Floods swamp central Britain, thousands flee
Total chaos, says one evacuee, cars floating past and even goldfish
Stephen Hird / Reuters
MSNBC News Services JULY 23,07
LONDON - Emergency workers battled rising waters Monday to rescue people trapped by floods that swallowed large swaths of central Britain. Roads were submerged, and tens of thousands of people were left without electricity and drinking water.Among the hardest hit was the medieval market town of Tewkesbury, 110 miles northwest of London, where the cathedral and a few blocks of nearby houses stood like an atoll amid a vast stretch of muddy water.It was just devastation — total chaos, cars floating past, rubbish, all kinds, said John King, a 68-year-old retired firefighter from Tewkesbury who said the flood sounded like a train. "You just can't stop water of that power.He said he saw goldfish swimming in his driveway.
Torrential rains have plagued Britain over the past month — nearly 5 inches fell in some areas on Friday alone — and more downpours were expected until at least Tuesday. Officials warned that the western section of the River Thames — some 80 miles from London — was on the verge of bursting its banks.London itself is protected from flooding in the east by the Thames Barrier, the world's largest moveable flood defense. The barrier closes to seal off part of the upper Thames from the sea. To the west, London is protected by several flood defense measures including the Jubilee River, a 7-mile-long flood diversion channel.People look at me and say I look fine, but inside I'm all churned up, said Sylvia Williams, a 69-year-old widow who was among about 50 elderly people evacuated to a stadium from a retirement community overlooking the River Ock on the outskirts of Oxford.The stadium was stocked with blankets, food and bedding for up to 1,500 people.
The Thames water levels in Oxford were expected to peak at midnight, which could make flooding worse in areas, Britain's Environment Agency said.The agency warned water levels could rise to a critical level, and issued nine severe flood warnings across the country.Cars were submerged and streets turned into canals in flood affected areas. Thousands were forced to leave their homes and businesses.Insurers estimate claims for flood damage from this round of flooding and an earlier round in June could top $4 billion.
350,000 homes see water cut off
The Severn Trent Water company said at least 350,000 homes in Gloucestershire would be without water after flood waters shut down a water treatment plant.The last time Britain saw similar flooding was in 1947, according to the Environment Agency.No deaths have been reported.Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced increased funding for flood and coastal defenses across the country during a tour of the flooded Gloucestershire region, in the west of England.Much of Britain's infrastructure dates back to Victorian times.
It is pretty clear that some of the 19th century structures and infrastructure and where they were sited is something we will have to review, said Brown, who succeeded Tony Blair as prime minister less than a month ago.The monsoon-like rainfall over the past month has severely affected transport and threatened water supplies.In Gloucestershire, some 70,000 people were left without clean drinking water as a result of flooding at water treatment plants and rainwater seeping into treated supplies. Tens of thousands more were at risk of losing fresh water supplies.Some residents lined up for free water at local grocery stores. Others waited for water trucks to distribute water.More than 100 Royal Navy sailors were helping build flood defenses with sandbags and trying to improve the drainage by wading into the water and lifting the manhole covers.More than 2,000 people spent Sunday night in emergency shelters and the Royal Air Force and coast guard helicopters were called in over the weekend to airlift hundreds to safety in one of Britain's largest peacetime rescue operations.
Putin expects quick end to mini-crisis
MOSCOW, July 20 (UPI) -- Russia President Vladimir Putin predicted relations with Britain will develop normally in spite of recent expulsions of diplomats. Putin's tone Thursday night in his first public statement on the diplomatic crisis was far milder than that used by the Russian Foreign Ministry. The British ambassador, Anthony Brenton, was told abruptly that four embassy staff members had 10 days to get out of Russia, the Times of London reported. Russia also banned British officials from visiting and said it won't cooperate in anti-terrorism efforts.
I think that Russian-British relations will develop normally, Putin said in The Times article. On both the Russian side and the British side we are interested in the development of these relations. I'm sure we will overcome this mini-crisis.The crisis stems from the killing of Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent living in London who was poisoned with polonium. Russia has refused to extradite the suspect identified by Scotland Yard, Andrei Lugovoy, also a former KGB officer. Britain responded by expelling Russian diplomats.
MK HaNegbi Stops Short of Calling for War on Hamas
by Hillel Fendel (JULY 22,07 INN)
Two years after Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza, the Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee says war, or something near it, is inevitable.
MK Tzachi HaNegbi (Kadima), a former Public Security Minister, was responding to the words of a widely-quoted senior IDF officer who said that Hamas has become a small army with strong military capabilities. HaNegbi stopped short of calling upon Israel to attack Hamas, but merely said that it was an inevitable development. It's just a matter of time, he said. It will occur sooner or later, either as an Israeli initiative, or following a deterioration of the situation unwanted by both sides.
Hamas Army Growing
The quoted senior officer said on Thursday that Hamas had advanced a generation of late in its military capabilities. He told reporters that the Hamas army now numbers 13,000 fighters, and that it had imported 20 tons of explosives through the Rafiah crossing in the past several weeks. The Hamas arsenal contains Strella shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, which are liable to make air actions difficult, as well as the best weapons there are, the officer said.Nationalist Members of Knesset warned the 2005 Sharon-Mofaz-Olmert government that removing the IDF from the Rafiah crossing would lead to a mass influx of arms into Gaza, but the warnings went unheeded.
The officer said that at least 400 Hamas fighters had left Gaza via Rafiah for training in Iran in recent weeks. On the other hand, since Hamas took over Gaza six weeks ago, Israeli forces had carried out some 50 actions to prevent terrorists from entering Israel; 110 terrorists were killed in these actions, 198 were wounded, and 766 were arrested, including 47 on the wanted list.MK HaNegbi, who has also served as Minister of Justice, Health and the Environment, said that Hamas's strengthening is no secret. He noted that the relative quiet being maintained by Hamas against Israel is designed only to serve its own interests, in order that Israel not respond in kind. He said that Hamas is using this period to train and arm, though he noted that the IDF is also preparing and studying the mistakes it made last year in Lebanon.
Eygpt Ignoring Obligations
HaNegbi said that Egypt has no interest in fulfilling its obligations to prevent smuggling from the Sinai into Gaza via Rafiah, despite the agreement it signed with Israel to this effect when Israel withdrew. Some fears have been raised that war with Hamas could exact heavy IDF casualties and many Kassam rockets at the Negev. Despite the dangers inherent in delayed action against the Hamas military build-up, at least one high-placed military officer says that the most he can recommend at present is an intense attack on various Hamas headquarters and top officials.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Friday that he cannot promise that Israel's border with Gaza will not soon look like Israel's border with Lebanon prior to last summer's war. Despite this, he has no intention of ordering a major ground assault in Gaza. It is felt that the shadow of the Winograd Commission, expected to release a scathing report criticizing Olmert's haste in going to war last year, is a factor in Olmert's hesitation to take the offensive.On Sunday morning, IDF forces shot and killed two Hamas terrorists near a former Jewish community in the northern Gaza Strip. The terrorists were approaching the security border fence and were carrying grenades and guns.
Iran and Syria Forge Military Alliance Against Common Enemies
by Alex Traiman (JULY 22,07 INN)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad held a joint press conference in Damascus Thursday confirming the formation of a new regional military alliance.The enemies of this region should drop their plans to strike the interests of this region, for these enemies will burn by the fire of the people, Ahmadinejad stated. Both countries are united in a frontier facing common enemies to the region.Ahmadinejad warned the unnamed enemies to abandon their hostile plans, stating, Syria and Iran are aspiring for this summer to be hot by virtue of the victories that will be attained by the peoples of the region... and the enemies of the peoples of the region are on their way to perdition and defeat.
As part of the new military alliance, the London-based Arabic paper A-Sharq al-Aussat states, Iran will fund over $1 billion in new defense equipment for Syria including: 400 Russian tanks, 8 Mikoyan helicopters, 8 Sukhoi fighter jets, 18 MiG-31s, Iranian armoured vehicles and tanks, and Chinese C-801/802 missiles.Israel is reportedly skeptical about the deal, though sources say the very meeting itself is of great concern and shows that Assad is not interested in peace.Ahmadinejad reportedly also pledged to help Syria overthrow Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and to aid in the restoration of pro-Syrian influence within the Lebanese parliament. In addition, Iran will fund Syrian research towards the respective establishment and improvement of nuclear and biological weapons programs.
In return, Syria has reportedly pledged not to enter into any diplomatic negotiations with Israel. Tehran will also be permitted to keep Iranian warplanes stationed in Syria.While in Damascus, the two heads of state also reportedly met with Hizbullah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
History Repeats Itself
Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) said the military alliance forged between Iran and Syria is reminiscent of the pacts that were signed on the eve of the Six Day and Yom Kippur wars.The Iranian decision will lead to the launching of an attack on Israel from Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Iran, Eldad stated.
For some reason, the government of Israel chooses to ignore not only intelligence information, but even information that is published for all to see, he added.
Olmert Still Prepared to Negotiate
In an interview with Channel 10 Saturday night, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Kadima) said that Israel was still prepared to negotiate with Syria and abandon the Golan Heights. I don't know what will be at the end of negotiations with Syria. Of course we will have to make concessions, but can I make commitments even before the beginning of negotiations and promise that I will withdraw from the entire Golan Heights? Previously, Syria demanded that Israel commit to a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a precondition to opening talks with Jerusalem.In a separate interview Thursday, when asked how Nasrallah was able to sneak into a meeting between Ahmadinejad and Assad, Olmert responded, No reply I could give would sound the way I'd want it to.
Strategic Alliance Minister: Form Unity Government
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) called for Olmert and Opposition Leader Benyamin Netanyahu (Likud) to form a unity government to deal with the growing Iranian-Syrian threat.The strengthening of the relationship between Assad and Ahmadinejad demands that Israel reorganize its political and military preparations, said Lieberman. The Iranian threat remains outside of politics, and therefore I call on the Prime Minister and the head of the opposition to reconsider forming a national emergency government.
Olmert Reiterates Stance to Give Away Judea and Samaria
by Alex Traiman (JULY 22,07 INN)
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated his belief that Israel needs to withdraw from the biblical Jewish provinces of Judea and Samaria.Speaking at a gathering of farmers in the Jezreel Valley, Olmert maintained that Israel would have to make tough decisions with regard to territorial compromise.According to the Prime Minister, anyone who thinks Israel can continue to hold onto the provinces captured in the defensive Six Day War of 1967 is living in a dream.Everyone understands that the State of Israel can't exist without a guarantee of a Jewish majority, Olmert added.
Although many in Israel believe the question of Jewish majority to be a fundamental problem, recent research suggests otherwise. A major demographic study published in 2005 by Bennett Zimmerman, Roberta Seid and Michael L. Wise revealed that the status of a Jewish majority between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is much more stable than previously reported, with Jews representing at least 60 percent of the total population.The data further suggests that the numbers of Arabs living in Judea and Samaria (commonly referred to as the West Bank) in particular have been grossly overstated.Olmert added in his address that any territorial compromise to giveaway all or parts of Judea and Samaria would not occur unilaterally—as was the withdrawal from Gaza 2005—but rather through a negotiated solution with the Palestinian Authority.
The statements came on the eve following Olmert's release of 255 convicted terrorists serving terms in Israeli prisons, back into the general population of Judea and Samaria, a move which drew the criticism of many throughout the country. Olmert did not demand any information on the whereabouts of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the release of the terrorists, but rather said that letting the terrorists out of jail was a goodwill gesture.
According to the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, there are over 260,000 tax paying Jewish residents living in the region. When including the outlying neighborhoods of Jerusalem, the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria reaches close to half a million.The provinces of Judea and Samaria are also home to many of Judaism's holiest cities including Hevron, Shechem, Beit El, Beit Lechem, and Shiloh. Each of these cities (and others) play key roles in Jewish History as chronicled by the Jewish Bible.On Saturday, Olmert stated his intention to run for a second term as chairman of the Kadima party, despite numerous calls for his resignation, allegations of criminal activity, and public approval ratings in single digits.
Israel, Syria boost military presence along border
Escalating moves from both sides amid war warnings from Damascus' officials
July 23, 200 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
GOLAN HEIGHTS – Israel has visibly beefed up its military presence here in the Golan Heights while neighboring Syria reportedly has placed its army on high alert and – for the first time in 30 years – has opened a strategic border road to civilian traffic in a move some Israeli security officials worry could help facilitate guerilla attacks against Golani Jewish communities. The escalating military moves on both sides come as a top official from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Baath party warned in an interview if Israel doesn't vacate the strategic Golan Heights by August or September, Syrian guerrillas will launch resistance operations against the Golan's Jewish communities. The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory looking down on Israeli population centers captured by Israel after Syria twice used the territory to attack the Jewish state.
A tour of the Golan Heights yesterday found multiple Israeli army positions local residents and soldiers stationed here say were established within the past few weeks. More tanks have been patrolling the area, with several tanks setting up shop in strategic positions looking down on Syria. Makeshift military outposts have been erected and Golan checkpoints fortified. Several old Israeli Defense Forces military installations in the Golan were reopened the last two months. According to local soldiers, the installations have been largely unused since the 1980s. In several Golan positions near the Syrian border, IDF tractors cleared the way in recent weeks so that tanks can amass in the area if needed, said soldiers stationed here. On the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, multiple moves have been made Israeli security officials say are concerning.
The security officials confirmed the stepped-up military presence of Syrian troops deployed near the Syrian side of the Golan Heights with strengthened forces after carrying out increased training the past few months. The security officials said Syria recently increased production of rockets and acquired missiles capable of hitting central Israeli population centers. Last month, Syria removed a series of military checkpoints blocking off a main Damascus-Golan road to the border town of Quneitra, opening the road to civilian traffic for the first time since the 1967 Six Day War. The road, visible from the Israeli side of the border, remained open to civilians yesterday with no presence of the Syrian military. Syrian road leading to Golan now open for civilian traffic (WND photo)
At a ceremony at which the road was reopened for civilians, Quneitra's governor, Nawaf al-Faris, a member of Assad's Baath party, gave a speech explaining resistance works to restore land. The resistance is the guarantee to restore land, rights and facing challenges and pressures to which the Arab nation is exposed, al-Faris stated, according to Syria's SANA news agency. Israeli security officials say they are concerned the road can be used by militants seeking to attack the border area. One tank yesterday was positioned on a hilltop directly facing the road. Speaking to WND on condition of anonymity, a top Baath official said a new purported guerrilla group called the Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights has been training and is ready to attacks against Jewish communities in the Golan in August or September.
The official said the Quneitra road is one of many routes in which the Committees can infiltrate the Golan. In an interview last week, the Baath official warned Syria was preparing for war: More and more of our units have undergone intensive trainings starting at 6 a.m. and finishing late into the evening. If the need arises, we are ready for a war, said the official. The official said Syria learned from the Hezbollah experience last summer and we can have hundreds of missiles hitting Tel Aviv that will overwhelm Israel's anti-missile batteries.He claimed Syria has proof Israel is also readying for a war. We hear about special Israeli trainings to take Damascus. We see that Israel is re-establishing bases of the Israeli army in the Golan that are unusual and not needed except for war. We believe the Israeli government has an interest in confronting Syria to rehabilitate its image of losing to Hezbollah, he said.
He said Syrian war preparations are so specific, the Syrian government has given its officials and top contacts alternative phone numbers to key government ministries in case the Damascus phone system is knocked out during an Israeli aerial bombardment.
He warned Syria may launch eminent resistance.
Syria passed repeated messages to the U.S. that we demand the return of the Golan either through negotiations or through war. If the Golan is not in our hands by August or September, we will be poised to launch resistance, including raids and attacks against Jewish positions (in the Golan Heights)," the Baath official said.
Israel: Syrian war preparations serious
Israeli security officials confirmed Syria has been strengthening its forces and noted the movement of Syrian Scud missiles near the border with Israel. The Syrian army has improved its fortifications, according to the Israeli security officials, and has received modern, Russian-made anti-tank missiles similar to the missiles that devastated Israeli tanks during the last Lebanon war, causing the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military confrontations. Syria also received from Russia advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The security officials said any conflict with Syria could degenerate into a larger war involving Hezbollah along Israel's northern border and Palestinian terror groups launching attacks from Gaza in the south and the West Bank toward the center of Israel.
The officials noted Syria stepped up the pace of weapons, including rockets, being shipped from the Syrian border to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The security officials said the greatest threats Syria poses to the Jewish state are the country's missiles and rockets. They noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles had. In addition to longer-range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter-range missiles such as 220 millimeter and 305 millimeter rockets, some of which have been passed on to Hezbollah.
Israel also has information Syria recently acquired and deployed Chinese-made C-802 missiles, which were successfully used against the Israeli navy during Israel's war against Hezbollah one year ago. The missiles were passed to Syria by Iran, Israeli security officials told WND. Israeli security officials said Syria is indeed preparing for a summer war. But they said there was an argument within the Israeli intelligence community whether the military buildup is for an attack or is meant by Syria to pressure Israel into vacating the Golan Heights. Some officials said Syria estimates the U.S. or Israel will attack Iran, and Syria will be drawn into a larger military confrontation by opening up a front against northern Israel. Also, the officials said, Syria may believe Israel will attack first and its preparations are defensive in nature. The Israeli army is not taking any chances. The Israel Defense Forces last month reportedly carried out a mock attack on a Syrian village during a major exercise in the Negev. The Israeli soldiers besieged and occupied the village, designed to be similar to towns on the Syrian side of the Golan. Similar war exercises were carried out in Israel the past few months, including a mock attack on Damascus.
According to security officials, recent U.S. intelligence estimates also predict a strong possibility of war between Israel and Syria in the coming months.
Ahmadinejad: It's going to be a hot summer
The reports of preparations for possible confrontations also come as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned during a rare visit to Syria last week that this summer will be hot and will bring defeat for the region's enemies.We hope that the hot weather of this summer would coincide with similar victories for the region's peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region‘s enemies, Ahmadinejad said, standing alongside Assad. Ahmadinejad claimed unspecified enemies of the region have plans to attack the interests of this region. He urges those enemies to abandon their war plans or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples.
He described Syrian-Iranian relations as amicable, excellent and extremely deep, stating the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies.
Blair on First Trip As Mideast Envoy
Jul 23 08:28 AM US/Eastern
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press Writer
JERUSALEM (AP) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday kicked off his first visit to the Middle East as the international community's new envoy to the region, hoping to add new momentum to fledgling peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. The newly appointed envoy for the Quartet of Mideast mediators—the United States, European Union, U.N. and Russia—arrived in Israel for his first visit in the new post. During the two-day visit, Blair planned to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other top officials.
Blair arrives at a promising time. The Palestinian uprising has fizzled and Israel says it's ready to work with the new Palestinian leadership after seven years of stalemate. But limits on Blair's responsibilities—he has no authority to negotiate a final peace deal—have already raised questions about his ability to forge a breakthrough, and Israeli and Palestinian officials played down expectations for the visit. Blair touched down in Tel Aviv in a white, unmarked private jet and immediate exited Ben Gurion International Airport in a heavily guarded motorcade through the Gate of Shalom terminal. He traveled to the upscale King David Hotel in Jerusalem, where he was met by a horde of photographers. Blair made no comment as he pushed through the crowd into an elevator.
Blair arrived from neighboring Jordan, where he met with Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib. Jordanian officials said Blair listened to Jordan's perspective on restarting the Mideast peace process. Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries that have made peace with Israel. The visit comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
President Bush called last week for an international peace conference on the Middle East in the autumn. On Wednesday, the Jordanian foreign minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, are due in Israel to formally present an Arab peace initiative that envisions full Arab recognition of Israel in return for lands the Jewish state captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
Israeli and Palestinian officials have welcomed the involvement of Blair, who brings a high-profile and well-respected figure to Mideast diplomacy. He is known for his powers of persuasion and track record in forging Northern Ireland's peace accord.
But in his new job, Blair has been given a relatively limited assignment: to prepare the ground for a Palestinian state by encouraging reform, economic development and institution-building. There is no mention of trying to help broker a final peace deal, a role the United States appears reluctant to cede. Such constraints could quickly turn Blair into the latest of a long succession of well- meaning, yet ultimately ineffective mediators. Ahead of the visit, Israeli and Palestinian officials acknowledged Blair's limitations and said a final peace deal could only come through direct talks.
What I do with the Israelis, what the Israelis do with me, is the main ingredient, said Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. The decisions required for peace are not going to come from the envoys.Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media, said expectations were low for Blair's first visit. They said the talks would be introductory, and they did not expect major pressure from him. A word of caution also came from James Wolfensohn, Blair's predecessor as envoy of the diplomatic Quartet. In 2005, Wolfensohn, a former World Bank president, was asked to oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip after Israel's pullout from the area. Wolfensohn accomplished less than he hoped and saw the last of his achievements—creating a gateway to the world for fenced-in Gazans—unravel after the Islamic militant Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza last month.
Wolfensohn told the Israeli daily Haaretz that while he made some mistakes, his main problem was lack of authority. The U.S. dominates the Quartet, he noted. There was never a desire on the part of the Americans to give up control of the (peace) negotiations,Haaretz quoted him as saying. Even in his limited role, Blair will have to confine his work to the West Bank, since the international community continues to shun Hamas, now in control of Gaza. Following the Hamas takeover, Abbas formed a new moderate government in the West Bank. Chances of transforming the West Bank are perhaps better than any time since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in 2000, following failed peace talks.
The violence, which left nearly 4,400 Palestinians and more than 1,100 Israelis dead, blocked any progress in peacemaking, but the uprising has run out of steam.
Hamas, responsible for scores of deadly attacks, is largely contained behind Gaza's border fences and on the defensive in the West Bank, while scores of gunmen from Abbas' Fatah movement have surrendered their weapons in exchange for an Israeli amnesty. In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Blair could not ignore Hamas, which swept Palestinian parliamentary elections last year. It will lead to nothing but failure, he said.
Abbas' government is eager to resume negotiations on a final peace deal, but Israel says it's too soon. Israel is willing to talk about general outlines of an agreement, but argues that negotiations can only begin once Abbas has disarmed militants and restored order in areas under his control.
Southern Baptist seminary leader: Evangelicals must assert the marks of a true church Allie Martin - OneNewsNow.com - July 21, 2007
It’s a debate as old as Martin Luther himself. Who is the true Christian church?
The debate gained new life earlier this month when, in a document released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict XVI said Christian communities outside Catholicism were not full churches. The 16-page document described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but said they suffered from a wound since they do not recognize the primacy of the pope.In response, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler, says evangelicals must proclaim, without apology, that any church, which defines itself in terms of the papacy, is not the true church. In his daily Internet blog, Mohler writes that he was not surprised at the statement issued by the papacy. He says the pope's statement actually provides Evangelicals an opportunity to defend the gospel. And Mohler also states that both Roman Catholics and Evangelicals alike should realize this issue is worthy of division.
He also says Evangelicals should be concerned that Catholics are in spiritual danger for submission to the papacy. Drawing from church history, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president and radio host says the same issue was a defining issue of the Reformation. Mohler says that both Reformers and Roman Catholics staked their claim to be the true church, pointing out that Martin Luther and John Calvin both asserted that the first mark of a true Church is the ministry of the Word and the preaching of the gospel -- and not submission to a pope or other earthly authority.American Family News Network.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
QUIT FORCING - PUSHING ISRAEL U.S.A
HERE WE GO THE RIFT BETWEEN THE EU AND RUSSIA IS STARTING TO HAPPEN. SINCE RUSSIA WILL LEAD THE MUSLIM HORDE AGAINST ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE AND THE EU IS PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY, THERE HAS TO BE A RIFT WITH RUSSIA AGAINST THE WEST.
EU sides with UK in diplomatic clash with Russia
19.07.2007 - 09:32 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
Despite warnings from Moscow against EU involvement in its diplomatic clash with the UK, the bloc's Portuguese presidency has voiced disappointment over Russia's stance on the probe into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.The former KGB agent died of exposure to radioactive polonium-210 in London last year. British prosecutors want the chief suspect Andrei Lugovoi, whom Mr Litvinenko met shortly before he fell ill, to face trial in the UK but Russia is refusing to hand him over.Referring to the murder as a grave and reckless crime, the EU stressed that urgent and constructive cooperation by the Russian Federation is crucial, in a statement issued on Wednesday (18 July).The presidency declaration is being viewed as an important signal of support for the UK, in a row that Moscow has tried to keep exclusively between itself and London.
It also comes despite Portugal earlier indicating that it does not want to increase tensions with Russia during its term at the EU helm, running until the end of the year. Earlier this week, Alexander Grushko, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, was reported in British media as saying: We hope that common sense will prevail and its members will not yield to more attempts to turn relations between Russia and the EU into an instrument for one-sided political goals that have nothing to do with the real interests of co-operation.But Portugal insisted the matter raises important questions of common interest to EU Member States and called for its satisfactory solution. The issue is expected to be raised next Monday (23 July) when EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels.
The diplomatic row has so far resulted in Britain expelling four Russian embassy staff in reaction to Moscow's reluctance to extradite Mr Lugovoi.Russia argues that it is against the country's constitution to hand over its citizens for trials in other countries. The UK counters that an international accord signed by Moscow, paves the way for the hand-over.The case is sensitive due to a statement by Mr Litvinenko, unveiled a day after his death, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his poisoning. The Kremlin strongly rejects any involvement in the murder.
New Ethiopian Synagogue in Jerusalem & Other Local Jewish News
by Hillel Fendel(JULY 20,07 INN)
A first-ever Ethiopian synagogue has been dedicated in Jerusalem, a missionary center was closed down in Kiryat Yam, and a synagogue dispute in Haifa will be mediated by MKs - three news items of local Jewish interest culled from HaTzofeh newspaper.
Missionary Center X-ed
In Kiryat Yam, the Yad L'Achim anti-missionary organization has succeeded, after a long struggle, in closing down a Jehova's Witnesses missionary center. Yad L'Achim had marked the Kiryat Yam office building as one of four main Jehova's Witnesses centers in the country, learning that the cult held twice-weekly lectures there for dozens of people. Pressure by Yad L'Achim and other tenants in the building finally became unbearable, and the missionary center closed down.
First Ethiopian Synagogue
Earlier this month, in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of N'vei Yaakov, the capitals' first Ethiopian synagogue was dedicated, in the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky. The New Jerusalem Foundation and members of the Ohel Nechama synagogue helped pay for the synagogue.
The synagogue, which will serve more than 170 families of Ethiopian extraction in N'vei Yaakov, is located in a previously unused section of the Bernadette public-religious school. The dedication ceremony included an emotional afternoon prayer service, replete with the customs of the Ethiopian liturgy.
The new synagogue will improve the image of the Ethiopian immigrants, it was said at the ceremony, and will alleviate the sense of frustration, neglect and estrangement, replacing it with feelings of pride and unity of a vital community integrating with the city and its many groups.
MKs Gafni and Beilin
In Haifa, a squabble over a synagogue between two Jewish groups has led to a Knesset committee debate and mediation by two Knesset Members: Yossi Beilin of the far-left and very secular Meretz party, and Moshe Gafni of the hareidi United Torah Judaism party.
Beilin came from the side of the neighborhood residents, who claimed that Breslover Hassidim had taken over a neighborhood synagogue and turned it into a yeshiva. Gafni and the Breslovers, on the other hand, said they were asked to help bolster synagogue attendance following the death of the local rabbi and a resulting drop in general attendance.
MKs Beilin and Gafni met on Tuesday, and plan to visit the site within the coming days.
MIDDLE EAST QUARTET SUPPORTS US PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING
New York, Jul 19 2007 7:00PM
The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East – comprising the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and the United States – today supported US President Bush’s call for an international meeting in the fall. The Quartet’s backing came in a
communiqué released following a meeting in Lisbon that was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.
The Quartet welcomed President Bush’s July 16 statement renewing US commitment to a negotiated two-State solution, and supported President Bush’s call for an international meeting in the fall, stated the communiqué. The Quartet agreed that such a meeting should provide diplomatic support for the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward on a successful path to a Palestinian State. The Quartet welcomed Mr. Blair’s agreement to be its Representative and discussed with him “the urgent work that lies ahead, according to the communiqué.
Noting the centrality of reform, economic development, and institutional capacity building to the establishment of a stable and prosperous Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians, and live in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours, the Quartet urged the parties and all states in the region to work closely with Mr. Blair, and encouraged robust international support for his efforts. The Quartet expressed support for the Palestinian Authority Government headed by Salam Fayyad, which is committed to the political platform of
President Abbas. It also encouraged direct and rapid financial assistance and other aid to the Palestinian Authority government to help reform, preserve, and strengthen vital Palestinian institutions and infrastructure, and to support the rule of law.
The Quartet welcomed the resumption of bilateral talks between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas, and expressed support for steps taken by the Israeli Government, including the resumption of tax and customs revenue transfers and the decision to release Palestinian prisoners. The communiqué also encouraged continued bilateral dialogue and further cooperation and urged both parties to work without delay to fulfil their previous commitments and to build confidence. Recognizing the continuing importance of the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet looked forward to the planned visit to Israel by representatives of the Arab League to discuss the Initiative. The Quartet emphasized the need to find ways to sustain Palestinian
economic activity and the importance of creating circumstances that would allow for full implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access,particularly in view of the impact of crossings on the Palestinian economy and daily life, the communiqu̩ said, encouraging parties to address their obligations under the Roadmap Рan outline plan envisaging a two-State solution Рincluding an end to settlement expansion and the removal of unauthorized outposts, and an end to violence and terror.
The Quartet expressed its deep concern over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance. The communiqué also reaffirmed the Quartet’s its commitment to bring about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and to work to lay the foundation for the establishment of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security, as a step towards a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, consistent with the Roadmap and UN Security Council
resolutions.The next meeting of the Quartet will take place in September, the
communiqué says, noting that members will continue to consult regularly on
developments in the meantime.
Blair takes up role as peace envoy - THE HERALD
CATHERINE MacLEOD, Political Editor July 20 2007
Tony Blair was anointed as Middle East envoy in Lisbon yesterday only hours after the polls opened to elect his successor in the Sedgefield constituency.The former prime minister met representatives of the Mideast Quartet - the US, United Nations, the European Union and Russia - aware that the scale of the task facing him cannot be overestimated.The first visit he will make in his new role will be to meet Shimon Peres, the Israeli President, on Tuesday but no details of the talks have been released. He will also visit Ramallah next week before returning for at least a week per month from September. He is expected to stay in Government House, once the home of the old British Mandate, and now a base for the UN.While Mr Blair will try hard to avoid a confrontation with Israel, he is expected to risk their wrath by talking to Hamas at some point. Israel has already said it would not talk to international figures engaging with Hamas but there are several figures in Europe, including David Miliband, the UK's Foreign Secretary, who believe the present policy needs to be revisited. Mr Miliband, amongst others, is thought to wonder if it is at all sensible to maintain a policy that to date has obviously failed.
The talks in Portugal, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, will bring together UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Mr Solana said the primary task for the Quartet was to help build up Palestinian institutions.Speaking to the BBC, he said: What is very important is to have the Palestinians better organised, the structure of the Palestinian Authority today, a state tomorrow.Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Centre in Gaza, said the focus should be on basic requirements before talking about institution building.There are what we call basic needs: the right to food; the right to life; the right to freedom of movement; the right to communicate with the other side of our nation,he said.
A priority for Mr Blair will be trying to improve movement and access which is diplomatic speak for dismantling some of the checkpoints and roadblocks which the World Bank has blamed for the collapse in the West Bank's economy.In another development yesterday Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egypt's Foreign Minister, said that a Mideast peace conference called for by US President George W Bush will likely be held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
Mr Gheit said that ahead of the conference, Ms Rice will discuss its agenda with Arab foreign ministers on July 31 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el Sheik.Contacts that took place between the Egyptians and Americans indicate that this (Mideast peace) conference will be held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly but not necessarily in New York.Egypt's vision is that the meeting should handle a wide number of issues, including launching the peace process in active negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian parties, he added.
THE USA WILL BE MOURNING BIGTIME IF THEY INSIST ON FORCING ISRAEL INTO THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM LIKE THE USA IS DOING NOW.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
July 19, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
The Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av, which falls on the ninth day of the month of Av on the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown on Monday, July 23. On this day throughout history, many catastrophes have befallen the Jewish people, with the worst of these the destruction in the years 586 B.C.E. and 70 C.E., respectively, of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem – the holiest places in all Judaism – and the exile of the Jewish people from Israel.
Tisha B’Av is a day of solemnity and mourning, the culmination of a period of mourning known as The Three Weeks that began on the 19 th of the Jewish month of Tammuz (which this year fell on July 2). It is a day when Jews are to deny themselves ordinary pleasures and indulgences, especially eating and drinking. In fact, the events remembered on this day are so grave that Tisha B’Av is one of only two full fast days on the Jewish calendar (Yom Kippur is the other). Thus, Jews abstain from food and drink – even water – from sunset until darkness the following day.
Other customs on this day are geared toward promoting the avoidance of enjoyment. There is to be no washing, bathing or wearing cosmetics. We are to avoid wearing leather shoes, and are told to sit on low chairs to minimize our comfort. Even Torah study, which is considered to be a joyful activity, is restricted to passages describing the laws of mourning, the destruction of the Temple, and other tragic events.
There are those who say that the best thing to do would be to forget the suffering and move on. But, in fact, Jews are exhorted by the Bible itself not to forget. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you (Psalm 137:5-6). And so we continue to commemorate past tragedies, not wallow in our grief, but to strengthen our memory of history, in order to ensure that such things may never happen again. And, perhaps, our remembering will help us realize that our survival of these many trials is indeed a miracle, a gift from God.
On this solemn day, Jews will remember those who have died defending the Jewish people and the Jewish State, and those whose lives were cruelly taken away through terrorism. We will remember that Israel is never completely free of the threat of war and destruction, as the world saw last year during the Second Lebanon War. We will remember and pray for the return of the three Israeli soldiers captured last year and still held by terrorists.
And yet, all the while, we will resist succumbing to despair, because we remember that the Bible tells us The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid … The Lord is with me; He is my helper (Psalm 118: 5-6). We will continue to do our work to support Israel and strengthen her people, and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
As we approach Tisha B’Av, I hope you will join me in a show of solidarity with Israel and her people by recommitting yourself to pray for Israel’s peace and security. My deepest thanks for your faithful support – may God bless you, even as you have blessed His people, Israel.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS.
Mideast expert says Israel a strategic asset, not a liability
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow.com - July 19, 2007
Who's fault is it? Israel's or the U.S.? Neither, according to a leading Middle East expert. Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute, a Mideast think tank, is bound and determined to expose the root cause for the Islamic terrorist threat facing both nations.In an effort to achieve his objective, Satloff asks some important questions: Is the problem with our values, or with theirs? With our culture, or with theirs? With our way of life that we need to change, amend, accommodate, appease -- or with theirs? Satloff believes that to be successful in the war against terror, the U.S. must first defeat the mindset that it brought this war upon itself through the American way of life and through its alliance with Israel. This mindset, which Satloff calls a lie [and] a canard, is being fueled by a forthcoming book by professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, and by the latest anti-Israel book written by former President Jimmy Carter.
Speaking at the Christians United for Israel summit in Washington, DC, Satloff argued that too many people in the halls of power in Washington secretly take seriously the arguments put forth by Carter, Walt, and Mearshimer. It is a mindset, he says, that has infected too many of the foreign policy elite in Washington who view Israel as a liability. Be armed, be warned, be prepared to make the argument in the other way -- that Israel a powerful strategic asset to the United States, he told his audience. The real enemy, he said, are the Muslims who want to impose Sharia law through the gun and the ballot box.In his address, Satloff remarked that the U.S. and Israel actually share common moral values and common strategic interests as well as adversaries. He argued that the U.S. and Israel need to partner with what he calls anti-Islamist Middle East allies in the war on terror.American Family News Network.
World Bank's Zoellick backs WTO proposals to spur trade talks
JULY 20,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - World Bank president Robert Zoellick backed Friday fresh proposals to drive the deadlocked round of World Trade Organization negotiations to a conclusion this year. A major final push will be needed to close the gaps but, with the right spirit, there is now a deal on the table to be seized, said Zoellick, a former chief US trade negotiator.Negotiators at the WTO issued Tuesday proposals on agricultural and industrial trade to revive the Doha Development Round, dedicated to reducing global trade barriers and encouraging development.
Under the proposals, the US would cut farm subsidies to below 16.2 billion dollars a year, compared with a current ceiling of 19 billion dollars, and 27 developing nations would reduce industrial import tariffs to less than 23 percent.The proposals came one month after the failure of a meeting between representatives of the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India to unblock the Doha Round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.Representatives of the WTO's 150 members are due to meet in negotiating groups next week in Geneva, Switzerland, to give their initial reactions to the proposals.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE AMERICA IS FORCING ISRAEL TO GIVE THE ARABS PRISONERS THAT TRYED TO KILL ISRAELIS. AND STILL I CAN NOT BELIEVE OLMERT AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IS ALLOWING ISRAEL TO LET THESE ATTEMPTED MURDERS TO BE FREED TO KILL ISRAELIS AGAIN. THE WORLD IS RIPE FOR THE EU DICTATOR TO COME ON THE SCENE ANYTIME NOW AS THE WORLD IS GONE TO ASH AND GOD WILL NOT ALLOW THE US AND WORLD TO DESTROY ISRAEL LIKE THE WORLD IS DOING FOR VERY LONG. THE TRIBULATION 7 YEAR PERIOD IS AT THE DOOR WORLD GET READY.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
I BELIEVE HABAKKUK IS SPEAKING OF MUSLIMS IN THESE VERSES. BECAUSE IN 1:9 IN HEBREW THE WORD HAMAS IS RIGHT IN THEIR BIBLE TO THE WORD VIOLENCE. AND IN HEBREW IN GENESIS 6:11 THE WORD FOR VIOLENCE IS YOU GUESSED IT HAMAS.
HABAKKUK 1:2-17,2:1-4
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Israel frees more than 250 Palestinian prisoners by Nasser Abu Bakr
Fri Jul 20, 10:28 AM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Israel on Friday freed more than 250 Palestinian prisoners, who flashed victory signs to a West Bank heroes' welcome, in a move promoted to bolster moderate president Mahmud Abbas. In the biggest such release in two years, Israeli prison officials drove the 255 prisoners to the Beitunya checkpoint where they were handed over to the Palestinian Authority and bused to the West Bank capital Ramallah.I thank God that we are honoured by the return of heroes of freedom to their home and the bosom of their homeland, Abbas told the thousands who thronged the courtyard of his leadership compound to welcome the prisoners.We must continue to work for the return of all Palestinian prisoners, he added, of the nearly 11,000 Palestinians who remain in Israeli custody, in one of the thorniest issues separating the two sides.
I only have three words to say: freedom, freedom, freedom. There is nothing more beautiful than freedom, said Abdelrahim Malluh, deputy leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the most prominent to be freed.Including six women and 11 minors, Friday's release comes three weeks after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised, at a Middle East summit in Egypt, to release 250 prisoners as part of efforts to bolster Abbas against Hamas.It was Israel's biggest single release of Palestinian prisoners since 2005, when 900 were freed in two batches following an earlier Middle East summit.Sporting fresh haircuts and grinning from ear to ear, the prisoners craned their necks to lean out of buses waving flags and keffiyehs, flashing victory signs and kissing loved ones, en route to the festivities in Ramallah.After being welcomed individually as heroes by Abbas, they went in homage to the grave of the late historic leader Yasser Arafat and took part in a special, collective Friday Muslim prayers under a tent.
The prisoner who served the longest sentence is Muhannad Jaradat, detained in 1989 and sentenced to 20 years. His sentence was due to end in 2009.Today I'm reborn. Unfortunately my father, who I dreamt of seeing again, died while I was in prison, the 40-year-old told AFP.Now my priority is to enroll at university to continue my studies and continue efforts to release the other prisoners, he said.Israel agreed to the releases as part of a series of goodwill gestures designed to bolster Abbas in his struggle for power with the Islamist Hamas, following the group's bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip last month.The prisoners largely belong to Abbas's pragmatic Fatah party that has been locked in a power struggle, and at times deadly combat, with Hamas and since losing a general election to the Islamist movement in 2006.While welcoming the release, the Palestinians have said that freeing 250 prisoners out of the more than 11,000 held in Israeli jails, the majority of them on security charges, was not enough.
None of those bused to freedom on Friday have blood on their hands, meaning involvement in attacks that have killed Israelis, and all had to sign a commitment not to be involved in terror prior to their release.Wearing traditional dress, Halima Jomhur, 60, was waiting for her son Imad who served four years of a six-and-a-half year sentence in Israel.He was arrested 10 days before his wedding. His fiancee is still waiting for him and the first thing we're going to do is marry them, she said. This is a huge joy but it will only be complete when all our prisoners are released, she said, from the village of Beit Annan in the Ramallah area.
Israel has recently pledged to remove from wanted lists nearly 190 militants who promised not to carry out attacks, and released some Palestinian customs duties it has withheld for more than a year after Hamas came to power. But Ismail Haniya, prime minister of the Hamas-led government that Abbas sacked last month, expressed scepticism about Israel's real intentions. We are happy when Palestinian prisoners are released but we warn against using them as political bribery because Israel's so-called good intentions are a trap intended to undermine Palestinian unity, he told worshippers in Gaza. Since Hamas routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza on June 15 in ferocious street battles, the Palestinians have been split into two entities, with the moderate president controlling the West Bank and Hamas ruling over Gaza.
EU sides with UK in diplomatic clash with Russia
19.07.2007 - 09:32 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
Despite warnings from Moscow against EU involvement in its diplomatic clash with the UK, the bloc's Portuguese presidency has voiced disappointment over Russia's stance on the probe into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.The former KGB agent died of exposure to radioactive polonium-210 in London last year. British prosecutors want the chief suspect Andrei Lugovoi, whom Mr Litvinenko met shortly before he fell ill, to face trial in the UK but Russia is refusing to hand him over.Referring to the murder as a grave and reckless crime, the EU stressed that urgent and constructive cooperation by the Russian Federation is crucial, in a statement issued on Wednesday (18 July).The presidency declaration is being viewed as an important signal of support for the UK, in a row that Moscow has tried to keep exclusively between itself and London.
It also comes despite Portugal earlier indicating that it does not want to increase tensions with Russia during its term at the EU helm, running until the end of the year. Earlier this week, Alexander Grushko, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, was reported in British media as saying: We hope that common sense will prevail and its members will not yield to more attempts to turn relations between Russia and the EU into an instrument for one-sided political goals that have nothing to do with the real interests of co-operation.But Portugal insisted the matter raises important questions of common interest to EU Member States and called for its satisfactory solution. The issue is expected to be raised next Monday (23 July) when EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels.
The diplomatic row has so far resulted in Britain expelling four Russian embassy staff in reaction to Moscow's reluctance to extradite Mr Lugovoi.Russia argues that it is against the country's constitution to hand over its citizens for trials in other countries. The UK counters that an international accord signed by Moscow, paves the way for the hand-over.The case is sensitive due to a statement by Mr Litvinenko, unveiled a day after his death, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of involvement in his poisoning. The Kremlin strongly rejects any involvement in the murder.
New Ethiopian Synagogue in Jerusalem & Other Local Jewish News
by Hillel Fendel(JULY 20,07 INN)
A first-ever Ethiopian synagogue has been dedicated in Jerusalem, a missionary center was closed down in Kiryat Yam, and a synagogue dispute in Haifa will be mediated by MKs - three news items of local Jewish interest culled from HaTzofeh newspaper.
Missionary Center X-ed
In Kiryat Yam, the Yad L'Achim anti-missionary organization has succeeded, after a long struggle, in closing down a Jehova's Witnesses missionary center. Yad L'Achim had marked the Kiryat Yam office building as one of four main Jehova's Witnesses centers in the country, learning that the cult held twice-weekly lectures there for dozens of people. Pressure by Yad L'Achim and other tenants in the building finally became unbearable, and the missionary center closed down.
First Ethiopian Synagogue
Earlier this month, in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of N'vei Yaakov, the capitals' first Ethiopian synagogue was dedicated, in the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky. The New Jerusalem Foundation and members of the Ohel Nechama synagogue helped pay for the synagogue.
The synagogue, which will serve more than 170 families of Ethiopian extraction in N'vei Yaakov, is located in a previously unused section of the Bernadette public-religious school. The dedication ceremony included an emotional afternoon prayer service, replete with the customs of the Ethiopian liturgy.
The new synagogue will improve the image of the Ethiopian immigrants, it was said at the ceremony, and will alleviate the sense of frustration, neglect and estrangement, replacing it with feelings of pride and unity of a vital community integrating with the city and its many groups.
MKs Gafni and Beilin
In Haifa, a squabble over a synagogue between two Jewish groups has led to a Knesset committee debate and mediation by two Knesset Members: Yossi Beilin of the far-left and very secular Meretz party, and Moshe Gafni of the hareidi United Torah Judaism party.
Beilin came from the side of the neighborhood residents, who claimed that Breslover Hassidim had taken over a neighborhood synagogue and turned it into a yeshiva. Gafni and the Breslovers, on the other hand, said they were asked to help bolster synagogue attendance following the death of the local rabbi and a resulting drop in general attendance.
MKs Beilin and Gafni met on Tuesday, and plan to visit the site within the coming days.
MIDDLE EAST QUARTET SUPPORTS US PRESIDENT’S CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING
New York, Jul 19 2007 7:00PM
The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East – comprising the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and the United States – today supported US President Bush’s call for an international meeting in the fall. The Quartet’s backing came in a
communiqué released following a meeting in Lisbon that was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice,Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.They were joined by Quartet Representative Tony Blair.
The Quartet welcomed President Bush’s July 16 statement renewing US commitment to a negotiated two-State solution, and supported President Bush’s call for an international meeting in the fall, stated the communiqué. The Quartet agreed that such a meeting should provide diplomatic support for the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations in order to move forward on a successful path to a Palestinian State. The Quartet welcomed Mr. Blair’s agreement to be its Representative and discussed with him “the urgent work that lies ahead, according to the communiqué.
Noting the centrality of reform, economic development, and institutional capacity building to the establishment of a stable and prosperous Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that will unite all Palestinians, and live in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours, the Quartet urged the parties and all states in the region to work closely with Mr. Blair, and encouraged robust international support for his efforts. The Quartet expressed support for the Palestinian Authority Government headed by Salam Fayyad, which is committed to the political platform of
President Abbas. It also encouraged direct and rapid financial assistance and other aid to the Palestinian Authority government to help reform, preserve, and strengthen vital Palestinian institutions and infrastructure, and to support the rule of law.
The Quartet welcomed the resumption of bilateral talks between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas, and expressed support for steps taken by the Israeli Government, including the resumption of tax and customs revenue transfers and the decision to release Palestinian prisoners. The communiqué also encouraged continued bilateral dialogue and further cooperation and urged both parties to work without delay to fulfil their previous commitments and to build confidence. Recognizing the continuing importance of the Arab Peace Initiative, the Quartet looked forward to the planned visit to Israel by representatives of the Arab League to discuss the Initiative. The Quartet emphasized the need to find ways to sustain Palestinian
economic activity and the importance of creating circumstances that would allow for full implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access,particularly in view of the impact of crossings on the Palestinian economy and daily life, the communiqu̩ said, encouraging parties to address their obligations under the Roadmap Рan outline plan envisaging a two-State solution Рincluding an end to settlement expansion and the removal of unauthorized outposts, and an end to violence and terror.
The Quartet expressed its deep concern over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance. The communiqué also reaffirmed the Quartet’s its commitment to bring about an end to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and to work to lay the foundation for the establishment of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security, as a step towards a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East, consistent with the Roadmap and UN Security Council
resolutions.The next meeting of the Quartet will take place in September, the
communiqué says, noting that members will continue to consult regularly on
developments in the meantime.
Blair takes up role as peace envoy - THE HERALD
CATHERINE MacLEOD, Political Editor July 20 2007
Tony Blair was anointed as Middle East envoy in Lisbon yesterday only hours after the polls opened to elect his successor in the Sedgefield constituency.The former prime minister met representatives of the Mideast Quartet - the US, United Nations, the European Union and Russia - aware that the scale of the task facing him cannot be overestimated.The first visit he will make in his new role will be to meet Shimon Peres, the Israeli President, on Tuesday but no details of the talks have been released. He will also visit Ramallah next week before returning for at least a week per month from September. He is expected to stay in Government House, once the home of the old British Mandate, and now a base for the UN.While Mr Blair will try hard to avoid a confrontation with Israel, he is expected to risk their wrath by talking to Hamas at some point. Israel has already said it would not talk to international figures engaging with Hamas but there are several figures in Europe, including David Miliband, the UK's Foreign Secretary, who believe the present policy needs to be revisited. Mr Miliband, amongst others, is thought to wonder if it is at all sensible to maintain a policy that to date has obviously failed.
The talks in Portugal, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, will bring together UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Mr Solana said the primary task for the Quartet was to help build up Palestinian institutions.Speaking to the BBC, he said: What is very important is to have the Palestinians better organised, the structure of the Palestinian Authority today, a state tomorrow.Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Centre in Gaza, said the focus should be on basic requirements before talking about institution building.There are what we call basic needs: the right to food; the right to life; the right to freedom of movement; the right to communicate with the other side of our nation,he said.
A priority for Mr Blair will be trying to improve movement and access which is diplomatic speak for dismantling some of the checkpoints and roadblocks which the World Bank has blamed for the collapse in the West Bank's economy.In another development yesterday Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egypt's Foreign Minister, said that a Mideast peace conference called for by US President George W Bush will likely be held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
Mr Gheit said that ahead of the conference, Ms Rice will discuss its agenda with Arab foreign ministers on July 31 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el Sheik.Contacts that took place between the Egyptians and Americans indicate that this (Mideast peace) conference will be held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly but not necessarily in New York.Egypt's vision is that the meeting should handle a wide number of issues, including launching the peace process in active negotiations between the Israeli and Palestinian parties, he added.
THE USA WILL BE MOURNING BIGTIME IF THEY INSIST ON FORCING ISRAEL INTO THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM LIKE THE USA IS DOING NOW.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
July 19, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
The Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av, which falls on the ninth day of the month of Av on the Jewish calendar, begins at sundown on Monday, July 23. On this day throughout history, many catastrophes have befallen the Jewish people, with the worst of these the destruction in the years 586 B.C.E. and 70 C.E., respectively, of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem – the holiest places in all Judaism – and the exile of the Jewish people from Israel.
Tisha B’Av is a day of solemnity and mourning, the culmination of a period of mourning known as The Three Weeks that began on the 19 th of the Jewish month of Tammuz (which this year fell on July 2). It is a day when Jews are to deny themselves ordinary pleasures and indulgences, especially eating and drinking. In fact, the events remembered on this day are so grave that Tisha B’Av is one of only two full fast days on the Jewish calendar (Yom Kippur is the other). Thus, Jews abstain from food and drink – even water – from sunset until darkness the following day.
Other customs on this day are geared toward promoting the avoidance of enjoyment. There is to be no washing, bathing or wearing cosmetics. We are to avoid wearing leather shoes, and are told to sit on low chairs to minimize our comfort. Even Torah study, which is considered to be a joyful activity, is restricted to passages describing the laws of mourning, the destruction of the Temple, and other tragic events.
There are those who say that the best thing to do would be to forget the suffering and move on. But, in fact, Jews are exhorted by the Bible itself not to forget. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you (Psalm 137:5-6). And so we continue to commemorate past tragedies, not wallow in our grief, but to strengthen our memory of history, in order to ensure that such things may never happen again. And, perhaps, our remembering will help us realize that our survival of these many trials is indeed a miracle, a gift from God.
On this solemn day, Jews will remember those who have died defending the Jewish people and the Jewish State, and those whose lives were cruelly taken away through terrorism. We will remember that Israel is never completely free of the threat of war and destruction, as the world saw last year during the Second Lebanon War. We will remember and pray for the return of the three Israeli soldiers captured last year and still held by terrorists.
And yet, all the while, we will resist succumbing to despair, because we remember that the Bible tells us The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid … The Lord is with me; He is my helper (Psalm 118: 5-6). We will continue to do our work to support Israel and strengthen her people, and to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
As we approach Tisha B’Av, I hope you will join me in a show of solidarity with Israel and her people by recommitting yourself to pray for Israel’s peace and security. My deepest thanks for your faithful support – may God bless you, even as you have blessed His people, Israel.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS.
Mideast expert says Israel a strategic asset, not a liability
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow.com - July 19, 2007
Who's fault is it? Israel's or the U.S.? Neither, according to a leading Middle East expert. Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute, a Mideast think tank, is bound and determined to expose the root cause for the Islamic terrorist threat facing both nations.In an effort to achieve his objective, Satloff asks some important questions: Is the problem with our values, or with theirs? With our culture, or with theirs? With our way of life that we need to change, amend, accommodate, appease -- or with theirs? Satloff believes that to be successful in the war against terror, the U.S. must first defeat the mindset that it brought this war upon itself through the American way of life and through its alliance with Israel. This mindset, which Satloff calls a lie [and] a canard, is being fueled by a forthcoming book by professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, and by the latest anti-Israel book written by former President Jimmy Carter.
Speaking at the Christians United for Israel summit in Washington, DC, Satloff argued that too many people in the halls of power in Washington secretly take seriously the arguments put forth by Carter, Walt, and Mearshimer. It is a mindset, he says, that has infected too many of the foreign policy elite in Washington who view Israel as a liability. Be armed, be warned, be prepared to make the argument in the other way -- that Israel a powerful strategic asset to the United States, he told his audience. The real enemy, he said, are the Muslims who want to impose Sharia law through the gun and the ballot box.In his address, Satloff remarked that the U.S. and Israel actually share common moral values and common strategic interests as well as adversaries. He argued that the U.S. and Israel need to partner with what he calls anti-Islamist Middle East allies in the war on terror.American Family News Network.
World Bank's Zoellick backs WTO proposals to spur trade talks
JULY 20,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - World Bank president Robert Zoellick backed Friday fresh proposals to drive the deadlocked round of World Trade Organization negotiations to a conclusion this year. A major final push will be needed to close the gaps but, with the right spirit, there is now a deal on the table to be seized, said Zoellick, a former chief US trade negotiator.Negotiators at the WTO issued Tuesday proposals on agricultural and industrial trade to revive the Doha Development Round, dedicated to reducing global trade barriers and encouraging development.
Under the proposals, the US would cut farm subsidies to below 16.2 billion dollars a year, compared with a current ceiling of 19 billion dollars, and 27 developing nations would reduce industrial import tariffs to less than 23 percent.The proposals came one month after the failure of a meeting between representatives of the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India to unblock the Doha Round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.Representatives of the WTO's 150 members are due to meet in negotiating groups next week in Geneva, Switzerland, to give their initial reactions to the proposals.
I CAN NOT BELIEVE AMERICA IS FORCING ISRAEL TO GIVE THE ARABS PRISONERS THAT TRYED TO KILL ISRAELIS. AND STILL I CAN NOT BELIEVE OLMERT AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IS ALLOWING ISRAEL TO LET THESE ATTEMPTED MURDERS TO BE FREED TO KILL ISRAELIS AGAIN. THE WORLD IS RIPE FOR THE EU DICTATOR TO COME ON THE SCENE ANYTIME NOW AS THE WORLD IS GONE TO ASH AND GOD WILL NOT ALLOW THE US AND WORLD TO DESTROY ISRAEL LIKE THE WORLD IS DOING FOR VERY LONG. THE TRIBULATION 7 YEAR PERIOD IS AT THE DOOR WORLD GET READY.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
13 Then God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
I BELIEVE HABAKKUK IS SPEAKING OF MUSLIMS IN THESE VERSES. BECAUSE IN 1:9 IN HEBREW THE WORD HAMAS IS RIGHT IN THEIR BIBLE TO THE WORD VIOLENCE. AND IN HEBREW IN GENESIS 6:11 THE WORD FOR VIOLENCE IS YOU GUESSED IT HAMAS.
HABAKKUK 1:2-17,2:1-4
2 O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
3 Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.
4 Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.
5 Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days which ye will not believe, though it be told you.
6 For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces that are not their's.
7 They are terrible and dreadful: their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of themselves.
8 Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves: and their horsemen shall spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasteth to eat.
9 They shall come all for violence: their faces shall sup up as the east wind, and they shall gather the captivity as the sand.
10 And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes shall be a scorn unto them: they shall deride every strong hold; for they shall heap dust, and take it.
11 Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
12 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.
13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?
14 And makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them?
15 They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: therefore they rejoice and are glad.
16 Therefore they sacrifice unto their net, and burn incense unto their drag; because by them their portion is fat, and their meat plenteous.
17 Shall they therefore empty their net, and not spare continually to slay the nations?
1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Israel frees more than 250 Palestinian prisoners by Nasser Abu Bakr
Fri Jul 20, 10:28 AM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Israel on Friday freed more than 250 Palestinian prisoners, who flashed victory signs to a West Bank heroes' welcome, in a move promoted to bolster moderate president Mahmud Abbas. In the biggest such release in two years, Israeli prison officials drove the 255 prisoners to the Beitunya checkpoint where they were handed over to the Palestinian Authority and bused to the West Bank capital Ramallah.I thank God that we are honoured by the return of heroes of freedom to their home and the bosom of their homeland, Abbas told the thousands who thronged the courtyard of his leadership compound to welcome the prisoners.We must continue to work for the return of all Palestinian prisoners, he added, of the nearly 11,000 Palestinians who remain in Israeli custody, in one of the thorniest issues separating the two sides.
I only have three words to say: freedom, freedom, freedom. There is nothing more beautiful than freedom, said Abdelrahim Malluh, deputy leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the most prominent to be freed.Including six women and 11 minors, Friday's release comes three weeks after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised, at a Middle East summit in Egypt, to release 250 prisoners as part of efforts to bolster Abbas against Hamas.It was Israel's biggest single release of Palestinian prisoners since 2005, when 900 were freed in two batches following an earlier Middle East summit.Sporting fresh haircuts and grinning from ear to ear, the prisoners craned their necks to lean out of buses waving flags and keffiyehs, flashing victory signs and kissing loved ones, en route to the festivities in Ramallah.After being welcomed individually as heroes by Abbas, they went in homage to the grave of the late historic leader Yasser Arafat and took part in a special, collective Friday Muslim prayers under a tent.
The prisoner who served the longest sentence is Muhannad Jaradat, detained in 1989 and sentenced to 20 years. His sentence was due to end in 2009.Today I'm reborn. Unfortunately my father, who I dreamt of seeing again, died while I was in prison, the 40-year-old told AFP.Now my priority is to enroll at university to continue my studies and continue efforts to release the other prisoners, he said.Israel agreed to the releases as part of a series of goodwill gestures designed to bolster Abbas in his struggle for power with the Islamist Hamas, following the group's bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip last month.The prisoners largely belong to Abbas's pragmatic Fatah party that has been locked in a power struggle, and at times deadly combat, with Hamas and since losing a general election to the Islamist movement in 2006.While welcoming the release, the Palestinians have said that freeing 250 prisoners out of the more than 11,000 held in Israeli jails, the majority of them on security charges, was not enough.
None of those bused to freedom on Friday have blood on their hands, meaning involvement in attacks that have killed Israelis, and all had to sign a commitment not to be involved in terror prior to their release.Wearing traditional dress, Halima Jomhur, 60, was waiting for her son Imad who served four years of a six-and-a-half year sentence in Israel.He was arrested 10 days before his wedding. His fiancee is still waiting for him and the first thing we're going to do is marry them, she said. This is a huge joy but it will only be complete when all our prisoners are released, she said, from the village of Beit Annan in the Ramallah area.
Israel has recently pledged to remove from wanted lists nearly 190 militants who promised not to carry out attacks, and released some Palestinian customs duties it has withheld for more than a year after Hamas came to power. But Ismail Haniya, prime minister of the Hamas-led government that Abbas sacked last month, expressed scepticism about Israel's real intentions. We are happy when Palestinian prisoners are released but we warn against using them as political bribery because Israel's so-called good intentions are a trap intended to undermine Palestinian unity, he told worshippers in Gaza. Since Hamas routed forces loyal to Abbas in Gaza on June 15 in ferocious street battles, the Palestinians have been split into two entities, with the moderate president controlling the West Bank and Hamas ruling over Gaza.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
NY STEAM PIPE EXPLOSION
7 MAJOR FIRES ARE RAGING IN THE USA.
IN NY (LONGISLAND) THERE WAS A RARE TORNADO, ONLY ABOUT THE 6TH IN 50 YEARS. AND ALSO IN NY (MANHATTAN) A STEAMY EXPLOSION THAT SOUNDED LIKE AN EARTH QUAKE AND LOOKED LIKE A VOLCANO BILLOWING SMOKE AND VAPOR INTO THE AIR. I THOUGHT WHEN I SEEN IT ON TV THIS IS THE ATTACK I'M EXPECTING TO HAPPEN SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, BUT IT WAS NOT, THANK GOD FOR THAT.
Jul 18, 2007 4:34 pm US/Eastern
Tornado Leaves Thousands Without Power On L.I.
CBS) ISLIP, N.Y. The National Weather Service confirmed that an F-1 tornado touched down in the Islip area of Long Island Wednesday morning. At the F-1 level, a tornado carries hurricane-force winds that can reach 110 mph. It can peel off roofs, push mobile homes off their foundations or blow vehicles off the road.LIPA reports major power outages on Long Island. At its peak, some 51,000 customers were without power. Currently, 12,900 still have no electricity.CBS 2's Lonnie Quinn says the severe weather is not over with yet. The tornado was caused by a low pressure system around Canada, near the Great Lakes, and will continue to push showers and storms throughout the Tri-State area until Friday, with some being severe.
Quinn said another tornado cannot be ruled out, but is less likely to happen in Manhattan, as opposed to the outer boroughs and suburbs. Tornadoes are caused by rotation in atmosphere from service winds flowing in opposite directions - where they meet and begin to spin. The chances of tornado touching down in Manhattan is low because of concentration of high buildings which disrupt rotation. It isn't impossible, but it would be out of ordinary, Quinn said.National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki said the service received a number of reports of damage in the area after it issued a tornado warning between 9:19 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The NWS sent crew to examine the pattern of debris, and they determined that a tornado actually struck the area.
The weather service got its reports of trees down and other damage from members of the public and from emergency management staff, he said. Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971, the enhanced Fujita scale began operational use on Feb. 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale, six categories from zero to five representing increasing degrees of damage. It was revised to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys, so as to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage.On this new scale, Wednesday's tornado would be classified EF-1, according to CBS 2 meteorologist Jason Cali. Suffolk County says there have been reports of what it's calling tornado-like damage in Islip Township at Iris Lane and the north service road of Sunrise Highway.
Suffolk firefighters are dealing with four house fires that were likely caused by lightning.The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes a year, but they are uncommon in the New York area. A tornado struck about 20 miles north of New York City last July, causing heavy damage to a Westchester County store.CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Foreign ministers set to call for EU troops in Chad
19.07.2007 - 09:22 CET | By Helena Spongenberg
The European Union is set to take the first step towards sending soldiers to Chad to help the UN protect tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday (23 July) are expected to endorse a plan for a possible 12-month peace-keeping mission with 1,500 to 3,000 troops to protect refugee camps bordering Sudan's western Darfur region, EU diplomats say according to press reports.Political approval for the move could come as early as September, leading to a possible European Security and Defence Policy mission to support the UN presence in eastern Chad and eventually handing over to a UN-AU – African Union - peacekeeping force.
The idea has been pushed by Paris and has gained support from other EU capitals. We have the possibility to be very useful in Darfur, I hope, and in any case, to cooperate on this operation in Chad for its civilian populations, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday (18 July), according to AP.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and French president Nicolas Sarkozy last week discussed the possibility of deploying an interim EU force as soon as possible near the refugee camps in Chad, while awaiting the deployment of a UN police force.The EU move would come a few days after UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno on Tuesday (17 July) urged the 27-nation bloc to send troops and helicopters swiftly to improve security for refugees and aid workers as part of efforts to contain violence spilling over the border from Sudan.
In Darfur, at least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than 2 million have fled their homes since fighting flared in 2003 when African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudan government, in a conflict started over water resources.
MUCH ABOUT HISTORY
Iraq to renovate biblical prophet's tomb Purported burial site for Nahum to be restored - July 19, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com
The national Antiquities Department in Iraq has announced plans for the renovation and restoration of an ancient synagogue in al-Qoush, a short drive north of Mosul and the location of the purported tomb of the biblical prophet Nahum.
The purported tomb of Nahum
The Antiquities Department has added the tomb of the Prophet Nahum, peace be on him, to its 2008 preservation plan, Abbas al-Hussaini, the department's chief, told the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman. Archaeologists have said the work on the synagogue and the tomb is urgent, with some scientists fearing the structure already may have been irreparably damaged. However, the agency has delayed the work because it lacked the expertise and resources to refurbish and reconstruct the historic structures, officials said. Hussaini confirmed his administrative team is seeking foreign help for the work. Nahum, one of the Bible's minor prophets, is venerated by all faiths and sects in Iraq, including Muslim Shiites and Sunnis, according to the government agency. The tomb is not important to Iraqis only. It is of an international character and can turn into a tourist attraction, Hussaini told the newspaper.
Azzaman speculated that the beginning of work is bound to attract considerable media interest and perhaps reveal more information about the prophet of whom the Bible says very little beyond the fact that a reference to the town of al-Qoush from which he hailed.Among the questions expected to be addressed is the age of the tomb, as well as the age of the synagogue itself, which is believed to be more than 400 years old. Al-Qoush is a major Christian center in northern Iraq, but it held a large Jewish population before the Jewish return to the new nation of Israel in 1948.
According to the recommendations of an organization called Tomb of Nahum, it is advisable that the repairs to the site be undertaken hand-in-hand with an archaeological team, which may also provide the opportunity to examine the interior of the tomb (presently sealed) itself.The organization noted that a structural survey already completed by an American civil engineer suggested the renovation likely will cost around $400,000. The cost … does include renovation of all the buildings and the perimeter wall, the organization said. Officials also said such work cannot be launched without permission of the Kurdish Regional Government's Ministry of Religious Affairs, which also has authority to allow examination of the tomb's interior.
[Officials with] the Ministry of Religious Affairs have previously stated their position that they will not countenance restoration of the synagogue without the written permission of the Jewish Council. Whether by this statement they mean the Chief Rabbi in Iraq or a body in Israel is unclear. As Iraq does not recognize the state of Israel, the permission of the Baghdad rabbi or the national board of Jewish deputies of the UK or the U.S. will probably be sufficient, the group said. The renovation of al-Qoush synagogue is a matter of great urgency if what is believed to be the tomb of a biblical prophet is not to be irreparably damaged or destroyed,the group said. Officials note al-Qoush is one of three places that claim to house the tomb of Nahum, who prophesied in 655 B.C. the downfall of Nineveh, which happened in 612 B.C. His writings are the 27th book of the Old Testament and the Talmud.
Historically, it is believed the Assyrian king Shelmanassar II brought thousands of Hebrews to northern Iraq about 727 B.C., and some settled in al-Qoush, where a population of pagans already existed. Christianity arrived later. Part of the synagogue's roof has collapsed In recent history, the Jews in al-Qoush, like the rest of Iraq, were subjected to increasingly oppressive laws starting about in 1930. In 1948, the last of the Jews left, with the rabbi handing the keys of the synagogue to a neighbor. Some parts of the Jewish quarter are estimated at more than 2,000 years old, and in the center of the synagogue is a simple plaster tomb topped by a green silk coverlet, the purported tomb of Nahum himself. Part of the roof of the synagogue has collapse, and other portions are described as in a sorry state of repair.The region also includes a monastery, Raban Hormus, which dates to the 3rd century. It sits on the slope of the mountain overlooking al-Qoush. In a statement on the weblog Gateway Pundit, Haider Ajina, an Iraqi-American, noted the plan shows us what a budding democracy and rule of law can do, even under tough conditions.
This also shows that Muslims who no longer fear their militant leaders and are free of their leader's venomous rhetoric can and will do. This sparks tremendous hope,he said.
Asbestos in Dust After Eruption, Air OK Jul 19 08:39 AM US/Eastern
By ADAM GOLDMAN - Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - A massive geyser of steam and debris that erupted through a midtown Manhattan street left asbestos in the dust that settled, but city officials Thursday said tests indicated the air was safe of the carcinogen. Tests were continuing, but the city's Office of Emergency Management said in a statement that long-term health problems were unlikely.Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the possibility of asbestos contamination was the main health concern after an 83-year-old steam pipe ruptured less than a block from Grand Central Terminal, spewing a skyscraper-sized blast of steam, dirt and debris into the air. Some of the city's older pipes that pump steam beneath the city to heat and cool thousands of buildings are wrapped in asbestos, which can cause fatal lung disease, though the disease is typically linked to prolonged exposure. Crews worked overnight to assess and repair the damage and determine what happened.
One woman died of an apparent heart attack when the pipe erupted, and about 30 other people were injured, at least four seriously. Officials quickly ruled out terrorism, but for some witnesses, the explosion, dust, debris and chaos were frighteningly reminiscent of the scene on Sept. 11, 2001. We were scared to death. It sounded like a bomb hit or a bomb went off, just like 9/11. People were hysterical, crying, running down the street, said Karyn Easton, a customer at a salon a few blocks from the site of the blast. It was really surreal.Thursday morning, stretches of several major thoroughfares in the area remained closed. Most subway service was restored, though the trains continued to bypass Grand Central. Eight air samples in the area around the explosion found no sign of asbestos, but six of 10 samples of debris and dust came back positive, the emergency-management agency said Thursday. Residents in the area were to keep windows closed, and anyone exposed to the falling debris was instructed to wash carefully and isolate the clothing they were wearing in plastic bags.
City engineers warned that up to six feet surrounding the giant hole might be in danger of further collapse, and officials said workers would not be allowed into office buildings in a zone that covered several blocks. The Buildings Department determined late Wednesday that nearby buildings were structurally sound but some had suffered water damage and broken windows.
The cause of the rupture remained under investigation.
Officials said the pipe might have exploded under pressure caused by an infiltration of cold rainwater, or might have been damaged by a water main break. Con Edison head Kevin Burke said the site had been inspected hours before the blast as part of a routine response to heavy rain that flooded parts of the city. He said crews had found nothing as they searched for steam rising from manhole covers or cracks in the street—indications that pipes could be in jeopardy. The steam systems are normally inspected every six weeks. It was rush hour Wednesday evening when the geyser erupted, generating a tremendous roar as 200-degree vapor sprayed as high as the top of the nearby Chrysler Building. Steam and dirt boiled from the ground for hours.
Many people were struck by falling chunks of asphalt or rock that had been blasted out of the ground. Mud covered some bystanders. A woman who was bleeding heavily was helped by police while a man lay on a stretcher in the street. When the steam dispersed almost two hours later, a large crater was visible in the street and a red truck lay at the bottom of the hole. Two city buses and a small school bus sat abandoned and covered with grit in the middle of Lexington Avenue. The steam pipes have ruptured before. In 1989, a steam pipe explosion near Gramercy Park killed three people and spewed loads of asbestos into the air—a fact that Con Ed later admitted it concealed for days while residents were exposed. That explosion was caused by a condition known as water hammer, in which water condenses in a closed section of pipe. The sudden mix of hot steam and cool water can cause pressure to skyrocket, bursting the pipe.
Authorities Thursday couldn't immediately account for how the most seriously wounded victims of the latest eruption were hurt. Police said the woman who died, identified as Lois Baumerich, 57, of Hawthorne, N.J., suffered cardiac arrest. She and 15 other people were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where two seriously injured patients were being treated in a trauma unit, hospital spokesman Stephen Bohlen said. Two other people were in critical condition at New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Emily Berlanstein. Among the injured were several firefighters and police Officer Robert Mirfield, who helped evacuate 75 people trapped in a nearby office building by cutting open a gate, authorities said. Associated Press Writers Eric Vora, Richard Pyle, Tom Hays, Marcus Franklin, David B. Caruso and Verena Dobnik and AP National Writer Deborah Hastings contributed to this report.
IN NY (LONGISLAND) THERE WAS A RARE TORNADO, ONLY ABOUT THE 6TH IN 50 YEARS. AND ALSO IN NY (MANHATTAN) A STEAMY EXPLOSION THAT SOUNDED LIKE AN EARTH QUAKE AND LOOKED LIKE A VOLCANO BILLOWING SMOKE AND VAPOR INTO THE AIR. I THOUGHT WHEN I SEEN IT ON TV THIS IS THE ATTACK I'M EXPECTING TO HAPPEN SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, BUT IT WAS NOT, THANK GOD FOR THAT.
Jul 18, 2007 4:34 pm US/Eastern
Tornado Leaves Thousands Without Power On L.I.
CBS) ISLIP, N.Y. The National Weather Service confirmed that an F-1 tornado touched down in the Islip area of Long Island Wednesday morning. At the F-1 level, a tornado carries hurricane-force winds that can reach 110 mph. It can peel off roofs, push mobile homes off their foundations or blow vehicles off the road.LIPA reports major power outages on Long Island. At its peak, some 51,000 customers were without power. Currently, 12,900 still have no electricity.CBS 2's Lonnie Quinn says the severe weather is not over with yet. The tornado was caused by a low pressure system around Canada, near the Great Lakes, and will continue to push showers and storms throughout the Tri-State area until Friday, with some being severe.
Quinn said another tornado cannot be ruled out, but is less likely to happen in Manhattan, as opposed to the outer boroughs and suburbs. Tornadoes are caused by rotation in atmosphere from service winds flowing in opposite directions - where they meet and begin to spin. The chances of tornado touching down in Manhattan is low because of concentration of high buildings which disrupt rotation. It isn't impossible, but it would be out of ordinary, Quinn said.National Weather Service Meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki said the service received a number of reports of damage in the area after it issued a tornado warning between 9:19 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. The NWS sent crew to examine the pattern of debris, and they determined that a tornado actually struck the area.
The weather service got its reports of trees down and other damage from members of the public and from emergency management staff, he said. Implemented in place of the Fujita scale introduced in 1971, the enhanced Fujita scale began operational use on Feb. 1, 2007. The scale has the same basic design as the original Fujita scale, six categories from zero to five representing increasing degrees of damage. It was revised to reflect better examinations of tornado damage surveys, so as to align wind speeds more closely with associated storm damage.On this new scale, Wednesday's tornado would be classified EF-1, according to CBS 2 meteorologist Jason Cali. Suffolk County says there have been reports of what it's calling tornado-like damage in Islip Township at Iris Lane and the north service road of Sunrise Highway.
Suffolk firefighters are dealing with four house fires that were likely caused by lightning.The United States averages about 1,200 tornadoes a year, but they are uncommon in the New York area. A tornado struck about 20 miles north of New York City last July, causing heavy damage to a Westchester County store.CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Foreign ministers set to call for EU troops in Chad
19.07.2007 - 09:22 CET | By Helena Spongenberg
The European Union is set to take the first step towards sending soldiers to Chad to help the UN protect tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan's Darfur region.EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday (23 July) are expected to endorse a plan for a possible 12-month peace-keeping mission with 1,500 to 3,000 troops to protect refugee camps bordering Sudan's western Darfur region, EU diplomats say according to press reports.Political approval for the move could come as early as September, leading to a possible European Security and Defence Policy mission to support the UN presence in eastern Chad and eventually handing over to a UN-AU – African Union - peacekeeping force.
The idea has been pushed by Paris and has gained support from other EU capitals. We have the possibility to be very useful in Darfur, I hope, and in any case, to cooperate on this operation in Chad for its civilian populations, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday (18 July), according to AP.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and French president Nicolas Sarkozy last week discussed the possibility of deploying an interim EU force as soon as possible near the refugee camps in Chad, while awaiting the deployment of a UN police force.The EU move would come a few days after UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno on Tuesday (17 July) urged the 27-nation bloc to send troops and helicopters swiftly to improve security for refugees and aid workers as part of efforts to contain violence spilling over the border from Sudan.
In Darfur, at least 200,000 people are estimated to have died and more than 2 million have fled their homes since fighting flared in 2003 when African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudan government, in a conflict started over water resources.
MUCH ABOUT HISTORY
Iraq to renovate biblical prophet's tomb Purported burial site for Nahum to be restored - July 19, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com
The national Antiquities Department in Iraq has announced plans for the renovation and restoration of an ancient synagogue in al-Qoush, a short drive north of Mosul and the location of the purported tomb of the biblical prophet Nahum.
The purported tomb of Nahum
The Antiquities Department has added the tomb of the Prophet Nahum, peace be on him, to its 2008 preservation plan, Abbas al-Hussaini, the department's chief, told the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman. Archaeologists have said the work on the synagogue and the tomb is urgent, with some scientists fearing the structure already may have been irreparably damaged. However, the agency has delayed the work because it lacked the expertise and resources to refurbish and reconstruct the historic structures, officials said. Hussaini confirmed his administrative team is seeking foreign help for the work. Nahum, one of the Bible's minor prophets, is venerated by all faiths and sects in Iraq, including Muslim Shiites and Sunnis, according to the government agency. The tomb is not important to Iraqis only. It is of an international character and can turn into a tourist attraction, Hussaini told the newspaper.
Azzaman speculated that the beginning of work is bound to attract considerable media interest and perhaps reveal more information about the prophet of whom the Bible says very little beyond the fact that a reference to the town of al-Qoush from which he hailed.Among the questions expected to be addressed is the age of the tomb, as well as the age of the synagogue itself, which is believed to be more than 400 years old. Al-Qoush is a major Christian center in northern Iraq, but it held a large Jewish population before the Jewish return to the new nation of Israel in 1948.
According to the recommendations of an organization called Tomb of Nahum, it is advisable that the repairs to the site be undertaken hand-in-hand with an archaeological team, which may also provide the opportunity to examine the interior of the tomb (presently sealed) itself.The organization noted that a structural survey already completed by an American civil engineer suggested the renovation likely will cost around $400,000. The cost … does include renovation of all the buildings and the perimeter wall, the organization said. Officials also said such work cannot be launched without permission of the Kurdish Regional Government's Ministry of Religious Affairs, which also has authority to allow examination of the tomb's interior.
[Officials with] the Ministry of Religious Affairs have previously stated their position that they will not countenance restoration of the synagogue without the written permission of the Jewish Council. Whether by this statement they mean the Chief Rabbi in Iraq or a body in Israel is unclear. As Iraq does not recognize the state of Israel, the permission of the Baghdad rabbi or the national board of Jewish deputies of the UK or the U.S. will probably be sufficient, the group said. The renovation of al-Qoush synagogue is a matter of great urgency if what is believed to be the tomb of a biblical prophet is not to be irreparably damaged or destroyed,the group said. Officials note al-Qoush is one of three places that claim to house the tomb of Nahum, who prophesied in 655 B.C. the downfall of Nineveh, which happened in 612 B.C. His writings are the 27th book of the Old Testament and the Talmud.
Historically, it is believed the Assyrian king Shelmanassar II brought thousands of Hebrews to northern Iraq about 727 B.C., and some settled in al-Qoush, where a population of pagans already existed. Christianity arrived later. Part of the synagogue's roof has collapsed In recent history, the Jews in al-Qoush, like the rest of Iraq, were subjected to increasingly oppressive laws starting about in 1930. In 1948, the last of the Jews left, with the rabbi handing the keys of the synagogue to a neighbor. Some parts of the Jewish quarter are estimated at more than 2,000 years old, and in the center of the synagogue is a simple plaster tomb topped by a green silk coverlet, the purported tomb of Nahum himself. Part of the roof of the synagogue has collapse, and other portions are described as in a sorry state of repair.The region also includes a monastery, Raban Hormus, which dates to the 3rd century. It sits on the slope of the mountain overlooking al-Qoush. In a statement on the weblog Gateway Pundit, Haider Ajina, an Iraqi-American, noted the plan shows us what a budding democracy and rule of law can do, even under tough conditions.
This also shows that Muslims who no longer fear their militant leaders and are free of their leader's venomous rhetoric can and will do. This sparks tremendous hope,he said.
Asbestos in Dust After Eruption, Air OK Jul 19 08:39 AM US/Eastern
By ADAM GOLDMAN - Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - A massive geyser of steam and debris that erupted through a midtown Manhattan street left asbestos in the dust that settled, but city officials Thursday said tests indicated the air was safe of the carcinogen. Tests were continuing, but the city's Office of Emergency Management said in a statement that long-term health problems were unlikely.Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the possibility of asbestos contamination was the main health concern after an 83-year-old steam pipe ruptured less than a block from Grand Central Terminal, spewing a skyscraper-sized blast of steam, dirt and debris into the air. Some of the city's older pipes that pump steam beneath the city to heat and cool thousands of buildings are wrapped in asbestos, which can cause fatal lung disease, though the disease is typically linked to prolonged exposure. Crews worked overnight to assess and repair the damage and determine what happened.
One woman died of an apparent heart attack when the pipe erupted, and about 30 other people were injured, at least four seriously. Officials quickly ruled out terrorism, but for some witnesses, the explosion, dust, debris and chaos were frighteningly reminiscent of the scene on Sept. 11, 2001. We were scared to death. It sounded like a bomb hit or a bomb went off, just like 9/11. People were hysterical, crying, running down the street, said Karyn Easton, a customer at a salon a few blocks from the site of the blast. It was really surreal.Thursday morning, stretches of several major thoroughfares in the area remained closed. Most subway service was restored, though the trains continued to bypass Grand Central. Eight air samples in the area around the explosion found no sign of asbestos, but six of 10 samples of debris and dust came back positive, the emergency-management agency said Thursday. Residents in the area were to keep windows closed, and anyone exposed to the falling debris was instructed to wash carefully and isolate the clothing they were wearing in plastic bags.
City engineers warned that up to six feet surrounding the giant hole might be in danger of further collapse, and officials said workers would not be allowed into office buildings in a zone that covered several blocks. The Buildings Department determined late Wednesday that nearby buildings were structurally sound but some had suffered water damage and broken windows.
The cause of the rupture remained under investigation.
Officials said the pipe might have exploded under pressure caused by an infiltration of cold rainwater, or might have been damaged by a water main break. Con Edison head Kevin Burke said the site had been inspected hours before the blast as part of a routine response to heavy rain that flooded parts of the city. He said crews had found nothing as they searched for steam rising from manhole covers or cracks in the street—indications that pipes could be in jeopardy. The steam systems are normally inspected every six weeks. It was rush hour Wednesday evening when the geyser erupted, generating a tremendous roar as 200-degree vapor sprayed as high as the top of the nearby Chrysler Building. Steam and dirt boiled from the ground for hours.
Many people were struck by falling chunks of asphalt or rock that had been blasted out of the ground. Mud covered some bystanders. A woman who was bleeding heavily was helped by police while a man lay on a stretcher in the street. When the steam dispersed almost two hours later, a large crater was visible in the street and a red truck lay at the bottom of the hole. Two city buses and a small school bus sat abandoned and covered with grit in the middle of Lexington Avenue. The steam pipes have ruptured before. In 1989, a steam pipe explosion near Gramercy Park killed three people and spewed loads of asbestos into the air—a fact that Con Ed later admitted it concealed for days while residents were exposed. That explosion was caused by a condition known as water hammer, in which water condenses in a closed section of pipe. The sudden mix of hot steam and cool water can cause pressure to skyrocket, bursting the pipe.
Authorities Thursday couldn't immediately account for how the most seriously wounded victims of the latest eruption were hurt. Police said the woman who died, identified as Lois Baumerich, 57, of Hawthorne, N.J., suffered cardiac arrest. She and 15 other people were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where two seriously injured patients were being treated in a trauma unit, hospital spokesman Stephen Bohlen said. Two other people were in critical condition at New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Emily Berlanstein. Among the injured were several firefighters and police Officer Robert Mirfield, who helped evacuate 75 people trapped in a nearby office building by cutting open a gate, authorities said. Associated Press Writers Eric Vora, Richard Pyle, Tom Hays, Marcus Franklin, David B. Caruso and Verena Dobnik and AP National Writer Deborah Hastings contributed to this report.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
ATTACK ON USA COMING SOON MAYBE
Germany backs U.S. Mideast initiative
www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-18 03:13:17
BERLIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany welcomes the new U.S. Middle East initiative which called for an international meeting to seek ways to create a Palestinian state, a German government spokesman said Tuesday. Germany supported the goal of laying the foundation for a successful Palestinian state with which peace talks could be conducted, said spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm. A Palestinian state with effective governance, functioning economy as well as law and justice, is vital to the two-state solution in the Middle East, he said. According to the spokesman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by telephone on Tuesday afternoon with Palestine's prime minister-designate Salam Fayyad and offered her support for Palestine's further efforts for the peace process.
Fayyad told Merkel that he is trying to establish a better system of authority, particularly in the security sector, said the spokesman. On Monday, U.S. President George W. Bush announced his new Middle East initiative. According to the plan, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will chair a conference in the autumn that would include the Israelis, Palestinians and their Arab neighbors committed to the two-state solution. Bush also announced 190 million dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian government led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad. The U.S. plan emerged in an effort to bolster Abbas's more moderate Fatah government in its power struggle against the Hamas militant group which still refuses to recognize Israel. Editor: Luan Shanglin
BOTH PAT ROBERTSON AND BENNY HINN HEARD FROM GOD THAT THE US WILL BE ATTACKED SOMETIME AFTER JULY OF THIS YEAR. PAT IN PRAYER AND BENNY HAS THE FEELING GOD IS TELLING HIM OF A MAJOR ATTACK ON USA SOIL.
Al-Qaida plots new attacks on U.S. soil By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 17, 6:59 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.
At the same time, the intelligence analysts worry that international cooperation against terrorism will be hard to sustain as memories of Sept. 11 fade and nations' views diverge on what the real threat is.In the National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a persistent and evolving threat to the country over the next three years.
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.National Intelligence Council Chairman Thomas Fingar warned that the group's operatives in Iraq are getting portable, firsthand experience in covert communications, smuggling, improvised explosive devices, understanding U.S. military tactics and more.The Iraqi affiliate also helps al-Qaida more broadly as it tries to energize Sunni Muslim extremists around the globe, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — including for homeland attacks, according to a declassified summary of the report's main findings.
In addition, analysts stressed the importance of al-Qaida's increasingly comfortable hideout in Pakistan that has resulted from a hands-off accord between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and tribal leaders along the Afghan border. That 10-month-old deal, which has unraveled in recent days, gave al-Qaida new opportunities to set up compounds for terror training, improve its international communications with associates and bolster its operations.
The assessment shows how the threat has changed.
Just two years ago, the intelligence agencies considered al-Qaida's various franchises decentralized offshoots, with bin Laden mostly providing ideological direction.Fingar said his experts believe bin Laden and his top deputy are hiding in Pakistan. There is no question that the ungoverned character of the space is a major factor in the Taliban's and al-Qaida's and other extremist groups' ability to hide — hide in plain sight, he said.National Intelligence Estimates are the most authoritative written judgments of the 16 spy agencies across the breadth of the U.S. government. These documents reflect the consensus long-term thinking of top intelligence analysts.Tuesday's publicly disclosed judgments are part of a more expansive, still-classified document, approved by the heads of all 16 intelligence agencies on June 21.
Analysts — who concluded the U.S. now faces a heightened threat environment painted an increasingly familiar picture of al-Qaida: A group focused on high-profile attacks against political, economic and infrastructure targets, while striving to cause mass casualties and dramatic destruction.FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said the bureau does not know of any al-Qaida cells in the United States, although his agents continue investigating such questions. The estimate said international counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have hampered al-Qaida's ability to attack the United States again, while also convincing terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.Charles Allen, the Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence official, said the department isn't changing the nation's threat level, which remains at yellow, or elevated the middle of a five-point scale. Airlines remain one step higher, at orange.
Even as authorities warn of dangers in the U.S., analysts concluded the threat is more severe in Europe. The problem could touch the United States directly, Fingar noted, because of the ease of travel between Europe and here.The White House sought to downplay the report's worries about the future of international counterterrorism cooperation. Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, said the administration isn't concerned about being abandoned by allies. Cooperation is actually as strong as it's ever been, she said.The Bush administration also brushed off critics who say the administration released the intelligence estimate now to help its case as the Senate debates whether to withdraw troops from Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said critics are engaged in a little selective hearing ... to shape the story in their own political ways.Meanwhile, Democrats said the report was proof that U.S. anti-terrorism efforts are being drained by the Iraq war.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., called on the U.S. to responsibly redeploy its troops from Iraq and turn security over to the Iraqis. "In hindsight, we should have concentrated our efforts on al-Qaida in Afghanistan from the beginning, he said. Significant debate in recent weeks has focused on the genesis of the al-Qaida threat in Iraq and the nature of its links to al-Qaida's leaders. With the intelligence report's release, Bush sought to draw the threat in Iraq closer to bin Laden. These people have sworn allegiance to the very same man who ordered the attack on September the 11th, 2001, he said. At a briefing and in a later interview, Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, said al-Qaida in Iraq did not have any active cells when the U.S. invaded in March 2003. He said the watershed moment was when its now-deceased leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declared his allegiance to bin Laden in an October 2004 Internet message. Beyond al-Qaida, the report also laid out three other potential terror threats to the country: Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim extremist group, may be more likely to consider attacking here, especially if it believes the United States is directly threatening the group or its main sponsor, Iran. The number of homegrown extremists in the U.S. and its Western allies is growing, fueled by Internet web sites and anti-American rhetoric. So-called single issue terrorist groups probably will attack here on a smaller scale. They include white supremacists, anarchists and animal rights groups, such as Animal Liberation Front. On the Net:
The estimate's key judgments: http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20070717_release.pdf
www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-18 03:13:17
BERLIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany welcomes the new U.S. Middle East initiative which called for an international meeting to seek ways to create a Palestinian state, a German government spokesman said Tuesday. Germany supported the goal of laying the foundation for a successful Palestinian state with which peace talks could be conducted, said spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm. A Palestinian state with effective governance, functioning economy as well as law and justice, is vital to the two-state solution in the Middle East, he said. According to the spokesman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke by telephone on Tuesday afternoon with Palestine's prime minister-designate Salam Fayyad and offered her support for Palestine's further efforts for the peace process.
Fayyad told Merkel that he is trying to establish a better system of authority, particularly in the security sector, said the spokesman. On Monday, U.S. President George W. Bush announced his new Middle East initiative. According to the plan, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will chair a conference in the autumn that would include the Israelis, Palestinians and their Arab neighbors committed to the two-state solution. Bush also announced 190 million dollars in direct aid to the Palestinian government led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Fayyad. The U.S. plan emerged in an effort to bolster Abbas's more moderate Fatah government in its power struggle against the Hamas militant group which still refuses to recognize Israel. Editor: Luan Shanglin
BOTH PAT ROBERTSON AND BENNY HINN HEARD FROM GOD THAT THE US WILL BE ATTACKED SOMETIME AFTER JULY OF THIS YEAR. PAT IN PRAYER AND BENNY HAS THE FEELING GOD IS TELLING HIM OF A MAJOR ATTACK ON USA SOIL.
Al-Qaida plots new attacks on U.S. soil By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 17, 6:59 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.
At the same time, the intelligence analysts worry that international cooperation against terrorism will be hard to sustain as memories of Sept. 11 fade and nations' views diverge on what the real threat is.In the National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a persistent and evolving threat to the country over the next three years.
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.National Intelligence Council Chairman Thomas Fingar warned that the group's operatives in Iraq are getting portable, firsthand experience in covert communications, smuggling, improvised explosive devices, understanding U.S. military tactics and more.The Iraqi affiliate also helps al-Qaida more broadly as it tries to energize Sunni Muslim extremists around the globe, raise resources and recruit and indoctrinate operatives — including for homeland attacks, according to a declassified summary of the report's main findings.
In addition, analysts stressed the importance of al-Qaida's increasingly comfortable hideout in Pakistan that has resulted from a hands-off accord between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and tribal leaders along the Afghan border. That 10-month-old deal, which has unraveled in recent days, gave al-Qaida new opportunities to set up compounds for terror training, improve its international communications with associates and bolster its operations.
The assessment shows how the threat has changed.
Just two years ago, the intelligence agencies considered al-Qaida's various franchises decentralized offshoots, with bin Laden mostly providing ideological direction.Fingar said his experts believe bin Laden and his top deputy are hiding in Pakistan. There is no question that the ungoverned character of the space is a major factor in the Taliban's and al-Qaida's and other extremist groups' ability to hide — hide in plain sight, he said.National Intelligence Estimates are the most authoritative written judgments of the 16 spy agencies across the breadth of the U.S. government. These documents reflect the consensus long-term thinking of top intelligence analysts.Tuesday's publicly disclosed judgments are part of a more expansive, still-classified document, approved by the heads of all 16 intelligence agencies on June 21.
Analysts — who concluded the U.S. now faces a heightened threat environment painted an increasingly familiar picture of al-Qaida: A group focused on high-profile attacks against political, economic and infrastructure targets, while striving to cause mass casualties and dramatic destruction.FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said the bureau does not know of any al-Qaida cells in the United States, although his agents continue investigating such questions. The estimate said international counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have hampered al-Qaida's ability to attack the United States again, while also convincing terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.Charles Allen, the Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence official, said the department isn't changing the nation's threat level, which remains at yellow, or elevated the middle of a five-point scale. Airlines remain one step higher, at orange.
Even as authorities warn of dangers in the U.S., analysts concluded the threat is more severe in Europe. The problem could touch the United States directly, Fingar noted, because of the ease of travel between Europe and here.The White House sought to downplay the report's worries about the future of international counterterrorism cooperation. Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, said the administration isn't concerned about being abandoned by allies. Cooperation is actually as strong as it's ever been, she said.The Bush administration also brushed off critics who say the administration released the intelligence estimate now to help its case as the Senate debates whether to withdraw troops from Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said critics are engaged in a little selective hearing ... to shape the story in their own political ways.Meanwhile, Democrats said the report was proof that U.S. anti-terrorism efforts are being drained by the Iraq war.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., called on the U.S. to responsibly redeploy its troops from Iraq and turn security over to the Iraqis. "In hindsight, we should have concentrated our efforts on al-Qaida in Afghanistan from the beginning, he said. Significant debate in recent weeks has focused on the genesis of the al-Qaida threat in Iraq and the nature of its links to al-Qaida's leaders. With the intelligence report's release, Bush sought to draw the threat in Iraq closer to bin Laden. These people have sworn allegiance to the very same man who ordered the attack on September the 11th, 2001, he said. At a briefing and in a later interview, Ted Gistaro, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats, said al-Qaida in Iraq did not have any active cells when the U.S. invaded in March 2003. He said the watershed moment was when its now-deceased leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, declared his allegiance to bin Laden in an October 2004 Internet message. Beyond al-Qaida, the report also laid out three other potential terror threats to the country: Lebanese Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim extremist group, may be more likely to consider attacking here, especially if it believes the United States is directly threatening the group or its main sponsor, Iran. The number of homegrown extremists in the U.S. and its Western allies is growing, fueled by Internet web sites and anti-American rhetoric. So-called single issue terrorist groups probably will attack here on a smaller scale. They include white supremacists, anarchists and animal rights groups, such as Animal Liberation Front. On the Net:
The estimate's key judgments: http://www.dni.gov/press_releases/20070717_release.pdf
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
PERPLEXED PEACE PROCESS
July 16, 2007
Stymied ARLENE KUSHNER
It is I who am stymied. Flummoxed. Not to mention grieved, and furious.It is 1:00 AM here in Israel as I write, and yet I feel compulsed to send out this message, which I can only hope and pray will make the rounds extensively. Why stymied and flummoxed? Because there is the sense that the world is truly insane, and that it's hard to know how to handle this or respond to it. Or to know what the end will be.
Olmert met today with Abbas in the prime minister's Jerusalem residence. At that time Olmert made many gestures and concessions.
Start with the 250 prisoners who are about to be released. Most, but not all, of them are from Fatah -- some are from other factions, not including Hamas. They all have at least one more year to serve on their terms, they all will have signed that very significant and binding pledge to renounce terrorism, and none of them have blood on their hands. But let's look a bit closer at this last criterion. Many of them ATTEMPTED terror attacks that were unsuccessful. They may have thrown a bomb that failed to go off or shot a gun that misfired. They may even have been caught with a suicide belt. They wanted to kill Jews, they tried to kill Jews, they just didn't manage to do it. Yet. Their mindset, their goals are not different from those of terrorists who have succeeded. And our prime minister agrees to send them out there, to try again. Does anyone -- anyone! -- take seriously their pledge to renounce terrorism? Does Olmert do anything but make a laughing stock of himself with this? Does Olmert, with his talk about risks that we can afford to take, give a damn about the innocents to be targeted?
And then there are the roughly 180 Al Aksa Brigades people we're pardoning. I wrote about them yesterday -- about their connections to Iran, and the fact that they already are in or are being incorporated into the PA security services. And I ask if Olmert has lost his mind entirely. The logic being advanced is that since we won't any longer have to monitor these guys -- who will also be signing those valuable commitments to renounce terrorism -- we will have more time to go after Hamas. And, while I have scrupulously refrained from utilizing obscenities in my postings, it seems that nothing short of an obscenity can truly express how I feel about this. I ask myself, again, does anyone -- anyone! -- really take seriously their stated intentions to start being nice guys? We're talking about people who DO have Jewish blood on their hands, people who take money and instructions from Iran.
Because I understand the mentality and the process...Because I know that we've been had a dozen times this way before...I knew intuitively and with certainty that the conversion of the Al Aksa terrorists was not real. The Palestinians are masters at appearing to be what the world wants them to be, while not changing their ultimate goal (Israel's destruction) one iota.But tonight I also read Caroline Glick's latest column, entitled The joke's on us. Glick wrote:
It's all a joke. It's just a joke.
That's how the Palestinian terror commanders in Judea and Samaria explained the show they made of handing in their weapons to Fatah commander Mahmoud Abbas's official militias over the weekend. This is all a big joke, they told reporters while posing for pictures. Abbas asked us to sign a declaration saying we won't attack Israel and so we are.And why not? The Palestinian Authority Chairman agreed to pay them thousands of dollars in exchange for the photo opportunities. There is also the non-financial incentive. In exchange for their propaganda photos and their signatures on declarations not to engage in terror anymore, Israel has pledged to take these murderers off of its wanted list. So just for participating in a satire, these men get to walk without fear for the first time in years. Now, if this doesn't make you sick to your stomach, it's made of cast iron.
And I'm not finished yet. I knew this was also on the table, but Glick says it's pretty much finalized:
In anticipation of the formalization of the agreement at the Olmert-Abbas meeting Monday, the IDF ended its nightly raids in Judea and Samaria for the first time in five years. Those raids, in which thousands of terrorists were apprehended in their sleep and their networks disrupted, were the main reason that Israelis in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Netanya and Hadera have been able to sleep in a modicum of safety for the past three years. It is these raids, rather than Abbas's vaunted efforts to strengthen the so-called peace camp in Palestinian society or the security fence that have prevented suicide bombers from entering Israeli cities with any frequency.
Saturday the IDF's General Staff ordered Central Command to receive prior General Staff approval for any such raids in the future. By taking the ability to fight terrorists away from the commanders in the field, the General Staff essentially made fighting terrorists off limits for IDF forces in Judea and Samaria. That is, without officially announcing it, Israel has agreed to Abbas's demand that it extend its 'unilateral cease-fire' in Gaza (which existed until Hamas rose to power last month), to Judea and Samaria.It's Jewish lives we're talking about, once again. And so I am enraged.
But there's something else going on here: Glick makes the point that Hamas was able to take Gaza because of that IDF self-imposed unilateral ceasefire; Hamas had more latitude to act unimpeded and to build its strength. Just days ago I quoted a top IDF official who said that Hamas's intention in Judea and Samaria is the same as in Gaza, but that they would not succeed. You have to come and see us operate each night, to understand this, said the IDF official. But now, if the IDF won't be operating each night? Abbas has been seeking the right to have his people maintain security. But Abbas and his security forces will not make the grade. Could it be (or am I merely looking for a silver lining here?) that the pullback on IDF operations will hasten Abbas's downfall?
Caroline Glick's piece can be found at: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184585439056&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Still, I am not done. With all of this President Bush gave a major speech tonight. In it he said that the US would be giving unprecedented amounts of money and political support to the PA. This, you see, is supposed to strengthen Abbas and motivate his people to become moderate. A mistake of colossal dimensions, and I will have much to say about this in coming days. Here I simply register my shock at this statement. What has Abbas done to justify such support? He lost Gaza because he didn't give the order to his men to shoot, and because they ran away. It was not for lack of arms or training that he lost. Yet Bush imagines that funds to strengthen Abbas's security forces will make the difference.
Bush also called for a conference on peace in the fall, that would include Israel, the Palestinians, and neighboring states, and be moderated by Condoleezza Rice. Shriek! This would be lean on Israel time. They're after Judea and Samaria for a Palestinian state.My only consolation: The times are so volatile, who knows what will happen by the fall.see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
U.S. launches Middle East peace moves By Caren Bohan
Mon Jul 16, 3:39 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush called on Monday for a Middle East peace conference bringing together Israel, the Palestinians and some Arab neighbors and led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Aiming to break years of stalemate and under pressure from Arab allies to pursue the issue, Bush set the conference for later this year and announced $190 million in aid to the Palestinians' Fatah-led government.Bush said the conference meant to pave the way to a Palestinian state alongside Israel would take place in the autumn but he specified no date, location or which neighbors would attend.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel would start freeing 250 Palestinian prisoners by week's end. Prisoner releases have bolstered confidence in the past.Bush said Palestinians faced a moment of choice between the Islamist militant group Hamas and Abbas' more moderate vision, and reaffirmed his vision of a Palestinian state at peace with Israel.This is a moment of clarity for all Palestinians. Now comes a moment of choice, Bush said in a White House speech. The alternatives before the Palestinian people are stark.Bush said the participants in the talks would help review progress on building Palestinian institutions.
PALESTINIAN STATE
They will provide diplomatic support for the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations so that we can move forward on a successful path to a Palestinian state, he said.With only 18 months left in office, Bush has said he will send Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to the region soon and they will press anew for help on Iraq which U.S. troops invaded in 2003.Olmert and Abbas met for two hours at Olmert's Jerusalem residence. They discussed how they can see arriving at a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said, although sources in Olmert's office said they did not discuss such divisive issues as the fate of Jerusalem, borders and Palestinian refugees.The Palestinians want to go a lot faster. The average Israeli would like to go a lot slower. We have to find something that is acceptable to both sides, Eisin said.Palestinian Information Minister Riyad al-Malki said the government, appointed by Abbas last month to replace a Hamas-led cabinet, did not put much weight on these meetings.We are not sure about Israel's seriousness, he said.
Israel has described its decisions to free 250 low-security Palestinian prisoners, mostly from Abbas' secular Fatah faction, and to suspend kill-or-capture missions against 180 Fatah gunmen, as goodwill gestures in support of the new government.
Israel has already reopened the financial taps to Western-backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government while tightening the economic and security cordon around the Gaza Strip, which Hamas seized by force on June 14.
$190 MILLION
Bush's $190 million is for the fiscal year that ends on September 30. Western countries rallied behind Abbas with promises of renewed aid after the Gaza seizure. Their hope is to isolate Hamas, branded a terrorist group by Washington, and spur peace moves between Palestinian moderates and Israel. Some political analysts said the strategy could backfire as Abbas will be viewed more as a collaborator with Israel and the United States. While Abbas and Olmert welcomed Bush's call for revised peace talks and an international conference, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri accused Bush of outlining a plot to launch a crusade against the Palestinian people.We call upon all Arab countries to stand firm against these threats, he said in Gaza. U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have long wanted Bush to get more involved in Middle East peacemaking.
Eisin said Olmert would present the final list of prisoners to be released to an Israeli ministerial committee on Tuesday. She said Israel would begin releasing prisoners as early as Friday after at least a 48-hour legal review. Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Olmert refused Abbas' request to change the criteria by which Israel decides whom to release. Erekat said the Palestinian president urged Olmert to release jailed Palestinian political leaders including Marwan Barghouthi, an uprising leader who is seen as a possible successor to Abbas.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams, Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Entous in Jerusalem; Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)
Tuesday July 17, 11:54 PM
Israel rebuffs call for talks on issues
Israel ruled out negotiations at this stage over the boundaries of a future Palestinian state, rebuffing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and casting doubt on a renewed US push to address the issue.Israel's response came one day after US President George W Bush said serious negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state can begin soon. Bush said these negotiations should lead to a deal on Palestinian borders, suggesting other final-status issues like Jerusalem and refugees wait for later.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian president, who dismissed a Hamas-led cabinet after the Islamist group's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month, was prepared to start negotiations immediately on all final-status issues. Abbas delivered that message in person to Olmert when they met in Jerusalem on Monday, officials said.
Israel has openly stated that we're willing to talk about issues of political horizon and about how to achieve the vision of two states for two peoples, said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.But we have been very clear that we are not willing to discuss at this stage the three core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem, Eisin added.Western diplomats and analysts said Bush appeared to be outlining a new strategy of staged negotiations under which borders would be delineated before the parties try to settle the other core questions.Bush said the negotiations he envisaged starting soon must lead to a territorial settlement, with mutually agreed borders reflecting previous lines and current realities, and mutually agreed adjustments.
Doing so, Bush said, would help show Palestinians a clear way forward to establishing a state, and could ultimately lead to agreement on the fate of refugees and Jerusalem and a permanent end to the conflict.On the face of it, President Bush is now saying, in effect, that parties should focus on what is solvable, namely territory, while deferring the issues considered most difficult: Jerusalem and refugees, said David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He called this a departure from the past when all issues were bundled together.Several Israeli newspaper columnists cast Bush's new peace push as too little, too late. He leaves office in a year and a half.
Peace in the Middle East is like the horizon: The closer you get to it, the farther away it becomes, wrote Nahum Barnea, a pundit with Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
A senior Israeli official said Israel discounted the seriousness of Bush's push for negotiations on borders because he did not set any timetable.The senior Israeli official said Israel was counting on Bush insisting that Palestinians rein in militants before advancing to talks about borders. But another official acknowledged: The sequencing/phasing is left vague and open to interpretation.Bush urged Israel to uproot small Jewish outposts built without government approval in the West Bank but stopped short of demanding established settlements be removed. Instead, he called for an end to settlement expansion.Israel said it welcomed US plans to hold a peace conference that would include neighbouring Arab states. Eisin said Saudi Arabia and other countries that do not have formal ties to Israel should take part.
MIDDLE EAST: BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES US PRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING New York, Jul 17 2007 3:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed United States President George W. Bush’s proposal for an international meeting on the Middle East this autumn.The Secretary-General welcomes the statement made by US President George W. Bush on the Middle East peace process, a spokesperson for Mr. Ban, who is scheduled to meet the President today in Washington, DC, said in a statement.
He is encouraged by the President’s renewed commitment to a two-State solution, entailing the creation of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side with a secure Israel. The Secretary-General also welcomed the President’s proposal for an international meeting this autumn. “He looks forward to discussing these ideas with his partners in the Quartet in Lisbon on 19 July, spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York. The diplomatic Quartet is comprised of the UN, US, European Union and the Russian Federation. 2007-07-17 00:00:00.000
July 16, 2007
Commentary: Merkel embraces a new European order
Germany's Angela Merkel heads the new European triangle of power with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown(Michel Euler/AP)
Sarkozy and Merkel: with Gordon Brown, forming competing but friendly new coalitions at the head of Europe - Roger Boyes in Berlin
The first hint of change in the new triangle of power at the heart of Europe came when Nicolas Sarkozy hugged Angela Merkel. Not the gallant and slightly patronising hand-kiss of President Jacques Chirac, but an egalitarian Gallic embrace. As for Gordon Brown, the best that can be expected for now is a firm handshake.
Studying body language may seem out of date in a European Union that is run, after all, by 27 separate bodies, each with their own shrugs and twitches. But the modern Franco-German-British relationship depends on at least mimicking personal friendship between the respective leaders; too many of the continent's vital issues have to be settled with a quick phone call or over a hurried dinner.
And the management of Europe is changing: to secure consensus in the swollen Union, different heavyweight leaders may have to be enlisted to lean on dissidents. President Sarkozy was swift to understand this and made himself useful to Chancellor Merkel, both at the G8 summit in Heligendamm - where he helped to build the consensus around climate change - and at the last EU summit of the German presidency, when he applied subtle pressure on the Poles.
This stole some of the Chancellor’s thunder but signalled the coming shift in the way that Europe is going to be run: each EU presidency is going to have to be helped out by an informal directorate of the diplomatically gifted. Mrs Merkel signed up not only Sarko but also Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg to save the last EU summit.
Related Links
Boardroom shakeup to ease EADS tension
Is this the future of the Franco-German partnership - not an ideological axis committed to deeper European integration but a kind of crisis-busting A-team? And, if so, will Britain be part of this new pragmatic order? So far, the leaders know almost nothing of each other.
According to the German press, Peer Steinbrueck, the German Finance Minister, has submitted a short character analysis of Gordon Brown to Chancellor Merkel. Very sharp-witted, concluded the briefing, and no lover of empty phrases. Not much to go on there. It will take more than a dinner at the Chancellery to fill in the gaps, though there is common ground on at least one thing: a committment to an open European economy.
More, of course, is known about Sarko, who is starting to irritate the Germans. He seems to specialise in attention-grabbing faits accomplis: when he positioned Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund recently he talked to Mr Juncker and to President Bush - but not to Chancellor Merkel.That is not how the Franco-German friendship used to work.
The French leader’s protectionist genes, his passion for French industrial champions and his drive to give eurozone governments some oversight of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy:all that suggests a truly happy marriage should be made in Heaven, not on the Rhine.
Given the differences between the world view of the three new leaders, the betting is that they will form shifting, competing but superficially friendly coalitions rather than lead the European Union into a brave new dawn.
Stymied ARLENE KUSHNER
It is I who am stymied. Flummoxed. Not to mention grieved, and furious.It is 1:00 AM here in Israel as I write, and yet I feel compulsed to send out this message, which I can only hope and pray will make the rounds extensively. Why stymied and flummoxed? Because there is the sense that the world is truly insane, and that it's hard to know how to handle this or respond to it. Or to know what the end will be.
Olmert met today with Abbas in the prime minister's Jerusalem residence. At that time Olmert made many gestures and concessions.
Start with the 250 prisoners who are about to be released. Most, but not all, of them are from Fatah -- some are from other factions, not including Hamas. They all have at least one more year to serve on their terms, they all will have signed that very significant and binding pledge to renounce terrorism, and none of them have blood on their hands. But let's look a bit closer at this last criterion. Many of them ATTEMPTED terror attacks that were unsuccessful. They may have thrown a bomb that failed to go off or shot a gun that misfired. They may even have been caught with a suicide belt. They wanted to kill Jews, they tried to kill Jews, they just didn't manage to do it. Yet. Their mindset, their goals are not different from those of terrorists who have succeeded. And our prime minister agrees to send them out there, to try again. Does anyone -- anyone! -- take seriously their pledge to renounce terrorism? Does Olmert do anything but make a laughing stock of himself with this? Does Olmert, with his talk about risks that we can afford to take, give a damn about the innocents to be targeted?
And then there are the roughly 180 Al Aksa Brigades people we're pardoning. I wrote about them yesterday -- about their connections to Iran, and the fact that they already are in or are being incorporated into the PA security services. And I ask if Olmert has lost his mind entirely. The logic being advanced is that since we won't any longer have to monitor these guys -- who will also be signing those valuable commitments to renounce terrorism -- we will have more time to go after Hamas. And, while I have scrupulously refrained from utilizing obscenities in my postings, it seems that nothing short of an obscenity can truly express how I feel about this. I ask myself, again, does anyone -- anyone! -- really take seriously their stated intentions to start being nice guys? We're talking about people who DO have Jewish blood on their hands, people who take money and instructions from Iran.
Because I understand the mentality and the process...Because I know that we've been had a dozen times this way before...I knew intuitively and with certainty that the conversion of the Al Aksa terrorists was not real. The Palestinians are masters at appearing to be what the world wants them to be, while not changing their ultimate goal (Israel's destruction) one iota.But tonight I also read Caroline Glick's latest column, entitled The joke's on us. Glick wrote:
It's all a joke. It's just a joke.
That's how the Palestinian terror commanders in Judea and Samaria explained the show they made of handing in their weapons to Fatah commander Mahmoud Abbas's official militias over the weekend. This is all a big joke, they told reporters while posing for pictures. Abbas asked us to sign a declaration saying we won't attack Israel and so we are.And why not? The Palestinian Authority Chairman agreed to pay them thousands of dollars in exchange for the photo opportunities. There is also the non-financial incentive. In exchange for their propaganda photos and their signatures on declarations not to engage in terror anymore, Israel has pledged to take these murderers off of its wanted list. So just for participating in a satire, these men get to walk without fear for the first time in years. Now, if this doesn't make you sick to your stomach, it's made of cast iron.
And I'm not finished yet. I knew this was also on the table, but Glick says it's pretty much finalized:
In anticipation of the formalization of the agreement at the Olmert-Abbas meeting Monday, the IDF ended its nightly raids in Judea and Samaria for the first time in five years. Those raids, in which thousands of terrorists were apprehended in their sleep and their networks disrupted, were the main reason that Israelis in Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv, Netanya and Hadera have been able to sleep in a modicum of safety for the past three years. It is these raids, rather than Abbas's vaunted efforts to strengthen the so-called peace camp in Palestinian society or the security fence that have prevented suicide bombers from entering Israeli cities with any frequency.
Saturday the IDF's General Staff ordered Central Command to receive prior General Staff approval for any such raids in the future. By taking the ability to fight terrorists away from the commanders in the field, the General Staff essentially made fighting terrorists off limits for IDF forces in Judea and Samaria. That is, without officially announcing it, Israel has agreed to Abbas's demand that it extend its 'unilateral cease-fire' in Gaza (which existed until Hamas rose to power last month), to Judea and Samaria.It's Jewish lives we're talking about, once again. And so I am enraged.
But there's something else going on here: Glick makes the point that Hamas was able to take Gaza because of that IDF self-imposed unilateral ceasefire; Hamas had more latitude to act unimpeded and to build its strength. Just days ago I quoted a top IDF official who said that Hamas's intention in Judea and Samaria is the same as in Gaza, but that they would not succeed. You have to come and see us operate each night, to understand this, said the IDF official. But now, if the IDF won't be operating each night? Abbas has been seeking the right to have his people maintain security. But Abbas and his security forces will not make the grade. Could it be (or am I merely looking for a silver lining here?) that the pullback on IDF operations will hasten Abbas's downfall?
Caroline Glick's piece can be found at: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1184585439056&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Still, I am not done. With all of this President Bush gave a major speech tonight. In it he said that the US would be giving unprecedented amounts of money and political support to the PA. This, you see, is supposed to strengthen Abbas and motivate his people to become moderate. A mistake of colossal dimensions, and I will have much to say about this in coming days. Here I simply register my shock at this statement. What has Abbas done to justify such support? He lost Gaza because he didn't give the order to his men to shoot, and because they ran away. It was not for lack of arms or training that he lost. Yet Bush imagines that funds to strengthen Abbas's security forces will make the difference.
Bush also called for a conference on peace in the fall, that would include Israel, the Palestinians, and neighboring states, and be moderated by Condoleezza Rice. Shriek! This would be lean on Israel time. They're after Judea and Samaria for a Palestinian state.My only consolation: The times are so volatile, who knows what will happen by the fall.see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info
U.S. launches Middle East peace moves By Caren Bohan
Mon Jul 16, 3:39 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush called on Monday for a Middle East peace conference bringing together Israel, the Palestinians and some Arab neighbors and led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Aiming to break years of stalemate and under pressure from Arab allies to pursue the issue, Bush set the conference for later this year and announced $190 million in aid to the Palestinians' Fatah-led government.Bush said the conference meant to pave the way to a Palestinian state alongside Israel would take place in the autumn but he specified no date, location or which neighbors would attend.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel would start freeing 250 Palestinian prisoners by week's end. Prisoner releases have bolstered confidence in the past.Bush said Palestinians faced a moment of choice between the Islamist militant group Hamas and Abbas' more moderate vision, and reaffirmed his vision of a Palestinian state at peace with Israel.This is a moment of clarity for all Palestinians. Now comes a moment of choice, Bush said in a White House speech. The alternatives before the Palestinian people are stark.Bush said the participants in the talks would help review progress on building Palestinian institutions.
PALESTINIAN STATE
They will provide diplomatic support for the parties in their bilateral discussions and negotiations so that we can move forward on a successful path to a Palestinian state, he said.With only 18 months left in office, Bush has said he will send Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to the region soon and they will press anew for help on Iraq which U.S. troops invaded in 2003.Olmert and Abbas met for two hours at Olmert's Jerusalem residence. They discussed how they can see arriving at a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said, although sources in Olmert's office said they did not discuss such divisive issues as the fate of Jerusalem, borders and Palestinian refugees.The Palestinians want to go a lot faster. The average Israeli would like to go a lot slower. We have to find something that is acceptable to both sides, Eisin said.Palestinian Information Minister Riyad al-Malki said the government, appointed by Abbas last month to replace a Hamas-led cabinet, did not put much weight on these meetings.We are not sure about Israel's seriousness, he said.
Israel has described its decisions to free 250 low-security Palestinian prisoners, mostly from Abbas' secular Fatah faction, and to suspend kill-or-capture missions against 180 Fatah gunmen, as goodwill gestures in support of the new government.
Israel has already reopened the financial taps to Western-backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's government while tightening the economic and security cordon around the Gaza Strip, which Hamas seized by force on June 14.
$190 MILLION
Bush's $190 million is for the fiscal year that ends on September 30. Western countries rallied behind Abbas with promises of renewed aid after the Gaza seizure. Their hope is to isolate Hamas, branded a terrorist group by Washington, and spur peace moves between Palestinian moderates and Israel. Some political analysts said the strategy could backfire as Abbas will be viewed more as a collaborator with Israel and the United States. While Abbas and Olmert welcomed Bush's call for revised peace talks and an international conference, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri accused Bush of outlining a plot to launch a crusade against the Palestinian people.We call upon all Arab countries to stand firm against these threats, he said in Gaza. U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have long wanted Bush to get more involved in Middle East peacemaking.
Eisin said Olmert would present the final list of prisoners to be released to an Israeli ministerial committee on Tuesday. She said Israel would begin releasing prisoners as early as Friday after at least a 48-hour legal review. Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Olmert refused Abbas' request to change the criteria by which Israel decides whom to release. Erekat said the Palestinian president urged Olmert to release jailed Palestinian political leaders including Marwan Barghouthi, an uprising leader who is seen as a possible successor to Abbas.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams, Ari Rabinovitch and Adam Entous in Jerusalem; Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah; Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza)
Tuesday July 17, 11:54 PM
Israel rebuffs call for talks on issues
Israel ruled out negotiations at this stage over the boundaries of a future Palestinian state, rebuffing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and casting doubt on a renewed US push to address the issue.Israel's response came one day after US President George W Bush said serious negotiations toward the creation of a Palestinian state can begin soon. Bush said these negotiations should lead to a deal on Palestinian borders, suggesting other final-status issues like Jerusalem and refugees wait for later.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian president, who dismissed a Hamas-led cabinet after the Islamist group's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last month, was prepared to start negotiations immediately on all final-status issues. Abbas delivered that message in person to Olmert when they met in Jerusalem on Monday, officials said.
Israel has openly stated that we're willing to talk about issues of political horizon and about how to achieve the vision of two states for two peoples, said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.But we have been very clear that we are not willing to discuss at this stage the three core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem, Eisin added.Western diplomats and analysts said Bush appeared to be outlining a new strategy of staged negotiations under which borders would be delineated before the parties try to settle the other core questions.Bush said the negotiations he envisaged starting soon must lead to a territorial settlement, with mutually agreed borders reflecting previous lines and current realities, and mutually agreed adjustments.
Doing so, Bush said, would help show Palestinians a clear way forward to establishing a state, and could ultimately lead to agreement on the fate of refugees and Jerusalem and a permanent end to the conflict.On the face of it, President Bush is now saying, in effect, that parties should focus on what is solvable, namely territory, while deferring the issues considered most difficult: Jerusalem and refugees, said David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He called this a departure from the past when all issues were bundled together.Several Israeli newspaper columnists cast Bush's new peace push as too little, too late. He leaves office in a year and a half.
Peace in the Middle East is like the horizon: The closer you get to it, the farther away it becomes, wrote Nahum Barnea, a pundit with Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
A senior Israeli official said Israel discounted the seriousness of Bush's push for negotiations on borders because he did not set any timetable.The senior Israeli official said Israel was counting on Bush insisting that Palestinians rein in militants before advancing to talks about borders. But another official acknowledged: The sequencing/phasing is left vague and open to interpretation.Bush urged Israel to uproot small Jewish outposts built without government approval in the West Bank but stopped short of demanding established settlements be removed. Instead, he called for an end to settlement expansion.Israel said it welcomed US plans to hold a peace conference that would include neighbouring Arab states. Eisin said Saudi Arabia and other countries that do not have formal ties to Israel should take part.
MIDDLE EAST: BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES US PRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING New York, Jul 17 2007 3:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed United States President George W. Bush’s proposal for an international meeting on the Middle East this autumn.The Secretary-General welcomes the statement made by US President George W. Bush on the Middle East peace process, a spokesperson for Mr. Ban, who is scheduled to meet the President today in Washington, DC, said in a statement.
He is encouraged by the President’s renewed commitment to a two-State solution, entailing the creation of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side with a secure Israel. The Secretary-General also welcomed the President’s proposal for an international meeting this autumn. “He looks forward to discussing these ideas with his partners in the Quartet in Lisbon on 19 July, spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York. The diplomatic Quartet is comprised of the UN, US, European Union and the Russian Federation. 2007-07-17 00:00:00.000
July 16, 2007
Commentary: Merkel embraces a new European order
Germany's Angela Merkel heads the new European triangle of power with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown(Michel Euler/AP)
Sarkozy and Merkel: with Gordon Brown, forming competing but friendly new coalitions at the head of Europe - Roger Boyes in Berlin
The first hint of change in the new triangle of power at the heart of Europe came when Nicolas Sarkozy hugged Angela Merkel. Not the gallant and slightly patronising hand-kiss of President Jacques Chirac, but an egalitarian Gallic embrace. As for Gordon Brown, the best that can be expected for now is a firm handshake.
Studying body language may seem out of date in a European Union that is run, after all, by 27 separate bodies, each with their own shrugs and twitches. But the modern Franco-German-British relationship depends on at least mimicking personal friendship between the respective leaders; too many of the continent's vital issues have to be settled with a quick phone call or over a hurried dinner.
And the management of Europe is changing: to secure consensus in the swollen Union, different heavyweight leaders may have to be enlisted to lean on dissidents. President Sarkozy was swift to understand this and made himself useful to Chancellor Merkel, both at the G8 summit in Heligendamm - where he helped to build the consensus around climate change - and at the last EU summit of the German presidency, when he applied subtle pressure on the Poles.
This stole some of the Chancellor’s thunder but signalled the coming shift in the way that Europe is going to be run: each EU presidency is going to have to be helped out by an informal directorate of the diplomatically gifted. Mrs Merkel signed up not only Sarko but also Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg to save the last EU summit.
Related Links
Boardroom shakeup to ease EADS tension
Is this the future of the Franco-German partnership - not an ideological axis committed to deeper European integration but a kind of crisis-busting A-team? And, if so, will Britain be part of this new pragmatic order? So far, the leaders know almost nothing of each other.
According to the German press, Peer Steinbrueck, the German Finance Minister, has submitted a short character analysis of Gordon Brown to Chancellor Merkel. Very sharp-witted, concluded the briefing, and no lover of empty phrases. Not much to go on there. It will take more than a dinner at the Chancellery to fill in the gaps, though there is common ground on at least one thing: a committment to an open European economy.
More, of course, is known about Sarko, who is starting to irritate the Germans. He seems to specialise in attention-grabbing faits accomplis: when he positioned Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the International Monetary Fund recently he talked to Mr Juncker and to President Bush - but not to Chancellor Merkel.That is not how the Franco-German friendship used to work.
The French leader’s protectionist genes, his passion for French industrial champions and his drive to give eurozone governments some oversight of the European Central Bank’s monetary policy:all that suggests a truly happy marriage should be made in Heaven, not on the Rhine.
Given the differences between the world view of the three new leaders, the betting is that they will form shifting, competing but superficially friendly coalitions rather than lead the European Union into a brave new dawn.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)