Islamic group 'wins Egypt seats'
The Muslim Brotherhood says it has won at least 33 seats in the first round of national assembly elections in Egypt.

Initial results announced at some polling stations following a round of run-off voting on Tuesday indicated similar gains.

If confirmed officially, the results would more than double the seats held by the Islamic political group.

The organisation is banned in Egypt but tolerated by the authorities and fields electoral candidates as independents.

Opposition candidates again alleged that there had been widespread fraud by President Hosni Mubarak's governing National Democratic Party.

The NDP currently controls more than 400 of the assembly's 454 seats; 164 seats were voted on in the first round in Cairo and some other provinces.

Correspondents say the elections are not expected to bring a major change in the balance of power.

A Brotherhood spokesman said the group's performance, apparently winning a fifth of seats, "confirms in an unquestionable way that the Egyptian people stand behind the Brotherhood and that the Brotherhood really do represent the strongest social and political group in Egypt".

The elections are being held in three two-round phases.

The second round, which includes the northern city of Alexandria, will be held on 20 November; the third round will go ahead on 1 December.

Bush calls on China to expand religious freedoms
(Filed: 16/11/2005)

George W Bush, the American president, has urged China to allow more political and religious freedoms.

Speaking ahead of his visit to the country this weekend, the president said communist-run China was an example of a society that had taken steps toward more openness but had "not yet completed the journey".

"As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed," Mr Bush said.

He plans to attend a church service in China, which is seen as a chance for him to underscore his message on religious freedom.

In the speech given in Kyoto, Japan, the president also held China's foe Taiwan up as a model of a free and democratic society in Asia.

His comments are sure to rankle Beijing, which refuses to recognise Taiwanese claims of sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

Mr Bush praised Taiwan, but reiterated Washington's support for the "one-China" policy which maintains that Taiwan is not independent.

"Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous," he said.

"By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society."

Japan was Mr Bush's first stop on a week-long, four-nation tour during which North Korea's nuclear programme, tensions over trade with China and the threat of an avian flu pandemic are high on the agenda.

Amen Brother,

The ACLU doesn't want people to be punished for their crimes so in essence they are aiding and abetting in my opinion. This in addition to the crimes against God and the nation they should also be punished. I think the pink clothes and shoes would be fitting.

They also need to be covered in "RED", (the blood of Jesus Christ) then they could be rehabilitated and perhaps actually do some work that is worthwhile.

Hi Joey,

Actually your comments tie in with the subject of this thread quite nicely. One of the requiremnets of a Pastor is to hold his family together in the ways of the Lord. If he is knowing of a fault within his family and is not inforcing this with that family then he is not doing his job correctly. If what GKB says in this thread and others he has posted then the Pastor is not complying with his Biblical duties and he needs to take action on it or step down from his position (not doubting GKBs word, just saying that I am not making judgements on it as I don't know the facts).

Joey,

You're most welcome.

I certainly don't condone this. The idea behind this though as I have seen from some other articles on it is that there are many Christian tourists already coming to the area. They simply want to make facilities available to take care of those that are coming. Other than that the land is supposed to remain untouched so as to provide a solemn and respectful climate for people to reflect on God and His wonders.

As in any building projects in Israel the IAA requires research done on the area to insure there is no loss of any historical (archaeologial) information. If done right it could be pretty nice, but as you said I think it will eventually turn into a finacially based instititute of sorts.

Some say they want to go there so that they can walk where Jesus walked. They don't realise that they can have Jesus walking with them every day and every where.

   

EU to build network of spy satellites
By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 15/11/2005)

The European Union is building its own network of spy satellites allowing Brussels to ensure nations and private individuals are obeying its policies, it was announced yesterday.

The multi-billion-pound system, known as "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" (GMES), should be up and running by 2010, a commission spokesman said. Announcing the launch of a "pilot stage" for GMES, the commission stressed its "user-friendly" application in guiding relief work after disasters or providing real time images of forest fires or oil spills.

But a commission memo also acknowledged that GMES would play a key role in the "implementation, review and monitoring of EU policies", including watching for agriculture and fisheries fraud and boosting "internal security".

In addition, officials hope GMES will support the EU's first steps towards becoming a military power. It will "provide authorities with necessary elements for a European Security and Defence Policy", the commission memo said.

The commission in Brussels will identify and develop possible uses for GMES. The management of the satellites will fall to the European Space Agency (ESA), which pools the space resources of 15 EU member states, including Britain, plus Norway and Switzerland.

US politicians are already suspicious of the ESA's "Galileo" project, a 30-satellite global navigation system designed to improve on the Pentagon-controlled GPS system. The EU's invitation to China to become a major investor only increased US concern.

Gregor Kreuzhuber, the commission's spokesman for industry policy, yesterday described GMES as "a little brother for Galileo, a sort of satellite system where you can better monitor what is happening on our planet".

GMES is intended to exploit existing assets belonging to individual EU nations. National governments would retain control over their satellites, Mr Kreuzhuber pledged.

Harmonising the use of national assets in space should mean Europe does not need to launch a full set of new satellites though some EU spacecraft are expected to be needed.

With the ESA, the commission has already spent £154 million on preparatory work, and expects the whole project to cost £1.54 billion between 2006 and 2013. Funding is to come from the commission, national governments and private defence and space firms.

Attorney Applauds Restoration of Religious Holidays to School Calendar

By Jim Brown
November 15, 2005

(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney is praising a decision by a Florida school board to once again recognize religious holidays on the district's school calendar.

The Hillsborough County School Board had decided to eliminate all religious holiday vacation days after Muslims in Tampa requested that students be given a day off to celebrate the end of Ramadan. However, after this decision generated widespread public outrage and national media attention, the board members reversed course and voted 5-2 to restore several religious holidays to next year's school calendar.

Attorney Mat Staver with the Orlando-based legal group Liberty Counsel provided the Hillsborough County School Board with a memo regarding the constitutionality of celebrating Christmas in schools. He says this particular case illustrates a problem that happens all over the U.S., especially at this time of year.

"We have religious discrimination that occurs in the public schools and other public venues throughout the year," Staver points out, "but it seems to crescendo at the end of the year, whenever we get toward the holiday season and the Christmas celebration time. This case ... is a little bit of a combination of both [censorship of] Christmas and discrimination in general against religious expression."

The newly revised Hillsborough district calendar gives students days off for Yom Kippur, Good Friday, and the Monday after Easter. The Liberty Counsel attorney applauds this school board for its decision, but he contends that in many other areas around the country, school officials are unaware of what the Constitution and court precedent say about freedom of religious expression and are unlawfully restricting people's right to celebrate according to their beliefs.

"If anyone is frustrated by what they see in their community or nationwide," Staver says," this is an encouraging illustration that when you get involved you can make a difference. Telephone calls, e-mails, letters, and other information and pressure can actually make a huge difference."

The kind of bureaucracy that enacts religious censorship or discrimination as a matter of policy may seem to immovable, but Staver asserts that, "obviously, it is not." When individuals or communities stand up and speak out for their constitutional rights, he notes, they can often make their voices heard, "and this case illustrates that very point."

[A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida says the group is against the pink plates because they punish and ridicule.]

According to the ACLU drivers with DUI's are not to be punished.

________________________________


Pink plates for DUI's in Florida?


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Clearwater, Florida - A state senator wants bright pink license plates on vehicles driven by convicted drunk drivers with limited driving privileges.

Republican senator Mike Fasano of New Port Richey filed a bill earlier this month that requires the first three characters on the
plate to read "D-U-I."

Fasano says this might embarrass people and make them think twice about drinking and driving.

The bill also says police may stop any vehicle with a D-U-I plate without probable cause to check the driver.

Ohio and Michigan have similar laws in place. Other states have debated the issue, but failed to pass it due to privacy reasons.

A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida says the group is against the pink plates because they punish and ridicule.

ACLU: Extend tax break to all religious books

By BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/15/05

A retired Atlanta librarian and a Sandy Springs bookshop owner are challenging a state law that grants a sales tax exemption for purchases of the Bible and other books pertaining to "Holy Scripture."

Their lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, said if such works are exempt from sales and use taxes, other philosophical, religious and spiritual works should be as well.

"The law is written in such a way that minority religions don't get the same tax exemption as better-known religions such as Christianity and Judaism," said Maggie Garrett, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, which represents the two plaintiffs.

State law exempts from sales tax all "Holy Bibles, testaments and similar books commonly recognized as being Holy Scripture." The decades-old law also exempts "any religious paper ... when the paper is owned and operated by religious institutions and denominations," but it does not define religious paper.

State Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham, the defendant in the lawsuit because his agency oversees collection of sales taxes, said he was unaware of the dispute until notified of the lawsuit Monday afternoon.

"Most organizations or advocates will approach us to isolate a specific issue they have," Graham said. "Often we can take a number of issues off the table, either by rule or regulation. ... We don't like to start in court, but if someone wants to go down that road, we're more than happy to accommodate them and work through the issue."

Graham said his office, responding to a previous inquiry, had suspended the sales tax for purchases of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. But the office has not had inquiries about other religious or spiritual texts, he said.

Heather Hedrick, a spokeswoman for Gov. Sonny Perdue, said, "It appears that the question lies in the definition of Holy Scripture."

Filing suit were Thomas Budlong, a retired librarian and former president of the Georgia Library Association, and Candace Apple, who owns the Phoenix & Dragon Bookstore, which specializes in metaphysical books.

Apple said if the state is not going to tax the Bible, "it should be consistent and not tax scriptures from other religions and traditions or from a philosophical bent of those who do not follow a particular religion but who are searching for life answers."

If two customers are standing at the counter, one buying a Bible and another purchasing a sacred Hindu text, "I shouldn't have to say to the person buying the Bible, 'You don't have to pay tax because you have the right religion,' " Apple said Monday.

The lawsuit notes that Apple could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor for not collecting sales tax on her store's metaphysical and spiritual books.

Budlong objected to having to pay sales tax on his recent purchases of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values" and "The Bhagavad Gita," a sacred Hindu text, the lawsuit said.

The tax exemption is unconstitutional because it has "the primary effect of endorsing religion in general and Judaism and Christianity in particular," the lawsuit said.

Garrett, the ACLU staff attorney, emphasized that the lawsuit does not seek to strike down the sales tax exemption for Bibles and other Holy Scripture works.

"We're just saying the exemption should be broader so that it applies to religious text and nonreligious text."

The ACLU lawyer said the easiest solution is for the Legislature to amend the statute so that it encompasses a broader spectrum of religious and spiritual materials.

"I wouldn't expect it," said Michelle Hitt, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram). "It's not an issue that's been discussed, at all."

The law dates back to 1950s when Gov. Ernest Vandiver issued an executive order suspending the sales tax. Gov. Lester Maddox issued a similar order in 1970, and the Legislature approved it the following year.

French riots boost far right

By ELIZABETH BRYANT
UPI Correspondent

PARIS, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- It seems a flashback to 2002: The boisterous crowds cheering him on, the media attention, the sense that Jean-Marie Le Pen's French-first, immigrants-go-home message is again resonating in France.

Five years after capturing second place in presidential elections, the head of France's far-right National Front is again making waves -- or rather riding them, as he coasts on the backlash of more than two weeks of violence staged by ethnic-immigrant youths that has roiled this country.

"Immigration, explosion in the suburbs...Le Pen foretold it," reads a banner on his website, accompanied by alarming video images of the country's gritty housing projects going up in smoke.

"This kind of violence by ethnic immigrants naturally fits into the thesis of Jean-Marie Le Pen," said Steven Ekovich, a French politics professor at the American University in Paris. "And he's going to try to profit from this to rebuild his political fortunes based on a fear of violence coming from the suburbs. Not only from the immigrants, but also from the children and grandchildren of immigrants."

Along with soul-searching about whether France's theoretically colorblind integration model is a failure, the rioting and arson attacks that erupted Oct. 27 have also sharpened simmering anti-immigrant sentiments among some French, and support for a law-and-order response among many.

A poll published in Le Parisien newspaper last week found nearly three-quarters of the population supported the current state of emergency which has been extended until February. More than eight out of 10 French said they were "outraged" by the violence.

At a Monday night rally in Paris, 77-year-old Le Pen showed he could still pump up a crowd.

"For years, if not for decades we've been repeating our alarm," the National Front leader bellowed to several hundred gathered across the street from the Louvre Museum. "...of a massive immigration from outside Europe that will result in the submergence and ruin of France, and unhappiness of the immigrants themselves!"

The crowd erupted in clapping and whistles. Then came a steady drumbeat: "Le Pen, President."

"Le Pen is right -- the proof is there with the riots," said a 71-year-old retiree who gave his name only as Robert, and said he lived in some of the housing projects roiled by unrest.

"Look who's been staging the unrest?" he asked. "The blacks and the Arabs. These are racist, anti-white riots."

As France's center-right government grapples for ways to quell the unrest and find long-lasting solutions to its causes, Le Pen's prescriptions are clear cut: Stop immigration and kick out illegal immigrants; dismantle "ethnic ghettos" and give French preference in social services and jobs.

And, he now suggests: Start deporting second-and third-generation immigrants of French nationality who refuse to follow the country's laws and therefore do not deserve to be French citizens.

"The problem is that French never wanted immigration, but we weren't consulted" said 45-year-old Remy Carillon, who carried a sign Monday night reading: "No to Turkey in Europe," in reference to Ankara's quest to join the European Union. "If our government had asked citizens if they wanted immigration for the past decades we French and Europeans would have said, 'no. That's enough.'"

Le Pen claims such sentiments have already boosted the National Front's membership by 3,000-4,000 members since the riots began. And a poll published Sunday in Le Journal du Dimanche placed his popularity at 24 percent -- just five points behind that of France's embattled President Jacques Chirac, his one-time presidential rival.

Five years ago, Le Pen convulsed the nation by placing just behind Chirac in the first-round of presidential elections, with 18 percent of the vote. Although the French president won the second round handily, the outcome was generally viewed as a massive rejection of extremism, rather than an endorsement for Chirac.

Le Pen has declared he will run in the 2007 presidential elections. Besides the handicap of his age -- he will be nearly 79 -- it is far from clear whether current French resentments will translate into massive support for the Front 18 months from now.

"Jean-Marie Le Pen says people are joining his party right now, but he has problems," said Nonna Mayer, a research director at the Paris-based Center for the Study of French Political Life, who is an expert on the far right. "First, the elections aren't tomorrow, and many things can happen."

The National Front is also deeply divided between supporters of the old guard -- led by Le Pen's chosen successor Bruno Gollnisch -- and a new generation, lead by Le Pen's daughter Marine, who are trying to soften the party's extremist image.

Political rivals are also cashing in on Le Pen's anti-immigration, law-and-order message. Chief among them: Philippe de Villiers, head of another rightist party, the Movement For France.

Like Le Pen, de Villiers has also declared his candidacy for the 2007 elections. His message to the rioting youths has essentially been "France, love it or leave it."

"De Villiers embodies a more radical right, but less extremist, more respectable one than the National Front of Jean Marie Le Pen," Mayer notes. "So that could steal away voters, especially those from the traditionalist right who adhere to values of family, order, authority, religion."

France's popular Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, has also been accused of hardening his discourse to attract National Front supporters -- with an eye, too, on a presidential run. While he sparked controversy recently for calling the young rioters "scum," Sarkozy remains France's most popular politician, with about 57 percent support in recent polls.

"I'm not afraid Mr. Sarkozy is trying to take my ideas," Le Pen said Monday, during an interview on Radio Monte Carlo. "Bravo. It shows my ideas are getting somewhere. It's the lePenization of thinking."

Others are not so sure. Even as Le Pen's anti-immigrant message draws new adherents today, experts say these same French may see immigrants very differently tomorrow.

"The opinion is divided," Mayer says. "There is the opinion among some that there is illegal immigration and we must fight against it. But as the population gets older, maybe we'll be very happy to have these immigrants in a few years -- to pay for our social security, to pay for our retirement funds."

Tropical Depression 27 forms over the eastern Caribbean

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

MIAMI, USA: The twenty-seventh tropical depression of the 2005 hurricane season has formed over the eastern Caribbean Sea, bringing heavy rains to portions of the Lesser Antilles.

According to the 11pm EST advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the depression could become Tropical Storm Gamma on Tuesday.

Interests throughout the Caribbean should monitor the progress of this system.

At 11 am EST Monday, the centre of tropical depression twenty-seven was located near latitude 14.5 north, longitude 65.3 west, or about 275 miles south of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The depression is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph and a turn to the west is expected during the next 24 hours.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph, with higher gusts.

The depression is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 5 to 8 inches over the Windward Islands and 1 to 3 inches over the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Isolated maximum amounts of 10 to 12 inches will be possible over the higher terrain areas of the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local weather office.

Colombian volcano threatens eruption
15/11/2005 - 14:11:43

Authorities today began evacuating 1,500 residents living on the slopes of a volcano in south-west Colombia over concerns it is about to erupt.

The evacuation order was given last night and emergency officials early today began knocking on the doors of the poor subsistence farmers who live on the Galeras volcano, located near the Ecuador border 340 miles south-west of Bogotá, said Roberto Torres, a geologist at Colombia’s Geology and Mines Institute.

'Quake orphans are being taken away for jehad'


 Children orphaned by the Kashmir earthquake are being "adopted" by terrorist groups that hope to train them to fight in the jehad, or holy war.

Pakistan's leading human rights organisation, the Ansar Burney Welfare Trust, said jehadi groups fighting the Indian government were taking orphans off the streets and putting them in training camps.

The organisation said it also had evidence that sympathetic government officials were passing children on to the jihadis to be looked after.


The popularity of the Islamic militants has risen sharply since the earthquake struck on October 8, killing more than 87,000 people.

The militants were among the first to arrive with aid at some of the worst affected villages. Their organisation and ability to commandeer lifting equipment and tents have generated significant new support.

 But according to human rights campaigners they are using their new popularity to smuggle weapons and recruit the young and vulnerable.

"We have heard from very reliable sources and seen with our own eyes that orphaned and lost children are being taken by jehadi organisations in northern Pakistan to be trained," said Fahad Burney, of the trust.

Jamaat-ud Dawa, one of the largest jihadi groups in Pakistan, has called openly for orphans to be handed over for an "Islamic education".

Pakistan moved quickly following the quake to ban adoptions after aid agencies warned of child trafficking.

Another hazard facing children is pneumonia, which is taking its toll among the 750,000 survivors living in tent camps.

I haven't been in the forum as much as I would like to lately because of lower back pain and a frozen shoulder. I thought it was bursitis. Pray that God will intervene so I won't have to take any more medicine than I already take.

My prayers are with you sister.

 PA Hopes For Arab Majority in Land of Israel by 2010
11:11 Nov 15, '05 / 13 Cheshvan 5766

(IsraelNN.com) According to the Palestinian Authority's Bureau of Statistics, there are 4.7 Arabs in the Land of Israel (between the Jordan River and the Medditeranean).

The PA envisions that by 2010 there will be an Arab majority in the region. "At that point we will tell the Israelis that we are offering them an Israeli State," read a statement from the Bureau.

The PA hopes to speed the demographic growth through importing Arabs from throughout the Middle East to Gaza in order to threaten Israel with the demand for a binational state between the river and the sea that would be an Arab one.

Recent demographic studies have undercut many of the methods used by the PA Statistics Bureau however.