A US peace plan for Moscow and Kiev could come within days or weeks, President Donald Trump’s special envoy on Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, said Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
In January, the WSJ reported that Trump had tasked Kellogg with outlining a settlement to the Ukraine conflict within 100 days. At the same time, the US president warned of new sanctions if Moscow refused an unspecified plan, but emphasized that he was “not looking to hurt Russia.”
“You got to give us a bit of breathing space and time, but when I say that, I’m not talking six months, I’m talking days and weeks,” Kellogg projected as cited by CNBC, adding that he was “on Trump time.”
“He’ll ask you to do this job today and he’ll want to know tomorrow why it isn’t solved,” Kellogg emphasized.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his US counterpart, marking their first known high-level direct contact between Moscow and Washington since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.
According to the Kremlin, the US leader expressed support for the swift cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution, while Putin mentioned the necessity of addressing the root causes of the conflict, but that a long-term settlement could be achieved through negotiations. Following the conversation, Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social that Washington and Moscow were immediately beginning discussions to resolve the conflict.
Trump also said that American and Russian officials might meet during the conference in Munich, adding that Ukraine was also invited to participate. However, no such meeting was reported by the conference organizers or news outlets.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, right, and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval pose for a photo before their meeting in Beijing on Dec. 18, 2024. Photo: Yao Dawei/Xinhua via AP
New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to restart direct flights after a five-year hiatus. caused by COVID and diplomatic tensions following the 2020 border clashes
India and China have agreed “in principle” to restart direct flights between the two countries after a five-year suspension, marking a step forward in bilateral ties following the prolonged border standoff. The decision was announced by India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Jan. 27 following Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s two-day visit to Beijing.
Direct air connection between India and China was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was never re-established as diplomatic ties between the neighbors deteriorated after clashes involving the countries’ troops at a disputed border.
In October 2024, New Delhi and Beijing announced an agreement on disengagement from the points of contention and vowed to work on restoring ties. The announcement of a truce came on the eve of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, where leaders Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi held an extensive bilateral meeting.
The agreement to resume direct flights was reached during high-level talks in Beijing on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 during which two nations built upon the agreements reached in October.
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“The meet also agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries; the relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to reports in the Indian media, New Delhi had previously rejected China’s calls to resume flights.
During the latest talks, the two sides agreed to take certain steps to stabilize and rebuild ties, which also include resuming cooperation on pilgrimage, media, and think-tank interactions.
“It was agreed to resume these dialogues step by step and to utilize them to address each other’s priority areas of interest and concern. Specific concerns in the economic and trade areas were discussed with a view to resolving these issues and promoting long-term policy transparency and predictability,” New Delhi noted.
The improvement and development of China-India relations are in line with the fundamental interests of the two countries and are conducive to safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Global South countries and contributing to the peace, stability, development, and prosperity of Asia and the world, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Jan. 27, according to Xinhua.
Beijing, in a statement, noted that India will extend “full support” for China’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and will actively participate in the meetings under the organization’s umbrella. China will host the summit of the Eurasian group, which also includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Iran, later this year.
Palestinians, displaced from Beit Lahia, arrive in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on December 4, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) (Photo by Gilbert Micky/AFP via Getty Images)
The British Palestine Committee (BPS) has revealed the full extent of Britain’s military collaboration with Israel during the regime’s campaign of genocide in Gaza.
A BPS report published on Jan. 28 detailed Britain’s provision to Israel of various military resources, including logistic support and military bases.
“A full year ago, the International Court of Justice issued urgent provisional measures warning that Israel’s assault on Gaza amounted to a serious risk of genocide,” said the BPS director Sara Husseini.
“As the world looked on in horror, Israel continued its genocidal aggression in Gaza for a further 12 months. The UK has provided active military assistance to Israel throughout.”
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According to the report, the UK government has either directly sold military equipment to Israel or assisted the regime in procuring weapons from the international markets.
“This two-way partnership supports Israeli companies in the development of technology that is used to kill Palestinians and deepens collaboration between the British and Israeli militaries.”
The BPS report also pointed to the strategic role of two British military installations in Cyprus. These bases have been critical in the transport of military equipment to Israel.
“Although these bases operate as collaborative sites, all activities on British territory require UK government approval.”
These installations operate as key Royal Air Force (RAF) bases in the Mediterranean, but have been used to transfer intelligence, weapons, and personnel to Israel since October 2023, the report said.
“British institutions and officials are implicated in the gravest breaches of international law.”
The report said the UK has not only been failing to meet its third-party responsibilities to uphold international law, but also actively complicit in Israel’s massacre of the Palestinian people.
On January 15, the Israeli regime, having failed to achieve any of its objectives including the “elimination” of Hamas or the release of captives, was forced to agree to a ceasefire deal with the Palestinian resistance movement.
The U.S. president has placed restrictions on Chinese goods in what he said was retaliation for failing to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into America
China will file a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and take other retaliatory measures against U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on its goods, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Feb. 2. According to the statement, Beijing sees Washington’s unilateral tariff increase as “seriously violating” WTO rules.
Trump announced new tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada on Feb. 1, citing concerns over the three countries’ failures in stemming the flow of migrants and illegal drugs, such as fentanyl, into the U.S. In order to hike the tariffs, Trump declared a national economic emergency, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which authorizes the president to unilaterally manage imports.
The tariffs, set to enter into effect on February 4, will amount to a 25% tax on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods. According to a fact sheet published by the White House, the tariffs will be in place with no exemptions “until the crisis is alleviated.”
China’s Commerce Ministry said Beijing is “strongly dissatisfied” with Washington’s action and “firmly opposes” it.
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“It is not only unhelpful in solving [Washington’s] own problems, but also undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S.,” the ministry stated, adding that Beijing “will take corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests,” without disclosing details.
It added that the U.S. should “objectively and rationally view and deal with its own problems” such as illegal drug imports, instead of “threatening other countries with tariffs.”
The ministry said Beijing will file a formal complaint over the new tariffs with the WTO, which has legal power to permit a country suffering from another country’s tariffs to respond with its own. As both the U.S. and China are WTO members, they are required to abide by its decisions when in dispute.
China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry called the tariffs “not constructive,” warning that this could reignite a trade war.
“China’s position is firm and consistent. Trade and tariff wars have no winners. … This move cannot solve the U.S.’s problems at home and more importantly, does not benefit either side, still less the world,” the ministry said in a statement late Feb. 1. It also warned that the new tariffs will “harm the counternarcotics cooperation between the two sides in the future.”
Canada and Mexico have already lashed out against Trump’s accusations and tariffs. Hours after the announcement, Canada slapped 25% tariffs on U.S. goods, which will be “far-reaching and include everyday items,” according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum instructed the Economy Ministry on Feb. 1. to implement “Plan B,” which involves tariff and non-tariff retaliatory measures against Washington. While details have not been disclosed, sources claim that Mexico aims to impose measures on U.S. industries such as agriculture.
People gather in front of the Victorian state parliament during an Invasion Day rally on Australia Day in Melbourne, Jan. 26. Photo: Diego Fedele/AAP Image via AP
Tens of thousands of Australians protested over the treatment of Indigenous people on Australia Day, the anniversary of British colonization of the country.
On Jan. 26, demonstrators rallied in Sydney, Melbourne, and other cities to decry the high incarceration rates, poor health, and historic persecution of the Indigenous population of the country.
The national holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on January 26, 1788.
For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of Indigenous people from their land without a treaty.
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As many Australians celebrate Australia Day with friends and family, the Indigenous peoples, who trace their ancestry back 60,000 years as the continent’s first inhabitants, for centuries, have faced dispossession of their lands, endured massacres, and suffered the removal of children from their families.
Activists for years have been urging for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning on the holiday some call “Invasion Day.” In Melbourne and Sydney the protesters held placards that read “abolish the date” and “no pride in genocide.”
“It is about changing the date, but it is more about making people aware of our injustices that have been since, and still ongoing since white man came,” said Indigenous woman and rights activist, Tammy Miller.
“We are still here fighting the same things that my grandparents were, but seeing all the people here makes me so proud,” she added.
In the run-up to Australia Day, protesters poured red paint over a statue of British explorer James Cook in Sydney, toppled a monument of 18th-century colonialist John Batman in Melbourne, and daubed a war memorial in the city with the words: “Land Back.”
A Resolve Strategic survey published on Jan. 24, showed that support for the holiday date has grown among Australians over the past two years from 47 percent to 61 percent.
Attitudes towards the holiday have hardened since a constitutional referendum on indigenous rights reforms was heavily defeated on October 14, 2023.
An estimated 3.8% of Australia’s 26 million people are Indigenous, official data shows.
Indigenous people still have a life expectancy of eight years shorter than other Australians, higher rates of incarceration, more youth unemployment, and poorer education.
France has been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups in the three Sahel states. Photo: AP Photo/Albert Arhó, File
France has handed over three military bases to Senegal, beginning the withdrawal of French troops from the West African country at the request of the government, local news agency Senego reported on Feb. 3.
According to the outlet, French forces have left the Mareschal, St. Exupery, and Contre Amiral Prote camps. About 200 French soldiers and their families remain stationed in Ouakam and Rufisque, Senego added.
Paris had 350 soldiers stationed in Senegal and planned to reduce the contingent to 100 as part of a broader military reconfiguration in West and Central Africa, where it has suffered setbacks.
In November, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has been in office for less than a year, announced his decision to entirely remove the French military presence from his country. He said the French army bases are “incompatible” with the nation’s sovereignty.
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President Faye did not provide a specific timeline for when the withdrawal would begin and end. He told Paris-based daily Le Monde that the evacuation will be done “with the necessary respect, without haste or any pressure.”
However, on January 23, Le Monde reported that French forces would leave all five military bases in Senegal by the end of September 2025, as confirmed by Senego on Feb. 3.
Senegal flag Graphics: irs.gov
Displeasure against Paris has heightened in several African countries following French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent statement that Sahel states had “forgotten” to thank France for its military intervention in protecting them from jihadist attacks.
In response to Macron’s January 6 statement, Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said France lacks the capacity and legitimacy to ensure Africa’s security and sovereignty.
Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah described the French leader’s words as “contempt” to Africa. Chad also terminated its defense cooperation agreement with France last year.
France has been expelled from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger following military coups in the three Sahel states. Late last year, Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) also announced an “organized withdrawal” of some 600 French forces from the country beginning in January.
Senegal highlighted on map of Africa.
In his end-of-year address on December 31, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara stated that the move reflects the modernization of the national armed forces.
Commenting on Ivory Coast’s decision, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the planned exit of French troops reflects both the lack of need for their presence in the country and how West African Francophone countries have become critical of the large-scale presence of foreign troops.
France’s military presence in Africa has been controversial for decades, with critics arguing that it perpetuates neocolonial dynamics. Leaders in countries that have severed defense ties with Paris insist that the presence of French forces has been ineffective, prompting them to seek alternative alliances, including with Moscow.
President Donald Trump has ignited worldwide fury against a proposal he advanced to further displace nearly 2 million Palestinians already dispossessed from their land with the destruction of the Gaza Strip in 15 months of Israeli onslaught and war.
He proposed that America “take over” Gaza and “own it” and rebuild the war-ruined enclave into a waterfront oasis. Only a couple of weeks into his second term as president, President Trump also told reporters, he would not rule out placing military boots in Gaza as well.
President Trump said rather than stay in Gaza, other countries of interest with “humanitarian hearts” should “build various domains” to take in the Palestinians and should be paid for by wealthy countries in the region. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” said the president. “We’ll own it,” he continued.
“We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. I don’t want to be cute … a wise guy, but the Riviera of the Middle East, this could be something that could be so magnificent,” he said.
Activists protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the Gaza Strip, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
President Trump spoke the words in a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Feb. 4 at The White House. The embattled premier, an accused war criminal with an active warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court stemming from Israel’s genocidal war raging since Oct. 7, 2023, called the idea “worthwhile” to pursue. It was predominately U.S. armament that Israel used to destroy Gaza, slaughter, and displace Palestinians.
On Feb. 6, President Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” and not involve the U.S. military.
In reaction to his proposed idea, rights advocates, activists, and observers said the move means the U.S. would be occupying Gaza and engaging in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. They argue the plan amounts to a “second Nakba” or “Catastrophe” of the Palestinian people.
The first was in 1948 with the forced expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their lands with the forming of Israel as a state. The reactions to President Trump’s remarks ranged from outrage to rejecting it as asinine and absurd. An expert on the Palestinian situation said the plan is unlawful, immoral and irresponsible.
Women wave Palestinian flags during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for the Gaza Strip, at the Peace Garden, in Mogadishu, Somalia Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
“What he proposes is utter nonsense and it’s unlawful,” said Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Ms. Albanese told reporters during a news conference in Copenhagen, Demark, that the proposal is actually worse than ethnic cleansing.
“It’s anxiety to commit forced displacement, which is an international crime,” she said.
It is additional dispossession of a people, and in the context of a genocide it will strengthen the complicity in the crimes that Israel has been committing over the last 15 months and before, explained Ms. Albanese.
She predicts President Trump’s scheme will worsen the crisis in the Middle East. “The international community is made of 193 states, and this is the time to give the U.S. what it has been looking for, isolation,” Ms. Albanese said.
Ms. Albanese argued that economic development alone will not stop the cycle of violence and that the international community must respect international law and accountability.
She also stressed that the elephant in the room issue is for Israel to end its unlawful occupation as stated in a recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top judiciary body.
The ICJ concluded in July 2024, that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal and under an obligation to end it as rapidly as possible.
Palestinians who have returned inspect their houses, which were destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Jebaliya, northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
It further stated that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation” arising from Israel’s unlawful presence. They are also obligated “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence” of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory. This makes President Trump’s Gaza plan illegal, say critics.
Muhammad Sankari, spokesman for the U.S. Palestinian Community Network-Chicago (US- PNC), told The Final Call the move is the continuation of U.S. policy of supporting Israel’s war efforts.
Despite Israel’s military actions, including slaughtering over 61,000 people and destroying 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure, they failed to achieve their goals, such as eradicating the Palestinian resistance.
“I think first and foremost it’s a continuation of U.S. policy, as it’s been for the last 16 months,” said Mr. Sankari. “The Israelis very clearly said their genocidal war—the goal of it—was to depopulate Gaza. And (former President Joe) Biden gave them every single tool in his disposal to do that,” he said. “In that sense, it’s more of the same,” he added.
Mr. Sankari noted that despite President Trump’s “bombastic style” and pronouncements, his actions continue U.S. errant policy. He stressed the international community must push back against America’s and Israel’s sinister aim for Palestinian expulsion. He said the Palestinian people are unlikely to just leave their land.
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations pointed out that Palestinian resilience rejects any forced transfer away from their land in disregard of their self-determination and rights to their land.
“The Gaza Strip is not free land for anyone to grab,” said Riyad Mansour, Palestine UN Ambassador, on Feb 6, responding to President Trump’s statements. “It belongs to the Palestinian people,” he said. “It is not a free piece of land for anyone to grab, those days in history are gone,” Mr. Mansour argued.
The ambassador said Palestinians are determined to stay in Gaza and refuted the U.S. president’s claim that they were returning because they had no alternative. He cited the 400,000 people, who, on Jan. 27, walked from the southern part of the strip to the northern part after Israeli checkpoints separating the north and south, were removed.
“Some people might not understand the meaning and value of having a country and loving the land of your country. For us, the Palestinian people, it is in our DNA,” said the diplomat. “We love the land of our country, whether we have palaces on it or destroyed buildings,” he said.
Gaza has been destroyed several times in the past and the resilience of the Palestinians rebuilt it, aided by allies. The people returned when the three-phase ceasefire took effect in January because they want to stay there, said Mr. Mansour. “They have memories, they have connection with the land,” he reasoned. “When they walk over the land the land talks to them.”
As the backlash against President Trump’s proposal was swift throughout the world, pressure must be sustained, particularly in the Arab and Muslim World where the president hopes to have a strong influence.
Saudi Arabia, which President Trump and Israel are still hoping will normalize relations, categorically rejected the idea of removing Palestinians. They warned that there would be no such relations without Palestinian statehood.
Several hundred demonstrators rally against President Donald Trump outside the California State Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
In a Feb. 5 statement addressing President Trump’s proposal, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said their position is “firm” and not open to negotiation repeating a position Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has taken many times before.
The statement reiterated that Saudi Arabia would continue efforts for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and would not normalize relations with Israel without it.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses its previously announced categorical rejection of any violation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian territories, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land,” the statement added.
“Lasting and just peace cannot be achieved without the Palestinian people obtaining their legitimate rights in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, and this is what was previously explained to the previous and current American administrations,” the ministry statement said.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador in Washington, told CNN on Feb. 5 that he expected Muslim and Arab nations and other countries nations to address the issue at the UN. “The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians. It is the Israeli occupation. And this has been clear and understood by everybody,” he told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
Palestinian American activist Linda Sarsour commented “Trump is playing with fire. His remarks about Palestinians in Gaza being moved to Egypt, Jordan or another country are dividing his Administration.
Specially the Diplomats who interface with their counterparts in these nations,” she posted in part on Facebook. “The Palestinian people will persevere and they will resist their removal from their homeland,” she added.
Close to one year ago, during his February 25, 2024, address titled “What Does Allah The Great Mahdi And The Great Messiah Have To Say About The War In The Middle East?”
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, raised the plight of the Palestinian people and raised the question, “who could do to another human being what is being done to our Palestinian family and let it happen and not think of a humanitarian crisis?”
“The crisis is not just what is happening to the Palestinians. The crisis involves what is happening to you, what is happening to me; what is happening to human beings who are more concerned with what they will lose by standing up, rather than standing up and facing the consequence of their stand, knowing that God will bring them out victorious,” exhorted the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
Minister Farrakhan, as the leading voice of warning and guidance to America and the nations of the earth, said the Palestinian situation is a test for the human family and particularly the Muslim world.
“What is happening in Palestine becomes a test for the whole human family. If you could look at their suffering, and it does not move you, you have lost your humanity. If you can see a dog suffer and have compassion …
If you can see your favorite horse suffer, where you’ve got to put him down, you feel pain! Palestinian mothers are crying over the loss of their children! I watched them cry; I watched them touch their babies that are dead, and don’t want to let the baby go to be buried.
“That’s not a barbarian feeling, that’s a human feeling. I saw Jews that were suffering, too, burying their dead, and weeping as the Palestinians are weeping. These are not barbarians! They have suffered from Israel’s presence in Palestine,” said Minister Farrakhan.
“I am saying this openly to my brothers and sisters in Islam: You have to stand up against the genocide that is happening to our Palestinian family. They do not need platitudes; they don’t need cheap talk. They need the Muslim world to unite and say to Israel what you should say,” said Minister Farrakhan.
When Jesus was among us, his mission had a time limit. He knew the season; he knew the time that he would no longer be among the people, so all during his ministry, he was preparing those who would carry on his work after he was gone. Sometimes, when a great one has been and is among us, we get addicted to a personality, and that can become dangerous in a sense because then we form sometimes what is called a personality cult.
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They thought that way about Jesus because his personality was so strong, so vibrant, so magnificent that he was like a magnet drawing people out of the world to his ministry, to his mission. Not just to his personality, but to his mission.
Listen to these words: “If any man would be my disciple, he must first deny himself.” That’s big, because when somebody is asking you to accept his mission, you might have one yourself. And you don’t mind praising him; you don’t mind adoring him, but you say, “Don’t trouble me to become a part of your mission.” So the first thing he [Jesus] taught Peter was: “Peter I know you’re a fisherman, but if you come and follow me, I will make you a fisher of men.” He asked Peter to deny himself and what he was doing to pick up the mission of his master.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
When we were back in the choir room, and we were praying, the choir was singing so beautifully: “Jesus, Master. Jesus, Saviour.” When you are called by a master, he calls to make us masters. When you are called by a saviour, he’s calling to make us a part of his mission of salvation.
It’s not enough to just attend church—but we can’t survive if you don’t; so please, do attend. It’s not enough to sing his praises, but don’t stop because it certainly is magnificent. It’s not enough to clap your hands and feel the joy of the spirit of being in a congregation full of praise. That is wonderful, but Jesus said, “If any man”—not if some men. Any man—“would be my disciple, he first must deny himself.”
But then there’s something else! And what is that? “Pick up your cross.” And then, “Follow me.” That’s big. It’s nice to look at what he did on his cross. I mean, he died for us, but does that mean you don’t have a cross? Can we say we are with him and will not pick up our cross? Well, what is our cross?
It is to be as he was: Rejected of men. Many of us cannot stand being rejected. We cannot stand being evil spoken of for his name’s sake. We cannot stand being persecuted for his name’s sake. But in order to establish his truth, some had to die. The scriptures that we preach out of were established on the blood of martyrs. Nobody comes to God in ease.
People say I’m “controversial,” but I’m only controversial because the wicked know the truth of what I am saying, and they don’t want my people to hear The Truth that God and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has placed in my mouth. To make me a “bigot,” an “anti-Semite”; somebody that is “anti-White”—who wants to be involved with somebody like that? So, the Minister has to walk through all kinds of negativity to get to speak a positive message to a people who suffer! Not because they are Black, but they suffer because of the lack of knowledge.
Jesus said, “If we followed him, they would hate us.” And he said “Some of you will be cast into prison,” and “some of you will even be put to death for my sake. He who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who is willing to lose his life for my sake, shall gain eternal and everlasting life.”
I kind of like that man. He’s a man after my heart because he never failed to speak truth to power. And any time you and I call ourselves followers of such a noble man and are afraid to speak truth, then we need to check ourselves because something is missing in our faith.
This is a world that needs correction. This is a world that has gone all the way away from The Way of God.
In the third chapter of the Book of Romans, Paul is asking those who refer to themselves as “saved”: “What then are we better than they? No, in no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.”
“As it is written,” Paul talking, “there’s none righteous. No, not one. There’s none that understandeth. There’s none that seeketh after God. They are together become unprofitable. There’s none that doeth good. No, not one.” Paul is talking about the people of the world in which we live and who are trying to establish the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
He goes on: “Their throat is an open sepulcher and with their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their tongue whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” That’s the kind of world that we’re living in right now.
We had to come through some mean streets to get to Christ Universal Temple today. We don’t know how many lost their lives last night in drive-by shootings. Many of you in here are mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers seeing our grandchildren dying and being buried before us. This is a world that has gone mad, and at the same time that the world is mad, God’s Hand, God’s Judgment, is now on the world.
You don’t think that what is happening in the world is just an accident, do you? The weather is not made by the president or the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Something strange is going on in the weather. You see fire on one side of the country; water on another. You see storms of tremendous magnitude. You see drought, the loss of water, people eating food that is death itself because the merchants of agriculture are merchants of death. They have literally taken the nutrients out of the earth and now you produce food that looks good, but then the nutrients that they took out of the earth they are now selling it to you in a pill.
So now, it’s a pill for everything. You can’t sleep? Take this. You’re having a sexual problem? Well, take this. You’re too fat? Take this. Everything to deprive the human being of discipline—self-discipline—so pills have to do what our will should do.
Jesus wanted to make some disciples that. He knew he would be crucified and then resurrected and ascended, he needed some workers on the earth that would carry out his mission. Now, Satan is always busy, would you agree? He loves to mess up the church. Don’t you know that Satan would not like to see religion carried out in the way that Jesus or the Prophets wanted it carried out?
In the Qur’an, which is the book of scripture of the Muslims, the devil and God are talking, and the devil says to God, “Respite me until the day when they are raised.” They who? The people who are in ignorance. Raised how? There’s a constant scheme to dumb down the American people and the people of the world because as long as you are ignorant, the people that rule and lie, deceive, cheat and murder can continue to do that. But when the masses wake up, then the game for Satan is over!
How does Satan work? He wants to keep the people asleep; keep the people engaged in foolishness. Are you going to the party tonight? Are you having anything in the “little brown bag? Let’s go to the club. Let’s have a drink. As long as Satan can keep us with our minds on sex, our minds on parties, our minds on foolishness, then Satan doesn’t care how much you attend the church—as long as the church is not going to disturb his world.
“And he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father.” Well, how is He going to be called that if we just sit and pray and don’t work The Will of Him whom we praise?
When I met Rev. Colemon, I heard her talking about “Christ consciousness.” Reverend Helen Carey said “Jesus, the Christ.” What does it mean? If we take the word “Christ” and break it down, it’s a Greek word. Christ was not Jesus’ last name—Christ was his title, and his title was definitive of the nature of his work.
Christ means Him Who is anointed with power to crush the wicked. So when Jesus was walking among the people, he didn’t let the people know who he was. He made himself, the Book says, of no reputation; he was doing some work and at a certain time he met a woman that was full of demons. Remember that? And he cast the demons out of the woman, and as the demons were coming out, they were kind of cursing Jesus, asking him, “Why are you persecuting us before time?” But Jesus knew he was on time to cast out demons.
If you and I don’t work on our demons in his name, don’t tell me you’ve got a bad habit and can’t kick it. Not in “Christ consciousness.” We’ve got children that are messed up on drugs. We’ve got young people that are incarcerated because of demons. We’ve got broken homes, broken families, adultery, fornication, because of our demons. So if Christ is conscious in us, the more conscious we are of him, the more anointed we are with the power to cast out our own demons and be a good example of Christ consciousness to a world that calls his name, but does not really know him.
What does “Christ consciousness” mean on the next level? It means that we have allowed Christ to come in through the ear and the hearing of The Word. He knocks—if we let him in, he’ll stay with us. And if Christ comes in and is constantly fed by our constant feeding on his word, then the indwelling spirit of him is in our consciousness at all times. We lay down in him and we wake up in him. So the scripture says, “In him we live, we move and we have our being, our very existence.”
Jesus said in John 14, “I am the way, the truth, the light.” Just to say it is easy, but when we piece it apart to see what it really means, we see the words: “I am.”
Remember when Moses met with Jehovah in the burning bush? Moses said, “Who shall I tell them sent me?” God said, “Tell them I am that I am.” Then here comes a man in the scripture—this is not a spirit; not a spook—this is a human being, saying “I am the way.” Not a way, the way.
When God made Adam, he gave Adam what? He gave him the way. He wouldn’t put Adam in The Garden and not give him the way. He didn’t give him a religion, he gave him the way. That’s why Johnnie Colemon is not so much about the religion as she is about the Consciousness of God and His Christ.
What way did he give Adam? God said to Adam: “I made all of this that you see in five days, and I said it was all good; and I made you on the sixth day. Later on I said it was not only good, but very good. But with you, I’m giving you a chance to choose. I’m not making you like the sun. The sun can’t disobey, neither can the moon, nor the stars, nor can the creatures disobey”—they all follow the nature in which God created them. But man, He said, “I created you in my image, after my likeness so ye are all Gods”—potentially. If you submit your will to do The Will of Him Who created you, He will grow you up into Himself.
But Adam rebelled against the way. What is the way? “Obey My Will.” Obedience to God is The Way. Not a religion by this name or that name or the other name. Obedience to God is the way and because Adam rebelled, the scripture said, “death came on all men because all have sinned.” Sin is rebellion or transgression against the law. This is why Jesus is so important, because when he comes in the world he’s called “the second Adam.” The first one messed up, and that’s why we are messed up.
When Jesus comes and says, “I am the way,” what does that mean? Look at his words: “I come to do the will of Him who sent me. I’m not doing my will. I can of myself do nothing. Whatsoever the father bids me to do, that I do. He sent me into the world.” Well, the sent is not greater than the sender; nor is the sent equal to the sender.
Jesus never tried to take God’s place, but God raised him up into His place because of his perfect submission to The Will of God.
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“I am the way.” If we say we know him, then we’ve got to be found practicing the way, which is obedience to The Will of God. If we really want life and truth and the way, then we must surrender, submit and fall down in obeisance to God, and let’s praise Him—but it is better praising Him by walking in His footsteps.
Here at Christ Universal Temple, and at the mosque and wherever there are conscious people, we cannot leave our people in the condition that they are in, and yet claim to be “Christ conscious.” We have to go from this house and affect the world outside of this house. And when you go out and you see the homeless person, are we middle class bourgeois Christians that we have forgotten the little man and woman that’s in the mud?
Don’t you know that the prostitute can be changed? Don’t you know the drug addict can be changed? The person in prison can be changed? Jesus didn’t come to redeem some. He came to get us all, and we are his helpers. So go out with your Christ consciousness, and bring salvation and redemption to our people.
With the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, if he opens up all kinds of doors, our babies will not be able to take advantage of the opportunities if they are ignorant. We’ve got a job to do now. The whole world is looking now to us, and we must rise up so that the kingdom of this world becomes The Kingdom of our God and His Christ.
The ensemble, inspired by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, consists of gifted youth and young adult musicians and composers and demonstrates high civilization and culture through music.
Vitamin D—a.k.a. the “sunshine” vitamin—can bolster your immune system, bone strength, and heart health. Although your body makes it when you’re exposed to the sun, supplements are more dependable sources of this nutrient. But, which ones really work? Explore the best vitamin D supplement brands with their pros and cons, ingredients, dosage, cost and user reviews. Our favorite overall is Akasha Naturals, thanks to its high dose of vitamin D and softgel capsules but you’ll find more in our list suitable for every need.
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3. Mindbodygreen Vitamin D3 Potency+ - Best Organic Formula Pros USDA certified organic Combines vitamin D3 with three plant-based oils If you’re eligible, you can pay using FSA and HSA funds Cons Not a good match for vegans Overview Mindbodygreen is the best vitamin D supplement with organic ingredients— starting from the algal oil up to the three organic oils that fight inflammation. Key Ingredients MindBodyGreen’s vitamin D3 supplement contains algal-derived vitamin D3, which is carried by the flax oil, olive oil, and avocado oil. A lab study found that vitamin D3 and olive oil greatly improved bone density while reducing inflammation and oxidative stress [4]. Dosage Each daily dose (or one gelcap) contains 5,000 IU of vitamin D3. Pricing While a one-time purchase costs $30 for the month, a 30-day subscription is just priced at $25, and a 180-day subscription works out at $17 a month. User Reviews Mindbodygreen gained a lot of positive feedback from customers. For example, a Reddit user on r/betabattle likes the vitamin supplements since they help her maintain her well-being in her 30s. Nevertheless, she also says that these products come at a higher price point.
