War Elephant.

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As seen at the National Geographic Internet web site:

"Surprising Mosaics Revealed in Ancient Synagogue in Israel"

"Archaeologists puzzle over depictions of dancers, elephants, and a mysterious figure that may be Alexander the Great."

THAT ELEPHANT APPARENTLY A WAR ELEPHANT. AS MENTIONED IN APOCRYPHAL BIBLICAL ACCOUNTS THE AUTHENTICITY OF WHICH IS QUESTIONABLE ACCORDING TO SOME!

The mosaic as found in the synagogue showing what appears to be a war elephant.

 "Eleazar Avaran, also known as Eleazar Maccabeus . . . was the fourth son of Mattathias and the younger brother of Judas Maccabeus. He was killed (4 Maccabees 1:7-10) at the Battle of Beth-zechariah (1 Maccabees 6:32-33) during the Maccabean revolt."

This image is purportedly a miniature from a medieval manuscript. Eleazar is shown spearing the elephant in the belly.

"According to 1 Maccabees 6:43-46, during the Battle of Beit Zechariah, Eleazar identified a war elephant that he believed to carry the Seleucid King Antiochus V, due to the special armor the elephant wore. He decided to endanger his life by attacking the elephant and thrusting a spear into its belly. The dead elephant then collapsed upon Eleazar, killing him as well."

That question has been asked - - the war elephants  from the time of Hannibal were Asian or African? The former of course well known to be tame-able, the latter not so. Some have suggested that there existed a sub-species [now extinct] of the African elephant that could be tamed and used  as a "main-battle-tank". But this is merely speculation.

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5.5 Kilometers.

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Within the context of the previous blog entry consider this:

"Russian, US jets drill together to avoid tie up over Syria — Kremlin"

"Russian army says jets reach minimal safe distance of 5.5 kilometers; Moscow and Jerusalem also in constant contact"

"Russia and the US have conducted drills jointly to prevent the possibility of their air forces clashing in Syrian airspace, a Russian official said Tuesday, according to Russian media."

"Russian and US jets practiced a close approach to a minimally safe distance of 5.5 kilometers, said Russian army officer Col. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov, according to the Sputnik news outlet."

“'Today at 11 a.m. Moscow time, Russian and US air forces carried out joint drills on actions by crews and land personnel in cases when aircraft fly in close proximity to each other,'”

. . . .

"Officials in Russia and the US, which is also carrying out airstrikes in Syria aimed at weakening the jihadists, had previously said coordination between them was not in the cards."

TWO MODERN WARPLANES CLOSING ON ONE ANOTHER AT NEAR SUPERSONIC SPEED THE HUMAN BRAIN OF A COMBAT JET PILOT CANNOT PROCESS THE INFORMATION FAST ENOUGH TO MAKE A RATIONAL AND CORRECT DECISION.

Daily Beast rest assured a possible clash between American and Russian warplanes has been mitigated!

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F-15 Syria.

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From the Daily Beast thanks to the tip from Freeper American air superiority warplanes deployed to Turkey. All in response to Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War.

"U.S. Brings Dogfighters to Counter Russians Over Syria"

"The Pentagon is sending F-15Cs—supposedly to fight the ISIS war. But the jets only have air-to-air weapons, and ISIS has no planes. Which means the real adversary is Russia."

"The U.S. Air Force is deploying to Turkey up to a dozen jet fighters specializing in air-to-air combat—apparently to help protect other U.S. and allied jets from Russia’s own warplanes flying over Syria."

"Officially, the deployment of F-15C Eagle twin-engine fighters to Incirlik, Turkey—which the Pentagon announced late last week—is meant to 'ensure the safety' of America’s NATO allies"

UNDERSTAND FULL WELL THIS DEPLOYMENT MUST BE SEEN WITH THE CONTEXT OF NATO COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS.

TURKISH AIRSPACE BEING PROTECTED FROM UNWARRANTED AND UNNECESSARY AND POSSIBLY EVEN MISTAKEN RUSSIAN AERIAL INCURSION.

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Metrojet.

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From www.core.com some more updates that Russian airliner having crashed in the Sinai. Repoirts conflicting in all cases worrisome.

WARNINGS AND AN APPRECIATION OF THE DANGER POSED TO AIRCRAFT OVER THE SINAI WELL UNDERSTOOD BEFOREHAND!

1. "The Latest: Countries warned of dangers flying over Sinai"

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) The latest developments after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board Saturday"

"The United States, Germany and Britain all had overflight warnings in place for Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where a Russian passenger plane went down killing all 224 people on board."

"Germany's warning, filed with the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization on Oct. 5 remains in place until 2016, as do the British and American warnings. In a response dated Oct. 15, Egypt's civil aviation authority replied that 'all necessary measures for safeguarding the airspace are already taken from our side.'"

"The warnings advised airlines to avoid flying over the Sinai Peninsula below 26,000 feet and to avoid the Sharm el-Sheik airport due to extremist violence and, notably, the use of anti-aircraft weapons with what the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration described as having the potential to reach high altitudes."

2. "Metrojet exec says external impact caused Egypt plane crash"

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) Only an external impact could have caused a Russian plane to dive into the Egyptian desert, killing all 224 people on board, Metrojet airline officials said Monday, adding to a series of confusing statements from investigators that left unclear why the plane broke up in mid-flight."

"'We rule out a technical fault of the plane or a pilot error,' Alexander Smirnov, deputy general director of Metrojet, told a news conference Monday in Moscow. 'The only possible explanation could be an external impact on the airplane.'"

. . . .

"When planes do break up in midair, experts say it's usually because of one of three factors: a catastrophic weather event, a midair collision or an external threat, such as a bomb or a missile."

. . .

"British military analyst Paul Beaver said he thought the crash was most likely caused by a bomb on board, saying he was certain that IS does not possess a missile system such as the Russian Buk that is capable of hitting a plane at such a high altitude."

"'I'm pretty convinced that ISIS doesn't have a 'double-digit' SAM (surface-to-air missile) that is necessary to go up as far as 31,000 feet,'"

TRUE AND WITHOUT QUESTION 100 % FINALITY AS TO THE CAUSE OF THE METROJET CAN BE DETERMINED? I DOUBT IT.

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Crane.

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Thanks to MARCO POLO through Harry we have some items of interests:

1. "GIANT FLOATING CRANE"

A giant floating crane as dedicated and designated for the sole exclusive purpose of servicing the Russian Borey class of missile firing submarines.

"Two new-type self-propelled floating cranes have been observed at the Russian submarine base Villyuchinsk on the Kamchatka peninsula. They were recently brought there from European Russia -- probably Sankt Peterburg -- where they were constructed."

"They are there to serve the Boley-class SSBNs [Borey class]. As you may remember, the second unit of the Boleys [Borey], Alexsander Nevsky, had arrived in the Far East last September, and the third unit, Vladimir Monomakh is expected to arrive early next year."

     "The floating crane (Project 02690) can lift 35--100 tons. It displaces 2,000 tons, is 50 meters long, 22 meters wide, has the range of operation of 3,500 nautical miles, and is crewed by 22 men."

2. Yet more Russian naval assets en route to Syria. 

"The Alligator-class LST 'Tsezar Kunikov' was observed . . . passing through the Turkish Strait [Bosphorus/Dardanelles/Hellespont], and heading for the Mediterranean. She is bound for the Syrian port of Taltus with a 500-ton load of military goods and supplies on board"
.

"Russian ship Caesar Kunikov (BDK-64). Caesar Kunikov . . . is a Project 775 (NATO reporting name: Ropucha-I) class large landing ship . . . She is currently in service with Black Sea Fleet's 197th Landing Ship Brigade, of the 30th Division of Surface Ships, and home ported in Sevastopol."

Russian elements in Syria not only have arrived but now must be sustained on a regular basis to maintain efficiency. NONE of this ever is easy, cheap or quickly accomplished.

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Airbus 321.

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From USA TODAY some further info regarding the Russian airliner that has crashed in the Sinai.

"RUSSIAN AIRLINE BROKE APART 'AT HIGH ALTITUDE'"

"A Russian airline that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people aboard, broke apart at high altitude"

AT THIS EXACT MOMENT IT IS NOT THOUGHT THE AIRLINER WAS SHOT DOWN BY A MANPAD!

"Egyptian security adviser Ayed Ghuniem told Daily News Egypt that the insurgents in the Sinai don't have the radar tracking technology and anti-aircraft missile capabilities required to take down a plane at 30,000 feet."

"Flight Radar 24 . . . said the plane was descending at 6,000 per feet per minutes when it went off radar."

WE ARE ABLE TO SURMISE THIS CRASH THE RESULT OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION AND NOT MANPAD ACTION? UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.

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Seventy.

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Understand from the prior blog entry that number seventy the significance of which having a particular importance within the Islamic cultural domain.. 

 "a joint American-Kurdish-Iraqi strike force rescued seventy prisoners who were about to be executed and dumped in mass graves"

Consider the historical context:

* "In Islamic history, 70 are the number of the dead among prophet Muhammad's adversary during the Battle of Badr"

* "In Islam, 70 are the number of Prophet Muhammad's followers martyred at the Battle of Uhud"

* "In Shia Islam, 70 are the number of martyr among Imam Hussein's followers during the tragedy of Karbala"

In this particular instance prisoners their lives at stake, rescued from execution, NOT perishing.

Call this numerology and perhaps even paranormal. Caliph Ibrahim has perhaps taken proper note of the rescue mission and the significance of that number seventy hardly being lost on an Islamic scholar of his stature?

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