News for September 7, 2007

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Iran offers to aid Syria following tensions with Israel YNet News (September 6, 2007) - Iran's ambassador to Damascus, Mu , assured security officials in Syria that Teheran would be ready to offer Damascus any assistance it may need, Iranian media reported on Thursday afternoon following a resurgence of tensions between Israel and Syria. Syria claims that IDF aircraft entered Syrian airspace overnight.
| Iran | Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

Olmert Offers Judea, Samaria, Divides Jerusalem in Draft Accord Israel National News (September 6, 2007) - Israel's government has agreed, in writing, to hand over 6,250 square kilometers of land – the equivalent of its entire biblical and strategic heartland - to an Arab terror state. So reports Dr. Guy Bechor, a leading expert on Arab affairs, who also supplies some of the details of the negotiations. Bechor reports, based on "leaks from the Palestinian side," that Israel has, in the past few days, presented Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas at least one draft of an "agreement of principles."

• The agreement calls for a state named Palestine to be established alongside Israel, and have a territory of 6,250 square kilometers: the equivalent of all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
• "Palestine" will be demilitarized.
• Most of the Jewish communities built in Judea and Samaria over the past 40 years are to demolished and their inhabitants expelled, according to the plan. The remaining communities are to be concentrated in small salients for which the Arab state will be compensated with additional territory elsewhere in present-day Israel.
• A passage of some sort will connect Gaza and Judea and Samaria. It will be under Jewish sovereignty and Palestinian administration.
• Israel agrees to redivide Jerusalem. Arab neighborhoods will be under Arab sovereignty and Jewish ones under Jewish sovereignty. Mention is made of "religious areas," but further details are not known as of yet. Each side will recognize the other's spiritual needs.
• The "refugee" question is not mentioned at all, and Bechor reports that this is the main sticking point. Abbas is insisting that Arabs descended from those who fled Israel in 1948 be allowed to return to Israel, at least in principle.

Bechor says that Abbas and his men have gone over the draft and are not pleased; they know how to negotiate, he notes. In a recent interview with PA TV, Abbas said that "declarations of principles are a waste of time" and "useless." What the PA wants, he said, is a clear timetable for establishing Palestine, as well as an Israeli pullback, demolition of Jewish communities and "return of refugees" (i.e., the flooding of Israel with Arab citizens). The Arabs are hoping Israel will become more pliable in November, when an international diplomatic conference, sponsored by the US, is to be held in an attempt to hammer out an accord. An official close to Mahmoud Abbas, Mustafa Bargouti, said that the idea of a conference is "an Israeli trap" and that nothing will come of it.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1st Seal |

Solana: ‘Israel has our solidarity in fighting terrorism’ European Jewish Press (September 4, 2007) - Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, condemned Monday the Qassam rocket attack from Gaza on a kindergarten school in the Israeli southern city of Sderot. Speaking at a press conference after meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem, Solana, who is on a new Middle East trip, declared: "I would like to offer my solidarity to the people of Sderot and I condemn the rocket attack on a school today". “I was there with the minister not long ago and we were welcomed together there, and I know what it means. And to see Sderot again today - once again, seeing the same spirit of the people of Sderot, particularly the kids in the schools. I think that this is something that I have to condemn,” he added. Asked about EU support for Israeli operations in Gaza to stop the rockets, Solana, whose official title is EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), said: "Israel has our solidarity in fighting terrorism. We have continued to search for efficient measures against terrorism. Sometimes we do not agree 100% on exactly how to combat it but we offer our full solidarity with Israel in it’s efforts to fight terroris. Israel knows that you have it.” Solana’s trip is aimed at preparing the EU for an intensive period of activity in the coming months and at restarting the peace process. He pointed to the meeting of the ad hoc liaison committee and the Quartet meeting during the UN General Assembly week later this month in New York and the international conference to take place in the late autumn probably in Washington. This conference was called for by US President George Bush as part of efforts to jumpstart the dormant peace process in the wake of the takeover of Gaza by Hamas in mid-June. Solana said: "We don’t know exactly when the conference will take place but it must be a success. We can not allow it to fail and we must therefore define success". The EU would help and cooperate as much as possible in the preparations of the event, he added. more...
| Israel | Islam | America | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Solana beating US conference drum Associated Press (September 4, 2007) - European Union Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana has arrived in Egypt for talks with the Egyptian officials on Middle East peace process. Solana will hold talks with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit and the Arab League Chief Amr Moussa, according to DPA. Solana's multi-leg tour of the Middle East takes place ahead of a major US-sponsored international conference on Middle Peace which is scheduled to be held in Washington this autumn. The main discussions between the EU's top diplomat and the Egyptian officials are expected to be held on Wednesday. During the two-day visit Solana will make efforts to bring the Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table. Solana held similar talks in Amman on Monday. So far, Solana's statements had signaled hope. During his Sunday's visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah, Solana predicted that the coming months would witness a series of important forums in which the peace process will be discussed. He had also said that that the Middle East Quartet, which comprises the United States, Russia, the EU and the United Nations, will meet with members of the Arab League in December. One obvious flaw in the much-ballyhooed US sponsored conference is that it has consciously failed to allow Hamas to attend. The militant group has consistently refused to recognize Israel and in the January 2006 elections soundly trounced Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party throughout the occupied territories.
| Israel | Islam | America | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Study affirms rocks stars do die younger Associated Press (September 4, 2007) - Living fast and dying young has long been part of rock 'n' roll lore. And now there are statistics that affirm the image, according to a study released Tuesday. Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University, whose report appeared in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, studied a sample of North American and British rock and pop stars and concluded they are more than twice as likely to die a premature death as ordinary citizens of the same age. The team studied 1,064 stars from the rock, punk, rap, R&B, electronic and new age genres in the "All Time Top 1,000" albums published in 2000. They compared each artist's age at death with that of European and U.S. citizens of similar backgrounds, sex and ethnicity. Mark Bellis, leader of the study, said his research showed the stereotype of rock stars was true — recreational drugs and alcohol-fueled parties take a toll. The report found that, between two and 25 years after the onset of fame, the risk of death was two to three times higher for music stars than for members of the general population matched for age, sex, nationality and ethnic background. In all, 100 of the stars studied had died — 7.3 percent of women and 9.6 percent of men. They included Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. The average age of death was 42 for North American stars and 35 for European stars. Long-term drug or alcohol problems accounted for more than one in four of the deaths, the study found. The first years of success are the most dangerous, with both British and American musicians three times more likely to die than the average person during that time. While the music world is not only filled but also fueled these days by aging music stars — Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan among them — industry observers were not surprised by the findings. more...

Israeli-Palestinian talks raise hope of peace Telegraph UK (September 4, 2007) - For most Israelis and Palestinians, peace seems such a remote prospect that it is scarcely worth thinking about. Even officials involved in the peace process are working hard to damp down optimism, fearful that hopes will once again be cruelly dashed. Yet there is a slowly dawning sense in parts of the Middle East that, after seven years of violence in the latest intifada, Israeli-Palestinian efforts are quietly gaining momentum. Ahead of a US-backed conference planned for November, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, have begun tackling the core issues of the conflict - final borders, the division of Jerusalem, and the resettlement of Palestinian refugees. They have been meeting one-on-one, and seem to be getting along well, according to insiders. In their meetings, Mr Abbas smokes the occasional cigarette, and Mr Olmert the occasional cigar. There have been almost no unwanted leaks to the media, unlike the briefings and counter-briefings that have marred previous peace efforts. Just a few months ago, Israel was insisting that there was no Palestinian partner for peace and was ignoring the Palestinian government. Such talks were unthinkable. But in the weeks since Hamas's dramatic takeover in Gaza, the US and Israel have recalculated. They have concluded that a true peace push that offers Palestinians hope will be the best, and perhaps only, chance for Mr Abbas to fend off the rising power of Palestinian Islamists. Now supporters of Mr Abbas, as well as Israeli leaders, believe that a tangible peace document, endorsed by Arab leaders further afield and with an explicit endgame in sight, may split Hamas's ranks and tip the scales back towards the president's Fatah party. The US is lobbying moderate Arab powers, especially Saudi Arabia, to secure their involvement in the peace conference. Saudi Arabia has said it will sign on if it is convinced the talks will produce more than empty promises. Even the Arab League sent a delegation to Israel earlier this year for the first time. "Things are churning. There is a lot of scuttling and running around," said Danny Seidemann, a human rights lawyer and long-standing Israeli peace activist.
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal |

Twin storms pack dangerous winds Associated Press (September 4, 2007) - Felix walloped Central America's remote Miskito coastline and Henriette slammed into resorts on the tip of Baja California as a record-setting hurricane season got even wilder Tuesday with twin storms making landfall on the same day. Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes making landfall on the same day is unprecedented, according to National Hurricane Center records dating back to 1949. Felix roared ashore before dawn as a Category 5 storm along Nicaragua's remote northeast corner — an isolated, swampy jungle where people get around mainly by canoe. The 160 mph winds peeled roofs off shelters and a police station, knocked down electric poles and stripped humble homes to a few walls. "The metal roofs are coming off like straight razors and flying against the trees and homes," Lumberto Campbell, a local official in Puerto Cabezas, near Felix's landfall, told Radio Ya shortly before his phone line went dead. Emergency official Samuel Perez said most of the port's buildings were damaged and the dock was destroyed, although there were no reports of deaths. By late afternoon, Felix had weakened to a Category 1 storm with winds of 75 mph. But forecasters were still worried that the tempest would do great damage inland over Honduras and Guatemala, threatening mudslides. Up to 25 inches of rain was expected to drench the mountain capitals of Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City, where shantytowns cling precariously to hillsides. Towns across Honduras were flooding, and residents waded through waist-deep, garbage-strewn water in La Ceiba, on the northern coast. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch parked over the same region for days, causing deadly flooding and mudslides that killed nearly 11,000 people and left more than 8,000 missing. "The major concern now shifts to the threat of torrential rains over the mountains of Central America," said senior hurricane specialist Richard Pasch at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. more...
| Earth Changes |

Rafsanjani to head Iranian clerical body Associated Press (September 4, 2007) - Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and longtime Machiavellian figure in Iranian politics, was picked Tuesday to head a powerful clerical body — another defeat for the current president’s hard-line faction. Rafsanjani’s election as chairman of the Assembly of Experts means the charismatic cleric will oversee the secretive body that chooses or dismisses the Islamic Republic’s ultimate authority, its supreme leader. The election focuses new attention on Rafsanjani, a complex figure who at various times has been viewed more as hard-liner and at other times as a pragmatist. It also is sure to strengthen his image, tarnished by his loss to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2005 presidential runoff when he was viewed as arrogant and out of touch with the lives of ordinary Iranians. Rafsanjani, who is considered more moderate than Ahmadinejad, brokered the deal that made Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supreme leader in 1989. It is unclear if the 73-year-old Rafsanjani has ambitions for the post himself someday or prefers the role of behind-the-scenes kingmaker. Khamenei is 68. A wealthy man, Rafsanjani controls a multimillion dollar family business empire, one of Iran’s largest, and is believed to oppose Ahmadinejad’s populist economic policies. Above all, Rafsanjani, who served as president from 1989 to 1997, is thought to be more pragmatic on issues involving Iran’s dealings with the West and disturbed by Iran’s growing isolation. He is believed to have played a behind-the-scenes role in Iran’s decision to release British sailors who were seized earlier this year, for example. more...
| Iran |

Iran warns US over risks of military action YNet News (September 4, 2007) - New special military advisor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei says Washington could never foresee size of Tehran's response against US troops in region; adds reaction could affect Israel. Iran on Tuesday issued a stark warning to the United States over the danger of launching a military attack, saying Washington could never foresee the size of its response against US troops in the region. "The US will face three problems if it attacks Iran. Firstly, it does not know the volume of our response," said General Rahim Yahya Safavi, the new special military advisor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. "Also, it can not evaluate the vulnerability of its 200,000 troops in the region, since we have accurately identified all of their camps," added Safavi, who stepped down last week as head of the elite Revolutionary Guards. Safavi also warned over how Iran's reaction to a US attack could affect Israel - Tehran's regional archfoe - and also crude oil supply from the world's fourth-largest producer. "Secondly, it does not know what will happen to Israel and, thirdly, the United States does not know what will happen to the oil flow," he was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying. Washington has never ruled out taking military action against Tehran, and its tone has sharpened again over the past week, with President George W. Bush warning that Iran's atomic program could lead to a "nuclear holocaust." Iran has always insisted it would never launch any attack against a foreign country, but has also warned of a crushing response to any aggression against its soil. Tehran has an array of medium range missiles, and claims that its longer-range Shahab-3 missile has a reach of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), which would put Israel and US bases on the Arabian Peninsula within reach. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has dismissed the chance of any US attack against Iran, but influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has warned of the dangers still posed by the United States. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam | America |

Human-animal embryo study wins approval Guardian Unlimited (September 4, 2007) - Plans to allow British scientists to create human-animal embryos are expected to be approved tomorrow by the government's fertility regulator. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority published its long-awaited public consultation on the controversial research yesterday, revealing that a majority of people were "at ease" with scientists creating the hybrid embryos. Researchers want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs, in the hope they will be able to extract valuable embryonic stem cells from them. The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and are expected to pave the way for revolutionary therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even spinal cord injuries. The consultation papers were released ahead of the authority's final decision on the matter, which will mark the end of almost a year of intense lobbying by scientists and a fervent campaign by organisations opposed to research involving embryonic stem cells. Using animal eggs will allow researchers to push ahead unhindered by the shortage of human eggs. Under existing laws, the embryos must be destroyed after 14 days when they are no bigger than a pinhead, and cannot be implanted into the womb. Opponents of the research and some religious groups say the work blurs the distinction between humans and animals, and creates embryos that are destined to be destroyed when stem cells are extracted from them. Two research groups based at King's College London and Newcastle University have already applied to the HFEA to create animal-human embryos, but their applications have been on hold since November last year amid confusion over whether the authority was legally able to issue licences. If the authority approves the research, the applications will go forward to a committee, with a decision on both due within three months. Professor Ian Wilmut, whose team cloned Dolly the sheep, is waiting for the HFEA's decision before applying to create hybrid embryos to study motor neurone disease with Professor Chris Shaw at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. more...
| Technology | Signs of the Times |

Part-human embryos are a chilling step closer as watchdog gives go-ahead for hybrid 'chimeras' This Is London (September 4, 2007) - The creation of part-human, part-animal embryos looks set to be approved by the fertility regulator tomorrow. These "hybrid" embryos would be used for research into incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's. The news follows a surprise Government decision not to ban the controversial research. A shortage of human eggs has led two groups of scientists to appeal to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for permission to make hybrid embryos from human skin cells and animal eggs. Cows' eggs are most likely to be used, because they are in plentiful supply. Scientists say the creation of hybrid embryos has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of debilitating diseases which affect millions. But opponents believe mixing of human and animal genetic material defies nature. They are also unhappy about the destruction of embryos that such research inevitably entails. The scientists' hopes to use hybrids were initially jeopardised by a proposal to outlaw such research under a shake-up of outdated fertility laws. But in May, Labour ministers dramatically changed their minds. However, only scientists who are researching serious diseases - and are licensed by the HFEA - will be allowed to carry out such procedures. While the fertility watchdog has yet to rule on the issue, its ethical and scientific experts are in favour of the creation of hybrids. It will tomorrow rule on the creation of hybrids in principle. But the final go-ahead on the applications submitted by scientists at King's College, London, and the North East Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle will rest with the authority's licence committee which is due to meet in November. Although the embryos are sometimes called chimeras after the monstrous creatures in Greek mythology, they are strictly speaking hybrids rather than chimeras. Rather than containing two types of cells - one from each "parent" creature - as chimeras do, hybrids have only one type of cell, in which the genetic information from the different species mixes. This summer the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Group concluded that the creation of hybrids was justified by the lack of human eggs available to researchers. However, the results of a public consultation were mixed. Some 61 per cent backing the creation of hybrid embryos if it would help research into diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. At the same time, almost half of those polled felt the research was "meddling with nature". more...
| Technology |

One of the reasons for the flood was the genetic corruption that the fallen angels brought to earth. The term "bene elohim" that is translated as sons of God, is only ever used regarding a direct creation of God. Mankind began with Adam, who was a direct creation of God, but the rest of humanity (sons and daughters of man) came from Adam and Eve. This talks of fallen angels mating with human women to produce giants, the Nephilim.

Genesis 6:1-13
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God [bene elohim] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants [Nephilim] in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

This paints for us a picture of genetic corruption where Noah was the only one "perfect in his generations" and his family therefore the only ones preserved above the destruction of the flood. So according to the Bible, genetic abominations (not God's design) were created before. Now with the toying around with genetics and DNA, it suddenly opens the possibility that Greek mythological creatures may have been real, pre-flood creatures resulting from the genetic manipulations of fallen angels. That our scientists are playing god now is a sign of the times to me. Our understanding has come to the place where we are doing what the fallen angels in their wickedness did only we're doing it more blindly without regard for life. They've seared their conscience in the name of discovery and saving life, but we are not God - there is only One.

Life under the “Color Red” Alert YNet News (September 4, 2007) - A baby's heart-wrenching cry is heard against a backdrop of falling Qassam rockets. Mothers fearfully dart to kindergartens to check whether their children have been hurt. Helpless people run about the streets seeking shelter. These are the pictures that came out of Sderot Monday; a city located less than an hour's drive away from the heart of Tel Aviv. And it's not as if we didn't know what was going on there. For the past seven years we have been clicking our tongues each time we hear of another Qassam rocket landing there, another house that has collapsed, more shock victims. Once in a while we read articles about these people who live in the shadows of the "Color Red" alert system, after which we let out a few words of solidarity, less than a proper sentence so that we can appear righteous. So that we can prove to someone - or even to ourselves - that we care. Something the likes of: How terrible, or how can one live like this. Then we proceed with our daily lives. But to what extent do we really understand the lives of these people, who beyond the daily anxieties accompanying every Israeli citizen raising children here, must face a constant tangible, existential and statistical threat. A threat so chilling it is almost surreal: Will my house be hit by a Qassam rocket today? Or where will my child be in the next Qassam attack? And the dilemma of each sane parent in Sderot: Am I being irresponsible by continuing to live in a place where my children are in danger's way? Hence, the images from Sderot Monday were so effective. They didn't depict ruined houses or the cries of residents following a Qassam attack. They depicted people in their daily routine: People like you and I, who take their children to kindergarten or to school in the morning. Mothers who heavy-heartedly part from their babies, who would from that moment on become dependent on the resourcefulness, the courage and resilience of the kindergarten teacher. more...
| Israel | Islam |

Muslims Ransacking Israel’s Temple Mount Jerusalem Newswire (September 3, 2007) - Two thousand years ago, Roman Legions pillaged and burned Israel’s Second Temple, turning the hilltop on which it once stood into a desolate heap. As they wandered the planet, looking for a place to find rest for their feet, hounded and harried everywhere by anti-Semitic Christians and others, the descendants of the exiled Jews prayed for and looked toward their return to the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the house of worship to their God. It is their holiest site—the place where God’s glory once shone visibly for the entire nation to see, and the place from which their Messiah is prophesied to reign. And yet, despite this purported highest importance to their nation, Israel’s government is apparently unmoved by reports of ongoing and unrestrained destruction of the site and its priceless remains at the hands of the Palestinian Islamic Waqf. In an exclusive report Monday [September 3], WorldNetDaily [WND] revealed that the Waqf—or Islamic Trust—has been caught “red-handed” destroying Temple-era antiquities, including parts of what may well be a wall from the Second Temple. The destruction is being wrought as the Arabs blast trenches in which to lay new electrical wiring for their mosques and other Muslim-controlled structures. Whereas Muslims throughout the Middle East and around the world have rioted and protested violently any plans by Israel to carry out excavations or repair work anywhere near the Temple Mount, Israel’s Jews are conspicuous by their silence and almost total lack of interest in what the Muslims are doing to their holy of holies. One of the few Israelis to register their shock and anger is Eilat Mazar, considered one of the most prominent Temple Mount archaeologists. WND reports Mazar analyzed a photo showing damaged stone elements and said they “might be part of a Jewish Temple wall Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf found and has been attempting to destroy.” “It certainly looks like Second Temple antiquity and could very well be part of a Second Temple courtyard wall,” Mazar said. If authenticated, said WND, the wall would be one of the most important Temple Mount archaeological discoveries in recent history. Mazar said she would need to examine the stone in the photo to certify it. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly gave the Waqf permission to use earth-moving gear to dig a long, deep trench across the top of the mount. Israeli police are protecting the diggers and, in fact, helping oversee the destruction of the most important piece of their national heritage. Archaeologists like Mazar are prevented from inspecting how the work is being done. more...
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

European Neighbourhood Policy Conference Euroean Commission (September 3, 2007) - The European Neighbourhood Policy is a partnership between the EU and its neighbours in support of our partners’ reform processes. This Conference provides a first opportunity for governmental and non-governmental actors, from both partner countries and EU Member States, to exchange views and ideas on how the policy can be further strengthened or how it could better respond to their needs. Discussion in the morning Ministerial-level session will focus on issues where cooperation can be accelerated. In the afternoon, debates will also be opened to non-governmental stakeholders from civil society, business groupings and academics. Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner said: “This is a partnership of equals and it is essential that we listen carefully to the interests of our neighbours… We would like to hear our neighbours’ views onwhere they would like to see the greatest emphasis in our relations, where they see their interests reflected, and where, perhaps, they still feel that there are gaps to be filled… This conference will underline the EU's determination to develop individual and differentiated partnership that reflects the interest of each neighbour.” more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom |

Solana hopes for developments in Mideast peace process YNet News (September 2, 2007) - Following meeting with Palestinian president in Ramallah, EU foreign policy chief says, 'We have to take advantage of the opportunity created.' Abbas stresses that 'there will be no dialogue with Hamas until it goes back on the coup it carried out in June'. It is time for the Palestinian people to reap the fruits of security and peace, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Sunday following his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. In a press conference held after the meeting, Solana said he hoped for positive developments in the coming months. According to the foreign policy chief, he came to the Middle East to advance the peace process. He stressed that the Europe Union would continue to help Abbas and his government with financial and security aid. "We need to see achievements by the end of the year. We have to take advantage of the opportunity created," he added. Solana noted that the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would be backed by the EU and expressed his hope that the talks would succeed and that each side would be open to the other side's suggestions. Addressing the US-sponsored peace conference scheduled to take place in November, the foreign policy chief said that "a solution will not be achieved tomorrow, but we have to make progress." The Palestinian president said that his meetings with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dealt with all the relevant issues, both daily issued and disputed diplomatic issues. "Every such meeting requires a lot of preparation, so that it is not defined as a failure," he said. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Will Lady Liberty Last Beyond 2010? News With Views (August 31, 2007) - Free republics are not known to have long life expectancies. At the ripe old age of two hundred and thirty-one, America is definitely showing her age. She is long past her prime, and some are predicting her demise. No, some are PLANNING her demise. Thomas Jefferson and the other founders of this once-great country believed there was a controlling cabal that was crafting America’s servitude. With the assistance of Heaven, they decided to fight those forces. Pastors fought with fiery sermons from the pulpit; newsmen fought with the power of the pen; statesmen fought in the halls of congress; and merchants fought with the sacrifice of their material gain. Together, they lifted Lady Liberty to her feet and defeated the powers of darkness. It took the global elite a long time to recover, but they have reemerged with a vengeance. They are now on the precipice of accomplishing what their great granddaddies failed to do: bring the rebellious colonists under their power and control. You see, we no longer have the will to resist servitude. Our pulpits are too busy preaching a prosperity gospel; newsmen are in bed with the forces they once disdained; statesmen have been replaced with opportunistic, self-serving politicians; and merchants know no god but money. Hence, it is left to a small--and I mean very small--remnant to sound the clarion call for freedom and independence. Unfortunately, few seem to be listening to their cries. 2010 seems to be a banner year for these designers of despotism. That is the target year for the implementation of the North American Community, which will unite the United States with Canada and Mexico. The global elite suffered a minor set-back when the U.S. Senate failed to pass the Bush/McCain/Kennedy/Graham amnesty-for-illegal-aliens bill. But if you think that George W. Bush is going to let that bill lie on the floor of defeat, you don’t understand these people. President Bush will do everything he can to implement some kind of amnesty law before he leaves office. I would not be surprised if he attempted some sort of Executive Order or Presidential Directive in order to accomplish it. You see, it is absolutely essential to the designers of despotism that our southern border be eliminated. Absolutely essential. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Solana to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders European Jewish Press (August 31, 2007) - EU’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories over the weekend as part of the European Union’s desire to play an important role in the Quartet of international Middle East mediators, his spokeswoman, Mary Brazier, told EJP. Solana will have talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders ahead of several important gatherings later this year, including the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 9 September in Portugal, the Quartet meeting in New York next month and the international Mideast peace conference to be convened in November at the initiative of US president George Bush. Solana is to meet on Sunday in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad before meetings in Jerusalem Sunday and Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Knesset (Israel’s parliament) Speaker Dalia Itsik. Solana is said to be “cautiously optimistic” about Israeli-Palestinian peace prospects and appreciates the current momentum created by the talks between Olmert and Abbas. He also feels that there is for the first time in seven years a “unique opportunity” to seize with Bush’s peace conference proposal. His spokesperson said that there is “no change” in the EU’s policy towards Hamas. “There is no political contact with Hamas,” Mary Brazier, said. During his visit, Solana will also meet the heads of the EU border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing point (EU BAM Rafah) and of the EU Police Mission in the Palestinian territories (EUPOL COPPS) which is helping the Palestinian Authority to establish a modern and effective civil police service and develop security capacity. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Ban Ki-Moon calls for peace World News Network (August 31, 2007) - The time has come, says the UN Secretary-General. Ban Ki-Moon Pledges UN Support to End Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Land. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in Palestine. Addressing the UN International conference Of Civil Society In support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Brussels, Belgium he said, the gathering reflects the deep and enduring desire of people across the world for a comprehensive, just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Such a settlement is also one of the foremost priorities of the United Nations. The continued occupation of the Palestinian territory prolongs hardship and injustice for millions of Palestinians, yet it has also failed to ensure the security of Israeli civilians. The Secretary general said he was encouraged by recent international and regional efforts to get the Palestinians and the Israelis back on the negotiating track. The Arab Peace Initiative, Tony Blair’s appointment as the Quartet Representative, and President Bush’s decision to convene a Middle East Peace meeting all have the potential to result in a significant breakthrough. He said, “Amidst this activity, I particularly welcome the decision by Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas to meet regularly to discuss a range of issues. I hope that the internal challenges each faces will not deter them from moving forward with discussions on the political horizon.” The Secretary General added, “Of course, movement on the political front cannot obscure the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. The unsustainable division of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has grave humanitarian and political implications. Conditions in the Gaza Strip have become particularly acute; they demand the urgent reopening of border crossings for commercial and humanitarian deliveries. To alleviate this crisis, UNRWA and other UN Agencies are doing everything they can to support the affected populations. Their efforts, however, cannot compensate for the effect of the closed crossings. Today, I again encourage both parties to demonstrate a true commitment to peace through a negotiated two-State solution. Israel should cease settlement activity and the construction of the barrier, ease Palestinian movement and implement the Agreement on Movement and Access. Palestinians, for their part, need to make every effort to end violence by militant groups and make progress on building robust institutions. The United Nations will continue to support international efforts aimed at bringing an end to the occupation, and achieving a two-State solution. This work is not easy, but it would prove close to impossible without the active participation and support of innumerable civil society groups and individuals in Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory, and around the world. Civil society actors are helping build bridges between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. They are strengthening institutions and providing critical humanitarian and other assistance. In every aspect of their work, they are contributing towards a just solution to this decades-old conflict. Working together, we can achieve our goal: a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement, based on Security Council resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1515 and the principle of land for peace.
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | 1st Seal |

It is clear who is on Israel's side and who is not. In the face of historical fact, for the first time in history a nation is being forced to give up land won in a war a generation ago. Indeed all the nations of the earth are gathered against Israel to divide the land God portioned for her, and woe to the nations who interfere with God's design! We have been warned in the Bible regarding this and it has even been pointed out in Eye To Eye: Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel by Bill Koenig.

Sheikh Salah: Israel wants to encroach on parts of Temple Mount YNet News (August 30, 2007) - Israel is conspiring to encroach on the Temple Mount to build a Jewish temple near the Al-Aqsa mosque, Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement northern branch, said Thursday. Salah called on Arab and Muslim nations to "prevent the division of the Al-Aqsa by Israel." In a letter to Arab kings and leaders of Muslim countries, Salah urged all Muslims to torpedo "Israel's plan that aims at dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews whereas in the Jewish part it plans to build its imaginary temple." Salah also lamented Israel's practice of allowing groups of religious Jews to visit the Temple Mount, and according to Salah, to pray and perform religious rituals. The Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock Mosques, is the holiest site for Jews. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest Muslim shrine, nests just above the last remaining wall of the Temple, the Western Wall. Salah said the whole complex was Muslim but Israel was trying to expropriate parts of it.
| Israel | Islam | Temple Mount |

Bush left Rice at home for North America summit World Net Daily (August 30, 2007) - Anticipating public backlash against the recent Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked President Bush to leave Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at home. A White House official confirmed for WND reports circulating in the Canadian press indicating that prior to the summit, Harper requested Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon downplay the meeting. As a result of the request, Bush agreed Rice would skip the Montebello, Quebec, summit. Rice's absence was especially conspicuous because she had attended the first two SPP summits, first in March 2005 at Waco, Texas, and then in March 2006, at Cancun, Mexico. At both previous summits, Rice was responsible for conducting press briefings on behalf of the U.S. delegation. Gutierrez and Chertoff were not present at the final press conference held by Bush, Harper and Calderon. Seasoned press present at the summit also expressed skepticism at Calderon's suggestion that he needed to return to Mexico early because of Hurricane Dean. Even as Calderon gave his reason for leaving early, weather reports were showing the hurricane had diminished in force and the damage suffered in Mexico was likely to be minimal. The Montebello summit was the shortest of the three SPP summits held so far, lasting less than 24 hours from the time President Bush arrived mid-day Aug. 20. Despite Harper's attempt to downplay the meeting, it ended up fueling Canadian opposition to SPP. Particularly damaging for Harper was the admission that Canadian police had infiltrated protesters with undercover agents who acted as provocateurs. The controversy began when a video was posted on YouTube.com showing three masked people confronted in Montebello by peaceful protesters and accused of being police infiltrators who wanted to start a riot to discredit the demonstration. One of the three provocateurs clearly has a rock in his hand. Analysis of the video showed the footwear of the masked people bore markings on the soles that matched the footwear worn by the heavily riot-geared Sûreté du Québec police at the scene. On Thursday last week, the Sûreté du Québec was forced to admit the three provocateurs in the YouTube.com video were police officers who disguised themselves as protestors at the SPP summit in Montebello. A video on YouTube.com shows, in French, the press conference in which the Sûreté du Québec made the admission, ending a three-days of denials by the Harper government . In Canada, the Montebello meeting is now being called the "Jellybean" summit in reference to Harper's comment at the final press conference that the closed meetings had discussed standardizing jellybean regulation in Canada and the United States. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Iran Ready To Fill Power Vacuum in Iraq, Ahmadinejad Says The New York Sun (August 29, 2007) - President Ahmadinejad of Iran said yesterday that American political influence in Iraq is "collapsing rapidly" and said his government is ready to help fill any power vacuum. The hard-line leader also defended Prime Minister al-Maliki of Iraq, a fellow Shiite Muslim who has been harshly criticized by American politicians for his unsuccessful efforts to reconcile Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. "The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Mr. Ahmadinejad said at a news conference, referring to American troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation." Mr. Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on his remarks, an unusual declaration of Iran's interest in influencing its neighbor's future. The mention of a Saudi role appeared aimed at allaying the fears of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim nations that Iran wants to dominate in Iraq. Even though Saudi Arabia and Iran have not cooperated in the past, it "doesn't mean it can't happen," Mr. Ahmadinejad said. Iran fought a brutal eight-year war with Saddam Hussein's regime and welcomed the elimination of a deeply hated enemy. But Iran also strongly objects to the presence of America, another rival, over its eastern and western borders in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Occupation is the root of all problems in Iraq," Mr. Ahmadinejad said. "It has become clear that occupiers are not able to resolve regional issues." more...
| Iran | America |

Deception built super-secret abortion clinic World Net Daily (August 29, 2007) - Planned Parenthood concealed its ownership of a huge new abortion facility scheduled to open soon in a Chicago suburb, and pro-life advocates – and at least one city official – are questioning whether the abortion provider can mislead officials without repercussions. "There's always legal ramifications," Aurora, Ill., Alderman Richard Irvin told the Chicago Tribune while standing with some of the estimated 1,200 pro-life protesters who assembled over the weekend to protest the existence of the structure that had been depicted by owners as an office building. He was not on the board when the project, proposed by a company identifying itself as "Gemini Office Development," was approved. But he said he has concerns the building was brought into his city under false pretenses, and said the city could sue Planned Parenthood for being deceptive. There was no acknowledgement during the permit application and construction processes that the project actually was scheduled to be an abortion business. However, as WND columnist Jill Stanek reported, a pro-life construction worker on the 22,000-square foot site became suspicious of the bulletproof glass and surgical suites, components not routine in an office building. It was soon outed as an abortion facility, prompting the weekend protest, and outrage from pro-life community members who said, as Stanek phrased it, "If citizens may lie to occupancy permit officials, may they also lie to police officers? Or at city council meetings? Where will Aurora draw the line between permissible and impermissible lies?" "At a minimum, the city of Aurora should launch an official and legal investigation, questioning the applicant and tenant under oath about statements on applications and in meetings," she said. "If the city does not, is something more going on, a cover-up? Did some officials know that the public documents filed and statements made by the applicant were false? Did some officials know the tenant was to be an abortion provider, but then conspired with Gemini to keep it quiet to avoid politically unfavorable publicity?" Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, said the deception probably was the result of two issues: the fact that a Planned Parenthood clinic's construction in Austin, Texas, earlier was delayed for months when local contractors refused to work on the project, and the general atmosphere that accompanies abortion businesses. "What do you get when you get an abortion facility? Not only do you get dead children, the blight and underworld that comes along with that, but you also get thousands upon thousands of pro-lifers who adorn the streets with pictures of aborted children," he told WND. "I don't think either is good for a community." The tactic, however, is not isolated to the Illinois location. Newman said the same scenario developed with Denver, where Planned Parenthood recently purchased a building without announcing its presence. "The bottom line is nobody wants an abortion facility in their community. It's kind of like a toxic waste dump," he said. Cheryl Sullenger, also of Operation Rescue, said community residents have legitimate concerns when a Planned Parenthood facility announces it is moving in. "They're concerned about their children, what their children are going to be taught as far as sex education. They don't want their daughters getting abortions without their knowledge, and in some states Planned Parenthood is famous for promoting that. When Planned Parenthood comes to town, the community is going to have something to say about it," she said. Unless, of course, the community doesn't know. more...
| America | Signs of the Times |

Exclusive: European Union officials hold secret talks with Hamas The Jerusalem Post (August 29, 2007) - EU security officials have been conducting secret talks with Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, Palestinian Authority officials told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. The PA officials did not reveal the identity of the visitors, except to say that they belonged to three EU intelligence services. The Europeans are said to have met with top Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, as well as Ahmed Yusef, political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Sources close to Hamas confirmed that EU officials had visited the Gaza Strip recently for talks focusing on security-related issues. According to the sources, the Hamas leaders urged the EU representatives to work to end the boycott of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, and to pressure Israel to reopen the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. "We hope these talks will be the first step toward ending the boycott of Hamas, which came to power in a free and democratic election," the sources told the Post. "There is growing awareness among the Europeans of the fact that Hamas can't be ignored as a major player in the Palestinian arena." In response, Christina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana, told The Jerusalem Post that she was unaware of any such meetings. On a separate note, she said that Solana was due to visit the region this weekend and would be in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jordan. Israeli government officials contacted about this matter Tuesday night said they knew of no EU contacts with Hamas. One government official reiterated that Israel‚s position was that "Hamas should not be dealt with and should be kept as far away form the game as possible." The official added that Hamas was a terrorist organization "that continues to do whatever it can to impede any chance for progress." This is the first time Hamas has confirmed that its representatives have held secret talks with EU security officials. The Hamas representatives reportedly stressed during the talks that they were not interested in a major confrontation with Israel. Both Zahar and Yusef denied assertions that Hamas was planning a wave of terrorist attacks in the West Bank to undermine PA Chairman Mamoud Abbas's status ahead of November's Middle East peace conference. Meanwhile, Abbas has asked Sudan to use its good offices with Hamas to resolve the crisis in the PA. A senior Fatah delegation headed by Azzam al-Ahmed, who is close to Abbas, held talks in Khartoum on Tuesday with Sudanese government officials on ways of ending the Fatah-Hamas dispute. The Fatah delegation emphasized that Abbas and Fatah were keen on resuming "national dialogue" with the Islamist group.
| Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

Concealing The Workings of the Emerging World Order News With Views (August 29, 2007) - If you were to hide something in plain view, how would you go about it? Well, one way you might successfully do it is to give it a very bland and common name. You might even call it something very ordinary. One way might be to give it a name as common as BASIC. What can be more "basic" than BASIC? Then one would have those words stand for equally innocuous words such as, for example, "British American Security Information Council." Who would ever think to look there? Then you would establish a plain vanilla appearing website on a google.com and/or yahoo.com search. Few would be like to notice it and the participants could work openly without notice. You could then work open with your networking institutions such as the Brookings Institution, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and you would fund it with a little help from your friends:

1, W. Alton Jones Foundation
2, Carnegie Corporation of New York
3, Canadian Government
4, Colombe Foundation
5, Compton Foundation
6, Economic and Social Research Council
7, Educational Foundation of America
8, The Ford Foundation
9, Kirsch Foundation
10, Marmot Trust
11, Network for Social Change
12, Polden-Puckham Foundation
13, Ploughshares Fund
14, Rockefeller Family Associates
15, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust
16, Scurrah Wainwright Charity

Then, just so it didn't sound too plain vanilla, you could spice it up with Board of Directors that included such spicy luminaries as prolific rock/pop musician Brian Eno. You would also include ambassadors. Well, that's exactly what happened with so many global governance networks. If you are reading this and you wish to argue it to another, I recommend you promptly document by archiving all links and links to links. It has been my experience over the years that the folks who wish to impose their own brand of global governance on us play this lovely little game of "now you see us, now you don't." Things appear fast on the internet. They disappear with equal speed. Unnoticed, the archives might hang out there for years. Furthermore, Javier Solana is dismayed that those not in support of his agenda "use the global village to full advantage." When Javier Solana spoke at the Brookings Institution, the webcast and mp3 versions revealed more than his published text. He expressed dismay at freedom of the press and exchange of information. He moaned that it enabled individuals with access to You-Tube and to a camera to change history. The problem is, said Solana on March 21, 2007, that nobody wants to obey. This, said Javier Solana, must change. In his speech, Solana thanked Carlos Pascual and Strobe Talbott of the Brookings Institution, as well as Steve Steadman "for getting the global governance project off the ground." He should have given thanks to the following organizations as well which seem to be very much in on the party, if not the planning. more...
| NewWorldOrder |

The Blood-Red Moon, the Temple Mount and the Bible Bill Koenig (August 28, 2007) - August 28, 2007, had very revealing headlines: A Blood-Red Moon Rises over North America | Olmert Offers Temple Mount Sovereignty to the Palestinians | Olmert and Abbas Meet on Israel's Land and Jerusalem | Bush Says Iran's Actions Could Lead to a Shadow of a Nuclear Holocaust | Bush Arrives in New Orleans for his 15th Post-Katrina Visit | These were the news headlines on the day of a total lunar eclipse that produced a "blood-red" moon, the second one in seven years with a connection to the Temple Mount. A total lunar eclipse/"blood-red" moon occurred on July 16, 2000, while U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat were at the Middle East Summit at Camp David. The sticking point that caused the summit to fail had to do with who would have sovereignty over the Temple Mount — the Israelis or the Palestinian Arabs. During this year's total lunar eclipse/"blood-red" moon of Aug. 28, 2007, that rose over North America, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered the Palestinians sovereignty over the Temple Mount. What was so incredible about the timing of this offer is that it didn't take place days, weeks or months after the "blood-red" moon but on the very same day. In other words, the Temple Mount’s sovereignty was a central focus during both total lunar eclipse/ "blood-red" moons in 2000 and this week. Blood-Red Moon The Old and New Testaments speak of blood-red moons prior to the Tribulation.

Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.

Acts 2:20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.

The Jewish Talmud (book of tradition/ interpretation) says, "When the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel. If its face is as red as blood, [it is a sign that] the sword is coming to the world." Total-eclipse “blood-red” moons are rare. The next total-eclipse/ "blood-red" moon will occur on Feb. 21, 2008. Having another total eclipse this close to a previous one is extremely rare; to say the least, we will be watching that day with much interest. News From the Last Two Blood-Red Moons more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount | America |

Israel offers Palestinians control of Temple Mount WorldNetDaily (August 28, 2007) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office today presented the Palestinian Authority with a formal plan in which the Jewish state would forfeit the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – to Muslim control, according to top Palestinian sources. The sources said Olmert's plan calls for the entire Temple Mount plaza to fall under Arab sovereignty; Jerusalem's Old City holy sites near the Mount to be governed by a Jewish, Christian and Muslim task force; and the Western Wall plaza below the Mount to be controlled by Israel. The report follows a WND exclusive article last week stating Palestinian negotiators drafting an agreement behind the scenes with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office made clear they will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state forfeits the Temple Mount. According to Palestinian negotiators who took part in today's Olmert-Abbas meeting, the Israeli leader today also presented Abbas with a plan for Israel to evacuate most of the West Bank and cede eastern sections of Jerusalem. The plan called for Israel to retain three main settlement blocks and in exchange Israel would offer the Palestinians Israeli Arab towns in the north of the country, the Palestinian negotiators told WND. David Baker, a spokesman for Olmert, would neither confirm nor deny the prime minister offered the Temple Mount. He said ahead of today's talks the summit would center on "the development of Palestinian-governing institutions, bolstering Abbas' government and issues concerning Israelis and Palestinians living side-by-side." Over the weekend, an Egyptian newspaper reported Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Egyptian government the Jewish state is willing to forfeit control of the Temple Mount to the management of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. The Al Massrioun daily reported Barak informed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Jordanian government Israel is willing to hand them joint control over the Temple Mount. According to the Egyptian report, Barak stated an umbrella group of several Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be moderate countries. Ronen Moshe, a spokesman for Barak, told WND the Egyptian media report is "untrue." "We do not comment on the specifics of private conversations with world leaders, but this report is not what was said during the talks," Moshe said. A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition his name be withheld, told WND yesterday Israel "understands there won't be any deal with the Palestinians unless it forfeits the Temple Mount." more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1st Seal | Temple Mount |

U.S. under U.N. law in health emergency World Net Daily (August 28, 2007) - The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America summit in Canada released a plan that establishes U.N. law along with regulations by the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization as supreme over U.S. law during a pandemic and sets the stage for militarizing the management of continental health emergencies. The "North American Plan for Avian & Pandemic Influenza" was finalized at the SPP summit last week in Montebello, Quebec. At the same time, the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, has created a webpage dedicated to avian flu and has been running exercises in preparation for the possible use of U.S. military forces in a continental domestic emergency involving avian flu or pandemic influenza. With virtually no media attention, in 2005 President Bush shifted U.S. policy on avian flu and pandemic influenza, placing the country under international guidelines not specifically determined by domestic agencies. The policy shift was formalized Sept. 14, 2005, when Bush announced a new International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza to a High-Level Plenary Meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, in New York. The new International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza was designed to supersede an earlier November 2005 Homeland Security report that called for a U.S. national strategy that would be coordinated by the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Agriculture. The 2005 plan, operative until Bush announced the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, directed the State Department to work with the WHO and U.N., but it does not mention that international health controls are to be considered controlling over relevant U.S. statutes or authorities. Under the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, Bush agreed the U.S. would work through the U.N. system influenza coordinator to develop a continental emergency response plan operating through authorities under the WTO, North American Free Trade Agreement and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. WND could find no evidence the Bush administration presented the Influenza Partnership plan to Congress for oversight or approval. The SPP plan for avian and pandemic influenza announced at the Canadian summit last week embraces the international control principles Bush first announced to the U.N. in his 2005 International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza declaration. The SPP plan gives primacy for avian and pandemic influenza management to plans developed by the WHO, WTO, U.N. and NAFTA directives – not decisions made by U.S. agencies. The U.N.-WHO-WTO-NAFTA plan advanced by SPP features a prominent role for the U.N. system influenza coordinator as a central international director in the case of a North American avian flu or pandemic influenza outbreak. In Sept. 2005, Dr. David Nabarro was appointed the first U.N. system influenza coordinator, a position which also places him as a senior policy adviser to the U.N. director-general. Nabarro joined the WHO in 1999 and was appointed WHO executive director of sustainable development and health environments in July 2002. In a Sept. 29, 2005, press conference at the U.N., Nabarro made clear that his job was to prepare for the H5N1 virus, known as the avian flu. Nabarro fueled the global fear that an epidemic was virtually inevitable. In response to a question about the 1918-1919 flu pandemic that killed approximately 40 million people worldwide, Nabarro commented, "I am certain there will be another pandemic sometime." Nabarro stressed at the press conference that he saw as inevitable a worldwide pandemic influenza coming soon that would kill millions. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Now imagine if a flu pandemic happened to break out purely by accident of course... Could this be a way for global governance to take control in an emergency? Certainly sounds like it. And Nabarro is fueling the fire of fear in order to get people to accept this. After all government has our best interest in mind, right?! We all know where this is leading and now it's here. Even so Lord Yeshua, come!!! George Noory interviewed Jerome Corsi regarding this story for the first hour on the August 29 show. The spirit of antichrist doesn't change...

Daniel 8:25
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

How do you destroy by peace? I think it is destroying in the name of peace and with the terrorism in the world, our freedoms are being taken away in the name of peace and security.

Revelation 6:1,2
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Conquering in the name of peace, coming in with flatteries, and all the other characteristics are coming into play today and the globalist plan of bringing order out of chaos is well under way. I believe we are seeing the process of the first seal being broken.

Olmert, Abbas aim to pave way for two-state deal The Jerusalem Post (August 28, 2007) - Amid a swirl of reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are drafting an agreement on principles dealing with Jerusalem, borders and refugees, officials from both sides adamantly denied Tuesday night that such a document was exchanged when the two leaders met earlier in Jerusalem. Al Jazeera satellite television broadcast on Tuesday what it claimed was the two-page document drawn up by the two sides, but Israel dismissed the report as false. "There is no such document," a spokesman in the Prime Minister's Office said. "It doesn't exist." The official, continuing with the office's policy of releasing only minimal information about what is being discussed with Abbas and the PA, said the two leaders - in a 90-minute private meeting at Olmert's official residence - "spoke about the fundamental issues essential to arriving at two states for two peoples." The two are widely believed to be putting together an agreement that will be brought to the US-sponsored international conference in the fall. A willingness to discuss these issues at the international meeting is widely considered in Jerusalem as a prerequisite to Saudi participation, which both Israel and the US are very keen on securing. Olmert and Abbas, who last met on August 6, are expected to meet again before the scheduled visit in mid-September of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Israeli government officials say that discussions on Jerusalem, refugees and borders are being conducted at a very general level, with details to be filled in at negotiating sessions that will be held after the international summit. Meanwhile, PA officials played down the significance of Tuesday's meeting, saying the two leaders did not exchange any written documents and that in any case Abbas was planning to call a national referendum on any agreement he reached with Israel. They expressed doubt that a majority of Palestinians would endorse an agreement that did not call for a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, including leaving east Jerusalem. "Today's meeting was good and thorough, but until now we haven't discussed any details related to the fundamental issues," said chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat. "Nor have we reached the stage of exchanging documents. We did not hand over to the Israelis any written document. Likewise, we did not receive from them anything in writing." Erekat said Abbas's goal was to achieve a just and comprehensive peace with Israel based on the two-state solution. He warned against attempts to "prejudice" the Israeli-Palestinian talks, saying some parties were operating outside the frame of the official negotiations. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land |

Ahmadinejad says his country now a 'nuclear Iran' The Jerusalem Post (August 28, 2007) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Tuesday that Teheran has achieved full proficiency in the nuclear fuel cycle and warned the West that dialogue and friendship - not threats - were the right way to deal with Iran. "Today, Iran is a nuclear Iran," Ahmadinejad told a press conference in Teheran. "That means, it fully possesses the whole nuclear fuel cycle." Ahmadinejad, however, said his country was committed to a "peaceful path" in pursuing its controversial nuclear program. Ahmadinejad's comments followed an announcement Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency which said that Teheran was offering some cooperation in the agency's probe of an alleged secret uranium processing project linked by US intelligence to a nuclear arms program. The IAEA has said that Teheran also outlined its timetable for providing other sensitive information sought by the Vienna, Austria-based UN watchdog in its investigation of over two decades of nuclear activity by the Islamic republic, most of it clandestine until revealed more than four years ago. The US criticized the deal with the IAEA, saying the agreement won't save Iran from a third set of UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. Some in the IAEA have suggested Washington may be trying to derail important progress in the Iranian nuclear negotiations, in a drive to impose new UN penalties. At the presser in Teheran, Ahmadinejad said the US president was a "wicked, selfish and arrogant" leader who has abused the UN Security Council in a push to stop Iran's nuclear program. Although the Iranian leader did not name George W. Bush, his remarks were clearly addressed to his US counterpart. "You saw that your coercion ... was futile," Ahmadinejad said. "Some wicked and selfish leaders stood arrogantly behind the podium to say, 'we won't let them do this' ... You sold out your prestige and stood against a cultured nation... I recommend that you don't repeat this ugly behavior." The US and its allies fear Teheran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to produce atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying its program is solely geared toward generating electricity. more...
| Iran | America |

Holy forfeit! Israel willing to give up Temple Mount World Net Daily (August 28, 2007) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Egyptian government the Jewish state is willing to forfeit control over the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – to the management of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, according to an Arab media report. The Egyptian Al Massrioun daily reported last weekend Barak informed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the Jordanian government Israel is willing to hand them joint control over the Temple Mount. The report follows a WND exclusive article last week stating Palestinian negotiators drafting an agreement behind the scenes with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office made clear they will not accept any final peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state forfeits the Temple Mount. According to the Egyptian media report over the weekend, Barak stated an umbrella group of several Arab countries controlling the holy site instead of only the PA would help ease Israeli domestic opposition to giving up the Temple Mount, since Egypt and Jordan are considered by Israeli policy to be moderate countries. Ronen Moshe, a spokesman for Barak, told WND the Egyptian media report is "untrue." "We do not comment on the specifics of private conversations with world leaders, but this report is not what was said during the talks," Moshe said. A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition his name be withheld, told WND yesterday Israel "understands there won't be any deal with the Palestinians unless it forfeits the Temple Mount." The official said the Mount was previously a sticking point in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, but he said Prime Minister Olmert's government has expressed a number of times a willingness to compromise on the Temple Mount. "We've recently received many Israeli plans that showed Israel is willing to allow another body, whether Palestinian or international, to control the [Temple Mount]. The issue is no longer a sticking point," the Palestinian official said. During U.S.-led negotiations in 2000, Barak, then prime minister, reportedly was willing to forfeit the Temple Mount to international control. Those negotiations fell through after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat rejected an offer of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem. Adviser Gilad Sher – who represented Barak at initial Israeli-Palestinian planning meetings in 2000 during which President Clinton discussed the Temple Mount – wrote in his book "Beyond Reach" that Clinton's plan called for the Temple Mount to become complete Palestinian sovereign territory, while the Western Wall below and its complex would fall under Israeli sovereignty. Barak was said to have initially rejected that plan, but according to participants at the negotiations summit, he was ultimately willing to place the Mount under international sovereignty. Some reports claimed Barak offered the Temple Mount to the Palestinians, but the Israeli politician has denied those claims. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

Ex-Islamist Gul elected Turkey's president Reuters (August 28, 2007) - Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was elected president by Turkey's parliament on Tuesday, the first former Islamist to take the post in the secular but predominantly Muslim country's modern history. Armed forces chief General Yasar Buyukanit said on Monday he saw "centers of evil" seeking to undermine the secular republic, a statement suggesting the army would not stand on the sidelines if it saw the separation between religion and state threatened. "Abdullah Gul in the third round obtained an absolute majority and was elected the 11th president of Turkey with 339 votes," parliament speaker Koksal Toptan said after the vote. The Islamist-rooted AK Party has 341 seats in the 550-seat chamber. Two other candidates also stood for president. Gul has established himself as a respected diplomat since the AK Party was first elected in 2002, securing the launch of Turkey's European Union entry talks. He pledges to be a leader for all Turks, but he is not to the taste of a military that suspects the AK Party of harboring a secret Islamist agenda. Many observers expect Gul, who broke with an Islamist party in 1999, will try to avoid confrontation. "You shouldn't expect radical moves with Gul as president. Both his opponents, who are scared he might do so, will be surprised and his supporters hoping for radical moves will be disappointed," said academic expert Cengiz Candar. more...
| Gog/Magog | Islam |

Olmert and Abbas discuss Palestinian statehood Reuters (August 28, 2007) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks on Palestinian statehood on Tuesday but discussed core issues only in broad terms, a senior Palestinian official said. Abbas has been pressing for the highly contentious matters of borders and the future of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees to be included in his discussions with Olmert ahead of a U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference expected in November. But Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas adviser who attended the meeting with Olmert in Jerusalem, told reporters: "These talks did not reach the level of details." Abbas said on Monday the international gathering proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush would be a waste of time if Israel pressed ahead with plans to pursue only a broadbrush "declaration of principles." Israeli officials have used that phrase to describe what Olmert might offer in answer to calls for rapid, final talks in detail on establishing a Palestinian state. David Baker, an Israeli government spokesman, said Abbas and Olmert held two hours of "one-on-one" talks and spoke about fundamental issues which would lead to the establishment of two states for two peoples. Baker declined to define the subjects. Olmert hosted Abbas, whose Fatah faction lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas Islamists in fighting in June, at his official Jerusalem residence. They last met three weeks ago in the West Bank town of Jericho. Israeli political commentators said Olmert, weakened by the failings of his government and the military in last year's Lebanon war, was in no rush to take on "final-status" issues in depth and risk splitting a cabinet that includes the far right. "I do not want to belittle the negotiations but also I do not want to raise expectations," Erekat said. Olmert and Abbas, he said, would continue to "exert every effort" in pursuit of the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | 1st Seal |

'We Are Going to Get Hit Again' Reuters (August 27, 2007) - Al Qaeda has an active plot to hit the West. The United States knows about it but doesn’t have enough tactical detail to issue a precise warning or raise the threat level, says Vice Admiral (ret.) John Scott Redd, who heads the government’s National Counterterrorism Center. In an interview at his headquarters near Washington, D.C., Redd told Newsweek’s Mark Hosenball and Jeffrey Bartholet that the country is better prepared than ever to counter such threats. But he also believes another successful terror attack on the U.S. homeland is inevitable. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: People in various agencies have said that since Tora Bora in 2001, they at no time have had even 50-percent confidence that they knew where Osama bin Laden was on any particular day, and therefore they have been unable to mount any operations to go get him. Is that wrong?

Redd: What I’ll tell you about bin Laden is if we knew where he was, he’d either be dead or captured. It’s that simple. [He’s] obviously a tough target. That whole area is a tough target. And my standard answer on OBL is: remember [convicted Atlanta Olympics bomber] Eric Rudolph. Nobody likes to hear it but, I mean, here’s a guy [who was on the run] in the United States of America. We had unlimited access—the FBI, local law enforcement—and the guy hid out for an awful long time just by keeping a low profile. One reporter said the other day, “Well, gee, you’ve got all this great overhead stuff and various surveillance things.” I said, “Yeah. I’d trade those for about three great human sources.”

U.S. seeks home for research on fearsome diseases Reuters (August 27, 2007) - A federal laboratory off Long Island, known as the "Alcatraz for animal disease," may move to the U.S. mainland as part of a new $450 million research center. Plans for the next-generation National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, slated to go online by 2013, include biosafety labs where scientists, clad in outfits resembling spacesuits and tethered to air supplies, would research diseases that can spread to people from animals. The Department of Homeland Security has partially completed a round of public hearings, which conclude September 20, on six potential sites for the NBAF, including Plum Island, which already houses an older research center. Public meetings are scheduled for Tuesday in Manhattan, Kansas, and for Thursday in Flora, Mississippi, on proposals to build the facility in those communities. Sites also have been proposed in San Antonio, Texas; Athens, Georgia, and Butner, North Carolina. The winning site would be named in fall 2008 under the schedule outlined by the government. For more than half a century, the Plum Island Animal Disease Center has been the only federal laboratory permitted to conduct research on live foot-and-mouth disease viruses. If another site is selected, Congress will be asked to repeal a law that bars such research on the mainland, a DHS spokesman said. Homeland Security says the NBAF would conduct research on highly contagious diseases, like foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever, along with two diseases that can spread to humans from animals, Rift Valley Fever and Japanese encephalitis. "Today's ... labs are extremely safe," said the spokesman, Larry Orluskie. There are four labs that run at biosafety level 4, which calls for multiple safeguards while handling high-risk disease organisms, in urban areas -- Atlanta, the Washington, D.C. suburbs, and in Galveston and San Antonio, Texas. By comparison, a college chemistry lab could be level 1. "There has never been a public exposure at a BSL-4 lab in the United States," DHS said in documents prepared for the public meetings, which will garner information on possible environmental impacts at each site. more...
| America |

Solanaman Fulfilled Prophecy (August 24, 2007) - A breakthrough may have been reached with Iran's nuclear program, according to reports from the Islamic Republic News Agency and the Associated Press. During two days of talks in Tehran on Monday and Tuesday, representatives from Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (the UN's nuclear watchdog) reportedly finalized an agreement that was previously made between Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, the IAEA secretary general, Mohamed ElBaradei, and the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. The agreement follows on the heels of ongoing negotiations between Larijani and Solana that Solana called "very constructive." Read about the talks here. And in March, the Iranian foreign minister said Larijani's meetings with Solana were helping to materialize a solution. The agreement reportedly includes a framework -- a plan and timetable -- for resolving the international community's concerns over Iran's nuclear program. It comes a month before the IAEA is scheduled to release a progress report on Iran's nuclear program. A favorable report would keep new UN sanctions from being imposed on Iran. Yet, Washington opposes the agreement and believes new sanctions should be imposed, according to the Associated Press article. The U.S. fears that the IAEA is giving into Iran -- and just days after the United States labeled Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Read about it here. But European nations may see things differently. This Asia Times Online article today reports that European nations -- with the exception of the EU3 (France, Germany and Britain) feel that Iran and the IAEA have reached an acceptable agreement. The EU3 have sided with the United States -- agreeing that Iran is not complying with UN demands -- and, with the U.S., these three have been negotiating with Iran outside of the UN efforts. Yet, their efforts haven't produced the results Solana's have, causing the Asia Times article to ask and then answer its own question: "Why is the Larijani-Solana duet making progress while other channels are not? The answer is persuasive diplomacy, for Solana has wisely used quiet diplomacy and rationality, rather than the rhetoric of Washington and London." If Solana's negotiations continue to deliver results with Iran, then it will be interesting to see his diplomatic skills resulting in yet another successful breakthrough -- one others thought was impossible. Solana has a long history of such negotiations, earning him a reputation as a diplomatic superhero. That's why I call him "Solanaman." The funny thing is, after I titled this article I found another article my dad had written about Solana by the same name. Read it here. I guess I really rubbed off on my dad. (Ha ha! ... I can tease my him now, and he can't say anything ... at least where I can hear him!) We're also waiting to see if Solana's Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for Peace will deliver stability to the Middle East. Staying tuned!
| Iran | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal |

The Militarization of the Alliance of Civilizations Richard Peterson (August 24, 2007) - Over the months that followed the cartoon crisis, I paid very close attention to the Alliance of Civilizations’ web site. Daily search engine inquiries and AoC web visits had become routine. July and August yielded more than enough reading material. One such report, the OSCE contribution to the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, was released in June. The OSCE originated from the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 (also known as the Helsinki Process) and changed its official name to the Organization for Security and Co-operation of Europe in 1994. To this day, the Helsinki Process remains active working to implement a one world government. What I found was that the OSCE had been particularly impressed with how the EU’s High Representative Javier Solana and the Alliance of Civilizations had turned the cartoon crisis into opportunity. Now they were on board and had written of their unique position to contribute to the implementation of the AoC initiative. Although I found aspects of the report somewhat troublesome, it wasn’t until I read the Alliance’s July 17 Report of the Hearing with the International Community and Civil Society that I decided to give the OSCE a second in-depth look. The International Hearings report contains the following: “The Military Staff Committee, instead of being abolished, should be revived so that meetings of military leaders at different levels could be introduced for the international practice.” (page 26) It appeared that the defunct Committee was about to be revived! I also read: “On the national level, constitutional democracy does not entail the existence of a police state or military watchdog, but implies observation of the laws that have been worked out by the elected representatives, as well as the adherence to the value system.” (page 26) This reminded me of a statement in the OSCE report that I found puzzling. They said that the OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organization, comprising of 56 participating states and that “decisions are based on consensus and are politically but not legally binding”. What did that mean? I found my answer in the Helsinki Process Papers--Building Democracy From Manila to Doha: The Evolution of the Movement of New or Restored Democracies as follows: “Under its human dimension objectives, the OSCE has adopted instruments, created norms and initiated activities for the promotion of democracy and governance. The OSCE instruments are "politically binding commitments" for the participating states, and become effective upon adoption and implementable without having to wait for subsequent domestic approval or ratification. This process allows also the OSCE to react quickly to new needs.” (page 67) The Barcelona Process, established in 1995, set among its goals the responsibility of straightening out the clash of civilizations as well as combating religious fundamentalism worldwide. The Alliance of Civilizations intends to start operations within the framework of the Barcelona Process and then amplify the AoC initiative globally. Next is NATO and the AoC. NATO is also on board with the Alliance of Civilizations and, unknown to most Americans, has split under the Berlin-Plus Agreement. In the event of a crisis situation, NATO assets are transferred to the European Union’s Political and Security Committee presently presided over by EU High Representative Javier Solana. Crisis management drills have already been conducted to test the Berlin-Plus arrangement. Moving in we have the European Union which has at its disposal the crisis management Battle Groups which can simultaneously sustain multiple offensive operations. These battle groups are intended for rapid deployment while awaiting reinforcements from member states’ militaries and NATO assets. The European Security Strategy has committed to strengthening the United Nations so that it may fulfill its role in global governance. Anything that undermines global governance is considered by Solana to be a threat. Statewatch’s report, Arming Big Brother, provides an excellent analysis of the EU’s militarization. The EU is fully committed to the Alliance of Civilizations as it has appointed the Anna Lindh Foundation to oversee its implementation. more...
| Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | NewWorldOrder | America |

This is looking to me like the instrument by which the war on the saints will be carried out.

Mark Steyn: The vanishing jihad exposés OC Register (August 5, 2007) - How will we lose the war against "radical Islam"? Well, it won't be in a tank battle. Or in the Sunni Triangle or the caves of Bora Bora. It won't be because terrorists fly three jets into the Oval Office, Buckingham Palace and the Basilica of St Peter's on the same Tuesday morning. The war will be lost incrementally because we are unable to reverse the ongoing radicalization of Muslim populations in South Asia, Indonesia, the Balkans, Western Europe and, yes, North America. And who's behind that radicalization? Who funds the mosques and Islamic centers that in the past 30 years have set up shop on just about every Main Street around the planet? For the answer, let us turn to a fascinating book called "Alms for Jihad: Charity And Terrorism in the Islamic World," by J. Millard Burr, a former USAID relief coordinator, and the scholar Robert O Collins. Can't find it in your local Barnes & Noble? Never mind, let's go to Amazon. Everything's available there. And sure enough, you'll come through to the "Alms for Jihad" page and find a smattering of approving reviews from respectably torpid publications: "The most comprehensive look at the web of Islamic charities that have financed conflicts all around the world," according to Canada's Globe And Mail, which is like the New York Times but without the jokes. Unfortunately, if you then try to buy "Alms for Jihad," you discover that the book is "Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock." Hang on, it was only published last year. At Amazon, items are either shipped within 24 hours or, if a little more specialized, within four to six weeks, but not many books from 2006 are entirely unavailable with no restock in sight. Well, let us cross the ocean, thousands of miles from the Amazon warehouse, to the High Court in London. Last week, the Cambridge University Press agreed to recall all unsold copies of "Alms for Jihad" and pulp them. In addition, it has asked hundreds of libraries around the world to remove the volume from their shelves. This highly unusual action was accompanied by a letter to Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz, in care of his English lawyers, explaining their reasons: "Throughout the book there are serious and defamatory allegations about yourself and your family, alleging support for terrorism through your businesses, family and charities, and directly. "As a result of what we now know, we accept and acknowledge that all of those allegations about you and your family, businesses and charities are entirely and manifestly false." Who is Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz? Well, he's a very wealthy and influential Saudi. Big deal, you say. Is there any other kind? Yes, but even by the standards of very wealthy and influential Saudis, this guy is plugged in: He was the personal banker to the Saudi royal family and head of the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia, until he sold it to the Saudi government. He has a swanky pad in London and an Irish passport and multiple U.S. business connections, including to Thomas Kean, the chairman of the 9/11 Commission. I'm not saying the 9/11 Commission is a Saudi shell operation, merely making the observation that, whenever you come across a big-shot Saudi, it's considerably less than six degrees of separation between him and the most respectable pillars of the American establishment. As to whether allegations about support for terrorism by the sheikh and his "family, businesses and charities" are "entirely and manifestly false," the Cambridge University Press is going way further than the United States or most foreign governments would. Of his bank's funding of terrorism, Sheikh Mahfouz's lawyer has said: "Like upper management at any other major banking institution, Khalid Bin Mahfouz was not, of course, aware of every wire transfer moving through the bank. Had he known of any transfers that were going to fund al-Qaida or terrorism, he would not have permitted them." Sounds reasonable enough. Except that in this instance the Mahfouz bank was wiring money to the principal Mahfouz charity, the Muwafaq (or "Blessed Relief") Foundation, which in turn transferred them to Osama bin Laden. In October 2001, the Treasury Department named Muwafaq as "an al-Qaida front that receives funding from wealthy Saudi businessmen" and its chairman as a "specially designated global terrorist." As the Treasury concluded, "Saudi businessmen have been transferring millions of dollars to bin Laden through Blessed Relief." Indeed, this "charity" seems to have no other purpose than to fund jihad. It seeds Islamism wherever it operates. In Chechnya, it helped transform a reasonably conventional nationalist struggle into an outpost of the jihad. In the Balkans, it played a key role in replacing a traditionally moderate Islam with a form of Mitteleuropean Wahhabism. Pick a Muwafaq branch office almost anywhere on the planet and you get an interesting glimpse of the typical Saudi charity worker. The former head of its mission in Zagreb, Croatia, for example, is a guy called Ayadi Chafiq bin Muhammad. Well, he's called that most of the time. But he has at least four aliases and residences in at least three nations (Germany, Austria and Belgium). He was named as a bin Laden financier by the U.S. government and disappeared from the United Kingdom shortly after 9/11. more...
| Islam |