I mentioned last night of how October 31st was primarily an American Holiday as kids of all ages charged up to total strangers on the streets, their homes and businesses and asked for candy, fruit and small toys. Mostly candy. This was American-Style Halloween. I was not comparing it to the world-wide Catholic celebration of All-Saints Day, which being a non-Catholic I have little understanding of. But from what I could see, the local teens and small kids had a lot of fun. One of the kids from nearby dressed up as a walking pizza and his accompanying mother was a chef with protective tongs. We do have bears here and tongs are good for bears. When I was young we used to be given homemade treats, but after the well-publicized poisonings of the 60's, parents quickly go through the kiddy's bags and discard anything not commercially sealed or given by a relative or very close friend.
Because of our backgrounds and our faith, my wife and I do not celebrate Halloween and our children grew up with that tradition. But our churches would hold alternative events, like fall carnivals and there would be a lot of sweets to make the local dentists happy. I found it to be a very confusing time for young ones. On Sunday or Wednesday night Bible Study they would hear of the Lord and the evils of Satan and one night a year the could dress up like demonic creatures...now I'm not talking about Universal Movie Monsters, DC or Marvel bad guys or girls. No, back when I was a kid we dressed up like the dead and this was mostly before zombie time became attractive or we looked like critters from Hell. But there was also GI Joe, Barbie and the rest of the gang. But as everyone likes to say, its the one day in the year we tell our children it is okay to go to a stranger's home and ask for candy. BUT NEVER ON ANY OTHER DAY. Now I was confused when I was 6-8 yrs old. By 9 I was already seeing the reality of the world, becoming a child of divorced parents and a latch-key kid before the term was even used. That was the 60's.
Before I get into a few news briefs or if I even do today, I wanted to mention something I feel is extremely important and bring it to your attention. This is for those who only watch the big 3-4 news networks and rarely check out the world news web for the small international events, which began as a simmer and now inflamed, are growing in stages around the globe, and will rock the world in weeks or months to come.
And for some reason you take a glance at my blog, mentioned by a friend and I do appreciate your time.
Several months ago, I wrote several reports coming out Asia concerning the religious wars being fought in Burma. This was between the Buddhists and the Muslim, and in this case the Muslim were outnumbered. It appeared to have began a year before, but was settled down by the Burmese police and military, after dozens of people were killed and two or three villages were destroyed by fire. This year it began, when a Buddhist Monk and a Muslim individual had a disagreement, which lead to a free-for-all in a store. These Buddhist monks were also fighters, not the non-violent ones we grew up seeing on the TV series "Kung-Fu".
This then escalated, until the whole town was involved, but being greatly outnumbered, the Muslims retreated to their villages for safety. But this wasn't enough. The Buddhists pursued them and burned their villages down and killed dozens of villagers. This brought the military in, trouble was the military was Buddhists and they stood-by while atrocities were committed. Muslims then fled Burma for outlying countries who offered sanctuary. But as word of this spread, Muslims from other countries began to enter Burma to equal things out and Burma had its hands full. Strangely enough, by this time the big news services had moved on to other stories. Oh, they'd highlight a headline hear and there, but as the two religious opponents were in the process of destroying Burma and moving across international borders, where was the United Nations? Thailand finally closed their borders, they were already having enough problems with the communist forces to the south, which was having a drastic effect on Thailand's tourism trade. Martial Law is still in effect in Thailand, for many reasons and you rarely see a news report coming out of there.
The Muslim religion had spread across South and West Asia, replacing Hindu in many countries as the primary religion. Christianity is still evident, but there are far too many Christians still being martyred for their faith throughout Indonesia and many of the island nations. Missionaries have to be men and women of strong faith, with the guts of US Marines and the love of Jesus in their hearts to live in these locations. Now India is seeing its share of religious unrest between Hindu and Muslim. The Hindu hold cows as sacred and to defile one could cost you your life, but the Muslim have gone so far as to copy our Old West cattle rustling...they like beef and the use of leather. Skirmishes are already being fought, added in the on-going issues with Communist China and their distaste for all religions.
Our Middle East Wars is always been a stirring pot for hatred and bloodshed, but it is the once place where Muslim is out to kill Muslim. Blood feuds over 400 years old are still alive and they've grown to be tribe wide. Genocide of one or the other is the goal, with the Christian Kurdish people caught in the middle, who are fighting for a return of their state.
Now I wish to note, I am not here to say anything against one religion or the other. Mine is of a Christian faith and my Lord preaches love for my fellow man. Not to stomp him to death or behead him if he refuses to accept my faith. But, neither do these other faiths, that I know of anyway. Hindu, Buddhists, Christian and Muslim...Hope I didn't leave any of the primary religions out and yes, Buddhists have various sects, just like Christians and the rest. But from what I've read, basically they all teach to love and to educate, to live with each other and if you're not interested in becoming part of my group, we will still be neighborly. No beheading. This is where the fanatics come in and they are a part of EVERY religion, including Christianity...remember the Crusaders???? We're still paying for what they did, supposedly in the name of God. Spanish Inquisition, our Christian drive across the west and how we forced our faith upon the American Indian, going so far as genocide of the Black Feet Nation with small pox. No our hands are not lily white.
But each religious groups has its hate mongers, the dangerous ones who use the guise of their religion to commit mayhem and worse. There are so many Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim, who want to live in peace. Many of the Muslims who do not feel Muhammad even wrote the last book of the Koran, which called for the death of all non-believers. Earlier in the Koran he said just the opposite. Now I have been around the Buddhist faith for a period of about a year and it left me confused. That's all I can say.
But, my point here, the sins of man is allowing the religious wars to grow. Now, its found a stronghold in Germany. Who would've thought. A country that was once led by a man filled with hate, where genocide was his wish and the people didn't stop him. In fact they followed him into a world war. I read some of the recent admissions by German politicians in office who spoke on how they shipped all their problem children outside Germany, so it wouldn't effect their tourist business. If they suspected someone of being a Muslim or Communist terrorist, the picked him up and sent him away...but now they've come back and they're well-trained in the arts of terrorism. They've surrounded themselves in larger terrorists cells and the police can't touch them. Not so much the communist, but recent relationship problem between the European Union and Russia may stir them up. But no, its the Muslim terrorists or the fanatics. Over 4.3 million Muslims reside in Germany, 1 million Kurdish and 60,000 Yazidis. Germany is now home to 30 ACTIVE Islamist groups, with 43,000 members. This includes 950 members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, 1,300 Muslim Brotherhood (who escaped Egypt when that fell apart) and 5,500 Salafists ( Salafists- radical anti-western Muslim ideology seeking to replace democracy in Germany with Islamic government based on Sharia Law).
The fuse was lite on October 7th, this year, when 400 Kurds protested outside the Al-Nour Mosque, near the Central Train Station in Hamburg, Germany. They were there to demonstrate against the Islamic State's attacks on the Syrian Kurdish Town of Kobani (also spelled as Kobane). The protest turned violent when an estimated 400 Islamist, armed with baseball bats, brass knuckles, knives, machetes and metal rods, confronted the Kurds. Dozens were injured. Some 1,300 riot police were deployed. But since then, the violence continues and has escalated to involve other cities in Germany. A second battle broke out in Celle, where Chechen Muslims immigrants clashed with Kurdish Yazidis ( a separate group of Kurds). Violence was reportedly fueled by the Hamburg riots. Demonstrations began in Munich, with protestors waving Large Kurdish flags and occupying the offices of the Christian Social Union. Cities of Berlin, Bremen, Hamm, Hannover, Kiei, Oldenburg, Gottingen and Stuttgart were seeing civil unrest as these religious groups squared off.
City of Cologne, Germany was hit this last Sunday as "Hooligans" ( a name for the pro-Israel/ pro-Christian and Jew/ anti-Islam, far right crowd) numbers approximately 4,000 began a demonstration walk and a riot broke out as unspecified number of Salafists made their appearance. 44 riot police were injured, but only 17 people were arrested. "The Hooligans against Salafists" groups are planning another demonstration November 15th in Berlin. The government is considering banning that demonstration and any others involving these political/religious groups.
There is concern this religious war could cross European borders, spreading civil unrest, right when the Russian appear to be testing the European resolve with repeated overflights near their borders with military bombers and fighters. Russians remain in international air space, but they appear to be hedging the border zone. (With what has already been done in North America, Putin could be testing the military's scrambling time- how long it takes to get their fighters into the air. With Russia so close, Europe and even Alaska has little time for conventional aircraft, even less for ICBMs. But Russia knows the returns package would leave the world a wasteland. The conventional route may be his route in the future, unless Russia grows weary of their tiger.
My question in all this, when do the religious wars hit the United States? Have they begun with two axe attacks, or is something bigger coming. We have far more fanatics in the US than Germany, thanks to our open door southern border. My answer...Prayer, my friends. Pray for our country. Our rights are slowly, ever slowly being taken away from us. Even today, a Federal Judge decided the new "TouchID" Cell Phone, where you use your finger print to open your phone, is "akin to providing a DNA or handwriting sample". No warrant is required. However, people cannot be forced to give up pass codes- YET! Such are still protected by the 5th Amendment.
Just to finish your day off with a smile, a new Federal Inspector General's report shows that nearly $300,000 was paid out in drugs for dead people. Oh, Easter Island also had a 6.0 Earthquake, maybe the mother ship is stirring. God Bless....don't forget, clocks back at bed time, extra hour of sleep. You might get to church and the Pastor's not even there yet. BILL