"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Catholic hospital bans abortion referrals

A fashionable Roman Catholic hospital has agreed a code of ethics barring its doctors from referring abortions or providing contraceptives, The Daily Telegraph has learned.The board of the private St John and St Elizabeth Hospital voted to implement the new code earlier this month after intense pressure from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Britain's senior Catholic leader.The north London hospital may now face financial difficulties because it could have to abandon plans to lease part of its site to GPs who would be obliged by their NHS contracts to offer contraceptive services.According to insiders, the decision by the board may also prompt the resignation of staff who have opposed the adoption of the code.Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, initially ordered the hospital to adopt a revised code of ethics a year ago amid evidence that doctors were prescribing the morning-after pill and referring abortions.An inquiry he set up in 2005, chaired by Lord Brennan, the Labour peer, found that the hospital had been flouting existing guidelines.Senior Catholics had also complained that the hospital's decision to permit NHS GPs to operate on its premises in St John's Wood would further undermine Church teaching.The issues were sensitive because the hospital, of which the cardinal is the patron, is a favourite with celebrity mothers and has been described in magazines as the "poshest place to push".Heather Mills McCartney, the actresses Cate Blanchett and Emma Thompson, the model Kate Moss and Sarah Cox, the radio presenter, have all had babies there.The cardinal even discussed the affair with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before he became Pope Benedict XV.In a letter to the hospital earlier this year, the Cardinal said: "There must be clarity that the hospital, being a Catholic hospital with a distinct vision of what is truly in the interests of human persons, cannot offer its patients, non-Catholic or Catholic, the whole range of services routinely accepted by many in modern secular society as being in a patient's best interest."He also appointed an Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, the Rt Rev George Stack, to the ethics committee of the hospital to ensure that Catholic teaching was upheld.However, a number of senior executives and doctors at the hospital resisted the code, arguing that they were worried about the loss of revenue if it could not lease out part of its site to the GP practice.A spokesman for the hospital said that it was unable to comment at the present time because "matters were difficult".St John and St Elizabeth's, which is open to patients of any or no religion, was founded in 1856 by the Sisters of Mercy, who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war.

As in the days of Noah...

THE TRUTH IS.....

"...the truth is in Jesus."
EPHESIANS 4:21

Pope in talks over Anglican converts

The Pope is understood to be considering ways to accommodate disaffected Anglicans who are thinking of joining the Catholic Church.Many Anglicans are hopeful that Rome will allow groups who convert to Catholicism en masse to maintain elements of their current identity.At a meeting with cardinals from around the world, the Pope discussed the growing splits between liberals and conservatives on issues such as the ordination of women and openly homosexual bishops.In an apparent appeal to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, a senior Roman Catholic called for Anglican leaders to resolve the matter urgently.Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, said: "They cannot postpone all this crisis. There must be a decision made. But it is not in our hands."The cardinal was more optimistic about the prospects of healing the 1,000-year-old schism between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches following a "breakthrough" meeting in Ravenna earlier this month.A joint document, issued after the meeting between leaders of the two faiths, acknowledged that the Pope had primacy over all bishops but did not agree upon what legal authority that gave him.The meeting of cardinals took place as the Vatican announced that the Pope would soon publish his second encyclical, on the theme of "Christian hope".The 81-page letter will exhort Christians not to be afraid in the face of world upheavals, violence, rapid change and "human dramas", but rather to embrace "hope founded on faith".

As in the days of Noah...

Mankind 'shortening the universe's life'

Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our activities may be shortening the life of the universe too.The startling claim is made by a pair of American cosmologists investigating the consequences for the cosmos of quantum theory, the most successful theory we have. Over the past few years, cosmologists have taken this powerful theory of what happens at the level of subatomic particles and tried to extend it to understand the universe, since it began in the subatomic realm during the Big Bang.But there is an odd feature of the theory that philosophers and scientists still argue about. In a nutshell, the theory suggests that we change things simply by looking at them and theorists have puzzled over the implications for years.They often illustrate their concerns about what the theory means with mind-boggling experiments, notably Schrodinger's cat in which, thanks to a fancy experimental set up, the moggy is both alive and dead until someone decides to look, when it either carries on living, or dies. That is, by one interpretation (by another, the universe splits into two, one with a live cat and one with a dead one.) New Scientist reports a worrying new variant as the cosmologists claim that astronomers may have accidentally nudged the universe closer to its death by observing dark energy, a mysterious anti gravity force which is thought to be speeding up the expansion of the cosmos.The damaging allegations are made by Profs Lawrence Krauss of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and James Dent of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, who suggest that by making this observation in 1998 we may have caused the cosmos to revert to an earlier state when it was more likely to end. "Incredible as it seems, our detection of the dark energy may have reduced the life-expectancy of the universe," Prof Krauss tells New Scientist.The team came to this depressing conclusion by calculating how the energy state of our universe - a kind of summation of all its particles and all their energies - has evolved since the big bang of creation 13.7 billion years ago.Some mathematical theories suggest that, in the very beginning, there was a void that possessed energy but was devoid of substance. Then the void changed, converting energy into the hot matter of the big bang. But the team suggests that the void did not convert as much energy to matter as it could, retaining some, in the form of what we now call dark energy, which now accelerates the expansion of the cosmos.Like the decay of a radioactive atom, such shifts in energy state happen at random and it is possible that this could trigger a new big bang. The good news is that theory suggests that the universe should remain in its current state.
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As in the days of Noah....

Credit 'heart attack' engulfs China and Korea

The global credit crisis has hit Asia with a vengeance for the first time, triggering a massive flight to safety as investors across the region pull out of risky assets.Yields on three-month deposits in China and Korea have plummeted to near 1pc in a spectacular fall over recent days, caused by panic withdrawls from money market funds and credit derivatives."This is a severe warning sign," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas. "Asia ignored the credit crunch in August but now we're seeing the poison beginning to paralyse the whole global economy," he said.Korean and Chinese three-month yields have fallen from 4pc to 1pc in a matter of days in a eerie replay of events on Wall Street in late August when flight from banks and the US commercial paper markets caused yields on three-month Treasuries to falls at the fastest rate ever recorded. Asian investors appear to be opting for deposit accounts with government guarantees.It is unclear what prompted this latest "heart attack" in the credit system, though rumours abound that Asian banks have yet to own up to their share of the expected $400bn to $500bn losses from the US mortgage debacle.Stock markets were battered across the region. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 4.15pc, while Tokyo's Nikkei slumped to the lowest level in a year and a half, dragged down by the shares of the 'Seven Samurai' exporters.Asian jitters set off fresh turmoil on Europe's credit markets. The iTraxx index measuring default insurance on bank and insurance bonds hit an all-time high of 63.5."The whole financial market is in turmoil with Bund-Swap-Spreads going through the roof," said Andrew Guy, director of ADG Capital Management.Marcus Schuler, director of credit marketing at Deutsche Bank, said spreads on low-grade European bonds had been jumping ten basis points a day for the last week. "There's been risk aversion across the board," he said.In a rare move, the European Covered Bond Council said it was suspending trading of mortgage-linked bonds in the inter-bank-market owing to the "undue over-acceleration in the widening of spreads".Abbey National today cancelled its sale of covered bonds, the third company to withdraw an issue this week.Charles Dumas, chief strategist for Lombard Street Research, said credit woes had led to an alarming spike in the 'Ted spread' between commercial Libor and US Treasury bills, now near 150 basis points. "Libor is at a premium to T-bills not matched the great crash in 1987," he said.Mr Redcker said the flight from risk has led to a sudden unwinding of the $1,200bn yen "carry trade" as hedge funds and Japanese investors close risky positions. The yen has snapped back violently from yen118 to yen108 against the dollar since early October, with similar moves against other Anglo-Saxon currencies."We're seeing a liquidation of the carry trade. For years it created liquidity for global equities in an upward spiral, but this has now turned into a downward spiral. Base metal prices are falling, which that tells us that Asia may not be as strong as we thought," he said.Copper prices fell 6.4 percent in Shanghai today. It follows data showing China's copper imports fell 4.4pc in October, a sign that central bank moves to choke off credit is starting to slow runaway investment in heavy industry and construction.Jerry Lou, China analyst for Morgan Stanley, said the Shanghai bourse-already down 15pc-was now the word's "biggest valuation bubble". "Lessons from Japan in the late 1980s show that once the stock market starts to head down, earnings and multiple contraction can together crush the market like a market rolling downhill," he said.

As in the days of Noah....

PERSECUTION WATCH:'You're not a Christian – Go to jail!'

To read these news go to:
As in the days of Noah.....

FDA: Flu Drugs Affecting Kids' Behavior

WASHINGTON-Government health regulators recommended adding label precautions about neurological problems seen in children who have taken flu drugs made by Roche and GlaxoSmithKline.The Food and Drug Administration on Friday released its safety review of Roche's Tamiflu and Glaxo's Relenza. Next week, an outside group of pediatric experts is scheduled to review the safety of several such drugs when used in children.FDA began reviewing Tamiflu's safety in 2005 after receiving reports of children experiencing neurological problems, including hallucinations and convulsions.Twenty-five patients under age 21 have died while taking the drug, most of them in Japan.[[[[ Five deaths resulted from children "falling from windows or balconies or running into traffic."]]]]There have been no child deaths connected with Relenza, but regulators said children taking the drug have shown similar neurological problems.While FDA said it isn't clear whether the problems are directly related to the drugs, it recommends adding language about the possible side effects to labeling for physicians who prescribe Tamiflu and Relenza. Besides being a drug side effect, the agency said the behaviors alternately could result from an unusual strain of flu or a rare genetic reaction to the drug.Company representatives were not immediately available for comment.

UN rights chief calls for end to violence against women

The top United Nations human rights official urged states worldwide to take more action against rape, domestic abuse and [[[[all other forms of violence against women.]]]]"Every day, in all corners of the world, countless women and girls are killed, mutilated, beaten, raped, sold into sexual slavery or tortured," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in a statement ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25."This impunity is built on a foundation of discrimination and inequality ... unless these inequalities are addressed, including in the economic and social spheres, the violence will persist," Arbour said. "A woman will not report rape if we continue to stigmatise the victims of violence rather than the perpetrators," she added. [[[[Just last week, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced a woman who had been gang-raped to six months in jail and 200 lashes after she spoke to the media about the case.]]]][[[["We must demand that states honour their commitments to bring perpetrators to justice and provide redress for their victims,"]]]]((1) Arbour urged.
PS:Everything fine and dandy but...who is the world is gonna inforce these things in the MUSLIM WORLD...???I have an answer....NOBODY!!!!!!!
By the way the lady pictured above was being "prepared for stoning"....of course in a muslim country....Notice there is at least another woman piling dirt on her...nice...really nice civilized society......
As in the days of Noah....

Poll says Chavez loses Venezuela referendum lead

CARACAS-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez [[[[has lost his lead eight days before a referendum on ending his term limit,]]]] an independent pollster said on Saturday, in a swing in voter sentiment against the Cuba ally.[[[[Forty-nine percent of likely voters oppose Chavez's proposed raft of constitutional changes to expand his powers, compared with 39 percent in favor, a survey by respected pollster Datanalisis showed.]]]][[[Just weeks ago, Chavez had a 10-point lead for his proposed changes in the OPEC nation that must be approved in a referendum, the polling company said.]]]Despite the swing, company head Luis Vicente Leon said he did not rule out a comeback by the popular president.Chavez has trounced the opposition at the polls on average once a year and can deploy a huge state-backed machinery to get out the vote, Leon said.[[[[Still, the survey was the latest blow to Chavez. He has suffered a series of defections over his plan, including an ex-defense minister who had restored him to power after a brief 2002 putsch but who called Chavez's reforms a new "coup."]]]]"The debate over voting 'yes' or 'no' has burst into the very heart of Chavez's support base," Leon said in an interview. "We can see moderate Chavez backers ready to vote 'no' even though they like him."Saturday's poll was the first Datanalisis survey in the campaign to project Chavez could lose. It also contrasted with the general trend of most other surveys taken earlier this month that have shown Chavez winning amid low turnout and despite widespread skepticism of his proposal.
PS:These are extremely good news for the people of Venezuela...
As in the days of Noah....

BEING FOR THE TRUTH......

"For we can do nothing against the truth,but for the truth"
2 Corinthians 13:8

Police, protesters clash over Bolivia's capital

SUCRE, Bolivia-Protesters armed with clubs and stones clashed with police in southern Bolivia on Saturday in demonstrations demanding the full relocation of the country's government to Sucre from La Paz.Police responded for a second day with tear gas and also fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of demonstrators outside [[[an assembly charged with crafting a new constitution.]]][[[[The protesters want Sucre to become Bolivia's "full capital," with Congress and government offices shifted from the administrative capital, La Paz, a stronghold of leftist President Evo Morales.]]]]Nominally, Sucre is the South American country's capital, but it is home only to the top courts, while the legislature and the seat of government are in La Paz.Protests over the capital began in August, forcing the assembly, which sits in Sucre, to suspend debates for three months.Although there were no immediate reports of the number of people hurt during Saturday's clashes, similar protests a day before left about 100 people injured, the state news agency ABI reported.The protests came amid a power struggle between Morales and his conservative rivals, who want more autonomy for the regions they govern and who also support the capital switch.Delegates have been meeting since Friday under heavy military guard in an army compound, vowing to speed up deliberations to produce a new constitution before their mandate expires on December 14.[[[Delegates taking part in assembly sessions are mainly from Morales' Movement Toward Socialism party, or MAS, as most opposition representatives decided to boycott the debates."To write a new constitution with 140 delegates that are mostly from MAS is not what I'd call a social pact, and even less if it's done in an (army) base, among shotguns and rifles," opposition leader Jorge Quiroga was quoted as saying by La Razon daily.]]]The rightist opposition on Saturday renewed its call for "civil disobedience" in the eastern regions they govern, where anti-government sentiment is strong, and vowed to disregard the new constitution.Morales supporters have staged huge protests in recent months opposing calls for the capital's relocation, and thousands of them traveled to Sucre this week pledging to "defend" the assembly.During the campaign that brought him to office nearly two years ago, Morales said the assembly would serve to cast a mold for a new state in which the country's indigenous majority would have a greater say.Critics say Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, is governing only for his Quechua and Aymara power base in the west of the country, ignoring the needs of the middle class in urban areas like Sucre and other relatively prosperous cities in the east.
PS:I've heard all sorts of things about Morales from friends living there...One piece of info....:he's buddies with Chavez.....Rewriting of the Constitution...does it ring a bell...????There's no telling what the MAS assembly is doing....Bet you anything that MAS(more in spanish) is gonna be MENOS(less) for the people of Bolivia.....
As in the days of Noah....

Ukraine commemorates 75th anniversary of great famine 1932-33

Ukraine mourned Saturday the millions who died in the Soviet-era famine of 1932-1933 which remains a bone of contention between Kiev and Moscow, with flags at half-mast and a solemn religious service.[[[["It was a genocide, an attempt to subjugate the nation, deliberately planned and put into effect," charged pro-Western President Viktor Yuschenko in a speech to thousands gathered in the centre of the capital."Its organiser and executor was the communist totalitarian regime," he said, adding that "the crimes of bolshevism and communism are identical to those of Nazism."]]]][[[[Some four to 10 million people are estimated to have starved to death as a result of a Soviet programme of forced collectivisation launched by dictator Josef Stalin in 1932.]]]](1){Ukrainian farmers had their produce confiscated }(2)and the Soviet authorities also blocked food supplies into Ukraine in what some historians have argued was a deliberate attempt by Stalin to crush a drive for independence.For years Kiev has been trying to get the United Nations to recognise the famine as "an act of genocide" committed against the Ukrainian people, though pro-Russian Ukrainians say it resulted from ideological error.A law officially calling the famine genocide was passed only last year by the Ukrainian parliament, and by a slim majority.Saturday's commemorations began in the 11th century St Sophia's cathedral in central Kiev in a service televised live and attended by Yushchenko and his family. They were flanked by interim Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, a pro-Russian, and ministers representing the gamut of the country's political parties."We pray for the peace of God's servants killed by the famine in Ukraine," a priest wearing a gold chasuble chanted, and a choir responded, "Eternal memory."The president then led several thousand people bearing flags adorned with black ribbons to a monument to the victims of the famine, followed by a minute of silence across the country.The gathering, including Yushchenko, then began lighting thousands of candles on central Saint Michael's Square.In his speech the president called the famine the "greatest catastrophe" to have struck Ukraine, and urged [[[["world condemnation of communist terror" that had killed innocent people, including Russians, Belarussians and Tatars as well as Ukrainians. ]]]]Ukraine finally gained its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071124215155.8165h5qg&show_article=1&catnum=0
PS:(1)This one goes a a REMINDER of what COMUNISM IS ALL ABOUT
(2)Venezuela's Chavez is doing the same thing,today 2007,confiscating farmers lands....It's like a BAD DEJA VU.....
As in the days of Noah....

Inside Intel / Not a reactor - something far more vicious

Ten weeks have passed since the Israel Air Force attacked in Syria, and there is still no reliable information about the precise target that was destroyed, or about the importance and necessity of the attack. Since Israel keeps maintaining its veil of secrecy, Everything that is known comes from leaks by anonymous U.S. administration officials to several of the major American media outlets. What is almost certain, judging from the leaks, are the following facts: A nuclear site built by the Syrians was attacked, and there was some connection to know-how and technology transferred from North Korea. The prevailing assumption is that it was a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor that was in stages of construction, that would have enabled Syria to produce plutonium to manufacture a nuclear bomb. This assumption relies first and foremost on an analysis by scholar David Albright, director of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington (ISIS). Albright was part of the United Nations supervisory unit in Iraq that searched for weapons of mass destruction. In recent years, he and his institute have gained a reputation as experts in nuclear proliferation. He is considered close to the U.S. intelligence communit and to have connections with the Israeli defense establishment. A month ago Albright, as well as The Washington Post and The New York Times, published satellite photos of the site attacked in Syria. The photos were taken on August 10, 2007 and reveal a structure built adjacent to a hilly slope, not far from the Euphrates River. Incidentally, it would be interesting to learn who knew already then, about a month before the attack to take photographs of the Syrian structure from the satellite company DigitalGlobe.
A reactor without a dome
Albright compared the structure in Syria to satellite images of a structure located at the Yongbyon nuclear site in North Korea. The dimensions of the two structures are similar - about 48 by 32 meters and lacking a dome. The structure in North Korea is a nuclear research reactor built on the basis of a 1980 Chinese archetype. As opposed to the Western countries, in the Communist bloc countries, reactors commonly have a flat roof and lack a dome. For example, the reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, where the radioactive leakage disaster occurred in 1985, had no dome. The official production capacity of the reaction in Yongbyon, which was fueled with enriched uranium, is 5 megawatts, but the experts estimate that in fact its capacity had been extended. Over the years, particularly during the period when North Korea was not under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it produced plutonium from the nuclear fuel rods. U.S. intelligence estimates that even after the nuclear test conducted about a year ago (a test which failed), North Korea still has reserves of about 40 kilograms of plutonium, which is sufficient to produce 10 atom bombs. This plutonium is not under supervision, and North Korea could have concealed it in its laboratories or sold it to another country - Syria, for example. Albright's assessments, which hold that what was attacked in Syria was a nuclear reactor, have become almost an authoritative voice. They have been unreservedly adopted all over the world, Israeli media included. But Prof. Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University is challenging them here for the first time. On the basis of an analysis of the same satellite photos, which have been published in the media and on Web sites and are accessible to everyone, he believes that the structure that was attacked and destroyed was not a nuclear reactor. Even, a former Meretz MK, is a chemist who until 1968 worked at the nuclear reactor in Dimona (KAMAG - Hebrew for the Nuclear Research Center). For years he has been keeping track of, and writing about, Israel's nuclear policy and the proliferation of nuclear weapons worldwide.
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As in the days of Noah....

U.N. Climate Distractions

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) just issued the final installment of its year-long scare-the-pants-off-the public assessment of global warming.It should come as no surprise that, according to the U.N., 257 years of western development and progress has placed the Earth in imminent danger of utter disaster and that the only way to save the planet is to drink the U.N. Kool-Aid and knuckle under to global government-directed energy rationing and economic planning.Oh, and did I mention that the U.N. says we only have seven years to end the growth of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 40 years to stop them entirely if we are to avoid killing as many as one-fourth of the planet’s species?I’d be scared too, if I didn’t know that this is the very same U.N. that just admitted to inflating the African AIDS epidemic-thereby maximizing the public panic feeding its fundraising efforts-and the very same U.N. that presided over the corrupt oil-for-food program which gave Saddam Hussein as much as $20 billion in kickbacks while delivering food unfit for human consumption to hungry Iraqis.What we need to do is peer through the U.N.’s frantic efforts to distract us with a multitude of dire predictions of climatic Armageddon and focus on the core issue of the global warming debate-only then does it become obvious why the U.N.’s claims call for extreme skepticism.That key issue, of course, is whether or not manmade CO2 emissions drive global temperature. In its shockingly brief and superficial treatment of this crucial issue, the U.N. states, in relevant part, that, “Most of the observed increase in globally-averaged temperatures, since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. It is likely that there has been significant anthropogenic warming over the past 50 years averaged over every continent (except Antarctica)."This glib statement overlooks that fact that from 1940 to 1975 globally-averaged temperature declined (giving rise to a much-hyped scare about a looming ice age) while manmade CO2 emissions increased. Global temperature has fallen since 1998 despite ever-increasing CO2 emissions. So for 27 of the last 50 years, globally-averaged temperatures have declined while CO2 emissions have increased.If there’s a cause-and-effect relationship between CO2 and temperature in the last 50 years at all, it seems to be slightly in the opposite direction from what the U.N. claims. And if we are experiencing manmade global warming, someone should tell Antarctica to get with the program.The U.N. also says that, "Atmospheric concentrations of CO2… exceed by far the natural range over the 650,000 years." Readers, apparently, are supposed to let their imaginations run away with them as to the implications of this statement. What the U.N. left out is that the relationship between CO2 and temperature over the last 650,000 years is precisely opposite of what it has led the public to believe with statements like the preceding one.
To read more go to:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312490,00.html
PS:I guess this distinguished panel would like to advise us all human beings and beasts-including pets- that would be better if we limit our BREATHING to a minimun....and of course to reduce"any emision of gas of any kind by us humans"would be helpful to aid in this overwhelming" Planetary Emergency" in which we find ourselves as Noveau Peace Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore(Doctor in Planetary Emergencies....)well put it,in his master piece an inconvenient truth....
Note:Between u and me Al.....u should give the 7 buckaroos back to the people that actually HAD TO withstand your movie...I know the movie's earnings are helping you-by the way- to pay for fuel,pilot and flight attendant expenses of your private jet.....

As in the days of Noah....

Islamists protest US naval presence for cyclone relief

Dhaka-[[[[Several hundred activists of the radical Islamic group Hizb ut Tahrir staged protests here before the arrival of two ships of the US Navy for distributing relief supplies among cyclone-affected people.]]]]{{{{{Two warships, USS Essex and USS Kearsarge-each carrying 20 helicopters and 3,500 marines on board with emergency relief supplies, medical and emergency evacuation teams-are scheduled to enter Bangladesh waters Saturday and Tuesday.}}}}}[[[[The protesters Friday carried a banner reading[[[[ 'Prevent American ships from entering the Bay of Bengal in the name of distributing relief' and chanted slogans 'Go back to America' and 'US has no place in Bangladesh'. ]]]][[[[The outfit's leader Kazi Morshedul Haque told the rally that every Bangladeshi had come forward to help cyclone victims along with the army, navy and air force, 'so it is a shame on us, Muslims, that we are allowing the US on our land'.]]]](1)The protest was held amidst tight security at Baitul Muqarram, one of the country's largest mosques and a major Dhaka landmark where religious gatherings take place.
The protestors were allowed to hold the meeting, but were intercepted by the police and paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) when they tried to stage a march.The police picked up the organisation's leaders soon after the protest, while they were returning home, the New Age newspaper reported Saturday.[[[[[While the Bangladesh Government has appealed for help from the international community and many countries have responded, pledging over $550 million and flying in relief material, Islamists have opposed the presence of the US military.]]]]][[[[['It will be a big support for us. With the joining of US Marines and ships, our relief operation and rehabilitation in the cyclone-hit districts will be boosted,' said Brigadier General Kazi Abidus Samad, head of operation and planning at the Armed Forces Division.]]]]]The Islamist groups in Bangladesh, as elsewhere in the Muslim world, have been protesting the US presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.While the Kearsarge was in the Gulf region, the Essex was wrapping up an exercise in South Korea when they were ordered to head for Bangladesh.[[[[[The ships could be used in medical evacuation and survey of the cyclone-ravaged areas and will coordinate their relief efforts with the Bangladesh military, the US embassy in Dhaka said in a statement.]]]]]
PS:I'm beginning to think that ISLAMISTS are blithering IDIOTS....
IF the government of Bangladesh(the poorest country in the world lined up in the top two with Haiti)HAD the resources to give away and help their people,WHY IS IT THAT after so many days people is still WAITING FOR THE HELP that never comes and are HUNGRY and starting to GET SICK....
IF OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES-that by the way are rich,like Saudi Arabia-would have ALREADY SENT THE HELP(and believe me they CAN send the help).....don't you think that the bangladeshi government would have refused the US HELP....????
(1)I agree with Mr whatever here...YEP it's a SHAME on the rest of the OIL RICH muslim countries that DONT HELP BANGLADESH ENOUGH,knowing that EVERY YEAR they face these perils....INSTEAD,who's helping ya'all...?YEP...'Big Ole Satan US'...well....BOO HOO....Big Satan is carrying lots of foods and suplies and medicines and assistance that your muslim brethren deny you for whatever unkown reason....While ya'all spit on our faces and thanks for nothing by the way....
IF YOU(ISLAMISTS) DON"T LIKE IT DON"T TAKE IT AND LET ALL THE POOR PEOPLE DIE,right...?(like in the pic above)After all ISLAMISTS don't have any appreciation for life anyways...Why do I fret ....?"Hizb ut Tahrir platinum exclusive members" don't even read english......
As in the days of Noah.....

Police Secrecy Behind Unmanned Aircraft Test

WALLER COUNTY,Texas-Houston police started testing unmanned aircraft and the event was shrouded in secrecy, but it was captured on tape by Local 2 Investigates. Neighbors in rural Waller County said they thought a top-secret military venture was under way among the farmland and ranches, some 70 miles northwest of Houston. KPRC Local 2 Investigates had four hidden cameras aimed at a row of mysterious black trucks. Satellite dishes and a swirling radar added to the neighbors' suspense.Then, cameras were rolling as an unmanned aircraft was launched into the sky and operated by remote control.Houston police cars were surrounding the land with a roadblock in place to check each of the dignitaries arriving for the invitation-only event. The invitation spelled out, "NO MEDIA ALLOWED."HPD Chief Harold Hurtt attended, along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and dozens of officers from various police agencies in the Houston area. Few of the guests would comment as they left the test site.News Chopper 2 had a Local 2 Investigates team following the aircraft for more than one hour as it circled overhead. Its wings spanned 10 feet and it circled at an altitude of 1,500 feet. Operators from a private firm called Insitu, Inc. manned remote controls from inside the fleet of black trucks as the guests watched a live feed from the high-powered camera aboard the 40-pound aircraft."I wasn't ready to publicize this," Executive Assistant Police Chief Martha Montalvo said. She and other department leaders hastily organized a news conference when they realized Local 2 Investigates had captured the entire event on camera."We still haven't even decided how we were going to go forward on this task, so it seemed premature to me to announce this to the media," Montalvo said. "But since, obviously, the media found out about it, then I don't see any reason why just not go forward with what we have so far. "Montalvo told reporters the unmanned aircraft would be used for "mobility" or traffic issues, evacuations during storms, homeland security, search and rescue, and also "tactical." She admitted that could include covert police actions and she said she was not ruling out someday using the drones for writing traffic tickets.A large number of the officers at the test site were assigned to the department's ticket-writing Radar Task Force. Capt. Tom Runyan insisted they were only there to provide "site security," even though KPRC cameras spotted those officers heavily participating in the test flight.Houston police contacted KPRC from the test site, claiming the entire airspace was restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Police even threatened action from the FAA if the Local 2 helicopter remained in the area. However, KPRC reported it had already checked with the FAA on numerous occasions and found no flight restrictions around the site, a point conceded by Montalvo.HPD leaders said they would address privacy and unlawful search questions later.South Texas College of Law professor Rocky Rhodes, who teaches the constitution and privacy issues, said, "One issue is going to be law enforcement using this and when, by using these drones, are they conducting a search in which they'd need probable cause or a warrant. If the drones are being used to get into private spaces and be able to view where the government cannot otherwise go, and to collect information that would not otherwise be able to collect, that's concerning to me."HPD Assistant Chief Vickie King said of the unmanned aircraft, "It's interesting that privacy doesn't occur or searches aren't an issue when you have a helicopter pilot over you and it would not be used in airspace other than what our helicopters are used in already."She admitted that police helicopters are not equipped with cameras nearly as powerful as the unmanned aircraft, but she downplayed any privacy concerns, saying news helicopters have powerful cameras as well.HPD stressed it is working with the FAA on reviewing the technical specifications, the airworthiness and hazards of flying unmanned aircraft in an urban setting. Future test flights are planned.The price tag for an unmanned aircraft ranges from $30,000 to $1 million each and HPD is hoping to begin law enforcement from the air by June of 2008 with these new aircraft.

As in the days of Noah....

Consternation as Muammar Gaddafi seeks to pitch his tent on Nicolas Sarkozy’s lawn

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya has flummoxed presidential protocol service with a request that a Bedouin tent be erected in central Paris where he can entertain guests during a visit to France next month.Libyan officials have told their French counterparts that he wants the tent put up in the grounds of the Hôtel Marigny, the 19th-century Parisian state residence used to house important foreign visitors.The protocol service is unsure how to respond, since it is unwilling to displease the volatile ruler but unsure about setting a precedent that could lead to similar demands from other heads of state. “Nothing’s been settled yet,” said a source at President Sarkozy’s Élysée Palace.Le Point, the French magazine, said that advisers to the 65-year-old Libyan leader had told Paris he wanted a tent because he suffered from a phobia brought on by being confined indoors.The Élysée Palace source said that Colonel Gaddafi “made this demand to receive his guests under his tent as is his custom and not to sleep in it.” Colonel Gaddafi, who has ruled the North African country for 38 years, greets visitors in a Bedouin tent in Libya and requested a similar installation when he travelled to Brussels for talks with the Belgian Government in 2004.A black, Saharan-style tent was erected for him in lush parkland by a lake in the grounds of the Val Duchesse château in the suburbs of the Belgian capital. Canvas in the Marigny gardens-which are a stone’s throw from the Élysée and the British Ambassador’s residence-would fuel controversy surrounding a visit designed to illustrate the return of the former pariah to the international mainstream....
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As in the days of Noah....

JUDGEMENT ACCORDING TO TRUTH......

"But we are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth against them which commit such things."
ROMANS 2:2

ENVIRO CRAZE WATCH:San Francisco Bay Area Nanny Staters Want To Ban Home Fireplaces

And the insanity of the nanny-staters just keeps on keepin’ on. They don’t quit, and they won’t be satisfied until they take by force of law everything that makes life worth living and we all end up eating roots and berries. Raw roots and berries.I must have missed the initial article on this in the San Francisco Chronicle, but an editorial by a writer named James Earl Warren caught my eye this morning. It seems that, according to a group called the Bay Area Air Quality Management District fireplaces are bad. Very bad:
Under the auspices of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, “public hearings” are being held to determine the fate of the family hearth.
Those of us who live in rural areas have a pretty good idea what the outcome is going to be.
Yeah....those “public hearings” are going to be packed with the type of lefty liberal wack-jobs who hang out in trees, blame Bush for everything from global warming to diaper rash, and pray to Mother Gaia lest we offend her further. The article goes on to make some very good points:
The scientific method follows a rigid methodology. Ask a question. Do background research. Construct a hypothesis. Test the hypothesis. And then, communicate the results.
So what is the question? Are the fires in our homes bad because they add to global warming? Release carbon dioxide into the air? Pollute the atmosphere with soot and particulate matter? All of the above?
Where is the research? The Chronicle reported that “government studies” indicate that 33 percent of all “particulate matter” comes from your fireplace and mine. With all the industry and all the cars in the Bay Area, does anyone actually believe that?
Ask questions? Do background research? A hypothesis that can and should be tested? Can’t do that. Might have to deal with facts, old boy. No, no.
Shouldn’t we be given more quantitative information such has, “How many fireplaces are there in the nine counties? How many are used each night? How many hours is each fireplace used? How much “particulate matter” is expelled from each fire? How many parts per million are in the air? How much dissipates into the atmosphere?”
Is this decision truly about air quality or global warming?
Actually, somebody probably did all of that at some point, the end result of which is resting comfortably in the bottom of someone’s desk drawer. Having that information to work with would be.....incovenient. And here is what I think is the most important issue of all. It’s called “quality of life”:
We stoke our hearths for two reasons.
First, many rural people burn wood because they can’t afford to heat their old houses with electricity. Many more feel that burning wood does less damage to the planet than increasing their carbon footprint by using so much electricity.
Banning fires would hurt the elderly who live on fixed incomes and the poor in general. It would be an added tax on the rest of us and increase dependence on petroleum.
Second, for many of us, a fire crackling in the fireplace is about a different kind of energy - psychic energy. After a day’s work, is there anything nicer than coming home and having a class of Napa Valley Cabernet in front of a roaring fire?
Rainy Sundays find us stretched out on the couch, newspapers scattered, 49ers on the TV, and a fire roaring in the fireplace.
On wintry school nights, our children used to come down into the living room to do their homework in front of the fire as my wife and I read.
If the nanny staters have their way all of that will be illegal and they can nod with satisfaction as they go to their global warming conferences and fly over those now safe homes in jumbo jets that spew more pollutants than all of those fireplaces in those nine counties could if they were all roaring at the same time.
These people are dangerous, folks, and if this insanity doesn’t clearly show that then nothing ever will.
By Pilgrim
PS:This is pure insanity....Thse guys are out of their minds....
As in the days of Noah....

Army in control, says Lebanese PM

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora sought to calm the Lebanese on the country's first day without a president, assuring them that the military, which has vowed to stay out of politics, is on the streets to prevent violence while deadlocked factions work to resolve the crisis.In his first comments since President Emile Lahoud stepped down without a successor, Mr Saniora defended his Western-backed government, saying it will continue to function according to the constitution. "Our main goal in the coming stage, which we hope will not take longer than a few days, will be to exert all possible efforts... to end this situation as soon as possible," he said.His comments came after a meeting with Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, head of the influential Maronite Catholic Church. Under Lebanon's division of power, the presidency is held by a Maronite.Mr Saniora dismissed a declaration by Mr Lahoud, who before departing the presidential palace said he handed over security powers to the army, saying the country is in a "state of emergency"."There is no state of emergency, and there is no need for that," Mr Saniora said. "There is absolutely no need for any Lebanese to be concerned about the security situation. The army is doing its work and is in full control of the situation on the ground."So far, the 56,000-member military has successfully kept this tiny, fractious country together, surviving one crisis after another since the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.Army chief of staff Major General Shawki al-Masri visited the Presidential Guards at Baabda Palace near Beirut and urged them to continue their job and "be ready to carry out additional missions".Maj Gen Al-Masri said the army command will strengthen security measures when needed as it "did in the past years". Beirut remained calm and shops opened for business, following a tumultuous day which intensified fears of street violence between supporters of Mr Saniora's pro-US government and the pro-Syrian opposition led by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=paPolitics_Sat_20_Lebanon_calm_Substitute&show_article=1&catnum=0
As in the days of Noah....

Failure Has High Price at Mideast Summit

JERUSALEM-Next week's Mideast peace conference is unlike any previous U.S. attempt to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because the price of failure has risen dramatically:[[[radical Islamists could gain the upper hand in Palestinian areas and in an increasingly polarized Middle East.]]]Perhaps because of these high stakes, the latest bid to partition the Holy Land and end a century of conflict is receiving unprecedented international support, with more than 45 nations to attend the summit at Annapolis, Md. There may be no better time for relaunching peace talks.Beleaguered leaders are hungry for achievement, most Israelis and Palestinians long for a negotiated settlement, and moderate Arab nations appear ready to provide key backing to offset the growing influence of Iran-a reality highlighted by Saudi Arabia's decision Friday to send its foreign minister to Annapolis.But the region's old demons are threatening new hope. Israel's prime minister is kowtowing to his hawkish coalition partners, the Palestinian president controls only part of his territory and extremists on both sides hold the power to torpedo any progress.The two-day summit at Annapolis brings together Israelis and Palestinians in a U.S. effort to heal what former President Clinton once compared to an abscessed tooth that only hurts more with time.At stake is not just Palestinian statehood, but the survival of moderate forces in the Middle East and beyond.[[[[["In this big picture, resolving this dispute is of colossal importance," Mideast envoy Tony Blair said recently. "It is a signal of reconciliation across faiths and cultures. It removes the cause that extremists use above all else to try to ensnare moderates within Islam."]]]]]The scope of the conference has been scaled back from trying to outline a peace deal to simply relaunching negotiations in hopes of reaching a settlement before President Bush leaves office in a year.But just getting the sides to talk again is an accomplishment, considering seven years of diplomatic deadlock and fighting that killed 4,400 Palestinians and 1,100 Israelis.The bitterness of those years is evident in low expectations."We are not in the era of hope," said 45-year-old Israeli civil servant Rivka Cohen. "We are now in the era of 'so long as it doesn't get worse.'"Qassem Abu Khaled, 48, who lost his West Bank carpentry business because of Israeli travel restrictions, said he only trusts actions. "If they were to change we would have seen signals like freezing settlement construction or removing checkpoints. But all we see is more building and more restrictions," he said.Such pessimism has been reinforced by the troubled conference preparations, including failure to write a joint declaration to be presented there. These challenges pale in comparison to what lies ahead, such as drawing borders and dividing Jerusalem.Past summits already outlined the contours of a solution: a Palestinian state based roughly on pre-1967 Mideast War frontiers, shared control of Jerusalem and recognition of the needs of Palestinian refugees.The biggest question, it seems, is not whether a deal can be reached, but whether it can be implemented. Israel has reason to fear a handover of the West Bank to the Palestinians. Hamas overran Gaza following Israel's 2005 withdrawal from that territory—and then fired missiles at Israeli targets. Palestinians fear that Israel's expanding settlements and separation barrier jutting deep into Palestinian territory have swallowed up so much land that statehood is slipping away.Another obstacle to a deal is the weakness of both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose hands are tied by right-wing coalition partners, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who lost Gaza to Hamas and has difficulty reining in militants in the West Bank.Israelis and Palestinians long for charismatic leaders of the past—like Yasser Arafat or Ariel Sharon—and fear the buttoned-up Abbas and the cool-headed Olmert won't inspire the popular backing necessary to push through a deal. "You are asking way too much of mere mortals who are prisoners rather than masters of their own political houses," said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. Mideast negotiator.Olmert may soon have to choose between two hawkish coalition partners and pursuing peace. For now, it appears he wants both—which may explain his reluctance to meet key Palestinian demands such as an immediate settlement freeze. If he reaches a peace accord, early elections are likely.For Abbas, the biggest challenge is Hamas. It and its Iranian patrons are poised to capitalize on failure. In case of success, Hamas could try to derail talks by stepping up attacks on Israel, which in turn would likely force Israel to reoccupy Gaza.A bipartisan group of prominent former U.S. policymakers recently urged Bush to rethink the strategy of marginalizing Hamas and another Hamas backers, Syria.Notably, Syria is among the nations the U.S. invited to Annapolis—an indication Washington may now be taking such advice into account.In Gaza, Hamas official Ahmed Yousef declared Annapolis a "total failure" even before it started."At a time when your country is split, it's not a good time to negotiate. They (the Israelis) will exploit your weakness," he said.Despite threats from spoilers, Annapolis is being held under a rare convergence of interests.Abbas needs a lift in his showdown with Hamas. Bush hopes to salvage his Iraq-tainted legacy.Olmert is seeking redemption from corruption scandals and an unpopular war in Lebanon in 2006, and may never find a more amenable negotiating partner than Abbas."The prime minister thinks clearly that time is not in our favor," said Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin.Sunni-dominated Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia find themselves sharing the West's concern about the growing influence of Shiite-majority Iran, a key backer of Hamas and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Saudi support would bestow credibility on any agreement and give Israel an incentive to make concessions in exchange for Arab recognition.Israelis and Palestinians may require intense U.S. involvement to bridge their differences—something that's been absent during most of the past seven years.
Both sides also recognize that the status quo is not sustainable."It's either the path of peace and moderation, or the path of drowning in extremism, bloodshed, violence and counterviolence," said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.Former Israeli negotiator Gilead Sher warned that Israel "cannot possibly govern ... the Palestinians for the next 40 years as we did for the last 40 years."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T47UE01&show_article=1&catnum=0
As in the days of Noah..

Hamas Questions Arab Support for Summit

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip-Hamas said Saturday it was shocked Arab countries have decided to attend next week's U.S.-backed Mideast peace summit and underlined its opposition with a threat to launch deadlier rocket attacks on Israel.Hamas argues the time is not right for talks with Israel because the Palestinians are divided. With the Islamic militant group in control of Gaza, Hamas says moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas does not have a mandate to negotiate."The announcement of the Arabs that they would participate in the Annapolis conference was a great shock for the Palestinian people," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, said in a statement."Participation opens doors for normalization of relations with the Israeli occupiers."Another Hamas official said the group was on the brink of developing a more lethal type of warhead for the rockets it regularly lobs from Gaza into Israel."They can be developed in a short period to create sufficient terror and fear and make the Israelis live in pain no less than what our people live through because of the repeated incursions into our villages and cities in the West Bank and Gaza," said Ahmed Yousef, an adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza.Israel, which warmly welcomed the Arab League decision Friday to go to the Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md., has repeatedly said it expects Hamas to try and thwart peace efforts."We take these threats very seriously," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in response to Yousef's comments .Gaza militants have fired hundreds of crude, homemade rockets at Israeli border communities in recent years, killing 12 people.In a statement sent to reporters, Yousef said the rockets have had "limited effect because they don't carry lethal warheads,"Israel has launched limited incursions into Gaza in recent months to try halt rocket fire. It has also cut back on fuel to Gaza and plans to reduce electricity supplies to the territory starting Dec. 2.Late Friday night, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian men who approached the border fence separating Gaza from Israel, Palestinian medical staff said.Residents said the men often scoured the area for cement and other building materials to sell. An army statement said the two men appeared suspicious and were shot as they moved in darkness toward troops at the border fence, which is in an area off limits to Palestinians.Militants frequently use the area to fire rockets at Israel. However, other Palestinians enter the danger zone to scavenge for building materials or sneak into Israel to work.Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, seized control of Gaza from Abbas' security forces in the summer.In the Abbas-controlled West Bank, security forces prevented two Hamas officials from holding a news conference Saturday in the town of Ramallah, cordoning off the building where they had planned to speak about Monday's peace conference.Journalists were ordered not to photograph or film the officials, who were led away by police.Hamas members in Gaza said the two men were released after two hours.Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said the police action was necessary because recent Hamas threats have run contrary to the Abbas administration's efforts to impose law and order.In Gaza, about 200 people gathered outside the seafront parliament building, calling on Abbas not to make any concessions to Israel at the Annapolis conference."We tell those going to Annapolis, we will not forgive you, and we will not forget if you give up any of our rights," said one of the speakers, 15-year-old Uthman Abdullah. "History will curse you and your people will curse you." In Jerusalem, about 500 Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's official residence, calling on him to make every effort to make peace with the Palestinians.

As in the days of Noah....

Twin Homicide Blasts Kill 35 Outside Pakistani Army Headquarters

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan-Militants struck at the heart of Pakistan's security establishment Saturday, killing up to 35 people in homicide attacks on a checkpoint outside army headquarters and a bus carrying intelligence agency employees, officials said.The brazen early morning attacks coincided with the announcement that Nawaz Sharif, a former prime minister overthrown in 1999 by the country's current military leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf, would return from exile Sunday.Sharif, one of Musharraf's most strident political foes, may contest parliamentary elections scheduled for January."Nawaz Sharif and other members of his family are coming back to (the eastern Pakistani city of) Lahore on Sunday," said Sadique al-Farooq, a senior leader of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party.The homicide attacks came as Pakistan remained under a state of emergency, which Musharraf declared on Nov. 3, justifying it by citing the escalating danger posed by Islamic extremists. His critics have noted, however, that many of his moves have been against political opponents — including members of the judiciary, journalists and other moderates.The two suicide attackers struck in Rawalpindi, a garrison city just south of the capital, Islamabad, just before 8 a.m., as employees were arriving for work.In the first attack, an explosive-laden car rammed a bus carrying employees from the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI. The other bomber hit an army checkpoint in another part of the city, said Mohammed Afzal, a local police official.Two senior intelligence officials-one of them at the scene-said at least 35 people were killed. They asked for anonymity, citing the sensitivity of their work.An army statement said it could only confirm that 15 were killed in the attack on the bus, as well as the suicide bomber. It said that two security forces personnel were critically injured in the second attack, and that the bomber died.
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As in the days of Noah...

Law Would Require Cars to Stop When National Anthem is Played in Thailand

Millions of drivers in Thailand would have to stop in their cars when the minute-long national anthem is played twice a day, if a new law is passed.But it is feared that such a move would cause chaos on the roads.The Flag Bill is aimed at boosting patriotism in the country and is being put forward by a group of retired and current generals.Supporters say traffic should stop nationwide when the anthem is played during the raising and lowering of the flag "to preserve tradition and instill patriotism in Thais."Retired General and NLA member Pricha Rochanasena, 70, said: "The national anthem lasts only one minute and eight seconds."So why can't motorists stop their cars for the sake of the country?"They already spend more time in traffic jams anyway."But a vote on the Bill in the capital Bangkok has been deferred to allow a committee to see whether it would work in practice.Politician Wallop Tangkananurak, who is opposed to the proposal, said: "It would be chaotic if the bill had passed as it is now.""So the National Legislative Assembly decided to set up a panel to review it."

As in the days of Noah...

Iranian Official Confirms Country's Production of First Nuclear Fuel Pellets

TEHRAN,Iran-The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Saturday that the country had produced its first nuclear fuel pellets for use in a heavy water reactor, which is still under construction.The uranium oxide pellets are made using a process separate from the uranium enrichment at the heart of a standoff between Iran and the U.S., which accuses the clerical government of secretly pursuing a nuclear weapons program.But the Arak reactor, which began construction in central Iran in 2004, is a concern to the West because the spent fuel from a heavy-water facility can be used to produce plutonium, which in turn can be used for a nuclear weapon. U.N. inspectors last visited the reactor in July, and Iran has said it hopes to have Arak up and running by 2009."Fuel pellets to be used in the 40-megawatt Arak research reactor have been produced," Iranian Vice President Gholam Reza Aghazadeh said, according to the official IRNA news agency.Iran is developing Arak parallel to its better-known light-water reactor program, like the one being built with Russian help at Bushehr. Such light-water reactors use enriched uranium that, at far higher levels of enrichment, can also be used to produce the fissile material for a nuclear weapon.Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes including generating electricity.The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, had no comment Saturday.

As in the days of Noah....

JESUS BEAR WITNESS UNTO THE TRUTH...

"Pilate therefore said unto him,Art thou a king then?Jesus answered,Thou sayest that I am a king.To this end I was born,and for this cause came I into the world,that I should bear witness unto the truth.Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."
JOHN 18:37

JIHAD HORROR WATCH:Iraqi school guard, wife beheaded as children watch

BAGHDAD-Three suspected al Qaeda militants, including two sisters, [[[beheaded their uncle and his wife, forcing the couple's children to watch, ]]]Iraqi police said on Friday.[[[[The militants considered that school guard Youssef al-Hayali was an infidel because he did not pray and wore western-style trousers,]]]] they told police interrogators after being arrested in Diyala province northwest of Baghdad.The three cousins executed Hayali and his wife Zeinab Kamel at the all-boys school in Jalawlah in Diyala province, village police chief Captain Ahmed Khalifa said.No further details were available.{{{Sunni Arab communities across Iraq have been turning against al Qaeda because of its indiscriminate killings and strict interpretation of Islam, which includes a ban on smoking in public and forcing schoolgirls to wear veils.}}}Sunni Arab tribal sheikhs have been organizing their young men into neighborhood police units to drive out al Qaeda, a practice which U.S. and Iraqi officials say has helped bring down violence levels across Iraq.Security operations by U.S. and Iraqi troops have also been targeting al Qaeda in ethnically and religiously mixed Diyala in recent months after the Sunni Islamist fighters were driven out of western Anbar province.The U.S. military said earlier in November that it was sending 3,000 soldiers home from the province but added that the overall number of forces in the province would not decrease.The United States poured an extra 30,000 troops into Iraq from mid-February in a bid to stop the country from sliding into sectarian civil war.
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PS:Sorry folks for posting this horrendous act,but....sometimes it's hard for me to believe that there are peaceful muslims,since their book the Koran teaches a lot about the sword.....
What would be of this world IF every muslim would take the "estrict interpretaion of the Koran path....."....????
I cannot even fathom the horror in this couple's kids,hearts and minds....!!!
Sorry but today I'm having a hard time believing in ISLAM=PEACE.
There is only one Prince of Peace and that is JESUS...This post is too much harsh islamic reality....
IF you that are reading are a muslim,please don't get mad at me or be offended,but write me at:as_in_the_daysofnoah@yahoo.com and tell me Im wrong and show me where in the Koran,Im all wrong....thank you....

As in the days of Noah....

TERROR WATCH:Critics Dub Saudi Islamic School 'Terror High'

ALEXANDRIA,Va.-Its most virulent critics have dubbed it[[[ "Terror High" and 12 U.S. senators and a federal commission want to shut it down.]]][[[[The teachers, administrators and some 900 students at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County have heard the allegations for years-after the Sept. 11 attacks and then a few years later when a class valedictorian admitted he had joined Al Qaeda.]]]][[[Now the school is on the defensive again, with a report issued last month by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom saying the academy should be closed pending a review of its curriculum and textbooks.]]]Abdalla al-Shabnan, the school's director general, says criticism of the school is based not on evidence but on preconceived notions of the Saudi educational system.[[[[The school, serving grades K-12 on campuses in Fairfax and Alexandria, receives financial support from the Saudi government and its textbooks are based on Saudi curriculum. Critics say the Saudis propagate a severe version of Islam in their schools.]]]]But al-Shabnan said the school significantly modified those textbooks to remove passages deemed intolerant of other religions. Among the changes, officials removed from teachers' versions of first-grade textbooks an excerpt instructing teachers to explain {{{{"that all religions, other than Islam, are false, including that of the Jews, Christians and all others."}}}}At an open house earlier this month in which the school invited reporters to tour the school and meet students and faculty, al-Shabnan seemed weary of the criticism."I didn't think we'd have to do this," he said of the open house. "Our neighbors know us. They know the job we are doing."Indeed, many people familiar with the school say the accusations are unfounded. Fairfax County Supervisor Gerald Hyland, whose district includes the academy, has defended it and arranged for the county to review the textbooks to put questions to rest. That review is under way. The academy's Alexandria campus is leased from Fairfax County.Schools that regularly compete against the academy in interscholastic sports-many of them small, private Christian schools-are among the academy's strongest defenders.Robert Mead, soccer coach at Bryant Alternative High School, a public school in the Alexandria section of Fairfax county, said the academy's reputation has been unfairly marred by people who haven't even bothered to visit the school."We've never had one altercation" with the academy's players on the soccer field, Mead said. "My guys are hostile. Their guys keep fights from breaking out."The academy opened in 1984 and stayed out of the spotlight until the Sept. 11 attacks. [[[[Criticisms were revived in 2005, when a former class valedictorian, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, was charged with joining al-Qaida while attending college in Saudi Arabia. He was convicted on several charges, including plotting to assassinate President Bush, and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.]]]][[[[Most recently, the religious freedom commission-an independent federal agency created by Congress-issued its report, saying it was rebuffed in its efforts to obtain textbooks to verify claims they had been reformed.The commission recommended that the academy be shut down until it could review the textbooks to ensure they do not promote intolerance.]]]]
Since the commission's report, the academy has given copies of its books to the Saudi embassy, which then provided them to the State Department.The commission is waiting to get the books from the State Department.On Nov. 15, a dozen U.S. senators, including Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., wrote a letter to the State Department urging it to act on the commission's recommendations. And on Tuesday, Reps. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., introduced legislation to write the commission's recommendations regarding the academy into law.Michael Cromartie, the commission's chairman, said he does not question the character of the student body or the faculty, most of whom are Christian. The commission is focused specifically on the textbooks, and has legitimate concerns given the problems that have been endemic in the Saudi curriculum, he said."It's not about whether the students are civil to their opponents on a ball field.[[[ It's about the textbooks,"]]] he said.At the open house, seniors said they worry that news accounts will hurt their college applications. Most students said they were shocked that the government panel had recommended closing the school.Omar Talib, a senior, said the school caters to students from across the Muslim world, not just Saudis. It makes no judgments on other religions or against Shiite Islam, as some critics have contended."I have four children at this school. I've never heard them say 'Mom, today we learned we should kill the Jews,"' said Malika Chughtai of Vienna. "If I heard that kind of talk, I would not have them here."

As in the days of Noah....

Cruise ship evacuated off Antarctica

SANTIAGO,Chile-A small Canadian cruise ship carrying passengers who shelled out thousands of dollars to retrace the route of a 20th century explorer struck an iceberg and sank hours later in icy waters off Antarctica. All 154 aboard, Americans among them, escaped safely.The passengers were waiting out bad weather Saturday at a remote Chilean military base before they can be airlifted to the South American mainland.Its reinforced hull gashed and taking on water, the MS Explorer slipped beneath the waves Friday evening, about 20 hours after its pre-dawn accident near the South Shetland Islands, the Chilean navy said.Initial reports suggested only a small hole was punched into the hull, but the Argentine navy later said in a statement it observed "significant" damage. Photos released by the Chilean navy throughout the day showed the ship lying nearly on its side, surrounded by floating blocks of ice. Passengers did not panic when the ship struck ice, said Andrea Salas, an Argentine crew member aboard the Explorer."The captain told us there was water coming in through a hole. We grabbed our main things and our coats and we got into the boats almost immediately," she told The Associated Press. "There wasn't any panic at all and luckily, everything went well. Now, after all the anxiety has passed, we can just say, 'Hey we're still alive.'"After bobbing for hours in subfreezing temperatures aboard lifeboats and inflatable rafts, the passengers and crew members were rescued by a Norwegian cruise liner, the Nordnorge, that answered the Explorer's distress call."They were cold after being six hours in the lifeboats. We got them hot drinks and food and the right clothes," the Nordnorge's Capt. Arnvid Hansen told the AP.
Wearing bright orange suits to fend off the bitter temperatures, their faces reddened by a blustery storm that delayed their landing, the rescued finally disembarked Friday night on King George Island in Antarctica where they were housed on Chilean and Uruguayan military bases.
Authorities reported no injuries other than some complaints of mild hypothermia, none serious.
The 91 passengers came from more than a dozen nations, including 24 Britons, 17 Dutch, 14 Americans, 12 Canadians and 10 Australians, said Susan Hayes of G.A.P. Adventures of Toronto, which runs environmentally oriented excursions and owns the stricken MS Explorer. The ship also carried nine expedition staff members and a crew of 54.Hansen said his ship ferried the survivors to King George Island without incident."The rescue operation ran very smoothly," the 54-year-old captain told The Associated Press by shipboard telephone.An Argentine rescue and command center received the first distress call at 12:30 a.m. EST Friday from the Explorer amid reports it was taking on water despite efforts to use onboard pumps, said Capt. Juan Pablo Panichini, an Argentine navy spokesman.Throughout the day the ship listed heavily, its white superstructure and red hull starkly visible against the gray, choppy waters and overcast skies. The Chilean navy eventually lost sight of the ship and wreckage indicated it had gone under completely, according to a navy press officer who declined to be identified in accordance with department policy.A U.S. woman said in an e-mail to family members that she witnessed the high-seas drama from aboard the Nordnorge."It is really scary to see a ship sinking out your porthole," said Jennifer Enders of Covina, California, who was traveling with her husband Robert. "The people were in the water in lifeboats for 4 hours and it is cold outside. We were asked to donate clothes to those coming in from the lifeboats."[[[The accident also left a stain of oil covering some 3,900 square yards of sea, according to the Chilean navy.]]]thanks a lot....The Explorer was on a 19-day circuit of Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, letting passengers observe penguins, whales and other wildlife while getting briefings from experts on the region, according to G.A.P. The tour operator said the voyage was inspired by the Antarctic expeditions of Ernest Shackleton, an adventurer who made repeated forays there in the early 1900s. Shackleton died of a heart attack aboard his ship while trying to circumnavigate the icy continent by sea in 1922. Operators had boasted that the Explorer-a ship only 82 yards in length with a shallow bottom and ice-hardened hull-could go places other vessels could not.Nicknamed "The Little Red Ship," it alternated seasons between Antarctic and Arctic waters and was the first cruiser to take passengers to Antarctica and through the Northwest Passage, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic below the North Pole, according to G.A.P. Adventure's Web site.The polar cruiser boasted a shipboard library, lecture hall, gym and sauna, as well as a crew of veteran sailors, bird experts, biologists and naturalists who would brief passengers on adventures along the way.Hayes called media reports that the ship had an imperfect safety record exaggerated, and said it was fully certified for sailing in October.An Argentine navy statement said the Explorer was about 475 nautical miles southeast of Ushuaia, the southernmost Argentine city and a jumping-off point for cruise ships and supply vessels for Antarctica. Seas were calm and winds light at the time of the accident, officials said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071124/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/antarctica_ship_sinking;_ylt=AvQJwYhHmubFi8aMOGpx1j5I2ocA
As in the days of Noah....