Internet Evangelist Declares, 'The Hand of God Has Been Removed from this Nation'
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07792.shtml
MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- Bill Keller, founder of Liveprayer.com and the world's leading internet evangelist, has been long concerned about the American economic crisis, and with the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States, Keller declared, "the hand of God has been removed from this nation."
Keller explains that this nation has been operating in rebellion to God and biblical truth for decades, legally slaughtering four thousand innocent babies daily, making a mockery of God's plan for marriage and the family, turning to the lusts of the flesh and pleasures of earthly existence, while worshiping the idols and false gods of the world.
Against this backdrop, says Keller, the nation has just elected a man who will insure abortion on demand in all fifty states, champion the radical homosexual agenda, and be friendly to those nations that want to see Israel destroyed. And while President-elect Obama claims to be a Christian, his stated beliefs and actions in office illustrate his rebellion against God and the truth of the Bible. In addition to supporting the legalized killing of the unborn and the homosexual agenda, Obama has stated that he believes the universalistic lie that everyone will get to heaven despite rejecting faith in Jesus Christ.
The United States has had presidents before who were not friends of God, and the nation did not crumble spiritually because at the time there was still a vibrant remnant of true followers of Christ. Today, we have the better percentage of two full generations who have never been to church; so many churches today do little or no evangelism. Over the past forty years, that remnant of true followers has dwindled down considerably as older saints have gone to be with the Lord and haven't been replaced.
The effect of Obama's election is that it will empower those who oppose the work of God. Their target will be zeroed in on those who believe, preach, and teach the Bible as God's inspired, inerrant word, representing absolute truth and our final authority in all matters. They will be out to destroy true followers of Jesus Christ. The destruction will come in many forms such as the introduction of laws that allow the Bible to be referred to as hate speech, as other countries have already implemented. For the first time, real and tangible persecution is going to be felt by those who refuse to compromise the truth of the Bible and preach the Gospel.
The end result is that people are no longer going to be able to stand in the middle. The election of President Barack Hussein Obama is going to finally force people to take a stand. You are either a follower of Christ, which means you are also a follower of His word, or you are not. Jesus said you can't serve two masters. Elijah told the people on Mt. Carmel to choose who they would serve. It is now time for true followers of Jesus Christ to step up and take their stand for Christ.
This spring, God gave Keller a vision for this nation and the evangelist launched the Jonah Project. The Lord gave Keller this vision and the Holy Spirit guided him to set up this vehicle to bring together true followers of Jesus Christ at this moment in human history, to call this nation to repentance, to turn back to God and biblical truth, and to help lead the lost to faith in Jesus Christ while taking a bold and visible stand on the social issues of our day.
Please visit the Jonah Project homepage at www.liveprayer.com/jonah/ and watch the vision video. The only hope for our nation and for each soul is to turn back to God and biblical truth.
Rev. Bill Keller
St. Petersburg, Florida
www.liveprayer.com
Strategy Against America
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07777.shtml
MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- America is the target for moral corruption, economic collapse, spiritual apostasy and Christian persecution. The purpose: Stop God's judgment of the devil.
The Spiritual Dynamic to Government/Human Existence.
The Declaration of Independence acknowledges God as Creator (that settles the creationism question for schools). God is the Benefactor of our human rights (there goes the Separation between Church and State), concluding with
"...we...submit the rectitude of our intentions to the Supreme Judge of the World".
Declaration of Independence
This "Judge"[God] has standards of right and wrong with corresponding blessings and judgment.
Holy Russia, Anti-Christ
1982: The Lord said "100 years ago if someone said holy Russia would be anti-Christ they'd be [ridiculed]." It can happen in America. Be warned.
1990 c. After the Soviet Union fell the Lord said: "The spirit of Anti-Christ is looking for a new home. It found one in America. Be warned."
The Target: Satanic Influence in Government:
The demonic realm focuses on tearing America from God's moral foundation leading to judgment. This strategy is historic.
In the Bible, Satan intertwined with the King of Tyre (Ezekiel chapter 28). In Chronicles 21:1 Satan deceived David number Israel contrary to God's word resulting in70,000 Israelite deaths.
Hitler's tyrannical occult-reign of Nazi Germany killed millions. Germany was replaced by anti-Christ Socialist/Communism killing and persecuting millions of Jews and Christians. All inspired by the one Jesus calls "murderer from the beginning" aka the Devil. John 8:44.
The Satanic Strategy to Stop His Execution
The demonic realm is spirit and not material. Why do they seek to control/destroy Mankind? Because the Church is the conduit spreading the gospel that must be preached worldwide as the condition for judgment day. Secondly Satan seeks mankind's destruction and/or worship because even unbelievers are candidates to accept Christ's mercy becoming the gospel's vessel.
NOTE: Biblical references below.
"...the lake of fire (eternal damnation) prepared for the devil and his angels..." Matthew 25:41
The Gospel would be preached into all the world "... and then the end shall come..." Matthew 24:14
Stopping the Gospel
America is a fountain of Christian evangelism. To stop the devil's execution he must stop the gospel in America by any means necessary. The tactic is multi fold:
Bring heresy into the church, immorality into the nation and God's judgment upon the people.
Control money which controls people's behavior thereby forcing rejection of Christ. Remember 666?
Control government to persecution Christians into silence.
Supernatural delusion to replace the true Christ with the anti-Christ
The moral breakdown accelerates via, human trafficking, pornography, homosexuality, persecution of the church, etc. Many are falling into apostacy.
The Only Hope
Christ's righteousness and gospel of truth has been the national defense. America has let down the sword and shield. Pastors have become silent. Public policy rejects and assaults God. The Church is under persecution in America. The hour is late but there is hope...for now. The choice is ours.
Bush Administration: Dismiss RFID 'Mark of the Beast' Lawsuit
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/11/bush-administra.html
The Bush administration on Thursday urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of Amish farmers in Michigan claiming RFID chips required on cattle "are a mark of the beast."
The Amish farmers claim (.pdf) Michigan regulations requiring them to use radio frequency identification devices on their cattle "constitutes some form of a 'mark of the beast' and/or represents an infringement of their 'dominion over cattle and all living things' in violation of their fundamental religious beliefs," according to the farmers' lawsuit filed in September in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In response to the charges, the United States Department of Agriculture wrote (.pdf) Thursday that its RFID tagging program is a voluntary measure to help agricultural officials track bovine and other livestock diseases. The USDA said the lawsuit should be directed at Michigan, which adopted RFID requirements last year.
The case should be dismissed, the administration wrote, "because plaintiffs cannot establish that any rule issued or action taken by the USDA either mandates the use of RFID tags on livestock located within Michigan, or, conversely, prevents the Michigan Department of Agriculture from granting appropriate religious exemptions imposed by that department."
The farmers, however, contend the program is a USDA mandate because the Michigan law was adapted last year as part of a multi-million dollar, federally backed grant program to help eradicate livestock disease.
As radio frequency identification devices become a daily part of the electronic age, RFID technology is increasingly coming under fire for allegedly being the mark of Satan. The technology is fast becoming a part of passports, payment cards, locking devices and is widely expected to replace bar-code labels on consumer goods.
The Virginia-based Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, a 1,400-member group, brought the case. Some of its members so staunchly oppose the program that "they may have to quit farming," according to the lawsuit.
Obama and Ahmadinejad
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/26/obama-iran-ahmadinejad-oped-cx_at_1026taheri_print.html
Is Barack Obama the "promised warrior" coming to help the Hidden Imam of Shiite Muslims conquer the world?
The question has made the rounds in Iran since last month, when a pro-government Web site published a Hadith (or tradition) from a Shiite text of the 17th century. The tradition comes from Bahar al-Anvar (meaning Oceans of Light) by Mullah Majlisi, a magnum opus in 132 volumes and the basis of modern Shiite Islam.
According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet's cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West." Commanding "the strongest army on earth," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."
In a curious coincidence Obama's first and second names--Barack Hussein--mean "the blessing of Hussein" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "he is with us," the magic formula in Majlisi's tradition.
Mystical reasons aside, the Khomeinist establishment sees Obama's rise as another sign of the West's decline and the triumph of Islam. Obama's promise to seek unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic is cited as a sign that the U.S. is ready to admit defeat. Obama's position could mean abandoning three resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council setting conditions that Iran should meet to avoid sanctions. Seeking unconditional talks with the Khomeinists also means an admission of moral equivalence between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. It would imply an end to the description by the U.S. of the regime as a "systematic violator of human rights."
Obama has abandoned claims by all U.S. administrations in the past 30 years that Iran is "a state sponsor of terrorism." Instead, he uses the term "violent groups" to describe Iran-financed outfits such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
Obama has also promised to attend a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference within the first 100 days of his presidency. Such a move would please the mullahs, who have always demanded that Islam be treated differently, and that Muslim nations act as a bloc in dealings with Infidel nations.
Obama's election would boost President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's chances of winning a second term next June. Ahmadinejad's entourage claim that his "steadfastness in resisting the American Great Satan" was a factor in helping Obama defeat "hardliners" such as Hillary Clinton and, later, it hopes, John McCain.
"President Ahmadinejad has taught Americans a lesson," says Hassan Abbasi, a "strategic adviser" to the Iranian president. "This is why they are now choosing someone who understands Iran's power." The Iranian leader's entourage also point out that Obama copied his campaign slogan "Yes, We Can" from Ahmadinejad's "We Can," used four years ago.
A number of Khomeinist officials have indicated their preference for Obama over McCain, who is regarded as an "enemy of Islam." A Foreign Ministry spokesman says Iran does not wish to dictate the choice of the Americans but finds Obama "a better choice for everyone." Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Islamic Majlis, Iran's ersatz parliament, has gone further by saying the Islamic Republic "prefers to see Barack Obama in the White House" next year.
Tehran's penchant for Obama, reflected in the official media, increased when the Illinois senator chose Joseph Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. Biden was an early supporter of the Khomeinist revolution in 1978-1979 and, for the past 30 years, has been a consistent advocate of recognizing the Islamic Republic as a regional power. He has close ties with Khomeinist lobbyists in the U.S. and has always voted against sanctions on Iran.
Ahmadinejad has described the U.S. as a "sunset" (ofuli) power as opposed to Islam, which he says is a "sunrise" (toluee) power. Last summer, he inaugurated an international conference called World Without America--attended by anti-Americans from all over the world, including the U.S.
Seen from Tehran, Obama's election would demoralize the U.S. armed forces by casting doubt on their victories in Iraq and Afghanistan, if not actually transforming them into defeat. American retreat from the Middle East under Obama would enable the Islamic Republic to pursue hegemony of the region. Tehran is especially interested in dominating Iraq, thus consolidating a new position that extends its power to the Mediterranean through Syria and Lebanon.
During the World Without America conference, several speakers speculated that Obama would show "understanding of Muslim grievances" with regard to Palestine. Ahmadinejad hopes to persuade a future President Obama to adopt the "Iranian solution for Palestine," which aims at creating a single state in which Jews would quickly become a minority.
Judging by anecdotal evidence and the buzz among Iranian bloggers, while the ruling Khomeinists favor Obama, the mass of Iranians regard (and dislike) the Democrat candidate as an appeaser of the mullahs. Iran, along with Israel, is the only country in the Middle East where the United States remains popular. An Obama presidency, perceived as friendly to the oppressive regime in Tehran, may change that.
EU calls for 'new deal for new world' with Obama
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/EU_calls_for_new_deal_for_new_world_with_Obama/articleshow/3677238.cms
BRUSSELS: The head of the European Union (EU)'s executive body, the European Commission, on Wednesday congratulated Barack Obama on his victory in
the US presidential election and called on him to work with the EU to shape a "new deal for a new world".
"This is a time for a renewed commitment between Europe and the US. I want to assure Senator Obama of the support of the European Commission and of my personal support in forging this renewed commitment to face together the many challenges ahead of us," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
"We need a new deal for a new world. I sincerely hope that with the leadership of President Obama, the US will join forces with Europe to drive this new deal - for the benefit of our societies, for the benefit of the world," he said in a statement.
Ahead of Tuesday's election, politicians across Europe had expressed the hope that the successor to US President George W Bush - whether Obama or his rival, John McCain - would abandon Bush's unilateral stance in favour of more cooperation with the EU.
They hope, in particular, for cooperation on financial reform, climate change and the reform of global institutions such as the United Nations and Group of Eight leading industrial nations.
Obama, General in Missile Defense Showdown?
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/outgoing-mda-ch.html
The first fight between the Obama team and a member of the military leadership may be brewing -- over missile defense. Yesterday, outgoing Missile Defense Agency chief Lt. Gen. Trey Obering appeared to take a veiled shot at the incoming national security team yesterday, calling their knowledge about the interceptor effort "dated."
"What we have discovered is that a lot of the folks that have not been in this administration seem to be dated, in terms of the program," Obering told reporters. "They are kind of calibrated back in the 2000 time frame and we have come a hell of a long way since 2000. Our primary objective is going to be just, frankly, educating them on what we have accomplished, what we have been able to do and why we have confidence in what we are doing."
"We are standing by to answer questions from the transition team," he added. "Those that have not been intimately involved in this over these past several years typically don’t have that accurate information."
Over the weekend, President-elect Obama refused to commit to putting interceptors in Eastern Europe; the Bush administration has been pushing such a plan for years.
Obering "warned against moving away from the proposed deployment of missile defense assets in Europe," Inside Defense reports. Such a move, the general said, "would severely hurt, No. 1, our ability to protect our deployed forces in that region and our allies and our friends in that region from what we see as an emerging threat."
Earlier this year, Obama pledged to "cut investments in unproven missile defense systems." On his campaign website, Obama said he would "support missile defense, but ensure that it is developed in a way that is pragmatic and cost-effective; and, most importantly, does not divert resources from other national security priorities until we are positive the technology will protect the American public."
In today's Wall Street Journal, former U.N. ambassador, Obering ally, and missile-defense-in-Eastern-Europe promoter John Bolton called that "an excuse never to deploy missile defenses -- because nothing in the military field is ever conclusively proven for all time."
Was Bolton speaking for some in the military brass?
UPDATE: "Despite the unsustainable half-trillion-dollar military budgets during this period of dire financial hardship, the services will cling to their favorite big-ticket programs with an icy death-grip," our boy Spencer Ackerman notes. He quotes a Pentagon official, who says that "the new leadership must make clear that shirking and lobbying and leaking to keep these projects going — as the Army tried to do with Crusader in 2002 – will not be tolerated."
Obama Will Change Balance on Courts Quickly
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/obama_courts_liberal/2008/11/12/150613.html
It’s a given that Barack Obama will change the balance on the courts to a liberal judicial outlook. What is surprising is how quickly he could do that.
Because Democrats dragged their heels on President Bush’s judicial nominations, 14 seats are open on appeals courts or will be by the end of January. Democratic nominees now are a majority on only one of the 13 federal appeals courts, the ultra-liberal U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. Within four years, Obama could name enough judges to give Democrats a majority on nine of the 13 appeals courts.
On the Supreme Court, five justices are older than 70. The first likely to retire is Justice John Paul Stevens, who is 88. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75. Justice David Souter, who will turn 70 next year, is known to be unhappy living in Washington. Assuming Obama is re-elected, Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy will be 80 by his second term.
Thus, Obama will be able to name several Supreme Court justices. Given that Democrats hold a majority of the Senate, Obama will have little trouble obtaining confirmation of his appointees. A simple majority of the Senate confirms judicial appointments.
Obama has said that, in selecting judges, he would look for candidates who show “empathy” for the weak and underprivileged. He voted against two of President Bush’s appointments to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito, because they did not side often enough with the downtrodden and disenfranchised.
Obama wants judges to have a bias in favor of an entire class of individuals. Imagine the outcry if Bush had said he wants courts to side with the privileged.
But what really sends chills up conservatives’ spines is the president-elect’s statement on a Chicago radio station that he is “not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts,” implying that he would like to change the courts so that they construct their own laws.
That raised a flag for Brad Berenson, who was associate counsel in the Bush White House and helped vet judicial appointments.
“Given his legal training and his background as a constitutional law professor, given what he’s said publicly about the kinds of judicial appointees he’ll be looking for, and given a very substantial majority of Democrats in the Senate, he’s going to be emboldened to try to please his base with very liberal appointments,” Berenson told Newsmax.
“During the campaign, when he was asked about what he would look for in a judge, the dominant theme of his comments was that he would look for a judge that would decide cases according to heart more than head, which suggests a substantive agenda in favor of helping certain favored or sympathetic groups in society, rather than a passion for finding judges who will neutrally apply the law, which was the animating principle for Bush judicial appointments,” said Berenson, who worked with Obama on the Harvard Law Review and then clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy.
“My general expectation is that he will look for people of quality, but he will look for people of quality who have a substantive liberal agenda on the bench, and as long as he has a substantial majority in the Senate, he may well get such people confirmed,” Berenson said. “Like any president, he’s going to be in a position to substantially influence the character of a lot of important courts around the country and to do so fairly quickly. For example, the 4th Circuit, which has long been one of the more conservative courts in the country, could be tipped decisively in a liberal direction just through an initial round of appointments. That is something that could happen within a year or two of his taking office.”
Others agree with that summation.
“Obama will be quite liberal because he doesn’t want to take the chance of having a moderate nominee, any more than a Republican president wants to take the chance of a moderate nominee,” Ken Klukowski, a legal expert who consults for major conservative interest groups, told Newsmax. “If he appoints someone that votes in a way against what his party base would anticipate, on some issue of critical concern to the left, whether it’s gay marriage, abortion, the second amendment, whatever it is, he knows that the political fallout for him could be catastrophic.”
Indeed, Klukowski said Obama may move to increase the number of federal judges, giving him an opportunity to alter the balance even more.
“Citing the fact that judges are overworked, that there’s a very heavy case load, you could see the Democrats ram through a new statute creating new judicial seats that Obama could fill,” Klukowski said. “That’s what happened with Jimmy Carter in the 1970s with the 9th Circuit. It was Carter who expanded the Ninth Circuit to 27 or 28 seats and created a whole raft of vacancies, which were then filled with liberal judicial activists who then waited until there was another Democrat president, Bill Clinton, before they all resigned to get replaced. That’s why the 9th Circuit is as far to the left as it is.”
President-elect Obama Reveals his Position as 'The abortion President' with Proposed Executive Order Reversals
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07791.shtml
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- On Sunday, transition advisors to the President-elect have revealed a potential list of executive orders that Mr. Obama would reverse once he became President.
They include reversing a provision barring international organizations that receive American aid from counseling about the availability of abortions and reversing President Bush's ban of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research.
The Christian Defense Coalition, along with other faith organizations, warned that if Barack Obama were elected he would be the "most radical pro-abortion President" in American history.
The reversing of these executive orders would offend millions of Americans in the faith community and betrays President-elect Obama's public statements about building bridges of unity with differing groups and being a President that respects faith and social justice.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, comments, "It was with a profound sense of disappointment that I heard President-elect Obama's transition advisors publicly talking about reversing some life affirming executive orders once he becomes President.
If Mr. Obama reverses the 'Mexico City Policy,' which forbids groups that receive American aid from counseling women about the availability of abortion, it would greatly increase abortions around the world. It would also create a scenario in which American evangelicals and Catholics would be paying for abortion referrals through their tax dollars.
If President-elect Obama reverses this policy, it would show a complete and blatant disregard for the faith values of millions of American Christians as well as expanding the violence and tragedy of abortion worldwide. America should be exporting justice and human rights not brutality and violence.
Is this what President-elect Obama means by hope and change?
By reversing the ban on federal funds being used for embryonic stem cell research, Mr. Obama again shows a lack of respect for social justice and the deeply held beliefs of millions in the faith community. Embryonic stem cell research is the tragic destroying of human life and with modern breakthroughs in stem cell research is no longer needed. We invite President-elect Obama to step into the world of modern medical technology and move away from archaic barbaric medical practices.
We warned America that if Barck Obama were elected he would be 'The Abortion President.' Sadly, that appears to be the case. Since these decisions have not been made, we invite the faith community and all people of good will to pray that President-elect Obama will embrace a culture of life and stand for social justice and equality for all.
We also invite the pro-life community to come to Washington, D.C. on January 21-24, 2009 to be part of 'The Birmingham Letter Project' in which people will be able to participate in a prayerful and prophetic witness for life."
Obama's Startling Reaction to Funeral Service for Baby Killed After Failed Abortion Renews Calls for Prosecution
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07794.shtml
HIALEAH, FL, (christiansunite.com) -- In the wake of her long- anticipated funeral, inflammatory comments by President-elect Barack Obama have renewed calls for charges to be filed in the death of Baby Shanice Denise Osbourne, who was born alive after a failed abortion at a Hialeah, Florida, abortion clinic, shoved into a plastic bag, and tossed on the roof of the abortion building to die in July, 2006.
Rev. O'Neal Dozier, of the World Wide Christian Center where Baby Shanice's funeral took place last month, used the opportunity to expose Obama for opposing legislation in Illinois that would have provided protection for babies like Shanice.
In startling response to the media, an Obama spokesperson accused Rev. Dozier of engaging in "the most disgusting and manipulative kind of hate politics around."
"In trying to defend the indefensible, all Obama and his henchmen can do is demonize those who are telling the truth about his voting record," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "No smear tactic can erase the fact that Obama clearly voted to deny protections for babies like Shanice. In spite of opposition from Obama, there are clear laws protecting live babies from being murdered in cold blood."
The Obama camp's inflammatory remarks only served to call attention to the lack of enforcement of laws that are designed to protect babies who die during failed abortions, and have renewed demands for prosecutors to end the delay in charging unlicensed abortion worker Belkis Gonzalez with Baby Shanice's murder.
It was Gonzalez, according to a clinic worker who secretly reported the incident to the police, who cut the baby's umbilical cord and, while the little girl was still moving as gasping for air, swept her into a biohazard bag filled with chemicals, and tossed her on the roof of the abortion clinic in order to conceal her body from discovery. Police later recovered Baby Shanice's body and an autopsy proved that Shanice's lungs had breathed air.
After over two years of prosecutorial stalling, Operation Rescue is renewing its demand that authorities arrest and charge Gonzalez.
"In the interest of justice, we need an immediate arrest and prosecution of those responsible for this innocent baby's murder," said Newman. "We urge the public to contact the local prosecutor and demand that this case to move forward."
'Pastor to presidents' replaced by gay bishop
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=315364
A conservative Christian activist says it's a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop.
The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Vicki Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign. Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be "first."
Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for "equal civil rights" for homosexuals and described the election as a "religious experience." Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama's consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration.
Gene Robinson advocates homosexuality as part of the Christian experience," he explains. "Now Bible-believing Christians cannot accept that. Homosexual practice is sinful, as taught by the scriptures. LaBarbera suggests Robinson may possibly replace Jeremiah Wright as one of Obama's main spiritual advisers. Wright was Obama's Chicago pastor for 20 years before disassociating with the controversial preacher during the presidential campaign.
Methodist Church continues downward spiral with "inclusive philosophy"
http://cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=39354
A religious watchdog organization says the recent unauthorized ordination ceremony for a lesbian and another woman who champions homosexual rights is evidence of the theological tailspin plaguing the historic United Methodist Church in Maryland.
Last month, a so-called "extraordinary ordination" was held at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Organizers said the ceremony was sponsored by the Church Within A Church Movement, a Methodist group which bills itself as being the "inclusive church" and plants churches with the objective of providing ministry opportunities for "sexual minorities." Annie Britton and Jenna Zirbel were "ordained" on Sunday, October 19. Britton is legally married to her partner in Massachusetts, and Zirbel says she had been denied ordination previously because of her stated support of "gay and lesbian people in the church."
United Methodist Church (UMC) officials noted the ceremony was unauthorized. Mark Tooley with The Institute on Religion & Democracy believes organizers have a clear agenda.
"The Church Within A Church Movement is hoping that they are doing what the church as a whole will be doing in the near future," he contends. "I am more hopeful that the church, having said no, will continue to say no to the acceptance of openly homosexual clergy."
Tooley believes the denomination will eventually have to deal with the issue at its General Conference.
Gay Rights Activists Attack Church, Media Silent
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80743
Worshippers at a Bible-teaching church in Lansing, Mich., were stunned Sunday when members of a pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back interrupted their service to fling propaganda and condoms around the sanctuary, drape a profane banner from the balcony and feature two lesbians making out at the pulpit.
According to a blog posting by Nick De Leeuw on Right Michigan, the Bash Back organization orchestrated a protest in front of Mount Hope Church to draw the church's security staff away from the sanctuary.
Then Bash Backers who had dressed up and mixed in with church worshippers took action.
According to De Leeuw, "Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony.
"'Jesus was gay,' they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss," he wrote.
He cited the Bash Back organization's own announcement of other items members brought into the church, including "a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric. ..."
According to the alternative Lansing City Pulse – which reported it was notified of the protest ahead of time and sent a reporter along instead of warning the church – the protesters also screamed at parishioners and pulled the church facility's fire alarm. Printed material protesters distributed said, "We specialize in confronting homophobia, transphobia and every and all other forms of oppression."
The report said Bash Back issued a statement today confirming it targeted Mount Hope, which has about 5,000 church participants, because it participates in "the repression of queers."
Many demonstrators fled and the rest were quiet after sheriff's officers were summoned.
"Mount Hope churchgoers were unclear as to what the purpose of the demonstration was," said a statement from David Williams, a spokesman for the church.
"The leadership of Mount Hope Church does not attempt to identify the church as anti-homosexual, anti-choice, or right wing. The church does take the Bible at face value and believes what the Bible says to be the truth," Williams' statement continued.
"According to the Bible, Mount Hope Church believes homosexuality to be a sin, just as fornication, stealing, drunkenness, and lying are sins. No sin greater than the next. Mount Hope Church strives to follow Jesus' example of loving the sinner but not the sin while helping people change their lives for God's glory and their improved quality of life. Mount Hope Church also recognizes that to each person God grants freewill."
The church then offered help for people "caught up in unwanted sexual sin, drug abuse, and many other areas."
De Leeuw reported "the 'open minded' and 'tolerant' liberals ran down the aisles and across the pews, hoping against hope to catch a 'right winger' on tape daring to push back (none did).
"This is what we're up against," De Leeuw wrote. "Amidst worshiping congregants and following unifying prayers that our president-elect be granted wisdom as he prepares to lead our nation through difficult global, social and economic challenges, the Michigan left declared open war on peaceful churchgoers.
"Mount Hope, for the record, is an evangelical, Bible believing church whose members provide free 24-hour counseling, prayer lines, catastrophic care for families dealing with medical emergencies, support groups for men, women and children dealing with a wide variety of life's troubles, crisis intervention, marriage ministries, regular, organized volunteer work in and around the city, missions in dozens of countries across the globe, a construction ministry that has built over 100 churches, schools, orphanages and other projects all over the world and an in-depth prison ministry that reaches out, touches and helps the men and women the rest of society fears the most. They also teach respect for all human life and the Biblical sanctity of marriage as an institution between one man and one woman," De Leeuw wrote.
"The church's response? After things settled down, the blasphemy ended, the lewd props removed and the families safe from fear of additional men and women running into and past them the pastor took the stage and led the congregation in one more prayer ... not for retribution, or divine justice or a celestial comeuppance but instead that the troubled individuals who'd just defiled the Lord's house, so full of anger and hate, would know Jesus' love in their lives and God's peace that exceeds human understanding," De Leeuw wrote.
In a statement posted on the Internet, Bash Back confirmed its "operatives" were in the service, "stood up, declared themselves fags, and began screaming loudly. … Another group threw over a thousand fliers to the entire … congregation. The fire alarm was pulled. Queers began making out in front of the pastor. And within a matter of minutes, everyone had evaded the guards and made their escapes."
The statement continued, "Let is be known: So long as bigots kill us in the streets, this pack of wolves will continue to BASH BACK!"
The report comes just a day after video documentation of pro-homosexual protesters in California challenging a 69-year-old woman to a fight because she was affirming the biblical perspective of homosexuality.
"This screaming and shouting, name-calling and pushing by homosexual activists is not unlike a small child throwing a fit because he doesn't get his way," said Randy Thomasson, chief of the Campaign for Children and Families, a leading California-based pro-family group. "The public is getting a clue that homosexual activists don't like democracy and are willing to trample anyone and anything that gets in their way."
California voters by nearly 53 percent to 47 percent last week adopted a state constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.
Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan and co-author of the Marriage Protection Amendment approved by Michigan voters in 2004, condemned the homosexual activist group's intimidation tactics.
"We will alert churches statewide of this now close-to-home threat of disruption of their members' freedom to worship in peace and safety," Glenn said, "but this is not the first time in history Christians have faced persecution or threats of reprisal for standing for their faith and values."
He predicted Americans, "particularly people of strong religious faith, are not cowards" and would not "be bullied by emotional adolescents who disrespect private property, the rule of law, and anyone who dares hold opinions diverse from their own."
"We will pray for and offer help to those who have gender identity and same-sex attraction disorders, but Americans will continue to reject their attempts to overturn the will of the people and impose their disorders on our children and society at large," he said.
Glenn said AFA-Michigan will join the Catholic League in urging Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to investigate the organized violation of the church's private property rights and the group's threat of future disruptions of worship services.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue today issued a statement condemning the group's actions and accusing the news media of failing to report it with the same intensity they routinely do complaints by homosexual activist groups.
California Voters Pass Ban on Gay Marriage
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/05/voters-decide-hot-button-issues-nationwide/
LOS ANGELES -- California voters have adopted a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, overturning the state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months ago.
The passage of Proposition 8 in Tuesday's election represents a crushing political defeat for gay rights activists, who had hoped public opinion on the contentious issue had shifted enough since the state overwhelmingly passed an earlier gay marriage ban in 2000 to help them defeat the measure.
"We pick ourselves up and trudge on," Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said early Wednesday when it appeared the measure was headed for passage. "There has been enormous movement in favor of full equality in eight short years. That is the direction this is heading, and if it's not today or it's not tomorrow, it will be soon."
With almost all precincts reporting, election returns showed the measure winning with 52 percent. With election officials and others estimating 2 million to 3 million provisional and absentee ballots remained to be tallied, leaders of the No on 8 campaign said they were not ready to concede.
"Because Prop 8 involves the sensitive matter of individual rights, we believe it is important to wait until we receive further information about the outcome," Geoff Kors, director of Equality California said in a statement Wednesday.
But based on trends and the locations of the votes still outstanding, the margin of support in favor of the initiative appeared secure. The Yes on 8 campaign declared victory just after midnight.
"People believe in the institution of marriage," Frank Schubert, co-manager of the Yes on 8 campaign said. "It's one institution that crosses ethnic divides, that crosses partisan divides. ... People have stood up because they care about marriage and they care a great deal."
Opponents of the gay marriage ban said Wednesday that one legal challenge was filed and others were being prepared.
By changing the state constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman, Proposition 8 overturns the California Supreme Court decision that overturned the 2000 ban and legalized same-sex marriage in the state in mid-June. Since then, an estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian couples, many of them from other states, have been married.
The measure's passage represents a personal loss for couples who still hoped to wed, and casts a shadow of uncertainty on the legal unions of those who already have. Because the initiative holds that only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in the state, legal experts have said it will have to be resolved in court whether existing gay marriages would be nullified.
Amid uncertainty over when the amendment takes effect, gay and lesbian couples continued seeking marriage licenses throughout the state Wednesday. They were successful in some jurisdictions and not others where county clerks wanted direction before sanctioning any more same-sex unions.
Jake Rowe, 27, and James Eslick, 29, were in the midst of getting married at Sacramento City Hall Wednesday morning when someone from the clerk's office stopped the wedding. The two men had planned to get married next year because "We held in hope that 8 would not pass," Rowe said.
"I'm thoroughly surprised. I thought Californians had come to the point where they realized discrimination wasn't right," he said.
Kate Folmar, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen, said initiatives typically take effect the day after an election, although the results from Tuesday's races will not be certified until Dec. 13.
Couples who had optimistically made appointments to get hitched at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday were asked to wait until the clerk's office received guidance from state officials, said county clerk Karen Hong Lee.
"I know what the Constitution says, but with the fact there are some votes still uncounted, we want to make absolutely sure as administrators we are doing our jobs properly," Hong said.
But in Los Angeles, couples still were able to wed -- for now.
Grace Chavez, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County registrar's office in Norwalk, said weddings for gay couples were being performed in first floor chapel. She could not, however, say if there was any last-minute rush of couples trying to marry before the measure is enforced.
Attorney General Jerry Brown has said he thinks the ban would not to couples who tied the knot between mid-June and election day. As for who manage to marry Wednesday, Dana Simas, a spokeswoman for Brown, said "that is an issue that we have not yet decided."
Despite intense disappointment, some newlyweds elected to look on the positive side, taking comfort that millions of Californians had voted to validate their relationships.
"I'm really OK," said Diana Correia, of Berkeley, who married her partner of 18 years, Cynthia Correia, on Sunday in front of the couple's two children and 80 relatives and friends. "I hope the marriage holds, but we are already married in our hearts, so nobody can take that away."
Signs of the times - Oregon City Elects America's First Transgender Mayor
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,449111,00.html
Plenty of politicians reinvent themselves, but few do it quite like Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen.
Rasmussen has been a fixture in Silverton politics for more than 20 years, and had twice before been mayor of the small city 45 miles south of Portland. Those terms, however, were before his breast implants and before the once-discreet crossdresser started wearing dresses and 3-inch heels in public.
Silverton has made Rasmussen the country's first openly transgender mayor, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that works to help openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people win elected office.
Rasmussen, 60, unseated incumbent mayor Ken Hector, with whom he had long clashed, by 1,988 votes to 1,512.
Because Rasmussen's appearance was no secret, the campaign was dominated by policy issues.
"I've blackmail-proofed myself," Rasmussen said.
The story of Rasmussen's election was first reported by JustOut, a bimonthly publication for Portland's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
"Stu never sought this recognition out," said JustOut reporter Stephen Marc Beaudoin. "He's interested in doing a great job for the community that he loves. The gender identity thing is just a total backseat thing."
That comes across when Rasmussen speaks in his decidedly masculine voice.
"I am a dude," he said. "I am a heterosexual male who appears to be a female."
ACLU bullies small-town festival for including Christians
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=80649
The Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union fired off a letter to the mayor of Thibodaux, La., warning that the small town's promotion of a city festival featuring Christian bands may be a violation of the First Amendment.
The Thibodeauxville Festival, which draws nearly 12,000 people to the town whose population barely exceeds 14,000, has featured fun, food, street dancing and bands from a variety of genres for the past 16 years.
But when the ACLU spied the city's seal on a flier that also promoted the Christian bands performing at the festival, it took action.
Marjorie Esman, executive director of ACLU Louisiana told WWL-TV, New Orleans, "We wrote to a letter to the mayor, copied the president of the chamber, asking them for the future to not include religious expression in the event."
Kathy Benoit, president of Thibodeaux Chamber of Commerce, told the station she was surprised by the letter.
"The city's logo appears on the some of marketing materials because of the cooperation we get," said Benoit. "They allow us to use these streets, and it's just a partnership, but they do not give us any money at all."
Esman, however, contends differently.
"We know that the city does provide some funds to the chamber," Esman said. "We're not sure what those funds are used for. The fact is, the city has its official logo on these fliers."
Further, Esman told WWL-TV, "The issue is government endorsement of religious expression. The issue is really not whether the band has a right to play. The issue is whether the government should be in the business of endorsing religious expression."
The Alliance Defense Fund, an alliance of attorneys dedicated to defending religious liberty, has also stepped in, sending a letter in support of the city.
"(The Christian bands') music and their messages are fully protected under the Free Speech and Free Exercise clauses of the First Amendment, regardless of whether the ACLU may be offended by them," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson wrote to Mayor Charles Caillouet in the ADF letter.
"Christians should not be discriminated against because of their beliefs. Contrary to the contentions of the ACLU, they have the same rights of access and participation at the festival as anyone else," wrote Johnson. "The event is a family-friendly food and music festival that is privately funded. The city has done nothing other than allow the festival to be held in its streets. The ACLU's threat is baseless."
Benoit told the Lafourche Parish Daily Comet she has little concern about the ACLU's claims and that the controversy has actually helped advertise the Thibodeauxville Festival.
"In fact, they were talking about it this morning on the radio station down the bayou," Benoit told the Daily Comet. "It's amazing that this issue has gotten now statewide attention, it seems, and that so many people have responded favorably to us and support of this whole situation."
'Why Believe in a God?' Ad Campaign Launches on D.C. Buses
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,450445,00.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. — You better watch out. There is a new combatant in the Christmas wars.
Ads proclaiming, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake," will appear on Washington, D.C., buses starting next week and running through December. The American Humanist Association unveiled the provocative $40,000 holiday ad campaign Tuesday.
In lifting lyrics from "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," the Washington-based group is wading into what has become a perennial debate over commercialism, religion in the public square and the meaning of Christmas.
"We are trying to reach our audience, and sometimes in order to reach an audience, everybody has to hear you," said Fred Edwords, spokesman for the humanist group. "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types of non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion."
To that end, the ads and posters will include a link to a Web site that will seek to connect and organize like-minded thinkers in the D.C. area, Edwords said.
Edwords said the purpose isn't to argue that God doesn't exist or change minds about a deity, although "we are trying to plant a seed of rational thought and critical thinking and questioning in people's minds."
The group defines humanism as "a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity."
Last month, the British Humanist Association caused a ruckus announcing a similar campaign on London buses with the message: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
In Washington, the humanists' campaign comes as conservative Christian groups gear up their efforts to keep Christ in Christmas. In the past five years, groups such as the American Family Association and the Catholic League have criticized or threatened boycotts of retailers who use generic "holiday" greetings.
In mid-October, the American Family Association started selling buttons that say "It's OK to say Merry Christmas." The humanists' entry into the marketplace of ideas did not impress AFA president Tim Wildmon.
"It's a stupid ad," he said. "How do we define 'good' if we don't believe in God? God in his word, the Bible, tells us what's good and bad and right and wrong. If we are each ourselves defining what's good, it's going to be a crazy world."
Also on Tuesday, the Orlando, Fla.-based Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group, launched its sixth annual "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign." Liberty Counsel has intervened in disputes over nativity scenes and government bans on Christmas decorations, among other things.
"It's the ultimate grinch to say there is no God at a time when millions of people around the world celebrate the birth of Christ," said Mathew Staver, the group's chairman and dean of the Liberty University School of Law. "Certainly, they have the right to believe what they want but this is insulting."
Best-selling books by authors such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have fueled interest in "the new atheism" — a more in-your-face argument against God's existence.
Yet few Americans describe themselves as atheist or agnostic; a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll from earlier this year found 92 percent of Americans believe in God.
There was no debate at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority over whether to take the ad. Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said the agency accepts ads that aren't obscene or pornographic.
Ballot initiatives to curtail abortions defeated
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-states5-2008nov05,0,3597815.story
Reporting from Denver -- All eyes were on Barack Obama's historic win in Tuesday's presidential election , but a number of significant ballot initiatives and gubernatorial races took dramatic turns as well.
A pair of ballot initiatives that would have curtailed abortion were soundly defeated, while bans on gay marriage won or were headed for passage. And voters in 11 states chose governors -- with most incumbents winning reelection.
The most prominent initiative was a measure put on the ballot in South Dakota to outlaw most abortions in hope of triggering a Supreme Court showdown over the landmark 1973 case Roe vs. Wade. Measure 11 lost by a lopsided margin.
It was a revised version of a high-profile proposed abortion ban -- even in cases of rape and incest -- that South Dakota voters had rejected by a 10-point margin in 2006. Proponents hoped that they could secure passage this year by providing exceptions for rape and incest.
But opponents argued the exceptions were still too narrow -- abortions were only permissible if the woman identified her assailant and proved paternity through DNA testing, or if a doctor found the mother faced possible organ failure if the pregnancy came to term.
"South Dakotans have affirmed by their votes tonight that no vague law can account for every individual circumstance. And that is precisely why women and families, not the government, should make these personal healthcare decisions," said Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.
Proponents vowed to try again to outlaw abortion in the 2010 election. "We're coming back," said Leslee Unruh, an anti-abortion activist and prime proponent of the ban. "We're not going away. . . . Third time's the charm."
Another hot-button abortion initiative, Measure 48 in Colorado, was roundly defeated Tuesday night. The initiative would have defined a fertilized egg as a legal human being, which opponents and some proponents said could ban abortion and other activities such as in vitro fertilization and certain forms of birth control.
California's Proposition 8 overshadowed other gay marriage bans on the ballot in Florida and Arizona, where gay rights activists complained they were having difficulty raising money.
Prop. 8 appeared headed for victory, and in Florida a proposed amendment to the state constitution banning gay marriage was approved.
Arizona voters in 2006 rejected a gay marriage ban, but a similar one was approved Tuesday.
Former University of California Regent Ward Connerly backed initiatives in two states to end affirmative action. The one in Colorado was narrowly losing Tuesday night, but the measure in Nebraska passed.
As the Republican party reeled from defeats in the presidential and congressional races, its operatives stressed that none of its incumbent governors lost a race.
Even in liberal Vermont, Gov Jim Douglas, a Republican and strong fiscal conservative, won.
In Indiana, Republican Gov Mitch Daniels held onto his seat.
The former budget director for President George W. Bush, Daniels resisted the Democratic surge that transformed Indiana into a swing state and handily defeated his challenger, former Rep. Jill L. Thompson.
But there were some reversals for Republicans.
In Missouri, the GOP lost a governorship as Atty. Gen. Jay Nixon won the contest to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Roy Blunt.
In North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue became the state's first female governor, succeeding termed-out fellow Democrat Mike Easley.
She defeated Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory.
But the results of perhaps the most contested race were still up in the air Tuesday evening, as Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire fought challenger Dino Rossi in a rematch of their nail-biter of a race in 2004. Democrat Gregoire won by a handful of votes, and some Republicans complained of fraud. This time, Gregoire was narrowly ahead with more than a third of the votes counted.
Dr. Alveda King - 'The Dream' is Not Yet Fulfilled
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07800.shtml
ATLANTA, (christiansunite.com) -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said today that the struggle for unborn children's civil rights will continue.
"The election of an African American president sends a powerful and historic message that what was previously unthinkable can become reality," said Dr. King. "The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone, but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property."
"President-elect Obama has promised actions that will only increase the number of abortions. Pro-lifers, in turn, must promise to redouble our efforts to resist anti-life proposals, speak up for the babies, and, above all, pray," added Dr.King. "We must pray with persistence and love that, in God's time, what is now deemed unthinkable will become reality - that all our brothers in sisters, from conception to natural death, will be protected in law and welcomed in society. The elections are over. The pro-life battle begins anew."
Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro- life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.
New Yorkers Respond to 'Abortion Changes You' Subway Ads
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07799.shtml
NEW YORK, (christiansunite.com) -- An ad campaign stating that "abortion changes you" has been seen by hundreds of thousands of New York subway riders during the past month. And more than 1,400 New Yorkers have responded by visiting the Abortion Changes You website. In one ad, an Asian female shares: "I thought life would be the way it was before," while a tattooed male on another says: "I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her."
Visitors to the website AbortionChangesYou.com have shared their experiences through stories, artwork, and poetry.
One woman shared: "I would like to thank you for listening to my story. I thought and at times felt like I was the only one who was going through this." Another wrote, "I'm 24, confused and alone... I felt like I was the only one suffering until I found this website on the train."
Another woman remarked: "I don't feel like what I did was wrong... but it wasn't always like this." She carried her secret for two years and didn't seek help. She experienced depression and difficulty in school until she told friends about her abortion. "They were going to be my support group... I finally felt like I could get over the abortion and move on with my life," she writes.
Family members shared experiences as well. One person shared the loss of two siblings because of abortion: "It hurt me deeply to know that I had a brother and/or sister who was taken from me... My mother spent many years grieving and healing."
New Yorkers also participated in other areas of the site. For instance, men and women are able to select from a range of emotions and share how they are feeling. The top feelings submitted in the last month were "ashamed", "angry", "alone", and "changed".
"I am glad that the ads have resonated with New Yorkers," says Michaelene Fredenburg, author of Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or a Loved One's Abortion Experience, and the creator of the ads. "Knowing that you are not alone and being able to talk about your experience is so important. Reaching out after my abortion was a turning point for me."
Priest described 1928 possession of Iowa girl
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=221231
A sensational exorcism performed 80 years ago in the tiny western Iowa town of Earling is well-known throughout the paranormal community.
Details of the 23-day ordeal are so disturbing that some accounts caution readers to proceed at their own peril. The most complete account of the 1928 exorcism was written only a few years later by a Catholic priest who witnessed it.
The Rev. Carl Vogl wrote " Begone Satan!" a 48-page booklet about the tortured life of the woman he called Emma Schmidt. When she was 14, Schmidt's Aunt Mina (reportedly a witch who had a sexual affair with the girl's father), fed her bewitched herbs. Later, her father hurled curses at her for not submitting to his incestuous advances. For decades, Schmidt was consumed by agonizing thoughts and unexplained urges that she and local doctors could not stop.
While some attributed her psychological dysfunction to her childhood sexual traumas, examiners noted symptoms that seemed to indicate "strange preternatural powers were at play." Schmidt understood languages she had never Advertisement
heard or read, foamed at the mouth when the priest blessed her in Latin, and blasphemed when presented with secretly blessed objects.
Therefore in 1928, when Schmidt was 46, a Capuchin priest, who had ministered to her previously, asked his superiors for permission to perform a full-fledged, official exorcism. The Rev. Theophilus Riesinger arranged for the ritual to be performed in a secluded Franciscan convent near Earling. The nuns there aided the priest for more than three weeks and, after their ordeal, many asked to be transferred far from the town.
Schmidt lay on a bed with iron springs while Riesinger and the parish priest prepared to perform the ancient Roman Catholic rite. As soon as the priests invoked the names of the Trinity, the woman flew up off the bed "and her body, carried through the air, landed high above the door of the room and clung to the wall with a tenacious grip," Vogl wrote.
When Schmidt was forced back onto the bed, the priest resumed praying.
"Suddenly a loud shrill voice rent the air. The noise in the room sounded as though it were far off, somewhere in a desert. Like a pack of wild beasts suddenly let loose, the terrifying noises sounded aloud as they came out of the mouth of the possessed woman. Those present were struck with a terrible fear that penetrated the very marrow of their bones," the witness recounted.
Over the next hours and days, news spread about what was going on in the convent and although church officials had tried to keep the exorcism secret, villagers gathered around the site after hearing unearthly howling and smelling hideous odors coming through the windows.
While the priests prayed over Schmidt and sprinkled holy water on her, horrible things happened: the woman's body contorted and swelled to nearly bursting; she exhibited superhuman power -- it took groups of nuns to control her; she vomited torrents of "unspeakable excrements" daily, although she did not eat; otherworldly voices and animal sounds emanated not from her mouth, but "from somewhere within her," Vogl noted.
The damned spirits within Schmidt identified themselves as Beelzebub, Judas Iscariot, her father Jacob and his mistress Mina.
On the 23rd day of the exorcism, while an exhausted Riesinger continued his prayers, the demons within Schmidt gave up. Her body jerked upright with only her heels touching the bed. The priest exhorted the demons to, "Depart, ye fiends of hell! Begone, Satan." Everyone in the room heard shrieking demonic voices fade away into the distance.
Schmidt reportedly led a relatively normal life after the exorcism, embracing her Catholic faith again. Vogl wrote that she had later minor episodes of possession.
Nasa joins UFO sighting craze
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20081106/twl-nasa-joins-ufo-sighting-craze-41f21e0.html
The US space agency were filming from a shuttle outside the earth's orbit in April this year when the cameras picked up four objects that have never been identified.
The footage came after two similarly eerie sightings a few days apart on different sides of the world.
In January this year an amateur cameraman was one of a crowd who gathered to look at a mysterious light in the sky above Mexico.
He captured images of a trail dragging behind a very slow-moving object in the sky, before another light appeared on the horizon.
In the same week, a group of teenagers in India stopped by the side of the road and captured a group of glowing objects moving in patterns in the sky.
Does the Human Mind Have Potential “Super Powers”? -A Galaxy Classic
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/11/does-the-human.html
A Daily Galaxy post last year, The Importance of Being Forgetful, featured the built-in neural process of forgetting, which discussed why the average human brain is equipped with the ability to filter through seemingly irrelevant details. While the average person may not have vast memory resources, it appears to be an evolutionary trade-off that allows the majority of us to focus on the most relevant facts.
However, some of the most incredible minds on Earth lack this ability to filter irrelevant facts, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that to a savant, the irrelevant IS relevant, and incredibly so. Somehow their brains are able to store and access incredible loads of information, even perceiving and relating to this information in an entirely different way.
Stephen Wiltshire is considered an autistic savant. He has an ability which can certainly be described as a “super power”. Sometimes referred to as the “human camera”, Wilshire has the unnerving ability to draw exact replicas of intricate structures, buildings and landscapes—virtually anything he lays eyes on—after a quick glance. Without taking notes or drawing rough sketches, Wiltshire methodically replicates what his eyes have seen down to the exact number of windows in tall skyscrapers.
While watching a video (see link below) of Stephen drawing Rome, it almost seems as if he is a character straight from NBC’s popular TV series Heroes—born with a superhuman ability. Like many other savants, Wiltshire’s mind is a mystery. He did not speak his first words, “pencil” and “paper” until he was five years old. Savants like Wiltshire seem to have been born fundamentally different.
Imagine being able to learn one of the most difficult languages on Earth, Icelandic, in just 7 days. Well known Savant, Daniel Tammet, makes is look easy. His extraordinary abilities are linked to synesthesia. He “feels” numbers in terms of texture, shape and color. Some scientists believe that the epileptic seizures he suffered as a small child, which nearly ended his life, somehow unlocked the door to an incredible ability that may be inherent in all humans.
Individuals have been known to develop extraordinary abilities much later in life, or after severe brain trauma. Alonzo Clemons, for example, developed an incredible talent, which appears to have emerged directly following a head injury as a child. He can see a fleeting image (on a television screen for example) of any animal, and in less than 20 minutes sculpt a perfect replica of that animal in three-dimensional accuracy. The wax animal is correct in each and every detail, down to each fiber and muscle.
Similarly, Orlando Serrell did not possess any unusual skills until he was struck by a baseball on the left side of his head on August 17, 1979 when he was ten years old. Serrell suffered from a long headache, but after the headache ended, Orlando inexplicably had the ability to perform calendrical calculations of amazing complexity. He can also recall details of his life, like the weather, where he was, and what he was doing every day since the day that baseball hit his head.
Because of cases like these, some scientists believe that the potential to express multiple super-abilities is a universal trait, but is obscured by the normal functioning intellect. In the case of some savants, it is believed that damage to the brain has somehow disrupted normal functioning and therefore allows the brain to express these incredible skills and abilities. Various researchers have noted how many “disabled” individuals are simultaneously “superabled” through some little understood phenomenon.
Mind expert Allan Snyder of the University of Sydney and director of Centre for the Mind, is certain that all people have these latent super abilities, but only some are able to express them through “malfunctions” of overriding brain functions.
"They are exceptional in that they can tap in and somehow we can't. They have privileged access," said Snyder.
So, if all of us have latent super-abilities, is it possible to activate them permanently, or at least periodically, without compromising normal brain functioning? Probably, say the Australian scientists who used transcranial magnetic stimulation to temporarily switch off the frontal temporal lobe of volunteers. Afterwards the subjects showed an immediate improvement in calendar calculating, naming the day of the week of any recent history event, and in their artistic abilities. Of course these were just the abilities tested. Scientists do not know all of the latent abilities that humans may possess.
It has been predicted that more advanced neurological studies may someday discover how to allow “Regular” people to tap into the incredible latent powers of their own mind, and thereby unleashing some of the “superhuman” potential in all of us.
Packs of robots to hunt down uncooperative humans
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/10/packs-of-robots-will-hunt-down.html
The latest request from the Pentagon jars the senses. At least, it did mine. They are looking for contractors to provide a "Multi-Robot Pursuit System" that will let packs of robots "search for and detect a non-cooperative human".
One thing that really bugs defence chiefs is having their troops diverted from other duties to control robots. So having a pack of them controlled by one person makes logistical sense. But I'm concerned about where this technology will end up.
Given that iRobot last year struck a deal with Taser International to mount stun weapons on its military robots, how long before we see packs of droids hunting down pesky demonstrators with paralysing weapons? Or could the packs even be lethally armed? I asked two experts on automated weapons what they thought.
Both were concerned that packs of robots would be entrusted with tasks - and weapons - they were not up to handling without making wrong decisions.
Steve Wright of Leeds Metropolitan University is an expert on police and military technologies, and last year correctly predicted this pack-hunting mode of operation would happen. "The giveaway here is the phrase 'a non-cooperative human subject'," he told me:
"What we have here are the beginnings of something designed to enable robots to hunt down humans like a pack of dogs. Once the software is perfected we can reasonably anticipate that they will become autonomous and become armed.
We can also expect such systems to be equipped with human detection and tracking devices including sensors which detect human breath and the radio waves associated with a human heart beat. These are technologies already developed."
Another commentator often in the news for his views on military robot autonomy is Noel Sharkey, an AI and robotics engineer at the University of Sheffield. He says he can understand why the military want such technology, but also worries it will be used irresponsibly.
"This is a clear step towards one of the main goals of the US Army's Future Combat Systems project, which aims to make a single soldier the nexus for a large scale robot attack. Independently, ground and aerial robots have been tested together and once the bits are joined, there will be a robot force under command of a single soldier with potentially dire consequences for innocents around the corner."
What do you make of this? Are we letting our militaries run technologically amok with our tax dollars? Or can robot soldiers be programmed to be even more ethical than human ones, as some researchers claim?
Brzezinski: Last two US presidents tested early by al Qaeda attacks
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5707
President Carter’s former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinsky says president-elect Barack Obama may be tested by terrorists after he takes office on Jan. 20. Speaking to Deutsche Welle, he pointed out that at least two US presidents were tested early in office – the two World Trade Center attacks occurred in the first year of Bill Clinton’s and George W. Bush’s presidencies.
Brzezinsky added that changing the substance of US policies is not as easy as it sounds and Obama may be incapable of bringing “dramatic change” to Washington.
Under a secret order, the Bush administration carried out strikes in 5 to 20 countries, including Syria, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states, where al-Qaeda militants were believed to be operating or to have sought sanctuary, a senior administration official told the New York Times. No raids were made into Iran, only reconnaissance missions under different directives.
A dozen additional missions were scrapped as too dangerous, diplomatically problematic or relied on insufficient evidence.
Bin Laden Plans New Attacks Bigger Than 9/11
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/bin_laden_terror_attack/2008/11/10/149744.html?s=al&promo_code=70E2-1
Fugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden is planning new attacks against the U.S. that will "outdo by far" the attacks of 9/11, according to a report in a London-based Arabic newspaper.
The paper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, quotes a former senior Yemeni al-Qaida official saying the terror group is now in a “positive phase,” of staffing and rebuilding training camps around the globe. The action will lead to the next “wave of action” against the U.S., the paper reported.
“This will be shown by the fact that we now control a major part of the south of Somalia," the Yemeni source told the paper.
According to the report, bin Laden is personally involved in the preparations and is looking to "change the face of world politics and economics.”
The paper is edited by Abdel al-Bari Atwan, the last journalist to interview bin Laden in 1996.
The Yemeni operative says he remains in contact with current al-Qaida chiefs. He claims bin Laden sent a message to all jihad cells in the Arab world six months ago urging them not to interact with their governments or local political parties.
More signs of al-Qaida’s violent intentions are expected over the next few days, the paper reported.
The al-Qaida warning comes just one day after The Telegraph newspaper published a leaked government report showing thousands of extremists are active in the U.K. The document says the operatives are mostly native Brits between 18 and 30. Many have been trained in overseas terrorist camps.
Security officials warned that al-Qaida will attempt another "spectacular" in the U.K., likely focused on airports or train stations, The Telegraph reported. Other potential targets include the Houses of Parliament, and Whitehall, Buckingham and St James' palaces.
Al Qaeda says order given for US attack “far bigger than 9/11”
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5715
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that US president-elect Barack Obama, European and Russian heads of state in Washington for the G20 conference over the weekend were briefed about a probable early al Qaeda attack.
Obama and his team have been advised that a new al Qaeda strike is highly probable in the United States or against a key US target in Europe, North Africa or the Middle East.
DEBKA-Net-Weekly 372 of Nov. 14 disclosed that al Qaeda’s Yemen base, a reliable barometer for Osama bin Laden’s schemes, issued a Directive to All Fighters in Arabia on Nov. 9 presaging a major operation in the United States that will “change the political and economic world” and be “far bigger than 9/11.”
The notice said “the operation is very near” and “precise instructions were in the hands of “the fighters, who are already on their way to America” armed with bin Laden’s orders. The pretext offered for the attack is the rejection by the US and Europe of al Qaeda’s four-year old truce offer whose original pre-condition was the withdrawal of their armies from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The day after the new president’s election, al Qaeda issued a little-noticed statement declaring Barack Obama a murtad, i.e. an apostate whose betrayal of Islam is judged the most heinous. Believers have the duty to execute a murtad unlike other non-believers whose death sentence is optional.
Thursday night, Nov. 14, Central Intelligence Director Gen. Michael Hayden said: “Al Qaeda, operating from its safe haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas, remains the most clear and present danger to the United States.” He was addressing a Washington think-tank.
“Today, virtually every major terrorist threat that my agency is aware of has threads back to the tribal areas. Whether it is command and control, training, direction, money, capabilities, there is a connection to the FATA (Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.)”
Hayden also mentioned Yemen and Somalia as important al Qaeda theaters of operation.
In private, most heads of the intelligence agencies fighting al Qaeda admit that an attack on the United States or major American interest outside is only a matter of time.
Google Trends - What The World Is Searching And Thinking
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=379bf1ba-f17f-409e-89de-9ed3253113b9
Collective intelligence might be the most unreliable and elusive resource on the planet. But when someone does manage to tap it, it can be powerful.
Just think of Wikipedia, which has proven to be a broad, flexible and surprisingly accurate source of information, because anyone can edit it.
One of the most exciting new experiments in collective intelligence comes from Google. (Where else?) It's called Google Flu Trends. It monitors how often users in various parts of the United States enter certain phrases into its search engine: "flu symptoms", for example, or "chills."
Over time, the graph of flu-related searches is strikingly similar to the graph of documented flu outbreaks. If there's a spike in flu cases in late November in Maine, it will show up in Google searches as well as doctor's offices.
But the really exciting thing is that Google might know about the spike a week or two before public health authorities do, because people tend to search the Internet before they call their doctors. This means that by monitoring search engines, governments can predict outbreaks earlier. Google suggests the tool might even help governments mount an early response to a pandemic.
It's worth remembering that the effectiveness of a tool like Google Flu Trends depends on the computer literacy and access to technology of a given population. It might also be skewed by fears (see "Massive Surge in traffic for keyword “antichrist” since Obama victory") and misperceptions.
It's also worth asking what uses authoritarian governments might find for search-engine monitoring. But while any tool can be misused or misinterpreted, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be used at all.
Besides, when it comes down to it, Google's latest toy is really cool. That in itself could inspire more innovative collaborations between public-health agencies and technogeeks.
First 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1085059/Pictured-The-robot-pull-faces-just-like-human-being.html
Scientists have created the first 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being.
'Jules' - a disembodied androgynous robotic head - can automatically copy the movements, which are picked up by a video camera and mapped on to the tiny electronic motors in his skin.
It can grin and grimace, furrow its brow and 'speak' as his software translates real expressions observed through video camera 'eyes'.
Jules is the first humanoid robot who can realistically mimic a real person's expressions merely by watching their face
Jules mimics the expressions by converting the video image into digital commands that make the robot's servos and motors produce mirrored movements.
And it all happens in real time as the robot can interpret the commands at 25 frames per second.
The project, called 'Human-Robot Interaction', was devised at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL), run by the University of the West of England and the University of Bristol.
A team of robotics engineers - Chris Melhuish, Neill Campbell and Peter Jaeckel - spent three-and-a-half years developing the breakthrough software to create interaction between humans and artificial intelligence.
Jules has 34 internal motors covered with flexible rubber ('Frubber') skin, which was commissioned from roboticist David Hanson in the US for BRL.
It was originally programmed to act out a series of movements - as can be seen in the video - where 'Jules' talks about 'destroying Wales'.
The technology works using ten stock human emotions - such as happiness, sadness, concern etc - that the team 'taught' Jules via programming.
The software then maps what it sees to Jules's face to combine expressions instantly to mimic those being shown by a human subject.
'We have a repertoire of behaviours that somehow is dynamic', Chris Melhuish said.
'If you want people to be able to interact with machines, then you've got to be able to do it naturally.
'When it moves, it has to look natural in the same way that human expressions are, to make interaction useful.'
Peter Jaeckel, who works in artificial emotion, artificial empathy and humanoids at BRL, said: 'Realistic, life-like robot appearance is crucial for sophisticated face-to-face robot-human interaction.
'Researchers predict that one day, robotic companions will work, or assist humans in space, care and education.
'Robot appearance and behaviour need to be well matched to meet expectations formed by our social experience.
'Violation of these expectations due to subtle imperfections or imbalance between appearance and behaviour results in discomfort in humans that perceive or observe the robot.
'If people were put off, it would counteract all efforts to achieve trustworthiness, reliability and emotional intelligence.
'All these are requirements for robotic companions, assisting astronauts in space or care robots employed as social companions for the elderly.
'Unlike most research projects, the focus lies on dynamic, subtle, facial expressions, rather than static exaggerated facial displays.
'Copycat robot heads have been created before, but never with realistic human-looking faces.'
But not everyone is impressed by Jules's mastery of mimicry.
Kerstin Dautenhahn, a robotics researcher at the University of Herefordshire, believes that people may be disconcerted by humanoid automatons that simply look 'too human'.
'Research has shown that if you have a robot that has many human-like features, then people might actually react negatively towards it,' she said.
'If you expose vulnerable people, like children or elderly people, to something that they might mistake for human, then you would automatically encourage a social relationship.
'They might easily be fooled to think that this robot not only looks like a human and behaves like a human, but that it can also feel like a human. And that's not true.'
It is hoped that the technology developed in Jules will help create robots for use in space, to accompany astronauts on solo missions, and in healthcare settings and nursing homes.
Watch a video of Jules here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S-fmKqwa98
Saudi Arabia Using UN Interfaith Dialogue To Push Global Blasphemy Law
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1113/p09s02-coop.html
World leaders gathering at the United Nations this week for a special session of the General Assembly to advance interfaith dialogue should have no illusions that their efforts will miraculously promote mutual respect between religious communities or end abuses of religious freedom.
Saudi King Abdullah, who initiated this week's special session, is quietly enlisting the leaders' support for a global law to punish blasphemy – a campaign championed by the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference that puts the rights of religions ahead of individual liberties.
If the campaign succeeds, states that presume to speak in the name of religion will be able to crush religious freedom not only in their own country, but abroad.
The UN session is designed to endorse a meeting of religious leaders in Spain last summer that was the brainchild of King Abdullah and organized by the Muslim World League. That meeting resulted in a final statement counseling promotion of "respect for religions, their places of worship, and their symbols ... therefore preventing the derision of what people consider sacred."
The lofty-sounding principle is, in fact, a cleverly coded way of granting religious leaders the right to criminalize speech and activities that they deem to insult religion. Instead of promoting harmony, however, this effort will exacerbate divisions and intensify religious repression.
Such prohibitions have already been used in some countries to restrict discussion of individuals' freedom vis-Ã -vis the state, to prevent criticism of political figures or parties, to curb dissent from prevailing views and beliefs, and even to incite and to justify violence.
They undermine the standards codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the keystone of the United Nations, by granting greater rights to religions than to individuals, including those who choose to hold no faith – or who would seek to convert.
Another stark irony hangs over the UN special session this week. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's worst abusers of religious freedom, a fact recognized by the Bush administration when it named it a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act in 2004. The king couldn't hold such a conference at home, where conservative clerics no doubt would purge the guest list of Jews from Israel, Baha'is, and Ahmadis.
The Saudi government permits the public practice of only one interpretation of Islam. This forces the 2-to-3 million Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and other expatriate workers there to leave their convictions at the border, since non-Muslim places of worship are prohibited, non-Muslim religious materials risk confiscation, and even private worship is affected by the strictures.
It also violates the rights of the large communities of Muslims who adhere to Islamic traditions other than the one deemed orthodox by Saudi clerics. In the past two years, dozens of Shiites have been detained for up to 30 days for holding small religious gatherings at home. One Ismaili, Hadi Al-Mutaif, is serving a life sentence after being condemned for apostasy in 1994 for a remark he made as a teenager that was deemed blasphemous. The alleged crime of apostasy, in fact, can be punished by death.
The government's policies are enforced by the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice, a roving religious police force, armed with whips, that regularly oversteps its authority and is unchecked by the judiciary.
Women seeking to exercise basic freedoms of speech, movement, association, and equality before the law have experienced particularly severe abuse.
In a particularly egregious recent case, a woman was gang-raped as punishment by seven men who found her alone in a car with a man who was not her relative. She escaped the sentence of 200 lashes and six months in prison only because of a pardon by King Abdullah, yet he also said he believed the sentence was appropriate.
Holding a session on advancing interfaith dialogue abroad is a pale substitute for hosting it in the kingdom, where the message of respect for freedom of religion and belief is most needed.
Against the background of Saudi repression and the kingdom's role in exporting extremism, including through school textbooks preaching hatred of "unbelievers," the UN and every world leader attending the special session should be demanding an end to severe violations of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia.
Dialogue is no substitute for compliance with universal human rights standards.
The monarch would make a far greater contribution by exponentially increasing his efforts to promote religious freedom at home, where religious intolerance reigns. A welcome first step would be to release Hadi Al-Mutaif and all other religious prisoners who remain behind bars in Saudi Arabia.
Reshaping of world financial system outlined
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27742573/
World leaders holding an emergency meeting to combat the economic crisis agreed Saturday to a far-reaching action plan that, over the next 4 1/2 months, would begin to reshape international financial institutions and reform worldwide regulatory and accounting rules.
The leaders' 11-page statement spoke of broad principles, leaving the details to be worked out by lower-level aides before another summit meeting in April, after Barack Obama assumes the presidency. But the gathering in Washington of the nearly two dozen nations — from every region of the world — reflected the new balance of power emerging in the aftermath of a financial crisis that has devastated even well-run economies, a wrenching process that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has dubbed "the birth pangs of this new global order."
Under the plans outlined by the leaders, countries such as China, Brazil and India would gain greater roles and responsibilities as part of a restructuring of the international financial system, while European leaders won a commitment to new regulations and controls on banks, rating agencies and exotic financial securities. The leaders also agreed that a dramatic failure of market oversight in "some advanced countries" was among the root causes of the financial crisis, an implicit rebuke of the United States.
"I'm a free market person," President Bush told reporters after the summit ended, "until you're told that if you don't take decisive measures then it's conceivable that our country could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression."
The Europeans got "virtually everything" they sought at the summit, French President Nicholas Sarkozy crowed afterward at a news conference. He said it had been difficult to persuade Bush to hold the summit, but the results were worth it. "America is still the No. 1 power in the world," he noted. "Is it the only one? No, it isn't."
The leaders, representing the Group of 20 economic powers, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Nations and other international organizations, met over dinner at the White House on Friday. They then continued their discussions Saturday arrayed in a square in the central hall of the 19th-century National Building Museum, beneath soaring 159-foot high ceilings.
"We are determined to enhance our cooperation and work together to restore global growth and achieve needed reforms in the world's financial systems," the leaders declared in their communique.
The leaders agreed to set up a new regulatory body, "a college of supervisors," to examine the books of major financial institutions that operate across national borders, so regulators could begin to have a more complete picture of banks' operations. They demanded greater scrutiny of hedge funds and the completion of a clearinghouse system to help standardize and limit risk on some of the opaque and exotic financial derivatives that helped bring down Wall Street's investment banks.
Leaders also agreed to submit their countries' financial systems to regular, vigorous reviews by the International Monetary Fund — assessments that some countries, including the United States, had long resisted. And they urged new constraints on the pay schemes at financial firms that "reward excessive short-term returns or risk-taking."
Sarkozy was especially pleased by the mention of executive compensation, though the communique noted that action could be voluntary or regulatory in nature. "Have you ever seen in the Anglo-Saxon world even discussion to have rating agencies downgrade the banks where executive compensation has [encouraged] them to take too much risk? I have never seen it," he said.
Senior Bush administration officials played down Sarkozy's comments, arguing that the agreement yesterday did not signify a "pro-regulatory" shift by the administration but rather an acknowledgement that the regulatory system needed to be updated. They spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Obama stayed away from the summit, though the White House extensively briefed one of his senior advisers on the deliberations and two of the president-elect's representatives met with 17 leaders or their top aides on the sidelines. Many sections in the communique may please Obama, but at least one pledge to which Bush agreed — a 12-month hiatus on protectionist measures — could be viewed as limiting his options.
Single Global Currency Assn. Urges G20 To Initiate Research And Planning For Single Global Currency.
http://www.prlog.org/10141522-single-global-currency-assn-urges-g20-to-initiate-research-and-planning-for-single-global-currency.html
The Single Global Currency Assn. urges the G20, meeting in Washington this weekend, to initiate research and planning for a Single Global Currency. The Association's President, Morrison Bonpasse, wrote to IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to urge such a step in order to "achieve the primary goal of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference and the primary goal of the IMF: stable currency around the world."
The Association supports the calls by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for a "new Bretton Woods" and a restructuring of the global financial system.
This call for research and planning echoes the work done in Europe in the 1980's and 1990's to plan for the euro. Bonpasse is confident that when a serious examination of the costs and benefits is done, the world will embrace the goal of a Single Global Currency, to be managed by a Global Central Bank within a Global Monetary Union.
He said, "The easiest to understand benefits of a Single Global Currency will be the elimination of $400 billion in annual foreign exchange costs, the elimination of foreign exchange fluctuations, and the elimination of the need of expensive foreign exchange reserves, now totaling more than $3 trillion around the world."
The Single Global Currency Association was formed in 2003 in the U.S. to seek the implementation of a Single Global Currency by 2024, the 80th anniversary of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. Said Morrison Bonpasse, "With the expansion and creation of regional monetary unions, there is no question that we will someday achieve a Single Global Currency as the benefits vastly outweigh the costs. The only questions remaining are 'How long?' and 'How much will further delay cost?' " He continued, "If the European Monetary Union can successfully provide stable currency to 15, soon to be 16, countries, why not a Global Monetary Union for all countries?"
The Association maintains a website at www.singleglobalcurrency.org, and has published three editions of the book, The Single Global Currency - Common Cents for the World. In 2000, the number of currencies among the members of the United Nations peaked at 158, and in January, with the adoption of the euro in Slovakia, that number will drop to 142. With the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Monetary Union in 2010, the number will drop to 137. Said Bonpasse, "The trend to a Single Global Currency is clear."
THE LETTER:
23 October 2008
RE: The Single Global Currency and the 15 November G20 Conference.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
Managing Director
International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20431
Dear Mr. Strauss-Kahn:
The upcoming G20 Conference gives you and the 20 member countries an opportunity to begin moving the world to a new international finance structure which will achieve the primary goal of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference and the primary goal of the IMF: stable currency around the world. That new structure will include a Single Global Currency, managed by a Global Central Bank within a Global Monetary Union
Please ask the 15 November conference to officially begin researching and planning for a Single Global Currency. The first element of such research would be a comprehensive study of the Benefits and Costs, as was done in Europe prior to the commitment to the establishment of the euro. Enclosed is a FACT list of the estimated benefits of a Single Global Currency.
Such research would also consider such issues as:
- how to manage inflation in a world without foreign exchange,
- the level of reserves required to maintain confidence in a Single Global Currency
- how to cope with regional "shocks" within a Global Monetary Union.
Economists will be tempted to evaluate whether the world is an Optimum Currency Area (OCA), according to the criteria established by Robert Mundell and others since the 1960's. However, OCA research has been unable consistently to evaluate the utility even of the monetary unions of the EMU and the United States.
Also enclosed is another copy of the 2008 Edition of my book, The Single Global Currency - Common Cents for the World. I hope that you or a staff member will be able to read it and begin the process of preparing the world and the IMF for a Single Global Currency. Also enclosed are copies of my letters to you of 19 November 2007 and 28 February 2008.
The goal of the Single Global Currency Association is a Single Global Currency, managed by a Global Central Bank within a Global Monetary Union by the year 2024, which is only 16 years away. Seventeen years before the 2002 implementation of the euro with the people of Europe, there was a Soviet Union and a Berlin Wall. As the original primary goal of the IMF was to help the world manage currency fluctuations, it is well within that charter for the IMF to lead the world to a Single Global Currency. With its original goals achieved, the IMF could transform itself into part of the Global Central Bank.
Sincerely yours,
Morrison Bonpasse
President
# # #
The Single Global Currency Association is dedicated to the goal of implementing a Single Global Currency, within a Global Monetary Union and managed by a Global Central Bank by 2024. We shall achieve this goal through education and persuasion.
Sarkozy Pushes for Abandonment of Dollar as World Reserve Currency
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_301988.html
The US dollar can no longer claim to be the sole world currency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday before a weekend summit on the global financial crisis that has its roots in the United States.
'I leave for Washington tomorrow to explain that the dollar, which at the end of World War II was the only world currency, can no longer claim to be the sold world currency,' Mr Sarkozy said.
'The world changes. We are in the 21st century and the French view is that we cannot continue into the 21st century with a system established in the 20th century,' he said.
'What was true in 1945 cannot still be true today. It is not a question of courage, it is a matter of good sense to look at things as they really are.'
Leaders from the Group of 20 developed and developing countries meet in Washington on Saturday to discuss the financial crisis that has now begun to cut growth sharply worldwide.
Created in 1999, the G20 countries account for 85 per cent of the world economy and about two-thirds of its population, with its leaders hoping to hammer on Saturday out a common approach and understanding of the crisis.
Mr Sarkozy, who also holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has said several times that the Washington meeting should tackle currency issues, alongside efforts to improve the transparency and regulation of the financial markets.
Since the end of World War II, the US dollar has effectively been the world's reserve currency, used across the board and thereby giving the United States immense influence in the global economic system.
100 Days To Shaping A New World Economic Order
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/World_has_100_days_to_fix_crisis_EU_leaders/rssarticleshow/3687181.cms
European Union leaders backed a 100-day deadline by which the world's leading economies should decide urgent global finance reforms, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday.
Sarkozy, who chaired a special meeting of EU nations, said the financial crisis and economic downturn required a quick deal on an overhaul at a Nov 15 summit in Washington bringing together leaders of the world's 20 largest industrialized nations and emerging economies.
"We are in an economic crisis. We have to take this into account," Sarkozy said. "We have to react and we have no time to lose." "I'm not going to take part in a summit where there is just talk for talk's sake," Sarkozy told reporters after talks between the heads of the EU's 27 nations.
The EU is calling for a second global summit next spring to flesh out changes to the way the world economy is governed. They want to see far more supervision of big financial companies and are urging governments to jointly monitor them.
They want to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street excesses that caused havoc in markets worldwide, and are bringing emerging economies China, India and Brazil on board for talks on shaping a new world economic order.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Washington talks should be a "decisive moment for the world economy." A text agreed by EU leaders says they want an early warning system that would watch for financial bubbles and prevent ``world imbalances'', such as the swelling US trade deficit.
They also suggest making the International Monetary Fund the world's financial watchdog, suggesting it be given more power to curb financial crises and give more money to aid countries in trouble.
The Europeans also want to close loopholes that allow some financial institutions to evade regulation, and ensure supervision for all major financial players, including ratings agencies or funds carrying high amounts of debt.
The leaders in a declaration called for greater transparency in markets that would no longer omit "vast swathes of financial activity from auditable, certifiable accounts." It also said "excessive risk-taking must be overhauled," a reference to the sale of high-risk debt securities and executive pay that may reward risk-taking.
EU leaders will call on the Nov 15 summit to agree immediately on five principles: submit ratings agencies to more surveillance; align accounting standards; close loopholes; set banking codes of conduct to reduce excessive risk-taking; and ask the International Monetary Fund to suggest ways of calming the turmoil.
To date, European governments alone have committed some 2 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion) in cash injections, bank deposit guarantees, interbank loan coverage and partial or full nationalization to prop up consumer and business confidence.
The damage done worldwide is fueling a search for a "new Bretton Woods", a reference to the post-World War II conference that shaped the international financial system.
In Washington, there is little desire in the waning days of the Bush administration for a major overhaul of financial regulations. But the United States and European nations are no longer the only players. China and Brazil and India are jumping at the chance to join a major international effort.
G-20 finance officials nations will meet this weekend in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to prepare next week's summit. This may pave the way for emerging economies to play a larger role in global finance talks. France is suggesting bring them on board as members of the exclusive world club of G-8 industrialized nations which regularly meets to discuss the global economy.
Guest Column: Long live the House of David!
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225910050810&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Archeologist Avraham Biran died last September at the age of 98. His long and distinguished career earned him an Israel Prize, but his greatest claim to fame was the discovery of the Tel Dan Inscription in July 1993. This stele proved the existence of King David's dynasty, "Beit David."
A part of the inscription, written in the early Hebrew script of the ninth century BCE, was found built into the wall of a piazza outside the city gate of Dan. It had probably been smashed by a later king of Israel who didn't like the contents. Remarkably, a second piece was found nearby several months later, used as a piece of paving. Thanks to the second fragment, the inscription could be reconstructed by Biran and his epigraphist colleague Joseph Naveh.
The stele records the victory of the Syrian emperor Hazael of Aram over "70 kings" including "Joram, son of Ahab, king of [northern] Israel and Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, of the House of David," king of Judah. This was the first evidence outside the Bible of the existence of David and his dynasty.
THE REALITY of the House of David is a mainstay of Jewish faith, which holds that God appointed the young shepherd to establish a line of kings that will eventually produce the Messiah. King David's power was handed down from father to son more than 20 times, except for two cases toward the dynasty's end, when rulers were imposed by foreign powers.
In 609 BCE Jehoiakim was appointed by Egypt to replace his brother Jehoahaz, and Zedekiah was made to succeed his nephew Jehoiachin by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, 11 years before Jerusalem was destroyed. But even then, the replacements were members of the House of David.
There was one other hiccup, when the Queen Mother Athaliah seized power after the death of her son Ahaziah (the one mentioned in the inscription) in 842 BCE and held the throne for seven years.
But aside from these exceptions, the dynasty continued from father to son for 425 years - longer than any of the ancient Egyptian dynasties.
WHAT WAS the secret of its success? True believers point to God's promise that David's seed would rule forever (II Samuel 7:16). But that promise was conditional on David and his descendants abiding by the word of God (1 Kings 2:4). It soon became clear that they did not.
Solomon and his son Rehoboam built altars to idols, Ahaz copied the altar of the Assyrians in the Temple, and Manasseh spilled innocent blood throughout Jerusalem. Of David's 20 successors, 11 are recorded as worshipping idols of one sort or another. So why didn't the dynasty fall?
When David became king, he took over from Saul, who had ruled all the tribes from the time they'd assembled to save the men of Jabesh-Gilead from Nahash of Ammon. But on Saul's death this coalition fell apart, and from his base in Hebron, David was only able to rule over the tribes of Judah and Simeon in the South. It was only when Saul's son, the weak Ish-boshet, antagonized his army commander Abner ben Ner that the latter handed the North over to David, enabling David to rule all the tribes from a new capital in Jerusalem.
Under his son Solomon, the tribes remained together, but Solomon's despotic rule was not popular and, on his death, the North split off again and appointed Jeroboam I as their ruler, leaving the southern tribes of Judah and Simeon, and perhaps Benjamin, forever. This is described in the Book of Kings as a great disaster, but it was in fact the saving of the House of David.
Solomon's son Rehoboam was now left in charge of one tribe, Judah, with perhaps Simeon and Benjamin. Judah was a powerful tribe, especially now that it had gained control of its own destiny, unencumbered by the affairs of the nine or 10 northern tribes. In the south Judah ruled supreme, and it was this strong tribal unity that enabled the leadership of Beit David to proceed in orderly fashion for 20 generations.
We might have said this story was wishful thinking on the part of the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, but today we have proven the existence of many of the later kings from Assyrian and Babylonian annals and, thanks to Biran, we recognize the reality of the unique dynasty of the House of David.
Obama’s Road to Damascus - First Steps of the Coming Middle East Policy Change
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=376A8A3B-62DD-407F-8D48-F38B2A63B96E
History will record that Barack Obama’s first act of diplomacy as America’s president-elect took place two days after his election victory, when he dispatched his senior foreign-policy adviser, Robert Malley, to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—to outline for them the forthcoming administration’s Mideast policy vis-Ã -vis those nations. An aide to Malley reports, “The tenor of the messages was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests” than has President Bush. The Bush administration, it should be noted, has rightly recognized Syria to be not only a chief supporter of the al Qaeda insurgency in Iraq, but also the headquarters of the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the longtime sponsor of Hamas—the terrorist army whose founding charter is irrevocably committed to the annihilation of Israel. Yet unlike President Bush, Obama and Malley have called for Israel to engage in peace negotiations with Syria.
A Harvard-trained lawyer and Rhodes Scholar, Robert Malley is no newcomer to the Obama team. In 2007, Obama selected him as a foreign policy adviser to his campaign. At the time, Malley was (and still is today) the Middle East and North Africa Program Director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), which receives funding from the Open Society Institute of George Soros (who, incidentally, serves on the ICG Executive Committee).
In his capacity with ICG, Malley directs a number of analysts who focus their attention most heavily on the Arab-Israeli conflict, the political and military developments in Iraq, and Islamist movements across the Middle East. Prior to joining ICG, Malley served as President Bill Clinton’s Special Assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs (1998-2001), and as National Security Adviser Sandy Berger’s Executive Assistant (1996-1998).
In a July 2001 op-ed which Malley penned for the New York Times, he alleged that Israeli—not Palestinian—inflexibility had caused the previous year’s Camp David peace talks (brokered by Bill Clinton) to fall apart. This was one of several controversial articles Malley has written—some he co-authored with Hussein Agha, a former adviser to Arafat—blaming Israel and exonerating Arafat (the most prolific Jew-killer since Adolph Hitler) for the failure of the peace process.
Malley’s identification of Israel as the cause of the Camp David impasse has been widely embraced by Palestinian and Arab activists around the world, by Holocaust deniers like Norman Finkelstein, and by anti-Israel publications such as Counterpunch. It should be noted that Malley’s account of the Camp David negotiations is entirely inconsistent with the recollections of the key figures who participated in those talks—specifically, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton, and then-U.S. Ambassador Dennis Ross (Clinton’s Middle East envoy).
Malley also has written numerous op-eds urging the U.S. to disengage from Israel to some degree, and recommending that America reach out to negotiate with its traditional Arab enemies such as Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah (a creature of Iran dedicated to the extermination of the Jews and death to America), and Muqtada al-Sadr (the Shiite terrorist leader in Iraq).
In addition, Malley has advised nations around the world to establish relationships with, and to send financial aid to, the Hamas-led Palestinian government in Gaza. In Malley’s calculus, the electoral victory that swept Hamas into power in January 2006 was a manifestation of legitimate Palestinian “anger at years of humiliation and loss of self-respect because of Israeli settlement expansion, Arafat’s imprisonment, Israel’s incursions, [and] Western lecturing …”
Moreover, Malley contends that it is both unreasonable and unrealistic for Israel or Western nations to demand that Syria sever its ties with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or Iran. Rather, he suggests that if Israel were to return the Golan Heights (which it captured in the 1967 Six Day War, and again in the 1973 Yom Kippur War—two conflicts sparked by Arab aggression which sought so permanently wipe the Jewish state off the face of the earth) to Syrian control, Damascus would be inclined to pursue peace with Israel.
Malley has criticized the U.S. for allegedly remaining “on the sidelines” and being a “no-show” in the overall effort to bring peace to the nations of the Middle East. Exhorting the Bush administration to change its policy of refusing to engage diplomatically with terrorists and their sponsoring states, Malley wrote in July 2006: “Today the U.S. does not talk to Iran, Syria, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government or Hezbollah…. The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue.”
This inclination to negotiate with any and all enemies of the U.S. and Israel—an impulse which Malley has outlined clearly and consistently—has had a powerful influence on Barack Obama.
It is notable that six months ago the Obama campaign and Malley hastily severed ties with one another after the Times of London reported that Malley had been meeting privately with Hamas leaders on a regular basis—something Obama had publicly pledged never to do. At the time, Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt minimized the significance of this monumentally embarrassing revelation, saying: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.”
But indeed, within hours after Obama’s election victory, Malley was back as a key player in the president-elect’s team of advisors—on his way to Syria. Mr. Obama, meanwhile, received a most friendly communication from Hamas, congratulating him on his “historic victory.”
IAEA finds man-made uranium traces at Syrian site bombed by Israel
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5708
A senior Vienna-based diplomat reported Monday, Nov. 10, that the latest findings are significant enough for the nuclear watchdog to place Syria right after North Korea and Iran on its agenda for further investigation. Last June, UN inspectors collected the soil samples which yielded the uranium traces from al Kibar in northern Syria, where a nuclear reactor under construction was razed by Israel in Sept. 2007.
DEBKAfile’s sources report that even if the uranium traces found at bombed site were slight, they are damning because they were clearly man-made – not natural ore - and must have been brought in by an outside source, possibly North Korean visitors. These outsiders would have had only one reason to be there: to assist in the construction of a nuclear facility for Syria and inspect the work in progress.
The IAEA’s conclusion refutes claims by Damascus, including president Bashar Assad, that the installation at Al Kibar was an agricultural research station. Syria has denied allegations that it was building a reactor with North Korean expertise to produce plutonium for an atom bomb.
Soon after the Israeli bombing, DEBKAfile disclosed that the reactor was destined to manufacture nuclear fuel to help Iran accelerate its enrichment program and plutonium for radioactive bombs.
On Oct. 4, we revealed that, a year after the Syrian reactor was destroyed, Syria had gone back to its military nuclear projects in conjunction with North Korea and Iran. This time they were scattered across the country at three or four sites.
Syria has ignored recent requests from the IAEA to inspect three military sites suspected of housing nuclear facilities. Although Damascus is alleged to be manufacturing weapons of mass destruction for use against Israel, transitional prime minister Ehud Olmert persists in pushing for peace talks with the Syrian regime and far-reaching territorial concessions by Israel.
Sinai Bedouin revolt continues, 25 Egyptian police killed in clashes
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5712
Clashes between insurgent Bedouin and Egyptian border police in central Sinai Friday, Nov. 14, left 25 Egyptians dead. No figures were immediately available on Bedouin casualties. The armed insurrection erupted Saturday, Nov. 7, when Egyptian troops posted at the Nitzana border post opened fire on a suspected drug smugglers’ truck, killing the Bedouin driver.
Hundreds of armed tribesmen in pick-up trucks bent on revenge - mostly Tarabin, Azazme and Tihama members - swarmed to the scene and began shooting up the Egyptian border guards. Around 1,000 besieged Egyptian positions along the Sinai-Israeli border south of Rafah. They took dozens of Egyptians hostage, including a general. The Bedouin siege force gained supporters from across the Sinai desert as the outbreak assumed the form of an organized uprising when their chief commander handed the Egyptian officers a list of eight demands:
1. All Bedouin incarcerated in Egypt or Sinai must be unconditionally released,
2. Court sentences passed by Egyptian courts against Bedouin, some in absentia, must be annuled.
3. Egyptian security operations in the Sinai Peninsula must honor Bedouin customs,
4. Egyptian officers and troops guilty of crimes against the Bedouin population should be prosecuted.
5. Egyptian officers proved to have violated the Sinai population’s social fabric must be fired.
6. Cairo must formally recognize Bedouin property rights over their places of habitation and grazing lands.
7. Egypt must funnel funds to ease poverty and unemployment in the Peninsula.
8. A comprehensive three-year development plan for all of Sinai.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources note that many Bedouin were hunted down and detained by Egyptian police after the string of al Qaeda terrorist attacks against tourists and Egyptians in Sinai between 2004 and 2006 and accused of complicity. Tourists were warned off the scenic peninsula in recent years, taking with them jobs and aggravating Bedouin poverty. Land ownership is a sore point for the semi-nomatic desert tribesmen. Some of their lands on the enchanting Sinai coasts have been impounded for hotel operators. The Bedouin are increasingly hostile to the Egyptian authorities and simmer on the brink of insurrection.
This turbulence also poses hazards for Israel. With Egyptian border police out of action on the Sinai-Israeli border, DEBKAfile’s military sources warn that the way is wide open for large-scale Palestinian terrorist elements to slip across into Israel for terrorist attacks.
Resumed Gaza terror outcome of Israel’s passivity and over-reliance on Cairo
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5713
DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that the foundering of the Gaza truce amid renewed Hamas missile attacks and terrorist plots are the direct outcome of the Israeli government’s passive military stance and over-reliance on Egypt to pull its Palestinian chestnuts out of the fire. That is the predominant view of senior Israeli military officials, including commanders of the Southern Command.
Thursday night, Nov. 13, the Palestinians fired five missiles, including two Grads, against Ashkelon, Sderot, Netivot and Or Haner. Suspense is building up around the Gaza Strip amid fears of a major Palestinian attack on Israeli forces and civilian locations over the weekend.
The last six months, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Tzipi Livni counted on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to heal the quarrel between the rival Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions, pacify the Gaza Strip and extricate the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit from Hamas captivity.
Although Mubarak’s bid flopped and the Palestinians had been clearly preparing to revive their large-scale terror plots and missile blitz for some weeks, the government failed to revise its tactics, pre-empt the rising threat, or explain to the Israeli public what went wrong.
It was not until Nov. 11, when intelligence was received of a secret tunnel designed to facilitate a large-scale Hamas kidnap operation that a decision was taken to blow up the tunnel. The soldiers were ordered not to touch the Hamas special force assigned with the abductions or their operational headquarters at el Bureij.
Nonetheless, Hamas leaders decided to risk reviving their missile blitz and efforts to kidnap Israeli soldiers or civilians.
Senior officers in the Southern Command believe that a serious Hamas cross-border terrorist attack is on the way. Since Cairo’s mediation failure, no one there, in Damascus or even Riyadh exercises any control over the Hamas leadership in Gaza.
According to intelligence from Gaza, Hamas leaders have turned their backs on Egypt’s pacification efforts and moved on with their objective, which is to fight their Fatah rival, Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to the finish, by dint of factional warfare and major clashes with Israel.
Israel’s government heads persist in ignoring this information. Indeed Olmert and Barak are at loggerheads on how to handle the escalating Gaza peril. This was apparent during their joint visit to the IDF’s Gaza division headquarters Wednesday, Nov. 12. The prime minister said that a large-scale military confrontation with Hamas is waiting at the end of the road, whereas Barak said that while action must be taken against terror threats, it is important to preserve the truce.
It was clear to the soldiers listening to them that the truce belonged to the past.
Suspense ahead of Hamas aggression was so high Thursday, Nov. 13, that Israel revoked the permission given a few hours earlier for a 30-truck convoy to pass through into the Gaza Strip with food and goods for the population. And a handing-over ceremony for the Gaza Division commanders was called off.
West Bank security plunges out of Israel military control
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5711
On one day, Tuesday, Nov. 11, there were 30 Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers and border police officers on the West Bank, leaving four injured, including two policemen and an army platoon commander, DEBKAfile’s military sources report. The security situation plummeted from last month when, after men of the Lavi Brigade shot dead three Palestinian assailants who were hurling fire bombs, Israel units were prohibited from posting snipers to defend them against Palestinian firebomb ambuscades.
The prohibition came down from the office of prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Barak. It was quickly picked up by the Palestinians who, realizing that the IDF’s hands were tied, became more audacious. By Tuesday, it had reached the point, said senior military sources, that the OC Central Command, Brig. Gadi Shamni, no longer controls security in Judea and Samaria. Marauding Palestinians have seized the hilltops commanding the territory’s main highways and intersections and bombard every passing Israeli car, including military and police vehicles, with firebombs, burning tires and big rocks. Shortage of manpower prevents the army from taking those hilltops over; its function has been reduced to patrols.
Tuesday, Palestinian terror peaked. They hurled firebombs and rocks at two border police bases in Abu Dis in southern Jerusalem and Atarot at the northern end of the capital and hit four IDF patrols. At Tekoa, southeast of Bethlehem, flying rocks pinned down a military force for hours until it was relieved by reinforcements. Rocks and bottle bombs hit at least 14 passing cars, seriously damaging some of them. Rioting Palestinians in Hebron and its vicinity hurled six firebombs, blocked main junctions with burning tires and set fire to a Jewish-owned wheat-field.
Security sources told DEBKAfile that if this goes on and the government sticks to its policy of non-response, there is nothing to stop the Palestinian gangs from moving on to firearms.
The US-trained Palestinian security forces, whose presence Israel accepted, keep to the main towns of Nablus, Jenin, Hebron, Ramallah and Qalqilya and do not venture outside. Palestinian terrorists have therefore won the freedom to terrorize most parts of the West Bank safe from Palestinian or Israel interference.
Christian Ballet Ministry Takes Gospel to Israel
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20081111/christian-ballet-ministry-takes-gospel-to-israel.htm
America’s premier Christian ballet company kicked off their Israel tour Sunday, taking a story of hope, forgiveness and reconciliation to the world’s only Jewish state.
Ballet Magnificat!’s 13-day tour will hit Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tiberius before ending Nov. 22 in Tel-Aviv. At each stop, the Christian ballet ministry will be performing The Hiding Place, a powerful ballet based on the story of renowned holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, who has used the events that took place in the lives of herself and her family during the Nazi invasion to teach the world the power of forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
“I am thrilled to sit among the Israelis and breathe in their experience of Hiding Place,” commented the ballet’s choreographer, Jiri Sebastian Voborsky, in a public statement.
Though Israel forbids Christians from evangelizing in the country, the Jewish state has honored ten Boom as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for helping many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II.
Ten Boom and her family, all strong Christians, had become very active in the Dutch underground in 1942, hiding refugees and rescuing many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi Party’s “Shield Squadron.”
After about two years of taking in refugees, the ten Booms were arrested in 1944 and sent to Scheveningen prison, where Corrie’s father died after ten days. Corrie’s sister also died later after the family was moved to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Corrie was eventually released on Christmas Day of December 1944 due to a clerical error. The women prisoners her age in the camp were killed the week following her release.
"God does not have problems. Only plans," she said following her release.
After the war, ten Boom returned to the Netherlands to set up rehabilitation centers. She returned to Germany in 1946, and traveled the world as a public speaker, appearing in over 60 countries, during which time she wrote many books – her most famous being The Hiding Place, which was made into a film in 1975 as well as the ballet performance performed by Ballet Magnificat!
Ballet Magnificat! – founded by Keith Thibodeaux and his wife, 1982 USA IBC silver medalist Kathy Thibodeaux – has taken the story of ten Boom from coast to coast in the United States, in addition to Honduras, Belize, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Since its founding in 1986, Ballet Magnificat! has been dedicated to presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world through the medium of dance. Other performances include Ruth, Deliver Us, and The Scarlet Cord, inspired by the story of Rahab.
The company tours the United States visiting Christian churches to showcase their work and features dancers who have won medals at the USA International Ballet Competition.
Their work is “truly one of the most outstanding tributes to our Lord Jesus Christ that I've ever seen," exclaims Dr. Ed Young, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, in a public endorsement.
"I've loved having the opportunity to work with Ballet Magnificat!,” adds singer and songwriter Twila Paris. “They are extremely talented and gracious people who understand why they do what they do and truly offer their gifts to the Lord and to the body of Christ in ministry."
Ballet Magnificat!’s tour in Israel follows a trip to Columbia, South America, where Ballet Magnificat! represented the United States in the IV International Festival of Dance. It also comes as Israel marks its 60th anniversary year.
Likud Widens Gap over Kadima 33-28, Other Parties Drop
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128343
The Likud party would win 33 mandates, five more than Kadima, if elections were held today, according to a poll published by the Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) newspaper. The results of the survey shows that Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu would become Prime Minister with a slender majority of 61 Knesset Members.
The new line-up in the Knesset, according to the newspaper poll, shows that every other party, except Meretz, would suffer losses. The Greens would win three mandates, giving the faction its first representation in the Knesset.
The results of the survey, with the present number of Knesset seats in brackets, are:
Likud: 33 [12]
Kadima: 28 [29]
Labor: 11 [19]
Shas 10 [12]
Arab parties: 10 [9]
Israel Is Our Home (Yisrael Beiteinu): 7 [11]
Meretz: 7 [7]
(United Torah Judaism-UTJ): 5 [5]
National Union-NRP: 6 [9]
Greens: 3 [0]
The new party headed by Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad would not win the minimum number of votes to sit in the Knesset, and the Pensioners Party, which now has seven mandates, would become be wiped out completely.
Meretz's stability apparently comes at the expense of Labor. The losses for smaller parties, especially for the nationalist Israel Is Our Home and National Union parties, reflects a desire by voters to directly support Likud chairman Netanyahu rather than rely on coalition agreements.
He would be able to form a majority of 61 MKs with the religious and nationalist parties. A Kadima coalition, headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, would have only 49 mandates, not including the projected 10 Arab seats.
Hamas to maintain missile blitz up to Ashdod – until Israel’s February poll
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5716
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Israeli government leaders have misread the motives behind Hamas’two-week missile-rocket-mortar assault on Israel as jockeying for better terms when the six-month truce comes up for renewal next month. Their decision to mute Israel’s military response to the ongoing violence stems from their misplaced expectation that the attacks will stop once the truce is in the bag.
Israeli intelligence circles challenge this perception. They estimate that Hamas will continue escalating the violence at least up until Israel’s general election on Feb. 10, 2009, forcing more than a quarter of a million suffering citizens to live on a never-ending knife edge.
The Hamas rationale falls into three parts:
1. The 25-kilometer range Grad multiple-launch rockets, which the radical terrorists have vowed to continue firing against the Mediterranean port-town of Ashkelon, will also be directed further north to Ashdod, Israel’s most important port after Haifa. This will keep Hamas at center stage of Israel’s election campaign and demonstrate who really influences the Israeli voter. This maneuver, learned from the Palestinian master terrorist, who used to step up the violence before Israeli elections, will put rival Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, whose “peace talks” with Israel came to naught, in the shade.
2. Hamas is not scared by the prospect of the Olmert government being driven to a major military operation in Gaza. Its leaders calculate that it will be so costly in casualties for the Palestinian population and Israeli troops alike that an international outcry will force the IDF to cut the campaign short without achieving its goals.
3. Forcing the Israeli army to withdraw without a victory will enhance Hamas’ standing in Gaza and the West Bank – just like Hizballah after the 2006 Lebanon war.
In Hamas’ view, the compromise proposals put forward by Egyptian intelligence minister Omar Suleiman in his bid to broker a Palestinian power-sharing deal was biased in favor of Abbas and his Fatah. This left the Hamas free to walk away and instead build up its violent assaults on Israeli towns and villages.
Despite the ongoing missile attacks, Israel decided Sunday, Nov. 17, to allow 30 trucks of humanitarian aid through to Gaza. However, fuel consignments have been stopped until further notice.
Non-religious Nir Barkat is mayor of Jerusalem. Local elections marked by anti-partisanship
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5709
The high-tech entrepreneur carried 50% of the vote beating the ultra-religious Meir Porush by 9 points according to complete, unofficial results. Tel Aviv’s Ron Huldai won a third term in office with 50.69%; his next rival Dov Kheinin carried 34% of the vote. Haifa also reelected its sitting mayor Yonah Yahav for a second term, defeating ex-police officer Yaacov Borovsky. In Beersheba, Yaakov Turner was defeated by his deputy, Rubik Danilevich (30:60.4), in Rishon Lezion, Meir Nitzan was ousted after 25 years as mayor (47.7%) by Dov Tzur (52.3%).
The national turnout in the Nov. 11 elections for 159 mayors and local council heads was 40%, 23 points less than the last vote. DEBKAfile reports: In many places, young, independent faces were elected to local councils and the main national parties pushed aside in favor of local interests, such as environment, affordable housing, public transport and education.
A quiet grass-roots revolt has begun against the ruling establishments, powered for the first time at low cost by the Internet instead of the old-time apparatchiks. Young students made their mark without money-guzzling PR, pricey advertising and the mainstream media, which ignored them.
Candidates often dumped their party affiliations to form blocs with rival groupings back by local interest groups in order to survive – further weakening the national party machinery in an anti-partisan trend.
The kernel of a new political generation was thrown up in a process expected to gather momentum in the general election of February 10, 2009.
Abbas Praises Suicide Bombers; Foreign Media Downplay Remarks
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128343
Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Ramallah in memory of his predecessor Yasser Arafat, praised "the path of the shahids [martyrs]--"the path we cherish." He added, "It is aimed at upholding the Palestinians' nationalist and sovereign resolutions."
Israeli and Western governments almost always describe Abbas a as a "moderate," particularly when comparing him with leaders of Hamas, which the same governments have defined as a terrorist organization.
Abbas told thousands at the rally, "The Palestinian leadership will continue to follow Yasser Arafat's path until a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established." Arafat carried out or ordered thousands of major and minor terrorist attacks before he died four years ago.
Israeli Arab Knesset Member (United Arab List—Ta'al) Ahmed Tibi also addressed the rally at Ramallah, saying that "we miss Arafat's keffiyeh - a symbol for all revolutionaries, freedom-seekers worldwide." He expressed the hope that Arafat will "rise from the grave and lead" Arabs.
Foreign media generally omitted Abbas's remarks on martyrs, which usually refers to suicide bombers, and highlighted his comments on the need for PA unity.
Both Maan and foreign media reported that Hamas banned Gaza rallies in memory of Arafat, who established and headed the Fatah party until his death. Maan stressed Abbas's call for unity and added that Fatah believes in democracy "even if we do not like the outcome."
The Greek AKI news service headlined Hamas's declaration of a state of alert in Gaza, where marches were banned, "effectively preventing Fatah supporters from commemorating his death." It briefly mentioned later in its report that "Abbas said Arafat and other important Palestinian 'martyrs' should be remembered regardless of their faction."
The Chinese news agency Xinhua also highlighted Hamas's ban on marches and the use of violence against offenders. It quoted a 16-year-old student, "They stopped every student who has the Keffiyeh on his shoulder and beat him, describing us and Abu Amar (Arafat) as infidel seculars."
The French news agency AFP also headlined Abbas's "bitter attack" on Hamas, accusing it of sabotaging efforts to reach a unity agreement with Fatah. No mention was made of Abbas's praise of martyrs.
Palestinian Christians Suffering ‘Severe Blows’ From Muslims, Muslim Says
http://cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=39354
Palestinian Christians are suffering “severe blows” at the hands of Muslims, a Palestinian wrote in an exceptionally candid column about the situation of Christians in Arab countries.
“Let us be honest with ourselves and courageously say out loud that Palestinian Christians are taking many severe blows, yet are suffering in silence so as not to attract attention,” wrote Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar in the P.A. daily Al-Ayyam. (A translation was provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute this week.)
Muslims and most Christians in Palestinian areas tell journalists that they are all Palestinians. Publicly, they usually deny that there are any problems or differences between them. They say that they get along fine and the main problem is the Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank.
Privately, however, some Christians admit to job losses, land seizures, attacks on churches, intimidation, torture, beatings, kidnappings, forced marriage and sexual harassment of Christian women. Some Christians have been killed.
But examples of inter-religious tension rarely make it into the Palestinian or Arab media.
In his column on October 25, Al-Najjar, who is himself a Muslim and a regular contributor to the official P.A. newspaper, criticized the Muslim persecution of Christians in Arab countries, particularly in Palestinian Authority-administered areas.
Al-Najjar said Christians are suffering, not because of the Israeli “occupation” but because of the confiscation of Christian property, especially in theWest Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Birah.
What makes the situation worse is that those who are plundering the property of Christians are either powerful themselves, or they are backed by powerful people, including “high-ranking military officials or influential members of large clans,” he wrote.
Attempts by political leaders or the judiciary system to rectify the situation have failed, Al-Najjar said.
“Over the past few years, several of my Christian friends have told me of the harm they have suffered, including various threats, even death threats, for trying to gain access to their lands after they were taken over by influential Bethlehem residents.
“Furthermore, there has been an attempt to marginalize Christian culture in Palestine, even though it is rich and deeply rooted [there]. This began with [accusations] of unbelief [against Christians] -- a move that ultimately harmed Palestinian society as a whole,” Al-Najjar wrote.
Despite the injustices against Christians, no one in the government, non-government organizations or political factions has taken constructive action to stop it or to defend the Christians, he said.
Such action should have been forthcoming, “not out of kindness and compassion” but because Palestinian Christians are indigenous to the land and “no different from us, with the same rights and obligations” as Muslims.
“We continue to instill a horrific culture in our children, one that sees Christians as infidels,” Al-Najjar wrote. He called for a “national awakening” to restore the rights of the Christians and preserve the “demographic balance.”
Tens of thousands of Arab Christians have fled the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, the Christian exodus has been most acute. In 1990, 60 percent of the population there was Christian. Today, some estimates say 20 percent or less of the city’s population is Christian. Only 1.5 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is Christian.
“Let us remember that the tribes of Arabia were Christian. The best writers and poets were Christian, as were many warriors and philosophers... It is they who bore the banner of pan-Arabism. The first Palestinian university was established by Christians.
Al-Najjar called for tyrannical rulers to be presented with “progressive attitudes” and “truth” – “so that clerics and old men will not be the only Christians left in the Holy Land and in the city of Jesus' birth.”
Al-Najjar also mentioned recent attacks on Christians in Iraq, many of whom have been forced to flee after a series of killings over the last several months. Hundreds of thousands of Christians are estimated to have fled the country since the U.S.-led military invasion in 2003.
Just this week, two Christian sisters were murdered by gunmen identified as Islamic extremists in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
“Christians are being persecuted not only in Iraq, but in most Arab countries, regardless of their numbers there. They are subjected to every possible kind of discrimination, as well as expulsion,” Al-Najjar wrote.
Not only do Arab officials remain silent but so do Arab intellectuals, elites, non-government organizations and private sector leaders, he wrote. He also mentioned Egypt, Lebanon and Algeria as countries with the same “rampant” anti-Christian problem.
Al-Najjar’s assessment of the situation is backed up by the State Department’s 2008 International Religious Freedom Report.
In Algeria, government respect for religious freedom has declined, the U.S. says. “There were many claims of government restrictions on worship, including the arrest and sentencing of converts to Christianity, ordered closure of churches, the dismissal of a Christian school director for allegedly using a school for evangelizing, and confiscation of Bibles,” the report said.
In Egypt, respect for religious freedom also has declined, amid violent incidents and attacks on Christian institutions, the report said.
In Lebanon, the report noted that over the past 60 years, “there has been a steady decline in the number of Christians as compared to Muslims, mostly due to the emigration of large numbers of Maronite Christians and a higher than average birth rate among the Muslim population.”
Four armed Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike after missile fire from Gaza
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5714
The Israeli air strike killed armed Palestinians on their way to blow up the Karni crossing through which supplies reach Gaza, Sunday, Nov. 16. The missiles landed outside a kibbutz.
DEBKAfile reports: The missile fire contradicted the calming statements from Israeli leaders claiming Hamas is seeking to maintain the agreed truce. Hamas spokesmen is in fact demanding the unconditional reopening of all the Gaza crossings by Israel and Egypt without commitments on their part.
The Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist group announced Saturday, Nov. 15, that the 120,000 inhabitants of the Mediterranean port town of Ashkelon 15 kilometers from Gaza, were now held hostage. All Israeli military strikes in Gaza would be countered by long-range (25-kilometer) Iran-supplied Grad artillery rocket attacks on the city. “The rules of the game have changed,” said Hamas.
The terrorists were encouraged to escalate their offensive by the decision Prime minister Ehud Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi reached Friday night to refrain from fighting back after Ashkelon was hit by 6 Palestinian Grads and Sderot battered by 11 Qassam missiles on Day 10 of the Hamas blitz.
One Sderot 82-year old woman suffered shrapnel wounds, 22 were hospitalized with shock. Since then, the population within range of the Gaza Strip was told to stay in protected sites - when they have them - uncertain about whether they can return to normal work and school activities Sunday.
Ashkelon town hall opened the public bomb shelters, while the city of Ashdod to the north ordered the shelters prepared. Several ministers as well as opposition leaders are demanding an effective military campaign against the terrorist groups ruling Gaza before it is too late. They say the Gaza truce, due for renewal next month, has become a farce.
Russia to Sell Heavy Arms to Lebanon
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128332
Following a meeting last week between leading Lebanese legislator Sa'ad Hariri and Russian leaders, Hariri was quoted by Russian media this weekend as saying Russia will sell heavy weaponry to Lebanon. Previously, Hariri said that he hoped Russia would help Lebanon claim Mt. Dov from Israel. Russia is expecting Lebanon to recognize the independence of the breakaway Georgian districts of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Hariri, the son of the assassinated popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, represents the Western-backed majority in the Lebanese parliament. Russia will "help the Lebanese army," the Vremia Novosti newspaper quoted Hariri as saying, "which needs heavy weapons" such as tanks and artillery. American military aid, Hariri told Russian media, only consists of light arms.
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr is to visit Moscow in coming weeks, when the details of the arms deal will be finalized. The Russian state arms export firm, Rosoboronexport, has been boycotted by the United States government for arms deals with Iran, North Korea and Syria.
In early October, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and urged him not to approve the sale of weapons to Iran and Syria. It was imperative, he told the Russian leader, to "prevent weapons from Syria from reaching extremist elements in Lebanon, such as Hizbullah."
Mt. Dov and Abkhazia-S. Ossetia - Quid Pro Quo?
Last week, during an official visit to Moscow by Hariri and other legislators, Lebanese media strongly emphasized Hariri's expression of his appreciation for Russia's role in working towards an Israeli withdrawal from the Mt. Dov area (called "Shab'a Farms" in Lebanon) along the Israeli border with Lebanon. A report published by the Beirut-based English-language Daily Star was entitled, "Hariri Looks to Russia to Help Liberate Shab'a Farms", although the article itself did not present any direct quote on the matter from Lebanese or Russian officials.
After his meeting with Hariri, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was against foreign interference in Lebanese domestic affairs. It was not clear if he was referring to actions by Syria, Israel or other foreign interventions.
The Iran-controlled Lebanese terrorist organization Hizbullah, in the meantime, said recently that an Israeli withdrawal from Mt. Dov would only be a start. The group claims seven Arab villages in northern Israel are actually Lebanese. In any event, both Iran and Hizbullah have repeatedly made it clear that they do not believe Israel should exist at all, regardless of border demarcations. A Hizbullah spokesman said last week that the group would not give up it arms until Lebanon had another force capable of confronting Israel.
Touching on Lebanese policy towards matters in the Slavic states, Hariri was quoted as saying that Lebanon may well recognize the independence of the breakaway Georgian districts of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The Russian Vremya Novostei newspaper quoted Hariri as saying, "We will fine tune contacts with South Ossetia and Abkhazia now. For example, delegations of Lebanese businessmen will be leaving for there soon." Russia has backed the secession of the regions from Georgia, including launching a war in their defense in August of this year.
Target Israel? Iran Tests New Long-Range Missile
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,450144,00.html
Iran test fired a new, more accurate surface-to-surface missile, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, in a fresh effort to enhance Tehran’s military might.
The test comes as speculation brews over a possible U.S. or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, which are believed to be a front for a weapons development program.
"It [the missile] will only fall on the Islamic republic's enemies who want to attack and invade the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar told the AFP.
"This missile is a two-stage weapon with two combined solid-fuel engines and has an extraordinary high capability," state television quoted Najjar as saying.
A senior defense official at the Pentagon told FOX News that the missile suffered an inflight problem — a possible engine failure — during the test, and the missile only traveled about 180 miles out.
While Iran claims that its ballistic missiles — which can strike targets more than 1,200 miles away — are for defensive purposes, Tehran has warned that it would strike American bases in the Middle East in the event of an attack from the U.S. or Israel.
But Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that Tel Aviv is “convinced that Iran continues to try to build a nuclear weapon,” according to the Fars News Agency.
Iran is known to possess a medium-range ballistic missile known as the Shahab-3, which means "shooting star" in Farsi, with a range of at least 800 miles. In 2005, Iranian officials said they had improved the range of the Shahab-3 to 1,200 miles.
"We know that Iran is developing an extended version of the Shahaab-3 that could strike our allies and our friends from the middle east as well as southeastern Europe and to include some of our deployed forces," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told FOX News. "We've consistently pointed out that Iran's missile program is a concern and this testing is another reminder of the importance of establishing a missile defense site in Poland and Czech Republic to defend the U.S. and Europe against a threat that is developing in Iran."
Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane.
Giving Babylon a second chance
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27669499/
It was one of the world's first, greatest cities — a place where astronomers mapped the stars millennia ago and kings created an early code of law and planted what became known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Yet little remains of the ancient capital, as seen by The Associated Press during a trip to Babylon last month on one of the few permits issued by Iraq's government since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The site has the aura of a theme park touched by the ambition of dictator Saddam Hussein and the opportunism of looters: Modern walkways run beside crumbling old walls, a reconstructed Greek theater and a palace built for Saddam atop an artificial hill.
Now, for the first time, global institutions led by the U.N. are thoroughly documenting the damage and how to fix it. A UNESCO report due out early next year will cite Saddam's construction but focus, at the Iraqi government's request, on damage done by U.S. forces from April to September 2003, and the Polish troops deployed there for more than a year afterward.
The U.S., which turned Babylon into a military base, says the looting would have been worse but for the troops' presence. The U.S. also says it will help rehabilitate Babylon, funding an effort by the World Monuments Fund and Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, but has yet to release precise funding figures.
Archaeologists hope the effort will lead someday to new digging to follow up on the excavations done by a German team in the early 1900s.
"The site is tremendously important," said Gaetano Palumbo of the New York City-based World Monuments Fund. Yet in its present state, Babylon is "hardly understandable, as a place where so much happened in history."
Past excavations focused on the monuments such as temples. But domestic quarters remain largely unexplored, Palumbo said, and new methods could reveal new facts or reinterpret findings from excavations done 100 years ago.
For decades, Babylon has been virtually off-limits to the world whose culture it helped create.
First came Saddam's attempt to create a major tourist attraction aimed at glorifying his own image, which led to shoddy reconstruction of ancient sites and construction of restaurants and other facilities in the 1980s. Most international experts stayed away because of the regime's reputation, the eight-year war with Iran and U.N. sanctions.
Next, Babylon suffered in the chaotic days after Saddam's downfall in 2003, at roughly the same time that Baghdad's national museum was looted. Archaeologists say looters took museum items at Babylon, mostly plaster replicas, and burned excavation reports and other studies.
Then came the occupation by U.S. and Polish troops in 2003 and 2004. Heavy vehicles and machinery pounded on ancient brick and on sand rich with pottery and other fragments. Military forces built a helipad, carved out parking areas and trenches, destroyed part of an ancient brick road called the Processional Way and filled bags with sand containing bones and pottery pieces, according to Iraqi officials and a British Museum report done several years ago.
Even as Babylon was damaged, there has been no extensive, large-scale archaeological work here in nearly a century.
There is no trace of the Hanging Gardens, said to have been built for the homesick wife of King Nebuchadnezzar II, or the tower believed to have inspired the Bible's tale of Babel. King Hammurabi's code of law, inscribed on a giant stone slab almost 4,000 years ago, has long sat in Paris' Louvre. The city's symbol — the original Gate of Ishtar named for a Babylonian goddess and built by Nebuchadnezzar — is Berlin's Pergamon museum.
At the site, near the Euphrates River about 60 miles south of Baghdad, the AP journalists saw a gaudy reconstruction of the Ishtar gate built during Saddam's time, plus part of the original gate's foundations. The foundations hold unglazed depictions of a dragon, some appearing damaged.
A spell of relative peace in Iraq is giving Babylon a second chance. However, tremendous challenges remain.
There is still little security or infrastructure at Babylon or at most of Iraq's 12,000 other archaeological sites. Looting across Iraq appears to have eased, at least temporarily, because of stricter international controls and reports of a saturation in the illegal market in Iraqi artifacts, according to archaeologists.
But the country has only 1,500 police who guard the sites to prevent looting. Many areas remain too dangerous for visitors or scholars to travel, and some fear heavier violence could resume, making any work a target.
Although Iraq's government is involved in the project, a top aide to Iraq's prime minister told the AP that the government has more pressing priorities. And it could take years for Babylon to get on UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites, a prestigious designation Iraq can only seek after implementing conservation codes.
John Curtis, keeper of the Middle East collections at the British Museum and a contributor to the upcoming UNESCO report, was one of the first to discover and document the post-invasion damage to Babylon in December 2004. Four years later, he says it's a great step that UNESCO is ready to sign off on a document, but that infrastructure and stability will be key to any new exploration.
"You need to have a large team," Curtis said. "It would be a great mistake to rush into excavations without appropriate resources at hand."
Priest dies after being beaten by Hindu militants in Orissa, India
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07797.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - On October 28, Father Bernard Digal (48), died after succumbing to injuries he suffered in an attack by Hindu militants in Kandhamal, Orissa in late August.
Thousands of believers attended the funeral for the martyred priest on October 31, commending his courage, his tireless commitment to working with persecuted Christians and his willingness to forgive those who brutally beat him.
Thank the Lord for the life and work of Father Digal. Pray that those who mourn for him will find strength and peace in Christ. Pray that God will embolden Christians in India to follow in his example of cross-bearing discipleship in an environment of opposition (1 Corinthians 4:9-14, 16).
More about Christians suffering for righteousness' sake in India can be found by visiting www.persecution.net/india.htm.
Australian web filter to block 10,000 internet sites
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24645676-661,00.html
Australia's mandatory net filter is being primed to block 10,000 websites as part of a blacklist of unspecified "unwanted content".
Some 1300 websites have already been identified by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
Communications Minister Senator Conroy revealed details of the Rudd Government's proposed web filter as he called for expressions of interest from internet service providers (ISPs) for a live trial of the technology, the Courier-Mail reports.
ISPs will test ways to filter the web using volunteer subscribers. The trial will start before Christmas and is expected to last six weeks.
"The pilot will specifically test filtering against the ACMA blacklist of prohibited content, which is mostly child pornography, as well as filtering of other unwanted content," Senator Conroy told Parliament today.
"While the ACMA blacklist is currently around 1300 URLs, the pilot will test against this list - as well as filtering for a range of URLs to around 10,000 - so that the impacts on network performance of a larger blacklist can be examined."
A spokesman for Mr Conroy later said: ''The pilot will provide an invaluable opportunity for ISPs to inform the Government’s approach.
''The live pilot will provide valuable real-world evidence of the potential impact on internet speeds and costs to industry and will help ensure we implement a filtering solution that is efficient, effective and easy for Australian families to use.''
An ACMA trial of web-filtering technology this year found it could slow internet access by as much as 87 per cent and by at least 2 per cent.
Electronic Frontiers Australia board member Colin Jacobs said his civil liberties group was concerned at what would be deemed "unwanted content".
"It is unclear how ACMA will scale up their blacklist to 10,000 websites and what will go on the list," he said.
"Conroy said the list would contain illegal and unwanted content but we still have to see what would end up on that list.
"Under the current mandate that includes adult material, which would mean most material that could be rated R and, in some circumstances, material rated MA15+."
Devotees flock to 'Buddha reincarnation' in Nepal
http://fe22.story.media.mud.yahoo.com/news/us/story/ap/20081112/ap_on_re_as/as_nepal_buddha_boy
RATANPUR, Nepal – The teenage boy revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha sat silently in the jungle as he blessed his devotees Wednesday with a light tap on the head, which they consider the touch of the divine.
His face was still, his long hair spilled over his white robe, and he never said a word.
The followers of Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005, when believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree.
Bamjan re-emerged this week to meet his followers, who have come by the thousands to see him in the jungles of Ratanpur, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Katmandu.
"I got a chance to see God today," Bishnu Maya Khadka, a housewife, said after receiving Bamjan's blessing Wednesday. "They say he is Buddha, but for me he is just God."
Bamjan was expected to address his followers on Nov. 18 and then retreat again into the jungle for meditation, said Kamal Tamang, a Buddhist priest.
Bamjan received the pilgrims from atop a podium covered in yellow cloth and placed before a massive tree. He looked healthy and strong and showed no signs of starvation or dehydration.
Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, mostly in Asia, teaches that every soul is reincarnated after death in another bodily form.
But several Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of the claims that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha, or Enlightened One.
"Being Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved. There can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death," said Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar in Katmandu who goes by only one name.
"Meditating without food does not prove that he is the reincarnation of Buddha," said Min Bahadur Shakya of the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods, a Buddhist research center in Katmandu. "There is much study needed to be done."
Bamjan has never addressed the subject in any of his speeches.
The devotees who have flocked to visit him have fewer doubts. Colorful prayer flags fluttered and incense filled the air Wednesday as the pilgrims silently approached Bamjan, who was surrounded by a line of Buddhist monks.
"I have no doubt in my mind he is a God," said Meg Bahadur Lama, a local farmer. "He has been meditating without food and water and no human can achieve such a feat. I used to hear about such miracles in the past but now I got to see one."
Prominent House Church Leader Pastor 'Bike' Zhang Released After International Outcry
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07788.shtml
BEIJING, (christiansunite.com) -- Pastor "Bike" Zhang Mingxuan, his wife and his wife's sister were declared "free" by government officials on October 27, 2008 at 1 p.m. in Nanyang, Henan province as a direct result of international outcry on their behalf. It is believed that the three were being held to prevent them from attending the third anniversary of the Chinese House Church Alliance which was held in Beijing on October 20. Pastor Bike, President of the Chinese House Church Alliance, was one of approximately 300 delegates invited to attend the celebration. Because of police harassment, only about 100 of the delegates made it to Beijing for the event.
Pastor Bike was first detained on October 16, after his sons, Zhang Jian and Zhang Chuang, were beaten by police and his wife was evicted from their apartment. The Public Security Bureau (PSB) sent out two separate groups to arrest the family. One group of PSB officers picked up Pastor Bike at the Kunming Airport. Another group arrested his wife and his wife's sister in Beijing and took them to Nanyang city, Henan province. Pastor Bike was detained in the PSB office of Shilin city, Yunnan province with about 15 PSB officers watching and questioning him in turn. On October 23, Pastor Bike was transported by police car to Nanyang city by two PSB officers from the PSB of Nanyang city. He and his wife along his wife's sister were detained at Wenquan Hotel in Nanyang city until October 27 when they were all declared "free".
Pastor Bike's sons, Zhang Jian and Zhang Chuang, moved with their families to Nanyang city, Henan province under police pressure soon after the October 16 attack. They are still recovering from their injuries. However, Pastor Bike's younger son, Zhang Chuang, has been ordered by his landlord to report back to Beijing and move out of the apartment that he is legally renting. The landlord has been under pressure from PSB officers to formally evict Zhang Chuang to force him permanently out of Beijing. Zhang Jian, Pastor Bike's oldest son, was evicted from his apartment immediately following the October 16 police attack.
The harassment of the Zhang family is believed to be directly supported by the "Citizen Informant Initiative" of the Beijing State Security Bureau issued July 25, 2008 which requires Beijing citizens to report those "engaging in activities that endanger state security by utilizing religions." It is believed that officials want not only to force the Zhang family from Beijing, but also to suppress the Chinese House Church Alliance house churches.
After his release, Pastor Bike went directly to Beijing to meet with Chinese House Church Alliance house church members and to settle his apartment contract. At the anniversary celebration of the House Church Alliance on October 20 in Beijing, the approximately 100 Chinese House Church Alliance delegates who made it to Beijing issued a public statement, declaring they will continue live out their faith and care for the poor and orphans despite persecution.
After China Aid reported about the attack against Pastor "Bike" Zhang Mingxuan's family and the arrest of Pastor Bike that followed, American churches, government officials and individuals expressed deep concern. As a direct result of the international outcry to the Chinese government, Pastor Bike was released. ChinaAid thanks all who voiced concern for this family, and will continue to post updates on this situation.
Prominent Beijing Rights Defense Lawyers Fired from Law Firm
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07781.shtml
BEIJING, (christiansunite.com) -- On October 30, Christian Attorney Li Subin was told he was fired from the Beijing Yitong Law Firm because he and 35 other Beijing lawyers signed an open letter in August calling for direct election of the leaders of the Beijing Lawyers Association [equivalent to Bar Association]. About five to seven other lawyers have also been dismissed or forced to leave their respected law firms for the same reason.
On October 27 and 28, seven officials from the Bureau of Justice of Haidian District of Beijing visited Li Subin's office. Officials took photos and questioned staff about cases they had handled in the past. The director of the firm who is also a Christian, Attorney Li Jingsong was pressured by officials who indicated his law firm's inspection might not be passed by the Bureau of Justice. This would mean the survival of the law firm would be in danger if he did not fire the "troublemakers" in his firm. Along with Li Subin, four other lawyers who signed the August letter were also purged from Yitong Law Firm. They are Mr. Cheng Hai, Zhang Jianguo, Wen Haibo and Yang Huiwen.
The open letter sent in August by lawyers from various Beijing law firms called for direct election of the officers of the Beijing Lawyers Association. This letter is in agreement with the Lawyer's Law which states that the association is an autonomous social organization where representatives are chosen by election. However, on September 5, 2008, the Beijing Lawyers Association sent a "Stern Statement," calling the open letter "illegal," and that it was essentially a "total repudiation of China's current lawyers administrative system, judicial system, and even political system."
Despite the increased pressure on lawyers who have signed the letter, according to the organization Human Rights in China, the number of lawyers in support of the letter has grown to 82.
Bob Fu, President of ChinaAid, stated, "We request prayer for Christian lawyer Li Subin who has been campaigning for religious freedom and ask the Chinese government to correct the wrong path for the true spirit of rule of law."
Ms. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice
10 Nandajie, Chaoyangmen, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, People's Republic of China
Mr. Wang Lixian, Director of the General Office Phone Number of News Release Office: 86-10- 65206706
Persecution Intensifies After Olympics
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07770.shtml
CHINA, (christiansunite.com) -- Since the end of the Olympic Games, ChinaAid has received reports of intensified religious persecution from across China. In Beijing, Pastor "Bike" Zhang Mingxuan and his family members have been evicted from their home, beaten and arrested.
In Heilongjiang province, one city called Yichun recently banned all of the house churches. In Yunnan province, some house church members were attacked right after the Olympics. In Shandong province, Pastor Zhang Zhongxin was sentenced to two years of re-education through labor, and after the Olympics his appeal was denied.
Pastor Zhang's lawyer, Li Fangping, was refused permission to meet with him because authorities claim Pastor Zhang could endanger state security.
In another shocking new discovery, ChinaAid learned 29 house church leaders have been serving time in labor camp and prisons in Henan province since July 9, 2007. They are accused of being "evil cult" members.
Among the 29 house church leaders, 21 are being held in No. 3 Prison of Henan province. One leader was released in September 2008. The other seven house church members belong to a house church group in Lingbao city that is part of the "Born Again Movement". They were sentenced by the court as "evil cult" members on July 9, 2007.
One leader was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, which is the harshest sentence against a house church leader in recent years besides Pastor Zhang Rongliang who was sentenced to seven and a half years in 2004 for allegedly "attempting to illegally cross the border and forgery of an official document".
Imprisoned Christian dies, more believers arrested in Eritrea
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07793.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - Eritrean Christians continue to be targeted by authorities and imprisoned for their faith, according to an October 30 report from Open Doors-USA. Teklesenbet Gebreab Kiflom (36), a member of the Full Gospel Church who was detained for approximately a year at the Wi'a Military Confinement Centre, died recently of malaria. He reportedly suffered harsh military punishment and was denied medical attention.
Authorities have arrested 65 believers belonging to house churches in recent weeks. Officials made the arrests in five different locations, working off of a list of names that sources believe were provided by informants around the country.
Pray for those mourning the loss of brother Teklesenbet. Pray for the release of imprisoned Christians. Ask God to work in the hearts of Eritrea's leaders.
For more information on the plight of Eritrean Christians, please visit www.persecution.net/eritrea.htm.
Convert from Islam murdered by militants in Somalia
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07776.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - Mansuur Mohammed (25), a charity worker who converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005, was beheaded by Islamists on September 23 in Manyafulka village, according to an October 27 report from Compass Direct. Mohammed and a fellow World Food Program worker were driving when their vehicle was intercepted by members of the "al Shabab" Islamist militant group. The driver managed to flee the scene but Mohammed was captured.
In the afternoon, the militants gathered the villagers by telling them that they were going to prepare a feast for them. Five masked men armed with guns and swords dragged the handcuffed Mohammed in front of the crowd. One militant recited the Quran as he proclaimed Mohammed a "murtid" (an Arabic term for an apostate who leaves Islam) and also claimed that he was a spy for Ethiopian soldiers.
The militants, chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great), then beheaded Mohammed and cheered while holding up his severed head in front of the horrified crowd. A video of the murder was later circulated in Somalia and in neighbouring countries in what many see as an effort to instill fear in those contemplating converting from Islam to Christianity.
Mohammed's martyrdom is the latest in a wave of such attacks on Christians in Somalia in recent months. According to International Christian Concern, in mid-September, a 22-year-old convert to Christianity, Ahmadey Osman Nur, was shot by Islamist militants at a wedding ceremony in the town of Afgoye.
Pray for comfort for those who mourn the loss of these Christians. Ask God to give strength and comfort to the people in Manyafulka village and the surrounding area. Pray that those responsible for these dark deeds will come to know the light of Christ's love (Romans 12:14, 21).
Go to www.persecution.net/somalia.htm to discover more about the persecution of Christians in Somalia.
Ancient Jewish Rite May Save Africa From AIDS: Operation Abraham
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128322
The patriarch Abraham, who complied with the Torah-recorded commandment by God to circumcise himself, his sons Isaac and Ishmael, and all his generations afterward as a sign "in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:13), is the inspiration for a consortium of Israeli doctors who are training circumcision teams in Africa to fight the continental pandemic of AIDS in a project called Operation Abraham.
The United Nations announced in 2007 that the procedure could reduce the rate of the HIV virus transmission by up to 60 percent.
Operation Abraham was launched in 2006 by Dr. Inon Schenker, founder of the Jerusalem AIDS project and respected researcher and senior consultant specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention. The project is currently training counterparts in the AIDS-infested capital of Swaziland, Mbabane, to conduct assembly line-style circumcisions. Death rates are so high in Swaziland that the life expectancy of a citizen has plummeted to the tender age of 31.
In interviews with the Chicago Tribune and a website called HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health Integration, Schenker described the dawning of his belief in mass circumcision as a solution to the AIDS epidemic in Africa, during the wave of Russian aliyah to Israel in the 1990s.
Ritual circumcision, which is ordinarily conducted according to the Torah commandment on the 8th day following the birth of a boy, was performed on tens of thousands of Russian Jewish men and older boys who were barred from taking part in the ancient Jewish tradition while living behind the Iron Curtain and chose to take part in the rite upon emigrating to Israel. According to Schenker, approximately 1,000 circumcisions were conducted every day in five hospitals around Israel during the height of Russian immigration.
"Israel is the only country with such experience in mass adult-male circumcision, and it can respond to a very important humanitarian challenge," Schenker told the Tribune.
Operation Abraham, which employs Israeli doctors and educators – Jews, Muslims, and Christians in partnership with the Jerusalem AIDS project and Hadassah Medical Center - is in high demand to expand its program, with requests for training coming from Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, and Lesotho.
Officials from the World Health Organization traveled to Jerusalem in 2006 to gather information on Israel’s expertise in the field, and used Israeli methodology to formulate a male circumcision manual and teaching course which are now part of government male circumcision programs in several African countries.
Operation Abraham's pilot project was finalized in February 2008, and was submitted for replication and expansion in the summer. Three training teams have already conducted training seminars in Swaziland this year.
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