McCain Focuses On Progress in Iraq
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/352608.aspx
Republican presidential candidate John McCain talked to veterans on Monday about the turnaround in violence since the troop surge began.
"We are no longer starring into the abyss of defeat," McCain said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "And we can now look ahead to the genuine prospect of success."
The Arizona senator also criticized Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton for wanting to bring U.S. troops home before the job is completed.
"I do not believe that anyone should make promises as a candidate for president that they cannot keep if elected," McCain told the crowd.
"To promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility," he said. "It is a failure of leadership."
Ambition or Honesty?
He suggested the Democrats' promise to withdraw troops was motivated by ambition rather than honesty.
"People deserve a candid assessment of progress in Iraq as well as of the serious difficulties that remain and of the consequences of hasty withdrawal," McCain said.
McCain also warned against the swift withdrawal of troops advocated by Obama and Clinton, saying Iraq could quickly become a terrorist haven.
"These likely consequences of America's failure in Iraq would, almost certainly, require us to return to Iraq or draw us into a wider and far costlier war," the three-term U.S. senator said.
From June 2007 until last month, violence fell by 90 percent, and deaths of civilians and coalition forces fell by 70 percent, he said.
"The dramatic reduction in violence has opened the way for a return to something approaching normal political and economic life for the average Iraqi," McCain said.
Despite the positive numbers, 2007 - the year of the troop buildup - was the deadliest yet.
McCain insisted he could rally support of the war from the majority of Americans - even though, according to public opinion surveys, most believe the war is going badly and the troop buildup has not helped.
"If we are honest about the opportunities and the risks, I believe they will have the patience to allow us the time necessary to obtain our objectives," McCain said.
Obama Responds
Responding to McCain's remarks, Obama said, "It's a failure of leadership to support an open-ended occupation of Iraq that has failed to press Iraq's leaders to reconcile, badly overstretched our military, put a strain on our military families, set back our ability to lead the world, and made the American people less safe."
Tuesday, the three presidential candidates and the rest of Congress will get a new report on the war from General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. Many expect Petraeus will testify it is too early to begin the reduction of U.S. forces in the Iraqi republic.
But the cloud that hangs over their testimony is the recent fighting that flared up again late last month as U.S.-trained Iraqi forces attempted to oust Shiite militias from Basra in southern Iraq.
McCain also said Iraq will need more money and aid to finish the task of rebuilding their country.
Obama and Guns: Two Different Views
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347690,00.html
Something happens to Democrats on the gun issue when they run for president. For John Kerry during 2004, it was awkwardly posing in brand new hunting gear at a seemingly endless series of hunting photo-ops.
But in what will probably be the most improbable change, the Politico reported on Saturday that Barack Obama was making a big play for gun votes in Pennsylvania. It is not particularly surprising that this change is occurring with the crucial Pennsylvania primary soon approaching.
With about one million of the country’s 12.5 million hunters, Pennsylvania is number one in the nation in the amount of time its citizens spend hunting. With about 600,000 people with permits to carry concealed handguns, Pennsylvania also has more permit holders than any other state.
Others, such as Jim Kessler, vice president for policy with Third Way, a progressive think tank, view Obama as starting to position himself for the general election.
Yet, it should be a hard sell.
Obama has consistently supported gun control legislation that came up while he was in the Illinois state legislature and the U.S. Senate.
For example, when Obama ran for the Illinois state senate the political group, Independent Voters of Illinois (IVI), asked him if he supported a “ban [on] the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns” and he responded “yes.”
Realizing how damaging this could prove in the general election, his presidential campaign “flatly denied” Obama ever held this view, blaming it instead on a staffer from his state senate race.
But then IVI provided Politico the questionnaire with Obama’s own handwritten notes revising another answer. Members of IVI’s board of directors, some of whom have worked on Obama’s past campaigns, told Politico that “I always believed those to be his views, what he really believes in, and he’s tailoring it now to make himself more palatable as a nationwide candidate.”
But the IVI questionnaire isn’t the only one out there.
In 1998, another questionnaire administered by IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test didn’t ask about banning all handguns, but it did find that Obama wanted to “ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.”
Indeed, such a ban would outlaw virtually all handguns and the vast majority of rifles sold in the United States.
In addition, from 1998 to 2001, Obama was on the board of directors for the Joyce Foundation, which funded such anti-gun groups as the Violence Policy Center, the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, and Handgun Free America. Both the Violence Policy Center and Handgun Free America, as its name suggests, are in favor of a complete ban on handguns. During his tenure on the board, the Joyce Foundation was probably the major funder of pro-control research in the United States.
In fact, I knew Obama during the mid-1990s, and his answers to IVI’s question on guns fit well with the Obama that I knew. Indeed, the first time I introduced myself to him he said “Oh, you are the gun guy.”
I responded “Yes, I guess so.” He simply responded that “I don’t believe that people should be able to own guns.”
When I said it might be fun to talk about the question sometime and about his support of the city of Chicago’s lawsuit against the gun makers, he simply grimaced and turned away, ending the conversation.
If taken literally, Obama’s statement to me was closer to what the IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test found, indicating that Obama's bans would extend well beyond handguns.
Obama also opposes the current laws in 48 states that let citizens carry concealed handguns for protection claiming, despite all the academic studies to the contrary, that "I think that creates a potential atmosphere where more innocent people could (get shot during) altercations."
Even Hillary Clinton disagrees with him on this.
The Obama campaign’s strategy largely follows 2003 surveys produced by Democratic pollster Mark Penn showing that if Democrats didn't show "respect for the 2nd Amendment and support gun safety," voters would presume that they were anti-gun. "The formula for Democrats," according to Penn, "is to say that they support the 2nd Amendment, but that they want tough laws that close loopholes. This is something [Democrats] can run on and win on."
It was the same strategy that all the Democratic presidential candidates seemed to follow in 2004.
Earlier this year, Karlyn Bowman at the American Enterprise Institute said: “The Clinton and Obama campaigns know the public opinion data on the issue well. . . . the right to be able to own a gun seems to be firmly held, and I think that's why both candidates say what they say."
In practice, saying that Obama now believes that the Second Amendment means that there is an individual right to own guns doesn’t mean anything if it can’t even prevent guns from being banned. And even today, despite the pressure from the Pennsylvania primary, Obama is unwilling to state that DC’s or Chicago’s ban on guns are unconstitutional.
Obama’s website only recognizes two legitimate purposes for civilian ownership of guns: “hunting and target shooting.” The notion that people might want to protect themselves when the police are not around isn’t something that he sees as legitimate.
On both his Iraq and trade policies, Obama has already faced the embarrassing situations where his top advisors have had to tell people in other countries not to worry because he doesn’t believe what he is telling American voters.
With guns, it sure looks like Obama is again telling voters what they want to hear, not what he plans on doing.
Faith Group Condemns Obama for 'Punished with a Baby' Quote
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07047.shtml
WASHINGTON -- The Christian Defense Coalition condemns Senator Obama for saying that a young single women having a baby would be punishing them.
Senator Obama recently made this statement speculating if one of his two young daughters became pregnant. He said, "But if they made a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
The Christian Defense Coalition is calling for an immediate public apology from Senator Obama and an explanation.
Saying that single women could be "punished with a baby," is not only a slap in the face to every child born to a young mother, but it diminishes the great joy that children bring to their families regardless of the circumstances in which they were born.
Senator Obama seems to be following in the footsteps of his pastor, Rev. Wright, by making such divisive and hateful statements.
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "It is hard to image anyone making such insensitive and thoughtless statements as Senator Obama did the other day by saying he did not want his daughters 'punished with a baby.' Senator Obama should realize that children are a blessing regardless of the circumstances in which they are conceived or born. By these ignorant comments, Senator Obama has insulted every single mother and every child born to them.
"In America, we should be working to help young babies that are born in challenging situations and offering assistance and hope to their mothers. We should not be condemning them by saying that somehow it has now become 'punishment' to have a child in this country.
"We call upon Senator Obama to issue a public apology for these profoundly misguided statements and also address his anti-child and anti-compassion mind set. Mr. Obama talks about change and justice for the weakest and most vulnerable of our society. However, by saying women are 'punished' by having children shows a rigid values system from 100 years ago, one that offers condemnation to those struggling instead of hope."
Russia's Biggest Party To Ask Putin To Lead It
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Russia_Party_putin/2008/04/07/85991.html
Russia's biggest party will invite Vladimir Putin to become its leader, the party's chief said on Monday, a role that would further bolster Putin's influence after he steps down from the presidency next month.
Putin has said he will become prime minister after his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in on May 7 but leadership of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party would effectively give him control of parliament, where the party has a large majority.
Russia's biggest party will invite Vladimir Putin to become its leader, the party's chief said on Monday, a role that would further bolster Putin's influence after he steps down from the presidency next month.
"If Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin headed United Russia, it would be the very best option," Boris Gryzlov, the head of United Russia and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, told a news conference.
He said both Putin and Medvedev were expected to attend United Russia's congress, which opens in Moscow on April 14.
"Such a proposal (for Putin to head the party) will probably be made at the congress. I could myself make the proposal and that would be the correct way," said Gryzlov.
The Kremlin has not given any indication of whether Putin would accept the invitation to head the party. A Kremlin spokesman last week declined to comment on rumors Putin could become United Russia leader.
Putin, a 55-year-old former KGB spy, is stepping down in line with a constitutional term limit. He endorsed Medvedev as his replacement, helping the 42-year-old former lawyer to an easy victory in last month's presidential election.
Some analysts say Putin, and not Medvedev, will hold the real power after the change-over.
ULITMATE DESTINATION
Christopher Granville managing director of Trusted Sources, a London-based investment research service, said the Putin premiership was an interim arrangement and that in the longer term he would exercise influence as party chief.
"It has always been the most obvious thing for him to do in order for him to remain the supreme arbiter of policy and of the country's development and modernization," said Granville. "This is the ultimate destination."
"The plan for the premiership is to help the Medvedev administration get off to a good start ... and once the fledgling can fly with its own wings properly that is the moment when Putin will probably step back and continue as leader of the party," Granville said.
Control over the majority in the State Duma, or lower house of parliament, would further entrench Putin's position. The president has the power to sack the prime minister but he has to seek parliament's approval to appoint a new premier.
United Russia has the two thirds majority required to amend the country's constitution. This gives it the potential to change the powers, or the term, of the president.
"It is fully possible that Putin could become party leader but he is the one who will decide and United Russia will accept any decision he makes," said Alexei Makarkin, vice president of the Centre for Political Technologies in Moscow.
"The prime minister is in need of more political resources... United Russia controls parliament and United Russia unites the main regional elites," Makarkin said.
The State Duma will convene the day after Medvedev's inauguration to vote on Putin's candidacy for the premiership, Gryzlov said. Lawmakers are expected to confirm him in the post by a wide margin.
The outgoing Russian leader was instrumental in founding United Russia party and headed its election slate in a parliamentary election last year.
Even without heading the party, Putin is set to become the most powerful Russian prime minister since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Israeli minister hurls unprecedented threat at Iran
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5171
National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Monday, April 7: “An Iranian strike on Israel would result in an Israeli response that would devastate the Iranian nation.” On a visit to the national defense exercise’s situation room, Ben-Eliezer also warned: “An Initial strike on Israel would see hundreds of missiles hit us… all of Israel will be within range of Syrian and Hizballah missiles.”
DEBKAfile’s military sources note: In all of its 60 years, no Israeli leader has ever threatened to destroy another nation, however belligerent - even when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be “wiped off the map.”
His words directly contradict the soothing statements made by prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Barak that the defense exercise is in no way intended as a threat or an escalation of war tensions.
The minister’s wild rhetoric, apparently off the top of his head, could be interpreted as a threat of Israeli nuclear retaliation to a potential Iranian attack.
Ben Eliezer continued in slightly more measured tones when he said: The Iranians won’t be rushing to attack Israel because they are well aware of our strength, but they bait us by providing weapons to Syria and Hizballah, which we need to deal with.”
Our sources point out that thus far, Israel has never directly addressed any of the three perils.
In Tehran foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Husseini advised the states in the region to closely watch the Israeli exercise, which he described as “provocative” and aimed at boosting the army’s morale.
US Evangelicals March Through Jerusalem
http://www.newsmax.com/international/israel_evangelicals/2008/04/07/86129.html
JERUSALEM -- American televangelist John Hagee led several hundred flag-waving followers across Jerusalem on Monday, a colorful display of the growing alliance between Christian evangelicals and Israel.
Hagee, who calls himself a Christian Zionist, pledged his unconditional backing for the Jewish state. He also vehemently denied he is anti-Catholic, telling reporters that comments attributed to him were either false or mischaracterized.
Presidential candidate John McCain recently distanced himself from a Hagee endorsement because of what Catholics alleged were disparaging remarks by the pastor, including suggestions that Catholic anti-Semitism shaped Adolf Hitler.
Some dovish Israelis are equally uncomfortable with Hagee and other evangelists because of their support for West Bank Jewish settlements and criticism of peace efforts with the Palestinians.
Hagee, who heads a megachurch in San Antonio, Texas, established "Christians United for Israel" two years ago. About 1,000 followers are on a 10-day visit to Israel to show their support and pledge funds to Israeli causes.
Police blocked traffic on Jerusalem's busiest street as followers waved flags from all 50 U.S. states and chanted "we love you, Israel," "Israel is not alone" and "God bless Israel."
"You can see that they really love us from all their heart," said Becky Davidov, 57, who works in a jewelry store. "We could use some more friends like these."
"It's all very nice," said David Yom-Tov, another shopkeeper, "until Jesus comes back again."
Indeed, many Israelis and Jews are troubled by what they suspect is the source of the unbridled support _ a belief by some evangelical groups in an apocalyptic battle between good and evil in which Jesus returns and Jews either accept Christianity or perish.
Israel's government has so far chosen to enjoy the generous financial and political support of leaders like Hagee, and worry about the second coming later.
Hagee, on his 24th visit to Israel, has met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said their meeting did not indicate Olmert agreed with all of Hagee's positions.
"In all too many places in the world, there is hostility toward the Jewish state," he said. "When people profess their support for Israel, obviously that is something we can appreciate."
In this trip, Hagee's group pledged $6 million in donations, and it plans a large march to Washington in July to call on the Bush administration not to pressure Israel into making any concessions to the Palestinians.
Hagee's followers say their main inspiration is not the Armageddon, but rather, rectifying what they view as a historical Christian wrong _ silence during the Nazi Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were killed.
"Our motto is: 'Never again, not on our watch," said Iris Dixon, of Texas.
At a solidarity event on Sunday in Jerusalem, Hagee insisted that the contested city remain united and under Jewish control. Palestinians claim the eastern part of the city, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as the capital of their future state.
Hagee's politics are a source of concern for some Israelis and Jews who support peace with the Palestinians.
"In my eyes, this man represents an approach that is very dangerous to the future of Israel," said Yossi Beilin, a dovish lawmaker. "In my eyes there is nothing more ridiculous and tragic than to see in this man a friend to Israel."
Last week, the president of the largest branch of American Judaism _ the liberal Union for Reform Judaism _ called Hagee an "extremist" on Israeli policy who disparages other faiths. Rabbi Eric Yoffie called on synagogues in the movement not to work with the evangelist.
In a conference call with reporters Monday, Hagee responded to Yoffie.
"He supports this very serious charge by repeating verbatim the Catholic League's claim that I called the Catholic Church 'a great whore,' a 'false cult system,' and an 'apostate church,'" Hagee said. If Yoffie had checked his facts, Hagee said, "he would have found that I have never called the Catholic Church by these names."
Hagee said it was true that he grown "skeptical of territorial concessions" but said his fundamental philosophy was that "Israelis alone have the right to make the existential decisions about land and peace."
Sorrow, defiance, Iraq Christians bury slain priest
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/sorrow.defiance.iraq.christians.bury.slain.priest/17747.htm
Scores of grieving Christians packed a Baghdad church on Sunday for the funeral mass of a priest slain by gunmen in the latest attack on a minority community that has become a target in Iraq's sectarian violence.
Men wept and women wailed as the coffin of Adel Yousef was carried into the Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Baghdad's central Karrada neighbourhood, near where the priest was killed in a drive-by shooting on Saturday.
Mourners hurled flowers at the open coffin as it was carried through the modern church building.
Iraq's small Christian minority has tried to keep out of the sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. But Christian clergy and churches have been targeted repeatedly in the past few months.
The Archbishop of Mosul of Iraq's largest Christian denomination, the Chaldean Catholics, was kidnapped in the northern city in February and found dead two weeks later.
"They are blind, mercenary people, who attack Christians because we are so few in Iraq and we cannot respond on a large scale," said an elderly man who works at the church as an engineer.
"But this is our country and our life. We will endure it," he said. Like other mourners, he asked that his name not be published for security reasons.
Religious leaders from other denominations came to pay their respects, including Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel III Delly, who earlier told Reuters: "How many people have been killed? Christians, Muslims, Sabaeans, people who have dedicated themselves to serving this country, but they are killed."
"We are ready to forgive the people who committed these crimes for the sake of the single family of Iraq."
In Rome, Pope Benedict lamented the killing.
"(The Pope) prays that all people will follow the ways of peace in order to build a just and tolerant society in the beloved land of Iraq," the Vatican said in a telegram, signed by Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.
Many of Iraq's Christians have left the country, among the two million refugees who have fled to neighbouring states. But the mourners at Sunday's funeral said they refused to be intimidated into leaving their homeland.
"Sometimes I think of leaving Iraq. But I insist on staying in Baghdad. It is an issue of faith," said a young man.
Indonesia: Over 100 churches close in 3 Years
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/indonesia.over.100.churches.close.in.3.years/17750.htm
Islamic extremism and local governments have closed more than 100 churches in Indonesia within three years, according to a persecution watchdog agency.
From 2004 to 2007, 110 churches were closed in Indonesia as a result of attacks from radical Muslim groups or by local governments coerced by these groups, reports Compass Direct News.
Based on official numbers, a total of 1,025 churches have been closed or destroyed in Indonesia since the island nation claimed its independence in 1945. Notably, however, only two cases of church destruction or closures are recorded in the era of Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno (1945 - 1967).
Provinces with the highest reported incidents of discrimination and violence against churches are West Java, Banten, Central Java, South Sulawesi and Bengkulu, according to the findings of the Communion of Churches of Indonesia, the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia, the Indonesian Human Rights Commission, and the Wahid Institute – a moderate Muslim non-governmental organisation.
In one recent incident, a church in Sepatan, Tangerang province, was attacked by extremists last December when it refused to adhere to government orders to shut down. Moreover, the home of the church’s pastor was attacked by extremists who kicked out the home’s windows and doors and threw out his possessions.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country with about 85 per cent of its 220 million people saying they are followers of Islam. Christians make up only about 8.7 per cent of the population, according to the CIA World Factbook.
The country has experienced much sectarian violence over the years with at least 1,000 people dying due to Muslim-Christian violence from 1998 to 2001 in Central Sulawesi province where there is roughly equal numbers of both communities.
High profile cases of Christian persecution in Indonesia include the 2005 arrests of three Christian Sunday school teachers who were accused of attempting to convert Muslim children.
The Muslim parents had reportedly given full consent for their children to join Christian students in singing Christian songs, playing games and hearing Bible stories, but the court nevertheless sentenced the women to three years in prison. The women served two years and were released early for good behaviour last June.
In 2005, Islamic militants on motorcycles beheaded three Christian schoolgirls as they walked to school. The girls’ heads were dumped in villages nearby with a handwritten note placed next to the bodies warning of more killings in revenge for sectarian violence on Sulawesi Island.
“Wanted – 100 more heads,” read the letter, according to The Associated Press. “Blood must be paid with blood, lives with lives, heads with heads.”
While Muslims compose 86.1 of Indonesia’s population, Protestants account for 5.7 per cent, Roman Catholics 3 per cent, Hindus 1.8 per cent, and others 3.4 percent, according the CIA World Factbook.
Creating a Purpose Driven Nation
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/351621.aspx
KIGALI, Rwanda - He's traveled more than 9,000 miles to help Rwanda become the first "purpose driven nation," but Rick Warren says it wasn't his idea to go there at first.
"We didn't choose Rwanda. They chose us," he said. Warren is the bestselling author of the Christian book "Purpose Driven Life."
"President Paul Kagame read the book. He wrote me a letter and said 'I am a man of purpose and I want you to come to Rwanda and help us rebuild our nation,'" he explained.
That was about three years ago.
Since then, Warren's Saddleback Church in California has sent nearly 8,000 members on short-term missionary trips to Rwanda.
They are training local pastors in the Purpose Driven Life curriculum.
"Rwanda came to us and said, 'We want to be the first nation to do 40 Days of Purpose,"' Warren said.
Bishop Enoch Dusingizimana was one of those pastors.
Looking at Pastor Enoch and his wife, Liberata, it's hard to believe fourteen years ago they were nearly killed in the horrific genocide and subsequent war of the country.
Most of their relatives did not survive.
"You wonder, if people knew what God's purpose is for their lives --the purpose of creation-- maybe we would not have had the genocide, all those people dying in 100 days because the Bible teaching wasn't very good," Dusingizimana said.
He and his are going through Warren's biblically based book.
"The Purpose Driven Life helps me to put God first and to be a better mother," Liberata said. "It also helps me to minister to other women."
And this family is not alone.
Warren recently headed to the Amhoro Stadium (which means "peace") to join more than 20,000 people from all over Rwanda.
It was the official kick off of a nationwide "40 days of purpose" campaign.
During that time, some 600 churches read through Warren's book together, seeking renewed vision and direction for their lives.
The celebration included a graduation ceremony for the first class of 200 pastors who had gone through an intensive three-year program
"I trust God that many Rwandans will be changed by reading the Purpose Driven Life," Enoch said.
And that's something Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, is hoping for.
"The critical stage at which we are our own transformation makes it imperative that in many things we do we have got to have that purpose," Kagame said.
Warren's book has been translated into several major languages in the country.
Saddleback has helped bring together public, private and faith community leaders to help tackle some of the country's biggest challenges: poverty, disease, corruption and spiritual emptiness.
Warren hopes other countries around the world will also become purpose driven nations.
In the meantime, Rwandan leaders hope to introduce the book in phases, 500 churches at a time.
"Over the period of the next several years, the entire nation will be trained in 'what on earth am I here for?' God's purposes in my life," said Warren. "And imagine if every person in the nation knew what God's purpose was for their life."
During this month of April, the nation also marks the fourteenth anniversary of the days of unspeakable terror.
With Warren's help, however, the Rwandan churches are looking forward, seeking God's best for their lives and teaching these biblical principles to their children.
Pope pays tribute to modern martyrs
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/pope.pays.tribute.to.modern.martyrs/17766.htm
Pope Benedict paid tribute on Monday to Catholics and other Christians who died for their faith in Nazi camps and Soviet gulags or who were killed in hate crimes.
Pope Benedict presided at a prayer service in a basilica on Rome's Tiber Island where the Sant' Egidio Catholic community has set up six memorials to "new martyrs".
"Stopping at these six altars, we recall Christians felled by the totalitarian violence of communism, of Nazism, those killed in America, in Asia and Oceania, in Spain and Mexico, in Africa. We are ideally re-tracing the many painful events of the past century," he said during the service.
Perhaps the most famous person whose memory is honoured at the shrine is Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who was shot and killed by a right-wing death squad while he was saying Mass in San Salvador in 1980.
They also include a German Protestant priest who opposed the Nazis and died in Buchenwald, priests killed by Islamic extremists in Algeria and Turkey, and Orthodox Christians killed during communism in Eastern Europe.
Tiller's Attorneys Lash Out at Operation Rescue's Effort to Prevent Corruption
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07048.shtml
WICHITA, Kansas -- A motion has been filed in District Court by attorneys for late-term abortionist George R. Tiller asking a judge to tell a grand jury to avoid a media campaign launched by Operation Rescue last month.
The campaign, which includes radio ads and hundreds of thousands of automated phone calls to Kansas households, is designed to keep public scrutiny on Tiller's efforts to block critical evidence from reaching a citizen-called grand jury that is investigating him for illegal late-term abortions over the past five years.
"This motion illustrates how desperate Tiller and his lawyers have become, that they would yet again use cheap distortions of the truth in an attempt to deflect the focus off Tiller's alleged criminal activity and silence the truth in the process," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Tiller just doesn't want the grand jury to see anything - not the records, not the inside of his clinic, not the abortion process, and certainly not the truth."
A member of Tiller's virtual horde of attorneys told the AP that the campaign could intimidate the grand jurors.
"This project is not aimed in any way at grand jurors, but is simply meant to increase public awareness to keep the process honest and free from corruption, which breeds in secrecy. When everything is out in the open, it is a lot harder for someone to subvert justice. We make that very clear in our published materials related to the campaign," said Newman.
The campaign is scheduled to run until April 8, when the Kansas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Tiller's motions to quash subpoenas for late-term abortion records from his Women's Health Care Services abortion clinic in Wichita. The grand jury specifically requested that all patient-identifying information be redacted before the records are supplied to them, making patient privacy concerns invalid.
"The citizens who demanded this grand jury are tired of Tiller's continuous obstructions," said Newman. "The Supreme Court needs to step aside and allow the grand jury to do its job and conduct an honest and thorough investigation. Let all the evidence be put on the table and let the chips fall where they may."
Operation Rescue plans to attend the April 8 hearing and will be available for comment immediately following.
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.
New Outreach for Those Touched by Abortion
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07046.shtml
SAN DIEGO -- Abortion. It's a word that grips us when we hear it--sometimes with anger, sometimes with fear, and oftentimes with pain. Most people avoid the subject. Many advocate a position on the streets, in the courtrooms, or in the halls of Congress, while some pray for its end. But what about the tens of millions of Americans who've been personally touched by abortion? How can they find a safe place away from the polarized debate where they can make sense of their abortion experiences and connect with resources that are relevant to them?
Abortion Changes You(TM) is a new national outreach that launches in April 2008. The outreach communicates to those who've been touched by abortion--men, women, grandparents, siblings, other family members, and friends--that they are not alone. This desperately needed environment will invite people to enter a safe place either online or through the book Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or A Loved One's Abortion Experience. Through the Web site and book, people can explore others' stories, participate in interactive content, seek healing, and access local support resources.
"As a teenager I underwent an abortion believing it was the only practical solution to my unintended pregnancy. Yet I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout. For years I suffered in silence," says Michaelene Fredenburg, the creator of the Abortion Changes You Outreach. "After ultimately finding peace, I ended my silence in the hope that I could contribute to creating a safe place for people to dialogue about abortion. Abortion Changes You(TM) grew out of not only my own experience, but also the many heart wrenching stories that have been shared with me."
Through the Abortion Changes You outreach, men and women who were previously unable or reluctant to seek assistance are given a safe place to explore their feelings and seek resolution.
The outreach was initiated in 2007 with the production of 15 voices that powerfully portray how abortion changes women and their partners, grandparents and siblings, as well as the other family members and friends of those involved. These voices, which will be used on billboards, public-transit advertising spaces, print ads, and education flyers, will direct viewers to the Abortion Changes You Web site www.abortionchangesyou.com.
Fredenburg, author of Changed--the soon-to-be- released book featuring the real experiences of real people--hopes that in addition to reaching those touched by a past abortion, the outreach will equip others with new language so they'll be better able to sensitively and compassionately communicate with others about abortion.
"Although each person's experience with abortion is unique, a common thread moves through them all-- abortion changes you. It is our hope that the space we've created online and in the book will give voice to thoughts deeply buried and allow hurting individuals to connect with healing resources."
Susan G. Komen's Funding of Planned Parenthood Causes Diocese to Discourage Support
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07044.shtml
A spokesperson for the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer announced today that the group agrees with a decision made by the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, Indiana to discourage support for the cancer group, Susan G. Komen for the Cure. [1] The Coalition supports the diocese's decision and applauds the courage of its officials.
"First, Komen does not tell women the truth that abortion increases breast cancer risk in three ways," asserted Karen Malec, the Coalition's president.
i) By delaying a first full term pregnancy (a risk recognized by all experts) the woman loses her chance to mature 85% of her cancer-susceptible breast lobules into fully cancer-resistant lobules at a younger age. Full maturation of the lobules is a process that takes place throughout the last months of full term pregnancy.
ii) Almost all of the childless woman's breast lobules are cancer-susceptible Type 1 and 2 lobules. Up to 95% of all breast cancers arise in these lobules. In a normal pregnancy, the breasts grow under the influence of an increased level of estrogen (a hormone and a cancer-causing agent), thereby causing the lobules to multiply. The woman (who aborts before lobule maturation is completed) is left with more places in her breasts for cancers to start.
iii) The Institute of Medicine lists abortion as a risk factor for premature birth. [2] Research shows that premature birth before 32 weeks gestation increases the mother's breast cancer risk. [3,4,5,6] The biological reasons are the same as for the abortion- breast cancer link. Through the abortion-premature birth link, the woman is left with more places in her breasts for cancers to start.
In late October, an article in the National Catholic Register by Susan Wills of the USCCB charged that cancer groups have kept women in the dark about the risk of breast cancer due to hormonal contraceptive use and abortion. [2] Similar accusations have been made in other medical journals. [3,4,5,6]
The Diocese's decision is in line with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) 2007-2008 Respect Life Program, which includes an article explaining how abortion increases breast cancer risk and offering reasons why the evidence has been suppressed. [7]
Mrs. Malec said, "Komen perpetuates the breast cancer epidemic by giving funds to Planned Parenthood. As a seller of hormonal contraceptives and abortions, Planned Parenthood is the primary cause of the breast cancer epidemic."
Although the funds are supposedly intended for breast cancer screenings, Komen has no way of ensuring that the funds are used exclusively for that purpose, instead of its cancer-causing activities.
"Planned Parenthood's personnel have no respect for human life," added Mrs. Malec. "What would cause people, who don't care about children's lives, to care if women die of breast cancer?
"We encourage Komen to end its love affair with Planned Parenthood and give funds for breast cancer screenings to legitimate health care organizations that will use the money for its intended purpose. We also call upon Komen to tell women the truth that abortion increases breast cancer risk."
The third reason for the withdrawal of diocesan support for Komen is its endorsement of experiments on embryonic humans.
The Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer is an international women's organization founded to protect the health and save the lives of women by educating and providing information on abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer.
Using Narnia to touch lives
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/using.narnia.to.touch.lives/17702.htm
The much anticipated release of the second Narnia film, Prince Caspian, is just around the corner. While generations of believers have grown up loving the magical world of Narnia, many of the deeper spiritual overtones in the story can escape the casual observer.
Narnia author C. S. Lewis was a master at using the power of story to communicate truths that alternately wrench our heart and make our spirits soar. The world of Narnia is replete with themes and symbols that speak to longings deep within us – young and old alike. Narnia taps into the God-shaped void within each of us to search for a ‘deeper magic’ that pulls us into an encounter with the God of the Universe.
In the upcoming film version of Prince Caspian, Disney and Walden Media have teamed up to deliver a visually spectacular movie experience. It’s not often Hollywood drops such a gift into the Christian community’s collective lap. The moment is ripe with opportunity, the question is will we step up and use the opportunity to reach out into our communities and engage in serious spiritual conversations?
Prince Caspian throws the door wide open to engage those who don’t understand the deeper magic of the world of Narnia and all it symbolizes. Narnian themes of living in a fallen world, sin, and redemption speak into the hurting hearts and battered lives that surround us. In an effort to assist churches’ in their outreach efforts surrounding the release of Prince Caspian, a number of free tools and resources have been developed by Christian ministries. One such free resource is the Prince Caspian Youthworker Guide from the Christian ministry Interl’inc, available at http://caspian.interlinc-online.com/. Every church should seek out such resources and be aware of this golden opportunity to use the upcoming film as a springboard for deeper spiritual conversations.
Are you prepared to flesh out the deeper truths the movie brushes up against and share God’s hope and truth? Doing your homework and laying the groundwork for significant spiritual conversations can reap eternal rewards. Don’t let this golden opportunity slip by!
'The Grid' Could Soon Make the Internet Obsolete
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,347212,00.html
The Internet could soon be made obsolete. The scientists who pioneered it have now built a lightning-fast replacement capable of downloading entire feature films within seconds.
At speeds about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection, “the grid” will be able to send the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.
The latest spin-off from Cern, the particle physics centre that created the web, the grid could also provide the kind of power needed to transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.
David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies could “revolutionise” society. “With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,” he said.
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The power of the grid will become apparent this summer after what scientists at Cern have termed their “red button” day - the switching-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe. The grid will be activated at the same time to capture the data it generates.
Cern, based near Geneva, started the grid computing project seven years ago when researchers realised the LHC would generate annual data equivalent to 56m CDs - enough to make a stack 40 miles high.
This meant that scientists at Cern - where Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the web in 1989 - would no longer be able to use his creation for fear of causing a global collapse.
This is because the Internet has evolved by linking together a hotchpotch of cables and routing equipment, much of which was originally designed for telephone calls and therefore lacks the capacity for high-speed data transmission.
By contrast, the grid has been built with dedicated fibre optic cables and modern routing centres, meaning there are no outdated components to slow the deluge of data. The 55,000 servers already installed are expected to rise to 200,000 within the next two years.
Professor Tony Doyle, technical director of the grid project, said: “We need so much processing power, there would even be an issue about getting enough electricity to run the computers if they were all at Cern. The only answer was a new network powerful enough to send the data instantly to research centres in other countries.”
That network, in effect a parallel Internet, is now built, using fibre optic cables that run from Cern to 11 centres in the United States, Canada, the Far East, Europe and around the world.
One terminates at the Rutherford Appleton laboratory at Harwell in Oxfordshire.
From each centre, further connections radiate out to a host of other research institutions using existing high-speed academic networks.
It means Britain alone has 8,000 servers on the grid system – so that any student or academic will theoretically be able to hook up to the grid rather than the internet from this autumn.
Ian Bird, project leader for Cern’s high-speed computing project, said grid technology could make the internet so fast that people would stop using desktop computers to store information and entrust it all to the internet.
“It will lead to what’s known as cloud computing, where people keep all their information online and access it from anywhere,” he said.
Computers on the grid can also transmit data at lightning speed. This will allow researchers facing heavy processing tasks to call on the assistance of thousands of other computers around the world. The aim is to eliminate the dreaded “frozen screen” experienced by internet users who ask their machine to handle too much information.
The real goal of the grid is, however, to work with the LHC in tracking down nature’s most elusive particle, the Higgs boson. Predicted in theory but never yet found, the Higgs is supposed to be what gives matter mass.
The LHC has been designed to hunt out this particle - but even at optimum performance it will generate only a few thousand of the particles a year. Analysing the mountain of data will be such a large task that it will keep even the grid’s huge capacity busy for years to come.
Although the grid itself is unlikely to be directly available to domestic internet users, many telecoms providers and businesses are already introducing its pioneering technologies. One of the most potent is so-called dynamic switching, which creates a dedicated channel for internet users trying to download large volumes of data such as films. In theory this would give a standard desktop computer the ability to download a movie in five seconds rather than the current three hours or so.
Additionally, the grid is being made available to dozens of other academic researchers including astronomers and molecular biologists.
It has already been used to help design new drugs against malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills 1m people worldwide each year. Researchers used the grid to analyse 140m compounds - a task that would have taken a standard internet-linked PC 420 years.
“Projects like the grid will bring huge changes in business and society as well as science,” Doyle said.
“Holographic video conferencing is not that far away. Online gaming could evolve to include many thousands of people, and social networking could become the main way we communicate.
“The history of the internet shows you cannot predict its real impacts but we know they will be huge.”
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