Turkish leader"s daughter heads secret ISIS hospital

Turkish President Erdogan and daughter Sumeyye Erdogan

A former nurse has revealed she was employed at a secret Turkish hospital used to treat wounded ISIS soldiers near the Syrian border, run by Sumeyye Erdogan, daughter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The nurse, who did not reveal her name for fear of retaliation, is a member of the Alawite faith, a minority offshoot of Shia Islam, according to an investigative report released by the Montreal-based Center for Research on Globalization.

“I was given a generous salary of $ 7,500, but they were unaware of my religion,” she told investigators. “The fact is that I adhere to the Alawi faith, and since Erdogan took the helm of the country the system shows utter contempt for the Alawi minority,” the nurse added.

She said she was forced out of her position because hospital officials began treating her unfairly when they learned she was a member of the minority sect.

They had no confidence in Alawites, the nurse said.

“No sooner did they become cognizant of my faith than the wave of intimidation began, for I knew many things as who was running the corps, I saw Sumeyye Erdogan frequently at our headquarter in Sanliurfa … I am indeed terrified, I rue the day I enrolled in that program.”

She now lives in hiding in Istanbul with her two children.

“Almost every day several khaki Turkish military trucks were bringing scores of severely injured, shaggy [ISIS] rebels to our secret hospital, and we had to prepare the operating rooms and help doctors in the following procedures.”

Hers is just the latest charge that the Erdogan government is secretly assisting ISIS in its war against Syria’s Assad regime, a charge the administration has repeatedly denied.

Get the free WND special report, “ISIS Rising: Prelude to a Neo-Ottoman Caliphate,” now!

Once hailed as a nationalist and secular politician, Erdogan’s 13-year reign has been marked in recent years by increasingly provocative jihadi rhetoric.

WND reported Erdogan has called on his countrymen to refocus on the Ottoman goal of re-conquering Jerusalem for Islam and uniting Shia and Sunni tribes for that same mission.

In a speech that got almost no coverage in the Western media, Erdogan talked about invading and reconquering Jerusalem, according to an article in the Anadolu Agency of Turkey.

No one has his eye on the unfolding of end-time events in Turkey like Joel Richardson. See the works of this Bible-prophecy expert in the WND Superstore.

“We Muslims lost our aim to head toward Jerusalem,” he told throngs of adoring Turks while in the state of Erzincan in central Turkey, according to a translation by Walid Shoebat. “The water of our eyes froze making us blind, and our hearts that was destined to beat for Jerusalem is now instead conditioned for rivalry being in a state of war with each other.”

Erdogan was in the city to promote numerous service projects, but the speech focused on Jerusalem.

“When you mention the word ascension, the first thing that comes to mind is Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque,” he said, referring to the mosque that sits on the Temple Mount.

Turkey also served as the home base of the 2010 Muslim flotilla that unsuccessfully attempted to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza in an incident that resulted in 10 deaths and many wounded on both sides.

Sumeyye Erdogan earlier was subjected to public condemnation by her father’s political opponents when she expressed her intent to go to ISIS-occupied Mosul, Iraq, to do volunteer relief work. Her brother, Bilal Erdogan, is accused of being engaged in the smuggling of Syrian and Iraqi oil, plundered by ISIS to fund its caliphate and military operations.

Bilal owns several maritime companies that control special wharves in the ports of Beirut and Ceyhan, the report alleges, that are used to transport ISIS oil to Asian markets in Japan-owned tankers, resulting in ISIS being the world’s wealthiest terrorist group. One of those companies, BMZ Ltd, is considered an Erdogan-family business and the president’s close relatives hold shares in it.

“President Erdogan claims that according to international transportation conventions there is no legal infraction concerning Bilal’s illicit activities, and his son is doing an ordinary business with the registered Japanese companies, but in fact Bilal Erdogan is up to his neck in complicity with terrorism, but as long as his father holds office he will be immune from any judicial prosecution,” Gürsel Tekin, a senior opposition party official in Ankara charged Tuesday.

Mideast expert Joel Richardson, author of the New York Times bestseller “Mideast Beast: The Scriptural Case for an Islamic Antichrist,” has argued Erdogan’s support for ISIS is particularly cynical, self-serving – using ISIS to prepare the geopolitical groundwork for Turkish control over the entire region.

In his documentary exploring the intentions of the Turkish government “End Times Eyewitness,” Richardson says: “There is a Turkish proverb which says, ‘Show the people death and they will gladly embrace malaria.’ Erdogan is allowing ISIS to do its dirty work in its backyard. He is using them in his war against Assad, the Kurds and Iran. But then the time comes, he will dispose of ISIS, (or allow others to do so) and he will step forward, as a far more appealing caliph.”

In the end, Richardson, whose most recent work is “When a Jew Rules the World: What the Bible Really Says About Israel in the Plan of God,” believes the geopolitics of the end times are unfolding before the eyes of the current generation. And the multifaceted battle between various factions is setting the stage for a larger and potentially far more destructive conflict.

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Turkish leader"s daughter heads secret ISIS hospital

Pope trying to galvanise world leaders into action

Nobody, whether atheist or religious, can deny that the Pope’s encyclical on caring for our common home is a big deal.

Its immediate importance comes from its potential to influence world leaders and galvanise the developing world ahead of the Paris Climate Conference this year. Moreover, the encyclical positions Francis in conflict with conservative think tanks such as the Heartland Institute, future contenders for the US presidency (five Catholics are expected to challenge for the Republican nomination), and even climate deniers within the Vatican itself.

The stage is set for a battle royale, and Francis shows little sign of flinching. Instead, he has asked readers to “receive this document with an open spirit”. Now that the encyclical has been published, we are in a position to evaluate it on its own terms.

The text

An encyclical is the second highest form of papal declaration. It is a “letter” that will be sent to the 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests for further dissemination and instruction within their congregation. While the encyclical makes no pretence to “infallibility”, political scientist Daniel DiLeo notes that:

Catholics will only be able to disagree with him in good conscience after serious reflection and the determination that the pope has reasoned incorrectly.

The criticism that preceded yesterday’s release suggests that this is might nevertheless be viewed as a low hurdle for climate deniers and other vested interests within the church.

The 184-page encyclical is complex and defies simple summary. My intention here is to select key areas to spark discussion and further analysis.

To every person: Francis is clear that the threat facing the environment transcends religious difference. He invokes Pope Saint John XXIII famous encyclical “Peace on Earth” to highlight that he wishes to engage “every person living on this planet” [3].

The poor: The disproportionate effect of environmental damage on the poor is underlined in almost every section. Francis notes: “Particular appreciation is owed to those who tirelessly seek to resolve the tragic effects of environmental degradation on the lives of the world’s poorest” [13].

Climate science: Mainstream climate science is endorsed by noting: “most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases” released mainly by human beings [23]. While this is accurate, climatologist Michael E. Mann, argues that: “Human activity is most likely responsible not just for ‘most global warming’ but all of it, and then some, because natural factors have been acting slightly in the other direction.”

Migration: Climate change is forcing an increasing number of poor people to flee from their homes and seek refuge. “Sadly”, the encyclical notes, “there is widespread indifference to such suffering” [25].

Ecological debt: Francis asserts that a “true “ecological debt” exists, particularly between the global north and south” [51] and that foreign debt has been used as a method of controlling poor countries [52]. Looking ahead to Paris, he also affirms the principle of common but differentiated responsibility [170].

Population: The encyclical argues that “demographic growth” is compatible with “shared development” and that to blame population growth instead of extreme consumption is avoiding the issue [50]. While Francis is correct to highlight the glutinous rates of consumption in Western countries, questions will undoubtedly be asked about his failure to confront issues like birth control and his explicit statements on abortion [120].

Technology: In several sections, Francis derides “blind confidence in technical solutions [14].” Technological growth has not resulted in an increase in humility or a sense of our moral responsibility. He quotes Romano Guardini to argue that “contemporary man has not been trained to use power well” and adds “we stand naked and exposed lacking the wherewithal to control it” [105].

Carbon trading: In a document that is broad and general, Francis goes out of his way to criticise carbon trading noting that it does not “allow for the radical change” required and “may simply become a ploy which permits maintaining the excessive consumption”. Unfortunately, the document is silent on the related but separate issue of carbon taxation.

Energy: The encyclical argues that high polluting fossil fuels like coal and oil (to a lesser degree gas) need to be “progressively replaced without delay” [165]. Renewable energy is highlighted as the ideal replacement [172 and 179] but Francis also argues that it is morally legitimate to “choose the lesser of two evils or to find short-term solutions.” Nuclear energy is only mentioned in the context of caution or risk [104 and 184].

Economics: Francis has been a consistent critic of inequalities caused by capitalism. Consistent with this, the encyclical argues that we need to think of strategies for “containing growth” and even “retracing our steps before it is too late” [193]. This necessitates “redefining our notion of progress [194]” and refusing the blackmail of greenwashed phrases like “sustainable growth”.

Paris and beyond

Some Vatican officials have sought to resist reading the encyclical as a political document. Father Dario Vigan, for example, argued: “Any political or sociological reading of this is culturally poor and misleading you have to look at it in terms of humanity and the Gospel.”

This pure stance is difficult to maintain in light of the timing of the encyclical and the Popes intention to address both houses of the US congress this September. As described already, the encyclical itself is also overtly political and laments the hollowing out of government institutions by corporate finance.

It calls for the creation of “stronger and more efficiently organised international institutions” [175] and notes that: “Unless citizens control political power national, regional and municipal it will not be possible to control damage to the environment” [179].

Looking ahead to the Paris Climate Conference I think it is important to echo Andrew Revkin’s reminder that “Francis remains a man, not a superman.” A similar aura of hope surrounded the newly elected president Obama ahead of the 2009 Copenhagen talks.

If we learned nothing else from that meeting, it was that no individual, regardless of their influence, can transcend the realities of deep-rooted dependences on fossil fuels, vested economic interests and divergent national goals.

As I have argued elsewhere, the papal encyclical provides the climate movement with an “unlikely ally” with whom it can prosecute its own demands for climate justice and radical social change.

These demands need to be brought to Paris and used as pressure points for Catholic heads of state like Tony Abbott to bring our national commitments into like with countries taking credible steps to avoid dangerous climate change.

The writer Peter Burdon is a Senior lecturer at the Adelaide Law School at the University of Adelaide.

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Pope trying to galvanise world leaders into action

Putin To Court Italian Vatican Leaders As Sanctions Vote Looms

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to make a rare trip to Western Europe for a June 10 meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi just two weeks before a key vote on extending economic sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Putin will be on the lookout for signs of dissent over the European Union sanctions — which were imposed last year when Russia took over Crimea and are up for an extension vote June 25 — but he is likely to be disappointed.

The Russian leader is due to meet Renzi at the Expo 2015 global fair in Milan.

Although he can expect a friendly reception, Italy is unlikely to break ranks with the Group of Seven, which warned Putin earlier this week that it would increase sanctions if violence in Ukraine increases.

But Russia enjoys better relations with Italy than most EU members. It regards Rome as a reluctant backer of sanctions and a leading proponent of dialogue with Moscow.

“My Italian partners have always put the interests of Italy, of the Italian people, first and believed that in order to serve the interests of their country, including economic and political interests, they must maintain friendly relations with Russia,” Putin told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Italians mostly return the love, but Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni recently signalled no change in Italy’s stance on Ukraine and made it clear he did not subscribe to Putin’s version of events there.

“Italy has been combining loyalty to its allies with a special relationship with Russia,” Gentiloni said in a separate interview with Corriere della Sera.

Putin hopes to get a sympathetic reception in Vatican City, where he will have an audience with Pope Francis on the afternoon of June 10.

The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and the Russian president were expected to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and Orthodox-Catholic relations, Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov told Russian state media.

The pope has so far avoided taking sides in the Ukrainian crisis while Western powers have embarked on a sanctions war with Russia.

Corriere della Sera said June 9 that the Vatican hopes to enroll Putin’s help in convincing the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, to agree to a historic meeting with Francis.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and Interfax

Copyright (c) 2014. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036

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Putin To Court Italian Vatican Leaders As Sanctions Vote Looms