Biblical countries, in the news.

[Shammu]

 Israel Urges Lebanese Residents to Move North
07:21 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Israel is once again urging residents of southern Lebanon to move north, to distance themselves from areas marked for attack, areas used by Hizbullah to position itself against Israel.

Officials in Jerusalem stated that during this 48-hour period in which there will be limited air strikes, residents of southern areas can use the time to flee the area where fighting is taking place.

Israel has agreed that during this 48-hour period, aerial assaults will only take place if it is determined that doing so can prevent imminent attacks.

Israel Urges Lebanese Residents to Move North

[Shammu]

China Condemns IDF – Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire
06:58 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) China has released a message condemning the IDF military operation in southern Lebanon, calling on both sides to declare an immediate ceasefire.

The Foreign Ministry statement says, “China rejects the involvement of both sides in the fighting, calling for an immediate ceasefire to prevent an additional tragedy.”

China Condemns IDF – Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire

[Shammu]

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By Tom Perry

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese protesters broke into the United Nations headquarters in Beirut on Sunday, smashing windows and ransacking offices, after an Israeli air strike killed at least 40 people in south Lebanon.

Several thousand people massed outside the building in downtown Beirut chanting "Death to Israel, death to America. We sacrifice our blood and souls for Lebanon."

By early afternoon, most protesters had drifted away leaving a few hundred people milling in a car park opposite the building, which was being protected by a line of Lebanese soldiers.

Geir Petersen, the personal representative of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in Lebanon, condemned the Israeli attack on the village of Qana and called for an immediate investigation.

"I strongly condemn today's killing of tens of civilians by Israeli shelling of residential buildings in the village of Qana," he said in a statement.

Petersen was not at the U.N. offices in Beirut when they were attacked.

U.N. spokesman Khaled Mansour said the building had been stoned and furniture smashed but no U.N. staff were hurt as they had taken refuge in the basement. He said a small fire was started on the second floor but it had been contained.

Demonstrators held aloft the flags of Lebanon, Hizbollah and the Amal party, whose leader, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, appealed for a halt to the attack.

"Give the world a chance to stand by us," he said on local television.

CALLS TO ATTACK TEL AVIV

Demonstrators tore down a United Nations flag outside the building and ripped it to shreds and called on Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to launch rocket attacks on Tel Aviv.

"Oh Nasrallah, oh our cherished one, destroy, destroy Tel Aviv," they chanted.

Members of Hizbollah, the Shi'ite group that sparked the war 19 days ago when it seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid, tried to restrain the crowd.

The protesters gathered after an Israeli attack early on Sunday killed at least 40 people, including 23 children, in the southern Lebanese village of Qana.

Following the attack, Lebanon canceled a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday, saying she was unwelcome until a ceasefire was declared.

At least 523 Lebanese, mostly civilians, have been killed since the conflict started and there is growing anger in Lebanon that the international community has not done enough to stop it.

"It's tense, we understand the anger and the rage of the people outside because of the Israeli shelling, but we don't understand why the U.N. building and its staff, many of them Lebanese, are to blame," said Mansour, speaking from the basement of the UN building.

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[Shammu]

 Cry to Those Using Babies as Shields
by Naomi Ragen
Jul 30, '06 / 5 Av 5766

   
My son is in the army. He is not the type at all, believe me. Quiet, studious, a writer, a lover of Jewish history, Talmud, ethics. He spent two years in a pre-army program in the Galilee called Karmei Chayil. He made many good friends there from all over the country; and now, he and all his friends are in the army.

One of them I know well. A bit chubby, with payot (sidelocks) and a great laugh. He and my son have become like brothers. While both of them tried out for the elite paratroopers unit, only he made it in. He and his unit are the ones in Lebanon. They were there over a week, fighting under horrific conditions, running out of food and water. Even though the Israeli air force dropped tons of leaflets warning civilians to flee because they were in terrorist territory and likely to be injured, they still encountered civilians.

My son spoke to his friend yesterday,and this is how he described it:

    The village looked empty, and then we heard noises coming from one of the houses, so we opened fire. But when we went inside, we found two women and a child huddled in the corner of the room. We were so relieved we hadn't hurt them. We took up base in one of the empty houses. And then, all of a sudden, we came under intense fire. Three rockets were fired at the house we were in. Only one managed to destroy a wall, which fell on one of us, covering him in white dust, but otherwise not hurting him. I spent the whole time feeding bullets to my friend who was shooting non-stop. We managed to kill 26 terrorists. Not one of us was hurt.

    Our commanding officer kept walking around, touching everybody on the shoulder, smiling and encouraging us: "We're are better than they are. Don't worry." It calmed us all down. And really, we were much better than them. They are a lousy army. They only win when they hide behind baby carriages.

Please remember this when you hear about the "atrocity" of the Israeli bomb (allegedly) dropped on Kfar Kana, killing many civilians, a place from which Hizbullah has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel. Unlike previous administrations, Mr. Ehud Olmert has my respect when he says: "They were warned to leave. It is the responsibility of Hizbullah for firing rockets amidst civilians."

Terrorists and their supporters have lost the right to complain about civilian casualties, since all they have done this entire war is target civilians. Every single one of the more than 2,500 rockets launched into Israel is launched into populated towns filled with women and children. Just today, another suicide belt meant to kill civilians in Israel was detonated harmlessly by our forces in Nablus.

So, don't cry to me about civilian casualties. Cry to those using your babies and wives and mothers; cry to those who store weapons in mosques, ambulances, hospitals and private homes. Cry to those launching deadly rockets from the backyards of your kindergartens and schools. Cry to the heartless men who love death, and who, however many of their troops or civilians die, consider themselves victorious as long as they can keep on firing rockets at our women and children.

Save your sympathy for the mothers and sisters and girlfriends of our young soldiers who would rather be sitting in study halls learning Torah, but have no choice but to risk their precious lives - full of hope, goodness and endless potential - to wipe out the cancerous terrorist cells that threaten their people and all mankind. Make your choice, and save your tears.

That terrorists have been unsuccessful in killing more of our women and children is due to our army, God and our prayers, not to any lack of motivation or intention on their part. If you hide behind your baby to shoot at my baby, you are responsible for getting children killed. You, and you alone.

Cry to Those Using Babies as Shields

[Shammu]

Lebanon’s Future, Hizbullah with Nuclear Missiles?

By Barry Shaw

The Lebanese weep excuses of weakness. The international community has bought their sob story. They cry that they were unable to stop Hizbullah, even though they welcomed them as brothers into their Government.

Then there is the issue of the Lebanese Government allowing Hizbullah to grow from a rag-tag terror group into a seven-thousand strong, Iranian-trained, army with an estimated twelve-thousand Katyusha rockets plus far more sophisticated and deadly missiles.

Where were the Lebanese Government six-years ago, before Hizbullah owned such an awesome arsenal? Apologists for Lebanon would claim that the Government was hostage to Syria at that time. They were certainly either hostage, or partner of Hizbullah, leading up to the recent conflict. Which?

We may accept that the Lebanese army would perform an awful job patrolling their southern border with Israel. We may also agree that they need the forceful arm of an international force with powers to disarm, arrest, or stop in any way necessary, Hizbullah or others that would destabilize the area, by launching further terror attacks against Israel. There may be a force guarding the border, though this will bring no great confidence to Israel's northern citizens.

The UN, NATO, or any other force imported into many of the world's trouble zones, have not met with any great success. This is a polite understatement.
They have failed because there was always one side not committed to keeping the peace.

In fact, there is a bloody history of such imported forces being massacred by offending terror groups. Lebanon's soil is drenched with the blood of American servicemen who were there to keep the peace. They were killed by the very Hizbullah that is engaging Israel today. Does anyone think that they would give up on their radicalism because of an overseas force imposed on them? On the contrary, they will be seen as an occupying army to be fought and driven from their holy land.

So where should the Lebanese Government display its responsibility for it's own security. It is unable, or incapable, of patrolling its own border with Israel? An excellent place to start would be to control its other borders, namely its airport, seaports, and border crossings with Syria.

Israel is paying a heavy and painful price not only protecting its own citizens but also reducing Hizbullah's hegemony and military capability. This must not be allowed to return. It is for certain that Hizbullah, with the eager assistance of its pay masters Syria and Iran, will eagerly begin to rearm.

International soldiers and observers may be busy in the South, but Hizbullah will be restocked with the latest deadly missiles elsewhere in Lebanon. This must not be allowed to happen. Everything must be done to prevent this. Future weaponry can only be brought into Lebanon via air, land or sea. Access points into Lebanon may bring in humanitarian aid. They can bring in whatever is needed to build up their country. They can bring in tourists and investors. They cannot bring in lethal Iranian and Syrian rockets, missiles, nuclear bombs or any other type of weaponry.

It must be the first and vital imperative that access to the tools of a future war and the potential for a future destruction of Lebanon, be effectively blocked.The mad Islamic terror war against Western democracies continues on its deadly course.

The dynamics of this conflict will inevitably arm radical hotheads, such as Hizbullah, with weapons of mass destruction. You can have a battalion of foreign troops guarding Lebanon's border with Israel. What good will that do against a wounded and angry Hizbullah, still dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish State?

How will they prevent Hizbullah being trained and armed with longer-range missiles tipped with nuclear, chemical, or biological warheads? Such rockets, fired from the heartland of Lebanon, would send Ahmedinejad, the mad dwarf of Teheran, into an orgy of ecstasy. Like Nasrallah, his threats against Israel cannot be interpreted as empty bravado. Who cannot believe that he would willingly use Hizbullah, or Hamas, as his proxy launchers of the ultimate weapons of a future Holocaust?

You can have ten-thousand foreign soldiers and observers shoulder to shoulder along the Lebanon-Israel border. Their job will be valueless unless a permanent and stringent control is maintained to prevent Iran shipping such armaments to Lebanon.

Can such an essential task be safely entrusted to the Lebanese Government? Are they willing or capable of undertaking this important responsibility? If the Lebanese cannot be trusted in guarding their southern border, they cannot be trusted to prevent the rearming of Hizbullah through their own border crossings, and access points. Or, on this substantial issue, an international force is vital to observe, intercept and confiscate such dangerous imports?

Much has been discussed, both in diplomatic and media circles, about the need of an international force to patrol and protect the Lebanese-Israeli border and southern Lebanon. It is glaringly scary that the issue of employing a force to oversee the ports and border crossings, and ensure that Hizbullah will not be resupplied by the malevolent provocateurs in Damascus and Teheran, has not been raised.

Has no one considered this future threat? Has it not been discussed? Is the international community unaware of the future danger of leaving this loophole open? This is the time to ensure that this threat is blocked. Lebanon's borders should remain closed until assurance can be given, to Lebanese as well as to Israelis, that Hizbullah cannot be armed with genocidal missiles.

One final thought. What should be the 'proportionate' response if Israel will discover, in the future, that Hizbullah has been supplied with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons?

That is the danger that will face us if this matter is ignored by the international community and Hizbullah goes from dumb Katushas to hi-tech weaponry, as it inevitably will.

Lebanon’s Future, Hizbullah with Nuclear Missiles?

[Shammu]

Russia Blames Israel for Middle East Conflict Escalation

Created: 31.07.2006 12:54 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:24 MSK, 5 minutes ago
MosNews

Israel bears full responsibility for the spread of violence in the Middle East, a member of the Russian parliament said Sunday, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The situation in Lebanon took another tragic turn when 60 civilians, including more than 30 children were killed Sunday as a result of an Israeli air strike on Qana in the south of the country.

“The tragedy is unprecedented in its scale even for the Middle East where violence is a common phenomenon,” said Konstantin Kosachev, head of the committee on foreign affairs at the lower house of the Russian parliament.

He said the incident proved once again that conducting large-scale military operations to fight terrorism was counter-productive.

“Such an indiscriminate use of force not only leads to mass deaths among the civilian population, but also strengthens the ranks of terrorists,” Kosachev said.

Earlier this month the Russian Foreign Minister called the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which Tel Aviv claims it’s conducting against terrorist units, disproportionate and urged to stop the violence.

The UN Security Council gathered late Sunday for an emergency meeting and issued a statement condemning the violence, although it did not call for an immediate ceasefire.

But after a round of negotiations between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli officials, Israel has agreed to suspend air strikes on southern Lebanon for 48 hours and allow humanitarian aid into the area for 24 hours, the U.S. State Department said.

Russia Blames Israel for Middle East Conflict Escalation

[Soldier4Christ]

Cry to Those Using Babies as Shields

That letter should be put in all the newspapers but we already know that isn't going to happen. It would make Israel look to good.

[Shammu]

EU says 'nothing can justify' Israeli Qana airstrike
31.07.2006 - 09:58 CET | By Mark Beunderman
The EU has fiercely condemned the Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese village of Qana over the weekend as "unjustifiable," while Germany has indicated its military is too overburdened to take part in a UN peace mission to the region.

EU institutions issued a series of co-ordinated statements following Israel's attack on Sunday morning (30 June) on a house in a Lebanese village which killed more than 50 civilians, among them more than 30 children.


Israel apologised for the incident, but said the village had been used by islamist Hezbollah fighters launching rockets on Israel, while civilians had been warned in advance to evacuate the place.

But officials from the Finnish EU presidency, the European Commission as well as EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana agreed to condemn the bombing as "unjustifiable."

"There is no justification for attacks causing casualties among innocent civilians, most of whom are women and children," a Finnish presidency statement said.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, external relations commissioner, said "Israel's attack on the city of Qana means an escalation of violence that is unjustifiable at a time when the international community is jointly working to find a solution to the conflict."

Mr Solana declared that "nothing can justify" the attack and the death of innocent civilians in Qana.

Sensitive wording
Since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on 12 July, the bloc has walked on a diplomatic tightrope to find a common response, particularly when reacting to Israel's actions.

A 17 July foreign ministers meeting saw EU states watering down language proposed by Helsinki condemning Israel's offensive as "disproportionate," with states such as Germany and the UK promoting a more lenient line towards Israel.

The ministers will meet again for an emergency session on the Middle East tomorrow (1 August), with discussions expected to centre around the need for an "immediate ceasefire" – as pressed for by France.

The leaders of the UK and Germany, prime minister Tony Blair and chancellor Angela Merkel, in a joint statement after the Qana attack stressed the "urgency of the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible," but refrained from using the word "immediate."

"It is now necessary to work in New York on the preconditions for such a ceasefire," the Blair-Merkel statement said.

The UN security council after a Sunday emergency session also failed to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, with the US objecting to the idea arguing Israel's security should be dealt with first.

EU troops discussion
Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers are on Tuesday also to address proposals for a UN peace force for the Israeli-Lebanese border.

EU top diplomat Mr Solana said last week "I cannot imagine the force without any Europeans," adding "It is fundamental that some European countries will participate."

But Germany's Ms Merkel told German tabloid Bild am Sonntag over the weekend that her country's military capacities are "largely exhausted" with Berlin already providing peacekeeping contingents to Congo, the western Balkans and Afghanistan.

Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot said earlier that a Middle East operation would be "for others" to do, with the Hague also overburdened by peace-keeping operations elsewhere.

EU says 'nothing can justify' Israeli Qana airstrike

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HIZBULLAH USES TOP ATGMs AGAINST ISRAEL

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- Israel has determined that Hizbullah deployed advanced anti-tank weapons in the war in Lebanon.

Israeli military sources said many of the Hizbullah weapons were Russian-origin anti-tank guided missiles believed to have been supplied to Syria. They said the weapons were transferred to Hizbullah over the last year.

The sources said Hizbullah used the advanced systems during the battle of Bint Jbail, regarded as the movement's capital in southern Lebanon. Israeli troops recovered shells or launchers of the Milan and Kornet anti-tank systems.

The Hizbullah acquisition of the AT-14 Kornet was said to have alarmed commanders in the Armored Corps. The Kornet, guided by a laser tracker, has a range of five kilometers, greater than that of Israel's anti-tank weapons.

HIZBULLAH USES TOP ATGMs AGAINST ISRAEL

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Lebanese Reject Ceasefire Talks, Arab MKs Cause Knesset Storm
17:00 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766
by Hillel Fendel

Lebanon has rejected Secretary Rice's statements of this morning referring to a long-term peace arrangement she said could be reached "this week."


Lebanese Foreign Minister Faouzi Salouah said, "We will not accept any proposal before an immediate and absolute ceasefire. Rice is merely giving Olmert extra time."

Meanwhile, a stormy Knesset session on the Lebanese war was taking place late this morning and early this afternoon, with three Arab MKs being thrown out of the Knesset plenum.

Lebanon Rejects Rice
Lebanon's stance against Israel was expressed particularly stridently this morning by Lebanese President Emil Lahoud. "The first clause in our army's orders is, 'Israel is the enemy,'" he told Al-Jazeera. Lahoud praised Hizbullah, saying, "Hizbullah's victory will be all of Lebanon's victory," and said that Rice "wants to force a multi-national force upon us and wants to coerce Hizbullah to disarm. This would be the worst thing that could happen, because now we are winning." The Lebanese President said that if Israel invades Lebanon, the Lebanese Army will fight back.

A Hizbullah MP (Parliament Member) Fedallah also said that his organization would not conduct any negotiations before a ceasefire is implemented.

After firing a record-breaking 150 Katyushas at Israel yesterday, including about 90 at Kiryat Shmonah, Hizbullah had fired only four Katyusha rockets into Israel by 5 PM opn Monday. Hizbullah denies, however, having agreed to stop firing Katyushas. The terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli forces this afternoon, lightly wounding three soldiers.

Israel's self-imposed aerial ceasefire - decided upon solely by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - went into effect at 2 AM this morning, shortly after the Israel Air Force bombed targets in eastern Lebanon. The IDF denied Hizbullah claims that the offensive occurred at 7 AM. Seven soldiers were wounded in yesterday's fighting, including two in "moderate" condition, and at least eight Hizbullah terrorists were killed.

Knesset Ruckus
The Knesset held a special session on the war today, turning into a scene of parliamentary bedlam during Defense Minister Amir Peretz's speech. Three Arab MKs were thrown out of the plenum by Speaker Dalia Itzik, beginning with Ibrahim Tzartzour, who called Peretz a "child murderer."

Peretz said that Israel cannot agree to an immediate ceasefire, "because then we will find ourselves back in the same position a few months from now." He said that the worst thing is that the Lebanese government "abandoned its civilian population in the south of the country to the hands of [Hizbullah leader] Nasrallah, who turned the population into a defensive shield for his terrorists."

Peretz tried to defend Israel's morality in light of the accidental bombing of the Kafr Kana building yesterday: "I spoke to a soldier who said he saw a terrorist with an RPG in one hand and holding a little girl in the other, and he said that he didn't shoot. I asked him why, and he said he was afraid he might hit the girl. That's the IDF ethic! I am proud of that soldier and his decision."

No MK was heard interrupting at that time, but Trade Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas) later told Arutz-7, "There is no army that is more ethical than the IDF, period. But at the same time, no one should endanger himself just because some crazy terrorist wants to use a girl as a human shield."

Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu then spoke and blessed Defense Minister Peretz "on your important work." Netanyahu then saluted the army "in the name of all the MKs" - but then was forced to correct himself and say "in the name of almost all the MKs" when Arab MKs interrupted him with sharp words against the IDF.
Netanyahu said that Hizbullah represents a "strategic threat" which must be met with "a strategic victory." He called upon the government not to give up, not to stop in the middle of attaining its goals, and not to cede its objective of dismantling Hizbullah.

Referring to the IAF bombing of Kana that killed 54 Lebanese adults and children, Netanyahu said,
"I was interviewed yesterday by a British station and they asked me what I thought about Israeli pilots bombing children. I said, 'If you’re asking, I'll tell you: This is as just a war as any that has ever been fought - but I can recall another just war, World War II, when Britain's Royal Air Force went to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, but the bombers missed and hit a children's hospital nearby, killing 83 Danish children inside. This is a tragedy of war, but it happens. Unlike the other side, which rejoices when our children are killed, we are truly sorry when it happens, and we really and truly try to reduce casualties on the other side."

Arab MK Zehalke then yelled out, "You really believe those lies?!" at which point Speaker Dalia Itzik lost her cool and called out, "MK Zehalke, once, twice, three times, get out!" Knesset ushers then forced Zehalke out of the Knesset plenum.

MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union/National Religious Party) said, "What happened in Kana pains us, but it must be made clear: the responsibility lies totally with Hizbullah."

Lebanese Reject Ceasefire Talks, Arab MKs Cause Knesset Storm

[Shammu]

 France: Israel Not Doing Enough, Iran ‘Stabilizing Element’
17:10 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766
by Hana Levi Julian

French leaders praised Iran and disparaged Israel on Monday in two separate news conferences held in Beirut and in the Paris area.


Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told reporters at the news conference in France that Israel’s willingness to suspend its air strikes on Hizbullah terror targets was “only a first step, but still not enough.” De Villepin maintained that the “cessation of the aerial attacks is insufficient in light of the situation in Lebanon.”

At the news conference held in Beirut, French Foreign Minister Phillippe Douste-Blazy praised Iran as a “stabilizing force in the Middle East.” Douste-Blazy told reporters that Iran "is an outstanding country with great people and an honorable civilization. It has a crucial role in the region.”

Iran is the primary patron of the Hizbullah terror organization, which has fired close to 1,800 Katyusha missiles at northern Israeli communities in the past 20 days, killing 19 civilians and injuring hundreds more.

Iran has armed Hizbullah with long-range rockets equipped with warheads containing more than 100 kg. of explosive material and little metal balls designed to wound large numbers of people and create maximum damage.

Hizbullah started the current war with Israel with a major attack on July 12th in which terrorists kidnapped two IDF soldiers, killed four others and fired Katyusha rockets at Israeli towns along the northern border. Four other soldiers were killed in their tank by a mine when they set off in pursuit of their kidnapped colleagues.

Iran also continues to refuse to end its uranium enrichment program, in direct violation of international law. Ongoing efforts by the international community to convince Iran to end the program, which is a precursor to the development of a nuclear weapon, have been fruitless thus far.

France: Israel Not Doing Enough, Iran ‘Stabilizing Element’
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I wonder what he is drinking.

[Shammu]

 Mubarak Critical of the United Nations
16:06 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak released a statement that the United Nations Security Council is exhibiting weakness in its response to the situation in Lebanon.

The Egyptian leader is calling for an immediate ceasefire, adding it is absolutely urgent that the sides sit around the negotiating table and bring an end to the bloodshed.

Mubarak Critical of the United Nations

[Shammu]

Vandals Deface Berlin's Holocaust Memorial
Jul 31 12:59 AM US/Eastern
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BERLIN

Vandals scratched a swastika into one of the slabs of Berlin's Holocaust memorial, police said Sunday.

Security officers found the swastika Saturday morning, police said. The damage was swiftly repaired.

The memorial _ a vast field of more than 2,700 gray slabs situated close to the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin _ opened to the public in May 2005. Open around the clock, it drew some 3.5 million visitors in its first year, authorities said.

In a separate incident, a 42-year-old man was detained after he was seen painting a swastika on the facade of the Swiss Embassy in Berlin, police said.

Vandals Deface Berlin's Holocaust Memorial

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 Shomron: We Must Change the Rules of Play
17:48 Jul 31, '06 / 6 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Speaking to Channel 1 TV on Monday afternoon, former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Shomron stated, “we did not choose to go to war but we must realize that now, we must change the rules of play.”

Shomron stated that Hizbullah must be neutralized and the threat facing Israel must be eliminated. He stated that a ceasefire cannot be entertained prior to reaching the objectives set by the military.

Shomron stated that mistakes do occur in war and as unfortunate as they may be, they are part of reality.

“We must achieve our goals in order to change the reality,” stating that even if there is not widespread support for such a move, including the United States, the objectives must be achieved.

Shomron: We Must Change the Rules of Play

[Shammu]

INDIA: ANTI-CONVERSION LAW PASSED
By J. Grant Swank, Jr.
MichNews.com
Jul 30, 2006

   

For a person to convert to Christ, he must have the government sign over that he can convert to Christ. In other words, there is no freedom of religious choice in India, per Compass Direct News. One has to bow down to the government officialdom first; otherwise, he sets himself up for persecution.

Persecution against Christians is a daily occurrence in India. Now it will increase.

In Madbya Pradesh north-central state, the state lawmakers passed the statute "making stricter the ‘anti-conversion’ law that has increased persecution of Christians."

When living in America with its freedom of religion, one can hardly imagine what it is like to live in a repressive regime where even the matters of soul choice must pass through the hands of the secular minds with power. To the Christian, that is another demonic move to work against the Holy Spirit’s love upon an inquiring soul.

"The amendment, introduced in the House assembly on Friday (July 21), requires clergy and ‘prospective converts’ to notify authorities of the intent to change religion one month before a ‘conversion ceremony.’ In its current form, the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act of 1968 requires that notice be sent to the district magistrate within seven days of conversion."

Imagine what all that means for a sincere convert to Christ along with his pastor having to write out forms before the testimony is made public. In America, a person chooses Christ as Lord God. That is it. He and his friends along with spiritual leaders can make known that joyous decision to anyone and everyone.

Not so in India.

"The advance information must state the name and address of the person converting, along with the date and venue of the conversion ceremony, after which authorities will decide whether the conversion was ‘forced’ or ‘by allurement’

"The penalty for failing to notify the administration remains imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to 1,000 rupees (US$21), or both. Presented by state Home Minister Nagendra Singh, the amendment was passed by a voice vote without discussion.

"’This violates the fundamental right of the people, as it is the government which would decide if a person can be converted or not,’ Indira Iyengar, member of the Madhya Pradesh Minorities Commission, told Compass. She questioned the necessity of the amendment.

"’Despite the fact that numerous cases have been lodged against Christians on charges of conversion, not even a single person has been convicted by a court of law,’ she said. ‘It looks like it is to give fundamentalists a tool to batter Christians.’"

When Christ told His own that they would be hated on Earth just as He was hated, that is played out generation upon generation in one country after another around the globe. "He came to His own but His own received Him not." So it is that His followers become spiritual strangers to their own planet, just as He was a stranger to His own property.

Christians in a free country with ready religious expression should thank God daily for that freedom. They also should work hard to make certain that freedom is not whittled away by the anti-God secularists who have a strident opposing spirit against Christ.

If Christians do not keep watch over their freedom of religious expression, it could be taken away from them even in a free nation. Then they would be hampered like the Christians are in India.

When missionaries work hard in India, they are curtailed by the government due to the red tape laid upon their gospel efforts. Hindus and Muslims are not open to persons coming to recognize Christ as God Savior. Therefore, they work through government and police to badger converts so that they will recant.

"Frequently Hindu extremists have invoked the state’s ‘anti-conversion’ law as a means of inciting mobs against Christians or having them arrested without evidence. Two members of the National Commission for Minorities, Harcharan Singh Josh and Lama Chosphel Zotpa, visited Madhya Pradesh and neighboring Chhattisgarh state from June 13 to 18 to inquire into reports of increasing incidents of anti-Christian violence.

"’Obviously, the life of Christians has become miserable at the hands of miscreants in connivance with the police,’ they noted in their report. ‘There are allegations that when atrocities were committed on Christians by the miscreants, police remained mere spectators and in certain cases they did not even register FIRs [First Information Reports].’"

It is the same in Muslim countries. If the new Christian is not murdered, he is harassed while local press and police authorities turn their heads the other way. These authorities thereby encourage the meanness leveled against Christians.

"Among other incidents of Christians arrested under the anti-conversion law, last October a Christian worker was jailed in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, after members of the Dharma Raksha Samiti (DRS or Religious Protection Committee), a Hindu extremist group, surrounded the Heera Nagar police station protesting ‘conversions.’

"John, who ran three schools for children, was accused of converting 11 children between the ages of 5 and 10 even though none of the children had converted to Christianity or complained of attempted conversion."

INDIA: ANTI-CONVERSION LAW PASSED