the collective unconscious. We have an inner mother, warrior, magical child, hero, etc. Another student of Freud, Roberto Assagioli thought even Jung was being too restrictive. He agreed we have different parts or Subpersonalities. But he didn’t start with assumptions as to what they are – either Freud’s assumptions or Jung’s assumptions. He just looked inside to see what was there in each person. You have your own unique collection of sub personalities and I have mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">But why do we have parts or sub personalities?  How does that come about? Even Assagioli wasn’t clear on that. Today, brain science tells us how this happens. Whatever we experience we experience neurologically. Like water etching lines in rock, experience forms patterns or habits of feeling and thinking. Brain scientists capture the dynamic with this adage: “What fires together wires together.”  Events and situations are constantly changing but we keep having the same feelings and thoughts over and over and over. Those patterns are hardwired into our circuits. That’s what neurologist mean by “wired together.” The neurologic capacity to have a new experience or think new thoughts is called “neuroplasticity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Those hardwired patterns form distinct personalities. Subpersonalities. Obvious ones relate to roles. We function one way as parent, another as spouse, another as friend, another in our work. There are deeper habits of being, patterns of feelings, thoughts, and actions, called Subpersonalities. We may have a Wounded Child, a Tragic Romantic, an Enforcer, a Worker, a Lover, an Artist. I have a Care Taker, a Defender, a Builder, a Spiritual Quester, a Righteous Judge, a Wildcat Oil Driller, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">This is not pathology. It makes us complex and interesting. All of us, like Hesse’s Steppenwolf, have multiple Subpersonalities. Fernando Pensoa is an accomplished poet with his own style. Without ever abandoning that identity and style, he began writing other poetry in a different style and voice under another name. That new poet had his own biography and philosophy. Then Pensoa added yet another poet to his repertoire. Today are four very fine poets --albeit quite different in style and content -- inhabiting one body.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Pathology sets in when one personality takes over and is not even aware of the other personalities, as in the Sybil story (which may be a dubious account but there are cases of real multiple personality disorder). Such cases are probably rare. What is more common is that Subpersonalities take over for short times but other Subpersonalities compete with them, sabotage them, judge and criticize them. The Subpersonalities are often in conflict – as was the case for our poor friend, Steppenwolf. Much of our anxiety, depression, and ambivalence arises from conflicts between Subpersonalities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Let me reiterate: Subpersonalities are not bad.  They are all part of us. The problems arise when they are have not learned teamwork. Assagioli, along with numerous other psychologists and Christian spiritual masters going back to St. Paul, teaches that there is another part of us that is not a Subpersonality. It has not been conditioned by experience. It is not a neurological pattern of thoughts and feelings that have fired together until they are wired together. It is deeper than that. It is an innate capacity for simple awareness. Psycho-synthesis Theory calls it the Personal Self; Internal Family Systems Theory calls it the Core Self. Christians might call it the Soul. Assagioli was comfortable with “Soul.” Some of his followers, not so much.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Soul is the central organizing principle of the person. Our core identity does not consist of passing thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Those are the waves on the surface. Our core identity, our Soul is deep and still. Psycho-synthesis Theory says there is also something larger than the Soul or Personal Self. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The “Transpersonal Self” is the central organizing principle of the cosmos. Assagioli sometimes called it Spirit. This is the best statement of what the Transpersonal Self or Spirit is and does. Assagioli said,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">              <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; text-indent: .25in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">“Spirit working upon and within all creation is shaping it<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">      Into an order, harmony, and beauty, uniting all beings<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">(some willing but the majority as yet rebellious) with each other through links of love, achieving – slowly and silently, but powerfully and irresistibly – <i>the Supreme Synthesis.</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The Personal Self is always already plugged into the Transpersonal Self, so when we connect with the core of our own being, we connect with the core of Reality. What Psycho-synthesis calls the Transpersonal Self the Jesuit scientist theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called the Omega Point or Christ. 14<sup>th</sup>Century mystic, Julian of Norwich said that the Soul is already always connected to Christ. But our personality is split away from our Soul. The break is not between the Soul and Christ. It is a split within ourselves. It is a case of broken relationship with all or some of our parts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Modern psychology agrees. We are split within ourselves. But we also have the God-given capacity to heal that split. That is the function of the Soul when we find it and let it do its work. How then shall we recognize our own Soul should we stumble upon it? The Soul has certain basic characteristics:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in; text-indent: .25in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Serenity: It has a certain serene balance. It is the eye of the storm. It is the part that is not shaken or enflamed by outer forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Awareness: The Soul has the capacity to notice – to observe. Because it is not shaken, it can see clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Compassion: The Soul has the capacity to care without losing its balance. When the Subpersonalities are in conflict, the Soul is neutral. It does not want to extinguish any sub-personality. The Soul can appreciate each part of us as it is,     <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">allowing it to be as it is, but also asking what it wants, what it needs, what it is trying to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Will: The Soul is the center of the will. Our attention can turn one way or another.         We can choose to tell ourselves a particular story about things or make up a different story, a different interpretation, or we can choose to just watch without interpretation. The Soul is where we can make those decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The problem is the Soul often doesn’t get engaged. We identify with the subpersonality of the moment, let it run the show, and the Soul is left out. We lose our Souls in our Subpersonalities  – which means Christ is left out of the equation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         The first step in this spirituality is a kind of detachment. Meister Eckhart wrote at length about something we translate as “detachment.” Buddhists are always talking about something we translate as “detachment.” But when we translate those German and Sanskrit words as detachment, it sounds like not caring, apathy, anesthetizing, numbing out – killing off the feeling part of our being. That isn’t what they mean – or if it is, it isn’t what they should mean because it’s life denying, death dealing, bad psychology and bad religion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">The better word is disidentification. Disidentification means: We have feelings, thoughts, or experiences. That’s fine. It’s simply life experience -- until we identify with it. Our very language has this mistake built into it. “I am x.” Compare “I am hungry” in English to “Tengo hambre” (literally, I have hunger) in Spanish. It’s the same in French. If we feel anger, we say, “I am angry” not “I feel angry” or “I have anger.” Our language contributes to as well as expresses a lot of identification with the feeling of the moment. Maybe we say, “I am depressed. I am a depressed person.” But our Soul is not depressed. A part of us is depressed -- maybe the Loser, or the Wounded Child, or the abandoned One, the inner Orphan. Depressed is not who we <i>are</i>. It’s an experience we are <i>having</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .75in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Disidentifying doesn’t mean we repress the experience. We have the experience. We may have it all the more clearly because we don’t have to be afraid of it. But it isn’t who we are. It’s something we are experiencing. At the center of the “we” doing the experiencing is the Soul, which experiences with serenity, awareness, and compassion while maintaining the strength of will to hold the experience within its proper boundaries.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">II.  APPLICATION TO PASTORAL LEADERSHIP<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Murray Bowen’s gift to this discussion was his insight that even the complex inner network of Subpersonalities described by Assagioli was too simple. In fairness Assagioli’s sense of the transpersonal already pointed toward Bowenian systems theory, but his language was too spiritual to gain traction with mainstream social science. Bowen said that there are networks larger than the individual, there are unifying <i>social </i>principles at work – larger than the personal self. He called them “family systems.” In a nutshell, groups of people, particularly families, organize themselves like teams with each person having an unconsciously prescribed role in the system – the optimist, the worrier, the spendthrift, the drunk, the moralist, the nag, the rebel, the control freak, etc. Each person is manipulated by the rest into playing his or her role, living by the prescribed script. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Edwin Friedman brought Bowenian systems theory to the field of congregational leadership by observing that congregations function like families. They establish a homeostasis that depends on each person in the congregation playing an unconsciously prescribed role, playing their position on the team so to speak. This systems theory is kindly in that it does not blame individuals for their sometimes difficult behavior but tries to work with the system that programs them to behave this way. But there are problems. A system can be nurturing, but it also tends to set pathologies in stone and necessarily consigns each person to a role which is smaller than their full identity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Friedman’s model of leadership was essentially that the pastor should function, insofar as possible, as the Soul in the congregation, the Personal Self – serene, aware, compassionate, will. The pastor’s goal is to accept and appreciate each person in the congregation, eventually facilitating their relationships with each other, in ways that allow each member to become more fully differentiated and less bound by imposed scripts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;"> That is the goal. But what do congregations and pastors tend to do with the more broken members. Congregations’ very purpose is to welcome and accept the broken, to offer nurture and healing. But what do we usually do in practice?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">I am not alone in observing we tend to do one of two things with the broken people. First, we tend to put them in charge. In order to make wounded people feel better about themselves, we hand over leadership roles that they are utterly incapable of fulfilling. This is helpful to the system, which has a shadow agenda of self-sabotage. It also allows us to feel good about ourselves since we have been so nice to this difficult person. If the lay leadership positions are insufficient, we set out to ordain them. Congregations endorse the psychiatrically disabled, the addicted, the felonious, and the otherwise severely dysfunctional to ordain as pastoral leaders. People with intellectual and cognitive deficits are chosen to make policy for the church. Absolutely and without question, these folks belong in the church. They deserve our love and respect. But I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and can barely play a radio. I have no business being the music director of a congregation. To assign people roles they are not capable of fulfilling is not a kindness. It is a set up for failure. We do that all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">A variation on this theme of empowering pathology is the consensus driven meeting. This not about giving the broken person a title or a job. But it is about who gets their way. In a consensus driven model, we have to pacify everyone in group decisions. Since the craziest person in the room is the hardest one to pacify, they have to get their way. The church in its quest for niceness is ruled by a “madocracy.” The nuts rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         Our second option for dealing with difficult people is to drive them out. The laity are usually more inclined to toward this one – but I have known clergy who exercised their leadership in this way. Strategy two: drive them out. In some denominations, excommunication, shunning, withdrawing of fellowship, etc. are formally recognized practices. In the Episcopal Church, this normally “just isn’t done” – though in my diocese it happens with surprising frequency. In another diocese, a priest managed to shrink his congregation by about 50% in just a few years before tendering his resignation. He announced his mission was accomplished. He had been sent to “prune” the congregation by getting rid of the bad members. While most Episcopal churches do not formally exclude anyone from worship, we do informally push people out the door all the time. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         Such leaders operate by stirring up and perpetuating Level 4 Conflict in the conflict taxonomy of Speed Leas (Alban Institute) – that is “fight/ flight” conflict in which the loser must leave. The problem is I have never seen a congregation that had driven out enough people to establish peace. Given what we know of depth psychology, I highly doubt that a congregation of one could be free of conflict. It is like the story of the man marooned on a desert island where he built two churches – the one he attended and the one he left in protest. Once a congregation falls into the pattern of driving out the problem people, it can never drive out enough. The guillotine becomes a habit. That kind of pastoral leadership is 180 degrees opposite to the authentic mission of a congregation “to reconcile all people to each other and God” – to be a soulful community in which differences are appreciated and integrated into a dance of mutuality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         Friedman, Peter Stenge, Ronald Richardson, and Arthur Paul Boers would insist that driving troublemakers out of a congregation solves nothing. The person leaves but the role remains so someone else will be found to play it. The leaders role is to be soulfully present to the whole system and each individual in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         The key is to welcome the difficult congregant into the family, without putting them in charge. Putting them in charge not only sabotages the congregation’s mission, it is bad for the person we are putting in charge. It rewards and reinforces their pathology. To be helpful to a person, we need to be soulfully present – with serenity, awareness, and compassion – along with the will to establish healthy boundaries. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">III. SELF-PASTORING<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">But being soulfully present in a congregation is hard, hard, hard because the system pushes our buttons to get our various Subpersonalities to react in ways that fit the system’s pattern. Saying, “be soulfully present” is easy. Doing it is quite the challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">In order to engage our Soul in pastoral leadership in the congregation, we first have to engage our Soul in self-pastoring, in relating and integrating our own Subpersonalities. Otherwise, the Soul will never make it into the worship service, the parish forum, or the vestry meeting. One or the other of our Subpersonalities will show up instead, usually the subpersonality conjured by the most pathological manipulations of the system. When that happens, we invariably do more harm than good.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">Now here’s the point that is so obvious – but it eluded me until today. We pastor our Subpersonalities precisely the way we pastor our congregants. Here’s how I finally got it. I have a Subpersonality that deeply needs to be tragic. It demands either a misery of self-sacrifice or a misery of remorse for failing to make the sacrifice. It is a deeply held value going back for generations in my family and well rooted in the culture where I grew up. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">         I spent nearly 40 years with that subpersonality very much in charge of my life. Other parts of me fought against it, insisted on developing my human potential, experiencing the variety of life, going on the spiritual journey, etc. But the Tragic Subpersonality held the stronger hand and he knew it. I have spent the last 20 years trying to get free of that. And I have made good progress at great emotional cost. But the Tragic Subpersonality will not go away. The harder I try to escape him, the more tenacious the hold of this snapping turtle of tragedy. People come along to evoke the thoughts and feelings. If they don’t do it to me, I do it to myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">One night, in journaling a dialogue between my Personal Self and the Tragic Character, I acknowledged to the Tragic Character that he was part of me. He wasn’t going anywhere. I was not going to try anymore to drive him out. I slept uneasily after that and was still troubled the next morning, because I remember what its like when this Tragic Character gets his way. It ain’t pretty. Then quite out of nowhere, I heard the voice of my Self say to the Tragic Character, calmly, kindly, yet firmly “But you don’t get to be in charge.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">I wondered how the Tragic Character would respond to that boundary. I didn’t know until the following night when I resumed journaling. To my surprise, the Tragic Character was not in revolt. He was calm too. He wanted some clarity on how his needs would be met. Just how much misery and remorse do we get to indulge? We will no doubt be working that out over the years. But the Tragic Character actually seemed relieved to be neither exiled nor enthroned. Exile was too scary and lonely. Enthronement was too much responsibility. The Tragic Character belongs in the congregation. He likes being in the pews. But ordaining him is not doing him a favor. He was only trying to get ordained to keep from getting excommunicated. There is something in between.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">So here’s what I’ve learned: The way we relate to our Subpersonalities makes all the difference for how we relate to our congregants – and vice versa. Cultivating a soulful practice is both an inner and outer process. For better or worse, we do love our neighbor a whole lot like the way we love ourselves – all of that mixed up muddle of humanity inside us and that mixed up muddle of humanity in the pews. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16.0pt;">So work from the inside out. Work from the outside in. It’s a process. We work between the sidelines of exile and enthronement. That’s my version of the via media.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br /></div>

Pastoring & Self-Pastoring: A Concise Introduction

Something has finally coalesced for me. After a journaling practice I’ve been doing for a few years, a couple of different ...

Sitcom Architects

11:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Brady_%28The_Brady_Bunch%29#Mike_Brady">Michael Brady</a> is without a doubt the most popular television architect who was a recurring character. While his portrayal barely resembled the realities of architecture (as Jody Brown <a href="http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/3658247/list/Mike-Brady-Lied-to-Me">humorously recounts</a>), he did a good job of setting a precedent for architects in sitcoms: He <a href="http://www.sixthriver.com/wp-content/uploads/01.jpg">sits at his desk surrounded by pretty pictures of houses</a>, but the profession takes a backseat to the usual sitcom antics. This is not a characteristic specific to architects but how sitcoms operate, inherently deriving their humor from situations, most of them revolving around the relationships of families and friends. The workplace is for dramas, and as far as I know no dramas about architects have been tried.<br /><br />Very few succeeding sitcom architects come to mind — <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Mosby">Ted Mosby</a>, <a href="http://www.mommytracked.com/Working-Mom-Role-Model">Elyse Keaton</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_%28TV_series%29">Rob</a> (a landscape architect) — so I'm surprised to hear that the new sitcom <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/partners/"><i>Partners</i></a> revolves around the "bromance" of two architects who are partners in a firm.<br /><br /><img alt="cbs-partners.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/cbs-partners.jpg" title="Partners on CBS" /><br />[<i>Partners</i> screenshot — an architectural model as metaphor for relationship troubles — image <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/partners/video/2284722372/partners-chicken-and-stuffing-sneak-peek-">source/clip</a>]<br /><br />What's even more interesting is that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partners_%282012_TV_series%29">2012 CBS sitcom</a> bears a striking resemblance to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partners_%281995_TV_series%29">1995 Fox sitcom</a> also called <i>Partners</i> that also focuses on two architects. Both shows are about the tensions in the partners' friendships that arise from one of them getting engaged. The earlier show was cancelled after 22 episodes, and if the above clip (and reviews <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/23/3013829/sitcom-partners-isnt-exactly-new.html">like this one</a>) are any indication, the new <i>Partners</i> won't be around even that long.

Sitcom Architects

Michael Brady is without a doubt the most popular television architect who was a recurring character. While his portrayal barely resembled ...

Sushi Sunday!

10:42 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-size: large;">Lunch in <a href="http://www.yosushi.com/restaurants/dublin-clarendonstreet">Yo! Sushi</a> today.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It was delicious!  I love the atmosphere of this place and it is so much fun taking food off the belt.  We sat at the counter and I found it so much more social then a booth.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO23jGsetVWvVqoN030q7EEfXOAxinMX5BKjURwe-xoTOMt4mw8sa0qh1RGek0G8qtfSvLkDbSODL37azj8gCXDTnxYWYH0HFb7iZCoewS6fzCHsOBpgduOolgx5btJzwsPGJs3b0OH5-6/s1600/IMG_2097%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO23jGsetVWvVqoN030q7EEfXOAxinMX5BKjURwe-xoTOMt4mw8sa0qh1RGek0G8qtfSvLkDbSODL37azj8gCXDTnxYWYH0HFb7iZCoewS6fzCHsOBpgduOolgx5btJzwsPGJs3b0OH5-6/s320/IMG_2097%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAi4SfwBSMbyN09tdn_LVcabbmGca9VOn7KOUaS9OWBzzprOjovBD-gMGU4OQCcgrYH1_0ecFGh8ktIV0nrzrCZsgbnzaxOz5lwWQn6xXZsvLZoerDRf62w6SbGVpBWLmuUo1oDGrpGND8/s1600/IMG_2098%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAi4SfwBSMbyN09tdn_LVcabbmGca9VOn7KOUaS9OWBzzprOjovBD-gMGU4OQCcgrYH1_0ecFGh8ktIV0nrzrCZsgbnzaxOz5lwWQn6xXZsvLZoerDRf62w6SbGVpBWLmuUo1oDGrpGND8/s320/IMG_2098%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_74v1WHoyidHfPGUmRA0sP4cumZ3Yfcbko8nrGkqq6M49S0A2sGr4Y172F7Ys1WxC956HtA1th8ERRNtKio6PXs8nOb37dLjwp6XduvZt3e4HANd58mjbUN7VbpFjc1YbeK8SnP_6adW/s1600/IMG_2100%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_74v1WHoyidHfPGUmRA0sP4cumZ3Yfcbko8nrGkqq6M49S0A2sGr4Y172F7Ys1WxC956HtA1th8ERRNtKio6PXs8nOb37dLjwp6XduvZt3e4HANd58mjbUN7VbpFjc1YbeK8SnP_6adW/s320/IMG_2100%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMAVFbxU1_Ag8dxUGdaumtrbaG3sPwojoVmBeHo0vwaWeMo74wDiNEUxOcaWabwdiJJrIYQUTzYWviP3dhqJRZYNs60n6jetOUtoGTi2gChOziG1OEKOdJsGNmVNJtV0Ek5_8ALyGUUDY/s1600/IMG_2102%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMAVFbxU1_Ag8dxUGdaumtrbaG3sPwojoVmBeHo0vwaWeMo74wDiNEUxOcaWabwdiJJrIYQUTzYWviP3dhqJRZYNs60n6jetOUtoGTi2gChOziG1OEKOdJsGNmVNJtV0Ek5_8ALyGUUDY/s320/IMG_2102%5B1%5D.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />

Sushi Sunday!

Lunch in Yo! Sushi today. It was delicious! I love the atmosphere of this place and it is so much fun taking food off the belt. We sat at...

Long day!

10:25 AM Tukiyooo 0

<span style="font-size: large;">Early start yesterday up at 6.30am to get on the road to Belfast for the Smart Car Rally.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Here's a report written by Amy for the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Smart-Car-Rally/131167930286810?fref=ts">Smart Car Rally Facebook</a> page:</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">September 2012 Belfast Trip Report: Enid & I left Dublin at approximate 7am and arrived at the Boucher Crescent Smart/Mercedes garage at 9.30am. Coincidentally we arrived at the same time as Gerry & Shay from the Dublin Smart Car Rally!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">We were greeted in the garage by some lovely folk from the Ulster Cancer Foundation who took our donation and gave us the clues</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">for the rally. We then were dir</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">ected to another garage to the staff restaurant where we had a fantastic Ulster fry to keep us going for the day. (quick aside: we had Bones the dog with us who made a show of us by climbing up on to the table - he never does that - and was immediately turfed out by chef. Silly Bones!). We poured over the clues and saw that we it was a considerable length - 156miles in total!</span></span><br /><div class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Quick media photo outside and we were off! Very convenient for E&I we were behind Gerry, who was behind Shay & Alice, so we let them lead the way and we enjoyed the scenery. Stopped off halfway for a scheduled stop (part of the rally) for soup and sandwiches. Another media photo shoot and we resumed tour.<br /><br />We finished up in the Carn Smart garage in Portadown where we had some lovely refreshments - tea, coffee, sandwiches, sausage rolls & chicken goujons. Had nice chat with a few Smartie people. We did not meet any people from this page :-( Prizes and goodie bags were given out and Enid and I then set off home.<br /><br />We arrived him approximate 8.30pm that evening. It was a long days driving for poor Enid! Next year we would probably stay over...<br /><br />Overall a great day. Fantastic hospitality as always from Smart of Belfast. Met some lovely people and saw some beautiful parts of Northern Ireland.<br /><br />Anyway on the subject of next year - we hope to arrange a 2013 Dublin meet up! Probably along the lines of: meet in the Phoenix Park for a "tailgate party" - to chat about Smarts, have a look at everyone's car, some eats and tea :-) and then a Smart parade/convoy drive around the Phoenix Park. Watch this space!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Diwti-GK3U7MB94CDSXTo3t-sBPgyqBT_KYqUfPgnb-xKbIvVLXPLi79GKzQElQ3Dwg7Ln71gFwMBlXLCfjBxJkrD-5m5EIC3C1GFnwhGNHKc7Bgx2cdB8NnGGMsnXLsrmgawG5-2yMA/s1600/IMG_2079%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Diwti-GK3U7MB94CDSXTo3t-sBPgyqBT_KYqUfPgnb-xKbIvVLXPLi79GKzQElQ3Dwg7Ln71gFwMBlXLCfjBxJkrD-5m5EIC3C1GFnwhGNHKc7Bgx2cdB8NnGGMsnXLsrmgawG5-2yMA/s320/IMG_2079%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>

Long day!

Early start yesterday up at 6.30am to get on the road to Belfast for the Smart Car Rally. Here's a report written by Amy for the Smart C...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/30/2012

2:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/09/a_big_list_of_375_free_ebooks_for_your_ipad_kindle_nook_and_other_devices.html">A Big List of 375 Free eBooks for Your iPad, Kindle, Nook and Other Devices | Open Culture</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">A nice list of free ebooks from Open Culture.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ebook">ebook</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/literature">literature</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/engchat">engchat</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.openculture.com/2012/09/sean_connery_reads_cp_cavafys_epic_poem_ithaca_set_to_the_music_of_vangelis.html">Sean Connery Reads C.P. Cavafy’s Epic Poem “Ithaca,” Set to the Music of Vangelis | Open Culture</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Literature teachers and many of you will enjoy this epic poem ready by Sean Connery with music by Vangelis. Very enjoyable.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/culture">culture</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/poetry">poetry</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://uncommonblog.edublogs.org/2012/09/23/reshelving-project-almost-there-and-already-awesome/">The Uncommon blog » Blog Archive » Reshelving Project: Almost There and Already Awesome!</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Loving how these librarians are transforming their library. Here are some great ideas and examples to share with librarians.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/learningcommons">learningcommons</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/librarian">librarian</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://sociallearningcentre.co.uk/top-100-tools-for-learning-2012/">Top 100 Tools for Learning 2012 | Social Learning Centre</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Voting closes Sunday. This is a highly viewed list. Please take a moment to vote.  "Please share your Top 10 Tools for Learning to help me build the 2012 Top 100 Tools list.  What is a “learning tool”?  This could be a tool you use for teaching, training or creating learning content/solutions for others, and/or a tool you use for your own personal or professional learning.  Voting rules  Please name TEN specific tools rather than generic technologies (e.g. “Blogger” or “WordPress”, rather than “blogs” or “blogging”) A vote for Google will be a vote for Google Search, so if you want to vote for other Google tools, you will need to to name them indvidually, e.g. Google Docs, Google Reader. Note too, that a vote for Google Apps is for the badged collection of Google Apps for your organisation – not a generic term for all Google apps. A vote for Microsoft Office will be split over Word and PowerPoint, so please vote individually for the tools, i.e. Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook etc. The list doesn’t have to be in any order of preference."</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/30/2012

A Big List of 375 Free eBooks for Your iPad, Kindle, Nook and Other Devices | Open Culture A nice li...