Weekly News Archive
Broadcast Notes
[AUDIO]
The Christian Media Weekly News program airs live on Monday at 10
AM
Pacific (1 PM Eastern).
This program is replayed on the audio streams during the
week and on the KU band satellite.
(See ChristianMedia.tv website [LINK]
for satellite settings)
The Christian Media Network broadcasts 24/7 on the audio streams.
Use the links above to listen and go to ChristianMediaNetwork.com for the
program schedule.
The GEO satellite radio
network simulcasts 24/7 on KU band Satellite and on the audio streams. For a schedule and a link to listen
to the audio stream.
See GEOMediaNetwork.com [LINK].
[VIDEO]
Christian Media's CMRI television network
simulcasts 24/7 on the video streams and is also available on KU band Satellite.
(Go to the CMRI.tv website [LINK]
for more information and to access the video streams).
CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH
MONDAY AUGUST 30, 2010
U.S. to sell Israel
massive military fuel stocks worth $2 billion
On August 6, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
informed Congress of the sale to Israel of 60 million gallons of
unleaded gasoline, 284 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel
and 100 million gallons of diesel fuel at an estimated cost of
two billion dollars. The date is significant, DEBKAfile's
intelligence sources find. Ten days earlier, the Japanese tanker
M. Star was attacked in Omani waters of the Strait of Hormuz
with 200,000 tons of oil.
Although American experts examined the vessel, they never
attributed the damage to sabotage by Iran or al Qaeda, despite
the latter's claim of responsibility on August 4. While
Washington did its best to sweep the incident under the rug,
Saudi intelligence were worried enough about the threat inching
dangerously close to the Gulf's oil exporting lifeline to launch
an independent investigation of the incident.
Their investigators discovered it was staged by a Saudi
terrorist who operates out of Iran under the orders of the
Revolutionary Guards. To Riyadh, the episode looked like a blunt
warning from Tehran to Washington and its allies about the
consequences - not just of a direct strike against Iran's
nuclear facilities, but the possibility of sanctions upsetting
the equilibrium of the Islamic regime.
Blockage of the Strait of Hormuz would cut off Israel's primary
source of fuel. Therefore, our sources report, a series of
accords, some of them secret, have been transacted to back up
America's standing commitment to keep Israel supplied with its
energy needs in the event of armed conflict or crisis on world
fuel markets.
In its request to Congress to approve the sale, the DSCA noted:
"The proposed sale of the JP-B aviation fuel will enable Israel
to maintain the operational capability of its aircraft
inventory. The unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel will be used
for ground forces' vehicles and other equipment used in keeping
peace and security in the region. Israel will have no difficulty
absorbing this additional fuel into its armed forces."
DEBKAfile adds: Israel is therefore ready and able to
absorb this huge injection of military-purpose fuels . . . .
According to DEBKAfile's military experts, the shelf life
of JP-8 jet fuel is not long - no more than six to eight months.
Also Saturday, the Kuwait al-Rai claimed that Israel is making
its last preparations for an attack on the Hizballah missile
stores located in Syria close to the Lebanese border, for which
an IDF armored division has been called up.
Source:
debka.com
MORE
Note: see also Israel Prepping For War With Iran?
- Jewish state orders military fuel from U.S. Defense
Department
LINK
Israeli Prime
Minister Netanyahu spells out essentials for peace deal
JERUSALEM -- Just ahead of renewed talks with the Palestinians,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday restated
what he said were essential components of a peace agreement,
chief among them recognition of Israel as the Jewish homeland.
Netanyahu is to meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in
Washington on Thursday for the first direct negotiations since
the Palestinians broke off talks in December 2008, when Israel
staged a bloody offensive into the Gaza Strip.
Speaking to reporters at the start of the weekly cabinet
meeting, Netanyahu said an agreement would have to be based
"first of all on recognition of Israel as the national state of
the Jewish people, an end to the conflict and an end to further
demands on Israel."
The Palestinians object to endorsing Israel as essentially
Jewish, as that would imply they were dropping their claim that
refugees who fled or were expelled when Israel was created in
1948, and their descendants, should be able to reclaim former
homes now within Israel.
Netanyahu said he would also be seeking "real security
arrangements on the ground" that would prevent a recurrence in
the West Bank of events that took place in the Gaza Strip after
Israel pulled out in 2005 and in south Lebanon after the Israeli
withdrawal in 2000.
The Islamist Hamas seized control in Gaza and used the coastal
strip as a launching pad for attacks into Israel. Lebanon's
Shiite Hezbollah fought a bloody war with the Jewish state in
2006.
Netanyahu plans to personally lead the talks and hopes to meet
the Palestinian leader Abbas every two weeks, a senior Israeli
official said on Friday.
Key to the discussions will be the future of a partial Israeli
moratorium on settlement construction in the occupied West Bank,
which is due to end on September 26.
Netanyahu faces strong pressure at home not to renew the freeze
on new construction permits, while Abbas has warned that "if
Israel resumes settlement activities, including in east
Jerusalem, we cannot continue with negotiations."
The international community considers settlements in the West
Bank, including Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, to be illegal.
They are home to about 500,000 Israelis.
Jordan's King Abdullah II and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak met in Amman on Sunday for talks ahead of the Washington
summit, the royal palace and Barak's office said.
Jordan and Egypt, both of which have peace treaties with Israel
and share borders with it, have been invited to attend the
formal launch of the Washington talks.
A statement from Barak's office quoted him as telling Abdullah
that Jordan had a central role to play in regional peace
efforts. [no further content]
Source: AFP / channelnewsasia.com MORE
Note: see these related
stories:
Arab League Chief Doubts US-Led Talks Will Succeed -
“The only reason [for hope] is the sincerity of President Obama
and his wish to achieve something good in his presidency” - Amr
Moussa said Obama had given the Palestinians assurances that
Israel would stop settling new territory during talks that are
due to last for one year
LINK
Israel Won't Extend Settlement Freeze Ahead Of Direct
Negotiations - Any decision to ultimately extend the
settlement freeze may create a rift that could topple
Netanyahu’s coalition government and force an early national
election
LINK
Iran develops
primitive flying bombs for Israeli cities, nearby U.S. targets
After watching the performance of Iran's new, locally-produced
Karrar bomber drone, DEBKAfile's military sources summed
it up as a primitive copy of an obsolete unmanned US cruise
missile from the 1950s that was derived from the V1 "buzz bomb"
which the Germans fired against London at the end of World War
II. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a big production
of unveiling the Karrar (Ambassador of Death) August 22 in a
showy ceremony.
Even so, Western intelligence sources believe that mass-produced
with extended range, large swarms of these flying bombs could
cause death and destruction if released over densely populated
Israeli areas and US military facilities and warships in the
Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan.
They would be fired from automatic anti-air artillery or dropped
from Iran's outdated F-4 Phantom warplanes. Neither the Israeli
Arrow nor the US Patriot missile interceptors are designed for
unsophisticated flying bombs. And, if the Iranian claims of its
1,000-kilometer range is exaggerated and it can only reach
400-600 kilometers - short of Israel - the experts believe the
Ambassador of Death could be transferred to the Hizballah in
Lebanon or fired from an Iranian vessel opposite the Israeli
coast.
In any case, American targets around Iran's borders and coasts
could be threatened.
Iran's development of this UAV and the possibility of it
reaching terrorist hands in Lebanon have sent Israel Air force
missile and air defense experts to the drawing board for
solutions.
It is possible [they] may look at reviving the development of
the US-Israeli Nautilus Tactical High Energy Laser, a project US
and Israel armed forces abandoned in 2006 because of the
prohibitive cost of development and inconclusive evidence of its
effectiveness. However, its purpose as a weapon and radar
guidance system capable of firing highly concentrated laser
beams that can destroy low-flying missiles and artillery and
mortar rounds, could work against the Iranian Karrar.
While no more than a primitive flying bomb, the Iranian UAV's
effectiveness against urban and large targets is undeniable in
the same way as small speedboats can menace a large aircraft
carrier . . . .
Six months ago, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates commented:
"Those Iranian drones are a concern because it is one of these
areas where, if they chose to - in Iraq, in Afghanistan - they
could create difficulties for us."
Source: debka.com
MORE
Obama marks symbolic
end of Iraq combat operations
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama marks the symbolic date of
the end of US combat operations in Iraq on Tuesday, seven years
after an invasion he opposed and at a time when the country
still seems far from being stabilised.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Obama will address Americans in a
nationally televised speech at 8 pm (midnight GMT). Before that
he will go to a military base in Texas to meet soldiers who have
recently returned from Iraq.
The size of the US force in Iraq has dropped below a symbolic
threshold of 50,000 troops. Starting Monday, their mission will
be to "advise and support" the Iraqi army.
Under a timetable set by Obama when he took office, all US
troops are supposed to be out by the end of 2011, although
officials have said a small residual military presence is likely
to remain indefinitely.
Iraqi officials, worried about a surge in attacks and a
five-month-old political impasse that has blocked the formation
of a new government, have expressed concern that the US military
may be moving to the exits too quickly.
Just last week, 53 people were killed and hundreds were wounded
by a dozen coordinated car bombings in 10 cities and towns
across the country, the latest in a rash of attacks during the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Iraq's top army officer told AFP earlier this month that he
feared worsening security problems after the Americans leave,
and said they should stay until the Iraqi military is fully
ready - in 2020.
But the White House has insisted that the Iraqis are capable of
providing for their own security now, and the top US general
said only a "complete failure" of the local security forces
could lead to a resumption of US combat operations.
Obama assured Americans in an interview on NBC television Sunday
that the timing was right for a drawdown.
"What you've seen is lower and lower levels of violence. The
Iraqi security forces are functioning at least as well if not
better than any of us had anticipated," Obama said.
Alluding to the Iraqi's failure to form a new government, Obama
said the political difficulties were "natural in a fledgling
democracy. But we are confident that that will get done."
Source: AFP / channelnewsasia.com
MORE
________________________________
NEWS BRIEFS
________________________________
U.S.-Israeli group to start drilling
for gas, oil off coast
JERUSALEM -- A US-Israeli exploration group said on Sunday it will begin
drilling for natural gas at a new site off Israel’s Mediterranean coast in
October and that there was a small possibility of reaching oil under the gas.
The main objective in drilling at the Leviathan prospect is to recover
commercial amounts of natural gas. Noble Energy, which leads the group and owns
40 percent of Leviathan, has said the well has gross unrisked mean
resources of 16 trillion cubic feet of gas [453 billion cubic meters] and has a
50 percent geologic chance of success.
MORE
[Governor Jan Brewer] condemns report to U.N.
mentioning Arizona law
PHOENIX -- Arizona Governor Jan Brewer demanded Friday that a reference to the
state's controversial immigration law be removed from a State Department report
to the United Nations' human rights commissioner. The U.S. included its legal
challenge to the law on a list of ways the federal government is protecting
human rights. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Brewer says it
is "downright offensive" that a state law would be included in the report, which
was drafted as part of a UN review of human rights in all member nations every
four years. "The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted
laws of a state of the United States to 'review' by the United Nations is
internationalism run amok and unconstitutional," Brewer wrote.
MORE
Don't agree with Obama? ... Get ready for IRS
probe
Private group told review under way since work may 'contradict'
president
The Internal Revenue Service has delayed approval of tax-exempt status for a
private organization and is reviewing its educational work, telling a lawyer for
the foundation that it must be examined by Washington because its activities may
"contradict the administration's public policies." The allegation is contained
in a federal lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Z Street,
a Merion Station, Pennsylvania, group that educates on the statehood and status
of Israel. "Not only is it patently un-American but it is also a clear violation
of the First Amendment for a government agency to penalize an organization
because of its political position on Israel or anything else," said Z Street
president Lori Lowenthal Marcus, a former First Amendment lawyer. "This
situation is the same as if the government denied a driver's license to people
because they were Republicans or Democrats. It goes against everything for which
our country stands." Contacted by World Net Daily, IRS officials declined to comment on the
publicly filed lawsuit or even say whether they would respond ...
MORE
Report: Food Prices Already Starting to Skyrocket
Experts warn that overall food-price inflation is inevitable, as Wal-Mart
reportedly has already hiked prices amid a recent jump in wheat prices and the
failure of the Russian harvest. The most immediate impact will be felt in the
price of bread and bakery products but other food items which make use of grain
will also rise, according to analysis from Verdict research. This includes some
meat products where grain is used as animal feed. Meanwhile, a recent JPMorgan
survey of supermarket pricing in Virginia showed a 5.8 percent increase in
average prices at Wal-Mart, which represents the most significant sequential
increase since the inception of the study in January 2009, the Business Insider
reported. The survey compared a 31 item like-kind basket at a Wal-Mart
Supercenter, Kroger, Safeway, Harris Teeter, and Whole Foods, the Business
Insider reported. Should wheat prices remain elevated for the next few months,
shelf prices for many products could go up by 6.7 percent within a year, Verdict
reported.
MORE
Anti-dengue mosquitoes set for release,
environmentalists worry (Malaysia)
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia is considering releasing genetically modified
mosquitoes designed to combat dengue fever, in a landmark field trial that has
come in for criticism from environmentalists. In the first experiment of its
kind in Asia, 2,000-3,000 male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes would be released in two
states in October or November. The insects in the study have been engineered so
that their offspring quickly die, curbing the growth of the population in a
technique researchers hope could eventually eradicate the dengue mosquito
altogether . . . But environmentalists are not convinced, and are
concerned the genetically modified (GM) mosquito could fail to prevent dengue
and could also have unintended consequences. “Once you release these GM
mosquitoes into the environment, you have no control and it can create more
problems than solving them,” said Gurmit Singh, head of the Centre for
Environment, Technology and Development. “There are a lot of risks involved,” he
told AFP.
MORE
California [pre-school] students get tracking devices
RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA -- California officials are outfitting pre-schoolers in
Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and
money. The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear
a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to
sensors that help track children's whereabouts, attendance and even whether
they've eaten or not. School officials say it will free up teachers and
administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent
or had eaten. Sung Kim of the county's employment and human services department
said the system could save thousands of hours of staff time and pay for itself
within a year. It cost $50,000 and was paid by a federal grant. [no further
content]
LINK
U.S. paying millions to fund mosques around world
State Department lists 29 projects under 'cultural preservation'
The State Department is funding the construction of mosques around the world as
part of the U.S. government's outreach programs to Muslims. Six million dollars
in taxpayer funds will be used this year to restore dozens of Islamic cultural
sites and mosques around the world as part of State's Ambassador Fund for
Cultural Preservation . . . The U.S. government also helps to fund the
restoration of Christian and Buddhist sites.
MORE
________________________________
MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
________________________________
Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.
Opinion:
UNDER SIEGE IN AMERICA (Jonathan Emord)
As an attorney who represents businesses and interacts
frequently with entrepreneurs, I hear repeatedly concerns that
investigators for various federal and state agencies have become
emboldened and are endeavoring to put them out of business. This
widely expressed sentiment is not paranoia. It is a justified
fear, and it is giving rise to a bunker mentality highly
destructive to free enterprise. Many executives are holding
onto their cash, hunkering down, and avoiding making moves to
expand their businesses, hire more employees, or undertake new
ventures because they greatly fear an unpredictable regulatory
future . . . .
The greatest uncertainty they fear is the unleashed regulator,
unleashed by the Obama Administration with instructions to seek
and destroy. They believe the new army of regulators coming out
of the Obama Administration regard industry as exploitative and
evil . . . .
When law and law enforcement become unpredictable, entrepreneurs
look for places to hide . . . .
In the United States, we have enjoyed a very long period of
stable governance. Transitions of power from one party to
another have occurred without violent revolution. Police, while
on occasion corrupt, are by and large law abiding. The military
remains under civilian control . . . .
Rangers in the West whose cattle have traversed rights of way
over federal lands for in excess of a century, have suddenly
come to realize that they are being held guilty for the first
time of trespass on those federal lands and ordered to pay huge
fines . . . .
Folks who own cherry orchards come to find out from professors
at the university that certain kinds of tart cherries contain
high levels of antioxidants and other bio-chemicals that are
effective in reducing the symptoms of arthritis. They give that
information, including the studies, to customers who buy cherry
juice. Agents of the Food and Drug Administration visit them
unannounced, inspect their farms, demand their literature, and
inform them that they must stop telling people of the effects of
cherries and cherry juice on arthritis or their cherries will be
deemed unapproved new drugs. The farmers can then be charged
with selling unapproved drugs, sentenced to jail terms, and lose
their farms.
Dairy farmers who harvest fresh milk from healthy cows and share
it with neighbors or make it available to health food stores
come to realize that several federal and state agencies, doing
the bidding for large milk processors, will prosecute them
because their milk is not pasteurized, without regard to the
fact that the milk is healthy and contaminant free. [see
other examples of government intrusion at source website]
. . . .
Economic and civil liberties cannot prosper, let alone survive,
in an environment of unstable law and law enforcement. Unless we
reestablish constitutional government in the United States,
replete with governors accountable to the people and possessed
of limited powers and meaningful protection for economic and
civil liberties, we are not that far from witnessing our nation
devolve into the anarchic decay, rife corruption, and official
lawlessness that is so common in third world countries. [emphasis
added]
Source: newswithviews.com
MORE
________________________________
ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
________________________________
Day 132:
'We’re seeing way
more dispersant than ever before'
LINK
Large, thick oil plumes, freshly sprayed with poison! ... Today, Project
Gulf Impact is out on the waters in and around Orange Beach Alabama ... What
they have found is exactly the opposite of what BP and the federal government
have told the American people ... Not only did they find oil, but they
apparently found what looks to be freshly sprayed dispersant, still in powder
form ... Why is this toxic dispersant still being sprayed? ... Warnings from
scientists and independent journalists have indicated that Corexit could effect
the gulf for at least twenty years
When University Scientists Found Underwater Oil Plumes, the Government Said Shut
Up, Don't Tell Anyone ... and Then Tried to Discredit Them
LINK
University of South Florida says government tried to squelch their oil plume
findings
LINK
___________
Al-Qaeda in Iraq takes credit for latest deadly attacks in
at least 14 cities and towns
LINK
AP: U.S. wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq
LINK
Many facilities constructed with American money incomplete or unused
Seven U.S. soldiers killed in Afghan bomb attacks
LINK
Russian expert: Attack on Iran’s nuclear sites unlikely
LINK
Beck rally calls U.S. to turn back to faith
LINK
'It has nothing to do with politics; it has everything to do with God'
[analysis]: Glenn Beck calls for national revival
LINK
Crowd estimates at Glenn Beck's 'Restoring Honor' rally depend dramatically on
who you ask
LINK
Left Admits: Racism Charges Against Tea Parties A Tactic, Not A Truth
LINK
Obama's city of Chicago praised by Homeland Security Chief For Its Over 10,000
Spy Cameras
LINK
Corruption Investigators: Blago Investigation Cut Short to Protect Obama
LINK
9/11 Mosque Imam Boasts:'Obama's historic speech in Egypt came from me'
LINK
U.S. Retail Spaces Lead Drop in U.S. Commercial Property
LINK
Credit card debt drops to lowest level in 8 years
LINK
Cash-Poor Governments Across U.S. Begin Ditching Public Hospitals
LINK
Top economists: The second Great Depression has arrived
LINK
[Red Flag - source site]
Gerald Celente: Double Dip Depression Will Lead Us Into War
LINK
Market Strategist Charles Nenner: Dow Could Fall To 5000 In Next 24
Months (Video)
LINK
Strategist: Dow Faces Bouncy Ride to 5,000
LINK
[analysis]: Stock markets face a 'bloodbath', warns SocGen strategist Albert
Edwards
LINK
Democrats raise prospect of 'tweaking' Social Security
LINK
Confirmed oil find in central Israel
LINK
Putin opens new oil pipeline sending Russian oil to China
LINK
EPA Denies Bid to Ban Lead in Hunting Ammunition
LINK
Pakistan floodwaters ebb ... hunger and disease remain
LINK
Indonesian volcano [Mount Sinabung] erupts again, spewing hot ash
LINK
Its first eruption in 400 years
[analysis]: A gospel choir's heresy
LINK
What is wrong with this country? ... A gospel tribute CD to President
Obama
Mexican Supreme Court Imposes Homosexual 'Marriage' on Entire Country
LINK
Court's president warns that decision "breaks with the harmony of the
federal system" of Mexico
U.S. reports Nationwide shortage of anesthesia drugs
LINK
More college students [diagnosed as] mentally ill
LINK
The number of college students with severe mental illness, including
those on psychiatric medications, is rising
Medicare Expands Coverage to Help Smokers Quit
LINK
FDA: Obamacare’s Calorie-Count Mandate Now In Effect ... But Not
Enforceable
LINK
Appeals Court Rejects Autism Vaccine Link
LINK
[analysis]: WHY IS AN EPIDEMIC OF BLOOD-SUCKING BED BUGS SWEEPING THE NATION?
LINK
It's confirmed: bed bugs are back. Here's what you can do about them
[analysis]: Doctor urges fast food restaurants to hand out
pharma drugs [statins] like ketchup packets
(UK)
LINK
Typhoid Fears Spur Recall of
Frozen Mamey Fruit Bars LINK
[scroll down]
HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: AUGUST 27, 2010 LINK
________________________________
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government
from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of
them."
Thomas Jefferson
________________________________
CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH
TUESDAY AUGUST 31, 2010
- no news edition -
CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
Obama readies bold
Mid East peace bid
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama steps into Middle East
peace efforts on Wednesday in a bid to relaunch direct
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations after four Jewish settlers were
gunned down in the West Bank.
The fresh violence blamed on the Islamist movement Hamas and
continued deadlock over Israeli settlements threatened to
curtail the latest efforts by Obama, who made Middle East peace
a priority early in his presidency . . . .
In a clear and bloody message from Hamas, a staunch opponent of
the talks, its militants gunned down four Israelis near a Jewish
settlement in the Palestinian West Bank on Tuesday in an attack
strongly condemned by Abbas and the White House.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to keep
the talks on track after a 20-month hiatus while stressing
Israel's security demands.
"I will set clearly the security needs that are required
precisely to address these kind of terror," Netanyahu said. "We
will not let the blood of Israeli civilians go unpunished."
And the host of the talks, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, offered fresh security assurances to the Israelis as
she met with Netanyahu late Tuesday.
"It is one of the reasons why the prime minister is here today,
to engage in direct negotiations with those Palestinians who
themselves have rejected a path of violence in favor of a path
of peace," she said.
"We pledge to do all we can always to protect and defend the
state of Israel and to provide security to the Israeli people."
Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev said Israel was "committed to
peace" and the attack would not prevent the talks from going
ahead.
"We are committed to moving forward and committed to a historic
peace arrangement with the Palestinians," he added.
Obama is hosting separate meetings not only with Abbas and
Netanyahu, but also with key regional powerbrokers King Abdullah
II of Jordan and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the White
House before dining with the five leaders and diplomatic Quartet
representative Tony Blair.
The meetings are designed to help launch direct talks between
the Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the State Department on
Thursday . . . .
Huge issues - many unresolved since Israel's founding in 1948 -
remain on the table, including the status of Jerusalem, which
both sides claim as their capital, and the fate of Palestinian
refugees chased from their lands.
Continued Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories are seen
as a major hurdle to the peace process, with a 10-month Israeli
freeze due to expire on September 26.
Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell, briefing journalists
ahead of the talks, said the president's one-year timeframe to
seal a deal was "realistic" despite the scale of the task.
"We believe these negotiations can be completed within one
year," Mitchell said. "We will engage with perseverance and
patience to try to bring them to a successful conclusion."
But Abbas has threatened to walk out of talks if settlement
construction resumes, and Netanyahu has vowed not to extend the
moratorium. The attack near the Kiryat Arba settlement
underscored the massive importance of the issue.
Netanyahu, a hawk who only last year recognized the
internationally-backed principle of a two-state solution, said
on Sunday he hoped to reach "a peace based on recognition,
security, stability and economic prosperity between the two
peoples that will endure for us and our children."
Abbas, meanwhile, has urged "Israel not to miss this historic
opportunity for peace," saying "if there is only a one percent
chance of achieving peace we will strive for it."
Israeli President Shimon Peres insisted Netanyahu was "aware of
the greatness of his mission" during his US visit and was "well
prepared to meet the chance."
But Peres said any future Palestinian state must be
demilitarized.
Source: AFP
/ channelnewsasia.com
MORE
Note: see these related items:
Envoy: US To Have 'Active' Role In Mid East Peace Talks -
"That does not mean that the United States must be physically
represented in every single meeting ... We recognise the value
of direct, bilateral discussion between the parties and, in
fact, will encourage that between the two leaders on a regular
basis ... We will operate in a manner that is reasonable and
sensible in the circumstances which exist, but the guiding
principle will be an active and sustained United States
presence"
LINK
US Does Not See Hamas Joining Peace Talks Yet - "We do
not expect Hamas to play a role in this immediate process,"
Mitchell told journalists Tuesday ... But he added the United
States would "welcome the full participation by Hamas and all
relevant parties once they comply with the basic requirements of
democracy and non-violence that are, of course, a prerequisite
to engage in these serious types of discussions"
LINK
US Seeks Israeli Peace Talks With Syria, Lebanon -
"With respect to Syria, our efforts continue to try to engage
Israel and Syria in discussions and negotiations that would lead
to peace there and also Israel and Lebanon," Mitchell said
LINK
Commentary: Obama 'Blackmailing'
Israel Amid U.S. Summit? - If Israel and the Palestinian
Authority fail to reach an agreement within the next year, the
Obama administration could support a United Nations resolution
that would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, senior PA
officials said ...
LINK
U.S. Intel: Tehran
pushes Hizballah hard to attack Israel
Western intelligence and Persian Gulf sources report that on
August 30, Hizballah put its forces on a state of war alert and
issued a partial call-up of reservists. According to DEBKAfile's
military sources, Hizballah appears to be preparing a major
attack on Israel straight after the ceremonial start of
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Washington Thursday September
2. A second target date is the Jewish New Year festival starting
on September 8. The pressure from Tehran for the Lebanese Shiite
terrorists to strike Israel has intensified in the wake of the
example the Palestinian Hamas gave Tuesday night August 31 in
the drive-by murder of four Israeli civilians on a road near
Hebron.
A large-scale attack appears to be in the works judging by the
heavy influx of armed Hizballah units to southern Lebanon in the
last few days. Our military sources report that they include
special units trained especially for deep-strike incursions into
northern Israel in response to Israeli counter-attacks.
Our intelligence sources report that the Iranian al Qods
commander of Tehran's networks and surrogates in Iraq, the Gaza
Strip and the Palestinian Authority has spent the last ten days
in Damascus. He arrived there on August 19 in the party of
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief
and stayed on after his boss left the Syrian capital, apparently
assigned to oversee an important terrorist or military operation
against Israel.
Hizballah's own direct commander on behalf of the IRGC, Hassan
Mahdavi is reported by Western intelligence sources monitoring
events in Lebanon as leaning hard on Hizballah's
secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to strike IDF forces within a
few days in response to US sponsorship of direct
Israeli-Palestinian talks. The terrorist chief is reported to be
on the verge of a decision about what target to attack and when.
Reluctant to leave the field to the Palestinian Hamas, Nasrallah
is additionally badgered by a flock of IRGC officers visiting
Beirut and trying to persuade Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih
Beri to allow his rival Shiite Amal organization to join
Hizballah for the first time in a strike against Israel. They
want all the Shiite streams in Lebanon to show the flag in
unison as a gesture of welcome in advance of Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's forthcoming state visit to Lebanon.
The date of his visit is a closely-kept secret both by Tehran
and Beirut. DEBKAfile's sources disclose that it is
scheduled for September 10-12 when Israel is celebrating Rosh
Hashana. [no further content]
Source: debka.com
LINK
Legal Group Seeks to
Compel California to Defend Proposition 8
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A conservative legal group is trying to
force Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry
Brown to defend California's gay marriage ban in court.
The Pacific Justice Institute petitioned the 3rd District Court
of Appeal in Sacramento on Monday for an emergency order that
would require the two officials to appeal a ruling that
overturned Proposition 8.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the
voter-approved measure as unconstitutional last month.
Its sponsors have appealed. But doubts have been raised about
whether they have authority to do so because as ordinary
citizens they are not responsible for enforcing marriage laws.
The state has until September 11 to challenge Walker's ruling in
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Both Brown and
Schwarzenegger, who also refused to support Proposition 8 in
Walker's court, have said they do not plan to.
The institute is arguing that as the state's chief law
enforcement officer, Brown does not have discretion to defend
only laws with which he personally agrees.
And because the California Constitution gives the governor final
say when he and the attorney general disagree on legal matters,
Schwarzenegger must be compelled to file an appeal to preserve
Proposition 8 as well, the group's lawsuit states.
"To allow an elected official to trump the will of the people by
mere inaction and the lack of fulfillment of their duty to do
their job would be an egregious violation of public trust,"
Pacific Legal Institute Brad Dacus said Tuesday . . . .
Brown has said both in legal filings and public statements that
he has sworn to uphold the state and federal constitutions and
therefore can not defend Proposition 8 because he thinks it is
an unconstitutional violation of gay Californians' civil rights.
"The attorney general does not believe that he can be forced to
prosecute an appeal of a decision with which he agrees," Brown
spokeswoman Christine Gasparac said Tuesday . . . .
The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for the second
week in December. But both Walker and the lawyers who persuaded
him to invalidate the gay marriage ban on behalf of two same-sex
couples and the city of San Francisco have said that measure's
backers may not have legal standing to ask the court to overturn
Walker.
Theodore Boutrous Jr., a member of the legal team that
represented the two couples, said it is unlikely the state court
would order the governor and attorney general to take action
because California, like the federal government, requires its
executive and judicial branches to operate independently.
"It's certainly a novel idea," Boutrous said of the Pacific
Justice Institute petition. "It seems like it would raise
serious separation of powers issues, among other things. We will
be interested to see how it plays out."
Source: cnsnews.com
MORE
________________________________
NEWS BRIEFS
________________________________
Israel:
Palestinian state must be 'demilitarised'
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- As Israel’s prime minister flew to Washington
for new Middle East peace talks, President Shimon Peres insisted
on Tuesday that any future Palestinian state must be
demilitarised. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the
United States “determined to represent his people to implement a
widely agreed solution here, namely to have a two-state
solution, a Palestinian demilitarised, united, democratic
country on the side of Israel,” Peres said. “All other solutions
are dangerous,” he told participants at a World Jewish Congress
gathering in Jerusalem. Israel has also insisted it would retain
control of the borders of a future Palestinian state, while the
Palestinians are demanding full sovereignty. “I am impressed
that Prime Minister Netanyahu is aware of the greatness of his
mission, and I think he is well prepared to meet the chance,”
said Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Netanyahu and
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas are this week to formally
relaunch direct negotiations that collapsed in December 2008
when Israel launched a devastating military offensive in the
Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and
Jordan’s King Abdullah II are to attend the Washington summit
hosted by US President Barack Obama. [no further content]
LINK
Peres: Answering call for peace 'most
important task of our time'
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu left for peace
talks in Washington on "the most important task of our time,"
answering the call of peace, Israeli President Shimon Peres said
Tuesday. Addressing the opening of a World Jewish Congress
session in Jerusalem, hours after Netanyahu flew to the US for
the relaunch of direct Israel-Palestinian peace talks, Peres
said he had the impression the Israeli leader was aware of the
enormity of the task before him, and was prepared. The
87-year-old president, one of the architects of the Israeli-
Palestinian peace process, said the solution to the conflict was
"two states for two peoples, and the establishment of a
democratic, demilitarized Palestinian state" alongside Israel.
"The other solutions are dangerous," he said. Direct
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the first face-to-face
negotiations in almost two years, kick off in Washington
Thursday. [no further content]
LINK
Hebron area sealed off after deadly
attack
HEBRON -- Israeli forces on Wednesday sealed off parts of the
West Bank while Palestinian security officials said they
arrested about 50 people after four settlers were gunned down
just ahead of Middle East peace talks. And furious settlers
vowed to flout a moratorium on settlement construction in
protest against the attack as tensions rose ahead of a
Washington summit hosted by US President Barack Obama to
relaunch talks last suspended in 2008. Israeli soldiers carried
out house-to-house searches in villages in the Hebron area, near
the Kiryat Arba settlement where the two couples, including a
pregnant woman, were killed on Tuesday evening. Access routes to
the city of Hebron were closed by military roadblocks.
MORE
Note: see also Hamas Claims West Bank Killings As
Direct Peace Talks Set To Resume
LINK
[Governor Pawlenty] directs state to
decline health reform (Minnesota)
CHICAGO -- Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty directed state
agencies on Tuesday to decline all discretionary participation
in federal healthcare reform, throwing up roadblocks to
President Barack Obama's goal of providing health insurance to
all Americans. "Obamacare is an intrusion by the federal
government into personal health care matters and it's an
explosion of federal spending that does nothing to make
healthcare more affordable," the Republican governor said in a
statement. Since Obama signed the landmark reforms into law in
March nearly half of the states have mounted a fight against it.
Pawlenty, a potential candidate for president, said he signed an
executive order prohibiting Minnesota's executive departments
from submitting applications to the U.S. government for program
grants and demonstration projects under the healthcare reform
plan that are not required by law or approved by his office.
"The office of the governor will evaluate federal funding
opportunities on the basis of whether they will support existing
state initiatives or programs, or whether such federal funding
opportunities create new encroachments by the federal government
under the recently passed federal legislation," the statement
said . . . Earlier this month a U.S. judge allowed
Virginia's lawsuit against the healthcare plan, which says that
the federal government cannot compel a person to purchase health
insurance, to proceed. Arguments on the merits of the case are
set for October 18. Before then, arguments over the Obama
administration's motion to dismiss a lawsuit by 20 other states
are set for September. Also in August, Missouri voters approved
a measure that would forbid the federal government from
penalizing people who do not buy health insurance.
MORE
Hints Of Change In The World Monetary
System
NEW YORK -- Ever since its inception 66 years ago, the
International Monetary Fund has fancied itself at the center of
the global economy. But only now does the prospect of a
multilateral monetary authority providing stability to the
international financial system seem even remotely possible.
That's because for the first time in decades there are
legitimate uncertainties surrounding the one institution that
does play that role: the U.S. dollar. In that context, a couple
of recent IMF-related announcements are more important than they
normally would be ... [further content requires subscription]
LINK
________________________________
MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
________________________________
Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.
Commentary:
Obama Rebuffs Defense
Establishment's Hunger for Conflict with Iran (Gareth
Porter)
Obama's refusal in a White House briefing this month to
announce a "red line" in regard to Iran's nuclear program is a
promising sign
Excerpt:
United States President Barack Obama's refusal in a White House
briefing this month to announce a "red line" in regard to Iran's
nuclear program represented another in a series of rebuffs of
pressure from Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a statement
that the US will not accept its existing stocks of low enriched
uranium.
The Obama rebuff climaxed a months-long internal debate between
Obama and Gates over the "breakout capability" issue that
surfaced in the news media last April.
Gates has been arguing that Iran could turn its existing stock
of low-enriched uranium (LEU) into a capability to build a
nuclear weapon secretly by using covert enrichment sites and
undeclared sources of uranium.
That Gates argument implies that the only way to prevent Iran
having enough bomb-grade uranium for nuclear weapons is to
insist that Iran must give up most of its existing stock of LEU,
which could be converted into enough bomb-grade uranium for one
bomb.
But Obama has publicly rejected the idea that Iran's existing
stock of LEU represents a breakout capability on more than one
occasion. He has stated that Iran would have to make an overt
move to have a "breakout capability" that would signal its
intention to have a nuclear weapon ...
Source:
Inter Press Service / alternet.org
MORE
Opinion: ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIMES? (Gary
Bauer)
The talk shows this morning devoted a lot of time to the terrible attack on a
Muslim cab driver in New York City, which New York police have branded a hate
crime. Left-wing talking heads couldn’t help but insist that the debate over the
Ground Zero mosque has led to an atmosphere of hate where bigots now felt free
to attack Muslims. But this story shows how warped their perceptions of America
are.
According to the New York Post, Ahmed Sharif, the stabbed Muslim cab driver,
opposes the Ground Zero mosque! But wait … there’s more. His alleged
attacker was a volunteer for an organization that defines its purpose as
bringing together “diverse groups to forge a common ground for global social
justice,” and which publicly endorsed the Ground Zero mosque.
As one liberal commentator said of the Duke lacrosse rape case, “The narrative
was right, but the facts were wrong.” The media has picked up the narrative of
Muslims as victims of an intolerant America and run wild with it today. But, the
media have been doing that ever since the 9/11 attacks.
In a column today, Jonah Goldberg notes that hate crimes against Muslims did
spike dramatically in 2001 – increasing by 1,600%. But the numbers did not
suggest a pandemic of anti-Islamic violence was sweeping the nation. In 2000,
there were 28 anti-Islamic hate crimes. In 2001, there were 481, “the year a
bunch of Muslim terrorists murdered 3,000 Americans in the name of Islam,”
writes Goldberg.
He continues, “In 2001, there were twice as many anti-Jewish incidents as
anti-Muslim ones, according to the FBI. In 2002 and pretty much every year
since, anti-Jewish incidents have outstripped anti-Muslim incidents by at least
6-to-1. Why aren’t we talking about the anti-Jewish climate in America?”
Source: Our American Values newsletter LINK
[Editor's Note: Read the related commentary
Who Is Michael Enright?
LINK, for yet another twist to this story.]
Opinion: TRUE CULTURE CHANGE
COMES WHEN HEARTS ARE CHANGED (Marsha West)
If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times: America has lost its moral
compass. Our country has fallen into the pit of depravity and if we’re going to
emerge from this seemingly bottomless pit we’ve dug for ourselves and win the
culture war, Americans have got to get busy.
The ability to dig ourselves out depends on two factors. Firstly, parents must
instill in their children Judeo-Christian values (rooted in the Bible) on a
variety of moral issues, from premarital sex and bearing babies out of wedlock,
to abortion, gambling, alcohol, drug use, homosexuality and finally pornography.
The Bible speaks to every one of these subjects.
Secondly, parents must deal with what’s going on in the government-run
institutions-of-liberal-indoctrination (public schools). Liberal teachers are
stealthily implanting in student’s minds the idea of rejecting conservative
parent’s values and adopting a Marxist/socialist “progressive” worldview.
Children are no longer taught to develop critical thinking skills nor are they
learning how to make their own decisions. In our politically correct world many
educators deem it more important to fill our younger generation’s minds with
homosexual propaganda than to teach them U. S. history! . . . .
For over 50 years people of faith have allowed secular humanists to infuse
their anti-God agenda into our public education system. Make no mistake. Elitist
humanists are more determined than ever before to see society dominated by them
and their progressive ideology . . . .
The Christian’s job is not to insure that people understand the message we
bring. No. Believers are simply to deliver the message! The Holy Spirit
is the One who changes hearts and minds and brings fallen men to faith so that
they may believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.
Society will not change its wicked ways until Christians change. Americans were
looking for change when we decided to clean house and oust conservative
politicians. We elected a stealthy band of liberal Robin Hoods and we got way
more change than we bargained for . . . .
Christians also must get back to the basics. What this entails is
reading/studying the Bible and sharing [our] faith. As for pastors, they need to
stand up and preach the Word of God and all it contains instead of some
watered-down message that’s designed to make people feel good about themselves.
(Hebrews 4:12) America will not experience an authentic revival until God’s Word
is taught chapter and verse.
Source: newswithviews.com
MORE
________________________________
ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
________________________________
Day 134:
Risks remain with Gulf well cap coming off LINK
___________
Obama:
Iraqis must urgently form new government
LINK
Gates: All Is Not Well as Combat Role Ends
LINK
Fact Check: Is Iraq Combat Really Over for U.S.?
LINK
Obama renews vow to hand over Afghan security
LINK
Petraeus: Taliban footprint 'spreading'
LINK
'It would become harder before it got easier ...
That's the nature of these endeavours'
2010 Already Deadliest Year for U.S. in
Nine-Year Afghan War
LINK
Arizona Border Sheriff: 'I Have About As Much Regard for the
U.N. as I Do the Vermin'
LINK
Problem bank list climbs to 829
LINK
Obama: Restoring U.S. economy 'most urgent task'
LINK
U.S. Federal Reserve Allows China To Buy 10% Of Morgan
Stanley Shares
LINK
[analysis]: HIDDEN CORPORATE SCANDAL: CEOs
WHO LAID OFF THE MOST WORKERS RAKE IN THE MOST TREASURE
LINK
Leviathan Oil Field Said Could Sustain Israel For Decades
(Followup)
LINK
Hurricane Earl batters Caribbean,
threatens East Coast
LINK
Storm sparks flooding, damages homes, knocks out
power on islands
California Rejects Ban on Plastic Shopping
Bags
LINK
[analysis]: Inside The Great Reptilian Conspiracy: From Queen
Elizabeth to Barack Obama ... They Live!
[or not!]
LINK
A look at one of the more fascinating alternate universes
of belief
Government Study Withheld for Year: 70
Percent of Parents and 54 Percent of Teens Say Sex Before
Marriage is Wrong
LINK
Sebelius: Time for 're-education' on Obamacare
LINK
HHS boss suggests remedy for nationwide opposition
to health-care law
HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: AUGUST 31, 2010 LINK
________________________________
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 KJV
________________________________
CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH
THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 2, 2010
- no news edition -
CHRISTIAN MEDIA
WORLDWATCH
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
Israeli, Palestinian
leaders to resolve issues in a year
WASHINGTON -- The Israeli and Palestinian leaders have pledged
to work towards a resolution of all the core issues of
disagreement within a year with the aim of establishing a
Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.
They have agreed to develop a framework for a permanent peace
deal during talks held in Washington, and also to meet for
direct talks every two weeks in the region.
US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has said core issues
between the Israelis and Palestinians could be resolved within
one year.
"If you move forward in good faith and do not waiver in your
commitment to succeed on behalf of your people, we can resolve
all of the core issues within one year," Mrs Clinton said.
The two sides will next meet at the Egyptian resort of Sharm
el-Sheik on September 14 and 15 and there will be other meetings
also involving the US and other members of the Quartet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Just as you
expect us to be ready to recognise a Palestinian state as the
nation state of the Palestinian people, we expect you to be
prepared to recognise Israel as the nation state of the Jewish
people".
Following an attack earlier in the week in which four Israeli
settlers were shot dead in a random attack, Palestinian leader
Abbas acknowledged Israeli concerns over security, but also
called for action from the Israelis.
"Once again, we want to state our commitment to follow [through]
on all our engagements, including security and ending
incitement, and we call on the Israeli government to move
forward with its commitment to end all settlement activities and
completely lift the embargo over the Gaza Strip and end all form
of incitement," he said.
Council on Foreign Relations' Robert Danin, said: ""There may be
some room there for creative diplomacy to try to bridge those
two positions.
"If so, then it would be a very important sign of progress and
show that the United States is able to finesse difficult issues.
It will build a level of trust and optimism between the two
sides".
Beyond this first challenge, the two sides will be working to
agree on how they will pursue peace.
"The purpose of a framework agreement will be to establish the
fundamental compromises necessary to enable them to flesh out
and complete a comprehensive treaty that will end the conflict
and establish a lasting peace between Israel and the
Palestinians," US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said . .
. .
Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated that broader regional
tensions also needed to be considered.
".. and we've had the rise of Iran and its proxies and the rise
of missile warfare. And so, a peace agreement must take into
account security [arrangements] against these real threats that
have been directed against my country," he said.
Source:
channelnewsasia.com
MORE
Note: see also Op Ed: A
Peace Plan Within Our Grasp - Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak: "For an Israeli-Palestinian peace to succeed, it must
also be embedded in a broader regional peace between Israel and
the Arab world ... As someone who has witnessed both the ravages
of war and the hope for peace, I appeal to all sides to make
this new round of negotiations the one that succeeds"
LINK
Palestinian Leader
Rebuffs Netanyahu's Call for A 'Jewish State'
(CNS News) -- Behind the polite talk at Thursday’s re-launch of
direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at the State Department
was a deep gulf on what Israel calls a make-or-break issue:
Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
Addressing Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas directly in English,
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu identified what he called “two
pillars of peace that I think will enable us to resolve all the
outstanding issues … legitimacy and security.”
“Just as you expect us to be ready to recognize a Palestinian
state as the nation-state of the Palestinian people, we expect
you to be prepared to recognize Israel as the nation-state of
the Jewish people,” Netanyahu said, adding that the more than
one million non-Jews living in Israel enjoy full civil rights.
“I think this mutual recognition between us is indispensable to
clarifying to our two people – our two peoples – that the
conflict between us is over.”
Abbas’ response, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turned
the floor over to him minutes later, was that the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) had already recognized Israel – in
September 1993, when his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, and then
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had signed “a document of mutual
recognition.”
“And in this document, we give enough to show that our
intentions are good, our intentions with respect to recognizing
the state of Israel,” he added, speaking in Arabic through a
translator.
Left unsaid was the fact that neither in 1993 nor since then has
the PLO agreed to recognize Israel specifically as a
Jewish state.
On the contrary, Abbas and other Palestinian leaders have
repeatedly rejected this Israeli requirement.
“Palestinians reject the demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish
state,” PLO Executive Committee member Wassel Abu Yousef told
reporters in Ramallah less than a fortnight ago, after Netanyahu
told his cabinet that “recognition of Israel as the national
state of the Jewish people” was a necessary component of a
peaceful settlement to the conflict.
At a landmark convention in Bethlehem last year, Abbas’ Fatah
faction of the PLO adopted a platform rejecting recognition of
Israel as a Jewish state . . . .
Asked at a press briefing Thursday about the Jewish state
dispute, U.S. Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell acknowledged
that differences between the sides were “many,” “deep” and
“serious” and that both sides would need to be willing to make
“difficult concessions.”
But he said he believed Netanyahu and Abbas were “committed to
doing what it takes to achieve the right result.”
Source: cnsnews.com MORE
Iran's revenge: Syria
and Hizballah join to sink Israeli warships
Tehran and its extremist and terrorist allies, having failed to
abort Barack Obama's initiative for direct Israel-Palestinian
diplomacy, have hit back with two belligerent steps. DEBKAfile's
military sources disclose that Syria and the Lebanese Hizballah
have set up a joint military command for sinking Israeli
warships, and Hamas has brought all 13 Palestinian rejectionist
organizations under one roof for a sustained bid to intensify
terror operations against Israel.
At a news conference in Gaza early Friday, September 3 - shortly
after the Washington talks were rated positive - a Hamas
military arm spokesman announced the creation of a single
command encompassing all 13 Palestinian rejectionist groups
operating out of the Gaza Strip and Damascus for a concerted
campaign of terror against Israel.
In answer to a question, Abu Obeida said the new policy of
expanded attacks may well rain missiles on Tel Aviv. "From now
on, everything is open," the Hamas spokesman said . . . .
Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hizballah leader Hassan
Nasrallah decided to expand the secret military cooperation pact
they recently concluded - to which no Israeli political or
military leader has so far responded - to the Mediterranean Sea,
where their operational and intelligence assets will together
seek out and try and sink Israeli missile ships and submarines.
To this end, they have earmarked marine units and their Iranian-
and Russian-made shore-to-ship missile force - the largest of
its kind in the world - as well as Syrian assault helicopters
flown by crews trained to strike seaborne targets. The Hizballah
marine unit was trained and equipped by Iranian Revolutionary
Guards marine instructors.
The Mediterranean coastal strip from Syrian Latakia in the
north, running through the Lebanese ports of Tripoli, Sidon and
Tyre and down south to the Gaza Strip, have been declared a
joint sea front dedicated to attacking Israeli targets.
High-ranking Israeli military sources told DEBKAfile
Thursday night that while it was hard to imagine Syria or
Hizballah managing to hit Israeli submarines, they are quite
capable of fomenting violence on the sea and attacking Israeli
naval craft and bases. Their joint command means they are
sharing intelligence on Israeli naval activity and monitoring
the movements of vessels while still in Israeli territorial
waters and before they take up stations opposite the Lebanese or
Syrian coasts.
Source: debka.com
MORE
________________________________
NEWS BRIEFS
________________________________
Hamas
leader rejects compromise, peace with Israel
GAZA CITY -- The top Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip rejected
compromise with Israel in a fiery speech Wednesday, a day after
gunmen killed four Israelis. In an address to Hamas members,
Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar said the movement would resist
peace efforts and criticized the Palestinian president for
joining the negotiations. "Today marks the start of direct
negotiations between someone who has no right to represent the
Palestinian people and the brutal occupier, to provide a cover
for Judaizing Jerusalem and stealing the land," Zahar said .
. . Hamas leaders have sharply criticized Abbas in recent
days for agreeing to resume negotiations with Israel. "The enemy
of the Palestinian people is the Zionist enemy," Zahar said.
Zahar rejected the idea of compromise with Israel, saying that
"liberating" all the land between the Mediterranean and the
Jordan River - a reference to Israel's destruction - is a moral
and religious duty. He said Palestinians must not abandon armed
resistance against Israeli occupation. Despite Zahar's tough
words, it's unclear whether the militants will try to derail the
negotiations with more attacks or whether the shooting was an
isolated incident. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak wrote in an
op-ed piece in The New York Times on Tuesday that reconciliation
between Hamas and Abbas' Fatah movement is "critical to
achieving a two-state solution" and renewed an offer of Egyptian
mediation. Hamas expert Khaled Hroub said the group would keep
acting as a spoiler if it is not accommodated. "You have to
engage with Hamas - not because you like or dislike them," Hroub
said. "Because, pragmatically these are the people who can
deliver."
MORE
IDF warns of wave of violence as
Hamas vows to sink peace talks
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday warned of a possible wave
of attacks as Hamas militants try to sabotage
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which formally opened in
Washington on Wednesday. The warning follows two drive-by
shootings on Israeli targets in the West Bank this week, which
killed four Israeli civilians and wounded two more. Hamas
militants claimed responsibility for both attacks. "There may be
more attacks," Brig. Gen Nitzan Alon told Army Radio. "The
capability exists on the ground." Alon said the military had
received no specific intelligence about the attacks on Tuesday
and Wednesday – but that the army had expected attempts to
disrupt the talks. "We knew opposition elements like Hamas would
try to carry out attacks to try and disrupt the diplomatic
process," Alon said. Hamas on Thursday vowed more violence:
"Operations of resistance will continue and the measures by the
occupation and Fatah will not block them," said Hamas spokesman
Sami Abu Zuhri.
MORE
EU presses China on observing
Iran sanctions
BEIJING -- The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton said on Thursday she had pressed China to ensure that
Chinese companies did not fill the void left by other firms
leaving Iran due to UN sanctions. US officials said in July that
Chinese companies had been pursuing trade with Iran despite the
threat of US sanctions and a June United Nations Security
Council resolution imposing more punitive measures on Tehran
over its nuclear program. Robert Einhorn, special adviser for
non-proliferation and arms control at the US state department,
said at the time that China should not “backfill” by doing more
deals with Iran while “responsible countries are distancing
themselves from Iran.” Ashton, speaking to reporters at the end
of an official visit to China, said she told Chinese Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi that observing sanctions placed on Iran was
vital. “We expected that we would all work together in a way
that would be effective but that we would stand together,” she
said. “My message was meant to be very clear – that we would
expect that we wouldn’t see ‘backfill’.” Ashton added it was
“too early to tell” if China was indeed “backfilling.”
MORE
Followup story
Feds Sue Arizona Sheriff in Civil
Rights Probe
PHOENIX (AP) -- The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe
Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more
than a year to turn over records in an investigation into
allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics. The
lawsuit calls Arpaio and his office's defiance "unprecedented,"
and said the federal government has been trying since March 2009
to get officials to comply with its probe of alleged
discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and
having English-only policies in his jails that discriminates
against people with limited English skills. Arpaio had been
given until August 17 to hand over documents it first asked for
15 months ago . . . Arpaio's office had said it has fully
cooperated in the jail inquiry but won't hand over additional
documents into the examination of the alleged unconstitutional
searches because federal authorities haven't said exactly what
they were investigating.
MORE
Eligibility Alert:
Judge to Lakin: Find another defense
Rules that officer challenging Obama's eligibility can't see
evidence
FORT MEADE, MARYLAND -- A career officer in the U.S. Army acting
as a judge in the prosecution of Lieutenant Colonel Terrence
Lakin today ruled that the military is no place for Barak
Obama's presidential eligibility to be evaluated. Army Colonel
Denise R. Lind today ruled in a hearing regarding the evidence
to be allowed in the scheduled October court-martial of Lakin
that he will be denied access to any of Obama's records as well
as any testimony from those who may have access to the records.
With her decision, Lind mirrored a number of federal judges who
have ruled on civil lawsuits over Obama's eligibility. They have
without exception denied the plaintiffs' access to any requested
documentation regarding the president's eligibility. Lind ruled
that it was "not relevant" for the military to be considering
such claims, that the laws allegedly violated by Lakin were
legitimate on their face and that the chain of command led up to
the Pentagon, and that should have been sufficient for Lakin
. . . [Judge Lind] said opening up such evidence could be an
"embarrassment" to the president, and it's up to Congress to
call for impeachment of a sitting president.
MORE
Fears grow over global food supply
Wheat prices rose further on Friday in the wake of Russia’s
decision to extend its grain export ban by 12 months, raising
fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08.
In Mozambique, where a 30 per cent rise in bread prices
triggered riots on Wednesday and Thursday, the government said
seven people had been killed and 288 wounded. Vladimir Putin’s
announcement on Thursday extended an export ban first introduced
last month until late December 2011, sending wheat and other
cereals prices to a near two-year high. It came as the UN’s Food
and Agriculture Organisation called an emergency meeting to
discuss the wheat shortage . . . Russia is traditionally
the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, and the export ban
has already forced importers in the Middle East and North
Africa, the biggest buyers, to seek supplies in Europe and the
US. Mr Putin said Moscow could “only consider lifting the export
ban after next year’s crop has been harvested and we have
clarity on the grain balances”.
MORE
Note: see also Commentary:
Doomsday Scenario: Food Prices To Shoot Through The Roof
LINK
Principal threatens to fire teachers
who help Christian club (Virginia)
Earns warning from civil rights organization
A principal who reportedly threatened to fire any teacher who
helped with the organization of a campus Fellowship of Christian
Athletes (FCA) club is getting a warning letter from a civil
rights organization. The Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based
civil liberties group, sent the letter to Don Curtis, principal
of Wilson Middle School in Fishersville, Virginia. "By
intimidating teachers, through threat of termination, into
refusing to provide the same types of administrative assistance
to the FCA as are made available to other student groups,
Principal Curtis has pitted himself in direct opposition to the
spirit of the First Amendment," said Rutherford President John
W. Whitehead. "School administrators need to act immediately to
correct the erroneous impression conveyed by the principal's
e-mail that religion has no place in the public schools," he
said.
MORE
________________________________
MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY
________________________________
Note: Views expressed in the commentaries on this website are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of Christian Media Daily or our host - Christian Media Network. Quotes are obviously the opinion of the source. A quote is just a quote and these are offered without comment. Use of a news story or commentary is not an endorsement of the source website.
Commentary:
THE NEW SOYLENT GREEN ECONOMY (Danny Weil)
‘Dead janitors’ or ‘dead peasants’ insurance: corporations
buy secret non-disclosed life insurance policies on their
workers when workers ‘give up the ghost’
Excerpt:
There is nothing that is sacred under the organized system of
greed known as capitalism. Everything produced and sold under
the ruthless arrangement that puts profits before people must be
commodified and cannibalized quickly, and at any cost. Take life
insurance, a commodity peddled by hucksters for more than a
century. The insurance has now taken a new twist. Companies are
purchasing insurance policies that will pay them a secret,
windfall benefit when you die and you might not even know it.
The money will not go to your loved ones but to the corporation.
The commodification of death under capitalism goes unbridled.
One lives to survive, not survive to live and the legal
ownership of life goes on unabated.
These life insurance policies, are often nicknamed ‘dead
janitors’ or ‘dead peasants’ insurance, and they have increased
in popularity after many states cleared the way for them by
relaxing insurance regulations and passing new ones favorable to
the body snatchers. The practice accelerated during the Reagan
years. Congress recently tried to crack down on the practices,
but they faced the howls of the insurance industry - which
earlier this year managed to derail reforms intended to stop or
regulate them through multi-million dollar lobbying efforts,
perhaps paid for with death peasant’s insurance benefits.
This dirty little secret may not have been on your radar screen,
but it certainly is firmly locked into the rifle [sights] of
companies that want you dead so they can collect insurance
benefits on your corpse without your knowledge.
Source: dailycensored.com (8-19-10)
MORE
Opinion:
THE EVOLUTION OF REVOLUTION (Timothy Baldwin)
In recent years throughout the States of America, there has been
what is referred to as the State Nullification Movement. This
movement is based upon the concepts expressed in the Virginia
and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799, drafted and advocated
by founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
Nullification’s idea is this: the United States Constitution is
a union of sovereign States, as confirmed by the Declaration of
Independence and Treaty of Paris of 1783 and as reflected in the
Constitution of (for) the United States of America
(Constitution, tenth amendment); the federal government is
a creation of the sovereign will of the States and has
limited power and function based upon the Constitution creating
the union; any powers exercised by the federal government
beyond that delegation are a nullity; and the States, as having
their own powers delegated to them by the people of those
States, have the power and duty to resist federal encroachments.
This concept has picked up momentum as of late, particularly
because people throughout the States are fed up and see no other
effective method of preserving their lives, fortunes and sacred
honor, but what many in this movement may not realize is that
the Nullification Movement is merely a step in the process to a
greater movement: the State Independence Movement . . . .
. . . As soon as a law was passed that became
collectively opposed, the first line of defense was the “State
Nullification Movement.” This movement is reflected in
Virginia’s nullification declaration of the Stamp Act [see
source website for text] . . . .
In essence, this is the same declaration which has been made
by over a majority of the States in America today concerning
federal usurpations . . . .
The federal government today
operates in a manner not unlike Great Britain’s government from
1765 to 1783. The efforts of the States to declare their
rights are fundamentally rejected, regardless of an
occasional victory obtained by the States to block the federal
government from encroachment. The constitution of the federal
government demands submission and declares ultimate
sovereignty over the states in all matters whatsoever. Thus,
the real struggle of sovereignty, power and independence
continues and has yet to be truly decided. Ultimately, this
decision cannot and will not be made by any court, especially
the United States Supreme Court.
Those political questions can only be answered by the people of
a body-politic: “all power whatever in the State [belong] to the
people thereof.”
Time will eventually prove that the State Nullification Movement
was but a wheel turning in the evolutionary process of
revolution . . . .
Natural laws being what they are, this pressure from the top
down will only intensify the speed [at] which the process of
revolution takes place. To many, it is long overdue. [emphasis
added]
Source: newswithviews.com (8-22-10)
MORE
[Editor's comment: If you put these two commentary pieces together, you get the question: What is government? - and the answer: It's people!]
________________________________
ADDITIONAL NEWS & ANALYSIS
________________________________
Two Israelis wounded in
new Hamas attack in West Bank
LINK
[analysis]: Hamas' new methods: Multiple small attacks by unknown imported
terrorists
LINK
Intel Report Confirmed 18 Freed Gitmo Detainees Returned to Terror - Including
in Afghanistan - Before Obama Ordered Closing of Prison
LINK
Tensions between Turkey and Kurds said are threatening to explode like never
before
LINK
'Son of Hamas' warns U.S. fatally falling for lies
LINK
'Peaceful' Muslims following Quran's dictate to establish 'global
Islamic state' ... "They are required by the Quran to establish this global
Islamic state on the rubble of every civilization, every constitution, every
government ... This is not a doctrine of some freak Muslim," Yousef observed...
"It's the doctrine, the requirement, of the god of Islam himself and his
prophet, whom they praise every day"
What Matt Simmons said about the gulf oil spill before his death
(Interview)
LINK
Risk-Taking Rises as Oil Rigs in Gulf Drill Deeper
LINK
Arizona Now Has [30] National Guard Troops
LINK
And 15 billboard signs warning citizens about drug cartels
operating on public lands
Signs in Arizona warn of smuggler dangers
LINK
Drivers advised to travel north
Nevada Test Site Gets New Name
LINK
The new name, the Nevada National Security Site, is meant to
reflect the change from nuclear explosions to counter terrorism experiments ...
"This is the only place in the United States you can test chemical weapons ...
You can do it out in the open ... It's one of the places you can do some great
work in the tunnels that are available there, find out what some of the bad guys
might try and do," said Nevada Senator Harry Reid
Army study: Radioactive residue is not a hazard
(Hawaii)
LINK
The Army studied the potential health risk posed by residual Depleted
Uranium in areas where past and current weapons firing has taken place
Discounts Spur Surprising August Retail Sales Gains
LINK
Private employers in U.S. unexpectedly cut 10,000 jobs in August
LINK
Construction Spending in U.S. Falls Twice as Much as Forecast
LINK
Homelessness Up 50% In New York City
LINK
The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Government in U.S. History
LINK
Bernanke Urges Solution to Too-Big-to-Fail Problem
LINK
[analysis]: IMF Eliminates Borrowing Cap On Rescue Facility In
Anticipation Of Europe Crisis 2.0
LINK
US prepares to print fresh trillions in "rescue" linen
Ron Paul questions whether there's gold at Fort Knox,
New York Fed
LINK
Collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers blamed on U.S. government
LINK
GM sales down 24.9% due to cash-for-clunkers hangover
LINK
[Red Flag - source site]
[analysis]: Google Plans To Kill Web In Internet
Takeover Agenda (8-19-10)
LINK
Indonesian volcano spews new burst of ash
LINK
Kentucky farmer's corn pops in the field
LINK
Stephen Hawking: God was not needed to create the Universe
LINK
The Big Bang was the result of the inevitable laws of physics and
did not need God to spark the creation of the Universe, Stephen Hawking has
concluded ... “Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will
create itself from nothing ... Spontaneous creation is the reason there is
something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist”
[Editor's comment: And where did the law of gravity
come from? ... And how and why are the laws of physics 'inevitable'? ... The
laws of physics (in our limited understanding of them) certainly do not
explain spontaneous creation out of nothing ... That cannot occur naturally, it
is supernatural ... This man calls himself a scientist, then he makes this leap
of 'faith' to make these unsupportable, untestable claims?!]
Sex toys on display at World Youth Conference
LINK
Bowl of condoms, wooden phallus, pornographic photos at U.N. event
Court Won't Force California Officials to Defend Proposition 8
(Followup)
LINK
Pentagon shifts $1 billion from WMD-defense efforts
to vaccine development
LINK
Oregon Children Least Likely To Be Hospitalized For Asthma LINK [scroll down]
HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS: SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 LINK
________________________________
"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed;
if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may
come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and
only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may
have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish
than to live as slaves."
Sir Winston Churchill
________________________________
From the Editors: We would like to hear from our readers on any of the stories that appear on this news page. If you would like to contact us, please send an email to the address below. Either a few words or something longer (not to exceed 400 words) would be welcome. Selected comments and contributed news stories will be posted.
Please put our address in your address book:
CMediaNews@yahoo.com
Worldwatch was edited this week by Editor Robert
Ellis with help from Claire Mason and Trucker Tom.