McCain Compiles List of Running Mates
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/350005.aspx
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Sen. John McCain has begun "getting together a list of names" to choose a vice presidential running mate and said Wednesday he hopes to announce his choice before the Republican convention in early September.
"I'd like to get it done as early as possible. I'm aware of enhanced importance of this issue given my age," said the Arizona senator, 71.
McCain wrapped up the Republican presidential nomination a month ago.
Search in its 'Embryonic Stage'
McCain told reporters his search for a running mate would take weeks if not months. At the prompting of aides, he said it was at an "embryonic stage" and added, "it's every name imaginable," about 20 in all.
He said his campaign had asked unnamed individuals to lead the effort, but had not heard back from them.
He said he wants to move quickly to make sure that there are no problems when he unveils his choice. He cited 1988, when George H.W. Bush named then-Sen. Dan Quayle to be his running mate.
"Quayle had not been briefed and prepared for some of the questions" that he would have to field, McCain said, without assigning any blame to Quayle himself.
Bush did not name Quayle until he reached his convention city in an effort to achieve the greatest element of surprise.
Speaking with reporters on his campaign bus, McCain did not offer any details of his search for a running mate.
"We just started this process of getting together a list of names and having them looked at," he said.
"If I had a personal preference I'd like to do it before the convention to avoid some of the mistakes that I've seen made in the past as you get into a time crunch and maybe sometimes don't make the announcement right or maybe they have not examined every single candidate."
McCain Gives Nothing Away
McCain has given no hint of his thinking on a running mate, although he frequently speaks warmly of his former rivals for the nomination, particularly former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who traveled with the nominee-in-waiting last week. Among the other possible choices are several governors: Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty, Florida's Charlie Crist, Mississippi's Haley Barbour, South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Utah's Jon Huntsman Jr.
It's also possible that McCain could take a non-traditional route by looking to the business sector. For instance, he holds Frederick Smith, the head of FedEx, in high regard and frequently praises him. Another name that's been floated is Rob Portman of Ohio, a former congressman who was one of President Bush's budget directors.
McCain made his comments on his way to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated, to deliver the third in a string of speeches in a week-long tour designed to reintroduce him to a wide, general election audience and remind them of his long military history.
First he stopped at Chick & Ruth's Delly where crab omelets are on the menu and local and state politicians have gathered down the street from the Maryland Statehouse for decades of breakfasts and shop talk. An American flag hangs over the counter with its five stools, and for nearly two decades, all business has come to a halt for a few seconds as the Pledge of Allegiance is recited.
In his speech on a wind-swept outdoor pavilion overlooking the naval academy football stadium, the one-time Vietnam prisoner of war issued a challenge.
"If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you are disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them," he said.
He said he hopes more Americans will enlist in the military or run for office.
"But there are many public causes where your service can make our country a stronger, better one than we inherited. Wherever there is a hungry child, a great cause exists.. Wherever there is suffering, a great cause exists."
Conservative Blacks Speak Out with New Online Magazine
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07030.shtml
CHICAGO -- Conservative black Americans, often the target of ridicule by Barack Obama's pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, insist their voices be heard in the ongoing race relations discussion, Dr. Eric Wallace, founder of Wallace Multimedia Group, said today.
"Rev. Wright's uncomplimentary comments about accomplished national black conservatives such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reveal an ideological struggle among African-Americans," Dr. Wallace said. "He owes black conservatives an apology for insulting all of us when he mocked Dr. Rice and Judge Thomas."
Last Tuesday presidential candidate Barack Obama condemned Wright's most incendiary remarks made in the pulpit of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, wherein Wright said America's "chickens have come home to roost," in wake of the 9-11 attacks and "God D*** America" because of past racial injustices. Obama did not specifically condemn Wright's derogatory comments about black conservatives.
Dr. Wallace said Rev. Wright does not speak for all blacks in America, and that this controversy presents an opportunity for blacks to share other political perspectives, especially those which counter Wright's radical leftist viewpoints.
"American blacks are not monolithic. There's a considerable portion of us committed to the ideals of limited government, individual rights, free markets and traditional family values. Just because Dr. Wright doesn't approve of our views does not excuse his disrespect for those who have the same skin color, but hold different political persuasions," Dr. Wallace, a Chicago suburban resident, said.
In March, Wallace Multimedia Group launched its premiere issue of Freedom's Journal Magazine, a brand new online bi-monthly publication that incorporates the latest computer technology with a black conservative political perspective.
"We are pleased that national conservatives such as Herman Cain, Star Parker and Armstrong Williams agreed to join our efforts by contributing to our first Freedom's Journal Magazine," Dr. Wallace said. "They represent the myriad of bright, gifted leaders that encourage black Americans to accentuate natural abilities and encourage independence from government programs and confidence in themselves. Freedom's Journal Magazine is an easy first step in tapping into the bountiful intellectual leadership readily available to black conservatives."
Online access to Freedom's Journal Magazine is available for $3 an issue, $15 per year or $26 for two years. Freedom's Journal Magazine website may be found at: www.freedomsjournalmagazine.com.
Dr. Eric Wallace, founder of Wallace Multimedia in Matteson, IL, is chairman of the African-American Republican Council of Illinois and serves on local commissions and advisory boards. His doctorate degree is in Biblical Studies.
Obama's One Percent Giving to Charity Calls into Question his Commitment to the Poor
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07031.shtml
WASHINGTON -- Senator Obama's 1% giving to charity calls into question his commitment to the poor and needy and exposes his lack of conviction to the most vulnerable in our society.
Recent tax returns made public by Senator Obama, from 2000 though 2004, show that he gave less than 1% of his income to charitable causes.
Senator Obama has campaigned on the theme of change and reaching out to the most needy and broken in our society, but he is not willing to "put his money where his mouth is" on the issue of social justice.
Sadly, Senator Obama appears to be just another hypocritical politician saying one thing on the campaign trail and living a lifestyle that contradicts his policies.
Senator Obama might want to change his campaign slogan from "Yes we can!" to "No I wouldn't!"
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, "Americans are growing weary of politicians who say one thing on the campaign trail but live their personal lives in sharp contrast to their public views. A politician's private life should match their public rhetoric. How often do we hear of our elected officials lecturing us on global warming and then flying in private jets and driving large SUVs. Or, public officials talking about reaching out to the poor and living in mansions and spending hundreds of dollars on haircuts.
"Sadly, Senator Obama now falls into that category of politicians not 'practicing what they preach.' By giving less than 1% of his income to charitable causes, he has shown a profound lack of compassion for the poor and needy. He appears to be just another hypocritical leader who demands from others what he is unwilling to do himself. Our elected officials should never be able to separate public policy from private lifestyle. So, the next time you hear Senator Obama talking about social programs realize he has no interest in getting personally involved. He only wants your money."
Earmarks Still Pose Problem in Congress
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/350224.aspx
When Democrats took over Congress, they promised to get rid of those expensive pet projects known as earmarks.
But the non-partisan group Citizens Against Government Waste said that has not happened.
The group released its annual "Pig Book" Wednesday, exposing wasteful "pork barrel" spending on Capitol Hill.
It showed that Congress set aside $17 billion in earmarks for 2008, a 30 percent increase from last year.
The money has been used for projects like the following:
- $7.5 million for grape and wine testing
- $3 million for shrimp research.
"This money comes from one of two places. Either you pay more taxes for everything that's in that book, or you borrow the money for everything that's in that book," said Republican John Campbell of California. "So the question for people out there is 'are you willing to pay more taxes, to see your taxes go up for this stuff?"'
Sen. Clinton requested 281 earmarks worth $296 million, Sen. Obama, 53 earmarks worth $97 million and Sen. McCain has never requested an earmark.
Doctors Must Perform Abortions or Lose Job
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/350119.aspx
Doctors who refuse to refer patients for abortions could be putting their practices in jeopardy.
New professional guidelines say doctors have to either perform abortions - or refer patients to a doctor who will.
If they won't, the could lose their certification and ultimately, their job.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has had these guidelines in place for four months.
But now the organization is backpedaling.
They're telling CBN News that their ethics committee plans to meet to re-evaluate these guidelines.
That may be because of substantial pressure placed on the college by the Bush administration and other groups.
The college issued a new ethics statement on abortion in November.
It clearly states that "physicians have a duty to refer patients in a timely manner to other providers if they do not feel that they can in conscience provide the standard reproductive service that patients request."
Next, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology said doctors could lose their certification if they violate the college's ethics guidelines--and that includes the one on abortion.
It was shocking news for many physicians.
"If you don't particularly want to do the abortion yourself you have to help them get to someone who does. So they're saying either do it or refer it and that if you're not doing that you're not practicing ethical medicine anymore and you no longer have a right to refuse to do what patients want based on your own conscience," said Dr. Gene Rudd with the Christian Medical Association.
Two weeks ago, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt called on the board to reject its policy, saying the new guidelines "would force physicians to violate their conscience by referring patients for abortion."
Nationwide prayer services in Israel
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2405
As rumors of war and danger circulated throughout Israel Wednesday, Jews in 40 cities and towns countrywide planned to hold simultaneous prayer and repentance services in the afternoon on April 3.
According to Israel National News, "the military threats that have energized concerned Jews throughout the country to organize the prayer services include long-range non-conventional Iranian and Syrian missiles, Hizb’allah's thousands of missiles not far from Israel's northern border, and the continuing weapons flow from Iran and Syria into Lebanon.
"Historically and traditionally," INN continued, pointing to the lives of Jacob, Moses, Mordechai and Esther, "whenever the Jewish people have been threatened, they have responded with an outpouring of prayer and repentance."
At six-o-clock Thursday evening Israel time, prayer services will take place in Jerusalem, Ofakim, Nof Ayalon, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Tel Tzion, Be'er Sheva, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Bat Yam, Afula, Petach Tikvah, Givatayim, Nesher, Tel Aviv and some 20 other cities and locations on both sides of the Green Line.
Confirmed: Israel, Syria 'talking'
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60418
Israel and Syria engaged in recent secret talks mediated by Turkey, Syrian President Bashar Assad confirmed in an interview yesterday.
"Turkey is used as a channel of communication" and "listens to both sides' positions," Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bushra Kanfani told a Kuwaiti newspaper.
The confirmation follows an exclusive WND report in February revealing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government has been holding high-level talks with Syria via Turkey regarding renewing negotiations over an Israeli retreat from the strategic Golan Heights.
Top diplomatic sources in Jerusalem at the time said Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, had been passing official messages on a regular basis to Syrian President Assad regarding Israel's willingness to negotiate over the Golan. The messages were being transmitted by Turkish mediators with the sanctioning of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
The Golan Heights is strategic, mountainous territory looking down on Israeli and Syrian population centers twice used by Damascus to launch ground invasions into the Jewish state.
A number of Israeli diplomats hinted the past few days that Israel and Syria might renew talks.
Barak said the revival of peace talks with Damascus is a key foreign policy objective, according to a statement released yesterday.
Olmert last week said Israel was "interested" in talking with Syria in an effort to prompt Damascus to break with the "Axis of Evil."
Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said Friday that "all efforts" are being made to "bring Syria to the negotiating table in order to sign a peace treaty."
Ben-Eliezer told Israel Radio, "We know exactly what the price would be," namely, he stated, an Israeli evacuation of the Golan Heights.
According to a report yesterday in Israel's Haaretz daily, Olmert also asked members of the U.S. congress and other foreign envoys to pass messages to Assad regarding the possibility of restarting negotiations.
But some of the foreign envoys who met with Assad said that they were surprised to see in his office, alongside photos of his dead father, photographs of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hezbollah Sec. Gen.l Hassan Nasrallah, which led the envoys to believe that Syria is strongly committed to an alliance with Iran and Hezbollah, Haaretz reported.
'Furious frenzy' to get Russian missiles
The confirmation of Israel-Syria talks comes after WND reported Syria, aided by Russia and Iran, in recent months has been furiously acquiring rockets and missiles, including projectiles capable of hitting any point in Israel. The officials listed anti-tank, anti-aircraft and ballistic missiles as some of the arms procured by Syria.
A Jordanian security official said one of the main reasons Damascus did not retaliate after Israel carried out its Sept. 6 air strike inside Syria – which allegedly targeted a nascent nuclear facility – was because Syria's rocket infrastructure was not yet complete.
The official said that after the Israeli air strike, Syria picked up the pace of acquiring rockets and missiles, largely from Russia with Iranian backing, with the goal of completing its missile and rocket arsenal by the end of the year. The Jordanian official said Syria aims to possess the capacity to fire more than 100 rockets into Israel per hour for a sustained period of time.
"The Syrians have three main goals: to maximize their anti-tank, anti-aircraft and ballistic missile and rocket capabilities," explained the Jordanian official.
According to Israeli and Jordanian officials, Syria recently quietly struck a deal with Russia that allows Moscow to station submarines and war boats off Syrian ports. In exchange, Russia is supplying Syria with weaponry at lower costs, with some of the missiles and rockets being financed by Iran.
"The Iranians opened an extended credit line with Russia for Syria with the purpose of arming Syria," said one Jordanian security official.
"Russia's involvement and strategic positioning is almost like a return to its Cold War stance," the official said.
Both the Israeli and Jordanian officials told WND large quantities of Syrian rockets and missiles are being stockpiled at the major Syrian ports of Latakia and Tartus.
Syria's new acquisitions include Russia's S-300 surface-to-air missile defense shield, which is similar to the U.S.-funded, Israeli engineered Arrow anti-missile system currently deployed in Israel. The S-300 system is being run not by Syria but by Russian naval technicians who work from Syria's ports, security officials said.
New ballistic missiles and rockets include Alexander rockets and a massive quantity of various Scud surface-to-surface missiles, including Scud B and Scud D missiles.
Israeli security officials noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles had.
In addition to longer-range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter-range missiles such as 220 millimeter and 305 millimeter rockets, some of which have been passed on to the Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah.
Israel has information Syria recently acquired and deployed Chinese-made C-802 missiles, which were successfully used against the Israeli navy during Israel's war against Hezbollah in 2006. The missiles were passed to Syria by Iran, Israeli security officials told WND.
Russia recently sold to Syria advanced anti-tank missiles similar to the projectiles that devastated Israeli tanks during the last Lebanon war, causing the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military confrontations. Syria and Russia are negotiating the sale of advanced anti-aircraft missiles.
Massive war drill next week
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2402
Tens of thousands of Israelis are to participate next week in a nationwide emergency drill that will simulate a massive missile strike on the country's population centers.
The exercise was approved by Israel's security cabinet Wednesday and will be launched with a cabinet meeting conducted as if Israel was at war, and the sounding of air raid sirens throughout the land.
Sectors to be involved will include the Israel Defense Forces, all government ministries, local authorities and the educational services.
Such a missile strike from Syria, the Lebanese Hizb'allah and perhaps even Iran is considered likely in the next Arab-Israeli war, which high-ranking IDF reserve officers have said will make the 2006 Second Lebanon War look like child's play in comparison.
That war, between Israel and the Hizb'allah - the Iranian- and Syrian-supported terror group which launched missiles only against the north of the country - drove more than a million Israelis to abandon their homes and move south out of rocket-range.
Last week IDF officials reported that the Hizb'allah now has more rockets than it did before the last war, and that it is now equipped with missiles that can hit much deeper into Israel, even as far south as Dimona, the site of Israel's nuclear facility.
Syria is armed with even more powerful and more accurate missiles, and is known to have non-conventional warheads including those with VX nerve gas in its arsenal.
Earlier, before the Security Cabinet gave the green light for the drill, Israeli media reported that Syria was calling up its reserve troops fearing an Israeli attack.
Also on the same day, in an apparently unrelated development, the Israeli defense establishment announced that it s non-conventional protection kits - against atomic, biological and chemical attacks - are to be upgraded and redistributed to the public.
Syria reportedly mobilizing reserves - Damascus denies
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2403
Syria's armed forces have reportedly been put on alert and its reserves called up, according to a report in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi.
The reason given for the mobilization and concentration of military forces was fear of an imminent, large-scale Israeli attack against Lebanon and Syria.
Hours after all the Israeli media ran reports of the Syrian troop movements, Damascus denied them.
"The report...is totally false" a member of the Syrian parliament's National Security Committee, Col. (ret.) Ahmad Munir Muhammad, told the Jerusalem-based The Media Line, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"Syria is not concentrating forces and is not summoning its reserves."
Mohammed did however confirm that his country does suspect Israel of gearing up to strike Syria with American support.
He also told The Media Line Damascus might alter its military strategy in the event of an attack and opt to use middle-range missiles. However he insisted it would only do so to protect Syrian territory, and would not be the one to initiate an attack.
Israel looks for position of strength before reaching final peace deal
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3525042,00.html
Two strategic goals currently top the defense establishment's list of priorities: The more urgent one is the neutralization of the rocket and missile threat on all of Israel, while the second is thwarting the Iranian nuclear threat.
Should Israel find a technological, operational or political solution to these threats, its main enemies will be left without their violent pressure tactics, with which they hope to defeat Israel in a war of attrition or wipe it off the map. Then Israel will be able to move on to the next stage, during which it will come to the negotiating table from a position of power and reach political agreements with the Palestinains and Syria that will finally determine the permanent borders with Arab consent and international backing.
This is the essence of the vision presented by Defense Minister Ehud Barak for Israel. The vision apparently has the support of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, cabinet, the general staff and the heads of Israel's intelligence community. The problem is that even if Israel eventually succeeds in achieving these ambitious goals, three to five years will pass until the country launches an efficient multi-layered system to intercept ballistic missiles and rockets of various models. It will take the same number of years for Israel to establish the technological and operational ability to efficiently obstruct the Iranian threat and deter the Islamic republic.
The burning question now is: What do we do until these threats are lifted? How should we handle the current threats immediately in order to ensure a more comfortable security situation down the line without the spilling of unnecessary blood and without eroding the IDF, the home front's resistance and the international community's legitimacy? How do we reach the economic stability that will allow the allocation of the huge resources necessary for the implementation of these strategic goals? Or in more concrete terms: Will the IDF launch a major operation in Gaza to quell the rocket fire and curb Hamas' growing strength, or is there another way to free the residents of Israeli communities surrounding the Strip from the Qassam horror until the "Iron Dome" (interception system) is put into use to protect them?
Is there a way to prevent escalation in the North that will likely follow a terror attack launched to avenge the assassination of (Hizbullah commander) Imad Mugniyah? And what will Israel do if Iran succeeds in crossing the technological threshold on the way to a nuclear bomb by the end of 2008?
These questions have already generated fierce debate within Israel's political and defense establishments. In analyzing recent statements by Defense Minister Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, one can readily gauge the strategic responses proposed by the duo—and readily endorsed by the cabinet-- to these burning security concerns. There is a gaping chasm, however, between proposals and implementation, both in the financial realm and otherwise. This is a chronic problem for the Olmert government, and not only as pertains to security. Nevertheless, a thorough examination of the remedies proposed by the security establishment for the recent, pressing security concerns facing Israel is undoubtedly warranted.
4 main reasons for lull
On the Gaza front, the security establishment is trying to bide its time. Their aim is to postpone, if not avoid all together, a full scale IDF operation in the Gaza Strip. This, by containing the threat posed by Hamas with Egyptian aid, which is proving decidedly more effective in recent days. The aftermath of the breaching of the Philadelphi route and operation “Warm Winter” has lead to a rare accord of interests between Israel, Hamas and Egypt. The latter seeks to utilize these shared interests as leverage to negotiate a lull in hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Israel on its part is willing to ease its demands, and agree to this aforementioned lull, especially should Egypt agree to combat smuggling and infiltrations along the Gaza border as part of this deal.
Egypt has proven more than capable at fortifying its border in recent weeks. With Israeli aid, Egypt has thwarted the infiltration of several terror operatives into Israel from the Sinai Peninsula in recent weeks. This undoubtedly spurs Barak to commit wholeheartedly to this Egyptian initiative, even if this means that Israel must ease the economic restrictions, as well as the blockade, which it has imposed on the Gaza strip. Furthermore, Barak is also willing to abandon—for the meantime—Israel’s central goal of toppling the Hamas government in Gaza.
Israel’s softened stance comes in wake of harsh condemnation, both internationally and in the Arab world, of the sizeable civilian casualties endured by the Palestinians during operation "Warm Winter". This international upheaval, which nearly led to a third Intifada and to Israel’s isolation of the global scene, has made the security establishment highly reluctant to launch a full scale excursion into Gaza.
Furthermore, Israel hopes that an Egypt-brokered lull will also lead to further advances in negotiations to free kidnapped IDF soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit.
A third reason for Israel’s keenness to achieve a lull, is that it would allow Israel’s citizens to celebrate the country’s 60th anniversary in relative peace and quiet, and permit dignitaries such as United States President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Israel and share in the festivities.
A final reason for the softened Israeli stance is that, the “Iron Dome” interception system aside, a lull will give Israel leave to complete construction of a more advanced technologically-based defensive system surrounding Gaza. Such a system will utilize land, sea and air based "shooting robots" which will minimize the need for IDF manpower, as well as casualties sustained in combating infiltrations from Gaza as well as from explosive devices placed along the security fence. That being said, a lull would also allow Hamas to establish its own infrastructure along the security fence; namely security fence-traversing tunnels.
In the meantime, Israel is granting Egyptian envoy, Omar Suleiman, extremely wide berth in negotiations. The defense minister has also instructed the IDF to act with utmost restraint and avoid all offensive maneuvers as long as there is still any hope left for this Egyptian initiative. Israel, furthermore, poses no preconditions to a lull bar three minimal demands to Hamas and Islamic Jihad: An end to rocket and terror attacks against Israel, as well as arms smuggling into Gaza. In return, Israel asks that these organizations not call for an end to targeted assassinations in Gaza as a precondition to the Egypt-sponsored lull.
What would happen should this Egyptian “accordette” (as it has been nicknamed in security personnel circles) fail, or if this lull comes to an end relatively quickly as the shin Bet and the IDF’s Intelligence Branch predict? Even in this worst case scenario, the security establishment is in no rush to launch a full scale operation in Gaza.
Instead, the IDF will escalate its current operations in Gaza and place increased pressure on Hamas by targeting its core leadership—a step the IDF has avoided taking thus far—and by launching more intensive, broader based operations in the Gaza Strip. The IDF’s goal in launching such Gaza operations would be to compromise Hamas’ ability to control the region, at the risk of increasing support for the organization as was the case following operation “Warm winter”. This course of action, furthermore, does not guarantee cessation of Qassam rocket fire, and could allow for more radical leadership in Gaza should the Hamas government topple. Al-Qaeda, among other groups, would just jump at the chance to fill a Gaza leadership vacuum and establish a stronghold in the region.
A full scale excursion into Gaza is a last and final resort should all else fail. If such a scenario should arise, Israel would enter into a full scale, lengthy war of last resort in Gaza, even without a clearly defined exit strategy. Both standing army as well as reserve troops are fully prepared for such a scenario; not so the military administrative system which would have to meet the needs of the Gaza populace should such a war arise. The political establishment, which would have to launch an all out, international media and PR campaign to support IDF troops and their actions, is also hardly prepared for such a scenario.
It would take a few more months before Israel is truly prepared, in all respects, for such a large scale Gaza operation. In the meantime, out of deep respect to Quartet envoy Tony Blair, and also in order to appease the current United Sates leadership, Barak is making goodwill gestures toward Palestinian Authority President and attempting to ease restrictions placed on Gaza’s civilian population.
Disproportionate response
On its northern front, Israel faces a threat far greater than any posed by Gaza. As long as Israel does not have a multi-tiered, reliable, board based interception system, it remains vulnerable to the daunting arsenal of rockets and missiles possessed by Syria and Hizbullah, which can cause havoc and destruction throughout the State of Israel. The good news is the Israel’s deterrence has increased manifold, vis a vie Teheran, Hizbullah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, as well as Damascus, following the Second Lebanon War, which left Lebanon in utter ruin, as well as Israel’s strike on a suspected nuclear plant in Syria. Both Syrian President Bashar Assad, as well as Nasrallah, are also subdued by growing Lebanese opposition to Syria’s de facto rule of the country, as well as by Hizbullah’s continual efforts to control the Lebanese government Nevertheless, the possibility still remains that Hizbullah, perhaps even Syria, might be tempted to launch a massive missile strike or terror attack against Israel in solidarity with their Palestinian brethren, or in retaliation for the assassination of assassinated Hizbullah commander Imad Mugniyah. Especially in the last month this is becoming a more plausible scenario.
In order to deter Hizbullah and Syria from launching such an offensive strike, Israel has sent both parties an unequivocal message: Any prolonged or major strike will lead to a ‘disproportionate’ Israeli response on Syrian and Lebanese soil. Simply put, Israel will methodically and completely demolish not only missile storage and launch sites in both countries, but also their military, civilian and economic infrastructures as well. This stern, unequivocal message is no mere empty threat; it is backed up by a ready made IDF operational plan. If Israel is forced to take this course of action, security personnel suggest, it can decidedly end rocket and missile attacks on the country in a matter of days. Unfortunately, these few days of constant rocket attacks can leave heavy civilian casualties as well as marked property damage in their wake.
Israel can also take a political approach to dealing with this northern front. The security establishment recommends that Israel be willing to enter into political negotiations with Syria immediately. Damascus, on it part, would welcome peace talks with Israel in order to escape the isolation it currently faces both in the Arab world as well as on the international arena. If Syrian President Assad feels that Israel is seriously willing to negotiate with Syria, he might be less willing to resort to military action and more willing to reign in Hizbullah. Both Defense Minister Barak as well as the head of the IDF’s Intelligence Branch endorse pursuing such an accord with Syria. Mossad Director, Meir Dagan, objects. Prime Minister Olmert, on his part, also seems willing to pursue a peace treaty with Syria, provided the Syrian president lower his extensive demands of Israel. Until then, Tension in the north remain high, and Israel’s security and intelligence efforts continue at full force.
This, more or less, is Israel’s current security strategy, as proposed to the government by the IDF chief of staff and the defense minister. It is geared predominately toward salvaging Israeli lives and labor, and biding Israel’s time until its current technological and political efforts pay off, and it garners more effective means to contend with its existential security threats.
Israelis to be kitted for non-conventional warfare
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2404
Israelis learned Wednesday that will, in the coming months, be issued with emergency kits to protect them in the event of atomic, biological or chemical (ABC) attacks.
The announcement, made by the defense establishment, comes amid rumors of a possible war breaking out from the north that will see thousands of missiles rained down upon the Jewish state.
But officials stressed the decision to collect, update and redistribute the kits was "a predictable move," and that there was no need for the public to panic.
It would take a few months for the entire population to be provided for.
Earlier this week municipal officials decried the lamentable lack of preparedness countrywide for a possible attack.
While some bomb shelters in the north had been renovated since the Second Lebanon War of 18 months ago, thousands of shelters in the center have not been repaired and prepared.
War with Iran May Have Begun with Offensive in Iraq
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bhwhite_080328_war_with_iran_may_ha.htm
The United States military offensive against Iran may have begun with a swiftly escalating series of operations directed against the Mahdi Army, a Shiite militia led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which had been observing a six month old cease-fire.
Overall circumstances in support of this conclusion:
* If attacks against Iran are to commence soon, then it makes sense to weaken those forces considered likely to irrupt in response to such an attack: Better to attack those forces first and separately, throwing them off balance and subjecting them to prolonged siege, thereby depleting their assets and revealing their larger weapon capabilities and stores, prior to an attack on Iran itself;
* If attacks against Iran are to commence soon, then it makes sense to force an end to the Mahdi Army six month cease-fire and to establish general conditions of conflict, during which accusations and operations against Iran would appear less unprovoked;
* The recent Bush and Cheney "peace" trips occurred within the planning and operating context of not only the current offensive, but also part of an event platform for operations whose scale and duration certainly extend beyond the forces deployed in the port of Basra during the last week in March, leaving the distinct impression US actions are plan rather than event driven.
Iraqi circumstantial elements:
* Operations against the Mahdi Army are large scale, coordinated attacks: Starting with raids and arrests in the Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and following-up immediately by a claimed 30,000 man police and Iraqi army offensive in Basra, which required months of planning and logistical preparation, even if largely imagined;
* The operations were timed to occur immediately after the Bush-Cheney Middle-East trips and before the administration's presentation of its force level plans to Congress;
* The operations were directed against what US and Iraqi governments say are Iranian assets in Iraq: US and Iraqi government officials have repeatedly charged that the elements attacked were those supported by Iran;
* The local police and army units in Basra were bypassed: long considered unreliable, the Basra police and army units, which were expected to melt away in any general insurrection, have been largely replaced (and possibly contained/detained) by units sent from the north in the Iraqi government's single largest military operation;
* Sadr's call for civil peace demonstrations in Baghdad to protest US attacks were met with an unprecedented three day, 24 hour curfew;
* Throughout all of this, US forces have been held almost entirely in reserve, with their likely use to occur as each Mahdi Army element is fixed in defensive positions by the Iraqi army, depending on circumstances, such as hitting Mahdi Army strong points, supporting weakening Iraqi government operations, and killing/capturing Sadr.
* General Petraeus claimed in a BBC interview about the Green Zone attacks, "Tehran had trained, equipped and funded insurgents who fired the barrage of mortars and rockets."
* General Petraeus in a videoconference with the president on Monday, during the briefings reported by officials, recommended taking "up to two months" to evaluate security in Iraq before considering additional withdrawals.
US circumstantial elements:
* According to a New York Times report on March 28, 2008, Bush attended "three days of briefings with senior advisers and military commanders on the situation in Iraq and the options for reducing the number of American troops there beyond the withdrawals already announced." Given Bush's limited attention span, his attending three days of briefings to discuss planned withdrawals is unbelievable, with plans to attack Iran the far more likely three day topic.
* As soon as the Iraqi operations began in Basra, Bush immediately and personally praised the Iraqi government for its actions, appearing to be part of planned propaganda offensive;
* In the same report, Bush described the operation in Basra as an "offensive" that "builds on the security gains of the surge";
* Finally, the same New York Times report says, "Mr. Bush also accused Iran of arming, training and financing the militias fighting against the Iraqi forces";
* Admiral Fallon's removal takes effect March 31, 2008;
* US Treasury Department undermines Iranian international banking operations.
What are the likely next steps toward an attack on Iran?
* Continuing the current tactical thrust of preemptive strikes against those likely to respond in an attack on Iran, major US military operations on the Iraq-Iran and Iraq-Syria border areas are very likely;
* Various Iranian assets within Iraq will likely be targeted by US and Iraqi government operations;
* Israel may attack Hamas in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria;
* The likelihood of a US-Iran naval incident continues.
Russia ‘Alarmed’ As US Readies April Nuclear Attack On Iran
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1086.htm
Russian Foreign Ministry Officials are reported to be ‘alarmed’ today over a ‘presentation’ made by the United States War Leaders to President Putin at this weeks NATO summit in Romania and which details the Americans plan to begin a nuclear attack against Irans atomic facilities in the next two weeks.
Most disturbing of these reports, according to Foreign Ministry Analysts, are the United States ‘offers and threats’ towards Russia to ‘remain neutral’ in this conflict or face the combined weight of the American and EU central banks deliberate collapsing of the Western banking system, and US dollar, and which is estimated will cause the loss of nearly $800 billion of Russian foreign reserves.
To the ‘offers’ presented to President Putin for keeping Russia out of this war, these reports continue, will be NATO’s rejection of Ukraine and Georgia membership into the Western Military Alliance and the ending of the planned US Missile Shield being planned for Poland and the Czech Republic.
In what, sadly, passes for diplomacy these days with the United States, this ‘presentation’ to President Putin is eerily reminiscent of the offer made to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan prior to the US invasion of their country after their rejection of the American offer, and which French news sources reported was stated, “Either you accept our offer of a carpet of gold, or we bury you under a carpet of bombs."
To the likelihood of the US carrying out such an attack upon Iran there remains today little doubt as Saudi Arabia has ordered their people to prepare for nuclear war, and as we can read as reported by Iran’s Press TV News Service, and which says:
"Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to counter any ’radioactive hazards’ which may result from a US strike on Iran’s nuclear plants.
Popular government-guided Saudi newspaper Okaz recently reported that the Saudi Shura Council approved of nuclear fallout preparation plans only a day after US Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Kingdom’s high ranking officials, including King Abdullah.
As a result of the Shura ruling, the Saudi government will start the implementation of ’national plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the Kingdom following expert warnings of possible attacks on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactors’."
Israel is, likewise, said to be preparing for this new war, and as we can read as reported by Israeli News Sources, and which state: "Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized on Sunday evening the plans for a national emergency drill, which is scheduled to take place in two weeks time."
Russian Military Analysts, in these reports, further state that with a US nuclear strike against Iran, Israel will, also, launch a simultaneous against Syria, and as we can read, as reported by Israel’s Ynet News Service, the Syrian Nation is preparing for:
"Syria is preparing for a comprehensive Israeli strike which will be combined with an attack on Hizbullah, sources in Damascus have told the London-based Arabic-language al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper. The sources, which refused to reveal their identity, reported that Syria was closely monitoring the movement of Israeli forces along the northern border.
The newspaper reported Wednesday that Damascus viewed the Israeli media reports and statements made by senior Israel Defense Forces officials as incitement and attempts to prepare the Israeli and global public opinion for a war against Syria.
In addition to the military preparations, the sources said, Damascus has raised its security alert level for fear that Israeli forces would infiltrate its territories through one of its bordering countries, mainly referring to Lebanon.
Over the past few weeks, the Syrians have stationed three armored divisions, special forces and nine mechanized infantry divisions opposite Lebanon’s western valley, as the Syrians estimate that a ground Israeli invasion may take place in that area."
As the American people remain under the greatest threat in their history to their freedom, and as Britain’s top economic experts are stating that the US is now falling into a Great Depression, with the most of their citizens receiving food aid in their entire history, while at the same time their Military reports the spending of over $1.6 trillion on new weapons for their wars, one cannot but shudder to think of the grave consequences should their grab for total World domination fails.
But, with all of the failed attempts by many Global powers in the past to establish their rule over the entire World, and should the United States fail in their nuclear attack against Iran, and with the added backdrop of the growing crisis of our Earth being able to feed its own people, never has it been more true the age old saying, “For those who do not learn history they are doomed to repeat it.”
Ezekiel 38 draws closer as Iran forms military pact with Sudan
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1343
Iran jumped in with gusto to meet Sudan president Omar al-Bashir’s application for a military package including arms and training of his army. The application was received after the horrendous Darfur tragedy and Khartoum’s backing for Chad rebels finally convinced Sudan’s traditional arms suppliers, Russia, China and Libya, to back away from arming Sudan’s 120,000-strong army.
Beijing came last, sensitized to its international image by the approaching Olympic Games in August. Libya has a major beef with Khartoum for backing the rebels fighting to overthrow Chad president Idriss Debby.
The pacts were signed on March 8 by Iran’s defense minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Majjar and his Sudanese counterpart, Gen. Abdul Rahim Mohammad Hussein, a fighter pilot appointed defense minister last month.
For years Tehran has been building up its military ties with Khartoum with an eye on its geopolitical assets: a long coast on the Red Sea, a main sea lanes to the Persian Gulf, a Muslim nation located opposite Saudi Arabia and next door to Egypt; Sudan’s command of oil resources and the White Nile, a major water source for an entire African region. This strategic jewel finally dropped into Iran’s fundamentalist lap.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s Iranian sources disclosed its substance on March 14, 2008:
1. The Sudanese Army will gradually re-adjust from Russian and Chinese weaponry to Iranian-made items.
2. A 50 percent discount on Iran arms sold to Sudan.
3. Iran will build Sudan a military industry for the manufacture of Iranian weapons.
4. The two governments will establish a joint military commission to translate mutual defense collaboration into practical form. Each undertakes to come to the other’s aid in the event of foreign aggression.
5. The two air forces, navies and armored corps will exchange delegations.
6. Iran will help Sudan plan and construct security systems for strategic locations, such as oil fields, ports and the Nile River dams.
The $1.8 billion White Nile River Merowe Dam hydropower project, which includes a 174-kilometer long reservoir, is funded by China and Arab countries. Chinese, Sudanese, German and French companies participate in this project and in the Kajbar Dam downstream of the Merowe Dam.
The Sudanese are afraid that Egypt, which claims the Merowe project is diverting its water supply, may attack and destroy the project.
On March 10, the UN center in Geneva published a report compiled by a group of experts monitoring human rights in Sudan, which had this to say about these dams:
“We regret that the government did not allow access to Kajbar, Amir, Merowe and Makabrab in the northern state. The visit was planned to meet with local authorities and affected communities in the Nile valley area where two hydropower dams are being constructed. It was canceled by Sudan’s state security committee the day before it was scheduled to travel to the area. The reasons provided by the government did not justify their decision to prevent access.
‘”After being prevented from traveling to the area, the international experts met with representatives from the affected communities in Khartoum. They urged the government to ensure the safety and adequate housing of persons displaced from the area.
They also requested access for UN human rights officers to conduct an independent assessment mission to the area.”
According to the information reaching DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s sources, the Merowe Dam is displacing more than 50,000 people living in the fertile Nile Valley and casting them out to arid desert locations. The government is violently suppressing the protests of the Nubian people who would be displaced by the Kajbar Dam.
7. Iran has assumed responsibility for sending instructors to train Sudanese army units deployed in Darfur. To disguise the aid rendered to the forces perpetrating atrocities in Darfur, the Iranians have set up a number of welfare facilities in the province.
The have also built a military hospital to serve the Sudanese army.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military and intelligence sources disclose that in 2006, Sudan secretly permitted Iran to deploy intelligence agents along its border with Chad. These agents were entrusted with three missions.
Their missions were Oneb: To subjugate the Chad tribes working the uranium deposits of eastern Chad preparatory to their seizure; Two: To establish links with Chadian elements willing to challenge Libyan influence; Three: To strike west via Chad and hook up with the terrorist organizations battling Western influence - primarily American and Israeli – on the African continent.
By no coincidence, an American-Israeli plot was suddenly “uncovered” in Khartoum - at the very moment last month when the Sudanese defense minister was away in Tehran signing military pacts.
Sudan’s security agencies were said to have carried out a snap search of a private plane belonging to an unnamed American company operating in Sudan as it arrived with oil field equipment. What they claimed to have found was an “Israeli Mossad electric surveillance device” which was to have been planted at local military facilities.
Khartoum’s tie-in between a US oil company operating in Sudan and Israeli intelligence warned Washington that Omar al-Bashir was in the process of lining up behind Tehran’s anti-American campaign.
Our sources add that Sudan’s vice president Salva Kiir Mayardit, head of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), who has good relations with the Americans, has chosen to stay silent at this point and not demur against the new military pacts signed with Iran.
Iran Moves to Join Shanghai Cooperation Organization
http://mnweekly.ru/world/20080327/55319329.html
DUSHANBE, (RIA Novosti) - Iran has lodged a bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that comprises Russia, China and the four ex-Soviet Central Asian states, the country's foreign minister said on Monday.
The Islamic Republic, which currently holds an observer status in the regional security group, has long sought to become a full member of the SCO, seen as a counterbalance to U.S. and NATO influence in the region.
"Tajikistan supports us in this issue," Manouchehr Mottaki said after a meeting with the foreign ministers of SCO member Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which is another SCO observer along with India, Pakistan and Mongolia.
The bloc - which primarily addresses security issue but has recently moved to embrace energy projects - has indefinitely postponed accepting new members, but pledged closer cooperation with the observer states.
Speaking at the SCO summit in Kyrgyzstan in August 2007, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "Everyone agreed that the moratorium should be preserved for some time yet," adding that the alliance "agreed to involve observer states more actively in practical projects."
Russia and China have been cautious to admit Iran, involved in a long-running dispute over its controversial nuclear program and alleged support for radical groups in Lebanon and other countries with the United States, Israel and major European countries.
Both China and Russia have, however, major commercial interests in Iran. The energy-hungry Asian nation wants Iranian oil and gas and to sell weapons and other goods to the Islamic Republic. Moscow also hopes to sell more weapons and nuclear energy technology to Tehran.
The Kremlin also needs Iran's endorsement for a multinational arrangement to exploit the Caspian Sea's energy resources.
The Kingdom 'braces for nuclear war'
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=49572§ionid=351020104
Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing to counter any 'radioactive hazards' which may result from a US strike on Iran's nuclear plants.
Popular government-guided Saudi newspaper Okaz recently reported that the Saudi Shura Council approved of nuclear fallout preparation plans only a day after US Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Kingdom's high ranking officials, including King Abdullah.
As a result of the Shura ruling, the Saudi government will start the implementation of 'national plans to deal with any sudden nuclear and radioactive hazards that may affect the Kingdom following expert warnings of possible attacks on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactors'.
As the details of Cheney's recent discussions with his Arab allies remain unclear, pundits have begun to question the timing of the drastic measure by the Shura.
Analysts claim the Bush administration had long rattled sabers with Iran over its nuclear program and is now informing its Arab allies of a potential war, in turn, allowing them to take precautionary measures.
With the sudden resignation of Admiral William Fallon, a high-ranking US military official who was a fierce critic of White House war rhetoric against Iran, and reports of the recent deployment of a US nuclear submarine in the Persian Gulf; there is speculation that Washington is moving forward with yet another war plan in the oil-rich Middle East.
NATO Rejects Bush Pleas to Offer Membership Tracks to Ukraine, Georgia
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345490,00.html
BUCHAREST, Romania — President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic setback Wednesday when NATO allies rebuffed his passionate pleas to put former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward membership in the Western military alliance.
The decision, to be made final on Thursday, was sure to be cheered by Moscow, which heatedly opposes NATO's eastward expansion.
In another sign of discord, Greece blocked Macedonia's request to join the 26-nation alliance because of a dispute over its name. Only Croatia and Albania will be invited as new members.
It was a sour outcome for Bush at his final NATO summit as he sought to polish his foreign policy legacy. Instead, he wound up sidetracked by opposition and splits among European allies. It was a result that was foreshadowed by public statements from France and Germany but Bush nevertheless put his prestige on the line and even made a stop in Ukraine on Monday to argue his case.
"We are convinced that it is too early to grant both states the (pre-membership) status," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as she arrived in Bucharest for the summit. It only takes one NATO member to block a decision, because policy-making is reached by consensus.
Bush was counting on the summit to strongly endorse plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe despite once-heated objections from Moscow.
The summit's opening dinner ran two hours longer than scheduled as the discussion went around the table, with each leader making his or her case. The White House expressed confidence that NATO would give a strong statement of support for its mission in Afghanistan and that a number of countries would pledge additional troops.
Bush, going into the talks, said he was "optimistic that this is going to be a very successful summit."
Diplomats said the alliance would offer a statement saying NATO's door will remain open if Ukraine and Georgia move ahead with political and military reforms and build support for NATO among their citizens.
Afghanistan loomed as the summit's No. 1 topic, a point of contention between some Europeans who see the NATO mission as largely a humanitarian effort and the Bush administration and others who see it as a central front in the fight against terrorism.
Canada had threatened to pull its troops from the front lines in southern Afghanistan unless other allies sent an additional 1,000 combat troops to help.
NATO has about 47,000 troops in Afghanistan, but commanders are pleading for more troops in the south, where Taliban insurgents are wreaking the most havoc. The United States supplies the largest contingent, about 14,000 for NATO, plus the United States has 13,000 operating separately in eastern Afghanistan hunting terrorists and training Afghan forces.
"We expect our NATO allies to shoulder the burden necessary to succeed" in Afghanistan, Bush said a midday news conference with Romania President Traian Basescu on a Black Sea beach.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has offered a battalion -- normally about 700 to 800 troops -- for the volatile eastern region, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said, reporting on the dinner. That would free up U.S. troops to move south. Appathurai said the offers on the opening day of the summit would meet Canada's demands.
To make up for other allies, Bush has pledged to send an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan. The White House on Wednesday said the actual number would be 3,500.
Bush hailed NATO's expected endorsement of missile defenses.
"It looks like to me that the ingredients are coming together where that could be a distinct possibility," Bush said. "And that would be a very important statement because NATO could assure its members and the people within NATO that there would be defenses available to prevent a Middle Eastern nation, for example, from launching a strike which could harm our security."
The U.S. worries most that Iran could someday launch such as missile.
NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, talking with Bush before the summit, said NATO would "take a clear position on missile defense, recognizing the threat and working on the answers to that recognized threat."
De Hoop Scheffer also said the alliance would publish a "vision statement" about NATO'S long-term commitment to Afghanistan. "We should not forget that we are on one of the front lines in a fight against terrorism in Afghanistan," he said.
Taking note of the dispute over Ukraine and Georgia, de Hoop Scheffer said before the dinner: "I think this can never be a question of `whether.' The `whether' is not questionable. If these nations fulfill the criteria, and if they want to enter -- want to enter themselves through NATO's open door, I think that door should be open."
A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the leaders' meeting was private, said the Bush administration would still consider the summit a success if NATO makes clear that the door to membership remains open. The debate, according to the official, is whether the Bucharest meeting was the right time to settle the question about Ukraine and Georgia.
The alliance is due to invite Croatia and Albania to join, but Greece is pledging to veto Macedonia's bid unless there is a last-minute agreement to change the candidate country's name. Greece says that implies a claim on its northern region, also called Macedonia.
"Until the name issue is resolved there cannot be consensus" on Macedonia's bid, Appathurai said.
"I feel good about what I'm hearing from my fellow leaders about their desire to support Afghanistan," the president said after meeting with de Hoop Scheffer. "I think if tomorrow we get clarification on troop support ... the people of Afghanistan are going to be more than grateful." He did not mention any specific numbers of additional troops.
Bush plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in the resort city of Sochi, the last such session of their presidencies. Bush is also to meet with Putin's hand-picked successor, Dmitry Medvedev.
The White House is holding out hopes of an agreement easing Russia's opposition to a missile shield.
Bush said Putin should not fear NATO, but rather should welcome the alliance because it "is a group of nations dedicated to peace."
Chinese Aid and Abet Persecution of North Koreans Seeking Asylum
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07034.shtml
Fleeing North Koreans - especially Christians - are finding that the Chinese are no big help in providing asylum from the brutality and state-sanctioned killing in North Korea.
Kim Jong Il's government wields unrestricted power in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and his minions continue to run a de factor concentration-camp system that enslaves tens of thousands, including young children.
Periodically, it publicly executes people for offenses such as stealing state property or other "anti-communist" behavior. The North Korean people also secretly complain of the rising problem of government corruption and extortion by officials.
While thousands of North Koreans seek asylum in China, it is believed by Human Rights Watch and other human-rights organizations that China actively contributes to the misery of North Koreans by arresting and forcibly repatriating the tens or hundreds of thousands of them - no one knows how many for sure - who live in hiding in China.
Once returned to North Korea, they face abuse, mistreatment, torture, incarceration and sometimes even death. These victims include women, some with children, who may be in de facto marriages with Chinese men. Some of the worst torture and mistreatment is said to be perpetrated against North Korean Christians
Upon their return, North Koreans are punished under a penal code that defines leaving without permission as an act of treason punishable by death.
Yet Chinese government officials - no paragons of human rights - continue to routinely repatriate the North Koreans it finds, saying their plight is a "domestic matter" for North Korea.
This is a violation of Beijing's duty as a party to the International Refugee Convention and Protocol: people who have a well-founded fear of persecution in their home are not to be repatriated. The Chinese government goes as far as refusing to give the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees access to the border area in order to investigate complaints. This is a bold act designed to coverup the atrocities committed against North Koreans.
The North Korean government ranks among the world's most repressive, and it respects hardly any basic human rights, according to human-rights experts. The worst treatment by the North Korean government appears to be reserved for those who profess their Christianity, according to the human-rights group Open Doors.
However, the brutal regime denies its citizens the freedoms of information, association, religion, organized political opposition and labor activism. The regime arrests and tortures them arbitrarily and runs large-scale prison camps for those who are accused of having committed a political offense.
Just recently, the World Food Program's Pyongyang office warned of yet another severe food shortage in the country, noting crop damage from flooding last summer. North Korea's chronic food shortage, which in the 1990s deteriorated to a famine that killed an estimated one million people, along with the government's severe repression against its citizens, drove thousands of North Koreans across the border into China, according to Human Rights Watch.
As North Koreans in China continue to face the threat of arrest and forced repatriation, many of them take long and dangerous journeys across China to Southeast Asia, Mongolia and even Western Europe. Yet recently there have been signs that China is more aggressively attempting to arrest even the North Koreans who are simply trying to reach a third country.
According to a Bangkok Post article on Dec. 20, 2007, Thai officials hinted they would tip off Chinese officials on the whereabouts of North Koreans hiding in China before they could cross the Mekong River to arrive in Thailand, which has long been among the most friendly countries for North Korean refugees.
In the past, activists or brokers helping North Koreans were often charged by the Chinese authorities with human smuggling, and the North Koreans were repatriated. According to Human Rights Watch interviews with recent escapees, the North Korean government has hardened its policy against those who cross the border without state permission, including "first-time offenders."
The government of China is facing its own human-rights problem with its treatment of the people of Tibet. Most nations in the free world have condemned the Chinese officials for their flagrant brutality.
As an emerging power and North Korea's ally, China is in a position to help ensure real economic and social progress. But without those steps, statements like Qin Gang's do nothing except demonstrate how grotesquely indifferent Beijing remains to the plight of ordinary North Koreans.
North Korea is a nation cloaked in secrecy, yet enough information was garnered so that it has been topping the list of Christion persecutors for over five years, according to Open Doors.
In no other country in the world are Christians persecuted as severely as in the empire of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, the Christian group said.
To discover how you can help stop the persecution of believing Christians in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, please visit www.helpNK.com. The web site contains information on religious persecution including an online petition to the US Congress.
About the author
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's the new editor for the House Conservatives Fund's weblog. Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer for TheConservativeVoice.Com and PHXnews.com. He's also a columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com. Kouri's own website is located at jimkouri.us
My Report from the Middle East
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345369,00.html
Looking up at the television screen in this airport lounge — somewhere in the Middle East — I am reading a very bold statement in English subtitles: “One World, One Dream.” It is the brilliant motto of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games.
You’ll forgive me if I wonder aloud which New York advertising agency was paid big money by Big Red to come up with this. It’s just too perfect.
China is sticking us with the ultimate guilt trip, and it's using our own words and values. It is asking us all to close our eyes and just get along already. No questions to the regime at this time, please. That would be insensitive. After all, the great replacement-virtue in secularized Western society — inclusiveness — demands always smiling and nodding the head in the face of everyone else’s ideas, no matter what these are.
What’s important is that we can all still be together as one world. Hmm … that doesn’t happen by dreaming.
Right now, I'm in a Muslim country ... and it has made me question the realism of such a dreamy motto.
I’m here, independently of FOX, to advise some American filmmakers. These men and women believe art also has a mission of peace. They want to lace big screen entertainment with a message of universal truth. And as I have witnessed in these days, they are risking treasure, security and reputation in this pursuit.
In art form they will say this: some ideas are good and others are bad, always and everywhere.
I promise you not everyone in Tinseltown, nor everyone in these parts of the world, will cheer. When is the last time you have seen a film that sheds light on the checkered reality of some sectors of Islamic culture? Have you seen a Hollywood release that challenges religiously-motivated violence in our world today? How long has it been since you have seen a movie star suggest human dignity, honesty, respect for women, religious tolerance, forgiveness, and peace are universal goods that belong to humanity, and not just to the West.
I don’t want to give specifics about this film because it’s not yet time. That time will come.
For now, I want to share with you some big-picture reflections I have been mulling over in these days.
• For various reasons, Islamic culture in too many parts of the world continues to be a breeding ground for human rights abuses.
• New data show Muslims are now more numerous than Catholics (1.3 billion to 1.1 billion) and are gaining on all Christians as a whole. Generally, Muslims in the Middle East have lots of babies. Christians and Jews in the West don’t.
• Given the globalization of which we are now witnesses, a world of peace, mutual respect, liberty, and cultural and religious respect is only possible if young Muslims in the Middle East, supported by all of us in the West, challenge and improve upon their cultural and religious heritage.
• Is this possible? Yes. I think it will require a long-term and multi-faceted approach.
• One of these facets must be work in the media. Private industries and government institutions should be using the mass media as a vehicle to transport sensible ideas. The youth in the towns where I have been in the Middle East are listening to American music, watching American movies, playing American video games, and surfing the Internet. What if our media stars were to invest their talent in this big-picture project, each in their own way?
So much more to talk about, but we’ll leave it for another day. In any case, I would love to hear your thoughts on how to bring our world closer together, for real, not just in dreams.
God bless, Father Jonathan
Pastors Arrested by Police in Laos
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07033.shtml
On March 18, eight Khmu pastors from Oudomxay Province, Laos were arrested while entering Thailand to attend meetings, according to VOMC sources. Two groups of pastors were coming into Thailand to attend meetings.
The first group made it over the Mekong River without any issues. The second group, however, was followed by the Laotian police. The pastors were searched, and all of their belongings were confiscated from them, including a cell phone. The pastors have reportedly been taken back to Laos but there has been no recent contact with them to confirm their whereabouts.
Pray that the pastors will continue to trust God to protect and embolden them as they suffer for His sake (2 Timothy 4:16-18). Pray that Laotian authorities will stop their campaign against Christians and come to know Christ as Lord.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Laos, go to www.persecution.net/country/laos.htm.
Koran Film Taken Down 'After Threats'
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=/ForeignBureaus/archive/200803/FOR20080328e.html
Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders' controversial film linking the Koran with extremism and terrorism was removed from a British Internet site Friday, after the site said staff had been threatened.
Millions saw the 16-minute film before LiveLeak removed it, and the film was condemned by many, including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a 57-member bloc of Islamic states.
"Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill-informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, LiveLeak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers," the site LiveLeak.com said in a statement.
"This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support.
They realized LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one," the site added.
"Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one another's culture.
We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high," the site said.
Russian artist critical of Orthodox Church was targeted, says husband
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/russian.artist.critical.of.orthodox.church.was.targeted.says.husband/17656.htm
In the latest twist in a series of art world scandals that have gone to the heart of Church-State relations, a Russian artist who had been critical of and was criticised by the Russian Orthodox Church has disappeared without a trace.
Anna Mikhalchuk, a 52-year-old feminist poet and artist who works under the name Alchuk left her home in the western Berlin district of Charlottenburg on the afternoon of 21 March and has not been seen since, German police said in a statement. She has lived in Berlin since 2007, when her husband, Mikhail Ryklin, a philosopher, accepted a post at the city's Humboldt University.
Police have combed a lake and gardens near her apartment and turned up no evidence of foul play so far, but Ryklin told The New York Times he feared that she was targeted. "There were religious fanatics who really hated her," said Ryklin. He said it was not easy for German police to imagine that someone could be targeted for their artistic activity, because they think, said Ryklin, "It can’t happen here."
Alchuk was tried, and acquitted in 2005, on charges of inciting religious hatred after a contemporary art exhibition called "Caution! Religion" opened at Moscow's Sakharov Museum in 2003. One of the exhibits depicted Jesus on a Coca-Cola advertisement with the words "This is my blood" written in English.
The exhibition was ransacked by activists from a Russian Orthodox church in central Moscow. They damaged or destroyed many of the works. Alchuk's piece was a composition made of medallions that she found when cleaning out her apartment during a move and intended, she said at the time, to explore questions of salvation and religious belief.
The museum's director, Yuri Samodurov, and curator, Lyudmila Vasilovskaya, were convicted and fined, and not those who attacked the institution.
Samodurov said he thinks, however, that Alchuk was most likely the victim of a crime unrelated to art.
"A person left their home and disappeared. This happens," he told Ecumenical News International on 31 March. "Anna Alchuk was acquitted by the court," recalled Samodurov. "The court acknowledged that she was not an organizer of the exhibition."
Still, he said that the situation in the Russian art world is becoming increasingly tense.
"I think the process is moving towards clericalisation," he said. "It's becoming more complicated and frightening to resist," said Samodurov. "You can see what's happening in the sphere of education, although there is some real resistance there and it seems to me that there is some real reaction by society, but in the sphere of art everyone is afraid."
The museum, which survives on grants from the United States and Europe, is named after Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb turned human rights activist. Much of the museum's work is devoted to cataloguing and displaying information about Soviet atrocities and is virtually ignored in Russia.
The museum received unprecedented attention after it turned to art. At a meeting in Moscow of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches to address human rights issues in a religious context, Metropolitan Kirill of Kaliningrad and Smolensk, who heads the external affairs section of the Moscow Patriarchate, said the offence against religious beliefs caused by exhibitions such as those at the Sakharov Museum was also an abuse of human rights. "This is blasphemy," said Kirill.
Samodurov said in 2007 that Russia is "turning into an Orthodox Saudi Arabia". He was addressing a new round of criticism against the Sakharov Museum over an exhibition called "Forbidden Art", which displayed works on political and religious themes that had been banned from display in State museums around Russia.
WWII Soldier's Life a Testimony to Forgiveness
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/349298.aspx
Enemy. Captive. Missionary.
Jacob DeShazer's life was defined by his relationship with the Japanese people. But it was his relationship with Jesus Christ, born in a prisoner of war camp, that turned him from hating the Japanese to loving them.
DeShazer, 95, died on March 15 at his home in Salem, Oregon. The Methodist missionary spent 30 years preaching the Gospel to the people he once swore to destroy for attacking the United States. His ministry left a lasting impact, including the conversion of the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor.
A young man in 1942, DeShazer burned to take revenge on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew America in World War II.
He got his chance in April 1942, becoming a member of the famed "Doolittle Raiders" that carried out a daring daylight bombing raid on Tokyo and other cities. It was the first strike of the war against the Japanese homeland, designed to boost morale among a U.S. populace still angry over the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
It was a desperate bid: the sixteen B-25 bombers had to be launched from aircraft carriers so far from the Japanese coast that they didn't have enough fuel to return. The plan was for the crews to continue to China, crash-land and make their way to safety. But DeShazer's plane ran out of fuel over Japanese-held territory and he became a prisoner of war.
For 40 months his captors starved, beat, and tortured him. DeShazer, the son of a minister, had never given his life to God, but while in prison he made only one request of his captors: a Bible.
"I begged my captors to get a Bible for me," he wrote in a religious tract he authored, titled: "I Was a Prisoner of Japan."
"At last, in the month of May 1944, a guard brought me the book, but told me I could have it only for three weeks. I eagerly began to read its pages. I discovered that God had given me new spiritual eyes and that when I looked at the enemy officers and guards who had starved and beaten my companions and me so cruelly, I found my bitter hatred for them changed to loving pity. I realized that these people did not know anything about my Savior and that if Christ is not in a heart, it is natural to be cruel."
DeShazer returned home after the war, but only long enough to gain the training he needed to spend his life serving the Japanese people. He went back to Japan in 1948 and spent the next 30 years as a missionary and church planter with the Free Methodist Church, helping start 23 new congregations.
Among the people who came to God through DeShazer's ministry was Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese navy pilot charged with leading the attack against Pearl Harbor. Fuchida found the tract written by DeShazer.
"It was then that I met Jesus, and accepted him as my personal savior," Fuchida said at a memorial service on the 25th anniversary of the attack in Hawaii, according to The New York Times. Fuchida and DeShazer met several times before Fuchida died in 1976.
Student Sues 'Anti-Christian' Teacher Over Remarks in Class
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345274,00.html
A student and his family have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that a popular European history teacher at California's Capistrano Valley High School be fired for what they say were anti-Christian remarks he made in the classroom.
Chad Farnan, a 16-year-old sophomore, says the teacher, James Corbett, told his students that “Jesus glasses” obscure the truth and suggested that Christians are more likely than other people to commit rape and murder.
Farnan recorded his teacher telling students in class: “What country has the highest murder rate? The South! What part of the country has the highest rape rate? The South! What part of the country has the highest rate of church attendance? The South!” Farnan said he took the tape recorder to class to supplement his class notes.
“It was very hard for me because it’s like basically telling me all this stuff that I’ve believed my whole entire life — it’s just basically trying to throw it out the window,” Farnan told FOX News.
Farnan’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against the Capistrano Unified School District, claiming Corbett's remarks violated the First Amendment, which prohibits laws "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." They are demanding that Corbett be fired.
Corbett’s attorney, Dan Spradlin, says his client has been teaching at Capistrano Valley High for 15 years and is in no way anti-Christian. According to Spradlin, Corbett was not trying to offend anyone but to inspire his students to think.
“The purpose is not to indoctrinate, but simply to provide a basic starting point to provoke discussion,” Spradlin said.
Farnan said he was insulted by Corbett's comments. When Farnan played the tapes for his mother, Teresa, she contacted Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit law firm that specializes in such cases, to seek redress.
The Farnans' complaint was dismissed by the school district, but they took their plight to federal court, where U.S. District Judge James Selna said he believed the case has merit and ordered it to go forward, probably before the end of the year.
The Farnans say that if the school agrees to put Corbett through sensitivity training and requires him to apologize to the students he offended, then the family would consider dropping their lawsuit. The school district has yet to comment on the offer.
APOSTACY!--Popular Bible Stories Re-Written, Include Alcoholic Goliath
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080328/31720.htm
Some of the most popular stories in the Bible were recently re-written by a British Anglican vicar, including the story of Goliath, who in the retelling is a celebrity binge drinker.
The Rev. Robert Harrison of St. John’s Church in northwest London is behind the reworking of the top 10 Bible stories that were chosen by a poll conducted by the Christian charity Scripture Union.
In Harrison’s book, The Must Know Stories, the tale of David and Goliath is retold from the perspective of Goliath, who is portrayed as a “depressed alcoholic” who is hung over on the day of battle with David, according to the U.K.-based Telegraph newspaper.
Meanwhile, the well-known story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is twisted so that Adam expresses his obsession with Eve’s naked body. The nativity story is also changed so as to have Jesus born in an overcrowded house instead of a manger, amid family tension stirred by Joseph’s aunt who is upset that Mary and Joseph are not married.
Harrison explained that he began the book by asking people which Bible stories they think must be passed down to the next generation. From the responses, the Anglican priest gathered the most popular stories and rewrote them from the perspective of the non-believer.
He said his purpose in rewriting the stories is to make them more accessible, and not to promote Christianity.
Harrison said that "because we're so uneasy about things religious, these stories are slipping silently out of our consciousness,” according to the Telegraph.
"There are some stories which, in every culture, people need to know. These wonderful ancient stories are not known by a huge proportion of our society, and they need to be told."
Each of the re-written stories is followed by the original biblical text to allow readers to compare both versions.
In February, a U.N. report revealed shocking statistics indicating that less than half of British people adhere to a religion. The report was a stark contrast to U.K.’s 2001 National Census which claimed that nearly 72 percent of the population was Christian.
Furthermore, a poll by the public theology think tank Theos found that only 12 percent of adults in Britain know the details of the Christmas story.
Top 10 Bible Stories to Pass to Next Generation:
1. The Crucifixion of Jesus
2. The Birth at Bethlehem
3. Adam and Eve
4. The Good Samaritan
5. The 10 Commandments
6. The Prodigal Son
7. Noah's Ark
8. David and Goliath
9. Daniel in the Lions' Den
10. The Feeding of the 5000
Fireproof the Movie - I Now Pronounce the "Fireproof" Movie a Movement
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07032.shtml
ALBANY, Ga. -- "Fireproof," www.FireprooftheMovie.com, the new action/relationship film from the creators of "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel," releases this September from Sherwood Pictures and Provident Films. Already the movie is uniting marriage advocates from across the U.S.
National groups such as Focus on the Family, Outreach, FamilyLife, The Marriage CoMission, America's Family Coaches, AMFM, Marriage Alive Communications, and MarriageToday endorse the movie and are urging their constituencies to see it. Influencers such as marriage expert Gary Smalley and Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A are also working to spread the word.
It's no secret that U.S. marriages are in crisis. The U.S. Census Bureau and marriage organizations vary on the stats but agree that nearly half of all weddings lead to divorce--with rates highest in the Bible belt. Some 25 percent of U.S. adults divorce at least once; and given the abundance of poor marriages, many couples skip it outright.
"Fireproof" mirrors the problems of many marriages, in this case through a firefighter whose high-stress job spills into his home life. Hitting on pain points common to married life--from indifference to insults to emotional affairs and internet porn--the story opens with a couple's disintegration.
"Most movies are about relationships that lead to marriage," Michael Catt, of Sherwood Pictures said. "'Fireproof' picks up seven years into a marriage headed for divorce. And the question is: Can a cold marriage revive? Why stay together?"
Given that firefighters have one of the nation's highest divorce rates, "Fireproof" also has the support of many firefighters and related organizations. John White, former head of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Search & Rescue Team, is urging firefighters across the country to see it.
Bubba Cathy of Chick-fil-A doubles as movie promoter to every audience he addresses: "Since visiting the 'Fireproof' set, I've been Fireproof's biggest fan," he says. "On top of a powerful message and the potential to change lives and marriages, this is one great movie!"
People like Bob Waliszewski, director of Focus on the Family's Plugged in and Scott Evans, founder and CEO of Outreach, Inc., are excited about the movie's potential to inspire people to want to heal their marriages and actually show them how. "The clips have me excited about the potential of this film to give hope to struggling marriages," Waliszewski said.
"We all know marriages are in trouble," Evans said. "[What] a powerful and relevant way to address the need and provide hope for healing."
Dr. Jeff S. Fray, chair of The Marriage CoMission, echoes Evans and Waliszewski: "Fireproof's challenge to 'never leave your partner behind' brings to us a dramatic experience of the power of sacrifice and forgiveness. I expect this film to give viewers more confidence that great marriages can be a reality."
Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, sees this one movie's impact far beyond weekend movie- going. "'Fireproof' is going to do more than entertain and stir hearts when it comes to movie theaters," he said.
"This movie is about fireproofing your most important earthly relationship," Executive Producer Jim McBride says on behalf of the filmmakers. "Our hope and prayer is that people will be touched by the story of Caleb and Catherine and commit to fireproofing their marriages--no matter what state those marriages are currently in."
Sherwood's aim to "reach the world from Albany, GA" rides on first-rate entertainment packing powerful messages. Its first movie, "Flywheel," explored business integrity. "Facing the Giants" tackled personal fear and failure. Now "Fireproof" asks what makes a true hero.
For more information about "Fireproof," how individuals and organizations can get involved, and in what theaters the movie will open, stay current with www.FireprooftheMovie.com.
New Marriage and Divorce Statistics Released
http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrowPreview&BarnaUpdateID=295
Most Americans get married at some point in their life: just one out of five adults (22%) has never been married. Among those who have said their wedding vows, one out of three have been divorced at least once, according to a new study from The Barna Group.
Marriage Is the Norm
In addition to finding that four out of every five adults (78%) have been married at least once, the Barna study revealed that an even higher proportion of born again Christians (84%) tie the knot. That eclipses the proportion among people aligned with non-Christian faiths (74%) and among atheists and agnostics (65%).
Divorce Is Widespread
Among adults who have been married, the study discovered that one-third (33%) have experienced at least one divorce. That means that among all Americans 18 years of age or older, whether they have been married or not, 25% have gone through a marital split.
The study showed that the percentage of adults who have been married and divorced varies from segment to segment. For instance, the groups with the most prolific experience of marriage ending in divorce are downscale adults (39%), Baby Boomers (38%), those aligned with a non-Christian faith (38%), African-Americans (36%), and people who consider themselves to be liberal on social and political matters (37%).
Among the population segments with the lowest likelihood of having been divorced subsequent to marriage are Catholics (28%), evangelicals (26%), upscale adults (22%), Asians (20%) and those who deem themselves to be conservative on social and political matters (28%).
Born again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce: 33% have been married and divorced.
The survey did not determine if the divorce occurred before or after the person had become born again. However, previous research by Barna has shown that less than two out of every ten people who accept Christ as their savior do so after their first marriage.
In fact, when evangelicals and non-evangelical born again Christians are combined into an aggregate class of born again adults, their divorce figure is statistically identical to that of non-born again adults: 32% versus 33%, respectively.
Thirty percent of atheists and agnostics had been married and subsequently divorced. However, the three-point difference from the national average was within the range of sampling error, suggesting that their likelihood of experiencing a dissolved marriage is the same as that of the population at-large.
A representative from Barna also pointed out the atheists and agnostics have lower rates of marriage and a higher likelihood of cohabitation, a combination of behaviors that distort comparisons with other segments.
Reflections on Marriage and Divorce
George Barna, who directed the study, noted that Americans have grown comfortable with divorce as a natural part of life.
"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," the researcher indicated. "Interviews with young adults suggest that they want their initial marriage to last, but are not particularly optimistic about that possibility.
There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage, in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."
Barna, who has written more than three dozen books on the intersection between faith and culture, also stated that information about marriage, healthy relationships and divorce does not seem to have as much influence on people’s choices.
“Government statistics and a wealth of other research data have shown that co-habitation increases the likelihood of divorce, yet cohabiting is growing in popularity. Studies showing the importance and value of preparing for marriage seem to fall on deaf ears.
America has become an experimental, experience-driven culture. Rather than learn from objective information and teaching based on that information, people prefer to follow their instincts and let the chips fall where they may.
Given that tendency, we can expect America to retain the highest divorce rate among all developed nations of the world."
Rotten Fruit - Getting To The Core Of Teen Sex and Religion
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Journal/stories.aspx?id=72949
Teenagers and sex. This day and time it’s rare to find one without the other, and young evangelicals are no exception. Sociology professor Mark Regnerus has proof.
In his recent book, titled Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers, Regnerus reports the findings of 250 interviews and three national surveys, all related to teenage sexuality and religion.
“Forbidden Fruit tells the definitive story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes sexual decision making,” according to the book jacket.
What relationship does religion have to a teen’s sexual values? Are teens’ behaviors affected by religion? Are abstinence pledges effective? What does the concept of emotional readiness mean?
Regnerus tackles such questions and begins the book by explaining the rationale for his studies. After all, connecting religion to sexual behavior doesn’t seem as logical as finding a correlation between sex and peer pressure or sex and body image.
However, Regnerus writes: “First, religion and sexuality tap basic drives. … Second, religion – together with peers, parents, and the media – remains a primary socialization agent of children and adolescents. … Third, sex is a sphere of human behavior high in religious applicability.”
Regnerus’ studies are in-depth and some of his findings startling.
For example, he says evangelical teens are slightly more sexually active than are their non-evangelical peers.
Boundless.org sums up Regnerus’ findings: “Whereas non-evangelical teens have sex for the first time at age 16.7, 20page-teangirlthe average age for evangelical teens is 16.3. Even worse, evangelical teens are more likely to have had three or more sexual partners (13.7%) than their non-evangelical peers (8.9%).”
In addition, World Magazine writer and culture critic Gene Edward Veith cites the same study and adds: “Some 80% of teenagers who say they have been ‘born again’ agree that sex outside of marriage is morally wrong. Still, as many as two-thirds of them violate their own beliefs in their actual behavior.”
Why? There is a disconnect between their heads and their hearts, and perhaps between the church and its teachings.
The professor’s insights boil down to the fact that most religious teens have not internalized nor are they able to articulate the sexual ethic taught by their own denominations. Evangelical teens don’t have sex less than their non-evangelical friends; they just feel guiltier about it.
This is evident in one of Regnerus’ 12 key findings: “[R]eligion affects adolescents’ sexual attitudes and motivations more than their actions.”
Forbidden Fruit also found that: “[E]vangelical Protestant youth may hold less sexually permissive attitudes than most other religious youth, but they are not the last to lose their virginity, on average. Not even close.”
He deems this key finding to be “most interesting and ironic” because it reveals that evangelical teens are above average in their sexual activity patterns.
“There are several plausible explanations for this anomaly, but I give most weight to the clash of cultures that evangelical adolescents are experiencing: they are urged to drink deeply from the waters of American individualism and its self-focused pleasure ethic, yet they are asked to value time-honored religious traditions like family and chastity,” Regnerus explains.
“They attempt to do both (while other religious groups don’t attempt this), and serving two masters is difficult,” he adds.
So what does all this mean? To put it bluntly, the teachings of the church are lacking, although not without value – as seen in Regnerus’ claim that “[r]eligiosity almost always makes a difference. … But just because it makes a difference does not mean that religion motivates adolescents’ sexual decision making.”
Regnerus explains that a teen’s religious involvement alone doesn’t necessarily equate religious influence on the teen’s sexual behavior. Something more must be involved. That something is a “network of like-minded friends, family and authorities who (a) teach and enable comprehensive religious perspectives about sexuality … (b) offer desexualized time and space and provide reinforcement of parental values. …”
In other words, teens need a pure community of true believers who teach the truth about sex – including the beauty of it in marriage.
“Churches used to teach and exemplify self-control, the necessity of keeping one’s emotions in check, the discipline of self-denial and mortification of the flesh,” Veith writes in an article titled “Sex and the Evangelical Teen.”
“Today the typical evangelical church, in its example and practice, cultivates ‘letting go,’ emotionalism, self-fulfillment, and an odd religious sensuality,” he adds.
With that in mind, Veith believes that many “evangelical” teens still need to be evangelized and brought closer to Christ, “so that a growing faith can bear fruit in good conduct” – the conduct of sexual purity.
'Silent' famine sweeps globe
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60480
From India to Africa to North Korea to Pakistan and even in New York City, higher grain prices, fertilizer shortages and rising energy costs are combining to spell hunger for millions in what is being characterized as a global "silent famine."
Global food prices, based on United Nations records, rose 35 percent in the last year, escalating a trend that began in 2002. Since then, prices have risen 65 percent.
Last year, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent.
"This is the new face of hunger," said Josetta Sheeran, director of the World Food Program, launching an appeal for an extra $500 million so it could continue supplying food aid to 73 million hungry people this year. "People are simply being priced out of food markets. ... We have never before had a situation where aggressive rises in food prices keep pricing our operations out of our reach."
The WFP launched a public appeal weeks ago because the price of the food it buys to feed some of the world's poorest people had risen by 55 percent since last June. By the time the appeal began last week, prices had risen a further 20 percent. That means WFP needs $700 million to bridge the gap between last year's budget and this year's prices. The numbers are expected to continue to rise.
The crisis is widespread and the result of numerous causes – a kind of "perfect storm" leading to panic in many places:
* In Thailand, farmers are sleeping in their fields because thieves are stealing rice, now worth $600 a ton, right out of the paddies.
* Four people were killed in Egypt in riots over subsidized flour that was being sold for profit on the black market.
* There have been food riots in Morocco, Senegal and Cameroon.
* Mexico's government is considering lifting a ban on genetically modified crops, to allow its farmers to compete with the United States.
* Argentina, Kazakhstan and China have imposed restrictions to limit grain exports and keep more of their food at home.
* Vietnam and India, both major rice exporters, have announced further restrictions on overseas sales.
* Violent food protests hit Burkina Faso in February.
* Protesters rallied in Indonesia recently, and media reported deaths by starvation.
* In the Philippines, fast-food chains were urged to cut rice portions to counter a surge in prices.
* Millions of people in India face starvation after a plague of rats overruns a region, as they do cyclically every 50 years.
* Officials in Bangladesh warn of an emerging "silent famine" that threatens to ravage the region.
According to some experts, the worst damage is being done by government mandates and subsidies for "biofuels" that supposedly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fight climate change. Thirty percent of this year's U.S. grain harvest will go to ethanol distilleries. The European Union, meanwhile, has set a goal of 10 percent bio-fuels for all transportation needs by 2010.
"A huge amount of the world's farmland is being diverted to feed cars, not people," writes Gwynne Dyer, a London-based independent journalist.
He notes that in six of the past seven years the human race has consumed more grain than it grew. World grain reserves last year were only 57 days, down from 180 days a decade ago.
One in four bushels of corn from this year's U.S. crop will be diverted to make ethanol, according to estimates.
"Turning food into fuel for cars is a major mistake on many fronts," said Janet Larsen, director of research at the Earth Policy Institute, an environmental group based in Washington. "One, we're already seeing higher food prices in the American supermarket. Two, perhaps more serious from a global perspective, we're seeing higher food prices in developing countries where it's escalated as far as people rioting in the streets."
Palm oil is also at record prices because of biofuel demands. This has created shortages in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it is a staple.
Nevertheless, despite the recognition that the biofuels industry is adding to a global food crisis, the ethanol industry is popular in the U.S. where farmers enjoy subsidies for the corn crops.
Another contributing factor to the crisis is the demand for more meat in an increasingly prosperous Asia. More grain is used to feed the livestock than is required to feed humans directly in a traditional grain-based diet.
Bad weather is another problem driving the world's wheat stocks to a 30-year low – along with regional droughts and a declining dollar.
"This is an additional setback for the world economy, at a time when we are already going through major turbulence," Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, told Reuters. "But the biggest drama is the impact of higher food prices on the poor."
According to the organization, as well as the U.N., the price of corn could rise 27 percent in the next decade.
John Bruton, the European Union's ambassador to the U.S., predicts the current trend is the beginning of a 10-15 year rise in food costs worldwide.
The rodent plague in India occurs about every half century following the heavy flowering of a local species of bamboo, providing the rodents with a feast of high-protein foliage. Once the rats have ravaged the bamboo, they turn on the crops, consuming hundreds of tons of rice and corn supplies.
Survivors of the previous mautam, which heralded widespread famine in 1958, say they remember areas of paddy fields the size of four soccer fields being devastated overnight.
In Africa, rats are seen as part of the answer to the food shortage. According to Africa News, Karamojongs have resorted to hunting wild rats for survival as famine strikes the area.
Supplies of fertilizer are extremely tight on the worldwide market, contributing to a potential disaster scenario. The Scotsman reports there are virtually no stocks of ammonium nitrate in the United Kingdom.
Global nitrogen is currently in deficit, a situation that is unlikely to change for at least three years, the paper reports.
South Koreans are speculating, as they do annually, on how many North Koreans will starve to death before the fall harvest. But this year promises to be worse than usual.
Severe crop failure in the North and surging global prices for food will mean millions of hungry Koreans.
Roughly a third of children and mothers are malnourished, according to a recent U.N. study. The average 8-year-old in the North is 7 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than a South Korean child of the same age.
Floods last August ruined part of the main yearly harvest, creating a 25-percent shortfall in the food supply and putting 6 million people in need, according to the U.N. World Food Program.
Yesterday, the Hong Kong government tried to put a stop to panic-buying of rice in the city of 6.9 million as fears mounted over escalating prices and a global rice shortage. Shop shelves were being cleared of rice stocks as Hong Kong people reacted to news that the price of rice imported from Thailand had shot up by almost a third in the past week, according to agency reports.
Global food prices are even hitting home in New York City, according to a report in the Daily News. Food pantries and soup kitchens in the city are desperately low on staples for the area's poor and homeless.
The Food Bank for New York City, which supplies food to 1,000 agencies and 1.3 million people, calls it the worst problem since its founding 25 years ago.
Last year, the Food Bank received 17 million pounds of food through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, less than half of the 35 million pounds it received in 2002. And donations from individuals and corporations are also down about 50 percent, according to the report.
High gas prices, increased food production costs and a move to foreign production of American food are contributing to the problem.
Food Stamp Users to Reach All Time High
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Food_Stamp_Users_/2008/04/02/84953.html
The number of Americans receiving food stamps will reach an all-time high of 28 million in the coming year, the Congressional Budget Office projects.
The spike in recipients in many states is a result mainly of the recent economic slowdown, along with rising prices for basic goods.
The Budget Office cited an expected growth in unemployment in predicting that federal benefit costs will rise to $36 billion and recipients will number 28 million in the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1, up from 27.8 million in the current fiscal year and 26.5 million in 2007.
“People sign up for food stamps when they lose their jobs, or their wages go down because their hours are cut,” Stacy Dean, director of food stamp policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told the New York Times.
Dean disclosed that 14 states had seen their food stamp rolls reach record numbers by December, including Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan.
In Michigan, one in eight residents now receives food stamps. In West Virginia, it’s one in six, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.
From December 2006 to December 2007, more than 40 states had a rise in the number of food stamp recipients, and in six states, the one-year growth was 10 percent or more.
In New York, recipients numbered 1.86 million in January — about one in 10 New Yorkers.
The federal government foots the bill for food stamp benefits, while the states pay most administrative costs.
Recipients must have near-poverty incomes to qualify for benefits, which average $100 a month per family member.
A complex formula is used to determine eligibility, but in general recipients must have few assets and incomes below 130 percent of the poverty line, or less than $27,560 for a family of four, the Times reported.
Low-income Americans spend a higher share of their incomes on basic needs like food and fuel, and have been hit hardest by the rising prices of basic commodities.
The current food stamp program was inaugurated in 1964.
The Great Depression 2008?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/usa-2008-the-great-depression-803095.html
We knew things were bad on Wall Street, but on Main Street it may be worse.
Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families.
Dismal projections by the Congressional Budget Office in Washington suggest that in the fiscal year starting in October, 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries, the highest level since the food assistance programme was introduced in the 1960s.
The increase – from 26.5 million in 2007 – is due partly to recent efforts to increase public awareness of the programme and also a switch from paper coupons to electronic debit cards.
But above all it is the pressures being exerted on ordinary Americans by an economy that is suddenly beset by troubles. Housing foreclosures, accelerating jobs losses and fast-rising prices all add to the squeeze.
Emblematic of the downturn until now has been the parades of houses seized in foreclosure all across the country, and myriad families separated from their homes.
But now the crisis is starting to hit the country in its gut. Getting food on the table is a challenge many Americans are finding harder to meet. As a barometer of the country's economic health, food stamp usage may not be perfect, but can certainly tell a story.
Michigan has been in its own mini-recession for years as its collapsing industrial base, particularly in the car industry, has cast more and more out of work. Now, one in eight residents of the state is on food stamps, double the level in 2000.
"We have seen a dramatic increase in recent years, but we have also seen it climbing more in recent months," Maureen Sorbet, a spokeswoman for Michigan's programme, said. "It's been increasing steadily. Without the programme, some families and kids would be going without."
But the trend is not restricted to the rust-belt regions. Forty states are reporting increases in applications for the stamps, actually electronic cards that are filled automatically once a month by the government and are swiped by shoppers at the till, in the 12 months from December 2006.
At least six states, including Florida, Arizona and Maryland, have had a 10 per cent increase in the past year.
In Rhode Island, the segment of the population on food stamps has risen by 18 per cent in two years. The food programme started 40 years ago when hunger was still a daily fact of life for many Americans. The recent switch from paper coupons to the plastic card system has helped remove some of the stigma associated with the food stamp programme.
The card can be swiped as easily as a bank debit card. To qualify for the cards, Americans do not have to be exactly on the breadline. The programme is available to people whose earnings are just above the official poverty line. For Hubert Liepnieks, the card is a lifeline he could never afford to lose.
Just out of prison, he sleeps in overnight shelters in Manhattan and uses the card at a Morgan Williams supermarket on East 23rd Street. Yesterday, he and his fiancée, Christine Schultz, who is in a wheelchair, shared one banana and a cup of coffee bought with the 82 cents left on it.
"They should be refilling it in the next three or four days," Liepnieks says. At times, he admits, he and friends bargain with owners of the smaller grocery shops to trade the value of their cards for cash, although it is illegal. "It can be done. I get $7 back on $10."
Richard Enright, the manager at this Morgan Williams, says the numbers of customers on food stamps has been steady but he expects that to rise soon.
"In this location, it's still mostly old people and people who have retired from city jobs on stamps," he says. Food stamp money was designed to supplement what people could buy rather than covering all the costs of a family's groceries. But the problem now, Mr Enright says, is that soaring prices are squeezing the value of the benefits.
"Last St Patrick's Day, we were selling Irish soda bread for $1.99. This year it was $2.99. Prices are just spiralling up, because of the cost of gas trucking the food into the city and because of commodity prices.
People complain, but I tell them it's not my fault everything is more expensive."
The US Department of Agriculture says the cost of feeding a low-income family of four has risen 6 per cent in 12 months. "The amount of food stamps per household hasn't gone up with the food costs," says Dayna Ballantyne, who runs a food bank in Des Moines, Iowa.
"Our clients are finding they aren't able to purchase food like they used to."
And the next monthly job numbers, to be released this Friday, are likely to show 50,000 more jobs were lost nationwide in March, and the unemployment rate is up to perhaps 5 per cent.
Bernanke Warns of Possible Recession
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/349866.aspx
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned a congressional committee on Wednesday that the U.S. economy could shrink even further over the first half of this year.
A trio of blows striking the housing, credit and financial markets have pummeled the economy overall.
When giving his testimony to the Joint Economic Committee, Bernanke did not mention the word "recession." However, it was the closest he has
come to suggesting that a recession may be on the horizon.
"It now appears likely that gross domestic product will not grow much, if at all, over the first half of 2008 and could even contract slightly," Bernanke told lawmakers.
The GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States. It has been the best barometer of America's economic health.
Under one rule, six straight months of declining GDP, would constitute a recession.
Bernanke said that he expects more economic growth in the second half of this year and into 2009, helped by the government's $168 billion stimulus package of tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses as well as the Fed's aggressive reductions to a key interest rate.
The chairman also acknowledged the uncertainty about the Fed's next steps.
"Much necessary economic and financial adjustment has already taken place, and monetary and fiscal policies are in train that should support a return to growth in the second half of this year and next year," Bernanke said.
The Federal Reserve has aggressively cut a key interest rate, now at 2.25 percent, to spur buying and investing by individuals and businesses.
At a meeting of the Fed last month, two of its members disagreed with the decision to sharply cut rates. The move showed a rare division in the
department, which tries to maintain an often unified front to the public. The officials who disagreed with the proposal had favored a smaller reduction in interest rates.
Many economists are predicting the Fed might drop interest rates again at its next meeting scheduled for April 29-30.
Faced with mounting home foreclosures and job losses, Bernanke has been under immense political and public pressure to provide relief and help turn around a faltering economy.
"Clearly, the U.S. economy is going through a very difficult period," he told lawmakers, adding that all the problems have weighed heavily on consumers whose spending is indispensable to economic vitality.
Some private analysts believe the economy has already showed signs of the start of a recession, like the loss of jobs.
Bernanke said he expected unemployment to move "somewhat higher in coming months."
Ghana gets ready for cashless society
http://www.modernghana.com/news/160953/1/All-set-for-biometric-smartcard-usage
Very soon, traders and restaurant operators in Ghana will accept payment through Point of Sale (POS) machines, as all is set for massive deployment of the POS that will kick-start the national switch, the e-zwich, which would link the payment systems of all banks, savings and loans as well as rural banks in Ghana.
The move means the nation is gradually moving from cash into a cashless society.
With the e-zwich, one can perform various banking and retail functions including cash withdrawals, payments for goods and services, money transfers and bills payment from any POS or ATM across the country.
A South African Company has been selected, out of seven firms to begin the installation of the POS from the beginning of next month since test for the software has been completed.
According to Yorku Korsah, Chief Operating Officer of the Ghana Interbank Payment Settlement Systems (GIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana, universal banks and financial institutions have gone through the first phase of the training with the merchant.
The e-zwich smartcard, which allows smartcard holders to spend and settle various transactions online and offline, is a new very secure way of paying for goods and services throughout the country, based on the biometric or finger print identification.
Briefing some financial journalists, Chief Executive Officer of GIPSS, Fred Franc said immediately the automated teller machines (ATMs) are configured to be e-zwich compliant, it could accommodate all cards such as biometric, master cards, visa cards among others.
He however urged banks to position themselves to ensure that their ATMs are Universal Electronic Payment System (UEPS) compliant.
Earlier, the Bank of Ghana directed all banks including rural banks to integrate all existing switches into the e-zwich as well as issue e-zwich smartcards to each individual personal customer by June 30, 2008, which still holds.
The new payment system will lure the “unbanked” segment of the population to save with banks.
The Facebook tool which turns your mobile into a snoop
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3656103.ece
Husbands who are not where they are supposed to be could soon be in danger of being “sniffed” out by a mobile phone service that gives suspicious partners an electronic map showing the location of their spouse.
The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder (Sniff) is a new application, accessed via Facebook or mobile phone, which could bring an end to frantic “Where r u?” text messages.
The service, popular in Scandinavia, promises to provide users with a detailed map of their friends’ locations, any time and anywhere. However, there are fears that Sniff could be abused by employers to remove the last vestiges of privacy from staff.
Useful Networks, the American company behind Sniff, promised that only consumers who gave their permission could be electronically tracked by the service, which operates across all mobile carriers. Users can specify who can and can not sniff them, or whether they are open to be sniffed by anyone on the network. The company plans to charge users about 75p for each location “sniff”, with the results for mobile customers sent by return text. It will be the first Facebook application to apply premium charges to customers’ mobile bills. The heaviest users in Sweden are wireless-connected members of the social networking site, who have integrated the application into their personal profile page.
“Sniffing” works through similar technology used by the police to track down suspected terrorists or missing children via their mobile phones. The phone sends a signal to nearby base stations. Positioning software performs a triangulation calculation on the information from the base stations and converts it into a geographical location.
Brian Levin, chief executive officer of Useful Networks, told The Times: “Privacy is paramount and sniffing should only be used by people you can trust. It is a fun way to solve the proven most popular text message, ‘Where r u?’”
Travellers who find themselves lost in a new city could also make use of the service. “You can ‘sniff’ yourself if you really need to,” Mr Levin said.
But employees who are enjoying a long lunch or a secret liaison instead of the business meeting in their diary could also find themselves “sniffed out”. Mr Levin said: “If the employer is paying the phone bill and employees are aware they can be ‘sniffed’, at least everyone knows those are the rules.”
Work surveillance is an increasing concern. Last week the German supermarket chain Lidl was accused of using Stasi-style methods to spy on staff and collect personal details.
Mr Levin, who created the text-message voting system for American Idol, also cautioned that sniffing should not be relied upon by parents to track their young children: the service will only place a location within a radius of about 200m (650ft).
Useful Networks, owned by the American giant Liberty Media, hopes to introduce “sniffing” in Britain this month.
We have created human-animal embryos already, say British team
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3663033.ece
Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research.
A team at Newcastle University announced yesterday that it had successfully generated “admixed embryos” by adding human DNA to empty cow eggs in the first experiment of its kind in Britain.
The Commons is to debate the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill next month. MPs have been promised a free vote on clauses in the legislation that would permit admixed embryos. But their creation is already allowed, subject to the granting of a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
The Newcastle group, led by Lyle Armstrong, was awarded one of the first two licences in January. The other went to a team at King’s College London, led by Professor Stephen Minger. The new Bill will formalise their legal status if it is passed by Parliament.
Admixed embryos are widely supported by scientists and patient groups as they provide an opportunity to produce powerful stem-cell models for investigating diseases such as Parkinson’s and diabetes, and for developing new drugs.
Their creation, however, has been opposed by some religious groups, particularly the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, described the work last month as “experiments of Frankenstein proportion”.
The admixed embryos created by the Newcastle group are of a kind known as cytoplasmic hybrids, or cybrids, which are made by placing the nucleus from a human cell into an animal egg that has had its nucleus removed. The genetic material in the resulting embryos is 99.9 per cent human.
The BBC reported that the Newcastle cybrids lived for three days, and that the largest grew to contain 32 cells. The ultimate aim is to grow these for six days, and then to extract embryonic stem cells for use in research.
Once the technique has been tested, scientists hope to create cybrids from the DNA of patients with genetic diseases. The resulting stem cells could then be used as models of those diseases to provide insights into their progress and to test new treatments.
It is already illegal to culture human-animal embryos for more than 14 days, or to implant them in the womb of a woman or animal, and these prohibitions will remain in the new legislation.
Using cow eggs reflects a short supply of human eggs. There are also ethical difficulties involved in collecting human eggs for research, as the donation process carries a small risk to women.
Professor John Burn, a member of the Newcastle team, told the BBC: “This is licensed work which has been carefully evaluated. This is a process in a dish, and we are dealing with a clump of cells which would never go on to develop. It’s a laboratory process and these embryos would never be implanted into anyone.
“We now have preliminary data which looks promising but this is very much work in progress and the next step is to get the embryos to survive to around six days, when we can hope-fully derive stem cells from them.”
The Newcastle team’s decision to announce its success on television, before its results have been published in a peer-reviewed journal, will also trigger criticism from scientists.
Medical researchers said last night that the experiments were important, but that they wanted to see published details before passing judgment on their merits.
Laser plane could destroy tanks from 10 miles
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/28/wlaser128.xml
The United States Defence Department has developed a prototype of an aircraft armed with a laser gun that could destroy tanks 10 miles away.
The weapon is capable of destroying targets up to 15km (10m) away, according to Defense Update online magazine.
The ten-centimetre-wide beam will heat targets almost instantly to thousands of degrees and will slice through metal even at maximum range. It is intended both for battlefield use and for missile defense.
It is anticipated the beam will be adjustable, allowing the gunner to choose between, for example, targeting a vehicle's fuel tank to destroy it utterly, or slice through a tyre to bring it to a halt without injuring the driver.
The laser will be housed in a rotating turret attached to the underside of the aircraft and will be aimed independently of the plane. Early tests have focused on testing the rotation of the laser housing.
So far the laser itself has not been tested in flight, but first trials are expected during 2008.
Tests on a laser for destroying vehicles will be carried out on the prototype based on the C-130 "Hercules" transport aircraft. A separate version of the missile will be trialled on a Boeing 747.
Physicist Says Time Travel Is Not Only Possible, but Likely
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,345234,00.html
Time travel? Teleportation? No problem, says renowned physicist Michio Kaku.
Kaku, a professor at the City University of New York, is creating quite a stir in Britain with the release of his new book, "The Physics of the Impossible."
On this side of the pond, outlandish claims in books are recognized as, well, a good way to sell books.
But in Blighty, Kaku's being treated as if he's Doctor Who informing dim-witted humans about the wonders of the Universe, with front-page treatment Wednesday in both the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian. Even the normally staid Economist is chiming in.
Kaku, one of the earliest proponents of string theory, still a contentious issue among physicists, divides the most common science-fiction tropes, or "impossibilities," into three categories — possible soon, possible in the far future and really, truly impossible.
Category 1, as he dubs it, includes things that may become true within the next century, if not the next few decades: teleportation (already possible, but only among subatomic particles); telepathy (thanks to brain implants); invisibility (already being researched using light-bending 'metamaterials'); laser guns (existing, but hugely power-hungry); force fields; and the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
Category 2 includes things that are theoretically possible but would be realized only with thousands more years of technological progress: time travel (possibly through "wormholes" in space); traveling faster than light; and the discovery of parallel universes.
Category 3 consists of things that really are impossible because they violate the laws of physics. Only two concepts qualify: knowing the future and perpetual motion.
"The Physics of the Impossible," released March 11 in the U.S., is currently No. 123 on the Amazon bestseller lists. It comes out Thursday in Britain, though without the "Doctor Who"-themed cover of the U.S. version.
No comments:
Post a Comment