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Letter threatening church schools has Islamic undertone

Prague- The anonymous letter threatening with an explosion in church schools in Prague on Thursday, implies an Islamic undertone as if someone wanted to take revenge on Christians for suppressing Muslims, the daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes today, referring to well-informed police sources.

Police experts, who requested anonymity, assess the letter's author as either a psychopath, an absolutely unscrupulous joker or a really outraged Muslim, the paper says.

Asked about a distinctive Islamic undertone in the letter, Interior Minister Ivan Langer (Civic Democrats, ODS) refused to comment on these speculations.

Police received the threatening letter on Thursday. Next day, policemen were searching the schools, but no explosives were found.

Detectives are investigating the case on suspicion of attempted terrorist attack. Other parts of the Integrated Rescue System participated in the security measures. The civilian counter-intelligence service (BIS) was also on alert over a possible danger, MfD says.

Letter threatening church schools has Islamic undertone  (http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=230758)

Now a school bans 13-year-old from wearing crucifix
12.01.07


Samantha Devine, who was forbidden to wear her crucifix

A school provoked fury last night by ordering a devout Catholic schoolgirl to remove her cross necklace because it posed a health and safety risk.

Teachers demanded Samantha Devine remove her chain and tiny crucifix despite allowing Muslim and Sikh pupils to wear symbols of their religion.

Her family have vowed to fight the decision "all the way" claiming it discriminates against Christians.

The case mirrors the row which engulfed British Airways and forced the airline into an embarrassing climbdown after it threatened to sack an employee who insisted on wearing her cross at work.

In the latest clash, 13-year-old Samantha was left in tears after her form teacher told her she must remove her tiny half-inch crucifix and chain.

But her furious family yesterday pointed out the school - Robert Napier in Gillingham, Kent - allows Muslim pupils to wear headscarves and Sikh students to come to lessons with turbans and bangles.

Samantha even claims staff routinely fail to crack down on youngsters wearing non-religious jewellery, including large necklaces and earrings.

Her parents are concerned she is being singled out because she is a Christian. The youngster last night vowed to continue wearing her necklace to school - even if it means being expelled.

Her stand now threatens to spark similar confrontations in schools up and down the country.

The vast majority of schools ban jewellery as part of their uniform policies and head teachers' leaders remained defiant last night, declaring all neck chains - regardless of whether they are religious - must stay banned for health and safety reasons.

The schoolgirl's father, who served as a soldier in the Royal Irish Regiment for 11 years including tours in Kosovo and Sierra Leone, vowed to sue the school if it insists on barring his daughter from wearing her necklace - which he gave her as a present a month ago.

She intends to proudly wear her chain when she returns on Monday to her secondary modern school, described as "satisfactory" by Ofsted.

Mr Devine, who attends St Thomas Of Canterbury Catholic Church in Gillingham every Sunday, insisted: "It's just political correctness gone absolutely mad.

"It's a harmless, very small crucifix and she wears it as a symbol of her religion."

Samantha was asked to remove her necklace in front of sniggering classmates as she left the morning registration session on Wednesday morning.

The necklace was just visible underneath her open-necked blouse, worn with a blazer in accordance with the school's dress code.

The Devines were told she should remove her chain because it breached health and safety rules.

But Mr Devine said: "I have seen other religous pupils at the school who are not part of the Christian fath, but they are allowed to wear their religious garments and symbols without being questioned.

"So why should my daughter be told to remove a cross which means a lot to her from around her neck?"

"People in this country are too scared to say anything against other faiths because they don't want to be accused of discrimination. But it's acceptable to discriminate against Catholics.

"We are British and should be allowed to wear it in our own country.

"I respect every religion, but my daughter is just wearing a crucifix to protect her. It makes me wonder why I protected my country when we can't even protect my religious beliefs. This has upset the the entire family."

The school, which has no religious ties, said it would allow Samantha to wear a cross as a lapel badge.

But Mr Devine said it would not make such a request to pupils from other religions.

He said there were Sikh pupils at the school who wore turbans. The school said in a statement it would consider waiving its jewellery rule - regardless of health and safety concerns - for "essential requirements"

He claims another teacher at Samantha's school backed her right to wear the cross and encouraged her to continue doing so.

Samantha herself said: "I am proud of my religion and it is my right to wear a cross around my neck.

"I can't understand why the school thinks a tiny crucifix on a thin silver necklace is a health and safety hazard."

The 13-year-old, who wants to be a vet and has been getting A and B grades in her exams, added: "Other religions can show their beliefs by wearing bracelets or turbans, so why can I not wear a cross to show my devotion to God?

"I felt really upset and shocked when the teacher told me take off my necklace and crucifix.

"I am determined to keep wearing the crucifix whatever the consequences - even if I get suspended or expelled."

Her mother, Rosemary, 38, has two other children, Christopher, 16, and Louise, 14, neither of whom attend the school.

She said: "Although no one has actually said she will be suspended or disciplined for wearing the crucifix, Samantha is very worried and concerned about the repercussion of her decision.

"She has been made fully aware that she is breaking a school rule, but Danny and myself have told her to stand up for what she believes in. "If it all comes to a head, I don't want to even think about removing her from the school because she has until now, got on so well, but we will not back down.

"Samantha is proud of who she is and we will fight this all the way."

Paul Jackson, the school's deputy headteacher, said: "The school has a policy of no jewellery to be worn by any students in years seven to ten. All parents and students are aware of this.

"In this particular instance, the student and parent were informed that wearing the chain was a health and safety hazard, but that we would allow a lapel badge to be worn.

"The only exception to our uniform rule we would consider making is if the jewellery were an essential requirement of a particular religion.

"We have no reason to believe this to be the case in this instance."

The case has striking parallels with the row late last year over BA's decision to take disciplinary action against Christian check-in worker Nadia Eweida.

Following a barrage of criticism from Church leaders and politicans across the spectrum, the airline announced a shake-up of its uniform policy to allow symbols of faith to be worn openly.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Uniforms and dress codes are a matter for individual schools."

Now a school bans 13-year-old from wearing crucifix (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23381527-details/Now+a+school+bans+13-year-old+from+wearing+crucifix/article.do)

More on this, from the arab world.

British girl banned from wearing cross at school
(AFP)

13 January 2007

LONDON - A British schoolgirl has been barred from wearing a crucifix necklace in class, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.

Samantha Devine, a 13-year-old Roman Catholic, was told by teachers in Gillingham, south-east England, that it breached health and safety rules, the paper added.

Her family reportedly says it will fight the decision and has accused the school of discriminating against Christians because Sikh and Muslim pupils can wear religious symbols.

The case echoes that of British Airways employee Nadia Eweida, who was suspended in October for failing to remove her necklace or hide it under clothing in accordance with company policy.

The girl has pledged to keep wearing the cross when school restarts next week after the Christmas holiday.

“I am proud of my religion and it is my right to wear a cross around my neck.

“I can’t understand why the school thinks a tiny crucifix on a thin silver necklace is a health and safety hazard,” she told the Mail.

British girl banned from wearing cross at school (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2007/January/theworld_January344.xml&section=theworld&col=)

New comet excites stargazers

By MARY PEMBERTON
Associated Press writer Saturday, January 13, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- When amateur astronomer Martin Gutoski braved 40 degree below zero weather to get a look at the comet, he didn't expect to be thrilled.

There hadn't been a lot of buzz about Comet McNaught. But, as the comet got closer to the sun it brightened and the word spread among stargazers. The Comet McNaught was special.

Gutoski drove to a lookout about five miles north of Fairbanks on Tuesday evening, when skies were especially cold and clear -- good comet-viewing weather, even if it was frigid. He waited for sunset and watched as the sky turned salmon red and darkened. He turned his attention toward the spot on the horizon where the sun set.

Gutoski immediately saw the comet. When he raised his binoculars, the comet filled his field of view.

"It was exciting," he said. "It is a very large spike, almost a vertical spike at sunset... I was more than impressed with it."

The comet, discovered last year by Australian astronomer R.H. McNaught, is expected to remain visible in the Northern Hemisphere, conditions permitting, through Friday, when it likely will become obscured by the sun's glare. After that, it will begin its traverse around the sun, eventually emerging for people in the Southern Hemisphere to enjoy.

According to the Web site http://www.spaceweather.com, the Comet McNaught is the brightest one in 30 years. The comet is "plunging toward the sun, and the heat is causing it to brighten dramatically. A few days ago, it was barely visible in evening twilight, but now it pops into view while the sky is still glowing blue. Only Venus is brighter."

Comets -- collections of ice, gas and dust -- usually have two tails, one made of dust and the other of ionizing gases, Gutoski said. The Comet McNaught is bright because it is traveling close to the sun and toward it. That proximity is producing a long, highly visible, dust tail.

"It was a screamer," Gutoski said, when asked to describe the comet.

The comet is both visible in the morning and evening. Stargazers in the morning should look to the southeast horizon about a half-hour to 45 minutes before sunrise to get a good look at Comet McNaught. In the evening, the comet should be visible by looking to the southwest about a half-hour to 45 minutes after sunset.

Glenn Sheehan, executive director of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, said he hadn't heard anything about a comet until one of his colleagues spread the word that something was different overhead.

Sheehan went out to take a look Monday afternoon with a bunch of other people, some not even bothering to grab their coats before going out in the 36 degree below weather.

Sheehan said he knew by looking at the object it was something burning up the atmosphere, but what?

"I realized it wasn't exactly moving. A meteor, I've seen them and they go by like a whiz," he said.

He briefly entertained the thought that it was a plane.

"That didn't make sense and I gave up and started calling people to find out," he said.

Something new is always welcome in Barrow during the long, dark winter, he said.

The sun is not expected to reappear above the horizon until Jan. 23. It's been gone since Nov. 18.

"It is neat to see something different going on in the sky," Sheehan said Wednesday. "The only other outdoor distraction today was a polar bear and two cubs going through here."

John and Dolly Kremers of Juneau, members of the Juneau Astronomy Club, got bundled up Wednesday night and grabbed their binoculars for a quick trip to the boat dock on Douglas Island to get a glimpse at the comet.

It didn't turn out as planned. They stayed for about an hour but only saw a couple of stars because it was overcast -- a frequent condition in the southeast Alaska city.

Dolly said she was not disappointed.

"We will have to keep tracking and keep trying. It was not easy for Galileo either," she said. "Eventually, you find something. It will be really exciting."

New comet excites stargazers (http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/01/13/news/regional/eb965b1844f49c51872572600073cbef.txt)

Fighter jet signals China's military advances

By Peter Ford, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Thu Jan 11, 3:00 AM ET

BEIJING - A sleek, swept-wing fighter-bomber dubbed the "Jian-10," unveiled here last week, is more than just another jet plane. It is China's calling card, announcing Beijing's arrival among the top ranks of military manufacturers.

Powered by Chinese engines and firing Chinese precision-guided missiles, the locally built Jian-10 has "allowed China to become the fourth country in the world" to have developed such a capability, "narrowing the gap with advanced nations," boasted Geng Ruguang, deputy general manager of the plane's manufacturer, Avic-I.

The latest fruit of a military modernization drive that has produced an indigenous Chinese nuclear attack submarine, early warning aircraft, frigates and destroyers, cruise missiles, and computerized command and control systems, the Jian-10 is "a decisive step by China toward becoming an aviation power," the official Xinhua news agency declared.

The plane is also a new symbol of China's role-reversal in the global arms industry. "Most technology analysts have been surprised by the speed with which China has gone from being an arms-buying country to one with real promise of being a producer of front-edge military technology," says Denny Roy, senior researcher at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu.

Neighbors wary of China's military advances
To some of China's neighbors, though, that promise looks more like a threat. And
Pentagon officials, too, have repeatedly urged Beijing to explain more clearly the purpose behind a military buildup that has seen defense spending rise by more than 10 percent a year since 1990, according to official Chinese figures.

Offering rare insights into the Chinese leadership's strategic view of the world, the government issued a defense white paper at the end of last year, in a bid to clarify its military policies.

The paper declares that "China's overall security environment remains sound," but notes "challenges that must not be neglected."

Chief among them, it says, is "the struggle to oppose and contain the separatist forces for 'Taiwan independence,' " which "remains a hard one." Beijing claims the island of Taiwan as its own - a position rejected by the government in Taipei.

The white paper, the first of its kind in two years, sets ambitious military goals for the People's Liberation Army (PLA), harping repeatedly on the need for technological modernization. By the middle of this century, China should be "capable of winning informationized wars," it says, referring to the computerized battlefield on which future wars will be fought.

Such capabilities, China insists, are "purely defensive in nature," and the report does not repeat the threat contained in the last white paper to crush any serious move toward Taiwanese independence "resolutely and thoroughly."

It does, however, note disapprovingly of heightened US-Japanese military cooperation, as Tokyo and Washington build a joint missile shield designed to protect Japan from North Korean missiles. Beijing appears to worry that Taiwan may one day be brought under this shield, blunting the mainland's military strength in any cross-Strait conflict.

The white paper came on the heels of a speech by President Hu Jintao calling for a stronger "blue water" navy with the ability to range far from home ports. "We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military's historical mission in this new century," Mr. Hu said.

"We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time," he added.

What such missions might be was hinted at in the white paper, which mentions "ensur[ing] the interests of national development" as a key element of China's defense policy, and refers to security issues including "energy, resources, finance, information, and international shipping routes."

Buildup needed to protect trade, China says A Pentagon report last year detected Chinese ambitions to build a fleet capable of protecting the sea lanes that carry the country's vital oil imports through the Straits of Malacca, and of operating even farther afield, in the Indian Ocean.

China's growing political and economic interests, especially its worldwide appetite for imported raw materials, mean that it sees defending those interests in ever broader terms, says Dr. Roy.

"As such a big country, with an ever more global outlook, what China needs to do to defend its national interests will inevitably impinge on the interests of other countries," Roy predicts, and "it will demand a degree of diplomatic skill" to assuage neighbors' suspicions of Chinese intentions, he adds.

Many Western analysts accept Chinese officials' argument that military spending has increased only in line with their country's economic rise. Officially, spending is set at $36.4 billion this year, but it is generally believed to be about twice that.

But while "their focus is defensive, any weapon can be used offensively," points out Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific bureau chief for Jane's Defence Weekly. The White Paper sets out "primarily defensive concepts," he says, "but they are based on a degree of offensive capability and they have the capacity to undertake purely offensive operations if desired.

"The political environment is very stable at present ... but neighbors look at the concentrated buildup of China's military capabilities and it's at that, not the politics, where they have to concentrate their strategic thinking," Mr. Karniol argues. "Because intentions can change."

Fighter jet signals China's military advances (http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070111/wl_csm/obigboats)

A rabbi's warning to U.S. Christians
Posted: January 13, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Rabbi Daniel Lapin
© 2007

I am certainly not a Churchill. I am not even a Revel. I am having enough trouble just trying to be a Lapin. But I am issuing a very serious warning about deep consequences, just as they did. It is a warning about the earliest stages of what could become a cataract of disasters if not resisted now.

During the 1930s, Winston Churchill desperately tried to persuade the English people and their government to see that Hitler meant to end their way of life. The British ignored Churchill, which gave Hitler nearly 10 years to build up his military forces. It wasn't until Hitler actually drew blood that the British realized they had a war on their hands. It turned out to be a far longer and more destructive war than it needed to be had Churchill's early warning been heeded.

In 1983, a brave French writer, Jean-Francois Revel, wrote a book called "How Democracies Perish." In this remarkable volume, he described how communism's aim is world conquest. For decades he had been trying to warn of communism's very real threat. Yet in January 1982, a high State Department official said: "We Americans are not solving problems, we are the problem." (Some things never change.) A good portion of the planet fell to communism, which brought misery and death to millions because we failed to recognize in time that others meant to harm us.

(Column continues below)

Heaven knows there was enough warning during the 1980s of the intention of part of the Islamic world to take yet another crack at world domination. Yet instead of seeing each deadly assault on our interests around the world as a test of our resolve, we ignored it. We failed the test and lost 3,000 Americans in two unforgettable hours.

I am not going to argue that what is happening now is on the same scale as the examples I cite above, but a serious war is being waged against a group of Americans. I am certain that if we lose this war, the consequences for American civilization will be dire.

Phase one of this war I describe is a propaganda blitzkrieg that is eerily reminiscent of how effectively the Goebbels propaganda machine softened up the German people for what was to come.

There is no better term than propaganda blitzkrieg to describe what has been unleashed against Christian conservatives recently.

Consider the long list of anti-Christian books that have been published in recent months. Here are just a few samples of more than 30 similar titles, all from mainstream publishers:

    "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America"

    "The Baptizing of America: The Religious Right's Plans for the Rest of Us"

    "The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason"

    "Piety & Politics: The Right-wing Assault on Religious Freedom"

    "Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism"

    "Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America"

    "Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right"

What is truly alarming is that there are more of these books for sale at your local large book store warning against the perils of fervent Christianity than those warning against the perils of fervent Islam. Does anyone seriously think America is more seriously jeopardized by Christian conservatives than by Islamic zealots? I fear that many Americans believe just that in the same way that many pre-World War II Westerners considered Churchill a bigger threat than Hitler.

Some may say that today's proliferation of anti-Christian print propaganda is nothing to become worried about. To them I ask two questions:

First, would you be so sanguine if the target of this loathsome library were Jewish? Just try changing the titles in some of the books I mention above to reflect anti-Semitism instead of rampant anti-Christianism and you'll see what I mean.

Second, major movements that changed the way Americans felt and acted came about through books, often only one book. Think of Rachel Carson's 1962 error-filled "Silent Spring" that resulted in the pointless banning of the insecticide DDT and many unnecessary deaths. Other books that caused upheavals in our nation were Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," many of Ayn Rand's books and of course "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

No, I would advise you not to underestimate the power of books to alter the behavior of the American public, and I fear for an America influenced to detest Christianity by this hate-filled catalog.

It is not just books but popular entertainment also that beams the most lurid anti-Christian propaganda into the hearts and minds of viewers. One need only think of who the real targets of the recent hit movie "Borat" are. The brilliant Jewish moviemaker Sacha Baron Cohen, as his title character, using borderline dishonest wiles, lures some innocent but unsophisticated country folk, obviously Christians, to join him in his outrageously anti-Semitic antics. Cohen then triumphantly claims to have exposed anti-Semitism. In fact, he has revealed nothing other than the latent anti-Christianism of America's social, economic and academic secular elites.

Even the recent PBS documentary, "Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence," managed to do more attacking Christianity than defending Judaism.

Richard Dawkins, an Oxford University professor, is one of the generals in the anti-Christian army of the secular left. American academia treats him with reverence and hangs on his every word when he insists that "religious myths ought not to be tolerated."

For those with a slightly more tolerant outlook, he asks, "It's one thing to say people should be free to believe whatever they like, but should they be free impose their beliefs on their children?" He suggests that the state should intervene to protect children from their parents' religious beliefs. Needless to say, he means Christian beliefs, of course. Muslim beliefs add to England's charmingly diverse cultural landscape.

The war is against those who regard the Bible to be God's revelation to humanity and the Ten Commandments to be His set of rules for all time. Phase one in this war is to make Christianity, well, sort of socially unacceptable. Something only foolish, poor and ugly people could turn to.

We have seen how a carefully constructed campaign pretty much made it socially unacceptable to drink and drive. For years, there had been stringent laws against drunk driving. They achieved little. In the end, the practice was all but eliminated by groups allied with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and their effective ways of changing the way Americans thought about it.

We have seen how a carefully constructed campaign has pretty much made it socially unacceptable to smoke. In the face of a relentless campaign (dare one call it propaganda?), Americans became docile and forfeited the right to make their own decisions. Nobody was willing to stand up to the no-smoking tyrants. Nobody even asked whether health was sufficient grounds for freedom to be reduced. Now, entire cities and even states have banned smoking, not only in public places but even in privately owned restaurants.

Tyranny comes when citizens are seduced into trading freedom for the promise of safety and security.

Considerably more intellectual energy is being pumped into the propaganda campaign against Christianity than was ever delivered to the anti-smoking or anti-drunk-driving campaigns. Fervent zealots of secularism are flinging themselves into this anti-Christian war with enormous fanaticism.

If they succeed, Christianity will be driven underground, and its benign influence on the character of America will be lost. In its place we shall see a sinister secularism that menaces Bible believers of all faiths. Once the voice of the Bible has been silenced, the war on Western Civilization can begin and we shall see a long night of barbarism descend on the West.

Without a vibrant and vital Christianity, America is doomed, and without America, the West is doomed.

Which is why I, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, devoted to Jewish survival, the Torah and Israel am so terrified of American Christianity caving in.

Many of us Jews are ready to stand with you. But you must lead. You must replace your timidity with nerve and your diffidence with daring and determination. You are under attack. Now is the time to resist it.

A rabbi's warning to U.S. Christians (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53748)

The heat is on
SAM SER, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 11, 2007

The sun is so hidden by the clouds of the grey and threatening winter sky that it's hard to believe anyone even remembers its warmth. But in the offices of Solel in the Beit Shemesh industrial zone, the forecast is downright balmy. In fact, the future's so bright, as the 1980s song goes, they've gotta wear shades.

It is here that engineers of a technology once thought impossible to commercialize have turned sunshine into big business. Sales at the solar power company jumped from a meager $4 million in 2005 to more than $25 million in 2006 - and they're about to make a huge leap forward in 2007, nearing the $100 million mark. A facility that until recently housed 80 employees is now packed with 240.

Contracts to upgrade the world's largest solar energy fields, in the Mojave Desert in California, have made this sleepy spot in the wooded hills outside Jerusalem a truly sun-drenched locale.

It's a far cry from where the company was 15 years ago. Then, it was just a bunch of engineers from Israel's first solar success story, Luz, which built the celebrated fields in California that Solel is now overhauling. Luz crashed in 1991 as conventional energy prices dropped and American subsidies for solar research and electricity fell through. It seemed then that the promise of solar power had fizzled.

"When we first started, people thought we were crazy," Solel's chief technology officer, Eli Mandelberg, says now. They don't seem so crazy anymore.

In the past few years, Solel has changed its strategy from just selling its technology to also selling the electricity that its technology produces; that is, it now builds and operates ready-to-go "turn-key" power stations. The company has also expanded its reach by entering into a partnership with a Spanish firm to carry out projects in that country, which is currently undergoing a solar revolution of its own.

Solel isn't the only Israeli firm to enjoy solar success these days, it's just the largest. Most local solar energy companies deal mainly in installing small systems from components made by large international companies - although one of these small companies, SolarPower, won a contract last year to supply a rural energy project in Ethiopia.

OUTSIDE ISRAEL, too, solar power is literally one of the hottest issues in the energy industry. Electricity production is increasing on an almost daily basis, and billions of dollars per year are being spent to create even more.

Companies around the world are cashing in on an energy source that is nearly perfect: clean, renewable, safe and - the cost of the equipment notwithstanding - free. Yet solar power is not new. Based on a phenomenon first recognized in the 1800s, and taken up quite seriously after the oil crunch of the early 1970s, the idea of harnessing the power of the sun to create electricity has been kicked around before. So why is it taking off now? A number of factors are combining in the sun's favor.

One is the increasing environmental awareness of developed countries. Although they are not the overriding issue - financial considerations still reign - concerns over the long-term effects of burning fossil fuels for energy are playing a larger role in national energy policy than ever before. Decades of alarm over pollution have moved the subject from a pet project of the "green" lobby to the mainstream consciousness. Numerous countries have passed laws requiring that alternative energy sources be used to provide at least a small percentage of total electrical output in the next few years.

"Relying solely on coal for the world's energy needs would be an ecological disaster. I don't think there's even an argument over that anymore," says Michael Epstein, head of the solar research center at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

Another factor is the relatively high cost of conventional energy. As in the case of the fuel scare three decades ago, continuous volatility in the price of oil and natural gas - and the fact that much of these resources are controlled by unstable regimes - have led researchers to seek reliable alternative sources for energy. And in countries that are still developing, small solar-powered electricity systems are an easy, cheap way of providing power to areas in which the costs of creating new conventional power plants, or extending the existing power grids, would be prohibitive.

But one of the most influential factors in the sudden resurgence of interest in solar power is the technological advancement that has brought its cost down to earth.

Solel, for example, having refined the old solar thermal technology that Luz pioneered in the mid-1980s, has produced a system that is 40 percent to 50 percent more efficient than its predecessor.

"We took what Luz did and improved it, updated it, to the point that today we can sell solar energy at a price that is competitive," says Mandelberg.

Again, Solel is not alone. Progress on this front, according to Prof. David Faiman of the National Solar Energy Center, "requires two things: lots of desert, and sophisticated scientific research facilities in that desert. Israel happens to have both."

THEY RESIDE in the Negev, where the desert's unique features make it a natural choice for solar research. The National Solar Energy Center, which is part of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University's Sde Boker campus, is taking advantage of these conditions by conducting experiments that are helping several companies, including Solel and leading foreign firms, make solar power cheaper than ever.

Faiman and his colleagues in Sde Boker have something else, too, and it didn't come from Mother Nature: their own advanced solar power system, in the form of what looks like a huge satellite dish. The 10-meter-wide dish houses dozens of angled mirrors that focus the Negev's already potent sunlight onto a silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cell, which converts the light into electricity. What results, says the excited scientist, is the energy equivalent of up to a thousand suns.

"What this means is that you're actually reducing the cost of the unit by a thousand times," Faiman exclaims.

In any PV system, the greatest expense comes from the complex silicon panels where photons collide with electrons and produce an electric current (other kinds of film are being created as an alternative to silicon, but they are also expensive, unique materials). The Sde Boker dish circumvents the cost problem by using only a single PV cell and letting mirrors - very high in precision but much, much cheaper than silicon - do the bulk of the work.

cont'd next post

Faiman explains the significance: "Suppose a PV system costs in the order of $8,000 per kilowatt hour produced. About $3,000 of that would be what the builder takes for his workers, etc. You're left with about $5,000 for the system. Now, of that $5,000, $4,000 is the cost of the panel." So, if the solar panel is a thousand times more efficient, "you've effectively reduced its cost to zero."

The rest of the apparatus is a relatively simple construct from concrete, steel tubing, hydraulic shocks, glass and electrical wiring. On a commercial scale, it becomes a heavy-duty power plant that doesn't pollute, yet produces electricity at roughly the same cost as conventional power plants. Even better, there's no additional cost for the fuel. That - sunlight - is free.

THERE IS another, slightly different system built by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Yet another option is being touted by Dov Raviv, who has turned his attention to solar energy after a long career in aerospace technology during which he developed the Arrow missile and the Shavit satellite. What all these projects have in common is the ability to create affordable electricity in a way that could make tiny Israel into a huge player in the world's energy market.

"If you have solar energy, you can create hydrogen, and ethanol, and provide alternatives for all aspects of the entire energy situation. The possibilities are tremendous... As soon as we can show that we have the systems, China and India are wide open to us," Raviv says.

The "solar economy" (cycle of energy production) is the opposite of the fossil fuel economies upon which our industrialized world is based. Solar power stations require a higher initial investment than conventional power stations - which in turn contributes to the relatively higher initial cost of electricity - but afterward, the costs of producing electricity are much lower because sunlight costs nothing. There are also the hidden costs of burning fossil fuels, such as pollution, that are usually overlooked because they don't appear on your monthly electric bill.

"In Israel, we are paying about 10 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity, and it is costing the electric company something like five cents per kWh to generate it," Faiman explains. "With a solar power station, once you pay for the infrastructure, the only cost is the operation and maintenance, which we estimate at half a cent per kWh."

Within a few years, Faiman and his colleagues promise, the total cost of solar power will be equal to or less than conventional power.

There is, however, a snag. Unlike countries such as Germany, Japan, Canada and the US, Israel has offered very little in the way of support for solar electricity. Subsidies and tax credits for solar energy or land allocation for a major solar power station have been minuscule to nonexistent, comparatively.

At a time when government investment in other countries has increased, Epstein says, funding for research and development in Israel has decreased over the past several years. It's a mistake, he says.

"Israel doesn't have coal, it doesn't have gas, it doesn't have wind energy. All it has is sun," notes the Weizmann scientist. "Once the projects get started and the costs start to drop, the potential is huge."

Turning results from the laboratory into large-scale power stations takes investments that universities and start-up companies can't afford to make. It also requires a sizable plot of land.

"In our country, the problem is much more a lack of land than an issue of technology," says Epstein.

With so much of the Negev left uninhabited, that shouldn't be a problem. The army retains rights over huge swaths of the desert for firing zones, but there is still a vast amount of available land that the military doesn't need to control.

Despite the apparent ease of finding suitable land, plans for a solar power plant that would provide electricity to thousands of homes in the Negev are still far from fruition, thanks to years of foot-dragging and reversals by the government.

"You go to the government and tell them what you could do with a little help, and how do they react? They say, 'Oh, very nice.' But more than that, nothing," complains Raviv, who is pushing the state to make a significant investment in solar power. "The government makes statements about solar energy being at that top of its priorities, but those statements are not translated into anything practical."

With the country's electricity demands set to double in the next 30 years, the government will have to build a lot of power stations of one kind or another. Raviv believes choosing solar power is no less than an existential priority.

"The exorbitant price of fuels in the future will not allow Israel to exist," he insists. "Without a reasonable source of energy, you can't survive these days. Solar power is the only solution that can ensure the existence of the country."

EVEN IF that outlook is a bit too bleak, the government's disinterest is odd for another reason: It has already shown great confidence in the potential of solar energy in the past, having mandated the use of solar water heaters. The simple units, based on a 1950s design, are ubiquitous. Some 95% of households have them, providing between 2% and 3% of the country's electricity each year. No other country in the world uses solar power to heat its water to this extent.

Could it be that the government lacks faith in the ability of today's technology to do more than keep our showers warm?

"You can't say that the technology isn't ready," Mandelberg says, a bit defiantly. "Not only is the technology ready, it has proven itself. When I tell you that Solel has improved the efficiency of Luz's solar fields by up to 50%, it is not just talk. If we hadn't already proven that, we wouldn't have gotten the contract to upgrade all those solar fields [in California]."

That's in the Mojave. What would it take to recreate such a bold venture here? To generate enough electricity to compete with a conventional power plant would require a good deal of space - about 10 square kilometers, by Faiman's estimation. But that's another advantage, he says, from a security perspective.

"Look, if someone drops a bomb on your [conventional] power plant, there goes your power plant. But it would take you a hell of a lot of bombs" to destroy a solar power field. "If you were to destroy part of it, the unharmed section would still be able to produce power."

Building rows upon rows of mirrors to harness the sun's rays could even, he says, be a boon for tourism and become a kind of trademark image for Israel.

"You might think that having vast solar power fields would ruin the landscape," says Faiman. "But, you know, many years ago, people in Holland complained that all the windmills were ruining the landscape. Now those old windmills are one of the things that make Holland beautiful."

The heat is on (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467710634&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter)

Jerusalem is holier than any internal conflict

Published: 01.13.07, 11:30

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called for an immediate resumption of the dialogue on a Palestinian unity government.

In a special speech he delivered, Haniyeh said that "Jerusalem, the refugees and Palestine are holier than any interest and organizational affiliation. We must base the internal relations on mutual trust and immediately halt all the clashes between the factions."

Jerusalem is holier than any internal conflict (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3351704,00.html)

Internet should be run by key players: new ITU boss
Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:06pm ET143

GENEVA (Reuters) - The Internet should continue to be overseen by major agencies including ICANN and the ITU, rather than any new "superstructure", the new head of the International Telecommunications Union said on Friday.

Hamadoun Toure, who took up the reins of the United Nations agency this month, said the ITU would focus on tackling cyber-security and in narrowing the "digital divide" between rich and poor countries.

"We all must work together, each agency has its role to play. We must come to a better cooperation ... and avoid setting up a superstructure which would be very controversial and very difficult to put into effect," Toure told a news conference.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based non-profit company, manages the Internet's domain-name addressing system. It reports to the U.S. Commerce Department, which last September said it would retain oversight for three more years.

Some critics say the U.S. government has too much control over ICANN, which has evolved into a crucial engine for global commerce, communications and culture. Countries such as Iran and Brazil have argued that the Internet should be managed by the United Nations or another global body.

"It is not my intention to take over the governance of Internet. I don't think it is in the mandate of ITU and as secretary-general I will continue to contribute to the debate over Internet governance and continue to provide technical support," said Toure, an electrical engineer from Mali.

"I will be focusing on cyber-security ...," he added.

But asked about repression of freedom of expression on the Internet, including in China where Internet users have been imprisoned, Toure replied: "Freedom of expression is a question of content-editing, which is beyond the mandate of ITU."

"ITU does not deal with the content of the Internet, but it has to be involved in the security of the network," he said.

In addition to overseeing electronic numbering, ITU will back the Internet's growth through broadband standardization, e-commerce security, and video-recording systems that will enable 3G to be accessible to the Internet, according to Toure.

Toure, who joined ITU in 1999, was elected secretary-general last November, succeeding Japan's Yoshio Utsumi. The agency has 191 member states and 640 private sector members.

Internet should be run by key players: new ITU boss (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=internetNews&storyid=2007-01-12T180345Z_01_L12910538_RTRUKOC_0_US-INTERNET-UN-ITU.xml&src=rss&rpc=22)

Tsunami fears ease after powerful 8.2 Pacific quake

by Hiroshi Hiyama Sat Jan 13, 8:03 AM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - A powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake has rocked the northern Pacific, prompting warnings for thousands of Japanese to flee for higher ground before tsunami fears eased as only small waves hit the coast.

The United States cancelled an earlier tsunami alert for Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Guam and other smaller Pacific islands issued after the huge tremor off the Russian-controlled Kuril Islands at about 0424 GMT Saturday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also withdrew a tsunami watch for a vast part of the Pacific basin including the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Papua-New Guinea and Hawaii.

The Japanese meteorological agency, which originally estimated the quake's magnitude at 8.3 but lowered it later, downgraded its tsunami warnings to advisories by early evening and will continue to monitor the situation.

Earlier, as Japan's emergency response system swung into action, evacuation advisories were issue to tens of thousands of coastal residents.

In Tokyo, the government set up a special communication office to collect information about possible tsunamis.

But fears of injury or damage soon eased as only small waves reached the shores of northern Japan after the huge quake, which briefly revived memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 that killed some 220,000 people.

The biggest tsunami to hit Japan by early evening was observed at the small island of Chichijima, which saw waves as high as 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) starting at 4:56 pm (0856 GMT), but caused no damage.

In other areas covered by the alerts, tiny waves just 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) high lapped the coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island.

"For all areas the tsunami warning and tsunami watch are cancelled," the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement.

But Japan's meteorological agency warned residents in affected areas to remain vigilant.

"We ask that those who are under tsunami warnings take this seriously and use caution. We also ask that those under advisories also be careful," said an agency official.

Japan was last hit by tsunami waves on November 15 after a 7.9-magnitude quake in the same area as Saturday's tremor.

The November quake triggered tsunami alerts stretching from Indonesia to California but the waves caused little damage.

"The latest quake happened at an area that we frequently observe earthquakes," the Japanese official said.

"It is not clear whether the previous quake and the latest quake are related, but similar things can happen," he said.

The tidal level fell by 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) at Hokkaido's Nemuro city at 2:38 pm (0538 GMT) due to pre-tsunami backwash, followed by a 10-centimetre tsunami at 3:04 pm, the agency said.

A slight dropping of the tide levels, also by 10 centimeters or less, was also seen at various coastal areas long the Pacific in a sign of pre-tsunami backwash.

Japan lies at the junction of four tectonic plates and endures about 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes, which frequently jolt Tokyo and other major cities.

Japan prides itself on having one of the world's most accurate systems for assessing earthquakes and predicting tsunamis.

In December 2004, more than 220,000 people were killed, most of them struck without warning, as a massive tsunami battered Indian Ocean coasts.

The tragedy led to worldwide calls for a more effective tsunami response system -- including both the technology to predict the disasters and the means to get the message out.

Tsunami fears ease after powerful 8.2 Pacific quake (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070113/wl_afp/japanquaketsunami)

Solana: It's time for action in Mideast
marion fischel, jerusalem post correspondent, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jan. 12, 2007

The Madrid + 15 Peace Conference concluded Friday with a decision to put the peace train back on track during the first half of 2007.

Spanish President Felipe Gonzalez attributed the failure of the Oslo Accords, which were reached before the PLO had recognized Israel, to the fact that the negotiations had moved from the private into the public domain before the agreements had become permanent.

He compared the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference to the present one, saying that in 1991, the language had been "tougher than the present language, the distance between the parties was greater and the hope for achieving a true and lasting peace was less." This time, he said, the language had been more direct and rational.

Gonzalez referred to the 2002 Arab League Initiative as "amazing," saying he could not believe that the international community had not recognized it as an irreversible step. He asked that the US play a part in the peace process without "too much involvement."

"The Arab-Israeli issue may or may not be the epicenter of the problem," said Gonzalez, "but if it is not solved we cannot advance to the other issues."

Gonzalez quoted [former executive chairman of UNMOVIC] Hans Blix as saying that "traditional methods are useless against the new international terrorism and arms proliferation."

"The use of force," said Gonzalez, produces more international terrorism, both present and potential.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who attended only part of the conference, said that "the moment of action has come."

"It is imperative to continue with a step-by-step approach. [UN Representative] Terje Roed-Larsen has said that the totality is 'too big,' so let us take the Israeli-Palestinian issue first," Solana continued.

Outlining the formula for a successful peace process, Solana, who defined himself as "a friend of Israel and of the Palestinians," said that the process would need to be "comprehensive," and include "outside monitoring."

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos called upon the international community to "intervene but not impose," adding that "It is not enough to concentrate on the Palestinian situation while the issues with Syria and Lebanon remain blocked."

Moratinos also called for the Arab world to be included in the Quartet, and for unconditional agreements to be reached.

After the conference, Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi told The Jerusalem Post that she was pleased and hopeful with the outcome of the conference.

"I think this is very significant. It is not just symbolic. There is commonality and an agreement on issues. But this is something that must be taken up and run with immediately," she said.

Solana: It's time for action in Mideast (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467720562&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer)

Hamas calls for Palestinian unity

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of the ruling Palestinian movement Hamas has urged national unity after weeks of deadly feuding.

He went on TV to say that Palestinian infighting, which has claimed about 30 lives, was utterly unacceptable.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who leads the rival Fatah party, made a similar appeal two days ago.

Meanwhile, government workers called off a strike over unpaid wages, saying they had been assured of payment.

Mr Haniya called on the Arab League to implement its promise to break the Western- and Israeli-led economic embargo, which has prevented the government from paying its employees' wages.

Atmosphere eases

The two men's speeches come after a savage war of words between Hamas and Fatah, BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston says.

Mr Haniya again and again called for national unity and talked of the need to renew the effort to form a new government that would draw Hamas and Fatah into a coalition.

He accused Israel and America of seeking to foment civil war in the Palestinian territories.

However, the violence on the streets of Gaza has very much ebbed away this week and Mr Haniya's address has added to a sense that both factions are now keen to talk rather than fight, our correspondent says.

That mood has been bolstered by news that the long-running, highly political strike by civil servants is over.

Fatah had backed the action by government workers who were angry that they were being paid only a fraction of their wages.

The Hamas-controlled government has simply been unable to pay salaries properly on account of the economic embargo.

But the civil servants say that they have now received assurances that payments will be made, thanks partly at least to funds coming from Arab countries.

Hamas calls for Palestinian unity (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6258835.stm)

Fatah loyalists rally in Ramallah

Thousands of Fatah supporters have rallied in the West Bank in a show of strength amid a violent power struggle between Palestinian factions.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, told the crowd his priority was unity and ending violence.

He tried to rebuke gunmen who fired into the air during his speech, adding "gunfire against neighbours and members of other factions" was equally wrong.

Fatah has been locked in conflict with Hamas, which won elections last year.

"We have raised our rifles against the occupation [Israel] and that is a legitimate right," Mr Abbas said. "But it is forbidden to raise rifles against one another."

Correspondents said militants from the pro-Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades ignored Mr Abbas's plea and unleashed salvo after salvo above demonstrators' heads during the speech and afterwards.

Early polls

The rally was held to mark the 42nd anniversary of the founding of Fatah by late leader Yasser Arafat.

Supporters were gathered in the Muqataa compound in Ramallah, where Arafat was buried in November 2004.

On Sunday, there was a large Fatah gathering in Gaza, after which leaders claimed to have "won back the streets" from Hamas, in what is considered a stronghold of the Islamist militant group.

Mr Abbas said he would keep up his call for early elections after talks failed to form unity government with Hamas.

The Palestinian territories have been in crisis since Hamas's election last year - amid an Israeli and western boycott and rising factional tension.

Hamas opposes the election plan, calling it a coup against a legitimately elected government.

More than 30 people have been killed in factional violence in the last month.

Fatah loyalists rally in Ramallah  (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6253089.stm)

Al-Qaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan

The head of US spying operations says the leaders of al-Qaeda have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength.

National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said al-Qaeda was strengthening its ties across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

Pakistan rejected the comments, which are the most specific on the issue yet.

This week, the US carried out air strikes in Somalia targeting what it believed to be members of al-Qaeda.

The BBC's James Westhead in Washington says that until now the US has not been so specific about where it believes al-Qaeda's leaders are hiding.

Such a claim will be embarrassing for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who Mr Negroponte described as a key partner in America's war on terror, our correspondent says.

Afghanistan has welcomed the comments. President Hamid Karzai's chief-of-staff, Jawed Ludin, told the BBC that Afghanistan had long maintained that the Islamic militants operated from within Pakistan, and that Mr Negroponte's statement was refreshing in its honesty.

'Secure hide-out'

Mr Negroponte told a Senate committee that al-Qaeda was still the militant organisation that "poses the greatest threat to US interests".

"They are cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders' secure hideout in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe," he said.

"We have captured or killed numerous senior al-Qaeda operatives, but al-Qaeda's core elements are resilient. They continue to plot attacks against our homeland and other targets with the objective of inflicting mass casualties," Mr Negroponte added.

He did not say where in Pakistan the group's leadership was hiding, or refer to its chief, Osama Bin Laden, or his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who are wanted for masterminding the 11 September attacks on Washington and New York.

New job

But the unusually forthright statement by Mr Negroponte appears to be the first time the US has publicly singled out Pakistan, one of its key allies, as the current home of al-Qaeda's high command.

Previously, officials had spoken more vaguely about the group having bases in the mountainous border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Pakistan is our partner in the war on terror and has captured several al-Qaeda leaders. However, it is also a major source of Islamic extremism," Mr Negroponte said in written testimony submitted to the Senate committee.

Pakistani foreign office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam rejected the comments.

"Pakistan does not provide a secure hideout to al-Qaeda or any terrorist group," she said. "In fact the only country that has been instrumental in breaking the back of al-Qaeda is Pakistan."

Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao also played down Mr Negroponte's comments as "too general", saying that Pakistan responded to specific information about al-Qaeda members and claiming that the movement was totally marginalised.

Difficult border

The head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt-Gen Michael Maples, said Pakistan's border with Afghanistan remained a haven for al-Qaeda and other militants.

The tribal areas on the border are thought to be where al-Qaeda leader Bin Laden and his deputy Zawahiri could be hiding.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 1,400-mile (2,250km) mountainous border which is extremely difficult to patrol.

Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters are thought to be operating on both sides.

The two countries regularly exchange charge and counter-charge over who is to blame for the violence.

Recently, Pakistan reiterated its intention to fence and mine sections of the troubled border.

Kabul particularly opposes the idea of mining stretches of the frontier, saying it will endanger civilian lives.

An Islamist insurgency spearheaded by the resurgent Taleban militia is at its strongest in the southern Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan.

Mr Negroponte took charge of the 16 US intelligence agencies in April 2005, but is shortly due to move to the state department where he will become Condoleezza Rice's deputy.

President George W Bush last week named retired Navy Vice Admiral Michael McConnell as the new US national intelligence director.

Mr Negroponte made the claims about Pakistan in his annual assessment of worldwide threats against the US and its interests.

Al-Qaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6254375.stm)

Here truly is some deception......................

Divine Readings (By Cally), is providing spiritual readings and counsel based on her Christian faith in the psychic industry.

HAWTHORNE, FL -- JANUARY 11, 2007 --- Through one of the internet's most popular websites for psychic readings. Cally is bringing a different, but daring approach to the psychic industry She provides spiritual readings and counsel through her gifts of christian prophecy.

New York (MediaPressRelease) January 12, 2007 - In the psychic industry today, very few people like her share their faith to others who call for psychic advice; for fear that they may offend people, or lose their validity as a psychic or medium.

Cally's experience in providing these services has been for over 14 years. According to Cally; " My goal is to help the person find their answers and advice by looking up, not down or around. I don't pretend to be high and mighty just because I have the gifts of divine prophecy, counsel and healing. I profess my faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. So the messages I recieve in the gifts I have, allow the person to come to understand why they are going through a particular situation, how to get out of it, or what will happen if they stay in it. I don't sue toward divination, but the power of God.

My desire is to see souls changed and come to know the One who is REALLY in control. I do this in a way that doesn't shove it down people's throats or pass judgement either. Some people like it and some don't. Alot people turn to psychics looking for some kind of direction and peace. This is the reason why I do what I do. I want to do His will, and what better way to roll up your sleeves and be a Godly influence? In the psychic world of course. "Cally is currently providing her through a popular website on the internet (they wish to be nameless) and has her own private website. (website edited out.... DW)

Cally's clients include everyday people, people in the entertainment and corporate industries. She is an Ordained christian minister, christian spiritual counselor and spiritual healing practioner. She has studied in christian apologetics, several christian theologies, jewish theology, and spiritual counseling for 14 years. She is currently writing her first book about her experiences in the psychic industry and continues to provide spiritual advice, and christian counsel over the phone via her website.

New York Firefighters Outraged by Ban on American Flags, Pictures of Fallen Colleagues on Lockers

Thursday , January 11, 2007

In a stunning crackdown, the FDNY has demanded that all personal decorations, including flags and pictures of colleagues killed on Sept. 11, 2001, be removed from lockers.


The controversy began two weeks ago when a sexually explicit slogan was reported at Engine 230 in Brooklyn. In response, FDNY Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta banned all decorations, including American flags, "Support Our Troops" stickers, pictures of family and Mass cards.

Stephen Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said the department has gone too far.

"We're tired of being treated like children," he told WCBS-TV. "It will not continue. If we have to take legal action we will."

Union officials said they planned to hand out 10,000 decals of American flags to firefighters so they could stick them on lockers in defiance of the crackdown.

The fire department later Wednesday issued a statement that sought to alleviate firefighters' concerns.

"Over the past 18 months, the New York City Fire Department has made a concerted effort to eliminate offensive material from firehouses. However, American flags and mass cards of firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001, are certainly permitted."

But earlier, it appeared the FDNY was sticking to its guns.

"No city agency should permit the work place to display inappropriate stuff," said Mylan Denerstein, the FDNY's deputy commissioner for legal affairs.

The union has retained civil rights attorney Ron Kuby to fight the regulation. Kuby once famously defended associates of the Gambino crime family and once handled a controversial plea deal for alleged mobster John Gotti Jr.

"Treating firefighters like unruly high school students is demeaning, insulting," Kuby said.

While some firefighters are fighting and dying in Iraq, Kuby told a news conference on the steps of City Hall, "we don't trust them to decorate their lockers?"

Many firefighters decorate their lockers with photos of loved ones, or fellow firefighters who died on Sept. 11 or in their regular line of duty. Yellow ribbons supporting the troops and American flag decals are also common.

FDNY is the largest municipal fire department in the United States, with more than 11,000 uniformed officers and firefighters.

New York Firefighters Outraged by Ban on American Flags, Pictures of Fallen Colleagues on Lockers (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,242965,00.html)

Syria diplomat: No preconditions to negotiations with Israel
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent in Madrid

Damascus will not accept any preconditions over entering negotiations with Israel, Syrian delegation head to a Middle-East conference in Madrid, Riad Daoudi, said on Friday.

Daoudi, the top legal adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad and to the Foreign Ministry in Damascus, responded to MK Ophir Paz-Pines' (Labor) criticism of Syria's support of Palestinian Islamic group Hamas and close ties with Iran.

He said that those issues could be discussed in the future as part of possible talks, but that in any case Hamas and Iran play a significant role in the area and cannot be ignored

The second Madrid conference, which commemorates the 15-year anniversary of the historic 1991 Madrid Peace Conference, began Thursday morning. The participation of Israeli and Syrian representatives at a dinner Wednesday to inaugurate the conference marked the first time in seven years that officials from the two countries sat together at the same table.

On Thursday, Daoudi said that the lack of peace has an adverse effect on Middle East stability. He said that now was the time to set in motion fresh negotiations, something he said was a matter of urgency for Syria and for the entire region.

Daoudi is accompanied by Damascus' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Bushra Kanafani. The Israeli delegation is comprised of Knesset members and former ministers.

He said that Israel's intentions were unclear and blamed it for the failure of bilateral peace talks, particularly in 1996, when Shimon Peres was prime minister, and in 2000, when Ehud Barak led the government, and for the subsequent refusals to renew talks.

Daoudi also accused the U.S. of taking peace off its agenda in favor of force, which he said went against the interests of the regional states.

He called on Europe to take a more active role in renewing talks, and to take an official role in the Madrid conference in order to revive negotiations through all channels.

Syria diplomat: No preconditions to negotiations with Israel (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=812878&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmmm.... why am I suspicious??

France Recovers Stolen 13th-Century Hebrew Manuscript from US
23:25 Jan 13, '07 / 23 Tevet 5767
by Gil Zohar

France has recovered an invaluable 13th-century Hebrew manuscript of the Bible that was stolen from its National Library in Paris.

The document, known as Hebrew 52, which was sold to a New York Jewish antiquities dealer, was returned to the National Library of France last Saturday following a verdict by the New York State Supreme Court handed down on Wednesday, January 3.

On May 19, 2000, the Brooklyn purchaser, a dealer in rare Hebraica named Yosef Goldman, picked up the manuscipt by paying $358,000 at a Christie’s auction in New York.

Six years later the Bibliothטque Nationale de France filed suit against Goldman, demanding the return of the stolen manuscript. This suit came after a former chief curator of the library's Hebrew collection, Michel Garel, was convicted in March 2006 of stealing Hebrew 52 in 1998. After pleading innocent, he was fined 400,000 euros and given a two-year suspended sentence.

The lawsuit against Goldman alleged that the manuscript he purchased was the one known as ‘Hebrew 52.’ In July, 2006, Goldman in turn sued Christie's in Brooklyn Supreme Court, saying the auction house should never have accepted the work for auction, and that he should be refunded $358,000 in return for the manuscript.

On January 10, 2007, The New York Times reported that a settlement had been reached. After complex negotiations between French officials, Christie’s and Goldman, the manuscript was returned to the library, and Goldman received a refund. Library officials said that Goldman purchased the manuscript in good faith and had already resold it when its theft was discovered. France reportedly agreed to cover some of Goldman’s legal expenses.

France Recovers Stolen 13th-Century Hebrew Manuscript from US  (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119354)

 American Jews Welcome Muslim U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
17:39 Jan 09, '07 / 19 Tevet 5767
by Hana Levi Julian

Jewish groups in the United States say U.S. President George W. Bush’s choice for America’s new ambassador to the United Nations is a boon for Israel.


The appointment of Zalmay Khalilzad, the first Muslim to serve in the post, is considered to be a positive sign that U.S. support for the Jewish State will continue.

According to the Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein, “Khalilzad is considered to have a positive attitude towards Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Hoenlein, whose umbrella organization is the central coordinating body for 50 national Jewish organizations, said he expects Khalilzad to maintain the U.S.’s current policies on Israel.

He added that Khalilzad’s background may also be a plus for the both the U.S. and Israel in the world body. “Having a Muslim ambassador may help improve communication with some member states at the U.N.,” he said. But the final word on the American agenda remains in the hands of the President, he added, saying, “I don’t see any major shift in U.S.-Israel policy.”

Khalilzad’s appointment was also met with positive reactions from officials at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who said they “look forward to working with him.”

The Bush administration is going through a number of personnel changes at present. John Negroponte, until now the director of National Intelligence, is moving over to take the number two spot at the State Department as deputy to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Prior to his stint as intelligence chief, Negroponte served as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

The international executive vice president of the Bnai Brith organization, Dan Mariaschin, spoke warmly about Negroponte’s tenure in the U.N. when commenting on Khalilzad’s appointment, saying he hoped the new ambassador would continue the “Negroponte doctrine” at the world body. Mariaschin was referring to Negroponte’s policy of vetoing one-sided anti-Israel resolutions presented in the U.N. Security Council.

Khalilzad’s immediate predecessor, John Bolton, was not approved by the U.S. Senate to continue in the post due to his criticism of the U.N. and strong ideological convictions. Bolton was a staunch supporter of Israel and his loss has some Jewish leaders worried.

“Not having John Bolton at the U.N. will be a change. You could see a different kind of advocacy there,” said one unnamed Jewish leader who asked not to be identified. “For John Bolton, support for Israel was a major concern. For others it might be less of a priority.”

Khalilzad, a Sunni Muslim, currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, a position he took up after serving in the same role in Afghanistan, where he was born. Khalilzad studied at the American University of Beirut and the University of Chicago. He must still be confirmed by the Senate in order to formally take up his new post.

American Jews Welcome Muslim U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.  (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=119076)

Russia Demands Tighter Security for Embassy in Iraq After Gunfire Attack

Created: 12.01.2007 11:14 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:49 MSK

MosNews

Russian foreign ministry demanded tighter protection for the Russian embassy in Baghdad after it was fired upon with automatic weapons, the Interfax news agency reports.

The twice came under automatic gunfire on Wednesday evening, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported on Thursday.

No one was injured, but the embassy building sustained material damage, the ministry said.

“Russia demands that the Iraqi authorities take immediate and comprehensive measures to increase the physical protection of the diplomatic mission,” the ministry said.

The Iraqi authorities “are directly responsible” for the embassy’s security under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the ministry said.

Russia Demands Tighter Security for Embassy in Iraq After Gunfire Attack (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2007/01/12/iraqembassy.shtml)

Top U.S. Official Warns West of Russian Policy

Created: 12.01.2007 11:08 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:50 MSK

MosNews

U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte warned Thursday that Russia is becoming a regional energy superpower and increasingly is pursuing foreign policy goals that threaten U.S. and Western interests, the Associated press reports.

High energy prices have allowed Russia to increase its assertiveness in foreign affairs, said Negroponte in his annual global review.

“A flush economy and perceived policy successes at home and abroad have bolstered Russian confidence, enabled increased defense spending and emboldened the Kremlin to pursue foreign policy goals that are not always consistent with those of Western institutions,” Negroponte told the Senate Intelligence Committee in written testimony.

Rivalry with Russia, he said, will complicate cooperation on important foreign policy goals including counterterrorism, nonproliferation and democracy promotion in the Middle East.

As Russia approaches a March 2008 presidential election, the government has been undermining its credibility as a partner with the West by stifling political opposition, Negroponte said.

Alexander Litvinenko, a Kremlin critic who lived in exile in London, died in a London hospital on November 23 after receiving a lethal dose of polonium-210. In a deathbed statement, he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder, which the Kremlin has denied.

Russia’s foreign policy tactics also are producing friction with the West.

Negroponte said Russia is trying to use economic power stemming from its exports of the country’s immense energy resources to influence the internal politics of neighbors, including countries such as Georgia and Ukraine, former Soviet republics that have recently moved toward greater democracy.

“Russia is attempting to exploit the leverage that high energy prices has afforded it, increasingly using strong-arm tactics against neighboring countries,” he said.

He warned more broadly that access to energy is emerging as a source of greater vulnerability for the West as producers increase their economic power and consumers compete more aggressively for resources.

“We have entered a new era in which security has become an increasing priority not only for the U.S. and the West, but also rapidly developing economies like China and India that are becoming major energy consumers,” he said.

In separate prepared testimony, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Michael Maples, said “Russian entities” sell technologies useful for weapons of mass destruction and missile programs abroad.

Top U.S. Official Warns West of Russian Policy (http://www.mosnews.com/news/2007/01/12/usspyrussianpolicy.shtml)