Zogby: McCain Best for '3 A.M.' Crisis
http://newsmax.com/insidecover/McCain_best_in_crisis/2008/03/17/80911.html
The recent Hillary Clinton campaign advertisement asking who Americans want answering the phone in the White House when a crisis erupts at 3 a.m. has sparked a national debate about which candidate would best handle such a phone call. But while the ad was designed to boost the Clinton candidacy, likely voters nationwide say they would feel more secure having Republican John McCain answering the call of a crisis, a new Zogby International telephone poll shows.
Given the choice between Clinton and McCain, 55% preferred McCain while 37% would want Clinton to answer the phone, while 9% said they were unsure.
If there is a crisis in the world and the telephone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House, who would you feel more secure answering that phone Hillary Clinton or John McCain?
Hillary Clinton
37%
John McCain
55%
Not sure
9%
Between McCain and Obama, 56% favored McCain while 35% preferred Obama, with 10% saying they couldnt make up their mind on the question.
The ad, which first ran in Texas in the days leading up to the March 4 primary election there, was designed to boost Clinton’s claim that she is more experienced than Obama, a familiar Clinton campaign theme this year. McCain is considered strong on national defense.
If there is a crisis in the world and the telephone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House, who would you feel more secure answering that phone John McCain or Barack Obama?
John McCain
56%
Barack Obama
35%
Not sure
10%
McCain, who calls himself a conservative, makes big inroads across ideological lines on the question, the survey shows, as 25% of the very liberal and 32% of mainline liberals prefer he answer the phone instead of Clinton, and 23% of the very liberal and 35% of mainline liberals prefer him over Obama. Just 15% of conservatives prefer Clinton take the call, and 16% of conservatives would rather have Obama taking a crisis phone call instead of McCain.
The telephone poll using live operators from Zogby’s call center in Upstate New York included 1,004 likely voters nationwide and was conducted March 13-14, 2008. It carries a margin of error of +/- 3.2 percentage points. Totals in charts may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
The survey shows that among all voters Democrats, Republicans, and independents there is a near-equal preference for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to answer a crisis phone call as President. When given the choice between them, 37% preferred Clinton, while 36% preferred Obama. Another 27% of all voters said they were unsure.
But among just Democrats, Clinton is preferred by 48%, compared to 38% of Democrats who said they would rather have Obama answer the phone. Among just Democrats, 14% said they were unsure.
If there is a crisis in the world and the telephone rings at 3 a.m. in the White House, who would you feel more secure answering that phone Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
Hillary Clinton
37%
Barack Obama
36%
Not sure
27%
Among all voters regardless of partisan affiliation, in the race between Obama and Clinton, Obama is favored by a wide 49% to 32% margin among the very liberal, while mainline liberals favored Clinton by a 50% to 38% edge. Among moderates, Clintons edge is 44% to 34%, while conservatives preferred Obama, 39% to 36% for Clinton, with the rest of conservatives declining to make a choice.
And among all voters, women favored Clinton over Obama by a 42% to 34% margin, with 24% unsure. Men favored Obama, 38% to 32%, with 30% undecided.
COVERING HIS TRACKS! Under Pressure, Obama Prepares for Race and Unity Speech
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/03/17/under-pressure-obama-prepares-for-race-and-unity-speech/
Barack Obama is preparing to deliver a major address Tuesday on race, politics and unifying the country after being hounded by questions about his relationship to a pastor whose sermons have been laced with anti-American invective.
In a speech whose religious significance could compare to one given in December by former GOP presidential hopeful and Mormon Mitt Romney, Obama may be forced to explain the philosophy of the 8,000-strong Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, where the Democratic presidential candidate has been a congregant for 20 years.
In announcing the morning address, to be delivered in Philadelphia, Obama would not say specifically what he will discuss, but suggested he wants to cool down the atmosphere after incendiary remarks by his pastor, retired Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., blanketed the airwaves over the past week.
“I am going to be talking about, not just about Reverend Wright but just the larger issue of race in this campaign, which has ramped up over the last couple of weeks,” Obama told reporters after a town-hall meeting. “Part of what I’ll do tomorrow is to talk a little about how some of these issues are perceived from within the black church community, for example, which I think views this very differently.”
Obama has been on defense regarding statements made during Wright’s sermons, including calling America the U.S. of KKK-A and saying the nation should be damned for its treatment of blacks. The Illinois senator has repeatedly claimed that he has never been present for any of the vitriolic speeches delivered by Wright, and does not approve of them.
“None of these statements were ones I had heard myself personally in the pews,” he told FOX News on Friday, saying that had he “heard them repeated I would have quit.”
Obama on Monday said he “strongly” condemns “the statements that were a source of controversy,” and called Wright’s remarks “wrong.” But he also attempted to lay blame at the feet of the media, suggesting those remarks, which have aired on the church’s own Web site as well as outlets like YouTube, are being mischaracterized.
“I think the caricature that’s being painted of him is not accurate,” he said, adopting language similar to a statement from his church issued Sunday.
With the constant attention on Wright, Obama’s strategists planned the speech, deciding they could no longer ignore the percolating issues that are distracting from the candidate’s message of hope and change.
“Given the events of the past few weeks, and some of the statements that have been made, Senator Obama felt it was an important moment to address the issue of race, politics and how we bring our country together,” Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said Monday.
Meanwhile, Obama’s advisers have started talking in the past tense about Wright, who is now reverend emeritus at the church and at least since late Friday is no longer on Obama’s African American Religious Advisory Council. The Obama camp has also categorically denied an unconfirmed report that the candidate attended an anti-American sermon of Wright’s last July 22. On that day, Obama attended a conference on Hispanic issues in Miami, as did his rival Hillary Clinton.
Critics say it matters less whether Obama attended the individual sermons. His long-standing relationship with the church, they say, raises questions about the legitimacy of a campaign that has tried to transcend racial divisions.
“Here’s a candidate who claims to be a unifier and yet he belongs to a church where they specialize in denouncing whites,” said Ronald Kessler. “And the Web site of the church, you don’t have to listen to a sermon, the Web site describes the church as being unashamedly black and subscribing to the black value system.”
Had John McCain been caught up in a longterm relationship with a controversial pastor, “I don’t think that the media, the mainstream media, the dinosaur media, whatever you want to call it, would be engaged in ‘Well are we really fairly portraying this pastor?’” said conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham, responding to Obama’s complaint of unfair treatment. “I think this is someone who is in the last refuge” of a story that is spiraling out from under him, she said.
Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page said he’s been to TUCC and had only positive experiences there. He said he heard a “provocative” sermon while he was there, not like the “God damn America” speech delivered by Wright on the weekend after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
“If I had a pastor like this I would go to church more often,” Page said, referring to his few visits there.
Obama said he knows people are curious about his outlook, and he will try to wrap it all up in his speech.
“This is why I’m giving a speech about this tomorrow, that will be a lot more wholesome than a press conference. Does that make sense?” Obama asked.
D.C. Handgun Case Could Decide Right to Bear Arms
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/DC_Gun_Case/2008/03/17/81067.html
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gets to write on a blank slate when it takes up the meaning of the Second Amendment ''right to keep and bear arms'' and the District of Columbia's ban on handguns.
The nine justices have said almost nothing about gun rights, and their predecessors have likewise given no definitive answer to whether the Constitution protects an individual's right to own guns or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.
The case that will be argued Tuesday is among the most closely watched of the term, drawing 68 briefs from outside groups. Most of those support an individual's right to own a gun.
''This may be one of the only cases in our lifetime when the Supreme Court is going to interpret an important provision of our Constitution unencumbered by precedent,'' said Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett.
Even if they determine there is an individual right, the justices still will have to decide whether the capital's 32-year-old handgun ban can stand and how to evaluate other gun control laws. This issue has caused division within the Bush administration, with Vice President Dick Cheney taking a harder line than the administration's official position at the court.
The local Washington government argues that its law should be allowed to remain in force whether or not the amendment applies to individuals, although it reads the amendment as intended to allow states to have armed forces.
The City Council that adopted the ban said it was justified because ''handguns have no legitimate use in the purely urban environment of the District of Columbia.''
Dick Anthony Heller, 65, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home _ about a mile from the court _ for protection. His lawyers say the amendment plainly protects an individual's right.
The 27 words and three enigmatic commas of the Second Amendment have been analyzed again and again by legal scholars, but hardly at all by the Supreme Court.
The amendment reads: ''A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.''
The last Supreme Court ruling on the topic came in 1939 in U.S. v. Miller, which involved a sawed-off shotgun. Constitutional scholars disagree over what that case means but agree it did not squarely answer the question of individual versus collective rights.
Chief Justice John Roberts said at his confirmation hearing that the correct reading of the Second Amendment was ''still very much an open issue.''
Heller lost his suit in U.S. District Court in Washington. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the handgun ban. Notably, it was the first appeals court to strike down a gun control law on the basis of an individual's Second Amendment rights.
In 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed long-standing Justice Department policy when he asserted that the Second Amendment protects individuals' rights. The administration's brief in this case holds to that view.
But Solicitor General Paul Clement told the court that reasonable restrictions should be allowed and warns that federal laws restricting sales of machine guns and barring felons from owning guns, among others, could be threatened under the appeals court ruling. Clement wants the court to send the case back to lower courts without deciding whether the handgun ban is reasonable.
Clement's brief was harshly criticized by supporters of gun rights. Cheney joined majorities in both the House and Senate in signing a brief that says a handgun ban is clearly unreasonable. Experts on the court could recall no other case in which a vice president took a public position disagreeing with the administration he serves.
Barnett is among those on both sides of the issue who believe the practical effect of the court's ruling will be limited.
Forty-four state constitutions contain some form of gun rights, which are not affected by the court's consideration of Washington's restrictions.
''There is almost no other enacted gun law that would be threatened by this case,'' Barnett said.
The case is Heller v. District of Columbia, 07-290.
High Court to Consider Profanity Case
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/340771.aspx
The Supreme Court has agreed to take up case on the use of profanity on the airways, the Court's first major case on broadcast indecency in 30 years.
Fox, along with ABC, CBS and NBC have challenged a Federal Communications Commission policy that now allows for fines against broadcasters who use "fleeting expletives."
The commission had determined that broadcasts of entertainment awards shows in 2002 and 2003 were indecent because of profanity uttered by celebrities during the shows. No fines were issued in the incidents, but the FCC said it could impose fines for future violations of the policy.
Obliged to Protect Children
FCC chairman Kevin Martin says they have an obligation to enforce laws restricting indecent language over the airways when children are in the audience.
"The Commission, Congress and most importantly parents understand that protecting our children is our greatest responsibility," Martin said.
But a federal appeals court ruled the policy was invalid and could violate the First Amendment. The New York Appeals Court said the agency had failed to adequately explain why it had changed its policy.
Solicitor General Paul Clement, representing the FCC said that the agency has "hundreds of thousands of complaints" pending, regarding the broadcast of expletives. He argued that the appeals court decision has left the agency "accountable for the coarsening of the airwaves while simultaneously denying it effective tools to address the problem."
The appeal also argued that the FCC's explanation of its policy was well reasoned and that the appeals court decision was at odds with the landmark 1978 indecency case, FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, the last broadcast indecency case heard by the Supreme Court.
Lawyers for the networks said the old policy worked well for 30 years and that broadcasters had no reason suddenly to allow for "fleeting expletives."
The case will be argued in the fall. The case is FCC v. Fox Television Stations, 07-582.
Remembering the Real St. Patrick
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/340752.aspx
Before all the festivities focused on shamrocks and leprechauns and good luck wishes, there was truly something to celebrate: a man willing to stand in the gap for Jesus Christ.
It was an act of defiance that changed the course of a nation. Patrick lit a fire in pagan 5th century Ireland, ushering Christianity into the country. Who was this man who became the patron saint of Ireland?
Ireland was a beautiful island shrouded in terrible darkness. Warlords and druids ruled the land. But across the sea in Britain, a teen-ager was poised to bring this nation to God.
"Patrick was born into a Christian family," says Philip Freeman, author of St. Patrick of Ireland. "His father was a deacon; his grandfather a priest. But Patrick says that from a n early age, he didn't have any serious interest in religion and that he was pratically an atheist when he was a teenager."
Around 400 A.D., Patrick was abducted from his village and thrown onto a slave ship headed for Ireland.
"He saw that as God chastising him, first of all," says Rev. Sean Brady. "That was the first view. He says we deserved what we got. We're carried at 16 years of age over to this foreign land."
Patrick was sold to a chieftain named Milchu. He spent six years tending his master's flocks on the slopes of the Slemish Mountain. Patrick recounts his time as a slave in his memoir entitled The Confession.
"He says, 'I prayed a hundred times in the day and almost as many at night,' " says Rev. Brady, the Roman Catholic Archbiship of Armagh and Primate of All of Ireland. "Through that experience of prayer and trial, he came to know another God -- God the Father, who was his protector. He came to know Jesus Christ in those sufferings, and he came to be united with Christ and he came to identify with Christ, and then of course, also the Holy Spirit."
One night during a time of prayer and fasting, Patrick wrote: "I heard in my sleep a voice saying to me: 'It is well that you fast. Soon you will go to your own country.' And again, after a short while, I heard a voice saying to me: 'See, your ship is ready.' "
Patrick escaped and traveled 200 miles cross country to the west coast. He found a ship ready to sail, but was refused passage. After a desperate prayer, he was allowed aboard.
Patrick eventually returned to his home and family. His experience of God's grace and provision solidified his faith. He began to study for the ministry.
Freeman says, "One night, he had a dream. Thee was a man who came from Ireland with a whole bunch of letters. And he opened up one of the letters and it said 'The Voice of the Irish.' And then he heard a voice coming out of this letter that said, 'Holy boy, please return to us. We need you.'"
Patrick struggled in his soul. Could he return to Ireland and minister to the same people who had enslaved him? Once again, he turned to God in prayer. He received the answer in a dream.
"He talks about how he, in this dream, is trying to pray and yet he can't," says Freeman. "So he hears a voice coming from inside of him which he realizes is the voice of God praying for him."
Patrick knew he had to go and convince his church that he was called to be a missionary to Ireland. He set sail in a small ship.
Patrick landed at the mouth of the Slaney River. When Patrick set foot on this shore, a new era dawned on this island.
"The Ireland of his day really wasn't much different from the Ireland of a few years ago here where we are sitting here at this moment," notes Most Reverend Dr. Robert Eames, Church of England Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland. "It was an Ireland of tribalism, an Ireland of war, an Ireland of suspicion, an Ireland of violence and death. Here he came as a virtual stranger to this country of warring factions."
"They worshipped multiple gods of the sky and the earth and the water," says Freeman. "And so that was his first challenge: to convince the Irish that there was only one God and that his God really did love them."
Patrick came face to face with the chieftains and their druid priests. The showdown came on the morning of his first Easter in Ireland.
Monsignor Raymond Murray, parish priest of Cookstown in Northern Ireland explains further: "Part of the pagan worship of fall to spring, from the beginning of the summer, was that a fire was lit, and first of all, the fire on the hill of Tara and no other lights at all in Ireland."
This monastery on the hill of Slane is where Patrick -- in direct defiance of the high king of Tara -- lit a forbidden fire.
Notes Rev. Brady, "He was summoned before the king, and he explained that he wasn't a threat, because he was bringing the new light, the light of Christ, the Savior of the world, the Light of the world."
"The first light of Easter day was dawning. Patrick brought the hope of Easter day to Ireland," says Rev. Eames.
The weather can be absolutely brutal here in Ireland. But just imagine how it must've been for Patrick in the 5th century as he trekked across the countryside bringing the Gospel to the pagan Celts.
"People sometimes made fun of him because he said that God often gave him a message there was danger ahead," says Freeman. "But, he said, 'Laugh at me if you will. This is something that has protected me in Ireland.'"
Listen to Patrick's poem of faith and trust in God, "The Breastplate":
"Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."
Myths and legends have grown up around this hero of Ireland.
As Monsignor Murray explains, it is sometimes difficult to describe the triune aspect of God. So, according to the story, to better illustrate the central teaching of the trinity, Patrick took a shamrock and pointed out the three leaves on it. Interestingly, it is only in Ireland that you find this shamrock. Therefore, the people believed.
"One of the famous legends, of course, is that Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland," says Irish historian Harold Calvert.
In fact, any snakes in Ireland had disappeared during the Ice Age.
"The legend about the driving of the snakes may, in fact, really symbolize the driving out of evil," says Calvert.
In 432 A.D., Patrick built a church on the site of the present day St. Patrick's Memorial Church in Saul -- the first ever Christian church in all of Ireland. It's considered the cradle of Irish Christianity.
"Preaching the Gospel, of course, baptizing converts, confirming them, appointing clergy," continues Calvert.
Patrick's ministry lasted 29 years. He baptized over 120,000 Irishmen and planted 300 churches.
"What Patrick did was really lay the groundwork for Christianity," says Freeman.
To this day, no one knows where Patrick is buried, but many believe that it is somewhere beneath the church on the hill at Down Cathedral.
Rev. Sean Brady concludes, "He was a man who came to face and help his former enemies who had enslaved him. He came back to help them and to do them a great favor -- the greatest favor he possibly could."
Rev. Earnes concurs, "I honestly feel that what Patrick taught Ireland was that there is a cost to discipleship, but it's a cost worth paying. And I believe, to bring this right up to date, the church of St. Patrick must be constantly saying to people, 'Discipleship demands of you, but it's a cost that Christ will help you to pay.'"
Christians Killed by Muslims in Ethiopia
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06979.shtml
Muslim militants killed at least two Christians and wounded dozens more on March 3, 2008, in the town of Nensabo located 325 km southeast of the capital Addis Ababa, according to VOMC sources and a March 6 report from International Christian Concern. The militants attacked the Christians, including women and children, while they were attending a worship service.
Eight of the wounded have been taken to the town of Awassa for hospitalization, while others with serious injuries were taken to Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa. Among the wounded were a police officer and a Christian whose hand was cut off by the attackers.
Reports indicated that the attack was part of a plan by Muslim militants, influenced by the spread of Wahhabism in the area, to wipe out Christians from the Muslim-dominated region. The plan included destruction of churches and attacks on Christian groups involved in missionary work.
Pray that those who mourn for the deceased Christians will find comfort in the fact that Christ has triumphed over death and that those who die in the Lord will be raised with Him (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Pray that God will embolden Ethiopian Christians to follow the example of those who were martyred for Him (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Learn more about the persecution facing Christians in Ethiopia. Go to www.persecution.net/country/ethiopia.htm. Video reports on persecution in Ethiopia can be viewed at www.persecution.tv.
Christian Freedom International to Deliver Relief Aid to Bhutanese Refugees Displaced by Fire
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06977.shtml
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- Christian Freedom International (CFI), a Michigan-based humanitarian organization, is gearing up to distribute supplies in the aftermath of an accidental fire that destroyed over 90 percent of the homes in a Bhutanese refugee camp in eastern Nepal.
With the help of the Nepalese government and local relief agencies, the United Nations has already mobilized to provide emergency assistance of shelter, food and clothing for the 8,000 men, women and children who lost their homes in the March 1st devastation. The site is one of seven U.N.-run camps in the region that has helped accommodate over 107,000 refugees for the past 17 years, after ethnic Hindu minorities fled Bhutan to escape persecution and national laws that stripped them of their citizenship.
Fire has been a constant threat in Nepal's refugee camps, where fire-prone thatched huts have caused several other blazes in the past few years. Refugee representatives in Kathmandu have stated that the March 1st fire is among the worst ever experienced, with over 1,200 homes and one school being burned to the ground. The fire-affected refugees have been forced to take shelter in makeshift tents made of plastic sheets attached to bamboo poles.
Proper shelter, latrines and health care are the most prevalent needs for the refugees, and the lack of sanitation in the camp poses an ongoing threat of disease outbreaks. It is estimated that reconstruction of the camp could take as long as two months, and the U.N. is calling on the international community to help provide long-term support of the refugees.
Christian Freedom International is among those in the humanitarian sector that have come forward to assist with the relief efforts in Nepal. "I have prayerfully made a plan to conduct outreach programs there in the Goldhap refugee camp," says CFI's Nepalese co- worker. "We will preach the Gospel as well as distribute food, clothes, medicine and Bibles."
Since its founding in 1998, CFI has also provided relief aid in countries such as China, Sudan, Burma, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Vietnam, and Laos.
For more information visit www.christianfreedom.org.
A New Season for Bible Society of Israel
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/336829.aspx
JERUSALEM, Israel - The Bible Society of Israel (BSI) has had a difficult season over the past two years since the unexpected death of their executive secretary and director Doron Even-Ari. Now, more than two years later, Victor Kalisher has been appointed the new director.
Aware of the strain that the loss of Even-Ari caused the team, Kalisher spoke highly of the character of the staff in a recent newsletter:
"Emanuel Smilovici, together with the entire staff, led the operation and held the light of the Word of God to the people of Israel through our various ministries. I am thankful to the Lord for their faithfulness and desiring hearts to continue bringing the Word of God to the people of Israel."
In an interview with CBN News, Kalisher said the shared calling of the BSI team is strengthening them through this time of transition.
And he spoke of the moving journey that led him to this new position.
The Calling
A sabra [native Israeli] born to Jewish parents who immigrated to Israel after surviving the Holocaust, Kalisher speaks with the accent and mannerisms of a home-grown Jerusalem kid -- with the shrugs, frowns and those "what can you do?" looks that so perfectly epitomize the Israeli disposition.
Yet, his upbringing was anything but typical of the average Israeli. Two Jewish parents who had put their faith in Jesus (Hebrew, Yeshua) raised him.
In the late 1940s, when Kalisher's father was serving in the army, an elderly woman gave him a Hebrew translation of the New Testament. As he spent time alone reading it, he experienced the epiphany that Jesus was indeed the Messiah who had come to the Jewish people, as foretold in the scriptures.
At a time when Israeli believers could be counted only by the dozens or hundreds, and certainly not by the thousands, Kalisher's childhood experience was a rare one. As a result of his parents' coming to faith, he cannot remember a time when he did not know Jesus as the Messiah. He said he has always had a calling on his life "to see the Word of God alive in the hearts of am Yisrael [the people of Israel]."
Prior to coming on board with the Bible Society, Kalisher enjoyed many years in a successful management career with a high tech company, but he was increasingly feeling that "he was giving his best, but not to the Lord."
Over a full year, Kalisher prayed and carefully considered the position with BSI, as did the BSI hiring committee. He now feels certain that events and experiences in his life prepared him specifically for this job.
The Vision of the Bible Society
As Victor Kalisher shared his thoughts about vision and mission with me, I couldn't help but see how incredibly simple, yet powerful, it is. BSI wants to see the Word of God alive in the hearts of the people of Israel. Their quest is to make the scriptures "available, accessible and to enable people to interact with the Word."
The Bible Society has a great awareness that the Word of God is "living and active" and they trust it to speak for itself.
Many know the Bible Society solely for translating the scriptures into hundreds of languages, which is truly a huge part of their ministry. Yet perhaps few are aware of the care and effort that is taken, as Kalisher said, "to answer the challenge of bringing the Word of God to people."
"We are not simply a Bible book store," he said.
Today, BSI makes Bibles available to all people living in Israel, including minority groups such as Filipinos, Chinese, and Sudanese, all in their native languages.
They have also partnered with an Israeli-based company called MegaVoice, which developed a solar-powered audio device, to make Hebrew scriptures (and other languages) available to the elderly, blind, illiterate, as well as to soldiers.
Kalisher is also already dreaming about creative projects to facilitate interaction among people with different cultural perspectives, centered in the Word. As I left his office, he was meeting with the former director of the Palestinian Bible Society to discuss projects that would bring Palestinians and Israelis together around the Word of God.
Spring comes exactly when it should in Jerusalem -- the middle of February. Just when you feel the drizzle, wet feet and cold stone apartments are too much, the bright white almond blossoms begin to bloom. We've been enjoying the encouragement of the almond trees in Jerusalem and the countryside for the past few weeks.
Perhaps this could be a kind of spring for BSI and for the team who has persevered through this difficult season.
Rain or shine, BSI is a beacon of light, holding up the Word of God for the people of Israel to see.
‘Our god is greater than yours’
http://www.stangoodenough.com/?p=117
As I heard the screams set off by the color red alarm, which sounds just 15 seconds before the rockets slam into the city; as I saw the terror-stricken faces and the frantic dashing for shelter; as I watched scenes of shrapnel-peppered teenagers being loaded into ambulances in front of their weeping friends, their siblings and parents shaking in shock, small children screaming for their mommies; as I watched the awful fear that now besets and hovers over yet another Jewish community, as it has over untold numbers of Jewish communities in the past, it was as if I could hear the exultant cries of the Arabs in the Gaza Strip, who proclaimed as they watched the results of their handiwork on the same You Tube channel I was viewing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsEJt9AY5Pc&eurl=http://jerusalempulseradio.com/):
You’re a Jew, so we will terrorize you.
You’re a Jew, so we will maim you.
You’re a Jew, so we will kill you.
We’ll fire our Kassams,
And we’ll shoot off our mortars.
And though the ‘Color Red’ may send you scurrying for your holes
We will get you. We WILL get you.
And when your body lies bleeding and dismembered in the streets of Sderot,
When your devastated family kneels howling in anguish over their loss
And crying out to know from their God why He would not save them,
We’ll hand out candy, we’ll honk our horns, we’ll praise our god:
Allah, we’ll say, is akhbar. Allah, we’ll cry, is greater.
Greater than your faith.
Greater than your history.
Greater than your God.
Yes, we will rejoice.
You are Jews, the bloodsuckers of the world.
You were a plague in Europe, so we exterminated you.
You are a plague in Palestine, so we’ll eradicate you.
You are a cancer in the Middle East, so we’ll radiate you.
From Tehran, from Damascus, from Beirut, from Gaza,
A storm is coming, that will blow you away.
You’ll be gone, forever, in just one day.
And, when your cities lie smoldering;
When your corpses lie rotting in the streets of Tel Aviv and Haifa and Netanya,
When your moans and your screams ascend from the ashes and the ruins that remain,
When your Israel is no more, and Palestine has risen, in Shimon Peres’ words, on the grave of the Jewish state,
We’ll hand out candies,
We’ll give out flowers,
We’ll honk our horns,
And we’ll praise our god who is greater than yours,
We’ll praise Allah, who is greater than Elohim,
Soon. Soon we’ll have the solution,
The final solution to the accursed Jewish problem.
And then we’ll act,
And you will be gone,
Like the dinosaur,
Like the Dodo,
The Jew will be no more.
You’ll all be gone,
All glory to Allah, the merciful, the compassionate,
Allahu akhbar!
Allahu akhbar!
Allahu akhbar!
Goodbye Jews,
Goodbye Jews,
Goodbye.
FM: 'Palestinian' terrorism no excuse to stop 'peace' talks
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2383
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday that a Palestinian terrorist massacring Israeli children is not enough of a reason to stop conducting "peace" talks with the Arabs.
"Terrorism will not be an excuse to suspend negotiations," Livni said, in the course of defending the government against a no-confidence motion in the Knesset.
This is according to the website of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz.
In the years since the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords, consecutive Israeli administrations frequently suspended talks with the PLO after terrorist attacks.
Then PLO chief Yasser Arafat was known to be responsible for green-lighting attacks even as he pretended to be a "moderate" who was sincere about making peace.
His successor, Mahmoud Abbas - who Israel calls its "peace partner" - is likewise suspected of approving Kassam rocket attacks against Israeli towns from Gaza.
Shortly after Livni made her statement, it emerged that she had in fact met secretly with senior "Palestinian" negotiator Afmed Qureia after the March 6 murders of eight religious students in a Jerusalem seminary.
Angry Israelis have denounced the fact that the cold blooded killings gave the government not the briefest pause in its headlong rush to please US President George W. Bush, who is pressuring Israel to secure an agreement with the Palestinian Arabs before the end of this year.
For 'Palestinians,' more terrorism=greater popularity
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2382
The Palestinian Arabs increasingly support the "extremist" position of Hamas over the "moderate" position of the Fatah/PLO.
International efforts to boycott Hamas, and Israel's attacks on the Gaza-Strip where the group is in control have only boosted Hamas' popularity.
This is according to the results of a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.
If new elections were held in the PA-occupied territories now, the survey found, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh would win 47 percent over Fatah/PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas' 46 percent.
The figures represented a sharp strengthening of Haniyeh's popularity, reported Ynetnews Monday.
Despite the international effort to designate Abbas as moderate and Haniyeh as extreme, both their organizations share the same ultimate goal - the eradication of Israel from the Muslim Middle East.
The PLO's policy since 1973 has been to support negotiation until Israel will surrender no more, and then to move in for the kill.
Hamas wants to wipe out the Jewish state right away.
Abbas' PA again celebrates life of yeshiva terrorist
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2381
The internationally-supported and US-funded Palestinian Authority continues to thumb its nose at the world and exalt the Arab who attacked a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem 10 days ago.
After first lauding Ala'a Abu Dheim as an Islamic holy martyr, the official PA daily, Al Hayat al-Jadida, ran a report in which the killer was described as a bridegroom; his funeral as a bridal procession.
According to Islam, the Muslim who dies in the act of killing Jews and Christians gains instant access to paradise where he is welcomed by 72 virgins who will satisfy his every need.
PLO/PA chief Mahmoud Abbas announced, for western consumption, his condemnation of Abu Dheim's terrorism immediately after the attack.
But the veteran terrorist, who earlier this month bragged about having fired "the first bullet" in the "Palestinian's" terror war, has allowed his news organ to repeatedly hail the terrorism as a great deed, the terrorist as a hero.
After decrying Israel's insistence on the killer being given a quiet burial, the newspaper went on to declare that three days of celebration would be held, with the town welcoming "all of those who come to congratulate the groom and hang[ing] his portrait embracing the nation's flags."
Western support for Abbas appears to be largely unaffected by his frequent relapses into support for terror and violence.
Israel to hold massive drill; Syria - War is possible
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2384
Israel is to hold its largest-ever emergency exercise in April - shutting down parts of the country as it tests its responses to massive, possibly non-conventional, attacks from Syria and Iran.
This is according to the top story Monday in The Jerusalem Post, and comes the day after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was quoted as saying a war between Syria and Israel is certainly a possibility.
Starting April 6, and stretching over five days, the emergency drill will include a convening of the cabinet following "an enemy attack," the sounding of sirens country-wide, mass-evacuations from "hit" areas - simulating responses to chemical and nuclear strikes - and the inundating of hospitals with thousands of Israeli casualties.
A high-ranking defense official said the drill would be "the biggest exercise in Israel's history."
He took pains to stress, however, that Israel was not planning the event because of fears of an imminent war but rather to implement lessons learned from the Second Lebanon War.
Moallem, interviewed by the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anba, was asked if he believed that Israel was preparing for war against Lebanon or Syria
"Everything is possible", he answered, adding that "every rational person should prepare for every eventuality in the wake of the crazy policies advocated by the US, whose goals are certainly not achieving stability and security in the region."
WorldNetDaily reported last week Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was saying that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are training hundreds of Hamas fighters to prepare for an all-out war this summer against Israel.
Bush: I'll come celebrate Israel's 60th birthday if...
http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2380
US President George W. Bush would very much like to be in Israel to commemorate the reborn Jewish state's 60th Anniversary this May.
There's just one small proviso: Israel must make some serious progress in implementing its commitments to the Palestinian Arabs under the 'Road Map' before the American leader will agree to come.
This incidence of political blackmail was revealed Monday in a report posted on the Jerusalem-based website Israel Today.
According to the report, Israeli officials believe Washington is gearing up to put "enormous diplomatic pressure" on Israel.
Bush is "adamant" that something concrete be achieved on the ground before he comes here again, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is planning a trip to the region next week "to that end," reports the website.
Other world leaders visiting or planning to visit Israel this week include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Vice President Dick Cheney, US Republican presidential candidate John McCain and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In one way or another they are all expected to try and push Israel further down the dead-end road of 'land-for-peace.'
Meanwhile, while touring Jerusalem's orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood Monday, US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones chided the Olmert government for not beginning to keep its undertakings under the Road Map.
"Israel has commitments and it is important that they begin honoring those commitments," he said, adding: "I am optimistic there is a desire on the part of both leaders, of both governments, to work according to the division [of the land] that President Bush has laid out."
Threats to Israel are Threats to Germany: Merkel
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Merkel_Germany_Israel/2008/03/17/80974.html
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with Israel in the face of threats to the Jewish state on Saturday, the eve of a three-day visit to the country, and said Iran must halt its nuclear program.
"The threats to which the Israeli state is exposed are also threats to us," Merkel said in her weekly podcast.
She said she would underline on the trip that "the Iranian nuclear program cannot continue and Iran must finally play to international rules."
The U.N. Security Council imposed a third round of sanctions on Iran earlier this month for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, adopting a resolution that Germany co-sponsored, though not itself on the council.
Western powers suspect that Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies this and says it nuclear program is intended only to produce electricity.
Judaism is a recognized minority religion in Iran, but Tehran does not recognize Israel and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has often predicted Israel's imminent demise.
Merkel will be the first German chancellor to address Israel's parliament, more than six decades after the end of World War Two. Her visit will launch yearly talks between the governments.
She will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial on Monday. "With this (visit) we want to take responsibility for the past ... we want to show clearly that Israel's right to exist is a permanent part of German foreign policy," she said.
Her visit marks the 60th anniversary of the creation of Israel in 1948 and is intended to help further normalize relations between Germany and Israel.
Some commentators say Merkel has been less vocal in her public criticism of Israel than her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, on issues including military action in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The German Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Merkel and peace envoy Tony Blair would organize a Middle East security conference in Berlin in June to discuss the strengthening of the Palestinian police force and justice apparatus.
German media reported all EU members, several Arab states, the Middle East quartet -- Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations -- and Palestinian and Israeli officials would be invited.
Tibet and the Ghosts of Tiananmen
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/tibetandtheghostsoftiananmen;_ylt=AuSi_GagG9sxzm6QS1RP3mCs0NUE
It is still nearly five months before the Olympic torch is to be lit in Beijing, officially starting the 29th summer Olympics. But, diplomats in the Chinese capital believe that a high level game of chicken has already begun, one that has now turned deadly - first, in Lhasa, the capital of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region, and now elsewhere, according to Tibetan exiles and human rights groups.
Yesterday, in China's Sichuan province, at least eight bodies were brought to a Buddhist monastery in Aba prefecture, allegedly shot dead by Chinese riot control police, according to an eyewitness account quoted by Radio Free Asia. The escalating confrontation in and around Tibet is a nightmare for China's top leadership, but one, some diplomats believe, that could not have taken anyone in the central government completely by surprise. It pits the leadership in Beijing against its domestic opponents - who include not only Tibetan dissidents, but also separatist groups in the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang, as well as human rights and political activists throughout the country.
Each side understood that the months leading up to the Games would be "extremely sensitive," as one diplomat put it. The government knew "from day one," another diplomat told TIME, that "a successful bid for the games would bring an unprecedented - and in some cases very harsh - spotlight" on China and how it is governed. On the other side, everyone from human rights activists to independence seeking dissidents in Tibet and Xinjiang - "splittists" in the Chinese vernacular - knew they would have an opportunity to push their agendas while the world was watching. "Thought the specific trigger for this in Tibet is still unclear, that it intensified so quickly is probably not just an accident," the senior diplomat says.
According to this view, it was never hard to imagine a scenario in which some group - and maybe several - would push things, try "to probe and see whether they could test limits." The critical issue, now front and center, diplomats say, is just how far angry Tibetan activists will push - and how harshly the Chinese government will push back.
How extensive the violence has been thus far is not at all clear. Tibetan exile groups claimed on Sunday that 80 people were killed in Lhasa on Mar. 13 and 14. Those claims are as yet unconfirmed by any independent reporting and Beijing says just 10 "innocent" people were killed in Lhasa. It denies any deaths elsewhere. The Dalai Lama surely stoked Beijing's anger on Sunday by claiming, from the headquarters of the Tibetan government in exile, when he accused China of "cultural genocide" against Tibetans and by declining to urge his followers in Tibet to surrender to authorities there by midnight tonight, as Beijing had demanded.
Thus, the dilemma for the Chinese leadership is clear. "They need to get this under control, but to do so without a lot of brutality," the diplomat says. The reason for that is clear enough: the memory of Tiananmen Square, undeniably, now hangs in the background as the crisis in Tibet unfolds in this, the year of China's grand coming out party. The scale of the unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region - as well as the threat they pose to the Communist Party leadership - doesn't compare to the massive political demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which were brutally put down by Chinese military troops. But the issue, at bottom, was the same: how to respond? And here, China may well understand that 1989 was a long time ago. Beijing in those days could literally pull the plug on CNN and Dan Rather and then thumb its nose at the rest of the world. "It couldn't do that today even if it wanted to, and I don't think it does," the senior diplomat says.
China understands well, this diplomat says, that the world is carefully gauging how it responds to the unrest. He notes that initial reports out of Lhasa had the People's Armed Police, an anti-riot squad, responding to the demonstrations - not the potentially much more lethal People's Liberation Army. The problem for China is that the unrest, while apparently contained for the moment in Lhasa, spread to other cities on Sunday. The government's dilemma is obvious: if Beijing insists publicly - and actually believes - it has been relatively restrained in its response to the unrest so far, what happens if it continues? "Knowing full well that something like this - maybe not as intense, but something of this sort was likely to come before the Olympics," says the diplomat, "is different than knowing exactly what to do when it comes. I'm not sure the leadership has a specific playbook for it." Let's just hope it doesn't reach for the old one, circa the spring of 1989.
Abortions Can Lead to Mental Illness
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/340840.aspx
Women may be at risk of having mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a UK newspaper reported Sunday.
According to The Sunday Times, the Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
The college's recent statement reverses the scales of decades of belief.
Before, it was widely believed that the mental health risks of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy were far greater than living with the possible regrets of having an abortion. More than 90 percent of the 200,000 abortions in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors thought continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strain on the woman.
But with the release of this new information, UK Parliament is now grappling with this apparent reversal.
In addition to reducing the time limit for abortions, some lawmakers also want women to have a "cooling off" period. That period would allow the women to be made aware of the possible consequences of the abortion, including the impact on her mental health, before she could go ahead with the procedure.
The controversy in the UK intensified earlier this year after a women hanged herself because she was overcome with grief after aborting her twins.
The woman left a note that said, "Living is hell for me. I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum. I want to be with my babies; they need me, no one else does," she wrote according to The Sunday Times.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression, saying, "consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information."
The college's revised stance was welcomed by conservative member Nadine Dorries.
"For doctors to process a woman's request for an abortion without providing the support, information and help women need at this time of crisis I regard almost as a form of abuse," she said.
Dr. Peter Saunders, general secretary of the Christian Medical Fellowship, also welcomes the reversal.
"How can a doctor now justify an abortion (on mental health grounds) if psychiatrists are questioning whether there is any clear evidence that continuing with the pregnancy leads to mental health problems," he said.
Report: Planned Parenthood Apologizes for Encouraging Donation Aimed at Aborting Black Babies
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,338529,00.html
Planned Parenthood of Idaho has apologized after an employee encouraged a telephone donation aimed at aborting black babies.
Officials for the group said last month that the employee made a "serious mistake" encouraging the donation, the Idaho Statesman reports. But Planned Parenthood criticized the publication that made the call — The Advocate, a student anti-abortion magazine at the University of California-Los Angeles — for trying to discredit the organization by having an actor pose as a donor, the Idaho Statesman reports.
"A fundraising employee violated the organization's principles and practices when she appeared to be willing to accept a racially motivated donation," Planned Parenthood of Idaho CEO Rebecca Poedy said in a written statement to the Statesman. "We apologize for the manner in which this offensive call was handled. We take full responsibility for the actions of the fundraising staff member who created the impression that racism of any form would be tolerated at Planned Parenthood.
"We took swift action to ensure that each of our employees understands their responsibility to communicate clearly with donors about the fact that we believe in helping all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation, make informed decisions about their reproductive health care."
According to a transcript released by The Advocate to the Statesman, an actor portraying a donor called Autumn Kersey, vice president of development and marketing for Planned Parenthood of Idaho, saying he wanted the money to be used to eliminate unborn black babies because "the less black kids out there the better."
Kersey responded: "Understandable, understandable. ... Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out."
Planned Parenthood Accused of 'Extensive, Organized Fraud'
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06976.shtml
LOS ANGELES -- A story published online Saturday by the California Catholic Daily reveals that a former Planned Parenthood employee secretly filed a Federal lawsuit against the abortion giant alleging that "affiliates knowingly engaged in a criminal plot to fleece state and federal taxpayers out of more than $180 million over the course of at least six years."
The suit was filed in 2005, but details only recently became public. In the suit, Victor Gonzalez, who served as Vice President for finance and administration for the Los Angeles affiliate of Planned Parenthood, claims that when he attempted to bring illegalities he discovered to his superiors, he was fired from his job.
"In light of this new revelation that Planned Parenthood could be committing financial fraud that has cost taxpayers over $180 million, Operation Rescue renews its call for a federal investigation and a halt to funding of Planned Parenthood affiliates across the nation," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
"In order to receive federal tax dollars, groups must comply with all state and federal laws. That appears not to be the case in California and in other states, such as Kansas," said Newman. "We have again contacted elected representatives in California and Kansas, asking for their attention to this urgent matter."
Operation Rescue previously called for investigations and a halt to funding when Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri was charged with 107 criminal counts of illegal abortions and making false reports to the state. Twenty-three of those charges are felonies. That case is progressing.
"There are increasing reports of alleged illegalities at Planned Parenthood organizations that are surfacing across the nation," said Newman. "Where there's smoke, there's fire. There are far too many credible allegations to dismiss them as rumor. When Planned Parenthood Vice Presidents start blowing the whistle, it's time to listen and take action."
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation. Operation Rescue recently made headlines when it bought and closed an abortion clinic in Wichita, Kansas and has become the voice of the pro-life activist movement in America. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to restore legal personhood to the pre-born and stop abortion in obedience to biblical mandates.
The Return of 'Idol Gives Back'
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06975.shtml
FRONT ROYAL, VA -- Once again, "American Idol" is aligning itself with pro-abortion Save the Children and UNICEF. On March 8, 2007, "American Idol" unveiled its "Idol Gives Back" project, the stated goal of which was to "raise awareness of the effects of poverty on children and young people." Last year, the project generated more than $75 million.
The second Idol Gives Back program will air on April 9, 2008. Like last year, several celebrities will appear on the show to urge Americans to make a donation.
"For years UNICEF spokesmen denied promoting contraception or abortion," wrote Winifride Prestwich in UNICEF: Guilty As Charged. She said records prove that "step by step over a 30-year period UNICEF has tied itself to the population controllers and to the anti- life, anti-family attitudes of such organizations as the International Planned Parenthood Federation."
A study released by the International Organizations Research Group (IORG) documented UNICEF's ties to abortion and radical feminism. UNICEF: Women or Children First? showed that UNICEF has helped write many documents that call for increased access to abortion and the legalization of the deadly act worldwide.
IORG discovered that UNICEF has funded a program run by the militantly pro-abortion Population Council, which holds the U.S. patent for the abortion pill, RU- 486. UNICEF has also supported a South African group that targets adolescents with a pro-abortion message.
It is now official UNICEF policy to "Promote and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, including access to condoms," the IORG report stated. A high-ranking UNICEF official even called for his group to "make condoms available and accessible for everybody, everywhere and at all times. Abstinence is simply not a realistic option for most young people in the world today."
The evidence that UNICEF has actively promoted the Culture of Death is overwhelming and indisputable:
- In 1987, UNICEF officially endorsed "good quality abortion services" at the International Conference on Better Health for Women and Children in Nairobi, Kenya.
- In 1993, UNICEF raised its contribution to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) open support for Communist China's "one-child family" policy from $2 million to $5 million.
- In 1997, the Vatican cut funding to UNICEF after the group co-sponsored a manual that endorsed emergency birth control. (Emergency birth control most often causes an early abortion.) UNICEF also refused to provide a detailed accounting of its population control and pro-abortion programs.
- On October 26, 2002, the Calgary Herald reported that UNICEF has been straying from its mission for many years. The article, titled "UNICEF's Other Agendas," included an interview with Mary Kassian, author of The Feminist Gospel. "Hundreds of thousands of children are still dying of TB or malaria, or because they don't have clean water. And the UN is giving them IUDs...I chose long ago not to support UNICEF and to support those good causes through other agencies that aren't tainted."
Save the Children has a working relationship with what it calls "prominent international organizations." Several of these groups are actively pro-abortion, including Better World Fund, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Action International, and the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.
In 2001, Save the Children worked with Planned Parenthood, the Population Action Council, and the pro-abortion Audubon Society on its five-year "Planet Campaign." Funded by the rabidly pro- abortion/population control David and Lucile Packard and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, the purpose of the campaign was to "raise awareness of the connections between international family planning and the health of children, women and the environment." The Planet Campaign used television and print advertising, community outreach, special events, and other activities to spread its message. Save the Children said the campaign's website provided "an international forum for discussion of, and action on, women's reproductive health---including family planning---in various countries and diverse cultures around the world."
Save the Children has stated that "family planning" has been a "critical component" of its work for nearly 20 years. The group quoted a UNICEF document which stated that "family planning could bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race." Save the Children noted that the report identified "access to family planning" as a "key factor contributing to maternal and child survival and well- being."
"It is laudable that the people involved with "American Idol" want to help the poor," said LDI President Douglas R. Scott, Jr. "But it is tragic that they would choose to do so through groups like UNICEF and Save the Children. These groups have far too much deadly baggage." Of course, what many people do not know, because "American Idol" has not chosen to mention it, is that Simon Cowell is the chief executive officer of International Save the Children. This is surely why Save the Children was selected as a recipient charity.
"'American Idol' should stop using the contestants to raise money for groups when they are keeping the activities of these charities a secret," Scott said. "'American Idol' should practice full disclosure and give those contestants who may wish to decline participation in 'Idol Gives Back' the opportunity to do so without repercussions."
"If you believe the plight of preborn children is as important as the plight of the poor, do not participate in 'Idol Gives Back'" Scott urged. "We are caring people who want to do our part to help those less fortunate, but we will do so through organizations that do not view the killing of human beings as a 'solution' to poverty and other adult-created problems."
Life Decisions International (LDI) is dedicated to challenging the Culture of Death, concentrating on exposing and fighting the agenda of Planned Parenthood. LDI's chief project is a boycott of corporations that fund the abortion-committing giant. To learn more about Planned Parenthood, please visit: www.fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=wrong
Thomas More Law Center Continues Quest to Pass State Personhood Amendments - This Time in Oregon
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06978.shtml
ANN ARBOR, MI - The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will present oral arguments to an Oregon Circuit Court judge in defense of a proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution crafted by the Law Center that would protect human life from the moment of fertilization.
In addition to this effort in Oregon, the Thomas More Law Center has been working with pro-life leaders in Georgia, Colorado, and Montana to pass similar state constitutional amendments that would provide legal protection to all human beings from the moment of fertilization.
These proposed amendments would achieve two fundamental purposes essential to the pro-life movement. First, they would establish that these states are "pro-life" states that protect all human life from the moment of fertilization as a matter of constitutional law. Second, they would provide a direct challenge to the central holding of Roe v. Wade. As the Supreme Court itself acknowledged in the Roe decision, if the personhood of the fetus could be established, the abortion right "collapses. "
Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, reiterated his criticism of those in the national pro-life movement who fear challenging the Roe decision head on: "For too long the national pro-life movement has been dominated by a strategy of "wait," too fearful of losing to risk winning. "
The oral argument will be heard at 2:00 pm on Monday, March 10th in the Marion County Circuit Court in Salem, Oregon.
Last fall, the Law Center filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court against the Secretary of State and the Attorney General of Oregon, alleging that these government officials violated the state and federal rights of Ms. Kelly Le Claire by improperly denying her request to circulate the state initiative petition that would amend the Oregon Constitution to protect the unborn.
The lawsuit alleges that by improperly denying her the right to initiate a petition to amend the state constitution, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General violated several state and federal statutory and constitutional rights, including rights protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and several provisions of the Oregon Constitution.
The essential issue at this hearing will be whether the proposed constitutional amendment violates the State's "separate-vote requirement," which prohibits proposed amendments from making multiple substantive changes to the Oregon Constitution that are not closely related. The Law Center will argue that the proposed amendment does not violate this constitutional requirement.
Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling the matter, stated, "Every private citizen and elector in the State of Oregon, including our client, has a right to initiate a petition to amend the state's constitution. By denying her this fundamental political right, state officials have violated her civil rights protected by the United States and Oregon Constitutions. "
On a related note, Oregon is the only state that currently allows assisted suicide.
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit their website at www.thomasmore.org.
Over half of Britons believe Jesus rose from the dead
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/over.half.of.britons.believe.jesus.rose.from.the.dead/17383.htm
Over half of Britons believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, according to new research published over the weekend by Theos, the public theology think tank.
The publication of the research coincides with the launch of The Passion, the major new drama for Easter on BBC One which begins this Sunday. The series - which unusually deals in detail with Jesus' resurrection - will inevitably raise questions as to whether he really did rise from the dead. The survey suggests that, for the majority of the population, this question has already been answered.
57% of people questioned in the ComRes poll said they believe that Jesus was executed by crucifixion, buried and rose from the dead, with over half of those (30% of the total sample) accepting the traditional Christian belief in the bodily resurrection of Christ and the rest (27%) believing that Jesus rose in spirit form.
This widespread belief clearly informs people’s more general attitude to life after death. Over half of people said they believe in some kind of existence after death, although most of those (44% of the total) believe that 'your spirit lives on after death'. Only 9% said they believe in a personal physical resurrection.
The Theos research also examined who people thought Jesus was. Two in five (40%) said they believe that Jesus was the son of God and nearly half (47%) that he was a holy prophet. When asked whether they thought Jesus was a good man and wise teacher, 66% of people agreed. Only 11% disagreed.
Surprisingly, 13% of people claim that Jesus never existed, despite the fact that respected historians unanimously agree that he did.
On the question of Easter’s significance today, 43% of the public believe that the Easter story is about Jesus dying for the sins of the world while only 26% think that the Easter story has no meaning today. Only 1% think the story shows that violence can only be defeated through violence.
The opinions of atheists are especially interesting. 23% of respondents identified themselves as such, but 14% of these think Easter was about Jesus dying for the sins of the world, 12% believe he rose again from the dead, and, remarkably, 7% think he was son of God.
Despite widely reported concerns about the impact of Dan Brown’s best selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, only 4% of people said they subscribe to the idea that Jesus did not die but was resuscitated by his disciples.
Commenting on the results of the research, Paul Woolley, Director of Theos said:
"The aim of this project was to examine people's beliefs about the Easter story and the idea of resurrection.
"The fact that over half of Britons believe that Jesus rose from the dead is particularly striking and demonstrates that society is not as 'secular' as we often imagine it to be.
"Britain is arguably becoming more polarised on issues of religious faith given the exact split between people who do and do not believe in life after death.
"The fact that younger people are less clear about what they believe than older generations reflects a more general rejection of the certainties of the past amongst that age group, whether religious or atheistic.
"It is interesting that only 9% of all people and 42% of church-going Christians believe in a personal physical resurrection after death given the centrality of this belief in Christianity since its conception. The belief that after death the soul escapes to heaven is shaped by Plato rather than the Bible."
The Rt. Rev Tom Wright, Bishop of Durham, added: "The results show a healthy number of people who do still believe in what the New Testament teaches both about Jesus and about their own ultimate future, but also a fair amount of predictable confusion about what 'resurrection' itself actually is.
"'Resurrection' isn't a fancy way of saying 'life after death'; it's a way of talking about a further stage, life after 'life after death'. What the survey does show, though, is that the great majority of people still clearly care about Jesus and regard him highly. It would have been much more depressing if most of them had said 'don't know, don't care'!"
NASA Chief: Global Warming Treated Like a Religion
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/global_warming/2008/03/17/80933.html
The theory of human-caused global warming is being treated as religious dogma, NASA's administrator said.
In an interview with SciGuy blogger Eric Berger, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin who last May questioned whether addressing the alleged global warming problem required all that much urgency, warned that dissent from the global warming theory is almost treated as heresy.
When asked by Berger if he was surprised by the widespread, heated response to his comments, Griffen said he was.
"I thought I was talking about technical topic, which I find actually very interesting from a technical point of view," he told Berger."I didn't realize it had approached the status where you can't express any sort of a contrary opinion or a comment without it being treated almost as a religious issue. So that's one mistake.
"The second one was, of course, that it actually doesn't have anything to do with what we do at NASA. By making comments along those lines all I really did is embroil my agency in a controversy in fight that we don't have a dog."
Asked if he had talked to NASA's top climate scientist James Hansen, an outspoken global warming advocate, Griffen said he hadn't, adding that "Jim has never seen fit to contact me. Jim's done some great work. I have no criticism of it. You could make an argument that a critical mass of climate modeling, of raising climate modeling to become a centerpiece of the earth Science program, is due to Jim's efforts over the last 30 years. Without that you don't know how to interpret the data which we bring back," Berger explained.
"What we know is that the earth's temperature has increased by 0.8 degrees Centigrade, plus or minus, in 100 years. And we have pretty good confidence that a good fraction of that is anthropogenic [human caused]." He warned however that "exactly how much, and exactly what human activities are doing that, much less certainty. And that's with 100 years of work. So you have to construct theoretical models, and run them on a computer, and anchor those models with data. And the data has got to cover a long period of time with a broad spectrum of observations because they're all interrelated.
"So the models have to be complex, the data has to be both comprehensive in type, and it has to be extensive in time in order to get any real information out of it."
When Berger commented that critics of the models would say they don't meet a number of the criteria you just laid out, and asked if he thinks that's right, Griffin agreed he thinks it is, "but where do they expect you to start?"
"I mean, ever heard of walk before you run? You're not going to go from no models to perfect models in one step. It's not going to happen," he said.
Berger asked if he is comfortable with policy being made based on models that are walking before they're running — based more on guess work than real evidence. Griffin replied that a "In the real world, policy-makers have to make decisions about what levels of pollution are allowable, which things are more or least harmful, how to go about controlling it, and how much money is it worth to control it.
"I was in downtown Beijing a year ago, and their air quality is an example of what happens when you don't make any decision. You can do that and let nature take its course. So when you do that, intellectually what you're saying is that letting nature take its course is better than anything I could do to be different.
"I tend to think it's better to use the information that you have, from incomplete models and incomplete information, to make with care the best decisions you can. If you're going to wait for perfect accuracy on the research, you'll wait a long time. To deliberately do nothing seems foolish to me. That's a personal opinion."
Dollars tough to sell on streets of Amsterdam
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080317/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_dollar;_ylt=Aqwn3DS7TLeqjwNO.KypiTztiBIF
The U.S. dollar's value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.
"Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here," said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana, in front of the Anne Frank house. "It's hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office."
That's because the smaller currency exchanges -- despite buy/sell spreads that make it easier for them to make money by exchanging small amounts of currency -- don't want to be caught holding dollars that could be worth less by the time they can sell them.
The dollar hovered near record lows on Monday, with one euro worth around $1.58 versus $1.47 a month ago.
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