Bush: U.S. Must Lead in Freedom's Cause
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415899.aspx
CBNNews.com - This week is Captive Nations Week, and to commemorate the historic cause of struggling nations, President Bush spoke about the fight to spread freedom around the world.
In a speech delivered at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, Bush called on future Presidents and Congresses to continue to lead the cause of freedom around the world.
Bush said Captive Nations Week was a chance to reflect on the changes in world history over the past 50 years. It offers a time to reflect on the challenges the world faces in the 21st century, especially the fight against terror.
"Over the past seven years, we've learned that leading the cause of freedom requires combating hopelessness in struggling nations," Bush said.
"Combating hopelessness is in America's security interests, because the only way our enemies can recruit people to their dark ideology is to exploit distress and despair," he said. "Combating hopelessness is in our moral interests. Americans believe that to whom much is given, much is required."
The President also challenged members of the NATO alliance to aid other rising young democracies.
"During the Cold War, the nations of Central and Eastern Europe were part of the Warsaw Pact alliance that was poised to attack Western Europe, " Bush said. "Today, most of those nations are members of the NATO alliance, who are using their freedom to aid the rise of other young democracies.
"In these experiences, we have seen the transformative power of freedom. We've seen that free societies don't harbor terrorists, or launch unprovoked attacks on their neighbors," he said. "Free societies are peaceful societies. And that is why the United States of America must continue to cause -- to lead the cause of freedom."
The President also laid out a set of challenges for America in the years ahead.
He said the U.S must continue to help people in struggling nations achieve freedom from corruption, freedom from disease, freedom from poverty, freedom from hunger and freedom from tyranny.
McCain Slaps Obama: He's Acting Like He's Already President
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/McCain_obama/2008/07/24/116024.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Republican John McCain said on Thursday he would like to give a speech in Germany as U.S. president not as a White House candidate, taking a swipe at rival Barack Obama while the Democrat gave a major address in Berlin.
"I'd love to give a speech in Germany ... a political speech or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States rather than as a candidate ... for the office of presidency," McCain told reporters in Ohio.
Standing in front of a store in a neighbourhood known as German Village, McCain -- for whom foreign policy is considered a strength -- said he would focus on issues at home while his opponent travelled abroad.
"We're going to be campaigning across the heartland of America and talking about the issues that are challenging America today," he said.
Obama drew a crowd estimated by one local official at 200,000 in Berlin's Tiergarten Park, where he urged Europe to stand by the United States in bringing stability to Afghanistan and confronting other threats from climate change to nuclear proliferation.
Republicans have scoffed at Obama's high profile speech, which German media has compared to President John Kennedy's famous 1963 "Ich bin ein Berliner" address.
"Ich bin ein Hypocrite," the Republican party chided in a statement, criticizing Obama for what it called a lack of leadership on Afghanistan in a congressional committee he chairs. "Ich bin" means "I am" in German.
McCain, who had a bratwurst for lunch, said he already knew many of the European leaders with whom Obama was scheduled to hold talks on a trip designed to bolster the Illinois senator's foreign policy credentials.
"I have very good relations with Europe, many of the European leaders," McCain said, noting he had met several times with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and had visited with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"I know them well. It's not my first meeting with them or with the leaders in Israel and the Palestinians," he said.
"I'm very happy that a lot of these new leaders in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, are much more pro-American than their predecessors were," he said, adding they had "common cause" in trying to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The Arizona senator also confirmed he would meet with the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colorado, on Friday and he called the exiled Tibetan leader a "transcendent" international role model.
"I have admired him and respected him for the efforts he's made for on behalf of freedom of the people of Tibet but also all over the world," McCain said.
Senator Obama’s Excellent Adventure
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390741,00.html
Georgetown, S.C — "What’s this guy running for, ‘Emperor of the world?’” asked the sunburned fellow at the next table where we stopped for lunch. Mr. Sunburn was holding a copy of The Charleston Post and Courier and pointing to a headline, “Obama pledges to work for peace.” The inquiry, addressed to those sitting beside him elicited only shrugs, so he answered his own question: “Just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
The Obama machine’s, “Hope & Change World Tour” has left more than a few people perplexed. Some – like the gentleman beside us at the restaurant – are American voters who wonder why the presumptive Democrat nominee is campaigning in foreign countries for president of the U.S. Others – seem baffled by the places and people chosen for meetings and photo-ops with the candidate. Apparently, among the mystified are members of the media who should have been asking tough questions. A brief look at what actually took place during this ten-day soiree only adds to the confusion:
The first five legs of the Obama overseas campaign swing were paid for by the U.S. taxpayers. Billed as a “Congressional fact-finding trip” it included U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and GOP dissident, Nebraska’s Chuck Hagel.
The first stop after departing the U.S. on July 17, was Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. There, Senator Obama preened for the cameras with U.S. troops playing basketball – a stunt unlikely to be replicated by Senator John McCain whose war wounds keep him from raising his arms over his shoulders and doing a decent lay up.
Shortly thereafter I got my first inquiry from a colleague who asked, “Why do all the images, taken by the U.S. military and released to the public, show Obama in such a positive way?”
The answer, of course, is simple: No one in our Armed Forces today knows who the Commander in Chief is going to be in January, and no one in uniform is going to send out images of the man who could turn out to be their boss showing him picking his nose or committing a foul under the backboards.
Then, it was on to Afghanistan for a surreal meeting in Jalalabad with Gul Agha Sherzai, the governor of Nangarhar Province. Though the governor is suspected of being involved in the Afghan opium trade, no one in the mainstream media questioned the propriety of such a confab. Later on Saturday the “CODEL” – military speak for “Congressional Delegation” – received a briefing at Bagram Air Base from Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, Commanding General of the NATO Regional Command East. Again, the photos and video-tape were spectacular.
On Sunday, after more photo-ops with U.S. troops at Camp Eggers, the presumptive Democrat nominee met with President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. Pictures of the meeting show the two men seated and chatting by a fireplace.
In Iraq on Monday, Sen. Obama’s first stop was at the Basra International Airport for photos and briefings from British, Iraqi and U.S. military commanders – and then on to Baghdad for a red-carpet-roll-out at the residence of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. After the hour-long meet-and-greet, separate Kodak moments were held with Iraq’s Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.
After a well-photographed tour of the 86th Combat Support Hospital inside the Green Zone, Sen. Obama sat still for photos and a briefing by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, and then took a picture-perfect helicopter ride over Baghdad with Gen. Petraeus before dining – and being video-taped with the CENTCOM commander.
On Tuesday, following a photo-breakfast with U.S. troops, the Obama entourage headed for Ramadi, the once-bloody capital of Anbar province. There he took photos with the provincial governor, Maamoon Sami Rasheed al-Alwani, police chief, Tariq Yousef al-Asaal, Ahmed Abu Risha, and Ali Hatem Suleiman, of the Sunni Awakening movement. At day’s end, it was pics in Amman with Jordanian King Abdullah II and a press conference during which Senator Obama summed up all he had learned: “My view, based on the advice of military experts, is that we can redeploy safely in 16 months so that our combat brigades are out of Iraq in 2010.”
Wednesday, taxpayers got a break as the Obama for President campaign started covering costs for the Global Hope & Change Tour. Photos were taken with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and promises were made to “work for peace.”
By Thursday it was photos with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Frantic Friday was a whirlwind of photos and “press avails” in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and in London, with U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and Conservative Party leader David Cameron. Space will surely be saved in the campaign scrapbook for frenzied “welcome home party” in Chicago on Saturday night.
Bottom line: Image is everything. Lots of great pics which we’re sure to see again. Nothing changed on issues that matter – but a big bill for beleaguered U.S. taxpayers to cover the costs of Senator Obama’s excellent adventure.
Councilman Wants to Keep Christ in Prayer
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415697.aspx
CBNNews.com - Using Jesus' name during public prayers is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The 2006 case involved a city councilman in Fredericksburg, Va., who had frequently used the name of Jesus during prayer to open meetings.
No Jesus in Prayer?
The three-judge panel for the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously Wednesday that "the practice of members of Town Council invoking name(s) specifically associated with the Christian faith violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."
In response, the Fredericksburg city councilman involved in the case, Hashmel Turner, says his prayers are not going to change.
"As far as me altering my prayer, it's not going to happen," the Rev. Turner, a Baptist minister, told Fredericksburg's Free Lance-Star. But one of Turner's attorneys said he wouldn't break the law either.
"He would not violate what the government of Fredericksburg, Va., has said -- and what they've said is 'you can pray, as long as you don't refer to Jesus, or a specific god,' John Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, told CBN News.
"So Rev. Turner said he's just not going to pray under this decision. He would be in violation of the law. He's not going to do that. He's going to wait and see if the Supreme Court will hear this case and reverse this decision," Whitehead said.
Government Writing Prayer
Turner sued the city in 2006 after the council passed a policy requiring invocations to be nondenominational. His attorneys with the institute - an organization that takes up cases of religious freedom - argued that the government was "writing prayer" if it told Turner how to pray.
Turner lost in trial court, and the federal appeals court upheld that verdict.
"This ruling shows exactly how dangerous the government speech doctrine is: it extinguishes free speech," Whitehead said.
"If the government can censor speech on the grounds that it is so-called 'government speech,' it will not be long before this label becomes a convenient tool for silencing any message that does not conform to what government officials deem appropriate," he added.
On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia faxed a response to Turner and other city council members.
"An invocation at the beginning of a city council meeting is an official act of the Fredericksburg government," ACLU Executive Director Kent Willis wrote.
"It must, as the Fourth Circuit has now mandated, be free of religious references in order to avoid sending the message to citizens that Fredericksburg prefers one religion over all others," he said.
People for the American Way, one of the groups representing the city of Fredericksburg, did not respond to CBN News' request for comments.
Appealing to the Supreme Court
Turner plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, his attorneys say.
"In this particular case, I think there are at least four judges on the Supreme Court who will want to hear this case, so it may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court," Whitehead said. "There's chance we could win this case in the Supreme Court, because there are a number of judges across the country that have said this whole idea of the separation of church and state and how religious people are treated in public places has gone too far," he added.
Turner has been a member of the Fredericksburg City Council since 2002. Council members are regularly called upon to open meetings in prayer. On several occasions, Turner ended his prayers "in the name of Jesus Christ."
"If council decides my way of praying is not in line with the rules it intends to follow, then I'll stop," Turner told the Free Lance-Star. "But I'm not going to allow the dictations of others to determine how I pray. I pray based on my beliefs."
Ex-Astronaut: Aliens Are Real and NASA Knows It
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390161,00.html
Former NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr. Edgar Mitchell — a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission — claims aliens exist.
He says extraterrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions — but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades.
Mitchell, 77, said during a radio interview in Birmingham, England, that sources at NASA who had had contact with aliens described the beings as "little people who look strange to us."
He said supposedly real-life ET's were similar to the traditional image of a "small gray" — short, slight frame, large eyes and large head.
Mitchell also claimed human technology is "not nearly as sophisticated" as the aliens' and "had they been hostile," he warned "we would be been gone by now."
Proposed Stem Cell Legislation: Another Stealth Attempt to Ignore the Will of Voters?
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07430.shtml
TRENTON, New Jersey, (christiansunite.com) -- Just last November, New Jersey voters soundly and resoundingly rejected a scheme to borrow $450 million for stem cell research because our citizens did not want more debt and higher taxes for impractical and immoral embryonic stem cell research. Still, Assemblyman Neil Cohen recently announced plans to introduce legislation to create the "New Jersey Stem Cell Research Assistance Program" purporting to jumpstart financing for stem cell research in the State. The plan would include taxpayer indemnification for private investors when research institutions default on loans. The proposal also would expand the authority of the Economic Development Authority and the Commission on Science and Technology.
A recent report, however, suggests that the proposal will violate the will of New Jersey's voters on embryonic stem cell research. The current edition of NJ BIZ reports, "Under Cohen's plan, the money raised would be used to extend loans to stem cell research, and there could later be funding for embryonic stem cell research, [Cohen] said." (NJ BIZ, July 7, 2008, "Is Private Stem Cell Funding Coming" (emphasis added)).
"We will urge opposition to this and any other stealth effort to circumvent the will of the people unless there is a guarantee expressly written into the legislation that this proposal shall never include funding for embryonic stem cell research," stated Marie Tasy, Executive Director of New Jersey Right to Life. "As presently written, this proposal sets the foundation to later enact an end-run around the voters to fund embryonic stem cell research. The impractical, immoral, and unsafe nature of embryonic stem cell research will ensure a default on loans, guaranteeing tax credits to the financial institutions, which, in turn, will be transferred onto the backs of the hard working citizens of New Jersey through higher taxes," Tasy said.
"I am heartened by indications that our State is turning its attention to effective and morally acceptable research with adult stem cells, which holds so much encouraging and life-saving potential. I also remain opposed to any effort to put New Jersey on a path toward taxpayer-funded embryonic stem cell experimentation, which New Jersey voters wisely rejected last Fall. Trenton lawmakers should not seek to achieve through the backdoor what they lost at the ballot box, and I will stand with like-minded Members of the Legislature to oppose such efforts," stated Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26, Morris & Passaic).
"Last year, the voters of New Jersey said NO to government-sponsored stem cell research. Unfortunately, Assemblyman Cohen and his supporters do not understand that NO really means NO. The proposed legislation ignores the express will of the voters and will result in the State of New Jersey subsidizing research activities that the voters do not want. Let the private sector fund medical research. This legislation will also open the door to government- subsidized embryonic stem cell research. New Jersey is broke. The last thing we need to do is grow the size of state government and spend money that we do not have on controversial medical research," said Assemblyman Mike Doherty (R-23, Hunterdon & Warren).
"It is both fiscally and morally irresponsible for government to be involved in trying to surreptitiously subsidize stem cell research that has never produced cures and involves the destruction of human embryos, especially after receiving such an overwhelming and resounding rejection by the voters last November," stated Assemblyman Michael Carroll (R-25, Morris).
"As a member of the Commission on Science and Technology, I have consistently voted against funding of embryonic stem cell research and I will continue to do so. Hopefully, the sponsor will not go down that path," stated Assemblyman John Rooney (R-39, Bergen).
Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, (R-24, Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon), a staunch opponent of embryonic stem cell research, is concerned that this will lead to taxpayer funding of this research in New Jersey. "The NJ BIZ article speaks for itself by admitting that this could open the door to funding this kind of unethical research," said McHose, a member of the Assembly Budget Committee. "The voters in 2007 said a loud and clear 'NO' to using taxpayers' dollars to fund this research," McHose stated. "I foresee this bill as a starting point for the Governor and the Democrat-controlled legislature to eventually make an end run around the voters' rejection of public funding. It would be un-democratic for them to do so."
Mass. Grand Jury Issues Indictment Against Abortionist in Patient's Death
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07428.shtml
HYANNIS, Mass., (christiansunite.com) -- A Barnstable County Grand Jury issued an indictment today against abortionist Rapin Osathanondh for Involuntary Manslaughter in the death of 22-year old Laura Hope Smith. According to Smith's mother, Eileen, efforts to cover up details of her daughter's death came to light during the grand jury investigation.
Mrs. Smith told Operation Rescue that a Sheriff's Deputy in another county had provided Osathanondh and his abortion clinic staff with CPR training, then backdated the session to a date prior to Laura's death, with the full knowledge that someone had recently died at the clinic. Osathanondh and his staff had been uncertified in CPR until that time.
"I'm appalled that an officer of the law would be involved in that," Eileen Smith told Operation Rescue. "Thank God this has been exposed!"
Mrs. Smith has filed a complaint in Bristol County against the deputy.
Laura Smith had sought an abortion from Osathanondh on September 13, 2007, at his office, Women's Health Center, in the Cape Cod town of Hyannis. Smith was placed under full anesthesia when only Osathanondh and a non-medical receptionist were present. When Smith suddenly stopped breathing, the receptionist phoned 911, but it was too late. Smith died later that day.
Five months later, in response to a complaint filed by Eileen Smith, Osathanondh relinquished his medical license to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine in the wake of pending disciplinary action and a criminal investigation. Osathanondh's two abortion offices were closed.
"We are gratified that Osathanondh will have to account for Laura's death in a court of law. It is not enough that he can no longer practice medicine. He must be held legally responsible for his crimes that resulted in the death of this young woman," said Operation Rescue spokesperson Cheryl Sullenger. "Only then can we say that some small measure of justice has been served."
"As for those who attempted to help Osathanondh cover up for his shocking lack of emergency training, we share Eileen's dismay that someone involved in law enforcement would lie to provide the abortionist cover," said Sullenger. "That is completely unacceptable behavior and that person should be fired immediately."
Operation Rescue was the first to break the news of Laura's death, and worked with Eileen to help bring Osathanondh to justice.
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
Marriage Defined Under God's Law
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/marriage_defined_by_God/2008/07/24/115927.html
Don’t buy the lie! Time is running out! Intentionally or not, too many in the press, the mass media, the government, and the education establishment have confused the citizens of America about the institution of marriage.
As a result, California is destroying the family, and the United States is on the verge of a self-inflicted spiritual holocaust.
First of all, as many of our readers already know, there are many forms of government.
In our Western democracy, there are at least four spheres of government: individual government, family government, ecclesiastical government, and civil government. In the United States of America, the civil government owes its existence to the consent of the governed, not the other way around, in the tradition of the Magna Carte.
Furthermore, since the Rev. Samuel Rutherford wrote "LEX, REX," which clarified the rule of law posited by the Magna Carte, all of these forms of government have been under God’s Law in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. When king or ruler is above the law, he often acts in imperious and dictatorial ways, for the very nature of power is to corrupt the powerful, unless it is restrained by God’s law.
In essence, God’s Law says to love your neighbor as yourself, and the civil government is subject to that divine law.
Thus, the Declaration of Independence made it clear that King George III acted illegally when he oppressed the American colonies, because he was under the law of God.
Countries that allowed men to rule above the law have produced tyrants such as Stalin, Hitler and Mao Tse Tung. Current examples include Mugabwe, Chavez and the military junta in Burma, among many others.
It must be emphasized that marriage between one man and one woman is a God ordained, God defined, biblical act. For 1,800 years in Western countries, marriage was a unique institution, initiated by God when he created the male and female, presided over by Jesus Christ when he blessed the act of marriage and stated that a man and a woman would leave their parents and join together to become one flesh, and sustained by the Holy Spirit who not only holds the marriage together but also produces the offspring that God creates.
The norm in most other religions is not monogamy, although many have borrowed the form of a Christian wedding. Moreover, the state’s involvement in Christian marriage is relatively recent.
In 1837, the Rev. Henry Morris complained that the state had usurped the authority of God in marriage. Norris railed against the passage of a law on marriage by providing a detailed look at the institution of marriage. He painstakingly exegeted the scriptures in establishing his point that marriage is most importantly a religious institution, and therefore it should not be relegated to a strictly civil character:
They took from the Clergy "the solemnizing of Matrimony, and put it into the hands of Justices of the Peace . . ." In the former instance of this desecration being ordained, the power to legislate had been seized by those who would be restrained in nothing that they imagined to do; and, in a day specified in their ordinance, "no other marriage whatsoever within the Commonwealth," but such as should be contracted . . . before a Justice of the Peace, "should be held or accounted a marriage according to the law of England." But the national principle is not yet sufficiently prostrated to make us again ripe for so arbitrary and irreligious an imposition, and therefore, by the law just come in force, you are left to form your own judgments, whether marriage is a mere civil contract, or a Divine institution ‘whether it shall be celebrated with or without any offices of religion’ whether the Church, the Conventicle, or the Register-office, shall be the place of celebration and whether the Clergyman of the Parish, the Dissenting Teacher, or the superintendent Registrar, shall officiate on the occasion.
Norris adds that the biblical position is that only God ordains marriage. So, in the light of history and God’s Word written, the judges in Massachusetts, California or any other state or federal court have nothing to say about Christian marriage and have no authority to define, ordain or desecrate it.
Norris brilliantly continues in his sermon: “By the “state of matrimony the spiritual marriage that is betwixt Christ and His Church is signified and represented . . .”
“But that ‘the fruitful vine’ . . . is not procurable by a civil contract, it cometh only of the Lord.”
His reasoning is impeccable, but many have forgotten that marriage belongs to the church. In fact, a few are very uncomfortable with that concept because of the abuse of power by some ecclesiastical authorities. Two wrongs don’t make a right, however. And they certainly don’t make a civil right to same-sex “marriage.”
With regard to the abuse of power, it must be noted that civil government is good, although there can be bad presidents, governors, judges, and other authorities. Family government is good, although there can be bad fathers and mothers. Ecclesiastical government is good, though there can be bad clergymen.
The rules and the laws of the exception do not make the rule. In other words, a bad father does not give us the license to call for the abolishment of fatherhood, etc. What it does do is to give us the opportunity for checks and balances, which until recently were most perfectly expressed in our constitutional government.
The church has to reclaim marriage as its unique institution. Whatever anyone wants to do outside of the church may be their business, but it is not sanctioned by God’s law. The state has the right to regulate what they do, because there is no liberty for license. But, the state does not have the right to tell the church that any couple outside of the faith is happily married.
We need to stand for God’s law in the face of the power grab by those in civil authority, who know no restraints.
California and Massachusetts have not only violated God’s law, they have also violated their own constitution and the will of the governed. When they do that, they are just like King George. They have abdicated their moral and legal authority and are subject to indictment, trial and just punishment.
A Solution to the Porn Problem
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415750.aspx
CBNNews.com - In an age where much of the world pours into our homes through computers, it should be of no surprise that pornography and the addiction it can so easily create have now reached epidemic proportions.
One out of ten adults now admits to an internet sexual addiction.
"They have secret access to it in the privacy of their own home through the click of a mouse," explained Clay Jones.
Jones has battled the problem of porn for years through his Second Glance Ministries.
A recent survey by Jones and the online organization ChristiaNet finds a staggering amount of porn problems among ChristaNet's own readers, especially males.
"Fifty percent of those men say they struggle with pornography online," Jones said.
Forty-seven percent of families say porn's a problem in their homes.
Church Not Immune
And the tidal wave of porn is now flooding the church. Even pastors aren't immune. Some 37 percent admit struggling with cyberporn.
"I saw another survey that included Christian pastors and one-third of those pastors said they're addicted to pornography online," Jones said.
Dr. Dennis Frederick, a psychotherapist in Federal Way, Washington, deals almost exclusively with sexual addictions simply because of the growing number flooding into his Christian counseling center.
"We were getting more and more calls of families destroyed, marriages destroyed, men losing their jobs," he explained. "And it just became obvious that there was a crisis."
In his book Conquering Pornography, Frederick even tells of a well-known, but unnamed pastor and TV personality who's been addicted to porn for ten years and sneaks in for counseling every week.
Could Be Anyone
"The problem of pornography is not just one group of men," Frederick said. "I mean it goes past pastors, the guy next door, your neighbor, your brother-in-law. All of us are vulnerable."
Jones also joined in the warning.
"I can introduce you to a man who was a pillar in the Christian community, who confessed to a ten-year double lifestyle of porn addiction and sex addiction," he said. "And he only got caught when he got so sick with chlymadia that he brought it home to his wife. He was the leader of a children's ministry."
And women are not immune. Surveys show some 17 percent of women are addicted.
A Way Out For One And All
Tens of millions of men and women are struggling with this addiction. But there's good news -- there's a way out for each and everyone.
Through his book and his practice, Frederick clearly outlines the path. He tells his patients first you have to admit your porn problem and stop lying to yourself that you need pornography.
"You don't have to have it," he said. "You want to have it."
Frederick says not to make excuses, but clearly repent, then throw yourself on the Lord.
"Once you repent, you're already making a huge choice," he told CBN News. "You're saying 'I want to be healthier.' Going to the Lord for the strength and for the healing is the only key you have."
Frederick explains you need to quit cold turkey and clean house -- getting rid of all porn materials and making sure you can't access it online. You need to say to yourself. 'I want this freedom. I don't want this thing to control my life.'
His next piece of advice is often the hardest one for churchgoers to accept -- you need to let someone else know about your addiction, so you can be held accountable -- so they can watch your back.
"I really believe that a man cannot overcome this by himself," Frederick said.
You can't just go it alone.
"They call that white-knuckling. 'I can hold on, I haven't looked at it for three months.' And what every guy will tell you is it's cyclical," Frederick explained.
You might stay sober for a year, but then a few peeks and you suddenly find yourself back into full-blown addiction.
Bounce Your Eyes Away
Steve Arterburn is a Christian radio talk-show host who's dealt extensively with issues of sexual temptations in the book series Every Man's Battle.
Arterburn says we need to get in the habit of bouncing our eyes away from temptation, break connections that could lead to sin, and then fill our minds with God's Word instead.
"Pretty soon you discover that you really do have a transformed mind. It is a renewed heart," Arterburn told CBN News. "And it's because you implanted the truth of God while also eliminating some of the things of this world that get us in trouble."
But for those immersed in porn, this dependence can actually cause chemical addiction in your brain, so you may need professional therapy. Some recommend a deliverance service. But you may have to prepare for a hard-fought withdrawal.
"There are chemical and physical processes happening in your body everyday that are perpetuating this problem," Jones explained. "It doesn't matter if you're a male or female, the processes are the same. So you have to learn how to interrupt those processes in order for true change to take place."
Then you have to realize this area will always be a weak spot in your armor.
"Once you have that in your heart, you better be on guard the rest of your life," Frederick said.
The Church Needs To Get Into The Fight
Both Frederick and Jones believe the church could do so much more to help Christians fight their way free. "It's really time for the church to pull its head out of the sand and begin to deal with these issues openly and honestly," Jones said.
"We as the church need the recovery groups that are out there now," Frederick charged. "There are materials. Men meeting with other men, saying 'Hey, how you coming on your walk?' There's also the power of prayer. Is the church praying for this?"
But Frederick says the battle is worth it. He says victory will bring spiritual health to your home and restore your faith.
"And God's going to be there," he said. "His grace is sufficient. He's going to be there and say, 'Thank you my child for coming home.'"
Russia Denies Reported Cuba Base Plans
http://www.newsmax.com/international/russia_cuba/2008/07/24/115920.html
MOSCOW — Russian news agencies say the Defense Ministry is denying a newspaper report that Russia was considering basing nuclear-capable bombers in Cuba.
The report in the newspaper Izvestia this week cited an anonymous top air force official as saying the bombers could be based in Cuba as a response to U.S. plans to place elements of a missile-defense system in Eastern European countries.
Defense Ministry spokesman Ilshat Baichurin dismissed the report on Thursday, according to the Interfax and RIA-Novosti news agencies.
"We see this sort of anonymous allegation as disinformation and another media hoax," he was quoted as saying.
Vast Oil Reserves Untapped in Arctic
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415771.aspx
CBNNews.com - WASHINGTON - Some 90 billion barrels of oil and a third of the world's undiscovered natural gas lie beneath an area north of the Arctic Circle, government scientists estimate in the largest-ever survey of the energy resources there.
The U.S. Geological Survey, which announced the findings Wednesday, called the region, which includes parts of the United States, Russia and Canada, "the largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on Earth."
All told, the area accounts for about a fifth of the world's recoverable oil and natural gas reserves, the USGS says: 13 percent of the oil, 30 percent of natural gas and 20 percent of natural gas liquids.
At today's current consumption rate of 86 million barrels a day, the yet-to-be-tapped oil in the Arctic would supply global demand for three years. Pursuing it is sure to be controversial with environmental groups that want to protect the pristine wilderness and the area's endangered species.
The oil is considered "technically recoverable" using existing technology, but the survey did not consider the cost of overcoming obstacles to drilling, such as permanent sea ice or deep ocean waters. Melting caused by global warming has opened up some areas that were previously considered too difficult to reach. Oil companies have already spent billions to secure leases to explore some of the uncharted waters.
About 84 percent of the undiscovered oil and gas is offshore, the USGS estimated, but much of it is close enough to land to fall under national territorial claims.
About a third of the oil found in the survey is off the coast of Alaska. The majority of the natural gas is concentrated in two Russian provinces.
"Before we can make decisions about our future use of oil and gas and related decisions about protecting endangered species, native communities and the health of our planet, we need to know what's out there," USGS Director Mark Myers said in releasing the report Wednesday, the product of a four-year study.
"With this assessment," he said, "we're providing the same information to everyone in the world so that the global community can make those difficult decisions."
Can Britain Survive Multiculturalism?
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/414175.aspx
CBNNews.com - LONDON - Britain's top judge says the nation should allow Islamic Sharia law. The head of the Church of England said something similar.
Consequently, police dogs might have to wear booties when they search Muslim homes to avoid offending Muslims who believe dogs are unclean. And Britain's Home Secretary has decided Islamic terrorism should be re-named "anti-Islamic activity."
Multiculturalism Out of Control
In the modern British politically correct state, multiculturalism runs amok. And the government persecutes and suppresses British culture and tradition, while allowing hate and injustice within radical Islam to flourish.
There is a real fear of Muslims in Britain that is far different than in America, and the headlines here sometimes make it look as if capitulation to Islam is inevitable.
It's somewhat astonishing that in a nation of 60 million people, a few million Muslims could cause so much concern. Critics of the government say that's because the nation's politically correct leaders are still hesitant to tackle the issue head on.
The government has made so-called "hate speech," illegal, but it also depends on who is doing the hating. When one group of British citizens protested the Mohammed cartoons at the Danish embassy in London in 2006, they expressed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and called for beheadings and nuclear attacks against Denmark Britain and America. Yet British police arrested no one, until there was a public uproar.
Compare that to when Britain's Channel 4 Dispatches program exposed violent rhetoric in local mosques. British police initially decided to charge - not the radical imams who were promoting violence and bigotry - but the news program that did the report, for allegedly stirring up racial hatred.
And it could be argued that Britain's commitment to ethnic diversity cost one woman her life.
Banaz Mahmod's family tried repeatedly to kill her because she left an arranged marriage and allegedly stained the family honor, so Banaz recorded a video account from a hospital bed the first time her family tried to kill her.
She also went to British police several times asking for help. They ignored her, because police thought they should respect "ethnic diversity" and not get involved. Banaz was finally murdered by her father and uncle, stuffed in a suitcase and buried in a backyard.
Speaking Out
A surge in honor violence is only one result of the government's policy of respecting ethnic diversity and bowing to Islam. Gina Khan is a national spokeswoman against honor violence and Islamic radicalism. She left an abusive arranged marriage, and because she speaks out against radical Islam, she has been forced to move to a secret location.
"You're at risk, if you speak out. You can be attacked. I'm aware of that. But there comes a time when silence becomes a guilt, a sin," Khan said. " I spoke out because I believe that people in the community that I moved out of are in denial about jihadism and yet it's happening all under their noses. In fact, I think people know what's happening and are afraid to speak out. "
When former drug dealer and now born again Christian Paul Ray wrote in his blog that the Muslim drug gangs in his hometown of Luton were "savages," he was arrested on suspicion of a hate crime.
"It's ok for the Muslims to do what they're doing, and no one arrests them, but then if we start saying and disagreeing with what's actually happening, then we're breaching community cohesion and we get arrested for it," he explained.
Ray fled Britain after this interview, because of threats against his life from Muslim gangs.
Whole sections of Britain are now considered dangerous "no-go zones" for non-Muslims.
Sally McNamara is at the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation.
"When you have a government which is so hampered by political correctness, that they're unwilling to assert national values of tolerance, of rule of law, of human rights, of women's rights... then you're creating mixed messages where you're saying the extremists can flourish," she said.
"One of the worst things that is happening in England is that people are being ignored," Stephen Gash said.
Gash helps lead a grassroots group called SIOE, Stop the Islamization of Europe, which has a chapter in Britain
"They're discriminating against the majority people in Europe now in favor of the Islamists and Muslims." he added. "The way we're going, we're going to be taken back to the stoning age. That's what's going to happen to this country."
But at least one study shows that most British Muslims don't want sharia law. A lot of British Muslims came here to escape it. Yet it might be foisted on them anyway by political leaders.
It's clear that multiculturalism and political correctness have backfired badly. The hardcore Islamists have not been assimilated, but the nation's confidence in democracy and Christian civilization has been sapped, and its will to resist the cultural aggressiveness of radical Islam has been weakened.
Israel Plans New West Bank Settlement
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415792.aspx
CBNNews.com - Israel is planning to build the first new settlement in the West Bank in a decade.
The Maskiot settlement is located in the Jordan Valley rift.
But the plan is infuriating Palestinians who believe the settlement will ruin peace efforts.
Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak will approve the move in the coming weeks.
The United States has said new settlements could hinder peace talks. But Israeli officials say the settlement has been in the works for years.
Nine Israeli families have already moved into mobile homes on the site.
Obama rounds off Mid East trip with note in Western Wall
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5463
The US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama rose before dawn Thursday, July 24, for a stop at the holiest Jewish shrine to round off his Middle East tour. After bowing his head in prayer, he observed the custom of placing a small note in a crevice of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Some Jewish worshippers shook his hand, others heckled him with: “Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale!” The visit lasted less than 15 minutes. The senator flew off later for visits to Germany, France and England.
The contender visited Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel as part of a campaign to boost his foreign policy credentials.
IRGC Revamps To Counter Enemy Within
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,390143,00.html
The ayatollahs continue to enrich uranium, despite the high-profile meeting on July 19, 2008 in Geneva between Tehran's top nuclear negotiator and senior western diplomats representing the Group of 5+1. No surprise there. They are banking their regime's survival on nuclear capability. Ali Larijani, Iran's former nuclear negotiator, once said that giving in to the West's demands that Iran suspend its enrichment would be suicide.
But, however much their regional role is tied to developing a nuclear weapon, domestically their grip is being challenged on a daily basis. Indeed, the backbone of the ayatollahs' regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is being revamped at great haste, primarily to cope with rising dissent. The region's changing geo-strategic dynamics coupled with sanctions targeting the IRGC, and its terrorist elite unit, the Qods Force, are also factors.
According to intelligence gathered by the Iranian Resistance's network inside Iran, on June 28, 2008, Mohammad Ali (Aziz) Jafari, the IRGC Commander-in-Chief, launched a major reorganization of the Corps. The scale of this re-org is unprecedented since the 1985 re-vamp, when the clerical regime's founder Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the IRGC split into three branches - Army, Navy and Air force.
The new structure changes the IRGC from a centralized to a decentralized force with 31 provincial corps, whose commanders wield extensive authority and power. According to the plan, each of Iran's thirty provinces will have a provincial corps, except Tehran Province, which will have two.
The key questions are why, and why now. A look back at the summer of 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was propelled to the presidency, provides some insight. His rise came about through a "complex and multi-layered" plan devised by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the IRGC top brass. With Khamenei's backing the IRGC had already taken the reins of power in most key areas. Ahmadinejad's presidency placed the IRGC atop the executive branch, and the metamorphosis of the IRGC into a politico-military force was complete.
Khamenei then sought to implement a strategy reflecting the new pecking order. To this end, on August 21, 2005, just days after Ahmadinejad's inauguration, he ordered the formation of the IRGC Strategic Research Center and appointed then Brig. General Jafari as its head.
Within two years, the Strategic Research Center developed the new strategy, whose main components are: 1) A reign of terror on the populace; 2) Terrorist suicide operations capable of striking at the "enemy", including on "enemy" soil; 3) Increasing Iran's missile strike capability; 4) Acquiring nuclear weapons capability.
With a new strategy at hand and the IRGC in control, Khamenei felt all the pieces were in place. He was mistaken. According to reports from within the IRGC, Khamene'i soon realized there were growing problems with IRGC personnel. With Ahmadinejad's cabinet at the helm, many veteran IRGC Brig. Generals gravitated toward political, cultural and naturally, economic realms. Not only were they disinclined to fight, but they were also reluctant even to wear the IRGC uniform.
Almost a year ago, feeling the effects of internal unrest and foreign pressure worsening, Khamenei dismissed Major General Rahim Safavi, once a darling of the radical factions but later described by Ahmadinejad's cronies as a "liberal" and softy.
On September 1, 2007, Khamene'i promoted Mohammad Ali Jafari, a friend of Ahmadinejad, to the rank of Major General and appointed him IRGC Commander. On October 20, 2007, in his first public statement following his appointment, Jafari explained that "According to the judgment of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, the Guards' strategy has changed. Accordingly, the Guards' primary mission at this juncture is to fight the internal threats."
He added: "Internal security and its preservation are the tasks of the State Security Forces and other security organs. But if the problems go beyond a certain point, then the Guards - with the permission of the Supreme National Security Council and the Supreme Leader - will take charge."
According to one of the regime's analysts, "The whole security environment is intended to really suffocate or torpedo any possible change from within." In February 2008, Jafari acknowledged the regime's inability to uproot the opposition, saying, "Animosity toward our revolution is never-ending. As we move forward, the battle between the revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries becomes more critical and complicated."
Jafari has stressed that the IRGC's new strategy entails two essential components: accurate intelligence about enemy activities, and an increase in the regime's missile capabilities. Earlier this month, he told reporters that the IRGC "is equipped with the most advanced missiles that can strike the enemies' vessels and naval equipment with fatal blows." Back in May, he was quoted by the state-run Fars news agency as saying that "An independent command might be created in IRGC in order to fortify the structure and activities of the missile section."
Another of Jafari's priorities during the past ten months has been dealing with the wave of retirements, buy-outs, and resignations by IRGC Brig. Generals. Obviously, these coincided with Khamenei's efforts to tune the regime's military apparatus with the threat of a military confrontation. Khamenei found he had no option but to purge most of the commanders of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and replace them with post-war commanders. This explains why a good many of the twenty provincial commanders announced since June 28 have lower ranks than Brig. General, which means they were lower-ranking officers during the Iran-Iraq war.
In May, Jafari alluded to Khamenei's unhappiness with the old-timers. Speaking at a ceremony introducing the new commander of Tehran's paramilitary Bassij Force (tasked with internal security), Jafari said that "in the past few years" there had been "negligence" about "domestic security" in the IRGC. Calling for a reorganization and review of the IRGC's mission, he added that the negligence was due to "a few good years" during the Iran-Iraq war, when the IRGC pursued mainly "military activities" and paid "little attention to other aspects" of its responsibilities, meaning preserving the theocratic regime against popular dissent. Strengthening Bassij Force has been the core element in the IRGC re-org.
The revamping of the IRGC underscores the reality that while the ayatollahs' foreign policy imperatives are to establish a client state in Iraq and acquire a nuclear weapon, domestically they are at risk from the Iranian people and their democratic resistance movement - the enemy within. The success of this domestic movement is the key to a non-nuclear, peaceful Iran and to an independent and democratic Iraq.
Al-Qaeda Sending Recruits to Afghanistan
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/415270.aspx
CBNNews.com - WASHINGTON - Al-Qaeda's foreign fighters who have for years bedeviled Iraq are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight instead, the Iraqi ambassador to the United States said Wednesday.
"We have heard reports recently that many of the foreign fighters that were in Iraq have left, either back to their homeland or going to fight in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is now seeming to be more suitable for al-Qaeda fighters," said Ambassador Samir Sumaida'ie.
Al-Qaeda had training camps and a headquarters in Afghanistan, under the protection of the then-ruling Taliban, until the US invaded after the September 11 terrorist attacks. With al-Qaida forced out of Afghanistan, the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 quickly drew outside fighters there.
More Difficult for al-Qaeda in Iraq
Sumaida'ie said al-Qaeda is finding it now increasingly difficult to operate in Iraq, beginning with the rebellion of the largely Sunni tribes in Anbar Province in 2006 and 2007. Until then, al-Qaeda had ruled by intimidation and violence, establishing physical control and setting up a shadow government in large swaths of Iraqi territory.
"There were large tracts that were run by al-Qaeda, administered by al-Qaeda -- they had ministers, administrators, paid salaries and so on. This no longer exists, so they do not have any territory to control [where it] is safe for them to move in and around Iraq," he said. "In whole areas they ceased to operate as effective terrorist networks."
Sumaida'ie's comments echoed those of the top US military commander in Iraq. General David Petraeus told The Associated Press last week that al-Qaeda appears to be reassessing its chances of success in Iraq.
"They're not going to abandon Iraq. They're not going to write it off. None of that," Petraeus said. "But what they certainly may do is start to provide some of those resources that would have come to Iraq to Pakistan, possibly Afghanistan.
"We do think they are considering what should be the main effort," he said.
New Recruits Sent to Pakistan and Afghanistan
A US counterterrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence reporting said foreign fighters are generally not leaving Iraq for Afghanistan, but new recruits to al-Qaeda are being sent to Afghanistan and Pakistan instead of Iraq. The numbers in all countries are small, however. The vast majority of al-Qaeda in Iraq are native born, and extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan are overwhelmingly Pashtun fighters from the region.
Sumaida'ie's remarks come as Democratic presumptive nominee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is conducting an overseas trip that included stops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama toured two war zones with Senators Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
Last week they issued a written statement saying that Afghanistan and Pakistan's border area, where the Taliban is resurgent and Osama Bin Laden is believed to be hiding, should be the central front in the war against terrorism.
Monthly death tolls of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan surpassed US military deaths in Iraq in May and June, even though there are far fewer coalition troops in Afghanistan.
Both Sumaida'ie and Petraeus warned, however, that security progress made in Iraq is not irreversible and al-Qaeda could reassert itself there.
"If things break down in Iraq, they are capable of coming back," Sumaida'ie said.
Christians Beaten, Accused of Forcible Conversion in India
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07431.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - At approximately 1:00 p.m on July 5, four Hindu militants attacked an evangelist, Shyam Kumar (22), while he was distributing Gospel tracts to the poor in the village of Baswapur, Andhra Pradesh. The militants falsely accused him of forcibly converting people and severely beat him, rendering him unconscious. He was later found by a friend and hospitalized for his injuries.
On July 10, Pastor A. Jayrag was assaulted by Hindu militants who opposed local authorities' decision to grant him permission to build a church in the village of Dandu Mylavaram, Andhra Pradesh. At approximately 9:00 p.m., the assailants barged into the house of the pastor and dragged him outside. He was beaten, kicked, accused of forcibly converting people and war ned of dire consequences if he continued to preach the Gospel in the village.
Two Christian women, Ms. Prabhavati (27) and Ms. D. Malleswary (24), were arrested on false charges of forcible conversion in the town of Vivek Nagar, Bangalore on July 12. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Hindu militants came to the women's church and asked them for Christian tracts. As soon as they received the tracts, however, the militants accused the two believers of forcibly converting Hindus to Christianity. Police arrested the women and detained them at a local jail where they were ordered to remain for 13 days.
Pray for healing for those who were injured in these attacks. Pray for the release of imprisoned believers. Ask God to strengthen the Body of Christ in India to stand in His grace as it faces continual pressure from Hindu militants (1 Peter 5:10-12).
For more information on the persecution facing Christians in India, go to www.persecution.net/country/india.htm.
President of Chinese House Church Alliance Forced to Live on Streets for Meeting with American Congressional Delegation
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07429.shtml
BEIJING, (christiansunite.com) -- CAA has learned that on July 6, 2008 Pastor Bike Zhang, chairman of the Federation House Church and his wife, Xie Fenglan, were forced to leave their home in Chaoyang District by Beijing PSB officials. The couple was able to find shelter in the home of a friend, Niu Bei until officials again found the home and forced the Zhangs to leave. Zhang and his wife were forced to move into a hotel in Guo Xian town, Tongzhou District, and were allowed extended residence by the owner.
At 16:00 on July 14 Tongzhou PSB officials threatened the owner of the hotel to evict the couple or face incarceration. The couple then decided to find residence in Changping, but were stopped by police officials while on their way and taken to the Town Government office. Police proceeded to interrogate the couple rotating them on a one on one basis without food, drink, or rest. At 6:00am Xie Fenglan collapsed due to the stress of the torture but was not taken to the hospital until 11:00am.
The couple was released from the government office and stopped at a local hotel on their way out of town. While local police officials again drove the couple out of the hotel and forced them to leave. After a short while of living in Tongzhou, the couple were again accosted by local police and forced to move. Zhang begged the PSB officials to allow his sick wife to stay in the location and rest overnight.
The officials rejected this plea and forced Zhang to send his wife to her sister's residence in Sanhe, Hebei for recovery, while Zhang found residence in a local hotel. On July 16th, while going out to buy medicine for his wife, local police officials followed Zhang and forced his wife to move out from her sister's home.
Both Zhang and his wife are now forced to live on the streets and are not able to find shelter. When asked why the couple was being expelled from Beijing , officials responded, "Because Bike Zhang met the Americans, and destroyed the harmony of the Beijing Olympic Games."
This egregious treatment of one of China's most respected and well-loved house church leaders is a shocking and outright violation of basic human rights and rule of law. The Chinese Government has shown neither remorse nor discretion in violating UN and international mandates to grant citizens basic human liberties such as shelter and protection.
The acts against Pastor Bike Zhang and his wife are unjust and unlawful. This type of behavior exhibited by the CPC is reflective of a dictatorship with no regard for the wellbeing of its citizens and not a world leader worthy of the honor of hosting the Olympic Games. We urge the international community and those concerned to voice their objection of these acts to the Chinese Government.
To voice your concern, please contact:
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
Address: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. , Washington D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 338-6688, (202)5889760
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Attn: Chinese Ambassador to the US , Mr. Zhou Wenzhong
Iraqi Teams Banned From Beijing Olympic Games
http://www.newsmax.com/international/oly_iraq_banned/2008/07/24/115935.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The International Olympic Committee has upheld a ban on Iraqi teams at the Beijing Games, saying Thursday the government missed the deadline to address accusations of political interference.
The IOC decision culminates a drawn-out internal feud in Iraq that many see as an extension of Shiite payback to Sunnis who once held a cozy niche in Saddam Hussein's regime.
In May, the government dissolved the National Olympic Committee. Among the claims was it was illegitimate because it lacked a legal quorum — but four members of the committee, including its chief, were kidnapped two years ago and their fates are unknown.
There's also a potential sectarian rift. Iraq's Youth and Sports Ministry is dominated by Shiites, while the NOC includes several holdovers from the Saddam-era Olympic Committee, run by his feared eldest son, Odai.
The International Olympics Committee denounced the order as "serious interference" in what is supposed to be an independent body and demanded the government respect the NOC's autonomy.
"Clearly we'd very much like to have seen Iraq's athletes in Beijing," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Thursday. "We are very disappointed that the athletes have been so ill-served by their own government's actions."
The Iraqi Olympic team was greeted with a roaring ovation at the opening ceremony of the Athens Games in 2004. That was the country's first Olympics after the fall of Saddam and Odai, who as head of the Iraqi Olympic committee tortured athletes who failed to reach his standards. Iraq's soccer team became one of the feel-good stories of those games when it made a surprising run to the semifinals.
Four Iraqi athletes were expected to compete in non-track and field sports — archery, judo, rowing and weightlifting. Their places will be offered to athletes from other countries.
The IOC and Olympic Council of Asia jointly sent a letter Wednesday to Iraq's minister for youth and sport Jassem Mohammed Jaafar confirming Iraq's suspension "despite joint efforts.... over the past few months to find a positive solution with Iraqi authorities."
Iraq's government said after the June 4 suspension it wanted to meet with the IOC "to make its legitimate case."
It said the decision to dissolve the Olympic committee was based on "solid evidence of blatant corruption, lack of legitimate transparent electoral processes and accountability and absence of ratified legislation."
But IOC spokeswoman Davies said Thursday the Iraqi government was asked to Switzerland to discuss possible remedies "but (it) did not positively respond to the IOC's invitation."
She said the suspension destroyed progress made in Iraq's sporting community since the fall of Saddam in 2003.
Iraq's athletes are not the first to miss an Olympic Games because of government interference.
In the most recent case, Afghanistan was prevented from sending a team to the Sydney games in 2000 because of the Taliban regime's intervention in sports administration.
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