S.European fire damage nears area for whole 2006: EU Thu Aug 2, 9:32 AM ET
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Southern Europe has suffered almost as much damage from forest fires this year as in the whole of 2006 and more blazes may hit southern Spain in the days ahead, the European Union said in a statement on Thursday. The European Commission said figures from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), showed 3,376 sq km (1,303 sq miles) of land had been burned so far in 2007.This compared with a total of 3,585 sq km (1,384 sq miles) for the whole of 2006.The situation in southwest Europe, which had relatively moderate conditions in July, has changed dramatically, particularly in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands, the EFFIS said.
These two areas are experiencing increased fires...and continued heightened risk. There was a sharp increase in fires in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Italy, four out of the 14 southern European countries covered in EFFIS's data, in the second half of July.Figures for some other countries that had experienced blazes, such as Turkey and Albania, have yet to be included in the survey, conducted using a meteorological and satellite-based mapping system.The European Union said this week it was helping Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Macedonia tackle fires, though its resources for doing so were stretched to the limit.
TWO GOP CONGRESSMEN URGE THEIR COLLEAGUES TO READ EPICENTER OVER THE AUGUST RECESS And Rush Limbaugh celebrates 19 years of EIB.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(DENVER, COLORADO, August 2, 2007) -- In an article entitled, The GOP Summer Reading List, CBS News and The Politico website are reporting that Republican Reps. Thaddeus G. McCotter of Michigan and Zach Wamp of Tennessee are recommending six books -- and a movie, Islam vs. Islamists -- to their GOP cohorts for the August recess. They're all on foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on Islam. And it's not exactly beach reading.
The list:
-- Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America by Walid Phares, a critically acclaimed 288-page overview of the four major strains of radical Islam and their strategies to take down the United States.
-- The War of Ideas: Jihadism Against Democracy, another Phares title in which the former Justice Department official offers a brief overview of the ideological divide between the fundamentalist Islamic world and the United States and the rest of the capitalist global community.
-- China: The Gathering Threat by Constantine Menges, in which the former CIA official suggests a potential nuclear showdown with the People's Republic within the next four years.
-- The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West and the Future of the Holy City by Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations who documents the 3,000-year history of the city and its contemporary role in a global standoff.
-- Epicenter: Why Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future by Joel C. Rosenberg, an evangelical Christian novelist who explores the impact of various conflicts in the Middle East on everyday life in the West in his first work of nonfiction.
-- The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a fictional portrait of Simon Bolivar's last days in decline, lamenting the lost power that once made him such a prominent figure.
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In other news, congratulations to my friend and former boss, Rush Limbaugh, who yesterday celebrated nineteen years of excellence in broadcasting. It is difficult to fully comprehend the enormous impact Rush has made both on American radio (he single-handedly saved AM radio from oblivion through his own show and through inspiring hundreds of other talk radio shows into being), on American conservatism (which he proved could be smart, principled and fun), and on the Republican party (which has thrived since 1988 when it has vigorously pursued a smart, principled and optimistic agenda and has stumbled badly when it seemed to revert to visionless, compass-less, pork barrel politics-as-usual). I owe Rush a special debt of gratitude for being so encouraging of my career and so supportive of my books from the launch of The Last Jihad to the Limbaugh Letter interview he did with me for Epicenter last fall. Thanks so much, Rush. Keep up the great work -- may you have many more years doing what you love and do best! God bless you.
Iran steps up petro-dollar war with U.S.
Pressures falling greenback by demanding Japan buy oil in yen
August 2, 2007 - By Jerome R. Corsi - WorldNetDaily.com
Iran has intensified pressure on the falling U.S. dollar by demanding that Japan begin paying for Iranian oil in yen, instead of dollars. Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company, or NIOC, has confirmed the company has asked Japan to open letters of credit in yen in preparation for NOIC issuing oil invoices in Japanese currency. In April, WND reported Iran successfully pressured China to begin paying for Iranian oil in euros, not dollars. To date, Iran has not followed up on the announcement that Iran would create an Iranian oil bourse to quote oil in euros, instead of dollars. Still, according to Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, 70 percent of Iran's oil income is now paid in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Iran also has announced that the country will not participate in any OPEC move to increase oil production to counter rising oil prices. Yesterday, crude oil prices rose to a record high $78 a barrel on international markets.
Iran's continued switch from the dollar reflects its concern with the currency's falling value along with a desire to counter the U.S.-backed sanctions imposed by the U.N. on Tehran for transparency violations in its nuclear program. In July, the euro hit a historic low against the dollar. As WND repeatedly has reported, Iran has frustrated the Bush administration's strategy, resisting diplomatic approaches the U.S. has used with European nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to induce Iran to quit enriching uranium. Recent disclosures indicate Iran has made progress solving the technological problems of installing an estimated 3,500 centrifuges at its uranium enhancement nuclear facility in Isfahan. Iran produces approximately 2.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, with approximately 65 percent of that volume headed for Asia, largely to China and Japan.
August 1, 2007 3 DVDS
Dearly Beloved in Christ Jesus our Lord,
What do you do when the Holy Spirit speaks to you in the middle of the night? I get up, and start writing down what the Lord is saying! As a direct result of this supernatural phenomenon, Rexella and I have produced three blockbuster videos -- and today they are all available together, in a single, powerful package.The material that follows is the Holy Spirit’s illumination of my mind in producing a one-minute promo for global television. I prayed without ceasing for God’s guidance in creating this sixty-second promo covering the five hours of material in the trilogy. This is what the world will hear. Praise the Lord! Now for more details:
Prophecy: 21st Century Revelations, The Seven Mystery Years and Apocalypse Unraveled, a five-hour spiritually illuminating study pointing to Christ’s imminent return, can now be yours.The trilogy covers the entire 22 chapters of the book of Revelation, plus numerous stimulating subjects including cloning, global warming, AIDS, atomic bombs, Russia, China, America, the world coming dictator of the New World Order and his infamous mark - 666. The trilogy also deals with the rapidly rising world church with its 33,800 differing denominations. What apostate Christian leader will head up this monstrous organization? Also discover the final prediction before Christ’s return as Neo Nazis, Ku Klux Klanners, religious terrorists, such as Ahmadinejad of Iran, Osama Bin Laden, Hamas and Hizbullah all promote the extermination of Israel and Jews.Order this five-hour trilogy for the greatest study ever produced by Drs. Jack & Rexella Van Impe.
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Do you realize that some 80% of all churches claiming to be Christian today are actually preaching unscriptural error? Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:2, we do not handle the word of God deceitfully! While this travesty goes on in many pulpits today, this video turns back the tide of guile -- for your sake!Finally, APOCALYPSE UNRAVELED -- this intriguing, fast-paced video is presented in language so clear and plain that no one will have a moment of difficulty grasping the highlights of every amazing chapter of the book of Revelation. In a whirlwind 100 minutes, Rexella and I take you on a journey through the past, present, and future as revealed in these breathtaking pages of Scripture!
The most puzzling questions raised by the book of Revelation are answered in concise fashion. One of my minister friends, Dr. David Williams, pastor of one of the largest churches in America, says this is the most astounding but understandable presentations of Revelation he has ever seen.Beloved, there are literally hundreds of new and intriguing insights in this single video. Yet APOCALYPSE UNRAVELED is only one of three breakthrough videos in this trilogy!
I urge you to give generously today toward our global soul-winning ministry, and request your copy or copies of this life-changing, soul-stirring http://www.jvim.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?DNTP trilogy of video teachings. Please donate $45 (U.S.), $50 (Canada) for a single set -- a 33% savings -- or email our Donor Services department for other options.Thank you for being such a friend to Rexella and me, our beloved partner in the work of God around the world!
Yours in world evangelism,
Jack Van Impe
P.S. You, as a child of God, must know and understand the revelations of this trilogy for your own sake, and for the sake of lost loved ones and friends who are looking to Christians for the answers to their deepest and most disturbing questions! These flash floods of insights, which have come to me from the heart of God, are powerful! Please request your copy of The Apocalypse Unraveled TRILOGY as you support our worldwide ministry today! Thank you!
Christian Group Warns U.S. Against Pressuring Israel on Peace Deal
Monday , July 30, 2007 - By Sharon Kehnemui Liss
Editor's Note: The following is the second in a two-part series on Christians United for Israel and the evangelical movement's outlook on U.S. Middle East policy. Diplomacy is back in fashion in the Middle East as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair tries his hand at bringing Israel and the Palestinians to a two-state solution of peaceful neighbors.But Mideast talks are taking another form back in the United States. An unexpected voice from right field is warning U.S. negotiators not to be so quick to give away the farm, literally.I don't believe Israel should give up any piece of their land. I think they've given up too much of their land, said Michelle Stephens, one of 50 million Evangelicals who are said to be waking up to the idea that Israel's existence is integrally tied to their own religious outlook.
Would somebody else, another country, coming in to America say, You need to give up Florida'? I live in Southern California, You need to give up San Diego to Mexico. That's not going to happen. Why should we do that with Israel? Stephens asked. Stephens, 37, traveled with her husband cross-country to Washington, D.C., last week to join nearly 5,000 like-minded Evangelicals attending a conference called Christians United for Israel. Pastor Greg Stephens, who leads Father's House Church in El Cajon, Calif., said the group isn't interested in telling Israel what to do, but it sure has got some choice words for President Bush and Congress.
Our personal position: don't give away a square inch. ... The Israeli government is a sovereign nation and what they choose to do concerning land for peace, they have the right to do. ... They are a sovereign nation we respect that, he said. On the other hand, as far as the U.S. Congress is concerned, I will pressure my congressman. (If) my congressman is encouraging it, I am telling him, 'It's your last term. My guys, oh, I am on my guys.While strong supporters of Israel may take comfort in the headstrong backing, Rafi Dajani of the American Task Force on Palestine said the problem with Stephens' position is in its very essence it doesn't allow or recognize any Palestinian claim to land.The people that still don't recognize the land is occupied ... are a minority on both sides, said Dajani, whose group advocates a Palestine and Israel living peacefully side-by-side. That interpretation is not accepted by anybody in the international community, and most ironic, it's a position that runs counter to U.S., Israeli and Palestinian interests and consensus across the board. Those who still don't believe in that are not part of mainstream discourse even though they can bring together 5,000 people.
Dajani's point doesn't move members of CUFI, whose unshakable support for Israel belies its two years in existence. The inflexibility could come from 2,000 years of shared ancestry between Christians and Jews, or it could be a byproduct of CUFI's indefatigable founder, Pastor John Hagee. Hagee, head of the 19,000-strong Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, started leading Evangelicals toward support for Israel 26 years ago.In 1981, remember when the IDF (the Israeli Defense Forces) bombed the nuclear reactor in Iraq. The American press was very vitriolic against Israel, called it gunboat diplomacy and a lot of other very unkind and unreasonable things. I felt that Israel had done the world a favor by removing nuclear weapons from the hands of a political madman, Saddam Hussein. And I think history supports that conclusion, Hagee told FOXNews.com in a one-on-one interview at the start of the three-day CUFI conference.Hagee, a rotund, bespectacled, silver-haired man spoke in a quiet, long Texas drawl as he described how he first approached local Jewish leaders in 1981 to promote a communal assembly of Jews and Christians.Things moved slowly along but after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in February 2006 that he wanted to wipe Israel from the map, Hagee mobilized, bringing together 400 evangelical leaders from business, media, academia and the ministry to form CUFI.
Christian Right ... and Left
CUFI's talking points for the U.S. government are steeped in national security and Zionistic aspirations: Don't pressure Israel to give up any more land for peace, don't divvy up Jerusalem, move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, take out Hezbollah, stop Iran's nuclear pursuits and don't cut and run prematurely from Iraq.
If we leave Iraq, Iran will fill that vacuum. Iran will have 40 percent of the oil of the Middle East with which to develop more terrorism, more nuclear weapons. They will certainly be a greater threat to Israel and I believe that they will transport terrorism to the United States of America, and those nuclear suitcase bombs will be going off in America, Hagee said.Israel is the only democracy that is in the Middle East, and we're spending millions and trillions of dollars to make Iraq free. Well, Israel is already free so we need to help them, said Pastor Caroline Aycock of Texas.
While tough talking on national security issues, members of CUFI insist they are nonpartisan and that security for Israel and the U.S. goes beyond party lines.We are not red-blue, blue-red. We are red, white and blue, and if you love Israel, if you love the United States, we're with you, Stephens said.This really crosses the Republican and Democrat line, added Julie Wineinger, a registered nurse from Davis, Calif., who attended the CUFI conference with her daughter. We're really serious about this, really passionate about it. You know, enough to spend the money to come and be here and take our time to do this.Lobbyists from California said they were received warmly in the offices of Republican Reps. Brian Bilbray, Darrell Issa and Duncan Hunter as well as Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Susan Davis and Doris Matsui. Even an aide in the office representing the district held by the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald spoke with the lobbyists.CUFI members from around the country also met with senators, including California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, who received a standing ovation from CUFI's Texas delegation.
The California lobbyists dimly noted that among the lawmakers who did not speak with them were Democrats Reps. Loretta Sanchez and Mike Thompson of California and Rep. Jane Harman, a well-known supporter of Israel in Congress. A spokeswoman for Sanchez said a conflict in scheduling prevented her from meeting with the group. Harman and Thompson's staffs did not return calls for comment.I would point out that we met with only one Democrat and that was Dennis Moore, said John Powers, a 76-year-old retired fire equipment business owner, who lobbied Kansas lawmakers with about eight other fellow Kansans. I saw very little partisanship represented as measured by what might be a difference between his views and the views of a Republican congressman. They seem to be of like minds.Powers said Moore at first got the impression that we were suggesting initiating hostilities (with Iran) which we were not and that got corrected. ... With him, war is a last resort, and I think that's really the way we feel as well.
Moore spokeswoman Rebecca Black said the congressman makes it a point to meet with all constituents from his state who request to see him in Washington. As for Iran policy, she said Moore prefers the diplomatic track.The congressman always believes that we should be doing things focusing on sanctions on diplomacy, international coalitions before we ever consider military actions, Black said. I don't know that the congressman ever takes any options off the table but certainly his preference would be for this diplomatic effort.War isn't totally off the table for CUFI, however, if it comes down to protecting Israel, Powers and Greg Stephens agreed.
If that became a necessity, if that became a judgment of our leaders, our national leaders, in their judgment, that was the best approach, I don't think there's anything in our Christian belief that says we can't exercise that option, Powers said.We are not warmongers, but the bible tells us there is a time for war and there is a time for peace. So once again, what do we do but go right back to our scriptural principles. We were attacked. Israel is attacked every day. We have a right to defend ourselves, Greg Stephens added.
The words of Daniel finally unsealed
August 3, 2007
It's hard to imagine how much America – and the world – has changed in just my lifetime. I was born at the beginning of the Depression. The United States was only a second-rate power until I was a young teenager. It emerged from World War II as a world power. By the time I was in my 20s, America was an undisputed superpower.
During the Cold War years, the world was essentially divided between two superpowers The Soviet Union and the USA. I witnessed America rise from secondary power to become the greatest superpower on earth when the Soviet Union crumbled under the weight of its failed economic system.
Concurrently, I watched America's power decline from within. I witnessed the growing influence of socialist, liberal, secular humanist professors in our major universities during the 12 years I worked with college students. This influence spread as their students carried these ideas into careers in the media and politics.
As America drifted further and further from God, it embraced this godless ideology. The impact of this change soon became evident. Though we led the world in military technology and power, we've come to the point where the last war in which we won a decisive victory was the invasion of Grenada in 1983. Today, we are debating whether or not to desert Iraq and let terrorists take it over as a major power base. It's stunning to contemplate that anyone could witness America travel from the peak of power to the precipice of destruction in a single lifetime.
Alvin Toffler saw this phenomenon developing. This was the basis of his 1970 best-seller Future Shock. Toffler defines future shock as the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a time. Toffler predicted, Millions of ordinary, psychologically normal people will face an abrupt collision with the future.We live in much greater stress and anxiety because of the exponential rate of change that is accelerating in our world. The world into which I was born ceased to exist a long time ago. But the change was gradual enough to allow me time to adjust. The world into which people were born in the year 2000 is already disappearing. It will not exist by 2012.
Just try to figure what the impact of the following facts will be. There are 3,000 new books published every single day. We've gone from information overload to information explosion. More new information will be generated this year than in the previous five thousand years. The technical knowledge explosion is governed by Moore's Law, which says computers will get twice as smart every 18 to 24 months. It takes four years to get a technical degree. By the time a student graduates, his education is virtually obsolete.
The prophet Daniel was given visions of the world as it would exist in the days leading to the Second Coming of Christ. The Apostle John was time-traveled forward to be an actual eyewitness of the final days of this age. Unfortunately, both men also suffered from the same communication difficulties. There were no words in their vocabularies to describe what they witnessed. How could a man of the first century A.D. who has never seen a machine describe the technical marvels of the 21st century? John was told to write about what he saw. I think he did an inspired job.
Today, Daniel and Revelation are among the most discussed and debated books within the whole canon of Scripture. More expositions have been written in the past 10 years focusing on Daniel and Revelation than probably any other books in the Bible. It's as if the words of these books were sealed up until the time appointed. Even 60 years ago, most of what Daniel predicted here didn't make sense. These things certainly did not make sense to the generations prior to the 20th century. Daniel, directly taught by Heaven's highest angel, Michael, said as much. Daniel asked the archangel, As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?
Note very carefully the archangel Michael's reply, Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. This was the second time Michael told Daniel that the words were to be sealed until the time of the last days generation to whom they were addressed. The archangel concludes with special instructions to Daniel: But as for you, Daniel, conceal – or encrypt – these words and seal up the book until the time of the end; many will go [travel] back and forth, and knowledge will increase.
Knowledge has greatly increased. And as we've seen will increase even more. Also, just as predicted in this verse, the limitations of time and space to travel have been exponentially decreased. This has unlocked the encrypted prophetic messages that were intended for this generation. Current events have unlocked them further. All of these things point to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming very soon. Don't put off your decision any longer. Time is rapidly running out for you to get ready to meet Him when He comes. Just recognize you are a sinner, and accept the gift of pardon He purchased for you in His own blood. He is coming, and soon. Whether you are ready or not.
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Jews to be forcibly removed from Judaism's oldest city
With hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in illegal outposts, PM directs forces against 2 families - August 3, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Hebron
JERUSALEM – Fresh from ordering security forces to destroy a synagogue built by Jews to pray near Joseph's Tomb, Judaism's third holiest site, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert now has directed his forces to forcibly evict two families that moved into a market in Jewish sections of Hebron, the oldest Jewish community in the world. The evictions are scheduled for Monday. Israel says the occupation of market by the two families is illegal since their arrival wasn't coordinated with the Israeli military. The market in question, now converted to small, two-story apartments, was built in 1929 after Arab riots temporarily forced Jews from Hebron – the first time the city was without a Jewish presence in over 2,500 years. For more than 30 years, a sign was posted on the market boasting in Arabic that the structure was built on stolen Jewish property. Arab merchants illegally set up shop at the market but were asked by the Israel Defense Forces to leave after a series of clashes broke out in the mid-1990s. Even though the market was stolen by the Arabs, Hebron's Jewish community purchased the market from its original Arab occupants in 2001.
In January 2006, Jewish families took up occupancy to strengthen Jewish ties to the area following the murder of an infant by a Palestinian sniper, yards away from the market. The market, integrated within the Hebron Jewish community, is adjacent to several Jewish apartments and Jewish municipal buildings. It is not located in an Arab neighborhood. It doesn't require any original additional protection from IDF soldiers already patrolling the area. Despite the original property owners' recent signing over of the market to Hebron's Jewish community, as well as Israel's Supreme Court ruling that the structure was Jewish-owned, the government considers the occupancy of the marketplace illegal, saying families living inside did not negotiate their arrival with the IDF. Following a standoff with the army last year, the Jews who had moved into the market decided to leave, reportedly after receiving promises from military officials they could return a few months later, after the court systems – which deemed the property Jewish – worked with the IDF to verify the legality of the Jewish residence.
But Israel's attorney general overturned the Supreme Court decision and declared the residents cannot move in. Still, two Jewish families recently moved back in, and Olmert's government immediately ordered that they be evacuated by Monday, even threatening that the families may need to reimburse the IDF for the costs of their evacuation. Shlomit Bar-Kochba, who was among those who agreed to vacate in January 2006, moved back into the market with her husband and eight children. She told the Jerusalem Post she was shocked by the interest of the Olmert government in her move.
We didn't think it would interest anyone that we returned, she said. I thought it doesn't interfere with anyone. We came back very quietly. We didn't make noise or celebrate.The agreement was that we would leave in January, and shortly they would allow us to return, she said, explaining that when the agreement didn't come to fruition months later, her family decided not to wait anymore. It seemed illogical to her, she told the Post, that the government was upset by their presence some 10 months later, explaining no additional security was required and that her home sits on land owned by Jews. Hebron is home to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, believed to be the resting place of biblical patriarchs and matriarchs. Jews lived in Hebron for thousands of years. There are accounts of the trials of the city's Jewish community throughout the Byzantine, Arab, Mameluke and Ottoman periods.
In 1929, as a result of an Arab pogrom in which 67 Jews were murdered, the entire Jewish community fled the city, with Hebron – including the market – becoming temporarily devoid of Jews. Olmert's decision to single out for evacuation two Jewish families living in Jewish sections of Hebron has been called into question by religious leaders here. While Jewish construction projects deemed illegal in Jewish cities in the West Bank are regularly bulldozed or evacuated by the government, Olmert's office has taken no action against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in illegal outposts in the West Bank and Jerusalem. WND previously exposed the Israeli government has allowed Palestinians and the United Nations to build illegally on hundreds of acres of Jewish-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by the Jewish National Fund, a U.S.-based Jewish organization, using Jewish donors funds solicited for the purpose of Jewish settlement. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live on the Jewish-owned Jerusalem land, which was recently isolated from Jewish sections of Jerusalem by Israel's security barrier.
WND also previously reported the city of Jerusalem, under orders from Olmert, deleted files documenting hundreds of illegal Arab building projects throughout eastern sections of Jerusalem housing tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to a report by the Jerusalem Forum, which promotes Jewish construction in the city.
Aryeh King, chairman of the Jerusalem Forum, said Jerusalem municipal workers told him they were instructed by Olmert's office to ignore illegal Palestinian construction in Jerusalem. Ehud Olmert gave the order not to deal with the problem and not to put Israeli security forces to the duty of taking down the illegal Arab complexes, said King. Senior municipal workers told me Olmert said not to bother with the illegal Arab homes because eventually eastern Jerusalem would be given to the Palestinian Authority.
Joseph's Tomb synagogue destroyed by Israeli forces
Olmert's ordering of the two families to be forced from the Hebron Jewish market comes just days after the prime minister ordered his security forces to destroy a synagogue used by Jews to worship near Joseph's Tomb, Judaism's third holiest site and the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph – the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became the viceroy of Egypt.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which granted nearby strategic territory to the Palestinians, Joseph's Tomb was supposed to be accessible to Jews and Christians. But following repeated attacks against Jewish worshippers at the holy site by gunmen associated with then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat's militias, Prime Minister Ehud Barak in October 2000 ordered an Israeli unilateral retreat from the area. The tomb is located near the modern day West Bank city of Nablus, or biblical Shechem.
Currently, Jewish pilgrimage to Joseph's Tomb is legal only several times per year in convoys protected by the Israel Defense Forces. Still, some Jews regularly attempt clandestine visits to the holy site. Jewish students last year built a structure on the West Bank's Mount Gerizim, which is just outside the tomb area. The structure was used as a synagogue and was constructed on the Mount so Jews can pray and study Torah as close to the tomb site as possible. Dozens of Jewish students congregated daily at the makeshift synagogue. But Olmert's office and Israeli government officials deemed the structure – which they refused to call a synagogue – illegal since it was built without a government permit. On Monday, under direct orders from Olmert, the Israel Civil Lands Administration destroyed the structure.
The Torah describes how Jacob purchased a land plot in Shechem, which was given as inheritance to his sons and was used to re-inter Joseph, whose bones were taken out of Egypt during the Jewish exodus. Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are also said to be buried at the site. As detailed in the Torah, shortly before his death, Joseph asked the Israelites to vow they would resettle his bones in the land of Canaan – biblical Israel. That oath was fulfilled when, according to the Torah, Joseph's remains were taken by the Jews from Egypt and reburied at the plot of land Jacob had earlier purchased in Shechem, believed to be the site of the tomb. Modern archeologists confirm Nablus is the biblical city of Shechem. Yehuda Leibman, who until the Israeli retreat from Joseph's Tomb in 2000 was director of a yeshiva constructed there, explained, The sages tell us that there are three places which the world cannot claim were stolen by the Jewish people: the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Joseph's Tomb.There is evidence suggesting for more than 1,000 years Jews of various origins worshipped at Joseph's Tomb. The Samaritans, a local tribe that follow a religion based on the Torah, say they trace their lineage back to Joseph himself and that they worshipped at the tomb site for more than 1,700 years.
Israel first gained control of Nablus and the neighboring site of Joseph's Tomb in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Oslo Accords signed by Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called for the area surrounding the tomb site to be placed under Palestinian jurisdiction but allowed for continued Jewish visits to the site and the construction of an Israeli military outpost at the tomb to ensure secure Jewish access. Following the transfer of control of Nablus and the general area encompassing the tomb to the Palestinians in the early 1990s, there were a series of outbreaks of violence in which Arab rioters and gunmen from Arafat's Fatah militias shot at Jewish worshipers and the tomb's military outpost. Six Israeli soldiers were killed and many others, including yeshiva students, were wounded in September 1996 when Palestinian rioters and Fatah gunmen attempted to over take the tomb. Eventually, Israeli soldiers regained control of the site. The Palestinians continued to attack Joseph's Tomb with regular shootings and the lobbing of firebombs and Molotov cocktails. Security for Jews at the site increasingly became more difficult to maintain. Rumors circulated in 2000 that Barak would evacuate the Israeli military outpost and give the tomb to Arafat as a peacemaking gesture.
In early 2000, the Israeli army began denying Jewish visits to the tomb on certain days due to prospects of Arab violence. Following U.S. mediated peace talks at Camp David in September 2000, Arafat returned to the West Bank and initiated his intifada. During one bloody week in October 2000, Fatah gunmen attacked the tomb repeatedly, killing two and injuring dozens, prompting Barak to order a complete evacuation of Judaism's third holiest site on Oct. 6. Within less than an hour of the Israeli retreat, Palestinian rioters overtook Joseph's Tomb and reportedly began to ransack the site. Palestinian mobs reportedly tore apart books, destroying prayer stands and grinding out stone carvings in the Tomb's interior. Palestinians hoisted a Muslim flag over the tomb. Amin Maqbul, an official from Arafat's office, visited the tomb to deliver a speech declaring, Today was the first step to liberate (Jerusalem).
One BBC reporter described the scene: The site was reduced to smoldering rubble – festooned with Palestinian and Islamic flags – cheering Arab crowd. Palestinians on Oct. 10 began construction of a mosque on the rubble of the tomb's adjacent yeshiva compound. Workers painted the dome of the compound green, the Islamic color. In a WND exclusive interview, Tariq Tarawi, a Fatah lawmaker who in 2000 served as chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group in the vicinity of the tomb, said the Palestinians would never allow Israel to rebuild a yeshiva or synagogue at Joseph's Tomb. The Brigades carried out most of the attacks against the tomb site. A yeshiva is an institution, said Tarawi. An institution can be the beginning of claiming rights and these claims can bring once again the Israeli army to establish a base in the place, and we can not accept this. If the Jews try to build a yeshiva, we will shoot at them.
The New World Order, The Bilderberg Plan – Control Oil, Control People, Part 23 Deanna Spingola JULY 31,2007
There are arguments from both sides of the oil issue: either we are quickly running out of oil or we have adequate oil to meet our requirements for generations. Both sides offer evidence, witnesses, experts and documentation to validate their assertions. Some peak-oil projects, funded by oil companies, are highly suspect. The very credible Lindsey Williams maintains that the North Slope in Alaska has as much crude oil as Saudi Arabia. Governor Frank H. Murkowski said in 2005 that there is enough oil on the North Slope to supply the entire United States for 200 years. 1 Antony Sutton, author of Energy, the Created Crisis, is adamant that we have sufficient oil. Conversely, I have read reports which support the peak oil theory. I personally believe, after research, that “there is enough and to spare.” Doom and gloom, Chicken Little oil scarcity claims have been propagated from the beginning. A scarcity, authentic or manufactured, of any crucial commodity accomplishes the following:
1. Increases profits to those who manipulate that commodity.
2. Allows the controllers to determine availability to the right people.
3. In the case of energy – severely impacts lifestyle, progress and prosperity.
4. Extracts more money from an often overburdened consumer.
Henry A. Kissinger, Rockefeller’s well-compensated, multi-purpose minion and long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) said: Control the oil and you can control entire Continents. Control food and you control people. 2 Michael Collon, Belgian author said: If you want to rule the world, you need to control oil. All the oil. Anywhere. 3
The first very memorable oil crisis occurred in 1973. Nixon, obedient to his handlers, announced the demonetization of the dollar on August 15, 1971. This allowed time for the real deciders to plan their strategy. Eighty-four individuals, financial, corporate and political elitists, gathered at Saltsjöbaden, Sweden for the annual Bilderberg meeting. American attendee, Walter J. Levy, outlined the plan for a pending 400% increase in OPEC revenues, the exact percentage that Kissinger would demand of Saudi Arabian Shah. Their intentions were not prevention but rather a scheme on how to manage the projected abundance of oil dollars – what was later referred to by Herr Kissinger as “recycling the petrodollar flows.” The Bilderberg policy was to initiate a global oil embargo. 4
An internal memo, dated January 8, 1973, from U.S. Bilderberg official Robert D. Murphy suggested a list of participants for the May 1973 meeting. He stated: There will be room for only 20 Americans at Saltsjöbaden. 5
Those attending included Robert O. Anderson of Atlantic Richfield Oil Co., Lord Greenhill, chairman of British Petroleum, Sir Eric Roll of Siegmund G. Warburg (creator of Eurobonds), George Ball of Lehman Brothers Investment Bank, Henry Kissinger, William P. Bundy, Zbigniew Brzezinski (soon to be Carter’s national security advisor), David Rockefeller, Emilio G. Collado, Executive Vice President, Exxon Corp.; Gianni Agnelli, Otto Wolff von Amerongen and Arthur H. Dean, CFR Director (1955-72) and a partner in Rockefeller-oriented Sullivan & Cromwell. Kissinger had requested Warburg to develop the Eurobonds ten years before. 6 A very small scheming elite group, centered in New York and London, influence the economy of the entire world.
The reasons for the oil shock were:
1. Launch a colossal assault against world industrial growth.
2. Tilt the balance of power back to the advantage of Anglo-American financial interests.
3. Control the world’s oil flows, their most powerful weapon.
4. Increase the world demand for U.S. dollars. 7
Egypt and Syria invaded Israel on October 6, 1973 which came to be known as the Yom Kippur War. This war was secretly orchestrated by Herr Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s national security adviser as well as Secretary of State. Kissinger effectively managed the Israeli response through his close association with Simcha Dinitz. Kissinger, Nixon’s intelligence czar, through privileged channels, misrepresented motives, suppressed communications, and intercepted intelligence reports ensured that the war would progress and end with his shuttle diplomacy as planned in May 1973 at Saltsjöbaden. The Arabs, scapegoats for the Elite, were the recipients of the world’s rage and Kissinger was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for 1973. 8
A fortuitous coincidence was that, with oil’s huge price increase, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell and other Anglo-American oil companies were able to substantially recoup the millions they had spent in the exploration of the North Sea oilfields. Meanwhile, in Vienna, OPEC countries met and decided to raise their prices by 70% and initiated an oil embargo on all oil sales to the U.S. and the Netherlands (major oil port for Western Europe) because of the U.S. support for Israel in the Middle East War. On October 17, 1973, OPEC demanded withdrawal of Israel from Arab territories occupied since June 1967 and the restoration of the legal rights of the Palestinians. Nixon was in the midst of Watergate, orchestrated by de facto president Kissinger and assisted by Alexander Haig. 9 There are detectable reasons for Kissinger, a Rockefeller asset, to Watergate Nixon, a man he detested and swore he would never work for – he didn’t. 10 In addition, the Watergate fiasco distracted the masses from the grave economic situation.
Uninformed Nixon attempted to get U.S. Treasury officials to force OPEC to lower oil prices but was bluntly instructed, via a memo, that the bankers had mandated the dollar recycling program to accommodate the higher oil prices. Jack F. Bennett, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Monetary Affairs (until July 1974), had counseled Nixon towards his 1971 dollar demonetization decision. Bennett, at Kissinger’s direction and according to an established agreement with the Saudis to finance the U.S. government deficits, had arranged for David C. Mulford to go to Saudi Arabia to act as an investment adviser to SAMA. His job was to guide the Saudi petrodollars investments to the correct banks, naturally in London and New York. The Bilderberg scheme was operating just as planned. 11
Led by Exxon, some oil companies had created a short supply of domestic crude oil, supported by Nixon on advice from his aids. By January 1974, oil prices had increased by 400%. In December 1974, nine powerful bankers, including David Rockefeller, approached New York mayor Abraham Beame. They made him an offer he could not refuse – unless he assigned management of the city’s vast pension funds to them – the Municipal Assistance Corporation – then their complicit media cronies would financially destroy the city. This decreased the amount of money available for roadways, bridges, hospitals, schools and the laying-off of tens of thousands of city workers in order for New York City, the biggest city in the country, to service their bank debt. Similar circumstances occurred in other parts of the world: bank collapses, grave trade deficits, unemployment, inflation, and industrial and transportation depression in the more industrial nations. In third-world countries, the consequences were even more severe. 12
While devastating to the populace, the oil companies flourished: Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Chevron, and Gulf. OPEC’s petrodollars were deposited into the right banks in New York and London: Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Manufacturers Hanover, Bank of America, Barclays, Lloyds and Midland Bank. 13 These events set the stage for the debt crisis of the 1980s. The globalist decision of August 1971 to remove the dollar from a fixed, gold-backed exchange rate system generated a shift to double-digit inflation, urban decay, mounting unemployment and excessive interest rates. The Kissinger-orchestrated Middle East oil crisis of 1973-74 was designed to de-industrialize and eventually transform the United States from the world’s largest creditor nation to the world's biggest debtor nation.A review of history further helps to reveal ruthless business patterns that have shaped current circumstances – including yet another war resulting in death and bloodshed for the benefit of the greedy, insatiable elite.
Beginning with the Civil War, the opportunistic, monopolistic John D. Rockefeller sold inflated-priced Harkness whiskey to the Federal troops. Recognizing the huge profitability in war with the right commodity, he built his first oil refinery in 1863 along the Cuyahoga River (Ohio) to accommodate the growing needs of the raging Civil War which he and others, like J. P. Morgan, had purchased their way out of for $300. The Rothschild controlled National City Bank of Cleveland gave Rockefeller his first loan. In 1865 Rockefeller, for $72,500, bought out his partners (Henry Flagler, Samuel Andrews, Stephen V. Harkness) and price-chopped or otherwise destroyed his competitors by purchasing supporting industries such as pipelines, railroad tank cars, terminal facilities and barrel manufacturing factories. He soon incorporated the growing imperialistic Standard Oil Company in 1870 to fully exploit the growing Russian kerosene market as well as the curative snake-oil market in the U.S.
In what Ohio historian Christopher Eiben called a brilliant stroke of corporate back scratching,Rockefeller sold shares to bankers who lent him millions and railroaders who gave him great freight deals, including rebates on rivals' shipments.14 Working through the Wall Street firms of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., and J. P. Morgan Co., the Rothschilds financed John D. Rockefeller so that he could create the Standard Oil Empire. They also financed the activities of Edward Harriman (railroads) and Andrew Carnegie (steel). 15
By 1873 Standard Oil, by hook or crook, had acquired about 80 percent of the refining capacity in Cleveland which was about one third of the U.S. total. Interestingly enough, the stock market crashed on September 18, 1873 and created a six year recession allowing Standard Oil to seize refineries in Pennsylvania's oil region, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York. Rockefeller controlled approximately 90% of the oil refined as well as most of the oil marketing facilities in the U.S. by 1878. 16 Ruthless Rockefeller, who detested competition, founded the first global monopoly and was supplying 90% of the world’s oil, 70% overseas. Great Britain also experienced economic depression in 1873 replete with pandemic unemployment and bankruptcies. Two years later, the Rothschilds provided a sizeable loan (£4,080,000) to enable the British government to acquire a controlling share of the Suez Canal. 17
Rockefeller had built the world’s biggest business in Cleveland, Ohio. Standard Oil sold over 300 refining byproducts from Vaseline to chewing gum. In 1882, he created the Standard Oil Trust, suggested by Samuel Dodd, Standard Oil’s attorney, to eviscerate and devour all of the independent oil producers and refiners both nationally (250 competitors in the U.S.) and internationally. A trust is when stockholders in a group of companies transfer their shares to a single set of trustees who control all of the companies which constitutes a monopoly. In exchange, the stockholders received certificates entitling them to a specified share of the consolidated earnings of the jointly managed companies. 18 Rockefeller’s trust became an example to other businessmen who embraced the trust” concept – always at the expense of the working man. Rockefeller took his growing Goliath to Manhattan in 1883 where he influenced urban sprawl. 19. Russia’s oil industry accelerated in the latter part of the 19th century due to an oil boom at the Caspian Sea town of Baku, which had opened in 1873 and at Galicia (now in Poland). The Rothschild banking family had major interests in the oil-wells of Baku, Russia. Beginning in 1875, Ludvig and Robert Nobel built an oil empire known as the Brothers Nobel, or Branobel, based on oil deposits in Baku on the Caspian Sea. 20 By 1883, Standard Oil’s imports were not as essential to the Russian market for reasons that follow. 21
Britain’s Marcus Samuel, future founder of Shell Oil, developed tankers capable of carrying oil in cost-cutting bulk transport through the Suez Canal. The maiden voyage of the Murex, the first tanker, was in 1892. Remember, Great Britain had a controlling interest in the Suez Canal, thanks to the Rothschilds. Marcus and his brother also established bulk oil storage at ports in the Far East. In addition, they contracted with a Russian group, controlled by the Rothschilds, for the long-term supply of kerosene which put them in high-risk direct competition, abhorrent to Rockefeller, with Standard Oil. The Samuel brothers named their company The Tank Syndicate but renamed it in 1897 to the Shell Transport and Trading Company. 22
Rockefeller and his accomplices felt that they were above the law until the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act on July 2, 1890, enacted by Congress based on their Constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce. It was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison. In 1892, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the disbanding of the Standard Oil Trust, an illegal monopoly. Standard Oil was subsequently reorganized in 1899 as a holding company under the name of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. That state had conveniently adopted a law that permitted a parent company to own the stock of other companies. 23. In 1896 Standard Oil contributed $250,000 to Republican William McKinley's presidential campaign against Democrat William Jennings Bryan, a supporter of antitrust legislation. 24 McKinley was opposed to the imperialistic, expansionist Spanish-American War. Yet, to retain office in the next election, he asked Congress to declare war against Spain in 1898. He signed the Gold Standard Act in 1900.
In September 1901, William McKinley, allegedly a Rockefeller tool, was shot by Leon Czolgosz (son of Polish immigrants), labeled as an anarchist although he didn’t belong to any rebel groups. Czolgosz was immediately tried and executed by the Establishment. The assassination was manipulated by the Establishment to subtly discredit rebellion and anyone who might justifiably dissent. The Elite, in any age, would actually prefer to prohibit dissent. It is similar to our current administration saying: Let us never tolerate outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September the 11th… 25 and by implication – let us never tolerate conspiracy theorists. Following the assassination, various anti-sedition and anti-conspiracy laws were passed by the Establishment. Who benefited by McKinley’s death – Teddy Roosevelt who was supported by the contending Morgan (as opposed to Rockefeller) wing of the Republican Party. Roosevelt immediately started using the anti-trust weapon to try to destroy Rockefeller's Standard Oil and Harriman's Northern Securities, both bitter enemies of the Morgan world empire. 26
Woodrow Wilson, son of a Presbyterian minister, had the financial and political support of the Rockefellers, Jacob Schiff, Bernard Baruch, and others in his successful 1910 bid for governor of New Jersey. They also had the love letters he wrote to Mary Peck, his mistress while he was president of Princeton (1902-1910), for which they paid $65,000. 27 Therefore he later made the perfect, morally compromised presidential candidate. The following unconstitutional acts were engineered during the administration of the obedient Rockefeller minion, Woodrow Wilson:
1913: The Sixteenth Amendment – authorized income taxes (never ratified)
The Seventeenth Amendment – direct popular election of Senators
Underwood Tariff – lowered duties
Federal Reserve Act – created the un-federal Federal Reserve System
Through the years, Standard Oil received bad press as a result of their cutthroat business practices and the muckraking reports of people like Ida Tarbell and writer/activist Upton Sinclair. Rockefeller hired Ivy Lee in 1914 as their public relations manager to clean up their image and appear philanthropic. 28 A public relations professional, with media complicity, also discredits or disgraces any national or foreign opponent.
For decades, voters merely decide to cast a vote – the actual decisions regarding candidates and the orchestrated consequences of those calculated choices are made in covert CFR committee meetings, Bilderberg assemblies, pentagon offices and corporate boardrooms. Voters ultimately suffer the extreme penalties and the elite benefactors, the “deciders” remain unscathed.
-------------------
1 Lindsey Williams - The Energy Non-Crisis - Part 1 of 8
2 Monsanto Buys ‘Terminator’ Seeds Company by F. William Engdahl, Global Research, August 27, 2006
3 A Century of War, Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order by William Engdahl, pg. 267
4 Ibid, pg. 130-141
5 Ibid
6 Ibid
7 Ibid
8 Ibid
9 Ibid
10 Kissinger by Gary Allen, http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/homeland/kissinger/ Accessed July 27, 2007
11 A Century of War, Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order by William Engdahl, pg. 130-141 See also The Hidden Hand of American Hegemony: Petrodollar Recycling and International Markets
12 A Century of War, Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order by William Engdahl, pg. 130-141
13 Ibid
14 The Energy Bulletin, Rockefeller and Co. turned oil into local gold by Grant Segall, Published on 11 Jun 2005 by Cleveland Plain Dealer, http://www.energybulletin.net/7374.html Accessed July 20, 2007
15 Rothschild Fortune Built Rockefellers, Morgans, Etc
16 The Dismantling of The Standard Oil Trust, http://www.linfo.org/standardoil.html, Accessed July 24, 2007
17 N M Rothschild & Sons Limited, http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/N-M-Rothschild-amp;-Sons-Limited-Company-History.html Accessed July 23, 2007
18 The Dismantling of The Standard Oil Trust, http://www.linfo.org/standardoil.html, Accessed July 24, 2007
19 Rockefeller and Co. turned oil into local gold, June 12, 2005, By Grant Segall, http://www.cleveland.com/energy/index.ssf?/energy/more/1.html Accessed July 23, 2007
20 Alfred Nobel - St. Petersburg, 1842-1863 by Birgitta Lemmel, http://nobelprize.org/alfred_nobel/biographical/articles/russia/ Accessed July 23, 2007
21 At The Dawn Of The Kerosene Era by Alexander Matveichuk PhD (History), Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, 2006, http://www.oilru.com/or/26/464/ Accessed July 20, 2007
22 Shell, The beginnings, http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell-en/who_we_are/our_history/the_beginnings/the_beginnings_history_of_shell_22112006.html Accessed July 26, 2007
23 The Dismantling of The Standard Oil Trust, http://www.linfo.org/standardoil.html, Accessed July 24, 2007
24 American Experience, The Rockefeller Timeline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rockefellers/timeline/index.html Accessed July 24, 2007
25 President Bush Speaks to United Nations, Remarks by the President, To United Nations General Assembly, U.N. Headquarters, New York, New York, November 10, 2001, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011110-3.html Accessed July 25, 2007
26 Investigate the Vice President First by Murray N. Rothbard, http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard67.html Accessed July 25, 2007
27 The Greatest Story Never Told, Winston Churchill and the Crash of 1929 by Pat Riott, pg. 20
28 John D. Rockefeller: A Photographic History by Kristin Aguilera and Keith E. Rolfe, Photographs courtesy of the Rockefeller Archive Center, http://www.financialhistory.org/MAGAZINE/photo-history.htm Accessed July 24, 2007
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July 31, 2007 Deanna Spingola has been a quilt designer and is the author of two books. She has traveled extensively teaching and lecturing on her unique methods. She has always been an avid reader of non-fiction works designed to educate rather than entertain. She is active in family history research and lectures on that topic. Currently she is the director of the local Family History Center. She has a great interest in politics and the direction of current government policies, particularly as they relate to the Constitution. © Copyright 2006 by Deanna Spingola.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Thursday, August 02, 2007
BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN MINNESOTA
AUG 2,2007 - AT LEAST 50 CARS AND TRUCKS DURING RUSH HOUR WERE ON A BRIDGE IN MINNESOTA WHEN IT COLLAPSED IN THREE STAGES INTO THE RIVER ON I-35. 4 PEOPLE WERE KILLED SO FAR AND 66 INJURED AND 20 STILL MISSING. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF RESCUE TEAMS ON THE SCENE.
Death toll dips to 4 in bridge collapse By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, Associated Press Writers AUG 2,07
MINNEAPOLIS - Authorities lowered the death toll from an interstate bridge collapse to four Thursday, but warned the final number could change as divers comb the twisted steel and chunks of concrete that crashed into the Mississippi River. Police Lt. Amelia Huffman said: This morning, the medical examiner's office only has four sets of remains. Initial reports of seven people killed were based on the best estimates authorities had Wednesday night, she said.The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and two lanes in each direction were closed when the bridge buckled during evening rush hour Wednesday.
Crews planned to resume their cleanup and recovery work Thursday morning. Fire Chief Jim Clack said officials didn't expect to find any more survivors.More than 20 families gathered in a hotel ballroom early Thursday, waiting for word on loved ones who couldn't be located.I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life, said Kristi Foster, who went to an information center set up at a Holiday Inn looking for her brother Kirk. She hadn't had contact with her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night.
More than 60 people were injured and as many as 50 vehicles were in the river, many of their occupants having scrambled to shore. The collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related.Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground and some jumped into the water to look for survivors. Fire and black smoke rose from the wreckage.Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack said the death toll could rise. We think there are several more vehicles in the river we can't see yet, he said Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the bridge was inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and that no immediate structural problems were noted. There were some minor things that needed attention, he said.They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond, Pawlenty said Wednesday.The 40-year-old bridge was rated as structurally deficient two years ago and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported. The newspaper said that rating was contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database.We've seen it, and we are very familiar with it, Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said of the 2005 assessment of the bridge.
Aamodt noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation that the I-35W bridge received. She declined to say what the agency was going to do to address the deficiencies found in 2005.Road crews were working on the bridge's joints, guardrails and lights this week, with lane closures overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bridge was fitted in 2001 with a computerized anti-icing system that sprayed chemicals on the surface during winter weather, according to documents posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Web site.There were 18 construction workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, said Tom Sloan, head of the bridge division for Progressive Contractors Inc., in St. Michael. One of the workers was unaccounted for.Sloan said his crew was placing concrete finish on the bridge for what he called a routine resurfacing project. It was the final item on this phase of the project. Suddenly the bridge gave way, he said.Sloan said his workers described a horrific scene. They said they basically rode the bridge down to the water. They were sliding into cars and cars were sliding into them, he said.
The entire span of Interstate 35W crumpled into the river below. Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground. A school bus had crossed the bridge before it collapsed. The bus did not go into the water, and broadcast reports indicated the children on the bus exited out the back door. Christine Swift's 10-year-old daughter, Kaleigh, was on the bus, returning from a field trip to Bunker Hills in Blaine. She said her daughter called her about 6:10 p.m. She was screaming, The bridge collapsed, Swift said. All the kids got off the bus safely, but about 10 of the children were injured, officials said. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said he spoke with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and that both of them along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will be flying to the Twin Cities early Thursday.
The collapsed bridge stood just blocks from the heart of Minneapolis, near tourist attractions like the new Guthrie Theater and the Stone Arch Bridge. As the steamy night progressed massive crowds of onlookers circulated in the area on foot or bicycle, some of them wearing Twins T-shirts and caps after departing Wednesday night's game at the nearby Metrodome early. Thursday's game between the Twins and Kansas City Royals was called off, but the Twins decided to go ahead with Wednesday's rather than sending about 25,000 fans back out onto the congested highways. Inside the stadium, there was a moment of silence to honor victims. The steel-arched bridge, which was built in 1967, rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water. The bridge was built with a single 458-foot-long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water that might interfere with river navigation.
The river's depth at the bridge was not immediately available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a channel depth of at least 9 feet in the Upper Mississippi from Minneapolis southward to allow for barge and other river traffic. The site is just downstream from the St. Anthony Falls locks and dams. Associated Press Writers Brian Bakst and Patrick Condon contributed to this report from Minneapolis; Martiga Lohn contributed to this report from St. Paul.
Death toll dips to 4 in bridge collapse By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, Associated Press Writers AUG 2,07
MINNEAPOLIS - Authorities lowered the death toll from an interstate bridge collapse to four Thursday, but warned the final number could change as divers comb the twisted steel and chunks of concrete that crashed into the Mississippi River. Police Lt. Amelia Huffman said: This morning, the medical examiner's office only has four sets of remains. Initial reports of seven people killed were based on the best estimates authorities had Wednesday night, she said.The eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, was in the midst of being repaired and two lanes in each direction were closed when the bridge buckled during evening rush hour Wednesday.
Crews planned to resume their cleanup and recovery work Thursday morning. Fire Chief Jim Clack said officials didn't expect to find any more survivors.More than 20 families gathered in a hotel ballroom early Thursday, waiting for word on loved ones who couldn't be located.I've never wanted to see my brother so much in my life, said Kristi Foster, who went to an information center set up at a Holiday Inn looking for her brother Kirk. She hadn't had contact with her brother or his girlfriend, Krystle Webb, since the previous night.
More than 60 people were injured and as many as 50 vehicles were in the river, many of their occupants having scrambled to shore. The collapse did not appear to be terrorism-related.Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground and some jumped into the water to look for survivors. Fire and black smoke rose from the wreckage.Minneapolis Fire Chief Jim Clack said the death toll could rise. We think there are several more vehicles in the river we can't see yet, he said Wednesday.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said the bridge was inspected by the Minnesota Department of Transportation in 2005 and 2006 and that no immediate structural problems were noted. There were some minor things that needed attention, he said.They notified us from an engineering standpoint the deck might need to be rehabilitated or replaced in 2020 or beyond, Pawlenty said Wednesday.The 40-year-old bridge was rated as structurally deficient two years ago and possibly in need of replacement, the Star Tribune reported. The newspaper said that rating was contained in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory database.We've seen it, and we are very familiar with it, Jeanne Aamodt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, said of the 2005 assessment of the bridge.
Aamodt noted that many other bridges around the country carry the same designation that the I-35W bridge received. She declined to say what the agency was going to do to address the deficiencies found in 2005.Road crews were working on the bridge's joints, guardrails and lights this week, with lane closures overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday. The bridge was fitted in 2001 with a computerized anti-icing system that sprayed chemicals on the surface during winter weather, according to documents posted on the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Web site.There were 18 construction workers on the bridge at the time of the collapse, said Tom Sloan, head of the bridge division for Progressive Contractors Inc., in St. Michael. One of the workers was unaccounted for.Sloan said his crew was placing concrete finish on the bridge for what he called a routine resurfacing project. It was the final item on this phase of the project. Suddenly the bridge gave way, he said.Sloan said his workers described a horrific scene. They said they basically rode the bridge down to the water. They were sliding into cars and cars were sliding into them, he said.
The entire span of Interstate 35W crumpled into the river below. Some injured people were carried up the riverbank, while emergency workers tended to others on the ground. A school bus had crossed the bridge before it collapsed. The bus did not go into the water, and broadcast reports indicated the children on the bus exited out the back door. Christine Swift's 10-year-old daughter, Kaleigh, was on the bus, returning from a field trip to Bunker Hills in Blaine. She said her daughter called her about 6:10 p.m. She was screaming, The bridge collapsed, Swift said. All the kids got off the bus safely, but about 10 of the children were injured, officials said. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said he spoke with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, and that both of them along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will be flying to the Twin Cities early Thursday.
The collapsed bridge stood just blocks from the heart of Minneapolis, near tourist attractions like the new Guthrie Theater and the Stone Arch Bridge. As the steamy night progressed massive crowds of onlookers circulated in the area on foot or bicycle, some of them wearing Twins T-shirts and caps after departing Wednesday night's game at the nearby Metrodome early. Thursday's game between the Twins and Kansas City Royals was called off, but the Twins decided to go ahead with Wednesday's rather than sending about 25,000 fans back out onto the congested highways. Inside the stadium, there was a moment of silence to honor victims. The steel-arched bridge, which was built in 1967, rose about 64 feet above the river and stretched about 1,900 feet across the water. The bridge was built with a single 458-foot-long steel arch to avoid putting any piers in the water that might interfere with river navigation.
The river's depth at the bridge was not immediately available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains a channel depth of at least 9 feet in the Upper Mississippi from Minneapolis southward to allow for barge and other river traffic. The site is just downstream from the St. Anthony Falls locks and dams. Associated Press Writers Brian Bakst and Patrick Condon contributed to this report from Minneapolis; Martiga Lohn contributed to this report from St. Paul.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
SAUDIS MAY ATTEND PEACE TALKS
Strong earthquake in Vanuatu AUG 1,07
GOLDEN, Colo. - A strong earthquake struck Thursday off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, originating far below the ocean floor. The 7.2 quake, which hit at 4:08 a.m. local time, didn't trigger any tsunamis around the archipelago and little damage was expected because it originated 108 miles beneath the ocean's surface, said Waverly Person, a geophysicist with U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.The earthquake hit 28 miles southeast of the Vanuatu town of Luganville and 1,240 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.It was the first earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7 in 122 days, he said. Normally a quake in that range can cause buildings to collapse and deaths in populated areas.
A TROPICAL STORM IS BREWING, SEE WHAT HAPPENS AMERICA, USE ARE PUSHING ISRAEL REALLY HARD NOW SO LOOKOUT.
Heavy Rain in Parts of Northeast Texas Save Email Print
Jul 31, 2007 - Reporter: Associated Press
UNDATED — Flooding is a threat after parts of Texas have been hit with heavy rain today.The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of Fannin, Lamar and Delta counties.Forecasters say more than three inches of rain fell overnight in parts of Fannin County, with additional rain expected.Meanwhile in South Texas, a flood warning is in effect for stretches of the Frio River and the Nueces River.Parts of Texas are still recovering from heavy rain and flooding going back to mid-June.
Tropical heat headed our way
By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune - July 31, 2007 – 9:11 AM
Here we go again. Another round of hot, sticky, steamy, sunny weather is in store for today and Wednesday with highs in the 90s and dew points soaring into the tropical 60s, the National Weather Service said.The mercury is expected to top out at 92 degrees today and Wednesday with a slight reprieve in store for Thursday with a high of 87 degrees. Tonight's low will be a sultry 71 degrees, and lows in the upper 60s are expected the rest of the week, the Weather Service said.
Rain has been in short supply recently, and the best chance for precipitation will come Wednesday night with a 50 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms. A small chance of rain is in the forecast Friday night and Saturday. A slight risk of severe weather is possible over northwest and west central Minnesota Wednesday and Thursday, the Weather Service said.Any precipitation will bring much-needed relief to brown lawns and water-deprived trees and gardens. The seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area is in a severe drought with a precipitation deficit of more than 5 inches since April 1.
As of July 25, Albert Lea was more than 6 inches below normal. Litchfield, in Meeker County, was nearly 7½ inches below normal as was Chaska and many of the western suburbs, the Weather Service said.Some communities, such as Chanhassen, have enacted outdoor watering bans because of the dearth of rainfall.The recent string of sunny, windy days also has escalated the fire danger across the state. With the exception of the southeastern corner of Minnesota, the rest of the state has been placed under a moderate to very high fire danger, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com
United Nations sending 26,000 peacekeeping troops to Darfur
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 05:32 PM By: 680News staff
Toronto - The United Nations security council has unanymously approved a plan to send a 26,000 troop peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region.The UN force will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong au force now on the ground in darfur before the end of the year.The decision comes following a speech from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who described the urgent need to also fight poverty and disease in Africa and around the world.If 30,000 children died needlessly and avoidably evveryday in America or in Britain, we'd call it an emergency, and an emegency is what it is, he stated. The security council backed the peacekeeping force after negotiations secured crucial chinese support.At least 200,000 people have died in Darfur in recent years.
PA Official: Immigration of 40 Paves Way For 18,000
17 Av 5767, August 1, '07
(IsraelNN.com) Following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s concession, allowing 40 decedents of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 to emigrate to Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority officials say they are already working on using the precedent to bring about the immigration of 18,000 Arabs in Iraq to Judea and Samaria.PA Minister of Information Riyad al-Malki told the PA-controlled Maan News Agency that the return of the 40 paves the way for the return of all the Palestinian refugees.
Al-Malki said he contacted Knesset Members and officials in the Olmert regime, but that so far, the Israelis have agreed to let in just a small group of refugees. He promises to continue to work toward allowing tens of thousands more to join them.
July 31, 2007 - Perverse - ARLENE KUSHNER
According to Al-Hayat in London, which cited an Israeli senior government source, Olmert and Abbas have set up a secret channel for discussing final status issues. These include establishment of an independent Palestinian state, the refugee issue, the question of settlements and the future of Jerusalem, although -- according to the report -- there have been no breakthroughs.Olmert's office is denying this. But I have picked up similar inklings from another source and I consider this within the realm of possibility. Those of us who have been monitoring Olmert are aware that he is focused on this: a desire to give away part of the land. He came into office speaking of realignment, which was to be the Judea-Samaria version of the Gaza disengagement. When that didn't play because of the political situation, he pulled back temporarily. Now, with peace talk in the air, he may believe he has the opportunity to give our land to the Palestinians more directly.
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After considerable publicity about Olmert's possible readiness to allow Jordanian regular army forces from the Badr Brigade -- which consists of Bedouins with experience in fighting terrorists -- into Judea and Samaria to help the PA, Jordan has responded: Nothing doing. Said a Jordanian spokesman: To discuss such a notion is shooting down Palestinian aspirations of independent statehood and implies that the Palestinians aren't capable of taking responsibility for their own security. We aren't contemplating anything like that.Translation: We have no intention of getting involved at this level now.
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Round and round we go... But there's no clarity, no sense of anything really happening (because in truth nothing is happening):
The Arab states -- which had presumably been promoting peace via the Arab League initiative (from which the Saudis have since withdrawn) -- are now saying that they're not terribly enthusiastic about Bush's plans for a peace conference. Such an effort, they are saying, should be all-inclusive, meaning that it should work on peace between Syria and Israel at the same time. A new wrinkle. When the Arab governments met in Cairo on Monday to discuss their response to Bush's proposed conference, representatives of Syria stormed out, angry that fellow Arabs would even discuss it. It would, they said, liquidate the Palestinian cause.So much for that. Let's hope.
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A number of terrorist Palestinian groups -- most notably the Palestinian Resistance Committees -- have expressed fury with PA Prime Minister Fayad for dropping the term armed struggle (mukawama) from his newly announced platform. One PRC representative, Abu Abir, said they would target Fayad and his treacherous gang.
We will target them in the field the same way we attack Israel. We promise to put an end to all the American-backed Palestinian personalities in the near future because of their decision to side with the Israeli enemy.And so, guess what?
When Fayad was at the Arab League meeting in Cairo on Monday, he held a press conference and further explained his stand: Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation even if the word mukawama didn't appear in his platform (for semantic reasons and because of the possibility of misunderstandings): What is the essence of resistance, especially in light of the current occupation? Does it not begin with all possible efforts to strengthen the permanence of the Palestinian citizens on their land? That is precisely the government's agenda.Oh. Right. That was a close one for Fayad.
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Word came out from the Lebanese paper An-Nahar the other day that one of the two Israeli soldiers being held by Hezbollah is dead. This information reportedly came from Germans who had been in touch with Christian Lebanese Michael Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah.Israel is not giving this undocumented report credibility. In truth, we just don't know.
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It would seem that Bush has made pretty much of a mess of things with his latest diplomatic gambit. Over the weekend the US announced that it is planning to sell Saudi Arabia $20 billion in advanced weapons systems, including JDAMs that turn regular bombs into smart bombs, which present a potential strategic threat to Israel.
He is doing this to secure Saudi cooperation in Iraq. But it seems fairly short-sighted (exceedingly myopic?) to establish such a policy made in the expectation of an alliance with the Saudis. Of late, they promoted the unity government in Mecca, favoring Hamas; then they withdrew support for the Arab League peace initiative, instead pushing renewed negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, something that the US solidly opposes.
Far more significantly, Saudi Arabia -- home of radical fundamentalist, virulently anti-Shiite Islamic Wahhabism -- is directly connected to terrorism in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has permitted Sunni radicals to cross into Iraq, and has provided funding for them; Wahhabi clerics have encouraged them. The New York Times reports that Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia.
And Bush has failed to notice this?
Addressing the issue of how the American government views the Saudis, Stephen Schwartz, a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, writes, The (Saudi) kingdom is an unwavering nerve center of ideological indoctrination, incitement, and terrorist financing...Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom.
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Resistance to this sale has been stiffer than Bush had anticipated, for the prospect of increased risk to Israel does not sit well here in Jerusalem or among supporters of Israel in Congress; there is no adequate Israeli defense for these smart bombs.
In an attempt to sweeten the situation, the US has announced an increase in military aid to Israel, from $2.4 to $3 billion annually. Along with this came promises of continuing US commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge and guarantees that limits would be put on the Saudis regarding use of their equipment (restrictions on the range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs, including a commitment not to store the weapons at air bases close to Israeli territory). Whether the US is truly committed to Israel's qualitative edge remains to be seen. Israel's request to buy the US's most sophisticated stealth bomber has been denied. As to restrictions on the use of the equipment, a report today indicated that this may make it more difficult for Condoleezza Rice to get the Saudis to cooperate publicly with supporting the Israeli-Palestinian process. Is this not unreal?
Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) have announced that they will introduce a joint resolution to block the deal when Congress is formally notified. Said Weiner, The reputation of the Saudis has taken quite a beating since 9/11, and despite the fact that the administration has done everything to portray them as part of the moderate Arab world, members of Congress of both parties are increasingly skeptical.
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A Palestinian Arab was caught at a checkpoint (yup! one of those checkpoints again) near Shechem with 22 pounds of explosives.
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This is an interesting news item: The Prison Service has decided to cancel matriculation exams for Palestinian Arabs in Israeli prisons. Seems there have been several incidents in which Arabs brought in to administer the tests attempted to bring letters to, or accept letters from, the prisoners.
Matriculation exams for Palestinians in Israeli prisons? see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT SAUDI ARABIA WOULD BE WITH THE WEST IN THE LAST DAYS. BUT THE ONLY REASON I BELIEVE IS THE OIL SITUATION, THE SAUDIS ARE GETTING RICH...RICH...RICH OF THE WEST.
Saudis may attend Mideast peace talks By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 1, 1:25 PM ET
JERUSALEM - Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it would seriously consider attending a Middle East peace conference proposed by the Bush administration for later this year, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began laying the ground work for the regional meeting. The proposed gathering is intended to revive the peace process and would include Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states viewed as moderate by the United States.Speaking during a rare joint visit by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his government would look very closely and very hard at attending if the conference dealt with issues of real substance, not form.
Saud also said Saudi Arabia would explore opening diplomatic relations with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, an endorsement long sought by Washington. Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers have had frosty relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and has not hidden its suspicions that al-Maliki does not have the interests of Iraq's Sunni minority at heart.A meeting between Israeli and Saudi representatives would be a major diplomatic breakthrough. Though Israel and Saudi Arabia are both U.S. allies, representatives of the countries have never officially met and Saudi Arabia has never recognized the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement Wednesday that Israel hopes many Arab countries will attend this international meeting, including Saudi Arabia.At a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem later Wednesday, Rice said she was encouraged by the attitude that I have seen here among all of the parties about the prospects of this international meeting.
However, Rice said in response to a question about Saudi participation, I think it's too early ... to issue invitations and certainly too early to expect people to say whether they will attend.
Rice's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, part of a wider tour of the U.S.'s regional allies, is her first since the Islamic group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in mid-June. Since then, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has run the West Bank with a moderate government led by his Fatah movement, and has won broad international backing while Hamas remains largely isolated.Olmert's office said a regional peace conference would also be able to grant an umbrella to the bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Before his meeting with Rice, Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, invited President Bush to visit Israel during its 60th anniversary celebrations next year, saying I truly hope we shall celebrate it in an atmosphere of peace.Rice meets with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday and with leaders of Abbas' U.S.-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank on Thursday.
The Hamas takeover in Gaza has spurred a flurry of peacemaking efforts in the past month aimed at shoring up Palestinian moderates, including a first visit to the region by international Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair and an unprecedented visit to Israel by a delegation from the 22-nation Arab League. That delegation urged Israel to accept an Arab plan offering peace in return for a withdrawal from all land captured in the 1967 Mideast War.Further helping the mood of conciliation are the fears in moderate Arab states about the influence of Hamas' hardline backers in Iran and about al-Qaida's brand of extremist Islam.Israel has carried out several gestures to bolster Abbas, including renewing the transfer of millions of dollars in taxes collected from Palestinians and releasing several hundred Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.Bush's July 16 announcement of a Mideast conference was meant to build on the new momentum and work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian officials said it was time to move from gestures to discussing the core issues of the conflict — the borders of the future Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's creation in 1948.The main topic will be the political negotiations, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Rice's upcoming meetings with Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. We don't want a new initiative.Besides Livni and Peres, Rice is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In Rice's meeting with Barak, the two are slated to discuss American plans for a major arms sale to Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, and a parallel boost in defense aid to Israel, Israeli defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Israel loudly opposed such arms sales in the past but has offered no resistance this time, saying the weapons were needed to offset Iran's military strength.
August 1, 2007 - Snake in the Grass - ARLENE KUSHNER
When it comes to twisting arms, Condoleezza Rice is a world champion, and right now she's on a roll. In Saudi Arabia, at the beginning of her current Middle East tour, she managed, after all, to get the ruling regime to say they would participate in the US-inspired peace conference in the fall. Rice and Secretary of Defense Gates, who is traveling with her, then made a showing at Sharm el-Sheikh for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council. At the press conference at the end of the meeting, she participated in a joint communiqué with Egypt, Jordan and six Persian Gulf states that recognized the Arab initiative as one of the foundations for Middle East peace.
Her duplicity is breathtaking. The Arab initiative calls for return to pre-67 borders, return of refugees to Israel, and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. She would gladly sell us down the river if she imagined this would motivate the Arabs to help extricate the US from Iraq.
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Currently she's here, and meeting with various officials. More arm-twisting. Her goal while in Israel is to get Olmert to make more concessions to strengthen Abbas and advance peace. Or, as one official put it, to move to the next level, which, we've been told, means that Washington is eager to expand the range of things discussed between Olmert and Abbas. Explained an Israeli official, They're more than testing the waters. The Americans are trying to see how much they can expand the envelope of political horizon.Not surprisingly, the US government has been very pleased with recent Israeli government indications of a willingness to pull out of major parts of Judea and Samaria. Now it's a question of just how far Olmert will go.
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I'm waiting, and will wait a very long time, for balanced arm-twisting, with Rice insisting that Abbas has to really dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and stop incitement.
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Said President Shimon Peres today: When Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region she brings hope and freshness, this time more than ever. He declared that because of Rice we are now closer to peace with the Palestinians than ever.
If this weren't so terribly pathetic, it would be funny. A quintessential alternate universe statement that shows total lack of awareness of what's happening on the ground. When Rice arrives in the region, my blood pressure goes up several points.
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Remember all of the material and data that Hamas seized from Fatah in Gaza when they took over? It was inevitable that this would be used to weaken Fatah, and, while it has taken time, indeed, the process is under way.
Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar has just released to the Arabic press evidence of the corruption of the PA under Fatah. There will be more to follow, but the documents released now primarily show bribes, payoffs and similar improper use of funds authorized by Yasser Arafat from 1994 - 2004. There was $40,000 given to a Fatah official for his son's wedding, artwork worth $66,000 given to someone in Paris, etc.
Most damning for the current situation is that fact that some of these improprieties took place while Salaam Fayad, currently PA prime minister, was serving as finance minister under Arafat. Fayad is routinely touted as the cleanest of the PA officials.
Fatah offered two defenses. First, they claimed that the documents were forged. But Arab journalists who were permitted to exam the documents indicated that they seemed quite legitimate, as, I am quite sure they are.
Then a Fatah spokesman charged Hamas with not being able to account for monies it had received. This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, if ever there was one. Even if Hamas is guilty of corruption (and all indications are that Hamas is considerably less corrupt than Fatah), this does not remotely absolve Fatah.
What I'm interested in is how the international community will continue to justify support for a Fatah-run PA in the face of such documentation. This, most certainly, is just the beginning.See my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
OUT of ZION Ministries
A Messianic Ministry Based on Mt Carmel
Address: Apt # 2, 9 Sachlav St, Ramat Almogi, Haifa 34792, ISRAEL.
Tel: 972 4 8245590 Email: kiwi@netvision.net.il Website: www.out-of-zion.com
Shalom, shalom dear Friends, Partners and Intercessors.................................................
Josie and I have something that we believe to be very important to share with you all
It is not our normal practise to make appeals for finances. Praise the Lord, that through some of you making regular support donations, He provides for our monthly family needs and ministry expenses. We are deeply grateful for this of course as it enables us to fulfill what the Lord has called us to be and to do.
However this email is an appeal for finances, but not for ourselves. We dont want to tell you what or to where you should give, but we do believe it is scriptually correct to make offerings to Israel. Romans 15:27 For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. (NKJ) and of course Genesis 12:3 is relevant also. Would you please prayerfully consider assisting one of the following projects that are close to our hearts, particularly if you are not already blessing our ministry or any other ministries here in Israel.
Below you will read about 3 very different projects that are in need of your prayers and financial input. They are known to us personally and we can vouch for their integrity.
If you feel led to partner with Pastor Leon in this outreach please email me & I will send you more details - David
Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days
FSM Editors - Author: The Editors
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 30, 2007
Veteran Israeli Intelligence expert, Juval Aviv, said in recent media interviews that his sources on terror plots directed at the United States indicate that multiple attacks on our homeland are in the final stages of preparation. Read the details.
Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv met recently with reporters at Fox News and revealed information, which he believes is accurate, concerning an imminent Al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously. I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most, said Mr. Aviv.Mr. Aviv knows of that which he speaks. He is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security. He is best known as the source of the 1984 book, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, on which Steven Spielberg's film Munich was based. He is also the author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide: How to Travel, Work and Live in Safety (2003); and Staying Safe: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business (2004).
Currently, Aviv is the president of Interfor, Inc., a corporate investigations firm in New York City.So it is clear that Aviv has the background and experience in global terror and its operating methods to warrant taking his current warnings seriously. It would be foolish to ignore or minimize this counterterrorism veteran’s expert prognosis. Mr. Aviv told Fox that, from what his sources have been relating, sleeper cells that already have been placed inside the continental United States are on the verge of carrying out major attacks.What they’re going to do, he explained, is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going [to] get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York.
While this prediction leaves most Americans feeling helpless, fearful and frustrated, Juval Aviv recommends that we at least do what we can. He suggests that for the next few months, if we are traveling by public transportation, we should equip ourselves with a bottle of water, a hand towel and a flashlight. He reminds us that many fatalities in the London tube and Madrid train attacks occurred from victims who breathed in the lethal fumes from bomb components and burning gasoline. Had these people had wet towels to cover their mouths and noses, they would have had a much better chance of survival.
Mr. Aviv is a very strong proponent of If you See Something – Say Something school of preparedness. He stated that a great number of potentially lethal terror attacks in Israel have been – and still are – thwarted by the intelligent actions on the part of alert, aware and watchful citizens.Americans must do the same, he advises. The global war on terror is not somewhere over there in the Middle East. It is here on our own soil. If ever there were a time to be especially vigilant, the time is now. Let us hope and pray that these vicious enemies and their depraved plans against our citizens and our country, which come out of a wicked ideological brew, will be forestalled and prevented, and the perpetrators apprehended. So far, our law enforcement, military, counter-terrorism and intelligence personnel have done a stellar job. At the same time, and as we all know, we have to be lucky 100% of the time, and the terrorists have to be lucky only once. So stay alert…stay away from crowds…and if you see something, say something! You could save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
GOLDEN, Colo. - A strong earthquake struck Thursday off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, originating far below the ocean floor. The 7.2 quake, which hit at 4:08 a.m. local time, didn't trigger any tsunamis around the archipelago and little damage was expected because it originated 108 miles beneath the ocean's surface, said Waverly Person, a geophysicist with U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.The earthquake hit 28 miles southeast of the Vanuatu town of Luganville and 1,240 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.It was the first earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7 in 122 days, he said. Normally a quake in that range can cause buildings to collapse and deaths in populated areas.
A TROPICAL STORM IS BREWING, SEE WHAT HAPPENS AMERICA, USE ARE PUSHING ISRAEL REALLY HARD NOW SO LOOKOUT.
Heavy Rain in Parts of Northeast Texas Save Email Print
Jul 31, 2007 - Reporter: Associated Press
UNDATED — Flooding is a threat after parts of Texas have been hit with heavy rain today.The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of Fannin, Lamar and Delta counties.Forecasters say more than three inches of rain fell overnight in parts of Fannin County, with additional rain expected.Meanwhile in South Texas, a flood warning is in effect for stretches of the Frio River and the Nueces River.Parts of Texas are still recovering from heavy rain and flooding going back to mid-June.
Tropical heat headed our way
By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune - July 31, 2007 – 9:11 AM
Here we go again. Another round of hot, sticky, steamy, sunny weather is in store for today and Wednesday with highs in the 90s and dew points soaring into the tropical 60s, the National Weather Service said.The mercury is expected to top out at 92 degrees today and Wednesday with a slight reprieve in store for Thursday with a high of 87 degrees. Tonight's low will be a sultry 71 degrees, and lows in the upper 60s are expected the rest of the week, the Weather Service said.
Rain has been in short supply recently, and the best chance for precipitation will come Wednesday night with a 50 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms. A small chance of rain is in the forecast Friday night and Saturday. A slight risk of severe weather is possible over northwest and west central Minnesota Wednesday and Thursday, the Weather Service said.Any precipitation will bring much-needed relief to brown lawns and water-deprived trees and gardens. The seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area is in a severe drought with a precipitation deficit of more than 5 inches since April 1.
As of July 25, Albert Lea was more than 6 inches below normal. Litchfield, in Meeker County, was nearly 7½ inches below normal as was Chaska and many of the western suburbs, the Weather Service said.Some communities, such as Chanhassen, have enacted outdoor watering bans because of the dearth of rainfall.The recent string of sunny, windy days also has escalated the fire danger across the state. With the exception of the southeastern corner of Minnesota, the rest of the state has been placed under a moderate to very high fire danger, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com
United Nations sending 26,000 peacekeeping troops to Darfur
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 05:32 PM By: 680News staff
Toronto - The United Nations security council has unanymously approved a plan to send a 26,000 troop peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region.The UN force will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong au force now on the ground in darfur before the end of the year.The decision comes following a speech from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who described the urgent need to also fight poverty and disease in Africa and around the world.If 30,000 children died needlessly and avoidably evveryday in America or in Britain, we'd call it an emergency, and an emegency is what it is, he stated. The security council backed the peacekeeping force after negotiations secured crucial chinese support.At least 200,000 people have died in Darfur in recent years.
PA Official: Immigration of 40 Paves Way For 18,000
17 Av 5767, August 1, '07
(IsraelNN.com) Following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s concession, allowing 40 decedents of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 to emigrate to Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority officials say they are already working on using the precedent to bring about the immigration of 18,000 Arabs in Iraq to Judea and Samaria.PA Minister of Information Riyad al-Malki told the PA-controlled Maan News Agency that the return of the 40 paves the way for the return of all the Palestinian refugees.
Al-Malki said he contacted Knesset Members and officials in the Olmert regime, but that so far, the Israelis have agreed to let in just a small group of refugees. He promises to continue to work toward allowing tens of thousands more to join them.
July 31, 2007 - Perverse - ARLENE KUSHNER
According to Al-Hayat in London, which cited an Israeli senior government source, Olmert and Abbas have set up a secret channel for discussing final status issues. These include establishment of an independent Palestinian state, the refugee issue, the question of settlements and the future of Jerusalem, although -- according to the report -- there have been no breakthroughs.Olmert's office is denying this. But I have picked up similar inklings from another source and I consider this within the realm of possibility. Those of us who have been monitoring Olmert are aware that he is focused on this: a desire to give away part of the land. He came into office speaking of realignment, which was to be the Judea-Samaria version of the Gaza disengagement. When that didn't play because of the political situation, he pulled back temporarily. Now, with peace talk in the air, he may believe he has the opportunity to give our land to the Palestinians more directly.
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After considerable publicity about Olmert's possible readiness to allow Jordanian regular army forces from the Badr Brigade -- which consists of Bedouins with experience in fighting terrorists -- into Judea and Samaria to help the PA, Jordan has responded: Nothing doing. Said a Jordanian spokesman: To discuss such a notion is shooting down Palestinian aspirations of independent statehood and implies that the Palestinians aren't capable of taking responsibility for their own security. We aren't contemplating anything like that.Translation: We have no intention of getting involved at this level now.
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Round and round we go... But there's no clarity, no sense of anything really happening (because in truth nothing is happening):
The Arab states -- which had presumably been promoting peace via the Arab League initiative (from which the Saudis have since withdrawn) -- are now saying that they're not terribly enthusiastic about Bush's plans for a peace conference. Such an effort, they are saying, should be all-inclusive, meaning that it should work on peace between Syria and Israel at the same time. A new wrinkle. When the Arab governments met in Cairo on Monday to discuss their response to Bush's proposed conference, representatives of Syria stormed out, angry that fellow Arabs would even discuss it. It would, they said, liquidate the Palestinian cause.So much for that. Let's hope.
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A number of terrorist Palestinian groups -- most notably the Palestinian Resistance Committees -- have expressed fury with PA Prime Minister Fayad for dropping the term armed struggle (mukawama) from his newly announced platform. One PRC representative, Abu Abir, said they would target Fayad and his treacherous gang.
We will target them in the field the same way we attack Israel. We promise to put an end to all the American-backed Palestinian personalities in the near future because of their decision to side with the Israeli enemy.And so, guess what?
When Fayad was at the Arab League meeting in Cairo on Monday, he held a press conference and further explained his stand: Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation even if the word mukawama didn't appear in his platform (for semantic reasons and because of the possibility of misunderstandings): What is the essence of resistance, especially in light of the current occupation? Does it not begin with all possible efforts to strengthen the permanence of the Palestinian citizens on their land? That is precisely the government's agenda.Oh. Right. That was a close one for Fayad.
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Word came out from the Lebanese paper An-Nahar the other day that one of the two Israeli soldiers being held by Hezbollah is dead. This information reportedly came from Germans who had been in touch with Christian Lebanese Michael Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah.Israel is not giving this undocumented report credibility. In truth, we just don't know.
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It would seem that Bush has made pretty much of a mess of things with his latest diplomatic gambit. Over the weekend the US announced that it is planning to sell Saudi Arabia $20 billion in advanced weapons systems, including JDAMs that turn regular bombs into smart bombs, which present a potential strategic threat to Israel.
He is doing this to secure Saudi cooperation in Iraq. But it seems fairly short-sighted (exceedingly myopic?) to establish such a policy made in the expectation of an alliance with the Saudis. Of late, they promoted the unity government in Mecca, favoring Hamas; then they withdrew support for the Arab League peace initiative, instead pushing renewed negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, something that the US solidly opposes.
Far more significantly, Saudi Arabia -- home of radical fundamentalist, virulently anti-Shiite Islamic Wahhabism -- is directly connected to terrorism in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has permitted Sunni radicals to cross into Iraq, and has provided funding for them; Wahhabi clerics have encouraged them. The New York Times reports that Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia.
And Bush has failed to notice this?
Addressing the issue of how the American government views the Saudis, Stephen Schwartz, a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, writes, The (Saudi) kingdom is an unwavering nerve center of ideological indoctrination, incitement, and terrorist financing...Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom.
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Resistance to this sale has been stiffer than Bush had anticipated, for the prospect of increased risk to Israel does not sit well here in Jerusalem or among supporters of Israel in Congress; there is no adequate Israeli defense for these smart bombs.
In an attempt to sweeten the situation, the US has announced an increase in military aid to Israel, from $2.4 to $3 billion annually. Along with this came promises of continuing US commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge and guarantees that limits would be put on the Saudis regarding use of their equipment (restrictions on the range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs, including a commitment not to store the weapons at air bases close to Israeli territory). Whether the US is truly committed to Israel's qualitative edge remains to be seen. Israel's request to buy the US's most sophisticated stealth bomber has been denied. As to restrictions on the use of the equipment, a report today indicated that this may make it more difficult for Condoleezza Rice to get the Saudis to cooperate publicly with supporting the Israeli-Palestinian process. Is this not unreal?
Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) have announced that they will introduce a joint resolution to block the deal when Congress is formally notified. Said Weiner, The reputation of the Saudis has taken quite a beating since 9/11, and despite the fact that the administration has done everything to portray them as part of the moderate Arab world, members of Congress of both parties are increasingly skeptical.
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A Palestinian Arab was caught at a checkpoint (yup! one of those checkpoints again) near Shechem with 22 pounds of explosives.
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This is an interesting news item: The Prison Service has decided to cancel matriculation exams for Palestinian Arabs in Israeli prisons. Seems there have been several incidents in which Arabs brought in to administer the tests attempted to bring letters to, or accept letters from, the prisoners.
Matriculation exams for Palestinians in Israeli prisons? see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT SAUDI ARABIA WOULD BE WITH THE WEST IN THE LAST DAYS. BUT THE ONLY REASON I BELIEVE IS THE OIL SITUATION, THE SAUDIS ARE GETTING RICH...RICH...RICH OF THE WEST.
Saudis may attend Mideast peace talks By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 1, 1:25 PM ET
JERUSALEM - Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it would seriously consider attending a Middle East peace conference proposed by the Bush administration for later this year, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began laying the ground work for the regional meeting. The proposed gathering is intended to revive the peace process and would include Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states viewed as moderate by the United States.Speaking during a rare joint visit by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his government would look very closely and very hard at attending if the conference dealt with issues of real substance, not form.
Saud also said Saudi Arabia would explore opening diplomatic relations with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, an endorsement long sought by Washington. Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers have had frosty relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and has not hidden its suspicions that al-Maliki does not have the interests of Iraq's Sunni minority at heart.A meeting between Israeli and Saudi representatives would be a major diplomatic breakthrough. Though Israel and Saudi Arabia are both U.S. allies, representatives of the countries have never officially met and Saudi Arabia has never recognized the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement Wednesday that Israel hopes many Arab countries will attend this international meeting, including Saudi Arabia.At a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem later Wednesday, Rice said she was encouraged by the attitude that I have seen here among all of the parties about the prospects of this international meeting.
However, Rice said in response to a question about Saudi participation, I think it's too early ... to issue invitations and certainly too early to expect people to say whether they will attend.
Rice's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, part of a wider tour of the U.S.'s regional allies, is her first since the Islamic group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in mid-June. Since then, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has run the West Bank with a moderate government led by his Fatah movement, and has won broad international backing while Hamas remains largely isolated.Olmert's office said a regional peace conference would also be able to grant an umbrella to the bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Before his meeting with Rice, Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, invited President Bush to visit Israel during its 60th anniversary celebrations next year, saying I truly hope we shall celebrate it in an atmosphere of peace.Rice meets with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday and with leaders of Abbas' U.S.-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank on Thursday.
The Hamas takeover in Gaza has spurred a flurry of peacemaking efforts in the past month aimed at shoring up Palestinian moderates, including a first visit to the region by international Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair and an unprecedented visit to Israel by a delegation from the 22-nation Arab League. That delegation urged Israel to accept an Arab plan offering peace in return for a withdrawal from all land captured in the 1967 Mideast War.Further helping the mood of conciliation are the fears in moderate Arab states about the influence of Hamas' hardline backers in Iran and about al-Qaida's brand of extremist Islam.Israel has carried out several gestures to bolster Abbas, including renewing the transfer of millions of dollars in taxes collected from Palestinians and releasing several hundred Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.Bush's July 16 announcement of a Mideast conference was meant to build on the new momentum and work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Palestinian officials said it was time to move from gestures to discussing the core issues of the conflict — the borders of the future Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's creation in 1948.The main topic will be the political negotiations, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Rice's upcoming meetings with Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. We don't want a new initiative.Besides Livni and Peres, Rice is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In Rice's meeting with Barak, the two are slated to discuss American plans for a major arms sale to Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, and a parallel boost in defense aid to Israel, Israeli defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Israel loudly opposed such arms sales in the past but has offered no resistance this time, saying the weapons were needed to offset Iran's military strength.
August 1, 2007 - Snake in the Grass - ARLENE KUSHNER
When it comes to twisting arms, Condoleezza Rice is a world champion, and right now she's on a roll. In Saudi Arabia, at the beginning of her current Middle East tour, she managed, after all, to get the ruling regime to say they would participate in the US-inspired peace conference in the fall. Rice and Secretary of Defense Gates, who is traveling with her, then made a showing at Sharm el-Sheikh for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council. At the press conference at the end of the meeting, she participated in a joint communiqué with Egypt, Jordan and six Persian Gulf states that recognized the Arab initiative as one of the foundations for Middle East peace.
Her duplicity is breathtaking. The Arab initiative calls for return to pre-67 borders, return of refugees to Israel, and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. She would gladly sell us down the river if she imagined this would motivate the Arabs to help extricate the US from Iraq.
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Currently she's here, and meeting with various officials. More arm-twisting. Her goal while in Israel is to get Olmert to make more concessions to strengthen Abbas and advance peace. Or, as one official put it, to move to the next level, which, we've been told, means that Washington is eager to expand the range of things discussed between Olmert and Abbas. Explained an Israeli official, They're more than testing the waters. The Americans are trying to see how much they can expand the envelope of political horizon.Not surprisingly, the US government has been very pleased with recent Israeli government indications of a willingness to pull out of major parts of Judea and Samaria. Now it's a question of just how far Olmert will go.
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I'm waiting, and will wait a very long time, for balanced arm-twisting, with Rice insisting that Abbas has to really dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and stop incitement.
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Said President Shimon Peres today: When Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region she brings hope and freshness, this time more than ever. He declared that because of Rice we are now closer to peace with the Palestinians than ever.
If this weren't so terribly pathetic, it would be funny. A quintessential alternate universe statement that shows total lack of awareness of what's happening on the ground. When Rice arrives in the region, my blood pressure goes up several points.
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Remember all of the material and data that Hamas seized from Fatah in Gaza when they took over? It was inevitable that this would be used to weaken Fatah, and, while it has taken time, indeed, the process is under way.
Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar has just released to the Arabic press evidence of the corruption of the PA under Fatah. There will be more to follow, but the documents released now primarily show bribes, payoffs and similar improper use of funds authorized by Yasser Arafat from 1994 - 2004. There was $40,000 given to a Fatah official for his son's wedding, artwork worth $66,000 given to someone in Paris, etc.
Most damning for the current situation is that fact that some of these improprieties took place while Salaam Fayad, currently PA prime minister, was serving as finance minister under Arafat. Fayad is routinely touted as the cleanest of the PA officials.
Fatah offered two defenses. First, they claimed that the documents were forged. But Arab journalists who were permitted to exam the documents indicated that they seemed quite legitimate, as, I am quite sure they are.
Then a Fatah spokesman charged Hamas with not being able to account for monies it had received. This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, if ever there was one. Even if Hamas is guilty of corruption (and all indications are that Hamas is considerably less corrupt than Fatah), this does not remotely absolve Fatah.
What I'm interested in is how the international community will continue to justify support for a Fatah-run PA in the face of such documentation. This, most certainly, is just the beginning.See my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
OUT of ZION Ministries
A Messianic Ministry Based on Mt Carmel
Address: Apt # 2, 9 Sachlav St, Ramat Almogi, Haifa 34792, ISRAEL.
Tel: 972 4 8245590 Email: kiwi@netvision.net.il Website: www.out-of-zion.com
Shalom, shalom dear Friends, Partners and Intercessors.................................................
Josie and I have something that we believe to be very important to share with you all
It is not our normal practise to make appeals for finances. Praise the Lord, that through some of you making regular support donations, He provides for our monthly family needs and ministry expenses. We are deeply grateful for this of course as it enables us to fulfill what the Lord has called us to be and to do.
However this email is an appeal for finances, but not for ourselves. We dont want to tell you what or to where you should give, but we do believe it is scriptually correct to make offerings to Israel. Romans 15:27 For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. (NKJ) and of course Genesis 12:3 is relevant also. Would you please prayerfully consider assisting one of the following projects that are close to our hearts, particularly if you are not already blessing our ministry or any other ministries here in Israel.
Below you will read about 3 very different projects that are in need of your prayers and financial input. They are known to us personally and we can vouch for their integrity.
If you feel led to partner with Pastor Leon in this outreach please email me & I will send you more details - David
Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days
FSM Editors - Author: The Editors
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 30, 2007
Veteran Israeli Intelligence expert, Juval Aviv, said in recent media interviews that his sources on terror plots directed at the United States indicate that multiple attacks on our homeland are in the final stages of preparation. Read the details.
Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv met recently with reporters at Fox News and revealed information, which he believes is accurate, concerning an imminent Al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously. I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most, said Mr. Aviv.Mr. Aviv knows of that which he speaks. He is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security. He is best known as the source of the 1984 book, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, on which Steven Spielberg's film Munich was based. He is also the author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide: How to Travel, Work and Live in Safety (2003); and Staying Safe: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business (2004).
Currently, Aviv is the president of Interfor, Inc., a corporate investigations firm in New York City.So it is clear that Aviv has the background and experience in global terror and its operating methods to warrant taking his current warnings seriously. It would be foolish to ignore or minimize this counterterrorism veteran’s expert prognosis. Mr. Aviv told Fox that, from what his sources have been relating, sleeper cells that already have been placed inside the continental United States are on the verge of carrying out major attacks.What they’re going to do, he explained, is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going [to] get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York.
While this prediction leaves most Americans feeling helpless, fearful and frustrated, Juval Aviv recommends that we at least do what we can. He suggests that for the next few months, if we are traveling by public transportation, we should equip ourselves with a bottle of water, a hand towel and a flashlight. He reminds us that many fatalities in the London tube and Madrid train attacks occurred from victims who breathed in the lethal fumes from bomb components and burning gasoline. Had these people had wet towels to cover their mouths and noses, they would have had a much better chance of survival.
Mr. Aviv is a very strong proponent of If you See Something – Say Something school of preparedness. He stated that a great number of potentially lethal terror attacks in Israel have been – and still are – thwarted by the intelligent actions on the part of alert, aware and watchful citizens.Americans must do the same, he advises. The global war on terror is not somewhere over there in the Middle East. It is here on our own soil. If ever there were a time to be especially vigilant, the time is now. Let us hope and pray that these vicious enemies and their depraved plans against our citizens and our country, which come out of a wicked ideological brew, will be forestalled and prevented, and the perpetrators apprehended. So far, our law enforcement, military, counter-terrorism and intelligence personnel have done a stellar job. At the same time, and as we all know, we have to be lucky 100% of the time, and the terrorists have to be lucky only once. So stay alert…stay away from crowds…and if you see something, say something! You could save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
RUSSIAS NEW ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Joseph's Tomb synagogue destroyed by Israeli forces
Prime Minister Olmert orders razing of structure built so Jews can pray at Judaism's 3rd holiest site - July 31, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – Security forces acting on orders from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday destroyed a synagogue used by Jews to worship near Joseph's Tomb, Judaism's third holiest site and the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph – the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became the viceroy of Egypt. Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which granted nearby strategic territory to the Palestinians, Joseph's Tomb was supposed to be accessible to Jews and Christians. But following repeated attacks against Jewish worshippers at the holy site by gunmen associated with then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat's militias, Prime Minister Ehud Barak in October 2000 ordered an Israeli unilateral retreat from the area.
The tomb is located near the modern day West Bank city of Nablus, or biblical Shechem. Currently, Jewish pilgrimage to Joseph's Tomb is legal only several times per year in convoys protected by the Israel Defense Forces. Still, some Jews regularly attempt clandestine visits to the holy site. Jewish students last year built a structure on the West Bank's Mount Gerizim, which is just outside the tomb area. The structure was used as a synagogue and was constructed on the Mount so Jews can pray and study Torah as close to the tomb site as possible. Dozens of Jewish students congregated daily at the makeshift synagogue. But Olmert's office and Israeli government officials deemed the structure – which they refused to call a synagogue – illegal since it was built without a government permit. Building at Joseph's Tomb site after Palestinian Authority took control in 2000.
Yesterday, under direct orders from Olmert, the Israel Civil Lands Administration destroyed the structure. Just before the synagogue was bulldozed, one Jewish student told the Israel National News website, If the synagogue is destroyed, it will be rebuilt.Olmert's decision to single out for demolition the synagogue near Judaism's third holiest site has been called into question by religious leaders here. While Jewish construction projects deemed illegal in Jewish cities in the West Bank is regularly bulldozed by the government, Olmert's office has taken no action against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in illegal outposts in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
WND previously exposed the Israeli government has allowed Palestinians and the United Nations to build illegally on hundreds of acres of Jewish-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by the Jewish National Fund, a U.S.-based Jewish organization, using Jewish donors funds solicited for the purpose of Jewish settlement. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live on the Jewish-owned Jerusalem land, which was recently isolated from Jewish sections of Jerusalem by Israel's security barrier.
Yeshiva at third holiest site turned into mosque
The Torah describes how Jacob purchased a land plot in Shechem, which was given as inheritance to his sons and was used to re-inter Joseph, whose bones were taken out of Egypt during the Jewish exodus. Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are also said to be buried at the site. As detailed in the Torah, shortly before his death, Joseph asked the Israelites to vow they would resettle his bones in the land of Canaan – biblical Israel. That oath was fulfilled when, according to the Torah, Joseph's remains were taken by the Jews from Egypt and reburied at the plot of land Jacob had earlier purchased in Shechem, believed to be the site of the tomb. Modern archeologists confirm Nablus is the biblical city of Shechem
Yehuda Leibman, who until the Israeli retreat from Joseph's Tomb in 2000 was director of a yeshiva constructed there, explained, The sages tell us that there are three places which the world cannot claim were stolen by the Jewish people: the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Joseph's Tomb.There is evidence suggesting for more than 1,000 years Jews of various origins worshipped at Joseph's Tomb. The Samaritans, a local tribe that follow a religion based on the Torah, say they trace their lineage back to Joseph himself and that they worshipped at the tomb site for more than 1,700 years. Israel first gained control of Nablus and the neighboring site of Joseph's Tomb in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Oslo Accords signed by Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called for the area surrounding the tomb site to be placed under Palestinian jurisdiction but allowed for continued Jewish visits to the site and the construction of an Israeli military outpost at the tomb to ensure secure Jewish access.
Following the transfer of control of Nablus and the general area encompassing the tomb to the Palestinians in the early 1990s, there were a series of outbreaks of violence in which Arab rioters and gunmen from Arafat's Fatah militias shot at Jewish worshipers and the tomb's military outpost. Six Israeli soldiers were killed and many others, including yeshiva students, were wounded in September 1996 when Palestinian rioters and Fatah gunmen attempted to over take the tomb. Eventually, Israeli soldiers regained control of the site. The Palestinians continued to attack Joseph's Tomb with regular shootings and the lobbing of firebombs and Molotov cocktails. Security for Jews at the site increasingly became more difficult to maintain. Rumors circulated in 2000 that Barak would evacuate the Israeli military outpost and give the tomb to Arafat as a peacemaking gesture. In early 2000, the Israeli army began denying Jewish visits to the tomb on certain days due to prospects of Arab violence.
Following U.S. mediated peace talks at Camp David in September 2000, Arafat returned to the West Bank and initiated his intifada. During one bloody week in October 2000, Fatah gunmen attacked the tomb repeatedly, killing two and injuring dozens, prompting Barak to order a complete evacuation of Judaism's third holiest site on Oct. 6. Gravestone at traditional burial site for biblical patriarch Joseph after it was ransacked by Palestinian mobs. Within less than an hour of the Israeli retreat, Palestinian rioters overtook Joseph's Tomb and reportedly began to ransack the site. Palestinian mobs reportedly tore apart books, destroying prayer stands and grinding out stone carvings in the Tomb's interior.
Palestinians hoisted a Muslim flag over the tomb. Amin Maqbul, an official from Arafat's office, visited the tomb to deliver a speech declaring, Today was the first step to liberate (Jerusalem). One BBC reporter described the scene: The site was reduced to smoldering rubble – festooned with Palestinian and Islamic flags – cheering Arab crowd. Palestinians on Oct. 10 began construction of a mosque on the rubble of the tomb's adjacent yeshiva compound. Workers painted the dome of the compound green, the Islamic color. In a WND exclusive interview, Tariq Tarawi, a Fatah lawmaker who in 2000 served as chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group in the vicinity of the tomb, said the Palestinians would never allow Israel to rebuild a yeshiva or synagogue at Joseph's Tomb. The Brigades carried out most of the attacks against the tomb site. A yeshiva is an institution, said Tarawi. An institution can be the beginning of claiming rights and these claims can bring once again the Israeli army to establish a base in the place, and we can not accept this. If the Jews try to build a yeshiva, we will shoot at them.
Olmert looking at Jordan troops for West Bank: report Mon Jul 30, 3:51 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in favour of Jordanian forces deploying in the occupied West Bank to help Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas fight extremists, a report said on Monday. What Olmert has in mind and what has been raised in recent meetings with Jordan's King Abdullah II... (is) regular Jordanian army troops, Bedouin who have experience fighting terrorism, said the English-language Jerusalem Post, citing unnamed sources.Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin dismissed the report, calling it speculation.
But she said that Olmert is not opposed to the idea of deployment of foreign troops, including from Arab countries, in the West Bank with a view to combating the terrorists of Hamas.The Islamist Hamas overran troops loyal to the moderate Abbas in the Gaza Strip on June 15, splitting the Palestinians into two separate entities, with the Western-backed president ruling over the West Bank and the Western-shunned Islamists in control of Gaza.Following the takeover, Israel has taken several steps aimed at bolstering Abbas in the West Bank and isolating Hamas, which does not recognise the Jewish state.Israeli media reports in recent months have speculated Jordan's Badr Brigade, made up of 1,500 to 2,000 Palestinians who receive their salaries from the Palestine Liberation Organisation, would be deployed in the West Bank.But Olmert is leaning toward the regular Jordanian troops instead, the Post said.
Visiting Spanish minister sees will to end crisis in Lebanon
By Rym Ghazal Daily Star staff - Tuesday, July 31, 2007
BEIRUT: Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos ended his two-day visit to Lebanon and traveled to Damascus on Monday, as Spain added its efforts to those of the French in trying to resolve Lebanon's nine-month-old political deadlock. There is a Lebanese will to end the crisis, Moratinos told reporters on Monday after his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.Following in the footsteps of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Moratinos met with leading Lebanese politicians before heading to Syria later in the day on Monday.Syria is part of the solution and is part of the problem in Lebanon, Moratinos said.Moratinos is expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and other senior Syrian officials after pledging in Lebanon to help the Lebanese bring an end to the crisis.
During his two-day visit here, Moratinos also met with Hizbullah number two Sheikh Naim Qassem, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, former President Amin Gemayel, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki.Moratinos came to Lebanon to inquire about the Lebanese situation and help better understand the means of finding solutions to the ongoing political crisis, Geagea told reporters after meeting with Moratinos.The same sentiments were echoed by Gemayel, who added that hopefully there are no fears of a new civil war in Lebanon because of Syrian and Iranian interference.http://www.dailystar.com.lb
The Lebanese are committed to finding a solution, he said. At the same time, Zaki requested from Moratinos European support for the rebuilding of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, where the Lebanese Army has been battling militants of Fatah al-Islam for more than two months.It is critical to assist the displaced refugees from the camp with monetary and practical support for the rebuilding of the camp, to allow the displaced to return home as soon as possible, said Zaki.In return, Moratinos expressed his understanding for the Palestinians' plight and said he would try his best to garner European support for the displaced.
In addition to meeting with local politicians, Moratinos also visited the Spanish contingent of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), based in South Lebanon.On Sunday, Moratinos said Spain was strongly engaged both politically and militarily in Lebanon through its contribution to UNIFIL.He said his country had paid a heavy price with the death of six of its soldiers in a car-bomb attack in the South last month, but that it would continue to assume its responsibilities.The six members of the Spanish contingent were killed on June 24 when a booby-trapped car exploded as their armored personnel carrier passed. Under UN Resolution 1701, which ended last summer's 34-day war with Israel, more than 13,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in South Lebanon.
Syria condemns US arms deals
31/07/2007 18:02 - (SA)
Damascus - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem condemned the multi-billion-dollar US arms packages for Washington's Arab allies and Israel on Tuesday as dangerous.
We are before an international conference (proposed) by President Bush. He who wants to make peace does not start out with an arms initiative which is dangerous for the region, Muallem said in reference to the US administration. He who wishes to see a level playing field cannot be partial to one party and isolate another. He has to win the confidence of all the parties concerned, the minister added. Muallem's comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates kicked off a regional tour in Egypt seeking to unite Arab allies.
Their visit was preceded by announcements of military packages for key Arab allies and Israel. The pacts are worth $20bn for Saudi Arabia, $13bn for Egypt and $30bn for Israel. Muallem said the move to boost Israeli defence aid by 25 % shows that the United States continues to seek to apply its policy of constructive chaos in the Middle East.
Guarantees of success
US President George W Bush proposed on July 16 holding an international conference on the Middle East peace process, which is expected to be held in September. Muallem said that this proposal needed clear objectives and guarantees of success. Syria, for her part, wants security and stability in the region, he said. We will support any serious effort for peace and stability, but we will resist every effort to liquidate the Palestinian cause, he added following talks with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Judicial Watch seeks access to meetings of Security and Prosperity Partnership meetings in August - Chad Groening - OneNewsNow.com - July 31, 2007
The public-interest group Judicial Watch has filed a notice with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez that it wants to attend the upcoming meetings of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in Canada. The group, which investigates and prosecutes government corruption, believes the American people have a right to know what's going on inside what it describes as a shadowy organization. The August 20-21 meetings will be conducted in Montebello, Quebec, Canada, by the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), which is the business arm of the SPP. According to Judicial Watch (JW) spokesman Chris Farrell, his group notified the Commerce Secretary that they are seeking access to the records of the NACC and want to attend its meetings under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) -- the federal open meetings law.
We want to be there, attend [the meetings], take notes, see what's going on -- because essentially they've been operating in secret, Farrell charges. They're all documents that are produced after the fact, but we're not sure that they're full, complete, or accurate; nor have we been privy to the actual meetings themselves, the give-and-take, the conversation, the negotiation that goes on in the meetings.
Farrell says the American public has a right to know what is going on during those meetings. The meetings themselves should be open to the public, he asserts. That's why we put Secretary Gutierrez on notice about: that it is our intention to attend and we need him to abide by the law. These folks need to operate in the sunlight and not in the shadows.
Farrell contends the SPP wants to harmonize rules and regulations and laws among Mexico, Canada, and the United States -- something he believes would have an adverse effect on U.S. sovereignty.[Under the SPP] there's one system, one standard, one regulation, one law, one political entity, the JW spokesman explains. It's much more efficient for them, and they can make a lot more money faster and that's really what's driving this initiative.It goes back to sovereignty, he continues. That undermines or calls into question what the United States stands for and who and what we are as a nation.Judicial Watch has requested confirmation of their admittance -- and that of the general public -- to the meetings in Quebec by Friday, August 3. Farrell explains that his group is prepared to go to court in order to have access to those meetings.
JW's request for the NACC's records -- reports, transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, etc. -- seeks those records in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.American Family News Network.
Jul 31 2007 6:20PM
IAEA faces nuclear dilemma
By Jean-Michel Stoullig, AFP
VIENNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has celebrated its 50th anniversary as it continues to face the dilemma of preventing the spread of nuclear technology for military purposes while condoning it for civilian purposes.In a congratulatory note to IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei posted on the agency’s website, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: the IAEA has strived to accelerate and expand its contributions to security and development. I applaud the ceaseless efforts made by the IAEA towards this end.Pope Benedict XVI also praised the UN watchdog’s work: now more than ever, (it is) current and urgent to encourage the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote progressive and negotiated nuclear disarmament and to favour the peaceful and secure use of nuclear technology for the good of people and the environment.The Vienna-based IAEA, which counts 139 member states, was set up in 1957 to ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy.It monitors compliance with the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has carried out verification missions in over 70 countries.In 2005, ElBaradei and the IAEA received a Nobel Peace Prize for their work.
But the agency faces a fundamental dilemma as voiced by IAEA Deputy Director General David Waller in a recent speech: On the one hand to develop and facilitate the application of those promising beneficial applications of nuclear technology, and, on the other, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.The West, especially the United States, suspects Iran for instance of seeking nuclear bombs under the cover of a civilian nuclear power programme and the UN Security Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions on Tehran to get it to suspend enrichment of uranium, a potential material for atom bombs.Iraq, an NPT signatory state, also developed a secret nuclear weapons programme under Saddam Hussein, Waller pointed out in his speech.
But the IAEA scored some successes in 2003 when Libya decided to abandon its nuclear weapons programme and this month when North Korea welcomed agency inspectors back into the country for the first time since December 2002 to monitor the shutdown of its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.Besides the five acknowledged nuclear powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - four other countries have or are believed to have nuclear weapons: India, Israel and Pakistan, which have not signed the NPT, and North Korea.ElBaradei was keen to point out at a conference in South Korea earlier this month however that the IAEA also carries out work in other areas, such as in agriculture and health, using radiation to develop new crop varieties and eliminate insect pests like the tsetse fly.The agency also monitors some 437 nuclear power reactors in 30 countries, which supply about 15.2 percent of the world’s electricity, he said.Special events and exhibits were organised in the run-up to the anniversary but the day itself was celebrated without pomp and circumstance.
Iran biggest threat to Mid-East JULY 31,07
Ms Rice says Iran, not the US is the region's main problem US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned that Iran poses the biggest threat to US Middle East interests, as she begins a major regional tour. Ms Rice and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates are meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arab ministers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The tour is aimed at uniting US allies against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. It is also trying to win support for a Mid-East peace conference planned for later this year, correspondents say.
Iran spurs US move
Ms Rice held talks with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and Rice their said discussions included the situations in Iraq and Lebanon, and the prospects for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Ms Rice said the US was making sure its allies in the region were well protected after Iran accused the US of trying to spread fear and mistrust. The United States is determined to assure our allies that we are going to be reliable in helping them to meet their security needs. We have a lot of interests in common in this region: in the fight against terrorism and extremism; in protecting the gains of peace processes of the past and in extending those gains to peace processes of the future, she said. Earlier, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini accused the US of tarnishing good relations between countries in the region.
Iran's nuclear programme and influence among Shia Muslim militant groups have long been sources of US concern. During a stopover in Shannon, Ireland, Ms Rice told reporters: There isn't a doubt, I think, that Iran constitutes the single most important, single-country challenge to... US interests in the Middle East and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see.The trip is the two officials' first joint tour of the region. They will visit Egypt and Saudi Arabia together, and other countries separately.
Mr Gates told reporters travelling with him that US officials wanted to reassure all of the countries that the policies that (US President George W Bush) pursues in Iraq have had and will continue to have regional stability and security as a very high priority.
Congressional opposition
The meetings come after Washington confirmed plans for a massive arms deal for the region. The main beneficiaries of the deals are Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The $30bn aid to Israel over 10 years represents a 25% increase from present levels.
US ARMS DEAL BENEFICIARIES
Israel - $30bn
Egypt - $13bn
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and UAE - to share $20bn
The Jewish state said the package would allow it to maintain its military qualitative edge in the region. The sale of satellite-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, the first such sale to any Arab country, is thought to be part of the proposed $20bn arms deal with the kingdom and other Gulf states - the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. During their lobbying tour of the region, Ms Rice and Mr Gates are expected to ask Saudi King Abdullah to do more to support the Iraqi government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, has gone as far as accusing Saudi Arabia of undermining efforts to stabilise Iraq. The weapons deals need to be approved by Congress, and appear set to encounter opposition. Two Democratic congressmen, Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler of New York, said at the weekend they would introduce legislation to block military aid to Saudi Arabia.
RUSSIA'S NEW ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(DENVER, COLORADO, July 31, 2007) -- Russia and Iran continue to strengthen their military ties, while Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to draw closer as strategic allies.
In December 2005, Russia sold Iran $1 billion worth of missiles, after years of selling submarines and other advanced weapons systems to the radical Islamic regime. The latest reports indicate that Russia plans to sell 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets to Iran in an unprecedented billion-dollar deal. What's more, the Jerusalem Post indicates that in addition to the fighter jets, Teheran also plans to purchase a number of aerial fuel tankers that are compatible with the Sukhoi and capable of extending its range by thousands of kilometers. Israeli defense officials say the deal will give the radical Iranian regime enhanced long-range offensive capabilities.
The U.S., meanwhile, has offered Israel some $30 billion in new weapons over the next ten years, an increase in military aid from $2.4 billion to $3 billion a year. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says the U.S. is also offering military aid packages to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and several Gulf states (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) to bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran she said. Israeli officials, however, are concerned by the U.S. offer of $20 billion in weapons to the Saudis. They note that should there be an overthrow of the current Saudi regime, such advanced weaponry could fall into the hands of radical Islamic jihadists.
Russia's arms sales to Iran should raise alarms inside the White House and among Congressional leaders. Russia under Putin's leadership has joined the Axis of Evil, selling dangerous weapons systems not just to Iran but to North Korea in recent years as well. But is something else happening, too?
As we explain in the new Epicenter DVD, a growing number of evangelicals are concerned that the intensifying military and political alliance between Russia and Iran could be a sign of the approaching fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39, what Bible scholars describe as the War of Gog and Magog. After all Ezekiel 36-37 foretold the rebirth of the State of Israel in the last days, the Jewish people returning to the Holy Land after centuries of exile, and the rebuilding of the ancient ruins in the Promised Land. Sure enough, all of this has come true in the past six decades, thus raising the possibility that Ezekiel 38-39 could come true in our lifetime as well.
Let me be clear: I believe it is too soon to draw such a definitive conclusion that the fulfillment of these prophecies are immiment. Still, it is true that until now, Russia and Iran have not had an alliance of the sort the Bible foretold in the 2,500 years since Ezekiel wrote the prophecies. It is also true that this alliance is heating up quite quickly now. It is not surprising, therefore, that interest in these prophecies are growing. It's a story worth watching closely.
Joseph's Tomb synagogue destroyed by Israeli forces
Prime Minister Olmert orders razing of structure built so Jews can pray at Judaism's 3rd holiest site - July 31, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – Security forces acting on orders from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday destroyed a synagogue used by Jews to worship near Joseph's Tomb, Judaism's third holiest site and the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph – the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became the viceroy of Egypt. Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which granted nearby strategic territory to the Palestinians, Joseph's Tomb was supposed to be accessible to Jews and Christians. But following repeated attacks against Jewish worshippers at the holy site by gunmen associated with then-PLO leader Yasser Arafat's militias, Prime Minister Ehud Barak in October 2000 ordered an Israeli unilateral retreat from the area.
The tomb is located near the modern day West Bank city of Nablus, or biblical Shechem. Currently, Jewish pilgrimage to Joseph's Tomb is legal only several times per year in convoys protected by the Israel Defense Forces. Still, some Jews regularly attempt clandestine visits to the holy site. Jewish students last year built a structure on the West Bank's Mount Gerizim, which is just outside the tomb area. The structure was used as a synagogue and was constructed on the Mount so Jews can pray and study Torah as close to the tomb site as possible. Dozens of Jewish students congregated daily at the makeshift synagogue. But Olmert's office and Israeli government officials deemed the structure – which they refused to call a synagogue – illegal since it was built without a government permit. Building at Joseph's Tomb site after Palestinian Authority took control in 2000.
Yesterday, under direct orders from Olmert, the Israel Civil Lands Administration destroyed the structure. Just before the synagogue was bulldozed, one Jewish student told the Israel National News website, If the synagogue is destroyed, it will be rebuilt.Olmert's decision to single out for demolition the synagogue near Judaism's third holiest site has been called into question by religious leaders here. While Jewish construction projects deemed illegal in Jewish cities in the West Bank is regularly bulldozed by the government, Olmert's office has taken no action against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in illegal outposts in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
WND previously exposed the Israeli government has allowed Palestinians and the United Nations to build illegally on hundreds of acres of Jewish-owned lands in Jerusalem purchased by the Jewish National Fund, a U.S.-based Jewish organization, using Jewish donors funds solicited for the purpose of Jewish settlement. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live on the Jewish-owned Jerusalem land, which was recently isolated from Jewish sections of Jerusalem by Israel's security barrier.
Yeshiva at third holiest site turned into mosque
The Torah describes how Jacob purchased a land plot in Shechem, which was given as inheritance to his sons and was used to re-inter Joseph, whose bones were taken out of Egypt during the Jewish exodus. Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are also said to be buried at the site. As detailed in the Torah, shortly before his death, Joseph asked the Israelites to vow they would resettle his bones in the land of Canaan – biblical Israel. That oath was fulfilled when, according to the Torah, Joseph's remains were taken by the Jews from Egypt and reburied at the plot of land Jacob had earlier purchased in Shechem, believed to be the site of the tomb. Modern archeologists confirm Nablus is the biblical city of Shechem
Yehuda Leibman, who until the Israeli retreat from Joseph's Tomb in 2000 was director of a yeshiva constructed there, explained, The sages tell us that there are three places which the world cannot claim were stolen by the Jewish people: the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Joseph's Tomb.There is evidence suggesting for more than 1,000 years Jews of various origins worshipped at Joseph's Tomb. The Samaritans, a local tribe that follow a religion based on the Torah, say they trace their lineage back to Joseph himself and that they worshipped at the tomb site for more than 1,700 years. Israel first gained control of Nablus and the neighboring site of Joseph's Tomb in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Oslo Accords signed by Arafat and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin called for the area surrounding the tomb site to be placed under Palestinian jurisdiction but allowed for continued Jewish visits to the site and the construction of an Israeli military outpost at the tomb to ensure secure Jewish access.
Following the transfer of control of Nablus and the general area encompassing the tomb to the Palestinians in the early 1990s, there were a series of outbreaks of violence in which Arab rioters and gunmen from Arafat's Fatah militias shot at Jewish worshipers and the tomb's military outpost. Six Israeli soldiers were killed and many others, including yeshiva students, were wounded in September 1996 when Palestinian rioters and Fatah gunmen attempted to over take the tomb. Eventually, Israeli soldiers regained control of the site. The Palestinians continued to attack Joseph's Tomb with regular shootings and the lobbing of firebombs and Molotov cocktails. Security for Jews at the site increasingly became more difficult to maintain. Rumors circulated in 2000 that Barak would evacuate the Israeli military outpost and give the tomb to Arafat as a peacemaking gesture. In early 2000, the Israeli army began denying Jewish visits to the tomb on certain days due to prospects of Arab violence.
Following U.S. mediated peace talks at Camp David in September 2000, Arafat returned to the West Bank and initiated his intifada. During one bloody week in October 2000, Fatah gunmen attacked the tomb repeatedly, killing two and injuring dozens, prompting Barak to order a complete evacuation of Judaism's third holiest site on Oct. 6. Gravestone at traditional burial site for biblical patriarch Joseph after it was ransacked by Palestinian mobs. Within less than an hour of the Israeli retreat, Palestinian rioters overtook Joseph's Tomb and reportedly began to ransack the site. Palestinian mobs reportedly tore apart books, destroying prayer stands and grinding out stone carvings in the Tomb's interior.
Palestinians hoisted a Muslim flag over the tomb. Amin Maqbul, an official from Arafat's office, visited the tomb to deliver a speech declaring, Today was the first step to liberate (Jerusalem). One BBC reporter described the scene: The site was reduced to smoldering rubble – festooned with Palestinian and Islamic flags – cheering Arab crowd. Palestinians on Oct. 10 began construction of a mosque on the rubble of the tomb's adjacent yeshiva compound. Workers painted the dome of the compound green, the Islamic color. In a WND exclusive interview, Tariq Tarawi, a Fatah lawmaker who in 2000 served as chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group in the vicinity of the tomb, said the Palestinians would never allow Israel to rebuild a yeshiva or synagogue at Joseph's Tomb. The Brigades carried out most of the attacks against the tomb site. A yeshiva is an institution, said Tarawi. An institution can be the beginning of claiming rights and these claims can bring once again the Israeli army to establish a base in the place, and we can not accept this. If the Jews try to build a yeshiva, we will shoot at them.
Olmert looking at Jordan troops for West Bank: report Mon Jul 30, 3:51 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in favour of Jordanian forces deploying in the occupied West Bank to help Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas fight extremists, a report said on Monday. What Olmert has in mind and what has been raised in recent meetings with Jordan's King Abdullah II... (is) regular Jordanian army troops, Bedouin who have experience fighting terrorism, said the English-language Jerusalem Post, citing unnamed sources.Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin dismissed the report, calling it speculation.
But she said that Olmert is not opposed to the idea of deployment of foreign troops, including from Arab countries, in the West Bank with a view to combating the terrorists of Hamas.The Islamist Hamas overran troops loyal to the moderate Abbas in the Gaza Strip on June 15, splitting the Palestinians into two separate entities, with the Western-backed president ruling over the West Bank and the Western-shunned Islamists in control of Gaza.Following the takeover, Israel has taken several steps aimed at bolstering Abbas in the West Bank and isolating Hamas, which does not recognise the Jewish state.Israeli media reports in recent months have speculated Jordan's Badr Brigade, made up of 1,500 to 2,000 Palestinians who receive their salaries from the Palestine Liberation Organisation, would be deployed in the West Bank.But Olmert is leaning toward the regular Jordanian troops instead, the Post said.
Visiting Spanish minister sees will to end crisis in Lebanon
By Rym Ghazal Daily Star staff - Tuesday, July 31, 2007
BEIRUT: Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos ended his two-day visit to Lebanon and traveled to Damascus on Monday, as Spain added its efforts to those of the French in trying to resolve Lebanon's nine-month-old political deadlock. There is a Lebanese will to end the crisis, Moratinos told reporters on Monday after his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.Following in the footsteps of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Moratinos met with leading Lebanese politicians before heading to Syria later in the day on Monday.Syria is part of the solution and is part of the problem in Lebanon, Moratinos said.Moratinos is expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad and other senior Syrian officials after pledging in Lebanon to help the Lebanese bring an end to the crisis.
During his two-day visit here, Moratinos also met with Hizbullah number two Sheikh Naim Qassem, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, former President Amin Gemayel, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki.Moratinos came to Lebanon to inquire about the Lebanese situation and help better understand the means of finding solutions to the ongoing political crisis, Geagea told reporters after meeting with Moratinos.The same sentiments were echoed by Gemayel, who added that hopefully there are no fears of a new civil war in Lebanon because of Syrian and Iranian interference.http://www.dailystar.com.lb
The Lebanese are committed to finding a solution, he said. At the same time, Zaki requested from Moratinos European support for the rebuilding of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, where the Lebanese Army has been battling militants of Fatah al-Islam for more than two months.It is critical to assist the displaced refugees from the camp with monetary and practical support for the rebuilding of the camp, to allow the displaced to return home as soon as possible, said Zaki.In return, Moratinos expressed his understanding for the Palestinians' plight and said he would try his best to garner European support for the displaced.
In addition to meeting with local politicians, Moratinos also visited the Spanish contingent of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), based in South Lebanon.On Sunday, Moratinos said Spain was strongly engaged both politically and militarily in Lebanon through its contribution to UNIFIL.He said his country had paid a heavy price with the death of six of its soldiers in a car-bomb attack in the South last month, but that it would continue to assume its responsibilities.The six members of the Spanish contingent were killed on June 24 when a booby-trapped car exploded as their armored personnel carrier passed. Under UN Resolution 1701, which ended last summer's 34-day war with Israel, more than 13,000 peacekeepers have been deployed in South Lebanon.
Syria condemns US arms deals
31/07/2007 18:02 - (SA)
Damascus - Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem condemned the multi-billion-dollar US arms packages for Washington's Arab allies and Israel on Tuesday as dangerous.
We are before an international conference (proposed) by President Bush. He who wants to make peace does not start out with an arms initiative which is dangerous for the region, Muallem said in reference to the US administration. He who wishes to see a level playing field cannot be partial to one party and isolate another. He has to win the confidence of all the parties concerned, the minister added. Muallem's comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates kicked off a regional tour in Egypt seeking to unite Arab allies.
Their visit was preceded by announcements of military packages for key Arab allies and Israel. The pacts are worth $20bn for Saudi Arabia, $13bn for Egypt and $30bn for Israel. Muallem said the move to boost Israeli defence aid by 25 % shows that the United States continues to seek to apply its policy of constructive chaos in the Middle East.
Guarantees of success
US President George W Bush proposed on July 16 holding an international conference on the Middle East peace process, which is expected to be held in September. Muallem said that this proposal needed clear objectives and guarantees of success. Syria, for her part, wants security and stability in the region, he said. We will support any serious effort for peace and stability, but we will resist every effort to liquidate the Palestinian cause, he added following talks with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Judicial Watch seeks access to meetings of Security and Prosperity Partnership meetings in August - Chad Groening - OneNewsNow.com - July 31, 2007
The public-interest group Judicial Watch has filed a notice with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez that it wants to attend the upcoming meetings of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in Canada. The group, which investigates and prosecutes government corruption, believes the American people have a right to know what's going on inside what it describes as a shadowy organization. The August 20-21 meetings will be conducted in Montebello, Quebec, Canada, by the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), which is the business arm of the SPP. According to Judicial Watch (JW) spokesman Chris Farrell, his group notified the Commerce Secretary that they are seeking access to the records of the NACC and want to attend its meetings under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) -- the federal open meetings law.
We want to be there, attend [the meetings], take notes, see what's going on -- because essentially they've been operating in secret, Farrell charges. They're all documents that are produced after the fact, but we're not sure that they're full, complete, or accurate; nor have we been privy to the actual meetings themselves, the give-and-take, the conversation, the negotiation that goes on in the meetings.
Farrell says the American public has a right to know what is going on during those meetings. The meetings themselves should be open to the public, he asserts. That's why we put Secretary Gutierrez on notice about: that it is our intention to attend and we need him to abide by the law. These folks need to operate in the sunlight and not in the shadows.
Farrell contends the SPP wants to harmonize rules and regulations and laws among Mexico, Canada, and the United States -- something he believes would have an adverse effect on U.S. sovereignty.[Under the SPP] there's one system, one standard, one regulation, one law, one political entity, the JW spokesman explains. It's much more efficient for them, and they can make a lot more money faster and that's really what's driving this initiative.It goes back to sovereignty, he continues. That undermines or calls into question what the United States stands for and who and what we are as a nation.Judicial Watch has requested confirmation of their admittance -- and that of the general public -- to the meetings in Quebec by Friday, August 3. Farrell explains that his group is prepared to go to court in order to have access to those meetings.
JW's request for the NACC's records -- reports, transcripts, minutes, appendixes, working papers, drafts, studies, agenda, etc. -- seeks those records in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.American Family News Network.
Jul 31 2007 6:20PM
IAEA faces nuclear dilemma
By Jean-Michel Stoullig, AFP
VIENNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has celebrated its 50th anniversary as it continues to face the dilemma of preventing the spread of nuclear technology for military purposes while condoning it for civilian purposes.In a congratulatory note to IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei posted on the agency’s website, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: the IAEA has strived to accelerate and expand its contributions to security and development. I applaud the ceaseless efforts made by the IAEA towards this end.Pope Benedict XVI also praised the UN watchdog’s work: now more than ever, (it is) current and urgent to encourage the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote progressive and negotiated nuclear disarmament and to favour the peaceful and secure use of nuclear technology for the good of people and the environment.The Vienna-based IAEA, which counts 139 member states, was set up in 1957 to ensure the peaceful use of nuclear energy.It monitors compliance with the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has carried out verification missions in over 70 countries.In 2005, ElBaradei and the IAEA received a Nobel Peace Prize for their work.
But the agency faces a fundamental dilemma as voiced by IAEA Deputy Director General David Waller in a recent speech: On the one hand to develop and facilitate the application of those promising beneficial applications of nuclear technology, and, on the other, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.The West, especially the United States, suspects Iran for instance of seeking nuclear bombs under the cover of a civilian nuclear power programme and the UN Security Council has already imposed two rounds of sanctions on Tehran to get it to suspend enrichment of uranium, a potential material for atom bombs.Iraq, an NPT signatory state, also developed a secret nuclear weapons programme under Saddam Hussein, Waller pointed out in his speech.
But the IAEA scored some successes in 2003 when Libya decided to abandon its nuclear weapons programme and this month when North Korea welcomed agency inspectors back into the country for the first time since December 2002 to monitor the shutdown of its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.Besides the five acknowledged nuclear powers - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - four other countries have or are believed to have nuclear weapons: India, Israel and Pakistan, which have not signed the NPT, and North Korea.ElBaradei was keen to point out at a conference in South Korea earlier this month however that the IAEA also carries out work in other areas, such as in agriculture and health, using radiation to develop new crop varieties and eliminate insect pests like the tsetse fly.The agency also monitors some 437 nuclear power reactors in 30 countries, which supply about 15.2 percent of the world’s electricity, he said.Special events and exhibits were organised in the run-up to the anniversary but the day itself was celebrated without pomp and circumstance.
Iran biggest threat to Mid-East JULY 31,07
Ms Rice says Iran, not the US is the region's main problem US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has warned that Iran poses the biggest threat to US Middle East interests, as she begins a major regional tour. Ms Rice and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates are meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arab ministers at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The tour is aimed at uniting US allies against Iran, Syria and Hezbollah. It is also trying to win support for a Mid-East peace conference planned for later this year, correspondents say.
Iran spurs US move
Ms Rice held talks with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, and Rice their said discussions included the situations in Iraq and Lebanon, and the prospects for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians. Ms Rice said the US was making sure its allies in the region were well protected after Iran accused the US of trying to spread fear and mistrust. The United States is determined to assure our allies that we are going to be reliable in helping them to meet their security needs. We have a lot of interests in common in this region: in the fight against terrorism and extremism; in protecting the gains of peace processes of the past and in extending those gains to peace processes of the future, she said. Earlier, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini accused the US of tarnishing good relations between countries in the region.
Iran's nuclear programme and influence among Shia Muslim militant groups have long been sources of US concern. During a stopover in Shannon, Ireland, Ms Rice told reporters: There isn't a doubt, I think, that Iran constitutes the single most important, single-country challenge to... US interests in the Middle East and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see.The trip is the two officials' first joint tour of the region. They will visit Egypt and Saudi Arabia together, and other countries separately.
Mr Gates told reporters travelling with him that US officials wanted to reassure all of the countries that the policies that (US President George W Bush) pursues in Iraq have had and will continue to have regional stability and security as a very high priority.
Congressional opposition
The meetings come after Washington confirmed plans for a massive arms deal for the region. The main beneficiaries of the deals are Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The $30bn aid to Israel over 10 years represents a 25% increase from present levels.
US ARMS DEAL BENEFICIARIES
Israel - $30bn
Egypt - $13bn
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and UAE - to share $20bn
The Jewish state said the package would allow it to maintain its military qualitative edge in the region. The sale of satellite-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, the first such sale to any Arab country, is thought to be part of the proposed $20bn arms deal with the kingdom and other Gulf states - the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. During their lobbying tour of the region, Ms Rice and Mr Gates are expected to ask Saudi King Abdullah to do more to support the Iraqi government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, has gone as far as accusing Saudi Arabia of undermining efforts to stabilise Iraq. The weapons deals need to be approved by Congress, and appear set to encounter opposition. Two Democratic congressmen, Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler of New York, said at the weekend they would introduce legislation to block military aid to Saudi Arabia.
RUSSIA'S NEW ARMS DEAL WITH IRAN
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(DENVER, COLORADO, July 31, 2007) -- Russia and Iran continue to strengthen their military ties, while Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continue to draw closer as strategic allies.
In December 2005, Russia sold Iran $1 billion worth of missiles, after years of selling submarines and other advanced weapons systems to the radical Islamic regime. The latest reports indicate that Russia plans to sell 250 advanced long-range Sukhoi-30 fighter jets to Iran in an unprecedented billion-dollar deal. What's more, the Jerusalem Post indicates that in addition to the fighter jets, Teheran also plans to purchase a number of aerial fuel tankers that are compatible with the Sukhoi and capable of extending its range by thousands of kilometers. Israeli defense officials say the deal will give the radical Iranian regime enhanced long-range offensive capabilities.
The U.S., meanwhile, has offered Israel some $30 billion in new weapons over the next ten years, an increase in military aid from $2.4 billion to $3 billion a year. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice says the U.S. is also offering military aid packages to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and several Gulf states (the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) to bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran she said. Israeli officials, however, are concerned by the U.S. offer of $20 billion in weapons to the Saudis. They note that should there be an overthrow of the current Saudi regime, such advanced weaponry could fall into the hands of radical Islamic jihadists.
Russia's arms sales to Iran should raise alarms inside the White House and among Congressional leaders. Russia under Putin's leadership has joined the Axis of Evil, selling dangerous weapons systems not just to Iran but to North Korea in recent years as well. But is something else happening, too?
As we explain in the new Epicenter DVD, a growing number of evangelicals are concerned that the intensifying military and political alliance between Russia and Iran could be a sign of the approaching fulfillment of the prophecies found in Ezekiel 38-39, what Bible scholars describe as the War of Gog and Magog. After all Ezekiel 36-37 foretold the rebirth of the State of Israel in the last days, the Jewish people returning to the Holy Land after centuries of exile, and the rebuilding of the ancient ruins in the Promised Land. Sure enough, all of this has come true in the past six decades, thus raising the possibility that Ezekiel 38-39 could come true in our lifetime as well.
Let me be clear: I believe it is too soon to draw such a definitive conclusion that the fulfillment of these prophecies are immiment. Still, it is true that until now, Russia and Iran have not had an alliance of the sort the Bible foretold in the 2,500 years since Ezekiel wrote the prophecies. It is also true that this alliance is heating up quite quickly now. It is not surprising, therefore, that interest in these prophecies are growing. It's a story worth watching closely.
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