Evening Update:

Daily updates just don't cut it anymore. We're arrived at a place in which the birth pains are happening frequently and keeping up is difficult. Just since this morning's updates we see the following:

Persecution:

"Allahu Akbar": Shock Video Shows Muslims Allegedly "Stoning" Christians In Michigan

The conservative preoccupation with presenting Sharia law as a threat to the United States’ culture as well as its national security has long been an unwarranted source of liberal derision. They may want to rethink their attitude after this story.

Recently, the city of Dearborn, Michigan, hosted the 2012 Arab International Festival. Naturally enough, the event drew demonstrators, specifically a group of Christian protesters who wanted to voice their discontent with what they saw as the predominately Muslim character of the event. Whatever you may think of this motive, the results of their behavior were unquestionably shocking.

doubts.

In a video posted by Gateway Pundit early this morning, protesters were depicted as being battered by a constant hail of thrown debris, including water bottles and possibly even stones. Skip to nine minutes into the following video to see the “stoning” portion where large, grey projectiles that look very much like rocks are tossed into the air at the demonstrators as the crowd screams “Allahu Akbar” and closes in:

Modern Day Exodus: The Palestinian Christians - Part II

This is Part II of a three-part story on the modern day exodus of Christians from Palestinian-controlled territories. If you have not done so already, we suggest first reading Modern Day Exodus: the Palestinian Christians - Part I

Violent incidents have contributed to a sense of insecurity among the Christian community in the West Bank. In 2006, Palestinians wielding guns and firebombs attacked five churches of various denominations in the West Bank and Gaza, following remarks by Pope Benedict XVI that angered many Muslims. Although no injuries were reported, the buildings suffered significant damage.

The plight of Palestinian Christians in the Gaza Strip is far worse. The Coalition for Responsible Peace in the Middle East, an NGO that monitors the abuse of Christians, has compiled a long list of violent acts directed against this vulnerable minority in Gaza. These include the 2007 attack on a monastery and school, when armed, masked men destroyed crosses and holy books, and stole computers and photocopy machines. During another rampage the same year, a gang of unidentified men ransacked the Latin Church and Rosary Sisters School, stealing a number of computers and ravaging pictures of Jesus, furniture, equipment, and holy books.

"The Koran Is Our Constitution": Egyptian President Promises To Ignore Egyptian Constitution For The Sake Of Sharia

Ever since the supposed Arab Spring placed the Muslim Brotherhood as the majority party in Egypt, we at the Blaze have seen more than our fair share of disturbing videos from various spokespeople and operatives of the Brotherhood. Even so, when the man who is now President of Egypt says things that would sound more fitting coming from the mouth of an Islamofascist, all bets are off. The following video will likely disturb you, and we present it (and the screencaps of it) with minimal commentary simply because anything we said would likely dilute the extremity of what is said:

And before we proceed with the last few screenshots, we want to propose a thought experiment – can you imagine any Christian politician in the United States saying anything like this:

Middle East:

Putin: Russia Already Recognizes "Palestine"

Russia reinserted itself into the Israeli-Palestinian "peace" process in a major way this week with a highly publicized visit by President Vladimir Putin.

While meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Putin said that Russia had no problem recognizing an independnet Palestinian state, noting that Moscow had already done so during the days of the Soviet Union.

"We [recognized Palestine] 25 years ago, and our position has not changed," said Putin.

Putin thanked Abbas for his "responsible" leadership, either ignoring or rejecting the fact that even the Obama Administration now views Abbas' intansigence and insistence on pre-conditions as the main obstacle to restarting peace talks.

Putin also threw his weight behind Abbas' efforts to reconcile with Hamas and forge a national unity government with the terror groups, despite the fact that Hamas remains openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

The Palestinians hailed Putin's visit as "historic" and named a street in Bethlehem after the Russian leader, which was something of a faux pas considering Europeans typically only name streets after deceased persons.

Abbas' office said he is keen to hold the next Middle East peace summit in Moscow, where the Palestinians feel thier position will be more favored than in Washington or other Western capitals.

Damascus:

Hamas Announces Senior Member Is Assassinated In Damascus

And look who gets blamed:

Palestinian terror group says it's investigating the death of Kamal Ranaja, but senior Hamas official tells AFP the group suspects the Mossad responsible; official message vows that his blood will "not be wasted."

A senior Hamas official later told AFP, "According to our information, Mossad was behind the assassination."

The official added that Ranaja was killed in his home, implicating "a group of people."

Hamas Blames Mossad For Death Of Its Member In Syria

Hamas was quick to blame the Israeli Mossad spy agency for the death of its member in Syria, AFP reported.

A senior member of Hamas told AFPthat Kamal Hussein Ranaja was killed Wednesday in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus, adding that the group suspected Israel's spy agency of being behind the attack.

“A group of people entered his home in Qudsaya ... where he was liquidated,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. “According to our information, Mossad was behind the assassination.”

The EU And Things To Come:

Germany Sets Tone For "Controversial" Summit

More contol, more central power - just as expected:

On the eve of what she expects to be a "controversial" summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has challenged other member states on whether they are ready to relinquish yet more budgetary oversight to Brussels - Berlin's sine qua non for future debt sharing.

The paper, put together by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, gives "priority" to mutualising debt and puts "more controls and legal obligations" in second place and then only "very imprecisely."

What is needed is more EU powers to step in when national budgets get out of line, she noted.

The extra supervisory powers that Merkel is calling for chip away at what is the heart of a state's powers - the right to decide how and when to spend money.

Hollande has been pressing Germany to show more solidarity before Paris will accept a loss of sovereignty - traditionally a hard-sell among Hollande's own socialists

Things are progressing exactly as we would expect - on the road to the Tribulation.