Journalist Who Exposes U.N. Corruption Disappears From Google
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331106,00.html
How big do you have to be to earn the wrath of the United Nations and Internet giant Google?
If you're journalist Matthew Lee, all it takes are some critical articles and a scrappy little Web site.
Lee is the editor-in-chief, Webmaster and pretty much the only reporter for Inner City Press, a pint-sized Internet news operation that's taken on Goliath-sized entities like Citigroup since 1987.
Go to http://www.innercitypress.com to visit the Inner City Press website.
Since 2005, he's been focusing almost entirely on stories that deal with internal corruption inside the U.N., posting several stores online almost daily.
He's been especially interested in the inner workings of what could be called the practical-applications arm of the international organization, the United Nations Development Programme.
Many of Lee's stories were featured prominently whenever Web users looked for news about the U.N. using the powerful Google News search engine, a vital way for media outlets both large and small to get their articles read.
But beginning Feb. 13, Google News users could no longer find new stories from the Inner City Press.
"I think they said, 'If we can't get this guy out of the U.N., let's disappear him from the Internet,'" Lee said.
It began with an innocuous-sounding yet chilling form letter from Google to Lee, e-mailed on Feb. 8:
"We periodically review news sources, particularly following user complaints, to ensure Google News offers a high quality experience for our users," it said. "When we reviewed your site we've found that we can no longer include it in Google News."
As soon as he read it, Lee immediately suspected one thing: That someone at the UNDP had pressured Google into "de-listing" him from Google News — essentially preventing Inner City Press from being classified on Google News as a legitimate news source and from having its stories pop up when someone conducts a Google News search.
Over the last couple of years, Lee has proved to be a constant — and controversial — thorn in the U.N.'s side.
Though his writing is clunky, his methods unorthodox (and often highly annoying) and his news judgment sometimes more than a little off the mark, Lee has hit his share of bullseyes and became an outlet for whistleblowers inside the U.N.
In 2006, for example, he drew attention to human-rights abuses by the Ugandan People's Defense Force during a U.N. disarmament program, including incidents in which four people were killed and over 100 homes destroyed.
In November 2007, during a press conference in which Google announced its partnership with the UNDP to achieve anti-poverty goals, Lee earned a less-than-friendly response when he asked why the Internet company hadn't signed a global human-rights and anti-censorship compact —elements in the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals.
[Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker told FOXNews.com that "Google generally does not sign petitions or join coalitions but prefers to support public-engagement and advocacy efforts through the work of Google.org and by leveraging our products, such as Google Earth."]
It was this incident, says Lee that put him in the crosshairs. Lee said he felt certain that the Internet company and the international agency had now joined forces to make his work less accessible to the public.
"I've been covering almost U.N. stories, three to four a day, for two years, and for the last two years there's been no problem at all," Lee said. "Then that Friday, I received the e-mail. There's something a little skeezy here. I think that Google got involved with the U.N. on these Millennium goals and thought, this is the United Nations, if they tell you some small Web site is a thorn in their side and there's a credible reason you could remove them from your news service, you do it."
According to Stricker, on Feb. 1 someone e-mailed Google a complaint about Lee's Web site, alleging that Inner City Press was a one-man operation, thus violating the Google News ground rule that news organizations it lists must have two or more employees.
Lee is vague about how many people work for the Inner City Press, but said there's at least one woman who works for the organization full-time, as well as "about half a dozen" volunteers.
"If people work for us as volunteers, why does it not count?" he said. "Is it their business?"
Strickler said it is the only complaint that Google has ever received about Inner City Press and doesn't publish the qualifications it requires for being included, to thwart those who want to abuse the system.
But on Feb. 8 Google notified Lee about his new "de-listing" status.
When Lee received the e-mail from Google, he responded immediately, noting that Inner City Press had been accredited by the U.N. and was mentioned frequently in other media as an important U.N. watchdog.
A Google representative answered that Inner City Press would be restored to the Google News service as usual, but that the process might take "a couple weeks," according to Lee. Still, from Feb. 13 on, Inner City Press stories stopped showing up on Google News, something Google attributes to a technical error.
"We acknowledged our misunderstanding ... but it takes time for the restoration to occur," Stricker said. "The glitch will be resolved as soon as possible. We're working on it."
The reaction to the de-listing, however temporary, has been furious. The non-profit Government Accountability Project lambasted the company, calling Inner City Press "the most effective and important media organization for UN whistleblowers."
"We're alarmed," said Bea Edwards, GAP's international-program director. "The question is, is what user sent the complaint? And it's probably not too hard to guess. We would guess the complaints came from the UNDP."
Tuyet Nguyen, president of the U.N. Correspondents Association, said he was fully behind Lee, who was elected first vice president of the association in December 2006.
"The sad story about Google is that they're shutting people up and not doing a good thing for society by only defending their business interests," he said. "They have a responsibility to society in letting people speak out. And I'm not surprised that those U.N. agencies are trying to hide."
But UNDP spokesman David Morrison called allegations of the agency's involvement preposterous.
"It wasn't us," he said. "We did not contact Google."
Google refuses to reveal who sent the complaint against Inner City Press, citing privacy concerns.
Lee, who hasn't stopped writing his U.N. exposes despite the temporary de-listing, said that he's taken aback by the lengths to which, according to him, an international organization ostensibly dedicated to world peace will go to silence a critic as obscure to the general public as himself.
"It's a little weird," he said. "I guess they're just so unused to being covered like a public organization."
The Moral Dilemma of Beijing Hosting the Summer Olympic Games
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331054,00.html
The Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games will test more than the athleticism of the world's finest athletes. It will showcase China's dubious commitment to universal human rights and the international community's willingness to risk economic gain in their defense.
The human rights record of the People's Republic of China is deplorable: political dissidents are persecuted and even executed; religious freedom is stifled; factory conditions are inhumane; families in urban areas are prohibited from having more than one child; and the media is filtered and censored, to name just a few political abuses on a very long list.
But, the dilemma of what to do about the Beijing Olympics is complicated and deserves some reflection before we jump on one of the two bandwagons now racing in opposite directions. The first, now led by the United Kingdom, says we should be silent about China's human rights record in order to avoid any politicization of the Games. In an unprecedented move, the British Olympic Association will require all athletes to sign a pledge not to make pejorative political statements about the host nation.
The second bandwagon, now led by Hollywood stars including director Stephen Spielberg, says involvement in the games is tantamount to making a pact with the devil. Mr. Spielberg recently announced he is quitting his role as artistic consultant to the Beijing Games, citing China's refusal to involve itself more in ending the crisis in Darfur.
The ethical dilemma of what to do about Beijing could be framed in this way: are there any occasions in which we can or even should, for a good purpose and given certain circumstances, collaborate with countries, organizations, or individuals who are openly involved in unethical activity?
You may be surprised, but I believe the answer to this question is “yes,” and I don't think a universal boycott of the Beijing games is prudent.
In real life, we are always participating to some degree in the questionable dealings of others. When I buy a pair of my favorite tennis shoes, I know there is a chance the foreign factory worker was not paid a fair wage. When I pay my taxes, I am supporting all of my government's action, like them or not. When I use the Internet, I am sustaining a service provider that also propagates a pornographic industry that degrades human dignity. This is what we can call “material” participation in evil. As long as this material support is distant from the evil itself (in other words, the evil in question is not dependent on our participation) and there is good reason to tolerate it, the unwitting participant in that evil is not necessarily at fault.
A very different type of participation in evil, which is always reprehensible, is what we can call “formal” participation. This is when we share the evil intent (or freely share in the action itself) of the agent carrying out the evil.
I think an argument can be made that given the circumstances surrounding contemporary communist China and the nature of the Olympic Games, participating countries, sponsors, and athletes are not necessarily sharing in the intent, or freely sharing in the action, of the Chinese government's human rights abuses. Under this light, any participation in evil would be material not formal — and probably sufficiently remote.
In the case of the Beijing Olympics, a good reason to tolerate this “material and remote participation in evil,” is that the events have the potential of opening up the country to the universal value of freedom.
In fact, we can already see this happening. After losing the bid for the 2000 Olympics, primarily on account of political outcry against it, China was forced to rethink its strategy. In order to win the bid for host of the 2008 Olympics, communist officials made promises of greater respect for human rights. In April of 2001, Liu Jingmin, the Executive Vice President of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee, made this argument:
"By allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of human rights. China and the outside world need to integrate. China's opening up is irreversible. The Olympic Games is a good opportunity to promote understanding."
As recently as September 27, 2006, Liu Qi, the President of the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee and a member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, confirmed China's past commitment:
"China will live up to its words and will turn its words into deeds ... The government will honor the promises and commitments made during our bid to host the Games."
I don't think anybody naïvely expects an immediate political conversion in China on account of the Olympic Games, but the opportunities these games provide for humanitarian development outweigh, in my opinion, the concerns of those in Hollywood and other places who are calling for a complete ban.
It will be up to governments, sponsors, and athletes to take advantage of these opportunities. This will involve everyone with a voice speaking out strongly in favor of universal human rights. Some instead will follow the British Olympics Association's very bad example and pretend silence is virtue, hiding behind the guise of not wanting to “politicize” the Olympics.
The 2008 Beijing Games official slogan is “One World, One Dream." Is it not fair for participants to ask what kind of dream China has for this one world? Will McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Eastman Kodak, the three companies with marketing rights, have the moral courage to make sure the world knows that their “material” participation in the Olympics is not also “formal” participation in China's bad political dream?
I would go even further. The only way a participant can justify its involvement in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is if it boldly and publicly proclaims that an individual's God-given rights can never be subjected to the political objectives of a man-made state … in their own words, of course.
If this happens en masse, China and the world will be better for the 2008 Beijing Games.
British athletes could get the ball rolling in the right direction by refusing to sign any contract with gag orders attached.
God bless, Father Jonathan
The Second Amendment’s Day in Court: D.C. Gun Case Will Affect All Americans
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330737,00.html
Washington, D.C. — When the Washington, D.C. City Council enacted the toughest gun-control law in the nation in 1976, the city fathers — according to what they said at the time — believed they were making our nation’s capital a safer place. The measure failed miserably.
Since passage, the murder rate in the District has skyrocketed by more than 200 percent. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to both make our capital safer — and ensure that the Second Amendment to our Constitution is enshrined as an individual right for every law-abiding American.
No matter how well intentioned, the D.C. firearms statute has been unfathomable from the start. On its face, the law bans handguns and requires rifles and shotguns to be registered, stored unloaded and either locked or disassembled. While it allows business owners to use a firearm to protect their cash registers at their stores, they cannot use that same firearm to protect themselves and their families in their homes. Individuals who protect federal officials and property in the District with firearms are not permitted to provide similar protection for themselves and their families in their own domiciles.
In fact, the case that the Supreme Court will hear, District of Columbia v. Heller, was brought by Mr. Dick Heller, a security guard. In carrying out his duties, Mr. Heller carries a handgun on Federal property. However, when he sought to register the same weapon to safeguard his home, he was denied. Mr. Heller says the D.C. law has it backwards. "I can protect [federal workers], but at the end of the day they say, 'turn in your gun, you can't protect your home.'" Mr. Heller maintains that disassembled rifles and shotguns are no substitute for handguns, "any more than the government could prohibit books because it permits newspapers and considers them an 'adequate substitute.'"
Last March, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, 2-1, that the District’s prohibition was not only unreasonable, it was clearly unconstitutional. Attorneys for the District of Columbia promptly appealed the decision. That is why on March 18, for the first time since 1939, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether such a gun ban for law-abiding citizens is constitutional. Their verdict, expected later this year, will have profound implications for all Americans.
The case has generated a flurry of unprecedented action in both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. On January 11, the Department of Justice (DOJ), filed an egregiously weak amicus — friend of the court — brief in the case. The argument, submitted by U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, essentially urges the Supremes to waffle on the issue and send the case back to the lower courts.
The DOJ softball didn’t sit well with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). On February 8, she filed an amicus brief on behalf of Mr. Heller and the exercise of his individual rights under the Second Amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
In her lucid and detailed exposition, Sen. Hutchison accurately points out that the Framers never intended that the word "militia" meant that the right to keep and bear arms was some kind of "collective" right that applied only to a particular group. If that had been their purpose, they would have been satisfied with Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives Congress the power "to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions."
To ensure that that firearms possession was recognized by posterity as an "individual right," the Framers included it as part of the Bill of Rights — an enumeration of every citizen’s personal entitlements: free speech, freedom of religion and a fair trial. The precise location of those famous words — “the right to keep and bear arms” — provides strong evidence for the Founders’ vision.
To foreclose any doubt where Congress comes down on the issue, Sen. Hutchison has introduced a bill to repeal the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns; repeal registration requirements; and restore the ability of law-abiding citizens to keep a loaded, operable firearm in their homes. Doing less denies the meaning of the words "shall not be abridged."
Her argument was so persuasive that 54 additional senators and 250 members of the House of Representatives — including 68 Democrats — signed on. Vice President Dick Cheney — apparently at odds with the administration’s DOJ did so as well. Hopefully the Supreme Court will agree with these enlightened members of Congress — and Abraham Lincoln who said, "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
Illinois' New Gun Law Under Scrutiny
http://www.newsmax.com/us/niu_shooting_gun_law/2008/02/18/73597.html
CHICAGO -- Illinois lawmakers moved swiftly after last year's massacre at Virginia Tech to make it harder for anyone with a history of mental illness to buy guns, fortifying what were already some of the nation's toughest weapons laws.
But the new measure does not take effect until June. And whether it would have prevented last week's bloodbath at Northern Illinois University is far from clear.
Steven Kazmierczak, the 27-year-old grad student who bought an arsenal of guns in recent months and used them to kill five people and commit suicide, had been on medication and was said to have spent time in a psychiatric center as a teen in the late 1990s.
But state Sen. Dan Kotowski, a sponsor of the law that will require more detailed reporting to state officials about those who have received mental health treatment, said the sketchy information about Kazmierczak's medical history makes it impossible to know if he would have fallen under the law.
"This law is more comprehensive than most," the Democrat said Monday. "But everything needs to be evaluated and reviewed to address the problem so that something like this never happens again. This is the promise we have to make."
The measure, when it takes effect, will require health professionals to inform state authorities about patients who display violent, suicidal or threatening behavior. Right now, such information is reported to state officials only on people who have been institutionalized, not on those who receive only outpatient treatment.
Illinois adopted the law last June, and the governor signed it in August.
Virginia lawmakers, meanwhile, still are considering a package of bills to reform that state's mental health system in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, including one that would make it easier to have people involuntarily committed.
The proposals are attempts to reform a mental health system that came under increased scrutiny since a mentally disturbed student, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech in April.
Unlike Cho, Kazmierczak showed few outward signs of trouble. He passed repeated criminal background checks and had a state firearm owner's identification card, which requires applicants to answer a series questions, including whether they have been in a mental hospital in the preceding five years. Authorities say they verify what the applicants put down.
A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said last week that Kazmierczak was placed there after high school by his parents. She said he used to cut himself and had resisted taking medications. And Kazmierczak's girlfriend, Jessica Baty, told CNN on Sunday that he had been on an antidepressant but had stopped taking it about three weeks ago because "it made him feel like a zombie."
But even under Illinois' new law, it's not clear whether Kazmierczak said or did anything that would have triggered the reporting requirement and made him ineligible to buy guns.
Some argue the more stringent reporting rules could make it even harder to identify people who might be about to snap.
Gary Slutkin of the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention at the University of Illinois said the rules could have the unintended consequences of discouraging people from seeking help out of fear of being reported. He said that might be especially likely to happen in the case of someone fantasizing about going on a killing spree.
"If you have these ideas, you might be less likely to get help because you know for sure you'll be reported," he said.
Pro-gun forces also expressed skepticism such laws would have done any good in stopping someone like Kazmierczak.
John Boch, like many other gun-rights activists in Illinois, said the answer is for the state to loosen its gun laws, not tighten them, so that students could have been able to shoot back during the NIU attack. Illinois is one of only two states with an outright ban on carrying concealed weapons. Wisconsin is the other.
"This guy at NIU committed murder, for god's sake," Boch said. "What are a few more gun laws going to do to protect human life? There are a lot of laws he violated in killing those kids, but one more law won't make a difference to guys like that."
Leading US Religious Newswire Republishes Controversial Muhammad Cartoons
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06882.shtml
WASHINGTON -- In 2006 Christian Newswire was criticized for publishing the controversial Muhammad cartoons. Christian Newswire was the only US based newswire to publish the cartoons.
In solidarity with seventeen Danish newspapers the newswire has once again made the cartoons available.
Christian Newswire director, Gary McCullough states, "Despite receiving numerous threats as a result to our publishing the Muhammad cartoons in 2006, the basis for that decision remains the same today. We also published the cartoons of Lars Vilks in 2007 after a reward was offered for his murder.
"Our business is a service for reporters and news producers. It is important for those who deliver the news to actually view these cartoons. The decision to republish the cartoons is also an act of political and theological activism.
"The threat we oppose is not of ideas since radical Islam has nothing new to offer in the arena of religious or political thought. To argue a theological or political point with an Islamist is akin to debating women's rights with a rapist. Both are defined by what they do, irrelevant of what they believe. Their actions demand that any rational discussion on the topic is futile as long as they defend or continue in their crime.
"The activism I hope to express in joining others in republishing the cartoons is therefore not directed toward anyone who follows Muhammad. Rather, my hope is to encourage those who believe in freedom of the press, and to challenge those who think we can placate our enemies by anything we do or do not publish.
"As I said in 2006, I repeat now; I for one am not willing to go one inch down the road that ends with the media publishing only that which Muhammad would approve."
Smokie Norful: Faith & Fame World Premiere On Gospel Music Channel Wed. Feb. 20
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06881.shtml
ATLANTA -- Smokie Norful, one of the top gospel artists of today, shares his heart, ministry and music in a revealing new portrait of the multi-talented performer in Faith & Fame: Smokie Norful, world premiering on the Gospel Music Channel television network Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m. (ET) as part of Gospel Music Channel's Black History Month programming.
Faith & Fame: Smokie Norful will feature candid interviews with Norful, friends and family, sharing never before told stories about his musical and spiritual journey, which have shaped him into a GRAMMY-winning artist and new church pastor. The show features music performance clips and videos of Norful performing hit songs like "I Need You" and "Nothing Without You."
Norful has been one of the biggest success stories in recent gospel music history, with more than one million record sales to his credit. Since the release of his Gold-certified debut CD (and smash single of the same name), I Need You Now in 2002, Norful has never left the Gospel charts. His follow-up sophomore CD, Nothing Without You, has remained on the sales charts since its release in 2004. Norful has earned numerous awards, including a 2004 GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album and multiple Stellar Awards, Dove Awards, and Gospel Music Excellence Awards. He was named Gospel Artist of the Year for 2003 and 2004 by Billboard magazine.
Life Changing, his third album with EMI Gospel, released in 2006 just after Norful embraced the call to ministry and to plant his own church. Victory Cathedral Worship Center, is now one of the fastest growing churches in the suburbs of Chicago. In February, Norful headlines McDonald's "Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour 2008" with Myron Butler & Levi.
Faith & Fame: Smokie Norful will have encores on March 12 starting at 10:00 a.m. (ET). For all listings, check www.gospelmusicchannel.com. Faith and Fame is Gospel Music Channel's original biography series featuring Gospel artists sharing stories of their lives, family, music and faith. GMC viewers go behind the scenes for a tour of the private world of stars such as Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman, Yolanda Adams, Michael W. Smith, Shirley Caesar and many others.
Gospel Music Channel is the nation's first and only 24/7 all music television network devoted to the uplifting, inspiring and diverse music that is Gospel/Christian music. It is one of the fastest- growing cable channels in television today; the network doubled availability in 2007 alone and is now carried in all ten of the top ten markets and 23 of the top 25. Gospel Music Channel can be seen on various cable systems around the country.
Gospel Music Channel Launches New Online Destination for Fans of Gospel/Christian Music
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06879.shtml
ATLANTA -- Gospel Music Channel (GMC), the nation's first and only 24/7 all Gospel/Christian music television network, today unveils the Web's new central hub for anything and everything related to Gospel/Christina music. Launching today with a week of special features, the new www.gospelmusicchannel.com is set to become the number one online destination for Gospel/Christina music's passionate fans, with an array of interactive features including:
An online community where fans from around the world can congregate and share their thoughts and common interest relating to gospel and Christian music.
An e-commerce component that will enable fans to purchase CDs, digital music, ringtones and concert tickets via affiliate agreements with Christianbook.com, walmart.com, amazon.com and iTunes.
Industry news and editorial content including artist blogs. An RSS feed of all Gospel Music Channel blogs is available at www.gospelmusicchannel.com/blog/feed
Improved inter-linking from artist names and Web sites to shows to GMC's on-air program guide, enabling fans to easily find content and on-air information pertaining to their favorite performers.
The new Web site, which replaces GMC's previous site, also includes a major online initiative supporting GMC's new weekly original series The Kitchen Sink. A special section on the site devoted to the series will be refreshed three days before the on-air premiere of each week's show, and will be more than a click-and- watch video preview. The Kitchen Sink online will be a robust, on-demand, interactive experience that will enable fans to access specific segments of the show, and to talk about it in an online community.
Charles Humbard, Founder and President, GMC commented, "The GMC Web Site will take our on-air positioning as the focal point everything related to Gospel/Christian music, and translate it to the online world. Gospel/Christian music fans are incredibly passionate about the music and the artists that create it, and we are confident that gospelmusicchannel.com will quickly become a popular must-stop, first-stop for these loyal enthusiasts."
An array of daily specials is planned for the site's launch week from Feb. 11-15, These include: independent artists bringing their talent to light by offering free MP3s (Mon.); rare scenes and acoustic backstage performances from GMC's Atlanta studio (Tues.); trivia (Wed.); consumers being able to send a free Valentine's e-card automatically entering them for a chance to win a signed CD of Stellar Kart's new album and concert tickets (Thurs.); and never-before- seen in-depth interviews with popular artists (Fri.).
Gospel Music Channel is the nation's first and only 24/7 television network devoted to the uplifting, inspiring and diverse music that is Gospel/Christian music. GMC is one of the fastest-growing cable channels in television today; the network doubled availability in 2007 alone and is now carried in all ten of the top ten markets and 23 of the top 25.
William & Mary President Resigns After Scandals
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06880.shtml
WASHINGTON -- The controversial term of William & Mary University President Gene Nichols came to an end today. Nichols' resignation follows his removal of the Wren Chapel's historic cross and his approval of a Sex Workers Art Show earlier this year. The William & Mary Board of Visitors declined to renew Nichols' contract last Friday.
"Universities have pushed the envelope in censoring Christianity and promoting pornography. Under the leadership of Gene Nichols, the College of William & Mary, a respected, historic institution, became the poster child of the degradation of higher learning," stated Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA). "Virginia Delegate Mark Cole and his colleagues in the Virginia House of Delegates boldly held the public university accountable and helped bring that institution back on track to focus on education, not de-moralizing the students."
Janet Robey, State Director for CWA of Virginia, said, "I would like to praise those state delegates who work diligently every day to promote family values in Virginia. We need to ensure that our Virginia schools abide by a strict code of ethics."
The Virginia House Privileges and Elections Committee held a hearing last Thursday, questioning nominees to the William and Mary Board of Visitors on the recent decisions made by former President Nichols. CWA commends the action and courageous stand taken by Committee Chairman Del. Mark Cole (R-Spotsylvania) and other legislators' call for a return to values and the need to hold officials accountable.
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
North Korea Tops List of Persecutors
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06878.shtml
SANTA ANA, CA -- This year's No. 1 spot on Open Doors' 2008 World Watch List is no stranger: North Korea has now topped the list for six years in a row.
There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and relentless way. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia holds a solid No. 2 place, followed closely by Iran. Maldives is No. 4.
New at No. 5 is Bhutan, moving a few places up from No. 7 last year, mainly because Somalia and Yemen saw a decrease in persecution. The No. 6 spot is taken by Yemen.
Afghanistan rose from No. 10 to No. 7.
Laos saw little change in religious freedom last year, but it moved up one place, from No. 9 to No. 8. Two new countries entered the Top 10: Uzbekistan at No. 9 and China No. 10. Uzbekistan was No. 11 last year and China No. 12.
Islam is the majority religion in six of the top 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Maldives, Afghanistan, Yemen and Uzbekistan. Three countries have communist governments: North Korea, Laos and China. Bhutan is the only Buddhist country on the Top 10 list.
The World Watch List ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. The list is compiled based on the answers to 50 questions covering various aspects of religious freedom from Open Doors' indigenous contacts, field workers and persecuted believers.
More Christians were arrested in North Korea in 2007 than in 2006. Many have been beaten, tortured or killed because of their religious beliefs. Open Doors' local source estimates the number of underground Christians to be at least 200,000, and it's likely that there are as many as 400,000 to 500,000 believers. At least a quarter of the Christians are imprisoned for their faith in political prison camps, from which people rarely get out alive.
Carl Moeller, President/CEO of Open Doors USA, says: "It is certainly not a shock that North Korea is No. 1 on the shame list for the sixth year in a row. There is no other country in the world where Christians are being persecuted in such a horrible and systematic manner. I encourage you to join our prayer campaign for North Korea and to plug in to the many opportunities Open Doors offers to advocate for the oppressed believers during North Korea Freedom Week April 27-May 3. All the information is on our Website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org."
In Shariah-ruled Saudi Arabia, the deplorable state of religious freedom remained generally unaltered in 2007. Under the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islamic law, apostasy (conversion to another religion) is punishable by death if the accused does not recant. There were no reports of executions for apostasy in 2007.
Islam is the official religion in Iran, and all laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of Shariah law. Although Christians are a recognized religious minority who are guaranteed religious freedom, they have reported imprisonment, harassment and discrimination because of their faith.
For a complete World Watch List of the Top 50 persecutors, an in-depth look at the top 10 countries on the list and a list of countries where the situation deteriorated or improved the most, go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers.
Evangelical Alliance invites Christians to join Sharia debate
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/evangelical.alliance.invites.christians.to.join.sharia.debate/16900.htm
The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is inviting Christians to join the debate on Sharia law by submitting following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent assertion that the British legal system should accommodate aspects of Sharia law.
The EA is inviting church leaders, theologians and community practitioners to take a fresh look at the place of faith and law in the public square, and the impact that has on community relations and cohesion.
The wider Christian community is also being invited to share its views by submitting comments to the Evangelical Alliance website.
The EA is hoping that the exchange of views will help set the agenda for discussions on faith and law in light of the Archbishop’s comments.
Rev Joel Edwards, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “The way faith operates in the political and legal sphere has always been extremely important to the Alliance, but the response to the Archbishop’s speech has given this debate a real sense of urgency.
"We want to use this as a spring-board to find a way forward for those in our, and other, faith communities who feel disenfranchised on matters of conscience by the changing meaning of what it is to be British.
"We are encouraging the wider Christian community to join in this important conversation, by giving us their views through our website, which we will feed into our discussions.”
The Alliance will publish the findings of the consultation – to give your views, please go to the website, www.eauk.org.
Alabama Gov.: God Was Watching Our City
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/324530.aspx
PRATTVILLE, Ala. - Homeowners, utility crews and others worked Monday to clear away wreckage and restore services after the latest round of winter tornadoes to smash through the South.
Click on the video player for reactions and aftermath of the devastating twister.
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley toured part of Prattville and said he was impressed by the community's response to the twister that struck the town.
"One of the great things about living in Alabama - and I say this after every major emergency we have - it truly is amazing to see what's happening out there with all the families in this state," Riley said.
At least 50 people were injured, and about 200 homes and 40 businesses were damaged in the Prattville area, according to the National Weather Service. No deaths were reported. Two people who were critically injured were upgraded to serious on Monday, said Todd Stacy, a spokesman for the governor.
At least 11,000 homes and businesses in Prattville lacked power after the storm.
The tornado was part of a system that swept across the Southeast on Sunday, damaging homes elsewhere in Alabama and in parts of Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
The violent weather continued into early Monday, when a tornado ripped apart a house in Hookerton, N.C., slightly injuring three people.
"It sounded like a train came through my window," said Shannon Edwards, 19, who was trapped under debris for about an hour at her family's home. "My whole bed just flipped up. I didn't know where I was going to end up. I didn't know what was going on."
Scattered damage to buildings and trees was reported elsewhere in North Carolina.
The tornado that struck Prattville tore up a path about a quarter-mile wide and had winds of 140 to 150 mph, said meteorologist Jim Stefkovich at the National Weather Service's Birmingham office.
"God was watching over our city last night," Mayor Jim Byard said, adding that if the storm had hit in the middle of the night as happened in northern Alabama earlier this month, it could have been fatal.
The death toll from those storms, part of a tornado outbreak that ripped across several Southern states Feb. 5 and 6, rose by one to 57 on Monday after a Tennessee man died of his injuries, emergency management officials said.
Repair crews also were at work Monday in western and central Georgia, where the storms destroyed or damaged more than 50 homes Sunday, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. Ten people were injured, two of them critically, the agency said.
While tornadoes were battering the Southeast on Sunday, parts of the Upper Midwest had to deal with ice and snow.
Dozens of schools in central and eastern Iowa were closed or had delayed openings Monday and travel was not recommended on some highways because Sunday's storm dumped as much as 6 inches of snow, accompanied by wind gusting to 50 mph.
According to the weather service, a total of 18.5 inches of snow has fallen so far this month at the Des Moines International Airport, compared with the average 5 inches. So far this season, Iowa has gotten 48 inches compared with the normal 26 inches.
U.S., EU Powers Recognize Kosovo
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/324215.aspx
PRISTINA, Kosovo -- The U.S. and major European powers recognized Kosovo on Monday, a day after the province's ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia. Giddy Kosovars danced in the streets when they heard of the endorsements.
Kosovo's leaders sent letters to 192 countries seeking formal recognition and Britain, France, Germany and U.S. were among the countries that backed the request. But other European Union nations were opposed, including Spain which has battled a violent Basque separatist movement for decades.
"The Kosovars are now independent," President Bush said during a trip to Africa. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Bush "has responded affirmatively" to Kosovo's request to establish diplomatic relations.
"The establishment of these relations will reaffirm the special ties of friendship that have linked together the people of the United States and Kosovo," Rice's statement said.
As word of the recognition spread, ethnic Albanians poured into the streets of the capital Pristina to cheer and dance.
The republic's new flag - a blue banner with a yellow silhouette of Kosovo and six white stars representing each of the main ethnic groups - fluttered from homes and offices. But Serb-controlled northern Kosovo was tense with thousands demonstrating against independence and an explosion damaging a U.N. vehicle. No one was hurt.
By sidestepping the U.N. and appealing directly to the U.S. and other nations for recognition, Kosovo's independence set up a showdown with Serbia - outraged at the imminent loss of its territory - and Russia, which warned it would set a dangerous precedent for separatist groups worldwide.
Russia persuaded the U.N. Security Council to meet in emergency session Sunday in an attempt to block Kosovo's secession. The council was to meet again later Monday.
Kosovo had formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists, which killed 10,000 people.
Ninety percent of Kosovo's 2 million people are ethnic Albanian - most of them secular Muslims - and they see no reason to stay joined to the rest of Christian Orthodox Serbia.
Despite calls for restraint, tensions flared in northern Kosovo, home to most of the territory's 100,000 minority Serbs. An explosion damaged a U.N. vehicle outside the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, where thousands of Serbs demonstrated, chanting "this is Serbia!"
The crowds marched to a bridge spanning a river dividing the town between the ethnic Albanian and Serbian sides. They were confronted by NATO peacekeepers guarding the bridge, but there was no violence.
Another 800 Serbs staged a noisy demonstration in the Serb-dominated enclave of Gracanica outside Pristina, waving Serbian flags and singing patriotic songs.
"Our obligation is to stay in our homes and live as if nothing happened yesterday," said protester Goran Arsic.
In a first sign that Serbia was attempting to retake authority in the north of Kosovo, some Serb policemen started leaving the multiethnic Kosovo police force on Monday and placed themselves under the authority of the Serbian government in Belgrade, a senior Kosovo Serb police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
There were about 320 Serb policemen in the U.N.-established force that has run Kosovo since 1999. The departure of Serb policemen in the force would likely trigger a confrontation with the U.N. administration.
Kosovo is still protected by 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers, and the alliance boosted its patrols over the weekend in hopes of discouraging violence. International police, meanwhile, deployed to back up local forces in the tense north.
NATO insisted its peacekeeping mission in Kosovo will not be weakened by differences among the allies over recognition.
The 27 EU nations stood divided as their foreign ministers met in Brussels, Belgium, to try to forge a common stance on recognition. At the end of the meeting, the ministers cleared the way for some member nations to endorse independence.
European powers France, Britain and Germany led most of the EU nations in recognizing Kosovo. Spain led a group of five who opposed it, fearing it could set a dangerous precedent encouraging separatist minorities elsewhere to seek statehood.
"A majority of the EU states will recognize Kosovo," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier predicted, saying 17 member states were set to do so in the coming weeks.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said recognizing Kosovo now "can help the western Balkans close two decades of violence and conflict."
"There is a very strong head of steam building among a wide range of countries that do see this as the last piece of the Yugoslav jigsaw and don't see stability in the western Balkans being established without the aspirations of the Kosovar people being respected," Miliband said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Kosovo's declaration was "a great success for Europe, a great success for the Kosovars and certainly not a defeat for the Serbs."
Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Ireland, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland also said they had initiated national procedures to recognize Kosovo.
Spain, however, said Kosovo's independence bid - and efforts to recognize it - were illegal under international law.
On Sunday, Kosovo's lawmakers achieved what a bloody 1998-99 separatist war with Serbian forces could not: They pronounced the disputed province the Republic of Kosovo, and pledged to make it a "democratic, multiethnic state."
The proclamation sent thousands of jubilant ethnic Albanians into the streets overnight, where they waved red-and-black Albanian flags, fired guns and fireworks into the air and danced in the streets.
Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu played down the fears of renewed unrest Monday, saying the government needed to set about the business of building a democratic country.
"It will be a big day today because we have lots of things that we need to start and finish," Sejdiu said. "We need continuous work and commitment, and we are fully dedicated to fulfilling the promises to better our state."
The 192 letters seeking recognition included one to Serbia. But the Belgrade government made clear it would never accept Kosovo's statehood. Serbia said it would seek to block Kosovo from gaining diplomatic recognition and membership in the U.N. and other international organizations.
"The so-called Kosovo state will never be a member of the United Nations," Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said.
Serbia's Interior Ministry filed criminal charges on Monday against the three Kosovo leaders for proclaiming independence - Sejdiu, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and parliament Speaker Jakup Krasniqi. The charges were only symbolic because Serbia has not had jurisdiction over Kosovo since the 1999 war.
Serbia's government has ruled out a military response as part of a secret "action plan" drafted earlier this week. But it threatened to recall its ambassadors from all countries that establish diplomatic ties with Kosovo, though it would not cut diplomatic relations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that independence without U.N. approval would set a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" across the former Soviet Union, where separatists in Chechnya and Georgia are agitating for independence.
China's U.N. envoy speaks out against Kosovo move
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTP34030820080219
BEIJING - China's ambassador to the United Nations has warned that Kosovo's independence declaration could cause conflict and undermine the U.N., and repeated his country's "deep concern" over the nascent state's unilateral move.
Wang Guangya told an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council, of which China is a veto-wielding member, that negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia should continue, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
"The issue of Kosovo status does have its special nature," Wang told the session.
"Nevertheless, to terminate negotiations, give up pursuit of a solution acceptable to both parties and replace such efforts with unilateral action will certainly constitute a serious challenge to the fundamental principles of international law."
His remarks underscore those of China's Foreign Ministry in Beijing, which said on Monday that the country was "deeply worried about the grave negative impact" that Kosovo's independence would have in the region.
The majority ethnic Albanian territory, once ruled as a part of Serbia, has been under United Nations supervision since 1999, when NATO bombing forced the withdrawal of Serb forces that had been attacking Albanians there.
Kosovo's action sets a worrying precedent for China's own territorial integrity. China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own and faces separatist sentiments in its far-western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.
Wang said U.N. Security Council resolution 1244, which gave the U.N. the authority to administer Kosovo, could not be unilaterally jettisoned.
"If a resolution adopted by the Security Council is not observed and implemented, the resolution in question would become a mere scrap of paper," Xinhua quoted him as saying.
"What's more, the authority and credibility of the Security Council as the primary organ for safeguarding world peace and security would be compromised."
Wang also called on the European Union to "make greater efforts to reconcile the positions of Serbia and Kosovo".
Europe's major powers and the United States have said they recognized Kosovo's new independence, but China joins Russia, Spain and Serbia among others in opposing the move.
U.S. Law Enforcement Learns from Israel
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/324386.aspx
Israel has the most experienced anti-terrorism police forces in the world.
Now, American law enforcement officers are learning from Israel's experience.
For decades, Israel has been on the front lines of the war on terror. Since 9-11, the U.S. now faces similar threats and dangers from Islamic terror. A program started in 2004 by the Anti-Defamation League is putting U.S. and Israeli police forces together.
CBN News joined the latest group of U.S. and Israeli law enforcement officers on one stop of their week-long visit and also got a rare look inside the security system monitoring Jerusalem's Old City.
"The purpose is very simple. Israel has for the 60 years of its history developed an unbelievable and tragic expertise on terrorism, and now when America needs that expertise, the Israelis are very kindly allowing their best and brightest to share it with our best and brightest," said David McCoy with the Anti-Defamation League.
Mark White said, "Israel has been in this business, this terrorism business longer than anyone. They've suffered I think more than anyone, but they've also learned more than anyone. And they've been teaching us since we got here, lessons they've learned to try and make us stronger over in the U.S."
The U.S. law enforcement officials came from around the country. These officers expect to use the lessons learned here back in the U.S.
"We've had our incidents in the past couple of years, but you don't get the sense of the importance that you do here and the constant awareness, the citizen involvement, the volunteerism that's just hugely evident in everything the national police do here," McCoy said.
"That is not happened to the level it's happened in this country yet, so those are some of the things that I think unfortunately we're going to be subject to in American, and these are the things we can help prepare ourselves for," he added.
Preparing U.S. police forces is one of the main goals of the program. Micky Rosenfeld, spokesman for Jerusalem Police Department, explained what they hope to pass along.
"We tend to give as much understanding as possible so they can enlarge both their police operations on a day to day basis when they go back to the States, we believe in the long term it will also help and improve the general security situation in the U.S., being aware of the possibilities, the type of attacks that can take place," Rosenfeld said.
"One of the things we have to do is always be vigilant," White said. "And you know, they're teaching the public to be involved way more than we are in the U.S. We give it our best shot, but I don't think the personal effect of terrorism has hit enough people unfortunately."
McCoy said, "I think this is really an opportunity for Americans to perhaps save American lives through the generosity, the expertise of the Israelis and the nation of Israel in sharing its lessons learned in a very tragic and unfortunate war against terrorism."
Md. Group Fights Bill for Co-ed Bathrooms
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/324385.aspx
Citizens in one Maryland county are fighting a new law that grants special rights to transvestites, cross-dressers and transsexuals.
Citizens for Responsible Government has launched a petition drive to repeal the measure that was passed by the Montgomery County Council.
The group says the bill essentially creates co-ed bathrooms and locker rooms that would put women and girls at risk.
They also say it lets transgender advocates indoctrinate kids in local schools.
And it allows transgender teachers and faculty to be open about their sexual choices.
Olmert Not Optimistic about Shalit
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/324294.aspx
JERUSALEM, Israel - Speaking at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was not optimistic about the fate of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
"Unfortunately, I cannot share the optimism regarding [Corporal] Gilad Shalit," Olmert told conference participants.
On Monday morning, Army Radio reported that Israel has reached an agreement with Hamas on the names of 230 Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for Shalit.
According to the report, the "breakthrough" came after a special ministerial committee blurred the lines defining prisoners with "blood on their hands," quadrupling the original 44 prisoners Israel agreed to release to 230.
In addition to the list approved by Hamas, the Gaza-based terror organization demanded an additional 120 men in the first stage of the prisoner exchange.
Meanwhile, Shin Bet (General Security Agency) chief Yuval Diskin opposes relaxing the criteria for prisoners with "blood on their hands," calling the plan a prescription for "blackmail that will lead to additional abductions."
Diskin's objections were heightened when the ministerial committee, under Vice Premier Haim Ramon's chairmanship, included prisoners with "blood on their hands."
On Monday, a senior Hamas official told YNet news service a different story. He said there had been no breakthrough in negotiations for a prisoner exchange.
"The Palestinians are waiting for an Israeli confirmation on the identity and number of the prisoners who will be released, and we want to know how Israel will implement its part of the agreement," the Hamas official said.
"The Palestinians are demanding guarantees on the way Israel plans to implement its part in the hostage exchange agreement," he said.
"The second part of the deal will begin with Shalit making his way to Egypt. If he reaches Egypt and Israel decides to violate its commitment, will someone be able to guarantee this will not happen? This is why we demand clarifications regarding the guarantees as well," he said.
Gilad Shalit was kidnapped on June 25, 2006, in a cross-border attack on an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) outpost near the Kerem Shalom crossing at the border with the Gaza Strip. Two IDF soldiers were killed, three wounded and Shalit abducted in the raid.
Efforts to secure his release, mediated by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, have so far come up empty.
Hospital: Graham continues to improve
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080219/ap_on_re/graham_surgery;_ylt=AmGa8P2hK9gK53Kem39PuVus0NUE
Evangelist Billy Graham may be released from a hospital within a few days after undergoing surgery to update a shunt that controls excess fluid to his brain, officials said Monday.
The 89-year-old Southern Baptist minister remains in fair condition at Asheville's Mission Hospital, spokeswoman Merrell Gregory said. She said he did well over the weekend, continuing to increase his walking regimen and working with physical therapists to build his strength.
Graham underwent the elective surgery Feb. 13 to replace a shunt first installed in 2000. Doctors determined the old shunt wasn't adequately controlling the brain fluid.
Doctors said the new externally programmable valve is working satisfactorily. Graham's neurosurgeon, Dr. Ralph Loomis, said the valve will be regulated over the next week or two. That can be done at home.
A buildup of fluid, known as hydrocephalus, can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
Graham has also suffered from prostate cancer and macular degeneration. He spends much of his time confined to his mountainside home in nearby Montreat.
Not a surprising story. Never believed that UN staff are saints but still quite dissapointing!
ReplyDelete