Pope Francis’ Easter Message: End Violence & Oppression … Pope Called for an End to “the Present Absurd Bloodshed and all Barbarous Acts of Violence” of Radical Islam

Pope Francis Easter Message: “Oh God, who on this day through your only begotten son have conquered death and unmarked for us the path to eternity. [...] We ask peace above all for beloved Syria and Iraq. That the roar of arms cease and that peaceful relations be restored”.

During Pope Francis’ message this Easter Sunday, he called for an end to the bloodshed in Libya, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria and in Africa and called for the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries. Francis  prayed for an end to the violence and persecution of Christians, specifically mentioning the recent slaughter of students massacred by Islamist militants at Garissa University in Kenya.

Pope Francis prayed for an end to the persecution of Christians in his Easter Sunday address, commemorating the students massacred by Islamist militants at Garissa University in Kenya.

Calling for peace in Libya, where last February Islamic State militants beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians, the pope called for an end to “the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence”.

He prayed for peace in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, where Boko Haram Islamist militants have also targeted Christian churches.

“We ask for peace and freedom for the many men and women subject to old and new forms of enslavement on the part of criminal individuals and groups,” he said.

CNN

Pope Francis reminded the world of the Vatican’s status as a state and his role as a moral diplomat in his traditional speech given at the end of Easter Mass.

The Pontiff lamented the suffering of people in the conflicts currently making headlines and called for violence everywhere to end.

Foremost, he asked that bloodshed end in Iraq and Syria and that humanitarian aid get to those in need.

“May the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries and the drama of the numerous refugees,” he said in his “urbi et orbi” address, Latin for “to the city (Rome) and to the world.”

Then he turned to the Holy Land, expressing the wish that the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians resume.

Francis mentioned Libya; the nuclear talks with Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland; Yemen; Nigeria; South Sudan; and the shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya.

The Full Easter Mass can be seen below

Official Vatican Text of Pope Francis’ Easter Message:

“Jesus Christ is risen! Love has triumphed over hatred, life has conquered death, light has dispelled the darkness!

Out of love for us, Jesus Christ stripped himself of his divine glory, emptied himself, took on the form of a slave and humbled himself even to death, death on a cross. For this reason God exalted him and made him Lord of the universe. Jesus is Lord! By his death and resurrection, Jesus shows everyone the way to life and happiness: this way is humility, which involves humiliation. This is the path which leads to glory. Only those who humble themselves can go towards the “things that are above”, towards God (cf. Col 3:1-4). The proud look “down from above”; the humble look “up from below”.

On Easter morning, alerted by the women, Peter and John ran to the tomb. They found it open and empty. Then they drew near and “bent down” in order to enter it. To enter into the mystery, we need to “bend down”, to abase ourselves. Only those who abase themselves understand the glorification of Jesus and are able to follow him on his way.

The world proposes that we put ourselves forward at all costs, that we compete, that we prevail. But Christians, by the grace of Christ, dead and risen, are the seeds of another humanity, in which we seek to live in service to one another, not to be arrogant, but rather respectful and ready to help.

This is not weakness, but true strength! Those who bear within them God’s power, his love and his justice, do not need to employ violence; they speak and act with the power of truth, beauty and love.

From the risen Lord we ask the grace not to succumb to the pride which fuels violence and war, but to have the humble courage of pardon and peace. We ask Jesus, the Victor over death, to lighten the sufferings of our many brothers and sisters who are persecuted for his name, and of all those who suffer injustice as a result of ongoing conflicts and violence.

We ask for peace, above all, for Syria and Iraq, that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations may be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries. May the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries and the drama of the numerous refugees.

We pray for peace for all the peoples of the Holy Land. May the culture of encounter grow between Israelis and Palestinians and the peace process be resumed, in order to end years of suffering and division.

We implore peace for Libya, that the present absurd bloodshed and all barbarous acts of violence may cease, and that all concerned for the future of the country may work to favor reconciliation and to build a fraternal society respectful of the dignity of the person. For Yemen too we express our hope for the growth of a common desire for peace, for the good of the entire people. (the rest of the message)

Flip-Flopping, Liar in Chief: President Obama Suddenly Acknowledges He Knew and Lived With His Kenyan Uncle Omar in the 1980′s

Barack Obama is incapable of telling the truth, about anything … it really is true, if his lips are moving, one can suspect that the truth is no where to be found.

Even though the Manchurian candidate , Yuri Barack Obama had said that he never met Onyango Obama, suddenly Obama now admits that he lived with Uncle “Omar” for a period of time in the 1980′s while preparing to attend Harvard University. HUH? However, in 2012 the Boston Globe reported after Omar Obama’s arrest for DUI, that the White House said he had ”never met his famous nephew.” Barack Obama was heard to have said, oh that Uncle Omar, I thought you had said, Uncle Imir.

Does it bother anyone else that we have a complete and total compulsive liar as president?

So what we basically have here is that Barack Obama has admitted he lied that he stayed with his Kenyan born uncle who was in the United States illegally.

That’s a first. He is a liar without equal, but it’s a first that he admit it. Obama admits he lied — he did live with Uncle Onyango Obama. I wonder why Obama would own up to it. You know there is some other motive at work here.

“White House Misled Press: Obama Knew and Lived With Uncle Who Was Here Illegally” By Steven Nelson, US News, December 5, 2013

The PJ Tatler pretty much says it all in the following comment with respect to Barack Obama and the fact that “We the People” have had this disgrace inflicted upon us, “It would be nice to have lived in a world in which the media vetted previously obscure presidential candidates before they were elected. If such a world existed, I would very much like to live in it.”

Onyango Obama, President Obama’s Kenyan Born Uncle BO Claims He Never Met, Evades Deportation After DUI Arrest … Uncle’s Testimony Contradicts White House Account

It’s good to know people in high places, even if they claim they have never met you before …

The White House stated that the immigration case against “Uncle Omar” would be treated like any other immigration case.  Sure it will, and if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it. As reported at The Boston Globe,  President Obama’s Uncle, Onyango “Omar” Obama, is allowed to stay after a hearing in a U.S. immigration court yesterday. Onyango  Obama had been ordered to leave the United States in 1986, 1989, and again 1992, but he disregarded the deportation orders. Hmm, like uncle, like nephew, it would appear that disregarding the laws of the US and illegal immigration run deep with the Obama’s. Uncle Omar most likely would most likely have  remained an unknown, anonymous, illegal alien, law breaker but for his arrested for drunk driving in Framingham, Massachusetts on  August 24, 2011.

Hmm … another lie?

A federal immigration judge ruled Tuesday that President Obama’s uncle can remain in the United States, sparing him deportation to his native Kenya in a case that riveted attention on the elderly man who had lived under the radar in this country for 50 years. For most of that time, he was here illegally.

Boston immigration Judge Leonard I. Shapiro said Onyango “Omar” Obama can now get a green card, and in five years, apply for US citizenship, unless the Department of Homeland Security appeals the case within 30 days.

“Congratulations,” Shapiro said after he announced his decision. “Welcome to America.”

The case stirred controversy because the president’s uncle was arrested in 2011 for drunken driving in Framingham and was found to have an outstanding deportation order from 1992. Many accused the government of giving him special treatment at the same time President Obama is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants.

What would a hearing be with an Obama without a ‘Things that Make you go Hmm’ moment?  During the deportation hearing yesterday Onyango Obama testified that his nephew, Barack Obama, stayed with him in the ’80s while a student at Harvard Law School. However, that story, contradicts the White House’s account, which says that the two men never met.

Another lie, but why? As Weasel Zippers opines, “So one more lie about Obama’s past uncovered. Why lie about this, just to not seem to have connection to illegal uncle?” Especially when Barack Obama could care less that illegals exist in the United States and wants to grant illegals amnesty.  Why does it seem that pretty much everything about Obama is based on a lie?

Al-Shabaab Claims that Three Americans Are Among Gunmen in Kenya Mall Massacre, Death Toll at 68

Americans among the Al-Shabaab terrorist gunman?

Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliated terror group, is claiming that there are three American gunmen among the others Islamists in a standoff at the Westage Mall in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Al-Qaeda affiliate tweeted the following names: Ahmed Mohamed Isse, 22, “native” of St. Paul, MN, Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, of Minneapolis, and Gen Mustafe Noorudiin, 27, of Kansas City, MO.  The Kenya Mall Massacre has killed at least 68 and wounded over 200 individuals.

More from the PJ Tatler:

The Somali al-Qaeda affiliate tweeted a series of names on its latest account before Twitter against suspended the group. Al-Shabaab has been creating new accounts each time they get shut down but a movement of pro-Kenyan tweeters has been tracking down the new accounts and complaining to Twitter.

“We received permission to disclose the names of our mujahideen inside #Westgate,” their latest account tweeted.

They proceeded to tweet the names one by one, including Ahmed Mohamed Isse, 22, “native” of St. Paul, Minn., Abdifatah Osman Keenadiid, 24, of Minneapolis, and Gen Mustafe Noorudiin, 27, of Kansas City, Mo.

Al-Shabaab recently released a PR video targeted at Somali-Americans in Minnesota, trying to lure them to jihad as more than two dozen have already done so through the state’s “terror pipeline.” Three Americans — Abdisalan Hussein Ali, Farah Mohamed Beledi and Shirwa Ahmed — from Minnesota have been suicide bombers for Al-Shabaab in a series of attacks in Mogadishu over the past few years.

Other gunmen were named as being from locations such as Finland, Canada, the UK., Somalia and Kenya. None of the names were female, even though witnesses reported a white woman among the shooters.

A Minnesota connection to the Somali al-Qaeda affiliate? As stated at Vox Popoli, Al-Shabaab has recently released a PR video targeting Somali-Americans in Minnesota trying to recruit them to the terror group. And the NSA is spying on our phone calls, emails and meta data.

Al-Shabaab recently released a PR video targeted at Somali-Americans in Minnesota, trying to lure them to jihad as more than two dozen have already done so through the state’s “terror pipeline.” Three Americans — Abdisalan Hussein Ali, Farah Mohamed Beledi and Shirwa Ahmed — from Minnesota have been suicide bombers for Al-Shabaab in a series of attacks in Mogadishu over the past few years.

20 Dead as Gunman Attack Nairobi Shopping Mall in Kenya (Update: Attackers were Targeting non-Muslims) (Update: Authorities Calling Possible Terror Attack) (Update: 59 Dead, Likely to Rise, Islamists Have Hostages)

CNN is reporting that dozens are injured and at least 20 are dead as gunman opened fire in a Nairobi mall in Kenya. The attack took place at an upscale Westgate Mall. In is unknown at this time just how many people have been injured or killed and the background of the gunman. A witness said that gunmen armed with AK-47s and grenades.

Gunmen attacked an upscale shopping mall in the Kenyan capital on Saturday, leading to a fierce gunbattle with police and leaving dozens of casualties.

The Kenyan Red Cross reported 20 dead, though a government official, Joseph Ole Lenku, only confirmed 11.

Fifty more people were wounded in the attack at the mall in Nairobi, said Abbas Gullet, head of the Kenyan Red Cross.

A security agent told CNN’s Lillian Leposo at the scene that the violence was a terrorist attack, but officials had yet to confirm that information, Leposo told CNN.

“They have strong reason that these men are terrorists,” Leposo said.

UPDATE I: From AP via the Jawa Report … it would appear that CNN left out this little important fact that the gunman were solely attacking non-Muslims. So they were only attacking non-Muslims, eh? Let’s go out on a limb and call this an act of terror and not workplace violence.

The gunmen announced that non-Muslims would be targeted, said Elijah Kamau, who was at the mall at the time of the midday attack.

“The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims would be targeted,” he said.

UPDATE II: ABC News is reporting that 22 are dead and the attackers were targeting non-Muslims. The authorities are treating it as a terrorist attack.

Gunmen threw grenades and opened fire Saturday killing at least 22 people in an attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya’s capital that was hosting a children’s day event, a Red Cross official and witnesses said.

The attackers remained inside and firing subsided as military surrounded the mall hours after the attack. People continued to trickle out from hiding places within the Westgate mall, which is frequented by expatriates and rich Kenyans in Nairobi’s affluent Westlands neighborhood.

Kenya Red Cross official Abbas Gullet said at least 22 people were killed in the attack that police blamed on terrorists. He said the death toll would likely rise.

“We are treating this as a terrorist attack,” said police chief Benson Kibue, adding that there are likely no more than 10 attackers involved.

UPDATE III: The BBC is reporting that police first thought it was a robbery; however, is now classifying it as terrorism.

A senior police officer originally said it was an attempted robbery but later called it a possible terrorist attack.

The Somali militant group al-Shabab had threatened to strike the centre.

It is opposed to Kenya sending troops to fight in Somalia. No group has said it carried out Saturday’s attack.

UPDATE IV: Islamist gunmen holed up with hostages in Nairobi siege, 59 dead.

Islamist militants were holed up with hostages on Sunday at a shopping mall in Nairobi, where at least 59 people have been killed in an attack by the al Shabaab group that opposes Kenya’s participation in a peacekeeping mission in neighboring Somalia.