Fact Check: Obama and the Status of Jerusalem
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/obama_jerusalem_fact_check/2008/06/06/102435.html
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried to please a pro-Israel crowd this week by saying that Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel and that the holy city should not be divided.
That angered Palestinians, who claim part of the city, and Obama clarified his remarks to say that the fate of Jerusalem should be a matter for negotiation. That angered some Israelis and their U.S. supporters.
By week's end no one was happy.
WHAT HE SAID:
Obama told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided." The remark Wednesday followed an endorsement of peace talks with the Palestinians to form an independent state.
On Thursday, Obama was asked if that didn't send the wrong signal to Palestinians who look to the United States to be an honest broker in negotiations with Israel.
"Obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues," Obama told CNN. "And Jerusalem will be part of the negotiations."
He added that he remains opposed to division of the city.
"My belief is that as a practical matter it would be very difficult to execute," he said. "I think that it is smart for us to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in old Jerusalem, but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city."
THE SPIN:
Republicans said Obama had backtracked. His campaign said no, he merely explained himself more fully.
THE FACTS:
Obama is trying to have it both ways, but there is nothing new about that. So does President Bush. President Clinton did, too.
A 1995 U.S. law recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the U.S. embassy to move to Jerusalem from a neutral site in nearby Tel Aviv.
Using their presidential power, Clinton and then Bush have routinely suspended the relocation of the embassy while saying the U.S. is still committed to doing it. Bush issued the latest waiver just this week.
At the same time, both the Clinton and Bush administrations considered Jerusalem a matter for negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians, just as Obama said he would do. Jerusalem is on the table in the current U.S.-backed negotiations on so-called 'final status issues" in the six-decade conflict.
THE BACKSTORY:
Jerusalem is an ancient city with historic religious sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Jerusalem's modern history is tortured: The United Nations proposed international jurisdiction for Jerusalem when it wrote the mandate for a Jewish state in 1947, but the plan fell apart the next year when the 1948 war divided the city between Israeli and Jordanian control. Israel captured the Old City in the 1967 war, reuniting the city under its disputed jurisdiction.
Israel claims all the city as its capital, and maintains the seat of government there. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Muslim Extremist's Web Site Stirs Mixed Emotions in Charlotte, N.C.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363821,00.html
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a quiet, upscale neighborhood in Charlotte, N.C., rows of custom-style homes and neatly landscaped lawns represent the American dream.
But one local resident has shattered that image, calling for the death of American troops in Iraq and supporting Al Qaeda through his Web site, which he reportedly runs from his parents' home.
Samir Khan is the man behind Revolution.Muslimpad.com — a radical Islamic site that praises Usama bin Laden and asks for Allah to “curse more American soldiers.”
The site posts videos of U.S. Humvees being blown up by roadside bombs in Iraq. It aims to inspire young Muslims to wage war against the West.
Terrorism experts say the Web site, written in English, is one of the premiere sites for Western audiences to get access to radical Islamist propaganda.
Khan, 22, declined requests for an interview, even when approached outside his home with cameras rolling. When asked if the messages on his site represent Islam, Khan would say only that “they represent Muslims.”
In an e-mail sent to FOX News, Khan lashed out at the "arrogance" of the media, saying it should focus instead on converting to Islam. "When you go down in to the earth six feet deep, nothing will matter except what Religion you died upon," he wrote.
Following a FOXNews.com report last month profiling his Web site, Khan railed against "the Kuffaar" — non-believers — who wrote the article and affirmed his belief that jihad is "an Islaamic obligation" rooted in Muslim texts.
Words like those stir mixed emotions in Charlotte, among the general public and among the 8,000 Muslims who live there.
Imam Khalil Akbar, a religious leader in Charlotte, condemned Khan’s site, saying its views do not reflect “mainstream Islamic thinking” and do not represent the Muslim community at large.
“I would reject categorically those kinds of encouragements to look up to people like bin Laden,” Akbar said.
Neighbors described Khan — who immigrated to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia when he was 7 years old — as “friendly” and “reserved.” They said he launched his Web site while taking classes at Central Piedmont Community College and selling Cutco knives.
Abdullah Mahmud, an acquaintance of Khan’s who attends the same mosque, the Islamic Center of Greater Charlotte, defended Khan's viewpoints, saying his anger stems from the United States' foreign policy and occupation of Iraq.
Mahmoud said the blood-drenched videos Khan shows of U.S. soldiers injured in combat “serve the purpose of making the reality of the Iraqi scene visible to people.”
“Those videos are not much different than videos involving American soldiers targeting Iraqi civilians,” he said. “You have to look at both sides here.”
One of Khan’s neighbors, Ron Williams, also defended Khan’s right to free speech.
“Our actions (in Iraq) were interpreted broadly in the Muslim world as an attack on Islam,” Williams said, “I defend his right to speak out.”
But Jarret Brachman, director of research at West Point's Center for Combatting Terrorism, said Khan’s call for violence takes his anti-American views one step further.
“To be unhappy with U.S. foreign policy is one thing, but to advocate violence by promoting Al Qaeda is another,” he said.
“This is the most sophisticated and aggressive Web site in English that really puts out bin Laden’s ideology and the message that’s promoted by Al Qaeda,” he added.
Brachman said Khan's site "raises the threshold for what it means to be a good, pro-Al Qaeda Web site" and is "the best in English."
A graphic prominently displayed on the site shows a picture of Abu Yahya al-Libi, a prominent Al Qaeda spokesman whom Brachman calls “Bin Laden 2.0.”
“He’s the guy poised to take over the movement after bin Laden fades away,” Brachman said. “The fact that Khan would display him like he does means he’s trying not only to show he’s an insider, but also to model himself after him.”
The exact dangers his site poses are difficult to assess, experts said.
“It doesn’t necessarily move someone to action immediately, but it primes the pump,” Brachman said. “It gets somebody motivated to think more about Al Qaeda and so over the long term this is a very threatening message that he’s promoting.”
Brace Yourself for Fifteen-Dollar Gas
http://moneynews.newsmax.com/streettalk/fifteen_dollar_gas_coming/2008/06/05/102042.html
Think that gas prices are high now?
Just wait until you’re paying $15 a gallon at the pump, cautions Weeden & Co. energy expert Charles T. Maxwell.
"We’re heading in that direction," says Maxwell.
Don't rush out into the street screaming just yet, though. "I think it will be a number of years before we get there."
Trading conspiracies aside, it really is all about supply and demand, Maxwell warns. And that picture isn't changing long term.
Governments have been way too slow, he says, to recognize and act on the problem.
"That’s the fundamental problem going on in the world today, and so many people don’t recognize it," Maxwell says.
It isn't really a drilling problem, he warns. We're drilling, but we're finding less and using more at the same time. "This has never been so before," he says.
Maxwell sees gas prices peaking between $4 and $4.50 this year, then dropping back to $3.50 to $4 and remaining at that level through 2009.
He says that present gas supplies are sufficient — and that at $4.50, gas is priced about right for $130 a barrel crude.
"We’re not running short of gas, but we are running short of crude," he says. "It’s not a serious problem because we’re about in balance now and will be for the next year to 18 months.
"But around 2010 to 2012, things will begin to go out of balance again and the problem hits hard."
Acknowledging that current prices are very high by any historical standards, Maxwell expects that by then they will begin to rise again, pushing back through $4 to $4.50 and entering the $6 to $7 range by 2012 or 2013.
Maxwell points out that in his 48 years in the business, the oil supply system has always had a cushion to fall back on in times of bad weather and political unrest.
"Suddenly, we’re without that cushion because of demand in the last four or five years, particularly from emerging economies, and there hasn’t been a compensating increase in new production brought on stream for a variety of reasons," he says.
Oil prices behave in quirky ways, Maxwell notes.
A long, slow, upward line in a diagram drawn over the next five years may make things appear smooth, but the fact is there’s already been a huge jump in the price of crude.
Energy analyst Kevin Book says that the current oil market is running at 96.5 percent of capacity.
"Do something to add capacity to the market and I think you’ll change some of the price dynamics," Book says.
"Fewer SUVs could spell lower demand by millions of barrels per day."
Book also notes that gas prices are subsidized in many emerging economies, notably China, which holds $1 trillion in U.S. reserves.
"Governments that have been subsidizing the price of oil have to look at this and make sure things don’t get out of hand," Book says.
"Growing populations and prosperity increase (subsidy) cost to governments, and once people become accustomed to more they don’t want to cut back."
Over 700 Couples to Support Life Time Commitments to Marriage
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07269.shtml
ROME, (christiansunite.com) -- The 40th Anniversary International convention of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, to be held June 27-29, 2008, at the Ontario (CA) Convention Center will be open to accredited news media. On Saturday, June 28, at 12:30 pm over 700 couples will sign a Forever Yours proclamation supporting a life time commitment to their traditional marriages of a man and a woman. A very large gathering of all the couples outside the Ontario Convention Center to voice their support for the proclamation will be staged between 12:30 and 1 pm. (Photo opportunity - still and video).
Media wishing to attend all or part of the convention should contact Dick & Diane Baumbach 321-544- 3440 email dickanddiane66@bellsouth.net , Tom & Katie Watson 303-503-9756, email: planmark@comcast.net or Silvio &Tricia Puccio (858) 705-2105 email: s.puccio@cox.net to receive credentials for any portion of the three day event.
The convention begins on Friday with a Priest Day with hundreds of priests from around the world expected to attend along with couples with whom they are in leadership relationships. Friday evening the actual convention begins. On Saturday there will be programs throughout the day and evening, along with separate and special programs for children. The Sunday program will include a closing Mass to be celebrated by a very large number of con-celebrant priests.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends start on a Friday evening and end on Sunday afternoon. Participants hear presentations by a couple and a priest and later write their thoughts and feelings to share in the privacy of their room. There is no group discussion. Weekends are held in various locations, including hotels and retreat centers.
There is a cost for the weekend, but in the 40 year history of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, no couple has ever been turned away from attending a weekend because of lack of money.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter is a non-profit organization and all donations from the weekend are used to continue offering additional weekends throughout the country and the world.
Married couples who want to learn more about making their "good marriages, better" can find Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends that are presented all over the United States.
CA Clerk Refuses to Marry ALL Couples
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/388263.aspx
CBNNews.com -- BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A California county clerk says she'll stop performing all marriage ceremonies shortly before a state Supreme Court order legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect.
A newspaper says the move came after the clerk received advice from Kern County lawyers who said marriages cannot be performed in a discriminatory fashion.
The Bakersfield Californian reports Clerk Ann Barnett said Wednesday she would not have the staff or space to deal with an increase in licenses and ceremonies. She plans to stop all ceremonies starting June 13 - three days before gay couples may legally wed.
The newspaper reports she asked county counsel to file a brief with the California Supreme Court opposing implementation of its May 15 ruling allowing gay marriage.
California Clerks Urged to Follow Marriage Laws Despite Refusal by California Supreme Court and Governor Schwarzenegger
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07266.shtml
SACRAMENTO, Calif., (christiansunite.com) -- With both the California Supreme Court and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger refusing to abide by constitutional separation of powers and the California statutes recognizing only man-woman marriages, a leading California pro- family organization has contacted county clerks to urge them to be the last and best defense for man- woman marriage licenses.
On May 27, Campaign for Children and Families (CCF) faxed letters and documentation to 38 of 58 county clerks, where the man-woman marriage ethic is its strongest in California. Already several clerks have responded, telling CCF they intend NOT to issue any same-sex "marriage" licenses.
CCF's letter and legal documentation reached clerks on Wednesday, the same day that the Schwarzenegger administration sent clerks altered marriage license application forms, replacing the statutory "bride"/"groom" requirement with unlawful "Party A" and "Party B" designations.
"We're encouraging the clerks to abide by the express will of the written California Constitution and the man-woman marriage statutes, and to respect the democratic process which will be decided at the ballot box in November, by not issuing marriage licenses to anyone but a man and woman," said CCF President Randy Thomasson. "The judges and the Governor are violating the Constitution and the statutes, but county clerks know they have a duty follow the statutes, which haven't been changed yet. Clerks don't have to issue homosexual 'marriage' licenses, and they shouldn't."
Gary Kreep, executive director of the San Diego- based United States Justice Foundation, is offering pro bono legal counsel to clerks who resist the Supreme Court's unconstitutional ruling:
"We're asking that you please decline to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples unless and until the Legislature changes the marriage statutes, the People change the Constitution, and/or all legal options have been exhausted," Kreep wrote the clerks.
CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (CCF) is a leading West Coast nonprofit, nonpartisan organization representing children and families. CCF stands for marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, and back-to- basics education.
The Marriage Chaos Begins
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07268.shtml
WASHINGTON, (christiansunite.com) -- New York Governor David Paterson released a memo to state agencies arbitrarily and unilaterally instructing them to recognize "same-sex marriages" performed in other states and other countries in which they are considered legal. Recently, the California Supreme Court overruled a voter-approved statute protecting marriage, essentially opening the floodgates against marriage as between one man and one woman.
Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with Concerned Women for America (CWA), said, "The Marriage Chaos has begun. On the wings of supreme judicial activism in California, we're entering into an era of lawlessness and elitist rule, by the very few over the many, the likes of which we've rarely seen in this nation. The people must take back this great Democratic-Republic.
"First, every state in the union must pass a constitutional amendment protecting the sanctity of marriage as between one man and one woman. Second, steps must be taken to pass a federal constitutional marriage amendment protecting same. And third, those who love liberty in both California and New York should immediately mobilize and vote against the retention of the four renegade Supreme Court judges in California and impeach New York Governor David Paterson respectively.
"'We the people' are not left without recourse. Politicians and judicial activists across the country need to be reined in and made to understand that they will not be allowed to disregard the will of the people and the rule of law and create newfangled 'constitutional rights' out of thin-air," concluded Barber.
Concerned Women for America is the nation's largest public policy women's organization.
Young Broadcasting Disseminates False and Misleading Information in Anti Christian Campaign
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07267.shtml
TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn., (christiansunite.com) -- Christian Citizens against Corruption has filed a formal letter of inquiry to media empire heir Vincent Young. Mr. Young has declined to respond.
According to certified letters, since February 23, 2006, News 6 WATE of Knoxville, Tennessee, employee Don Dare along with a cameraman trespassed onto private property using camera equipment, an invasion of privacy, to video without explicit permission to create a sensational news story to publicly ridicule and slander a Christian missionary.
Don Dare and the cameraman were asked to immediately leave, but they did not. Later, Don Dare and news director Rob Akins intentionally and repeatedly released false and misleading information about the national Christian mission coordinator, who refused to be interviewed without an appointment. Phone calls and letters were sent to News 6 WATE advising the station director that information News 6 WATE was broadcasting was false and misleading. Despite many attempts advising the station manager, News 6 WATE continued to air false and misleading information for months after creating a sensational news series to boost its ratings.
In April of 2008, Young Broadcasting executive Brian Greif failed to respond to certified mail addressing the continued release of false and misleading information over the internet by News 6 WATE. "Young broadcasting definitely has an anti Christian agenda and they are unwilling to talk about it. It is a very serious matter for any individual or organization to use their position to knowingly disseminate false and misleading information which would disrupt or hinder the security of the people in that state or nation," says National Missions Coordinator George Raudenbush for Appalachian Youth Missions, who coordinates youth and adults in missions worldwide.
Young Broadcasting owns thirteen television stations according to Wikipedia: KRON of San Francisco, California, WKRN of Nashville, Tennessee, WTEN of Albany, New York, WCDC of Adams, Massachusetts, WATE of Knoxville, Tennessee, WRIC of Richmond, Virginia, WBAY of Green Bay, Wisconsin, KWOC of Davenport, Iowa, WLNS of Lansing, Michigan, KELO of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, KDLO of Florence, South Dakota, KPLO of Reliance, South Dakota, KLFY of Lafayette, Louisiana and KCLO of Rapid City, South Dakota.
Every American citizen is endowed with an inherent right and responsibility to hold public officials accountable. For further information visit: www.tnccc.com.
Hugo Chavez Decrees New Intelligence Law to Hide Ties to Rebel Group, Experts Say
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363761,00.html
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has passed an intelligence law that could force people to spy on their neighbors as part of an attempt to deflect attention from evidence linking his government to the left-wing Colombian rebel group FARC, experts say.
Though the law will scrap the secret police, known as Disip, and the Military Intelligence Directorate, it will create four agencies in their place, including the General Intelligence Office and General Counterintelligence Office, both under civilian command, as well as two bodies commanded by the military.
Critics believe the law is designed to prevent people from speaking out against a government that has seen its popularity decline in recent months.
Miguel Henrique Otero, a fierce critic of the Venezuelan president and editor of the national daily newspaper El Nacional, said the law "turns all Venezuelans into obligated informers."
The law allows easier access to surveillance methods such as wiretapping without the need to obtain a court order. Authorities also may be able to withhold evidence from defense lawyers if they deem it in the interest of national security.
"It eliminates the defense of the citizen and converts the judicial power into an intelligence system beneath the sole mandate of President Hugo Chávez," Otero said.
Some critics say the law is a means of drawing attention away from the internal and external threats he is facing.
During a March raid into Ecuadorian territory, the Colombian military found laptops belonging to the slain FARC leader Raúl Reyes that allegedly linked Chávez to the Marxist group.
Chávez announced that the incriminating files on the computer had been tampered with, but the international police agency Interpol three weeks ago said that was not the case.
Demetrio Boersner, a professor of international studies who teaches at the Universidad Católica in Caracas, said in an interview that he believes Chávez was on the defensive and is concerned about what the international response will be once the full details of the alleged links are revealed.
"It is a defensive reaction to strengthen his system of control," he said. "It is not just the opposition in general that is on the increase but opposition within 'Chavismo' as well. The president is losing his core support and these moves are a way of intimidating people and generating fear."
English student David Duque, 23, agreed. "It's an abuse of power," he said. "Chávez is bringing in this law so he can put pressure on people who are making things difficult for him."
Venezuela's interior and justice minister, Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, has rejected claims that it restricts political dissent. He dismissed such ideas as scaremongering by an opposition looking to attack Chávez at any opportunity.
In a Tuesday press conference on state television, Chacín said, "Nowhere does [the law] mention freedom of expression; therefore, I don't know how it can restrict it. It's not a crime to give a free opinion in this country. Here, we Venezuelans are guaranteed our free opinions."
Some analysts have compared it to the Patriot Act, which granted expanded powers to the U.S. government following Sept. 11, 2001, and the Venezuelan government insists that the new measures are necessary.
The president of Disip, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva, told state television, "Intelligence and counterintelligence are a fundamental weapon in the defense and development of the nation. This law is directed at the field of state security."
Government officials say the new law — which was passed by presidential decree — also is aimed at defending the country against military rebellions or a potential coup.
Chávez long has claimed that the Bush administration was involved in a military coup that temporarily removed him from power in 2002. He has said the move is necessary to prevent spying from Washington.
As the Venezuelan government prepares itself for the election of state governors in November, analysts suggest that Chávez's ruling party, the Partido Socialista de Venezuela, could face a serious challenge at the ballot box by a previously disparate opposition.
International opinion also is building against the firebrand leader, and several countries have voiced concern about Venezuela's links with Colombian guerillas.
The U.S. State Department also has reaffirmed that it would "always look with concern at any measures that are taken that would restrict people's ability to exercise their fundamental human rights."
In Venezuela, opposition groups have planned several anti-government protests in the coming weeks, including one in Caracas on Saturday.
Venezuelan Jets, Ships Fire Missiles at Sea in Military Exercises
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364202,00.html
LA ORCHILA, Venezuela — Venezuela fired live missiles from fighter jets and ships Friday during exercises intended to demonstrate the firepower of President Hugo Chavez's military.
Smoke rose from ships off the La Orchila island military base as Otomat MK2 missiles arced into the sky and Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets flew in formation.
The televised war games allowed the military to showcase some of the hardware bought under Chavez, who says Venezuela's main threat is the United States. A U.S. Navy plane last month flew over the same Caribbean island base, drawing a diplomatic protest from Venezuela.
U.S. officials said the plane accidentally strayed into Venezuelan airspace during a counter-drug mission, but Chavez accused Washington of espionage.
Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel Briceno commanded the troops during Friday's exercises, ordering them to fire at mock "enemy units." It was the first time in 13 years that such drills were held with live missile fire at sea, he said.
The ships and planes hit their target — an old tugboat — with missiles and a 1,100-pound bomb, sinking the vessel 22 miles offshore, Rangel said.
The Otomat is a short-range, ship- and ground-launched cruise missile, manufactured by Italy and France, that was introduced in Europe 36 years ago.
Latin American countries including Colombia and Peru have voiced concern about billions of dollars of arms that Chavez has purchased, but Rangel said new weaponry is needed to keep Venezuela safe from the U.S.
He declared the exercises a success, saying "we've been able to show our power of dissuasion and defense."
The U.S. denies having designs on Venezuela, which is its fifth largest oil supplier. But Chavez insists his government is under a real threat, citing the U.S. Navy's decision earlier this year to re-establish the Fourth Fleet to direct naval forces in the Caribbean, Central and South America.
Opposition politician Enrique Ochoa Antich said Chavez's perpetual verbal conflicts with the U.S. aim to rally nationalist sentiment around the threat posed by the "empire," as the Venezuelan leader calls the United States.
But Ochoa said the approach has been used by Chavez for so long that it "isn't very effective anymore at this point."
Canadian PM cancels Israel visit over Olmert scandal
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5330
The Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is the first prominent world leader to call off a visit to Israel, according to Ottawa media, “because of political instability due to a corruption scandal surrounding prime minister Ehud Olmert.” He was due for a four-day stay starting June 16. DEBKAfile’s political sources report that the Canadian leader’s action is the first outward symptom of the damage caused Israel’s international standing by Olmert’s insistence on functioning normally and refusing to step down until he is indicted.
Circles close to Harper told the Canadian media that Harper “could have found himself in the middle of an election campaign or a campaign by Olmert’s cabinet to unseat the Israeli prime minister.” They were referring to the investigation against him regarding the receipt of cash in envelopes from an American financier during his terms as mayor of Jerusalem and industry minister. Olmert insists there was no wrongdoing.
A former Canadian ambassador to Israel, Normal Spector, described the latest revelations about Mr. Olmert as “extremely damaging” and a source of negative fallout in Israeli public opinion.
Police let go church roof thieves caught red-handed
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/police.let.go.church.roof.thieves.caught.redhanded/19355.htm
Members of St Helen’s Parish Church in Treeton, South Yorkshire, have been left furious after police let off three masked men caught in the act of stealing lead from the ancient church.
St Helen’s, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book, has suffered 10 lead thefts in 10 months, amounting to £100,000 worth of lead taken from the church’s roof and clock tower.
Yet when three men wearing balaclavas and masks were caught by police on the roof of the church last Sunday, police let them off with a caution because they believed that they were just admiring the view, reports the Daily Mail.
Police cited “insufficient evidence”, as the men had nothing incriminating on them and police were unable to take fingerprints from the stolen lead roofing.
The lack of action has left the congregation outraged and concerned at the prospect of yet more thefts.
Church member Carole Robinson, who is married to a churchwarden, was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying, “It was beyond belief. The police said they could claim they had only gone up to look at the view. It left people furious.
“We have been plagued with lead thefts and when we finally catch men on the roof they let them off with a caution.”
Lead thieves are targeting churches across the country as the price of lead soars.
In the latest incident, police were called to the church last Sunday after several residents spotted the men on the roof.
“The police arrived and the men came down and in effect gave themselves up,” Mrs Robinson was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying. “It seemed they had been caught red-handed. Lead had been removed and rolled up ready to be carried off.
“But the police said lead was not the kind of material you could get fingerprints from and they did not have enough evidence to take them to court because they could not link the men to the lead.
“I just felt totally vulnerable. It seems we are totally helpless and the law seems to be on the side of the criminals.”
The church now faces huge repair costs of £100,000 to repair the roof, as well as another £100,000 to repair and repoint the tower of the church.
Thieves have even used scaffolding, erected by builders to replace the roof with stainless steel sheets, as a climbing frame to reach new parts of the roof to steal more lead.
Chief Inspector Jason Harwin of South Yorkshire Police told the Daily Mail: “Four officers were deployed to the scene including a police dog handler. When the officers arrived they spoke with three youths who were on the scaffolding.
“Officers searched all three youths and thoroughly examined the surrounding area but found no evidence that any offences had been committed, nor that the youths possessed any articles with which to commit any offences.
“As a result of this officers had no power to arrest these youths and they were warned to stay away from the property.
“Various local operations have been conducted in order to catch offenders in the process of stealing lead from the church but so far these have been to no gain. We can assure residents that work is continuing in co-operation with members of the church to tackle the issue.”
Mrs Robinson reacted with anger to police suggestions that the men on the roof were just youths. “They were men aged between 20 and 30 and they had balaclavas and gloves,” she said. “I think it's quite wrong for the police dismiss this as youths playing on the scaffolding.”
Ecclesiastical says the number of lead roof thefts is at epidemic levels, with more than 1,800 claims this in 2007 alone at a cost of nearly £5.8m.
Christians Accused of Hate Crime
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/388262.aspx
CBNNews.com - Two Christian preachers are suing British police after an officer accused them of a "hate crime" for handing out gospel literature in a Muslim area of Birmingham in February. Arthur Cunningham and Joseph Abraham say they were told to stop and threatened with arrest.
Abraham said, "He came with a very intimidating attitude, 'What are you doing here?' He said 'I have the power to arrest you because you are spreading a hate crime. Give me your name. Give me your address.'"
Cunningham says the officer said "'…that you're not allowed to preach the Gospel here. That this is Muslim area'. He said 'you guys are committing a hate crime with what you're doing. I'm going to have to call you in and take you in,' and then he took his radio and said something like 'there's a hate crime in progress here. I need assistance.'"
And the first Police officer turned and said, 'Look, you've been warned not to come into this area. If you return and get beating, you've been warned.'"
The two men have demanded an apology and compensation for damages from West Midlands Police.
Ireland likely to reject EU treaty
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ireland-likely-to-reject-eu-treaty-842093.html
Irish voters are poised to reject the Lisbon Treaty on the future of Europe when a referendum is held next week, a poll suggests.
Anti-Lisbon campaigners have surged ahead, overtaking the yes camp to double their previous support and make rejection of the treaty look likely. The survey for The Irish Times newspaper gave the no camp 35 per cent and the yes camp 30 per cent, with don't knows at 35 per cent.
The uncommitted may yet move towards a yes vote but it would take an unprecedented late swing for this to happen.
Ireland is the only EU country holding a public vote on the reform treaty and a no vote would throw the process into chaos. The other 26 members are using parliamentary votes to ratify the proposals – but Ireland is obliged to hold a referendum because it involves changing the constitution. All 27 countries must ratify the treaty, which is meant to streamline decision-making processes in the EU, for it to come into effect next year as planned.
The poll results are particularly shocking because almost all of the big guns in Irish politics, including the new Prime Minister Brian Cowen, have been campaigning feverishly for a yes vote.
Rice travels next week to Paris, Israel, West Bank
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080606/pl_nm/israel_palestinians_rice_dc
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Israel and the West Bank next week to try to nudge Israelis and Palestinians toward a peace deal this year despite Israel's political turmoil.
Rice will travel first to Paris to attend an Afghan donors conference on Thursday and then to the Middle East, where the corruption scandal dogging Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has raised deep doubts about the chances of a peace agreement.
Olmert has rebuffed calls that he resign over allegations that he took envelopes stuffed with cash from a Jewish-American businessman.
Both, Olmert, who has said he would resign if indicted, and the New York-based businessman have denied any wrongdoing.
Israeli officials close to the prime minister have said his strategy will be to try to push ahead with peace negotiations as if nothing has changed and hope that the corruption investigation does not end in charges against him.
But given the political uncertainty, he may have even less room to maneuver in terms of both the peace talks themselves and in meeting U.S. demands that he ease travel and trade restrictions for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
"I know there's a lot of political turmoil in Israel," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters. "That is not our concern. ... We're focused on the substance of this process and trying to move it forward with both sides."
The State Department said Rice would travel from June 11 to June 16, making stops in Paris, where she will attend the International Support Conference for Afghanistan and join President George W. Bush for meetings with French officials.
She then visits Jerusalem and Ramallah. McCormack said she would discuss, among other things, the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas Islamists seized control last June, and the effort "to achieve agreement this year on the establishment of a Palestinian state."
Orthodox Jewish Youths Burn New Testaments in Israel
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion07270.shtml
(christiansunite.com) - Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament about two weeks ago in the town of Or Yehuda, Israel. The books were given to the town's Ethiopian Jews by a Messianic Jewish group -- Jews who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.
The deputy mayor of Or Yehuda said that he received complaints about the books, and arranged for them to be burnt. He has now apologized after his actions have been compared to those of Nazis and others who burnt Jewish holy scriptures.
The Israeli government and Jewish groups have also condemned as "despicable" the burning of the New Testaments by Jewish yeshiva or seminary students in the town.
After this incident, CBN News spoke with Victor Kalisher, director of the Bible Society in Jerusalem. As the son of Holocaust survivors and a Messianic Jew himself, Kalisher expressed shock at the incident. You can view that interview at www.persecution.tv.
Pray for the continued witness of the followers of Jesus in Israel in an environment of opposition (Ephesians 6:19).
For more information on the persecution facing Christians in Israel, go to www.persecution.net/country/israel.htm.
Israeli, Palestinian Negotiators Begin Drawing Parts of Peace Accord
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,364225,00.html
JERUSALEM — Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed to start drafting elements of a proposed peace accord, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Friday.
Ahmed Qureia, the veteran negotiator heading the Palestinian team, made it clear the decision did not necessarily reflect agreement on major issues. But this would be the first time since negotiations resumed more than six months ago that anything would be committed to paper.
"We agreed with the Israelis to begin writing the positions," Qureia told reporters late Friday.
Israeli government officials would not comment and Qureia did not explain why the two sides had agreed at this point to begin drafting a text.
However, the timing coincides with a corruption scandal in Israel that threatens to unseat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Should Israel find itself going to early elections, polls show Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes major territorial concessions to the Palestinians, becoming Israel's next premier. However, drafting during previous rounds of peace talks has not always meant that those positions were then preserved for future negotiators.
Qureia did not say what issue the two sides would start with. If they reach agreement on any issue, then they will draft a single provision, he said. If not, they will lay out on paper their divergent views, he added.
Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks in late November under U.S. prodding. Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded negotiations, and both sides have expressed doubt about achieving the declared goal of clinching a final accord by the end of the year.
Qureia confirmed that Israeli peace negotiators have offered the Palestinians land in exchange for territory where major West Bank settlements lie, but he termed their offer "unacceptable."
Palestinians would like to incorporate all of the West Bank into a future state, but their moderate president, Mahmoud Abbas, has acknowledged that Israel, with U.S. backing, likely will hold on to blocs where tens of thousands of settlers live. In exchange, Abbas is prepared to relinquish some West Bank land for an equal amount of Israeli land.
Qureia would not say how much territory Israel offered, where it is located or how much West Bank land the Jewish state proposed to keep under a final peace accord with the Palestinians.
"The Israelis presented a land swap offer, but this offer is unacceptable to us," he said.
Other Palestinian officials have said Israel has presented maps giving it 10 percent of the West Bank in exchange for southern Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip.
Early Friday, one Palestinian militant was killed and two were injured in a gunbattle that erupted after Israeli tanks and bulldozers crossed into central Gaza. The military said its forces entered to prevent rocket launches.
Fifteen Palestinians — some Hamas militants, others civilians — were wounded in a second aerial attack on a Hamas base in northern Gaza later Friday, doctors said. The missiles destroyed a building, witnesses said.
Hamas also fired four rockets toward Israel, the group said. One landed in the rocket-scarred town of Sderot, damaging six cars, the military said.
The latest flare-up in violence began Thursday when a Hamas mortar killed an Israeli and injured four others in southern Israel. Israel then sent aircraft after a rocket squad, the military said, but apparently missed their target, killing a 6-year-old Palestinian girl.
Olmert warned that Israel was close to abandoning efforts to bring a truce to the volatile area and was seriously considering a large-scale incursion.
"According to the information we have now, the pendulum is much closer to a decision on a harsh operation," Olmert said soon after returning from a brief visit to the U.S.
Egypt has been trying for months to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Islamic militant Hamas rulers.
But both sides have set tough conditions for a truce and Israeli leaders are under pressure at home to respond militarily because the weapons in the hands of Gaza militants have become more deadly.
Four-missile barrage from Gaza follows Israeli warnings of early major crackdown
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5326
DEBKAfile’s military sources report: One missile exploded in Sderot, injuring a passerby; a second crashed into Sapir College car park destroying 6 vehicles; two more landed around local kibbutzim. On his arrival from a trip to the US, prime minister Ehud Olmert said Friday, June 6, that Israel might have to carry out a major military action in Gaza to counter the cross-border rocket fire.
“At the moment the pendulum is swinging closer to military action…”
DEBKAfile’s sources report that Olmert has often made this comment with no results. Overnight, Palestinians pounded with automatic fire, explosive devices and anti-tank missiles the Kibbutz Nir Oz factory, where Amnon Rosenberg, 51, died in a mortar attack Thursday, June 5, and four civilians were badly hurt. He was laid to rest at his kibbutz, mourned by his wife and three children.
Earlier Friday, Palestinian mortars rained down on Nahal Oz and Netiv Ha’asara. Israeli forces crossed over into the Gaza Strip to try and stop the assault, but the Palestinian terrorists dodged from place to place and kept on firing.
Israel, PA look at Gaza crossing options
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212659673005&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Amid increasing international impatience with the policy of isolating Gaza, both Israeli and Palestinian officials are floating ideas to enable the opening of one or more of the four crossings from Israel into the Strip.
"There has been an evolution in the international community on how to handle the Gaza Strip," a Western diplomatic official said Thursday. "There is a consensus that the current strategy that is being pursued is not achieving that much that is positive, whether for Israel, the Palestinian Authority or Egypt."
The official's comments dovetailed with criticism coming from the European Union and the US State Department that the policy of economically squeezing Gaza in the hope that this would weaken Hamas has failed, and that the Islamist group is only becoming more deeply entrenched.
The official said "creative" ways of enabling the Palestinian Authority to retake control of the crossings were being discussed, as well as whether some international presence could assist in achieving that goal.
The official would not go into the details of what kind of international presence was being mooted, but defense officials said that PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad had raised the possibility of creating a force of international monitors that would assist in managing and securing the crossings.
Fayad has been pushing for the deployment of PA forces at the crossings as a way for Fatah to return to Gaza, which Hamas took over in June 2007. This idea has been endorsed by the Middle East Quartet, which at a meeting in December encouraged contacts between Israel and the PA to consider Fayad's proposal for the PA to assume responsibility for the Gazan side of the crossings.
Fayad's plan entails the deployment of the Force 17 Presidential Guard - loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas - at the various crossings.
Israel has consistently opposed the idea, saying that the PA could not effectively secure the crossings on its own, and that Israeli inspectors would be at risk.
Israel is also skeptical that Hamas would allow the PA to control the crossings. If it did so, the further fear is, this would be only be with the understanding that Hamas, not the PA, would control what entered and exited Gaza.
One Israeli official said that while it would clearly be better if the PA were in charge of the crossings and had a foothold inside the Gaza Strip, no one had yet provided a satisfactory suggestion for making that possible.
The official said that Israel would not enter into a situation where it would be seen as cooperating with Hamas in any way, unless that organization accepted the international community's three conditions: recognizing Israel, renouncing terrorism and accepting previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Having the PA at the crossings with only a "wink and a nod" from Hamas, he said, would not be acceptable.
The official also said that a PA presence at the crossings should in no way be seen as a panacea, since the PA was there until June 2007, and the situation was anything but ideal.
Defense officials, meanwhile, expressed skepticism concerning the chances that an international force would be willing to deploy inside Gaza without Hamas's consent. The likelihood of Hamas agreeing to such a deployment, they added, was very slim.
"Which country would be willing to risk its soldiers' lives in Gaza," asked one official who is involved in running the crossings.
Fayad's plan, the officials said, fit into another being drawn up by Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i to consolidate the crossings into the Gaza Strip and to move them away from the border in an effort to minimize the chances of successful terrorist attacks against them.
There are currently four crossings from Israel into Gaza - Karni, Erez, Kerem Shalom and Sufa. According to Vilna'i's proposal, Israel would dismantle Kerem Shalom and Karni, which has been closed for almost a year due to terror threats, and instead build one major crossing at Sufa and move it at least one kilometer away from the Gaza border.
Work on the plan to consolidate the crossings and move them began shortly after a car bomb attack against the Kerem Shalom Crossing in April, in which 11 soldiers were wounded.
Egypt deploys hundreds of policemen on Gaza border
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080606/ts_nm/egypt_palestinians_border_dc
RAFAH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt deployed hundreds of riot police along the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, fearing hundreds of Palestinian protestors may try to storm the Rafah crossing, security officials said.
One official said 500 policemen as well as scores of border guards were deployed at Rafah border crossing and along a concrete wall separating Sinai and the coastal strip.
"Hundreds of Palestinians are starting to gather in front of the main gate of the crossing on the Palestinian side demanding it to be opened," the official told Reuters on a customary condition of anonymity.
Another security official put the number of policemen at around 1,000, along with 500 border guards.
The Rafah crossing is the Gazans' main point of contact with the outside world because few of them are allowed through the passenger terminal at the Erez crossing with Israel.
All of Gaza's crossings have largely been shut since the Islamist group Hamas seized control of the coastal strip last June when its fighters routed the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement.
Palestinian militants blew holes in the border wall with Egypt in January, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to flock into Sinai to stock up on food and fuel supplies.
Egypt has been trying without much success to broker a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. Hamas has repeatedly urged Cairo to open the Rafah crossing unilaterally if the truce talks broke down.
Sarkozy lands in Beirut, opens “new page” in French relations with… Syria
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5329
The first foreign head of state to visit Lebanon since Gen. Michel Suleiman took office as president, Nicolas Sarkozy arrived Saturday, June 7, with a large delegation including prime minister Francois Fillon and heads of government and opposition parties.
In an interview with Lebanese dailies L'Orient-le jour, An Nahar and As Safir he remarked: “I had said ... that I would resume contacts with Syria only when positive, concrete developments occurred in Lebanon with a view to getting out of the crisis. One has to concede that the Doha accord, the election of President (Michel) Suleiman and the return of Fouad Saniora as prime minister are such developments. I have drawn the conclusions and I have called (Syrian President Bashar) Assad to tell him of my desire to see the continued implementation of the accord."
The anti-West Hizballah’s forcible takeover of Beirut last month left 65 dead and a political impasse. It was resolved by a deal in Qatar on May 21 which confirmed Sleiman as president and conferred on Hizballah veto power in a new unity government in Beirut.
The anti-West Hizballah’s forcible takeover of Beirut last month left 65 dead and a political impasse. It was resolved by a deal in Qatar on May 21 which confirmed Sleiman as president and Hizballah’s veto power in a new unity government in Beirut approved by Damascus and Tehran.
The French president stood firmly by the demand “for truth and justice concerning the political assassinations perpetrated in Lebanon.” He added: "The international community is determined to help Lebanon turn the page on political assassinations [notably that of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, in which Syrian officials were implicated].
“The setting up of a special tribunal is making rapid progress,” he said. “This is an irreversible process and the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council apply to everybody."
Sarkozy is to meet the heads of all 14 Lebanese parties, including Hizballah. He has called off his visit to the French UN contingent in South Lebanon. Defense minister Herve Morin will go instead.
Arab League to hold extraordinary meeting on Israel's settlement policy
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6425701.html
The Arab League (AL) Council has decided to hold an extraordinary meeting on June 15 to discuss the Israeli settlement activities in the disputed territory, an AL spokesman said on Thursday.
Abdel Aleem al-Abiyad, spokesman for AL chief Amr Moussa, made the announcement in a brief press release on Thursday, saying the meeting will be held at the level of permanent delegates.
On Sunday, Israeli Housing Ministry published a bid for the construction of more than 800 apartment units in east Jerusalem, the latest decision to build more houses in the disputed territory since the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks at the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis conference last November.
The plan has drawn harsh criticism from the Palestinian side and the international community, including Israel's ally the United States.
The United States said such construction is unconducive to peace efforts, and the Palestinian side has accused Israel of sabotaging the peace talks.
On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that peace negotiations with Israel can't go on as Israel "swallows Jerusalem and expand settlements in the West Bank."
Officials say Iran attack ‘unavoidable’
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/officials.say.iran.attack.unavoidable/19335.htm
An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said on Friday.
"If Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective," Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told the mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
"Attacking Iran, in order to stop its nuclear plans, will be unavoidable," said the former army chief who has also been defence minister.
It was the most explicit threat yet against Iran from a member of Olmert's government, which, like the Bush administration, has preferred to hint at force as a last resort should U.N. Security Council sanctions be deemed a dead end.
Iran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, has defied Western pressure to abandon its uranium enrichment projects. The leadership in Tehran has also threatened to retaliate against Israel - believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal - and U.S. targets in the Gulf for any attack on Iranian turf.
Mofaz also said in the interview that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, "would disappear before Israel does."
Mofaz's remarks came as he and several other senior members of Olmert's Kadima Party prepare for a possible run for top office should a corruption scandal force the Israeli prime minister to step down.
Iranian-born Mofaz has been a main party rival of the Israeli prime minister, particularly following the 2006 elections when Olmert was forced to hand the defence portfolio to Labour, his main coalition partner, at Mofaz's expense.
Mofaz, who is also designated as a deputy prime minister, has remained privy to Israel's defence planning. He is a member of Olmert's security cabinet and leads regular strategic coordination talks with the U.S. State Department.
Israel sent warplanes to destroy Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981.
A similar Israeli sortie over Syria last September razed what the U.S. administration said was a nascent nuclear reactor built with North Korean help. Syria denied having any such facility.
Independent analysts have questioned, however, whether Israel's armed forces can take on Iran alone, as its nuclear sites are numerous, distant and well-fortified.
Exclusive: Flurry over possible Israeli attack on Iran galvanized by race to succeed Olmert
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5328
Two White House spokesmen stressed Friday, June 6, that Washington was committed to solving the Iran issue by diplomacy. They were fielding a barrage of questions on Israeli transport minister Shaul Mofaz’s statement that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites looks “unavoidable” if it continues uranium enrichment - given the failure of sanctions.
Asked whether the US would support an Israeli strike on Iraq, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel answered indirectly: “I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals. I think we’ve been pretty clear in recent weeks and months about our approach on Iran.”
Dana Perino followed by saying: “I understand that Israel is very concerned… when they have a neighbor in their region – Iran – that says they want to wipe them off the map. We are trying to solve this diplomatically.”
DEBKAfile’s political sources report that, while prime minister Ehud Olmert’s aides and the Israeli media played up the importance of the Iranian dossier he presented to President George W. Bush in the White House Wednesday, June 4, there was little substance to their conversation.
Olmert aimed for the impression that he was on top of his job in the face of calls at home for him to step down over the investigation against him for corrupt practices. Any real exchange of intelligence between the two governments took place in the talks US Director of National Intelligence Adm. Mike McConnell held in Tel Aviv while Olmert was in Washington. The American visitor met with the Mossad chief Meir Dagan and defense minister Ehud Barak, following which he was due to brief President Bush over the weekend.
It is self-evident to every Israeli that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear bomb would threaten the Jewish state’s existence and no government can afford to stand by and watch it happen. For Mofaz, who is campaigning to succeed Olmert as Kadima leader and next prime minister, a hawkish position on Iran has the best chance of garnering popular support.
This does not promise an attack on Iran is about to happen. So far, Olmert and Barak have been treading water on the Iran problem; they are even dragging their feet on the lingering Hamas missile offensive which is progressively depopulating southwestern Israel.
Bush administration focuses on diplomacy for Iran’s nuclear plans
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5327
This was stressed by two White House spokesmen in Washington Friday, June 6, in response to Israeli transport minister Shaul Mofaz’s threat to attack Iranian nuclear sites. He said an attack is unavoidable given the failure of sanctions.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino responded: “I understand that Israel is very concerned… when they have a neighbor in their region – Iran – that says they want to wipe them off the map. We are trying to solve this diplomatically.” Another spokesman, Scott Stanzel, sidestepped a specific question as to whether the US would support an Israeli strike on Iran.
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