Watchman Newsletter for May 13, 2008
Etna Volcano Rumbles Back to Life in Sicily
Breitbart.com (May 13, 2008)
- The Etna volcano in Sicily rumbled back to life on Tuesday with a
"seismic event" followed by a burst of ash, volcanologists said three
days after minor eruptions shook the cone. A "seismic event provoking a
strong explosion was recorded Tuesday at 0424 GMT (6:42 am local) in
parts of the peak of the volcano," the National Geophysics and
Vulcanology Institute in Sicily's Catania region said in a statement.
The explosion on Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano at 3,295 metres
(10,810 feet), was followed by a rain of ash on the southeast crater,
"where significant gas emissions are occurring," the statement said. The
institute dispatched experts on Tuesday to the site, but "the phenomenon
currently represents no danger to people or property," it said.
Saturday's eruption, accompanied by streams of lava, was also at the
volcano's southeast crater. The last eruption of Mount Etna was in
November 2007, two months after another eruption forced a temporary
closure of nearby Catania airport due to flowing lava and clouds of ash.
The last major eruption was in 2001.
Ahmadinejad: Israel to be 'swept away soon'
The Earth Times
(May 13, 2008) - Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Israel would "be soon swept away"
from the Palestinian Territories by the Palestinians. It is the second
time within less than three years that the Iranian president predicted
the eradication of the Jewish state. The first time was in 2005 when
Ahmadinejad hoped that Israel would be eradicated from the Middle East
map. "This terrorist and criminal state is backed by foreign powers, but
this regime would soon be swept away by the Palestinians," Ahmadinejad
said in a press conference in Tehran. Referring to worldwide
celebrations for the 60th anniversary of Israel's foundation, he said
that "it would be futile to hold a birthday ceremony for something which
is already dead." "As far as the regional countries are concerned, this
regime does not exist," Ahmadinejad added. The Iranian president said
last week that the anniversary feasts could not save this "rotten and
stinking corpse." Ahmadinejad caused international outrage in the past
by hoping for the eradication of Israel, the relocation of the Jewish
state to Europe or Alaska and questioning the historic dimensions of the
Holocaust.
Iran's Ambassador to Syria says Israel in worst ever condition
Mathaba
(May 13, 2008) - President's Advisor
and IRI Ambassador in Syria said here Monday occupying regime of Holy
Qods is currently in its worst ever condition, getting weaker with
passage of each day, and moving towards extinction. According to IRNA
correspondent in Syria, Hojjatoleslam Seyyed Ahmad Moussavi made the
comment here on Monday night at the opening ceremony of a conference
titled "Repatriation, A Sacred And Legitimate Right", sponsored by
Damascus based Arab Writers Union. Moussavi added, "Israel has ever
since its establishment been serving the colonialist, and later on
neo-colonialist Western powers as a tool for strengthening their
hegemony in this sensitive region." The Iranian diplomat added, "The US
President assumes that the entire nations in this region are waiting for
him to issue commands and obey them, but the Americans are today
beginning to realize that not only that has been a simple minded
assumption, but also the US and Israeli plots for the region are facing
humiliating defeats in the region one after the other." Referring to the
existence of numerous conflicts and difficulties within the Islamic and
Arab worlds, he said, "Despite all those problems and challenges, the
root cause of most of which is US and Israeli plots, the victory of
Muslims in the long run is easy to predict." The Islamic Republic of
Iran's ambassador to Syria emphasized that freedom and liberation cannot
be achieved without tolerating the hardships of Jihad (sacred defensive
war), resistance, and unity. He added, "In order to achieve
independence, freedom, and competence in facing the ever increasing
challenges in today's world, the world Muslims need to get acquainted
with the culture of resistance, and to keep alight the light of hope for
embracing final victory in their hearts." Hojjatoleslam Moussavi who was
addressing the audience at the conference on the verge of the 60th
wretched anniversary of Israel's illegitimate establishment meanwhile
warned the Muslims to beware of the incessant cultural onslaught of the
West. He added, "The main objective of this onslaught is annihilation of
the Islamic and indigenous values of our nations, as well as braking the
bonds of unity within the Islamic and Arab societies." The Zionists
occupied the major part of Palestine's lands on May 15th, 1948 and in
1967 seized the entire territory of that oppressed nation. The
Palestinians refer to the latter day, when they lost their lands, became
homeless, and were broadly massacred by the Zionists as "Yaum ul-Nikba"
(The Wretched Day), remembering it as the most catastrophic day in their
history, but the illegitimate Zionist state celebrates the same day
annually. Mousavi then referred to the occupation of Palestine initially
by the British forces, and then handing it to the agents of the
International Zionism, who facilitated for the three waves of the world
Jews' migration to that holy land as the most perilous plot hatched n
the West against the Islamic World. He emphasized, "Accusing the world
Muslims of nurturing terrorists and of having terrorist tendencies
today, is a stage in continuation of the same nasty plot." Mousavi said,
"The late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini (P)
considered defending the Palestinian nation, and their ideals a top
priority of Iran's foreign policy. Iran's ambassador to Damascus added,
"A couple of signs of remaining faithful to that policy is his
announcement of the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan as the
International Qods Day, closure f Israel's embassy in Tehran, and
establishment of Palestine's Embassy in its place soon after the victory
of the Islamic Revolution." The two-day conference is held in the
presence of a large number of Iranian and Arab Alims and thinkers. Among
the prominent Arab personalities at the conference there are the head of
the Arab Writers Union, Hussain Jum'ah, Deputy Secretary General of
Palestine's Islamic Jihad Movement, Amal, and head of Iran-Arab
Friendship Committee, Adnan Abu-Nasser.
Blair unveils new 'West Bank package'
The Jerusalem Post
(May 13, 2008) - Quartet envoy Tony
Blair on Tuesday unveiled a package of steps designed to allow greater
movement in the West Bank, and help the Palestinian economy grow in a
way in which he said would be consistent with protecting Israeli
security. Blair, speaking a day before the arrival of US President
George Bush, said that the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority, after
weeks of negotiations, have agreed on the steps which he said could
begin to change the reality on the ground. "For Palestinian statehood to
be possible in the eyes of Palestinians there must be hope that
occupations will, over time, be lifted," Blair said. "For Palestinian
statehood to be possible in the eyes of Israelis, there must be hope,
over time, that the security of Israel will be improved and not harmed
by the way the Palestinians run their territory." Blair, at a press
conference at his headquarters in the American Colony Hotel, said that
the centerpiece of the package is an area in and around Jenin which is
greater in land mass than the Gaza Strip, where the Palestinians will be
given increased security authority and a number of economic and social
projects will begin there. In addition, Blair said that the Israelis had
agreed to remove four checkpoints throughout the West Bank, upgrade
seven others, and move one.
Tornado season deadliest in a decade
USA Today
(May 13, 2008) - The USA has been
ravaged through mid-May by a near-record number of tornadoes that has
pushed the death toll — including 47 killer twisters over the weekend —
to a 10-year high. The deaths of 98 people attributed to tornadoes this
year has made 2008 the deadliest year thus far for tornadoes since 1998
and the seventh deadliest since modern recordkeeping began in 1950, The
Weather Channel said. Such a rate could make 2008 the year with the most
tornadoes since 1950. "We are on a pace that continues a record number"
of twisters, said Greg Forbes, severe weather expert at The Weather
Channel. Violent storms over the weekend that spawned tornadoes left at
least 22 people dead from the southern Plains states eastward to
Georgia, including seven deaths in the tiny town of Picher, Okla., and
10 deaths in Seneca, Mo. Storms remained active Sunday night as they
swept eastward. The National Weather Service said tornado watches were
in effect for southern Georgia into northern Florida, as well as south
central Virginia, much of North Carolina and northern South Carolina.
The National Weather Service takes weeks to confirm actual numbers of
tornadoes but The Weather Channel said it believes there were 47
separate twisters as of May 11 putting the count for the year at 636.
That is second only to the No. 1 year of 1999, when 669 tornadoes hit
through the same date, Forbes said. As for deaths by tornado, this year
has seen the most through May 11 since 115 were killed by tornado in
1998, Forbes said. That year ended with 130 total deaths because of
tornadoes. Meteorologists say wind conditions and weather patterns have
been ideal for creating twisters this year. The jet stream, a shifting
river of air at high altitudes, has been moving from the southwestern
USA toward the Great Lakes and pulling moist air from the Gulf of
Mexico. The contrast between the warm southern air and cold air aloft
creates winds that can spin turn into twisters. more...
Report: Death toll in China quake exceeds 12,000
Associated Press
(May 13, 2008) - Soldiers hiking over
landslide-blocked roads reached the epicenter of China's devastating
earthquake Tuesday, pulling bodies and a few survivors from collapsed
buildings. The death toll of more than 12,000 was certain to rise as the
buried were found. Rescuers worked through a steady rain searching
wrecked towns across hilly stretches of Sichuan province that were
stricken by Monday's magnitude-7.9 quake, China's deadliest in three
decades. Tens of thousands spent a second night outdoors, some sleeping
under plastic sheeting, others bused to a stadium in the city of
Mianyang, on the edge of the disaster area. Street lamps were switched
on in Mianyang on Tuesday night, but all the buildings were dark and
deserted after the government ordered people out of them for fear of
aftershocks. Security guards were posted at apartment blocks to keep
people out. The industrial city of 700,000 people — home to the
headquarters of China's nuclear weapons design industry — was turned
into a thronging refugee camp, with residents sleeping outdoors. "I'm
cold. I don't dare to sleep, and I'm worried a building is going to fall
down on me," said Tang Ling, a 20-year-old waitress wrapped in a
borrowed pink down jacket and camped outside the Juyuan restaurant with
three co-workers. "What's happened is so cruel. In one minute to have so
many people die is too tragic." As night fell, a first wave of 200
soldiers entered the town of Wenchuan, near the epicenter, trudging
across ruptured roads and mudslides, state television said. Initial
reports from troops said one nearby town could account for only 2,300
survivors out of 9,000 people, China Central Television said. At least
12,012 deaths occurred in Sichuan alone while another 323 died in five
other provinces and the metropolis of Chongqing, state media reported.
That toll seemed likely to jump sharply as rescue teams reached hard-hit
towns. The devastation and ramped-up rescue across large, heavily
populated region of farms and factory towns strained local governments.
Food dwindled on the shelves of the few stores that remained open.
Gasoline was scarce, with long lines outside some stations and pumps
marked "empty." more...
Global free market for food and energy faces biggest threat in
decades Telegraph.UK
(May 10, 2008) - The global free market
for food and energy is facing its biggest threat in decades as a
host of countries push through draconian measures to hold down
prices, raising fears of a new "resource nationalism" that could
endanger world food security. India shocked the markets yesterday by
suspending trading in futures contracts for a range of farm products
in a bid to clamp down on alleged speculators and curb inflation,
now running at 7.6pc. The country's Forward Markets Commission said
contracts for soybean oil, chana (chickpeas), potatoes, and rubber
had been banned for four months, even though a report by the Indian
parliament last month concluded that soaring food costs had almost
nothing to do with the futures contracts. Traders in Mumbai slammed
the ban as an act of brazen political populism. The move has been
seen as a concession to India's Communist MPs - key allies of
premier Manmohan Singh - who want a full-fledged ban on futures
trading in sugar, cooking oil, and grains. As food and fuel riots
spread across the world, a string of governments have resorted to
steps that menace the free flow of food and key commodities.
Argentina has banned beef exports, while Egypt and India have
stopped shipments of rice. Kazakhstan has prohibited wheat exports.
Russia has slapped a 40pc export duty on shipments, and Pakistan a
35pc duty. China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philipines, Sri Lanka, and
Vietnam have all imposed export controls or forms of rationing to
ease the crisis. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that
this lurch towards national controls is becoming a threat to the
open global system we all take for granted. "If not handled
properly, this crisis could result in a cascade of others and affect
political security around the world," he said. A new report by UBS
says the scramble for scarce raw materials is turning ever more
political, with ominous implications for ill-endowed societies that
rely on imports. "The bottom line is that countries with resources,
particularly in food and energy are becoming more protective of
these resources," it said. more... Myanmar junta votes as cyclone victims starve AFP (May 10, 2008) - Myanmar's junta Saturday held a vote on a new constitution, ignoring pleas to focus on delivering urgently needed food supplies to 1.5 million cyclone victims facing disease and hunger. The referendum being held in all but the most devastated parts of the country is the first balloting to take place in Myanmar since the disallowed elections in 1990, in which democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi secured a landslide victory. Voting was postponed by two weeks in the former capital of Yangon, as well as most of the Irrawaddy delta where Cyclone Nargis struck last week, leaving 65,000 dead or missing according to the junta's count. Although Myanmar says it will now accept aid from the United States, it has tussled with the World Food Programme over unloading UN supplies, triggering a brief suspension of the global body's relief flights Friday. "My understanding is that it has not yet been released into our hands, but we are working around the clock to get access," Marcus Prior, a Bangkok-based spokesman for WFP, said of a vital UN aid shipment impounded by authorities. "We have people who know how to work these channels, and they are," he said as the supplies -- enough high-energy biscuits to feed 95,000 survivors -- remained stuck at Yangon airport more than 24 hours after being delivered. "It is frustrating but that doesn't mean we're going to throw up our hands and give up. To the contrary -- we're going to work harder," he said. The UN has launched an emergency appeal for 187 million dollars to help the cyclone victims, but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has not yet succeeded in speaking directly with the reclusive junta leader, Than Shwe, a UN source said. The junta has also refused to allow in foreign aid workers to direct the relief effort, drawing condemnation from the UN and world leaders who urged the ruling generals to open their doors. The situation on the ground is one of horror, with starving survivors looking for food in waterways littered with dead bodies and aid groups warning that time is running out. Countless masses are suffering in the waterlogged southern delta, where entire villages were washed away. "I am angry with the government," said Dowla Shwe, a single mother with five children who said her house was one of the many that simply vanished when the powerful storm tore through her village. She said the military had brought no aid or food -- and that she feared her children would now starve to death. "If they can't help, why not allow foreigners to come and help us?" more...
Hezbollah to end Beirut seizure
BBC News (May
10,
2008) - The army revoked two key government
measures that had led to four days of street fighting between the
two sides, leaving at least 37 people dead. But it has vowed to
continue civil disobedience until its demands are met. The fighting
was sparked by a government move to shut down Hezbollah's telecoms
network and the removal of the chief of security at Beirut airport for
alleged Hezbollah sympathies. Earlier, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
called on the army to restore law and order, saying the country would
not fall to Hezbollah after four days of street battles which saw the
Shia movement drive supporters of the government out of western Beirut.
In his first response to Hezbollah's de facto takeover of the west of
the capital, Mr Siniora said his government would never declare war
against the Shia group. The latest violence amounts to a humiliating
blow to the government, which appears to have badly overplayed its hand
in moving to close Hezbollah's telecoms network on Tuesday, our
correspondent says. more...
Hezbollah gunmen seize large areas of Beirut
Associated Press
(May 9,
2008) - Shiite Hezbollah gunmen seized control
of key parts of Beirut from Sunnis loyal to the U.S.-backed government
Friday, a dramatic show-of-force certain to strengthen the
Iranian-allied group’s hand as it fights for dominance in Lebanon’s
political deadlock. An ally of Hezbollah said the group intended to pull
back, at least partially, from the areas its gunmen occupied overnight
and Friday morning — signaling Hezbollah likely does not intend a
full-scale, permanent takeover of Sunni Muslim parts of Beirut, similar
to the Hamas takeover of Gaza a year ago. The clashes eased by Friday
evening as Lebanon’s army began peacefully moving into some areas where
Hezbollah gunmen had a presence. But as Hezbollah gunmen celebrated in
the capital’s empty streets — including marching down Hamra Street, one
of its glitziest shopping lanes — it was clear that the show-of-force
would have wide implications for Lebanon and the entire Mideast.
Lebanon’s army largely stood aside as the Shiite militiamen scattered
their opponents and occupied large swaths of the capital’s Muslim sector
early Friday — a sign of how tricky Lebanon’s politics have become. In
one instance, the army stood aside as Shiite militiamen burned the
building of the newspaper of their main Sunni rival — acting only to
evacuate people and then allow firefighters later to put out the blaze.
The army has pledged to keep the peace but not take sides in the long
political deadlock — which pits Shiite Hezbollah and a handful of allies
including some Christian groups, against the U.S.-backed government,
which includes Christian and Sunni Muslims. Three days of street battles
and gunfights capped by Friday’s Hezbollah move have killed at least 14
people and wounded 20 — the country’s worst sectarian fighting since the
1975-1990 civil war. Three more people were killed in two separate
incidents on Friday after the Hezbollah takeover. Two of them were Druse
allies of Hezbollah who died in a shooting in a hilly suburb southeast
of the capital late Friday, security officials said. For Beirut
residents and those across the Mideast, it was a grim reminder of that
troubled time when Beirut was carved into enclaves ruled by rival
factions and car bombs and snipers devastated the capital. more... Happy Europe Day! (May 9, 2008) - On the 9th of May 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. Today, the 9th of May has become a European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day is the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another.
Are Emerging Church Critics Too Critical? Understanding The Times - Not every Christian is called to be a watchman. This is understandable. The body of Christ is made up of men, women and children with a variety of gifts and callings all important for the body of Christ to be healthy. The watchman or watchwoman is a person called by God to warn about the dangers of departing from the truth and being led astray. This calling is not without problems and difficulties. The watchman, even though his or her voice may be biblical, is almost always considered by the majority to be too critical. This is especially true today when so many Christian leaders are embracing a Christianity that is more seeker-friendly and purpose-driven rather than God-fearing and Spirit-led. A person who attempts to exhort stray sheep back to the fold is considered negative, judgmental, and unloving. Further, when someone has departed from the Word of God, they are not always grateful to someone who tells them they have departed. If a person knew they were being deceived, they wouldn’t have been seduced by the deception. It is also a fact there are many who profess to have faith in Christ but have very little faith in His Word. It is God’s Word that must be our plumb line in bringing us back to the truth. Following a man and his ideas may well lead us astray, especially if his ideas do not line up with God’s revelation as recorded in God’s Word. I have been attempting to sound a spiritual alarm by documenting facts associated with various ideas and trends that are sweeping the world in the name of Christ. We are living at a time in Church history when a new reformation is supposedly underway and Christianity is being reinvented so that it will be more relevant for the twenty-first century, but a Christianity that is not consistent with the Scriptures in not Christianity. Answering the Critics There are those who will read this and will not come to the conclusion that we are living in an age of apostasy before the return of our Lord. There will be those who accuse me of presenting an unbalanced view of the emerging church, in spite of the facts. There will be those who say that I concentrate only on the negative and that I have avoided all the good things about the Emerging Church. For example, I anticipate there will be statements similar to the following one made by Emerging Church supporter Darren King in an article he wrote titled “A Response to Reactionism Against the Emerging Church”:
This statement illustrates how someone with a rigid perspective (biblical perspective) is perceived by someone with an Emerging Church perspective (“fresh perspective”). From Darren King’s viewpoint, if someone is not willing to abandon their “faith infrastructure,” (the Bible) for the “fresh perspective,” (ideas that are unbiblical or anti-biblical) the person is considered a dangerous crackpot. Further, King, the editor of Precipice Magazine, states that he has a plan to deal with resistors who refuse to leave their “faith infrastructure” for the “fresh perspective”.
Following this article some examples of Emerging Church criticism were posted along with a response by Precipice Magazine. For example, as an answer to the criticism—“I feel like you can never pin down the Emerging Church on what they actually believe. That kind of slippery theology seems dangerous, cowardly, and way too convenient in our politically correct culture”—the following statement is made:
If Christianity is evolving, as this writer suggests,
what is it evolving into? Whether or not one names this trend a “church”
or a “conversation” is not the issue. What is important is whether or
not the trend is based on sound Christian doctrine. As we have discussed
in previous commentaries, faith in the Bible is not the basis for this
“New Reformation”. Faith in the Bible is not being promoted; it is it
under attack. Faith is being undone. Yes, it is true that the early
church was called “The Way.” However, the church was called “The Way”
because the members of the church were following Jesus, who said He was
“The Way.”
John 17:17 Jesus also said the “Way” is
a “narrow way”
Matthew 7:13 and the “only way”
John 14:6 to get into heaven. The
Emerging Church way or emergent conversation or whatever name is used to
describe this so-called New Reformation, in my view is a wide way that
many are traveling and heading in the wrong direction. more...
Severe storms cause damage in 4 Southern states
Associated Press
(May 9, 2008) - Amber Parker watched on
television as the storm near her home grew into a tornado threat. Then,
when the roaring wind outside suddenly fell silent, she grabbed her two
toddlers and rushed to get under the stairwell. "We just got inside the
door frame when I was pushed inside ... then everything went," said
Parker, tears welling in her eyes as she described the chaotic scene
during a brief discussion with reporters near her demolished home in
central North Carolina. Neighbors helped the 36-year-old Parker and her
two children — a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old — out of the ruins that
used to be their home, and the three survived with barely a scratch.
"We're blessed," she said. The powerful storm system that swept through
the Southeast and the mid-Atlantic states late Thursday and into early
Friday produced two tornados. In North Carolina, the storm left one
person dead, several injured and scores of homes and businesses damaged.
Donald Ray Needham, 51, of Jackson Springs, died when his truck
overturned in a parking lot just west of Greensboro, authorities said.
They said three others were injured, one when the storm knocked down a
wall at a distributing business, and two others when their vehicles
flipped off the road. In Greensboro, some homes and businesses on the
outskirts of town were damaged, and two FedEx airplanes were pitched off
the tarmac and into an airport construction site. No one was injured at
the airport. And while officials scoured through wreckage when daylight
arrived Friday, they found no new injuries or fatalities. "I thought we
were going to come back to something a lot worse than what we have out
there," said David Douglas, assistant chief for the Greensboro Fire
Department. "It could have been much worse than it was." The National
Weather Service reported preliminary indications that the Greensboro
tornado clocked in as a category EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale,
meaning the funnel was packing winds between 111 and 135 mph. Earlier
Thursday, an apparent tornado wrecked a shopping area in Mississippi and
strong winds flipped a mobile home in Alabama. In south-central
Tennessee, at least four homes and a few barns were reported damaged.
The storm made its way to Virginia and Maryland late Thursday and early
Friday, leaving between 75 and 100 homes in northeastern Virginia
damaged — about 30 of them severely, said Stafford County spokeswoman
Cathy Riddle. She said two people were injured; one of them was taken to
a hospital and later released. Dozens of residents were taken to a
temporary shelter at a middle school. Weather service officials
confirmed Friday that a tornado also touched down Thursday night in
Franklin and Henry counties in western Virginia. The EF1 twister, with
winds of 86 to 95 mph, downed trees and damaged homes in a mile-long
path, officials said. Portions of northern and central Virginia and
southern Maryland remained under a flood warning Friday morning.
more...
Ahmadinejad: Israel a 'stinking corpse' facing annihilation
The Jerusalem Post
(May 9, 2008) - Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the state of Israel is a
"stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear, the French news agency
AFP reported. "Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of
the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are
seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as
having said. "Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is
questioned and this regime is on its way to annihilation." Ahmadinejad
further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after
being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in
the summer of 2006.
Burma death toll worse than Tsunami
The Sun
(May 9, 2008) - THE death toll in
cyclone-ravaged Burma could hit 500,000 – more than twice the total
killed by the Boxing Day Tsunami. Last night’s warning came as it
emerged that 17 Britons, including ex-pats and backpackers, were still
missing. The UN World Food Programme said on Friday it would resume aid
flights, despite the military government’s seizure of deliveries at
Yangon airport. "The World Food Programme has decided to send in two
relief flights as planned tomorrow, while discussions continue with the
government of Myanmar on the distribution of the food that was flown in
today, and not released to WFP", said Nancy E. Roman, WFP’s
communications and public policy director. The UN food agency had
previously said it would suspend aid flights over the seizure today. The
shipments of 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits, enough to feed 95,000
people, were intended to be loaded on trucks and sent to the inundated
Irrawaddy delta where most of the estimated 1.5 million victims of
Cyclone Nargis need food, water and shelter. Sources said 200,000 people
were already dead or dying. But the figure could rise to HALF A MILLION
through disease and hunger if the nation’s hardline army rulers continue
to block aid for the devastated lowlands of the Irrawaddy Delta. That
would dwarf the 230,000 deaths across South East Asia in the 2004
catastrophe. Nyo Ohn Myint, of exiled opposition party The National
League for Democracy, told The Sun at a border crisis centre: “Much of
this will be a man-made disaster, caused by the military regime. “The
bodies need to be collected and burnt as soon as possible or disease
will claim many more lives. But the government has organised nothing and
its 400,000 soldiers are doing nothing while undistributed aid piles up.
“They are hoping bodies will be washed out to sea so the final count is
smaller – but it could kill half a million people within a matter of
weeks. The world must know what is going on.” Disaster struck on
Saturday when 120mph Cyclone Nargis forced ashore waves up to 20ft high.
The Irrawaddy town of Labutta – population 80,000 – was wiped off the
map. Local doctor Aye Kyu told how families clung to trees as their
homes were swept away. He said: “I asked survivors how many there were
left. They said about 200.” A spokesman for the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Aid said: “The entire lower delta region is
under water. Teams are talking about bodies floating around. This is a
major, major disaster.” The UN World Food Programme said up to a million
may have been left homeless in the vital “rice bowl” farming region
alone. In the city of Bogalay, 95 per cent of homes are thought to have
been destroyed. In the township of Dedaye, south of the main city
Rangoon, desperate kids scavenged among the debris of their homes for
anything useful to survival. On the outskirts of Rangoon forlorn
families, including a mother cradling her screaming baby, queued for
emergency handouts of rice. In Britain, International Development
Secretary Douglas Alexander told MPs the situation was “grave”.
more...
Strong quake rocks Tokyo
Herald Sun
(May 8, 2008) - A SERIES of strong
earthquakes including one with a magnitude of 6.7 hit the Tokyo area
early today, cutting off power to more than 2000 homes and causing light
injuries, officials and reports said. Japan's meteorological agency
warned that more moderate aftershocks could strike, although there were
no fears of a tsunami. The strongest earthquake hit at 1.45am (2.45am
AEST) in the Pacific Ocean off Ibaraki prefecture, some 100km northeast
of Tokyo. Public broadcaster NHK said that two people were lightly
injured, including an 18-year-old boy who was hit by his falling stereo
speaker. Power was cut off to 2100 households, the network said, quoting
local officials. The impact was strongest in Ibaraki and adjacent
Tochigi prefecture where the earthquake measured lower-five on the
seven-point Japanese scale - strong enough to crack holes in weak
buildings. more...
Israel's Olmert admits taking cash but won't quit
Reuters
(May 8, 2008) - Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert admitted on Thursday taking cash from a U.S. businessman but
resisted calls to resign over a police investigation into alleged hefty
bribes over almost a decade. As Israelis enjoyed festivities marking
Independence Day and the 60th anniversary of the founding of their
state, police lifted a week-old media gag order and announced details of
accusations that sparked opposition calls for Olmert to quit. He said he
would resign only if he were formally indicted. Whether he goes or not,
doubt over his future is likely to upset his faltering, U.S.-sponsored
peace negotiations with the Palestinians and will cast a heavy cloud
over next week's celebratory visit to Israel by U.S. President George W.
Bush. The White House said Bush still intended to make the trip. Olmert,
in a late-night televised address to the nation, said: "I look each and
every one of you in the eye and say, 'I never took bribes. I never took
a penny for myself'." His allies say there is a right-wing campaign to
wreck the peace process, but it was unclear if his fragile coalition
would rally behind a man who last year said he was "indestructible".
Israelis are no strangers to tales of corruption at the top in the
Middle East's most feted democracy and the latest case may fuel calls
for an overhaul of political funding rules. Olmert, who was questioned
by police for an hour last Friday, has weathered a string of
investigations since he succeeded Ariel Sharon as prime minister in
2006. Sharon's son is in jail for campaign funding misdeeds on his
father's behalf. On Thursday, Olmert said all the cash he received --
put at hundreds of thousands of dollars by one judicial source -- was
legitimate support from New York financier Morris Talansky to fund
various election campaigns over nearly a decade from 1993. more...
Egypt extends ration cards due to high food prices
Reuters
(May 8, 2008) - Egypt has opened its
ration card system to an extra 17 million people and doubled the amount
of rice that card holders receive in an effort to counter the effects of
rising food prices. The global prices of staple foods have risen more
than 40 percent in the last year causing shortages, hoarding and riots
in many developing countries and prompting the United Nations to warn of
malnutrition and social unrest. In Egypt, inflation has jumped to 16.4
percent and the government is trying to contain growing public
discontent over rising food prices which are accentuated by low wages.
Three people were killed in a Nile Delta town last month in clashes with
police after textile workers tried to strike. Egypt had not added to the
ration card registry since 1988 before opening it up for new
registrations until June 30. "Up to now we have received about 17
million additional citizens... This means we will cover about 55 million
people," Social Solidarity Minister Ali Musailhi told Reuters. Egypt's
population is about 75 million. The poor spend a disproportionate amount
of their income on food and in Tajikistan, an impoverished Central Asian
republic, their problems have been worsened by a locust infestation
which threatens maize and wheat crops. Last month, the U.N. said locusts
had infested an area of 150,000 hectares -- 30 percent more than last
year -- and could damage food supplies in a nation of 7 million. Many
countries have responded to high food prices by imposing taxes and other
restrictions on exports to try to ensure adequate supplies at home.
Export bans by India and Vietnam, the world's second biggest exporter,
have helped rice prices in Asia to treble this year and filled the
coffers of rice exporters in Thailand. Thailand, the world's biggest
rice exporter, is expecting to sell more than 9 million tonnes of rice
overseas this year, about the same as last year, but at far higher
prices. Thai rice prices eased this week from a record level above
$1,000 a tonne. "Everybody turns the spotlight on Thailand and this year
will be the golden year for Thai rice exports," Commerce Minister
Mingkwan Sangsuwan told reporters. more...
Violence
rekindles fears of Lebanese civil war
MSNBC
(May 8, 2008) - Shiite Hezbollah
supporters and the Lebanese government’s Sunni backers clashed with
machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades Thursday in battles that
spread through Beirut’s streets soon after Hezbollah’s leader vowed to
fight any attempt to disarm his men. Lebanese security officials said
two people were killed and eight wounded in the sectarian clashes. The
violence first erupted in Muslim West Beirut, where masked gunmen on
street corners opened fire along Corniche Mazraa, a major thoroughfare
that has become a demarcation line between the two sides. It spread to
Khandaq el-Ghamiq, a neighborhood adjacent to downtown, which is home to
the government’s offices. Shootings and explosions were reported by
witnesses and television stations in the Aisha Bakkar neighborhood near
the office of Lebanon’s Sunni spiritual leader, who is allied with the
government. Gunfire and explosions were also heard in a nearby district
where the opposition-aligned parliament speaker has his official
residence. Troops in armored carriers had earlier moved in to West
Beirut to separate people who were trading insults and throwing stones
at each other, but the troops did not attempt to stop the street battles
that then broke out. The army, which has been struggling to contain the
disturbances, warned of the consequences to the country and the
military. “The continuation of the situation as is is a clear loss for
all and harms the unity of the military institution,” a statement said.
The clashes have brought back memories of the devastating 1975-1990
civil war that has left lasting scars on Lebanon. Beirut residents are
now seeing fresh demarcation lines, burning tires and roadblocks. The
army has largely stayed out of the broader political struggle between
Hezbollah and the government for fear of exacerbating the situation. The
army’s commander is the two factions’ consensus candidate for president.
Gen. Michel Suleiman so far has advised the government not to declare a
state of emergency. The clashes came close on the heels of a defiant
speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who said his Iranian-backed
militant organization would respond with force to any attacks. “Those
who try to arrest us, we will arrest them,” he said. “Those who shoot at
us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it
off.” It was the second day of fighting that has turned some city
neighborhoods into battlegrounds and spilled over to other parts of the
country. more...
Iran clerics rebuke Ahmadinejad over 'hidden imam'
Brietbart.com
(May 7, 2008) - Clerics have told
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to stick to more worldly issues after he
was quoted as saying the "hidden imam" of Shiite Islam was directing
Iran. Ahmadinejad has always been a devotee of the Mahdi, the twelfth
imam of Shiite Islam, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a
thousand years ago and who will return one day to usher in a new era of
peace and harmony. But in a speech to theology students broadcast by
state television on Monday, Ahmadinejad went further than ever before in
emphasising his belief that the Mahdi is playing a critical role in
Iran's day-to-day politics. "The Imam Mahdi is in charge of the world
and we see his hand directing all the affairs of the country," he said
in the speech, which appears to date from last month but has only now
been broadcast. "We must solve Iran's internal problems as quickly as
possible. Time is lacking. A movement has started for us to occupy
ourselves with our global responsibilities, which are arriving with
great speed." Two leading clerics retorted that Ahmadinejad would be
better off concentrating on Iran's social problems -- most notably its
double-digit inflation -- than indulging in such mystical rhetoric. "If
Ahmadinejad wants to say that the hidden imam is supporting the
decisions of the government, it is not true," sniped Gholam Reza Mesbahi
Moghadam, the spokesman of the conservative Association of Combatant
Clerics. "For sure, the hidden imam does not approve of inflation of 20
percent, the high cost of living and numerous other errors," he said,
according to the Kargozaran daily. Ali Asghari, a member of the
conservative Hezbollah faction in parliament, told the president not to
link the management of the country to the imam. "Ahmadinejad would do
better to worry about social problems like inflation ... and other
terrestrial affairs," Etemad Melli daily quoted him as saying. Since
becoming president in 2005, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated that his
government is paving the way for the return of the Mahdi and chided his
foes for not believing that his return is imminent.
State of Israel turns 60
YNet
News
(May 7, 2008) - Israel's 60th
anniversary commenced Wednesday evening with a formal torch-lighting
ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The celebrations were held under
tight security, due to warnings received on terror organizations' plans
to carry out attacks. Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik said during the
ceremony, "The nation of Israel will never be able to pay off its debt
to its fallen soldiers. "The State of Israel is an extraordinary success
story; a wonder by any historical measure," she said. "We built this
magnificent enterprise with our own hands. There are countries that are
wealthier and certainly more peaceful, but there is no other country
like the State of Israel. There are flaws and we still have things to
do, but behind these flaws is a great country." Addressing the
Palestinian terror organizations, Itzik said, "As long as Israel has one
Asher Tuito (eight-year-old boy who was seriously wounded in a Qassam
attack on Sderot) – you do not stand a chance. We want peace not only
for our children but for yours as well; however, you must realize that
we will know how to fight if needed." According to figures released by
the Central Bureau of Statistics on the eve of Independence Day,
7,282,000 people live in Israel today. About 75.5% of them are Jews,
some 1,461,000 are Arabs, and 322,000 are defined as "others". According
to forecasts, Israel's population will include some 10 million people in
the year 2030. more...
Magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolts eastern Japan
Reuters
(May 7, 2008) - A earthquake with a
preliminary magnitude of 6.7 jolted eastern Japan early on Thursday, and
was felt over a wide area, including in Tokyo, Japan's meteorological
agency said. The quake, at 1:45 a.m. (1645 GMT, Wednesday), was centered
in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of
injuries or damage after the quake, which measured 5 on the Japanese
scale of 7 in some parts northeast of Tokyo, NHK said. No tsunami damage
was expected from the quake but there may be slight sea level changes,
the agency said on its website.
'Day of Silence' walkout a success
OneNewsNow
(May 7, 2008) - The recent "Day of
Silence" event promoting homosexuality was a bust at one Washington
State high school thanks to the efforts of pro-family students, parents,
and community leaders. The Day of Silence is promoted by the Gay,
Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) as an event to draw
attention to alleged persecution suffered by students who claim to be
homosexual or confused about their gender. But Pastor Ken Hutcherson of
Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, Washington, claims the event was
actually designed by homosexual activists to promote their lifestyle to
students. So Hutcherson worked with other parents in the area of his
daughter's Mount Si High School to protest the event. Hutcherson and his
wife purchased a half-page ad in the local newspaper urging concerned
parents and Christians to join them in protest of the event. "Then the
word went out," he explains. "It went out to my prayer warriors. And
they prayed about it ... and last Friday [April 25], we had probably
about 250 to 300 parents there," he contends. But parents were not the
only ones opposed to an entire school day being used to promote a
lifestyle the Bible declares to be immoral, says Hutcherson. "There were
638 kids out of 1,410 kids that didn't come to school that day," he
remarks. In addition to 45 percent of the student body staying home on
the Day of Silence, Hutcherson and other parents convinced the school
board to give waivers to student athletes who did not want to be present
during the pro-homosexual event. Those waivers allowed the athletes to
skip school but still participate in sporting events held that school
day. Eighty-five of the school's athletes took advantage of the waiver,
and less than 200 of the school's 1,400 students actively participated
in the Day of Silence activities. Hutcherson considers his protest of
the homosexual event a "very big success."
Secret documents detail post-WWII debacle
OneNewsNow
(May 7, 2008) - A messianic Jewish
ministry leader says recent documents released by the British government
have confirmed a long-held belief. Jan Markell has long believed that
God judged Britain for its treatment of the Jews. She notes that 400
pages of formerly secret documents -- recently made public by the
British National Archives -- reveal how the British government tried to
send thousands of Holy Land-bound Jewish Holocaust survivors back to
post-war Germany without inflaming world opinion. But despite the best
efforts of early spin-doctors to portray the move in a most sympathetic
light, the decision to turn away more than 4,500 Jewish refugees on
board the Exodus refugee ship turned into a humanitarian and public
relations debacle for Great Britain. Markell, founder and director of
Olive Tree Ministries, believes Britain has paid a steep price for
betraying the Jews in 1947. "At one time [Britain] had so many nations
and colonies that the sun never set on [the British Empire]," she
recalls. "Today [Britain] is a broken and fractured empire, and I
believe it is partly because of the way that she dealt with the Jews ...
during the Holocaust and post-Holocaust," says Markell. And the
pro-Israel advocate warns this story ought to serve as reminder to
supporters of Israel today. "It should remind us that the world to this
day continues to hate the Jewish people," she continues, "because they
still are God's chosen people no matter what the Muslim world wants to
do to annihilate them. [The Jews] will not go away." Markell argues the
United States should take special heed to this story, considering its
continual efforts to force the Jewish people to turn over their covenant
land in order to create a Palestinian "state."
Georgia says "very close" to war with Russia
The Star Online
(May 6, 2008) - Russia's deployment of
extra troops in the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has brought
the prospect of war "very close", a minister of ex-Soviet Georgia said
on Tuesday. Separately, in comments certain to fan rising tension
between Moscow and Tbilisi, the "foreign minister" of the breakaway
Black Sea region was quoted as saying it was ready to hand over military
control to Russia. "We literally have to avert war," Temur
Iakobashvili, a Georgian State Minister, told reporters in Brussels.
Asked how close to such a war the situation was, he replied: "Very
close, because we know Russians very well." "We know what the signals
are when you see propaganda waged against Georgia. We see Russian troops
entering our territories on the basis of false information," he
said. Georgia, a vital energy transit route in the Caucasus region, has
angered Russia, its former Soviet master with which it shares a land
border, by seeking NATO membership. An April summit of the U.S.-led
Western alliance stopped short of giving it a definite track towards
membership but confirmed it would enter one day. Russia has said its
troop build-up is needed to counter what it says are Georgian plans to
attack Abkhazia, a sliver of land by the Black Sea, and has accused
Tbilisi of trying to suck the West into a war -- allegations Georgia
rejects. Tensions have been steadily mounting and escalated after
Georgia accused Russia of shooting down one of its drones over Abkhazia
in April, a claim Russia denied. An extra Russian contingent began
arriving in Abkhazia last week. Moscow has not said how many troops
would be added but said the total would remain within the 3,000 limit
allowed under a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in
1994. Diplomats expect the reinforcement to be of the order of 1,200.
more...
Full
evacuation ordered around Chile volcano
MSNBC
(May 6, 2008) - The long-dormant
Chaiten volcano blasted ash some 20 miles into the Andean sky on
Tuesday, forcing the last of thousands to evacuate and fouling a huge
stretch of the South American continent. A thick column of ash climbed
into the stratosphere and blew eastward for hundreds of miles
(kilometers) over Patagonia to the Atlantic Ocean, closing schools and a
regional airport. Citizens of both countries were advised to wear masks
to avoid breathing the dangerous fallout. Chilean officials ordered the
total evacuation of Chaiten, a small provincial capital in an area of
lakes and glacier-carved fjords just six miles (10 kilometers) from the
roiling cloud. Interior Minister Edmundo Perez said anyone still in the
area should "urgently head to ships in the bay to be evacuated." More
than 4,000 people were evacuated over the weekend and 350 more headed
out Tuesday. Also emptied was the soot-coated border town of Futaleufu,
about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the volcano. The five-day-old
eruption is the first in 9,370 years, said Charles Stern, a
volcanologist at the University of Colorado-Boulder who has studied
Chaiten. He said the nearby town could end up buried, much like the
Roman city of Pompeii following Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 A.D.
Volcanic material from Chaiten's last eruption measured up to 5 feet in
places. "What happens after today is anybody's guess," Stern said. While
volcanologists around the world eagerly awaited data on the scope of the
eruption, one local expert got an up-close look when he accompanied
police and air force teams over the 3,950-foot (1,200 meter) peak.
Volcanologist Juan Cayupi told The Associated Press by telephone that
Chaiten's two small craters have morphed into a large, single crater.
Lava was rising within the crater but has not yet spilled over, said
Luis Lara, another volcanologist with the government's Geology and
Mining Service. more...
Relief
slow for victims in cyclone-hit delta
MSNBC
(May 6, 2008) - Myanmar's Irrawaddy
delta remained largely cut off from the rest of the world Tuesday, four
days after a cyclone unleashed winds, floods and high tidal waves on the
densely populated region, killing nearly 22,000. State radio reported
that more than 41,000 others were missing in the wake of Asia's
deadliest storm since 1991. With the death toll expected to mount and as
many as 1 million possibly left homeless, the international community
was poised to deliver aid to the military-ruled country, which normally
keeps out most foreign officials and restricts their access inside the
country. Some aid agencies reported their assessment teams had reached
areas of the largely isolated region but said getting in supplies and
large numbers of aid workers would be difficult. Images from state
television showed large trees and electricity poles sprawled across
roads and roofless houses ringed by large sheets of water in the
Irrawaddy River delta, which is regarded as Myanmar's rice bowl. "From
the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the
final death toll may be huge," Mac Pieczowski, who heads the
International Organization for Migration office in Yangon, said in a
statement. Power remained cut for the fourth day for almost all 6.5
million residents of Yangon, the country's largest city, while water
supply was restored in only a few areas. Buddhist monks and Catholic
nuns wielding knives and axes joined residents in clearing roads of
ancient, fallen trees that were once the city's pride. Concerns mounted
over the lack of food, water and shelter in the delta as well as
diseases spawned by Cyclone Nargis in a country with one of the world's
poorest health systems. President Bush urged Myanmar's military rulers
on Tuesday to accept U.S. disaster response teams that so far have been
kept out and said the United States stood ready to "do a lot more" to
help. "The military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into
the country," Bush told reporters. He said he was prepared to make U.S.
naval assets available to help in search and rescue efforts. "So our
message is to the military rulers: let the United States come and help
you help the people," Bush said. The White House later announced $3
million in aid after an initial pledge of $250,000 on Monday. more...
Population Control and a World Food Authority Reshaping the International Order Part 5 Knowledge Driven Revolution (May 5, 2008) -
The establishment of a World Food Authority to control the food supply of the world is a major goal of The Club of Rome's RIO report. This issue is intertwined with exaggerated fears of environmental collapse and the elite's obsession with population control. The Environmental Scare From RIO: Reshaping the International Order: [Italicised text is original emphasis and bolded text is added by author.] "History has frequently shown that people, in times of crisis and once convinced of the necessity for change, are prepared to accept policies which demand changes in their behaviour so as to help secure better lives for themselves and their children." - 110 The threat of environmental catastrophe to further the population control agenda is nothing new and continues to this day with the manmade global warming scare. Back in the 1970's the Club of Rome was not shy at using the environmental catastrophe card to push for population control. Below are some examples from RIO: Reshaping the International Order: "Moreover, it has been estimated that by 1985 all land surfaces, except those so cold or at such high altitudes as to be incompatible with human habitation or exploration, will have been occupied and utilized by man." - 89 The endnote used to back up this claim is given below: "(4) There is certainly sufficient evidence for this concern: the Asian monsoons were unsatisfactory for three successive years between 1972-1974; severe droughts in the Sahel and other parts of Africa and the Great Plains area of the United States and Canada in 1974; an unexpected late frost in Brazil in 1975 which may have destroyed as much as 60 per cent of its 1976 coffee crop. The growing season of the best grain producing areas in the Soviet Union is now believed to [be] about a week shorter than it was in the 1950's; an even more pronounced shift appears to have taken place in the United Kingdom." - 97 Do these types of arguments sound familiar? "Much effort has been made in the past ten years, in some industrialized countries, to bring the disadvantage facing many Third World countries to the attention of large numbers of people. If it has met with only limited success, it is probably because it has failed to bring out the concept of interdependence of countries and issues. More attention must in future be focused on information and education on how our planet functions and on the 'survival fact' that the claim of the whole is wider and deeper than the claim of any of its parts. There is also a fundamental need to develop a broadly educated political class which is capable of understanding science and the broad implications, possibilities and dangers of technological advance, and which can harness technological advance for constructive social purposes." - 111 Population Control and The World Food Authority "... these threats [of food shortage] might well be exacerbated by increasing population pressures and deteriorating climatological conditions." - 135 Food as a Weapon
"the American Secretary for Agriculture who has observed: "Food is a weapon. It is one of the principal tools in our negotiating kit" " - 29 The further centralization of food stocks under a single international power would only increase the abuse of food supplies not decrease it. This, quite naturally, is the point. The result of this control is well described by Bertrand Russell (who strongly supported this idea) in his 1952 book The Impact of Science of Society [2]: "To deal with this problem [increasing population and decreasing food supplies] it will be necessary to find ways of preventing an increase in world population. If this is to be done otherwise than by wars, pestilence, and famines, it will demand a powerful international authority. This authority should deal out the world's food to the various nations in proportion to their population at the time of the establishment of the authority. If any nation subsequently increased its population it should not on that account receive any more food. The motive for not increasing population would therefore be very compelling. What method of preventing an increase might be preferred should be left to each state to decide." - 124 Conclusion
Germany 'business as usual' with Iran
The Jerusalem Post
(May 5, 2008) - Critics of Germany's
pro-business policy toward Iran flocked to a conference in Berlin that
for the first time brought together Germans, Iranians-in-exile and
Israelis for two days of panel discussions that concluded late Saturday.
The strong trade relations between Iran and Germany are a source of
great concern for the speakers, who argued that Germany's overly cordial
political and economic relations with Teheran are endangering the
security of Israel and stability in the Middle East. The nonprofit
Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin organized the conference. Dr. Matthias
Küntzel, a German political scientist who specializes in German-Iranian
relations, revealed that a controversial meeting between Iranian Deputy
Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari and his German counterpart, Reinhard
Silberberg, took place in April. Küntzel cited a report in the Tehran
Times from April 19 in which "Silberberg noted that the two countries
enjoy good relations and called for continuation of dialogue between
Iranian and German officials." According to an April 20 report in the
Persian Journal, Silberberg invited Safari for a three-day visit that
entailed meetings with leading German politicians and business
officials. A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told The Jerusalem
Post, "A meeting took place with Silberberg" and Safari in Berlin on
April 16, but the discussion did not address "economic questions."
Instead, "difficult questions involving Iran" were raised. Silberberg
reiterated Germany's two-track Iranian position emphasizing sanctions
and dialogue, she added. A lighting-rod issue at the conference was the
yawning gap between Chancellor Angela Merkel's speech to the Knesset on
March 18 declaring Israel's national security to be part of Germany's
"national interest," and her government's refusal to clamp down on
German firms supplying valuable technology for Iran's infrastructure.
According to the Iran Press TV Web site, representatives from the German
Economics Ministry and German industry met with Safari during his visit
and "the two sides discussed ways to expand economic cooperation and
agreed that a German delegation would visit Iran to follow up agreements
already signed between Teheran and Berlin." more...
Search Under Way for Missing in Boryeong, S.Korea Tidal Wave
The Korea Times
(May 5, 2008) - Rescuers were unable to
find additional survivors Monday in seas off a breakwater in Jukdo,
Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, where a giant tidal wave claimed
nine lives and injured 27, Sunday. About 700 personnel, alongside divers
and helicopters were mobilized from early Monday morning to search for
13 people still listed as missing. Local authorities initially announced
a total of 50 had been swept into the seas by the abnormally high tidal
wave, but concluded the actual number was uncertain as the former was
based on witnesses' statements. The exact cause of the tidal wave is
still puzzling meteorologists and experts. The Korean Meteorology
Administration (KMA) said a fast moving underwater current being blocked
by the breakwater could have created the wave. However, oceanographers
refute this, saying the breakwater was incidental to the incident. "No
earthquakes were detected at the time and the velocity of the wind then
ranged between 0.5-4 meters per second. Thus, weather conditions were
not directly responsible for the tidal wave,'' the KMA said Sunday,
adding "it might have been a man-made disaster.'' But professors of
oceanography said the artificial structure had nothing to do with the
incident. Prof. Lee Jong-seop at Pukyong National University said the
breakwater had stood there for a long time, but no other waves had been
reported in the past. "This means other unaccountable factors triggered
the event.'' Also, Prof. Choi Byeong-ho at Sungkyunkwan University said
that he didn't think the breakwater caused the wave. "We need to review
various factors to discover its origin,'' he said. Witnesses said the
tidal wave that slammed into the breakwater was at least 10 meters high.
"The sea water receded at once like an ebb tide and then a high wave
smashed into the breakwater and rocks sweeping anglers and tourists into
the sea,'' a witness said.
Troubling
turnaround at Olmert-Abbas meeting
Jerusalem Newswire
(May 5, 2008) - After initial reports
indicated a negative outcome, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PLO
chief terrorist Mahmoud Abbas reportedly held an unexpectedly successful
meeting in Jerusalem Monday morning, with officials saying they had
suddenly made "considerable progress." Maps depicting the areas of
Israel's historic lands being demanded by the Palestinian Arabs for
their state were brought to the meeting, which was held at Olmert's
official residence shortly after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
ended a two-day visit to the land. According to The Jerusalem Post,
after "warmly" embracing Abbas, a man responsible for the deaths and
wounding of untold numbers of Israeli Jews - Olmert told him Israel now
realized the need to make "tangible" changes in Samaria and Judea
because it was necessary that the months of peace talks be accompanied
by actions on the ground. Abbas' aides said earlier the PA chairman was
contemplating resigning within a few months unless noticeable progress
was made towards the creation of "Palestine." Palestine is the name
intended for the Arab state the international community is working to
establish in the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. Ha'aretz
reported that a senior Israeli official had told Army Radio that during
the meeting, Olmert and Abbas made "significant progress on the borders
issue" - the issue of where the borders of the new "Palestine" would lie
in relation to what would be left of Israel. Abbas' authority is also
being challenged by Hamas, which violently wrested control of Gaza from
the PLO last year and is spreading its influence across Samaria and
Judea. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said "these were the
most serious talks the sides have ever conducted," according to Ynetnews.
Commentators wondered whether Olmert was trying to bolster Abbas in the
face of the opposition against him, or whether the Israeli leader had
perhaps been spurred to make sudden concessions because his own position
is threatened in a new police investigation.
Mogadishu rocked by food demonstrations
News Daily
(May 5, 2008) - A young man was killed
when thousands of Somalis protested in Mogadishu on Monday over food
traders' refusal to take old currency notes blamed for stoking spiraling
inflation, witnesses said. A shopkeeper shot the man dead after dozens
of demonstrators wielding clubs and stones broke into his store. Locals
said police wounded a teenage boy while trying to disperse hundreds of
angry residents. "The shopkeeper fired a pistol at the crowd and it hit
the young man's head," one witness in the Madina district in the
southeast of the capital said, refusing to give his name. Despite still
being a legal currency, many shopkeepers have been refusing to accept
the worn out old notes, saying wholesale traders were also refusing to
take them. The Somali shilling is valued at roughly 34,000 to the dollar
-- more than double what it is was a year ago -- and many blame the fall
in value on counterfeiters. With an interim government focused on
containing islamist insurgency, there is no one to control rampant
counterfeiting of currency which is often exchanged for real dollars
that are then taken out of the country. The problem has been compounded
by sharply rising world food prices, leaving many in the lawless Horn of
Africa nation of 10 million short of money to buy food, triggering
several protests or riots in the past six months. On Monday, thousands
were on the streets of the bombed-out capital, clutching tattered old
notes while shouting "Down with traders" and "We want to buy food." All
shops remained closed and the streets empty as protestors stoned the few
vehicles moving around. more... UN-American WorldNet Daily (May 5, 2008) - On the last day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, as Benjamin Franklin was leaving Independence Hall, a lady asked him, "Well, doctor, what have we got?" Franklin pointedly responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." James Madison, chief architect of the Constitution, defined a "republic" to be "a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices ... for a limited period, or during good behavior." In other words, in our constitutional republic, the people possess the power to govern themselves by laws they enact through elected representatives. Today, the most serious threat to our nation's sovereignty and the republican form of government we cherish is the United Nations and other international organizations that work through ill-advised treaties and irresponsible bureaucrats to usurp the power of the American people to govern themselves. Unfortunately, more than a few politicians in our country are willing to cede power to foreign control. One of those powers is the right to control the oceans and seas. The president's proposed budget for 2009 includes a request for nearly $5 million to support the International Seabed Authority, an international tribunal established by the Law of the Sea Treaty. For years this treaty has been rejected by the U.S. Senate because it would take power away from the U.S. government and give an unfair advantage to countries like China, which uses the treaty's vague language to make claims about the waterways it controls far beyond its proper jurisdiction. This treaty would also impose a global tax on U.S. companies if ratified by the Senate. The presumptive Republican nominee for president, Sen. John McCain, wrote a letter in 1998 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in favor of the Law of the Sea Treaty. As late as 2003, McCain submitted written testimony to the committee in favor of the treaty. But since seeking the Republican presidential nomination, McCain has been telling conservatives that he will "probably" vote against the treaty because its terms negatively affect U.S. sovereignty. Other politicians want the U.S. to fund welfare programs for the rest of the world. The leading Democratic candidate for president, Sen. Barack Obama, is presently sponsoring S.B. 2433: the Global Poverty Act of 2007. This bill would sanction spending as much as $845 billion in taxpayer money to reduce global poverty to meet the "U.N. Millennium Summit Goals." In addition to calling for a reduction in global poverty through unconstitutional foreign aid, the Millennium Summit Goals urge nations to sign many other dangerous treaties like the Kyoto Protocol and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child – both of which the Senate has rejected for many years. The Kyoto Protocol sets limits on the amount of "greenhouse gases" that nations can emit while specifically excluding countries like China that it categorizes as "developing nations." It also subjects participating nations to penalties for exceeding those limits. Japan, Italy and Spain face penalties totaling over $33 billion for failing to meet their obligations under Kyoto. Each of those countries admits that the cost will be covered by taxpayers and businesses. Thus, joining Kyoto would subject the American people and U.S. businesses to a global tax. As for Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton, her husband formally signed the Kyoto Protocol on Nov. 12, 1998, at a global conference in Buenos Aires. In February 2005, Sen. Clinton gave a speech on the "Future Role of the United Nations" in which she openly supported then-Secretary General Kofi Annan and the U.N.'s Millennium Summit Goals. Clinton has also long supported the adoption of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child even though the treaty would wreak havoc on parental rights. One thing all the leading presidential candidates for both major parties support is continued financial aid to the U.N. despite its dismal record of fraud and mismanagement. An audit last month discovered that the U.N. has wasted tens of millions of dollars in its "peacekeeping operations" in Sudan. Last year, a task force uncovered "multiple instances of fraud, corruption, waste and mismanagement at U.N. headquarters and peacekeeping missions ... with an aggregate value in excess of $610 million." A series of audits from 1996 to 2003 revealed "gross mismanagement" in the U.N.'s $100 billion oil-for-food program in Iraq. Yet, Clinton in her speech about the future role of the U.N. stated that she "deplored" Americans "who have sought to weaken, undermine and underfund the U.N." Actually, given the corruption and mismanagement of the U.N., monetary support for the U.N. is un-American. The obstinate support of the U.N. and continual reliance on treaties with foreign powers to solve our problems is reminiscent of the time when ancient Israel depended upon Egypt instead of the Lord for its protection. Isaiah prophesied:
The leading presidential candidates have repeated Israel's mistake:
They are looking to other nations for guidance and have failed to seek
guidance from God – the one upon Whom our nation was founded and our
ultimate security depends. In the process, "We the People" are losing
our right to self-determination and representative government through
the encroaching influence of the international community. George
Washington declared in his First Inaugural Address that "the
preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the
republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as
deeply, and finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of
the American people." If the American experiment fails, republican
government falls with it. We must call on our leaders to fight for
America and to rely upon God.
Unnatural Grid Appears in Nevada Earthquakes Stan Deyo (May 2, 2008) - When we first posted an image last Saturday showing numerous earthquakes hitting Reno's Crystal Peak golf course, it was interesting. However, it was nothing compared to the very distinctive earthquake grid that's formed in Nevada. This simply can't be a natural event. There are many – literally hundreds – of earthquakes on this main image, but you can't truly appreciate the number until you look at the individual maps. To do so, click any of the circles on the map below and you'll see many earthquakes hidden in this onslaught. The unmistakable grid pattern looks as though the quakes were deliberately targeted. Check this high altitude view of the Reno earthquake "explosions". Red arrows indicate areas of highest earthquake density on the |
