News, Prophecy and other

[Shammu]

Hamas amassing large stockpiles of weapons
Israeli officials say group preparing for attacks if leadership ends truce

Why, is this no suprise to me brother.

[Shammu]

Teacher lent support to Pakistani terror group : Prosecutors
(AP)

6 June 2006


ALEXANDRIA, Virginia - A third-grade teacher at a Muslim school in Maryland traveled to Pakistan shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, trained with a terrorist organization there and later served as chauffeur for one of that group’s leaders during his US travels, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers made their closing arguments Monday in the trial of Ali Asad Chandia, 29, who is charged with providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, an organization that supports Muslim control of the Kashmir territory on the India-Pakistan border. The US government declared Lashkar a terrorist organization in December 2001.

Prosecutors have said that Lashkar served as a potential gateway for Americans and others who wanted to join the Taleban in neighboring Afghanistan in its fight against US troops in late 2001.

The charges against Chandia stem from a government investigation of what prosecutors called a “Virginia jihad network,” a group of young Muslim men who used paintball games in 2000 and 2001 as paramilitary training for holy war around the globe. Ten people have been convicted in that investigation, including the group’s spiritual leader, Ali al-Timimi, who was sentenced to life in prison for soliciting treason and urging group members to fight US troops in Afghanistan.

Prosecutors do not allege that Chandia intended to take up arms against US troops, but they do say he received jihad training at a Lashkar camp in late 2001. Then, after returning to the US in 2002, they say he helped Lashkar by assisting one of its officers, Mohammed Ajmal Khan, in his US travels.

Specifically, Chandia served as a driver for Khan and picked him up at various airports. He also helped Khan obtain and ship equipment from the United States to Pakistan, including a remote-controlled aircraft and 50,000 paintballs, according to the government.

Prosecutor John Gibbs said the defense sought to portray Khan as an eccentric, largely innocuous character.

“He is not cute. He is a terrorist,” Gibbs said of Khan, who was convicted in Great Britain of supporting Lashkar and sentenced earlier this year to nine years in prison.

Defense attorney Marvin Miller said prosecutors had no evidence that Chandia attended a Lashkar camp, only testimony from a witness who reported seeing Chandia at a Lashkar office in Lahore. Miller said Chandia traveled to Pakistan to help arrange his brother’s wedding there in January 2002.

Miller argued that Chandia did not know of Khan’s connections to Lashkar. Chandia only agreed to help Khan because he was asked to by a friend, Masoud Khan of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Masoud Khan is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the Virginia jihad group.

Prosecutor David Laufman responded by putting a sinister-looking picture of Khan in front of the jury, and ridiculing the idea that Chandia had been an unwitting dupe.

The jury began its deliberations Monday afternoon.

Teacher lent support to Pakistani terror group : Prosecutors

[Shammu]

Paratroopers could fly 200km with new wings system
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

URL of this article: http://www.defencetalk.com/news/publish/printer/printer_6191.php
Mon, 29 May 2006, 09:31

London: A new military parachute system which fits wings on soldiers could enable them to travel to 200 kilometres (124 miles) after jumping, Jane's Defence Weekly defence magazine said Friday.

The system, which involves the development of new modular carbon-fibre wings, will mean that aircraft can drop parachutists from 30,000 feet (9,150 metres) into an area of operations without flying into a danger zone.

Trials of the modular wing are being developed by the German firm Elektroniksystem und Logistik and Draeger. They are due to finish by the end of 2006, with the entire parachute and wings combination expected to be available during 2007.

 Peter Felstead, editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, said the new system has been in use with the German army since 2003, but the development of the new wing means soldiers can travel much further than the current 48 kilometres.

"The new wing will also reduce the impact of wind conditions on the jumper and allow operatives to travel up to 40 kilometres carrying loads of around 100 kilogrammes," Felstead said.

"The system is reportedly 100 percent silent and extremely difficult to track by air on ground-based radar systems."

Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the next stage of the development will utilise small turbo-jet drives, as used on unmanned aerial vehicles, allowing jumpers to be carried longer distances without jumping from such extreme heights.

My note; Some odd reason, this drew my attention.

[Shammu]

Another Terrorist Attack Coming Soon?
CBS News: U.S. Officials Believe Recent Incidents Point To An Imminent Threat

June 5, 2006
 (CBS/AP)

"These individuals are often hiding in plain sight in cities like Torrance and now Toledo."
John Pistole, FBI deputy director

   
(CBS) U.S. officials believe Canadian arrests over the weekend and three recent domestic incidents in the United States are evidence the U.S. will soon be hit again by a terrorist attack. Privately, they say, they'd be surprised if it didn't come by the end of the year, reports CBS News correspondent Jim Stewart in a CBS News exclusive.

The first of the domestic incidents, all of which drew little attention at the time, began with the holdup of a string of Torrance, Calif. gas stations last summer. Muslim converts who bonded together in prison planned to use the robberies to finance attacks on 20 Army recruiting stations.

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton admits they stumbled on the plot during a search.

"Make no mistake about it," Bratton said. "We dodged a bullet here — perhaps many bullets."

Police in Toledo, Ohio, busted another cell in February. This one consisted of three men training to attack U.S. forces overseas. Once again, luck played a role. When they tried to enlist someone in their mosque to help, he turned them in.

"These individuals are often hiding in plain sight in cities like Torrance and now Toledo," says John Pistole, a FBI deputy director.

Two months ago, a pair of Atlanta men, one a Georgia Tech engineering student, were arrested not long after communicating by e-mail with two of the suspects arrested in Canada over the weekend. The Atlanta men are charged with videotaping domestic targets, including the U.S. Capitol and the World Bank.

Analysts now conclude similarities between all the cases were dramatic: All were self-financed, self-motivated, and in each case the men were seeking out others to join their cell.

In short, Osama bin Laden didn't pay for these plots, recruit for them or even know of them. They were all totally homegrown — even amateurish. But if four, including the one in Canada, have been uncovered in just 11 months, officials fear there are inevitably other plots that have not been and are maturing even now.

The next attack here, officials predict, will bear no resemblance to Sept. 11. The casualty toll will not be that high, the target probably not that big. We may not even recognize it for what it is at first, they say. But it's coming — of that they seem certain.

Another Terrorist Attack Coming Soon?

[Shammu]

The "I don't care" media
By Marie Jon'


Simply put, the mainstream media is out of control. Instead of making a cottage industry out of journalistically cutting the throats of the U.S. Armed services, the press should lift up these heroes that make it possible for them to express their biased and opinionated commentaries.

It is the men and women of the Armed forces who protect our many freedoms, including the privileges afforded the press. Americans have been bombarded with more biased articles and sound bites from our own media then even Al-Jazeera. It is this daily exercise of making Americans fear the worst regarding the war that not only aids our enemies, but destroys morale.

The following is an example of irresponsible, and possibly untruthful, reporting:

The details of what happened Nov. 19 are still murky. What is known is that a bomb rocked a military convoy and left one Marine dead. Marines "then shot" "and killed" unarmed civilians in a taxi at the scene and went into two homes and "shot" other people, according to Rep. John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated war veteran who has been briefed by military officials." Associated Press

Rather than quote Rep. Murtha, the AP should have questioned some of his statements. If "the details are still murky," why not wait until the "details" are clear?

With hit-piece journalism like this, one wonders just how many inaccuracies have been reported since U.S. troops were first sent out to fight the war on terror?

Abu Ghraib turned out to be a handful of soldiers who were involved in obvious and — at times — malicious wrongdoing. In this case, a total of seven servicemen and women were convicted of crimes against Iraqi prisoners. Americans, and the media, should not minimize the seriousness of the crimes. However, we were wrongly led to believe that the abuses were much more widespread.

As one article after another cleared the wire, it became plain that the media were over reaching with. Why? To denigrate the troops and President Bush. Never mind writing about the heroism that 99.9% of the troops display daily on the field of battle.

Too much importance was made of the behavior of a few at Abu Ghraib. The media gave it near-iconoclastic status — as if it were the Nuremberg Trials of WWII. Recently, more Abu Ghraib photos were released. The ACLU, not to ever be confused as to having America's best interest at heart, obtained the photo's to try and create more sensationalism.

The guilty who perpetrated the offensives, as well as the press who continually make much more of this story, put our men and women serving in Iraq in harm's way, and made their efforts in Iraq that much more difficult.

The reported mistreatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay turned out to be false. Also, the Newsweek story about troops flushing Korans down toilets turned out to be another false and misleading headline. That misguided article actually caused the death of at least sixteen people in Afghanistan.

On June 3, U.S. Marines were cleared of misconduct in the deaths of an Iraqi civilian in Ishaqi, Iraq. The investigation that began in March is over. This is just one of three investigations into possible misconduct by American troops in Iraq. Prior to the completion of the investigation, the media lambasted the troops as if they were guilty of atrocities.

In the Haditha case, the press is telling Americans that we have another "My Lai story." Their label of "My Lai" is defaming, and inflammatory. The slanderous words are totally unfair to all the thousands of troops serving honorably.

The media have no direct evidence of wrongdoing by Marines in the city of Haditha, Iraq. However, the press has inferred that the Marines are guilty. They may or may not be right. They must stop taking liberty with soldiers' lives and honor.

When the old media finds itself corrected and exposed by the bloggers of the new media and talk radio, there is hardly a mention in the evening news to correct their reckless penning of events.

When a particular story is found to be in error, there is no rush to present the truth. The American public remembers only the headlines pointing to alleged crimes and accusations. Our press assails and indicts people as if they were guilty. In other words with regard to Haditha, there was a rush to judgment before the truth was revealed.

At this time, I am of the opinion that the American public is purposely being set up by the mainstream media to mistrust the Armed services. There is a calculated effort to turn one's heart and mind against the military.

It is very difficult for some of The Blue Star and Gold Star Mothers and their families to understand what is going on. Not all military families are Republicans. These patriots do not like to see the Democrat Party and the media politicizing the war. It is almost beyond belief that Democrats could undermine those who are serving our country.

And how have Democrats fared doing this? Here then, is a letter from a Blue Star Mother:

A Letter to Marie:

      Dear Marie,

      Yes, I know the press is Liberal, but American's have this attitude that when others put forth that notion, it is a political issue. It is an American issue.

      If the Republicans want to win they need to realize this.

      I am a registered Democrat, but did not vote that way in November 2004. Why? Because I believe in our President, and I am sick and tired of the bashing put forth by the Democrats, especially during time of war. Therefore, I am neither party, but call myself an American.

      The press needs to be shown for what they are, not Liberals, but those that wish to bring down, not build up. It is not the government that we need to fear, but the press.

      My main concern is for the men and women in uniform. They are the example we should all follow.

      They are Americans, they are of every race, social and economical backgrounds, they come from all areas across the United States, farms, the suburbs and the cities.

      They are us, but they are different. They understand the importance of being united in the fight against evil, the enemy. We do not. These brave men and women stand together, fight together and die together.

      What is happening 'back home,' for those fighting in a foreign country, where all they can do is being observers? The negative attacks on these brave souls, compliments of the negative media, and the over paid officials. It is so sad.

      We need everyone to remember our troops. They read what we read; they hear what we hear, in another country, far away from home, without a voice to be heard. Name withheld. (A Blue Star Mother)

Her intelligent letter tells America plenty. She is fed up with the coverage the troops are receiving. She is absolutely correct in her assumptions. It hurts her deeply to see what is taking place.

This Blue Star Mother's son was serving in Iraq during the scandal of Abu Ghraib. Every day, she feared for her son's safety, while the media continued their daily bombardment of op-eds. There was no new information emulating from any of these articles. They were strictly hit pieces designed to invoke more anti-American feelings in the Arab nations as well as the rest of the world.

The media went too far for reasons that we can see clearly were not for the betterment of America, the troops, or the people of Iraq.

There definitely is a far left bias going on. The president and the troops will remain a "relentless target." Unfortunately, that is the reality of what is taking place today.

The media is actually saying: "I don't care where you get a bad news story about our troops. Just get it!"

[Shammu]

Islamic radicals in France target youth
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS

Islamic extremists in France are speeding up recruitment and reaching people younger and younger, according to a new intelligence report cited by a French newspaper Saturday.

The document said women are playing an increasing role in radicalizing fellow Muslims, but noted that extremists remain a very small minority, about 5,000 of the nation's 5 million Muslims, Le Figaro newspaper reported.

Radicalization is happening "faster and faster and younger and younger," said the document from the Renseignements Generaux, France's chief intelligence agency, according to Figaro.

Recruiters often target disadvantaged youths of North African origin in bleak suburban housing projects, offering "to help overcome difficulties of daily life" before trying to convert them to radical Islam, the report was quoted as saying.
Such neighborhoods were hit by a wave of riots last year, though police said Islamic extremists played no role in that unrest.

Islamic radicals in France target youth

[Shammu]

06/06/2006            
First signs of World Jihad visible in West Bank
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent

The security forces have recently identified initial signs that World Jihad has begun building an ideological foothold in the West Bank, Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin said on Tuesday.

The head of the domestic security service told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that security forces recently arrested individuals in the Jerusalem and Nablus areas found with plans for terror attacks.

The plans were very general and did not include specific timetables.

Diskin reminded the Knesset committee that World Jihad also has an infrastructure set up in neighboring Jordan, but added that the Jordanian authorities are operating widely against the organization.

Egypt, however, has not managed to successfully combat World Jihad cells operating within Sinai and the peninsula is thus flooded with weapons smugglers. Diskin said Egypt has had very limited success in combating terrorism.

Since the Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Diskin said, weapons smuggling from bordering Sinai has increased dramatically. Militants have managed to smuggle more than 10 tons of explosives, several million rounds of rifle ammunition, some 10,000 assault rifles, several hundred rocket-propelled grenades and a small number of surface-to-air missiles.

'PA services on verge of collapse
Diskin said that all Palestinian government services will collapse if the Palestinian Authority is not supplied with funds - a development that will not serve Israel's interests.

The Shin Bet chief noted that the Palestinian economic crisis is weighing heavily on the Hamas-led government and there have been a number of recent attempts to smuggle suitcases jam packed with foreign currency into the Gaza Strip.

It is still not clear whether PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas will be able to carry out his plan for a referendum on the prisoners' document, Diskin said. He said Israel should not interfere in the matter and noted that no Palestinian faction has any interest in continued internal conflict.

First signs of World Jihad visible in West Bank

[Shammu]

America’s First Arabic 24/7 Christian Channel Is Already A Hit

Alkarma TV, whose name means “the vineyard” in Arabic, is the brainchild of Egyptian-born businessman, Sam, and his wife, Mona

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LOS ANGELES, CA (ANS) -- When you first arrive at the home of Egyptian-born businessman Sam and his wife Mona, you would have no idea what is happening there in this quiet Southern California street.

Sam and Mona in the production room
As you enter the house and go through the kitchen to his three-car garage, you are struck with the fact that it has been converted into a modern television studio.

Other rooms are alive with production equipment that makes up the technical framework for America’s first 24/7 Arabic Christian television channel – Alkarma TV, which means “the vineyard” in Arabic.

And it certainly has already become a “vineyard” as the phone rings continually with calls from listeners with different faith backgrounds who are inquiring about the content of the various programs beamed out 24/7 by satellite from the Los Angeles area. Many receive a copy of the JESUS Film in Arabic and other materials about the Christian faith.

In an interview, Sam first talked about his early life in Cairo, Egypt and how he met his wife, Mona.

“I was born into a Christian family in Egypt in 1968,” he began. “My father was responsible for a church in Egypt, but it got shut down and so he moved to another church.

“Mona and I first met when we were studying in the same college in Cairo. I was in my fourth year and Mona was in her second. I was in mathematics and computer department and Mona was English department.

“In 1990, after I graduated, I became responsible for the Sunday school ministry and later for the high school meetings. During this time, I was also playing keyboards with a team of singers and we would go around the country to preach the Gospel.”

Sam said he became a teacher of mathematics and computer science in a middle school and shortly afterwards joined a counseling ministry in Egypt.

“I was serving full time in this ministry as the Executive Director from 1996 to 1998,” he said.

Eventually, he and Mona were married and in 1998, he felt God’s call to visit the United States. “I spent few months here and then returned home, and then I came in February 1999 with Mona and my son.

“As a young kid, I knew that God had a plan for my life in America, but I didn't know then what it was,” he continued.

To start with, Sam said his life in California involved working as a computer specialist for the Egyptian-born owner of a group of gas stations. Sadly, the company finally went bankrupt and then 9/11 occurred, and this changed his life – forever.

“As I watched the terrible scenes from New York and Washington DC on television, I knew that God wanted me to do something big for Him,” he said. “I began to think about the media and how it could be used to present the ‘Good News’ to Arabic-speaking people of America and other parts of the world.

“I came to believe that the media can be the most effective tool in the world. It can be used as a weapon or it can be used for good. After 9/11, I saw the devil talking on the screens. It was as if he was saying, ‘I have killed and deceived people and I will kill and deceive even more.’

“I found out that all of these hijackers were all from an Arab background and, because of my own background, I knew these kinds of people; how they think and, most importantly, how to reach them.”

Sam said that on January 11, 2002, he was attending a prayer retreat when God spoke to him.

“He said clearly, ‘You have to do something! You have to stand in the gap.’ “Somebody has to stand in the gap.” It was then that God put in my heart to do something in media.”

Sam said that he began to share with other Christians about the possibility of starting an Arabic Christian Channel 24/7.

“They told me that my dream was ‘too big’ and ‘financially impossible’ but I held onto the dream. I didn't really know what to do, but I just kept on praying.

“Then, in early 2004, God’s call was so strong that often I couldn't really sleep and I was staying up all night. I would pray, ‘Lord what do you want me to do? I'm not a wealthy man. I cannot do it. I have nothing. Just guide me.’”

He said that he began studying television production and editing and felt God telling him to just start by himself and with all that he had to make programs. So, he started a non-profit organization.

“I decided to convert our three-car garage into a studio and I installed the lights, bought the cameras, and made the garage sound-proof,” said Sam. “I took an equity loan of more than $150,000 to do this, and then we started producing programs that we sent to Christian TV channels in the Middle East. The feedback that we received was above and beyond all that we imagined.”

“The programs were mostly interviews with interesting people and we would talk about facts from the Bible. We also did some women’s programs and we helped with kids programs. We did about three hundred episodes of the various shows and they were aired in the Middle East through different channels and now we are airing it on Alkarma TV.”

Still, Sam said that he continued to feel God’s prompting to start a channel in America. “In the United States, Canada and Mexico, we have about 35 Arabic channels coming in from the Middle East with the Middle East mentality,” he said. “None of them is Christian. In my opinion, most of the programming is full of bad content and it is influencing between 8 and 12 million Arabic speaking people in North America.

“I was restless and kept saying to myself, we have to do something and nobody is helping.’ So I prayed and I said, ‘If it’s your will, Lord, You have got to open the doors.’

“At this time, I was able to get a contract with Globecast, who are the world's leading provider of satellite transmission and production services for professional broadcast, enterprise, and Internet content. And I met Michael Drzymkowski, who runs a company called D.Co Marketing, Inc., and he has been a great help in the area for servers and how to get the signal out and we started from there.

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

“Now we are running the channel 24/7 and it is the eighth month that we are producing it from this place. We have different programs. We serve all kind of ages, from kids to adults, women, and youth. We also have drama and songs.

“Because we can't make all of the programs, I contacted the other channels because in the Middle East there are six Arabic Christian Channels. I told them that I needed some programs from them and they provided them. We also produce our own as well.

“Our channel is Christ-centered and it is non-denominational. We are all one in Christ. I believe that when we get to heaven, we will see all kinds of different people with different denominations that we never imagined we would see.”

I then asked his wife, Mona, what the response had been like from viewers.

“The response to the channel has been great,” she said. “We get lots of phone calls, e-mails, and letters from many people from different backgrounds. Many share with us how their lives have been changed through the channel and how God has also changed their homes, their marriage relationships, their concepts, and way of thinking. Many of them have accepted the Lord as their Savior and they have started a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

“There are many people from different faith backgrounds that are calling saying that they need the Bible or the life of Jesus on a DVD or VHS and we send it to them. They watch the channel and they love it they get attracted to it.”

“The channel is on the satellite and also on the Internet for free so that anybody can watch it from any part of the world. When some people are flipping through the channels by chance, they watch it and they call us.”

Sam then said, “We put Alkarma TV among the other channels. At this stage we have about twenty-one other Arabic non-Christian channels and we put it among them. All of these channels are free, so people only buy the dish one time. When people get the dish and flip through the channels, some people call us saying, ‘We got your channel by mistake, but need to know more.’ So we send Bibles and copies of the JESUS Film. That’s two tools we use. We need more of them to be donated to us.”

I then asked Sam why American Christians should care about the Arabic-speaking people in the United States.

He paused for a moment, and then replied, “Because there is a large number of Arabs that live here and we have to care about them and love them. We also should pray for them.”

There are terrorists in our world today and the only way to reach them is through the media. If we don’t reach them, then the terrorism will continue and the danger will continue in our country. The only person who can change hearts is the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the only one! Alkarma TV offers the message of hope and salvation and we pray that their hearts will be transformed and peace will come back to us as a nation.”

“I believe that Christ is the only way to reach out to terrorists; and terrorists are here in our midst. The only tool we can use to give them Christ is through the media.”

I then asked Sam what his prayer needs are. He replied, “The media is the most effective way we can reach Arabs in their homes, 24/7. If you talk with somebody and give them a tract or talk to them he will take it and probably throw it away. I believe the message has to be there in their homes in their comfort zones. We would encourage people to pray for us. We need a lot of prayer. We have a lot of attacks from the Satan.

We need to grow more. We have a lot of other programs in mind, but we cannot do it because of our financial limitation. We need the Christians of America to put their hands in our hands so we can serve the Lord together regardless of background or nationality. We need everybody to know about this ministry and tell others about it. Every month we struggle to cover the monthly expenses which reach around $60,000 so we need a lot of financial support. Above all, please pray for us.”

I left the final word to Michael Drzymkowski who has now joined the board of Alkarma TV. “I also function in a technical roll here providing some of the services and equipment for the broadcasting needs,” he said. “As an American who is also a Christian, we see the radical Muslims so often in the world and on the news that I think a lot of us, as Christians, sometimes feel helpless or hopeless or wonder what can we do? I think that a lot of times we're tempted to maybe be cynical or to be radical ourselves. And instead the answer is simple; it’s what all of us need no matter if we're Americans or where we're from; we need Jesus Christ.

“And what this channel is doing is offering a message of hope to the Arabic-speaking Americans 24/7 and there’s no other channel doing that. So I just simply want to say that for any American who wonders what can I do to help with the situation and with the misinformation that there is so often coming from this belief system, the answer is simple, it’s the Gospel that really combats the things that we’re concerned about.”

[Shammu]

Morality police turn witch hunters
Mon Jun 5, 2006 08:29 AM ET
   
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's powerful morality police is launching a witch hunt in the birthplace of Islam.

The Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is setting up special centers in all cities to "register complaints on sorcerers and charlatans, track them and terminate them," the authority's chief Sheikh Ibrahim bin Abdallah al-Ghaith told al-Madinah newspaper.

Islam forbids magic and practicing it is considered blasphemy.

Saudi newspapers often report incidents involving so-called sorcerers, mainly from the Indian subcontinent and Africa.

Some Saudis pay them vast amounts of money, hoping to uncover hidden treasures or get jobs, according to the papers.

The religious police have wide powers in Saudi Arabia, which imposes a strict version of Sunni Islam, to prevent the spread of drugs, alcohol and prostitution as well as stop unrelated men and women mixing in public.

Morality police turn witch hunters

[Shammu]

The UN Plan for Global Migration

by Berit Kjos -  June 4,  2006

A borderless world! Social solidarity! Economic equality! Housing and health for all! The feel-good togetherness of serving the greater whole.... The list of utopian promises stretches the imagination. How can this dream be fulfilled? What will it cost? Why is migration vital to this process? How free is our president to block this transformational plan?

This dream of a New World Order was born long before socialist visionaries (including Franklin Roosevelt and the leaders of the Federal Council of Churches) enthroned Communist Alger Hiss as the first head of the United Nations.[3] [See The Revolutionary Roots of the UN] Hiss was the primary author of The UN Charter, which summarized its vision in noble terms that few could criticize. "WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS," it began,

    "DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war... to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained... and for these ends to practice tolerance and... to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all....  Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco... do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations."[4]

It took the Second World War to make the new system acceptable to the people. In the wake of that useful crisis, the masses willingly embraced the UN promise of "economic and social advancement of all" under the guiding hand of the new "international machinery."   

In the decades that followed, most people seemed to dismiss UN treaties and declarations as "soft laws" and policies with little affect on national sovereignty. They didn't know the many ways UN declarations would permeate national laws and policies. [See Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules] The mainstream media didn't tell us. So when the "The Global Commission on International Migration was launched by the United Nations Secretary-General and a number of governments on December 9, 2003," few saw the red lights.[5]

But America is awakening. An immigrant-friendly nation, it has welcomed grateful immigrants from around the world into its system. Now, it faces a new kind of migration -- one that intentionally clashes with everything we have valued and shared. Thomas Sowell summarizes some of its more obvious problems:

    "Under affirmative action, combined with amnesty, [illegals] would have preferences in jobs and other benefits. Those who set up their own businesses would be entitled to preferences in getting government contracts. Their children would be able to get into college ahead of the children of American citizens with better academic qualifications. ... f an illegal alien gets stopped for going through a red light...  in many communities the cop is forbidden to arrest him.... Under a provision recently passed by the Senate, illegal aliens who forged Social Security cards not only get a pass, they get to collect Social Security benefits. ... We have seen what havoc such notions and practices have created after mass immigration under 'guest worker' programs in Europe...."[6]

This legalized lawlessness fuels the "crisis" needed to persuade the masses to accept mass surveillance, universal data collection, and other intrusive strategies for worldwide control. And it gets worse:

    "Based on a one-year in-depth study, a researcher estimates there are about 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States who have had an average of four victims each."[7]

     

    "The immigration reform bill now under congressional consideration would grant amnesty to some 10 million illegal immigrants....  CIRA would transform the United States socially, economically and politically. Within two decades, the character of the nation would differ dramatically from what exists today."[8]

     

    "When Sept. 11 hijackers Hani Hanjour and Khalid Almihdhar needed help getting fraudulent government-issued photo IDs before embarking on their suicide mission, they hopped into a van and headed to the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store in Falls Church, Va. That's where scores of illegal alien day laborers ply bogus identity documents to other illegal aliens from around the world.... Nearly five years later, illegal alien day laborers like the ones who unwittingly assisted the 9/11 hijackers have virtually no fear of being arrested."[9]

A web of secrecy and a flood of misleading propaganda hides the truth from the people who pay the costs. For example, the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America undermines both security and prosperity for ordinary people. Wondering why their elected leaders ignore their pleas, many face rising lawlessness, unthinkable litter, lost jobs, and continual fear of violence.[10]

The reasons are actually simple. International regulations have already bound nations around the world to regional as well as global laws and policies. To understand their aims, let's look at the United Nation's Report of the Global Commission on International Migration [GCIM]. Chapter 6 warns us that "international migration is a complex phenomenon," and most nations (states) recognize the importance of international migration and seek to address it in a way that enables them to respect their international obligations."[1] What does that mean? Might the word "respect" actually imply "obedience" to international guidelines?

An illusion of national sovereignty

The subtle language in many UN documents hides the assault on national sovereignty. While sounding affirmative, it undermines any "sovereign" action that might oppose UN policies. The UN Declaration on Human Rights illustrates this manipulative language well. Its Article 18 upholds "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion..." Article 19 affirms "the right to freedom of opinion and expression...."

But Article 29 states that "these rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." In other words, its promise of "human rights" does not apply to those who would criticize the UN or its policies. Nor does it apply to Christians who cling to God's "offensive" truths -- or refuse to follow UNESCO's Declaration on the Role of Religion.[11]

The migration issue shifts national sovereignty onto the same slippery ground. In the numbered items below, notice the GCIM's promising assurance -- followed by a clear denial of traditional sovereignty:

    "8.First, state sovereignty is the very basis for international cooperation....

    "9. Second, with sovereignty comes responsibility. As the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (2001) has
    observed, recent years have witnessed a reorientation 'from sovereignty as control to sovereignty as responsibility in both internal functions and external duties.' Sovereignty as responsibility has become the minimum content of good international citizenship. Just as individuals have rights and responsibilities as citizens of states, so states have rights and responsibilities as members of the international community.  [Note: That responsibility falls primarily on the "rich" developed nations considered capable of hosting, funding and managing the world's migrating human resources.]

    "10. ...The European Union (EU) can be viewed as an example of a group of states that have retained their sovereignty [Have they?]...

    "11. ...States establish international bodies when certain issues – or ‘common goods’ – warrant a more formal and collective form of governance."[1]

All nations must "establish coherent national migration policies... consistent with international treaty law." The following points show some of the ways nations must cooperate with regional and global policies:

    "15. If states are to address the issue of international migration in a coherent manner, they must have... criteria for the entry and residents of non-citizens that are consistent with international law. ... [T]hey should at minimum address the following issues:

    • family reunion, asylum, refugee protection and resettlement;

    • the prevention of irregular migration and the promotion of regular migration [The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (CIRA) would add an extra 84 million legal immigrants to the nation's population];[8]

    • integration, including the rights and obligations of migrants, citizens and the state...

    • the protection of migrant rights.[12]

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

    "17. All states should adopt a coherent approach to international migration that is consistent with international law and other relevant norms.... [

    "21. ...This in turn requires effective data collection, policy analysis, research, monitoring and evaluation....

    "23. ...• develop an infrastructure that provides social, educational and legal assistance to migrants, and that helps the host society adapt to the presence of migrants;
    • ensure that resident foreign nationals are effectively represented by migrant associations... [A partnership between U.S. and Mexico provides such legal protection of "human rights" for illegal immigrants in the U.S. Small wonder it's hard for U.S. courts to deal with foreign criminals] [12]
    • build up a capacity for data collection and analysis, research, monitoring and evaluation."[1]

Regional integration

Regional integration, such as the European Union (EU), was planned long ago as a stepping stone toward global governance. Since the regulations for regionalism are established at the UN level, this initial merger of nations -- such as Canada, United States and Mexico --  redefines sovereignty and submits everyone to international controls. Ashley Mote, an independent member of the European Parliament, explains how this revolutionary system would swallow up any representative form of governments:

    "Even the EU's public face - the unelected commission - is part of the charade. Power does not lie with them. It lies with the senior staff running their departments, entrenched by some 3000 working groups and committees on which no elected MEP sits.... We do not know what their budgets are, how they are financed, or who approves their costs. Indeed, we do not even know what powers they have been given, nor by whom. And we cannot get rid of them....

        "The EU would no longer be the servant of the member states. It would have become their master. Every previous treaty was a small step along that road.... The other 24 commissioners, each appointed by the other member states... are figure-heads. They take the flak in the public arena, and make announcements decided for them by their senior staff, with the guidance of the secret committees.

        "...officially above the commission sits a Council of Ministers.... But the council is just more of the same elaborate illusion of accountable government. ... The European Parliament sits below this vast superstructure... designed to create an illusion of accountable democracy. A condescending pat on the head for voters held in contempt.

         "...the EU’s parliament... is the repository of an unspoken agreement between the left and the multinationals. ... In effect, the left has said to the multinationals: you can have your markets stitched up for you, if we can indulge ourselves in endless social engineering. Big business has agreed. The result is a largely supportive parliament both from the left and right of the political divide."[13]

Today's euphemistic propaganda for regional governance continues to mislead the public. These statements by GCIM show only the positive side of the issue:

    34. In the EU, for example, citizens of member states can move with relative ease from one country to another, enjoying the benefits of a common labour market....

    35. Efforts have also been made to establish various types of economic integration and related freedom of movement agreements in other regions of the world, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)....

    The Commission commends in particular the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which aims to establish an integrated socio-economic development framework for Africa."[1]

In Part 2, we will look more closely at how the values, poverty and lawlessness within the migration crisis creates a public mindset that welcomes other UN goals: universal surveillance and data tracking, total gun control, a new kind of "human settlement" and collective participation in the dialectic process. With the Canadian, anti-Christian UN leader, Maurice Strong, as one of the guiding lights behind this revolution, my biggest concern might be the UN "laws" that ban Biblical outreach to this new "mission field" in our midst.

Meanwhile, study this chart and remember God's promise to His people:

    "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:37-39

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Canada plot allegedly involved PM attack

By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 6, 10:52 PM ET

BRAMPTON, Ontario - Some of the 17 Muslim men accused of plotting terror bombings in Canada also planned to storm Parliament, take hostages and behead the prime minister and other leaders, according to accusations revealed Tuesday by the lawyer for one of the suspects.

Authorities further allege that the suspect, Steven Vikash Chand, plotted to take over media outlets, including Canadian Broadcasting Corp., his attorney said after a brief hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice.

Specifics of the charges against the other suspects were not released, but Chand's lawyer, Gary Batasar, asked that the allegations against his client be read in court. He told The Associated Press later that others face similar accusations, but did not say who or how many.

An eight-page document prepared by the prosecution summarzing the charges against all the suspects was not read in open court or distributed to the media, making it difficult to assess how sophisticated the alleged plot was or its progress.

But the purported plot to take political leaders hostage and behead them if Muslim prisoners were not freed and Canada did not pull its 2,300 troops out of Afghanistan added a chilling dimension to a case that has led U.S. authorities to toughen security along the border and unsettled Canada's large Muslim community.

Other defense attorneys declined to discuss the detailed charges. Batasar told AP that other suspects were facing similar allegations.

"It's just generally speaking that the allegations are against my client as well as the other parties," he said. "That's what all the parties are facing."

"The only reason I'm coming out and saying this is that my client is innocent of the charges; he protests his innocence and that's not being heard," Batasar added.

Police say they expect more arrests, and intelligence officers are probing whether 12 adults and five juveniles arrested over the weekend had any ties to Islamic terror cells in the United States and five nations in Europe and Asia.

Chand, a 25-year-old restaurant worker from Toronto, was one of 15 suspects who made brief court appearances Tuesday. They were held behind a glass enclosure, brought in as groups of four or five, chained together in ankle shackles and handcuffs.

Chand, bearded with shoulder-length hair, blew a kiss to supporters as he was led away as formal bail hearings for him and the 14 others were postponed until at least Monday.

"There's an allegation apparently that my client personally indicated that he wanted to behead the prime minister of Canada," said Batasar. "It's a very serious allegation. My client has said nothing about that."

Speaking outside the courthouse, Batasar said the charges were based on fear-mongering government officials.

"It appears to me that whether you're in Ottawa or Toronto or Crawford, Texas, or Washington, D.C., what is wanting to be instilled in the public is fear," he said.

He also suggested that Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who expressed happiness at the arrests, should "keep out of the case."

In Ottawa, Harper appeared to take the alleged beheading threat in stride. "I can live with these threats as long as they're not from my caucus," he joked.

The Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, a small city just west of Toronto, had said earlier that the suspects faced charges that included participating in a terrorist group, importing weapons and planning a bombing. The specific details were made public Tuesday.

Lawyers and family members said they were being given too little information about the case, and charged that the suspects' rights were not being respected.

Rocco Galati, a lawyer for suspect Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, told the judge that his client's constitutional rights had been violated because he was only able to interview him in the presence of an armed guard.

"The right to private counsel was afforded even at Nuremberg," Galati said.

Outside the court, Donald McLeod, a lawyer for Jahmaal James, 23, also complained of restricted access to his client, including only being allowed to speak to the accused through Plexiglas and not being allowed to have private discussions.

Arif Raza, who represents Saad Khalid, 19, said he had never been allowed to speak to his client and was not even allowed to slip him his business card so Khalid could attempt to call the lawyer from the Maplehurst Correctional Center outside of Toronto.

U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins praised Canadian authorities.

"We appreciate the swift and effective action taken by Canadian law enforcement officials," Wilkins said in Montreal. "They stepped in decisively and I think helped defuse a very dangerous situation. No country is immune to terrorism and we frankly applaud their swift, decisive, heroic efforts."

The U.S. Border Patrol, meanwhile, put agents on high alert along the 4,000-mile border and stepped up inspections of traffic from Canada.

Some American commentators and politicians have accused Canada of having a lax immigration policy and suggested building a fence along the border. But Harper told Parliament on Tuesday most Americans admire Canada for "our shared concern about the security of this continent."

The case has stunned many Canadians, who have not experienced such a major anti-terrorism case since security measures were intensified after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

"It's breathtaking that this is going on in Canada," International Trade Minister David Emerson told the CBC. "To see the homegrown nature of it is shocking to me."

Police say there is no evidence the suspect group had ties to al-Qaida, but describe its members as sympathetic to al-Qaida's violent jihadist ideology. Officials are concerned that many of the 17 suspects are about 20 years old and became radicalized in a short amount of time.

Officials announced the arrests Saturday, saying the sweep was ordered after the group acquired three tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be mixed with fuel oil to make a powerful explosive. One-third that amount was used in the deadly bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.

The 12 adult suspects all are charged with one count of participating in a terrorist group.

Three of them — Fahim Ahmad, 21, Mohammed Dirie, 22, and Yasim Abdi Mohamed, 24 — also are charged with importing weapons and ammunition for the purpose of terrorist activity.

Nine face charges of receiving training from a terrorist group, while four are charged with providing training. Six are charged with intending to cause an explosion that could cause serious bodily harm or death.

Canada plot allegedly involved PM attack

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Man, 26, to face extradition from Britain to US on terrorism charge

1 hour, 11 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - A 26-year-old man will appear before a London court accused of a terrorism charge in the United States, the Metropolitan Police said.

Syed Hashmi, of no fixed address, was arrested under a provisional extradition warrant on Tuesday evening at London's main Heathrow airport and taken into custody ahead of the hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court.

The police said in a brief statement that Hashmi would face a charge alleging that between January 1 and March 1, 2004, he received "military gear, intending that it should be used for the purpose of terrorism".

He was indicted on May 24 this year by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, it added.

The arrest was not connected to last Friday's anti-terrorism operation in east London in which a man was shot and injured during a raid on a suspected chemical bomb factory.

Man, 26, to face extradition from Britain to US on terrorism charge

[Shammu]

Iran says Western proposal 'positive'

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writers 44 minutes ago

TEHRAN, Iran -  Iran and the United States had a rare moment of agreement Tuesday, using similar language to describe "positive steps" toward an accord on a package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.

Diplomats said the incentives include a previously undisclosed offer of some U.S. nuclear technology on top of European help in building light-water nuclear reactors. Other incentives include allowing Iran to buy spare airplane parts and support for joining the
World Trade Organization.

Tehran is under intense international pressure to accept the deal in exchange for putting on hold a uranium enrichment program that the West fears could lead to the creation of nuclear weapons.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said the proposals had "positive steps" but that talks were needed to clear up ambiguities. Iran promised to study the proposals seriously, but gave no timeframe for a response.

And Bush, using the same language, said Iran's initial response "sounds like a positive step."

"We will see if the Iranians take our offer seriously," the president said in Laredo, Texas. "The choice is theirs to make. I have said the United States will come and sit down at the table with them so long as they are willing to suspend their enrichment in a verifiable way."

One diplomat in Vienna described the U.S. offer of nuclear technology as particularly significant because it would, in effect, loosen a decades-long American embargo on giving Iran access to "dual use" technologies — equipment with both civilian and military use.

Crucially, the deal does not demand that Iran outright give up its uranium enrichment program — only suspend it, although likely for a long time. Two earlier diplomatic initiatives by Europe and Russia crumbled over the past year because each demanded Iran scrap enrichment completely — a stumbling block because of the program's wide popularity with the Iranian public.

Iran's leaders fiercely defend their nuclear program as a source of intense national pride, and say the purpose of the enrichment program is to create fuel for electricity — not nuclear weapons, as the U.S. claims.

Enrichment is the centerpiece of a nuclear program that the Iranian government has touted as a technological achievement, proving Iran is on a level with developed Western nations. Iran has dismissed past demands that it give up its right to enrichment as an arrogant insult from Western nations afraid of a high-tech Muslim nation. But it has signaled it would accept some limits.

For the West, enrichment is the center of fears over Iran's intentions. Enrichment can produce either material for a nuclear warhead or fuel for a nuclear reactor.

The latest proposal was revealed a week after Washington changed strategy on Iran and — in an apparent acknowledgment that it lacked support for sanctions against the Islamic republic — conceded to entering into direct talks with Iran under certain conditions. The latest proposal appeared to be even more of a concession on the Bush administration's part — a major attempt to sweeten the package for Iran in a bid to win concessions over the nuclear program.

Most importantly, the United States is now offering to provide Iran some nuclear technology, diplomats in Vienna told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity in exchange for discussing some details of the package.

It had been known that the deal included European offers of help in building light-water nuclear reactors for a peaceful energy program. But there had previously been no suggestion the Americans would also agree to help build a nuclear program for a country they frequently paint as a threat to world security.

John Wolfsthal, a nonproliferation analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said any such offer would be tied to strict monitoring conditions.

"Iran has to be fully compliant in terms of inspectors on site, cameras and tracking equipment," Wolfsthal said. "All that is standard operating procedure with countries with light-water reactors."

In Washington, State Department Sean McCormack declined to go into specifics of the proposal. He said diplomacy "is at a sensitive stage" and the United States wants Iran to have a chance to review the proposal without having it discussed publicly.

He refused to offer a time frame, but said the Iran's timetable to consider the package was "weeks, not months."

Asked about reports that the offer of Western technology includes U.S. technological assistance, McCormack said: "Well, I've seen a lot of reports flying around the past couple days about what may or may not be in this package. I would just caution everybody, until we actually are able to discuss what is in the package in public, take reports with a grain of salt."

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in exchange for discussing details, said that the United States and Europe agreed to back Iran's membership in the World Trade Organization,

The United States would also lift some sanctions — including allowing Iran to buy the much-needed airplane parts — and join with Europeans in direct negotiations with Iran over the future of Iran's nuclear program.

Diplomats said Monday that the United States additionally agreed to open the door for Europe to sell Tehran new Airbus planes. Iran's commercial fleet is largely made up of Boeings purchased before the 1979 revolution, and Tehran frequently complains that the U.S. ban on parts has undermined safety. U.S. pressure has also prevented Iranian attempts to purchase new Airbus aircraft.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented the package to Iranian officials Tuesday in Tehran.

"The proposals contain positive steps and also some ambiguities, which must be removed," Larijani said afterward.

Larijani did not identify the ambiguities but said he discussed them with Solana and that more talks would be required. "We hope we will have negotiations and deliberations again after we have carefully studied the proposals," he said.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Iran would give the proposals "careful study" and then "we will inform our friends of Iran's views."

Solana said of the meeting: "I have a feeling that it has been very, very constructive," and said the two sides would have more contacts in the coming days.

In the talks, Solana also "carried a message" about potential penalties if Iran refuses the offer. But he withheld telling the Iranians the specific threats — including the possibility of U.N. sanctions — so as not to jeopardize the "positive" atmosphere, said one diplomat in Vienna.

If Tehran does not accept, the package threatens Iran with a travel ban against its ruling religious leaders and government officials involved in the nuclear program, plus a freeze of Iranian financial assets abroad, U.S. officials and diplomats in Vienna have said.

The current package's lack of a demand for scrapping enrichment entirely could prove key, said Iranian political analyst Mostafa Kavakebian, who predicted Iran would accept temporary suspension of uranium enrichment but would reject any permanent halt.

In past days, Iranian leaders have combined tough talk with signals that they are open to a deal — perhaps an attempt to portray to the Iranian public that they remain firm, even as they consider reversing their refusal to suspend enrichment.

Iran says Western proposal 'positive'