Presumed Presidential Nominees McCain and Obama to Make First Joint Campaign Appearance on August 16 at Saddleback Church
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07435.shtml
LAKE FOREST, Calif., (christiansunite.com) -- Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, respective presumed Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, will end the primary season by making their first joint appearance of the 2008 campaign at Saddleback Church on Saturday, Aug.16 at the Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion. Dr. Rick Warren, founding pastor of the 22,000-member Orange County, Calif. mega church and moderator for the event, made the announcement today upon confirmation by both campaigns.
"We're honored that the candidates chose The Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion for their first joint appearance, an unprecedented opportunity for America to hear both men back-to-back on the same platform," Warren said. "This is a critical time for our nation and the American people deserve to hear both candidates speak from the heart - without interruption - in a civil and thoughtful format absent the partisan 'gotcha' questions that typically produce heat instead of light.
"The primaries proved that Americans care deeply about the faith, values, character and leadership convictions of candidates as much as they do about the issues. While I know both men as friends and they recognize I will be frank, but fair, they also know I will be raising questions in these four areas beyond what political reporters typically ask. This includes pressing issues that are bridging divides in our nation, such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, climate and human rights."
Warren confirmed that, at the candidates' request, this two-hour event from 5-7 p.m. (PDT) will be held in a non-debate format and open to all media. Both candidates also requested that questions be posed exclusively by Warren, instead of a panel or members of the audience. Each will converse separately with Warren for approximately one-hour, beginning with Sen. Obama as determined by a coin toss. This historic forum will be the only joint campaign event prior to each party's national convention.
"While debates typically focus primarily on the candidates' positions and only secondarily on how they'd lead and make decisions, this Saddleback Civil Forum will reverse that ratio," Warren continued. "Since the oath of the President is a commitment to protect the Constitution, it's critical to know how each candidate interprets the nature of its principles. Leadership involves far more than promoting programs and making speeches, and since no one can predict what crises will happen over the next four years, it is vital to know the decision capacity and process of each man."
Warren has known each candidate prior to their run for national office. Both men recorded video messages to attendees at Saddleback's annual Global Summit on AIDS and The Church last November. Along with other national and international leaders, each has also endorsed Warren's vision of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, a 50- year strategy to mobilize millions of local churches around the world to address five global problems: spiritual emptiness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. After four years of testing prototypes of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan in 68 countries, the P.E.A.C.E. Coalition, involving business, church and government partnerships, was launched in April.
In conjunction with the Civil Forum event, Warren will convene an interfaith meeting at the church for approximately 30 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to discuss cooperation in projects for the common good of all Americans. Members of the P.E.A.C.E. Coalition Leadership Council will also fly in for weekend events.
On Sunday, Aug. 17, Warren will deliver a special sermon entitled, "Making Up Your Mind: Questions to Consider before the Election," which will be streamed live on the church Web site, www.saddleback.com, and made available for use in small group discussions within churches across the country.
The Saddleback Civil Forum was established to promote civil discourse and the common good of all. The first forum, held during Passover week this year, featured five Jewish World War II Holocaust survivors sharing their stories. The next Saddleback Civil Forum in September will feature former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"In addition to my primary calling to proclaim the Gospel Truth of salvation in Jesus Christ, these Civil Forums further three other life goals: helping individuals accept responsibility, helping the Church regain credibility and encouraging our society to return to civility," Warren added.
Saddleback Church has invited Faith in Public Life, which hosted a Compassion Forum at Messiah College in Pennsylvania last April, to co-sponsor this special Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion. Approximately 6,500 tickets to the event will be allotted for seating in six different venues throughout the 120-acre Saddleback campus.
McCain Rejects 'Audacity of Hopelessness'
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416576.aspx
CBNNews.com - DENVER - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, ridiculing Barack Obama for "the audacity of hopelessness" in his policies on Iraq, said Friday that the entire Middle East could have plunged into war had U.S. troops been withdrawn as his rival advocated.
Speaking to an audience of Hispanic military veterans, McCain stepped up his criticism of Obama while the Illinois senator continued his headline-grabbing tour of the Middle East and Europe. The Arizona Republican contended that Obama's policies - he opposed sending more troops to Iraq in the "surge" that McCain supported - would have led to defeat there and in Afghanistan.
"We rejected the audacity of hopelessness, and we were right," McCain said, a play on the title of Obama's book "The Audacity of Hope."
McCain laid out a near-apocalyptic chain of events he said could have resulted had Obama managed to stop the troop buildup ordered by President Bush: U.S. forces retreating under fire, the Iraqi army collapsing, civilian casualties increasing dramatically, al-Qaida killing cooperative Sunni sheiks and finding safe havens to train fighters and launch attacks on Americans, and civil war, genocide and a wider conflict.
"Above all, America would have been humiliated and weakened," he said. "Terrorists would have seen our defeat as evidence America lacked the resolve to defeat them. As Iraq descended into chaos, other countries in the Middle East would have come to the aid of their favored factions, and the entire region might have erupted in war."
Noting that the buildup was unpopular with most Americans, McCain said: "Sen. Obama told the American people what he thought you wanted to hear. I told you the truth."
Obama has called for a withdrawal over 16 months. McCain again criticized him for advocating "a politically expedient timetable" and for voting against funding for troops. McCain had raised eyebrows earlier this week by charging that Obama "would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign."
With once exception, Obama has voted for every spending bill for troops at war. In 2007, Bush vetoed a bill that provided funding on condition of troop withdrawals, and Obama joined 13 other senators who opposed the measure that took its place.
McCain's speech in Denver came at the conclusion of a week in which he struggled against Obama's overseas tour de force. Yet amid the awkward moments, McCain managed to campaign busily in key battleground states and to raise millions of dollars at fundraisers.
Polls in many swing states are close, and some are tightening. The Arizona Republican sought to turn this to his advantage in what was clearly a difficult week to be a stay-at-home candidate.
McCain repeatedly emphasized his long military and congressional background, scolded Obama from afar on foreign policy, and kept playfully fueling speculation that he was close to picking a running mate. His address to the group of Hispanic veterans also gave him a chance to court the valued Hispanic vote.
McCain was to visit the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colo., his first meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader and a chance to express criticism of Chinese treatment of those who live in Tibet just weeks before the Olympics in Beijing.
McCain also was to spend the weekend in Arizona and make a round of television news shows on Sunday.
Everywhere he went in recent days - in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio and here in Colorado - the Arizona senator drew warm and appreciative crowds. No matter that many, if not most, of those in the audiences were senior citizens. Seniors vote in big numbers.
For the most part, the side-by-side images weren't pretty:
-Obama meeting with leaders in Iraq, McCain on a golf cart in Kennebunkport, Maine, with the first President Bush.
-Obama before a sweeping Mideast landscape, McCain holding a news conference in a supermarket in Bethlehem - Pennsylvania, that is - and narrowly escaping an attack from a tumbling stack of apple sauce jars.
-Obama delivering his trip's keynote speech at Berlin's Victory Column, McCain eating bratwurst and chatting with reporters at a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
McCain responds philosophically when asked about being overshadowed by his rival's overseas trip and outsize attention: "It is what it is."
McCain has inched ahead of Obama in Colorado, come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states. The polls, taken for The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com, showed voters in each state saying energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq.
Obama Trip Helps McCain: Polls Tighten
http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/Obama_Trip_Helps_McCain/2008/07/25/116320.html
DENVER -- In the face of Barack Obama's overseas tour de force, rival presidential candidate John McCain struggled to be heard. Yet amid the awkward moments, he managed to campaign busily in key battleground states and to raise millions of dollars at fundraisers.
Polls in many swing states are close, and some are tightening. The Arizona Republican sought to turn this to his advantage in what was clearly a difficult week to be a stay-at-home candidate.
He repeatedly emphasized his long military and congressional background, scolded Obama from afar on foreign policy, and kept playfully fueling speculation that he was close to picking a running mate.
McCain faced another opportunity to showcase his history as a Vietnam prisoner of war in a speech Friday in Denver to the American GI Forum Convention, a largely Hispanic military group. That also gave him a chance to court the valued Hispanic vote. McCain was also to visit the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colo., before heading home to Sedona, Ariz., for the weekend. It was to be his first visit with the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Everywhere he went — in New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Ohio and here in Colorado — the Arizona senator drew warm and appreciative crowds. No matter that many, if not most, of those in the audiences were senior citizens. Seniors vote in big numbers.
For the most part, the side-by-side images weren't pretty:
—Obama meeting with leaders in Iraq, McCain on a golf cart in Kennebunkport, Maine, with the first President Bush.
—Obama before a sweeping Israeli landscape, McCain holding a news conference in a supermarket in Bethlehem — Pennsylvania, that is — and narrowly escaping an attack from a tumbling stack of mayonnaise jars.
—Obama delivering his trip's keynote speech at Berlin's Victory Column, McCain eating bratwurst and chatting with reporters at a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
McCain responds philosophically when asked about being overshadowed by his rival's overseas trip and outsize attention: "It is what it is."
In the final analysis, McCain said at week's end, "I'm glad Sen. Obama went to Iraq."
However, it would have been better, McCain added in the inevitable dig, had the Illinois Democrat not "announced his policy before he left."
Overall, "I feel fine," McCain said about how the week turned out.
That McCain would be overshadowed seemed inevitable. No opposition party candidate could have shined under such circumstances.
McCain aides showed clear frustration with what they saw as lopsided news coverage, and McCain himself seemed peevish at times.
McCain has inched ahead of Obama in Colorado, come within inches in Minnesota and narrowed the gap in Michigan and Wisconsin, according to Quinnipiac University polls of likely voters in these battleground states. The polls, taken for The Wall Street Journal and washingtonpost.com, showed voters in each state saying energy policy is more important than the war in Iraq.
Obama's "post-primary bubble hasn't burst, but it is leaking a bit," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The good news for McCain is that he has improved his standing in Colorado and Michigan, two states that are critical to each man's strategy."
McCain sought to focus attention on energy and the economy, but he kept getting distracted, finding himself continuously reacting to Obama.
He raised the heat of his criticism. Before, McCain had defended his support of the Iraq war by saying he would rather win a war than win an election. This week, he took it a step further, suggesting Obama would rather lose a war to win an election. That subjected McCain to a wave of Democratic criticism.
Then, in an interview with CBS, McCain asserted that President Bush's "surge" had helped inspire the Anbar Province awakening in which Sunni chieftans stopped fighting the U.S. and began to fight al-Qaida. Democrats gleefully pointed out that the Anbar rebellion happened before Bush announced his troop buildup in January 2007 and the extra troops began arriving that March.
McCain backed and filled, suggesting what the administration likes to call the "surge" was a counterinsurgency movement that actually began months before Bush's troop buildup. It was a matter of semantics, he suggested, prompting another wave of Democratic ridicule.
There were other possible disconnects. He suggested he would love to give a speech in Germany, as Obama had. But he said he would prefer touring the U.S. heartland to deal with economic woes affecting Americans. This from the candidate who recently left the country to give trade-focused speeches in Mexico and Canada.
He planned to visit an offshore oil rig on Wednesday to promote his call for more offshore drilling. But rough waters from the remnants of Hurricane Dolly caused a postponement.
That seemed to annoy him the most, aides suggested. And he mentioned his regret at not going to the rig at nearly every stop afterward.
Concerns Despite Obama's Warm Reception
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416391.aspx
CBNNews.com - U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is set to make an appearance in France and Britain Friday, where he is expected to receive the same warm welcome the Germans gave him Thursday.
But despite his overwhelming reception -- 200,000-plus turned out to hear and see him -- analysts are saying some parts of his highly anticipated message in Berlin may not resonate with Europeans.
Most notably, his warning that "Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less" on security. Also, he insisted that "we must renew our resolve" to defeat the Taliban and declared that Afghanistan needs "our troops and your troops."
That could prove awkward to Germany and other countries -- the mission in Afghanistan is unpopular with Europeans.
Before meeting with Obama German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would "make it clear that Germany is not shirking a strengthened commitment, but also will make our limits very clear - just as I have with the current president."
German media hasn't warmed to the idea of committing more to the Afghanistan mission either.
"He explicitly called for German soldiers for Afghanistan - he did not say 'more soldiers' but that was what he meant," commentator Reymer Kluever wrote for the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "And Obama also indicated this: he will want support as president to wind up the Iraq adventure. Obama will be expensive for Germany."
The German news magazine Der Spiegel wrote on its Web site: "He will call in help from the Germans, British and French in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is unlikely to let NATO off the hook - therein lies the peril of the engaging 'we' and the catchy 'Yes, we can."
Even though the foreign press is taking a hard look at what Obama is saying, it's clear that Europeans have a strong desire to heal the trans-Atlantic rift and many consider the Democratic candidate the right man for the job.
Obama headed on to France on Friday, where many Parisians were excited about his visit.
"Everything is new, for one thing his skin color, it really brings something, especially to the States and to the whole world as well. I think he has ideas, I think he can bring a lot," one local resident told AP Television.
"This shows that in today's biggest world power, changes can happen, and that's a really good thing," said another.
Obama is expected to have a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Guard Confirms Late-Night Hotel Encounter Between Ex-Sen. John Edwards, Tabloid Reporters
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391426,00.html
A Beverly Hills hotel security guard told FOXNews.com he intervened this week between a man he identified as former Sen. John Edwards and tabloid reporters who chased down the former presidential hopeful after what they're calling a rendezvous with his mistress and love child.
The Beverly Hilton Hotel guard said he encountered a shaken and ashen-faced Edwards — whom he did not immediately recognize — in a hotel men's room early Tuesday morning in a literal tug-of-war with reporters on the other side of the door.
"What are they saying about me?" the guard said Edwards asked.
"His face just went totally white," the guard said, when Edwards was told the reporters were shouting out questions about Edwards and Rielle Hunter, a woman the National Enquirer says is the mother of his child.
The guard said he escorted Edwards, who was not a registered guest at the hotel, out of the building after 2 a.m. Edwards did not say anything while he was escorted out, said the guard, adding that at times the reporters on the scene were "rough on him," sticking a camera in his face and shouting questions.
The guard did not recognize Edwards at the time of the incident, but said he concluded it was the 2008 presidential hopeful after hearing reports about the incident and finding an Enquirer reporter's notebook at the scene.
The guard said during the chase the reporters had dropped the notebook, which he picked up. "This book has everything in it on him," he said, referring to Edwards. The guard later confirmed Edwards' identity after being shown a photograph.
A former campaign staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told FOXNews.com he wishes he were "more surprised" to hear reports Edwards was visiting Hunter. "I'm definitely upset by it. I wish I was more surprised, though."
Edwards this week has repeatedly refused to comment on the Enquirer report. Asked about it on Thursday at an event in New Orleans, he said: "I have no idea what you're asking about. I've responded, consistently, to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies and you know that ... and I stand by that."
Edwards spokesmen did not respond to repeated calls by FOXNews.com to respond to this story.
Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Michael Publicker, meanwhile, confirmed Friday that an incident report was filed with the department by two of the tabloid's reporters. Publicker said that contrary to a published report, a "criminal complaint" was not filed and there are no charges pending.
"It will be looked into," Publicker said, refusing to say whether Edwards would be contacted as part of a formal investigation. "We're not going to comment on the investigation," he said.
Police department spokesman Tony Lee said Publicker told him that Edwards was not named on the incident report.
Enquirer Editor-in-Chief David Perel told FOXNews.com his reporters caught Edwards visiting Hunter and her baby at the hotel earlier Monday evening. Perel said Hunter and Edwards have been occasionally getting together so Edwards can see the baby. Hunter came to Beverly Hills with a male friend, Bob McGovern, said Perel. Hunter and her companion reportedly booked two rooms under McGovern's name, and McGovern picked up Edwards to bring him back to the hotel.
Perel said Enquirer staff had been given information about the planned Edwards-Hunter meeting, and the tabloid sent reporters to the hotel in anticipation of Edwards' arrival. According to the Enquirer, Edwards was first spotted being dropped off at the hotel at 9:45 p.m. PT, about 25 minutes after reporters watched McGovern leave the building in his BMW.
Edwards went to Hunter's room and the two left the hotel together and returned 45 minutes later, Perel said. Edwards reportedly entered her room and stayed there until after 2:30 a.m. PT.
FOXNews.com could not independently confirm the Enquirer's allegations. Perel also declined to identify where the Enquirer received the information about Edwards' alleged visits.
Perel told FOXNews.com that after leaving Hunter's room, Edwards took an elevator to the basement, where he was confronted by two Enquirer reporters. He ran into the bathroom, where he remained until the security guard arrived.
The Enquirer says it has videotape showing Hunter entering the room where she met Edwards, and shows Edwards leaving the same room. However, the Enquirer has thus far declined repeated requests by FOXNews.com to release any photographs or videotape evidence of the incident.
Lynda Simonetti, director of public relations at the Beverly Hilton, refused to comment on the guard's version of the incident, citing the hotel's privacy policy.
"We value the privacy of all the guests," Simonetti told FOXNews.com, adding, "The non-disclosure policy applies to the requests of the names, whether it's past, current or anticipated guests... That's our policy."
Simonetti said she had "no knowledge" of the incident report filed by the two Enquirer reporters, and "I don't have any knowledge of any other circumstances."
As recently as last month, individuals vetting vice presidential candidates for Barack Obama had listed Edwards as a potential running mate. Edwards was viewed as a candidate who could help Obama appeal to white, working-class voters who had favored Hillary Clinton in the primaries.
Edwards, who was John Kerry's running mate in 2004, endorsed Obama in May, saying the presumptive presidential nominee held the same views he did about uniting a divided America.
Before and during the Democratic primaries, Edwards urged all candidates to boycott planned debates on FOX News, even though he had made prior appearances on the channel. One of those debates was to be sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus.
Last October, the Enquirer reported that several sources said a former campaign worker on Edwards' campaign had been having an affair with the former North Carolina senator. In an e-mail allegedly written by Hunter to a friend, she wrote that she is "in love with John," but it's "difficult because he is married and has kids."
Edwards' wife Elizabeth, whom many have credited as being one of the driving forces behind Edwards' campaign, announced in March that her breast cancer had re-emerged after going into remission following a 2004 diagnosis.
Hunter has said that the father of her child is former Edwards campaign official Andrew Young. The 41-year-old married father of three has also said he is the father.
Congress to Fund Forced Abortions Overseas
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WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- This week Congress voted to allow funding of organizations that promote and perform abortions in other countries, and organizations involved in forced abortions.
A Senate Committee and a House Subcommittee approved a bill that undermines two long-standing amendments that ensure U.S. tax dollars do not subsidize abortions overseas, nor facilitate forced abortions and sterilizations.
The legislation Congress passed would increase funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which assists the Chinese government in its program of coercive abortion and sterilization. It undermines Kemp-Kasten, an amendment which bars tax dollars from going to organizations assisting programs that commit forced abortions and sterilizations.
In addition, the Senate Committee overrode the Mexico City Policy, which prevents non-governmental foreign organizations who fund or support abortions from receiving federal aid from the United States.
The President has vowed that he will veto any legislation that "weakens current Federal policies and laws on abortion, or that encourages the destruction of human life at any stage."
Wendy Wright, President for Concerned Women for America, said, "Congress wants to require American taxpayers to subsidize abortions abroad, including forced abortions. Americans do not want their tax dollars paying for abortion in the U.S. Yet a liberal majority in Congress is trying to force us to pay for abortions in other countries-- paying for programs that forcibly abort women against their will."
Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy, said, "It is utterly despicable that taxpayer money will be used to subsidize abortions abroad. This is especially true when we are exporting this dangerous procedure to women in countries which, in many cases, do not even have safe drinking water or medication."
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
Air Force Missile Launch Crew Fell Asleep
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416577.aspx
CBNNews.com - The military is investigating a recent incident in which a missile launch crew fell asleep on the job.
It occurred at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Officials say the missile launch codes were outdated and remained secure at all times.
"This was just a procedural violation that we investigated," said Air Force Col. Dewey Ford, a spokesman at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. "We determined that there was no compromise."
The lapse was serious enough to prompt an investigation by the 91st Missile Wing, in conjunction with codes experts at the 20th Air Force, U.S. Strategic Command and the National Security Agency.
No one has been punished yet in the latest Minot incident involving sleeping crew members. A continuing review by Minot commanders will determine what, if any, actions will be taken against them.
The untimely nap is the latest in a series of problems that has placed the Air Force under scrutiny.
Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates forced two top Air Force leaders to step down. Gates blamed them for not fully addressing a series of nuclear-related mishaps.
Two replacements were confirmed this week in the Senate.
China, U.S. Square Off in PR Olympics
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/china_us_olympics/2008/07/25/116254.html
WASHINGTON — In an air-conditioned room in the Chinese Embassy, a vice minister from Beijing chastises Americans for their "very limited" understanding of violent anti-government protests in Tibet.
Hours later, hundreds of supporters of the banned-in-China Falun Gong spiritual movement kneel in the hot sun near the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers and activists rail against what they say are Chinese atrocities.
The Olympic Games begin in Beijing on Aug. 8, but already the competition to sway public opinion in the United States is heating up between anti-China activists and Chinese authorities. It is transforming the run-up to the global sports gathering into a public relations marathon in which China's national pride is pitted against claims that Beijing abuses its citizens and unquestioningly supports nefarious governments.
Once slow to address criticism, China has responded aggressively to what it sees as unjust condemnation by Western media, rights groups and officials that could tarnish the Olympics. An increasingly media-savvy Chinese Embassy has held briefings meant to provide China's point of view on contentious issues in the news. Ministers and academics have been flown in from China for news conferences and to meet with U.S. officials and lawmakers.
Meanwhile, China's opponents have been relentless. Uighurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, activists for Darfur and Myanmar, and groups championing religious freedom and human rights are all delighted that the Olympics might shine a spotlight on a country they say has failed to follow through on pledges to improve human rights that were included with its bid to host the games.
They have gathered at rallies in Capitol Hill parks and at congressional hearings, where powerful lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and celebrities like actor Richard Gere have faulted Chinese rights abuses. At the Falun Gong rally, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a warning to Beijing that has become a popular refrain by China critics in Washington: "The world will be watching."
For all the celebrity and congressional attention, however, it is unclear how much of a difference the efforts will make.
Ralph A. Cossa, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS think tank, says what will matter more is how China handles any protests at home during the Olympics, when reporters will be searching for signs of dissent. Some sort of protest, he says, "seems inevitable, and this will give China a black eye internationally if it overreacts, as it almost always does."
In Washington, the Chinese Embassy is working hard to counter criticism ahead of the games.
Spokesman Wang Baodong said it is the embassy's duty "to try to reach out to various circles of this country, to let them know the whole picture and to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the situation in China." Wang said that if Americans base their judgment of China only on the criticism of vocal opponents, "they will be misled, because it does not reflect the whole picture." He added, "The mainstream opinion of the international community is wishing good for the Beijing Olympic Games."
A large rallying point for protesters in the United States has been China's tight grip on Tibet, which China has governed since communist troops invaded in the 1950s. China says 22 people died in March anti-government violence; foreign Tibet supporters say many times that number were killed during demonstrations and a subsequent government crackdown.
China also has been criticized for not using its economic leverage to apply more pressure on the Sudanese government to stop violence in Darfur, where more than 300,000 people are said to have died over the past five years.
While some lawmakers are quick to blast China over these and other issues, the Bush administration has been careful not to anger Beijing ahead of the Olympics, wary about running the risk of hindering a host of international efforts the U.S. needs China's help to solve.
Still, a swirl of activity continues in Washington. On Wednesday, at a House hearing focusing on China "on the eve of the Olympics," Beijing was criticized for suppressing dissidents and activists. Then, on Thursday, lawmakers on the House foreign affairs panel passed a resolution that calls on China to immediately stop abusing minority rights and to end its support for Myanmar and Sudan so that the games will "take place in an atmosphere that honors the Olympic traditions of freedom and openness."
Cossa says that, with the protests and the scrutiny it is facing as the Olympics approach, "one wonders if there is not a certain amount of 'buyer's remorse' in China right now."
'Hate Crimes' Law Violates PA Constitution
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/416533.aspx
CBNNews.com - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a homosexual "hate crimes" law used against Christian evangelists violates the state constitution.
In 2004, Christian evangelist Michael Marcavage and several other Christians were arrested at Philadelphia's annual gay "coming out" parade.
Their message -- "Homosexuality is sin - Christ can set you free."
They were charged under the state's "ethnic intimidation" law for preaching the Gospel to homosexuals.
But now, the court has ruled that the legislature violated the Pennsylvania constitution by adding "sexual orientation" to the ethnic intimidation law.
When the case began four years ago, we spoke with Marcavage about the charges he was facing.
"Well it was absolutely astonishing I had no idea that I would be one of the first victims in our nation to be charged under hate crimes legislation which I see as the criminalization of Christianity," said Marcavage, director of Repent America.
"When you look at the target audience of these hate laws, it is the Christians they want to silence our message."
Marcavage said, "having been arrested, jailed and charged with a 'hate crime' for preaching the Gospel, I am elated with the court's decision to strike down" that law.
Police Kill Gunman Headed to Christian Radio Station
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,391467,00.html
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A man who had threatened a Christian radio station was shot and killed by police Friday after he fired at officers with a rifle and tried to run them over with his sport utility vehicle, authorities said.
WTLR station manager Mark VanOuse said the station received a tip around 10 a.m. that someone armed with a shotgun was asking people for the address of the radio station and for money. Police got the same tip and went to the station, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira said.
Officers intercepted the man as he arrived at the station, where he began shooting at police outside, ramming police cruisers and trying to run over officers on foot, witnesses said. After an exchange of gunfire, the suspect was shot dead in his white Ford Bronco, Madeira said. No one else was wounded.
Witnesses said they heard about 20 rounds of gunfire.
"At least twice he fired from the car," said Brad Shearer, who watched from his office window across the street. He said he saw the man try to run over police officers with their guns drawn.
During a second exchange of gunfire, the gunman's vehicle drifted into a building, Shearer said.
The man, who has not been identified, is believed to have had multiple weapons in the SUV, Madeira said.
VanOuse, who had taken his two employees to a secure room, said he only saw glimpses of what happened. The altercation lasted about 10 to 15 minutes, he said.
"He was moving fast," VanOuse said. "He was blowing right past police cars with officers who had their rifles drawn."
He said he did not know why the station was targeted.
"There is nothing leading up to this point that would have given us any indication of someone being upset with us," VanOuse said.
Madeira said state police are investigating and interviewing people who encountered the man earlier in the day.
N.J. Lawmakers Push for Porn Filters on Computers
http://www.newsmax.com/us/assemblyman_child_porn/2008/07/25/116455.html
TRENTON, N.J. -- Legislative leaders sought to install filters to block inappropriate material from being viewed on state computers two days after a veteran assemblyman's computer was seized for containing child pornography.
The leaders released a statement Friday saying they want "the most aggressive Internet filtering software available on all computers in the Legislature."
The move comes after state investigators seized computers from Assemblyman Neil Cohen on Wednesday. Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, who share that office, had alerted authorities about the pornography.
"We recognize that individuals intent on breaking the law and abusing public resources will still seek ways to do so, but this action is aimed at doing everything we can to prevent something of this nature from happening in the future," said a joint statement from Democratic Senate President Richard J. Codey, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., Republican Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. and Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce.
Albert Porroni, state Office of Legislative Services executive director, said such software can be "a very specialized kind of thing."
"It has to be dealt with carefully so that you don't block a site that you've got to do legitimate research on," Porroni said. "But, nonetheless, we are going to address it."
DeCroce, R-Morris, said Cohen's behavior, if proven, "represents one of the most deplorable acts committed by a public servant."
"One of our most important obligations as a society is to protect those who are most vulnerable, particularly our youth," DeCroce said.
He noted Cohen took an oath to uphold the state Constitution and laws.
"And if he has violated that oath, not only must he resign from office, but he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," DeCroce said.
Lee Moore, spokesman for state Attorney General Anne Milgram, said the office had no comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office also declined to comment.
Cohen has not been charged.
The 57-year-old Democrat hasn't answered calls to his cell phone nor responded to text messages. He's been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment.
Cohen served in the Assembly from 1990-91 and from 1994 to present.
Christian School Ok'd for State Funds
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416659.aspx
CBNNews.com - A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in favor of a Christian college that was once denied scholarship funds because it was "too religious."
Colorado Christian University encourages its students to attend weekly chapel services and sign a promise to follow Jesus Christ.
But because of those foundations, Colorado would not allow students to use their state scholarship funds at the university, even though those funds were allowed at Catholic and Methodist universities.
"Thankfully, the Court of Appeals in this case reversed the absurd ruling of the lower court that permitted the State of Colorado to disregard Colorado Christian University simply because it takes its faith too seriously for the government's liking," Judge Roy Moore said.
"We should never allow religious schools to be relegated to second-class status, and because of this ruling, this form of overt religious discrimination will no longer happen in the State of Colorado," he said.
The court ruled that the state overstepped its bounds by allowing funding only at certain religious colleges.
College president William Armstrong was pleased with the ruling.
"We think that it's a great victory for our students but also for the First and Fourteenth amendments," he said.
He added that students should not have to "choose between their religious beliefs and receiving a governmental benefit."
Truth Truck 'Held Hostage' at St. Louis Planned Parenthood
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07434.shtml
ST. LOUIS, MO., (christiansunite.com) -- Operation Rescue's Truth Truck, driven by Mark Gietzen, caused a stir the St. Louis Planned Parenthood abortion mill on Saturday, July 19, 2008, when he drove onto their parking lot and parked near the front door as abortion-bound women entered the facility.
Security guards for Planned Parenthood immediately rushed to close the parking lot's iron gates to prevent the Truth Truck from leaving while they summoned the police. But this action turned out for the good, allowing the Truth Truck to witness to the women in the parking lot for longer than it would have otherwise.
Gietzen was convinced that his actions were completely legal.
"They did not have the proper signage to keep me off the lot," he said.
Apparently the police agreed. Officers made the Planned Parenthood security guards open the gate and allow the Truth Truck to leave as over 300 pro- lifers cheered.
"You would think if Planned Parenthood didn't want their patients to see the Truth Truck, they would have let Mark drive on, instead of holding him hostage," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "By locking the Truth Truck into their parking lot, they were accomplishing our work for us!"
Gietzen and the Truth Truck were in St. Louis to attend the Walls Of Jericho Event hosted by the Defenders of the Unborn.
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.
Graphic Novelist Answering God's Calling
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07433.shtml
DALLAS, (christiansunite.com) -- August 13th, won't just be another Wednesday to Author/illustrator, Robert James Luedke...it will be the culmination of 24 months of his blood, sweat and tears. Luedke is the creative force behind the groundbreaking Eye Witness graphic novel series, (www.headpress.info), and is the national release date for the third volume in the series, Rise of the Apostle.
Luedke is what is known as in the publishing world as "self-publisher". As recently as a decade ago, that term held negative connotations within the publishing industry. But today the publishing landscape has changed dramatically and self-publishing has become a viable and respected way for authors to bring their projects to the marketplace. According to Luedke, "More and more recognized authors are finding it harder to get publisher backing for their projects, have found that advances have either shrank dramatically or disappeared all together and that print- on-demand technology has made it easier than ever to control their projects from creation through to release."
With the creation of a graphic novel, there is a whole other layer of difficulty that prose self-publishers don't have to deal with. Not only does, Luedke, write Eye Witness but also personally hand-draws all the illustrations, (usually numbering around 600 per book), does the lion share of the coloring and supervises all the production and marketing for each book. The process takes from 18 to 24 months per 100-page volume.
The award-winning graphic novelist created his Eye Witness series, not because he saw a business opportunity, but rather because of a divine calling! After becoming a born again Christian in 1999, Luedke went in search of his purpose and after two years of prayer, discovered he was being called to re-enter the pop-culture dominated field of comics and graphic novels, (which he had walked away from years earlier), to share the Gospel story through his creative gifts and business experiences within the field. Eye Witness became his vehicle to adapt the story of the birth of the faith, through a method that was entertaining as well as spiritually enlightening and attractive to a growing number of un-churched teens.
"From the beginning I realized that I would have to go the self publishing route," states Luedke. "When you are doing something no-one else has tried before... and especially if everyone tells you that you're crazy... you have to have faith that God will open doors to make it happen!"
Flashback: Expectations — What Herb Thinks
http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/commentary/flashback-expectations-what-herb-thinks/
The Bible tells us that, after John the Baptist was arrested and put into prison, even John — one himself who was foretold in Scripture — began having doubts. So, John sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the Expected One — if Jesus was really the Messiah of promise. In the Gospel of Luke we read:
Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’” At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
In other words, in order to answer John’s doubts, Jesus reminded John of all the prophecies of the Scripture that He was fulfilling. Then, even for the great John the Baptist, Jesus added the most important part. Jesus said:
Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me (Luke 7:19-23, New American Standard bible).
The Bible indicates that John may have come from the same wilderness area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Those who have studied the Scrolls tell us that they were left by a large messianic branch of Judaism. In other words, unlike the religious leaders of Israel, this particular Jewish sect seriously studied Bible prophecy. Whether John was an actual member of this sect is not known. However, many believe that John, and perhaps even Jesus’ disciples, may have been influenced by their teachings.
Here’s my point: Although Jesus was the Expected One, it’s clear that Jesus didn’t come according to all the popular expectations. And, when the final events of end-time prophecy are fulfilled, there’s no reason to think it will happen any differently.
Some are asking what I was expecting to see come January 1, 2007. As you may know, I believe it’s possible we could be entering into Daniel’s 70th week. My answer is always the same. Since all 70 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy are specifically for the Jewish people and their holy city (Daniel 9:24), I expect to see political movement regarding the final status issues of Old Jerusalem. And, as a result, I expect to see Israel entering into a time of false peace and a return to their Temple sacrifices. To be expecting anything more would come, in my opinion, from having unbiblical expectations.
For example, a popular belief today is there will be a seven-year tribulation period. But, the Bible nowhere specifically tells us that — it only tells us about a great tribulation that will occur in the second part of the seven-year period (Matthew 24:15-21).
Another popular belief is that the opening of the scroll with seven seals in Revelation covers a seven-year period. But, the Bible nowhere specifically says that. In fact, we find an entirely different sequence of events depicted in Daniel. In chapter seven of Daniel we find the throne room scene of Revelation chapter four coming after — and as a result of — the Antichrist being revealed in the Temple and boasting great things, not before.
And, in Daniel 9:27, we may actually find this idea all summed up for us. We see the Antichrist confirming a covenant for seven years, breaking the covenant 3 1/2 years later by going into the Temple where he boasts great things, and the throne room decree (the scroll) being poured out as a result. Here’s how it reads:
And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate (Daniel 9:27).
So, are we witnessing the fulfillment of these prophecies? According to all my expectations, we very well could be … at least so far.
So, stay tuned!
Olmert Consents to Further Interrogation
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416370.aspx
CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's attorneys will allow their client to be interrogated for a fourth time next Friday.
The announcement came shortly after Attorney General Menachem (Meni) Mazuz delivered a letter to the High Court of Justice sharply criticizing the prime minister for refusing to cooperate with police.
Mazuz was responding to a petition, submitted to the court by journalist Yoav Yitzhak, asking that Olmert be suspended pending the outcome of investigations against him.
"The police have met considerable difficulties in setting dates to interrogate the prime minister and in setting the length of the sessions," Mazuz wrote.
"These are difficulties never experienced in the past with other public officials [under investigation]," he stated.
"The prime minister needs to make himself available to the interrogators when asked to do so, in accordance with the investigation and within an appropriate amount of time," Mazuz wrote.
"The situation in which a prime minister sits in office while multiple criminal investigations are being conducted against him is likely to raise questions regarding his ability to fill his post, both in regard to his ability to devote the necessary time and energy to his position under these circumstances and in regard to the damaging of the public's trust," the attorney general wrote.
"At this juncture, the question of the prime minister's suspension is not a judicial question but rather one for the prime minister and for the political system," Mazuz concluded.
Israel Publishes Obama Western Wall Prayer
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_wall_prayer/2008/07/25/116311.html
JERUSALEM — A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
"Lord — Protect my family and me," reads the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."
The paper's decision to make the note public drew fire. The rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, said publishing the note intruded in Obama's relationship with God.
"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them," he told Army Radio. The publication "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves," he said.
Another Israeli paper, Yediot Ahronot, published an article Friday saying it had also obtained the note but decided not to publish it to respect Obama's privacy.
Many visitors to the 2,000-year-old Western Wall leave notes bearing requests and prayers. Obama did so during a pre-dawn visit there Thursday, following a day spent meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
Maariv published a photograph of the note, which it said had been removed from the wall by a student at a Jewish seminary immediately after Obama left.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs would neither confirm nor deny the note was Obama's.
The handwriting appeared to match a message Obama inscribed Wednesday in the guest book at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, and was written on stationery from the King David Hotel, where Obama stayed while in Israel.
The visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories was part of an international tour meant to shore up Obama' s foreign affairs credentials.
At the Western Wall, Obama was greeted by a crowd of curious onlookers and photographers. He donned a white skullcap, listened to a rabbi read a prayer, and inserted a folded white piece of paper between the stones. One hardline Israeli protester shouted, "Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale."
Syrian officers take hand in North Lebanese clashes – against Hizballah
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5464
A ceasefire was scheduled to go into force in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli Friday evening, July 25, after fierce sectarian clashes left six dead and 33 injured, most caught in crossfire. But sporadic fire continued.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that rocket-propelled grenade and sniper fire was exchanged all day between two districts, the largely Alawite Baal Mohsen and the Sunni Bab Tabbaneh.
The Alawites, who dominate the Assad regime in Syria, fought under Syrian military intelligence officers in civilian garb with weapons supplied from Damascus. The anti-Syrian Sunnis are armed by the Lebanese majority bloc led by Saad Hariri. The clashes have been going back and forth for two months with neither side prevailing.
A Syrian official, Dr. Riyad Daud, legal adviser at the foreign ministry in Damascus recently advised US and Israel to watch Tripoli to understand recent trends. Our sources report he was indicating the Tripoli battle as a landmark because there Syrian officers have ordered the Alawite fighters to drive Hizballah militiamen out of their district.
Damascus is seen as drawing the line against the spread of Hizballah and Iranian influence from Beirut to northern Lebanon, a region it views as exclusive Syrian turf. The Syrians are at the same time working closely with Iran and Hizballah in central and southern Lebanon opposite Israel and the US Sixth Fleet which patrols the eastern Mediterranean.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add that the political situation in Beirut remains precarious. The national unity cabinet failed Thursday to agree on a policy agenda for a parliamentary vote of confidence to approve the new government line-up. It also postponed deliberations on the issue of Hizballah’s disarmament.
Imprisoned Christians Interrogated, Suspected of "Apostasy" in Iran
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07436.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - More details have come to light regarding the situation facing 15 Muslim converts to Christianity who were arrested on suspicion of "apostasy" while meeting together in a park in the city of Shiraz on May 13 (see www.persecution.net/news/iran33.html for more details), according to a July 9 report from Compass Direct.
Thirteen of those arrested were released in the following days but two believers, Mahmood Matin (52) and Arash Bandari (44), remain detained in a secret local police centre. On June 24, Matin's wife was able to visit her husband under close watch from authorities. Matin told her that authorities were "pushing" him to say that he was connected to a church outside the country which paid his salary. He refused to do so, however, and maint ained that he was supporting his own ministry. It was the first and only contact that a family member has had with him since his arrest.
The released believers are under house arrest and authorities have called them in several times to question them about their alleged political activity and Christian faith. Officials have informed them that there is an ongoing case against them but have not told them of the specific charges. The nature of the questioning, however, suggests that they are suspected of apostasy and crimes against the government.
Pray that no charges will be brought against these believers. Pray that the two detained believers will be released. Pray that Iran's government will uphold the rights of Christians to worship God freely.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Iran, go to www.persecution.net/country/iran.htm.
Obama Urges Iran to Accept Nuke Proposal
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416482.aspx
CBNNews.com - PARIS - Democrat Barack Obama said Friday that Iran should promptly accept an international call to freeze its uranium enrichment program, which some nations see as a potential step toward obtaining nuclear weapons.
The presidential candidate met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris, where they discussed Iran, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change and other issues.
Speaking later at a news conference, Obama said Iran should accept the proposals made by Sarkozy and other Western leaders. He urged Iran's leaders not to wait for the next U.S. president to push them "because the pressure, I think, is only going to build."
The United States and other Western nations accuse Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and demand that it freeze its uranium enrichment program. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Obama said that he and Sarkozy agreed that Iran poses "an extraordinarily grave situation." He said the world must send "a clear message to Iran to end its illicit nuclear program."
Obama said: "My expectation is that we're going to present a clear choice to Iran: change your behavior and you will be fully integrated into the international community with all the benefits that go with that. Continue your illicit nuclear program and the international community as a whole will ratchet up pressure with stronger and increased sanctions. And we should have no illusion that progress will come easily."
Obama is in the midst of a weeklong tour of the Middle East and Europe as the first-term U.S. senator seeks to burnish his international credentials for the general election campaign against Republican rival Sen. John McCain. The trip began with a campaign-season tour of the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and ends with meetings with old allies France and Britain.
Obama also told reporters that "Afghanistan is a war we have to win." The Taliban and terrorist groups it supports, he said, pose an unacceptable threat to the U.S., France and other nations.
"We've got to finish the job," said Obama, who often has said the Iraq war was an unwise move that distracted the United States from efforts to find Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders and to root out the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Sarkozy said he agreed that the Taliban must be defeated in Afghanistan, where French troops are part of a multinational force.
The joint news conference had many light moments, as the two men recalled their 2006 meeting in Washington, before Sarkozy was elected president. Obama said the only other U.S. senator who Sarkozy visited on that trip was McCain, now the presumed Republican nominee for president.
Obama urged U.S. political reporters to seek Sarkozy's insight because "he seems to have a good nose for how things play out."
Sarkozy wished Obama luck, but did not endorse him. He said it was up to Americans to choose their president.
Iraq Talks on Olympic Ban, but Says No Compromise
http://www.newsmax.com/international/oly_iraq_banned/2008/07/25/116425.html
BAGHDAD -- Iraq's banned Olympic Committee has opened negotiations to try to regain its place in next month's Beijing Games after being shut out for political interference in Olympic affairs, a government spokesman said Friday.
But a top sports official suggested that Iraq was not willing to make the concessions demanded by the International Olympic Committee, which on Thursday upheld the ban imposed after the Iraqi government replaced its national Olympic panel with members not recognized by the IOC.
The IOC said the move violated Olympic rules on government intervention _ and noted time was running out to try to salvage even a portion of the seven-member Olympic team for the games beginning Aug. 8.
Jazair al-Sahlani, spokesman for the Iraqi Olympic committee, said "high-level" talks had begun with IOC envoys and international mediators from Germany and China. He declined to give further details, but predicted a deal was within reach.
"We still have the hope the Iraqi flag will fly at the opening ceremony in Beijing," he said.
But Basil Abdul Mahdi, an adviser to the government's Ministry of Youth and Sport, said there would be "no retreat" in the decision to replace the Iraqi Olympic Committee.
The government claimed the old panel was corrupt and lacked legitimacy because it was missing too many members _ including four members of the committee, including its chief, who were kidnapped two years ago. Their fates remain unknown.
An IOC spokeswoman, Emmanuelle Moreau, said the deadline to finalize athletic competitors was Wednesday and Iraq could field a partial team if the government reversed its decision.
That meant two members of Iraq's Olympic team _ a discus thrower and a sprinter _ could still make it into the Olympics. The door, however, was closed to the other five, said Moreau, speaking from IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The others had planned to compete in weightlifting, judo, archery and rowing.
"We would like to see the Iraqi athletes compete in Beijing," said Moreau. "There is a slight opportunity for them provided the government stops interfering and reinstates the National Olympic Committee."
"The ball is in their court, really," she said.
The Iraqi refusal to compromise has angered athletes and risks aggravating Iraq's sectarian rifts. The Youth and Sports Ministry is dominated by Shiite Muslims who also control the government. Iraq's Olympic Committee had included several holdovers from the Saddam era, when Sunni Arabs had the greatest role.
"I was training very hard to win and get medal in Beijing and hoist the Iraqi flag, but now my dreams had broken," said Swara Mohammed Berbal, a 26-year-old weightlifter training in the northern city of Irbil.
Iraq has only one medal _ a bronze in weightlifting in 1960 _ since its first appearance at the Summer Olympics in 1948.
Sarhang Abdul-Khalq, a member of the Olympic committee in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, said the "government has cut off the head of sports in Iraq."
Rice to Pakistan: Do More to End Violence
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416340.aspx
CBNNews.com - PERTH, Australia - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Pakistan needs to do more to prevent Taliban militants from launching attacks into Afghanistan from its territory.
Speaking Friday in Australia, Rice suggested to reporters that a surge in Taliban-related violence in Afghanistan had its source in the restive semiautonomous tribal areas along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
"We understand that it's difficult, we understand that the northwest frontier area is difficult, but militants cannot be allowed to organize there and to plan there and to engage across the border," Rice said. "So yes, more needs to be done."
Pakistan PM Visits White House
The strong message to Islamabad comes just a few days before Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House.
The Pakistani government has consistently said it will not allow its territory to be used for terrorism or to launch attacks in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has also strongly resisted suggestions that U.S. or other foreign troops should be allowed into the remote region to combat the militants. Gilani is seeking peace deals with militants through tribal elders in the northwestern regions of Pakistan.
Rice received strong support from Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who described the border region as "the current international hotbed of terrorism."
He said the threat posed by terrorists who may be hiding there was too great to leave Afghanistan and Pakistan to deal with alone.
"We are very concerned about the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area," Smith said. "We don't believe that can be regarded simply as a bilateral matter between Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is an issue which has regional and international community consequences."
Australia has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, the largest deployment of any country outside the NATO alliance.
While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's new government withdrew its combat forces from Iraq last month, it says it has no plans to draw down its troops in Afghanistan. Smith said Australia had no plans to increase its troop numbers there, either.
Rice made a brief visit Friday to the Western Australian state capital of Perth at the invitation of Smith, who lives there. She was traveling later to Auckland, New Zealand, for talks with Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Violence in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, a NATO soldier was killed and two were wounded during a clash with militants in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, the military alliance said Friday.
The nation's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, said three Taliban militants died in a fight on Friday with police in a separate district of the same province. There were no police casualties.
The NATO statement did not release the name or nationalities of the casualties, leaving it to the relevant country to do so, but said the clash in Helmand occurred Thursday.
Southern Afghanistan is at the center of a Taliban-led insurgency. The violence has left 2,700 people dead so far this year. Most have been militants, but the number also includes hundreds of civilians.
The militants also exert significant influence in Afghanistan's east, nearly seven years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country ousted the Taliban from power.
China Says They Have More Web Users
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/416480.aspx
CBNNews.com - BEIJING -- China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday.
The latest figure on Web use at the end of June is a 56 percent increase from a year ago, the China Internet Network Information Center said. It said the share of the Chinese public using the Internet is still just 19.1 percent, leaving more room for rapid growth.
The United States had an estimated 223.1 million Internet users in June, according to Nielsen Online, a research firm. The Pew Internet and American Life Project puts U.S. online penetration at 71 percent.
"This is the first time the number has drastically surpassed the United States, becoming the world's No. 1," a CNNIC statement said.
The communist government encourages Internet use for business and education but tries to block access to Web sites deemed pornographic or subversive. Web surfers have been jailed for posting or e-mailing material that criticizes communist rule or is deemed a violation of vague national security laws.
Beijing blocks access to Web sites run by dissidents, human rights groups and some foreign news media. Web surfers were blocked from seeing Google Inc.'s YouTube and other foreign sites with video footage of anti-government protests in Tibet in March.
That same month, the government said it would shut down 25 Chinese video sites and punish 32 others for violating new rules against carrying content that is deemed pornographic, violent or a threat to national security.
In financial terms, China's market lags those of the United States, South Korea and other economies. But online commerce, video sharing and other businesses are growing rapidly and have raised millions of dollars from investors.
The commercial boom has produced success stories such as games site Tencent.com and search engine Baidu.com, which are competing with foreign rivals for local market share. Baidu said Thursday its profits in the latest quarter soared 87 percent over the year-earlier period to 265 million yuan ($38.6 million).
Total revenues for China's Internet companies soared to 40.5 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) in 2007, up 48.6 percent from the previous year, the research firm Analysys International reported this week. It said revenues should keep growing at an annual rate of at least 30 percent in coming years, reaching 137.5 billion yuan by 2010.
By contrast, U.S. online advertising revenues alone in 2007 were $21.2 billion (145.2 billion yuan), according to a report by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
The research firm BDA China Ltd. says China's online population should keep growing by 18 percent annually, reaching 490 million by 2012 - a number larger than the entire U.S. population.
Internet companies are looking forward to a new growth spurt once Chinese mobile phone carriers roll out third-generation, or 3G, technology that can support Web-surfing and other services. No date has been announced, but with more than 500 million mobile accounts, China has a vast pool of potential wireless Internet users.
China's Internet boom has gotten a boost from a sharp slowdown in demand for fixed-line phones as more customers opt for mobile service. Fixed-line carriers have responded by expanding into broadband Internet, Web-based cable television and other services. The CNNIC report Friday said that as a result, 214 million Chinese now have high-speed access.
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