Huckabee: Financing Could Stymie McCain
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jB892tzOUc1w708xuk49pzfZ3yyQD8V3GJT80
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said Thursday that John McCain may be unable to campaign for months because of questions raised about his effort to exit the primary election's public financing system.
"Not only do we not have all the delegates all in place for him, there is a question as to whether his campaign is even going to be able to be active between now and September," the former Arkansas governor told reporters in a conference call Thursday.
Huckabee insists on remaining in the GOP race even though he lags far behind McCain, the presumed nominee.
The Democratic National Committee has asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether McCain would violate money-in-politics laws by withdrawing from the system. McCain, who had been entitled to $5.8 million in federal funds for the primary, has decided to bypass the system so he can avoid spending limits between now and the GOP's national convention in September.
McCain's campaign told federal regulators Monday that he does not need their approval to withdraw from the system. In a letter to Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason, the campaign also said McCain did not obligate himself to use his potential share of public matching funds as collateral for a crucial $4 million loan he obtained late last year.
When asked about McCain's situation, Huckabee said the Arizona senator was facing obstacles set up by campaign finance reforms he championed.
"He wrote these laws and one of the reasons I think people need to continue this discussion and this debate is I think one of the worst things that's ever happened to American politics is the McCain-Feingold campaign finance act," Huckabee said. "It has created more problems than it has solved and it may very well be that the law that he pushed comes back to bite him."
If McCain is unable to withdraw from the public financing system, he would be limited to spending a total of $54 million during the primary season, which ends in September. As of the end of January, his campaign had already spent nearly $50 million.
Huckabee, who is campaigning in Texas in advance of that state's primary on Tuesday, said he's holding out hope that neither he nor McCain goes into the GOP convention this summer with the 1,191 delegates necessary to secure the nomination.
"We're not going to just try to push something beyond reason, but there's still a possibility that he won't get those delegates and it does go to the convention. That is a possibility that we're holding out for," Huckabee said. "It just seems ridiculous for us to deny people in many of these states a chance to vote in this election when he has yet to obtain those numbers."
Pro-Israel evangelical leader Hagee endorses McCain
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/proisrael.evangelical.leader.hagee.endorses.mccain/17105.htm
Republican presidential candidate John McCain won the endorsement of Texas evangelical leader John Hagee on Wednesday, which could boost his standing among religious conservatives who have been reluctant to embrace the likely nominee.
Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio, is best known for his outspoken support of Israel and writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.
"I'm very honored by Pastor John Hagee's endorsement today," McCain said at a news conference. "He has been the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement in many areas, but especially, most especially, his close ties and advocacy for the freedom and independence of the state of Israel."
Hagee, standing beside the candidate, said he admired McCain's pro-Israel stance, commitment to nominate conservative judges and opposition to abortion.
"Victory is within our grasp because John McCain knows it's never wrong to do the right thing," Hagee said.
Christian conservatives are an important part of the Republican base, but many have so far been reluctant to support the Arizona senator.
Coast-to-coast primary victories on Feb. 5 made McCain the all-but-certain Republican nominee, but many evangelicals continue to support rival Mike Huckabee, a Baptist preacher and former Arkansas governor. Several conservative Christian leaders have said they will not vote for McCain in November if he is the nominee.
McCain's support for the Iraq war and fierce criticism of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won praise from Hagee, who has brought thousands of evangelical Christians to Washington to lobby on Israel's behalf.
Hagee has written that events in the Middle East point to an imminent apocalypse Christians should welcome.
In his book "Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World," Hagee predicts Russian and Arab armies will invade Israel and be destroyed by God. Israel will then be the site of a battle between China and the West, which will be led by the anti-Christ in his role as head of the European Union. Jesus Christ will return to Earth in the final battle, he writes.
The book also claims Adolph Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church joined in a conspiracy to destroy the Jews.
"Our support of Israel has absolutely nothing to do with an end times prophetic scenario," Hagee told reporters. "They are a democracy in the Middle East that deserves the support of America and the Christian people of America."
McCain said on his campaign plane that he was not familiar with Hagee's writings. "I think he's a fine leader and I appreciate his commitment to Israel," McCain said.
Catholic Group Hits McCain Endorsement
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Catholic_League_Angered_O/2008/02/28/76481.html
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been accused by the Catholic League of embracing a “bigot” — Texas evangelical leader John Hagee.
McCain said on Wednesday that he was “very honored” to win the endorsement of pro-Israel Hagee, who heads a 19,000-member church in San Antonio.
Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement: “There are plenty of staunch evangelical leaders who are pro-Israel, but are not anti-Catholic. John Hagee is not one of them.
“Indeed, for the past few decades he has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system…
“In Hagee’s latest book, ‘Jerusalem Countdown,’ he calls Hitler a Catholic who murdered Jews while the Catholic Church did nothing…
“For the record, Hitler persecuted the Catholic Church and was automatically excommunicated in 1931 — two years before he assumed power — when he acted as best man at Joseph Goebbels’ Protestant wedding…
“As for doing nothing about the Holocaust … Israeli diplomat Pinchas Lapide credited the Catholic Church with saving 860,000 Jews. No religion can match that.”
Hagee is best known for his writings on the Middle East, where he envisions a blood-soaked clash between East and West leading to the return of Jesus Christ.
Hagee has written that events in the Middle East point to an imminent apocalypse Christians should welcome.
McCain said that he was not familiar with Hagee's writings.
Donohue declared: “Senator Obama has repudiated the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, another bigot. McCain should follow suit and retract his embrace of Hagee.”
Huckabee upset over Rev's McCain nod
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/28/714684.aspx
TEXARKANA, Texas -- Huckabee accused the Rev. John Hagee of playing politics over principle by endorsing McCain, and criticized the Republican front-runner for not accepting a debate.
Speaking after a rally in Texarkana, Huckabee said he was surprised by Hagee’s endorsement because of McCain’s lack of fervor on abortion -- despite his 100% anti-abortion rights voting record. (McCain has, however, voted for stem-cell research.) Huckabee also said Hagee told him he endorsed because he assumed McCain would win the nomination.
“He just thought that the political rationale was he wanted to get on Sen. McCain’s team, and he thought he was gonna win the nomination,” Huckabee said. “I don’t think that’s a foregone conclusion, and even if I did, I would stand on principle more than I would politics.”
Huckabee said he spoke with Hagee, expressed his “disappointment and surprise” and asked him to hold off on publicly backing McCain.
“I felt that it was totally out of character for what I knew he believed,” Huckabee said, “or at least I thought he did.”
Huckabee also criticized McCain for not accepting a debate among the remaining Republican presidential candidates, after suggesting his interest earlier in the week.
“I would debate anywhere, anytime, there’s no issue that I would be afraid to sit down in front of Sen. McCain and discuss, none,” Huckabee said. “And if you’re going to be president, you ought to be willing to sit down in front of any group.”
During the rally, Huckabee made a rare attack against Obama, criticizing the cost of his spending proposals. “When I hear Barack Obama say that he’s gonna provide everybody with health care and college tuition and pave the streets with gold,” Huckabee said at a rally. “Ya know, the American Taxpayers Union has already figured out that just the proposals he’s put on the table so far already are going to cost about $287 billion, so far.”
He went on to say that the estimates don’t include costs if the United States abandons Iraq. “If we were doing the MasterCard commercial,” Huckabee said, “we’d simply say we know what some of the costs are, some of the items on his agenda -- priceless. But this much we know, we can’t afford it.”
A North American Army? New military agreement allows for crossing borders
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57228
In a ceremony that received virtually no attention in the American media, the United States and Canada signed a military agreement Feb. 14 allowing the armed forces from one nation to support the armed forces of the other nation during a domestic civil emergency, even one that does not involve a cross-border crisis.
The agreement, defined as a Civil Assistance Plan, was not submitted to Congress for approval, nor did Congress pass any law or treaty specifically authorizing this military agreement to combine the operations of the armed forces of the United States and Canada in the event of a wide range of domestic civil disturbances ranging from violent storms, to health epidemics, to civil riots or terrorist attacks.
In Canada, the agreement paving the way for the militaries of the U.S. and Canada to cross each other's borders to fight domestic emergencies was not announced either by the Harper government or the Canadian military, prompting sharp protest.
"It's kind of a trend when it comes to issues of Canada-U.S. relations and contentious issues like military integration," Stuart Trew, a researcher with the Council of Canadians told the Canwest News Service. "We see that this government is reluctant to disclose information to Canadians that is readily available on American and Mexican websites."
The military Civil Assistance Plan can be seen as a further incremental step being taken toward creating a North American armed forces available to be deployed in domestic North American emergency situations.
The agreement was signed at U.S. Army North headquarters, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, by U.S. Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and by Canadian Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc Dumais, commander of Canada Command.
"This document is a unique, bilateral military plan to align our respective national military plans to respond quickly to the other nation's requests for military support of civil authorities," Renuart said in a statement published on the USNORTHCOM website.
"In discussing the new bilateral Civil Assistance Plan established by USNORTHCOM and Canada Command, Renuart stressed, "Unity of effort during bilateral support for civil support operations such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and effects of a terrorist attack, in order to save lives, prevent human suffering an mitigate damage to property, is of the highest importance, and we need to be able to have forces that are flexible and adaptive to support rapid decision-making in a collaborative environment."
Lt. Gen. Dumais seconded Renuart's sentiments, stating, "The signing of this plan is an important symbol of the already strong working relationship between Canada Command and U.S. Northern Command."
"Our commands were created by our respective governments to respond to the defense and security challenges of the twenty-first century," he stressed, "and we both realize that these and other challenges are best met through cooperation between friends."
The statement on the USNORTHCOM website emphasized the plan recognizes the role of each nation's lead federal agency for emergency preparedness, which in the United States is the Department of Homeland Security and in Canada is Public Safety Canada.
The statement then noted the newly signed plan was designed to facilitate the military-to-military support of civil authorities once government authorities have agreed on an appropriate response.
As WND has previously reported, U.S. Northern Command was established on Oct. 1, 2002, as a military command tasked with anticipating and conducting homeland defense and civil support operations where U.S. armed forces are used in domestic emergencies.
Similarly, Canada Command was established on Feb. 1, 2006, to focus on domestic operations and offer a single point of contact for all domestic and continental defense and securities partners.
In Nov. 2007, WND published a six-part exclusive series, detailing WND's on-site presence during the NORAD-USNORTHCOM Vigilant Shield 2008, an exercise which involved Canada Command as a participant.
In an exclusive interview with WND during Vigilant Shield 2008, Gen. Renuart affirmed USNORTHCOM would deploy U.S. troops on U.S. soil should the president declare a domestic emergency in which the Department of Defense ordered USNORTHCOM involvement.
In May 2007, WND reported President Bush, on his own authority, signed National Security Presidential Directive 51, also known as Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20, authorizing the president to declare a national emergency and take over all functions of federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, without necessarily obtaining the approval of Congress to do so.
For deeper research on the potential merging of the United States, Canada and Mexico at all levels - be sure to check out our featured item "The Late Great USA - The Coming Merger of Canada, the United States & Mexico". This will be our last week featuring this item so act fast: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/featureditem.html
Europe's Power to Lead
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/02/28/006.html
At last month's World Economic Forum in Davos, the buzz was about Asia's growing power. One Asian analyst argued that by 2050, there will be three world powers: the United States, China and India. He did not mention Europe, but underestimating Europe's power is a mistake.
Yes, Europe currently punches below its weight. It is fragmented, peaceful and normative in a world of hard power, but part of the world is not about military power. The use of force among advanced industrial democracies is virtually unthinkable. In their relations with each other, such countries are all from Venus, to paraphrase U.S. political commentator Robert Kagan, and here Europe's focus on law and institutions is an asset.
A recent Pew poll found that many Europeans would like Europe to play a larger role in other parts of the world. To balance U.S. military power, however, would require a doubling or tripling of defense spending, and few Europeans are interested in such an increase. Nevertheless, a smart strategy for Europe will require greater investments in hard power.
The picture for Europe, however, is not as bleak as pessimists assume. Power is the ability to get the outcomes one wants, and the resources that produce such behavior depend upon the context. In functional terms, power is distributed like a three-dimensional chess game. On the top board are military relations among states, with the United States the world's only superpower with global reach. Here the world is unipolar.
On the middle board are economic relations, where the world is already multipolar. Here, Europe acts as a union, and other countries like Japan and China play big roles. The United States cannot reach a trade agreement or settle antitrust cases without the approval of the European Union. Or, to take another example, Europe was able to lead the drive to remove Paul Wolfowitz from the World Bank.
The bottom chessboard includes transnational relations outside the control of governments -- everything from drugs to infectious diseases to climate change to terrorism. On this board, power is chaotically distributed among nonstate actors, and it makes no sense to call this world either unipolar or multipolar.
Here, close civilian cooperation is important, for which Europe is well endowed. European countries' success in overcoming centuries of animosity, and the development of a large internal market, has given them a great deal of soft power.
At the Cold War's end, East European countries did not try to form local alliances, as they did in the 1920s, but looked toward Brussels to secure their future. Similarly, countries like Turkey and Ukraine have adjusted their policies in response to their attraction to Europe.
Recently, the U.S. National Intelligence Council published four widely different scenarios for the world in 2020: Davos World, in which economic globalization continues but with a more Asian face; Pax Americana, where the United States continues to dominate the global order; New Caliphate, where Islamic religious identity challenges the dominance of Western norms; and Cycle of Fear, in which nonstate forces create shocks to security that produce Orwellian societies. Like any exercise in futurology, such scenarios have their limits, but they help us ask which three or four major political factors will help shape the outcome.
The first is the rise of Asia. The big question will be China and its internal evolution. China has lifted 400 million people out of poverty since 1990, but another 400 million still live on less than $2 per day. Unlike India, China has not solved the problem of political participation.
If China replaces its eroded communism with nationalism to ensure social cohesion, the result could be a more aggressive foreign policy and unwillingness to deal with issues like climate change. Or it may deal with its problems and become a "responsible stakeholder" in world politics.
Europe can contribute significantly to China's integration into global norms and institutions. In general, Europe and the United States have more to fear from a weak China than they do from a wealthy China.
Political Islam and how it develops will be the second factor. The struggle against extreme Islamist terrorism is not a "clash of civilizations" but a civil war within Islam. A radical minority is using violence to impose a simplified and ideological version on a mainstream with more diverse views.
While the largest number of Muslims live in Asia, they are influenced by the heart of this struggle in the Middle East, an area that has lagged behind the rest of the world in globalization, openness, institutions and democratization.
Here, Europe's economic might and soft power have a lot to contribute. More open trade, economic growth, education, development of civil society institutions and gradual increases in political participation may help strengthen the mainstream over time, as could the way Muslims are treated in Europe and the United States.
Equally important will be whether Western policies toward the Middle East satisfy mainstream Muslims or reinforce the radicals' narrative of a war against Islam.
The third major determinant of which scenario will prevail will be U.S. power and how it is used. The United States will remain the most powerful country in 2020, but, paradoxically, the strongest state since the days of Rome will be unable to protect its citizens acting alone.
U.S. military might is not adequate to deal with threats such as global pandemics, climate change, terrorism and international crime. These issues require cooperation in the provision of global public good and in the soft-power technique of attracting support.
No part of the world shares more values or has a greater capacity to influence U.S. attitudes and power than Europe. This suggests that the fourth political determinant of the future will be the evolution of European policies and power.
France prefers EU president with charisma, looks to Union for the Mediterranean
http://euobserver.com/9/25733/?rk=1
Paris is not officially supporting anybody for the post of EU president, French EU affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet has said, while describing France's ideal candidate for the top job.
"Any choice now would be premature... We will see when the time comes, and not before the end of the year," Mr Jouyet said during a debate organised by Brussels-based think-tank.
Nonetheless, France would like the person occupying this post to be "a personality who has charisma, experience, and enough drive to energise the work of the European Council," Mr Jouyet underlined.
He stopped short of pointing to specific individuals, however.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who last October first mentioned former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Luxembourg's premier, Jean-Claude Juncker, as possible candidates for president of the European Council – representing member states at EU leader level - is seen as backing Mr Blair for the job.
But his views are not shared by everyone.
"Having personal affinities is one thing, having candidacies for the post is another," Mr Jouyet said.
For some, it is unacceptable that a national of a country that is not part of core EU projects such as the eurozone and Schengen – the EU's borderless zone – could represent Europe. The UK take part in neither of these areas.
"It is clear that having a solidarity – be it in a monetary framework with the euro or in a legal one, with Schengen, " would not be detrimental to any personality willing to preside over the EU, "regardless how strong this personality may be," France's EU minister said without explicitly mentioning Mr Blair.
But Mr Jouyet had already spoken against the former prime minister's candidacy. He was quoted as saying earlier this month that while Mr Blair had indisputable leadership qualities, he does not "meet all the criteria" required for the job.
The post of president of the European Council is set to be a high-profile job, which can be held for up to five years. It is enshrined in the EU's Lisbon treaty, expected to come into force next year.
During the one-hour debate, Mr Jouyet also indicated a certain change in France's plans to create a Mediterranean Union.
"There is no Mediterranean Union", the minister said, specifying that one should now speak of a "Union for the Mediterranean" which is a "semantic shift that is not neutral."
The French idea of a Mediterranean Union involving a union of EU and non-EU Mediterranean states, has been particularly criticised in Germany, which fears it will be detrimental to the already existing EU policies in the area.
Earlier this week, a postponement of a Franco-German meeting initially planned for 3 March prompted speculation that disagreement over this specific project was the cause.
Mr Jouyet tried to reassure opponents of the project during Tuesday's debate.
The proposed Union for the Mediterranean is only about "completing and enriching" the already existing policies, as the Mediterranean is an important EU border, he said.
"For my part, I am optimistic that we will find together with our partners, in particular with our German friends, an agreement on the modalities of the project," he added.
Kremlin ruler or Putin's puppet: Who is Medvedev?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080224/wl_nm/russia_election_medvedev_dc;_ylt=Ag7rkp_p_cwEN9aS6t1ulQ10bBAF
People who know Dmitry Medvedev describe him as an intelligent and straightforward man who dislikes risk -- but does he have the political instincts to survive as Russia's next president?
He has been overwhelming favorite to win the March 2 presidential election ever since his mentor, the outgoing President Vladimir Putin, endorsed Medvedev to replace him.
Medvedev's personal qualities could suit Putin's purposes: he needs a reliable and loyal ally in the Kremlin job if he is to exert influence after his own presidential term ends.
Some ex-colleagues question though whether Medvedev has the cunning and ruthlessness to impose his own authority in the job.
"Dima is clever, clever enough to be president and he is tough, tough enough to be president," one former colleague from the 1990s told Reuters on condition his name was not published.
"But you have to have a sense, an emotional intelligence, a feeling for decisions in the Kremlin - Putin has it, (Former President Boris) Yeltsin definitely had it - does Dima? I don't know. We shall see," the former colleague said.
If he wins the election, the 42-year-old Medvedev will become the youngest Russian leader since Russia's last emperor, Tsar Nikolai II. He will also be the first Russian leader with a background in private business.
In contrast to Putin, a former KGB spy accused of rolling back democracy, former lawyer Medvedev has stressed the importance of freedom and justice. He pleased markets by saying he wants to limit the Kremlin's role in big corporations.
But with a week to go before polling day, Medvedev's personality remains something of a mystery.
A man who himself says he is "buttoned-up" in public, the one-sided campaign has done nothing to expose his character. He declined to take part in television debates and the only one-on-one interview he gave was paid for by his campaign.
So who is Dmitry Medvedev? The most striking theme that emerged from interviews Reuters conducted with some of Medvedev's former colleagues and acquaintances is that -- at least until now -- he does not stand out from the crowd.
Mikhail Kasyanov, prime minister at a time when Medvedev worked for Putin in the Kremlin, struggled to recall anything of note about Medvedev.
"He is just a normal bureaucrat," shrugged Kasyanov, who became a fierce Kremlin opponent after he was sacked in 2004.
Even Medvedev's supporters do not have a lot to say about him. "He is a good guy, just a good guy," said one source close to the Kremlin. "He does what he says he will."
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, born into a family of teachers, is remembered as a bookish child.
He says his favorite book was the Soviet Encyclopaedia -- similar to the Encyclopaedia Britannica -- though he also developed a taste for British rock bands Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.
"He is very cultured, you can speak to him about the theatre, music, he has a sense of humor," said Nataliya Rasskazova, who studied with Medvedev at St Petersburg University's law faculty, where Putin also studied.
"He has not changed. I saw him a year ago and there was no arrogance, he was not high and mighty," she said.
Medvedev taught law after graduating but also went to work for Putin, who was chairman of the St Petersburg mayor's committee for external relations.
Medvedev also moved into business, a period of his life which is left out of official biographies.
He worked as a key lawyer for the Ilim Pulp paper firm, helping to found the firm, though colleagues say he was never treated as an equal by the firm's owners. It has emerged as one of Russia's leading companies in a sector worth billions of dollars.
"He got a salary and he was in real business in the 1990s. He saw the reality," said his former colleague.
His ex-colleague said Medvedev took a stance unusual for the time: he avoided paying bribes, even losing the company a court case because he refused to give money to a judge.
Medvedev owes his political career to Putin. By 1999, Medvedev's old friend was prime minister and soon to replace Yeltsin as president. Putin invited Medvedev to Moscow.
He served as deputy chief of the Kremlin staff, later chief of staff, and was made chairman of state-controlled Gazprom, the world's biggest gas firm.
Investment bankers said Medvedev displayed his power in the Kremlin by pushing through a major reform of Gazprom that allowed the state to consolidate its control but at the same time opened up the firm's shares to ownership by foreigners.
Medvedev was catapulted into the presidential race late last year when Putin said he was the right man for the job. But with Putin still powerful and planning to stay on as prime minister, Medvedev's position could be precarious.
"We are seeing just a part of the plan, the first few scenes, and no one knows the ending - not even Medvedev - and he can't know because (Putin's) plans could change depending on Medvedev," his former colleague said.
"Putin trusts Medvedev, he trusts his moderate character and dislike of risk taking. That is what he needs, but how long does it last for Medvedev? How will it work?"
Missionary or Terrorist?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333690,00.html
A Colombia missionary who was granted asylum by a U.S. judge in October may be deported back to her native country, where her life was being threatened, according to a MyFOXOrlando.com report.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has appealed the asylum case because they say Janeth Reyes assisted the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, but Reyes says FARC tried to kill her in 2005 while she was trying to convert the group to Christianity.
Through a translator, Reyes told the station that for years she preached to the terrorist group to give up bombs for Bibles and would attend gatherings with FARC members to push her message.
But when some FARC members sought to convert, the group started to terrorize her, and after years of abuse she fled to Orlando, MyFOXOrlando.com reported.
If her asylum case is reversed she fears returning to Colombia.
A spokeswoman for ICE contacted Thursday evening by FOX News said she could not immediately comment on the case.
Cuba Signs Human Rights Treaties at UN
http://www.newsmax.com/international/un_cuba_human_rights/2008/02/28/76528.html
UNITED NATIONS -- Cuba's government signed two key international human rights treaties Thursday that Fidel Castro long opposed, but said it had reservations about some provisions and accused the United States of impeding the Cuban people's enjoyment of their rights.
Fidel Castro was still president when Cuba announced Dec. 10 that it would sign the accords on civil, political and economic rights and at the time he asked government television to re-air his objections in case Cubans had forgotten his opposition.
The formal signing came four days after Fidel's younger brother, Raul, permanently replaced him in the presidency after filling in during Fidel's illness since mid-2006.
Whether the signing by Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque marks a turning point for human rights on the communist island nation remains to be seen.
Asked at a news conference whether Fidel's opposition to parts of the two covenants, including the right to form independent trade unions, had changed now that Raul is president, Perez Roque said no. He reiterated that Cuba would later specify some reservations about treaty provisions.
Cuba has long been criticized by the United States and others for jailing dissidents, who the government generally characterizes as U.S. mercenaries.
A Cuban activist group, the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, estimated early this year that 234 prisoners of conscience were held on the island. That was down from 246 last June 30 _ continuing a decline since Raul took over from the ailing Fidel.
Elizardo Sanchez, head of the rights group, called Thursday's action by Perez Roque "positive news because the signing of these pacts is an old demand from inside Cuba and from the international community."
"I hope it honors the letter and spirit of the law of these pacts, but I am not sure it will," Sanchez said of Cuba's government.
A statement Cuba submitted when it signed the two treaties said its constitution and laws "guarantee the effective realization and protection of these rights for all Cubans," but also stressed that the government would register "reservations or interpretative declarations it considers relevant."
The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees "civil and political freedom," including the right to self-determination, peaceful assembly, freedom of religion, privacy, freedom to leave a country, and equal protection before the law.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights requires countries to ensure the right to work, fair wages, freedom to form and join trade unions, social security, education and the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
At the Summit of the Americans in 2001, Fidel Castro criticized the International Covenant on Economic and Social and Cultural Rights. He said it "could serve as a weapon and a pretext for imperialism to try to divide and fracture the workers, create artificial unions, and decrease their political and social power and influence."
Perez Roque said Cuba was signing the covenants now because the U.N. Human Rights Commission _ which he claimed the U.S. used for "brutal pressure and blackmail" against Cuba _ had been "defeated" in what he called "a historic victory for the Cuban people."
The widely discredited and highly politicized commission, which adopted a number of resolutions condemning rights abuses in Cuba, was replaced by a new Human Rights Council in 2006. The Geneva-based council dropped Cuba last year from the list of countries whose rights records are subject to investigation, a move that the U.S. and Canada strongly criticized.
According to the Cuban statement submitted at the signing, the United States' economic embargo and hostility to Cuba's communist government "constitutes the most serious obstacle to the enjoyment by the Cuban people of the rights protected by the covenants."
"We are sure that the lifting of the embargo will come in the future," Perez Roque told reporters.
But he stressed that the 46-year-old embargo has to be lifted "without any conditions whatsoever."
Asked whether he could foresee improved U.S.-Cuban relations since Cuba has a new president and the U.S. will have a new leader next year, Perez Roque said he had "a favorite candidate" in the U.S. election _ but he wouldn't say who.
He also noted that in the past, American candidates have said one thing about Cuba and then changed their position after being elected. "We will be very patient," Perez Roque said.
Sagarika test firing heralds India's SLBM capability
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/naval/jni/jni080228_1_n.shtml
India has successfully test-fired an indigenously developed, nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submerged barge, according to the Indian Ministry of Defence.
Since the Indian Navy (IN) does not yet have a submarine capable of firing an SLBM, the test launch of the K 15 (Sagarika) missile was conducted from a platform in 50 m of water some 8 km from Visakhapatnam, headquarters of the IN's Eastern Fleet.
"The test was successful. We are awaiting further details," a defence ministry spokesman said of the 26 February event.
The turbojet-powered 8.5 m-long missile was initiated by the Aeronautical Development Establishment in the early 1990s, under a classified Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) naval weapons programme.
If it enters operational service, the SLBM project will complete India's nuclear deterrence based on a triad of air-, land- and sea-based missile systems.
Missile hits Pakistan's Waziristan
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/missile.hits.pakistans.waziristan/17102.htm
A missile struck a house in a Pakistani region known as a safe haven for al Qaeda militants early on Thursday, killing at least eight people, residents and intelligence officials said.
The attack took place near Kaloosha village in the South Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border.
"The blast shook the entire area, about eight people were killed," Behlool Khan, a resident of the area, told Reuters.
A security official said he believed the missile was fired by U.S. forces, who are operating in neighbouring Afghanistan.
U.S. forces have fired missiles at militants on the Pakistani side of the border several times in recent years, most recently in late January when one of Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants, Abu Laith al-Libi, was killed.
That missile was believed to have been fired by a U.S. pilotless drone.
However, neither U.S. nor Pakistani authorities officially confirm U.S. missile attacks on Pakistani territory, which would be an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty.
Pakistan, an important U.S. ally despite widespread public opposition to the U.S.-led campaign against al Qaeda and the Taliban, says foreign troops would never be allowed to operate on its territory.
Many al Qaeda members, including Uzbeks and Arabs, and Taliban militants took refuge in North and South Waziristan, as well as in other areas on the Pakistani side of the border after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.
From sanctuaries in the lawless border belt, the Taliban have orchestrated their insurgency against the Afghan government and the U.S. and NATO forces supporting it.
Increasingly, so-called Pakistani Taliban have been mounting attacks in Pakistani towns and cities, many aimed at security forces and other government targets.
Iran Cleric Slams Ahmadinejad: All Slogans, No Diplomacy
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/ahmadinejad_bashed/2008/02/27/76233.html
An Iranian cleric criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday for pursuing foreign policy that favored slogans over diplomacy ahead of a parliamentary election that will test the leader's popularity.
Hassan Rohani, who lost his job as chief nuclear negotiator after Ahmadinejad took office in 2005, did not mention him by name but the remarks were clearly directed at the president, who critics say has isolated Iran over a nuclear row with the West.
"Foreign policy does not mean chanting slogans. Foreign policy does not mean using fiery words. Foreign policy does not mean increasing threats against us," Rohani said in an address.
Critics say Ahmadinejad has encouraged two rounds of U.N. sanctions with his regular speeches berating the West, which fears Iran wants nuclear bombs, rather than taking a more tactful approach to convince the world Iran's aims are peaceful.
World powers are considering a third sanctions resolution, a move Ahmadinejad has brushed off. But economists say businesses face higher trade costs and investors are increasingly wary.
"We cannot say we want to be developed but, at the same time, we don't want to interact with the international community," Rohani said. "We can be developed if we can control inflation."
Rohani, an ally of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani who lost to Ahmadinejad in 2005, is a member of the reformist camp, which regularly criticizes the president.
The March 14 vote is widely seen as a test of Ahmadinejad's popularity, which has been hurt although mainly because of his economic management and double-digit inflation. The race may indicate his chance for re-election in the 2009 presidency race.
Ahmadinejad declared victory when the U.N. nuclear watchdog said last week it had resolved a list of ambiguities about Iran's nuclear work. But the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran had to cooperate more to clear up all doubts.
On Tuesday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in foreign policy and other state matters, praised the president on the nuclear issue. He also took aim at those who in the past counseled compromise.
When Rohani was chief nuclear negotiator, Iran temporarily suspended uranium enrichment, the West's main demand. The president says such compromises encourage the West to seek more.
Ahmadinejad has won some praise in the region, where many complain about U.S. Middle East policy.
Ahmadinejad has visited several Gulf Arab states to try to boost ties with Sunni Muslim governments traditionally suspicious of Shi'ite Muslim Iran. He will become the first Iranian president to visit Iraq in a trip planned for next week.
But Rohani, one of Khamenei's representatives on the policy-making Supreme National Security Council, questioned whether Ahmadinejad was winning Arab and Muslim friends.
"If we want to be a role model for the Islamic world, have we been successful? Are regional countries and Islamic countries looking at us as a model now?" Rohani asked.
This month, Rohani took aim at Ahmadinejad by suggesting he encouraged "superstitious" practices surrounding the Shi'ite belief in the return of a 12th Imam as a savior. Ahmadinejad often refers in his speeches to the returning Imam, or Mehdi.
Rohani described how some people set a spare place at the dining table for the Imam or leave an empty carpet for prayer beside them. "What game (of) superstition is it that they've got going?" he was quoted as saying by Kargozaran newspaper.
Iran No. 1 World Power Says Ahmadinejad
http://www.newsmax.com/international/Ahmadinejad_world_power/2008/02/28/76563.html
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Thursday that Iran was the world's "number one" power, as he launched a bitter new assault on domestic critics he accused of siding with the enemy.
"Everybody has understood that Iran is the number one power in the world," Ahmadinejad said in a speech to families who lost loved ones in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
"Today the name of Iran means a firm punch in the teeth of the powerful and it puts them in their place," he added in the address broadcast live on state television.
Ahmadinejad's comments come amid renewed Western efforts on the UN Security Council to agree a third package of sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear activities.
They also came a day after former top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani launched an unprecedented attack on Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, accusing him of using "coarse slogans and grandstanding".
"You can see how some people here... try to materialise the plans of the enemies and by showing that Iran is small and the enemy is big," added Ahmadinejad.
"These are the people who put the enemies of humanity in the place of God," said the deeply religious president.
He also told the families of the "martyrs" of the war that their loss was not in vain as the message of the Islamic revolution of 1979 that ousted the pro-US shah was spreading all over the world.
"Today the message of your revolution is being heard in South America, East Asia, in the heart of Europe and even in the United States itself," he said.
Ahmadinejad said he talked with people everywhere he travelled in the world and "it is like I am in district 17 in Tehran", referring to the low-income area in the south of the Iranian capital where he was giving his speech.
Ahmadinejad is due to travel to Iraq on Sunday in the first visit by a president of the Islamic republic to its western neighbour.
U.N. Suspects Iranian Nuclear Weapons
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/330720.aspx
VIENNA, Austria - A new report by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog raises "very troubling questions" about Iran's engagement in weapons production and will open a new page in the probe into Tehran's alleged activities, a senior U.S. official said Thursday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency released a report last week saying that suspicions about most past Iranian nuclear activities had eased. But it also pointed to Tehran's continuing efforts to enrich uranium.
It called weaponization "the one major. unsolved issue relevant to the nature of Iran's nuclear program."
In an interview with Associated Press Television News, Gregory L. Schulte, the top U.S. delegate to the IAEA, said the report will "open a whole new page in our investigation because it raises very troubling questions about Iran's engagement in weaponization activities."
"How do you take highly enriched uranium and actually fashion it into a weapon and put it on a delivery system," Schulte said.
Iran says the IAEA suspicions about weaponization are groundless, and that any evidence suggesting they were making nuclear arms are forgeries.
Although uranium enrichment can be used to make material for nuclear warheads, Iran maintains its program is used to produce electricity. The U.S., the European Union and others suspect its real aim is to produce weapons.
Schulte made his comments ahead of an IAEA Board of Governor's meeting that kicks off in Vienna on Monday. The recently released report will form the basis of the discussions.
"The weaponization questions have been there for several years now," Schulte said, adding that he and other diplomats received a technical briefing from the IAEA on Monday that laid out the extent of information the agency has been able to develop over the past several years from multiple sources.
"For the last several years, they've asked the Iranians to explain this, but unfortunately they have refused to do that," Schulte said.
Diplomats said the documentation suggests Iran may have focused on a nuclear weapons program past 2003 - the year U.S. intelligence says such work stopped.
Schulte called on Iran to give IAEA inspectors full access instead of speaking of "baseless accusations."
"I think what we all expect them to do is basically open their books and open their facilities," Schulte said. "Let them into the places where this work is being done, let them interview the people involved."
In other comments, Schulte said the U.S. hoped the U.N. Security Council will move "relatively quickly" to adopt a third sanctions resolution and that a "major" package of incentives for Iran dating back to June 2006 was "still there."
U.N. Security Council Expected to Meet Friday, Vote Saturday on Iran Sanctions
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333728,00.html
The United Nations Security Council plans to meet Friday morning to discuss a sanctions resolution against Iran, FOX News has learned.
A vote on the resolution is expected Saturday, though the exact timing is still unclear and subject to change.
The U.N. meeting comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stepped up rhetoric about his country's position in the world.
"Iran is the number one power in the world," Ahmadinejad said Thursday in a speech to the families of those killed in his country's war with Iraq more than 20 years ago.
"Today the name of Iran means a firm punch in the teeth of the powerful and it puts them in their place," the president said in an address broadcast live on state television, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council has renewed efforts to agree on sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to suspend nuclear activities, AFP reported.
Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran is winning the standoff over its atomic program.
Ahmadinejad is expected to travel to Iraq this weekend in the first visit by an Iranian president to the neighboring country. The two nations waged a costly war between 1980-1988.
Olmert to go down in history as divider of Jerusalem?
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57415
A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis this week urged a religious partner of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government to immediately bolt the Israeli leader's coalition amid rampant media reports Jerusalem is up for negotiations.
The rabbis warned that if the Orthodox Shas party remains in Olmert's government, they will urge Jews against supporting Shas. If the party bolts, Olmert's coalition government could fall apart, precipitating new elections.
"We are seriously considering issuing a statement signed by the hundreds of rabbis of the organization declaring it is absolutely forbidden for any observant Jew to vote for a party that lent its support to a government that negotiated the division of Jerusalem, a move that will place the entire population in Israel in mortal danger," Rabbi Avrohom Shmuel Lewin, director general of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, told WND.
The Congress is a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis.
Olmert repeatedly has insisted Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are not dealing with the status of Jerusalem, while Palestinian leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abba, and many Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, stated in recent weeks negotiations are covering all core issues, including Jerusalem.
The Israeli Shas party has stated it would bolt the prime minister's coalition if it becomes clear the Israeli government is negotiating the ceding of any part of Jerusalem. Shas' departure could collapse Olmert's government.
Olmert must maintain a majority of the Knesset's 120 seats to continue ruling. He currently rules with a slight plurality. If Shas, with its 12 seats, bolts the government, Olmert would be forced to forge a new coalition or face new elections. Most analysts here believe if Shas does bolt, Olmert could only stay in power if he invites Arab parties to his government, a move that would be considered highly controversial.
Shas denies Jerusalem is being discussed during weekly Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which commenced after last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit.
"Nobody is talking about Jerusalem. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed, Shas will leave the government – period," Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch told Israel National News.
A Rabbinical Congress for Peace statement issued after an emergency meeting yesterday countered: "Every novice journalist and anyone listening to the news in Israel knows that giving up large chunks of Jerusalem has been on the negotiating table for quite some time and is in its advanced stages. Only the representatives of Shas are burying their heads in the ground and pretend they know of nothing."
"They are lying to themselves and deceiving their electorate. The Shas ministers know that Olmert and Abbas have agreed not to make public any agreement on Jerusalem until after the final signature in order to keep Shas in the government," said the RCP statement.
The statement was signed by scores of prominent rabbinic leaders here.
Since the Annapolis summit, which aimed to create a Palestinian state before the end of the year, senior negotiating teams including Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Olmert and Abbas meet biweekly.
Unlike previous Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in which both sides attended with about a dozen advisors each, Livni's and Quereai's teams are small, usually consisting at most of five people each. Media leaks from the current negotiations have been rare. Some momentum is highly expected before a visit Bush has scheduled to Israel in May, his second trip since Annapolis.
Olmert's government has hinted a number of times it will divide Jerusalem and reportedly has halted all Jewish construction permits for eastern sections of the city.
In December, Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the country "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want."
"We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Ramon during an interview.
Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.
Olmert himself recently questioned whether it was "really necessary" to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of Jerusalem.
Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000.
Olmert to blame for dividing Jerusalem?
Ramon listed population statistics as the reason Olmert's government finds it necessary to split Jerusalem.
But WND broke the story that according to Jerusalem municipal employees, during 10 years as mayor of Jerusalem, Olmert instructed city workers not to take action against hundreds of illicit Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem housing over 100,000 Arabs squatting in the city illegally.
The workers and some former employees claim Olmert even instructed city officials to delete files documenting illegal Arab construction of housing units in eastern Jerusalem.
Olmert was Jerusalem mayor from 1993 to 2003. As mayor, he made repeated public statements calling Jerusalem the "eternal and undivided capital" of Israel. Jerusalem municipal employees and former workers, though, paint a starkly contrasting picture of the prime minister.
"He did nothing about rampant illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem while the government cracked down on illegal Jewish construction in the West Bank," said one municipal employee who worked under Olmert. She spoke on condition of anonymity, because she still works for the municipality.
One former municipal worker during Olmert's mayoral tenure told WND he was moved in 1999 to a new government posting after he tried to highlight the illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem. He also spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his current job.
Aryeh King, chairman of the Jerusalem Forum, which promotes Jewish construction in Jerusalem, told WND an investigation by his group found Olmert's city hall deleted files documenting hundreds of illegal Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem. He said he forwarded his findings to Israel's state comptroller for investigation.
King also claims Olmert told senior municipal workers not to enforce a ban on illegal Arab buildings.
"Ehud Olmert gave the order not to deal with the problem and not to put Israeli security forces to the duty of taking down the illegal Arab complexes," said King. "Senior municipal workers told me Olmert said not to bother with the illegal Arab homes, because eventually eastern Jerusalem would be given to the Palestinian Authority."
King's report alleges Jerusalem municipal officials erased the files, which detail over 300 cases of Arab construction in eastern Jerusalem deemed illegal starting from 1999. The illegal buildings reportedly were constructed without permits and are still standing. According to law, they must be demolished.
Local media reports investigating King's charges alleged the files were erased by Ofir May, the head of Jerusalem's Department of Building Permits, with the specific intention of allowing the statute of limitation on enforcing the demolition of the illegal construction to run out.
The Jerusalem municipality released a statement in response to the allegations claiming the threat of Arab violence kept it from bulldozing the illegal Arab homes.
"During the years of the intifada, the municipality had difficulty carrying out the necessary level of enforcement in the neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem due to security constraints," the statement read.
King said the hundreds of buildings allegedly detailed in the deleted municipal files house more than 20,000 illegal units.
"We're talking about perhaps 100,000 or more Arabs in eastern Jerusalem living in illegal homes with the government doing nothing about it," King said.
Kuwaiti Paper: Mega-Attack on Israel in March after 40-day Mughniyeh mourning
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/142227
The Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan quoted "top Western sources" Monday saying that, "according to reliable intelligence information, Hizbullah has begun planning a large-scale attack on Israel in retaliation for its alleged assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniya."
According to the report, translated by MEMRI, the attack is being planned in coordination with Syria and Iran, and is to take place before the Arab summit next month.
It was also reported that there would be a simultaneous terrorist escalation by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other PA groups in Gaza.
This was predicted by Israel’s military intelligence AMAN chief, Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin in his briefing to the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee Tuesday, Feb. 26.
In the past, Hizballah has timed its reprisals for the 40th day of mourning, in this case March 22-23, - 40 days after its military commander Imad Mughniyeh was blown up in Damascus.
Yadlin also reported that in the month since Hamas flattened Gaza’s border wall for free Palestinian access to Egyptian Sinai, al Qaeda operatives have used the opportunity to steal into the Gaza Strip, along with scores of Palestinian terrorists returning from special courses in Iran and Syria.
There, they acquired special skills in the fabrication of explosive devices and missiles.
Among them were trained snipers, of the type which have begun plaguing Israel farmers till their fields close to the Gaza border.
As Hezbollah Rearms; Israel Stands Ready
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/330368.aspx
ISRAELI/LEBANESE BORDER -- This week, Israel's Defense Force gave a demonstration of its Merkeva tank, considered by many the best battle tank in the world.
Despite its abilities, Hezbollah damaged or destroyed several of these tanks during the 2006 Lebanon War. The Israeli army says it has learned important lessons from that war.
"We learned how to communicate better between tanks and infantry and air force and engineers," said Major Eldad Biran of the SAAR Armored Battalion. "We learned how to use the advantage of the Israeli army better and how to better use our high-tech equipment."
Israel might possess a high-tech advantage over Hezbollah, but the recent Winograd Commission report called the war a "missed opportunity," because Israel failed to defeat Hezbollah.
Nearly two years ago, Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers battled on the Lebanese border. Despite a 34-day war, some believe the threat from Hezbollah remains as strong as ever.
In fact, Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak says he believes Hezbollah has nearly doubled the number of missiles it had before the war. Hezbollah certainly hasn't given up its goals. Last week, Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah declared the destruction of Israel is certain.
"It's enough to hear Nasrallah's speeches say that he's already re-gained the number of rockets and missiles he had before the war to understand his directions," said the IDF's Major Avital Leibovich. "He also keeps on declaring his intentions of kidnapping soldiers, so we understand that Hezbollah's face is not toward peace and we're alert accordingly."
While the IDF stays on alert, Israel and the world will be watching to see how Hezbollah reacts to the recent assassination of its leading terrorist, Imad Mughniyah. He was one of the masterminds behind Hezbollah's strategy against Israel in 2006. Hezbollah is clearly preparing for another war with Israel and the Israeli Defense Force knows they will have to be ready.
Israel steps up Gaza air strikes after Hamas rockets
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/israel.steps.up.gaza.air.strikes.after.hamas.rockets/17100.htm
Israel stepped up air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing five Palestinian gunmen after the first death in Israel in nine months from a rocket attack launched from the Hamas-controlled territory.
"We are at the height of the battle," Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during a visit to Tokyo, where he held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
But Olmert appeared to suggest a major Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip was not imminent, saying Israel's fight against militants was a "long process" and it had "no magic formula" to halt nearly daily cross-border rocket attacks.
A total of 16 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel since Wednesday, when a rocket strike on the border town of Sderot, an attack claimed by the Islamist Hamas group, killed an Israeli civilian for the first time since May.
Most of the Palestinian dead were militants but also included a six-month-old child killed in an air strike on the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
Rice, who will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories next week to try to push along U.S.-brokered peace talks complicated by the growing violence, was asked by reporters whether she urged Olmert not to use disproportionate force in responding to the rockets.
"I think that's not a good way to address this issue. The issue is that the attacks - rocket attacks - need to stop," she said.
Those killed in the latest air strikes in the Gaza Strip were three fighters from Hamas and two from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) armed group. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the air force had targeted gunmen.
In the West Bank town of Nablus, Israeli troops killed two militants in a raid on Balata refugee camp, a hospital official and local residents said. The Israeli army spokeswoman said troops opened fire after spotting armed men threatening them.
HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS
Hamas, shunned by the West for refusing to recognise the Jewish state and renounce violence, seized control of the Gaza Strip last June by routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the secular Fatah group.
Israel, which pulled troops and settlers out of the territory in 2005, tightened its blockade of the Gaza Strip after Hamas took over.
Deepening hardship among the territory's population of 1.5 million has raised international concerns about a possible humanitarian crisis, which Israel has pledged not to cause.
"We have to remember that the Hamas activities there are responsible for what has happened in Gaza ... But of course we are concerned about innocent people and we are concerned about the humanitarian situation," Rice said after seeing Olmert.
Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator in talks with Israel which Washington hopes can lead to a statehood deal this year, called for a full cessation of violence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Bush Clears Way for Palestinian Aid
http://www.newsmax.com/international/bush_Palestinian_Aid/2008/02/28/76565.html
US President George W. Bush on Thursday cleared the way for 150 million dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority to "avert a serious and immediate financial crisis," a US official said.
Bush formally waived for six months restrictions called for under US spending legislation, citing "national security grounds," according to the official, who requested anonymity.
"Doing so will help avert a serious and immediate financial crisis for the PA, ensure its continued operation, and further the United States longstanding and bipartisan goal of a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians," the official said.
Under another provision in US law, none of the money may go to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in June 2007, or a Hamas-controlled entity.
Bush's move will allow the United States to provide the Palestinian Authority with 150 million dollars in aid that Washington pledged at a donors conference in Paris in December.
"US budgetary support to the PA is critical given its current financial crisis and our strong interest in a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the anonymous US official said.
Abbas Says Terrorist Path May Not Be Ruled Out In The Future
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125406
Mahmoud Abbas - Israel's partner in peace talks and the head of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority - enjoys a reputation as a "moderate," largely in light of his juxtaposition with the arch-terrorists of his rivals/allies in Hamas. However, he now says that terrorism and violence against Israel are actually the preferred approach, and certainly need not be ruled out in the future.
"At present," Abbas told the Jordanian newspaper A-Doustour, "I am against an armed struggle against Israel because we can't do it, but in the coming stages, things may change."
"I am against an armed struggle against Israel because we can't do it," Abbas said.
"I do not rule out a return to the way of armed struggle against Israel," he said in the Wednesday night interview.
Seventeen Arabs, mostly terrorists, have been killed in six Israel Air Force counter-terrorism actions in Gaza since Wednesday morning. One of the dead was the son of a top Hamas official.
Abbas took pride in the fact that he was the first terrorist in the struggle against Israel. "I had the honor of firing, in 1965, the first bullet of the 'resistance', he boasted. He added that it was his Fatah organization that taught Hizbullah and other terrorist organizations in the world how to run terrorist campaigns.
Abbas, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mazen, said that he does not demand that Hamas - the terrorist movement that violently wrested control of Gaza from Fatah last year - recognize Israel at present. "I wanted to establish a unity government with Hamas that would negotiate with Israel," he said. "Syria's Bashar Assad supported me.
I am not the only one who wants recognition of Israel; the Arab initiative, which is a matter of consensus in the Arab and Islamic worlds, also says this."
Abbas was happy about rejecting the notion of Israel as a "Jewish state." He said that in the Annapolis Summit of last November, "they wanted us to agree to a summation saying that Israel is a Jewish state, and we objected strongly. The summit almost blew up because of this."
Study: 3 in 4 U.S. mosques preach anti-West extremism
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57141
An undercover survey of more than 100 mosques and Islamic schools in America has exposed widespread radicalism, including the alarming finding that 3 in 4 Islamic centers are hotbeds of anti-Western extremism, WND has learned.
The Mapping Sharia in America Project, sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Security Policy, has trained former counterintelligence and counterterrorism agents from the FBI, CIA and U.S. military, who are skilled in Arabic and Urdu, to conduct undercover reconnaissance at some 2,300 mosques and Islamic centers and schools across the country.
"So far of 100 mapped, 75 should be on a watchlist," an official familiar with the project said.
Many of the Islamic centers are operating under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian government and U.S. front groups for the radical Muslim Brotherhood based in Egypt.
Frank Gaffney, a former Pentagon official who runs the Center for Security Policy, says the results of the survey have not yet been published. But he confirmed that "the vast majority" are inciting insurrection and jihad through sermons by Saudi-trained imams and anti-Western literature, videos and textbooks.
The project, headed by David Yerushalmi, a lawyer and expert on sharia law, has finished collecting data from the first cohort of 102 mosques and schools. Preliminary findings indicate that almost 80 percent of the group exhibit a high level of sharia-compliance and jihadi threat, including:
* Ultra-orthodox worship in which women are separated from men in the prayer hall and must enter the mosque from a separate, usually back, entrance; and are required to wear hijabs.
* Sermons that preach women are inferior to men and can be beaten for disobedience; that non-Muslims, particularly Jews, are infidels and inferior to Muslims; that jihad or support of jihad is not only a Muslim's duty but the noblest way, and suicide bombers and other so-called "martyrs" are worthy of the highest praise; and that an Islamic caliphate should one day encompass the U.S.
* Solicitation of financial support for jihad.
* Bookstores that sell books, CDs and DVDs promoting jihad and glorifying martyrdom.
Though not all mosques in America are radicalized, many have tended to serve as safe havens and meeting points for Islamic terrorist groups. Experts say there are at least 40 episodes of extremists and terrorists being connected to mosques in the past decade alone.
Some of the 9/11 hijackers, in fact, received aid and counsel from one of the largest mosques in the Washington, D.C., area. Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one of the mosques indentified by undercover investigators as a hive of terrorist activity and other extremism.
It was founded and is currently run by leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Imams there preach what is called "jihad qital," which means physical jihad, and incite violence and hatred against the U.S.
Dar al-Hijrah's ultimate goal, investigators say, is to turn the U.S. into an Islamic state governed by sharia law.
Another D.C.-area mosque, the ADAMS Center, was founded and financed by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and has been one of the top distributors of Wahhabist anti-Semitic and anti-Christian dogma.
Even with such radical mosques operating in its backyard, the U.S. government has not undertaken its own systematic investigation of U.S. mosques.
In contrast, European Union security officials are analyzing member-state mosques, examining the training and funding sources of imams, in a large-scale project.
Some U.S. lawmakers want the U.S. to conduct its own investigation.
"We have too many mosques in this country," said Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y. "There are too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam. We should be looking at them more carefully."
Angelina Jolie Says Troop Surge Creating Opportunity to Help Iraqi Refugees
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333730,00.html
BAGHDAD — Actress and humanitarian activist Angelina Jolie said Thursday that the reinforcement of U.S. troops in Iraq has created an opportunity for humanitarian programs to boost assistance for Iraqi refugees.
In an op-ed piece published by the Washington Post, titled "A Reason to Stay in Iraq," Jolie details the plight of refugees and says their conditions have not improved since she visited the country last August to urge governments to provide more support.
Jolie, who has been a U.N. goodwill ambassador since 2001, was in Baghdad earlier this month to again highlight the refugee problem. She talked with Gen. David Petraeus, the American military commander in Iraq, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the U.S. Embassy said.
Petraeus "told me he would support new efforts to address the humanitarian crisis" as much as possible, "which leaves me hopeful that more progress can be made," the actress wrote.
She said she stressed to Iraqi officials there must be a coherent plan for helping some 2 million Iraqis who are taking advantage of the downturn in violence to begin trickling back to abandoned homes from havens elsewhere in the country. A similar number fled Iraq to escape the bloodshed.
"It will be quite a while before Iraq is ready to absorb more than 4 million refugees and displaced people," Jolie wrote. "But it is not too early to start working on solutions."
The actress, who works on behalf of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, urged America's presidential candidates and congressional leaders to step up financing for aid to displaced Iraqis. UNHCR has asked for $261 million this year — "less than the U.S. spends each day to fight the war in Iraq," she wrote.
Addressing the question of whether the "troop surge" has worked, Jolie said that "I can only state what I witnessed."
"When I asked the troops if they wanted to go home as soon as possible, they said that they miss home but feel invested in Iraq," she wrote. "They have lost many friends and want to be a part of the humanitarian progress they now feel is possible."
Defense Secretary Tells Turkey to Wrap Up Iraq Incursion
http://www.newsmax.com/international/gates_iraq_turkey/2008/02/28/76564.html
ANKARA, Turkey — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he told Turkish leaders Thursday that they should end an offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible. Yet even as Gates made his appeal, the Turkish military pressed ahead.
Gates told reporters after his talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish leaders that he made no threats to pull U.S. intelligence support.
"I think they got our message," Gates said.
Turkish officials did not discuss any deadline for winding up the offensive, Gates said. The Pentagon chief also said he did not know if the longtime NATO ally would end the operation in a week, as he asked.
"I stand by where I've been on this. And that is that they should wrap this thing up as soon as they can," Gates said.
In Washington, President Bush and his top military adviser, Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, made similar points, with Mullen speaking more explicitly about possible ramifications.
"It should not be long-lasting," Bush said at a White House news conference. "The Turks need to move, move quickly, achieve their objective and get out."
Mullen said the Turkish incursion "comes at a very sensitive time with respect to our engagement in Iraq, and we're very worried that it could tip the balance in the wrong direction, in terms of our engagement there, making it much more difficult. So it is a very delicate balance."
Mullen said his Turkish counterpart has assured him "that they will in fact limit" the duration of the military action but have not given the United States a specific date on which they intend to pull out.
The cross-border fighting has put the United States in a delicate position. For one, it is close allies with Iraq and Turkey, Secondly, a prolonged Turkish offensive could jeopardize security in Iraq just as the U.S. is seeking to consolidate recent security gains.
With Gates meeting government officials in Ankara, a military convoy of at least six dozen trucks carried Turkish troops and equipment to a military outpost near the Iraqi border.
During the day, according to an Associated Press photographer at the scene, Turkish artillery fired shells across the border while nearly a dozen attack helicopters flew toward Iraq over Cukurca, the closest Turkish town to where some clashes are taking place with rebels.
Military helicopters, surrounded by the trucks, waited at a small air base near Cukurca by evening.
The militants targeted by the Turks are members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. For years, the group has used areas on the Iraqi side of the border to launch attacks against government targets inside Turkey. Both Turkey and the U.S. regard the PKK as terrorists. Although the U.S. military in Iraq has not taken direct action against PKK targets, the U.S. has stepped up efforts in recent months to provide the Turks with intelligence for targeting the group.
"It's in nobody's interest that there be safe haven for people who ... have the willingness to kill innocent people," Bush said, referring to the PKK.
Gates characterized his talks with the Turks as productive. "I think there was a real dialogue, we were both listening," he said.
Gates said he pressed the Turks on three key points, saying they need to:
1. continue and deepen their dialogue with the Iraqi government, which has strongly objected to the incursion.
2. be more open about the specifics of their operation, including the number of troops involved.
3. recognize that military means alone will not solve the problem.
Providing the Iraqis with more details, Gates said, "would help correct a lot of misimpressions and potential misunderstanding."
During a news conference with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Gates said, "The United States believes the current offensive should be as short and precisely targeted as possible.
"The key is for us to make clear what our interests are, our concerns about the situation in Iraq," Gates said. "What is important is to serve both the interests of the United States and Turkey because I think we have shared interests."
Gates was asked whether he told the Turks that the Bush administration would rescind its intelligence and surveillance assistance for the mission if the fighting dragged on. "I think that those interests are probably not advanced by making threats or threatening to cut off intelligence," Gates replied.
The fighting is worrisome for the United States because Turkey is a NATO ally and Iraq, while not in a formal military alliance with Washington, is an important U.S. partner.
"It is a little awkward for us," Gates acknowledged.
Still, he said that after the meetings with Turkish officials he is convinced that the "size of the operation is probably proportionate" to the terrorist threat posed by the PKK in northern Iraq.
Gates said he told the defense minister that military action alone will not end the threat from the PKK.
Gonul, the Turkish defense minister, said the Turks have no intention of disturbing civilian areas of Iraq or occupying any portion of its neighbor. He said the main goal is to destroy the PKK network in Iraq and render the organization unusable. He said he believes doing that would contribute both to security in Iraq and stability in the region.
"Turkey's government should make clear to the Iraqi government and everyone concerned exactly what their intentions are and the limited goals and scope of their operations," Gates said.
Gonul said Turkey would end its operation after reaching its goals.
"It depends on winter conditions. If the mission is accomplished, we have no intention of staying there," Gonul said.
Turkey gives U.S. no timeframe on Iraq operation
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/turkey.gives.us.no.timeframe.on.iraq.operation/17101.htm
Turkey has given no clear timeframe for ending its military operations against Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters on Thursday after talks with Turkish officials.
Gates also reiterated Washington's call for the operation, now in its seventh day, to be as short and carefully targeted as possible. Turkey's Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said Turkish troops would withdraw once they had accomplished their goal.
Hope seen for Cyprus reunification
http://www.thestar.com/article/306855
NICOSIA–The decades-long division of Cyprus could be resolved by the end of the year, the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots said yesterday.
Mehmet Ali Talat's remarks came a day after Greek Cypriots elected Dimitris Christofias president after the leftist campaigned on a pledge to restart talks rapidly to reunify the eastern Mediterranean island.
"It is very possible to find a solution by the end of the year," Talat said in an interview.
Cyprus has been split into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since 1974, when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup attempting to unite the island with Greece.
Canada was part of the UN peace mission to Cyprus from 1964 to 1993. More than 25,000 members of the Canadian Forces served during 29 years patrolling the line separating the armed Cypriot sides. Twenty-eight Canadian peacekeepers died there.
The split remains a source of tension between NATO allies Turkey and Greece.
Decades of diplomatic efforts to heal the rift on the strategic island have failed.
Reunification would remove one of the obstacles to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union and could ease strong objections to Kosovo's new independence among Greek Cypriots, who fear it would act as a precedent for northern Cyprus. Talks have stalled since Greek Cypriots rejected a United Nations reunification plan in 2004, a blueprint Turkish Cypriots approved.
Christofias' election Sunday, after the unexpected ousting of hard-line Tassos Papadopoulos in a first-round vote, has sparked hope for eventual healing of the split.
"The Greek Cypriot people decided on change. They chose a person who can make that change," Talat said. "We believe this decision will be the start of a new era.''
Christofias has pledged to meet Talat, with whom he shares left-wing political ideology and has had friendly relations. No date is yet set.
"At least he is somebody who is not denying the role of the Turkish Cypriot leader in a solution," Talat said, noting Papadopoulos would not meet "even to have a coffee.''
"We will be flexible," Talat said. ``We will work in good faith."
Christofias said "soon we will arrange a first exploratory meeting" with Talat. "Naturally, the UN will be involved as usual ..."
The president said he first would go to Athens next week, and then to Brussels – home of the EU and NATO – before heading home.
Rise of the Machines - Automated killer robots 'threat to humanity'
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080227111811.y9syyq8p&show_article=1
Increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP.
"They pose a threat to humanity," said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey ahead of a keynote address Wednesday before Britain's Royal United Services Institute.
Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world -- from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones -- can already identify and lock onto targets without human help.
There are more than 4,000 US military robots on the ground in Iraq, as well as unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours.
The first three armed combat robots fitted with large-caliber machine guns deployed to Iraq last summer, manufactured by US arms maker Foster-Miller, proved so successful that 80 more are on order, said Sharkey.
But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger.
It we are not careful, he said, that could change.
Military leaders "are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war," he said.
Several countries, led by the United States, have already invested heavily in robot warriors developed for use on the battlefield.
South Korea and Israel both deploy armed robot border guards, while China, India, Russia and Britain have all increased the use of military robots.
Washington plans to spend four billion dollars by 2010 on unmanned technology systems, with total spending expected rise to 24 billion, according to the Department of Defense's Unmanned Systems Roadmap 2007-2032, released in December.
James Canton, an expert on technology innovation and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, predicts that deployment within a decade of detachments that will include 150 soldiers and 2,000 robots.
The use of such devices by terrorists should be a serious concern, said Sharkey.
Captured robots would not be difficult to reverse engineer, and could easily replace suicide bombers as the weapon-of-choice. "I don't know why that has not happened already," he said.
But even more worrisome, he continued, is the subtle progression from the semi-autonomous military robots deployed today to fully independent killing machines.
"I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies me," Sharkey said.
Ronald Arkin of Georgia Institute of Technology, who has worked closely with the US military on robotics, agrees that the shift towards autonomy will be gradual.
But he is not convinced that robots don't have a place on the front line.
"Robotics systems may have the potential to out-perform humans from a perspective of the laws of war and the rules of engagement," he told a conference on technology in warfare at Stanford University last month.
The sensors of intelligent machines, he argued, may ultimately be better equipped to understand an environment and to process information. "And there are no emotions that can cloud judgement, such as anger," he added.
Nor is there any inherent right to self-defence.
For now, however, there remain several barriers to the creation and deployment of Terminator-like killing machines.
Some are technical. Teaching a computer-driven machine -- even an intelligent one -- how to distinguish between civilians and combatants, or how to gauge a proportional response as mandated by the Geneva Conventions, is simply beyond the reach of artificial intelligence today.
But even if technical barriers are overcome, the prospect of armies increasingly dependent on remotely-controlled or autonomous robots raises a host of ethical issues that have barely been addressed.
Arkin points out that the US Department of Defense's 230 billion dollar Future Combat Systems programme -- the largest military contract in US history -- provides for three classes of aerial and three land-based robotics systems.
"But nowhere is there any consideration of the ethical implications of the weaponisation of these systems," he said.
For Sharkey, the best solution may be an outright ban on autonomous weapons systems. "We have to say where we want to draw the line and what we want to do -- and then get an international agreement," he said.
Experts Warn of Robotic Terrorism
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/britain_robot_terrorism/2008/02/28/76335.html
LONDON -- Military experts have warned that terrorists could use unmanned drones in aerial attacks, saying robotics offered a frighteningly easy way to evade security.
The know-how and materials for manufacturing lethal, improvised robots are easily available, according to experts at a conference Wednesday on robotics at the Royal United Services Institute, a 177-year-old forum on military affairs.
"Sooner or later we're going to see a Cessna programmed to fly into a building," said Rear Adm. Chris Parry, who formed the Ministry of Defense's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Center in 2005. He said small, remotely piloted planes or even converted model aircraft were "ideal weapons" for terrorists because they are easy to build and could evade radar.
"They are cheap. They don't need as much motor power or fuel, and they're difficult to detect _ about as difficult to detect as a blackbird," he said.
Parry's statements were echoed by other speakers, among them computer scientist Richard Starkey.
"It is very easy to go to the Internet ... or go down to the scrapyard and put a robot together," Starkey said. "You don't need (it) to last long if you want to explode it among a civilian population."
Both pointed to Hezbollah's deployment of pilotless aircraft against Israel in 2006, when the militant group sent a series of unmanned aerial vehicles hovering above Israeli territory. Parry alluded to the use of unmanned submarine-like vessels to ferry drugs across the Pacific.
In February 2003, six Hamas militants died in an explosion as they were examining a remote-controlled model airplane that Israel and Hamas said was intended to be used in an attack.
Al-Qaida-linked groups have also reportedly considered using unmanned aircraft _ in 2006 American radical-turned-FBI informant Mohammed Junaid Babar accused an alleged Canadian co-conspirator, Momin Khawaja, of working on fitting a model plane with explosives.
Unmanned vehicles, from hunter-killer planes like the U.S. Predator to explosives-disposal buggies, are also playing an increasingly important role in the U.S. war effort in Iraq and elsewhere.
The Pentagon wants $3.4 billion for 2008 to fund its unmanned aircraft programs, and a strategy document put out by the U.S. Department of Defense last year outlined plans to automate a third of the Army's new ground combat vehicles by 2015.
USS Cole Heads to Lebanon in 'Show of Support'
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333612,00.html
The USS Cole is in the Mediterranean Sea in support of regional stability leading up to the election in Lebanon, U.S. Defense officials told FOX News on Thursday. An earlier news report said the ship was off the coast of Lebanon.
The USS Cole left Malta on Tuesday for the eastern Mediterranean "in support of a U.S. commitment to regional stability," according to one senior defense official, who also said President Bush is concerned about stability during Lebanon's March 11 election.
Reuters reported a senior official said the United States blames Syria for political deadlock in Lebanon, which has gone without a president for three months over strife between the Western-backed governing coalition and Hezbollah-led opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.
The United States, which with Saudi Arabia and Egypt supports the governing coalition, considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
The USS Cole was to be accompanied directly by two Navy oilers. Three other Navy vessels also were headed to the Mediterranean as part of a regularly scheduled deployment: the USS Ross destroyer, the USS Nassau amphibious assault ship and the USS Philippine Sea cruiser.
Al Qaeda operatives bombed the USS Cole in 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors and nearly sinking the $1 billion warship in Aden Harbor, Yemen.
This month the United States expanded economic sanctions on Syria, saying it is responsible for destabilizing Lebanon.
China urges West to put pressure on Darfur rebels
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/china.urges.west.to.put.pressure.on.darfur.rebels/17098.htm
China, under international pressure to do more to end bloodshed in Darfur, urged Western powers Wednesday to persuade rebel groups to attend peace talks with the government of its Sudanese ally.
Liu Guijin, the special Chinese envoy on Darfur, also repeated calls for the Khartoum government to show more flexibility on "technical" issues still blocking the deployment of a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in the war-ravaged western Sudanese region.
Liu, whose country is a big investor in Sudan's oil industry and is its largest weapons supplier, reported no significant steps forward in political talks on Darfur.
"Unfortunately on the political process, no substantial progress has been made," Liu said in Khartoum after discussions with top Sudanese leaders, including President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Of the five key Darfur rebel groups, only two have agreed to unify their positions and join the peace talks, stalled since the failed summit in Libya in October.
The two key rebel factions, the Justice and Equality Movement, or JEM, - the biggest military group - and the populist Sudan Liberation Movement, or SLM, led by Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, were still putting conditions on attending any talks.
"We urge our Western friendly countries ... to use their positive influence to engage those factions who have until now resisted to come over to the negotiating table, to join the political process," Liu said.
Failing to launch a successful political process, he argued, means the joint AU-U.N. mission would not be "sustainable."
TROUBLE WITH TROOPS
Sudan has so far rejected the notion of accepting non-African contribution in the joint AU-U.N. force of 26,000 troops until all African soldiers have deployed in Darfur.
Liu said Khartoum had not "closed the door regarding accepting non-African countries."
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict flared in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the central government, accusing it of neglecting the region.
The United States calls the violence a genocide. Sudan rejects this and says only 9,000 people have lost their lives.
"We appeal to China to stop supplying the Khartoum government with arms," SLM rebel leader Nur said.
"We want security on the ground first. There should be conflict suspension before addressing the root causes of the problem," he told Reuters by telephone from France.
China's role in Sudan has come under new scrutiny since film director Steven Spielberg quit as an artistic director to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, saying China had failed to use its influence in Khartoum to seek peace in Darfur.
Separately, New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch criticized the U.N. Security Council - of which China is a veto-wielding member along with Russia, the United States, Britain and France - for keeping about what it said were Khartoum's recent attacks on civilian villages in West Darfur.
The group said in a statement that the council's inaction has given Sudan a green light to continue attacking civilian targets, flouting international law and council resolutions.
"The Sudanese government's recent attacks take us back to the very darkest days of the conflict," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at the organization. "The Security Council shouldn't stand by as though this is 'business as usual.'"
No More Jail Time for Handing out Tracts
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/329944.aspx
If you're a resident of Gainesville, Ga., or you're planning on visiting, you no longer have to worry about being arrested and jailed for handing out tracts.
That's right, you don't even need a permit any more to publicly distribute religious literature.
Thanks to Fredric Baumann and the Alliance Defense Fund, a "parade ordinance" requiring legal permission to conduct such activity is a thing of the past - but a not so distant past.
Baumann was arrested and incarcerated last year as police said he violated the ordinance by giving out religious tracts on a public street.
Attorneys of ADF, a legal group fighting to preserve traditional values, reached a settlement agreement with city officials Wednesday to lift the contended ordinance. A federal civil rights lawsuit was filed by ADF on August 22 on behalf of Baumann.
"Christians shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman said. "They have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America."
But these rights have often been waived when citizens commit the "offense" of spreading God's Word.
A Land of Religious Freedom or Censorship?
It has often been said that multiculturalism and "tolerance" are promoted as forwarding the American way, yet many see the acceptance of Christianity as diminishing in a land founded on biblical principles.
Little tolerance was extended to Baumann on April 22 of last year, when he was arrested and spent two days in jail for handing out Christian literature outside the City of Cumming Fairgrounds on a public sidewalk.
Fearing another arrest, Baumann has not passed out tracts since the incident nearly a year ago.
But did Baumann have the right to continue his outreach, and did he really commit a criminal offense?
"Mr. Baumann acted entirely within the law," ADF's Cortman said. "We are pleased that the ordinance that led to his arrest and time in jail is no longer in effect."
With the ordinance being dropped, many are asking, "What was the true crime - distributing tracts or prohibiting God's Word from being spread?"
Losing Our Identity and Perspective
As more and more decisions are being made by our judicial system that champion concepts and practices such as "gay rights," abortion and euthanasia, laws protecting Christian ideals seem to be coming under greater attack.
This is not only seen with regards to the distribution of tracts and Bibles, but with virtually every facet of what the Bible holds as sacred.
Instead of upholding biblical principles upon which the judicial system was founded, Evangelicals see the courts as protecting many societal vices.
Joe Wright, pastor of the 2,500-member Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas recognized this paradox before the Kansas State House of Representatives in 1996.
Invited to lead the opening prayer in front of the Kansas State Legislature, Wright lifted up the lost ideals and embraced perversions of America and its judicial system.
Even though many walked out during his controversial prayer, Wright persisted to the end.
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.
We know your Word says woe unto those who call evil good, but that is exactly what we've done.
We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted your values.
We confess we have ridiculed the absolute Truth of your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed the unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us O' God and know our hearts today.
Cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas and who have been ordained by You to govern this great state.
Grant them the wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your Will.
I ask in the name of your Son, the living Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The Fuzzy-Wuzzy World of Charismatic Morality
http://www.charismamag.com/fireinmybones/Columns/show.php
In an era when evangelical ministers are endorsing pro-abortion candidates and an Episcopal bishop is marrying his gay lover, I guess it is no surprise that our own charismatic church leaders are sending out confusing signals about morality these days. It seems that in 2008, up is down, right is wrong and biblical absolutes are up for grabs.
This is especially true when it comes to marriage, an institution that once was considered sacred by all Christians. Nowadays, many preachers and even famous evangelical authors have created a new trend: Throwaway wedding vows. Christian divorce today is cheap, easy and not that much more expensive than a facelift. And some of our superstar preachers have figured out a way to use Bible verses to support their moral failures.
Take Paula White, for example. The high-powered preacher announced last August that her marriage to Randy White was over, with no clear explanation why, and she continued on her whirlwind ministry circuit without skipping a beat. The Whites said adultery was not the reason for their breakup, although Randy said the whole mess was his fault. We were all left scratching our heads.
Paula teaches people all over the nation how to live “a life by design,” which is also the official name of her trademark success seminars. But I am left questioning what kind of design she’s promoting—especially when she joined the staff of San Antonio pastor Rick Hawkins, who divorced his wife last year. By partnering with him in ministry, Paula is legitimizing his questionable choices.
When a local news reporter in Tampa, Fla., asked Paula about how she reconciles her faith with her decision to divorce, she quoted a verse from Ecclesiastes and implied that, just as there is “a time for everything under heaven,” her divorce was just an unfortunate moment in her spiritual journey. She also glibly suggested that one day she and Randy might get back together since they are good friends.
Huh? What kind of talk is this, and what garbled message does it send to immature believers who don’t know yet how to discern God’s will for themselves? Many of them will take Paula’s confusing words as license to do whatever they feel like doing. If there is a time for divorce, then there might as well be a time for binge drinking, a time for a porn movie or a time to steal from an employer. Morality gets morphed into an ooey-gooey concept that you shape for yourself.
I wish that Paula had said this: “Divorce is not God’s will. It destroys families. If anyone out there is thinking about divorce, please don’t choose that path until you have tried every avenue for restoration.” But she didn’t sound a clear trumpet. She gave us mishmash.
Then we have Bishop Thomas Weeks III, the estranged husband of celebrity preacher Juanita Bynum. Their marriage crashed and burned last August when she accused him of beating her in an Atlanta hotel parking lot. Weeks and Bynum have continued preaching since they announced plans to divorce, and Weeks told Gospel Today magazine last month that he’s looking forward to finding wife No. 3 while he continues to oversee several churches. When asked what he needed to change, the bow-tied preacher replied: “I have to take vacations.”
What is missing in both the Weeks-Bynum fiasco and the White’s breakup is a clear admission that biblical principles have been violated. For the Whites, we are left feeling that if you drift apart from your spouse because of the demands of ministry, you just move on and keep preaching. (After all, as Paula says, “Your best days are ahead.”) For Bynum and Weeks, the message is also muddled: If your marriage doesn’t work out, it’s probably because your partner didn’t realize how powerful God’s calling is on your life. (In other words, it’s all about you.)
This sad scenario seems almost normal today because our standards have been totally compromised. In many independent charismatic churches we refuse to draw boundaries. We don’t enforce biblical standards of leadership. We don’t tell those who have failed morally to get out of the ministry long enough to find true healing.
Leaders must be godly examples. God does not require them to have perfect marriages, but He does raise the bar for all those called into the ministry by requiring marital faithfulness. We don’t have the right to lower that bar just because we live in a permissive culture.
We must make biblical standards clear: (1) Marriage is indeed sacred, and divorce should never be viewed as a flippant choice; (2) Ministers of the gospel should have exemplary marriages; and (3) Leaders who fail at marriage can be instantly forgiven, but they have no business leading a church until they have walked though a healing process that includes full repentance and a heavy dose of accountability.
It is time for some backbone. Those of us who still believe the Bible is the rule book for marriage, sexuality, moral character and church discipline must confront this craziness. We must lovingly but firmly redraw the lines before they are blurred beyond distinction.
Catholic tradition fading in U.S. as Evangelicals become majority
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080226/NATION/902727579
Evangelical Christianity has become the largest religious tradition in this country, supplanting Roman Catholicism, which is slowly bleeding members, according to a survey released yesterday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Evangelical Protestants outnumber Catholics by 26.3 percent (59 million) to 24 percent (54 million) of the population, according to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, a massive 45-question poll conducted last summer of more than 35,000 American adults.
"There is no question that the demographic balance has shifted in past few decades toward evangelical churches," said Greg Smith, a research fellow at the Pew Forum. "They are now the mainline of American Protestantism."
The traditional mainline Protestant churches, which in 1957 constituted about 66 percent of the populace, now count just 18 percent as adherents.
Although one in three Americans are raised Roman Catholic, only one in four adults describe themselves as such, despite the huge numbers of immigrants swelling American churches, researchers said.
"Immigration is what is keeping them afloat," said John Green, a Pew senior fellow. "If everyone who was raised Catholic stayed Catholic, it'd be a third of the country."
Those who leave Catholicism mostly either drop out of church entirely or join Pentecostal or evangelical Protestant churches, Pew Forum director Luis Lugo said. One out of every 10 evangelicals is a former Catholic, he said, with Hispanic Catholics leaving at higher rates; 20 percent of them end up in evangelical or Pentecostal churches.
"It's a desire for a closer experience of God," he said. "It's not so much disenchantment with the teachings of the Catholic Church but the pull of what they see in Pentecostalism."
Switching denominations is not unique to Catholics. More than one-quarter of American adults have left their childhood faith for another religion or none. Factor in changes of affiliation from one form of Protestantism to another, and the number of switchers rises to 44 percent.
The survey, which reveals the rapidly shifting religious leanings of some 225 million American adults, has a margin of error of less than one percentage point. It also revealed there are twice as many Jewish adults (3.8 million) as there are Muslim adults (1.3 million).
Black and Hispanic Americans were the two most religious ethnic groups, although not all of the historically black churches are monochromatic. More than 10 percent of the Church of God in Christ are white and 13 percent are Hispanic.
And the group with the highest losses? Jehovah's Witnesses: Two-thirds of those raised in the faith depart it as an adult. At the other end, three out of every four U.S. Buddhists is a convert.
The survey, the first of several parts to be released this year, comes with an array of graphs and maps posted on www.pewforum.org by which one can determine America's "religious geography": what percentage of each state's population is affiliated with various religious groups.
The country's religious mix changes so quickly that "if you rest on your laurels, you'll soon be out of business," Mr. Lugo said.
One of the fastest-growing groups is Americans unaffiliated with any religion, now at 16 percent, although just 4 percent of the population identified itself as agnostic or atheist. The West Coast shows the highest percentage of nonchurched people. Even this group experiences huge shifts; more than half of those polled who were raised outside a religion ended up affiliating with one as an adult, and the unaffiliated also showing the highest rates of marriage to someone outside their group.
Hindus and Mormons showed the lowest rates of intermarriage. Hindus stood out for their unusually high education levels, with 48 percent having post-graduate degrees, the survey said.
The Episcopal Church may have the most gray hairs: more than six in 10 are older than age 50 compared to a national average of four in 10 Americans that age.
A new map of faith in the USA shows a nation constantly shifting
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-02-25-survey_N.htm?csp=34
A new map of faith in the USA shows a nation constantly shifting amid religious choices, unaware or unconcerned with doctrinal distinctions. Unbelief is on the rise. And immigration is introducing new faces in the pews, new cultural concerns, new forces in the public square.
The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, documents new peaks, deepening valleys and fast-running rivers of change in American religiosity.
Based on interviews with 35,556 adults in the continental United States, it shows so much diversity and dynamism that a co-author sums it up simply. "Churn. Churn. Churn. The biggest news here is change," says Pew Forum research fellow Gregory Smith.
"It's not that religion won't matter in the future, but that it will matter in new and less predictable ways," says co-author John Green, a political scientist and Pew Forum senior fellow.
Key findings from the survey:
•Faith is fluid: 44% say they're no longer tied to the religious or secular upbringing of their childhood. They've changed religions or denominations, adopted a faith for the first time or abandoned any affiliation altogether.
•"Nothing" matters: 12.1% say their religious identity is "nothing in particular," outranking every denomination and tradition except Catholics (23.9%) and all groups of Baptists (17.2%).
•Protestants are fading: 51.3% call themselves Protestant, but roughly one-third of this group were "unable or unwilling" to describe their denomination.
•Immigrants sustain Catholic numbers: 46% of foreign-born U.S. adults are Catholics, compared with only 21% of native-born adults. Latinos are now 45% of all U.S. Catholics ages 18-29.
Like the Catholic Church, other public institutions will have to accommodate the impact of immigration. Already, more than 34 million of the nation's 225 million adults are foreign-born, and half of these are Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census.
"The Catholic Church may be a microcosm of what's going to happen to the country in the next 40 years," says Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum.
The Pew survey was based on random telephone interviews conducted in English and Spanish, May 8 through Aug. 13.
Today's report (online at Pewforum.org) sorts people into major groupings: Christian (78.4%); other religions (4.7%) including Jewish (1.7%) and Muslim (0.7%); and "unaffiliated" (16.1%), which includes atheist (1.6%), agnostic (2.4%) and "nothing in particular."
Protestants also are subdivided into three groups: evangelical (26.3%) with shared strict ideas on salvation and common historic origins; mainline (18.1%), which share "a less exclusionary view of salvation and a strong emphasis on social reform"; and historically black churches (6.9%) with traditions "shaped by experiences of slavery and segregation."
These overall findings are parsed to a fine degree by being broken down into nearly 250 faiths and traditions and examined by demographic characteristics. A sampling:"
•There are as many self-proclaimed pagans (0.3%) as there are Disciples of Christ, Orthodox Jews or Greek Orthodox.
•Nearly three in four U.S. Buddhists are converts; Buddhists (0.7%) are split evenly among Zen, Theravadan and Tibetan schools.
•Nearly 20% of all men and 13% of all women are unaffiliated. So are 25% of adults under age 30.
•The major Christian denominations are losing numbers fast. Only non-denominational churches showed growth outpacing losses.
"Two in three people who say they grew up as Jehovah's Witnesses have left the faith. Any one of 10 people you meet is a former Catholic," Lugo says.
•The two groups that identified with "nothing in particular" now match or outstrip the two largest mainline Protestant groups.
The percentage of "secular unaffiliated" (6.3%) who say religion is unimportant to them is statistically the same as Methodists (6.2%). The "religious unaffiliated" (5.8%) who say they believe religion is at least somewhat important now outnumber Lutherans (4.6%).
The authors struggled with the categories to include. For example, the Unitarian-Universalist faith began in Protestantism, but "many of the people we interviewed don't consider themselves Christians. … We went with where people say they are, and put it with 'other faiths,' " says Green.
"Fluidity is the rule today, not the exception. There's greater diversity and greater movement — a quantum leap in the rate of change."
"It will become increasingly difficult to find people who share a love for distinct doctrine," he adds.
"But there are always niches in the marketplace. There will always be a place for religions that are strict. They just may cater to smaller numbers."
Working on Sundays
Consider Oregon, where the largest single group, evangelical Protestants (30%), is rivaled by people with no religious affiliation (27%).
Jean Burkholder of Lakeside, a born-again Christian whose brother-in-law is a pastor nearby, says, "It pains us" to keep the family dune buggy rental business open seven days a week, but demand is too great to close on Sundays.
"I hate the term 'religious.' I see people respect you if you live what you say you believe," she says.
Meanwhile, in Newport, Stace Gordon, who grew up Jewish, and his wife, Liz, who grew up Catholic, agree the ideal way to spend Sabbath is a stroll on the beach, a ski trip or a stop at a local festival.
"We have no problem with religion. It's just not a part of our lives," Stace Gordon says.
Green says he can already foresee implications in the public square as "firm beliefs and firm organizations are increasingly a thing of the past. In political life, when candidates go out to mobilize voters, they face a much more complicated picture.
"Catholic voters in Ohio, for example, may have different values and expectations from one year to the next or, in fact, be different people in the same pews," says Green.
Lugo predicts that as world religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism continue to grow in the USA through immigration and conversion, workplaces, schools and eventually the courts will face increasing challenges over religious accommodation.
He cited the 2007 brouhaha over U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., a Muslim who took his oath of office with his hand on a Quran instead of a Bible.
Guillermina Jasso, a New York University sociologist and one of the principal investigators for The New Immigrant Survey, an ongoing project of the National Institutes of Health, concurs.
"There's no question that change is afoot and that doctrine and denominations are losing their hold" on Western Christian nations, even though these are still highly valued in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America.
But she also sees prospects for a Catholic resurgence in the USA, springing from immigrants and spreading to the native-born.
Protestant legacy likely to linger
Will the USA's dominantly Protestant cultural landscape soon be overwhelmed by these changes? "No, not so fast!" says church historian Diana Butler Bass, a senior fellow at the Cathedral College of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
"The Protestant worldview is deep in our political and literary cultures. There's a Protestant ethos of individual conscience that will stick around a while longer, even if people aren't strongly identified with a particular faith," she says.
Still, she says, "these new voices mean you can't do business as usual. There has to be an entire rethinking of how to do religion and what it means to be Christian in this new cultural context."
Black Families at a Crossroads
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/327852.aspx
WASHINGTON - More than 40 years ago, a government official named Daniel Patrick Moynihan warned that African American families were falling apart.
In 1965, one quarter of black children were born out of wedlock. Today, it's more than two-thirds.
But some African American leaders are working hard to re-establish the black family.
Meet the Peebles
For Joel and Ylawnda Peebles, it's hard enough to keep pace with their own busy schedules... not to mention their four active children.
Their oldest, Joel, Jr. plays on the basketball team, and daughter Janay stomps on the sidelines with the cheer squad. Their other boys Jordan and Jeremiah are always nearby.
Amazingly, their parents say they never miss their kids' events.
"For us, family's always first. Always," Ylawnda said.
Joel and Ylawnda serve as pastors at Jericho City of Praise - a large, predominantly black church in suburban Washington, D.C.
They also host a weekly radio program on marriage and relationships. But for the Peebles, their number one priority is parenting.
To them, putting family first means praying together, spending time with one another and even trying to sit down for the occasional family meal.
"Sometimes we make it seven days a week with our busy schedules to make sure we have dinner together with our whole family," Joel laughed.
"Even if we have to eat in the car," his wife added.
Research shows that children living with both their mothers and fathers tend to be healthier, emotionally and physically.
The Importance of Positive Role Models
But ministering to a predominantly African American congregation, Joel and Ylawnda know they don't represent today's "typical" black family.
Joel says that's because young people don't have enough positive role models, particularly when it comes to black men.
"There are men at the basketball courts all over the place and all over the country - African American men - that are doing an amazing job, but on the same token, there are some ones with disconnect. And I'm going to be very honest with you the children are struggling," Joel said.
With that in mind, Joel knows he's making a lasting impression.
Joel said, "One of the things that I realize is that when my children grow up, my sons are going to be the kind of man that I am, and my daughter is probably going to marry the kind of man that I am - so modeling that's huge. It's critical in order for their maturation and for them to become what God has for them."
Outside of the home, Joel spends a lot of his time ministering to men, urging them to be responsible parents.
It is a theme echoed in the book Come on People by Bill Cosby and long-time friend and noted psychiatrist Dr. Alvin Poussaint.
"People say 'what are you doing with a chapter on parenting?' because we feel that that's fundamental in building character; building a sense of self-worth in children and a lot of parents don't know how to be good parents," Poussaint said.
The book exploded onto the scene last fall and has been making waves since -- the result of years of collaborative work that produced family-oriented programs such as The Cosby Show.
But Come On People became reality only after TV's favorite dad made polarizing remarks criticizing black culture for its widespread use of profanity, gansta rap, and black-on-black crime.
"We got to stop this madness," Cosby said.
In the book, the authors use startling statistics to drive home their point.
School drop out rates have skyrocketed, homicide is now the leading cause of death among young black men. And over the past several decades the suicide rate among that demographic has increased more than 100-percent.
And about 70 percent of African American babies born each year go home to single mothers.
Bill Cosby - All Jokes Aside…
So why has the once loveable comedian put aside his jokes and instead taken his message to community "call outs" across the country?
Poussaint says for Cosby it's personal.
"You have to realize he spent a lot of his career and a lot of other activities supporting education, trying to set people on the right path, trying to be a role model," he said.
"So I think when he looked and saw the figures and just looked in his communities and saw all of these not making it - and not only that- having values that were anti-education and pro-thug values and engaging in a lot of violence and dope and so on, he just thought it was awful and felt very frustrated and a bit angry," Poussaint explained.
Some have rallied behind the message - but critics just as strongly reject it. They describe it as "elitist" and a "slam on the poor" saying it does nothing more than "air" the community's "dirty laundry."
But Poussaint says their goal is to spark change and get people to rise above victim mentality.
"We wanted to emphasize what people could do for themselves. We didn't deny systemic racism or institutional racism, but we felt there were a lot of areas that we had control over in the black community where we could make a difference," he said.
Couples such as the Peebles are making a difference, in the lives of their community, but it starts at home - leaving a legacy of faith, family and culture they believe is not only a score for today's children, but a win for the next generation and beyond.
Christians being squeezed out of adoptions due to views on homosexuality
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022705.html
In November 2007, LifeSiteNews.com reported that a Christian couple in Somerset, UK, was being forced to retire from fostering needy children on conscientious grounds after the local council imposed rules requiring them to discuss homosexuality with the children.
Now a similar case is reported in Derby, in which the local council is being sued after rejecting an application from a Christian couple to assist foster children under ten years old. The Telegraph reports that Eunice and Owen Johns refused to talk to children about homosexuality as though it were an acceptable "lifestyle".
The Labour-controlled council adoption panel was also reportedly "upset" that the couple insisted that children in their care would be required to accompany the family to church on Sundays.
The Johns have been married for 39 years and have four adult children of their own. Mrs. Johns is a retired nurse and Sunday school teacher.
The adoption panel admitted in internal documents that Mr and Mrs Johns of Oakwood, in Derby, might have grounds to feel that they had been "discriminated against on religious grounds".
In the Somerset case last year, Vincent and Pauline Matherick were able, after their case caught national media attention, to reach an agreement with their local council authorities and keep their current child, a ten year-old boy, in their home. They had made almost identical complaints and told media that they intended to retire from fostering children after the council insisted that they participate in discussions about homosexuality.
Mr. and Mrs. Johns' lawyer said the couple were not 'homophobic,' but believed that sex outside of marriage was wrong and that marriage cannot include same-sex partners. The couple are being represented by the Christian Legal Centre, which is asking for a judicial review of the council's decision.
Evangelical Alliance General Director, the Reverend Joel Edwards, said, "We are worried about this issue because it appears someone can be disqualified from giving care to vulnerable children because of a local council's attitude to their conscience - which we believe violates their rights as citizens."
Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said, "It seems that Christians are gradually being squeezed out of the adoption process. It's exactly what we said would happen. In the name of equality, it's discriminating against Christians."
"I would like to see the council back down and adopt a more realistic approach. Either that or tell Christians that they are not welcome to foster in the future. At least that would be more honest."
Man Tries to Get 2 Sex Books Banned From Library
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333610,00.html
NAMPA, Idaho — A Nampa Public Library patron is trying again to ban two sexually explicit books from the library's collection.
The books, "The New Joy of Sex" and "The Joy of Gay Sex," first drew criticism from Randy Jackson in 2005. The books contain drawings and photos of sexual activity.
At that time, other community members joined with Jackson in asking the library's board to ban the books, and local businessman Larry Knapp said he would withhold a $10,000 donation from the library unless the books were banned. But in 2006 the library board voted to keep the books, instead moving them to a higher shelf to make them less accessible to children.
Now, the library has two new board members and Jackson, 32, is trying again.
"I really don't know ... it could go either way," Library Director Karen Ganske told the Idaho Press-Tribune.
Jackson said the books are pornography and moving the books to a higher shelf "wasn't a true solution to the problem."
"I'm not asking them to remove all sex books," Jackson said. "It's stuff that we don't feel should be in a public place where families are supposed to feel safe and should feel safe about being able to take their kids."
Board Chairwoman Rosie Delgadillo Reilly, who voted to keep the books in 2006, said she hasn't changed her mind.
"These books are widely circulated in the Treasure Valley. It's not something that only we have. We feel strongly we live in a diverse community and the collection should be open to everyone," Delgadillo Reilly said.
Ganske, who approved the purchase of the two books, said she would follow the board's decision on March 10.
"There's some people doing some soul-searching and some research and trying to come up with the best decision they can," she said. "We have good people on our board and they don't take the responsibility lightly."
Adult Stem Cells Help Those With Immune Disorders, Heart Disease
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=87428
Treatment with adult stem cells harvested from blood or bone marrow may benefit some patients with certain kinds of cardiovascular disorders and autoimmune diseases, a new U.S. analysis shows.
There are two types of stem cells, according to background information in the study. Embryonic stem cells are harvested from embryos four to five days after fertilization. Adult stem cells are located in tissues throughout the body and provide a reservoir for replacement of damaged or aging cells.
While stem cell therapy shows great promise, "clinical application has lagged due to ethical concerns [over embryonic stem cells] or difficulties harvesting or safely and efficiently expanding sufficient quantities," the review authors noted. "In contrast, clinical indications for blood-derived [from peripheral or umbilical cord blood] and bone marrow-derived stem cells, which can be easily and safely harvested, are rapidly increasing."
Dr. Richard K. Burt, of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and colleagues examined hundreds of studies of blood- or bone-marrow derived stem cells that were conducted between January 1997 and December 2007 -- 323 assessed feasibility and toxicity, and 69 looked at patient outcomes.
The review found that in 26 studies involving a total of 854 patients with autoimmune diseases there was a treatment-related death rate of: less than 1 percent (two of 220 patients) for nonmyeloablative (not causing bone marrow suppression); less than 2 percent (three of 197 patients) for dose-reduced myeloablative; and 13 percent (13 of 100 patients) for intense myeloablative regimens -- those including total body irradiation or high-dose busulfan, a drug used to treat some forms of chronic leukemia.
"While all trials performed during the inflammatory stage of autoimmune disease suggested that the transplantation of hematopoietic [formation of blood or blood cells] stem cells [HSCs] may have a potent disease-remitting effect, remission duration remains unclear, and no randomized trials have been published," the review authors wrote.
In 17 studies of 1,002 heart attack patients, 16 studies of 493 patients with chronic coronary artery disease, and three meta-analyses, there was evidence suggesting that adult stem cell transplantation may help lead to modest improvements in cardiac function among people with coronary artery disease.
More clinical trials are needed to determine the most appropriate stem cell type, dose, method, timing of delivery -- as well as adverse effects -- to treat cardiovascular and immune diseases and other disorders, the review authors concluded.
Preparing the way for the Mark - Introducing Digital Tattoo Interface
http://www.physorg.com/news122819670.html
Jim Mielke's wireless blood-fueled display is a true merging of technology and body art.
At the recent Greener Gadgets Design Competition, the engineer demonstrated a subcutaneously implanted touch-screen that operates as a cell phone display, with the potential for 3G video calls that are visible just underneath the skin.
The basis of the 2x4-inch "Digital Tattoo Interface" is a Bluetooth device made of thin, flexible silicon and silicone. It´s inserted through a small incision as a tightly rolled tube, and then it unfurls beneath the skin to align between skin and muscle.
Through the same incision, two small tubes on the device are attached to an artery and a vein to allow the blood to flow to a coin-sized blood fuel cell that converts glucose and oxygen to electricity.
After blood flows in from the artery to the fuel cell, it flows out again through the vein.
On both the top and bottom surfaces of the display is a matching matrix of field-producing pixels. The top surface also enables touch-screen control through the skin. Instead of ink, the display uses tiny microscopic spheres, somewhat similar to tattoo ink.
A field-sensitive material in the spheres changes their color from clear to black, aligned with the matrix fields.
The tattoo display communicates wirelessly to other Bluetooth devices - both in the outside world and within the same body.
Although the device is always on (as long as your blood´s flowing), the display can be turned off and on by pushing a small dot on the skin. When the phone rings, for example, an individual turns the display on, and "the tattoo comes to life as a digital video of the caller," Mielke explains.
When the call ends, the tattoo disappears.
Could such an invasive device have harmful biological effects? Actually, the device could offer health benefits.
That´s because it also continually monitors for many blood disorders, alerting the person of a health problem.
The tattoo display is still just a concept, with no word on plans for commercialization.
Why cash is no longer king
http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=757f7aef-55de-40eb-8d7b-5e001abba0e1&k=43581
Inside a popular Canadian electronics store, a woman trying to pay for a DVD is being refused at the register. Her money is no good there.
The snubbed customer is not a counterfeiter or a shoplifter barred from shopping in the store, she's simply a woman who wants to pay for a purchase with dollars and cents.
Increasingly, cold hard cash is the victim of a digital economy that favours symbols of money -- plastic cards, electronic key fobs, and online payments -- over the real deal.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the diminishing presence of automated teller machines, which in 2007 saw their biggest drop in the U.S. (nine per cent) since their debut in the 1970s.
In Canada, the latest data point to a future similar to that of our American neighbours, as cash withdrawals steadily decline and shoppers prefer to pay with plastic.
According to Moneris, Canada's largest processor of debit, credit and gift card transactions, one of the strongest aggressors "directly attacking cash" is technology that allows consumers to use plastic for small purchases.
Examples include No Signature Required credit card programs, as well as "tap and go" key fobs.
"In the past, you may have heard a heavy sigh from the person behind you in line if you pulled out your credit card for a transaction under $20," says Brian Green, senior vice-president of marketing at Moneris.
"This removes the taboo of using a credit card in a small-ticket environment."
The past few years have seen the cash-only lineup be supplanted by the no-cash lineup. Mr. Green says it's all part of merchants' plan to "train" Canadians to lessen their cash use.
"A fast form of payment is beneficial to the quick-service operator because they can greatly increase their through-put and therefore their amount of revenue," explains Mr. Green.
"And as plastic becomes more convenient, we're going to become more accustomed to using it and will draw on cash less often, which means fewer withdrawals at the ATM."
After falling victim to debit-card fraud last summer, Derek Moscato swore off plastic and wrote in the Vancouver Province: "Better for that wad of hundreds to live in your pocket than the billfold of some high-tech gangster."
Despite his resolve, however, his planned lifestyle change couldn't be sustained.
"Plastic is just an easier, cleaner way to pay for things.
"You're not fumbling around with bills and change and so forth," explains Mr. Moscato, a communications professional from B.C.
"But I've learned there's a price to pay for that convenience."
According to Canadian Interac data, the number of shared cash-dispensing transactions (money withdrawn from machines not associated with the user's bank) has plummeted, dropping from 375 million in 2001 to 285 million in 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Tina Romano, public relations manager for Interac, says the decline is "likely the result of cardholders using their own banks' ABMs to avoid paying fees, as well as the fact that more Canadians are moving to electronic payments."
Indeed, debit usage nationwide continues its dramatic rise. In 1998, 1.4 million Interac transactions were processed; in 2001, it was 2.2 million; and in 2006, 3.3 million Interac payments were made in Canada, making us among the highest users of debit in the world.
How close are we to a food crisis - ten weeks left of wheat
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article3423734.ece
The world is only ten weeks away from running out of wheat supplies after stocks fell to their lowest levels for 50 years.
The crisis has pushed prices to an all-time high and could lead to further hikes in the price of bread, beer, biscuits and other basic foods.
It could also exacerbate serious food shortages in developing countries especially in Africa.
The crisis comes after two successive years of disastrous wheat harvests, which saw production fall from 624m to 600m tonnes, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Experts blame climate change as heatwaves caused a slump in harvests last year in eastern Europe, Canada, Morocco and Australia, all big wheat producers.
Booming populations and a switch to a meat-rich diet in the developing world also mean that about 110m tons of the world’s annual wheat crop is being diverted to feed livestock.
Short term pressures have compounded the problem. Speculative buying by investors gambling on further price rises has further pushed up prices.
Though shortages are often blamed on the use of land for biofuel crops, the main biofuel cereal crop is maize, not wheat. Farmers have brought millions of acres of fallow land into production and the FAO predicts that the shortages could be eliminated within 12 months.
Food inflation to hit US consumers
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/405e4028-e31e-11dc-803f-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
When William Lapp, of US-based consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions, took the podium at the annual US Department of Agriculture conference, the sentiment was already bullish for agricultural commodities boosted by demand from the biofuels industry and emerging countries.
He added a twist – that rising agricultural raw material prices would translate this year into sharply higher food inflation.
“I hope you enjoy your meal,” Mr Lapp told delegates during a luncheon. “It is the cheapest one you are going to have at this forum for a while.”
His warning that a strong wave of food inflation is heading towards the world economy was met by nods from agriculture traders, food industry executives and western’s government officials at the USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Larry Pope, chief executive of Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork processor, warned delegates of a wave of “real food inflation” just at the time central banks were under pressure to cut interest rates.
“I think we need to tell the American consumer that prices are going up,” he said. “We’re seeing cost increases that we’ve never seen in our business.”
The comments highlighted one of the conference’s main concerns – that rising agricultural prices have reached a stage at which the impact will be felt not only on fresh food but will also filter through the supply chain and raise the cost of processed food.
Tom Knutzen, chief executive of Danisco, one of the world’s largest ingredients companies, said rising vegetable oil costs made it more expensive to produce preservatives, colourings and flavourings.
“Our products are based on vegetable oil. “Our input cost has gone up so we are increasing prices,” he said in an interview in Brussels. He added that preservatives, colourings and flavourings made up only 1-2 per cent of the cost of food but there would be a ripple effect as they were present in almost all the food sold worldwide.
US agriculture officials forecast that food inflation will rise this year at an annual rate of 3-4 per cent, warning that the risks were skewed to the upside. Last year, food inflation rose 4 per cent, the highest annual rate since 1990.
Joseph Glauber, the USDA’s chief economist, said in an interview that until now some companies had absorbed the rise in commodities prices, but that trend was about to change.
He said that wheat prices had previously moved from $3 to $5 a bushel without significant pain for consumers. “But now the wheat price has jumped to nearly $20 a bushel. These large increases will show up in consumer prices.”
Some people hope a slowdown in the US or global economy would push down agricultural commodities prices. But Mr Glauber said that would have a limited impact on agriculture commodities prices. “I am more concerned about higher prices than lower prices.”
However, Simon Johnson, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, said in an interview that for most agricultural commodities and metal markets the global slowdown would push prices down.
“The commodities market believes in the decoupling of developing countries’ growth,” Mr Johnson said. “The IMF does not believe in decoupling to that extent.”
But even if commodities prices do slow down, other forces could still push consumer prices higher, food industry executives said.
Companies until now have moderated consumer price increases thanks to large inventories and financial hedges in the commodities market futures. But during the course of this year those mitigating factors would vanish, executives said.
“The final result will be higher prices,” Mr Lapp said. The global economy is “at the beginning of a period in which consumer will face higher food prices”.
Bush: U.S. Is Not Headed Into Recession
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Bush_US_Is_Not_Headed_In/2008/02/28/76392.html
WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Thursday that the country is not headed into a recession and, despite expressing concern about slowing economic growth, rejected for now any additional stimulus efforts. "We've acted robustly," he said.
"We'll see the effects of this pro-growth package," Bush told reporters at a White House news conference. "I know there's a lot of, here in Washington people are trying to - stimulus package two - and all that stuff. Why don't we let stimulus package one, which seemed like a good idea at the time, have a chance to kick in?"
Bush's view of the economy was decidely rosier than that of many economists, who say the country is nearing recession territory or may already be there.
The centerpiece of government efforts to brace the wobbly economy is a package Congress passed and Bush signed last month. It will rush rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of people and give tax incentives to businesses.
Bush also used his news conference to press Congress to give telecommunications companies legal immunity for helping the government eavesdrop after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He continued a near-daily effort to prod lawmakers into passing his version of a law to make it easier for the government to conduct domestic eavesdropping on suspected terrorists' phone calls and e-mails. He says the country is in more danger now that a temporary surveillance law has expired.
The president and Congress are in a showdown over Bush's demand on the immunity issue.
Bush said the companies helped the government after being told "that their assistance was legal and vital to national security." "Allowing these lawsuits to proceed would be unfair," he said.
More important, Bush added, "the litigation process could lead to the disclosure of information about how we conduct surveillance and it would give al Qaida and others a roadmap as to how to avoid the surveillance."
On another issue, Bush said that Turkey's offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq should be limited - and should end as soon as possible. The ongoing fighting has put the United States in a touchy position, as it is close allies with both Iraq and Turkey, and a long offensive along the border could jeopardize security in Iraq just as the U.S. is trying to stabilize the war-wracked country.
"It should not be long-lasting," Bush said. "The Turks need to move, move quickly, achieve their objective and get out."
He also said, though, that it is in no one's interest for the PKK to have safe havens.
Oil Back Above $100 As Dollar Weakens
http://www.newsmax.com/money/Oil_Back_Above_100_/2008/02/28/76425.html
NEW YORK -- Crude prices rebounded Thursday as a falling dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted fresh investment capital to the oil market. Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose closer to records above $3 a gallon.
A pair of dismal economic reports Thursday drew more money into the oil market, as did Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that the economy is not immediately threatened with stagflation, a combination of economic weakness and rising inflation. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at only a 0.6 percent rate in the fourth quarter, below estimates and at only a fraction of the previous quarter's growth rate, while the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose by 19,000 last week, more than expected.
Rather than viewing such news as bad for oil demand, investors chose to see it as confirmation of their beliefs that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates to try to shore up the economy. Interest rate cuts tend to weaken the dollar, and crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar. Also, oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling.
"I really think that this is oil being viewed as ... a financial instrument," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $1.81 to $101.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as $101.90. Futures set a new record of $102.08 on Wednesday.
Oil's rally is pulling gas prices higher. At the pump, retail gasoline prices rose 0.9 cent overnight to a national average of $3.161 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are within 7 cents of May's record of $3.227 a gallon. The Energy Department expects prices to peak near $3.40 a gallon this spring; many analysts think prices will rise much higher than that.
Oil prices fell $1.24 a barrel Wednesday after the Energy Department reported crude inventories rose more than expected last week.
But that reflected a rare reaction by oil investors to supply and demand fundamentals. Oil prices have been far more affected in recent months by dollar- and interest rate-driven investment decisions, analysts say.
"(Fundamentals) have no relationship to price right now," Flynn said. If prices were responding to supply and demand, fundamentals, they would be falling, he said. Several recent forecasters have lowered oil demand growth predictions for this year due to the slowing economy, and domestic oil inventories have been growing.
Oil prices have received some support in recent days from word of a technical glitch that temporarily disrupted the flow of a small amount of crude out of Nigeria. Eni SpA denied earlier reports that its Brass River oil terminal had been attacked by rebels. Turkey's recent invasion of Northern Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels has also been supportive, Flynn said, but these stories are not enough in and of themselves to explain why oil continues to trade above $100.
Many analysts believe it's just a matter of time until the fundamentals reassert themselves on the market.
"We wonder how long this particular run will last given the uncertain (economic) outlook and the fact that prices ... have divorced themselves from underlying fundamentals due to the massive infusion of fund money seeking diversification," said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global UK Ltd., in a research note.
Other energy futures also rose Thursday. March gasoline futures rose 0.23 cent to $2.48 a gallon on the Nymex, while March heating oil futures rose 4.83 cents to $2.8194 a gallon.
April natural gas futures jumped 39 cents to $9.45 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said inventories fell by 151 billion cubic feet last week, slightly less than expected.
In London, April Brent crude rose $1.53 to $99.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Brain-Reading Headset to Sell for $299
http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&feed=ap&src=601&news_id=ap-d8uuaio01&date=20080220
Hands cramping up from too many video games?
How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems Inc. plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that.
The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.
The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.
Emotiv plans to work with IBM Corp. to explore applications beyond video gaming. The "brain computer interface" technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact, said Paul Ledak, vice president of IBM's Digital Convergence business.
San Jose Police To Use Crowd Control Sound Wave Weapons
http://origin.mercurynews.com/valley/ci_8357237?nclick_check=1
Think louder than a jet engine. Think the front row of a Metallica concert. Think of the piercing scream of a smoke alarm - inches from your ear.
Now, imagine a bad guy, holed up with hostages, refusing to budge, surrounded by sharp-shooters and anxious neighbors.
Instead of bullets, San Jose police can blast him with the latest in high-tech cop gadgetry: a dish-shaped, sonic weapon.
This ear-splitting, mind-blowing device is growing in popularity around the globe, used by soldiers flushing terrorists out of caves in Afghanistan to cruise ships scaring off pirates in the sea off Somalia.
So why did San Jose plunk down $27,000 in state grant money for its own Long Range Acoustic Device?
Police say it will be used mostly as a high-grade sound system to clearly amplify a police officer's order at great distances. But it can also be used as another of the department's "less-lethal" weapons, along with Tasers and 40mm projectile guns.
Sgt. Dave Newman, a veteran SWAT officer, said the LRAD's sound blast could be used on a barricaded and armed suspect who refuses to surrender.
"This is just a tool in a tool box," Newman said. "We try to come up with tools that will provide a safe solution to the problem. That's why we have the Tasers. That's why we have" pepper spray.
The LRAD, Newman said, is a way for police tactics to evolve so they don't "become a dinosaur and head for the La Brea tar pits."
He recalled an incident in San Jose in the 1980s when a blaring Led Zeppelin song was used to wear down a suspect.
San Diego-based American Technology invented the LRAD for the U.S. military after the USS Cole was bombed by a suicide craft in Yemen in 2000. Its 150-decibel wave can cause pain, nausea, disorientation and possibly even hearing damage.
While cops say they might use it as a high-powered megaphone to disperse crowds, they don't foresee using it on a bunch of hammered guys wearing colored beads on San Pedro Street at the city's Mardi Gras gatherings.
"I could see someone suing us for a loss of hearing," said Capt. Eric Sills, who oversees police plans for the city's large public events.
Local civil rights activists - still protesting the department's use of Tasers - said they are concerned.
"For me, it's a bad sign that San Jose would buy another weapon," said Raj Jayadev, a community activist. "Given the track record with experimental weapons, why have we never erred on the side of caution?"
Jayadev said police seemed to have a compulsion to get new "gadgetry."
"I don't know how this would replace good policing," he said. "Have they abandoned the notion of the diplomatic option - being able to talk down a crowd?"
Cops said that talking to a crowd was the whole point of the LRAD.
Sometimes suspects, arrested during rowdy crowded events, complain that they don't hear the order to leave.
The LRAD, police said, will solve that.
The LRAD's legend grew in 2005 when the captain of the Seabourn Spirit luxury cruise ship used one to help repel pirates who attacked the vessel with rocket-launched grenades off the coast of Somalia.
While most of the 1,000 or so LRADs that have been sold have gone to the U.S. military, about a dozen public safety agencies, including Sacramento and Santa Ana police, have also purchased them.
The New York Police Department used the megaphone feature for crowd control during the 2004 Republican Convention.
The Santa Ana SWAT team used the LRAD to get 10 gang members holed up in a house to surrender.
"I know they have those crowds during Mardi Gras in San Jose," said John Gabelman, commander of the Santa Ana SWAT team. "That will be an excellent tool for them."
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