War clouds loom ever more menacingly over Iran

FROM this week, it emerged that Britain and France have joined Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as allies in a new US war against Iran.While the West Asian nations have not only agreed to assist US forces in logistics but are also training with them for aerial coordination and forces interoperability, the European nations add a special weight as permanent members of the UN Security Council.The Sarkozy government has made France an unreserved US war ally, and last month Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner warned the world to prepare for a war against Iran. In recent days the Britain of Prime Minister Gordon Brown has gone further, reportedly supporting a drive to war with a supply of British special forces troops.The official word from London is that diplomacy is still the preferred course to stop Iran’s nuclear enrichment project. But that is not expected to work since unlike North Korea, the United States is offering neither concessions nor compromises to Iran.Besides, British press reports say that even the nuclear issue is now redundant as a pretext for war, since Iran’s crimes are now judged to be its alleged support of Iraqi insurgents, supply of weapons to militant groups, and being the potential chief beneficiary of a post-Saddam Iraq.In addition, Shi’ite Iran is accused of supporting Afghanistan’s Sunni Taliban, which Teheran has long opposed. British military commanders and diplomats in Afghanistan have lately added their weight to US allegations that Iranian sources have been supplying Taliban fighters.Last Saturday, chief US military commander in Iraq Gen David Petraeus raised the stakes by accusing Iranian ambassador to Iraq Hassan Kazemi-Qomi of being a member of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite al-Qods force. Petraeus offered no evidence and Iran denied the charge, but the accusation has the effect of neatly sidelining diplomacy in favour of military action.The Qods force is also blamed for training militant groups in Iraq, a new rationale for a US attack on Iran. There are other indicators that the White House is shifting to a war footing.On Monday, the Daily Telegraph newspaper said President Bush was given to understand that Britain is “on board” a war against Iran. London has not refuted such an understanding is in place.Britain’s SAS (Special Air Service) and SBS (Special Boat Service) are expected to be pressed into action, particularly in demining Iranian ports and harbours. The role of the British navy is said to be crucial in keeping the Straits of Hormuz open.Pentagon officials have been cited as saying that in his meeting with Bush in July, Brown expressed support for “tactical strikes” against Iran but not a full-scale war. Nonetheless the effect of such strikes would amount to the same thing.The White House plan is to blast some 20 suspected military and nuclear sites out of a possible 2,000 in Iran. That could provoke Iran to retaliate, which would then trigger all-out war.A US general said Iran needs to wreak only as much damage as “10 dead American soldiers and four burnt trucks” to trigger a full-scale US war against it. Teheran has already said it would do much more by unleashing missiles if attacked even in a tactical strike.David Wurmser, former adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney, wants two wars – against both Iran and Syria. His recent retirement could mean Washington is likely to go for just one war, against Iran, for now at least.However, Defence Secretary Robert Gates is believed to be pushing hardest against war, and is working with the directors of National Intelligence and the CIA to advise Bush against attacking Iran. Against them are pro-war neo-conservatives led by Cheney.Iran has dismissed the threat of war as mere US psychological warfare; but like all threats, to be credible it needs to be “actionable”. More than in Saddam’s Iraq before, both the United States and Iran are now set for war.The US views anti-government protests in Iran as a sign of vulnerability, while Teheran sees a US attack as a means of unifying the nation under the government. And like Iraq but unlike North Korea, Iran does not have nuclear weapons to retaliate with, thus remaining open to a US attack.
http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2007/10/10/columnists/midweek/19128723&sec=Midweek

As in the days of Noah....

IF IN THIS LIFE ONLY....

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ,we are of all men most miserable"
1 Corintinas 15:19

NAZI REVIVAL WATCH:Anti-Jewish Attacks in US, Columnist Suggests Jews be Christians

Anti-Semitic activity in the U.S. is on the rise, with two incidents reported this week on the eastern seaboard as top political columnist declares on national television that “it would be better if we were all Christian.”A rabbi suffered critical wounds after being severely beaten in the latest of several anti-Semitic attacks that have hit the community of Lakewood, New Jersey, home of the world-famous Lakewood Yeshiva.Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz, age 53, was beaten earlier this week as he was walking to a synagogue. The attacker wielded an aluminum baseball bat and inflicted critical wounds on his head and other parts of the body, but Lakewood officials have not concluded the incidentwas anti-Semitic.Several weeks ago, attackers pelted a group of orthodox Jewish youth with eggs in a nearby community. Tension in the city has increased fears among the Jewish community. One teenage boy reported that a woman asked him to accompany her from a store to her car 100 feet away because she was afraid she would be attacked.Anti-Semites scrawled a Nazi swastika in a Columbia University bathroom, two days after a noose was found on a black professor's door. University president Lee Bollinger said the swastika has been removed.The Nazi symbol was accompanied by a drawing on a bathroom door of a man wearing a skullcap (kippa). Bollinger said police are investigating.The incident occurred two weeks after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the university.
Commentator Says Perfected Jews Would be Christians

Controversial right-wing political commentator, columnist and best-selling author Ann Coulter shocked a cable TV talk-show host by saying during an appearance Monday that Jews need to be “perfected” by becoming Christians.Coulter continued her anti-Semitic conversation with an invitation to Donny Deutsch, the host of the CNBC show, “The Big Idea,” to “come to church with me.” Arutz-7's Yishai and Malka Fleisher discussed Coulter's anti-Semitic evangelical views this week on their Israel National Radio tallk show.Deutsch, who is Jewish, clearly could not believe what he was hearing, and reworded his question to the outspoken columnist: We should just throw Judaism away and we should all be Christians?”
Coulter’s response: “Yeah.”
Deutsch attempted during the interview to pin down what appeared to be Coulter’s clearly anti-Semitic stance. She didn’t budge. “We just want Jews to be perfected, as they say….
His response: “Wow, you didn’t really say that, did you?”
Coulter’s answer: “Yes. That is what Christianity is. We believe in the Old Testament, but ours is more like Federal Express. [While] You [Jews] have to obey laws... “
Deutsch told the audience leading up to the commercial break, “If Ann Coulter had any brains she would not say Jews need to be perfected. I’m offended by that personally.”
Following the commercial break, Deutsch gave Coulter a opportunity to explain why she thinks the entire country – and by extension, the entire world – should abandon any faith other than Christianity.
“Don’t you see how hateful, how anti-Semitic…….. How do you not see? You’re an educated woman. How do you not see that?” he pursued.
“That isn’t hateful at all,” she responded. “For me to say that for you to become … a perfected Christian is not offensive at all.”
For a transcript of the interview, click here.

by Hana Levi Julian

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

As in the days of Noah....

Rabbi Elyashiv Joins Battle For Jerusalem

In the opening shot of the battle for Jerusalem, top rabbis of the Hareidi-religious and Jerusalemite communities have joined Rabbi Avraham Shapira’s final statement against dividing Jerusalem.A large gathering planned for Sunday at the Ramban Synagogue in the Old City is being organized by Chief Rabbi of the Old City, Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl and Rabbi Eliyahu Medina. Joining the protest is Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, considered the head of the Lithuanian Hareidi-religious public.The assembly is being called under the banner “Over Jerusalem they cast lots” – a verse from Ovadiah (1:11) – and will include “prayers and supplications to G-d.”The event will begin after the 12:30 PM afternoon prayer at the synagogue, which is located in the Jewish Quarter’s main square.Earlier this month, Vice-Premier Chaim Ramon outlined his political plan for dividing Jerusalem, saying: “The Jewish neighborhoods will be recognized by both sides as Israeli neighborhoods under Israeli sovereignty. Likewise, Arab neighborhoods such as Shuafat will be recognized as Palestinian neighborhoods. There will be arrangements to ensure, free, safe passages between the various Israeli neighborhoods and likewise between the Palestinian ones.”With regard to the Old City, Ramon wrote: “On the matter of the "holy basin" – as the area including the Temple Mount and other holy sites is being referred to – there will be a special authority that will include the expression of Israel’s special interests and manage the holy sites…The Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and the other Jewish holy sites in the Jerusalem region will stay in the hands of Israel forever.”Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has refused to comment on the Ramon plan, though commentators compare the situation to when Olmert himself introduced the idea of unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza ahead of then-PM Ariel Sharon’s open adoption of the policy. Ramon is a close friend and political ally of Olmert's.
On the eve of the Sukkot festival, just prior to his passing away, former Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of the Merkaz HaRav Kook religious-Zionist center Rabbi Avraham Shapira signed a strongly-worded statement against the plan. “The Land of Israel belongs to the Nation of Israel and was granted to us as an inheritance by the Creator of the world. Neither the Prime Minister nor anybody else has the right to give away areas, or even a grain, of the holy Land of Israel. The entire Land of Israel, according to the borders outlined in the Torah – belonged in the past, and belong in the present and future, only to the Nation of Israel, and it is forbidden by severe Torah prohibition to give up any of the territory of our holy land.”The rabbi, who had issued a call prior to the Disengagement for soldiers and police to disobey orders to take part in the expulsion, continued: “Did we not learn a lesson from the expulsion of our heroic brethren from Gush Katif and northern Samaria who were uprooted from their homes? We call upon the public to protest against these statements, for the Prime Minister to repudiate them, and to show concern for the rights of the Nation of Israel in its land.”
by Ezra HaLevi
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
As in the days of Noah....

'Make peace with us – or we'll kill you!'

An open letter issued by a group of 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and academics issued an "invitation" to the Vatican, the archbishop of Canterbury and other Christian leaders to "make peace" with Islam.At least, that is the way most mainstream news reports styled it – "an invitation to make peace." It was actually more of an ultimatum than it was an invitation. Boiled down to its essence, the letter warned Christians to "make peace with us or we'll kill you." The letter just phrases it more nicely."As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them – so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes."It was hard to know what to make of that statement. If it refers to the war on terror, it was Osama bin Laden who declared this a war of religions, in which he identified his enemies as Christian Crusaders and Jews.The so-called "invitation" to make peace with Islam suggests that the price of peace is Islamic freedom to make war on others without fear of retaliation. At no point in the conflict has anyone other than Islam defined it as a conflict between Christians and Jews against Islam.The statement was timed to coincide with the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan and one year after the pope inflamed the sentiments of the Religion of Perpetual Outrage by quoting the words of an obscure 14th century Byzantine emperor.The letter was hailed by Newsweek as "something of a miracle" – treating it as if were an olive branch being offered by the victim to the aggressor, if only the aggressor were humane enough to accept it.Gushed Newsweek in its column headlined, "Give Peace a Chance" – as if it were the West who opposed peace and had suddenly run amok attacking innocent Muslims everywhere – "It is addressed to Christianity's most powerful leaders, including the pope, the archbishop of Canterbury and the heads of the Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist churches, and, in 15 pages laced with quranic and biblical scriptures, argues that the most fundamental tenets of Islam and Christianity are identical: love of one (and the same) God, and love of one's neighbor."I hardly know where to begin to address that statement. In the first place, if it were true, then no Muslim could make a credible argument to his co-religionists based on the most fundamental tenets of Islam that there is any eternal reward to be had for killing one's enemy in jihad.If it were true, then the word "jihad" wouldn't be an Islamic concept. There is no identical fundamental belief within Judaism or Christianity that ascribes special spiritual benefits to dying in religious combat. In fact, there is no such concept of "religious combat" of any kind in Christianity or Judaism.The Bible relates combat involving Jews against their enemies, but those were territorial political battles, not battles to impose Judaism on the vanquished.Jews don't particularly encourage converts, and Christians believe that conversion can only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit.The job of the Christian is limited to sharing the Gospel, not imposing it by force or threats. Christians are taught by no less an authority than the Lord Himself, "And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them."The Quran tells the faithful that, should an infidel reject Islam, "you will fight against them until they submit." And of course, those who continue to reject are to be slaughtered.The document is peppered with references to the Islamic contention that Muslims, Christians and Jews all worship the same God, which got rave reviews from the press. Time magazine enthused, "The letter notes that 'whilst Islam and Christianity are obviously different religions – and whilst there is no minimizing some of their formal differences,' both require believers to believe in only one god, and it's the same god."Time, in its excitement, is emulating Newsweek's style of making sweeping theological pronouncements disguised as news. From their perspective, who can blame them? If you don't believe in any god at all, what difference does it make? One god is as good as the next – or as some Americans would say, as offensive as the other. Islam not only demands that its followers believe that Allah is the same god as the God of Christians and Jews; it demands that Christians and Jews agree.Neither Christianity nor Judaism imposes that requirement on their adherents, although Christians and Jews generally agree that the God of Israel is also the God of Christianity. Not because one side or the other demands it, but because both understand from the Bible that the nature of the God of Israel and the God of Christianity are the same.The mainstream media embraced the letter as vindication of their long-held but difficult to believe faith in the existence of a vast, moderate Islamic majority that follow the kinder, gentler Islam that we keep hearing about, but for which we see little evidence. That is one way of interpreting it, if you really squint hard.Unfortunately, there are verses in the Quran that nobody wants to talk about – probably because nobody wants to consider the awful implications of their meaning.The ignorance of our political leaders and the media concerning Islam's true beliefs is beyond deplorable; it is more in the range of criminal negligence in time of war.Under Islamic law, before Islam can make war against the infidel with Allah's blessings, the infidels must first be offered an opportunity to submit to Islam. Osama bin Laden has just recently asked the leaders and people of the United States to embrace Islam. So has Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. All these letters offer the West the "opportunity" to submit to Allah as being equal to God. They also warn that, should their offer be rebuffed, "The very survival of the world is at stake."Islam just finished the feast of Ramadan. Here is what the Quran says should be the attitude of all Muslims at the end of this sacred feast season: "So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters [particularly Jews and Christians] wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush. …" (Quran, Surah 9.5)The irony of our leaders' and media's response is mind-boggling. This is not an offer of peace – it is a prelude to war. In the cold light of day it means, "Make peace with Islam and Allah, or we'll kill you."

by Hal Lindsey

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/

http://www.hallindsey.com/

As in the days of Noah....

Islamic Jihad: No peace for Israelis

The militant known as Abu Hamza is constantly on the run from Israel, and his hideout today is a dank room at the back of a nondescript house filled with adults and frolicking children.The room is barren except for a computer hooked up to the Internet, which the Islamic Jihad commander said is used to plan rocket attacks on southern Israel. He pledged to keep up the violence despite the growing likelihood of a major Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip."We must create a balance of terror with the enemy," he told The Associated Press in a rare interview.Abu Hamza is a small, soft-spoken man with a wide smile, but the rockets that Islamic Jihad fires into Israel almost daily serve as constant reminders that renewed talk of Mideast peace remains a distant dream in the violence-torn Gaza Strip.Israel's military says Gaza militants have fired some 980 rockets into Israel since June, when Hamas seized power in the coastal territory. That compares to 440 in the preceding four months. In all, thousands of crude rockets fired over the past seven years have killed 12 Israelis, wounded dozens and disrupted life for thousands.Israeli troops and settlers withdrew from Gaza more than two years ago — and Israel has begun a fledgling peace process with the moderate Palestinian forces now in control of the West Bank. So why is Islamic Jihad still raining missiles on Israeli towns, provoking fierce retaliation and a new Israeli threat to cut off Gaza's electricity?This is the Palestinians' way of offsetting Israel's sophisticated military machine, Abu Hamza said. Israel's decision to seal Gaza's borders after Hamas militants took control is another reason the rockets are justified, he said."Our rockets go over those borders," he said.Islamic Jihad, a virulently anti-Israel group backed by Iran and Syria, has killed dozens of Israelis in suicide bombings and is believed to have about 2,000 militants armed with M-16 and AK-47 automatic rifles, grenades and anti-tank weapons.It operates independently of the much larger Hamas, whose tolerance and sometimes encouragement of rocket attacks have increased Gaza's isolation. Hamas' blind eye to Islamic Jihad rockets — along with mortar fire by its own militants — has helped burnish its credentials among Gazans as a "government of resistance." But it is also endangering Hamas' rule in Gaza by contributing to the economic decline.Contacts known by AP journalists to be Islamic Jihad members arranged the meeting with Abu Hamza, his nom de guerre that is well known in Gaza even if his face is not. He spoke to AP reporters without donning the black ski mask usually worn by senior militants in press interviews, but he refused to allow himself to be filmed, photographed or recorded.During the session, he wore a loose-fitting shirt instead of the military fatigues associated with Islamic Jihad. Though he carried no weapon, some of the men around him did — sitting nearby on ragged floor mats in the paint-chipped room. No food or drink was served in observance of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Getting to the interview required a long, labyrinthine car drive through the back alleys of the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis — stopping every few blocks to wait for phone instructions on how to proceed. At times, men popped their heads out of doorways along the street to give the all-clear signal.Abu Hamza spoke softly and methodically, making frequent eye contact with an American reporter. But there was no mistaking the bitterness of his words.
"Resistance must continue until we uproot the occupation from all the land of Palestine ... from the sea to the river," he said, outlining Islamic Jihad's position that a future Palestinian state must replace Israel, not live alongside it.He bragged about an Islamic Jihad rocket attack last month that injured dozens of Israeli soldiers as they slept in tents at an army base near Gaza, saying the installation was targeted through studying Israeli military Web sites. There was no way to independently confirm his claim.He said that Palestinian rocket fire forced Israel out of Gaza in 2005 and that he expected the same result in southern Israeli towns like Sderot and Ashkelon.At one point, Abu Hamza said his group would consider a temporary halt to rocket fire if Israel stopped pursuing militants and opened Gaza's borders. But that statement was rendered meaningless by his subsequent assertion that other forms of "resistance" — such as suicide attacks and roadside bombs — would continue during any rocket truce. Israeli intelligence officials declined to discuss Abu Hamza, saying they prefer not to divulge information about wanted militants who are still on the run.But a top architect of Israel's military policy in Gaza was quoted Thursday in the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot as saying the rocket attacks will have to be confronted with a major display of armed force."A ground operation is a question of timing," said Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, the Israeli army's recently reassigned deputy chief of staff.Israel's frequent and lethal retaliation has prompted innovations by Gazan rocket launchers, including using trees as cover and timers to set off rockets.To evade Israeli troops and aircraft, Abu Hamza said he and his fighters move frequently from place to place, change vehicles often and avoid using cell phones in open areas.The interview with the AP took place in a house where toddlers laughed and played. Islamic Jihad has often been criticized for operating among civilians, exposing them to the risk of Israeli fire.Abu Hamza denied the assertion by Israel and much of the world that Islamic Jihad gets money and other backing from Iran and Syria, calling it "completely ridiculous."But Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Gaza's Al Azhar University, said there is no doubt Syria and Iran are involved."There are outsiders giving orders from outside the Gaza Strip, whether from Damascus or Tehran, for their own reasons," Abusada said. "They (Gaza militants) are doing this because they're getting paid for it."

http://www.news.yahoo.com/

As in the days of Noah...

Syrian Civil Defense Services Placed on the Ready

Our military sources report exclusively that Thursday night, Oct. 11, Syria placed its civil defense services on a state of preparedness and mobilized their reservists.Government and military hospitals across Syria have also been alerted.These measures were ordered Tuesday, Oct. 9, and were in place within three days. In contrast, there is no change in the deployment of Syrian forces along the border with Israel on Golan and Mt. Hermon.Thursday, Syrian defense minister Gen. Hassan Turkmani published a message to the armed forces calling for “readiness to withstand all aggression.”A day earlier, the Syrian chief of staff, Gen. Ali Habib, said at an officers’ passing-out parade: “Syria is capable of beating off any conspiracies” against the country.All these measures and this rhetoric strongly indicate the Syrian regime is convinced that either an American or Israeli assault, or attacks by both against Syria and Iran are due shortly.Syrian president Bashar Assad articulated this fear in an interview published by the Tunisian daily Al-Shorouk Thursday. He said: I am working on the premise that the Americans will attack Iran,” explaining that this was the answer he received when he asked the Iranians how they evaluated the situation. DEBKAfile’s sources note that the only two Iranian personalities he would have talked to would be supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Assad went on to say to the Tunisian interviewer: This means we are facing a force (the Americans) which has no respect for international laws and values, exactly as in Iraq. The United States,” he continued,” backs the enemy Israel absolutely which prevents us from perceiving the US in any other light that an enemy.”An attack on Iran will harm the whole world but as we have seen in the Iraq War, the Americans do not enter into such calculations. “I cannot play games of anticipation,” said the Syrian ruler. “I must be ready for any US or Israeli operation against Iran or Syria.”

http://www.debka.com/

As in the days of Noah...

ENVIRO WATCH:Calif. Water Is Getting Worse

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-The mighty river delta that supplies water to two-thirds of California's population and serves as one of the most important wildlife habitats on the West Coast is in worse shape than ever despite $4.7 billion in government spending.The ambitious venture launched seven years ago to restore and protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has spent most of its budget on water projects hundreds of miles away, according to an Associated Press review.While many of those projects are regarded by environmentalists and policymakers as worthwhile in their own right, they have done almost nothing to achieve the main goals state and federal lawmakers laid out when they created the California Federal Bay-Delta Program, or CalFed.Scientists and politicians agree that native fish species continue to plummet; pesticides, fertilizers and other pollutants are making the overall water quality worse; invasive species of fish, clams, algae and other organisms are still spreading; and the delta's antiquated earthen levees have not been reinforced to withstand a major earthquake, something that could cause deadly, catastrophic flooding and cut off water to millions of people for perhaps years."CalFed's a dismal failure because—details aside—CalFed promised to restore the delta," said Steve Evans, conservation director of Friends of the River, an environmental group in Sacramento. "Overall, the delta today is worse than it was seven years ago."Joe Grindstaff, director of CalFed for the past two years, acknowledged:"Fundamentally, the system we devised didn't work."The pools, channels and marshes in central California where the Sacramento River meets the San Joaquin River are the source of drinking water for 25 million Californians. Water is pumped from the vast, 1,153-square-mile delta and delivered via aqueduct to booming Southern California, some 300 miles away, as well as to the San Francisco Bay area, about 40 miles off.Water is a precious resource in California, and in recent decades, farmers, city dwellers and environmentalists have waged legal battles that have threatened to interrupt or reduce the pumping of water from the delta.CalFed was supposed to achieve four objectives: maintain a steady supply of water from the delta; improve water quality; reduce the risks of a catastrophic breach in the levees; and restore the ecosystem for plants and animals.While CalFed was envisioned as a 30-year program, nearly all sides said they had expected to see more improvement by now."It's tried to bring people to the table, but at the end of the day you have to look at results," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. "It appears that all the problems have gotten worse."Policymakers and environmentalists say the biggest danger is a levee collapse that could devastate the countryside. And if the delta's environmental health keeps declining, California could face more legal battles that could disrupt the water supply in the nation's most populous state.Already, partly because of CalFed's lack of progress, California's water wars are flaring anew. Over the summer, a federal judge slapped limits on the pumping of water from the delta to protect fish, raising fears of a statewide water shortage next year.AP's review found that some CalFed efforts have fallen short. For example, the various agencies that carry out water projects under CalFed's aegis initially proposed spending $950 million to eliminate mercury and other contaminants from the delta water. But the agency has spent just 13 percent of that—about $125 million—and produced little if any improvement in water quality.Fourteen California and federal agencies have access to CalFed money. But CalFed does not full authority over how the money is spent. Its 24-member board, made up of state, federal and local officials as well as members of the public, can only sign off on grant requests.

To read more go to:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8S7S3E00&show_article=1&catnum=0

As in the days of Noah....

Knights Templar win heresy reprieve after 700 years

VATICAN CITY-The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios-Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars'" is a massive work and much more than a book-with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag."This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives. "Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars," she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and-to tantalize Templar buffs-replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and imperfections seen on the originals.Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy's Scrinium cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive world distribution rights.

To read more go to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL093422320071012

As in the days of Noah....

ENVIRO WATCH:French explorer to measure Arctic ice from airship

MARSEILLE, France-A French explorer unveiled plans on Friday to fly over the Arctic in an airship to measure the ice cap amid concern at the pace it is melting.Jean-Louis Etienne (www.jeanlouisetienne.fr) said his 10,000 kilometer (6,214 mile) journey will serve as a benchmark for monitoring the impact of global warming on the North Pole.Etienne's expedition will begin in April 2008 in northern Norway and take him over the Barents Sea to Spitzberg. He will then fly over the magnetic North Pole and Beaufort Sea before heading to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where he is due to land in May. "Measurements are being made by ships but ships do not cover the kind of surface that we will cover," Etienne told Reuters."The airship will allow us to fly over vast areas and it will give our measuring equipment the stability that a helicopter cannot give."Data will be collected using an electromagnetic probe hanging below the 54-metre-long, 14-metre-wide airship, Etienne told reporters at the inauguration of the Russian-made craft.Large tracts of Arctic ice have melted at an increasingly rapid pace in recent summers, a trend widely-linked to human emission of greenhouse gases that threatens the livelihood of Arctic peoples and wildlife like polar bears.Etienne's expedition will follow the steps of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first explorer to fly over the North Pole in an airship in 1926, and comes at a time of growing awareness of global warming's impact on the environment.On Friday, former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore and a United Nations' panel on climate change were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to highlight the issue."Today the polar ice cap is seriously threatened by global warming," Etienne told a news conference attended by Prince Albert of Monaco, who visited the North Pole in April 2006.The project is being sponsored by French oil group Total. Chief executive Christoph de Margerie rejected criticism its involvement was a publicity stunt."The idea that oil companies cannot take part in environmental projects is a falsity that needs to be changed," De Margerie told reporters.De Margerie said some of Etienne's findings may help Total better understand the drift of ice in the Barents Sea, where the French group is looking to make a multi-billion dollar investment in Russia's Shtokman gas field.The seabed under the Arctic, shared by Nordic countries, Russia, Canada and the United States, has oil and gas resources which are coveted by international energy groups seeking to meet rising demand for energy.Russia planted a flag on the seabed below the North Pole in August in a symbolic claim to the territory.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL1224501420071012?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews&rpc=22&sp=true

As in the days of Noah....

Persecuted for His Name’s Sake

It is becoming clear that Christians are merely tolerated in the Gaza Strip, and that only when they submit to Islamic dictates. Those who dare to share the Gospel make themselves the enemies of the spiritual powers that currently hold sway over Gaza, and lay their lives on the line for His Name’s sake.By Ryan Jones
“...all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent me...” (John 15:21)
There is perhaps no place in the world today where it is more perilous to share the Gospel, where Bible-believing Evangelical Christians are more persecuted for their faith than in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The tragic death of Rami Ayyad, a 29-year-old husband to a pregnant wife and father of two, was the first martyr for the gospel in Gaza according to Palestinian sources. His death is the latest example of the mounting danger faced by believers in Gaza, particularly those courageous enough to share the love of Jesus among their Moslem neighbors. Ayyad was found some 12 hours after he was kidnapped with two gunshot wounds, one to the back of the head, stab wounds and with a blow to the head.
When Hamas seized control of Gaza in a blood-soaked coup last June, several of its leaders announced that an era of more stringent Islamic rule had arrived, and that local adherents of other faiths, particularly Christians, would either have to fully submit to Allah’s dictates or leave.
Evangelical Christians in Gaza number in the mere hundreds, and most are wary of speaking to outsiders about their trials and efforts on the Lord’s behalf for fear of retribution from their Moslem overlords. Most who were not born as Christians and who converted to faith in Jesus only later in life refuse even to shed the title “Moslem,” and are referred to by their Christian brothers as “Moslem Background Believers,” or MBBs....

To read more go to:

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=132&view=item&idx=1551

As in the days of Noah....

KNOWLEDGE SHALL INCREASE:Flying Car About to Take Off?

In 1918, long before George Jetson commuted to Spacely Space Sprockets, the U.S. Patent Office issued Felix Longobardi the first patent for a vehicle capable of both driving on roads and flying through the air. But given all the impractical prototypes built since Longobardi's original whimsy, history suggests that any vehicle design combining these two modes of transport will be a commercial failure: aero-auto hybrids always seem to result in a compromise that serves both functions poorly. Now a group of MIT alums believe that they are on their way toward overcoming this problem. Founded in 2006 and called Terrafugia, their startup, based in Woburn, MA, recently produced the first automated folding wing for a light sport aircraft. (A light sport aircraft is a type of airplane deemed by the Federal Aviation Administration to be easier to fly and hence more accessible than regular private planes.) The wing, however, is just the first step toward an aero-auto hybrid that the company plans to call the Transition.This summer, the group demonstrated its folding wing at the annual AirVenture aviation festival in Oshkosh, WI. With more than 650,000 attendees, the festival is the most important event in experimental-aircraft aviation."Going into this, we knew our two biggest design challenges to make it practical would be the wings and the power train," says Anna Mracek Dietrich, an engineer at Terrafugia and the company's chief operating officer. "By validating the durability of the wing's construction and engineering, we've checked one major design challenge off of the list, and now our focus is on the second."Previous prototypes of road-drivable aircraft have featured manually folding or detachable wings. But to allow for a seamless and quick transformation from plane to car and back, the Terrafugia team has devised a system that allows the pilot to enfold or extend the wings by pushing a button in the cockpit. Dietrich says that at Oshkosh, the researchers opened and closed the wings more than 500 times--the equivalent of three to five years of typical use-and that they're more than pleased with the wings' durability.

To read more go to:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3714125&page=1

As in the days of Noah...

Solar Plants In Space Seen as Viable

A new federal study released yesterday concluded that continued increases in oil prices finally might make the generation of solar power in orbit economically competitive. The report urged the government to sponsor a demonstration of the technology to spur private investment in the concept.The orbiting power plants would reduce the nation's dependence on imported oil and help reduce the production of carbon dioxide that is contributing to global warming, according to the report led by the National Security Space Office, part of the Department of Defense."This is a solution for all mankind," a former astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, now chairman of the spaceflight advocacy group ShareSpace Foundation, said. Mr. Aldrin joined with a group of other space advocacy organizations to unveil the report in Washington.Since the advent of the space age 50 years ago, scientists have dreamed of launching acres of photovoltaic cells into orbit and beaming the electricity electromagnetically to Earth's surface but have stumbled over the cost of the project and the technical difficulties.The report estimated that in a single year, satellites in a continuously sunlit orbit could generate an amount of energy nearly equivalent to the energy available in all of the world's oil reserves.Mark Hopkins, senior vice president of the National Space Society, said space-based solar energy could generate so much power that it could transform America from an energy-importing into an energy-exporting nation."It is the largest energy option which is available to us today in the sense that it would derive more power potentially than all of the other power sources combined," Mr. Hopkins said.NASA and the Department of Energy have spent $80 million over the past three decades to study space-based solar energy, but the effort petered out in the mid-1990s.Critics have charged that ground-based solar energy is more economical. But putting the solar factories in space would allow them to operate 24 hours a day.

http://www.nysun.com/article/64360

As in the days of Noah....

RCC WATCH:In Poland, Riot Police Arrest Rebellious Nuns

WARSAW,Poland-A rebellion that pitted an order of Polish nuns against the might of the Vatican ended yesterday after police forced their way into their convent, evicting 64 people and arresting two. With a battery of television cameras rolling, about 150 officers, many in full riot gear, moved against the Sisters of Bethany after they refused to comply with a court order ordering them to leave their convent in the small town of Kazimierz Dolny, southeast of Warsaw.
The eviction ended a revolt dating back to 2005 when the Vatican sacked the mother superior at the time, Jadwiga Ligocka, after she claimed she had had "private inspiration by the Holy Spirit." Attempts to replace her triggered the confrontation.Loyal to their spiritual leader, the Bethany sisters locked the doors of the convent, cut themselves off from the world, and failed to follow the church's orders. The rebels refused to comply with the Vatican's demands even when 10 of them were defrocked and the diocese banned the administration of the sacrament in the convent.Faced with excommunication, they adopted a siege mentality, hired security guards, changed the locks on the gates, and shunned all contact with the outside world. Cut off from the church and without electricity, the women had to rely on food parcels brought by well-wishers and family members.Officers used a ladder to scale the convent walls after the women had refused to unlock the gates. While some of the black-habited rebels sang religious songs and played guitars, other hurled abuse and swore, police said.The former mother superior and a renegade monk, Roman Komarczyko, whom police described as "very aggressive," were arrested. Speaking on behalf of the Polish church, Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, said the affair had damaged the church but added that it had been left with no choice but eviction. "It was the last resort that nobody wanted," he said, "but we had to do it."

http://www.nysun.com/article/64368

As in the days of Noah...

Islamists damage giant rock Buddha

Islamist radicals in Pakistan have attempted to destroy an ancient carving of Buddha by drilling holes in the rock and filling them with dynamite. The 23ft high image was damaged during the attack, which brought back memories of the Taliban's destruction six years ago of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan, in neighbouring Afghanistan.The Buddha, in the Swat district of north-west Pakistan, is thought to date from the seventh century AD and was considered the largest in Asia, after the two Bamiyan Buddhas. The explosion on Monday night damaged the upper part of the rock.Pakistani troops have stepped up recent operations against militants in the fertile Swat valley, where thousands of locals are in thrall to Mullah Fazlullah, a rabble-rousing cleric who has called for suicide attacks and holy war. Fazlullah's men have continued to wage an offensive against what they deem 'un-Islamic' activity, last week blowing up dozens of music, video and cosmetics stalls at a market.US intelligence officials claim that al-Qa'eda has also been able to extend its influence to the region from beyond lawless tribal areas of Pakistan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/11/wpak111.xml

As in the days of Noah...

The Light Is Come Into The World

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned:but he that believeth not is condemned already,because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation,that the light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light,because their deeds were evil."
John 3:17-19

Moment of silence mandated in Illinois schools

SPRINGFIELD—State lawmakers thrust Illinois into the center of the national debate on school prayer today as the House approved legislation to require public schools to provide students with a moment of silence at the start of classes.Students from kindergarten through high school will be allowed to silently pray in whatever faith they practice or simply sit and reflect quietly. Illinois teachers and students have had the option of doing so since 2002, but it wasn't mandated.The Illinois House voted to override Gov. Rod Blagojevich's late August veto of the silent-moment measure. The governor cited concerns about the separation of church and state."The law in Illinois today already allows teachers and students the opportunity to take a moment for silent thought or prayer, if they chose to," Blagojevich wrote. "I believe this is the right balance between the principles echoed in our constitution, and our deeply held desire to practice our faith. As a parent, I am working with my wife to raise our children to respect prayer and to pray because they want to pray—not because they are required to."But the Senate moved to overturn the governor's veto last week by a wide margin, and the House did the same today.The sponsor, Rep. William Davis (D-East Hazel Crest), had to retain 71 of the 86 House members who approved the legislation earlier this year to override Blagojevich. Davis got 74 votes after a short debate.Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) told her colleagues there is a place for a brief period of silence in students' lives, given how they are "bombarded" by noise and information all day."They come to school listening to their iPods," Monique Davis said. "To just have a moment in a child's life where he or she can be guaranteed a moment of silence, we don't want to give them that?"Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), who is often at odds with the governor, said he supported Blagojevich's veto because the legislation is really about prayer in schools. "Why we must mandate this is way beyond me," Lang said. "It's wrong from so many points of view."The moment of silence is supposed to take effect when the measure becomes law. But it may take some time for school districts to get notification and come up with a way to implement the requirement.That also assumes that no civil liberties group challenges the law in court, as has happened in other states like Virginia. The moment-of-silence law there was upheld by a federal appeals court, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling, according to newspaper accounts.Carpentersville-based District 300 Supt. Kenneth Arndt said sometimes when government mandates something, it diminishes the value of it. Besides that, he felt the legislation was a "non-issue," especially at the high schools."I was just at a high school this morning and I felt sorry for the first-period teachers trying to get these kids to wake up," Arndt said, chuckling. "When was the last time these legislators visited any schools?"Since the Supreme Court struck down mandatory school prayer in 1962, about three dozen states have passed legislation authorizing school districts to set aside up to five minutes for silent meditation or time to pray.A movement to push for variations of the moment of silence law has been growing for about three decades."Since then, some states have been moving to what they call a neutral moment of silence," said Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a watchdog group in Washington, D.C. "They don't mandate the moment be used for prayer. And the trend has been for the courts to uphold those. We don't like them, but generally speaking the courts are more receptive to that idea."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-legis12_weboct12%2C0%2C6245540.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout

As in the days of Noah....

How atheism is being sold to America

Religion – including Christianity and Judaism – is "violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children." At least that's according to the No. 1 New York Times bestseller "God is Not Great: Why Religion Poisons Everything" by journalist Christopher Hitchens.In the news business, we often cite a nation's current top-selling books – for example, the popularity of anti-Semitic titles in Arab countries – as evidence of the mindset of the people.Well, in the United States of America right now, some of the most-bought, most-read and most-discussed books are angry, in-your-face atheist manifestos.Besides Hitchens' book, which has dominated nonfiction bestseller charts for months, there's the popular "Letter to a Christian Nation" by atheist author Sam Harris, sequel to his earlier tome "The End of Faith," and Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" – all New York Times bestsellers.Then there are other hot titles: "God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist" by Victor J. Stenger. "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel C. Dennett. "Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism" by David Mills. And so on."This is atheism's moment," crowed David Steinberger, CEO of Perseus Books in a Wall Street Journal interview. "Mr. Hitchens has written the category killer, and we're excited about having the next book." That's right – this fall the publishing world will further cash in on the anti-God juggernaut with "The Pocket Atheist," featuring the writings of famous atheists, edited by Hitchens.

To read more go to:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57852

As in the days of Noah....

Iran Promises "Final Response" to US and Israel on October 12

Iran has promised a devastating “final response” to supporters of the Jewish State on October 12, the Islamic Republic’s Quds (Jerusalem) Day. “Supporters of the Zionist regime will receive their response during the world Quds Day's rallies,” Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said at a weekly press conference Wednesday.According to the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Elham was describing Iran's planned response for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit “to the occupied Palestine [sic].”"The US loses all opportunities to cooperate with regional and other world states by trying to support a regime (the Zionist regime) which is now at its weakest political and social position," Elham said. "Supporters of the Zionist regime will definitely receive the final response for their support on Quds day."Quds Day is held each year on the last Friday of the Islamic month of Ramadan. It was instituted in 1979, following the Islamic revolution by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.“I ask all the Muslims of the world and the Muslim governments to join together to sever the hand of this usurper and its supporters,” Khomeini said when proposing the day. “I call on all the Muslims of the world to select as Quds Day the last Friday in the holy month of Ramadan - which is itself a determining period and can also be the determiner of the Palestinian people’s fate - and through a ceremony demonstrating the solidarity of Muslims world-wide, announce their support for the legitimate rights of the Muslim people. I ask G-d Almighty for the victory of the Muslims over the infidels.”On Quds Day in 2000, Khomeini’s successor Khamenei called for Israel’s destruction, saying it is “the only way to solve the problems of the Middle East.”
Open Threats of War
One of Khamenei’s top advisers, Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, declared Tuesday that Iran would strike “in shortest possible time” in case of any strike on its nuclear facilities. He referred specifically to the army of suicide-bombers and child-soldiers active during the Iran-Iraq war. "The enemy will face strong armed forces especially the Basij [suicide-bombers and child soldiers] if it unleashed a military attack on Iran," he said. He claimed that the Basij army has 20 million members.According to IRNA, “He said that the US has been entangled in a quagmire in Iraq and cannot easily survive.”
Iranian Embassy: US Carried Out the Worst Holocaust
Responding to US President George W. Bush's recent statement that a nuclear Iran would place the region under threat of nuclear holocaust, Iran's embassy in Mexico released the following statement Tuesday: "The term used by President George W. Bush should be referred to what the US carried out in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the World War II when it destroyed the two Japanese cities with atomic bombs." It added that Bush “implicitly admitted that what Washington had done in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a crime worse than Hitler's crimes."
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123724


As in the days of Noah....

PESTILENCE WATCH:Besser Ties Food Production to Illnesses

OKLAHOMA CITY-The centralization of food production is a major reason for many of the outbreaks of food-borne illness across the nation, a senior official from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.Richard Besser, the director of the CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, said the agency has done a good job of determining where the outbreaks have originated, but that it has been "not so good about implementing corrective action to make sure it doesn't happen again."Besser spoke at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center as part of an ongoing lecture series about public health."The centralization of food production makes outbreaks something we have to be ready for," said Besser, who began his professional career studying food-borne illnesses.During his presentation, he discussed how the CDC helped pinpoint the source of a deadly E. coli outbreak last year. The outbreak, traced to bagged baby spinach grown in California, was blamed for the deaths of three people and for sickening hundreds more across the country.Although bioterrorism was not the cause of that outbreak, Besser said its specter has become a concern in recent years while studying cases of food-borne illnesses.He noted that in recent weeks, the CDC has aided with investigations of botulism and anthrax in different parts of the country. A standard question in such investigations now is whether such illnesses are naturally occurring or the result of a deliberate action."When I started in public health, that didn't cross my mind when we had a new case," Besser said."There's a lot that's being done on the security side to try and reduce those threats, and then there's a lot that's being done on the preparedness side," he said. "There are laboratory networks around the country that have improved our ability to diagnose agents that could be used for bioterrorism. There are security measures in place around how those agents are used."Still, he acknowledged, "if someone really wants to do something bad or deliberate, it's going to be very hard to stop them. It's important that we're able to detect it quickly and that we have countermeasures available to be able to respond."Besser said the CDC must be prepared to be first responders not only in the case of illnesses, but also in cases where public health could be at risk, such as in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Besser began working at his current job on Aug. 29, 2005, the day Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.He said the storm preceded the largest public health response to a natural disaster in U.S. history. He said that "from a public health perspective, there's a lot that went right with Hurricane Katrina," as outbreaks of diseases that had been feared never developed.Besser said the greatest enemy faced by public health officials is complacency. As an example, he discussed a disease that once received plenty of media attention."We've been talking about a potential pandemic of influenza for several years," he said. "Well, it hasn't come yet, and as I give talks around the country, people say, 'Whatever happened to that bird flu?' Well, it's still out there. We're still watching."You don't want to keep people on the edge of their seats all the time, but we need to ensure that we have sustainable systems to be able to respond, because we don't know what the next emergency could be."

http://www.examiner.com/a-984354~Besser_Ties_Food_Production_to_Illnesses.html

As in the days of Noah....

TERROR WATCH:Officials still searching for cause of Fermi II steam line holes

MONROE, Mich.-Officials are trying to determine what caused several holes discovered in steam lines at the Fermi II nuclear power plant near Monroe.DTE Energy spokesman John Austerberry says several 1/4-inch holes were discovered Thursday by workers performing routine maintenance. He says the holes appear to have been drilled.The plant has been shut down for about two weeks while about 2,300 workers perform four to five week's worth of scheduled maintenance.Austerberry says there was never a public safety concern, and the incident was reported immediately to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the FBI. He says maintenance work will cease in the area where the pipes are located, but will continue in the rest of the plant.

http://www.examiner.com/a-984927~Officials_still_searching_for_cause_of_Fermi_II_steam_line_holes.html

As in the days of Noah....

'Nativity Project' promoting national celebration:'We must remember Constitution promises freedom 'of' religion not 'from' religion'

"The Nativity Project," a campaign to encourage the display of Nativity scenes throughout the United States at Christmas, has been launched by the Christian Defense Coalition and Faith and Action at a U.S. Capitol news conference.But for several law firms that work on the growing flood of discrimination against the recognition of the national holiday because of its Christian heritage, their "season" already is in full swing."Sadly, we are seeing an erosion and crushing of religious freedoms across America," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition. "This is especially true during the Christmas season where there is an open hostility toward public expressions of faith."We must constantly remind our public officials that the Constitution promises freedom 'of' religion not freedom 'from' religion." He said "The Nativity Project" offers people of faith a chance to enter the public square and share the story of Christmas."And this is, 'Peace on earth, goodwill toward man,'" he said. "It is essential that the faith community not be intimidated or discouraged into surrendering their God-given First Amendment freedoms which offer to all Americans the right to publicly worship God free from government interference or harassment."Now in its third year, the program simply encourages citizens around the nation to display traditional Nativity scenes in public areas, such as state capitols and parks.Lawyers at the Thomas More Law Center say their Christmas season work already has begun, with their efforts in Berkley, Mich.There, the city council was "cowed" last winter by a threat of a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, and removed a decades-old Nativity display from city property.But the action rejected the will of the people, who assembled behind resident Georgia Halloran as the "Berkley Citizens Vote YES to Christmas Holiday Display" and mounted a successful petition drive to overrule the city decision.The law firm said enough signatures were gathered to put a proposed charter amendment on the Nov. 6, 2007, general election that would require the city to display a Nativity scene from the Monday following Thanksgiving to Jan. 6."Christmas is a national holiday," said Halloran. "And we're not going to let ACLU threats dictate how we publicly celebrate it."The law center has offered to represent the city without charge if a lawsuit develops. It already has provided assistance to Halloran's group."Despite all of their public rationalizations of why the Nativity should be removed from city property, it is clear the city council acted out of fear of an ACLU lawsuit," said Richard Thompson, president of the law center. "The council made the wrong decision, and Berkley citizens are working within the political system to correct that wrong."Another organization, The Rutherford Institute, also is in the middle of its Christmas campaign already. It has been busy addressing attacks on Christmas celebrations at public schools.The Institute reports that its legal hotline already has been getting calls from parents and teachers with complaints their schools' traditional Christmas concerts now are "winter holiday programs" and Christmas itself now is a "winter festival."The Rutherford Institute said it has published "The Twelve Rules of Christmas" about what can and cannot be done to celebrate the holiday.
"Whether through ignorance or fear, Americans have developed a politically correct phobia when it comes to tolerating celebrations of or references to Christmas," said John W. Whitehead, president of the institute."Unfortunately, these instances of intolerance have reached absurd proportions, and people's First Amendment rights are being trampled."He cited a recent incident in a Chicago suburb as an example. School officials in Oak Hill, Ill., cancelled traditional holiday celebrations including Christmas under pressure from a parent. Halloween was "fall festival" and Christmas was "winter festival." They later relented and now plan to allow some celebrating.The Institute reported that in past years items as offensive as Christmas carols, Christmas trees, wreaths, candy canes and even the colors red and green have been banned as part of efforts to avoid referencing Christmas, God or Christ.And now, even Thanksgiving is being attacked, the Institute said. Last year a parent reported that teachers in that district were being told not to even mention the word "Thanksgiving" because "the Pilgrims offended the Indians" and "Thanksgiving was never intended to be thanks to God."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58105

As in the days of Noah....

NAU WATCH:Mexico's Fox openly calls for North American Union

WASHINGTON-Mexico's former President Vicente Fox is making no secret of his desire to promote a "North American Union" to compete economically with Europe and the Far East.In a promotional tour for his new book, "Revolution of Hope," Fox told NPR's "Talk of the Nation" audience: "That's part of my Americas dream, that we can build our future together. We are partners with United States and Canada through NAFTA. There are other blocs in Latin America, but at the very end a continental trade agreement and union on the long term would be a way to develop ourselves and to be able to have the standards and level of living that we all need."Fox shocked many in the U.S. earlier in the week when he told CNN's Larry King that he and President Bush had agreed to work toward a common currency not only for North America but for Latin America as well.It was possibly the first time a top official of Mexico, Canada or the U.S. openly confirmed a plan for a regional currency. Fox explained the current regional trade agreement that encompasses the Western Hemisphere is intended to evolve into other previously hidden aspects of integration.According to a transcript published by CNN, King, near the end of the broadcast, asked Fox a question e-mailed from a listener."Mr. Fox, I would like to know how you feel about the possibility of having a Latin America united with one currency?"Fox answered in the affirmative, indicating it was a long-term plan. He admitted he and President Bush had agreed to pursue the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas – a free-trade zone extending throughout the Western Hemisphere, suggesting part of the plan was to institute eventually a regional currency."Long term, very long term," he said. "What we proposed together, President Bush and myself, it's ALCA, which is a trade union for all the Americas."

To read more go to:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58110

As in the days of Noah...

Turkey plans incursion, PKK says ready to attack

TUNCELI,Turkey-Kurdish separatist rebels said on Friday they were crossing back into Turkey to target politicians and police after Ankara said it was preparing to attack them in the mountains of northern Iraq.As regional tensions rose, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan cautioned that relations between Ankara and Washington were in danger over a U.S. congressional resolution branding as genocide massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.Washington harbors growing concerns about the possibility of a major Turkish military incursion to crush Kurdish rebels seeking a homeland in eastern Turkey. U.S. officials fear such an action could destabilize a relatively peaceful area of Iraq.Ankara recalled its ambassador from the United States for consultations after the U.S. vote, which was strongly condemned in predominantly Muslim but secular Turkey."We don't need anyone's advice on northern Iraq and the operation to be carried out there," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a cheering crowd in Istanbul, after saying that the United States "came tens of thousands of kilometers and attacked Iraq without asking anyone's permission."Referring to relations with the United States and the Armenian resolution, Erdogan, using a Turkish idiom usually employed to describe relations, said: "Where the rope is worn thin, may it break off." He did not elaborate."All prospects look bad ... and relations with the U.S. have already gone down the drain," Semih Idiz, a veteran Turkish commentator, said."If Turkey sets its mind on something, whether wrong or right it will do it. The invasion of Cyprus in 1974 is a good example," he said, referring to a Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus which drew U.S. condemnation and sanctions.A statement by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) could increase domestic pressure on Ankara to launch a big offensive that Washington fears could have ramifications in the region.The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq.Erdogan said his government was ready for any world criticism if Turkey launched an attack against some 3,000 PKK rebels who use north Iraq as a base to attack Turkish targets.Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.Some analysts say an offensive became more likely after the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved the bill on Wednesday. Relations with Washington have hitherto been a strong restraining force on Turkey.Turkey denies that genocide was committed but said many died in inter-ethnic fighting.The PKK statement moved world oil prices back above $83 a barrel, traders said. The Kirkuk oil fields of northern Iraq feed export pipelines running north into Turkey.
ERDOGAN FACES MOUNTING PRESSURE
After a sharp escalation of attacks by Kurdish militants on Turkish troops, Erdogan's government, which faces pressure from the public and the army to act, has decided to seek approval from parliament next week for a major operation.Erdogan said he wanted to secure approval now to avoid spending time later if and when an operation was warranted. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Erdogan on Thursday to express her disappointment at the U.S. Armenian bill, which the White House has tried to stop.The non-binding Armenian resolution by the congressional committee now goes to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Democrat leaders say there will be a vote by mid-November. The resolution was proposed by a leading politician with many Armenian-Americans in his district.
Potential moves could include blocking U.S. access to the Incirlik air base, cancelling procurement contracts, downscaling bilateral visits, denying air space to U.S. aircraft, and halting joint military exercises, diplomats say.Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul-Qadir Mohammed Jasim held talks with Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad on Friday to seek ways to improve bilateral ties in fighting terrorism.Erdogan said Turkey respected Iraq's unity but if it did nothing to stop the PKK, considered a terrorist organization group by Washington, Ankara and the EU, then Ankara had to act.Analysts and diplomats cast doubt on whether PKK rebels would leave their hideouts in the Iraqi mountains for the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey where tens of thousands of heavily armed troops and equipment are positioned."The guerrillas are not moving to the south (northern Iraq); on the contrary they are moving to ... places in the north," the PKK said in a statement published on Firat news agency.The PKK said its fighters planned to carry out attacks against the ruling AK Party, the main opposition CHP and the police unless certain conditions were met. It did not elaborate.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071012/wl_nm/turkey_iraq_dc

As in the days of Noah...

NAZI REVIVAL WATCH:Hashemi Rafsanjani: Hitler Wanted to Rid World of Jews Because 'They Were a Pain in the Neck'

Hashemi Rafsanjani, former Iranian president and current Chairman of the [[[Assembly of """Experts,"""]]] said Friday that Hitler’s treatment of Jewish people in Europe was due in part to their being[[[ “a pain in the neck.”]]]Rafsanjani’s comments came during a sermon for "International Jerusalem Day" on Iranian TV.
Video: Click here to watch Rafsanjani's speech (memritv.org). Rafsanjani noted that Jews caused problems for European governments because they “had a lot of property” and “controlled an empire of propaganda.” He also said that the {{{{Nazis were successful in saving Europe from the evil of Zionism.}}}}(yep so now you guys have already invaded Europe with your peace loving "religion of sword"....that's better alright....!!!!)The former Iranian leader served as president from 1989 to 1997, and was succeeded by Mohammad Khatami. Rafsanjani ran for a third term in office in 2005, but lost to current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301296,00.html

As in the days of Noah...

CULTURE of DEATH:1 in 5 Pregnancies Worldwide Ends in Abortion, Study Says

One in five pregnancies worldwide and one in three pregnancies in Europe ends in abortion, according to a new study published in a special female-focused issue of the Lancet.The study also found that, on average, 90 percent of women worldwide will have an abortion before the age of 45, based on 2003 data. However, many women will have had multiple abortions and many none at all to come to this average.Although the statistics may seem startling, worldwide rates of induced abortion actually fell 17 percent from 46 million to 42 million between 1995 and 2003.Click here to read a summary of the study in the LancetUnsafe abortion has not declined worldwide, however, and is concentrated in developing countries, according to a study conducted by Dr. Gilda Sedgh of the Guttmacher Institute in New York, Dr. Iqbal Shah of World Health Organization in Switzerland and colleagues.The researchers calculated worldwide and regional incidences of safe abortions using reports from national reporting systems, nationally representative surveys and published studies. Figures for unsafe abortion were estimated from hospital data, survey and other published studies.Of the 41.6 million abortions worldwide, 35 million were in the developing countries, and 6.6 million in developed countries.The worldwide induced abortion rate fell from 35 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 1995 to 29 per 1,000 in 2003.That same year, 48 percent of all abortions worldwide were unsafe (up from 44 percent in 1995), and 97 percent of unsafe abortions were in developing countries. In developed countries, 92 percent of abortions were safe.Globally, there were 31 abortions for every 100 live births in 2003, while in Eastern Europe there were more abortions than live births, 105 abortions for every 100 live births, more than double the level of the next highest world region, Eastern Asia (51 abortions for every 100 livebirths).Eastern Europe also saw the biggest decrease in abortion rates between 1995 and 2003, down 50 percent. The authors attribute this decline to an increased use of modern contraception methods."Although abortion rates and ratios in the countries of the former Soviet Union have fallen substantially in recent years, the rates in Eastern Europe remain higher than any other region," the authors wrote. "This finding suggests the need for continued improvements in and expansion of contraceptive service provision. The widespread preference for small families in this region indicates a high level of need for effective contraception."In Europe as a whole, nearly a third of pregnancies, 32 percent, end in abortion — higher than any other region due to the relatively high rates in Eastern Europe. The lowest proportion (12 percent) was in Africa, with the world average being one in five (20 percent).
The study found that abortion occurred at approximately the same rates where it is broadly legal as where it is highly restricted by law. Click here to read more on thatThe abortion rate per 1,000 women in 2003 was similar for Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, between 28 and 35, as complete regions, but lower in North America, 21, and Oceania, 17. However, the lowest abortion rate per 1,000 women worldwide was in Western Europe, 12, and the highest in Eastern Europe, 44.In the developing world, changes in rates of abortion, and actual numbers of abortions, were dominated by developments in China — which accounts for a fifth of abortions worldwide and saw a 20 percent drop in abortions between 1995 and 2003."Unsafe and safe abortions correspond in large part with illegal and legal abortions, respectively," the authors wrote. "The findings presented here indicate that unrestrictive abortion laws do not predict a high level of abortion, and by the same token, highly restrictive abortion laws are not associated with low abortion incidence."The study's authors said the statistics point to an unmet need for contraception."In light of the recent mandates of intergovernmental bodies, the contraceptive and abortion technologies now available, and the estimates presented here, prevention of unsafe abortion is an imperative public health goal," they added.Beth Fredrick, of the International Women's Health Coalition of New York, wrote, "In all the available data, one fact stands out: safe and legal abortion saves women's lives and protects their health. There is no acceptable reason to allow women to die, fall ill, or become infertile as a result of unsafe abortion when the world community has both the knowledge and the means to prevent these deaths."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301370,00.html

As in the days of Noah....

Atheist Radio Show Goes National on Air America, With Ron Reagan as Guest

NEW YORK -A week into the cross-country launch of a radio talk show for "Godless infidels," the son of the late former President Ronald Reagan will be a guest.Ron Reagan will speak this weekend on Freethought Radio, which Air America Radio is now broadcasting nationally, about his own atheism.[[["He became an atheist as a kid, and argued with his parents about it,"]]] said [[[Dan Barker, a"""" former evangelical Christian minister who co-hosts the Wisconsin-based program."""" "And he's still an atheist."But is the country ready for atheist radio? ]]]]Air America hopes so. The struggling left-wing broadcaster last Saturday aired its first Freethought show, hosted by Barker and his wife, Annie Laurie Gaylor, who co-chair an atheist activist group called the Freedom of Religion Foundation.The hour-long program for non-believers currently can be heard in about 25 cities and on satellite radio."We think it's a good show," Barker said. "There's a gap, there's a place for it. With all this religious broadcasting, there's nothing specific for atheists and agnostics."But some are skeptical that atheist talk radio will be a hit with listeners across the country."This one-hour weekly show from Wisconsin I don't think is going to have much of an impact, thank God," said Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.The program, which has until now only been running on a local station in Madison, Wis., has had guests including comedian Janeane Garofalo and abortion-clinic bombing victim Emily Lyons.[[[[The inaugural national broadcast opened with a welcome to """""Godless infidels, out-of-the-closet atheists and happy heathens."""""]]]]Click here to listen to a podcast of the Oct. 6 show.During the show, Barker challenged listeners to find him a passage in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence decreeing the United States as Christian, and spoke of the {{{"concerted attempt by the religious right to promote this really pernicious myth that America is a Christian nation."}}}Barker then scolded Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain for saying recently:"I would probably have to say that, yes, the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation, but I say that again in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, 'I only welcome Christians.' We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here, they know they are in a nation founded on Christian principles."The kickoff national talk show featured a discussion with British writer Christopher Hitchens, who authored the recently released "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."There was also an interview with an advocate for a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq (a "very brave atheist in a foxhole," the hosts called him) who is suing the Pentagon and his Army major for allegedly stopping an atheists meeting he tried to hold on base.Music by self-proclaimed non-believers including John Lennon (the premiere opened with his song "Imagine"), Scott Joplin and Verde broke up the talk.{{{{{"To know the Bible in most cases is to doubt it, although any of it can be taken literally," }}}}}Hitchens said, when recounting tales of his book tour. "This doubt is actually quite widespread. And after all, I didn't expect that by the end of the tour, we'd have a book by Mother Teresa saying she didn't believe a word of it."(The book to which Hitchens referred, "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light," is a compilation of letters written by the Nobel Peace Prize winner over 66 years. In some of those letters, Mother Teresa wrote that she was tormented by her faith and occasionally doubted the existence of God.)Hitchens described as "immoral" the Christian tenet that Jesus Christ died for the sins of others."It is an attempt to evade responsibility and re-adopt the ancient ritual of scapegoating," he said.Freethought Radio also features a "Theocracy Alert" segment that discusses recent religion and church-and-state themed news from an atheist perspective, and the "Pagan Pulpit," when Barker, who became an atheist after years of being a believing minister and missionary, reads and deconstructs a passage from the Bible."If they want to come on an hour a week to say what they want to say, God bless them," Zwilling said. "That's their right in this country, as long as they're not seeking to prohibit us from seeking our religion."The number of avowed atheists and agnostics — people who don't believe in God or organized religion and people who say they don't know whether there's a God — is relatively small in the U.S., with those labeling themselves that way comprising between 3 and 9 percent of the population, according to Barker.The American Religious Identification Survey, put out by the City University of New York (CUNY), found some evidence that the numbers could be rising — with 7 percent of respondents marking "non-religion" as their affiliation in 1990 and 14.5 percent checking that box in 2001.Those identifying themselves as Christian still form the vast majority, according to the poll, but experienced a dip from 86 percent to 77 percent during the same time period.A 2002 USA Today/Gallup poll found that 50 percent of adults consider themselves religious, 33 percent say they're "spiritual but not religious" and 10 percent say they are neither spiritual nor religious.Barker said the bent of the radio show-which is in cities as diverse as Chicago; Baton Rouge, La.; New York; Charlottesville, Va.; and Taos, N.M.-runs parallel to the stated mission of the Freedom of Religion Foundation: keeping God out of politics."Our main focus of our group is keeping state and church separate," he said, adding that the activist group has "dozens" of projects challenging faith-based initiatives, which are government-funded social programs incorporating religious beliefs into their framework.Atheism becomes problematic, according to Zwilling, when it is "interfering with our rights as believers."He thinks that separation of church and state has become a "meaningless phrase" that sometimes gets in the way of others' beliefs. The First Amendment to the Constitution says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."Faith-based initiatives, said Zwilling, should fall under the latter portion of that declaration."I certainly believe we should not have an official state-sponsored religion. People are free to practice their religion," he said. "But the second half of that First Amendment is never mentioned."Christian shows and stations dominate the religious segment of radio and television programming in the United States. Many are based on an evangelical ideology, but there are other branches of Christianity represented — including Roman Catholicism in the form of the 24-hour Catholic Channel on Sirius satellite radio, which is run by the Archdiocese, and non-literalist Christianity, in the form of a show called "State of Belief" on Air America.Air America, a politically liberal talk radio station that launched in March 2004 to compete with conservative talk radio, didn't return a request for comment from FOXNews.com about taking on the atheism-themed program.Barker is confident the hour-long segment will lead a lot of non-believers to believe in the show."There seems to be a real hunger among the non-religious to hear and to connect to that point of view more," he said. "Even believers agree with it ... It's not like we're anti-religion, but we do want to be a voice."Zwilling doesn't think atheist radio will become a major force to reckon with, and he said it won't be able to compete with Christian programming."Many more people are going to listen and respond positively to the Catholic Channel than they will to this particular program," he said. "We're reaching people who are Catholic and non-Catholic alike. ... We are a nation made up predominantly of Christians — of believers."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300719,00.html

PS:The only thing I can say is that this is another SIGN of the END TIMES we are living in....people leaving the faith and turning into apostates,like Barker....It can happen....it is called falling away.....!!!!

Like a preacher said at our church a couple of weeks ago.....when people start falling away from the TRUTH and sliding,there is no place of stopping....they'll continue till-IF unrepented-they will end up slipping into HELL itself.

May God helps us,keep the flame alive in our hearts and walk wiht Jesus daily doing His Will....These are extremely dangerous times folks!!!!

As in the days of Noah....