Other news in Prophecy today. Aug. 29

[Shammu]

European control of IMF 'to end'

By Wolfgang Proissl in Brussels

August 29 2007 03:00

Developing countries could provide the future head of the International Monetary Fund if they accept Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister, this time round as the new director of the body, according to the president of the group of eurozone finance ministers.

“The next director will certainly not be a European,” Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s prime minister, told FT Deutschland, the Financial Times’ sister paper, in an interview.

“In the Euro group and among EU finance ministers, everyone is aware that Strauss-Kahn will probably be the last European to become director of the IMF in the foreseeable future,” he said.

Mr Juncker’s comments come in response to increasingly widespread criticism that, by putting forward the former French finance minister, the European Union is trying to maintain its claim to nominate the IMF’s head.

Under a long-standing carve-up between the US and the EU, the head of the World Bank is usually an American while the IMF is headed by a European.

In the interview, Mr Juncker criticised the UK’s behaviour in the current debate. Britain had not formally opposed the nomination of Mr Strauss-Kahn as the European candidate. “They have criticised the selection process and have said that we should have talked to others as well. But we did talk to others as well,” Mr Juncker said.

“Anglo-Saxon accusations that, by nominating Strauss-Kahn we were trying to cement the unwritten rule that Europeans provide the IMF’s head, are missing the point.”

Many developing countries have expressed dismay at the EU’s nomination of Mr Strauss-Kahn, criticising the Union for ignoring the growing economic impact of countries such as China, Brazil and Mexico.

Russia has nominated Josef Tosovsky, the former Czech central banker, as an alternative candidate to Mr Strauss-Kahn. The UK, meanwhile, maintains that it would support an open process in which the best candidate for the job were chosen regardless of nationality.

Mr Juncker defended Mr Strauss-Kahn’s nomination. The former French minister was a “well-known reformer” who would not leave his “reform ambitions at the wardrobe” of the IMF.

“When Strauss-Kahn leaves the IMF one day, he will have adjusted the IMF firmly to the expectations and interests of developing countries,” he said.

That was one important reason why the EU had nominated him, he added.

The reform of the appointment process at both the World Bank and the IMF should be discussed together, Mr Juncker said. “We have to start thinking about these reforms now.”

European control of IMF 'to end'

[Shammu]

Only diplomacy can avert bombs in Iran row: Sarkozy
Mon Aug 27, 2007 6:58PM EDT

By Francois Murphy

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday a diplomatic push by the world's powers to rein in Tehran's nuclear programme was the only alternative to "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran".

In his first major foreign policy speech since taking office, Sarkozy emphasized his existing priorities, such as opposing Turkish membership of the European Union and pushing for a new Mediterranean Union that he hopes will include Ankara.

He also offered some new ideas, such as possibly renewing high-level dialogue with Syria and expanding the Group of Eight industrialized nations to include the biggest developing states.

Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and that major powers should continue their policy of incrementally increasing sanctions against Tehran while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities.

"This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," he said, adding that it was the worst crisis currently facing the world.

Tehran says it only wants to generate electricity but it has yet to convince the world's most powerful countries that it is not secretly pursuing nuclear weapons.

In the speech to France's ambassadors, Sarkozy criticized Russia for its dealings on the international stage. "Russia is imposing its return on the world scene by using its assets, notably oil and gas, with a certain brutality," he said.

"When one is a great power, one should not be brutal."

Energy disputes between Russia and neighbors such as Belarus and Ukraine have raised doubts in Europe about Moscow's reliability as a gas exporter. It supplies Europe, via its neighbors, with around a quarter of its gas demands.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner later criticized Russia's "oil and gas blackmail", telling the ambassadors that France should not be entirely dependent on Russian gas, and suggesting Norway and Algeria as alternative suppliers.

"There is a slight return of imperialism, as they say, that we do not find very pleasant," Kouchner said of Russia.

Sarkozy had warm words for the United States, saying friendship between the two countries was important. But he said he felt free to disagree with American policies, highlighting what he called a lack of leadership on the environment.

FRANCO-SYRIAN DIALOGUE

He also stuck to Jacque Chirac's demand that a timeline be drawn up for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

But Sarkozy broke with his predecessor's policy on Syria, saying he was prepared to hold high-level talks with Damascus if it backed French efforts aimed at ending the political crisis in Lebanon. "If Damascus committed itself to this path, then the conditions for a Franco-Syrian dialogue would be in place."

Sarkozy said the only option for Turkey's accession talks with the European Union was a form of privileged partnership short of EU membership. He also said he wanted a Mediterranean Union to take shape next year.

Turkey has said that project should not be an alternative to Ankara joining the European Union.

Sarkozy proposed setting up a "committee of wise men" to consider the future of Europe, including the Turkish question.

He criticized Beijing's management of its currency, which he says is too low and gives it an unfair advantage on export markets. He said China and other developing powers Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and India should eventually join the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations to become the G13.

Only diplomacy can avert bombs in Iran row: Sarkozy

[Shammu]

Next few months seen as last chance for WTO deal
Wed Aug 29, 2007 8:15PM EDT

By Doug Palmer - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The last chance for a world trade deal could slip away in the next few months unless India, Brazil and other advanced developing countries offer meaningful commitments to open their market to more foreign goods, U.S. private sector experts said on Tuesday.

"What is badly needed is political leadership in key capitals to get the job done this fall. Absent such leadership, my fear is the round will go into a deep freeze for a few years," said Mary Irace, vice president for trade and export finance at the National Foreign Trade Council.

Negotiators will return to Geneva next week to dig into agricultural issues that have been the main stumbling block since the talks were launched in November 2001 in Doha, Qatar.

A week later, countries will resume negotiations on "nonagricultural market access" issues, known in World Trade Organization parlance as the NAMA talks and which basically cover all manufactured goods.

In July, the Geneva-based chairmen of both the agriculture and NAMA negotiating groups tabled a pair of draft texts they hoped would set the stage for a final deal.

"While there are some major issues in the texts which require greater clarity ... the outlines of a solid Doha agreement are there," Irace said.

One big issue for U.S. business is how much advanced developing countries would be required to open their markets in exchange for cuts in rich country farm subsidies and in tariffs on both farm and manufactured goods.

That will largely be determined by a pair of key numbers, or "coefficients," that are to be inserted in a mathematical tariff-cutting formula for manufactured goods.

The July draft proposed coefficients of 8 or 9 for developed countries, and between 19 and 23 for developing countries.

AN 'IMPERFECT' DEAL

A lower coefficient generates more new market openings by cutting tariffs, especially high ones, more aggressively. Whatever the coefficient used, it effectively becomes the new tariff ceiling for that country.

The United States and the European Union pushed for coefficients of 10 and 15 for developed and developing countries, but ran into stiff opposition from the NAMA-11 developing country group, which wanted 10 and 35.

U.S. business leaders say that would generate few, if any, new export opportunities to advanced developing countries, while requiring the United States to open up sensitive manufacturing sectors, like textiles and clothing, which are protected by high tariffs.

"It's very important for U.S. business that the (developing country) coefficient be under 20 percent," Irace said.

At this point in the negotiations the United States has two options: "Accept an imperfect compromise, or accept a more costly failure that could damage U.S. economic interests and the international economic system," said Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"When those are the options you have, then you go for the imperfect compromise," but the deal still has to generate enough new U.S. export opportunities to make it politically viable in Congress, Schott said.

With U.S. lawmakers already losing interest in the talks and the 2008 presidential campaign heating up, negotiators must draw on the draft texts to stitch together the key elements of a deal over the next two months, Schott said.

"If countries continue to play the blame game and maintain their past positions, nothing will happen and the window of opportunity for crafting an imperfect compromise will close. That will be it. The round will go into deep hibernation," Schott said.

Next few months seen as last chance for WTO deal

[Shammu]

Lesbian could head Episcopal Diocese
Columbus native among finalists for Chicago post

August 29, 2007
BY SUSAN HOGAN/ALBACH Religion Reporter/shogan@suntimes.com

A lesbian priest has been named a finalist for bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago.

The Rev. Tracey Lind's nomination comes as conservatives in the worldwide Anglican Communion are demanding that its U.S. branch no longer consecrate openly gay bishops.

"I believe that accepting this nomination is what God is asking of me," Lind said in a statement. She's dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland and author of Interrupted by God.

Lind is among a list of five bishop candidates that includes three women. No woman has ever been a finalist, the diocese said.

Bishop James Stanton of Dallas, a catalyst in the global effort against gay bishops, called Lind's nomination distressing.

"It's an action that says Chicago really doesn't care what the rest of the Anglican Communion says," he told the Sun-Times.

The 77-million member Anglican Communion has been fractured over the issue since 2003, when its U.S. community -- the Episcopal Church -- consecrated its first openly gay bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

With the exception of some bishops, leaders of the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church have been supportive of gay clergy.

"My life with my partner, Emily Ingalls [a cradle Episcopalian], is the gift that most sustains me," Lind's statement said. "Together, we tend our garden, travel, hike."

The Columbus native dropped out as a candidate for bishop in the Newark Diocese last year, saying she wasn't ready to leave Ohio. But she's told the Chicago diocese "the timing is now right," a spokesman said.

Church's inner turmoil
Last year, the Episcopal Church passed a resolution that encouraged dioceses to exercise restraint in elevating leaders whose "manner of life" might be an issue for the Anglican Communion.

Earlier this year, primates -- leaders of the Communion's 38 provinces -- asked the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops not to authorize gay bishops.

They set a Sept. 30 deadline for response.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams will attend the House of Bishops meeting next month in New Orleans.

The Chicago diocese election is Nov. 10. Other nominees are the Rev. Jane Gould of Lynn, Mass; the Rev. Margaret Rose of New York; the Rev. Jeffrey Lee of Medina, Wash., and the Rev. Timothy Safford of Philadelphia.

But before a bishop can be consecrated, the election must be ratified by a majority of representatives from other U.S. dioceses, church officials said.

The new bishop will succeed Bishop William Persell, who's led the diocese since 1999.

The candidates were selected by a diocesan search committee. Additional nominees can be made through a petition process.

Lesbian could head Episcopal Diocese

[Shammu]

"My life with my partner, Emily Ingalls [a cradle Episcopalian], is the gift that most sustains me," Lind's statement said. "Together, we tend our garden, travel, hike."

This statement in the article really popped out for me. This is a disgusting abomination before God.

I would think as a pastor of church, Jesus and what He has done for the world would be the gift that sustains you. I tend to notice, when a gay pastor makes public statements, they never seem to mention Jesus.

Yes and I think perhaps that Tracey Lind is just trying to get in to change things, to have others agree with her agenda. Dangerous times loom ahead!!

[Shammu]

Policeman Assaulted Trying to Stop Illegal Temple Mount Dig
 
by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) A policeman trying to stop an Arab tractor engaged in illegal Temple Mount excavations was assaulted - and the police chief who arrived on the scene arrested no one.

Officials of the Moslem Waqf (religious body) on the Temple Mount are digging there illegally, likely destroying precious artifacts from as early as the First Temple period.  So say eyewitnesses and representatives of the Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities.

Gideon Charlap, a top Jerusalem architect and Temple Mount expert, told Arutz-7 what he saw when he visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday: "The Arabs there are digging a deep north-to-south trench, up to a meter [1.1 yards] deep.  It is being dug in the area that served during Holy Temple times as the Ezrat Nashim [the area known as the Women's Courtyard, though it was not reserved only for women -ed.].  The trench passes through three east-to-west walls, according to my calculations - walls that probably served as separations for the Temple's offices and the like.  This means that the destruction is tremendous..."

"At one point during the digging," Charlap continued, "a policeman - apparently a Druze - tried to stop the work from going on, and actually entered the cabin of the tractor.  A struggle ensued, and when the Arabs finally pushed him out, he actually stood in the trench and physically blocked the rest of the work!"

Charlap said that at that point, the chief officer of the Temple Mount police station, Shai Alali, arrived on the scene. "But instead of stopping the lawbreakers," Charlap related with incredulity, "he tried to 'calm down' the policeman!"

Charlap said he was unable to see how the story developed from there, "because our allotted time was over."  Jews are permitted onto the site - Judaism's most sacred anywhere in the world - only four or fewer hours a day.

Police Chief Shai Alali was unavailable for comment. A police spokesman told Arutz-7 that the man who tried to stop the digging was not a policeman.  Charlap stands by his story, however.

The digging is taking place just east of the Dome of the Rock.

Millennia of Artifacts - Down the Drain
Dr. Eilat Mazar, an archaeologist and a leading member of the Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities, spoke with Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine about the desecration.  "It is an untenable situation," she said.  "Underneath the Temple Mount is a closed area, one that has barely been disturbed since the Destruction of the Second Temple.  Anyone can realize that remnants of both the First and Second Temples are there, and can guess what damage is being done by the tractor.  The most precious findings are just rolling around there and are available to be found - and instead they have a tractor there!  If I would try to work with a tractor at one of my digs, the Antiquities Authority would stop me immediately!  With a tractor, it's impossible to make any type of careful examination of the earth and pieces being dug up."

"We are a public, voluntary body that has taken upon itself to inform and warn the public about what is going on," Mazar said. "The Antiquities Authority acts as if it is fulfilling its responsibility to supervise - but in fact all they have there is just one man watching but doing nothing. That is not supervision.  It's just a deception to say that anyone is overseeing the wanton digging and desecration being carried out there against our greatest national cultural treasure."

Asked if there has been any lull of late in illegal digs on the Temple Mount, Dr. Mazar responded negatively.  "They have a clear goal of turning the Temple Mount into a place exclusively for Moslem prayer.  In recent years, they have turned two giant structures - at the Huldah Gate and Solomon's Stables - into giant mosques, where none ever stood before...  It is totally illegal; how can such violations of the law be allowed - especially in such an important place for Jewish Nation?  This is a top archaeological site, and the fact that it's not considered one of the Seven Wonders of the world is our fault, because we don't talk about it enough and certainly don't preserve it enough."

Arutz-7's Uzi Baruch offered, "Perhaps it's because of the politically sensitive nature of the site?"

Mazar answered, "Yes, it's a sensitive spot, but there's a big difference between acting wisely and delicately, on the one hand, and allowing wanton destruction and law-breaking, on the other hand.  No good comes of simply turning the other cheek, trying to achieve quiet at any price, and not seeing the future.  They want 'quiet now' and they want to appease the Waqf and everyone else - everyone except for those who are concerned for Jewish culture."

"The Antiquities Authority is responsible for preserving antiquities," says Dr. Mazar, "but it is not doing its job on the Temple Mount.  The Prime Minister must take this job upon himself and make sure that the law is observed and that the Temple Mount remains an accessible cultural site not only for Moslems, but also for Jews and Christians."

Policeman Assaulted Trying to Stop Illegal Temple Mount Dig

[Shammu]

A policeman trying to stop an Arab tractor engaged in illegal Temple Mount excavations was assaulted - and the police chief who arrived on the scene arrested no one.

Israel troops should of been called to do the job, and to get rid of the heavy duty construction machines the muslims have on the Temple Mount. They think if they destroy enough of the truth that their lies would be believable.

[Shammu]

U.N. reports cholera outbreak in northern Iraq

More than 2,000 Iraqis in the northern part of the country have contracted cholera, U.N. officials said Wednesday, citing local authorities.

The outbreak is thought to be the result of poor water quality, the U.N. officials said.

"Local authorities report that over 2,000 people have been affected so far by the outbreak, with five deaths reported and 500 patients admitted to hospital with severe diarrhea within the last two days alone," said the U.N. Children's Fund, or UNICEF.

Forty-seven cases have been confirmed as epidemic cholera, but the number is expected to grow, said UNICEF, which has rushed emergency aid to the affected area.

The outbreak has hit the Sulaimaniya province and the nearby Kirkuk region in northern Iraq.

"Although the outbreak is largely affecting adults, children are at extremely high risk," UNICEF said.

Cholera is a bacterial ailment that affects the intestinal tract. The disease is contracted by consuming contaminated water.

The outbreak is being attributed to "serious problems with water quality and sewage treatment" -- an assessment repeated by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq.

Only 30 percent of the population in Sulaimaniya has an adequate water supply, according to local reports, and "many people have been reduced to digging shallow wells outside their own homes," UNICEF said.

UNICEF is urging families to make sure children stay away from areas contaminated with raw sewage, wash their hands with soap and drink only water that has been purified or boiled.

UNICEF is providing material such as oral rehydration salts and safe water kits.

"If the epidemic spreads, there will be an urgent need for additional support," UNICEF said.

U.N. reports cholera outbreak in northern Iraq

[Shammu]

But wait.............. theres more on cholera in India!!

Cholera death toll in India rises
By Sanjaya Jena
Bhubaneswar, Orissa

The death toll from an outbreak of cholera in the eastern Indian state of Orissa has risen to 115, officials say.

Thirty-five people have died of the disease in three tribal districts in the past two days, they added.

The outbreak has affected Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi districts where more than 2,000 people have been admitted to hospitals, officials say.

Doctors say contaminated food and water are to blame for the epidemic.

Unofficial sources say the death toll could be higher than 200.

Hot zone

The cholera epidemic started from Kashipur, in Rayagada district, nearly 310 miles (500km) from the state capital, Bhubaneswar.

A senior health official in the district said at least 64 people had died there.

Orissa's disease surveillance unit says cholera-related deaths have been reported from outside the three tribal districts.

The disease, which was initially suspected to be diarrhoea, was confirmed to be cholera by the microbiology department of MKCG Hospital in Berhampur and Regional Research Laboratory in Bhubaneswar.

Health officials said microbiological tests conducted on 43 samples collected from patients in the affected villages had revealed the presence of the cholera virus in at least 31 cases.

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the affected people were being treated by special medical teams at various government hospitals.

He said instructions had been given to district administrations in the region to disinfect all water sources.

Consumption of contaminated water and rotten food by the people is suspected to have led to the epidemic.

The areas affected by the cholera outbreak are in the Kalahandi-Bolangir-Koraput region - some of the most economically backward districts in the country.

Most of the victims are believed to be tribes people, say officials.

Cholera death toll in India rises

[Shammu]

Strong earthquake strikes fire-ravaged southern Greece
28 Aug 2007, 1551 hrs IST,AP

ATHENS: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 struck fire-ravaged southern Greece on Tuesday, the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The quake struck at 12:05 p.m. (0905 GMT) and had an epicentre 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Athens, 15 kilometers (9 miles) east of Pyrgos near Ancient Olympia, the institute said.

The quake panicked residents in the region and was felt in areas where fire-fighters were battling blazes.

Strong earthquake strikes fire-ravaged southern Greece

[Shammu]

Strong earthquake strikes fire-ravaged southern Greece

First fire, now earthquakes...................... whats next for Greece??

[Shammu]

Hizbullah committed war crimes, HRW asserts
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 29, 2007

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) group is set to publish a report on Thursday condemning Hizbullah for human rights infringements committed during the Second Lebanon War.

The HRW report focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the war, according to a statement by the group.

The report states that on many occasions missiles were fired at sites that were far removed from any legitimate military targets, adding that statements on the part of Hizbullah leaders to the effect that they would attack Israeli towns and cities left no doubt as to their intention to perpetrate war crimes.

Israel Radio reported that HRW called upon Hizbullah to put an end to its attacks on civilians, and demanded that Syria, Lebanon and Iran prevent munitions shipments to the organization.

HRW announced that on September 6 it planned to release another report documenting Israeli attacks that killed Lebanese civilians.

The report aroused harsh responses in Lebanon, and Crowne Plaza Beirut, the hotel in which the group was to present the report Thursday, called off a planned press conference.

"Israel, during the attacks of July 2006, violated all international conventions," Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Saniora's office said in a statement. "It killed nearly 1,200 Lebanese and injured thousands more and 72 hours after UN Resolution 1701 was adopted, it dropped 3.5 million cluster bombs in the south of the country."

"We were the victims during this war and people have a right to defend themselves," Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahal said. "We did not target civilians but Israel on the other hand did target the civilian population in Lebanon."

Hizbullah committed war crimes, HRW asserts

[Shammu]

HRW sure isn't living up to its name if they are just now noticing this!!

Although Hizbullah won't care. To me it's a pleasant surprise that for once it's not just Israel getting blamed for "crimes" but, that they look to the other side for a change and they get condemned. So they do see Israeli civilians as human beings, by condemning Hizbullah's actions.