| 1. Where is the United States in Prophecy? Bin Laden Plans New Attacks Bigger Than 9/11
Fugitive terrorist Osama bin Laden is planning new attacks against the U.S. that will "outdo by far" the attacks of 9/11, according to a report in a London-based Arabic newspaper. The paper, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, quotes a former senior Yemeni al-Qaida official saying the terror group is now in a “positive phase,” of staffing and rebuilding training camps around the globe. The action will lead to the next “wave of action” against the U.S., the paper reported. According to the report, bin Laden is personally involved in the preparations and is looking to "change the face of world politics and economics.” The paper is edited by Abdel al-Bari Atwan, the last journalist to interview bin Laden in 1996. The Yemeni operative says he remains in contact with current al-Qaida chiefs. He claims bin Laden sent a message to all jihad cells in the Arab world six months ago urging them not to interact with their governments or local political parties. More signs of al-Qaida’s violent intentions are expected over the next few days, the paper reported. The al-Qaida warning comes just one day after The Telegraph newspaper published a leaked government report showing thousands of extremists are active in the U.K. The document says the operatives are mostly native Brits between 18 and 30. Many have been trained in overseas terrorist camps. Security officials warned that al-Qaida will attempt another "spectacular" in the U.K., likely focused on airports or train stations, The Telegraph reported. Other potential targets include the Houses of Parliament, and Whitehall, Buckingham and St James' palaces................... read more Obama’s Road to Damascus - First Steps of the Coming Middle East Policy Change
History will record that Barack Obama’s first act of diplomacy as America’s president-elect took place two days after his election victory, when he dispatched his senior foreign-policy adviser, Robert Malley, to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—to outline for them the forthcoming administration’s Mideast policy vis-à-vis those nations. An aide to Malley reports, “The tenor of the messages was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests” than has President Bush. The Bush administration, it should be noted, has rightly recognized Syria to be not only a chief supporter of the al Qaeda insurgency in Iraq, but also the headquarters of the terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the longtime sponsor of Hamas—the terrorist army whose founding charter is irrevocably committed to the annihilation of Israel. Yet unlike President Bush, Obama and Malley have called for Israel to engage in peace negotiations with Syria. A Harvard-trained lawyer and Rhodes Scholar, Robert Malley is no newcomer to the Obama team. In 2007, Obama selected him as a foreign policy adviser to his campaign. In a July 2001 op-ed which Malley penned for the New York Times, he alleged that Israeli—not Palestinian—inflexibility had caused the previous year’s Camp David peace talks to fall apart. This was one of several controversial articles Malley has written—some he co-authored with Hussein Agha, a former adviser to Arafat—blaming Israel and exonerating Arafat (the most prolific Jew-killer since Adolph Hitler) for the failure of the peace process. Malley’s identification of Israel as the cause of the Camp David impasse has been widely embraced by Palestinian and Arab activists around the world. Malley also has written numerous op-eds urging the U.S. to disengage from Israel to some degree, and recommending that America reach out to negotiate with its traditional Arab enemies such as Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah (a creature of Iran dedicated to the extermination of the Jews and death to America), and Muqtada al-Sadr (the Shiite terrorist leader in Iraq). In addition, Malley has advised nations around the world to establish relationships with, and to send financial aid to, the Hamas-led Palestinian government in Gaza. This inclination to negotiate with any and all enemies of the U.S. and Israel—an impulse which Malley has outlined clearly and consistently—has had a powerful influence on Barack Obama................... read more Obama Will Change Balance on Courts Quickly
It’s a given that Barack Obama will change the balance on the courts to a liberal judicial outlook. What is surprising is how quickly he could do that. Because Democrats dragged their heels on President Bush’s judicial nominations, 14 seats are open on appeals courts or will be by the end of January. Democratic nominees now are a majority on only one of the 13 federal appeals courts, the ultra-liberal U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco. Within four years, Obama could name enough judges to give Democrats a majority on nine of the 13 appeals courts. On the Supreme Court, five justices are older than 70. The first likely to retire is Justice John Paul Stevens, who is 88. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75. Justice David Souter, who will turn 70 next year, is known to be unhappy living in Washington. Assuming Obama is re-elected, Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy will be 80 by his second term. Thus, Obama will be able to name several Supreme Court justices. Given that Democrats hold a majority of the Senate, Obama will have little trouble obtaining confirmation of his appointees. A simple majority of the Senate confirms judicial appointments. But what really sends chills up conservatives’ spines is the president-elect’s statement on a Chicago radio station that he is “not optimistic about bringing about major redistributive change through the courts,” implying that he would like to change the courts so that they construct their own laws. That raised a flag for Brad Berenson, who was associate counsel in the Bush White House and helped vet judicial appointments. “Given his legal training and his background as a constitutional law professor, given what he’s said publicly about the kinds of judicial appointees he’ll be looking for, and given a very substantial majority of Democrats in the Senate, he’s going to be emboldened to try to please his base with very liberal appointments,” Berenson told Newsmax. “During the campaign, when he was asked about what he would look for in a judge, the dominant theme of his comments was that he would look for a judge that would decide cases according to heart more than head, which suggests a substantive agenda in favor of helping certain favored or sympathetic groups in society, rather than a passion for finding judges who will neutrally apply the law, My general expectation is that he will look for people of quality, but he will look for people of quality who have a substantive liberal agenda on the bench, and as long as he has a substantial majority in the Senate, he may well get such people confirmed,”. Ken Klukowski, a legal expert who consults for major conservative interest groups, told Newsmax. “If he appoints someone that votes in a way against what his party base would anticipate, on some issue of critical concern to the left, whether it’s gay marriage, abortion, the second amendment, whatever it is, he knows that the political fallout for him could be catastrophic.”................... read more Sarkozy Pushes for Abandonment of Dollar as World Reserve Currency
The US dollar can no longer claim to be the sole world currency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday before a weekend summit on the global financial crisis that has its roots in the United States. 'I leave for Washington tomorrow to explain that the dollar, which at the end of World War II was the only world currency, can no longer claim to be the sold world currency,' Mr Sarkozy said. 'The world changes. We are in the 21st century and the French view is that we cannot continue into the 21st century with a system established in the 20th century,' he said. 'What was true in 1945 cannot still be true today. It is not a question of courage, it is a matter of good sense to look at things as they really are.' Leaders from the Group of 20 developed and developing countries meet in Washington on Saturday to discuss the financial crisis that has now begun to cut growth sharply worldwide. Created in 1999, the G20 countries account for 85 per cent of the world economy and about two-thirds of its population, with its leaders hoping to hammer on Saturday out a common approach and understanding of the crisis. Mr Sarkozy, who also holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, has said several times that the Washington meeting should tackle currency issues, alongside efforts to improve the transparency and regulation of the financial markets. Since the end of World War II, the US dollar has effectively been the world's reserve currency, used across the board and thereby giving the United States immense influence in the global economic system.................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece Abbas Praises Suicide Bombers; Foreign Media Downplay Remarks
Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, speaking in Ramallah in memory of his predecessor Yasser Arafat, praised "the path of the shahids [martyrs]--"the path we cherish." He added, "It is aimed at upholding the Palestinians' nationalist and sovereign resolutions." Israeli and Western governments almost always describe Abbas a as a "moderate," particularly when comparing him with leaders of Hamas, which the same governments have defined as a terrorist organization. Abbas told thousands at the rally, "The Palestinian leadership will continue to follow Yasser Arafat's path until a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established." Arafat carried out or ordered thousands of major and minor terrorist attacks before he died four years ago. Israeli Arab Knesset Member (United Arab List—Ta'al) Ahmed Tibi also addressed the rally at Ramallah, saying that "we miss Arafat's keffiyeh - a symbol for all revolutionaries, freedom-seekers worldwide." He expressed the hope that Arafat will "rise from the grave and lead" Arabs. Foreign media generally omitted Abbas's remarks on martyrs, which usually refers to suicide bombers, and highlighted his comments on the need for PA unity................ read more Likud Widens Gap over Kadima 33-28, Other Parties Drop
The Likud party would win 33 mandates, five more than Kadima, if elections were held today, according to a poll published by the Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) newspaper. The results of the survey shows that Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu would become Prime Minister with a slender majority of 61 Knesset Members. The new line-up in the Knesset, according to the newspaper poll, shows that every other party, except Meretz, would suffer losses. The Greens would win three mandates, giving the faction its first representation in the Knesset................. read more Ancient Jewish Rite May Save Africa From AIDS: Operation Abraham
The patriarch Abraham, who complied with the Torah-recorded commandment by God to circumcise himself, his sons Isaac and Ishmael, and all his generations afterward as a sign "in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:13), is the inspiration for a consortium of Israeli doctors who are training circumcision teams in Africa to fight the continental pandemic of AIDS in a project called Operation Abraham. The United Nations announced in 2007 that the procedure could reduce the rate of the HIV virus transmission by up to 60 percent. Operation Abraham was launched in 2006 by Dr. Inon Schenker, founder of the Jerusalem AIDS project and respected researcher and senior consultant specializing in HIV/AIDS prevention. The project is currently training counterparts in the AIDS-infested capital of Swaziland, Mbabane, to conduct assembly line-style circumcisions. Death rates are so high in Swaziland that the life expectancy of a citizen has plummeted to the tender age of 31. Ritual circumcision, which is ordinarily conducted according to the Torah commandment on the 8th day following the birth of a boy, was performed on tens of thousands of Russian Jewish men and older boys who were barred from taking part in the ancient Jewish tradition while living behind the Iron Curtain and chose to take part in the rite upon emigrating to Israel. According to Schenker, approximately 1,000 circumcisions were conducted every day in five hospitals around Israel during the height of Russian immigration. "Israel is the only country with such experience in mass adult-male circumcision, and it can respond to a very important humanitarian challenge," Schenker told the Tribune. Officials from the World Health Organization traveled to Jerusalem in 2006 to gather information on Israel’s expertise in the field, and used Israeli methodology to formulate a male circumcision manual and teaching course which are now part of government male circumcision programs in several African countries... ................ read more
4. The Gog/Magog War Target Israel? Iran Tests New Long-Range Missile
Iran test fired a new, more accurate surface-to-surface missile, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, in a fresh effort to enhance Tehran’s military might. The test comes as speculation brews over a possible U.S. or Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, which are believed to be a front for a weapons development program. "It will only fall on the Islamic republic's enemies who want to attack and invade the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar told the AFP. "This missile is a two-stage weapon with two combined solid-fuel engines and has an extraordinary high capability," state television quoted Najjar as saying. While Iran claims that its ballistic missiles — which can strike targets more than 1,200 miles away — are for defensive purposes, Tehran has warned that it would strike American bases in the Middle East in the event of an attack from the U.S. or Israel. Iran is known to possess a medium-range ballistic missile known as the Shahab-3, which means "shooting star" in Farsi, with a range of at least 800 miles. In 2005, Iranian officials said they had improved the range of the Shahab-3 to 1,200 miles. "We know that Iran is developing an extended version of the Shahaab-3 that could strike our allies and our friends from the middle east as well as southeastern Europe and to include some of our deployed forces," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told FOX News. "We've consistently pointed out that Iran's missile program is a concern and this testing is another reminder of the importance of establishing a missile defense site in Poland and Czech Republic to defend the U.S. and Europe against a threat that is developing in Iran." ................. read more Russia to Sell Heavy Arms to Lebanon
Following a meeting last week between leading Lebanese legislator Sa'ad Hariri and Russian leaders, Hariri was quoted by Russian media this weekend as saying Russia will sell heavy weaponry to Lebanon. Previously, Hariri said that he hoped Russia would help Lebanon claim Mt. Dov from Israel. Russia is expecting Lebanon to recognize the independence of the breakaway Georgian districts of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Hariri, the son of the assassinated popular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, represents the Western-backed majority in the Lebanese parliament. Russia will "help the Lebanese army," the Vremia Novosti newspaper quoted Hariri as saying, "which needs heavy weapons" such as tanks and artillery. American military aid, Hariri told Russian media, only consists of light arms. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr is to visit Moscow in coming weeks, when the details of the arms deal will be finalized. The Russian state arms export firm, Rosoboronexport, has been boycotted by the United States government for arms deals with Iran, North Korea and Syria. In early October, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and urged him not to approve the sale of weapons to Iran and Syria. It was imperative, he told the Russian leader, to "prevent weapons from Syria from reaching extremist elements in Lebanon, such as Hizbullah."..................... read more
5. Apostate Christianity 'Pastor to presidents' replaced by gay bishop
A conservative Christian activist says it's a sad omen for the Obama administration and the United States that Barack Obama has been seeking guidance from the Episcopal Church's first openly homosexual bishop. The Times of London reports that the president-elect sought out New Hampshire homosexual bishop Vicki Gene Robinson for advice three times during his presidential campaign. Robinson, whose ordination in the Episcopal Church has caused a deep rift within the Anglican Communion, was reportedly sought out by Obama to discuss what it feels like to be "first." Robinson notes in their three private conversations, Obama voiced his support for "equal civil rights" for homosexuals and described the election as a "religious experience." Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, believes Obama's consultations with Robinson show the true tenor of his upcoming administration. Gene Robinson advocates homosexuality as part of the Christian experience," he explains. "Now Bible-believing Christians cannot accept that. Homosexual practice is sinful, as taught by the scriptures. LaBarbera suggests Robinson may possibly replace Jeremiah Wright as one of Obama's main spiritual advisers. Wright was Obama's Chicago pastor for 20 years before disassociating with the controversial preacher during the presidential campaign.. ................. read more Methodist Church continues downward spiral with "inclusive philosophy"
A religious watchdog organization says the recent unauthorized ordination ceremony for a lesbian and another woman who champions homosexual rights is evidence of the theological tailspin plaguing the historic United Methodist Church in Maryland. Last month, a so-called "extraordinary ordination" was held at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Organizers said the ceremony was sponsored by the Church Within A Church Movement, a Methodist group which bills itself as being the "inclusive church" and plants churches with the objective of providing ministry opportunities for "sexual minorities." Annie Britton and Jenna Zirbel were "ordained" on Sunday, October 19. Britton is legally married to her partner in Massachusetts, and Zirbel says she had been denied ordination previously because of her stated support of "gay and lesbian people in the church." United Methodist Church (UMC) officials noted the ceremony was unauthorized. Mark Tooley with The Institute on Religion & Democracy believes organizers have a clear agenda. "The Church Within A Church Movement is hoping that they are doing what the church as a whole will be doing in the near future," he contends. "I am more hopeful that the church, having said no, will continue to say no to the acceptance of openly homosexual clergy.". ................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam Saudi Arabia Using UN Interfaith Dialogue To Push Global Blasphemy Law
World leaders gathering at the United Nations this week for a special session of the General Assembly to advance interfaith dialogue should have no illusions that their efforts will miraculously promote mutual respect between religious communities or end abuses of religious freedom. Saudi King Abdullah, who initiated this week's special session, is quietly enlisting the leaders' support for a global law to punish blasphemy – a campaign championed by the 56-member Organization of Islamic Conference that puts the rights of religions ahead of individual liberties. If the campaign succeeds, states that presume to speak in the name of religion will be able to crush religious freedom not only in their own country, but abroad. The UN session is designed to endorse a meeting of religious leaders in Spain last summer that was the brainchild of King Abdullah and organized by the Muslim World League. That meeting resulted in a final statement counseling promotion of "respect for religions, their places of worship, and their symbols ... therefore preventing the derision of what people consider sacred." The lofty-sounding principle is, in fact, a cleverly coded way of granting religious leaders the right to criminalize speech and activities that they deem to insult religion. Instead of promoting harmony, however, this effort will exacerbate divisions and intensify religious repression. Such prohibitions have already been used in some countries to restrict discussion of individuals' freedom vis-à-vis the state, to prevent criticism of political figures or parties, to curb dissent from prevailing views and beliefs, and even to incite and to justify violence. In a particularly egregious recent case, a woman was gang-raped as punishment by seven men who found her alone in a car with a man who was not her relative. She escaped the sentence of 200 lashes and six months in prison only because of a pardon by King Abdullah, yet he also said he believed the sentence was appropriate. Holding a session on advancing interfaith dialogue abroad is a pale substitute for hosting it in the kingdom, where the message of respect for freedom of religion and belief is most needed. Against the background of Saudi repression and the kingdom's role in exporting extremism, including through school textbooks preaching hatred of "unbelievers," the UN and every world leader attending the special session should be demanding an end to severe violations of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia................ read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies First 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being
Scientists have created the first 'humanoid' robot that can mimic the facial expressions and lip movements of a human being. 'Jules' - a disembodied androgynous robotic head - can automatically copy the movements, which are picked up by a video camera and mapped on to the tiny electronic motors in his skin. It can grin and grimace, furrow its brow and 'speak' as his software translates real expressions observed through video camera 'eyes'. Jules is the first humanoid robot who can realistically mimic a real person's expressions merely by watching their face Jules mimics the expressions by converting the video image into digital commands that make the robot's servos and motors produce mirrored movements. And it all happens in real time as the robot can interpret the commands at 25 frames per second. The technology works using ten stock human emotions - such as happiness, sadness, concern etc - that the team 'taught' Jules via programming. The software then maps what it sees to Jules's face to combine expressions instantly to mimic those being shown by a human subject. 'If you want people to be able to interact with machines, then you've got to be able to do it naturally. 'When it moves, it has to look natural in the same way that human expressions are, to make interaction useful.' Peter Jaeckel, who works in artificial emotion, artificial empathy and humanoids at BRL, said: 'Realistic, life-like robot appearance is crucial for sophisticated face-to-face robot-human interaction. 'Researchers predict that one day, robotic companions will work, or assist humans in space, care and education........................... read more Australian web filter to block 10,000 internet sites
Australia's mandatory net filter is being primed to block 10,000 websites as part of a blacklist of unspecified "unwanted content". Some 1300 websites have already been identified by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Communications Minister Senator Conroy revealed details of the Rudd Government's proposed web filter as he called for expressions of interest from internet service providers (ISPs) for a live trial of the technology, the Courier-Mail reports. ISPs will test ways to filter the web using volunteer subscribers. The trial will start before Christmas and is expected to last six weeks. "The pilot will specifically test filtering against the ACMA blacklist of prohibited content, as well as filtering of other unwanted content," Senator Conroy told Parliament today. "While the ACMA blacklist is currently around 1300 URLs, the pilot will test against this list - as well as filtering for a range of URLs to around 10,000 - so that the impacts on network performance of a larger blacklist can be examined." Electronic Frontiers Australia board member Colin Jacobs said his civil liberties group was concerned at what would be deemed "unwanted content". "It is unclear how ACMA will scale up their blacklist to 10,000 websites and what will go on the list," he said........................... read more Google Trends - What The World Is Searching And Thinking
Collective intelligence might be the most unreliable and elusive resource on the planet. But when someone does manage to tap it, it can be powerful. Just think of Wikipedia, which has proven to be a broad, flexible and surprisingly accurate source of information, because anyone can edit it. One of the most exciting new experiments in collective intelligence comes from Google. (Where else?) It's called Google Flu Trends. It monitors how often users in various parts of the United States enter certain phrases into its search engine: "flu symptoms", for example, or "chills." Over time, the graph of flu-related searches is strikingly similar to the graph of documented flu outbreaks. If there's a spike in flu cases in late November in Maine, it will show up in Google searches as well as doctor's offices. But the really exciting thing is that Google might know about the spike a week or two before public health authorities do, because people tend to search the Internet before they call their doctors. This means that by monitoring search engines, governments can predict outbreaks earlier. Google suggests the tool might even help governments mount an early response to a pandemic. It's worth remembering that the effectiveness of a tool like Google Flu Trends depends on the computer literacy and access to technology of a given population. It might also be skewed by fears (see article: "Massive Surge in traffic for keyword “antichrist” since Obama victory") and misperceptions. It's also worth asking what uses authoritarian governments might find for search-engine monitoring. ........................ read more Packs of robots to hunt down uncooperative humans
The latest request from the Pentagon jars the senses. At least, it did mine. They are looking for contractors to provide a "Multi-Robot Pursuit System" that will let packs of robots "search for and detect a non-cooperative human". One thing that really bugs defence chiefs is having their troops diverted from other duties to control robots. So having a pack of them controlled by one person makes logistical sense. But I'm concerned about where this technology will end up. Given that iRobot last year struck a deal with Taser International to mount stun weapons on its military robots, how long before we see packs of droids hunting down pesky demonstrators with paralysing weapons? Or could the packs even be lethally armed? I asked two experts on automated weapons what they thought. Both were concerned that packs of robots would be entrusted with tasks - and weapons - they were not up to handling without making wrong decisions........................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues Gay Rights Activists Attack Church, Media Silent
Worshippers at a Bible-teaching church in Lansing, Mich., were stunned Sunday when members of a pro-homosexual, pro-anarchy organization named Bash Back interrupted their service to fling propaganda and condoms around the sanctuary, drape a profane banner from the balcony and feature two lesbians making out at the pulpit. According to a blog posting by Nick De Leeuw on Right Michigan, the Bash Back organization orchestrated a protest in front of Mount Hope Church to draw the church's security staff away from the sanctuary. Then Bash Backers who had dressed up and mixed in with church worshippers took action. According to De Leeuw, "Prayer had just finished when men and women stood up in pockets across the congregation, on the main floor and in the balcony. "'Jesus was gay,' they shouted among other profanities and blasphemies as they rushed the stage. Some forced their way through rows of women and kids to try to hang a profane banner from the balcony while others began tossing fliers into the air. Two women made their way to the pulpit and began to kiss," he wrote. He cited the Bash Back organization's own announcement of other items members brought into the church, including "a megaphone, noise makers, condoms, glitter by the bucket load, confetti, pink fabric. ..." According to the alternative Lansing City Pulse – which reported it was notified of the protest ahead of time and sent a reporter along instead of warning the church – the protesters also screamed at parishioners and pulled the church facility's fire alarm. The report said Bash Back issued a statement today confirming it targeted Mount Hope, which has about 5,000 church participants, because it participates in "the repression of queers." "According to the Bible, Mount Hope Church believes homosexuality to be a sin, just as fornication, stealing, drunkenness, and lying are sins. No sin greater than the next. Mount Hope Church strives to follow Jesus' example of loving the sinner but not the sin while helping people change their lives for God's glory and their improved quality of life. Mount Hope Church also recognizes that to each person God grants freewill." The church then offered help for people "caught up in unwanted sexual sin, drug abuse, and many other areas." "The church's response? After things settled down, the blasphemy ended, the lewd props removed and the families safe from fear of additional men and women running into and past them the pastor took the stage and led the congregation in one more prayer ... not for retribution, or divine justice or a celestial comeuppance but instead that the troubled individuals who'd just defiled the Lord's house, so full of anger and hate, would know Jesus' love in their lives and God's peace that exceeds human understanding,"...................... read more Christian Ballet Ministry Takes Gospel to Israel
America’s premier Christian ballet company kicked off their Israel tour, taking a story of hope, forgiveness and reconciliation to the world’s only Jewish state. Ballet Magnificat!’s 13-day tour will hit Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tiberius before ending Nov. 22 in Tel-Aviv. At each stop, the Christian ballet ministry will be performing The Hiding Place, a powerful ballet based on the story of renowned holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, who has used the events that took place in the lives of herself and her family during the Nazi invasion to teach the world the power of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Though Israel forbids Christians from evangelizing in the country, the Jewish state has honored ten Boom as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for helping many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II. Ten Boom and her family, all strong Christians, had become very active in the Dutch underground in 1942, hiding refugees and rescuing many Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazi Party’s “Shield Squadron.” After about two years of taking in refugees, the ten Booms were arrested in 1944 and sent to Scheveningen prison, where Corrie’s father died after ten days. Corrie’s sister also died later after the family was moved to the notorious Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Corrie was eventually released on Christmas Day of December 1944 due to a clerical error. The women prisoners her age in the camp were killed the week following her release. "God does not have problems. Only plans," she said following her release. After the war, ten Boom returned to the Netherlands to set up rehabilitation centers. She returned to Germany in 1946, and traveled the world as a public speaker, appearing in over 60 countries, during which time she wrote many books – her most famous being The Hiding Place, which was made into a film in 1975 as well as the ballet performance performed by Ballet Magnificat! Ballet Magnificat! – founded by Keith Thibodeaux and his wife, 1982 USA IBC silver medalist Kathy Thibodeaux – has taken the story of ten Boom from coast to coast in the United States, in addition to Honduras, Belize, Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Since its founding in 1986, Ballet Magnificat! has been dedicated to presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world through the medium of dance. .............. read more Signs of the times - Oregon City Elects America's First Transgender Mayor
Plenty of politicians reinvent themselves, but few do it quite like Mayor-elect Stu Rasmussen. Rasmussen has been a fixture in Silverton politics for more than 20 years, and had twice before been mayor of the small city 45 miles south of Portland. Those terms, however, were before his breast implants and before the once-discreet crossdresser started wearing dresses and 3-inch heels in public. Silverton has made Rasmussen the country's first openly transgender mayor, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a group that works to help openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people win elected office. Rasmussen, 60, unseated incumbent mayor Ken Hector, with whom he had long clashed, by 1,988 votes to 1,512. "Stu never sought this recognition out," said JustOut reporter Stephen Marc Beaudoin. "He's interested in doing a great job for the community that he loves. The gender identity thing is just a total backseat thing." That comes across when Rasmussen speaks in his decidedly masculine voice. "I am a dude," he said. "I am a heterosexual male who appears to be a female.". .............. read more Palestinian Christians Suffering ‘Severe Blows’ From Muslims, Muslim Says
Palestinian Christians are suffering “severe blows” at the hands of Muslims, a Palestinian wrote in an exceptionally candid column about the situation of Christians in Arab countries. “Let us be honest with ourselves and courageously say out loud that Palestinian Christians are taking many severe blows, yet are suffering in silence so as not to attract attention,” wrote Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar in the P.A. daily Al-Ayyam. Muslims and most Christians in Palestinian areas tell journalists that they are all Palestinians. Publicly, they usually deny that there are any problems or differences between them. They say that they get along fine and the main problem is the Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank. Privately, however, some Christians admit to job losses, land seizures, attacks on churches, intimidation, torture, beatings, kidnappings, forced marriage and sexual harassment of Christian women. Some Christians have been killed. But examples of inter-religious tension rarely make it into the Palestinian or Arab media. In his column on October 25, Al-Najjar, who is himself a Muslim and a regular contributor to the official P.A. newspaper, criticized the Muslim persecution of Christians in Arab countries, particularly in Palestinian Authority-administered areas. Al-Najjar said Christians are suffering, not because of the Israeli “occupation” but because of the confiscation of Christian property, especially in theWest Bank cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Birah. Tens of thousands of Arab Christians have fled the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years. In Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, the Christian exodus has been most acute. In 1990, 60 percent of the population there was Christian. Today, some estimates say 20 percent or less of the city’s population is Christian. Only 1.5 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is Christian. .............. read more
9. Other events to watch Giving Babylon a second chance
It was one of the world's first, greatest cities — a place where astronomers mapped the stars millennia ago and kings created an early code of law and planted what became known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Yet little remains of the ancient capital, as seen by The Associated Press during a trip to Babylon last month on one of the few permits issued by Iraq's government since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The site has the aura of a theme park touched by the ambition of dictator Saddam Hussein and the opportunism of looters: Modern walkways run beside crumbling old walls, a reconstructed Greek theater and a palace built for Saddam atop an artificial hill. Now, for the first time, global institutions led by the U.N. are thoroughly documenting the damage and how to fix it. A UNESCO report due out early next year will cite Saddam's construction but focus, at the Iraqi government's request, on damage done by U.S. forces from April to September 2003, and the Polish troops deployed there for more than a year afterward. The U.S., which turned Babylon into a military base, says the looting would have been worse but for the troops' presence. The U.S. also says it will help rehabilitate Babylon, funding an effort by the World Monuments Fund and Iraq's State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, but has yet to release precise funding figures. Archaeologists hope the effort will lead someday to new digging to follow up on the excavations done by a German team in the early 1900s. "The site is tremendously important," said Gaetano Palumbo of the New York City-based World Monuments Fund. Yet in its present state, Babylon is "hardly understandable, as a place where so much happened in history." ................... read more 100 Days To Shaping A New World Economic Order
European Union leaders backed a 100-day deadline by which the world's leading economies should decide urgent global finance reforms, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday. Sarkozy, who chaired a special meeting of EU nations, said the financial crisis and economic downturn required a quick deal on an overhaul at a Nov 15 summit in Washington bringing together leaders of the world's 20 largest industrialized nations and emerging economies. "We are in an economic crisis. We have to take this into account," Sarkozy said. "We have to react and we have no time to lose." "I'm not going to take part in a summit where there is just talk for talk's sake," Sarkozy told reporters after talks between the heads of the EU's 27 nations. The EU is calling for a second global summit next spring to flesh out changes to the way the world economy is governed. They want to see far more supervision of big financial companies and are urging governments to jointly monitor them. They want to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street excesses that caused havoc in markets worldwide, and are bringing emerging economies China, India and Brazil on board for talks on shaping a new world economic order. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Washington talks should be a "decisive moment for the world economy." A text agreed by EU leaders says they want an early warning system that would watch for financial bubbles and prevent ``world imbalances'', such as the swelling US trade deficit. They also suggest making the International Monetary Fund the world's financial watchdog, suggesting it be given more power to curb financial crises and give more money to aid countries in trouble..................... read more |
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