Immoral behavior

[Shammu]

Kids on school bus chant: 'Assassinate Obama!'
Stunned parent: 'They just hadn't heard anything like this before'
Posted: November 12, 2008
6:53 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

There is also video on site. Click here to go and watch the video.

The same week Barack Obama was elected president, some schoolchildren in Idaho stunned their parents by chanting, "Assassinate Obama!" during their bus ride.

According to CBS affiliate KIDK-TV in Idaho Falls, the incident took place in the Madison County town of Rexburg, Idaho.

Matthew Whoolery, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University in Rexburg, said he and his wife couldn't believe it when their second- and third-graders told them what other students were saying on the bus.

"They just hadn't heard anything like this before," said Whoolery. "They were chanting on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama. Assassinate Obama.' Then adding in a name sometimes of a classmate on the bus, 'Assassinate Obama and Kate.'"

After the couple explained the meaning of the word to their children, they contacted the school about what was happening.

"I think the thing that struck us was just like, 'Where did they get the word and why would they put that word and that person together?'" Whoolery told KIDK.

When asked if he'd feel the same concern if John McCain's name had been attached to the assassination chant, Whoolery replied, "No question about it."

"I don't think that the majority of people in Rexburg have extreme ideas like that but we were just surprised that it would go that far," he added.

In the wake of the incident, Madison County's school superintendent sent an e-mail to all teachers, principals and bus drivers saying all students should show proper respect for elected officials.

[Shammu]

Australia Votes Against Israel

November 10, 2008
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AUSTRALIA has switched its position to vote against Israel on two resolutions at the United Nations, ending the Howard government's unswerving alignment with the United States and raising concern from the Jewish community.

The move also signals to the incoming Obama administration that the Rudd Government plans to take a different approach to the Howard government on the international stage.

In the weekend vote in New York, Australia supported a resolution calling on Israel to stop establishing settlements in the Palestinian territories and a resolution calling for the Geneva Conventions to apply in the Palestinian territories.

The resolutions on the Middle East peace process are held annually and the Howard government had backed both from 1996 to 2002 but in 2003 began to vote against or abstain. It was a move that aligned Australia with only the US, Israel, the US Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau and Micronesia and put the country at odds with Britain, Canada, New Zealand and France.

Australian officials told the UN the Government had changed its position because it supported a two-state resolution of the conflict to deliver a secure Israel living beside a viable Palestinian state and that Australia believed both sides should abide by their obligations under the Road Map for Peace.

Australia said it was concerned activity in the disputed settlements undermined confidence in the negotiations. It was among 161 countries that supported both resolutions, with two abstaining and six against.

The president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Robert Goot, last night was concerned over the Government's switch. "We are concerned that the vote has changed, we do not understand the basis for the change," he said.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephen Smith, last night said there had been no change to Australia's policy on the Middle East. He said he had met the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, in Jerusalem two weeks ago and told them Australia was a strong supporter of Israel and the Middle East peace process.

"Australia's friendship with Israel is longstanding and enduring and we understand completely Israel's legitimate security concerns," he said.

"As a staunch and longstanding friend of Israel, we want its people to be able to enjoy the fruits of a normal, peaceful existence, within a Middle East that recognises Israel's right to live within secure and internationally recognised boundaries. That is an approach that has strong bipartisan support in Australia and it's an approach that will continue."

The Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, Helen Coonan, called on Mr Smith to explain why Australia changed its vote. "The change in emphasis is concerning unless it can be better explained as giving effect to a bipartisan and balanced approach," she said.

Australia maintained its vote on seven other UN resolutions relating to Israel, in particular opposing a resolution criticising Israel on Palestinian human rights. Australia said it believed the resolution was too one-sided against Israel and failed to take account of Israel's legitimate security concerns or reflect the responsibility of Palestinians to end attacks against Israel. Australia was one of eight countries, including Canada, to vote against this resolution that was supported by 87 countries with 70 abstaining.

Last month Australia announced new sanctions on Israel's rival Iran but backed down on a pledge to force the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, before an international court on charges of inciting genocide.

Australia Votes Against Israel

[Shammu]

Anyone notice that this stuff is going on daily now? Israel is losing it's friends, I fear the US is just months behind following Australia's lead.

Putin is more than likely going to rise to power again in Russia in mere months. Deals are being made for billions of dollars in weapons with Israel's enemies by Russia.

The Bible states that ALL the nations will be against Israel. Even the USA and Australia. Israel will be alone except for Christians and, of course, God.

[Shammu]

Teacher 'berates' student for supporting John McCain
Pete Chagnon
11/13/2008

A spokeswoman for the Independent Women's Forum says a YouTube video has surfaced that highlights the problem of political indoctrination in U.S. schools.

teacher and students smallA recently published YouTube video shows a North Carolina teacher discussing the presidential election in her classroom of young students. At one point the teacher asked the students to raise their hands and state who they were voting for in the school's mock presidential election.
 
Student 1: "Obama."
 
Teacher: "You're pulling for Obama. Who are you pulling for? And if you're pulling for John McCain, that's fine; say him as well."
 
Student 2: "Barack."
 
Teacher: "Obama."
 
Student 3: "John McCain."
 
Teacher: "John…oh Lord, John McCain."
 
Student 4: "John McCain."
 
Teacher: "Oh, Jesus. John McCain, okay."

The entire video can be seen here

Amy Watson, a spokeswoman with the Independent Women's Forum is surprised at how this teacher conducted her classroom under the circumstances.
 
"Yeah, this woman knew she was being videotaped, and this is how she acted," she says. "Can you imagine what's going on in classrooms where, particularly when they are talking about something as sensitive as what party affiliation or what candidate you'd select, can you imagine how the teachers are behaving when they are not being videotaped?"
 
Watson notes the teacher went on to further berate one of the students for supporting McCain.
 
Teacher: "What do you all know about that war in Iraq? Talk to me because your daddy's in the military; talk. It's a senseless war. And by the way, Kathy, the person that you are picking for president said that our troops could stay in Iraq for another hundred years if they need to. So that means that your daddy could stay in the military for another hundred years."
 
Watson believes the teacher was being unfair to the student who probably has enough stress in her life without dealing with the teacher's harassment. She also encourages parents to be aware of these types of political indoctrination attempts.
 
The superintendent of Cumberland County Schools has responded to the teacher's actions, stating that he was "disturbed" to see the "uncomfortable position" in which the students were placed due to the "inappropriate" actions of the teacher. "Most disconcerting was the military slant that made its way into this discussion," says Dr. William Harrison. The superintendent says he has launched an investigation into the matter and that he will take appropriate action upon its completion.

Teacher 'berates' student for supporting John McCain

[Shammu]

Pepsi Gives $500K to PFLAG

In a move many gay activists are expecting might anger conservatives, the PepsiCo Foundation renewed its relationship with Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays earlier this week to the tune of a $500,000 grant.

The grant was earmarked to support Straight for Equality, a national education campaign created to help straight allies stand up for gay people in their families, communities, and workplaces, and PFLAG chapter support.

"PepsiCo has provided PFLAG with an enormous gift, and an unparalleled opportunity, to demonstrate the power we have to create change, no matter where we are, or who we are," PFLAG executive director Jody M. Huckaby said in a statement released earlier today. "Because of the foundation's generosity and commitment, we now have the resources to produce materials for our chapters to use in their communities, and to create critically important conversations, in every corner of our country."

While some wonder if the contribution will cause groups like Focus on the Family to call for a boycott, PepsiCo corporate contributions director Jacqueline Millan said the company stands by the donation.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with PFLAG,” Millan said in a statement. “The Straight for Equality in the Workplace training program is unique in that it is promoting the necessary message of inclusion to untapped groups within the local community, and that is a crucial step towards building a healthy working environment.”

PepsiCo has previously given generously to other gay advocacy groups, including the Human Rights Campaign. (The Advocate)

Pepsi Gives $500K to PFLAG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time to boycott all Pepsi products. Though in this house we don't use any Pepsi products.

[Shammu]

Radical homosexuals plan day of 'intolerance'
Charlie Butts nd Marty Cooper
11/14/2008

Activist homosexual leaders are planning a day of protest this Saturday over losing the traditional marriage battles in three states.

The homosexual movement for special rights has become louder, and in some cases violent, in the aftermath of losses at the ballot box in Florida, Arizona, and California. Florida Family Association notes the increased intensity in rhetoric from the self-proclaimed "champions of tolerance" and diversity. The National Day of Protest's logo is a clenched fighting fist and features phrases such as "Fight the H8" (Fight the Hate) and "Ready to Rumble."
 
Florida Family Association notes the irony in that the homosexual movement that formerly preached diversity and tolerance has now become increasingly disorderly and aggressive, even intolerant, of supporters of traditional marriage by vandalizing property and staging protests at and inside churches. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel says the demonstrations ought to be taken seriously, especially this Saturday.
 
"There have been threats of church burnings. There have been threats of violence, even murder against Christians," he explains. "There has been vandalism already of a number of churches."

According to an alert issued by the Florida Family Association, the "radical gay leaders" have two goals in mind through the upcoming protest: one being to normalize homosexuality in all areas of American society, and the second being to "silence everyone who disagrees with them." The notice adds that the homosexual activists are refusing to accept the final vote as an expression of the will of America's people.
 
"It really amounts to homo-fascism, and so what we're seeing [is] they don't want to let the democratic process play out," Barber adds. "These people are anti-democracy, clearly."
 
Florida Family Association also believes the radical homosexual agenda is "unapologetically 'me' centered" and does not feature discussions about what is best for families, children, or the common good of society. Barber points out the Bible's contrasting view. "Scripture says specifically, of people who are trapped in the homosexual lifestyle, ...that they are given over to a reprobate mind," he concludes.

Radical homosexuals plan day of 'intolerance'

[Shammu]

The homosexual movement for special rights has become louder, and in some cases violent, in the aftermath of losses at the ballot box in Florida, Arizona, and California. Florida Family Association notes the increased intensity in rhetoric from the self-proclaimed "champions of tolerance" and diversity. The National Day of Protest's logo is a clenched fighting fist and features phrases such as "Fight the H8" (Fight the Hate) and "Ready to Rumble."

Florida Family Association notes the irony in that the homosexual movement that formerly preached diversity and tolerance has now become increasingly disorderly and aggressive, even intolerant, of supporters of traditional marriage by vandalizing property and staging protests at and inside churches. Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel says the demonstrations ought to be taken seriously, especially this Saturday.

They are not very "tolerant" of people of Faith, are they?? I have been noticing an underlying undertone of militancy here of late, from the homosexual movement.

Although they wouldn't dare try this in Arizona... There are too many itchy trigger fingers here that are willing to fight, to protect their neighbors.

With every passing day there is less tolerance for us of faith, and not just from the radical homosexuals.

Leviticus 18.22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Romans 1:27-29 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

American Christians will have to learn to take a stand. In many places today like the Sudan or China, Christians know what it is really like to be persecuted. Americans have had it easy in comparsion. We have slowly seen our society dissolve into moral decay and done little about it. Over the years we have let judges redefine our constitution and now our country has little resemblance of what our founding fathers intended.

In other words as a nation we have lost our foundation. We are on shifting sand as a nation. Christians in our nation going forward will have to face persecution or just go with the flow. We might risk physical harm by pagan zealots but we certainly will be made fun of and told how intolerant we are. Are you willing to do that? The homosexual movement is just a symptom, our country is lost and depraved. The only hope is to tell people about Jesus.

[Soldier4Christ]

underlying undertone of militancy

From what I've been seeing in the news I would have to say that it has already become an "in your face militancy" and not just underlying undertones anymore.

[HisDaughter]

From what I've been seeing in the news I would have to say that it has already become an "in your face militancy" and not just underlying undertones anymore.

I agree with you there.  The state of affairs in every catagory is beyond mind boggleing.  Everyday there is something in the news that points to End Times in some way or another.

As to a couple articles back and DW comment about America following in Australia's footsteps and soon.  I agree and I think Obama is the one to put that forward.

[Shammu]

Pro-'gay marriage' rallies planned nationwide
Protests in all 50 states aim to pressure California Supremes to overturn Prop. 8
Posted: November 15, 2008
12:00 am Eastern

By Drew Zahn
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

DES MOINES, Iowa – Same-sex marriage advocates have marked today as a "National Day of Protest" and are planning marches around the country to rally against California's Proposition 8, a voter initiative that passed on Election Day, defining marriage in the state as strictly between one man and one woman.

Organizers have march leaders and groups coordinated in all 50 states, even in towns as small as Decorah, Iowa, population 8,172.

"Guess the whole 'Yes We Can' Obama thing got something started," writes poster kgongre, advertising the event on OpEdNews.com. "Too bad so many who voted for progress with one hand tried to shove us back in the closet with the other. No. Not going to work that way this time.

"Seems a lot of us Gay folk are just about fed up with being told who we can and can't marry," kgongre writes.

The planned day of protest is being coordinated through a website called Join the Impact, which states its movement seeks to "look forward toward what needs to be done now to achieve one goal: Full equality for ALL."

Join the Impact has served as a clearinghouse for international supporters of the protest, enabling the groups to coordinate their marches to begin at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, across the U.S. and in at least nine other countries.

Ed Reggi, organizer of the St. Louis protest, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the goal is to pressure the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8.

"If California can rewrite its constitution to specifically target gays and lesbians, then whose civil rights could be next?" Reggi asked.

Seattle activist Amy Balliett, founder of Join the Impact, told the website 365gay, "When we're backed into a corner, as we have been with these propositions, we cannot let ourselves be silenced. Protest is a way to bring that conversation back to a national level."

Learn about the intimidating tactics and brilliant marketing techniques being used by "gay rights" activists – read David Kupelian's controversial blockbuster, "The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom."

As WND reported, following Proposition 8's passage, protest marches in California began and grew to near-riot levels. Photos in the Los Angeles Times showed protesters climbing the fences of a Mormon temple, screaming through the chain link, while marchers shouted "bigot" and "shame on you" through the gates.

Thousands have taken to the streets in California, leading to arrests and confrontations – including one in which an elderly lady carrying a cross was verbally assaulted, her cross stripped from her and trampled on the ground.

WND has also reported how Christian churches have been targets of hateful, angry rhetoric, even while homosexual marriage advocates have marched carrying signs reading "Love thy neighbor" and "Separation of church and hate."

Join the Impact insists, however, that today's protests are intended to be peaceful.

"Our mission is to encourage our community to engage our opposition in a conversation about full equality and to do this with respect, dignity, and an attitude of outreach and education," says the website. "JoinTheImpact, as an entity, will not encourage divisiveness, violence, or disrespect of others and we do not approve of this. We do not stand for pointing the finger at one group and placing blame."

[Shammu]

Homosexual madness: Attacking Catholics and Mormons
Posted: November 15, 2008
1:00 am Eastern

By Pat Boone
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

On TV last night and again today, I saw it. I hope you did too. All Americans need to see what happened – and is continuing to happen.

It was in Palm Springs, Calif. A little white-haired lady, carrying what looked like a Styrofoam cross, suddenly found herself engulfed in a demonstration raging on the sidewalk. It seemed to be happening in front of a Catholic church, and the angry yelling was in response to the results of the California election, in which a majority of voters ratified a state constitutional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.

According to the news reporting, the elderly lady was simply trying to make her way past the demonstrators, not aggravating or arguing with them. But the sight of the cross she was carrying made her a target for their anger. Instantly, the homosexual agitators saw her as a symbol of their enemy, perhaps even a Catholic or Mormon. So they jostled and ridiculed her, barring her way and nearly knocking her to the pavement. I watched as she was forced off the sidewalk into the street, and the cross was knocked out of her hands.

The news report didn't say how she was rescued, or what her emotional condition was after the incident, but I was furious at the demonstrators, as any decent person would be. What kind of twisted freaks would take out their fury at being denied special privileges on a defenseless older woman who probably had absolutely nothing to do with their issue?

I'll tell you what kind of twisted freaks – furious homosexual activists. Almost immediately after Proposition 8 won decisively in our California election, as its functional equivalent, Proposition 22, had previously, the street demonstrations began. How dare the voters defy the wishes of this sexually defined group? How dare the people of California require that marriage continue to be defined in such narrow terms, just one man, one woman? We'll show 'em … We'll take to the streets!

And that's what they did, in jarring numbers. They'd learned that Catholic and Mormon church members and others across the state had donated personally to an organized campaign to defend the humanly essential institution of marriage. And the activists were livid.

Over $70 million was spent on the campaign, 30 of it from supporters, and 40 or more from opponents of the measure and its implications for homosexuals. That in itself was appalling – $70 million spent attacking and defending the most elemental unit of society, the institution of marriage. How could this be happening, especially in America, intended and long-defined as a Christian nation?

One of the most telling pro-Prop 8 TV spots began with the insolent, in-your-face proclamation of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, on the courthouse steps just after a little black-robed coterie on the State Supreme Court had declared the California law against same-sex marriage, enacted in 2000 as Proposition 22, unconstitutional. "Well, it's happening now," brayed Newsome, "whether you like it or not!" He was directing his derision at the voters of California, who had declared their support for traditional marriage already, and now were seeing their wishes repudiated by four small-minded, prejudiced appointees. They had just ruled that no matter what the voters said, California would allow two men or two women to "marry," tossing thousands of years of precedent and religious and moral thought into the garbage.

Newsome, who had personally officiated at "marriage" ceremonies in San Francisco, when it was officially illegal, was defiantly saying that neither he nor his constituents would be bound by existing law or the democratically expressed will of the people.

And now, that very attitude, multiplied a thousand times, is compelling hordes of demonstrators to picket in front of Mormon temples and churches, to march angrily through the streets of Los Angeles, to disrupt quiet neighborhoods that contain Catholic churches – and to vent at black churches and Christians, who voted 70 percent or more for Prop 8.

Whatever happened to the democratic process? To the will of the people, expressed at the polls? To the rule of law, to say nothing of normal decency? Has it not occurred to the activists that arrogant ranting and civil disturbances turn people against them and their goals? That acting out this way reveals the kind of social order they want to force on America?

Ed and Al are two 60-something guys who share an apartment in a modest part of town. Ed can't work because of a disability, and Al quit his job after his wife died. They're longtime friends, and they decided two could still live cheaper than one – so they moved in together and pooled their pensions and retirement funds. They're just good pals, and they enjoy all their individual rights and freedoms.

Kyle and Brian are two 40-something guys who share a much nicer apartment in a better part of town. Kyle is a tenured professor and Brian manages a jewelry shop. They live "the good life," pooling their salaries and job benefits. They also have their individual rights and privileges, like all other citizens. There's only one difference between the two pairs: Kyle and Brian pleasure each other sexually.

Because of this one difference, Kyle and Brian believe they occupy a special place in society, equate themselves with blacks and other racial minorities, and demand "rights" that previously have been granted only to properly married couples, pairings that create children and families, and perpetuate civilization.

Kyle and Brian desire the legitimacy of marriage, the total approval of the public, and all the tax advantages and privileges of the married. No matter that this arrangement, as it spreads across the nation, will place an even greater tax burden on the majority of Americans who reject the homosexual practices that define Kyle and Brian's relationship. Kyle and Brian want their "rights," and they intend to have them. If they can't get what they want through the democratic process, like other citizens do, they'll intimidate Christians, create civil disturbance and pervert the legal process till they prevail.

We the people have a fight on our hands – and these crazed activists are forcing it on us. This is not a "civil rights" issue. It's an issue of rebellion, intimidation and – painful to say – anarchy. It's getting close to classic gangland extortion: "Do it our way, or we'll ruin you."

[Shammu]

Cyber-Hackers Break Into IMF Computer System

Friday , November 14, 2008
By Richard Behar

Another major international financial institution has had its computer system attacked by unknown cyber-hackers, FOX News has learned.

The discovery of the assault last week threw into crisis the Washington, D.C. based International Monetary Fund (IMF), which offers emergency financial aid to countries faced with balance-of-payments problems, and provoked a shutdown of IMF computers that lasted for several days.

In October, FOX News reported that the computer system at the World Bank had also been hacked over a period of months.

FOX News has been unable to determine what, if any, information may have been obtained by the hackers. The IMF denies any critical intrusion took place.

The spyware discoveries came at a particularly sensitive time for the international bailout institution, which along with the World Bank is expected to play a central role in trying to combat global financial turmoil. The pair of institutions are described on the IMF's website as the "twin intergovernmental pillars supporting the structure of the world's economic and financial order."

Both will be intensively discussed at this weekend's meeting of G-20 nations in Washington, hosted by President Bush, in the effort to put global finance back on a stable basis.

Europe in particular is promoting an expanded role for the IMF, which traditionally has a European CEO, in that future architecture. IMF computers contain highly sensitive information not only on distressed nations, but also on currency payments and central bank balances around the world, all of which could be invaluable to outsiders.

What the IMF intrusion also shows is that the physical wiring of the world's financial systems is increasingly vulnerable — and getting worse.

"Electronic safety in the financial sector is in dire jeopardy," says Tom Kellermann, a former head of computer security at the World Bank's ultra-sensitive treasury unit — which FOX News reported last month had been penetrated by illicit spyware. "What people don't realize is that the financial sector is the most heavily targeted sector of all critical infrastructures."

Kellermann today is the commissioner of the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th Presidency, a unit of the Center for Strategic and Internal Studies — a Washington-based security think tank — that is preparing to issue recommendations in early December to President-elect Barack Obama on how to keep the country's computer systems from being penetrated.

IMF officials clamped down on their computer systems on November 7, after they discovered spyware that was quickly spreading through the institution's high-security computer system. Spyware is software that is secretly installed on a computer to intercept information or take control of the system.

The IMF's network link to the World Bank, the world's largest anti-poverty agency, was also temporarily severed, a move that IMF spokesman Bill Murray described as a "precaution."

But IMF officials strenuously deny that any lockdown of its computers took place, and insist that no important or sensitive financial information had been affected.

"There was no lockdown as far as I'm aware" says Murray. "I'm not aware of any major breaches, but enhanced security measures have been taken."

Prodded further as to the discovery of spyware, Murray responded: "As part of our ongoing [security] regime, we've had a scan of Fund personal computers and laptops and we found some workstations that did have malicious software, but absolutely no evidence that any sensitive information or systems were breached."

That is not, however, the version given by other IMF insiders and World Bank security officials, who requested anonymity.

According to them, the November 7 lockdown came only days after the World Bank moved more than 100 of its employees into an empty floor of one of the IMF's two buildings on Washington's Nineteenth Street, N.W., just across from the World Bank headquarters.

As FOX News reported on October 10, the World Bank itself suffered a series of cyber-attacks starting in the summer of 2007, both at headquarters and at other offices around the world. The World Bank strenuously denies that the intrusions took place, and none of the bank's 24 board members contacted by FOX News would discuss the matter. But sources told FOX News that at least one of those breaches also involved spyware, penetrating the World Bank's ultra-sensitive Treasury unit, which manages a $75 billion portfolio for itself and for several nations

The World Bank, however, did not take the dramatic step of shutting down all its computer systems to eliminate any spyware. Security experts say it is possible that the bank may have inadvertently infected the IMF — simply by sharing some wires in the IMF's sublet building. Moreover, as FOX News reported last month, hundreds of workers previously employed by an Indian contractor that is barred from Bank contracting work on security grounds still work at the institution, either as regular staffers or as employees of other contractors.

Shortly before the spyware was discovered, the World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group — a unit responsible for critiquing the quality of bank projects—was moved into the IMF's headquarters building, where it is now taking up an entire floor.

"Before the move, there was a single point of access — a server that acted as a firewall between the IMF and the bank," explains a technology expert at the bank. "The IMF was allowed into the World Bank's network, but not vice-versa. After the move, World Bank data, or packets, intermixed with the IMF data because they were all on the same wires."

Belatedly, it seems, the World Bank is attempting at least a partial cleaning of its systems. A bank insider tells FOX News that, in the wake of the FOX articles about its security penetrations, "all of the computer systems are being 'changed out' and overhauled in the Dept of Institutional Integrity [the bank's internal investigative arm]."

In fact, the computer assaults on the World Bank and the IMF are only part of a rash of sensitive cyber-burglaries that even reached into the U.S. presidential campaign. Both London's Financial Times and Newsweek recently reported that the computer network of the White House, and the Obama and McCain campaigns, were seriously breached.

The Pentagon claims the Chinese army has established units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems. Chinese hackers penetrated the Pentagon last year, in an attack that obtained e-mails from the system serving Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Despite vigorous Chinese denials, "everyone in the intelligence community knows that China is the biggest player in cyber espionage," says John Tkacik, a former head of China intelligence for the U.S. State Department. Tkacik told FOX News that later this month, President-elect Obama will be presented with a new top-secret National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report that "will cause the scales to drop from his eyes" regarding Chinese cyber-espionage.

"What the Chinese are particularly interested in at the IMF is what loans the IMF is likely to give to other countries," says Nick Day, a former British intelligence officer who runs Diligence, a private investigative firm that does extensive work for many international corporations and institutions.

"The geopolitics of this is that essentially you've got a few countries in the world that are stacked on huge foreign capital reserves — Russia, China, Japan, the Middle East — and the rest of us are pretty much borrowers to those lenders.

"And what the Chinese are looking to do is to get influence over a number of third world countries where there are assets in particular, where there's minerals, oil, etc. — where there's wealth that would be strategically useful. And if the IMF is not going to bail them out, or is going to bail them out at a rate which is fairly punitive, then the Chinese can go into those countries and say, "Don't go to the IMF. Come to us. We'll bail you out and we want exclusive deals over the next 20 years to all your mining concessions in your country, access to mineral wealth, access to oil'— all the raw materials that China is going to need to keep carrying its economy forward."

At the World Bank, water-cooler speculation about Chinese intelligence-gathering has taken another turn. FOX News has learned that the bank's internal watchdogs have recommended sanctions against five major Chinese government-owned companies for corruption on roads-building projects in the Philippines.

"People in the bank are wondering about the coincidental nature of all this," a well-placed bank security expert told FOX News. "The cyber-attacks ramp up just as these guys are heading right into the Sanctions Board."

Asked to comment on the impending possibility of sanctions, a World Bank spokesman instead offered FOX News an exclusive on the "full and complete story" if FOX would delay publication of the news well beyond this weekend — when world leaders would be discussing the institution. FOX News declined.

Cyber-Hackers Break Into IMF Computer System

[Shammu]

Resort Fights Economic Downturn With Month-Long 'Anything Goes' Nude Party

Friday , November 14, 2008

An Australian nude resort wants to bring back swingers and sex parties in a bid to boost sagging tourism figures.

The White Cockatoo resort in Mossman, north Queensland, is promoting an adults-only "anything goes" month of hedonism for March next year.

Owner of the White Cockatoo, Tony Fox, this week said it was time to lift a self-imposed swinger ban.

"Tough economic times call for stiff measures," Fox said. "We've taken the bull by the horns and it's going nuts; we're close to fully booked.

"It will be a hedonism resort, where anything goes for a month. We're not using the words sex or swingers, but it doesn't take rocket science to work out what it means."

Three years ago the controversial resort, once billed as the nation's top group-sex hotspot for swingers, hit the headlines when it closed its doors to partner-swapping.

The ban followed a series of out-of-control sex parties and orgies where, in one case, police were called to evict six swingers after a free-for-all sex romp in a chalet.

In another, a naked husband and wife in their mid-50s upset others with a rowdy display of balcony sex before breakfast.

Other guests complained of being propositioned for group sex by a stranger in her 30s.

Fox said he had since imposed a strict set of rules for the ordinary nudist season.

Cairns Catholic Bishop James Foley warned: "It might only end up cheapening the whole resort operation for a short term gain. Anyone who goes to a hedonist's party goes at their own risk."

Resort Fights Economic Downturn With Month-Long 'Anything Goes' Nude Party

[Shammu]

South Carolina priest: No communion for Obama supporters
Nov 13 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."

The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.

"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein.

"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."

During the 2008 presidential campaign, many bishops spoke out on abortion more boldly than four years earlier, telling Catholic politicians and voters that the issue should be the most important consideration in setting policy and deciding which candidate to back. A few church leaders said parishioners risked their immortal soul by voting for candidates who support abortion rights.

But bishops differ on whether Catholic lawmakers—and voters—should refrain from receiving Communion if they diverge from church teaching on abortion. Each bishop sets policy in his own diocese. In their annual fall meeting, the nation's Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights.

According to national exit polls, 54 percent of Catholics chose Obama, who is Protestant. In South Carolina, which McCain carried, voters in Greenville County—traditionally seen as among the state's most conservative areas—went 61 percent for the Republican, and 37 percent for Obama.

"It was not an attempt to make a partisan point," Newman said in a telephone interview Thursday. "In fact, in this election, for the sake of argument, if the Republican candidate had been pro-abortion, and the Democratic candidate had been pro-life, everything that I wrote would have been exactly the same."

Conservative Catholics criticized Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004 for supporting abortion rights, with a few Catholic bishops saying Kerry should refrain from receiving Holy Communion because his views were contrary to church teachings.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said she had not heard of other churches taking this position in reaction to Obama's win. A Boston-based group that supports Catholic Democrats questioned the move, saying it was too extreme.

"Father Newman is off-base," said Steve Krueger, national director of Catholic Democrats. "He is acting beyond the authority of a parish priest to say what he did. ... Unfortunately, he is doing so in a manner that will be of great cost to those parishioners who did vote for Sens. Obama and Biden. There will be a spiritual cost to them for his words."

A man who has attended St. Mary's for 18 years said he welcomed Newman's message and anticipated it would inspire further discussion at the church.

"I don't understand anyone who would call themselves a Christian, let alone a Catholic, and could vote for someone who's a pro-abortion candidate," said Ted Kelly, 64, who volunteers his time as lector for the church. "You're talking about the murder of innocent beings."

South Carolina priest: No communion for Obama supporters

[Shammu]

Nudity still in at Seattle parks
09:41 AM PST on Friday, November 14, 2008

SEATTLE - When it comes to public nudity, Seattle may be the most liberal city in the country, but a number of organized, naked bike rides prompted the parks department to reconsider nudity on beaches and city parks.

But Thursday night, the city's parks board refused to ban non-offensive public nudity despite some complaints from the public.

Nude events will therefore likely continue in the future, although perhaps under tighter scrutiny.

The parks board decided that to limit nudists would be to single them out. If nudists follow the rules, they can continue to use the parks.

Naked bike rides are a Seattle tradition. In Seattle it's illegal to flash someone, but perfectly legal to run around nude and police officers take action only if a nudist is lewd or obscene.

"The bare facts of the law are that if you knowingly show yourself naked with the intent to alarm and offend people that's illegal, said Sergeant Sean Whitcom, of the Seattle Police Department. "Just being nude is not against the law."

The city issues permits for a variety of naked events.

"We've issued permits for picnics, for indoor pool rentals and for bike rides," spokesperson Joelle Ligon said.

It's a touchy topic. The police chief even wrote a letter explaining to citizens that his officers can intervene only if a nudist engages in conduct that's likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.

That line was apparently crossed in July when motorists got an eyeful of nude cyclists hanging out at Dexter and Mercer. And Seattle Center visitors saw others skinny dipping in the Seattle Center fountain.

One family holding a birthday party for a 9-year-old says the boys were suddenly surrounded by middle-aged men wearing nothing but their birthday suits.

The ban would only apply to nudity in parks and beaches. People could still book public pools after hours for nude swims, and naked bike rides would be allowed as long as people keep moving and don't stop or hold picnics in the parks.

The parks board agreed to closely monitor the permitting process and said in the future it may consider establishing a clothing-optional beach.

Nudity still in at Seattle parks