ISIS take a hammer to civilization 3,000 year old artworks smashed to pieces.

ISIS take a hammer to civilization 3,000 year old artworks smashed to pieces.

Besides removing supposed temptations to idolatry, Islamic jihadists want to ruin the artifacts of non-Muslim civilizations because doing so testifies to the truth of Islam, as the Qur’an suggests that ruins are a sign of Allah’s punishment of those who rejected his truth:

Many were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who rejected Truth. (Qur’an 3:137)

This is one of the foundations of the Islamic idea that pre-Islamic civilizations, and non-Islamic civilizations, are all jahiliyya — the society of unbelievers, which is worthless. Obviously this cuts against the idea of tourism of ancient sites and non-Muslim religious installations such as St. Catherine’s monastery. V. S. Naipaul encountered this attitude in his travels through Muslim countries. For many Muslims, he observed in Among the Believers, “The time before Islam is a time of blackness: that is part of Muslim theology. History has to serve theology.” Naipaul recounted that some Pakistani Muslims, far from valuing the nation’s renowned archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro, saw its ruins as a teaching opportunity for Islam, recommending that Qur’an 3:137 be posted there as a teaching tool.

ISIS thugs take a hammer to civilization: Priceless 3,000-year-old artworks smashed to pieces in minutes as militants destroy Mosul museum. Islamic State thugs have destroyed a collection of priceless statues and sculptures in Iraq dating back thousands of years.

Extremists used sledgehammers and power drills to smash ancient artwork as they rampaged through a museum in the northern city of Mosul.

A group of bearded men in the Nineveh Museum using tools to wreck 3,000-year-old statues after pushing them over.

Militant uses a power tool to destroy a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity at the Ninevah Museum in Mosul, Iraq. The statue dates back to the 9th century B.C.

One of the items, depicting a winged-bull Assyrian protective deity, dates back to the 9th century B.C.

A man shown in the video said the items were being destroyed because they promoted idolatry.

‘The Prophet ordered us to get rid of statues and relics, and his companions did the same when they conquered countries after him,’ the unidentified man said.

The articles destroyed appeared to come from an antiquities museum in the northern city of Mosul, which was overrun by Islamic State last June, a former employee at the museum told Reuters.

The extremist group has destroyed a number of shrines – including Muslim holy sites – in a bid to eliminate what it views as heresy.

Militants are also believed to have sold ancient artwork on the black market in order to finance their bloody campaign across the region.

The video bore the logo of the ISIS group’s media arm and was posted on a Twitter account used by the group.

Yesterday it was revealed how terrorists had blown up the Mosul Public Library, sending 10,000 books and more than 700 rare manuscripts up in flames.

Leading members of Mosul society reportedly tried to stop the fanatics destroying the building, but failed.

President Obama on Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

June 26, 2015 President Obama spoke about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Obergefell vs Hodges case on same-sex marriage. The Court ruled 5-4 that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize marriages from other states. President Obama praised the ruling, saying “we’ve made our union a little more perfect” and calling the decsion a “victory for America.” 

OUR NATION WAS FOUNDED IN A BEDROCK PRINCIPLE. THAT WE ARE ALL CREATED EQUAL. THE PROJECT OF EACH GENERATION IS TO BRIDGE THE MEANING OF THOSE SOUNDING WORDS WITH THE REALITIES OF CHANGING TIMES. A NEVER-ENDING QUEST TO ENSURE THOSE WORDS RING TRUE FOR EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN. PROGRESS ON THIS JOURNEY OFTEN COMES IN SMALL INCREMENTS. SOMETIMES TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK. PROPELLED BY THE PERSISTENT EFFORT OF DEDICATED CITIZENS. AND THEN SOMETIMES THERE ARE DAYS LIKE THIS. WHEN THAT SLOW, STEADY EFFORT IS REWARDED WITH JUSTICE THAT ARRIVES LIKE A THUNDERBOLT. THIS MORNING, THE SUPREME COURT RECOGNIZED THAT THE CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES MARRIAGE EQUALITY. IN DOING SO, THEY HAVE REAFFIRMED THAT ALL AMERICANS ARE ENTITLED TO THE EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW. THAT ALL PEOPLE SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY, REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY ARE WITH THE LOVE. THIS DECISION WILL END THE PATCHWORK SYSTEM WE CURRENTLY HAVE, IT WILL END OF THE UNCERTAINTY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF COUPLES WILL FACE BY NOT KNOWING THEIR MARRIAGE, LEGITIMATE IN THE EYES OF ONE STATE, WILL REMAIN IF THEY DECIDE TO MOVE OR EVEN VISIT ANOTHER. THIS RULING WILL STRENGTHEN ALL OF OUR COMMUNITIES. BY OFFERING ALL LOVING SAME-SEX COUPLES THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE ACROSS THIS GREAT LAND. IN MY SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS, I SAID THAT IF WE ARE TRULY CREATED EQUAL, THEN SURELY THE LOVE WE COMMIT TO ONE ANOTHER MUST PEOPLE AS WELL. IT IS GRATIFYING TO SEE THAT PRINCIPLE ENSHRINED INTO LAW BY THIS DECISION. THIS RULING IS A VICTORY FOR JIM JIM OBERGEFELL -- AND THE OTHER COPIES IN THE CASE -- COUPLES IN THE CASE. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FOUGHT FOR THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS. IT'S A VICTORY FOR THEIR CHILDREN WHOSE FAMILIES ONE OF THE RECOGNIZED AS EQUAL TO ANY OTHER. IT IS A VICTORY FOR THE ALLIES AND FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS WHO SPENT YEARS, EVEN DECADES WORKING IN PRAYING FOR CHANGE TO COME. AND THIS RULING IS A VICTORY FOR AMERICA. THIS DECISION AFFIRMS WHAT MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ALREADY BELIEVE IN THEIR HEARTS -- WHEN ALL AMERICANS ARE TREATED AS EQUAL, WE ARE ALL MORE FREE. MY ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN GUIDED BY THAT IDEA. IT'S WHY WE STOP DEFENDING THE SO-CALLED DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT. AND WHY WE WERE PLEASED WHEN THE COURT FINALLY STRUCK DOWN THE CENTRAL PROVISION OF THAT DISCRIMINATORY LAW. IT'S WHY WE ENDED DON'T ASK DON'T TELL. FROM EXTENDING FULL MARITAL BENEFITS TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND THEIR SPOUSES TO EXPANDING HOSPITAL VISITATION RIGHTS FOR LGBT PATIENTS AND THEIR LOVED ONES, WE MADE REAL PROGRESS ADVANCING EQUALITY FOR LGBT AMERICANS IN WAYS THAT WERE UNIMAGINABLE NOT TOO LONG AGO. I KNOW CHANGE FOR MANY OF OUR LGBT BROTHERS AND SISTERS MUST HAVE SEEMED SO SLOW FOR SO LONG. BUT COMPARED TO SO MANY OTHER ISSUES, AMERICA'S SHIFT HAS BEEN SO QUICK. I KNOW THAT AMERICANS OF GOOD WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD A WIDE RANGE OF VIEWS ON THIS ISSUE. OPPOSITION IN SOME CASES HAS BEEN BASED ON SINCERE AND DEEPLY HELD BELIEFS. ALL OF US WELCOME TODAY'S NEWS SHOULD BE MINDFUL OF THAT FACT. AND RECOGNIZE DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS. REVERE OUR DEEP COMMITMENT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. BUT TODAY SHOULD ALSO GIVE US HOPE THAT ON THE MANY ISSUES WITH WHICH WE GRAPPLE, OFTEN PAINFULLY, REAL CHANGE IS POSSIBLE. SHIFTS IN HEARTS AND MINDS IS POSSIBLE. AND THOSE WHO HAVE COME SO FAR ON THEIR JOURNEY TO EQUALITY HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO REACH BACK AND HELP OTHERS JOIN THEM. BECAUSE FOR ALL OF OUR DIFFERENCES, WE ARE ONE PEOPLE, STRONGER TOGETHER THAN WE CAN EVER BE ALONE. THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR STORY. WE ARE BIG AND VAST AND DIVERSE AS A NATION. PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND BELIEFS, DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND STORIES, BUT FOUND BY THE SHARED IDEAL THAT NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE, HOW YOU STARTED OFF OR HOW AND WHO YOU LOVE, AMERICA IS A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN WRITE EURO DESTINY. -- RIGHT YOUR OWN DESTINY. WE ARE PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE EVERY CHILD IS ENTITLED TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE TO EXTEND THE FULL PROMISE OF AMERICA TO EVERY AMERICAN. BUT TODAY WE CAN SAY IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT WE HAVE MADE OUR UNION IS LITTLE MORE PERFECT. THAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF A DECISION FROM THE SUPREME COURT, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE COUNTLESS SMALL ACTS OF COURAGE OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS DECADES WHO STOOD UP, WHO CAME OUT, WHO TALKED TO PARENTS, PARENTS WHO LOVE THEIR CHILDREN NO MATTER WHAT. FOLKS WHO WERE WILLING TO ENDURE BULLYING AND TAUNTS AND STAYED STRONG. AND CAME TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES AND WHO THEY WERE. AND SLOWLY MADE AN ENTIRE COUNTRY REALIZE THAT LOVE IS LOVE. WHAT AN EXTRA ORDINARY ACHIEVEMENTS, WHAT A VINDICATION OF THE BELIEF THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS. WHAT A REMINDER OF WHAT BOBBY KENNEDY ONCE SAID ABOUT HOW SMALL ACTIONS CAN BE LIKE PEBBLES BEING THROWN INTO A STILL LAKE. AND RIPPLES OF HOPE CASCADE OUTWARDS. AND CHANGE THE WORLD. THOSE COUNTLESS, OFTEN ANONYMOUS , HEROES DESERVE OUR THANKS. THEY SHOULD BE VERY PROUD. AMERICA SHOULD BE VERY PROUD. 

PATRIOT ACT RELATED TO (NSA) SURVEILLANCE.

U.S. Senate Session

The Senate continued working on fast-track trade authority promotion legislation. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) spoke for approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes in opposition to provisions in the PATRIOT Act related to National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance.