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

URGENT:ARMY:"3 Viles of Virus Samples Missing From Maryland Lab"

Missing vials of a potentially dangerous virus(Venezuelan Equine Encefalitis) have prompted an Army investigation into the disappearance from a lab in Maryland.The Army's Criminal Investigation Command agents have been visiting Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to investigate the disappearance of the vials.....

PS:If you tie this up with what is going on in Mexico and what's being confirmed by the CDC that has already matched here in the US....we are in trouble...

As in the days of Noah...

SWINE FLU PANDEMIC WATCH:Mexico Flu Deaths Raise Global Epidemic Fears

Pastor Charged with Carrying Concealed Gun

The Wisconsin pastor recently cited for a bow and arrow demonstration in church is now charged with carrying a concealed weapon into a police station.A criminal complaint says the Rev. John Putnam went to the Sheboygan Falls Police Department Feb. 28 to answer questions about a suicidal parishioner....

Hillary Clinton Defends Worldwide Abortion Rights

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testifying in Congress, defended the right to abortion worldwide and the Obama administration's decision to finance family planning overseas.
Clinton stood her ground against Christopher Smith, a Republican lawmaker from New Jersey who strongly opposes abortion.
Full Story...

GOP Chief: Sebelius Must Answer Abortion Questions

The head of the Republican Party called on President Barack Obama to withdraw Kathleen Sebelius' nomination as health secretary unless she answers more questions on abortion.Senators scheduled a final vote on Sebelius for early next week and she was expected to win confirmation.Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Thursday that Sebelius, the Democratic governor of Kansas, has not been forthcoming about her ties to a Kansas abortion doctor, George Tiller. Full Story...

Newt talks about the threat of a nuclear North Korea

Newt goes On The Record with Greta to discuss the North Korean missile launch, Bill Forstchen's new book One Second After, and the steps needed to ensure America's national security.

Pentagon pick:Bush "mindlessly" supported Israel;New top adviser warns Obama may not give Jewish state "blank checks"

While President Bush was "blindly" and "mindlessly" supportive of Israel, President Obama may be less willing to give the Jewish state "blank checks," says Rosa Brooks, the Obama administration's new adviser to one of the most influential Pentagon officials.Brooks will advise Michelle Fluornoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, a position that wields enormous power over drafting U.S. military doctrine in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

EMP ATTACK WATCH:"It's possible...Imagine no phone, no food, no fuel... "

A new book that describes what might happen to America following an electromagnetic pulse attack, which would be expected to destroy the power grid, telephone systems and the Internet as well as food and fuel supply chains, is being used to highlight the danger the nation faces.
The book is "One Second After" by New York Times best-selling author William R. Forstchen.

READ MORE

Marriage Advocates to Rally in Washington, D.C.


Clergy and concerned citizens from around the region will band together to stand up for marriage as the City Council gets ready to vote on recognizing same-sex "marriages" performed in other states. Read more.
http://www.citizenlink.org/videofeatures/A000009868.cfm

Radical


Read more.
http://www.citizenlink.org/videofeatures/A000009870.cfm

LEWDNESS WATCH:Parents protest 'sexpresso' shop next to daycare center

A group of parents is protesting a drive-through espresso stand in Everett, Washington, that features scantily clad hostesses.Bunny Baristas is located at the only entrance to the parking lot at a daycare center. The female shop attendant wears a revealing bikini top and skimpy shorts, as well as bunny ears and tail.
"It is not fair to have sex trades and adult entertainment in front of children," a parent contends...

"Hateful words" may be prosecutable

A Democratic congresswoman's candid remarks in the House Judiciary Committee yesterday bolster the fears of Americans who are concerned they one day may be convicted of a "hate crime" for merely publicly expressing their opposition to homosexuality...

Previous Swine Flu Outbreak Originated At Fort Dix

Given the reports of the possibility of a swine flu epidemic, is interesting to note that last time there was a significant outbreak of a new form of swine flu in the U.S. it originated at the army base at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, April 24, 2009
http://www.infowars.net/articles/april2009/240409Dix.htm

NAZI WATCH:Video raises questions about Demjanjuk health claims

Federal prosecutors have submitted recent videos of John Demjanjuk to a federal appeals court that show the alleged Nazi death camp guard walking and talking animatedly....

ENVIRO CRAZE WATCH:Gore equates global warming to "civil rights issue"

Former Vice President Al Gore urged lawmakers Friday to overcome partisan differences and take action to reduce greenhouse gases, calling the climate issue the most important ever put before Congress....(Sigh....)

'Gay' activists show true colors following Miss USA pageant

A Christian activist says the controversy surrounding Miss California Carrie Prejean and her answer to a question about same-sex "marriage" is bringing out the true nature of homosexuals and their supporters....
Read Michelle Malkin's related column: Civility and tolerance in the age of Obama

GAY AGENDA WATCH:Connecticut 4th state to legalize same-sex 'marriage'

Connecticut's legislature has approved-and now Governor Jodi Rell has signed-a bill that legalizes homosexual "marriage" in that state.S.B 899 passed only after approval of an amendment giving religious organizations an exemption to the law-specifically, that they are not required to pvodie services, goods, or facilities for same-sex "wedding" ceremonies.

Homeland secretary apologizes to veterans group

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met with the American Legion on Friday to apologize for a right-wing extremism report written by her agency, and the veterans group walked away from the meeting mollified....

Burma Opposition Group Members Charged With 'Insulting Religion'

Two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners, a party spokesman said Friday.

Are Cameras Coming to Supreme Court...?

Appearing before a House panel Thursday, Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer said that justices remain undecided on whether to allow television broadcasts of court proceedings, despite debate over the issue.

US, China to sign billions in business deals Monday

U.S. and Chinese companies will sign over 30 contracts on Monday worth billions of dollars...

Germany's slump risks 'explosive' mood as second banking crisis looms

A clutch of political and labour leaders in Germany have raised the spectre of civil unrest after the country's leading institutes forecast a 6pc contraction of gross domestic product this year, a slump reminiscent of 1931 and bad enough to drive unemployment to 4.7m by 2010.

ENVIRO CRAZE WATCH:Democrats Refuse to Allow Skeptic to Testify Alongside Gore At Congressional Hearing

'House Democrats don't want Gore humiliated'.....
UK's Lord Christopher Monckton, a former science advisor to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, claimed House Democrats have refused to allow him to appear alongside former Vice President Al Gore at a high profile global warming hearing on Friday April 24, 2009 at 10am in Washington....

Obama Administration to Release Detainee Abuse Photos; Former CIA Official Says Former Colleagues 'Don't Believe They Have Cover Anymore'

In a letter from the Justice Department to a federal judge yesterday, the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would turn over to the American Civil Liberties Union 44 photographs showing detainee abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq during the Bush administration...

LIAR,LIAR PANTS on FIRE...:Pelosi:"I didn't know about use of waterboarding"

Pelosi:I didn't know about use of waterboarding...."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing back on GOP charges that she knew about waterboarding for years and did nothing....

PESTILENCE WATCH:"Swine Flu Outbreak"

Deadly new flu strain breaks out in Mexico, U.S.

Peres:"China has large role in stopping Iran"

China has a "central role" in preventing Iran's drive to obtain nuclear weapons, President Shimon Peres said Thursday in a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi....

Lieberman presses Chinese FM on Iran

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman discussed the proliferation of nuclear technology to Iran with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, during a one-to-one, closed-door meeting that lasted 40 minutes at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

Ahmadinejad:"Idol of Zionism should be broken"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the "idol of Zionism" should be broken in order to "save humanity.""
"Free nations will not bow to the idol of Zionism and would break it, although it has already been broken," Ahmadinejad told a crowd in the city of Eslamshahr, not far from Teheran.

Thousands of Armenians mourn WWI mass killings

Tens of thousands of Armenians marched through the capital on Friday to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the start of mass killings by Ottoman Turks, many calling on Turkey to recognize the slayings as genocide.Armenia and Turkey said Thursday they are close to restoring full relations and reopening their border after 15 years. But neither side has indicated how they might resolve the dispute over the killings.

Russia renews opposition to sanctions on North Korea

Russia's foreign minister on Friday renewed his country's opposition to sanctions against North Korea for its rocket launch and called for efforts to revive the stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear programs.North Korea last week expelled international nuclear monitors, vowed to restart its atomic program and quit disarmament negotiations to protest the U.N. Security Council condemnation of its April 5 rocket launch.

Suleiman in Jerusalem coordinates Egyptian-Israeli positions for talks with Obama

Middle East policy-making went into high gear in Jerusalem Wednesday, April, 21 as prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu called a special security cabinet session in the morning ahead of Egypt's senior negotiator, intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman's arrival...

Israel shocked by Obama's approval of large Turkish arms sale to Lebanon

Senior Israeli military circles staggered by the discovery that US president Barack Obama had approved a large Turkish arms sale to the Lebanese army, including the services of Turkish military instructors...

Israel denies soldiers knowingly attacked Palestinian civilians in Gaza operation

An exhaustive probe carried out by the Israeli military has failed to turn up a single case of an Israeli serviceman on land, sea or air, who knowingly shot a Palestinian civilian during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza which ended in January. This was part of the interim report on the IDF special inquiry, submitted Wednesday, April 22, by deputy chief of staff Maj. Gen. Dan Harel...

Iran canceled air show when Russia warned Israel planned to destroy all 140 warplanes

DEBKAfile's Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that Moscow warned Tehran Friday April 17 that Israel was planning to destroy all 140 fighter-bombers concentrated at the Mehr-Abad Air Force base for an air show over Tehran on Iran's Army Day the following day. The entire fleet was accordingly removed to remote bases and the display cancelled.

Northwestern Students Demand Release of Saberi

Students at Northwestern University are demanding the release of journalist Roxana Saberi, a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, who was recently imprisoned in Iran on spying charges.

Clinton:"Bush's Iran Policy Was a Failure"

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the Bush administration Thursday for what she called a failed eight-year effort to isolate Iran that has only increased concerns about Iranian influence

Clinton says Israel risks losing support on Iran

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cautioned Israel's right-wing government on Thursday that it risked losing Arab support for fighting any threats from Iran if it shuns Palestinian peace talks...
Clinton said Arab nations had made clear to her that Israel must be committed to the Palestinian peace process if it wants help countering Iran.

Concerns About Uptick in Iraqi Violence

Iraqi police:60 dead in double bombing

Back-to-back suicide bombings killed 60 people Friday outside the most important Shiite shrine in Baghdad, a day after the country was rocked by its most deadly violence in more than a year.
The bombings Friday and Thursday — in which nearly 80 people were killed — are the latest in a series of high-profile attacks blamed on Sunni insurgents, police officials said.

Iraq Officials Say Suspected Al-Qaeda-Linked Chief Nabbed

Iraqi security officials said they captured one of the most wanted leaders of the Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgency Thursday, an arrest that could deliver a significant blow to an intensified campaign of attacks.

U.S. Reporters to Be Put on Trial in North Korea

North Korea has decided to put two U.S. journalists on trial following an investigation into allegations that they entered the country illegally and conducted "hostile acts"...

Taliban Begins to Pull Back...

Taliban militants began pulling out of a recently seized district of northwestern Pakistan on Friday, a local official and the insurgents said, after the government warned it would remove them by force. The withdrawal, if completed, eliminates the most immediate threat to a peace agreement in the militant-held Swat Valley that the U.S. government worries has created a haven for allies of Al Qaeda...

North Korea:"Russia 'Paid Attention' to Nuclear Decision"

North Korea noted Friday that Russia "paid attention" to its decision to boycott international nuclear talks when their top diplomats met, indicating there was no breakthrough in Moscow's efforts to get Pyongyang back to the negotiating table...

North Korea is fully fledged nuclear power, experts agree

The world’s intelligence agencies and defense experts are quietly acknowledging that North Korea has become a fully fledged nuclear power with the capacity to wipe out entire cities in Japan and South Korea, the Times of London reported.

China Shows Off Expanding Navy Amid Growing U.S. Fears

The most potent weapons in China's resurgent navy, they were among the largest display of the nation's modern maritime strength ever seen.The ships were on show to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy.China's President Hu Jintao watched the international naval review from the bridge of a Chinese destroyer as 21 ships and naval aircraft from China and 14 foreign navies took part in the East China Sea...

EXTREMIST THREAT:Taliban militants spreading through Pakistan...

UNSTOPPABLE FORCE...?:Can Pakistan Stop Spread of Taliban...?

Pakistani troops rush to Taliban-Held area...

Pakistani paramilitary forces rushing to protect government buildings and bridges in a Taliban-infiltrated district just 60 miles from the capital were met with gunfire Thursday that killed one police officer, authorities said....
It seems to me that the situation in Pakistan is spiralling out of control--even after Zardari signed for the Islamic Law to rule in the Swat valley.Talibans won't stop with just that region,they'll try to take over the entire nation...and what it's worse..its nukes...
As in the days of Noah...

Obama Administration Fills Foreign Plate With Growing Threats in Pakistan and Iran

Despite sounding the alarm about the growing insurgency threat in Pakistan, the Obama administration is still trying to deter Iran from its nuclear program....

US Reporters Face North Korea Trial...

American journalists could face at least five years in prison after being charged with unspecified 'hostile acts'...North Korea decided to formally indict them since they say they have "criminal data confirmed"...But you know how that goes in North Korea...Nobody really knows much more since don't even their media has elaborated on these news...
As in the days of Noah...

Montana Jail,the New Guantanamo Bay...?

President Obama has 240 terror suspects he has said will be moved out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, and one Montana town is offering to take them...
So should I say..."a terrorist coming to a town near you soon...?"
As in the days of Noah.....

EARTH DAY WATCH:Obama Earth Day Flights Burned More Than 9,000 Gallons Of Fuel

Obama's 747 burns about 5 gallons of fuel per mile....
Well...President Obama took two flights on Air Force One and four on Marine One today...So IF you put all these flights together and you calculate the distance in miles between places and multiply it for the gallons of fuel per mile...you get a GIANT CARBON FOOTPRINT, don't you...?
What a hypocrisy...!!!
Enviro hypers make all these grandilocuent speeches about the earth,the polar ice melting the polar bears dying and that we are in a "planetary emergency" and all that...while they keep flying around in their gigantic jets....
As in the days of Noah...

PESTILENCE WATCH:Seven people in U.S. hit by strange new swine flu

Seven people have been diagnosed with a new kind of swine flu in California and Texas, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Thursday,reports Reuters...
The virus itself is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans, the CDC said...
As in the days of Noah...

Jamaican army deployed ahead of tax increase...

Jamaica's government put police and the army on alert to prevent violent demonstrations as it prepared to announce tax increases on gasoline, cigarettes and other consumer items on Thursday...
Jamaicans have been told by the government to brace for tougher times since they cannot continue borrowing money to fill holes in the budget...
Of course,the governement is getting ready for some violent protests...And sad to say this is going on all over the globe...
As in the days of Noah...

France at "risk of revolution"

Gas and electricity workers have adopted radical tactics to protest for a pay rise of 10%.The sabotage has hit Paris for a second time today...
It is said the governement is losing control...
Fears of another "French Revolution" in the horizon...
As in the days of Noah...

BIG BROTHER WATCH:Children tracked by sattelite to stop bad behaviour

"Children will be tracked by satellite on public transport and encouraged to spy on their friends and report bad behaviour, under a pilot scheme by the Welsh Assembly",reports The Telegraph...
Do you see like I see this "global desensitation"pattern that has been going on worldwide for decades in order to usher the final steps of the elite for a New World Order coming to be a reality and also prepare the people to embrace the Antichrist...?And now they are cattering to children...Oh yes....they have also a "plan" for them...Under the name of "good" they go a step further..and they will keep doing so.
Amazing...
We ARE in the last days....
As in the days of Noah...

A NOTE TO MY READERS

I will be away from my desk for a couple of days to take the rest I need.
This has been a very trying season for me and it's taking a toll in my body.
I will be updating as much as I can--but I do need this rest for my body and my spirit.
I do appreciate your prayers during this time.
Keep living daily in His Will and looking up
He is Near...
As in the days of Noah..

U.S. Army Tests Flying Robot Sniper

It could be the best Xbox 360 game ever, and a real kick in the ARSS.The U.S. Army is testing the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS)a remote-controlled unmanned Vigilante robot helicopter equipped with a high-velocity sniper rifle.Its RND Edge semi-automatic gun is mounted on a self-stabilizing turret with built-in zoom camera, and fires 7 to 10 precisely aimed .338-caliber rounds per second.Back on the ground, a human directs it using a modified Xbox 360 controller, which plugs into a laptop so that the operator can see what the drone sees.
"Having the ability to accurately engage single point man sized targets with an airborne UAV will give the ground based soldier the ability to have a high-point survivable sniper at their disposal when needed," stated the Army solicitation notice when the project was announced in 2005.The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University developed the Precision Weapons Platform guided turret and rifle system.
PICTURE:The Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS) during testing. The gun turret is on the right side of the craft.(US Army)
• Click here for a synopsis on the Wired magazine Web site.
• Click here for a profile of the Precision Weapons Platform at the Utah State University Web site.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517481,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

CYBER WARS:Is Us in Cyber War with Russia and China...?

Killer robots and a revolution in warfare...

WASHINGTON-They have no fear, they never tire, they are not upset when the soldier next to them gets blown to pieces. Their morale doesn't suffer by having to do, again and again, the jobs known in the military as the Three Ds-dull, dirty and dangerous.They are military robots and their rapidly increasing numbers and growing sophistication may herald the end of thousands of years of human monopoly on fighting war. "Science fiction is moving to the battlefield.The future is upon us," as Brookings scholar Peter Singer put it to a conference of experts at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania this month.Singer just published Wired For War - the Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, a book that traces the rise of the machines and predicts that in future wars they will not only play greater roles in executing missions but also in planning them.Numbers reflect the explosive growth of robotic systems. The U.S. forces that stormed into Iraq in 2003 had no robots on the ground. There were none in Afghanistan either. Now those two wars are fought with the help of an estimated 12,000 ground-based robots and 7,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),the technical term for drone,or robotic aircraft.Ground-based robots in Iraq have saved hundreds of lives in Iraq, defusing improvised explosive devices, which account for more than 40 percent of U.S. casualties.The first armed robot was deployed in Iraq in 2007 and it is as lethal as its acronym is long: Special Weapons Observation Remote Reconnaissance Direct Action System (SWORDS).Its mounted M249 machinegun can hit a target more than 3,000 feet away with pin-point precision.From the air, the best-known UAV, the Predator, has killed dozens of insurgent leaders-as well as scores of civilians whose death has prompted protests both from Afghanistan and Pakistan.The Predators are flown by operators sitting in front of television monitors in cubicles at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, 8,000 miles from Afghanistan and Taliban sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan. The cubicle pilots in Nevada run no physical risks whatever, a novelty for men engaged in war.
By Bernd Debusmann
Editing by Sean Maguire
To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...

Ahmadinejad raps Obama for shunning racism meeting...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday criticised US President Barack Obama's boycott of a United Nations racism conference, dubbing it "unhelpful."On Monday the international racism conference in Geneva, which the United States boycotted, fell into disarray after Ahmadinejad's verbal onslaught against Israel triggered a mass walkout and furious rebukes from Western capitals."I should give you, the new US administration, this advice. Mr Obama came to power with the slogan of 'change', meaning the American people like the rest of the world want a change in the colonialism policy," Ahmdinejad told crowds in a speech broadcast live from Varamin, a city south of Tehran."Therefore it would have been imperative for him to take part in the world's most important conference of racism and denounce racism, (confirming) that the US is pursuing a changed policy in confronting racism," he added."But to sit at his place and condemn my remarks is not helpful in solving the issues," he added, amid the habitual slogans of "death to America and death to Israel."Obama on Tuesday vowed that he will continue to follow "tough" direct diplomacy with Iran despite the latest anti-Israel tirade by Ahmadinejad.Obama said after holding talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan that the Ahmadinejad's fiery rhetoric at a United Nations racism conference was "appalling" and "not helpful, it is harmful."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.d4d89ece3df2630c2310a9b47eb1af01.b11&show_article=1
As in the days of Noah...

ABCNEWS:"Iranian-American Reporter to Begin Hunger Strike..."

So, it's been a wild couple of days.After the "This Week" show on Sunday-and after five years of requests-I received word from the Iranian interests section that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had agreed to an interview with me.But there was a catch: I had to be there by Wednesday at the latest.The earliest plane out was Monday night, which meant that I arrived in Tehran at about 2:30am this morning. Spent a couple of hours cooling my heels in the "commercially important persons" lounge of the airport.And, after my fingerprints were scanned into the computer, I got to the guest house at 5:00am.Out the door again at 8:00am for a meeting with President Ahmadinejad's press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, a polite and smiling man with a prematurely snow-white beard. Javanfekr wanted to know what I wanted to talk about.We sat over tea and chatted for an hour about just about everything on the table between the U.S. and Iran. What surprised me most was the spokesman's skepticism about who really caused the Sept. 11th attacks.Suffice to say, conspiracy theories are alive and well at the highest levels of the Iranian government. Like the Holocaust, this is a subject they will leave for further study...The president-who's facing his own re-election challenge on June 12-seems of two minds. He's both caught between his desire for a new relationship with the United States, and his determination not to back down on any issue of importance.We, of course, also talked about imprisoned American journalist Roxana Saberi. I asked the president, as a goodwill gesture, if he would accept President Obama's word that she's not a spy, and also asked to go see her myself.Fine with him, he said, but it's not his decision. "Let's see if our judiciary allows for that, sure. But if they do not allow for that, no. I am afraid not," Ahmadinejad told me. He sent me to the judiciary department.We made the request by phone right away and even went to the offices to make the request in person but we couldn't get beyond the gates.Instead, I drove out to northern Tehran to Roxana's apartment, where her father, Reza Saberi, a philosopher, poet and professor, and mother, Akiko Saberi, a pathologist from Japan, have been staying since Roxana's arrest in late January.For the first time, her mother told me the circumstances of the arrest that happened in Roxana's apartment, on the fifth floor of a small apartment building, in a quiet back alley.The police came in at night, went through her things, and took her away, said her mom.Her parents were in pretty good spirits, considering. Partly because they had just seen Roxana on Monday, who ordered her mom not to worry.They told me she looked frail and had lost some weight, but that she was in good spirits, too. She also informed them that she would begin a hunger strike tomorrow.Both her parents tried to talk her out of it, which they had done before. But she refused."I tried to dissuade her but she said, 'not this time'," Reza Saberi told me."She is, this time, determined to go on a hunger strike because she says she doesn't deserve to be in there in the prison, she hasn't done anything wrong. She should not be there."For the first time, her father also gave details about her "confession." She told him it was coerced and that they scared her with threats, including a threat to kill her."She said they coerced her, they scared her...they frightened her that if she doesn't sign it they go in there and kill her," Reza Saberi said.He said his daughter signed the confession only when she was promised that she would be released if she did. Her father also pointed out that the confession has no legal force because no lawyer was present.Roxana later recanted in the presence of her lawyer and in court.Both her parents seem cautiously confident that Roxana's lawyers will be more successful on the appeal, which could be decided within a week.But they said they fear she's being used as a political pawn to force confessions, or perhaps a prison exchange with the United States.The case is starting to get more attention here in Iran, which may be one reason that both President Ahmadinejad and the chief judge here have said that the case should be reviewed and that Roxana's rights should be fully protected.Before I left the apartment, Akiko sat at Roxana's piano (she told me Roxana not only played but composed songs as well) and shyly played a few bars of a Japanese ballad.Then she pointed to a piece of calligraphy on Roxana's mantle, which had been painted by her father, which Akiko said gives her peace of mind about her daughter."I interpret it as peace of mind, peace be with you, calm, serene, no matter what happens, we love you," she said. It’s a little after midnight here.I'm heading to bed.
by George Stephanopoulos
http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/04/journey-to-tehr.html
As in the days of Noah...

"SPY" DRAMA:Will convicted US journalist jailed in Iran be given a second trial...?

Friends Say Jailed U.S. Reporter is Iran's Pawn

FARGO, N.D.-Hometown friends and colleagues of an American journalist imprisoned in Iran for espionage maintain that she's a political pawn and not a spy-though a local newspaper editor hesitates to declare her innocent without seeing the evidence. Roxana Saberi, who grew up in Fargo, was convicted last week after a one-day trial behind closed doors and was sentenced to eight years in prison. American diplomats objected, and Iran's president said this week that she should be allowed a full defense in her appeal.The comments of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has helped to ease the shock of Saberi's conviction, said Donald Clark, a state legislator who lives near Saberi's parents in Fargo."It looks like a setup deal to me. She's a pawn in a bigger chess game," Clark said Monday."This is something that would be a key in opening up relations with the United States, if they desire that. It would be viewed as a goodwill gesture if they turn her loose." Charley Johnson, the general manager of Fargo TV station KVLY, who hired Saberi in the 1990s after teaching her in a college class, took some hope from the latest developments. "Looking at the comments from Ahmadinejad, it seems to be a sign that something can be worked out sooner rather than later," Johnson said."I don't think anyone thinks she went there to be a spy."Saberi's mission to explore the culture and heritage of the Iranian people should have been a benefit to Iran, Johnson said."It seems to me they should have embraced her as a conduit for better relations with the United States," Johnson said."Now they have turned her into a pawn."Kevin Melicher, a neighbor of Saberi's parents, said residents plan to tie yellow ribbons around trees in the neighborhood Tuesday, and they plan to help the family with their travel costs and chores at their home.Last month, residents piled sandbags about 3 feet high in their back yards to defend against flooding from the Red River. Melicher said he greeted Reza Saberi during the sandbagging effort and told him "we were thinking of them."He thanked me and said they were leaving for Iran," Melicher said.Reza Saberi, who was born in Iran, told The Associated Press on Monday that he and his wife visited their daughter in Evin prison north of Tehran."She seems to be OK," he said, and was looking forward to her appeal.Matthew Von Pinnon, editor of The Forum newspaper of Fargo-Moorhead, wrote in a Sunday column that while he doubts Saberi is a spy, "as a fellow journalist-and I think she'd appreciate me saying this though it works against her situation-I've been reticent to declare her innocent without knowing all the facts."And that's the most troubling part about all this. We don't know Iran's case against her, or her defense,because the trial was closed.Her father couldn't even attend,"he wrote.Von Pinnon had worked alongside Saberi as a journalist and both were on the same indoor soccer team.Saberi, 31, is a graduate of Fargo North High School and Concordia College in neighboring Moorhead, Minn. One of her college instructors, Merrie Sue Holtan, said the trial was unfair and she's hopeful the case will be reviewed."I think it's higher up in politics than what I really understand," Holtan said."I know that in prior cases, when their president has spoken, things get done and things happen. I just see it as an opening."Holtan, who now teaches communication at Minnesota State University Moorhead, said she has talked about Saberi's case with one of her students from Iran."I asked her about Iran's judicial system and she said, 'I don't think we have a system,"' Holtan said.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517226,00.html
As in the days of Noah...

Red Cross:"Sri Lankans in "catastrophic" situation"

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka-Tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Sri Lanka's northern war zone face a "catastrophic" situation, the Red Cross said Tuesday, amid fears a final assault against the Tamil Tiger rebels would lead to a dramatic rise in casualties.The United Nations and others have called for a negotiated truce to allow civilians to leave the rebel-held coastal strip-and the government says more than 52,000 had escaped since Monday.But it has refused to heed the international pleas to halt the fighting, saying it is on the verge of crushing the separatists and putting an end to the 25-year-old war.The U.N. estimated more than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months.The rebels said more than 1,000 civilians died Monday in a government raid, while the government said it rescued thousands after they broke through a barrier built by the insurgents that protects their last stronghold.Human rights groups say the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are holding many people in the enclave against their will and using them as human shields. Those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the region. Both sides deny the allegations.Thousands of civilians also fled in packed small boats, and they were picked up by navy patrols and transported to camps where Tamils who have escaped the war are being held. More than 2,000 people in about 100 boats were picked up Monday.The Red Cross said about 50,000 civilians were still stranded, while Human Rights Watch put the number between 50,000 and 100,000.The U.S. government released satellite images Tuesday showing about 25,000 tents housing civilians squeezed into the last small strip controlled by the rebels, a coastal strip of about only 8 square miles (21 square kilometers).The State Department estimated about 125,000 people were in the conflict zone before the exodus over the past two days.A worker for Doctors Without Borders said hundreds of wounded were arriving at her hospital in Vavuniya, south of the war zone, in government-arranged buses, and some had died en route. The hospital is overcrowded with 1,200 people being accommodated in a facility with only 400 beds, said mental health officer Karen Stewart, according to a statement from the aid group.U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was concerned about the "dramatic situation"for civilians still in the war zone, said commission spokesman Ron Redmond. "There are innocent civilians-women and children-caught in the middle of the conflict...so the high commissioner is saying there should be a pause in the hostilities and the LTTE should allow civilians to leave," Redmond said.Military spokesman Brig.Udaya Nanayakkara denied that 1,000 civilians died, saying 17 civilians were killed Monday by rebel shelling and by three suicide bombers."Our troops are rescuing the trapped civilians. It's the LTTE which is preventing civilians from fleeing," Nanayakkara said.It was impossible to get independent accounts of casualties because journalists are restricted from the war zone.
Folowing,Raw Video: Sri Lankan Civilians Escape Civil War...


PICTURE:In this photo released by the Sri Lankan army Tuesday, April 21, 2009, ethnic Tamil civilians who escaped from the Tamil Tiger controlled areas are seen arriving Monday, April 20, 2009 at the government controlled areas in Putumattalan, north east of Colombo, Sri Lanka.(AP Photo/Sri Lankan Army, HO)
Associated Press writers Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo and Eliane Engeler in Geneva contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_re_as/as_sri_lanka_civil_war
As in the days of Noah...

NATIONAL SERVICE BILL WATCH:Obama "urges" citizens to undertake national service

WASHINGTON-Calling on Americans to volunteer, President Barack Obama signed a $5.7 billion national service bill Tuesday that triples the size of the AmeriCorps service program over the next eight years and expands ways for students to earn money for college."What this legislation does, then, is to help harness this patriotism and connect deeds to needs,"said Obama, a former community organizer in Chicago."It creates opportunities to serve for students, seniors and everyone in between,"he said. "And it is just the beginning of a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to involve our greatest resource-our citizens-in the work of remaking this nation."Joining Obama was Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has been battling brain cancer.Kennedy championed the legislation with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and the bill was named in honor of the Massachusetts Democrat.Kennedy told the audience that included former President Bill Clinton, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former first lady Rosalyn Carter that Obama's efforts echoed those of his late brother, President John F. Kennedy."Today, another young president has challenged another generation to give back to their nation," Kennedy said, citing his brother's advocacy for the Peace Corps.The service law expands ways for students and seniors to earn money for college through their volunteer work. It aims to foster and fulfill people's desire to make a difference, such as by mentoring children, cleaning up parks or buildings and weatherizing homes for the poor."I'm asking you to help change history's course, put your shoulder up against the wheel," Obama said. "And if you do, I promise you your life will be richer, our country will be stronger, and someday, years from now, you may remember it as the moment when your own story and the American story converged, when they came together, and we met the challenges of our new century."Bolstering voluntary public service programs has been a priority of Obama, who credits his work as a community organizer in his early 20s for giving him direction in life. The president cited his work in Chicago as an example of how one person can make a difference."All that's required on your part is a willingness to make a difference," Obama said."And that is, after all, the beauty of service: Anybody can do it."Obama visited the SEED School of Washington, a public boarding school that serves inner-city students facing problems in both the classroom and at home, for the signing ceremony.Afterward, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama joined Clinton to plant trees at a national park site along the Anacostia River in northeast Washington....

PICTURE:President Barack Obama digs a hole before planting a tree as they participate in a national service project at Kenilworth Aquatic Garden in Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2009.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
On the Net:
AmeriCorps:
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_go_pr_wh/storytext/us_obama_national_service/31738862/SIG=10r3jj0pt/*http://www.americorps.gov Corporation for National and Community Service: http://www.nationalservice.gov/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_national_service
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