CIA, Mossad, Qatar PM lead high-stakes talks in Paris on Gaza hostage release, ceasefire
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/KArI5R0ILw#CIA #Mossad #Qatar #HostageDeal pic.twitter.com/vbPYZMxIf4
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) January 28, 2024
Month: January 2024
ARK Encounter is a gigantic replica of Noah’s Ark, measuring 510 feet long and over 50 feet tall – with a price tag of $100 million.
The creationist museum in a Kentucky theme park took two years to build and is home to models of dinosaurs, biblical unicorns and mythical lion-cats.
The replica of Noah’s Ark is supposed to be ‘life-size’ based on measurements in the Bible
GettyThe Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky is home to the giant structure[/caption]
GettyVisitors wander around one of its many decks (inside the ark)[/caption]
Ark EncounterA model inside designed to represent biblical life before Noah’s Ark[/caption]
Ark EncounterThe ark is over 500 feet long and seven stories high[/caption]
A mural claiming to explain the ‘true’ history of the world
The ark is part of a theme park in Kentucky built by American creationists that sees over a million tourists traipse through each year.
Over 100 bays nestled inside the enormous ark include models of animals, Noah’s workshop and other replicas of what museum creators believe was onboard.
The measurements of the enormous replica are based on “cubits”, a unit of size in the Bible that creationists have converted into modern terms.
The makers think that animals on board were ancestors of what we know today – so models on the ark include a cat-type beast with a head like a lion and a rhino-like animal with no horn.
Dinosaurs are commonplace, as the Christian group behind it – Answers in Genesis – think they lived at the same time as humans.
It stands seven stories high with three decks of exhibits and a petting zoo of live animals can be found on the grounds of the park outside the ark.
The ark, which is the largest oak-frame structure in the world, is supposed to be “life-sized”.
According to the website it is a true-to-size replica of Noah’s ark, which, if the story is to be believed, was built over 4,300 years ago.
It apparently saved thousands of animals from a biblical flood which lasted a year.
The first section of the Ark Encounter is supposed to represent a pre-flood world and includes models of battles between man and dinosaur, human sacrifices and people being mauled by sharks.
As visitors move through they are then greeted by signs explaining more about the religious sentiment behind the museum.
The story of Noah and his family is used to explain Christian morality beliefs in a modern day context – like for waste disposal.
Makers of the museum wanted to create a sort of Christian Disney-land to attract atheists and agnostics as well, but considering the overestimated ticket sales and strong content – that may not be the case.
A day ticket for an adult is just under £50, or $60, and for those between age 11 and 17 its £23.
Further rooms show how Noah and his family lived, and an exhibit on cute animals is actually about evil.
One exhibit called The Noah Interview has an actor playing Noah being interviewed by a mean British journalist from his local paper.
There’s even a graphic novel exhibit about university students questioning their faith.
And an enormous wall-covering mural explains the “true history of the world”.
Ken Ham, Ark Encounter CEO, told NPR: “We built it as a reminder, a reminder in regard to God’s word and the account of Noah and the flood.”
The park is in Kentucky, near a town of only 4,000 people.
Early estimates by Ham put footfall to the park at two million a year, but it hasn’t always lived up to that.
Between summer 2017 and 2018, only 860,000 tickets were sold.
The park has also been a point of controversy over the years.
The group behind its creation, Answers in Genesis, were given an $18 million tax break, according to the Guardian.
Then reports emerged that the group were only hiring Christian staff and the tax break was revoked, but after suing, they won their case.
In 2016 it also came out that they were asking staff to outwardly condemn same-sex marriage and pre-marital sex, even requesting that they sign a pledge.
Ken Ham said at the time: “If you’re a religious organisation, you can have a religious preference in hiring. It makes sense. I can’t think of Planned Parenthood employing someone like me.”
GettyTourists explore the enormous ark[/caption]
GettyPeople walk around the ark near signs on the wall about the Bible[/caption]
Ark EncounterA display inside the ark replica[/caption]
GettyAn exhibit of model animals is displayed inside[/caption]
GettyA family view an exhibit inside the Noah’s Ark replica[/caption]
RT by @mikenov: Sunday Gaza Day 114
CIA Director William Burns is in Paris to seal a ‘prisoner exchange and temporary truce deal’ betw…
CIA Director William Burns is in Paris to seal a ‘prisoner exchange and temporary truce deal’ betw…
The post @RosanneMil3145: RT by @mikenov: Sunday Gaza Day 114
CIA Director William Burns is in Paris to seal a ‘prisoner exchange and temporary truce deal’ betw… first appeared on The News And Times Review.
CIA Director William Burns is expected to discuss the latest emerging proposal to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, which include some Israeli-Americans. https://t.co/1XfliXA79c
— CBS News Texas (@CBSNewsTexas) January 28, 2024
The post @CBSNewsTexas: RT by @mikenov: CIA Director William Burns is expected to discuss the latest emerging proposal to free the remaining hostages held by Ham… first appeared on The News And Times Review.
hostages held by hamas in gaza – Google Search https://t.co/z3eamb6oR6
–https://t.co/ufzOPNxjCn— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) January 28, 2024
The post @mikenov: hostages held by hamas in gaza – Google Search https://t.co/z3eamb6oR6 first appeared on The News And Times Review.
https://t.co/Z2Fa9ZDOYh
The News And Times Review – #NewsAndTimes – https://t.co/PHMNa5CDQU
–#News #Times #NT #TNT #Israel #World #USA #POTUS #DOJ #FBI #CIA #DIA #ODNI #Mossad #Netanyahu #Putin #Russia #GRU #Ukraine #SouthCaucasus #NewAbwehr #Bloggers #PoliticalPsychology… pic.twitter.com/KZq1OO3tC0— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) January 28, 2024
The post @mikenov: https://t.co/Z2Fa9ZDOYh
The News And Times Review – #NewsAndTimes – https://t.co/PHMNa5CDQU
–
#News #Times #NT #TNT #Israel #World #USA #POTUS #DOJ #FBI #CIA #DIA #ODNI #Mossad #Netanyahu #Putin #Russia #GRU #Ukraine #SouthCaucasus #NewAbwehr #Bloggers #PoliticalPsychology… https://t.co/KZq1OO3tC0 first appeared on The News And Times Review.
Netanyahu And Sinwar’s Forever War: Perpetual Conflict In Gaza
Authored by Joe Buccino via RealClear Wire,
As the Gaza War extends beyond 100 days with no end in sight, a potential months-long respite from fighting comes into focus. The ceasefire will allow the release of another set of Israeli hostages and another set of Palestinian prisoners. Beyond this ongoing series of exchanges, however, there appears no end to the war: The bombing, the raids, and the exchanges will go on for months and months. This perpetual state of conflict is exactly what the two men leading both sides seek.
On one side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin remains steadfast in emphasizing an unachievable strategic objective for the war: the total eradication of Hamas in Gaza as the war’s strategic objective. The governing body of Gaza since 2007, Hamas has its vile arms in all aspects of Gazan governance and society. Hamas is not only the enclave’s military force, but also the school system, the trash collection, and the police. The group blends so deeply into Gazan society that the complete elimination of Hamas – Netanyahu’s consistently stated goal – would likely require killing virtually every adult male. Further, beyond smashing Gaza to bits, Israel has no transition plan. Netanyahu refuses to turn Gaza over to a reformed Palestinian Authority. He’s ruled out the White House’s proposal for a post-war Palestinian State. Bibi’s left no viable remaining option — even a security handover to Sunni Arab militaries is unpalatable in those countries without a Palestinian State.
On the other side of this gruesome conflict, Yayhya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader, remains elusive, likely underground and mixed with Israeli hostages. Like his counterpart, Sinwar wants the war to continue in perpetuity. Hamas’s goal in such a savage attack on Israel on October 7th was to force an Israeli overreach. The terror group wanted images of a dystopian hellscape, destroyed hospitals, dead children, and wailing babies – precisely what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are inflicting on Gazans. Hamas, widely unpopular in Gaza before the war, sees its stature, prestige, and acclaim grow dramatically as the fighting continues. Palestinians – and many Muslims in the Middle East – view Hamas’s war as a legitimate form of defiance against Israeli oppression. This is the war Sinwar always wanted – a war of resistance embraced by the Mulsim world. Sinwar now hopes to bleed Israel dry, to keep the IDF tied down in Gaza, and to employ Hamas’s well-honed information operations program to turn the world against Israel.
Sinwar’s strategic approach pivots on the more than 100 hostages remaining in Hamas control. Subway must ensure his forces keep them alive. He will use them as leverage in a series of staggered pauses during which Hamas’s forces consolidate ammunition, repair defensive positions, and replace troops on the front lines. Keeping such a large group of hostages alive in combat in a devastated landscape is a colossal task of planning and resourcing, but it is vital to preserving conflict.
The return of Palestinian prisoners from Israel at a rate of two to one in exchange for Israeli hostages makes Sinwar a hero in the Muslim world. His stature will continue to grow with each exchange. Sinwar knows his popularity – and the acclaim of his organization – will continue to rise in the months to come.
The Israeli Prime Minister, on the other hand, was a largely reviled figure before the war and grew more despised as the battle continued. Netanyahu’s image was always that of the man who would keep Israelis safe from the rest of the world. In secretly propping up Hamas for almost a decade while pushing settlements into the West Bank, he’s only done the opposite. The war is his mechanism to remain in power; once the fighting stops, Israelis will call for an election and overwhelmingly vote him out.
Once out of office, the 73-year-old Netanyahu will suffer a worse fate than political failure. Bibi is charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three separate scandals. The longer he remains in power, the longer he can delay facing the consequences of these charges. The trials, repeatedly delayed, have recently resumed but are expected to drag on slowly while he adjudicates the war. Should the war end, however, Bibi will surely face justice.
So, with no viable off-ramp and two leaders keen to keep the blood flowing, the war will persist. The awful suffering it brings will continue- for months and months, through 2024 into 2025. Pursuing peace and resolution takes a backseat to Sinwar’s political agenda and Netanyahu’s self-preservation.
Joe Buccino is a retired U.S. Army colonel with five combat tours in the Middle East. He served as U.S. Central Command communications director from 2021 until September 2023. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Defense or any other organization.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 01/28/2024 – 11:40
https://t.co/Z2Fa9ZDOYh
The News And Times Review – #NewsAndTimes – https://t.co/O0SIgLVWzM#PoliticalPersonology #PoliticalCriminology #Counterintelligence #InvestigativeJournalism #Psychohistory pic.twitter.com/fEkFrgstGj— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) January 28, 2024