News items that look towards Ezekiel 38 & 39

[Shammu]

A referendum by President Hugo Chavez to change Venezuela's constitution went to the vote Sunday amid deep opposition to his ambitions to impose a socialist economy and rule for life.

The alarming thing is that Chavez probably doesn't need to cheat. There's a very vocal minority that hates his crackdown on the media and other freedoms, but he has a large support among the impoverished masses.

[Shammu]

N. Korean reactor delayed until February
Associated Press
THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 2, 2007

Rendering North Korea's sole nuclear reactor unusable will take at least until late February because of technical delays, a news report said Sunday.

US and South Korean officials had earlier expressed confidence that disabling the reactor in Yongbyon could be completed by the end of 2007 under an agreement between North Korea and five other nations.

But safety concerns over removing the fuel rods from the reactor have delayed the process, and disablement will take at least until late February, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unnamed people close to the process.

N. Korean reactor delayed until February

[Shammu]

Kremlin hails Putin election win
From correspondents in Moscow
December 03, 2007 07:50am

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin's party won a large majority in Russia's election today, but opposition parties cried foul and vowed to contest results which the Kremlin hailed as a big endorsement for Mr Putin.

First official results showed United Russia winning over 60 per cent of the vote - an outcome likely to be seen by the Kremlin as a strong mandate for Mr Putin to maintain a position of influence after his second presidential term ends next May.

"The overwhelming majority of Russian voters spoke in favour of United Russia, thus supporting President Putin's course, and spoke in favour of it being continued after the current president's second term ends," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after early results came in.

But election monitors reported widespread cases of ballot fraud, and two parties, including the Communist Party which is likely to be the biggest opposition force in the next parliament, said they would contest the election in the courts.

"These results are not fair. We intend to challenge them in the Supreme Court but we need a week to gather all the evidence," Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said.

The liberal SPS party later said it would take similar legal action over the election.

With 13.7 per cent of votes counted, United Russia had 63.3 per cent of the vote, with nearest rivals the Communists on 11.5 per cent, Central Election Commission Chairman Vladimir Churov said.

He did not immediately comment on accusations of foul play but United Russia party leader Boris Gryzlov said any violations would "in no way put in doubt" the final result.

Two other parties - both of which have a record of backing the Kremlin - passed the seven per cent hurdle required to qualify for seats in the State Duma or lower house of parliament.

An exit poll from state-owned pollster VTSIOM gave a similar picture, with Mr Putin's party on 61 per cent and the same four parties in parliament.

According to VTSIOM's calculations, that vote would give pro-Kremlin parties 348 seats in parliament - far more than the 301 needed to change the constitution. This was something analysts say was a key Kremlin target in the election.

This could allow Mr Putin to change the constitution to give himself a third straight term as president.

But the Kremlin chief has repeatedly said he will not do this. And though he has said he envisages retaining influence after he leaves the Kremlin, how he will do this remains one of Russia's best-kept secrets.

United Russia's vote - if it stands as the remainder of the voters are counted - will help Mr Putin entrench himself as a "national leader" able to mould policy even after he steps down from the presidency next year.

Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Uralsib investment bank in Moscow, said the results were "not spectacular but good enough to allow President Putin to call the shots after March".

"He now has the initiative in terms of what role he wants to stay on in," said Mr Weafer.

Even before polls closed, opposition parties cried foul, alleging that numerous instances of pressure on voters, a one-sided campaign and systematic electoral fraud undermined the legitimacy of the result.

The main source of complaints was Golos, Russia's only independent election observer. Deputy head Grigory Melkonyans said the election fraud was systematic.

"These are not isolated incidents. The complaints are from every corner of Russia," he said.

Former world chess champion and opposition icon Garry Kasparov, who intentionally spoiled his ballot paper at a Moscow polling station, said: "They are not just rigging the vote, they are raping the whole electoral system."

"There were no sensations. The results were planned by the Kremlin well in advance and were known two months ago," said Stanislav Belkovsky, a former pro-Kremlin analyst and now its critic, said.

Early results from votes counted in the Far East indicated Russia's liberal, pro-Western parties would not be represented at all in parliament.

"We voted for Putin because we like him," said pensioners Valentina Antonovna, 84, and Zinaida Stepanova, 85, in Moscow. "It's the first time in our lives that we encounter such a president. We love him. And we love his style."

A strong Kremlin push to ensure a high turnout among voters appeared to have succeeded. Central Election Commission officials predicted that more than 60 per cent of voters would take part, up from 56 per cent in the last elections in 2003.

The West's main election monitoring body, the ODIHR, did not monitor today's poll after a row with Moscow over delays in issuing visas for observers.

Kremlin hails Putin election win

[Shammu]

Jordan's king urges Israel to 'withdraw'
Associated Press
THE JERUSALEM POST
Dec. 2, 2007

Jordan's King Abdullah II inaugurated a new parliament Sunday with a call on Israel to relinquish war-won Arab lands, saying that would help peace and security to prevail in the volatile Mideast.

The king also urged unity among feuding Palestinian factions, saying the time has come for statehood.

"We emphatically tell Israel that ending the occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands, withdrawing from there and implementing legitimate international resolutions are the only way to realize just, permanent and comprehensive peace," said the staunch US ally who maintains cordial relations with Israel under a 1994 peace treaty.

Abdullah said a peaceful Arab-Israeli settlement would "guarantee a safe future for the region's peoples and its coming generations."

"We also say to the Palestinians that strength is in unity and weakness in disunity; so, unite your ranks and seize the available opportunity to realize peace and establish your independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," he said.

Abdullah spoke at the opening session of a newly elected parliament, where his loyalists handily defeated opposition in elections held two weeks ago.

The king, a fiery critic of militant Islam, vowed to continue fighting what he said was a "campaign of distortion being waged against our honorable religion by rejecting extremism, violence, and takfiri thought" - a reference to the extremist doctrine, which regards even non-militant Muslims as infidels.

Abdullah arrived to a lavish military ceremony outside the domed parliament chamber in the heart of Amman. The king, who holds the title of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, inspected an honor guard as 21 guns boomed in a traditional salute.

Abdullah, 45, wore a black and gold ceremonial military uniform as he delivered his "Speech from the Throne" - the constitutional opening of the annual legislative sessions.

The elected 110-seat Chamber of Deputies met jointly with the 55-member, royally appointed Senate to hear Abdullah outline his policy. Abdullah's Palestinian-born wife, Queen Rania, and other members of the Hashemite family were also present.

Domestically, the king vowed continued reforms to improve living conditions in his oil-poor nation, saddled by a multibillion foreign debt and soaring unemployment, poverty and inflation.

"Our vision for Jordan's future is clear and
ambitious; its pillar is comprehensive reform and modernization - political, economic and social - for the sake of attaining the ultimate goal: improving citizens' standard of living and providing the means for a decent life to every Jordanian family."

He outlined an ambitious economic agenda, which envisioned improved financial and monetary stability, reduced government expenditure, free health insurance and effective supervision of water and food quality following several recent poisoning incidents.

He urged legislation to enhance transparency and accountability, including laws for a national ombudsman, human rights, the rights of women and children and the protection of youth.

The Jordanian opposition accuses the government of slow strides toward political reform, thought to be slowed down by fears of the rising influence of militants in Gaza and chaos in Iraq and Lebanon.

Since his accession to the throne in 1999, Abdullah has given wider freedoms to women, endorsed several independent radio stations and, for the first time, allowed local elections of officials who used to be appointed by the government.

Jordan's king urges Israel to 'withdraw'

[Shammu]

Why can't they see that peace will never "prevail" in the Middle East until Israel has been destroyed completely (and let's face it, not even then will it happen). The extremists don't understand peace. They will never accept peace. Israel is only an excuse to produce violence. If Israel disappeared tomorrow, the various islamic sects would be fighting each other.

[Shammu]

U.S. cruiser spots 2 Iranian subs in Gulf

By Zachary M. Peterson - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Dec 2, 2007 12:10:27 EST

ABOARD THE CRUISER VICKSBURG IN THE PERSIAN GULF — Officials aboard the cruiser Vicksburg spotted and photographed two surfaced Iranian Kilo-class submarines in the Persian Gulf a few weeks ago, the ship’s skipper told Navy Secretary Donald Winter during a visit to the ship on Saturday.

The Russian-designed diesel-electric attack subs were tracked and photographed by sailors onboard the Mayport, Fla.-based ship, said Capt. Chip Swicker. Crew members showed Winter the photographs of the surfaced subs. The Vicksburg did not communicate with either of the subs, Swicker said.

“They watched us and we watched them,” he said.

Crew members aboard the cruiser didn’t consider the encounters hostile, although it wasn’t clear if the Iranian boats surfaced within view of the cruiser or if the U.S. warship happened to see the Iranian subs while they were already running on the surface. Iran has a fleet of three Kilo-class SSKs, according to Jane’s Fighting Ships.

Swicker indicated the Vicksburg was close enough to Iranian waters at the times of the encounters that crew members didn’t consider it out of the ordinary to see Iranian navy vessels. Winter, accompanied by a Navy Times reporter, was aboard the ship as part of a nine-day trip through Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.

The Vicksburg crew told Winter about their encounters less than a week before Iran’s top navy commander claimed it was expanding its undersea fleet. On Wednesday, Iran said it was launching its own, new, home-built submarine, reportedly called the Ghadir. Iranian officials boasted that the small diesel-electric sub would “give a crushing answer to enemies when needed thanks to domestically-made equipment” and could fire missiles that could hit Israel.

The incidents recalled an encounter in October 2006 when a Chinese Song-class attack submarine surfaced near the carrier Kitty Hawk in the Western Pacific. Some analysts at the time called the act provocative, and pointed out the vulnerability of surface ships while they are shadowed by foreign submarines. It wasn’t clear whether Iranian sailors were attempting to send such a message to the Vicksburg.

The Vicksburg is wrapping up a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, where since August it has conducted maritime security operations. The ship is due back in Mayport in January.

Command Master Chief (SW) William Powell told Navy Times that the ship has spent much of its deployment patrolling the waters from the oil platforms in the northern Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman in the south. The ship has conducted several compliant boardings, but had not encountered any hostile ships during its time on the water, Powell said.

The Vicksburg is one of several ships from 20 different nations that patrol the waters of the Middle East, including the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea to the south.

“The amount of activity is increasing” in the waters surrounding the Middle East, including East Africa, said Capt. George Cox, chief of staff for Combined Maritime Forces in the region. Several other nations are considering participating in patrols in the Arabian Sea, he noted.

Legitimate fishing vessels populate the waters under Cox’s oversight, where coalition naval forces focus on protecting the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf. Occasionally ships will catch small-time pirates stealing a fishing dhow’s Global Positioning System unit, he said.

“We always want more forces, but we have plenty to take care of the [oil platforms] and do some patrols of the waterways,” Cox explained.

The captain said the fishermen in the region “love us.” Fishing vessels follow naval ships around for protection, Cox said.

“I just wish they’d tell al-Jazeera,” he added, referring to the pan-Arab satellite news channel based in Qatar.

Another goal of foreign naval forces in the region is building indigenous coast guard capabilities, Cox said.

He cited progress made by Combined Task Force 150, which is responsible for the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and waters off the Horn of Africa, in training and working in collaboration with the Yemeni coast guard.

Yemen is particularly concerned with human trafficking. Boats full of refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia come across the Gulf of Aden into the desert nation on the southwestern Arabian peninsula. Warships in the region report the positions of suspected vessels carrying human cargo, then the Yemenis capture the ships when they arrive in port, Cox explained.

Further, the six or seven coalition ships that patrol the area work to show presence and deter pirates, he added. However, beyond responding to calls for help, it is a difficult to task to battle pirates who stay close to territorial waters on the Somali coastline, Cox said.

Lt. John Gay, a spokesman for 5th Fleet, said that searching for pirates in the Arabian Sea is like “trying to find a needle in a haystack” and added that piracy is primarily a “law enforcement issue.”

U.S. cruiser spots 2 Iranian subs in Gulf

[Shammu]

The captain said the fishermen in the region “love us.” Fishing vessels follow naval ships around for protection, Cox said.

Bet you it won't stand a chance against a Seawolf or a Virginia Class attack sub.

[Shammu]

Putin's future uncertain after election

By DOUGLAS BIRCH, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 42 minutes ago

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin seems certain to claim Sunday's election triumph by his political party as a mandate to lead the country even after his term ends in May.

Now the main question is what specific job Putin might take to retain control — and who will be his choice for the next president.

Putin is widely credited here with leading his country out of the social and political wilderness of the 1990s when the collapse of Soviet power nearly led to the disintegration of Russian society.

"I voted for our United Russia because life has become better now under Putin, and we don't want any changes or revolutions," said Alla Kosaryeva, a 70-year-old retiree who lives in St. Petersburg.

There is little incentive for Putin to relinquish power over Russia, which is flush with revenue from oil and natural gas and where his power arguably rivals that of many of his Soviet and czarist predecessors.

Candidates for president may register until Dec. 23. Many are expected to do so, but only Putin's hand-picked successor seems to have a real chance of winning.

Whoever is chosen is likely to be a figurehead, or could even step aside early to allow Putin to recapture the presidential office. Currently the constitution prohibits a president from running for a third consecutive term.

Two-thirds of Russians polled by the respected Levada Center recently said they would support Putin serving another term. But Putin has repeatedly promised not to run, and a reversal would be out of character for the stern, tough-talking former KGB spy.

Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a sociologist and political analyst, believes that Putin will become United Russia's party chief and that the future president would follow his orders — recreating to some extent the Soviet-era model in which the government was subservient to the Communist Party.

"A president will be nominated by United Russia, and he will obey party discipline," she commented recently.

Sunday's election, meanwhile, eliminated all of Putin's liberal opponents from parliament. Amended election rules barred individual races that in the past allowed mavericks to win seats.

"We will continue our fight for democracy and liberal values," retiring deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov told the Associated Press in an interview Friday. "Not in the parliament, but in society. It's like in Soviet times, we are becoming dissidents because there are no legal ways to be in the opposition."

Many both here and abroad would interpret any maneuver to keep Putin in power as a major milestone in Russia's long retreat from the democratic reforms of the 1990s.

Putin's Russia is not a totalitarian state, and the current rift with the West is not yet a new Cold War. There is no gulag filled with political prisoners, no official censorship, no proxy wars being fought in the Third World.

But under Putin, the Kremlin has taken control of crucial industries. It has extended its control to Russia's far-flung provinces. Nominally independent institutions, including the courts, the media and parliament, have been brought to heel.

Abroad, Putin has challenged Western policies, accusing Washington of using "diktat" in its foreign policy. The Kremlin, in turn, has been accused by its enemies of waging a covert cyber war against Estonia, of helping rig Ukraine's 2004 elections and of ordering the killing of a former KGB officer in London using a radioactive poison — allegations Russian officials have strenuously denied.

By choosing to make the Kremlin once again Russia's sole center of power, analysts say, Putin has also resurrected some of the weaknesses that plagued the czarist and Communist systems.

Those familiar with Kremlin politics say Putin sometimes issues orders that, filtered through Russia's numerous layers of bureaucracy, are never executed.

A topdown system of government which tries to control the media and local elections, critics point out, may find itself pursuing disastrous or unpopular policies.

Russia's past absolutist governments were also faced with periodic succession crises, which sometimes led to bloodshed. So far there's no evidence that Putin's departure would lead to violence.

But Moscow's decision to use the parliamentary and presidential elections to ratify the Kremlin's choice of leadership, rather than permit a more open competition, has created a political crisis rare for Western democracies.

Putin is not just the leader of the Russian state, he is the arbiter of disputes among different Kremlin cliques and divides the corporate and political spoils. Without him, the Kremlin might split over such issues as how far Russia should go in confronting the West and consolidating state control of Russia's major industries.

If Putin were to step down, many analysts say, Russia could go through a period of accelerated redistribution of assets reminiscent of the case of the one-time billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former chief of Yukos Oil Co., whose company was broken up and sold for alleged back taxes following his 2003 arrest.

If Putin remains in office, though, some think he will inevitably become Russia's leader for life. The pressures on him to stay would grow with each passing year, as his presence was increasingly needed to maintain a balance among bitterly divided factions.

"Putin understands very well the pitiless laws of the system he has built up step by step over the past seven years," political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky wrote earlier this year. "If he takes that final step of agreeing to a third term, he is accepting a life sentence. ... The darkness at noon of the Kremlin will engulf him forever."

Putin's future uncertain after election

[Shammu]

Iran's enemies cannot break our ties with Syria
By The Associated Press

Iran's adversaries cannot harm the strong and durable ties between Tehran and Damascus, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday during a meeting with a top Syrian diplomat, state media reported.

The meeting between Ahmadinejad and Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad came less than a week after Mekdad traveled to the United States to participate in Mideast summit.

During the trip, the Syrian delegation shook hands with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice - indicating a slight thaw in the diplomatic chill between Washington and Damascus.

Though Iran never directly criticized its ally, Syria, for attending the
summit in Annapolis, Maryland, Ahmadinejad and other top officials denounced the summit, saying it was doomed to fail, and scolded Arab nations for going. Tehran was not invited to the meeting.

But Syria's attendance and Iran's harsh criticism of the summit appeared to indicate at least some tension between the two allies - a rare event between the two countries in the past decades.

During his meeting Sunday with Ahmadinejad, Mekdad gave the Iranian president a written message from Syrian President Bashar Assad and underlined the strategic relationship between the two countries, Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reported.

Both Ahmadinejad and Mekdad said Iran-Syrian ties remained strong.

Enemies cannot damage real and firm Tehran-Damascus relations, state-run TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.Mekdad also said Syrian would never let anyone harm the friendly ties between Iran and Syria, IRNA reported.

Ahmadinejad thanked Mekdad for giving him Assad's message - which state media didn't provide details about - and described the Syrian president as a prominent figure in the Arab and Islamic world.

The hardline Iranian leader also repeated his criticism of the Annapolis
summit and warned Middle East countries to avoid allowing the U.S. to take advantage of them in favor of its ally, Israel.

"All should be highly watchful that (U.S. President) George Bush will not be able to take another concession from Palestine in the latter parts of his governing term," state-run TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during his meeting with Mekdad.

Syria said it decided to send Mekdad to the summit only after the issue of the Golan Heights was added to the agenda.

U.S. officials hoped the Annapolis meeting could mark a start to moving Syria out of its alliance with Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are Iranian-backed militant groups.

Iran's enemies cannot break our ties with Syria

[Shammu]

U.S., Israel should begin planning strike on Iran nuclear sites
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent

Israel and the United States should begin an intense dialogue on ways to deal with Iran's nuclear plans and should examine ways to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, according to a new study published by an influential Washington think tank.

The report, by a former deputy head of the National Security Council, Chuck Freilich, says Israel and the U.S. should discuss nuclear-crisis scenarios between Israel and Iran. The report, entitled "Speaking About the Unspeakable," was released over the weekend by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Freilich assumes that detailed talks between the U.S. and Israel on Iran do not extend beyond exchanges of intelligence, coordination of diplomatic moves and the supply of sophisticated weapons to Israel.

According to Freilich, a lack of symmetry exists between the U.S. and Israel on the Iranian threat, although both use similar rhetoric toward it. From Israel's perspective, Iran presents a potential existential threat, so its nuclear plans must be stopped at almost any price. In contrast, the U.S. is disturbed by the implications of nuclear weapons in Iran but does not see it as an existential threat.

In Freilich's view, this difference in evaluations dictates the nature of the dialogue. The U.S. is leery about talks with Israel on military action against Iran, and Israel is concerned about talks on security alternatives if Iran's nuclear status is accepted.

Freilich lists the alternatives; he believes that diplomacy and sanctions have a slim chance of success. He mentions a quasi-military alternative such as a naval blockade or secret sabotage action, an Israeli or American military action, or coming to terms with a nuclear Iran, with the U.S. giving security assurances to Israel. He opposes the proposal that Israel move to an open nuclear policy to deter Iran.

Freilich says Israel would prefer that the U.S. attack Iran. He notes that if Israel believes it can successfully attack Iran, Israel fears that the U.S. would veto the plan, so Israel would not unveil the scheme ahead of time. The U.S. would also keep secret from Israel any intention of attacking Iran.

Freilich believes that despite these mutual reservations, detailed discussions between the U.S. and Israel should be held on possible military action against Iran because of the need to separate forces if Israel attacks Iran and U.S. forces are in the way. In addition, Iran in any case would see the U.S. and Israel as cooperating and would respond against both.

Freilich proposes a dialogue on Iran's possible responses, on terror attacks and the disruption of oil shipments from the Gulf to the West. But he also seeks a dialogue on how to live with a nuclear Iran.

U.S., Israel should begin planning strike on Iran nuclear sites

[Soldier4Christ]

Putin's party wins Russian election

MOSCOW- European election monitors said Monday that Russia's parliamentary ballot was unfair, hours after President Vladimir Putin's party swept 70 percent of the seats in the new legislature.

The victory paves the way for Putin to remain Russia's de facto leader even after he leaves office next spring.

Sunday's vote followed a tense Kremlin campaign that relied on a combination of persuasion and intimidation to ensure victory for the United Russia party and for Putin, who has used a flood of oil revenues to move his country into a more assertive position on the global stage.

Luc van den Brande, who headed the delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said that officials had brought the "overwhelming influence of the president's office and the president" to bear on the campaign, and that "administrative resources" had been used to influence the outcome.

Goran Lennmarker, president of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's parliamentary assembly, said it was "not a fair election."

The Kremlin and its allies hailed the vote as an overwhelming endorsement of Putin and his policies.

"The vote affirmed the main idea: that Vladimir Putin is the national leader, that the people support his course, and this course will continue," party leader and parliament speaker Boris Gryzlov said after exit polls were announced.

The Bush administration called for a probe into voting irregularities. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov called the election "the most irresponsible and dirty" in the post-Soviet era and party officials vowed to challenge the results.

Kimmo Kiljunen, vice president of the Office of Security and Cooperation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, called the elections "strange" and "problematic" because of reports of harassment of parties and confiscation of election materials.

"There was the strange situation that the executive branch almost chose the legislative branch," Kiljunen said. "It is supposed to be the other way round."

With ballots from nearly 98 percent of precincts counted, United Russia was leading with 64.1 percent, while the Communists trailed with 11.6 percent, the Central Election Commission said.

Turnout was about 63 percent, up from 56 percent in the last parliamentary elections four years ago.

United Russia's victory would give it 315 seats, or 70 percent of the seats in Russia's 450-seat State Duma, the Central Election Commission said. The Communists would have just over 50 seats.

The Kremlin portrayed the election as a plebiscite on Putin's nearly eight years as president _ with the promise that a major victory would allow him somehow to remain leader after his second term ends next year.

Putin is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third consecutive term, but he clearly wants to remain in power even though he has ruled out changing the constitution to allow him to run for another term as president. A movement has sprung up in recent weeks to urge him to become a "national leader," though it's not clear what that would mean.

Two other pro-Kremlin parties _ the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party and populist Just Russia _ also appeared to have made it into parliament, with 8.2 percent and 7.6 percent of the vote, respectively.

Andrei Lugovoi, a former KGB officer and chief suspect in the poisoning death of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London last year, will serve as deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party. Russia has refused to hand Lugovoi over to Britain, and the Duma seat provides him with immunity from prosecution.

No other parties passed the 7 percent threshold for gaining seats in the legislature. Both opposition liberal parties were shut out, expected to win no more than 2 or 3 percent of the vote each.

Many Russians complained Sunday about being pressured to cast their ballots, with teachers, doctors and others saying they had been ordered by their bosses to vote.

"People are being forced and threatened to vote; otherwise they won't get their salaries or pensions," said Boris Nemtsov, leader of the liberal Union of Right Forces party.

Dozens of voters reported being paid to cast ballots for United Russia, said Alexander Kynev, a political expert with election monitoring group Golos. In the town of Pestovo in the western Novgorod region, voters complained they were given ballots already filled out for United Russia, he said.

In Chechnya, where turnout was over 99 percent, witnesses reported seeing election authorities filling out and casting voter ballots in the suburbs of the regional capital, Grozny.

There was a tense, subdued mood at some polling stations. Yelena, a 32-year-old manager in St. Petersburg, refused to give her last name out of fear of official retaliation for voting for the liberal Yabloko party.

"We live in a country with an absence of democracy and freedom of speech," she said.

The Kremlin appeared determined to engineer a resounding victory. But Putin, credited with rebuilding Russia after the poverty and uncertainty of the 1990s, has support from many Russians.

"Today everything is clear and stable in life. The president's words always coincide with what he does. As for the other candidates we don't know yet where they would take us to," said Raisa Tretyakova, a 61-year-old pensioner in St. Petersburg.

The Bush administration called on Russia to investigate claims the vote was manipulated.

"In the run-up to election day, we expressed our concern regarding the use of state administrative resources in support of United Russia, the bias of the state-owned or -influenced media in favor of United Russia, intimidation of political opposition, and the lack of equal opportunity encountered by opposition candidates and parties," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council.

The election monitoring arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, regarded in the West as the most authoritative election monitor, canceled plans to send observers.

[Shammu]

As the world watched the Russian Parliamentary elections they saw President Vladimir Putin's leadership become stronger, a precursor to the scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy for a Russian leader of the future.

In the last several months Russian watchers have been amazed by the outspoken Russian President Vladimir Putin as he has maneuvered himself into a position to lead Russia into the future in what many are calling a return to the old Soviet Union days.

Russia, and thus, Vladimir Putin's relation with Iran and it's nuclear program, plus other partnerships with Middle Eastern, Arab and Islamic states has many prophecy students thinking that the prophetic scenario of Ezekiel 38 is about to be fulfilled.

Ezekiel, wrote that Magog, which is modern-day Russia, that Magog would lead the coalition of nations, against Israel, in the last days, Ezekiel 38:2. The leader of that alignment of nations, mentioned in Ezekiel, is Gog, which is all we know about this personality.

I am not saying that Vladimir Putin is Gog of Ezekiel 38:2, but indeed he certainly is a prototype of that coming leader. These recent Russian elections do indeed set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

[Soldier4Christ]

Ahmadinejad Proposes Worldwide Islamic Court...

Sharia for all


At a meeting of judiciary leaders from Islamic countries in Tehran, Iranian President Amedinejhad proposed formation of an international Islamic court. According to Maniacal Mahmoud, it would "prosecute international criminals, war criminals" and worst of all, "those who fearlessly violate others rights and bring threats & bitterness to their lives." 

With a straight face he stated that "respecting justice is the basis in all judicial affairs."

Thomas Lifson adds:

By their own lights, this all makes sense. There is only one legitimate law for mankind, and that is Sharia. The global caliphate remains the final goal, and everything else is just a tactic to get there.

[nChrist]

Ahmadinejad Proposes Worldwide Islamic Court...

Sharia for all


At a meeting of judiciary leaders from Islamic countries in Tehran, Iranian President Amedinejhad proposed formation of an international Islamic court. According to Maniacal Mahmoud, it would "prosecute international criminals, war criminals" and worst of all, "those who fearlessly violate others rights and bring threats & bitterness to their lives." 

With a straight face he stated that "respecting justice is the basis in all judicial affairs."

Thomas Lifson adds:

By their own lights, this all makes sense. There is only one legitimate law for mankind, and that is Sharia. The global caliphate remains the final goal, and everything else is just a tactic to get there.

           ROFL!

This sounds like the ingredients of a very bad movie. ImANutJob would be the first person TRIED by this international court. We could get him a dream team of lawyers, maybe someone like the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers. Who would we get for a judge? How about someone like Don Rickles? On top of everything else, we could make it a musical. Now all we need is a name for the BIG SHOW.   

[Shammu]

Third term for Putin would not faze most Russians
Wed Dec 5, 2007 12:35pm EST

By Oleg Shchedrov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Most Russians would not think worse of President Vladimir Putin if he breached the constitution and ran for a third term in March presidential elections, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday.

Putin, whose approval ratings top 70 percent, has promised to respect the constitution, which bans him running for a third consecutive four-year term. His popularity has prompted a wave of calls by political allies for him to change his mind.

A poll by the independent Levada Centre showed 55 percent would not change their view of Putin if he decided to run again, while another 22 percent said it would improve their opinion.

Putin has already said he wants to keep political influence after leaving the Kremlin but he has not explained how.

Demands to formalise Putin's future role have topped the agenda of his United Russia party, which won a landslide victory in a parliamentary election last Sunday.

"Putin is our national leader and he will remain the national leader whatever job he takes after the presidential election," United Russia chief Boris Gryzlov has said.

Kremlin officials say Sunday's election result, with a combined 72 percent of votes won by pro-Kremlin parties, is a demonstration of public support for Putin to maintain power. But it remains unclear what the role of "national leader" might be.

CONFUSION

When asked how they would view Putin becoming a "national leader", only 17 percent said they fully supported the idea. Another 27 percent said they would back it if the new title were approved through a referendum or constitutional changes.

Thirty percent of respondents opposed the idea.

The most radical Putin supporters have suggested a post of national leader with sweeping powers should be instituted at a specially convened Congress, which they compare with the one that installed the Romanov family as Russian tsars in 1613.

State-owned pollster VTsIOM said its own poll on the issue showed 52 percent of respondents found it difficult to say what "national leader" would mean in practice. Only 2 percent of them said a national leader "should be like Putin".

Third term for Putin would not faze most Russians