Arabs who desire to control the Temple Mount in Jerusalem often deny that Israelite presence there predates Muslim presence that first appears about 700 AD. Yet, recent archaeological evidence counters the Arab claim. “A 10-year-old Russian boy… recently made an extraordinary discovery in Jerusalem. Working as a volunteer in the Temple Mount Sifting Project, he found a 3,000-year-old seal—engraved limestone about the size of a thimble, with a hole at one end so it could be hung from a string—from the time of King David [about 1000 BC].

“A businesswoman, a female dentist and a female administrative manager have managed to turn the idea of a traditional Brazilian family on its head, after recently making their relationship official before a notary in Rio de Janeiro. ‘We are a family and our union is the product of our love for one another,’ said the businesswoman in an interview with the O Globo daily” (El Pais, October 27, 2015).

I was a child growing up during the war when our county in the southeastern corner of England, only 21 miles from France, became known as “bomb alley.” The first German raid on London took place around 4:00 p.m. on September 7, 1940. The German Luftwaffe made a blitzkrieg attack, sending 348 bombers escorted by 617 fighters over the Channel from France. London’s docks and streets were bombed for 57 days and a third of the capital was destroyed.

Russia is now extending its military far beyond its eastern borders—and it seeks to dictate the U.S.’s response. On September 30, a Russian general delivered a message to the U.S. Embassy in Bagdad: “The Russia military would begin air strikes in neighboring Syria within the hour—and the American military should clear the area immediately” (Military Times, October 5, 2015).