News for June 19, 2005

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4th Significant Earthquake Shakes Calif. (June 17, 2005) - Just hours after a moderate earthquake shook most of Southern California, a strong quake struck off the state’s northern coast to become the fourth significant shaker to jolt California this week. Neither quake Thursday caused serious damage. One person was injured. A 6.6-magnitude temblor hit about 125 miles off the coast of Eureka around 11:30 p.m., rattling the ocean floor. In the afternoon, a 4.9-magnitude quake struck east of Los Angeles, startling people and knocking items off shelves and desks. “All of a sudden it just started rocking,” said John Napolitano, 45, a campus police officer at Crafton Hills College. “I just sat there and rode it out.” Four significant quakes have hit California this week: A magnitude-5.2 quake shook Riverside County on Sunday, and a magnitude-7.2 quake trembled Tuesday under the ocean 90 miles off Northern California.

Palestinian terror at worst level since ‘cease-fire’ Attacks continue despite Abbas-Sharon truce agreement (June 17, 2005) - The past few weeks have seen the highest levels of Palestinian violence, including attempted suicide attacks, since the signing in February of a cease-fire agreement between Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, WND has learned. According to an analysis provided by Israel’s Center for Special Studies, “throughout the course of the second half of May, there has been an additional increase in the number of terrorist attacks in various forms, marking the highest level reached since the [cease-fire.] The terrorist attacks have been targeted against civilians and IDF soldiers alike. However, there has been a decrease in the number of casualties.”

Heat wave kills 170 in India (June 19, 2005) - The death toll from a heat wave sweeping much of India neared 170 on Sunday, as the meteorological office reported that annual monsoon rains are moving slowly toward the parched regions. The death toll since the heat wave began in early June rose to 167, with 39 and 36 people succumbing to the sizzling heat in the plains of northern Uttar Pradesh and eastern West Bengal state, along with six in Bihar. Officials said another 11 people died in western Maharashtra and southern Andhra Pradesh states. Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal said 75 people had died in the eastern state of Orissa. On Saturday temperatures in many parts of the country, particularly Orissa and West Bengal, exceeded 50° Celsius. more...

Hamas won't drop goal of destroying Israel (June 19, 2005) - Hamas refuses to renounce its goal of one day destroying the Jewish state, but visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice did not feel that was reason enough to bar the terror group from participating in “Palestinian” government. Earlier this month, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa asked his visiting British counterpart if London would consider taking Hamas off its list of known terrorist organizations if it had a strong showing in upcoming parliamentary elections. Britain’s Jack Straw responded that Hamas would remain on the terror list until it renounced violence and amended its charter, which calls for Israel’s demise, Israel’s Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported. more...

Earthquakes recorded at Sarigan Island (June 19, 2005) - A swarm of volcano-tectonic earthquakes occurred on Sarigan Island, while Anatahan’s rumbling volcano displayed small explosions every 10-20 seconds. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Emergency Management Office reported Saturday that a small swarm of 10 volcano-tectonic events with magnitudes between 0.5 and 1.75 had occurred beneath or within a few kilometers of Sarigan Island. Sarigan, which is located about 95 nautical miles north of Saipan and is the next island north of Anatahan, is actually a volcano with no known historic eruption. Volcano-tectonic events occur when stress changes happen to solid rock due to the injection or withdrawal of magma. Volcano-tectonic earthquakes can cause land to subside and can produce large ground cracks. These earthquakes can occur as rock is moving to fill in spaces where magma is no longer present. Volcano-tectonic earthquakes may indicate that volcanic eruption can occur at anytime. EMO director Rudolfo Pua could not be reached yesterday for an interview about the Sarigan situation. more...

Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Israel (June 19, 2005) - Li Zhaoxing, Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, will arrive in Israel on Sunday, 19 June, for an official visit, as the guest of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom. The visiting minister will meet with President Moshe Katsav and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and will hold a talk with Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who will also host a festive dinner in his honor. In his meetings with his Israeli hosts, the Chinese minister will discuss the peace process, as well as global issues that affect both sides and ways to promote bilateral relations. more...

It’s amazing to me how many nations are in talks and visiting with Israeli diplomats. It’s almost like their trying to offer peace to Israel! Hmm, the Bible talks about this and says there will be a time of peace in Israel, but it will be a fake peace meant to decieve into complacency for the eventual overthrow which Jesus himself will come and prevent.

House to U.N.: Reform Or We’re Cutting Off the Money (June 18, 2005) - The House voted Friday to issue an ultimatum to the United Nations: reform or lose U.S. financial support. Lawmakers also made clear to the White House that its more diplomatic approach wouldn’t do. Led by Republicans, the House voted 221-184 for a bill that would withhold one half of assessed U.S. dues, currently around $440 million a year, if the U.N. doesn’t accomplish nearly four dozen steps to improve its accountability and root out corruption. Failure to comply would also result in U.S. refusal to support expanded and new peacekeeping missions. more...

It’s about time is all I have to say

EE.U. MYSTERIOUSLY STUMBLES BUT EFFORTS AT GLOBALIZATION, WORLD RELIGION REMAIN (June 18, 2005) - There is a lot of talk about the intercession of the late Pope John Paul II since his death more than two months ago and we are beginning to wonder if that intercession has occurred on more than a personal scale. Specifically, we are alluding here to the European Union: It was John Paul II who was so upset with the way the European Union was forming -- ignoring the Christian roots of Europe in a proposed new constitution. Now, and suddenly, shockingly, that constitution has stumbled. It seems like the juggernaut it once was overnight has evaporated. Is the E.U. dead? Hardly. And the Church believes there are good aspects to it. In fact, bishops have offered the hope that it can be a vehicle for stabilization and peace. more...

Christian doctors defend right to refuse abortions (June 18, 2005) - Christian doctors are in federal court to defend their right to refuse to provide abortions and abortion referrals. The Alliance Defense Fund and the Christian Legal Society filed a motion to intervene Thursday in San Francisco in a lawsuit brought by the state of California against the U.S. government. “Forcing pro-life healthcare workers to provide abortion services is hardly ‘pro-choice,’” said Steven H. Aden, chief litigation counsel of the Christian Legal Society Center for Law & Religious Freedom. The case was initiated by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who filed suit against the U.S. government in January, claiming the recently passed Weldon Amendment is unconstitutional. The December 2004 amendment, signed by President Bush, forbids state and local governments that receive federal funds from discriminating against healthcare providers because they refuse to perform or refer patients for abortions. California says it would require the physicians to offer abortions only in “emergency” cases. But Aden argues the problem is that state law assumes every abortion after viability is a “medically necessary” abortion. Therefore, it’s always an “emergency” because there is always some risk to the mother’s life or health in carrying a pregnancy to term. more...

I can’t believe this is an issue! That’s our court system for you.

PA SENIOR FIGURE: “NO NEED TO DISARM TERRORISTS” By Arutz Sheva Israel National News (June 13, 2005) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) will not disarm terrorists until Israel totally withdraws to the pre-1967 borders, PA Foreign Minister Nasser Al-Kidwa said on June 13. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has not distanced himself from the remarks, which mark a senior PA official going on record as being even more extreme than arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat. Analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner of Independent Media Review Analysis (IMRA) has noted that the Oslo Accords in September 1993 were forged when Arafat wrote a letter to then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, saying, “The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of violence and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations, and discipline violators.” Al-Kidwa, speaking to the Reuters news agency, said, “Under international law, the Palestinian people have the right to resist this occupation and defend themselves. When occupation ends, it becomes a different matter.” He stated that after Israel withdraws, everyone but the security apparatus will have to be disarmed. Reuters also reported that Israel’s vice prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in response to similar statements Al-Kidwa made on PA television that a PA refusal to disarm terrorists was “akin to dropping a cluster bomb” on diplomatic negotiations. The United States-sponsored Road Map Plan says the PA leadership must “undertake visible efforts on the ground to arrest, disrupt, and restrain” those who plan anti-Israeli attacks; confiscate illegal weapons; and dismantle terrorist infrastructures. more...

JUSTICE LEVY: “DISENGAGEMENT UNDERMINES JEWS' RIGHT TO ISRAEL” (June 9, 2005) - Israeli High Court Justice Edmond Levy joined a growing chorus of experts warning that the planned surrender of Gaza and northern Samaria will ultimately weaken the Jews’ claim to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Disengagement Plan “will ultimately undermine the Jewish people’s right to settle even in those parts of the land where there is a consensus that they should remain under Israeli sovereignty under any future agreement,” Haaretz quoted Levy as writing. Levy was responding to the high court’s ruling that the expulsion of Jewish settlers from their homes was legal and that, in fact, Jews had no right to live in Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza). Levy was the only one out of 11 justices to vote against the ruling, which put an end to 12 petitions, filed by settlers and their supporters, and removed the final legal obstacle to implementation of the evacuation. After consulting past League of Nations and United Nations decisions, Levy concluded that Israel was not an “occupying power” in Yesha, but rather exercised sovereignty there both by historic right and “a right anchored in international law.” more...