US election year and the soul of America
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2318
As Americans get set for their election year's "Super Tuesday," with projections firming up as to who will likely become the candidates for the White House, conservative observers are trying to increase awareness of what a Democrat win will mean for the United States.
Heading the race on the Republican side is John McCain, with Mitt Romney the potential runner up.
The Democrats have two strong candidates, senators Hillary Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, a young, charming and persuasive African-American.
Former presidential candidate Gary Bauer told his mailing list Saturday it was increasingly apparent that Clinton would ultimately win the nomination, but that Obama's strong performance would oblige her to accept him as her running mate, i.e. candidate for Vice President.
Should they win the election - and "the Democrat vote has been bigger than the GOP vote in virtually every primary to date" - the outcome will be disastrous for what was once a strong Judeo-Christian United States, Bauer warned.
"If on January 20, 2009 Hillary, Barack and Bill take charge of America, there is a 100% certainty that we will be defeated on every front - amnesty for illegals, pro-abortion justices, same-sex marriage, tax hikes, surrender in the war with the jihadists, socialized medicine, etc."
Bauer, who is president of the American Values non-profit organization with close ties to many evangelical Christian leaders said that to ward off this threat it was absolutely essential that the conservative movement unite behind the final Republican nominee, whether or not they now support his candidacy.
To do otherwise, as some influential individuals who reject MaCain have threatened to do, would be "suicidal" for America.
Meanwhile, in a column published in The Jerusalem Post Monday, leftist editor-in-chief of The New Republic Martin Peretz appealed to Israelis to "trust Obama."
If he becomes president, Peretz said, reassuringly, Obama would support the robbery of Jewish lands in order to create a Palestinian state. Not to worry though, he would not pressure just the Israelis but the Arab side too to abide by its commitments.
And he would deal with "the official Palestinian leadership which is willing to deal, but pressure it to take action on other fronts that will bring the people back from Hamas."
Obama wants summit with Muslim countries
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3161.html
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a French magazine in an interview that if he wins office, he will hold a summit with Muslim countries to better the United States' image in the world.
"Once I'm elected, I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state, to have an honest discussion about ways to bridge the gap that grows every day between Muslims and the West," Thursday's edition of Paris Match quoted Obama as saying,
"I want to ask them to join our fight against terrorism. We must also listen to their concerns," Obama said in the French-language transcript.
The Illinois senator is running neck-and-neck against senator Hillary Clinton from New York to lead the Democratic ticket in November's presidential election.
Surveys around the world show high levels of anti-Americanism in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Negative opinions are strongest in the Muslim world, according to the Pew Research Center....
Huckabee Looks South
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/Huckabee_Looks_South/2008/02/04/69884.html
MACON, Ga. — Hoping a strong showing in the conservative South will reinvigorate his struggling White House bid, Mike Huckabee used a campaign stop in middle Georgia on Sunday to fire volleys at GOP rival Mitt Romney.
The former Arkansas governor cast himself as the only one in the Republican race who shares the conservative culture and values with the Southerners gathered under sunny skies at a park in downtown Macon to hear him speak.
"There's only one of us who grew up in the South like you," Huckabee said, ticking off his love of Dixie favorites like grits and fried catfish.
With just two days left until Super Tuesday, Huckabee blasted Romney, his chief rival for votes from the Republican party's more conservative voters.
Huckabee bristled at Romney's suggestion that he should withdraw from the race. If anything, Romney — who has invested his own vast personal wealth into his campaign — should recognize that his investment is a bust and get out, Huckabee said.
"Why don't you give it up and go back to Wall Street," he said. "This ol' Arkansas boy is not for sale."
Huckabee painted Romney as a flip-flopper whose positions on core conservative issues — like abortion — have shifted out of political expediency rather than conviction.
And he took aim at Romney's pro-gun credentials — a bedrock issue in rural Georgia.
Huckabee noted that he had a concealed weapons permit, and said that he "didn't have to learn which end of the gun to point at a white-tailed deer."
Early in the campaign, Romney had suggested he was a lifelong hunter only to have aides later acknowledge that he had been hunting just twice.
Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, had an appreciative audience on Sunday and fed them a diet heavy on conservative staples: abolition of the Internal Revenue Service, opposition to abortion and gay marriage, the need for American military might and an end to reliance on foreign oil.
He received ear-splitting applause when he said he would not let the needs of the Wall Street Republican trump those of the Wal-Mart Republican.
"I think he's most honest of the bunch and I like that his positions haven't changed," Linda Clarke, 46, said approvingly after the 20-minute speech.
Huckabee faces an uphill battle against U.S. Sen. John McCain, the GOP front runner after back-to back wins in South Carolina and Florida. In Cobb County on Saturday, McCain scored the endorsements of Georgia's two conservative U.S. senators — Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. McCain is drawing voters mostly from moderates and independents while Huckabee support is coming largely from his party's evangelical wing.
Also still in the GOP race is Ron Paul. Several dozen Paul supporters held signs aloft at Sunday's Huckabee rally.
Huckabee was introduced by television tough guy Chuck Norris, a top supporter who has become a near constant companion to the ex-governor. The reception for Norris rivaled that for Huckabee.
Norris who arrived in a sleek, black stretch limousine, said that Huckabee knows struggle.
"He didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth," Norris said.
Earlier in the day, Huckabee attended the First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga. The megachurch north of Atlanta is attended by many of the state's influential Republicans, including Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. A Huckabee aide said Perdue was not at Sunday morning's service.
Israeli woman killed as 'suicide' terror returns
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2315
A young Israeli woman was killed and at least 38 other people were injured Monday when a Palestinian Arab took advantage of the felled Gaza-Sinai border to enter Israel and blow himself up in the southern city of Dimona.
According to news reports, an elite police officer at the scene shot and killed a second bomber before he could detonate his bomb belt.
A group attached to the Fatah faction of the PLO chaired by Palestinian Authority terror chief Mahmoud Abbas - the Olmert government's "peace partner" - claimed credit for the attack, which was the first successful "suicide" bombing in Israel in more than a year.
Other terrorist groups also took responsibility as the Palestinians vied among themselves for the kudos they would get for murdering Jews.
News of the bombing was greeted by the handing out of candies and other treats in the Gaza Strip in celebration.
Knesset members charged that the terrorist had been able to enter the country as a direct result of the Arabs' blowing up of the Gaza-Egypt border last week.
Egypt allowed hundreds of thousands of Arabs to cross backwards and forwards into the Sinai, from where Israel's intelligence services say they smuggled advanced weaponry into Gaza for future terrorism against the Jewish state.
In other terrorism Monday of the type that has become almost routine for Israel's Jews, Palestinians opened fire at an Israel car driving east of the Samarian city of Kalkilya Monday, damaging the car, and petrol bombs were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near the PA "capital" of Ramallah. No injuries were reported in either incident.
Four Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli population centers in the negev Monday morning.
And in other security news, Israeli Border Guard officials announced that a weapons cache including 500 machine gun bullets was discovered in an Israeli Arab town in the northern Galilee. No suspects had been arrested by "press time."
Many of Israel's Arab citizens sympathize with and support the Palestinian Arab terror war against their country.
The Ten Commandments Launches onto DVD February 5, from Promenade Pictures and Genius Products
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06832.shtml
LOS ANGELES -- One of the most-loved Bible classics comes to DVD on February 5 in a family- friendly CGI retelling from Promenade Pictures and Genius Products. The first feature film in the Epic Stories of the Bible series - The Ten Commandments, starring the voice talents of Academy Award ® winner Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Alfred Molina and Academy Award ® nominee Elliott Gould, uncovers the true meaning of faith and God's message of love to humankind.
This timeless story, perfect for the entire family, will become a treasured part of the annual Easter and Passover holiday season. The Ten Commandments from Promenade Pictures, brings the classic to life in a new way through revolutionary CGI Animation.
Filled with high adventure and a gentle sense of humor, the miraculous story of The Ten Commandments showcases Moses, the reluctant prophet, who was the only man to see the face of God and call him "friend." The film takes a unique approach to highlighting the humanity of Moses and displaying the power of God in a way that children can understand and enjoy!
The Ten Commandments was produced by Promenade Pictures, directed by Bill Boyce (Hermie & Friends) and John Stronach (Ben Hur, Cahoots), and written by acclaimed family screenwriter Ed Naha (Honey I Shrunk the Kids).
DVD Bonus Features Include:
"I Am Willing" music video performed by Jeremy Camp
Exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making- of-the film
Interviews with Christian Slater and Alfred Molina
Ten Commandments Challenge - Through "Man-on-the-Street" interviews, people's knowledge of the fabled commandments is tested
About Promenade Pictures
Promenade Pictures was founded and is led by studio pioneer and entertainment industry legend Frank Yablans, who serves as CEO. Cindy Bond, who serves as President and COO of the company, oversees a team of veteran media industry executives including Ron Booth, Charlie Gay and John McAdams. Promenade Pictures has established itself as a full- service production, distribution and marketing company specializing in the distribution of theatrical motion pictures appropriate for the entire family. The company has leveraged the expertise and relationships of its principals and senior executive team to build a highly successful operation that in just a few short years has emerged as one of the leading privately held independent film and television companies focusing on the family market.
Promenade continues to maintain its independence and aggressively explore opportunities that will build upon the company's business mandate. Further branding itself in the family arena, Promenade has already entered into contracts and associations with many of the most recognized moral- valued authors, filmmakers and brands. For more information, please visit www.promenadepictures.com
About Genius Products
Genius Products, Inc. (OTCBB:GNPI), along with The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC, together owns Genius Products, LLC, a leading independent home- entertainment distribution company that produces, licenses and distributes a valuable library of motion pictures, television programming, family, lifestyle and trend entertainment on DVD and other emerging platforms through its expansive network of retailers throughout the U.S. Genius handles the distribution, marketing and sales for such brands as Asia Extreme (TM), Discovery Kids(TM), Dragon Dynasty(TM), Dimension Films(TM), Entertainment Rights, Classic Media and Big Idea (Entertainment Rights group companies), ESPN®, IFC®, RHI Entertainment (TM), Sesame Workshop®, The Weinstein Company® and WWE®. Genius Products, Inc. is the managing member of Genius Products, LLC, in which it holds a 30% equity interest.
About Motive Entertainment
Los Angeles-based Motive Entertainment, which directed the grassroots marketing campaigns for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, the Tom Hanks/Robert Zemeckis film Polar Express and the record-breaking Walden Media/Disney epic series, The Chronicles of Narnia, is a leading company in film and entertainment marketing ( www.motivemarketing.biz).
For those who love the epic story of the Ten Commandments, the upcoming The Ten Commandments DVD is the perfect way to watch it again and again. The message, a uniquely faithful telling of one of the world's most profound stories, can now be enjoyed on DVD for generations to come. For more information, please visit http://www.promenadepictures.com/ and www.10commandmentsmovie.com.
Remarks by the President on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06831.shtml
WASHINGTON -- the following is the remarks by the President on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative:
Jericho Program
Baltimore, Maryland
11:45 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. I'm proud to be standing with you men. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your hospitality.
Last night in my State of the Union, I highlighted the important work being done by faith-based organizations. This morning I was pleased to visit one of these inspiring groups, the Episcopal Community Services of Maryland, right here in Baltimore. I cannot thank you enough for the chance to take a tour. And, Bonnie, you and your staff have been most hospitable.
I've come to look firsthand at the Jericho Program, which is helping former prisoners make a successful transition back to society. There's no more important goal than to help good souls become -- come back to our society as productive citizens. I'm honored to have been with those who have worked hard to deal with their circumstances in such a way that they become productive citizens. I'm standing next to two such men, and I met probably seven others downstairs.
I do want to thank Bonnie Ariano for joining me and the Secretary. I'm going to talk about the Secretary's role here in a minute in this important program. I thank very much Greg Carpenter, a former prisoner who is now a mentor, a leader in this program. And he's -- I appreciate his heart.
I welcome Jay Hein, Director of the Office of Faith- Based and Community Initiatives at the White House. I do want to thank State Senator David Brinkley for joining us. Senator, I'm proud you're here. I appreciate the Jericho staff. I want to thank the Episcopal Community Services of Maryland Board of Directors. I appreciate you all coming. I thank you very much for supporting this program.
When I came into office, the nation's traditions of religious freedom and equal opportunity were facing unnecessary obstacles. Throughout America, religious and community groups were providing effective assistance to people in need, but there was a great reluctance on the part of the federal government to help them. There was the notion that somehow that there needed to be a clear separation of church and state, and therefore, we shouldn't be using taxpayers' money to help programs that were helping to meet important national goals.
Unfortunately, in some instances where there was an interface with government, people were told that in order to interface you have to take the cross off the wall, or take down the Star of David. In other words, you had to abandon the very principle by which you existed in the first place. And it made no sense. If a program was effective because they were willing to recognize a higher power, if a program was effective because people responded because they felt a call from a higher power, than to deny the higher power really reduced the effectiveness of the program.
So seven years ago my administration created the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, to deal with this problem. We wanted to focus our government and taxpayers' money on solutions, on effective programs, and we recognized that many of the effective programs existed in the faith community. Washington, D.C. oftentimes is a process-oriented town. We need to work hard to make it a results-oriented town. And if one of the compelling national interests is to help good people who have been in prison come back and readjust, and learn skills and attitudes necessary to be a productive citizen, if that's an important national concern, then we ought to turn to programs that are meeting those results. That's what we ought to do.
And that's what's happening right here. That's why I'm here. This is a program that is working, and it is supported by the federal government, and it should be.
Since 2001, the government has leveled the playing field. That's one of our objectives, early on in my administration, was to level the playing field, to make it easier for faith-based and community groups to compete for billions of dollars in federal grants, grants that would help them accomplish their objectives.
With this newfound support, America's faith-based groups are getting results. If you ask people here, is a program working, the answer is, absolutely. It's one thing to ask the Director; more importantly it's another thing to ask those who have benefitted. These are men who were, in some ways, lost, and lonely, and found love and redemption at Jericho. I'm going to talk about them in just a second. But there are all kinds of programs that are helping meet our national needs and goals. There are programs to help provide mentors for 70,000 children whose parents are incarcerated. There are programs to help deal with drug addiction and alcohol addiction, programs to help young people in our inner cities escape gangs. These are all programs where a faith-based or community group has dedicated their lives to solve a problem. And it makes sense for the federal government to give these programs a chance to access taxpayers' money.
When we begin [sic] the work we didn't settle for just opening an office in the White House; we opened 11 offices for faith-based and community initiatives throughout the federal government. It's one thing for the White House to have an office. But most of the money -- or all the money, for that matter -- is appropriated to different Cabinet officers and their secretariats, and then those distribute the money. And so we wanted to make sure that this faith-based initiative was rooted throughout the government.
And one of the offices is at the Department of Labor, ably headed by Secretary Elaine Chao, a member of my Cabinet. Every year, nearly 650,000 men and women are released from prison, and one of her top priorities, along with the Department of Justice, is to help those readjust to our society. And there's a compelling reason to -- half the people getting released from prison go back. And the idea is to help deal with that issue. We don't want people going back to prison. We want to help them readjust in society. And it turns out that faith-based programs are very effective. And this is such a program.
The whole purpose of Jericho is a prisoner re-entry initiative. That's why you exist. It's interesting how a program like this works. This is a small program, really, to some of the really large faith-based programs. And by the way, part of our initiative was to encourage what I call social entrepreneurship. It's to stand by side-by-side with smaller programs, because smaller programs, when they're proved to be successful, turn out to be larger programs, and larger programs obviously help more people -- but they also serve as an example.
I like the fact that you call yourselves "the Jericho." After all, the walls came tumbling down. That's what's happening here -- old walls are tumbling down, and new lives are being built.
One of the great things about a faith-based program, one of the great aspects of a faith-based program, is there's a lot of people in our society who hear the call to love a neighbor. That's, after all, one of the key tenets of faith: Love a neighbor like you'd be -- like to love -- be loved yourself. And so what you find here is programs supported by people who want to make a difference in our society, and it doesn't require a government law to cause them to do so. You don't need to pass a law and sign a law that says, you will love your neighbor; there's a higher law that does that. And these programs just gather that love, and work to save societies one soul at a time.
And we've got two such souls here. Adolphus Mosely - - he came here last summer after having been released from prison, and he graduated from one of Jericho's work training programs. And he started -- got him a new job. And he's proud of that.
By the way, first there's a -- people have got to come here and realize that there are people who love them and want to help them. And second, there is the practical application of helping somebody find work. Addiction is hard to overcome. As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life. I understand faith-based programs. I understand that sometimes you can find the inspiration from a higher power to solve an addiction problem. This program helps along these folks who have been dealing with addictions.
I also appreciate Thomas Boyd. He spent nearly four years in prison. He came here in September. And thanks to the program, he's got a new dilemma: He had to choose between several job offers. (Laughter.) That's a good dilemma to have. He's supporting himself. He's -- both these men are reunited with their daughters. They find great pride in the fact that they have chosen a path with the help of the folks at Jericho. They shared with me their love for their little girls -- and I know the feeling. And I appreciate the fact that -- you know, that you're on your feet, and you're feeling good and strong, and you're assuming the responsibility of fatherhood.
So I've come to herald programs such as the Jericho Program. Our government should not fear the influence of faith in our society. We ought to welcome faith-based programs. Last night I called on the government to make the Charitable Choice provisions of our law permanent. We shouldn't say to programs such as this, we'll help you through a Department of Labor and Justice grant, and then turn our back on the program when it's successful. There ought to be consistency of policy. Our government ought to welcome results. We ought to say, thank God there are people such as this in our neighborhoods and societies helping these good men.
So it's an honor to be here. I'm proud to be in the presence of Americans who care deeply about our country and are willing to do something about the future of the country, by helping lost souls find love and hope in their lives. And I want to thank the -- I want to thank very much the Episcopal Community Services for sponsoring this program.
Again, I want to thank you all for leading with your hearts; thank these two good men for joining me today. God bless you. Proud to be with you. Thank you.
All right. Thank you all.
END
11:56 A.M. EST
Tiller Balks At Grand Jury Subpoenas of 2,000 Abortion Records
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06830.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas -- Attorneys for abortionist George R. Tiller filed motions with Judge Paul Buchanan to quash two subpoenas issued by a grand jury asking for nearly 2,000 late-term abortion records. The subpoenas allow for the redaction of the patients' names and other identifying information, making the privacy of the women a non-issue.
"Tiller's effort to deny the grand jury necessary evidence in a criminal investigation is a last desperate act of a man who is destined to go to jail," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Tiller expects the court to help him hide incriminating evidence from people who have the legal ability to indict him. This judge has already rejected a similar motion to deny other subpoenas issued by the grand jury. We are praying, for the sake of truth and justice, that this ploy is denied as well."
The subpoenas were issued on January 22, just one week after Newman testified before the grand jury and presented over 200 pages of evidence gathered by Operation Rescue researchers, including photographs of women entering Tiller's abortion clinic in the obvious latest stages of pregnancy.
The grand jury has asked that Tiller produce two kinds of records by February 1, including all records of abortions done after 21 weeks gestation between July 1, 2003, and January 18, 2007.
The grand jury also wants to see records in the same time frame of all women whose pregnancies were 22 weeks or more where the woman did not have an abortion "because there was not a determination that a continuation of the patient's pregnancy would cause a substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function by two physicians who were not legally and financially affiliated."
Kansas law prohibits abortions after 21 week except to save the mother's life or if the continuation of the pregnancy will result in a "substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function" of the woman. Each abortion must be approved by the two physicians not legally or financially affiliated with the abortionist. There has never been a reported abortion in Kansas to save the life of the mother.
Tiller already faces 19 criminal charges of illegal late- term abortions for allowing abortions in 2003, using the second signature of abortionist Ann Kristin Neuhaus, who had apparent legal and financial ties to Tiller.
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Population Research Institute Releases Groundbreaking Video
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06829.shtml
FRONT ROYAL, VA -- Population Research Institute has released the third video in its series on YouTube, this time focusing on the overwhelming youth presence at this year's March for Life.
"To the best of my knowledge, this kind of video has never been done before," says Colin Mason, Director for Media Production at PRI. "This video documents the March for Life, but from the unique viewpoint of America's youth. America's youth are turning out in increasingly large numbers to attend this event, and we wanted to give them an opportunity to speak for themselves."
The video, introduced by PRI president Steven Mosher, takes to the streets of Washington, DC, to interview youth after youth about their reasons for being pro-life. "Anybody who thinks that Roe vs. Wade will not be overturned soon should watch this video," says Mosher. "The future voters of America are pro- life."
Colin Mason says that he wants the video to be a witness to members of the pro-choice movement who think that they have America's youth in their pocket. "PRI wanted to show compelling evidence that America's young pro-lifers are vocal, joyful, and ultimately very numerous," says Mason. "We think that this 5-minute video fills a unique niche in the field of pro-life documentary work by bringing this to light in an exciting way."
This video, entitled "Population Research Institute - Part III", is available by typing the words "Population Research Institute" into the YouTube search engine, or by visiting PRI's web site: www.pop.org.
The Population Research Institute (PRI) was founded in 1989 by Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, PhD and is dedicated to: (1) ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning", (2) opposing outdated social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of overpopulation, (3) informing the public about the social and economic benefits of moderate population growth, and (4) promoting pro-natal and pro-family attitudes and policies worldwide. Steven Mosher is the author of numerous books, including A Mother's Ordeal, available in 11 languages.
Silent No More Awareness Campaign's Dr. Alveda King Named One of 'Inside the Vatican' Magazine's Top Ten People of the Year
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06828.shtml
STATEN ISLAND, NY -- Dr. Alveda King, Spokeswoman for the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (SNMAC) and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has been named one of the Top Ten People of 2007 by Inside the Vatican magazine.
Dr. King, who suffered one involuntary and one voluntary abortion earlier in life, has been a leader in the movement of women and men coming forward to testify to the harm they've endured from aborting their children. In naming Dr. King to its top ten list, Inside the Vatican magazine said "she is a living rebuttal of the thesis that abortion should be allowed as a 'civil right' like any other."
"I only pray that this honor raises awareness that abortion doesn't just terminate a life, it devastates the survivors," said Dr. King. "Through God's grace, I've experienced forgiveness and healing and I want all people scarred by abortion to know that the same forgiveness and healing is available to them. Even more, I want women everywhere to know that nothing good comes from ending the lives of their children."
Since the launching of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign in 2003, 2,326 women and men have shared their testimonies publicly at over 200 gatherings in 44 states and six countries where more than 15,000 spectators have heard the truth about abortion's negative aftereffects. More than 4,100 people are registered to be Silent No More. Raising awareness about the hurtful aftermath of abortion and the help that is available to cope with the pain are two of the Campaign's goals.
The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit their website: www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org
Bishop receives death threats after ‘no-go areas’ comments
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bishop.receives.death.threats.after.nogo.areas.comments/16640.htm
The Bishop of Rochester, Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, has turned to police for assistance after receiving death threats over claims he made that Islamic extremists were turning some areas of Britain into “no-go” areas for people of other faiths.
Bishop Nazir-Ali said that threats had been made to the safety of himself and his family in phone calls to the family home in Kent. Kent Police are treating the threats as serious.
The Rev Canon Tony Smith, chaplain to the bishop, confirmed that police had looked into the calls and that steps had been taken to ensure the bishop's safety.
"We are getting on with life," he added.
Some Muslim leaders called for the bishop’s resignation after he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph last month, "There has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism.
"One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into ‘no-go’ areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability.
"Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them."
Following a Muslim backlash, the Pakistan-born bishop offered further clarification on his comments in a number of responses.
In the most recent statement issued last Friday, Bishop Nazir-Ali said that the purpose of his article had been to “point out that the best way for welcoming and integrating newer arrivals in this country should have been a Christian vision of hospitality and not the secular policy of multiculturalism which has led to such disastrous consequences”.
He said that in using the term “no-go areas”, he had been referring to “the phenomenon that is referred to as ‘parallel lives’, ‘separated’ or ‘self-contained’ areas or communities, ‘lack of cohesion’ and in many other ways”, and not the segregation previously seen in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
He added, “I made clear in the article that my comments were about the particular impact of Islamic extremism and were not about Muslims in general.”
The bishop responded to the threats he had received by stressing that it was “critically important” that discussion on politics, religion and science “be encouraged and not diminished”.
He also said he had received overwhelming support since the publication of his article.
“I was aware that what I had written would cause a debate on the issue but I have been surprised at its scale. If my overflowing postbag is anything to go by – and it has been overwhelmingly supportive – then it is clear that this is an issue that needs further discussion,” he wrote.
He added, "I deeply regret any hurt and do not wish to cause offence to anyone, let alone by Muslim friends."
Minister: European antisemitism 'not Islam as such'
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2317
Perpetuating a politically correct - and deceptive - point of view, Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs Isaac Herzog said that the Muslim antisemites in Europe do not represent "Islam as such."
Herzog was responding to a report by the visiting European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Franco Frattini, who said that Muslims are responsible for more than 50 percent of antisemitic acts perptrated on the Continent.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Herzog said that it was "not new that Frattini relates a large percentage of antisemitic incidents to radical Islam, and it's important to say, not Islam as such."
In line with most western leaders, Israel tries consistently to differentiate between "radical" and "moderate" Islam despite the incontrovertible fact that, from its founding to the present day, the religion has employed terrorism and war in its jihad against non-Muslims around the world.
Israel's war on terror continues
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2316
Israeli security forces successfully killed at least three "Palestinian" terrorists Monday as its daily war on terror continued without letup.
A senior leader in the so-called Popular Resistance Committees was taken out by a missile attack on trhe car he was traveling in in northern Gaza.
Earlier in the day two members of the Palestine Islamic Jihad were neutralized by IDF fire in an operation near the Samarian town of Jenin. A third terrorist was seriously wounded, according to Arab sources.
In anti-terror raids overnight Sunday across Samaria and Judea, 10 Arab suspects were arrested by the IDF.
Malaysian Christians upset over seizure of Bibles
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/malaysian.christians.upset.over.seizure.of.bibles/16646.htm
A Malaysian church group accused the government on Monday of harassing Christians after customs officers seized 32 Bibles from an airline passenger.
The Council of Churches of Malaysia said the officers at a Kuala Lumpur airport had on January 28 confiscated the Bibles from a Malaysian Christian woman who was returning home from Manila.
"The Council of Churches is flabbergasted that such acts are happening in our country with such frequency and impunity," its General Secretary, Rev Hermen Shastri, said in a statement.
"We call upon the prime minister...to make a clear and unequivocal statement to assure Christians in the country that they will not be subject to such harassment," he said.
The Bible seizure is the latest in a series of disputes that is stoking fears of an erosion of non-Muslims' rights.
The reverend said the Internal Security Ministry, which vetted the Bibles, should immediately release them.
A senior ministry official, who declined to be identified, said the matter had been resolved and the Bibles would be immediately returned to the owner.
"The books should not have been confiscated in the first place," the official said by telephone, adding that they were not on the banned list.
Last month, the government decreed that a Catholic newspaper cannot use the word Allah, upholding a ruling that non-Muslims are forbidden from using the word to describe their God.
Politically dominant Malay Muslims form about 60 per cent of the population of about 26 million, while the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities include Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and Sikhs.
China's weapons exceed self-defence needs: US military
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3111.html
The United States said Monday it was "troubling" that China's weapons systems capability exceeded the level Beijing defined as necessary for self-defence.
The head of the US armed forces in the Asia-Pacific, Admiral Timothy Keating, said he was told by Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing that its so-called "area denial weapons" were "to protect those things that are ours".
But he said, "we find it troubling that the capabilities of some of these weapons systems would tend to exceed our own expectations for protecting those things that are 'ours'".
Keating said the United States had "intelligence that reinforces my opinion that China is developing, fielding and has in place weapons that could be characterized as having, amongst perhaps other purposes, an ability to restrict movement in and around certain areas on the sea, in the air or under the sea.
"I'll go back to the point we made a couple of times already -- that we understood PRC (China's) intentions, not just their transparency, not just the fact that these weapons exist. We know they exist," he said.
"It's why are they being fielded," Keating asked, speaking at a Washington forum of the US-based Asia Society.
The Pentagon fears China's area-denial arms, including missiles, can be used to attack US aircraft carriers and ships, reports have said.
"The PLA (China's People's Liberation Army) appears engaged in a sustained effort to develop the capability to interdict, at long ranges, aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups that might deploy to the western Pacific," according to the annual Pentagon report last year to the US Congress.
"Increasingly, ChinaÂ’s area denial/anti-access forces overlap, providing multiple layers of offensive systems, utilizing the sea, air, and space," the report said.
The United States fears a Chinese military buildup could blunt any US intervention in a conflict over Taiwan and challenge US naval access to the Asian region.
A year ago, China used a ballistic missile to destroy a Chinese weather satellite in low Earth orbit, causing worries in Washington that Beijing could disrupt US military satellites in a regional conflict.
In addition, a Chinese submarine approached a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected.
To a question by a Chinese diplomat at the forum, Keating said he did not think the two countries should set a special criteria for military transparency but sought what he called an "inter-agency approach" to facing challenges.
Keating, who just returned from his second visit to China, said that they should also increase dialogue, have better communication and develop "bonds of trust and understanding" to avoid potential conflict.
"I think we will proceed on a path that will reduce tensions and reduce the likelihood of misunderstanding leading to crisis, leading to conflict," he said.
Keating also expressed relief that a November row with Beijing over the port visits of US ships appeared to have been resolved.
An American warship USS Blue Ridge was allowed Monday to dock in Hong Kong, in the first visit by a US military vessel since the USS Kitty Hawk was denied entry in the Chinese administered territory about two months ago.
Two US minesweepers were also refused permission to shelter in Hong Kong from a brewing tropical storm.
"The sense I got is that they didn't want to be confrontational," Keating told reporters.
"I am not as concerned today as I was before ... We think we are developing a better understanding of them."
'Palestinian state temporary ruse to destroy Israel'
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3121.html
The Palestinian goal of a Palestinian state is just a temporary ruse until "all of Palestine" can be "liberated," declared a leader speaking yesterday on the official television network of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization.
Saleh Raafat, a member of the executive committee of Abbas' Palestine Liberation Organization, was interviewed on PA television about the death last weekend of infamous terrorist leader George Habash, who strongly opposed signing peace agreements with Israel.
In comments screened by WND, Raafat told his interviewer: "Habash was a very positive Palestinian leader who used democratic tools to express opinions. He disagreed with [late PLO leader Yasser] Arafat regarding the present temporary vision of a Palestinian state, but he never used weapons to express his disagreement."
Raafat said the Palestinians would accept "22 percent of Palestine" as a "temporary and not permanent" state until "all of Palestine" can be liberated.
While Raafat described Habash as "democratic" and as "never" using weapons, Habash's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has carried out scores of notorious deadly terrorist attacks. Raafat was speaking as part of a mourning series on PA television for Habash, the PFLP leader who died in Jordan at the age of 81.
Habash's PFLP gained notoriety in 1970 for hijacking four Western airliners over the U.S., Europe, the Far East and the Persian Gulf. The aircraft were blown up in the Middle East after passengers and crews disembarked. The PFLP in 1972 then gunned down 27 people at Israel's Lod airport.
The PFLP continues operating from Syria, Jordan and the West Bank. More recent attacks include scores of deadly shootings against Israelis, the 2001 assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rechavam Zeevi and suicide bombings on an Israeli highway and in Tel Aviv's well-known Karmel Market.
According to Israeli security officials, the PFLP is the Palestinian terror group most proficient in carrying out successful drive-by shooting attacks.
Habash also led the second-largest faction of the PLO, next to Yasser Arafat's. Habash strongly opposed interim agreements with Israel and throughout his life advocated terror attacks against the Jewish state. Arafat numerous times said peace accords signed by Israel were part of a "phased plan" for the ultimate destruction of the Jewish state.
Turkey warns against EU 'club of Christians'
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3131.html
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned the European Union against becoming a "club of Christians" as he pushed Saturday for Ankara's membership in the bloc.
"If the EU finds itself as a club of Christians.... it is against the very soul of the EU," Babacan told reporters on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
EU heavyweights France and Germany are both opposed to full Turkish membership, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been particularly vocal on the issue, arguing that the mainly Muslim country does not belong in Europe.
Babacan regretted that the issue of religion had apparently become a factor in the debate on Turkey's accession.
"Religious lines should never be presented as a border," he said, adding that the current 27-nation composition of the European bloc already contained "huge differences" in terms of culture, religion and language.
"Yet, these countries have been successful to find communality," he said.
"At the end of the road, the decision has to be made over whether Turkey is going to add new richness to the EU, so that the EU has a truly global voice and a truly representative voice," he added.
Babacan also argued that allowing Turkey into the EU would allow the bloc to act as a bridge between the West and the Islamic world.
France and Germany have proposed offering a "privileged partnership" instead of full membership -- a compromise flatly rejected earlier this month by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey has so far opened talks in six of the 35 policy fields that candidates are required to complete before accession.
The EU froze negotiations on eight chapters in 2006 in response to Turkey's refusal to grant trade privileges to Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognise, under a customs union pact with the bloc.
Babacan also refuted worries that Turkey's powerful military -- which has unseated four governments in as many decades -- wants to scupper Ankara's EU, democratic and economic ambitions.
Relations between the army and the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) party are fraught, with the military fearful that the prime minister wants to roll back Turkey's cherished secular state.
Babacan said that democracy and freedom are fast becoming so engrained that a return to an undemocratic military autocracy closed to the outside world "isn't even going to be an issue."
"The reform process is becoming more and more irreversible. After opening up (the country) so much, anyone who dares to close the country to any extent will get into serious difficulties," Babacan said.
"This country ... has only one important way to go, and this is democratic. Human rights, freedoms and peace will be the new source of strength."
He added that Turkey's military supported joining the EU and that EU-Turkey negotiations in Brussels and in Turkey often involve army representatives.
"The Turkish military has been a good supporter of Turkey's EU accession process ... although it is not a black and white thing," he said.
"It is a transition progress which we are trying to steer in a successful way."
Ahmadinejad: Iran is approaching nuclear 'peak', Israel's days are numbered
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3141.html
Iran is approaching the "peak" in its nuclear program and will not yield to Western pressure to halt its activities, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.
Ahmadinejad was speaking in the southwestern town of Bushehr near the site of Iran's planned first nuclear power plant, being built with Russian help, and predicted the country would have nuclear electricity by this time next year.
"If you (Western powers) imagine that the Iranian nation will back down you are making a mistake," he said in a televised speech.
"On the nuclear path we are moving towards the peak," he said without elaborating.
Turning his attention to Israel, Ahmadinejad said, "The religious Palestinian people will bring down the last screen with its powerful hand on the Zionists' puppet theater. It's time to end the puppet theater of this fake regime."
The Iranian president noted that Israel's days were numbered and that it has reached its end.
Turning to the Western powers supporting Israel, he said, "Those who remain silent in light of this regime's crimes and support it should know that they are taking part in the bloodshed of the Palestinian people and will be tried in the future.
"The world's states will never forget these crimes," the Iranian president was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Defying international pressure, Iran has been working on producing its own nuclear fuel, technology the West fears will be used to make atomic bombs. Tehran says its work is peaceful and has refused to stop.
He was speaking two days after Iran received the eighth and final consignment of nuclear fuel from Russia for the Bushehr plant. Tehran has said the plant will start in mid-2008, though past deadlines have slipped.
"Next year at this time ... nuclear electricity should flow in Iran's electricity network," he told the crowd.
Russia delivered the first shipment of uranium fuel rods on December 17 and urged Tehran to scrap its efforts to produce nuclear fuel. Tehran says its work is peaceful and has refused to stop.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, says it wants to build a network of nuclear plants so it can preserve more of its oil and gas for export. It says it wants to make nuclear fuel itself to guarantee its supplies.
World powers last week agreed the outline of a third UN sanctions resolution against Iran which calls for mandatory travel bans and asset freezes for specific Iranian officials and vigilance on banks in the country.
Russia prepares doctrine for pre-emptive nuclear strike
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3142.html
Barely a month into the new year, the military have already attracted a lot of attention. Following a mild verbal skirmish over ABM components after the holidays, Russian and foreign generals have decided to talk in the open.
In a move that mirrors recent discussion amongst Russia's own top brass, NATO's April summit in Bucharest is widely expected to discuss a report on a potential pre-emptive nuclear strike.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the authors of the report are convinced there is a real risk that terrorists could lay their hands on weapons of mass destruction in the near or immediate future. To counter this, the alliance may consider suppressing the enemy with nuclear weapons.
Though the report is likely to cause controversy in NATO countries, the authors appear to be merely echoing an idea originally broached by Russian Chief of General Staff Yury Baluyevsky. Speaking at a meeting of the Academy of Military Sciences on January 19, Gen. Baluyevsky declared that force should be used not only in the course of hostilities, but also to demonstrate the readiness of leaders to uphold their national interests. "We are not going to attack anyone," he reassured his audience, "but we want all our partners to realize that Russia will use armed force to defend its own and its allies' sovereignty and territorial integrity. It may resort to a pre-emptive nuclear strike in cases specified by its doctrine."
It is strange that many esteemed domestic military experts consider this statement simply a repetition of Russia's old military doctrine, which allowed it to use nuclear weapons first. Under the 2000 doctrine, Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons not only in retaliation against a nuclear attack, as was previously the case, but in response to "a large-scale conventional aggression in a situation critical for the national security of the Russian Federation and its allies." This certainly broadens the rules of engagement, but still does not envisage a pre-emptive nuclear strike without hostilities.
Gen. Balulevsky's announcement appears to change this, in which case Russia will need a new military doctrine. This is not a new task. In early March last year, the Security Council press service released a statement saying that the Security Council would revise the 2000 military doctrine to account for new realities. The statement added that the new doctrine would be drafted by the Security Council in conjunction with interested government bodies and a number of scientific institutions.
Baluyevsky thus made his recent statement at an organization which is quite suitable for the drafting of the new doctrine.
If the new doctrine endorses the General Staff's nuclear ideas, we will have new armed forces, with all the ensuing consequences.
First, these forces will become strictly offensive because of the very nature of a pre-emptive strike. This will require totally different mobilization plans and a new approach to recruiting for the Army and Navy. Considering the number and geography of military-political conflicts in which Russia is in some way involved, this will require the deployment of mobilized troops on a territory stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific.
It is not difficult to predict the economic consequences Russia would face in this case. But let's come back to the Armed Forces. Permanent readiness to resolve tasks militarily - by offensive operations in an indefinitely vast number of directions - implies the permanent enhanced combat readiness of all units, without exception. Otherwise the very idea of a pre-emptive strike will not work. For such a policy to be effective, Russia should be ready to deal this strike from a broad diversity of geographical locations on its own territory, neutral air space, and the world's oceans.
If Baluyevsky's words are heeded, Russia will have to equip all services of the Armed Forces with permanently combat-ready nuclear weapons. Nobody can guess who will use them first.
This only concerns tactical, rather than strategic, nuclear weapons. It is clearly impossible to counter terrorist threats in the South-East direction, or neutralize U.S. ABM deployment in Europe with intercontinental ballistic missiles or their submarine counterparts.
In other words, Russia will need a very broad range of non-strategic nuclear weapons. Such weapons are designed to destroy battlefield-targets, rather than entire cities, and could take the form of medium and shorter-range missiles launched from air, land or sea, as well as artillery ammunition and nuclear demolition charges.
Considering that Russia has a huge advantage over the United States in tactical warheads, bilateral relations could become quite complicated if we start deploying our weapons on the ground, in the air and at sea.
It would be natural to ask why Russia is choosing the offensive option, and whether there are alternatives to it. But that is a subject for another discussion.
Clergy ‘bless’ New York abortion clinic, calling it “sacred ground”
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3153.html
Religious leaders in favor of abortion gathered on Tuesday to bless an abortion clinic in support of the Roe v. Wade ruling, the Supreme Court decision that mandated legalized abortion nationwide. One Catholic leader described the ceremony as “two-faced”.
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Linda Scharf described the purpose of the event at a new 18,000 square-foot building to the Albany-based Times Union, saying, “ It’s a blessing to demonstrate the support of the clergy.”
She said that clergy had long supported Planned Parenthood and the right “to make a personal decision based on their moral beliefs.”
"The clergy were instrumental in getting abortion services legalized in the United States and right here in Schenectady," she added. "I know a member of the clergy who was part of an underground who directed young women to safe abortions before Roe v. Wade."
Governor Eliot Spitzer, Lt. Governor David Paterson, and first lady Silda Wall Spitzer also affirmed their support for Roe v. Wade in a statement.
According to the Albany Times Union, Rev. Larry Phillips of Schenectady's Emmanuel-Friedens Church declared the ground "sacred and holy ... where women's voices and stories are welcomed, valued and affirmed; sacred ground where women are treated with dignity, supported in their role as moral decision-makers ... sacred ground where the violent voices of hatred and oppression are quelled."
Another minister prayed that the clinic be made a place of safety with a sense of sanctuary. A rabbi blew a religious musical instrument called a shofar “as a renewal of commitment” to “reproductive rights.”
All participants laid their hands on the building as another minister declared, “This is sacred ground.”
Kathleen Gallagher of the New York State Catholic Conference, told the Albany Times Union that the blessing was hypocritical.
"My gut reaction is that it's two-faced," Gallagher said. "For many years abortion proponents have been saying this is not a religious issue, you should keep religion out of this, and now all of a sudden they turn around and decide to bless an abortion clinic to gain respect for a procedure everybody knows is not worthy of respect."
Gallagher said that Governor Spitzer had acted “aggressively” to increase the availability of abortion, while “stomping on the rights” of Catholic hospitals and other religious healthcare providers. She said that the governor’s “Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act” would “raise abortion to the level of a fundamental right,” prohibiting virtually all restrictions and ensuring the availability of late-term abortions.
State spying that would make the Stasi proud
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3172.html
When it was passed into law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) sounded a pretty innocuous piece of legislation. But in truth it represented a significant victory for the busybody state over our ancient liberties.
Labour claimed it was responding to demands from civil liberties campaigners for more control over state snooping.
But it soon became clear that the legislation which Jack Straw, then Home Secretary, was introducing would have the opposite effect, massively expanding the ability of the public sector to pry into our private lives.
The Act, which has been quietly amended several times (each time handing more powers to the public sector), now gives an unprecedented range of state agencies the right to listen to our phone conversations, tap our emails and open our post.
In the last nine months of 2006, 960 new applications for the right to peer into the private lives of Britons were made every day.
It is a level of Government surveillance that would make even the Stasi, the former East German secret police renowned as the world's most effective intelligence agency, proud.
There are three different types of surveillance. The first, interception of communications - listening in while people are on the phone, or watching what we do on the internet - is the most difficult to justify.
But the grounds for interception are so wide as to allow most requests to be approved. As well as the more predictable excuse of "national security", they include "safeguarding the economic well-being of the UK". The police, the security services and Customs can all use this technique but they need authorisation from the Home Secretary herself or, in urgent cases, get temporary permission from one of her senior officials.
The second type is surveillance - old-fashioned spying. The list of possible justifications for this is absurdly long - including "to prevent and detect crime or prevent disorder, public safety, public health, to assess or collect any tax, duty, levy or other charge payable to a government department". Just about any of us could be under surveillance using one of this list.
Most worryingly, a long list of government agencies - including 474 councils - can put us under the spotlight. Senior officials in each one can simply give the go-ahead and apply for a rubber stamp to be given later by the Interception Commissioner.
This Commissioner, former judge Sir Paul Kennedy, with a team of five inspectors, is supposed to check to make sure that all the bugging and spying waived through by the Home Secretary or others has been justified.
His report this week identifies more than 1,000 cases over nine months where he found that the rules had been broken.
The third type of surveillance is the most common - access to communications data.
This includes discovering the identities of who we phone and which internet sites we visit. This information is even easier for public authorities to obtain with relatively junior officials able to authorise it.
Later, as in the case of surveillance, justification for needing this information is considered by overworked bureaucrats accountable to the Interception Commissioner.
But by the time his staff gets round to looking at the paperwork, the trading standards officers down at the town hall, for example, may have been peering at your phone and internet records for more than a year.
There is a tribunal to which you can complain, but since virtually no one under surveillance will know they are being watched, the tribunal isn't busy and has virtually never found in favour of a complainant.
How did the Government get away with this? Well, the Lords did make a fuss at the time. Tory peer Lord Northesk said it "sanctioned mass domestic surveillance measures".
The Government appeared to be forced into a climbdown. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) initially only covered the nine most crucial law enforcement agencies (police, the taxman, the intelligence agencies etc).
But this merely delayed the stealthy march of Big Brother. In 2004, the number of groups with the right to poke in our lives expanded to 792; the laws to allow this had been slipped quietly through the Commons by David Blunkett.
As usual, Whitehall got its way by waiting for the fuss to die down. Incidentally, the only group with an exemption from being bugged are MPs themselves.
But the Act didn't merely extend the rights of bureaucrats to check on us, it also forced the larger internet service providers to build into their systems the technological capability to cater for all this snooping.
In practice, the result was that "black boxes" were installed in all main ISPs, copying all the information available to them straight to the security services. Then, when MI5 or the police obtain an authorisation for surveillance, they merely tap into the black box. In return, the internet companies have been able to recoup some of their costs from the taxpayer.
While writing this article, I made several phone calls and looked at a number of sources on the internet. If anyone in Whitehall can think of a plausible reason why this article threatens the economic security of Britain, or any of the myriad excuses detailed above, they will be able this morning to see who I spoke to and where I went on the net, to conduct my research. Surely, that can't be right?
Christianity and Islam: Two Worldviews and Why They Matter
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3181.html
Recently, the Arab League reported that “nearly one-third of Arabs are illiterate, including half of Arab women.” The report also points out that “it’s not just the older generation: Three quarters of the 100 million illiterate people in 21 Arab countries are between the ages of 15 and 45.”
By contrast, 99 percent of Americans 15 years and older are literate, according to the latest government figures. Western nations have for centuries had the most literate populations and literacy rates in the US have been among the highest in the world going back as far as the 1600s when it was estimated that “the literacy rate for men in Massachusetts and Connecticut was somewhere between 89 and 95 percent…” And for “women in those colonies it is estimated to have run as high as 62 percent in the years 1681 – 1697.” (Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, 1985)
Where Christianity spreads, literacy inevitably follows. A Ugandan university study published in 2007 reveals that while “Arab Muslims were the first to introduce written information (texts) in Uganda, they did not make any effort to teach reading and writing… Literacy in the Roman alphabet was introduced into Uganda by Christian missionaries in the late 19th century.” The report goes on to add that within contemporary Ugandan culture, “Christianity provides the impetus for local literacy practices…”
Another study by the Organization of the Islamic Conference on the status of scientific research in its 57 member states reveals a similar shortcoming in the area of scientific accomplishment.
Of the more than 11.5 million scientific papers published worldwide each year; Muslim countries contribute just 2.5 percent. There are more than 1.5 billion Muslims living across the Islamic world — about a quarter of the world's population — and yet they have generated barely more than one percent of the world’s scientific literature and produced only two scientific Nobel Prize winners.
The Islamic approach to healthcare is still largely based on the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. These sayings, in which Muhammad gave his opinions on medical practices, formed the basis for a distinctive and inadequate medical system from the ninth century onward.
There are simply no scientific innovations emerging out of the Islamic world: no space program, no hi-tech developments, no medical breakthroughs—nothing! Islam cannot provide an adequate basis for science because Islam does not embrace the notion that the universe runs along fundamental principles or laws laid down at creation. Allah—unlike the God of Scripture who is both personal and rational—is impersonal and his intrusion upon the world is arbitrary.
In Christianity, God acts upon nature and the world in ways consistent with His special (Scripture) and natural (creation) revelation. In other words, the God of Scripture is a God of order who created according to laws that are universal and thus men could discern these laws and by theorizing based on these fixed laws, gain a greater understanding of creation. This served as the basis of Western science and its preeminence.
Economically, the Islamic world fares no better. In fact, the Gross Domestic product (GDP) of all Arab countries combined stood at just $1.2 trillion in 2005 – less than that of Spain. This pales in comparison to the U.S. GDP of more than $13 trillion! Unemployment among Arab nations, which hovers around 15 percent, is the highest in the world. The source of what little wealth the Arab world does generate is primarily due to oil, which without Western intervention would have remained an unrealized natural resource.
In the Christian West, it was the biblical principles of personal responsibility, thrift and reinvestment of profits that gave rise to free-market capitalism. This coupled with a moral vision that led people to restrain their material consumption while vigorously seeking wealth, produced the most productive economies in all of human history.
On the matter of justice, this hardly bears examination as Islamic justice is nearly an oxymoron. There is no presumption of innocence and the burden of proof does not rest with the state. This is a culture in which a woman who is the victim of rape will likely find herself executed or whipped and fathers can murder their children for associating with infidels—so called “honor killings.” Of the 48 countries with a full or near Muslim majority, none has yet evolved a stable, democratic political system.
Hisham Sharabi, the noted Palestinian-born scholar of Georgetown University writes that the Arab world is for the most part “a culturally and politically desolate and oppressive place in which to live and to work . . . a difficult place in which to struggle to build a decent and humane society.” Clearly the Islamic worldview fails to correspond with reality at every point, producing less than adequate results in every standard by which we measure personal, social, and economic well-being.
Conversely, Christianity is more than mere religion; it is the true interpretation of reality in which individuals and societies alike fare better in every category when they live consistent with biblical truth. Rodney Stark points out in his insightful book, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, “While other religions emphasized mystery and intuition, Christianity alone embraced reason and logic as the primary guide to religious truth.” This emphasis on “reason and logic” naturally flows from a rational God who has revealed Himself through both the written word and an orderly creation. These combine to provide a rational theology that through reason men are able to apprehend and apply to every aspect of life and culture producing humane and successful societies.
So, why does this matter? Because for one, roughly one-fifth of the world’s population suffers under the oppressive yoke of Islam and two, there are many who are determined to spread Islam at any cost until the entire world comes under its destructive control.
For American Christians, the response is simple. The Lord in His providence has brought somewhere between 6 and 10 million Muslims to our shores. Thus the Muslim is now our neighbor and we are to love our neighbors. This means we endeavor to create real and meaningful relationships with those Muslims the Lord has very intentionally brought into our lives for it is ultimately the love of Christ that will overcome the tyranny of Islam.
Piece of Noah's Ark Found? Exploration team presents material evidence from Mt. Ararat
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3183.html
For the first time in the seven decade-long history of the search for the legendary Noah’s Ark, a Turkish-Hong Kong exploration team on Tuesday came out with “material evidence”, to prove that the Ark was nestled on Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest mountain peak bordering Iran and Armenia.
A panel of experts, comprising Turkish authorities, veteran mountaineers, archaeologists, geologists and members of Hong Kong-based Noah’s Ark Ministries International, also displayed an almost one-metre-long peice of petrified wood before the media and specially invited international experts.
The experts claimed it to be a part of a long structure they had unearthed during their February-August 2007 exploration. “It is for the first time in the history of the Ark search that an exploration team is getting a material evidence and graphic documentation. This makes it not only a the significant breakthrough in the Ark-search, but one that is supported with the most substantial evidence in recent history,” the panel said.
The revelation is expected to open up a fresh chapter in the ongoing debates in the scientific community on the search for Noah’s Ark.
Narrating the genesis of their exploration on Mount Ararat, the mount which has a direct reference in the Quran (Mount Judi) and Bible, the panel said the search team had made several foiled attempts before unearthing the evidence at an altitude of 4,500-metres of the estimated 5,165 metre volcanic mountain.
“The structure was discovered in the interiors of an unusual cave. The 11.5m wide and 2.6m high white wooden texture was revealed after removing thick layers of volcanic ash on the cave wall,” panel members said at a press conference.
One of the underlying issues in the search for the Ark is the proper identification of its wood fragments. A petrographic examination carried out by the Applied Geoscience Centre of the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, identified the object as a petrified wooden structure, the panel said.
“Some of the big holes found on the structure indicate the locations where branches used to grow on tree. In places, original holes are partly or completely replaced by individual minerals and crystalline materials that can be found in rock materials,” said Dr Ahmet Ozbek, a panel member, who is also a faculty of Geology Engineering Kahramanmara Suctcu Imam University.
Dismissing the possibilities of the structure being wood that could appear naturally around the discovery site, Professor Oktay Belli, director, Eurasian Archaeology Institute, University of Istanbul, said researches have proved that there was no vegetation on Mount Ararat ever since 2000BC, because of the asperities of Ararat’s climate.
Talking to The Peninsula, Cemalettin Demircioglu, Dogubayazit City Governor, under whose jurisdiction the mount is located, said the civic body will invite more international experts to conduct further scientific studies on Mount Ararat.
“History has more than one times corroborated the legendary evidence that the ark was nestled on Mount Ararat. We will introduce the latest findings to the world and continue the scientific study. All interested scientists and NGOs can join our missions” he said. However, he said, those who are involved in the project must ensure the findings are not used politically, religiously, or for any vested interest.
Located in the Far Eastern Turkey, Ararat is great prize for mountain collectors. Ark sighting has often been reported from this mountain. The observation of Vessel-shaped features in aerial photograph of Ararat had caused a stir in the late 1950’s. However, this is the first time an exploration team is coming out with “material evidence”....
Christian Photographer Hauled before Human Rights Commission for Refusing Same-Sex Job
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3184.html
The case of a Christian photographer who refused to photograph a same-sex "commitment ceremony", was heard before the New Mexico Human Rights Division on Monday.
A same-sex couple asked Elaine Huguenin, co-owner with her husband of Elane Photography, to photograph a "commitment ceremony" that the two women wanted to hold. Huguenin declined because her Christian beliefs are in conflict with the message communicated by the ceremony.
The same-sex couple filed a complaint with the New Mexico Human Rights Division, which is now trying Elane Photography under state antidiscrimination laws for sexual orientation discrimination.
The Alliance Defense fund (ADF), a legal alliance that is dedicated to defending and protecting religious freedom, sanctity of life, marriage, and family, is currently defending Elane Photography.
"On Monday we defended Elane Photography in court, saying basically that no person should be required to help others advance a message that they disagree with," ADF Senior Counsel and Senior Vice-President of the Office of Strategic Initiatives, Jordan Lorence, told LifeSiteNews in an interview today. "That's a basic First Amendment principle. The government is punishing Elaine photography for refusing to take photos which obviously advance the messages sent by the same-sex ceremony - that marriage can be defined as two women or two men."
In their complaint the homosexual couple has sought for an injunction against Elane Photography that will forbid them from ever again refusing to photograph a same-sex ceremony. They have also requested attorney's fees.
"Depending on how far up the ladder this goes of appeal that could be a lot of money," said Lorence. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Lorence said that the ADF is framing its case in a similar fashion to the 1995 Supreme Court "Hurley" Case. "In the Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade case the US Supreme Court said that the State of Massachusetts could not punish a privately run parade because it refused to allow a homosexual advocacy group in to carry banners and signs in the parade. They said that would be compelled speech, ordering the parade organizers to help promote a message they do not want to promote. To apply the discrimination law that way violates freedom of speech. We are making a similar kind of argument in this case."
Lorence said that this current case is demonstrative of a "tremendous threat" facing those with traditional views on marriage and family.
"I think that this is a tremendous threat to First Amendment rights. Those who are advocating for same-sex marriage and for rights based upon sexual orientation keep arguing, 'We are not going to apply these against churches. We are going to protect people's right of conscience. We are all about diversity and pluralism.'"
But, in practice, says Lorence, "Business owners with traditional views or church owners with traditional definitions of marriage are now vulnerable for lawsuits under these nondiscrimination laws. There are 20 states that have these laws where they ban sexual orientation discrimination. Most of the major cities in the United States also have these kinds of ordinances. So these are a big threat, as the federal government debates whether to make this a blanket nationwide law.
"We see that these [non-discrimination laws] are not rectifying some unjust discrimination, but being used to punish those who speak out in favor of traditional marriage and sexual restraint," he concluded.
Lorence said that the ADF is "cautiously optimistic that the commission will do the right thing." If the New Mexico Commission, however, decides against Elane Photography, Lorence said that the ADF would appeal the decision all the way up to the US Supreme Court if necessary. ”....
Gaddafi Pushes For United States of Africa
http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/Jan31/3191.html
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to turn his back on Africa if the continent's leaders again reject his proposals for closer unity.
He said Libya would instead look towards Europe and the Arab world.
Col Gaddafi was speaking just ahead of the opening of a summit of African Union leaders in Ethiopia on Thursday.
He also said Libya was prepared to move its African investments, which he said amounted to more than $5bn (£2.5bn), to Arab and Mediterranean states.
The Libyan leader has for a long time advocated the creation of a United States of Africa - with its government including a foreign minister, defence minister and minister of trade.
The AU, which succeeded the Organisation of African Unity in 2002, was conceived by Mr Gaddafi as part of this vision.
The BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli says Col Gaddafi expressed his concerns on the future of Africa at a two-hour news conference at his residence in the Libyan capital.
The summit will either put an end to stalling on the unification of Africa or prove there is a conspiracy which vetoes African unity
Muammar Gaddafi
He accused the AU of failing to achieve tangible results in unity because of its endless delays in progressing towards forming a government for the continent.
After decades of sanctions and isolation, the Libyan leader seems comfortable with his new-found friendship with the West, our reporter says.
He said Libya would consider more economically strategic alternatives like Europe and the Arab world if his vision was rejected.
"The (summit) will be decisive. It will either put an end to stalling and time wasting on the unification of Africa or prove there is a conspiracy which vetoes African unity," Mr Gaddafi said.
Our correspondent says the Libyan leader failed to name individual countries he blames for the lack of progress.
But he praised the French-speaking African states as well as Nigeria, under its former leader Olusegun Obasanjo, for wanting African unity.
Jew nor Greek: Church Bridges Race Divide
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/314974.aspx
Last year provided a number of examples highlighting how race is still an issue in this country.
Many look to the Church for solutions, but Sunday morning worship has often been called the most segregated hour in America. Now there are signs that could be changing.
A Multicultural Flock
Ken Hutcherson pastors Antioch Bible Church, a thriving, multi-cultural congregation in Seattle, Wash. Here blacks and whites worship the same God in the same place.
Pastor Hutcherson says it's the "only" way to do church.
"God says the church should be integrated," he said. "At Antioch you see people from every color of the rainbow."
The members agree.
"I grew up in a predominately Caucasian church. I just didn't feel right. So it's been nice when I came here and it was like 'Oh, this is the way it's supposed to be.' Everybody was just worshipping together," said Antioch member Letha Ross.
Another member, Don McGhee said, "For me, my work is predominately white. It just happens to be the culture of the company I work for. But church is kind of where I get my culture."
Hutcherson says his commitment to diversity goes well beyond Sunday morning worship.
"Building intentional relationships with people who don't look like you - that's 24/7, not just at church that's 24/7. What does the person look like who has the freedom to go look into your refrigerator? Do all your friends who come over look like you?" Hutcherson asked.
Life in the South
But for this former Dallas Cowboy, embracing racial harmony has not always been easy.
"Quarterback was a thinking position. Middle linebacker was a thinking position. You didn't have blacks for years in those positions. And I was the first black middle linebacker, basically, for Dallas. That caused a whole bunch of ruckus in Dallas," he recalled.
Football even became a weapon in high school.
"My goal was to hurt one white boy a day and eventually to receive the greatest compliment of all and that's to be able to kill somebody white on the football field and be able to get away with it because it's a game," he said.
Hutcherson's hatred can be traced back to his childhood in the South.
"I was growing up in Alabama. I was not treated as equal. I was thought of as less than a human being. I was colored, I was Negro, I was a n----- and so growing up with that doesn't give you any reason to like white people," he said.
But all of that changed when his so-called enemies lifted him up in prayer.
"Unbeknownst to me there were these two white guys in Anniston. They would come for almost three years and sit in the stands and pray for me. They prayed for me for almost three years that God would get me and use me one of these days," Hutcherson said.
God answered, and Hutcherson acted.
"I bowed my head at a senior assembly and I thought 'God, if you're real, I'm going to give you my life because I've messed my life up," he said.
'My Life Was Built on Hate'
His feelings toward those he once hated changed dramatically.
"They said Christ died for everybody and it hit me like a ton of bricks," he said. "And that was if God died for me, he also died for whites. And if God doesn't hate whites - he's my coach - I don't have the right to hate whites.
"That just ripped me apart… because my whole life had been built on hating," he said.
God seemed to be telling him "you can't hate anybody white because I died for them , too." It's become his ministry's message -- emphasizing racial reconciliation within the body of Christ.
"Revelation tells us that when we get to heaven everybody's going to be there," he said.
But Hutcherson's church is not unique. Congregations across the country are breaking down racial barriers, altering the long-segregated landscape of Sunday worship.
"This church's multi-racial congregation sets it apart here in South Carolina, a state with a long history of racial prejudice, sending the message that God's spirit is being poured out on all people," he said.
The Bible's Stance on Race
Ron Carpenter pastors Redemption World Outreach Center in Greenville, S.C.
"A great church is a diverse church," he said. "There is something everyone can learn from another ethnic group that will reveal another side of God they've never seen."
Carpenter says his desire was to start a multi-ethnic church.
"It's just responsible if you call yourself a Christian to realize that this wall that has separated us is not of God. And Ephesians 2 says He has removed the wall that has divided us and now we all have become one in Christ," Carpenter said.
He also began to use the Bible to teach that racism is wrong.
"You don't change the way things are until you change the way people think," he said. "What I began to do by the word of God was I began to expose ignorance, began to expose falsehoods, began to expose lies - some things that people had been taught early."
"They had grown up with this thinking maybe whites about blacks, blacks about whites and so on. They had learned something really early that wasn't even true about each other," he said.
Another part of Redemption's success is its outreach to minorities in the community.
"When we started this church the church was a predominately white church. Apostle Ron had a vision of a multi-racial, multi-cultural church, and so we started the outreach running buses into the inner city," Hasker Hudgens, Redemption's director of evangelism, said.
"We found out that the inner city was predominately black and so when we started loading up families bringing them to church. It integrated our church," he said.
People from all walks of life are embracing the message.
"We don't see color. We're just all God's children and I like that all my friends are very diverse. Color is nothing for me," Redemption member Shannon Wydman said.
The question now is whether this sanctuary diversity is just a fad or a permanent shift?
"Have you ever wondered what the kingdom of heaven is like? Then this is the place. We just portray what heaven is like," Redemption member Mapitso Rivera said.
Antioch worship leader Dr. Stephen Newby said, "This is what God is doing. God is gathering his people so that he will be glorified. It's very simple."
Kay Warren on Helping HIV/AIDS Victims
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/314305.aspx
This week U.S. President George Bush asked Congress for $30 billion more to fight the AIDS pandemic in Africa.
CBN News spoke with activist Kay Warren of Saddleback Church recently about the Bush proposal and the way the church could partner with the government to tackle this worldwide killer.
The extra $30 billion, combined with the $18 billion already pledged--would bring the U.S. government's 10-year commitment to $48 billion.
Last year alone, 2 million people died of aids. Of the 33 million infected, two-thirds live in sub-saharan Africa. That's where much of the U.S. government's aid program, called "Pepfar," is focused.
But activist and evangelical author Kay Warren says Christians must not rely solely on the government.
"Our hope is not in the government. Our hope is not in Pepfar," she said. Our hope is in the church, because long after Pepfar stops being authorized, long after governments change, long after relief organizations come and go--the church is still going to be in those communities scattered around the world."
Warren says the church in the U.S. and abroad needs to care for HIV patients and help reduce the stigma of AIDS.
She also encourages believers to make AIDS personal by joining the fight.
If I know an orphan by name, if I know specific people, then it doesn't feel like it's just numbers, like it's this staggering problem that there's nothing we can do," she explained.
Warren says presidential candidates apply too, which is why she invited them to a December AIDS summit at Saddleback.
The way we view it is--if our goal is to stop AIDS--which it is--It's not going to happen without the leadership of the next president of the United States.
Heading into the November elections, Warren--and millions around the globe--hope it's an issue that will stay on the presidential radar, and the church's as well.
Can Israel Survive a War with Iran?
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/316174.aspx
TEL AVIV - The New Year brings new worry to the Middle East. In the past few weeks, Russia has delivered several more shipments of nuclear fuel to Iran. The shipments, along with a new assessment from U.S. intelligence, are causing grave concern in Israel.
Iran's Number 1 Target: Israel
Last week at the Bushehr nuclear plant, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the West that Israel's Zionist regime has reached its final stage and is about to collapse. A nuclear plant as his backdrop served as a grim reminder of the danger Israelis face as Iran's number one target.
The largest and perhaps most likely place for an Iranian attack on Israel is in Tel Aviv and the sprawling cities and towns of Israel's coastal plain. From here, Israel's defense specialists make plans to cover all bases against Iran's regime.
One of those plans includes preparing the nation for a surprise attack. For example, last year Israel held the largest civil defense simulation in the history of the state.
"We're simulating for scenarios such as missiles falling on Tel Aviv, suicide bombers, terror from inside the country and outside the country, non-conventional and conventional weapons," said an IDF spokeswoman.
Non-conventional weapons include Iran's nuclear threat and most Israelis take that threat very seriously.
While the world focuses on Iran's nuclear enrichment program, Israeli missile expert Uzi Rubin warns Iran already has the ability to deliver a nuclear bomb anywhere in Israel.
"Yes, the vehicle is already there. They didn't develop all this capability just for explosive warheads, it's meaningless," he said.
Sanctions Won't Get the Job Done
Despite this knowledge, the U.S. pushes for more sanctions against Iran. A strategy Israel's former military intelligence chief, retired Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, says carries no weight with Iran.
"They have enough time to know how weak the West is - how much the West speaks with high language and doesn't mean really to support this language with deeds. They already know that. All the sanctions that are taken by the Security Council are peanuts," he said.
Another frustration for Israeli leaders is the recent U.S. intelligence report that says Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Some believe it knocked any U.S. military option against Iran off the table. But Kuperwasser says the report missed the point. The important thing is that Iran even has such a program at all.
"These people had a weaponization program, which means, without a doubt this is a military program. So let's do something about it," he said.
Kuperwasser believes Iran may be just two years from creating a nuclear weapon.
So what happens if Iran strikes Israel with nuclear weapons? Conventional wisdom holds that just one nuclear strike would finish Israel. But a recent study conducted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies suggests Israel could survive an attack, while retaliation would "send Iran back to the stone age."
The study projected between 200 and 800,000 of Israel's seven million people would die from a nuclear strike. Iran, however, would lose 16 to 28 million of its 65 million people in an Israeli attack.
Kuperwasser said, "The most important thing is not to get to the point where something like this is even possible. Because of that, I think that we shouldn't even speak of such a hypothetical situation, because the most important thing is not to get there.
Will Israel Preempt A Nuclear Iran?
Washington military analyst Peter Brookes says while Israel must defend itself, any action would have a negative affect on the U.S.
"I think we would see problems in Iraq; I think we would see problems in Afghanistan; I think Hezbollah would become involved. That could mean even problems for us here in the United States. I think we would see counter-strikes against Israel by Iran. I mean, there are consequences to taking military action," Brookes said.
So far, sanctions and negotiations are the tools at hand, as Iran advances toward its nuclear goals.
In the meantime, Rubin says Iran's rocket engineers have finished their homework. They're just waiting for the nuclear scientists to finish theirs.
He said, "The problem is with the nuclear bomb. Does it work or doesn't it? The aircraft is just a bus to take it there. It's the same thing with the missile. The missile is just a bus to take the nuclear bomb. If the nuclear people did a good job, it will work."
Clowns gather for annual church tribute
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080204/ap_on_fe_st/odd_britain_clown_church;_ylt=Agj0lNMds9JVK_q1Zrp56iLtiBIF
The men and women in white face-paint and polka-dot bow-ties sang hymns and said prayers as one of their number rode a unicycle down the aisle of an austere east London church.
The group was gathered for a memorial service Sunday, but since it was for one of Britain's best-known clowns, the attendees kept things bright, cheery and more than a little unorthodox.
Brilliantly colored wigs, parasols and minuscule hats filled the nave of Holy Trinity Church at the annual service in honor of Joseph Grimaldi, known to many as the father of modern clowning. Roly Bain, the clowns' chaplain, blew bubbles from the pulpit at the service, which also honored clowns who have died in the past year.
The Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a vicar at the church who helped organize the event, said the clowns had a religious role to play.
"In the Bible, in the New Testament, it talks about us being fools for Christ and in a sense they clown around, they fool around, and they try to help people see the lighter side of life," Hudson-Wilkin said.
"I think from that perspective, that they have a ministry to perform."
Grimaldi was born in the late 18th century, and began performing publicly at age 3. A skilled mime, acrobat, magician and a consummate physical performer, he popularized many of clowning's trademark tricks, including thieving long strings of sausages. Grimaldi, who died in 1837, is credited with inventing the white face-paint and two red triangles that still grace many clowns' cheeks.
The first memorial service was held in 1946 and moved to Holy Trinity in 1959.
"If you're a clown, you know about it," said Albert "Clem" Alter, who traveled to the memorial from Portland, Ore.
___
On the Net:
Clowns International: http://www.clowns-international.co.uk
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